Mandatory Disclaimer: Nintendo and all other connected companies own the rights to Fire Emblem. I don't own these characters or any of the official merchandise related to them; I just want to write about them.
A/N Chapter 2 and I've already been hit hard with writer's block. This is going to be great...
For those of you that haven't noticed, I've made a few changes to Chapter 1. It's nothing really important, but you might want to go back and read the second A/N for everything to make slightly more sense, but again; it's not that important. Now that I think about it, I probably should have waited for my editor/proofreader(s) to go through more than half the chapter before uploading it... Oh well.
Still need some cover art for this, so feel free to send some in, please and thank you in advance.
Thanks for reading, and please give some feedback!
-Storm 2016
"Chrom, we've been traveling for hours, and it's dark out now!" Lissa complained loudly from behind Robin. Ever since leaving Southtown, Lissa had been whining about one thing or another. For the first time that evening she finally agreed with one of those complaints. Robin had also taken over directing the horse they shared since Lissa was obviously inept at it.
"The horses are tired," Robin supplied, partially because it was true and partially to get Lissa to stop talking. "And it is getting quite dark." Behind her, Lissa squirmed in her seat, probably making an exaggerated motion to Chrom.
"See? Robin agrees!" Lissa exclaimed, giving a squeak as she nearly fell off the horse in her erratic motioning, only staying seated by Robin's good reflexes.
"Fine, we can rest." Chrom finally caved as they stopped in a clearing. They had been traveling through an evergreen forest for some time along a slight path through the trees. The stars in the dark sky could be made out through the treetops. Various constellations vividly covered Robin's vision as she craned her neck upwards trying to soak in the entire night sky at once.
"Now it's really dark out!" Lissa complained even more as they unpacked their supplies, and Robin began to sense a theme with her. "And the bugs are out! The bugs that buzz in your ears and bite you and- Agh!" The rest of them turned towards Lissa, all with their hands on their weapons. Lissa was spitting and wiping off her tongue with her hands.
"Won goph in mah mouph!" All of them relaxed, minus the healer who was still freaking out over her tiny assaulter.
"Aw, come on, Lissa." Chrom started, his tone flecked with humor, "Hardship builds character. Surely a bug can't be that bad."
"Ptooey! Bleck! Yeeeeuck... I think I swallowed it…" Lissa groaned before turning on her brother. "I've built quite enough character for today!" She snapped, plopping down on a nearby log and crossing her arms.
"Come on, Lissa," Robin said gently. "Help me clear the area so that we can set up camp, and the boys will go hunting. Right boys?" She finished with a note of finality in her voice. If Lissa just gave up and refused to help everything would go slower and they would get less rest, making the journey tomorrow even harder than it would have been. Frederick glared at being ordered around, but nodded begrudgingly when Chrom hastily agreed.
"Fine," Lissa sighed and stood up. "Let's just get this done."
Chrom and Frederick left with their respective weapons to stab whatever they could find, while Lissa helped Robin clear the area and set up a fire ring before tending to the horses while Robin gathered firewood. Just as they had gotten the fire blazing, the men came back with a large animal hanging between them.
"Bear?" Lissa asked flabbergasted as the two placed their catch on the ground. "You caught a bear?!" As the healer struggled to put her thoughts into words, everyone else set to work cleaning and gutting the thing.
They set the first chunks of meat out to cook as Robin began rationing out their other food supplies, mostly consisting of dried fruit, hardtack and cheese.
"You shouldn't be messing with the food chain!" Lissa kept insisting throughout the entire process until Robin told her to refill their waterskins in a nearby brook she could hear murmuring.
"You could have at least tried to catch something normal people eat…" The healer grumbled as she went off to complete her task.
"Is she always this difficult?" Robin asked quietly as Lissa disappeared from sight.
"Usually," Chrom answered, which made both of them chuckle. A glare from Frederick silenced the two, but somehow made the whole situation funnier and made her laugh under her breath. Eventually she regained control over her lungs, but still had a huge grin plastered to her face.
By the time Lissa returned, burdened by the four full skins, the others had finished their tasks and were sitting around the fire talking while they ate. Or rather, Robin and Chrom were talking as Frederick watched warily.
"It's been too long since I've eaten bear." Chrom sighed as he finished his plate off.
"How do you even eat that stuff?!" Lissa had resigned herself to nibbling at the dried rations. "It smells like boots!" She exclaimed as Robin finished her portion of bear. "No, wait, I take that back. Boots smell better!"
"Come on, Lissa, meat is meat." Chrom tried to reason with her, but his sister just turned her back on him. Robin personally didn't see what the big deal was. She didn't have any memories to compare the bear to, so she supposed that was part of why she didn't mind, but it wasn't that bad. She also noticed that Frederick hadn't touched his bear either.
