The Exalt
It didn't take long for word to spread that the Tactician of Ylisse had returned more than a decade after his supposed 'death.' Such news brought fear that Grima had returned as well, but such rumors remained scarce in comparison to the actual good news.
As for Robin himself, he was sleeping in a rather undignified position with Cordelia sprawled barely dressed on top/next to him. Just like always, Cordelia was the first to stir awake and as such quickly got dressed and got to setting the day's plans in motion. Then again, her plans had been shattered by the return of her husband, who after 17 years had quite a bit of catching up to do with her.
And the kids.
And the Shepherds.
Preferably in that order.
Considering when the last time they slept together they were 22, Cordelia was still quite exhausted and was very tempted to go back to bed. Looking at who occupied said bed, she decided that that was a sin she would have to make. Quickly looking for her daughter who was already up to retrieve her other children, she caught up with Severa, not hesitating as she quickly rattled off the morning's preparations, mostly involving Robin's breakfast and Robin's second breakfast, along with other quick chores that her daughter was likely not going to do anyway. Watching as her daughter took off, she quickly transitioned to more important duties.
And she went back to sleep.
Severa gawked at the 23 page itinerary she had written down from her mother's demands. 14 of those pages involved something involving her father's breakfast, something she didn't mind doing at all. She loved to cook, but first, she needed some help, which happened to coincide with her actual duty of picking up Morgan and Marc. Mounting her Pegasus, she took off for the capitol about 20 minute's flight away.
As a knight, and first in command of the wing of knights that protected the Halidom, Severa often visited the capitol but preferred the peaceful hills of her house with her mother. Obviously, when duty called, she had her own room in the castle, not too far from the Shepherd's barracks, but it sparingly saw her company as the knight preferred her home. Today would be one of those days, as there would be a certain set of individuals she needed to retrieve.
There on the first floor lived a certain set of not-so-young-anymore-tacticians that needed to assist with her chores. Plus her father had been excited to see her younger siblings again, which Severa fumed at. Not that she was jealous, or anything.
The way the Morgan twins originally differentiated their names was in fluctuation of the last syllable. The female Morgan tended to pronounce her own name as a Mor-GAN and as such responded and was recognized with that sound. Likewise, the Male Morgan preferred a Mor-GIN which was pretty close to his sister but still discernible.
Eventually, especially on the battlefield, this confusion ran so high that Morgin decided to rename himself Marc, which no one debated. Robin and Cordelia questioned why they would name their future twins the same thing, anyway. So, Marc and Morgan were the tactician's twins, as Lucina made a poor attempt at joking about.
Their hairstyles were slightly similar in that they were messy and met in the middle of their forehead but aside from that, Morgan shared the same deep red hair as her mother, while Marc had ashen white hair like his older sister and his father. Morgan wore her father's tactician's robe when Cordelia wasn't, while Marc usually dressed in Ylissean guardsman armor, which consisted of a simple tunic and breastplate, forgoing the shoulder plates in favor of a bandoleer. Minus his white hair, he could pass as a common knight in training, if not for his magical aura.
Severa landed on the garden of the castle, a couple meters before the gate. Patting Robin (Pegasus) as she dismounted she hurriedly made her way inside. Even though she was dressed in common house clothes today, the guards still recognized her as a senior Pegasus Knight and gave her all the courtesies her station demanded. Taking one of the guards aside, she asked quietly where the Morgans were holed up this week.
Unfortunately, being the children of a perfectionist prodigy along with a magically-attuned god, the Morgan twins and Severa to a smaller extent had a large grasp over the arcane arts. Such arts had succeeded in incinerating half of the east castle floor along with countless texts and tomes that belonged to the twins' first room. Being instructors of the Ylistol college of magic, their fellow students Noire and Nah would accompany the twins more often than not in evaporating public property.
Thankfully, that day was not today, as Severa could tell that nothing was on fire yet, and she was going to retrieve them before they could change her claims.
The guard pointed out one of the far end rooms where the Morgan's bunked and mentioned that they should be awake by now.
