Disclaimer: I don't own Fire Emblem. Fire Emblem belongs to Intelligent Systems and Nintendo.


Reflet drew in a deep breath, reveling in the way the sunlight was alive and the way the air hummed with mysteries and memories.

It felt so good to be home.

"Are you all right?" Lucina was doing her best not to stare as Reflet made snow angels in the grass.

Without the aid of snow.

Reflet nodded and hummed as she immersed herself in the light. The light in the other realm lacked something that allowed for a proper soak, and she was overdue.

"You're certain?" The hesitancy in Lucina's voice made her smile.

Reflet nodded and patted the grass beside her.

Lucina frowned, her knuckles white from how tightly she gripped Falchion.

"I don't think—"

"It's one thing for an antique national treasure to be fusty, but you're not much older than I am—relatively speaking." Her fingers snagged against a wildflower with pink and purple petals. Reflet tugged it closer to have a better look without uprooting it.

"I don't see how age could have anything to do with it." Lucina pressed her lips into a firm line. "I'm here to—"

"Find answers to questions you haven't even begun to ask." Reflet waved her hand to sweep aside Lucina's objections. "I know all about that. But we're here. In the moment. No one's trying to slay us or turn us into the horde of the undead. Everything's quiet, because I brought you here. On purpose. To just be for a moment without having a mountain of responsibility and grief on your shoulders."

Lucina's eyes narrowed as she studied Reflet's face. "What do you know about any of that?"

"Enough," Reflet sighed as she pushed herself up into a sitting position, "I know enough. But that's not the point here."

"How?"

The word sat like an intractable, pointy ancient tooth between them. Which was, Reflet realized upon reflection, the point.

Or at least another one.

She puffed her cheeks out and glared at the sword.

Killjoy.

"The how doesn't matter right now."

"It does to me." Lucina crouched down. Not exactly sitting, but not balanced on the balls of her feet either.

Reflet threw herself onto her back and supposed she'd have to take what she could get. After all, it couldn't have been easy holding things together with a true ancient scorching the earth and tearing down the sky. At least the girl's heart understood that Reflet was not an immediate threat.

So, that was something.

"Some things have to be understood before they can be explained. Sometimes truth must be judiciously given. At the right time. In the right way. With a teaspoon of sugar."

Lucina's frown deepened. "The truth is not hard for me to swallow."

Reflet glowered at Falchion. It had been a mistake to have the sword bring up a child. What did a sword know about gentleness? Softness? Humanity? Although, that had only happened because all of the people were busy being extinguished.

She looked up at the sheep shapes floating across the deep blue of the sky and wondered if clouds were easier to organize than living objects.

Like actual sheep.

Or people.

Or was their destiny to stretch themselves so thin as to disappear entirely?

"Normally I'd agree with you, but everyone has a breaking point. Truth can heal and set free, but it can also fracture hearts and break a person's spirit if it's given at the wrong time."

Lucina blinked before looking like she was on the verge of being offended. "I'm not so weak that a little truth can hurt me."

Reflet turned to look at her, wishing she could pat Lucina in the head and assure her that everything would work out in the end.

That everything would be fine.

And that that would be that.

But a truth, once distorted, becomes a tsunami of lies.

Drop by deceptive drop.

"Everyone has vulnerabilities. The strong and weak alike." Reflet snapped a few flowers from their stems. "All too often, the truth breaks even the strong because it wasn't what they expected."

Or what they wanted.

Lucina looked like she was either trying to digest something that had the misfortune of being cooked by Sully or trying to fold each of her objections neatly into words.

"All I've ever wanted was the truth. That, and to prevent this world from dying as mine did."

Reflet puffed her cheeks out. Lucina most definitely got her single-minded stubbornness from her father.

Not that that was a bad thing.

If a person couldn't survive, then they couldn't step in to lend Fate a dusty tooth to poke things back into their proper order.

Which said a thing or two about Fate.

But Fate wasn't what was important here.

Sometimes a whisper, a wink, and a nudge would do. At other times, well . . .

"If someone had told you, when you were a small child, that an ancient fossil would rise from the dead only to rend the sky from the earth and to obliterate humanity, could you have borne it?" Reflet sat up, her eyes catching every detail from the stiff line of Lucina's shoulders, to the taut line her mouth had become.

"That isn't—"

"If they had told you that, one by one, your beloved family would fall—father, mother, and little brother—could you have shouldered that weight?"

