The news of Robin speaking was well met by Chrom and Sumia. It gave everyone a much needed boost in morale, though Robin did not seem to understand why everyone was happy and even looked somewhat scared at their enthusiastic congratulations. Within a few days it was decided that Robin was comfortable enough with the others that Lucina did not have to be right there by his side so long as he could see her.

With that in mind, Sumia sent Lucina and Chrom off to talk just far enough where Robin could still see Lucina but she could still have some privacy with her father. Sumia planned to help Robin with one of her favorite things: books! Robin used to like to read, and while he was not up to reading himself, she would read it to him. Maybe it would help him in some way; Sumia was willing to try.

She decided to start off simple with a collection of children's books that she borrowed from the library. Picking up one of her childhood favorites, she began to read the story much like she did for baby Lucina.

"Once upon a time…"

Father and daughter sat down at a stone table in the castle grounds. Lucina really did not know what to say, so she said nothing and just enjoyed being in the presence of her father; a luxury that many took for granted. Chrom for his part looked uncharacteristically somber like he had something he wanted to say but was unsure of how to say it. Letting out a breath, Chrom resolved himself to finally say something.

"So, what do you plan to do once Robin is better?"

"I," she knew that she could not avoid the topic forever, but that did not mean that she wanted to discuss it, "I will have to leave."

"Why?" Chrom would not let it go that easily.

"Because, it would cause too many problems. Your daughter from the future, who would believe such a tale?"

"I would," he smirked but quickly reverted to his serious demeanor, "No one has to know that doesn't know already."

"Then how do we explain this?" she pointed to her left eye.

"Most people would never even see that, Lucina, and the ones that do, well, we can make a cover story."

"A cover story?"

"Yeah, something to allay any suspicions on your origin. You could pose as a long lost cousin perhaps."

"And what of the other Lucina?"

"We already call her Lucy all the time. No reason we can't continue."

"How long have you been thinking about this?"

"Well," Chrom smirked, "Sumia and I may have discussed it a bit. Frederick may have helped a little as well."

Lucina could not help but smile ever so slightly. They really wanted her to stay, but, she still was not quite ready to accept their offer, "I don't know…"

"Well, no rush," he put his hand on her shoulder, "Just remember, we love you Lucina. More than any potential public relations problem could possibly undo."

"T-thank you, I will."

"Now come on," he said as he started rummaging through a nearby bush, "You must be stressed, and I have found that a good way to relieve stress is to hit things," he said as he pulled out two crude training dummies that he had stashed away.

Lucina smiled, "You planned this."

"Even I can plan ahead from time to time."

"…and they lived happily ever after. The end."

Robin seemed enthralled by the stories that Sumia had read him. She really had no idea what was going on behind those inquisitive eyes, but she hoped that it was good. She had just finished up one of her favorites and he was already pointing at another one from the stack. She laughed lightly at his eagerness.

"Alright, one more," she picked up the indicated book. She enjoyed this time as it reminded her of how they used to discuss the books they had read and sometimes just sit and read without any words spoken. She liked having someone to share her interest in reading with, and it led to a strong friendship between the two. Sumia liked to think that she was one of his closest friends. It was fitting too, as the royal family seemed to kind of informally adopt the tactician into the family. He was one of them even if he was not technically a part of the family.

Sumia started with the familiar words that so oft begin the journey of a children's story. In the distance she could hear Chrom and Lucina setting up the training dummies. She smiled to herself as she thought of Chrom hiding them in an attempt to be clever, but she was glad for them to get some bonding time in any case.

She was not even half way through her story when they started to wail away at the dummies. When she looked at Robin as she turned the page, she noticed that he looked uneasy. Before she could ask him what was wrong, he clutched his head in pain as he started whimpering loudly.

The commotion caught the attention of the father-daughter duo, and Lucina was by the man's side in short order. She had never seen him quite like this. He seemed especially distressed, but she was not quite sure by what.

"What happened?" she asked her mother as she tried to comfort the tactician.

"I-I don't know! Everything was fine until he started to look uneasy, but before I could do anything, this happened."

"What could have…" she trailed off when she noticed that he had a clear view of where she and her father had been training. It did not take her long to put the pieces together.

"It's okay, Robin, you're safe."

He paused and looked up at her, clearly not convinced, "N-no… fight?"

"No, no fighting. Is that it? You're afraid to fight." He grimaced as if unsure of the question or how to answer, maybe both. "It's fine, you don't have to say anything if you don't want to."

She slowly helped him up and led him to his room leaving Chrom and Sumia alone.

"He must have remembered some things from the wars," Sumia said as Chrom put his arm around her.

"That can't be easy in his condition," Chrom said as he looked after the two retreating figures.

"We just have to help him to remember the good times," Sumia replied optimistically causing Chrom to look to his wife with a smile.

"Heh, you're right. It may be hard, but Robin's a fighter. He won't go down so easily."