DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN FIRE EMBLEM AND ITS CHARACTERS.
Innocence 5
"6, 5, 4, 3..."
"Vwait, vwait, vwait! I'mv alvmoft dunn!" Cynthia cried with a mouth full of food, furiously clawing at her plate in an attempt to finish. Being as late to the party as she was, she had intended to spend as much time with the rest of them as possible. After all, seeing as the leaders have yet to meet, there was no telling when the army would depart from their respite at the Mila Tree.
But it seemed waiting for the young pegasus flier was not on Severa's list of things to do.
"2, 1, and... Alright, see ya!" Severa said, getting up from her seat.
"Shrverrrraaaaaa!"
"Alright, that's quite enough, Severa, you've had your fun. Cynthia's too naive to know your joking and she'll end up choking on her food." Lucina said, as she wiped a smudge of meat juice off of Cynthia's cheek. "Hold on, I'll go grab you another glass of water." she said, getting up to go to the back.
But Cynthia paid Lucina no heed and continued to gorge herself.
Severa merely laughed at the sight of Cynthia stuffing her face, sitting back down.
"Come on, aunt Cynthia. You call that eating?" Morgan said, egging her on as she patted her belly cockily.
Cynthia's reply came out as garble, bits of food sputtering onto the table.
Robin cringed, reaching for a napkin and hesitantly wiping off the tabletop. "You know, Morgan, this may come as a shock to you, but most people actually try to enjoy their food," he stated, slightly disturbed by the girl's voracious appetite.
Morgan closed her eyes, as she laid herself down on the bench which had more space due to her mother's absence. "I do enjoy it. That's why I've got to have it all as soon as possible."
Gerome shook his head. "That's not how your sense of taste works..."
"Oh hush, mystery man." Morgan said nonchalantly, making a swatting motion with her hand.
"Mystery... man?" Gerome asked with hint of annoyance.
"Yep. That's what I've decided to call you."
"It sounds ridiculously corny."
Morgan sat back up to give Gerome a questioning look. "And wearing a mask isn't? I mean, everyone here already knows you, right? So why not take it off?"
Gerome had barely gotten the chance to respond before Morgan followed up her questions.
"Don't get me wrong, I think it looks awesome. And now that I think about it, it looks handmade. Wow, don't tell me you made it yourself!"
Gerome nodded hesitantly.
"You must be really committed to your appearance! Good for you!" Morgan said, reaching across the table to give Gerome a pat on the shoulder.
Gerome swore his gut sank, as he felt Owain, Kjelle, and Severa's stares piercing him, coupled with a few covered laughs. "That's... that's not why I-"
But Morgan had no intention of stopping there. "A mysterious guy in a mask certainly sounds like something that'll cause a stir with the ladies. Adds a bit of charm, no? But stuff like that only happens in stories, you know?"
Gerome nearly choked at her words. His face grew hot, which, unfortunately for him, Morgan was keen enough to notice.
"Oh my, don't tell me you've got your eyes on someone!" she said dramatically, bringing her hands to her mouth.
By now, the others with the exception of Cynthia and Robin could no longer hold their laughter.
Gerome grit his teeth. How Morgan had asked had sounded innocent enough, but the sadistic sparkle in her eyes told another story.
While everyone else seemed to be occupied with Gerome, Robin alone had his attention focused on Morgan. 'Gods... she's a monster. She's... she's tearing him to shreds!'
"So who is it?" Morgan asked, leaning her elbows on the table, propping her chin on her palms, and a cheshire grin plastered across her face.
"I've no idea what you're talking about."
"Then take off that mask. You've got nothing to prove right?"
"Whether I choose to wear it or not will be my decision alone." Gerome growled.
But Morgan was unfazed. "You're not really helping your case here. I'm giving you a way out." Morgan said nonchalantly, as she glanced at her fingernails.
"I've no case and there's nothing to escape from. Why I where this mask is none of your business."
"Whatever you say, but it'll only be a matter of time before everyone finds out just which girl you've taken a liking to." Morgan said.
"Prepare to be disappointed."
"Disappointed? ... ...Oh..." Suddenly, the light in Morgans face dimmed, as she slowly put her hands together in a 'begging' gesture.
Gerome eyed her strangely, taking note of the dramatic shift in her expression. "What now?"
