"Morgan ..." The tactician sighed heavily as he look down at the ground ashamed of himself. "I'll do it. It kills me inside, but the alternative is for you to see me slowly die a second time. I … will accept the transfer.
The moment Robin bitterly told his daughter he was willing to do the transfer, Morgan wasted no time grabbing him by the arm and rushing him to Tiki's room in the castle.
"Whoa, Morgan slow down!" He yelled while trying to keep up with his daughter who was constantly yanking him to go faster.
"I can't!" She yelled urgently. "I have to get you to Tiki before you change your mind."
Robin grimaced and said. "There is something I need to talk to you about first before we do this."
"Can't it wait till after?" Morgan cried worried he might ask something unreasonable.
"Morgan." The tactician called in a commanding tone and pulled back to stop her. "Will you please just listen for a moment? It's important."
"Nnh." She groaned and hesitantly looked back at her father.
Robin took another large sigh and said, "I know what happens after the transfer. Tiki went into detail about the best and worst case scenarios."
"... And you are still willing to do it?" Morgan asked sheepishly.
He shook his head and said, "I wouldn't say willing ..." The tactician closed his eyes and pinched his nose trying to avoid the pain in his head. "But I see that look in your eyes. It's the same stare your mother had when she was solely focused on her mission. She would have done anything to complete her goal and the fear of failure weighed heavy on her. That feeling of helplessness... it tears out your soul." Robin trailed off and gave a long stare into his daughter's eyes. "And ... I fear my refusal will only harm you more than whatever this Naga forsaken curse will do."
"Father."
He gripped his hands tightly and said with pain in his voice, "Morgan, my priority as a parent is to see you happy and safe for as long as possible. It's not only my goal, but my deepest wish as a father. Unfortunately, the choice I make only secures one of those options which is why it hurts so much to make the decision."
Morgan reached over to her father's hand, only this time she gently held it and said, "I'll be okay dad. I promise."
The tactician heard her words but they did not ease any of his worries. "Morgan, I have a very important question to ask you and I need you to be honest with me. Please, despite whatever concerns you might have, I need you to be one hundred percent honest alright?"
Morgan silently nodded to make the promise and asked quietly, "What is it father?"
"Lucina was willing to sacrifice everything to accomplish her goal. So what are you willing to sacrifice to see your goal accomplished?"
"The same as her." Morgan pledged with a fierce determination and purpose. "I'll do anything to see you safe."
"No." Robin fiercely replied back in just one commanding word without any hint of anger or frustration. "You will not."
"Father?"
"Let me make this very clear Morgan. Your life is not something you should be willing to give up and I will be damned if I allow you to think that is okay. That is not an option and it never will be. Do you understand?" "
She quickly protested and said, "But it's not like I would go away forever. In two to three years you will have a little me who will be happy and safe which is what you wanted!"
"No Morgan." He coldly looked at her in disappointment. "You don't have the right to give up your life. Not for me, not for Lucina, and not for your future sister. There are far too many people who would miss you both now and in the future. Us included."
"But I thought you said you would let me do the transfer?!" She cried in dismay.
"Only if you do not give up your life in the process." Robin raised his hand in the air to stop her from speaking out and said, "Under no circumstances will you ever let that idea cross your mind during the process. EVER ... I don't care how many or little risks are involved, you cannot be willing to make such a commitment. Otherwise Grima's remnants will use that against you."
"What do you mean?"
The tactician shook his head and knelt on one knee while placing his hands on her shoulders. "Listen to me Morgan. If you are going to fight this taint then you have to be mentally ready for it. Grima may be dead, but the curse he left behind mimics his deception. It will try to convince you of things. Terrible terrible things, but you must never listen to them." His gaze never once broke from his daughter as he emphasized his point. "Do you understand?"
"... Did the curse try to do that with you?" She asked worried
Robin gritted his teeth and he wanted to turn away from her, but he shrugged it off since her safety took priority. She had to know. "... It tried to convince me to kill myself …
"Father!" Morgan cried out alarmed.
He raised his hand to console her and said, "I didn't of course. No matter what it tried the picture of you and Lucina in my head was there to give me strength. The curse used every trick in the book from attacking my fears to belittling my mistakes to inflicting severe pain when I rejected it. But it was never enough. Never enough to break my desire to be here with you two."
