"What's so interesting about grass ?"
Lissa's voice made Roxanne perk up to look at her, only to see the question had caught everyone's attention and every available pairs of eyes were on her now.
The group had been walking in silence for maybe half an hour now, and the further they got from the forest they encountered those undead bodies in, the louder the birds were - and the brighter the sun seemed to be. It was already obvious it would be a really nice day. Yet, the female tactician realized then and there she had hardly looked up from the ground ever since they set out.
"Oh, uh... nothing. I think the morning dew looks really pretty," she blurted out as an answer, wincing bashfully when she realized how silly it sounded.
"Oh, yeah, well," Lissa started, turning to face ahead once more. "I could do without the wet socks." A snort came from the front of the group where Chrom was leading the march.
"Come on Lissa, learn to appreciate the small things," he suggested, clearly amused.
"Easy for you to say !" the blonde retorted, pouting. "You have actual boots. This damp tall grass is soaking my shoes."
"Be patient, Milady," Frederick commanded. "Ylisstol is only a couple of hours away."
"What will we do once we get there ?" Robin asked Roxanne, and she answered with a shrug, apparently as concerned about this as he was.
"We will make our report to the palace," Chrom explained matter-of-factly. "Then, we will take you to the Shepherds' headquarters so you can meet everyone."
"Wait," Roxanne said in a worried tone. "Are you saying your whole Shepherds organization is... affiliated to royal affairs ?"
"Well, yes," Chrom confirmed, his tone slightly confused.
"Obviously," Frederick added severely. Roxanne turned to Robin, who seemed just as lost as she was, and they shared yet another thought. We're missing a piece of the puzzle. A major piece.
The sun was well above the horizon when they reached the road that apparently led to civilization. It started with humble houses, farms and cottages scattered on the hills and near the creeks before they found themselves walking through villages. The twins weren't oblivious to the way every peasant, merchant and villager seemed so eager to great Chrom and Lissa and wish them a good day, but they figured it was simply one of those nice towns where everyone knew everyone. Upon exiting yet another village, a fancy castle suddenly came into view in the distance. It was surrounded with a city so huge the twins could already guess they would get lost in so many streets. They were still pretty far, but it was obvious it was a very lively capital and there wasn't just residences circling it. From here they could see a church, stables, what was probably a school, a military district, shops, and many more installations they couldn't yet identify.
But the highlight of Ylisstol was definitely its castle, rising like a graceful giant watching over the city. It looked fairly recent while still bearing a traditional, almost historical style and charm.
"The view you must have from up there..." Robin whispered to Roxanne, and she nodded eagerly.
"What's that ?" Chrom asked, not bothering to turn around to face the twins.
"Nothing," Robin shrugged.
"You'll see," Lissa stepped in. "It looks even better from up-close !"
"So this is Ylisstol, capital of Ylisse..." Roxanne let out as she halted suddenly to let another line of citizen pass at an intersection before jogging her way back next to her brother. How Chrom, Lissa and Frederick could navigate with such ease these crowded streets was beyond her. "I've never seen so many people !"
"It appears the capital was spared the chaos we encountered," Frederick noted with relief as he looked around for any sign of frightened passerby. However, people seemed just as lively and happy as you'd expect inhabitants of such frantic city. "Thank the gods. I see no evidence of the great quake. It must've been limited to the forest."
"Well, that's a relief !" Lissa exclaimed, seemingly just as relieved to be home. It was obvious to the twins that she was in her element, in the middle of a bunch of friendly people and far from any kind of rustic land.
"Look !" one of the nearby citizen called. "The exalt has come to see us !" As if on cue, almost every person on the walkway turned to where the man was pointing and started heading there. The twins followed the movement from afar, and managed to get a glimpse of a noble-looking blond woman accompanied by a dozen of guards.
"The exalt is your ruler, yes ?" Robin asked to whoever was within earshot, without taking his eyes off the lady.
"Yes," Frederick confirmed. "Her name is Lady Emmeryn."
"Is it safe for her to walk among commoners like this ?" Roxanne asked in turn, more out of curiosity than worry.
