Getting back to Ylisse after victory over Valm, Chrom announced a celebration before they moved on to other threats. That, of course, meant a ball. Robin remembered being one of the only single guys at Chrom and Sumia's wedding and he was not eager to repeat the process this time.

The problem was that almost every woman in the Shepherds was accounted for and unlike some of the other men, he was not keen on finding some town lass to take. There was one free woman he could take though. Even if they just went as friends it might at least alleviate some of the awkwardness.

"Lucina," he found her training as per usual, "May I have a word?"

"Certainly," she halted her movements, "Did you need something?"

"Well, kinda, yeah. You know that Chrom is throwing some sort of ball to celebrate our victory over Valm, right?"

"Yes, I had heard."

"Well, um, were you by chance planning on going with anyone?"

"No, I had actually planned to skip it, but my parents insisted I go. Why do you ask?"

"Oh, I was wondering if perhaps you wanted to go…together. I remember being alone during your parents' wedding and it was fairly awkward. At least this way we both have company."

"If you wish," Lucina responded without thinking, "Thank you."

"Great, great. I'll see you then, I guess," an awkward silence prevailed, "Well, guess I'll be going."

"Farewell," Lucina replied calmly even though she was anything but on the inside.


"Mother, may I have a word?"

Sumia put down her knitting needles, "Certainly, dear. What's on your mind?"

"Robin just asked me to accompany him to the victory ball."

"Oh, how nice!" Sumia smiled, but her daughter did not share her expression which Sumia picked up on, "Not nice? Honey, what's the problem?"

Lucina rubbed her arm sheepishly, "I…may…have developed some…feelings for him."

"Oh Lucina!" Sumia squealed, "I'm so happy for you! It's…a bit strange, but Robin is a wonderful guy."

"That's not the problem."

"Then what is?"

"I-I can't love him!"

"Why not?"

"We are from separate times! When this is over, I must try to return to my own world. Even if that proves impossible, how can I stay with this brand in my eye? And Robin is one of father's closest advisors. To ask him to abandon the good he could do for the people of Ylisse would be selfish. Besides," Lucina rubbed her arm again, "He probably only sees me as the daughter of friends."

"I see," Sumia nodded sagely, "Then we'll just have to change his mind."

"Mother! Even if he did change his mind, did you not hear the rest of what I said?"

"All stuff we can worry about when we get to it. I have a feeling you wouldn't be so keen to leave if you were with him. Come on, you should at least try."

"…What did you have in mind?"

"You are going to wow him."

"'Wow?' What do you mean?"

Sumia smirked and Lucina felt slightly uncomfortable.


"No, not that one," Lucina sighed. Normally, a royal would go have dress made for them, but since they had yet to figure out exactly how to explain Lucina away, they were shopping. Normally, Lucina would have loved such an opportunity, but prior experiences shopping with her mother and her current situation left her feeling uncomfortable.

"You need something that'll really impress him," Cynthia cheered. Somehow Cynthia had caught wind of her mother's plan and had invited herself. Fortunately, she had plenty of experience in grooming even if it did not always show.

"I'm still not sure about this," Lucina said from inside the changing stall, "Even if I can 'wow' him as you say, would that not be a shallow basis for a relationship?"

"We're just trying to get him to see you as a woman first, and not the daughter of friends. He's not supposed to fall in love with you because of this."

"Yeah, Lucy! This is only step one in getting you married off!"

"C-Cynthia!" Lucina was glad that neither of them could see her face.

"Cynthia, don't tease your sister."

"I'm ready," Lucina called out once she had finished putting on the red dress.

"Hmm," Sumia inspected the apparel, "I'm not sure. It's nice though. A solid maybe."

"You know," Cynthia started as Lucina walked back into the stall for what felt like the hundredth time, "What if Robin doesn't put as much effort into this? If he just thinks of Lucy as a friend or something, he may not try so hard."

"That is kind of the point of what we're doing here, but I suppose it wouldn't be good to make him feel outdone. Maybe we should send someone to help him along."

"Oh! Pick me!" Cynthia was practically bouncing, "Let me do it!"

"I guess," Sumia sounded unsure, "But remember not to let him know what we're doing."

"I know, I know. Leave it to me!" Cynthia ran off energetically.

"Now I feel even more apprehensive," Lucina muttered as she finished adjusting the straps on a white dress.

"Despite her antics, she should be able to clean him up pretty well."

"I suppose," Lucina walked out of the stall.

"This is the one," Sumia finally approved after looking it over, "Now we just have to have it tailored to you specifically."

