Morgan started wheezing again as her dry throat made it difficult to breathe. The attack wasn't bad this time, but her lungs seemed like they were filled with water. "Errrgg."
"Hold your breath and cover your nose." Robin instructed as he saw her struggle.
Doing as she was told, Morgan felt a pressure building inside of her. Slowly it grew and grew in her until it felt like it was going to burst if she held any longer. Just as she was about to gasp out for breath, Robin pressed his hands hard on Morgan's stomach and literally knocked the wind out of her forcing her eyes to rise and her body to gasp desperately for air.
"Ah! cauh cauh." She choked and pounded on her chest trying to regain her senses.
"The curse is trying to trick your body, so we have to do a little tricking ourselves." Robin whispered as he brushed away a few strands of hair on her forehead. "But thankfully it doesn't know how to adapt. The thought of drowning is my fear, not yours."
"Ennh." Morgan slowly returned to her normal state and looked back at her dad in curiosity. "I suppose it is a good thing I love water." She laughed weakly.
"You just like to splash in it and get others wet." Robin murmured back.
"Hehe. I don't always do that." She replied pretending to be offended. "Sometimes I also like to go underwater and pop up in front of someone to scare them."
"You mean like the time when you nearly scared Chrom half to death?"
"Hehehehehe."
...
*Knock* *Knock*
A sound came from the doorway and half surprised the three members of the room. They had not been expecting anyone to show up at this hour and usually the shepherds gave their well wishes later in the day.
"It's unlocked." Lucina called out to the other side of the door.
There was a brief pause and a strange silence that replaced the expected sound of the door knob turning. Instead, the door rattled as it was pushed forward, but it would not budge from its spot and remained firmly shut.
"At least, I thought it was unlocked." She responded and quickly turned to her husband wondering if he locked it to which he replied by raising his shoulders to say he didn't.
Meanwhile, the door shook again and a light groan came from the other side of the closed doorway.
"I guess I'll get it." Robin replied curious and walked over to the wooden door. He turned the knob expecting it to lock, but it turned freely without any resistance. In the next moment the door swayed open and his eyes met air as there was no sign of anyone in sight. He leaned over the doorway and looked out to the hallway to see if the person walked away, but to no avail. "Strange, maybe they left a pack-" when he looked down he was surprised to find the knocker in question looking up at him with her clear blue eyes.
"Hi Robin." The young blue haired princess who barely rose to Robin's knees smiled and quickly came inside Morgan's room before he could react. She was cradling orange sunflowers and green leaves in her arms while carefully taking steps forward making sure she would not trip over the ground like her mother had a habit of doing.
"… Lucia? " The grown princess replied wondering how her younger self managed to get here when her parents normally tried to keep a close eye on her. "What are you doing here?"
"Oh, hey sis!" The younger version grinned seeing her sister. "I came to see Morgan cause daddy told me she wasn't feeling well." She looked up to the bed that contained the sick tactician and walked forward until she reached the bed's edge. Normally she would have climbed up the mattress using her arms, but she was afraid of crushing the flowers in her hands if she did so. "Nnh." She groaned as she stared intently at the towering mattress blocking her from her objective.
Thankfully for her, Lucina sensed what her younger self was trying to do and picked her up by the waist to lift her up to the top of the bed. The smaller princess stumbled for a moment as her feet sank into the mattress, but soon she was able to regain her footing and stared face to face at the sick tactician.
"Hi cousin." Lucia said timidly and raised her hand to wave as she carefully observed Morgan to see how she was doing.
"Hey there." Morgan smiled back and shifted in her bed to sit up straight. It always felt strange to see Lucia, but it made her laugh to think that one day her mother was a little three-year-old princess. "You can come closer if you'd like. I don't bite … that much."
Lucia paused for another second before she carefully waddled over to Morgan while fighting the unstable ground below her until she was directly in front of the tactician. "I brought you these to make you feel better." She replied softly and dropped the sunflowers and green leafs on the bed next to Morgan's stomach."The sunny flow-ers will shine away the dark stuff inside of you!"