"The exalt is a symbol of peace," Frederick explained casually. "Ylisse's most prized quality. Long ago, at the dawn of our age, the fell dragon tried to destroy the world. But the first exalt joined forces with the divine dragon and laid the beast low. Exalt Emmeryn reminds us all of the peace we fought for then."
"With Plegia poking at our borders, the people need her," Chrom added, crossing his arms. Robin noted that he and Lissa didn't seem in a hurry to greet the exalt, unlike the other Ylisseans. "She's a calming presence, when some might otherwise call for war."
"Then the Ylissean people are indeed lucky to have her," Robin commented with a small smile.
"She's also the best big sister anyone could ask for!" Lissa chimed happily.
"Yes, I imagine she... Wait, what ?" Roxanne froze, turning to stare at Lissa with wide eyes.
"She's your..." Robin started, wearing the exact same expression.
"But wouldn't that make you and Chrom..." the brunette continued, suddenly feeling very uneasy.
"The prince and princess of the realm, yes," Frederick finished with a laugh. "You remember Chrom's name and not this ?"
"You said you were shepherds !" Robin defended.
"And so we are," Chrom confirmed. "In a manner of speaking. We just have a lot of sheep."
"C-Chrom..." Roxanne started before getting a not-so-gentle nudge from her brother. "I mean, Prince Chrom ! Sire ! Forgive my dreadful manners !"
"Just Chrom is fine," the prince assured with a friendly smile. "I've never been much for formalities."
"The prince and princess..." Robin shook his head before running a hand through his hair. "That explains why Frederick tolerates all the teasing, eh ?"
"Indeed," Frederick affirmed with a sigh. "Oh, the sacrifices I make for the good of the realm..." The twins eyed each other, the same thought running in their mind; suddenly, Frederick appeared a whole lot more sympathetic.
"It looks like Emm is returning to the palace," Chrom observed, seeing as the crowd had started moving. "Would you like to meet her ?"
Once again, the twins shared a glance before nodding eagerly, both overwhelmed by the turn of events. Well, this explained the missing puzzle piece.
The group worked their way through the crowded streets, dismissing insistent merchants at every corner until they reached the royal district; it was a calmer, fancier neighborhood filled mostly with noble houses, and it was the last civilian section before reaching castle ground. Speaking of which, there was a whole guarded field surrounding it, filled with a royal school, royal stables, royal courtyard... Basically, anything surrounding the palace screamed royalty and had guards on duty roaming around constantly. Frederick handed his horse's reins to one of the person in charge at the entrance of the castle ground, who led it away to the stables. The twins felt rather out of place, being observed by every guard who passed by who looked about ready to jump on them at any sign of aggression coming from them. The twins wondered what was keeping them from doing so; the obvious lack of worry in Chrom and Lissa's stance or the nods of approval Frederick distributed to whoever gave him a questioning look.
"Come on," Chrom called for the umpteenth time, turning around to catch - again - the twins falling behind to get a better look. Ever since they reached the courtyard, they would stop in their tracks to better take in the sight of the place, may it be a row of blooming flowers displayed on the gallery or the simplest ornament decorating a statue at the entrance hall of the castle. "You'll get other opportunities to visit if you want."
Despite being amazed by everything there was to look at, both Roxanne and Robin eventually found it in themselves to keep following steadily - that is, until they reached the throne room. There, they recognized at once the woman they saw earlier in Ylisstol - Emmeryn. She was discussing with a white-haired woman who the twins could, somehow, immediately label as a Pegasus knight. Needless to say, Chrom's new recruit stayed somewhat setback when the rest of the group walked up to the exalt.
"Chrom ! Lissa ! Welcome home," she greeted as soon as she noticed them approaching. "Oh, and good day, Frederick. How fared you all ?"
"Well- we shouldn't have any bandit problems for a while," Chrom said with a hint of a smile.
"Wonderful," the lady approved. "And our people ?"
"Safe as they can be, Emm," her brother affirmed once more. "But we still need to watch the borders. The brigands crossed over from Plegia."
