This was a dream. A very surreal, bizarre dream where the entire world had flipped on its head.
It was the only explanation she had, the only one she could cling to, if only to explain the sight of her dear siblings sitting before the woman who had killed their father.
Yes, that had to be it. Any second now, she would wake to find Tomas standing over her bed, ready to scold her for sleeping so late.
Instead, Chrom came running up to her. "Em, Em!" he said, tugging on her sleeve. "There's been a mistake!"
"A mistake, you say?" Emmeryn muttered. Her words felt foreign coming off her own tongue. "Chrom. Lissa. What are you doing here?"
"I was talking with her!" he said, looking up at her pleadingly. "You can't ek... eggs... you can't kill her! She didn't do anything wrong!"
"She didn't?" Something red and hot bubbled in her. Emmeryn narrowed her eyes, leveling her gaze upon the woman behind bars, and her father's killer looked to the floor, shuffling back.
"She's lying."
"What?!" Lucina could hear the shock in Chrom's voice, the conviction he'd held seconds ago crumbling away in an instant. She was just glad he couldn't see her wince. "How do you know?"
Emmeryn scowled. "I know because Captain Madeline told me so!"
Turning away from them, Lucina roused her tired muscles into pushing herself off the floor. Her arms trembled beneath her weight, her bones stiff and brittle like glass. It was a battle in itself to keep her eyes open. The effort it took just to drag herself forward felt like it would snap her arms in half, yet she forced herself on.
No matter what, she had to escape. She couldn't die here, not in the confines of her own home.
"But she's wrong! She has to be! Marth would never do anything bad like that!"
"Marth–" Emmeryn cut herself off. Lucina froze, afraid she'd been found out, but when she looked over her shoulder, Emmeryn's gaze was nowhere near her. Releasing the breath she'd held in her chest, Lucina turned back toward the other end of her cell.
Above, she heard footsteps. No doubt the Royal Guard were worried about the Exalt. When Emmeryn arrived alone, she guessed she might have run off from somewhere to find them. Back in her time, Frederick would never have allowed such a thing, so whoever was in charge of the Royal Guard now would be the same.
Her window of opportunity was growing smaller.
Lifting her gaze to the open window above her, Lucina's heart sank when she saw how far she still had left to go. Not only did she have a room to cross, but she also still needed to climb the wall.
A voice in her head told her she would never make it. With how badly her arms ached just from holding her up, the climb would be impossible. There was no way she'd ever make it in time.
But still, she had to try.
"That woman," Emmeryn growled, "is bad, and if she says she isn't, she is lying."
"But why?"
"Because I said so," Emmeryn said, raising her voice. "I'm your big sister, not her. You have to listen to me."
Mustering what little strength she had left, Lucina brought herself to her knees, then to her feet. She took one step forward. Then another. One after the other, step by step. Though her legs threatened to buckle under her with every passing second, she forced her feet to bring her closer to the open window.
Without warning, the cut on her side stabbed her with an invisible knife, and Lucina found herself falling. A pained cry escaped her lips before she could stop it.
"Gah!"
She caught herself before she hit the floor, but the damage was already done.
Emmeryn gasped. Lucina glanced over her shoulder, and she followed her gaze to the open window. A metal weight punched a hole through the bottom of her stomach. Behind her, Lucina could hear footsteps descending the stairs.
"Chrom! Lissa! Get back!" Emmeryn shouted.
Lissa scrambled to her side in an instant. One hand grabbed Chrom's shoulder and yanked him back. The other grasped at Falchion's hilt.
For a moment, Lucina was struck in awe by the image of her Aunt Emmeryn standing before her siblings, Falchion ready to draw. The steel in her eyes spoke of conviction she'd only seen in her father's eyes, and within the depths of her tired mind, she thought, So that's where father gets it from.
A pair of boots crashed down onto the stone floor over Emmeryn's shoulder. Lucina's eyes widened as the pegasus knight captain tore past Emmeryn. The lock snapped from the force she pulled it off with, and she practically ripped the cell door off its hinges. Lucina barely had time to let out a weak cry before the woman dragged her up by the arm.
Lucina struggled as much as her limbs would allow her. She punched, she hissed, and she flailed, but the pegasus knight didn't so much as flinch as her weak kicks bounced off plate armor, lifting her into the air without trouble.
"Your Grace," she said, not even making any indication she felt Lucina wriggle around in her grasp. "Are you unharmed? I heard a commotion, and I came as fast as I could."
"I'm fine," Emmeryn said, and she let out a sigh of relief. That it came at Lucina's expense brought a bitter feeling to her throat. "Thank you, Captain, but she did not have the chance to harm any of us."
Another pegasus knight stumbled into the room, apologizing profusely, followed by a boy, and a nobleman with bright red hair. None of them Lucina had seen before, none of them holding her attention as the room exploded into commotion.
"What are you doing?" Chrom shouted. "Let go of her!"
He tried to rush forward, but Emmeryn dragged him back. "Chrom."
Chrom threw her hand off his shoulder with an angry hiss. "Let me go! Can't you see you're hurting her?"
