Horse
"Are you sure this is a good idea, Robin?" Ricken asked me as he mounted the saddled horse. We had sneaked into the stables of the Ylissean Castle I gave him a grin.
"Of course! Just trust me, Ricken." I assured him. "We just need to ride Rara and hurry after them. They shouldn't have gone too far yet. Plus, we can't get caught by Yuriel!"
Ricken frowned, "Look, Robin, Are you seriously going to risk this? I mean, you're still recovering and Yuriel can be really scary when he's mad... I don't know how to even ride a horse..."
"Who said that you were holding the reins?" I asked cheerfully. "Besides, the worst Yuriel can do is lock me in his office for a month."
Ricken faltered a little as I looked into my hidden pockets to make sure I had everything I needed: an Elthunder tome and the stupid little vial of medicine (the most disgusting medicine in the world). Nodding once to myself, I mounted Rara right behind Ricken. I was pretty glad that Ricken was a bit small for his age, or else he would be right behind me. Grabbing the reins, I lightly kicked the horse's side to get Rara moving. Ricken wobbled, but my arms were there to keep him from falling.
"Ready?" I asked, tightening my grip around the reins.
"Ah, no-"
"ROBIN! TURN THAT HORSE AROUND RIGHT NOW!" Ricken practically jumped at the loud, booming voice of my physician. He must've figured out that I sneaked out of my room... for the umpteenth time this week. I didn't bother to look back to know that he was running across the castle gardens to stop us.
"It's now or never!" I cried, digging my heels into Rara's side. Ricken screamed in fright as Rara reared on her hind legs before bursting into a fast gallop. The young mage was practically clinging on my coat as we neared an upcoming wall.
"WALL! ROBIN, THAT'S A WALL!" He warned. I only laughed, letting Rara do her thing. There was a specific reason why I chose this horse, so I completely trusted the horse to do what she did best. With one mighty kick of her hind legs, Rara took into the air. Ricken' s mouth was wide open for an soundless scream as I grinned like a maniac, completely used to Rara leaping at such a height.
Within a few seconds, Rara had carried us right over the wall and landed safely on the other side. I gave a short laugh, "Great job, Rara!"
"Damn it, Robin! Turn that horse around immediately!" Yuriel's voice was dead serious, even from behind a stone wall.
"Nope! See you in a few days!" I said, tugging the reins with a little kick.
"ROBIN!"
Rara neighed a bit and took off in a light gallop along the stone road leading out of town. A few seconds later, Ricken released his death grip on my coat.
"Robin?"
"Yeah?"
"We're not doing that again."
I only laughed.
Bacon
"Great, juuuust great." I said as I made my way toward the cooking tent. I just woke up only to find that my water skin was broken, as it something act right through it. If anything, I figured that there might be a rat in my tent... Sighing, I opened the tent flap and-
I froze. I knew that Henry and Stahl were on cooking duty for today, but I never expected to find them... Well... Henry...
Oh dear NAGA.
"Oh! Good morning, Robin! I thought you were dead in the mornings!" Henry said with his usual smile on his face. I would've found it completely normal if it wasn't for the fact that he was holding a bloody knife with animal blood practically smeared on practically everywhere. Gods, I just hoped that the water skin wasn't contaminated...
"Ah... yeah. Morning, Henry." I managed to say, trying to get over the fact that I was surrounded by blood. Where the heck was Stahl?! "What are-what did you- Uhm... How do I put this..."
"Nya hahaha! I accidentally hit an artery and the blood just splattered everywhere! Stahl went to go find an old cloth to clean up the mess." Henry explained, knowing full well that I was wondering. I grimaced.
"That's... disturbing, but reasonable... What were you going to do?" I ask, forcing myself to tear my eyes away from the bloody yet neat slices of meat.
"Making bacon of course!" Henry said, as if it was the most reasonable thing in the world. I nodded.
"Uh-huh... Right...Well... I'll ah... just grab a water skin over here..."
