Lucina didn't think Anna approved of her running away. She thought that, because right now, Anna was glaring daggers at her from across the small table they sat at over the few belongings she and Geralt had between them. When they'd reached the Feroxian town, Lucina had let Anna guide her and Geralt to a nearby inn. They were there right now, waiting as Boot Anna finished a half-done healing job on a nearby bed.

The girl was by no means an expert yet, fumbling with the staff, and when she closed her eyes, Lucina could tell she had trouble focusing from the way her brows twitched. Still, as Lucina watched the bandit's wounds seal themselves, she noted that the girl had improved since the last time she'd seen her. With enough practice, she would pass Lucina in no time.

Turning to Anna, Lucina huffed and said, "You made it here faster than I expected."

"I pulled a few favors, and I was able to hitch us a ride here." Anna raised an eyebrow. "Did you walk here?"

"I did."

"And without sleeping." She motioned to Lucina's face, where Lucina was sure there were still bags under her eyes. Even after a night's rest, Lucina was still sure she looked a mess.

Right now, she couldn't be bothered to care. "It's nothing new," she replied.

"If you'd waited a day, you could've gone with us."

"I can't predict the future. I needed to get to Ferox sooner."

"A day wouldn't have killed you."

Lucina hummed. "It might not. But I don't like taking chances."

From the corner of her eye, she saw Boot Anna pull away. Geralt felt over his shoulder, where the bandit Mercenary had slashed it open, then moved it around.

"Is it any good now?" Boot Anna asked, and she placed the heal staff down on a nearby chair.

Geralt rolled his arm, and with a satisfied grunt, he said, "It still feels a little stiff, but at least it's not as stiff as it was yesterday."

"Mama said I didn't do good last night, so I needed to try again. Did I do good this time?"

"I'll say." Geralt ruffled a hand through his hair and grinned. "I'm just glad it wasn't my lock-picking hand that got cut open."

As Geralt flexed his fingers, Boot Anna turned toward where Lucina and Anna were speaking. Lucina noted, with curiosity, that her eyes were not on Anna, but her. Lucina nodded her way once, and the girl's smile brightened.

Lucina turned her gaze toward Geralt. When the bandit noticed her looking, he chuckled. "Still looking to lock me up, Princess?"

"I might."

"Come on. After all we've been through?"

"You tried to kill me," Lucina said, her eyes narrow.

"Road's rough this time of year. It'd have been more strange if I'd tried not to kill you."

"That's not earning you any more trust."

"True. True." Geralt's eyes flicked to Boot Anna standing beside him. The girl, suddenly aware of his gaze, stepped back nervously. "What's to stop me from taking the girl?"

Both swords came out instantly.

"I'd not try it, hon," Anna said, grinning.

Lucina, with a little more edge, added, "You'll regret it."

Geralt raised his hands and backed away. "Okay, okay, I get it. It was only a jest."

"Well you've got me laughing." Anna raised her sword.

Lucina exchanged a look with Boot Anna. When the girl looked back, she nodded to the door. "Return to your room."

The girl did so quickly, and in a matter of seconds, it was just the three of them in the room.

"So, what was your original idea again? Leave him to rot in jail?" Anna hummed. "I think I rather like the sound of that."

Lucina sighed. "No. As much as I'd like to, he saved my life. I'd rather not let the debt go unpaid."

"Oh, please. You're feeling sorry now?"

"I'm sure he's not above a poor sense of humor." Lucina glared at him. "And as poor as it was, I'm sure it was just that. I wouldn't retract a favor for something as trivial as that."

"And where was any of this pity when you were running away from me, huh?"

Dropping her sword, Lucina gave Anna a look. "You're bringing this up now?"

"Do you have anywhere else to be?"

"I do," Geralt said.

"No you don't. The window's locked, dear," Anna said. "Unless, of course, you'd like to go through me?"

"Oh, no, I'm fine."

"Then sit." Anna turned to Lucina. "You said you'd take the job. I paid you in advance. Then, you run off. What do you think I'm angry about?"

"It was thirty gold coins. I'm sure you have gold to spare."

"That's not the point. You took my gold. Do you know what we call that in the business of selling things? Stealing!"

