EPILOGUE PART 2 – The Swans
Looking through the last few chapters of this fic from when I was a teenager, I'm not entirely sure what I had in mind originally for this epilogue. I can only infer based on what Past Me wrote and hopefully remember some of it as I go. As an additional disclaimer, most of what I write professionally is iambic pentameter plays, so descriptive language in fiction and more casual prose dialogue is definitely not my strong suit. Bear with me here.
Ferox, 3795 Arch.
"Man, who would have thought we would meet again like this?"
The lady clad in red tapped her fingers idly on her lance as she addressed the green knight. She had acquired new gear in the years since the war, as a king's pay and a royal commendation can do wonders for a knight's coffers. Her silver lance, dotted with gold accents, shone brightly in the light as she leaned on the handle, addressing her future opponent seated on a rock nearby.
"Been a while, Sully! Still, it's good to see you. I wonder if Basilio knew Flavia had picked you when he petitioned me. The selection doesn't make much sense otherwise." Stahl had maintained a preference for green armor and garments, but his armor and sword were not nearly as gaudy in appearance as Sully's. He had never been one for flashy things, for one, and beyond that, Maribelle was more than happy to make use of his extra earnings. "Surprised to see you in such elegant gear. I never though you had much of a taste for it."
"Flavia gifted half of it. As for the lance, well, that was a gift from Gregor." In response, Stahl opened his mouth to ask a question, but Sully anticipated it. "He's with our daughter- er, daughters- in Ylisstol. I just made the trip out here for the tournament. The lance was his gift to me after the little one was born."
"Ah, that makes sense." Stahl flexed his fingers out as he stretched his back. "Were you Flavia's champion in the last tournament too?"
"I was. Do you know who Basilio picked last time instead of you?" Stahl raised a curious eyebrow. "GREGOR. Ended up beating down my own husband in before half the population of Ferox. Gerome and Kjelle seemed to enjoy it, though. I actually think Brady was in attendance as well."
"Ah yes, he and Nah were traveling in the area around that time, so that makes sense." Stahl had long admired his son's prowess with the violin, although he had little opportunity to hear his play in recent times. He was less fond of Nah's singing voice, however. "Surprised he went with me for his newest hire. I don't remember ever defeating you in a duel."
"Neither do I." Sully laughed heartily at the memory of their duels from the time of the war. "I imagine the whole thing is a bit of a prank on us in his eyes. Then again, you are a veteran of the Great War, so what better candidate could there be? Also, why'd you even take this gig? Your wife is the Duchess of Themis. There's no way you need the money."
"Fair point. Still, I've gotten a bit complacent with my training over the years. As much as I love peace, I'm still not used to it, you know? This gave me a chance to get back into action- with a bit less risk of death." Stahl drew his sword from his scabbard and gave it a quick twirl. "I'm assuming you don't intend to kill me, of course."
"I don't think they've had duels to the death in Ferox in a long time, Stahl, so you'll be fine." Sully offered him her hand and helped him to his feet. "What's next for 'ya? After the feast that follows the fighting, of course."
"Heading back home! I know I've technically known him for a while already, but I don't want to miss my son's birth." Stahl's answer made Sully howl with laughter, slamming her lance up and down on the ground beneath her as she did.
"You left your pregnant wife in Ylisstol to participate in this?! HAH! Oh, Maribelle's never going to let you hear the end of it if you don't make it back in time." Stahl simply chuckled lightly in reply.
"I only found out she was pregnant the day I departed for West Ferox. Besides, she's not due for another month. I'll be fine. I'm more concerned about this feast tomorrow."
"Always worried about dinner! You haven't changed."
"Glad to see you two are catching up!" Basilio bounded up to them confidently. No matter how many years they had spent at peace, Sully would never be used to seeing him unarmed. "How do you like my surprise champion, Sully?"
"Better than your last surprise, that's for sure. You know he's never beaten me in a duel before, right?"
"First time for everything, Sully," The bald warrior retorted with a glint in his eye, ushering the two paladins towards Arena Ferox, "First time for everything. Besides, you'll both be commanding five other mercenaries, per usual, so it's not just you two."
"Yeah, I know the drill, Basilio." Stahl put his sword back in his scabbard. "I was there when 'Marth' was your champion, remember?"
"Some good that did!" Flavia trotted up behind Basilio, donning the rugged wear expected of a Feroxi khan. "Ready to lose again, Basilio?"
"Not so fast, Flavia!" Stahl gave a grin as he shook the reigning khan's hand. "The Panther of Ylisse is gonna give the victory to the West."
The khan of East Ferox chuckled. "You run that by The Woman to End All Men yet?"
"Gods, what an awesome nickname. I've gotta buy a drink for whoever came up with that."
West of Ylisstol, 3795 Arch.
"There you are!" Cynthia leapt off her Falicorn to greet the band of travelers returning from their visit to Valm, embracing Yarne and her parents quickly. "How was the trip? Accomplish what you needed to?"
