Necessary Sacrifice
It was a necessary sacrifice—there was absolutely no way it could have been avoided. There were no other routes or paths, no allies to support them but enemies. They were completely surrounded, her and Ricken. She was only equipped with a Thunder tome and he an Elwind. Technically, he was the stronger of the two; though, she had more experience on the battlefield and he was still technically a child—a mere adolescent, who had no reason to risk his still young life.
However, the army needed her—they, depended on her. They had been relying on her for every battle since Chrom found her in the fields. The result? They won every single battle she directed, each and every one in which her hand guided their steel. How would the army be able to survive, if not for her? That was not to say that Chrom was an incompetent leader. He was no fool when it came to strategy, though he was brash at times. With Frederick, the ever so cautious Great Knight, at his side, surely he could do without—no, no they needed her advice. Yes, without her the Shepherds would surely fall against greater foes.
Still, Robin thought, still. Maybe if she had led the attack, he would still be alive, bleeding, but still laughing. The thought haunted her. No, she then thought, she would be dead. If she were dead, the Shepherds would have lost the battle—return home in defeat.
That was right; there was no other option. She could not have possibly risked herself, so instead encouraged the young mage to lead the attack. She raised his hopes, playing on his adolescent's wants of becoming an adult, to prove himself. Sending him to an early grave—no, these thoughts must stop, Robin grimaced.
Yes, it was for the best, she told herself as she emerged from the forest clearing. It was for the best, she thought, as she was nearing the other Shepherds in battle, that Ricken died. After all, he was merely a child who's pride and overall inexperience cost him his life. Children tend to die in war after all. Robin smiled slightly when she glanced down at her Thunder tome in her hand, still new with no page missing from its bindings.
It was for the best.
The real story: I was playing Lunatic mode and got to the part where you first get Ricken. I paired him with my avatar and made a really bad decision. Seeing that I'll probably get swarmed, I separated the two a turn or so before, sent Ricken to deal with the bad guys and, made Robin retreat.
I could've done lots of things. Like making them both retreat together. Or try to take the baddies on. But I didn't.
I mean, I could've restarted. Or grind really hard. But Lunatic mode was hard. And I fought that damn battle a billion times and I just wanted to kill the boss so I could get it over with (I didn't care anymore weeee).
RIP Ricken, you will not be missed. Except for when I try to find a daddy for Brady.