Lucina ran through another Grimleal with Parallel Falchion. She couldn't fathom how so many could fight for something so horrid, it made it easier on her conscience to strike them down though. She turned around to see Robin standing over his possessed doppelganger, with the latter vanishing into thin air. They had won. Lucina ran to celebrate with her husband, but saw him begin to vanish as well.
"ROBIN!" she yelled in fear.
"Don't worry Lucina, you can finally be happy now." the tactician responded. "I can't hurt you again."
"No. Nononono" Lucina helplessly babbled.
She needed him, but no matter what she said or did he always laid down his life to stop Grima.
"After all, why fight for something as horrid as me?" Were Robin's last words as he vanished.
Lucina woke up at her desk. The nightmares hadn't stopped, several times this past week the princess' sleep was either plagued by that monster who wore her husband's face, or the sorrowful expression of her beloved Robin. No matter which one appeared, she felt nothing but pain. Grima knew all the right things to say in order to torment her, whereas she only saw Robin when he landed the blow that killed Grima and himself. It seems even in death, Grima still haunted her, she couldn't even dream about her husband without its miserable presence. Would it ever be satisfied? It took her father, her mother, her people, even the world she was born in. Did it need to take the father of her child as well?
That brings her to Morgan, what was she going to tell her? That her mother was running headfirst into battle once again? Lucina so desperately wished Robin was here with them, his role as Morgan's father seemed to come naturally. Lucina could scarcely imagine a life outside of conflict, and Morgan deserved much better than that. She wanted her bundle of joy to live the sort of life that she herself had dreamt about when she was a little girl. Before her father died, before Grima's shadow loomed over them all. But it was too late for all of that, this is the life that little girl ended up with, all she could do was grit her teeth, bear it, and keep marching on as she always has. Lucina shook herself from these thoughts. She could focus on life later, duty comes first.
Lucina began to gather her thoughts as she walked to her father's office. Normally seeking the Exalt's approval would require a session in their court, but for something like this the less people that know of it the better. Besides, Ylisse shouldn't have to wait for the answer to her bandit problems. Once Lucina got her father's approval, all that would be left is officially signing up her friends and waiting for intel on where to strike. The Princess was so wrapped up in her own thoughts that she nearly walked straight into her father's door. After that near mishap, she awkwardly greeted the guards who let her in.
As Lucina entered her father's office, she was surprised at how disorganized it was. She could recall Chrom giving Robin a hard time about how cluttered the tactician's workspace was, so she almost chuckled at seeing her father not being able to practice what he preached. Upon the door closing, Chrom looked up from his desk and saw his daughter.
"Good morning Lucina. Did you sleep well?" Chrom greeted her with a smile.
"I slept fine, Father. But more importantly, I've come to present my plan for dealing with Ylisse's bandit problems." she replied
Chrom's expression fell slightly, but he motioned for her to take a seat.
"Prior to the events of the war with Plegia, it was you and the other Shepherds who protected Ylisse from pests like them. But now all of you have gone your separate ways, either having taken other positions in the Halidom or rightfully enjoying the peace you've fought for. Now it's both my and my friends' turn to protect the people of Ylisse, and I'm ready and willing to take your place as captain of the Shepherds to do so."
Chrom sat silent for a few moments as he processed his daughter's proposal. He looked back at her and asked "And, that's the only reason you're volunteering for this?"
"I merely want to do my duty as your daughter. Why would I need more reason to do so?" his daughter replied.
"Because I think you're trying to run from the pain of not having Robin here." he answered, bluntly.
That caught Lucina off guard, and she didn't know how to answer. The blunette couldn't even make eye contact with her father for a few moments as she gathered her thoughts.
She finally swallowed the lump in her throat and said,
"Ylisse needs this Father, you saw what happened last time we went looking for him. What if we weren't there to help Southtown?"
"Ylisse needs something, I agree. But it doesn't need to be you or your friends. You deserve a peaceful life as well."
"Then what would you do? A new militia won't just appear overnight. Ylisse needs someone to act on this now." Lucina nearly shouted.
"That's why I'm approving your solution, on one condition." Chrom said, sternly "This will be a TEMPORARY measure while a new plan is organized for domestic protection. Alongside this will be a program to help you and your friends transition from military to civilian life."
"What?! Father this is what Ylisse-"
"No Lucina. This is what YOU want, to try and run from the pain of losing Robin. I did the same thing when Emmeryn sacrificed herself!" Chrom finally shouted.
Lucina went silent at the mention of her other aunt. She knew her father still struggled with the idea of living up to her legacy, even after all this time.
"I wanted nothing more than to take my anger out on the people I felt deserved it, but all I did was endanger myself and made those I still had with me worry. And I see that in you now. I wasn't as close with Emm as you were with Robin, so I can't claim to understand what you're going through. But I know you're hurting Lucina, just as I know he will return to us. And when he does, I want you and Morgan to have adjusted to your new lives free of danger. Not to mention he'd kill me if I let anything happen to either of you." Chrom tried to finish on a light note.
Lucina sat in silence as Chrom stood up and walked to her side. He placed a hand on her shoulder and said "We're all here for you Lucina, and we all miss him. Please remember that."
