Lady in Waiting
By psychored1911
Disclaimer: I do not own Fire Emblem Awakening or Fire Emblem Fates
Chapter 1. You Know Her Name
"Yours will be a happy future."
Those were the last words she left behind, to the little girl sleeping peacefully in her crib, before she left Ylisstol for good.
Her lifelong mission had been completed. The Fell Dragon was gone, forever, and the world would live on without that demon's presence.
But with that monster gone, there was no more purpose for her to be there.
It was sickeningly ironic that the Fell Dragon, the one that ruined her life, the one that followed her to the past just to thwart her attempts to right the future, was also her sole anchor to this realm.
Without Grima, she was now without purpose.
She did not belong there anymore. Not with her father, nor her mother; that place rightfully belonged to the Lucina that was born to this time. And her friends seemingly agreed with this sentiment, each of them going their separate ways once the final battle reached its conclusion.
It only took her a little longer than the rest.
Her parents insisted she stay with them for a little longer.
She was hoping someone else would instead.
She was hoping someone else would come back to make her stay.
But no one came.
No one ever came.
She left in the dead of the night, unimpeded by the guards or the pleading of her parents. It was easier than she thought it would be. After all, she long since withdrew from her 'family', their words and pleadings falling on deaf ears, her heart and mind shut to their heartfelt calls in her grief.
There was nothing to stop her this time.
"Milady, are you-"
Effie opened the door to Princess Elise's room, only to find Princess Elise snoring soundly in bed, her candles out and covered head to toe in her blanket, pigtails and all.
"Huh, I guess she's retiring early tonight." Effie concluded, "Very well, then. Sleep tight, milady." Effie whispered softly as she closed the door as quietly as possible.
Two minutes passed, and once she was sure Effie was gone, Elise popped her head out from under her covers. Tossing her blankets off and tiptoeing to the door and pressing her ears against it, she listened for the heavy plated footsteps of her retainers, not hearing a single one.
Under normal circumstances, Princess Elise would not pull one over her own retainers, save for the occasional lighthearted prank. However, she could not be detected by them, not this time.
Once she was sure they weren't there, she happily skipped to the left side of her wall-bound bookshelf and casually set the trashy romance novels that she finds painful to read to the side and picked up the grappling hook that she she had carefully hidden behind them. Peeking out her window and finding the coast clear, she attached her grappling hook to the bedpost and rappelled down the outer walls until she made it outside, feeling a light coating of sweat on her skin.
"And no one was the wiser." she snickered.
"Really, now?"
She flinched, her eyes widening in surprise. She knew who that was, and what trouble he could bring. Forcing a deceptive smile onto her lips, she spun on her heels and tried ever-so-stealthily to hide the grappling hook behind her back as she was found herself face-to-face with the youngest Prince of Nohr himself, her brother Leo, and his stalwart retainer, the devious rogue Niles.
Attempting to compose herself, Elise tried to play her current predicament off, but was doing a rather terrible job of lying in both men's eyes "Leo, my big brother! How are you this fine evening?" She quickly tried to gather the rope without being noticed as she continued, focusing so hard on her action that she didn't notice the amused looks on both Leo's and Niles' faces. "I was taking a lovely stroll and getting some fresh air!"
"..." Leo's narrowed eyes locked onto Elise's.
"You're not buying that, are you?" Elise asked sheepishly.
"No, no I'm not." Leo crossed his arms. "Mind telling me why you are sneaking out like a common thief rather than the doors of your own home? No offense, Niles."
Niles pouted with a harrumph, not unlike the ones the Princess usually makes. "I take great offense to that, milord. For I am a great thief, not one of those lower echelon louts!"
Leo wisely chose to ignore his subordinate and returned his attention to his younger sister, plucking the stupid grappling hook from her hands. "Well, Elise?"
"...The Rustfall district."
"The Rustfall district? The only thing of note in that area would be Cassita's tavern. What do you need with her?"
Elise presented a letter with the Royal Seal on it. "I'm inviting her to Corrin's birthday later this month, so I'm giving her this so she can join our caravan."
"...Okay. Why?"
Elise's face faulted. "How could you be so callous to her? She practically raised all of us, far more than our mothers ever did."
"And now we should let her raise her own family since we're all grown up and she retired from her position." Leo stated matter of factly.
Niles coughed into his fist. "If I may, milord, Lady Elise does raise a point. She did have the honor of raising the Royal Children, especially you and Lady Elise. Just because you're all grown up now, doesn't mean she should be out of your lives forever."
Leo stared at him with wide eyes, while Elise puffed her chest out with a smug, nodding grin in agreement. "Really? The one time you're not making some dirty joke or a silly pun, and it's against me?"
Niles shrugged, a catlike grin forming at his lips. "I just call it as I see it, milord."
Leo groaned, clearly knowing he's in a verbal battle on two fronts now. "And you can't just send a messenger… because?"
"And risk some opportunistic thief or a Hoshidan spy intercept the message and uncover the Northern Fortress' secret location?" Elise gasped overdramatically. "Why perish the thought. Such a super special important parcel has to be delivered in person!"
Leo raised a brow, clearly not having Elise's jokes. "And why not Arthur or Effie?"
"Eh," Elise's playful mood faltered a bit. "Yeah, about that-"
"Xander set up a curfew, didn't he?"
