Chapter 12 – Mutual Epiphany

The day—or rather, the night—had come and as another stroke of luck, the army camped fairly close to the cliffs the book postulated may have Naga's bells. The camp was over an hour away from them by foot. Morgan did not think to tell anyone he would be traveling there, figuring that he would be back before anyone noticed.

The full moon was high in the night sky as he reached the top of the cliffs from the more gradual side. Thankfully, the moonlight was bright enough for Morgan to make out details. He saw no plants out of the ordinary, but Naga's bells did supposedly grow on dangerous, craggy terrain, so finding them there would probably have been too easy. Morgan then peered down the sheer side of the rocky outcropping. At first he only saw stones and narrow ledges. As he kept watching, though, he noticed a faint glow. There were some stalks that evaded his notice before. As the moon rose further one of the buds opened up all of a sudden. Morgan's breath hitched once the plant fully blossomed. Even at the odd angle and how far down it was, he could see that a whitish-green glow, brighter than before, came off of the flower's down-turned cup-shaped petals. Surely that had to be a Naga's bell!

While the cliff side looked steep, Morgan was able to make out large stones and other potential handholds that he could use to get to the flower. He momentarily wished he had brought some rope, though he realized there wasn't any place at the top of the cliff he could tie it around. With that thought, the blue-haired boy began his very deliberate descents down the cliff side. Slowly and carefully he felt out the handhold and climbed closer to the flower. He surprised himself by being a better climber than he would have thought, but he still sometimes slid down, causing his hands and wrists to be scraped by the stones. Climbing down backwards and the difficulty of seeing where he was going was also a bit nerve-wracking.

In the back of Morgan's mind, he said to himself, I should have thought this through better. He could have brought a rope and maybe a tent spike to anchor it down. He could have started learning how to ride a wyvern or griffin and use the excuse that he was practicing in order to get the Naga's bell more easily. Heck, he could have just told Nah to begin with so they could both go get the flower. After all, she could fly in dragon form.

But no; he got himself into this, so he had to get through this. He just had to surprise Nah. He had to bring her a Naga's bell when she least suspected it. She would be so impressed and so moved. He wanted her prayer to be answered. He wanted to make her happy because he loved her.

The unbidden thoughts energized him more, even as he continued to scrape his hands and arms. That was why she was so special to him. That was what he couldn't put his finger on before. That was what made him determined to do this for her, even if many people would call it crazy. Morgan never thought about that kind of love before. Romantic love was just not something he considered for himself, even as he saw his peers in the army and his sister, fall in love. Despite his inexperience, he finally realized why his feelings for Nah were so strong.

At last, he climbed down far enough to be able to reach for the delicate-looking flower. It did indeed resemble the artist's rendition in the book Mirage Flora. Not only that, but it gave off a faint light, and it was not just reflected moonlight. There was no doubt in his mind that that it was a Naga's bell. He carefully picked the blossom and placed it in a side pocket so he could avoid crushing it.

Time to head back, Morgan thought with a relieved sigh. He still had to climb back up and walk a long way, but the worst of it was over, or so he thought. As he ascended, he grasped onto a protruding stone and felt it come out of the cliff wall. Morgan scrambled madly to try and regain his holding, but he only succeeded in completely losing his grip and plummeting down backwards with a loud scream.

Despite the sheer panic he felt, Morgan quickly took out a tome from one of his coat pockets. He casted the spell faster than he ever had before, then pointed his hand towards the cliff side and launched a gust of Elwind. This threw him back horizontally and carried him to a nearby wooded area. He then aimed two more gusts at the ground, one to halt his rapid descent and the second to send him sailing in an arc into the branches of one of the trees. The boy managed to hurl himself faster than he would have liked, which caused him to crash awkwardly and painfully into the treetop.

"Ow, ouch," Morgan muttered as he lay sprawled out on a large branch. He took several minutes to regain his bearings and sit up, still smarting from the awkward way he landed. The prince was somehow alive, and he could hardly believe what he just did to save himself.

I've heard that wind spells can be used to get to higher places or to save yourself while falling. I never thought I would get a chance to do it, and not like this! At least I made it, and the Naga's bell—

Morgan panicked again as he reached into the pocket he placed the flower in before. He gasped when he felt that there was no plant in it. He then glanced around the branches before he thought to check the ground. There he could see a bell-shaped flower that glowed faintly. Despite his aches, he climbed down the tree as fast as he could. He breathed another sigh of relief upon seeing that the Naga's bell had not been broken or wilted despite being thrown violently. He could still give it to Nah so that Naga would answer her prayer!

Now I can finally head back. Here's hoping nothing else happens along the way, he thought to himself.

It was a little past midnight when Morgan neared the Ylissean army camp. The grounds were mostly quiet, but he did hear a familiar masculine voice shout, "Morgan! Where are you?"

"Father?" Morgan said before he jogged towards the source of the voice. Sure enough, he found Chrom searching the outskirts of the war camp. The blue-haired man exclaimed, "there you are!" when he spotted the boy.

"H-hello father," Morgan greeted hesitantly as he approached him.

"'Hello'? Morgan, do you have any idea what time it is? Where have you been?" Chrom chastised, looking and sounding exasperated. Morgan had never seen his father this upset with him before. He knew it was anger born of worry, but it made the boy a little nervous.

