If you have the time and patience at the end of this story, then please read my AN.
The hours of the morning were slowly beginning, but the sun had barely begun to rise, leaving the land still enshrouded in shadows. These conditions were perfect. She could slip away like a thief in the night, and no one will ever notice her leaving. Then she could go anywhere she wanted to, live a new life, and finally escape her worries. This, after all, would be best for everyone, right?
Lucina looked around her room, which her father gave to her while she was here. Little did he know that her stay would be temporary, and she would be leaving him soon. She did a double take around her quarters, making sure she wasn't leaving any of her personal belongings behind. The battle heroine paused when she looked at her sword, the Falchion of the future. For years had this sword protected her from the worst of fates, helping her succeed in restoring the present as well as the future. It was for this reason that she was leaving her beloved sword behind. The battle had been won; her mission was a success; evil was no longer a threat to the world. Her father was alive now, so she couldn't even inherit it at the moment, and frankly, she didn't even want it anymore. She left the sword in its scabbard and leaned it against a corner in the wall before moving towards her wardrobe. Gone were the clothes she used to disguise herself as her distant relative, gone were any traces of her old life. She was shedding away anything that people could use to link back to her. She wanted to disappear from everyone's memory, like she never existed in the first place. After finding a suitable outfit, she literally tore the clothes right off of her, leaving them in a pitiful, wrinkled heap, and put on something less dignified than what a normal princess would wear. She stared at her reflection in the mirror. What was her mother talking about? Navy pants totally went together perfectly with a black tunic.
As she continued to stare at herself in the mirror, she realized that there was one thing that she just could not conceal, and that was the Brand that settled right on her eyelid. She couldn't ask Gerome to make her another mask; that would just make her intentions seem too obvious. She'd have to do something extreme, like taking something sharp and stabbing it in her cornea, or ingesting some kind of potion that would completely distort the appearance of her eye. She couldn't bring herself to do that…for now. Instead, she took her bangs and swooped them over the left side of her face. Even without her Brand being visible, she still looked like the same Lucina. This would not do. She grabbed a fistful of her hair, pulled it behind her head, and used her free hand to pick up a dagger. She was a little scared at trying this, but she didn't really have anything to lose. Everyone who knew her would never see her again, so why should she care if she had such a crude haircut? She could shave her head if it came down to it and no one would be able to recognize her. She was about to severe her hair strands as short as she could when she heard someone come in. Panicked, she released her grip on her hair, and held the dagger defensively. Much to her relief, as well as her annoyance, it was only Morgan. She temporarily forgot that he too was living in the castle after his parents died in the war and her mother and father adopted him. He looked taken aback, but tried to hide it in his voice.
"Lucina, what are you doing?" He almost demanded.
"Help me with this." She simply commanded, handing him the dagger.
Again, she pulled her hair back, and pointed at the dagger in his hands. Morgan immediately understood, but still looked a little unsure. A harsh glare from Lucina prompted him to do as told. He sighed; sometimes he really hated the fact that she had him wrapped around her finger. With clean motions, Morgan carefully razored every piece of long hair until it fell short against her head. Lucina opened her eyes, and nearly flinched at the stranger staring back at her. But that was no stranger; that was her own reflection. Her hair now came down to the middle of her neck- save for the bangs that covered her eye- and was spiked in different, uneven directions. However, it was enough to alter her appearance, and she was satisfied with that.
"You know, binding it would be easier." Morgan said, but Lucina brushed him off. "You could easily pass off as a clone of the Hero of the Blue Flames."
"Oh hush. It's just hair. It'll grow back, and besides…it's not…that bad…" She felt her voice tremble, but she didn't know why. It was unlike her to care so much for something so trivial. This new style would just take some getting used to was all. Without hesitating any longer, Lucina helped Morgan clean up the remains of her hair and discarded it in a waste bin. After making sure there was no evidence of her leaving, she grabbed her satchel and began to walk out of her room without taking another glance.
"Lucina!"
Lucina flinched when she heard her name, then she realized she had forgotten that Morgan was still following her. His eyes were filled with worry, and clearly insisting an explanation.
"Please tell me what you're up to!" He practically begged. "You're packing away all of your things, changing your clothes, and cutting your hair. But why?"
