vi.
"I cannot believe such a false accusation against my father!" Owain put his hands on his hips. "The father of the scion of legend would never lose against the likes of you! Er... Not to be rude, Lucina."
The princess laughed at her cousin's antics. "No, no, it's all right. I can't believe I won against Lon'qu either."
Morgan was chewing on a piece of stale bread, but he still said, "Lushina, t'll th' shtory! T'll i'!"
"Maybe you should learn to speak after swallowing your food," Severa said, disgusted. Morgan swallowed his food and smiled brightly at her, causing her to roll her eyes.
Yarne tentatively poked the campfire with a stick. "We should get to bed soon. It's dark out. We have to be up in the morning. Did I mention it's dark out?"
Cynthia nudged him. She grinned. "Don't worry, the Justice Cabal will protect you from all the monsters!"
"I-I didn't say I was scared of the dark!" Yarne stammered as Owain and Morgan raised their fists and shouted "Justice Cabal!"
Lucina laughed. "Do you want to hear the story or not?"
A chorus of "I do!" came from Morgan, Cynthia, and Nah. The half-manakete turned to Gerome and pouted when the wyvern rider didn't show any interest in joining in.
Owain turned up his nose. "I, scion of legend, cannot deign to listen to a story which mocks my father!"
"Fine, fine!" Lucina conceded. She was smiling widely. "But as soon as he got close to me he must have realized I was a woman somehow, because he could hardly -"
"That is it!" Owain jumped from his seat on a log and drew his sword - Yarne hurried to hide behind Cynthia. "Dear cousin, I am afraid I must challenge you to a duel. My sword hand itches to fight for my father's honor!"
"Oh, really?" Lucina smirked and stood, slowly pulling Falchion from its sheathe. "You truly want a duel?"
"Kick his butt, sister!" Morgan cheered, and Brady called, "Watch ya head, Owain!"
"Hey."
All sound stopped and heads turned to the outer edge of the firelight. There stood Lon'qu, a frown on his face. He held a knife and a half-peeled potato in his hands. He raised an eyebrow at the sight of his son and niece squaring off.
"Don't fight here," he said. "You'll end up falling in the campfire."
Morgan and a few of the other children erupted into laughter, desperately trying not to reveal the subject of the duel, and Owain stuttered, "F-Father, please, like I could ever do something so outrageously clumsy!"
Lon'qu ignored his words. He grimaced a little at the loud noise. "Don't you children have bedtimes?"
"Don't get him started on that!" Severa moaned, but Owain was already eloquently proclaiming that "scions of legend do not require bedtimes" and then, when Lon'qu gave a rebuttal, "but Mom said I could stay up late!"
Lucina sheathed Falchion. "Maybe we should all get some sleep," she agreed, smiling.
"Tomorrow we hit th' road again," Brady added, getting up.
Morgan stood and held his hand out to Severa. The redhead, frowning, considered his hand for a moment before grabbing it with her own and letting him help her up.
"You're welcome," he said with a grin when she didn't thank him.
"You're such a happy-go-lucky idiot," she muttered, crossing her arms.
He grinned. "That's what I'm here for."
She rolled her eyes, then turned to continue watching Owain make a fool of himself. Morgan saw the hints of a small smile playing on her lips.
()()()
Morgan stands on the side of the road, watching the Shepherds gather and prepare for the journey. It's just a diplomatic mission, but Regna Ferox is a nation of warriors who rely more on strength and action than just words and politics, so bringing a fighting force - even a small one like this - is necessary.
Sumia is talking with Lissa, mostly about pegasi and the knight's lack of one due to the difficulties of breeding. Sully and Stahl sit in the saddles of their horses and chat, though Stahl's munching on some sort of jerky. Vaike lazily plays with his axe, and Miriel stiffly warns him about the dangers of forgetting it again. Virion is checking his appearance with a small mirror, unaware that Kellam stands beside him. Morgan wishes he could forget about his new constant shadow, Frederick.
I still don't even have my weapons, he thinks, trying not to grumble the words aloud. He's pretty sure Frederick would easily take the opportunity to spear him through with the explanation, "He was muttering darkly, milord, I thought he was plotting."
Chrom and Robin finally come from the direction of the barracks, carrying the last of the supplies to put onto the horses. Robin has a slip of parchment in her hands and walks to the front of the group after putting down her load, and Chrom quickly joins her.
"Kellam," Robin calls out, begining the roll call. Everyone except Morgan gives a little start when the young knight answers.
