Lucina Reacts to Date Peepers, Part 2!
A/N: Welcome, one and all, to Lucina Reacts! Now, a little heads-up on my situation for the last week; I was in Germany for a week, spending most of it doing internship at a summer camp for six hours a day from Monday-Friday, in addition to wanting to see the city itself. That meant obviously that any and all fanfic updates came late or not at all. However, I DID work on this chapter while I was there, allowing me to release it with a little editing. That is all, now have your clingy Maribelle action!
DISCLAIMER: Fire Emblem belongs to Nintendo, otherwise Crimson or Flora would be more heavily pushed as Male!Corrin's love interest. (the feels)
All mentioned franchises and characters belong to their respective owners.
Sunset, just outside Ylisstol Palace….
Maribelle waited just outside the gate to the palace, watching the sun set over the mountains just beyond the city, her arms crossed and her foot tapping impatiently, waiting for Lucina to show up. Moments ago, she had seen Lissa leaving the palace with Donnel, and she wished to get her stalk-careful guardianship operation over with.
After all, she couldn't leave dear Lissa with some person who might do bad things to her. That would be almost unthinkable.
'Tch. Lucina should be more concerned about her aunt.' The noblewoman thought, huffing irritably. 'After all, Naga knows what could be happening to her! I mean, even Donnel is capable of atrocities, and I'm doing this to make sure she isn't hurt!
She is my friend, after all! J-just my friend!'
Finally, after what seemed to be an eternity, the princess finally appeared at the gate, clad in a dark russet hood and cloak wrapped around herself, with the hood partially obscuring her face. Maribelle hissed at her angrily.
"Lucina! What are you doing?!" The noblewoman cried. "T-this isn't some sort of c-cloak-and-dagger operation o-or anything! Y-you might give people the wrong idea!"
"I was told we would be watching over my aunt, and so I took the attire I would be needing to do so. Reflet advised me to wear these just in case we might be spotted."
"Spotted? W-we're not doing anything wrong that would get us into trouble if we get seen! D-don't be silly!" Maribelle snapped. "Ggh….."
'Great. Reflet knows I'm doing this. Naga knows that woman's ever been good for anything…..' She seethed. 'The only thing I can do is hurry up and hope she doesn't find out before she gets the wrong idea! Naga knows I need her to start spreading indecent rumours about Lissa and I!'
The noblewoman grumbled, before sweeping across her dress, turning her back on Lucina. "Well? We should go now, then, if you're not busy! Lissa will not protect herself, so we must do it for her!"
"Alright." Lucina started strolling towards town, before turning to Maribelle. "Where did you say Aunt Lissa was headed again?"
"Town! If you must know, she was going to the northern quarter with that Donnel boy!"
"Donnel? As in, the villager Donnel?" The princess inquired, tilting her head. The noblewoman nodded hurriedly before pushing Lucina ahead.
"Yes, yes. THAT Donnel, now hurry up! We are going to LOSE Lissa if we don't keep moving?"
The princess tilted her head, confused. "Huh? But Donnel's strong enough to protect her-"
"No, he isn't! Not from THIS threat! Now hurry up!" Maribelle cried. "And if you see that Reflet, tell her that I called this operation off to go back to Themis!"
Lucina held up a finger. "You're not doing anything that Reflet could remotely corrupt if you're just protecting my aunt, right?"
"That woman can corrupt the image of Nah standing in an open field with a stick in her hand." Maribelle remarked, an expression of distaste clear on her face. "Do not underestimate that pervert's ability to manipulate any situation to her liking! Now let's go!"
She stormed past the princess, somehow managing to move incredibly quickly despite her heels and physics dictating she should be far slower than she was. Lucina tilted her head.
"…..the northern quarter is that way, Maribelle."
"I KNEW THAT!"
Minutes later…
"Ma always used to like moonless nights." Donnel explained, his voice shaking as he stared at Lissa. The cleric was smiling playfully at him over their dinner- a nice roast Ylissean deer sirloin paired with finely made rabbit stew- waiting for him to continue.
"And why was that? Don't worry about little old me, I'm just interested~"
The villager boy started blushing slightly as he continued. "W-well….s-she always s-said it was b-because y-you c-could see t-the stars better than n-normally...y-you know, like y-you can't see 'em out here b-because of a-all them lights…."
