Hey there, it's me again. I wanna try restarting this damn thing. I've been replaying FE: Awakening during my college exam reviews for the past few days, and it sorta kinda made me wanna try to continue this fic. I'm hoping to restart this with (hopefully) better writing and a better story (again, hopefully).
Anyways, let's start this. Your views and honest reviews are always welcome.
'Where am I' The man is seeing black, and a feeling of a hard and rough surface at the back of his head. He's feeling weaker and weaker every second, a few hours or even minutes later, he thinks he will die.
'Damn it, why does everything hurt so much'
He tries to move his limbs, but they do not respond. He tries asking for help, but he cannot utter a single word. That, or his throbbing head is preventing him from hearing even his own voice.
"..om! Over there, it's a-…."
Voice, he hears a voice.
'Someone's here at least…..' It gave him a little bit of comfort knowing that another person is there, but his body is throbbing and hurting so much that the little comfort it provided sinks further in his mind.
"..issa, can you do anything to st….."
Another voice, different from the first one. Calmer, more masculine, but still a hint of care and concern behind that deep tone.
"I-I'll see what I can do. He's unconscious, probably from the blood loss." The female voice, or from what he heard sounds like a voice of a girl, is slightly fearful.
'Blood? So that explains the-' Too weak to even think, he distracts himself by trying to listen to any more noise, footsteps and clanking of metal it seems.
"Milord, milady, we need to be careful, we are in a-" A third one, more serious than the first two, appears to show caution and concern. And he's betting that it's not directed at him.
"…ick, we need to help him. He-"
"He's losing blood, get the-"
He can't understand most of what they're saying, although it seems that they, at least the other one voice is panicked.
He then feels something pressing on his skin, something soft and cloth-like. 'A bandage….probably'. He feels thankful for that one, whoever they are. The thought that someone is at least helping him is a good enough consolation.
"Can't you use your staff?"
"Not yet, let me clean the wound first"
He noticed though, that these voices are somewhat…familiar. Something in them is giving him a feeling of safety. A feeling that he in trusted hands, that everything will be alright.
"Lissa, do you need anything?"
"Freddy, get my staff. Chrom, press the wound carefully. I need to-"
'Chrom, Lissa…..Freddy? Where did I hear those names….' He swore that those names really sounded familiar, but he doesn't know where he heard them. Moments later, he feels hard pressure somewhere on his abdomen, followed by a soothing feeling coming off from somewhere.
'What's happening…..' He tried thinking about it, but the relaxing wave combined with the progressing weakness of his body is slowly making the man u sink further into the bounds of deeper unconsciousness.
"It'll be alright, my friend. I promise that you'll be safe"
He hears before not hearing anything at all.
"Chrom, we have to do something!"
"What do you suggest we do?"
Voices, those voices again, something that he's slowly associating for comfort. He tries to move again, this time though, his body responds.
"He's starting to stir up, do something!"
He opens his eyes, but squints from the sudden burst of light. When his eyes were fully adjusted, he slowly reopens them, looking in front of him. He then sees a caped man with blue hair, armor, and a strange looking brand on his shoulder. He also sees a young looking girl with a yellow dress, blonde hair tied in the form of twin tails, and an armored man standing not far from the two.
"There are better places to sleep than the ground" He notices a joking tone in his voice, seemingly trying to lighten up the situation. He then sees the man kneeling in front of him. "Can you move?" He stared at the man for a few minutes then nods slowly.
The man in front of him stands up then holds a hand in front of him. "Give me your hand" He slowly takes the man's hand that slowly and gently pulls him up, supported by the girl behind him so he doesn't fall back. 'A strange mark' he noted as he glanced on his hand. Somewhat similar to the man's brand, but with a different design, the ominous feeling at seeing his brand, with what seemed like eyes staring back at him, was quite unnerving.
"Are you alright? How are you feeling?" His concentration was broken by the man's question. He looks at him before answering.
"I-I think I'm fine now…thanks Chrom"
"Oh, you know my name?" The man, now known as Chrom, looks at him curiously.
"I-Uhm….It just came over me, I guess?" That was strange for him, it's as if the name was embedded on his mind.
"Alright then, can you tell us your name then?"
Blank, that's what's coming up in his mind. When earlier he instantly remembered Chrom's name, he draws nothing to remember his own. It's as if he's suffering from-
"Amnesia, it's called amnesia! I read about it in a tome on healing while I was studying." The girl responded from behind him. He looks back in surprise from the girl's voice.