Elise's shoulders sagged and her head dropped. "Yeah, he and Camilla wanted to clean up the sudden crime wave before he lets me out at night again."
Leo snorted, barely suppressing a laugh, with Niles mirroring him behind him. "Ah, so Arthur and Effie are there to make sure you don't break curfew."
Elise puffed her cheeks in annoyance. "Yeah, I can't believe he pulled rank on my-" her head shot up. "Hey, wait a minute! Xander's curfews are usually on both of us! What gives?!"
And now it was Leo's turn to be on the backfoot "Ah, um- well…"
Elise's face went smug again, pointing at him accusingly. "Aha! You're breaking curfew too!"
"Ah, don't say it out loud!" Leo slapped his hand over Elise's mouth, but the damage was done. His knee-jerk reaction, and Niles's humored laughter at his expense, told her everything she needed to know.
And then he caved, throwing his hands up in exasperation. "Okay, fine! I'm breaking curfew too! Jeez!"
"Ooh, the straight-laced youngest Prince of Nohr is breaking the rules! Whatsoever is the occasion?" Elise jokes teasingly as she pried Leo's hand off her mouth. "Is he having some evening affair with a fine lady from town?"
"Perish the thought, milady." Niles perked up before Leo could form a proper response to such an inconceivable notion. "If such a scandalous rumor were to be true, then Prince Leo would be the talk of the town for months without end. Imagine all the heartbroken noble daughters crying through their heavily embroidered handkerchiefs while their outraged mothers demand King Garon separate his youngest son from an unrenowned town maiden that claimed his heart, all to force Prince Leo's hand into a loveless marriage and give their descendants a claim to the throne! Oh, the humanity, such is the cruel reality of royalty!" Niles played it up, acting as the heartbroken noble daughters as he spoke, prompting Elise's laughter at her brother's expense. Niles knew how exactly to rile Leo up and Elise always appreciated that about him.
Leo, on the other hand, suddenly felt the unrelenting urge to dig himself into a hole and never come out. "...I am so glad Corrin's not here to listen to this asinine conversation; I'd never live it down."
"I don't hear a denial~!" Elise teased.
"I'm not dating anyone!" Leo vehemently denied.
"Not for a lack of trying~!" Niles chimed in.
"NILES!"
Elise's eyes lit up. "OOOOOHHH! Do tell, Niles, do tell!"
"Niles, don't you dare tell!" Leo barked, his face redder than his diet.
"Ooh, to be put in a bind such as this," Niles playfully gave pause for thought, "caught between conflicting orders between two Royals of Nohr, oh what a dilemma…"
"Xander would probably tell us to cut it out, but Camilla and Corrin would undoubtedly love to hear this story!" Elise offered.
"Ooh, so it's now three to two!"
"OKAY!" Leo said in a huff, shoving himself between his laughing sister and his smirking retainer, whom he was certainly going to have a talk with later. "Okay, I'll help you sneak out, hell, I'll tell you why I'm sneaking out in the first place; but we never speak of this conversation again! Understood?"
"Deal." The two youngest Royals shook on it. "So, what brings you out of the villa…?"
Leo frowned, his face red and brimming with embarrassment. "...I forgot…"
"Forgot what?" Elise asked.
"I forgot to buy a birthday present for Corrin, alright?!" Leo threw his hands up in exasperation. "I only realized it was coming up the other day, and I wanted to gift something from the heart. And since I gave Odin the day off, and the last time I gave a certain someone-" His eyes narrowed at Niles, who suddenly found interest in whistling nonchalantly whilst avoiding eye contact, "the privilege of buying a gift for our dear elder sibling, it was an unprecedented disaster. So I have to do it myself."
"Aww…" Elise playfully hugged her elder brother. "I knew you were a big softie under those tight inside-out trousers of yours!"
"My trousers are not inside-out!" Leo frowned indignantly, only to check his pants a split-second later just to be sure, surreptitiously sighing in relief upon realizing they were on correctly.
Elise giggled "I'm just messin' with you, bro! C'mon! Let's go! It'll be fun!"
She took her exasperated brother arm in arm as they marched down the road, with Niles gleefully following right behind.
The church bells rang, their mesmeric melody reverberating throughout the air. The Bride and Groom stood before one another in utter bliss, holding hands, staring into each other's gazes with untold happiness. Their friends and families sat throughout the rows and rows of pews, basking in the joyous light the morning sun graced them with.
It was to be the perfect day.
"Dearly beloved and honored guests: we are gathered here this day in the sight of our God and the souls assembled to witness the giving and receiving of the marriage vows," The Archbishop officiating the wedding declared, regarding the Bride with a sagely voice. "Do you, Princess Lucina, First Daughter of Exalt Chrom of Ylisse, take this most esteemed soul to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, to love, honor and obey, keeping yourself solely unto him for as long as you live? If so, answer 'I Do'."
Lucina teared up, smiling happily, her eyes locked onto her beloved's "I do."
The minister then regarded her Groom with nothing less than the utmost respect "And do you, Sir Robin, esteemed Vessel of the Fell Dragon, Grand Hierophant of the Grimleal…"
"...What…?"
All signs of bliss instantly left Lucina's heart, her blood running cold within an instant.