"I-I'm sorry. Here I was thinking you fancied women. I didn't realize that, that you... swung that way."
"W-what!?" Gerome yelped. Even taking into account his mask, it was clear that the life had been drained from his face.
The other spectators erupted into laughter, pounding the table in a fit hysterics.
Everyone may have been fooled with Morgan's little act of feigned remorse, but Robin could see how the corners of her frowned mouth twitched slightly, as if they were begging her to let them shoot up right into a delightful grin. Or how close her furrowed brows were from becoming undone. And at that, Robin shivered. 'D-demon... She's a demon!'
The spectacle abruptly came to an end as Lucina made her way back to the table. "What's going on here?"
"A massacre..." Robin whispered, with a blank expression.
"...Right." Lucina said, ignoring the cryptic response and setting the glass of water before Cynthia, who gratefully chugged it down.
The others had seemed dead set on keeping what had just happened a secret. And Gerome had no intentions of making himself look like a fool in front of his 'leader'. Besides, what would he say? 'Your daughter was teasing me'?
The tent flaps opened, revealing Cordelia, Lissa, Olivia, Sully, and Sumia.
"Well look who we've got here." Sully started, making her way over to the table to ruffle Kjelle's hair a bit. "So Robin, how's the babysitting coming along?"
"Huh? Oh, Morgan's fine."
"Hah, I was talkin' about the other children you're with."
Robin tapped his head. "Oh, that's right. I sometimes find myself forgetting that they're your children."
"...Is that so? You don't see them as kids?" Olivia asked, with a glint of some emotion in her eyes.
"Should I? Most of them are older than some of the people in our group."
As they made small talk, Sumia discretely surveyed the room, or how she saw it, battlefield. 'Good, good. Everyone's in formation...' Sumia thought, stealing glances at the other mother's aside from Olivia, who was just along for the ride. With the hand behind her back, she slowly held up three fingers. 'Okay, 3... 2...' she thought, counting down with her fingers. '1... And...'
"Severa, I'm about to do inventory. Do you still mind giving me a hand?
"Owain, your father wants to have a little sparring session."
"Kjelle... Let's go find your father."
One by one, the children got up to leave with their respective parent, leaving only Robin, Gerome, and the royal children.
Robin scanned around the room, noticing how empty it now felt. He heard someone at the other end of the room and snapped his head towards that direct, but alas, there was really no else there.
"What was that?" Lucina asked, having seen.
"Ah, it's nothing. I think Libra or Tharja was just peeking in."
Sumia bit her thumb. 'Gerome's still here... I'd ask Cherche to come since she mentioned him being her son, but I was also told he was... a bit hard to speak with.'
She caught Cynthia from the side of her eyes mouthing something to her.
'That's what I'm here for.' the girl seemed to say.
Sumia smiled back. 'I guess a diversionary role would be better suited for the mean time.' She looked back at the remaining people in the room and zeroed in on Robin. 'Alright, mister Tactician. Let's see how you'll get out of this one.
"Mother, are you sure you don't mind coming along with us?" Lucina asked.
"Of course not. It's not everyday I can just spend time with my girls like this."
"And what of father? Has he... err told you anything?" Lucina asked as she bit her lip.
"Just that two very special girls seemed to have given him quite the jump."
"I didn't do anything!" Cynthia blurted, after hearing the words 'special girl' and 'given him the jump'.
Lucina merely rolled her eyes at her occasionally pesky sibling.
Sumia chuckled. "Not you, sweety."
"He wasn't angry?" Lucina asked.
"Your father wouldn't get angry over something like that. Well, he would actually, but that's a testament to how much you mean to him."
"But I still feel terrible about. Perhaps I'll bake him a rhubarb pie? That always cheers him up."
Sumia giggled, the mention of rhubarb pie triggering fond memories. "Oh Lucina, you don't have to got that far."
"I don't mean to butt into your conversation," Robin chimed in, "but I have to confess that what happened was entirely my fault. Lucina's not to blame."
Although she was already aware that Robin was to blame, Sumia decided to play dumb and have some fun."You? Robin, I think it's very sweet how you want to stand up for Lucina, but..."
"No, I assure you, it was my fault."
