Title: A Mother's Love
Description: Morgan can be a real handful sometimes, but no matter what antics she manages to get up to, Lucina will always love her daughter.
Notes: Set during the events of Valm arc.
"Honestly, Morgan, I don't know what you were expecting to happen." Lucina sighed, picking another twig out of her daughter's hair from where she sat behind the time displaced girl.
The young tactician was an absolute mess, covered head to toe in mud and dirt, with so many leaves and twigs stuck to her clothes that she could pass as someone who'd been mauled by a tree. None of this seemed to bother Morgan, of course, her displeased expression born of being forced to sit still while Lucina cleaned her up.
"But, Moooooom, the plan was perfect!" Morgan whined. She opened her mouth to add something, only to wince as Lucina yanked free one of the brambles caught in her bangs. "Ow... oh, where was I... right, my super awesome plan of genius planning! See, I made like a bajillion traps so my pray would have have no escape! I just... forgot where one of them was is all... It was a minor oversight, I will admit."
"Yes, because ending up dangling upside down by your ankle is a 'minor oversight'," Lucina noted, rolling her eyes. "What I want to know is how you managed to get this messy, stuck in a tree."
"... messy? What do you... Ooooohhh, you mean my super stealth camouflage!" Morgan's eyes lit up at this, nearly falling out of the chair as she threw up her arms.
"Stealth camouflage?" Lucina arched an eyebrow.
"Yeah! It lets me blend into my surroundings like a chameleon. A super stealthy, invisible chameleon!" Morgan explained, bobbing her head up and down cheerfully. "That way I can lie in wait, hidden until my quarry falls into my cunning trap of cunningness."
"And what, dare I ask, were you planning to catch?" Lucina asked. Moving to her daughter's side, she knelt down, tugging at the hem of her mud-soaked coat. "Stick out your arms," she instructed, beginning to process of removing her dirty apparel.
"mharnmph," Morgan muttered through closed lips, so quietly that Lucina almost didn't hear it, let alone make out the unintelligible response. She averted her gaze, quickening her pace as she removed what was left of her tactician's garb, until she was left with just her smallclothes.
"Morgan," Lucina scolded.
"I was trying to trap Yarne..." Morgan mumbled, crossing her arms with an indignant humph.
"Right, of course you were." She sighed again, this one even more weary than the last. Tossing Morgan's things into a pile, she turned back to her daughter to regard her with what she hoped was a stern, motherly look. "Morgan, stop terrorizing Yarne. This is starting to get out of hand."
"But mooooom, his screams of terror are so adooorable and cute! Also, while he's trapped I can play with his ears and-"
"Morgan," Lucina repeated, interrupting her.
"But... but... fine, I'll stop... funburgler," Morgan relented, pouting in the same manner as a young child who'd been told to eat their vegetables.
"Good." Nodding, Lucina put a hand on Morgan's shoulder, leading her over to the wooden tub she'd brought into her tent
Her arms still crossed, Morgan dropped down to sit cross-legged at the tub's center, keeping her gazed fixed squarely on the far 'wall'.
"You know its not nice to pick on others, Morgan. You're better than this..." Lucina said gently, her expression softening. Reaching out, she brushed aside the mud caked bangs from Morgan's face, who let out a puff of air at the touch.
"I know... its just... I don't know..." Morgan grumbled, shaking her head. "I figured if-" Her words were lost in a yelp of surprise as Lucina poured the first of the buckets of water she'd prepared over Morgan's head.
"Sorry, the water is cold. Please, continue," Lucina said gently
Shivering, Morgan nodded, resuming where she left off. "Well... I just figured if I picked on him enough I could get him to act braver. He'd be so used to being terrified of me that he wouldn't be scared during our next battle. But I guess instead I just became a big, dumb bully..."
"It's alright, Morgan. I know you didn't mean any harm. Lets just consider today's mishap a lesson and perhaps a bit of karma, okay?" Lucina said. Reaching down, she picked up the second bucket and the brush leaning next to it. "Hold still," she instructed, slowly pouring water over her daughter's head, and gently brushing away the grime and muck still clinging to her hair as she went.
"S-so, are you disappointed in me?" Morgan asked, stuttering as she gazed up at her with big, round eyes. "I... I don't want you to be upset with me. I'd feel awful... like I screwed things up. I already can't remember anything about you from my world, and … and I don't want to keep failing you as your daughter…
Lucina blinked, shocked to see tears pooling in the corners of her daughter's eyes. She hadn't known… hadn't known how how deeply her lack of memories had affected her. "Morgan… you know that isn't true."
Reaching for her things, Lucina dug out a clean tunic and a towel before returning her attention to Morgan. Helping her out of the tub, she began helping her daughter dry off, continuing in a gentle tone, "It has never mattered whether or not you can remember me, it's the time we've spent here and now that is truly important to me." Setting the towel aside, Lucina pulled the tunic down over Morgan's head, the too-large garment hanging down to her knees.
"I could never be mad at you, not truly. I may not understand half the things you do, let alone why. But that doesn't matter: I love you no matter what crazy thing you'll end up doing next, and I'll always be proud of you.
"Mother…" Morgan whispered. Tears streamed down her cheeks, her lip quivering. Then at once she lunged, throwing her arms around Lucina into the biggest hug she'd ever seen.
"It's okay, Morgan, no tears," Lucina murmured gently, returning the embrace She ran her hands through her daughter's azure hair, the same way she often did for Robin when he was upset by something. "I know you're trying really hard, and that alone means the world to me."
Morgan sniffed, tucking her head closer against Lucina's shoulder. "But… but w-what if I'm not trying hard enough? I'm pay all my attention to father, t-trying to be just like him. I feel like… like I'm not trying enough to be like you."
"Just because you take after your father doesn't mean you failed me. You are who you are, Morgan. You are my daughter, and that will never change." To punctuate her point she placed her hand on the back of Morgan's hand, where the Brand of the Exalt shone on her skin. An idea occurred to her then, a small smile tugging at her lips. Removing her tiara, Lucina brushed Morgan's bangs to either side before setting the golden band atop her head. Morgan stirred, looking up at her with confusion upon her face. "Better? Now you look the part of my daughter," Lucina explained, her smile deepening.
"How do I look?" Morgan asked, wiping the wetness from her eyes.
"Like a real princess," Lucina said, brushing a spot Morgan had missed.
"A really real princess?" Morgan repeated, her eyes seeming to grow impossibly large.
"The realist real princess there ever was." Lucina giggled. "And the best daughter I could ever ask for."
Author's Note: So, I decided I would try something new (at least, new for me, lol) and have a chapter focusing wholly on Lucina being a mother and interact with Morgan when Robin isn't around. I hope I did a good job in this regard.