"YOU'LL NEVER SEE ME AGAIN!"
One year later
Robin sat in the hallway and fidgeted. The screams had stopped, but the breathing hadn't. He tried to focus on the breathing. Breathing was good. If he could hear breathing over his heart pounding, he was in good shape.
"Father. It. Will. Be. Fine. This IS mother we're talking about."
Robin felt his daughter's hand on his arm and jerked his head back.
"I… I know. Gods, I know. She's a rock."
"The only woman good enough for you! Tall. Beautiful. Brilliant. Trust me. She could handle Walhart's armies. She can handle a whole crop of trainee knights. She can handle us! There's no way she can't handle this."
Robin leaned back.
"I just wish I could be in the room with her."
"Maribelle said she'd break both your arms if you stayed. Oh, and Maribelle is really good at this kind of thing, so we have even less reason to worry. I mean the baby delivering, by the way. Although I think she'd also be good at breaking your arms."
"I suppose so…"
Robin paused. Someone was at the entrance. He could barely hear the guards trying to tell whoever it was to halt. Then he heard, with significantly greater clarity, one of the guards being slammed into a wall. Then another. He winced.
Damn. Of course he had enemies. He and Cordelia helped break two kingdoms. They killed… gods, they killed hundreds of people. Each! People with families, friends, loved ones. People who wanted… well, who wanted the same thing as Chrom did from Gangrel. Oh, Chrom's cause was just, and whoever this was, their cause wasn't, but that's what everyone said to themselves. Whoever was coming for him would think the same.
And he let Chrom talk him down to one set of guards! If he'd set the traps, if he'd went through with all the fortifications, then there'd be a chance, at least, that the intruder could be stopped. But Chrom wasn't a tactician, and Robin was a fool, and now he was going to pay for it. Robin dashed for the door.
"Morgan! Fortify the area."
"But, father…"
"Don't. I need you at your best. If they get past me, you're the only thing between them and your mother. I'm counting on you, Morgan. Take no chances. I don't want to die, but letting someone else die because I failed would be much, much worse. Can I trust you?"
Morgan snapped a salute.
"Always, father."
Robin nodded back.
"I love you, Morgan. Remember that."
"One of the few things I do, father!"
Robin dashed down the hall and towards the foyer, reviewing his options on the way. He had a ceremonial sword, that was something. Not in the best shape, but neither was he, lately. A spellbook, crammed between the pages of a tactician's manual. A few arcwinds, a little lightning, elfire. A creative man could find some use for all of them, if pressed.
Judging by the sounds of combat outside, he was going to be pressed. Delightful.
Robin rolled out the door and behind some foilage. He could assess the situation, consider the odds, and then…
"Ugh. There he is."
Then see the last person he expected.
"Severa?"
"Daddy. Please tell these idiots we're family! Gawds, it makes me…"
Robin waved his hand.
"Wait. Let me adjust for a few seconds. Please. I'm an old man now."
"Ugh."
Robin looked around. Guards groaning on the ground. His oldest daughter glaring at them. Family only entrance… ah. Simple.
It only left one thing unexplained, really.
"I thought you weren't ever going to see us again."
Severa's glare moved from the guard moaning on the ground to Robin.
"Like I would miss my own birthday."
Robin weighed the idea in his head, shook off the paradox, and nodded.
"Well, it's nice to have you here, no matter the reason."
"Whatever. Are you going to let me in or not?!"
Robin smiled.
"I think Cordelia would go insane if you didn't show up soon. She's been waiting most of a year already."
"Ha. Ha. Ha. You're going to like her better than me, aren't you?"
"Well, that's up to…"
On the ground, someone groaned.
Robin looked down at the guards and sighed. More injuries to the pride than the body in every case he could see, at least.
"I'm sorry about the misunderstanding."
"They're right outside a hospital, dad. They can take it as a VALUABLE LESSON ABOUT BEING RUDE."
"I'm still not sure…"
"You weren't the one who had to argue with them. Gawds, I thought Chrom actually had some standards. I mean, he surrounds himself with people like you, but now… ugh."
Severa stomped into the main hall without bothering to follow up on the thought. Robin almost followed her. Almost.
Before he did, he remembered his last instructions to Morgan. It might be for the best to… leave a safe distance.
The yelling a second later confirmed his decision.
Robin gingerly entered the hall to see Severa suspended in mid-air and Morgan looking sheepish.
"Hello again, father. Err… look who decided to drop in?"
Severa glared. Morgan lifted her hands defensively.
"And, I swear. I only mostly sort of primarily made that pun to try to relieve the tension. I didn't set up this trap just so I could use that pun."
Severa was still glaring.
"Uh-huh."
"You found this a lot funnier when we were younger."
"You don't remember when we were younger!"
Morgan winced.
"I was really hoping you wouldn't think of that before we could move on. Err… a little help, father?"
Robin took a step forward, then stopped. It had only been a couple of minutes, but, just to be safe...
"How many backup traps do you have, Morgan?"
Morgan slapped her forehead.
"Right! Good thinking, father! Don't step on any red tiles. Orr… the black tiles. And don't try to touch the ceiling. You really shouldn't try to mess with the ceiling. I'm not sure I had time to set things up so I could disarm it."
Robin nodded and stepped forward on a rare white tile. It started humming.
He decided it was best not to ask.
Morgan looked up at the rope, and down at her spellbook.
"Err… fire?"
The rope snapped and Severa crash…
Robin blinked. Severa made a near perfect three point landing. Well. It had been a year. Plenty of time to master a new skill.
Morgan clapped politely.
"Wow. That went WAY better than last time I had to cut someone down from a rope trap."
Morgan frowned.
"Way, way, way better. I really shouldn't have…"
Severa glared again.
"Shouldn't have what? You wouldn't dare try something like that on me, right? You're going to tell me everything right now!"
Morgan's eyes went wide.
"Tell who everything? Who are you? Where am I? I do not recognize anyone here!"
