Okay, so last chapter was our third interaction with Lucina. Anyone notice anything... off about her, compared to the rest of the characters? It might be too subtle-but then again it might not. Maybe it'll become clearer as we go on! ALSO! We broke 5,000 views, everyone! Your guys's continued support makes me happy, and if this story makes you happy, then I'm happy!
Meanwhile, Inigo continues to work his magic and get us more time with him and Grima. I almost wonder if my subconsciousness is trying to make up for the fact that we only had a couple chapters of baby Chrom. While Inigo is only a year younger than his dad is now, he definitely gives off "smol child" vibes whenever he's around Grima here. Mini blueberry, we love you, but please stop stealing the show. Your dad's the main character and it wouldn't be fair to him to do that.
"I-It's okay, Miss Vio, I like 'Nigo a lot!"
Aww, so do I, baby Chrom, so do I!
"I can share with him! And Daddy too! We can be a fam'ly to-ge-ther!"
Eeeeeeee, I think he'd love that! At least, your dad would. Inigo still needs time to warm up to him.
"That's okay! Daddy and I can be pa-tient!"
Don't own, otherwise the game would encourage you to ship Chrom with Olivia just so there would be a better chance of Chrom!Inigo (because in my opinion, Chrom!Inigo is best Inigo—especially in this case)!
"I'm taking it off."
Inigo shook his head back and forth. "Noooooooo, please, don't," he whimpered. Grima sighed.
"Look, I can always put a better one on, you hear? Or you could just walk around with a patch over your eye, but if you don't want to, I have to take the old illusion off first before I can put a new one on."
"Why do you want to switch it out, anyway?"
The albino frowned, then got up and twirled around. "See my coat?"
"… Yeah? Is that a new one?"
"Nope!" Grima grinned. "It's actually the same old coat you're familiar with."
"Oh… really?"
"Yep! So now that I've told you that, does it look any different to you?"
The bluenette teen studied the coat, shifting around in his chair to get in every angle. "Umm… no, it doesn't look any different to me. It's still black with silver and blue."
"Exactly! Now, I've had this illusion in place for fifteen years. Not one person has noticed it as a Grimleal coat ever. I'm just that good. So you see why I want to switch the illusions out?"
Inigo bit his lip, shrinking into himself. "I… I guess you're just gonna do it anyway, why ask me?"
"Because it's your eye, you have a say in the matter." Grima rubbed his temples. "Look, I'm trying to protect you. And before you ask, yes, it'll come off in only the specific circumstance you need it to, and no, it will not hurt, whether I'm putting it on or taking it off. We clear?"
"… Okay. Go ahead."
The dragon winced at the defeat in the boy's voice, a pain shooting through his heart. How he wanted to destroy the person who had hurt the child—but of course, that person was himself. He couldn't be more glad that he'd made certain he had never hurt Chrom than he was now. If only he could take away his sweet grandson's distrust and fear in an instant… he supposed this was his punishment for… killing… Chrom… in the original timeline. Medeus below, he could barely even think the thought! No wonder the boy was afraid of him…
He bent down and got to work untangling Naga's illusion. Working the filthy threads of light free from the boy's eye disgusted him, but he'd raised a healer—this was comparatively child's play. Although to be fair, Chrom's magic was not Naga's. Result of the ancient blood pact it might be, his son had fashioned it into something that was uniquely his own and specific to Chrom himself. Grima couldn't help but let a smile steal onto his lips as he worked. Maybe after this was all done, he'd have to see if Inigo had inherited any of his father's potential (Chrom would definitely want to teach his son about magic). It didn't matter whether he was as good as the older blueberry, just the thought of the mini blueberry standing side-by-side with Chrom and learning how to cast his first spell made his smile widen into a goofy grin. We could be a whole family of mages, we—
"Ow. Ow! Ow ow ow ow…"
Inigo's pained cry snapped Grima out of his musings. He glanced at the child to find his right eye squeezed shut in pain. Confused, the albino traced the threads he'd been working on and then snarled. "How dare she—it's not supposed to hurt you! You never put a harmful illusion into such a sensitive part of the body! That fake hypocrite of a dragon witch—! How dare she place it on a child! I'm going to kill that woman!"
Inigo's cries turned into sobs. The albino blanched and swept the boy off the bed into a hug. "Shhhh… it's okay… it's okay… it's all right, mini blueberry… shhhhh…"
"W-Weren't—s'posed—t-take it—off," the boy stammered out through his tears. Grima hugged him tighter, pressing kisses into his soft hair.
After a few minutes, the boy calmed down a bit and sat sniffling on the older man's lap. The dragon rubbed his thumb up and down the boy's shoulder in a comforting gesture.
"I'm so sorry, mini one. I had no idea it was going to hurt you like that."
"Not s'posed—"
"Inigo. A mage should never put a harmful illusion in someone's eye of all places. There's always the possibility that it could backfire and you could end up blind, or worse, suffering brain damage."
"W-What…?"
Grima nodded. "Yep. It's happened before. Now that I've started taking it out, I have to finish it, or else it could cause you real harm."
"… Ok-kay…"
The albino resumed his work. By the time he was done, the boy's eye was bleeding—but thankfully unharmed. He wondered if the illusion had been a slapdash job at best and that was why it had been harmful. After all, he'd been on the heels of the Future Children when they'd gone through the portal, Naga probably wouldn't have had time to put a proper illusion in place. He sighed and got up, setting Inigo on the bed and hunting for a clean handkerchief to wipe the blood off. As he cleaned the area around the eye, he remarked, "I can't put another illusion on your eye today, not after the one I just took out. Your eye will need to rest and heal from the old one for at least a day. I'll find a patch to put on it, and tomorrow after we get to the capital I'll check it again before putting a new illusion on."
