Chapter 15) Flames on the Blue

Everything feels strange. Plegia is helping us, we got a new recruit, and my daughter from the future appeared to inform us that Grima returned and now she's trying to fix the past to save the future or… something. Honestly, I'm in too much shock for anything but going along with things, including agreeing with Lucina's insistence that I go to Valm alongside the others.

The news of Grima's potential return disturbs me more than anything. It's exactly why Robin and I ran so much. To avoid that. How did it happen? What went wrong? Was it inevitable? Was it stupid to run away? I don't know. I don't know. But I smile and pretend everything is okay, because gods, I don't know how to explain any of this.

"You know; most of the Shepherds are complimenting you on how natural motherhood must be for you," Sumia observed at some point during our reading. There wasn't a lot to do while on a ship, so she and I had fun with catching up on all the books we wanted to read. "But, you're feeling off about it, aren't you?"

"You don't think Lucina has noticed, do you?" I asked, looking up to smiling bitterly. I didn't ask how she knew. For one thing, I hadn't completed a single book in the time she finished three. It was normally the other way around. "Please tell me 'no'."

"Nope, I don't think so. She just seems super happy at getting to see you again." She scooted down the bed to the chair where I sat and poked my cheek. "But I'm worried about you. Are you sure you're okay with this?"

"That was a very long day, and we found out a lot." We had, of course, told the Shepherds about Lucina being from the future, and the dark future that loomed on the horizon if we weren't careful. Mostly because Lucina had said that other children were around, and it was better to give warning. "Honestly, my two options were 'accept everything' or 'deny everything' and you can't just deny a person."

"But now you're struggling to pretend you're actually comfortable with this."

"It's better than making Lucina feel like she's unwanted." I shrugged, smiling ruefully. "Even if she's bigger, she's still my daughter. I don't want her to ever feel like a burden. I don't want anyone to feel like they're simply a burden."

"I suppose that's true." She still frowned worriedly at me. "You know I'm here for you, right?"

"Always."

"Okay. So long as you remember that." A knock on the door thankfully stopped the conversation. I didn't know how to respond without completely breaking down. "Come in?"

"Ah, sorry to bother…" The door clicked open to reveal, of course, Lucina. She tentatively peered inside, smiling hesitantly. "Um…" she began, looking down. "Ah, this is silly. You're busy."

Sumia and I glanced at each other, and we both smiled and shrugged. You couldn't simply reject her. You might as well beat a kitten to death. "No, Sumia and I are just reading, sweetie," I reassured. Lucina's face lit up at that. "Come here. What sort of books do you like reading?"

"Honestly, I haven't read much since I was little." Lucina walked inside and immediately sat down at my feet, ignoring the space on the bed or the other chair in the room. "That weren't tactical manuals or anything, I mean. I'm no strategist, that was Severa, Laurent, and Morgans's job, but I felt I needed to know."

"Well, let's see if we can find you a book you'd enjoy." I glanced at the books Sumia and I had and both she and I agreed in a second that Lucina likely would be more confused by the Ribald tales than anything. "Sumia?"

"I think between my personal library and yours, we can get something," Sumia laughed, marking her place in her book and standing up. She clapped her hands together as a thought occurred to her. "Oh, what about one of your poetry books?"

"That'll be good," I agreed, mostly because Lucina perked up at the mention. "They should be in the bag in the back corner."

"I'll be right back!" Sumia skipped out of the room, like she hadn't just been worried about me.

However, that did mean I was now alone with Lucina, and I still had no idea how to react. Desperately, I tried to think of what my own mother did with me, and a vague memory dragged itself out. "Would you like me to brush your hair?" I asked her. Thankfully, Sumia and I had brought one here, thinking we might play with each other's hair when we got bored with reading.

"Really?!" Lucina's eyes sparkled. "Yes, please!" she agreed, smiling brightly. Then she flushed and looked down. "Um… I mean…"

"Here, turn around and rest against my legs, then." I had to get up briefly to actually find the brush, but when I sat back down, she was sitting right at my feet and let me brush her hair. I almost winced at how ragged it felt, split-ends showing a lot of wear and tear. I could tell where the layers still were, though she was trying to let it grow back to normal. There were a lot of tangles, like she hadn't brushed it in a long while. "We might need to trim your hair, when we get a chance."

