Chapter 6: Reminiscence
In the time they had been in Valla, time had passed and night had fallen, so Corrin and his group returned to the Astral Plane for the night. Lilith was there to greet them. Corrin introduced her to Gunter, as he had never seen her like that before, and used Dragon Vains to spawn new buildings for the group to use throughout the castle. As he did so, everyone split up to explore the fortress. Cynthia sat at the base of a set of steps towards the back of the castle and stared out across the courtyard, which had a set of inner walls. Over by a small shrine Lilith stayed in, Iniabi took a moment to look around.
"Lilith, are there any other food sources besides that peach tree?" Iniabi asked.
The Astral Dragon nodded and shifted her body in the direction of a small river.
"There are fish living in that river." Lilith explained.
"Great. Thanks." Iniabi said. He turned to Felicia and Azura, who were close by, and asked "Azura, Felicia, do you mind helping me gather some peaches?".
"Sure." Felicia replied.
Azura simply nodded.
Later, Cynthia decided to pass the time training with her lance in an Arena Corrin had formed, which they were using as a training ground. She drove her lance forward, sinking it deep into the straw dummy in front of her where a person's heart would have been and nodded in satisfaction. She pulled the lance out, grunting slightly with effort, and assumed her combat stance again, while lost in her thoughts.
"Wouldn't you love to see this, mother?" Cynthia wondered.
The thought of Sumia gave Cynthia a brief mix of sorrow and irritation. She had loved her mother dearly and admired her a great deal. She walked away from the dummy until she was a few paces beyond the usual throwing distance, thinking to herself as she went.
"I should have been there for her! I should have been out in Richmond, instead of at the castle with Robin and other Robin. I was a coward!" Cynthia thought.
She turned about and hurled the lance in one smooth motion. However, her throw was off, and the lance bounced harmlessly off. Cynthia growled in annoyance and went to retrieve it.
"Still, I guess I was needed at the line with Robin, other Robin, and Timothy. And Marth tried as hard as he could to help mother. It wasn't his fault." Cynthia thought.
As she bent to pick up the lance, she closed her eyes tightly.
"Mother was the bravest woman I know. Much braver then I am." Cynthia thought.
She rammed her lance into the dummy with much more force then was necessary, and felt a solid thunk as it's point bit into the wooden core the straw was lashed around. She attempted to tug the lance free, but was unsuccessful, as the lance was firmly planted into the dummy. She frowned and tugged again, this time harder, but it was no use. She spat on her gloves to get a better grip, set her feet firmly down, leaned back, and pulled with all her strength. Nothing happened for a few seconds, before the lance slipped free quite abruptly with a loud splintering sound. The girl was unprepared, and she lost her balance and fell back onto the ground.
"Ow!" Cynthia cried.
She shook her head and stood up.
"Cynthia?" a voice asked.
The white haired girl turned to see Azura, standing from the other side of the Arena. Cynthia blushed slightly, hoping that the other female hadn't witnessed what had just happened.
"Uh, hey, Azura." Cynthia greeted, trying to dust herself off as nonchalantly as she could.
Azura walked over to her.
"I didn't think you'd be here training." Azura said.
"Well, I have to make sure that I get stronger and be the best fighter I can be. We have a big task to complete, after all." Cynthia said.
Azura nodded.
"Well, anyway, everyone just finished up in the Hot Spring. We're going to head off to eat pretty soon, but I thought you wouldn't like it if you got left behind." Azura said.
"Thanks for the thought, but you don't have to wait for me. I still need to take a bath, and I can find food on my own." Cynthia said.
"Are you sure? We'll wait for you." Azura asked.
"Yeah, I'm sure. I'm probably going to be in the bath for awhile and I don't want you to get hungry." Cynthia replied.
"Well, okay then. See you later, Cynthia." Azura said.
She then left, heading away to join the rest of the group for dinner. Cynthia made her way to the room she and Iniabi would be sharing in a set of barracks that had been formed and hung her lance up on a rack. That done, she headed to the Hot Spring.
"A nice long soak will do me good." Cynthia thought.
