The four-day journey to Regna Ferox was mostly calm. The only incident they suffered was an encounter with a group of the newly named "risen", the same monsters that had attacked them on the way to Ylisstol. It was Robin's first real battle as a Shepherd, and the first time he would have to prove himself in front of his new companions. The thought made his stomach turn. The attack had been completely sudden and he had no idea were to start, nor time to think cautiously about it. And to make things worse, one of his companions had lost his weapon.

Robin breathed deeply and quickly checked the terrain in front of him. Most of those monsters were at the other side of the river, so the bridge could make a good chokepoint. He sent Frederick and Stahl there to stop them from advancing, Miriel to help the knights with magic and Lissa to heal when necessary. Then he sent the other Shepherds to deal with the rest of the risen on their side of the river.

The battle went well and no one got badly hurt. Robin blushed at the many compliments he got from the Shepherds that were fighting under his comand for the first time. Even Sumia thanked him, since he had had to think of a way to make sure she wouldn't be hurt while the others fought. Although Robin was sure he had seen an enemiy been suddenly defeated a few steps before reaching her…

"That was great, Robin! You're an amazing tactician!" Lissa happily chirped when they continued marching north.

"Thanks…" Robin smiled at the compliment, but he felt a little bit embarassed.

"I will admit I thought you could have ulterior motives when giving orders." Frederick added.

"You're the one with the best armor and the strongest horse!" Robin complained "If someone could have hold the risen off on that bridge, it was you. And I sent Lissa to heal you in case something went wrong!" He defended himself.

"And he sent Miriel and Stahl to support you. He clearly didn't want you to get hurt." Chrom added, feeling a little annoyed seeing his leuteniant was still sceptical.

But Robin let it go. He had the feeling that he would need more battles to prove himself, so he didn't argue. Well, if Frederick wanted more proof of his non alliance with Plegia or brigards, he would have them. And the tactician didn't mind that at least one person wouldn't trust right away the random amnesiac guy found on the ground that was clearly not to be trusted right away.


Once the misunderstanding with the border guard had been cleared, Chrom agreed to help Khan Flavia to gain the shared throne of the Khans. It woud still take a week and half for the tournament to start, and they would have to travel another two days to get to the place where it would be celebrated. Chrom decided to send a letter telling his sister of the developments.

Robin decided to take that chance to watch the rest of the Shepherds training and making sure he could develop a good strategy for the tournament. The last thing he wanted was letting the prince that had given him a home die. Or any other of the Shepherds. He did hope that Khan Flavia's wish for them to survive the tournament was an exageration.

He spent the little free time he had wandering around the feroxian town. It was place built in hard stone, almost constantly covered in snow. The arena could be seen from anywhere in the city and the surrounding mountains. The second day after their arrival, after sliping for the third time on ice, buying a couple of warm meat bread rolls to eat and watching some children play on the frozen river, he realized the feeling that had been at the back of his mind the whole time was nostalgia. That place felt like home…

He was staring blankly at the people on the river below him when a sudden presence brought him back to reality. Khan Flavia smiled at him as greeting, and sit next to him.

"So Yilisse's tactician likes to wander around the town with the common folk."

"It's a really nice place. And I like the snow and the cold weather." It had been a recent revelation that had made him strangely happy.

It also made him… well, "remember something" wouldn't be the right way to say it, but he had felt some strong emotions that were definetly related to the place. Or, at least, with how that feroxian city was. Perhaps he hadn't been there, but he had been on a similar place before.

Khan Flavia roared with laughter.

"That's more that what half of your Shepherds can say!"

Robin chuckled when he heard that.

"Yeah, I've seen they're not very used to the cold weather."

Flavia stared at him with with a glint of curiosity on her eyes. She seemed to be pondering something and wasn't sure whether to talk about it or not. She finally made up her mind, and opened her mouth again. But the words that came from it weren't in common Ylissean.

"So you are a Plegian man with a feroxian accent."

Robin's brain didn't have trouble understanding the words it was hearing, despite being quite different from everything he had heard until that moment. Even in their first meeting, Khan Flavia had spoken Ylissean, probably wanting to make her guests feel more welcomed and willing to fight for her on the tournament.

"So it seems." Robin answered in the same language.

It both surprised him and soothed him how easily the words came from his mouth, as if his brain had been patiently awating the moment he would use that language again. They seemed even easier to pronounce for him that Ylissean.

Khan Flavia looked surprised at the answer, despite having been the one who had started the conversation in another language.

"I was told about your amnesia. Do you remember anything about this place? Or another Regna Ferox town you could have been?"

Robin scratched his neck and looked away. The children down the bridge seemed to be racing and one of then had fallen and was slipping away. Two other kids tripped on him and fell as well.

"No." The tactician finally answered. "I don't remember anything specific, but I do have the feeling I've lived in a place like this for a long time, with my mother. Maybe that's why I have this accent."

"The strange thing is that you don't have an ounce of Plegian accent. As if you've never lived there."

Robin just sighted and kept staring at the children playing. They had gotten tired of the race and were making snowmen at the banks of the river.

He didn't have an answer to that.

"Well, sorry, it's not like I came here to interrogate you." Flavia apologized, feeling she had gone too far.

Robin shrugged. "It's fine. I would be curious if I were you, too. I just don't really have many answers."

