Hey! Thanks for choosing to look at my series, especially my very first fan fiction. I hope you enjoy.
Chapter 1
(Robin's POV)
"C-Chrom, we have to do something…"
A voice…I hear a feminine voice within the impenetrable darkness. Where am I? Am I dead?
"What do you propose we do?" No wait. That voice is familiar, I still can't see where I am...Oh, this darkness is simply my eyes closed, silly me… It is an effort, but I feel myself slowly regaining control of my body as I'm barely able to lift my eyelids open.
"I-I dunno. Ah!" Light pierces my vision as I open my eyes, unexpectedly, a fair maiden with golden blonde curls looks at me with genuine surprise…and a familiar blue-headed man stares at me with curious, yet patient concern.
"I see you're awake now." I am unable to respond, my body slowly regaining control of itself.
"Hey there." The blonde beauty greets me with a warm smile.
"There's better places to rest than on the ground you know? Take my hand." Instinctively, I take the blue haired man's gloved and muscular hand with mine. To my surprise, my left hand bears an odd purple tattoo. My thoughts on the matter were pushed to the back of my mind as the man spoke once again unexpectedly.
"Are you alright?" I was a bit flustered at the sudden but simple question. Somehow, the response formulated inside my head fluently.
'Yes…thank you Chrom." Chrom…how come I knew of his name? I never met him before, have I? As a matter of fact, I can't remember anything…It hurts my head to search for memories I cannot recall, if any.
"Ah, so you know who I am?" The blue-clad man furrowed his brow in slight suspicion.
"No actually. I…I'm sorry it's just your name…just came to me." I could tell my response was unsatisfactory, as the two, as well as a tall standing knight which I had failed to see earlier, stare at me in a mixture of confusion and suspicion, especially the knight that towered behind the two with his hands behind his imposing figure, the way he is looking at me suggested subtle hostility.
"…Hmm, how curious. Tell me, what is your name?" His tone was firm, but not hostile. I wrack my brain for an answer.
"I'm not sure if…I'm sorry, but where am I, exactly?"
Not a moment after, the blonde interjects loudly, "Hey, I've heard of this. It's called amnesia!"
"It's called a load of pegasus dung. We're to believe you can remember milord's name, but not your own?" The knight now was glaring daggers at me. True, knowing some stranger's name and not my own is very suspect, however I do not like his tone, so I gave him a prompt frown.
"Excuse me?" My response seemed to bounce off him along with a stifled grunt from the knight.
"Peace, he meant no offence." Chrom apologise in the man's stead. From the knight's remark of Chrom as 'milord', I assume he is of some sort of nobility and the knight is his escort. "What if he's telling the truth, Frederick? We can't just leave him here, alone and confused. What sort of Shepherds will we be then?"
The knight now known to me as Frederick stood stoic, "Just the same, milord. I must emphasise caution. 'Twould not do to let a wolf into our flock."
Frederick's protective nature was obvious, however it was annoying to reason with him as I closed my eyes and sighed.
"Right then, we'll take him back to town and sort this out there."
Wait, what? "Hold on a second, I rather not keep standing out in the open, but don't I get a say in this?"
"Peace, friend, I promise we'll hear all you have to say back in town. Now come."
Unwillingly, the two men began moving across the field, with myself in tow. Fortunately the girl who introduced herself as Lissa, paced alongside me for company, not without the wary looks of Frederick, ensuring the safety of both of his companions.
We've been walking for a couple minutes like this: Lissa silent, but cheerily skipping along with my pace, Frederick giving the sideway glance every five seconds (I counted) as he held his armoured mount by the reigns with his right hand as he walked too; and with Chrom out front, diligently scanning the area, lost in thought as it seemed. All the while we were silent, an odd sense of awkwardness in the air.
I finally mustered the courage to speak out, I decided to mix a bit of sarcasm to my statement, "So am I to be your prisoner now?" Everyone stopped walking and turned their attention to me, it was a bit intimidating having three strangers face me at once.
'Milord' laughed as the blue-armoured knight gave the same rigid stare he has had for the whole journey. Lissa gave a quick, reassuring smile alongside Chrom. "You'll be free to go once we establish you are no enemy of Ylisse."
"Ylisse?" I asked Chrom what he meant by that. Instead I received a dry jest from the knight, accompanied with a look of judgement.
"You've never heard of the halidom? Ha! Someone pay this actor. He plays quite the fool!" I was ready to lash out back with a taunt of my own until Chrom broke the hostilities.
"Frederick please." Chrom gave a slight frown to the knight, to which he then sighed, and began his vigilant overwatch once again. "This land is known as the halidom of Ylisse. Our ruler, Emmeryn, is called the Exalt."
"So the Queen, basically?" Exalt was felt odd to me in my preordained vocabulary, as well as halidom. I decided to keep these words in mind for future reference.
