It was sunset when Chrom had finished his story just as the Shepherds had reached the halfway point, a small temple on the road upwards. It's walls made of white marble, a statue of Naga at the center of the edifice.
"I had no idea how much Ignis could change someone." Lucina murmured, unloading her tent from the caravan. "How someone could disregard all reason or memory, and turn into something that... Savage."
"I know, just remember Lucina, the real Robin and Morgan is still inside. It's up to them to recognize it, if that should fail... Knocking them out seems to work just as fine." Chrom chuckled at his last remark, even his stoic daughter had cracked a smile. "Alright, I'll call a War Council meeting inside of the temple, you coming?"
Shaking her head, Lucina began assembling her tent. She kept avoiding the thought of the tactician duo at the base of the mountain. I wonder how Morgan's doing, Naga knows she could really use the help with Ignis. Before the princess knew it, she was standing inside the recently completed tent. Feeling hungry, she peeked her head out into the darkness, checking if the mess tent was already assembled.
Finding it to be completely operational, Lucina proceeded to search for food. Through the cacophony of the Shepherd's laughter, cheering and yelling, Lucina spotted Stahl and Olivia on kitchen duty, both focused on different tasks; he was writing something down, while she was arranging plates. It seemed the viridian knight was trying to keep as much a distance from the dancer as possible, he was clearly uncomfortable around her. Is that really how Inigo's parents courted? Is Sir Stahl actually blushing? How strange, normally it's Lady Olivia who's the bashful one, Lucina thought as she approached the counter; she cleared her throat, startling the future couple.
"EEK! Oh, h-hi Lucina, you scared me." Olivia squealed, her face already red from embarrassment. "What c-can I do for you?"
"Good evening, I was wondering what was on the menu for tonight?"
"W-well th-there's beef st-stew and u-um rice, oh! A-and br-bread." Stahl was a nervous wreck, he quickly handed Lucina a tray for Olivia to fill up with food, the knight just proceeded to focus his attention back to the letter he was writing. Stifling a laugh at the usually composed man, Lucina thanked for her meal, and began to search for a table.
"Hey! Sis! Over here!" Cynthia waved her arm from where she was sitting from. "Come sit here with the Justice Cabal!" Owain was in a similar state of excitement "Yes, Cousin! Let the those of the Exalted bloodline sit together once more!"
Lucina didn't have much of a choice and joined her family at the table. "Hello Owain, Cynthia. How are you doing?"
Cynthia, in her usual hyperactive nature, talked at a rapid pace, "Aw, we're doing fine! Check this out! Owain and I have been working on battle phrases! Mine is 'javelin rain of pain'! What was yours again Owain?"
"Yes, mine is 'my sword sings of silver'! A fitting phrase for my trusty silver sword! Even if it's not Mystletainn..." Owain's bravado seemed to drop at the mention of the lost blade. Just as soon as the theatrical Owain had vanished it reappeared again alongside Cynthia's bubbly nature. Lucina had to admit it was really hard to not smile when those two were around her.
"So why did Morgan stay? The Justice Cabal isn't complete without her!" Cynthia asked. Lucina stiffened, it was agreed that the real reason neither tactician were able to make the climb, should be kept a secret, especially with the future children. If they found out what she really was, there was a chance that they'd reject her. Quickly trying to think of something to not arouse suspicion the oldest blurted out the first thing that came to her mind, "Both Sir Robin and Morgan are... trying out new spells." Lucina avoiding eye contact with either royal. Luckily Owain and Cynthia bought the story.
"Speaking of completing the Justice Cabal- Hey Gerome! Let the heroes gather here at the Table of Righteousness!" Owain exclaimed. The wyvern rider just grunted, took his ration, and exited the tent. "I can never read that guy. Why's he always like that?" A frustrated Owain asked.
Inigo had joined the group with his own tray of food. "He's always been that way, I would've given up on him joining your Cabal a long time ago, my friends."
