Two more days passed by and Morgan was starting to show some small progress. She was able to stay awake long enough to eat lunch and dinner and have some small conversation with her parents, but about twenty-one hours of each day was spent sleeping. She still looked weak and complained about a pain in her chest and back, but luckily Lissa was able to help alleviate them with some medicine and herbs.

It would be hard to tell from the first glance that Morgan's condition was different from someone experiencing a severe case of flu or pneumonia, yet when they looked closer they could see the differences. The most noticeable and worrying concern was the veins in her hands which no longer looked a light blue and instead were an unnatural grayish color that protruded from her skin.

Her chipped finger nails were also the same hue and the palm of her hands were pruned like they had been submerged in water for days. The rest of her lower body did not fair much better, but it was covered by blankets that she used to desperately stay warm as a very cold chill frequently ran down her spine.

"Ennnnng." Morgan groaned as she slowly opened her eyes. Like usual, whenever she stirred her two parents quickly came to her side, but the nightmare she had was giving her a harder time than usual. "No … more... dreams." She whimpered in pain.

Lucina held Morgan's hand and said, "It's okay sweetie. We are here now." She called out soothingly and with a nurturing care.

Morgan nodded and looked over to her father who shared the same sentiment. "Dad I …." She trailed off and looked at her father very afraid. "... I saw Grima kill Lissa. And he, he tried to make it seem like you did it. He used your face."

Robin gritted his teeth and said, "Was Kellam trying to protect her with a pitchfork?"

"Yeah ..." She whispered and recalled how the fake form of her father effortlessly cut him down.

"Looks like you are inheriting my nightmares." He called out in fear. "Or I guess you could say Grima's memories."

"Did you have to go through this every night?" Morgan asked worried as she tried to calm herself down from the lingering dream.

"Not every night." He shook his head. "But they did come about twice a week. Sometimes more if I was stressed and they didn't stop until I married your mother."

Morgan sighed and leaned forward to hug him. "I'm so sorry dad. That must have been awful."

"It's okay Morgan. I got used to it after a while." He patted her on the back as he accepted her embrace. "The trick was to focus on better moments to cancel the bad ones out."

"You mean like a good story?" She asked as she covered her mouth to block an incoming cough.

"Well, I guess that is one way to look at it." He asked amazed how that was still on her mind. "Don't you have any other happy moments though? I hope our story is not the only thing we were able to give you."

"I have many, but they're all hazy. It's still hard to sort out all the memories and put a date to them. Tiki said it could take a week or two, but I remember most of my happy moments being around you two." She smiled and let go of her father. "We did a lot together before the curse worsened. "

"We will do a lot of stuff together when you get better too." Lucina added reassuringly.

"I know, and it will make this all worth it. I just wish I didn't feel so weak." She added and fell back into her bed. "I've never felt so drained of energy before."

"Yeah, it's been strangely peaceful lately." Robin teased to lift her spirits.

"Don't get too comfortable." She snickered back. "Once I get better I will comeback in full force."

"I'm looking forward to it." He replied optimistically.

Lucina tightened her grip on her daughter's hand and said "Just hang in there for the meantime alright?"

"Will do." She nodded back. "But while we wait, can we get back to the story?"

"Sure." The tactician sat down in his seat and looked back at Morgan one last time secretly mad at himself for making her suffer like this before shrugging it off and saying,

The news of Lucina and I getting together spread quickly through the Shepherds and before the next day began I was already being bombarded by five or six people that had questions. The primary ones being how I was still alive and how long we had been together. Gregor, Virion, and Henry congratulated me, Frederick and Cordelia stared at me in shock for different reasons, Lissa made a dozen jokes, and I did my best to stay clear of Chrom for fear of what he might do.

Lucina had her own fair share of people coming to ask questions as well, especially her baffled friends, and neither of us had time to see each other because of our shared problem. However, it was for the best because there was one more person I needed to speak with before I could relax and take a moment to figure out how the word of us getting together spread so quickly.

