My first story on here... And it just had to be one of my favourite Fire Emblem Awakening ships which to me, seems highly under-appreciated on here! Hahaha... Well, I hope that it is okay, and you all enjoy!

The smell of blood was quickly lost to the air in the midst of a sandstorm, and the metallic taste in the air was rapidly replaced with sand. Not often was Robin freed from that grim reminder that she was in the midst of combat – no, war – but the sting of wounds were capable of reminding her otherwise.

Blood was trickling down from her wrist to her tome, causing it damage which would not fare well when within this situation. Any damage – be it water, snow or creases – was enough to prevent the tome from working at its full power, if it even decided to work.

"Why-!"

The tactician had to quickly dive down to the side as an axe was swung towards her.

"Won't-!"

This time, her legs were the primary target, so she had to run as fast as she could away from the weapon.

"You… Die!"

She had fell down into the sand in her previous attempt to dodge. That, alongside her tome now being too damaged from blood to use, left her vulnerable.

The next thing that happened? A bloodcurdling scream. Her bloodcurdling scream. Yet at the same time… She could hear metal hit metal. A weapon, possibly?...

And then she found herself not in the middle of battle… But in her tent. In camp. "G- Gods… What was that?… A nightmare?..." She sat up from where she was lying, and shook her head, pushing what had happened to the back of her mind. It wasn't real. There was no chance of it being real. After all, her plans were still exactly where she had left them on her make-shift desk, consisting of a large crate, which used to be filled with a surplus of food long since consumed by the rest of the camp in the form of Sumia's pies.

With a faint laugh, she went to pull herself up to her feet, and she realised that there was a slight draft in her tent. "Must be windy still… Maybe I should put my coat on." She whispered, noticing her coat neatly folded on the top of a stack of her books.

Feeling the warmth provided to her from her coat was like a dream. It was one of her few possessions which had been with her from the start, from when she was found in the field in Ylisse by Chrom, Lissa and Frederick with naught but a name, the clothes on her back, her weapons… and a nightmare. "One year… It's been a year or so, hasn't it?..."

Crazy. It was crazy at how fast time had gone whilst with her new friends and allies.

Thinking of friends and allies… The tactician decided that it was for the best that she go and see them.

What a shock she was in for when she stepped outside her tent though. She noticed Vaike, out of anyone, asleep right beside her tent. "What?...Vaike?" She went to nudge the man, but felt a dull ache in her leg. "Ow… Must have slept on it funny or something."

Her mumbling was enough to awaken the buffoon known as 'teach', and just the sight of her was a shock to him. "Wh- Whaaaaat?! Oh no, I better go tell ol' Chrom that Robin's ghost is haunting the camp!"

"Gh- Ghost?! Vaike, what are you going on about?!" He had already by that point jumped to his feet, and began to run off. "Wait! Vaike!"

By that point, the ache was no longer so 'dull'. No, it was more like… A throbbing pain.

But what could he have meant… 'Robin's ghost'?… She pinched herself, and it proved to her that she was very much alive. Maybe she had just over-slept or something, and Vaike was… Maybe a bit drunk? Then again, it was Vaike. Not many people were able to understand his mindset.

With a small groan, she went and decided to go and find someone else – anyone else – and thankfully… She found someone a little more… sane, per se. "Lissa?"

"Huh?!" The princess jumped up from where she was sat, looking at her stave, before turning around. "Robin, you're okay!"

"What do you mean, 'you're okay'?… I've been fine, and I haven't been aware of any change-!"

"You need to see Chrom! He will have to explain it to you!"

"I… Should have stopped it earlier..." The knight thrust his lance forward into a tree, and growled to himself afterwards as he pulled it back out. "I should have been more prepared… I should have been faster!"

A few more thrusts into the tree were made, but the sheer force of the attack made the lance, despite it being made of pure silver, break in half like a twig. "I must get another lance… I must train myself to be stronger!"

