There was no better scent than the stench of the Risen.
At least, that's what it seemed like when the Shepard's tactician stopped dead in a tree-enclosed field. The darkness could be a bit of an enemy in and of itself, but she didn't feel that terrible pit in her stomach like others would. In fact, she felt invincible. She sometimes wondered if she truly was bloodthirsty, or if she was just a bit zealous about battling in general. When she was behind the blade, she felt so powerful, so in control. Everything was precise and beautiful, so free-flowing. Not only that, but when she was against Risen enemies, she didn't have to hold back. These disgusting carcasses were already dead, so there was no reason to have mercy against them. She was free to be as ravenous and brutal as she chose, and that proved to lift a weight off her shoulders. She wasn't exactly sure why, but she was a bit fond of the surge of relief and self-satisfaction that came while her enemy dissolved at her feet.
It was almost like she was releasing some pent up energy, but that was a crazy idea, right?
The sound of crunching grass made her look over her shoulder, her blade risen as to shield herself. It turned out to be a useless reflex, for the new entrant turned out to be none other than her leader, the Prince of Ylisse. A smirk appeared on her face as something lifted in her chest. The way he was gasping for air right now, his eyes narrowed into slits to adjust to the single source of light, was almost comical to her. Scratch that, it was comical. She fought the urge to laugh at him and instead lifted her blade to shield her chest.
"Took you long enough, Chrom." The dirty look he shot her way did nothing but make her smile grow wider. "You took so long, I was starting to think that you chickened out." Her brown orbs narrowed to accent her jest as she went on, "So long in fact, that I already eliminated all of the Risen here." The result was instantaneous. The man's earlier tired demeanor changed to show worried eyes and clenched hands, his blade held tightly almost as if he feared dropping it.
"You cannot be serious." He shot her a searching glare and she only responded with a snicker and a playful narrowing of her eyes. "Please, tell me that you weren't stupid enough to engage in battle all alone." The lift in her chest had now become a sort of warmth, and she didn't mind it at all. In fact, she relished in it. Somehow, this feeling was the best she could ever remember. Her mind could try all it wanted, but some things she just couldn't remember. One thing she could remember was the face of this prince, for some strange reason. She wasn't going to sit around worrying about it, though. She was going to fight alongside the Shepherds and enjoy this warmth.
"Nah," She elbowed the taller swordsman and watched as his hiked up shoulders fell with a heavy exhale. "I'm only kidding, of course." She lifted her free hand with a dramatic swish of her sleeve and continued, "Like I would ever be such a fool. That would only prove Frederick's point, after all." Her smile fell as she realized that she had verbally brought up one of the few subjects she was silent upon, Frederick's disapproval. The quick rush of regret over her words was only amplified by the look of confusion on the prince's face.
"Robin?" The tactician looked away with a sloppy grin and tried to ignore the burning of his gaze against her head. "What are you talking—"
Before the lord could finish his question, the ground shook violently under their feet. A burst of shock rippled out as they struggled to grab hold of something, anything to stop the terrible quiver of their legs. The young woman had the right idea, and quickly snatched an outward branch of the nearest tree, extinguishing her tiny flame with a frantic wave of her hand. She clung to the bark with struggling gasps of air, trying to slow the throbbing of her heart. Above the roar of the earth, she could hear yelling. Not just any yelling, but the yelling of a familiar voice. She swiftly looked to her right and found Chrom's silhouette struggling to do anything but stand there, the tremors getting more and more violent with each and every hollow pump of her heart. Clenching her teeth to try to brace herself against the shift, she reached out and just barely managed to grab the erratically wavering cape. Blue eyes snapped to her own chocolates as he found her tightly gripping both safety and himself, trying to bring him closer. The head Shepard cringed as he tried to move towards, but the shaking had become so violent, he couldn't even see straight. His free hand grabbed her arm, trying to steady at least something in this strange swirl.
Suddenly, just as soon as it started, everything grew still.
Ragged breathing echoed throughout the sheltered field. With the shaking gone, Chrom could finally move a bit closer to the towering oak beside them. Robin simply held on with wide eyes, her head feeling as if her brain was jumping around in her skull. Her legs were a bit shaky, but she was certain it was nothing compared to how dizzy her leader must feel right now. She opened her mouth to check on him, only for a bright orange to light up the clearing. Both heads lifted just in time to see a giant fireball crash into one of the bordering trees, splintering whole branches and leaving the duo to run out of the way of falling spears of wood. A bit of a growl rose in Robin's throat as she glared into the trees. That had to have been magic, meaning something was indeed out there. Risen mages, perhaps?
