Like the summary says, the paralogue that should have been but never was. Takes place between chapters 23 and 24, so caution for spoilers. Thank you for reading. Enjoy.
The Shepherds current mission at the moment was to reach Mount Prism to perform the awakening, and win Naga's power to prevent Grima from destroying their world. They've been on the move since the incident at the Dragon's Table, rushing their way to the mountain in which lies their only hope. They've been walking for a good four days, and this was just the tip of the iceberg. The place where the awakening rite must be performed was at the very top of the mountain, no doubt it would take them a full day's march. Deciding that the Shepherds needed some rest, as well as resupply, the army stopped by a nearby village.
The village they encountered was terribly small and almost insignificant. The place probably harbored a few families and the occasional merchant passing through. The only redeeming and lively place in the ghost town was a tavern near the entrance of the village and even that looked quite barren. All in all, the town had an ominous feel to it, one Robin couldn't put her finger on. She would have to keep an eye open for any trouble ready to brew.
When both the night and the Shepherds settled, a state of peaceful bliss covered the town. It was so quiet that Robin swore she could hear her next-door neighbors rustle among their bed sheets. Normally such silence benefited her, allowing her to concentrate on her work. But the deafly silence was incredibly nerve wracking and sent chills up her spine. Such thoughts seemed child-like to her so she pushed them away. And when she thought she fully calmed herself, a soft knocking at her door startled her. Not eager to face whatever demons resided behind the door, she clutched her cloak tighter to body and tiptoed her way to the entrance of her room. She grabbed the steel cold doorknob and turned it ever so slowly. A familiar tuft of blue hair peered through the darkness. She left out a sigh of relief.
"Chrom, what are you doing at this hour?" Robin whispered in the darkness.
"I needed to speak to you about something. Can I come in?" he whispered back.
She nodded as though he could see through the darkness and opened her door a little wider for him. He walked in quickly like he was being chased by somebody and sat down on the nearest chair. Robin, confused by his unusual actions closed the door behind them and gave Chrom a strange look.
"Are you alright, Chrom? You look kind of…nervous. Not to mention you're also wearing your full armor. You do realize what time it is, right?"
Chrom rubbed upper right arm where his mark was and looked down at the ground. "Do I really seem so? I feel fine."
"Just look at yourself, Chrom. This is not like you, not at all. Something has you spooked doesn't it?"
Chrom looked back up at her with wide eyes and whispered, "It's the town."
Robin gulped. She knew she wasn't the only one who felt the creepy vibe of the village as well. She was glad Chrom felt the same.
"You feel it too, huh? Just the aura of this place…the people. It makes want to pack all of my things and leave this place as soon as I can," she agreed with him.
"That's why I came here to speak to you. I think I know why this place is the way it is."
Now fully interested in the answer to this mystery, Robin approached closer to where Chrom was sitting.
"Why's that?" she asked curiously.
"When we first arrived at the village, I could immediately feel the eyes of the villagers upon us. They were watching our every step and move, unblinking, unwavering eyes. I was ready to tell you that this place might be hostile until I met the eyes of a small boy. Those weren't eyes of anger or hostility, Robin, they were the eyes of fear. And not because they feared us, rather, they feared for us," Chrom explained with great detail.
"Feared for us? What is there to fear? Is there some sort of threat in the town or something?" Robin wondered.
"As I walked around the village, I heard whispers about the nearby town. It's one that's much larger than theirs, one inhabited only by soldiers. Soldiers that are…dark mages," he spits out the last part.
"Dark mages?" Robin ponders. "Why would-" She gasps in the middle of her sentence when she finally realizes what's happening. "Don't tell me…"
Chrom sighs. "It would seem so. Looks like we walked in on the Grimleal."
Robin straightened up and looked fiercely into Chrom's eyes.
"Then we need to leave now, Chrom! If the Grimleal find out that we're here, especially you, then they could attack at any moment. Gods, Validar could send his best men to assault us. We have to wake the others before it's too late," she said clearly distressed.
"But, Robin…these people need us. They can't live with the Grimleal breathing down their necks. We can't allow this, I won't allow this," he said sternly.
Robin's rigid form slumped against the wall behind her. Chrom was right, they couldn't leave these poor people to suffer. What kind of Shepherd's would they be?
"You're right. You're absolutely right. These people don't deserve to be under the Grimleal's power, especially not now. We know what they're capable of doing for the sake of Grima, and I won't allow them to harm these people."
