Here's part three of the update.
Fellspawn
Chapter Three
"...Oh, gods. It's you."
Cordelia was taken aback. "Have we met? If so, I'm afraid I've quite forgotten."
The girl did not take that well. "Well, excuse me for being so forgettable!" she snapped.
Any other time, Cordelia might have had the patience to deal with a snappish young girl, but not whilst in the middle of a battle. Every second that Chrom was out of sight was another chance for the enemy to take him out. She was aware that he was a strong fighter, but she would feel better if she knew that she was doing something to thin their ranks. "Look, there's no time for this. If you're a friend, speak now. If not, then stay out of Chrom's way or I'll have to cut you down."
The girl's white hair swung from her ponytails as she pitched her head to the side with a tch sound. "Chrom, Chrom, Chrom! It's always Chrom with you!"
That threw Cordelia for a loop. "...I'm sorry?"
"You should be! And I don't care about your stupid Chrom, so you can just drop it! ...I only want to talk to Holland."
Cordelia sighed at the girl's baffling words. "Holland?" she asked.
"Yes, Holland! That sad sack over there." she gestured down the long corridor. "Watch my back so I can get to him safely, and then I'll help your stupid army!"
That was easier than Cordelia had thought it would be, given the girl's recalcitrant nature. "O...okay?"
The girl seemed about to take off down the corridor, but she stalled long enough to say, "Oh, and Holland's not here of his own will, so don't you dare hurt him!"
"I'll… try not to?" Cordelia was left speaking to the dust the girl kicked up on her way out. "I still don't know what he looks like." She resigned herself to having to ask each enemy for their name for the next little while.
"Yes, here it is!" The girl shouted triumphantly.
Chrom approached, Cordelia having informed him of a girl who assisted in their assault on the castle. "Is that a hair piece?" he asked curiously. It looked vaguely familiar.
The girl tossed one of her ponytails haughtily. "It's my hair piece, and I'll thank you to stop staring so lustily at it! It's worth more than anything in the world to me…" She looked at the piece sadly, then clenched her fist over it. "That rat Nelson stole it one night while I was sleeping. I could have murdered him myself if Holland hadn't."
Chrom frowned to see a girl her age so willing to commit murder, but he could not judge, for he had not been much older than herself when he fought in the Second Plegian War. He settled on, "Well, I'm glad you were able to get it back."
The girl crossed her arms in front of her chest and looked away. "...Hmph."
Cordelia stumbled into the clearing, blushing when she saw Chrom, and Chrom cleared his throat and gestured at the girl to stave off any halting advances on Cordelia's part. He could not dictate the feelings of his Shepherds, or gods knew Frederick would not have even considered romancing his little sister, but he'd be lying if Cordelia's admiration did not make him very uncomfortable. He'd only ever loved two women, and he thanked the gods that they loved each other nearly as much as they loved him. Two was enough.
Cordelia's attention, thankfully, was swiftly averted. "Oh. ...You," she said unenthusiastically.
The girl did not think too kindly of that. "Wh-what do you want?"
Chrom had not thought she noticed the girl at all, so he was surprised when she answered, "Just to thank you for helping us. You fought bravely, er…" Perhaps he had underestimated her, he was so used to her only being focused on him. He would endeavor not to do so in future.
"Severa," The girl offered, softening somewhat. "...My name's Severa."
Cordelia smiled thoughtfully. "It suits you somehow. Oh, and my name—"
Severa scowled again. "Cordelia. I know." She was prickly, it seemed.
Cordelia's smile faltered. "Er, yes, that's... But how did you...? I'm sorry, did I introduce myself before?"
With what Chrom suspected to be sarcasm, Severa replied, "I guess you must have if I know your name. Gods…"
Cordelia seemed to detect the derision, as well, and had no idea how to deal with it. "I...I see. Well, thank you all the same, Severa," she tried.
Severa scowled, but a bit of a blush tinted her tanned skin. "You already said that! And besides, it's not like I did anything special. I was just fighting to get back what's rightfully mine." She waved her hand briefly.
Leaning forward with idle curiosity, Cordelia peered at her hand. "Are you referring to that hair piece?" She blinked. "Oh, goodness. It looks exactly like... Ah, I see. That would explain how you know my name. You're a friend of Lucina's, aren't you? ...And you're my child. Isn't that right?"
Chrom frowned. That didn't seem right. The two bore no resemblance to one another. In fact, with her slightly darker skin and her white hair, she looked more like…
Severa shook her head violently. "Not exactly."
Cordelia blinked. "I'm afraid I don't understand. Why do you have my hair piece?"
"You helped raise me, after my mama died," Severa admitted, "You were like a mother to me. But then you left me! Just like she did. You gallivanted off to save your beloved Chrom and left me and Daddy alone!"
At her vicious glare, Chrom backed away slowly.
"I don't… I'm very sorry, Severa," Cordelia said, her gaze softening towards the fuming girl.