She soon got her answer.
Glowing red orbs flashed on the opposite end of the clearing only seconds before the bodies who owned them rushed out towards them. The brunette glared at them as her heart began to pound. "Here they come," Chrom shouted beside her as they readied their blades, waiting to counter-strike. "I hope you're still eager for a fight, because these Risen seem pretty excited for a few sparring partners!" One of the nearest Risen, a Barbarian in a former life, managed to lift his axe and take a swing at the prince. The blue-haired man struggled back as his blade connected with the weapon, blocking it from advancing. His tactician bounced back with a quick bit of footwork before slashing the pearly skin of its back, relishing in the purple smog and strange goop that emerged from the wound. She spun around just as Chrom threw his attacker off, lifting her blade to block the two incoming Barbarians.
"Ngh," She nearly bit her tongue as her Bronze Sword kicked back upon the impact, allowing her the pleasure of the reeking breath of her enemy to blow in her face. "It seems they've brought a bunch of easy ones!" She flung the beast back with a grunt before slashing the body across the chest and jumping back just in time to avoid a swing of his axe. Behind her, the sound of metal meeting the blade of an axe rang out, proving that the prince was doing more than just standing around and looking pretty. Good thing too, because as much as she hated to admit it, three-on-two was a bit more difficult in person than it was on paper or in her mind.
"Oh really?" The lord dodged another strike before landing a brilliant strike of his own right were the heart of his enemy would have been, had this not been a fight against a decaying husk. The former Barbarian fell back with harsh thump before bursting into vibrant purple clouds. The leader of the Shepherds crinkled his nose in disgust before rushing to hold off the second Barbarian, standing directly beside his tactician and her attempt to block a slash at her face. His eyes snapped to her own as he stole a few precious seconds to flash her a mocked version of her own cocky grin. "I don't know what battle you're in right now, but it surely cannot be this one!"
The brunette let out a laugh before lifting her leg and kicking her Barbarian in the gut, forcing it back just enough to land a sloppy strike on its face. The sword-wielder let out a disgusted sound at her own handiwork before stabbing it through the stomach and giving it a violent twist of her blade. "Funny," She yanked out her weapon just seconds before the fallen enemy dissolved and then turned her blade to land another back-slash on her partner's opponent. "Because this seems pretty easy to me!" Chrom flashed a grateful smile before landing the final blow, leaving the body to collapse on the ground. Both of the Shepherds watched the crumpled form dissipate before letting out a few harsh exhales and desperate inhales, searching for oxygen to replenish their diminished store.
Just as Robin opened her mouth with another brag, a harsh crack rang out. The duo looked to their left just in time to see another heavy branch break off from its parent tree and race to deliver its flames to the ground. "Move it!" The blue-haired man raced ahead only seconds before his partner, dodging the limb with ease. He looked over his shoulder just in time to see his tactician take a desperate leap that let her escape by the skin of her teeth, falling straight into the dirt. The brunette silently struggled to her feet with the sound of her blood racing in her ears, blocking out the rabid crackling of the flames. "Are you all right, Robin?" The woman looked up with an open mouth of wonder before stubbornly shaking her head. She lifted her Bronze Sword just a bit higher as a sign of her well-being, and watched as the man nodded in confirmation. The two looked around for a few moments, searching for any other Risen troops. Had those three been the cause of all that noise? It seemed like there would be a whole lot more than only three with that whole show.
They didn't have to wait long for more.
A low rumble filled the vacant space before the pale and broken bodies of the Risen started to rise from the very ground itself. The tactician cringed before gripping the hilt of her sword that much tighter. "Well," She bitterly grinned at the man beside her before entering a ready position. "Looks like we've got a few more guests than we planned for," Her voice lifted ever so slightly as the two raced towards the nearest Barbarian, landing a few solid blows and watching its knees buckle before running to the next one in line. "However, I'm certain that we have more than enough to go around!" She slashed the next one across the face and grinned with pride as Chrom finished it off with a sharp slash to the chest.
