"I-Impossible! After everything I've done…h-how did they still manage to take Ylisstol?!"
Lucina stood atop a ledge that overlooked the Capitol. She had loosely followed the group when they were on their way back to Ferox with Emmeryn, but left as she saw that the Ylisseans were clearly winning the battle. She made her way back to Ylisse…only to find it in utter chaos. She watched in horror as Plegian soldiers ran through the streets, setting fires and pillaging homes and shops.
"Well, at least Aunt Emmeryn is safe with father and the others," she muttered to herself.
Lucina knew she had nothing to worry about. She has already completed what she came here to do…but as she gazed upon the Capitol, she felt like something wasn't quite right.
Lucina looked back and forth between Ylisstol and the direction of Ferox. She shuffled her feet anxiously.
'Everything is going to be just fine, Lucina.' She reassured herself,' Remember, father is mobilizing an army right now…and no doubt he's already caught wind on what's going on…'
Still, she felt like she was missing something.
Suddenly, there was a huge gust of wind, and next thing she knew, a group of Pegasi flew directly above her, completely ignoring her and making their way quickly to the capitol.
Then she saw her.
Lucina's eyes widened, "Gods! What is Aunt Emmeryn doing here?! She's supposed to be with father!"
Emmeryn was atop the Pegasus in the center of the group, sitting right behind Phila.
Lucina tried to shout and beg them not to go to the capitol, but they were too focused and too far away to hear her pleas.
"Dammit," Lucina muttered as she watched their figures get smaller in the sky.
Lucina contemplated going after them, but she decided it would be basically suicidal…but then again, this could be her only chance to save her.
She thought back to Robin.
"I need to warn him before it's too late. He'll come up with something to fix this…I know he will…he has to…"
After lots of reasoning with herself, she had decided to ignore all common sense and follow Emmeryn and the others.
Lucina had come to realize that even though she came from the future, there is still a lot she doesn't know…a lot.
Lucina slipped into the capitol, which wasn't very hard because all the guards were busy fending off Plegians. She took a lot of back alleys and tried to avoid the main roads. Screams rang through the air as Plegians terrorized the Ylisseans, a sound she knew all too well.
"Please! Somebody help us!" A child's voice screamed.
Lucina skidded to a stop. She sprinted towards the sounds of the childlike screams. As they got louder, the more painful they became.
She took a hard right, and sure enough, at the end of the alleyway, two small kids were huddled together, while screaming in fear at the barbarous Plegian who towered over them. He was laughing and holding a ginormous axe right above their little heads.
"Hey!" Lucina yelled at the man.
The man didn't even have time before Lucina smashed the hilt of her sword against his head, knocking him out cold, and he fell heavily to the cobblestone floor.
The kids whimpered and scuttled away from the unconscious man, but they kept their distance from Lucina and looked up at her with fear.
Lucina glared at the man, then softened her hard expression, and knelt slowly to the ground, "Hey, it's okay you're safe now. I'm not gonna hurt you, I promise."
The kids, a small boy and girl, looked no older than six. They both had dark brown hair and pale blue eyes, and freckles were scattered all across their little faces. Lucina assumed they were probably siblings, even twins.
The girl, who was clinging to her brother, looked at Lucina curiosily.
"T-Thank you," She whispered.
Lucina smiled and slowly walked to the pair. The siblings looked at Lucina in fear, but they didn't back up. Lucina crouched down to be at their level, then patted them both tenderly on the heads.
"You were both very brave, but I'm going to have to go now. You see, I'm on a very important mission," she said in a matter of factly manner, trying to lighten the kid's moods.
The boy's face lit up. "What kind of mission?" He asked eagerly.
Lucina thought for a moment. She smiled, "The hero kind."
Both children looked at her in awe, and then both their faces broke into smiles.
"Alex! Alicia!" A girl's voice yelled desperately.
Both children eagerly looked towards the voice.
"Who are you?" The voice spat.