"Okay…"
The bluenette teen peered at him with his open left eye. Grima caressed the boy's cheeks with his thumbs and planted a gentle kiss on the boy's right eyelid. "I'll be back with breakfast and a patch, okay?"
"Mm-hm…"
It occurred to Grima while the two rode towards the capital that Inigo might need to use a false name. After all, temporal laws were a finicky thing, and using the boy's real name might cause his father to name him differently, especially since the child hadn't been born yet. In matters of the safety of my family, I must take the path that keeps them from harm. So he spent the time wracking his brain for the perfect pseudonym for his time-displaced grandson. Finally, he hit upon one that made him grin with delight. "I know what we should call you when we can't use your real name."
"What's that?"
"Ciel."
"Nooooo!" Inigo moaned, shaking his head. "Please don't name me after the main character of The Earl and the Dragon, please don't!"
"Why not?" Grima had particularly loved the way the Rosannean name rolled off his tongue. "What is The Earl and the Dragon, anyway? I've never heard of it before."
The boy sighed, his shoulders slumping. "It's this teen detective series that was pretty popular back at home. It was all about this kid who was the son of an Ylissean earl, who was kidnapped and had his parents killed by the Grimleal. They took him and used him in a ritual to summon an evil dragon, but the kid made a contract with the dragon first and had him wipe out the cultists. Then he went back home, took on the title of earl, and worked with the dragon as his butler and right-hand man to do the dirty work of the Exalt." He shuddered. "I personally never had an interest in it, but Owain loved it. He always wanted to act out scenes from the books with me."
"Let me guess: he wanted you to be the earl while he played the dragon?"
"Yeah…" The boy shrunk into himself. "We had the right hair colors for it, too. Plus I have my Brand in my eye, just like the earl had the dragon's symbol in his eye."
Grima grinned. Now he loved the name even more! "All the more reason to use it, then!"
"Noooooooo! No-ho-ho…"
"Aww, come on, Inigo, it's perfect! Ciel is a perfectly normal name from Rosanne, and I personally love the sound of it."
The bluenette whimpered in response.
The Fell Dragon chuckled. "You're so cute, just like your dad. I can't wait for you to meet him~!"
Inigo gave a whine at that.
Chrom very quickly decided that mountain passes did not agree with him.
His feet hurt from all the marching they had done today, and once again he wished whoever had organized the trip had had the foresight to get everyone a mount just so they wouldn't have to walk so much. The party had been pushing hard all day to get to the eastern palace as soon as they could, so breaks for food and rest had been few. The hierarch, some Ylissean official who'd been a friend of the Exalted family for a long time or something like that, kept gravitating towards him and cozying up to him as if he were the missing prince. On top of that, the setting sun shone directly into his eyes when it wasn't blocked by the mountains, the air was too warm, and there wasn't even a whisper of a breeze in sight.
Robin, bless his soul, must've been thinking the same thing, because he called out, "Hey, Lissa! I don't know about you, but we're exhausted! Can't we take a quick break? Not all of us have your stamina!"
"Oh, Robin, if you're tired, just say so!" Sumia suggested. "I would be happy to give you a ride on Bellemere here!"
The white-haired mage shook his head. "No, no, Sumia, as much as I'd love to, we can't have him tire out carrying both of us! He has to stay fresh in case we run into an ambush or something!"
"… Robin, the same could be said of us," Chrom pointed out.
"Which is why I'm suggesting we take a break."
The bluenette glanced at the jagged hills surrounding them. "While I really, really, really want to agree, unfortunately I think this place is perfect for that ambush you're talking about. The hierarch looks like he thinks so, too." Sure enough, the green-clad man was also looking up at the hills. Chrom frowned. "There's something wrong here…"
"Who's there?!" Sully yelled from the back of the line. Several Plegian soldiers sprang out of the roadside bushes, brandishing their weapons at the group. Wyvern riders flew up out of the nearby ravine and hills and surrounded the party, trapping them on the road. One of the riders landed his mount at the top of the nearest hill, leering down at the Shepherds and their charges. As one, the Shepherds drew their weapons. Chrom fingered Umbra before leaving it in his holster and tapping into the power waiting to fill him up. It answered his call and he directed it into his hands, ready to cast it.
The rider in front of them, probably the leader, grinned and took a long sniff. "Ahhhhh. Men, the smell of good fortune is on the wind today! Looks like we've caught ourselves an Exalt—and maybe a prince, too!" he exclaimed, setting his eyes on the mage-healer. Chrom groaned and rolled his eyes, then started when the hierarch rushed to the front of the group.
"Wait! Hold your fire! Good sir, I am the man King Gangrel would have informed you about!" Oh, great. The guy was colluding with them. Of course he was. "You received orders to take me into your protection, did you not? From the king himself!"
The wyvern captain regarded the hierarch. "Hmm. Yeah, I was ordered to protect a man… but I don't see a man here! Do you, guys?" The other soldiers guffawed. "We've got a pig here, boys! A yellow-bellied traitorous hog who sold out his own country and sovereign! And what do we do with pigs, hmm?"
White-faced, the hierarch stammered, "Um… per-perhaps… let them go f-free?"
"Ooooh, are you a chicken now?" The soldiers surrounding the group made bawking and clucking noises. The wyvern captain laughed. "We've got a whole full barnyard here! Pigs, chickens… what's next, am I gonna have to call you a cow, too?"
Robin gave a snort. "I'm sorry, but that last one was pretty funny," he muttered to Chrom.
"Robin. Come on."
"Hey, I mean, he doesn't seem to approve of treach—holy mother of Grima, that was uncalled for!" the tactician yelped as one of the nearby Plegian axemen swung his weapon and sliced the hierarch's head clean off of his body. Chrom blanched and gulped down a mouthful of bile as the headless form crumpled to the dusty ground.