"Mark," the tactician eventually calls, and Morgan can feel his skin heat up a little when eyes turn to him. He's been cast glances already, but having them look at him all at once is unnerving. Especially when he sees the resemblance they bear toward their future children.
When she's finished, Chrom adds, "Is everyone ready? We've a long march ahead of us."
"Then let's get it over with already," Vaike yells.
Chrom laughs. "That's a good attitude, Vaike. Now, let's move out."
()()()
Morgan walks up front with Robin, Chrom, and Frederick. Miriel was up there too for a time, telling Robin about each Shepherd's strength and weaknesses, but she quickly melted back into the main group. She seems far more curious about studying her fellow Shepherds for her own experiments than for planning tactics like she had done before Robin's arrival.
Morgan does his best to ignore the others as they continue on toward Regna Ferox. While he wasn't really close to the first generation of the Shepherds other than his parents, aunt, and uncle, he feels like he can guess what each person will say or do next. Once again, he's unnerved.
"...So," he says at length, trying to distract himself. He looks to Chrom. "Why am I coming with you to Regna Ferox?"
"Well," Chrom says with a slight laugh, looking toward the ever-present knight. "Frederick the Wary here wanted to keep you in his sights at all times."
"Milord, please," Frederick says.
Robin laughs at this, and Chrom, smiling, continues, "Besides, Mark, I thought it would be a good idea to see how you stand up. I was impressed the first time I saw you fight, but that was only once. In any case, nothing builds trust like battling side by side."
"Trust," Morgan repeats quietly. He glances back toward the bulk of the Shepherds for a moment. "...What did you tell them about me?"
"The truth," Chrom replies. "I won't lie to my comrades."
Morgan falls into silence and looks down at his boots as they walk. He wishes the journey wasn't going to take a few days. He almost wants to be stuck in his room back at the palace. At least maybe he would have Aunt Emmeryn for company. Honestly, he's worried about her; before leaving, he warned her to keep up security, and to keep an eye on the Plegian border. She laughed and said Phila and Frederick had already handled such matters, but that she would be careful. Still...
"...So, Mark," Robin says eventually, and he quickly looks at her. But, before she can continue, the sound of galloping hooves reach their ears.
Sully and Stahl slow their horses as they approach. Stahl's face is a bit ashen, and Sully is scowling.
"Up ahead, at the bridge," she reports. "There's Risen crawling all over the place."
"Risen?" Chrom repeats.
"Not surprising," Morgan says.
Robin immediately goes into tatician mode. "How far up are they?"
"About half a mile," Stahl answers.
Robin turns around to face the Shepherds. "All right everyone, we need to drop off our supplies with a guard. Does anyone volunteer?"
"I'll do it!" Sumia calls, and immediately starts unhitching supplies from Frederick's horse. The others hurry to do likewise, and Robin takes the moment to turn to Morgan.
"Here," she says, offering his tome. "For the battle."
Morgan's mouth drops a little in surprise as he takes the spell book. He inspects the cover, spine, and some of the pages to make sure nothing is amiss.
"I took the liberty of looking through it," Robin says. "My apologies. But those appear to be very powerful spells, all of a wide range. Did you write it yourself?"
"I had help," Morgan replies, but doesn't elaborate.
"Well, as long as we're going to battle, you might as well have this back, too," Chrom says, pulling the second-world Falchion from the strap on his back.
"T-thank you," Morgan says, surprised, and slips the sword and sheathe into his belt.
"Milord, I must protest," Frederick argues, but Chrom cuts him off.
"I know what I'm doing, Frederick, and so does Robin." He turns back to Morgan. "Mark, for the time being, we'll only allow you these weapons in battle."
Morgan nods. "Understood," he says, even though he already knows he's going to miss the now-familiar weight of the weapons at his side.
"All right, everyone," Robin calls when she sees that the Shepherds are ready. "Vaike, Kellam, Chrom, Mark and I will take the front lines. Virion, Miriel, you're behind us. Lissa, stay in the back. Frederick, Sully, and Stahl are going to head northeast and come in from that direction once the fighting has begun. We'll take out whatever's in front of the bridge, then slowly make our way across so Lissa has time to heal us."
"Milord," Frederick begins, and once again Chrom doesn't let him finish.
"You heard our tactician." The prince softens a bit. "It's all right, Frederick. I can take care of myself."
The knight frowns, but finally goes to mount his mare. He shoots Morgan a withering, deadly glare, then signals to the cavaliers. They leave the north road and head into the woods.
"All right, everyone, let's go!" Chrom calls, unsheathing Falchion. The Shepherds let out a cheer, though Morgan stays silent.
