Chapter 12

The two spent the rest of the afternoon zooming around the camp, pranking the other shepherds whenever they saw an opportunity. They were most proud of switching Maribelle's sugar for salt for her to use in her tea. However, just as they were walking away from the Troubadour's tent, they spotted the woman in question walking towards them.

"Ah, My dear Lissa! I was just looking for you! How would you and your dear husband like to come into my tent for some afternoon tea?"

Nathan exchanged frantic looks with Lissa, who replied, "Er…thanks 'Belle, but we're on our way to, uh…"

Nathan cut in. "Well, I was on my way to write up some new march plans, and Lissa was coming with me to, um…"

"To go take a nap! I'm really tired…" Lissa finished, adding a fake yawn.

Maribelle stared the two down with a skeptic look. She then let out a long sigh. "Ah…well, I suppose this afternoon's tea will just be between Lon'qu and I…" Nathan and Lissa looked over as the Assassin walked up behind Maribelle, giving Nathan a curt nod.

"Joining us for tea?" The man asked. Nathan shook his head.

"Sorry, but we've got some things to get done. Another time."

Lon'qu nodded, before putting his arm around Maribelle. The two walked to their tent, with Nathan and Lissa heading the other way. As they passed each other, Nathan quickly tapped Lon'qu on the shoulder. Once he was past them, the swordsman turned his head around, to see Nathan frantically mouthing, "Don't drink the tea!"

As Lon'qu and Maribelle walked off into their tent, Nathan turned to Lissa. "A nap? Really?" He chuckled.

The princess rolled her eyes. "Hey, it worked, didn't it?"

Nathan shrugged, before looking back at Maribelle's tent. "Should we stay and wait for the fireworks, or…?"

Lissa laughed. "Not if you don't want to get whacked in the head by Maribelle's parasol again."

The tactician smiled and nodded. "I think we'll be leaving, then."

Not long after, Nathan and Lissa were hanging around the makeshift sparring area, located just outside of the camp. The tactician was just putting the finishing touches on an invisible barrier spell he had learned from Ricken on the archery targets that were set up (They had spotted Virion on his way a few moments earlier) when he spotted Chrom nearby, dueling with Vaike. He turned to Lissa, who was standing next to him.

"What about Chrom? I mean, other than the 'prank' from Frederick, I think it would be rude to not do something for him now…" The tactician joked. Lissa grinned mischievously.

"We're gonna go with a classic on this one, I think…" The princess declared. "You get him over here, I'll handle the rest."

Nathan nodded to the princess as she walked off to hide behind a nearby bush. He stood for a moment before walking slightly closer to Chrom and Vaike and calling out to the Exalt, waving at him as he pulled one of his strategy books out from his tactician's robes.

Chrom saw this, quickly waving down Vaike (Despite the warrior's protests) and walking over to the man. Past experience had told him that whenever Nathan waved him down with one of his strategy books, it was some sort of question about a battle tactic or route planned for an upcoming march, something that would be best addressed right away.

However, Chrom failed to notice his younger sister running up behind him as she jumped out from behind a bush, but he most certainly did notice when she opened the back of his shirt, and, in a swift motion of her hands and the tome she carried, summoned up a frog and dumped it down the back of her brother's armour.

Nathan cried out in laughter as Lissa dashed off, Chrom not far behind, trying to arch his back and get the frog out while also chasing his sister, angrily yelling at her, "LISSA, GODS DAMN IT!"

The tactician wiped a tear from his face, still trying to contain his laughter. He looked up to see a familiar figure standing nearby who also looked very out of place. He walked towards the woman, raising an eyebrow at her.

"What brings you around here, 'Marth'?" Nathan inquired, staring at the blue-haired girl. The woman had helped the shepherds in a few different situations in the first war, and the tactician was curious as to why she was back.

She turned to the man, smiling. "Oh, hi, Nathan…" She replied.

The tactician rubbed his chin, still confused. "Yes, hello," He replied. "So, uh…when did you get here? Here to tell us about another horrible event that is about to happen?"

