Chapter 3: Two Falchions, Two Tomes
Robin had no idea how her life had gotten this strange, though perhaps that was to be expected when one was an amnesiac.
About a month ago, Prince Chrom and his Sister Princess Lissa had found her passed out in a field. Out of the goodness of his heart, Chrom had given her a place to stay and a purpose in his personal militia; The Shepherds. For that, Robin was eternally grateful, given the risks posed by allowing suspicious amnesiacs into your life, as was frequently pointed out by Sir Frederick, Chrom's lieutenant. In return for Chrom's kindness, Robin worked her hardest to repay him with all her tactical and magical skills.
Still, it was hard to ignore just how odd things had become for her during her time with the Shepherds, which was saying something since she had nothing to compare it to in her memories.
Over the past month, Robin had become friends with royalty, nobility and various warriors alike with personalities so colourful they put rainbows to shame, encountered undead monsters intent on killing and eating their victims, had encounters with strange masked swordsmen and mages, succeeded in becoming one of the worst diplomats in history, and finally entered a tournament as a champion for one of the leaders of a foreign country.
The politics of Regna Ferox were fascinating. The country had two rulers called Khans, one in the east, one in the west. They decided who would be in charge every few years by way of choosing champions to represent them in a tournament. Currently Robin was reading up on anything related to said tournament she could get her hands on in order to maximize their chances of victory.
Ylisse needed an alliance with Ferox if they were to best Plegia in the war Chrom was so sure was coming. The increasingly numerous bandit attacks by Plegian looters and brigands were proof enough of that.
Robin sincerely hoped Exalt Emmeryn would be able to resolve this peacefully, but she also agreed with Chrom that they needed to be prepared for conflict. So while Emmeryn focused on diplomacy, Chrom led his Shepherds to their northerly neighbours in order to secure an alliance.
After battling Risen along the north road for two weeks and then engaging in some Feroxi diplomacy, which Robin found out meant fighting instead of talking, the Shepherds had arrived in the eastern region of the country and had met with Khan Flavia.
Despite making a fool of herself and describing how she imagined the East Khan to be a large hairy barbaric looking man while the very female ruler was standing right behind her, Chrom had managed to secure an alliance with the woman nonetheless. On the condition that they fought as her champions in the upcoming tournament that is.
Khan Flavia was eager to join their cause, as the Plegians had been causing trouble for her country as well, but unfortunately she lacked the power necessary to form an alliance with Ylisse. The current reigning Khan was West Khan Basillio, and unless Flavia's champions could claim victory in the tournament, then she would continue to lack said power for the next few years.
Chrom had insisted that no matter who Khan Basillio's champion was, they would be defeated by the necessity of Ylisse, which was all well and good for impressing the Khan with Chrom's bravado, except that it put even more pressure on Robin to come up with a foolproof plan as the Shepherds tactician.
So far, Robin felt she had been doing a good job. Nobody had sustained serious injuries under her command, and they were using less resources, but up until now, all of their opponents had been mindless undead monsters and untrained bandits. Aside from the Feroxi border guard, this would be the Shepherds first time fighting highly trained opponents with Robin as their tactician, and Robin was feeling understandably nervous. Surely the chosen champions of the ruling Khan would be far more challenging opponents than a simple border patrol.
A hand on her shoulder startled Robin out of her self-doubting downward spiral. She started violently and turned in her chair to be met with the kind eyes of Chrom, who she hadn't even noticed entering the room.
"Are you well Robin?" he asked with concern in his eyes. "You look stressed. Is there anything I can do to help?"
"You startled me, Chrom," she replied. "I'm doing fine. I'm just nervous, having to plan for this tournament is all. It is as you said. Ylisse's necessity demands our victory in the tournament tomorrow. I have a plan, but I'm worried it's not going to be enough. Should we focus on ranged combat, or perhaps rely on our mounted units? I just don't-"
Chrom sighed loudly and interrupted Robin's ramblings about tactics.
"Robin, in the short time I've known you, your strategies have always proven to be effective enough to win the day. We have faith in you. I have faith in you. No matter what your plan, I have no doubt in my mind it will allow us to triumph. Besides, we can't have our tactician falling asleep in the middle of combat now can we? Take a look at the time, Robin. You've been at this for hours and you need to be rested for tomorrow."
