I have a few ideas about who I want to be Robin's wife, but nothing's set in stone so I'd still like to hear everyone's suggestions if you have any! Just a heads up though, I usually feel weird pairing the Avatar with anyone from the second generation unless it's one-sided or completely platonic (feel free to suggest some for those), and in any case for the purposes of this story Morgan must be from the same generation as everyone from the future.
For anyone who wants to know the Robin I'm picturing in this story is average height with black hair and the long hairstyle (the one with the bangs). His strength is magic and his weakness is HP, and yes I have a save file that I'm using just for this fic. Kudos to anyone who can guess what mode it's in from this chapter!
Present time: road to a burning village
The smell of burning flesh and the screams of dying people assaulted Robin's senses as he sprinted towards the town, dodging fleeing civilians and panicked animals with the ease of practice. As he ran he finally allowed himself to relax, breathing in deeply and smiling at the familiarity of it all. During his life he'd taken on numerous identities, forged many separate personas, and fought alongside countless faces, but throughout it all he was and would always be a tactician. He was a playwright of conflict, with humans as his actors and the battlefield his stage. In the midst of battle was the only place where he could truly be himself, so himself he would be.
The stream of running townspeople suddenly thinned and as Robin skidded around the last bend in the road he quickly saw why; the Shepherds had apparently opted to push deep into the town in order to rout the bandits and save as many people as possible - a noble goal and a fair strategy given their limited numbers, but in their haste to free the town they had apparently forgotten that doing so left the gates completely unprotected. Two burly brigands stood by the open gates, their bloody axes and manic grins successfully deterring anyone from attempting to approach.
Robin drew his sword and charged the gates. A quick flick of his fingers and one of the axemen dropped dead, their heart stopped by the current of a highly condensed ball of electricity. The other man turned and raised his axe, but was too slow as Robin's sword easily broke through his clumsy guard and deftly buried itself in his neck.
The man dropped like a stone, gurgling and clutching at his throat. Robin grimaced and ended his pain with a quick fire spell at point blank range. Seeing as most people didn't usually walk around with high quality weapons Robin was currently wielding a crudely made bronze sword he'd bought from a street stall a few days ago. It was sturdy enough but the blade was much duller than he'd like. Hopefully the Shepherds would give him some better weapons once he officially joined them.
"All of you should go now," Robin called. After a moment's hesitation a few people emerged from where they'd been hiding nearby and hurried out of the town, shooting him grateful smiles as they passed.
Robin took up a guard position by the gates, idly swinging his sword by his side as he listened carefully to the sounds around him. The crackling flames and screaming villagers made things difficult, but above the din he could barely hear the clash of metal and the hoofbeats of a heavily armored horse. Then...
"Hang on, we're almost there!" Lissa's voice was even more high-pitched than usual as the hoofbeats drew closer and closer to the main gates. Robin frowned, momentarily nonplussed.
Frederick's horse burst around the corner. Frederick himself was nowhere in sight, but Lissa sat in the saddle and was clearly struggling to steer the horse and hold onto a bloody Chrom.
For a moment Robin gaped at the unexpected sight; then a large piece of falling debris nearly beaned the horse on the head and Robin dove forward, just in time to catch Chrom before the lord had a painful collision with the ground.
"Robin?" Chrom gasped, staring at him in confusion. "What...why did you...follow us?"
"It seems that I know how to fight. Never mind me, are you alright?" Robin pressed his hands against the heavily bleeding gash in Chrom's side, remembering to wince sympathetically at Chrom's pained gasp. If the noises around him were any indication Frederick was a few streets further down, out of sight and probably guarding his lord's retreat against a tidal wave of bandits. The only other witness around was Lissa, who was struggling to calm the panicked warhorse so she could dismount without breaking any bones and easy enough to deal with anyway. It would be so simple to dig his fingers in deeper and call the magic to his fingertips...
But no, the mission always came first and there was no way it'd be able to continue if Chrom died. Robin quickly moved out of the way as Lissa finally dropped to the ground, staff already glowing with energy. He watched carefully as Chrom's wound shimmered closed, leaving only a faint scar that looked for all the world like it was years old as opposed to merely seconds. It seemed that Lissa was a highly skilled healer; Robin filed this information away for further reference.
Chrom took a deep breath and sat up, glancing around the area as he took a moment to reorient himself. Robin quickly leaned in to steady him and watched as the lord's eyes landed on the two corpses beside the gate, narrowing at the sight of their injuries.
"You can use both magic and the blade, then?" Chrom said after a long moment, turning to give Robin an appraising look. "And yet I don't see you wielding a tome."
Robin put on a confused expression and shrugged. "It just...came naturally to me," he offered quietly, holding up his hand. A flick of his wrist summoned a ball of fire to float above his palm, heating up the royal blood which coated his skin. "I suppose I must've learned this somewhere..." Chrom's eyes drifted to a spot above Robin's shoulder and widened; before he could do anything else Robin was already moving, pivoting on the soles of his feet and tossing his summoned fire in one fluid motion. Two fireballs collided in midair and snuffed out of existence.
