Part two of the update. Enjoy.
Fellspawn
Chapter Five
Chrom dodged the girl's sharp javelin, noticing the skill in her quick attack. "Still your spear a moment and hear me out," Chrom yelled. "You've been lied to!"
The girl cried loudly, "Spare me your tales, brigand! I've nothing to say to someone who would impersonate my father!"
"Your what?" Chrom recoiled. "Oh, for the love of... How many daughters are going to come back in time to see me?" Chrom was not so much bothered by the existence of another child as he was haunted by the question of her parentage. He thought her eyes and the line of her jaw resembled Sumia, as did her compact flier's build, but it was difficult to tell from a distance. Lucina had mentioned having half-siblings, but he had assumed she was referring to Robin's side, given the tactician's many children.
The girl paused a moment. "Huh? H-how did you know I—"
Chrom sighed, lowering his sword. "I already went through this with Lucina." He knew he could be a bit more delicate about this, as resignation was probably not what she was looking for in a reunion with her deceased father, but it had been a long battle, and he was not emotionally prepared.
His daughter yelped excitedly. "Lucy's here?"
Chrom felt a smile slip out. "In the flesh. ...Though she neglected to mention she had a sister."
His daughter blinked, her shoulders drooping the way Lissa's did when she was upset. "Wait—then you really are...! Oh, Father! I missed you sooooo muuuch!" Her voice rose quite a few decibels.
Chrom nearly impaled himself with Falchion in his rush to cover his ears. "My...my ears.."
The girl seemed to mostly be talking to herself now. "I knew something was fishy with that guy! He barely even smiled when I found him. My real father would've given me a big hug and called me his little pega-pony princess!"
There was only one answer to that. "...Please tell me I never actually say that."
The girl's facial expression was a mirror image of Sumia at her most stubborn. "You'll say it right now, if you want me to believe you're the real Chrom!"
If he must… It was for his daughter. "Um... It's...it's good to see you, my... Um... My little pega-pony princess…"
The girl grinned happily. "Aww, it's good to see you too, Father! I can't believe I fell for that lying creep's lies!" She scowled. "Oh, I am going to kill him for this! I'm going to plant a flying hoof right in his stupid liar face!" She pulled her pegasus around and flew off towards the bandit leader.
Chrom sighed. "She's even flightier than her mother. ...I didn't think that was possible."
Sumia was approached by the new girl after the battle.
"Do you have a moment, Sumia?" The girl asked nervously, petting her pegasus's side.
Sumia smiled at the cute picture. "Oh, hello. You're the girl from...before. Er…"
"Cynthia!" The girl blurted. "My name is Cynthia!"
Cynthia, Cynthia, Cynthia. She mulled it over in her mind. "What a darling name," she commented.
Cynthia giggles. "I know! I've always loved it. It was a gift from my mother." Cynthia took a fortifying breath. "...From you."
"What? Me? But I... I've never seen…" Oh. Ever since Lucina had entered their lives, Sumia had wondered if she and Chrom would have kids of their very own. She loved Lucina with all her heart, but there was something about seeing her eyes and Chrom's hair in a perfect blend on her daughter's face that made her heart feel strangely full.
"Oh, but you will! Isn't that great?! I came from the future, Mother! See?" Cynthia stepped forward to show her something in her hand. It was the signet ring of House Ylisse, the one Chrom's parents had made for his wife upon his birth. "Our rings match up and everything! It's 'cause you gave it to me! Or you will. I mean, later. Before I come back here, but after I... Gods, this is confusing!"
Sumia laughed. "You aren't the only one that thinks that."
"Oh, I missed you so, Mother. Come here. Give me a hug—" Cynthia tried to close the distance between them, but she tripped. "Whoops!" She stopped to rub a hand over her knee, slipping a hand under her greaves and feeling the skin. "Ooh. That one's gonna bruise…" She looked up to see her mother's worried face. "Er, don't worry about me. I'm fine!" She bowed, doing jazz hands to illustrate her good health.
Sumia laughed, tapping her chin. "...Well, we're definitely related." She glanced at her daughter's shin, noticing as she did so something on the ground. "Hold on. You dropped something. ...A spearhead?" she asked as she picked it up and examined it.
"S-sorry!" Cynthia cried, blushing. "I'll take that back!" She hurried to grab it from her mother.
"Why are you carrying that around?" Sumia asked curiously.
Cynthia played with it in her hands, avoiding her mother's eyes. "Because it hasn't been made yet." She mumbled, "You promised me we'd make it together."
Sumia's heart skipped a beat for her child's pain. "I did?"
Cynthia nodded, her expression oddly empty. From what Sumia could tell, Cynthia was a cheery child, but when she was sad, she went cold. "But you broke your promise the day... The day you never came home." She looked up and met Sumia's gaze, and Sumia could see the tears in her eyes. "How could you leave me, Mother? You were a legend! You were invincible!"
Sumia's eyes widened. "Wait, are you saying I...died?" Her hands trembled. "I'm so sorry, love. I guess I'm not much of a legend after all."
Cynthia sniffed. "...You are to me."
Sumia sighed, stepping forward to hug Cynthia. "...I may not be invincible, but at least I was blessed with a wonderful child." She stepped back, keeping hold of Cynthia's arms. "Had we decided what sort of haft to give the spear?" She asked cheerily. "We can pick up the materials in the next town."
"W-we can?" Cynthia blurted.
Sumia smiled kindly. "I made a promise, didn't I?"
Cynthia sniffed again. "Oh...oh, Mother... I love you!"
"I know I just met you," Sumia said. "But I love you, too, Cynthia. And I look forward to more time together."
"Oh, thank the gods," was Robin's response when she heard of Cynthia's arrival. "A future child that isn't mine."
Chrom glared at her flippant tone. "This is serious, Robin. I'm having a crisis."
"I'm serious, too," Robin insisted. "I have eleven future children, Chrom. You having a child with your lovely wife is hardly a hardship in comparison."
"A child isn't a hardship, Robin–"
"You think I don't know that? That's not what I meant–"
"But how do I relate to her? Lucina has Falchion, and she loves sword fighting, but Cynthia is a pegasus rider, and gods know I have no talent for animals, and she's just so…" Chrom sighed, smitten. "Like Sumia."
"You love her already," Robin teased.
"I do," Chrom said, running a hand through his hair. "Is that weird? It feels weird."
"You loved Lucina," Robin pointed out, adjusting a few of the figurines on the war table.
"Yes, but she was already born. Cynthia should be more like a stranger."
"She's your daughter," Robin emphasized. "I don't know why you're complicating things. She's your daughter, and Sumia's daughter, and you love her. She is more like Sumia than you, but you and Sumia found enough common ground to make a marriage work."
Chrom laughed, sending Robin a look.
"Oh, come on," Robin laughed. "Tell me that you and Sumia have something more connecting you than Sumia's beauty and your animal magnetism."
Chrom shook his head, amused. "Do you find me to be a particularly tactful man, Robin?"
Robin snorted. "Not hardly. Finally, I get some insight into your marriage. Truly, I feel enlightened."
Chrom shoved her lightly.
"You'll find something, Chrom," Robin assured him. "Just try. You'll be fine."
"Yeah," Chrom said. "Thank you, Robin. You're a true friend."
"You've been good to me. It's the least I can do." She smiled at him.