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Lucina’s mind was already reeling before a wicker basket of bandages was thrust into her hands. She nearly toppled over with her thoughts, a little unbalanced.
“Thank you very much, darling,” Maribelle said before disappearing into one of the infirmary tents. Lucina’s inquiry was meant to be polite, but she heard several soldiers groaning in pain from inside. She knew Maribelle and Aunt Lissa knelt over their allies day in and day out, patching up wounds until the sun set. The least she could do was sanitize extra bandages.
“I will return them soon,” Lucina said through the door, balancing the basket against her hip. It would be difficult to fit laundry into the careful puzzle of chores and strategy meetings.
Think. Think. Think.
Well, she supposed she could work on the bandages first. Then… she had to restuff the training dummies, didn’t she? Kjelle had run through half a dozen in one session, the straw remains flying through the air. And there was the makeshift pegasus stable in camp that Cynthia and Cordelia had mentioned needing more vegetable scraps allocated to. Lucina would be able to work on the issue if she circled back to the kitchen to help with dinner.
Resolved and reorganized, she started in the direction of the river, but not before she ran headfirst into a tall set of armor.
“Milord,” the armor spoke.
“Oh, excuse me, Frederick.” Lucina tiptoed around him, barely glancing up from his dust-covered boots. He always called her “milord,” a habit from protecting her father for so many years. He was a serious, stern man… although Lucina could think of times where his countenance came off as comical to her as a little girl. “Do you need me? Let me know if there are any tasks I can take on for you.”
“No, but it’s about your father—”
“Oh, that’s what I forgot!” Lucina nodded, her hair bouncing. “There’s a meeting tonight with a few of the generals. Thank you, Frederick!”
If Frederick had anything else to say, it was lost in the swirl of thoughts, her mind trying to hold onto every last task in her schedule.
The basket of laundry would be the easiest, so she found a spot on the flat rocks of the river nearby camp. The natural scenery was a luxury—one that would soon be forgotten if her future came into fruition. She got to work, filling up a basin with water and finding a good spot to lay it all out to dry. Most of the dirty bandages had been used for splints or other support, so they could be washed and reused for the battles to come. Lissa was collecting torn clothing since it was easy to rip it into shreds and keep it on hand for bandaging wounds.
She dunked the first cloth into the basin, letting the water soak in before scrubbing it clean. Lucina didn’t mind busy work. It was a simple task, but tedious enough that she was glad to take it off of the healers’ hands. They had bigger fish to fry. The same went for the other things on her list… chores that were small, but an annoyance. Soldiers needed to train, the horses needed to be cared for. The little problems had a habit of adding up.
The spot by the river was far enough from camp that the usual ambiance was left behind. She could rarely afford moments of peace, but the tension cramped her shoulders nonetheless.
Lucina held the fabric up to the sun to check if the dirt had fallen away, jolting when she realized someone had crouched down next to her, undetected.
“Lucina…” Chrom trailed off as she jumped out of her skin. “I sent Frederick to find you, but he said that you were so distracted that you didn’t listen to a word he said.”
Lucina grimaced, noting the serious expression on her father’s face. “I’m sorry, I thought it was a reminder for tonight’s meeting. What is it that you wanted?”
Chrom sat down with her, leaning over to pluck the next piece of fabric off of the pile.
“Don’t worry about it! You’re the exalt, I could hardly make you do laundry. Your time is better spent elsewhere.” Lucina tried to shoo his hand away, but her father already dunked it in the water.
“I think I can handle some laundry,” he said with a laugh that reminded her of home. “You are also the exalt, yet you run around camp late into the night working on odd jobs.”
Although it wasn’t a question, Chrom posed it as one. Lucina shrugged, looking down at her hands under the water. The river had a chill to it, so she brought them to the surface to warm them in the sun.
“You act like everything within camp is your responsibility. Like you’re the leader.” Chrom’s mouth was set into a frown. Did she insult him?
“I don’t mean to step out of line,” Lucina promised. “You are the leader of the Shepherds, undoubtedly—”
“Allow me to reword,” her father fumbled, searching for the right phrasing. “I’m not upset with you, far from it. Many around camp have asked me about you and I was wondering the same things. Why is it that you overload yourself with chores? I understand wanting to help others, but you never allot any of the tasks to your family or retainers. Both your mother and I always offer support, but you turn us down. You have a full plate… maybe even a buffet.”
Lucina laughed at his attempt to make her feel better, spreading out bandages to dry and using that time to think.
“I worry you’re too proud to accept help.”
“That’s not it,” Lucina said, biting her lip. Truthfully, sitting down with her father and doing such a menial task like laundry was a dream. “To be honest, I’m not used to having this many people around to help. Before returning here, the camp had become a ghost town.” Lucina winced when she used the phrase. It was too literal for her liking—only the ghosts of the Shepherds and their many contributions to the war that crumbled into dust.
Her father didn’t say anything as she grabbed one of the ripped garments, tearing it into as even strips as she could before adding them to the wash pile. Chrom watched her carefully, although his hands stayed busy with the washing, waiting for her to continue.
“My friends… we all work well together despite our differences, but grief makes it difficult to keep up with chores.” Memories worked their way in, but she did her best to beat them back. “For me, it helped to stay busy when Mother and you… left. But for some of the others they couldn’t handle the small things. So, while I dealt with my emotions, I could also make sure their sword was fixed, or that there would be vegetables ready to go in the soup if they could just wash the pot. And I guess I still want to be that person.”
Lucina couldn’t tell if she explained it well enough, but her father nodded as he always did when he wanted to let someone know he was listening, that his silence was just him thinking of something to say. Her heart felt heavy, her shoulders heavier.
“I understand where you’re coming from,” her father said. He smiled warmly. They were almost at the end of the basket, the hum of camp picking up in the distance as dinner approached. Chrom noticed her struggling with a tougher scrap of cloth, so he took it from her. “I’m grateful that you told me. I know promises at this time can be a little difficult to take seriously, but I want you to know that I have no intentions of leaving you alone. I want you to feel supported, regardless of what happened in your reality. So, please, let us help you. It would be nice if you could allow some of your worries to rest… enough that you aren’t always the one looking out after others.”
Her father tore the last piece of cloth into a strip, fully submerging it in the basin. Every instinct in her wanted to argue with him. Lucina wanted to insist that if she stopped—if she let herself rest—then she wouldn’t be doing enough to prevent what was to come.
Instead, she nodded. It would take baby steps before she could release those kinds of thoughts.
“So…” her father trailed off, looking at the drying bandages. “What else was on that list of yours that Frederick couldn’t capture you for more than thirty seconds?”
“Well,” Lucina blushed under the teasing tone, “the meeting tonight.”
“I was also invited, but I could pretend to be you.”
Her laugh released some of the tension. “You could wear my mask… but I also have to fix a few things at the training grounds as well as inventory management at the stables.”
“Kjelle again?”
Lucina tilted her head in fake surprise, matching her father’s light tone. “How did you guess?”
“Then it’s settled. I’ll track down Sumia about the horses and you can work on patching together that half of the camp. Will you try to meet me for a quick dinner before the meeting?”
“Sounds like a plan,” Lucina said, then much quieter, “Thank you.”
Chrom rose, stretching out his back. “Thank you for your work.”