Exploitation
Chrom felt the warm air from the mess hall waft over him as he sat by himself at a table. The collection of obnoxiously loud voices from the other Shepherds formed together into a null roar while he buried his head into his hands. Not even a single day had passed since Emmeryn took her own life, and Chrom found himself unable to think of anything but her.
"Hey, Chrom." Chrom's gifted tactician and close ally, Robin, sat down on the other side of the table. "Are you holding up alright?" He gave Chrom a concerned look while his fiancée, Cordelia, seated herself at his side.
"Yes, I'll be fine." Chrom threw a quick glance at Robin and Cordelia before focusing back on the wooden texture of the table. His thoughts were interrupted by a loud burp expelled from Vaike's mouth. Chrom responded by slamming his fists down on the table and standing up. "I just need a minute outside."
Robin watched with concern as Chrom stomped out of the mess hall, and he motioned to follow him before Cordelia caught him by the arm.
"He just needs some time to catch his breath." She gave him a sympathetic look, but Robin still struggled to break free from her grip. "Alone."
"If you insist." Robin sighed as he stopped his struggling and tightly held Cordelia's hand.
A cold breeze drifted by Chrom's nose as he stepped outside the tent and gazed to the moonlit sky above. The commotion from the mess hall still followed him as he walked his way through the field of tents that the Shepherds had set up. Tomorrow was the day when they staged their final battle against Gangrel, and Chrom was more than eager to drive his sword through that man's wicked heart.
His feet made quiet squishing sounds as he stomped through the grass and toward a hill. A single tree sat atop the hill, which Chrom promptly seated himself against.
As he sat against the tree, the only thing Chrom could think of was Emmeryn. He could only reminisce about how she looked out for Lissa and him while they were growing up. He could only remember how those wicked peasants threw stones at her while she was trying to save their kingdom, and this was what her kindness was rewarded with.
He buried his face into his hands then battled the urge to cry. Emmeryn wouldn't want him to cry. Emmeryn would want him to lead the proud people of Ylisse to victory.
"You know, Emmeryn was wrong about Plegians." A frigid blast of air tickled Chrom's nerves as he jumped upright. "They deserve no mercy."
"W-who said that?!" Chrom got to his feet and hurriedly scanned his surroundings. "Show yourself!" He shouted into the night air. His breath became bated when a dark circle appeared before him, and a figure stepped out. He wore black robes that contrasted his gray skin, and his neck was abnormally elongated.
Chrom immediately recognized him as the man who led an assault of the Ylissean Castle in an attempt to take Emmeryn's life; he would've succeeded, if not for the help of Robin's quick thinking. "You tried to kill Emmeryn." Chrom spoke through his teeth as he grasped the hilt of Falchion. His heart was filled to the brim with metaphorical fire while he glared at the man in front of him.
"What? Oh, no no no." The gray man shook his head back and forth. "I would never intend to kill your dear sister. That scoundrel Gangrel held my family at the chopping block, and I had no option but to comply with his deranged orders." The man's voice was practically asking for forgiveness from the prince of Ylisse. "From the bottom of my heart, I am truly sorry about that night."
"You sent an assassin to wound me." Chrom gave the man a cold stare while his heart raced. He remembered how Ricken noticed something odd in the bushes that night, and that something turned out to be a concealed assassin.
"Gangrel sent him without warning me. I had no idea that assassin was there, and I would never send an assassin to wound a brave, courageous man like you." The man cracked an uncanny smile as he put a freezing hand on Chrom's shoulder. "I had so much respect for your sister, and to see her life wasted like this… Well, it brought a tear to my eye, really."
"Why should I trust you?" Chrom's tone sounded incredibly rigid as he brushed the man's bone-like hand off his shoulder. He was debating driving his sword through the man's chest.
"Look at these and tell me I'm not trustworthy." The man reached into his pocket and pulled out a bundle of papers. Chrom snatched the documents out of his hand and began to read them aloud.
" 'Validar is one of the most trustworthy people I've known, and he would never hurt the proud kingdom of Ylisse.' Signed by Exalt Igna-" Chrom paused as he read the paper and studied the name. That was the name of his father. "This is from my father." His tone had devolved from a growl to a neutral voice.
"Precisely. And if you still believe that I'm lying…" Validar spoke while he outstretched his arms and summoned a purple hole in the open air before Chrom. Inside the hole depicted a man with a scruffy, blue beard shaking the hand of a man with gray skin. "I worked extensively with your father before he met your mother, and I'd just like to say…"
The purple hole disappeared and Validar got to his knees. "I have served your family before you were born, and I am incredibly sorry for what has happened to you and your sister. Gods, I love illusion magic." Validar thought after he spoke.
"Why are you telling me this?" Chrom removed his hand from the hilt of his sword and raised an eyebrow. No matter how strange this man looked, if Chrom's father trusted him, then he should hear the man out as well.
"Because, I've worked with those vile Plegians. I've heard the things they have all said about your sister; about how they would like to strip her of her clothing and-"
"Stop." Chrom shut his eyes and raised his hand before the man could finish speaking.
"I can show you how they view your family, you know. Just follow me into that portal over there." The robed man motioned to the dark hole he had stepped out of, which continued to swirl as Chrom noticed it.
"What if this is a trap?" Chrom asked his perfectly-logical question.
"I, Validar, of the royal house Riamg, solemnly swear that I will do no harm unto you." Validar held up his hand and smiled. Even after all these years, he was still surprised at how good of a liar he was. He successfully fooled the head of the kingdom he was after into believing his lies, after all. "Don't you want to see how much of an impact your sister had on them?"
After giving it a thought, Chrom stepped forward into the portal while Validar followed him.
