Before this chapter begins, I'd like to mention that my story was added to the Crossing the Ocean of Time community/archive/whatever, which is a collection of Robin/Lucina stories. I'm SUPER happy to have this story added to this collection, as some of my favorite stories like Time Matters Not and the Tactician Magician are in this collection. I take inspiration from these two fics, so check them out if you have the time. Anyhow, onwards to the chapter!
Chapter 12
The mood at the camp was mixed. For many, it was joy and determination: they had stalled fate, and they had a clear way forward. Their tiring fight was almost at an end. But just when everyone was happy, they remembered Kenshin. Stahl searched for Kellam, but he was nowhere to be found, and unusually, he didn't want to be. After an hour of fruitless searching for Kellam and Phila, Stahl joined the other Shepherds around campfires in the dark.
"No luck finding Phila or Kellam." Ricken grimaced as Stahl sat down next to him. "It's probably best to leave them alone. They just lost their son to the fell dragon."
"I believe we share blame in that." The dark knight and the paladin turned to see Cordelia sit down beside them. "I mean, think about it. Who really talked to Kenshin? I didn't. I mean, every other future child, from Owain to Morgan, has been warmly welcomed by the Shepherds. But despite the fact that he was shy, nobody would really even try to talk to him."
"I did." Gerome sat down next to Stahl and held bear meat out over the fire. "He saw eye-to-eye with me, in a way. He had his own horrible fate that he failed to change, another catastrophe that ruined all. Morgan comes from the same timeline as him, but he either also doesn't remember it all, or just does not want to."
"I discussed the matter with Robin." Libra walked up and sat down to the left of Cordelia. "Robin has done a lot of that necessary interaction. However, as Miriel, Robin and I discussed, his strategies turn some Shepherds into 'minor shepherds.'"
"What do you mean?" Libra sat down before explaining to Cordelia and the others. "There's more than one of most of the different fighting class branches. For example, Frederick, Sully, and you, Stahl, are all Cavalier-based units now: a great knight and two Paladins. But Robin's strategies don't need that many cavalier-based fighters, so he picks one to work into his strategies the most. For the cavaliers, it's now usually Sully or more recently, Kenshin." His audience nodded somberly.
"And as for Pegasus knights, there's Phila, Sumia, Cordelia, and Cynthia. Sumia is automatically in most battles, but you, Cordelia, have to compete with Phila and Cynthia, and for a while there, Olivia, Lissa and Maribelle."
"Surely not!" Cordelia protested, "Competition among the Shepherds? Or are you saying that some Shepherds feel less valued?"
"Both, actually, I think." Ricken butted in. "I mean, think about it. I'm a mage, but back when I was a Great Knight during the beginning of the Plegia campaign, I got a lot more time in battles than I do now. Now that Robin has Miriel, Laurent, Morgan and the dark mages, I didn't see battles as much until I became the only Dark Knight."
"Do you see now?" Libra scratched his head tiredly. "As good a job as Robin has done, he hasn't been very careful. And while his own interactions with the Shepherds and the friendships between us counter that effect, he hasn't interacted with some of the Shepherds enough. The five we met in that battle against Ezra's slavers, for example."
"I don't think we have anything to worry about on that stuff." Stahl shrugged as he ate his bear venison. "I mean, literally every Shepherd approved of the Shepherd's village. Even grumpy-man Gerome over here. I think we've all just accepted that who battles when changes, and that we all have one cause."
"Perhaps. But I still fear for what will happen when we have no wars to fight." Then they sat in silence, contemplating the battle ahead- and the friends that got them there.
"I'm concerned about Yarne." Lon'qu sat by another campfire with his wife next to him. Across from them, Yarne sat with Cynthia and the other future children. "While I am glad that he has regained his courage, I am concerned about the way he acts around Cynthia. I never spent any time fraternizing at his age."
Panne wiped blood off of her large ears. "From what I was told, taguel males start engaging in somewhat human-like fraternizing at his age. It's probably a little more evident since he's half-human."
