Still sick but you don't need to worry about that as I'm posting on a schedule so this would have gotten to you months after I have gotten better. And yes I am working through my sickness, I get really bored and desperate if I don't write for a long time. Anyway, I've been waiting for this chapter, as it's been on my mind since I decided to make Marth a main character. Hope you have fun.

The Princess's Dragon Bride

Chapter 43: A Heavy Heart

Corrin sat in her room alone. Pyra had rushed off to get her something to eat despite Corrin not feeling even remotely hungry. She wanted to cry, but by this point, she was too tired. The hours had blended together. She didn't know how long she had sat there clutching a pillow.

It was when she rolled onto her back that she noticed it. She reached down and found the tome. The Photo Tome she traded with Lucina before the accident. Her hands trembled as she opened it.

She smiled as the tears started up again. Lucina's smiling face had rubbed salt into the fresh wound. Every moment they shared from the first photo they took to the candid shots, she could feel the weight of grief pressing down on her heart again.

Then she heard a gentle knock on her door. She didn't want to talk to anyone, not right now. But before she could completely ignore it, they called out to her from the other side of the door. "Corrin? Pyra told me you would be here," It was Marth.

She really didn't want to speak to him at this moment, so she rolled back onto her side, intent on ignoring him. But he continued to speak through the door. "Look I know about the dragon blood," he had her attention. "I can't imagine the hell you must have endured."

"Go away," She clutched the tome to her chest. He didn't know the half of it. She didn't want to continue this conversation.

"I guess, that's fair," she heard him sigh. "I know that there is someone you would have rather been here in my stead. I'm not offended, truly. I'm not happy about this either," those words caught her, and she found herself getting out of bed. "You can correct me if I'm wrong about this, but I figured you and my sister were, um… close."

She pressed her back against the door and opened the tome again and saw Lucina and her own smile again. "But when they get her back I'll try and talk to my father about this, I'm sure Lucina wouldn't have any objections."

She had found their wedding photo and the corners of her eyes started to prickle again. And in a hoarse whisper she asked, "And if they don't?"

She felt the door press against her back as a weight shifted against it. "No petty thieves could hold my sister for very long," she could hear the smile on his face.

"And if she's dead?" Those words came out a touch more venomous than she intended.

"Corrin?" The concern in his voice was genuine, not a touch of anger or offense. "What happened?"

It came out of her like water from a broken dam. Her regrets, her pain, the moment where everything went wrong. She couldn't stop it if she tried. She blamed herself, putting Lucina's blood on her hands. if they never saw Lucina again, it was all her fault. This whole stupid plan was her idea, it was her fault, and Lucina was the one who paid for it. She told him everything.

"Corrin," she could hear the waver in his voice. "You, you can't blame yourself," she could hear his heavy breathing as if he was struggling a great deal to keep his voice even. "You know she wouldn't want that, she would never have blamed you," she heard a sniffle break through the silence. "Circumstance, bandits, bad luck, whatever, she would have blamed the stars of fate before she'd have blamed you."

"And who do you blame?" He must blame her too, everything that happened was her fault.

He had taken a moment to speak, but when it did his voice was a bit more even. "I suppose I blame fate too. For playing games with all of us."

"We're still getting married, aren't we?" She ran her finger along the page tracing the line of Lucina's jaw.

"We don't have a say in the matter," he sighed. "Tomorrow, regardless of what they say, you are my sister-in-law."

She felt him get up from the door, "I need to get ready," she heard him walk off and only stared down at the last photo taken by her wife. Despite the tears she smiled, loving the cute little face she wore.

Shulk had been attending to wedding matters for hours. He had hoped they would have been attended to quickly, but nothing seemed to be going well today. In the end, he and Pyra had scrambled to get everything organized.

By this hour Pyra was bringing Corrin dinner, and so he carried the prince's dinner to his room. Perhaps he was still tired from the journey, but something was unsettling about the silence in the castle. Usually, the prince would be playing his nerves away on his lute, but there was nothing. He opened the prince's door and at first was about to leave as not only was there no music but no light either. But before he could, a noise caught his attention.

Sobbing. Carefully he entered the prince's room, placing the tray on his desk before closing the door. With it shut he could hear Marth quietly crying into a pillow. Tentatively he approached the bed, careful to sit on the edge. "Marth."

"Shulk?" He heard the prince struggle to calm himself.

"I'm here," he reached out, rubbing the prince's shoulder. "Is everything okay?"

"I just…" his voice was hoarse, clearly he'd been crying for a while.

"Anxious? Scared? Overwhelmed?" Shulk had seen the Prince frantic before, but this was on a different level.

Marth sat up, "it's too much."

Between the wedding and the fact Lucina was still out there, Shulk couldn't blame the prince. But this felt different, he'd never heard Marth like this before. "This isn't about the wedding, is it?"

"I wish it was that simple," Shulk felt the press of the prince's head resting against his shoulder. "Corrin told me what happened before Kamek showed up. There is a chance my sister is…" he could feel him shaking. The implication left a stone in his stomach.

