Reunion
On the sunlit yard before Leonster Castle the finest knights of Archanea ride against one another. Lances splinter by the dozen, shields break, and horses dash across the sandy tournament grounds. The victors who remain in the saddle collect the applause from the ranks with excessive waving.
The boy who waves the most and garners the most chargers from his defeated opponents dons the golden eagle of Pherae. At age sixteen, he is the splitting image of his father.
Crown prince Roy heaves another knight from Ostia out of the saddle, and the cheers of noble ladies and wrinkled ambassadors alike know no end. Lord Leif, himself still the embodiment of youthful enthusiasm, nods to the champion. They are young like the duchy of Leonster is young, this tiny mountainous land that severed itself from the shadow-infested spruce forests of Tellius. Leonster's flag, a spear on a checkered field of black and yellow, billows proudly above the castle's slender towers, and Marth cannot help but admire the strength King Leif must possess to fortify his small dominion against enemy forces.
From where he sits on a wooden fence outside the commotion, Marth has a perfect view on the jousting pairs as they enhance and demote their reputation. The merry shouts and assortment of banners in the brightest colors conceal the conflict brewing beyond Leonster's mountain ranges, but Marth's mind is not with them. He looks to the east, beyond the hills and rivers and canola fields where his family waits. Soon he will return to them, one step closer to the achievement of the divine mission given to him by Naga. Soon Caeda will celebrate with him, and her laugh will render the cheers of tournament spectators hollow.
"Will you not ride out, Your Highness?"
Marth tears his eyes from the imaginary gleam of the Glass Fortress to look at the owner of the voice. Roy has directed his white thoroughbred through the wild yarrow towards the fence and studies Marth with careful curiosity. The likeness to Eliwood chills Marth for a moment before he casts off these thoughts. Roy is not his father.
"Leif ensured me that I already earned my prize in his tournament," Marth says and points at the embellished casket resting to his feet. "And please, call me Marth. After all, if Naga grants me a life long enough to see your coronation, we will meet each other as equals."
The gleam of excitement flashes on Roy's face. "I look forward to that day. But in the meantime, I would rather be offered a chance to joust against you."
Marth smiles. "I'm certain our weapons will clash another time." He gestures to the spot on the fence next to him. "Will you do me a favor and sit with me for a moment?"
Roy isn't as gullible as his age suggests, and he studies Marth's face for ulterior motives. But after a moment, he dismounts and takes the offered seat. A handful of cabbage whites flutter as he moves past.
"You rode exceptionally today," Marth says. "Your father must be proud."
Roy blushes upon the compliment and his eyes drop onto the pristine sword balancing on his lap. The red stone embedded into the rain guard catches Marth's attention, but Roy speaks up before he manages a closer look. "If he is, he wouldn't tell me. He is a legend, he walks among legends, and he expects legendary accomplishments. A few victories in a tournament of a politically irrelevant duchy won't impress him."
"Now, now, let's not talk about our host in this manner. Leonster may be small, but its neutral position makes it a keystone in reforging Archanea's peace. Altea was likewise politically irrelevant, as you call it, until our union with Talys."
Roy looks at his spotless boot tips. "I should apologize, Your Highness – I mean, Marth."
"No need. I'm aware that only the military strength of Talys' Pegasus Knights has earned me the attention of Pherae. Unfortunately, their reputation was not enough to secure a lasting alliance with Eliwood."
"He always talks of you in spite." Roy slides his sword into its sheath and examines Marth's profile. "What happened between you two? You don't strike me as an enemy of Pherae."
Marth places a hand on Falchion's pommel. Eliwood's angry face when last they crossed paths rushes back to him, and the image leaves a bitter taste on his tongue that does not match Leonster's rich air.
"Although I sought to strengthen the alliance between our kingdoms," he says, "I never had the pleasure of calling him a friend. Perhaps he never trusted me completely. But the one time he did rely on my help, I let him down. One of his friends paid the price. I can't expect Eliwood to forgive me my mistake."
"Then will Altea and Pherae go to war?"
"I hope not. I still dream of a united Archanea under Naga's light. But the dream is slipping through my fingers, and I can't seem to hold it as long as Eliwood grudges me."