"Indeed. Ricken and I handled all that we needed to. He and Nowi will be sticking around Valm a bit longer." Chrom was less than thrilled with how much the Shepherds had scattered out over the years, but it couldn't be helped at this point. "And you, my dear? How are things at home?"
"Great! I've been tending to matters as best I can with Lucina, but I wanted to come greet you! All the administrative stuff in the capital is a bit dull." She adjusted her riding skirt before welcoming another hug, this time from her aunt Lissa. "Still, I suppose I should not be complaining about peace."
"Indeed!" Her father heaved a heavy sigh. "If I never fight another battle again, it will still have been too soon. If it were up to me, I wouldn't even have brought Falchion with me."
"Wasn't up to your father, though!" Sumia playfully leaned on her husband's shoulder. "We dodged your death once. I'm not taking any chances. Besides, Cynthia's uncle and aunt give us excitement enough. Remember last year?"
"So Gaius had a few outstanding debts to a Rosanne criminal faction. Big deal!" Lissa rolled her eyes aggressively. "We made it out alive, didn't we?"
"Sure did. It's a good thing Morgan led Inigo and the others over to bail you out of trouble. Cherche is still unhappy with you, by the way, even if Virion is not."
"Hey, he made his own choices! He was only here for a diplomatic visit. Anything that occurred outside of his meetings is on him." Lissa's escapades with her husband had drawn the ire of a criminal organization in Rosanne that had been scammed by Gaius years prior. Virion and Cherche had been in Ylisse for a diplomatic visit on behalf of Rosanne and joined Morgan and Inigo in their rescue mission, and while things had mostly gone without a hitch, the altercation that followed had cost Virion his left eye. The duke did not mind, as the heroic act had won him back the respect of his people, but Cherche's patience was not so generous. Gerome, however, had grown closer to his father through the ordeal and gave him an eyepatch that matched his own mask.
"Good to know that you're not losing any sleep at night, little sis." Chrom laughed and then sighed, taking in the summer air. "Yarne, would you accompany my wife and daughter back to Ylisstol? I've got one more thing to take care of before I head back home."
Cynthia shot a puzzled look towards her father. "You're not heading back now? Why not?"
"We're heading south first," Lissa replied, "To South-town."
"South-Town? Wouldn't a royal visit there be a big affair? I would think you'd have that announced in advance." Suddenly Cynthia's eyes went wide. "Was I supposed to issue that?! Oh, no, I'm sorry, dad!"
"No, Cyndie, it's not that." Lissa sighed. The blue-haired girl finally put two and two together.
"Oh. Right. Forgot that the anniversary was coming up. That explains why Lucina was quieter than usual." She smiled at her father warmly. "I miss him too. Take all the time you need. We'll be alright for a bit longer back home. Although I might just let Lucina take the next few days off."
"If she lets you." Sumia patted her Falicorn absentmindedly as she thought of her eldest daughter. "Has she taken any significant time off in the last five years? At all?"
"She doesn't wear his cloak anymore, at least. Er, not often, anyway." Cynthia had felt the need to establish the qualifier, given that she had spied her sister walking about in her late husband's cloak on a recent rainy day. "The suitors seemed to have slowed in recent weeks, at least. They must know the significance of the time."
"I'm surprised they've show that much restraint." Chrom had constantly turned away suitors for his widowed daughter, but it was to little avail. "That's some mercy."
"We'll hurry back." Yarne lifted Cynthia up onto her Falicorn, then took her hand to follow her up. His ears twitched slightly as he got himself comfortable on the beast's back. "Best not to leave Owain, Inigo, and Morgan to their own devices for too long. Who knows what trouble they'll get up to?"
"Indeed!" Sumia shared a kiss with her husband before mounting up as well. "We'll see you soon! Should only be a few days, right?"
"Sounds about right." Chrom glanced over at her sister, who nodded in agreement. "We should arrive back right on the five-year anniversary mark." With a smile, Cynthia nudged her steed to take off, her mother following close behind.
Lissa walked over to her own horse, beginning to lead her down the road southward. "Feels like old times, huh? Too bad Frederick couldn't be here."
"Well, he's only in the Farfort these days. We can visit him and Emmeryn eventually." Chrom had not seen his former guard in a few years, but he had received enough correspondence to know that his sister was still safe and well in Donnel's hometown. "Should we ride to gain some progress?"
"Nah, let's let them rest for a while. Besides, I like this walk! We flew there last year, so we didn't get to enjoy it!" The blonde princess had a slight skip to her step, then suddenly slowed. "Maybe he'll come back this year."
Chrom tensed up. The look on his face reminded Lissa of seeing her brother be shot by a Plegian archer in the first war. "I… maybe. You never know, I suppose."
"Chrom?"
"Yeah?"
"I'm sorry."
The exalt smiled back at his sister. "It's okay. I'm alright. I'm glad we're making this trip." Chrom closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. "Feels odd. We only knew him for a few years, and yet it feels as though we never lived without him."
