I don't own Fire Emblem. I just like to write fanfiction about one of my favorite games. Please don't throw me into the seven hells for that.
Southtown - Magdalene's Inn
Morgan lay motionless in her bed, her hands behind her head and stared expressionless at the ceiling. Her broken ribs were mended together, but her employer and healer Magdalene ordered the girl to rest, despite her protest. The older woman had also taken all the study material from her room so she had nothing to distract herself.
Now the tactician was bored. Like really, really, really bored.
'I'm too bored to sleep.' she reasoned to herself. Morgan knew, it was ridiculous, but she couldn't explain it in any other way.
Then she heard screaming. A lot of screaming.
More curious than anything the girl jumped out of her bed, a puzzled expression on her face as she did so. 'Why is everything so... big?'
As she slowly walked to the door that led out of her room and to the source of the intensifying screaming the white-head also identified growling and the smell of burned houses, goods and flesh. 'Is... the town of fire?'
As she opened the door (she had to jump to reach the handle) the girl felt fear slowly crawling into her heart. 'What... is happening?'
Everything burned. Everything screamed. The clouded night's sky was illuminated in an eerie orange color thanks to the fires on the ground. Ash fell down like snow. People died to red eyed undead monsters that manifested out of thin air hunting them down.
The building she stood in was nothing but a ruin, like every other building in the city. Morgan saw a lone guard being overrun by the undead. In the distance, she could see a shadow with three pairs of wings descending down behind a castle, vastly over-towering the building and the small mountain it was build upon.
She had no time to think about the shadow as the sharp end of a sworn pierced her vision.
Then she heard the scream of a young girl...
Morgan fell from her bed, screaming.
As her mind processed the clearly undamaged surroundings and realized that she had just another nightmare the young woman calmed down, stood up from the ground and slowly walked away from her bed, bumping her head on a wall she didn't saw because of the darkness.
'Right... It's the middle of the night.'
Chanting a few words, a small ball of electricity formed itself in her left hand, illuminating her small room. A room she called 'home' for almost fourteen years now. 'Fourteen years? That much time had already passed?'
She remembered. Morgan had awoken alone in a field as she was roughly five years old. Snow was falling from the sky as a war cleric, a great knight and their son found her. The girl had run aimlessly through the white landscape, shouting for her father...
'Father...'
Before Morgan could continue any of her lines of thoughts, she slapped herself. 'Focus, Morgan! Father is somewhere out there. You will find him eventually.' The tactician thanked her inner everything-will-be-alright-voice and put on her patched-up-coat while making sure that she didn't incinerate anything. Done with that, the young woman stepped out of her room.
A lone candle shined in the dark hallway and the light of the orb of electricity joined the small flame in its work. A knight that the white-head knew all so well guarded two doors on the opposite side of her room, taking a quick glance at her appearance. "It's a bit late to take a walk outside." he said with an emotionless tone.
The tactician-in-training sighed. "You are a bit young to be a great knight." she answered, also in an emotionless tone.
Both of them looked each other in the eyes, evaluated one and another, but in the end both of them smirked slightly. "You have grown a lot in the past eight years." the knight said.
"Says the boy who got promoted from squire to great knight in less than four years." Morgan shot back. Then she looked him serous in the eyes. "Magdalene is still waiting for a letter. Even though you visited her this time, I honestly doubt that she will spare you the rant."
The knights slight smirk disappeared. "Mother didn't held back, indeed." He then changed the subject. "Am I right with the assumption that you had a nightmare, lady Morgan?"
Morgan looked to the ground and let out a deep breath. "Yes... The burned capital... and the winged shadow." She grimaced. "It... it felt like it was all real... The fires, the walking corpses, the shadow towering above a castle..." She shook her head, smiling at the man. "Honestly, Fred, I am starting to question my sanity."
Frederick put his left hand on her right shoulder to comfort her. "You are not insane. Far from it. Some of the actions and pranks you pull off might suggest otherwise, but you are definitely sane."
The white-head looked up, a small smile on her face. "I am sane? Frederick, I passed out on the battlefield. What kind of sane person does that?"