"Do you accept your place as host for our Venerated Lord Grima…"
"No…"
Lucina panickedly looked back to her father, Chrom, sitting behind her, growing just as alarmed as she was, even as her mother and sibling beside him sat with eerily unfettered smiles, dull and empty eyes, and their idyllic expressions dissonant to the morbid words stated by the Archbishop.
"To raze this heretical land of the False Goddess, to bring destruction upon her bastard followers…"
"No…"
Lucina tried freeing her hands, but Robin, almost in a trance, just held her in his own. His smile was supposed to bring her peace, but his unchanging expression, even with the minister's grand speech rapidly growing more and more menacing, innervated unease within the bride.
"To bring ruin to those brats foolish enough to try to defy the inevitable…"
"No…"
Mortified, Lucina looked to the minister, not finding Libra, the resident monk of the Shepherds nor the Archbishop of the Church of Naga. Instead, she found herself staring right into the black eyes of Validar, the Sorcerer Supreme of the Grimleal and Robin's 'father', for the loosest definition of the word, wearing the robes of the Hierarch and holding the tome of Grima's Truth in his hands, grinning wickedly as her father bolted to his feet and drew Falchion from its sheath.
"And to grant eternal misery to this wretched spawn of Naga, who dared to challenge fate itself? If so, answer 'I Do'."
Lucina looked pleadingly into the eyes of her beloved "No… don't do it-"
And with a smile that should have evoked comfort within her, Robin declared with all his heart those two words. Those two words should have sprung happiness within her, but only brought dread.
"I do."
Time began to slow.
Robin's eyes glowed red, and all of the warm, loving traces of the Grandmaster Tactician of Ylisse vanished.
The Fell Dragon has returned.
Chrom roared, charging, leaping into the air with Falchion overhead, ready to run the Fell Dragon through with the sacred blade.
It was not to be.
Grima barely twisted his head to the side, allowing the blade to pass by him entirely and pierce into Validar's throat. Not even giving the death of his most faithful pawn a second glance, Grima finally let go of Lucina's hands, almost casually plucked the Tome of Grima's Truth out of Validar's rigid fingers and sent a blast of dark magic Chrom's way. At such a close proximity and with no way to protect himself, Lucina could only watch in horror as her father was obliterated by the Fell Dragon's magic, leaving nothing behind but the Falchion, which planted itself onto Validar's warm corpse, serving as a demented pedestal for the legendary sword.
She cried out in rage, in horror, in grief. But she couldn't stop now. Unable to spare even a second to mourn her father's undignified demise, she drew the Falchion out of the Grimleal's remains and ran it through Grima's flesh, his blood spraying everywhere, ruining the once immaculate ivory wedding dress-
"L-Lucina...?"
And the instant it pierced his heart, Grima was no more, and the vicious, glowing crimson eyes of the Fell Dragon returned to the warm, dark eyes of her beloved Robin.
Eyes that showed nothing more than betrayal, shock, and sadness before all life rapidly began to fade from them altogether.
"No… Oh Naga, no!"
Horrified, Lucina let Falchion slip through her fingers, choosing to grab Robin's body before it could fall unceremoniously onto the floor, cradling his body in her bloodstained arms.
"ImsorryImsorryImsorryImsorryImsorryImsorry…"
Constant apologies streamed from Lucina's lips as she held Robin in her arms, weeping into his shoulder, even as his blood smeared through his dress shirt ruining her wedding dress even further, and splattering over her face. Her father was gone, and her beloved was to join him very, very soon.
"L-Lucina…"
Lucina's breath hitched, and her red, puffy eyes stared into Robin's.
"Y-You…"
He weakly raised his arms, his hands cupping her cheeks-
"It's… not… your fault…"
And with one last smile, the remainder of his strength left him, and Robin was gone for good.
Lucina choked on her tears, her bloodshot eyes staring into Robin's empty, lifeless orbs.
"...R-Robin?! No, no… NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! Haa… haa…"
Lucina shot upright, panting, gasping, her eyes darting every which way, taking a moment to reorient herself with her was not their room covered in dusty books she's never read and maps she didn't understand, it was a somewhat musky, untidy bedroom she was renting from a nearby tavern. The smell of cheap alcohol and the sound of idyllic chatter below her were an immediate reminder.
A month had passed since she left her home. This place was nothing like the idyllic Ylisstol of the corrected present, rather it more resembled her home city during the near-instant transition into the dark times. This kingdom of the night, Nohr, if she recalled correctly- was now her new home.
"Just a dream… haa… gods…"
She rubbed her throbbing temples, breathing heavy breaths as she buried her face in her hands.
"No… not a dream… that nightmare again..."
Her nightmares were getting worse. Longer, more frequent, each one dragging her back to the waking world in a screaming wreck. She kept seeing things, hearing things, bringing her further into grief-fueled madness. Instead of escaping her past woes fleeing her old home, the pain entrenched within her heart seemed to worsen with each passing day.
And the worst part was… there was no one for her to lean on. She was no longer a burden to her family… no, they were that little girl's family, not hers. It was that little girl's happiness, not hers… she was alone… and there was no one for her to rely upon...
Not anymore.
She curled up into a ball, tears welling in her eyes, hugging her legs like there was no tomorrow. There was an agonizing hole in her chest that refused to fill.
"Hey! Are you okay in there?!" A woman's voice called out to her.
