Chapter 6: Perseverance

Ugh. What time is it?

Severa lay on her back, staring up at the ceiling. She'd stayed up to finish her letter to Noire, but despite her late night, she hadn't gotten much sleep. Her bedsheets were a tangled mess: she had never been the most restful sleeper, and by the look of things she had tossed and turned far more than she usually did. Glancing towards her window, open to let in the late summer breeze, Severa couldn't see any hint of light outside. It's not even dawn yet. Why am I awake?

She briefly considered rolling over and going back to sleep, but quickly ruled that out. By the time I manage to get to sleep, it'll be time to wake up anyway. And if I'm awake, I might as well do something productive. She smiled wryly. More training it is. I'm getting as bad as Kjelle. I bet she would be pretty smug if she could see me now.

She extricated herself from the sheets and quickly changed into her working clothes. Grabbing a cloak to ward off the morning chill, she headed out towards the practice field.

The palace was completely silent—almost eerily so. A light mist hung over the garden, making the few torches burning along the colonnade look ghostly. A few months ago, Severa would have been unnerved by the emptiness and quiet: for the usual patrols to be absent would have meant that something was very wrong. Now, however, it was almost soothing: a sleepy contentment hung over Ylisstol, letting the city rest from war and death at long last.

She reached the equipment shed at the edge of the practice field and looked over the practice weapons. After a moment's hesitation, she selected a sword from the weapon rack, hefting it in one hand and giving it a few experimental swings. It's been awhile since I fought with a blade. I hope that my technique isn't too rusty.

As she headed out onto the practice field, she paused, listening hard. A rhythmic clacking came to her ears: the sound of a practice weapon repeatedly striking a target. I guess that I wasn't the only person here who couldn't sleep.

She kept quiet as she moved towards the source of the noise. When the target finally came into sight, Severa stopped, watching in amazement.

Lucina, dressed plainly in a sleeveless undershirt and cloth breeches, was squaring off against one of the practice dummies. Her hair was tied back in a tail to secure it out of her face, and Severa took a moment to admire the sight: the back of the princess's neck displayed by her hairstyle, the scars on her bare arms, the light sheen of sweat on her skin.

Lucina stepped forward for another sequence, her sword moving in a blur, tapping out a sharp rhythm against the target. Even though she was already familiar with the Exalt's fighting style, Severa couldn't help but be awed. There wasn't a single movement wasted. Lucina's blade moved from low to high at blinding speed, striking all of the weak points in sequence. She moved with practical efficiency, from hamstring to throat. Whether her opponent was human or Risen, Severa wouldn't have put any odds on their survival. Lucina is, and always has been, a true master of the blade.

The sequence ended with a lunge, bringing the point of her sword up against the dummy's "throat." Lucina held the pose for a few seconds before stepping back and flourishing her sword to a sheathed position. Severa chose that moment to speak up.

"Morning, Lucina."

The Exalt turned to her with a smile, wiping sweat from her brow. "Severa! I hadn't expected to see you up so early."

"Neither had I," Severa said wryly. "It's a pain in the neck, but I couldn't sleep."

"Ah, but aren't you glad to be awake?" said Lucina, spreading her arms wide to encompass the training ground. "The calm before daybreak… the refreshing mist… this time of the morning is truly beautiful."

"The only part of the morning I'd call beautiful is the peace and quiet," Severa grumbled. That's the truth, isn't it? Lucina doesn't really count as part of the morning…

"Peace and quiet, hm?" Lucina twirled her sword around idly. "I take it that you're still having trouble managing the new recruits, then?"

"They're coming along," said Severa. "I'm planning on starting mounted drills soon. Maybe that will get them to stop complaining. Repeating drills and forms might not be particularly interesting, but it's what will keep them alive on the battlefield."

"You sound like Kjelle."

"Well, Kjelle would probably have a better time training this lot than me." Severa paused. "How is she doing, by the way? Have you heard from her?"

"The occasional letter," said Lucina. "It helps to clarify the ones that Owain is sending me… his letter-writing is just as colorful as his everyday speech. They've made quite a bit of progress on re-forming the Shepherds: Laurent is the new chief tactician, and Kjelle and Owain are sharing the leadership. It's apparently only a matter of months before they're ready to start conducting missions on their own."

"I imagine that all three of them are run ragged," said Severa. "I don't envy them."

"Well, they did choose to do this," said Lucina. "Much like you chose to be the primary trainer of the pegasus knights. They wouldn't have taken the job if they disliked it." A sly, knowing smile came to her lips. "Does the same apply to you, I wonder?"

Severa turned red. "I-I… ugh. Fine. I admit it, I like training with the recruits, even if they do flop around like landed fish." She glared at Lucina. "But don't you dare tell them that! I need to keep my credibility as a trainer, okay?"

Lucina shrugged, still looking at Severa with annoying smugness. I can think of a few ways to wipe that damn smirk of hers off her face… She hurriedly quashed that line of thought before she got too lost in daydreams and spoke up again. "Lucina, you'd better not…"

"Hmm… I don't know…" The Exalt winked. "I'll consider letting you off the hook, but only if you'll spar with me."

"…spar with you?" said Severa.

