Robin burst into the war tent, scrolls of paper and books piled in his arms. "Sorry I'm late!" He gasped, breathless from his mad dash across camp. "Morgan was supposed to wake me earlier..." Robin set the papers down and looked across the table, seeing the council staring at him.
The Khans of Regna Ferox, as well as Chrom, broke at the same time, all gasping for air as they laughed. Maribelle, Virion, and Say'ri bit back their laughter, sporting grins nonetheless. Queen Sumia was the only person who held their composure. She looked down, clearly embarrassed for the tactician.
"What are you all..." Robin said, running a hand through his hair. Stopping suddenly, realization hit Robin like a ballista shot. "Gods damn it Morgan..." He growled.
()()()()
"Did you really have to do that?" Robin huffed, walking briskly into his daughter's tent. Morgan perked up, closing the tactics manual in her lap. She grinned, seeing her father's hair, still full of poorly-done braids and strange hair-clips.
"It's all tactics, dad!" She giggled. "I waited for you to sleep, went to work, and then didn't wake you. I knew that you would be late, and be in a mad rush. That way, you would not notice your hair!"
Robin groaned and sat down on Morgan's cot. "B+ for tactics." He commented, smiling at his daughter's sparkling eyes. "F for making me look like a fool in front of half the world's royalty."
"Daaad!" Morgan whined, standing from her folding desk and jumping at him. She tackled Robin into the cot, beating on his chest softly. "That's mean!"
Robin chuckled and caught both her wrists. "How about you get this ridiculousness out of my hair, and then we head down to the nearby town. I think they have a bookstore, maybe a decent cafe for lunch?"
Morgan relaxed and grinned. "Okay!"
"You're still on laundry duty for two weeks." Robin said dryly.
"Daaaaaaaaaaad!"
()()()()
"You know, Roseanne is really beautiful. For once, I think Virion wasn't exaggerating." Robin commented, placing both hands behind his head.
The mountainous valley they had camped in was small, but still incredible. The snow-capped mountains that bordered Chon'sin towered above, dominating the skyline like gentle behemoths. Forests and fields filled with a rainbow of coloured flowers filled the valley, coming together as a location that Robin could scarcely believe existed.
"Yeah..." Morgan commented idly, eyes focused on the cobble road.
"What's up, kiddo?" Robin asked, slowing his walk.
Morgan paused, biting her lip. "I dunno." She admitted. "I just...get this feeling about this place."
"Feeling?" Robin raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah, like...it's...home?" Morgan suggested, not entirely sure herself.
"Hm. That's interesting..." Robin mumbled, the gears in his head quickly turning. If Morgan felt such a pull to this place, combined with Robin's own appreciation of the valley, he could only come to the conclusion that...
"Do you think you meet mom here?" Morgan asked with a wide smirk, looking up to gauge her father's reaction. Robin sighed and tried to ignore the heat rising on his face.
"Morgan, you've said that same thing about every town we've passed since landing on Valm."
"But dad! What if! Think about it!" Morgan said, waving her arms widely. "If I have a sense of familiarity to this area, don't you think that it would be because we lived here?"
"It's true that I do enjoy this valley...it's quite scenic..." Robin agreed. "However, this could have easily been a vacation spot for us, in the future." He said, shooting Morgan a deadpan stare.
"You're no fun." Morgan rolled her eyes. "Still, be on the lookout for a pretty lady!" She giggled, skipping ahead slightly. Robin rubbed his temples. It was going to be a long afternoon, if Morgan's constant questions about who he found attractive in the past were anything to go by.
As the tactician duo crested a hill, the small town of Lillian appeared. A lazy river floated past the town, a few stone bridges crossing it at various points. The village was sparse and spread out across a wide field, with no gates of walls in sight. Houses were a larger distance away, not having to be confined to tight spaces like back in Ylisstol. Mostly made of wood and topped with a red-clay roof, the houses had an air of comfort to them that Robin envied.
Children ran through a field of flowers, ignoring a woman's exasperated shouting. Towards the centre of town, a statue stood. Robin couldn't pick out who it was supposed to depict, but he guessed it was a hero of an age long-past, like the hero king Marth.
"Whoa...this village..." Morgan gasped, falling to her knees suddenly.
"Morgan!" Robin shouted, at his daughter's side in a heartbeat.
"I'm...alright." Morgan hissed, teeth grinding together and eyes shut. "I just...saw the village...and got this headache."
"Are you going to be okay?" Robin asked hesitantly, feeling useless.
"Yeah, just let me catch my breath..." Morgan sighed.