Lucina nodded and noticed she had started to tear up.
"Okay Father, if that's what I need to do for your approval then I'll do it. I'll make sure the others know as well."
"And that you'll talk to me or your mother if you need to?" Chrom reiterated.
"Of course Father." Lucina quickly answered.
"Very well. Lucina, you have my approval. And please let me know if you need us." the Exalt said.
Lucina nodded and left her father's study. She had to go and meet Inigo and the others who would be returning to Ylissetol today. As the princess rounded a corner, she bumped into someone. While Lucina regained her footing, the other party wasted no time in making their presence known.
"Morning Mother! Sleep well last night?"
Lucina heard Morgan say as she regained her posture.
"Ah! I slept alright Morgan, what are you doing here?" the older of the two responded.
"I heard you were meeting with Grand- I mean Chrom. So I came looking for you. Is Chrom with you?"
'Damnit, I can't tell her now' Lucina thought.
"I believe Father mentioned he had a conference to attend soon, best not to disturb him." she lied.
"Ok. I was gonna ask if you two wanted to do something together, but we can finally have a mother-daughter day instead! Whatcha wanna do?" the more energetic of the two time travelers asked?
"I'm actually busy myself dear, we'll have to do this another day. I'm sure your grandmother would be happy to spend some time with her favorite granddaughter." Lucina tried to deflect.
It seemed to have worked, as Morgan nodded her head and said
"Ok, do you know where she is?" the younger girl asked, devoid of her usual energy.
"I believe she's by the stables, maybe the two of you could ride pegusi together?" Lucina suggested, hoping it would get Morgan's spirits back up.
Morgan raised her hand to her chin in thought
"Maybe we will. Hope you have a good day Mother."
"You as well, dear and give your grandmother my best."
And with that, the tactician rounded the corner and went on her way. As Lucina left for the barracks, she had a miserable look on her face.
As Lucina arrived at her destination, she heard the voices of her friends chatting away. It was still morning so no one had started any strenuous training yet. Everyone else from the last meeting was there already, and Lucina was pleasantly surprised to see Inigo and Nah had arrived. Nah was talking about how inspiring lady Tiki was and Inigo was bragging about the scores of women he'd wooed while he had taken a long term, but ultimately uneventful mercenary job. No one believed Inigo of course, but that's never stopped him before. Towards the wall, she could even spot Gerome speaking with Kjelle. By the looks of Kjelle's motions it looked like they were talking about lance techniques.
The princess put on a smile and waved to the new arrivals.
"Good morning everyone. Nah, Inigo, Gerome, I'm glad to see you all made it back to Ylisstol safely."
Nah and Inigo gave smiles of their own, while Gerome remained as stoic as ever.
"I hope you all enjoyed your travels. Now, thank you for meeting me here this morning. I'm sure the others have filled you in on what's going on." Lucina's tone shifted.
"Yes, I'm well aware." Inigo spoke up "It would be shameful of me to let such lovely women head into battle with only a man-child to aid them."
"Hey!" yelled Owain.
Lucina rolled her eyes at Inigo's borderline sexism, but she knows he has a good heart… and that most if not all of the girls here could humiliate him if they really wanted to. She could see that Nah shared a similar sentiment, as she had an annoyed look on her face before she began speaking.
"Despite Inigo's personality, I'm ready and willing to join you all. I never imagined seeing a world free from Grima's reign, so I'll do whatever I can to help protect it!"
"Happy to hear Nah, that just leaves you Gerome." Lucina said as she turned towards the wyvern rider.
"I have no interest in being a part of this. Minerva has seen enough war as it is, I've no intention of making her live through more." Gerome bluntly replied.
Lucina was taken aback by his response, and even more so when she saw the others seemingly accept this answer.
"How could you say that? The peace we fought for is being threatened-"
"The peace we fought for is won. We all played our part and deserve to enjoy this new future." Gerome stated.
Lucina could hardly believe what she was hearing. How could he be so selfish?
"So everyone else can suffer while we just pretend everything's perfect? What's wrong with you?"
The others were starting to get uncomfortable, but Gerome stood his ground.
"Nothing's wrong with me," Gerome turned and looked at the others, "if the rest of you want to run back into a life of fighting I'll do nothing to stop you. But I have no intention of doing the same." He turned again to face Lucina "And make sure if you go through with this, it's because you choose to."
He was challenging her, in front of the others. Lucina had all sorts of things she'd like to say to the masked man, but she knew she couldn't give up the moral high ground and drive away the others. Lucina silently took a breath and spoke
"Very well Gerome, I won't force you to do this. Just as no one else has been forced to do this." she said with a polite smile. "I wish you the very best with what you do next. What is it you plan to do next?"
"Minerva and I are going to live in the Wyvern Valley. We found a suitable place to live while traveling with Nah." Gerome answered.
Lucina could almost swear she saw a smile on the man's face.
"I'm happy to hear Gerome." was all Lucina could say.
"And don't forget to visit your old friends from time to time! We're all gonna miss ya." Cynthia added.
With the tension gone, the others began saying their goodbyes to Gerome. Lucina took this as an opportunity to excuse herself. She had to plan for having one less Shepherd in their ranks.