Morgan was surrounded by absolute darkness.
"Hello?" he called, but nobody answered.
Suddenly, a purple light appeared, that ended forming the six eyes mark. Morgan stepped back and fell on his back. He couldn't keep his eyes from the mark. Morgan felt that he couldn't move anymore.
"The darkness will consume you" said the tenebrous voice that Morgan knew.
"Morgan! Come back at us!" Morgan hear a familiar voice calling him.
"Father!?" he asked, looking for the voice.
"We will protect you" he heard another familiar voice.
"Inigo?"
Morgan woke up. He was laying on a bed. Then he sat and it took some seconds for him to recognize where he was: his mother's former bedroom. He sighed, relieved that the nightmare was over. After that, he smiled at the thought of being where his mother used to live.
Morgan realized that on the dresser where some garments that weren't there last night. But he recalled Inigo telling him that he would provide him with new clothes. Morgan got up and took the garments. He revised them, making sure that they would fit him. Then, he went to the Shepherd's bathroom to take a shower. Inigo had told him that there he could always find water.
After the relaxing shower, Morgan put on his new clothes, his mother's robe, and his black gloves. He felt hungry, so he went to the kitchen to have breakfast. There, the maids were extremely nice to him and offered a delicious meal. He could swear that they were looking at him with pity. That made him feel uncomfortable.
Luckily, Inigo arrived at the kitchen just when he was about to finish his meal.
"Morgan, there you are. I was looking for you, we have to attend something" Inigo told him.
"What?" Morgan asked.
"Well, you'll see" was Inigo's simple answer.
Morgan rushed to finish his breakfast. After that, the two guys took off. They left the castle and entered the city. Morgan asked Inigo where they were going, but the second refused to answer.
At first, the streets were empty. But as they were walking, they could see some persons. Morgan noticed that they were holding flowers. People of all ages were walking at the same direction as Morgan and Inigo.
They arrived at a big building. It only had two floors, but it was large. The place was crowded, Morgan could barely see anything.
"What's this place?" Morgan asked.
"It's Robin school, a school that was built like ten years ago" Inigo answered.
Morgan still was processing everything when Inigo took him by his arm. "I want you to see this" said Inigo while he and Morgan dug into the crowd. The duo passed by a lot of people until they arrived in front of a statue.
Morgan couldn't believe what his eyes were seeing. He was standing at his mother's statue. He could tell that definitely was her. She was wearing her tactician outfit and she was holding a Lewyn sword in one hand and a thunder tome in the other hand. Whoever built that statue should have known her very well. But something wasn't right for Morgan, his mother's expression was different. In that statue she looked fierce and daring, not soft and tired as he remembered.
"Yesterday, people spread the rumor that your mother was dead. They realized that it was true when my father came here in the morning to leave some flowers in the statue, so they stared to do the same" Inigo mentioned. And it was true, lots of people were leaving flowers in the statue as a tribute.
Morgan and Inigo stayed in silence, just watching people pass and leave flowers. Morgan was doing his best for not to cry. He didn't have idea of how much his mother was loved in that land.
Morgan would have stayed watching, but Inigo interrupted him.
"I want to introduce you to some people" Inigo told him. Then both of them walked towards a couple who was close to the statue. This couple was accompanied by some royal guards. The couple consisted in a blonde woman in a yellow dress and a white-haired man in a black tunic. The couple were holding hands.
"Aunt Lissa, uncle Henry, this is Morgan, Robin's son" Inigo presented Morgan.
Lissa covered her mouth with her free hand. "I can't believe it. You look a lot like Robin" she exclaimed, her voice sounded surprised and sad.
"Thanks" said Morgan.
"Morgan, this is princess Lissa, my father's younger sister, and this is her husband, Henry. They are Owain's parents" Inigo introduced his family.
"It's an honor to meet you" said Morgan while doing a little reverence.
"The honor is ours. Morgan if you ever need something, just ask me. Your mother was a really great friend of mine" Lissa told Morgan. Her words were kind and serious.
"Thanks again. I'll take it into account" answered Morgan.
