Inhibitions
"Commander!" she shrieked. She her back straightened, grass tickling her face. Head swiveling, heart pounding, a face emblazoned into her vision. Her beloved commander was nowhere to be found. If her eyes widened any more, they'd simply pop out and roll around the grass. Lovely. She focused on steady breathing in order to calm her buzzing nerves.
Trees hemmed a spacious, overgrown meadow surrounding her, a ragged dirt path trailing along behind. Thumps, three pairs of them, made their way to her ears; she dropped immediately back to the ground. Was she in enemy territory? No-man's land? Am I dead? She winced as a bug crawled across her brow. Being a well-trained warrior…
Wait, wait — was she a warrior?
A massive headache split her skull, and a groan tumbled from her lips. She... She could fight. At least, I think I can. Her hand felt its way to her belt, a sword tucked away into a sheath. Perfect. If the travelers noticed her, and they happened to harbor ill intentions—
"Chrom, look!" a shrill voice pierced the air. They spotted her! Something grasped at the edge of her memory, pulling it down like the hem of a dress. Chrom. She'd never heard that name before... Had she? It sounded dreadfully familiar.
"Huh? What? Where?" a male voice responded. Chrom.
She knew that voice. How? Why? It's sound scratched at her ears; the base of her skull itched with the endeavor of remembrance.
"Look, look! Over there! Someone's on the ground!" the girl's voice drew closer — too close for comfort.
Here they come to skewer my body! she cheered inwardly, and counted to ten. Her commander's words rang through her head: "It'll sound strange from me, but patience is key to victory. And you know exactly who can back that up."
Shadow fell across her face.
A small, tentative breath. "Well, what do you suppose we d—"
Her eyes shot open as she cried out, leaping up and forward at the unsuspecting man before she even knew what happened. "HAH— oh..." her powerful bellow trailed off. A name fell out of her lips, "Ike!"
Her eyes narrowed. "You're not Ike," she hissed to Chrom. "Who's Ike?" she murmured to herself. Ah, right, he was— no, that couldn't be right—
Chrom cleared his throat uncomfortably.
Her gaze locked with the man shoved underneath her. His steely blue eyes widened,at her attack. Before either of them reacted further, a rough hand ripped her upward, and she tumbled into the grass. A young woman sporting bouncy blonde pigtails gasped, her jaw hanging agape. The shrill-voiced girl.
"Who are you, and what business do you have here?" a gruff voice intruded. A spear stared her down, right between her eyes.
Memories of spiked blonde hair flashed about her mind. She shouldn't be there. They had every right not to trust her. Kill me, she urged,
"Stand down, Frederick. She's obviously confused, and probably lost," the man with cobalt hair, Chrom, commanded.
"Her coat, Milord," Frederick hissed back at him.
She glanced at her long coat. She hadn't been wearing that before, had she? No. Definitely not. She swore out loud.
Three loud gasps followed. "She speaks only vulgar phrases, my lord! Allow me to dispatch the ruffian," Frederick cried, the chilled metal of his spear practically pressing against her face.
"No, Frederick. Leave her be. That's a direct order," Chrom commanded, and turned to her, "do you have a name?"
"No, of course not. Who needs names?" she replied dryly, hastily. What is my name? C'mon! Name, name, name! she pounded against her brain. Besides, what sort of man ran around and inquired after the names of strangers? How ridiculous. She liked him.
The teenager giggled. "Silly, of course you have a name!"
"Robin," she blurted, but knew right away that was incorrect. However, if she retracted that they would only have further reason to distrust her. ... That actually sounded tempting. No use in pulling them into something they shouldn't be in.
"Robin... That's a nice name," the cobalt-haired man uttered awkwardly.
"Chrom. That's a nice name," Robin mused. Truly, it sounded warm and familiar. Wait... Who's Chrom? Oh, right. He is. What a nice name.
The man looked dumbfounded. "I-I... Didn't tell you my name!" he replied.
Frederick clearly looked suspicious of the woman by then, poising his lance for a quick stab or two. Or four. ... Or ten.
Robin's face wrinkled, her spiked pink locks swaying with the breeze. "Really? That's odd," she sighed, "I could've sworn—" she groaned and her thin hand flew to her forehead. Pounding, pulsing pain, like a hammer, beat against her skull.
A flash of blue hair. The zing of a sword ripping through the air, the clash of metal on metal, lightning on flesh...
"Commander..." she whispered, the name tasting more like an inside joke than respect. Where had he gone? On some dumb journey for adventure, no doubt. He probably scurried off to go get himself neck-deep in more trouble.