Robin exhaled deeply in pain while Morgan quickly ran forward to hug him tightly as her mother had a habit of doing.
"Morgan, I have all the faith in the world that you will not succumb to this curse." He closed his eyes and grazed his hand through his daughter's hair. "But I never wanted you to feel the pain that comes with it. I always wished that I could give you the innocence that neither Lucina or I had growing up. I wanted to shelter you for as long as possible and see you grow strong without having so many terrible things rush to you at once. I knew you would have to come across this stuff at one time or another, but this curse surpasses my greatest fears."
"It won't break me father." She replied adamantly "I'll still be me afterwards."
"I know. I know. It's just that those thoughts drive people to madness. Those evil self loathing thoughts are worse than any sword or arrow and it lingers for what seems like an eternity. If left unchecked it brings nothing but sorrow and pain. You can't blame me from wanting to shield you from them."
"And I'll make sure you will never have to face it again father. If mother and I were enough to keep you going, then I know without a doubt that you two will be enough to keep me going. I won't let the curse hurt me no matter what it tries." She backed away from her father and raised her fist in the air to add to her point. "I'll counter anything that stupid curse tries to throw at me and come back with ten times more energy. I swear it."
"A young lady shouldn't swear." Robin lectured with a new smile on his face.
The refined girl stuck her tongue out and proceeded to hit him in the shoulder which the tactician effortlessly evaded. "And a stubborn father should learn to spoil her daughter more often with gifts and sugar."
"Is that so?" He muttered intrigued.
"Mhm! After this is all over I am thinking that a young, cute, beautiful, and smart girl is entitled to a gigantic ice cream sundae with cherries and sprinkles.
Robin nodded without hesitation and said, "Okay, I'll give Lucina as much ice cream as possible after you recover."
Morgan hit her father considerably harder this time leaving a sharp pain which he managed to laugh off and moved in to hug her a second time.
"And I'll be sure to reward my precious daughter with anything she wants too. I love you Morgan."
"I love you too dad." She smiled warmly and closed her eyes with a large weight fallen from her.
….
After awhile the two finally backed away from each other, but not before Robin violently attacked Morgan's hair and turned it into a mess which she had to fix on her own.
"Are you ready for the transfer now father?"
He nodded more confidently this time around and said, "I am. Unfortunately, I don't think Tiki will be feeling up to it for a few more hours. I kind of wore her out yesterday with all my questions and I am sure she is fast asleep at the moment.
"Meh, well she better wake up before you change your mind."
"I wont." He added reassuringly.
"Good." She rebuked and added, "So what do we do while we wait?"
"Heh, I think you already know the answer to that question." He replied matter-of-factly
Her smile grew wider and she nodded while waiting for her father to continue where he left off.
After you grandfather fainted from the news of Lucina and I being together, we were left to face Sumia and the crowd of on-lookers who were wondering why the Exalt of Ylisse was suddenly unconscious on the ground like he had been mortally wounded. We were not expecting Chrom to have such a serious reaction, but at least it spared me from the risk of him instantly grabbing me by the throat.
…
"Is this true?" Sumia asked a little less shocked than her husband who collapsed lifelessly on the ground.
"Yes mother. It's true." Lucina replied nervously while we shared red cheeks.
"When? How?!" She asked baffled.
Lucina hesitated and said, "I don't know the exact date we fell in love but we didn't admit it to each other until recently. We were going to tell you, though we figured it would be best to end the war first so it wouldn't be a distraction."
"Oh my." She said in awe and looked back at me in dismay. It took a moment for her to catch her breath and her bewilderment turned into an eye piecing stare that made me wonder if I misjudged which of the two royal figures was more likely to kill me. "I thought you said you had no intentions of advancing your relationship with my daughter."
"Huh?" Lucina looked back at me lost.
"Er." I scratched my head nervously and said, " A while back I confessed to Sumia my apprehension of working with you because I found you to be extremely attractive when you were still an unmasked Marth. I um, was worried that I would not be able to control my former thoughts around you so I decided it would be best not to involve myself around you.
