So uh... Hey, this is something I just started writing out of boredom. My first fanfic ever. Hope you enjoy!
"Chrom, we have to do something!"
"What do you propose we do?"
"I... I dunno..."
A man woke up in a field in Ylisse to see two figures standing over him.
"I see you're awake now."
"Hey there!"
"There're better places to take a nap than on the ground, you know. Give me your hand. Welcome back. It's over now."
As he was standing up, the white haired tactician, Robin, noticed something. The mark on the back of his hand... It was gone! He stared blankly at the two people in front of him, a blue haired prince about his age, and a blonde princess a few years younger than the two of them. Chrom and Lissa, he thought, it's them. REALLY them. I'm... I'm back! I'm alive! And I...
Suddenly, Robin collapsed under his own weight.
"Woah!" shouted Chrom, catching his friend. "Let's uh... Sit down for a minute, shall we?"
"How are you feeling?" Lissa asked, handing Robin an elixir.
"Lissa, I can see three of you right now. There is an incredibly loud buzzing in my ears, and even if my legs had the strength to hold me up, I'm far too dizzy to stand." Then Robin smiled. "And I've never felt better! We did it! ...Grima... He's gone? Really gone?"
Chrom nodded. "We can show you his remains, if you'd like. After you've gotten some rest. Once that elixir kicks in, we're taking you back to Ylisstol. You can rest there."
"Everyone is gonna be so thrilled to see you again! We all missed you so much!" added Lissa.
Robin laid down on the ground and closed his eyes, still grinning from ear to ear. "So, tell me, how long's it been? Lucina and Morgan... Are they at the castle? When can I see them?"
"It's uh... It's been a year, Robin." said Chrom.
The smile quickly faded from Robin's face. "A year... A whole year... Oh." he replied, disappointed. "...Gods, Lucina and Morgan must be so mad at me."
"If you were feeling better, I'd kick your teeth in for breaking my daughter's heart like that." said Chrom, only half-jokingly. "As it is, though, I'm just glad you're alive."
"...I can't tell you how bad I feel, abandoning them like that." said Robin. "But... I couldn't have lived with myself, if I'd allowed Grima to return someday. And I knew our bonds were strong enough... I knew I'd be able to return. Chrom, you know I'd never have left her by choice."
"I know, I know." said Chrom. "She'll be thrilled to know you've come back. Lucina and Morgan are actually out looking for you right now! Along with most of the others. I'll have to send out a notice letting them know the search has ended. The Shepherds have gone to the ends of the earth trying to find you. ...We all missed you, Robin."
He paused and laid down, staring up at the sky. "...Lucina left shortly after you, well, 'died.' You know how she can get, thinking she didn't belong in Ylisstol. She said she was going to look for you, but of course, she neglected to tell me just where."
Robin's face dropped and a mixture of sadness and thought crossed it. "I... I see..." he said, disappointed.
"She left a letter with us, just in case we found you." said Chrom. "I'll get it to you once we're back at the castle. I haven't read it yet."
Robin sat there thinking for a moment. Eventually, though, he perked his head up, still sad, but with a glimmer of hope. "So... Morgan's not with her, then?"
"No, Morgan-"
"Let me guess. She's searching for me around the capital of Regna Ferox."
"I- Yes... How did you-"
"Simple. She's your granddaughter, you love her as much as I do." began Robin "And she wanted to go looking for me. But you'd never trust her exploring alone somewhere. So you needed her to go somewhere safe, where someone could keep an eye on her. And the only person who has the ability to pull that off and who you'd trust with that task is..."
"Khan Flavia, exactly. Seems your mind is as sharp as ever." said Chrom. "If I had my way, they'd both still be in Ylisse, but even as the Exalt, I couldn't force them to stay. Anyway, you'll be relieved to know your daughter has a few Feroxi spies making sure she stays out of trouble. From a distance, of course."
Robin raised an eyebrow at the prince. "Shall I start calling you 'Chrom the Wary?' Frederick's really been rubbing off on you."
This earned a laugh from Lissa. "I told you, Chrom! Ever since Lucina was born, you've been getting real overprotective."
"Well, gods forbid one of us keeps-" Chrom stopped himself when he realized he was about to repeat exactly what Frederick had said upon their first meeting, nearly four years ago. Gods, had it really been so long?