Voices faded in and out of her ears.
"It wouldn't do well to converse with a mentally unstable ruffian, milord."
"Can it, Freddy! Can't you see she's struggling, here?" the teenaged girl retorted.
"Lady Lissa! How unseemly of you to—" Frederick protested.
"Wait! She's coming back around!"
Robin rubbed her forehead gingerly and squinted at the trio. Three people... A teenager, a man with a cape (she instantly decided she liked him), and a sour-faced man wearing dazzlingly shiny armor. "Have we met?" she inquired. They appeared familiar, in more ways than one... But she simply couldn't put her finger on it.
The three groaned.
How rude.
Wait... Chrom. Chrom? Yes, Chrom, most definitely. Wasn't the caped one Chrom? What a nice name! "Chrom is such a lovely name," she sang, a smile returning to her face.
Said caped man cleared his throat loudly, making Robin jump. "Look, uh... You seem... Lost, and confused," Chrom stumbled, mentally groping for the right words to say, "so, um, how about you stick with us until the next village, alright?" He gave an awkward smile, scratching the back of his head.
Frederick immediately flew up in a rage, like a bird fluffing its feathers, "She could be a spy, an assassin, or worse! There's absolutely no telling who or what she could be or what she desires!"
Chrom held up a hand to halt his outrage. "And if she's really lost? We're the Shepherds, Frederick. It's our job to aid the lost, injured, and helpless, regardless of circumstances."
The words left Frederick opening and closing his mouth like a fish until he finally grumbled in agreement, "True enough, Milord." His eyes glazed over with burning thoughts.
Chrom, realizing Robin still had her rear planted on the ground, extended a hand to her. "You know," he began, "there are better places to take a nap then on the ground."
She smiled and gently slid her hand into his. "I do rather like the outdoors," she mused. She frowned as Chrom helped her to her feet. "I think," she whispered. Whatever the case, she enjoyed her brief stay on the ground, among the blades of grass. Her delicate hands combed through her hair, arranging cherry blossom pink strands back into place. "Well, we must be off. Shall we go, then?" she chirped.
Frederick glared menacingly, javelin poised at his side for attack. "I'm keeping a vigilant eye on you," he ground out. His lips were turned into a perpetual frown, and though he couldn't have been much older than Robin, worry lines were beginning to form on his brow.
Chrom merely sighed and started back to the path. "You're right. Come on, Lissa, Frederick," he paused, "Robin." He seemed to linger a bit more on her name, savoring the sound in his mouth.
With Frederick's weapon prodding at her back, Robin trotted hastily behind.
Lissa skipped up beside Frederick. "Hey, Fred, lighten up! She's just a little messed up from whatever happened!" she exclaimed. Tugging on a messy pigtail, she turned to the newcomer. "Hey, uh, do you remember what happened?" she inquired innocently.
Robin halted a moment, Frederick nearly impaling her. The knight stopped abruptly and pulled his javelin at his side. Peculiar. She thought for sure he would've jumped on the chance to "accidentally" run her through.
She twittered nervously, "I'm not quite sure." She hastily picked her pace back up and continued on the path, not speaking a word.
Robin sniffed at the heavy air. Something wafted by her small nose, something like—
"Hey Chrom, do you smell smoke?" Lissa piped up.
He drew in a cautious breath. "Yeah, I think... Hey, over there!" he started slowly, but then thrust a finger above the trees dotted along the path. A plume of smoke drifted rapidly upward from far away.
"It appears to be coming from the village ahead," Frederick observed.
Chrom nodded. "Ride ahead and we'll catch up with you — and that's an order!" he commanded, gesturing in the direction of the smoke.
Frederick reluctantly gave a curt nod, then brought his thumb and pointer finger to the corners of his mouth. With a hefty, shrill blow, a gorgeous chestnut horse galloped from behind a cluster of trees, garbed in battle armor. "Stay vigilant!" he shouted. With that, he mounted the horse and rode off down the path.
Chrom stared after until Frederick trotted out of sight. "Robin, Lissa," he began, "you might need to stay back, alright?"
Lissa puffed her cheeks out and stamped a foot into the dirt. "What? No way! I'm not some dainty little daisy, Chrom! I fight for Ylisse, just like you and Frederick do!" she shouted indignantly, crossing her thin arms and pouting out her lower lip.
Robin tilted her head. "I believe I have a trick or two up my sleeve, after all. I'm armed with a tome and sword. I suppose I can fight," she sighed. And if she couldn't, they'd find out!
Chrom waved dismissively at Lissa. "Just... If we encounter any bandits, just stay at the back, alright?" he pleaded.