"Nyahahah! Take your time, Robin! I'm not stopping you."
Surprisingly, breakfast that morning was completely normal. The bacon really did look like bacon, and everything else was completely... normal, considering the fact that Henry looked like he walked out of a murder novel.
...Well, other than the fact that Ravina had to leave the table to hunt Frederick down to eat the bear bacon.
Impulse
Chrom really didn't mean it. He really didn't! He was just training normally, doing a few practice swings and such...! Oh Naga, he seriously didn't mean it!
He began to sweat as he stared at the sight before him. A shocked Ravina was staring right back at him, her hands frozen halfway from removing her shirt. She had just finished tossing her coat to the side to change into a new set of clothes until...
"R-Ravina!" Chrom stammered, slowly backing away and hiding his Falchion behind his back. "A-a-h-h-haa-hha-ah... H-how are you today?"
He immediately paled when he took note that she just dropped the edges of her shirt with her bangs covering her eyes.
"Chrrrrroooooooommm..." Ravina drawled as she reached for her silver sword leaning against the table. Chrom gritted his teeth and turned on his heel, quickly sheathing his sword as he high tailed out of there. Ravina was hot on his trail with a drawn sword. "YOU IMPULSIVE PEEPING TOM!"
"It was an accident!" Chrom cried, "I didn't think the wall would break!"
"That was the SECOND time!" Ravina roared. With one glance over his shoulder, Chrom immediately knew that he was't going to get out of this mess with out a scratch.
Sarcasm
"...Sooooooo... let me get this straight," I began, slowly closing my tome. Chrom shifted on his feet as I continued, "You were just doing a bit of training until you swung a little too hard, and, somehow, managed to break a hole in the wall... which happened to be my sister's room... and you caught her in the middle of... changing?"
"Yeah..." he affirmed. I took one good look at him. He had a swollen, blackish...purplish...? Or was it bluish? Well, he had a bruise an the side of his face in the shape of a familiar hand print and a bandaged right arm. Other than that, he seemed perfectly normal. We shared a long stare for a moment, accompanied with a tense silence.
Then it finally hit me.
"Well, aren't you the luckiest man on earth." I said with a forced grin. Chrom blinked at me and scooted his chair back a little.
"Robin, what are you doing?" he asked, paling at the sight of me picking up my tome. I offered him a dark grin as I stood up.
"Oh, nothing. I was just thinking about giving you a niiiiice, lovely gift."
"No-wait! IT WAS AN ACC-!"
*THWACK*
At the end of the day, I couldn't help but feel a bit happy when I saw a second bruise on Chrom's face... On the other cheek. There. That would teach him not to peek on my sister.
Damn peeping tom.
Candy
"Daddy, are you done yet?"
I merely chuckled as I crushed a few bits of nuts, looking at my oldest daughter. Her white hair was tied up into her usual twin tails and her brown eyes sparkling with excitement. "Ahaha, patience, Severa, patience. It's nearly finished."
She pouted in her usual cute way and sat herself back on the stool at the kitchen counter. "But you said that ages ago!"
Her cousin, Lucina, sat next to her with a patient smile. I could tell that she was excited as well, but Lucina hid it better than Severa for sure.
"That was only a minute ago." Lucina said, placing an arm on the counter. I smiled, pouring spoonfuls of freshly melted caramels into molds that Gaius found me a few days ago. I have to admit, I know that the candy thief only gave me these molds so that I can make some for him... That's if Severa doesn't eat them all before he comes to visit later in the day.
"So! It still felt like it was forever ago." Severa said, leaning forward as she watched me work. I was only half listening as the girls launched into their own world, talking about whatever kids talked about these days. I softly hummed to myself, lightly tossing little extras on top of the candies and made a bit of cream at the side. I even went as far as to take a chunk of chocolate and melt it, drizzling it over the sweets once they cooled.
