Chrom
8 months later...

"Chrom... Chrom! It's time to wake up!"

"Five more minutes..."

"Nope! You have to get up now!" Emm opened the curtains and filled the room with light.

"Owwww! Emm! The light hurts!" I whimpered, sitting up and rubbing my eyes.

Emm smirked and strolled over to my bedside. "Happy birthday, ya doofus." She ruffled my hair.

That woke me up. "Oh yeah! It's my birthday!" I crawled out of bed in excitement and ran towards the door. "I wanna see everyone right now!"

"Not so fast!" Emm grabbed me and picked me up. "You have to get dressed! We can't have the prince looking like that on his third birthday!"

"What's wrong with my pajamas?"

"They're not normal clothes," she said, kissing my forehead. "Get dressed and meet me in the Dining Hall." She put me down. "I trust you can do all of that yourself?"

I nodded. "Yep!"

Emm smiled. "Good boy."

...

After three attempts: I finally managed to put on my shirt. I was used to Emm or a maid doing it for me.

As I pulled the shirt over my head, I saw a weird mark on my right shoulder...

"Huh, it kinda looks like Emm and Papa's mark! I'll ask them about it, later!"

I finished pulling the shirt over me and headed out of my room.

...

"Happy birthday, my little prince," Mama said, hugging me tightly.

"Yes, happy birthday, Chrom." Papa patted me on the head and went to sit down.

Emm helped me into my seat and sat down next to me. She was smiling the whole time. I liked that.

I remembered the weird mark on my shoulder. "Emm? Can I show you something?" I asked, ready to roll back my sleeve to show her.

She made me put my arm down. "Now is not a good time to flex, buddy," she sighed. "You can show me after breakfast."

"But-"

"Later, Chrom."

I sighed and sat back down. "Ok..."

...

"Chrom, darling, don't eat like that! It's not proper!" Mama complained as I ate a sausage with my hands. Everyone else was using a fork and knife.

"Let the boy eat how he wants, Lucia." Papa rolled his eyes. "If you train him to be nothing but a proper noble: then he won't grow a backbone and become a strong warrior like me."

Mama gave him a strange look. "Well, Matthias, maybe he doesn't want to be a warrior. He can become whatever he wants."

"Nonsense. Once he's old enough to wield a sword, he's joining me on the front lines."

Mama and Emm dropped their forks and stared at Papa. "No, he's not," Mama breathed.

Papa groaned and rubbed his forehead. "I'm not in the mood for this conversation, Lucia. I get to decide what Chrom does with his life. I am both his Exalt and Father so he has no choice."

"Don't listen to him. Don't listen to him at all," Emm whispered. "You can live your life however you want. I promise."

I nodded and looked down. "Yes, Emm..."

...

Once we finished breakfast; I decided that it would be a good time to show everyone my mark.

"I found this when I was getting dressed." I rolled up my sleeve and let everyone see the mark. "Is this normal?"

Emm and Mama gasped; Papa just stared. Everyone else in the room murmured to each other.

"Your Brand finally surfaced..." Emm breathed.

"I wasn't expecting it to happen this fast!" Mama laughed.

I turned to Papa. "Is this a good thing?"

Papa only stood up and walked over to me. "Come with me," he said.

I reluctantly got out of the chair and followed Papa.

...

"Strike that log with Falchion," Papa told me, unsheathing his sword.

I took it into my arms and stumbled backward. Th-this is the sword that my ancestors used! Papa never lets anyone touch it! It was as big as me and was really shiny.

"Matthias, he's only three!" Mama yelled as she caught up to us, Emm following close behind. "How can he use a sword?!"

Papa sighed and took the sword from me; placing it into my hands and helping me lift it. "I'm going to count to three, and when I get there: swing down as hard as you can. Got it?"

I looked up at him and nodded uneasily. "Yes, Papa..."

"1...2...3!"

He let go of my hands and I swung down with all my might.

"Owww!" I shrieked as the sword made contact with the log. I let it go as soon as possible. "That hurt my arms..."

"Gods, my son can't even wield a sword without getting hurt!" Papa glared at me. "That is a sign of weakness! Maybe taking you to the front lines isn't a good idea-" He paused abruptly and stared at the log.

I looked back at it and saw that it was almost cleaved in two.

"I'll be damned..." Papa strode over to the log and picked up his sword. "I take that back. You have more strength than I thought." He laughed loudly. "You can wield Falchion, my boy. I am very proud."

"Father! Maybe it was all your doing!" Emm frantically said. "You held it for him, after all! This could be a mistake!"

He dismissed Emm. "It was no mistake, Emmeryn. Chrom can wield Falchion." He patted my head. "Because of this: you will be joining me on your fifth birthday to receive special training and experience war head on."

"Absolutely not!" Mama came between us and held my hand. "He is only a boy! You will not force him to fight your war!" I hid behind Mama's leg and began to cry.

"I'm not that stupid, Lucia!" he barked. "He won't be doing any fighting; I just want to train him."

"He could die from other things!"

"ENOUGH!" Papa pushed Mama away and he grabbed my shoulder, hard. I wanted to run away. I wanted to run away right now.

"Mother!" Emm rushed over to Mama and helped her stand back up.

"Mama!" I tried to help her, but Papa wouldn't let me.

"You are not allowed to cry." He glared at me. "I know what's best for you. You will do everything I say, you hear me?"

I clenched my fists and tried to hide my tears. "Y-yes, Papa..."

"Good." He released my shoulder and strode back into the castle.

When he was out of sight, I ran straight to Emm and Mama and cried.

...

I cried the entire day.

I curled up in bed and sniffled into my pillow. "I don't want to go to war... I don't want to fight... I don't want to do any of that..." I sobbed. "I want to stay with Mama and Emm...I don't want to go with Papa..."

I sat up and glared at my mark. "If only you didn't exist... If only you didn't appear!" I scratched at it in hopes that it will disappear.

It didn't.

I collapsed and bawled into my hands.

"I wish I wasn't born a prince... I wish I was normal!" I clenched my fists. "I won't listen to you, Papa. I will do whatever I want! You can't control me! I can live my own life!

I chanted those words over and over until I fell asleep.

_____________

So I'm really sorry about the lack of uploads. I truly am. Like I have said, school and marching band have been taking up all of my time and it's hard to find writing time. Because of that: I am putting Before Awakening on a short hiatus. Don't worry, it won't be gone long. I just need about a month to collect myself and work on other things. High School Years and October Prompts will continue on their normal schedule, so don't worry. Thank you so much for reading, and look forward to reading more!

Currently listening to: Sarah Smiles: Panic! At The Disco