"Okay." Despite the gentle 'scolding', she was smiling so softly. "This is so nostalgic. You used to brush my hair all the time. Mine and Victoria's and… well, you always did this."

"My mother used to brush my hair." I supposed my future-self had associated it with 'caring for a daughter' too. But the reminder of my future-self made me think of a question I had for a while. "Lucina?"

"Yes?"

"Why did you insist that I come along?"

"Oh. Right." She coughed, embarrassed. She actually flushed all the way to her ears. "I suppose I shouldn't have. I'm sure Ylisse could've used you."

"We have things managed well-enough." I continued brushing her hair, removing her diadem to have better access to her hair. "But, I am curious."

"Right…" She fell silent for a moment, gathering her thoughts. "Growing up, I always heard that if you had been there, Father wouldn't have died."

"…Really, now?" That sounded… well, I was skeptical.

"I'm sure it was an exaggeration, nowadays, but my mind latched onto it. 'If Mother had been there, Father would still be here'." She sighed gustily. "So, when I realized you might not come along…"

"You panicked."

"Yes. I'm sorry."

"It's fine. We all panic." I couldn't blame her for it. Even now, despite things being safe, she twitched at every little noise. I recognized that hyper-awareness. I used to be that way too. "May I ask another question?"

"Of course."

"How did Chrom die?"

"Ah…" She fell silent again. "Well, I don't know the details. Honestly, all I know if that he was betrayed, and that his body couldn't be recovered. Uncle Robin disappeared the same day." She paused for a split-second, but from here, I couldn't see her expression. "Frederick returned with the bloody Falchion. You accepted it from him with quiet dignity. But you never smiled much after that. You took over ruling, becoming the Queen-Regent for me, and your smile was forever darkened."

"I see." That more or less confirmed what I already figured. I outlived Chrom in her future. I had to rule alone. But, it was worse than I thought. My future-self… she had lost Robin at the same time. "We'll do what we can, Lucina."

"Yes, we will." She leaned against my legs suddenly and tilted her head up to look at me with a smile. "I know we will. Though, I hope we can do it without too many sacrifices. I've seen too many sacrifice themselves."

"We'll see." I hesitated before leaning down and kissing her forehead. She stared at me for a moment before smiling brightly. "Now, straighten up. I'm not done brushing your hair."

"Okay!" She giggled, doing as I asked. "Mother?"

"Yes?"

"I love you."

"I love you too." That, at least, I had no hesitancies or fear over. "I need to teach you how to take care of your hair, though."

"Like?"

"Well…"

Sumia returned with a small pile of books to me explaining conditioner to Lucina. She laughed and helped out with the explanation before the three of us settled down to read. It was… surprisingly peaceful.

"Henry and Lissa have been spending too much time together!" Maribelle huffed, grumbling. While Chrom, Robin, and Lucina talked about something, Maribelle complained to me about, apparently, how close Henry and Lissa were. "Grr… I should have a word with him."

"Now, now, let Lissa have her new friend," I chided, leaning a bit more against the railing. The water below was a beautiful blue, sparkling under the sunlight. "She's been having difficulties sleeping and he cheers her up."

"Mmm… I suppose." She sighed, brushing her hair behind her ear. "I can't blame her. Learning what's to come… it's terrifying. I'm sure the fact that Chrom was the first to die hurt her terribly."

"Indeed." I glanced at her worriedly. "How are you holding up? I've noticed you've been drinking more calming teas."

"Honestly, a bit of a nervy wreck. Mostly, though, I'm worried about my future child showing up." She grimaced. "I expected more time to adapt to the idea of a child, you know. Lon'qu is also worried."

"At least you get a warning?"

"Very true." She touched my cheek, frowning. "You, my dear, have been losing sleep as well."

"I've a lot to worry about now."

"That is true." She smiled. "Don't be afraid to ask us for help, darling. We're here for you."

"I know." The problem, though, was that most of what bothered me… no one could help with. The guilt weighing into me about being a Vessel… honestly, I knew one way to prevent Grima's return, and yet I… "I'm mostly just overwhelmed, though, Maribelle. Like you said, I expected a little more time to… you know…"

"Learn how to be a mother." She shifted a bit closer and wrapped an arm around me. "Well, at least she's not fussy. All she really wants is to spend time with you and Chrom."

"True." I leaned my head against her shoulder. "Ah, what I'd really like is a nice relaxing bath."