"Still, I would have thought I would have taught him not to act like this. Then again, I suppose we weren't exactly there for him." Panne nodded as they continued to watch and listen to their son and his friends.
"That battle was awesome!" Cynthia laughed and slapped Yarne on the shoulder. "Just think: in just a few days, all of our suffering will have paid off."
"Unless we all DIE, dummy!" Severa crossed her arms in annoyance. "Don't forget that we still have to perform the awakening, then kill Grima!" She paused when she saw Owain gazing sadly down at Mystletainn. "Owain, shouldn't you be having some freak-out about your fancy demon slaying sword? Why are you all depressed like this?"
"From the day that my father died, I've been trying to fulfill my worth as his son. And I knew that the way to do that was be the next scion to wield Mystletainn. Now after all of these years, I rightfully won the sword. I thought finally wielding the sharp edge of unending justice would quell my sword hand's passion for new strength. Now it hath graced my hand with its power. But fie! Methinks the sword becomes me not. Verily, I feel… empty."
"Well Owain, that's what ye get, what with all yer fancy talk and yer need to stay that sword hand of yours, fella!" Brady laughed and stuck his axe in the ground between them. "I swear, sometimes I think your obsession with yer sword hand gets you as high as a sweet Nohrian pine!"
"I still can't believe that Brady was truly the first person to travel between astral planes!" Brady shrugged in response to Yarne and replied, "It wasn't all that impressive, really. One of the kingdoms was ruled by a lobster."
"A lobster?" Brady nodded, leaving Yarne extremely puzzled. "Nohr and Hoshido are a lot weirder than the myths lead you to believe."
"Enough about THAT, what about Kenshin? He was so nice. I can't believe he's Grimleal." Nah spoke through large bites of bear jerky, the main item in most Shepherds' diets. Manaketes had to eat enough to provide energy for their dragon form, so many found it strange to see them in their much smaller human forms eating so much.
"Consider Validar's words. Phila was his daughter, but Grima's mark never surfaced on her. I think a parallel can be drawn between Kenshin and Owain. Both of their mothers' marks never surfaced, but Owain got the Exalt's mark, and Kenshin had the Fell brand." Laurent winced and rubbed his shoulder. The arrow wound had not fully healed.
"B-but that still shouldn't have been enough!" Noire looked down sadly at the ground. "Robin was close enough to all of us for Validar's manipulation to fail. But we didn't welcome Kenshin enough for his bonds with us to prevent it."
"But he was shy!" Severa protested. "If the idiot wanted bonds, he would have come right out and tried to talk to us!"
"So? We still didn't show him the respect our fellow soldiers deserve." Kjelle twirled her axe before sticking it into the ground next to Brady's. "Gerome's not much different from him, and I wouldn't want him to serve some giant demon dragon."
"We all knew Gerome for years," Severa argued, "But we've only known Kenshin for a little more than a week. There was no way we could befriend him that fast, especially when he's so shy." The bow knight rolled her eyes in frustration. "My brain hurts. Come on, Owain, let's go."
"But I-"
"Owain," Severa said sternly, "We're going. To my tent. NOW." She grabbed his wrist and marched off, dragging a confused Owain behind her.
"You guys have only known ME for a little more than a week too!" Morgan ran over and stood where Severa had sat moments before. "So why couldn't I be controlled by Grima? I have the Fell brand!"
"Morgan, you may possess the Fell brand, but you also have the Mark of the Exalt. I believe in Validar's statement that the Exalt's brand negates it."
"That still doesn't explain why Kenshin could be controlled by Grima!" Morgan was getting extremely angry. "He came from the same time as I did, but just because the tactician wasn't his father, we put almost no effort into befriending him and now he's gone and it's OUR fault!" Robin's daughter sat back down, sobbing uncontrollably. Inigo ran over and wrapped his arms around the tactician, a guilty look on his face.
"We'll get your cousin back, Morgan. I swear it." After Kjelle spoke, the time travelers sat in silence. Victory or defeat would soon be upon them, and either one had already come at a great cost.
