Chapter 22) The Threat of Silence

Running away from a pyrrhic victory, and end up saving some villages. Sounds typical of the Shepherds, doesn't it? While trying to plan our next move, though, we get an unexpected request. Tiki wishes to recover some of her sealed power and asks us to escort her to the sacred grounds for the ritual. I'm nervous about going to some place filled with Naga's power as… well, I'm of Grima. Will I burst into flames by stepping foot there?

Nothing for it, though. It's not like I can just stay behind. Chrom and Robin would probably drag me if I tried. If not the rest of the Shepherds.

The 'Divine Dragon Grounds' were a surprisingly beautiful place. The gentle breeze ruffled our hair, and the scent of fresh flowers enveloped us like a hug. The flowers themselves were of various colors, making it almost seem like we were walking through a rainbow. A rainbow of pollen. It was a pretty and peaceful place, but the Naga-blooded of our group seemed enthralled by it. Like they'd just walked into heaven and paradise. Lissa almost curled up for a nap, though Henry stopped her. The rest of us? We just appreciated having a peaceful place to rest. I was surprised how gentle the place seemed, even to me. I really had expected some sort of rejection. This was Naga's land, supposedly. The enemy of Grima. Shouldn't the light sear me or something? Or Robin, at least?

"You're thinking fretful thoughts," Chrom whispered in my ear. I nearly jumped and hit him from surprise, but he caught my flailing hand and kissed it. Then he kissed my wrist, lingering on a scar there. "You know… I've been trying to figure out where this scar came from."

"You've been wondering for two years and didn't just ask?" I retorted dryly, trying to pretend I wasn't embarrassed. It didn't work. I knew I was blushing badly and even if I didn't feel it prickle my skin, the cat-like smirk Robin gave me before returning to his discussion with Say'ri said it all. "It's nothing, really. Cooking accident."

"Cooking?"

"Yeah, a pot boiled over." I shrugged, deciding the best course of action was to just not look at him. Chuckling, he simply kissed the scar again. "Not all of my scars are from battle. I spent most of my life wanting to live until my father passed. That means dodge-parry-block."

"And counter." He turned my hand over to kiss my wrist, right over the pulse. Which he damn well knew was beating fast because of what he was doing. "You're fun to tease."

"Watch it. I'm the vengeful type." Luckily for my embarrassment, I saw Tiki walking over to join us, and I smiled at her. "Is everything okay?"

"Yes, quite so, and I see everything is okay with you," Tiki instantly teased me. This time, I just scowled, and I lightly kicked Chrom's leg when he snickered. "Hee… forgive me, please. I enjoy seeing happy couples, and the years with Tina gave me an appreciation for teasing them." Tina? ...Oh, right, that was what she called the Shadow of the Hero-King. "Not that Diana didn't encourage it either." And that was the Shadow of the Last Empress. "Regardless, would you follow me, please?"

"Of course," Chrom agreed, now simply holding my hand. Though I'd planned on heading back to the army to make sure everyone was resting, that grip meant I simply had to keep up. I frowned a little at him, but he just kissed my cheek. Maybe the whole 'this place is paradise' feeling the Naga-blooded got made him extra affectionate or something? "Is there anything I need to do for this ritual?"

"Simply keep me safe if something unexpected occurs." Tiki walked carefully among the flowers, crouching every once in a while to pick a few. Before long, she had a beautiful bouquet. "It will be like I am in a deep slumber. I will not be able to react to anything once I begin, much less move." All at once, the flowers gave way to stepping stones and we followed them to a small altar set up in the middle of everything. "Here we are."

"An Altar?" Chrom studied it curiously, while I looked around, hunting for any sign of a building or anything. But there was nothing but the base of the altar. "To Naga?"

"Actually, I think it might have once been a statue of Mila, but now, there is only this altar." Tiki carefully laid the bouquet on the stone. "However, it is still a beacon of power, and power is just that. Power. A tool that can be used by any who can pick it up." Which was why the Fire Emblem was key to both Naga's awakening, and Grima's. "For example, while Falchion may not cut when wielded by anyone besides its chosen, an unchosen can still beat someone to death with it."

"...I feel like you're referring to a specific incident."

"Diana." So said the name with a smile and a laugh, but did not elaborate further. "I must apologize in advance, but I will be meditating for some time. I must draw the power in slowly, to not take too much nor too little."

"You mentioned something about causing destruction if you took too much."

