Quick note: If you cannot stand Original Characters or an abundance of Original Characters in a fanfic, you should turn away from this story.
If you do not mind but do not like them being paired with canon characters, well...that's harder to say. This is a Concubine AU, meaning the Exalted line, in this fic, have lovers other than their main pairings. And Chrom has sired children other than his two main kids. This is important for the story to...make sense in this world. But, if you still don't like that, I won't take offense in you turning away.
If you're worried about OCs taking over the plot then that's...as hard to say. The OCs will be important to the plot, but first and foremost this is a Lucina/Robin fic. It will focus on their development mostly, but if character development is called for those characters I won't skip out on it.
If there's something particularly triggering in later chapters, I will make sure to put the warnings both before the chapter and afterwards.
Now with that out of the way, please enjoy ah...this AU that appeared in my mind.
The Exalt was a legendary figure in the history of Ylisse. It's said that the Exalted line was blessed by Naga herself. It's said that she gifted her bloodline and left behind a brand to mark who is worthy of taking the throne and use the ancient weapon Falchion. The legends say that as long as one of the Exalted line was on the throne, Ylisse would forever be prosperous.
After the second Exalt took the throne, their heir became deathly ill. The situation was dire, to the point where no cleric could find a cure. With the Exalt's partner dead, the people, the Exalt, and the council feared that no one of the holy bloodline would be able to take the throne.
So the council came to a decision.
The Exalt would be gifted lovers – just a few – who would help them sire a few more heirs. That way, one of them would have the brand and if the young crowned heir died, they would still have someone who could take the throne.
Regrettably, the young heir did die young and another heir, birthed from one of the lovers the Exalt had taken by advice of the council, took the throne. They were then met with awkward questions about the lovers the previous Exalt had taken. What to do with them? What to do with the other children the lovers had helped give birth to? And should the current Exalt take lovers as well?
History isn't written to give the smallest details, nor is it taught unbiased. Most of the time, it's told that there was a problem and then immediately give the solution. The people of Ylisse now don't know that at the time, it was a large topic of debate after the third Exalt had taken the throne. Nor do they know that it took nearly a full year before a conclusion was reached.
It was decided – an Exalt and their branded children would take some lovers to ensure an heir was available at the time of the Exalt's death. It would be until another two Exalts before they write down ways these lovers, in the end, called concubines, to be compensated and cared for even after the Exalt was dead.
Later on, it would come that concubines exist not only to give heirs, but also for the Exalt's own pleasure. And, of course, it would come that the Exalt doesn't take just one or two, but usually around five.
Now years have passed, wars fought, both won and lost. The second war between Ylisse and Plegia passed with the assassination of the Exalt Emmeryn. Emmeryn who, regretfully, died while pregnant with her first child, leaving behind no heir to take the throne. Her younger brother, Chrom, took the throne, which made his young five year old, Lucina, the crowned princess.
Now, fifteen years have passed. Ylisse and Plegia lived in a form of tense harmony due to their treaty after the second war. Yet, the topic of Ylisse wasn't something Plegia was interested in especially not right now. Instead, they were focused on a major event – the birthday of their Sacrifice.
The day was leading into chilled air, sending a small breeze through the open window of Robin's room. She kept her gaze out the window – longing – as the sun began to set over the horizon. She clutched her pillow to her chest, hazed, as the chatter of the excited servants in front of her was practically going in one ear and out the other. She imagined herself running towards the sun, not stopping until she could finally feel what it's like to be away from responsibilities. To be free. To choose something for herself—
"Lady Robin, what color would you like to wear?"
The question shocked her out of her fantasy. Slowly, she turned back to the beaming servants, who had just placed dresses down. They were…beautiful, she'd admit. Far more beautiful than most dresses she would wear, even for parties. They were the same dress, with high golden collars attached to V-neck straps that ended with a golden jewel that's supposed to be over her cleavage. The skirt of the dress flowed down, and were long enough to pool on the ground.
Yet, their beauty were soured knowing they were only made for her to die in.
She was silent a moment too long. The smiles of the servants started to seem a bit more fixed as one pushed, "Lady Robin? Please make a choice."
Her gaze flickered between them, then back to the dresses. She pointed to one – the red one – without much care, and kept her expression as neutral as possible. The servants beamed once again. Obviously, they had decided to ignore how out of it she was.