'Amnesia huh, that might explain why I can't remember my name. Still though, it doesn't explain why-'
"A load of Pegasus dung is what I call it." The armored man, approaching the group spoke up from behind the girl. "You mean to tell me that you remember milord's name but not your own? Next thing, you will claim that you are a traveller wandering aimlessly in a field, bloodied and-"
"Frederick, please give him a moment of reprieve. He was healed just a moment ago"
"Yeah Freddy, my brother's right. Give him some time to gather himself and stuff." Chrom and the girl, apparently his sister voiced their support on his claim.
"Lady Lissa, milord. You cannot blame me for being cautious. For all we know, he's a Plegian spy. And his cloak seems it is of Plegian origin."
He took a good look of his sleeves, the cloak wrapped around him now noticeable. He took it off then stared at it. The design was similar with the brand on his hand, ominous and dark. He decided to put the coat back on and looks back to the knight.
"I apologize Frede-Err, Sir knight, but what I'm saying is true. I cannot remember anything after waking up"
The tension was really evident, between the glare from the knight and his own nervous defiance. Luckily though, the tension was broken by the girl, which he guessed was Lissa, standing beside Frederick. "I'm sorry about that, he's as strict and cold as it gets. He's overprotective, but a softy on the inside" She then grabbed a hold of his arm the clings to it. "Isn't that right Freddy-bear?"
Frederick, looking like he's used to it, just sighed at the girl's actions. "A voice of caution is needed to aid and preserve the voice of kindness, milady. Someone has to be firm and careful if no one will."
"And that is why you're called 'Frederick the Wary'" Chrom decided to poke fun at the knight's expense.
"A title I wear with pride." The knight stared back at him, this time with a softer gaze "I am sorry stranger, but my station requires me to be cautious of anything and everything" Frederick looked at the man, but without any trace of guilt.
"I understand. Your charges seem to be nobles, and probably receive constant threats" The man looked at the two, seeing that there is an air of nobility around them, albeit just a little. "Where are we anyway?"
"We're inside the Halidom of Ylisse" Chrom said, noticing a look from the man, implying that he does not know what Ylisse was. Frederick noticed the look too, but before voicing out his opinions, Chrom beat him to the punch
"The Halidom of Ylisse is a part of the continent. Treat of it as a kingdom. We are bordered by Plegia in the east, and by Regna Ferox in the north. We are headed to Ylissetol, the Capital of the Halidom"
'Plegia. What's with it that seemed to make them on edge every time they say it?' The man thought of it but did not voice it out, afraid to be questioned further. "Oh, we're headed to the capital? Am I to be your prisoner?" He asked cautiously. 'If they do decide to keep me as a prisoner…'
"Oh no, not that. We just need to establish that you're no enemy of Ylisse then we will let you go"
"Alright then…" The man, still unsure if "establishing" is another term for "torturous questioning" decided to look around, trying to familiarize the place. A creature caught his attention, a bird to be specific. He doesn't know why it held such significance for him, but it seemed that it caused his mind to race.
'I think it's a robin...yeah. Robin…Robin…Wait, maybe thats-'
"Robin…."
"Excuse me?" Chrom looked to the man, then looked to where he was looking. "Oh, it's a robin. Those birds are local to Plegia from what I heard. But they seem to eventually fly to border towns such as-"
"No, I mean I think that's my name. Robin"
"Well" He earned a curious stare from Chrom, which turned into a relieved look. "That's good that you remembered your name at least. Take it slowly, no need to rush your memories." Chrom smiled at Robin, then the group started walking. Robin cannot help but notice a strange feeling that he's being stared at by a certain overprotective knight.
'Grass, grass, and more grass. This is nice' Robin noted as they walked. Truth be told that he loved the peaceful feeling that it gives. Compared to the pain that he felt earlier, this was infinitely better.
"I just wanted to say thank you. For saving my life."
Chrom did not look at him as they continued their march. "It's what any reasonable man would do. And besides, I'm not the one you should be thanking" Chrom turned his head around to look back.
Seeing this, Robin followed where he was looking, his eyes landing on Lissa grinning proudly back at him. "Well, I guess I should thank you for healing me Lissa"
"Oh it's nothing. And besides, like my brother said, it's what any normal person would do"
"While I applaud your generosity milady, we have been delayed for quite a long time. We should march with haste towards the capital" Frederick, still as stoic as ever, was looking around, probably to scout for nearby threats.
"Freddy, don't be rude like that. It's not like it was too long" Lissa pouted back at Frederick with a glare of her own.
"I apologize if I worded it inappropriately, howev-" Frederick cut off what he was saying when he spotted something wrong far away "Milord, look around."