"You gave me that."

"I gave you that because you said you'd offered to work for it."

"Well consider my offer revoked."

Anna scowled. "I'll put a bounty on your head. You think I can't?"

"Try me." Lucina raised her sword at Anna's head. Anna just glared harder. Lucina didn't care. She'd already spent too long in the woman's company. Working for Anna would just slow her down.

As did, she realized, this stupid confrontation. Sighing, Lucina reached for the bag of gold by her side and tossed it onto the table.

"Take your stupid gold. I'd rather keep a bag of sludge with me than have to resort to your dirty money. But," she said, stopping Anna as she reached for the bag, "in exchange, you'll let me have his gold."

Lucina pointed at Geralt. Geralt frowned. "You can't steal from me, either."

"You stole that gold first. If I'm not entitled to her gold, you're not entitled to yours either."

"Hey," Anna said, slinging the bag of gold around her fingers. "You beat him. As far as I'm concerned, you earned it."

Lucina huffed, and she grabbed Geralt's purse off the table next to her. Before she turned to leave, Anna asked, "What do you want to do about him, then? You said you weren't gonna leave him out to dry."

"Bring him to the capital and let them take him. The dungeons are nicer there."

Geralt coughed. "The capital? You can't be serious."

"About the dungeons being nicer? I am." Lucina tilted her head. "At least the dungeons there are heated. Would you rather freeze to death here?"

"No, but..."

But the prison cells here are easier to escape. Lucina knew that, and in all likelihood, Geralt knew too. She'd said before she wanted him to escape, if only to ensure that the future would continue as planned. Right now, though, she wasn't feeling particularly generous. At the end of it, Gaius was nowhere near as important as her father.

Anna nodded toward the door. "Gregor's downstairs. Bring him back up, and he can watch over our friend here until we get to the Feroxian capital."

Lucina only made a noise of affirmation, before she stepped out and closed the door behind him. As soon as she did, all the anger escaped her in a long sigh, and the weight of everything she'd said came crashing down on her.

Gaius wasn't important? What was she thinking? Owain would kill her if he learned she'd erased his father from existence!

I've got to make sure he escapes and set the future on the right path again, she thought, taking a deep breath to calm her nerves. This is just a minor detour, that's all. I can still fix this. I can still make sure Geralt gets to where he needs to go, and I will make everything right again.

But first, she needed to find Gregor.

He had never been a particularly difficult person to find in her time; he was always one of the most jolly and loud people in any room he'd been in. When Lucina went downstairs, however, it took her a moment to find him–as soon as she laid eyes on him sitting at the bar, she realized why.

"Gregor," she said, sliding into the seat next to him.

Gregor looked up from his mug. "Marth," he replied, then returned to staring into his mug. Water, she'd noted with a small amount of relief. Even this strange, early version of him had enough sense not to drink on the job.

Gregor had never been the melancholy type. He was louder than this. So to see him so quiet, his lips carved into a deep frown... something was up.

Lucina frowned. "Is something wrong?"

"Nothing is wrong. Gregor does not wish to speak with Marth."

"Ah." Lucina pushed away from the bar and huffed. "Okay. You better not be considering filling that mug with ale, because Anna needs you upstairs right now."

"Gregor will go."

"Please do."

Lucina turned and headed for the door. Away from Anna, from Gregor, from Geralt. To Ferox, she presumed, but just out would be fine. She needed a moment to clear her head.

Lucina had not gotten ten feet from him when she heard him say, loudly, "Gregor was going to kill him."

Pausing, Lucina looked back. "What?"

"Bandit killed Gregor's brother. Gregor was going to kill him."

"Excuse me? I saved your life."

Gregor huffed. "Gregor needs no saving."

Lucina gave him a long look. She wasn't quite sure what to say to that. She could retort. She could leave. Neither felt quite right. Finally, she settled on, "I guess you don't," and walked out the door.

The Feroxian town, in all honesty, did not feel too different from Ylisse. Perhaps it was because they were so close to the border, but the streets, the buildings, the smoke pumping out of the chimneys as people walked past bundled in thick clothes all looked the same to her. She spotted a few particularly tough looking fighters in the crowd, more than the Ylissian towns, but perhaps she was not close enough to the heart of Ferox to spot any true differences.

