Hey guys, thanks for the heartwarming reviews and support! ^^

PrincessArien: funny that I never thought of it that way until you mentioned it. Perhaps that means Robin has imagined something after their last 'bathroom encounter'? *wink wink* LOL anyway, thanks for the compliment :D

Guest: Thanks! I must say that the continuous support from those who read this story is one of the reasons why I can keep going :D

ilovefonandalaude: Yes, and I can assure you the teenage Lucina will come soon (not in this chapter, but soon) ^^

Roxanne quickly picked up her pace when she heard the echo of Lucina's cry along the hallway. She opened the door to the nursery and dashed towards the crib.

"It's okay, dear, Mother is here…" she cooed while gently picked Lucina up and cradled her. Roxanne looked at the time; it was slightly past Lucina's feeding time.

"Ah, Your Grace…"

Roxanne looked at the door and saw two maids were panting heavily. They must've heard Lucina, too. "It's okay," Roxanne told them as she sat down on the chair that was set at the corner of the nursery.

Using one hand, Roxanne unbuttoned the three topmost buttons and slipped the sleeve of her dress that was loose to begin with. She then carefully set Lucina in front of her breast. Roxanne watched her daughter sucking greedily. "I'm sorry, you must be very hungry…"

After some time, Roxanne felt that Lucina was not as eager as before and her eyelids began to drop back. The pinkette couldn't help but to chuckle and took the napkin on the table next to her to wipe Lucina's mouth, gently dabbing it so that she wouldn't be awoken. Roxanne then put her dress back and buttoned it again.

It had been a month since Lucina's birth and Roxanne really enjoyed her new role as a mother, no matter how tedious it might seem. Slightly deviating from the Ylissean House tradition, Roxanne didn't hand Lucina over to a wet nurse as soon as she was born, but rather requested so that she could nurse her daughter by herself. Chrom initially didn't want to allow it, remembering her health, but Roxanne's persistence finally won over. As a compromise, though, Roxanne still employed a wet nurse to assist her. She personally chose the woman, instead of allowing the council to make the decision—"Family problem, even the exalted family, can't be mixed up with the halidom's affairs."

The choice then fell on the woman who had been Inigo's wet nurse. Olivia had employed a wet nurse because she had fallen sick two months after Inigo's birth and thus hadn't been able to lactate. Olivia assured Roxanne of her character and when Roxanne met the woman, she agreed that the wet nurse seemed to be trustworthy. Still, Roxanne preferred to do it on her own as long as she could afford it to the best of her abilities.

Watching Lucina dozing off again, Roxanne felt a certain sense of calmness and peace in her heart. She knew that if she were asked to experience it all over again, the hellish pain of giving birth, she would do it without any hesitation.

It was then she overheard someone, most probably a minister, talked to one another. "…envoy from Regna Ferox had requested an audience…"

"Your presence is requested by Khan Flavia post-haste."

Chrom furrowed his brow. "Yes, I understand."

Why now suddenly? He asked inwardly. Raimi, one of Flavia's generals, had informed him that Valm had launched warships against Regna Ferox. In a glance, it seemed foolish to wage a campaign against the kingdom of fighters; but if Valm managed to push Regna Ferox back, there was no doubt that the stability in the Ylisse continent would be shaken to its core. The price was too great for a gamble. Furthermore, Regna Ferox had been his staunchest ally during his campaign against Plegia two years ago and it was his obligation to return the favor, especially given the fact that Regna Ferox's military was still in the process of recovery to its fullest potential from the said campaign.

"What do you make of this, milord?" Frederick's voice urged him back to the present.

Chrom took a deep breath. "Ill business to be sure, Frederick," he admitted. "Raimi, tell Flavia that we will be there at once."

"Chrom…"

Chrom turned to his side and found that Roxanne was already there, with Lucina in her hands. "Roxanne, we owe Regna Ferox a great debt… I have to go there and appraise myself of the facts before deciding a course of action."

Roxanne smiled. "I know, which is why I'd suggest we discuss this during the travel."

His blue-gray eyes immediately descended to his daughter. "But, how about Lucina? She is newly born!"

Roxanne sighed. As much as she wanted to stay close to her child, she sensed that this invasion could be the prelude of something direr, which was why she needed to go.

"I guess this is the time to trust Lucina to the wet nurse completely; she had earned my trust," she replied. "This is House Ylisse tradition, too, right? You and Lissa turned out impressive from where I stand. Besides, Lucina is a strong child—the Brand in her eye proves it."

Chrom shuffled nervously on his feet. "It's not just Lucina that I worry about…" he admitted. The memory of Roxanne nearly dying during the pregnancy was still fresh in his mind and he knew it would remain that way for quite some time. The thought of bringing Roxanne to a long journey to the border was terrifying for him.

Roxanne smiled. "More reason to keep me close, no?" she countered. "What happened to our recto verso?"

"Aw, let her come, Chrom!" Lissa joined in. "She's already made up her mind!"