"Huh? You mean all the lights here are why you can't see stars at night?" Lissa inquired, curious. Donnel nodded.
"Y-yeah. M-Miss Miriel t-taught me that…..c-course, she then s-started talking about t-the merits of t-telepathy a-and how s-she suspects m-miss Reflet h-has it….that's…um….i-is it h-hot in here? O-or…."
Lissa giggled. "It's not exactly swimsuit weather- I had to wear my fur coat today. Are you blushing, Donnel~?"
"Y-ye-I mean, n-no!" The villager boy had to look away, twiddling his fingers. He really didn't know what to do in this situation.
Maribelle was perched behind a nearby potted plant, hissing angrily at him.
'S-stuttering and acting like an innocent farmboy….who does he think he is? Trying to seduce Lissa with his innocence…' Maribelle growled. '…..h-hmph. I-I don't care.I-idiots. L-Lissa can court who she likes and I won't ca-'
"Maribelle…why are you muttering to yourself?" Lucina inquired. "You seem quite angry."
"I-I do?"
"And that leaf doesn't seem like you should be holding it so tightly." The princess pointed out. "Also, we're paying quite close attention here, are we not? What are we looking for?"
"Signs of disruption!"
"Like what? It's just Donnel." Lucina pointed out. "He isn't exactly a threat to Aunt Lissa, right? You've fought at his side for years, you should know."
"M-maybe he's turned traitor!" Maribelle snapped. "Y-you never know!"
"As skilled a fighter as Donnel is, I don't personally believe he has the capacity to commit treason!"
"A-anyone could be a traitor!"
"So are you saying Robin, Mother or Father could be traitors?"
"I-If they're attempting to seduce Lissa, then clearly t-they're trying to get valuable secrets out o-of her! Y-yes! Clearly!"
Lucina just stared at her in disbelief. "Am I hearing this right?! You would think Robin would betray Ylisse?!"
"Ma? Lucina? What're you doing here?"
Both women froze to see Brady, in what looked like an overly elaborate waiter's uniform, crouching down to look at them.
"B-Brady?! What are you doing here?!" Maribelle cried, staring at him.
"I was, er, gettn' that work experience ya wanted me ta, Ma." The cleric explained. "Ya know, after ya told me ta get some non cleric-related work and, er, not look too….irreputable?"
"The word is DISREPUTABLE!" The noblewoman snapped. Lucina glared at her.
"What is wrong with you?!"
"I am sorry, but just being a healer does not give one high social prospects in high society, and I only want the best for MY son."
"But ya said the other day that Libra-"
Maribelle hushed him. "Never mind what I do, only what I say! Now get behind here before I get caught!"
The noblewoman quickly yanked her son behind the plant they were crouching behind, grumbling.
"Ma! I'm trying ta work here!"
"And now you're going to hide with me so I don't get caught!"
Brady looked over to Lucina. "Do ya know what's goin' on here?!"
"She's…..stalking Lissa." Lucina answered, her eyes narrowing irritably. "I think."
"I am not stalking Lissa! I am attempting to ensure Donnel isn't betraying her!"
"Makes me wonder how I'm alive if Ma's this crazy 'bout Lissa." The cleric remarked. Maribelle glared at him.
"W-what are you implying?! A-are you implying p-perverted things about L-Lissa and I-I? I-I only have the purest of i-intentions!"
"Hey, Lissa. Do ya hear that?" Donnel suddenly spoke up. "It sounds kinda loud from here, but I think we're, err, disturbing somebody…."
The princess looked around worriedly. "Are we? Huh."
Lucina yanked the noblewoman down, glaring at her. "Now look what you've done!"
"I have done nothing w-wrong!"
"You're stuttering! You know it's wrong!"
Brady looked worried. "I kinda don', ya know, want ta get fired, so can I go back ta work now?"
"No, then Lissa will see me!" Maribelle complained. "Now sit down! You can always work somewhere else!"
Lucina huffed. "I swear, Maribelle. If we get out of this without Aunt Lissa seeing me, I am going to ask Miriel to check on you or have Libra ensure you aren't mentally deficient."