"And now for the main event, ladies and gents!" the captain called out. "Ylisseans! You know what we want: hand over the Fire Emblem and your sorry wench of a ruler and we'll spare you this guy's fate!" He gestured to the hierarch's body. "Or don't, and we'll slaughter you all like sheep! Haaaahahahaha!"
"Frederick, get Emm down to the end of the column," Lissa ordered. The knight nodded and offered his hand to the blonde Exalt, sweeping her up into the saddle behind him. Then he urged his steed around and galloped to the end of the line. In the distance, a white speck in the sky grew to reveal a flying white pegasus carrying a rider with vibrant red hair. Phila turned her own mount and took off, heading towards the new arrival. Robin shouted out orders to the Shepherds and the group began to pair up, with Vaike moving up to cover Lissa's flank and the tactician getting on behind Sumia.
"Kellam, you're with Sully! Make a wall and keep off any reinforcements! Donnel, you ride with Maribelle! Protect her while she does her healing!"
"Yessir, Robin sir!" Donnel took the blonde's hand and mounted up behind her.
"Virion, you're with Panne! Panne, you're going to hate me for saying this, but you need to let Virion ride on your back! He'll deal with the enemies at range while you maul them up close!"
"What?!" The transformed taguel—geez, those teeth and claws were sharp!—gave him a pissed look.
"Just do it!"
The rabbit laguz huffed. "Fine. Get on, man-spawn." She took the back of the noble archer's collar into her teeth and tossed him up onto her. Virion squawked when he landed but regained his composure and situated himself.
"Lon'qu, I need you with Ricken! Make sure nobody gets to him so he can cast his spells!" The myrmidon grunted in acknowledgement. "Gaius, same thing goes for you and Chrom! Miriel, you're with Stahl! Everyone push back down the way we came, we're making a retreat!" The tactician finished this off by pulling out a green tome and firing at the nearest wyvern. "Elwind!"
The Shepherds exploded in a whirl of death and destruction, taking down any soldier that got near. Chrom fired off bursts of Wind at the wyverns that came too close, while Gaius slashed and stabbed at the soldiers around them. In the bluenette's periphery, the pegasus with the red-haired rider drew near. Then a familiar voice called out, "Chrom! Chrom, is that you?!"
"Tia!" Chrom grinned. "You're here! I can't believe this!"
"You can't? I can't believe you're here!" Cordelia cried. "What are you doing so far away from Middlefield, anyway?"
"Case of mistaken identity!" he yelled back. "Gaius, I need to get a lift to properly take those wyverns down, they're harassing the pegasus knights!"
"Get on it then, Blue! I'll go with Kid Genius and Shush-Kabob!" Gaius dashed down the road, heading for Ricken and Lon'qu. Chrom jumped and pushed a gust of Elwind underneath him, propelling himself into the air. He reached up and Cordelia caught his hand, swinging him up behind her onto her pegasus. He wrapped his left hand around her waist as he slung a blast of Wind at a wyvern behind them, the green blades tearing into the beast's wings and sending the animal and its rider plummeting into the ravine.
"I have to say, Chrom, this is the very last place I expected to find you!" Cordelia yelled as she banked the pegasus around. "I had no idea you joined the Shepherds!"
"Like I said: case of mistaken identity! They thought I was the prince!" He fired off another green blast. "I've only stayed with them because I was hoping to reunite with Dad!"
"Isn't that him down there?" she asked as she rolled to avoid a wyvern's jaws.
Chrom sent the scaly mount spiraling into the hill with a well-aimed Elwind. "Nope, that's Robin, our tactician. I have no idea where Dad is at the moment!"
"Oh. Well, okay then."
"Guess who else is here!" He pointed to the armored knight fighting beside Sully. "Kellam!"
"Kell's here, too?! Awesome! All we need is Anna now and the gang will be complete!"
"I know, right?!"
As the two swooped down toward the wyvern captain, Cordelia asked, "Hey, Chrom! Remember that spell you were going to show me? Did you ever finish it?"
"Oh, yes I did!" The bluenette grinned and gathered more power into his hands. He let go of her and pushed toward the captain. "Umbra!"
The redhead cheered as the ball of shadow rammed into the Plegian man and sent him tumbling to the ground where Lissa finished him off, though not before he choked out something about storming the border. Chrom went white and gasped. "Oh no… is that true?"
Cordelia nodded. "I just came over from the border." Her shoulders slumped. "I… I was the only one who survived…"
"Oh, Tia." Chrom hugged her around the waist. "I-I'm so sorry."
She landed the pegasus on the edge of the Ylissean group and dismounted with the bluenette, and Chrom watched as she warned Emmeryn and Phila about the invasion force that had smashed through the border. Oh, no… Themis… Middlefield! Is everyone all right there? What is Gangrel doing?! Why is he invading?! The words the Mad King had hurled at the border confrontation came to mind. No… no… he's going to commit genocide! He's going to slaughter all the innocent people in his way! And he wants Lady Emm and the Fire Emblem!
"I'm going back to the capital."
Emmeryn's words made his heart freeze and stutter in shock. A sick feeling rose up in him as the others pleaded with the Exalt to reconsider her decision, but she held firm. Then she strode over to him and took something out from beneath her robes. A small, gleaming golden shield with four empty sockets and a white gemstone set in the fifth lay in her hands.
"Chrom, I know you may not be my brother, but…" She looked into his eyes, gaze fierce. "I'm entrusting this to you."
The bluenette balked, horrified. "W-What?! The F-Fire Emblem?! Your Highness, I can't—"
"You all were on your way to Ferox before we were attacked." Emmeryn stepped closer to him. "Please, take it. Keep it safe there."