With a flourish, they took away the dresses, placing the others in a pile and leaving the red alone.
"Perfect! We'll get this ready with the rest of the outfit!"
They left chattering amongst themselves. Robin allowed herself to finally scowl.
She supposed they would find her death a good thing and expected her to feel the same. But why the hell would she?
Tomorrow, she would turn eighteen.
And tomorrow, she would be sacrificed to their Lord, Grima.
She stood from her bed, tossing her pillow to the side. For a moment, she glanced at her door, silently debating with herself, before quickly going over to lock it. After double checking, she headed to her closet and took out a hefty travel bag. The bottom of it was lined with a few of her favorite books already, as well as a couple of light clothes.
Silently, with a determined frown on her face, she began filling the bag with clothes, blatantly avoiding the fancier things. Taking it would just make her easier to recognize, even if she did sell them.
Tonight, she would run.
It's not as if she didn't love Plegia. She did. And she would miss it terribly. She loved the blistering hot days and freezing nights. She loved the local taverns and the shops and the people…
But why the hell should she stay in a place that's told her, from since she was old enough to comprehend it, that she would one day die without a choice?
So, she'll run. And won't look back.
(That was a lie. She'd definitely look back. And part of her would wonder if it was worth it. Lesser people would die for their country. People went to war for her country.
Why was she so selfish? Why did she think she had the privilege of breaking tradition?
What a terrible person she was.)
A few hours went by, and Robin had closed her window as it had officially gotten too cold to keep it open. Her packed bag was stuffed back into her closet. As the time ticked closer and closer to when she was supposed to leave, her blood rushed with anxiety. Currently, she wore her simple night gown and brushed her hair in front of her mirror, trying to seem like it was a regular night even if no one was there. She just had to look as if she was merely getting ready for bed.
She was usually up late anyway. What's a few more hours, waiting for all the lights to turn off and for the perfect time to leave?
A knock made her jump.
For a moment, she scrambled to stand and placed her hairbrush down on her messy table. It clattered with the disarray of cosmetics and creams that she hadn't bothered to clean from earlier when she was looking for things to throw in her bag. She glanced around the room – on surface level, nothing really seemed out of place, yet she still felt nervous. Someone who knew her would feel how the area seemed cleaner than normal. They'd tell that her book case was missing her favorite books. That there were things plucked from places. Maybe they'd even be able to tell that her closet was emptier than normal.
"Come in," she brushed nonexistent dirt from her gown. Despite herself, her hands shook.
Slowly, the door opened, letting in a flash of light from a candle. Robin could see the face of her sister, Aversa, at the door. Her hair cascaded down her back, far more elegant than the curled, messy state Robin's own hair was usually in if she didn't brush it religiously. She was clearly ready for bed, wearing a simple gown, though tighter and cut to be shorter. Robin had to hold back a fond smirk, imagining the blush of the servants she must have passed by.
Instead of teasing like her expressions normally were, Aversa had a strange smile – an almost awkwardly comforting one. Like she wasn't exactly sure what to say to her.
"Hey," she closed the door behind her.
Robin figured it was better than saying nothing.
"Hey," she clasped her hands behind her back, trying to hide how badly they were shaking.
It was one thing, lying to servants and to her Father, but to Aversa? More than anything, she was a better tactician than her and better at reading any situation thrown in her direction. She would see right through her in an instant.
Robin watched, calculated, as Aversa placed her candle down and moved to sit on her bed.
"I – well I came to…you know. Check on you. You've been…distant all day."
"You know, there were a bunch of…decisions to be made. All day. Last minute plans and all" And packing. More packing than she expected.
"You can talk to me," Aversa pushed, her light brown eyes searched her face. Robin made sure to look away. "I know I'm not the best at the…comforting thing. But, I can try."
No, you're not. Was what Robin wanted to say, but she kept her lips firmly shut. She loved Aversa, she really did. And she'd miss her. She really would. But Aversa was a sorceress first, a tactician second, and a "loving" sister distant third. How could she trust her enough to really talk to her about how she knows she's going to die? Hell, Robin's lost count of how many times she ratted her out to their Father and ignored her suffering to help herself. Why would now be any different?
"…I'm fine," She said instead, turning to the mirror. She twirled a lock of her hair between her fingers, more than aware of Aversa's eyes locked on her back. "I'm turning eighteen. Who wouldn't be excited?"