"I'm sorry, father. I didn't think I would be gone for this long."

"Didn't think you would be gone for this long?" Chrom echoed angrily, "Morgan, it's the middle of the night and you didn't tell anyone where you went. You had me, your mother, and sister worried sick! We were about to start a search party to go look for you!"

Morgan lowered his head and said softly, "I'm sorry, really I am. I didn't mean to make you all worry."

"Of course you didn't mean it, but that doesn't change the fact that you disappeared for hours without a word to anyone." Chrom then took a better look at the deep scratches and scrapes on Morgan's face and continued, "And look, you're hurt! Just what were you doing?"

If Morgan were someone else, he would have found it funny, maybe even a little insulting, that someone who only recently became a father would scold him like that. Being who he was, though, Morgan felt guilty about making his family worry. Even so, he wanted to justify his reasons to his father.

"I know I should have said something. I just … I had to try and get Nah's flower!"

Chrom blinked, "Flower?"

"It's called a Naga's bell," Morgan explained as he took the plant out from his coat pocket. Chrom's facial expression softened a little upon seeing the faintly glowing flower, "I wanted to surprise Nah with it."

His father's grimaced again as he said, "It is beautiful, but was it really worth running off somewhere and getting hurt?"

"It wasn't just because it's a really pretty flower! Naga's bells are very rare and they only grow in a few places. Nah needs to offer this flower to Naga so that she can answer her prayer."

Chrom did not respond. He looked thoughtful but still his face was still stern. Morgan continued to expound.

"I could have told her where I thought the flower was and we could have gone together, but … I couldn't be sure Naga's bells did grow on that cliff without going there first. I didn't want Nah to be disappointed if they weren't there and …. I wanted to make her happy if they were."

"And making Nah happy was worth it?" Chrom asked simply.

Morgan picked his head back up and said excitedly, "Of course!" With everything we've been through and everything she's been through, I thought it would really help her. Everyone is unique but Nah … she's very special. I really like spending time with her. She's very smart, insightful, strong, and amazing! I thought that the least I could do was to make her wish come true and bring her the Naga's bell."

"You really care for Nah, don't you?" Chrom asked in a kindly voice.

Morgan nodded and said, "Yes … She's very important to me. Father, I … I think I love her."

His father smiled knowingly and said, "You only think you do?"

"I mean, I do, I do! I just … well, I've never been in love before. Not that I can remember, anyway. It's not something I ever really expected. You're married to mother; wouldn't you know more about being in love than me?"

The older blue-haired prince chuckled and patted his son's head, "If only it were that simple. I was hopeless when I fell in love with your mother. It took me a long time to realize I had fallen for her, even though I feel that I have loved her from the moment we met."

"Yeah … I'm not sure if it was the exact first moment I met Nah, but I feel like I've really liked her, loved her, ever since we started to become friends. It just took me this long to see it."

The tactician-in-training did not embarrass easily, but he could feel his cheeks flush. He had only come to this epiphany earlier that night and he was already confiding in his father about his crush on Nah. Along with his embarrassment, though, he also felt the relief that came with talking to someone.

"Hey Dad," Morgan asked, "does love always make you do crazy things like this?"

"Maybe not always, but it does feel that way at time," he replied with a chuckle, "Although I, and I'm sure your mother and Lucina, would appreciate it if love doesn't make you disappear like that again.

"Heh, I'll be sure to tell you if I need to leave for that long. Oh, and Dad?"

"Yes?"

"What should I do now, after I give her the flower, I mean? Should I tell Nah that I love her? Or should I wait a little longer? I don't know if she feels the same way." And I don't how I'd feel if she doesn't, Morgan thought dolefully. He didn't usually dwell on uncertainties, but he just couldn't think to himself "I'm sure Nah loves me back!" What if she didn't care about him in that way? What if this complicated their friendship?

"Oh gods, don't ask me about that. I mortified myself confessing to your mother, and that was only after she cornered me when I started avoiding her. But you know what? Even if it's embarrassing and you both feel awkward about it afterwards, it's better to tell her. It's just going to get really strained between the two of you if you keep your feelings to yourself."

Morgan nodded and said, "I understand. So … you're not mad at me anymore, then?"

"Oh I am. But I think you'll hear enough from your mother and Lucina. We do need to let them know you're back safe."

"Oh yeah ..." the younger prince trailed off hesitantly.

His father put his arm around his shoulder and said, "Come on, let's go look for them."

AN: And more coincidences line up so that the adorkable prince can obtain the flower of legend for the girl his is smitten with. Eh, if a pseudo dragon-god is playing matchmaker, then her nudging Morgan to the right place to find a Naga's bell is probably not that difficult. I rather like how this chapter came out, but of course, you all can tell me if you agree or not. I'll try to get the next chapter up in no later than a month from now.

On a randomish note, I recently found out that Nah (as well as Sumia) is voiced by Eden Riegel ("Danielle Judovits" is a pseudonym). Ms. Riegel also voiced Ren from the Wii game Fragile Dreams: Farewell Ruins of the Moon. While unfortunately, Morgan and Seto (Fragile Dreams's main character) don't share a VA, I now have an adorable mental image of Nah and Morgan dressed as Ren and Seto. I've grown out of my "this calls for a mash-up AU fanfic!" days, but I may have to commission someone to draw that for me.