He was watching from above, as if he wasn't really in the room. A lady with red hair held two young girls close to her chest, and he could tell that all three were sobbing…
"Mommy? Where's Daddy? Why isn't he home yet?" One of the children asked.
"Daddy...Daddy's busy. He can't make it home today." An excuse, to hide the truth…
"But Daddy's never gotten home this late! Did he forget about us?" The other child.
"No...he…" The mother choked back sobs. "He's on a trip, with Uncle Chrom. They'll be back before you know it." She hoped the lie would convince them as much as it would herself.
He woke with a start. Cordelia must have left at some point, because he was alone on the cot. He was still in the medical tent; Maribelle had forbade him to leave that evening, just in case any complications came up.
But where was Cordelia?
He slowly tried to sit up. He winced and clutched at his side at the initial burst of pain, but found that he could get out of bed without much trouble. Smiling at this development, he slowly made his way out of the tent.
Chrom was right outside.
"Oh, hello there, Amy." The king barely repressed his snigger. "How are you feeling now?"
"Lots better, thanks. Er..how do you know about that name..?" Amadeus' face was tinged crimson.
"I'm pretty sure everyone in camp knows by now...your daughter's been telling everyone she can about it."
"What? She's what? Wait, what? My-" Chrom laughed at his tactician's confusion.
"Oh, no one's told you?" Chrom proceeded to explain to Amadeus the revelation that he'd missed. He'd been right; that group that had appeared to save them against Walhart was the rest of the children from Lucina's future, the ones that she'd been looking for this entire time. And their parents were all among the Shepherds. Amadeus jumped at this.
"That means...one's...mine?" Chrom nodded. "Can I...er..meet her?" Chrom was holding back laughter at his tactician's lack of coherence.
"Of course. She's been waiting for you to feel up to it."
Amadeus followed Chrom through camp in a daze.
I have a child..? Or, I'm going to have a child?
Another thought.
Is Cordelia the mother? If she's not...things might get awkward….
"D-daddy?" He remembered that voice. He'd heard it the day before, when they'd been fighting Walhart…
"Er..yes?" A young girl in mercenary's armor slowly approached him. "You fought bravely yesterday, er…?" He realized he didn't even know her name.
"..Severa."
"Severa. And I'm-"
"Amadeus. Or, as Mommy loves calling you, 'Amy'. Ugh." She made a blanching motion.
"So..I'm your father. And your mother is..." The girl didn't answer; she only took out a small stuffed animal from her bag. Amadeus gasped when he realized what it was: the pegasus he'd gotten for Cordelia!
"H-how…" Amadeus was at a loss for words, and that rarely happened.
Severa mumbled something unintelligible.
"...only thing….left...lonely…" She looked away from him. Amadeus cursed himself as he realized what she was talking about, and he quickly closed the distance between them to pull her into a tight hug.
"Oh, Severa...you won't be lonely ever again, okay? I promise that." He felt the smaller hands return the hug for a second before they pushed him away.
"I didn't say I was lonely! I said, I thought you'd be lonely here, so I came to visit!"
Heh. She's certainly as strong-willed as her mother.
"Well, how sweet of you!" Cordelia had approached from behind them.
Severa snapped back at Cordelia.
"Don't mock me! You guys didn't care…" Tears began falling. Amadeus was hurt at what she said; he knew she was referring to the Amadeus from her future world, but even that hurt him all the same, and he knew Cordelia was feeling the same way.
"Severa, dear, why would you say that? Of course we care! We're so happy to finally meet you-"
"Then why did both of you leave me?" The girl almost yelled out the answer over her tears. "You left me alone! You said you would be back and then I never…" The rest of her speech was lost in her sobbing, but Amadeus and Cordelia knew what she meant.
"Severa…" Amadeus glanced at Cordelia, who nodded. "Darling, we can't speak for our future selves. But we can speak for our current selves, and we promise we'll never leave you." He and Cordelia held out their arms to the girl, who finally relented and ran into them, sobbing into the group hug.