…

*Ahem* "Um, uh good morning, Tharja."

"Hello my sweet." The dark mage gave an unsettling and wicked smile. "You've finally come back to see me after you've kept me waiting for so long."

I scratched the back of my head and said, "It hasn't been that long since we last talked."

"Twelve days, six hours, and thirty minutes."

"Erm, right." I looked away slightly uncomfortable.

"So have you come to finally have your way with me?" She smiled seductively and posed in a way to expose her chest.

"No." I replied strongly and retreated a couple of steps when she tried to lean closer. "I am here because I wanted to discuss my relationship with Lucina since uh, I'm sure you've heard the news by now."

Tharja's evil grin quickly turned to a foreboding scowl and her eyes became daggers merely hearing Lucina's name. She muttered something under her breath before awkwardly smiling back at me pretending everything was okay and said, "I cannot help that my love has a fetish for dainty little blue haired flat chested princesses. But once you come to your senses you will return to me and never stray again."

"I would prefer if you did not speak about Lucina in that way." I replied back firmly.

"Then how should I speak about the woman who tempts my lover?"

"I'm not your lover."

"Yet." She stated with a new grin on her face.

I shrugged and exhaled knowing this was going nowhere. "Regardless of what you might think of her, I would ask that you please not harm her in any way.

"You don't want me soil that precious little manicure on her nails, hmm?"

I glared at her and said, "She is far stronger than you give her credit and she prioritizes other people's safety far more than her own."

"Yes, I've heard of her noble exploits. How very dull and bland. Just like the refined naive little girl herself."

I tightened my fists and said disappointed, "Tharja, I know you are a better person than this. It neither benefits you or me to keep insulting her and I will ask you one last time to stop. I hope that you would at least give her the same respect that you give to me."

"Seems I've struck a nerve." She mumbled in curiosity at the new found anger in my voice which she had never heard before. "But fine, I'll play nice and leave your girlfriend alone. No ill will shall come to her."

"You promise?" I asked hopeful. "No hexes or plots to hurt her in any way. No conspiring to have Henry or anyone else do your bidding for you. No threats or malicious comments in front of us, and you would agree not to disturb us when we are together unless it involves Grima, Validar, or a serious threat against the shepherds' safety?"

She scoffed in disgust at my questions and scowled back. "I've already said I wouldn't harm a hair on her pretty head, but would you rather I sign a contract to satisfy your suspicions?"

"Your word is enough." I nodded relieved. "I know I can trust you to keep a promise."

"Says the tactician who believes I am scheming to harm your precious princess."

I sighed and said, "I'll admit that we haven't always agreed on things and I've been uncomfortable around you in the past, but you've never given me any reason to believe you would go back on your word. You have always been honest with your intentions … No matter how disconcerting I may find them to be."

"That almost sounds like a compliment." She criticized and looked away from me harshly. "But what would you have done if I refused your terms?"

"I would've told you that anything you did to her would hurt me ten times more than what you could possibly do to her. She means a lot to me and I don't know if I could forgive myself if I caused her to suffer."

"How sickening." She grumbled and hissed under her breath. "You're telling me that you would feel guilty even if she suffered from a little sleep spell?"

"Yes I would. In fact, if you were to ever notice that someone cursed her could you remove it? Or, if you have any objections about being around her then could you ask Henry to do it for you?" I asked knowing that it was possible for Validar or someone else to try something against her.

"Such nerve." She jeered and looked ready to kill anything in sight. "Now you wish for me to aid the woman who stole you away from me too?!"

I looked away knowing I was asking for a lot and hesitantly said, "Well, our original agreement was that you would protect the royal family as long as I remained safe and a part of the shepherds. Since she is very much a part of the royal family, her welfare is extremely important to her family and to me. It would mean a lot to all of us to know that she will be safe and I would be grateful for it."