"What do you think, Lucina?" Robin was laying down on the dirt in their tent. "Inigo seemed sincere, but I still can't shake how much of a philanderer he was. And I know Morgan is technically old enough to make her own decisions, but I can't help but still think of her as our little girl."
"Of course you think of her that way! So do I!" Lucina ran her hand through Robin's white hair, observing how it jostled around. "That being said, all of that is ultimately Morgan's decision. She won't appreciate it if you do what my father did."
This got a laugh out of Robin. "No, she would not. But yeah, you're right. Although I am sure of one thing: Inigo won't ever cheat on her."
"Oh yeah. If he even so much as looks at someone in a way my daughter doesn't like, I'll have his head on a lance!" In response to Lucina, Robin chuckled and replied, "We shouldn't have to worry about that. He fears us too much." As Robin sat up and wiped dirt off of his shoulders, Chrom entered the tent.
"I have a few questions for you, Robin." The grandmaster stood up, putting on his cloak. "First off, when should we send out the parties to find the scattered recruits like Walhart?"
"After we go to the altar, once you've gotten nude and bathed in fire or whatever." Lucina paled as Chrom chuckled and replied, "That's not what 'bathing in fire' means, Robin! I'm not going to be stripping naked and dancing around an altar!"
"I don't know man, that sounds like a good idea to me! Sumia might appreciate that." Chrom laughed even harder. "I'll only do it if you join me in my dance around the Fire Emblem. With no clothes." This only made Robin and Chrom howl in laughter even more. Lucina was just very alarmed. She knew that her father and Robin were friends, but she never truly knew how strong a friendship they had. Now, though, she saw the strong bond that they had and how Robin could resist Grima's call. Their friendship was stronger than Grima could ever be.
Kellam and Phila sat in silence, staring out towards the Dragon's table. Neither really knew what to say to the other. Their son was there, serving the fell dragon. This reality haunted the minds of the man who nobody saw and the woman who was meant to be dead as they sat on the ground.
"This is my fault, Phila." Kellam's head drooped in sadness. "I should have taught him not to try to isolate himself. He wasn't even naturally isolated like me. I should have set a better example." Phila reached over and gripped his hand tight. "It's my fault, Kellam. I'm the one who was meant to be dead. If literally anyone else had been his father, this wouldn't have happened."
"There never would have been a Kenshin if you had died." Kellam wiped sweat off of his forehead. "Phila, this isn't your fault. And we'll get him back. I have faith in Robin." Phila nodded hesitantly. "I know we will be able to, but I'm not sure what kind of person he'll be when he returns- or if he'll be able to face what Grima made him do."
After Chrom left, Robin decided to lay back down and immediately fell asleep out of exhaustion. Lucina, however, couldn't sleep, as her mind was still racing from the events of the day. So she left her tent and, after glancing around the camp, sat down by some of the other future children.
"How's everybody doing?" Lucina's question got silence in response for the first few seconds. Then Cynthia replied, "Yeah, sis, things are a little tense. This is the first time we've lost a Shepherd in the entire war." This surprised Lucina. Cynthia almost never showed any resentment or annoyance towards her. Now she replied with spite to her sister.
"Besides, why should yew care, eh?" Brady scowled at the Great Lord. "Why should one of the big cheese Shepherds care about us minor-uns? Minor shepherds don't matter to ya, do we?" Chrom's older daughter was extremely confused. "What are you talking about?"
"You think you're so much better than us, Lucina," Kjelle stood up and walked towards her. "When we first started fighting, you put yourself in charge for no reason other than the fact that you were the Exalt's daughter. Then when we came to this time, we all wanted to go seek out our own parents, but no, you said we had to make sure that we didn't mess up time, then turned around and revealed your identity to your father!" Kjelle was up in Lucina's face now, her angry words burrowing into Kjelle's ears.
"The circumstances changed, Kjelle! And for the gods' sake, where is this coming from?!" Looking around the circle, she saw that she would find no sympathy from Brady, Nah, Yarne, Kjelle, Laurent, Noire, or even her own sister. Glancing off to her right, she saw Inigo and Morgan sitting by Lon'qu and Panne, all four watching intently.
