[2013] Daughter of Hope (Category 2: >1000 words)

[arccie]

Title: Daughter of Hope
Author: Ventus Phoenix (LINK)
Rating: PG
Prompt: "It is said that the darkest hour of the night comes just before the dawn" - quote by Paul Coelho
Fandom/Series: Fire Emblem: Awakening
Word Count: 1545 Words
Disclaimer: I do not own Fire Emblem: Awakening or any of its characters, they remain the respective property of Nintendo and I make no profit.
Summary: Hope turns into despair, and the future falls prey to the darkness. With nothing left but unspoken apologies and broken promises, Lucina's prayer for a brighter tomorrow becomes lost as an even darker dawn awaits her after the night. (An alternate take on the Future of Despair [The Future Past] DLC series; please be mindful of spoilers.)



Daughter of Hope

Quieted footsteps trod across a carpeted floor, kicking up dust in the wake of every step. The princess paced about the throne room, her insides gnawing at her as time crept along, every passing second the knot in her stomach growing tighter.

She hadn’t heard from her companions since their departure to retrieve the remaining gemstones of the Fire Emblem. They had had no qualms about setting off on their quest, yet she couldn’t help but believe she had made a mistake in sending them. Gerome, her close friend and companion would reassure her otherwise, but when he hid behind that mask of his (both figuratively and literally), it became hard to tell how he really felt about their current situation.

Letting out what must have been her fifth frustrated sigh in the past minute, Lucina bit the inside of her cheek, continuing to pace about. She tried not to cast her eyes to the ruined wasteland outside, knowing that the sight would do nothing to ease her unsettling thoughts.

“Gods, I should have gone with them...” she muttered, cursing herself for the flaw in her judgement. “What friend would I be were I responsible for sending them to their deaths?”

Movement sounded at the opposite end of the throne room and she immediately froze, reaching for the hilt of her holy blade. Lucina could vaguely make out a faint silhouette in the dim lighting and steeled herself, awaiting their approach. The previous nerves she felt earlier were gone, adrenaline high in her system as she prepared herself for what she perceived to be an upcoming threat.

“Lucina…” a quiet, but deep voice spoke, recognition registering on Lucina’s face. That voice was familiar to her, causing her to drop her stance and lower the grip she previously held on her sword.

“Gerome,” she breathed a sigh of relief, beginning to cross the length of the throne room towards him. “Thank goodness, you had me worried. I feared that Risen had made it inside—”

“Lucina… run…” the previous voice grunted, louder and more urgent than before.

“Gerome...?”

He stepped out of his place in the shadows, immediately collapsing to the ground with a violent thud; a sight that sent her heart falling in the same manner.

“Gerome!” Lucina screamed, rushing to his side. She dropped to her knees beside him, hands shaking and a look of horror crossing her face as blood - his blood - began to stain the plush carpeting. “No... please no... Gerome!”

In that moment, she wished that Brady were not with the others; how foolish of her to have sent one of her best healers away when she knew the castle would be the one place most targeted by the Risen. Doing what she could with the few elixirs she had left, upon closer inspection she noticed that the seared edges of the wound in his chest indicated that it had not been a weapon that injured him; no, this seemed to be the work of magic.

“G-Gerome... oh, gods... what happened?” Her lip quivered with fear, vision becoming obscured by tears she refused to allow to fall.

“Now, now, princess. Is that any way to greet all guests who pay visit to your castle?”

Lucina's body tensed, blood running cold as her head snapped up to address the third voice. Her hold tightened on the wyvern rider in her arms, ready to protect him from oncoming danger. However, she had not prepared herself for the sight set before her. 

From the shadows where Gerome entered, another figure stepped through, dark robes trailing along the floor and hood obscuring his face from the Ylissean princess. The figure was much less Risen-like than Lucina had expected, prompting her brow to furrow though her stance remained guarded. 

“Who... are you?” she began, a faint memory stirring in the depths of her mind. This person was familiar somehow, though in what way she couldn’t seem to remember.