Robin grabbed his discarded sword, grimacing as it threatened to slide from the grip of his blood-coated palm. But the other mage was already preparing another spell so there was no time to waste; he lunged forward and swung at the mage. The unwieldy sword's weak edge combined with his awkward grip and hasty swing made it easy for the mage to block with an arcane shield. The man grunted and gestured; the shield pulsed with energy and the sword flew out of Robin's grasp. Robin made a face and raised his hand; his sharp-bladed wind spell sliced through the bandit's shield like a hot knife through butter and the mage's head flew into the air.
A pained grunt drew his attention to the side, where he noticed Chrom holding his own against three axemen while a fourth lay bleeding out on the ground. Robin didn't bother going for his sword this time and a ball of lightning quickly took the nearest bandit out of the fray. The other two faltered, momentarily distracted; Chrom took advantage of this to press forward. Falchion's blade gleamed in the sun and two bodies dropped onto the ground.
Chrom eyed the corpses and nodded. "Not bad," he said with a small smile. Robin tentatively returned it as he wiped his hands on a bandit's clothes and retrieved his sword.
"Where is Sir Frederick?" he asked, pushing a few stray strands of hair away from his face.
"We left him at the town...square..." Chrom cursed and began running.
"Chrom, wait!"
Chrom stumbled to a halt and shot Robin a glare. "There are dozens of brigands there! I cannot leave him to face them alone-"
"Where was he when you left him?" Robin interrupted. "Was he in an easily defensible area?"
"I...yes, but-"
"The bandits don't seem very skilled so he should be fine for a few more seconds. You, on the other hand, just lost a lot of blood. Even with your wound gone you'll tire quickly if you rush in without a decent plan." Robin sighed and glanced around, pretending not to notice Chrom and Lissa's surprised expressions. "If we leave this gate undefended some of them may escape and hunt down the townspeople. Chrom, you should stand guard here and stop them from leaving. Lissa and I will go help Sir Frederick. The town square, you said?"
"Yes, straight down this path and to the right." For a moment it looked as though Chrom was going to protest but he went to stand by the gate without complaint. "Robin, be wary of their leader. He is no ordinary highwayman."
"I will." For all of his idiocy and ridiculous self-made titles Garrick was an ex-mercenary and had more experience than most of the bandits combined. Robin had learned early on to not underestimate him. "Lissa, let's go. Stay close and keep your staff ready - if anyone gets too close you can at least use it to block an attack or two."
"G-got it!"
Chrom had just placed Lissa in the hands of a complete stranger who supposedly had amnesia. Robin wasn't sure if he should be proud of himself for earning the lord's trust so quickly or facepalming at the prince's complete and utter stupidity.
Well, to be fair it wasn't like there were any other options. In his current weakened state Chrom would be more of a liability than an asset; it was better to let him stand guard and take care of any stragglers that escaped.
Frederick stood at the foot of a stone bridge spanning a wide canal that separated one half of the square to the other, looking slightly out of breath and a little worse for the wear. Overturned carts and crates had been piled on the wide bridge, which when combined with the bodies of fallen bandits narrowed the path until the brigands had no choice but to approach the knight one at a time. The bandits for their part had fallen back and were regrouping on the other side, shooting glares and taunts at Frederick as he glared back at them with his bloody lance in hand and his head held high.
Robin quickly assessed the situation and was duly impressed. Not bad at all; he'd have to tread carefully.
"Frederick! Are you alright?" Lissa hurried forward once Robin gave her the all clear, her staff raised as she glanced warily at the leering men merely yards away.
"I am perfectly fine, milady. What of your brother?" Frederick spared them a glance, eyes narrowing as he took in Robin's presence and the distinct lack of Chrom. "Robin, what are you doing here?"
"Chrom's standing guard by the gate," Robin jumped in before Lissa could answer. "He lost a lot of blood so I thought it'd best if he prevented anyone from sneaking out and going after the townspeople while we took care of the ones here." He paused and put on a thoughtful frown. "It...appears as though I am able to fight, so I will do my best to aid you."
Frederick stared at him a moment longer before nodding sharply and returning to the problem at hand. "The leader and some of his men have barricaded themselves inside that church. We must break through the ones before us if we wish to make it over."
Robin smiled. "Leave that to me."
Chrom dodged an arrow and quickly closed the distance to bury Falchion in the archer's stomach before the man could ready another attack. Without missing a beat he kicked the bandit off his blade and turned, bringing Falchion up just in time to intercept a sword swing aimed for his head. In a contest of swords Chrom was easily the victor and the swordsman fell to the ground a few moments later, bleeding profusely from fatal wounds.
He stabbed Falchion into the ground and wiped at the sweat streaking down his face, looking around the corpse-ridden clearing. Robin's prediction had held true; in the past few minutes he'd found himself dealing with a small number of bandits as they attempted to flee the town.
Robin. The man was an enigma indeed. An amnesiac who was far from helpless, who could analyze a battlefield at a glance and wielded both magic and blade with ease... Chrom had initially intended to gently question Robin about anything the man could remember before leaving him at the church in the care of the priests. With this latest revelation, however, he found himself wondering if their new companion would agree to join the Shepherds. Their ranks would be greatly boosted with the addition of Robin's skills.