Chrom nodded at her words. "It's good to know you agree with me. I'm sorry if I frightened you earlier, this place just put me at edge and I didn't want to break it to you. I know how sensitive you are about the Grimleal and…Grima," he says carefully, knowing full well of her origin and relation to Grima.
"It's fine, Chrom. I loathe the idea of who I am, but I must learn to accept it. I only wish to get to Mount Prism as soon as we can to put an end to this."
Chrom gets up from his chair and walks over to her door to open it. Before he does however, he puts his hand on her shoulder and says, "Remember, you are yourself before you are any man's daughter and any future's destiny. You'll always have a place with us, that will never change." He gives her a gentle squeeze. "I'll go warn the other's on what's happening just in case. I'll see you early tomorrow." And with a soft click of the door, he's gone.
As soon as the door behind her closed, Robin got to work on a possible plan to get rid of the Grimleal. The area around the villagers was surrounded by mountains, if she could put flying units and mages on top of the rocks, then she could have the enemy surrounded and possibly have a surprise attack. If she could make them leave without conflict that would be ideal, but knowing the Grimleal fully well…she highly doubted it.
Morning came and it seemed as though Chrom had done his job with warning the others. Everyone was on high alert, ready with their armor and weapons. Looks like they weren't going to get any rest here either. Robin had a quick meeting about their plan of action. It was going to be simple, but it was an effective strategy to make the enemy surrender.
She made her flying units pair up with the mages and fly up to the mountains where they could directly look down and attack from above. She made the manaketes and some of the tricksters go as well, seeing as they could go on just about any terrain. Her and the ground units like the knights and myrmidons stayed with her. An illusion to make it seem they had a small army.
The army began to march forward as the pegasus knights traveled ahead of the them. As they were approaching the edge of the town, Robin noticed the townspeople followed behind them all, staring at them with fearful eyes. Just as they were about to step outside the boundary of the town, a villager shouted out,
"Stop!"
The Shepherds stopped walking and turned around to face where the man was standing. Behind him was what seemed to be the entire village, all with scared eyes and shivering forms.
"You mustn't go that way! They'll…they'll kill you!" The man shouted.
Chrom narrowed his eyes. "We know."
The man looked taken aback. "Why would you willingly go there? You must turn around and go somewhere else. They do not tolerate people passing through their town!"
"They…don't let you pass through their town?" Robin questioned.
"They threaten us by saying they will kill us if we try. B-But we need to pass through there to get to the water supply. Merchants need to go through there too to sell items and make money for the town. But they…do not let us."
"How do you make a living for yourselves then? Where do you get the water?" Chrom asked.
"We go somewhere far away…Somewhere where it takes days to reach. We get our supplies there but we barely manage. Those mages have caused our town to shrivel."
"But have they killed anyone yet?"
The townspeople looked among themselves and whispered to each other. Once they stopped, the man looked at Robin and shook his head.
"No. They have not attacked us nor spoken with us since they arrived. Even those who dared to put a foot on that town where not attacked, just driven away."
Robin put her finger on her lip and hummed thoughtfully.
"What do you think of this, Robin?" Chrom asked her.
"I'm not…entirely sure what I think of this, Chrom," she said truthfully. "Maybe this means they are willing to parley."
"Or maybe…they're not really Grimleal at all," said Chrom.
"I think you have a point there…Either way we have to keep moving forward. We still have to get to that mountain and they're still in our way. Come on, let's go."
Robin took one final look at the villagers and gave them a reassuring smile. She hoped that would put them at ease. But they didn't move an inch.
The mysterious town that caused fear to the villagers was just as Robin imagined. It was much larger than the one they were in before, but it somehow looked even more barren. The town was indeed surrounded by the two mountains where Robin hoped that the pegasus knights were currently stationed at. Good, now to just attract some-
"Halt! Who goes there?" A voice echoed throughout the town.
The Shepherds turned to face the source of the sound. The voice came from a middle-aged woman wearing a combination of what seemed to be sage and sorcerer clothing. But instead of a staff, she carried a tome in hand. Her most prominent feature was her silver white hair that stuck out from the dreary landscape, and it wasn't caused by her age.
Robin quickly put the hood up from her cloak and hid her face. Who was this woman? Why did she seem so…familiar?
"We are the Shepherds, Ylisse's own army. I am Prince Chrom, ruler of Ylisse and commander of this army," Chrom responded back. "Now, I ask you introduce yourself as well and just who…you represent."
