Knelt before Emmeryn, her arms bound by chains behind her back, Lucina was suddenly a lot less sure. There was nothing in her face, from her narrowed eyes looking down upon her from the Exalt's throne to her mouth set in a flat line, that looked forgiving.

For a moment, Lucina feared her father might have been mistaken. But surely that couldn't have been the case; Emmeryn was his sister, was she not?

"What is your name, girl?"

A raspy voice echoed over the vast chamber, snapping her out of her thoughts. Lucina glanced over at the speaker, a shriveled-looking man with a scowl as smooth as gravel and eyes that could never seem to stay in one place, and it was then that she noticed how empty the room was.

Aside from her and Emmeryn, who she assumed was her advisor, the two guards stationed beside her, the pegasus knight captain, and the blond-haired man standing off to the side, no one else was there. Lucina had never been to a sentencing before. With the Fell Dragon hanging overhead, there were bigger things to worry about.

Surely, though, they couldn't have been this small, this lonely? Just two people staring each other down as the banners bearing the Brand of the Exalt billowed overhead, staring down at them like eyes, waiting in silence for the fate of one to be decided.

One of her guards kicked her side. Hard. Lucina hissed, and she glared up at him.

"Answer the question, if you are able," Emmeryn's advisor said again.

Lucina's eyes fell to the floor. "Marth. You may call me Marth."

"She's got the hair down, I'd say," the blond man mumbled. No one paid him any heed.

"Marth. You come before our most gracious Exalt accused of betrayal to the Halidom of Ylisse and the murder of former Exalt Alabaster. Do you dispute these claims?"

Betrayal? A frown creased Lucina's brow as she wracked her mind, before she remembered that murdering the former Exalt probably counted as betrayal.

"I do. Whoever you're looking for, it's not me."

"Evidence seems to point to the opposite." Even as she faced away, she could hear the sneer in his voice. "Captain Madeline has received reports of you running the Exalt through in Northern Plegia, before you abandoned the rest of your comrades only minutes later." The advisor turned to Emmeryn. "What does her Grace think of it?"

Lucina finally lifted her gaze off the floor to look at Emmeryn. This time, Emmeryn looked away. Lucina held her breath. She could feel the gaze of everyone else on the room fixed on her, but she held her gaze to Emmeryn. What would she say? She wouldn't order her execution.

She couldn't.

"Execution," Emmeryn whispered. "Execute her for her crimes against the halidom."

Execute her. Execute her. Execute her.

The words echoed in Emmeryn's ears, even long after they'd left her mouth. Some of the literature Tomas assigned to her spoke of characters "haunted by the ghosts of their past". She'd never understood it before, but perhaps this was what it was like?

Sighing, Emmeryn leaned back and let the rough bark of the tree behind her press into her skin as she let her gaze roam to the leaves above. This... all of this–being the Exalt, sentencing a woman to her death, it all felt so wrong. Her father should've been the one to make that decision. Her father should have been here with her, here to tell her what to do, which decisions were the right ones and which were the wrong ones. He should be sitting by her side, an arm draped over her shoulder, quietly assuring her that she wouldn't bring the halidom to ruin.

But he was dead.

All she could do was make sure his killer was brought to justice.

It doesn't matter what I think of it, she thought. As long as that woman still lives, Chrom and Lissa would never be safe. And with father gone, I can't let anything happen to them. So this is the best course of action. Isn't it?

"Your Grace. Is there anything I may assist you with?"

Emmeryn glanced up. The pegasus knight captain, Captain Madeline, she reminded herself, stared down at her, her face as flat as it always was, yet a tinge of worry lay beneath her voice.

"I... I'm fine," Emmeryn said, forcing herself to look away.

"Truly?"

"Yes."

Captain Madeline tilted her head. "Do you not have somewhere to be? I saw you vacate the audience chamber in quite the hurry, and I became quite concerned when no one could seem to find you after."

"I did not get much sleep last night," Emmeryn replied. "I wanted to find somewhere to rest."

"Why did you not go to your bedroom, then?"

"I didn't want anyone to bother me."

"Ah." Captain Madeline's lips twisted into a frown. "If I may speak out of line, I'd like you to tell someone before you vanish like that."

"Did I worry people that much?"