"I know, right? Trying to relax in this sort of place is horrific. It's ridiculous, really." She sighed gustily. "And trying to deal with getting a proper tea is almost worse. I've had to recruit Lon'qu's help and, love of my life as he is, he is horrible at haircare and tea making."

"Well… hey, wait." I gave her a look. "You know; I didn't think about this sooner. But do you two share a room?"

"Yes?"

"Oh?" I smirked and her face slowly turning red. "Huh. I don't know why I thought that was surprising. I guess I thought you'd wait until your 'proper' marriage."

"…Well, that's what my father thinks is happening." She coughed, embarrassed, and I snickered. "Let's not inform him otherwise, yes?"

"I don't think I've seen your father since my wedding, so your secret is safe with me!" I began laughing, and she huffed before smiling softly. "Ah, sorry for teasing. I needed to laugh."

"I know, darling, and it's good to see your cheer return, if only for a moment."

"Thanks for understanding." A shadow above caught my attention, and I frowned at the clouds, trying to find what it was. My frown deepened when I realized it looked almost like a pegasus. But Cordelia was helping Libra in the infirmary, making seasickness remedies, and Sumia was napping with Frederick. "Maribelle?"

"Yes?"

"Should there be any pegasus knights near our ship?"

"No, not at this hour." She looked up too, but the shadow I'd seen hidden behind a cloud. "Why?"

"Well…"

"Enemies about!" Cherche swooped down and landed on the deck, dismounting quickly. Virion, to no one's surprise, helped her down. "We're meeting the Valmese fleet," she informed us. Everyone instantly tensed, and some began going for their weapons. The sailors began adjusting the sails. "We'll be on them soon."

There was, of course, quite a bit of chaos at that point, because what else would happen? I thought about listening in on the strategy meeting, but I opted against it to instead find our three fliers and warn them about the shadow I'd seen. However, when I heard what the final plan was, I wished I'd been there to point out some of the downsides to this plan and just why sometimes, the unexpected plan was unexpected for a damn reason.

Gods, Robin, sometimes…

I hated fighting on boats. I hated fighting at sea. My rhythm was completely thrown off thanks to the movement of the boat, and we were down a few due to seasickness. But that wasn't the worst of it. That wasn't the worst of it at all.

"Vaike, give me a hand here!" I ordered, crouching down to start shoving on one of the planks the Valmese were trying to use to get onto our ships. Vaike joined me without a fuss, and between the two of us, we managed to get the plank off, sending all those on it into the waters. Their screams as they struggled to swim and not drown were almost as haunting as the silence that followed as their bodies focused slowly on survival. Before long, they'd disappear under the waves, and only surface as corpses.

That was the worst part. Drowning was a bad way to go.

"Man, this is nuts," Vaike sighed. He wiped some sweat off his face, and grimaced. "Even the great Vaike is feeling off."

"Sea battles suck unless you specifically train for it." Now that I thought about it, Plegia's soldiers were trained in naval combat. It was very… convenient… ah, I didn't know. "We lose any?"

"Some soldiers, yeah. Shepherds, surprisingly, are holding strong. Had a close call with Panne, though."

"What happened?" I hadn't seen.

"Her bunny form isn't exactly made for sea battles. She nearly went over the railing. Cordelia saved her."

"Ah. When did that happen?"

"While you were catching- WHOA!" The ship rocked as one of the Valmese ships tried to ram us. They failed, thankfully. "Ugh… this sucks."

"It does. When did Panne fall over?"

"Oh, right." He shrugged. "When you were pulling Nowi up."

"Ah." Nowi's transformation had faded right as the ships had rocked unexpectedly, so instead of landing on the deck, she'd landed on the railing and toppled off. Thankfully, I'd been close enough to grab her. My stomach and shoulder were bruised from it. "Ah, shoot, I need to get back to guarding Tharja."

"Gaius, by the way, keeps saying he owes you for doing that for him."

"It's nothing." I was still a bit out of practice, though I was rapidly regaining my former strength, and that meant I was still on guard duty. "But I should get to-"

"Beware, evil-doers!" A pegasus knight appeared, out of nowhere, and struck down one of the Valmese griffon riders. "The hero of justice has entered the fray!" she declared dramatically, posing even. The wind tugged at her brown pigtails, and I noticed she was dressed in a blue Ylissean pegasus knight uniform. "As has her trusty sidekick!" I did wonder if she'd taken a head injury, though.