"Morgan."
"Who's Morgan? She must be some other adorable and brilliant young woman. Boy, if I didn't have amnesia, I'd help you look for her!"
Robin smirked.
"Well, I'll be sure to tell her that next time I see her. I suppose I'll just have to give baby Lucina the birthday gift I bought for Morgan."
"You wouldn't dare."
Robin scratched his chin.
"I wonder what she thinks of Wars of the Metal Dragon?"
"She'd just drool on its 235 beautiful hand crafted models! There's no way she could grasp the historical allusions, let alone the backbreaking research into the possible future of warfare!"
"You seem to remember the details of that game awfully well for someone with no memory."
"Err… it's a miracle? Naga be praised!"
Severa rolled her eyes.
"I can't believe I missed you."
"I missed you too. Of course, I knew you'd come back."
"What?"
Morgan tapped her head.
"Family style bonds, dear sister! You'd have to show up for your birth! Err… I mean, of course you were there when you were born, and the other you will be there, but the you there is a reason for the you here to be here, which is closer to there. It's pretty simple if you think about it."
"If you're daft, maybe. Gawds."
"I could explain it for you, if you like. There's a chalkboard somewhere around here."
Robin rubbed the back of his head. Ah, family arguments. They all came rushing back. Amazing how quiet it had been for the last year, compared to how it was before Severa left to make her own way in the world.
A nurse coughed behind him. Robin pivoted.
"I'm sorry for all of this. You might want to warn anyone you see that we're going to be disarming…"
The nurse's eyes were growing wider by the second. Robin could hear the slight whirring of one of Morgans more… creative security measures. Gods.
"I'll deal with it. Again, I'm sorry. Who brought this up? I think I need to apologize to them as well."
"I… I was just going to tell you it's a girl."
"Of course she's a girl. I don't know how history has… A girl! You mean she's… I mean, you're saying I'm a… are they ready for visitors?"
The woman looked back at Morgan and Severa's argument.
"I… thought so, your grace. But at the moment, I'm not sure of anything."
Robin looked from his daughters to the nurse and back. He considered saying he was sorry again, but he'd said it twice already, and if he tried for sufficient pleading to match the harm his family was doing to the poor nurse's sanity, he'd never be able to leave. He nodded to Morgan and Severa.
"Morgan? Sev? Finish any immediate disarming we need, and get ready. We're going to meet your baby sister."
He paused for a second.
"And make sure to thank the staff here for putting up with everything you've done. They've been very patient with us, and we can't expect that from everyone."
"Will do, father!"
Severa looked at the nurse, and her glare faded.
"You don't deserve any of this, do you? You just get abuse heaped on you all day by people who think they're so much smarter than you."
The nurse coughed.
"I couldn't say that. They've… everyone's been so kind…"
"That's why I'm saying it! Gawds! And you have to deal with US on top of that! You're getting a raise. AND DON'T TRY TO ARGUE!"
"What?"
"I SAID you shouldn't argue! Dad, make sure they pay her more. Ugh. Let's go. This is depressing."
Morgan was at the door already, tapping her foot to some unknown rhythm until her father and sister arrived. When they did, she snapped a salute and opened the door wide.
"Age before beauty, father."
Robin shook his head and smiled.
"If I didn't know better, I'd say that was an insult."
"Don't worry, father. I would never interfere with Severa's job."
Severa grinned.
"You better not, you little turd. You're already the favorite."
"For the moment, sure. But other-you is a baby. There are limits to my competitive adorableness. I'm not saying I'll take over your niche. I'm just saying that I might find the need sooner or later. A good tactician never eliminates her options early."
Robin stepped past his older daughters and into the room. Cordelia was waiting for him. She looked…
Honestly, he couldn't say how she looked. Anything for posterity, anything for anyone else, they'd demand an objective evaluation, some description of variance. That's what he was for, to see what others couldn't, to see the little changes in the nature of things.
And to Robin, Cordelia looked like she always did. The most beautiful woman in the world.
"Hello, Cordelia."
She turned. Smiled.
"Robin."
In front of him, his newborn daughter was gurgling. Not the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen. But close. So very close.
"I guess you've picked out a name already."
Cordelia looked far less stressed than a woman would be expected to look after childbirth.
"Well, I can't think of anything very clearly. Did you know they give you these wonderful herbs while… Oh. Oh, of course! If you don't think she'd mind? We let her down once already..."
A voice came from behind the door.
"It's fine. It's not like you could ruin her life any worse!"
Even through the fog, Cordelia lit up.
"Did… did you hear it too?"
Robin nodded.
"She came all the way here for the big day."
Severa leaned into the room.
"It's not like I'm making a habit of it! This is the last time you'll see me."
Robin leaned in next to Cordelia.
"Just like last time."
Severa walked past him and leaned over to look at… Severa.
"This is so weird. Ugh."
"I'd… imagine so."
"You'd better take good care of her."
Cordelia nodded.
"Everything we can."
"Good! I'd hate for her to end up whining about everything and storming off every year like she's SOOO special, and ignoring what everyone else needs. That would make me sick."
FIVE YEARS LATER
Morgan glanced down at her shadow. Judging by the relative position, the time of year, and accounting for that recent eclipse, it was approximately…
Waaayyyy later than she'd been hoping. Morgan kicked herself. She probably should have left sooner.
Also she shouldn't have spent so much time in that tavern arguing about the importance of air cavalry. Or spent several minutes looking at shapes in the clouds. Getting a small child's cat down from a tree? Kind, but not exactly efficient.
And, really, she could have dealt with that town's Risen problem in half the time if she hadn't been showing off.
Ah well. She arrived on the right day, at least. That was almost definitely better than anyone expected. Morgan knocked on the door. Three short, three long, spaced perfectly.
Father probably wouldn't have any of the usual traps armed, but it would put a damper on the big day if Morgan was electrocuted before even coming in the doorway.
The door opened, and Morgan looked into her older sister's eyes.