Her head jerked up. She recognized that woman's voice anywhere. It belonged to someone who followed her through the depths of her haunting past itself.
Slowly, she stood up from the bed, her fingers wrapping around her sword.
No.
Not you too.
Have her nightmares really come to this?
Selena stormed through the tavern doors, her pace urgent and panicky. Her entrance may have drawn quite a few eyes, but she cared little for that now. She made her way to the bar, finding herself face to face with the tavern owner, Cassita, the former nursemaid to much of the Royal Family turned saloon owner. Said reputation allowed her to cut across quite an amount of red tape and bureaucracy that went into starting a watering hole in Windmire, and her close ties with the Royal Family despite her retirement made it all but assured that the Royal retainers would be found here in their rare off-hours, not only to check up on her on their lords' behalf, but also to find a comfortable area for respite in Nohr's busiest metropolis.
Cassita looked upon the alarmed redhead with concern the moment she made her way towards her. "Selena, dear, what happened? You look like you've seen a ghost."
"More like heard rumors of one," Selena muttered, her eyes darting around the place "Are Odin and Laslow here?"
"Why yes, they're in their usual spot. First time I've seen 'em in a while." Cassita pointed at the booth at the northwest corner before returning to the redheaded retainer, "Oh, and before you go, I happen to have-"
"ThanksI'llhandleitlater'kaybye!" Selena hastily sputtered before making a beeline towards the mercenary and the dark mage, clearly buzzed from ale, chatting between themselves on something Selena probably wouldn't care about, especially at the moment.
Odin saw her first, and raised his beer stein as she took a seat, oblivious to the urgency in her eyes "Ah, dearest comrade! Have you just arrived? Good, we need a tiebreaker and our mutual friend here is too stubborn to admit to his folly!"
"Guys, that's-"
"I'll have you know that it's no such farce!" Laslow declared, slamming his mug upon the table. "There is a vigilante out there-"
"Look, I don't-"
"No, not that!" Odin cut in, unwittingly knocking his beer stein over. "We were talking about how you hit on some countess and she slapped you silly!"
"That's his average Tuesday, who cares-"
"Well, how was I supposed to know she was married?!" Laslow folded his arms defensively, "For all I know, she was a lonely noblewoman looking for company!"
"Yeah, you crashed and burned; not impor-"
"Oh, please. You wouldn't be able to woo a noblewoman!" Odin scoffed, "You couldn't woo a pig with a trough full of slop!"
"*Gasp!* Take that back, you-"
"GUYS!" Selena yelled at the top of her lungs, not in the mood for their usual tavern banter right now.
"What?"
"What?"
With whatever momentum they had gone, the two looked at her dumbly, as if she was the one talking nonsense all day.
Odin furrowed his brows, "What's the big deal, Selena? Something bothering you?"
Selena swiped a mug of ale from a passing barmaid and downed it in one gulp, giving herself a moment to calm her nerves. Once the buzz kicked in, just a little bit, she began her story, "So, Beruka and I just got back from the Bottomless Canyon Armory-"
Laslow snorted, "That's it? You just wanted to tell us your story first?"
Selena put the mug down on the table as gently as possible… before leaning over, drawing her knife and slamming it into Laslow's chair, barely an inch away from his crotch, glaring bright red daggers into his eyes.
Laslow gulped, sweating profusely as his Li'l- Big Laslow was nearly lost from this world just from a single comment. Whatever she had to say, it was important. "...Proceed…"
Selena kept her frown as she plucked her knife from the chair and returned it to her sheath, "So, as I was saying, we were investigating that fire at the armory. Beruka assumed that it was the work of some Hoshidan saboteurs, but any physical evidence of such was, well, hard to come by. So, we interviewed the survivors, and… well…" she hesitated, taking her mug and looking at its contents, or lack thereof. "One of them saw an unfamiliar woman fleeing the premises… one with a sword, blue armor, and… blue hair."
Odin and Laslow froze, their eyes widening like plates. Odin set down his mug and asked, "You don't think it's… you know…"
"Blue hair is rare, but it's certainly not uncommon in these parts, in Nohr or probably Hoshido…" Laslow offered, "Take those alluring maids in the Northern Fortress, Flora and Lilith, for example. Lovely maidens with even lovelier figures, and I'm sure they can put up a fight if they can survive Sir Gunter's training, but I doubt they'd go all the way to the Bottomless Canyon and commit such treason."
Selena facepalmed, groaning into her palm. "First off, I'm telling them you said that next time we're there." Selena pointed out, much to Laslow's dismay. "Second, I know it's vague, but I can't help but feel it's, well... you-know-who."
"Yeah, but pillaging an armory? That doesn't sound like her. And the Armory that close to the Hoshidan border would be under tight lock and key from the military; it would a suicide mission!"
"Plus, what reason would she do such a thing? Heck, why would she be here of all places?"
"Stop it, the both of you!" Odin loudly exclaimed. "We've known her since birth, we went through hell and high water with her, but can either of you look me in the eye and say that she came to Nohr and burned that place to the ground to steal- wait, what was stolen?"