"But as a close friend I trusted Robin without question." Sumia added in an unsettling calm voice. "After two years of book club meetings and getting to know him I concluded that he would never do anything to make you feel uncomfortable. So I encouraged him not to worry about it because he was always trustworthy and a good friend to us." She lowered her brow and frowned very intimidatingly "However, it turns out that he had other motives and was merely trying to deceive me." .
"Heh. Heh." I laughed frightened.
"It wasn't his fault." Lucina spoke up and tried to defend me. "He never once suggested anything while he was working with me. I was the one who felt fuzzy when he complimented me or took the time to ease my worries. I found myself struggling whenever I was around him because he was there to support me and say something nice."
"So you were trying to seduce my daughter." Sumia glared accusingly.
I covered my face with my hand and said in agony, "I appreciate the help Lucina, but I think you just made it worse."
"Did I?" She asked worried. "I meant to say that I was the one who fell in love because you made me feel special. B-but you had no way of knowing what you were doing because you were more concerned on helping me through my problems." She turned to Sumia and said "I swear mother, his motives were completely innocent when he told me that I was a close friend that he would do anything for."
"Oh gods." I whispered in terror.
"I see. That is all I needed to hear." The royal queen replied without any trace of emotion and her surprisingly calm and silent demeanor terrified me more than the thought of her being enraged. "Oh, my baby girl! How could you do such a thing?" She asked hurt and placed her hand on her heart with a pained expression. "I could have helped you!"
"... Whuh?" The two of us muttered in nearly simultaneously.
"You must have been so scared and confused." Sumia said sorrowfully. "No one was there to explain those feelings and you felt the need to hide them in front of us! I'm so sorry Lucina you felt that way, you should have consulted me for advice!"
"I was afraid to." Lucina whispered unsure. "You and father were so busy with the war and I thought that maybe I was having an allergic reaction to something that he was wearing. ...You know, the kind that makes you feel good inside." She replied sheepishly.
"Awww! Lucina." Sumia rushed forward and gave her a big hug. "We always have time for you no matter what it is going on. We told you that from the very start!"
"... I know. I'm sorry mother."
Sumia gave a tender look to her daughter and said, "Just don't let it happen again alright? You can always come to me for anything."
"I will keep that in mind. Thank you."
"Good." She nodded relieved before quickly glaring back at me. "As for you Robin. You promised me you had no foul intentions. I expected more from you then this."
"... I warned you about my bad thoughts and how it was best for me not to be around her, but you wouldn't listen." I added desperately trying to save myself.
"That still doesn't give you the right to earn my daughter's heart so underhandedly when no one else was looking. If I didn't approve then I would be very upset with your scheming and attempts to seduce her with your charms."
"I didn't try to seduce her!" I pleaded trying to find a way to convince her before the rest of her words clicked in my head "Wait. What did you say?"
"I approve." She nodded back. "Despite your dishonorable motives you have always been there for us when we needed you. It also sounds like you have been there to significantly help Lucina through her struggles which I am incredibly grateful for. We are really lucky to have someone as caring as you Robin and I can't blame my daughter for finding you to be attractive. To be honest, I had my suspicions that something was cooking on the stove for awhile now. The two of you have been acting very suspicious this past week with your glances at dinner and in better moods than usual. Those things don't randomly happen by coincidence."
"Have we been that obvious?" Lucina asked with a flushed face.
"It's a mother intuition dear." Sumia smiled with great pride. "It's my job to notice these things. Besides, did you really think you could spend so much time alone together and not have me take interest? I knew from the start that your meetings discussing tactics could possibly lead to something more."
"...You knew what might happen and you didn't make any attempt to stop us?" I asked puzzled.
She gave an evil smirk and said, "I originally hoped you could help Lucina break out of her shell since my efforts didn't seem to be working very well. However, being with a smart, handsome, and kind man who secretly admires his apprentice can have very disastrous consequences if left unchecked. Especially when it comes to someone as beautiful as my daughter.
"Mother!" She cried out alarmed and covered her burning face with her hands.
"It's not that much of a secret dear. I think we can all agree you inherited Chrom's hair and my good looks." Sumia grinned wickedly. "And to be honest, for that reason I didn't want you paired with any guy I couldn't trust to be respectful around you. I am a very protective mother after all and I demand the best for you."