"All dragons suffer from urges to destroy and rampage. It is a lingering piece of the degeneration that once befell the manakete." Tiki clasped her hands behind her back and looked up at the sky before glancing at us over her shoulder. "The dragonstones hold off the degeneration, but traces remain."

"Destructive urges? Degeneration?" Chrom frowned a little and absently pulled me closer. Like he was afraid I'd somehow come to harm or something. "Did Grima suffer from it?"

"No." Tiki shook her head, smiling bitterly. "No, it was originally thought to be the case, but degenerated dragons are ruled by their emotions and impulses. It exacerbates their worst qualities until there is nothing left by a rabid beast incapable of critical thought or speech. Grima is much too patient and calculating." Even that bitter smile faded for sadness. "When we assumed otherwise, it cost a great many their lives." ...Had she fought alongside the First Exalt? "Regardless, it shall be a while. I thank you for your patience."

"We'll enjoy the rest."

Tiki smiled before sitting down in front of the altar and closing her eyes. A handful of seconds later, a faint glow enveloped her and light shimmered across the stone altar. The flowers around glittered like jewels in the sun, and the air became heavy with power. Chrom and I actually had to step back a bit to escape the pressure. We lingered a bit, just to make sure nothing was amiss, before we headed back to the army to set up watches and patrols. Even if we were going to rest (which we were)... well, if anyone had been following us, now would be the perfect time for assassins. If there was anything we had learned, it was that we had to be wary.

It would be nice for things to go our way for once. But I highly, highly doubted it.

After getting a patrol and watch rota hammered out, those not 'on duty' did actually do their best to relax. Some were more successful than others. I had originally been one of the less successful ones, but Sumia dragged me off to read books with her. Because, in her words, 'what could be better than lazying amongst flowers while reading'?

"Gawds, we are not putting her hair in pigtails, Cynthia." The answer, by the way, was having your two 'nieces' join you. "They look good on you and me, but they won't suit Kestrel at all," Severa scoffed, brushing my hair. She had tried to get Lucina to sit down for a hair brushing, but Lucina had escaped to spar with Chrom. So, she brushed mine instead. Cynthia had skipped over to spend time with Sumia, and ended up getting involved. "She'll look like she's trying to play into someone's fetish with pigtails." Wait, what?

"Where did you learn things like that?" Sumia yelped, blushing a pretty red. And, for once, it wasn't because of the ribald retelling she was reading. For one thing, she'd stopped reading at the end of a chapter to do her flower fortunes. "I mean… I know you're an adult and all, but…"

"Hmm… I wonder…" With all the sarcasm in the world, Severa looked pointedly at the book Sumia had been reading. It let her ignore Cynthia's scowling pout. "Might have something to do with the books you read. Or Mother. There was that stupid tripe of… ugh, what was it called?"

"'How to Make Him Fall in Love in a Fortnight'?" Cynthia suggested. I quickly had to muffle laughter as I knew exactly which book they were talking about. Cordelia refused to let me borrow it, but I knew it! "Something close to that, at least. It was really informative."

"In like… everything to not do," Severa grumbled. Despite the sharp words, her hands were gentle with my hair. "Though, that wasn't as bad as that one book that noblewoman gave Lucina and Victoria when they started their period. What was that nonsense?"

"Are you talking about the one that was like 'your secret area will be the perfect fit for your eventual husband' or something?" Cynthia began braiding flowers into my hair, though I had to struggle to not fall over laughing. I was so not reading anymore. I couldn't concentrate! "Or was that a different one?"

"No, it was that one. I think."

"You should've countered with 'well, I guess I should go around, have some fun, and find that perfect fit'," Sumia muttered, still blushing. At that point, I gave up trying not to laugh. Especially when both Severa and Cynthia gasped and squeaked, completely scandalized. "I can't believe someone actually wrote a book with that in it. Vaginas are stretchy. Sort of."

"True, true," I agreed, having to wipe my eyes. I couldn't breathe. Especially when I saw how Severa's jaw had dropped, while Cynthia's face had turned bright-bright pink. "I mean… they're capable of pushing a baby out. More than one, even. Though, as I can attest, birthing is painful."

"Libra offered you some sort of pain numbing thing."

"I didn't think it would be any worse than what I'd endured in the past!"

"Oh, I so do not need to hear any more of this!" Severa protested, shaking her head. So she said, but she didn't cover her ears. She covered Cynthia's instead. "Cynthia shouldn't be hearing this stuff either! She's a baby!"