Captain Madeline hummed, raising her eyes to the sky, before she said, "It's not that. You are the Exalt now, whether you like it or otherwise. Everyone will be looking to you for strength, and as our Exalt, you need to be there for your people."

Emmeryn squeezed her eyes shut, her lips pulling into a scowl away from the pegasus knight captain. "Please. I want to be left alone."

"I shall see to it that you are undisturbed." When she noticed Emmeryn giving her a sideways look, her eyes widened. "Oh. You want me to leave you alone?" Captain Madeline saluted her. "Very well. I leave you to your dilly-dallying."

Emmeryn heard the grass rustle as she turned to leave, took a step back, then stopped.

"Your Grace!" Tomas said, stepping into view. "There you are! I've been..." His eyes narrowed as soon as he caught sight of the pegasus knight captain. "What are you doing here?"

"Her Grace wishes to be left alone."

"I don't recall asking for your input. And take that helmet off. It is rude to keep it on in the presence of her Grace."

"I don't mind–" Emmeryn began, but Captain Madeline was already tearing off her helmet, spilling her chocolate locks over her shoulders.

"Happy?" she said.

Tomas ignored her, instead fixing his gaze on Emmeryn. "Your Grace, we have much to discuss. What do you say for a cup of tea?"

"You wished to be alone, did you not?" Captain Madeline said, turning to Emmeryn. "I will escort him away, should you command it."

"Who are you to speak for her Grace?"

With each word, Emmeryn shrunk further back against the tree. The both of them were so loud, so demanding, rattling around her already jumbled head. The two of them were loud. Her thoughts were louder.

But Tomas, at least, was a familiar face, wasn't he?

"Tea..." She swallowed. "I'd like tea."

Tomas gave Captain Madeline a smug look, but she didn't seem fazed in the slightest. "Servant!" he said, and he turned to the man slipping in through the door. "Fetch me two cups and a pot of tea."

"Very well." The servant bowed in his direction, before he spun around and disappeared back inside.

"Now, there was something I noticed during the sentencing, something I thought you might want to talk about."

"Really?" Emmeryn looked up. For a moment, she allowed a flicker of hope to take root in her chest, a flicker that withered and died the second she saw the proud smile on his face.

"I must say, you maintained excellent form through it all, just like I always knew you would."

"Was that what it was?"

"Of course! You were the perfect picture of grace, as anyone would expect from the Exalt."

"Oh. Thank you."

"Would you think this calls for celebration?" Tomas said, his wrinkled face twisting into a grin. "That traitor no longer possesses a threat to you. You've not even spent a week on the throne, and your wisdom has already rid the halidom of a potential menace. I say we discuss the halidom's affairs over tea."

"I don't think–"

"Or, if you don't prefer tea, I can call for the bakery to whip up a cake."

"Hierophant, you are overstepping your bounds."

"Not as much as you've been overstepping yours," Tomas hissed.

"Am I, now?" Captain Madeline raised an eyebrow. "You act amicably enough to her Grace, as if you were the chamberlain herself."

"Maybe I am."

"I was not aware the chamberlain had relinquished her position to you."

"She does not need to, not if–" Tomas cut himself off with a long exhale. "Your Grace, shall we take our discussion elsewhere?"

"I should hope not. Can you not see how disturbed she is?" Her armor rustled as Captain Madeline knelt beside Emmeryn, and her hand pressed down on her shoulder. "What is the problem?"

"Nothing."

"It hardly seems to be nothing."

"I said it's nothing," Emmeryn said, firmer this time.

The pegasus knight captain opened her mouth, but whatever she was about to say, Emmeryn wouldn't hear it. She brushed off her hand as she rose to her feet. Tomas called her name as she turned and ran, and she almost stopped. For a moment, she considered going back. The red-haired servant that emerged from the door, a teapot atop a tray in hand, shook the thought from her head, and she pushed past him before he could move to stop her.

There were so many decisions to make, and the world wouldn't wait for her to pick one. If this was how being the Exalt would go, she didn't want it. She wanted her father back.

She couldn't be strong. Not without her father.

Chrom knew something was wrong when Lissa suddenly stopped, looking very confused. If he was being honest, he was confused too.