"Don't push yourself too hard!" The Prince of Ylisse frowned as the shorter wielder raced off towards an unguarded mage and slashed it in the stomach, aiming for places that would deal more damage. The brunette just nodded before landing a sharp kick to the beast's back that sent its face burrowing into the dirt, leaving it to disappear. He rolled his eyes with irritation as he slashed another Mage in the face and gave it a sharp elbow to the gut to clear the way. His eyes widened as he found her suddenly racing straight into the way of a Risen Knight, charging straight towards the point of its Lance. The brunette swerved just in time to miss being impaled, but she was still given a slash on her right arm by a desperate swing that sent her tumbling to the ground.
"Robin!" Chrom ended up ducking under a swing from a nearby Barbarian and rushing through the crowd of Risen, trying to reach his tactician. He skidded to a stop beside her and held his sword at the ready, his eyes locked on to the slow-moving suit of armor. "Hey, are you all right?" She looked up with a cringe of pain before pulling herself up and giving him a nod.
"Yeah," She rolled her right shoulder with a cringe, trying to loosen up her sword-wielding arm. She suddenly let out a sharp squeak of pain before flinching backwards. The blue-haired man shot her a worried glance before snapping his attention back to the enclosing circle of Risen, the foul beasts taking advantage of the situation to block them in. "Ngh," She lifted herself to her feet slowly, the point of her blade digging in the earth. "It's just a scratch." She cringed as that so-called 'scratch' let a wave of heat race up her arm, leaving her unable to hold her sword without her arm screaming in protest. The effort did not go unnoticed, even as the prince slowly turned to protect himself from the clockwise circle of enemies.
"Looks like more than a scratch to me." The brunette shot him a scolding glare before tucking her sword into her sheath and pulling out her standby weapon, a yellow tome. Chrom raised an eyebrow at this before letting out a bit of a chuckle. "This isn't the time for reading, Robin. We're actually surrounded at the moment, in case didn't happen to notice."
"Oh," The woman's voice dropped to a bitter tone as she steadied herself and held the book open with her right hand. "I noticed." The pain from her wound wasn't as profound when it was holding the tome, bringing a bit of relief. Even so, that didn't stop that terrible feeling somewhere in her mind that this tome was dangerous. True, she felt like she knew how to use it, and use it effectively. However, she felt some sort of darkness from this, as if she knew a bit too well as to how deadly the bolts of lighting she produced were. She gulped as a dry sensation rose in her throat. Well, she didn't have much of a choice. She may be a bit more practiced in the ways of the sword, but she would fight with all she had with this tome.
The Prince of Ylisse didn't seem to appreciate the stall in his partner's movements. His eyes jumped back to her over his shoulder, glaring at the frozen arm of his tactician. "Hey, you still remember how to use that thing or what?" Listening to his voice somehow made her flinch, raising a bit of worry in the man's mind. "We could really use some of that Thunder of yours right now, if you would so kind." The brunette nodded before taking a deep breath, trying to calm the heavy beats of her heart. She had to focus, that much she knew. Magic was a delicate thing, and not using it properly could lead to a terrible mistake. The last thing she wanted to do was take out her own partner.
Robin fought to keep her breathing steady as she held her left hand out, trying to summon the energy. Her palm seemed to be on fire, heat growing and spreading up to her shoulder. With a deep inhale, she snapped her eyes open, focused on the closest of the Barbarians and sharply catapulting her arm forward. A blast of electric energy raced from her hand and pierced the beast's stomach, making it burst into purple smoke nearly instantly. A proud smirk grew on her face as a relieved sigh slipped from Chrom's lips.
"Thank the gods." The swordsman looked down to see his partner shooting him a bit of a stubborn glare, but he ignored it. "I was starting to worry that you had forgotten how to use your magic." A quiet laugh and his sword was raised just a bit higher. "The last thing I want is for you to misfire and hit me instead." Those words sent off some sort of panic inside of the tactician, but the effect was ignored by the speaker. "You always seemed to prefer the blade."