"Robin, you don't have to do this. Chrom'll have your head if he finds out!" Sumia gasped, hoping her dramatic speech would sell her performance.
"Then I'd rather he do have my head than causing a strain in his relationship with Lucina."
Sumia stared at him with what would be interpreted as a discerning expression. But on the inside, Sumia was summoning all her bodily strength not to burst into a grin right there and then. 'Hoho, looks like I got something pretty interesting out of him...' she thought, glancing over at Lucina.
And there it was.
The redness of divine truth.
The faint blush on her daughter's cheeks that confirmed her suspicions.
Even though dozens of morbidly colorful thoughts about the two had been running wild in her head for weeks, this was the first concrete evidence she had encountered that showed there was some potential romantic chemistry between the two.
"Oh Lucina, isn't nice to have a guy like Robin around? He's always going around taking the hits for everyone." Sumia said, her exterior expression morphing to match her inner thoughts.
"...Yes" Lucina muttered shyly, staring at her feet as she walked. But suddenly, she shot her head back up, furrowing her brows and extending her hand to point an accusatory finger at Robin. "No... wait! No, it was his fault! That dastard did do all of this!"
Robin slapped his forehead. "Why are you acting as if I was denying it? I already said it outright. It was my fault."
Lucina lowered her hand, her face softening. Her frustration slowly vanished to give way to guilt. Although it was Robin's fault in the first place, he had already tried to make amends. "I'm sorry, Robin. That was very immature of me. I was just so... so..."
Robin walked over to look her in the eye. "It's alright. I understand how much your relationship with Chrom means to you. But Lucina, you've got to understand that Chrom wouldn't hold anything against you for something like this. Chrom's a bigger man than that. And I'm sure he worries even more about what you think of him."
Sumia wore a soft smile. Robin was right on target. His words perfectly describing Chrom's personal journey to become to the best father he could be for their children.
Lucina let her eyes turn upwards at the man in front of her. "Do you think so?"
Robin offered her a kind smile. "Who wouldn't want the mighty Lucina to hold them in high regards? Even Chrom isn't spared from your charms."
'HOW BOLD!' Sumia shrieked in her head, her mouth hang open. She frantically spun towards Cynthia for confirmation that her ears had not deceived her.
Cynthia's grin seemed to hang from ear to ear.
Gerome wore a slight look of disgust, while Morgan looked on curiously with a finger to her chin.
"C-charms?" Lucina asked.
"Yes, Robin, elaborate." Morgan said.
"What is this? Am I being interrogated?" Robin asked with a raised brow.
"Answer the question." Cynthia demanded.
"...Perhaps Robin has had enough." Gerome spoke up.
Everyone turned to look at the young man in surprise.
Across from him, Sumia was silently glaring daggers at the wyvern rider. 'We need to take him out...' she seethed.
"Well if you all plan on making a big deal of this, then I don't mind answering." Robin stated, shifting all attention back to him.
Sumia's mind was bouncing off the walls at the fortuitous rebound.
As soon as he was certain all ears were on him, Robin spoke up. "Let's see, Lucina's charms... Well there is her contradictory personality."
"Contradictory? What do you mean by that?" Lucina asked sharply.
"For example, how you can be serious one moment, then be so fun loving the next. Or how you're able to take offense at a joke, then completely turn the tables at a moment's notice. Or how you can seem like such a responsible, headstrong woman, but still be able to show that you've got that spark of innocence."
"You find that aspect of mother of all things to be charming?" Morgan asked in confusion.
Robin let out a sigh. "As a Tactician, you're used to being able to read people so easily. How you can respond to them and what they'll say. But with Lucina, there's times where I can't exactly put my finger on what she'll do next. That unpredictability of hers, it's refreshing."
"I'm not quite sure if I'm being flattered or mocked here." Lucina said, a bit overwhelmed by his comments.
Sumia put a hand on her shoulder. "Dear, I believe Robin's just saying he enjoys being with you."
"Yeah..." Robin confirmed, scratching the back of his neck.
"Oh..." Lucina said softly. "Well... I enjoy your company as well."
With all eyes on the both of them, Robin found himself unable to respond.
The two stood in front of the other awkwardly, as the mother and sister stood a short distance away, gawking.