"Of a sort, yes. But the Exalt is the ruler of these lands. I suppose proper introductions are in order." He then cleared his throat. "My name is Chrom, but then you already knew that. The delicate one here is my little sister, Lissa, but you've already been introduced." She flashed a friendly smile for me, in which I returned the same. Suddenly the girl realised what his brother said.
"Hey! I am not delicate! Hmph!" Lissa scowled at her brother, giving him a punch to the arm after making a pouty gesture. "Ignore my brother, please. He can be a bit thick sometimes. But you're lucky the Shepherds found you, brigands would've been a rude awakening!"
"Shepherds? You tend sheep, in full armour?"
Chrom seemed to take my statement to heart as he smiled, rubbing the sore on his arm created by his sister, "Heh, it's a dangerous job. Just ask Frederick the Wary here."
"A title I shall wear with pride. Gods forbid one of us keeps an appropriate level of caution. I have every wish to trust you, stranger, but my station mandates otherwise." The knight's hardy exterior was still present as he looked me in the eye, but a new sort of understanding formed between us. At least I think it has.
"I understand, sir. I would do no less myself,"I offered a faint and quick smile, Frederick responded with a mutual nod. "Ah, my name is Robin…I just remembered that. How odd. I suppose that's one mystery solved."
"Robin? Is that foreign? …Ah well. We can discuss it later. We're almost to town. Once we—"
"Chrom, look! The town!"
All four of us immediately followed the pointing finger of Lissa to the rolling clouds of smoke. I could see the consuming fires that sat on the roofs of buildings, along with the faint screams of people. I turned to Chrom, seeing the fury in his eyes.
"Dammit! The town is ablaze! Those blasted brigands, no doubt…Frederick, Lissa! Quickly!"
"What about him?"
"Unless he's on fire, he can wait!
"Aptly put, milord."
"Let's go already!"
"But what about—Hmm…" The group was already out of earshot, leaving me alone on the dirt trail. I followed them, for whatever reason I couldn't explain, but they could use my help!
(3rd Person)
The trio (and Robin not far behind) made haste towards the commotion in the town. The cobblestone streets were littered in debris and blood. Not nearly as much as they first expected but still distressing nevertheless. Chrom, moving ahead, observed the chaos of fire and audible screams of townspeople with restrained rage.
Chrom led Lissa and Frederick towards the market that was situated in front of the town's chapel. Instead of the peaceful commotion of trade and friendly conversation, it was replaced with forsaken market stalls, buildings now serving like candles as they burnt for the sake of it. Several bandits were present, loitering around the main square and enjoying the chaos they created.
"Gwa ha ha! Get to it, lads! Grab anything shiny, and put the rest to the torch! We gots an example to set for these Ylissean types! Ain't that right, lass?"
"S-Stay away from me! Please! Someone! HEEEEEELP!" The leader of the group of bandits had cornered a woman against the chapel wall, whom was still screaming for help, tears welling in her eyes as the leader leered at her.
"Chrom! We have to stop them!" Chrom nodded at her little sister.
"Don't worry—after today, these bandits won't be bothering anyone ever again…HEY YOU! BACK AWAY FROM THAT MAIDEN YOU FIEND!"
He had caught the attention of every bandit, as evident by the initial looks alarm on their faces, which quickly changed to loathing.
"Oh? Who are you to tell me so, boy? If you want some of her, you'll need to wait in line, hehehe…" The burly leader and the rest of his men cheered in agreement, readying their weapons at the blue-haired stranger. Chrom stood fast against their bloodthirsty glares, he could see diplomacy was not going to work.
"I am Chrom, leader of the Shepherds! This land is under our protection, you're crimes end here! Frederick, Lissa, ready yourselves!"
"Right!" The knight and healer replied in unison and prepped their respective equipment: Frederick now on his horse which he always kept nearby, brandished his silver lance in an act of intimidation, Lissa held her heal staff with both hands and took cover behind the knight.
Before Chrom was to charge at the nearest enemy, he was interrupted by a scream from a white-haired man.
"Wait!"
Both Chrom and Lissa looked behind to Robin who now caught up with the group, Frederick kept his eyes on the nearby foes, giving the nearest swordsman a scowl. Surprisingly no one moved as the cloaked figure rushed towards the trio.
"Robin! You followed us! Why?" The blue-clad warrior was shocked and frustrated that the robed man followed them into danger.
"Aha, I'm not certain myself, perhaps it was instinct…Anyway, I'm armed, and I know my way around a fight! That's if you'll have me…" Robin showed a look of fierce determination which Chrom recognised, and respected.
"Of course—strength in numbers. Just stay close!"
Here goes nothing, Robin thought.