"M-mentally deficient?! Lucina, how dare you?!"
"Oh, excuse me, Maribelle, am I the one who dragged us all out here on a false pretence of Donnel committing TREASON to make sure Lissa isn't being hurt?"
"That is a good reason though!" The noblewoman protested.
Brady, meanwhile, sighed and shook his head. "The way things are goin', I'm probably gonna have to live off an allowance or somethin', Ma."
Lucina rubbed her temples, sighing. "I regret not taking Robin up on his offer of helping him study the royal archives and helping you instead. I can't even leave or I'll look like a stalker!"
"I am NOT stalking her!"
"Right, and Tharja doesn't stalk Robin all the time."
'…..funny you should mention that….' Maribelle thought, but did not state. She then looked up, seeing Lissa and Donnel stand up from their seats. She clenched her fist.
"Come on! We have to follow them!"
Lucina glared at her. "Or what?"
"Or we'll both get caught and Chrom will kill us both." Maribelle stated matter-of-factly. "Now let's go! The game's afoot!"
'Why, of all nights, does Miriel have to run out of those aspirin confectioneries today? And they would be so useful, too….' Lucina lamented as she was dragged along in the crazed noblewoman's scheme.
Brady sighed, resigned to losing his job. "Meh. I'll just tell 'em my Ma's a crazy woman."
The trio followed Lissa and Donnel throughout town, watching their movements carefully as they slowly snaked through the northern quarter of Ylisstol, talking to each other leisurely as they walked through the gates and onto a grassy hill overlooking the town walls.
Maribelle looked increasingly irritated as she tailed the pair, jumping from brush to brush. "Tch. Grassy hills…..Donnel, you sly, sly man."
"You're grasping at straws, Maribelle." Lucina remarked. "Admit it. You like Donnel just as much as the rest of us, know he doesn't have the capacity to betray anyone and you're just acting jealous because he's with Aunt Lissa."
"I refuse to admit something that is a slanderous lie!"
Brady sighed. "Ma, yer more obvious than Lucina ever was about Robin."
"I was never that obvious."
"Ya blushed every time Robin complimented ya and ya made googly-eyes like no tomorrow at the dinner table! I may be not all that well-educated, but I ain't that stupid."
"Not well-educated?!" Maribelle stared at him.
"I never did listen to that tutor ya hired for me. He always spouted a load o' crap about being proper instead of, ya know, teachin'."
Maribelle looked offended. "I beg your pardon?! Gah…..no time for this nonsense. I have to listen to those two and make sure they aren't d-doing anything objectionable!"
She looked over at Lissa and Donnel as they took their seats on the hill, looking over the town.
"H-heh….." The villager rubbed the back of his head nervously, looking over at his companion. "S-so…..Y-Your Worshipfulness-"
"I told you, it's Lissa! Lissa! Sheesh, we've been friends for years, you don't need to call me by that silly name." The cleric responded, giggling. Donnel looked down, blushing.
"Hehehe...y-yeah..."
Lissa tilted her head. "Y'know, you seem a little...bashful. Is there something wrong?"
"N-no! Nothing, nothing," The villager responded, shaking his head. "It's just..."
"Just?"
"I...uh...I never really...er...spent time...with a g-girl alone..." Donnel admitted.
Lissa giggled. "Is that all? You know we're friends, right? You can be as open as you want to be around me! Remember? I told you to treat me like an older sister!"
"W-well..."
Maribelle flinched. "...t-this is proof that he's up to something! Why would he take Lissa out to dinner if he only saw her as a sister?! Huh?!"
"I don't know about you, but this is juicy!" Anna piped up suddenly, scaring the three.
Lucina jumped, glaring at Anna. "You! What are you doing here?"
"Taking pictures, duh." The merchant responded, holding up her snapshot tome. "Pretty juicy ones, too~"
Maribelle glared at her angrily. "How dare you stalk Lissa l-like some kind of depraved voyeur?!"
Lucina gave her an incredulous look. Anna, however, took it in stride.
"You think about it. The down-to-earth, blushy, sweet and kind boy from the boonies, and the happy-go-lucky, cute and mischievous sister of the Exalt? I'd make tons of money just selling the pictures to the...ahem...right authorities!"