"Nonsense! The Justice Cabal is always seeking new members! The only requirement is to be a hero!" Cynthia exclaimed, she had a sudden epiphany "technically that makes everyone in the Shepherds a member of the Cabal! C'mon Owain we have to tell everyone the news!" The younger princess practically dragged her cousin outside of the mess tent.
Rolling his eyes, Inigo kept eating. "So, Princess, what's up? Seems that you haven't kept up on your smiling lessons! How about you practice now?" the mercenary smiled. Lucina ignored the philanderer, she was already used to his attempt at flirting.
"Not now, Inigo" Lucina sighed, "go flirt with someone else, but not-"
"Cynthia, I got the message from last time." Inigo interrupted, nervously rubbing the back of his head. Lucina had caught him schmoozing the pegasus knight. Lucky for Inigo, Cynthia was either naive enough to not realize what was happening or just ignored his advances completely, his fate would've been much worse if he had broken her heart. Still he swore to not flirt with the younger pegasus knight, his decision influenced by an unsheathed Falchion aimed too close to what defined him as a man. That image still haunted him to this day.
"Good, I have to attend the nightly debriefing." Getting up the princess walked out on the mercenary. Before exiting, she heard a squeal emanating from the kitchen. "Congratulations on your parent's engagement by the way, Inigo." Dumbfounded, the mercenary went to check the area, inadvertently walking in on his parent's locked in a passionate kiss. He immediately turned around, his entire face red "Gods that's another image I won't get out of my head. Sober, that is." Inigo murmured.
Giggling, Lucina headed towards the central campfire, the amount of light and heat kept constant no doubt thanks to Frederick's watchful eye. Her father and the rest of the council members were already sitting on a log. Sitting down next to her father, she attentively listened to Laurent, Robin's replacement for his absence.
"I assume you all know of the real reason why our main tactician and his daughter aren't here with us?" Everyone around the campfire nodded. Lucina just kept her head low, so much for trying to keep my mind off of them. "Good. We are now in hostile territory so the night watch must have the best weaponry at their disposal. I will post the list rotation out soon" Laurent said, Robin's strategy book in his arms. Adjusting his glasses he continued "The terrain gets more treacherous from here on out, so I'm afraid we have to leave the wagons behind, a reserve shepherds here to ensure it's safety. I'll also post the list of those who will stay, any inquiries?"
"Understood" everyone replied, ending the debriefing.
Chrom got up and headed in the direction of his tent. "Welp, I'm beat. After all that talking and hiking I could really use the sleep." Lucina began to follow, her tent was near the Exalt's; the princess kept her head low. "Something bothering you?"
"No, it's nothing." The princess replied, avoiding her father's gaze. On second thought, I'll volunteer for first watch, Lucina thought. Turning around, she went to tell Laurent of her decision. She didn't want to deal with her father at this moment.
Laurent noticed the princess heading towards his direction, he searched for her name on the roster."Ah, Lucina. It seems you are due for watch at-"
"I'll volunteer for tonight. Who's my partner?"
"Indeed, it appears your companion is Gerome. I assume he's already on patrol. As you know, night watch is two hours long, wake the next Shepherd up when it is their turn. Gerome knows who it is." Laurent yawned and headed off to post the rotations on the mess tent, then off to his own.
At least Gerome knows when to leave me alone. Better head off to find him then. It wasn't too hard to find the wyvern rider in daylight, his black armor standing out against anything. In night however, it was another story "Gerome! Where are you?" Lucina half whispered half shouted. She felt wind rushing past her, the future Minerva had landed next to the princess. On top of the beast's back was Gerome, trademark mask and frown on his face.
Gerome was known to be blunt, evidenced by his equivalent of a greeting "Lucina."
The princess was used to the wyvern rider's impatience with any and all trivial matters, she decided to not beat around the bush. "Good evening, Gerome. Laurent assigned us as partners for tonight's-"
"Why do you trust her?" the wyvern rider interrupted.
Lucina was taken aback from the sudden question "Pardon?"
"Morgan. Why do you trust Morgan?" he repeated. A bit louder this time, frustration clear on his raspy voice.