She would need to rectify that as soon as she could; but first, she needed to eat.

Following the sounds of yelling, Lucina quickly found herself at a nearby marketplace. After having eaten nothing but fish and berries for the past few days, anything seemed tasty, but Geralt did not seem to have a lot of buying in mind, and his purse was rather light. That meant Lucina would have to be wise in what she spent.

"Two coins for an apple! Two coins for an apple! Get fresh fruit over here!" she heard a nearby vendor yell over the commotion of busy buyers. That certainly sounded like a reasonable price, so Lucina wandered over. When the vendor spotted her approaching, she smiled, and Lucina waved back. Just before she could ask for one, a voice cut her off.

"–dead! You're all dead!"

She turned around. Who else would she happen to find, but one of the bandit Mercenaries from before being dragged through the center of the street by a pair of guards.

"Sure, sure, you can tell that to the captain," one of the guards sneered, kicking the bandit in the side.

"Your pathetic captain won't stand a chance," the bandit snarled back. "Do you know how many of us are waiting outside your walls? There are a hundred of us waiting, ready to burn your village down if you don't give us what we came here for."

The other guard sighed. "And just what is it you came here for?"

It was at that moment that Lucina realized she had other places to be. She turned to leave, but a crowd had formed to watch the guards, and with dawning dread, Lucina realized she had no way out. She turned back around, and when she did, the bandit's eyes were on her.

The bandit grinned. "Her."

Both guards followed his glare. The townsfolk did too. With everyone's eyes on her, Lucina couldn't help but shrink just a little.

The second guard nodded to his partner, who grabbed both of the bandit's hands and forced them behind his back. Then, he stepped toward her with a frown.

"Ma'am, I'm going to have to ask you to come with me."

"I swear, I have nothing to do with this."

The guard leaning against the wall across her watched her with narrowed eyes, but did not reply. Experience had taught her that was not a good sign.

Gritting her teeth, Lucina gripped the table she was sitting at and tried again. "I don't know what you think I have to do with him, but it's not true. I've never spoken with him in my life."

Behind the guard, the door opened, and another one stepped in, a badge on his chest and mug in hand, steam curling out from the top. The captain, Lucina presumed. "Well for someone who's never spoken to him, he sure seems to remember you well," the captain said, leaning over the table. He looked her up and down with a frown. "Blue hair, eyepatch, expensive clothes. No one else in town fits that description."

Lucina let out a breath through her nose and pulled her ratty cloak over her clothes. "I've met him. I've just never spoken with him."

"That doesn't change the fact that he wants your head on a pike." The captain took a swig from his mug. "Him and his hundred friends."

"Excuse me?"

The captain glanced at the guard sitting at the table with her. He motioned his head toward the door, and the guard pushed off the wall, grabbed the steel lance nearby, and marched out. The captain pulled out a nearby chair and sat himself across from her.

"Look," the captain said, pinching the bridge of his nose. "My watch scouted the area around the town. From what they were able to track, there are at least a hundred bandits hiding in the woods, waiting to descend upon the town. They don't show up in these numbers, not unless they're royally pissed. So, you're going to tell me what you did, or I might actually consider handing you over."

Lucina looked at the captain. The captain stared back, his eyes drawing narrower by the second. Finally, with a huff, Lucina said, "Their leader ambushed me a while back. I killed him. I assume they must be back to exact some form of justice."

"Just for one bandit? I don't buy it."

Shrugging, Lucina said, "You don't have to. It's what happened then. Believing it or not won't change the bandits out there, waiting to attack." When the captain frowned, she added, "That shouldn't be a problem, should it?"

The captain looked up at her, sighed, and took another sip from his mug. "No, it won't."

"Surely a hundred or so bandits is small fry for the Feroxi guard. Just call them over and the issue will be dealt with swiftly."

"We've dealt with bandits before, yes. Look, I'll speak with the others to get this sorted out."

When he got up to leave, Lucina called after him. "Wait!" she said. "If it's really such a bother, I can leave town right now. They're looking for me, aren't they? If you tell them I left, they'll surely split their forces to come after me, if their main goal is me after all. They surely wouldn't let me run away freely, would they?"

