| thepokefan59 | | Hoo boy | | Membre |  | | 38 messages postés |
|  Posté le 04-06-2023 à 21:58:46   
| Chrom sighed heavily. Less than an hour ago, he witnessed his daughter asking his best friend to give his life in order to protect him.
‘ I didn’t intervene because I knew that you wouldn’t be able to take the life of your husband, Lucina… But seriously Robin, what were you thinking? We even have a plan for what will happen next… ’ The prince complained mentally.
He would have scolded Robin for hours if he could. However, seeing how distraught and lost Lucina was, he opted to leave the two of them, knowing that they needed a moment alone together.
The sun started to disappear. Chrom guessed that he should go back with everyone else, or he will be the one to get scolded by Frederick.
On his way back to the camp, he saw another lone wanderer, who remained apart from the other Shepherds.He wondered if he should go and speak to her. The few conversations he had alone with her were awkward at best, and he thought that this moment probably wouldn’t be the best time to have another.
But soon after, he noticed something else. She wasn’t smiling, which was weird for the usually cheerful and carefree girl.
Chrom then blamed himself for not thinking about it earlier.
No matter how carefree she usually was, it was obvious that Robin’s daughter wouldn’t be after witnessing her father losing the control of his body and giving the Fire Emblem to their enemy.
Knowing that both of her parents were unavailable, needing their time alone, and would probably prefer if their daughter didn’t see them in their current states, Chrom changed his mind and went to talk to her.
Their discussion might end up awkward, it could not even be needed, but a family member might need someone, and he wasn’t about to risk denying her that.
He approached her. “Morgan.”
She was startled, not having noticed her grandfather until he said something.“Oh, Chrom. How long have you been here?” She asked.
“I just arrived. I saw you alone, and after today’s events… I… I wanted to see if you were alright…” He said hesitantly.
Morgan gave him a little smile. “I… I think I am… Thank you for worrying.”
Chrom and Morgan felt that it was already becoming awkward. But Chrom, who helped his little sister to get through their big sister’s death for the past two years, learned to notice the small details in the sentences of someone who isn’t really alright.
“You think you are, or are you sure that you are?” He asked.
Morgan’s smile vanished, and she sheepishly looked at her feet. When she realized what she instinctively did, she looked at Chrom in the eyes, and saw that he didn’t miss it.
“Ha ha, I guess it’s no use to try to hide it now.” She laughed it off. “I do have some things on my mind… Pretty unusual, right?” She tried to joke about it.
Chrom noticed that she was trying to make him believe that it wasn’t that important to make him give up on prying upon what is troubling her.
“Not really, any sane person would have things on their mind after today. Especially you, considering what happened with your father…” He answered, not playing along with her joke.
“Really? I saw Henry earlier, he didn’t seem to have more things on his mind than usual.” She answered, trying to deflect the attention that was on her, which was hard in a one on one conversation.
“I believe I said ‘sane’, didn’t I?” He joked, not wanting to pressure her into giving him a response, which would cause the opposite of what he wanted.
Morgan laughed. But, silence quickly replaced it.
When her eyes avoided Chrom’s, he decided to say something else. “I know that you and I aren’t really that close… But you’re still part of my family. Know that if you need to tell me anything, I’ll listen.”
Morgan opened her mouth, and closed it soon after, as no sound came out of it. She shook her head. “I… You promise to not tell my parents?” She asked.
“I won’t tell a soul.” He replied, with a smile, glad that she trusted him.
For a long moment, she didn’t say anything. Chrom was patient, as he knew she was searching for a way to start. He noticed that she looked similar to Robin when he was trying to search for a way to explain his tactics in a way that would allow everyone to understand.
She grimaced. “I’ll start with what I feel guilty about…”
Chrom was confused. “Guilty? But you didn’t do anything wrong…?”
“I didn’t do anything, no… It’s something that I thought about…”
Chrom said nothing more. He saw that it wasn’t easy for her to continue, so he gave her the time she needed.
“When… When Father took the Fire Emblem, and gave it away… I was as surprised as everyone, really… But not too long after… A thought occurred to me. ‘What would I do if Father joined the enemy? ’…”
She sighed.