Everybody looked to where Frederick was looking, only to see black clouds on the horizon.
"It looks like smoke. And it's coming from… oh no. It's coming from the direction where Southtown is. Frederick, we need to move out"
"But what about him milord?" Robin notices the wary look Frederick is giving him.
"Unless he's on fire or is being raided, he can wait. Right now, we need to move quickly" Before he was answered, Chrom sprinted towards the direction of the smoke, followed by his sister and his knight.
'Damn it, what am I to do. I can escape now, but…' Robin could easily run away, doing so now would be a good opportunity to escape. But something is pulling him not away from them, but to where they are headed as well.
'I need to help then, it's the least I can do' Without hesitation, Robin ran and followed them.
Meanwhile, in another field much closer to Southtown, a woman with red hair and eyes can be seen tending to her equipment. Dressed in a relatively light armor, she was sitting while leaning under a tree when she notices something different in the air.
"The air feels heavy…" She looked around for the source of the smell, seeing a tall pillar of smoke nearby.
She stood up, gathered her things then ran towards the smoke.
Upon arriving a few minutes later, she saw fires breaking out. Families, mostly women and children, are running away from something. Then she noticed a few men, wielding pitchforks and axes, running to the opposite direction. Silently following the direction they are heading, she saw large men, bandits she assumed, running around and entering what she hoped are abandoned houses while taking valuable items. She looked around, just in time to see one of the villagers being cleaved on the chest by one of the bandits. She took a closer look, noticing that the villager did not die quickly, crawling away from the bandit that attacked him to try and run away. The bandit was joined by another one, carrying what appears to be a middle-aged woman.
"Heh, for all yer talk, yer nothin' but a weak ass man"
The other bandit snickered at the crawling man, tightening his grip on the girl. "Yer wife is a nice catch, imma say. Imma bet that she'll fetch'a nice price when we sell her." The bandit holding what appears to be the man's wife decided to lick the girls ear. "After we have our fun with her"
"Ey, why don't we fuck 'er right in front'a him?"
The other bandit laughed, holding the woman tightly. Her screams were loud, fearful, and pleading. They decided to start taking the girl's clothes off, while the man stopped crawling and decided to plead for her safety as well.
She stopped watching and pulled out her sword. This was too much for any sane person to take.
Most sword masters pride themselves in their incredible speed, breath-taking agility and precision. Legendary people who mastered the art of the sword have learned to treat their blades as an extension of their own arms. Only a select few have mastered the ability, far greater than their own class allows it.
'Six men, I think I can take them properly'
Letting her instincts guide her, she ran towards the bandits attempting to violate the girl. They didn't even see her come until one of their men had a sword pierced through his neck. With one swift motion, she dragged her blade, slicing the man's neck clean off.
"What the- Where the hell did ya come from girl?!" The bandits have swapped their attention to her, weapons in hand and ready to pounce at her. The bandits were distracted enough to not notice the girl run away and back to her husband, slowly bleeding on the ground.
"I will not allow you to harm this village any longer." She was lucky that the men armed with farm tools she saw earlier arrived shortly, tending to the injured man and gently carrying him away from danger. "If you would not stop then I have no choice but to end you where you stand"
The bandits were angry, but they were not intimidated. "We're gonna kill ya girly, and we'll have fun playing with yer corpse!" One of the bandits shouted before attacking her.
Bandits, above all else, are ruthless, vicious and scary opponents. They hold strength above any other and fight their opponents without any mercy. However, all bandits have a major, fatal flaw.
"Ryaaahgh!"
They greatly underestimate their opponents.
"Imma kill you!" The man swung his axe at her, using all his power to back his strike. Unfortunately, he greatly underestimated the woman's speed. The swing missed the target wildly, the woman then used the momentum from the man's swing to grab his arm and throw him to the ground. Before the bandit can recover, the blade pierced the center of his face, killing him instantly.
'Two down, four more to go.'
The other bandits rushed at her, but this time much more careful. They maintained a respectful distance from her to ensure their safety. "Stay away from 'er lads, she can't hit us if we're far away enough from 'er sword", said one of the guys, looking smugly as he though she figured her out. One of the bandits tried to throw their axe at her, which almost hit her in the back had she not paid any attention.
They did not, however, expect a powerful burst of lightning to come out of her other hand, nor did they expect it to be powerful enough to burn a hole straight through the chest of the bandit that threw the axe at her. They looked back at their fallen ally then back at her, tightening their grip on their weapons, now unsure how to combat this new foe.