The knight smiled faintly back. "Indeed, what kind of sane person does that? Definitely not tacticians who rally soldiers, identical merchants, wives and the town major under their banner to throw twelve groups of bandits out of her hometown without losing anyone in the process."
The young woman inhaled to let out a deep sigh. "I didn't do that much. Honestly, without Magdalene, Sully, the old man and the terror of the innocents we wouldn't have succeeded. Also, I got kidnapped. A seven year old who bested me every time in chess and other tactical games had to come and rescue me."
Frederick perked up at that. "While traveling we had an encounter with a white haired boy who later claimed to be your little brother. Do you know anything about that and, if yes, explain?"
While he might be a bit ruff in the way he spoke the question, Morgan knew he didn't meant to be mean. "Do we talk about the same young, white haired boy with red eyes, tugged into a coat that is far too big for himself, who is also almost always carrying a stuffed dragon and a massive tacticians guide with him?" The knight nodded. The white-head giggled and continued. "I met him in the town library a year ago. I helped him reaching a book, we ended up studying and playing games together, he started to visit me at the Inn... He asked me if I could be his big Sis and nearly crush-hugged me to death when I agreed..."
The knight was silent.
"Well, I actually plan on adopting him as soon as I can support myself." Morgan added.
That caught the knights attention once more. "So he is an orphan." It was not a question.
Morgan caught onto that. "Frederick, is something wrong?" She didn't got an answer. Instead, the young woman heard some mumbling about 'potential spy' or 'sleeper agent' and other nonsense. The white-head sighed and smacked the man on the back of his head. "Fred, he is a child. A genius, but a child. It is more likely that he hugs Gangrel to death than spying on people he cares about."
The knight raised his eyebrow. "How do you know he cares about us?"
The white haired woman brought a finger at her chin. "Well, since you found him on your travels I came to the conclusion that you found him underneath a tree in a certain field outside of Southtown. It's the place where his mother had to leave him behind, from what I understood. He accompanied you into the city, so he grew somewhat attached to you or one of your... charges? Well, otherwise you would have been electrocuted by now. His magical abilities are top-notch."
Frederick nodded. "Lady Lissa had formed some kind of... bond with him and he refers to prince Chrom as 'Marth' because he wields the Falchion."
A smirk grew on her face. "So, you are promoted to be in charge of the royal day-care now?" No reaction from the great knight. Morgan giggled. "Sorry, I couldn't resist. Anyway, do you know if he ran out of the city?"
The knight nodded again. "Indeed he did. As the moon raised, he made his way to the east. The way we came from. He said something about 'finding Medeus.' Speaking of which." He uncovered a certain stuffed dragon he carried in his pouch. "He forgot that on Perceval's saddle."
Morgan received the shadow dragon plush from her employer's son. "Thank you. I will bring it back to him immediately."
The man frowned. "Alone? In your nightgown?"
"Yup."
The knight sighed. "Take care. Milord want to ask you something in the morning."
The tactician-in-training smiled. "Noted. Well, see you later."
A grassy plain outside of Southtown
'I will come back. For now though, we have to part ways.' The white haired woman with yellow eyes gave the young one a last hug. 'I am... not good with this kind of stuff, but... stay safe. We will meet each other again. I promise you that.'
Robin didn't knew what he had answered, but he got her coat and that big book as a reaction. She then mounted a wyvern and flew to the northwest. 'I just have to wait... right? Mom will be back... right?' The boy had asked these questions to himself for almost one and a half years now. He still had no answers.
Why had they to separate in the first place? Was it because of that scary tall man? Or these weird hooded guys? Or that weird Grima guy everyone talked about? Honestly, Robin had no idea. He just wished his mother would be back. He wanted to show her his improvements at battle tactics and magic. And his big Sis. And Marth. And Stabby-Mc-Pointy-Stick. And Lissa.