Severa, ever so polite, picked the locked door and peeked inside, where Marc lay sprawled on the floor with a Thoron tome on his face while Morgan sat on her desk, etching down formations that could be used in future battles. Noticing their elder sister, both Morgans smiled and eased her on in, gesturing at her to be quiet.
"Good morning you two, I assume you've heard the news? Ah, what am I kidding, you probably started the rumor!" Marc grinned cheek to cheek, barely able to contain his excitement even as a 33 year old man.
"Call my priorities skewed, but I have so many new spells and strategies to teach- I mean show Dad!" Morgan laughed quietly and placed her arms on her chair in a lounging fashion.
"I can't believe we couldn't feel him." Morgan complained, more upset than jealous.
"I don't know how I did honestly," Severa admitted, "But it's more surprising that I was correct!"
"Are you sure it's actually him Sev? I mean, I know it's him, but how did he even get here? I mean, did he age? And if not that means we're older than him now! And if he didn't age, that means he was trapped in existence somewhere for 17 years! Think about that!" Severa shook her head, not wanting to think too deeply into the realms of trans dimensional teleportation and other aspects of time-warping and mind-fuckery.
"I'm sure, and to prove it, you both are coming back home with me to help make Dad's breakfast." Marc winced, while Morgan sighed sadly, closing her tomes and weighing her options.
"Was mom in charge?" Morgan stuttered quietly, to which Severa nodded, causing the twins to grimace.
"Show me the list, Sev," Marc asked, to which Severa handed him all 14 pages of food to make for their father.
"Damn, it's like we're running inventory for a Shepherd sortie." Severa laughed while plopping down on the ground next to Marc.
"Judging how fast word spreads, we might as well be preparing for an invasion today at home. You might as well be there to seal off the door entrances and to make sure Mom doesn't kill Dad." Morgan smiled and blushed, thinking of her mother completely- She winced and shook her head.
"How bad was it last night?" She asked with a grin.
"I'm running on zero sleep," Severa admitted, "I went 'for a run' at 11 and when I came back at 2 and they were still at it... Ugh."
"Anyway, help us get set so we can step off! We still gotta settle the... you know... Owain and Inigo..."
"Don't remind me," Severa groaned, picking up a few books and Morgan's robe before heading out the door. "I'm in the usual spot."
Finished packing, the Morgan twins finally got out the door, locked it securely, and followed Severa back to Robin, where she whinnied at seeing her other two caretakers. Marc was a proficient cavalier, especially with a lance or a sword, but when it came to flying he inherited his father's motion sickness. Morgan, on the other hand loved to fly even more than Severa but held lackluster talent behind the reigns. All three of them mounted and began to fly back home to start the chore of cooking for Robin.
Cordelia lay on her bedroom floor, staring blankly into the ceiling. She was alone, once again the sole survivor of her group. Once, it was her Pegasus Knight squad, and now, it was her union with Robin. Both times heading bravely into combat, she was the only member to come out alive.
She relived the nightmare of yesterday, going through the steps in the gruesome slow motion.
If only she was faster, if only...
Ugh.
Robin backed off, raising Thoron to strike.
Chrom raised Falchion. He should've swung right there, decapitated that bitch.
Chrom tossed Falchion and tackled her. She should've evaded that and grabbed Falchion and swung, something...
Robin charged a spell from his own hands and swung. She could've stopped him.
The sword struck flesh.
Ugh.
And now due to her incompetence her husband had disappeared along with the source of evil in all of Yllisse, Valm, and Plegia.
It was a price too high. Call her selfish, but it was too steep a punishment to be left alone. She would rather be in a family fighting for her world than living in its peace without them.
Severa and the twins were crying in their own rooms, and search parties had gone out across the lands to find their beloved tactician.
She knew they wouldn't come back with good news.
He made certain of that.
She made certain of that...
ThudThudThud
"Cordelia, are you in there?" Chrom, that bastard. He knocked again, calling her name. Cordelia picked up her lance from beside her bed and threw it purposely between and slightly below where Chrom's legs would be. Judging by the 'OHSHIT' and the rapid falling of armor and body, she knew she hit her mark, or slight lack thereof.