"Aren't you going to eat that?" Robin motioned to the meat on his wooden plate.
"Er, no. I'm not hungry. I...I had a big lunch. Yes, that's it." The knight fumbled his words, a thin smile on his lips, obviously trying to cover the fact the he didn't like it.
"Oh well," Robin shrugged. "More for me." She said as she reached over and slid Frederick's portion of bear onto her own plate. She felt that under normal circumstances, he would have objected and given her some kind of lecture, but the knight stayed silent.
"I suppose anything would taste good after someone hadn't eaten for days," Lissa commented as Robin dug into the meat.
"I'm just ignoring the taste," She admitted after swallowing, "It really doesn't taste that good. But as Chrom so eloquently said, 'meat is meat'." Robin quoted before finishing the last of the bear on her plate. Chrom chuckled at this.
"Come on, it's getting late," He said as he stood. "We'd best get some sleep while we can." The everyone, Robin included, nodded or murmured assent, and it wasn't long before she could hear the steady breathing of sleep. She had volunteered earlier to set the rest of the bear meat out to smoke so it wouldn't spoil, and would probably have joined her new companions in sleep had something not been on her mind.
Lying face up, her coat sprawled beneath her as a bedding of sorts, Robin extended one of her arms upwards to look at the tattoo on the back of her hand. It was like three sets of eyes in columns, the two sides intersecting in a small loop at the bottom, all drawn in a shade of purple.
Chrom had told her that the mark on his shoulder was a birthmark of sorts that ran in his family, so maybe it was like that.
For whatever reason if she looked at it for too long, the back of her mind hurt as if trying to remember what it was for and she got chills. Robin let her arm drop to the ground. Something about the marking felt ominous, and it was infuriating not knowing why. Or, for that matter, not know anything about her past. How could she consciously trust herself with these people if she didn't know what she had done or what she deserved?
She could be a mass murderess and not know all the blood that was on her hands. It was worse not knowing because there was always a chance that she wasn't a criminal, which made the prospect of her actually being one all the scarier. Pulling on a pair of gloves Chrom had graciously provided her with, she sighed as she settled back down
My thought process is the truly scary thing here, Robin snorted at herself as she finally drifted off into the bliss of sleep.
Chrom woke suddenly, something in the air jolting him out of sleep. Sitting up quietly, he glanced around. The dying embers of the fire were glowing eerily in the dark of night; even the stars seemed to be dimmer than they had been earlier.
Robin had insisted that her coat was more than enough to keep her warm, and seemed to be slumbering soundly even without a bedroll. Chrom had been tempted to ask her to join the Shepherds back at Southtown, but the right moment never seemed to come and he wanted to see more of her tactical abilities before he asked. During their chat at dinner, she had shown a wealth of not only tactical knowledge, but all-around intelligence and wisdom, safely quelling his doubts of her abilities.
Frederick was on his back, still wearing his armour. He always kept it on for some reason only the Gods knew. Lissa was sprawled out underneath a scratchy blanket, and Chrom chuckled under his breathe when he noticed her drooling slightly.
Standing up, he scanned the tree line still in the firelight. Was it just him or did it seem more ominous? Deciding to walk for a bit to clear his sleep-addled mind, he reflexively reached for Falchion to put in its' scabbard at his waist.
"Hey, brother… where are you going?" Lissa stirred from her sleep, perhaps roused by the same thing that had awoken him.
"Nothing. Just going for a walk. Go back to sleep." Chrom tried to persuade her, but knew it probably wouldn't work.
"No way," Lissa yawned as she subconsciously ran a hand through her tangled bed-head. "Now that I'm up there's no way I'm gonna go back."
"Fine, come with me," Chrom said, grateful to, still trying to figure out what was wrong, not that his sleepy mind would help much. Lissa stood, yawned again and walked towards him, reaching out for his hand once she was there. It had been awhile since they had held hands; the last time was probably when Lissa had still been a child.
They started off into the woods like that, hand-in-hand. They hadn't gone far when he realized what was wrong. The night was deathly quiet, not so much as a mosquito buzzing in their ears when earlier Lissa had accidentally swallowed one. The cicadas had also gone silent as well as the other night animals, and no birds could be heard as background noise.
Just as Chrom fully awakened from the doldrums of sleep, he could hear a loud ripping sound as the ground beneath his feet shifted. An earthquake?! But they never occurred here. Closer to the border with Regna Ferox there were some, but those were far and few between, usually never doing nothing more than rattle the ground slightly.
"Lissa, run." Chrom commanded his sister in a stern tone, grateful that his exponentially rising panic somehow didn't show through his voice.
"Wha…?" She was rubbing her dreary eyes, still confused by the cloud of sleep that hung in her mind. Then she saw what Chrom had. A huge piece of earth had split the forest floor as if only paper, an ear-splitting scraping tearing at his ears as the fissure deepened, fire spewed from the cracks.