The Shepherds take position and hurry along the road. Chrom turns to Robin and smiles. "This is your first real time leading the Shepherds. You up for it?"
"You wouldn't have recruited me if I wasn't up for it," Robin replies, and Chrom laughs.
Morgan finds himself smiling.
After a few minutes, the road begins to open up into a clearing. Robin holds up her arm, motioning the group to slow to a stop so she can survey the battlefield. Morgan does so as well. There's Risen wandering about on both the near and far side of the river.
"Remember, everyone, stay in formation," Robin warns, standing in front of the group.
Morgan hesitates, then hurries to stand beside his mother. He turns toward the Shepherds, few though they are, through the slits in his mask. "Risen are clumsier than people, but they're still dangerous. They tend to attack people with weaker defenses, or to gang up on soldiers."
The Shepherds stare at him, and his stomach churns. He moves back to his spot beside Chrom and unsheathes the second-world Falchion.
The crown prince seems to be holding back a chuckle. "Thanks for the advice."
"No problem," Morgan replies, though adrenaline is racing through his veins for all the wrong reasons.
If Chrom is planning to say anything more, he cannot; after taking one last look at the matchup, Robin lifts her arm and yells out. The Shepherds launch forward into the field, attracting the attention of the Risen. The undead creatures lurch towad the Shepherds, and it's only seconds before Morgan slashes through one of them. Instantly the Risen turns to ash.
Beside him, it takes Chrom a couple of hits to fell his first Risen. The prince shoots Morgan an impressed look. "Good job!"
The praise makes Morgan feel warm, and he redoubles his efforts.
()()()
The entire battle is over quickly, especially once Frederick, Sully, and Stahl arrive from the east. A well-aimed arrow from Virion fells the last of the Risen, but Robin orders the soldiers on foot to search the area and the mounted units ("Yes, Frederick, you too") to return for Sumia and the supplies. Within fifteen minutes the jobs are finished, and the Shepherds are reunited together on the road.
After a bit of deliberation, Robin and Chrom decide that they can all last another hour of travel before it's too dark to see. After a quick refill of water at the river, the group continues on. Everyone's a little bit tired and a couple of people are nursing bruises that Lissa did her best to heal, but no one is critically injured in the slightest. Morgan hopes it can stay like this for as long as possible - even more.
"You really do fight well," Chrom says out of the blue, bringing Morgan back to the present. The prince already confiscated Morgan's Falchion, and Robin took the tome, but both seemed reluctant when they did so. "But I suppose you've had a lot of practice."
"Thank you," Morgan replies, once again feeling some warmth enter his chest. "But yes. Those Risen were rather weak. The stronger Grima gets or the closer the Risen are to the Fell Dragon, the more formidable they are. Risen can also be summoned by a spellcaster, so it depends on their strength as well."
"We'll get better," Chrom says, and Morgan wonders how his father can be so optimistic.
He used to ask the same about me, he remembers, and he feels a bit of twisted humor. The less experience you have, the more naivety, I guess.
"...Sparring might be a good idea," Chrom continues. "Would you like to, sometime?"
Morgan sneaks a glance toward Frederick. "And if I try to kill you?"
His father laughs. "I don't think you will."
"Why?"
"Because you're trying to help us. That's good enough for me."
Morgan tries to look his father in the eye. "And if it's all a scheme? There are many things I can't tell you."
"You ask too many questions." Chrom frowns a little, pondering. "You have a point, but I don't think it's true. I trust my instincts."
Morgan doesn't know how to reply, so he stays quiet. He doesn't know why he's asking his father all these questions. He wishes he could just be open and forward, happy-go-lucky, but now it's impossible. Yesterday was a fluke.
"You didn't say whether you wanted to or not."
Morgan jumps a little. "What?"
"A spar," Chrom reminds him. "Not tonight; it's getting dark. Perhaps when we camp next?"
Morgan looks to his father, and a rush of memories come back to him. Not of the first, world, but of the second: training with his father; laughing at his father's expressions; being scolded for being afraid of a (admittedly terrifying) bug; and beating his own head in an attempt to recover from his amnesia, only to remember just one of Chrom's smiles.
He beams. "Of course."
Fun times at the beginning of my over a month-long winter vacation include: forgetting my 3DS games except FEA at my dorm; finding out my Wii disc drive is broken, so not only is Twilight Princess stuck in there, but I can't play Path of Radiance and Radiant Dawn like I've been planning; and maybe (probably?) getting a virus trying to get an emulator so I can play with Ike and Soren again (and now I'm too nervous to find a good emulator). *grumbles*