"Forgive me, milord," the silver-haired woman stepped in. "My Pegasus knights should have intercepted them."
"No, Phila," Chrom disagreed. "Your duty was here, with the exalt."
"And besides, we had plenty of help !" Lissa hummed.
"Ah, you speak of your new companions here ?" Emmeryn asked, her gaze shifting to the twins who stayed behind. They both stepped forward hesitantly.
"This is Roxanne, and this is Robin," Chrom introduced, nodding at them respectively. "They fought bravely with us against the brigands. I've decided to make them Shepherds."
"It sounds as though Ylisse owes you both a debt of gratitude," Emmeryn declared with a thankful smile.
"Not at all, milady !" Robin huffed, eyes everywhere but on her.
"Forgive me, Your Grace," Frederick interrupted. "But I must speak. Roxanne and Robin both claim to have lost their memory, but it is only that : a claim. We cannot rule out the possibility that they are brigands themselves or even Plegian spies."
"Frederick !" Chrom exclaimed, indignant.
"Yet you allowed them into the castle, Chrom," Emmeryn said in a more serious tone, turning to face him. "Do these people have your trust ?"
"Yes," the swordsman affirmed without hesitation. "They risked their lives for our people. That's good enough for me."
"Well, then..." the exalt started, shifting to face the twins. "It seems you've earned Chrom's faith, and as such you have mine as well." The twins could only nod gratefully in response. "But thank you, Frederick, for your prudence, as always. Chrom and Lissa are blessed to have so tireless a guardian. I do hope they remember to mention that from time to time..."
"They occasionally express something akin to gratitude, Your Grace," Frederick retorted. Roxanne had to focus on not laughing - and she decided right then and there that, despite all, she liked Frederick. She looked up at her brother to see he was biting his lips as well. Oh, how the both of them wished they could see Chrom and Lissa's expressions from where they stood... "Phila, I assume you've heard about the deathly creatures we encountered, yes ?"
"Yes, milord," the lady confirmed. "They've been sighed all across Ylisse, and one of your effective arrived early this morning to warn us that you had encountered them as well overnight."
"Chrom, we are about to hold council," Emmeryn stated with a soft but serious voice. "I was hoping you could join us."
"Of course," he nodded.
"I think that's our cue !" Lissa laughed, turning around to join the twins. "C'mon, I'll show you your new home !"
New home. Both twins kept juggling with the thought as Lissa lead them happily out of the castle. It was weird to think they would have a home at all - and it was even weirder to think they would be granted such a thing for the mere fact that they happened to be able to help the people who were intending on helping them first.
They followed the blond princess nonetheless, trying not to fall behind on their way out as they did on their way in. Upon reaching the courtyard however, instead of heading out of the castle ground, Lissa took a turn to the left and started circling the palace. From the path they walked on, they could get a perfect view of what they supposed was a military district of sorts; there were Pegasus knights training relentlessly or tending to their mounts, and then soldiers and guards being put into shape by seemingly strict coaches. When they finally reached the backyard, a bunch of other installations came into view.
"Welcome to the Shepherds Headquarters !" Lissa chanted, not letting the twins take the time to have a look before heading straight to the heart of the group of buildings.
"Over here is the training ground," she said, pointing at the closest of the larger buildings. "And next to it is the weapon vault," she added, referring to a smaller shed right next to it.
"This is the mess hall," she pointed at a long, rectangle building. "It's where we eat ! It's also where we display who's on kitchen duty each day, but don't worry about it, I don't think you'll be getting this very often yet," Lissa explained, ignoring the questioning look Robin and Roxanne shared.
"This is where we get together after a long, tiring day," she continued, motioning to a fireplace surrounded with logs and large rocks that the twins assumed were used as seats at night. They didn't have much time to consider it, however; Lissa seemed determined to get the visit done as quickly as possible:
"And these are the residences !" she pointed at a row of very small, independent buildings that were probably big enough to hold a room each, maybe two. "They each have a bed, a desk, a wardrobe and a very small bathroom. We have a lot more built and furnished than we need, but that's because Chrom keeps recruiting all around. Most of the Shepherds also have other houses in the city - or in the castle, as far as Chrom and I are concerned, but it's fun to have somewhere to live in and call our own since we spend most of our days around here when we're not on duty ! You two can pick an empty one each when you want to start getting installed." Roxanne and Robin were both eager to take a look at at least one of those rooms, but Lissa was already pulling them away toward another building as soon as she finished her sentence.
