The air was crackling under her fingertips.
Crimson eyes narrowed as a lone figure slipped away from the battle raging at the Dragon's Table. Leaving the sounds of war behind them, they stumbled up the steps with a sword in their hands and sweat dripping from their forehead. Skin flushed and shivering, fear reflected in their eyes.
Robin did not care. She just grinned and flexed her fingers, relishing in the heavy ozone that danced at her fingertips.
The figure drew back their cape and there stood Chrom, Exalt of Ylisse and the man she despised beyond anything else. His blue eyes were wide with fear before they narrowed in determination. Robin just let her grin die down into a smirk. She had expected him to reach this sacred place and challenge her. Little did he know, he was all she needed.
"Cease this at once," Chrom demanded, his shoulders tightening as the Shepherds behind him struggled through her ranks, fighting without the very tactics they had abandoned. "Are you a fool? What you're about to do will bring about the end of us all!"
Robin laughed and watched as his determination wavered. "Oh? Do you truly believe that I, the very queen of Plegia, would listen to your demands?" The young ruler delicately lifted her arm and watched as her airy, dark mage-inspired attire shimmered like the scales of a dragon. "I believe that you are the foolish one, Exalt." Her eyes chilled as she appraised him, examining every inch of him and finding just where his weaknesses were, such as the chink in his shoulder armor or the direct line of metal from his neck to his heart, where a lightning bolt would end him if given the chance.
The young man gritted his teeth. In his blue eyes shimmered desperation, a clear opposite to Robin's cold, uncaring nature. While she cared nothing, he cared about everything. "Grima will bring nothing but destruction," he swore, his sword shifting and glowing softly with a few rays of moonlight that trickled in through a skylight above the altar. "A monster set only on destruction will bring just that, destruction. It will decimate your kingdom without question. What could you possibly gain from awakening such a beast?"
The young queen brushed some of her ivory hair aside and narrowed her eyes at the exhausted Exalt, standing tall atop of a staircase he had yet to climb. The man had to tilt his chin up to hold eye contact. The thought amused her. She was in control, not him. "Everything," she stated simply. "Grima will spare Plegia and fly straight for your halidom. There, Grima will burn your precious lands to the ground and devour your people." Chrom's face contorted in raw terror, bringing a surge of joy to Robin's chest. "I will be there, watching as your castle burns. I will tear your walls down brick by brick and watching everything you inherited from your dear sister slip right out of your grasp."
Chrom lifted his chin to look over her head, making the young woman snort in disgust. "That is a declaration of war," he warned. "If you attack my Ylisse, I will have no choice but to attack Plegia. Tell me, can your people survive another war? Can you spare your men and resources in pointless bloodshed?" Robin stared at him in amusement before laughing and uncurling her right hand. Purple flames burst from her palm before being consumed by the air. Behind Chrom, men screeched and fought with true desperation. His forces were diminishing quickly and soon, only the Shepherds would remain.
"You come to me in the middle of battle and try to negotiate peace," she sneered. "It seems Gangrel was right about you. You are too hopeful for your own good." The man clenched his teeth and lowered his eyes to his Falchion, watching as it shimmered in a haunting shade of white. "My war began long ago, from the moment you set foot in my kingdom." Robin stopped and scrunched her nose in thought. "No," she snarled, exposing elongated canine teeth. "This war began the minute you made your fatal mistake. You brought this upon your halidom the moment you courted Maribelle!"
Chrom looked at her in shock before fighting to seem strong, as if her words had impacted him. Despite a weak look in his eyes, he remained silent. The queen of Plegia scowled in retaliation before letting a stifled flame ignite in her stomach.
"You promised me the world and instead you ran straight for your precious little wife. You married a sniveling, rotten dog after you had courted me, your very tactician! You ruined me and then left me," she snapped, her voice loud and snapping with fury. "What man would marry a tainted woman, one who had been marred by your hand? I deserved to rule Ylisse by your side!"
"I'm sorry," Chrom choked. His eyes gleamed with sorrow and for a moment Robin felt sorry for him. In a flash she remembered countless sleepless nights and unkept promises, of fighting in a bloody war with the promise of love only for it to be snatched away by someone unworthy. Her hands shook and a bolt curved down her spine.