"I don't know! The whole place burned to the ground! We can't even take inventory because all the paperwork has turned to ash." Selena stood and threw her hands up in exasperation, "Hell, for all we know, I'm overthinking this nonsense and someone else entirely perpetrated the crime." She collapsed onto her chair, moving to massage her temples. "I need another drink…"
Groaning, she got up from her seat and began heading towards the counter. She leaned on the bar, waiting to get Cassita's attention-
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
Selena's head jolted up. That came from upstairs.
She looked towards her friends, who also stood in alarm. Odin nodded, and the two ran to her side.
"Oh dear, she's having those nightmares again…" Cassita sighed before pointing at one of her bartenders "You know the drill. Prepare the stronger stuff."
Selena perked up and made her way over to the bar, her hand on her sword, "Cassita, do you know whose room is that?"
"Should be our tenant in Room Three." Cassita told her, oddly calm about the whole situation. "You really shouldn't wor-"
Selena didn't let her finish and sprinted up the stairs, with Odin and Laslow at her heels.
"Now, hang on-" Cassita called after them, but by then they were already on top of the stairwell.
Finding Room Three at the end of the hall, she pounded on the door. "Hey! Are you okay in there?!"
"Haa… Haa..."
Nothing more than panting, ragged, and disturbingly too loud for comfort.
Laslow gently pushed Selena aside and knocked on the door a bit more calmly "Miss, it's okay. We're Nohrian Knights. If you're okay in there, just say something, anything."
No response. The panting stopped, replaced with a slow, nearly inaudible exchange of breaths.
"...Um, hello? Are you alright? Please answer us!" Laslow cautiously asked a second time.
"...First him…"
The faint sounds of footsteps and creaking floorboards were barely audible. Laslow had to press his ears against the door just to hear it.
"and now you…"
The footsteps were heavier, more purposeful, and the voice itself… despaired, distraught… enraged?
"Haunt me NO LONGER!"
A sword pierced through the door, barely missing the flirtatious mercenary's head by an inch. His startlingly near brush with death would've been enough of a shock by its own, but the sword, the blade that nearly removed the flirt's head from his shoulders-
They recognized its immaculate design, its golden edge.
"BEGONE!"
And they recognized the voice that belonged to its owner.
The blade retracted, and Selena yanked the startled Laslow aside and kicked the door open-
"...Shit..."
It was her. There was no mistaking it.
Before their eyes was the sacred Falchion, the sword that inspired hope in them when all hope was lost. And the one wielding that sword, their dearest friend, the one that led them through time and turmoil, again and again, all the way to victory against all odds…
"Lucina…?"
Something was wrong.
Her eyes, one of which housing the Crest of Naga, were dull and lifeless, accentuated with dark circles. Her tunic was grimy, crumpled and stained with blood and gods know what else, a total mess. She was a shadow of her former self. That raging of hope within herself seemed to have died out. And whatever was left glowered at them with tired, vengeful eyes.
Lucina pointed her blade at her menacingly, glaring daggers at the three with a disturbing frenzy "You won't haunt me too… I won't let you..."
Laslow gulped. "Uh… I don't like the look she has in her eyes."
"That is not the gaze she usually aims at friends…" Odin agreed uncomfortably.
"So... have either of you guys actually beat her in a spar?" Selena asked with a nervous chuckle, slowly rising back to her feet.
"..."
"..."
The two of them did not reply, instead exchanging worrying glances with one another.
Lucina slowly drifted toward them with her sword raised, approaching them intensely while the trio flinched as they drew their own weapons, if only for their own protection rather than to bring her harm.
"I hear Lady Elise has improved in her healing capabilities," Odin commented.
"What does that have to do with anything?" Selena asked, her sardonic tone betraying her growing dread.
Odin didn't answer her back, and it was all the answer she needed. "...Oh."
"Get out of my head..." She said slowly, approaching them with single steps, the legendary blade of Naga still trained at their heads.
The three of them, with their weapons drawn, step back slowly. "Lucina, drop the Falchion. We don't want you to hurt us!" Laslow begged.
Odin gave him a glance. "I think you mean 'We don't want to hurt-"
"I know what I said!" Laslow spat back.
Lucina roared, charging towards them. Selena and Laslow brought their swords up, both of them catching the Falchion's blade with their own while Odin-
"SACRED STONES!"
-chucked his tome at her, the book of magic whizzing past her head, somehow missing even though she was mere feet away from him.
"What in the hells was that!?" Laslow barked as he and Selena strained against Lucina's blade.
"Did you expect me to blast her with a thunderbolt to the face?!" Odin barked defensively "She's still my cousin and our friend!"
"Well, do something to stop her!" Selena yelled as the two vainly attempted to push her away, with her only pressing her blade against theirs in return.
Was she always this strong?
...That was a stupid question. Of course she was always this strong.
She disengaged their clash and pivoted to the left, allowing Selena and Laslow to fall forward to the floor with a pair of yelps. With the two at her mercy, she raised her sword up high with an animalistic snarl.
"I've got you!" Odin, attempting to redeem himself for his previous gaffe, tackled Lucina to the ground and knocked Falchion out of her hands.
"Lucina! Get a hold of yourself! It's us!" Odin pleaded as he restrained her flailing arms "It's us! Owain, Inigo and Severa! Surely you recognize- urgh!"
Lucina kneed him in the crotch, freeing her hand and then backhanding him off with a clenched fist.