"I just like to feel that weight in my hand, that is all." Robin quickly covered her face with her hood, feeling her face warm with discomfort. The lord didn't seem to mind the strange gesture, and instead focused on the incoming enemies. They were being painfully slow, almost as if they were figuring out which one would attack first. The brunette seemed to realize this as well, for she lifted her chin towards the taller Shepard with shrouded eyes. "They're figuring out who should attack us first, the Mages, the Barbarians or the Knight." She paused to find blue eyes locked on to the only part of her face exposed, her cheeks and mouth. "Keep up a barrier while I try to even out the numbers."
Chrom rolled his eyes as the woman returned to her spellbook. "Oh, sure. Leave me to take all of the hits while you attack. Great idea, tactician. I knew I picked a good woman for this role." Robin shot him yet another glare before shaking her head at his tone. Sarcastic, that's fantastic. The current attacker shot him a glare before blasting another Barbarian with a Thunder attack. Yet another Risen fell to his fate as the duo stood in the circle of enemies. Just as she was about to launch another, the remaining Mages started readying their own attack—fireballs.
"Uh," The prince shifted awkwardly as the brunette lifted her head. "We've got a bit of a complication here." A loud growl rang out as the woman did the unthinkable. She tucked her book away in her robe before lowering herself into a ready position, waiting to attack. Chrom looked over his shoulder and nearly choked at the sight. "What are you doing?!" She ignored his panic and instead clenched and loosened her fists. "Don't go into this without a weapon! You'll end up getting killed!"
"I'm fine!" The words were spat out with a startling amount of frustration. Her partner raised an eyebrow with worry in his eyes as she shifted in place. "I've memorized the spell, it's just more accurate if I use the book." Before he could open his mouth to protest, she spat back, "If you want to live, we're going to have to take a chance." She lifted her head just enough to expose her eyes, flashing cold chocolate orbs. "You have to trust me."
He paused for a minute, his blade lowering as he did so. This was an insane idea; using magic without a tome. Such an idea could lead to her getting killed, or even the both of them getting killed in this one clearing. What would become of the Shepherds if they failed? What would happen to Ylisse? Frustration bubbled up in Chrom's throat. Despite all of their jests, they were seriously in trouble. Why had he agreed to this in the first place? He should have insisted on bringing more than just a lord and a tactician, instead of coming alone like this. However, he knew that if he hadn't have come, she would have run off by herself. She really was one to charge into a fight, no matter the enemy. He really only had one choice, as painful as it was.
"Fine," Chrom sighed. The light that took over her face lifted some of the pressure in his chest, but it didn't help the dread in his gut. "But be careful! I want you to come out of this alive, not over my shoulder!" The brunette nodded before taking a deep breath. At once, electricity flowed down her arms and collected at her palms.
"I will, don't worry about me." Despite her wording, there was a bit of softness in her tone. "You just start swinging that sword of yours and get rid of some of these monsters." Chrom gave her a nod, and she was off. Robin dashed right up to one of the Mages, rubbing her palms together as she grew closer. The friction somehow amplified the volts, making the energy cover both of her hands. She quickly fired off one of her shots by channeling it to flow out from her pointer finger, her thumb up just for show. She then leaped back just in time to spin around and fling the other charge, knocking out a nearby Soldier. Chrom nodded in a bit of approval before launching himself at the nearest Barbarian and slashing its face with his blade.
Seconds ticked by like hours, each and every hit seemingly slowed down to play out before their eyes. They had greatly underestimated just how many enemies would appear, and they soon found themselves facing up to nearly twenty Barbarians, Mages and Soldiers, avoiding the swipes from the towering Knight. While Chrom slashed his enemies with his mighty Falchion, Robin landed electric punches and hurled great orbs of Thunder at unsuspecting foes. After chipping them away for what felt like hours, they finally took out the very last Mage, leaving only the gigantic Risen Knight to deal with.
Robin soon found herself fighting for her breath, bent over with her hands on her knees. Man, she might have overdone it. Fighting without a weapon may look cool, but it was strenuous very quickly. She was lucky that she had memorized that spell as well as she had. She reluctantly lifted her head to the great figure of armor before letting out a groan. Her body felt it was on fire right now, and she was pretty sure that one of those Barbarians had actually landed a slash on her thigh. Curse that ill-timed jump!
"Hey," She looked up to find Chrom giving her a worried look. "You all right down there?" A bit of fury rose in her throat before she jumped to her feet, albeit a bit too quickly. Her head swam as she shook her head and held her palms out.
