Lucina peered at the gold coin in her fingers. She turned it one way, then the other, watching as the evening sun glinted off the edge.
Gold. The root of so many problems for so many people. Even in the future, many people had coveted it, been willing to sacrifice what little humanity they had left for it. Gold could not feed them, nor could it fend off the Risen prowling in the night, and yet there were so many who could not imagine a world where they did not need such a frivolous and pointless thing. People who had learned to be selfish, taught by the old world to be selfish, and refused to change even as the old world burned around them.
Anna had been one of those people. She had betrayed the Shepherds, sold their location to the Fell Dragon, and disappeared before the attack that had burned Castle Ylisstol to the ground.
And here Lucina was, clutching the very thing she had been exchanged for, a gift from the very woman who had made the transaction. Lucina was sure that, were this still her future, she could have found humor in such irony.
But this was not her world. This was not a people oppressed by the Fell Dragon, but by the weight of their daily lives. If she wanted to survive, she would have to take any gold she could make, no matter how it made her feel.
Besides, she thought, this is the first coin I've made since coming here. It would be a waste not to take this opportunity and use it to my advantage. Then she stopped. But what could I buy with so little money?
A new weapon was out of the question. To buy something even as weak as a dull bronze sword for a single gold coin would be laughable. Another cloak, to replace the tattered one she wore, was something she considered, but surely that would be much too expensive too. The only thing she could remember that she could reasonably buy would be candy, but what use would she have for such frivolous things?
Then again, Anna did say that she was considering giving me the job. If she does agree to hire me, perhaps there could be little harm in spending a single gold coin without consideration.
Lucina shook her head. No, she could not afford to think like that. She had a world to save. Every gold coin was valuable, and she needed to make sure not a coin was wasted.
Then, her gaze flicked to Gregor, his eyes on the gold coin she held with an unusual intensity.
"Is not every day girl turns four."
His words from so long ago echoed in her head, words that, even now, she held close to her heart.
Her birthday would be here soon. Perhaps it was pointless. Perhaps it was silly and childish, but she could not just let the day pass, could she?
Not when she would have so many more to go until the dawn of the Plegia Ylisse war would arrive.
The night was silent, save for the low crackle of fire behind her. Overhead, the moon gazed down upon her like the Fell Dragon, the sole witness to her plight.
In her hands, Lucina held a candied apple. It was a rather pitiful present, especially from her to herself, but as Lucina watched it glisten in the firelight, even she couldn't help feeling a little eager to take a bite.
It felt like something Yarne would give her, a habit he'd picked up from his father. If she closed her eyes, she could even imagine him standing right there with her, shooting nervous glances at her and the apple and chewing at his nails as his ears drooped further down by the second. She could imagine her pulling his hands away, telling him not to worry, and then he would tell her to try it, to just get it over with. She would try it, and when he asked her if it was any good, no matter how good it tasted, she would tell him that it was the tastiest apple she had eaten that day, because she knew how much it mattered to him.
Gods, she wished he was with her now. She wished any of her friends were with her now. Yarne, Severa, Laurent–she would even take Morgan, if it meant she would not have to face the Fell Dragon alone.
"Happy birthday, Lucina," she whispered in their place. Silently, she wished that they would appear before her right now.
No, I can't think like that, Lucina thought, squeezing her eyes tighter. She clenched her hands until they hurt, until her thoughts melted back into the darkness.
I cannot fail my mission, even if I am the only one who can carry it out. I will be fine on my own.
As the present finally managed to reel her back in, Lucina slowly began to peel the paper wrapping from the candy apple.
Yes. I will be fine on my own, she thought. I can take care of myself. I am Lucina, the daughter of Chrom. I faced down the Fell Dragon and lived. I survived through the end of the world. If the Fell Dragon couldn't stop me, who can?
The pegasus knight captain had, descending from the sky like a rabid wyvern. Gregor had, with the skill of a man who knew the weight and the steel of his sword like an old friend. They had not seen the horrors she had, and yet they had defeated her easily.
She would not be fine. She had no friends, no Falchion to save her. After all she had lived through, all the battles she had survived, she would not win this.
Lucina took a bite. The apple crunched between her teeth, sugary and tart, and as the juices spilled out and evaporated onto the ground, so too did what little hope she had left.
Anna watched Marth sit by the dying fire from the safety of her bed roll. Another crackle, another burst of embers spilling out into the air, and as the flames crawled lower, Marth pushed herself from her seat to fetch more wood.
As she did, Anna couldn't help but notice how tired she looked.