"Don't fucking bullshit me, Robin. You're dying tomorrow."
"For our country. For our Lord, Grima." The words were easier than they felt. It was the same as when she was ten, sitting in the library, repeating what her father told her. "One day, I will die for the sake of prosperity. I will die for my country. I will die for Grima."
Back then, she hardly knew what half those words really meant.
Aversa frowned and crossed one leg over the other.
"You think I'll fall for that too?"
Robin whirled to face her directly, scowling. "What do you want me to say?" She snapped, "I'm turning eighteen. I'm dying tomorrow. I'm going to have a huge party where everyone will congratulate me. And then Father will lay me on the table and carve an eye into my stomach and stab me in the heart as I scream." She was shaking. Aversa had stood, but she ignored her. "What do you want me to say? That I'm scared? Of course I'm scared! Terrified! I don't want to –" A sob escaped her.
"…Aversa…I don't want to."
She was pulled into firm arms. Her sobs were muffled in Aversa's chest, and she clutched at her gown like she was five again looking to her sister for the affection their Father never gave and their mother was never there to give.
"…I know. It'll be okay. It'll all be okay." Aversa muttered into her hair and rubbed her back.
(I'll miss Aversa the most. She decided, firmly. She'd write her letters every day, even if she could never send them. She'd think of her whenever she'd see a black dress, a dark tome, a sharp knife, a book of tactics. They weren't ever really sisters – they never had the luxury – but maybe in another life they could have. And she'd wish those two a better life than she would ever hope to have.)
Gaius was late.
The moon was already high in the sky and Robin could tell just from past experience that it was far past midnight and it had passed an hour from when Gaius insisted he would be there. She had granted him several different ways to sneak into the castle and up to her room and, knowing him, he had already known about ten others she didn't know existed.
She felt almost silly, dressed in her travel clothes, and still debating whether or not to take her robe with her.
It was too obvious. It made her too noticeable. Yet…it was her Mother's. She had enchanted it magically herself. And told her Father that she wanted her to have it. There was no way she could just leave it behind.
By time she changed from a regular black cloak to the robe, she heard it against her door. Three soft knocks. A pause. Two taps.
She immediately leapt up from her bed, grabbing her bag and opening the door.
Despite her having blown out all the candles an hour ago, leaving only the moonlight, Robin could still make out his striking red hair and easygoing smile. A sharp sweet smell came from him – he always did smell like he had robbed a candy store minutes before coming to visit her. She wanted to hug him even though it had been less than 24 hours since they had last seen each other.
"Where the hell have you been?" She said instead, as she tried to keep her voice a soft whisper. She glared at him even though he probably wouldn't even see it properly in the dark anyway.
"I had things to do. Supplies to get. People to contact." He huffed, stepping back as she stepped out of her room. "Getting someone to make sure there's a path between borders is harder than you think. Things are still pretty tense. Some people think another war is going to break out at this rate."
Robin rolled her eyes despite herself.
"People always think a war is going to break out."
"It's a valid fear now," he began walking, his footsteps fast yet somehow so silent, like a whisper of the breeze. In comparison, she felt clunky and loud in her boots – and wondered how he could manage to do it so well. "After all, their key to prosperity is running off with a thief."
"Oh shut up," She smacked his back. He was joking, yet a hostile fear still gripped at her throat. Selfish girl.
He didn't see through her anxiety. But, she caught a glimpse of his smirk as they passed an open window, illuminated by the moonlight. It was comforting enough that she couldn't help but hand a small smile back to him.
The manor is strange at night. The last time Robin could remember walking around even near midnight was when she had just turned six and shakily walked along the walls, one arm wrapped around her favorite pillow while the other held a candle. She had walked from her room, softly crying, to Aversa's. She could remember being afraid of approaching her Father for having a nightmare. Even when she was young she knew he would never give her the comfort she wanted. Aversa would only sleepily give her space, let her cuddle against her to fall asleep, and then not speak about what happened the next morning. She supposed, back then, that's what she wanted even though it wasn't really what she needed.
Gaius led her down a staircase and stopped at the last step. She heard him starting to feel around the wall in the darkness. Immediately, she knew exactly what he was doing. This exit was known very well by most people in the manor. She didn't know about it because she used it herself, but because of the history it had from the past Plegian wars. It was mostly used as a secret way for servants to sneak in and out usually with messages and to hide from enemy forces.