"You never seemed to have a problem with her back in the future" the princess retorted, she could see where this conversation was headed. Gerome was not one to trust anybody, she doubted he even trusted her.
"Gods, but you are like your father, blindly trusting any fool with a sob story. No, I never trusted her, especially now that I know she is a fellblood."
"And you are like your father Gerome, never trusting anyone but Royals? Come now, you say you despise Frederick, but you sure do act like him! Besides, her being a fellblood doesn't change anything. She chose to be born with her lineage as much as anyone did."
"Don't bring him into this. She is still a threat to everyone in this camp! Ask yourself this: Do you remember her growing up with us? She just appeared from nowhere, claimed to be Robin's daughter, with no proof. Yet you trusted her and keep on doing it. Even after she tried to kill you, you still do it. Why!?"
"Because I find her more trustworthy than you! She's proven time and time again that she can think before she acts! You, on the other hand, keep doing brash actions for the sake of 'protecting me'. Seriously, if I didn't know any better I would think that you have feelings for me, Gerome; trying to keep me safe from any and all dangers. Or do you not remember when we first met Morgan?"
The wyvern rider stiffened at Lucina's accusation. It was true that at some point Gerome held a romantic attraction towards her, but kept it a secret from everyone as the future was not the ideal place to confess. Pretending he never heard that statement, he kept arguing "I'm not trying to keep just you safe! I'm keeping this whole damn camp safe from them!"
"What do you propose we do, huh?"
"You should've gone through with killing Robin."
Lucina slapped Gerome, knocking off his mask to the ground "What is wrong with you!?"
"No matter. If any of those two show any-and I mean any- sign on turning on the Shepherds, I'll make them regret ever being born." Gerome picked up his mask, walked towards the future Minerva and left.
Lucina was finished the rest of the night watch alone. She didn't notice it was to change guard until she felt Donnel tap on her shoulder.
"Evenin' yer majestyful! I reckon it's time for the guard change ain't it?"
Lucina resisted the urge to not tell him to not refer to any title. Maybe I am too much like my father. Deciding she'd rather rest than correct him, she went to her tent.
Once she fell asleep, she dreamed of the night they found Morgan.
It was Gerome's turn to ensure no Risen would attack any of the Shepherds, he flew around with his only memory of his mother, Minerva. Nearing the end of his shift, he brought the wyvern down for a landing, until he noticed movement in the woods. Leaping of her back he readied his axe, careful to not make a sound.
It appeared the person was scrounging at the ground, keeping itself hidden from the main campsite where the rest of the future Shepherds were. It was a short person, head covered by a cowl attached to a coat to big for him or her. Gerome got closer to the stranger and aimed his axe at a smaller, hunched figure on the ground "What are you doing here?" he whispered
Feeling the cold sting of metal in it's back, the person turned around, cowl still covering the face the stranger raising hands in fear. "Don't hurt me!" a female voice spoke, afraid of what Gerome might do to her. "Please let me go."
Gerome pressed the axe further, causing a small shriek to escape from her. "Answer. My. Question."
"I was just scavenging! I saw a light earlier and I followed it. When I got here I thought everyone was asleep, so I wanted to steal some supplies. I'm sorry! Just let me go and I won't come back! Please!"
Gerome's face displayed no emotion, he couldn't trust her. He grabbed a few leather strips he carried with him in case of Minerva's straps ever breaking. "Turn around." he commanded. Fearfully, the stranger did as she was told; the wyvern rider tied her hands together and moved her towards the camp.
Lucina had heard a commotion from the outskirts of camp, quickly strapping Falchion to her belt, she headed towards the voices. Once the princess got there, she found Gerome tying up a girl with a coat much too big for her small frame. "Gerome, what are you doing?" she asked, annoyed the girl shrieked at the sound of a new voice. "You know that in these times we have to look for one another. Release her."
"Lucina, she was trying to-"
"I said release her."