"Princess Lissa is the best healer in the city, she spends most of her time healing people and teaching others to heal. And uncle Henry is a dark mage, he used to be part of the Plegian army" Inigo explained but was interrupted by Morgan.
"I know. You changed bands and helped the Shepherds when they were ambushed in Carrion Isle" Morgan told Henry.
"That's right, and I don't regret it" Henry said.
"That's where we fell in love. Do you remember, Henry?" Lissa asked her husband.
"Of course. How could I forget how beautiful you looked while trying to revive those dying soldiers?" Henry replied to his wife.
"Stop it, you are embarrassing me" Lissa asked, she was blushed.
That was a strange scene for Morgan, but now he was staring to understand Owain's eccentricity.
"Morgan, I feel a great power inside you. It's rather familiar" Henry commented.
"Of course is familiar. It's Robin's power, Morgan must have inherited it" said Lissa.
"It's possible. Morgan, if you are ever attracted to dark magic, I can be you mentor" Henry offered to Morgan.
"I appreciate your offer, but I prefer to stick to basic magic like my mother did" Morgan answered.
"Speaking of dark magic. Uncle Henry, I have a question for you" Inigo caught their attention.
"What is it?" asked Henry.
"You see. We happened to run into a sorcerer who used a spell to control people" spoke Inigo.
"Control people? That's not a normal spell" Henry commented.
"That's what Laurent told us. This sorcerer had the same six eyes mark, but we didn't find any proof about he actually practicing magic" Inigo explained.
"Well, if he had the mark, he was a Grimleal, and not just any Grimleal" Henry stated.
"What do you mean?" Inigo asked.
"Just the members of the most exclusive families in Plegia bear that mark. I don't know if they get it naturally or with some class of ritual" Henry answered. Morgan got worried with that information.
"Well, so, there is no doubt that this guy was also a Grimleal" Inigo commented.
"Henry, I also have a question for you" Morgan said.
"Tell me"
"Do you also think that this robe is Plegian?"
"Yes, I can definitely tell is Plegian. Is also your mother's robe, right?"
"Yes, do you think she was Plegian?"
"Well, I heard rumors about it, but nothing was ever confirmed. I think you should ask Chrom, he and your mother had a lot of secrets. Nya ha ha."
"That's true. I remember how they used to be together all time. Poor Chrom, he is really affected by this" commented Lissa with melancholy.
"Princess Lissa, it's time to go" a bodyguard spoke.
"Well, we have to go. See you around guys" Lissa said.
Lissa and Henry left with their guards. When people realized that Morgan and Inigo were alone, they approached them. There were tons of people who realized who Morgan was and wanted to talk with him.
"Your mother was such a hero" a man said.
"Your mother saved my son" a woman told him.
"I remember how she helped me" a soldier commented.
Morgan felt overwhelmed. The people who approached him was so effusive about his mother, and for him they were just strangers. All the stories they were telling him about his mother made him remember her. All his memories of her started to emerge on his mind. He felt like if there was no air on his lungs, and he was about to cry again. Suddenly, he couldn't see the faces of the people surrounding him, all he could see were shadows.
"Morgan, where are you?" he heard his mother calling him.
"Morgan, my sweet boy, what are you doing?" he started to search for the voice.
"Morgan, you wouldn't make your mother sad, would you?"
"Whoa, Buddy, is everything okay?" Inigo asked Morgan, noticing his weird state.
Morgan didn't answer, he kept in trance. Inigo took Morgan's arm and guide him far from the crowd. They stopped in and empty street.
"Morgan, are you okay?" a worried Inigo asked.
Morgan was trying to catch his breath. "I… don't know" he could barely speak.
Inigo rubbed the back of his head, he felt disappointed for the turning of the event. "I'm sorry, It wasn't a good idea to take you here" he apologized.
"Don't worry, I know your intentions were good" Morgan spared him.
And just when they felt relieved, more trouble came. The two guys heard something flying on his direction. Instinctively, they looked at the direction of the sound and they saw an arrow incrusted in the wall. The arrow landed close to Morgan's head.
"We are under attack. Get down!" exclaimed Inigo.
The two guys got down and hid behind a wooden box that was near.