"We don't know that for sure," Shulk didn't like false hope, but something in him told him that there was no way Lucina was dead. "Your father would have gone on the warpath if this were true. He wouldn't have insisted on a wedding, he's not heartless."

Shulk could feel the prince's eyes on him and he continued. "You're twins, surely you must know she's still out there," that line of thinking wasn't something he subscribed to, but Marth and Lucina were so sure of it in their youth. He hoped some part of the prince still clung to that idea.

"Shulk…" he hoped Marth didn't catch him grasping at straws.

That had seemed to ease something in the prince. "Besides, I would have seen something," his visions weren't omniscient, but Marth didn't know that, and he prayed, just for now, that he would believe they were. "You must have faith."

Marth squeezed his arm, only a second, a blissful yet agonizingly short second. "Thank you Shulk."

"It is simply what I do," he hoped the smile came through in his voice.

Suddenly light erupted behind his eyes. He saw a mess of white and a shattered sword. The feeling of panic surged in his chest and when his vision returned to the darkness of Marth's room, he almost screamed. Not again. Please not again.

"Summer1" Lucina ran as close as she could, but stopped when Summer raised her wings, appearing larger. She's scared.

"Easy girl," she outstretched her palm, taking slow and careful steps. Right, she sees direct eye contact as a challenge. She kept her eyes locked on the ground.

Summer lowered her head, she seemed cautious. Lucina made a motion behind her and the guys took it as their cue to back up.

Gently Lucina felt Summer's smooth scales under her palm, "that's it," she soothed and found herself rubbing at the space between Summer's eyes. She didn't seem to mind.

Lucina raised her gaze to meet Summer's and that earned her a playful shove from the wyvern. "Hey," Summer seemed to ease around her, and in a rare instance lowered her head completely, showing off the saddle on her back.

"Everything good Lucina?" Robin called out as the group inched closer.

"She's Corrin's Wyvern, I don't know why she's out here but," Lucina climbed on and was surprised by how easily Summer let her lead. "This means we're close."

"Are you sure you're okay?" Robin rode up, but not too close as his horse refused to get too close to Summer.

"Yeah, Corrin taught me a thing or two about flying," Summer started to stretch her wings. "Hey Robin, can I have a spare tome?"

Robin didn't answer, instead, he effortlessly reached into his coat and tossed her a random tome, a thunder tome as it turns out.

Lucina let Summer leap up and take flight. She climbed above the fair tree covering and noticed in the distance, outlined by the setting sun, her Father's ship. Meanwhile, Ylisstol was still rather far away. She struggled to remember Corrin's lessons and eased Summer into lowering herself to just above the treetops. "Heads up, my dad's in sight, we better hurry."

"Lead the way!" Akira called out from behind Leven.

Lucina rolled her eyes. "Then keep up!"

Yesterday was a fluke, Marth told himself as he stared down at the crystalline teardrop. He stepped out of his room. Maybe, he could sneak it to her before the wedding. He knew it was bad luck but this was far more important.

He managed to reach the wing of the castle where she was staying and found Shulk and Pyra talking in hushed whispers. "Shulk, Pyra, what are you two doing here?" Pyra jumped a bit meanwhile, Shulk seemed to stiffen completely. "What?"

Pyra seemed to gather herself faster than Shulk, "Prince Marth, you shouldn't be here. It's bad luck to see the bride before-"

Marth tried to shake off the concern, "I know it's just…" he didn't know why he was stalling. He should just give it to Pyra if they are insistent on keeping him from speaking to her.

Pyra placed a hand to her chest, summoned a small hourglass, and frowned. "We don't have much time, whatever it is, you'll have to hold off until after the wedding," she then turned towards Shulk. "Get him ready, I'll try and help Corrin."

Marth winced. Well, he supposed it could wait but it felt odd. Shulk made a motion for him to follow and Marth obliged. The two walked side by side and it took Marth a moment to realize Shulk was speed walking, he was in a hurry. Sure it could be for the wedding but… Nothing was said the whole walk back.

Once in his room, Shulk turned to leave, "I'll have your suit and decorations sent, and I'll come get you when everything is ready."

Marth started to feel the dread sink in his stomach, but seeing Shulk act so distant added a whole new pain to it. Something's not right.

Shulk had run around the castle and the area around the church many times. His Speed art allowed him to move effortlessly between the two locations. He'd made sure there would be enough guards. Something was about to go wrong and they needed to be ready.

When he returned to the castle he made sure to check on Pyra first. He found her just as she stepped out of Corrin's room. "How is she?"

Pyra gave her best smile but it was clear she was drained. "Well she isn't crying anymore, and we managed to get her ready."

"That's good, I guess," Shulk winced.

"And Marth?"

"I'm going to go check up on him now," he sighed.

"Good luck," then with a half teasing smile, she said. "Try and keep your composure."

He rolled his eyes, "I'll try," and with that, he ran off to see how Marth was holding up. He knocked only once before opening the door. Thankfully Marth was midway through saying, "Come in."