Morgan walked up to Sumia and Cynthia, tugging at her grandmother's sleeve. "Mind telling me what's going on here?"
Alarmed at her sudden question, Sumia grabbed both her daughter and granddaughter by their sleeves and pulled them out of earshot of the other three.
"You see Morgan..." Sumia started, gathering the right words.
"Be sure to tell me everything, grandmother. I've noticed how strange you've been acting since you got here." Morgan asserted.
"I'm... trying to see if Lucina and Robin get along."
Morgan blinked. "Of course they get along. I've been with you all for less than a day and even I know that."
"That's not exactly the type of 'getting along' I meant, Morgan."
"I'm not following. What other..." And suddenly, Morgan's eyes widened. She turned her head back to glance at her mother and Robin who had yet to utter another word. "Wait, you're trying to tell me that..."
"Mom's trying to hook Lucy up with Robin." Cynthia said, cutting to the chase.
"Oh..." Morgan whispered.
"Huh? What's wrong?" Sumia asked, upon seeing the wave of confusion spread across the young girl.
"I... I don't know who my father is." Morgan said quietly.
The truth of the situation came crashing down on Sumia. Her jubilant demeanor souring upon realizing that her crusade of love could have very well been meddling with Morgan's life. "Morgan..."
"I don't remember father, but... From what I remember about mother, he must have made her very happy."
"..."
"..."
"Are you... Are you opposed to all of this?" Sumia asked guiltily, rubbing Morgan's back.
"I-I don't know... Robin might not be my father... And if so, what'll happen to my real father?"
"Morgan, I'm so sorry..." Sumia whispered, pulling the girl into a hug. "Considering your place in all of this should have been the first thing I did."
Morgan leaned her head against Sumia, staring off at Lucina and Robin, who had finally gotten back to conversing properly.
"Well, I guess that wraps up my little scheme." Sumia sighed.
Morgan's eyes passed over Robin, and then her mothers who wore a joyous expression and appeared to be giggling about something.
And that, Morgan decided, was all she needed.
Grabbing Sumia's arms, she removed herself from her restraint and took a step back. "Do it."
"I beg your pardon?"
"If you think my mother and Robin are right for each other, then who am I to stop you?"
Sumia cocked her head, and looked at the girl questioningly."Morgan, I believe your the only person who has the sole right of stopping me. You're her daughter."
"And you're her mother." Morgan countered, a smile making its way back onto her face. "And if there's one thing that I can muster from my memories as a child, it's that a mother knows best, right?"
"I don't know. You said it yourself, what if Robin isn't your real father?"
Morgan stared back at the two. "And... And I also said that I don't remember my father. There's a chance he isn't, but... there's also a chance that he is. And even if he's not, and if you do manage to succeed with your little plan, then... at least I get to see mother smile like that." she finished, nudging her head in their direction.
Sumia took note of Lucina's current cheer. "You're a very sweet girl, Morgan. Lucina's happy to have you."
"You have me too. I'm also your granddaughter." Morgan said with a chuckle, leaning back in to give Sumia a hug.
"And I'm even luckier to have three special girls in my life." Sumia said with a laugh, returning the gesture.
"It would be interesting to have Robin as my dad. He already gives off that kind of vibe."
"So I'm assuming you'd be interested in giving me and Cynthia a hand?" Sumia said with a chuckle.
"No, I'll pass." Morgan said, surprising Sumia. "While I'm not particularly against it, I'm not quite sure if I can lend a hand. Until anything big happens, I'll just enjoy the current relationship I have with everyone for the time being. I don't want mother being locked into anything because of me."
"Very mature of you." Sumia said, feeling a bit bad that the girl seemed more an adult than her at the moment. "Well, that's fine too, I guess. Promise not to let them know about all of this?"
"My lips are sealed, grandmother."
"What are you three up two?" Lucina asked, striding up to them with Robin and Gerome.
"Oh you know, just bonding." Morgan said with a shrug.
"Anyways, how about we get a move on? Oh, there's a merchant caravan over there!" Sumia said, pointing towards the fortress's western entrance. "Why don't we go head over and see what they've got?"
"We're supposed to be taking Morgan around, mother." Lucina said.
"Don't worry, we've got plenty of time. Besides, if there are merchants around, Anna can't be too far away. See? Two birds with one stone."