"DON'T HIDE, YOU DAMN COWARD!" they heard an angry girl shout.
"Noire?" Morgan asked in realization of who the girl was.
"Noire?" Inigo repeated, recognizing the name.
Morgan got up and walked through the street with his hands up. He soon spotted his attacker in the alley that was in front of them. His attacker was a young blonde girl with short hair. She was wearing green clothes. The girl was pointing her bow in Morgan's direction, ready to fire another arrow. Inigo also got up, but he just stayed watching from behind.
"Hi Noire! There you are. Why don't you put that down? You don't want to hurt your friend, do you?" Morgan spoke with a kind voice, but deep inside he was frightened.
Without thinking it two times, Noire shot another arrow that landed in Morgan's arm. Morgan screamed in pain and pressed with his other hand his injured arm.
"Morgan!" Inigo screamed while approaching his friend. Inigo tried to hold Morgan who was almost kneeling because of the pain.
"Oh god, she really wants to kill me" Morgan said.
The guys weren't looking at Noire, but they heard a blow and subsequently they heard her bow fall into the floor.
"AH! GET OUT OF ME DASTARD!" Noire screamed.
"Don't worry, pals! I got 'er" said a male voice.
Inigo and Morgan looked at Noire's direction and watched her being held by a young man that was taller than her. The guy was wearing an elegant black tunic and his hair was brown.
"Don't hurt her! She is my friend!" Morgan told the new guy while trying to get up and walk towards them.
"This freaking girl is yer friend?" the male guy asked.
"Take off her talisman, the one on her neck" Morgan ordered the guy, he and Inigo were approaching them.
Doubtfully, the guy tried to take off the mentioned object, but it was difficult because Noire was struggling. When the guy took Noire's talisman, the girl fainted. The guy released Noire, who felt weak and sat on the floor.
Noire covered her face with her hands and started to cry, she wasn't the raging girl that she was some minutes ago.
"What the heck just happened in here?" asked the brunette.
"I have no idea, man" answered Inigo.
Morgan sat along the crying girl, he seemed worried.
"Noire, are you okay? What are you doing here?" Morgan asked while placing his hand on Noire's shoulder.
The girl showed her distressed face. "Why did you leave me, Morgan? Do you hate me? After everything I did for you, how you dare to abandon me?" Noire questioned Morgan.
"Don't say that. I don't hate you. You are my best friend. I didn't tell you anything because I wanted you to stay safe with your parents" Morgan answered with a compassionate tone.
The girl just kept crying. Morgan knew that Noire had issues, but he didn't realize how bad they were until now.
"Where are your parents?" Morgan asked Noire.
"I don't know" was her answer.
"You don't know? Did you run away too?"
"Uh-huh."
"Have you been following me since a left home?"
"Yes."
"Morgan, I don't want to interrupt, but you are bleeding" Inigo spoke.
"Oh, that's true" Morgan said while looking at the arrow on his arm.
"Luckily, Brady here is the Shepherds' best healer" Inigo presented the guy who helped them.
"Oh, I didn't know you were a Shepherd too" Morgan mentioned.
"Yes, I am. And I heard 'bout ya. You're the new tactician." Brady said.
"Tactician?" Noire asked, she wasn't crying anymore.
"Now, let's back to business. There's an infirmary near here. We've to move" Brady ordered.
Brady guided the three guys to the mentioned building. There, a kind woman helped Brady to heal Morgan. They removed the arrow with caution and Brady used a staff to cure the injury. It was painful for Morgan, but he stayed calm because he knew that Noire was watching and didn't want her to feel worse.
Inigo and Noire had a little conversation while they were waiting for Morgan.
"So, you are Noire, Tharja and Libra's daughter, right?" Inigo asked her.
"Yes" she answered.
"I remember you, your father used to bring you to the castle whenever he and my father had a meeting. Last time I saw you was 8 years ago" Inigo said.
"Yes, I remember you too, prince Inigo. You wanted me to be your girlfriend, and then I discovered that you already had three girlfriends" Noire smiled at remembering that.
"That's true. Please don't tell Morgan. It's really embarrassing" Inigo asked, his face was blushing.
