Cordelia's Tale: Act II

Road Taken

Part X

Author's note: I recommend listening to Confusion from Mother 3 when you see one * mark.

Early morning patrols were rather routine for Cordelia. Every morning she would wake up at the crack of dawn, mount her pegasus, and patrol the skies for any threats. Lucina and Inigo had moved into the guest bedroom ever since their house was razed five months ago, giving her a greater incentive to protect her land.

On the morning of Severa's sixteenth birthday, she saw two pegasus knights fly to her stables and dismount. She recognized the brown hair of one, and the other had orange pigtails.

"Hello, Sumi-" Cordelia landed herself and spoke to her friend, but stopped as she noticed her singed uniform. Burns and cuts lined her dress, and Cynthia looked like she had been through hell and back as well. "What happened?" Cordelia's mind began to race. "Where's Gaius?"

"Our house was…" Cynthia tried to mumble the words out as she stared at the wet ground.

"Risen attacked. I didn't think they could find us, but they came without warning. Gaius didn't make it out." Sumia spoke on her daughter's behalf. "He… distracted them so we could escape."

Cynthia began to weep, and Sumia joined in as well. They hugged each other in mourning for their loved ones. "I've lost… So many friends. Olivia, Maribelle, Lissa…"

"I'm so sorry…" Cordelia tried to comfort her aching friend with a hug. Her shoulder was stained with Sumia's tears.

"I'm just glad… that I still have you and Cynthia…" She spoke in between sobs. In her distraught eyes, Cordelia could tell she was hiding something.

"Is there anything else you need to tell me?" Cordelia asked. Sumia paused and drew back. The internal conflict in her thoughts was as obvious as the tears on her cheeks.

"N-no, that's al-" Sumia was cut off by Cynthia whispering in her ear; Cordelia thought she heard Cynthia say 'truth.' "Okay, I will." She nodded to Cynthia who took a step back. "The Risen who killed Gaius are marching towards your house."

"What?" Cordelia couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"They're traveling through the Excessus mountain ridge as we speak, I'm sure of it. And…" Sumia choked her words out. "They were chanting. Bring us Cordelia and nobody has to die."

Sumia finished her sentence as Cordelia took a step back. Why would the Risen want her? She had hidden herself and her family away for exactly ten years. Did Grima want her head?

Cordelia's thoughts turned to Gaius and Olivia. To the people of Tutidomas who she had slain, and to all the Shepherds who died because of Grima. How many were going to die by her hands?

The Risen were marching on her house, and they would raze it to the ground unless Cordelia intercepted them at the Excessus mountains and threw herself at their feet. She was so wrapped up in this issue that she didn't consider saying goodbye to Severa. Why would she, she believed she was going to trick the Risen and defeat them.

With barely a word, Cordelia mounted her steed and flew off.

"I'm going to set this right!" Cordelia called to Sumia and Cynthia as they watched her disappear into the clouds. Sumia scrambled atop her mount and pointed for Cynthia to follow.

"Mother, what are you doing?" Cynthia asked in a worried voice.

"Preventing my friend from killing herself!" Sumia spoke in a panicked tone as she flew off. Cynthia followed soon after.

The snow-tipped peaks of the Excessus mountain ridge greeted Cordelia as she neared her targets. The flight of three hours exhausted her as wind lashed at her face and the flapping of her mount's wings buffeted the cold towards her. She looked down to see a long line of soldiers carrying torches that cut through the darkness of the snowstorm.

Cordelia landed her mount in front of the soldiers and watched as they approached. There must have been more than one hundred Risen in this squad. They all wore masks with red eyes that focused on her, and the leader stepped forward. A swordmaster whose clothing flapped in the breeze.

"Good… you… came…" He spoke as though he had just learned how to converse a day ago. "Lay down… your weapon… We shall take you to…" The walking corpse stopped as he sniffed his nose.