Footsteps interrupted his thoughts. The person who was approaching came directly to his position. Only five people knew of his secret hiding place of secretness. And if this person wasn't-
"There you are." A cheerful voice said. The young one stood up from his position and opened his eyes. There, right in front of him, was his big Sis, holding Medeus in her right hand and a sphere of electricity in her left. She wore her patched-up coat over her sky-blue nightgown. The female white-head smiled. "You forgot to retrieve Medeus from the knight. He has to watch over his two friends so he couldn't give it back to you. But that's what big sisters are good for, right?"
The young tactician beamed up. He had searched for his friend, but couldn't find him anywhere. The thought of having him left behind on that horse might have crossed his mind, but it didn't matter in the end. They were reunited now. He took his silent friend from his big Sis and smiled happily. "Thanks, big Sis."
The young woman couldn't help herself but to giggle silently. Robins smile was the same her father had given her when he had taught her to read. She was only three or four, but it didn't stopped both of them.
The sky was still dark, but the sun would shine in two or three hours. Knowing that, Morgan gently sat the boy on her shoulders. A somewhat difficult task with only one hand, but she succeeded. "Let's go to Magdalene for now. I don't think you want to go back to the orphanage, do you?"
The boy shook his head as the girl moved back to the town. "Nope, I go with you. The orphanage was set on fire, anyway."
The older white-head frowned. "Really? I didn't know. Did anyone get hurt?"
Robin shook his head again. "Nope. They are fine... physically. They won't bully me in the future though." Morgan couldn't see it, but she knew that the youth was smiling.
So she scolded. "Robin, the children lost their only home. It is nothing you should smile at. I know, they didn't like you, but that shouldn't cloud your judgment. You want to be a tactician, right?" The boy nodded. "Imagine that these children were soldiers. You can't let them run into their deaths just because they threw harsh words at you. Or laugh at them when they lose loved ones because they pulled a prank on you. I know it is hard, but..."
"I understand..." The boy said, eyes downcast. "Being a tactician is an unthankful job. Mother said the same once."
The older white-head couldn't see it, but she knew that the young one was truly sad. She was sad, too. "My father also told me these words. 'A true tactician only accepts one loss: Him- or herself.' I might have been separated from him, but we will find each other again. I am sure of it."
The boy perked up at that. "He said that? My mother said the same. Do you think they know each other?"
The young woman shrugged slightly. "I don't know. I was still young when I woke up alone." She sighed. "I miss him."
The boy patted her head. "Don't worry, big Sis. I will be there for you until you find him again." Determination was in his voice.
Morgan lightened up a bit. "And I will do the same for you." Then another thought came to her mind. 'Should I do it? Pff, why not?' "Speaking of being there for you: Would you mind if I adopt you? Until you find your mother?"
Robin seemed to be a bit puzzled. "You mean... we would become family?"
"Yup."
"I'M IN!" The kid practically shouted into her ear, barely containing his excitement.
Even though her ear drums had to recover from the sudden attack, the white haired woman giggled happily. "Okay, then, from now on, you are my cute little baby brother."
"I AM NOT CUTE!" The kid pouted.
'Aww, he is adorable.'
Southtown - Magdalene's Inn
It was really early in the morning as the two white-heads arrived. The young one had won his fourth game of mind-chess in a row, but Morgan had given him a hard time. Both of them only had their kings and the towers on the board. It was intense, but Robin somehow managed to trap her king with her own towers. The girl still tried to understand how the boy had done that until they reached the steps to the Inn. The first light was visible on the horizon.
The woman yawned. "And again, a night without a good rest."
The boy on her shoulders was also slowly dozing off. "Sleep is... overrated." Then he actually dozed off. Morgan giggled soundlessly and opened the door...
To be greeted by her smirking employer. "There you are. Morgan, if you go out on a night's walk, at least dress yourself properly."
The older white-head didn't had the energy to be embarrassed. "Sorry, I awoke from a nightmare and decided to bring Robin his stuffed dragon back. Your son didn't hold me back."
Her smirk dropped. "Pah, he is too busy being the royal nanny right now. Doesn't even take his time to write a letter for his old lady. He was probably collecting pebbles on the road instead." She then faced the young, snoring boy on the tacticians back. "At least the young one does something smart. Found him outside of Southtown again?"
