Laying still on her bedroll, Lucina stared up at the ceiling of the tent. No matter what she did, she couldn't make herself comfortable enough to fall asleep. Her mind raced constantly, her thoughts jumping from one subject to another, riling up her emotions. Ever since the battle at the Dragon's Table, she had been unable to fall asleep easily, always having to rely on counting sheep or until her speeding thoughts tired her out. Questions loomed around every corner in her mind, questions that remained unanswered.
The sound of a tent flap moving alerted her and she slowly sat up, careful as to not to awaken Cynthia. A few seconds ticked by without a sound and Lucina made her way outside, grabbing Falchion on the way out. Morgan's tent flap fluttered faintly from previous movement and Lucina quickly followed, already knowing where her brother had gone.
It had been like this for the past few nights, quickly becoming a routine, and each night, Lucina would lay awake, waiting until she heard Morgan leave before following after him. He never saw her, that she made sure of, but she was always able to see both him and their mother. Morgan always hid himself behind a tree, creeping closer and closer toward Leaf whenever he had the chance, but he never did anything, and every night, Lucina would witness him falling asleep during his spying. She was always the one to carry him back to his tent, and while she didn't mind doing so, she had to wonder why her brother did this. He knew his own limitations and yet, every night without fail, Morgan would leave his tent to hide himself among the trees to spy on their mother.
She could've asked herself the same question, for she was sitting on a tree branch, having climbed up there, watching both her brother and their mother. Like all the other nights, Leaf was sitting alone beneath the night sky with her sword at her side. While it was quite dark out, the sky was clear of clouds, letting the moonlight stream downward uninterrupted, illuminating the clearing. Quietness surrounded her, and Lucina did her best to breathe as silently as possible. She didn't want to make her presence known to either her mother or to Morgan.
Lucina had always been good at concealing herself when she wanted to. Before she had revealed herself to her father, she had followed him and his Shepherds around Ylisse, making sure that he was safe. While she knew what was to happen, she didn't want to take a chance; it was, after all, better to be safe than sorry. No one had known she was there, for she lingered with the shadows, keeping her distance as to go undetected. Even Frederick, who woke up long before anyone else stirred, never noticed her hiding among the trees.
Holding onto the tree branch to steady herself, Lucina stared at her mother before flickering her gaze over to her brother. There was so much of their mother in him, ranging from the shape of his eyes to his love of tactics. Lucina had never thought about such trivialities before, but it was true. While they both had inherited their father's hair colour, Morgan inherited most of his traits from their mother, while Lucina was the opposite. There was so less of Leaf in her; sometimes she thought that besides being female, there was nothing she shared with her mother.
Her father had always been the one she was closest to, having spent most of her time with him, even as a child. Lucina cared deeply for him, and would do anything to keep him safe, to ensure his survival, but there was only so much she could do. She couldn't kill her mother, for instance. The memory of that moment left a bitter taste in her mouth and she swallowed, biting her lip.
She had truly thought she was doing the right thing then. If her mother didn't live to be manipulated by Validar then her father would be safe. The horrible future that she knew wouldn't happen and her father would be there to stop Grima, but she hadn't been thinking clearly. Lucina looked at Morgan, who was keenly watching their mother. If Lucina had killed Leaf then Morgan wouldn't exist, since their mother wouldn't live to have him in the first place. How that thought managed to slip her mind in the first place, Lucina didn't know, and the knowledge that she almost destroyed her brother gnawed at her. She loved her brother dearly, and though his memories of his past were unclear, she didn't mind; they could always make new ones together, ones that included both their parents. Lucina loved her mother too, but… She didn't know what to think.
The information available to her in the future had been limited, and it was only in this lifetime did she know that it was her mother that had killed her father. Like everyone else, Lucina had been shocked when the other Leaf had revealed the truth behind her mother, and also like everyone else, she had drifted away from her mother after the battle at the Dragon's Table. Once already had she seen Validar control her mother, and while the dark mage was dead, Grima had been awakened, and the fell dragon was more than twice as powerful as Validar. What prevented him from controlling her mother again? Lucina couldn't bear the idea of her father dying, not again, but she also couldn't point her sword at her mother.
