Outtake Twenty-Six: Hot Springs - Little One
Game: Awakening
Spoilers: End of game
Summary: Nykolai, newly returned to the world of the living, reunites with his wife, and gets a surprise along the way.
Note: So yeah, here it is, part two of the Hot Springs. If you recall in Outtake Sixteen, where I first introduced Nyk, I made mention of Lucian slapping him when she first sees that he's back. Let's see how hard she hits him, shall we?
Enjoy!
Ylisstol and the Palace of Ylisse stood tall and proud, even to the Shepherds who were still some distance away from the city. Chrom, riding at the forefront of the column, reined his horse in to admire Ylisstol. "Almost home," he said with relief.
Nykolai, riding beside him, sighed in agreement. "Thank the gods," he said, shifting in the saddle. "I was never much of a rider. The sooner I get off this horse, the better."
"It's not so bad."
"Yeah, it kind of is."
Chrom shook his head and laughed. "Let's go." The Shepherds moved off, keeping a steady trot until they reached the royal stables, just outside the palace. The majority of the Shepherds disbanded to head home, while the exalt leaped lightly down from the saddle and watched with amusement as his friend attempted the same feat. Nykolai dropped clumsily to the ground, lost his balance, and toppled right into Frederick. The stoic knight grabbed the smaller man's shoulders, preventing him from falling to the ground. "Sorry!" the klutz said, getting his feet back under him.
"No harm done," Frederick replied. "Do try to be careful."
Meanwhile, Chrom, Morgan, and Inigo were laughing at his failed attempts. Nykolai straightened his coat, scowling at the two. "It's not funny. I haven't ridden in three years." He then promptly tripped again on the hem of his cloak, falling, this time, to the ground, causing the horse he had been riding the start. Frederick resisted the urge to roll his eyes, grabbed the reins, and led the horse a safe distance from the sprawled tactician.
"Your feet giving you a hard time today?" Morgan teased.
"Yes," her father grumbled. He climbed to his feet, brushing his front off. He was thankful that his klutziness hadn't gotten him smelling like manure. Morgan reached up and brushed a few pieces of hay from her father's hair.
Sumia joined the group after tending to her Pegasus. "Everyone ready?" she asked. "I want to see my girls again."
Chrom, still chuckling, moved join his wife, taking her hand in his. Frederick followed and Morgan, Inigo, and Nykolai brought up the rear. As they walked along the path to the palace, Nykolai brought up a subject that had been on his mind since the battle had ended. He matched his pace with Morgan and Inigo. "Did you two marry while I was…gone?" he asked.
"No," Morgan replied. "I…I wanted to wait for you to come home, for you to walk me down the aisle. It wouldn't have been the same without you, Father."
Nykolai wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Now that I'm home, don't wait. Gods know your mother and I couldn't wait to get married."
Inigo smirked. "Ah, yes, the beach wedding. That was a night to remember." Morgan grinned at the memory.
"It was indeed."
They reached the palace grounds, and were meet by Cynthia. The Pegasus Knight leaned on her lance almost too casually as she spoke with one of the guards. Seeing her family returning, she hurried forward. "Father! Mother! Welcome home!" She noticed Nykolai. "Oh, hey, where'd you find him?" she asked.
"On the battlefield," Chrom replied. "Have you seen Lucina?"
"Which one?"
"The older one."
"She's in the inner garden with the little ones and Aunt Lissa."
"Great." The group moved off, winding their way through the path to the innermost courtyard.
"So," Cynthia, who had decided to follow them, said. "Have you told Nykolai yet?"
"Nope!" Morgan replied.
"Told me what?" Nykolai asked, bewildered. They were keeping a secret from him? His companions replied with a universal "you'll see." Nykolai sighed and resigned himself to the surprise. Judging by the way Morgan was grinning, it couldn't have been a bad surprise.
They came to the entrance of the inner garden, and Nykolai paused mid-step. Lucina sat on a blanket spread in the grass, a blue-haired toddler in her lap, and another next to her. The three of them were engrossed in a book that Lucina was reading aloud to them. Every now and then, the older of the two toddlers would interrupt, pointing at something in the book.
Lissa was nearby, playing what looked like tag with a small Owain around the garden. The blond princess noticed them first. "Hey!" she called, picking up Little Owain.
"Aunt Lissa, look who we found!" Morgan called, dragging her father into plain sight.
Lucina looked up at the commotion, and her eyes widened. She closed the book she had been reading and gently removed the young girl from her lap. She stood, and, after a quick word to the girls, made her way over. As she neared, Nykolai noticed a hard glint in his wife's eyes. "Umm…hi, Luce."
The woman stopped in front of him, eyes narrowed, before raising her hand and slapping him across the face. He stumbled, his face stinging. "How dare you?!" Lucina demanded. She grabbed his collar and shook him slightly. Nykolai was close enough to see the tears in her eyes. "How dare you leave us?!" She sobbed, leaning her head on his chest, her hands still grasping his collar. "How could you…?"
"Lucina…" She looked up at him and he kissed her, catching her off guard. After a moment, they parted. "I've missed you," he said, wrapping his wife in his embrace.
"I missed you, too."
They stood like that for a few minutes, pretending that it was just them in the courtyard.