"I am not!" Cynthia immediately protested, scowling. Sumia giggled and I struggled to stop laughing. I had to be tomato-red from the lack of air by now. "I'm not Morgan! She's the youngest!"

"Yeah, and you're third youngest. You're only older than Nah and Morgan!" Well, that was interesting to know. "You're a baby!"

"W-well, you're an old lady then! You're one of the oldest!

"I'm in the middle!"

"You're like… the third oldest!"

"Laurent is third! I'm fourth!"

The two began squabbling over ages and who was a 'baby' and who was an 'old lady'. Finally able to breathe again, I slid over to Sumia and rested my head on her shoulder before picking up my book to read again. Sumia giggled and rested her head against mine, leaving the girls to their arguing while she began another flower fortune. I wondered what it was for, but I didn't ask. I vaguely remembered something about how you shouldn't tell people what wishes you thought of while plucking petals or watching shooting stars. I wasn't sure why that was. Made no sense to me. But maybe that was because the only faith I had was in the Shepherds…

"I hate to interrupt…" Cordelia's serious tone had Sumia and me shoot to our feet, both turning to face her as she approached. "We have enemies to the south," she informed us softly. Behind us, Severa and Cynthia stopped their arguing and picked up the weapons we'd set to the side earlier. "Lots of them."

"The south?" I repeated with a frown. That was a weird direction. Walhart was north of us. Though, if I remembered the map correctly… "Chon'sin soldiers?"

"No. Worse." Cordelia's face was grim. "Risen." You… you had to be joking. "Methinks the Grimleal know where we are and don't want Lady Tiki to recover any sort of power."

"That seems to be the case." And that more or less confirmed what I'd told Chrom back when we first landed. There were spies among us. "Inform the others, Cordelia. Tiki can't be moved, and she's an easier target than fish in a barrel."

Sumia, Cordelia, and Cynthia left immediately to go to where their pegasi were grazing. Severa bolted to Lucina's side to inform her of what was going on before darting over to help Noire get her things together. I should have gone straight to Robin, but I instead headed to where Tiki was to make sure she was okay. And, thankfully, she was. The area around her glowed a little more, so it was like she was sealed away in some hazy crystal, but otherwise, nothing had changed. And no threats near, from what I could see, though I kept a blade out.

It was a good thing I did. Say'ri rushed over, focused on Tiki and any potential threats to her. Which meant that when a shadow suddenly 'jumped' and darted for her, she was a split-second late in reacting. But I wasn't. Mostly. I caught the would-be assassin's dagger with my gauntlet and didn't quite have time to brace, so I nearly broke my nose with my own damn arm. But neither of us were dead, so that was good. What wasn't good was… well… it wasn't Bellona. The assassin this time was different. They growled in frustration and darted back, using the Risen that approached as a cover to disappear. And Say'ri and I couldn't even try to follow because the Risen were very determined to reach Tiki.

"Say'ri, this might sound strange, but I think that assassin was after you," I whispered once we dealt with the first wave of Risen. More were coming, but thankfully, Robin and Chrom had our soldiers coordinated to serve as 'walls' of defenses. "Though, I'm not sure… well, I am, but…"

"I wonder if Bellona's 'play' meant she was reassigned," Say'ri mused, slinging the dark, sticky blood off her swords. She'd opted for dual-wielding since it was the two of us all the way back here. "I will not claim to understand anything in regards to Walhart and his dogs, but I can see the logic if she failed to complete her task."

"Yes, that's quite true." Alternatively, Excellus suffering under a withering curse meant he had become desperate and was sending more assassins after us. Which might mean… "Should we move up and talk to Robin?"

"Will you? I…" Say'ri glanced back at Tiki, who meditated and was dead to the world. Oblivious to the very real danger tainting the grounds. "I do not wish to leave her alone."

"I'll get Robin to send someone defensive back. Like Kellam or Kjelle." I knew Robin wouldn't mind. "But be wary, okay? I understand, but that assassin…"

"I am better prepared." She stepped back so that she was on the very edge of the glowing area. "Though, if you could make sure someone is sent sooner rather than later…"

"On it."

It didn't take long at all to find Robin amidst the others, and I just had to tell him to send Kellam and Kjelle back to Tiki and Say'ri for him to do it and make adjustments. He didn't even hesitate, which baffled and touched me. In fact, he didn't ask a single question until after the second wave of Risen fell and, even then, it was more to ask if there was more than one threat.