"Run!" He shoved Lissa to accentuate the point, bolting after her in a scattered attempt to escape the destruction ravaging the forest behind them. More fire spit itself in front of them, trees toppling as their branches caught ablaze. Taking a sharp turn to avoid fallen logs, they jumped down a natural ledge, momentarily safe from the fire.
"Chrom!" Lissa screeched, pointing at something behind him. There, above the treetops, a huge eye had opened in midair, clearly summoned by a magic of sorts. Suddenly the cat-like pupil dilated, and vaguely human figures seemed to be reaching out of it. Two of them fell like sacks of flour, emerging from the eye, outstretched arms first. They rose in jagged, rigid motions, black steam hissing from their joints and mouths. Their skin seemed to be a shade of bruise purple and they wore little but pants and shoulder guards, but what caught and held Chrom's gaze where the wicked axes they held.
"Lissa, stay back." He commanded, his voice much calmer than he actually was. She squeaked in response, backing up as Chrom drew Falchion and held it in a two-handed defensive stance.
One of the creatures suddenly bolted at him, it's earlier sluggishness all but gone. With a screeching groan it felled its axe in a wide downward arc, Chrom just barely blocking. He twisted the axe out of the way, sliding Falchion past the thing's guard. He slashed in a way that would have nearly sliced a man in two, but the only thing it seemed to do was make the thing leak more black mist. With a scraping creak, the monster's head twisted around in a way that would have broken its neck, but it seemed unbothered by it. It took advantage of Chrom's surprise and twisted around to lash out at him. Using its momentum against it, the swordsmen sidestepped and hit it in the back with his pommel, knocking it to the ground. Turning, he stabbed it in the back and, after a moment of screeching, the horror dissolved completely into mist.
"Eeeek!" Chrom pulled Falchion out of the ground as he looked behind him. The second creature was advancing upon Lissa, who was trying to wield a stick as a sword. It was slowly shambling at the moment but if the other was any indicator it wouldn't remain that was for long. As if on cue, it sprinted at Lissa. Chrom cried out, trying to reach his sister, but there was no time. Even as he ran he could tell he wouldn't make it.
Just as the thing made it to Lissa, Chrom closed his eyes so he wouldn't have to see it. Instead the loud clang of metal on metal rang out, and his eyes snapped open to see someone guarding Lissa, holding the axe at bay with a sword balanced on his shoulders.
"Help!" The man called out after Chrom had skittered to a halt.
"Right." He called back as he charged, not bothering about the stranger yet. The monster turned as Chrom charged, lifting his axe from the stranger's sword. The blue-haired swordsman slashed at it's head while the stranger turned and cut at the thing's stomach. In an instant it became the deathly black mist and Chrom could breathe for a moment. The stranger had sheathed his sword and had turned to face the siblings. He was wearing a strangely effeminate dark mask shaped like a butterfly, and his hair was very nearly the same shade as Chrom's.
"Quite the entrance," Chrom commented as he held Lissa's arm, the princess trying to steady herself.
"Now is not the time for idle conversation," The stranger said as he turned away from them. "More of these monsters are coming." It was true. More of the creatures were appearing from the eye, but as he looked around a loud crashing brought Chrom's attention behind him. Charging out of the woods, Frederick and Robin burst into the clearing.
"Milord, milady, are you unharmed?" Frederick asked as Robin scrambled from the back of his horse.
"Uggh… not doing that again." Robin groaned as she tottered around trying to find her balance. "So, what are we doing?" She asked as she pulled out her tome.
"Killing those," The stranger said as he pointed towards the monsters.
"What're y- oh my Gods what are those?!" Robin's question suddenly changed as she spotted the monsters. "Are there usually undead-y monsters around here?"
"No, I've never seen them before." Chrom responded mutely, keeping an eye on the fact that the monsters seemed to be congregating for an all-out charge.
"Okay, I can work with this," Robin said while she cracked her knuckles, drawing attention to the fact that she was wearing the gloves he had lent her. "Frederick, you'll be at the head of the charge to break their lines, just don't get too far ahead," Robin had a crazed light in her eyes that was only there while she was storming up tactics, and it almost made Chrom scared of her. "You - yes, you in the mask. Don't even think of slinking away, you'll be flanking him with Chrom. I'll be just behind casting spells and Lissa, you stay by my side. You'll be safest there."
Just as the tactician finished dishing out orders, another loud cracking sound could be heard from the woods, accompanied by loud cursing and a girlish yelp. Chrom grinned as he recognized the voices and a horse pushed past a group of the monsters, scattering them, and came to a halt just in front of him. Atop the horse was the red-headed cavalier Sully, her ridiculously short messy hair making her slightly difficult to distinguish from men even while she was wearing her breastplate. She was also swearing up and down at the man behind her, a frilly archer who was doing his best to look dignified while trying not to fall off the horse, which only made it more hilarious when he did.