"Oh, Mom, Daddy, I missed you both….I'm sorry I was so mean...I just..didn't want to lose you two again…" The three huddled on the ground, arms wrapped around each other, reunited as a family.
The day's march had gone by quicker than any that Amadeus could remember. Without the impending battles that war brought, they could march at a more leisurely pace. He marched near the front, hand in hand with Cordelia, while the two chatted with their newfound daughter.
She told them of the horrors they'd faced in the future, and Amadeus couldn't help but feel sorry for the girl. Just like Lucina, she'd been forced to learn to fight and fend for her life at such a young age…and he hadn't been there to protect her. Or, rather, his future self hadn't been able to protect his family. He made a silent vow to himself that he would not let that happen in this world.
Suddenly, he remembered his dream. There had been two girls in it, not one, and he assumed it was his family…
"Severa, did you have a sister or a brother?" He asked. Cordelia gave him a quizzical look, but he waved her off, mouthing I'll tell you later before she nodded.
"What? Oh...yes, I did. Morgan, but she was younger than me. But after we went through the time portal, I haven't seen her…I hope she's okay." Amadeus winced. So there was still one child out there...and that child was his.
"I see...well, we'll do what we can to find her."
Just then, Sumia lighted next to Chrom, who'd been leading the march just in front of Amadeus and his family.
"Chrom! There's a girl up ahead who's trapped in these ruins ahead! Risen! We need to go!"
The battle was quick and straightforward; after fighting the Valmese, the Risen were practically training dummies, and were effortlessly disposed of. Amadeus sat with Cordelia and Severa, the three having fought together, now catching his breath.
"Amadeus? Cordelia? You guys might want to come." Sumia came over and beckoned them to follow. They looked at each other before shrugging and doing so.
"So..who was this girl that was trapped there, Sumia?" Amadeus asked.
"Oh, her name's Morgan..she can tell you more."
Morgan? My younger daughter?
"Father!" They'd entered the tent where the girl was, and she sprang into Amadeus' arms.
"Err..Morgan?"
"Yes! You remember me! I remember you too! Although..I don't remember anything else...but you're here! That must mean we're all safe, and everything's going to be okay."
"You don't remember anything?" Amadeus raised an eyebrow.
"Nope. Except that you're my father, and...Mother!" She disengaged herself from Amadeus and now sprang into Cordelia's arms. Cordelia held her close, returning the contact with a large smile.
"Well, with the amnesia, I wouldn't be surprised if she's yours, Amadeus." Chrom said with a chuckle. "I've found a town for us to stay in tonight; they're quite thankful to us for getting rid of the Conqueror, so we'll have any amenities we want. You should take your family with you...get caught up. I think that's what we'll all be doing." He smiled again as Cynthia, apparently his younger daughter, came into the tent, and Amadeus nodded, himself eager to catch up with his children.
Children. Who would've thought this possible?
They marched for another two hours after that, reaching the town of Clera. Amadeus soon realized that his younger daughter was full of energy; even though she had the same case of amnesia that he had, she was always bouncing around, chatting up everyone and talking about everything.
"Father! You were the greatest tactician anyone had ever known in my time! Can you teach me some things?" Amadeus grinned at Morgan.
"Well, of course, but first you'll have to read up on strategies. Gather knowledge, and then you can learn to apply it. When we get into town we can look for some books that might be good for you to start on?" Severa perked up at the insinuation of shopping.
"Oooh, Daddy, are we going shopping? Can I go too? I'm sure the shops here are much better..in the future, they were absolutely horrendous. The accessories? Gawds, terrible. Morgan would support me, but she doesn't remember, so take my word for it. Oh! Morgan, we can go look at dresses and everything!"
"Of course, dear. We'll all go shopping together. Maybe your father will buy your mother something nice, as well." Cordelia replied with a wink at Amadeus.
"What? Y-Yes, of course. Just..you know, go easy on the wallet, alright? Your father isn't made of gold. But you three are my family, and I'd give you guys anything in my power to give." Amadeus winced a little at the thought of just how shallow his coffers were, but didn't give it much more thought.