"Really?" Morgan smiled and patted her on the head. "Then I am very grateful for you bringing them to me, but what are the leaves for?"
The all blue princess smiled and declared triumphantly, "Those are special leafs from a bush in the garden. Robin said they helped cure him, and maybe they can cure you too!"
"He said what?" Lucina asked skeptical and glared back at her husband.
"Heh, heh." Robin laughed uneasily and said, "Um, yeah, Lucia was hiding in the bushes one night searching for a way to help me with my sickness and we happen to cross paths in the garden. It seems our princess here has an act for sneaking out without permission."
Lucia gave an innocent smile that promised she would never do such a thing and clasped her hands together to act like the most angelic person in the world. Something she learned well from her mother.
"Speaking of which, how did you get here?" The older sister asked wondering how her three-year-old self managed to sneak past her parents, the guards, and even the all seeing stoic blue knight.
"Mommy wasn't feeling well today so daddy is taking care of her. Fred-ick was going to watch me, but I managed to sneak out before he came cause it's hard to trick him."
"More like impossible" Robin added.
"Now that you mention it, I haven't seen mother today. Is something troubling her?"
Lucia frowned and said, "She has spent a lot of time staring at the potty and keeps blaming daddy for something that happened a month ago."
There was a long silence and the couple looked back at each other while Robin scrunched his eyes wondering if his suspicions were true. "...Have you noticed any other strange things about Sumia?"
"Well." Lucia paused and closed her eyes as she put a considerable amount of effort into thinking about anything else she might have noticed. "Mommy seems happy about being sick and I don't know why. When I got sick three months ago it felt awful and I never want'd to face anything like that ever again!"
Lucina whispered to her husband making sure that Lucia couldn't hear. "I guess we will be adding another member to the family soon."
He nodded and said, "I'm sure Cynthia will be thrilled when she hears of it."
Lucia stared confused at the grownups wondering why they were talking so softly all of a sudden before remembering that she was here to help her cousin. She turned around to Morgan again and said. "Cousin, I do hope you get better soon. It is fun to play with you."
Morgan leaned forward to give the little bluenette a hug. "It's fun to play with you too, and with these flowers and special leafs, I know I will get better ten times faster. Thank you so much cousin."
The young girl grinned knowing that she was able to help and cried very excited. "You really mean that?!"
"Yes I do." Morgan replied cheerfully. "See?" She pointed to her smile and said, "I am starting to feel better already."
Lucia's eyes widened in delight and said, "Wow! The leafs are working faster than I thought. Just wait till the third part of the cure comes."
"There is more?"
"Mhm. I have to tell you a story too. It always makes me feel better when I am sad or sick."
Robin raised his brow and said, "Did you say a story?"
"Uh huh." Lucia replied back. "I just need time to think of one." She placed her hands on her temples and frantically searched her brain for an exciting tale. Though, the harder she tried, the less inspiration seemed to come her way. Smoke started to escape from her ears and she closed hers eyes tight hoping that some sort of idea would come her way.
Noticing the strain on her younger self, Lucina intervened and said, "I can tell a story if it is okay with you."
"Really?!" The young bluenette's ecstatic smile returned and she replied, "That would be pur-fect!"
"Hehe. Yes it would" Morgan added and looked back up to her mother with the satisfaction of knowing she didn't even have to ask this time.
Lucina shook her head in disbelief at the two and said, "Well, the next part takes place where I was reunited with Cynthia so-"
"Wait!" Her younger self cried out urgently and rushed over to the side of Morgan so that she was sitting in the same fashion that her cousin. She then leaned back on the pillow behind her felt her body sink into the fluffy head rest that extended to her full height. Although this was supposed to help Morgan, Lucia reasoned that there was nothing wrong with her enjoying the story too and she looked to get as comfortable as possible before the story began. "Okay, you can start now sis."
…
I don't know what was more surprising. Seeing my sister and my friends in one piece, or the fact that I found them in the sacred shine of Naga. It wasn't the best place for a reunion, but Severa and Norie insisted on Cynthia and I being alone with our parents while they helped search the place for the last gemstone. Robin also shared the same sentiment and soon I was back in front of my sister and my parents for the first time in what felt like a lifetime. The four of us were in a foreign place in the hallway of an abandoned shrine, and yet, I never felt so much closer to home.
