Your Brilliant Smile

Did you ever hear the story of the Ylissean Prince who, against all odds, managed to defeat the evil mad king and end his reign of terror, bringing hope and justice to his people when there were none? Of course you have. It is a very endearing story, told through generations to this day. A tale of hope, loyalty, bravery, love. Ah, love. You see, in the story the Prince met the love of his life on his long, winding road of bringing down the mad king. She was beside him through the thick and thin of war, defeat and victory. She was there when it started, and she was there when it ended. Like all story about love, they got married and lived happily ever after till the end of time.

Now the story I'm going to tell you is not the story about those two. It is the story of the man that made it possible for the Prince to stand against all of his adversaries. This is a story about his friend that stood beside him, rallying his Sheperds before every battle. That put his back against him when they were surrounded by their enemies. This is the story of his friend, the tactician with the broken heart. A heart so broken it took him years to even find the one manage to mend it back together. This is just a story when they finally managed to put that last piece. Together, mind you. My friend told me this story, when I sat with her by the fire one cold, winter night. Every time I thought of the story, it became more and more charming by the years. For it is with stories as it is with flock of people: they become better as they grow older. If you have nothing else to do, come sit by me, and I will tell you the story.

Half a year had passed since the fall of the mad king. And another two months had passed since the wedding of the prince and his sweetheart. Now, the people of Ylisse had another celebration to attend too. The crowning of their new Exalt. And with it, the ascension of their queen as well. And the appointment of Robin the mercenary as the Grandmaster of Ylisse, making him the official Royal Advisor. And the restitution of the pegasus knights as the royal guards, one steed at a time. Not to mention there will be a new member of the royal family in another 6 months. All in all, it was the day Ylisse stopped looking at their past and focused on their future. A day to remember. The day Robin saw coming for the longest of time, and dreaded ever since.

The tactician was in his room in the Yllistol castle, and for a loner, surprisingly surrounded by three of the Sheperds' ladies.

"Is this really necessary? What's wrong with my clo… Oww! What the hell was that for?" The tactician was cut short by a long and kinda hard stick hitting the back of his head. A parasol. He rubbed his head, still looking, or rather, forced to look at the mirror in front of him.

"No whining! Must I remind you that you are Yllise's Grandmaster, and as such Chrom's official advisor now? A position so rare and prestigious, only one person had ever been appointed to since the inception of the country. And you will be presented to the people as a royal advisor should." One of the blonde healers snappily answered.

Robin could hear the giggles coming from his left and right, courtesy of the two royals still fixing his attire. He half-opened his mouth trying to counter the troubadour, but decided to stop, hearing the tapping sound of the parasol behind him. Robin, the mercenary turned tactician of the Sheperds, the man who managed to bring a bunch of ragtag militias to victory against the mad king, at a loss of words to a healer. A healer with a parasol no less.

"Don't say that Robin. You look handsome in this." The queen fixing his right sleeve spoke in her usual, calm voice. "Sigh. I think my flower fortune finally betrayed me. I might have picked the wrong one as my husband." She added, deliberately sounding regretful.

"Aww… I was thinking of getting you for myself. Now I have to compete with my sister-in-law too? Emm, I'm sorry. I know you wanted me to be happy, but the only man capable of it is falling through my finger by the minutes. Forgive this weak sister of yours, for the best I can do is watch him from afar~" Lissa stood up in the middle of her lament, making her voice as dramatic as she can, temporarily stopped adjusting the length of Robin's suit.

Robin's right eye twitched, clearly irritated by the scene unfolding in his room right now. "Sumia. You're the queen. I'm sure picking the wrong man as the father of your child is miniscule compared to that." Robin snapped, before turning his head to the blonde princess now sitting on his bed. "And you. Stop that. Or I will tell your brother about you and Ricken. As his advisor, I'm sure I can arrange for one one way ticket to Valm, on a fishing vessel." Lissa's mouth draw wide agape hearing the tactician's counter.