"Perfect."
They were not happy eyes. But she'd already noticed they were Severa's eyes, which made the followup more or less redundant. Morgan smiled.
"I'm pretty sure that's mother you're thinking of. People DO say I look more like her every day, but…"
"Ha. Ha. Ha. Do you think a joke will make up for being late?"
"Didn't father once say that a great tactician is never early or late? We arrive just when we intend to. I mean, it's not like you..."
Her father's voice interrupted her.
It said a good deal about Morgan's respect for her father that she stayed interrupted.
"Bad example. We've been setting our clocks by Severa's annual 'absolute final' family visit. Try a different approach."
Severa looked back into the hall.
"Fine! Take her side!"
"Only because she needed help more than you did."
"Hmph. I was just going to let her know her little sister was waiting for her. You better have a gift."
Morgan nodded.
"Several, my dear Severa. As always, I come prepared. Late, but prepared."
"I thought a tactician was never late."
Severa's riposte toppled over the curve of Morgan's shoulders and crashed to the ground with nothing more than a rolling shrug to its credit.
"It's more important that a good tactician will surrender ground when there's no chance of defending it. Is there still any cake? Because you always made the best..."
Severa rolled her eyes.
"One slice. The guest of honor insisted I save it for you."
"Aww. I knew you were a big softie!"
"Not me! The other me! I would never… ugh. Just enjoy the stupid thing."
"Well, to be fair, you're both you."
"Why do I even try to argue with you?"
"I think it's my natural charm and winning personality. I rely on it way too much."
"Gag me. More like my trying to be reasonable in this house. Not that it ever WORKS."
"We admire your persistance."
"You'd better. It's not like I HAD to come back here to say goodbye. I could have just vanished like Lucina, but noooo. I tried to care about my family. You see what good it did me."
Considering how much Severa liked to argue, Morgan would have agreed with the last sentence, minus the sarcasm. But it seemed to be poor form.
Severa was looking around a corner anyway.
"We should stop. I don't think you want to argue around our mutual younger sister. She might wind up like you or, worse, me."
"Agreed."
Severa's mouth twitched upwards.
"Oh, of course you'd agree that quickly."
"For the record, I'm letting you have that parting shot to be nice."
"...Thanks."
Morgan nodded. She could have mentioned that Severa sounded more sincere than usual, but when the bar for usual kept going up every year, it didn't seem worth the bother. Also, it might inspire argument, Severa II or no.
The room looked about like she expected. Brilliant father, worn out from another all nighter split evenly between his work and the new twins. Beautiful (also brilliant, but Morgan didn't want to go repeating descriptors this early) mother, looking as close to frazzled as she could get, which hardly would count on anyone else's scale. And little Severa Mk. II at the center of it all, covered in cake fragments.
Severa Prime nodded to her younger self, and then towards the newest arrival.
"Look who finally decided to show up."
"Morgan?"
Morgan nodded.
"Yep! Your favorite… aunt, here in the flesh. Now, I know you aren't old enough for…"
"Nope."
"Err… I should say that FATHER says you aren't old enough. This isn't my fault! I am fulfilling my family irresponsibilities as best I can, under the circumstances."
Severa the younger shook her head.
"Severa's my favorite."
"Oh. Huh!"
Morgan scratched her chin.
"I'm not going to argue with your rigorous decisionmaking process, but I am curious when it happened. Learning my errors will be crucial in winning any upcoming battles."
Little Severa tilted her head.
"We've got the same name."
And then she went back to the rubble of her cake, like that settled everything.
Severa the elder shook her head.
"That's it? That's it? Gawds, and I thought you wanted people to think you were smart."
Severa the younger looked up again.
"But I said you…"
"That's not the point! You're surrounded by geniuses! People are going to compare you to your mommy and daddy and Morgan and your new little sister and brother who are ALSO going to be perfect. You need to know what you're going to say, or you're just going to be the also ran."
"But... I said you were my favorite."
Severa the younger looked like she was about to cry. Morgan opened her mouth to say something. Severa the elder beat her to it.
"Fine. Thank you. I guess I can let a five year old get away with some questionable taste. Now hold still! You've got cake all over your face."
Severa the younger nodded.
"More cake for later."
Severa the elder did not nod.
"A lady doesn't leave cake all over her face. Hold. Still."
"Morgan does!"
Morgan quickly hid what was left of her slice behind her back before Severa could turn around.
"Mmph mmph!"
Severa's eyes probably rolled in response. Morgan didn't pay much attention. She'd seen Severa's eyes roll approximately a million times, and the roll didn't really change that much. Meanwhile, she had the pleasure of trying her sister's cooking once a year at most, and every time it had new and exciting variations.
Gods that cake was good. Severa had really outdone herself. Maybe younger Severa had the right idea about smearing it...
Morgan glanced at Severa's eyes. Okay, this eyeroll was even more sarcastic than usual. Impressive!
"In case you didn't notice, my sister isn't a model lady. Somehow she gets by on charm. I know you can do better. Now hold still!"
Severa dabbed away at her younger twin's face.
"Well, it will have to do. Ugh. You know, you really are lucky you're still young enough people think this is cute. If I did it, people wouldn't be so polite. Mo… CORDELIA really should have taught you better. Please tell me you haven't forgotten everything I tried to teach you."
"Comb with one hundred strokes?"
"And?"
"Stab one more time when they're down, just to make sure."
Severa beamed.
"I knew you were worth something. Keep it up, and everyone will be jealous."
The younger Severa beamed back. The smile fit her much better.
Morgan finished off her slice of cake. Severa had to be a saint underneath it all. No-one else could leave anything this good for someone else to eat. Oh, right. She had a gift to offer in exchange.
"Err… it's not as good as the cake, but I did bring something. I know it's a little simple, but…"
Morgan clunked a box on the table with an engraved dragon on the front. The dragon was grinning.
"It's my first game! Well, the first one Anna said anyone else might pay for. I had to cut out, like, five indexes, but it does have brightly colored pieces and some semblance of rules!"
