Robin eyed the ornate ceiling of the royal chambers. Sleep evaded him as it had been oft as of late. Sparing a glance to his wife-his queen-next to him, he carefully slid out of the bed so as to not disturb her. She needed her rest after all.
Throwing on his cloak to shield against the biting cold of the desert night, he made his way to the balcony attached to the royal suite. He had been coming here to think a lot lately. It offered a good view both of the desert and the new capital outside of the Western Palace-living on top of Grima's skull, real or not, left a bad taste in both of their mouths so they relocated the seat of power.
Robin sighed looking back at his peacefully sleeping wife. She deserved better than this. He looked back out as the night winds shifted the dunes. She would never say anything, but he had taken her from her family, friends, and home. She had come willingly and never complained, but he knew that it had to weigh on her heavily and, therefore, it weighed on him.
It did not help that he was not able to spend as much time with her as he would have liked due to his responsibilities, but, again, she never complained. The people had thankfully begun accepted her as queen even if it was a slow process. There was still some bitterness between the nations after all and it was not a secret that she was Ylissean.
She had taken all of that in stride as well. She held herself with a dignity and grace that he lacked; when snide marks were made about her, she ignored them for his sake where he would want to throttle the offending party. She made sure to learn the customs of the land to do what was required of her. She really was remarkable.
She had even given up the Ylissean wedding that he knew she had wanted since she was a girl in favor of a traditional Plegian ceremony befitting Plegian royalty. Most of the Shepherds had attended, of course, but it still was not the same. She seemed happy enough, but he knew that she was making yet another sacrifice for him. He really did not deserve her.
Was marriage not meant to be a two-way street? But what had he given her? A life in the desert away from her family and homeland in the nation that had almost brought about a repeat of her terrible future. Robin scoffed ruefully, what kind of husband was he? Was he really fit to raise a family, and here of all places?
He was so wrapped up in his self-depreciation that he failed to notice the door to the balcony open as two slender arms wrapped themselves around his shoulders, "Robin?"
His reply came as he placed his hands over her right hand as she leaned against him. It was a small change, but he could feel the small rise in her abdomen that signified that she was with child.
"You're having doubts again," it was not a question.
Robin sighed, "How can I not after–"
"No," she turned him around and looked at him seriously, "None of that. I have told you before, and I will tell you again, so long as I am with you, I am happy."
"Happy?" Robin raised his brow, "You're happy out here in the desert away from your family," he gently put a hand on her stomach, "Lucina, do you really want to raise your child here?"
"Our child," she corrected, "And wherever you are is where I want to be."
Robin sighed, "I'm not going to win this, am I?"
She smiled back at him as she leaned in for a kiss, "No."
Lucina walked quietly through the dimly lit corridors of the castle gently rocking the bundle in her arms. She had always been a light sleeper compared to Robin who she would swear could sleep through a cavalry charge and it seemed that motherhood had made her especially attuned to her daughter's needs so she naturally found herself tending to her not bothering to wake Robin as she took little Morgan from her crib in their room.
When she had been born, the wet nurses had insisted on tending to her, but Lucina was adamant that she would take care of her own daughter and Robin had summarily agreed which was the end of that. Since then, Morgan had been sharing room with them until she was old enough for her own. It had cost the queen a fair amount of sleep, but one look at her child's peaceful face still filled her with happiness.
She still found it strange, being a mother. She would be the first to admit that she did not know how to be one, but Robin had shrugged that off saying he did not know how to be a father and that they would learn together.
The queen cast a glance out of one of the windows watching as the desert sands shifted with the night breeze. Had someone told her she would have been the queen of the desert nation only five years prior, she would never have believed them, but here she was.
Her eyes lingered on the gently drifting sand. Was this really where she wanted to raise her daughter? Away from the rest of her family and the lush lands of Ylisse? She would be lying if she said that she did not miss those things at times, but she was willing to pay that price for Robin and it was not like she never got to see her family or friends. Many of the female Shepherds had come for a private baby shower not too long ago while some of the men came with their wives and spent some time with Robin while the shower was going on. Seeing all of those familiar faces did them both good.
Her mother and sister had even stayed until a few weeks after Morgan was born. It was nice having more familiar faces around, especially as her mother was able to help guide her through those first few weeks. Alas, they had to return eventually.
Still, it was not all bad. She was slowly being accepted by the people and the staff seemed to like her well enough. While Ylisse would always be her home, she was learning to care for Plegia too as she fought through her years of bitterness to see the people who had suffered as well.
Looking down as her daughter shifted in her arms, Lucina could not help but smile, but at the same time worry. Not only was she new to the whole mother role, but Morgan was also to be the crown princess. She would officially be named such on her first birthday and would be slated to be the next ruler unless a male heir was produced as was Plegian custom.
Lucina was all too familiar with the burden of royalty. When she had relinquished any potential claim she may have had to Ylisse, she felt loss of part of herself that she had carried for so long even if she had no real claim to the throne in this world, but she also felt relief at being free of the burden even if that relief made her feel guilty as if she had abandoned her duty at the same time. Now, her daughter would bear the burden of royalty as well.
Adjusting the blanket protecting her child from the chilling night air, she vowed that she would help her daughter to bear the burden that she had bourn for so long. At the same time, she hoped that she learned to enjoy life as well-a lesson that had taken far too long to learn herself even after coming to this world.
She finally made it back to the royal chambers and laid Morgan back into her crib and covered her with enough layers to keep her warm. She smiled as she saw her husband snoring gently, completely oblivious to their daughter's awakening or her own for that matter. She laid down next to him under the thick covers and hugged him tight. No, despite her reservations and doubts, she did not regret coming here with him.
A/N: I actually did have an idea to follow up Successor with a story with Morgan being the princess of Plegia, but I never made it. For one, I'm not the best at coming up with lengthy day to day scenarios for stuff like that, so if you are interested in something like that, then I would probably need people feeding me ideas.
Anyway, this is actually not the lighter story I had in mind when I asked, but here you go nonetheless.
