Chapter 1: Lucina's Second Chance; The Unexpected Reunion
A Second Chance Across Time
The moonlight caught the edge of Falchion as Lucina adjusted her mask. Behind it, her branded eye burned with memories of a future she fought desperately to prevent. But tonight, something else made her heart race: she had seen him.
Odyn.
He stood among her father's Shepherds, just as she remembered him - tall and proud, with those distinctive pointed ears and striking orange eyes that had always set him apart. His blue hair caught the torchlight as he moved through the camp with the same fluid grace she remembered from her childhood. But there was something different about him here, in this past that was quickly becoming her present. He was younger, unburdened by the weight of a ruined world.
Her fingers traced the edge of her mask as she watched from the shadows. In her timeline, Odyn had been her protector, a constant presence in the desperate years after her father's death. He had taught her to wield a sword, to survive, to hope. And somewhere between lessons and battles, between moments of comfort and shared grief, her childish heart had claimed him as her own.
But this Odyn didn't know her. Not yet. Not ever, if she succeeded in her mission.
Her attention shifted to the woman by his side - Saibyrh, her mother's closest friend and advisor. The woman's presence here was unexpected; in Lucina's timeline, Saibyrh had vanished before she was old enough to form clear memories. Yet here she was, her ebony hair with its distinctive silver and gold highlights catching the firelight, her orange eyes matching Odyn's in an way that made Lucina's breath catch. The similarities between them...
"You should be more careful about where you choose to lurk, mysterious swordsman."
Lucina froze. Odyn stood behind her, having somehow circled around without her notice. His voice carried the same gentle teasing she remembered, but lacked the weight of sorrow that had always colored it in her time.
"I mean no harm," she managed, keeping her voice low and steady, fighting against the urge to turn and throw herself into his arms as she might have done as a child.
"No?" His orange eyes studied her with careful interest. "Then perhaps you'd care to explain why you've been watching our camp. And why you carry yourself like someone bearing the weight of the world."
A bitter laugh escaped her before she could stop it. "The weight of the world? Perhaps just its future."
"Ah." He stepped closer, and Lucina forced herself to hold her ground. "Time has a way of bending when it wishes, doesn't it? Of giving us second chances we never thought possible."
Her heart stopped. Did he know? Could he somehow sense...?
But he was already turning away, a knowing smile playing at his lips. "When you're ready to trust us with whatever burden you carry, we'll be here. Some bonds, after all, transcend even time itself."
As he walked away, Lucina pressed a hand to her chest, feeling her heart race beneath her fingers. In her time, she had lost everything - her father, her kingdom, and the man who had been her guardian and first love. But here, in this past that held so much possibility, perhaps she could save them all.
And perhaps, in saving them, she might find that some dreams weren't meant to stay in the future she'd left behind.
When the Mask Falls
The castle corridors were too quiet. Lucina's grip tightened on Falchion as she crept through the shadows, every sense alert for the assassins she knew would come. Somewhere in these halls, her aunt Emmeryn slept, unaware of the fate that stalked her.
A whisper of movement caught her attention – there, in the darkness, a flash of steel. Without hesitation, she burst into motion, her blade meeting the assassin's in a shower of sparks. The clash of steel echoed through the corridor as she drove them back, each strike precise and purposeful.
"I won't let you pass," she growled, her voice low and controlled behind the mask.
But these weren't common brigands. As she engaged the first, two more emerged from the shadows. She spun, parrying one blade while dodging another, but the movement cost her. A sword's edge caught her mask, and she felt the familiar weight fall away.
Time seemed to slow as the mask clattered to the ground.
"By the gods..."
Odyn's voice cut through the chaos. He stood at the corridor's end, his own blade drawn, having apparently followed the sound of combat. His orange eyes widened as they met hers, taking in her unveiled face – the same blue hair as Chrom, the Brand of the Exalt clear in her left eye.
For a heartbeat, their gazes locked. She saw recognition flash across his features, followed by confusion, then something deeper she couldn't quite read. The moment shattered as another assassin lunged between them.
"We can deal with revelations later," Odyn called out, smoothly stepping into the fight. His blade moved like quicksilver, creating an opening for her to press forward. "Right now, we have an Exalt to protect."
Fighting alongside him felt like muscle memory, even though this Odyn had never trained her. They moved in perfect synchronization, as if the bonds forged in her future still somehow echoed in this time. Her heart ached with the familiar rhythm of it.
"Your swordwork," he commented between strikes, "I recognize it. But that should be impossible..."
"Many impossible things walk in these halls tonight," she answered, her voice no longer masked in artifice. It felt strangely freeing, even as she kept her true identity concealed. "Focus on the task at hand."
They cleared the corridor together, leaving unconscious assassins in their wake. As the immediate danger passed, Lucina felt Odyn's gaze return to her face, studying her with an intensity that made her want to look away.
"You're her, aren't you?" he asked softly. "The one Saibyrh spoke of. The one who would come."
Lucina's breath caught. "What do you mean?"
But before he could answer, more shouts echoed through the castle. Chrom's voice rose above the chaos, calling for Emmeryn.
"Go," Odyn said, gesturing toward the sound. "Your path lies with them tonight. But know this – whatever secrets you carry, whatever burden you bear... you don't have to bear it alone. Not anymore."
Lucina hesitated, torn between wanting to demand answers about what he and Sybyrh knew, and the urgent need to protect her family. Duty won out, as it always did.
"Thank you," she whispered, then turned and ran toward her father's voice, leaving both her mask and a piece of her heart behind.
Behind her, Odyn watched her go, his orange eyes thoughtful. He bent to retrieve her fallen mask, running his thumb over its surface with a gentle familiarity that belied his supposed ignorance of her identity.
"So," he murmured to himself, "it begins again. But perhaps this time, we can change more than just one future."
To be continued in Chapter 2: The Truth Unveiled
Hey guys hope you enjoyed the chapter. Forewarning there may be some time skips implied in this story to compensate for pacing so just be aware of that. Secondly, this does not effect the original Fire Emblem story I have up on this site, it is merely an AU of it and does not directly relate to it other than a few of the characters being the same. Odyn x Lucina will still be the main pairing as I'm planning something for both of their characters later in the story, so stay tuned. Anyways that's all for now, see ya in the next update!