"I'll consider it," the captain said, and he stepped out of the door. Lucina got up to follow him, but before she could, two more guards took the captain's place and stood by the door.

Slowly, Lucina sat back down. She eyed the two new guards, an uneasy feeling taking hold in her gut.

Then again, the captain had said he'd needed to confer with a few others about their plan of action. Surely they would let her go after that. It would be asking the bandits to come down on them if they didn't, and even if this was a Feroxian town, Lucina understood their hesitance to face the bandits. Letting her go would be the most sensible option.

Which was why, when a few minutes of waiting stretched on, that uneasy feeling only grew.

As she waited, the two guards turned to each other and began speaking in hushed tones. She couldn't quite pick out what they were saying, but she could hear the words, "bandits", "Ambersville", and "Ylisse." Not words that gave her confidence.

A few more words passed between them, before one of the guards snapped, "They killed my best friend. Do you think it's easy for me?"

"I'm not saying that, but maybe you could stand to be a little–"

Lucina cleared her throat. "Excuse me," she said. The two guards paused in their conversation to look at her. Lucina gave her best sheepish grin. "I've not had the chance to relieve myself for the past day. Do any of you mind showing me where the bathroom is?"

The guards exchanged a look. One of the guards turned to the door, but the other sighed and grabbed his shoulder. "Come on. She's just a noble brat. What can she do?"

That set off even more red flags. Lucina tried her best not to look nervous as both guards approached her and guided her toward the door.

They led her around the small building, past the captain speaking with a group of his men. When they saw her pass by, they immediately quieted. Lucina paid them no mind, keeping her eyes on the two guards escorting her.

After turning a few more corners, the guards steered her toward a door labeled "bathroom." As they drew close, Lucina leaned over one of the guards. The guard seemed to notice this, and his face burned bright red. He shuffled away uncomfortably, just in time to catch her reaching for his lance.

"Don't touch that," he hissed, slapping her hand away.

He never noticed the boot aimed for his face until it was too late.

The second guard cursed. Lucina tried to take his lance from him before he could retaliate. Had she not been so tired, she probably could have easily. The guard pulled away before she could and twacked her across the face.

Lucina crashed into the wall, and her head rang like a bell. Nearby, she heard footsteps approaching from down the hall. The other guards had heard the commotion. She needed to finish this fight before they got here.

Not an easy task, now that the first guard had recovered. He snarled and thrust his lance. Lucina ducked–or she would have, but somewhere in the tired haze over her mind, her feet got tangled together, and she fell to the floor. The second guard raised his lance behind her and thrust down. Lucina rolled away, and the lance speared through her brown cloak. She yelped, suddenly yanked back, and the guard pressed his boot down onto her cloak before she could try to tug it free.

With nowhere to run, the first guard thrust for her again. Lucina swung right, striking the shaft and batting it aside. The second guard yelped, and he jumped to the right before the lance could run him through.

"Watch it!" he yelled.

The first guard growled and threw his lance to the ground. "Forget it!" he growled back, and charged for Lucina, arms outstretched.

Lucina just reached for the bathroom door and swung it open, and the guard's head slammed into it full force. He crumpled to the floor like a sack of bricks–not that Lucina had the chance to savor the satisfaction when the force swung the door back on her hand. Lucina could hear the bones crack, and she clamped down on her bottom lip to avoid screaming in pain.

The second guard, who had been about to spear her through, hesitated. Lucina took the chance to pull her cloak out under his boot. She grabbed, pulled, and slipped to the floor. That seemed to snap the guard back, and he cursed, bringing his lance down to impale one of her arms.

It was then that Lucina remembered she could just take it off. Goddess, I'm an idiot, Lucina thought, and she ducked out of the sleeves.

The lance pierced through the stone behind her. The guard pulled it out to strike her again, but Lucina ducked into the bathroom and out of reach.

The bathroom was sparsely decorated. There was a window above her–barred, of course–and a pot in the middle. Then again, the bathrooms in Ylisstol were not much better; maybe a bit better lit, with a few more decorations and a basin, but that was it.

