What she deserves
Tiresome as they were, the meetings with the merchant guild were a necessary evil that Robin didn't mind taking upon herself. The end of the Valmese War opened up plenty of trade routes and stops for the Halidom and it was her duty as both queen and grandmaster to coordinate it. Sure, she could delegate the work to the merchant families, but she didn't trust those greedy nobles.
'Maybe I could do something nice with Chrom tonight. I still got that lingerie Cherche gifted me last month,' she thought, her cheek gaining a rosy tint as she smiled at the thought. With Lucina spending time with her future self and Morgan, she and Chrom finally had some time for themselves.
Closing the door to her office, Robin stretched her arms above her head and mulled over if she should take a nap before continuing her work.
"Tsk, peace really made you soft to let your guard down," a voice said behind her, alerting her that she wasn't alone in her office.
Robin didn't get to turn around before darkness took her as her body crumpled on the floor.
Robin awoke with her head feeling like a herd of pegasi had stampeded over it. Blinking slowly, she tried to move only to find her arms and legs bound. Her eyes widened in fear, looking around the area.
"Yes….Perfect… Every scar matches," a voice said in an excited tone. Looking to the side, she saw the silhouette of a woman writing something on a notebook. "Ah! You're awake."
"Who–?" The words died on her lips as her captor turned around. Standing before her was a perfect copy of herself. Flashbacks to the battle with Grima less than a year ago rushed through her head, replacing the fog of confusion with primal fear. "You– Grima?! How can you be–!?"
"Don't call me that!" her doppelganger shouted, slapping her across the face hard enough to make her mouth bleed. "Don't you dare! Not you too!"
Robin spat blood on the floor. "Who… Who are you?"
Her double gave a condescending smirk. "Isn't it obvious? I'm you. Or a 'you' that you could've been."
"W-What do you mean?" Robin asked as she tested her restraints.
The other Robin dismissed her struggle with a wave of her hand. "Don't bother. No one can hear us here and those restraints nullify all magic, so you won't be escaping," she explained, sitting on a stool, and watching her intently. "As for your question, I suppose you deserve an explanation."
Robin stopped, hoping the explanation gave her the time to figure out a way to escape.
"I take it you are familiar with the Outrealms?"
Of course she was familiar with the concept. The children from the future had used the gate to come back to the past and stop Grima. "So you come from one? Another world, just like this one?"
The other Robin gave her a wide smile that sent a shiver down her spine. "Yes. I crawled my way out of my world into this one after I killed Grima."
"What?!" Robin shouted, stopping her struggles to look at her twin. "You killed Grima!? B-But you are alive! Naga said–!"
A dark expression crossed her double's face. "Yes…turns out it's not as lethal as Naga made it out to be."
"Oh gods..." Robin whispered, remembering how Chrom sent Grima back to sleep. Every day she lived with the guilt that in the future others will suffer for her cowardice, with only her friends and family's support keeping her from despair. It had gotten easier with time, but the weight still remained. Still, something confused her about the statement. "But if you survived, why are you here and not in your world? Why are you doing this to me?"
Her double narrowed her eyes. "Bonds," she said, practically spitting the word.
That confused the queen. "What?"
"Bonds! I want to understand why your bonds were stronger!" the other Robin screamed, rage and madness glowing in her eyes, making the queen recoil in fear. "I checked your memories. Our lives were identical until the truth of our lineage came out. Your Shepherds stood behind you. Chrom stood behind you..." her voice trailed off as her eyes took a sad, longing look. "But me… They abandoned me!" she shouted, slamming her fist against the stone wall as tears fell on the floor.
"T-they what?"
"Are you deaf?" the other Robin snarled, face twisting in pain at the memories. "They abandoned me! After Validar took control of me, they lost their faith in me, sure that I would betray them and lead them to their deaths." She looked like someone was twisting a dagger in her chest. She gritted her teeth while her fists were clenched so hard that her nails dug into her skin, drawing blood.
Robin could only imagine all that she went through.
The other Robin's gaze stared at nothing, lost in the memories. "I can remember it vividly…Chrom's eyes filled with distrust… Morgan couldn't look at me… Lucina… Lucina tried to kill me! My own daughter!" she shouted, tears flowing freely.
"No…" She remembered that day when Falchion was pointed at her chest.
"I couldn't do anything to her, though… How could I? I offered my life, but Chrom stopped Lucina. I thought he still trusted me… Still loved me…" she added with a bitter smile, making Robin remember that day that ended with heartfelt tears of love and a warm embrace.
It was clear that it was not the case for her captor.
"But he only did so because Naga told him to. He still needed a tactician, after all. The threat of Grima was worth the risk," the other Robin said, leaning against the wall with a lost expression.
Robin didn't know what to say. It was a fear she had during their escape from the Plegian castle. The events she mentioned were the same up until the confrontation with Lucina. Her Lucy couldn't strike her down, dropping Falchion as she cried in her mother's arms. After that, the Shepherds solidified their trust in her.