“Lu… Lucina…… run……” Gerome repeated, his voice weak but still urgent. There was something in his voice that Lucina had never heard before: desperation. This, coming from Gerome who was someone who never pleaded with her, meant that his warning was serious. Lucina didn’t understand the urgency behind his words until the robed figure spoke, his words sending chills through her body.

“The wings of despair… and the breath of ruin,” the figure responded in a distinctly male voice with a dark chuckle. “I am the fell dragon, Grima.”

A sharp gasp escaped her mouth, leaving her body frozen and her hands shaking. Her hold on Gerome weakened as she shuffled backwards, rising to her feet even as her legs continued to shake. Swallowing the lump in her throat, if Grima was inside the castle it meant bad news for her – for all of them.

“Y-You… Gerome was……” she choked as fear began to grip her.

“Well, I wasn’t going to let anyone stop me from meeting the princess,” he responded, a warped grin set on his face. Black tendrils of dark magic began to surround the robed figure, and Lucina finally decided to heed Gerome’s words. She bolted from the throne room, past dead bodies belonging to both Risen and soldiers that now littered the hallways.

Now that Grima had made himself known, she knew what needed to be done; she needed to perform the Awakening, and fast. It wouldn’t be long before the others were back with the remaining gemstones, so she hurriedly made her way for the castle entrance, waiting to meet them.

“Severa! Laurent!” she cried, searching for the two who had stayed behind with her at the castle. However with Gerome gone, she feared the worst for them as well. As the pit in her stomach grew larger, she cut down a Risen in her path with one swift slash of her sword and continued on her way.

When she reached the entrance, two robed figures blocked her way to the exit, hoods shielding their faces just as it had been with Grima. They removed their hoods in unison, one hood falling away to reveal a young boy with black hair, and the other revealing a young girl who looked almost to be the twin of the other boy.

“Excuse us princess, but it seems as if…”

“…We may have found something belonging to you.”

Lucina’s throat tightened as the two children produced from beneath their robes four gemstones: the remaining gemstones of the Fire Emblem; the very gemstones she had entrusted her friends to retrieve.

“No...” she choked, lifting a hand to cover her mouth, a weak sob leaving her throat. If these two were in possession of the gemstones, that could mean only one thing.

“Behold, the Awakening was over before it even began,” Grima warped in between the two children, magic crackling at his fingertips. “Your friends’ failures are proof of that.”

Lucina felt her body becoming weak as she dropped to her knees, her falchion clattering to the ground at her side. Tears fell freely from her eyes as grief overcame her, her voice escaping in broken sobs. This wasn’t how it was meant to happen; she and the others were supposed to retrieve the gemstones, completely the Awakening and seal away the fell dragon forever. Up until a moment ago, she still had firm faith that her friends would return safely with the gemstones in hand. But that hope had died away the moment Gerome’s warning became clear to her. Now, all she was left with were unspoken apologies, broken promises and no dawn – no tomorrow – in sight.

“Your friends are gone,” the young boy said, drawing a magic tome from beneath his robes.

“Your mother and father are gone,” the young girl continued, unsheathing a sword from her side.

“The Voice of the Divine Dragon has been silenced, and Naga herself has been dead for a long time,” Grima finished as the magic surrounding him grew even darker, the image of a dragon beginning to form behind him. “Child of Naga, I will end you here.”

Lucina felt faint, despair welling up inside of her. She had failed; failed as a princess, being powerless to stop the fall of her people into the fell dragon’s grasp. She had failed as a friend, blaming herself responsible for sending her companions to their deaths. Lastly, she had failed as a daughter; her father as king had been strong, wise and commanding: everything she wasn’t. He had trusted the kingdom to her after his death, and now his country was about to fall to Grima. 

“Father!” she choked as Grima and his two servants approached her. She prayed - hoped, somehow - that maybe her father would hear her and send some sort of miracle. But he was lost to a world beyond her, some place her cries wouldn't be heard. Although she knew her words were in vain, still she continued to scream for him, even as her voice became hoarse.

The future was lost, soon to fall into darkness and grief. She was to usher in a new peace, but now hope would die to be replaced by despair. Closing her eyes, she steeled herself to meet the darkness as Ylisse’s last hope was snuffed out.

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