"I suppose. Let us be quick, then."
Lucina strolled along on her own. The others had ran off to survey the vast amount of goods, supplies, and merchandise that had been laid out by the caravan. The group of traveling merchants had quite literally set up shop at the entrance of the fortress, a sort of bazaar now standing at its gates.
Lucina walked around at a steady pace, uninterested in doing any window shopping. To be frank, she just wanted to find Anna, introduce her to Morgan and get going with the rest of the day.
"The old 'acting like you're uninterested in order to haggle down the price' routine, ay?" said a woman who stepped out from one of the wagons.
Lucina turned to face the woman, who pulled off her hood to reveal her red locks.
"Um, no, that's not quite it. Wait a second... you're not our Anna, are you?" Lucina asked, looking the woman up and down.
"I'm everyone's Anna. I'm the one who works tirelessly to bring even a modicum of inner city delight and extravagances to the most remote, backwater areas of the realm. I, Anna, am the Secret Seller. I take it you've heard of me?" asked the woman, introducing herself in a most grandiose manner.
"Yes, I have. As well as the hundreds of other sisters you must have." Lucina said flatly.
The merchant Anna pouted. "Boo, you're no fun. So, you've met one of my sisters then?"
"That's correct. In fact, she's actually a part of our group."
"Your group, eh?" The merchant Anna said, as she looked to the large, looming fortress walls. "Say, are you the guys that are in there?"
"Yes we are."
"So one of my sisters thought it a nice idea to join up with the Valmese, huh? Well she'll get a piece of my mind at our next family reunion."
Lucina shook her head, out of both denial and to brush away the simply mind boggling image of an 'Anna family reunion'. "No, no. We're not the Valmese. We recently took control of this fort. You see, we're Ylisseans."
"Ylisseans? You don't say. You wouldn't be the group that caused a stir at Valm Harbor, would you?"
"Heh, that's us." Lucina said, laughing nervously.
"So my sis joined up with the Ylisseans. Good on her."
"From what I gathered, I thought you were opposed to the idea of one of your siblings joining the ranks of an army."
"Not at all. I just didn't want to find out that she'd gone and joined that damned Empire."
"Have you got a problem with the Empire?"
"A problem? Now that's an understatement. Ever since this so called Empire formed, they've had troops commandeering the the highways, stationing checkpoints to and fro. Checkpoints in which we merchants, have to pay exuberant prices just to cross!"
Lucina could only laugh nervously to herself at the girl's state of heated annoyance.
"Not to mention the embargo they've put on foreign and religious merchandise."
"An Embargo?"
"Yeah. It seems the Emperor wants his people to only have the finest crafted merchandise from the Valmese Capital. Like he cares about what everyone else wants. He just wants to raise more funds for his blasted army by putting out overly priced items on the market. I mean I'm not getting paid by him, so why have I got to sell his stuff?" The redhead fumed.
"Ah, I'm sorry. It seems I've led us into a touchy subject." Lucina apologized.
Merchant Anna let out a sigh. "No, it's not you fault. On the contrary, I should be the one to apologize. Just the thought of those damned... Well, let's just move on from this, shall we?"
Lucina nodded in agreement.
"Come over here. I think I've got a few things that'll catch your eye." Merchant Anna instructed, motioning for the princess to follow her around to the other side of the wagon.
On the other side, a large tent had been set up, the interior packed with goods ranging from weaponry to children's toys.
Merchant Anna opened up a large trunk and begin sifting through its contents. "Well since your in the army, I figure you for the adventurous type. Correct?"
"I guess."
"Well I've got just the thing for you." said the redhead, pulling out an armful of different swords. She laid them out on a nearby table. "So, what do you think?"
Lucina gazed upon the assortment of weapons. Some crude and others that seemed to be crafted with extreme diligence. "This a fine haul of swords, I must admit. But I've already got all I need right here." she said, pulling out her Falchion.
Merchant Anna's eyes widened at the sight of the mighty blade, immediately rushing over to inspect it. "Now where did get such a fine blade?" she asked, running a hand along its side. "The craftsmenship is superb!"
"Well, it's one of a kind."
"Rarity only makes it even more valuable on the market!" The redhead gushed.