"Hmph. Very well." She clenched her hands together tightly while a black aura surrounded her. "I shall do as you ask, but don't think this is over. I will not rest until you are mine, and mine alone to control."

"Right..." I replied uneasily. "I have no doubt that you won't give up. You made that clear from the beginning."

"Indeed, and if I can't use magic to claim your heart then I'll have to try a more physical approach." A wicked grin started to reemerge on her face with a new vigor. "I can be quite persuasive without any clothes on."

"I'll uh, take your word for it." I replied nervously and took another step back to stay a safe distance away from her.

"Oh? Wouldn't you rather strip these clothes off of me right now and see what a real woman looks like?" She asked with a seductive smirk. "I can show you things that your beloved princess will never be able to."

"And I am sure I would never be able to look myself in the mirror again either." I shrugged and quickly disregarded the thought. "I'll pass."

"You don't know what you are missing." She whispered back placing her hands underneath her chest.

"Maybe not." I replied not giving it much thought and focused more on the picture of Lucina's smile in my head. "But I do know I what I have to gain. So if you'll excuse me, I better get going. There are some other things I need to take care of .

….

"Oh, and Tharja. Thanks. I really appreciate what you do for us. Just, not in the way that you would like.

…

With that discussion out of the way and Lucina's safety restored, I set back to work on finding the location of the last gemstone. Despite the new changes in my life, the mission to end Grima still took priority over everything else. With four of the five gemstones in our possession, the hope that we could stop the future grew. Especially since Lucina said that in her time the shepherds never held more than three stones at once. The one that Flavia gave to us was lost in Lucina's time forever, and the fifth was never found, but I would not let that stop us now.

I did have my fears where I might find it, and I knew that there were still some loose ends to take care of regardless of what happened, but for the time being I put my hopes into a small shrine near the harbors of Valm. It was dedicated to Naga and it was said to hold one of her tears which is why it became our number one target. There were of course others places of interest too, and we sent scouts to check them out, but if there was another gemstone lying around in Valm than this shrine was our best bet.

"Which way do we turn next?" I asked as we crossed the border of a dynast state. The path had changed from cobble stone to dirt and we were relying on Tiki to help us navigate through this land since the location of the shrine was supposed to be hidden from all except a select few.

"We turn right and walk another half mile before we reach the sanctuary hidden behind a small forest." Tiki informed us as we marched in a double file group. "There are some traps you need to be careful of and a pure heart is required to pass, but I know you will make it through.

"Pure heart eh? I guess that means Robin can't go in." Vaike slammed his hand on my shoulder and laughed heartily.

"If that is the case then you can't even look at the shrine before burning to flames." I remarked back. "Your reputation is ranked up there with Virion and Gaius."

"Oh come now. Teach' was only having a bit of fun with his life. It's not like I decided to make friends with the boss's daughter and do things with her behind his back." He gave a wink and punched me in the shoulder a second time.

I blushed a little and quickly said, "At least I didn't almost kill Chrom by throwing a large rock at his face and telling him to duck. To this day I do not understand how Frederick or Sumia didn't kill you for that."

"He dodged it! And besides, I was testing his reaction skills like I did with Lon'qu." Vaike defended himself and smiled declaring "I would expect nothing less from my rivals."

"... Just don't make anymore rivals or next time we might lose them to one of your surprise attacks." I shrugged and wondered how any of us were alive anymore. It was a miracle that we could survive our battles, let alone the eccentric threats from within our own members.

"I don't know. Teach thinks you might be capable of facing me in combat one day Robin. You've got the stones to stand up to Chrom, and I've heard you've been training with Lon'qu. You could make a fine rival one day." He smiled and patted his axe.

"I think I'll pass on that. I prefer not to have my head chopped off or bludgeoned by your attempts to see my reflexes."

"Oh ho, don't worry. Teach' knows you are slower than Chrom and has no need to check. I'd have to be more careful of your mind in a duel than your skills with the sword."

