Chapter 3
"Down there! I can see a large march heading towards the capital!" Robin yelled out as he and Cordelia cut through the clouds. The day granted them fair weather with assorted clouds to take cover in and avoid being spotted. The Plegian's were marching upon the capital? They must have heard of Emmeryn's return! The Shepard's were a six hour flight east and nearly a day's march from the capital- there was no way they could arrive in time to defend the city.
"So Gangrel's plan wasn't to march on Chrom, only to send a distraction in order to assault the capital. We must warn Phila and the Exalt!" Cordelia cried out as the wind picked up. 'Damn! This is getting hard to control!' Robin's grip around her waist tightened as they dove down under the clouds. From what they could see, a battle had already broken out near the entrance to the capital. With the Shepards gone, the only defense were the castle guards and the remaining pegasus knights under Phila's order.
"There! They have already breached the castle! We must hurry inside and protect the exalt!" Robin pointed towards the castle. The Plegian's were good at distraction, that much was apparent. Their main force was drawing the soldier's out to the front gate while a smaller group invaded the castle. Cordelia whipped the harness around her pegasus and ushered it to fly into the castle grounds. The sight of bloodied corpses littered the once beautiful courtyard. More Ylissean lives lost to the madness of a king.
"Take to the skies!" Cordelia said to her pegasus as her and Robin touched down on the ground. Her steed took off into the heavens above as the two readied their weapons. The sounds of battle echoed through the large doorway before them. If they were quick, maybe they could save the Exalt. Robin dashed forward as Cordelia kept a short distance behind, keeping an eye on their backside as they entered the castle hallways.
The halls were painted with the blood of friend and foe alike. Bodies lie scattered and mangled, no doubt in the battle to kidnap Emmeryn. Cordelia clenched her teeth as the memories of her battle at the border came rushing back ten-fold. The sight of Plegian assassin's down the hall brought her attention back to the matter at hand. Robin turned his head back to stare at the woman as he regripped his sword.
"Prepare yourself." With that, he dashed forward, blasting a lightning bolt out from the tome he held in his left hand. The bolt struck one of the assassin's, charring his skin and sending him airborne. Three more of them ran towards the duo with swords drawn. Robin side stepped a vertical swing and brought his blade to the assassin's neck, severing his jugular. Cordelia dropped low as she pointed her lance straight ahead towards one of the swordsmen, leaping forward and thrusting her spear towards his chest. The warrior swatted the blade of the lance away with his sword and spun around in an attempt to slash the pegasus knight. With her combat expertise, she predicted this movement and rolled into the direction that her lance was knocked towards. Her eyes quickly jumped to Robin who was caught in a duel with the remaining warrior.
The assassin before Cordelia jumped towards her, sword overhead, bringing it down with much force in an attempt to cut her nearly in half. The woman again dove out of the way and used the length of her lance to reach her opponent, swinging it towards his back where the blade was met with his ribcage, causing him to cry out in agony. The wound was lethal and the man would eventually bleed out if not treated immediately. With the immediate threat out of the way, Cordelia ran towards Robin and his enemy, approaching the assassin from behind. Robin's blade was on the defensive as he held the attacker's own weapon at bay, only to receive a swift kick to his chest, right where his old wound was, causing him to fall back.
"Robin!" Cordelia cried out as she closed the distance. The swordsman swung his blade around and pulled it to his side, preparing to strike the tactician as he coughed on the ground in pain. The woman flipped her hand around so her lance was held in a throwing position and threw it as hard as she could at the assassin's back, spearing him directly in the spine. The man fell forward, skewered like a wild boar. Cordelia ran to Robin's side, kneeling beside him as she found her hands running over his body, her right one coming up to the side of his face and turning him so she could look into his eyes again.
"I'm *cough* fine. Just a kick. I've *cough* taken worse." Robin assured her as he smiled towards the crimson beauty. Cordelia helped him to his feet and plucked her lance from the assassin's body as they continued their advancement towards Emmeryn's chambers. Upon reaching the throne room, they were surprised to see no sign of Phila or the others. It looked as if this room had gone completely unnoticed except for the fact that the Exalt was gone.
"Emmeryn!"
"Your grace!"
The two cried out as they searched the room. There was no sign of her anywhere. The realization was made by both parties simultaneously- the Exalt was gone. The Plegian's accomplished their goal. It was at that moment that Phila and a company of her soldiers barged through the doors.
"Where is the Exalt?!" She shouted as the two Shepard's walked towards her. The news was grim.
"Phila, I believe Gangrel's men have kidnapped her. I believe they couldn't have gotten far because we just encountered the stragglers of their group." Robin stated. Phila's stern expression remained, but Cordelia and Robin both knew she was nervously breaking inside.
"Knights! Take to the skies and find the Exalt! Go in parties of two so that one may continue to follow while the other reports back!" The knights all scattered within moments to lead the search. Phila turned back towards Cordelia and Robin, urgency in her voice. "The prince must know about this tragedy! Please, inform him of Gangrel's atrocity while myself and the others go after the captors! I implore you!" Cordelia saluted Phila before she ran after her subordinates.
"Come on, Robin. We did what we could. We have to go tell the others." The two hurried out of the castle where Cordelia quickly summoned her mount with a loud whistle. The pegasus broke through the clouds and the two were off in flight once again, this time heading back to the Shepards encampment.
A couple hours had dragged by as night had fallen. Cordelia could sense her pegasus becoming weaker having not had a moments rest the entirety of the day. Robin was very silent as well even though his grip around her waist remained the whole flight thus far.