Frederick had been over-exerting himself in his training for days now. He had barely managed to 'fulfil his duty as a knight' in his opinion a few days previously. The reason why?

He had barely just made it in time to save a comrade's life, after they were targeted by bandits specifically hired by the king of Plegia himself in an attempt to hinder the Shepherds' progress in rescuing the exalt. Allowing the exalt herself to be taken hurt his pride as a knight enough, but almost losing their only tactician too… It would have mentally killed him.

Knowing that he and Chrom were the only people who fully understood what had happened too was causing him a lot of pain as it was.

Four days previously, two days after recruiting Nowi and Gregor to their cause, the Shepherds had set up camp after scouting the area and discovering that there were no Plegians within a hundred mile radius. Having a manakete on their side assured that too, for she was much more capable at flying further distances at a faster speed than the pegasus knights. Robin, as usual, was set up in her tent at the outskirts of the camp, due to the peace and quiet which was provided there for when she was planning any further routes.

A commotion that night was enough to catch both his and Chrom's attention as they discussed as to how long they had left to save Emmeryn.

The source of the commotion? Robin's tent.

Upon investigating, there was a piece of parchment left on the floor there, with only four words upon it. 'Eliminate the Ylissean tactician'. It was easy enough to figure out that this was an order from Gangrel.

But how had the Plegians managed to get so close to the camp, without the scouts being able to see them? There was nothing but wasteland and desert surrounding them. There wasn't anywhere to hide.

And then comes the reason why Frederick was so annoyed with himself.

By the time that he and Chrom had found where the Plegians had managed to pull Robin away from the camp, about thirty minutes later (though it was hard to tell, due to how long the Plegian daytime was), she was gravely injured. Blood coating her arm, and her tome strewn onto the sand. From what they could see, she had been able to fend off all but one of the Plegian soldiers. The one that was left was about to kill her with his axe.

Put simply… What Robin had thought was a nightmare, was the cold, harsh reality of what had happened.

Frederick angrily recovered the remnants of his lance, and he was made to wince as the sharp points of the lance dug into his hands. "Surely I could have been more prepared for something such as this..."

With a frown, the knight decided that he must return to camp. The little nature in Plegia must be preserved – his training must not harm it much, though no harm would have been best.

The same would have gone with Robin too… No harm would be best.

Just the thought that their trusted tactician, who had, over time, assisted him with his fear of eating bear meat, and in turn, earning his trust - the wariest knight's trust – was gravely injured and unconscious, constantly having to be tended to by healers and be kept under watch caused him pain. What could happen if she were not to wake up before the next moon? Would Ylisse be doomed to lose their exalt? Be doomed to become nothing but a doormat to Gangrel, and be flattened by him?

What if she… died? There was nobody with tactical know-how up to Robin's standards. The whole war council would not be enough to come up with a good enough strategy in a whole night which she could come up with in a mere few hours.

Would he… never be able to hear her optimism in these dire situations again? Though his face never showed it, he was always happy to hear her voice when they were in a troublesome situation.

'Don't worry! We will win this war, and you can all return to Ylisse with Emmeryn by your side! Look forward to your future!'

'Haha, it's nice to see that everyone in the Shepherds get along so well! I feel so privileged to be fighting alongside you!'

'Smile, Frederick! You need to wind down from being serious sometimes, and be happy!'

Smile.

That word, even though he was simply recalling it being said in her voice… It was enough to turn the sides of the knight's mouth up. Smile. They were in the middle of a war… And she had told him to smile.

The word brought a fuzzy warmth to his insides, and he closed his eyes as he continued to smile. That tactician…

She was a piece of work.

No wonder Lon'qu called her a con-woman at times, the way in which she was able to manipulate how people felt. But she never made anyone feel bad – quite the opposite, really.

What was she doing to him?!

A knight couldn't afford distractions like this! They were at war for gods' sake!