Roy jumps from the fence with enough vigor to scare the butterflies from their resting spots and spins around to face Marth. "Then you should settle your grudge with him. Otherwise, if my father calls for war, I will have no choice but to ride against you. I don't want to meet you as my enemy."
Marth shakes his head with a small smile. Then, he extends a hand towards Roy, who eyes the offer with a mixture of surprise and mistrust. "I'm not against you, Roy. Far from it. You are not your father, and, forgive me for my foolish hopes, I believe you can grow beyond his teachings. It might seem impossible now. But a union of Altea and Pherae under a shared belief is not out of reach. Peace is not out of reach."
Roy hesitates for a moment. Clouds gather in the east, and squires fasten the pointed roof tents of their masters in expectation of rain. But the moment passes, and Roy takes Marth's hand to swing himself back onto the fence.
Their conversation drifts from history to faith to sword training until it loops back around, and Roy squeezes every last detail about Marth's life in Altea out of him.
"The whole Naga fantasies about her chosen champion aside, did you never feel overwhelmed by the duty of your kingship?" Roy clutches his sword, and his eyes hunger for the answer.
"I did. Since I married Caeda and won Talys alongside her hand, the scope of my responsibilities has only grown. There were moments where I tarried and moments where I doubted myself for tarrying. But above all, I want to ensure that my daughter, Lucina, grows up in a peaceful world. Thinking about her gives me the strength to continue. You will understand when you have children of your own."
Roy furrows. "I can't imagine being that devoted to a child. If you let your concern for your daughter dictate all your decisions, doesn't that weaken you?"
"Not at all." Marth scoops one of the cabbage whites from the yarrow buds around the fence post. The creature trembles but remains in his palm. "For her, I can fend off the demons under her bed. For her, I can wage and win a war. Even if a decision seems hard and tortures me with doubt, I can make that decision if it's for her. I wouldn't call that weakness. The only thing I fear is the moment I have to let her go."
Marth holds out his hand, and the butterfly takes to the blue heavens. "But even though I will never stop loving her, this is a sacrifice every father has to make."
Roy nods, but his face shows that he does not yet understand. In time, he will.
Grima's dark clouds gather above Tellius and stretch westwards. The winds moan as they hurry through the valley of Leonster Castle. On the seventh day of the tournament, before Lord Leif hands Roy his prize, a flood of Pheraen banners invades the forecourt under the blare of trumpets and the confused shouts from the assembled noblemen.
Ninian is dead. And Eliwood declares war on Marth.
"You can at least do me a favor and stay back while I talk with him," Lucina said over the howling wind.
Frederick huffed. "Certainly not."
"What, are you going to cling to my shadow like a limpet for the rest of your days in case another Klein jumps at me?"
"If that ensures your survival, yes."
Lucina sighed. "You are unbelievable."
She had tried to convince Frederick to remain with the rebels and keep an eye on them for what had felt like an hourlong discussion, where she had tossed every argument and every trick at the wall next to him while he played deaf. Nothing she had said had swayed his conviction. And because Lucina had resented the idea of knocking him out by force, he now sat on Tiki's back behind her, with his fingers clawed into every little groove between the scales to keep himself upright.
Below them, Altea rushed by, a mesmerizing tapestry of greens and yellows interwoven with sapphire threads in the form of rivers running from the Copper Mountains to the sea. Puffy fair-weather clouds hovered alongside Tiki, so close that Lucina could almost touch them. But the strong beats of Tiki's wings dispersed the water droplets. The farmers below would find no rain for their crops today.
Each of Tiki's breaths sent a little shiver through Lucina, and she admired the play of muscles underneath the milky scales. An incredible, otherworldly force radiated from the dragon, a creature so magnificent it could only stem from Naga's hands. And Lucina had tamed the beast.
To be fair, she hadn't done a lot to earn this prize. Marth had bound the Manakete to him through his unrivaled kindness and his ability to inspire. Tiki's loyalty was nothing but a hand-me-down.
For now at least.
One day Lucina would earn Tiki's trust by her own accord, and that of the Altean rebels. Maybe if she won back Altea's sovereignty from Roy, they would look at her through a different lens.
Thanks to the unfathomable might of Tiki's wings, a force born from both muscle mass and magic, they would reach Terra within the hour compared to the days a horse would need for the same distance. Which would give Lucina sufficient time to approach Roy without curious rebel eyes watching her every step.