On any other time, on any other situation, she would treat her opponents with respect. However, she had seen enough of what they have done and what they will do once left unchecked. They do not deserve mercy, she thought. She would be as ruthless as them to protect innocent people.
"Consider your lives forfeit."
Killing bandits are something knights are proud to do any time of their life.
Chrom and Frederick arrived at the entrance of the town, followed by a panting Lissa not long after. They saw burnt buildings, burnt crops and burnt corpse. Upon seeing it, Lissa tried not to vomit at the ungodly sight before her.
"Milord, I'm sure that these are the work of bandits"
Chrom absentmindedly nods at Frederick's words, still in shock at what he's seeing.
"Chrom, wait!"
That was enough to break his concentration, looking back he saw Robin running towards them. "Robin? What are you doing here?"
"I came to help" He stopped in front of Chrom then took a short pause to gather his breath. "Look, this might come off as strange, but I think I know my way through a fight." He then tried to pull out his sword from his large bag. Struggling to do so, the bag falls off his hands, revealing a tome and a journal filled with writing. Frederick curiously pulled the journal to examine it.
"These are notes. Strategic notes to be precise" Frederick glared at Robin, who was struggling not to whither underneath the knight's eyes. "Your claims are slowly sounding more unbelievable."
"L-look, I know that it sounds unbelievable, but you have to trust me" He then looks at Chrom firmly. "I will not allow my saviors to head off to battle, not while I can help"
"Alright, I would not stop you if you wish to. But can we please hurry this up? I fear that the more we stall, more innocent lives will perish" Chrom sighed, slightly happy that they would at least have help. It was a short lived happiness though, once he saw some of the villagers running towards them.
"Chrom, look! The villagers, some of them are injured!" Lissa ran to tend to the injured, followed by Frederick, Chrom and Robin.
"P-please, we need help. We beg of you!" One of the women shouted upon reaching the group. "Bandits attacked our village. Many of us are injured, but we can only bring so few. There are still people with injuries inside but we cannot reach them because of the bandits!"
"Please calm down and rest, we will tend to your injured and rescue the remaining people inside. Lissa, please heal them" Without any hesitation, Lissa grabbed her staff and healing equipment. Frederick decides to help her by helping in cleaning the wounds while Lissa healed them with her staff.
"Chrom, I think I have a plan"
"What is it Robin?"
"While Lissa and Frederick are tending to the wounded, we will try to rescue the people inside." Robin looked around the area they are in, noting that it was the town center. "We can ask for abled bodied villagers to secure the place so we can turn this into a somewhat rescue area"
Frederick, hearing Robin's suggestion while dabbing a clean cloth on the man's injured shoulder, glares at Robin. "Milord, I advise against this"
"Look, I know you don't trust me. But we need you to defend Lissa, and you're probably the most skilled and experienced fighter in here. She can't probably fight so we're not going to take chances." Robin was getting frustrated with Frederick's treatment of him. How can he make a decent plan if someone refuses to actually participate?
"Frederick, I really appreciate you wanting to keep me safe. But please, I put my sister's life in your hands because there's no one else I could trust."
Frederick hesitated for a bit before sighing deeply. "Alright milord, if that is your wish"
"Right, that solves it then. Let's go Robin" With that, Robin and Chrom left the two to heal the villagers
Walking through the what used to be the streets of the now-ruined town block, the two were walking cautiously and silently, with Robin occasionally looking behind for threats or whenever both of them hears a sound of what they thought were approaching enemies. The amount of bodies, they noticed, have increased as they go deeper into the town. What's more frightening is that from how they lie on the ground, they appear to be running away towards the outskirts of the town.
'They didn't even have enough time to run. Dastards, they're going to pay for what they-'
Chrom was surprised when Robin suddenly covered his mouth and pulled him behind a large pile of debris. He was about to shout at him when Robin motioned for him to keep quiet.
"Damn it, what was that for?" Chrom asked in a tone in which only the two of them could hear, but still carried that mild irritation.
Robin pointed at a house on the other side of the block. Chrom could barely see from the smoke and the reflection of the still-burning fires. He then tried to walk around their cover to move in closer so he could see where Robin is pointing at, despite his near-silent protests. While remaining hidden, Chrom peeks out.
'What the-'
Just in time to see a figure with their back turned at them, plunge their sword through another person's gut.
This should be somewhat expected, given that Chrom has seen a number of fights before, or is one of the participants between a battle of two fighters. However, the fact that they're in a village that was raided by bandits, and also considering that the trail of corpses leads to the opposite direction, away from the figure, Chrom's mind raced quickly, trying to think about what happened and what to do.