"I won't" Noire promised.
Then, Morgan joined them. He was already cured.
"How are you, buddy?" Inigo asked.
"Great" Morgan answered.
"Morgan your robe! It has a hole and blood stains" Noire noticed, she sounded worried.
"I know. I'll have to fix it" Morgan commented.
"Let me do it. I can wash it and sew it" Noire offered.
"Okay" Morgan accepted. "I'll give you the robe once we arrive to the castle."
"To the castle?" Noire asked.
"Yes, I was thinking. Inigo, do you think that Noire could join the Shepherds?" Morgan asked.
"I don't see why not. After all, most of the Shepherds know her, and her bow's skill can be useful" Inigo answered.
"Wait, so are you tellin' me that this Noire is the sweet little girl who used to hang out with us?" Brady interrupted.
"Yes, do you also remember her?" Inigo asked Brady.
"She's changed" Brady answered looking at Noire.
"You also changed Brady" she said.
"So that's a yes? Noire can join us?" Morgan wanted to confirm.
"Of course, and she can stay in the castle, since I think she has no home" Inigo offered.
"Thank you very much, prince Inigo. I really appreciate it" Noire answered.
"Well, we should head to the castle, I have something to do" Inigo suggested.
After saying goodbye to Brady, the trio returned to the castle. In the barracks, Morgan gave his robe to Noire, and then he put on a black robe in the meantime. Noire left the room, she was already familiar with the castle so she knew where she could wash the robe.
"Prince Inigo, king Chrom is in the throne room, waiting for you" a guard who was passing by told him.
"Just in time. Morgan, come with me" Inigo asked.
"Of course" Morgan answered, he was getting use to see his father.
The two guys headed to the throne room. As they were walking, Inigo decided to ask something he was curious about.
"How do you know Noire?"
"Oh, when my mother's illness got worse, she asked Noire's parents to come and help her. So, we lived together for a whole year. Then my mother died, and I fell into a terrible depression. For the last two years I didn't leave my home, I didn't do anything but cry and sleep. Noire was there. She fed me, read me stories, did everything to cheer me up."
"Oh, I think I understand now. But why she was so aggressive about it?"
"It wasn't her. It was this talisman" Morgan showed the talisman that he was saving on his pockets.
"Did Brady give it to you?"
"Yes. Noire has always been weak and submissive. So, her mother made this talisman that makes her crazy and aggressive in order to defend herself"
"Isn't dangerous that you have that?"
"No, I think it just works with her"
The two guys arrived to the throne room. There was just Chrom sitting on his throne, Frederick standing at his right, and some soldiers guarding the room.
Inigo and Morgan walked until they were in front of Chrom. Morgan noticed that his father's face was emotionless.
"Inigo, Morgan. I guess you are here to give your report of your last trip" Chrom spoke.
"Yes father, this is important. We encountered another sorcerer who used a spell to control people" Inigo said.
"That sounds extremely dangerous" Chrom commented.
"It is. And I confirmed with uncle Henry that the sorcerer was a Grimleal too. I think I should take my Shepherds and search for more Plegians with the same mark, so we can get more information of what's going on" Inigo suggested.
"No, you have done enough" Chrom refused, causing confusion in Inigo. "Frederick, prepare all the soldiers, send them to every village in our territory. Order them to find every Plegian in our country and to send them back to Plegia" the king ordered.
"What!? Father, No! You can't do that!" Inigo argued.
"I AM THE KING, INIGO. I know what is right for my people, and those are not my people" Chrom stated in a severe mood.
"Father…" Inigo muttered, unable to say anything else.
"You and your Shepherds will patrol the city in the army's absence" Chrom ordered.
"Yes, father" answered Inigo, he was already resigned.
"You can leave now" Chrom dismissed them.
The two guys left the room. As they walked way back to the barracks, Morgan tried to talk with Inigo.
"Does your father usually take this kind of decisions?"
"No, he is not being himself. I'm afraid that your mother's dead affected him more than I imagined. I don't want to think about this. I'm sure he will change his mind. He can't just simply exile all Plegians, they must be like 20 percent of all people"
"Yeah, I don't think it's fair"
The two guys finally arrived to the barracks. They expected to see Noire in there, but she was nowhere.