"I know what you mean." Lissa patted her horse lovingly, and the mare snorted happily at the woman's touch. "He's your best friend. Always has been. Also, your son-in-law…"
"Oh, don't remind me. I try not to think about the logistics of that."
Ylisstol, 3795 Arch.
Severa turned her head as she heard a knock at the door. "Who is it?"
"The Chosen One!"
"Must you always call yourself that, Owain?" Severa rolled her eyes, though no-one would see it, and went to open the door for her partner. She was undoubtedly quite shocked to find five people waiting for her as the door swung open.
"Hi, Severa! We're back!"
"Cyndie, you've only been gone for a few days." Looking beyond Cynthia, the red-haired woman saw a taguel standing just behind the princess. "Yarne! How was the trip?"
"Uneventful. Just the way I like it." Yarne's ears twitched as he wrapped his right arm around Cynthia, returning Severa's hug with his left. "Chrom and Lissa continued on to South-Town. They should be back tonight or tomorrow."
"Makes sense." Severa pushed past Inigo and her partner to greet the young girl behind them. "MORGAN! Always a delight!" She wrapped her arms around the young tactician's waist and spun her around in the embrace, much to Morgan's surprise.
"Put me down! What's gotten into you?" Morgan squirmed for a moment before Severa finally set her down.
"She said it, Severa. Where did this come from? What are we, chopped liver?"
"I'm with Owain here- you saw Morgan a couple days ago."
"Yes, but she's better company than you two." Morgan smiled at the compliment from the swordswoman before pushing further into Severa's room and taking a seat. "Besides, she's not as stingy on a shopping spree as Owain either."
"Yes, because it's MY purse she's spending." Inigo shot a sarcastically accusatory look towards Morgan as he sat down alongside her. The young tactician turned her head, pretending she did not see it. "Anyway, I went ahead and invited you and Owain to come with Morgan and I to dinner. Yarne and Cynthia received the same invitation, since I bumped into them on the way over here."
"It's with your mom and dad, right? Are they going to be upset about the sudden spike in attendance to this little event?"
"Have you met Donnel and Olivia? They'll be elated!" Morgan cheerfully tapped her toes on the floor beneath her. "You can tell them all about what you've been up to these past few years, and they can tell you all about the Farfort, and Emmeryn, and Frederick, and Ma!"
"Ma?"
"My grandmother." Inigo finally got a word in as Yarne's question cut off Morgan's rambling speech. "Boy, was she excited to meet Mother and I when the war ended. She was practically ready to tear my cheeks off with all her doting. 'Well, I knew ya were a good lad, Donny, but I never ever tawt yew'd come on back from the war with the most beautiful woman I ever laid eyes on by your side- and a grown-up son to boot!' Anyway, Father took over the farm when he got back from the war, so Ma's been taking it easy. Probably for the best, since she doesn't have the mobility she used to. Still likes dancing with Mother, though! You've gotta see it someday. She's a delight. You'd like her. You all would."
"Perhaps we shall make a trip down south soon! I'm sure the island air would do us good." Owain closed the door as the last of the little group had entered the room, then shot a wind spell from his stumped right arm. It was not especially powerful without a tome, but it was plenty to push the windows open and fill the room with light from the courtyard while simultaneously extinguishing the candles that stood alongside them. "Is your grandma going to be at dinner?"
"No, she can't travel much anymore, but I've been down there! I can verify what he's saying!" Morgan's beaming smile matched the enthusiasm of her words. "It's actually her husband's ring I'm wearing!" She proudly held up her left hand, showing off a simple golden band on her finger. She quickly reached over with her right hand to force Inigo to show off his own. "Donnel can tell you all about it at dinner."
"Speaking of dinner…" Yarne's stomach betrayed him even as he spoke, rumbling through the room. "Is there a specific reason we're waiting here and not immediately going to dinner? I hate to be a bother about this, but taguels have different dietary needs to humans, so I have to eat a lot."
"Double the average human consumption, to be precise." The group turned suddenly, surprised to hear this information out of Severa. "What? My dad's a huge nerd. He knows all this stuff. Although his expertise is mostly with birds, if I'm totally honest."
"How are your mom and dad doing, by the way?" Cynthia tilted her head with a slight smile as she recalled the time she had spent with the mage and the knight.
"They're doing well. Almost too well! They had a kid- er, well, me- three years ago now, and boy, do they dote on her. I'm almost jealous. She's blonde, though, like my dad, so it's funny that she didn't inherit the same hair color as me." Severa ran her hands through her hair absentmindedly as she thought of her 'sister' and her parents. "And to answer your question, Yarne, we're just waiting on Lucina to be ready."
"Mom's here?" Morgan looked a little surprised but still happy all the same.
"Yep! She should be back in just a moment." As if summoned by Severa's words, a knock sounded on the door, and Severa stood to walk over and answer it. "Just to give you fair warning, Luci, there's a few more people in here than you might have expected." She swung open the door, finding blue eyes matching hers with the brand of the exalt in one of them. The rest of her appearance was a surprise, however.