The Hot Spring's outer hallway was empty. Cynthia quickly stripped off her armor and clothing, leaving it in a heap on the floor. After grabbing a clean towel from the rack, she headed into a set of baths separate from the main pool, used for bathing instead of relaxation. She washed hastily, wanting to get the dirt and grime of the day off as soon as possible. After a few rinses, she judged herself clean enough to leave the washroom. She got into swim gear to wear while in the main pool and then headed for it. Once there, she sunk into the warm water with a sigh of contentment, immersing herself almost completely. With only her face above the water, Cynthia stared up at the ceiling, thinking back again to all the past events leading up to the present.
"Why did Anthony have to break free and almost destroy all the worlds? Why couldn't he have just stayed in his precious little void? And why couldn't I have been brave enough during the battle in Richmond?" Cynthia wondered.
The sound of footsteps came from the entrance to the washroom, and Cynthia frowned.
"I thought that everyone else had left." Cynthia thought.
She turned her head to call out the door.
"Azura, I told you that you could go on without... me." Cynthia said.
Her voice trailed off. Iniabi smiled, wearing a pair of swimming trunks.
"Hello, Cynthia. May I join you?" Iniabi asked.
He had wrapped a towel over his lower body, but it left most of his legs bare. Cynthia's eyes were drawn to a series of scars that ran along the Exalt's calves and thighs. Marks of sword and axe cuts, or the teeth and claws of beasts they had fought together.
"There are so many of them." Cynthia thought.
She suddenly realized that she was staring and averted her eyes.
"Uh, I don't mind." Cynthia replied.
The white haired girl heard the rustling of cloth as Iniabi laid his towel aside, and felt the ripple as her husband slipped into the Hot Spring on her right. After a moment, she glanced over. Iniabi was sitting next to her and leaning back, with his eyes closed and his arms resting on the rim of the pool. His right shoulder, which was closest to her, was scarred as well and had a series of parallel slashes, likely from the claws of a Risen.
"Even after all this time, they still look so fresh." Cynthia thought.
She turned away and crossed her arms. For a long moment, the only sound was the quiet dripping of the water. Eventually, Iniabi spoke softly.
"Cynthia? Are you feeling okay?" Iniabi asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I've just been feeling down lately." Cynthia replied.
"Why's that?" Iniabi asked.
"My mother. I've just been missing her lately." Cynthia replied.
"I'm sorry." Iniabi said.
Cynthia stiffened.
"What do you have to be sorry for?" Cynthia asked.
"I know you don't like talking about Sumia, and I shouldn't have..." Iniabi started to reply.
Cynthia turned around, sending waves rippling down the length of the bath, and cut her husband off before he could continue.
"Look, Iniabi, it's not that. It's just... well..." Cynthia started to say. She sighed, ran a hand through her hair, and started to say "I was thinking of the battle in Richmond a little while ago. About how Marth was paired up with Sumia, and how...".
She trailed off.
"And what?" Iniabi asked gently.
"How I wasn't there with her. How I stayed at the front and didn't protect her. She..." Cynthia started to reply.
Her voice caught and she stared at her reflection in the water. She realized that her eyes were fogging up with tears and quickly wiped them away. Iniabi gave her a sympathetic look.
"I understand. We've barely talked about it since then. We've been so busy with putting the country back together that there's hardly been any time to think about anything else." Iniabi said.
Cynthia sighed.
"Apart from Severa and I, everyone else has left Ylisstol. Their out traveling, or rebuilding the Shepherds, or doing jobs of their own. And, well... I guess that Severa's not really the best person to talk to about this sort of thing. I don't want to upset her." Cynthia said.
"But you want someone to talk about it with, right?" Iniabi asked.
"Well... yeah." Cynthia replied.
Iniabi shifted closer to his wife and wrapped his arms around her, giving the white haired girl a warm fuzzy feeling.
"You can always talk to me about it." Iniabi said.
Cynthia mumbled something under her breath, and Iniabi leaned forward slightly.
"Sorry, what was that? I couldn't hear you." Iniabi asked.
Cynthia shook her head.
"I didn't want to trouble you. You already have a lot of things to worry about, and I didn't want to be a burden." Cynthia said.