"You knew?" The princess asked, or rather, shouted, her wide grin now turned to that of dread. The other two women only managed to look at each other, not knowing what to do, or say.

"I'm the tactician. It's my job to know this sort of things." Robin answered, with a winning smirk on his face.

"Lissa, darling. Why wouldn't you tell me of such thing? Let's get some tea. I want to know everything." Maribelle walked towards the petite princess, motioning to Sumia to join them.

"But…what about Ro…" The queen's sentence was cut short by the blonde.

"You look fine. Please be on time for the ceremony. And don't you dare show up alone." Maribelle looked at the tactician up and down a few times, before practically dragging the two royals out of the room.

It was Robin's mouth that went wide agape this time. He eyed himself for a moment. "Huh. Who knew? Should've done that hours ago." The brunette sighed in relief.

"I heard that!" Maribelle's voice echoed from beyond the wall of his room, making the brunette flinched for a few moments. He turned to the mirror to give himself one last look. He rubbed his face a few times, and proceeded to pour some water into a bowl and reached for the small blade on the table beside his bed.

"Ladies and gentlemen, his majesty the Exalt and the Queen." Chrom's most trusted steward's voice seared through the main hall of Yllistol Palace. All eyes were now focused on the royal couple entering the room, chanting names and throwing their best wishes. Robin was watching the unfolding event from the side, resting his back against the wall, crossing his hands over his chest, smiling. Seeing the tactician, the royal couple made their way to their friend, smiling and waving to the crowd. Feeling their Exalt was about to talk with his friend, the mass of nobles and commoners alike dispersed, mingling and enjoying the banquet. Chrom stopped in front of the tactician and Sumia, after receiving congratulation from Robin, gave the brunette a hug and made her way to the other side of the room.

"I can't believe it. Robin, attending a ball, and looking the part as well. I must say friend, you clean up good. You know, if I'm not already married, I'd consider taking you home tonight." The blunette said, moving his head up and down while rubbing his chin showing his impressed.

"Riiight. Where did I hear that one before? Oh, I remember. Your wife and sister." Robin retorted, exaggeratingly rubbing his chin with his finger, as if struggling to remember.

"I can't believe you!" The voice of a certain blonde noble from behind him made Robin cowered for a very noticeable moment. He turned around to see Maribelle walking towards him with Kellam in tow. Wait, Kellam? That's unusual. Robin noticed the knight was out of his usual armor, and now wearing a suit. Definitely Maribelle's idea. "Didn't I tell you not to come alone?" Maribelle practically screamed at the two men standing before her.

"I didn't. She's here. Somewhere. There she is." The tactician said, pointing his index finger to the general direction of the hall. All three of his friend started turning to where his finger was.

"Good. And she better not be one of the bar-maidens flinging themselves at you for the chance to bed the Royal Advisor." The troubadour responded. She was practically frozen in her spot seeing the person Robin mentioned. Chrom and Kellam's mouth went agape looking at her. Not because it's absurd that she'd come to the ball with the tactician. In fact, the Sheperds were betting about Robin's escort, and she was winning with a landslide. They were amazed at how different she looked tonight. She was out of her usual attire. A strapless, ivory dress now wrapped her body from her chest down to her ankle, revealing her white open-toed heels on her feet, and accentuating her slender body. The dress itself, with shallow waves on the upper portion managed to mask her more modest feature, the skirt, free flowing without being too lavish was simply elegant. The dress was completed with a very light pink bow that almost blend with the white dress decorated the front of her left hip. Her long, straight hair was tied in a bun that emphasized her facial feature. And most importantly, her usually stoic, almost sad demeanor was gone, substituted by a simply, beautiful smile.

"How'd you even convince her to come? Since, you know…" Chrom incredulously asked his friend.

"I had my tricks." Robin couldn't help but smile while looking at her. "I did it once, I can do it again. Now, if you'll excuse me." He added, leaving his friends and making his way to her.

"Oh hey, Robin. Enjoying yourself?" Lissa asked the approaching tactician as soon as he entered speaking range.

