Chapter 14) Of Sacred Blood


Well, we're going to war, it seems. We cannot answer the assassination attempt with anything else. Our people won't allow it. However, neither Ferox nor Ylisse have warships, so we must negotiate with Plegia. They named 'Carrion Isle' as the place of negotiation, a location with many, many sharp cliffs, among other dangers. They say Carrion Isle once held a sanctuary crafted by the dragons of old to protect important treasures, but it was defiled by Grima long ago.

I do not like the symbolism, and beg Frederick to keep an extra close eye on Chrom and Robin. I had been invited to the negotiations, as Ylisse's queen, but at Chrom's request, I remained behind to shore up the defenses on the capital and the Eastern Palace, as well as see Lucina and Victoria safely to the latter. I fret and worry, but the guards have been checked by Frederick, thrice, and Cordelia, four times. Things will be fine. Things will be…

Gods, there's so much that can go wrong. So much.


Sometimes, I wondered where everyone's sense was. Why did they set up camp between two cliffs? Why? That was just begging for an ambush.

"I'm surprised Frederick let them get away with this," I muttered as I looked down at the camp. I flew with Sumia, so that Cordelia had full reign of her lance without having to worry about me. "Though it does look like there's plenty of sentries…"

"I'm sure it's fine," Sumia reassured. She smiled at me over her shoulder. "You're just grumpy because you miss your daughters."

"They were so sad when I left!" I winced, remembering. Somehow, they'd sensed that I wouldn't see them for a while, and they had clung and clung. We were actually delayed because I couldn't get them to let go. "Ugh… stupid war."

"Have you decided if you're marching yet?"

"No, not yet." There were many debates, both for and against. Both politically and personally. It was a bit of a mess, really. "Ah, looks like Maribelle is waving us down." I'd sent her ahead, to let the others know we'd be there shortly.

"Yep!" Sumia giggled. "Hang on!"

"No, I think I'll let go while we're diving at top speeds above a very large drop."

Her laughter trailed after us like leaves on the wind as we all descended into camp. To my intense amusement, Libra was the first one to greet us, and he barely gave Sumia and me a proper greeting before going to Cordelia. Sumia and I greeted the others, checking that everyone was okay, and soon learned that despite the delay, the three of us had still arrived prior to negotiations ending.

"All three are still with King Fauder?" I asked Olivia, walking through the camp with her. Sumia had insisted on tending to the pegasi, so that Cordelia and Libra could have their alone time, and I'd reassured Maribelle that I would be just fine and she should spend time with Lissa. "How long?"

"Today? Since this morning," Olivia explained. She shyly linked arms with me and I grinned in return. "It's been dawn to evening for the past three days."

"Difficult convincing them?"

"No, from my understanding it's more of dealing with the logistics. They're willing to help, though I don't know how much." She made a face. "I try to ask Robin when he gets back, but he's always just so exhausted."

"So, nothing more than cuddling."

"…W-well, maybe a little more?" Her voice was squeaky and her face went red, and I laughed and laughed. "Oh, the Hierophant is also participating in the negotiations. Whatever that is?"

"The Hierophant is the leader of the Grimleal." I wondered briefly who the new one was. My father had been the old one, after all. "What's their name?"

"His name is Hawk, apparently."

"Hawk, huh?" I didn't know that one, but then again, that wasn't much of a surprise. With my father dead, they would've had to pick a Hierophant not of Grima's blood for the very first time, and that meant choosing from the higher ups that I'd had little to no contact with. "Ha, he's named for a bird like Robin and me. That's rather funny."

"Isn't it?" Olivia giggled, and then she gasped. "Oh, look!" She pointed down the way, and there was Chrom, Robin, and Frederick walking down the path. "They're back early today."

"Then shall we greet them or hide to surprise them later?" I grinned and she hummed thoughtfully before nodding towards them. "Greeting then."

Olivia and I continued walking down the path and waved as soon as the boys spotted us. Chrom immediately abandoned any pretense of dignity to run right for me and scoop me up in a hug, laughing. I laughed too and kissed him as soon as he let me stand on my own feet. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Robin kiss Olivia on the cheek, and the two talk softly. I also saw that Robin was paler than normal, and there was a distracted air to him that he desperately tried to hide.

"Well, I see that Frederick has kept you both safe, as expected," I finally said. I smiled warmly at Frederick, who had politely averted his eyes as we couples greeted each other. "Frederick, Sumia was tending to the pegasi. I insist you go greet your wife. I can take over nagging the two of them for now."

"I leave them in your capable hands, my queen," Frederick replied instantly. Both Chrom and Robin made faces, and Olivia continued giggling. "Thank you. The pegasi, you said?"