Sure enough, when Robin looked out the window, it was dark outside and it looked like it had been for a while. Robin looked back at Chrom with a bashful expression.
"Oops?" She said shyly. "I suppose I lost track of time. I'll turn in just after I finish up here."
Chrom sighed again and shook his head. "I hope this overworking isn't becoming a habit Robin. You know that I appreciate your hard work, but I thought I told you that you don't have to prove yourself to me. You already did that on the day we met when you defended Ylissean lives." He paused, before taking on a less scolding tone. "Please, as your friend, I'm asking you to go to bed. Don't make me pull Rank on you."
Robin giggled to herself, and stood from her chair.
"All right, you win. I'll go to bed. But don't blame me if we lose tomorrow!"
"We won't lose," Chrom reaffirmed. "Like I said, I trust you."
The pair excited the room together in companionable silence, heading for the quarters Khan Flavia had provided for the Shepherds.
"You know," Chrom continued, "despite how short a time it's been, I already feel like I've known you forever. I can scarcely imagine our group without you now, so please try to take better care of yourself, alright?"
Robin blushed at the praise. "I'll do my best," she promised. "Truthfully I'm glad I fit in so well. Everyone has treated me so kindly, despite my mysterious past. Sumia is lovely. Stahl is so kind. Maribelle can be prickly, but I understand that it's only because she cares. Sully and Vaike are hilarious, and Virion and Miriel are both a pleasure to match wits against. Kellam and Ricken have been so helpful, and of course you and Lissa have been so accommodating for me. Even Frederick has treated me with respect, despite his suspicions of me. I'm truly grateful for everything Chrom. Thanks to you, my life has a purpose."
Chrom bashfully rubbed the back of his neck. "You ought to know by now that helping people is just in my nature. Besides, we're friends now, so of course I'm glad that I was able to help you. I'm glad we were able to meet Robin. To tell the truth, I feel a certain connection with you. When we fight together, I feel unstoppable. Like we can surmount any obstacle. That's why I'm grateful for you as well."
By the end of Chrom's speech, Robin's face felt hot, and she knew she was blushing like mad. Thankfully, she was saved from embarrassing herself with a foolish reply by their arrival at the rooms Flavia had given them.
"Oh- oh would you look at that!" Robin stammered. "This one is me! Have a good night Chrom, I'll see you tomorrow!"
With that, Robin swiftly darted to the door, opening it and slipping inside in record speed, before shutting it behind her and leaning against it.
Robin took several deep breaths to calm her heart rate, before setting about her nightly bedtime routine.
"Stupid princes and their embarrassing, flowery royal speak…" she muttered to herself as she climbed into bed.
Robin awoke the next morning feeling refreshed. 'Thanks to Chrom practically ordering me to bed, no doubt,' Robin thought to herself. 'I really should try to uphold that promise to take care of myself.'
She stretched and stood from the bed, before beginning her morning routine. After making herself presentable, dressing and taking care of her morning hygiene, Robin assessed her weapons and left the room, quickly making her way to the building's dining area Khan Flavia had shown them the day before. There she found Frederick presumably preparing a table for his charges.
"Good Morning, Robin," Frederick said courteously when he noticed her. "I trust you are rested and prepared for the tournament today?"
Robin smiled. Frederick may not trust her yet, but at least he was a kind enough man to be pleasant with her.
"Good Morning to you too, Frederick," Robin greeted, before sheepishly adding, "I actually slept fairly well last night. Chrom had to make me go to bed though. I lost track of time while planning our strategy."
Frederick chuckled at her expense. "Milord is compassionate like that," he confirmed. "It is part of what makes him a good leader. Speaking of strategy, I trust you came up with a plan?"
"Of course," Robin replied and pulled out some plans she had drafted. "We need our best and most mobile fighters to back Chrom up, so I thought it best if we brought you, Sully and Stahl to keep the other teams fighters off of Chrom. Miriel and I will provide support for you while Chrom engages the other champion. Assuming all goes according to plan, nobody will get severely injured so long as we stick to the formation I've drawn up."
Frederick looked over the battle plans with a critical eye. "A sound plan. This ensures we give Milord room to fight without having to worry about being attacked by another combatant."
"Good morning Frederick, Robin," Chrom said as he entered the room, interrupting Robin's reply.
Lissa walked in just behind him, rubbing her eyes sleepily. "Morning," she yawned. "What's for breakfast?"