"Seeing as you were able to so easily direct the Shepherds towards our location, I'm afraid I don't quite understand how you were not able to notify us when you changed your mind." Laurent's poker face was well-maintained as he polished his silver sword. "The only sensible hypothesis is this: you over-looked us. Your father was your only focus, and you didn't put any thought as a leader into those you commanded."
"Well forgive me for wanting to see my father!" Lucina yelled defensively. "Besides, you could have made that decision on your own! I couldn't have stopped you!" Morgan started to get up to defend her mother, but Inigo held her back. "Don't butt in, Morgan. You'll just make them angrier. Robin will kill me if I let anything happen to you."
Morgan gave the former philanderer a strange look. "Why all the sudden concern about me? And why aren't you actively looking for someone to hit on?" Inigo said nothing, but put her hand under Morgan's chin and turned her head to face her mother.
"And besides, it wasn't even a conscious decision for me to reveal my identity! That was entirely accidental! I tried not to mess up the timeline any more than I had to!" Kjelle merely laughed coldly.
"Oh yeah, because you didn't mess up the timeline when you, to put it mildly, enjoyed Robin's bronze sword!" Lucina's eyes grew wide. "W-what? How did you-"
"You weren't very subtle, sis," Cynthia said with a smirk. "Almost all of us heard you two, and some of us even poked our head into the tent. But because you're Father's favorite and you're the one who inherited Falchion, you get to willfully disregard the rules you told us to follow!"
Lucina gave Yarne a pleading look, hoping that he would defend her. Yarne shook his head. "I quite liked Kenshin. Now he's gone, and you haven't given him a passing thought. I care about my friends and comrades. I thought you did too."
"She does!" Morgan pushed Inigo away and ran in between Lucina and the other future children that were there. "I've only been here for a little while, but I've seen just how much Lucina cares about each and every one of you! Every one of us shares the blame for Kenshin!"
Kjelle rolled her eyes and pushed Morgan out of the way. "Stay out of this. You never suffered like we did. You got to grow up in the time that we fought to create. This isn't an issue with you, it's with your hypocritical mother and coward fath-" Gregor's daughter was cut off as Morgan punched her in the face.
The other future children jumped up, but Morgan would not relent. Kjelle turned and struck out in retaliation, but was easily dodged by the young tactician. Lucina pulled Morgan away from Kjelle, terrified but also wondering how Morgan became such a skilled fist fighter. Kjelle grunted and charged at Morgan, but Lucina sent her reeling with a punch to the stomach and a kick to the knee. Cynthia yelled in anger and punched her own sister in the eye, turning Lucina's face blue. Lucina struck back with a kick to the forehead, sending Cynthia headlong into Yarne, knocking them both to the ground.
"You would dare attack Kjelle?!" Gerome had only just rounded the corner to see the brawl, but was already almost upon them. Lucina pushed Morgan behind her back as Lon'qu, Panne, and Inigo tried to break up the chaos.
"Such treatment of comrades ill befits the dignity of this army." Lon'qu drew his sword and forced Gerome back. Panne then said, "I knew humans were insensible, but not that they were this… petty. You are pathetic. You fight over nothing." Just as this happened, Chrom walked by and saw Lucina and Morgan staring at the other future children, Cynthia and the others giving them hostile looks, and Lon'qu, Panne, and Inigo standing between them, weapons drawn.
"Panne, may I ask what's going on here?" Panne took a deep breath before replying. "There was an argument between your daughters and the other future children that went violent, sir."
"That's unacceptable. Such conduct is not fit for this army." Chrom gritted his teeth as he quickly walked forward to stand in between the two conflicting groups. "I'd like to thank you three for helping defuse the situation. And to the rest of you, you should all be ashamed. There will be consequences, but I can't concern myself with that a ton right now. All of you to your tents NOW." They scattered after a few seconds, returning to their tents. As Lucina, Cynthia, and Morgan began to walk away, Chrom said, "You three, come with me to my tent." Lucina rolled her eyes and followed Chrom to his and Sumia's tent, her sister and daughter close behind.
