Chapter 1

It had always been Allie's dream to be a part of the Legendary Shepherds of Ylisse. She wanted to be a soldier for the Exalt and work beside his right-hand man, Robin. To her, the tactician's story was quite fascinating; he had no memory of anything before meeting Chrom, who quickly befriended him and made good use of his magical abilities and swordsmanship. Robin never ceased to amaze her. To Allie, he was one of the more charming and handsome men she had the pleasure of working under; besides the Exalt himself.

Of course, it helped that she had a strong aptitude for magic. Through she was a mere farm girl, she had a large amount of mana and magical potential. She almost burned their farmhouse down after accidentally picking up a tome her father brought home from the market for her. Since then, she's studied magic every spare moment she got, learning to control the mana in her soul.

It was the happiest day of her life when Chrom and Robin welcomed her to the Shepherds of Ylisse with open are. She was worried she sounded like a blubbering fool when she went before them and begged for them to have her; she had been so nervous she was barely able to control her magic and almost burned the Exalt's hair right off. It was unlike Chrom to turn away capable soldiers, especially ones with magical potential like Allie's.

It was definitely a big adjustment for her to move to the capital of Ylisse and away from her family to go fight in a war, but she had the ability to help the people of her country and didn't want to waste it sitting at home taking care of hens and sheep. Not to mention that she could send most of her pay home every month to help her family. Allie was the second eldest of her five siblings, but the gods knew that her older brother, Steven, wasn't going to help her family out; she knew it was the least she could do after leaving home.

She would have joined sooner, before Exalt Emmeryn passed away, but her parents wouldn't even consider the thought of her leaving until she was at least 18. They were reluctant to give up the help on the farm, but knew her talents would be put to good use to carry out the Exalt's goals; they believed in Emmeryn's cause very strongly. It was strange how she was the only one in her family who possessed such strong magical potential. Though, nobody in her family really gave magic a real chance. Nevertheless, Allie firmly believed in Ylisse's cause and wanted to do all she could to help the restore the country to its former glory. And she got to sneak peeks at her hero, Robin during training sessions and war council meetings.

Allie sighed as she scribbled his name again in a leather-bound notebook she used for random thoughts and ideas, many of those that pertained to Robin. It was a crisp autumn day and everyone was on the training grounds with Frederick doing his usual rigorous exercise routine while she was holding herself up in the library praying he didn't notice she didn't check in with him half the time. When it came to brute force and physical tests, she failed every time. She wasn't very fast or strong; the only selling point about her was her seemingly limitless magical potential. She was barely five feet tall with a curvy figure, which was unlike many of the other girls who joined the Shepherds. So, instead of sparring with swords or running laps, she snuck off to the library most days where she could engross herself in her tomes and her studies.

When she really needed a study break, she'd take out her notebook and write a poem or think of Robin. Shameless as it was, she couldn't help herself. The white-haired tactician always made her heart race. How she longed to run her fingers through his air and take in his scent up close. She wondered how soft his skin was, his lips. To her, he was the perfect man; of course, she'd never admitted to her parents that he was half of the reason why she wanted to join. Just being in the same city as he made her heart soar with happiness.

She flinched and almost dropped her notebook of secrets as she heard the library doors creak open. Allie held the notebook tightly against her chest as she pulled her knees to her chest and rested her feet on the armchair in the corner of the room that she had become so attached to over the months she'd spent in the castle.

"Dammit, Lon'qu and Chrom really busted my shoulder again."

Allie's heart almost stopped completely. She knew that voice well. I was the voice that made her swoon, the one she dreamed about: Robin's. She could feel her face heating up as she imagined him finding her in the corner and actually noticing her. She didn't think someone as highly ranked as himself noticed another random soldier like her; there was probably another girl who had his heart anyway.