Robin laughed. "Good morning to you as well. Frederick and I were just discussing the plans for the battle today. Care to join us?"
Chrom smiled as he and Lissa sat down next to Robin while Frederick set a plate in front of each of the royal siblings. "I'd be delighted Robin. Go ahead and tell us your winning strategy."
Robin smiled back at him and repeated her plan to Chrom as the rest of the Shepherds slowly trickled into the dining hall, taking their places around the table, where Robin briefed them on the strategy. Vaike was upset that he wasn't to participate, but Chrom promised to make it up to him with a spar when they returned to Ylisse.
Robin picked at her food, and did her best not to second guess her tactics, watching in amusement as some of the other Shepherds started placing bets on how many plates of food Stahl could consume before they were summoned for the tournament. Stahl had just finished his sixth plate when Khan Flavia entered the room, looking excited.
It was time.
Swallowing her nerves, Robin stood from the table with Chrom, and followed the Khan towards the arena entrance. As they walked through the halls of the arena building, Robin was dimly aware of Lissa and the others who weren't participating in the fight wishing them luck before they made their way towards the spectators' stands, but she had a hard time focusing on the words. As they neared the arena gate, the noise from the crowd grew louder, drowning out Lissa's voice, but somehow only making the nervous voices inside Robin's head louder.
Sully let out a long whistle from her position behind Robin. "Damn. Now that's an audience. I can't wait to show them all what Ylisse's best are made of!"
"That's one way to look at it," Stahl muttered.
Robin laughed, which helped to ease her tensions, before turning her attention to her opponents walking out of the gate opposite to them. As she had predicted, they were mostly axe wielders, as was the common style in Regna Ferox.
"All right everyone," Robin said as she turned to her allies. I was right about our opponents mostly using axes, so if you've got a sword, use it. As you know, lances are easily broken by axes, so be careful Sully."
The woman scoffed. "You should know by now that it doesn't matter to me what weapon my opponent has, I can take 'em."
"Of course you can, I was jus-"
"Robin," Chrom interrupted, "is that...?"
Chrom trailed off, and Robin followed his gaze, only to be stunned to see two masked individuals exiting the gate on the other side of the arena.
West Khan Basilio's champion was none other than Marth.
Lucina sat up and stretched, yawning as she shook the tiredness from her mind. The serenity was broken by Morgan barging into the room.
"Wakey, wakey, eggs and bacy!" she yelled, setting a tray down on Lucina's lap.
"Morgan," Lucina groaned, "what are you doing awake? Normally I have to force you out of bed. It's almost become a habit for you ever since we reached the past."
Morgan laughed at her sister. "I was just really excited to try my tactics on actual people for a change instead of the mindless hordes of the undead, you know? I was so excited that I couldn't sleep. I've been up for hours. Look Lucina! Bacon! Actual, honest to goodness bacon! It's been so long that I'd almost forgotten what real food tastes like!"
Lucina cracked a smile at her sister's enthusiasm. "Don't let our friends catch you saying things like that. They won't appreciate you insulting their cooking."
Morgan giggled. "What they don't know won't hurt them! Now c'mon sis! Eat up! We've got a big day."
Lucina rolled her eyes. "I still can't believe I let you talk me into fighting in the tournament. We already know that mother and father would've been able to beat uncle Lon'qu so long as they worked together. Speaking of which, you'll have to explain to Owain why you felt it was such a good idea to beat up his father. Honestly it should've been more difficult for me. He might have noticed I was actually a woman."
Morgan giggled again. "I'm sure Owain will forgive me. As a fellow member of the Justice Cabal, he'll understand that it was necessary to secure the future! Now hurry up and eat! We have to get ready for the fight!"
Lucina laughed as Morgan skipped out of the room. "I hope she doesn't start talking like that all the time. One Owain is enough."
Quickly eating and dressing, Lucina exited the room and found Morgan examining the troops that Khan Basilio had leant them. They had been given four fighters, two knights and even a couple mages, which were rare in Regna Ferox, due to the cultural preference towards axe based combat.
"Alright!" Morgan began. "Here's our plan. We want Marth to duel the other champion directly, so I want you all to engage the other team's forces and keep them off of the main battle. Meanwhile, I'll be Marth's backup. If the other champion receives any help or if anyone gets past you lot, it's my job to protect Marth. Any questions?"