Cordelia smiled in the corner of the room.
"That's still better than someone's done."
Robin sighed.
"I thought that everyone would be interested in the impact of long term grain storage problems on cavalry formations. After all, there's a reason the Feroxi winter is called the second greatest general on the continent."
Severa's eyes resumed their default position.
"You're being as modest as always. Second greatest. Like the greatest is..."
Robin lifted his hands.
"I'm not the one making up these names!"
Morgan nodded.
"They're talking about me anyway. So! Game! I think…"
Severa the elder looked down at the box.
"Wait. YOU made that?"
"Yep!"
Severa picked up the box and shifted it in her hands, looking at the little dragons, the Anna Sisters logo, and a small M that Morgan really thought should have been a tipoff earlier.
"...I guess I should thank you. I've been TRYING to use it to teach Captain Lanval basic tactics. Not that it's doing much good."
"Oh. He's that bad?"
"Gods help us all, he's not the worst commander I've worked under. Do you know what it's like trying to find a halfway decent mercenary company in Valm? You'd be sick. I'd trust INIGO in charge over any of them, and you know what he's like."
"Well, you're still alive, at least?"
"Barely, and no thanks to anyone else. My last boss managed to turn a nice, peaceful bodyguard job in Chon'sin into a bloodbath because the idiot wanted to get paid twice, the one before her almost started a war with Rosanne, and before that… ugh. Just UGH."
Cordelia cleared her throat.
"If you need…"
Severa almost glared. Almost.
"No. I don't need. Even if I wanted to come back to Ylisse, I could do it on my own without having to go begging to you and Da...Robin. I'm sure you could use my help, but I'm making my own life."
"I'm glad to hear it."
"...Oh, gawds you are. That's… ugh. I don't even know what it is."
Morgan smiled. Well, Severa might not know, but Morgan had a pretty good guess.
It was family.
Five years later
Cordelia was a woman used to authority. She was the youngest commander in the history of Ylisse's pegasus knights. She was granted a noble title for her service to the country. And even beyond that, she had ten years of motherhood to her account.
More than a decade of experience corralling children and, worse, pegasus trainees gave her a wide variety of tools for dealing with the failures of others. Her sigh was a natural gift, but she'd developed it into an artform. She could tell someone she wasn't angry, just disappointed with half a glance. And on the rare occasions those weren't enough, she could give a calm, polite lecture that left the most stalwart and determined of cadets sobbing into their hands.
It really wasn't fair of her to use all those talents on a poor, hapless children's party entertainer. But Cordelia had always aimed for perfection in all things. Slacking off now would be worse for everyone in the long run.
He was already sweating. Cordelia adjusted her gaze from stern to almost sympathetic. It helped the words carry the right weight.
"Now, I understand this may be difficult for you."
"Gods. You have a gift for understatement, don't you?"
"You're more used to formalized theater rather than interacting with an audience. I'm sorry that you had to leave your comfort zone, but in light of Ylisse's changing tastes…"
The man sighed. (Well, most people would call it a sigh. To anyone used to dealing with Cordelia, it barely qualified as exhaling.)
"Lady, I spent ten years playing everybody from Arvis to Able in the classics. I like to think I was good. I'm not even sayin' it's degrading to work like this. I'm just sayin' that, no matter how bad the guy I played was, nobody tried to take my knees off."
Cordelia decided it was the time for a calm, gentle smile.
"I suppose that's why the costume is padded."
"And normally, that's good enough. But your daughter and all her noble friends are somethin' else. I mean, no offense intended, I'm sure they're great kids, but they hit harder than most army veterans. And on top of that, I'm pretty sure that the supposed genius tactician who's doing magic tricks has kicked me a time or two when I wasn't looking."
Cordelia sighed.
"I'll talk to Morgan about that. I'm sure she had her reasons. But for now, we should focus on your performance. I know I always appreciate constructive criticism, so feel free to mention any problems you want me to elaborate on."
"My performance."
"Of course. Now, I understand you wanted to give the guests a sense of accomplishment by having Grima scream in pain and fear when battered. But I hardly imagine he would say 'Dear Naga what is wrong with you?' or 'Merciful Naga, what could I have done to deserve this?'"
The man opened his mouth, closed it, and slowly nodded his head.
"I don't know what I was thinkin'. Why would I go and scream in pain like that, just 'cause a few oversized rugrats were beating me senseless with my own damn costume's tail?"
"Exactly. Pride in your work, no matter how humble, is the mark of dedication."
Robin looked up from his book in the corner of the room.
"If it makes you feel any better, you've been about the best Grima I've seen. At least, when you weren't crying out in pain."
The man turned to face Robin.
"Damn, you think this is good? You should..."
"Well, yes. You clearly have classical training, and I imagine you're more confident in that work. But you're using classical training as an influence on low farce. You're giving Grima dignity, but allowed it to fall apart… err, even before you're ambushed by Severa and her friends, I mean. You played the role like there was a human being somewhere in the monster. I don't see that very often, even from professionals in the major troupes. Seeing it here… I'm impressed."
The actor lifted his hand to his head.
"Yeah, I dunno. I just didn't want to go for the obvious, you know? Kinda surprised you thought it was good. Figured you'd be… I mean, you killed the damn thing. Most people don't get sentimental about monsters."
Robin smiled.
"I suppose it's in my blood."
Cordelia was about to respond, but something nagged at her. There was something else, something she forgot in all the difficulties with catering, with breaking up that fight between Inigo and Kjelle, something important. What could it…
A door slammed open.
"You know, I never had any of this! I guess you're just going ALL OUT for the second try! Not that it does me any good, but you don't care about that, do you?"
A woman stepped into the room, her armor stained with blood. Cordelia could see the actor sinking into his chair. She turned to the visitor. Of course that was what she forgot.
"Hello Severa. We were just talking with one of the entertainers for Severa's party."
