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“Ehn!? A baby!?”, the little girl in blue exclaimed, the flash of awe in her eyes easily visible to her parents as they smiled warmly down at her where she was sitting, held closely on her father’s lap, his arms around her waist. “That’s right, Lucina.”, her mother said from the chair across the small table in the sitting room in the Exalted chambers. Sumia hadn’t been sure that telling the small child so early was the wisest idea, but, looking at the sheer excitement written so clearly across her daughter’s face at the moment, all those worries (and all others) no longer mattered at the moment. “Sometime late in spring, you’ll have a younger sibling.” The young girl looked up at her Father, thinking that this may be another one of those ‘joke’ thingies that her parents tended to do. However, Chrom just gave her the warm, loving smile he always had when his daughter was around. “You see Lucina, your mother and I sometimes get lonely now that you sleep in your own big girl room.” Chrom always tried appeal to her with phrasings like that-a habit he picked up dealing with noble courts. “So, we’ve decided to get another child.” He knew he screwed up somehow the moment his daughter’s gaze turned from one of wonder into one of despair. “A-another?”, she barely managed. “D-did I do something wrong?” Chrom panicked. “N-no, of course not! I just meant that with you gone-” “Gone?” Lucina was beginning to tear up and tremble, causing ice to form in Chrom’s veins. He never did know how to settle her. “Y-you’re getting rid of me?” “Of course not, sweetie.”, Sumia soothed, standing up and walking over to the chair her husband was in, stumbling slightly as she brushed against the table she was sidestepping. Kneeling down to eye level, she stroked princess’s hair as she reassured her. “What your father means is that he can’t sleep without a kid next to him, but since you’re a big girl now, and big kids get their own beds, he needs a little kid to get to sleep.” Sumia stopped stroking the girls hair and picked her up, hoisting her into the air with a small grunt-she really was a big girl now. “After all, if he can’t sleep, then how’s he gonna have sweet dreams?” “Can’t I just sleep here again?”, Lucina asked pleadingly. She’d only gotten her own room a while ago and still wasn’t one-hundred percent on being alone at night. “Well, you could, but then you wouldn’t be allowed to go into town or eat big girl pie anymore.” “B-but I like big girl pie!”, Lucina pleaded, unhappy with the idea of losing her favourite food. “Well, I guess we’ll just have to get a baby then, so that you can have more pie, right?”, Sumia said confidently. Lucina’s eager nods filled Chrom with a newfound sense of peace. How his wife managed to always get her way, be it with him or their daughter, was something that always put him at ease, like he’d married a truly unstoppable woman. “We’ll get the baby in May probably.”, he said, standing up and wrapping an arm around his wife’s waist and another around his girl. “How?”, Lucina asked, tilting her head. “Err...”, he froze, looking at his wife pleadingly. He really needed to start thinking ahead... Sumia just giggled softly, slipping away from Chrom’s grasp and reclaiming her seat, settling Lucina sideways across her knees. “You see, Lucina, there’s this magical farm called the cabbage patch...”
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The afternoon sunlight filtering down through the tree tops in the royal gardens was beginning to dim as Lucina’s patience with her current task finally fizzled out. Throwing the flowers away in disgust, the royal firstborn crossed her arms with a visible pout, her Brand seeming to shine a little less. “Mrmmph!”, she grunted as she plopped down onto her rear, not used to being deprived of what she wanted most in life, although that admittedly didn’t cover many experiences. “Now now, Lucina. Big girls shouldn’t give up so easily.”, Cordelia chided gently from where she was kneeling before her goddaughter. The words had their usual effect on the bluenette as she began to soften. “Would you like me to help you with it?” “Yes please, auntie.” Cordelia just smiled in response as she gathered the flowers up quickly and began twisting the stems around each other. Lucina couldn’t help but notice the lack of effort that Cordelia seemed to put into her task, and yet, the princess’s crown came out as perfect as the one her godmother wore...albeit quite a bit smaller. However, the size difference was lost on the now beaming girl as the floral crown quickly found it’s way