Nowadays, it was just used as a way for lovers to meet in secret, if you believe the rumors.
There was only one window at the step – beaming over them so he would only see a few bricks. Robin frowned and reached over, easily pressing against a brick that gave under her soft but firm touch, pushing in and silently opening the passage.
"Nice job," Gaius said, and slipped in with her before the passage could close.
It was freezing, immediately hitting them both with a blast of cold air, though the chill was welcoming enough that Robin only sighed in relief. As they stepped outside, Robin's heart felt as if it wanted to jump right out of her chest. She kept her eyes firmly on Gaius's back as he speed walked through the shadows and easily avoided the steps of the guards and soldiers.
And, like that, they were free.
(Maybe Robin cried a little as the manor dimmed in the distance, as every step led them closer to the border, and every second felt like flying. Like freedom.
Freedom tasted salty on her lips. She decided it was the best taste in the world.)
"So everything is handled, right?"
They were an hour or two away from the border. Robin could feel exhaustion starting to seep into her bones. They had even slowed down a little, as the air started to get warmer the closer they got.
Gaius paused for a moment. Then, sheepishly, said, "Ah…not…exactly."
"…what the hell do you mean?" She took a few longer strides to get next to him.
He grimaced. "Listen, it's a lot harder to smuggle people to Valm than you'd think. Things are apparently getting pretty dicey over there. And rumors say they're planning to bring war to Ylisse after Chon'sin is completely taken over. A lot of people don't like dealing with wars, especially if traders are going to get in the middle of them."
"What the fuck does that mean, then? I can't get to Valm?"
"You will, but it's going to take a bit longer than I originally thought," his voice was kept smooth and easygoing, but she knew by the fact that he wasn't directly looking at her that he did feel a bit guilty. "So we're going to stay in Ylisse for a few days. I'll get everything arranged and then you'll get to leave."
"You've got to be kidding me," She said under her breath. The two of them? In Ylisse? Sure, Gaius had wandered around a lot, so he's used to being a stranger in a foreign place. But she had never stepped outside Plegian borders in her life. She'd be seen as suspicious at every turn. Would someone in Ylisse know enough about Plegian culture to know who she was? What she's supposed to do? Send her back—?
A hand on her shoulder stopped her racing mind. Gaius was looking down at her, his eyes were soft. "For once, Bubbles? Stop thinking. You're going to be fine. About a week from now, you're going to be in Valm, starting a new life."
"Right." She took a deep breath, nodding. "…R-Right. I'll be in Valm and…away from all of this."
"Should we stop to rest?"
"…no. I'm fine. I can handle another few hours."
"You can. But I want to make sure we don't collapse at the city entrance." Gaius plopped down at a tree, ignoring how her mouth dropped open.
"We're going directly to the fucking city?" She refused to sit down, even as Gaius frowned at her.
"It's big enough that it's hard to keep track of every little thing everyone is doing. And if I'm going to smuggle you to Valm in total secrecy, we don't need to attract attention. If I take you to a smaller town, everyone will remember the two strangers that stayed for a few days."
"We both have Plegian blood," She scowled and sat next to him, "We'll attract attention anyway."
"Not as much as you think. Just stay out of trouble, okay?"
She grumbled something fairly nonsensical, leaning over to rest her head on his shoulder.
(How hard could it be to keep her head down and out of trouble?)
~O~
Mornings in Ylisstol was the best, the quietest and, in Lucina's opinion, a perfect time to wake up when you want a moment of pure peace. She often spent her early mornings, right when the sun is rising, sitting at the balcony that faces east. It wasn't surprising that it was most likely built just for peaceful mornings like this
Lucina loved her country.
The obligations and stresses of being the crowned princess definitely didn't overrule that love.
Yet, even now, with her eyes on the sun just starting to creep over the trees, she could already feel the headache coming as her mind wandered to her daily schedule. The servants would begin ushering her to her duties. The clang of swords on the training grounds as she yells out orders and instructions to the recruits would ring in her ears for hours. The insistent nagging of the council as they urged her into getting herself an heir.
The thought made her grimace she didn't even realize she had placed a hand over her stomach.
