The day of the execution loomed over her, casting its terrible shadow over her already dark and gloomy cell. Dark rings circled her eye, and cuts ran over the palm of her left hand, speaking of an entire week of sleepless nights spent hacking away at the bars. She should have felt terrible.
Right now, though, as she spoke with her father, she couldn't find it in herself to care.
"And there I was," she said, holding her hands out as if to dangle her story before them, "the village around me set ablaze. Our swords and our lances were splintered to bits, and the enemy just beyond the woods outnumbered us a hundred to one."
"What did you do?" Chrom asked with bated breath, his hands pressed against the bars. He and Lissa were almost leaning up against them, so sucked into the story Lucina thought they would fall straight through if they came any closer.
Her cheeks ached as she dragged the corner of her lips up into a smile. "What did we do?" she repeated. "As night fell, though our muscles ached from a day spent fighting, my friends and I roused the townsfolk into action. Bringing down the scorched remains of countless homes, we fashioned them into a wall around what remained of the village. No matter how hard we wanted to rest, we pushed forward because we knew that if we didn't, the villagers would die. Beneath the light of the moon, we stayed up working as hard as we could, and by the time the sun returned, we had built the village the strongest wall it had ever seen!"
"And did it work?" Chrom said.
"Of course it did!" Lucina replied, grinning. "Thanks to us, the villagers were able to drive off the enemy, and my friends and I could finally go to sleep, knowing that the villagers would live thanks to our hard work."
She didn't mention that, the day after they'd left, that village was overrun by a swarm of Risen wyvern riders. They hadn't even considered the Risen could take to the skies, and while Lucina was eternally grateful her friends hadn't been caught in the attack, a small part of her believed the villagers could have survived if they'd just stayed for one more night.
One more night.
Whether she succeeded in her escape or not, one more night was all she had left with her father. As much as she wanted it to never end, as her final story drew to a close, so to, did their time together.
"That's all for tonight," she said, clapping her hands together.
Chrom and Lissa groaned at the same time. "Already?" Chrom asked. "But you barely got to tell us anything today!"
Taking a quick look at the moon hovering in the sky, Lucina said, "It's not good for you to stay up this late. I've kept you here long enough, and I'm sure you have more important things you have to attend to tomorrow."
"But they're so boring! I don't wanna listen to Nan tell us all about etti... edi... ettek..."
"Manners," Lissa told him.
"Yeah! Manners!" Chrom latched on.
Hearing that, Lucina couldn't help but remember the days of her youth, when her mother tried to ingrain those very same lessons of etiquette into her. She'd never cared for them much back then, and it was a little funny to think her father thought the same.
Though maybe if she'd paid more attention, she wouldn't be here right now. Being able to dissuade an angry nobleman went a long way, it seemed.
"Boring they may be, they're still very important for you, especially when you grow up," she said. "Pay attention to your old Nan for me, won't you?"
Chrom hummed. "Only if you promise you'll tell us more stories tomorrow!"
"More stories?" Taken aback, Lucina frowned. "I'm afraid I don't have any more. None that would interest you, anyway. I'm not sure you want to hear about the time one of my friends lost control of his wyvern in the middle of a battle."
"But we do! You're so cool, everything you talk about could make a good story!"
Stunned, Lucina asked, "You really think so highly of me? Why?"
"Why not?" Chrom said, his voice so sure and steady as if it was fact. "When there's people in trouble, you never sleep until you know they're safe. When there's bad guys running around, you never stop looking until they're caught. You're just like a hero from one of father's stories, except... you're real!"
Lucina had received praise before. She'd received it from her friends, from the people she'd saved, but hearing it from him, somehow, made her feel so much better.
"I... thank you," she said. Her face fell into a smile, more natural this time. "I'll try, but I can't promise anything."
"That's good enough for me!" Chrom chirped. "Come on, Lissa!" He turned to his sister, and he grabbed her by the arm. As the two of them reached the stairs, Chrom stopped. He looked over at Lucina one last time, and said, "Goodnight Miss Marth!"
Lissa didn't say anything, instead offering Lucina a tiny wave. Lucina returned it, watching as the two children disappeared around the corner before she finally let her arms fall limp at her sides, slumping back against the wall.
A tired sigh escaped her, and once more, her eye drifted to the bars high above keeping her barred from the street. Her clothing scraped against the floor as she shuffled over to her bedsheet, and she reached beneath it, pulling out the knife she kept hidden there.
"One more night is all I need," she muttered to herself. "I can't promise you I'll have more stories to tell, but I will promise you, this shall not be the last time I see you."