"Yes, she was tending to Cordelia's too, so that Cordelia and Libra could catch up." I darted behind him and playfully began nudging him down the main path of the camp. "Go on, go on!"

"Consider it an order even, Frederick!" Chrom teased, grinning. "Negotiations are over, after all." Frederick threw up his hands in defeat at that, and did start down the path. As quickly as he could, without outright running or jogging. "I love that he's so happy."

"Indeed," I agreed, stepping to his side again. I glanced at Robin and Olivia again, noticing they were still talking, so I focused fully on him. "Well, my love, you said negotiations are over. How much will they give us?"

"They can't give us troops, since their army is still recovering, but they'll fund the entire expedition. They'll also give us 800 warships and 200 transports."

"That's… most of their assets." I frowned, closing my eyes as I thought about what little I knew. Considering the costs and everything... "A bit odd, that. I would've thought they'd keep a few back for either potential reinforcements or to make sure they had access to sea trade." It was like they were purposely draining their own country, like how you bled an animal out while skinning it. Then again, I didn't know for a fact how much of anything they had. "Very odd."

"King Fauder says it's to make up for not being able to give soldiers. He hopes it shows that they are willing to trust us, and to rebuild the bond between our countries."

"Mmm… perhaps I'm jumping at shadows, then." I opened my eyes again, and smiled wryly. "But do remember what I said about only a fool trusts one of the Grimleal."

"We're going to be checking there's no traps or hidden passengers, and most of the ships will be helmed by Feroxi." He ran a hand through my hair, smiling softly. "Don't fret. I do listen to your warnings. It's one of the reasons why I married you, Kes."

"One of them?"

"Yes." He leaned a little closer, smile growing. "Shall I tell you the rest?"

"Tempting, but you still have work to do, do you not?" I smirked and he made a face. "We may make up for lost time later, Chrom. You still need to let everyone know that we'll be leaving… tomorrow?"

"Yeah, tomorrow. We won't be able to break camp and make it off this isle prior to night falling." Chrom sighed and leaned down to kiss my cheek. "Fine, fine. I'll be good."

"I figured." I stepped away and turned to Robin and Olivia, who were still conversing quietly. "Brother, sister, there is work to be done still."

"So cruel, sister mine," Robin instantly replied. Olivia went red at the 'sister' part of my sentence. It almost distracted me from how Robin's demeanor hadn't improved much. Something was bothering him. "But true, I suppose. Let's get to that."

"Let's," I agreed. However, as Olivia and Chrom led the way down the path, I slowed my steps and grabbed Robin's arm. "What is it? What's wrong?"

"It's nothing important." Still, Robin's face grew serious. "Though, Kestrel, do I have a twin?"

"Did you get amnesia again?" I made my voice as dry as possible, and it took him a moment to realize just why that was. When he did, he facepalmed. "Seriously? Yes, you do. We're twins."

"Give me a break; I haven't gotten a lot of sleep."

"Clearly, if you're asking your twin sister whether or not you have a twin."

"I meant another twin."

"That's a triplet. And no. Mother had only two children. Us." I sighed, shaking my head. "While I can't deny the possibility of us having half-siblings thanks to our father, I'm your only twin."

"Oh. Okay." He frowned and glanced to the ground. "Sorry for the weird question."

"Am I going to get an explanation?"

"Hmm? Oh, it's nothing important." He looked up and smiled. "I should work on strategies! Naval ones are new territory."

"I recommend talking to Virion for help." I frowned, though, and kept on frowning even as he gave me a hug and walked away. I knew there was more to this. I absolutely knew there was more to that question.

I'd have to try and bully it out of Chrom or Frederick. Clearly, Robin was going to try and work through it all on his own. Again. Gods damn it.


Unfortunately, both Chrom and Frederick proved tightlipped in the limited time I had to interrogate them. The rest of the day was spent catching up with others in the group, setting patrols and sentries, making plans for travel tomorrow, and strategizing the coming battles on sea and foreign lands. After that, it was dinner, typical nighttime antics, and then we all settled in for the night.

However, at some point, I had a horrific nightmare where a creature with too many dark red eyes and hideous laughter pinned me down and devoured me limb by limb. I woke up gasping, and pushed myself up, covering my face with my hands as I tried to decide if I wanted to scream, throw up, sob, or just curl into a ball. I even had to check my limbs, just to make sure there were no teeth marks. But there was nothing. Absolutely nothing. Because it was simply a nightmare. So, I knew I should just try to go back to sleep. But I couldn't. The nightmare dug deep into my mind and left me with a bad feeling I just could not shake.