Lucina's brain reminded her then that was not the point as the guard stepped forward to begin his offensive anew. Perhaps if she had been better rested, she would not be distracted as easily. Lucina reached her foot back and kicked over the pot behind her. Water and waste spilled out onto the floor.

Had the guard not been so eager to recapture her, he might have been a bit more cautious. As it was, he slipped on the suddenly wet floor and crashed into the floor, groaning.

Jumping over the rapidly growing puddle on the floor, Lucina grabbed his lance from him and slammed the blunt end into his head, knocking him out. And just in time, too; as soon as she finished, the captain rounded the corner, followed by at least three more guards. They stepped in front of the captain, their lances raised, and the captain groaned.

"Ma'am, I'm going to have to ask you to return to the room," he said, slowly.

"I was told you would only need me for a brief conversation," she shot back.

"You'll be released as soon as we finish our discussion."

"Discussion about what? What you plan to do with me? I think I'd rather hear what you have to say about me, instead of being locked away in a separate room, anticipating my fate."

Then, a thought occurred to Lucina. She blamed her lack of sleep for not seeing it sooner, but at this point, she was already here so what did it matter?

"You were going to hand me over to the bandits, weren't you?"

The captain scowled. "And what if we were?"

"You don't negotiate with bandits," Lucina replied. "Give in, and the rest of the lot will demand more from you."

"We don't have any other choice. There are a hundred bandits outside the village walls. We can't hope to hold them off, not with how many other villages they've already burned to the ground."

"Why can't you call the Ferox guard for help, then?"

"Do you know how long it would take them to reach us? By the time they get here, everyone here will already be slaughtered. Usually, the Ylisse guard is closer, so we ask them for help, but they're too tied up with the civil war to help us."

"The civil war?" Lucina's eyes narrowed. "What civil war?"

The captain scoffed. "You didn't hear? Ylisse is in turmoil. No one trusts the Exalt to run the country, not after the failed execution, nor her poor handling of weeding out the traitorous lords. I hear she has been trying to rein them in, but if it's taken this long, it's clearly not working. We've got to fend for ourselves."

Failed execution? Her execution? Lucina had known that she had messed things up, but to hear that she had messed things up this badly?

There had been no civil war before. There was now. People had lost faith in Emmeryn, and it was all because of her.

"I've got to get out of here," Lucina mumbled. Turning to the captain, she said, "Why can't you let me go? If I leave, the bandits will follow me."

"With all the destruction they've caused, that's not a chance I'm willing to take." In front of her, the captain raised his mug toward her. "You can't hate us just for trying to keep our town safe, can you?"

"No. But I suppose that means you won't hate me for trying to stay alive, either."

The captain opened his mouth to reply. Lucina wouldn't have it. She turned around and bolted in the opposite direction.

"Don't let her get away!" the captain yelled after her, and she heard the guards give chase.

Which was just what she needed.

With all their eyes on her, Lucina pulled back her arm and hurled the lance at the guard in the middle. He yelped and stepped to the side, unwilling to be speared through. The other guards moved with him, and the lance sailed past all of them.

Before they could close rank, Lucina darted through. The captain tried to reach for her. Lucina reached back and smashed his mug to his face. She darted around corners with precision, already remembering which turns to take to the exit, and before they could catch her, she was out the door and had disappeared into the crowd.

Bandits attacking the village? No way! Who could have foreseen this turn of events?

Oh wait, I could've, because I planned it. Really, I could have done the same thing as I did with Vincent and stretched it out for a few more chapters, but I think it's about time I start tying things together to get the next arc up and running.

Also, surprise! An early chapter! I decided I need more writing in my life, and this story is not going to finish itself. I started writing the chapter plans, then I really liked the chapter plans and got to work early. I didn't end up finishing those plans because the chapter became much longer than expected, but hey! I'll have a lead on the next chapter. Anyway, I'm going to try to update a little more often and see how well I can balance that schedule for my fanfic stuff and my original stuff.

So next chapter–unless I get caught up on one of my original works, expect it around Oct 1st. Feel free to review, it keeps the story at the front of my mind. Until then, remember to take care of yourself out there and stay safe!