And who wouldn't? She was all alone on her birthday. No cake, no presents, and no one to celebrate with. Anna couldn't imagine how horrible that must have felt. Every time her family had celebrate her birthday, her mother and her sisters had always made sure to buy her presents and make her feel special.
Anna knew Marth was not her friend. Heck, she probably didn't even like her mother. But Marth had been kind to her. She had soothed her fears and stayed with her in the night. That made her a good person in Anna's eyes. She didn't deserve to celebrate her birthday like this, all by herself.
Morning could not come soon enough. Anna listened to the faint crackle of the fire, and the soft sound of Marth's footsteps made on the grass as she came back, hurling more logs to feed the flames. It was enough to keep her awake.
What could she get Marth, though? Marth was a grown-up. If it were her sisters, she could buy them candy or dolls, and they would be happy, but her mother had always said knowing what a customer was important when it came to making a trade, and something like that would surely not please her.
A heal staff, maybe? Marth knew how to use one, from what her sisters had told her. But a heal staff couldn't be used on yourself, so it wouldn't help much.
Maybe she could give her something that would help her to stay awake? Mama sometimes drank tea to keep sleep away, but whenever Anna drank tea, she always felt tired. She didn't know if Marth was more like her or her mother, so maybe that wouldn't do either.
Sighing, Anna laid back and looked up at the stars, trying to ignore how much the dancing shadows at the edge of the firelight looked so much like people.
"Is something the matter?" she heard Marth call.
Anna shook her head. When Marth didn't reply, she remember that Marth probably couldn't see her all the way over there, so she added, "No."
"Are you sure?"
"Yep."
Silence. Then, Marth said, "Do you know what helps me sleep when I'm tired?"
Anna looked over at Marth. "What do you do?"
"I think of all the things I want to do tomorrow. With the day at an end, I know I cannot do any of those things today, but tomorrow? I can hold out hope that I will have the time then."
"Really?" Marth nodded. "Does it really help?"
"Not always. But it makes tomorrow come faster. It gives me hope that tomorrow will be a brighter day."
Anna huffed. "I wish I never have to see those bandits again."
"I do too." Marth raised a hand and smiled. "I'll make sure of it."
Anna smiled back. She fell back into her bed roll, and as she looked up at the stars again, feeling the warmth of her covers surrounding her, an idea came to her.
"Wakey wakey girls! Another day, another opportunity!"
Lucina tore her eye from the dying embers and back to Anna, loudly clanging a pair of pots together. On any other day, it would have annoyed her. Now, she just didn't have the energy for it.
They had passed a river a few miles back. Anna had told her before that she had intended to take her daughters there for a bath the next morning. "Kicking the day off warmed up and dust free!" she'd said. As Lucina watched the woman peel her daughters from their sleeping rolls and herd them together, it looked like she would do just that. She saw Sleepy Anna give her a strange look, but before she could question it, Anna lead her down the road, and she and the rest of the Annas walked out of sight.
And the day moved on, forcing Lucina to move with it. The Anna Lucina knew liked to be efficient, never wasting a second for anything that couldn't net her a profit. She also knew that, from the week's she'd already spent working for her, by the time Anna got back, she would be expecting breakfast.
That left it on Lucina's shoulders to go find it from the wagon.
Anna had bought a bag of rolls from the last town. They had left it a few days ago, so it wasn't likely to be stale just yet. Lucina found that easily enough, alongside a bag of dried peaches. Lucina took that with her back to the firepit, and, drawing a knife from the wagon, she began to cut the peaches into easier to chew portions against the stones around what was left of the fire.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Gregor approach. Asleep last night when he was supposed to be helping her keep watch, but not everyone could stay up as late as she, so she would let it slide. She wasn't happy about it, but she would let it slide.
"I have no need for help right now," Lucina said. "I can prepare breakfast for a group of seven on my own easily enough."
Gregor laughed. "That is good! That is very good! Breakfast is important to prepare, no? Gregor thinks it is very good Marth can take care of breakfast."
Lucina frowned when he didn't add anything. She thought for a moment, before she took a shot in the dark and said, "If you would like meat, you are more than welcome to hunt for it on your own."
"Oh, no, Gregor is very much fine without meat." He flexed his arm. "He is already plenty big and strong, no need for more muscle."
"Was there something else you wished to say?"
This seemed to dampen the grin on his face somewhat. Gregor looked away, hummed, and scratched his head. "How does he say this? Gregor wants fight."
Lucina raised an eyebrow. "A fight? This early in the morning?"