Sighing, I pushed the covers back and swung my legs over the side to get out. As soon as I tried, though, Chrom's arms snaked around my waist and pulled me back under the blankets to hug me tightly. He nuzzled my neck and kissed my cheek and shoulder, and after a moment of being amused, I rolled over to look at him.

"Did I wake you?" I asked, reaching up to touch his cheek. He smiled softly at me, wide awake. Too much so for someone just waking up. "I did, didn't I?"

"You were tossing," he confirmed, pulling me closer. "Nightmare?"

"Yeah." I made to push myself out of bed, but he tightened his hug on me. "My love, I would like to explore the camp."

"It's cold, and you're warm." He kissed my forehead and cheek. "And I've missed you dearly these past few days."

"As I have missed you, but you're as demanding as our daughters sometimes."

"Hey, they get it honest?" He grinned and I rolled my eyes. "I'm sure there's others on patrol, you know. Frederick the Wary was in charge of it."

"So it will be perfectly safe letting me go?" I smirked and he sighed. "Okay, more seriously, I have a bad feeling and Robin has been off all day due to whatever you're hiding from me."

"I want to talk with him about it first."

"Fine, fine." Annoyed again, I pushed myself up and rolled out of bed to get dressed. "Well, I'm going to see if someone is going to tell me what's going on."

"Kes…" He took my hand and tugged me back. "I'm not-" I gave him a look and he sighed again. "No, you're right. I should just go ahead and tell you. He did ask that I wouldn't, though."

"Because clearly Robin is the authority on his own health."

"You're not much better, Kes." He paused to give me a serious look and I had enough shame to look away. "I love you, but how many times have we argued because you dislike yourself?"

"…A lot." Honestly, most of our 'arguments' more or less sparked because of my low self-esteem.

"Precisely." He leaned in and kissed me gently. "That said, this is probably something you should know, and I don't think it's that big of a deal. I think his problem is less what happened and more that he can't remember anything about his past."

"That would make sense. So?"

"We met Hierophant Hawk and… well…" Chrom shrugged. "He looked a lot like Robin. Honestly, it's almost an exact copy, except he appears to be a bit older and he was definitely more scarred, especially around the neck."

"Is that it?" I sighed heavily and facepalmed. "Gods, he could've just said, 'hey, I saw someone who looked like me' instead of being like 'do I have a twin?. Gods, damn it, I thought it was worse to rattle him like that."

"He seriously asked you that?"

"Yes." I looked at him, exasperated. "Well, as I told him, it's possible we have half-siblings. Did this Hawk have white hair too?"

"Yep."

"Yeah, he might be a half-sibling then, another potential sacrifice for Grima." My heart ached at the thought. He likely had been discarded when Robin and I were born. "Ah, whatever. It's not a thing to hide. Stupid brother, and sillier husband."

"I'm sorry?" He leaned forward and kissed me sweetly. "I am very sorry." He kissed me again, hands ghosting over my side. My mind was going a little numb. "How can I make it up to you?"

"By letting me do that look around I wanted?" I leaned away to smile and he sulked. "We can kiss and make-up after I check that bad feeling of mine."

"Okay, okay." He kissed my nose and I squeaked. "Here, I'll do a patrol too, just in case."

"Now that's a much better apology." I watched him get out of bed and begin to get dressed. "I love you, Chrom."

"And I love you, Kes." He smiled at me. "Relax. Things aren't necessarily as bad as you fear."

"That doesn't mean they're not necessarily as good as you hope." I winced at the instant retort. "No, you're right. I'm sorry. I'm still too used to everything falling apart."

"Well, we won't." He paused in dressing to sit back down on the bed and take my hand to press it against his chest, right over his heart. My fingers twitched as I felt the scar over it, the last remnant of the wound he'd taken to protect Robin, just as he'd promised me. "My heart is yours, forever and always, and I will keep you safe. I pro-"

"Chrom, you have a scar right here showing how close you came to leaving me, you know." I moved closer and pulled our hands down so that I could kiss it. His breath caught. "I'm quite used to people dying to protect Robin and me. You Shepherds are literally the first to try and protect us, and not die in the attempt."

"Kes…"

"Don't promise to protect me. Don't promise to save the world or anything. Just promise that you won't leave me." I smiled up at him, feeling tearful suddenly. "You promise me that, and you'll keep your word, because you hold all these crazy people together anyway."

"You…" Chrom suddenly shifted and pinned me to the cot, kissing me fiercely. "Yes. I'll promise that. And will you promise to not leave me?"

"Yes. I'll promise that." I kissed him back, pulling him closer, but I smiled ruefully when we parted to breath. "Much as I would love to continue where this is going, I did say we'd kiss and make up later."

"And I just agreed to patrol to help ease that bad feeling you had." He dipped his head to kiss my collarbone, but rolled off of me. "Fine, fine, let's go do that. I'd rather not have distractions."