"Uncle Robin, do you need help?" came Lucina's voice behind me. I had just finished placing all of the finished ones on a plate and set a few aside for Gaius. Gods knew how much he would complain if I didn't leave anything for him.
"It's alright, Lucina." I said as I turned around with the plate in hand. "I just finished."
"Finally!" Severa cheered, hopping out of her seat and hurrying to my side. Before she could take a piece, I lifted the plate out of her reach.
"Whoa, there, Severa! Hold your horses." I told her gently. She stopped herself before she ran into me, looking up. I smiled, "Before you eat all of this, you have to promise me that you'll give a few to Marc and Morgan, alright?"
"I promise, I promise!" she practically yelled, hopping on her feet. Lucina slid off the stool and joined at her side.
"Don't worry, Uncle," she assured, "I'll make sure they get some."
"Alright," I said, handing Severa the plate. My daughter took it carefully with one hand and grabbed Lucina's arm with the other... not without cramming a chocolate caramel candy into her mouth.
"Thanks, Daddy!" she muttered around the sweet, pulling Lucina with her out of the kitchen.
"We'll see you later, Uncle!" The princess of Ylisse said with a wave of her hand as she followed Severa out of the kitchen. I waved in return, knowing that the children would enjoy the sweets. As I cleaned up, I realized something. The bag on the counter wasn't sugar. Holy crap, then what did I-?!
There, in big black letters facing away from where the girls sat, were the words, "SEA SALT".
I paused.
"...Eh. Salted caramels aren't bad... I hope. I do recall putting a little more 'sugar' than what that recipe called for..."
That day, I discovered a new flavor that everyone seemed to love.
Mannerism
*Smack!*
"OW!"
Ravina cried, straightening her back and wobbling in her high heeled shoes. The stack of three books that balanced on her head came crashing to the ground. Her face was pale with stress and panic as she lost all of her balance, face planting the floor with a short shriek.
Frederick was right beside her, holding a stick he used to smack her into place if her posture was wrong. Though, at the current moment he was burying his face with his free hand, muttering, "This is hopeless."
I frowned from my seat at the side of the spare room in the Ylissean Castle. I would be laughing, but this was already the... what number was it again...? Oh. Right. The seventy fourth time within two days. It was already to the point where it wasn't even funny anymore.
"Oh, I'll never get this right! And I'll never be able to prove myself at this rate..." Ravina said as she pushed herself back up with a hurt pout. She sat on her feet and heaved a stressed sigh.
"Lady Ravina," Frederick began, dropping his hand. "You might be bad at this now, but with enough diligence and patience, you will be able to do so."
Ravina dropped her head. "Yeah, like you can make a brutal girl like me into a delicate flower in the court."
Frederick dropped his shoulders and gave me a look, silently asking me to do something. Sighing, I got up and walked over to her, picking up the closest book. She didn't look up as I knelt before here.
"Brutal or not, it always takes time to become something, Ravina." I told her gently, picking up the second book. She finally looked up. My eyes widened for a split second when I saw tears at the corners of her eyes. It really surprised me. It really did. She was one of the strongest women on the battlefield; always sharp and courageous. She was the one who kept a strong front when I couldn't.
She was brave.
...But to see my sister crying like this... It suddenly reminded me that she was still a normal, everyday girl, soldier or not.
I blinked, pulling a smile I usually gave to those who need it. I've been told that is was an endearing smile, one that could warm up a person's heart. I wasn't very sure about that, but if it was true, then it was Ravina who needed it most at the moment. I placed a hand at her cheek and wiped away that stray tear.
"It's not over yet, Ravina. There's still time before the wedding." I told her. She blinked at me several times before slowly nodding her head.
"You're..." she began, gently removing my hand. "You're right. We still do have a bit of time left."
"Ahaha, right." I said as I helped her up (although it was more of her pulling herself up and me just touching her arm) to her feet and tucked the books underneath my arm.
"First things first, You need to relax..."
A few days later, my sister was walking down the aisle with a grace and beauty of a strong, fierce, yet gentle woman.