Lucina was dressed somewhat differently from her war days. Her knee-high boots remained the same, but Severa couldn't help but think her blue tunic looked unusual without the usual brown belts around her waist and shoulders that would carry Falchion. She didn't have her usual blue gloves either, with her calloused hands instead being uncovered with the mark of the exalt visible- a rarity around the princess of Ylisse. She also lacked her cape, shoulder plates, and scarf. As for the shirt she typically wore under the blue tunic, Severa could only see the high collar peeking out from under the centerpiece of her outfit.
Lucina was wearing Robin's cloak again.
For the first year after the war ended it had been nearly impossible to separate her from her husband's cloak for longer than it took her to sleep- and for the first month or two, not even for sleep. After a year, Severa had convinced her to finally go a day without wearing it, and eventually a week and a month and more. Still, any time Lucina had heard news of a new noble coming to petition Chrom for her hand in marriage, she would don the cloak once more and make a point of being seen in it, even if only from a distance.
It's not like it was bad looking, anyway. The black tunic may not have been in the same condition as it was when the exalt-to-be and his sister had found Robin in a field, but it had been maintained relatively well over the years. Maribelle had stitched new gold embroidery over the slices left by altercations on the field of battle, leaving yellow patterns all over the black and purple fabric. Still, Maribelle was good at what she did, and the new additions had only ever made the garment more beautiful. The purple lines, mixed with the gold stitching, ran up her sleeves before disappearing under the heaps of the cloak's hood. Normally Lucina would tuck her long blue hair into the hood, but she had not taken such a measure today, letting it instead flow past the hood behind her.
"Hi, Mother! We're all going to meet Donnel and Olivia for dinner." Morgan seemed to be the only one not feeling some measure of awkwardness about Lucina's appearance. "You look lovely, by the way! We match!" The young tactician bounced up to her feet and hugged her mother, her own cloak billowing behind her. While Lucina was just tall enough to avoid dragging the cloak along the ground behind her, Morgan's matching cloak eventually settled on the stone floor beneath them.
"All of us?" Lucina asked softly, "Won't that be a bit overwhelming for them?"
"Gods, I feel like a songbird singing the same tune over and over. They'll be fine, Lucina. Don't worry." Inigo smiled at his future mother-in-law (A status that still felt deeply weird to him) and studied the expression that Lucina returned to him. She was smiling, but the smile did not reach her eyes. Her face still looked vacant in many ways, though he could tell she was going to great lengths to conceal this fact. "With strangers, yes, my mother would be uncomfortable by the sudden arrival of new folks, but you guys? She'll be delighted. Besides, even if you were strangers, Father knows how to keep folks from overwhelming her." Inigo's reply seemed to settle Lucina a bit as she turned to embrace her younger sister.
"Did you meet up with father and mother? Where are they off to now?"
"Mother is in the royal gardens now, I think. Little You and Little Me have her heavily occupied at the moment." Cynthia had marveled at how much energy the six-year-old and three-year-old managed to muster. For the most part, it had been to her amusement, although she had been less than delighted when Little Lucia had found Chrom's Falchion. She was abnormally strong for a small child, and while that meant she was able to lift the holy sword at least partially off the ground, she was not strong enough to properly handle it and had cut a rather large hole in a dresser in Cynthia's chambers. "As for Father and Aunt Lissa, they continued south. They should have gotten to South-Town yesterday, so they'll be back tomorrow, most likely. Possibly today, but they probably want to stick around there for a bit, since today is-"
"Right, of course." Lucina's eyes looked even more glassy than before, staring off into nothing. "Did the visit to Valm go smoothly?"
"Yes, things went well enough." Yarne shifted uncomfortably, also growing quite aware of how poorly Lucina was concealing her thoughts. "We visited Duke Virion and Duchess Cherche first, who have settled back in at Rosanne, then we continued to Castle Rigel. We visited Walhart's memorial site. It's quite beautiful. Miriel, Libra, Laurent, and Noire are almost done with the rebuilding of Valm, but Ricken and Nowi decided to stick around in the area for a while to help them finish up."
"I'm glad to hear that. Ricken needed the change of pace." Lucina regained focus as she replied to the taguel. "Well, I suppose I have delayed the meal long enough. Shall we go to meet Donnel and Olivia?"
"Yes yes yes!" Morgan pushed out the door into the courtyard, eager to get moving. "I could practically eat a horse!"
"Alright, love, alright. Let's get moving." Inigo followed his fiancé out, trying not to make eye contact with Lucina as he went. "Y'all coming?"
"Wow, you've spent too much time with your father. Hearing you say 'y'all' is so odd." Severa took Lucina by the arm and led her out of the room, with Owain, Yarne, and Cynthia close behind.