"Yeah, you can't exactly lock a tent." Another thought occurred to me. "Also, sound travels. I want you all to myself."

"I already am, but I agree. If only because I don't want to deal with the smirks."

Both of us finally got dressed, though with a little more teasing and joking, and then went out to wander the camp. By unspoken agreement, we both went different ways, and my cheer faded as I wandered the paths. Everything was quiet, with the occasional murmuring of the sentries checking in with each other. Most were asleep, like sane people, and the more I walked, the more I became convinced that I was just being paranoid. On edge due to being in Plegia, and near Grimleal. Then I felt a spike of dark magic and decided that no, it was just my instincts being right as always.

I ran as fast as I could, a hand dropping for my sword as I hunted for the source of that dark magic. I found it on the edge of camp, with dark shadows clawing into Robin's face and neck. I couldn't see the caster. Their back was towards me, and there was a flicker to them, hinting they were only some sort of projection. A powerful sorcerer, but simple magic nonetheless.

"Evanescet, exspiravit!" I snapped, gesturing sharply. Magic flickered around my fingertips and the person winced and disappeared, fading into nothing. The clawing shadows faded with them, thank everything. "Robin!"

"Kestrel?" he replied, coughing weakly. His voice shook and he still clutched his head as he straightened. "What are you…?"

"Forget that! Are you okay?" I grasped his face, wincing at how clammy he felt. An old memory, more vague fear than anything, bubbled up. Being woken up during the night by shadowy people. Watching them drag a screaming Robin out of our bed. Chasing after them and being held down as they channeled magic through him, unable to do anything but watch as he screamed and screamed until tore his own throat and coughed out blood. Mother had come to the rescue. Mother had stopped them, and bundled us into her room. I had held onto him tightly and he cried. He cried and cried, in horrible pain, but he clung to me too. Mother had taken us away after that. Mother had saved us after that. "Robin!?"

"I'm fine." He said the words easily, but his voice still shook. "I'm fine."

"Like hell you are!" Tears pricked my eyes and I hugged him tightly. "Damn it, Robin. I'm your sister. You don't have to hide from me, of all people."

"I really am-" He closed his eyes. "Gods, why do I bother? You read me as easily as I read you."

"We've spent too many years having only each other to depend on."

"Sorry. Give me a moment."

"You can have all the moments in the world, so long as you eventually tell me."

"Right…" He took a few deep breaths, trying to calm down. "I saw King Fauder. He said…" His voice faltered. "He said that I was his son?"

"Impossible. Our father is dead. I killed him. He's very dead. I know we get Risen nowadays, but you can't bring the dead back to life."

"You sure he died?"

"Very. You know when Emmeryn was almost assassinated? I fell out the window with the leader? That was him."

"Oh. Yeah, I saw that body. He's definitely dead." He sighed and leaned forward to rest his head on my shoulder. "Then what the hell is their plan?"

"Grimleal. This is why I really didn't want you coming here. I don't like being here either." I hugged him tightly, trying not to shake. If I hadn't woken up… "I'm sorry."

"Not your fault." He leaned a little more on me. "Tired."

"See? You should've been cuddling with Olivia instead of wandering about the camp."

"Couldn't sleep. Thought a walk would help my mind calm down."

"Stay within camp, next time."

"Okay."

"Queen Kestrel! Lord Robin!" Frederick ran up then, buckling on his gauntlets. "There you are," he breathed, smiling in relief. Robin and I stepped away from each other, frowning. "Risen have ambushed us, so please, return to the camp proper."

"Risen have what?" I asked, startled. "Really?"

"We have sentries," Robin pointed out, his frown deepening. "Risen shouldn't be able to…" He trailed off and glanced at me. "Oh, but maybe…"

I caught the thought and grimaced. "Oh, hell, you're probably right." I returned my attention to Frederick, and smiled slightly. "We'll explain later, when we're not in the middle of an ambush. Can you let Chrom know we'll be right there?"

"Of course," Frederick reassured. He hesitated briefly, looking at us worriedly, but then he bowed. "Please hurry."

"We will," Robin replied. He waited for Frederick to leave before looking to me. "So, sister?"

"Risen to hide your disappearance," I growled. "It's just like them." I took his hand and squeezed it. "Do not go anywhere alone, Robin. I will do the same. Promise."

"Then I shall promise too." He squeezed my hand back. "Should we tell them?"

"Later. Right now, we've a battle."

"Right."