It was almost dark by the time they reached the gates of the town. Chrom spoke to everyone before they entered the town.
"Shepherds! We've won a long, exhausting war. So use tonight to celebrate! If you have need of gold, then come find me, and I'll see what we have left in the convoy and we'll try to figure something out. There are inns aplenty, and diners and shops aplenty; enjoy yourselves today, for you have all truly earned it."
And so they entered.
Chrom grabbed Amadeus' shoulder before he left and tossed him a bag of gold.
"Hm? Chrom, I think I'm alright, but thanks anyways." Amadeus lifted the bag of gold, which was quite heavy.
"Oh? Well, I do know that you have two young girls about to go shopping...not to mention a girlfriend to shop for as well. Also, you know, there's enough in that bag for two rooms..if you'd want to hit up the inn and, well, you know, get some private time with Cordelia." Amadeus' mind quickly raced to thoughts of being alone with Cordelia, finally, in a proper room…
"Heh. I know where your mind's going. Anyways, take it. Use it if you want, and if not, that's fine too. I'll see you around, Amadeus." Sumia had come up beside him, and, taking his arm, dragged him off towards the city.
"Well, shall we go, then?" He nodded at Cordelia, who had brought their children.
"Ooh! Can we go in there?" Severa tugged at his arm, and he relented. He'd felt like almost every story he'd passed, at least one of either Severa, Morgan, and even Cordelia had managed to drag him in. They were in a small accessories store, and he found himself looking around in sheer awe at the selection of items. The walls were filled with all sorts of decorations and products, some in bright, sunny colors, while others were painted with more earth tones. He saw some wood figurines, gold pouches, almost anything he could ever think of, he was sure he could find in here.
"No, Morgan, you put that in your hair!" Severa seemed to be quite knowledgeable about all these things; Morgan, Amadeus realized, was much more in the same boat as he in terms of these things. He watched as his daughters sifted through the endless merchandise.
"You look like you're enjoying yourself." Cordelia had sidled up to him.
"Hm..yes. I wonder what life will be like now with these two. They're quite..energetic." She laughed as she leaned on his shoulder.
"Oh, it'll be fun. Besides, now that we know that we have kids in the future...well, somehow, we know we'll work out fine here right?" She was looking him in the eyes, hoping for some confirmation.
"Well, I was pretty sure things were going to work out fine anyways, Cordelia." He winked at her.
"You're just saying that!" But from the flush on her cheeks, he knew he'd said the right thing.
"Anyways, I was thinking maybe we could go out for dinner tonight? You know, instead of cooking or eating rations, since we're not fighting anymore, maybe we could go out to a restaurant and enjoy ourselves for once. It'll be on Chrom, too." He couldn't help himself; he had to see if she had any reaction to the name. A part of his mind still whispered doubts into his ear every once in a while..
"Of course! But Morgan and Severa will probably want to come, as well…"
Amadeus nodded.
"I know. But when we get the chance, I'd like to take you out to dinner or something. We haven't really had a chance to go out or anything, you know? We've just been..fighting and marching." He looked to see her response, and was rewarded with an eager nod.
"Yes, I know! I was thinking the same thing. Maybe in the next town we stop in, we can explain to the kids? I'm sure they'll understand, seeing as we haven't been together all that long yet in this timeline."
"Of course. That sounds good." He pulled her into a hug, and she leaned into his chest.
"AHEM." Severa cleared her throat loudly at her parents. "Mom, Dad, I think we're ready to pay now!" Amadeus sighed, and took out his rapidly depleting gold pouch.
"Yes..of course. Er..how much?" The salesperson counted up the items.
"Um..500."
"Oh..um, okay." He quickly counted out the currency and gave it to the salesperson, who wrapped up the items and handed them over.
"Yay! Thanks, Daddy." Severa skipped out of the shop, presumably on to the next shop, while Morgan stayed with her parents as they walked out the door.
"Father, was that really expensive? If it was, you know, I don't need all the stuff we just got.." Amadeus smiled at his daughter's worried expression.