A table and benches had been dragged outdoors for their meal in a small clearing near the gate to the courtyard. Eagerly awaiting the arrival of his son and his daughter-in-law, a young man humbly clad in black and white opened up his two baskets and began spreading out a cloth from one before him, followed by lifting a large, cooked turkey out of the other. Pushing his uncovered, curly hair up out of his eyes, Donnel began to take out the rest of the meal he had prepared- bread, apples, a few other sweet treats, and his mother's signature pie- and set the hearty feast up for the arrival of their guests as the setting sun filled the courtyard with an orange hue. His shoulders and arms, covered in scars, flexed slightly as he moved the food about, years of combat and farm labor strengthening him in all endeavors to the point that much of it felt weightless. But even if the baskets had been heavy, he felt light as a feather in his heart. For how could any man feel heavy when his beautiful, loving wife was sat beside him, singing a duet with him?
"And now at last the two embrace-" The farmer leans on the table and looks lovingly at his wife, seated at the head.
"And in his arms the swan does sigh," The dancer, unused to being still as she sings the song, reaches up and cups her husband's face in her right hand. Her white shirt sleeves hung loose around her right arm, while her left rested alongside her black trousers on the bench where she sat. She had seen almost as much battle as Donnel, but thanks to his due diligence in her defense, she had suffered only a single scar- a small line under her left ear going an inch down her chin. She was self-conscious about it when she returned to performing after the war, but that feeling had quickly gone away, partially thanks to some rather enthusiastic kissing upon the spot from her husband. Her two braids hung lightly by her shoulders, while a long ponytail swayed behind her.
"Up she looks, with smile so wide," Donnel raises his left hand to hold her right in place as her own left hand lifted to rest atop his right hand still propping him up on the table. He gazed longingly into his wife's eyes, just as he had so many thousands of times before, fighting back the tears welling up within him.
"To gaze at the moon in the sky." Olivia sang the melody for the final line as her husband took the high harmony one octave down from her. The couple hummed the final stanza together one more time, and for the two of them it had felt for a moment as though nothing else existed. Olivia smiled at the farmer, aware of the feeling he was trying to choke back, and she began to feel the same tears welling up in her eyes as well. Keeping her hand on his face, she rotated her thumb to catch the first one nearly falling from the corner of his left eye. He giggled at the touch. It was contagious. She did too. Neither had to speak of what had spurred it on.
Slowly, after what had felt like an eternity, Olivia let go of her husband's face. Donnel gingerly took her right hand in both his own and kissed her middle knuckle.
It was at that moment that they realized they were not alone. The couple turned in sync to realize they had an audience of seven people watching them. Cynthia smiled warmly, clutching Yarne's hand tightly as she leaned on his shoulder while looking at them. The taguel's ears had perked up, having been listening intently to the couple's song. Severa still held Lucina's right arm with her left but had reached out to hold Owain's hand with her own right hand as she listened to the final verse. Morgan had nestled her head against Inigo's chest, wrapping her arms around him as she fought back tears. The singing couple's son had wrapped one arm around her shoulders, clutching her tightly. Inigo had heard his parents sing the Ballad of the Swan Princess many times before, but this rendition he was certain he would remember for the rest of his life, although he was less certain why.
Lucina had lost the ability to hold back. She silently thanked Naga that the two singers had drawn her friends' focus away from herself, or they would all have seen the snot and tears streaming down her face. This was the fifth time she had heard them sing their favorite tune, and each had moved her more than the last. The first time she heard it was as a very small child, since Olivia had sung it alone once on a visit in her original timeline. The second time was as Marth, spying on the Shepherds from a tree as the couple first met. The third time had been the rendition Olivia had danced to just before Donnel asked to marry her, and the fourth was with all the Shepherds the day before Donnel and Olivia's wedding.
But it was only on this fifth listening that Lucina fully felt the song wash over her. The white swan princess had regained her black swan prince, and for the moon's intercession she was thankful, but her home was gone. Her palace had been destroyed and would never be the same again. In this fifth listening, she truly pitied the swan princess, for only now did she recognize the feeling. Her home was gone. She had accomplished her goal, but she could not go back. She could never go back- not only because her own home no longer existed, but because she was waiting. Waiting for the return of a swan prince who would never come back to save her.
The time-traveling princess reached up with her left arm and hastily wiped away the tears and snot from her face with Robin's sleeve. Sorry to stain your cloak, my love, but to be fair, it's your fault those tears fell. She resented herself for the hostile thought the second it conjured in her mind, so she choked out a few words in an attempt to clear her head.
"That was beautiful."
"Yeah, that was lovely." His parents both blushed and Olivia had prepared to say something in reply, but Inigo ran to them in a few short steps and threw his arms around his parents, cutting off any reply and hugging them with a level of warmth that they were quick to return.
"Well, this is 'ardly the number of folks I expected! Not that I'm bellyaching- what a delight to see you all!" The farmer bounded over to the group of time travelers, quickly exchanging hugs with as many as he could manage. "Glad we packed some extra food- had a feeling it would go to use!" While Morgan and the others were distracted by Donnel's doting, Olivia walked over to the young tactician's mother and took hold of her by her biceps.