One second, they were running through the halls playing 'Knights and Bandits', the next, they were standing in front of an open door, leading downstairs into the darkness.

"What is this place?" he said, looking over every inch of it. He glanced back at Lissa, but she didn't have any answers for him, blinking up at him innocently.

He had passed this door a million times before, on his way to watch the knights in the courtyard, but never had he thought about what lay beyond it. To have it open was so exciting.

This castle was his home. He wanted to know where all the doors lead, where all the knights went. It was nice to know someone cared, Nan had always told him, and he cared enough to see what could be hiding in the dark.

"We should go down there!" he said, and he made to step forward.

A tug on his sleeve stopped him. He looked down, and he found Lissa hiding behind him.

"Don't wanna," she said.

Chrom huffed. "Are you scared?"

Lissa nodded.

"Then I'll protect you!" He tried to step forward again, but she pulled him back.

"Nan says... don't go."

"Why not?"

"Monsters."

Chrom's smile wavered. She had him there. If it wasn't Emmeryn scaring out the monsters for them, it was Nan, and if it wasn't either of them, Father would do it.

Then, a thought popped into his head. "Then I'll scare them away before they can get to you!" he said, grinning.

Before she could stop him, he'd already cupped his hands around his mouth, took a deep breath, and yelled: "I'm coming down now! I hope no monsters come out to get me!"

His voice echoed back to him, and for a moment, he was disappointed that was all there was. Just as he was starting to think there was nothing but darkness there, he heard something reply.

"Who's there?" The voice was small, like it was super far away, so the stairs must have been long.

Beside him, Lissa gasped. That only convinced him to push further. "Aha! I knew you were there, darkness monster!"

"Monster? I'm not a..." The monster trailed off. Chrom heard metal rustling, before the monster said, "Where are you?"

"Up here! In the light!"

There was a pause. "You are talking to me, right?"

"Of course! Who else would I talk to?" Then Chrom had a thought, and he frowned. "Are there any more monsters with you?"

This time, the monster sighed. "Ah. No, it's just me."

"Then... no one wants you here. Shoo. Go eat someone else."

"I don't know if I can, but I'll try."

Chrom heard the monster's big claws drag over the stone floor. He'd done everyone else a service, getting a monster out from beneath the castle, and as he listened to it leave, he stood at the doorway, feeling proud of himself. That is, until Lissa tugged at his sleeve again.

"What is it?" he said, turning to her.

"Where is it gonna go?"

In an instant, the feeling of pride vanished. As far as he knew, this door was the only way down, and if the monster was leaving, that meant...

"Wait!" he yelled. "Stay there!"

"Eh?"

"I'll get you one of my friends if you don't come up! He's tastier than me, I promise!"

"I don't know what to say."

"Don't! Just stay there!" Before the monster could say anything else, Chrom grabbed hold of Lissa's hand, and he pulled her away. His heart hammered in his chest, but his lips were pulled into a big smile. He didn't expect something like this to be so exciting.

As the dark doorway grew smaller behind them, Lissa said, "Chrom? What's a... friend?"

"Some kind of page, I think? Now come on, let's get out of here!" Chrom dragged them around the corner, taking one last look over his shoulder to make sure the monster hadn't crawled out. It hadn't, which meant it believed him. Lying was bad, but lying to monsters didn't count. Probably.

Wait until Emmeryn heard about the monster below the castle!

The monster of Ylisstol Castle sounds like a neat story concept, though it's probably not something that'd happen in this specific story. And hey, Chrom and Lissa finally show their faces! Since I remembered that Emmeryn was crowned at the age of ten instead of twelve, they're younger here than they were in the original, so I had to tweak a few things to fit their age.

I don't know if the last time I went missing for a week, my chapters got longer. This one feels a little short for something that took two weeks to come up. I just felt like I couldn't get the scene with Emmeryn and the tree right, so I cut out a lot of it. Hopefully what remains is at least somewhat sensible.

As I said before, I prefer not to use OCs in the best of times. Usually, I try to find obscure characters to fill in certain roles, but sometimes there is a role that can't be filled with anyone but an OC. I do hope their usage does not become too jarring. Feel free to let me know if that happens.

With enough luck, I'll be able to get something out by next week. Until then, I wish you all well, and stay safe!