...Or should I say "Queen"?
Flowers
Chon'sin was a beautiful place. The moment Cordelia saw a tree in full bloom of dozens and dozens of pink little flowers, she couldn't help but stare at them in awe. They were lovely, one that she could probably stare at all day. She stood underneath the shade of the tree, not far from camp. The Shepherds had just settled in a place to rest for the night, knowing that they was a battle to be fought the next day. Usually, Cordelia wasn't really one for flowers, but... these little flowers did.
A sudden gust of wind blew by, scattering hundreds and hundreds of the tiny flower petals. It took her by surprise as many ghosted over her skin and scattered about. She waited until the gust died a little, settling into a soft breeze. There were only a few petals still floating about, twisting and turning in the light wind. Cordelia suddenly frowned. These flowers reminded her of something... but what?
"Ah, there you are, Cordelia." came a voice behind her. She blinked, turning on her heel. A young male with snowy white hair stood a few feet away, hugging his large purple coat closer to himself against the breeze. A few flower petals were stuck in the mage tactician's hair-!
Realization suddenly hit her. She stared at Robin, who gave her a tilt of his head and a questioning look, for a long moment. He stood there, as handsome and breathtaking as he was, and also fragile, almost as if he would break at any moment.
"Corde-Whoa! Why are you crying?" Robin asked, hurriedly walking up to her. She didn't realize that her eyes began to tear up. Snapping out of her daze, she quickly wiped away the tears and offered him a smile.
"Sorry, I'm alright, Robin." she assured, taking a small step back. "Just tired."
Robin gave her a raised eyebrow but let it drop with a sigh. "Hah... well, if you insist. Come on, you're gonna miss dinner."
Cordelia allowed Robin to take her wrist, guiding her back to came. She was capable of going back to camp herself, but just this once she let him.
Because she knew.
She knew that one day, Robin would disappear.
Just like the cherry blooms.
Tables
"So... why are we hiding again?" Lucina asked, giving her little brother a side glance.
"Shh! Or else they'll find us!" Marc whisper-yelled, throwing a hand over her mouth. "I don't want to become victim to Frederick's training sessions!"
Lucina had the urge to lick the palm of his hand, but she didn't. They weren't little kids anymore... despite the fact that they were grown-up, young adults hiding from their parents. Rolling her eyes, Lucina forced Marc's hand off her mouth. "While the idea isn't pleasant, hiding under the table from Frederick isn't going to really work. Plus, that's what a child would do."
"So? I may be eighteen, but I still have rights to act like one." Marc muttered.
"Marc, we're still adults!" she snapped, copying the same tone that he used. "We have to prepare for any upcoming-"
She stopped as Marc's hand grabbed her arm in a tight grip. His vibrant green eyes were covered by his blue bangs. She couldn't help but notice that her brother's hand was slightly trembling. Worried, Lucina lowered her head, trying to catch his eyes.
"Marc?"
"Can't you act like a normal sister for once?" came his voice. Lucina blinked, surprised by the very tone of her little brother's voice. He never sounded so... hurt and annoyed at the same time. He looked up with his eyes shimmering a little. "It's always 'we have to grow up' or 'we don't have time to play' or 'we're adults' or 'we're the children of the Exalt, we can't let anyone down'...! Can't you stop for a moment and just-just-!"
He cut himself off as hugged his big sister's arm and buried his face into her shoulder.
"Can't you just be my sister for once!" came the broken whisper.
Lucina was frozen still, not knowing what in the world to do anymore. Her brother wasn't usually this emotional, but there were times where he couldn't take it anymore. He was strong, but often times, Lucina forgot that he wasn't like her or their parents.
Lucina only had the chance to open her mouth when the table cloth was lifted.
"Marc-" Frederick cut himself off, his intimidating stare quickly changing into surprise. He looked between the two siblings before giving Lucina a frown. "...I'll take my leave."