Lucina knew that she was talking to her. Lucina slowly rose to her feet, and turned to face the girl. The girl appeared to be about Lucina's age. She had dark, brown, wavy hair that spilled down her shoulders, and pale blue eyes. Freckles were also splayed all across her face as well. She wore a simple attire, but instead of a dress, she wore a simple shirt and tighter pants. She was very pretty, that's for sure.
The girl was glaring at Lucina, and she held a small dagger, as well as a book, which Lucina assumed was a tome of some sort.
"Peace, I mean no harm," Lucina said, eyeing the tome wearily.
The girl nodded sharply towards Lucina's sword, "Oh yeah? Well that sword begs to differ."
Lucina glared darkly at the girl, and the girl had no problem glaring back.
"Sissy! She saved us from that bad man!" The boy yelled, running towards the girl.
The older girl scooped the two children into a big hug. She looked back to Lucina, but she still looked skeptical.
The girl then just noticed the unconscious Plegian on the ground. Her eyes widened in surprise and she looked back to Lucina.
She sighed, and then smiled, "Well, I guess I should thank you then, for saving my brother and sister, that is," the girl paused, "I'm Heather by the way. Might I ask your name?"
There was another ear piercing scream. Lucina immediately ran back to the front of the alley, determined to find the exalt.
Before she left, she said, "Keep those little ones safe. I suggest you get inside because things will only get worse here." And with that, she left, leaving Heather alone with her two siblings.
'C'mon, where could she be?' Lucina thought as she desperately ran through the streets.
An arrow whizzed past her face, and stuck to the wall right in front of her. She stumbled back in surprise, and spun around wildly to find the source. Across the street, a Plegian with a bow was already pointing another arrow directly at her.
Lucina didn't think, she immediately ducked as the arrow came flying at her, and hit the wall right where her head would've been.
Quickly, she darted down the street, ignoring the shouts coming from the Plegian.
Lucina ran for what seemed like hours, but she knew it had only been minutes. The more she ran, the more desperate she got. She dodged a fatal swing from an axe, and ducked as more arrows flew at her.
She kept her attention focused on the palace. If Emmeryn were anywhere, she would have to be at the palace.
"Help!" Someone shouted. More shouts followed after.
Lucina hesitated, but she knew if she stopped again, she may lose her chance to save the exalt, so she pressed on, ignoring the screams and cries out for help.
The main road to the palace was in view, though it didn't look good.
Obviously, the Plegians had gotten their first.
Lucina cringed. Before her, there were a few bloodied bodies of people who had been working in the palace.
Her eyes widened. 'Emmeryn!'
Quickly, Lucina ran up the road while silently praying she wasn't too late.
When she reached the gate, it had already been busted open. Lucina slowly peered inside expecting to see Plegians, but there was no one. Lucina could tell the Plegians had already been there. Glass was shattered all over the floor, furniture was turned over, and parts of the floor and walls had been charred as if there was a fire.
Slowly, she crept inside, careful not to make too much noise.
Lucina fought the urge to vomit at the smell. She couldn't see where it was coming from, but she had a pretty good idea on what it was.
It was quiet. Much too quiet for Lucina's liking.
She silently walked up the stairs, listening for even the faintest of noise, but there was nothing.
Lucina quietly crept through the halls, trying to find any signs that Emmeryn was here.
She made her way to the throne room. This door was only cracked rather than being ajar like the other doors.
Inside, Lucina could hear a slight shuffle of feet, and hushed voices
Lucina carefully pressed her ear to the door, trying to hear what the voices were saying.
"What are we supposed to do with her?" A voice asked.
"Boss said that we are to keep her alive," a voice replied.
The other voice grumbled. "I don't see the point. Aren't we just gonna kill her later?"
"Yeah, but orders are orders. Besides, I don't have the balls to go against boss like that. He'd kill us ya know," the other voice said.
"Yeah, whatever. Boss'll be here soon anyway."
'Who are they talking about?' Lucina thought, and pressed her ear closer to the door. Unfortunately, she stepped on a piece of glass, which made a loud crunching sound.
Lucina cursed under her breath.
"Who's there?!" A voice shouted.
Lucina didn't reply. She heard the sound of metal being scraped up off the floor, so she assumed they were picking up weapons.