Lissa tossed her head, her fluffy pigtails flailing about. "Hmph! Fine."
"And Robin..." His brow dipped in thought. "You... Suppose you can fight?" he asked. "I mean, you pinned me earlier, but I was caught completely off-guard..." He trailed off in rumbling, anxious chuckles.
Robin laughed, a high and girlish sound. "I'll just have to try, then!" she pulled out a concealed Thunder tome, flipping open its pages. Oh, what interesting runes! How fun.
Chrom's hands immediately flew up to stop her. "Wait, wait! Let's not set the forest on fire, too!" he cried.
She looked back, bewildered. "Oh... Okay," she muttered, tucking the tome away. He said it like setting the forest on fire was such a bad thing. If she had a lightning tome, shouldn't they have water tomes or something or rather?
"Aw man, things were just about to get interesting," Lissa mumbled. She huffed and started stomping down the path. "Well, I dunno about you guys, but I'm going to put out a fire, or at least find Frederick! See ya later!" she shouted happily.
Chrom sprinted after her. "Not without me, sis!" he called.
With Robin in tow, yelling, "Count me in!" they moseyed down the path.
Frederick, lance peering out from the back of his horse, fended off angered bandits. "Begone, scum!" he hissed, picking them off one by one. Just when the mob thinned, the leader whistled loudly, and another mass filled in from all between burning settlements.
Blast! At that rate, he'd be swarmed and overwhelmed. He shouldn't have left Chrom and Lissa; he was the only one to blame for his own demise, it seemed. Demise? He shook his head to clear such dismal thoughts.
Feeling invigorated, he pulled a silver axe from his steed's pouches to replace his lance, hacking away at the ruffians before him.
A voice seemed to call out to him, urging him on. "Just... A little... Longer!"
In a glorious flash of light, a raging thunderbolt split the air, sending bandits flying into all different directions. "Hang in there, Freddy Bear!" Robin called from a few yards away.
"I will not be called by that ridiculous name!" he cried back.
She only snorted, returned her tome to its rightful place, and unsheathed a glimmering bronze sword.
Chrom sprinted up beside her with Lissa in tow. "Nice move!" he praised her, "But what now? Frederick is still surrounded!" His cape flapped in the hot wind from the fire.
Robin stepped forward as if she owned the world. She barked out orders, "Chrom, you and I will charge the crowd, then retreat! That should break them up! Once we've done so, gather Frederick to create a protective wall around Lissa!" She sounded so... Authoritative and important! Almost like she borrowed some power from... something else! She released a chortle. How ridiculous.
"Hold up!" Lissa shouted. She whipped out an ornate staff tipped with a shining green orb. "I don't just stand around for show, you know! I'm a healer! You got a wound, I'm your go-to gal!" she chirped.
Robin nodded at the Heal staff, giving Lissa a thumbs-up. "Right-o!" She turned to Chrom, exchanging a nod. "Now, charge!" she roared, running toward the bandits with her sword raised skyward.
Chrom sprinted up along with her, swiping his shining blade sideways. A bandit grunted and fell to the side.
Panic and disrupt arose throughout the enemy forces. Some retreated, while others swiveled their heads in confusion; all the while, the trio took the opportunity to dispatch the remaining ruffians.
A cry turned the heads of the three.
The head bandit inched steadily closer to Lissa.
Her knuckles turned white from gripping her staff, eyes open wide. "Chrom! Help!" she cried feebly, her petite boots shuffling back against a market stall.
"Come here, little pretty... Don't worry, you'll get to live if you fetch me some nice gold," the bandit growled. He licked his lips, eager to get his hands on the girl.
Robin instinctively whipped out her trusty Thunder tome and thrust her hand out, summoning a white-hot bolt of lightning and zapping the bandit to the side. "Now that's strategy," she hummed to herself. Strategy... Another word to add to her list of nice words.
Lissa peered from behind her staff at the twitching man a few paces away from her. "Woah," she breathed.
"Milady!" Frederick cried, jumping off his horse and running to her side. "Are you hurt? Did he lay his filthy hands on you? A bruise? A scratch?" he bombarded her with concerned questions, holding her arms out for inspection and sweeping his eyes over her legs.
Lissa snapped away. "I'm fine, Frederick! But I wouldn't be if Robin wasn't here to save the day!" she giggled. She threw her hands up and turned on her boot heel in a circle.
Frederick's face grew darker. "Yes, quite," he murmured, turning to see said "hero" being graciously thanked by Chrom. Just who was this mysterious woman?