'That dastard…he's probably one of the bandits'
He watched angrily as the figure quickly pulled the blade out of their opponent's body, seemingly watching as its corpse falls to the ground. What made him angrier was that the figure did not even look back at the man he has slain, flicking their sword to clean off the blood, the figure walks away from the dead man while sheathing their weapon.
Chrom was a skilled swordsman, one of the best in the realm. Trained since the tender years of childhood, he was a prodigy of the blades, and an eager student. Once he set his mind into accomplishing anything, his stubbornness and resolve would allow him to do what he put his mind into. His father wasn't a good parent, but he was a great mentor and an even greater warrior. He taught Chrom how to trust his instincts in the heat of battle.
With years of training, and the teachings of his father engraved in his heart and mind, Chrom charged at the figure, closing the distance between them quickly, preparing to swing his blade with both arms. Unfortunately, Chrom wasn't a good judge of figure.
Or in this case, gender.
Robin meanwhile was still hiding, He assumed the same that the figure was the one who attacked the village. He already thought of a plan to move quietly behind the figure, hoping to gain at advantage, all of his plans were ruined the moment Chrom decided to charge at their enemy.
"Damn it, Chrom!"
He watched as the figure quickly pulled out their blade to block Chrom's attack.
What surprised Robin was that even though Chrom swung his sword with both his hands while gathering force from running, the man could easily block the attack with one hand on their sword.
However, what surprised them both was that the figure turned, only to reveal a woman with red hair, glaring daggers at them. Chrom jumped away, regaining his distance from the figure. With his sword pointed at her, he was expecting the woman to do the same. The girl didn't but instead stared at the sword on his hand. Smiling softly, the girl was about to move to sheathe her sword.
Sensing the movement as an upcoming attack, Robin pulled out his tome, casting a lightning bolt that hit the woman on the chest, surprising himself with his casting ability being actually true.
'I didn't expect that to happen at all!'
The woman wasn't hurt, but the momentary distraction allowed Chrom to thrust his blade at the woman. The woman rolled just in time before being hit by Chrom's strike, this gave Robin more opportunities to attack from a distance with his magic. Chrom's attacks were repeatedly blocked and sometimes countered, causing a few cuts, but nothing fatal…yet.
He noticed though that she was not really focused on fighting, she kept on blocking Chrom's attacks.
'This is our chance!'
Waiting for a good chance to attack, Robin fired another spell at the woman, this time hitting her on the face. Robin was elated when the spell hit her, then it changed to fear and disappointment when the woman stumbled only for a bit, only to glare at him. The area where he hit her is now bleeding and mildly burnt, but it seems ineffective to stop her
'Why the hell are my spells not working against her?!' Robin was frustrating that what he thought was a powerful enough spell only made a relatively minor wound on the her.
The girl had enough, it seems, marching slowly towards Robin. Chrom decided that this was an opportunity to strike. He swung his blade downward, only to be parried by the woman. She then kicked Chrom at the side of his knee, sending him kneeling on the ground. She then disarmed him, threw his sword away than started running towards Robin's direction.
Robin panicked, ranged combat was one thing, a direct fight against a more experienced fighter was another. He continued firing more bolts toward the girl, only for it to be dodged easily. He sees the girl nearing him, preparing to swing her blade, he then quickly pulled out his sword to try and block attack.
The block was useless, as the girl knocked the sword out of his hand. He was about to move when a blade was pointed at his neck. He was expecting the girl to stab him but was surprised when she sighed frustratingly.
"Gods damn it, can't you two calm down for a bit? I cannot explain myself when I'm busy blocking your attacks"
Both men stared at her. Sighing as she put her sword away, she smiled at the two men.
"I think there has been an incredible amount of misunderstanding" The woman laughed softly, walking to where Chrom was lying on his back.
"I am Aya" Aya lowers her arms, offering a hand at Chrom. "A former guardsman from Valm. Why don't you introduce yourself? Is it not customary to give your name when introduced to?"
Chrom still in shock and confused from the previous turn of events, took a few seconds before he can say his reply. "Err, right. My name's Chrom, descendant of the Hero-King and prince of the halidom"
"P-prince?! You didn't tell me that you're a prince, Chrom! I-I mean, I apologize for my lack of manners, milord. I didn't-"
"Peace Robin, that is not important right now" Keeping his eyes on the girl, Chrom grabs the woman's hand, then uses it to help him stand up. "This is Robin, we found him unconscious and without memory of his past. We were headed to the capital when we saw the fire" Chrom looks to check on Robin, seeing that he was unharmed. His attention was brought back to Aya, who was checking her own weapon. "What brings a mercenary around these parts?"