The Feroxi Warriors gave their agreement, and Morgan had them line up and prepare to enter the arena.
"Well done, Mo." Lucina said. "I trust our preparations are complete?"
Morgan turned away from their troops and faced Lucina. "You got it Marth. Our fighters know the plan and you and I both know our role. All we have to do is accomplish our goal."
To anyone listening, it would seem like a confirmation of their battle plan and self assuredness in their skill, but to the sisters, it had a double meaning. They had to lose in a way that was believable and ensure that the Shepherds came out of the conflict unscathed. In the original timeline, Miriel had attempted to engage Lon'qu in combat and received an injury that left her with a limp and eventually led to her death years later. If Laurent were with them, it would've fallen to him to protect his younger mother, as had been the plan, but since Lucina had no idea where her comrades were, she had resolved to protect all their parents in their stead.
A horn sounded from outside, shaking Lucina from her thoughts, and she followed their Feroxi troops into the arena.
When Chrom and Robin noticed her, she gulped, and placed a hand on Falchion to calm her nerves.
Lucina took a deep breath. The tournament announcer started talking. She breathed out. A horn sounded.
Immediately the Shepherds fanned out and engaged the Feroxi fighters. They were slightly outnumbered, but even so they held their own. Chrom advanced towards Lucina, sword drawn, so she drew her own blade and copied his stance, causing Chrom to gasp. Morgan moved to intercept, but Lucina held out an arm.
"Not yet Mo." she said, much calmer than she felt.
"Where did you get that?" Chrom asked. "There's no way…"
Lucina said nothing.
Chroms baffled look turned hard, and he broke out into a run. Leaping high up into the air, Chrom came back down in a rolling somersault with his blade whirring towards Lucina in a deadly arc.
A normal swordsman would've been taken out by such a move, but Lucina stayed calm, and intercepted the blade with her own. Putting her weight behind the sword, she shoved against Chroms Falchion, forcing his somersault to stop and causing him to drop back to the floor. They locked blades for a moment, and Chrom glared at her.
Disengaging quickly, Lucina spun into a flurry of attacks. The battle around her fell away as she focussed on exchanging blows with the man in front of her. She could tell he lacked the same experience he had when he had trained her in her youth, but all of his skill and talent remained.
Chrom countered every stroke of her sword with his own, eventually catching Lucinas sword and locking his own against it as he said "Tell me, who taught you to fight like that?"
Lucina jumped back, sparks flashing off the twin blades. Twirling her sword, she held her blade perpendicular with her body, watching as Chrom mirrored her stance.
At the same time, they lunged forwards, blades deflecting off each other as more sparks flew. Turning quickly, Lucina leapt into the air as Chrom had done earlier, leaning into her own somersault and whirling towards the man.
"My Father!" She responded with a grunt of exertion as Chrom frantically dodged out of the way.
Lucina stood and turned towards Chrom, pointing her Falchion at him. Chrom watched her reflectively, and raised his own Falchion in a defensive stance.
At least he was making it easy for them to lose authentically.
Morgan watched in awe as her sister clashed with the younger version of their father. She had never seen such a display of swordsmanship before. In the future, there were few warriors remaining, and even fewer on par with the skill level of Lucina. Of course there were the risen, but they were almost never particularly skilled fighters. They overwhelmed victims with strength, speed and numbers, rather than outfighting their opponents.
Taking a moment to look around the arena, it became clear that the shepherds were out competing the Feroxi fighters. Frederick had taken on two at once and was more than holding his own. Sully and Stahl each were about to incapacitate their own opponent, and Miriel was going spell to spell with one of their mages. Glancing towards the other mage, Morgan was surprised to see they were already unconscious on the ground. Looking around wildly, Morgan was nearly blindsided by a Thunder spell, only dodging thanks to her years of experience in the future.
"Nice to see you again Mo!" Robin said with a friendly smile, tome in hand. "I was surprised to see you and Marth here fighting for the West Khan. We didn't get to thank you for your help last time! I hope we can talk later! But first I've got to take you down. Nothing personal!"
Morgan's heart twisted, but she said nothing. Instead she put a hand on her tome and prepared a spell.
Robin's smile grew. "Not one for words huh. That's fine. We can talk afterwards."
"Elfire!"
"Thunder!"