"You are too late," she snarled. "Seven years too late." Abruptly she snapped her right hand closed before using it to hurl a purple ball of fire at the blue-haired man. Chrom leaped back and the flames flickered where he had stood moments before. Robin dropped to a crouch and then charged, screeching in a way that hardly sounded human.
The man doubled back as she summoned lightning in her palms and manipulated it like twin blades, slashing and snarling at the Exalt. Chrom lifted his sword and the world exploded with light as their attacks connected. Robin held her ground with no effort at all, watching in twisted fascination as her opponent struggled to hold her back.
"But I have something better than your miserable halidom," she taunted, shrugging her shoulders at his struggling. "I retreated to Plegia and became a queen with power to rival a conqueror. The people worship me, Chrom. They worship my every breath and the blood that runs through my veins." She flicked her wrist and knocked the man back, standing there as he stumbled and raced to his feet. Chrom lunged for her again but she took her time to draw her sword from her scabbard and lift it in another effortless block.
"They worship me because I am power. They worship me because I am wisdom. They worship me because I am beauty," she said with perfect calm, her eyes gleaming red above her deep brown irises. "I am everything and anything. None dare oppose me. They worship the blood in my veins because I am everything they have been asking for. I am the ruler they sought when your father decimated their land. I am the queen the dreamed of when you cut Gangrel's head from his shoulders."
She once again flung her assailant aside and again he charged back, his eyes wild and filled with fury. Robin's blade met his and she leaned towards him, smirking as she delivered the message she had been planning for many months in preparation of their final encounter.
"I have the blood of a dragon flowing through my veins," Robin laughed. "I am born of perfection, Chrom. Inside of me lies the key to my victory and something that you cannot fight." The air around them became hauntingly still and Chrom foolishly looked over his shoulder to find the reason why. Taking advantage of his weakness, Robin forced him back and slashed at his face with razor claws. The man hit the floor and found his precious band of Shepherds locked in helplessness, defeated but alive. Chrom snarled in anger and lifted himself to his feet to glare at Robin.
"I will defeat you," he vowed. His legs quivered below him but he held his head high in defiance. "You are a danger to my halidom and every other kingdom on this earth. So help me Naga, I will vanquish you by my blade just as I have Gangrel!"
Robin threw her head back and laughed, shutting her eyes and listening to her followers murmur from the shadows. Chrom, taking her mirth as an opportunity, rushed forwards and aimed his blade for her neck. A single red eye snapped open and the queen shoved her hand out. Abruptly, Chrom was jerked back and he gasped in pain as dark tendrils of purple mist wrapped around him and held him in place, burning through his armor and scalding his skin.
"You cannot defeat me," Robin corrected, her voice low and menacing, "because I am above your mortal realm of existence." She breathed out and from her breath spawned purple flames that danced eagerly just centimeters from Chrom's face. Her snarled as a miniature, shadowy form swirled around her and took the shape of a terrible beast. His eyes widened in absolute horror.
"No," he choked, "it cannot be..."
Robin spoke once again, though this time, her voice was amplified and cloaked in the voice of another, a raspy voice that brought absolute terror to anyone who heard it speak. "You cannot defeat me because I am Grima," she finished at last, her mouth bursting in a devious, unnerving grin. "I am of Fell blood. I am worshiped because I am the Grima that they desired."
Robin lifted her right hand and a vibrant light swallowed her body. When the white faded, Chrom found her to be holding a Thoron in her palm, the energy bursting and taking great leaps to rush into the ground and disperse. The woman lifted her chin and unceremoniously dropped the Exalt to his knees.
"Farewell Exalt," she cooed. She then spun around and drove the bolt straight through his chest, watching as the light died from his blue eyes and his mouth opened with one final gasp. Crimson trickled from his wound and stained her fingers as she held her weapon steady, waiting for the moment when the man drew his final breath and he withered in front of her.
"...I may die," Chrom gasped, his voice strangled and faint, "but what I stood for will live on. Those who fight for peace will always challenge those who seek power. A conqueror...always meets his end."
Robin leaned in and whispered in his ear, blissfully aware of the heat leaving his dying body. "Those who are sinful by nature will always find a way," she mocked. "I will conquer your halidom and watch your family burn, Chrom. I will not rest until everything you stood for, everything you ever loved, is dead." She pulled back and watched the man stare at her in unbridled panic. His eyes slowly fell shut and soon his body slumped over her electrical weapon, cold and lifeless.