"That's not important right now" With the girl grinning at him, Chrom resisted the urge to roll his eyes at her from using his own words against him. "I'm afraid that bandits are still roaming the inner parts of the town, with the leader at the very center. The survivors said that they are using the town hall as a makeshift base." She offered a soft smile to the two men present, then looks at the direction of what they thought as the town center. "I offer my sincerest apologies for our earlier misunderstanding, but I would like to ask for your help if you'd honor it to me"
"We'll help. These bandits will face justice for their actions against the civilians" Chrom said not a second too soon, eager to finally put an end to this bandit attack. Noticing the woman touching her wound and wincing from it, Chrom approached her. "Are you alright milady?"
"I'll be fine."
"Milady, I'm really-"
"It's alright. This was caused by an error of judgement from all of us, and the heat of battle does get to people's heads oftentimes" The woman said calmly, grabbing a few bandages from her pouch to patch-up the wound. A few minutes later, she finished, keeping her items and motioning for Chrom that she's good to go. "I'll be under your command then."
"Chrom, wait." Chrom was ready to head deeper into the down when he heard Robin calling him. "I'm not going to let you rush into battle without a plan. The last time you did that, well." Robin pointed at Aya, confused at the way Robin was pointing at her.
Chrom sighed deeply before looking back at him. "Alright, you seem to have a plan in mind then?"
"No. Not yet at least" Robin massages his temples, making him look like he's suffering a headache. "I dunno, some things just…come to me, especially in the heat of battle. Like how best to attack enemies, or how we can set up proper formations. Maybe I was a tactician, before I lost my memory."
Chrom walks to Robin, putting a hand on his shoulder to try and hopefully comfort him. "Is there something wrong, Robin?"
"It's just- Aren't you afraid Chrom? I know swords, magic, and now tactics? And I'm wearing this" Robin motions to the cloak he's wearing. With a deep sigh, he tries to rub his hair in hopes to calm himself down. "What if Frederick's right Chrom?" He then looks at Chrom, a hint of sadness and fear in his eyes. "What if I was meant to kill people, innocent women and children. What if- What if I was supposed to kill you?"
Unsure of what to do, and a lack of experience in handling sudden emotional outbursts, Chrom kept his hand on Robin's shoulder, grabbing a hold of it reassuringly.
"That doesn't matter." Both men looked back behind them. Surprisingly, it was Aya who spoke up. "I can't help but overhear you both. I understand you lost your memory, am I correct?" With a nod from Robin, she continued. "Whatever you are in the past, whatever you did, it doesn't matter right now."
Taken aback by her harsh words, Robin stammered to find the words to use. He knew those words were true and they were needed, but it still did not ease his insecurities. These are good people, he thought, and he cannot, in good conscience be the reason they got hurt.
As if sensing his inner turmoil, Aya sighs then the look on her face turns into a soft and comforting one. "If you're really bothered by it, then live this life well. Protect the people around you, innocent lives, family and friends" With a couple of strides, she was beside the two men. "Your past might be hazy and dark, but you have a bright future ahead of you. The prince of the realm trusts you enough to be at ease around you. Let that trust fuel you onward"
Taking his chance, Chrom chimed in in comforting his new ally. "She's right Robin. You can't change your past, but you can damn sure make your future better."
Robin can only sigh in relief from the unexpected effort the two did just to ease his worries. With a lighter heart and a clearer mind, Robin smiled at the two. "Thank you for your vote of confidence, I'll be sure that your trust is not misplaced." He looks at Aya curiously, still not used to her considering they both fought just a few minutes ago, even if it stemmed from a simple misunderstanding. "You know, for a mercenary you seem awfully wise"
"Experience is an effective yet cruel mentor. Now come, we have a village to save" With a shrug, and a kind smile directed at him, Aya began walking. The two men shared a look of confusion, but decided to follow her.
What should've been a few minutes of walking turned into more than an hour to approach where most of the bandits are located. On their way, they encountered a few people who managed to hide, those who have minor injuries, and on one occasion, one who was heavily injured and needed to be treated instantly. None of them are healers of course, so the most they could do is clean and close the wound, give medicine to the injured, and cover up the wounds. Fortunately, Aya carried a lot of vulneraries on her pouch, enough for the injured and for themselves. Chrom and Robin both gave the directions to where the "healing camp" was, and said that a paladin, a cleric, and a lot of villagers who managed to survive were waiting for them.