Next to undeniable excitement, a growing worry fastened her heartbeat. Sweat rolled down her neck despite the frigid winds. Would he listen? Would he even allow her to see him? The news of Klein's death might not have reached him yet, but the loss of one of his Twelve Knights should scarcely help to brighten his mood. Last time Lucina had seen him, a wall of fire had separated them, and instead of taking his hand, she had run. What if this wall still blazed between them, insurmountable and sure to burn her if she tried to reach out to him?
Lucina's time to prepare a strategy was running short. On the horizon, the crests already glistered in the sun as the waves crashed against the cliffs near Terra.
What a strange feeling to return. She had climbed the marble steps less than a week ago. And yet everything had changed since then, a tsunami had shaken her world, and the flood still swirled her around without a moment to reorient.
Only one thing was for certain: Lucina had to approach Roy alone. Frederick and Tiki would object, but she could not risk for their presence to upset Roy in any way. Or for them to distract her. Roy or one of his underlings could very well use them as leverage against her, and with their lives on the line, Lucina knew she would give in.
She wasn't ready to sacrifice them. Even if Frederick's death would buy her the freedom of Altea, she would refuse. And to avoid such a scenario, Lucina would withdraw him and Tiki from the equation.
The marble walls of Terra grew larger, and the setting sun bathed the gentle roofs with their clay shingles in orange hues. Lucina motioned Tiki to land outside the city. While she could have saved herself a tedious march through the lower layers, the arrival of a dragon would have raised suspicions among the guards and outright panic among the civilians.
Lucina preferred to avoid an entrance that made her look like a conqueror. Her intentions were of a political nature, not a military one. Hopefully Roy would see this too.
The journey on Tiki's back had replenished her energy, and save for the small cut on her cheek curtesy of Klein's arrow, Lucina was in a presentable state. Her cape had seen better days, but by all other accounts, she made for a decent ambassador. Therefore, the two guards stationed at Terra's outer gate gave her no trouble; a short glance, and then the taller of the two waved Lucina and her company though the grand archway.
The ascending alley beyond bustled with vendors and other people engrossed in preparations. Some carried wooden posts and exotic fruit in crates, others attached decorations to the house façades, countless clattering garlands with red pennants; the color of the Pheraen Empire.
Terra was preparing for the anniversary. Tomorrow, the streets would disappear under the blanket of splendor, and horns, drums, and cornetts would celebrate eighteen years of Pheraen 'peace'.
Tiki, now back in her human form, sniffed the air. "Smells like metal," she said and bounced left and right while her nose brought order into the hotchpotch of sensory impressions. "Like a trap."
"I am inclined to agree," Frederick said and searched the handful of market stalls running along the street for signs of an ambush. "We should have waited for the others."
Lucina continued to climb the gentle stairs without slowing her pace. "I believe we had this discussion before. The rebels will be useful when we have to drive out one or two stoic Pheraen lords. Such as the one on the fifth terrace. Roy is a different story. We're not here to threaten him with an army."
Tiki hopped from cobblestone to cobblestone, like a child determined to avoid contact with the grooves in between. "Why are you so sure you can trust him? He doesn't support Naga, and those who don't support her can't be trusted. They're susceptible for the influence of the unspeakable evil."
"Grima?"
Tiki gasped and looked at Lucina as though she had used a profane curse. "Only reckless people use his name like this. Some evils shouldn't be talked about."
"Fine, I won't mention him again," Lucina said, "if both of you promise to stop talking about Roy like some sort of tyrant."
Tiki stopped her game with the cobblestone and looked deeply offended. "But if he's anything like his father, he is a tyrant! He stifles the people's faith in Naga and as a result prevents the eternal paradise."
"And he did kill your father," Frederick said. As though Lucina needed him to remind her of this fact.
"And I have yet to give him a chance to explain himself. Until I heard his version of the story, I don't want to listen to any more insults against him. I have known Roy all my life, and he is not the monster you see in him. Is that clear?"
Frederick nodded, albeit with reluctance, but Tiki pouted while bobbing on her toes.
"You're going against the fourth credo with this," she said. "Fight those who oppose the faith in Naga."
"I know the five credos." Lucina shoved through a group of chalk-faced workers. "This is why I want both of you to stay out of this. I need time to talk to him alone."