"Cynthia, some days, I swear…" The wind whipped up suddenly, surrounding a young man I didn't recognize, but wore a hat much like Miriel's, standing at the bow of the ship. He hadn't been there thirty seconds ago. "This is not what I meant by 'create a distraction'," he sighed, gesturing sharply. The wind sharpened into blades. "Well, I suppose I can deal with that botheration at a later time. Elwind!"

As the two fought, I glanced at Vaike. "You seeing what I'm seeing?" I asked dryly. He nodded and, for the first time ever, actually looked exasperated. "I don't think you can say anything about being loud and dramatic, except this is a little…"

"Hey, even the Vaike thinks to check in with the tactician." He shrugged, and shook his head. "Well, whatever. The Vaike is going to go back to helping chop down griffons."

"I think their wings are particularly vulnerable, like most fliers."

"Noted!" He jumped back into the fray, and I found Tharja just in time to cut down another griffon rider trying to disrupt her spellcasting.

She gave me a small smile in thanks before tearing through a few more of the Valmese cavalry. Similar dark magic showed Henry was also still casting spells. I glanced to the side, noticing Henry was keeping close to Lissa, which I thought strange since Robin didn't normally set spellcasters to guard the healers. But I shrugged and let it go, focusing on my own job.

At least, until I heard Lucina shout, "Cynthia! Laurent!" She held up her hand, and 'Cynthia' waved back, while 'Laurent' simply smiled. "Over here, the both of you!" Without hesitation, Cynthia swooped down while Laurent ran over. "Okay, let me tell you the current strategy. I don't want to throw off Uncle Robin's plan too much."

"Ah, do you know them, Lucina?" I asked, stepping away from Tharja. She nodded, silently saying it was okay, and I walked over to the three of them. "They really should've checked in first."

"I'm sorry. We're still so used to acting on our own." Lucina glanced down sheepishly, but lit up when I pushed the hair out of her face. "Anyway, Mother, this is Cynthia." She gestured to the pegasus knight, who waved, smiling brightly at me. "And Laurent." She pointed to the mage, who bowed, and smiled respectfully. "Do you know where Uncle Robin is?"

"He might be on the enemy ship with Chrom at this point."

"Got it. With me, you two." She raced away, and Laurent fell in step with her with a practiced ease. Cynthia flew over them protectively, perfectly careful to not hurt either. It was almost surprising, how well the three worked together.

"My, my, more children from the future?" Tharja asked. She walked over to me and leaned against my shoulder, eyeing them closely. "Seems our little family is growing."

"Seems so," I agreed. As much as I could while they were fighting, I studied Laurent, noticing his hair was a similar color to Kellam's, and that his eyes looked a lot like Miriel's. "He has to be Miriel's son. The girl… well, I wouldn't be surprised if she was Sumia's or Cordelia's." Actually, I noticed her face resembled Sumia's, and her hair color was a similar brown as Frederick's. "Sumia's."

"I agree." Her eyes darted to the side. "Ah, it looks like we're preparing to depart."

"In that case, you're in the first wave, yes?"

"I am. See you." She walked off, perfectly calm considering everything, and I began helping people evacuate onto the lifeboats, protecting them from the Valmese who tried to attack their retreating backs. The priority was killing the fliers, for reasons I was uncomfortable with, but I dared not go against orders. Flying enemies could sink the lifeboats, and I…

Cordelia soon flew near, and I climbed on behind her. Once she was certain I was secure, she took off and got us high above everything, out of range of anything. As she leveled off, we both looked down and watched the emptied vessels slam into the Valmese ships and our mages threw fire magic to ignite the oil saturating the ships and set it all aflame. My stomach turned at all the screams and the sight of all the people and horses drowning in the waves. I hugged Cordelia tightly and hid my face in her back to try and ignore it, but I knew I couldn't. I'd always remember the orange flames on the blue sea, and all the people who either burned to death or drowned, both horrifyingly slow deaths, while smoke swirled overhead, uncaring.

War wasn't pretty. I knew this. I knew this was also efficient and pragmatic, protecting us, and us losing only some ships we didn't quite need. But I hated this. I hated this so much.

Cynthia and Laurent properly introduced themselves once we were safely away, and I'd been right on their parents. Cynthia was Sumia and Frederick's daughter; Laurent's parents were Miriel and Kellam. I gave them sympathetic smiles as they tried to figure out how to adapt, but I kept my distance. I couldn't join in victory celebrations tonight. I couldn't get the sight of so many dying out of my head.