"D-don't mock me!" Severa bit out, nearly crying. "You don't care! You don't care at all…"
Chrom turned to leave, but looking back over his shoulder, he saw Cordelia embracing Severa, the girl crying on her shoulder.
"How could you possibly think that?" he heard faintly. "I'm thrilled beyond words to meet you."
Even quieter, "...Then why'd you leave me? You said you had to go off to fight for what really mattered, and you never came back! You picked Chrom over me!"
Chrom winced. He really hated that he felt somehow responsible for this mess of a family dispute. He sighed. Nothing he could do for it now. He doubted Severa would appreciate him butting into their lives more.
He went to find Robin. They still needed to go over this last battle, and he figured she might need moral support when she inevitably ran into Severa. Not that he was particularly looking forward to being nearby for that conversation. Maybe he would just psych her up beforehand.
"Lucy!" Robin heard an unfamiliar voice call out. "Where are you?"
"Severa?" Lucina asked in an undertone. She spun around, showing more excitement than Robin thought she had seen from her yet. "Severa!" she called, bursting out of the tent.
Robin followed at a more sedate pace, curious, just in time to see Lucina nearly tackle a tall girl with long, white pigtails. The girl just barely caught her. Idly, she wondered if the girl could be Henry's daughter. She seemed to know Lucina, so odds were that she was one of the future children, and the white hair and near-Plegian skin tone were dead giveaways. There was another possibility, of course, but the girl did not resemble Robin at all, save for those two things. "Lucy!" the girl, Severa repeated. "Or should I call you 'Marth'?" she teased.
Lucina blushed slightly. "You heard."
"Of course I did," Severa said primly. "You know I hear everything eventually. Gawds, how dramatic, Lucy. But it's so like you to do something like this."
Robin got the feeling that if Lucina had been more inclined to shows of emotion, she would have rolled her eyes. Severa looked around, and her gaze alit on Robin. She went a little ashen. "Lucina, is that…"
Looking back over her shoulder, Lucina noticed Robin, who waved at her lightly and approached the two of them. "Hello… Severa, was it?"
"Mama?" Severa's voice went quiet. "It's… been so long." Oh. Oh.
"Oh, my baby…" Robin blinked away tears. How many children did she leave without a mother when she died? She had never thought to ask, knowing she was not one for romantic pursuits, and the world was not kind to an unattached mother. She had only thought of it as a vague possibility until Chrom, and then she had had to give her baby up, which had left her somewhat broken-hearted.
She looked her newly-introduced daughter over, barely noticing as Lucina backed away to give them space. Robin stepped forward, arms outstretched. She had heard from Chrom that the girl who approached Cordelia during the battle was very prickly, so as much as she wanted to hold her daughter, she gave her the opportunity to close that distance herself.
She did, with only the slightest hesitation, acting as if she would squeeze the life out of her.
"I'm still mad at you," Severa whispered.
"For leaving?" Robin asked, rubbing her back comfortingly.
"Y-Yes." Severa's voice sounded watery.
"I'm sorry, sweetheart," Robin said truthfully. "I'm so sorry."
"I missed you so much…" Severa sniffed, drawing back from the hug and wiping the tears from her eyes. "And now Lucy got to spend all this time with you. You aren't even her mother."
"Severa!" Robin exclaimed, appalled.
"She is my mother!" Lucina glared fiercely and uncharacteristically at Severa.
Robin crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Apologize, Severa."
Severa scowled for a few seconds, then folded. "I know...Sorry, Lucina." She sounded genuine, and Robin smiled at her.
"Good. I'd like my girls to get along."
"We do, mostly," Lucina explained.
Severa snorted. "We try."
Lucina sighed. "As much as you might not care for it, we do interact fondly on occasion."
"Sure, we get along like a house on fire," Severa said, mock-enthusiastically.
"That's what I like to hear," Robin said, feeling oddly elated despite Severa's sarcasm. "Oh! I do have a question."
"Ask away, Aunt Robin," Lucina said.
She nodded at Severa. "Who's your father? It can't be Chrom."
"No, it's not Chrom," Severa spat. Where was this hostility coming from? Lucina sent her a warning look, a little too late.
"Should we tell her, Severa?" Lucina seemed worried, most likely about the timeline. It was usually what she seemed concerned about these days.
"This is Mama. It couldn't hurt."
Lucina smirked. "I suppose it wouldn't prevent them from falling in love or anything."
Robin could not prevent the resulting wince, but she felt bad about it afterward. If she did by some act of the gods fall in love with Severa's father, she did not want to cause Severa pain now by seeming disgusted by the idea. She need not have been worried, however, given that Lucina and Severa both just laughed at her.
"We know you're not romantic, Mama," said Severa. "There's no point in hiding it."
"Thank the gods," Robin said, a hand flying to her breast. "That's not a conversation I look forward to having with my daughters, future or otherwise."
They laughed along with Robin, and she felt it safe to ask again. "So who is your father?"