"My dear lady!" He exclaimed to Sully as he quickly righted himself and ran a hand through his silvery-blue messed-up hair, "Such vulgar things should not be said from the mouth of someone so charming!"
"Try telling that to someone who'll listen, ya pompous snob." Sully retorted as she rotated each of her shoulders in turn.
"Sully! Virion! It's nice to see friendly faces." Chrom greeted them with a wave.
"Chrom, this woman has been riding to find you nonstop ever since she found out you had gone off with only Frederick and Lissa," Virion turned towards him, a slight smile showing his relief of being off the horse. "And I just had to accompany her on her quest to find you. It is not befitting of one of my station to let a woman wander off alone."
"You're more girly than I am!" Sully barked, "And you know full well I left because this guy always has fun stuff happen to him while we're not around!" Sully exclaimed as she slapped Virion's back, which nearly made him fall over. "Like that one time when-"
"Okay! That's enough!" Chrom stopped her before she could go any farther, the memory making him queasy just by thinking of it. "We're kinda in a dire situation right now, and now's not the time to be reminiscing about that." He quickly changed the topic, hoping that Robin wouldn't ask about it later.
"Who are they?" Said tactician asked him as she jabbed a thumb in the direction of the newcomers.
"Shepherds," Chrom answered, "And they'll listen to your orders." The gleam lighted in her eyes again, and Chrom nearly had to take a step back. She really was scary when she got like that.
"Ah, how lovely to meet you, my lady," Virion addressed Robin with his overly flowery speech, completely disregarding everything that had just happened. "What can I do to please one as fair as yourself?"
"Can it, Ruffles," Robin grunted casually as she glanced back at the creatures. "Vir sapit qui pauca loquitur; that man is wise who talks little," Chrom blinked at Robin's use of an old language, dead to most of the world. Chrom had never been able to speak it as his older sister had, but he knew it when he heard it.
"Sully, Frederick, once they charge go to opposite flanks in a pincer attack and cause some havoc. Lissa, change of plans. You're staying with the archer here while I go to the front lines with those two." She motioned to Chrom and the stranger with that.
"R-ruffles?!" Vision finally stammered, aghast at her apparent nickname for him and completely ignoring her warning against talking. "You see here. I am the Archest of Archers! The one that gives good name-" Sully slapped his back again to shut him up, and it worked quite effectively.
"I like you." The cavalier said to Robin with a snicker.
"They're going to charge." Frederick warned.
"For Ylisse!" Chrom cried out as the two knights galloped to their respective positions. The moment they touched into the enemy waves, total chaos ensued. Sully was practically throwing her lance around in a way that pretty much guaranteed anything in front of her to fall down dead, not that her brute force didn't help. Frederick was untouchable, his pristine armour gleaming in the weak moonlight.
Chrom and the others charged, their respective weapons in-hand. Curiously enough, the stranger used a light rapier instead of the much longer two-handed sword he had been using earlier, not too different from Chrom's own rapier that he had lent to Robin for the time being, since her dagger was too short for most combat and the bandit's weapon she had picked up was a piece of scrap metal.
Chrom was the first to hit the monsters' now completely unorganized charge, not that it was exactly 'organized' to begin with. Most of them appeared to be weaponless, swinging around their razor-sharp claws instead. Those ones were also wearing potato sacks over their heads, small slits betraying their glowing red eyes.
Chrom took one of those out with a swing of the Falchion, turning to block another of them from hitting the stranger's exposed back. With a nod, the mysterious man went back to killing the monsters. Every few seconds an arrow whizzed past them, each hitting their mark and taking out one of the creatures or crippling it so one of the others could. Out of the corner of his eyes, he could see bright flashes of light from Robin's mix of spellcasting and bladework.
He had been impressed when the woman had pulled tactics out of thin air, even more so when she had pulled magic out of her sleeves. But rewriting almost entire plans in a few seconds on the fly? In the few lessons he had had on tactics, he remembered his tutors saying it was incredibly difficult to do so.
A particularly large monster blundered out of the ranks, trampling over comrades that didn't get out of its way. With an animalistic cry, it threw a hand axe at Chom. The weapon barely missed, grazing his arm as he dodged.
From behind him, three arrows flew into the beast - one to its eye, one to the neck and the third sticking out of its chest. The monster gave a shriek of rage as it tore the arrow out of its head and snapped the shafts of the other two, black mist seeping from the wound. In a few bounding steps it was on top of him, and in a sweeping arc it nearly decapitated him as he fell ungraciously onto the ground.