...
"I still can't believe it's really you!" Cynthia cried amazed as she gazed at our parents in admiration. "I missed you all so very much."
Chrom, who was still a little shocked about his second daughter appearing from nowhere stammered and said, "We are sorry to leave you two behind in the past. You have every reason to blame us for failing you."
"Oh!" Cynthia yelled out alarmed and said, "Don't worry father. I know you couldn't help it. Y-you always tried to be there for us and we knew why you left … But don't worry, I stayed strong just like you wanted!"
"Cynthia sweetie." Sumia called out very lovingly. "You don't have to hold it in anymore. You can let it all out if you want. I know this must have been very hard on you."
"I...I, no I can't." She gritted her teeth. "Heroes don't cry and I have to be a strong just like my family."
"Lucina cried when she introduced herself to us." Sumia replied encouragingly.
"What?! Is that true?!"
I lowered my head embarrassed and said, "Yes, I did. My face was soaked with tears by the end of it."
"Wow." She said in awe. "So … if you did it. T-then it is okay if I … Waaaaaaaah!" She fell to pieces and charged at Chrom in an instant. Without giving him a chance to breathe, she held on to him with a vice grip and made a repeat performance of the same emotions that flowed through me back at Carrion Isle. Soon, Sumia quickly joined and entered into the hug while my sister whimpered between the muffled emotions running through her.
"Mother, father." She sniffed and her legs started shaking. "You really are back."
"Yes we are dear." Chrom said softly. "And we won't leave you this time."
"Y-you mean it?" She asked hopefully. "...You really promise?"
"Of course sweetie." Sumia smiled warmly. "We are not going to let anyone harm us this time around."
A weak smile returned to her face as the tears continued to fall and she looked back at me to say. "You hear that sis? Our parents are going to stay with us this time. Isn't that great?" She cried overjoyed.
"It's wonderful." I whispered at a loss for words.
Cynthia's energetic smile returned to its former glory and she said, "I have so much to tell you. "
"And we will be glad to listen." Chrom replied. "But let's find a better place to talk. This dusty hall is no place to catch up on lost time.
...
The four of us traveled outside the shrine and found a nice quiet place to be alone from the world. While not the most comfortable place to be, we sat on some large rocks overlooking a small stream and proceeded to talk to each other for told me about the she came across a vicious looking bandit that tried to trick her into joining him, but she quickly managed to catch him in his lie. Instead of fighting him right there and risk dying from the group of bandits he had with him, she pretended to serve under the bandit leader looking for a way to defeat him before he could harm others. That was how she came across Severa and Noire because they chose to fight the bandits a few weeks later with the help of a village.
As for me, I told her all about my adventures from the moment I teleported to the forest all the way to the time where I decided to join the shepherds. Sumia even made a point to mention the current situation between me and Robin much to Cynthia's shock and my father's discomfort. That created a whole hour of conversation in itself as my sister interrogated me about every possible detail of the man who earned my respect and affection.
The two of us had so much to tell, but through all of it our parents just smiled and listened intently. It was a moment I will never forget because it felt so much like the old days. My sister laughed so much I lost count and Chrom would encourage us to keep talking even when we feared we were taking too much time. Soon the day became night and dinner was fast approaching, but it went unnoticed by us.
"Do you remember the games we used to play as children?" I asked as a cold chill ran through the night.
"Of course, you won nearly every game!" She pouted "Especially when we made bets."
"Whoa, hold on a second, you two made bets when you were younger?" Chrom asked horrified
Cynthia laughed and said, "Just on little things. We would occasionally wager chocolate rations, or who would get to sit in the front of the wagon."
I looked over to my father and said, "You weren't too happy when you found out about what we were doing."
"Mhm, for the next month neither of us got any chocolate as punishment because you didn't want us to get addicted to gambling. You told us it was a very bad thing to do and that we should never do it with each other again."