"Where did these bodies even come from?" I growled, cutting down another Risen. I didn't expect an answer. Just as I had last battle, I went around guarding various long-ranged attackers, though this time, I stuck near Virion the whole battle. And Virion was too busy aiming to reply to anything I said. "Did they import them or something?" It was a possibility that this many people had died, but all the Risen had skin and all of it intact. Honestly, I wondered why they didn't smell worse. I'd never known a corpse to smell good.

The last of this ground of Risen charged. I kicked their leg out from under them and stabbed them through the chest, knocking them to the ground. Unfortunately, though, the whole 'already dead' thing meant things that normally killed humans didn't necessarily kill a Risen. It was pinned to the ground, flailing and screeching, still trying to attack me. Sighing, I tried to jerk my sword out, but found it was actually wedged deep into the ground. I resisted the urge to facepalm or groan or something, pulled out my dagger and knelt down to just cut the head off and free my sword. The disappearing body thing had its uses. Sometimes.

I gripped the thing's chin and tilted it up so that I had a better angle. I paused, however, when I noticed that my fingers actually slipped under the 'face' and I studied the Risen for the first time to see that the face was actually a mask. Frowning, I wedged my dagger, ignoring how it continued how it tried to claw me. With a bit of wiggling, I managed to pry the mask off, gagging at the overwhelming smell of rot and the sound of ripping flesh.

I jerked back when tiny insects, ones I had never seen before, started crawling out from under the mask. I barely caught a glimpse of them, just long enough to notice it was shelled. Then they faded into smoke, along with the Risen itself. My skin crawled and I instantly checked to make sure none of those bugs were on me. They weren't, thank all that is holy and good, but I couldn't help but stare at the ground. What were those things? Was that a coincidence, or was it…?

"Dearest Kestrel, I do believe you have gone as pale as a ghost." Virion crouched down next to me, a reassuring hand on my back. "What ails you?" he asked, frowning worriedly. "It is not like you to freeze during battle."

"Just… saw something a little creepy with the Risen," I replied. My voice was breathy and squeaky, but I did manage a smile. "They're infested with insects."

"Well, they are dead. I'm gladdened we don't see maggots."

"Oh, ugh, that's true." I relaxed, steadying at the reminder. It wasn't odd at all that there were bugs in the Risen. It wasn't odd that it was an insect I didn't recognize. The panic must've just been because I hadn't expected it. "Sorry. I'm ridiculous."

"Well, I can't say it was a fun thing to see." He offered me his hand and helped me stand up. "Seems like our area is clear for now, though we do have a… oh, goodness what is the word for a group of crows again?"

"Murder. A murder of crows. Or, you know, what most people use: flock."

"That's not dramatic enough, considering we have a group of them harrying the Risen." He gestured below and, to my intense amusement and disbelief, he was right. There were, in fact, a bunch of crows. "Lovely birds, really, though dreary."

"I love them, though I'm particularly attached to ravens."

"They are beauteous birds, very true." He smiled. "Truthfully, I expected your favorite to be a 'kestrel', though. Or a 'robin'."

"My mother's name was Raven." I grinned as he choked on a laugh. "Yeah, I know. Bird theme. My father was the odd one out." And he was the only one without morals, so go figure. "Oh, the crows are swirling around someone?" I peered down, frowning, and barely caught sight of white hair and Plegian clothing. "Something tells me we picked up yet another colorful person for our army."

"My, my! At this rate, we shall dazzle the world like a rainbow!" Virion smiled brightly and I had to laugh. "There's a smile. And there is delightful Cherche!"

"Queen Kestrel, if he's aggravating you, simply let me know," Cherche used as her greeting, landing Minerva in front of us. She didn't even bother looking at Virion. "I can feed him to Minerva, if need be."

"Alack, alay! To be so accused!" Virion gasped. He stumbled back, clutching his chest like he'd been stabbed. During a play, of course. "Then again, I have so missed that wit and snicker."

"Honestly, Virion, some days…" Cherche sighed, shaking her head. Minerva actually rolled her eyes, equally exasperated. "The numbers are thinning. A shame, since they're so cute." She hummed a little in thought, and I shot Virion a 'what the hell' look. Virion simply smiled and shrugged, apparently long used to it. "Their masks especially…"

"You may endeavor to recreate it later. What brings you and fierce Minerva here, Cherche?" Virion's smile softened as he looked up at her. "I know I promised Minerva a treat, but I also told her it would have to wait until we were off the Isle."

"She's eagerly anticipating it." Cherche laughed, and softened too. "Mostly just checking in. As I said, the numbers are thinning, so we'll likely be done soon. I believe King Chrom and Duke Robin have killed the leader and-"

A scream. A shout. A flurry of movement. It took several blinks to figure out what all happened. The last of the Risen evaporated into smoke. In the calm immediately after, someone, a human, tried to kill Chrom, striking from behind. Another person, long blue hair and a gold diadem hinted Marth of all people, blocked the attack. Robin electrocuted the assassin, and yelled for Gaius to search the body. Everyone panicked and began patrolling again to make sure that there were no more assassins hiding.