The queen of Plegia yanked her weapon from his body and watched him crumple at her feet, never to move again. She took a triumphant breath before blasting the bolt into a brazier, causing the fire to explode in a blinding flash of light. The host of Grima walked slowly down the stairs as the dragon fluttering behind her faded away, leaving only the striking visage of the fell blood ruler. She stopped only when she reached her soldiers, who were each holding a Shepherd still as they stood in shock, unable to comprehend Chrom's death. Robin glanced at them until she found the fastest man of their band, a thief with orange hair that she remembered bitterly as Gaius. She called off the officer holding him back and he stumbled to the floor, blood dripping from a few cuts on his chest.
Gaius pushed himself to his feet and charged at Robin, but the woman simply grabbed his wrist before he could draw his sword and he froze, rendered motionless by the same magic that had immobilized his fallen ruler. "You are the fastest of the Shepherds, are you not?" He remained silently, but she continued as if he had responded. "You will ride ahead of the others and deliver a message to the Ylisstol. I want you to tell the entire village and castle that Chrom, their Exalt, is dead. Tell them that I, Robin, the queen of Plegia, have slain him by my own hand."
The man drew a strangled breath in through his nose and scowled at the woman with white hair. "And if I refused," he challenged, though his eyes held fear within them. Robin just smiled sweetly and traced a dragon-like claw against his cheek, earning a hiss in response. She watched the blood drip from the new gash on his cheek before brushing some displaced hair back from her forehead, her fingers lingering against her golden crown.
"Then I will kill you and the rest of the Shepherds right here in this room," she replied. "I want a message delivered. If you will not comply, I will send a man of my own to spread the news." Gaius said nothing but his gaze gave him away. In his eyes swirled forfeit and the queen chuckled at the sight. She released him and waved a hand towards her open door as if shooing a fly. "Now leave. I have important matters to attend to, such as dealing with this dead body in my ritual area."
A few of the Shepherds tried to follow her, no doubt seeking to collect their Exalt's fallen form. However, Robin managed to convince them to follow their impromptu messenger by both sword-point and a few purple flames of her own. Soon the hall was empty with the exception of her men, who stood tall despite the number of fallen comrades lying on the floor. Her commander rushed forward, bloodstained and beaten in his sorcerer's cloak, and Robin stood by to listen to him as she separated the Falchion from Chrom's iced hand.
"Your Excellency," he chirped, his eyes never leaving her face. "What are your orders?"
Robin bent over and collected the bloodied blade, her eyes taking in every inch of the legendary sword. Slowly, she began to smile. She turned her eyes to her commander and gingerly held the Falchion in her hands. "Follow them," she said cooly. "Once the news has been delivered, I want my men destroying Ylisse. Send in the wyvern riders as well. I want this done to perfection, understand?"
The man nodded and turned away, already on his way to fulfill his orders. The queen watched for an instant before looking down at the blade in her hands. "Wait," she ordered, and the man froze in place. She smiled lovingly at the Falchion before beckoning the commander back with a single hand. He bounced back and ran a hand through his white hair, a smile never leaving his face. The queen examined him before presenting him with the sword, earning a few confused murmurs from her ranks. "I would like you to delivery this for me, Henry. I believe a certain princess would be very happy to have her own sword, would she not? Make sure she receives this, as a gift from the queen of Plegia."
Henry laughed. "A special delivery, eh? I'll be sure to give this to little miss Lucina." He then turned around and started shouting out orders, sending the men left in the room into a frenzy. Robin watched her men leave with a smile before walking back to the altar, taking extra care to roll over Chrom's body with her shoes. She then stopped under her skylight and looked at the fallen Exalt with clear scorn in her eyes.
"Foolish Exalt," she cooed. "You cannot stop Grima. I am the fell dragon, and I shall tear your halidom down piece by piece."
Author's Note: I recently had a burst of inspiration for something Fire Emblem related and I decided it would be fun to explore the Grima side of Little Bird, which seemed to be the most popular iteration of Robin I write. In the Grima timeline, Robin runs off to Plegia after being tossed aside, where she becomes queen with the help of Validar. One ruler, she quickly gains power and support for being of fell blood, which becomes something she loves after seeing how it made people adore her. As such, the scene where Chrom dies is very different.
Yes, this does mean that Little Bird never saw the vision of her killing Chrom when Grima stole her memories. She saw something much different instead...