onto her head. “There, see? Remember, even a princess can ask for help.”, she said as she helped the young girl to her feet. “Thank you auntie Cordelia!”, Lucina said as she hugged her Godmother’s leg, the ‘big girl’ only coming up to her knee. “You’re the bestest!” She broke her grip and began bouncing around gleefully, overjoyed at her new accessory. “Actually, it was your mother who taught me how to make these.” “Really?”, Lucina gasped, causing the redhead’s smile to widen. Lucina’s way of being amazed by every new fact about her parents was both impressive and a bit concerning. Hopefully her early age hero worship would fade with time. “You two look like you’re having fun.”, a deep voice sounded from across the garden. Walking towards them was a tower of a man, with a large red beard and an even bigger pointy hat, and cradling a bundle of pink blankets in his arms. “Look what auntie made for me, uncle Ricken!”, Lucina cried as she sped towards the man, Cordelia following behind briskly. “Oh, a flower crown! I haven’t seen one of those in years.”, Ricken said, stooping down to the girl’s level as she flaunted her new favourite thing in the whole world. “Hello dear.”, Cordelia said as she briefly kissed him on the mouth, causing Lucina to give out an ignored ‘EWW!’. Looking down at Ricken’s bundle, Cordelia beamed with true joy. “I take it nap time’s over?” “Yep, Severa’s wide awake and hungry.”, Ricken said as he presented their tiny red-headed newborn to his wife. “She wouldn’t stop crying until she got her binky.” Just as she said that, the little baby spat out her pacifier and began to cry loudly, causing Lucina to cover her ears. She just couldn’t fathom why her parents were currently away getting one of those to help Father sleep, but her parents had apparently gone off this morning to the cabbage patch, right after breakfast. “Shh, it’s okay, mamma’s here.”, Cordelia soothed as she took the little bundle into her arms. “Ricken, can you please stay here with Lucina while I feed our little pumpkin?”, she asked without looking away from her baby. “You don’t even need to ask.”, Ricken replied with a wave of his hand. “Lucina and I will just practice our bird calls, won’t we Lucina?” The young girl nodded eagerly at the suggestion, although she still didn’t understand why Severa wasn’t allowed to be fed in front of her. Cordelia just gave a quick thanks before walking off with her child. “Now...”, Ricken began as he bent down to Lucina’s level once more, “which bird should we try calling this time?” “Chickadees!”, Lucina cheered, her preference never in doubt.- “Chick-a-dee-dee-dee-dee!”, the bluenette cried once more, watching as another bird flew down from the trees and landed on the brim of Ricken’s hat. Ricken was sitting with his back against the trunk dozing, his daughter’s fussiness having taken a toll on his sleep the last few weeks, but Lucina was too engrossed in her counting the birds on her fingers to notice him nodding off. “That’s, um, twoteen! Twoteen chickadees!”, she proudly declared. “Princess Lucina!”, a loud voice called, jolting Ricken from his rest, which in turn caused the birds to scatter. “No, come back!”, the princess cried as she ran around with arms grasping in the air, trying to reclaim her new friends. “Don’t go...”, she sniffled as her dash petered out, her arms drooping lifelessly at her sides. “It’s okay Lucina.”, Ricken said as he walked up beside her and patted her head. “We can always call them back some other time.” He then turned his attention back to the large armoured man coming up to them, his usual stoic gaze fixed clearly upon his face. “Is it time, Frederick?”, Ricken asked, causing Lucina to perk up and fix her eyes on her least favourite uncle. “Yes, Exalt Chrom and queen Sumia are...er, back from the cabbage patch”, he forced out, the ridiculousness of the story less grating on him ever since the birth of his son two months ago, “and they wish to see Luci-” His words were swiftly cut off by the speeding blue blur that zipped by him, causing him to break into a mad dash of his own, leaving Ricken alone but smiling.- Lucina hesitated slightly as Frederick opened the door to a room Lucina had never seen before. This whole section of the palace was unknown to her, and she couldn’t understand why her parents wanted to meet her here. “Don’t be shy, milady, go inside.”, Frederick prodded, prompting Lucina to walk nervously into the room, her mother laying on the bed in the centre and her father leaning over her, beckoning her inside. Lucina noticed the tiny bunch of white blankets in her mother’s arms, drawing in all of the small girls attention as she climbed onto the bed and towards her mother. “Lucina,”, her mother began tiredly, the ‘trip to the cabbage patch’ having worn her out entirly, “meet your new sister, Cynthia.”