When they arrived, they found themselves on the outskirts of a marketplace. Slowly and quietly, they walked to a nearby house and hid behind it, occasionally peeking to see the whereabouts of their nearby enemies. When they were sure that they have a rough outline of the field and a plan, the three rushed into battle.
"Chrom, watch your right! A spell's heading towards you! Aya, get that bandit before he reaches Chrom!" With commands being shouted in the middle of the battle, the three of them dealt with most of their enemies at the marketplace. During the fight, a few reinforcements nearly ambushed them when they passed by the other town entrance. Fortunately, Robin's quick thinking managed to carry them through, with only minor scratches as their heaviest damage.
"Nice work. Only a few more and the leader are left. Be quick, but be careful" Chrom and Aya runs to the bridge connecting the town hall to the marketplace. Robin was about to follow them when he heard a cry. He quickly looked for the source of the sound, finding that it was on the opposite side to where they were supposed to be headed, a house just a few strides away.
"You two go first, I'll follow later!" Not making sure if they heard him, he runs towards the source of the sound.
Robin pulled his sword, readying himself for a fight when he noticed a kid, just around early teens, stuck underneath the pile of roofing
"M-mister, p-please help!" In a slight moment of panic, Robin dropped his sword to kneel in front of the boy. "Hang on, I'll pull you out!" He then grabbed the debris and quickly pulled them away. In the heat of things, he didn't notice a man quietly approaching from behind.
"Mister, look out!"
By the time Robin looked behind him, a foot landed on the side of his face, sending him sliding away from the boy.
'D-dammit… the hell was that…'
"Ain't so tough now, pretty boy." The man looks at the boy then back to Robin, spitting on the ground under him. "Yer lot killed our men. Now imma kill you, then the boy, then that blueberry friend of yers." The man slowly approached him while laughing darkly. "We're gonna ambush those two, and sell that red haired bitch. Well, after we have our little fun with her" Robin tried to desperately reach for his weapon, but was stopped when the bandit stepped on his hand, making him scream in agony. "That's for killing ma' mate earlier, you bastard." The man planted his foot and stomped his sword arm hard, his knuckles giving soft cracks.
Robin cursed the gods for his luck, cursed himself for his arrogance and bad decision to try and be a hero, try to prove himself useful. It all backfired at him, and soon, that mistake will cost him his life. He saw through the shadow of the man that he was raising his axe to really finish him off. He closed his eyes, hoping for a clean and painless death.
Robin did not expect that the pressure on his hand eases up, using this to his advantage, he quickly pulled his hand and rolls to his side to look at his attacker, only for his eyes to widen as a spear was piercing through the man's chest.
"G-gah! W-what the-"
"Robin!"
Robin looked around for the source of the voice, seeing a familiar blue armor on a horse heading towards him, verifying that it was Frederick with Lissa sitting behind him. He then tended his hand, seeing that there was a little bit of swelling and throbbing pain on his palm.
Frederick's horse stopped right beside him. Lissa noticing his pain, jumped off the horse then ran towards him. "Robin, what happened? Where's Chrom?" She pulled out her staff and pointed it on the wound. Frederick meanwhile rushed to the trapped kid's aid, struggling, but somewhat more effective compared to Robin,
"This guy attacked me from behind. Find Chrom, they'll be-they'll be ambushed." With the calming effect of the staff washing over his hand, Robin relaxed while being healed. "I came here to help this kid, b-but-"
"Robin, by the gods, what the hell happened?!" The two snapped their attention, seeing Chrom running towards them, Lissa was about to shout at Chrom when she noticed that her brother is accompanied by someone. "Are you alright? We heard a scream and we assumed the worse" Chrom knelt beside Lissa to check Robin's condition, seeing that he was not severely wounded at least. "What happened?"
"He got careless, that's what happened!" Lissa said, annoyed at the way Robin got injured. Whatever he wanted to say in his defense was forgotten as a sudden surge of warm relief was felt on his injured hand. A few minutes later, the healing light of the staffed died down, allowing him to relax a little bit. He looked at his hand, seeing that it was virtually fine, but it still felt relatively week. "I healed all the major injuries like the broken bones and the bruised parts, but it'll take at least a day for you to fight on that hand." She put away her staff before getting a hold of Robin's hand, looking at it for unseen damage. "You should be careful next time, 'kay? Or at least have someone watch your back."
"Yes mother, I hear you loud and clear" Lissa groaned annoyingly as he chuckled. Robin took a look at the reason why he was here in the first place, happy that Frederick and Aya managed to help the kid.
