Sometime before Chapter 12. Anna

I drew in a long breath, looking up at the darkened sky. I turned to my husband, who was marching by my side. "We should set up camp, soon. Has Frederick scouted ahead for a site?"

Chrom nodded. "Yes. He will be back momentarily."

As if on cue, the attentive knight trotted over to us atop his horse. "There is a clearing right ahead, Milord," he reported. "It will make for an ample place to camp."

"Right, thank you, Frederick." Chrom grinned at his knight. I silently nodded my thanks and he rode away.

My body felt like it was made of rocks. Guilt and dread clawed at my heart. All outside noise was lost to me. Nothingness was all I knew.

"Anna? Are you all right?" Chrom placed a hand on the small of my back, bringing me back to the world.

I swallowed the lump in my throat, forcing tears to stay in my eyes. "I'm fine," I sighed. "Actually... When we have everything all set up, I think I'm going to retire early."

Concern burned in my husband's cerulean gaze. "What about supper? Or any of the nightly rounds you usually do?"

"I...I don't have an appatite." That was at least true. The thought of eating food made me want to vomit. "And as for my usual rounds, I'll do them in the morning."

"Anna..."

I took his hands in mine. "Please, Chrom. Let me rest. I'm exhausted beyond measure."

Finally, he gave into my pleas, kissing my forehead. "Fine. But I'll be checking up on you very soon," he said. "And I want you to try eating something. You don't have to come to dinner, but I'll bring something to our tent. Is that all right?"

My lips turned up into a small smile. "Yes, it is." I stood on my tip-toes and pecked his cheek. Normally, my husband would retaliate by taking me into his arms and kissing me all over, making me laugh until my gut hurt. But he did no such thing; I was glad for it.

I loved Chrom with all of my heart, but I was not in a laughing mood. I wasn't in a mood for anything. The only thing I felt was guilt and anxiety building by the minute.

...

I curled inwards, tugging the blanket over my head.

My cot was larger than normal to accommodate for both Chrom and me. No more having to get as close as we possibly could to fit the both of us on one tiny cot. Although, I predicted that we'll still try to get as close as possible.

The guilt and anxiety got even worse once I retreated away from everyone. I trembled beneath the blanket, hot tears stinging my cheeks.

I'm so sorry, Lucina. I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry. Every moment without you is torture. Why did I leave you? I did not even think about how you would feel. I'm sorry.

The blanket was pulled away from my face and a warm hand caressed my cheek. "Love?" Chrom whispered, his expression soft but worried.

I broke. 

More tears escaped my eyes as I sobbed, barely breathing. "I'm a horrible mother. I shouldn't have left Lucina alone! I should've listened to you! She does need her mother! She's only two months old!" I cried hysterically, covering my face with my hands.

"Anna..." My husband crawled into bed with me, hugging me tightly. "I...I understand. I really do." He pressed his forehead against the crown on mine; I could feel his own tears. "I've been thinking of Luci nonstop ever since we left."

I looked up at him. Everything was blurry from the tears. "This isn't right. There should be a baby girl right between us. I-I have to go back! I can't-"

"Shh..." He swallowed thickly. "I know. I want to go back, too. Going through each day without our daughter is going to be difficult, but," he took my hands and held them tightly between us, "we're making sure this world is safe for her to live in. We won't be gone forever."

I shuttered. "But...but what if..."

"Don't even finish that sentence," Chrom frowned. "We'll survive. We'll live. We'll go back to the castle and see our little girl again." His smile held both joy and sorrow. "We're not done building our family, love."

I pressed my face against his chest. His arms felt like home. They were my home. "H-how are you handling this so well?"

"Believe me, I am just as anxious as you," he breathed. "I guess I just have a different way of showing it. I wish I could just go back to the castle and stay with you and Lucina. To forget about the rest of the world."

I swallowed. "...But we can't." Those three words were like poison.

"I know..."

We held each other in silence for what felt like forever.

Finally, Chrom sniffled, "We'll win this war. For Lucina. For our friends. For their future. For our future." He picked up my hand and brought it to his lips. "When we fight for our family, we can do anything. We will win."

In what felt like the first time, I truly smiled. "I believe you. We will fight and win. For the future."

"For the future."

*****

I'm eating cookie dough ice cream for breakfast and not feeling guilty. So with Chrom and Anna being new parents and all, separation anxiety would 100% happen. I studied Psychology, don't test me. Thank you so much for reading and look forward to reading more!

Next Prompt: July 15th - Paper

Link: https://youtu.be/VjfqRWlX4JY