"You have three seconds to get the hell away," She warned viciously, drawing the Levin Sword that her husband used to own. Lightning and steel crackled in her hands as she aimed it at the door. Chrom had no idea what was happening just feet away and decided to turn the knob.
"Look, we're going to find him, alright? You're not the only one that misses him." Chrom opened the door and barely ducked out of the way of Cordelia's swing. The sword she wielded embedded itself in the doorway and sparks flew as lightning hit wood and started a small fire.
"Ah shit," Chrom sighed as he ripped off his cape and started putting out the flame. Unluckily, Cordelia had no mercy for the King and pulled out the sword, swinging wildly yet expertly again at Chrom, this time nicking his thigh and causing him to jolt in pain.
"Can yo-urgh, can you stop for five seconds?" Chrom drew his sword and held Falchion in a parrying stance just in case she were to swing again. Chrom took this time to examine the fallen Pegasus Knight. Half her armor was still lying on the floor, her hair was as disheveled as Stahl's on a rainy day after combat, and her eyes were as bloodshot as her hair, and twice as stressed.
"You look like utter crap." Cordelia sighed and dropped the sword, wiping the tears and sweat from her hands. She was tempted to fall on her knees and pretend to lean into Chrom's shoulder so she could stab in the back, but she deemed that was unwise.
"You're an utter piece of crap, letting my husband die." Chrom visibly flinched, his eyes faltering a split second.
"We both know it's what he wanted."
"You could've stopped him."
"I could've, but I'm fully capable in his ability to come back. I'm confident that my... OUR bond with him, is enough to bring him back home."
"He better, or I swear, 'King,' Lucina is going to see the throne a lot sooner than she's expecting." Chrom squinted visibly, the threat sinking in with its own legitimacy.
"Are you... threatening me? Cordelia?"
"No. I'm promising you," The knight replied with venom.
"I... See. You would have a good reason to kill me th-" Cordelia double tracked and her shoulders lost their rage. Staring at the ground glumly, her countenance dropped from adrenaline and anger to sheer fatigue.
"I'm sorry, Chrom... It's just, this war... It's taken away everything from me... My fellow knights, my friends, my husband... At least my kids are still here." Cordelia shoulders fell and her eyes closed as she slowly backed away from Chrom.
"I'll send over Severa and Morgan..." Chrom left slowly, closing what was left of the door shut as he backed away and turned to face the soldiers behind him. "Let's go."
Owain and Inigo looked at each other, having just witnessed their uncle/father getting anally fisted by Severa's mother, not sure whether words were necessary for this moment. Chrom trudged ahead of them, the nick on his thigh a subtle reminder that Robin's loss hurt someone more than even him.
Marc and Morgan were asleep on the ground when Owain and Inigo walked in their room, while Severa lay next to what was left of her side of the room's wall, a multitude of gashes and stabs evident providing crude ventilation, both towards Severa's anger and to the room itself. Her sword lay by her side, stabbed into the ground while its owner lay sprawled on her bed, face in her pillow.
Owain cleared his throat to get their attention, while Inigo just timidly hid behind his cousin. The blonde swordsman scratched his head, trying to determine how to politely wake/stir his comrades awake. Severa beat him too it, rolling over and showing just as red eyes as her mother. However, she was much more hostile and threw her sword almost instantly, embedding itself in the wall behind Inigo.
"How does it feel, you bastards?" Severa gritted out, her tone more menacing than Grima himself.
"I don't understand Severa?" Owain replied cautiously.
"How does it feel, waking up this morning to both your father and mother within touching distance!? BOTH OF YOU?" Her yelling stirred Marc up suddenly, while Morgan merely craned her head upwards.
"I can't... Severa, I'm sorry but-" Inigo tried to comfort her but Severa immediately retorted with words far sharper than the sword behind him.
"No apology is going to bring him back... No. Naga said herself that if the bond I SHARED WITH MY OWN FATHER WAS STRONG ENOUGH I... We... He would still be here..." She smashed her head back into her pillow and sobbed violently into the sheets, her shoulders convulsing with grief and anger.
"He will..."