The girl shook her head. "What do you mean? Didn't father tell you about what happened last night?"

"Father?"

'Marth' laughed, shaking her head. "I guess not, then. I'll fill you in."

Nathan shrugged, folding his arms skeptically. "Go ahead."

The Lord nodded. "First of all, I'm Chrom's daughter. And my real name is Lucina."

Nathan stood in shock for a moment, staring at the girl. "As in Chrom. As in the Chrom, the Exalt, the one who has just one kid, who isn't even a year old yet? Named Lucina? That one?"

Lucina nodded. "That would be me. W-well actually, that isn't me, that's me from your world…I'm from the future. An alternate future, where history takes a most dark and destructive turn…"

Nathan raised an eyebrow as he stared at her, before making eye contact and noticing the brand of the Exalt in the girl's eye. "Alright, I can buy that." The man replied. "That's a nice brand you have there."

Lucina laughed. "In the exact same spot as the Lucina from your timeline," She added. "I came back here with others from my world, but we were separated. I figured I should tell you this in case we happen to run into them, it would make for a much easier explanation."

The tactician smiled. "Thank you, Lucina, that really is helpful. Also, welcome to the Shepherds, if you haven't been told that enough already. We're pleased to have you on board."

The girl smiled back. "I have to go find father, so we'll talk more another time. From what I was told about you, I think you'll want to know much more about me and my future."

Nathan walked with her, knowing that wherever Chrom was, Lissa would be as well. "What you were told of me? What happened to the me in your timeline?" He inquired.

"You died." Lucina replied. Nathan's eyes widened as he turned to the girl. "I'm sorry, what?"

Lucina nodded grimly. "In my timeline, the original shepherds have died. Only myself and very few others remain alive."

Nathan scratched his head. "Everyone? Does that include-"

"My parents, yes. Chrom was one of the first people killed."

Nathan cursed loudly. "Wow. What happened?"

Lucina shivered, remembering her own dark future past. "In my world, the fell dragon, Grima, was resurrected, after my Father was killed by one of his best friends."

Nathan shivered too, remembering his dream. The information Lucina was giving him was helping him piece things together, but he decided to keep it to himself. The others knowing of what he had seen would just cause panic, and confusion. Nothing good would come of it. "Damn. But you came back here? How?"

"The divine Dragon, Naga, used her powers to send us back in time and prevent this future from ever occurring." Lucina replied. Nathan nodded, before looking up to see Chrom having Lissa pinned on the ground, tickling her.

"How about we continue our conversation another time, I still have more questions for you." Nathan told Lucina. The daughter of Chrom and Sumia smiled, nodding in agreement.

As Lucina and Nathan walked up to Chrom and Lissa, Chrom stopped tickling his little sister and the two got up.

"Ah, Lucina." The great lord greeted. "I trust you introduced yourself to Nathan?"

The girl nodded. "I did, father." She clutched at her blade in its hilt eagerly. "Now then, shall we go spar?"

Chrom smiled. "In a minute." He then turned to Nathan. "Back up to the pranks now, are we?"

The tactician feigned an innocent look. "Whoa, I didn't do anything, I just waved you over! Lissa did all the work." The princess nodded in agreement, sticking her tongue out at Chrom as she walked to stand next to Nathan.

"We'll find you at supper, okay?" Nathan told the Exalt, who nodded. He and Lucina then walked back off to go spar, leaving Nathan and Lissa standing alone in the camp.

The tactician turned to Lissa. "So, when were you planning on telling me about Chrom's daughter from the future? Because that seems like it was something I should have known about…"

The princess laughed. "Oh, right, that…I guess I got carried away with everything else!"

Nathan grinned sheepishly. A relaxed Lissa was something he hadn't seen in quite some time, and it was very nice. The day was helping him relax, but he could also tell that it was working wonders for his wife as well.

"Want to go get something to eat?" The princess inquired, taking Nathan's hand and smiling warmly at him. He grinned back, nodding.