"Robin, I'm going to bring us down for the night. My pegasus needs to rest and eat and so do we." Although she knew how urgent their current task was, they couldn't progress any further if their pegasus couldn't take them. Robin had no objection as they slowly descended into a clearing in the woods below.
The two found a small rock formation near the clearing that served as a shelter, enough to keep them from the cold winds and any potential rainfall. As they unpacked, Robin's silence continued which was different from his usual friendly demeanor, worrying Cordelia.
"What's bothering you?" Cordelia asked as she finished tying her pegasus to a stake in the ground. Robin's silence the entire ride was enough to tell her something was up. The tactician looked hopelessly down at the ground beneath him while he spoke.
"I can't believe I didn't see this coming. When the herald sold us out, I should have taken into account that he may have given Plegia more information than thought." Robin clenched his fist tightly. Cordelia frowned at seeing the man so distraught. "I'm supposed to be Chrom's tactician and do my best to prevent disasters like this from happening. I failed him, Cordelia..."
"No you didn't!" The beauty ran to Robin's side and held his fist between her palms. She knew all too well how he felt.
"You didn't fail anyone. You did exactly what Chrom asked of you. The other's think so highly of you due to your cautiousness and decisive thinking. You know how smart you really are, Robin? You've kept everyone alive this entire war so far. If it wasn't for you, I would be dead, too..." Robin brought his head up to meet her gaze, this time his eyes wet with tears that were yet to fall. Cordelia held his hand tighter and smiled at him warmly. "I know what it's like to feel like a failure. When I fled the border to come and warn all of you, I couldn't help but think in the back of my mind 'What if I stayed? Could I have saved anyone at all? Or would I just be another casuality?' Those thoughts ate away at me for a long time. But I realized that those feelings of being a failure were false, because I did exactly what the others told me to do; I survived." Her red eyes stared down at Robin's hand which had finally loosened up within her grasp.
"And...if I didn't survive...I never would have met...you, Robin." Her words cut through him like a steel sword. The man froze for a moment. Did his ears deceive him? What was her meaning?
"Cordelia, what are you saying?" The woman scooted herself closer to Robin, bringing her hands along with his down into her lap. Her eyes shared his tears however her expression was that of a joyous smile.
"I don't know when it happened, maybe when I first met you on the battlefield at Chrom's side two days ago, but I've been slowly battling with the feeling that I may be...falling for you." Robin's eyes went wide. Was this some sort of alternate reality? Two days ago he could have sworn that Cordelia was infatuated with his best friend, the crown prince.
"I...don't understand. Don't you love Chrom? I thought- I mean, I assumed that's why you were always so vibrant around him and quick to hurry to his side." Robin's voice was in a hushed tone, as if embarrassed to question her feelings. Cordelia shook her head, all while retaining her man slaying smile.
"I thought I was in love with him. I harbored feelings for him for such a long, drawn out time that it began to poison my very thoughts of being with another. I had a big wake up call when I went to see him for the debriefing of this mission, when I saw him with Sumia in the tent." She paused for a moment. "It is clear they are in love with each other, and as her friend I told myself to let go of those juvenile feelings. Chrom and I had never even spoken outside of orders and politics- I don't know the man like I know you." Robin smiled slightly at hearing those words. "And I know you're a sweet man. You care for your allies which is why you're so upset over all this, but what I'm trying to tell you is that you don't need to be because you did what you were asked. I'm sorry for being so forward it's just I-" Cordelia was cut off by the feeling of lips on her own. The surprise was shocking at first, but pleasant, as she kissed the man back and tightened her grip around his hand. The kiss lingered as she felt his mouth slowly part, granting her a taste of the man.
"You know, I thought maybe you HAD lost your wits for a second confessing all this to me, in which case you would have been right- the woman I fancied had lost her wits. Just so you know, it was you all along." Robin stated, having pulled back from their kiss. Cordelia blushed as she recalled their conversation from the other day. Had she been blinded by her own fantasies of another this entire time? At long last, she was free from her toxic crush on the prince.
"Robin, I love you. No matter what happens, I will be by your side through this entire war and we will make it out together. I swear it." The woman leaned forward, placing her palm against Robin's chest and kissing him yet again. The tactician leaned back and brought his free hand around to the woman's back, pulling her down into his chest so she was now lying with her breastplate against him. They battled with their tongues, enjoying every sweet lashing. The woman's body began to run hot as their kiss continued until Robin pulled away once again.
"We should eat some of our rations before they spoil and we end up starving before even getting to battle." His whole mood had changed within the course of their short conversation from sad to overjoyed. Cordelia was ecstatic to see him this happy, as she felt the same way.
"Yes, let's eat and get some sleep. We must finish our return tomorrow morning." The two scrambled to set up a fire and enjoyed a short conversation over their meal before finally setting up their roll out sleeping bags.
"It'd probably be warmer if we shared one..." Cordelia suggested, removing her breastplate and setting it aside. Robin gawked at the woman as she slipped off her boots and remaining clothes until she was just in her tunic and riding skirt.
"Y-yeah you're right. Can't be getting ill now with so much on the line." The man responded as he also began removing his outer layers of clothing. Cordelia slipped under the cover of the blanket, sneaking glances at the tactician as he took off his robe and tunic. Her crimson eyes scanned up and down his upper body which was chiseled to near perfection. So THAT'S what had been hiding under that robe this entire time!
"Scoot over!" Robin playfully said as he slumped down next to the woman and stuck his legs under the shroud of the blanket. Cordelia did as he asked and rolled over so her front was facing the man. She draped an arm across his chest and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before shutting her eyes.
"Oh- and Cordelia?"
"Yes Robin?" She responded while keeping her eyes shut.
"I love you, too." The words were his last before falling quickly asleep under the night sky.