Morgan nodded. "Yes, he had searched for Medeus. He fell into sleep one minute ago though."
The older woman's smirk returned. "You should adopt him."
"I will do that today."
The smirk widened into a grin. "Hah, always one step ahead, right?"
"Two. I will extend them to three sometime in the future." The girl giggled.
The grayish-blonde shook her head in good humor. "Alright, let him rest in your room for now and help me with breakfast. We need nine meals worth of food."
The still-teen tilted her head. "Nine meals? Do the royals really demand that much?"
Magdalene smirked again. "No, but you have to watch your diet."
As if on cue, the sound of a roaring bear could be heard inside the room. The older white-head began to blush in embarrassment. "Right... I didn't eat properly the other day... But it's still a lot."
"Says the woman that ate an entire bear in her youth."
"... Give me fifteen minutes."
"Only if you discharge the orb of thunder in your palm."
Morgan, still embarrassed, did so as she was told and climbed the stairs to the guest- and sleeping quarters to drop the youth off her shoulders. She gave a quick nod to the inexhaustible knight, did her extended morning routine and helped her employer preparing the breakfast.
Two hours later
Eggs. Lots of eggs. And bread. And cheese. And vegetables. And apples. Don't forget the apples.
Morgan had eaten A LOT. Six cooked eggs, half a loaf of bread loaded with cheese and lettuce and, at last, eleven apples. And she could have still eaten more. Much more. However, the girl knew when she overstepped her boundaries. Not that Magdalene actually cared much about her eating habits. At least as long as the girl washed the tableware.
And the white-head did so without any objections whatsoever. It was the least she could do, she always said. She already did a lot, unbeknownst to the tactician. For the old woman, the girl was like the little daughter she and her husband never had. And never will have...
The retired war cleric sighed. 'Cursed war...'
She shook her head, suppressing any memory that tried to crawl into her line of thought. She lived in the present, not in the war. The current exalt was a far cry from the mad crusader. She had to remember that.
Which is why she brings the prince and princess of the country their breakfast, with her killer ax tugged on her back. The tactician-in-training wanted to do serve the food instead of her, but the older woman insisted. The girl should bring his yet-unofficial cute-little-baby-brother (the name fit the youth, she had to agree) his food.
Of course his I-am -busy -collecting-pebbles-from-the-ground-and-have-no-time-to-write-a-letter-to-my-mother-son wanted her to leave the axe behind, but she politely ignored him and stepped into both rooms to give each visitor their food and her family inherent death-glare. The prince was too dense to react to her glare, but the reaction from the cleric was pure gold. She would remember the sight of her shuddering and the sound of her "Yikes" for years.
Anyway, it was now around eight in the morning. The prince wanted to ask 'her' little-baby-girl out or something like that. So she stood at the corner of the foyer and obviously eavesdropped to the conversation, together with her son. She did not want to miss anything from this conversation.
"Marth!"
And then there was the fact that little Robin was around. The older Woman smirked. 'Good luck getting a date now.'
"Oh, that gotta be fun." a chirpy, but still faint voice said next to her. She recognized the young princess after a quick glance and smirked.
Back to the situation at hand. Before Robin, far too enthusiastic for his own good, could tackle-hug the navy-haired man to the ground, Morgan had intercepted and sat the youth on her shoulders. Had she not intervened then they might have had a royal corpse laying around. Nothing Magdalene wanted to explain her husband.
While the young one pouted and smacked the girls head over and over again for being a party-pooper the royal began to talk. "So... you are Robins sister?"
The smacking stopped and a big smile grew on the youths face. "She is the best-est big sister of the world!"
The girl giggled lightly. "We still have to make that official though. We are not related. At least I think we aren't."
That seemed to confuse the prince. "You... are not related? But you have a lot of resemblance to each other."
The female tactician giggled silently. "I hear that a lot when we walk through the town. But no, we are not related. I think." She put a finger at her chin. "Anyways, your highness, we haven't introduced ourselves. I am Morgan, a tactician in training and soon-to-be-official sister of the cute-little-baby-child on top of my head."