"No, it's alright, Morgan. If you like it, and I can get it for you, there's no reason not to. Just..you know. Keep it within reason."
"Alright then, father."
They'd reached the inn that they were to spend the night at, the Running Spirits Inn. Amadeus put down the bags from shopping, and went to the counter to get their rooms. He reserved two rooms; one for him and Cordelia, and one for Morgan and Severa. He went back to his family to hand out the keys.
"So..one of us is staying with Mother, and one of us stays with Father?" Morgan said as she realized there were two keys.
"Um…" Amadeus was in a bit of bind.
"Actually, your father and I wanted the two of you to spend some time together, without us annoying adults, and we figured you guys would like your own room!" Cordelia stepped in.
"Um..okay." Severa looked suspiciously at her father, before taking the key. "Oh well. C'mon, Morgan, let's go! We can try on and look at all the stuff we bought today! Maybe we can even wear them out tonight. The men will be staring at us!" The two ran off towards the stairs, bringing their items with them.
"Thanks for that." Amadeus smiled at his girlfriend.
"Oh, no problem. A separate room, huh?" She gave him a suggestive look, before breaking out in a laugh.
"Well, I thought it might be nice. I'm sure we could still split up the kids, you know." She shook her head at that.
"I was just joking. I'd love to spend the night together in a real room, and not a tent for once." He smiled, and they moved their belongings up the staircase.
When they reached the room, the two quickly decided it was much better than living in a tent. For one, there was a real bed, and it offered much more space than the cots that they'd been sleeping on. There was a small cocktail table with two chairs around it, and a fireplace and washroom. Cordelia looked around, before putting her hands around Amadeus' neck.
"Amy, it's great. I love it." She kissed him gently, and he turned to face her and return the kiss.
Of course, Morgan chose that time to barge into the room.
"Father! Mother! I-" She paused and stared in shock at what her parents were doing. "ACK! Um..I'll come back later?" And she ran off out the doorway. Amadeus sighed.
"Maybe we should lock the door...anyways, let's get the girls for dinner?" They walked down the corridor to their daughters' room and entered the room.
The room's layout was pretty much the same, except that the clothes and things they'd bought were strewn all over the room.
"Morgan, Severa, do you guys want to get dinner in a bit? It's getting late, and I'm sure you're hungry!"
"No, Daddy, it's okay! We're going to go eat with Lucina and some of the other kids."
The parents glanced at each other. They'd expected to have a family dinner that night.
"But honey, we want to spend time with you! We have so much we still can talk about!"
"But Mother, you and Father need to spend some quality time together! You two haven't been together very long, and apparently you guys haven't even had a date yet, so we'll leave you two to go out tonight. We'll see you later! Bye!"
Morgan quickly hugged her parents, as did Severa, and the two sprinted out the door.
"Er...well. Shall we get ready for dinner, then?" He offered his arm to Cordelia, who took it and followed him out.
Amadeus and Cordelia headed back to their room to get ready for dinner. Amadeus looked through his few belongings, trying to find something that looked at least nicer than his normal traveling cloak, or his battle armor. He managed to find something presentable. He wore the plain white button down shirt, with a midnight blue vest over it, and a pair of black trousers. He couldn't recall ever actually wearing them, nor could he recall where they came from, but for the night, they would work. He looked at himself in a mirror.
Hm..maybe I should get Severa to help me with some more..presentable clothing. Still, it's not THAT bad.
"Amy? Er..can you tell me how I look?" He heard Cordelia's voice from the washroom, and hurried over. "Well, what do you think?" She opened the door and came out, and Amadeus had to catch himself, lest his jaw drop down to the floor.
"You look...amazing," was all Amadeus could say. She wore a long, plain ash grey dress that was elegantly simple, and which hugged her body, emphasizing her figure. The skirt went down almost to her ankles, and the neckline was relatively conservative, almost as if teasing Amadeus. She also wore red shoes that complimented her hair.
"Do I? Really? You don't notice anything...well..different from normal?" She seemed nervous about something, but Amadeus couldn't pinpoint it.