She wasn't the motherly type. Or, at the very least, she couldn't imagine herself sitting for nine months as a tiny human grew inside her. Then, being forced to rest for another couple of months, away from her sword, and away from other responsibilities. How the hell did other mothers do it? How did her mother do it? Twice?
Yet she was expected to do it multiple times for the sake of an heir, in case she or her child died young.
That was one of the only things she hated, being a princess. Being told that one day she'll have to be pregnant. None of her friends had to deal with the same thing. Some of them she was pretty sure planned to opt out of marriage entirely. In fact, she was pretty sure Severa had even sworn off having a child from a pregnancy because it would get in the way of her training.
Having that option felt something short of a dream.
The sun began to rise higher, she sighed to herself. The first person opened their window, letting in the fresh air. The earliest of risers began opening their doors, cleaning up, getting ready to face the day and start their work.
Lucina let out a soft sigh, standing to stretch and head to her room to change.
Time to face the day.
Lucina's days are often completely packed with thingsshe has to do. After breakfast, she's immediately at the training grounds with the recruits before training with her friends. Sometimes she'll visit the Pegasus knights, often to check on her sister, before heading back in to deal with her studies or join her father and mother with the council. Sometimes, she'll even be given paperwork and other various duties as her father was slowly allowing her to take more responsibilities in preparation for becoming an Exalt.
Today, she would have a short time with the recruits and hardly any time for personal training as her Father and Mother were away in Regna Ferox with other Shepherds. Something about visiting some old friends and checking up on something important. She hadn't dug too deep for the details at the time, but now she wished she had asked more and maybe even begged to go with them.
It was maybe selfish. But she really didn't want to deal with the council.
There are ten members of the council that do not include the royal members – aka Lucina's Father, her Mother, and technically her. Each member were handpicked at a mix of her Father's and her late Aunt's choosing, based on their knowledge of politics, the common people, and Ylissean history. They're supposed to be a form of extra wisdom to the Exalted family. They're supposed to be extra minds to debate ideas with. Yet, Lucina found quite a few of them particularly seemed to enjoy using their power and trying to push their own agendas onto her father whenever they thought they could slip by.
Council meetings are long, going over many topics and news that take either much debate or hardly anything at all to handle. She knew, intellectually, that council meetings are necessary for the development of the kingdom and are as important as any peace talk or writing of a treaty.
Yet, she couldn't help but be like her Father – craving a sword in her hand and acting, not sitting to talk about it.
At first, the meeting seemed to be going well. Lucina sat in her chair, directly to the left of the Exalt's chair at the head of the table. The empty Exalt's chair, which she kept glancing towards, wishing her father was sitting there. She wished he was here to glance back at her with the same bored expression in a moment of complete understanding that they usually have at these meetings.
She tried to seem even a little alert and even a little interested as one council member read off the numbers and reports of the harvest and their stores of food.
Honestly? All Lucina could tell was that things seemed to be going well, which did make her happy for her people.
Then, once the council member sat down, Lord Zelvester, stood.
Already, Lucina could feel herself pale and her palms sweat at the sight of his silver eyes boring right into her. He was the main council member in charge of more internal, political affairs in the palace. So, he's personally responsible for all the concubines as well as looking over them, keeping track of them, and especially keeping track of which have given the royal family children.
He's the reason Brady was moved from his mother's manor to the concubine section of the castle.
"As you all know," he began in a smooth, soft tone that subconsciously made everyone lean in, "we have a rich history of concubines and children born from concubines in the royal family. We've been more than gracious – even gifting Princess Lucina, with a prestigious one. After all, not many in the Exalted have a concubine directly from a noble family."
"And I thank you for that," she said carefully, suspicious to where he could possibly be taking this. "Brady is a trusted friend and I'm happy to have someone I can…" she cleared her throat, feeling a flush rise to her cheeks, "…confide in."
"You're welcome, Princess. Yet, please excuse my frankness as I ask, why are you not yet pregnant?"
Lucina bit the inside of her mouth, holding in a surprised, horrified scream.
"Now, now, Lord Zelvester," another council member spoke up with a chuckle, though a nervous edge was in their voice, "we don't know if she's pregnant or not."
"Actually, we do," With an easy flourish, he took a familiar few pieces of parchment tied together with a ribbon out from the sleeve of his robes. Lucina squinted as she tried to process what it was. Her eyes widened in horror and absolute familiarity just as he began to unravel it. "This is a record from Lady Lissa herself about the health of our Princess."