He looked to the skies above and noticed the outlines of two pegasus knights. "We were told… you would be alone…" He raised his hand and a squadron of archers behind him readied their bows. They aimed their arrows at the two knights. "Order your lackeys… to stand down…"

The two knights descended to the ground with their hands held up in surrender. Sumia and Cynthia.

"Sumia! What are you doing here?" Cordelia had no idea Sumia was following her.

"I'm not losing you, gods-dammit!" Sumia called out.

"Bah! Humans play tricks on us… Leave…" The commander kept his squad trained on Sumia and Cynthia. "We shall wait here for you tomorrow… Come by yourself… unless you desire to see your house burned…" The commander of the Risen retreated into his mob of shambling corpses that watched as Cordelia, Sumia and Cynthia flew off.

The entire flight back to Cordelia's house consisted of Sumia and Cordelia bickering in the dead of night. Cynthia followed behind and was silent.

"You shouldn't have followed me!" Cordelia yelled as cold wind lashed at her face.

"And let you die?" Sumia yelled back as she matched Cordelia's speed.

"Yes! I need to protect my children!" Cordelia replied.

"Then let us kill the Risen! We can beat them! Together!" Sumia tried to reason with Cordelia. She didn't need to do this alone.

"Why do you think these Risen attacks have been growing more frequent?" Cordelia asked. "Grima's sending them after me! He wants me, for some gods-forsaken reason, and the only way I can stop them is by surrendering myself!"

"B-but-"

"Do you want Cynthia to die? What about Lucina, or Severa, or Morgan? How about you? How could I live with myself, knowing that your deaths are my fault?" Cordelia's tone mellowed out as she took a deep breath. Sumia replied with a silent, contemplating stare. She could see her house in the distance. "I need to do this. I'm sorry."

"O-okay…" Tears began to well in Sumia's eyes. "Whatever happens, I just want to tell you… Thanks for being a great friend…" She slowly flew away while Cynthia followed, leaving Cordelia by herself.

After leaving her mount at the stables, Cordelia saw a figure emerge from the house and stomp towards her with tense shoulders.

"Hello, Sever-" Cordelia spoke before Severa stuck her finger in her face and began to shout.

"Do you have any gods-damned idea how worried I was about you? You just up and disappeared without saying anything! I shouldn't have to spend my birthday worrying about what happened to you!" Severa glared into her mother's eyes. Cordelia cursed her forgetfulness.

"I'm sorry," Cordelia said after a long, thoughtful pause.

"Sorry doesn't cut it! Sorry doesn't mean anything when the next time you pull this stunt, you turn up dead and I don't have a mother! Sorry doesn't…" Severa began to stumble and trip over her words as she stared into her mother's eyes. Cordelia opened her embrace and Severa rushed into it with tears in her eyes.

"I'm not going anywhere." Cordelia's heart ached as she whispered sweet lies to her daughter.

"You… You say you aren't…" Severa sobbed between each sentence as her tears stained her mother's dress. "But you don't know that! Dad didn't know he was going to go away and look where he is now!"

A few moments of silence passed as Severa held her mother, and when she felt she was ready, she took a couple steps back as she wiped her eyes. "Do you want to go eat the birthday cake? I saved it for you…"

"Yes. I'm sorry I made you worry." Cordelia responded as she walked with Severa back inside the house.

Cordelia had gotten up early the following morning. It would be better if Severa or Morgan weren't here for when she left. She barely got any sleep; her thoughts were a mix of voices telling her not to lie to her daughters, and voices telling her that it was a necessary evil.

No matter how good of a fighter Severa and the others were, those Risen were too much for them to handle. Cordelia would have to sacrifice herself so her daughters could live. But there was the possibility that the Risen would betray her and attack her house anyway.

It was a risk Cordelia needed to take; what else could she do?

She went through the kitchen and inspected the drawers. Everything seemed to be in order for her daughters to inherit. As she closed the last drawer, she applied too much force and slammed it shut. She winced as the noise echoed throughout the quiet, dark house.