"Another assassin?" he repeated once I summarized things for him. He frowned and one hand came up to his shoulder. Though the injury had healed and the poison had cleared, it had scarred messily. Libra had done what he could to ensure it didn't press against nerves or limit his flexibility, but it was still there. "And one not willing to talk. A more proper assassin, then."

"Seems so," I agreed, wiping the sweat off my face. I nearly groaned when I saw more Risen clawing and shambling for us. "Damn it, Walhart. His damn conquering just made more Risen for the Grimleal to use."

"I wonder if that's what destroyed Valm in the children's timeline." Actually, it could be. I was certain the Grimleal already hooked their claws into Valm, after all. Have a few around to sprout Risen from the graves and… "We really do need to try and end this war sooner rather than later. But with Excellus holding hostages, that becomes harder…" Robin closed his eyes for a moment before shaking his head. "No, I can't think too far ahead. Doing that… doing that is what led to the disaster at the fort. Worse, I failed to consider an escape plan where the rebels turned on us."

"Well, at least this time you're not acting out the most melodramatic way to mourn and angst?"

"No, because if I did, my sweet, sweet sister will stab my ego until it pops." He grinned at me, and I shrugged. He wasn't wrong. "No, I know better now. Besides, whenever I pass, I want to be able to tell Emmeryn that I played the game in full. That I didn't stop when the 'queen' was sacrificed." That chess game… two years already, huh? I almost forgot about it. "Though, it only occurred to me recently that the 'queen' she talked about replacing her had been you."

"Huh?" That took a long moment for me to remember what he was talking about there. And that had me remember a couple of other odd things she had said. "...Freaking hell, she knew I liked Chrom back then, huh?"

"I think she more knew Chrom was head over heels for you." He laughed and reached over to remove a couple of the broken flowers from my messy braids. It let me pretend that I wasn't blushing. Gods damn it. Maybe this place was affecting me after all. "Well, let's fell more corpses."

We kept near each other during the third wave, and the fourth. When the fifth hit, I had to fall back, since my stamina was flagging. I went right to Libra, who checked me over and gave me some water to sip while I caught my breath. While there, I learned that the assassin had tried to strike Say'ri twice more, but failed thanks to not seeing Kellam. The persistence seemed weird, but it did remind me of a couple of things. One, Bellona mentioned she chose to not kill Say'ri. Two, Severa said that Say'ri had actually died in their timeline, long before any of this. Given the persistence of this assassin, it seemed like 'killing Say'ri' was something of a priority. Yet, it hadn't happened. Was it because of Bellona? If that was the case, then 'Bellona' either hadn't existed in Lucina's timeline, or had joined later. So, what had caused the difference? Was it…?

I had a thought. A theory. I was definitely on the cusp of one. But I didn't really have time to go into it. Why? Because that assassin struck the infirmary, probably to cause some chaos and make it easier to get to Say'ri, and we all had to scatter. Well, most of us scattered. I chased after the assassin, determined to pin them down. But while I got a good blow across their back, I didn't have a chance to follow through. Because the assassin sprouted a dagger from their neck. A dagger I vaguely recognized for one reason and one reason only. It was the one that had poisoned Robin.

"What the hell is going on here?" So, it didn't surprise me at all to see Bellona walk up. She jerked the dagger from the corpse and sheathed it without wiping off the blood. "I knew something was up when he mobilized without orders, but this is nuts," she growled, reaching up to adjust her mask. It had slipped a little, like she'd put it on in a hurry. "Why are there Risen here?"

"Your guess is as good as mine," I replied dryly. She simply nodded, conceding the point. "I take it Walhart doesn't work with Risen often?"

"Walhart actually hates the Grimleal. He wants to conquer, not destroy everything." She shrugged and I couldn't fight off the urge to facepalm. "Yeah, I know. Trust me. I know. But that makes the Risen all the more confusing. Excellus doesn't have the clout for this sort of thing. I think?" For the first time, she sounded hesitant and unsure. "Ugh… I hate it when people suddenly…" She gasped and pushed past me. "Brady!"