Begrudgingly, he loosened the impromptu cuffs, but not without a threat. "If you run, I'll make sure you won't be able to use your legs. Ever again." The stranger slowly nodded and stayed in place.
"Now," Lucina started making sure to not intimidate the smaller girl in any way "What is your name?"
"M-Morgan…"
"Okay, and what are you doing here?"
"Like I told him, I just wanted some food. I-I never wanted to hurt anybody!"
Lucina gave her a light chuckle "You could've just asked."
"I was afraid you'd all turn out to be like… him." Morgan gestured towards Gerome, who just grunted in response. "I'm sorry if I caused any trouble, I'll be on my way now."
Lucina was about to let the girl go; that was until some moonlight filtered through the sky and showed the grimleal patterns on Morgan's coat. On instinct the princess and Gerome got into battle stances, Lucina's face turned serious. "I'm afraid you can't leave."
"What?" Frightened Morgan tried to run, but a single glare from Gerome froze her in place.
"Sorry, but your coat is something I can't let slide so easily. We have to determine if you're not a grimleal summoner."
"B-but it's the only thing that I have left of my father! You can't have it!"
Thinking about it, that coat did look familiar. Only one person in the past would've worn it despite the dark meaning behind it's design. "Who was he?"
Morgan's expression dropped, it was clear the emotional wound was still fresh. "His name was Robin. He was a tactician, he would teach me many strategies before he-"
"Was he from Ylisse?" Lucina interrupted before the girl could finish remembering her father's passing.
"Yeah… Why?"
"Did he ever work for the Royal family?"
"I don't know, he wouldn't really talk about his job too much."
"Let me rephrase that: Has he ever mentioned someone called 'Chrom'?"
"Yes… Why are you asking me all of this?"
"Well, that resolves your parentage. I'm Lucina, daughter of Chrom, and current Exalt of Ylisse. Or whatever is left of it." she sighed. "Strange, I never knew my father's main tactician ever married, much less that he had a child."
Morgan wanted to protest Lucina's last statement, but kept her mouth shut in fear. Instead all she could muster was an apology "I'll go now, sorry if I caused any trouble."
"Wait, Morgan, how about you stay with us? We can certainly use your skills as a tactician."
Morgan lowered her cowl, revealing her face. She was an absolute disaster, hair matted, bags under her eyes, grunge and dirt covering the rest, however her eyes were full of happiness. "R-really?"
"Sure, I don't see why not. Now come along, we'll take care of you. Welcome to the Shepherds, Morgan."
Morgan sniffed "Thank you! Oh thank you so much! I-I thought I would be alone for the rest of my life!"
Gerome never took his eyes off of the pair, he had to make sure that Morgan, whoever or whatever she was, wouldn't harm anyone. Not Lucina, or anyone else in the Shepherds. He swore to himself that if the girl so much as broke off a strand of the princess' hair…
He would kill her.
A/N
This is the rest of the previous chapter. I would've posted it sooner, but the internet in the country where I am is horrible. Ecuador: Come here for the amazing food, beaches, culture, sights, animals, etc; Stay because the shitty internet won't let you log on to any airline website.
I'll say (write?) this again: Morgan's mother is up to you. No, I'm not setting up polls (have no idea how to do it anyway) or hosting an election for who the best waifu for Robin is, I really am (trying) to leave her mother as ambiguous as possible. Besides, her mother wouldn't really impact the story anyway. I think I've opened this story a little bit more to include any of the children from the future. So with that said… go wild! Lucina! Female Robin! Say'ri! Naga! Flavia! Tiki! Nah! Owain! Sakurai! Eirika! Anyone/thing goes here!
Now onto news you already know: Corrin is in Smash! Fire Emblem Fates! Star Wars The Force Awakens HYPE! Soul Eater is awesome! I can't beat FTL! DOOM 4! Deadpool the movie! I swear for the whole month of February I'll be broke.
Now onto the game I decided to make up: Spot that Reference! Hint: Don't strain yourself too hard to find that reference.
I don't own Fire Emblem legal stuff legal stuff legal stuff