Frederick winced. "Please reconsider. You would be unprotected, and any number of things can happen while you are within the walls of the garrison. Maybe the attack won't come from the king, but the local lord and his men could ambush you even before you reach His Highness."
"If I remember correctly, I beat you the last ten times we dueled. So please remind me what has made me so fragile in your eyes all of a sudden." Lucina shook her head and aimed for a softer tone. The tension was getting to her head, and this anxiousness was about the last thing she needed. "I'll be fine. If anything happens, I have Falchion with me."
Neither Frederick nor Tiki were happy with Lucina's plan, but they thankfully refrained from pressing the matter. They climbed the remaining steps to the fifth terrace in silence.
Two more guards leaned in the shadow of the gates into the garrison complex. They snapped to attention when Lucina and the others approached, and their posture as well as the way they held their spears betrayed their training. These two would make short work of their colleagues at the town's entrance with one arm tied behind their backs.
Most likely, they had come from Lycia with Roy.
Lucina remained calm and dissected the soldiers with a look that oozed confidence. The two men straightened a little more.
"I heard Roy wants to see me," Lucina said.
The soldiers exchanged a glance. They recognized her. But if the tension in their shoulders accounted for anything, they had not expected Lucina to show up with such a severe lack of shackles around her wrists.
"One moment," the older man said with significant delay while his younger companion hurried inside to report to his superiors.
Tiki bobbed on her toes, but apart from that, no one made a move until the younger soldier returned. After an appraising look at Tiki's childlike appearance, he waved Lucina and company forward. "If you may follow me."
The wide yard on the other side of the archway offered no cover. Gravel smoldered in the sun. The stables and military quarters hugged the yard to the right, and at least the latter building had to have been added recently as its uninspired design clashed with the imposing marble structures left and right. First and foremost the noble residence.
The building impressed visitors with its tall pillars in southern style and with the detailed carvings added to the stone. A marvelous piece of masonry. Koi ponds and olive trees completed the picture. Before Pherae had seized control over Terra, the small garden had likely spanned the entire yard. But the plants had since made way for training rotundas and targets for archery practice.
The soldier stopped in front of the residence's large doors and turned to Lucina. "I must ask your companions to stay behind," he said with an almost apologetic shrug. "His Highness wants to speak with you alone. He was quite… clear in his orders."
With a look, Lucina forced Frederick to give a pained nod and step back. "That won't be a problem."
She abandoned the young soldier at the doorstep, and inside she went. The doors shut behind her. No one scurried to her side to lead her through the hall, only the coolness of the marble greeted her. At least no one ambushed her either.
Lucina followed a massive carpet down the length of the hall, past open rooms with vases and mahogany chairs where lattice blinds created crisscrossing configurations of light and shadow, until she reached the other side of the building. There, another room opened up to a balcony. The ocean beyond seemed to burn where the sunbeams met the waves, a shimmering union of fire and water.
And before this spectacular backdrop stood Roy.
His smile made the sun look dim by comparison.
Whatever conflicts had raged between them during their time of separation fled from Lucina's mind at once. The warmth of home stared her right in the face, warmed her cheeks and chest and every fiber of her being, and she wanted nothing more than to fall into Roy's embrace so that he would soothe away the pain of her last battles. For a fleeting moment she could be the child with the scraped knee and he the protector who helped her stand.
He could be the father she had searched for.
But the weight of Falchion on her back stopped Lucina. The letter in the folds of her tunic reminded her of why she had come.
Roy looked at her for a while, still with this invaluable smile on his face. "I hoped you would come back by yourself," he said. "I was worried."
"Is that why you sent Klein after me? Because you were worried?" Lucina asked. Her voice sounded shrill next to Roy's calmness and the murmurs of the ocean.
A shadow passed over his face and the smile disappeared. "Then you faced him. I suppose the fact that you are here while he isn't means that you slew him."
"He tried to kill me!"
"I ordered him to bring you back here. Unharmed. I promised you more than once that I would never abandon you, didn't I?"
"Did you make the same promise to Marth? Before you murdered him?"
Roy flinched as though Lucina had punched him. A faint tremor invaded his tone, so subtle that someone else would have missed the change. "What does he have to do with any of this? I told you what he did to my father. To my mother. I told you about the horrible war that emerged because of him."