"Sumia, there was a brawl between all of the future children. Including ours- on opposing sides." Sumia was somewhat shocked, and gave her daughters that look of disappointment that they learned to hate from the Sumia of their own time. "You two had better have a good explanation. You too, Morgan. I know your father wouldn't want you to have gotten into that fight, but we know better than to try to wake him up now."
Chrom rested his hand on his wife's shoulder. "So who's going to explain first? Because from what I can tell, you two actually traded blows. I don't know anything about myself from your time other than how I died, but I would hope I raised you well enough that you wouldn't get into a brawl with each other and with your own allies or try to kill your fiancé." As Lucina was about to take the blame, Cynthia cut in.
"It's all my fault," Cynthia said. "I'm sorry, I just… I can't help but be jealous of Lucina, and I think that it's the same for many of the others." Cynthia wiped a tear out of her eye. "I mean, Lucina is a better fighter than me and the others, she has the fancy sword, she's given the same respect as the older generation, and I guess resentment kind of built up over time. And when we lost Kenshin and saw Lucina screwing Robin-"
"You saw Lucina doing what now?" Chrom gave his older daughter a suspicious look, one eyebrow raised. Lucina face-palmed and shook her head. Her father glanced at Sumia, then sighed. "Ugh… I suppose I should have guessed that this would happen at some point. And I know for a fact that he had a potion when we found him for making sure you didn't get-"
"Can we NOT talk about that?" Lucina steered the conversation away from that subject. "Cynthia, I owe you an apology. I never meant to make you feel distant or jealous, or to alienate anyone from our future. I'm sorry." Cynthia smiled and wrapped her arms around her older sister's waist, pulling her in for a bone-crushing hug. "OW, CYNTHIA! You're breaking my ribs! You're a lot stronger than you realize…" Morgan giggled and joined them for a second until Lucina pushed them both off.
"Yeah, the fact that your eye matches the color of your hair shows that!" Cynthia laughed as Lucina swatted at her sister's head in annoyance. "I gave you as good as I got, Cynthia!"
"Mother, neither of you should be apologizing. I should." Morgan slowly looked her grandparents in the eyes. "I threw the first punch. I was the one who escalated it. I'm sorry, Grandpa, I was just… so angry at the way they were talking to my mother, I… I felt like I had to do something, you know?"
Chrom nodded. "While that's still not right, Morgan, I do understand. I felt the same way when my sister Emmeryn- your… great-aunt, I think- was executed. I wanted to go retaliate, and fast. Lucky for me, I had someone to keep me sensible- your father was mine." When Chrom finished talking, Sumia turned to face Lucina and added, "I would have hoped, Morgan, that your mother here would have been that person for you." Lucina looked at the ground in shame.
"Cynthia, Morgan, you are free to go. I need to talk to Lucina about some things- things I'll tell you about one of these days, Cynthia." Lucina's sister and daughter left the tent, Chrom following shortly after.
"I was already a mother when you arrived, but your arrival thrust me into the position of being a mother that had to set an example for two daughters. I thought to myself, 'Everything you do now is an example to set for your daughters.' And I've lived by that ever since, Lucina. I've only wanted to be a good mother and to make you proud.
"But now YOU'RE the new mother." Lucina nodded to her own mother, acknowledging the truth of her statement. "You've got an example to set. I know Morgan started the brawl, but you should have set an example for her and defused the situation. You have an example to set now. Morgan adores you, Lucina, so you need to give her a good example to follow."
"But I'm not like you, Mother!" Lucina sat down with her head in her hands. "I've spent my whole life on the battlefield with a sword. I don't know how to be a good mother to Morgan!"
Sumia wrapped her arms around her daughter. "You're an amazing young woman, Lucina. You'll do fine as Morgan's mother. She already loves you dearly, so it shouldn't take that much more work." Lucina nodded before Sumia said, "Well, dear, you should probably head out now. Robin will wake up and wonder where you are if you don't show up soon." Lucina nodded, embraced her mother again, then ran back towards her own tent.