"THERE YOU ARE!" the two guys heard Owain's exalted voice.
"Owain, not now. We had enough emotions for today" Inigo complained.
"I am sorry, dear cousin. But I shall not let this malign being to continue with his insolence" said Owain, he looked completely decided.
"Are you referring to me?" Morgan asked while pointing to himself.
"Of course. Since you have joined us, you have done nothing but make a fool of myself" Owain declared.
"How is that?" Morgan asked, he was totally concerned.
"First of all, you took my cousin and the Shepherds' attention all for yourself. Second, you made Severa mad. And third one and most important, you dared to reject my father's offer to instruct you into the dark arts. Do you know what I would do for having an opportunity like that?" Owain sounded more offended with each word that he said.
"Am I sorry?" Morgan asked, he wasn't understanding what was happening.
"Owain, if you want to learn dark magic from your father you can just ask him, you know?" Inigo added, he sounded tired.
"And there is one and just one only way to resolve this" Owain stated.
"How?" Morgan asked intrigued.
"We have to fight in a duel to the death"
"To the death!? That's madness!" Morgan exclaimed.
"It's not as lethal as it sounds" Inigo commented, he was now sitting on a bench, trying to relax.
"That's right. And before we start, you have to know the one sacred rule of combat. When I'm shouting a move name, you have to wait for me to finish. I shall extend the same courtesy to you" Owain explained.
"I don't know if I really understand this" an insecure Morgan commented.
"You'll do it. Just let him start" Inigo suggested Morgan.
"Okay, I'm ready, I guess?" Morgan said.
"Well, let's see if you can handle this" said Owain. Then he proceeded to make a pose like if he was creating an energy ball, he waited some second and then he looked at Morgan "RADIAAANT DAAAAAWN" he screamed while pretending to throw the fake ball at his opponent.
Morgan just got frozen, trying to comprehend the nature of what just happened. Then, he looked at Inigo. "Is this just an improvisation exercise?" he asked.
"It totally is" Inigo answered.
Morgan inhaled deeply and then exhaled. Suddenly his face looked completely convinced.
"That was a formidable attack, mortal foe. But you have no idea what is coming for you" Morgan said, making Inigo laugh.
"Show me" Owain ordered.
Morgan raised his fist. "FLAMINGOOOOO PUNCH!" he screamed while pretending to throw a blow at distance.
"That's all you have got?" Owain taunted Morgan.
"I'm just warming up"
The two guys continued with his duel for a while. Morgan was actually enjoying it, and also, he was glad for the opportunity to connect with Owain. After one hour, they were tired, so Morgan decided to pretend to lose.
"You have fought well, Owain Dark. But I swear that this is not the last you hear of me. I'll come back and with more power" Morgan swore.
"And I will be waiting, my eternal ally-versary" Owain said.
Then the three guys remained in silence for some minutes, then everyone started to laugh.
"Morgan you are so good at this" Owain complimented.
"I can't believe you actually played along" commented Inigo.
"And I can't believe that our new tactician is such a clown" said a male voice.
Morgan looked at the person who said that. It was a young man in black clothes, standing at the doorframe. His hair was brown and combed back. He didn't look pleased.
"Gerome, I see you are in a good mood today" Inigo greeted him.
Gerome entered the room and walked towards Morgan, he stopped just in front of him. Gerome had to look down to see Morgan's face, it was a notorious difference of heights. Gerome's serious look made Morgan feel intimidated.
"What a disappointment" Gerome told Morgan, then passed by him, towards Inigo's direction.
"When I heard that you hired a new tactician, I thought you got someone capable, not a kid who likes to play games" Gerome complained to Inigo.
Inigo never erased the smile on his face "Morgan is a very capable person, all the other guys know it. Just wait until you see it" Inigo assured him.
Gerome looked at Morgan again. "Listen, fool. If someone of my friends die under your command, I'll kill you"
"Well, you'll be the second then" Morgan said, remembering Severa's words.
"Oh, I can believe all of you are together!" Cynthia exclaimed while entering the room.
