"Are you sure about these reports?"
"Yes, milord."
Chrom pinched his brow and sighed, "Alright, Robin, think we can spare a few Shepherds to deal with this?"
"It will take a few days at least to get everything fully prepped. I don't see why not."
"Good, I'll leave it up to you to select who comes with me."
"Milord, do you not think that perhaps you should remain with the troops?"
"We're not doing anything other than getting situated. They'll be fine without me. Back me up on this, Robin."
"Actually, this seems to be fairly minor. I don't think your presence is exactly necessary."
Chrom looked at his friend with betrayal in his eyes, "You too?"
"The last thing the army needs is to find out that their leader is nowhere to be seen. You need to make a show of confidence. Walk around, greet the troops; that kind of thing."
"Fine. What about you though?"
This time it was Robin's turn to sigh, "I doubt Morgan would take no for an answer here, and given her recent behavior I want to be around her."
"I understand," Chrom gave his friend a sympathetic pat on the shoulder, "Best of luck. On both fronts."
"Lucina!" Robin jogged up to the princess.
"Robin," Lucina tensed at his presence knowing what she knew, "Is there something I can do for you?"
"We've received word of a horde of Risen to the north. I'll be leading a few of the Shepherds to handle it. I'd hate to bring up bad memories, but given your experience, I thought you might be useful." He also figured she might want to accompany them to fight off the blight that had plagued her own world.
"Of course," She was momentarily freed of her apprehension when faced with the task, "I will be ready."
"Good, now that that's out of the way, would you mind telling me why you've been avoiding me lately?"
"A-avoiding you? Whatever do you mean?"
Robin gave her a disbelieving look, "Don't give me that. You've barely said a word to me since the battle at sea. Did I do something to upset you?"
"No!" Lucina blushed and cleared her throat, "It's not your fault. Something has just recently come up that…complicates matters, but I apologize if I offended you."
"If something's bothering you, you can tell me."
"Sorry, but not this. Not yet at least."
"Well, I hope we can at least continue our little chats every now and then. When we weren't talking about the end of the world or potential treachery, I rather enjoyed them."
"I…suppose we could," Lucina was conflicted. On one hand, she told herself that it was a bad idea, but part of her longed to continue those talks.
"Good. Ironically enough, as much as I'd love to stay and chat, I have to find the rest of the team and tell them about the mission."
"Very well, see you tomorrow."
"See ya."
Lucina watched as he walked away keeping what her mother had said in mind. Her mother was right, she could do worse than Robin–her mother did not know how accurate that statement was–but if she was not in love with him….
Was she? She did not know. He was kind, smart, and willing to slow down and explain social things that she did not get, but she would not qualify that as love. She would admit that he had a…pleasing form as well, but that was not love either. In truth, she had no experience with romantic love.
But, did she need it? As a royal, she had been aware that marrying for love may not have been an option despite how much her parents advocated for it. It seemed such a trivial matter given all else she had to endure and had subsequently fallen to wayside of her mind, but now it seemed rather relevant. Should she marry him purely for Morgan's sake? Did she have some form of duty to the girl?
Lucina simply did not know.
Morgan lined up with the others in the team. Among them was her mother. Morgan breathed deep. Maybe if Morgan proved how much stronger she had become, her mother would accept her. If not as a daughter, then as a valued ally. She was desperate for any sort of approval at this point.
She even spent the march in formation like a good little soldier. Maybe her antics got on her mother's nerves? Maybe she embarrassed her mother? Maybe she wanted a better-behaved daughter? If so, then Morgan would be the best-behaved daughter she could be.
"How you doing, kiddo?" Her father fell in beside her while her mother kept leading the group up at the front.
"Okay."
"Really? Because you don't seem okay. You've been cold and distant, and you've been working yourself to exhaustion. I'm worried."
"Is it wrong that I try to improve myself?"
"No, that's quite admirable, but I'm afraid you're taking it too far."
"Is it so strange for me to take something seriously for a change?"
"I just meant that…I don't want to see you overdo it. Especially not if you're trying to make up for something."
"Don't worry about me, father."
"I can't help it, you're my daughter."
At least she had one parent, "Thanks, dad."
Robin smiled a little, "Be careful out there."
Morgan was fortunately faring better against the Risen than the soldiers. They were terrifying up close, but they were slow, clumsy, and ineffective. Morgan fought her hardest against the monstrosities as they drove them away from the village. They had at least arrived in time to prevent too much damage to the village itself.
After the village was essentially cleared, Morgan spotted a straggler a little ways away from the village. She knew she should not go alone, but she wanted to show her mother that she could handle something like this without having to bother anyone. She had operated for over two years alone, Morgan thought that surely she could make one call on her own.
She caught up with the Risen with enough ease, but she found herself surrounded by a horde of Risen just over the hill. Suddenly, she was on that ship again, frozen in fear. She could not fend off all of them by herself. Morgan frantically looked for any escape but found none.
I'm going to die here! Father, mother, I'm sorry…
"Get away from my daughter!"
Morgan looked for the source of the exclamation, only to see a cloud of purple smoke as the Risen were felled with extreme prejudice. At first, she wondered if it was her father, but the voice did not fit. It sounded feminine. It sounded like…Lucina.
Sure enough, Lucina burst through the decaying bodies, "Are you alright?" A nod was all that Morgan could manage before Lucina set off destroying the rest of the monsters with a fury that she did not usually show. Somehow, Lucina managed to dispatch them all by herself.
"Morgan," Lucina sheathed her sword and slowly approached her daughter. Morgan took that time to let loose into a flurry of tears and threw herself onto her mother much to her surprise.
"I-I thought I was going to die!"
"Shh," Lucina put her arms around the child and thought back to her own experience with her father, "It's okay now. Mommy's here."
Morgan let out a few more sobs into the older woman's stomach and Lucina stroked her hair comfortingly while staring off across the countryside, "Mommy's here."
A/N: Thanks for the comment about Morgan looking like Lucina. I wouldn't go as far as it being cannon, but if you'd like to share the other aspects that you use for that conclusion, please do.