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“C’mon...”, Lucina whispered, hoping her parents wouldn’t hear her from where they were occupied with paperwork in the royal living quarters’ sitting room. “Do something.” Unfortunately, the words once again fell on deaf ears as Cynthia stared up at her, continuing to make weird cooing noises, which only served to irritate the older bluenette. “Mmrph...”, she pouted, glaring down into the crib. “DO SOMETHING.”, she whispered in a harsher tone, which only served to make the infant blink. Fed up, the older girl simply hopped down off of the footstool she was standing on, walking away in a cold dismissal, and plopping herself back down onto the play-mat, resuming her finger painting. It had been five months since her parents had brought Cynthia into their lives and Lucina seemed to be the only one who wasn’t happy. It confused the royal firstborn why so many people had come to see the baby and were overjoyed at how she did absolutely nothing. Try as she might, Lucina just couldn’t warm up to her new sibling when she didn’t do anything except gurgle and cry. Even icky bugs knew how to crawl around. Cynthia couldn’t even manage that. Chrom glanced over to his daughters, seeing the obvious displeasure on his eldest girls’ face. Stretching as he stood, he made his way over to Lucina and knelt before her with a small smile. “What are you painting, Lucina?” “Family.”, the girl answered simply. “Oh? May I see?” Lucina hesitated for a moment, but relented when her father threw in a ‘please’. Looking over the crudely drawn picture, it didn’t take Chrom long to recognize Lucina, himself, and Sumia on her pegasus, nor his sister, her farm-boy husband and Owain. He was also somewhat relieved to find Cynthia in the picture, but was also a bit worried. “Lucina...why is Cynthia all the way over here in the corner?” “She can’t ride with us.”, the girl said in a neutral tone. “Why not?”, he asked hesitantly. “She doesn’t know how.”, she said, putting some green paint on her fingers and smearing it across the bottem half of the picture. Chrom gave his eldest a puzzled look. This wasn’t...normal. “Lucina...why don’t you try playing peek-a-boo with your sister for a bit?” “She doesn’t know how to play peek-a-boo.”, she remarked casually. “She’s too stupid.” “Lucina!”, Sumia exclaimed, having joined her family on the mat without being noticed. “Where did you hear that word?!” The queen’s determination to keep her child’s vocabulary innocent for as long as possible was one thing she enforced with an iron hand. “Uncle Gaius.” Sumia gave her daughter a stern look. “Don’t use that word. It’s a mean word.” Lucina looked down sheepishly, not used to seeing her parents mad at her. After a few moments of uncomfortable silence, Chrom spoke up. “Lucina, do you like Cynthia?” He felt his stomach knot as his daughter simply shrugged her shoulders. He gave Sumia a worried glance that she returned in full. “Mamma, I’m hungry.” Sumia didn’t like how casually her daughter changed the subject. In fact, it was a little heart breaking. “Okay, go wash your hands and we’ll get a snack.”, she said while forcing a smile. Lucina eagerly jumped up and ran into the washroom. “I’m worried Chrom.”, she said as she watched her daughter leave. “I had a feeling that she resented Cynthia, but...” “It’s like she doesn’t care one way or the other.”, Chrom finished for her. “I’m truly at a loss. She wasn’t like this with Owain. She just doesn’t seem to understand that her life’s been changed dramatically.” “She was so interested in the other Shepard's children.”, Sumia sighed, placing a finger to her cheek. “She was so full of questions during my pregnancy, too. And now...”, she trailed off, unsure how to describe their daughter’s sudden indifference to the whole situation. “Perhaps she’s just in some sort of denial.”, Chrom suggested, wrapping his arm around Sumia’s shoulder. “Like she thinks ignoring Cynthia will just make her disappear.” “I hope that’s all it is.”, she said as rested her head on his shoulder. “For Cynthia’s sake...”