She ran into Morgan on her way back to her tent. "Morgan, I want to apologize to you." Morgan gave her mother a puzzled look. "Morgan, I haven't been being much of a mother to you. I've been focused entirely on reversing my own destiny and not on taking care of you and setting an example."
"Quit being melodramatic, mom!" Morgan hugged Lucina again. "You're the best mother that I could ask for! You're so strong and kind… I want to be as good of a tactician as father, but as good a fighter as you and just as kind as both of you!" Tears started to well up in Lucina's eyes as she returned Morgan's hug- until Lucina began to suffocate as Morgan tightened her embrace.
"Ow, you're suffocating me!" Morgan laughed and released, then said, "Good night, Mother!" Morgan turned and went into her tent. Lucina laughed happily. "She's just as energetic as Robin." Then Lucina went to her own tent.
Lifting the flap, she saw Robin asleep on their bedroll. Moving quietly, she laid down next to him, then wrapped her arms around him and pressed his head to her shoulders. As she began to fall asleep with thoughts of Grima, the Awakening, and her own time, she felt a kiss on her neck. She turned to look at Robin, who opened his eyes slightly and gave a faint grin. She settled back down facing Robin, who rested his chin on her head as they both passed into sleep, dreaming only of each other.
"Mount Prism. We finally made it." The great mountain emanated Naga's power as the Shepherds ascended it in awe of its power and beauty. They had fought a number of Risen as they ascended to that point. "Robin, Sumia, Frederick, Lissa, Gaius, Lucina, and Cynthia, come with me. Everyone else, wait here." The group that Chrom named followed him up to the altar atop the mountain. Chrom then took the Fire Emblem off of his shoulder and set it on the altar.
"Be careful, brother." Lissa hugged her brother before he went up to the altar and said in a loud voice, "Hear me, Naga! I bear proof of our sacred covenant! In the name of the exalted blood, I ask for the divine dragon's power! Baptize me in fire, that I may become your true son!"
As he spoke, fire erupted from the emblem and swept across the field towards where he stood. It spread up his body as he growled in pain. Cynthia yelped and ran forward to help him but was held back by Lucina. The fire continued until it reached the mark on his arm, at which point the fire entered his mark, which now glowed blue. Then an identical mark lit up on the altar, out of which Naga's form emerged, saying, "Be welcome, Awakener. Your heart has been tested and deemed worthy. Cleansed in my fire, your desire has proven to burn the stronger."
Chrom was still breathing hard as his companions went to help him steady himself. "Then… you will grant me the power to defeat Grima?" Naga paused for a time, then nodded. "Yes… but know this: I am no god."
"B-but Milady!" Lucina yelled out towards the ethereal being in desperation, "You are the divine dragon!" Naga merely sighed and shook her head. "So do sons of man name me. But I am no creator. I possess not the powers of making or unmaking. And neither does Grima. Neither of us bears the power to destroy the other utterly. With my blessing, thou may draw forth Falchion's true might. The blade of the exalts shall again strike like the dragon's fang. Your strength will then be my equal."
Chrom shook his head. "But not strong enough to destroy Grima?"
"Grima cannot be slain. Sleep alone can be your victory. Just as your ancestor put the fell dragon to sleep a millennium ago. But you must weaken him first. Only as the final blow can my power be used to bind his."
The inability to permanently kill Grima irked Lissa. "So that's it? We just have Grima put to sleep, only to awaken to be another Exalt's problem in a thousand years? There's NO way to destroy him for good?"
Naga knew that Lissa spoke for all of the Shepherds at that altar. "There is, perchance, a power that could end Grima. However... 'Twould be his own."
Frederick gave the divine dragon a curious look. "He has to kill himself?" Robin stepped back from the rest of the group as Frederick the Wary spoke, deep in thought.