The tree shook as a cool breeze swept past and Lucina clung onto the trunk to keep her balance. Below her, she spotted Morgan creeping forward, ducking out of sight behinds trees. It had gotten surprisingly late, and for the first time that she could remember, he was still awake. From what little light there was, she could barely make out his facial features, but from what she could tell, he looked surprisingly alert, with no sign of weariness to be seen.
Farther away in the clearing, she caught a glimpse of a glimmer of light, a reflection of the moonbeams. Narrowing her eyes and focusing her attention, Lucina could make out the faint outline of a sword in her mother's hand. It wasn't uncommon to see Leaf with a sword at her side, for she always carried it with her for protection, much like Lucina did with Falchion, but it was the middle of the night, and she was alone in the middle of the clearing. While there was always the threat of being attacked by Risen, Lucina didn't think that was the reason why her mother had the sword with her in the first place. Leaf was cautious, yes, but not that cautious.
Anxiety began to creep up her arms and her breath caught in her throat. Morgan, hiding behind the tree next to hers, took a few more steps, moving onto another tree. A feeling of dread filled her, the same feeling that had coursed through her the night she had planned to kill her mother.
Her hands moved to grip the branch that she was sitting on, keeping her steady as she leaned forward, trying to see what was going on with her mother. Tonight was different from all the other nights. For one, Morgan was awake for once, instead of curled up behind a tree, asleep. For another, her mother was holding a sword. That fact alone wasn't strange, but factoring in the circumstance in which Lucina found her mother in, was. They were, after all, alone in a clearing in the middle of the night, with no sign of danger lurking nearby. Her skin tingled and a shiver crawled up her back though she was relatively warm. A sense of foreboding filled her, echoing her thoughts.
Morgan seemed to have arrived at the same conclusion from observing their mother, for his posture had stiffened and he stood straightly still, as if he was looking for signs of trouble.
"…Lucina…so beautiful… am blessed…as my daughter."
She couldn't hear everything that left her mother's mouth, for her voice was too soft, but what she did hear left her baffled. It had been a few days since she had last spoken to her mother. All Lucina could think of was that night where she attempted to end her mother's life and the battle at the Dragon's Table. Her future depended on them succeeding in defeating Grima, but Grima was her mother. Even though the other Leaf and her mother differed, they were still the same person, and unless her father managed to summon Naga, everything would be lost. Lucina couldn't afford to think about anything else. She had travelled through time in hopes to change the future, but fate was cruel.
There had been nothing for her to say to her mother, nothing to ease the churning emotions that stirred within her. All Lucina had been able to do was to avoid the tactician, to look away whenever her mother looked her way. She had to keep her father safe, had to change the future, but there was nothing she could do, not when it came to her mother being a vessel for the fell dragon. No matter how many times she travelled back in time or how much she changed the past, that fact alone wouldn't change.
There was only so much she could do here, in the past, but no matter what she did, she couldn't change the fact that her mother was Grima's vessel. Her father's death had been avoided thus far only from careful planning and strategizing, but no one could fully know what the future held. For all Lucina knew, tomorrow, Grima might descend upon them and destroy them all, killing both her parents, or her mother might decide to side with Grima and become a god. She didn't know what the future held and that scared her more than anything. She couldn't have her father die, not again, and she couldn't live without her mother either. Being with them again, along with Morgan, gave her a sense of security, a feeling of warmth, that had eluded her for long enough. It was already hard for her to imagine living without them by her side.
Spotting sudden movement from Morgan snapped Lucina out of her thoughts. He ran out from his hiding spot, heading straight toward their mother, and it was then that she turned to look at the lone woman. Alone in the clearing, Leaf held a sword, high above her head. Morgan yelled out to her, but his voice didn't seem to faze her.
The sword hand came sweeping down. "No, Mother!"
Lucina jumped down, and ran.