Author's Note: This one-shot is dedicated to my friend, Squish13, without whom it would have remained unwritten, just like my multi-chapter fanfiction. (Don't worry, I'm still working on that.)

It was Squish13's Let's Play of Fire Emblem: Shin Monshō no Nazo~Hikari to Kage no Eiyū, and her fanfiction, Bonds Through Time, that introduced me to this game. It was her Avatar, Hylia, who suffered the clingy affection of Katarina throughout the various prologues, and thus inspired this fanfiction. And finally, without Squishy's help beta-ing this piece, I would never have learned that Kris is actually as unknown to history as Kellam is.

But, Squish13 agrees with me that this fanfiction wouldn't be the same without Kris, so we're all going to pretend that Marth wasn't selfish, and instead forced Kris to enjoy his/her (in the fanfic, his) time in the spot-light. Thank you, and enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to any and all installments in the Fire Emblem franchise.

• {Katarina's Coat} •

Nah walked the border of the Shepherd's encampment, humming a somber tune to herself. Surrounding her was a quiet plain, situated just a few miles north-east of Ylisstol. The Shepherds had been given a day of rest to enjoy the beautiful sun and flowery field, but Nah found it hard to do so, knowing that tomorrow would resume their march towards Mount Prism, bringing closer the dangerous trail which awaited Chrom.

I do want to believe that everything will be alright, but I can't seem to stop worrying. I was always taught that Naga was a good goddess; but Lady Tiki warned Chrom that he will die if found unworthy. That doesn't make sense: Why would a "good goddess" kill one of her own people just because he asked for a favor? Why can't she just say "ah, no"?

Nah stopped walking, blushing at her own sarcasim. I... apologize, Lady Naga, if you heard that, she prayed, putting a hand over her eyes. Please, don't take your vengence out on Prince Chrom...

There was no reply.

Nah sighed in relief, taking the silence to mean that Naga hadn't heard, or was at least understanding of Nah's mental state at that moment. With a little smile, she continued her walk, only to have her second of peace disturbed by the whispers of her previous fears repeated in the back of her mind. Because a guilty conscience isn't enough... Nah grumbled.

I've been talking to myself for the past week, but I just can't be convinced out of my doubts. Maybe I should speak to some else, someone more charismatic, who can help me.

Nah knew who she would go to without even admitting to a name. In the two generations of Shepherds, there was only one man whom Nah could turn to, one friend she could trust even to witness her slightly psychotic rampages: Robin. pHe's different than the others. Nah thought, changing her course so as to cut through the tents, instead of circling round them. He did convince me to talk about my problems, rather than trying to handle it all myself. And his optimism may be the cure to my current doubts.

Nah had never been the kind of person to discuss things as intimate as feelings. In the Future, she was a bit of an outsider, having grown up without knowing her parents and raised apart from the other children. She didn't have the charisma of Owain and Inigo, or the friendliness of Cynthia. Her presence didn't command respect like Lucina, nor did people feel they had to protect or baby her like Yarne and Morgan. Even in this timeline, when she had had the opportunity to get to know and love her parents, it was hard to come out of her shell and speak up; her secrecy had become a habit, one not so uncomfortable that it demanded a change. And now, after meeting Robin and swapping whatever pressing secrets she did have with him, she would probably never grow in this area.

But that's not so bad - is it? Nah had reached her destination, so she tossed the thought aside, promising to let it bother her another day. She reached out to push aside the flap, only to stop suddenly with her hand poised on the fabric; an exclamation, very loud to her sharp ears, echoed from inside the canvas. It's significance was unknown to Nah - Pain? Sorrow? Frustration?

She threw open the door and swept inside. "Robin!" she cried, her right hand on the Dragonstone in her pocket. "What's wrong? Who's there!"

Robin was sitting at his desk. His hair was disheveled, his clock had been thrown on the floor, and he sat so lazily, it appeared as if his spine had melted. He stared, wide-eyed, at Nah for several moments. Slowly, he cleared his throat and said, "Uh, I'm here? Nothing's wrong. And if you're thinking I was attacked, you'd be right - just in a different way." Nah blinked her confusion, and Robin smiled sheepishly. "I'll explain, if you take a chair and put that dragon stone away." He pointed towards her bulging pocket. "I've seen what you can do with that thing."

Nah sighed, relieved, and did what the man asked. She pulled a wooden chair from the corner and sat before Robin, waiting a few moments before saying, "Um, could you sit like a gentleman in the presence of a lady? It really isn't dignified, considering you are my commanding officer."

"But it's my day-off...!" Robin whined. Nah prompted him with a look, until he rolled his eyes and straightened his body. "There. Is that satisfying, milady?"

"It's good enough, thank you. Now, what's this about you being attacked?"

"Ah, yes." Robin leaned forward, his face serious. "I was, my dear friend, assault by an egregious spasm of inane convulsions."

"...What?" Nah asked. Robin chuckled.

"I was laughing." He turned and picked a book off his desk, then handed it to Nah. It wasn't very thick, especially compared to some tomes she knew the tactician to read; it was also in better condition, and the crisp pages told of its young age.

"What is it?" Nah said, while turning over the cover to read the title. "'A Children's History of the Hero King and His Company'? Why would you have a silly book like this?"

"It's not silly," Robin retorted, swiping the book back. "I can't always be in the mood for battle strategies and reading about the best way to behead an enemy."

"Well, so-rry," Nah said, sighing. "Goodness, you're touchy this evening."

"I suspect we all are."