"You go see," a voice said.
"Nu uh, that's your job," the other said.
The two then started to bicker. Lucina tightened her grip on her sword.
She shoved the door open and burst through the doors. Sure enough, there were only two Plegian men, both of them holding axes.
She charged them, catching them both off guard. They both raised their axes, and they clashed with Lucina's sword.
The bigger of the two men pushed Lucina off. "Why you little…" he ran at her and swung his axe at her throat.
She ducked and rolled out of the way, slashing at his leg in the process. The man groaned in pain, and continued to swing his axe at her.
The other man charged forward, crashing his axe down at Lucina, who jumped back.
The other man grabbed at Lucina's arm, but she quickly jumped back from him too. She stepped back as the two men walked towards her. Lucina felt her back press against cold, hard stone.
"That all you got, lass?" The smaller man sneered.
Lucina frantically looked around. Over in the back corner of the wall, Lucina could see a woman on the ground. She had a bloody gash in her head, and Lucina couldn't tell if she was alive or dead.
"Emmeryn!" Lucina exclaimed.
"Ah, so you came here for the exalt, eh?" The taller man said.
Lucina grit her teeth. "You monsters!" She yelled, and thrust her sword forward. It sank deep into the shorter man's gut, but Lucina didn't have time to pull it out before the taller man grabbed her by the shoulder and shoved her hard against the wall.
Lucina yelped in pain as the man dug his fingers into her shoulders.
She heard a loud thump behind them, and she knew the other man had just died.
The man glared at Lucina, "I'm gonna enjoy making you suffer Ylissean," he spat.
Lucina groaned in pain as the man slammed her back into the wall again.
Weakly, she reached for the dagger she kept strapped on her thigh right under her shirt. She curled her fingers around the hilt. Her vision started to blur as her head struck the wall hard yet again.
Then, with all her might, she thrust her dagger into the man's side. He screamed in agony, and released his grip on her. She darted to the side and dodged the man's grabbing arms.
Lucina ran to the other man's dead body and yanked her sword out of the man's gut.
"I'm gonna kill you!" The man screamed, then charged at her.
Lucina thrust her sword forward, and it sank straight into the man's left ribs.
Lucina pulled her sword out and stumbled back, but the man just stood there in shock. He looked down at the hole in his chest, then fell to his knees.
He looked at Lucina maliciously, "You Ylisseans have already lost…" he spat, then fell forward on his face.
Lucina was gasping for air and clutched her head in pain. She groaned as she got a searing pain in her head.
"Are you…alright?" A faint voice asked.
Lucina shakily turned to the voice, only to find Emmeryn sitting up, staring directly at Lucina in concern.
"E-Emmeryn," Lucina said, relieved, and stumbled towards her.
"Y-Your head," Emmeryn said weakly, pointing to Lucina's forehead.
Lucina put a palm to her head. It felt wet. She pulled her hand down, only to find it red with blood. She wasn't sure how she got that injury.
"I-I'm fine," Lucina said weakly.
"Here," Emmeryn said, and she pulled Lucina down so she was at her level. She touched her pointer finger and middle finger to Lucina's temple. Instantly, Lucina felt relieved from some of the pain.
"Thank you," Lucina said.
Emmeryn nodded, "Of course," she paused, "Do I know you?" She asked.
Lucina shook her head. "I'm afraid not, Milady. Can you stand?"
Emmeryn shook her head, "I can't leave, dear."
Lucina looked at her in shock, "What? Why not?!"
Emmeryn gave her a sad smile, "I'm afraid I can't really explain. You best get going before Gangrel gets here."
Lucina shook her head again, "Please! You can't stay! They'll kill you!" Lucina pleaded.
Emmeryn looked down, "I know, Dear. I know."
"Then why would you stay?! Ylisse needs you! Without you, Ylisse will fall apart!" Lucina said desperately.
Emmeryn her head, "No it won't, because my brother will be the one to bring Ylisse back together again. He'll be the one to stop this war. I was a fool to think my ways could end it…but look where that got us." Emmeryn looked Lucina directly in the eyes, "Please, you must leave before he gets here. He'll kill you, and in worse ways that you killed his subordinates."