"And never would he do so of his own volition. He seeks only to add to his power, and set ruin upon the world. Now you must go." As she spoke, Chrom and Lucina's Falchions both suddenly took on an orange glow. "There is little time. In the sea between Plegia and Chon'sin lies a volcano known as Origin Peak. You will find the fell dragon there." As she finished the sentence, Naga faded away, leaving the Shepherds alone atop the mountain.
"Now what? I'm getting bored." Gaius took a lollipop out of his scarf and sucked on it in annoyance.
"Now we have groups to send out to find some people that Validar thought were dead." Robin shook his head hard to get out of his trance. "We have to send out groups to find Walhart, Gangrel, and the descendant of the Radiant Hero. I think his name was… Polonius? Kriam? I forget. Then we should check a few other places for allies, then head towards Origin Peak. You could even have the dark mages teleport you to Valm to get Walhart today."
Cynthia cut in and said, "So what are we waiting for? We shouldn't keep the others waiting!" Frederick nodded and began to walk back in the direction of the other Shepherds before Lucina interrupted, saying, "I actually have one more thing to ask." The group all turned to face Lucina, making her very nervous, given what she was going to ask.
"Robin, the upcoming battles may end with all of us dead, so what I'm asking is…" She took the grandmaster's hand nervously, "Can we get married before going to Origin Peak? I-if it's alright with you, Father."
Robin chuckled. "As long as your father is okay with it, I'm all for it! Although I'll need to rethink who I choose to be my best man- for obvious reasons."
Chrom rolled his eyes. "After all you've been through, Lucina? Of course. It's the least I could do." Lucina laughed happily and wrapped her arms around Robin, who replied, "Ow ow ow! You're gonna kill me! You're just like Morgan, only larger and stronger!"
"I'm happier for you than you could ever imagine." Sumia pulled her daughter into her arms, a warm smile on her face. "That being said, we should really get going. Vaike might start the duels early, and we can't have that."
"Agreed." After they all spoke in unison, they went back down to join the other Shepherds.
"Mother! Father! Check this out!" Morgan ran up to her parents, showing off her Falchion. "While you were up there, my Falchion started glowing orange! Oh look! So is yours! And did I hear you're getting married soon?"
"Yes, Morgan, we're getting married before the battle on the mountain." Morgan squealed in excitement and threw her arms around her mother, yelling, "I'm going to get to see my own parents' wedding! I'm so exciteeeeeed!"
"Okay, Morgan, but one really quick thing?" Morgan and Lucina turned to look at Robin. "If your mother throws a bouquet, Morgan," Robin said in a serious tone, "You are NOT allowed to catch it. I am not going into the battle against my evil alternate self with the knowledge that my daughter is going to be getting married anytime soon."
Morgan groaned in annoyance. "Oh, come on, Dad, you've gotta let me at least try! It would be so cool to catch the bouquet at my own parents' wedding!" Lucina sternly said, "I stand by your father. And just to make sure you don't try to catch it, I'm not going to throw that bouquet anywhere near you."
"Aw, you guys are such killjoys!" Morgan groaned again. "Whatever. I'm tired, I think I'll go turn in for the night." After embracing her parents, the young tactician ran off towards the rest of the Shepherds' tents.
Robin laughed and said, "I believe I'm going to go ahead and turn in now as well. We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow." Lucina nodded, and at that they went into their tent, tying the flaps together behind them.
Morgan couldn't sleep. She had too much going through her head- thoughts of her parents, Inigo, Grima, and above all, Kenshin- who she felt responsible for, in a way. Unable to settle down, she decided to practice swordplay to get her mind off of things.
Dodging between the tents, she heard Chrom say, "Henry, Tharja, Noire, Cordelia, Severa, are you ready?" The five Shepherds, equipped with dark magic tomes, teleported a large group of Shepherds away. Morgan knew only that the man that they were going to retrieve was named Walhart and that he was once a formidable opponent of the Shepherds. Shrugging, she went up to the altar of Naga and unsheathed her Falchion. The hilt was beaten up and covered in scratches and stitched-up leather, but the blade itself was just as clean and sleek as Chrom's- though it was almost 60 years older than his own version of the Falchion.