As he went to deflect another hit from the monster's axe, he was a second too slow and the weapon buried itself into his pauldron, scraping the shoulder beneath. The monster tried to pull its weapon out of the armour to no avail, so it stepped on Chrom's chest to gain leverage. He cried out as fire burned through his torso, his ribs cracking and the wind being knocked out of him. Just as he thought he couldn't take any more pressure, a powerful blow threw the monster off of him. The stranger charged as he followed up on the attack, letting out a wordless cry as he buried his rapier into it's head. As Chrom painfully got to his feet, the monster dissolved into the black mist around the sword.
"Go to Lissa," The stranger instructed him, "You're no good like this." Nodding mutely, Chrom fell back as quickly as he could, his insides screaming with every motion.
As the mounted knights struck, the wave of monsters that loosely resembled ranks fell to chaos before Robin's eyes. It seemed that the creatures weren't very smart despite being deadly. She had also decided to call the stranger 'Mask' for the sake of simplicity.
She charged beside Chrom holding the rapier he had lent her, and the three sword-wielders crashed into the disorganized creatures and tore them apart, each one disappearing into black mist that reeked of evil. Perhaps the others didn't sense it as she did because they didn't have a sixth sense for magic. Both cavaliers, the stranger and Chrom charged around unheeded while both Lissa and Virion seemed to be avoiding the smoke-like mist.
She strung together her attacks so that they flowed naturally, a slash leading into a spell or finishing the work of a spell with a stab. The fight was going well for them - Sully and Frederick absolutely dominated the battlefield with their superior range, Chrom, Mask and Robin herself were steadily working through the horde, Virion covering them and Lissa whenever a monster slipped past.
That is, until an unusually large one monster, most likely the leader judging from brute strength alone, managed to pin Chrom to the ground. Robin cursed at his clumsiness, about to send a more powerful version of the simple 'Wind' spell, 'Elwind', to knock the thing off of him, when Mask stepped in and took it out.
Strange, I didn't think Mask would care that much…
Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, she released her readied spell at the nearest monster. When a moment ago it may have dodged, it simply let her attack, letting out a muffled shriek as it turned to smoke. Looking around, she could see that the others were having just as little resistance. Within minutes the rest of the evil creatures had been completely dealt with.
Perhaps they rally around the leader.
As they all regrouped, Frederick started the conversation. "It seems all of the creatures are vanquished." He reported, standing to attention while he held his armoured horse by the reins.
"I, uh… I never got to thank you," Lissa spoke sheepishly, addressing Mask, "For saving me, I mean. So, thank you. You were really brave." The young healer said in a surprising moment of humility and grace.
"You saved my sister's life, so I too thank you," Chrom said, "I am Chrom. Might I ask your name?"
"You may call me… Marth." He said after a moment of hesitation.
"Well, thanks, Marth, you really helped us out there." Robin offered her hand out in thanks, but Marth seemed to glare at her from underneath his mask and pointedly ignored her olive branch.
"After the hero-king of old?" Chrom asked, "You certainly fight like a hero. Where did you learn your skills?"
"I am not here to tell you about me," Marth cut his question off abruptly. "I am here to deliver a warning. This world teeters on the brink of calamity of the apocalyptic scale. What you saw here is but a prelude for what is to come." With his ominous message delivered, he walked past them and into the forest.
"Wait, what?" Lissa broke the silence. "What's going to happen to the world?! Hey, wait!" Frederick put a hand on her shoulder.
"He's long gone by now, milady. Besides, I believe we will hear his name again. But for now, we must hurry forth to the capital to ensure that it had been spared this destruction."
"Of course," Chrom nodded. "Come, we have to leave now if we're to make it there by daybreak."
"Wait, hold it right there." Robin put up a hand in a motion for the others to stop moving. "You mean after all this we have to ride for hours?" She asked angrily. She had gotten less sleep than the others had, and definitely didn't want to be riding for the next few hours.
"Robin, you agreed to come with us," Chrom said with a weary chuckle. "This is what you signed up for, so you're gonna have to deal with it."
"And why had nobody told me this yet?!" Robin felt like her brain was going to melt.
"You didn't ask." Chrom tried to keep a straight face but couldn't as he broke out into a grin. "Come on, we can't waste any more time." He said as they started moving again, going back to get their horses.
"Well, I certainly don't have to like it…" Robin muttered as she trailed behind them. This was not going to be a fun morning.
Just as dawn truly started, the group of Shepherds crested a hill to look out upon the city below. It was a large, bustling city in which shops lined the main streets, which were crowded with pedestrians going about their daily lives, side streets eventually branching out into the slums of the city. Above the markets was the middle-class housing, with fewer people in the streets but was just as lively as the packed streets below. Above those were the aristocratic quarters, much more vivid and large than the middle-class homes with fewer people milling about. These were stationed relatively close to the large building near the center of the city; a large castle that was most likely the home of the Exalt.