I worked on coordinating the patrols, with Cordelia keeping close to me at all times. Gathering information, checking that our perimeter was secured, working with Frederick to get a new patrol schedule, checking that none of our supplies had been tampered with… it took a while to wonder why I was the only one dealing with all of this, and that's when I learned that Chrom and Robin, in their infinite wisdom, decided to walk off, without telling anyone where they were going. Thankfully, Sumia caught sight of them as they headed for the river, but gods above, these two were going to be the death of me!

"There you two are!" I sanpped as soon as I found them, apparently speaking with Marth. Both Chrom and Robin jumped and whirled, while Marth looked a little panicked. "I can't believe the both of you! We got ambushed by Risen, had an assassin appear out of nowhere, and you both just go 'hey, why don't we leave the camp without placing word and leave the whole checking everything and ensuring we are all safe to the others'?!"

"Ah… hi, Kes?" Chrom squeaked. He and Robin shared scared looks, and he laughed awkwardly when I stomped right up to him to glare, focusing on him first. "I… um…"

"Or, I don't know, maybe, just maybe, reassure your wife, who you almost broke a promise to; your sister, who is still recovering from Emmeryn's death; and your bodyguard, who is kicking himself for not seeing that assassin sooner? Or the rest of the Shepherds that you're friends with and lead?"

"Er…"

"And you!" I whirled on Robin and he took a step back, hands up in surrender. "It didn't occur to you that your fiancé might need a little reassurance, since that assassin had appeared pretty close to you? Not to mention your own sister, who was very panicked by the way, and all of your friends among the Shepherds? Seriously? Seriously?!" To my frustration, I felt tears prick my eyes. "Of all the idiotic things for you two to do!"

"I'm sorry!" Marth blurted. I turned my attention to her and she fidgeted before smiling. There was something strangely familiar about the smile. "I… um… I asked to talk in private, and I…"

"Oh, Marth, I'm not mad at you at all," I reassured. I took a deep breath and made myself relax. "If anything, I should thank you for saving my husband. I'm sure whatever you had to talk about was important enough for them to completely forget to just leave a little, small message."

"To be fair, they were distracted?"

"To be fair, they're both leaders." I sighed, and shook my head. Chrom and Robin shared a sheepish look, and I got the feeling there would be apology gifts later. "Though, if you do wish for a scolding, it is that you took them away so quickly, potentially to an area that wasn't secured. Not to mention the confusion of what you're doing here in the first place?" I peered at her curiously, trying to read an answer from her expression. Then I stared, because there was something familiar about her face, and not just because I had seen her before. "You…"

"I-is something wrong?" Marth flushed and bowed her head. "Um…"

"Oh, sorry." I laughed sheepishly, resisting the urge to hit myself for my silliness. "It's just… I was reminded of one of my daughters suddenly. Lucina, my elder one. Your smiles are similar, though she's still a baby."

"Th-that's…!" Marth's eyes suddenly welled up with tears. "Ah…"

"Huh? Oh, right, you mentioned you mother had died. I'm sorry."

"No, that's not… I mean…"

"Never underestimate a mother, apparently," Robin noted. He smiled slightly, incredulous. "Holy wow."

"Robin, it's not nice to tease your sister when she just hurt someone's feelings," I retorted, scowling. "Particularly when she is already mad at you." I softened as I noticed Marth was outright crying and I reached over to wipe away the tears. I noticed now traces of other tears, hinting she'd been crying earlier, probably before I got here. "Ah, I'm truly sorry. Why don't you come to camp for tea and…" I trailed off as I got a good look at her eyes for the very first time. There, in her left eye… was the Mark of the Exalt. "That mark…" I frowned, confused, and Marth just nodded, still crying. "That's… Lucina?"

"Mother!" Marth… no, Lucina threw herself at me, sobbing into my chest. I wrapped her up in a hug automatically, even as I wondered what the hell was going on. "I missed you so much!" she sobbed, clinging to me. "So, so much!"

"Easy, easy, I'm not going anywhere." I rubbed her back and made some soothing noises before glaring at both Chrom and Robin. Both looked ready to laugh. "You two. Explain. Now. I want to know how I left a baby Lucina in the Eastern Palace, and have a crying adult Lucina in my arms right now."

"N-no, I can explain." Lucina hiccupped and rubbed at her face. I used my sleeve to wipe away the tears she missed, and found a handkerchief in my pocket she could use to blow her nose. "Thank you, Mother. Er… my lady?"

"I'm your mother, so call me whatever you want."