She raised her hands to take hold of the iron bars again. Pressing her blade to them, she resumed her work, sawing it back and forth as, bit by bit, the bars continued to give away.
Morning came and went, and just like that, the time of the execution had finally arrived.
Standing out on the balcony of her room, Emmeryn swept her gaze over the city before her as the harsh late morning sun struck her face. She looked over the rooftops, the bustling streets, and the steadily growing crowd gathering around the courtyard at the front of the castle. Everything that made up her father's kingdom, now hers to rule.
All this excitement, it felt so sudden, despite the fact Emmeryn had known it would come for almost a week now. She wasn't ready, this felt too soon.
But she hadn't been ready to lose her father. The world moved on, whether she liked it or not.
There was a knock at her door.
"Come in," Emmeryn said, keeping her eyes fixed on the courtyard below.
She heard the door creak open. The sound of footsteps softened over her carpet before finally coming to a stop behind her.
"Your Grace," Tomas said, "your people are waiting for you."
Emmeryn hummed in reply.
"Shall we head over to the gates now? I'm sure you remember what I taught you about being late."
"Timeliness is important for a future Exalt, I know, Tomas." She sighed. "I'll be ready in a moment."
A second of silence passed between them. Emmeryn inhaled. Tried to prepare herself for what she knew was about to happen.
I'm ready for this. If father could do it, so can I, she told herself.
Saying that was easy. Believing it was a whole different matter.
"Are you still unsure about your decision?" Tomas asked.
"I don't know." Finally turning to face him, she said, "What do you think I should do?"
"I cannot say," he replied, "but whatever you do choose, I'll be behind you all the way."
"I see."
"Perhaps a cup of tea would do good to clear your mind?"
Emmeryn frowned. "I thought you said being late would reflect poorly on me."
"I did, didn't I?" Tomas chuckled. "Thank you for reminding me."
Shaking her head, she huffed. "Anyway, this... this is what's best for us. This is what father would have done. It isn't anything to worry about."
"Excellent!" Tomas clapped his hands. "Now, shall we head for the main hall? We wouldn't want to keep the good Captain waiting, would we?"
"No, I suppose not."
Taking one last look out the window, Emmeryn headed for the door. Tomas stopped her halfway there.
"Aren't you forgetting something?"
Frowning, Emmeryn followed the look he gave over her shoulder to the sword lying on her desk. Falchion, her father's sword, had been there since she'd been told her father was dead. Seeing it only brought back memories she didn't want to face.
"Must I wear my father's sword?" she asked, taking a step back.
"Of course. It's yours now."
It was, but it still felt wrong to call it that. She hadn't touched it since it had been put there. "I don't even know if I can wield it."
"That matters little, I think. Your brother and sister are much too small to hold it themselves, and someone must keep up appearances. This is a rather momentous occasion, after all, and you must look every part the Exalt."
Emmeryn wanted to argue further, but Captain Madeline's words rang in her head. She had to show she was strong.
So, without another word, she walked over to the desk. She grabbed the sword and strapped it around her waist, letting her robes fall back over it before she headed back for the door.
Tomas trailed behind her as she stepped into the hall. A few servants stopped to watch them as they walked past, but most kept to themselves.
The execution was to happen at noon. With the sun nearing the highest point in the sky, Emmeryn knew they would have to move quickly if she wanted to make it in time. In hindsight, her rush should have warranted a little more care, especially when she turned a corner and came crashing into someone else.
The moment she hit the ground, Tomas was at her side. "Your Grace, are you alright?" he asked.
"I'm fine, Tomas."
Whirling on the woman sitting across from Emmeryn, Tomas jabbed an accusing finger at her. "You should be more careful. Do you have any idea who you stand before?"
"Tomas, there's no need to make such a fuss over it." Pushing herself to her feet, Emmeryn offered a smile to the woman. "I hope you'll forgive my carelessness, miss..."
Then she stopped. The woman before her almost looked like a skeleton with how thin she was, not to mention her skin was pale as a sheet. Her curly red hair hung off her scalp like a curtain descending from the pointy hat atop her head, and only when she met the sunken eyes watching her through a pair of cracked glasses did she realize that she had stared a little too long.
"Ah! I'm so sorry," Emmeryn said, jumping back. "I didn't mean to be rude."
The woman muttered something Emmeryn couldn't quite catch, aside from "Young Emmeryn."
That was unsettling. The woman recognized her, but she couldn't remember meeting anyone like this, save for...
A name popped into her head, one with a starkly different face. Emmeryn gasped, her hands flying to her mouth as she whispered, "Lady Simone?"