"And leave you here all alone?! No way, sis!" Lissa cried. "We're not leaving you behind!"
"Lissa." The Exalt flicked her gaze to the blonde swordswoman. "The Fire Emblem is the most important part of House Ylisse. Nothing else supersedes it… not even my own life. It is one of the most powerful artifacts of which we have care, but… already too much blood has been spilled over it for want of that power." She pressed the shield into Chrom's trembling hands. "You are talented and capable, Chrom. I only hope it finds you a better guardian than it did me."
"Emm, don't say stuff like that! You can't just give up!" Lissa's lip quivered.
Emmeryn shook her head, green eyes full of resolve. "I am not giving up. I am only giving what I can… to protect my people… and to protect you."
The others continued to beg with her, but Chrom's ears filled with white noise. He stood frozen in his place, clutching the Fire Emblem in his hands, as Phila offered to accompany Emmeryn back to Ylisstol. Then the pegasus knight captain ordered Cordelia to stay with the Shepherds, to which the redhead assented. Lissa pleaded with her sister one more time, but Emmeryn declined. Then she, Phila, and the remaining pegasus knights turned and went down the path towards the capital. As the smaller company left, the bluenette watched on, tongue thick in his mouth and heart heavy in his chest. How he wished he could say something to her! Why had she chosen him? Why not Lissa, who would be more worthy of protecting the Emblem? Lissa wielded Falchion, the holy sword that had slain Medeus twice and Grima once! And he… he was just a kid from a Southwest Ylissean town with a knack for magic and healing. Who… looked a lot like the lost Prince Chrom and was from a destroyed future. But aside from that last thought, what was so special about him?
Why me?
A hand on his shoulder startled him out of his stupor. Robin gave him a sympathetic smile. "Come on. We need to find a place to set up camp by nightfall."
Chrom swallowed and nodded, following his friend as the Shepherds filed through the pass.
"Oh! There he is! Sir! Mr. Raven, sir! We have some news for you from your son!"
Grima gasped and spurred Eugene onward towards the castle gate where the guard captain from before stood waving his hands. He arrived and dismounted in front of the man, who held out two letters to him. "Mr. Raven, sir, he left early this morning with the Shepherds and the Exalt. They were taking her to the eastern palace before heading on to Ferox."
"Ferox?! I just got back from there!" The albino buried his face in his hands and sighed. "This is getting ridiculous!"
"Well, um, if you leave tomorrow, sir, it takes about as much time to get to Ferox from here as it does from the eastern palace. You'll be more likely to meet up with him then, they should've arrived at the palace by now."
"… All right, fine." Grima took the letters. "Thank you for your help. Do you know if the inn I stayed at before has any vacancies? Ciel and I need to settle down for the night before we get back on the road again tomorrow."
The captain nodded. "Sure thing! Ah, be sure to let them know that Captain Ross is paying for your stay."
"R-Really?!"
Captain Ross shrugged. "It's the least I can do to make it up to you. It must be hard running around after your kid."
Grima gave him a small smile. "Thank you. I appreciate it a lot."
"No problem, sir."
The albino tucked the letters into his pocket and swung back up onto his horse, then headed for the inn he'd stayed at last time. There, he got a room for both him and Inigo and plopped down onto one of the beds immediately after they entered the room. "Ugh… so tired…" He glanced up at the bluenette teen, who fiddled with the straps on his white medical eyepatch. "Don't mess with that, you'll aggravate your eye."
"Sorry," the boy whispered.
Grima closed his eyes and allowed his body to relax into the mattress. Chasing Chrom down was so tiring… and working around Inigo's trauma… and plotting to take over the world…
He slipped into a deep sleep, unaware that as soon as he did, the boy slipped from the room and fled from the inn.
Inigo panted, bent over with his hands on his knees. He'd run all the way to the palace as fast as he could without stopping for fear that he'd wake up the Fell Dragon and bring about his own end. Despite Grima's assurances to the contrary, the young prince did not believe for a second that the sweet-talking albino vessel wouldn't kill him the moment he did something the older man didn't like. How he hadn't worked up the courage to escape while the dragon slept, he didn't know, and he didn't care to find out. Nearby, the guards milled about the gate, on the lookout for any threats.
The bluenette shivered in the cool evening air. He hadn't stopped to snag the horse Grima and he had been riding the past few days, and now that he'd escaped, he had no clue where he wanted to go. Anywhere in the opposite direction of the albino seemed ideal, though, and he'd been planning to return to Ferox… Perhaps heading south would be the best idea. But first, he needed a horse. Maybe if he somehow got in with the guard, he could stay at the castle until the dragon left the next day and then continue on his way. I wish Luci were here… she would know exactly what to do about all this. She's lucky she has Falchion… meanwhile I've got just a measly old steel sword. It wouldn't be much good against the Fell Dragon, it'd be like a toothpick to him.
"Ho there! Who goes there?"
The boy gasped and whirled around, finding a squad of guards behind him. The leader peered at him. "You seem familiar… have I met you before?"
"Oh, come on, not you too," one of the men groused. "We get enough of this from Sir Frederick as it is!"
The captain dismounted and walked over to the boy. "Maybe so, but Ylisse needs him. We're at war with Plegia now, or did you forget? Finding him would provide a significant boost of morale to the whole country!"
"H-Huh?" Inigo took a step back, confused. "W-What are you—"
"Hold still, kiddo." The man looked him over and frowned, before gently lifting the medical patch off of the bluenette's still-aching eye. Inigo blinked as light assailed his right eye, but not before the captain gasped. "Look! The Brand! It's in his eye!"
The other soldiers gasped and glanced at each other, then dismounted and ran over. "Really?!" "You're not serious!" "No way! He's—!" "Impossible!"
"W-Wait—!" Inigo protested.