"Thank you, milady. You are too kind, and I think we both need a little bit of kindness today- you even more so than me." Olivia let go of one arm and wiped away the last of the mucus dripping from Lucina's nose with her hand.
"I'm so sorry, Olivia, I can go get a handkerchief for you."
"Don't you dare. I would not ask any favor of you today for all the world. Besides, that's what my husband's sleeve is for." The dancer winked at Lucina before stepping over to her husband and leading the group to the dinner table, smoothly wiping her hand on his shirt as she guided the entourage over. Blinking the last of her tears away, the blue-haired princess followed the others to the table to join in the meal.
Morgan had wasted little time digging into the meal before her, quickly tearing apart a turkey leg with her teeth. Severa had insisted on Owain sitting between her and the young tactician, carefully positioning herself to his right so that she could cut his turkey for him without being affected by the mess Morgan was making. Donnel gave the other turkey leg to Yarne, who carefully worked away at it while the farmer continued to cut more turkey for him. Cynthia loaded up on sweets, while Inigo pecked at an apple amidst a conversation with his mother.
Lucina, for her own part, could barely manage to get many words out or much food in. Still, she had not spent much time socializing like this in the past five years. The dream of keeping all the Shepherds living together after the war dissolved within weeks of the Fell Dragon's death, so there was rarely much in the way of group gatherings that garnered her interest. She had been invited to her father's diplomatic dinners once the nature of her existence was made known to the realm, but as the years had progressed, those dinners began to include romantic advances from other nobles.
She knew what Robin had said. She knew she had his blessing to move on. But she couldn't. She just couldn't. And thus, she had shut herself away from those public events, growing more and more isolated from the rest of the world. But at that moment, sitting with Donnel, Olivia, and her time-traveling friends and family, she finally felt alive again. With a slight smile, she bit into a piece of bread, watching the scene unfold before her, simply listening and observing without inserting herself into any particular conversation.
I wish you were here, Robin. I miss you.
"Inigo tells me you've been getting back into swordplay again!" Donnel heaped another cut of turkey before Owain, still beaming at him. "How's that going?"
"Not awfully well, to be honest."
"And here I was expecting a big theatrical answer!" Donnel cast an amused side-eye to his son. "I hope you haven't been too hard on the one-handed man."
"He's still better with his left than many fighters are with their right." Inigo gave his friend a thumbs up as the trainee in question chewed his turkey. "Truthfully, he'd be making even more progress if I wasn't spending so much time with my fiancé here. Not that I'd choose anything else." Morgan beamed at him again, wrapping her ring-laden fingers around his.
"Right answer!" Donnel squeezed his wife's hand with a smile. "Why, once upon a time, your pops can recall having to drag you off from yer philanderin' just to get to marchin'!"
Inigo's face grew red, even as Morgan simply giggled at his embarrassment. It did not take long for Owain, Severa, Cynthia, and Yarne to join in the laughter. "Well, Father, we won the war, didn't we?"
"That we did, son, that we did! I'm not fixin' to rehash an old argument. Although if I recall, you once said you wanted every woman to swoon when they heard your name. That still the case?"
"Let them!" Morgan's eager reply through her laughter set her fiancé at ease, even if his face was still bright red. "He'll still be my husband, won't he?"
"You know, Father, I seem to recall Ma saying you needed to take it easier on me. Whatever happened to that?" Inigo cracked a grin at his father, who still smiled, but his mouth closed as he did. Donnel's expression got a bit more wistful before Olivia took over the conversation.
"Well, your father does make a good point. After all your skirt chasing, it's quite refreshing to see you two so happily paired up." The dancer snaked her arm around her husband's, taking his hand in her own. Lucina noticed how much Donnel relaxed at his wife's touch, taking note of just how tense Donnel had been at his son's previous question.
Suddenly, Donnel took a deep breath in and out. "Now, Son, there was another reason we wanted to come up for this here dinner today." Donnel's eyes drifted over in Lucina's direction before returning to his son. She steeled herself internally for what she knew was coming. Every year, those she knew would fall over themselves to express some formalized, heartfelt condolences, and while she knew they meant well, she had been exhausted by it for years at this stage. She had avoided much of it that day, but she had known it would come eventually. Still, she had a lot of respect for Donnel, and she knew he meant well, so she put on her best fake smile for what she knew was coming.
"We're not here for the five-year memorial. We've got some awful bad news, and your Mama and I thought it would be better to tell you in person than just send a letter, 'specially since my handwritin's not exactly splendid." Lucina blinked in surprise. This was not at all what she had anticipated.
"Oh? What's wrong?" Inigo's smile faded, quickly replaced by a look of immense concern. He looked around at the table sheepishly. "I'm sorry I invited so many people here if you just wanted to talk to Morgan and I."
"No, Inigo, it's alright. You know we're always happy to see the Shepherds- doubly so when it's your friends." Olivia brought her other hand up and set it atop her and her husband's already intertwined fingers. "Besides, we were planning on telling them too, eventually."
"Thank you again for your hospitality, Mister Donnel and Miss Olivia!" Yarne's remark seemed to relax the couple a bit more.
