That Chrom guy could say anything he wanted about Robin not being their prisioner. He was still being watched by Frederick and half-forced to go to a strange city a couple of days away. It didn't help to calm down his nerves knowing that another one of Chrom's Shepherds was with them. She had arrived during the battle against those humanoid monsters, and traveled with them since.
A self-proclaimed amnesiac with Plegian features and clothes, but unusually pale skin and feroxian accent was pretty much a walking anomaly. Not to mention his innate talent with tactics, magic and physical weapons. He didn't blame Frederick for not trusting him. He simply wished his axe was a little further from his hand.
Robin didn't understand why they had to go to the capital to sort out what kind of hidden hole he had crawled out exactly. But he went along, knowing escaping would be impossible and stupid.
At least they were giving him free food.
Ylisstol was a big city, bursting with activity and people everywhere Robin looked, especially in the market district. Some were haggling the prices of their vegetables while others anounced their goods in hopes they would attract interest. A couple of kids almost ran him over while playing, their apologies getting lost in the wind. Robin was sure he had accidentally kicked a chicken at least once. He also noticed the strange looks some people were giving him or, rather, his clothes.
He was about to ask Chrom to choose a less crowded path to wherever they were bringing him when a voice in the crowd yelled. The Exalt was coming. Everyone got closer to the houses and selling stands without hesitation to open a way for her and her pegasi guards . That, along the security that surrounded her, made something in Robin's brain click.
"She's your ruler, right?" He guessed.
"Indeed." Frederick answered "Her name is Lady Emmeryn. She's a symbol of peace for Ylisse."
"And she's the best big sister in the world!" Lissa happily yelled.
It took Robin a couple of seconds to process that information. She was her sister? "But doesn't that mean you are…?"
"The prince and princess of the realm, yes." Frederick answere[[d with a smile that made Robin very nervous. "How curious you didn't know that. You did know milord's name but not this."
"I'm amnesiac!" He defended himself.
Robin could feel he was getting flusetered already. He had been talking too casually with not one, but two members of royalty. He was glad they hadn't cared at all, otherwise a part of him was sure his head would have rolled already. Now thinking about escaping sounded like an even worse idea, if that was possible. Not to mention that Frederick was their retainer. The prince's retainer. Robin was sure it had to be mandatory for him to be the strongest man in the realm. And the knight had been close to throw an axe to his face; only Chrom had stopped that.
Robin didn't know if he was the luckiest or unluckiest person in the world.
"Emm is returning to the palace." Chrom said then "Would you like to meet her?"
"Do I have a choice, prince Chrom?"Robin barely managed to swallow a sarcastic answer his brain unhelpfully provided, and nodded. He was sure he had become a formal prisioner by then.
Lady Emmeryn was a gentle woman that spoke kindly but firmly. Robin tried to avoid being too close to her, both out of respect and because he wished to go unnoticed, while Chrom and Lissa talked to her. But his wishes got crushed fast, since he was the main reason why they were there in the first place.
"Robin fought bravely against the brigards, so I wanted him to become the Sheperd's tactician."
Chrom's voice caught his ears. Wait, what? He had thought the first part was a trivial comment to praise his abilities despite his lack of memory. Did that meant he couldn't leave after that meeting was over?
But if he did leave… Well, being left in the middle of nowhere with no memory of who he was or where he could go wasn't the most appealing idea. Accepting Chrom's proposition perharps wouldn't be that bad, after all. At least until he discovered a little bit more about himself.
"Forgive my interruption, Your Grace, but Robin's claims of his memory loss are just claims as far as we know. We can't rule out the posibility of him being a Plegian spy."
Oh, yeah. That.
"Frederick!" Chrom frowned, not happy with his input.
Robin shrugged and gave an apologetic smile when the royals stared at him. The knight was right after all, and he didn't have anything else to defend himself with.
"He fought against Plegian brigards to protect an Ylissean village. He risked his life for our people. That's enought for me." Chrom declared, sure of himself.
Emmeryn seemed to smiled at his words. "Well then, Robin. Chrom seems to trust you greatly, so I'll put my trust on you as well. Welcome to Ylisse."
