Chapter 3:
The Earth Turns, From Sanity
i.)
She knows it's useless.
But she can't help but impulsively fling her body against bars of her cell. It doesn't work, but it strangely feels good as her body bounces off the iron.
"Three! Number Three! Just what the fuck do you think you're doing?" Prisoners are never referred to by name. Just by number.
The desperation welling up in her belly begins to thicken like bile, and Robin continues to shove against the bars. But they never budge. They just leave a skindeep ache in Robin's muscles and bones.
"Number Three, what's it going to take for you to understand? Do you want to stay here longer? All this is going to do is give you a longer sentence. Do you understand me? Number Three!"
"Do you want to go to the punishment room?"
Robin ignores them. She's been to the punishment room countless times - she has been labeled a 'rebellious prisoner' after all.
Something hot and angry is squirming in her belly. The guards laugh and walk off as she drops to the filthy cell floor and buries her head in her knees like a child. She has been isolated from all the other prisoners for fighting. She thought this would be okay - she's been alone for countless years, on the road and in battle - what's a few days more of loneliness? She'd never realised that loneliness in jail is deeper than any loneliness she'd ever experienced before. And that terrifies her. It really does.
But the true torture here is not the loneliness or the removal of her freedom. It is the unmovingness and the no-time-passingness. A moving river will never become putrid, but dam it up and you can be sure that's exactly what it will do.
Maybe that's what is happening to her. Maybe Robin is beginning to become putrid inside, and deep down in her mind and body she's beginning to give off a rotten stench. So she picks herself up again, and flings herself against the bars again.
She does it again and again, and suddenly a puff of air brushes against her cheek like a fairy kiss. Time has suddenly begun to spin again. Where there was once a block in her brain, she can now see the shape of the guards coming towards her and unlocking the jail cell. Time has started to flow again. The river has begun to trickle through the dam and soon enough there shall be a flood.
The guards tie Robin's hands behind her back and tie her legs together.
If I breathe new air, will I become anew, or am I so stagnant that the stench has filled me and I can never get rid of it unless I tear out my insides and make new ones? When they finally throw me out of this cage, will I be so rotten I am less of a 'she' and more of an 'it', like the way troops count corpses?
The guards are dragging her to the punishment room now... Robin can hardly breathe. She is laughing, laughing because she's felt like she's been down here so long she's going crazy. Has she always been crazy? Is this who she really is?
ii.)
She has this inexplicable rage inside of her. She can't remove it, it's almost as if it's been stitched into her DNA.
When Chrom orders Robin to head out with the others on patrol for the first time, she can almost feel lightning zipping through her blood as she traces her fingers over Falchion's handle and sheath and it's almost as if her blood hungers for the feast of the battle. She knows what will come. And she cannot wait to join one of her most precious people's side in battle.
She is perched on a branch of an old oak tree, hidden by the thick foliage and the thin twigs some might mistake for fingers in the dark. Her dark outfit helps her hide from the patrol, and the mask she wears is metal cold on her face.
As the patrol begin to move away from her line of vision, she follows, quick quick as she quietly hops from branch to branch. She's getting close to the patrol, so so close...
"Ho! Who goes there?"
Shit. She hadn't considered Sumia finding her. But, perhaps she could be saved too. She jumps down from the tree and walks out into the sunlight, holding up her arms to show she isn't going to attack. "I mean no harm."
"Do you not? Then why did you follow us?" Sumia's arrow is pulled back to the hilt, and if she doesn't explain herself quickly she knows she will end up with an arrow in the throat and that will be the end of that.
"Do you want to be found by them?" This question is not directed at Sumia, but rather at Robin, who's blue eyes widen at she hears this.
Robin looks up at Sumia. "Sumia. It's okay. She's one of mine."
"Yours?"
Robin looks as if she is about to answer the question. But a high-pitched unholy screech comes from a copse of trees west north west from the group, and they each unsheathe their weapons.
"What the holy fuck was that?" A tall redhead looks around nervously, his shaking hands clutching a 500mag silver shotgun. Damn this kid - he's fresh meat, soon to be dead meat, and she doesn't want to play tactician for anybody other than Robin and the other recognisable faces. She doesn't want to save this kid (because she's selfish and awful) but she has to - it's her job.
