Under the night sky of the Plegian deserts winds blew through the barren terrain, the sand flying through the air to get into the eyes of anyone who walked through it. Although they weren't strong enough to bury anyone they were still enough to be a nuisance to anyone who tried to trek through it. It was through that very storm where a woman, holding a small purple cloth bundle protectively inside of her cloak, walked slowly but steadily; the hood of her Plegian robe low to protect her eyes from getting full of sand.

The woman had lost track of how long she had been walking, but she didn't care. The only thing she was worried about was finding a place as far away from that place as she could. That place that haunted her long before she ever realized it; the place where he still was and most likely noticed her absence by now.

She dared to move her hood up to see if she could hopefully spot a village. Her hope was not in vain as she could see a small village not far from where she was. "We're almost somewhere safe. Don't worry." She panted slightly as she continued on her way, her pace quickened in anticipation to reach shelter. When she reached closed gates of village she banged as loudly as she could. "Hello! Please let me in! I need shelter!"

`After a time the gate opened slightly allowing a middle aged man peak his head through, the lantern in his hand allowing him to see her enough through all the sand. The woman could sense his skepticism at the sight of her cloak and used her quick brain to help her out. "Please let me in. I have a child." She begged as she moved the bundle from the shielding of her cloak to him and showed the face of a small baby sound asleep.

"Very well, hurry in." The man opened the gates enough for the woman to rush into the safety of the village walls. She sighed with relief as she shook any sand she had off her cloak and the baby's bundling. "Never seen anyone like you pass through here before." The man indicated to the cloak she was wearing. "Any reason you would be walking through a sand storm like this by yourself and with a baby?"

The woman held the infant closer to her breasts protectively. "I'm a… traveler, and this is my daughter." She explained. "I had to leave somewhere immediately so that I could go somewhere for… research. The storm hit us suddenly and I knew there was a village nearby where we could take shelter."

The man nodded, not asking anymore questions to her relief. "Well, I'm the gate keeper here. I give shelter to any travelers, though this would be the first time one had a baby with them so I apologize for the meager lodgings." The woman smiled.

"I'm sure they'll be fine." She then followed the gate keeper to a small, two story home located next to the gates. The inside was very simple with a small fireplace and kitchen in the corner and a bed.

"I sleep in here in case anyone shows up in the middle of the night like you." The man explained as he set his lantern down on a table before looking over at the woman, still wearing her hood over her eyes, her mouth the only thing visible. "There's an empty room upstairs with a bed big enough for your child to sleep with you. Are you hungry?"

"No." The woman adjusted her hold on her daughter, who was still fast asleep. The woman listened as the winds from the desert became stronger. "When do you think the sand storm will settle down?"

"Who knows?" The gate keeper shrugged. "Could be tonight, could be tomorrow, could be a week from now." He noticed the woman's mouth go into a worried frown. "Don't worry, it should let up soon. How about you go get some sleep? You look like you could use it." He smiled reassuringly.

The woman gave a small nod and began heading up the stairs with her baby when she heard the man clear his throat. "My name is Cyrus by the way. If you don't mind me asking, what are both of your names?" She paused before looking down at her child and gave her a warm smile. "This is Robin." Was all she said before continuing up the stairs.

"Well that answers the kid's name, but not yours…" The gate keeper sighed before going to his bed in the corner and falling asleep.

…

The next morning Cyrus was standing over his small stove cooking some bacon and eggs. There was a knock at the door so he hurried over and opened it to show a plump woman about Cyrus's age holding a basket with two loaves of bread in it. "Good morning Cyrus!" She sang happily.

"Good morning Cynthia." Cyrus nodded as Cynthia walk in to leave the basket on the table. "I'm glad you're here. A traveler came by in the middle of the night, a woman with a baby."

"Oh?" Cynthia raised an eyebrow curiously. "What's her name? Where does she come from? Why is she here?"

"All I know about her is that she's traveling with her infant daughter named Robin." Cyrus explained after the bombardment of questions. "She never told me her own name. She has a hooded cloak that covers her eyes, so I don't really know what she looks like, but her cloak looks like one of those-"

"Oh. You have a guest." The woman said suddenly as she touched the bottom step, her cloak on with the hood covering her eyes, Robin in her arms still wrapped in her purple blanket. "Um, hello." She nodded a little nervously at Cynthia before looking in the direction of Cyrus. "I was hoping to get some supplies and a horse in the village. I should have enough gold to cover expenses." She patted a satchel hidden underneath her cloak, making it jingle slightly indicating the amount of gold she had. "Do you know where I could find some things- ah! Robin, hold still!" Robin squirmed unhappily in her mother's arms inside of her bundling and she began to cry. Her mother's mouth could be seen looking worried as she tried to soothe her child.