She looked down at the man. Cordelia could see a dozen insults flashing through her mind, before she saw the bruises.
"Rough day?"
He looked at Severa's armor. Dented, nicked, and bloodied, even more than it had been in the days of the Valm campaigns.
The actor shook his head.
"Not by your standards."
Cordelia turned to him. There were more important things to worry about for now.
"I'm sorry, but could you head back out? I think we could afford another thousand gold if money…"
The man was out the door at "thousand", and his costume's headpiece with him. Cordelia and Robin were alone with their oldest daughter.
Severa took a seat and didn't quite glare at her parents.
"I'm fine, thanks for asking."
Cordelia cleared her throat.
"I wasn't sure if you wanted to talk. We're here for you, Severa. If you ever need anything..."
"I can guilt you into it. Oh, poor Severa. She had SUCH a hard childhood, we feel so bad. It's not like she can do anything on her own. It's not like…"
Robin leaned back in his chair.
"She has her own mercenary company?"
"Exactly! You're sooo sure I need your… wait. WHAT?"
Robin smiled.
"We're very proud, of course."
"How did… what did… WHO TOLD YOU?"
"Oh, no-one. I admit I had to do some guesswork, and your mother and I weren't quite sure until you admitted it just now, but the clues were all there."
Severa stopped almost glaring.
"And now you're going to show how smart you are, because we all need more of that in our lives."
Robin sat a little straighter and lifted his hands.
"I'm sorry. I just…"
Severa shook her head.
"No. Go on. I'd hate to spoil another cherished family tradition. Also..."
Robin coughed at the pause. After a few moments without a response, he spoke.
"Err… also?"
"Fine! Also I kind of like hearing it. It was nice to know that my dad was the smartest man in the world, okay?"
Robin lifted an eyebrow.
"Smartest man in the world? Gods. You know how to put me under pressure, don't you? Fine. I'll try to keep it short, out of courtesy to your mother."
Cordelia smiled at her husband.
"When have you done that before?"
"Last time it came in under two hours. I remember Morgan was very impressed. And since she was the only person still awake…"
Robin shook his head.
"I'll be concise. To start, I'd heard a few rumors about skirmishes in Valm recently. Nothing serious, but there was talk about a few squads managing to hold off a full company at a pass. And not even veteran mercenaries, from what I heard. Not many tacticians could manage that, and Morgan was in Plegia at the time…"
"Oh, of course you thought of Morgan first."
"No, but I felt I should eliminate any alternatives. I did get another hint from her, of course. She mentioned that Anna paid her more than the usual royalties a few months back. An anonymous buyer in Rosanne, picking up multiple copies of everything. I'm sure you've realized by now that the only people who play Campaign for North Yield are tacticians and masochists."
"Both. The only people dumb enough to play it are both."
Cordelia looked up at the shelf in the corner of the room, and thought back to the not-even-half finished family game night three months ago. A perfect mother might try to defend all her daughter's work, but Cordelia had a first duty to honesty. She couldn't argue with Severa. She wouldn't even try.
Neither did Robin. He did something worse.
He agreed.
"Exactly. I thought of you immediately. That is… I mean... I'll just pretend I didn't say that, if you'll let me."
"Never."
"I don't know why I even asked. Well, your armor was what convinced me to bring it up."
Severa's eyes lit up in spite of themselves.
"The unit markings, right? I spent weeks getting them perfect."
Robin gulped. Cordelia joined him. In so many ways, great and small, Severa was her father's daughter. She was driven, brilliant, a master tactician, a skilled swordfighter, and a more than passable mage.
She also couldn't draw her way out of a paper bag. The unit markings were concrete proof, if you could force your eyes to focus on them for more than half a second, that whoever was in charge of company heraldry was Robin's daughter.
"It's… distinctive. But I noticed the damage first. You care too much about appearances to let that sit. But clean and new looking armor is bad for a new commander. It makes you look like you don't get your feet dirty. If there was a formal chain of command, that wouldn't be a problem, but for a mercenary? You need the dents. And that brings us back to where we started, in well under an hour. I'd ask how I did, but I know everyone here is too sarcastic to trust on that account."
"Hmmph. You can learn."
"You had to pick it up from somewhere, and gods know it wasn't from your mother."
"Agreed."
"She was perfect already."
Severa gagged and looked down at the floor to feign vomiting. Cordelia looked to Robin. If anyone else called her perfect, she'd have tried to be polite and take it as a compliment, no matter how much it irritated her. But Robin was her husband. Robin knew her like no-one else in the world, and she knew him. To death and beyond, when the need came.
Which meant she knew he was saying it to get under her skin, and she could just roll her eyes.
Robin laughed. Cordelia leaned in to kiss him.
Severa was still looking down.
"You're still disgusting. Both of you."
After a few seconds, she looked up at the ceiling.
"Aaand, this is weird. I thought I'd get used to it, but I'm still not."
Cordelia pulled away from Robin to face her daughter.
"What is it?"
"You're still alive. Both of you."
Robin shrugged.
"That's not my fault, for whatever it's worth."
"I'm not complaining. Gawds, even I'm not that awful. Even if I hated you, I have three sisters AND an idiot little brother who need you. It's just… you were dead longer than you were alive. And now Severa is growing up with both of you around like it's normal."
Cordelia tilted her head a little to the right.
"I thought you wanted…"
"I do. I just never thought I'd get it. Even when we came back, I knew you'd just go away again. I… this is stupid."
"I'm sure it isn't."
Severa raised an eyebrow and dropped it.
"...You are. Dammit. Why do you make it so hard to hate you sometimes? I just thought, when you died… I'd have to look after everyone. I had nightmares about it."
Robin smiled.
"I had nightmares about raising you too. I'd have more questions if you weren't terrified."
Severa leaned back and shook her head.
"Of course, I was being stupid. There's no way I could be as pig-headed as the idiots I have to deal with now. It's not like I can afford to hire anyone good. I'm pretty sure some of them can't even tell which end of a sword to use."