"It's a shame Chrom found you first. I you had been wandering closer to our capital, I could have made you our tactician instead." She winked. Robin laughed. "Dinner will be ready in an hour on the canteen in the arena. Don't be late or you won't be able to eat!" She got up. "See you there, master tactician."

"I'll keep it in mind." Robin smiled.

He got up too and followed her. Snow was great, but a warm meal sounded even better.


The cries of the audience were deafening and could be heard far away from the battlefield. Robin had to resist the urge to groan when he saw it. It was a completely flat field, with no high terrain they could take advantage of. He had already expected that, of course; but he had hoped for some obstacle that would help him plan. That Marth was strong and skilled; and fighting head on would be hard.

Robin knew something was wrong when he saw Chrom froze next to him when he saw Marth. The tactician followed the direction of his gaze and focused on the sword Marth had. It looked like the Falchion. In fact, it was exactly like the Falchion. As far as Robin had been told, that was impossible; and Chrom's reaction confirmed it.

Chrom running straight to Marth the moment the battle started and ignoring the plan confirmed it further. Robin did quick mental changes and barked orders to the rest of the Shepherds. He run off with Lissa to get to Chrom and give him support.

Watching Chrom and Marth fight was like watching Chrom fight with a mirror. The same moves, the same angles; but directed at himself. Despite Chrom's ability, it was obvious that he wasn't used to fight against someone that fought so similarly to him, and it was unclear whether he would be able to win. Robin intervened, throwing a fireball that surprised Marth and helped Chrom knock his sword from his hands.

The battle was over a little after that. The audience roared, celebrating the new champions and their new Khan. Despite Chrom's attempts to talk with Marth, when the mediator aproached Chrom to declare the Shepherds winners, the young man managed to slip in the shadows, unnoticed.


The crecent moon hanged in the sky, with a few stars and many dark clouds joining it in the darkness of the night. Chrom was pacing quickly around the wall of the arena, crushing the snow with his boots.

Robin had had a bad feeling when he saw his commander's expression after the fight, and instead of going to his temporary room in the building, he had gone to the upper part of the coliseum. His hunch had been right, but still didn't know what to do. Chrom looked furious or, at least, unsettled and very nervous. Robin had heard him yell in anger before, but Chrom was so clearly disturbed the tactician wasn't sure how he would react if he tried to aproach him.

Still, it was obvious that he had to do something, if only to convince him to go to his room and stop trying to freeze himself walking outside in the coldest hours of the night. Robin breathed deeply and aproached him, trying to be loud to anounce his presence. Chrom stopped walking when he heard that and looked over his shoulder. He frowned when he sae Robin getting closer and started walking again. Robin sighted.

"Chrom, wait, please!" He ended up yelling, hoping Chrom would stop again.

He did, but his expression showed the tactician wasn't a welcomed distraction.

"What?" He abruptly said once Robin reached him. The Plegian man flinched at the voice and looked away, but still talked as firmly as he could.

"It's late and you should go to sleep. We leave in a couple of days."

"What we should be doing is looking for that "Marth", not wasting our time!"

"He left right after the battle." Robin tried to reason with him. "He could be anywhere and-"

"That's why we should be after him! The more time we waste here, the less likely we are to find him! We have to ask him where did he get that sword and how-"

"Chrom!" Robin yelled.

It was so sudden the prince felt silent and stared at him, surprised. Robin had closed his eyes and seemed to be trying to choose the right words. He slowly opened his eyes and aproached the nervous commander.

"Chrom." The tactician started again. He softly grabbed one of his hands and stared at him with a calm expression. "Breath. I know. This is weird, beyond weird. Completely unexpected and possibly dangerous; and we need answers. But we just fought a very hard battle and the Shepherds need to rest. And so do you. "Chrom tried to reply, but Robin talked faster. "We came to Regna Ferox for a specific reason: to get help to fight the brigards Plegia sends. And we did it. Now we have to inform your sister. Or I am wrong?"

Chrom stared at him and then sighted. It was true.

"Also, think about it. Both times we saw Marth he came to us. I doubt this will be the last time we'll see him."

The first time, he fell from the sky and went directly to protect Lissa from the risen. And then he had defeated Basilio's champion in a situation that definitely didn't seem a coincidence. Marth had bested Lon'qu and gotten his position as Basilio's champion. Robin was sure he had done it specifically to see them.

Chrom finally seemed to relax a little.

"You're right. I haven't even written Emm a letter yet."

Robin smiled when he saw him relax. He also realized he was still holding his hand. Gods, what was he doing?! He tried to let it go as smoothly as possible, but Chrom didn't notice it and kept holding it. Robin could feel his face getting warmer and was glad the night was that dark. He tried hard to not focus on their hands.

"Well, then I suggest you go to sleep and write that letter first thing in the morning so you can send it. Agreed?" Robin was proud that his voice didn't tremble a single time while saying that.

"Agreed." Chrom accepted, nodding.

They walked together to the door leading inside and then Chrom let go of Robin's hand. They went each to their room.

Robin didn't dare to look at himself in the mirror before going to sleep.


It always felt odd to me that Chrom barely reacted when seeing Falchion 2.0. beyond the battle at the arena.

It's not as if it wasn't unique, only usable by chosen ones with the right blood who happen to be royals, and one of his country's royal treasures.

:/