The guards lifted him onto his shoulders. "WE FOUND THE PRINCE!" they cheered. The other squad nearby came over to see what the commotion was about and joined in. Inigo hid his reddening face in his hands, shaking with fear and shock. If he thought Grima was bad, this was almost worse. As the soldiers carried him through the gate and into the palace, more servants and guards waved at him and whooped with joy. His throat clogged up, and he choked out a sob, tears leaking out onto his cheeks. Another sob, and another, until he was weeping freely into his hands. He didn't know how long it was until they set him down onto a soft, plushy chair.
"Hey, your Highness, are you all right?"
Inigo only cried harder. Around him, the servants bustled, but he had no idea what they were doing. Maybe trying to get him something to calm down? His stomach grumbled. Oh, right, he hadn't had dinner yet, he'd been too focused on getting out of the Fell Dragon's clutches. He really should have planned this out better.
After several minutes, his wails quieted to sniffles, and he slumped down in the chair, exhausted. A kindly middle-aged woman appeared in his vision. "Your Highness, are you feeling better? We've got a bath drawn for you and fresh clothes!"
"N-Not th' prince," he mumbled. The woman shook her head.
"Oh, tish-tosh! Clearly you are, you hold the Brand of the Exalt! Your Highness, you'll feel ever so much better after a soak." Gentle hands lifted him out of the chair and led him into a large bathroom with a sparkling white pool for a tub and elegant carved pillars around the walls. He offered no resistance as the servants undressed him and led him into the water. They scrubbed his body and his hair free of dust from the road before rinsing him and leading him back out to towel off. The servants then dressed him in a loose navy tunic and pants and led him back into what turned out to be a large set of royal bedchambers. One man sat him down behind a mahogany desk and placed a plate covered with a silver cloche in front of him, lifting the cover to reveal a hot meal of roasted quail and greens. His mouth watered at the tantalizing food, but he lifted a trembling hand and pushed it about an inch away. Naga above, he was exhausted!
"Your Highness?" The woman laid her hand on his shoulder. "Are you well? You must be hungry, please, eat!"
"I-I can't," Inigo whispered, numb and weary. "I sh-shouldn't. I'm… I'm n-not the one you're l-looking for."
The servants glanced at each other, confusion worn plain on their faces. "But you have the Brand of the Exalt, your Highness!" insisted the man, a butler. "The prince also had the Brand as well! How can you possibly believe you're not the prince?"
The boy gulped. He couldn't do this to his father, he couldn't take his place without the other man even knowing it! What if he wasn't born as a result, what if Lucina wasn't born?! He couldn't imagine a world without his older sister! He wet his lips with his tongue.
"A-All I know… is that th-this isn't right. I can't s-steal the real prince's p-place for mys-self."
He looked up at them and found bewildered expressions on each of their faces. Then the woman regained her composure and smiled at him. "Well said, your Highness! So selfless! At the very least, you must eat something, dear, you look famished!"
"Um… o-okay."
Why was it that he decided to escape in Ylisstol of all places?!
"Hey there."
Cordelia's voice snapped Chrom out of his fire-gazing musing. He gave her a weak smile. "Hey."
"So." She sat down on the log beside him, watching the rest of the Shepherds around the camp. "It's sure been a while, hasn't it."
"Yeah. How, um. How have you been?"
She shrugged. "Pretty good. Being a pegasus knight is everything I dreamed it would be… the other knights are practically my sisters! Or, they were… I guess I mostly just have Sumia now."
The bluenette placed his hand on her shoulder. "Listen, I know it hurts that you'll never get to see them again… but you have to carry on in their memory. Fight with them in your heart and use your memories of them to empower you with strength. And, you know, when the new recruits come, you can be a big sister to them, you see?"
The redhead laughed. "Phila said about the same thing. The 'keeping them in your heart' part, that is." She put her finger to her lips in thought. "My folks are doing just fine, Dad loves his job and Mom gets to work on her quilting since she doesn't have to be a breadwinner. Cael went off on an expedition with her relief corps and fell in love with one of the guys who works with her. They're married and expecting their first kid."
"Aww, that's so cool!"
"Yeah, I can't wait to be 'Auntie Tia' to them! Oh, and Cal found a part-time job in a bakery, so he works there after school. He loves it there, says he's finally found something he can be passionate about. He might also have eyes on the baker's daughter," she giggled and leaned over to him, "we tease him all the time about his 'girlfriend.' He might deny it, but even the baker can tell he's sweet on her!"
Chrom sniggered. "Oh, that's awful of you. You're a terrible big sister."
"The worst," she agreed with a grin. "What about you?"
"Oh, I work full-time at the bookstore now, been doing it since I graduated school. Dad's still got his assistant's job. We still play 'Clear the Road' every so often when bandits come around. Or, we did. Can't believe it's been a few weeks now since I left." He sighed and waved at Kellam and Robin as the two walked over to join them.
"Yeah, how did you end up with the Shepherds, anyway? You said it was a mistaken identity thing?"
Robin laughed as he sat down next to the pegasus knight. "You've met Frederick, right, ah, Cordelia?"
"Yeah?"
"He, uh, thought Chrom was the prince of Ylisse."
"Oops!" The redhead covered her mouth as giggles escaped. "That's a very big case of mistaken identity right there!"
"Yeah, well, from what we heard, Chrom proved him wrong," Kellam supplied as he sat next to Chrom. "Nice to see you again, Tia. How are Cael and Cal doing? Last I heard, Cael was going to have a baby. Is that still a thing?"
"Yep! She keeps complaining about how she wants the kid out now so she can smother them with kisses already—although we know she's just tired of being pregnant. Cal's got a crush on his boss's daughter, though he won't admit it. And, well, there's me, my life is the pegasus corps."