Lucina's knuckles were completely white as she strangled Falchion's hilt. The old relic tried to reassure her, but to Reflet's surprise, it remained silent.

Waiting.

Perhaps it was sensible after all.

"That after everything," Reflet went on relentless, "you would watch your friends, your trusted allies, fall to time and tempest?"

"I will never let that happen!" Lucina's shout echoed into the distance as it wove itself through light and time.

Reflet stood, her expression hard. "It already has."

Lucina's eyes went bright as she huffed at the air, doing her best to confine her temper.

Her fears.

Her loss.

"If all you want is the truth, then you've already found it. No one survives Grima's rebirth. No one."

"Why," Lucina's voice cracked, "why must you be so cruel?"

"To remind you of what, exactly, is at stake." Reflet straightened as she caught glimmers of a cerulean sky and warm golden sunshine.

"I have never forgotten," Lucina said, her voice low. When she lifted her eyes to meet Reflet's gaze, there was nothing but iron-clad conviction. "And I never will. I know what's coming, and I will stop it. Grima will fall before he gains the strength to rise."

Reflet sighed and shook her head. Like father, like daughter. Stubborn hope in a dark wasteland.

"Despite your best efforts, you've missed perhaps the most important thing of all."

Lucina's eyes narrowed, and Reflet was certain the idea of rousing Falchion to settle the score had flickered through her mind.

"What?"

"You." Now it was Reflet's turn for her words to burn to ashes. "If we lose this time, the world's greatest treasure will fall for the first time—and the last."

Lucina's brow furrowed. "I will protect Falchion as well."

Reflet stared at her for a long moment, wondering at the cogs grinding within Lucina's pretty little head. Did they ever have to be oiled? Because she was certain there were a few rusty—

"She means," Chrom's voice was edged with laughter as he melted out of the trees and into their clearing, "you. The world—we—cannot risk losing you."

Whether this Chrom was her father or no, his words hit Lucina like a tidal wave, sweeping away confusion, and leaving behind only a pearl of truth she'd never even considered before.

"Humph." Reflet crossed her arms and stole a few months from the sunlight around them. It wouldn't age her much, but it was a step in the right direction.

Just in case someone was stupid enough to take her as a sister. Lissa was half a head taller than she was, after all.

"You're back." Chrom's smile was warm.

Reflet opened her mouth to point out the obvious, but they both stopped short at the sound of a strangled cry.

They glanced at Lucina, and then at each other. An air of dismayed awkwardness filled the space between them. Relflet tugged at the ends of her hair. She had no experience when it came to comforting crying people, and therefore had no idea where to even begin.

Had she been too harsh? Ought she have to waited for a more convenient time when someone more matronly was present? Frederick, for instance?

Chrom looked at her, and widened his eyes. Clearly signaling to her that they needed to do something, anything really, but he was at a loss as to exactly what that something should be.

Reflet sighed. That made two of them. It wasn't like Henry was around to pull a crow out of a hat. So what could they do?

This time, she gave him a look, that clearly told him that he should have such matters under control. Hadn't he been trained in how to deal with distressed damsels? He was a hero, wasn't he? So he should get out there and do something heroic.

Chrom's brow furrowed. The look he returned her was filled with the guilt of someone who only paid attention to the parts of the lessons that interested him. Like felling mighty monsters or making Falchion even more deadly than it already was. Damsels, by comparison, were notoriously complicated and boring. Swooning at inopportune times and generally putting their noses where they didn't belong.

For a moment, Reflet was defeated. She didn't actually disagree with anything he hadn't said. While they came at the problem from opposite angles, damsels were often more trouble than they were worth. But even as she thought it, the tendril of the truth that had been planted in her heart long ago slowly unfurled.

Lucina wasn't just any old damsel. She was theirs, and therefore their responsibility.

Chrom sucked in a breath through his teeth as he glanced over at the lonely girl with tears waterfalling down her face. Then he turned to her and nodded.

They would do this together.

Filled with trepidation, Reflet trotted after him, her mind busily spinning possible solutions into a giant knot with no beginning and no end in sight.

Great. Just grea-

In the end, it didn't really matter. The moment they were within arm's reach, Lucina threw herself towards them. They each caught half of her, and not knowing what else to do, they formed a kind of Ylissean royal sandwich with Lucina securely in the middle.

"It's all right, Lucina," Chrom murmured. "We've got you."