There wasn't time to react. Not to, well… anything. Because our army was still trying to restructure after the infirmary had to scatter, which left some obvious holes in our guard. One of the biggest was where Brady had stopped to tend to some wounded soldiers, and one Risen surged forward to take advantage of that. And there was no one who could cover because all archers and mages were dealing with the other Risen. The wounded soldiers tried to shield Brady from the Risen's claws, but it was clear that someone, or multiple someones, was about to die…

Except no one did. Because Bellona jumped between. She shielded the wounded soldiers protecting Brady, and the Risen hit her hard. Blood flew everywhere, especially once the second hit connected. But the blood didn't hold my attention. Not one bit. What held my attention was… was how her hood was knocked back, revealing auburn hair tied back in a messy bun that was half-falling out. How her mask went flying and blue eyes glared viciously at the Risen, even with the blood streaming down her face. How one of her gloves was ripped off, and not even the blood from the resulting injury hid the Mark of the Exalt on the back of her hand…

"Brady, why do you go anywhere without a damn guard?!" Victoria snapped, throwing a dagger at the Risen that injured her. It dodged, but she darted close to sit its throat with a second dagger. "Ugh… this is why I stay in the shadows…" She pressed one free hand to the gash on her face, and stumbled back to try and catch her breath. "Severa is going to kill me."

"Victoria, what the hell?" Brady asked, staring for a moment. Then he reached up and yanked her down to start healing her. "Never mind me! Why can you not go a battle without doing something that nearly turns your insides into your outsides?"

"I was doing just fine until today!"

The argument might've continued, but there was a flash of light and we all looked up to see a giant dragon roar in triumph before breathing fire to vaporize some of the Risen. The scales were noticeably different from Nowi's and Nah's form, meaning this had to be Tiki. She'd completed her meditation, and was now ready to join the fight. Very good, very convenient, and… and oh, I had a headache. I had a big headache.

How did I get into these sorts of situations? Seriously, why?

I didn't even know how to describe the clean up. Setting up tents, treating the injured, dealing with the dead, making sure there weren't any Risen hiding about, searching the body of that assassin for any sort of information that may or may not be useful, checking in with Tiki, checking in with the Shepherds… it was all a little bit of a blur. Nothing really felt real and coherent until much later, when I took a break and decided to go look for Victoria to see whether or not I'd imagined that whole reveal. The answer was 'nope', and someone else was with her. Laurent. The two were sitting away from the main part of our impromptu camp, probably so that he could yell at her in peace. And he was definitely yelling.

"I can't believe you threw daggers at your parents and your uncle!" Laurent snapped, a scowl somehow conveying more annoyance than any glare could. I noticed he was also bandaging her hand up, for whatever reason. "And poisoned your uncle! What poison was that anyway!?"

"Risen blood," Victoria revealed with all the absence of someone commenting on the weather. But the words sure as hell hit hard, for numerous reasons. "What? It's got some of Grima's power in it. I just boiled it down and-"

"Please don't elaborate." Laurent groaned, rolling his eyes. "Please. I don't even know how you collect the blood when they evaporate." Victoria opened her mouth. "That wasn't an invitation to explain."

"You've got such a weak stomach sometimes." Victoria shrugged, though, seemingly unbothered. "Anyway, as for that… uh… incident... that was all a bunch of accidents?"

"Accidents?"

"Well, I hadn't expected Cordelia and Sumia to swan-dive into battle and the rest of the Shepherds crash into everything like a damn tsunami!" Victoria actually sulked. "Two years. I've been planning things for two years."

"Planning what? Being the dog of Walhart?"

"...Laurent, Lucina and I taught you Old Ylissean. You didn't figure out 'Berenice'?" Victoria watched him for a moment, genuinely surprised. Laurent just glared. "Really? I would've thought it odd enough to spark some sort of thought. Maybe I should've gone with 'Pherenike', but there was already a 'Pheros' among Walhart's forces."

"...Bearer of victory." Laurent facepalmed then, almost knocking his glasses off. I heard a noise behind me and glanced to see it was Virion, who smiled at me. He must've been sent to look for me for whatever reason. "So, where the hell did 'Bellona' come from?"

"The First Exalt's younger sister? His name might be lost to time and all, but hers wasn't." She scowled now, clearly irritated. "Regardless, I've been planning on dealing with Walhart for two years while subverting fate where I could. Then you all showed up out of nowhere while I was trying to assassinate that 'deserter' who only left the army because Walhart wouldn't let him frenzy like he wanted. I miscalculated some throws and then pretended to know what I was doing."

"As you've done before back in the future to give confidence to our flagging forces." Laurent sighed, finished wrapping up Victoria's hand, and took off his glasses briefly to wipe the lens clean. "The poison?"