Morgan and Robin unleashed a spell at the same time. The magic collided in the air, but instead of the stronger Elfire spell overpowering the simpler Thunder spell like Morgan expected, they met midair in a small explosion, cancelling each other out. Morgan's surprise must've shown on her face, because Robin smirked.
"Power isn't everything Mo!" She said cheekily, and threw another Thunder spell.
Morgan quickly rolled to the side, powering up another Elfire as she went, but as she stood, yet another Thunder spell hit the ground in front of her, throwing up a plume of smoke in her face and causing her to jump, releasing the spell early in surprise. Morgan cursed under her breath. Even inexperienced as this version of her mother was, her tactical genius lived up to her reputation in the future.
"Fine," Morgan mumbled. "Two can play at that game!"
"Hey, you can talk!" Robin replied, only to get a face full of dust and smoke herself as Morgan launched an Elfire into the ground at her feat.
Morgan smiled to herself. Showtime. Morgan darted into the smoke, prepping an Elfire as she went. Robin stumbled back with wide eyes as Morgan emerged in front of her. In the back of her mind, Morgan remembered that she had to throw the match, and made sure to restrain the amount of power in the spell, but just when she thrust her arm forward to release the spell, Robin's expression changed again.
"Checkmate," she said. "Chrom! Switch!"
"Roger!"
In the blink of an eye, Robin pivoted to the side, and Chrom took her place, shoving his foot into her chest, once again throwing her off balance and causing her spell to misfire into the ceiling.
The next thing she knew, she was on the ground with Falchion pointed at her throat. Quickly glancing around, she saw Lucina on the ground nearby, a Thunder spell sparking above her chest.
Morgan sighed. "I surrender."
Chrom smiled down at her. "Nice work! That was a great fight! Your strategy to keep us all separated was really good. If it wasn't for Robin maneuvering you into a position where we could take you by surprise like that, you probably would've beaten us. You and Marth are both very skilled."
Morgan blushed at the praise from her father, and accepted the hand he was extending to her, noticing Lucina doing the same with their mother.
The announcer's voice rang out above them, informing the crowd of Chrom's victory in the name of Khan Flavia. Chrom turned towards Robin, and Morgan took the opportunity to slip away, noticing Lucina do the same now that their parents were distracted.
"That went well," Morgan remarked as she and Lucina exited the arena.
"Yes," Lucina agreed. "We prevented injury among the shepherds and ensured they won the duel. I'd say we did a fine job."
"That's step one of the plan accomplished! The Ylisse-Ferox alliance is secured," Morgan said. She thought for a moment, then added cheekily. "Though for a moment there I thought you were going to actually beat father!"
Lucina went to play with her hair, before remembering it was tied short. Instead she sheepishly rubbed the back of her neck. "I may have gotten carried away," she admitted. "But don't think I didn't see you trying just as hard against Mother!"
Morgan grinned. "Alright. You've got me. I couldn't resist seeing how I measured up compared to her. She totally surprised me. I still have a lot to learn."
"I must admit I felt the same while I was dueling father. His skill is evident even now. It's hard to believe anyone could beat them."
Lucina looked melancholy for a moment, but before Morgan could offer her comforts, she held her head high once more.
"Come, Mo. We should report to Khan Basilio before we leave."
Lucina marched forward, once again on task and set on their mission, Morgan following behind her.
After a short walk through the halls of the arena, the sisters arrived at the door to the room Basilio was using as an office. Morgan didn't know much about the man. He had died in the future when Lucina was still young, and Morgan and Marc had been newly born. He was friendly enough when they had spoken to him before, but he was a large and imposing man as well. Morgan had heard stories about his strength and battle prowess, and was a little intimidated by him.
She gulped as they reached the doors to his office. Making eye contact with Lucina, they nodded at each other, and walked in as Lucina pulled the door open. Inside, the Khan was standing around a desk with a man and a woman Morgan recognized as the younger versions of her Aunt Olivia and Uncle Lon'qu. Not for the first time, Morgan wished Owain and Inigo were here with them. They deserved to see their parents. Tracking them down would have to be a priority later.
"So!" Basilio exclaimed sternly as he looked up at the sisters. "Marth and his companion dare to show their faces after losing the lead Khan position for me?"
Lucina quickly began stumbling over an apology, before Basilios expression cracked and he began guffawing loudly.