"Sure. Then we'll go find Freddy, he must be nearly done with what he's planning…"

At the mess hall, Nathan spotted Ricken and Panne eating their rations. The two smiled warmly as Nathan and Lissa took a seat with them. Ricken looked over to Nathan, raising an eyebrow.

"You wouldn't happen to know what's going on with Frederick, would you?" He asked the tactician.

Nathan grinned sheepishly. "Well, I know he's doing something…why?"

"Well, he came and found me earlier today, and got me to do a copying spell on this portrait Libra had painted for him. He wouldn't let me see it either. Said something about Chrom and it being a surprise for the entire army. Libra didn't say anything to me either, but his face went really red when I asked him about it…"

Nathan shrugged. "Beats me." He replied. "Suppose we'll find out soon, won't we?"

The others nodded in agreement. They then chatted for a bit about spells, and Ricken and Panne gave a detailed recount of the previous night's battle. Nathan made a side note to talk to this 'Henry', a dark mage who was apparently recruited in the previous night's fight.

"So, did you hear about Lucina?" Ricken asked, taking another sip from his mug. Nathan nodded.

"I met her, when Lissa was off running around with Chrom after dumping a frog down his armour." Nathan replied. "She told me about everything."

Panne then spoke up. "Do you suppose this means…if she came back from her future, perhaps our own children came back with her?"

Nathan pondered the thought for a moment before speaking. "I…suppose that's likely, actually. They would no doubt be close to her, considering how close the original shepherds were…or are, in our timeline, as a unit…"

Ricken smiled. "Huh! Well I guess then we'll get to meet the all grown up version of Yarne, not just the baby bunny one that's sitting at home!"

"And that would mean we'll get to meet big Owain? That's gonna be weird…" Lissa mused. Nathan nodded in agreement.

"Of course, this is all in theory," Ricken declared, "We won't really know if our kids came back to this timeline too, until we find them, if they're even out there…by the gods, this time travel stuff is confusing!"

Nathan laughed. "Yeah, sounds about right." He then turned to Lissa. "I think we should head out, go look for Freddy."

Lissa smiled. "All right, sounds good!" The two then bid farewell to Ricken and Panne, heading out of the mess tent. The sun had already gone down, and Torches lit the campground. After a quick survey of the surrounding area, Nathan spotted Frederick running about nearby, carrying a stack of papers with him.

"Uh, hey Freddy!" Nathan called. "What are you up to?"

The great knight turned, seeing the man and the princess. "Oh, Milord and Milady! Just the two I wished to see!" He cried, shuffling towards them carefully, trying not to drop any of the papers from his stack.

"I figured the two of you should be the first to see my motivational tool I decided upon for the shepherds!" Frederick proclaimed. "I'm putting these posters up around the camp."

Nathan turned to Lissa. "I guess that's what Ricken's copying spell was for," He whispered to her. He then turned back to the Great Knight. "So, what are the posters of?"

"I'm glad you asked, Grandmaster!" Frederick replied. "As you recommended, it is Milord Chrom, of course. He is in a bold pose, holding only a scale and Falchion. Another knight of great stature told me that a nude pose is one that is the most eye grabbing, so I had Libra paint the portrait of Chrom completely nude! And, of course, for added motivation, at the bottom of the poster is the phrase, "Chrom wants you!"

It took everything in Nathan to keep a straight face. "Er…great! Should be great for the shepherds! Do you mind if I take a copy?"

Frederick's eyes lit up. "Of course, Milord!" He replied gleefully, handing a poster to Nathan. "Now then, I've got quite a job to do! Every shepherd needs a copy of this poster on their tent! I bid thee good day!"

After Frederick left, Nathan folded up the poster of a naked Chrom, putting it in his pocket. Lissa raised an eyebrow at him.

"And you took that…why?"

The tactician laughed. "Just in case I need it, for blackmail. It doesn't hurt to be three steps ahead."

Lissa giggled, playfully punching her husband's shoulder. "Alright, as long as I don't see you looking at that poster in the middle of the night there, mister!" She teased. The two laughed the entire walk back to their tent, spotting posters of Chrom all over the camp.