Chrom had pushed them hard that night, and it had been a rough one for Robin. She ached all over from riding for hours on little sleep, and Virion's constant complaining about being stuffed back onto Sully's unruly horse didn't help much. She had also learned that the archer would sweet-talk anything that vaguely looked like a woman, so she had opted to mostly ignore him during the ride.
"It appears the capital was unaffected by the quake," Frederick noted, his voice showing slight relief. It was probably the most emotion he was going to show for a few hours. "It was most likely contained to the forest."
"Then all is well. Come on, we have to inform the Exalt of this." Chrom said in a fairly cheery tone despite the rest of the group's tired groans. Except for Frederick. Frederick looked like he could go another week of riding and still be fine. Actually, now that she thought about it, Frederick probably had ridden for weeks on end without complaining at all.
The weary group slowly made their way down a dirt road that lead towards the closest entrance to the city - a large vaulted archway with thick wooden doors to match, both swung inwards so the door was open to its fullest capacity. Travelers in all sorts of dress marched in and out of the gates, the ones with wagons and carts being stopped for mandatory checks. The Shepherds had to dismount to get through the crowds, something both Robin and Virion were thankful for. Neither could take much more riding after the previous night.
They passed unhindered into the main street, where some sort of procession was passing through. Robin could just see a woman in regal robes walking within a circle of what appeared to be Royal Guards. A few pegasi circled above the parade, and she could just make out the glint of armour and spears.
"I've never seen this many people in one place!" Robin exclaimed as they made their way through the crowds.
"Yes, the sight is truly remarkable," Virion nodded to the procession. "There is Lady Emmeryn herself. She is known to occasionally walk the streets of Ylisstol as a sign that she is with her people."
"Is it safe for her to be walking about like this?" Robin frowned. It would be unwise of a ruler to walk among their people, even if they were universally well-liked.
"The Exalt is a symbol of peace," Frederick explained as they made their way towards the castle. "Ylisse's most prized quality. Long ago when the fell dragon tried to destroy our world, the first Exalt joined forced with the divine dragon Naga and defeat the beast. Exalt Emmeryn reminds us of the peace we fought for then."
"Yes," Chrom agreed as they exited the market and made their way through the middle-class housing district, "With Plegia provoking us at every turn, she needs to remind the people that she is there to protect them. She is a calming presence, when others might call for war. She is peace."
"Then Ylisse is lucky to have such an understanding ruler," Robin commented as Frederick charged Virion and Sully with taking the horses to their stables as they went back to the Shepherds' Garrison.
The stable's probably near their barracks, then. Robin thought idly as Sully left, swearing as Virion did his best to flirt with her. They could still hear her loud profanity even after Virion's voice had been lost in the chatter of the crowd.
"Yeah!" Lissa chimed in. "And she's also the best big sister anyone could ask for!"
"Yes, I would expect she would…" Robin started before fading out.
Wait… did she just say big sister?!
"Y… you mean the Exalt is your sister?" She asked cautiously, her full attention on Lissa.
"Yep!" The young healer agreed cheerily, oblivious to the implications in Robin's tone.
"Which means that you and Chrom…" Her voice faded out again, unable to complete her thought.
"Are the prince and princess of the realm?" The prince finished for her. "Yes, yes we are."
Robin, completely flabbergasted, dropped to one knee as she realized her completely rude mannerisms to them.
"I apologize, milord, milady. Had I known I would not have acted in such a way towards you." She apologized profusely as she lowered her head in respect, praying to whatever Gods would listen that they wouldn't take it for her rude demeanor.
"Peace, friend. I'm not much one for formalities anyways." Chrom reassured her before holding out a hand to help her up, while Lissa giggled away.
"But you said you were 'Shepherds'." Robin continued tentatively, very tense about them being royalty.
"We are," Chrom said with a smile. "We just have a lot of sheep, so to speak. And the Shepherds are an official militia, so we didn't lie." Chrom finished with a laugh.
"Okay…" Robin drew out the word to buy time to process that information.
"You mean to say that you remembered milord's name, but not his station?" Frederick asked suspiciously as they continued their way forwards,
"What can I say?" Robin shrugged as they reached the aristocratic quarters, "Amnesia is a strange thing. But this also explains why Frederick puts up with you two." She finished with a wink, slowly returning to her normal demeanor.
"Oh, the sacrifices I make for the good of the realm…" The knight muttered. All but the stoic knight laughed at this.
"It looks like Emm is returning to the palace," Chrom noted, "We'd best get there soon so we can inform her of these events." They unanimously agreed with him as they finished their trek to the castle.
The castle itself was a grand sight to see, with its arching walls and gloriously constructed windows it seemed much more open than it actually was, the brilliant masonry bringing the stone walls to life. The group approached a tall set of oaken doors, the varnish reflecting light from the nearby windows.