Lucina flinched as Frederick dropped the table cloth, not missing the sight of a confused Owain and disappointed Morgan (who, no doubt, saw the two siblings under the table) just outside the barracks. She was pretty sure that she probably ruined whatever Marc and the others had planned, but she wasn't very sure how. Sighing, she relaxed, slouching her shoulders and resting her cheek on her brother's soft hair.
"...Marc," she began, running her free hand through his hair, "You're right. I've been too strict on you, and I know I haven't really been there for you as much as Morgan. Nor was I really a sister to you than being your commander. I'm... I'm sorry. I am so, so sorry. I'm sorry that I didn't put you first, even though you were the closest one to me. Now, that we're here in the past, with everyone... We can try to patch things up."
Marc didn't look up as he muttered into her shoulder. "Even though we're trying to stop Uncle's murder? From Mother and Father dying? From-from... From the past repeating here? From the world falling into ruin?"
Lucina's hand paused as she laughed hopelessly, pulling her brother into her arms for a hug. "Ahaha. Saving the world can wait. You're my little brother. I won't let Morgan spend more time with you than me. I promise, I'll protect you."
She rested her head on top of Marc's, humming softly as his shoulders shook uncontrollably. "I won't lose you, and you won't lose me."
Marc's voice was barely audible as he fisted handfuls of his sister's shirt in his hands, tears slipping endlessly down the side of his cheeks. "Don't...ever leave me behind again."
Skies
I've read before in a book that a person could dream just as big as the vast sky. Sometimes, I find myself hard to believe that. Just looking at the dark clouds that began to form above us, made me think that maybe... those dreams are nothing but storms. Considering that crap that all of go through, I wouldn't be that surprised. Emm's dream of everyone, Ylissean and Plegian, would live together, side by side without any conflict only became a storm of disaster and tragedy. And yet, I could still remember seeing her falling from that height. I knew that I would never be able to hear her voice again, never to joke around with her, never to dream the impossible...
Despite her leaving us that day, I only held on the words that she left me before she was taken from me, from all of us.
"The sky is full of many things, Robin. There are days it brings sun and warmth. And yes, there are days it brings ragging storms, but even so, the skies are always there. And when the skies are always there..."
I smiled as the clouds lit up with a flash of light, followed by a booming sound of thunder.
"...Dreams, are always found in them."
Stone
He wasn't satisfied. Not one bit. There something completely off before him, and Frederick just couldn't figure it out. Already, he had cleared the area that his prince was sure to camp for tonight. He narrowed his eyes, scanning the entire area for the umpteenth time. The ground was leveled, the weeds were pulled out, and every tiny little pebble was not in sight-!
Then he saw it. There, in the center of the clearing, was a small stone in the dirt. How... How in the world did he miss that?!
Grunting, he went over to the stone and bent down to pick it up. What he was not prepared for, however, was the resistance he felt as he pulled. Raising an eyebrow, he dug around the stone a little to loosen it and pulled again.
To his surprise, he didn't just pull out a big stone. Heck, he pulled out a boulder the size of half his height! Undaunted, Frederick kept a straight face as he came to a conclusion. He slowly pushed the stone-no, boulder, back into the dirt ground and stomped one heavy, armored boot into the ground, completely shoving it back into the ground. He leveled the ground once more and turned away from the stone.
He suddenly froze when he saw Robin standing a few feet away, staring at him with wide eyes.
"Uh...I'm just gonna...ah..." The mage based tactician slowly turned on his heel. "-w-walk away now..."
That day, Robin learned that Frederick was not a person to be messed with. Ever.
And done! Tell me which one you liked the most! XD Tables was actually pretty fun to write... Now Time to work on the third set!
Oh and for those who want to do it too, here are the next ten words: Hope, Glass, Framed, Hallucinate, Reflection, Trapped, Sword, Tears, Bested, and King. I hope you guys have fun! Well, if you decide to do them. XD Oh and let me know too! So I can read it too! XD
Later!
~CloudyLightning