"CHROM!"
And in an instant, all the unwavering determination in Emmeryn's eyes came crashing down, leaving an angry little girl in her place.
"Get out!" Emmeryn screamed.
Chrom wilted. Even he was smart enough to realize he'd taken a step too far. "Em," he murmured, "sorry–"
"I said get out!" Her pale blue eyes swept over to the second pegasus knight standing by the door.
Meeting her glare with a nervous nod, the girl cleared her throat. "Your Highnesses. Come with me, your sister wants to be left alone."
"But..." Chrom's gaze flickered over to Emmeryn. When he saw all she had for him was a narrowed gaze, he gulped. "Alright," he mumbled.
With his eyes glued to the floor, he walked back up the stairs. Lissa stayed for a moment longer, shooting a worried look back to Emmeryn, then to Lucina, before the pegasus knight took her hand, and led her up the stairs after her brother. The boy trailed behind them, leaving Lucina alone with Emmeryn, the pegasus knight captain, and the red-haired nobleman.
The moment her siblings were out of sight, Emmeryn's anger evaporated. Her shoulders slumped, and she collapsed against the wall, her hair falling over her face in a messy golden cascade.
They remained like that for a bit. Lucina, dangling by her arm from the hold of the pegasus knight, Emmeryn sitting on the floor across from her. Seeing her aunt like this, Lucina couldn't help but feel a twinge of sympathy.
She had ordered her execution, of course, and if the way Emmeryn glared at her as if to burn a hole through her chest was any indication, she hated her with a passion. But she couldn't have been older than ten. With responsibilities heavy enough to bring even the strongest men to their knees thrust upon her shoulders before she could hold a sword properly, it was no wonder her decisions did not align with the person she truly was.
In a way, Lucina saw a little of herself in her.
"Your Grace," the pegasus knight captain said. "What would you like me to do with the prisoner?"
Emmeryn blinked, and she slowly lifted her gaze. "Ah. Take her upstairs, to the courtyard."
"As you wish."
"Wait."
Both the pegasus knight captain and Emmeryn glanced down at her. Emmeryn's eyes narrowed, but Lucina kept her gaze steady, refusing to look away for even a moment.
To her surprise, it was the nobleman who broke the silence. "Your Grace, hear this woman out. Whatever it is she has to say, it couldn't hurt to lend an ear."
Whoever this man was, his word seemed to hold some sort of sway over Emmeryn, and she stopped to think. Wordlessly, she looked to the pegasus knight captain for her word.
"I see no harm in it," the pegasus knight captain replied. "Your father was not someone who often turned anyone away for a chance to speak."
Emmeryn let out a sigh, and she slumped further down the wall. "Very well," she said, turning to Lucina. "Speak."
"Em–" Lucina bit her tongue. "Your Grace," she said, correcting herself. "Is this what you truly want?"
"What?" Emmeryn's face twisted into a scowl. "What do you think? You killed my father!"
The impulse to look away was there, but Lucina resisted it, holding her gaze. "But what if I hadn't?"
"What if you..."
"If you're wrong about me, then you won't ever be able to leave it behind."
Suddenly, Emmeryn didn't look so sure. She looked to the pegasus knight captain helplessly.
"It's her," the pegasus knight captain said. "I saw her flee the battlefield with my own eyes. I followed her trail myself."
"You can't know that was mine," Lucina protested. "What if I found her dead and took her clothes?"
"My knights didn't find anything that would suggest that."
"Did you search the village for anything?"
The pegasus knight's silence spoke for her. As she huffed, Emmeryn looked at her, shocked.
"You didn't check?"
"The Plegians were on our tail. We didn't have time. were on our tail, we didn't have time."
The Plegians followed me? Lucina tried not to let her sudden panic show on her face, though with Aunt Emmeryn's attention focused on the pegasus knight now, she hoped they wouldn't notice. I hope Uncle Robin and his mother are okay.
She shook her head. Now was not the time to get distracted.
"You can't know if you won't regret this," she said. "If you don't think this through, a decision like this will haunt you forever."
"No!" Emmeryn shouted. "You're just saying that. You can't know that."
"But I do." Lucina glanced between the pegasus knight captain and the nobleman, both of whom were staring intently at Emmeryn. "I know how awful it feels to have everyone around you telling you what to do, how terrifying it can feel to have the weight of the world put upon you when you least expect it. Gods know I was too."
"But if you force yourself to do things now, when everything feels like it's falling apart, you won't be able to stand on the choices you make once it's all finally settled down."
"You're just saying that," Emmeryn said again. This time, though, she sounded less sure of herself. "That can't be right, and... and even if it was, I have to do this!"
"Do you? Just because someone else claims it to be the right choice doesn't make it so."
"Then why should I believe you?"
"Because I've already made the same mistakes before, and I know what this path has to offer."
The grip on her wrist tightened, and Lucina winced as her bones pressed together.
"Your Grace," the pegasus knight said, "pay her words no heed. They are simply the ramblings of someone desperate to save their own life."