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“Cynthia, can you say ‘Father’?”, Chrom asked his youngest as he balanced her sideways on his knee. The toddler just tilted her head in his direction as she stared back without the slightest comprehension of the world around her. “Say Fa-ther.”, Sumia added as she held onto Chrom’s arm, the words prompting the little girl to turn her head in her mother’s direction, but nothing else. “Fa-ther.”, she repeated, the slightest hint of exasperation in her tone. Cynthia opened her mouth, causing Chrom and Sumia to tense for a moment... ...before letting out something similar to a hiccup and giggling. Sumia’s hands slipped from Chrom’s bicep to her lap, clenching her hands in frustration. Chrom just sighed. “I think she’s laughing at our efforts.” Sumia just smiled the same false smile, hiding her fear from no one in particular, before closing her eyes and furrowing her brow. Cynthia was one month late for her first word, and her motherly instincts were gnawing at her psyche. “I just don’t understand. Lucina first spoke mere days before her first birthday.” Her eyes opened as Chrom wrapped an arm around his wife’s side. “Don’t think like that, my love.”, he reassured her as he pulled her close, her head resting on his shoulder as she stared at the little girl. “Emmeryn used to say that I didn’t speak until I was two”, he lied, trying to assuage her, “and look at me now-I’m in charge of fifty million people!” The words didn’t seem to reach Sumia. “Chrom...what if she’s-” “No.”, Chrom said in a stern voice, prompting Sumia to sit up straight. “She’s just a few weeks late-”, he began, only to be interrupted by the doors flying open, a familiar blue blur speeding into the room- -and trip on the hem of her dress and hit the floor face first. “Lucina! Are you okay?!”, Sumia exclaimed as she ran to her daughter’s side, Chrom following suit after placing Cynthia on the play mat on the floor. The heir-apparent propped herself up on her elbows, sobbing and sniffling. Chrom picked the young girl up, hoisting her into his arms and hugging her close. “It’s okay, Lucina, it’s okay...” Lucina somewhat quickly stopped crying and Chrom relaxed his grip (though he cringed at the sight of the fresh bruise forming on the girls’ forehead) before smiling warmly. “All better?” Lucina nodded hesitantly. “Good.” Sumia quickly took notice of her daughter’s bruise. “I’ll go get the balm.”, she said as she headed for the medicine cabinet in the bathroom, stumbling slightly on the pile of the carpet as she went. “Now then Lucina”, Chrom began as he set the princess down, “why did you come running in like that? Did some thing happen?” “Uhm, no. I wanted to ask you something.” “Okay.” “How did you meet Mamma?” The colour drained from Chrom’s face and his heart froze for a very long second. “W-why do you want to know that?” “Uncle Gaius said it’s a secret.”, Lucina beamed. Chrom sighed and ran his hand down his face in frustration. Only a few years old and his daughter was already a hopeless gossip. “Well, Lucina, you don’t really need to know how.”, he said flatly with crossed arms, shattering the girls’ smile. “Just...you don’t need to.” He was desperate to end this conversation fast. “B-but...I promised Uncle Gaius I would find out for him!”, she pouted. “Please-” Lucina’s and Chrom’s attention was then snatched away by the familiar sound of heavy armour, and sure enough Frederick appeared in the still-open doorway just as Sumia returned with the healing balm. “Forgive me, Milord, but Lady Maribelle has requested an audience.” Normally the words ‘what for’ would have come out of Chrom’s mouth, but he was more than eager to bail out of this worsening conversation. “Very well, I shall meet her at once.” Kissing his wife farewell, he left the room in a hurry, not even pausing to close the door behind him. “But Daddyyyyy!”, Lucina yelled, attempting to run after him, only to be stopped by her mother. “Your father will be back later.”, she reassured her. “Right now, though, we need to patch up that nasty bruise, okay?” Lucina pouted, but relented rather quickly, taking a hold of her mother’s hand as she lead her back towards the sofa near Cynthia, who hadn’t moved a centimetre from where she was sitting. She hadn’t even had a chance to sit down when Frederick cleared his throat. “Is there something else, Frederick?” “Sort of.”, he grimaced. “You see, Lady Maribelle needs Lord Chrom to sign some important documents-” “Aaaaand he stormed off without the Royal Seal. Of course.”, she said while rolling her eyes. “I would take it to him myself, Milady, but-” Sumia silenced him with a slight gesture of her hand, “I know, Frederick. I’ll take it to him, but can you treat Lucina’s bruise for me?” “Of course, Milady.”, he bowed, Sumia handing him the balm as she headed into the study, before quickly reemerging and stumbling out of the royal chambers. Crouching before Lucina