"Frederick, impersonating royalty is a crime, you know." teased Robin, a devilish smirk on his face. "Wherever did you find such convincing hair dye? And how did you train your voice like that? I must say, I'm impressed."
Chrom merely sighed and glared at Robin. "You know, I didn't have to give you my blessing to marry my daughter."
"That's awfully nice of you, Frederick, but I'm not sure Lucina would be okay with me marrying Severa."
Chrom stared at Robin with the most threatening look he could muster. Of course, it only took a few seconds before the young Exalt's death glare broke and he began laughing. "It's great to have you back, Robin." said Chrom after he'd finally stopped.
"And it's great to be back." said the tactician, grinning. "Here, help me up."
Lissa and Chrom quickly took to their feet and grabbed each of Robin's arms.
"I'm feeling a bit better. Let's head back to Ylisstol. I need some sleep, and I'd rather not take a nap on the ground. There are better places, you know?" Robin quipped.
Robin awoke in the castle of Ylisstol to find many of his symptoms cured. The dizziness, nausea, and tinnitus had all faded thanks to sleep and a healthy dose of good old fashioned healing magic.
On the nightstand next to his bed was a small envelope, marked with his name in Lucina's handwriting. ...Or, more likely, Chrom's best imitation of Lucina's handwriting. There was no way Chrom hadn't already opened the letter, if only out of concern for Lucina.
Robin unsealed it and laid back down on the bed to begin reading.
Robin,
If you're reading this, it means my father has found you, and that you're alright. As I'm writing this, it's been about a month since the battle with Grima.
I'm sorry, but I can't stay here in Ylisstol waiting for you. I've decided to go on a journey to look for you.
I need to do this on my own. Everyone else has duties they need to attend to, but I've felt nothing but lost since that battle. This castle isn't the place or time for me. There's nothing I want more than to build a new life in this world with you. To start a family and grow old together. But I can't do that here. This castle and this royal life are for the younger version of me.
Morgan is a strong girl. She takes after her father. Every time I see her, I'm reminded of you. ...I can't ask her to come with me, Robin. She fits in so well here at the castle. I can't take that life from her. I'm travelling all around the world, and it'll be dangerous. I need her to be safe, more than anything.
...I don't know how to be a mother, Robin. I see my own mother with the younger version of myself, and with Morgan, and she's so much better at this than I could ever hope to be. I think Morgan will be better off here with her grandparents than travelling the world with me. When you get back, take care of her for me. She idolizes you, you know.
I know it couldn't have been an easy decision for you, to kill Grima. I understand why you needed to do it, though. If I know you at all, you're beating yourself up over it.
Don't. You did the right thing. You gave the future that I fought for to millions of others. It was a noble choice.
Promise me, though, you won't get yourself killed again. No matter how desperate a situation may look, I swear we'll find a way through it together.
I miss you. More than you could ever know.
I love you, Robin, and I always will. We'll meet again soon. I promise.
-Lucina
Robin merely held the letter close to his chest and laid there for a while. He still had no desire to move. He missed her so much, and that letter was the one thing he had of her.
It was close to an hour before he finally found the will to stand up and walk around the castle.
He still had some trouble walking on his own, so the royal infirmary provided him with a pair of crutches.
The tactician slowly made his way through the castle to join his best friend (and future father-in-law) for breakfast.
"Gods, it's so... Empty here. I remember how this hall was with the rest of the Shepherds..."
Chrom was sorting through papers and mostly ignoring the breakfast next to him.
"Cordelia and Frederick are still in town. She's the new captain of the Pegasus Knights, so she stays near Ylisstol, and of course, Frederick is still my lieutenant. ...It's no wonder those two married, with how dedicated they are... The royal family is also here. Sumia, Lissa, Lon'qu, Emmeryn, and myself... We all still live here in Ylisstol. The rest of the Shepherds either returned to whatever duties they had or formed search parties to find their beloved tactician."
"Once again, deeply, deeply sorry I caused you all so much trouble."
Chrom dismissed the thought with a wave of his hand. "I'll send out letters today. The world shall hear of your triumphant return soon enough!"