"Definitely. You really know how to throw a party, Sumia." He said to the smiling queen beside her. "Do you guys mind if I borrow her for a moment?"

"Why? You're taking her to dance or something?" The blonde princess teased, grinning coyly.

"Actually, would the lady be so kind?" Robin asked, fixing his left hand to his lower back, he extended his right palm and gave a slight bow. She lightly flushed at his gesture, sending Lissa to open her mouth in shock, and Sumia letting out a faint squeal.

"Hold this for me will you?" She handed the queen her unfinished wine glass, and rested her left hand on Robin right. "Something…urgent came out." She added, smiling from ear to ear.

The couple then slowly walk hand-in-hand, with her left on Robin's right's, to the center of the room. "Did you see the looks on their face? We need to do this more often." Robin whispered.

"We could, if you won't be like fish out of water in these types of event. In fact, I'm surprised you even last this long. Anything you're not telling me?" She retorted, which was answered by a light chuckle from the brunette tactician.

"I downed a bottle of brandy before I picked you up…"

"Aaah…"

"Aaand I have my dagger under the suit."

She gasped in a mocked surprise at his answer, "Mr. Robin, you know Maribelle will kill you if she found out you brought that…abomination in here right?"

"Hey, what she doesn't know won't hurt me. And I won't tell her if you won't."

"Do my chores for a week and I'll think about it." She countered rather flirtatiously, giving the man a playful wink.

And Robin just smiled like he just won the lottery.

They arrived at the center of the room, and the music airing the space now changed to a slower, smoother tune. Underneath the soothing melody, Robin could hear the three beats pulsing over and over. Um pa pa~ um pa pa~ um pa pa~ it went.

With his left hand on the back and his right on the front, Robin gave a bow to the lady in front of him.

Carefully pinching the edge of her skirt, she returned the gesture with a graceful drape. After a few moments, they both returned back to just standing there, silently staring into each other's eyes.

Robin put up his left hand to his shoulder's high.

She placed her right hand on it, which he gently squeezed, lightly caressing her palm with his thumb, sending a tingling down her spine and heat to her face. Trying to hide her blush, she hastily put her other hand on his shoulder, which proved to be in vain when he put his right hand on her back, intensifying the sensation. Feeling his warm breath on her cheek, she flustered even more. She dropped her sight to the floor, unable to face the tactician.

"Ready?" Robin's gentle voice snapped her out of her reverie. She reluctantly brought her sight back up, only to be met a beaming smile from him. Taking a deep breath, she gave a small nod, returning his smile.

Feeling his breathing become one with the beat, Robin slowly put his left foot forward. One step.

She followed his movement with her right foot backward. One step. She could feel the weight of his body, firm, but gently shifting to her right, luring her to keep up with it. He guided like they were soaring in the sky, elegantly turning, gracefully arching their way through the dance floor, without breaking their eye contacts. His hazel eyes would stare deep into her, and she could feel her heartbeat was growing steadily with each step.

"You know, everyone is looking at us now." She whispered, after some time of trusting herself to him.

Robin just nodded silently, his expression clearly saying are they now?

She let out a small chuckle, "either you've become really good since last time," she broke her left hand from Robin's shoulder and gracefully spun around and ending at her initial position. Putting her hand back on his shoulder, she continued. "Or you've stepped on my feet all the way through this dance without me noticing. Either way, good job."

Robin just smiled at her words, again lighting her face on fire. They continued their dance, smiling at each other.

By this time, most of their audience have either joined them on the dance floor, or had their priorities elsewhere. But they paid them no mind. They were in their own world, moving in unison with one another. She'd change her direction when he changed his, and he'd slow down when she needed to. And judging from the smile forming on his face, she knew he had found the last piece of his heart. No profession of love or flurry of kisses needed between them. With the crescent moon beaming on both their faces, they knew they had found each other.

Oh dear. It seems that the rambling of this old man managed to put you to sleep. Now where did I put that blanket earlier…There we go. Sleep tight my angels.

Thank you for reading.