Shulk felt suffocated in his usual turtle neck, he stared mouth agape at the prince as he entered and closed the door.

He had seen Marth in many royal regalia, he had seen Marth in suits and royal finery before and yet. Seeing him dressed in his groom's attire managed to steal the breath from his lungs. The white and pale blues in his outfit made his hair shine a paler blue. He looked all too graceful, a spitting image of a fairytale prince.

"That bad huh?" The look Marth gave him told him it was said in jest.

"No no, you look good," Shulk found himself stammering to correct himself. "That is to say, it looks good. On you"

"That's… good," Shulk started to notice the faintly distant look in Marth's eyes, he was struggling to keep his composure.

Shulk found himself taking a step closer, gently taking the prince's hand in his own. Like this, it was easier to notice the faint shaking. "It'll be okay."

Marth had started to ease, letting Shulk take his other hand too. They stayed like that for a while. It took Shulk a moment to register he had rested his forehead against Marth's. But the prince's breathing had started to steady itself.

"Better?" Shulk tried to keep his tone soft.

"I don't know where I would be without you," the prince said in a wistful whisper.

Shulk only chuckled as he leaned back, taking in the prince's appearance all over again. "Do you have everything you need?"

"Sort of," Marth lowered his gaze. "I am missing my nerve," another attempt at a joke.

Shulk shook his head. Then reached into his vest, and pulled out a strange vile of glowing liquid attached to a cord. "Here."

Marth took it in his hands and stared at it in awe. "What is this?"

"Ether, from my home country," he felt sheepish as he continued, "I've been hanging on to it as a good luck charm."

"I can't possibly take this," a faint blush dusted Marth's cheeks. "This is too valuable to you."

"You can give it back after the wedding," Shulk smiled before shaking his head. "See it and remember the trip to Mount Prism, and everything you've lived through, this will be another one of those days," he rested a hand on Marth's shoulder. "You're stronger than you think."

He wasn't expecting Marth to surge forward and trap him in a surprisingly strong embrace. "Thank you, Shulk, thank you for everything."

Regardless of his surprise, Shulk returned the embrace, "You say that far too often."

It was in that comfortable embrace that Marth gave another squeeze before adding, "Now what are you hiding from me?"

Shulk felt a pang of panic, "what are you talking about?"

"You gave me the silent treatment this morning and you and Pyra were talking about something before I showed up earlier."

Shulk let out a sigh, Pyra told him that Marth would have caught on to him sooner or later. "I had another vision."

"And you didn't mention this, why?" Marth loosened his embrace but didn't let go.

"Because the last vision I talked openly about might have started this whole mess," Shulk felt so guilty, the moment he made the full connection. After learning that Corrin had Bowser's kidnapping influence it all sort of fit into place.

"Explain."

"Let me go and I will."

"Fine," Marth let him go but leaned against the door, effectively blocking Shulk's escape. "Now, Explain what you mean."

"The night before the ball, I talked to His Majesty about a vision I had, a vision of him being attacked by the man in a Grimleal mask," Shulk pinched the bridge of his nose. "Had I known he was a Phantom Thief at the time I wouldn't have mentioned the mask."

Marth sighed "And my father jumped on the 'it might be assassins from Pleagia' bandwagon, didn't he?"

"I told him not to jump to conclusions but he must have told Bowser and the two wanted the alliance sealed and that must have led to Corrin and Lucina hiring the Phantom Thieves."

"And that led to Corrin's seal breaking, and now we're in deeper than we thought," Marth looked down at the vial in his hand, looking pensive. "Alright, but that wasn't your fault."

I'm blaming you, Shulk thought at the crimson cross around his neck. He could swear he heard distant laughter at the faint edges of his mind. He returned his attention to the prince. "But you understand my apprehension."

Marth nodded. "Regardless of this situation, your visions are invaluable."

Shulk sighed, he might as well rip the bandage off. "I saw you at sword point with the ceremonial sword broken at your side."

AN/ I'll point out that when I had started writing this story, Lucina didn't have a mounted unit in Heroes and even when she was a cavalry duo hero she took the role of the extra hero and just kinda walked alongside Mia, the hero actually on the horse. And it wasn't until recently that she was given a mounted unit. Unfortunately, she's on horseback, and not a wyvern but it's fine I guess. This is also why I included Robin on a horse too, as he now has a mounted unit that being Groom Robin.

Fun Fact: this chapter went through a handful of revisions as the first scene from Shulk's POV was supposed to include some symbolism with Marth breaking a few lute strings and just kind of breaking down cuz he couldn't process his intense emotions but that stuff got tossed out as he was supposed to be completely composed for his talk with Corrin. But I had him cry there so I didn't need a last straw as he was already broken.

Also, the scene at the end with Shulk and Marth talking about the vision that triggered the plot but I felt it necessary for someone to mention it and it would be a good excuse for Shulk to get a little secretive with his visions. Anyway, I hope to see you for the next chapter.

~ (2/2/2024)