"We do?"

"Yes, but don't worry. I think we can have it done in house as it were."


"Robin!" Cynthia burst into the man's study without so much as a knock causing Robin to drop his book in surprise.

"Cynthia," he replied annoyed, "What can I do for you today?"

"Actually, it's what can I do for you!"

"For me?"

"Yeah! Look at yourself. Mulling around in the same old coat, same messy hair, same dirty boots."

"'Dirty?'" Robin looked down at his boots. He had not washed them in a while, but were they that bad?

"I bet you were going to go to the ball like that."

"I…well," He was busted. He lacked in formal attire; he did not like formal attire. All he had was what Chrom had practically ordered him to wear to the wedding. Besides, he was just going with a friend…right?

"I knew it!" Cynthia declared victoriously, "Come on! I got to get you cleaned up."

"Uh…sure?" Robin was not sure what she wanted him to do though.

"Good, now first things first, let's do something about that hair."

"What's wrong with my hair?"

"When's the last time you combed it?"

"I comb it," Cynthia crossed her arms, "Sometimes. It just doesn't like to stay."

"That's no good. Come on," she grabbed his arm and started pulling him away.

"W-where are we going?"

"To teach you how to comb your hair."


"So, can you do it?" Sumia asked Cherche as she looked the dress over.

"I believe so. I take it you want this done by the ball," she looked at Lucina with a smile, "So who's the lucky guy?"

Lucina went pink and Sumia answered for her, "She's a bit shy about the topic."

"How adorable," the wyvern rider smirked, "I'll have this ready for you in time. Anything to help this blossoming romance."

"T-thank you, miss Cherche," Lucina thanked despite the older woman's words.

"Now that that's out of the way," Sumia turned to her daughter, "How are you with heels?"


"See how much better that is?" Cynthia faced Robin toward the mirror. His hair was neatly combed and parted on the left. It looked nice, but he doubted that it would stay and voiced as much, "That's because you always stop too early."

She pulled out a jar of odd smelling…goop and put some on her fingers, "What is that?"

"Just something to help keep your hair in place."

"I'm not putting that in my hair! Is there any other way?"

"Well, we don't have time to train it."

"'Train it?' How do you train hair?"

"If you fix it long enough, eventually it can start to take that shape on its own a bit."

"How long does that take?"

"Longer than we have," Cynthia moved her gooped hand toward him, "So goop it is."

Robin recoiled, "Stay away from me, woman!"


Lucina nearly faceplanted…again.

"How do you do this?" Lucina asked in frustration.

"Practice," Sumia smiled in understanding, "It's not a very pleasant experience, but men seem to love them for some reason." Lucina stumbled again just as her mother finished speaking.

"I'm terrible at this!"

"How do you think I felt?" Sumia steadied her daughter, "You're so graceful, Lucina. I'm sure you can handle this." Sumia let go of her arm only for Lucina to immediately stumble toward the nearest wall in an attempt to catch herself, "Though, maybe we should make an exception and go with flats given our time constraints."


"Now, you need to look presentable, and not just your hair."

"I hate formal wear," Robin grumbled.

"You can't very well wear that to a ball!" Cynthia stomped her foot, "Now, didn't dad give you something to wear to his and mom's wedding?"

"…Yes," Robin grumbled.

Cynthia pulled out the extravagant outfit that had not left the closet since the wedding, "Try it on."

"Fine," Robin grabbed the outfit and Cynthia left the room, "Wow I hate this thing." Despite his loathing, he put it on reluctantly.

"I hate bibs," Robin tugged at the cloth.

"Do you have to complain so much? You look dashing."

"I don't like getting so dressed up. It's uncomfortable."

"But you're going to a ball! You need to dress up!"

"Why?"

"Because…er, think of any girls you might want to impress."

"I appreciate the sentiment, but I don't think any girls are interested in me."

"I don't know about that," Cynthia looked uncertain but continued anyway, "Look, I'm not supposed to say anything, but I know for a fact that a special girl has a crush on you. She's even working to impress you at the ball."

"I…really? Who?"

"I've said too much as it is, but do you really want to leave her hanging?"

"I…don't want to be rude."

"Good!"


Lucina's heart was racing as her mother helped her get ready for the ball. After all of their preparation, she still felt nervous about all this. No matter what she told herself, the truth of the matter was that she was afraid of being rejected. Perhaps it was silly given all that she had faced in her life, but going into that ballroom and facing him in such a vulnerable state terrified her.