"Er thanks ... I think. But how do you plan to assess my mind? With a math test or questionnaire?"

Vaike gave another smile and said, "I will challenge you to a game of rock, paper, scissors. The perfect battle of wits."

"... I'm not sure if that qualifies as a test."

"Nonsense, it's perfect!" He cried out happily. "Now think fast!" He rushed his hand towards me in the shape of a fist and I barely had time to block it with my hand before it would have collided with my shoulder for a third time.

But in my attempt to block his attack, his knuckles crashed hard into my open palm and I felt the pain vibrate through my hand as it took the full force of his blow. "Augh!" I cried out loudly in pain and covered my hand in distress. "Damn it Vaike. That hurt."

"Ha! You are a true genius when it comes to predicting your opponent." He triumphantly declared while oblivious to my throbbing hand. "You used paper to cover my rock without even needing to think about it. Perhaps you are worthy to be my third rival after all."

"Gah, it's easy to predict when you keep trying to punch me." I murmured under my breath and rapidly shook my hand hoping to take away some of the sting that was left over.

...

"Robin!" Lucina's voice urgently called out from behind me and she came running over in a hurry. "Are you alright? Did someone hurt you?" She asked with her sword at the ready from hearing me cry out in pain.

"I'm okay." I shrugged and tried to regain the feeling in my numb hand. "Vaike and I were just playing a game."

"What?" She asked confused with her eyes fixated on my injured hand.

"I wanted to see if Robin was worthy of facing me so I used rock and he countered with paper." Vaike laughed impressed. "He is a clever dastard and a quick thinker just like I predicted."

Lucina turned to me even more lost and with a hint of worry "I don't understand."

"You rarely do when you are a part of the shepherds." I replied and raised my good hand to ease her concerns. "But I'm fine Lucina. My hand will just sting for a bit. That is all."

"Don't listen to 'em, he's just trying to put on a brave face." Vaike smiled and patted me on the back while giving me another wink. "He's hurt bad and he needs your help."

"He is?!" Lucina cried out alarmed and carefully grabbed my wrist to inspect my hand with more care. "Where does it hurt the most?"

I sighed and glared back at Vaike for lying before saying, "There is a little sting in the middle of my palm, but I barely even notice it."

She quickly took off her glove and then gently rubbed two of her fingers on the inflicted area. "Does it hurt when I touch it?"

"No, no … Quite the opposite actually." I whispered as her two soft fingertips seemed to fuse together with the tender skin and brought new warmth into my palm.

Lucina then elected to hold my hand with hers and asked, "How does that feel?"

"Better." I whispered embarrassed.

She smiled back and exhaled relieved saying. "Good. The last thing we need is for you to get hurt."

"Henh." Vaike grunted and said "Must be nice to have a nurse to look after you whenever you need her."

"Hmm?" Lucina looked back at me confused.

"Just ignore him." I replied and frowned back at the axe wielding warrior. "I'm sorry to bother you though."

"It's no trouble." She replied sincerely. "Laurent was just asking questions about us when I heard you cry out. It seems like everyone has heard about us by now."

"Words travels fast. That is for sure." I laughed in disbelief. "Vaike, where did you hear about us?"

"I 'eard it from Sumia."

"Sumia?!" The two of us looked back at each in shock and suddenly everything became clear.

"My mother-"

"Must have told everyone." I covered my eyes trying to keep from laughing in horror. "Gods, that explains everything."

…

A few embarrassing moments later we reached the shrine we had been seeking and our attention switched to the impressive building which looked the same color as light blue ice. The floor shined with its blue tint and everything about it looked like it was in pristine condition. The encloser was supposed to be an ancient construct and yet it looked more like it was built yesterday by the finest artisans in the world.

"Wow, this place is incredible." Lissa whispered in amazement.