Lucina was at a loss of words, "I-I can't—"
"Yes you can, dear. Please, for Ylisse, grant me this wish." Emmeryn said, and raised a hand to touch Lucina's cheek. Emmeryn looked Lucina in the eyes, and she saw the same brand that her brother has on his right shoulder.
She smiled, "I don't know who you are, but I think I do know you from somewhere. Is that true?"
Lucina felt tears well up in her eyes. She nodded, "…Yes, our relation is closer than you think."
Lucina heard voices coming from down the hall. Emmeryn gently pushed Lucina away, "Please, dear child, leave!"
Lucina bit her lip, but nodded. She sheathed her sword and darted out of the room. At the end of the hallway, Lucina could see the shadows of figures coming down the hall. There was laughter, and from what Lucina was told, she assumed it was the Mad King himself. She ran in the opposite direction. Lucina ran down the hallways, and the king's laughter was getting fainter and fainter.
She ran until she reached one of the back exits to the castle. Tears began to roll down her cheeks as she ran. She silently prayed that she hadn't made the wrong choice.
Lucina ran as far and as fast as her legs could take her. She took the same route that she used to get to the palace, which was much more passable. Most of the Plegians had disappeared, and Lucina assumed they were escaping back to their own lands after taking Emmeryn.
Citizens began to cluster in the streets. It was an awful sight. Men were picking up dead corpses and loading them into wagons to be hauled off. Mothers clung to their children as they sobbed. People's homes we're absolutely destroyed, leaving families homeless. People picked through their demolished homes, looking for anything salvageable but finding close to nothing.
Lucina's heart ached at the sight, but she had to press on.
She slipped past the crowded streets. Her goal was to now make it to Ferox, and warn Robin and the others of what's to come.
Lucina finally made it to a clearing, so she started to pick up the pace to jog as she made her way through the empty streets.
"Oh no you don't!" A voice yelled.
Next thing Lucina knew, she was flat on her back on the cold cobblestone. Sitting on top of her was the girl from before, Heather.
Lucina struggled against the girl, "Hey! Get off me!" She yelled.
Heather shook her head, "Not until you tell me who you are and what you're doing here."
"I don't need to tell you anything," Lucina spat back. "Now bug off!"
Heather glared at Lucina. She pointed to the gold headband on Lucina's head.
"Where did you get that?" She asked.
Lucina continued to struggle, "None of your concern."
Heather narrowed her eyes, "That headband comes from the house of Ylisse. That was the exalt's mother's tiara, Lady Elery. Why do you have it?"
Lucina stopped struggling. 'This was my grandmother's tiara?'
Heather's eyes widened, "You stole it, didn't you?"
"What? No! Of course not!" Lucina said in frustration.
Lucina kept pushing at Heather, who was still refusing to budge.
"Get off me you stubborn bitch!" Lucina yelled.
Heather heaved a sigh of frustration, and pulled out a book. Now that Lucina was closer, she could see exactly what the book was.
It was an elthunder tome.
"You know, you're starting to really annoy me. I asked a simple question, didn't I?" Heather said, glaring down at Lucina.
Lucina slowly reached for the dagger on her thigh. She glared back.
Heather gave her a polite smile, "Now, I'll ask again. Who are you and what—" Before she could finish, Lucina quickly pulled the dagger out of its sheath, and she held it up to Heather's neck.
Lucina now gave Heather a polite smile, "I'll ask you again. Please get off me. Now."
Heather looked at the knife in disbelief. She chuckled, and stood up. Lucina immediately jumped to her feet, but she still gripped her dagger.
"Impressive, where'd you learn to get so quick with a knife," Heather asked, lowering her tome.
Lucina sheathed her knife. "You start to pick things up after a while."
Heather smiled. She walked forward and held out a hand. "How about we start over, yeah? My name is Heather Roark, daughter of Rachel and Marcus Roark. I'm currently training myself to become a mage for the Ylissean knights, but that's still a working progress," she laughed and rubbed the back of her head.