"But you just called me deceptive and dishonorable." I added bitterly.
"Hehehe. Well you are now, but how was I supposed to know back then when you feigned innocence?" Sumia asked pretending to be hurt and betrayed. "You played the part of a shepherd perfectly, but it turns out you are just a big bad wolf who preyed on my sweet unknowing daughter while no one was looking."
"He really didn't mean to do anything scandalous!" Lucina cried out fiercely trying to fix her earlier remarks. "Please don't blame him for this."
"Don't worry Lucina. I am only teasing." She smiled warmly. "I am actually very happy for you two. I'll admit the thought of my newly discovered daughter already being in a relationship with my second best friend does creep me out a little bit, but it happens all the time in the stories I read. And it's not like this is incest or there is a significant age difference. You two are nearly the same physical age, but more importantly you are mentally mature too. Most of the time someone's mental age speaks far more than any passage of time can speak of. So why should I be against it?"
"You really mean that?" Lucina smiled hopefully.
"Of course Lucina and I will do anything to see you happy. Even if it means you must spend time with this lecherous and wicked man."
...
"Enng." A voice moaned on the ground as the previously unconscious lord slowly opened his eyes and covered in his forehead in pain.
"Father?" Lucina called out as our attention returned to the poor blue haired soul.
"Chrom? Are you still with us?" I asked worried.
"Gods, I had a terrible dream." He rubbed his temples and slowly got up from the ground with the help of his wife.
"Were we in it by any chance?" I laughed nervously.
"Yeah." He grunted in pain and looked over to us in a panicked wreck. "You and Lucina told me that-" He trailed off when he saw that Lucina and I we were still holding hands with a pair of awkward and nervous smiles. "... Oh dear Naga."
"Now honey. Hold on for a moment a take a deep breath." Sumia gently walked in front of him and obscured his view. "You don't want to over react to this."
"Why would I overreact? That is exactly what they are expecting me to do" He laughed hysterically and turned back to his wife saying, "This is clearly another one of Robin's attempts to drive me insane. Hahahaha. It's all one big elaborate joke in an attempt to watch me squirm." His left eye started twitching and his hands began shaking uncontrollably. "It's a very clever ruse and he even got Lucina to go in on the joke. Hahahaha."
"Father. We are not joking … I, really do love Robin, and he loves me." Her deep blush returned and I was not in much better shape. The mixed feelings inside of me almost made my inevitable death seem worth it as I watched Chrom desperately try to process what we were saying.
"Y-you don't have to keep this up." Chrom replied uneasily."I see through your lies."
"Dear. They aren't lying." Sumia nudged his arm and tried to calm him down. "You know how often our daughter like to make jokes."
...
A sudden spurt of realization crossed his mind and he stuttered saying, "Ba-but that would mean-" He trailed off again and his eyes turned a dark soulless black while his body slouched over in horror. "Oh dear Naga please kill me."
"Chrom?" I called out fearing he had fallen into another trance. "Are you alright?"
He remained silent as he tried to this best of his ability to process what he had been told.
"Honey?" Sumia asked gently. "Did you hear what Robin said?"
"I-I heard him." He whispered unable to calm himself down. "I heard him perfectly clear. My ears still work you know. They can still hear things. That is why I have ears, because they let me hear things. Important things. After all, it would be hard to have a conversation if I couldn't hear. I mean, I could probably learn sign language or read lips if I couldn't hear. And even then I would still be able to understand what he said.
"Father?" Lucina asked concerned as Chrom started babbling.
"So yes. I heard him. My ears are not broken. My heart might be, but not my ears. Ha. Ha! They still work perfectly fine."
"Dear, perhaps you should sit down for a moment." Sumia suggested very gently and placed her hand on his back to steady him.
"What for? Robin and Lucina were having an very important conversation with me. One that requires my attention and ability to listen." He nodded very enthusiastically as his voice quivered. "So Lucina, please go on. I'm all ears."
The blue haired princess gritted her teeth and said very tenderly, "I think mother is right. Maybe we should continue this after you have had a moment to recover."