"The Great Hall," Lissa whispered to Robin, and she nodded in return as the doors were opened by the guards standing on either side. The Great Hall had a vaulted ceiling and lavish decorations that truly befit its name, at the end a large blue banner that spanned a good section of wall displayed the mark Chrom had on his shoulder; the the Exalted Brand. Nobles milled about in their finest, debating politics or simply conversing with each other. As soon as Chrom entered the room most of the chatter ceased as the nobles all turned and bowed or curtsied to their prince and princess, a few glancing curiously at Robin and making her self-conscious of her attire, which was dirty from travel.
They passed by the nobles as the groups returned to their chattering, Chrom leading them towards a door in the back. Through the door was corridor after corridor, the layout of the palace confusing Robin as she was lead towards their destination. Through one open door she could see huge bookshelves stuffed to bursting with all sorts of books, a woman wearing a pointed mage's hat sitting at a table pouring over the open books and scrolls in front of her. In a courtyard, a man in forest green cavalry armour was sparring with… she had to squint for a moment before seeing the knight in large cream armour.
They stopped outside of a door of a darker shade than any she had seen to that point. A man in ornate armour, likely a mediocre-to-high ranking military officer, nodded to the royals before looking at her warily as he opened the door.
The room itself was small but homely in a grand way. There were two couches, of undoubtedly the best materials, on either side of a wonderfully carved table, the surface reflecting light via clear lacquer. Atop it sat a fancy jug, most likely made of crystal, full of water, next to it a bottle of high-grade wine and several matching cups.
"Come and sit while we wait for Emm," Chrom waved dismissively towards the couches before sitting upon one himself. "It might be awhile."
Robin nodded before she approached the sofa. She hesitantly lowered herself onto the seat, careful to sit on the edge while Chrom and Lissa flopped unceremoniously onto the other. She could practically feel the dust on her coat working its way into the cushion. Frederick stayed at the door, ever the cautious watchman.
"I don't belong here…" Robin murmured as Chrom offered her a glass of water, nursing the undoubtedly expensive cup.
"Tell me about it," Chrom muttered back, and she could feel herself smile at this.
"You wouldn't believe how many times he's embarrassed himself at court," Lissa snickered before her brother elbowed her.
"Look at who's talking," Chrom jabbed at her, a grin on his face. Robin couldn't help but giggle a little at the siblings' display of affection. It really showed how much they cared about each other. "By the way, Robin, there's something I've been meaning to speak to you about." He said as he turned his attention to her.
"Yes?" Curiosity took hold as a thousand possible questions filled her now idle mind, sifting through the most likely options.
"I've been thinking that you haven't anywhere to go after this, right?"
"Ah, yes. I've not much to go on." Robin admitted, glancing down at her hand before looking at Chrom again.
"So how about you join the Shepherds?" He offered. "We could really use a tactician, and your other skills will not go unwelcomed." Robin started at his proposition. She had never entertained the thought of staying with them, and it felt like her heart was beating slightly faster at the idea.
"Chrom's more muscle than brain, so you'd be really helpful." Lissa giggled as Chrom tried at swat at her face.
"That would be wonderful," Robin admitted wistfully. "Though I'm sure there are others more qualified than I-"
"Stop," Chrom interrupted her. "You're plenty qualified. I've seen your tactical mind at work, and it's truly impressive. I want you to join the Shepherds."
"If you insist, I suppose I can't exactly ignore an order from Ylisse's prince," Robin laughed as a guard entered the room from the opposite side they had. She was wearing ornate Pegasus knight's armour, and her legs were bowed, most likely from decades of riding. Again, Robin felt a sense of déja vu, like how she had known Lissa was in a cleric's clothes.
"Prince Chrom, Princess Lissa, Frederick, it is nice to see you safe," The woman said in a rough voice - one that seemed to have the sternness of a drill sergeant but the wisdom of a sage. She was probably on the upper end of her forties, her silver hair pulled into a tight braided bun behind her head
"Wing-Commander Phila," Chrom greeted her. "How's Ylisstol been?"
"Not much different than when you left, sire." Phila shot a curious glance in Robin's direction. "But I see you have a new companion. Most new Shepherds do not come to meet Her Grace, so this one must be quite special to have earned the honour."
"Commander Phila, this is Robin, and as of a few moment ago she is the Shepherd's official tactician," He introduced them. " And it's not quite who she is but how we met her that warrants this visit. But it would be best to wait for my sister before that conversation."
"Of course," Phila nodded, before adding, "She should be here any moment now; she was just finishing her work." As if on cue, the door the Wing-Commander had come from opened, revealing a graceful woman. The moment she appeared it was as if the entire room lit up, her smile was so soft and kind and her eyes were just as wise. Her hair was the same colour as Lissa's, but fell in two large curls instead of pigtails. In the center of her forehead, her Brand was displayed proudly.