"Yes. Fighting is good in morning. Wakes Gregor up." Gregor stretched his arms over his head and drew his sword. "Him and Marth, their fight did not end. Not with honor. Fight ends today. Unless, of course, Marth wishes to let him win?"
"Okay."
Gregor blinked. "What?"
"I said okay." Lucina returned to cutting the peaches. She was too tired to put up a fight, and she knew it. She wasn't about to test that, not if it was ultimately pointless, and not after last night.
Gregor went silent. For a moment, Lucina hoped he'd moved away. If he wasn't going to help, then she was not in any hurry to have him around.
Then, he said, "Gregor did not expect Marth to give up job so easily."
Lucina stopped. She glanced over her shoulder. "Pardon?"
Gregor made a dismissive gesture with his hand. "Gregor fight for job. Marth give job to Gregor."
"Wait a minute. I never said that."
"Then you fight Gregor?"
Lucina didn't want to. She really didn't want to. Gregor was more skilled. She could lose this, and if she did? What little hope she might have might disappear.
But she needed this job too. Anna had said she would take her to Ferox. Lucina did not fancy her chances out in the wild without her.
Lucina's frown returned in full force. She let the knife drop beside the fire, and as she moved away, she said, "I have no choice, do I?"
"Marth has choice. Be coward, or fight."
Lucina drew her sword. "Then I shall fight."
"No tricks this time. Only sword."
Lucina swallowed. "Only sword."
Overhead, the sun crawled higher in the sky. Their shadows grew smaller with each passing second. Lucina held her guard high, trying not to let her sword shake in her hand.
Gregor was everything she was not. Confident, assured in his victory. His sword held steady, ready for anything she could do.
That was why she had to make the first move.
Lucina's sword crashed against Gregor's. Even without sleep, her running start forced him back a step. He pushed his sword back and forced her away. Drawing his sword back, Gregor stepped forward to take his own swing.
His mistake. Lucina rushed him again. She raised her sword, and his swing turned into a block. Sparks spattered out between the blades. Gregor took another step back. Lucina followed. Her sword was up before his, and she thrust out.
Her blade would have nicked the side of his face, had his sword not been there to intercept. Her sword slid against his with a screech. Gregor danced away and pulled back for a lunge of his own.
Lucina let her sword carry her forward, spun around, and smashed her blade into his before he could even take a single step forward. He staggered away, and his back slammed into a tree.
Just like last time, every swing she took forced his back foot. Every move she made was to her advantage. He could not attack, not when she was pressing her own offensive. And she would not let him. Risen or human, their defenses would break eventually.
And just like last time, when her sword crashed against the base of his blade, she saw his wrist tense. She knew before he moved that he would try to drive her blade into the ground. And what choice did she have but to let him? She had struck with too much force to withdraw.
The tip of her sword buried into the dirt. Gregor's boot stomped down on it before she could draw it away. His sword drew back.
She was going to lose. Just like last time. Just like she would lose every battle after if she could not beat this.
Lucina grit her teeth. No. She would not lose this. She could not lose this. If she did, what would become of the future? Her father's future?
She knew it was hopeless to believe that she stood a chance. But when had it not?
Lucina roared, and with energy she did not realize she had before, she released her sword and charged. Gregor's eyes widened. That was the last thing she saw before her shoulder buried into his gut. He gasped in pain and staggered to the side of the tree.
He turned back around and froze. When his eyes inched down, he found the tip of Lucina's sword resting against his neck.
"I'm sorry," she said, pulling her sword away. She let her sword slide back into her belt and turned away. "It has to be this way."
Behind her, she heard Gregor stumble to his feet. "No. We fight again!"
Lucina stopped and glanced back. "Another fight?" she asked.
"Yes. Marth must fight Gregor again."
That caught Lucina off guard. She hadn't been prepared to fight again. Already she could feel the surge of energy begin to dwindle. She wasn't sure if she could win another fight.
And why did he want to fight again? Was there something she had missed? Did the shoulder attack count as cheating?
Nervously, she fell back into her fighting stance. "Okay," she said, "but–"
She never had the chance to finish her sentence, not before Gregor's sword came whistling down onto her own. She twisted his sword away and knocked him back with the hilt of her blade. Gregor scowled and pulled back for another attack.
That was all Lucina needed to seize the momentum. She swung wildly, blindly. Against anyone else, it would have earned her a swift death. But against Gregor, he was helpless to do anything but retreat.