"That's right. I haven't had a decent match in months. Everyone seems terrified that they're going to hurt the Exalt, and that's no fun when I just want to fight all out. But with your reputation on the line… I think I can trust you not to hold back, right?"

Severa pullled off her cloak and tossed it aside, a wolf-like grin coming to her face. "All right, Lucina, you asked for this." She brought up her sword. "On guard!"

Both women moved forward, closing the distance. Then, almost in unison, they swung their swords. The attacks came hard and fast, and the sound of their swords clacking sounded almost like falling rain. Severa was quickly put on the defensive, taking a few steps back before planting her feet and catching Lucina's sword in a lock. The Exalt countered by grabbing Severa's wrist in an iron grip, trying to twist the sword out of her hand, but Severa aimed a quick kick at her shins, forcing Lucina back a few paces.

She didn't give Lucina time to regain her balance, but immediately stepped forward with a flurry of slashes. Lucina blocked each of them solidly, sending a shock through Severa's arms, and swept her blade in a vertical slash. Severa sidestepped the attack and aimed another blow across Lucina's midsection. This time the princess jumped back rather than blocking, putting some distance between them. The pair faced each other, taking a few moments to catch their breath, before returning to it hammer-and-tongs.

Severa blocked a pair of blows aimed at her legs and swung a two-handed, overhand blow at Lucina. The princess held her sword over her head, grabbing the blade with her free hand to give her more leverage, and pushed Severa off. They leapt apart once more; then the princess lunged forward with the same movement she had used at the end of her training sequence. I recognize this… and if I recognize it, I can block it!

She flicked her wrist, sliding Lucina's thrust just wide of herself, and brought her sword into a high bind, sweeping Lucina's blade off over her head and immediately countering with a swift strike to the midsection. She had expected the princess to block it, but Lucina was taken by surprise, and moved too slowly. At the last moment, Severa realized that she was about to strike Lucina at full force. She tried to pull the blow, but she was unable to stop her sword entirely, and the lead-weighted wood thudded into Lucina's side just below the ribcage. The Exalt let out a surprised breath and collapsed, winded.

Oh no… Severa dropped her sword and knelt down, speaking quickly and frantically. "Oh gods, Lucina! I'm so sorry! Are you all right? Are you hurt?"

The Exalt's eyes fluttered, and she coughed. "I'm… fine." Lucina let out a wheezing laugh. "Whew… you sure didn't hold back, did you?"

"You're… laughing?" Severa blinked.

"Well, yes." Lucina coughed, rubbing at her stomach. "Owww…"

"Idiot! I could have really hurt you!" said Severa, irritation overpowering her relief.

"If you had, it would have been my fault," said Lucina. She sat up and took a deep breath. "I should have been more careful."

"You should have been more careful? Gods!" Severa snapped. "I could have broken your ribs, like a complete moron!"

"Well, you didn't," said Lucina patiently. She held out a hand to Severa. "Here, help me up."

Severa took her hand and pulled with much more force than was necessary. Lucina was practically dragged to her feet, but she didn't manage to find her footing. She stumbled forward against Severa, who barely managed to stay upright. "Hey, watch it!"

"It's not my fault," said Lucina, raising her eyebrows. "You're the one who pulled me up."

"Whatever." Severa glanced to the side guiltily. That was close… If I'd lost my balance too, we both would have ended up on the ground. She paused for a moment, picturing the result of that, and groaned inwardly. Ugh, why didn't I?

"That was a solid hit… I think I'm going to have a bruise." Lucina's wry voice made Severa look up, and she immediately turned red. Lucina had pulled up the hem of her shirt and was peering at her side. Her taut stomach muscles were fully on display, and Severa couldn't stop her mouth from falling open slightly. Oooooooh gods. I hope I'm not drooling.

"Um," she said, more to stop herself from gaping than from anything else.

Lucina grinned at her. "What, are you afraid that I'm going to tell the recruits? Don't worry, you won fair and square. It'll be our little secret."

"Our…" began Severa, blushing. "Um. Okay."

Lucina looked up at the sky. The mist was beginning to dissipate, and the night was beginning to give way to gray morning. Her face lit up with excitement. "The sun's about to rise! Come on, let's go watch it!" Without waiting for Severa to respond, she ran in the direction of the battlements. Severa hesitated for a moment before picking up her cloak and following her.

They reached the top of the east wall, and Lucina leaned out eagerly through one of the crenelations, towards the eastern horizon. "You sure do like to watch the sunrise, don't you?" said Severa, leaning against the merlon next to her.

"I watch it every morning," said Lucina. "It's my reward to myself after training." The breeze picked up, and Lucina rubbed her bare arms, shivering. Severa, rolling her eyes, pushed the cloak at her.

"Here. Gods, do you have a grudge against sleeves or something?"

Lucina giggled. "Maybe." She wrapped the cloak around her shoulders. "Thank you, Severa. I'm lucky I have you to look out for me."

Severa turned away to hide her blush. "Well, someone has to."

Slowly, majestically, the sun came over the horizon, golden light bathing the countryside of Ylisse. Lucina spoke up softly. "I never thought I'd live to see the day when I could simply enjoy watching the dawn." The Exalt let out a long sigh of contentment, her gaze fixed on the horizon. "It's beautiful, isn't it?"

Severa's attention, however, was on her princess. She smiled. "It really is."