"I AM NOT CUTE!" The young one pouted, earning a silent 'Aww' from the princess in the corner.
Morgan giggled again. "My fault. You are not cute, you are adorable."
"I AM NOT ADORABUBBLE!" the youth pouted again, crossing his arms and looking away.
The young woman shook her head slightly, containing her laughter. "W-we talk about that another day. I have a question now." She glared death-serious into the lord's eyes. "Who are you and why hasn't Robin electrocuted by now?"
Magdalene could hear the bluenette's gulp in the eavesdrop-corner. "W-well, I am Chrom of Ylisse, second hair to the throne, wielder of Falchion and commander of a small militia..."
"And you wanna date a village maiden like ol' me? Sorry, but I'm not interested." The girl teased.
"That's not what I wanted to say!" The blue haired man blurted out, forcing down the embarrassment that wanted to show itself on his face. He calmed down. "I actually wanted to comment on the actions you did the other day. The townspeople spoke of you and how you liberated the entire western district from multiple groups of bandits without losing anyone in the process. That was quite the achievement."
The girl casted her eyes down, gently shaking her head. "I did nothing major. Threw some bandits around, planned assaults and ambushes, getting kidnapped because I passed out on the battlefield..." She sighed, much to the confusion of her passenger. "The townspeople saved themselves. I just gave them one or two hints of how they could do that better."
The lord smiled. "You don't give yourself enough credit. From what I heard, you are quite capable. Which brings me to the point." Time seemed to stand still as he said the following words. "I want you to join the shepherds."
Both Morgan and Robin glared at him with clearly mirthless expressions. The young one was the one who spoke up. "You want my big Sis to tend sheep." he deadpanned.
The slightly angry woman on the other hand gave him a second chance. "I demand a throughout explanation. Now."
The Lord wasn't fazed in the slightest. "'The Shepherds' is the name of the militia I formed to answer the growing amounts of bandit raids. Yesterday's events however showed me that we are in a desperate need of a tactician. A tactician like you."
"Huh?" The young woman was taken off guard and faintly blushed. She could hear the faint laughter and see the sadistic smirk of her employer in the eavesdrop-corner...
The lord continued, oblivious to everything around him. "Will you join our cause? To protect the people?"
The female white-head regained her posture and looked over to Magdalene who gave her a appreciating nod. The young woman thought then for a bit and came to her conclusion. "I would like to join your cause, but under certain conditions. First being that I could bring Robin with me. I know it sounds ridiculous to bring a child into a militia, but I don't go anywhere without him. Also, he is a better tactician than me. Second, live with the fact that I'm a glutton who barely gains weight. I ate an entire bear once and was still hungry. Third: Just because I have noodle arms doesn't mean I am weak. It's the opposite. Deal with it." A smirk grew on her face as she held out her hand.
Smiling back, Chrom shook her hand. "Welcome to the Shepherds."
Author notes:
Hi there.
First of all, I hope I made a good chapter for once. I am not happy how chapter three turned out to be and will rewrite it at some time in the future. I was in a rush and it turned out how it turned out. I am truly sorry.
Which is why I took my time for this chapter. I hope it turned out good.
Also, a big thank you for over 500 views. I didn't thought to get that much attention with my rambling. I hope I can live up to your expectations.
Thanks for reading my rambling.
Reviews:
Muggzy:
I'm glad you like the Idea.
Guest-reviewer:
Don't worry, Morgan interacts with his childish, seven year old father... God(s), that sounds wrong.
And while I don't plan to pair Robin up with anyone (he is seven, Goddamnit!) it doesn't mean that he won't interact with anyone. Playing hide-and-seek with Nowi? Or membership in the Justice Cabal?
... Morgan and Robin in the Justice Cabal... Was nice knowing you, world.
Thank you all for reviewing. I don't know if it is polite to write a smile into your story, but I do it none the less. Thank you very much. :D
Edit 31. January 2016:
Added some breaking lines and fixed some grammar mistakes.