(Robin's POV)
I stood next to Chrom, my Bronze Sword at the ready (which I had discovered holstered to my belt, hidden underneath the shape of my coat, along with an elementary Thunder Tome packed away in a pouch tied also to my belt, hidden from view as the sword was), at the other end of a market stall was a myrmidon with an iron blade, he seems quick but not that strong or sturdy enough for the front lines, these men are obviously disorganised as evident by how spread out they are and those fighters too are not suited for…
"Robin!? You need to stay alert if you want to stay alive!" I was startled out of my analytical trance, one of the myrmidons decided to rush for me, probably because I looked like an easy target. Before I could prepare to defend myself, the brigand was aptly dealt with by a fatal slash to the back of the neck by Chrom, he quickly spun his blade to fling off the blood.
"Heh, thanks. I got a little caught up in my thoughts…By the way you should back away from that fighter a bit more. And Frederick, defend the left side—our flank, as well as Lissa!"
"Since when am I to take orders from you, stranger?" The knight spat, still leering at the nearby enemy, which seemed to keep them from approaching. My patience was wearing thin and these brigands aren't going to wait for us to play catch-up among ourselves.
"Dammit, Frederick! Those two bastards are going to come in and attack us—especially Lissa if you don't do as I say!" The great knight's eyes widened as I stared him down, he needs to understand!
"Frederick, listen to what he has to say, I trust him!" His ward told him as Chrom took a few paces away from the axe wielding marauder. Now he would only be attacked by the other myrmidon, which he can manage himself. The current problem now was the safety of Lissa, Frederick is now positioned at our left flank however he won't able to stop them moving past him and disabling our healer.
"Lissa, pair up with me," Wait, pair up? The term felt familiar but the concept was still vague in my head, but I knew having her with me would ensure she wasn't hurt.
"O-okay!" The healer rushed to my side. I decided to stand guard alongside our wary great knight, completely securing one of our two fronts.
"You sure you know what you're—HYA!—doing?" Frederick amazingly parried the fighter's axe and dealt a killing blow without missing a beat.
"Yeah, I'm sure…It's strange how I can 'see' things about the enemy: Their weapons, strengths, weaknesses and movements just at a glance."
"Interesting." Chrom noted as he took a defensive stance for the incoming myrmidon, however (thanks to my advice) the other axe-wielding barbarian was just out of attacking range, which allowed the swordsman to take the offensive, resulting in two blood-spilling slashes to the torso before the myrmidon could retaliate. My judgement was on point.
"Indeed, I shall trust your tactical judgement. For now!"
Frederick's curt comment almost made me smile. The battle was going well so far with no injuries. Three down, eight to go. It was almost laughable how easy it was so far.
"What next, strategy man?" Lissa joked, however I could hear the trembling in her voice, it's surprising that she would make such a lighthearted comment now.
"Ah, yeah. Chrom, engage the barbarian. Frederick I want you to back him up! Lissa, you and I are gonna advance to the bridge," Almost immediately the two main fighters in our group charged at the solo barbarian, whom stood frozen. Whether in fear or bravado, the warrior fell by the stokes of the blade and lance without a struggle.
"Bwaaargh! Please…don't kill me! I'm sorry!"
The bandit leader (Garrick, if I'm right by what his fallen comrades shouted) was sprawled against the cobblestone floor, blood dripping from the right hand he is now missing, his axe hand to be precise. My bronze sword was pointed mere inches from his heart while I stood over him.
Bodies of the bandits lay motionless. A distressing sight, if it wasn't for the burnt buildings and violated homes that gave us the resolve to stop their terror. Aside from meeting Chom, Lissa and Frederick, this was not a good start for making memories.
Chrom stabbed his blade into the hard stone (which was a surprising feat) and rested his sword hand on its pommel in relief, before he proceeded to comfort the village maiden. Frederick drew his silver lance from the torso of a mage in a solemn manner and observed the scene, ready to protect his liege in case of more bandits. Lissa stood directly by my side.
"I don't think you should be seeing this, Lissa," I warned her, She noticed the seriousness in my tone and gaze, but kept eye contact.
"I know what I was getting into with the Shepherds. I need to get used to it…" The second line she spoke fell a little weak.
"That's good to know. But you shouldn't go out of your way to see such a thing," Lissa was in the process of saying something in protest, but stopped herself and went to assist Chrom and the lady.
Fortunately, Garrick didn't dare to move during the conversation, nursing his bleeding wound with futility. I turned back and stared at the pathetic sight of the man.
"Why are you doing this!? What were you to gain from terrorising innocents!?" The bandit recoiled at the sting that my statements presented, I felt rage swell inside me as my voice grew louder. After I few more insults hurled at the crippled man, I felt a hand hold onto my shoulder.
"Robin, you did well. That's enough," It was Chrom, his right hand patted my left shoulder gently. I felt my emotions die down, I lowered my blade which was still stained with the Garrick's blood. "Let me handle this. Go keep Lissa and the other girl safe."