"Of course, that didn't stop us from making bets with mother." I looked down at the ground embarrassed. "We used to guess how long it would take for Brady to get spanked for speaking out of term or how long it would take Owain to give his father a head ache.
"Mom always used to win on those bets though." Cynthia said disappointed.
"The two of us had to team up just to try to beat you and your predicting skills."
Sumia covered her mouth and laughed evilly at the idea, "Well, intuition has always been a gift of mine."
Chrom scowled back "That is still no reason to encourage them to do those kind of things."
"Hehe, oh relax dear. It didn't do any harm to them and I think we can agree we raised two amazing and beautiful children. Besides, you gamble all the time with Robin and the bunch at poker."
"That is different." He quickly protested back. "Our poker nights are a way to bring all the male shepherds closer together. As Robin put it, they are strictly social events to synchronize us as a fighting unit. Gambling is not the main factor"
"Is that why Gregor and Virion always end the meeting with all of your gold?"
"Not all the time." He gritted his teeth. "... Sometimes Henry wins too."
"Hehe, I take it back." Sumia snickered. "It's not gambling if you know you never will be able to win."
Both Cynthia and I shared in on the laugh and Chrom reeled back in horror just like the old days. It had been seven long years since I was able to experience anything like this, but that moment made it all worth it to be back with my family. Everything I yearned for and desired as a teenager was back and it felt so incredible. I had to restrain myself to prevent from tearing up because it made me so happy.
…
"Hey, Lucina, are you okay?" Cynthia asked worried seeing me struggle to contain myself.
"Never better sis." I replied and wiped my eyes. "Never better."
…
The next day came quicker than I would have liked, yet it came with fewer worries than the day before. So much so that I had to remind myself that there was work to be done and that I had to keep moving forward. Still, in these past few months I felt alive and the reasons to protect this world started to become more selfish than noble. As much as I hated to say it, I wanted to save the world so I could enjoy it too. I wanted to be here even if I didn't belong. Though, Robin and my family always made it seem like I did. The child inside of me wanted to embrace this world and call it my own … and I was okay with it."
"Ah, there you are." A friendly face came my way as I was sorting out some documents in the shrine that Tiki believed might have some relevance to our search. "Breakfast will be ready soon and I am sure your family will be eager to see you."
"Thanks, once I finish this up I'll attend breakfast. Would you like to join us?" I smiled as I got a better look at his face.
"Oh, no." Robin stared down at the ground and said, "I don't want to intrude. I'm sure it takes more than one day to catch up after being apart for so long, and the last thing I want to do is get in the way of your time together."
"Okay, but you know you are always welcome to join. I think my father is starting to get adjusted to the idea of us being together.
"I don't know about that, but thanks for the offer." He gave a fake smirk which I noticed to be odd because it was not like him to hide his emotions. "Still, I have to research a few more things before I can even think about eating."
"Has the search turned up anything promising?"
"There are some descriptions referring to a gemstone that matches Sable's description, but a lot of them surface in an ancient territory that now belongs to Plegia. I fear that we might be making a journey to the desert again soon.
"...I see."
"Don't worry though." He smiled reassuringly. "Regardless if it is in Plegia or across the globe, we will get it in time. I can assure you of that."
"Confident as always."
"Heh, it comes with the job, but don't let me keep you waiting with my duties. You must overjoyed to see your sister after all this time." His eyes trailed off as he spoke those last words and once again he seemed to be trying to hide a frown.
"It is a great relief to see her safe. Ever since we were young I was the one that would look after her went off to fight the Risen. When our parents died she was still too young to understand, but I did my best to protect her."
"She is very lucky to have such a caring sister."
I shook my head and said, "No, I am the lucky one. I wouldn't be here today without her. She was my biggest supporter on the other side and always hopeful even when I couldn't be."
"I see." He hummed with a faint smile. "I'm sure she holds you in the same regard. As does the rest of your family."
I placed my hand on my heart while thinking about the good days again and said, "I never will forget how blessed I am to have my family. Even through all of that hell, it still was a life worth living with them around"
"It must be an incredible feeling to have." He whispered something under his breath and sighed very softly hoping I wouldn't see.