"No... Not again..." Severa sobbed, "THE ONLY REASON I CAME BACK WAS TO REUNITE MY FAMILY AGAIN! NOT FOR STUPID CHROM AND SAVING THE WORLD! I DON'T CARE ABOUT THAT! I..." She faltered again.
"What good is a saved world... when you can't live in it... with those you loved most..." Severa closed her eyes, wailing even as her younger siblings comforted her.
"Severa, Morgan... Your mother wants to see you... When you're ready." Inigo left the room, gesturing for Owain to follow him. Owain nodded and took a step, but decided to turn around. He walked cautiously towards Severa and wrapped her in a tight hug for just a split second, causing the crying teenager to halt and open her eyes in confusion. Seeing Owain, she considered pulling out her knife and stabbing him, but she merely nodded and returned to her prone position. Owain left, not before patting Marc on the back reassuringly, and another hug to Morgan, this one slightly longer. Turning back to Severa, he smiled with confidence.
"You kept him alive Severa, that part is certain... You just have to bring him back now."
Severa sighed before adjusting her hair; most of the cooking was completed by her, mainly due to the twins trying to peek on their parents. Even though they were in their 30's, Severa at 34 and Morgan and Marc at 33, they still acted like children even 17 years later, mainly due to the dark backgrounds they had. Well, as childish as their station allowed. Professors of higher learning and a Lieutenant of the Pegasus Knights warranted very little room for such occasions, but their youthfulness was still apparent.
"Hey, Sev," Marc began, cleaning up the ingredients left over from the cooking.
"What's up?"
"Do you think Dad will approve?" Severa shrugged, not knowing the topic of approval.
"Depends what's to approve." Severa mouthed an 'oooh' and nervously laughed.
"...Her?" Severa coughed nervously, thoughts now manifesting themselves into her head. The door behind them opened, revealing both a sleepy Cordelia, but even better yet, a sleepy Robin. Marc and Morgan quickly turned around, eyes widening and jaws dropping as their father for the first time than when they've been alive stood less than 10 feet away.
"FATHER!" They yelled simultaneously, running up to him and hugging him to the ground. They were both just a tad shorter than him, but still enough to easily make him lose his footing.
"Ugh... Hey Morgan! Marc! Hahaha, ugh, you guys grew up too huh..." Robin reminded himself that the war against Grima ended when he was 22, Morgan 16. Time was relative, after all. At least, at whatever pocket dimension he was stuck in.
"You missed our birthday by a week, but we cooked enough breakfast to celebrate!" Marc grinned over his handiwork, or at least Severa's handiwork, said daughter standing cross-armed and smiling on the far end of the kitchen.
"Wow... That's, that's quite a bit of food." Robin scratched his head. There was enough food here to last him another 17 year stay in the abyss. He quickly shook that thought out of his head and gestured towards the table. "Well? I haven't eaten a good breakfast in 17 years! Might as well start now."
The family sat down as conversation started almost immediately, in between bites of food and sips of milk.
"First things first, Dad, where were you exactly?" Morgan asked, trying to solve the dilemma she had thought of this morning.
"I have no idea really... The last moments were me casting a spell, and then all of a sudden I'm asleep on some Ylissan coast.
"So it couldn't have been another world... Maybe. At least it couldn't have been one that sustained your consciousnesses."
"Calm down Morgan, we're eating breakfast here, not solving the mystery of time travel." Marc grinned at that, blurting in suddenly.
"ACTUALLY, Dad I did that five years ago." Robin choked on his slice of melon abruptly, shocked at his own son's discovery.
"Uh, we'll talk later, nerd." Marc shook his head happily and continued eating.
"So... since you guys are old farts like me now, how's the nest?"
"Severa's still single!" Marc and Morgan blurted out, as the ashen haired female blushed intensely.
"Morgan and Marc live at the castle both to instruct their students and... uh, personal issues," Cordelia explained, with both their twins nodding.
"I'm actually planning to marry Owain next year... We've dated for a while and uh..." Morgan blushed, thinking of her fiance quite farther in depth than breakfast deemed appropriate. Robin considered it and shrugged.
"I'll talk to the kid later. What's your guys' title anyway?"
"Professors of magic, blah blah," Marc offered casually.