The white-haired tactician held up a finger. "I'm sorry, but who are Cael and Cal? Siblings of yours, Cordelia?"
She nodded. "Yes, they are! And it's just Tia, please. Caeldori is my older sister and Calodire is my younger brother. We're each three years apart."
"Wow." Robin whistled. "Wait… is it just me, or are 'Caeldori' and 'Calodire' anagrams of 'Cordelia?'"
Chrom laughed. "It's a family thing," he explained to his friend. "The Delacours have a tradition of naming their children with an anagram of 'Cordelia.' It started with… I think it was your great-great-great grandmother Cordelia?" He looked at his friend for confirmation, and she nodded. "Yeah, she started it when she married into the Delacour family. Now it's a tradition."
"Ugh, even the name 'Delacour' sounds like an anagram of 'Cordelia!'"
"From what we know," the redhead spoke up, "she had something of a weird sense of humor. And we also think it was her way of getting back at her in-laws for not approving of her."
"Huh. Whaddya know?"
Cordelia smoothed out her uniform. "Well, I want to know what the craziest thing Chrom here got up to in the past five years! Besides completing his spell, that is." The bluenette fished out his tome and handed it to her. "Oh, wow. Man, you really did write a whole tome!"
"That's the second edition, by the way," Chrom commented. "But you really don't want to know what the craziest thing I did is. I've never seen Dad get so angry at me before or since! Plus there was the… bullying afterwards." Cordelia winced. "Yeah, it was pretty bad. I mean, it seemed like a good idea at the time."
"Chrom, your dumb stunts always start out with 'it seemed like a good idea at the time.'"
"Yeah, but this one was the backfire to end all backfires." The bluenette bit his lip. "Frederick kind of accidentally poked at it recently—" he shivered, "but I think you, Tia, have a right to know. Kellam was there, so he witnessed the whole thing. Robin…" he fidgeted with his gloves, "I… I think you should listen too. I trust you, and you've had my back even though you don't know me all that well. I hope you don't think any worse of me after this." He took a deep breath and then told them the story about how Sarah Piers died, how he wanted to help her family, how he used a spell from his father's spellbook, and how the undead girl went feral. He told them about the villagers' reaction, his father's reaction, his attempt at restitution, the bullying he suffered for a few weeks, his father's anger at the bullies, and the way Kellam and Anna had stuck by his side. Robin and Cordelia were wide-eyed by the time he finished.
"Wow."
"No wonder you kind of just froze up when we first encountered the Risen," Robin commented, looking dazed. "Sheesh, that… Chrom, I can't even begin to say how sorry I am, and I wasn't even your friend at that point!"
"You did something stupid, but your heart was in the right place." Cordelia laid her hand on his arm. "And I'm proud of you for that."
Chrom favored them with a weak, but heartfelt, smile. "Thanks, you guys. You have no idea what this means to me."
Grima woke up to find it dark outside. He yawned and stretched, getting up and rubbing his eyes. I'm surprised I slept that long, poor Inigo must've been hungry and I didn't get him food first. He glanced around the room and made the embers in the hearth flare into a fire with a flick of his fingers. Wait… where's the mini blueberry?
He frowned and searched the room, turning it over for signs of the boy, but the staleness of his scent implied the bluenette teen hadn't been in it since they first entered. Where did he go? Did he leave while I was conked out?! He rushed out of the room, down the hall and stairs, and into the tavern area where a few patrons lingered. The albino went up to the bartender and cleared his throat. "Excuse me, have you seen a kid with blue hair and an eye bandage in the past few hours? He was with me earlier when we got our room?"
The bartender frowned. "Hmm. Yes, I did see him. He left several minutes after you two went upstairs, slipped out like he didn't want to be seen. Was he the son you were looking for last time?"
Grima sighed. "No, he's apparently my son's younger brother. I wasn't aware anyone from his birth family was still alive, but I want to protect the kid, you know?"
"Yes, I do." The man chuckled. "He looked like he was heading north, towards the castle. I'd start there with your search. I hope you find this one quickly!"
"Thank you!" the albino called back. He dashed out of the tavern and into the dark night.
It took him a few minutes to get to the palace, following the faint traces of Inigo's scent all the while. Fortunately, the bartender appeared to be right: the boy had gone to the castle. For what reason, Grima couldn't fathom. Weren't he and his little band of time-travelers trying to save history or something, not screw it up even worse? Why would he go to the castle? Up ahead, the front gate loomed, the familiar guard company scattered about. The albino went up to them and found Captain Ross, who looked surprised and confused, and oddly enough elated. "Mr. Raven, sir! What brings you to the palace at this time of night?"
"My charge gave me the slip and flew the coop," the dragon explained. "I'm trying to track him down."
"Oh, the young man that was with you earlier?" Ross leaned over and whispered, "Are you aware that he was the missing prince of Ylisse?"
"… What."
"Oh, yeah! Captain Oslow saw him earlier and it turns out he had the Brand in his right eye…" Ross's explanation faded into the background as Grima's brain tried and failed to restart. Inigo had gone to the castle. The guards had seen him and taken off his eyepatch. They'd seen the Brand and thought he was the prince. They had probably taken him into the castle and had set him up in the prince's chambers, or maybe they were interrogating him about his "captors" or some other nonsense, or worse, they suspected him of brainwashing or treachery and had thrown him in the dungeon! He shivered. No. No, he couldn't let his sweet grandson suffer through all that, the poor timid boy must be terrified out of his wits! "Mr. Raven, sir? Sir?"
"H-Huh?" Grima snapped out of his panicked thoughts. "I-Is Ciel all right?"
"You mean Prince Chrom? Well, yes, last I heard the servants were taking care of him." Ross frowned. "Why, is everything okay?"