"My mother used this building as a sanctuary for humans thousands of years ago when man fought dragon." Tiki advised us as she stepped forward an opened the door to the main hall. "Seeing so many humans hurt and oppressed by the dark dragons caused her to weep for days in agony and sorrow. Which is why this shrine holds her tears to this day."

"Amazing, it seems Lady Naga has always been looking out for us." Lucina whispered fascinated at the divine dragon's dedication.

"Yeah." I said while marveling at architecture. Each wall held thousands of symbols in ancient language that none of us had ever seen before except for maybe Tiki herself.

"We can thank her later, but where do we even start to look for the last gemstone in this gigantic place?" Lissa asked as we ventured further inside the colossus building. However, there was this strange feeling that I could not shake. It felt like a pair of eyes were looking at me and I couldn't place where.

"Hey Lucina, do you feel like someone is watching us?" I asked with a gut feeling in my stomach.

"I've felt that way ever since we told Chrom we were together." She replied back with a small tint of red on her cheeks. "It seems that the shepherds are really interested in us."

"True." I muttered back. "But I have this feeling someone else is watching us, and they are not from our group."

"...You don't think it could be Risen do you?" She asked concerned

"I don't know. But it feels like someone is-"

...

"Sister!" A short blue haired girl came rushing towards us out of nowhere and quickly wrapped her arms around Lucina. Shes didn't even seem to process who was in front of her as it seemed like the world stopped for her and froze into place.

"C-Cynthia?" She asked stunned with her eyes wide open in disbelief. "Is that... Is that really you?"

"Oh Sis!" She cried out jubilantly near tears. "I knew we would find each other. I just knew it! Nothing could keep us a part from each other forever."

"Cynthia." Lucina whispered with tears forming in her eyes. "Are you unharmed?"

"Yea! There is not a scratch on me thanks to Severa. With her help I've stayed strong and safe just like you wanted."

"Severa is here as well?" Lucina asked bewildered.

"Noire too." The girl added happily. "The three of us have worked together ever since we came back. We pledged to keep up our mission while we searched for you."

"Thank the gods." Lucina whispered and held her sister tightly with a new found joy. "I've been so worried about you and everyone else. I prayed every night that you would stay safe and hoped every morning that I could see you again.

*Sniff* "Well it worked sis. I could feel you guiding me this entire time. Even though you weren't here, I could feel your presence and I used it to stay strong knowing one day that I could see you again. And now that I've found you I … I … Waaaaaaah!" She sobbed uncontrollably on Lucina's shoulder and held her tighter. "I missed you so much Sis.

"I missed you too." Lucina replied filled with love. "And so have our parents."

"Mother, and father know about me?" She asked amazed and confused. "But I thought we weren't supposed to tell them about us."

"Some things changed." Lucina smiled while wiping a tear from her eye. "I've told them all about you and they very much look forward to seeing you."

"R-Really?" Cynthia sniffed. "You mean it?"

"Yes. I do." She whispered back. "They should be a few rooms down. I'll go let them know -

The girl instantly sprinted in the direction that her sister was point and yelled at the top of her lungs. "MOTHER! FATHER!"

"... So they wont be so surprised." Lucina trailed off as Cynthia was already clear across the room.

…

"How touching." Another voice called from behind a pillar and moved over to reveal herself. She had brown hair that flowed down two separate pony tails and gave a half hearted smirk seeing Lucina's surprised look.

"Severa!" Lucina cried out glad to see the she was okay and in one piece.

"Hey." She replied back nonchalantly. "It's been awhile hasn't it?"

"Severa I ..." She remained speechless as she walked closer to confirm that it was indeed her friend and not a shadow or illusion.

"Oh come now. You don't need to get all teary eyed with me." She scoffed and refused to look Lucina's way. "We knew it was possible that we could get separated on our way back."

"Still. I … I am so glad to see you are safe." Lucina smiled warmly and reached out to hug her friend much to the snarky girl's embarrassment.