"No, no, no. Please don't worry about me. The initial shock has passed." He tried to say calmly, but it seemed like he was trying to reassure himself more than us. "Now, you were saying that you lo- … lov- … enjoyed spending time with Robin. Is that correct?"
"Yes." She nodded very hesitantly and I felt a few beads of sweat run down my face.
"And Robin. You feel the same way towards my daughter? The person I swore to protect with everything ounce of energy in my body. The person who means everything to me. The same beautiful and sweet girl that I raised in the past who grew up to be very strong and caring individual.
I looked back at Lucina and frowned fearfully knowing that this was a trap from a very unbalanced and irrational man. "Yes. I do."
"Robin, before you answer, I feel I should warn you that it is in your best interest to watch what you say in front of me at this moment. I have very good ears, but I might misinterpret something. Now, is that how you really feel?"
I nodded and said, "Yes Chrom. I love her.
"I see." He nodded his head and he visibly seemed wounded. "My daughter and my best friend." His eyes started twitching again and he shrugged while pinching his nose with two fingers. "Oh gods."
"It isn't as bad as it seems." I tried to interject but he quickly raised his hand to stop me.
"I suggest you not say another word from now on Robin. I may not be able to restrain myself from using Falchion."
"Father. You don't mean that" Lucina cried out alarmed.
"Honey, hurting your best friend is not going to solve anything." Sumia delicately replied and carefully held his right hand so he wouldn't be tempted to draw his weapon.
"That man over there is no longer my friend." He replied grimly. "He is an evil barbarian who set his sights on my daughter."
"Isn't that a bit harsh to say to someone you've known for so long? .. Buddy?" I gingerly added trying not to anger him any further.
"Nonsense, from the moment Lissa and I found you, you have done nothing but harass me and question my decisions. Now It's finally time where I can retaliate for your misgivings and repay you in the ways you have done to me."
Sumia quickly countered and said, "Dear, if you hurt him now then we can't stop Validar. It's in our best interest to keep him intact for a little longer."
Chrom grimaced and said, "Do you really want that monster to help us after what he has done to our daughter?"
"He hasn't done anything wrong!" Lucina cried out in anger. "Robin has been a perfect gentlemen around me. If you are to blame anyone, then blame me for finding it charming."
"Lucina, it's okay." I tried to console her, but the fire in her eyes did not subside.
"No Robin, I won't let him say such awful things about you. Not after what you have done for all of us" She said irritated. "Father, I know this must be hard for you and I understand this is not easy to process, but insulting Robin and threatening him is unacceptable. I will not sit here and let you bash him because of it." She grabbed me by the arm and looked away from her father in disgust. "Come on Robin, let's go somewhere else."
Lucina forcefully tugged on me as she briskly walked away from her parents and didn't once look back as I closely followed behind her. I was not willing to risk upsetting her by suggesting to go back because the last thing I need was for both of them to be mad at me. But as we started to walk off I heard Sumia say, "She is right you know. You shouldn't be so hard on Robin. For once he has done nothing to provoke you."
"So I am the bad guy in all of this for trying to protect my daughter?" Chrom yelled in dismay.
Sumia said something else that made him squirm, but I couldn't catch what it was because Lucina had hurriedly pulled us out of ear shot to get away as quickly as possible.
…
"Hehe, poor Chrom." Morgan laughed evilly. "I wouldn't want mother and Sumia mad at me at the same time."
"Yeah, that sounds even more terrifying than an angry Chrom." Robin laughed back. "But in retrospect, his reaction was perfectly normal. I am sure I would have felt the same way if I was him. Heck, I probably would have been worse."
"Lucina didn't seem to think so."
"Well keep in mind that a week before I called myself a horrible monster for killing so many people. I am sure Lucina didn't take to kindly to Chrom repeating that sentiment by calling me a monster who defiled his daughter. To her, it was probably the worst possible insult you could ever say out of every swear in existence."
"Ah, I see. That would explain things." She nodded back.
"Yeah, and I can't complain too much. She got me out of there with all of my limbs in tact. To be honest, that meeting went better than what I was expecting.
"Hehe, what were you expecting?"
Robin gave a soft chuckle and said, "I was just hoping to escape with injuries that eventually would heal. A couple of scars and bruises would have been a victory over a broken arm or leg. Or worse.