"Top form!" She sang out her answer, hoping to throw him off by just a bit. Her eyes scanned her partner with a bit of worry, trying to see if he was anywhere near fighting condition himself. Luckily for him—and maybe for her—he only seemed to have a slight cut on his right cheek and a new dent in his shoulder-plate, but other than that, he was just as she left him. She nodded in self-confirmation before pulling herself back just a tad. "Let's knock this suit of armor out of here!"
"Don't push yourself," Chrom seemed dead-set on reminding her again, causing a bit of annoyance to rise in her throat. "You shouldn't put yourself so close to that thing; it nearly turned you into a piece of festival-food!" The tactician gave him a bit of a growl before readying another large orb of Thunder energy in her palms. At the nod of the head, Chrom took off with his sword at the ready. His tactician watched from behind, her mind swimming. Something inside of her felt fear, whether it be from the sheer amount of unstable energy she held in her hands or from the strange fear of magic inside of her, she didn't quite understand. However, she knew that she had to help. If that meant throwing herself into the thick of things, so be it.
She raced after with a pounding head, hoping that things would go as planned. Chrom was already going toe-to-toe with that behemoth, his Falchion slamming against metal plate and bouncing off fairly quickly. Robin cringed as her leg started to throb under her weight; that cut might have been a bit worse than she thought. Trying to ignore the terrible flames that were consuming every inch of her left leg, she rubbed her palms together. The energy she already held was quite substantial, and with this extra charge, it was at a dangerous level. She had to fire this thing and now. It was too much; the energy was racing up her arms and all the way down her spinal column, and that didn't feel too pleasant. With a grunt of effort, the brunette leaped into the air and spun madly, trying to get a little bit of a boost. Then, with a great heave of her arms, she flung the orb of Thunder as far as she could.
Luckily for her, a Risen Knight makes a beautiful lightning rod.
The Prince of Ylisse jumped back just in time to dodge the sparks emanating from the great beast. The unlucky enemy shivered and shook with spasms, unable to control its body with all of the excess energy. Robin watched on in a sick fascination as remnants of the attack coursed through her veins. Had she really carried all of that power in the palm of her hands? The sheer thought of having so much power was almost starling and yet at the same time very exciting. Imagine the things she could do! She could truly become a hero of Ylisse! The giant of metal crashed to the ground, creating yet another tremor. The sword-wielder let out a long sigh before letting his shoulders slump, his trusted weapon feeling substantially heavier than it had earlier. Slowly, he turned to his tactician. Robin just flashed him an overjoyed grin and stood up, trying to shift her weight to her right leg.
"That's it." Relief dripped from the prince's voice, making his partner just nod in excitement. "We got them." Another heavy exhale and suddenly he was letting out a laugh and clutching his chest. "Gods," His laughter spread to his voice as he slowly lifted his head, meeting his tactician's eyes. "That was incredible! I don't think a single soul will believe that we took on all of those Risen by ourselves!"
"And won!" Robin added with enthusiasm, the adrenalin she had relied so heavily on earlier still leaving trace amounts in her veins. "We kicked those disgusting corpses so hard, they will be feeling that in the past!" Blue eyes just rolled in amusement as Chrom stood up a bit taller and walked over, stopping right in front of the shorter Shepard with a crooked grin of his own. "Perhaps even the future as well, if there's a future for dead things...that were...uh, re-killed." The prince just shook his head and placed a hand on her left shoulder, missing how she flinched from the bolt of pain.
"So, it's an omnipresent defeat?" His voice seemed very amused by the idea, but Robin ignored that part. She simply nodded vigorously and beamed.
"Exactly, Chrom! An omnipresent kick to the face!"
The blue-haired man just laughed before tucking his blade away and smiling. "Sounds very painful. However, I think it's in our best interest to leave this clearing before it catches on fire or something." Feeling a bit confused by his words, the brunette looked over her shoulder and found out his reasoning. Oh, that branch. Her eyes widened as she recalled how that flaming branch had nearly crushed her, leaving her to leap out of the way and crash to the ground. That felt like days ago! She was faintly surprised that the fire hadn't spread to the grasses, but it seemed that it had preferred to char every last inch of the fallen branch. The flames on the tree itself were still burning and had indeed spread to adjacent trees. A few branches were falling here and there, but they seemed to be landing quite a ways away from them, seeing as they were currently standing in the dead center of the clearing. She turned back to her partner and gave him a nod, which he gladly returned.