"Severa's finishing school for lady warriors is going into overtime?"
"That implies any of them will ever be warriors. I'll be lucky if they don't kill each other. ...Wait. Oh, gawds. Who's watching Severa?"
Cordelia frowned.
"...Morgan."
"Speaking of killing each other. We should…"
"Yes."
"But don't expect me to get you out from under your own stupid mistakes again. This is the last time."
Cordelia smiled.
It was amazing how many last times there had been.
She only hoped there'd be many more to come.
Five years later
Severa turned around when she heard a woman sighing. It was reflex at this point. After more than 15 years with her mother alive and well, she could fire off a high powered angry rant from a standing start.
It was disturbing when she looked behind her shoulder and the sighing… stopped. It was more disturbing when Severa realized she was the one sighing in the first place.
Her only relief was the fact that Morgan left the house earlier to pick up supplies. Gods only knew what she would do with this opportunity. She was bad enough when she was just comparing leadership styles. Imagining what she would do when she could compare length and depth of sighs… Severa shuddered thinking about it.
She chalked that tiny gift up to Naga. After all, she'd gone well out of her way over the years to help the old dragon and her daughter. It was the least Naga could do to pay her back every once in a while.
Well, Morgan or no, sighing wasn't signing. Ugh. Why on EARTH did she ever want to run a mercenary company, anyway? It was just…
"Just what, Aunt Severa?"
Just the wrong time to be muttering.
"Just nothing, Mark. I had work to worry about. Trust me. You're better off ignoring that as long as you can."
Severa turned to face her little brother.
"And you can cut out the 'Aunt Severa' garbage. I know mom and dad told you the truth by now."
Mark shrugged.
"It's easier this way. I already have a sister called Severa. I don't think I could keep track of two! Also, you always…"
He paused and scratched his chin.
"You seem more like an aunt."
"An aunt."
"Yeah! You seem WAY more like mother's sister than mine! You're all mature and authoritative and... old."
Severa glared. Mark gulped.
"I mean… you're experience? You seem like you… I mean... eep?"
"You're lucky you're family. If anyone else said something like that, I wouldn't let them off this easily. And you're even luckier I'm going to assume you meant that as a compliment."
Mark nodded with puppy-like enthusiasm. Severa allowed herself to smile. The little dope was sincere. He almost always was.
Amazing, considering who he grew up around, but miracles happened. She'd gotten more than her share, after all.
"Just don't say anything like that in front of your other sisters. I don't need the headache."
Mark nodded.
"Yes'm."
Oh, gawds. A 'ma'am.' She really was getting old.
"And hurry up with some other compliments. I only get one visit in a year. We need to pack those in."
"I bet everyone else compliments you."
"Fine. I'm greedy. Just go for it already. Or is greedy supposed to be a compliment too?"
"...You always have time for me."
"Once a year. Gawds, that isn't that much."
Mark shook his head.
"Whenever I see Aunt Regan, she spends all her time with Severa. Aunt Gonny just complains to mother about things. And Aunt Aversa…"
Mark shuddered. Severa could entirely sympathize.
"What about Morgan?"
"Aunt Morgan mostly helps Lin pick on me, and you never do that."
"Only because it would be too easy. It's not like Morgan hates you. Gawds, I've heard her spend enough time talking about how clever you're getting that I'd be sick if she was talking about anyone else."
"I still don't like her as much as you."
"I didn't ask you to. I'm just saying you shouldn't hate her. Trust me. Yelling about how much you hate family is a waste of time. If you aren't going to just kill them, you should at least try to get along with them."
Mark winced.
"Kill them?"
"...I thought dad told you that story already. Forget I said anything. It's for when you're older. And don't worry about it."
"Don't worry about what?"
Ah, chronic memory issues. A family quirk Severa was glad to have missed.
"Don't worry about how much cake you've missed out on by sitting in a back room. Come on. I'll make sure no-one messes with you."
Severa marched into the room and Mark dawdled in behind her, keeping the veteran mercenary between him and any potential harm.
Severa turned back to look at him.
"There's no reason to be scared. You'll be fine. Just go and… talk to people. I'll be here if you get into anything stupid."
Mark nodded, puffed out his chest, and walked into the middle of the room. Severa moved towards the back. Paperwork could wait. For now, she had family to keep an eye on.
Mark was stumbling, as usual. Severa's cold, dead heart still felt a little pulse of sympathy every time she saw him fail.
He'd probably do better if he could just deal with peers in his age group, but mother and father were so happy that Severa's old gang was getting along the second time… well, he just had to deal with people a couple of years older than he was hanging around.
Lin just made it worse. She fit in. Morgan made sure of it, even when her younger iteration couldn't. Clever, socially adept, and occasionally ruthless, she could at least pretend to keep up with her elders. Mark…
He was sweet. A little dim when it came to dealing with people, maybe, but always willing to help, and careless about his dignity. Mark was one of the nicest, least complicated people Severa knew.
He might as well have worn a kick me sign on his back.
The only lucky break he'd gotten was a good set of sisters. Oh, Morgan and Lin picked on him, but at least they marked it as their exclusive territory. And Severa… well, he'd talked about how much he liked her, but her younger iteration was also doing a good job of keeping him from the sort of disasters he would get into on his own. Severa remembered how enthusiastic he was about being the Justice Cabal's junior squire, second class. If he had said half of what he said to Severa to anyone else… gawds. It would make Grima the second largest stain on the family record.
Mark was next to Severa again. She looked down at him. It probably didn't help him that his growth spurt was still years away.
"What do I do?"
"I said already. Talk to people. Gawds, I can do it."
"But you're Aunt Severa."
He said her name in a tone that Severa would have reserved for Naga herself or, rarely, her mother.
"Right. Aunt Severa, who…"
Severa paused. Did she want to ruin her reputation in Mark's eyes? Self loathing wasn't healthy to begin with. No need to spread it over everything.