The Fell Dragon's blood chilled at the sound of "taking care of him." That could mean anything! He gave the man a weak smile. "Yes, it's fine. I was just worried about him."
"Oh, don't worry, sir, the prince is in good hands!"
"Th-Thank you." He bowed, turned, and went back down the road towards the inn.
Once he got out of sight of the gate, he teleported to the inside of the castle wall, crouching in the shadow of the brickwork. He cast an invisibility illusion over himself and grew his wings out of his back, taking flight into the night sky. If he remembered correctly, the prince's quarters had been on the west side of the castle. Grima flew, silent and unseen, towards the west tower and landed on a balcony. The glass doors allowed him to peer into the dark, moonlit bedroom, where he caught sight of a figure sitting up in the bed. The figure yawned and rubbed their eyes, then stopped and stared at the white-haired man standing outside.
"Mini blueberry?"
"Mini blueberry?"
The glass doors muffled the sound, but the coat-clad figure standing on the balcony couldn't be mistaken for anyone other than the Fell Avatar. Inigo gasped. He-He found me! How?! The figure motioned for him to "come here." Shaking, the bluenette got out of the huge bed and tiptoed over to the doors, unlocking them and opening them. Immediately, Grima reached over and glomped onto the boy.
"Mini blueberry, you're all right! Oh, I was so worried when I couldn't find you! You almost gave me a heart attack when I woke up and you weren't there! Oh, you poor thing, you must've been so scared! Shhhh, it's all right, I'll get you out of this mess, okay, sweetie?"
Inigo choked on his breath and sobbed. The albino's grip tightened around him. "Oh, Inigo… it's going to be okay, all right? Here." He felt Grima slip his arm underneath his knees and lift him up, carrying him over to the bed. The man set him down on the mattress and cradled him close. "Shhh… shhh…" Strong hands caressed his hair and rubbed his back in circles. The bluenette cried for another minute or two before lapsing into shivering silence. His energy felt completely drained, what with his emotions going through the ringer the past few days, and he slumped against the older man's chest, exhausted.
"Better?"
Inigo shrugged in response.
"We should get going if we want to get back to the inn and get enough sleep before we leave again tomorrow."
"W-We can't." The teen coughed and shuddered. "Th-They think I-I'm the p-prince. They'll… They'll panic if-if they come in t-tomorrow and f-find I'm g-gone… I-I can't just l-leave."
Grima sighed. "I don't think your dad would appreciate it if you ended up taking his place."
"D-Do you th-think I want t-to be here? A-And anyw-way, you never t-took him back h-here, why do y-you c-care?" Inigo's voice had quieted to a fearful whisper.
He felt the man shrug. "I didn't think they were worthy of him. Besides, his father was a horrible man who couldn't appreciate his son for who he was, he didn't deserve to continue raising Chrom." He paused. "And then once we got word that his parents were dead, he decided to stay with me."
"B-But Aunt Em-Emmeryn—"
"Is a wuss." Grima snorted. "Chrom seemed perfectly happy staying with me, so I let him." He sighed. "Look, if you really don't want to stay at the inn with me tonight, then tomorrow, I don't know, say the Brand is an illusion that a Plegian sorcerer put in your eye when they come in to check on you."
"What? N-No, I can't do that!" Inigo's breath quickened, and he slipped out of the albino's hold. "I-I can't say that—"
"It's actually very plausible, mini blueberry."
"N-No… I'll talk to Aunt Emm tomorrow, she'll understand!"
"Kiddo, she's not here right now, they were on their way to the eastern palace."
"W-What?!" The bluenette's heart rate sped up.
Grima shrugged and started rubbing the boy's back again. "That's what the guards said. My guess is you probably won't see her until the end of the war, and by then it'll be too late."
"But I-I can't! Why do you want me to s-say that, anyway?!"
"Because I'm trying to help you."
"No… please don't…"
"Mini blueberry—"
"I can't! I can't use your help! My dad died because of you, I can't just take your help!" The man flinched. "I-I'm sorry, but I can't." Inigo trembled, his breathing slowing back down. He'd done it. He'd told the Fell Dragon he couldn't use his help. Maybe he was definitely going to die now, but he was scared and alone, and his sister and friends weren't here. Only the big bad. He hung his head, waiting for the man to do something, maybe snap and kill him, torture him, anything other than rubbing his back (which… felt really… nice, by the way, he couldn't remember the last time someone had done that).
"Long, long ago, there was a little dragon."
Inigo's head snapped up in confusion. Why was the Fell Dragon telling him a bedtime story, of all things? Perplexed, fearful, and maybe the tiniest bit curious, he listened. "The dragon was very sad and lonely. He had nothing except a bunch of Risen for company, and he lived in a giant labyrinth that was sealed up and forgotten. The alchemist that created him had tried to kill him, and the terrified dragon had ended up killing the alchemist in self defense. So the dragon lived in the labyrinth by himself. He spent most of that time sleeping, for there was hardly any food, and when he was awake, he was often overcome by terrifying and destructive urges. Parts of the labyrinth had been clawed or blasted to pieces by his power. He didn't understand why no one would come to help him.
"The little dragon hadn't quite reached his thousandth year when people finally came into the labyrinth, led by a green-haired man with a dragon-fanged sword. The dragon was confused but also relieved. Maybe they were here for him! Well, they were… to defeat him, that is. The green-haired man beat the little dragon, who disappeared in fright. But when he reappeared, it was outside the labyrinth, in a world full of life and greenery and fresh air as he had never seen before! The starving dragon came upon some farm animals nearby, and in his hunger he devoured them. The farmer panicked and chased him away. Frightened, the dragon fled. For a while, he lived like this, eating whatever food he came across and occasionally making a mess when his destructive tendencies surfaced.
