Duke Verdigris. The stranger from Rosanne.

Emmeryn was still unsure about how she felt about him. She knew nothing about him, and she didn't know if she could trust him, even as he gently set Chrom back down onto the ground.

That, and he had seen them fighting. It was not good, especially if word got out that she was yelling at the prince, and if word got out, she would know that Duke Verdigris had tattled.

"No, not at all." Emmeryn put on her best smile as she pushed herself to her feet. She nodded for Chrom to come back to her, which he did all too eagerly. "Thank you, sir..."

"Verdigris. Duke Verdigris," he replied, taking a deep bow, and his silver ponytail draped over his shoulder.

"Yes, Duke Verdigris, thank you." Emmeryn returned his bow with a neat curtsy–or as neat as a curtsy could be with jelly smeared over her front–acting like she didn't already know who he was. "You couldn't have come at a better time."

The duke chuckled, pressing a hand to his mouth. "You flatter me, your Grace. I simply heard conflict, so I decided to investigate. Rather fortunate I did, wouldn't you say?"

"It is." Emmeryn's smile slipped for a moment into a frown. A second later, it hit her that maybe being so obviously suspicious was a bad thing. He was, after all, a guest from Rosanne. It would bode poorly for Ylisse if she was so unfriendly to a guest, so she hid the frown.

She had not been fast enough. Duke Verdigris frowned with her, even as her smile returned. Instead of getting angry, however, he asked, "Whatever seems to be troubling you, your Grace?"

"Nothing!" Emmeryn said. "It's nothing important."

"If it troubles such a youthful young lady as yourself, it is far from unimportant, your Grace."

"I beg to differ, Duke."

"I shan't press, then. But!" Duke Verdigris held up a finger. "I did have something else I needed to speak with you."

Emmeryn blinked. "But I thought you said you were passing by."

"That I most certainly was, but while we have the chance to converse, now may as well be an opportune time for a discussion." Duke Verdigris paused. "Unless... I really have happened upon you at a bad time?"

"No, no." Emmeryn waved her hand in a circular motion she had seen her father do many times before in what she hoped was a motion for him to speak. "You can tell me. But..." She glanced back at Chrom and Lissa, staring patiently at her, "don't take too long, please."

"I shall make this as brief as I can. Would you permit me to visit Lord Redwind in the dungeon?"

Emmeryn crossed her arms. That was something she wasn't pleased to hear about, if only because of the reminder of what an embarrassment she was. Maybe she was still wrong about him, but because of him, she had been humiliated in front of all the other nobles, and an unpleasant feeling pricked at her heart just thinking about it.

"Why?" she asked. "I don't trust him enough."

"And you have good reason for that, but he is my friend," Duke Verdigris said. "There are a few words I would like to exchange with him while anticipating the next trial."

"Is that why you helped me before?"

Duke Verdigris blinked. "Pardon?"

"Back in the trial. You only helped me so you could speak to Lord Redwind?"

"Partially." Emmeryn frowned, but he continued, "but I also did it because you remind me a little of myself."

"Yourself?" At that, Emmeryn's frown turned into a confused look. She looked him up and down, but she couldn't really see any similarities.

"Indeed." Duke Verdigris chuckled, having noticed. Emmeryn ducked her head and looked away, and thankfully, Duke Verdigris said nothing of her staring. "You see, back in Rosanne, I was under plenty of pressure myself. It's why I came here, after all."

"What... what happened?"

Duke Verdigris shrugged. "There was a conflict. The pressure became too much for me to bear, and I fled the country in shame. Your situation is not unlike mine."

Emmeryn wouldn't disagree, but after Tomas, she didn't really want to agree, either. "Why do you want to help me, then? Why not mind your business?"

"Because fleeing was a mistake that I've grown to deeply regret. I've suffered a lot for my actions, but I believe you've already suffered far worse, haven't you?"

The smile he gave her unsettled Emmeryn. It unsettled her because she wanted so badly to believe it. Maybe he really was as good as he said he was, but could she trust him?