There was a moment of silence, in which Nah tried to think of a topic that had nothing to do with Chrom. Yet all she could think of was shiny swords, the color blue, and how much she hated unmatched boots. Obviously, now's not the time to ask for some consolation. She bit her lower lip, and decided to wait until Robin had something to say.

After another minute of him drumming his fingers against the desk, Robin sighed and began flipping through pages in his book. "I like reading simple things before bed," Robin explained, not looking up from his search, "it makes me feel good about myself. After an hour or so spent memorizing facts about King Marth or Prince Roy, I can close my eyes and say, 'well, that was easy!'"

"I suppose reading history would be like reading fairytales, after spending the day on complicated calvary formations."

"Exactly. Anyhow, I felt a need for that kind of pick-me-up today, so I decided to pull out this book. I was reading about a very interesting woman who was a soldier of Marth, and a dear friend to Kris. Ah-ha! Here she is: Katarina."

Robin pointed to a colored portrait of a young woman. She had short, purple hair, a very youthful face, large eyes, and a sorrowful expression. She was clutching a tome to her chest.

"Apparently, she was always hanging around Kris," Robin explained, beginning to smile. "The day they signed up as knights, bam! there they were, side-by-side. And she was always praising Kris and stood up for him whenever the other knights got testy. According to this text, she had a tendency to push Kris into battles - training or otherwise! This kid thought Kris was invincible."

Nah nodded. "I see. But why is that so interesting?"

"'Interesting'?" Robin repeated, eyes wide. "Nah, it's hilarious!" He grinned and turned back to the page. "During their time in training, Katharina would follow Kris around and praise him for how well he did in this battle or that training exercise. Mostly, she would gush about how 'Krisy inspires me to do so much better~!'"

Nah raised an eyebrow, but only said, "Yes. That's a bit funny."

"And, at the end of every day, she would present Kris with a cake or some such goodies which she always found time to bake."

"That's just weird. But so-"

"AND, eventually, Katarina started speaking of these conspiracy theories, always going on and on about how thus guy or that girl was jealous of Kris's progress or his position as commander of their squadron, and then would urge Kris to retaliate and make an example of the 'blasphemer'."

"Come now, you must be exaggerating-"

"Here's a reprint of a diary entry in which Kris tells of waking up one morning to find Katarina in his rooms, standing behind the door with a giant club in her hands! She claims it was in case any assassins might come in for him while he slept. Look!" Robin pointed to the page.

"So what?" Nah exclaimed, more loudly than she meant to. She was overwhelmed by Robin's unexpected enthusiasm.

He stared at her for a moment, his mouth slightly ajar. "You mean... you don't see the similarities?"

"Between who?"

"Katarina and Tharja!"

Nah blinked. "Huh?"

"Katarina is a nut, whose obsession with Kris is almost (I say I have it worse) as bad as Tharja's obsession with me! Hah, and philosophers claim we're a degraded generation." Robin shook his head. "If you ask me, people were always stupid."

Nah paused, trying to swallow all of Robin's speech. She knew quite a bit about history, especially events concerning the Hero-King's day; but she couldn't immediately recall any stories of Katarina's questionable mental state. Then one thought slipped through the gulf of forgetfulness, and a flood of trivia poured through.

And Nah smirked. "Robin, have you finished reading all of Katarina's story?"

"Hm? No. You interrupted me about half-way through."

"Oh. Well, you know Katarina was a tactician."

"Oh?" He glance at the page. "...Huh, what-a you know. Interesting."

"And that she was an assassin hired to infiltrate the army and kill Marth."

"...Wait, what?"

"Of course, they found out, but she escaped before they could apprehend her. I believe Kris personally watched her leave the castle grounds - maybe he wasn't as exasperated by her as you thought? It is believed she went to report to her master."

"Oh...?"

"And there's another bit of trivia I think you'll especially find fun: Katarina's cloak looks an awful lot like your own."

Robin looked down at the cloak on the floor. Nah reached over and took the book off the desk. She flipped two pages and laid the book down again, pointing to a new page and picture. The drawing revealed the same woman, Katarina, as from the previous page, but with a very different air about her. She was confident. She was strong.

"How curious that two woman could devote themselves so entirely to two men, and have the men ignore - or even slight! - their extreme affection." Nah said, still staring at the picture "...You know, looking again at this cloak, I wonder if perhaps Tharja is related to Katarina."

"What?!" Robin exclaimed. "But, why? I have the coat!"

"Yes, and that's why I wonder. Perhaps you attained the cloak by evil means, before you lost your memory. And now Tharja, a descendant of Katarina, has joined the Shepherds in order to take back what was stolen - the cloak. To do so, she is using her own ancestor's tactics of luring you into a false sense of security. But it isn't working, is it? And now that you're engaged, Tharja will have no choice but to accept her failure - and try a new, more certain course of action."

"Wh-what action?"

"I don't know." Nah said, yawning. "Well, I best be going! Sorry for rambling on for so long!"

Nah left the tent. Outside, she paused and thought, I hope that wasn't too cruel of me. No - a master tactician like Robin will be able to see that I was only joking. She smiled. History is fun!

"Chrom... Chrom!"

Chrom woke with a start. "What? Robin! What's going on: is it Risen or puppies or Validar-?"

"I've been keeping watching for the last five hours. It's your turn. Take this."

"A club? Watch for who?"

"Tharja, dummy. Now get up. I'm going to sleep..."

Ending Note: Now check out some of Squishy's stuff!

Let's Play Fire Emblem: New Mystery of the Emblem~Heroes of Light and Shadow - Youtube, HylianVoice

Bonds Through Time - Fanfiction, Squish13