Lucina took her hand, and shook it. "Pleasure to meet you, Heather. My name is…Marth."
Heather cocked her head, "Marth? Like the ones in the stories? Wow! That's cool!"
Lucina chuckled. "I must get going. Farewell," And Lucina turned to leave.
"W-Wait!" Heather called out.
"Hm?" Lucina turned.
She shuffled her feet nervously. "I-I mayyyyy have followed you for a bit, and I saw that you ran into the palace. You were going to try and save the exalt, weren't you?" Lucina stiffened, but nodded. Heather continued, "You're gonna still try and save her, right?"
Lucina pondered this. She wanted nothing more than to save Emmeryn, but that was something she needed help with. Right now, her priority was to get to Robin.
Lucina slowly nodded, causing Heather to lighten up.
"Could I join you then?" Heather asked eagerly.
Lucina's jaw dropped, "Join…me?"
Heather nodded, "Yeah! I could be really useful, ya know." She pulled out her tome. "I know how to use an elthunder tome. I mean, how cool is that?!" She said enthusiastically.
Lucina shook her head, "I'm sorry, but it's too dangerous."
Heather pouted, "Alright, then tell me. Do you have a group or are you by yourself?"
"I know…some people."
Heather brightened up, "See? My point exactly! Besides, I do owe you, ya know."
Lucina sighed, "Fine, but hypothetically speaking, if you were to join me, what about your family?"
Heather seemed to have thought this one out, "Oh, they'll be fine. I have an older brother ya know, so he, along with my parents, would look after the twins. Besides, it's not like I contributed much to the family anyways. That's why I want to join you! I could actually be useful and do some good in this world!"
Lucina thought about this. She smiled. "Alright then, Heather. Welcome aboard."
Heather beamed, "Seriously?! You mean it?! Oh thank you!" She pulled Lucina into a tight hug.
"Let me just grab a few things and say goodbye," Heather said.
Lucina nodded, "Alright. Meet me at the gate in ten."
Heather nodded, and ran off. Lucina made her way to the front gate.
Lucina leaned against the stone wall next to the Capitol's only gate. Lucina figured the quickest way to get to Ferox would be by horse. So, she managed to buy two horses, one for her and one for her new recruit.
Off in the distance, Lucina saw Heather running up to her. She was carrying a satchel in one hand, and her tome in the other.
Lucina wasn't sure how she felt about Heather. She had a personality similar to her friend, Severa, and a personality similar to her sister, Cynthia. However, the fact that she can wield an elthunder tome, and being self taught, Lucina figured that she might be of some use.
Heather ran up to Lucina, and doubled over in exhaustion.
"Whew, I thought…you would've left me," Heather said between breaths.
Lucina smiled and shook her head, "Took you long enough. C'mon, we best hurry."
Heather nodded, "Right."
They both mounted their horses. Lucina led the way out of the capitol, and onto your main road.
Heather trotted her way up next to Lucina. "So, where are we going exactly?"
"Ferox."
Heather's eyes widened, "Ferox? You mean the snowy kingdom?"
"The one and only," Lucina replied, and nudged her horse into a gallop.
Heather did the same. "O-Oh okay."
Lucina chuckled as Heather prayed that she wouldn't die from hypothermia.
The pair have been on the road for about four hours. It took a lot, but Heather had finally managed to get an idea on what their actual motive was.
"So let me get this straight. We're going to Ferox to warn the Ylissean prince that Plegia has the exalt. Then, we're gonna join them without them knowing we're joining them to fight the Plegians in Plegia. Then, once the Mad King is killed, we leave. That about it?" Heather asked.
Lucina nodded, "Yep, that's about it."
"I have another question," Heather said.
Lucina made Heather ask one question at a time rather than all at once, which she had been doing.
"Yes?"
"Why don't we just fight alongside them with them knowing?" Heather asked
"It's um…complicated," Lucina said.
"We still have like an hour and a half before we reach Ferox, you could just tell me now," Heather pressed.
"I'd rather not," Lucina replied bluntly.
Heather sighed, and turned her gaze on the road ahead of them.