Upon hearing the voices of his fellow companions nearby then, he realised that maybe he should have returned quite a while ago. The sun was not a good way of telling the time when in Plegia, unlike Ylisse.

"Frederick! C- Come quickly!" Sumia running over to the knight before tripping up was a sudden shock. He had never realised that people were actually so close to him. "It's Robin!"

"What? What about her?"

"Sh- She's awake!"

"Wait… So that wasn't a nightmare?!"

"I'm afraid so, Robin… Here, drink some tea, you look parched, darling! It can aid you in relieving your pain also."

Maribelle's presence whilst Robin only really wanted to talk to Chrom was hardly much of a reassurance to her. Though Robin did hold trust in her, and saw her as a friend, she wasn't exactly in the mood to have too many people around her.

The tea however, was gratefully accepted.

"Thank you..." The tactician trailed off, before she took a small sip of the drink before her, and then almost at the same time, dropping the cup as she burst into tears. That was the arm which had been cut by a sword. Reminding her of the blood coating her tome, which could have cost her more than just a few days' consciousness. "Gods, I'm so pathetic… I should have been able to fight off that last Plegian!"

A stern glare from Chrom made her gulp though. He didn't appreciate her talking in such a manner, especially when it came to the fact that if she would have continued to fight, it would have cost her the most precious thing to her. Her life.

Lissa worriedly placed her hand on Robin's shoulder, but seeing Robin flinch at the contact made her pull back. "It hurts a bit there… Probably just a bruise… H- Hey, don't give me that worried look, Lissa!"

"Sorry… I just thought that I scared you..."

"Scare me? No… It just hurt."

With a sigh of relief, Lissa was able to smile at Robin then. It was good to see that she was still… Vaguely back to normal.

Over the next few minutes, Maribelle had poured Robin another drink of tea before leaving, because of various other members of the Shepherds coming in to see Robin to see if she were okay for a few moments, before returning to their duties. After these few minutes though, Robin began to feel restless.

"Chrom, I think I want to go back to my tent now… But after hearing about what happened, I don't want it to remain at the edge of camp..." That was understandable to the prince. Plus, if she did move further into the camp, there would no longer be a need to have someone stand vigil outside, to make sure that nobody tried to take her and bring her harm yet again. "Though… I need to thank Maribelle for the tea first. It actually has helped quite a bit in numbing the pain."

"I tell you what then… I can gather a few people, and I, alongside them, can move your things closer to the centre of camp, whilst you go and see Maribelle, okay?"

A small nod was enough to let Chrom know that the idea was approved by her. Slowly, she then rose to her feet, and used the seat which she was sat on almost like a crutch as she stood still for a moment. "By any chance… Is there any chance that you can get Maribelle to come here instead? I can barely-"

"My apologies… Am I interrupting something here?"

The sudden voice, strangely quiet for the owner of said voice, was enough to stop Robin mid sentence. Chrom also put on a small smile then. "Nice to see that you decided not to dedicate an entire third day towards training again, Frederick..."

Robin slowly turned around, still holding onto the chair to help her stand. 'Gods, this pain in my leg is such a hindrance…' was her only thought as she too put on a smile. "It's about time! I'm surprised you weren't one of the first here, Frederick… Being the one who saved my life, and all..."

"'It's better late than never'… Isn't it?"

Just that phrase coming from Frederick was enough to make Chrom and Robin glance at each other in confusion. Was this actually Frederick that they were speaking to? Did he actually just say that?

"Are… You okay, Frederick?"

"I have felt better, milord. My mind has not been in the right place as of late. Naught that a short walk can fix."

That gave Chrom an idea. Though he knew that it would be a long shot to get Robin in on it fully…

He explained his idea to them nonetheless. Frederick had spent the past few days angry that he was unable to get to Robin on time to save her, and was needing to clear his mind. Robin was wanting to distract herself from the pain, and move further into the camp, for her own safety. "… I know that you two may not think of it as that good an idea… But at least it is something which can be done for both of your sakes..."