"Well, I've only ever seen you in your armor really, but other than the fact that you're wearing different clothes, no?" He squinted, trying to see what he was missing.
"Do you notice anything...well, size-wise? Er...small? Smaller?" Still he squinted.
"Smaller? Um, no...oh! OH! So that's why you never take off your armor?" He was almost laughing, until she gave him a light punch to the arm that still hurt quite a bit.
"Yes..I don't know, it's just that it's a pretty serious flaw, you know?" She looked hurt that Amadeus was still giggling to himself.
"Cordelia, I couldn't care less about that! And anyways, I think they're fine; you look beautiful regardless."
"Really?"
"Really. Now come on, before all the good seats are taken!" Cordelia took his hand, and he pulled her out the door and down the stairs before she could protest what he'd said.
"By the way, Amy, where'd you get your outfit? Honestly, I've only seen you in that grubby old cape and your armor."
"Ha ha. That cape's not grubby, by the way. I can't tell you where I got them..but I found them in my trunk earlier. Probably sometime after the Plegian War, though; Chrom probably gave them to me so I could look 'presentable' and that I'd have something to wear other than my, as you say, grubby old cape. But how does it look?" He found himself more curious as to what her opinion was than he thought he would be.
"You look absolutely charming. Handsome." She ran her hands over the shirt and vest that he wore, and he shivered in pleasure at her touch.
The inn's diner was quite pleasant; however, since all the Shepherds were staying in town, Amadeus knew that there was more than a good chance of running into some good-natured teasing on the way. When the waitress came to take them to their seats, he asked if they could have a more private seat, away from the main crowd. The restaurant was well laid out, with enough space between tables that adjacent conversations wouldn't be too distracting. There was also a band at the center of the restaurant, and a small dance floor. Amadeus assumed that it would fill up later, once everyone had finished their meals, when he suddenly remembered with a jolt that he couldn't dance.
Uh oh. Let's..hope it's easy to pick up.
Their seat ended up being along the windows, with a perfect view outside. The waitress gave them their menus, told them she'd be back to take their orders, and then left.
"Let's hope we don't run into anyone. I'd like this evening to be just us, you know? We haven't really had enough of that time yet." Amadeus looked across the table. He just couldn't take his eyes off her; she was just so stunningly beautiful. She caught him staring and blushed, quickly trying to change the subject.
"What shall we eat? They have quite the menu." The couple perused the menu thoroughly, before making their decisions just as the waitress returned.
"Hello, and welcome to the Running Spirits Inn. What can I get you today?"
"I'll have the bear fillet, and she'll have the red herring." The waitress nodded and collected their menus, leaving them alone once more.
"So..Cordelia, I've been meaning to ask; why haven't you told me more about your family?" Amadeus had been curious for quite some time; especially since he had no recollection of a family, he was quite curious as to how the dynamics of one worked, and in light of recent events, thought it would be good to know. It was also quite difficult to find books about families in the library.
"Oh, well, I didn't want to say anything insensitive, because you don't remember your family. But if you want to know, then I can tell you." Amadeus nodded, and she went on.
"I've lived in Ylisstol my entire life. My dad was actually a very important person to the previous Exalt, Chrom's father, but after he waged the first war with Plegia, he didn't really want to stay involved because he was against it. My mother was one of the pegasus knights of old before; she retired after she had me, I guess because she wanted to take care of me. They still live in Ylisstol, and they're both healthy and happy now. Maybe when we get back I can introduce you to them? I've mentioned you in the last couple letters, you know. I'm sure they'd like to meet you."
"Of course. I can hardly wait already." He paused, and she held her hands out across the table for him to take. They sat there in a comfortable silence, each gazing at the other and enjoying the rare quiet moment together until their food came.
They took their time with their meals; having gotten used to rations consisting of dried meat, they both felt that this was the best meal they'd had by far. They took turns sampling each other's food, and generally had a great time. Looking around, it seemed that almost every couple within the Shepherds was there in the restaurant. Amadeus found Chrom and Sumia, Stahl and Maribelle, Frederick and Cherche, and Gaius and Nowi. When they'd finished, Amadeus could tell that Cordelia was eyeing the dance floor. However, he was loathe to admit that he didn't know how to dance, and even more loathe to show it in front of all their friends in the restaurant. An idea started forming in his head.