Lucina's hand gripped the seat of her chair. She felt like she could rip it if she really wanted to. As the royal healer, along with Libra, Lissa usually does bi-monthly check ups on not only her and Cynthia, but often the concubines and her friends as well. Then, afterwards, she keeps very concise records of their health. Just to make sure nothing was out of place.
"…she let you have that?" She forced herself to keep her voice leveled. "That's private information. I'm pretty sure she wouldn't be happy if you took it."
"That's the thing. I didn't take it," he gave her a "pleasant" smile that made her stomach churn. "Prince Masayuki happily handed it over to me, and since he's as good, if not better, than Lady Lissa herself. I'm pretty sure his word counts, correct?"
Lucina felt her face burn.
Masayuki is her older half-brother by just a few years, born from her father's first concubine in a complicated time, when it was thought that her Mother was infertile. She's not particularly close to him, and he's usually holed up in his office studying healing magic. Why would he just hand out her personal health information so easily? What was he thinking?
"So, if there are no problems," Zelvester cleared his throat before he read aloud, "'Lucina has shown no sign of pregnancy or signs of having sexual intercourse. This trend has gone on for months and, from her word, possibly won't happen for a long time. Note to wait for her own input on when she's going to have sex to start looking for any abnormalities.'"
He looked up at her like he had gotten her in check at chess. She could still feel the hot burn of shame, embarrassment, and anger on her face.
"Well? Would you like to give us an explanation, Princess?"
Frankly, no. She wanted to answer, though bit her bottom lip. All of the council members were staring at her, and once again she wished her Father or Mother were here to help her.
"Are you unhappy with the concubine we've given you? A concubine is there for you to have a child with or to fulfill your desires. Is your concubine not fulfilling you?"
"That's not…it," she said through gritted teeth. Gods, how was she supposed to make them even understand that she hasn't even been particularly interested in having sex in the first place? "You see," she started slowly, trying to piece every word correctly, "I guess I haven't found what desire I want, and being with a man hasn't particularly made me find it."
"So you don't want to be with a man?" A council member leaned over to her.
She flushed and sputtered, "Well, I'm – I'm not sure—"
"That's easy enough to fix," another interjected, now focused on the smug Zelvester, "that just means you can find her a woman concubine, correct?"
"Wait –what?" She sputtered, staring at all of them. Though now they weren't focused on her, but talking amongst each other.
"Of course, it'll be easy," Zelvester now sat, though looked as if he'd won somehow. "As per usual, I can send out the guards—"
"How many woman should be choosen from? Not too many I'm sure—"
"It should be easy to find someone—"
Lucina felt the blood drain from her face.
Oh no.
~O~
Robin and Gaius arrived in Ylisse later in the morning. People were bustling around busy streets and letting children run around in their version of play. They had only spent about two hours resting, so now Robin could admit to herself that she was exhausted. For once, between her and Gaius, he actually seemed just fine, merely glancing around the city as nonchalantly as if they were walking around Plegia.
The first thing Robin noticed was how it wasn't as hot as walking around in her home city. It felt like the type of weather just when the sun is going down and it was starting to get colder. It was comfortable, yet still felt strange when the sun was still beaming right down on them. The buildings were tall, and as were shuffling about, it just seemed so lively.
Though Robin could swear from the moment they walked into the city that she could feel eyes watching her directly. She couldn't help but force her tired, screaming muscles to move faster, trying to keep up with Gaius's longer legs.
Stupid tall people.
"…how often have you travelled here?" She said, trying to distract herself from the feeling that floating, judging eyes were staring and watching her every move. Like someone – multiple people were undressing her with merely their stares.
Gaius hummed. "Ah…more than just a couple times. I don't know the city like the back of my hand like I do in Plegia, if that's what you're asking."
"So…you know where you're going, right?"
He chuckled, reaching over and ruffling her hair with little warning. She yelped, jumping away to fix her pigtails, sending a glare as he laughed.
"Are you just going to question my judgement the entire time on this trip?"
"Maybe."
He shook his head before he stopped in front of a building she quickly realized was an inn, nonchalantly walking right inside. Inside was just as lively as outside, reminding her of days when events were going on in the city. It took her a moment to remember it was close to lunch, which was probably why it was so busy. Out of habit, she kept a hand over her coin pouch, even though she was pretty sure no other thief except Gaius would be close by.