"You're not real…" Lucina growled, scrambling for her blade and pushing herself back to her feet "YOU'RE NOT REAL! YOU CAN'T BE HERE!"
"...I mean, she has a point; the odds of us meeting here are a billion to one." Laslow admitted as he collected himself.
"Oh shut up, Laslow." Selena fumed, picking herself back to her feet.
Just as Lucina returned her attention to the two, Odin leapt on her back, restraining her arms.
"Don't worry guys! I got her!" Odin called out as Lucina thrashed about. "Come, dearest cousin! Come to your senses! It's us! You have to believe us!"
"You're not real… you're not real… YOU'RE NOT REAL!"
She slammed herself against the northernmost walls, stunning Odin enough for her to wrench herself free, grabbing him by the arms and throwing him over her shoulders, right through her window.
"Do you think Corrin will like it? The birthday present, I mean."
"I think you picked out a swell gift."
The two Nohrian Royals walked side by side through the dark streets of Windmire, with Niles following shortly behind. They first went to purchase Leo's birthday gift for Corrin, so now all they had to do was head to Cassita's tavern and give her the invite. They still had the minor conundrum of having to sneak back into the Royal Villa, but that would be a bridge they'd cross when they got there.
Elise cupped her chin, "Come to think of it, Odin and Laslow frequent her tavern a lot, don't they?"
"Knowing them, it's probably where they're spending their day off." Leo noted as they approached the aforementioned building. "I'm certain we can convince them not to report us to Xander. But even not, they're probably too drunk to even realize we're here-"
*Crash*
"Uwaaaaah?!"
A flying Odin appeared.
And by appeared, Odin suddenly crashed through the second-story window of the tavern and landed smack dab in front of them, faceplanting right onto the cobblestone road, startling the two Royals and eliciting a barely-restrained giggle from Niles.
"Urgh… she does not hold back…" Odin groaned, shaking off the debris and pushing himself off the floor, not noticing the presence of his lieges and comrade. "But I cannot stop now. I must save-" he winced, and rubbed his shoulders. "Ow… Still, what I wouldn't give for one of Elise's healing spells right about now…"
"That's Princess Elise to you, Odin."
The dark mage jumped to attention, saluting the Prince as if the past few minutes hadn't happened. "Princess Elise! Prince Leo! Niles! What a surprise seeing you here- wait, I thought you and Princess Elise had a curfew today."
Niles snickered, and Leo's eyes narrowed, "Odin, why were you sent flying through one of Cassita's windows?" The prince calmly stated.
Odin broke into a cold sweat, wincing, trying to hold whatever pain in, "I… uh… was planning my dramatic entrances! Yes! That's what I was doing! Clearly, I was not doing anything suspicious at all!"
Leo did his best to ignore Niles' barely suppressed laughter and instead turned his gaze towards the shattered tavern window, and all the cacophonous noise from within. "...Odin, while I have found myself incredulous at many, many of your previous adventures, I usually have good reason to believe them. This," he pointed at the broken window above them, "This is not one of those times. You've already told me you were taking the night off with Laslow, so how about you instead fill me in what's really going on in there."
"Perhaps, milord, that Odin and friends simply got themselves involved in a tavern brawl. It's not particularly uncommon, especially at this hour of the night." Niles suggested. "Also, if you need assistance, feel free to ask me at any time. I do love a good bout of drunken chaos as much as the next scoundrel."
Odin pouted. "For the record, my dear friend, Tis' not a tavern brawl that I am involved in. I have everything under control-"
"ODIN! ANY TIME NOW!"
A handful of men and women suddenly ran screaming through the tavern doors just as Selena's desperate plea called out to him from within.
Odin nervously kept his smile up as Leo's stare became more intense. "Ehem… did I say 'I'? I meant 'we'. We- Laslow, Selena, and I- have everything under control."
"GUYS! WHERE DID YOU GO?! OH GODS, SHE'S COMING FOR ME! NOT THE FACE!"
Niles giggled as Odin started sweating bullets. "Really? From what I could hear alone, the situation inside is getting worse with each passing moment."
Leo folded his arms, throwing out his own hypothesis. "Odin, from what I could gather, you and the other two are having trouble apprehending some drunkard making a ruckus. And if that were the case, then we may have to bring your career into question."
Odin, cringing as the sounds of snapping wood and shattering glass came from the tavern with alarming frequency, cleared his throat. "It's a little more personal than that sir, but-"
A duo of drunkards laughed their asses off as they stumbled out of the tavern arm-in-arm, clearly less alarmed than the previous crowd that stormed out.
"Holey shite! Was that the beaute' of a swoordswuman you were talkin' 'bout earlier?!" the first drunkard asked, leaning against his friend. "She kicks arse!"
"Aye, my friend! I never lies!" the second drunkard giggled, helping to support his friend as he continued to spin his tale. "Saw 'er starting t' come hera couple months ago, I did, I think. Swear a bunch of men just come 'ere just to catch a glimpse of 'er! Hahaha!"
"I would love to be with a ladee like that!" The first drunkard whistled "She dinna' had much of a rack, but 'dat arse is to die for!"
"Wouldn't get yer 'opes up! Think I saw uh ring on 'er finger a while back, 'n she nearly killed sum' poor dastard that tried makin' a move on 'er."
"Ah, shame…"
The two drunk men stumble up the street, oblivious that their conversation had been overheard by a prince and his retainers.