It was over by the fifth swing. Lucina crashed into his sword, and under her weight, it slipped free and clattered to the floor, leaving him defenseless.
"Another!" Gregor said, and he picked it right back up.
He didn't even give time for her to protest before he was on her. Slashing, lunging, and cutting, Lucina suddenly found herself staggering away from him. For once, she was on the defense, ducking under every swing and scrambling back from every thrust.
An opening. She needed an opening. She wasn't stupid enough to try to interrupt an opponent's attack with her own, but tiredness slowed her reflexes like swimming through mud. Every time her mind registered his finished attack, he would begin a new one. She couldn't keep up. Not like this. She was throwing herself aside, blindly oping she wouldn't be hit, but how long could it last?
Then her foot caught on a root. A root from a tree she hadn't noticed behind her. Lucina crashed into the dirt. Gregor stepped after her, raising his sword to strike.
Lucina rolled away. Splinters rained down on her. She glanced up. Gregor's sword was stuck in the tree above her.
This was her chance. Maybe her only chance to win.
Lucina slammed her foot into his chest. As he staggered away, gasping for breath, she drew her sword and charged.
One hit, and she could disarm him. One hit, and she could win.
And she stopped.
For a moment, she was back in Ylisstol, watching the bright green tapestries burn around her. The birdsong was drowned by the wails of the dead and the damned crashing against her ears like waves against the bay, the sky was drenched in the rancid purple of Risen bile, and Gregor stood before her, a rusty sword impaled through his chest.
Pain exploded from her stomach and shattered her memory into a thousand shards around her. Lucina stumbled back with a grunt. A force slammed down on her sword, and with a twist, it was wrenched out of her grasp.
Lucina blinked away the last shreds of her memory. Her own blue eye stared back, reflected off the edge of a sword.
Over her, Gregor smirked. "Marth yields."
Lucina glanced over at her sword, laid in the dirt road a few feet away. She glanced back to him. Her shoulders slumped, and with a tired sigh, she said, "I yield."
"Hah!" Gregor pulled his sword away and sheathed it. "Then it is settled. Marth still has much to learn."
And that was that, wasn't it? Just another loss for her, one of many in what was quickly becoming a hopeless struggle to change the past. Slowly, Lucina reached for her sword on the ground, and she made to place it back in her belt.
Then she stopped.
Except... it isn't.
Lucina gazed down at her reflection. The moment Gregor had put her on the back foot, she had lost, but... she had still beaten him twice before.
She had no friends. She had no chance of defeating Grima by herself. But what else could she do? What choice did she have?
If she lost, her father would die. She would throw herself into a hopeless battle before she would ever let that happen.
She could not win, not in such a hopeless battle. But she would not lose. She refused to accept it. Not to the Fell Dragon, and certainly not to Gregor.
"No," she said. "No, I don't."
Gregor froze. "What?"
"I don't have anything to learn from you," Lucina said, and she spun around and jabbed a finger at his chest. "You're young. You're inexperienced. You're foolish."
He was everything her Gregor was not.
"Marth thinks that makes her better?" Gregor scoffed. "Gregor is stronger. He has more skill. He has worked for longer with Anna."
"That means nothing to the cruel reality of the battlefield." Lucina flung her sword out and peeled her lips back in a scowl. "I challenge you to one last duel, for everything on the line!"
Lucina had been wrong about him. He was no stranger–he was someone wearing the face of a man she had cared for who spat in the face of everything he had stood for. She didn't know what made her more angry; his mockery of a smile, or his bastardization of a stance.
Either way, when her sword met his for the fourth time, she made sure he knew exactly how she felt.
Her first strike echoed in the empty woods. In the distance, a flock of ravens took to the air with a clamor. Her second strike sent him staggering back. Gregor swung out wildly, trying to create more space between them. Lucina let him. She pulled back her arm, stepped forward, and swung up.
Her sword ground against the flat of his blade with such force, sparks scattered into the dirt below. His blade flew out of his hands, up into the air, and toward one of Anna's daughters just as she was entering the clearing.
Anna yelped, throwing herself to the side as the blade clattered against the ground. As she did, she tripped over a root–the same one Lucina had tripped over before–and fell face first into the ground.
Lucina cursed. She immediately abandoned her own fight and rushed to Anna's side. When she lifted her off the ground, her fingers brushed against something wet. A trickle of blood ran down the side of the girl's face.
"Are you okay?" she asked quietly.
The girl nodded, then winced. Lucina shot a glare back at Gregor, slowly picking himself off the ground. When he looked at her, he was no longer smiling.