"Libra," Severa declared, with a bit of a defiant stance.
Robin blinked once, twice. "L-Libra?"
"Yes," Lucina said, amused.
"About yea high, blond, very priestly?"
"Yes," Severa bit out.
"I don't understand. Isn't it against his vows or something to have sex?"
Severa and Lucina traded glances. "I don't think so."
Robin considered him in a new light. "Huh." That glossy hair, and he must be somewhat muscled from swinging an axe all day…
Lucina now looked worried. "Perhaps we have changed something. If she thought he was celibate…"
"I'm sure it'll be fine," Severa waved it off, running a hand in front of her mother's face. "Earth to Mama."
Robin snapped back to attention. "Yes, sweetheart?"
"I don't need an extra older sibling. Daddy will have to wait his turn."
Robin snickered. "That's one way of putting it. But what do you mean an 'extra older sibling'? Isn't it just you and Lucina?"
Her daughters shared another glance, and Robin began to get worried. After all, why would she stop there? If she was going to be a single mother, regardless of the involvement of Severa's father, it would do no harm to have another, and she did love children, especially her own.
"Lucina… How many–"
"Oh Severa, look, there's your father!" Lucina interrupted hastily.
"Daddy?" Severa said, looking around in the direction Lucina indicated.
She took off running as soon as she saw him, and Robin followed. As awkward as this conversation would be, she did want to see how Libra reacted to their daughter. Lucina let her go with a smile.
When she reached the father and daughter pair, Severa was chattering at Libra. "So then I ended up with this stupid man named Holland who wouldn't just listen to me, and he just had to run off like an idiot–"
"Severa," Robin interrupted with an amused smile. "Have you introduced yourself yet?"
"I do believe she tried," Libra answered with a placid sort of concern. "But I'm afraid I didn't quite understand. Who are you, child?" he asked Severa.
"Daddy! I'm your daughter from the future! Duh!"
Libra's jaw went slack.
"Like Lucina is Chrom and Sumia's daughter," Robin offered helpfully. Severa stared at her like she was some strange foreign species of human.
Libra's gaze sharpened, and he looked Severa over again. He cast a knowing glance at her. "As I recall, there was more to that story. Are you similarly involved in my child's tale?"
Robin nodded, a smile on her face. Libra had always had a way of calming her, but she had rarely had the chance to see this side of him, the sly, perceptive side. "Severa's mine."
Something that looked like disappointment flickered in his eyes, and Robin smiled sympathetically. She had noticed his tendresse for Cordelia over the years, but she did not think most of the Shepherds ever bothered to look at him and see. She wondered how he had ended up in her bed in the future. As a form of comfort, maybe, for his unrequited love?
Severa must have known about it, since she took her father's arm and said quietly, "It's alright, Daddy."
"Does she ever–" Libra asked, looking almost panicked after the words left his mouth.
"No," Severa said softly, pulling the wax off quickly with a surprising gentleness. "I'm sorry. But she helps," she quickly followed. "She helped raise me after Mama died."
Robin worked to contain her wince, but from Libra's empathetic glance, she did not quite succeed.
"She was like a second mother to me," Severa whispered, almost against her will.
From Libra's heartbreaking expression, he had just fallen even more in love. Robin knew that for all the love in her heart, she would never fully understand the feeling of loving the stars and admiring their brilliance while they shone apathetically back from so far away.
"Libra," Robin began, starting forward.
"I must go," Libra said, jerking back. "I must pray." His gaze lingered on Severa. "I'll seek you out when I am finished." He cupped her cheek. "A daughter would be a blessing from Naga. I would like to know you, my child, just—"
"Not right now," Severa said. "I get it, Daddy." She crossed her arms, looking vulnerable, and Robin nodded to Libra to let him know that she would stay with her.
As soon as he left, Robin put an arm around Severa, running a hand through one of her pigtails. "He never moves on?"
"Never," she replied, leaning into her mother's embrace. "I hate her."
Robin's hand stilled momentarily, then started up again. "Cordelia?" she asked, her tone even and nonjudgmental.
"Yes," Severa spat. "I hate her so much because she broke my Daddy's heart every day." Her fists were clenched at her side. "But she loved me and she raised me like her daughter."
"And you can't help but love her for it," Robin finished.
"Yeah. Like father, like daughter, huh?" she said bitterly. "Loving her even though all it does is hurt."
Robin sighed. "I don't know how to help you, Severa. I'm a good tactician, but the human heart is one puzzle I've never been able to figure out."
"It's alright, Mama," Severa said. "I'm used to it."
"It's not alright, Severa, but we'll get through it. That's why you came back, right? To make things better."
"No," Severa leaned back.
Robin looked at her quizzically.
"That's why Lucina came back," she explained. "I just missed my parents, as messed up as they are."
Robin laughed. "One big messy family, huh?"
Severa smiled slyly. "You have absolutely no idea."
Robin felt a chill.