"I'll think about it," she said after a moment of thinking. "Letting you go to the dungeon, I mean."

"I greatly appreciate it," Duke Verdigris said with a bow. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have arrangements I must make with Lord Arundel."

Emmeryn breathed a sigh of relief as she watched Duke Verdigris walk back out of the courtyard. Dealing with him was difficult. She knew who everyone else was, and how they acted, but him... he was a bit more confusing. That worried her.

She turned around to speak to her siblings, when she heard footsteps head back to the courtyard. To her surprise, it was Duke Verdigris who poked his head back outside.

"By the way, you do not have to worry about me speaking of your brother's altercation. I shall keep my lips sealed."

"I... Thank you," Emmeryn said, relief showing on her face. Duke Verdigris only nodded, and then he disappeared again.

As soon as he was gone, Chrom asked, "What was that about?"

Emmeryn blinked, and she glanced back at him as if just remembering he was there. What had that been about? She would have liked to know as well.

Lord Bartholomew, she knew, owed a debt to her father. Captain Madeline was loyal to her father as well, and had been close to the previous Pegasus Knight captain, a friend of her father. The two of them had their reasons to aid her, and they made them very obvious, but Duke Verdigris? Emmeryn didn't even know he existed before today.

He seemed willing to help, but so had Tomas. Could she truly trust him?

The words of the boy, of Captain Madeline's son, echoed in her head. Stop calling for my mother. She couldn't keep relying on Captain Madeline. Someone would have to take her place. Could it be Duke Verdigris? It wasn't as if he could return to Rosanne and betray her, assuming his story was true.

"What was that about?" Emmeryn repeated, her voice barely loud enough for anyone other than her to hear. "I don't know yet, but I think I would like to find out."

Lucina stared up at the wooden ceiling of the run-down inn with tired eyes. Having been awake for an hour now, she had been staring at it for quite a while, but she hadn't moved at all. That meant whoever was downstairs wouldn't know that quite yet.

And make no mistake, there was someone downstairs. As awful as she felt, her ears still worked, and she could just barely hear voices coming through the floor.

She couldn't quite make out what they were saying, not through the ringing in her aching head, but at least no one sounded angry. That was inconvenient. If there was someone arguing downstairs, Lucina would be able to use that as a distraction as she slipped past whoever was down there and sneak out the door.

Then again, if they had wanted to keep her here, wouldn't they have tied her up? Maybe whoever had brought her here, Anna or anyone else, had decided to let her go free.

Wasn't that quite the interesting thought? To not be imprisoned and under suspicion for the first time since she'd gotten here. Since she'd been at Robin's house, anyway.

Briefly, she wondered how Robin was doing. Hopefully, he'd found his rat after she'd been captured and brought to Ylisse. Out of everyone she cared about, his life was the only one she hadn't made a mess of.

Her stomach growled for what had to be the fifth time since she'd woken up. The first time, she had been able to ignore it. Now, though, it reminded her that it had been two days since she'd last eaten, and she was starting to feel the effects of hunger take its withering hold. Even at the end of the world, when food was scarce, she didn't run for more than three days on an empty stomach. Her body needed food to keep her going, and as soon as she escaped, she would find something to eat. It shouldn't be too hard, considering the town was surrounded by a forest.

The people had stopped talking downstairs for a while now, too. Hopefully, that meant they had left. Lucina liked to think herself a little more pragmatic for such wistful thinking, but for once since she'd gotten back to this damned past timeline, she hadn't woken up restrained in one way or another.

Lucina let the covers fall to the side as she pushed herself out of bed. She swung her legs over the side, and stood up. The ringing in her head only became louder.

I've got to stop finding new ways to knock myself out, Lucina thought bitterly as she stumbled to the door. If I don't, it might become a habit.

When she got to the door, it turned without any resistance. Unlocked. That was a good sign already.