"I can't stay here, Morgan." She whispered, though her voice was beginning to rise in defense. "I've overstayed my welcome in this time and I have to leave now."
"You're still on about that? But your father said you could stay! And all of the others are staying here too…"
"It doesn't matter. You have the luxury of staying here because you're from another timeline. But I have to leave. Things just can't be this way…"
"Where are you going to go though?"
"I can't tell you that. But I will tell you that I'm going to go to a place where my identity is unknown, and my presence won't interfere with this place in time."
"Lucina…"
"Morgan, thank you for all your help. I leave you and Owain in charge of the Children Shepherds. Also, please don't tell anyone, especially my parents, that I'm doing this, okay?"
"Wait, I wanna go with you too!"
"No, Morgan!" Lucina nearly shouted, but she restrained herself from doing so. "This is something I have to do myself. Besides, my parents are your parents now. Stay with them, learn from them, care for them. Do the things that I can't do in the present. Alright?"
"I'll…I'll do my best."
"Thanks, Morgan." Lucina smiled, but it was bitter. "Well…good luck."
"You too…Lucina…" Morgan looked like he wanted to cry, but he gave her a brief salute.
Lucina inhaled deeply, then turned her heel and began to walk out of the castle that she once called home, away from her friends, away from her family, away from her life. Morgan stood in the empty corridors, watching as she left, then began to go back to his room in the castle. He paused when he put his hands in his pockets and withdrew a flower. He had picked that flower especially for Lucina, but he forgot to give it to her. That was enough to cause a tear to leak from his eyes.
"Lucina…" He bit down on his tongue to prevent himself from breaking down completely. "Well…I guess I could give it to Nah…she was looking for this kind of flower the other day."
Lucina wasn't sure how long she had been travelling, but she estimated it to be a good while because of how high the sun was now. She could already tell the day was going to be hot, so she had to get to her destination as quickly as she could before that could happen.
"Can't believe I forgot to pack water." She muttered. "This is taking a lot longer than I was anticipating."
Lucina could feel the sun beating down on her back, and she swore she could start seeing hallucinations. This journey was harder than she remembered, but she surmised that it was because she didn't have any source of water on her, that she was already feeling weary. Finally, after wandering around for a few, stamina-wasting moments, she reached the place she was looking for: the Outrealms. Sweat dripped down her face in heavy streams, and she knew that if she didn't find water soon, then she was as good as dead. She urged herself to keep moving, but she knew her legs were slowly giving out underneath her.
"Just...a little…longer…" She breathed.
Her knees were screaming at this point, and soon she found herself lying on her back, with the sun shining right in her face. This wasn't going well. She knew she wanted to escape her old life, but she wasn't intending to die.
As she lied there baking in the sun, she thought she could hear the faint sound of someone humming in the distance. If the humming came from a person, then maybe they could help her! Mustering all her strength, Lucina rolled onto her stomach, and raised her head to look around. Sure enough, she saw someone sitting not too far away from her. Her vision slightly cleared up for a moment, and she was able to recognize the person as Old Hubba.
"H-Hey…" She called out to him weakly. "Old Hubba…"
Old Hubba turned around when he heard his name, and saw Lucina struggling to get to her feet. However, he didn't seem to identify her in the slightest.
"Have we…um…met?" He asked.
"My...my name is…Lucina…Chrom's daughter…" Lucina found it a task to even speak.
It seemed like an eternity for Old Hubba to register this information, but right when his mind clicked, he immediately remembered her.
"Ah, I know who you are now!" He exclaimed. "Gosh, what did you do to your hair, child? I couldn't even tell it was you!"
Lucina let out a raspy breath. She wouldn't last long in this state. "…water…"
"Hm? Speak up, dear. I'm a little short of hearing."
"Wa…ter….ugh…"
"Wa…ter…? Wat…er…Water! Oh, I see now. Water. That's a random thing to say to someone after you see them for the first time in a long time though…Lucina?"
Lucina had passed out at this point. Old Hubba, seeing that she was unresponsive, began to panic.
"Ah! Wait, don't…don't die on me…wait, I have some water right here!"
Old Hubba pulled out a canteen of water and began to pour it quickly down Lucina's throat. Lucina was able to drink it, but he was pouring the water down faster than she could swallow it, and she ended up coughing it back up. However, Old Hubba was just glad that he could revive her, and waited for her coughing fit to pass.
