This choice: Something happens or follow Lucina • Go Back... As the morning hit, Lucina and her party had already hit the road to the North Feroxi settlements, Flavia seeing them off as the rest of the feast's guests were collapsed on the floor of the palace. Like before, Lucina strode forward with Gerome & Minerva in flight at her side, and Owain & Severa's theater carriage in tow, however, Ophelia now joined the travels and drove the carriage while her father tried to dispel his hangover with coffee and medicine, while Cynthia allowed her Pegasus to freely fly at its leisure while the girl wrapped herself in Lucina's massive scarf.
"Urp..." croaked Cynthia, holding a hand to her head. "To think that a mere ale would trump the mighty Cynthia..."
"Cynthia, it's your fault, you shouldn't be drinking things you're not used to." retorted her sister. "Even Father rarely drinks, and he knows how to handle his alcohol."
"S-Sorry sis..." Cynthia burped lightly like she was about to vomit and relaxed herself in a laying position.
"You're just lucky Gerome and Ophelia were there to peel your sorry butts off the floor of the mess hall." curtly chimed in Severa. She gazed at Owain, rotating between sips of a hot mug and vulnerary vial, before continuing her lecture. "You especially should be ashamed, you're going to be a father soon! Just think what poor Ophelia was thinking while she was watching her Daddy chug one mug after another to prove his 'Hero's Worth'!"
"Yeah, I'm sorry about all that Severa..." Owain looked at his future daughter, whistling while handling the horses, and begged for her forgiveness. "Sorry to you too Ophelia, I'm sure you didn't travel back through time just to be a designated driver..."
"No worries Daddy!" beamed the young Sorceress. "I used to spend time with horses all the time back in the future, it makes me feel at home! And besides, I'm not going anywhere anyways, we'll have plenty of time together ahead of us!" Ophelia decided against telling Owain of his fate, but resolved to speak after her other self's birth, with Severa keeping the secret safe too; it was a definite boost to the girl's morale to get her burden off her shoulders.
"Thanks, you're a good daughter!" Ophelia nearly squealed at the compliment, getting flashbacks of happy 4-year old memories. "And hey, speaking of, how about that Gerome last night with the arm wrestling? He even slammed one guy through the table! Tough stuff!"
"Pathetic." replied Gerome. "I just wanted them off of Lucina. And that table slam was because he passed out and leaned forward mid-match."
"Regardless, it was very thoughtful of you Gerome, thank you." Gerome blushed a bit and cracked a smile at his wife's compliment. Lucina stood on her tiptoes to get a better view of the area and caught glimpse of a watch tower beyond a sea of trees; she could easily see smoke and assorted hay & wooden roofs in the clear weather of the day. "A town is just up ahead, we can ask around about the ruins there, someone has to know of the elixir story." Everyone felt a little charged up at Lucina's comments, feeling that they were nearing the end of their wild goose chase soon enough.
"And a bed," chimed in Cynthia, sneezing and burping a little, "I need a warm bed to nap off this headache..." When the group reached the edge of the town a short while later, they hid amongst the forest trees to determine their plan at Lucina's request.
"I don't mean to inconvenience you all, but could you all continue without me for now? I don't wish to scare the townsfolk with my size." Lucina took Cynthia from her rest on her shoulders and slid her into the carriage. "We might need to stop here for the night if Cynthia and Owain are too hung over."
"You let off too kind a presence to frighten someone, but I do see your point." replied Gerome. "Very well, but you won't be sleeping out in this cold forest tonight."
"I'll be fine Gerome, I promise."
"No, I'll see to it the town elder allows you some sort of shelter." Gerome got off Minerva's back and spoke command to the wyvern. "Stay with Lucina, keep her warm and keep her company until we get back." On command, the wyvern cuddled up alongside her mistress and blew puffs of smoke from her nostrils to keep her warm in the snow; noticing this, Cynthia's Pegasus moved over from its grazing and started nudging Lucina's thigh, as if to get in on the love. Gerome got onto the carriage and sat alongside Ophelia in the passenger's seat. "We'll be back, be safe." With that, they departed into town while Lucina kept hidden.