"Father!" Her words went indistinct for a moment, but Reflet was able to piece together a ragged, "M-Mother!"

A warm feeling fizzed inside of Reflet. A lot like the feeling she got whenever she created a particularly complicated hex or captured space and time within her tome.

Only deeper.

Fluffier.

Warmer.

Stuffed to the brim with a gentle kind of happiness, Reflet sighed as she met Chrom's wide-eyed gaze. She narrowed her eyes. He really had no idea, did he?

Not for the first time, did she lament the years she'd sacrificed to power Tiki and Naga's harebrained scheme. Instead of the two years that had originally separated them, that number had gone up over two hundred percent!

"I'm older than I look," she promised him. "Much older."

For some reason, Chrom did not look reassured.

Not for the first time, did Reflet resent the rules the two great dragons had placed upon her. Because they were uncertain how time—and everything else—would be affected by their meddling, they'd come up with all sorts of rules to impose upon her.

The first, and most important, being that Reflet couldn't speak of the things they'd done directly.

Even to Chrom.

Especially to Chrom.

He'd chosen her twice before, they'd reasoned—three if you counted the original disasters. Therefore, it really wasn't a stretch to count on him choosing her a fourth time, right?

Except, thanks to the time they'd had to borrow from her, she appeared to be just a bit younger than Lissa.

Sure, her figure had already advanced as far as it was going to—save for height only—but he'd ruffled her hair the last time they'd met.

Ruffled.

Her.

Hair.

Reflet had exactly zero personal experience when it came to romantic attachments, but she was fairly certain that Prince Charming didn't go around ruffling Princess-Charming-to-be's hair like she was his kid sister.

If it wasn't for Lucina's existence, Reflet would have already thrown her hands up in despair. He would choose her at some point, of that she was certain. The Realms were far more connected than most realized. What happened in one would most definitely ripple out to affect the others.

It was the waiting that was killing her.

That, and the perplexed look on Chrom's face. He, and most everyone in this realm, had recognized Robin for who she was while missing the entire point.

"Honest," she tried again.

Before Chrom could say anything they'd both regret, Lucina straightened. She swiped her sleeve across her face, which only succeeded in smearing her tears and smudging the light burning in her eyes.

"I'm sorry," Lucina whispered. "I'm not sure what came over me."

"You have nothing to apologize for," Chrom said. His eyes darkened. "If anything, I should be the one apologizing to you. You deserved better from me than a sword and a broken halidom."

"We," Reflet emphasized the word. "The two of us. Together."

Lucina's eyes widened as the last few moments caught up to her. She took a step back, her face pale, and her eyes on Chrom.

"Y-you . . ."

He nodded.

"How long?" The dread in Lucina's voice was nearly palpable.

"Long enough."

Reflet sighed. It appeared that Lucina had taken Naga and Tiki's warning far more seriously than she ought to have. They'd already forced time to bend and contract, so what were a few more minor indiscretions?

Besides, with the Chrom in the Outer Realm knowing that he was her father, it was only a matter of very little time before this Chrom would know it too.

"I was planning on waiting until you were ready to come to me," Chrom said softly.

Lucina nodded, a frown pinching at the corners of her lips, not quite looking at either of them.

The little protective seedling in Reflet's heart sprouted a few more branches.

"The future will keep itself. Right now, in the present, you don't have carry every burden alone." Reflet sized up Chrom, only to find that he, too, had been taking measure of her.

That was good. Much better than the look of horrified consternation he'd worn earlier.

Chrom rested a hand on Lucina's shoulder. "Your—Reflet is correct. You aren't alone in this realm. You have us."

For some reason, Lucina's expression crumpled once more. However, before Reflet and Chrom could properly panic, she had already scrubbed at her face with her sleeve.

"I'm sorry. I don't know what's wrong with me."

Reflect could think of a few things, but she hesitated. Clearly this was a situation that required tact. In this kind of battle, not only was she unarmed, but almost completely handicapped.

A tactician should always know her limits and operate within them where possible.

"It couldn't have been easy living there in our future." His voice was a quiet lake, deep and serene, and it made Reflet's heart dance a jubilant polka between her ribs.

Lucina shook her head as she gained control of her emotions. "It was my duty to stand when all else failed."

Reflet would have liked nothing more than to hug this little girl until all the shadows had fled from her heart and the dangers that were coming had been dealt with.

But they couldn't do this without her.

She hadn't quite worked out where or how Lucina fit in with everything. Only that she was a central creature in Reflet's heart.