Lucina liked to think she handled mornings a little better than this. It had been a requirement for surviving the end of the world, because you needed to be battle-ready at a moment's notice if you were ever ambushed by Risen in the middle of the night. That said, being half-starved and half asleep did little to help things, and as Lucina hobbled her way down the inn's stairs and into the lobby, she had a rather amusing thought that, were her friends here, they might have mistaken her for a Risen. Her hair was a mess, her face looked like half of it had been melted off by Risen bile, and as she staggered down the stairs, she had to clutch the side just so she wouldn't lose her balance and take a fall for the rest of the way down.

Then she stopped.

Sitting at a table in the middle of the room, she caught a familiar flash of bright red hair. Anna's hair.

That might not have been so bad if the inn were crowded. She would be able to melt into the crowd and make her escape.

But Anna was the only one there, and she had most certainly noticed that Lucina was here too, from the way she was staring her dead in the eye.

"Hey! Innkeeper!" Anna said, raising her hand as she raised the corners of her lips. "Get us another bowl of soup."

To Lucina's confusion, she beckoned her over. Lucina wasn't quite sure she quite trusted the gesture. Yes, she had rescued her daughter from bandits. Anyone else might have been grateful.

Anna didn't quite do "grateful".

Still, as Lucina watched her with suspicious eyes, she supposed there could be no other reason to invite her over, so, cautiously, she made her way over to the table.

Lucina pulled out the chair across from Anna. As she set herself down, the innkeeper set down a bowl of soup in front of Anna. Anna thanked the man, then pushed the bowl across to Lucina.

Lucina took the spoon out of the bowl, then stared down at it with narrowed eyes. When she didn't move to spoon herself any, Anna nodded to it and said, "Come on, it doesn't smell that bad, does it? If you don't like beef, I'm not going to get another bowl for you. My money's tight as it is."

"No, it's not that–"

"Do you want me to pick out the meat? I can do that for you if you want."

"I think I can pick it out myself if I wanted to."

Anna frowned. "Is it too hot, then?"

"Not particularly, no."

"Is there something wrong with it, then? I'm not your mom. I don't need to feed you if you don't want it."

Sighing, Lucina let her spoon fall back into the bowl, and looked Anna straight in the eye. "I'm not one for dancing around. If you must say something, say it outright," she said. Perhaps it was a bit rude. Even Lucina could tell that, but any second she spent in the woman's company was a second she'd rather spend doing something else.

Some of her hostility must have shown through, as Anna's winning smile faltered for a moment. "Ah, yes. I guess you must be." She fiddled with the bag of gold she had on the table–a nervous tick common to all members of the family, Lucina noted–and with a sigh, the woman pushed back her ponytail and said, "I'm sure you've got a mother waiting for you at home, don't you?"

"She's dead," Lucina said in the flattest tone she could muster.

Anna shrugged. "Okay then, but she loved you right? I'm sure she did. Exiled noblewoman or not, I'm sure you wouldn't have turned out the well-mannered lovely woman you are today without a little love from your mother, wouldn't you?"

"And what if I told you my father was widowed?"

Anna inclined her head toward her. "You're not telling me that though."

Lucina scowled. She had her there. "Can you get to the point already?"

"Shush!" Anna raised a finger at her and frowned. "Look, it's already hard enough for me to think of how I want to say this. I'm going to need a moment to think my words through."

Part of Lucina wanted to argue. The more rational part reminded her that, whenever Anna wanted something, she always found a way to get it. Trying to fight it would be pointless in the end, so Lucina slumped back in her chair and motioned for her to continue.

Anna hummed and fiddled with the bag again. "You know what this reminds me of? Back when I was a kid, I accidentally dropped my mother's purse into a stream. I figured I'd done something wrong, because when she couldn't find it, she was real mad. I couldn't find the guts to step up and tell her I'd done it because you'd better believe I was scared."

"So you know what I did to help me gain confidence, look her in the eye, and admit what I'd done? I bought her a new purse. She loved it so much, she forgave me right away. And that's what I'm doing now."

"You're buying me a purse?"

"No, no! I'm setting you free."

Lucina blinked. "Why?"

