[Doll Transformation]

Lucina had gone through a lot. That was absolutely certain. What else would you call traversing from your doomed present into the past and trying to sever the bond of fate that ruined your parents’ world?

But even though she had been through a lot, the end was seemingly close. She could see the end of it all. Where they’d defeat Grima, and prevent this time from falling prey to the same fate that her time had. And by the end, she’d have to use that experience to fell the Fell Dragon back in her present…

Unfortunately for the blue-haired Princess from the future, things weren’t going to be that easy. Especially after the Grima-worshipping Grimleal decided that her interference had been more than a problem. And so, in the midst of one of the skirmishes between her forces and those awful people…

She was struck. By what seemed to be nothing more than an ordinary blast from a Nosferatu tome. And initially, that was all that it was. But over time, things started to click into place, and she gradually realized what a problem she had run into.

How did she first discover the problems her body were going through? Simple. She couldn’t grip anything properly. The best she could do was squeeze anything between her thumb and the rest of the fingers and then hope for the best. Sure, after using her hands for long enough during the day, that strange paralysis went away, but it’d be back after she went to sleep. And every day that passed meant that her grip got more and more ineffective.

Even during her duels with her father, when she’d usually do her best, she couldn’t manage more than a couple of swings before he bested her. And he didn’t get the chance to ask her what was wrong before she quickly departed, usually leaving her Falchion behind for Frederick to deliver to her after everything was said and done.

She didn’t understand it. Why was her body acting like this? Why couldn’t she just move like normal? It didn’t make sense. And she didn’t know what had caused it either, leaving her to toil over the cause as she spent most of her days locked inside her room.

...But she couldn’t stay inside. Even after her body started to grow paralyzed, she still did what she could. Especially when it concerned the dragon that had caused them so much trouble. She helped strike it down, putting an end to it all.

With Grima having been defeated, she thought things would return to normal. She thought that she’d have to return to her time. But due to what had happened to her, and the fact that several of her comrades from the future had managed to find their way to this time as well, it was decided that they should all stay here for the time being.

And she thought that this would be the end. She thought that she’d recover. If this had been done by one of the Fell Dragon’s minions, surely it would disappear by now. And yet, it didn’t. If anything, it just got worse.

Without a reason to train, without a reason to devote herself to the blade, it seemed to get even worse. At first it was her hands being difficult to move and grip with, then it spread to her arms.

She couldn’t bend her joints. Every attempt to do so just earned her a sharp pain, as if her arms were little more than elongated sticks that could swivel around on her shoulder. Granted, she could move them further back than she ever could’ve prior, but that didn’t help her much when she needed to do something that required dexterity.

At least most of her day went along with nothing much happening. The only times her heart really ached, and her body seemed to act up even more than just by being stiff, was whenever she went into her younger self’s bedroom.

Just looking at the young blue-haired infant laying there in her crib was enough to make her smile. She knew that she’d have such a bright future ahead of her. A future where she wouldn’t have to fight. Or if she did, she’d fight alongside her parents, with no betrayal in sight.

...But not long after those warm feelings flushed their way through her, something else would make its way in. An alien feeling.

‘She needs a doll. I could be a doll for her…’

That single thought kept repeating through her head. Just looking at her for too long was enough to make it echo around inside. No matter what she did, it would keep happening. Not if she changed the girl’s blanket carefully, not if she turned her around, not even if she gently caressed her cheeks with her soft yet stiff fingers.

It would keep popping up. And she always left, trying to make it go away. She didn’t like it. It had to be connected to her condition too, because it hadn’t popped up when she was caring for her earlier.

...What was she going to do? What could she possibly do? If this was going to keep going, if she was going to keep losing most of her body’s ability to move… What was going to become of her? Was she going to turn into a doll, just like that thought implied..?

Lucina didn’t want to think about it, but she also didn’t know what she could do to stop it. The only thing she could think of was to shut herself away until she found a way to counteract her stiffness. That also meant that she wouldn’t have to worry about the difficulty of picking up her clothes and fitting them onto her body on a day to day basis.

Hopefully, she’d stumble on the answer…

---

“Hey! Who told you that you could stay inside all the time?! You’re the Princess, even if we’re from the future!”

The rough words of Severa echoed from the outside of Lucina’s room, her heavy-handed knocking sending ripples of sound through it. Of all the children that had gone back in time with her, she just happened to be the one that noticed something deeply wrong with the situation.

“Severa…” The future Exalt whispered, before she took step after agonizing step towards the door. “Can I ask you to keep a secret? Something that I don’t want my parents, nor the rest of our comrades to know…”

That put a stop to the knocks, as the door slowly opened to reveal the twin-tailed redhead. Her usual sharp expression was replaced with one that could best be described as aggressively worried. “You don’t ever ask me to keep secrets. What’s wrong, Lucina?”

Lucina smiled, or at least tried to. Even her face was getting troublesome at this point, as she stepped back and allowed the girl to come in. “I’m… I’m not sure how to exactly explain this, but I’ve been cursed. I believe the Grimleal were behind this, and though we’ve defeated the Fell Dragon…”

“You’re still affected. Great, fantastic. What am I going to say to the others when they find out I’ve kept that secret? They’re going to tell me that I should’ve said something, because they didn’t want their precious princess to suffer like this.” Severa scoffed, arms crossed as she came closer. “How do I know you’re not pulling my leg? You don’t look like you’re cursed!”