"And in all the stories you told me, you never once thought to mention that he was my father!"
Roy shook his head, and his breath stumbled once, twice. His eyes shot sideway, to something beyond the balcony. But where Lucina's fists quivered, his hands remained at his side. He couldn't have reached for a weapon even if he had wanted; his belt lacked the glistering of the Binding Blade.
"I wanted to spare you this," Roy said.
"Spare me what? The truth?"
"The sorrow! The longing. What good does a father do you when he is dead?"
"That's not up to you to decide!" Lucina shouted. "I deserved the truth. I wanted to know more about him so badly. How many times did I beg you to tell me about my father? How many times did I ask you whether he loved me before he left me? But you lied to me for all these years. Why?"
"Lucina, believe me when I say that I never wanted to hurt you—"
"Then why did you lie?!"
Roy lowered his head. He struggled to respond. "I thought I would lose you. That you would abandon everything in favor of the memory of a dead man. A murderer. It seems I was right."
"The last thing I want is to abandon you." Lucina blinked away tears. Why couldn't he see? Why couldn't he see how desperately she needed to hear his reassurances, a sign that he still cared? "Give me the chance to understand. Please. That's all I ask."
"You were better off without the truth. Look at you now. Battle-hardened. Desperate. The rebels' horrible influence all over you. You want to know why I lied to you? Why I did everything in my power to keep you in Lycia, away from the battlefields? This is the reason why. I should have locked you up in your chambers."
Roy looked so hurt. In all the years of his kingship while he sent his men into battle, while he ordered the executioner's blade to fall, even while he stood in front of his parents' painted faces in the ancestor gallery, never once had he showed his pain to such an extent. He seemed to shrink under the weight of his scorched crown. Burdened with too many responsibilities at too young an age, and what remained of him now struggled to fight against the fatal blow Lucina had dealt him.
No sacrifice can outweigh a world free from Grima's evil.
Naga's last advice rang in Lucina's ears. But she refused to listen. Forget the goddess and her grand plans, forget fate and destiny – they might require her to give up Roy, but she would push against their grip.
She would gain Altea's freedom. But not by sacrificing her bond with Roy.
"I'm sorry," Lucina said. "I'm sorry I couldn't see how much you suffered. But I'm not leaving you now. Give me the chance to stand beside you. Tell me everything."
Roy's eyes widened. His pained expression softened, and he dared to hope.
Lucina risked a shaky smile. She could still succeed. If she showed the support Roy needed and build her fortress upon his affection for her, she wouldn't have to lose him.
"Yes. I told you we would talk before the anniversary," Roy said and motioned towards the balcony. "I will keep my word. You will see."
Lucina suppressed the urge to wrap her arms around him. He wasn't the monster Cordelia and the other rebels saw in him, the cold-blooded killer who had slain her father. Grima's evil hadn't taken hold of him, and Lucina could ensure he would remain free of his influence. She had the favors of the goddess on her side. And the Divine Sword Falchion gave her strength.
With new confidence that lightened her steps, Lucina joined Roy's side on the balcony. A balustrade of waist-height separated them from the waves as they crashed against the chalk cliff several dozen feet below. Here, the fifth terrace hugged the very edge of Terra, but a little further to the left, the lower terraces protruded outward and produced the city's characteristic layered design. The amphitheater and the glass statue of Naga Lucina had visited during her first stay caught her eye. A multitude of Alteans huddled on the plaza and used the light of the disappearing sun for a late prayer.
Lucina fidgeted with the green stones around her wrists and smiled to herself as she pictured the boy with the bracelets on his way around the shrine to spread the word.
All would be well.
Roy stopped in front of a cold fire bowl on the balustrade and tossed another log into the ash before he turned to Lucina.
"When I found you among the stream of defeated Alteans from the Glass Fortress, I recognized who you were," he said. Lucina hung on his lips, hungry for every word. At last. The truth out of his mouth. "You resembled him. Even back then. There was this spark in your eyes, a spark I had only seen once before. With Marth. You, just like he did before, put me under a spell. It's so easy for you to wrap anyone around your little finger. I fell for the trick too."
Lucina shook her head. "I could have never tricked you. My…" Her tongue stumbled over the word 'love'. But she failed to spell it out. "My admiration for you was always genuine."