A word emerged through her cracked lips that sounded vaguely like an "Indeed".
Emmeryn recognized the curly red hair, the faded blue robes, but everything about her looked so off it almost felt wrong for her mind to match her face with the name.
"What happened to you?" she was barely able to say.
"Don't you know?" Tomas scoffed. "She has been hiding in her room for almost three years now."
"Why?"
"Who knows? Perhaps she came out of her isolation to see the execution."
Emmeryn watched as the woman pushed herself to her feet and hobbled past them. Her legs shook with every step, as if they were unused to the weight of her body. If anything, her face alone told her she hadn't come close to a trace of sunlight for a very long time.
"Is this execution really such a big deal?" she found herself asking as soon as the woman disappeared around the corner.
"It seems to be," Tomas said. Under his breath, low enough he thought she couldn't hear, he added, "That brute is more clever than I've given her credit for."
"What was that?"
"Nothing!" His smile was back in an instant. "I'm just so proud to see what you've become. If you can make someone like her come out of her room, imagine how much excitement you've roused with the rest of your people."
That got Emmeryn to pause. "The rest of my people?"
A new wave of confusing emotions racked her mind. She'd been so worried about her brother and sister, she had never thought about what everyone else would think. Captain Madeline said they would approve. They had to if she didn't want them to revolt.
But what if they didn't?
"Your Grace?" Tomas' raspy voice snapped her out of her thoughts. As she shook her head, she looked up to meet his narrowed gaze. "Your Grace, what's wrong?" he asked. "You look unwell."
Emmeryn placed a hand over her face. She must not have hidden her feelings as well as she'd thought, and clearing her throat, she replied, "It's trivial. Nothing you need to worry about."
"Still having doubts? My offer for tea still stands."
"Won't I be late?"
Tomas waved a hand. "You're the Exalt. I'm sure if you ordered it, they could delay the execution for another hour."
Tea sounded nice. Her throat felt parched, and if it helped clear her head, nothing but good things could come of it.
Tomas held out a hand. "What do you say, young Emmeryn?"
She reached out to take it, but something forced her to hesitate.
Out of the corner of her eye, she caught glimpses of the servants, moving back and forth through the castle halls. They were all around her, hoisting shiny porcelain dishes in the air, or sheets folded across their arms, striding around them as if they were just passing through.
Only, Emmeryn could see their narrowed eyes. Suspicious of her. Though they hid it well, she could feel the gaze of everyone here on her.
Shrinking back, Emmeryn said, "I think I'll pass."
Tomas' kindly smile faltered. At the edge of her vision, she thought she saw his fist clench.
Behind her, she heard the approach of clinking metal boots. Emmeryn spun around, and she was relieved to find Captain Madeline strolling toward her.
"Your Grace," Captain Madeline said, nodding back. "Hello. I was just about to get you."
Emmeryn peered over the captain's shoulder. Following behind her was a boy with hair a similar shade of brown standing beside an older girl with pale blue hair, and at the back, a towering man hid behind a black hood.
When Madeline noticed her looking, she glanced over her shoulder. "Your Grace," she said, motioning to the girl. "This is Phila, one of my knights."
"Phila, it's a pleasure to meet you," she said, quickly shaking the girl's hand.
"The honor is mine, Your Grace," Phila replied.
As they came apart, Captain Madeline then pointed to the man. "I'm sure you've seen Axton before."
"You're my father's executioner," Emmeryn's face lit up at the name. "I'm pleased to meet you."
She held out a hand. The executioner took it carefully, touching her skin so gently it felt like a light breeze.
Emmeryn thought it a little strange, until Captain Madeline explained, "He's a tad reserved. I do hope you won't mind. I can assure you, his work is exceptional, social skills notwithstanding."
"I don't mind at all," Emmeryn said, shaking her head. "If my father placed his trust in you, then I shall as well."
The executioner's only reply was a slow nod. Beside her, the furrow in Tomas' brow deepened. His silence seemed to bother Tomas, but of all the times Emmeryn had caught sight of the executioner in the castle, he'd given her no reason to suspect him.
The boy in front of him, however, was a tad more unfamiliar sight. Nodding her head toward him, Emmeryn said, "And I assume this is your son?"
"Indeed he is." Captain Madeline smiled as she spoke, the most emotion Emmeryn had seen her display, if only by a small margin. She placed a hand on the boy's shoulder. "This is Frederick."
In a way, the light in his eyes reminded her of her younger brother. The thought brought a smile to her face as well, and she said, "It's nice to meet you, Frederick."