"It's been so fun to see you guys again!" Cynthia chimed in after the taguel. "Inigo was telling us about 'Ma' earlier too. She sounds delightful! I can't wait to visit you guys down in Farfort and meet her!"
At Cynthia's words, that wistful look returned to the farmer's face again. He turned to look at his wife at his side. She squeezed his hand even tighter.
The Farfort, 3790 Arch.
"Ma! You there?" Donnel's voice boomed out as he strolled down the path to his childhood home. The horribly dented pot he had grown accustomed to using as a helmet still sat atop his head as he looked around for any sign of activity. He was not wearing his shoulder pauldrons, but his old tunic from his time as a farmer was just barely visible from underneath his chest plate. His army-issue boots, beaten down by many battles, left an unfamiliar print in the dirt path to the place he once called home. The entire environment felt small. Eager to locate his mother, Donnel quickened his pace, but a sharp pain through his abdomen made him double over.
"Donnel! You have to slow down!" Olivia came to his side and gently lifted him back upright from his right arm. "You're still wounded, my love. Lissa couldn't get the tip of the arrow out of you, remember?"
"I know, darlin', I know." Donnel took a slow, careful breath in and out. "I'm just worried about her, you know? After all the letters I've written since the war in Valm started wound up back in Ylisstol…"
"She'll be alright, Father. She has to be." Inigo took his father's left arm over his shoulders and helped him keep walking down the path. "We'll see her in a moment, I'm sure."
As if on cue, a figure shuffled out from the small cottage at the end of the path. "Donny? Donny, is that you?" A muscular woman in a green shirt with brown sleeves stood in the doorway, looking out at them. At the sight of her, all the pain in Donnel's side seemed to go away, at least for a while.
"Ma, I'm back! I'm back! It's finally all over!" The farmer dashed down the dirt path and threw his arms around his mother. She held him tightly for a long moment before finally letting go and taking a good look at him.
"Now why on earth do you still have that old pot? All that money you sent home during the Plegian War, and you couldn't think to buy yerself a new helmet?" She took his makeshift helmet off his head and ruffled his hair. "Then again, anything's better than letting this mop be out to the world! His majesty musta been embarrassed to be around ya!"
"I had to keep it, Ma! It reminded me of home." Donnel pulled the leather bag off his back and reached inside, producing a collection of letters. "I've been writing letters since the Valm war started, but it looks like most of them never made it past Ylisstol. You can read them later if you like."
"That would be nice, Donny. Thank you." Ma looked past Donnel and saw the two unfamiliar figures approaching behind him. On the left, the most stunningly beautiful woman she had ever seen was smiling at her, pink hair tied up in a bun. She wore a matching pink shirt and a pair of white pants that she had tucked into her knee-high leather boots. To Ma's right and the pink-haired woman's left, an unfamiliar man wearing earrings walked in a blue tunic under a brown belt. His brown boots matched her son's military boots, and his hair was the same dark brown as her son's.
"Who are your guests? Not that I mind the company, but if I knew you were bringing folks from the capital, I'd have prepared a bigger dinner and made myself more presentable-like!"
"Oh! I guess those letters never made it." He walked a few steps back up the path to meet Olivia and Inigo, taking his wife's hand as he got there. "Ma, this is Olivia. We met in the war. I didn't want to tell you about her after the first war because we didn't know each other really well yet, but we ended up spending a lot of time together in the Valm campaign. She's a professional dancer from Ferox- best you ever done seen! And… and she's my wife. We got married just before the resurrection of Grima. I was mighty sad you weren't there, but now I know why- you never even got the invite." Ma's eyes went wide as the pink-haired dancer offered her right hand, clutching Donnel's arm in her left. Ma shook the offered hand, speechless.
"You were still getting my letters when I told you about Lucina, right? Chrom's daughter? The princess who hopped back in time to find us and save the future?" Ma nodded, still taken aback by the sudden introduction to her daughter-in-law. "Well, turns out the Exalt ain't the only one with time-traveling future children. This is your grandson, Inigo."
"Inigo… Like your Pa." She released her daughter-in-law's hand from the handshake and turned to face her grandson, gently rubbing her own wedding ring as she thought of her late husband of the same name.
"Howdy, Ma. It's nice to finally meet you. You… well, you died before I was born, so we've never met. Father told me a whole lot about you."
"Well!" Ma reached up and squeezed Inigo's cheeks. He smiled so hard that he couldn't even feel much pain from her tight grip. "I knew ya were a good lad, Donny, but I never ever thought ye'd come on back from the war with the most beautiful woman I ever laid eyes on by your side- and a grown-up son to boot!" Finally letting go of Inigo, she turned and gave a hug to his mother, who returned it with a smile on her face. "Now why don't you two lovebirds head inside? I've got dinner on the stove already! It'll be a bit small, but I'll take your boy here to go get some more fuel to keep the fire going for us!"
