A cacophony of murmurs and shouts echoed through the conference room. Several people in various forms of dress from heavy armor to long sage-like robes all sat across from each other at the large round table. Lucina along with her sister sat in silence as the adults bickered endlessly around them.
"We barely have enough resources to feed ourselves, let alone this new influx of refugees from the north!" A man draped in large sage-like robes shouted across the room as he slammed his fist on the table. "At this rate, we'll die of starvation before the Risen can even touch us!"
"So then what do we do with these people?!" An older woman in proud pegasus knight armor shot back, "Abandon them?! leave them to die to the hordes of risen resting just outside the city gates?!"
"Well, it's either the risen or starvation!" He snapped back. "And I'd rather us not be dragged to death along with them"
"So you would sacrifice the lives of innocence for the sake of your own preservation!" A new voice interjected, this time from a larger man in large bulky blue armor. "What would Lord Chrom say to that?! It would be a disgrace to his very legacy!"
Lucina flinched at the mention of her father. Her eyes slid to the ground as her hand curled into a fist. She knew she had to say something. She had to act like the exalt she was and try to bring order to this chaos. She took a deep breath but as she opened her mouth to speak a loud audible laugh shot a javelin of silence through the room. Most of the bickering nobles looked over to see a large older man in bulky scarred general armor laughing hysterically.
"And what might be so funny?" The pegasus knight raised narrowed her eyes at the man.
"Disgrace his legacy?" The man stopped to compose himself, "Pah! don't make me laugh! What legacy?! The only legacy that naive little princeling left behind is that pathetic excuse for an exalt sitting over there!" He pointed a finger at Lucina which might as well have been the same as running a spear through her chest. "The moment his legacy was disgraced was the moment she ascended to the throne"
Lucina's nails dug into her palm as those words wrapped tighter around her neck. Air seemed to struggle through her windpipe as she stood there in silence. Her heart began to descend rapidly into the bottomless abyss.
"Stay your tongue general!" The pegasus knight snapped at him, "Like her father, Lady Lucina is the one capable of wielding the divine fang, Falchion, that alone should prove her worth!"
Lucina bit her lip at that statement as her eyes glided down to Falchion nestled tightly against her hip. Memories of the previous battle clawed at her mind. Should she tell them?
"You would do well not to question the divine mother herself"
The general simply scoffed as he relaxed back into his seat.
Lucina breathed a sigh of relief as the man was silenced. She could avoid telling them of what had happened at least for now.
"I dunno, General Adam seems to have a point" A new more youthful voice spoke. "should we really put our faith in the word of the divine mother?
All eyes turned to glare at its source, a fairly young man dawned in proud sage-like robes sat at the far end of the round table. He looked to be not much older than Lucina, herself, actually.
"Explain yourself, Now!" The eldest sage said with an icy glare aimed directly at the young man.
He was like a cornered bear with several spears and arrows pointed directly at him and ready to strike. However, despite that, he managed to smirk, "Well, think about it, was it not the failings of the previous exalt that put us in our current predicament?"
Lucina's stomach twisted at those words as a spear drilled through her chest. Her nails dug into her palm as a rush of steam coursed through her veins.
"What kind of question is that?!" One of the war monks shouted as he pointed at the sage, "Lord Chrom was a brave and proud warrior and king and was killed because he was caught off guard by-"
"And how do you suppose he was caught off guard?" The young sage interrupted, "the rumors say he was betrayed by the one closest to him but honestly had he not been so naive and trusting maybe that wouldn't have happened"
All the glares in the room fell to the floor as they reflected on the meaning behind his words. A few whispers spread across the room as the javelin was driven deeper into Lucina's chest. Each word out of that man's mouth caused her blood to boil. Her father was a great and kind man. He was strong and taught Lucina everything she knew about what it meant to be a true exalt. To hear this dastard talk about her father in such a way...She just wanted to rush over there and slice him in two on Falchion's blade.
"Lord Chrom died a foolish death" The sage continued.
Lucina struggled to sit still as every fiber of her being vibrated with a fiery rage. All she could see was red as her sweaty palms reached for Falchion's hilt. The only thought she could muster was to run over and cut the man into as many pieces as possible.
"He was a failure and left behind the failure of a daught-"
"YOU SHUT UP RIGHT NOW!" Cynthia shouted out as she shot an unholy, almost demonic, glare at the man.