“I hate it… I hate it that my answer would probably be ‘staying at his side’… I feel like I’m betraying Mother, despite finally regaining a memory of her, despite how much love she showered me with, despite everything she does for me… And I feel like I’m betraying Father too, he would not join the enemy willingly, and yet, I would probably join them willingly to stay with him…” Tears of anger came to her eyes, but they didn’t fall.
‘ Poor girl… Nobody should have to make such a choice… ’ Chrom thought. ‘ And yet… Your mother also believed that she had to take the life of her husband… Not that I will ever tell anyone, and especially you… ’ He continued, knowing how much Lucina will blame herself for years, and how hard it was for her to make that decision in the first place, even if she couldn’t go through with it.
Suddenly, Morgan felt a hand rest on her shoulder. She looked up to meet Chrom’s eyes. To her surprise, he wasn’t angry or upset that she considered the possibility of betraying him, the only thing she could see on his face was concern for her. When she blinked, two tears rolled down her cheeks, and not a single more.
“It’s alright. You don’t need to think about it any longer. Trust me, your father will not join them, even unwillingly.” He smiled. “If one person believes in him more than I do, it would be you. Am I wrong?”
Morgan smiled in return.
Chrom guessed that she really needed these words. He thought that she might’ve feared being the only one that still trusted Robin, which would’ve been logical due to what happened.
However, Chrom knew that he had to say more. “But… I understand how you feel. Your father is your role model, your hero. And, while I have no doubt that you love Lucina as much as you love Robin… He, and the memories that you have of him, were all you had left when we met you. I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that for a while, he was your whole world.” He took a deep breath. “I really do not want you to be on the enemy’s side, but I understand perfectly why you would want to stay with Robin above all else… Even if it isn’t really him anymore…”
Morgan had mixed feelings. On one hand, she was glad that he understood, on the other hand, she felt even more guilty that she considered joining the enemy, and betraying him and all of her family from her mother’s side in the process, a possibility.
“I know that you feel bad for thinking about it, but I also know that you will do everything in your power to avoid it… And let me tell you one thing. Robin and Lucina… Ever since we met you… Their determinations have been multiplied. Your presence alone reinforces the will of your father, and I’m confident that in the end, this is what will allow him to avoid today’s events from happening again.” Chrom reassured trying to find a way to make her feel better.
When he patted her shoulder, Morgan looked up, and smiled brightly. “Thank you, Chrom, thank you very much.”
Chrom shared the smile. He was relieved that he could help her.
A moment of silence followed, neither letting go of their smiles. But finally, Morgan’s laugh broke the silence.
“After all that, my other problem seems really silly. Do you want to hear it as well?” She asked, not as hesitantly as earlier.
Chrom removed his hand from his granddaughter's shoulder. “Sure.”
“It’s about my grandfather…” She started, quickly realizing that she had to clarify immediately. “I mean my other grandfather! Validar…” Morgan said, looking away for a few seconds.
Chrom said nothing, but when Morgan looked back at him, she saw concern in his eyes.
“We… We locked eyes for a very brief moment…” She took a deep breath. “It didn’t feel brief at all to me… It was as if time stopped… It felt so oppressing… As if… As if he knew everything about me… As if I wouldn’t be able to escape him…” Her voice started to shake, and so did her body. “As if… As if… As if I… As if he… As i-”
Chrom took the young girl in his arms. “That’s enough Morgan…” He soothed. “I promise that I will not let him touch a single strand of your hair. And not only me, neither anyone else in your family, nor any of the Shepherds will let this happen.”
Gradually, Morgan’s body stopped shaking. She eventually returned the embrace.
Hearing the young tactician sigh relieved Chrom, knowing his granddaughter had finally relaxed.
“Thanks again, Chrom… I really don’t know what’s happening to me today, ha ha… I swear that I don’t fake my carefree attitude…” Morgan said, a bit embarrassed.
“It’s alright, Morgan, we all have bad days sometimes. And today was an awful one.” Chrom spoke softly.
After this, Morgan smiled, even if Chrom couldn’t see it. “You know… I just realized… But… You… Hmm… How to say it? … There’s something about you that makes me feel comfortable… And… Safe…” She said, while blushing.