Lucina looked away, a frown on her face. "Our fight is finished," she said to the ground. "I'm getting Anna, and we are leaving."
Anna huffed, dangling her legs over the side of the wagon as she clutched the bandage at the side of her head, waiting for Marth to return with her family.
It had already been a minute, and she was still not back. To Anna, it had felt like such a long time doing nothing. Gregor had left too, telling her that he needed to go find something for breakfast, leaving Anna by herself.
She wished she hadn't, because now she was stuck here, and she was bored. She could have tried to go back to the river to find Marth. She'd already been there before, so it wouldn't be too hard.
But since Marth wasn't here, it gave her the perfect chance to try to find her a present. Turning around, she dug through the wagon, and pulled out her sister's stuffed bear.
She couldn't always stay up late to be with Marth. Even if she didn't want to sleep, she still got tired, and when that happened, did Marth get lonely? If she had this bear with her, maybe she would be less lonely.
Besides, they went to Ylisstol a lot, so the next time they went there, she could always buy her sister another, and this was the only thing her mother would let her give away for free, so it wasn't like she had much of a choice.
As she looked over the bear, she heard the leaves rustle behind the wagon. She glanced over the side of the wagon, expecting a wolf or a bear. Or maybe it was Marth, walking through the forest for a shortcut.
Instead, it was someone much worse.
She could not forget those purple shoulder pads, or that bald head.
Her brain kicked in a second later, and she ducked behind a bag of staves before Vincent and his men stepped into view.
"The seller's wagon? That means we'd be getting close," she heard Vincent sneer. "Justice is so close, I thinks I can taste it."
"But there's no one here, boss," one of the bandits replied.
"Is there? I didn't notice. It's almost like I can see too!" A loud smack reached her ears, and Anna winced. "She ain't here, but she'd be nearby. Fan out, and if you find her, bring her to me! I want to saw off every one of her fingers and feed them to her one by one."
"And what about the wagon, boss?"
"What do you think? Let's leave all these goodies to themselves for the vultures to pick clean."
"Why can't we just take them for ourselves, boss?"
Another smack. "Like I didn't think of that. Get moving, you lot, before I cut off your arms too!"
Anna heard footsteps approach. She heard them, but it wasn't until the wagon shook that she realized she was in danger. Anna almost gasped before her hands flew to her mouth. She grabbed the nearest thing she could get her hands on–a vulnerary jug–and threw herself into the trees just before a pair of hands reached into the wagon and landed where she had been moments earlier.
From her hiding place, Anna watched as the bandits stomped around camp. There were five of them, all big, towering, mean men. All of them could break her arms with a look, and standing at the front, Vincent was the scariest of them all. And they were looking for Marth.
Marth is in danger! I have to warn her! she thought, ducking back into the bushes.
Anna had no doubts that Marth could fight off the bandits. After all, she had said as much. But if she didn't warn her, they might surprise her, and she didn't want that to happen. If that did...
It won't. I'll make sure of it!
I've decided to start uploading bi-weekly. I'm working on another fic that I'll try to rotate with this one. Hopefully, I'll be able to still maintain updates on... Sunday, now? This week's delay notwithstanding.
And so we approach the middle of what has become the second arc. In Stephen King's "On Writing," Stephen King notes that there are two ways to write a story: have everything meticulously planned out, or just put the characters in a situation and have their choices dictate what happen next. The former leads to more coherent structure, at the cost of having characters make choices that may seem out of place to progress the plot, while the latter maintains consistent characters, but can feel aimless at times.
My method is a little of both, and I feel suffers a bit from both. I have a point I want to reach, so characters make decisions to reach that point that may seem strange, but at the same time, much of the inbetween space is blank, leaving character choices to dictate what goes from point A to point B, meaning that sometimes the story doesn't progress because I'm trying to figure out how those choices will get it moving in the right direction.
In case you couldn't tell, writing is a bit of a process. Mine, I wouldn't exactly say works, but it's a process that enables me to write. By writing more, I hope that I'll be able to improve that process, and if any of you reading are aspiring writers like I am, I hope you'll be able to find your own workflow that'll keep you writing, too.
I didn't mean to go off on an entire director's commentary tangent, but with the midpoint coming up, I thought I'd say something to explain why story progression has been what it's been. I can't quite tell if it's very effective or not, what with it being written chapter by chapter, but personally, I feel it's been rather slow. Here's to hoping I'll be able to kick it up a notch for the next half of the story.
Until then, remember to take care of yourselves out there, and stay safe!
