"I will be the next Shepherd of Ylisse and save the world, just like Daddy!"
Lucina raises her wooden stick to the sky and poses. "I'll be strong like him! But most importantly-"
She grabs her hair and tries to tuck most of it inside her shirt, pushing the length of her hair through the collar. From the front, it looked as if her hair was shorter than it actually was, and after weeks of practice she managed to give it a small curl for fashion.
"I'll look as graceful as the Hero King, Marth!"
Morgan gives the young princess a round of applause. Playing with her like this always brought the biggest of smiles for the both of them, especially when their own fathers had little time to spend with them like this. Even when the two Kings finally found a moment to catch up with each other, they immediately had to go along their duties. Fortunately, Chrom still had business in Plegia, meaning Morgan had even more time to spend with her adorable and lovable little cousin. Cynthia invited her to shop with Noire, but she chose Lucina over them. After all, they couldn't leave the tiny girl alone, and it would be dangerous to bring the young heir of Ylisse out on the streets.
Plus, Morgan hadn't gotten time to rest in her room today. So here she was, playing around with little Lucy.
The dark sorceress stands tall, and with a twirl of her cloak she lets out a cocky laugh. "So you want to be a hero too? Well, it's gonna be difficult to surpass the Three Legends of the Justice Cabal!"
Lucina flinched. She knew that combined, Morgan, Owain, and Cynthia could defeat anyone and anything in their path! The young heir needed to find a way to overcome her heroes through some other means aside from pure strength and grace. She needed a force stronger than physical might. She needed an aptitude stronger than mental superiority. She needed a social standing stronger than just the Crown Princess of Ylisse! She needed… She needed…!
"A man stronger than any other! A man who can take on the three of you blindfolded and with one arm behind his back!"
"No!" The Plegian princess reeled. Lucina pointed her sword at her, pushing her back and forcing her to the wall. "Impossible! There's no such man alive!"
"Yes there is! I'll marry him, and we'll be the strongest heroes alive!"
Morgan absolutely loved her enthusiasm. Lucina says everything and anything with such pure hearted emotion and true devotion that it's difficult not to adore her antics. "Who?!" she cries out in desperation, "Who could possibly do such a thing?!" Lucina's confident smirk slowly melted into a bubbly smile.
"R-Robin!"
It would be an understatement to say that Morgan was surprised by this. At the same time, it would also be an understatement to say that she expected something like this to happen. Lucina's eyes sparkle through a face flushed red. Morgan smiled.
Marriage, huh?
In this timeline, her father had never married. As of right now there wouldn't be a mini Morgan coming any time soon. It's possible that she may never be born in this future. Her father was just so disinterested in not just women, but for his own desires. The former Ylissean tactician pushed everyone and everything aside because their safety mattered more than his own happiness. Chrom once told Morgan of the nights where he found Robin staying up late, criticizing himself for his orders in the skirmish that took place that day. It was more than just trying to accept a mistake and find a way to correct it. His self-loathing went further than that. Night after night he stayed up drafting plans for one single situation and fervently revising that same plan to make sure it would be perfect no matter what the obstacle was. Morgan knew this to be true. There were a few of his strategy books that she read which covered the way to approach a single situation that eventually became worse and worse. It wasn't just a matter of simply expecting the worst to happen and trying to be prepared for it. Near the end of the book, the writing began to sound crazed and obsessive, as if the writer lost his sanity trying to come up with a clear solution. One of the very last pages contained detailed notes on how to approach the now insane situation. A successful method was one step short of being complete, but all the notes had been scribbled out and replaced with "Order all troops to withdraw and have Henry set fire to the forest."
Chrom claimed that Robin wasn't just his best friend. Robin was pretty much everyone's best friend. He tolerated Lissa and Nowi's antics, supported Olivia's dream of owning a theater and gained the respect from the more hardened warriors like Frederick and Lon'qu. He found a kindred spirit in Virion, an unruly friend in Vaike, a healthy friendship in Stahl, and a strange bond with Panne. He learned of Gaius' innate distrust in people because of his history, how pride in one's family can dictate people like Ricken to becoming better and better, why personal ability can drown sublime warriors like Cordelia in feelings of inferiority. Robin was the one who tried to set Minerva up with another wyvern for Cherche, the one who taught Maribelle intimate slang in jest, the one who suspected Kellam of having supernatural powers, the one who caused Tharja to attempt to be "normal", and the one who admired Libra's art to a rather obsessive degree. He endured the effects of a particularly odd seaweed to match Sully in muscle, Miriel's experimentation with his belongings, and in Gregor's naturally odd disposition.
Sumia once told Morgan about how she began to get along with Robin through the literature she loved. There was a time when Robin would give her ridiculous novels a try, resulting in his newfound adoration for the fantasy genre. But sometime after the meeting with Validar for the Valmese campaign, something changed. Frederick remembered Robin acting very strangely since then. The army's trusted friend became more and more distant, secluding himself in his tent every night. Even when the children of the future came, he didn't connect with them like he had with their parents. It fell upon the parents themselves to express to them just how wonderful their tactician truly was. Soon, every day became another campaign for him. Robin was wrecked with stress and self doubt. He truly had a burden heavier than anyone else.