Chrom could only sigh in relief as that little event was sorted out. He noticed that Lissa was trying to grab his attention. "What is it Lissa?"
"Who's that girl? You weren't philandering in the middle of a pillaged village now, were you?"
"Wha-huh?!" Taken aback by his sister's accusation, Chrom could only stutter while she laughed. The glare he sent Lissa's way was not as menacing than what he thought he did.
Instead of feeding Lissa more fuel for her teasing, Chrom glares at her instead before answering. "Her name is Aya, and she's aiding the village against these bandits."
"So you're not gonna deny that you have been philandering then?" Chrom could only growl helplessly as Lissa ran to where Frederick is.
"Could be worse, you could have a stuck-up and spoiled brat for a sister."
"Well, you got that last part right." Chrom and Robin walked towards the group, seeing them around the kid, with Lissa using her staff to heal him and Aya and Frederick on the sidelines, it's sort of sight that gave him a vibe of completeness.
A few minutes later, after securing the boy's safety. They regrouped and planned for their battle ahead. They scouted at them from afar, seeing at least six people guarding the bridge, with their leader standing outside the hall near what seemed to be a pile of stolen goods from around the place.
"Chrom, what about him? He's can't fight and he's still banged up"
"He can use my horse, milady. I can fight on my fight just as well as I do with a mount."
"Aya and I can stay near your horse while we fire spells at them from afar. Frederick and Chrom, you two will be the spearhead of our attack. Lissa will be with us but not too far from you guys in case either one of you gets hurt. Sound good?"
"I advise to be careful with the attacks. The less collateral damage we do, the easier for the town to recover"
Robin nods at Aya, pulling out his tome. "Let's go finish this damn thing."
The battle was relatively quick, between their combined skill, team work, and their excellent strategy courtesy of Robin. After the battle and securing the area of bandits, Chrom gave the go signal to allow the villagers to return to put out the fires and start the rebuilding process.
A few hours later, Chrom was sitting on a nearby boulder, looking at Robin and Lissa, aiding the villagers.
"He's a really excellent tactician"
Chrom looks around to see Aya walking towards him. She sat beside him, eating a piece of bread. She offers Chrom a bit, to which he declined. "Yeah, he really made the battle quite easy for us back there"
Shaking her head, she continued eating beside him. "I didn't mean that. But really, you two are very similar. It's very rare for a commander and a tactician to care for civilians and collateral damage"
"You think so huh?" Absentmindedly, he asked her. He did think him and Robin clicked in the battlefield. Robin seems to bring out the warrior that he wants to be in him on the battlefield. "Do you think I should convince him to join?"
Finishing her food, she wipes her hand off of breadcrumbs. "I think you know my answer to that"
"What about you then?" Chrom looks at her, a serious stare seen on his eyes. "What would you do now?"
"I'll probably roam around for a while, then look for a job"
"I, well, I would like to offer you a job. I'm a leader of a militia called The Shepherds. We can use someone with your skill, if you'd accept"
Aya laughed lightly at Chrom, shaking her head. He thought that she would decline, but was surprised when she stood up and offer her hand to him. "Could be worst. A tyrannical warlord might conscript me to fight for him"
Chrom grins at her, then shook her hand. "Thank you for accepting"
"It's my honor, descendant of the Hero-King"
"Chrom!"
The two of them looks behind, only to see Lissa, a very stoic Frederick, and a laughing Robin. They decided to head towards the three.
"Chrom, tell Frederick to let us rest in the village. Some of us are offering a place to stay for the night" Lissa put her hands together in a pleading manner, then flutters her eyelashes at Chrom. "C'mon, please?"
An old man approaches the group slowly. With a cane in hand, he seemed a little happy, from his expression. "Milord, please stay here for the night. It's the least we could do to repay your kindness"
"We would love to, but we are pressed for time" Chrom then looks at Lissa, his sad and disappointed look masking his mischievous happiness. "I'm really sorry Lissa, but we need to camp out there"
"B-but, they're preparing soup, a-and a small feast for us! And besides, I don't wanna sleep outside!" Lissa then looks at Aya, seemingly giving up hope that Robin would help her out of this.
"I'm really sorry, but I cannot help you here Lady Lissa. Your brother is my superior and cannot I defy him"
Lissa pouted for a short while, then screamed childishly. Robin and Chrom laughs, while Frederick shakes his head from how ridiculous this is.
'Your descendants are really interesting, Marth. I think you'd be happy to meet them'
Aya looks at them all before she smiles then starts to laugh with them. Everything will be fine, it seems.