"I'd much like to greet Morgan in person, actually, since Regna Ferox is so close."
"Suit yourself. I'll also be sending a team of pegasus knights to look for Lucina. There are rumors placing her in Valm, but we're not sure of how true they are."
"Then I'll go with them."
The prince looked up at his friend with one of the iciest glares Robin had ever seen.
"...Robin, you can't be serious. Sending you to Regna Ferox is one thing, but I'm not going to let you run around the entire world in your condition. If you get killed under my watch, Lucina will kill me."
"Condition!? I'm fine." he lied. "Chrom, I'm a grown man, I can take care of myself. And I'm going to find my fiance. I... She's looking all over the world for me. If I can't do the same for her, what sort of person am I?"
"The kind who doesn't risk his life to punish himself. The proper tactical decision would be to wait here for my knights to find her, and you know it. Your hero complex is going to get you killed. Again. Lucina wouldn't want that, would she?"
Yep, he definitely read that letter.
"...Fine. I won't go looking for Lucina." the tactician said. "But I'm still heading to Regna Ferox to meet with my daughter."
"And I wouldn't have it any other way." said Chrom, smiling. "By the way, roughly half of this paperwork is for you." he said, pushing a rather large stack of papers towards Robin. "Turns out, Validar's claim to the Plegian throne was legitimate, making you the new king of Plegia!"
"...Chrom that's not funny."
Robin flipped through some of the papers in front of him.
"...Oh gods you're serious. Can't I abdicate!?"
"Figured you'd say that. Sign the one paper on the bottom. Flavia and I will continue to handle the reconstruction of Plegia, then."
"Much appreciated. I've no desire to be reminded of my ancestry." said Robin, quickly scratching down his name on a page labelled An Act Disestablishing the Plegian Monarchy.
Chrom glared at the large portrait behind him - the previous Exalt, his father - and sighed. He'd have had it destroyed years ago, if the royal court would let him. "I know the feeling, Robin."
"I... I'm sorry."
"Don't be." Chrom finally stopped going through his paperwork long enough to realize that the castle servants had brought him breakfast.
"...Gods, Robin, you must be starving. I'll have the servants bring you something."
The two chatted for a few hours, Chrom catching Robin up on the goings on of the various Shepherds. Cynthia and Gerome were off visiting his parents, Virion and Cherche, in Rosanne. They got engaged just after the war. Owain mumbled something about a quest to "stay his sword hand" after the war and ventured off, dragging his girlfriend Severa with him, promising his mother he'd keep an eye out for Robin. Owain wrote to Lissa and Lon'qu regularly to describe tales of his heroics, while Severa also wrote them regularly to clarify just how much of Owain's stories were outright fabrications.
Outside of the royal family, Chrom wasn't exactly sure of where all the remaining Shepherds were. He still kept in contact with Virion, Say'ri, and the Khans for diplomatic purposes. They had gone back to ruling their respective countries. Lissa was always in touch with Maribelle, who had become a magistrate back in Themis. Her husband, Vaike, still served in the Ylissean army, training new recruits. Stahl and Sully married and became Ylissean generals, leading the "official" search parties for Robin throughout Ylisse. Tiki, Nah, and Nowi regularly flew into Ylisstol to visit, with Nowi dragging Ricken along. Being dragons, they had an easier time traversing the world than the other Shepherds. Kellam was still under Ylissean command... At least, Chrom thought he was. He couldn't remember. Beyond that, the remainder of the Shepherds tended their resignations shortly after the war and went off to their own lives.
Despite the fact that it meant he'd likely never see many of them again, Chrom was proud of the fact that his friends no longer had to worry about war. They could pursue their own dreams. Hunting them down to tell them about Robin's return shouldn't be too difficult, anyways.
Mostly, though, Robin kept asking about Lucina and Morgan. It was clear just how much he missed them, and after much begging, Chrom finally agreed to send Robin, along with a small convoy, to Regna Ferox first thing in the morning. Chrom had wanted Robin to wait and rest for a few days, but relented once he saw just how much it meant to Robin.
Robin spent the rest of the day meeting with his old friends who were still in town. They were absolutely thrilled to see him, though Robin's mind was on other things. In the morning, he'd set off to see Morgan. For the first time in a year.
It was good to be back.