"It's a pleasure to meet you as well," he replied with all the enthusiasm of his mother.
Turning to Captain Madeline once more, she asked, "Where are you taking him? Not to the front courtyard, I hope"
"Oh no, he's far too young for that."
"That's good." Emmeryn laughed nervously. "I certainly wouldn't want my siblings to attend something so gruesome as an execution."
"What execution?"
What little moisture remained in Emmeryn's throat vanished in an instant. She prayed to Naga she'd only imagined it, but when she turned around, she came face to face with Chrom and Lissa looking up at her innocently.
She had hoped it would never come to this.
All around her, the world fell silent. Someone could have hurled a Thoron spell past her ear, and she wouldn't have noticed.
Emmeryn bit her lip. "Ah... you see..."
"An execution? Does that mean father is back?" Chrom asked, and his eyes lit up in excitement.
"No."
"No?" It hurt her to see the light in his eyes flicker and die. Confusion followed as Chrom's brows pulled down. "But I thought father was the only one who could order executions."
"Not anymore."
"Not anymore?" Chrom's frown deepened. Slowly he put the pieces together. "Is it because you got put in charge?"
"Yes. It is."
"But what will happen when father gets back? What will he say if he returns and finds out you–"
"He won't."
"Are you saying we'll have to lie to him when he gets back?"
"He's not coming back."
Chrom's mouth clamped shut. His eyes widened. "Why not?"
"Why not?" Emmeryn asked. Her question echoed back into her own ears, taunting her with an answer she didn't want to say. "Why not? Because he's... he's de..." She swallowed. "He's gone, Chrom."
"Gone?"
Chrom blinked. A thin layer of moisture fell over his eyes, and in them, Emmeryn saw her own tears reflected back at her.
"No," he muttered. He shook his head, trembling. "No, that's not right! That can't be..."
Suddenly, he pulled Lissa close and held her tight. Emmeryn stepped forward. What she wanted to do, she wasn't sure. Pull them close? Run a hand over their backs and tell them everything would be alright?
When she caught a glimpse of Lissa's face, though, she stopped. Lissa looked so lost, so confused. She couldn't have any idea what was going on. She was only two.
A memory surfaced, one of Lissa coming to her room in the dead of night, bolts of lightning tearing through the dark sky. She looked scared then, but it was nothing compared to the terror on her face right now.
"Why?" Chrom finally whispered.
"Someone killed him, Chrom. Someone took him away from us."
Lucina tugged on one of the bars. It gave in to her touch, but not nearly enough. Taking the knife in her hand, she moved to hold it up to the metal.
The blade grated against the iron with a screech. The first time she'd heard it, it had given her quite a shock. Now, she did her best to block it out, trying not to grimace as she sawed the knife back and forth. Inch by inch, the knife sunk deeper into the bar until, with one last push, the final bar gave away.
Lucina took the knife to her teeth, biting down on it firmly. She reached up to tug at the bar. It still refused to move any more than an inch, but with a little force, it snapped free.
Lucina glanced down at it, before she tossed it down with the rest, sliding her knife into a fold in the side of her coat. She turned her attention to the window.
Her freedom was tantalizingly close. All she had left to do was haul herself through, and once she was free, she could... she could...
Lucina's train of thought screeched to a halt. What could she do? She had to return to save Aunt Emmeryn from the assassins, but with her father and Aunt Lissa so young, she had no idea how long she would have to wait, or what to do before then.
Thud. Thud.
The sound of footsteps over her head snapped her back into focus. There would be time to think about what she would do later. Right now, she had to get out.
Her hands dug into the cobblestone road above, and she tried to haul herself up. Her arms shook, straining to hold her weight. She pulled harder, but her grasp only became more difficult to maintain until, at last, her fingers slipped, and she fell to the floor.
Her boots crunched against the stone floor. Gritting her teeth, Lucina tried again. She dragged herself up, her feet leaving the floor an inch at a time. The window moved closer, close enough for her to see the street before her.
"Miss Marth! Miss Marth!"
Lucina froze, even before she recognized the voice as her father's. And he sounded scared. Was something wrong?
Before she could decide what to do, the stone slipped out of her grasp. Pain shot up her back as she slammed into the floor, and something sharp bit into her side.
Lucina looked down, running a hand over her coat. When she saw a line of red running down just below her arm, next to where she'd hidden her knife, she figured it must have scraped against her as she'd fallen.