"Mother, then." She smiled slightly, shyly, before it all faded for a stoic look. Well, as stoic as someone could look immediately after bawling. "And they're fine. Your Lucina and Victoria are safe and sound. I'm simply from another time, a time that is yet to be."

"You came… from the future?" I frowned, because of how ridiculous that sounded, but then I remembered something Mother once said. "Oh, wait, I remember Mother mentioning that one of the ways Naga was able to help the First Exalt save the world from Grima was because she was able to manipulate time. I think. I was very little when she mentioned it, but it was a lesson on how curses could change one's perception of time."

"That's… yes! Yes, Naga was the one who…!" Lucina smiled brightly. Chrom and Robin gave me weird looks. "Ah, I'm glad you know. You were the one who first told me that story, but I wasn't sure when you learned it."

"Huh. I wonder why my future self told you at all." I gave Chrom and Robin a rather smug look. "This is why you two tell me things."

"Wait, they tried to hide things from you?" Lucina frowned. "But you always find out anyway."

"They haven't learned that yet."

"Oh." Lucina's frown softened instantly. "Ah, that's so strange to me. It always seemed like you two told each other everything. I remember you two as always being close, the subject of songs depicting happy marriages."

"Lucina, you make Kes and I sound like a couple of fawning lovebirds," Chrom grumbled. His face went horribly red. "That's just…"

"Nope, I remember it clearly. You two were always together."

"I…" Chrom went redder and redder, with Lucina gently teasing. I, still smug, skipped over to Robin's side and nudged him. He rolled his eyes and I grinned.

"Going to point out that you keep things quiet," Robin grumbled, crossing his arms. Instantly, my smugness faded and I winced, looking away. "That… was mean. I'm sorry."

"Well, you're not wrong," I whispered. I still hadn't managed to talk about being a Vessel. Every time I tried, the words choked me. "I…"

"No, it wasn't fair. You have mentioned, time and again, that our past was horrible. Of course you can't talk about things."

"It's things you deserve to know, and I'm just a coward."

"Absolutely not." Robin pulled me into a one-armed hug. "I don't need to know."

"You wouldn't say that if you knew what it was."

"I think you've told me enough. I know about our bloodline thing."

"But…"

"Okay, okay, enough, enough!" Chrom half-begged. His face was redder than a tomato, and Lucina giggling, muffling the sound with the handkerchief. "We're off topic. Lucina, you were telling us about why you were here before a rightfully angry Kes, who I love very much, arrived?"

"Smooth, Chrom," Robin laughed. I managed to smile. "But yes, Lucina, why would you come to the past? That seems dangerous."

"It was," Lucina confirmed. Her cheer faded entirely and a haunted look appeared in her eyes. I winced when I saw it, recognizing the look of someone so traumatized that they no longer knew what to think. "My time… it's dead. Or going to be soon."

"Really?" Robin frowned. Chrom looked skeptical. I had a sudden horrible feeling. "What happened to cause that?"

"The fell dragon, Grima, was resurrected." She said the words calmly, but I felt like I'd been punched straight in the gut. I knew what that meant. I more than knew what that really meant. "His roar is a death knell for man, a scream that silences all hope…"

"And we let you go to the past to fix it?"

"Well, you're dead, Uncle Robin. Everyone is." Lucina looked down and clutched the handkerchief. Chrom, Robin, and I exchanged horrified looks. "Father, Mother… Aunt Olivia… Aunt Lissa… all of the Shepherds. Most of the soldiers. Most of the civilians. We tried. We tried to save everything, but we… we lost one of the gemstones for the Awakening, and…"

"Easy, Lucina," Chrom whispered. He pulled her into a hug and she leaned into him. It didn't escape me that she shifted so that her ear was pressed against his chest, listening to his heartbeat. "I'm certain you did more than anyone had a right to ask."

"Though the news is troubling," I commented. It took everything I had to remain calm. "And honestly, everything about this is so unbelievable that I know it must be true. But Lucina?" I waited until she looked at me. "Please tell me you didn't come back alone?"

"No, I didn't," Lucina confirmed. She stepped away from Chrom and faced me. "Victoria was with me, as well as all of my friends. Who… ah…" She smiled sheepishly. "Are kids of the Shepherds? Which people are couples? I don't know when you all… um…"

"Oh, hell, this is going to be hilarious and awkward." A thought occurred to me, though, and I had to grin. I had to change the subject briefly. "Do you have cousins?"

"Ah, yes, and they made the journey with me. Though, I'm not sure if Morgan made it through or not."

"Morgan?"