"Drowning takes a long time," I whispered, looking out over the waves. It was a dark blue this time, almost like it was filled with only shadows. "So does burning to death." Unless they got lucky and passed out, they'd be very aware of their life ebbing away, right until the end. While I knew it was necessary, given this sort of battle, I couldn't agree with it.

Yes, I'd killed people. I'd killed many people. But I'd done my best to make it quick. If you were going to kill a person, you should at least make sure they don't have time to suffer. So, this sort of death bothered me, and I could take no joy in winning. Not like this.

"Will victories like this be common when we're in Valm?" I leaned against the railing, watching the waves. "They might. Walhart's forces are zealous enough." It was another war, and I was already so tired. It also bothered me that we had to deal with this. A distraction, I was certain. Grima was coming back, but we had to put down a tyrant who couldn't be content with subjugating one continent. "Even if they're not involved, the Grimleal are going to take advantage of this." This was stupid. This was completely stupid. Worse was that if it was anything but a prideful idiot, we could've argued to ally together to deal with the Grimeal and… "Oh, freaking hell, they have to be involved."

It was the oldest strategy. Divide and conquer. And here we were, falling completely into the trap, and we couldn't even climb out of it because Walhart had fallen so completely. We were so screwed, and it added to the helplessness I felt. I knew there was one way to definitely make sure Grima didn't come back, but I also knew that no one would agree. No one would…

"Aunt Kestrel~!" A tackle-hug nearly sent me crashing into the deck, and I barely kept balance by gripping the railing. A couple of blinks told me my 'attacker' was Cynthia. "Hi~!" she greeted, grinning up at me. After a moment of staring, I did return her hug, patting her back. "Yay! I'm so glad to see you!"

"Cynthia, you shouldn't bother people." Laurent also walked up then, adjusting his glasses. "It is the height of impoliteness to simply-"

"Yeah, yeah, mister killjoy. Like you weren't happy to see her too." Cynthia made a face before hugging me again. "Hee~ You're warm!"

"She is alive, therefore-"

"Kill. Joy." She stepped away then and grinned at me. "Well, I'll give you another hug in the morning. Bye~" She ran off then, happily jumping on Lucina to give her a hug too. Lucina yelped, but soon laughed, face softening with a relieved smile.

Laurent watched the two for a moment before bowing to me. "It is truly wonderful to see you again," he murmured. "I apologize for the difficulties we bring with our presence."

"No, don't fret about that," I reassured. I felt I had to. I could see the sadness in their eyes, even Cynthia, who tried to hide it with cheer. I couldn't just… I felt I had to reassure them. No matter how uncomfortable I actually was by all of this, I couldn't let them know. "It's simply a matter of adapting." Desperate for a subject change, I studied his face, and noticed something. "You look tired, though. You should probably go rest."

"That's…" He stared for a moment before abruptly looking down. "Ha, you're not much different."

"Pardon?"

"Reassuring even when you were hurting, focusing on others…" He looked up again, and smiled sadly. "I was almost overwhelmed for a moment."

"I… take it my future-self mothered you a lot?"

"You raised me." The words were simple, but they hit me sharply, like ice water. "My father died in battle. My mother disappeared soon after, never recovered. You… were one of the last to die among our parents. And each time one of us became an orphan, you simply took us in, without complaint. You told us stories about our parents, encouraged our paths, all while ruling Ylisse. It…" He looked down again. "It was a very dark day, when you went out to fight Grima, to buy time for us to escape, and never came back."

"I… see." This was too much. I outlived most of my friends in that future? The very thought was enough to make me ill. I was so terrified of losing everything, and in the future 'destined' to come, I did. This was… "I'm sorry."

"No, no, please…" He shook his head. "But I do believe I shall retire as you suggested."

"Yes, you should. I imagine today was very emotionally exhausting." I kept up the smile until he left, but I let it fall as soon as I knew he wasn't paying attention. My mind was reeling and so, I decided to follow my own 'advice' and abandon the deck and just hide in my room.

When there, blessedly quiet thanks to being so far away from everything, I changed into my nightgown, and crawled under the blankets, desperately trying to relax and maybe go to sleep. But I couldn't. My mind raced too much. I just laid there, staring at the wall, for who knew how long. It was long enough for Chrom to come in from the festivities, change into his own sleeping-pants, and slipped into bed next to me, hugging me tightly. That was all I knew.