Cordelia moved to the doorway with her lance in hand and looked at her house. Was this the last time she would see the familiar rooms? The couch on the side that practically smelled like her from all these years? The table that housed so many meals?

She placed her wedding ring on the end table in case she never returned.

*Severa emerged from the hallway with a puzzled look. Cordelia froze as she matched her daughter's stare.

"Mom? What are you…" Severa wiped her tired eyes as she looked at her mother.

"Severa, please go back to bed." Cordelia took a pause as Severa stared at her. "Not like this…"

"Are you… What are you doing?" Severa's hands trembled as she noticed that Cordelia's other hand was on the doorknob.

"The Pegasus Knights need me to combat a squad of Risen." Cordelia's eyes trembled along with her hands. She had to force that disgusting lie out of her own mouth as though she was hurling.

"The Pegasus Knights don't matter! They can deal with their own issues!" Severa quickly pushed herself in between the door and Cordelia. "I need you, and they don't!"

"Severa, please get out of the way," Cordelia spoke in a quiet voice, in contrast to Severa's yelling. Her thoughts were telling her to stay and hug her daughter.

"Why? Why should I get out of the way when it's the only thing keeping you from leaving me?" Tears flowed from Severa's eyes to her cheeks. Cordelia responded by holding her daughter in an embrace.

"I'm doing this for… for you…" She struggled to get her words out as Severa knees shook and wobbled like a shoddy lance. "I promise you that I'll be back."

"You can't even promise to be here for my birthday!" Severa's despair quickly turned to rage. "Just leave! Get out of here! If you care about your knight friends more than me, then go be with them!" She shoved Cordelia away and stood in the living room with her arms flailing. Cordelia slowly exited the house and stood outside while Severa screamed at her. "I never want to see you again!" Those words stung her heart.

"Severa, I'm sorry. I love you, and please tell Morgan that I love her as well." Cordelia tried to maintain her calm tone as Severa's escalated.

"Stop lying! The only person you love died ten years ago, and he's never coming back!" No sooner did those words leave Severa's lips did Cordelia's eyes begin to water. That wasn't true, Severa knew it. She was just frustrated and lashing out.

With a heavy heart, Cordelia mounted her flying steed and rode off into the snowy, darkened sky.

Cordelia returned to the Excessus mountains with a tightened grip on her lance. She descended her mount to the ground amidst the snowstorm and watched as the same group of Risen from yesterday shambled towards her.

"We trust… you are alone?" The leader stepped forward and asked.

"Yes." Cordelia dropped her lance on the ground and held up her hands. "Now what do you need from m-"

"We are sorry… but we must take this necessary precaution…" The leader mumbled as a squad of archers surrounded Cordelia. "We hope… you will forgive us…"

A storm of arrows launched out of the archers' bows and sailed into her mount. Cordelia braced her arm and screamed in anger as she tried to steer her pegasus away, but her strength had left her mount. Her pegasus now resembled a pin-cushion as she looked to Cordelia with a forlorn gaze, then fell to the ground. Cordelia would question why she was unharmed if adrenaline wasn't coursing through her veins.

Cordelia was knocked to the snow and yelped as her mount fell onto her legs, trapping her underneath her frame. Snow landed in her eyes as she panicked and looked from side-to-side frantically.

"You… You bastards!" Cordelia screamed as she tried to push her mount off her legs but to no avail. The leader of the Risen loomed over her with a solemn stare.

"We shall honor our bargain… Your house shall not be touched…" The commander spoke. "He will be here for you… shortly…"

The Risen walked away, leaving a shivering Cordelia trapped in the snow. She waited, and waited, and waited. She believed an hour had passed as her heart beated out of her chest the whole time. Her strength had all but left her now; sapped from her body by the snow.

The last thing she saw before she passed out from exhaustion was a figure advancing. He had white hair, red eyes that glowed through the snowstorm, and had a smile that Cordelia recognized from her wedding night.