Almost like he noticed her hesitate, Gaius easily approached the counter, taking out his coin bag. The man glanced up, raising an eyebrow as he placed down a few gold coins. His eyes narrowed suspiciously as he looked between the two of them.
"My sister and I need a room for the next few days. This should cover it, right?"
The man looked it over, then he nodded slowly. He let out a gruff, "just about," before slipping under the table to take out a key. "One room for you both? Two beds?"
Gaius grinned, taking the key from him easily. "That'll be perfect."
The room was on the first floor and was fairly simple. It had two beds pushed against opposite walls, and a window perched on the wall in the middle of them both, out to an alleyway. As Robin put down her bag and let herself collapse face-first onto the left bed, Gaius went over to the window, opening it and poking his head out.
"Perfect. This leads directly to the main street if we need to escape." He closed it again.
"Why would we even need to?" She slowly sat up, shrugging off her robe.
"Depends. Anything could go wrong," he crossed his arms, looking over to her as she began to pull her hair out of the pigtails, giving her a bit of a smug grin. "Finally tired?"
"We walked for most of the night," She said him, kicking off her shoes.
"We did, but I bet a hundred gold coins that you stayed up for two or three days before this, right?"
She fixed him with a glare, her cheeks growing hot in embarrassment that he read her so easily. In a swift moment, she ran her hand through her hair, then threw a stiff pillow at him. Usually he could easily dodge, but instead he laughed and let it hit his chest. He picked it up easily and tossed it back on the bed she had claimed.
"It's probably a good idea for you to rest anyway. You'll just get really bored staying here alone for hours."
"You're going somewhere?" The thought of being left alone made her alert immediately. He just waved a hand nonchalantly.
"I need to figure out just how long it's going to take until I can get you to Valm. My contact has someone here I can talk to, but it's just going to take a while to find them. And if I go there with you, they'll get…antsy. Probably won't give me the full story."
"Sounds shady," she yawned, laying down. "…but fine. How long will you take?"
"Not too long. I should be back in time to get us both something to eat." With a gentle hand, he reached over to squeeze her hand lightly. She gave him a sleepy smile in return. "Don't get into trouble, okay, Bubbles?"
She rolled her eyes, though felt the tug of exhaustion pulling on her eyelids. She hummed, finally succumbing to her exhaustion.
He chuckled and slowly pulled away.
She was asleep before the door even closed.
(But even in her dreams, she was an ugly state of confusion – her mind in shambles. It showed confusing images – of how they found her room empty. How they ran around in despair for the years to come. How her Father's anger, explosive, how he destroyed everything in his path. How Aversa scowled and cleaned the blade of her lance, calling for driving it through her heart for betraying them all.
In the end, she didn't get much restful sleep at all.)
Insistent knocking woke her up – and she immediately knew it couldn't have been very long since Gaius had left. Besides, she was certain that wasn't their knock. She glared at the door, rubbing her eyes, debating whether or not to actually open it. Who the hell could it even be?
Whoever it was knocked again, seemingly even louder and more persistent than a second ago.
"It's the royal guard! By order of the Council, you must open this door!"
The words made blood drain from Robin's face. She immediately scrambled out of bed, grabbing her robe and throwing it on, then she hurried to put on her boots. Why the hell was the royal guard pounding on her door? Where was Gaius? Did someone figure out who she was and told them to bring her back to Plegia?
The sounded like death to her ringing ears. It sounded like Grima was at her door, demanding her life. She threw her bag back over her shoulder and looked desperately at the window. It was a little high, but definitely big enough for her to fit through.
With hardly a glance back to the door, she threw open the window and pulled herself up to climb out of it, trying to ignore how her hair tickled at her cheeks. She had no time to tie it back up.
Below, luckily, were a set of crates that were probably filled with junk. Once she had one leg over the window, she stepped down on top of it. Then, she turned to pull her bag through the window, planning to run to the main street like Gaius had mentioned before –
-but her bag caught on the edge of the window.
"Really?! Now?!" Tears formed in the edge of her eyes as she pulled on her bag strap. The knocking had gone silent, but now she could hear the faint jiggle of someone trying a key in the lock.
Shit, shit, shit!
With all of her strength, she yanked the strap, losing her balance, and nearly falling off the crate she was standing on.