Groaning, Lucina pushed herself up just as Chrom stumbled into view, Lissa just behind him. The first thing she noticed was their panting, like they'd come running for her. She ignored the throbbing at her side and forced herself to move closer to the cell door.
"What happened?" she asked.
Strange was the only way she could describe the expression on Chrom's face. In the week she'd spent with him, he always seemed so cheerful and optimistic, just as she remembered him. Seeing him unhappy, it was a strange contrast to all her happy memories of him. For a second, she feared there might have been something wrong with her.
But... that couldn't be. She hadn't done anything. Had she?
"What happened to my father?" he blurted out.
Lucina took a sharp breath. She glanced at her hands, at all the cuts she'd torn in her gloves from cutting away at her bars, and the little lines of blood scattered beneath. She'd been so busy, it slipped her mind, but his father's blood was on her hands, wasn't it?
"Is something wrong?" she asked instead.
"My sister is holding an execution!"
"I know."
"It's your execution!"
"I know."
"Then why didn't you tell me?" Chrom whined.
Lucina winced. "I... thought you knew?"
"But I didn't! And now my father is never coming back, and you're going to die!" Chrom shook his head wildly. "This has to be some sort of mistake, right? You didn't kill him, you couldn't have! I mean, you're you, and you're not a bad guy! It doesn't make sense!"
"You didn't. Did you?" Lissa asked quietly.
Lucina tore her eye away from Chrom to find Lissa staring up at her intently. Her gaze was pleading, begging. She'd rarely heard her speak, but seeing her now, her eyes alone told Lucina all Lissa could ever say.
Torn between the two of them Lucina drew back.
"I..." She couldn't lie to her father. Not after he'd praised her so much. It would be a betrayal, not only to this version of him, but to all he'd taught her to be in the past. Brave. Determined. Always willing to do the right thing, no matter what got in her way.
"I..." But she didn't want to tell the truth either. It would mean crushing all the faith he had in her right now. She could see the fear in their eyes, how afraid they were that she would say "Yes. I killed your father." It would be the right thing to do, but was it really the best thing to do?
Lucina closed her eye. Her fists clenched by her sides, digging her nails into the cuts scattered over her palms, and her lips tugged down. She took a deep breath.
"No," she said. "No, I didn't do it."
She heard Chrom sigh. She peeked her eye open, and to her relief, she found him smiling once again.
Lucina smiled too, but it felt empty.
"You didn't?" he said, the energy slowly returning to his voice. "I knew it! It couldn't have been you, I just knew it!" Then his eyes widened, his grin fading as quickly as it had appeared. "The execution! They're still going to execute you! I have to tell my sister!"
"There's no need." Giving Chrom a reassuring smile, Lucina's gaze softened. "I already have a plan to get out."
"But if I tell my sister, you won't have to go! You can stay here! You can tell us more stories!"
Stay here? Stay home? Lucina bit her lip. That was something she hadn't even considered. There was nothing she would have wanted more.
But it would all be because of a lie. Emmeryn knew better. From all the conviction she'd shown at her hearing, Lucina didn't think she could be swayed.
"I can't stay." Shaking her head, Lucina tried to hold her lips in place. Tried not to show how much she wanted to say yes. "It's not that I don't want to, but I have people who need me."
"You do?"
"Yes, I do." Reaching through the bars, Lucina ruffled a hand through Chrom's hair, then Lissa's. "I'll miss you, and I promise you I'll come back someday, but right now, I need to go."
"Is that so?"
Lucina didn't think a voice soft like down and gentle like a spring breeze could ever sound so ice-cold, yet as she raised her gaze, it wasn't the only thing to surprise her.
Behind Chrom and Lissa, Emmeryn stood with her arms crossed. And though her mouth betrayed nothing, set in a perfectly flat line, her eyes blazed with fury.
A little note: I tweaked baby Sumia's dialogue in chapter 3 a bit, specifically the lines about her parents (that was Sumia, in case you couldn't tell). If you don't want to go back and read it again, I'll save you the pain and say that I changed Sumia's sister for her mother, because her mother was dead in the previous version. I went back over her supports, and I decided I wanted to keep her alive.
And the execution draws closer and closer. Funny enough, I believe this is the longest chapter I've done since the first few fics I wrote. They were a lot worse than this, so I would advise against going back to see if it's true. You'll just have to take my word for it.
I was going to update on Saturday, but as you can see, it didn't happen. My computer died, and I had to wait until it decided it wanted to be alive again. I decided to push back the update date to give me a bit more time to work on this if I need it. From now on, expect updates to come Saturday instead of Tuesday.
Until then, I wish you all well, and stay safe!