"We have stables over there," she motioned to the farthest building, waving at a small figure she seemed to recognize in the distance. After a lot of squinting, the twins eventually recognized Sully, who was tending to her horse as Virion was holding its halter. Even from here, they could see the man wasn't very at ease acting like a groom.
"And this is the best part," Lissa grabbed their attention back. "The barracks. Where we just sit down and hang out !" She opened the door vigorously, freezing for a moment upon seeing the empty room before turning around and pushing the twins - who were, yet again, just trying to get a better look inside - out of the doorway.
"Where is everyone ?!" she yelled towards the distant stables.
"Storage room !" they heard Sully's voice answer. Turning around once more, Lissa headed for said building, inviting the twins to follow her.
"Sometimes everyone just gathers in the randomest place," she mumbled as an explanation. She smiled as they reached the storage room. "Are you two ready to meet everyone ?!" she asked almost excitedly.
"Uh..." was all Robin had time to answer before she pushed the door open.
About half a dozen pairs of eyes fell on them as they entered the room; people were standing in a circle or sitting on boxes or chairs laying around. Lissa walked closer to the group before turning to the twins.
"Here we are !" she announced. "The Shepherds' garrison. Go on, make yourself at home." Roxanne and Robin obeyed, stepping forward to look around, impressed.
"Lissa, my treasure !" another blonde cried out, running at the princess. "Are you all right ? I've been on pins and needles !"
"Oh, hey, Maribelle !" Lissa greeted happily.
"'Oh hey' yourself !" Maribelle protested. "I've sprouted 14 gray hairs fretting over you !"
"Aw, you worry too much," Lissa assured her with a friendly laugh. "I can handle a battle or two ! Although I could do without the bugs and the bear barbecue..."
"And the wet socks," Robin whispered to Roxanne, making her laugh softly.
"Hey, squirt !" a muscly man with spiky blond hair stepped in. "Where's Chrom ? I bet he had a rough time out there without ol' Teach and his trusty axe !"
"Oh, so you're 'Teach' now, Vaike, is that it ?" Lissa summed up, punctuating her sentence with another giggle. "And here I thought people were just born lacking wits. It can be taught ?"
"Ha !" Vaike exclaimed. "Never doubt the Vaike !" He paused. "...Wait, was that an insult ?"
"Beg pardon," a greyish brown-haired woman interrupted gently. "But when might we see the captain ?"
"Poor Sumia," Maribelle shook her head. "She's simply been beside herself with concern... Her eyes were scanning the horizon all day during training... She might have earned fewer bruises fighting blindfolded."
"Aw, Sumia," Lissa grinned. "That's so sweet of you to worry about Chrom."
"Worry ?" Sumia repeated. "Well, I... He's our captain and our prince- of course I'd worry !"
"So, who're the strangers ?" Vaike asked, and everyone seemed to be suddenly reminded of the twins' presence.
"No one's stranger than you, Vaike..." Lissa argued playfully. "But allow me to introduce Robin and Roxanne ! They just joined the Shepherds. Chrom's made them our new tacticians. You should see all the tricks they've got up their sleeve !"
"Oh yeah ? Can any of them do this ?" Vaike asked before burping loudly.
"I'm sure we have much to learn in the belching arts, 'Teach'," Roxanne replied humbly, as amused by Vaike's immature sense of humor as she was by Robin's disturbed face.
"In any case, it's a pleasure to make your acquaintances," the male twin said, although at this point he was pretty much forcing a smile.