After some moments of silence, finally Chrom nodded his head. "Promise me you will stay safe, Roxanne," he said in a low voice. "Lissa, Emm and I… we lost our parents too soon. I don't want Lucina to experience that, especially when she's our only child."

"You have my word," Roxanne assured him.

It appeared that Regna Ferox's intelligence had come from Rosanne, which had been conquered by this personage called Walhart. Thankfully, Virion and Sully managed to escape together with their daughter.

Sully gave Chrom the brief of the situation at hand. "At this rate, those bastard ships would reach here in a few hours!"

"Let's gather everyone and prepare for a defense strategy."

Sully glanced at Roxanne quizzically. "Not that I'm unhappy to see you, but I heard that you had it bad."

Roxanne gave her a reassuring smile. "Not bad enough to ditch my husband into a fight."

Sully laughed, the first time since they had seen her. "Har har! I should've known better!"

They heard someone was coming in and turned towards the door. A woman entered the room carrying an axe by her side. Virion seemed to recognize her as he quickly stepped forward and spread his arm wide, although the woman simply ignored his arms and bowed to the rest.

"I came as quickly as I could when I heard the Duke and Duchess of Rosanne were here."

"And you are…?" Sully asked.

The woman smiled warmly. "I am not sure whether you've heard of me. I am Cherche and I used to be a vassal for House Virion."

"Har, of course!" Sully grinned widely. She inspected Cherche; the way she carried her axe, how she could still gracefully walked in her steel armor, which was shaped as a dress—in a glance, she seemed to be a competent fighter. "They spoke so highly of you!"

"I am sorry that we need to skip pleasantries for the moment," Chrom interposed. "But, what brings you here now?"

"Yes, of course," Cherche nodded. "I wish you could let me join the fight, sire."

"Hm? Why?"

"This may not be my birth country, but I am married to a man who devotes his life to this kingdom. This is my cause, too."

"I see," Chrom gave her a polite smile. "If you're sure, I am pleased to welcome you to the ranks. We can always use another fighter."

Throughout the whole conversation, Roxanne had been inspecting Cherche. "I assume you are… an aerial unit?" she asked carefully. "You're carrying an axe, but your armor seems to be too light for a ground unit."

"Yes, milady," Cherche replied. "My wyvern partner is waiting outside, and she is itching for some action herself."

Roxanne looked over at the window where she could see the ocean. She then saw some ships were approaching from the distance. Basilio and his men had been preparing themselves at the port as they spoke.

"We can't waste anymore time. Let's go meet Basilio."

Although they managed to repel the incoming ships, when they learned that this was only the vanguard of the whole army, they realized that they were at disadvantage. Things didn't get better when Basilio revealed that Regna Ferox army wasn't even two-thirds of its full strength.

"Their army morale is high due to their past successes," Roxanne noted. "Their strong cavalry might be a trouble for us to fight on the ground. "

"What are you saying, Roxanne?"

"We need to catch them on the sea."

"That makes sense, but our navy isn't our strongest suit."

"Neither is it Ylisse's…" Chrom admitted grimly.

"How about Plegia?" Roxanne asked. "Their border includes sea, right?"

"No!" Chrom refused almost immediately. "We are not going to Plegia."

"They have gold, boy! And ships, too! Roxanne's right, we need 'em! We have a fart's chance in the wind without them."

Flavia knitted her brows. "I must say this oaf is right," she admitted.

"Chrom, we can't afford that kind of sentiments… you've seen Valm's vanguard," Roxanne pleaded. "Will you please reconsider?"

Chrom looked across the rest of the troops. Exhausted and disheartened from their last fight, he knew this was no time for personal feelings. He turned to Frederick. "Send a messenger to Plegia and request a summit immediately."

He grinned as he received the message. He sent the messenger back with the information of the time and place for the summit; he couldn't hold back his laughter when the messenger finally left.

Aversa, who had been watching the king from the side, finally stepped forward. "You seem to be very pleased, milord."

"Of course I am, Aversa," he replied. "I am sure that she will be there… at the summit."

Aversa, however, didn't seem to be as pleased as the king. "She has betrayed her blood and mixed with them."

Validar burst into another maniacal laughter. "You think that's enough to deter our master, the fell dragon? He raised me back from the dead!"

The female Dark Flier decided to keep her peace and simply watch the king in his twisted snicker.

"I can't wait to see her!"

It was generally agreed that Aversa could understand him the best, like a daughter would, although there was no blood ties between them. Aversa, however, saw the man in front of her much as her father since he had practically raised her since her village was destroyed.

A dark feeling began to creep in her heart. She knew that Validar must be thinking of his fellblooded descendant instead of her, that particular descendant who had put a shame to her birthright by her actions. Aversa thought she deserved better; after all, she was the one who faithfully followed Validar, not her.

That being said... Aversa couldn't help but wonder what would she do to have that dark blood flowing in her veins… just so that Validar could love her more like she deserved to be.

Thanks for reading! Please rate and review :D