Cynthia saw the distress the mother was in and smiled softly as she walked over to her with her arms held out. "I could hold her for a bit if you'd like miss, especially if you're going out shopping." The cloaked woman looked nervous at relinquishing her child, Cyrus could sense it.

"Don't worry, Cynthia is very trusting. She's been a caretaker for many of the children in the village." He reassured her as he put a hat on his head and pulled on a light jacket. "They could stay here while I show you some of the shops around here. I need to go out anyways." At his words the woman nodded slightly before handing her crying infant to the plump village woman who seemed to calm down immediately at her soothing cooing. "Thank you…" The woman said before following Cyrus out the door, Cynthia staying behind to care for the little infant.

A few hours later the cloaked woman and Cyrus returned to the house with their arms full of canteens and bags of food. Cynthia smiled from her spot at the table as they came in; baby Robin on her lap and cooing at the sight of her mother, who smiled as she set the supplies down before picking up her daughter. "Hello Robin." The mother hummed, taking notice of the small dress she was wearing. "How…"

"A friend came by and I asked her to buy some baby clothes for her." Cynthia smiled. "I hope you don't mind, but she wasn't wearing anything under that blanket save for a diaper! It's almost like you were in such a rush to leave where ever you came from you had no time for dress her properly! And that mark on her hand, I've never seen anything like it before!"

The woman flinched slightly before giving off a shaky laugh, covering her daughter's right hand with one of her own to hide the six eyed mark that was on it. "Heh, yes, you could say that." She took a deep breath before returning her baby to Cynthia. "I'm going to ready the horse. Excuse me please." Then she hurried out of the house to the brown horse she had bought.

"What was that about?" Cynthia looked confused. Cyrus shrugged in equal confusion.

Outside the woman tugged on the straps of the horse's saddle to keep the supplies in place, her hands shaking slightly at Cynthia's words from earlier. She gripped her hands together before taking a shaky breath and bit her lower lip. Almost… we're almost away from this place. She thought, small tears going down her face. Soon we can leave this accursed country and Robin can truly be free…

…

"Well, I guess this is good-bye then, huh miss?" Cyrus said to the woman as she readied her horse, baby Robin in his arms as he did his best to keep her from grabbing his hat off his head; the infant still wearing the dress Cynthia gave her as well as a tiny little jacket.

"Yes… thank you for your hospitality Cyrus." She thanked him, her mouth showing a weak smile. "I'm glad there are decent people like you and Cynthia out in the world."

"We are but humble villagers miss, we do what we can for others when we can." Cyrus returned her smile as she mounted her horse then handed over Robin, who whimpered slightly at leaving Cyrus's big arms. "I hope you plan to pass through this way again someday. Maybe then you'll tell me your name."

The woman said nothing as she held Robin in her arms, staying so as Cyrus opened the village gates to allow the horse through. With a small kick of her heels the horse ran out of the gates, not slowing down and her not looking back. "May Grima guide your path to safety!" Cyrus called out to her. At those words tears fell down her face as she tightened her grip on Robin. Oh gods I hope he doesn't… She cried as she began heading east to Ylisse.

She looked down at her daughter, who returned her stare with a giggle and held her right hand up at her mother's face, the mark clear as day. The tears still fell down her face as she looked at the mark then kissed her daughter on the forehead, kicking her horse again to speed up so they could reach Ylisse faster. "Robin, I promise I'll keep you safe. I'll never let them find you and give you that terrible fate…" The woman began to fade as Robin continued to look at her, her face becoming darker and her voice sounding distant. "I promise..."

Robin woke with a sudden start on her cot. She sat up to get a look at where she was: in her tent of the Shepherds camp. "What an odd dream…" She exhaled.

She began trying to remember the detail of the dream, but for some reason she wasn't able to remember anything. Pinching the bridge of her nose in the hopes of it helping she felt something wet. Wiping her eyes Robin realized she had tears streaming down her face, confusing her greatly. "Why was I crying…? I don't even remember what I was dreaming about…" She sniffled as the tears continued falling down.

Looking over at her desk Robin could see her tactician's cloak hanging from her chair. Wiping her tears as best as she could, Robin got out of her cot and she walked over to it and touched the fabric lightly with her right hand as if it was the first time she did so while also ignoring her mark. The tactician gingerly picked up the cloak and held it in her hands, looking at it for a while before allowing her tears to fall freely as she buried her face into it and sobbed heavily for reasons unknown to even her.

All she did while in her tent alone was sob and sniffle, all the while a faint and distant word formed in her mind without her really knowing it: Mother.