"The Outrealms can be harsh this time of year, Honey." He put a hand on her shoulder as he helped her sit up. "What were you thinking?"
Lucina let out a few more coughs to get the remaining water out of her airways before she spoke. "I…I came here to talk to you…"
"You came all the way out here just to visit me? I'm flattered…"
"Well, kind of…I was hoping you could help me…escape…"
"Sorry, dearie, I can't hear you when you mumble like that."
"I was hoping you could transport me to another timeline!"
Old Hubba smiled mischievously. "Oh, of course I can do that, but…well, Old Hubba's magic isn't what it used to be. So there's no telling where you'll end up…in one piece that is."
Lucina gulped.
"And well…this time-travel business doesn't come cheap…"
Catching onto Old Hubba's drift, Lucina hurled a pouch of gold right at Old Hubba's feet. Old Hubba grinned widely as he picked it up and examined the coins inside it.
"Oh yes, this is good, but…ehh…still a little short…"
Lucina stared at him in disbelief. "Short? But that's all the gold I have! Surely it can't be that expensive?"
"It's not, but I'm charging you extra for saving your life."
"What?!"
"What? Are you not grateful for that? Old Hubba is very generous. Anyone could leave you for dead up here, but you're lucky that someone like Old Hubba came along to give you some of his rich, refreshing, spring water. And that stuff isn't as cheap either."
Lucina grit her teeth to contain her anger. Her patience was really beginning to run thin with this man. "But I have nothing left to give you."
Old Hubba crossed his arms and pretended to walk away. "Well, you should've thought about that before you decided to run away. If you can't give me anything else, then you're on your own. Have a nice day!"
"Wait!" Lucina suddenly blurted out. It was enough to catch Old Hubba's attention. "You can have this…"
Old Hubba watched as Lucina's hands moved to her neck, pulling out a gold pendant out from underneath her clothes.
"That…is real gold, yes?" Old Hubba asked.
Lucina slowly nodded. "My mother gave this to me. I always wore it to give me luck in my travels…"
Old Hubba received the pendant, and inspected it over. It had a brilliant shine to it, and the few gems it carried seemed to glisten in the sunlight. He could make a fortune off of something like this. But then, he suddenly shoved it back at Lucina.
"You can keep it." He said. "I'll help you get to where you need to go."
Lucina was almost at a loss for words. "But I thought you said…"
"Remember? Old Hubba is very generous." He chuckled. "When I saw that you were willing to give away something so precious just to get me to open the Outrealm Gates, then I knew that you were serious about this. So…I'm letting you keep it."
"Thank you…Old Hubba…"
"No trouble at all." Old Hubba smiled. "Now, tell me where you want to go."
Lucina creased her brow in thought. "I want to go somewhere where I don't have to worry about this timeline, but not to a place too foreign to me."
"A parallel timeline perhaps?" Old Hubba suggested. "Anything that happens in that time won't affect this one."
"Yes...that'll be great."
"Good. Now then…let Old Hubba work his magic. You might feel a little dizziness at first…"
Lucina gave him a tearful smile as a small glow began to surround her. "I won't forget this, Old Hubba…"
Old Hubba smirked. "Neither shall I…Lucina."
A bright light enveloped the land in a blinding, white flash and when it dissipated, Old Hubba was the only one left standing. Lucina had vanished.
So I'm not really a fan of Awakening. I don't even like it and I personally think it's not the best in the series. I know I said in my profile that I will not be writing any fics for it, so why did I write and publish this one as my first? Well 1. I like Lucina. She's an exception. 2. This isn't going to be an Awakening-centered fic. It's going to include all of the past FE games, maybe even Shin Megami Tensei (still deciding on that one), except for Awakening. Now for the sake of plot, a few FE13 characters might appear later on in the story, but none of them will have a key role except for Lucina and Morgan. That said, I hope you like it and will patiently wait for an update. I have so many ideas, but not enough time to put them all on paper unfortunately. PM me any requests you would like to see in this story, like which FE characters you would like Lucina to interact with, and/or what significant events from FE history you would want Lucina to be a part of. Thank you for reading and have a nice day.