Chrom ended the moment for them by clearing his throat. The couple turned. The exalt had the younger of the two toddlers in his arms, the other clinging to his leg. Nykolai recognized the older one as Lucina's younger self. The younger toddler, squirming in Chrom's arms, was unfamiliar to him, though he guessed she was Cynthia's younger self. "I assume you're done beating him up, Lucina," Chrom said.
"Yes," Lucina replied, rubbing her face. She turned to her husband. "Sorry."
"I deserved it," Nykolai said.
"Yes, you did," Chrom replied. "Anyway, Lucina, take her before she squirms out of my arms." Lucina accepted the child, who quieted down instantly.
"Hey, Mor, wanna meet your long-lost daddy?" She looked at Nykolai, who took a step back in shock.
"Woah, woah, wait, what?! That's…?"
"Morgan? Yes."
Nykolai gaped. The older Morgan moved next to her mother and younger self. "Can't you see the resemblance?" she asked, giggling.
"No, not really." He ran a hand through his hair, looking utterly confused. He turned to the others. "Why didn't any of you tell me?!"
Lucina laughed. "Come on, Nyk. I'll tell you."
Nykolai sat on the blanket with Lucina cuddling up next to him. He had an arm wrapped around his wife's waist, and they watched the two Morgans, Lucy, and Little Owain roughhouse in the grass with Chrom. Lissa, Cynthia, Sumia, and Frederick stood off to the side, talking
"So…" Nykolai began. "How old is she?"
"Almost two-and-a-half." She cleared her throat. "I found out I was with child only a few days after you stupidly sacrificed yourself." Her voice hitched slightly, and Nykolai ducked his head. Lucina's face began to get red. "Do you remember that night in the Bathrealm? When I requested that you kiss me again?"
"Yea- oh. Oh." His face went red. "So you went through everything without me by your side…gods, Luce, I'm so sorry you had to go through that by yourself. If I had known I might have made a different choice."
Lucina frowned. "So I myself alone was not enough?"
"Agh, no. Like I told your father yesterday, that was one of the toughest decisions I've ever made. I regret it so much, even more so now, than before." He sighed. "I almost didn't go through with it. But I thought of you and Morgan and everyone else in the world who is here or will come one day. Grima…he would have returned sooner or later, and I couldn't risk the world. It…it was something Emmeryn would have done. Her words impacted me as much as they did Chrom, or the Plegians back when Gangrel was hounding Ylisse."
Lucina nodded, thinking on her aunt. She remembered the sight of hundreds of Plegian soldiers throwing down their weapons in disgust at their king, all because of Emmeryn's words.
"But now I'm back," Nykolai continued, "and Grima's a thing of the past. We have our daughters and our family and a happy future. So…can you forgive your idiot husband?"
"Maybe for another kiss."
Nykolai leaned over, cupped his wife's cheek with his right hand, and dropped a chaste kiss on her nose. She giggled softly, and they quieted as Nykolai dropped his hand. Lucina grabbed it. "Look," she said.
"What?" he asked, then saw what she was seeing. The mark on the back of his hand that had marked him as having the heart of Grima was gone. "When did that go away?" he asked.
"What, you miss it?"
"No, I just didn't notice it was gone. I guess I really am no longer Grima."
"You never were, Nyk."
Nykolai nodded and sighed. After a moment, he changed the subject. "You brought me back, you know."
"I did?"
Nykolai nodded. "I felt, over those three years, that I had become nothing. My bonds with all my friends helped me return, but it was you who pulled from the darkness. I heard your voice calling me back. You…saved me, Luce."
Lucina said nothing, only looking terribly sad. Finally, she spoke. "I am glad I saved you. It was getting awfully lonely without you." She smiled.
"Mama?"
The couple looked up to see their little Morgan standing before them. Lucina opened her arms and the girl climbed into her lap. "Are you tired of playing, Mor?"
The girl nodded and then turned her gaze to Nykolai, studying him with calculating eyes. He grinned, seeing her potential to become a great tactician like her older self was. "Hi, Morgan!" he greeted.
"Are you my daddy?" she asked quietly.
"Yes, I am your daddy, and I'm so glad I get to meet you."
She smiled and moved from Lucina's lap to his. "Are you gonna stay forever?" she asked.
"Yes. As long as I can, love."
Content with this answer, the little girl curled up in his lap, satisfied that she had both her parents with her. Nykolai stroked her hair.
"She's warming up to you quickly," Lucina commented.
"Yeah, but I'm going to get so confused with two Morgans running around."
"Which is why I call the little one Mor."
"You could have given her a different name."
"Now what would be the fun in that?"
He laughed. The little girl began bouncing in his lap. "Sis! Sissy!"
The older Morgan was walking toward them. "What's up, little one?" she asked, crouching so she was at level with her younger self.
"We have a daddy!"
Lucina and Nykolai laughed, while Morgan ruffled Mor's hair. "Yeah, we do!" The little Morgan began babbling about all the things they could do now that they had their father, while Lucina and Nykolai exchanged a glance. Nykolai could see happiness in Lucina's eyes, and vowed, then and there to try to keep that glinting happiness in her eyes.
Author's note: that's it, readers! Hot Springs is over. Though I came up with something that comes after this two-parter, but that's still a while off. Man, I really need to catch up on my posting...
Question for those of you who may know: why are there more views than visitors to the story? This seems common to all the stories I've posted. Just curious.
Published 10/1/2013