The whole room fell silent as dozens of shocked expressions turned towards the youngest princess. Even Lucina was suddenly pulled from her thoughts as she turned towards her sister.
She slammed a foot on the table, "Our father was not a fool or failure or whatever nasty things you wanna call him! He was a true hero! He was strong, kind, and fought for what he thought was right! He was everything a true hero should be!"
"Cynthia…" Lucina looked over at her sister.
"A-and Lucy is just as strong and heroic as he ever was! You're just jealous of how much better they are! So stop bad-mouthing them or-"
Lucina grabbed her sister's shoulder causing her to look back at the older princess.
"B-but Lucy…"
Lucina simply shook her head, "That's enough"
Cynthia's pigtails wilted like a dead flower, "Okay…" She nodded before sitting back down.
The eldest sage breathed out an exasperated sigh, "Well it's clear that the recent news of Regna Ferox's downfall has us all stressed so let us rest for a spell to clear our heads and continue this discussion tomorrow"
Everyone in the room all seemed to nod in agreement.
"Good, you are all dismissed"
"Who does that guy think he is anyway?!" Cynthia let out a huff as the two sisters walked through the castle halls. "Talking about you and father like that just makes me so mad!"
Lucina remained silent as her sister continued to rant. The previous events still stormed through her mind. The sage's words still stung at her ears. Her fist curling up at the thought but there was something about his words she couldn't quite shake. It was very unlike her to get so angry even with comments like those. So then why? Why did every word out of that man's mouth fill her with so much anger and hatred? So much so that she almost...She glanced down to Falchion.
"Hey, Lucy!" Cynthia's voice suddenly yanked her from her thoughts, "Helloooo, anyone in there?"
Lucina blinked as the world came rushing back. The two girls had stopped just as they reached the throne room. She looked down at her younger sister who looked at her with eyes wide with confusion and concern.
She shook her head, "What is it, Cynthia?"
"Oh nothing it's just that you looked really out of it there," Cynthia said, "Are you okay?"
"I-I'm…" She hesitated for a moment, "fine…"
"Are you sure?" her sister tilted her head "I mean they said some pretty nasty stuff in there"
Lucina's eyes glided down to Falchion, "Y-yeah…"
Cynthia put her hand to her chin and narrowed her eyes at her older sister. Sweat dropped from Lucina's forehead as her little sister stared so intently at her for the next several seconds.
"Alright if you say so" Cynthia bounced back with a warm smile.
Lucina breathed a sigh of relief before curving a soft smile.
"So how is Snowflake doing?" Lucina asked, trying to change the subject. "You've been taking good care of her, right?"
Cynthia's eyes grew wide at the sound of her mount's name, "Oh crap I almost forgot!" She suddenly blurted out.
"Forgot what?"
"I haven't fed Snowy yet today!" The little princess began flailing her arms in the air, "Oh gods she must be starving by now! Sorry, Lucy, I gotta go!"
And with that, her little sister sprinted off further into the throne room.
"Wait, Cynthia, the stables are-"
Lucina's plea fell on deaf ears as a loud crash followed by a thud echoed across the room.
"...back the other way…"
Lucina sighed before rushing over to help her little sister.
"Owww…" Cynthia whined as she rubbed her back in pain, "That one's gonna leave a mark...who even put that vase there to begin with?"
"Are you okay?" Lucina reached a hand down to her little sister.
Cynthia looked up at Lucina and smiled, "Yeah I think I'll be okay" She said as she was pulled to her feet. "Thanks, Lucy"
Lucina smiled, "just be more careful alright"
"Don't worry, I will" Cynthia dusted herself off. "So where are the stables again?"
"They are back that way" Lucina pointed to the hallway they emerged from, "we passed them on the way here"
"Right" She nodded, "Thanks Lucy," She said before running off.
"She's so full of energy" Lucina muttered to herself as she watched her little sister.
The young lord then let out a deep sigh before looking at the golden throne mounted in the center of the room. The throne that once belonged to her father and now to her.
The moment his legacy was disgraced was the moment she ascended to the throne
Like her father, Lady Lucina is the one capable of wielding the divine fang, Falchion, that alone should prove her worth
Those words began to rattle in her mind as she looked down at Falchion nestled tightly against her hip. She breathed another sigh as she turned and continued down the hallway.