"You've been unsettled ever since Carrion Isle," he whispered. I could only sigh, not even surprised he figured it out. "Is it Lucina?"

"Not entirely," I murmured. I still looked at the wall, away from him. "Though, I did expect to have a little bit longer to deal with, say, being called 'Mother'."

"I know. It sounds strange to the ear."

"Extremely. But I don't want her to know."

"You're so inclined to hide." His words were somewhat chiding, but I didn't know how to reply. "So, if it's not only that, then is it Grima?"

"Well, obviously." My hand reached up towards my shoulder, the back of it where the Brand of Grima marked just how inhuman I was. "It's…"

"Everything will be fine, Kes." He deliberately kissed my brand for emphasis before drawing me closer. "We know it's coming now. We can change things."

"It's the very thing Robin and I spent our whole lives running from." I laughed mirthlessly. "I've known Grima was destined to come back all my life. I'm an idiot."

"No, you're not." He peppered the back of my neck with kisses. "You are not alone, Kes."

"That didn't save our future selves." I sighed gustily, and did finally turn to face him. He looked so concerned, but I just… "This isn't something that can be hugged away. I wish it was. But all I can think is maybe Robin and I should just-"

"If the next word is 'die', don't." His expression hardened, but I saw the very real fear and pain in his eyes. I knew that would be the reaction. "I can't lose you, Kes. And I'll fight a god to make sure of it."

"If it's to save the world, Chrom…" If it meant Grima wouldn't come back… "Two lives for the world is nothing."

"It's not nothing, Kes. It's you."

"That's…" 'Selfish', I wanted to say, but it felt wrong. Not that it wasn't correct, but when he looked so afraid, I couldn't… "Chrom…"

"We'll find another way." He pulled me closer, making it near impossible to move. Not that I wanted to, mind, but I knew this was just to reassure him that I was still here, and I wasn't sure how comfortable that was. "Besides, you promised me, yes? I promised you that I wouldn't leave you, and you promised you wouldn't leave me."

"…Yes, I did." I closed my eyes, guilt flooding me. If Robin and I just died, then the potential problem would erase itself. By gambling on another way, we risked Grima's return. At the same time, though, I was scared of dying. I was scared of losing everything. I was… "I'm scared."

"I know. I am too." He kissed the top of my head. "But it'll be fine. We'll make our own destiny. Anything can change. People, mountains, the oceans… even fate."

"We'll see." I had no faith in that, truthfully. But hey, he did. Maybe that would be enough. "I'll trust in you, I suppose."

"One of these days, we'll figure out how to get you to trust yourself. You're a wonderful woman. I should know; I married you."

"I love you." I really had no other reply, so I snuggled closer, turning slightly so that I could listen to his heartbeat. "I'm going to sleep, love."

"You're always avoiding my praise." He sighed, but kissed my temple and pulled the blankets a little more over us. "Good night, Kes. I love you too. Things will be fine. I-"

"What did I say about promising anything besides not leaving me?"

"Don't do it?"

"Precisely." I closed my eyes and tried to relax. "Silly."

"I've gone from mean to silly. I'll deal." He kissed my head, again. "Pleasant dreams, Kes."

"You too, love."

Notes on Lucina:

Class – Lord; Reclass – Dark Mage, Myrmidon, Cavalier, Archer

Daughter of Kestrel and Chrom. From the future, wielder of the Falchion. Its increased power is due to undergoing a partial awakening.

A very balanced fighter, much like her mother, and while her fighting style most closely resembles her father's, there are quite a few showings of her mother's influence.

Strong willed, determined, and also adorable in how she tries to connect again with her parents, leaping for joy at the simplest of affections. She also has the most bizarre sense of fashion.

Author's note: So, I mentioned this earlier, but I'm not doing the Children Paralogues as they are in game, mostly because they're all over the map and there's no real way to smooth that out for pacing purposes. So, have two more child units: Cynthia and Laurent. Because that's a funny combination. Miriel's body never being recovered comes from the Future Past DLC. The tactic used here is actually one used in a lot of real-world naval battles, but Kestrel herself can't quite agree to condemning a bunch of people to drown, hence the negative view she has with it.

Next Chapter – Smoldering Resistance