A huge, long, blue and white, bullet shaped snout begins to prod through the trees and everybody but Robin and herself gasps at the size of the creature as the beast's head pushes the trees, its slitted pupils narrowing to mere slivers as it raises its great serpentine head. Its wide mouth opens, and silvery ropes of highly poisonous saliva connect to razor sharp fangs that curve inwards, designed to hook, grip, and never ever let go.
Robin turns to face her. "Is this what you came to do? To warn us about this?"
She nods, and Robin grins sharkishly. "Good girl. You know what to do?"
"'Course I do."
"Good. Let's get cracking then." She and Robin move as if to barge straight into the beast, but as they go straight, the snake moves to sink down onto them. Sumia cries out, but they swerve on either side and slash with their blades once, twice, three times before backing off.
The snake screeches, and begins to follow Robin, who runs as if she's dancing - twisting and turning and spinning like a spinning top, dizzying the creature.
She gestures to Sumia and the redhead, who nod (the latter slightly more nervously than former), and Sumia releases the arrow with a 'fush' and the razor sharp iron arrow plunges into the snake's eye, the other releasing the bullet and it sinks into the creatures mouth with a violent explosion of pus and blood.
Vaike dives into the fray, almost following Robin's lazy yet frantic movements as he swings his huge, blood stained axe that he hefts about, plunging it into the snake's tail. The snake loses scent of Robin, and she grins as it looks as if they're going to get rid of the beast.
"Watch out!" the girl screams, and Robin spins to see that Vaike is struggling to get his blasted axe out of the snake's tail, and the great beast has caught Vaike's scent and is opening its enormous jaws.
Robin races forward, but she's not fast enough as the snake's jaws begin to sink into Vaike's bare skin. He roars in agony, and Robin swears loudly before screaming something unintelligible and flinging her arm forward, releasing a bolt of lightning from her palm. She hopes it may work, but the lightning only succeeds in ripping Vaike's muscles apart further, and tears are leaking from his eyes in agony.
Stahl, their supposed superior, leaps off his horse and approaches the beast. "Vaike, move, I'm going to spike this bastard," he mutters, brandishing his spear.
"Oh, yeah, like I am actually able to move - fuck!" He roars in pain, as Stahl bends round him, and he plunges his spear into the beast's scales. The beast roars, and pulls its head up to scream in agony as blue-black blood spurts from the beast's body, and it rolls over, crushing Stahl's leg and the arm clutching the spear - shattering Stahl's leg and breaking his arm, ripping Vaike's shoulder and shoulderblade muscles to bits, and spearing itself on the long weapon.
Robin and the girl swear loudly, and dash over to the injured soldiers. Robin turns to the other, uninjured soldiers.
"Where are your vulneraries?"
They look at each other. "We only have one between the rest of us."
"What? Agh, give it to Vaike. Then help me get Stahl on his horse." Robin turns to Sumia. "Aren't you a medic?"
"No."
"WHAT? Do we not have any medics on this team?"
Heads shake all around.
"Oh my... Are there any medics on call? Please tell me there are medics on call."
Again, heads shake.
Robin and the girl share disgusted looks before Robin looks at the rest of the group. "What the hell is wrong with you people?"
iii.)
Chrom doesn't expect the violent slap from Lissa, but he really should've. He had it coming, and when Lissa's small but hard hand cuffs him on the cheek leaving a bright red handmark, he should've realised this would happen. But he didn't. Fool.
"Ow! Lissa, what the..."
He doesn't finish his sentence, as he sees the pure, undiluted fury raging behind a icy cold expression. "Chrom. I don't know how to say this, but..."
She looks around, then grips his wrist in an iron tight fist and pulls him close enough for her to say quietly so only he can hear her, "If mom or dad were here, they would be so very disappointed with you."
She then releases his wrist as if she were holding an old dirty sock, and storms out of the tent.
Chrom groans. "What have I done this time?"
iv.)