"I thought so too. For a while. The way you looked at me – none of my subjects and no one at court ever looked at me like that. In your eyes, I was a good man. Not the tyrant or the conqueror, not the replacement for a greater king, but a good man. The one you wanted to make proud."
"You are still a good man to me. We can work things out. Together. All the political unrest and the skirmishes, we can end them."
Roy smiled and his gaze travelled to the vastness of the sea. "Yes. I want to believe that. The pieces have been in motion for a while."
"That's why I came back to you. Once Altea has regained its sovereignty, we can rebuild peace between the two nations together. An alliance between neighbors, the way things used to be."
Roy's smile froze. He stiffened. "Sovereignty?"
"I waited so long to tell you this. Don't you see that we can bring back the golden days of peace? You must remember how things were before the war, the freedom people enjoyed. If we allow the people of Altea to govern themselves—"
"You can't give this land back to the Alteans."
"But I have to." Lucina tried to make eye contact, but Roy ignored her. He was slipping away from her grasp. A lump formed in her throat that was rapidly expanding. "I saw how the people suffer, how Pheraens like Klein treat them, and I talked to the rebels. Reestablishing Altea as its own nation is the only way to achieve peace."
"I won't allow all this to fall back into the hands of murderers."
"Marth wasn't a murderer. Someone else ordered Ninian's assassination, but it wasn't Marth. The grudge you harbored for all these years, the hate that drove you to suppress the Altean people and hunt Naga's followers is founded on a lie. Don't you understand what this means?" Lucina stepped forward and reached out to take his hand. "Roy, you don't have to hate the Alteans anymore. They are innocent. You have to put an end to their suffering."
He didn't listen. His mouth hardened. "My father died to conquer Altea."
"My father died to protect it."
"I won't throw away everything I built here. Not even for you."
Lucina trembled. But it wasn't the seaside breeze that chilled her to the core. "Please, Roy. You have to understand. We can have peace again, the peace you always wanted. Give Altea back to its people, I beg you."
"The rebels have indoctrinated you. Is that why you came?"
"No!"
"They poisoned you with their false beliefs like they always do."
"No, Roy, please—"
"You can't even see their evil anymore. I should have known. I should have never let you out of my sight, I should have known this would happen."
"Please, listen to me! I'm not against you."
Roy smiled without humor, and the blue of his eyes froze to glaciers where Lucina found neither anchorage nor shelter. "Marth told me the same once. Before he took everything from me. But I have learned since then. I realize now that I've been too lenient with Altea. I've allowed the rebel infestation to grow and Naga's underlings to sing their little prayers, and look where it has led us. This ends now."
He lit a match and stared into the flames. Beyond the flickering light shone Naga's shrine on the third terrace far out of reach. A handful of hooded figures pushed through the rows of civilians. The crest with the Pheraen eagle flashed on their coat clasps. Lucina's heartbeat raced as she stumbled after Roy – no, no, no, don't let the horrors come to life, do something, anything; Naga, why wouldn't she intervene? Lucina couldn't stop the dark premonitions from painting the insides of her head with blood, and the words to stop Roy didn't make it to her lips.
He looked at her. The last sunbeams tinted his features in orange. "How about we start the anniversary celebrations a little earlier this year? Let's open the first act with a bang."
Roy dropped the match into the fire bowl, and a flame roared to life.
The hooded mages among the praying Alteans had only waited for this signal.
The explosion of fire and lightning magic eclipsed the dying sun. Brightness swallowed Naga's shrine whole, and the heatwaves hit Lucina square in the face, rendered her blind and breathless.
When the light faded, it revealed a massacre. Screams and cries and groans travelled above the water. A crater remained where the pavilion with Naga's glass statue had stood.
And all around the plaza lay the bodies of civilians. Of innocents.
How many had the attack ripped to shreds? How many had sat there in prayer only to go up in flames?
Blood stains covered the marble steps, limbs scattered in the dust, the nauseating odor of burnt flesh that penetrated Lucina's nose from where she stood.
She retched and clawed a hand into the balustrade to keep herself upright.
So many. For nothing.