"Chrom! Lissa! Welcome home. Oh, and good day, Frederick. How fared you all?" The Exalt asked as she stepped forward to embrace her siblings, who were now standing.
"We've taken care of the bandits for now. They shouldn't be bothering us for quite a while." Chrom reported as he and Lissa accepted the embrace, and Robin felt more awkward than ever now that she was in the middle of their wonderful family reunion.
"Wonderful. And our people?" Emmeryn asked as she stepped back and surveyed the room, glancing curiously at Robin in the process. The Exalt chose not to mention it, though, and kept talking to her siblings.
"Safe as can be, Emm, but we have to watch our backs. The brigands came from Plegia." Chrom warned her.
"Forgive me, milady," Phila apologized as she bowed. "My Pegasus Knights should have intercepted them."
"Nonsense," Emmeryn said kindly. "Your duty is here with me."
"And besides, we had plenty of help!" Lissa chirped as she pointed to Robin, who became quite uncomfortable as she drew the gaze of everyone in the room.
"Yes, we have yet to be introduced." Emmeryn said with a smile.
"This is Robin," Chrom introduced for her. "She fought bravely with us against the brigands, and has been a boon on our travels so far. She is also the newest member of the Shepherds, joining us as our official tactician."
"I have heard much of your kindness, and it had been an honour meeting you," Robin said as stood and curtsied. "Amare et sapere vix deo conceditur." She spoke the words without thinking, much as she had when she chided Virion back in the forest.
"Even a God finds it hard to love and be wise at the same time," Emmeryn translated, a slightly humbled note in her voice. "I see you have studied the ancient language well. It also sounds as though Ylisse owes you a debt of gratitude, Robin."
"Not at all, milady," The tactician said, as humbly as she could.
"Forgive me Your Grace, but I must speak," Frederick requested from the doorway.
"And speak you may," Emmeryn granted.
"Robin claims to have lost her memory, but it is only that; a claim," Robin could almost hear the smugness in his voice as he tattled on her. "We cannot rule out the possibility that she is a brigand or even a Plegian spy." The Exalt narrowed her eyes at this.
"And yet you let this woman into the castle, Chrom?" She questioned her brother as Robin braced herself to be scrutinized.
"Yes," Chrom said confidently and she let out a silent breath she didn't know she was holding. "Robin had risked her life for our people, and that's more than good enough for me." Emmeryn looked at her for a moment before smiling again.
"If you have earned my brother's faith, you have earned mine as well." She said graciously.
"Milady," Robin thanked her with another curtsy.
"Thank you, Frederick, for your prudence," Emmeryn bowed slightly to the knight. "My siblings are blessed to have such a tireless guardian. I do hope they say so from time to time." She ended with a chuckle.
"They do occasionally show something akin to gratitude, Your Grace" Frederick said politely before he turned to the Wing-Commander. " Commander Phila, I assume you have heard of the deathly creatures we encountered."
"Yes, Frederick," Phila confirmed gravely. "They have been sighted all over Ylisse."
"We were about to hold council," Emmeryn informed Chrom. "It would do good for you to attend, as you have seen these creatures with your own eyes."
"Of course, sister." The prince agreed.
"Come on, Robin!" Lissa said suddenly as she grabbed Robin's sleeve. "That's our cue to get out of here." The princess said as she forcibly dragged the tactician out of the room. Once the door was shut, the healer loudly sighed in relief, "Good thing you were there. I hate those things." Lissa admitted as she started walking.
"I feel so loved," Robin snorted sarcastically, following Lissa as not to be separated. She had no idea where she was in the castle and was not going to become lost.
"Come on, I do actually have something to show you." The princess grinned, looking over her shoulder for a moment before facing front again.
"I'm coming, I'm coming," Robin chuckled as her friend broke into a sprint.
"Not fast enough!" Lissa giggled back at her, and Robin took after. Things were going to be interesting for quite some time.
A/N So, how'd I do? Terrible, passable or good? Please let me know. And, yes, Robin and Emmeryn can speak Latin. Ylisse is based off of medieval Europe, so I was like 'Screw it, I'ma throw in some Latin'. If, for whatever reason, I don't put the translation of a phrase in the story, it should be down here, but that probably won't happen.
Also, for those of you that don't know, Virion has a French accent. Yup. The womanizer has a French accent.
Next time, tune in for Robin's introduction to the other Shepherds and maybe some of Regna Ferox - I make no promises on that.
Another reminder to please send in artwork! Hope you're getting tired of these, 'cause I sure am, and it's only chapter 2.
Hope you've enjoyed, and please give some constructive criticism, I really could use it.
-Storm 2016