"I'm not trying to save my own life! I'm trying to save yours!" Erupting into another fit of struggles, Lucina said, "Can't you see how much Chrom hated it? How could you think anyone else would be different?"
"Shut up, shut up, shut up!"
Lucina's mouth clamped shut under Emmeryn's burning glare. The pegasus knight did too, and as Lucina watched Emmeryn burn holes into her with her eyes, it finally hit that this Emmeryn was not the woman she'd heard stories told. She was not the serene, forgiving leader who had died for Gangrel's war. She didn't have the same iron-clad moral conviction as she had in the future.
She was a child. She wasn't just afraid, she was terrified beyond reason, like an animal trapped in a corner with no other option than to fight.
Lucina had been mistaken. She wasn't lost. She was ready to attack. Lucina knew how that felt, knew how much the thought of avenging her father would drive her forward.
And she knew how hard it would be to steer her away from that path. It would take time, time she knew she might never get.
"Your Grace," a voice called from upstairs, eroded with age. "Is something the matter?"
An aged man descended the steps, green robes draped over his body, his face adorned with its share of wrinkles.
Lucina remembered him from before; she'd seen him at Emmeryn's side. From the way relief filled her face the moment she saw him, Lucina could tell Emmeryn seemed close to him.
"Tomas," she said quietly, "I... I'm fine. I'll be okay."
Just seeing him appeared to calm her down. The same could not be said for Lucina, her mind whirling a thousand miles a second. She was sure she'd heard the name before.
Tomas. One of Aunt Emmeryn's former advisors, and the man who had handed her over to the waiting blades of the Plegian assassins.
"You!"
All eyes were on Lucina in an instant. Right now, she was too tired to care. Her tired mind could only take in one thing at a time, and it was Tomas who had her full attention.
Maybe it was desperation, or maybe it was spite. Maybe it was a bitter mix of both that seized control of her mouth, but whatever it was had words flying out from her lips like a woman at the end of her wit.
"Why is he here? Why does he stand free? This man is in league with Plegia!"
Emmeryn clamped her hands around her ears. "I'm not listening!" she hissed. "Captain, take her upstairs! Now!"
The pegasus knight captain grunted in reply, her hands full with keeping Lucina tied down. Lucina didn't make it any easier for her, kicking and struggling as the pegasus knight dragged her past Emmeryn, past the nobleman, past Tomas, and through the door.
"Don't trust him!" Lucina yelled. "He'll be the death of you the moment you turn your back!"
The moment the wretched woman was out of sight, Emmeryn finally let her hands fall to her sides. She sighed, and a heavy weight lifted off her chest.
Tomas working with the Plegians. What a ridiculous thought. Tomas was her teacher and a trusted friend. There was no way he would go behind her back like that.
"The ramblings of someone wanting to save her own life," Emmeryn whispered, repeated Captain Madeline's words to herself. Her eyes followed her trail up the stairs, before they narrowed in anger.
"Maybe."
Startled, Emmeryn glanced back over at Lord Bartholomew. He'd been so quiet, she'd almost forgotten he was there. She thought he'd be mad, or disappointed at the very least, especially with how much he hadn't liked the execution, but all she found on his face was... sadness?
Closing his eyes, the nobleman let out a sigh and shook his head. He didn't say a word as he turned away, and he headed up the stairs in silence.
"Your Grace," Tomas said from beside her. "You don't look well."
"Do I?" Frowning, Emmeryn put a hand to her face. Her skin felt hot, burning with scraps of anger from before.
"I can tell you're dealing with so much. You can't let your people see you like this."
"Can't I?" Emmeryn asked again. "I feel just fine."
"Be it as you may, how do you think your people will think if they saw you like this? You must compose yourself first." Tomas paused. "Or, of course, you could let me run it for you. Take a rest and give me command of the execution."
"No," was her immediate answer.
Compose herself? How could she compose herself when she felt like this? She didn't want to "compose herself". She needed to make sure this woman got what she deserved because this was all her fault.
"So that's how it is," Tomas mumbled.
"Huh?"
Tomas blinked. His gentle smile was back on his face in an instant, and he waved her aside. "Forget you heard that. My mind wandered off for a moment there, it's nothing you need to worry about."
Emmeryn tilted her head, her brows pulled down in concern. In the end, though, there wasn't anything she could do about it, so she smiled back.
"Okay," she said. "Should we go upstairs now?"
"You can go ahead," Tomas replied. "I'll be with you shortly."
Emmeryn nodded. She turned around and headed back toward the door, but as she climbed up, she couldn't shake the feeling that something still wasn't quite right. Not when she could feel someone's gaze drill right into her back.
A combination of poor time management and tech issues kept me from getting this up for some time, but it's up now, so I'm happy about that.
Note: Know when to cut chapters down to size, either due to time restraints or just a workload you don't want to heap upon your own shoulders. Sometimes a little break between chapters is a good thing.
With my only other fic done, I'll try to get the next chapter done in a week. Until then, I wish you all well, and stay safe!