The woman strode closer to the army. "My name is Anaya, head of this small community. As my origin…that is a difficult answer."
Chrom squinted his eyes at her. "And why is that, may I ask?"
"Are you truly from Ylisse? What proof is there to make certain of this?" The woman inquired.
Chrom met her halfway. He turned to his side and pointed at the mark on his arm. "This is proof enough. This is the brand of the Exalt. It is passed down through the bloodline, almost every member of the family has one. No one else can have one."
The woman closed her eyes and sighed in relief. "Thank goodness. Very well, I shall tell you who I truly am."
The woman rolled up her long sleeves and revealed a mark Robin had come to know much too well.
The mark of Grima.
"So you're…Grimleal," Chrom said carefully.
"Please refrain from calling me that. I do not want to be associated with those…people. I was indeed once a Grimleal, but I left that life long time ago. I could not withstand the deeds those people made me go through, it was something I could not accept," the woman said shaking her head.
"I know the Grimleal are known for their rather cruel and strange acts, but what truly caused you to leave?" Chrom inquired some more.
The woman stayed quiet for a long time, immobile from her spot. She gazed intensely at Chrom and whispered out, "Validar."
Robin shook when she heard that name being whispered out.
"For some time I was Validar's tactician. While the previous king was in control, Grimleal is the country's main religion. Everyone must be Grimleal and must obey Grima. To have that kind of power…Validar was practically second in command."
Chrom looked taken aback. "You were…Validar's tactician?! Then you must have commanded Plegia when my Father was still exalt."
Anaya shook her head. "I was for some of it. But I escaped a few years before the death of your father. I assume around the time you were born, judging by your youth."
"So, the war caused you to flee?"
The woman shook her head once again. "No. I escaped…for my child's sake."
Robin felt just about ready to collapse. Oh gods could she mean…No that can't be! Robin could feel Chrom quickly glance at her direction with shocked eyes. It seems like he understood as well.
"C-Child?"
"Yes. I was not only Validar's tactician…but his wife as well."
Robin trembled where she stood and grasped her cloak like a lifeline. The blood rushing through her body was pounding against her skull. She couldn't see or hear anything.
Chrom rushed to her side and grasped her shoulders. "Robin? Robin are you alright?!" he said worried.
Robin looked at him with scared eyes. "C-Chrom, s-she's…my," Robin couldn't finish her sentence.
The woman peeked over Chrom's shoulder to take a look at the scene before her. "Is everything all right? Is a soldier perhaps sick?"
Chrom shook his hands and tried to hide Robin behind him. "N-no, everything's fine. Our tactician is just a bit tired from all the planning last night. You must know what that feels like," he said nervously.
The woman laughed quietly. "Yes, it is a bad habit. They must be exhausted. Maybe I could take a look at them?" The woman separated Chrom from Robin to get a good look at the tactician.
Having the woman stand before her was making her mind go haywire. Never in her life had she felt this way, and she's been in front of the Ylissean court. She couldn't dare move.
"My, this cloak looks oddly familiar. In fact, it looks rather Plegian." The woman glanced behind her to speak to Chrom. "I didn't know you had Plegian's in your army."
Startled that she spoke to him, Chrom slightly jumped. "Uh, yes. I don't care where a soldier is from as long as they have good intentions and will work for the army."
Anaya hummed. "What a kind young man."
She looked back at Robin who was practically dying right in front of her. "You know, I can't see your face with this big cloak and hood covering it." She grasped the tips of the hood and tugged it gently, "May I?"
With what remaining strength and courage Robin had left, she nodded. The woman slowly pulled the hood back, revealing the silver white hair from underneath it. Robin felt like she couldn't breathe. She knew the woman's gaze was fixated on her, there was no doubt about it.
"Did you…did you ever say what your name was?" the woman gulped.
"Robin. My name is…R-Robin."
Silence filled the air. Not a single person moved. Not even the Shepherds hidden above moved an inch. The tension amongst everyone caused the suspense.
Robin flinched when she felt a warm hand touch her cheek. She looked up at the woman in front of her. Their eyes met. Brown. Just like hers.
"M-Mother?" Robin croaked out.
Anaya nodded with tears in her eyes. "Yes, sweetie. Mother. That's me. I'm your mother."
If you're wondering why I picked the name Anaya for Robin's mother, it means caring or protector. There are other meanings as well, but I thought this would fit Robin's mother quite well. Thank you for reading, I hoped you enjoyed.