"You could never be a burden to me. Before I am the Exalt of Ylisse, or the King of Plegia, I'm your best friend and husband. No matter what happens, I promise that I'll always be here for you, okay?" Iniabi asked.
Cynthia glanced down at where the blue haired man's hand was resting.
"O-Okay." Cynthia replied.
She relaxed, and the two stared silently at the night sky above the Hot Spring for awhile, content with simply being in each other's arms.
"Hey, Iniabi? Remember when we first talked to everyone about our marriage?" Cynthia asked.
"Of course. I can recall Kjelle cheering us on, Laurent looking on at us in bewilderment, and the others being supportive. You might not know this fact, but even though your mother was happy for us, she said if I did anything to break your heart, she'd disembowel me with her lance." Iniabi replied.
Cynthia couldn't help but laugh. Despite the meaning behind the words, the mental picture of the clumsy Pegasus Knight saying such a sentence amused her to no end.
"Heh, I'd pass it off as her being humorous, but this IS my mother we're talking about, so she probably meant what she said. Still, her concern is sweet, but I'm sure we'll live quite happily with each other." Cynthia said.
Just then, a streak of light flew across the sky, leaving behind a trail of white. More followed behind, until it looked like the black sky was raining white light. Cynthia sighed happily.
"What a beautiful meteor shower. They say if you pray hard enough on a night like this, your greatest wish will come true." Cynthia said.
Iniabi thought back to a night years earlier, before Robin and Chrom disappeared and the Nightmare King started his conquest. The Shepherds had taken him and the other children out to see a meteor shower just like it. It was such a wonderful sight when he saw it, but he couldn't recall exactly what he wished for. It was so long ago, before life became a constant fight for survival. How he missed those simple days.
"Well, if that's true, what would you wish for, Cynthia?" Iniabi asked.
"Oh, I already have everything I could wish for. A life with the one I love most of all. I couldn't have asked for anything more." Cynthia replied.
"Thank you for saying that, Cynthia. Though if I had a wish, there would be one thing I would wish for." Iniabi said.
"Really? And what would that be?" Cynthia asked.
Iniabi looked up to the night sky.
"To help Corrin end this war quickly and for us to get back home. And so I can spend some more time with you, as husband and wife." Iniabi replied.
Cynthia pecked Iniabi's forehead and begin brushing her hand through his hair.
"You have a kind heart, Iniabi. I cannot express how proud I am of you. If there's one thing you should know, it's that you have my undying loyalty and love, and I will go whatever path you take us." Cynthia said.
Iniabi felt comforted at the statement that she would always follow after him. After resting for a bit more time, he yawned and stretched.
"Hey, it's getting a bit late. Why don't we get out of here and go to sleep?" Iniabi asked.
Cynthia nodded.
"Yeah, I suppose so. If I stay here much longer, I'm going to end up looking like a wrinkled-up fruit." Cynthia replied.
They stood up, got dressed, and exited the Hot Spring
Meanwhile, in Nohr, Severa walked into Inigo's tent with Owain.
"Okay, Laslow, what's so important that you needed me and and Odin to meet you alone?" Severa asked.
"Yes, old friend. What troubles you?" Owain asked.
Inigo looked around for a bit.
"Lord Xander has told me that when Corrin betrayed us, he was fighting alongside two other people." Inigo replied.
"So, Felicia and Jakob did.." Severa started to say.
"One of them was wearing a black coat with purple eye symbols on the sleeves. And the other was a certain someone that looked like another of our allies from our own time, had white hair, and wore dark flier clothing." Inigo said.
A silence came over the tent.
"Are you sure? I mean, Aunt Robin and Cynthia would have sent word if they were coming... right?" Owain asked.
"Maybe, but what if it isn't the Robin and Cynthia you know?" Inigo asked.
"If one of them is Grima, then why hasn't he raised Risen and killed people yet?" Severa asked.
"Look, I'd just thought I'd bring it up just in case." Inigo replied.
"Right. We have work to do. If it is them, we'll find a way to stop them." Severa said.
"She's right. If anyone can stop them, it's us." Owain said, zeal in his tone.
"Well, let's get moving, then." Inigo said.
Author's Note: Here's Corrin's Castle Address (be aware of spoilers if you visit): 01943-54591-83799-11750.