"Eventually he was caught and put in a cage and brought before the green-haired man, who was now the ruler of the entire continent. The man looked at the dragon and said, 'I don't know what to do with him, but someone else I know might.' The little dragon was put on a ship and sailed the sea to the continent to the east.
"When he got there, the little dragon was taken before the ruler of a little island nation in the southwest end of the continent. The dragon looked into the blue-haired prince's eyes expecting the fear and revulsion that all people seemed to show whenever they saw him… but the prince's gaze was filled with only kindness, sympathy, and curiosity. The prince ignored his advisor's warnings and let the little dragon out of the cage. 'Hello there,' he said. 'What is your name?'
"The little dragon was confused. 'I do not have a name,' he replied. 'I have always been referred to as the 'Creation.'
"'Well, that isn't a name at all!' cried the prince. 'Here, let's pick out a name for you, one that you like and can use to refer to yourself.'"
Inigo couldn't help but admit that Grima was an excellent storyteller. Was it all the years of raising his father? The albino continued, "The dragon picked out a name that he believed was grand and wonderful, and the prince liked it and told him it suited him. He let the little dragon stay in his palace and said he had a friend who was coming over to help him.
"The friend turned out to be another dragon. She was the daughter of the resident dragon leader of that continent, and she showed the little dragon how to make a very important tool called the dragonstone. 'It will help you,' she said, 'and it will make it easier to control yourself and your powers.' Intrigued, the little dragon followed her instructions and condensed his power. When he opened his eyes, he found he now had a new form: a human boy with fluffy white hair, two red eyes, and pointy little ears. His power was now contained in an iridescent black dragonstone. The dragon girl and the prince were delighted and applauded the little dragon boy.
"The prince was always kind to the dragon boy and treated him as if he were just another person. The boy grew to care deeply about the prince, and when he learned the prince was going to fight another war, he wanted to join in." Grima sighed. "But it was not to be. The dragon girl's mother invited the dragon boy over to play with her daughter, but when the two went to sleep, she put a spell on the boy. He woke up later and was very confused when he saw the dragon girl and asked her about the prince, only for her to say that the prince had died a while ago. Then he found out the truth: an evil dragon had resurrected and the dragon goddess had put the boy into a hundred-year sleep. The prince had grown old and died while the dragon boy had been asleep."
"Oh, no," Inigo whispered. "That's…"
"The dragon boy was heartbroken. He left the dragon goddess and wandered the world in search of someone like his friend the prince. But the world was full of horrible selfish, greedy men who either made fun of the dragon boy or wanted him to do things for him. The dragon goddess didn't help—she said the boy, because he was made instead of born like any other dragon, was an abomination and a perversion of nature. The dragon boy grew into a dragon man, but he was always tormented by the world around him. Time passed, and his pain and anger grew, until finally, after nine hundred years, he decided he'd had enough. He remade himself into the destructive terror that everyone thought he was.
"And that," Grima finished, "is how the Fell Dragon came to be."
Inigo gasped. "You… you were the little dragon boy? B-But… how? I don't understand…"
"History hasn't been kind to me." The albino shrugged. "But mini blueberry, the past fifteen years with your father were some of the most wonderful years I have ever had." A smile crept onto the man's lips. "I see so much of my friend in your father… and my friend wouldn't want me to destroy the world. So you see? I can't do it… for him… for your father… and for you."
The bluenette teen opened and closed his mouth, speechless.
"I-I know I kind of dumped a lot onto you just now, but it is late and we both need our rest." Grima stretched and yawned. "I think I'll see if I can find a comfy chair around here…"
"Um, n-no, that's okay. You should go back to the inn and get your rest there."
The dragon pouted—pouted!—at him. "Can't I stay with my cute little grandson?"
He probably wouldn't leave until Inigo said yes. Naga above, how scary was it to go to sleep only to wake up and find your friends had died? The boy felt thankful he hadn't had to experience that with any of his fellow Shepherds… but there had been those civilians… So it was kind of understandable, but did he really want the Fell Dragon in bed with him? And his story… well, no, it felt genuine. Inigo sighed.
"I don't know if there's a guest bedroom anywhere nearby, but… um… if you really want to stay here, you could get the bedclothes and blankets from there and bring them in here. B-But you'll have to put them somewhere where the servants can't find you."
Grima's eyes lit up. "Yay! Don't worry, mini blueberry, we'll sort out this mess tomorrow!" He planted a kiss on the bluenette's head and dashed out of the room, returning a minute later with a bunch of fluffy comforters and blankets. He spread them out on the floor and pushed them under the bed, lifting the bedskirt and slipping underneath. He popped back out a second later with a flat look directed at the teen. "No 'monster under the bed' jokes, understood?"
Inigo lifted his hands up in an "I didn't say anything" gesture.
Grima nodded. "Good." He ducked back under the bed. "Sweet dreams, mini blueberry."
Inigo sighed and fell back onto the bed, burrowing under the covers. In a few minutes, he, too, was fast asleep.
And that's a wrap! Next up: Fallback to Ferox! Inigo meets with Emmeryn, but the two are captured by Gangrel's forces. Grima, unable to find Inigo, heads back to Ferox and meets up with Chrom and the Shepherds. Chrom is elated to reunite with his father but horrified to learn of the Exalt's and "Ciel's" fate. The Shepherds and Feroxi mobilize in the Plegian campaign.
Feel free to review or feed me concrit! Anything to let me know I'm brightening your guys' day!
"Miss Vio! Daddy found 'Nigo, but he's my age! We can be play buddies now!"
... I think I'm going to have a heart attack and die from cuteness overload.
"What's that?"
Shhhh. Don't worry about it and go back to playing with baby Inigo. I'll just be here in the corner, squeeing my heart out...