Lucina peered into the dull reflection of her left eye that gleamed off of Falchion's blade. The image was blurry and unclear as if a dark fog obscured the once bright light that glimmered clearly off the blade. Before when she looked at the blade, it would fill her with confidence and comfort as if her late father was once again watching over her. However, when she looked at it now, the only thing that filled her chest was not the warm light of hope but rather the cold sting of despair. When she looked into that blurry reflection, all she saw was blood. The blood of those she was forced to kill. The blood of those she failed to save. The crimson ocean born from their deaths drenched all across her blade and stained its once brilliant glow.
The young lord sighed as she put Falchion back into its sheath, "father please tell me, what would you do?" She asked the clearly weathered tombstone sitting in front of her.
An air of silence brushed through Lucina's long dark blue hair as the tomb gave no response. In the next several moments a loud silence stabbed at her ears. Her hands balled tightly into fists.
"Why don't you answer?" She asked as her heart began to sink. "Please… just answer me…"
Once again the tombstone didn't respond.
She grits her teeth as a couple of tears ran down her face, "What that man said…" She hesitated for a moment, "They weren't true were they?"
Once again there was nothing but silence.
"They were true weren't they?!" She suddenly snapped at the grave.
No answer.
For a moment, she glared at the tombstone before breathing out a sigh, "my apologies I should not have shouted" Her fists began to unfurl themselves as her eyes glazed over the ground, "It's just that…I..." She trailed off, "I… I don't...I don't know what to do"
Once again the tombstone was silent.
"I'm just…." Her eyes glided to the floor, "...so lost and confused"
An anchor began to wrap around her chest as a fog of tears pooled in her eyes. "No matter what I do it just doesn't seem to be enough! The risen just keep slaughtering more and more people and I can't seem to do a damn thing about it!" Her voice began to crack as quick breaths escaped her lips.
"Gods I'm such a failure!" Her hands clung to her face as the dam shattered and a flood of tears rushed from her eyes. "I'M SUCH A DAMN FAILURE!"
Once again the tombstone remained silent at the sound of the heart-wrenching sobs. It offered no advice nor any console. It just stood there in the dirt.
"I'm just so weak! It's all my fault so many people died! If only I had been stronger! Then maybe they wouldn't have…" She sniffed as her hands slipped off of her drenched and swollen eyes, "then maybe Falchion wouldn't have…"
She looked at Falchion once again as a loud silence echoed around her, "...Th-Then maybe Falchion wouldn't have... deemed me unworthy to wield it..." She finally said.
A chilling breeze swept through her hair as those words were tanked into the air. Those words felt like vomiting tar from her mouth. Intestines coiled around her throat and strangled her windpipe. Her heart stopped as it rapidly dived into the bottomless abyss.
"Papa please...what should I do…."
Whew, that one took a little longer than expected. Sorry, this took a little bit. I had a bit of writer's block plus three houses just recently came out so I've been playing that. I've also been pretty busy with some side projects. Speaking of which that prequel story is coming I just gotta find the motivation to get around to it. Anyway, I quite liked how this one turned out though maybe Lucina was a bit OOC especially near the end but hey anxiety and mental health can do that to a person. Hopefully, the next couple of chapters will come out a bit sooner as I already have them pretty much planned out and outlined.
Sturm the Dalek: Oof well that sounds like an ordeal hope everything is working out for ya. Also, yeah that's pretty much why I love ChromxSumia as well. Cynthia is just kind of like the perfect little sister character for Lucina cause she's so optimistic even in the darkest of times. It always stands to put a smile on everyone's face. I do intend to play around a lot with that concept of Cynthia being that sort of light to Lucina throughout this story. Heck, that little motif is actually gonna pretty prominent in these next couple of chapters so look forward to that guess. Yeah, maybe I overshot it a bit but I still think it worked out.
Guest: Well I'm glad you're loving this story. It makes me happy that what I write makes other people happy. It's why I do it. I like making people feel things.
Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Next time we'll be following Cynthia around a bit and maybe see some more characters. It'll be fun. And hey, we reached over 2,000 views! I really do appreciate it as well as any review or feedback I get. I'm always striving to improve so feel free to give criticism. Anyway, that's all for today so until next time, take care.