"Don't worry, dear," Sumia rested a reassuring hand on her shoulder, "You'll be okay."

"What if he doesn't feel that way about me though? Even if he does think of me as a woman, there is no guarantee that he would return my feelings."

"Then that is his loss. Lucina, I understand your apprehension, but sometimes, you just have to take risks and put yourself out there."

Lucina breathed deep, "Very well," Lucina looked up to her mother, "Let's go."


Robin picked at his collar just outside the ballroom before Cynthia swatted his hand away, "Don't pick!"

Robin sighed, "I feel ridiculous."

"But you look great!"

"If you say so," Robin prepared to open the door feeling oddly nervous about this mystery woman.

It was quite the affair. The Shepherds–well, most of the Shepherds–were all decked out in their finest. It was strange seeing his comrades in arms so formal. Of course the couples were there as well, unintentionally rubbing their happiness in Robin's face.

"Robin," the tactician turned to face his "date" for the evening. He had a greeting ready but he failed to vocalize it upon seeing her. She was, in a word, beautiful. He thought he even saw a hint of makeup on her. Not that she needed it.

"L-Lucina," he finally stuttered out when he realized that he was gawking, "You look…good!"

"Thank you. It's not too much is it?"

"No! No. You look great."

Lucina let out a heart melting smile. Robin started to feel uncomfortable. Does she have any idea the effect she has on me? No, she probably has no idea. Why would she?

"Shall we?" Robin offered his arm.

"Yes," She linked arms with him and the two walked across the ballroom to their table earning quite a few looks as they did so.

Once situated at their table though, Robin could not help but wonder who this mystery woman that Cynthia mentioned was. He kept observing the crowd, but no one stuck out to him particularly. Any women who may have been trying to gain his attention seemed to be limited to minor nobility that saw his rank and friendship with the prince as a means raise their own social status. No one Cynthia was likely to know. Unless she had been duped.

"You can go talk to them if you want," Lucina suddenly said looking downtrodden.

"What?"

"You keep eying the other women. If you want to mingle, don't feel obligated to stay here with me."

"Don't say that," Robin eyed her with concern and then guilt realizing that he had been so busy looking for this mystery woman, that he had been neglecting Lucina, "I'm sorry. I was being rude."

"No, I must be poor company."

"Not at all. I enjoy your company a lot. It's just…I was told that there was a woman trying to impress me tonight," Robin laughed ruefully, "What girl would want to impress me though?"

"Don't say that!" Lucina blushed at her outburst, "I mean, I'm sure any woman would be lucky to have you."

"Well, at least I'm here with the prettiest girl of the ball."

"You don't have to flatter me," Lucina blushed and tried to hide behind her bangs.

"I'm not. You're the prettiest one here."

"Thank you, I-er, mother helped me get ready."

"She must be proud to have such a beautiful daughter."

"Right. Daughter," Lucina looked at the table.

"Lucina?"

"Is that all I am in your eyes? The daughter of friends? Am I no different to you than the child upstairs?"

"What? Of course you're different! Lucina, do you really think that I'm friends with you just because of your parents?"

"But do you think of me as a woman, or as a child?"

"As a woman?" Robin asked in confusion before it started to come to him, "Lucina…were you trying to impress me tonight?"

"I-I'm sorry. It was my mother's idea to try and get you to see me as a woman first and not their child. You must think me some childish girl trying to live out a crush."

"No. I think you're amazing, and…I never thought you'd actually feel that way about me. I thought you'd think of me like some creepy old uncle if I ever told you how I felt."

"What?"

Robin laughed slightly, "By the time I realized that I had feelings for you, it was too late. I was in love, but you were Chrom and Sumia's daughter. I figured you probably thought of me as an uncle or something. I didn't want you to think less of me, so I kept it to myself."

"T-truly?"

"Yes. I guess we're both a little clueless."

Lucina giggled slightly. It sounded so happy.

"Yes, but…perhaps we can work on that…together."

"I'd like that very much."


A few tables away, Sumia and Cynthia were grinning from ear to ear.

"What are you two so happy about?" Chrom walked up after freeing himself from some idle talk with nobles.

"Oh, you'll find out soon enough," Sumia wrapped her arms around her husband's neck.

"Okay," Chrom laughed, "Guess I should just enjoy your good mood, huh?"

"Good idea."

There would be time for Chrom to adjust later. For tonight, they would enjoy the moment and give the two lovebirds some time to sort out their new relationship.

A/N: I should probably get back to Dark Reflections.