"Robin!" A voice called from behind. Turning, Robin found himself looking at a worried Lissa and silent Lon'qu. "What's wrong with Morgan?" Lissa gasped, healing staff in hand.
"A headache." Robin replied instantly. "She saw the town and just fell over..." He paused, watching as Lissa applied a small amount of healing magic to Morgan's forehead. "I think her memories are trying to break through whatever block is in her mind..." Robin said absently.
"That might explain why this healing staff isn't working as well as it should..." Lissa mumbled.
"What do you mean?" Robin asked, fearful.
Lissa leaned back, looking tired. "Normally a staff can heal wounds no problem, except for when dark magic is involved. That takes a lot more work to heal." Lissa raised an eyebrow at Robin's face. "What? I'm a fully-licensed cleric I'll have you know! I learned all this stuff!" She crossed her arms.
"Anyways, Morgan seems to be affected by some sort of dark magic in her head. Like a...hex or something..." Lissa offered, not quite sure herself.
Robin sighed in relief as Morgan relaxed, already feeling better. "Thanks Auntie Lissa!" Morgan grinned. "But, does that mean that someone messed with my memories before I came back in time?" She asked.
Lissa shrugged, applying more magic to the tactician-in-training. Lon'qu grunted, looking down at the town.
"I'll have Henr-wait, never mind. I'll have...Tharja look at you once we get back, okay?" Robin asked. Morgan nodded. "Are you sure you still want to head down?"
Morgan nodded, ignoring Lissa's annoyed grumbling as the princess attempted to heal her. "I do, whenever Auntie Lissa is done."
Lissa looked up at Robin. "This might take a little while longer. Why don't you down and we'll catch up."
"Are you sure?"
"Go ahead, dad! Uncle Lonnie will protect me!" Morgan snickered, seeing Lon'qu's eyebrow twitch.
"Right then...take care." Robin sighed, stepping down the path.
()()()()
Robin wandered through the streets, looking for any signs of the fabled bookstore he heard of. So far, nothing had come up. He was very close to asking for directions. Still, Robin fully believed he could find it without help. After all, if he could win a war against a mad king, he could find a bookstore.
Ten minutes later, he finally came to the conclusion he needed help. It wasn't like Lillian was the big of a town anyway, he must have made at least two passes around the entire place. Mad at himself for being unable to locate a simple bookstore, Robin approached a girl wearing a set of armour.
She wore the colours of the city guard, complete with a purple-plumed helmet. The armour as slightly too big on her tiny frame. Robin knew better, but at first glance the girl could easily be mistaken for an older child, with her tiny frame.
The girl, probably age sixteen or seventeen, held a lance tightly in one hand, eyes scanning the treeline outside of town for danger. Her hair was strewn down her back, a loose lock hanging over one shoulder. A blonde cowlick poked over the top of her helmet. Robin paused, noting the colour.
Robin had questioned Morgan about her hair long ago, having not seen any colour like that before, himself included. Morgan's hair was blonde at the root, turning into a light orange mid-way through her scruff before finishing at the tips in a bright red. It certainly was eye-catching, and Robin wondered if she had somehow dyed it.
This girl had the exact same hair as Morgan.
Robin felt his heart race. If this was his future wife, oh gods. She was young, sure, but Robin was no older than twenty-three. Surely that much of an age difference wasn't too bad. Hell, just look at Gregor and Nowi!
Still, it unnerved Robin to even speak to the girl. He was nervous. 'What ifs' circled in Robin's mind, clouding his judgement and only serving to make him feel more and more flustered. Finally, the girl seemed to take notice of Robin's presence a few feet behind her.
The girl spun, revealing a set of large, brown eyes. "Hello, do you need anyth-" The girl paused, shock coming over her face. "Y-you-you're..."
Robin raised an eyebrow, heart beating so fast he swore this girl could hear it from where she stood. Now that he was so close, Robin realized just how similar this girl looked to Morgan. The same face, the same, albeit longer, hair. The eyes and nose were slightly different, but it was nonetheless mostly Morgan.
"Oh gods!" She gasped, taking a step back. "You're...the Shepherd's tactician!"
"Yes..." Robin said, throat tight. A bead of sweat formed on the back of Robin's neck.
"I-I-I gotta go!" The girl yelled, taking off in a sprint towards the centre of town.
Robin's jaw fell open, hand extended as if he meant to stop her. Lowering his hand Robin heaved a sigh.
"Well, Mr. Tactician!" A familiar voice called from behind him. "That girl looked awfully similar to a certain time-travelling daughter of yours, didn't she?" Lissa said with a cheeky grin. Beside her, Morgan giggled happily and jumped up and down.
"Ha! I knew this place felt familiar!" She cheered.