"Hmph." The girl blushed and stuck her head up in the air pretending that the words or hug didn't phase her. "I suppose it is good to see you too. I was slightly worried for you; on occasion."

Lucina smiled deeply at her friends words and said, "How are you even here?"

"We've been looking for this place for a year actually." Severa replied a little bitter. "Since we couldn't find you we decided to continue our search by ourselves with little luck. But a few days ago we caught word of The Voice being in the area. Since she is one of the few people that knew about this place we decided to follow her hoping she could lead us here. However, it seems she has brought us to you instead."

"How fortunate for us." Lucina replied trying to keep her emotions in check.

Severa blushed again and ignored her words while saying, "Yes, well, you can thank your sister for blowing our cover. The moment she saw you she came sprinting towards you despite my best efforts to restrain her."

"I imagine I would have done the same." Lucina whispered back. "... But she mentioned that Noire was here too." She asked hopeful.

"Right, she is still hiding behind the pillar." Severa sighed and turned around to call out to her seemingly invisible friend. "Noire! Get out here now!"

"... A-are you sure it is safe?" A weak voice called back.

"Yes, yes. Now hurry up would ya?"

"O-okay." A timid looking girl holding a bow came out from her hiding place and slowly walked over to Severa's side. Hers eyes widened in surprise when she saw her old friend and she whispered in awe. "Lucina? Is that you?"

That was the final straw for Lucina as tears started to pour from her eyes without any restraint. I wanted to go over to her, but I knew my place and stayed away while she reunited with her friends.

"Oh my, I, I hope I didn't hurt you." Noire asked afraid.

"No, it's not that." Lucina wiped her eyes and smiled back. "I'm just so glad to see you all safe. I'm half afraid to wake up because I want this all to be true."

"Don't worry Lucina, I uh, think this is real."

"Of course it is." Severa remarked back. "But let me ask you something Lucina, what are you doing here with the shepherds? We agreed not to interfere with them!"

Lucina did her best to steady herself and said, "I know, but I realized that we couldn't fulfill our mission without them. It was also the best way to protect my father without having to worry about wasting time staying out of sight."

"It's still risky to involves ourselves with our parents." Severa commanded back.

"That is what Laurent said." She nodded.

"He is here too?!"

"So is Owain, Brady, and Gerome. We found them thanks to the shepherds help." Lucina smiled happily.

"Interesting." She replied back stunned. "You must tell me more about it after we sort everything out. I am sure your new friends have a lot of questions about us.

"Right. Cynthia is probably explaining things to Chrom and Sumia as we speak. We should catch up before my parents suffer from shock."

"It's too late for that now. She's probably tackled both of them."

…

Robin exhaled and smiled back at Morgan. "And that is how we added three new eccentric members to the shepherds."

"Hehe." Morgan laughed. "It always cracks me up how much Cynthia and I are alike."

"You do share the same amount of energy and hair color." Lucina nodded. "But I don't know if I would go that far."

"Yeah, you are eccentric and bizarre in your own special way." Robin teased.

"Thanks dad." Morgan smiled before a new thought popped into her head. "But that shrine you described. It seems oddly familiar. I think I have been there before."

"Really?" Lucina asked surprised.

"Yeah, but this was before I traveled back. I don't think I was there in this time line."

"That's a shame. We could have met up with you there too." Lucina said while grazing through Morgan's hair.

"Hehe. I guess." Morgan laughed in between a couple of coughs and said, "But it would have been weird for me to barge in on you two when you two were still unsure about your relationship together."

"I admit that would've been a big surprise." Robin muttered not wanting to think about the disastrous effects that could have caused. "I don't know about Chrom, but I would have gone into shock."

"Yeah, me too." Lucina nodded. "I suppose it's for the best that we didn't see you until much later. Still, it would have been nice to know that I had such a beautiful daughter in my life."

Morgan smiled proudly and said, "Thanks mom."