At that, Anna made a face. "As it turns out, that little stunt you pulled made you quite the hero in this town. I don't think they'd be too happy if I tried to turn you over to the dear old Exalt. Not much point in keeping you around either, especially since you'd probably escape if I tried to take you to the next town over. That," she said, looking to the side, "and you saved my daughter. I'd have to be stupid not to be thankful for that."

"Huh."

"So. The door's wide open." Anna motioned toward the door with a grin. "You can go out whenever you want."

Lucina tapped the side of the bowl. "I don't think the innkeeper would be very happy if I tried to take this bowl with me."

Her mother would lose her mind if she tried to leave the dining room with porcelain plates because she might break them. She imagined the innkeeper would have much of the same reaction, especially since the bowl was his, not hers.

Anna shrugged. "After you finish the soup, then. You're free to go do... whatever it is you were going to do before we ran into each other. Take control of your future, yada yada yada. I know how much you hate me. I don't know why, but hey, once you go, you never have to see me again."

"I see."

Slowly, Lucina picked up the spoon again. She glanced over at Anna, and when Anna raised an eyebrow, she lifted the spoon to her lips.

The first food she'd had in days. It tasted good. Much better than it probably was, but her body was probably just happy to have something at all.

Lucina set down the spoon, grabbed the bowl with one hand, and took it all down in one big gulp. The thick, meaty taste slammed into her head and cleared away the rest of the weariness from her mind, like peeling back a cobweb from the back of her eyes. It warmed her throat, her stomach, and Lucina felt much better for it.

Then, when she set the bowl back down and wiped what was left of the soup from her lips with her sleeve, she started to think.

I suppose now, I can return to carrying out my future plans? Except... what plans do I have?

Morgan had always been the one with the complicated plans. Lucina had just assumed she would come back in time and figure out the smaller details when she'd got there. Now, she was there, and she was really regretting not asking Morgan for a better long-term plan.

When she went back in time, her plan had only been to prevent Emmeryn's death, and make sure that Ylisse was well-equipped to survive the war against Plegia. The former had to wait for fourteen years to pass, but the latter, she could get a head start by heading to Ferox and making sure she could become Khan Basilio's champion.

Though it might be a little hard to get there, considering how I'm a wanted fugitive right now, Lucina thought. Unless...

She glanced over at Anna, who was now speaking to the innkeeper. Something about negotiating the price of their room at the inn.

"Hey," Lucina said, raising her hand to cut in. "I don't mean to be rude, but... where are you going?"

She'd already had an idea. In the future, she'd visited this town before. It had been just a tad more in ruins by then, but she still remembered that this town lay on the west side of Ylisse. Going from Ylisstol to here, there was really only one place where Anna could be headed.

"Where are we headed?" Anna asked. "Why, Ferox, of course! Where else?"

Lucina nodded and closed her eyes.

She did not like Anna. She was not usually someone to say she hated someone, but Anna was an exception. Of all the people she had met in the future, Anna had been one of the most selfish and single-minded people that she'd ever met. Perhaps it hadn't even been this Anna, and it had been one of her relatives instead, but they were all the same. Lucina had many reasons to hate her, and yet...

As much as she didn't want to admit it, this might have been her only chance to get to Ferox safely.

"You..." she gritted out, "you wouldn't mind taking me with you, would you?"

So, here we are, almost two whole weeks late. I had the first half of the chapter written no problem, but the second half was a little more difficult. I couldn't decide if I wanted to draw out the Ylisse intermission a bit more, or if I wanted to cut it off. In the end, I decided to let it stew for a bit, and draw a bit of the focus back on Lucina for the time being.

I've been getting an increasing amount of comments about me knocking Lucina unconscious to move to the next story beat. In case the chapter didn't make it obvious, yeah, I noticed. It's kind of lazy. If I ever go back and redo some of the older chapters, that'd probably be the second thing I change. Yeah, it'd probably complicate the plot a bunch, but this story has already grown way more complicated than I'd originally intended it to be. Funny how sometimes stories tend to take a life of their own, fanfic or otherwise.

Next chapter will hopefully set things back on track. Tuesday, two weeks from now, if all goes well. Until then, remember to take care of yourselves out there, and stay safe!