Odin nearly shrank at Prince Leo's piercing stare. "I can explain."
"Are… are you having trouble handling some drunk woman?" Leo asked, feeling a migraine coming along. "You're telling me some random woman is besting three of the chosen knights of Nohr's Royal Family?"
"Well, I mean, we're actually not trying to kill her-"
"ODIN." Prince Leo got right into Odin's face, giving him a glare that would make King Garon proud "What's. Going. On."
Odin visibly gulped. "Lord Leo, I assure that we're taking every measure possible to ensure-"
"Erm, milord…" Niles interrupted, putting a hand on Leo's shoulder.
Leo audibly groaned as he turned his head towards his retainer. "Yes, Niles?"
"Where did Lady Elise go?"
While Odin was receiving the earful of a lifetime from Leo and Niles laughed at his expense, Elise skipped ahead inside Cassita's tavern, passing by a handful of fleeing patrons. Sure, she was concerned about Odin, but she couldn't do much without a staff.
Fortunately…
Elise headed right to the bar, finding her former nursemaid cleaning the bar with a rag while the rest of her workers were either corralling their remaining patrons to relative safety or preparing to clean up the inevitable mess upstairs.
The youngest princess plopped on the nearest barstool with a bubbly grin. "Hi, Cassita!"
The nursemaid turned tavern matron smiled at her former charge kindly. "Ah, hello Elise. I was expecting you sooner or later!"
"Yeah, I think I left one of my staves here from when I was last here." Elise sheepishly scratched her head. "Do you happen to have it?"
"Why yes, yes I do." Cassita reached under the counter and picked up the staff under the counter and placed it before her. "Here you are, one Restore staff. I've been meaning to get this returned to you, but the boys are usually too drunk or too busy to even listen to me." She hands it over to her. "You know these are expensive, correct? If Camilla or Xander knew you lost one of these, they'd throw a fit." She harrumphed, before almost seeing a wagging tail under Elise's skirt. "Oh, do you have anything for me?"
"Mhm!" Elise produced a letter and exchanged it for her staff. "You have been formally invited to Corrin's birthday party! Just join us at our next caravan-"
"ODIN! ANY TIME NOW!"
Elise perked up, recognizing the screaming voice. "Oh, hey, Selena's back in town. You got her and the boys subduing some scumbag upstairs?"
Cassita cleared her throat. "Well, they're giving it their best shot, I'll give them that. And she's not a 'scumbag'; I'll have you know she's quite a sweetheart once you get to know her-"
"Awaaah?!"
Selena loudly tumbled down the staircase, dazed, confused, and very much hurt, somehow landing on her ass with a thud while her head spun in circles. Her little tumble gave the rest of the more sober regulars to clear out, after paying their tabs off, of course.
Elise and Cassita looked upon the Nohrian Knight, the former with concern and alarm, and the latter with relative nonchalance considering it's her establishment. "I see you've met Marth, Selena."
"M-MARTH?!" Selena croaked as she clambered onto the counter for support, having not noticed the Princess. "What's wrong with her?! She shouldn't be like this?!"
"GUYS! WHERE DID YOU GO?! OH GODS, SHE'S COMING FOR ME!" Laslow wailed upstairs. "NOT THE FACE!"
Elise glanced upwards, concerned. "Uh, shouldn't you guys be doing something about that-"
"Well, once the night terrors subside she's probably one of the nicest people I've had the pleasure of meeting," Cassita told the redheaded retainer. "Real fighter too; definitely outfights most of the riff-raff trying to stir up trouble 'round here. I assume she was a soldier of some sort, but that's as much as I could figure. She really doesn't like talking about her past much.."
"Sounds like her…" Selena groaned, rubbing her head.
Cassita shrugged. "Honestly, I usually would've left her alone until she became more lucid, but you and your two stooges just had to rile her up."
"Waaah?!"
The next thing the three ladies knew, Laslow was sent flying down the stairs, landing in the unfortunate position of his face planting into the floor and his ass sticking up in the air.
"Urgh…" Laslow stumbled back to his feet, supporting himself with a nearby chair. "You know… despite everything, this reminds me of back when we were kids."
"Before or after everything went to hell?" Selena grumbled, turning her head away from the Nohrian Princess.
"Mrmph, Yes…" Laslow winced as Lucina gradually came down the stairs, Falchion in hand, her dull eyes glaring daggers into them. "Do you think she's gotten any calmer?"
"I'm pretty sure all our efforts just pissed her off even more…" Selena muttered, rubbing her sore arms. "I swear, I almost forgot about her monstrous strength."
"How could you forget, after everything we've been through together." Laslow commented, raising his own sword defensively.
"You two must have some history with her."
"Why yes, actually. we- wait… what the-" Laslow's eyes widened as he scrambled to his feet, only realizing now that the youngest Princess of Nohr was standing right behind Selena, clearly unfazed even as an unhinged Lucina sauntered over, slowly, with Falchion held almost loosely in her hands.
"Hey, are you alright?" Elise asked as she plopped out of her barstool, Restore staff in hand, and approached the bluenette. "Wow… you look-"
"L-Lady Elise!"
"G-Get back!"