as she sat on the sofa, he removed his right gauntlet and the glove underneath, scooping some balm out of the tin with his finger, and began to rub the pasty substance onto the princess’s forehead. “Mister Frederick, is it true that you married a giant bunny?”, Lucina asked, tilting her head, only for Frederick to straighten it once more. “Taguel.”, he corrected as he finished rubbing in the last of the balm, before putting his glove and gauntlet back on. “My wife is a Taguel.” “What’s a Tag-el?” Before he could correct her again, a strange noise behind him drew their attention towards the younger princess. Lucina thought that her sister was about to throw up-one of the very few things she could seem to do-but what came out of her mouth shocked her. “Lu-ci.” Frederick cocked one eyebrow-his ‘shocked look’ as a certain muscle-head once described it. Lucina just gaped for a long moment until her mind stopped spinning. “SHE SPOKEDED!”, she screamed at the top of her lungs, startling Cynthia enough to cause her to start crying. However, Lucina didn’t notice, instead speeding across the room (tripping once more) and out the door. “Daddy! Mamma! She did something!” “Wait, Milady!”, Frederick cried, but the young girl was quickly out of sight, leaving him alone with the crying princess and a slight headache.
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The palace had been a beehive of activity the past few weeks. A grand ball had been planned, with guests coming from across the halidom, and it was a long time coming-it had been scrapped because of Gangrel’s War and it’s aftermath, then again due to the war in Valm, and once more due for various reasons, including the birth of the Exalt’s second child. Yet the gala couldn’t be forgotten forever, and so, much to the Exalted couple’s dismay, they had dressed in finery, put their daughters to bed early, and reluctantly joined who knows how many people for several planned hours of feasting, dancing, and socializing, not knowing that their children had plans of their own. “Ow!”, Cynthia yelped as she was forced deeper into the wardrobe, “Lucy, you’re on my foot!” “S-sorry!”, Lucina responded immediately, squirming as she attempted gain a better footing while trying to close said wardrobe behind her. They were in their parent’s bedroom, or more specifically, their father’s wardrobe, having snuck out of their room after feigning sleep to fool their nursemaid when she inevitably came to check up on them. Unfortunately, their little plot started to crumble when they realized just how cramped the over-glorified closet was! Even after pulling out some of the (very heavy) clothing, the little girls had made little progress in fitting themselves inside. But they were determined to find out who read Father and Mother their bedtime stories! Lucina pressed back a little more, and, with one final tug on the door, the wardrobe finally closed behind her with a loud click! ...too loud, in fact, but the young princesses didn’t know that. “Yay! You did it!”, Cynthia screamed, prompting Lucina to hush her needlessly loud sister, who meekly whispered an apology. Now, all they had to do was wait... “Lucy, I’m booooored!”, Cynthia complained, her restless nature getting the better of her after a mere ten minutes. “Can we go?” “No.”, Lucina said harshly while shaking her head, though the darkness of their hiding place prevented the younger bluenette from seeing that. “We gotta stay here until Mother and Father return.” “But it’s dark and boring in here! When will they come back?” It was only then that Lucina remembered that her mother had told her that balls were like big parties, and parties could take a really long time. “Um, I dunno.”, she admitted sheepishly. “It could be all night.” “WHAT?!?”, Cynthia screamed. “B-but I promised Father I would have good dreams! How am I gonna dream if I don’t go to bed!?” Lucina’s stomach knotted; she had promised to have good dreams, too. “Um...we’ll have to go back to bed...”, she mumbled in a defeated tone a few seconds later after failing to come up with an alternate solution. “Okay!”, Cynthia cheered, half-stumbling past her sister and pressing against the door......only for it to remain stubbornly in place! “Mrrmph!”, the little girl huffed, pushing harder on the door, then slamming her shoulder into it with equally ineffective results. “Lucy, it’s stuck!” “H-huh?”, the older girl gasped before adding her own pushes. After a few minutes of pushing, both Lucina and Cynthia began hitting the door repeatedly, then began screaming for help, tearing up as they yelled their little heads