As the Prince of Ylisse and the head of the Shepherds lead the way back to camp, Robin felt something like a stone in her gut. She felt like she was forgetting something, something very important. She reluctantly started to follow after him, her mind more focused on her thoughts than on any words that tumbled from Chrom's mouth—which were mainly relieved thanks and sharp inhales. The pain from her arm and thigh were making some sort of pulsating pain in her head, and it was making it very difficult to walk. If she wasn't mistaken, she might have been walking with a bit of a limp. That leg wasn't very stable at the moment, and she wasn't about to give it a reason to give out.
Just as she was passing a splotch of crimson in the grass—most likely from that gash on her thigh to be honest—she heard an alarming sound, a creaking that made her ears ring. A strange feeling of dread rose inside of her as she took a gulp of oxygen from the air. She reluctantly looked over her shoulder and found something that made her heart stop dead in her chest. Directly behind her, with its Lance raised in the air, was the Risen Knight. She didn't even have time to think; she simply yanked her Bronze Sword out of its sheath and lifted it to block the attack. Her arm felt like it was being torn off of her body as she opened her mouth and sacrificed any and all air she had to give in her lungs.
"Chrom!"
The lord turned around to find the brunette on her knees, desperately holding up her blade with both hands, trying to keep the deadly weapon away from her face. Chrom's feet seemed to fly out from under him as he lifted his Falchion. He should have waited for that hunk of metal to disappear before ever trying to leave this place! His trusted blade burst through the beast with a well-aimed attack, purple smoke pouring out and billowing in his face. The man struggled not to breathe as the foul clouds rushed into his face. They weren't exactly sure what the effects of this stuff was, so it was better safe than sorry. Soon enough, the beast disappeared, and the sound of metal slamming against the ground rang out.
Robin found herself on her hands and knees as she fought to breathe. Her vision was clouding, and her head was throbbing so fast, it felt like it was about to be ripped off her shoulders. She wasn't a Cleric, but she was pretty sure that such things were not normal. Numbly, she could hear Chrom's voice checking on her, but she couldn't even so much as lift her head. Bits and pieces managed to slip in her mind, but what little there she could process was not enough to make a full sentence. Gathering her energy, she managed to look up. Right away, the blues and silver mixed together to create a strange swirl. Her partner's face wasn't even visible to her at this point. The blue was starting to get darker and darker, becoming a harsh black that consumed everything. Her head had never felt lighter as she flashed another crooked grin.
The world was swallowed in black, and her head collided with the cold ground.
"Li—a!"
Heads lifted in the heart of camp as strains of a familiar voice echoed through the tents. The Shepherds looked around with a sort of desperation, trying to figure out where the sound was coming from. Had their ears deceived them? Or had they really, truly heard the voice of their missing leader above the sound of their torches? Footsteps rang out as Frederick, the leader of the search, raced back to the clearing where the duo had last been seen together. Black eyes strained in the darkness as he lifted his torch high, trying to see through the bleak black that had engulfed the world. Soon after, others raced to his side, holding their own torches high.
"Chrom?!" The lieutenant looked to his left to find the princess lifting her hands to her mouth and screaming at the top of her lungs, her eyes wet with tears. "Chrom, are you there?!" The young Cleric slowly lowered her hands with a broken expression, desperately looking out into the distance. Beside her, Cavalier Stahl looked on with worry. The band of guardians stood with heavy hearts as they waited, hoping with everything they had that their leader would answer. Dull heartbeats passed and the air remained silent, forcing a sort of unnatural silence upon all of the Shepherds.
"...Lissa!" The young princess suddenly leaped up with a gasp as the voice returned yet again, ringing out clearly against the night sky. Relieved exhales passed through the crowd just seconds before the lieutenant ran towards the voice of his leader. Orange flames flickered before illuminating a black figure, revealing a battered Chrom. Frederick found himself smiling in relief before his eyes locked on to a bit of brown hair over the man's shoulder.
His heart sank as he found their tactician being carried on the prince's back.