"Wait, you… You want me to be like a crutch for Robin?..."

"That's what you are dwelling on, Frederick? I'm more focussed on the fact that he wants us to stay in the same tent!"

Despite the fact that the two of them were speaking their concerns towards the plan, they knew that it would be for the best. They couldn't come up with much else, plus, it would save time in having to take down and then reassemble Robin's tent. There was also another unspoken downside to the plan, which the two of them knew of also.

One name.

Lissa.

Seeing them be together constantly would set her off with various different rumours, not to mention the constant teasing. They just couldn't bring themselves around to say it in front of Chrom though, knowing that he knew not of this side of Lissa too well.

"Would you two at least consider it as an option?" A small glance between the two was enough to say it all, alongside a painful shrug from Robin, and a very faint smile from Frederick. "Right then… We should keep these arrangements in place until Robin has fully recovered for sure. I know that it isn't exactly what the two of you would want to do, but it is probably the only thing that we can do..."

Chrom frowned as he waited for Robin later that day, having helped relocate all of her belongings alongside Gaius, Sully and Stahl. It had took a lot to stop Gaius from trying to eat some of the scented candles which she had to relax- notably the sweet smelling ones. Plus, with Stahl constantly noticing different books which had things to do with herbs in them, constantly catching his interest, it was quite the chore.

However… Knowing that the war could entirely depend on Robin's well-being, he was able to endure the task.

One thing was playing on his mind though… Where was Robin and Frederick? The knight had only taken Robin to visit Maribelle so that she could express her gratitude, and just saying 'thank you' couldn't take that long… Could it?

Little did he know, Robin had became sidetracked in the process of going to meet him.

"I've never seen such a snake before… I presume that they must be commonplace in these lands..." Robin mumbled, placing her hand on the back of the snake as it moved past her. It hissed as it escaped her grasp, and Frederick looked at her with much curiosity. He had never seen someone so eager to interact with unfamiliar species (not counting Taguel and Manaketes as 'unfamiliar species', due to one, having companions of said species, and two, they do have human-like forms), and not giving a damn in the world over the risk.

Robin gasped as a large Plegian crow swooped down from the sky and took grasp of the snake. A predator and its prey…

She felt stuck in that situation.

Gangrel and his Plegians were the predators… She and the Shepherds were the prey.

The events from the other day reaffirmed this belief too. She specifically was picked off from the prey, to make the rest of the prey easy targets without someone to keep things sorted as carefully as possible.

It made her begin to cry. But not just cry, it was like… An all out downpour.

"Robin… Smile. You said it to me once… So now I am saying it to you. A tactician needs to stay positive, if I am correct?"

That triggered a faint smile upon Robin's face. Frederick had just used her own words against her.

Smile.

She remembered just how positive Frederick had been after that one time she had told him to do just that. Did it really mean that much to him, that one word? Even when the two were in passing, a smile was given.

As with Frederick, the word made her feel warm inside.

"Smile… You know what, Frederick?… You're right. I need to smile… Let the past be the past, hey? After all… What doesn't kill you makes you stronger!" The smile had turned into a grin then. Despite the usage of clichéd phrases in what she had said making her want to wretch, it rung true to her. She was alive right now, wasn't she? "Now then… We have left Chrom waiting for a while now… I suppose that we should meet him."

"Yes. Let us do that…"

Robin happily accepted Frederick's help up off the ground then, feeling much more at ease as she stood up.

Smile…

It's amazing what one simple word can do…

Even to a man like Frederick.

So, that's it for the first chapter! I would have liked to write more, but I want to see how this goes down before I continue to write and upload more, so steadily, the chapter lengths should increase! Though, alongside that, there will be an increase in the amount of fluffiness and romance! *laughs and buries head in hands*

I hope that you all enjoyed, and are willing to review!