"Thank you." Robin answered. "To be honest, I don't believe Plegian's are my friends."
"And why is that?" Frederick's words still sounded distrustful, but they were curious as well.
Robin bit his lower lip and stared at one of the columns. "After the fight against brigards and those monsters I… remembered something. One single thing."
"And yet, you didn't tell us inmediately." Frederick's comment earned an angry glance from Chrom. He stoically ignored it while staring at Robin.
"You didn't believe I was amnesiac. You still don't." The Plegian man replied. "And the only thing I remember anyway is… me being on a river while some Plegians were attacking a woman until she died."
"Brigards don't usually care about one's origins."
"I have the feeling the both of us were expecting that to happen on day or another."
"You were being pursued?" Lissa asked, worried.
Robin blinked and unconciously started scratching his neck, thinking. Was he? "I… Maybe? I don't remember…"
"If you were, you'll be safer with the Shepherds." Chrom assured him.
"If I was, they could also attack the Shepherds now that I'm here." Robin replied.
But at the same time, it was such an unexpected movement... To become part of another country's militia hand in hand with the prince. It could throw off his pursuers for a while, if he hadn't done that already before losing his memory. He hoped he had.
It really did look like becoming a tactician was the best course of action for the moment.
"Well, if despite this you'll accept me, I'll be glad to be of service." Robin accepted.
Chrom smiled at him when he heard that, and Robin felt like smiling back at him. Then Emmeryn said how she and Chrom had to go for a council and excused themselves. Lissa took the newly appointed tactician's hand to get him to know the rest of the Shepherds.
Robin didn't know what to think exactly of the group tasked with protecting the halidom. They were nice, sure – well, except the blonde noble girl with big curls, but Lissa had asked him to give her time. But most seemed quite… eccentric. Despite Chrom's confidence on his battle plans, he didn't remember doing anything like that before, and he wasn't sure of what to do with such a group. At least, if they had been so long without a tactician, they could fend for themselves while Robin sorted things out. He hoped they could.
Robin sighted and entered his new room. With the demilitarization of the halidom Lady Emmeryn had done once the previous war was over, more than half of the barracks were empty. The Shepherds had the privilege of not only getting their own private room, but also choosing where it was. Most of them would get it as close as possible from the canteen, to make sure they would be the first to eat and get the best portions. But Robin wanted quietness, so he chose one of the furthest instead. The only other Shepherd close to him was Miriel, living next door. The closest room in use was six doors away.
Robin's room was small, and probably only two soldiers would normally live in there. There was a single bed, a desk with an unlit candle, a bookcase and a chest for the clothes; and there was a small room with the toilet. Robin's only belongings were a sword, a magic tome and a knife. He thought it was strange for him to not have some kind of pouch with food and other necessities for travel. But he didn't remember anything beyond a couple of days, and there was nothing he could do about it.
Even after he had settled down, the room barely changed. It was almost as if anyone was still living there. He felt a little unsettled by it, as if that wasn't his place and he wasn't needed. As if he should just go and continue going wherever he was taveling before he lost his memory. As if nobody there would miss him.
He felt his stomach turn. Both the tome and the sword he carried with him showed signs use before he had been found by Chrom. Maybe he had to use them because of wherever he had been before… Maybe…
His darks thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door. Robin jumped, startled, and went to open it. He found the prince's smiling face when he opened it.
"I wanted to check how you're doing. Did you finished putting everything away?"
"Oh, yeah." Robin opened the door wider to let him see the room. "It's not like I brought many things with me, anyway…"
"That just means you will have a lot of space to put the things you'll get with the new memories you'll make with us, right?"
Chrom's smile was like the sun. Not because it was bright or wide, but because it gave everyone who watched it a soft warmth and safeness. It was like laying down on a flower field on a day without clouds and taking a nap, knowing you would be safe. At least, that was how Robin felt when he saw it.
"Yeah."
Perhaps staying was truly the right choice.
Oooohhh boooooyyyyy. This is the first multichapter fic I managed to plan in six years and I'm so excited about it! I really hope you like it, guys!
Also, Robin is trans!