The young tactician had a blend of her parents' styles of fighting. She switched frequently between twirling her blade and making quick slashes and strikes and making the slower, more powerful attacks of her mother. The glowing blade created an orange blur as she spun the blade rapidly.
"Would you like a sparring partner, Morgan?" The young tactician turned to see Inigo strolling up to her, a silver sword in his hand. "I figured you might rather fight an opponent who's actually here." Morgan replied by thrusting out her blade towards the Hero.
Morgan's Falchion clashed with the son of the farm boy again and again as they danced around each other. Robin's daughter used a very aggressive fighting style, which Inigo parried and evaded with as much elegance as his mother. The clash of celestial metal with silver fell into a rhythm as their duel moved almost right on top of the altar where the emblem had been used only an hour before to summon the divine dragon.
Donnel heard the clash of blades from by his tent. Taking Olivia with him, the couple moved up towards the altar. They stopped and stared in awe at the duel. One was the daughter of the fell dragon and the time-traveling swordswoman. The other was the son of a Feroxi dancer who joined an army and a humble villager from a small Ylissean town who became the most feared fighter in all of the lands that the Shepherds fought in.
Olivia could've sworn their duel was a choreographed dance. Their duel took on almost a waltz rhythm as Morgan spun around, her orange blade ringing out as it clashed with Inigo's silver sword. The Hero moved his blade side to side almost hypnotically as he deflected the young tactician's attacks. He moved his own feet to the rhythm as he began his counterattack.
Morgan was now being pushed back, unlike the earlier part of the duel. She switched to more of her father's fighting style, quickly moving her Falchion to stop the Hero's attack. As she deflected his attacks, Inigo had pushed her back to the point where they both stood atop the altar, neither giving any distance. They moved in a tight circle atop the altar, with there now not being a clear aggressor. Beads of sweat crawled across Inigo's face as he locked blades with Morgan. Their eyes met, and the world stood still for a moment as they stared into each other's souls. Then Morgan turned Inigo's blade around and kicked it out his hand as he stepped closer to her. The tactician now stood almost on top of the hero, their faces only inches apart, her Falchion the only thing between them.
They stood there for a long time in near silence, their tired breath the only thing Donnel and Olivia could hear. Inigo reached up with his right hand and moved Morgan's hair out of her face, tucking locks of hair behind her ear. As she looked up into his eyes, Morgan set her left hand on his chest, feeling his heart beating extremely quickly as she still held Falchion in her right hand at his throat. Rain began to fall, inciting loud groans of annoyance from the Shepherds still at the camp, but they didn't hear them or notice the rain as it washed away the sweat from their faces.
Morgan let go of her Falchion, which clattered to the ground, rain dripping off of the groove in the center. She moved her right hand to the back of the hero's head, while Inigo moved his left hand to rest on the small of Morgan's back. They stood motionless for a few more seconds. Then Morgan pulled Inigo into a passionate kiss, their tongues dancing together now as they closed their eyes.
Donnel and Olivia looked on as they moved very little, oblivious of the world around them. "Donnel, do you think we should tell Robin and Lucina about this? I would like our son to live to see Grima's fall."
The farm boy turned soldier laughed heartily, wrapping one arm around his wife. "Oh, ah reckin that Robin and Lucina already know about this 'ere development. But regardless 'a that, we should really leave these two lovebirds alone. I doubt they'd appreciate it if they spotted us." Then the couple took their time returning to their tent, while for the two travelers at the divine dragon's altar, time was a foreign concept, and one that they couldn't have cared less about.
We've almost made it to the Endgame. The next few chapters are ones that I have been looking forward to writing for a long time, as they will conclude the Grima story arc, Kenshin's fate, and the death of Ducera, so I will probably put a lot of thought into them. Please consider leaving a review for this chapter- I put a lot of thought into it, and I really appreciate it when I get critiques on my work. Thank you all for your continued support, and stay tuned for chapter 13!