Selena hastily scrambled over to Elise, but the young troubadour turned to her with a raised hand, standing stalwart and resolute as befitting a proud princess of Nohr, before turning back to the frenzied young woman before her, having halted in her tracks.
Elise stepped forward. Lucina stepped back.
"Marth," The Nohrian Princess stared into Lucina's dulled, sunken eyes, inching closer to the bluenette, fearless, with a surreptitious, near imperceptible wave of her staff. "Marth. That's your name, isn't it?"
"..."
'Marth'- Lucina, just stared at her… silently, not moving, her sword hand not even twitching as the staff's healing light washed over her.
Elise stepped closer, smiling sadly as she raised her restore staff a second time and let its healing light wash over Lucina a second time. "I can see it in your eyes. Fate has dealt you an unfair hand, hasn't it? But despite all of your loss, you're still you. I can see the noble soul, that spark of chivalry that still burns within you. After all, you have yet to strike me down."
Selena and Laslow, slowly pushing themselves back to their feet, were incredulous. Cassita, on the other hand, was beaming with pride.
"...There's nothing left for me… anymore..." Lucina- Marth admitted, trembling, shuddering. "I don't expect you to understand…"
"That's alright. I don't expect to get the full picture when we just met." Elise shrugged as she openly outstretched her arms after one last wave of her staff. "But "Whatever it was, it wasn't your fault… you need to forgive yourself for your mistakes."
"But it-"
Elise suddenly embraced Lucina in a big, heartfelt hug.
"It's alright…" Elise said gently as she hugged the obviously scared woman, petting her, giving her the comfort that she had forsaken so long ago. "No matter how far you've gone or how much you've lost, you can always bet that there'll be a light at the end of the tunnel. It's never too late to give up hope."
Lucina, her wits lucid for the first time in a long time, touched by the kindness of this stranger, broke down in tears, dropping her blade and returning the heartfelt hug as she collapsed, the gravity of all her actions and losses hitting her in an instant.
"...Well, *grunt* I'll be…"
Selena and Laslow exchanged glances after watching that little scene.
"...How in the hells did Princess Elise get through to her when we couldn't?" Selena shook her head, dumbfounded, rubbing her injured shoulder.
Laslow winced, giving his leg a good shake as he plopped onto a barstool. "Well, it didn't seem like she was anywhere in her right mind at the time. Didn't you notice Lady Elise using that staff of hers?"
"Of course I-"
"Not to cut in or anything," Cassita leaned over the counter. "But you two intend to clean up the mess you've made upstairs, right?"
Laslow paled. Selena sighed. "Yeah, we'll clean up-"
"And pay for whatever damages you made?" Cassita continued.
Laslow nodded weakly. Selena faceplanted the counter. "We'll do that too-"
*slam*
"REJOICE, FRIENDS!" Odin declared as he made his entrance kicking the tavern doors open. "FOR A HERO RETU- oh, hey, you got her."
Selena glared at Odin incredulously as he stopped dead at his tracks, staring at Lucina and Elise. "Where were you?! What took you so long?!"
Odin folded his arms defensively as his eyes whipped back to his old friends. "I'd like to see you walk off getting tossed out a window!"
"Shh…" Elise shushed the two as she cradled a now slumbering Lucina in her arms. "Don't wake her. Looks like she got tuckered out from everything that happened."
Leo and Niles walked in shortly afterwards, the latter with his bow drawn with an ever-humored smirk, the former just staring at the mess inside, approaching the
"Is that her?" Leo pointed at the bluenette in disbelief, glancing at the former nursemaid turned tavern owner. "Is this the woman causing trouble in your establishment, Cassita?"
"I doubt she would've caused too much trouble had these three not riled 'er up." Cassita commented, motioning to the trio before her expression softened. "Mind going easy on 'er? For me?"
Leo sighed, massaging his temples. "Fine." he motioned to his retainers. "Niles, Odin, detain her." he turned his attention to Selena and Laslow. "You two, clean up. Odin will join you shortly. And it goes without saying that Xander and Camilla do not need to hear about this."
"Oh, don't I?"
Elise paled. Leo froze in place. Slowly turning around, the youngest Prince of Nohr found none other than his eldest sister, Princess Camilla, standing behind him, arms crossed, axe in hand, flanked by her retainer Beruka and a small unit of Nohrian soldiers.
She was smiling, and it sent chills down Leo's back, freezing him to his spot.
"Oh, dear. I believe you all have some explaining to do…"
A/N: Ok, first off, I'm gonna give some props to my buddy, who for privacy reasons I'm gonna call SK, for helping me edit this behemoth of a first chapter. Thanks a bunch.
Okay, so this story is basically the culmination of years of worldbuilding, character analysis, and my older brother completely, utterly, 100% misunderstanding the plot of Fire Emblem Fates to the point that it was mostly unrecognizable from the plot. It all started when we were discussing the plot of Fates a couple years back, when he went on this two hour tirade on his version and interpretation of the plot, and how the amiibo characters tie into it- at which point I cut him off and told him to write it down and I'll think about it and two years later, he did, a 300+ page outline (that's not exaggeration) full of ideas and general plotlines he wanted to make, and then gave it to me to write to it into a proper fic.
This is just the opening act of what he has planned. He has a ton of ideas that I have to admit are both brilliant and utterly batshit that I'm really getting into writing it.
Well, that's all for now. Please review!