"Sure thing, Ma!" Donnel led his wife into the cottage while Inigo followed his grandmother over to the pile of chopped-up firewood next to the cottage. Ma stacked up a pile under each arm, while Inigo could barely manage a single stack in front of him.
"It's a fine name they gave you, Inigo."
"Thank you." He had no idea what his grandfather looked like for himself, but he had been told before by Donnel that they looked alike. "I can only hope I can live up to it."
Suddenly Ma stopped in her tracks. Inigo did the same, concerned at what the mighty woman was about to say. Slowly putting her log piles down, she walked over to him and looked right in his eyes. Inigo wanted to run away from the intense feeling, but he couldn't bring himself to move.
"Life ain't been real kind to you, has it, grandson?" He did not know how, but she had read him like a book.
"…No." Inigo felt his grandmother's strong arms wrap around him as he buried his face in her shoulder, fighting back the sudden surge of tears he had no idea were even there to begin with.
"You're alright now, Inigo. You're alright. You're a strong boy, I can tell. I'm proud of you." Pulling herself back, she held her grandson by the shoulders and looked at him again. Looking down, she noticed he wore a ring on his smallest right-hand finger that matched the one his mother wore on her ring finger. "You really are a lot like him. Tell you what- why don't I give you a gift?" Reaching behind her neck, she untied and removed a necklace tucked under her shirt and pulled a small gold ring off of it. "Once upon a time, my husband wore this ring. If you find someone special- and I mean real special, the boy or girl you want to spend the rest of your life with- you give them this ring and they'll spend the rest of their days with you. I'm sure of it." With that, she pressed it into the palm of his glove.
"I… I will. Thank you."
"Now let's get this firewood in there before Donny and your mother wonder what we're up to, eh?" With that, Ma hoisted her piles of firewood back up and marched into the cottage, her grandson close behind.
Ylisstol, 3795 Arch.
"Well, I'm afraid she won't be waiting there for your visit, princess." Donnel turned to look back at Cynthia, having gained the courage he needed from his wife. "Ma is… well, she passed away last week. She's gone."
The group suddenly got very quiet, the raucous conversation and laughter abruptly coming to a total halt. Cynthia covered her mouth with her right hand as Yarne held her left. Owain and Severa paled. Morgan looked at her fiancé as he stared back at his father. Lucina suddenly understood why Olivia had been so tender with her before.
"I… I'm sorry for your loss. All three of you." Severa's words received a nod from the farmer.
"Well… I'm glad I got to meet her this time. And I'm glad you got to meet her too, Morgan." Inigo stood up and circled the table, hugging his parents tightly. "Thank you for coming up here to tell me. Much better than reading that news in a letter. I'm guessing that's why you sounded so different on the song today, huh?"
"That bad, huh?"
"No, not at all! Yours was truly an enchanting melody. I am certain your voices would put even almighty Naga to shame."
"I'm with Owain here, Father. It was beautiful. You've never sounded better." That, at least, managed to garner another smile out of Donnel.
"Thank ya, Son. She really loved you. You know that, right?" Inigo nodded to his father, fighting back tears yet again. "You made her proud, Inigo. She was real happy. Real happy." Donnel reached up from the bench and ruffled his son's hair. "Although with you out traveling with your gal and your grandmother gone, our little cottage is gonna be awful quiet, huh?"
"Well…" Olivia took her husband's hands again. "We may not have much quiet for long." Olivia's remark left puzzlement on Donnel's face, but Severa gasped, immediately grasping what the dancer was implying. Cynthia's sorrowful expression suddenly flipped to a smile. Even Lucina's face lit up a bit despite the dour circumstances of the day. The younger gentlemen had not caught on.
"Why's that, darling?"
"Donnel..." The Feroxi dancer took a deep breath, resting one hand on her abdomen. "Little Inigo's on the way. I'm pregnant."
And there's Part Two of the Epilogue! Boy, now that I have reread parts of the original fanfic, I am happy that my writing skills improved immensely when I became a playwright. A lot of the earlier chapters really do read like something a middle schooler (and later, high schooler) wrote. Still, as much as I have a penchant for heavily criticizing my own writing, the potential was there. I just didn't really know how to express the ideas I had developed yet.
Also, the cover art for this fic? I did not get permission for that. I definitely just stole that off the internet! Why did teenage Me think that was okay? So funny. I'd change it, but I forgot how to replace the cover art of a fanfic.
Anyway, I'll try to wrap up this whole story in the next part, with Robin's awakening (hee hee that's the name of the game hee hee) and his reunion with Lucina. As much as I've come to think F-Robin and Chrom is a more fitting story pairing than M-Robin and Lucina, reading the Lucina/Robin supports again and the Lucina's Judgement dialogue has reminded me of what drew me to that pairing in the first place, as deeply weird as it can be. And in this chapter, I'm just glad I got to write about Donnel and Olivia, who really do have the best-written support dialogue in the game.
I hope the 3 people still reading this fanfic enjoy getting some semblance of super late closure to this fic, and I hope to get the final part up for you soon!