"Uncle Robin and Aunt Olivia's youngest, their daughter." She frowned as Robin choked on a yelp. "Oh. Uh… you two are… um…"

"They're engaged. He's just yelping over having a kid. More than one." I giggled and Robin shot me a dirty look. "Ah, this is fun. Though, for my own sanity, do you have younger siblings? Besides Victoria."

"No, I don't. I did want a little brother, but you always smiled sadly when I asked." Lucina shrugged and I just had to laugh. "That all said, I don't know where my friends are now. We all got separated and despite looking for two years, I've not found them yet." Fear flitted across her face before she shook her head. "But I'm certain they're fine. I just have to find them."

"We just have to find them." I smiled at her. "You don't think Chrom and I are going to let you wander alone again, do you?"

"Well…" She looked up at Chrom hopefully, and Chrom nodded. "I didn't want to assume."

"You're our daughter," Chrom pointed out. He sighed and shrugged. "Well, I should get back and apologize. And we should let everyone know what's going on, or will happen, to up the chances of us being prepared. And warn everyone that their kids from the future are here." Chrom and Lucina led the way back, with Lucina frantically asking who was paired with who so that she didn't accidentally reveal details. I made to follow, but Robin snagged my hand to stop me. I didn't try to struggle. I waited for him to ask whatever questions he had, and struggled to find the words I knew I needed to say.

"Kestrel," Robin whispered after a long moment. Chrom and Lucina were out of sight. "She mentioned Grima came back."

"She did," I murmured, drooping. It was the perfect lead-in, but I couldn't string the words together. I couldn't… "That's what the Grimleal want."

"You and I are of his blood."

"We are."

"Okay." He paused, clearly thinking, and I waited. "I'm going to take a guess."

"Go ahead."

"If you or I are sacrificed to Grima, does he come back?"

"That's… close enough, I think." I growled in frustration, all at myself. A simple sentence. A handful of words. But I couldn't say them. I couldn't move past that fear. "I'm sorry. I really should say, especially since we learned that, but…"

"It scares you. It shames you. Whatever I'm missing is the reason why we were chased, why we had to see so much death, and why you're so terrified of losing everything, not because you don't trust the people here, but because you're just so used to everything falling apart because of… whatever it is." He shrugged as I stared. "You're my twin sister. I adore you, and I've worked very hard to learn how to read you again."

"…Right." I smiled slightly, and leaned into his side. "And, well, it's close enough. The thing that is missing is simply… why our deaths would bring him back." Ah, if only I weren't a Vessel… if only I were 'human'… "It's not just the blood. If it was that, then our father could've served, and gladly would've."

"I see. So, there's something 'special' particularly about us." Robin nodded. "Okay, that's more than enough. But let's be certain to never go off on our own."

"Definitely." On impulse, I hugged him. "I'm sorry. Thank you for letting me be a hypocrite."

"You tell me enough, so in my eyes, you are no hypocrite. Just very scared." He hugged me back. "But we'll make it. I know we will. Whatever you fear, we deserve happiness, and we will gain it."

"Right." I leaned my head against his shoulder and tried to believe the words. "We'll try, at least." But it was so hard to believe when I was literally just told that despite Robin and I running, despite everything we did… Grima was fated to come to life. I wondered if we were just being stupid, thinking we could run away.

But running was all I knew, so I'd just keep on running, I supposed. I was the most idiotic person in the world, really.


Notes on Henry:

Class – Dark Mage; Reclass – Thief, Barbarian

A dark mage of Plegia who joins with us because he thinks he'll be able to fight more if he did. A sorcerer of great strength, and more than a little unhinged, possibly due to a life of abandonment and abuse.

He's slower in casting than Tharja, but he's far more accurate and durable than her. I worry she views him as a rival, but he takes it all in good humor, like everything.

Always laughing, joking, and making puns, but I see the deadness in his eyes. They're a coping mechanism, but I won't confront him. We all have our ways of coping, and even when he doesn't understand, he listens and obeys. That's enough, in my opinion.


Author's note: And here we go with the main underlying plot of the whole game finally. There's hints in game that more time passed in the 'original' timeline, with Emmeryn being assassinated and the war with Plegia being longer and how Lucina has memories of her father, which, as a baby, she really wouldn't. Given that, and given how there would've been more battles and different circumstances, I chose to have the Hierophant resemble Robin heavily, but look noticeably different, being older and having more scars. I also gave him the name 'Hawk' (hawks will prey upon robins) to make it a little more plausible.

Technically Lissa is there for the final scene as well, but she does just randomly show up. The 'sanctuary' mentioned for Carrion Isle is based on how Carrion Isle's general area is loosely based off the Fane of Raman from Archanea. The insects hiding under the Risen masks comes from information revealed in Shadows of Valentia.

Next Chapter – Flames on the Blue