"Is someone here?" Robin asked. He could sense that someone was in the room. His combat training had taught him how to sense people's presences. He knew it couldn't have been an enemy, but he didn't think most people were shy about talking to him; some were bolder than others…

Allie swallowed hard, her knuckles turning white from gripping her book so tightly. She had never been one to attract attention to herself. She much preferred to quietly study or cook as opposed to making a fuss over every little thing. She prayed that if she kept silent and still long enough that Robin would forget about it or be called by Chrom or Frederick for a more important task.

Unfortunately for her, Robin wasn't the type to give up so easily. He eventually found himself searching the library. The room was large but fairly simple. He couldn't help but smile when he saw Allie in the armchair. Her dark brown eyes looked up at him, a mix of fear and excitement in them. He couldn't help but notice how cute she looked today. She was in her mage robes, per usual, which consisted of a long sleeve dress with a V that stopped at her torso. It had a pink base with blue lines running through it while white ruffles lined the edges, a black bow at her waist. The top half consisted of what was mainly a white button up blouse with puffy sleeves, which was covered with a black shawl, a pink bow in the center. To finish the look, she had on pink and blue checkered knee high socks, which matched the inside fabric of her witch hat, which also had a pink bow on it, and the fabric under her skirt. Not that Robin noticed that sort of thing. Her dark brown hair spilled down her shoulders effortlessly, almost able to kiss her waist. Robin found his own cheeks flushed with red pigment.

"Allie?" His voice was calm and collected as he approached her.

She shrieked and sent her notebook and the stack of tomes on the table next to her spilling all over the floor. "S-sir," she stammered, her hands trembling as she rushed to her feet to bow to him.

"You know I'm not one for formalities." He chuckled as he gestured for her to stand up straight. "Quite a lot of books you have there."

Allie nodded as she bent down to pick them up. "I-I like to keep on top of my studies."

"Let me help you," the tactician offered as he knelt down and collected the fallen tomes.

The mage's heart was racing as sweat dripped down her forehead. She had never been this close to her hero before. Their faces were inches apart; her fingers could reach out and graze his skin if they wanted to.

His golden eyes looked into hers as he held her leather notebook in his hands. "Is this yours?" he asked, curious about what it was.

"Y-yes." Allie quickly snatched it from him and put it in her satchel. "P-please forgive my mess."

"Nonsense." Robin smiled and shook his head. "I'm glad to see that you're so dedicated to your studies." He thought for a moment. "Were you at practice this morning? I don't recall seeing you there."
"Y-yes," she lied. She didn't want to seem lazy to the man that let her join the Shepherds in the first place; physically demanding routines just weren't her thing.

"You're a terrible liar, you know that." He sighed, his tone still upbeat. "I know you use tomes and not swords or lances, but we still need everyone to check in with Frederick on training days. It helps us keep track of who's where."

"S-sorry." Allie blushed, embarrassed. "I-I'm just not very strong or fast or anything. I-I don't really know anyone either…"

"I'll train you then. What do you say?"

Allie's heart slammed against her ribcage. Why did Robin want to train her? A private training session with just the two of them. Her face was as red as a tomato now.

"I-I-I couldn't take up your precious time," she argued.

"I use tomes too," he bantered back, still grinning. "I could use a break from swordplay for a bit." He laughed. "So, how about it? I'll meet you on the training grounds tomorrow and we can practice magic together."

Allie could only nod. Her mouth was too dry to speak, her mind still in shock that Robin had suggested such a thing. She couldn't believe someone like Robin was talking to someone like her. A smile crept upon her face.

"Glad to hear it," he said as his golden eyes examined her once more. Robin never realized how short she was until now. Her embarrassment was kind of...cute to him. "I'll see you then." He nodded to her before promptly leaving.

Allie sighed and fell to her knees. Her chest was so tight she could barely breathe. Her heart screamed "yes!" while her brain screamed "run!" The boy she had set her sights on had finally had a heartfelt conversation with her. She couldn't wait until tomorrow when she would have him all to herself. She grabbed her pen and began scribbling her thoughts in her notebook. She would make sure tomorrow was the perfect day.