It was all because he was the Fell Dragon Grima himself. Morgan didn't know, but for the longest time Robin had sought out ways to snuff his very existence out of desperation.
But one day…
She was afraid. She was alone. And she was in pain.
"Wh-where am I? How'd I end up here?"
My head hurts… Where do I go? My head hurts… Where did Father go? My head hurts… Where did Mother-
In her dazed state, Morgan carelessly trips over a rock and falls to the ground. It didn't help that her head already throbbed harder than the pain any textbook could inflict on her. Panic overtook her mind. Ending up in an unknown place was one thing. Not being able to remember why she was there in the first place was another. What was the last thing she could even remember?
"My name is Morgan, a Thunder tome is stronger than a Fire tome, only cowards use a Mire tome… and…"
Nothing. That's all she could recall.
Okay, okay, calm down, you got this! What do you have with you right now? A Steel Sword, an Elfire tome, a Concoction, and Dad's book.
Morgan pulls herself up from the ground, patting her clothes to brush away the dust. With a tight grip on her Father's book, she pushes fear out of her head. Until-
"Footsteps! ... Probably not friendly. And likely more down those stairs… Think, Morgan, think! How would Dad handle this?"
It was hard to see anything clearly in the area. Figures stood far away in the distance, covered by the fog. Red eyes were all that pierced through, sending chills down Morgan's spine. She shivered from the unease and cold, holding onto the book even tighter.
He wouldn't panic at a situation like this. He's the strongest, smartest, and fiercest warrior to have lived! After all, Master-
… Master?
She collapsed once again. Darkness flooded the recesses of her mind, numbing every nerve in her body. Memories of a ruined world surface one by one. They overwhelm Morgan so rapidly that she couldn't comprehend what she was seeing. A world torn asunder by raging fire. A world left barren by a sun that refused to return. It was a hellscape in every sense of the word. Towns once known for lovely festivities held not a single soul left to remember its prime. Villages rich in beautiful greenery remained in tatters. An entire kingdom which had brought light to its people laid waste in true expiration. What life that remained on the world mattered not, as soon enough I would come to kill them myself. Kill all of them myself. And when I do, Master will be so proud of me that he'll compliment me, maybe even spend time with me once again as a reward. I must show my undying loyalty, lest he throw me away too. But that's impossible. After all, I'm his own-
"You… don't look like a treasure hunter. What brings you here?"
Morgan looked up. A familiar person stood in front of her with their hand outstretched. The cloud of darkness in her mind suddenly vanished. It was only then that she realized that she was crying. But that was okay, because in front of her was the one person in her life that she knew would keep her safe away from that darkness. Through the tears that shimmered on the surface of the water, she rushed towards the man and hugged him.
"There you are, Father! I was beginning to think we got separated."
"... I'm sorry, what?" Robin hesitantly placed his hands on her shoulders as she pulled away.
"Well, no harm done. At least we can head home now… " she took a good look at his face and gasped. "Goodness, the air here agrees with you! You look a decade younger, at least."
"Wait. Let's go back to the "Father" thing. ...Did you travel back from the future with Lucina?" Morgan raised an eyebrow and returned an expression of confusion. "Huh? Who's Lucina? And did you seriously just ask me if I came from the future? … Why are you looking at me like that? Hello? It's me! Morgan!"
She spun around in a circle twice, then gave her sweetest smile with both hands on her hips. "Your daughter? Love of your life and Daddy's little girl and all that?"
Robin blinked twice. But moments later, he gave her biggest smile he may have ever had in his life.
Finding out that he has a daughter in the future brightened up every dark cloud in his overcast heart. Suddenly he had a bright ball of sunlight that worked hard to shine for him. And in return, he became the guiding light for a clumsy, pure hearted, somewhat air-headed daughter. It didn't matter what his daughter had turned out to be like though. All that mattered to the unconfident tactician who only held self-depreciation was that this loving girl was his daughter. All that mattered to the child disowned by time who lost her memories of love was that her wonderful father gave her his unabated love and care. Morgan's infinite positivity influenced Robin heavily. He began to open up to everyone else once again while Morgan became acquainted with everyone.
Yet, he never made any advances on another woman.
"Lucina, if you marry my father…"
Lucina froze on the spot when Morgan shifted to a serious tone. When she had the prior advantage, she suddenly found herself intimidated by the enemy in front of her. "Y-Yes?!" was all she managed to sputter out in panic. Morgan approaches her slowly. Closer, and closer, and closer. Lucina now had her back against the wall.
"... I won't be happy unless you take good care of me too!"
With her brightest smile, Morgan scoops Lucina into her arms again. The two girls laughed in front of the mirror.
"Wow, I can already see the resemblance, 'mother'!"
Lucina flashed her widest smile as Morgan looked at herself.
The fitting image of her father's daughter. Fair skin, gray eyes, and-
"Platinum blonde hair," as Robin had once described it to her.
There were very few aspects about her that could point to who her mother was. The poor girl never did remember any single bit about her mother. So she gave up trying to find out who it really was. All that mattered now was helping her father find happiness.
Even if it meant she may have been… unwanted… accidental… .
She shook her head to dispel the negative thoughts.
There was one woman, one woman who made Robin happier than anyone else. She sighs.
Where did you go, Lucina?