With her arms wrapped around the man's neck and her body hanging limp behind him, it was all too clear what had happened. The sting of regret pierced his heart as the great knight recalled his bitter thoughts of that morning. He had been so suspicious of her, thinking she could be a hidden enemy. Now, she was being carried into camp in the worst possible way. His throat suddenly felt dry, leaving him to roughly swallow and try to rid himself of the horrible feeling. Blue eyes slowly lifted to meet onyx orbs as the prince stopped short.
"...'Milord," Frederick fought for the words to say as he watched Chrom's shoulders rise and fall with struggling breaths. "I-I...We—"
"She's not dead," A stubborn gurgle rose from the man's throat as he lifted his chin. "Robin's still alive yet." Shock coursed through his veins at his words. Choking down a bit of sorrow, he looked just a bit harder at the heavy body. His heart seemed to slow as he waited, watching for any signs of life. Perhaps his commander had simply imagined things—
His heart skipped a beat as he found a very shallow rise of her side.
A bit of a burning rose in his chest as he stumbled forwards, trying to do something before they wasted too much time. "What happened out there, 'Milord?!" His hours of worrying came out in his rumpled scolding. "You two just disappear in the dead of night and come back hours later, half-dead and worn?!" His eyes narrowed as he quickly—but surprisingly, gently—took Chrom's burden from his shoulders and held the tactician in his arms. Taking a minute to breathe, he stole a glance at the brunette. At first glance, there wasn't any signs of injury. The most was a large amount of caked dirt on her left cheek, but that was pretty much it. Only when his eyes looked closer did he see dark stains on her robe, revealing wounds on her right arm, left thigh and even a small splotch on her side. Looking just above her forehead, the great knight could see just a bit of dried blood, but whether it was from her or some other source he couldn't tell.
By the time the brunette man turned around, he was surrounded by the rest of their group. All eyes fell on the faintly breathing body in the lieutenant's arms, shock and fear snaking around the circle. A bitter feeling was stuck in Frederick's throat, forcing him to clear his throat and hope that his voice was unaffected.
"She's still alive, but just barely." Murmurs of relief rose above for a few seconds, leaving the man to wait until it was a bit quieter. "However, she needs medical attention now." He turned to the young blond beside Stahl and narrowed his eyes. "Lissa, we're going to need you to work a miracle tonight." Her eyes wavered, still wet from her tears. Suddenly, they narrowed with a flame of determination. The Cleric nodded vigorously before creating a path through the crowd and leading the way towards the tactician's tent. Great knight and lord struggled behind as they headed inside of the small enclosure, leaving the rest of the Shepherds in an eerie sort of silence.
A miracle, that is truly what they needed.
Author's Note: Finally! This absolute monster is done! After nearly losing around six-hundred words after the find box got stuck under my main top bar of Firefox, thus getting me stuck on that page, I finally managed to get this done! Luckily for me, I found out that if you 'break' the page by removing the style of the page in the 'view' section of the Menu Bar, it allows you to see what has been typed in your document...box...thingy. Also, you can close the find box from there, which was helpful. So, if you ever do what I did and accidentally throw the find box under your light blue bar, REMOVE THE STYLE OF THE PAGE. You can either close it from there or copy and paste the text itself. It even saves your italics and bolding, so hurray!
So...battle chapter. This is a monster of a chapter at six-thousand, two-hundred forty-five words, but it was worth it. I really like how this turned out! Just so you know, this isn't my first battle scene. I've spent quite a lot of my time writing battles in the Pokemon section of this site, so I have some practice. I've only written one or two fist-fights, so this is my first time writing all of this magic and swordsmanship going on. That's all first-time. I'm pretty proud of how it is though.
OK, this also relies on headcanon a tiny bit. You see, I imagine that when a character has one health outside of battle, they're basically unconscious. I mean, you are literally one step away from death! You should not be able to do so much when you're like on death's door. So, Robin has one health here. Hurray for surviving by the skin of your teeth! Another headcanon seen here is that her/his robe is actually magic. I like to think that the big ol' cloak is able to regenerate itself if hurt...weird, but I think it would be cool.
Will Robin pull through? What will Chrom say to the others about what happened? Why does no one care if the forest burns down in this game?! Tune in next time to see the answers! ...Well, except to the last one. I'm not even sure about that one...