Lucina sighed. "As always, your depravity knows no bounds when it comes to money."
"I'm just trying to make a living here!" Anna protested. "I'm not committing a crime, or anything!"
The noblewoman huffed irritably, looking away from her. "Tch. Typical merchant, always looking to swindle lesser minds..."
"Hey!" Brady cried, offended. "Ya made me work as one ta get better at-"
"S-shush!"
The merchant shrugged. "If it makes money. You should've seen the pictures I sold of Reflet and Sumia, too. Ohohohohoho...I'll be living off those a while..."
The princess facepalmed. "Why am I the one who ends up in these situations?!"
Brady chimed in. "Yer ma's not the one who wanted ta stalk her best friend!"
"It is NOT stalking!" Maribelle harshly responded. "What do you think I am, some kind of oversexed depraved peeping Tom like-"
"Like Tharja?"
Maribelle, Lucina, Brady and Anna froze in place, their eyes slowly looking up to see a curious Lissa, looking down into the bush.
Lucina felt her blood run cold. "...h-hello...Aunt Lissa..."
"Hi. Any reason you guys are in a bush?" The cleric inquired sweetly, smiling. Anna smiled confidently.
"Oh, just taking inventory."
"Liar!" Maribelle cried. "You were stalking them!"
"...I have no regrets. I got all the pictures I wanted!" Anna yelped as she sprung from the ground and sprinted towards the city. Donnel ran after her, yelling.
"I-It's nothin' like that! Come back!"
Lissa turned to her best friend. "You, Maribelle?"
"Um...I...I was just, erm...passing by, and I happened to drop my parasol!" The noblewoman explained hastily, holding up her parasol shakily. "Yes, o-of course!"
"Ma was stalkin' you n' Donnel." Brady corrected for her.
"I WAS NOT-"
Lissa turned to Lucina. "Is that true?"
"Yes." The princess stated exasperatedly. "Definitely.
Maribelle looked shocked. "T-traitor!"
"Why?"
"I...w-wanted to...protect my best friend, dearest Lissa!" Maribelle cried, shaking her head. "I didn't want Donnel to...do anything unmentionable to you!"
'Yes, because you want to do it to her instead.' Lucina thought, wisely holding her tongue.
"...you realise Donnel just wanted to talk, right? It wasn't, like, a date." Lissa explained, frowning. "I did tell you that."
Maribelle looked up, surprised. "...you did?"
"Earlier today!"
The princess suddenly turned towards her. "So you dragged me along to stalk my aunt because you didn't even listen to her?"
Brady simply threw his hands up in resignation. "I give up. Ma, Lucina, I'm going ta bed and hopin' I can beg for my job back tomorrow. See ya."
The boy walked off down the path to Ylisstol, leaving the three nobles.
"I told you, I was protecting her! I couldn't bear to see one of my...friends be so hurt!" The noblewoman stated. "Yes, my friend! My dearest, most beloved friend! My friend!"
Lissa tilted her head, examining her friend closely. "...is something wrong, Maribe-"
"Friend! Just a friend! Nothing more! I do not find you attractive!"
The cleric turned to her niece. "Lucina, is something wrong with her? Is she sick?"
"Just...leave it to someone like Miriel or something." Lucina answered, standing up.
"But I can heal her!"
"This isn't something you can heal so easily. Trust me." The princess responded, before gazing back towards the city. "I'm going to go see if Robin's still working. You want to come along?"
"Oh, that sounds interesting! I wonder what he's doing?" Lissa chirped, walking alongside the princess down to Ylisstol.
Maribelle was still in place, however.
"Yes, Lissa is most definitely just my friend! I would...I would be hurt that anyone would think that I would want to do...a-anything unmentionable to-hey, wait!
Don't just leave me here! Come baaaack!"
END
A/N: Yes, Maribelle, we believe you, you're not interested in Lissa, yeah, okay. Whatever. So, next chapter, Lucina Reacts to Beach Episodes! And no, I haven't played the Summer Scramble DLC, so I'm going to assume it didn't happen in the Reactsverse.
So, I hope you enjoyed that, leave your ideas, comments, suggestions, criticisms, thoughts and reviews, and I hope you have a GREAT day! Until next time!