Off in the distance, Heather could see figures. She couldn't tell who or what they were, but they did look like people. Lucina seemed to have noticed them, too, because she cursed under her breath.
"What is it, Marth?" Heather asked anxiously.
"Heather, how confident are you in your ability with that tome of yours?" Lucina said, ignoring her question.
Heather's eyes widened, "Oh! Uh, pretty confident…I guess."
Lucina nodded, "Alright then. Prepare for a fight."
"Fight?!" Heather asked, but she pulled out her tome.
Lucina slowed her horse, "Alright, listen, Heather. Those things in front of us are called Risen, and they will kill you if you aren't careful. For the sake of anyone traveling these roads, we will dispatch of them. That being said, you will need to do everything I tell you. Understand?" Heather nodded. "Alright, their weak points are the heart and head, keep that in mind."
Heather nodded nervously, "A-Alright."
Lucina gave her a reassuring smile, "Just follow my lead and you'll be fine."
The pair neared the Risen. There were only four of them, and Lucina could've easily taken them all down on her own, but she wanted to see how skilled Heather truly was with a tome.
Lucina rode her horse past a Risen, and decapitated it as she rode by. The Risen turned into purple smoke and dissipated throughout the air.
"W-What the…" Heather said in panic.
"Your turn! Kill one with a lightning spell! Remember, head or heart!" Lucina yelled as she circled back to Heather.
"Right," Heather muttered to herself. She inhaled a deep breath and began to read through her book, muttering a chant. Her right hand began to crackle with electricity. One of the Risen stumbled towards her and her horse.
"Elthunder!" She yelled, and thrust her palm forward. The bolt disintegrated all three of the remaining Risen.
"I-I did it! Did you see that, Marth? Man, that was so cool!" She said, pumping her fist in the air.
Lucina looked at Heather in surprise, "Wow, impressive. Remind me not to get on your bad side."
Heather laughed, and the two continued down the road, both of them in better spirits.
The pair finally made it to Ferox. Heather's teeth were chattering so loud it sounded like she was playing an instrument. Lucina did have to admit, it was a bit cold.
"W-Woah it's-s s-so big!" Heather said as she rubbed her arms.
Lucina nodded, "It is indeed."
"You there!" A voice shouted from above.
Lucina looked up and saw the face of Raimi peering down at them, lance in hand.
"Raimi! We wish to see the Ylissean prince!" Lucina hollered up.
Raimi looked taken aback, "W-What? How did you—"
"We don't have much time! Can I please see the Ylissean prince!"
Raimi shook her head, "He isn't here." She said plainly.
Lucina's eyes widened, "W-What?! Where is he?!"
"Prince Chrom, along with the shepherds, and both the khans, have already departed for Plegia," Raimi said skeptically.
Lucina cursed under her breath. Heather looked back and forth between the two, totally confused as to what's going on.
Raimi narrowed her eyes, "Why do you wish to see the prince?"
Lucina ignored her. She looked at Heather. "Alright, change of plans. We ride to Plegia," she said, and nudged her horse to turn around.
Heather nodded and did the same.
"Hold! Where do you think you're going?!" Raimi shouted at the pair.
"Bye! It was nice meeting you, Raimi!" Heather said while waving, then followed Lucina, leaving Raimi very confused.
"How long will it take for us to get to Plegia, Marth?" Heather asked.
"We'll, assuming we don't run into any Risen or bandits, it should take about six hours," Lucina replied.
"Great," Heather replied duly.
"You know, if this is all too much, you can always go back to Ylisse," Lucina chided.
"N-No not at all! This is fun! Yeah, very fun!" Heather quickly said, and decided to keep her mouth shut for a while.
Another chapter done! I had fun writing this one, mostly because I liked writing about my new OC, Heather. Let me know what you think about her. I'm kinda going for a personality that is like Severa, so like she can be snarky and temperamental at times, but she's also like Cynthia is a way where she can be more cheerful and gets excited easily (you'll see as she gets more "screen" time). This is only the beginning for her, though. I do have some big plans for her, and that'll be revealed within the next few chapters. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter!
Have a great day!
-LittlePuppers :D