Robin and the girl (who's name, it turns out, is Lucina) sit vigil over Vaike and Stahl's sickbeds listening to the sound of their comrades' heart moniters. Stahl's right arm is strapped close to his chest and his leg is plastered up and elevated by a loop of cloth on a hook. Vaike... dear god, Vaike looks like shit. The normally hale, tan and hearty warrior is bedridden, his stitches shaped like wild veins and he's on so much morphine he can't feel it when Lissa (his girlfriend and doctor) squeezes his hand and smiles tearfully as she looks down at him.
Robin can almost feel the palpable frustration and anger rising from the small blonde girl, but when she puts a hand on her shoulder, she's surprised when she doesn't get shaken off, but instead receives an awkward smile.
"How are you feeling?"
"I..." Lissa pauses. "I'm okay. But I should really be asking you the same question."
"I suppose so. You are the medic, after all."
Lissa's laughter is forced, as if every sound is being forced out of her body like a squeaky toy. "I am, aren't I? Yet it seems that my position as a doctor is completely worthless if I cannot prevent these kind of injuries..." She allows herself a wry smile and places her hand in the sleeping Vaike's larger one. Her flint-grey eyes soften as her thumb brushes Vaike's skin, and he almost subconciously squeezes her hand.
Robin, feeling rather uncomfortable that she's watching this very intimate moment, clears her throat, and smiles awkwardly at Lissa as her head shoots round to fix her with a glare.
"About that..." Robin steadies herself and looks Lissa right in the eyes. "Why are there no medics on the patrols? Are they on call, or..."
Lissa interrupts her with a groan. "Thank Naga, somebody gets it."
"Pardon?"
"Oh, come on. You know how ridiculous it is that medics are practically hospitalbound."
A shot of red rage electrifies Robin's veins, and she clenches her jaw. "What."
"You heard me."
"And by who's authority?"
"Chrom's."
Robin bursts out laughing. She laughs and laughs, until tears are leaking out her eyes, her stomach hurts, and Lissa and Lucina are giving her strange looks.
"You're kidding me right?" Robin says with a stifled giddy chuckle.
Lissa shakes her head. "Unfortunately, no."
Robin stares at her for a moment, then groans, placing her head in her hands. "How has this army not fallen apart?"
"Simple. Frederick."
Robin looks up. "Who?"
"He's sort of the sanity man around here. He keeps everybody together, keeps all the loose ends tied up, gives jobs to anybody who needs it. He's also Chrom's right hand man."
"Isn't that the leader's job?"
Lissa rolls her eyes. "At this point, I'm not so sure."
v.)
"According to Lissa, you're the person to go to."
Frederick looks up from his book and sighs as Robin grins at him. He was just getting comfortable when the silver haired girl approached him. Dammit. He wasn't going to get any spare time for himself, was he?
"I'm the person to go to for what?"
"Oh, you know. Jobs and such like."
Frederick sighs. "And you need a job."
"Or rather, a more permanent place in the Ranger ranks."
Oh bother. This was going to take a while. Shifting on the couch so there was space for the smaller girl to sit down, Frederick carefully marked his page and placed the book on the counter next to him before facing the girl. "What do you want?"
Robin's smile didn't waver, even at Frederick's grumpy question. "I want to take the placement of tactician."
Frederick's brow raised. "You wish to take up as a tactician? Strange, nobody has ever specifically requested to take the job before."
"Yes, and look at all the damage that was done because of the poor running of this broken down ship. This army is barely running, there are no active war medics, your leader is playing prince and is ignoring his duties and is making foolish decisions that are not his to make, and according to Lissa you are doing most, if not all, of the hard work." Robin's grin turns vicious. "I've been in many armies before, Frederick, but I've never been in one so terribly organised." She pauses. "I wasn't always a mercenary, y'know. I used to be Valm's tactician, before I realised that my skills were being misused. If that is not enough to convince you, then nothing will. Good day to you."
She left as quickly as she arrived, and Frederick let out a breath he hadn't realised he'd been holding in. Gods, she made some good points though. And tactician of Valm - that was a huge deal, seeing as Valm's army consisted of almost five times the amount of soldiers the Shepards had. The girl was more than she seemed, he suspected. And considering the fact that she'd survived a massacre barely a week or so ago, she seemed to be of sound mind.
He smirked. I'll bring the suggestion to Chrom, then.