"Big accident. I thought I grabbed a different dagger." Finally, Victoria looked away sheepishly, fidgeting with her hands. "Then I decided I needed to keep on pretending things were going according to plan and all? Thankfully, Cassandra gave me that mask to use because that's the only way I pulled any of that off." Cassandra? Why did that name sound familiar?

"Who in the world is Cassandra?"

"Well, she's… oh, shoot, since I'm here, I need to-!"

"My pardon, but did you say 'Cassandra'?" Virion asked, gently interrupting. Both Laurent and Victoria jumped to their feet, with Victoria even drawing a knife, but Laurent stopped her from throwing it. "Forgive me for startling you." He waited for both to relax before continuing. "I… I shouldn't dare hope, but…" He hesitated, and that was when I remembered why I knew the name. I rested my hand on his shoulder, giving what little support I could. "But the name you said and… well, as Bellona, you did fake...

"I don't see why you shouldn't hope, since your assumption is correct," Victoria confirmed, smiling softly. Unlike when she was talking to Laurent, her voice and demeanor were gentle. She still did need a poke from Laurent to actually sheathe her knife, though. "Funny story, really. Not sure why the time portal spat us out is vastly different locations and all, but I ended up right outside a village under attack. I saw someone bleeding out and dragged her to safety. Learned her name afterwards." She paused, mostly to give Virion time to collect himself. After all, he and Cherche both had assumed… "Your sister is alive, Virion, or she was when I last got word from her. She leads a resistance for in Rosanne, and it's really funny whenever someone tries to insult you for 'running' because she gets so mad at them. 'My brother cares more for your lives than his honor, and this is how you thank him!'. Sometimes, I think we should just have her yell at Walhart and watch him wilt in fear." Victoria smiled softly. "It's thanks to her that I've been able to do as much as I have these past two years."

"I… I see." After a moment, Virion smiled. "You have my deepest gratitude. But, if you'll forgive my rudeness, I wish to let Cherche know immediately."

"Go ahead! I need to go around and get my scoldings from everyone anyway." Victoria looked to me and laughed. "Though, Mother, if you can wait on what lectures you have? By the time Severa's done with me, I'm sure I'll be scolded out."

"I suppose it can wait," I replied, mostly just to keep the conversation going. This was so weird. So very weird. "I imagine Virion needed to get me for something anyway. Please don't stab anyone unless you have a very good reason."

Victoria laughed like I'd said a joke, while Laurent sighed and rubbed his temple. I just… let both go and returned to the main part of 'camp' with Virion to see just what needed to be done. Which was basically reassuring my fretting husband that yes, I was fine. I wasn't even injured, for once. Then I went to help with the injured again, because now was around the time where the initial pain medication faded. After that, I tried to find Tiki and make sure she was okay. I found Say'ri keeping watch, who reassured me that Tiki was fine, simply resting. And since she was tense and spoke with clipped words, I just left her to her guard duty, not wanting to push. Unfortunately, though, in my escape, I nearly ran right into Robin. Not awkward on it's own, but… well, he was talking to Victoria.

"So, in conclusion, I'm really sorry!" Victoria was saying, bowing deeply to Robin. Not far away, I noticed Chrom watching with a little frown. I gathered he and Robin had been talking before Victoria came by. "I know that apologies don't exactly make up for it, but…"

"Well, it's nice to know you didn't mean to almost kill me," Robin joked. He even laughed. I nearly ran over to hit him over the head. I satisfied myself with imagining it. "But no wonder you gave us the antidote so easily." He tapped his cheek, thinking. "But how did you know that was the antidote?"

"When I was younger, I'd actually been infected by that poison." Victoria relayed the information easily, but it made my heart ache. "Some Grimleal tried to kill Lucina, but got me instead. Lady Tiki saved me using that antidote. Though, I didn't realize until I left that I'd forgotten to tell you how to administer it." She smiled sheepishly. "That was part of why I made sure to be at the Mila Tree. I didn't know how the battle would go, but I could slip through more easily to get that leaf if needed."

"I imagine Yarne and Nah played another part in why you were there?"

"Of course. Same with Lady Tiki. That's why I made sure to tell you about the threat." She shrugged, and immediately winced as she pulled some healing skin. "I knew there wasn't much I could by myself to turn the situation around. And, given the stories I'd heard, I'd kind of assumed you all would've headed straight there, obstacles be damned."

"It was Say'ri's idea to go the long way around." And that alone might've made the difference. It was possible that in the children's timeline, our army had just gone straight there. "Well, that's the dangers of assumptions! Good lesson, all in all."