Just like Chrom.

As well as the other little one who had gotten rather lost between the streams of time.

And a lot of Shepherds stood in a ring about her heart, strengthening the walls whenever parts of her wore down or when she could no longer bear wandering in a realm not her own.

"The crown is far heavier than most people know." Chrom's hand strayed to Falchion's hilt. "But that, too, is a burden we can help you bear. If Naga is willing, it will be many years before your turn to bear the crown will come."

Lucina blinked at him, a light smile feathering one side of her lips. Although her gaze was solemn, even so. "I don't know where I truly belong." Her brow furrowed. "Both realms pull at my heart, just like you," her voice sank to a murmur, "and they do."

Reflet drew in a deep breath. "At present, does it really matter?" She held up a hand as Lucina opened her mouth to argue her point. "Do you truly doubt the place you hold in our hearts or in theirs?"

Lucina's mouth snapped shut and her eyes widened as though she'd caught a glimpse of a fate she had never considered before. In truth, she looked like she'd just swallowed a bug.

Chrom didn't say anything, but the warm look of approval he gave her said more than enough.

Reflet carefully stored his image in her memory so she could pull it out later on at her leisure.

In the meantime, though, they had work to do.

"There are some people I would like you to meet—officially." Chrom waved a hand, back the way he had come. The important thing was that he included Reflet in his statement.

Lucina nodded, her palm worrying the pommel of her dragon tooth before they followed the blue-haired lord who had haunted Reflet's dreams long before she'd even known he'd existed.

"So," Reflet couldn't resist the opportunity to impress certain truths upon him, "how old do you think I am?"

Chrom studied her thoughtfully while another small eternity passed them by.

"Ten?" He looked at her hopefully.

Reflet froze. She'd heard what he'd said, all right, but her brain couldn't even begin to process—

Urgh!

The hair ruffling had been one thing, but this was just insult—

Ten!?

Really?!

"Didn't you lose your memory?" Lucina blithely asked while Reflet was choking on her indignation.

"Yes," She gritted through her teeth. She hadn't lost as much time as Robin had, for some reason, but that was hardly the point.

The point was—

The point was that Chrom was looking at her like she'd sprouted a second head.

No, worse!

That she'd sprouted a second head, and he wasn't even bothered by it!

That the extra appendage was right in line with his expectations!

"Seventeen," Reflet insisted through her clenched jaw. "I'm seventeen."

Then, because she couldn't bear to lie to him in even the smallest of ways, "More or less."

"I see." Chrom was clearly humoring her.

Ha! Not as much as he was going to see. There had to be a hex that covered aging.

Maybe something along the lines of Nosferatu.

Or maybe she could tweak Waste.

Just because she'd given a chunk of her present to Naga and Tiki, that didn't mean she had to remain passive and helpless.

If there was one thing that was abundant, it was time.

Well, until a certain overgrown earth lizard was necromanced to the point that he could pick up right where he'd left off the first time.

Despite all the trouble that was coming their way, it was comforting to know that some creatures would always remain predictable.

"Where are we headed?" Lucina asked, her hand never straying far from Falchion.

Chrom smiled then, and Reflet forgot to breathe for a moment.

"Home," he said as sunlight fell upon him as if even the realms recognized his splendor. "We're going home."


A/N: Heh. So. Reflet. I think it likely necessary to clarify that what's going on inside her head is not necessarily what's going on outside it-particularly with Lucina. I get the sense that Lucina feels like Robin is her mother, rather than Reflet, with none of the confusion when it comes to the Chroms.

A happy little accident that I didn't think about previous to this chapter is that the Mirror World Chrom and Reflet didn't follow Chrom and Robin's romantic trajectory-mostly because Reflet was needed in the Outer Realm. So they get to fall in love all over again for the very first time. :p I have a feeling that, so far as courtship is concerned, Reflet will be the more aggressive party. . I'm really looking forward to exploring the different faucets of Chrom and Robin/Reflet's personalities.

I didn't expect Reflet's angst over her age-which will definitely come into play later on. I kind of can't wait until Robin returns to the Mirror Realm. There's going to be some key differences. *sinister snicker* M!Chrom is going to regret both the hair ruffling and the horribly wrong guess at Reflet's age. :D

As always, thank you for stopping by, commenting, sharing, and just generally being your awesome selves! I hope you guys stay safe and happy! Have a great week. :D