Lucina sheathed the blade, much to the woman's disappointment. "I'm sorry. I don't plan on selling it in this lifetime."
"Come now, I've got a nice sack of gold right here that says otherwise." Merchant Anna chided, waving the pouch of gold in Lucina's face.
"No amount of gold could ever amount to the importance of this blade. Also... it has sentimental value." Lucina said softly.
Merchant Anna let out a sigh. "I guess it's my loss."
"I apologize." Lucina said.
"Don't worry, swords are only the tip of the iceberg. Check out what we've got over here."
As Lucina went to follow, one particular blade caught her attention from the side of her eye.
She stopped and picked up the oddly alluring sword. It a glance, it seemed seemed to be like any other steel blade. But upon further inspection, the material was not any type of metal she had seen before.
"Hoho, so it looks like you can fit a sword into your budget." Merchant Anna said, having found out that Lucina hadn't followed her.
"This sword is beautiful." Lucina remarked.
"Can you believe its made of wood?"
Lucina's brows rose. "There's no way this things is wooden. I mean, what tree could produce wood like this?"
Merchant Anna coughed, grabbing Lucina's shoulders and leading her outside. She turned the princess around to give her a nice view of the Mila Tree.
"Surely you're joking. You expect me to believe this sword was made from the wood of the Mila Tree?"
"That's right."
"Now I know this is some elaborate scheme. You may be able to fool any other person with your illusions, but I know very well that the Mila Tree is supposed to be indestructible. There's no way someone was able to gather wood from it, let alone craft it into a sword."
"This is no marketing tactic, my friend. This sword is made from one hundred percent pure wood from the Mila Tree. Test it out for yourself."
"Test it out?"
"Mhm. Like you said, the Mila Tree's supposed to be indestructible, correct? Then this sword should be able to take a strike from that fancy sword of yours head on, without so much as a nick."
Lucina eyed her suspiciously. "And I suppose if the sword does break, I'll have to pay for it?"
Merchant Anna put her hand on her chest. "I give you my word that I won't hold you accountable for any damages that may happen to it. But I'm telling you, you can throw that thing into a volcano and it'll still be right as rain."
"Volcano?" Lucina asked, puzzled.
"You know. Big mountain? Filled with hot magma?"
Lucina was only further stumped by the description.
"Ugh, that's right. They don't have any of those in Ylisse..." Anna muttered in realization. "But whatever, just give that sword a wack and see for yourself!"
Lucina nodded after bit of contemplation, setting the wooden sword on the ground and unsheathing her Falchion.
She raised the sacred blade over her head, adjusting its path in her head as she aimed for the middle of the wooden sword's blade.
She sucked in some air, and slammed Falchion down hard on the sword.
As soon as the the two blades collided, Lucina felt the impact reverberate up her arm, as if she had just slammed Falchion into a stone she got over the shock from the result, she lifted the blade to eye it in wonder. "Y-you were telling the truth!" she gasped.
"Of course I was! We merchants mislead our customers, not lie to them." the merchant said proudly.
Lucina deadpanned. She focused her attention back on the sword. "But how could such a thing like this even exist? It's invincibility only opens up even more questions."
"The world's a big place. And not all questions are meant to be answered. Just enjoy the gift whatever god placed in mortal hands." Anna concluded. "Soooo... You thinking of buying?"
Lucina bit her lip. The blade was indeed very enticing, even considering the fact that she wielded Falchion. But there was the matter of the blades 'legendary' status. "I'm assuming a sword like this costs a hefty sum." Lucina noted.
Anna let out a laugh. "You bet. Normally I'd charge whatever person wanted it a lifetime's worth of gold."
Lucina frowned, but her mind clung on to one of the merchant's words. "Normally?"
Anna smiled. "Let's say I'll give you a big discount."
"How big are we talking?" Lucina asked.
The redhead put a finger to her chin. "Hmmm... Does seven hundred sound fine?"
Lucina's eyes widened once again. "You'd be willing to sell me this for such a price?"
"Consider it a service to Ylisse for taking up arms against the Empire. Oh, and taking in my sister."
"Y-you have a deal!" Lucina said in excitement, reaching into her pouch for the needed coins.
Merchant Anna took the gold and dropped them into her coin pouch. "So now that you have this little gem, do you think you'll consider selling your other sword?" She asked hopefully.