On the other hand, maybe it would make the dope feel better about himself.
Severa was still weighing her options when something started neighing. She looked towards the front of the room. Morgan was at the door.
Of course Morgan was at the door. And something was coming through the door with her.
"And here we are! Party supplies, as scheduled. Err… gifts totally count as party supplies, right?"
The younger Severa was gaping.
"She's beautiful! Did mom pick her…"
Morgan nodded.
"Her name's… huh. I can't even remember if I forgot or if I wasn't told in the first place. I guess you have to come up with something."
Severa the younger closed her mouth enough to smile.
"That was the plan all along, wasn't it?"
"I'd claim it was either way. Am I your favorite now? Because, really, as great as my older sister is, you have to admit I have been putting way more hours into this plan."
"No."
"Fair! So, what are you going to name her?"
"Fee."
"No pause. No hesitation. Almost like someone knew what she was getting for months. But no-one in our family would ever stoop that low."
It was amazing Morgan could keep a straight face when she said that.
"Of course not."
It was more amazing Severa could match her. Then again, when a family game had been running for nearly a decade, you had to expect that some people would be good at it.
The horse nuzzled the younger Severa and she smiled. Severa the elder shook her head. There was a reason she never took up riding. Well, multiple reasons, some deep seated in issues that, if she ever shared them, would make some psychologist very rich or very depressed, but aside from all of that baggage, she'd never had the kind of bond with a pegasus you'd expect of a rider. They were all the same to her, and none of them cared about Severa. Simple.
And here her younger self was, bonded with one inside of five minutes. Severa would have felt sick or jealous if this happened a decade ago. Now, she was just tired. She'd always meant for her younger self to have a better life. No point in being angry that she got it.
Almost everyone in the room clustered around the pegasus. For its part, the horse was far more calm than most. Probably part of why Cordelia chose it. No-one would be happy with a skittish pegasus kicking them in the head. Lucina was patting it on the head, Cynthia was gushing, Kjelle was talking about the training it would take to get her really ready to fly for Ylisse…
And Noire was slipping towards the back. Severa looked at Mark, still by her side, and then to Noire, trying to hide in a corner.
Severa cursed Naga for making her such a soft touch and walked for the corner. Mark followed her. As usual.
"Hey, Noire."
Severa looked down at the girl. Not far down, Noire was right in the middle of the same awkward growth spurt as her older self hit. Waiting on the far end was a body that made a younger Severa deeply, deeply jealous, but until that day came she was about as awkward as Mark on a bad day.
Noire looked up.
"H...hello."
"We've never really talked, have we?"
"No…"
"Gawds, and I was your sister's best friend when we were growing up. So much for that."
"It's fine."
"No. It's not. You're having a miserable time. As long as that's happening, we're not fine. What's wrong?"
Noire glanced at Fee towards the front of the room and shuddered a little.
"Pegasuses don't like me."
"Their loss. I've never been great with them either"
Mark shook his head.
"Only because you never wanted to be. I bet if you did..."
Severa sighed again.
"Noire, you know Mark. So you know he's sometimes an idiot. Ignore him."
Mark leaned in towards Noire.
"She's just being modest."
"And look! He proves it."
Mark raised an eyebrow.
"But you're smart and pretty and…"
"Like Ms. Perfect? Ugh, no. I'm good at some things, fine. Gods, Mark. It's not like most people are completely awful at everything."
She paused. Considering her employees, that might be overly generous. She revised.
"Or at least, being competent at something isn't worth bragging about. Even if I was as good as you said, you'd be better off not wasting your time trying to be like me. You're you. And, as hard as it may be to believe, that's worth something. Both of you are."
Noire winced.
"My mother…"
"Loves you, even if she has an awful way of showing it. I spent enough time trying to help your older sister through this sort of stupidity without doing it again. So, you're not perfect. Fine! I'm not perfect. Morgan isn't perfect. My mother isn't perfect, although it took me way too long to realize that. Just be yourself and you'll be fine. I'm sure Mark can't find someone better to spend time with right now."
Mark shook his head.
"You're…"
"A mess. Maybe, just maybe I'm less of a self loathing mess than I was when I was your age, but gods know that isn't saying much."
Noire shook.
"I don't know. You seem so confident."
"Only because I know that I can't get anything done if I'm not. Come on. We can get the first slices of cake while everyone else is distracted by the dumb horse."
One year later
Severa held onto the bridle.
"Easy, Fee. Don't be nervous. We'll be fine."
Fee didn't move, and Severa considered the situation. Really, she'd said the wrong thing. What she meant was 'Easy, Severa'. Fee was doing fine. Severa was a wreck.
She took a breath. What would mother do? She'd been in much worse situations, after all. Fought for her life in three of the worst wars in recent history.
What would mother do? She would stay calm.
Severa ran through her checklist for the thousandth time that morning. Fee was fine, of course. She could never ask for a better partner. Her lance was at her back, as always. She'd done the drills five times already. Even Kjelle would have been impressed with it. She had a full pack of travel supplies, medical supplies, a quill, ink…
She was ready. There was nothing to worry about. Unless there was. What was it father said about the unexpected? That even the best prepared tactician…
But he also said that you could go mad worrying about it. Severa would stay calm. She'd always been able to be calm before.
She'd never had stakes like this before. All her life, there'd been a safety net, some way to scramble back if she fell. Now, she had nothing to depend on but, well, herself.
She looked at the horizon. There was a dot.
Severa thought she'd seen that dot before, a hundred times. She'd been wrong a hundred times. But now the dot was getting bigger.
Severa's armor glinted white in the morning sun. The dot had to see her coming. The dot would know she was waiting.
The dot was bigger still. Not like it was running, but steady and brisk. A veteran's pace. Born on the battlefield, and raised in Ylisse. Severa only knew a few people who could move like that, day in and day out, no matter the distance.
And only one of them would be coming here today.