Chrom blushed a bit as well, but he couldn’t help the warmth he felt and his grin that followed.
After another few seconds, Morgan started to feel too embarrassed by what she just said, so she decided to say something in a joking tone. “No doubt about it… You’re my favorite grandfather, Chrom, ha ha ha.”
When Chrom was about to reply to her joke by saying he hoped so, something came to his mind. He released Morgan from his arms, and started to ponder a question.
Seeing how he turned very serious because of her silly joke, Morgan wondered if her mother got her lack of understanding of jokes from him.
“I have made up my mind… Morgan, please, do not call me ‘Chrom’ anymore. Just call me ‘Grandfather’.” He said to her, already anticipating the teasing he’ll get from his friends.
Morgan was taken aback. “Rea… Really? I mean, you were the one who asked me not to call you that…”
“I know… I know… Sumia and Cynthia even scolded me multiple times about it…” He said, embarrassed. “I always considered you a member of my family… But… I suppose it’s the same thing as Lissa, who asked Lucina to not call her ‘Aunt’ for a while… These titles can really make you feel way older than you are…”
Morgan interrupted the man. “Oh… So Mother didn’t always get to call her ‘Aunt Lissa’…”
Chrom didn’t mind the interruption. “No… She just needed a bit of time to warm up to the title… And one day, I’m sure that you will get to call her ‘Great Aunt Lissa’.” Chrom said with a smile, half genuine, and half devilish, as he couldn’t wait to get back at her for the many times she teased him for being a grandfather.
Morgan laughed, taking a mental note to make sure that Chrom would be there when she would start calling Lissa like that.
After a moment of silence, Chrom decided to continue. “I will be honest, it might take some time before I get used to it… I always intended to let you call me ‘Grandfather’ one day… But not so soon…”
“So… What made you change your mind?” Morgan asked, curious.
“Well… You see… You’ll only have two grandfathers in your life.” He started.
“Yes, so far, I can follow.” Morgan replied in a playful tone.
“I know that you were just joking earlier, but when you compared us… I realized that it would be better if the first thing you think of when you hear ‘grandfather’ was me, and not him.” Chrom spoke quietly.
Morgan gave him her most genuine smile. “Thank you, that’s very considerate… Grandfather.”
Grandfather and granddaughter looked at each other, before sharing a fit of laughter.
“It’s hard to believe that this is the first time our conversation doesn’t end in an awkward silence.” Morgan said, in between two laughs.
Chrom nodded. “Hopefully, we’ll talk more easily from now on.”
Suddenly, Chrom’s stomach growled.
“Well, Grandfather, it seems that you are hun-” Morgan was interrupted, by her own stomach, which growled as well.
Chrom snickered. “We’re not so different it seems. Do you want to join Sumia and I to eat? I’m sure she’ll be overjoyed to spend time with her granddaughter. Maybe Cynthia will be with us, too.”
“Sure!” Morgan exclaimed. “But you’ll have to help me speak with them. The conversations I’ve had with them weren’t as disastrous as those I’ve had with you, prior to this one, but not good enough in my opinion. I want to get along with all of you!”
Chrom laughed. “Okay, I’ll try to see what I can do.”
“To have such a doting grandfather, how lucky of me.” She teased the man.
On their way, Chrom realized that he was also more at ease than before he spoke to Morgan. ‘ It seems that helping her helped me… Thank you, Morgan… Robin and Lucina are lucky to have you. ’ He thought.
Getting closer to his granddaughter wasn’t really how Chrom thought that this terrible day would end. However, it comforted his idea that nothing is set in stone, and gave him even more reason to fight.
Morgan was also glad that she could finally talk to her grandfather like that, even if the circumstances that led to them talking were far from ideal.
She also really appreciated finally being able to call him ‘Grandfather’. She was a bit disappointed the first time he asked her not to, even if she could understand why. Regardless, now that he allowed her that, she would cherish the title, and never let him take it back.
Chrom was right, after all. It was better if she thought of him rather than Validar when thinking or hearing the word ‘Grandfather’.
She had some doubts about what kind of relationship she had with Chrom before, as neither were really comfortable nor knew what to say to each other, but now she was sure.
She loved her one true grandfather.
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