Despite being such a small town, the townsfolk seemed too much like city-dwellers, too busy to talk and hurrying along. The cart was stopped at the side of the main plaza as Gerome, Ophelia and Severa yelled for attention, much to Owain and Cynthia's headaches.
"We're looking for the town elder, where-"
"Excuse me! Sir! Do you know where-"
"Hey! Numbskulls! We're trying to find-" No response to all 3 travelers.
"This is beginning to wear thin," commented Gerome, "How are we supposed to find the village chief if nobody stops for us?"
"Have you tried something quieter?" asked Cynthia, distressed by the noise. Suddenly, a light went off in Ophelia's head at her aunt's words. She jumped out of the carriage and turned to the other riders.
"I got it!" she cried. "If words don't work, then actions!" She turned around to the busy public and opened her tome, shooting fireworks into the air from its pages; this caught the attention of some young children and houseparents. "Ladies and gentlemen!" cried the magician, "We have a wonderful magic show for you today! We ask for no money, just a warm bed to sleep in and your hearts & dreams! Just for a moment, I want you to think one thing; Whatever you believe is real, is real!" From there, the young magician began her acts, turning snow to bubbles, floating through metal rings, forming doves from snow angel indents, and drew in a large crowd of cheering onlookers; Gerome and Severa were amazed at the draw the entertainment magic provided, and were equally gladdened that their hunt had just gotten easier. At the end of her set, Ophelia pulled a beautiful bouquet of flowers from a young child's ear and gifted them to the girl, causing cheers to erupt from the crowd. "Thank you so much! You've all been a great audience!" An old man with a cane walked out from the crowd to greet the party.
"Bravo, young missy! You really lit up the town, and it's still day!" Ophelia bowed in turn, accepting the praise graciously. The old man turned to the rest of the group aboard the carriage. "Forgive me for the busy townsfolk, we have a small festival coming up in a few days. You say you needed a bed to sleep in? My name is Young Hubba, and I'm the elder of this village, pleased to meet you!" The group, minus Ophelia, had sworn they heard the name before, or one similar, but wrote it off.
"Your hospitality is appreciated, elder. My name is Gerome, this is Severa, and Ophelia. Our two friends in the carriage, Owain and Cynthia, have fatigued themselves to continue our journey as is, and therefore we require shelter. There is one more we wish to introduce you to, if you could come with us."
"Well sonny, I'm too Young to be called Elder just yet!" Hubba chuckled at his own corny joke, but got back on topic when he realized only he laughed. "Yes, well, I can definitely allow you all to spend the night here, but what kind of journey are you youngsters on? Care to give a young elder a story to hear?"
"Actually, it is related to our other companion; We wish to know if you know any information regarding the ruins up north. Specifically, one mentioned in a story about a shrin-" Gerome's words were cut off by a large yell from the edge of town, drawing the crowd's attention as they began to shuffle towards the source. Gerome looked panicked, realizing he might have been wrong when speaking to Lucina before. "Oh crap!" He jumped from the cart and dashed off to the edge of town.
"Hey! Gerome, wait!" Severa realized the urgency of his run, but her pleas for him to wait fell on deaf ears. When he got to the edge of town, Gerome watched as the crowd gathered around a portly man dressed in furs, looking out of breath and scared as a lanky farmer-type comforted him.
"Hunter Tell, what's wrong? You look like you done saw a ghost!"
"W-Wyvern! In-In Woods! A-And g-giant woman!"
"Why, that's crazy talk! Everyone knows there's no such thing as a g-g-giaaa..." The farmer was cut off as he saw Lucina's figure at the edge of the woods, looking equally as panicked as Gerome that she had been spotted. Minerva had crawled out from the woods and kept a low snarl, trying to control the crowd to keep panic from erupting and her master's wife from being hurt. After what seemed like forever, Lucina gulped and finally spoke.
"H-Hello everyone...M-May I come in?" The tension in the air was thick, Lucina, Gerome, and Minerva knew not what would happen and prepared for the worst.  indicates the next chapter needs to be written. |
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