"Don't sweat it kid, I'm just pulling your leg! That Chrom and his Tactician make quite the pair, eh? I doubt even Lon'qu and Olivia here could've pulled off the win as I'd originally planned."
"Er, yes sir," Lucina said, reeling from the quick change in tone as Lon'qu huffed in annoyance. "They were very strong."
Basilio laughed again. "It doesn't matter that much to be perfectly honest. It may sting my pride a bit, but I was planning on allying with the Ylisseans anyway. It makes sense for us to support each other when we're both being harassed by those damnable Plegians, so even if I'm not in power right now, things won't change much around here. Khan Flavia and I are quite alike in our leadership styles."
Morgan breathed a sigh of relief. It was good to know that no matter the outcome of the fight, things would've worked out. However they had still managed to accomplish one small change. Aunt Miriel was uninjured, which could only mean good things for the Shepherds.
"Anyway," Basilio continued, "Lon'qu and I are off to meet with Khan Flavia and the Shepherds. Will you accompany us?"
"No sir," Lucina said apologetically. "We have business we must attend to elsewhere. Apologies again for losing the tournament, and thank you for the food and accommodations. It was a pleasure working for you, Khan Basilio."
"Think nothing of it Marth. I treat my own right. I look forward to working with you again one day."
Basilio stood and stretched before turning to address Olivia. "Would you mind seeing our guests out?"
"Y- Yes sir." She responded. "Please, come with me."
Morgan and Lucina followed Olivia to the exit, and Morgan wondered how someone as flirtatious and outgoing as Inigo could be the son of someone as shy as Olivia. When they arrived, Olivia turned to them and wished them good fortune in their travels, and sent them on their way. A short walk brought them to the outskirts of the city, where Morgan took off her mask.
Turning to her sister as they walked, she asked, "Where to next, Lu? Anywhere we need to be before Aunty Emms assassination? Do we have time to look for the others?"
"I suppose we could help out with Aunt Maribelle's kidnapping," Lucina responded, "but according to the stories, they rescued her without anything going wrong, so we could take the time to set up a temporary base in Ylisstol and look for clues about our friends while we wait for the assassination attempt. What do you think?"
Morgan thought for a moment, and nodded. "If anyone else has made it, they're probably trying their hardest to get to Ylisstol too, so that's likely the best place to wait for them." She took a breath and frowned. "If only I had anticipated being separated. We could've come up with a plan for reuniting, or symbols and messages only we'd understand to help us."
Lucina ruffled Morgan's hair and gave her a small smile. "Don't worry too much over it. Not even mother can anticipate everything. We'll find the others eventually, even if we have to cross over to Valm to do it."
Despite her protests of Lucina's actions, Morgan found herself comforted by her words, and she smiled. "Well come on then!" She exclaimed and skipped ahead. "Last one to Ylisstol is a rotten Wyvern egg!"
"Morgan, you can't run all the way to Ylisstol!"
AN: sorry I took so long. I made a promise to update my other story before I continue to work on this one, and I've had some writers block with it. In other news, I've been watching some animated movies lately like Barnyard and Kung Fu Panda, and the scene with Ben the cow fighting the coyotes while singing 'I won't back down' reminded me of Marc's last stand back in chapter one, so I played that song while reviewing that chapter and was like "dang, this is why movies have musical accompaniment, it really helps bring out the drama in a scene." I guess I'd recommend trying that out. (Also, any dialogue you may recognize from the game is from the game, I'm just borrowing it and then filling out the rest from the girls point of view.)
I wrote a sort of pseudo support scene with Lucina and Morgan here. The part with breakfast and reflecting on their actions so far. Of course it's not in the format of a support, but it functions the same as one in any case. It could probably serve to be longer, but I couldn't find a way to organically extend it. Tell me what you think of it. If it works out well, then I'll continue to write support conversations in this format. If not, I'll likely write support chapters, in which I'll detail all the various supports I feel are relevant enough to the story and main characters. Please, do share your opinions!
Also, I'm starting to post my stuff on AO3 as well, if that suits your fancy more. The more places I post, the more feedback I get and the more I can improve my writing.
Finally, I want to try something that I'm calling "Outtakes from the Outrealms", which essentially just lets me make memes with the setting and characters outside of the story that won't have any effect on the plot. Basically it's non-canon to the fic. Please, let me know what you think. (Bonus points if you understand the meme. If not, pm me and I can explain.)
