The serenity of the forest was temporarily broken by an arrow piercing through the air. Unfortunately, its trajectory was off and it ended up hitting the wrong tree. Lucina retrieved the arrow and examined it. It was almost perfectly straight, so that was not the problem. She would have to find something to use as fletching.
However, she lacked the means to actually snare any birds, so she was reduced to hunting for any feathers that may have fallen to the ground. She had accumulated a total of fifteen when she was startled by Robin's approach.
"What are you doing?" he asked while she was scouring the ground in search of the precious feathers.
She looked up with the feathers carefully in her grasp, "I was collecting feathers to use as fletching."
"Fletching?"
"Yes, they are the feathers on the ends of arrows that are used to aid the accuracy of the projectile."
"So how many do you have?"
"Fifteen," she held them out for him to see.
"And how many arrows can you make with that?"
"Depending on the style, I can make either five or three with some left over."
"Not bad, but I'm afraid that it will have to wait," Lucina looked at him waiting for an explanation, "Mother wants to speak with you."
"What about?" Was she being forced to leave? Had she done something wrong?
"I don't know, but I can keep looking for feathers while you're gone," Robin offered in an attempt to ease her worries.
She quietly nodded while she handed him her current collection. She quickly made her way back the house and entered with no small amount uncertainty about what lay ahead. She hoped that this would not be bad news.
"You wished to see me," she greeted respectfully upon entering the house.
"Yes," she dusted off her hands, "Is Robin with you?"
"No ma'am, he is searching for fletching feathers in my stead."
"Good," she said as she took a seat at the table and indicated that Lucina should take a seat across from her which she did. "Robin's birthday is coming up, and I was hoping to surprise him. Of course, surprising him can be…difficult, and I was hoping to recruit your assistance in the matter."
So that was what this was about? A birthday surprise for Robin.
"Certainly," Lucina quickly agreed. Even if she did not feel indebted to these people, she would have wanted to do something nice for Robin anyway, "What do you require of me."
"I want to surprise him with one of his favorite desserts, but I need you to go get the supplies. Don't worry, I'll make sure that he stays busy if he comes back early. I'll need you to distract him when I make it though."
"When is his birthday?" In all of their conversations, she could not recall him mentioning it.
"His birthday is not for another two weeks, but he would expect something around then. So I decided to celebrate a little early."
She supposed that made sense. Even though he had yet to be refined by years of experience, Robin was quite smart and observant. He was so much so that she doubted if he would not figure it out anyway.
But she decided that she would at the very least try, "Very well, I shall return swiftly," Robin's mother passed on a list of ingredients, and Lucina was on her way.
With Robin's birthday approaching, she wondered if she should get him something herself. Unfortunately, Robin's mother had yet to secure her work so she was without any funds of her own. Perhaps she could try making him something. The question was: what?
She supposed that she had two weeks to think about it, but she would rather not wait too long. He deserved something nice after everything he had done for her since she came back. He had put up with her…inexperience with cultural matters, and had showed concern for her wellbeing on multiple occasions. That was not to say that no one had shown concern for her safety or wellbeing before-she was a princess after all-but he just seemed so genuine in his efforts that she just could not help but want to repay him tenfold. His surprisingly toned features and pleasant demeanor did not hurt her…appreciation either. The coat he was so famous for in the future certainly hid more than weapons.
Lucina blushed hard as she realized what she was thinking. Thoughts like those were getting more and more frequent and yet even harder to quell. If things continued at this rate…she was not sure what she would do. One thing she did know was that she could not afford to fail in her mission, and to do that, Robin was needed to defeat Plegia and then Valm to insure both her father and Ylisse's safety. If she were to change that, then nothing was guaranteed.
She did not even know why Robin left to join the military in the first place. For all she knew that had already been changed. That was one reason that she was able to rationalize staying. If it was already changed, then perhaps she could make certain that he still joined if she was here to do so. However, if worst came to worst, she may have to tell him at least part of her story to ensure his cooperation, but she was not certain how he might react and that kind of pressure may taint his results as a tactician as well as place an incredible burden on the young man.
That was still over two and a half years away though, and the answers to her problems may become more apparent as the time for action approached. In the meantime, she would just have to keep a low profile and avoid meeting any other Shepherds.
This was no time to be thinking of that, however; she had supplies to buy. They were not all that difficult to come by fortunately, and she was finished quickly. She was curious as to what was this dessert that Robin loved so much?
A/N: Phew, maybe I should slow down a bit. In any case, after voting for Morgan (female [obviously]), I kind of want to use her in something, but most of anything I have would be child Morgan, not teenage Morgan…oh well.
Also, does this feel like a natural progression?