Another few minutes, and she could see the dot's face. It was a familiar face, even if she only really saw it once a year. After all, it was nearly a match for the one she saw in the mirror every day.
"Commander Severa!"
The face was smiling.
"Sev. Gawds, you look more like mom every day. Had to let your hair down, didn't you? Don't want to look like the terror of Zofia bay. Nooo, you had to try to look like Captain Perfect. You're just dying to make a good first impression with the Pegasus knights."
Sev tried to smile back.
"I could do a lot worse than look like you, Commander. You're famous! The voice herself picked you to be her bodyguard at the peace conference "
"Only because I've known her for a few years. It's not like she picked me on merit. Besides, we agreed this was your day. Especially this year. You're going to follow in mom's footsteps, I know it. Perfect service record, promoted young, and generally making me sick. I guess you're skipping over basic. Right to the royal guard, acting like..."
Sev coughed.
"I'm not joining the pegasus knights."
"Really?"
"No."
"Why are you wearing the armor, then? It's not like I think you have to go into a stabbing based career, gods know our family has more than enough people doing that, but I thought you liked flying."
"I do, Commander."
"Then get someone to pay you for it."
"I… I intend to, Commander."
Severa lifted an eyebrow.
"You can't think Flavia would pay you better. And, I'm not trying to insult you, but you're a rookie. Ferox would eat you alive. Plegia would mean working under her royal highness Morgan, and even you can't think that's a good idea. And if you're going to Valm, the whole continent is a mess right now. Even Say'ri couldn't hire you as anything other than a mercenary, and the mercenary situation there for anyone outside one of the big companies is just moronic."
Sev nodded.
"I was looking at one of the larger mercenary companies, Commander."
Severa snorted.
"Good luck. The Crimson Dragoons are going to ignore anyone born outside of Rosanne, The Lotus and The Wind is barely clinging on, and no-one with anything resembling a conscience is going to last long with the Demon's Hand."
Sev gulped.
"There's one other option, Commander."
"What?"
Moment of truth.
"I hear that a Ylissean mercenary started her own company. I hoped that she might have a position open."
"Ylissean? I would have heard of her if she could get anything done, and small companies will just get you killed unless… oh. Gods. You aren't thinking about that."
"Why not?"
"Because there has to be something better you could do with your life! You're supposed to be the good daughter! Not a failure or a psychotic. Besides, mom will want someone to…"
Sev shook her head.
"Lin has that covered. And there isn't anything better. Not for a mercenary looking to make a place in the world. Your people have a better reputation than most national armies!"
"That's only because most national armies…"
"Survival rates, professional ethics, success rates… even the pay is better than I could expect anywhere else."
Severa frowned.
"And none of that means anything if you get killed. I don't want to have to tell dad that I got you killed."
"He'd know you tried…"
"He'd also know I couldn't give you special treatment! I would have thrown your life away for someone else, because I can't treat you as a little sister when LIVES ARE ON THE LINE, and risking everything because the rookie froze only gets more people killed."
Sev gulped again. She'd planned for this. She didn't like the plans she had for this, but she still had them. This could still work.
"You've been complaining to father for years about how hard it is to find halfway competent fliers. I could help with training until you knew how I'd do under live combat conditions."
"You know I'm not made of money."
Considering how she spent it, Sev was less than sure, but she was prepared on that angle as well. Good old dad. He'd taught her about as well as anyone could how to deal with a situation before it came up.
Once it was in front of her, of course, that was where everything mom taught her was more important. But this was still dad territory, and in need of a dad style solution.
"You know that I'm only going to ask for room and board until I've proven my value. You're getting the future cream of Ylisse's royal guard for a song. Loyalty, work ethic, natural intelligence… normally, anyone with half my qualifications would be charging more than you'd want to pay. But here, you can save on training, save on background checks, and the benefits keep going!"
Severa shook her head.
"Let me guess. Morgan helped you with the pitch."
"A little. So did dad. So did mom."
"Of course they did. They just can't stop meddling with our lives, can they? Let's get this party over with, and then maybe, maybe, I'll think about it."
Sev scratched a line in the dirt with her foot.
"There isn't a party today."
"What?"
"We had it yesterday. So I could leave as soon as possible."
"You didn't even think about what would happen if I turned you down, did you?"
Sev tried to smile. When you had nothing else, you had to go with the truth.
"I did."
"Then why didn't you…"
"But mother, father, and Morgan didn't. They said they knew you were too smart to pass up a chance like this."
"Or too stupid to avoid a family guilt trip. Ugh. Typical. It's all about what they need, and never about us."
"But it's about…"
"They're only doing this to benefit us because it means they'll have us out of their hair for longer. I bet mom is having trouble going to sleep because she's too afraid you're going to leave her behind. And I bet father is snickering how there's no way stupid Severa could manage to outdo him if she had to bring along a wet behind her ears cadet!"
Severa was smiling. Sev joined in.
"I never would have guessed that if you hadn't said it."
"Exactly. They think we're too dumb to figure out what they were really planning. But we're going to show them they're wrong."
"Are we going?"
"Later! First, we have to say goodbye. After all, they'll never see us again."
(Author's notes: And here we are, another decent sized chapter released, another chunk of irreplaceable time gone from all of our lives, never to return. We all felt so young once, so full of promise...
Anyway, story. Severa's solo ending mentioned she came back home once a year every year to yell at her parents. Considering the every year thing suggests it kept going for some time, I figured there might be a decent bit of story there, assuming that Severa's life isn't completely static, and it provided a nice, clean structure to work with. Thus, this.
One of the things I assumed, of course, is that as the years went by the yelling became more and more force of habit, and less actual anger at her parents. Seems to fit better with how the supports go, after all. Admittedly, Robin and Morgan were in it because I like writing them, but I also felt like a bigger family offered more room for interesting interactions. Guess it's more your call than mine how that went.
As usual, hope you enjoyed, thanks for reading, and remember that most Valmese mercenary startups fail within the first three years. Please invest responsibly.)