That's when the door opened.
She caught the silver glint of Ylissean armor, as well as two soldiers, their expressions were pinched in annoyance. Then, their eyes met, and the pair of eyes widened as adrenaline and fear pumped into her system. Without any delay, she turned and jumped off the crate, nearly spraining her ankle in the process. She bolted to the end of the alleyway in the direction where she hoped the main street was and prayed Gaius was somewhere safe. She planned to look for him later. Now, all she needed to do was run.
"Wait, stop!" Voices called out to her as she got closer to the end of the alleyway. She could hear the swift sound of someone jumping out the window – perhaps far more graceful than her – before footsteps quickly followed her and gained at rapid speed.
Dammit! Why the hell did Grima curse me with short legs?! She nearly screamed aloud. The end of the alley had people in the way, so she burst through, ignoring the startled, feminine screams.
She expected a bustling street filled with people going about their day for her to duck into and easily make the guards lose sight of her. Yet, to her horror, she found herself completely out in the open, more guards staring right at her. They all seemed to form a circle, and other people were watching in. In the middle of this circle, a tall man with piercing silver eyes and long, dark hair stared her down, with an eyebrow raised.
Oh shit.
"And what's this?" The smooth, cold voice reminded her far too much of "home." She kept a steady glare as he approached her slowly. "Another candidate?"
"A-Another…?" She stared. What the hell is going on?
"S-Sir!" One of the soldiers that was chasing her earlier came out from the alleyway. Now that she looked, she realized there was a gathered crowd of what could have been perhaps twenty or so women all around Robin's age. She looked through them, frowning – what were they gathering women for? Was an event happening that she stumbled in on?
As she tried to poke at her brain to remember Ylissean customs, the solider approached her, and grabbed her arm.
"Ow!" She tried to pull away, but that only made him squeeze harder.
"Lord Zelvester, sir, this woman tried to run away when we got to her room in the inn."
"Did she now?" The man, "Lord Zelvester," obviously some form of leader of all the soldiers here, had his eyes focused entirely on her. His eyes moved downwards, and she couldn't help an involuntarily shiver as they settled on her cleavage for a half a second. He was clearly stripping her with only his eyes. She felt like bugs had started crawling up her skin. Then, he sneered. "Plegian, aren't you? You're quite a beauty for someone of such barbaric upbringing."
"And what makes Ylisse any better than Plegia? Besides, you know I'm not from here, so whatever you're doing doesn't involve me." She snapped, trying to wrestle her arm out from the soldier's grip. "May I go back to my nap now?"
Zelvester stared at her, like he was calculating something particularly important. Then, he gave her an awfully nasty smirk that made her stomach curl with disgust. "Oh you can," He reached over to pat her cheek. She held back the urge to bite him, "but I think it would be best for you to do so at the palace."
Robin could feel everyone's shock. They stared at her with open jaws and most of the women gathered seemed jealous. Why the hell were they jealous?! She was obviously going to be taken to the dungeon! Arrested, because she had done nothing but be confused at some strange Ylissean event! At least Gaius would break her out easily and they could get the hell out of Ylisstol. Though she was sure he'd never let her live this down.
"S-Sir?" The solider holding onto her had his mouth agape like he didn't know exactly what to do. Zelvester only waved a hand.
"Come now, release her. I'm sure the Princess won't appreciate having her new concubine covered in bruises."
Robin's brain short circuited, like someone had aimed Lightning a bit too close to her head. She stared between them all. It was her turn for her mouth to drop open as the solider slowly let go, but now began to almost gently push her in the direction of the palace gates.
(Leave it to her to be in Ylisstol for less than a day and end up getting turned into the Princess's pet toy.)
Girls. Overarching plots where multiple things and people are influencing everything. Stress. Staying up until 2 am to write a chapter and then knock out to edit it for two days. What more can I ever want?
Yeah but this is gonna be a...trip. A huge one. Hopefully one that I can deliver if you guys want to go on this ride with me.
Btw if you wanna see me try to ramble or be dead silent for weeks you can follow me on twitter pandoraabx. Since I've pretty much abandoned my tumblr I can be found there.
EDIT 4/14/9: It was pointed out to me by NoNameAvaliable Bis that the formatting was off because FFN happened to delete the mark I used for linebreaks. Thank you for pointing it out to me!