"Anything else?" Cordelia pressed, smirking faintly. Marc looked at her pleadingly, then to Severa, then to Morgan, finally to Robin.
"I'm uhh... Also..."
"You're single too huh?" Robin laughed, not expecting his son to inherit his seduction quotient.
"I'm next in line to the Throne of Ylisse."
Robin spat out what was in his mouth and nearly stabbed himself with his cutting knife. Discovering time travel? Robin would've given him that, he was a smart kid. Professor of magic? Of course, he was his son after all.
But a Prince of the Halidom? Oh gods, Oh gods, Oh gods.
"B-but... Marc, that means... You, and Lucina?"
"Yep."
"So let me get this straight, Marc," Chrom sat across from Marc intently, Frederick standing on one end of him and Lucina nervously on the other.
"You summon my attention with an emergency, and here I am thinking that Robin has returned, or your mother needs help, or some village is being attacked. And here I am ready to dispatch the Shepherds or call for Naga's aid..."
I might need both.
"Yes, Lord Chrom. I think this is rather urgent."
"My daughter is quite important, yes, but c'mon now, I knew you two were dating for a while." Marc grinned sheepishly, not sure whether this mood change was welcome. "You're on the brink of turning back time, and you're possibly the most powerful magician Ylisse has ever seen."
"Oh, I wouldn't say that..." Marc offered humbly.
"M'lord if I may, but Marc has cast spells from Lissa's diary, M'lords envelopes, and the Shepherd's Roster, not to mention his breakfast," Frederick offered.
"Exactly my point. I trust you with Lucina, Marc, that much is apparent. You're Robin's son after all. My best friend's son, marrying my daughter. I'm perfectly fine with that."
"Then it's okay if we-" Chrom shook his head quickly, offering his little caveat before he gave his blessing.
"You have fell dragon blood in your veins, and Lucina the blood of the Exalt." Marc had never thought of this before, but he still had faith.
"Father, the fell dragon is dead, Robin made sure of that." Lucina offered.
"But his blood still runs deep through your veins Marc, even if it is dormant. The blood of the Exalt slayed the Fell Dragon. I have no desire to see what would happen to you or your child when those two bloodlines mix."
"Lord Chrom, I have no answer but to say to trust us. My father, with the help of M'lord and his allies... And I, defeated his own bloodline and produced three children! Granted, Mother's blood isn't holy or sanctified but it is still human!"
"She just gave birth to three of the most powerful humans to grace this planet besides the hero king himself and your father."
"Lord Chrom, your bloodline will easily overpower whatever contamination my stream contains, if any. Lucina is strong as well!" Lucina blushed, relaxed now that the initial question had been dealt with. She rubbed her wedding band reassuringly.
"I... Ugh. You know what, I'll give it a shot. But the moment Lucina seems to be in danger, I'm sorry Marc-"
"I understand M'lord." Chrom stood up and patted the tactician's head sharply. Gesturing Frederick to follow, he muttered something about paperwork and kids before exiting. Lucina grinned at him, still weirdly, but genuinely.
"That... Went better than I expected," Marc decided, embracing his fiance against his body.
"You realize what this makes you right?" Lucina asked.
"The future Exalt, my own son?" Robin was honestly at odds whether to be impressed or scared at his own son.
"That job still belongs to Lucina, I'm afraid," Morgan giggled, "Luckily Marc still gets to be King for a day... Or however long your reign is before you end up incinerating Regna Ferox or something."
Robin decided that now was a very good time to catch up on literally everything he missed.
"You two... don't develop any weird uh... Developments while I'm gone. I'll be back tonight." Morgan and Marc stared in confusion, as to why their father was leaving so soon.
"Where are you going?"
"WE, meaning Severa and I, are travelling back to Ylisstol and I'm going to see what has happened."
"And where do you think your wife is going to be?" Cordelia asked with a pout." Robin winked at her knowingly.
"You'll get your time." Cordelia blushed and immediately turned away from her children, who groaned. Severa was insanely excited but of course, she wouldn't show it in public.
"And what makes you think anything changed while you were gone?" She asked coyly.
"I might not know much dear, but everything changes in 17 years. Well, except how amazing my family is."