He hurriedly paid for the meal, and led Cordelia outside the building. Since most people had finished their dinner and were staying inside to either listen to the band or dance with their loved ones, the road outside was mostly empty save for the odd straggler. The soft moonlight shone on them, and he found himself staring at her for what must have been the hundredth time.
"Cordelia..you're probably wondering why I dragged you out here, right?" Without waiting for an answer, he took her hand. "Well...I don't know how to dance..and I was hoping you'd teach me." She laughed at his meekness.
"Well, it's not too difficult…" She took his left hand in hers, and put his right hand around her waist before putting her right arm on his shoulder. "This song is in triple time; do you know what that means?"
"No?"
"Well, it means there's three beats per measure. And so...first I'll teach you the waltz, which is what we dance to songs in triple time." She led him with her steps, and he followed. Step, follow, step, follow.
As Amadeus began picking up the steps and feeling more fluid, he decided to improvise a bit; as she moved away, he took his hand off her waist and let Cordelia go into a spin, catching her at just the right moment. Cordelia looked breathless at this, and he grinned at his sheer audacity in trying such a move with such little experience. Their eyes met, and all he could see in her eyes was love, love for him and only him. He pulled her back upwards into a tight embrace, and they kissed.
The moon watched from above, a gentle smile formed by the crescent and two bright stars above it as she watched a young couple reaffirm their love.
Phew! This was actually pretty tough to write, hence the longer delay between chapters. I wasn't too sure how I really wanted to depict Severa and Morgan, so hopefully you guys will all be satisfied with this. Also, I hope I portrayed the initial awkwardness right; can you imagine what it'd be like to meet your daughter from the future? Keep in mind that Cordelia is the mother, yet they've only been dating for a few weeks. So, yea, I wanted to try to make it a bit awkward, especially at first.
I liked how they warmed up to each other so quickly though. We can see that Amadeus is going to be the kind of father who spoils his little girls..and even though they aren't little, to his and Cordelia's eyes, they're always going to be their children, which means that they'll always do anything they can to make them smile. Another interesting thing I noted while writing this was that Severa and Morgan turned out to be much more mature than I thought I would make them (probably more so in Severa's case). Severa is only snarky because she's scared of letting people get too close, and having them torn away; that's why the promise that she makes when initially meeting her parents is so important.
Lastly, the final scene is almost straight out of my first date experience. I remember having to tell my date that I had no idea how to dance whatsoever..like anything at all, be it classical dance or modern dance (thankfully, we didn't do modern dance). My date actually taught me on the spot, so I didn't have the privacy of the darkness to learn, I had to mess up in front of everyone. I decided to spare Amadeus this embarrassment, and I also felt like it was a good romantic opportunity; who wouldn't want to dance in the moonlight with the love of their life?
Anyways, hope you guys enjoyed it! Next chapter they'll slowly continue their way back home to Ylisstol from Valm, and Severa may have something to question her dad about!
OOPS! I FORGOT TO REPLY TO REVIEWS. Anyways, here we go.
Flipnhaole: heh, yes, I can only imagine what it'd be like if a guy had to go through that in real life :)
Patient 0 Zero: thank you so much! it really means a lot to get compliments like that from you guys. after all, the point is for you guys to enjoy the story, so I'm glad that I've been able to do that so far! The thing about Walhart reflecting it, I think I meant it to just be reflected back towards its source. sorry for any confusion there.
Jozern: hopefully you've seen in this chapter that I tried to spice it up in terms of details! i've been trying to keep what you told me in mind when I write.
Astrofur: thanks so much for your compliments as well! I'm glad that you've stayed with the story and are planning to; hopefully, this chapter brings a lot of the fluff that you mentioned, and I hope you enjoy it lots! I'm also keeping your suggestion in mind; don't worry, it should pop up in a couple chapters or so. :)
THANKS GUYS! Enjoy :)