"Robin?" I asked concerned.
"Hmm?" He perked up again with an unnatural look that feigned happiness.
"Something is troubling you again. Is it still about the Valm campaign?"
"No. Not today." He exhaled and laughed softly. "No morality questions are plaguing me for once. This is the most at peace I have been for a while and I am thankful for your help with that.
"Then what is it?"
"Just something silly and trivial. Plus you are in such a good mood that I don't want to bother you about something that is not even worth mentioning."
"I won't be in a good mood anymore if I know there is something troubling you." I asked slightly hurt that I still had to asked him at this point. He promised me that he would let me be there for him and yet he was pushing me away again.
He grimaced in pain seeing my reaction and it appeared that he got the message as he apologized with his eyes. "It really isn't that bad, but alright. I was just wondering what it would be like to have a real family that cared for me. I know someone had to take care of me when I was little, but even then I struggle to believe I had a real family that loved me. I highly doubt Validar would have made a good father and I get a bad vibe from my twin."
"You have a twin?" I said in surprise.
"Oh, that's right. I don't think I ever told you." He shrugged and said, "When we were requesting ships from Plegia I happened to meet someone who bears my exact same face and name. Chrom and I figure that he is probably an identical twin, but since he serves as the leader of Grimleal I know the two of us can't be very similar on the inside. Just looking at his eyes scared me. It was like looking at a complete stranger in the mirror that bore my face but not my identity. It was so strange I really can't describe it ... But in the end he will probably try to kill me after we slay his precious dragon."
"What about your mother? Do you have any memories of her?"
"Not a one." He sighed and shook it off. "For all I know she could have been an incredible person, but if that was the case then you think I would have remembered at least one thing about her. She was my mother after all." He shrugged and tightened his hands in turmoil. "I mean, it is possible that she died when I was young and that is why I don't remember her, but there is also the very real possibility that she was a Grimleal worshiper just like my biological father.
"Robin ..."
"Heh, you know it is funny. I used to imagine what it would've been like to have a real family so I created my own in my head. I had this imaginary picture of my mother holding me and looking at me with deep hazel eyes and a warm and nurturing smile. My father wore square shaped glasses and was an instructor who worked in an academy teaching tactics. After all, I had to learn my tactics from someone." He smiled thinking about his fantasy and then said, "I even had this cute little black and gray dog that always followed me around whenever I went into the woods."
… "Of course, my silly little fantasy was shattered when I met my father and I had very few illusions that my dream was real in the first place. Still, every once in a while I liked to picture having my own family. Someone who loved me unconditionally and was able to share some of my childhood stories with me. You know, someone who would be glad to call me their son and be the first to boast of my accomplishments. … It would've been nice."
"You always have us." I replied while my heart broke inside. I felt like a fool for talking so much about my family while he secretly harbored these troubles.
"And I am very grateful for that." He smiled genuinely this time and looked at me with a deep gaze. "At first I feared I was merely substituting my desire for a family with Chrom's hospitality. I was just a stranger with no memories or connections. What would a family like the Exalts want with me? … But even when I failed they didn't abandon me and those damn fools kept putting their faith in me. So even if it is a bit misguided, I do like to think of them as my family now, because a family is a group of people who care for you and in response you care for them."
"It isn't misguided at all. We feel the same way Robin. You will always be part of the family to us!"
He gave a small chuckle and said, "Well, I should hope you in particular don't consider me a family member. I certainty don't see you in that light."
"... You don't consider me family?" I grimaced and my stomach sunk.
"I don't think I could with a clear conscious." He gave a long a deep smile. "I love you Lucina, and I wish to be with you whenever I can so I can see you happy and remind you of how beautiful you are. Because of this I could never view you as a sister or a cousin. Instead, one day in the future I hope to see you as my partner, and my wife.
"R-Robin!" A sharp blow hammered me in my heart and I was sure my face turned redder than a strawberry.