off. However, their screams fell on deaf ears, and after a full hour of exhaustive weeping, pushing, yelling, and hitting, the two little prisoners gave up and sat uncomfortably on opposite sides of their mutual dungeon. Lucina had been sitting on the ground for so long it felt like forever! Her butt was sore, her legs were cramped, and she had a tummy ache! This was the worst day of her life! “This is all your fault!”, she hissed. It had to be! They weren’t stuck until she had tried to push her way out! “Nu-uh! This was your idea! I only came because you said it would be fun!”, Cynthia countered. “No I didn’t! I said it would be easy! That’s not the same as fun!” “Well, it was still your idea! And it was a dumb idea! You had a dumb idea!” Cynthia stuck her tongue out, which was meaningless due to the dark. “I-it wasn’t a dumb idea! You’re a dumb idea!”, Lucina yelled as she pointed at Cynthia. “You’re dumb!” “No, you’re dumb, because you had a dumb idea! That makes you a dummy!” “Oh yeah? Well you’re a SUPER dummy! You don’t even know how to ride Rose!” “You don’t know how to ride Rose either! You let Mother steer!” “I’m smarter than you, though! I know how to read!”, Lucina bragged. Her latest achievement must make her WAY smarter than Cynthia, and the younger princess couldn’t do anything better than that! They argument went on for what felt like another forever, but was abruptly ended when Lucina, tired, sore, and angrier than she’d even been, struggled onto her feet, stumbled across the wardrobe, and delivered a sharp smack to Cynthia’s face! And just like that, her anger boiled away, replaced by an icy feeling gripping her heart. She’d never hit someone. Never wanted to hit someone, and now that she had, she immediately regretted it, a feeling of disgust welling in her core and threatening to spread throughout her whole being... ...especially when Cynthia began crying louder than ever before! “I-I’m sorry!”, Lucina said, grabbing her sister and hugging her. “Cynthia, I-I didn’t mean it! Please, I, d-don’t cry!” But the younger girl still cried, and Lucina could only offer more apologies to the little bluenette as she continued to sob. “I-I won’t do it again!”, Lucina yelled over Cynthia’s quieting cries. “I’ll never h-hit you again!” “P-*hic*-promise?”, she sniffled. “I pinkie-promise!”, she said as she linked her finger with Cynthia’s. “I’ll never hurt you again! So, forgive me? Please, sister?” The younger girl mumbled out an ‘okay’ and Lucina sat down next to her, hugging her close and rocking her gently, just like Mother would. “I’m sorry I called you a dummy...”, she said as her sister began to hug her back. “M-me too.”, Cynthia stuttered as she wiped her puffy eyes. “I’m sorry too.” After a few more minutes of rocking, Lucina tried to release her sister, only to find that the little girl wouldn’t budge. “Cynthia? Are you okay?”, she asked, but all she got in response was an incomprehensible jumble of words... And yet, the royal firstborn couldn’t even try to make sense of them. Drained physically, mentally, and emotionally, Lucina closed her eyes and fell asleep. “Dear Gods, that was terrible!”, Chrom complained as Sumia helped him through the parlour and into the bedroom. “If I have to deal with another six hour gala again, I’ll-” “Now now, my love”, Sumia soothed as she all but tossed Chrom onto the bed, “it’s all over. Tomorrow we can spend the day like a normal family, just you, me, the girls-” “And a hangover...”, Chrom growled as he shielded his eyes as Sumia lit the lights with a bit of fire magic. “Gods, how do you do it, Sumia?” “How do you not?”, she exclaimed as she began to remove her stifling attire, an action Chrom soon began as well. “You’ve got to be the biggest lightweight in-” Sumia froze as she noticed the pile of clothing in front of her husband’s wardrobe, backing away slowly and gesturing to her husband. It took a while for Chrom to catch on due to his current state, but he slowly grabbed a hold of Falchion and crept along the wall towards the wardrobe as Sumia grabbed her emergency Arcthunder tome and began charging a spell. Counting down on his fingers, Chrom unlocked the door and yanked it open-only to find himself staring down at his daughters, splayed out on the ground, sleeping soundly. If he was in a good mood, he’d have burst out laughing at the situation; but he wasn’t. “I think we mighty need to get a new nursemaid.”, Chrom sighed, scooping Lucina up into his arms, Sumia doing the same with Cynthia. “A pity, I liked Bette...”, she said as they carried the young girls to their own rooms. “She knew how to brew the best tea.”