Cynthia rushed towards Gerome and embraced him, Gerome embrace her back. "So, Morgan, you finally met my boyfriend" Cynthia was looking at Morgan with a delighted smile, while Gerome still had his 'I'm going to kill you look'.
"Yes" Morgan answered.
"Pretty cool, isn't he?" Cynthia asked while looking at her boyfriend. Morgan noticed that Gerome's semblance softened when Cynthia looked at him, but as soon as she parted her gazed, his face went back to the unfriendly look.
"Yes" Morgan repeated.
"Cynthia, it's time to go. Your father should be waiting for us" Gerome told Cynthia.
"Oh, but I wanted to talk with the guys" Cynthia complained.
"You can talk tomorrow, let's go" Gerome insisted.
"Okay, bye guys" was Cynthia's farewell.
"Bye, Cynthia" Inigo, Morgan, and Owain said at the same time.
The young couple left the room.
"Is she really dating that jerk?" Morgan asked.
"Yes, she is. I never cease to wonder what she sees in him. But apparently, they have a thing for each other since they were children" Inigo said.
"What a strange pair" Morgan muttered while sitting beside Inigo. Owain sat too.
Then, Noire entered the room.
"Morgan, I fixed your mother's robe" she told him.
"Thanks, Noire!" Morgan said.
"Who is her?" Owain asked. Inigo just sighed, he was too tired of his complicated day.
Morgan proceeded to explain to Owain who Noire was. In some minutes, Owain remembered that he already knew Noire. After that, the guys realized that they were hungry, they didn't have a proper meal and it was time for diner. Instead of dining with their family, Owain and Inigo decided to eat with Noire and Morgan in the barracks.
After diner, Inigo and Owain said good night and went to their respective rooms. Morgan decided to sleep with Noire in the barracks. Both of them were laying in separated beds.
"Morgan?"
"Yes, Noire"
"Did you tell your father the truth?"
"No, and I'm not planning to do it"
"So, why did you come here?"
"Because I happened to run into Inigo, and he offered me to be his tactician. I want to be just like mother."
"So, are you never going to tell your father the truth?"
"No, I won't. That's what I said."
"Why?"
"Because I made a promise."
"O-okay. Good night, Morgan"
"Good night, Noire"
Morgan waited some time, when he made sure that Noire was completely asleep, he took the sorcerer's diary and opened where he left it.
"The voice is telling me to kill all the people of the village. I can't do that! I don't want to! Even if they haven't been nice to me. I don't understand why my sister didn't suffer from this. We are from the same family! We were born with the same mark! Or maybe she suffered the same, but she didn't want to tell me. She always tried to protect me. I still remember when I was 8 years old and we escaped from our house in Plegia. In that time there was tension between Plegia and Ylisse. My sister knew exactly that something bad was about to happen. So we hid in an isolated village in Ylisse for 14 years. War never reached us, not even that monster Grima. But I can't accept that a stupid disease or maybe a curse took her from me. Why? WHY!?"
Morgan closed the diary. He could understand the sorcerer's pain, and he was afraid of that.
Thank you very much for reading!
I know this took me a while, but I had a busy week.
Special thanks to:
Mysterious guest #2: Thank you very much! I really appreciate your comment.
YellowHello1: Thank you very much for following and adding to favorites! I'm glad that you liked it.
Mysterious guest #1: Thanks for your comment! And yes, I realized about Inigo's brand when I was writing chapter number 3, and I thought I wouldn't make sense if Inigo had the brand on his right eye and Morgan didn't realized from chapter 1. So in this case he will have it on his back. And I doesn't bother me at all, I you find another discrepancy on my fanfic I will really appreciate if you tell me.
Deuce: Thanks for commenting! I hope you liked this chapter as well. I think there was a misunderstood because Morgan said "She is my sister" instead of "She is my half-sister" when he met Lucina, but that doesn't mean that Robin is Lucina's mother. Lucina is Olivia's daughter and she doesn't know anything about Morgan. If Morgan said "she is my sister" it is because at this point he doesn't care that they are children of another woman. He sees them as brother and sister.