"I'm very pleased you're so forgiving to someone who could've killed you."

"Vaike's almost done that a few times due to losing his axe. It's fine." Robin waved it off, but I noticed the slightest bit of unease in his eyes. He was pretending things were okay. Couldn't blame him. "So, what is your skill set?"

"More or less what you've seen. If I've got time to plan, I'm amazing. If I don't, I'm barely better than useless." She shrugged, speaking freely and easily. To her, at least, it was the absolute truth. "I probably do more as a meat shield than I do as an attacker if I don't have the shadows to spring from."

"...You're blunter than Kestrel, but I swear she and I had a similar conversation once." We had not! ...It was everything else. "Well, we can work out such strategies later. I'm sure you'd rather get hugs from Chrom."

"And I'm sure you want to get away from the one who got real stabby with you." Victoria grinned. "It's fine. I know I have a lot to make up for. Gods know that I'm not looking forward to the lecture from Inigo. He even delayed it so that he had time to think of everything." With that, she skipped over to Chrom to get a hug. Robin, after a moment, just left, no doubt deciding it better to just let that remark go for now.

"Well, I'm glad you apologized," Chrom said, when Victoria stepped away from the hug. She had one foot back, like she was preparing to run, but she held still while he talked. "But I do have a question about what you said. The whole explanation."

"I suppose I did ramble a little," she admitted with a bright smile. Still, she moved most of her weight to her back foot, ready to bolt. "So, what is it?"

"Well, I can't place why, but I feel like you were lying." Chrom frowned thoughtfully, and Victoria's eyes widened in surprise. "Not about the poison. That part rung true. But about the daggers being thrown in the first place. I feel like you lied about that. So, am I correct?"

"...You and Mother have always been able to catch my lies. Not even Lucina can figure it out, but you two could." In an instance, her smile broke into bitter pieces. Like she didn't have the strength to hold it together when someone directly confronted her. "Well, I didn't expect any to hit. But I was… pissed off… at how lackadaisical you were."

"You were?"

"I'm not going to lie. While I was sad at your death, and still am, I was, and still am, angry. Livid, even." Her voice broke and shook, but there were no tears. Not even a flicker of them. "You promised everything would be okay, and then you died. You died because you let your guard down at the worst possible time. Sure, it was supposedly a betrayal and all, but try telling that to a little girl who thought her father invincible, only to learn in the worst way that he wasn't."

"Victoria…" Chrom winced. "I…"

"So, I'm angry that you broke your promise. I'm angry you let down your guard. I try to hide it, because there's no point in getting angry at a corpse, but when I saw everyone… well, all that anger flooded me when I saw no one keeping an eye out for anything. Especially since you knew there were assassins among Walhart's forces." She shrugged, looking away. But there were still no tears. There was no anything. No trace of light or anything in her eyes. "I felt like you weren't taking things seriously. And that you would leave Lucina and me again, wondering how you could just die on us. Leave Mother a broken wreck again and leave us to watch her try to hold the pieces together. As if I didn't hear her bawling every single damn night."

"So you threw the daggers."

"Before I could think better of it, yeah. I was so livid that I did it without thinking at all. I threw them hard too. Which messed up my aim. I'd expected the daggers to fall short, planned for that even, but they went farther. Which, of course, nearly resulted in me killing you myself, so yay for anger issues, right?" She laughed sardonically. "The one at Uncle Robin was intentional, same as yours. I was just as angry at him. He just flat out disappeared. Just poof, gone! No body or anything. Not that we ever saw your corpse, mind. The place was overrun with Risen. All anyone could get was the bloodied Falchion."

"I…" Chrom tried to say something. I knew he did. But he couldn't find the words. I gathered this meeting was… was a lot different from when Lucina revealed herself. "Victoria."

"The one at Mother really was a complete accident, though. I threw the one at the deserter first, because that was the job, and then at Uncle Robin, because he was farthest. When I grabbed the next one, I was so blind to everything that I didn't realize I'd drawn two. Some assassin, right?" She kept on 'laughing', but it was a raucous sound that was painful to listen to. It had to be painful to voice. "I'm sorry for throwing the daggers. And, well, I should probably apologize for not being the perfect princess either. Or any sort of princess. I'm just a bloodstained shadow, really. So-"

"Who says you're not a princess? Or a perfect princess?" Chrom immediately pulled her into a hug. Victoria froze, clearly not expecting that. "Have you not been protecting your people will all that you had? Have you not been trying to protect the people of Valm? Perhaps you didn't use 'honorable' methods to do such, but why should that matter? Yes, I prefer honorable tactics, but I would much rather hear an apology than to apologize to a corpse."