"I hoped that it would prove I was not Grima…" her double continued, casting a small spell to heal her hand. "But no matter what I did, I couldn't regain their trust. And even when I delivered the final blow to the Fell Dragon, making sure it would never threaten anyone ever again? You know what I saw on their faces as I banished?" she asked, but not giving her prisoner the chance to respond, too lost in her rage. "Disgust! As the wind took my broken body I could hear the whispers! How they were glad that my tainted blood finally disappeared!"
Robin looked down, now understanding the pain she could have suffered. After all, here was the incarnation of her fears in the flesh. What she could've been had life taken a different turn.
"But you!" the other Robin snarled, slamming her hands on the wall and placing their facing barely an inch apart. "You ran! I died for them and they hated me while you ran and they love you! All that talk about bonds helping me return was bullshit! I had to pull myself together in the void only to realize I no longer had a place in my world while you... How?! How is that fair?! Why does a coward like you gets to be happy?!"
Robin gulped, trying not to set off the unstable woman. "You… You need help. Please, let me go and I can help you."
"Help me?" Her double gave a madness-filled giggle. "Yes, you will help me. You will help me get what I want. What I deserve!"
Fear gripped Robin's heart at those words. "W-What are you planning?"
The smile her double got could've scared Grima to death. "It's quite simple really. I will be taking your life for myself."
The words were like a sledgehammer for the queen. "You… You plan on replacing me?! It will never work! Naga–!"
"Is asleep," her double finished for her, shattering her hopes. "Turns out that sending her power into Falchion and banishing Grima took a lot out of her, so she will be out of commission for a long time. And luckily for me, your brand also disappeared once Grima was banished. So everything is in place." The other Robin ran a hand through her long, white hair, smirking at her prisoner. "Thank you for not cutting your hair, by the way. I think we look better like this."
"They will never believe you are me!" Robin shouted, fighting at her bonds with renewed strength. She needed to escape.
Her captor laughed, looking down on her with a spiteful and condescending gaze. "And why not? Our lives are identical up until that fateful moment. I checked and even our scars match. As for the missing spots, well, there are quite a few useful hexes that allow the caster to look into someone's memories," she said, tapping her forehead. That explained the horrible headache she felt. "Thanks to that, I have everything I need to take my rightful place once again as Queen Robin Lowell, wife of Exalt Chrom."
The usurper roughly grabbed Robin's head forcing her to lock their gazes. Her double's eyes were a window to the insanity that laid within.
"And I only have this chance because you didn't kill Grima, forcing Naga into slumber! Isn't that great?!" she said, laughing in glee.
Tears filled Robin's eyes as her opposite let go of her head and she saw the wedding ring Chrom had given her in her double's finger. Lighting gathered in the palm, crackling with power as a deranged look took over the madwoman's features. It couldn't end like this. Not after all she had done. After all the hard fights and painful moments, only to end like this.
'Chrom. Lucina. Morgan. Everyone…'
The bolt flew.
"Ah what a day," Chrom said, grunting and stretching his muscles as he walked into his room. A satisfying pop relaxed the muscles of his back. Training with the guard was always a good way to unwind after a stressful meeting, but they still took out a lot from him. Quickly changing into just a pair of sleeping pants, he dropped into his bed ready to fall into slumber.
"Hard day, dear?"
Recognizing the voice of his wife coming out of the bathroom, the Exalt smiled. "Yeah, today was exhausting. How about you? How was the meeting with the guild?"
Her melodious laugh rang through the room. "I think you know the answer to that."
Her reply made him smile. "That I do."
"I was thinking we could use some unwinding tonight," she said with a playful tone, catching her husband's attention.
Hearing her steps, Chrom raised his head to greet her. "Oh? And what do you ha–"
His voice failed him. Robin stood at the door, her hair down with a sensual smile on her face. She was wearing a set of lacy black lingerie that made his heart beat faster and pushed the exhaustion out of his system.
"See something you like?" Robin said with a teasing smirk. "I think you could use a massage," she added, slowly crawling on top of him with a hungry look in her eyes and moving her hands over his bare chest.
"Wow, Robin. You look –hmph!" he stopped as she planted a deep kiss on his lips. He groaned as he felt her tongue explored in inside of his mouth. Pulling away, she bit his lip, making him groan. "Damn, honey. What's gotten into you?"
"Hmm, I decided to be a little more… forward with the things I want," she purred, pushing their bodies together.
Chrom felt her soft skin and soft breathing relax his aching muscle. "I could get used to this new side of yo–ohhhh," he trailed off when Robin nibbled on his ear.
"Don't worry my love," she whispered into his ear, sending shivers through his spine. "You're going to love the new me."
AN: A sort of what if of what could've happened to Rose from my main story, Shattered Reflection, has she fallen into dispair and no one was there to give her help or a purpose. It doesn't fit perfectly with the plot of my story, though, so I left this as a AU-AU. Been sitting on this for like...5 months and decided to finish it while talking with Arthur97. Thanks to Shipping Rates Apply and Xbro Kong for checking this up.