The stiff-jointed girl didn’t move a muscle as her redheaded ally grabbed ahold of her wrist, trying to prove a point as she lifted her hand. “Come on, show me what the curse’s all about! Show m-”

Severa’s words were cut short as she not only noticed a shade of white spreading across the blue-haired girl’s arm, but that she had managed to lift the girl’s arm completely. Not just her hand, her entire arm was sticking out without bending, leading to quite the absurd looking visual…

“Do you now understand, Severa? Why I can’t tell them? Why I have to trust you to keep a secret?” Lucina said, her voice taking on a much more somber voice as the white spread across her body. She didn’t know how to fix this curse, but at this point she couldn’t even really cry about it. It was like her body was only a few inches away from being unable to recover…

The redheaded girl narrowed her eyes as she let go of her friend’s wrist, her arm refusing to fall despite nothing holding it up. “...I’m going to find a way to fix this. But I’ll make sure nobody else finds out.” She muttered. She didn’t like this. Both the fact that she was turning into some sort of doll, and that she had to make her keep this secret. “You owe me for this, Lucina. You better pay up.”

“You have my eternal gratitude, Severa. And I hope you find a cure, before it may be too late.” The future Exalt’s smile widened ever slightly, though it couldn’t shrink. At this point, it was frozen into this shape. At least there was a good intent behind it.

Severa grit her teeth. “Don’t say that. Not when we’ve still got time.” The redhead muttered as she walked out the door, slamming it shut behind her. Just like every other time she came over to visit. Nobody would suspect a thing, just as the two intended…

All that Lucina could do now was wait and hope. And with any luck, she’d be freed from this situation. She’d be returned to normal, and she wouldn’t have to worry about being unable to move…

---

Her condition was getting worse. It had only been a few days since she had that impromptu visit from one of her fellow time travellers, but it seemed like the curse was in the final stages. And the only way she could tell was due to the fact that she could barely even get out of bed, her limbs refusing to lift her due to how weak their joints were.

Not only that, but the initial touch that had managed to turn her skin from its usual color to a tender white had progressed further along her body, leaving her looking less like a human and more like some sort of life-sized doll. Not that anybody would even want a doll that looked like her, at least in her mind…

Lucina sighed as she slowly tried to push herself up. The moon was currently pouring light into her room, so there was no chance of anybody seeing her up and about. She knew that from her attempts to infiltrate the castle way back when. Of course, she never thought that she’d use this knowledge in this fashion, but life had its ways.

As she managed to roll off the bed at such an angle that allowed her legs to twist downward and get her to stand, she stood up straight. It was difficult to get in and out of bed, but by using her stiff joints like this, it was a feat that she could still be proud of.

Slowly but surely she made her way out of her room, walking down the castle corridors. All while the light from outside illuminated and shone on her body, showing off the way that her form was now completely white. There was no trace of her original skin tone, nor that she was human in any fashion. In fact, it seemed like some indents had formed around the few joints that still functioned, making her look more and more like a walking and talking doll.

With every step that echoed through the corridor, her mind could only focus on one thing. It wasn’t exploring the castle and soaking in the moonlight to try and feel human. Oh no. It was the same thought that had plagued her mind when she saw her younger self.

‘She needs me. She needs a doll.’

Lucina’s thoughts were consumed by that line of thinking. That her younger self needed some sort of companion. Something that could watch over her, something that would stay at her side. Eternally. Always watching, no matter what.

She didn’t like that. She really didn’t. And yet she couldn’t pull her mind away from that thought. Because it felt like it was what she was meant to be. She was meant to be at her other self’s side. Because what else was she good for? If she couldn’t move her arms or legs in any real way, and if she couldn’t return to the future where she still had a purpose… It only made sense to fulfill a different one…

Once she finally reached the room belonging to her younger self, it wasn’t hard to get inside. The door was always unlocked, because nobody would break in to try and steal her away. And she had to be grateful, as it meant that it was even easier to get to where she should be.

Lucina took step after step as she approached the younger Princess’ crib. Her smile hadn’t shrunk since the day she talked to Severa, but when she looked down at her like this… She wished that she could smile even more.

Just the sight of her younger self felt her with a warmth that couldn’t be matched. She knew that this was where belonged. This was where the curse wanted her to be. And in the end… She gave in.

As she closed her eyes, her naked body started to glow. That glow spread across her form, coalescing into a beautiful blue dress, themed after her usual outfit. Frills upon frills, perfect for a doll to wear. Because that was all that she was at this point. A doll that was meant to be looked at, not played with.

Lucina kept on smiling as the glow continued to spread, practically swallowing her whole as she slowly shrunk. She didn’t need to be big, all she needed was to be by her younger self’s side. And the curse was kind enough to let her gently drop down into the crib, right by the young child’s head…

And from that point onward, that was where the girl from the future would sit. Every day, every night, the frilly doll would watch over the infant. Giving her a comfort that she would never have had otherwise. Giving her the companionship that she always needed, even if she didn’t realize it. Something that she would cherish into her older years.

The doll’s companions would be unable to find her, and faced with the fact that they needed to return, they eventually gave up. Even Severa, who had done everything she could, turned back towards the future to try and save it. To honor the wishes of her friend, after she couldn’t save her.

...But for Lucina, none of that mattered. All that mattered, was that she kept watch over her younger self. Until the day that she didn’t need her any longer.

Until then, she’d keep smiling. Smiling, like the doll that she had become...