Chrom opened his eyes and looked to his feet, which he noticed were floating a couple feet above the dirt ground. At his right stood Validar, who also floated in the air. Chrom looked around and saw wooden shacks lining the road. "Here we are in the grand capital of Plegia."
"This place smells awful." Chrom stated as he covered his nose with one hand. He wasn't sure if the stench was of horse dung, corpses, a failed sewer system, or some foul combination of the three.
"Here, let me show you around." Validar smiled and thrusted his arm out. He floated in the same direction of his arm, and Chrom followed after him. Townspeople wearing cloaks walked underneath them, but acted as though the two flying men were invisible.
Validar landed on his feet as he stood before a door to a wooden shack-like building. He passed through the closed door as though he were a ghost while Chrom followed inside.
Candle-lit tables sat atop rows of wooden tables, and at the end of the room was a metal counter with various grisly men sitting atop stools. Chrom noticed a sign that said 'The Fell Dragon Inn'.
"'Ey, barkeep!" One of the patrons spoke. He wore a coat of animal fur and had a skull for a hat. "Where's that poster we used last night?"
"Keep ya pants on; it's right ovah here." The man standing behind the bar pulled a poster from underneath the counter. It depicted a scribble of a blond-haired woman with her tongue sticking out, and she had crosses for eyes.
"Now where's the platter o' knives?" Another man asked while the barkeep used a metal stake to keep the poster fastened to a nearby wall. Chrom felt his heart sink when he noticed that the words 'Egg Salt' were scrawled underneath the poster.
"Oh, gods…" Chrom walked next to the man who demanded the poster and stared at his face. The man didn't react to Chrom's presence.
"Alright. First one to land a knife directly in the Exalt's stupid head gets a free drink." The barkeep spoke as he went back to the counter, grabbed a platter of crudely-made knifes, and placed the platter on the counter.
"Hang on laddies; I got this." The man Chrom was studying stood up, grabbed a knife by the hilt, and angled it towards the poster. He closed his left eye and stuck his tongue out, then threw the knife. Validar watched as the knife sailed through the air and directly struck the center of the poster.
Chrom had to control his urge to punch this man in the face before Validar tapped him on the shoulder.
"See what I mean?" He asked while he gave Chrom a smile.
"This is just a sample of the entire country. It's not like all of them are this vile." Chrom spoke while he studied the face of the bar patron.
"Oh, but they are." Validar outstretched his arms and slowly lowered them to the ground. Purple holes emerged from the walls in the building, and inside the holes were visions of various places in Plegia. One hole depicted a man punching a statue of Emmeryn; another had a woman showing a picture of Emm with devilish red horns to her child.
Chrom had to avert his eyes as Validar walked before him.
"But… I thought her death meant something to them… Those Plegians led by Mustafa didn't want to fight." Chrom jerked his head back up and stared into Validar's eyes. "She died to bring peace to the two countries."
"I am not implying that she didn't. But I simply cannot grasp why you fail to recognize these scum for who they are." Validar pointed out across the multitude of holes. "These people cared not for the death of your sister. Those soldiers you fought yesterday were, as you put it, '...a sample to the entire country.'."
Even though every fiber of Chrom's being told him that these people were good, he couldn't find the strength to deny Validar's claim. Here he stood in a musty tavern filled with people who would love to kill his sister, while listening to the sounds of many more who would do the same.
"What are you trying to accomplish?" All of the confidence in Chrom's voice had departed. Validar knew he was close; very close to achieving his goal.
"I'm trying to advise you, as you're set to inherit the title of Exalt from your sister. Do not trust Plegians. They are a vile bunch of scoundrels, and a great deal of them didn't care for your sister's message." Validar walked outside the tavern while Chrom followed.
"You sound exactly like my father." Chrom stated as he stepped into the cold air outside. Chrom's father had been known for his bloodthirsty conquest of Plegia, which Emmeryn had spent her life trying to undo the damage his 'holy war' war caused.
"That's because he had the right idea." Validar looked over his shoulder to smile at Chrom. "Regardless, I think this lesson has served it's purpose." He snapped his fingers, and another dark portal materialized. "If you ever need my help, just say my name thrice." Validar outstretched his spindly hand.
Chrom shook the man's hand and stepped into the portal. His mind was still tripping and falling over itself in its attempts to make sense of what just happened.
"I... I'll consider what you've said, Validar."
Validar smiled with glee as Chrom stepped into the portal and disappeared. Sure, it had cost him a small fortune of gold to bribe all those townspeople into pretending to hate Emmeryn, but it was a necessary cost.
What mattered was that phase one of his plan was complete.
Robin simply couldn't go to sleep as he laid in his bed. The interior of his tent was pitch-black and all he could make out was the shape of Cordelia.
Cordelia turned around to face him as she laid on her side. Blankets covered her body.
"Are you doing alright?" She asked in a concerned voice.
"Yes, yes. I'm just anxious is all." Robin spoke as he tightly clasped Cordelia's warm hand.
"We're all anxious." Cordelia smiled as she buried her head into his bare shoulder. "But whatever the future may bring, we'll get through it. Together."
So this is a little idea I've had for the last few months, as a sort of 're-imaging' of the second half of Awakening, which (in my opinion) was the weakest half of the game due to Robin stealing the spotlight from Chrom when it came to the main plot. In this, however, the spotlight is shared between Chrom and Robin.
Bear in mind that certain things were slightly altered from the canon of Awakening to fit the events of this story (the absence of that mysterious swordsman, Marth, being one of them).
The chapters of this story will be uploaded in a weekly manner, similar to how Hisame's Beautiful Smile was handled.