The boy with the bracelets who visited the shrine every evening – Naga hadn't saved him. Lucina had done nothing; Falchion, her alliance with the goddess, her determination to fulfill Marth's duty, nothing had prevented disaster to strike. All these people, the people Marth had wanted her to protect in his stead, they had died with Roy's permission. With a simple gesture, he had snuffed out their lives.
Efficient.
"You see now what awaits the traitors of the realm," Roy said and extended a hand towards Lucina. "I will achieve peace – by ridding this world of every last one of the Altean fanatics. Open your eyes. The rebels poisoned your mind. Give them up. Help me destroy them."
Lucina shook her head. A veil of tears distorted the image of Roy, and she fought against the pressure squeezing her heart, her stomach, and every last bit of her until she had no more strength to fight. How many? How many had she failed? How many of Marth's old friends like Abel, how many couples who had sworn their love under the glass eyes of Naga's image, how many children who had played on the steps of the amphitheater?
Roy hadn't even hesitated.
"Why?" Lucina could hardly hear her voice over the screams from the third terrace as the mages silenced the survivors. "Why did you kill them?"
"You know why. Rejoin my knights and help me to destroy the fanatics."
"I can't," Lucina said. Her fingers clutched the bracelet and its five stones. "I can't, not anymore."
Roy pulled his hand back. "I see. Then there's nothing left to say."
Lucina saw nothing but the coldness in his eyes, these icy glaciers where she had once found warmth and a home. Nothing of that warmth remained. The embers had died, and their heat had wilted to a distant memory.
She couldn't have defended herself even if she had wanted.
Roy lunged forward and pulled Lucina's old sword out of the sheath at her side. For a heartbeat, his glacier eyes reflected on the blade he had given her. A dragon roared in the distance.
And then the sword pierced her shoulder, and Lucina tumbled over the balustrade and into the sea below.
She swallowed salt water. The currents whirled her around, a chaos of bubbles above and below, a constant rumbling in her ears and panicked screams in her head.
Her back crashed against a submerged rock. Hard. The last remains of oxygen escaped her mouth. More bubbles to obscure her view.
Lucina found the surface, and her right arm paddled against the flood until another wave pulled her under. Her cape was soaked with water, and she went down. Down.
Another rock, this time against her left forearm.
She hardly felt the impact as the ragged stone ripped her sleeve and her skin to shreds. The bubbles took on a crimson shade. A strange tribute to the massacre on the third terrace where Roy had painted the plaza in the colors of the Pheraen flag. No more air. Her muscles spasmed.
What a poor choice Naga had made with her, what a lousy champion who lost the battle on the first day.
Roy hadn't even hesitated.
A moment before Lucina gave up the fight for good, water fountains exploded all around her, and the currents answered with violent roars. Something heavy had dropped into the sea. And this something wrapped massive claws around her torso and heaved her back to the surface.
The wonderful feeling of air particles invaded her sore throat, and Lucina coughed. The orange glow of the sun had disappeared, and the white foam crests stood out against the darkness of the ocean.
Tiki's dragon form battled the winds, and each flap of her wings brought them further away from the evening lights of Terra. Lucina lost all feeling in her left side. But the iron-heavy scent of blood stung in her nose, a dizzying annoyance that would not go away, no matter how fast Tiki shot through the sky.
After a while – minutes or hours, Lucina couldn't tell – the dragon descended onto a beach and placed Lucina on dry sand. Somewhere beyond the haziness of her vision, Frederick dropped from Tiki's back and hurried towards her. A fresh cut marred his forehead, but Lucina had no time to call him out on the injury before he pressed her to his chest, and a little bit of warmth spread from his body into her freezing limbs.
"What happened?" he asked. "What did Roy do to you?"
Lucina struggled to speak. Her tongue felt swollen and numb. "I failed. The boy… I failed everyone."
"Don't you dare say that! Stay awake!"
But Lucina had no strength left to stay awake. Roy's glacier eyes sent a new wave of tremors through her body. He hadn't even hesitated.
"Roy… I can't keep him and a free Altea," Lucina whispered and Frederick's embrace tightened. "Not both. I failed."
The cold seeped into her bones. A glacier's cold.
And then unconsciousness overpowered her at last.
Notes: Ah yes, the midpoint turn. The moment were everything changes. Anything else I could add would only weaken the impact of the chapter itself, so I'm just going to leave you with the promise to return next week. Till then!