"That's…" Victoria's voice broke again, but this time, tears filled her eyes. "Father…"

"We're definitely going to have a few talks about using violence to work out anger. And being quick with the knives. Believe me when I say I know how bad that can get. I mean; look at how much I break when I'm not angry." He stroked her hair, running his fingers through the fallen strands. "But work with us, Victoria. Fight with us. If you're worried about apologizing for the anger, and the poisoning, then that will be your path of atonement. And if you're worried about your goals, then isn't it better to work with others for it?"

"...I was alone for two years, though…" The tears fell and she choked on the sobs. "I didn't know where anyone was until I joined with Walhart. I didn't know if they had even survived. But I couldn't waste this chance, and I couldn't just leave people to hurt…"

"We're here now. So, let's fight together, Victoria. We'll change fate. I won't leave. Not this time. And that is a promise I will keep, whether you can bring yourself to believe it or not."

Victoria didn't answer. She just quietly sobbed in Chrom's arms, and while I watched, I wondered when was the last time she had cried at all. I also wondered if she'd turn into a weeping mess at the drop of a pin like I did, once I re-learned to cry again. Though, if so, we'd be with her. Chrom was right, after all. She was here with us now.

"Mother?" Lucina joined me hesitantly, taking my sleeve while she watched Victoria cry and Chrom comfort her. Considering everything, I wasn't surprised to see her. "Um… I know things will be awkward because of what she did, but I promise Victoria is a really nice and good person," she told me earnestly. Her grip tightened on my sleeve and her tone turned pleading. "So, she can stay with us, right? I don't want her out of my sight for a lot of reasons. Including the fact that I need to scold her. And I know Severa has a long list of things she wants to complain about. And, really, I just want her near because… well…"

"Awkward things may be, but I doubt it'll be much more awkward than some of the other recruitments we've had," I reassured her. She smiled in relief. "I mean… we had to talk to Flavia for an alliance after killing some of her border guard."

"I had… heard a little about that story. Not a lot, but…"

"Oh? Well, here, why don't you help me make sure all the tents are properly set up? I'll tell you along the way."

I was just going to roll with it all. There was no other way I was getting through this headache otherwise.

Nah

Class - Manakete; Reclass - Wyvern rider, mage, mercenary, pegasus knight, troubadour

Daughter of Nowi and Donnel, with a very unusual name. While Nah believes that her name is imply some whimsical thing Nowi came up with, Nowi herself has mentioned it's a syllable in a name Nowi has always found pretty. Given that Nah was one of the few children not raised by my future self, but raised by neglectful (or even abusive) 'friends' of Donnel's, it's possible that her name was yet another thing they stole from her.

Thanks to her manakete heritage, she is capable of transforming into a dragon. While not the fastest, her considerable bulk and hard scales make her perfect for defense. She is somewhat unskilled with her power, however, likely due to Nowi dying when she was very, very young and she was forced to learn how to use it on her own.

Perhaps due to the neglect in her childhood years, she acts mature for her age and is almost desperate to prove herself useful so that she isn't 'tossed aside'. However, thanks to Nowi and Donnel's reassurances, she does gradually let her more childish side show. However, for the moment, it mostly manifests in violent threats and a possessive, clingy nature. Nowi, surprisingly, can easily handle when those sides show up, implying they're not uncommon for manakete children.

Author's notes: For a more meta hint for Victoria and Bellona being the same person, 'Bellona' is the name of the roman goddess of war. If you're curious about how I imagine Victoria's fighting, think DnD Rogue with an assassin archetype. If she gets an enemy by surprise, that's a critical hit with sneak attack. If she's regularly fighting, though, her damage is just whatever her weapon's damage is. And if she's able to get the advantage for whatever reason (like flanking), then it's weapon damage + sneak attack.

I couldn't find anything hinting to an actual birth order for the children chars aside from Lucina being born first (obviously) and Morgan was probably the youngest. Admittedly, I didn't look very hard. So, anything related to relative ages among the children chars is totally just my whimsical choice.

Nah has a -2 modifier to her speed if Donnel is her father (since both Donnel and Nowi have negative speed modifiers), a -1 modifier to skill, but a +5 modifier to her defense (and a +2 to Res).