Fire Emblem: Past and Future Bonds (Private)

[thelonegrunt]

Sumia turned to the door as one of her servants informed her of the news. Giving him a look of kindness that always radiated from her, she smiled. "Yes; send her up right away. Thank you." She added. She genuinely didn't consider herself royalty, but just the wife of a loving husband who coincidentally was born of royal blood himself. She treated everyone in the kingdom with an equal display of respect and kindness, including servants that a king or queen would usually pay little mind to.

"Cordelia? I wonder what she's doing here so early..." Sumia thought, though not really minding. She had been friends with her since childhood, admiring her courage, strength and intelligence. At some points, Sumia was jealous of her red-haired comrade... which was a tad ironic because the strong-willed Cordelia herself was once jealous of Sumia for a different reason.

[Diapee Girl]

The attendant nodded and returned to the woman waiting.

A few minutes later, there was yet another knock at the nursery door and a familiar crimson-haired woman peeked in. "Lady Sumia..." Cordelia said, comically imitating the massive amount of formality the attendant had as she regally bowed to her. After that, she giggled and smiled up at her friend.

[thelonegrunt]

Sumia, in turn, giggled as her friend stood by the nursery door. "Oh you and your silly formalities... hey there, Cordelia! What brings you here so early?" Sumia asked. She realized that the woman had training in about an hour or so, but she could easily spend that time resting.

[Diapee Girl]

"I was just on my way to the practice fields, and I felt that it had been way too long since we last chatted." Cordelia replied warmly, only half-telling the truth. She didn't quite know how to bring up her problem with Severa, so she hoped to work up to that as the conversation progressed. As she walked into the nursery, she gave baby Lucina a friendly and playful little wave. "Hi there cutie." She cooed to the child with a smile. Babies had always been one of Cordelia's soft spots.
"So how are you Sumi? I know I've said it before, but it just isn't quite the same not having you in the pegasus knights anymore."

[thelonegrunt]

Upon seeing the beautiful young woman wave, the swaddled baby cooed and giggled as she slightly wiggled a bit in her mother's arms.

"Aw... yeah, it has been a while... I almost forgot how much Lucina likes you... would you like to hold her?" Sumia offered, having an extreme amount of trust in her friend.

"It is certainly different, yeah... and a part of me really misses that. Being a mom changes a lot of things, not that it bothers me, though..." Sumia added, which then reminded her of something: "Speaking of which, how has your own daughter been, Cordelia? I haven't seen Severa around much lately..."

[Diapee Girl]

"I would love to, if you don't mind..." Cordelia replied warmly, walking over and sitting cross-legged on the floor in front of Sumia, extending her arms out so Sumia could easily and safely transfer the baby girl.

When her own child was brought into question, the crimson-haired woman bit her lip. So much for easing into it. But hell, this was the reason she came here anyway, so she might as well start.
"Severa...well..." She began, sighing when she couldn't figure out what to say. "Let me start by asking, how are you getting along with Lucina....well, 'big' Lucina I mean, and Cynthia? How's your relationship with them?"

[thelonegrunt]

Sumia smiled and very carefully handed her child to her friend. Just like Cordelia, she now sat Indian-style in front with her hands tucked in her lap, them both looking like two kids in class rather than dignified warriors. Did they care? Of course not.

When Lucina was cradled in Cordelia's arms, she cooed in the same manner as when her mother picked her up for the first time. Now, however, the girl was attracted to the woman's hair, her little hands playing with her brilliant locks.

"I have a great relationship with both of them. Cynthia is very respectful and I think she even wants to be like me, which is admiring. Lucina is just like her father, which makes me equally happy, and I always take time to go to her to tell how proud I am and how much I love her even while holding... um... "her" in my arms. It's sort of weird to think about..." Sumia replied, getting completely sidetracked without realizing the intention of Cordelia asking this.

[Diapee Girl]

"Aww, aren't you just too precious?" Cordelia giggled, giving the infant in her arms a soft cuddle and allowing her to start playing with her hair. It was hard to think that this sweet, innocent little baby would, quite literally, grow up to be the same young woman with whom she had fought side by side against Grima and the Risen. It actually kind if confused her to think about, so she just shoved all the time-travel related thoughts out of her head.

She grinned at Sumia's answer, glad that at least her friend had a good relationship with her children. But she couldn't help be fell saddened in knowing there was definitely something wrong between her and Severa. "That's nice..." She replied, a touch of sadness in her voice. "Well, that brings me to what I was going to say..."
Giving the baby in her arms another gentle cuddle to try and relax herself, she just sighed. "I have no idea what to do with Severa..." Cordelia admitted. "All the other parents in the shepherds seem to have good relationships with their children...heck, even Tharja and Noire get along better than me and my daughter do...It just feels like she's pushing me away at every turn..."

[thelonegrunt]

Sumia frowned at hearing her friend's strained relationship with her daughter. Sumia was well-aware of the girl's sour nature, but she figured that Cordelia would work out the problems they had after the conclusion of the war and the killing of Grima. It sounded like they had only managed to get worse, however...

"Oh dear... why do you think this is? Is there something she's been hiding from you or anything like that? Children typically don't like to confront their parents when there's something they're trying to hide from you." Sumia wasn't necessarily an expert in this, as her two older "children" were respectful and well-behaved.

[Diapee Girl]

"I just don't know Sumi..." The exasperated woman replied, smiling to herself as she watched the baby stick a bit of her hair into her mouth. "At least little Lucina here will stop being fussy after you feed her and change her diapers. Every time I try and get Severa to open up and really talk to me, she just ends up getting more and more distant. It's like she's mad at me..."
Exhaling heavily, she looked back up at her friend. "Tell me honestly, am I a bad mother?" Cordelia asked, honestly starting to think that that was the most likely conclusion.