I gave Chrom a succinct nod, sheathing my sword and began to approach Lisa and the stranger, my sudden burst of anger now subsided.
"Heya Robin. Can I just say holy wow! You were incredible! swords, sorcery and tactics! Is there anything you can't do?" Her praise made me blush, forcing me to look away to compose myself, I simply waved off the impressiveness of my new-found abilities.
"Hey no need to be so humble about it. You deserve to hear something nice, especially after saving the town! Tactician."
"Ahah, I suppose so, thanks," Tactician, huh? I like the sound of that.
"Ehehe, your welcome…" The silence that came after was painfully awkward, it was broken thankfully by the woman standing behind Lissa, seemingly shying away from me.
"Um, you're name is Robin, right?" The girl asked, who's most defining feature was a faded pink bonnet that held most of her blonde hair. When I confirmed her question to be true, she beamed at me and held my hand with both of hers in joy, to my surprise. "Thank you! You saved my life, another moment and that brute's axe would've cut my head clean off! I don't know how to repay you…"
"I'm glad to see you're safe, that's all. I don't deserve anything you own, I just did what any person would if they could." It was the right thing to do, the last thing she needed was me taking her money or any of her possessions. However I wasn't able to walk away. Her grip held strong as she inched closer into my personal space.
"Oh, such a gentleman! No need to be so modest. You should spend the night here, I'm sure the townspeople will cook up a storm for you heroes! Also, I'd like to know more about the brilliant tactician that saved my life. We can get together later tonight and chat, if you have the time…" It might just be me, but I swear she was caressing the palm of my hand with her fingers at the mention of spending some alone time together, her teal eyes unsettlingly fixed on mine. The attention was distracting...
"AHEM! I'm sorry to interrupt you two, but we have to get going now," It was Frederick who shattered me out of my daze. next to the knight was Lissa, who gave a signifying "your welcome" wink. The village maiden, disappointed, let me go and took a few steps back in embarrassment. Thank the gods. I could feel the heat radiating from my cheeks and the two could see it.
"I-I appreciate the offer miss, but I have to decline unfortunately," I played along with Frederick's save, though my delivery could use some work as the words tumbled out of my mouth. She seemed to understand, still a little let down however. She politely nodded and left to thank the three Shepherds and then waved us (me especially) farewell as she left to return home. In the meantime I took a breather, I was exhausted, physically and emotionally.
"Hey, thanks Frederick."
"Humph, I was only repeating what my liege wishes. Unfortunately, we aren't staying here for the night, as we need to reach Ylisstol as soon as we are able to."
"Ylisstol? Is that a place?"
"Oh yeah! You don't know Ylisstol do you? It's the capital of Ylisse, where we live!" Lissa explained, with my thanks.
"Well said, little sister. Sorry for the wait Robin, I had to talk with the Mayor of Southtown, he offered us to stay and rest, but we need to move on to the capital."
"Wait." I asked, "What about Garrick?" My tone deepened at the fiend's name, Chrom took notice and held his hand in calm proposition.
"Don't worry about him. I discussed that with the Mayor, and he agreed to keep him detained until we send troops to collect him for questioning. It's not like he can fight a whole village alone with a single hand, whilst said hand is tied up."
Good riddance. If the bandit wasn't holding the village maiden hostage, I would have been able to drive my sword into his heart. The best I could do in the impromptu situation was cut his hand off before he beheaded the poor woman.
"But before we go. Robin, thank you for your help with these bandits, if it weren't for you, I don't think this would have ended so well. I hope you accept my invitation to join us as a Shepherd, you have lost your memories, and it would be an injustice to leave you alone to figure out your past, especially someone as capable as you."
"Milord, are you sure to place so much of your trust in this man? He is a capable tactician, yes. But we barely know him."
"Yes, he fought to save Ylissean lives, my heart says that's enough."
"And your mind, milord? Will you now heed its council as well?"
"Frederick, the Shepherds could use someone with Robin's talents. We've brigands and unruly neighbors, all looking to bloody our soil. Would you really have us lose such an able tactician? Besides, I believe his story, odd as it might be."
"Frederick," I interrupted. "I am more than happy to fight for Ylisse, you seem like good people, and you helped me even though I can't remember my past. I would be honoured to join the Shepherds, if you will have me."
The knight gave a defeated sigh as Chrom placed his hand on my shoulder in acceptance.
"Wow Robin, even guys are smitten by your charms," Both of us turned our heads towards Lissa, who coyly looked at us, giggling at her own jape. Chrom gave one last tap on my shoulder as he sprinted at his sister, who already had a lead on him as the two chased each other.
"Quite a handful, aren't they, Frederick the Wary?"
Frederick sighed, "Yes, they are."
Thanks for reading! I'm working on chapter 2 and it will be out soon :)
Feel free to give feedback, questions or just any comment if you feel like it: your life, your choice.