Lucina chuckled. "So that was your angle the whole time, huh?"
"Did it work?" Merchant Anna asked with wink, as she stuck out her tongue and crossed her fingers.
"I'm sorry, but I can't sell Falchion."
Merchant Anna sighed in defeat.
Lucina smiled bittersweetly. "But, I'll let you in on something. There's something very big going to happen in the near future. Let's just say that the hopes and dreams of the world lie on this very blade.
Merchant Anna shook her head. "Now I'm really kicking my self in the butt for not closing in on it."
The two women shared a laugh.
"Take good care of that sword." Merchant Anna said. "Well, not like it'll get damaged, but don't lose it or anything. Maybe it's fate that I sold it to someone who helped liberate the Mila Tree."
Lucina smiled. "As romantic as that sounds, I'm not really one to believe in fate. Besides, I won't be using the sword."
Merchant Anna looked at Lucina strangely. "What do you mean?"
"I'm giving it to a friend." Lucina replied. "The one who really freed the Mila Tree."
"So the sword of the Mila Tree finds its way into the hand of its savior? How can that not be fate?" Anna laughed.
Lucina smiled. "Because I'm the one who will be giving it to him. A choice I made completed the circle, so if it's fate, it's one I've made on my own."
"Now that's romantic." Merchant Anna giggled. "Speaking of romantic, you said your friend's a him?" She asked as she raised her brows up and down.
Lucina shook her head. "No, no, it's just a reward for all he's done for us."
"For 'us', or for 'you'?" the merchant asked, digging in deeper.
"...That's not what this is." Lucina replied, trying to hide the blush infectiously spreading across her face. "But..."
Merchant Anna's ears perked up.
"But if this can also serve as thanks... for that... then I hope he likes it." Lucina finished softly, running her hand along the wooden hilt.
The merchant grinned at her. "What are you saying? Who wouldn't love a sword like that? Not to mention it being handed off by beauty like you."
"Now tha-" Lucina was cut off as she was gently tugged out of the tent.
"Yeah, yeah. Well, we're all done here. Go check out the other stalls. Good doing business with you!" The merchant said, as she closed the flaps of the tent.
Lucina was left bewildered at the sudden forced exit, but shook off the notion as she made her way to the to other stands.
Back inside the tent, merchant Anna plopped down onto a chair. "How was that?" she asked aloud.
The curtains at the back of the room rustled revealing Anna and Sumia.
"That was splendid, sis. You really sold the whole 'clueless stranger' act. I'm sure Sumia was satisfied by the results." Anna said, smirking at the mother.
"I knew it!" Sumia squealed. "Give her something nice, and he's the first person on her mind."
"I have to admit, that was some impressive deduction on your part." Anna said.
Sumia nodded proudly. "Oh, I knew it would would happen. I'm just glad you told me earlier that your sister would be dropping by, otherwise we couldn't have arranged this whole thing." Sumia reached into her satchel and pulled out a pouch of gold, which she tossed over to merchant Anna. "Here's the rest of the gold for that sword. You earned every bit of it."
Merchant Anna smiled, giving the pouch a squeezed before tossing it back to Sumia. "No need. Getting to see romance blooming is all the pay that this Anna needs. Besides, I meant what I said about being grateful to you all for standing up to the Empire."
Sumia just barely caught the pouch in her state of astonishment. "No, I couldn't possibly let you off with so little money."
"It's fine." Merchant Anna said. "Just make sure you see this little plan of yours til the end. Your daughter's a real interesting one. Even if you are working behind the scenes to speed up her love life, she seems like a real stubborn person. Don't expect to be forcing her into anything anytime soon. Like she said, she'll make her own fate."
Sumia shook her head. "No, I most definitely do not plan on forcing her into anything. I'm just... setting up the playing field."
"Just putting it out in front of them, ay? I suppose that could work. Well, if that fate she spoke of just happens to include this Robin fellow, then judging from that grin she had as she bought the sword, I'd say she'll grow old happily."
A/N: And here it is.
Some fun with Morgan, as well as Robin potentially getting a new sword.
Sumia's yet to finish with her plotting.
The next chapter will pick up right where this left off, with the group browsing through wares.
I wonder what will happen?
Til next time!