"Gods, you are so adorable when you blush like that." He laughed and ran his hand through my hair. "I doubt either of us are ready to make such a big commitment yet, but it doesn't make my dream any less true. So for now it is just a fantasy of mine. A pleasant little fantasy of mine."
" ...I-it does sound nice. E-espcialy because I feel the same way" I replied as my hands shook violently and I found myself inching closer to him as the intensity in my cheeks increased.
This was followed by a shiver running down my back as he grazed his hand against it and a moment later we kissed. It lasted five seconds at the most, but it severely drained my strength as my knees threatened to buckle.
"Lucina." He whispered in my ear and held me tight. "I don't know how long it will take for us to be ready, and I don't want to force it either. But in the meantime I want to work on that goal."
"Me too" I confessed as a new vigor entered my body. In the next moment I backed away from him and quickly wrapped my right arm around his left. "So come with me." I whispered back and locked my arm firmly in place.
"Where are we going?" He asked as he looked down at the tight grip I held on him.
"We are going to have breakfast together. If you really mean what you say then I want you to meet my sister." I tugged on him and started walking forward before he had a chance to say anything else. "She means a lot to me and I am sure she would like to see you."
"...She is not going to kill me is she?" He asked as he referred to his experiences with Chrom.
"No, she would never do that. She might maul you, but for entirely different reasons."
He shook his head and said, "Very well, I shall brace myself for the attack."
...
"Oh, and Robin." I called out as we walked forward together.
"Yes princess?"
"I am sorry that you never had the opportunity to have a family like mine. I don't know if I could ever fill that hole, but I will do whatever it takes to try."
"Thanks Lucina. I can take comfort knowing that."
…
"Wait a second. You never had a mommy?" Lucia asked in horror as she looked up at Robin.
"Er well, technically I did, but I have no memories of her, and even now I really don't know who she was." Robin responded back a little uneasy. This wasn't exactly something he wanted to tell to a three-year-old.
"But you said your mommy always told you to eat your veg-ables."
"Um. I'm sure she did at one time or another." He fumbled for words as he looked back at the girl in front of him who had caught him in a lie. "A lot of moms do that."
She crossed her arms and looked away from him in anger. "That still means you fibbed!"
"I didn't want you to feel uncomfortable about it." Robin rubbed the back of his head and sighed. "But you're right. I did lie and I am sorry for doing so."
"Hmph." She pouted and refused to look at him. "Daddy says bad people lie."
"... He did, huh?" " He replied delicately and added. "In that case it was very wrong of me to do so and I understand if you are angry with me for it. I shouldn't have said what I did and I am sorry.
Lucia hesitantly looked back at Robin and said. "... Does this mean that the leafs don't work as a cure either?"
"Um, I-"
"Of course they still work!" Morgan replied back sweetly. "I feel ten times better after receiving them from you, and Robin admits that helped him too. So that counts for something right?"
"I suppose." She thought it over and looked back up to the male tactician. "But does this mean that you never had a mommy to tuck you in at night and tell you stories?"
"I'm afraid not." Robin frowned back.
Lucia's eyes widened in both sorrow and horror at the thought of never having a mom. She could never imagine living without her mom or dad and it terrified her.
"But your big sister does that for me now. She takes good care of me and makes me a very happy boy."
"And he makes me happy as well." Lucina replied with a big smile. "I'm sure Robin never had any bad intentions when he lied to you. It's doesn't make it okay, but he isn't a bad man.
"So what do you say? Do you forgive me?" Robin asked gently and smiled back warmly.
"Well, okay. I suppose I can for-gave you this one time. But don't you dare ever lie to my sister!" She yelled with an extreme ferociousness that would make seven-year-olds tremble in fear.
"I would never, ever, think of lying to Lucina. I care for her too much."
"...You promise?"
"Yes. I do. I promise with all of my heart, and you can never break a promise like that. All I want to do is make her happy and I will do everything in my power to see that happen."
"Good! Cause she deserves it!" She proclaimed and raised her fist in the air. "My big sis is the best-est sister ever."
"That is very true." Robin chuckled back and leaned over to kiss his wife on the cheek. "She is the best-est wife ever too."