"Ugh, Vaike !" Maribelle complained. "That was abhorrent ! Must you baseborn oafs pollute even the air with your buffoonery ? And you, Roxanne ! Don't encourage him ! I'd hoped you were cut from finer cloth. Hmph !" With that, the noblewoman turned her back on them, and went to join a couple of other Shepherds at the back of the room who seemed too absorbed in their board game to come and meet the newcomers.
"Don't take it to heart," Sumia reassured, turning to face the twins. "Maribelle warms to people slowly."
"Or burn too quickly !" Lissa joked. "But yeah, just give her time. " The twins barely had time to register Lissa's words and hear the door behind them open before...
"Ah ! Captain ! You've returned ! I was- I mean, we were so -" Sumia tried stepping forward to properly greet him, but somehow tripped over her own foot and fell on the ground. Robin snorted, earning a nudge from Roxanne. Sumia was quick to be back on her feet, however, and just as quickly dusted herself off.
"Sumia ! Are you all right ?" Chrom asked, worried. "...Those boots of yours again ?"
"No ! I mean, yes ! I mean..." Sumia sighed, giving up on coming up with a decent explanation.
"All right, listen, everyone," Chrom called out, and the couple of other Shepherds who had stayed to mind their own business in the back walked up to the rest of the group. The twins took a few seconds to acknowledge them - an olive-haired man mostly dressed in a green and redhead woman wearing glasses - before focusing their attention back to their 'captain'. "In the morning, we'll be marching to Regna Ferox."
"Regna Ferox ?" Robin interrupted instantly, still annoyed about the fact that he should have known this stuff.
"A unified kingdom to Ylisse's north," Sumia explained matter-of-factly. "Inhabited by barbarians, or so it's said."
"Warriors are what they are," Chrom corrected. "And we'll need their strength to quell this new menace. Typically, the exalt would request such aid in person. But given recent events... Well, the people might worry should my sister suddenly leave the capital. So the task has been passed to us. Now, this mission is strictly voluntary. So if, for any-"
"I volunteer !" Lissa raised her hands.
"Me too !" Vaike declared. "You'll be needin' ol' Teach along for such a delicate mission !"
"I'll go as well," a newcomer stepped in. The twins stared him down - he was wearing full armor, how had they not heard him approaching ? "...What ? I've been here the whole time !"
"I...I, um," Sumia started, unsure.
"Yes, Sumia ?" Chrom encouraged.
"It's just that..." she continued. "I'm not sure I'm quite ready for a proper mission just yet. I'd probably just get in the way."
"Well, you could stay behind the main group," Chrom suggested. "And if battle is met, just watch and learn ? Your choice, of course. But some lessons can only be learned on the battlefield."
"W-well, if you think it wise, Captain," she agreed.
"Just stay by me and I'll be fine," he grinned.
"Oh, yes !" Sumia sighed happily - and both twins rolled their eyes. "I mean- Yes, sir, I'll do that !"
One by one, the rest of them confirmed they would accompany him on this mission, except for Maribelle who explained she had business to help her father with in the next couple of days. After that, all of them went about their business, Vaike joining the three Shepherds who had yet to introduce themselves with their board game, Maribelle and Lissa exiting the room mentioning something about going on a horseback ramble for the afternoon, leaving the twins, Chrom and Sumia standing in the doorway.
"Has Lissa shown you your residences yet ?" the captain asked his new recruits, confusion tinting his features as Roxanne nodded while Robin shook his head.
"Well, sort of," Roxanne explained with an uneasy laugh. Fortunately for them, Chrom seemed to understand immediately what kind of tour his sister had given them.
"Apparently, a proper visit is in order," he offered shifting to head for the door, before recalling; "Are you coming with us, Sumia ?"
"Oh, uh, no," the woman stuttered, apparently still embarrassed for her earlier mishap. She followed them out of the room still. "I'll go find Cordelia, I think," she muttered before she left them to take the direction of the huge training area on the side of the palace the twins had gotten to see earlier. The prince shrugged before he turned to the twins once more.
"Let me show you around duly," he proposed, and both twins nodded thankfully. They didn't know much of what the future could possibly have in store for them, but it sure felt like things were off to a good start.