"Who's next!?" called Lucina, sheathing her knife and pulling out a plain steel sword. She missed Falchion dearly, but hiding her identity took precedence.
The crowd in the arena cheered as their champion cut down her sixth victim. Lucina was an actress, playing the people to her favor, making every battle into a deliberately close encounter with death. Then, to play up her bloodthirsty persona and air of mystery, she insisted on killing every opponent with a whispered sentence and a slash to the throat. The madwoman demanded that the bodies be kept in the arena, as opposed to the arena's tradition of carting out every kill.
Perhaps they would double her prize money for such an over the top display.
Round seven walked into the arena, a young girl with long brown hair and scars covering her face. Unlike her previous opponents, this one had clearly not chosen to fight. She'd likely barely held a weapon before. She hesitantly held a spear aloft, her legs quaking underneath her.
Her clothes were red. ...All red. ...To hide the blood, thought Lucina. Cowards, all of them!
...At the very least, this was the last round. Lucina shook her head in disgust. Then, turned back to the crowd, gave them her best "raving lunatic" smile, and waved.
The girl charged at Lucina, spear pointed forward and held stiff at her side. Lucina, tired of acting, decided it would be best to finish this one quickly. A quick dash to her right, and the girl drove right past her. She slashed her sword, hitting the girl with the dull side of it. Her opponent clumsily dropped her weapon from the impact, and turned around to look the swordswoman in the eye. A quick kick to the gut, and the girl was down for the count. The crowd cheered as Lucina got on her knees next to the girl and unsheathed a knife.
"...P-Please, miss. I... I don't wanna die." begged the girl.
"Play dead." she whispered in the young fighter's ear. Then, Lucina swiped her knife across the girl's neck. Blood spattered everywhere, and the crowd was sent into a joyous uproar. Seven rounds, and the people's champion hadn't gotten so much as a scratch.
Little did they know, her knife was no more than a prop, crafted by the actress herself. It was only barely sharp enough to cut bread, but hidden in the hilt was a small compartment. It was filled with a mixture designed to look like blood, but thinner. A quick flip of a switch and, as far as the crowd was aware, that was one more kill. As a matter of fact, though, none of her opponents were dead. A few were unconscious, but most had been simply following Lucina's orders to play along.
It was a very weird story. This woman came into town with no reputation to speak of, refused to give a name, killed six trained warriors (and one new recruit), and put on a fantastic show. The owner of the arena walked in and handed Lucina a pouch heavy with gold, nearly twenty thousand by Lucina's guess. More than enough to sustain her for a few more months. The owner motioned towards Lucina and declared her champion, to the crowd's thunderous applause.
A gravedigger walked in pushing a cart to begin loading the day's victims. He grabbed one of the bodies and hauled it up.
"Hah, and he's still warm!" the gravedigger laughed.
"I should very much like to bury the bodies myself, if you please." demanded Lucina.
"You wanna do my job for me!?" the gravedigger called back, shocked. "Oh, you're my kinda girl! Where can I find a woman like you!?"
"I'm taken." she responded coldly.
The gravedigger chuckled, then dropped his cart and shovel. "All yours, girl. Don't bother with separate holes. No one'll miss 'em."
I'm counting on that.
Lucina gave the crowd one more falsely enthusiastic wave before loading up the cart, careful to put the heavier warriors on bottom. As quickly as she had appeared at the arena, she was gone, carting the bodies to an isolated patch of road.
"Okay." she said. "You're free. Run." Five of the fighters stood up, said their thanks, and started off, too shaken up to stay and chat. Two remained in the cart, still unconscious. Lucina dragged them out and left them underneath a tree. Most would just pass them off as drunks.
"Wait! You. In red." Lucina called to the girl she'd fought last. "Come here."
The girl walked toward Lucina slowly, looking around and keeping her distance.
"Don't charge at people with a spear." the swordswoman said. "Your best advantage with a spear is your range. Keep your opponent far away where they can't hit you."
"...Thank you." said the girl, bowing slightly. "You... You saved my life. I don't know how I can repay you."
Lucina looked back at the girl. She couldn't be older than fourteen, at most. "...Might I ask your name?"
"Laura."
"Do you have somewhere to go, Laura?"
Laura cast her face downwards and shook her head no. Lucina was expecting that answer. After all, whoever had been in charge of her last had tried to send her to her death.
Lucina pulled a sheet of paper, an envelope, and a pen from her robe. "Wait here for a moment."
She scratched down a simple message.
Noble Sir Virion,
This girl has no home or family. Her name is Laura. I should like to ask you for a favor. I want you to help her reach Sir Libra. I don't know where he is, but I do know he planned to set up an orphanage after the war. I believe she would have a home there. I expect you have been in more regular contact with him than I have.
Enclosed in this envelope is two thousand gold, as thanks for your help in this matter. She will have money to pay for her transportation and food.
I apologize that I am unable to ask first before sending her to you, however, I trust you will do the right thing. The matter was rather urgent. Thank you once again.
-"Marth"
Lucina placed a few small coins in the envelope, sealed it, and handed it to Laura.
"Here. You will go south. It should only be a week long march. Follow the road signs. Buy yourself a map and a spear, too. You will find yourself in the dukedom of Rosanne. There, you will seek out an old friend of mine, the Duke of the country. His name is Virion. He's a bit... Egotistical, but he has a good heart. Tell him his friend 'Marth' sent you."
"...I understand."
"Give him that letter. From there, he'll help you find a man called Libra. He runs a home for people without one."
Laura nodded. "...Why are you helping me?"
Lucina smiled at her, with a hint of sadness in her eyes. "Because you remind me of someone. Someone close to me. ...Here." She pulled out her bag of winnings from the arena and dug out a handful of coins.
"Here's money for food and transport." she said. "Best of luck. ...You'll be alright, Laura."
The girl weighed it in her hand, unused to holding so much money. Or any money, Lucina suspected. Laura's red tunic was old, torn, and dirty. Getting a better look at her, Lucina noticed that the scars on her face were deep and deliberate, with four in a row. She would have guessed that they were from a set of brass knuckles.
The swordswoman felt disgusted. If anyone had ever done something like that to Morgan, Lucina would have their head!
Laura started to push the coins forward, as if to give them back, but then retracted her hand, apparently realizing she couldn't afford to refuse charity. Her eyes filled with tears. "...Thank you, Marth. If there's anything... Anything at all I can do for you in return..."
Lucina thought for a moment. Despite the fact that the two bore no resemblance to each other, Lucina couldn't help seeing her daughter in the girl, probably due to their similar ages. She thought to herself about how Morgan was doing. She didn't expect Morgan to forgive her for leaving, but the swordswoman missed her deeply.
The Ylissean princess instantly realized what favor she wanted to ask.
"...Um... Can you... Do you know... How to play chess?"
Figured it was time for another Lucina chapter, especially since I can put it right as Morgan and Robin leave Port Ferox. It's a good "border," as it were.
To derpsquid: Heh, actually, my next Paralogue chapter actually finally has Lucina and Robin interacting! That'll be up like sometime next week. :P
To blueeyes: Thank you so much!
Thank you all for reading, reviewing, following, favoriting... Really just existing. Y'all are awesome! :)