Outtakes from the Outrealms 1: Lucina's foe.
Lucina followed Morgan through the Feroxi marketplace, allowing herself to be led to various stalls and vendors. She was glad Morgan had talked her into becoming Khan Basilios champion. Not only did it earn them a place to sleep at night, free of charge, it also gave them a way to earn money, which for once in her life Lucina was thrilled to actually be able to use.
There hadn't been much use for coin in the future, when most merchants were dead and the amount of remaining people were so few. It was certainly better buying professionally cooked food rather than simply living off the land with the limited skills shared between her Shepherds.
Lucina was brought out of her musings by Morgan rapidly shaking her arm.
"Look Lucina! Isn't it cute! I saw this toy at one of the stalls, and knew that you'd think it was just the most adorable creature. I couldn't help myself and I bought it!"
Indeed, there was a small plush toy in Morgan's arms. Lucina opened her mouth to admonish her sister for spending their money so carelessly, but froze when she actually examined the toy.
The toy looked sort of like a pig, but it's proportions were odd. It was shaped like a person, and was wearing a red dress. The most odd features about it were that both of its eyes seemed to be on the same side of its head. Something about the creature set Lucina on edge, and unconsciously, her hand drifted towards her sword.
"Lucinaaa," Morgan whined, "snap out of it sister!"
Lucina flinched when Morgan poked her in the gut to accentuate her words. Snapping to attention, Lucina let go of Falchion and uttered an apology.
"I am sorry, Morgan," she said. "I don't know what came over me… something about that creature is greatly unsettling to me. It makes me want to destroy it for some reason."
"No!" Morgan yelled, glaring at Lucina. "Don't hurt Peppa!"
"Peppa?" Lucina questioned.
"It's what I've named my new pig toy, now step off! I won't let you lay a finger on her!"
Lucina groaned, running her hand through her hair. "I'm not going to touch your toy, Morgan. I have better control over myself than that. Now come on. It's getting late and I'd like to get something to eat."
Ending the conversation there, Lucina turned on her heel and walked away, dragging Morgan behind her by the arm.
Later that night, Lucina lay in bed, contemplating the strange occurrence in her behaviour earlier. It was unlike her to be so unnerved by something as harmless as a toy.
Turning in her bed, Lucina examined her sister, curled up with her new plush in the bed across from hers. It was strange, but Lucina felt a sense of rage and anger looking at the toy, and she hadn't the foggiest as to why.
Turning back to look at the ceiling, Lucina sighed, trying to ignore her strange urge to decapitate the toy with Falchion.
Unable to help herself, Lucina turned back towards her sister to glare at the plush once again, only to bolt upright upon realizing the toy was no longer in her sister's arms.
Instead, it sat at the foot of Lucina's own bed, almost staring at her with those unsettling eyes stitched on the same side of its head.
Lucina nearly shrieked in fright, only stopping herself thanks to years of being hardened by leading a doomed country. Instead, she reached for Falchion, which rested against the wall at her bedside and in one fluid motion, drew the blade from its sheath and sliced the head clean off the plush.
Not waiting a beat, Lucina grabbed the two pieces of the doll, and quietly slipped out of hers and Morgan's shared room towards the common room of the building, where the hearth fire still burnt with warmth to stave off the cold Feroxi night.
"Goodbye, foul beast," Lucina whispered, and tossed the toy into the fire.
She watched for a moment to ensure it burnt. A foul stench permeated the air for a moment, not unlike that of the risen, but vanished soon after. A dim memory surfaced of Aunty Tharja explaining a curse to Lucina when she was young, and Lucina knew that some foul curse had lain within the plush.
Satisfied that the toy had been destroyed, Lucina marched back to her room and climbed back into her bed. Yet sleep did not claim her, and Lucina lay there until morning came, unsettled by her experience with the toy.
When Morgan awoke and inquired about her plushes whereabouts, Lucina played dumb, somehow managing to convince her sister that she knew nothing, despite her horrible lying abilities.
Weeks later, after the tournament had come and gone and the Ylissean-Feroxi alliance had been secured, Lucina and Morgan left for the warmer fields of Ylisse where next they would be needed, not noticing the odd shadow in the window of the room they'd been using, overlooking the path out of town.