Cordelia's eyes slowly flickered to life as she awoke in her bunk. The sky was a deep violet, and a cool breeze flowed through the open window. It had not quite reached dawn yet, but for Cordelia, the day had already started. She rose as the rest of the women in the dormitory continued to sleep. She made sure not to wake Sumia, who was dozed off in the bed next to her. Sumia had come home late the other night, and Cordelia was able to tell that she'd had a good time from the smile on her sleeping face. Each minute was another she regretted not going with her friend to see Chrom. She always loved to see what new talent he would find for the army, always looking out for everyone. He was a good leader. A good leader and so much more.

The floor creaked as she walked across the room where her clothes were hung. Hers were easy to tell apart from the others': a red tunic with a sharp white appliqued design on the front, some riding tights, red boots, and her long two-tone gloves. She dressed herself and tied her long scarlet hair into a messy bun. She then grabbed the two wing-shaped hair clips on the table, given to her by her father on the day she was accepted into the squadron.

She remembered the day like it was yesterday, down to the crisp breeze and the look in her father's eyes. He was so proud of his little girl all grown up, but so scared at the same time. He always knew very well that she was capable of great things, especially since the surgery, but couldn't bear to think of the possibility of yet another woman that he loved lost to the cold, unforgiving hands of war. Cordelia had always assured him that she would be just fine. She was a strong girl, and after all, she would never even think of abandoning her family, especially when they needed her most.

Which was why she needed to head out to the armory and grab her armour and weapons. Her window for practice was disappearing.

She wanted to run right out to the training grounds, but couldn't. She was in no danger of waking her comrades up, nor was the field so big that it would tire her out before she even began. Nevertheless, Cordelia had to always bear in mind her weaknesses that she could never be able to get past. So she simply took the route across the bridge that was easiest for her. Fortunately, it also happened to have the best view.

There she could see the entire ground, surrounded by the tall stone walls, with all the targets and weapons neatly organized and set up for the day. The faint light from the sunrise had started to seep in, the gargantuan walls of stone casting a shadow on the whole place. It were completely empty. It was like the calm before the storm. The calm before everyone had finished breakfast, at least.

She noticed that in addition to the lances put out every morning, there were also a variety of different axes, swords, and shields. Right, she remembered. Today was Wednesday. On some days of the week the Shepherds would have to share training grounds with the Pegasus Knights. The Shepherds were different in that most of their experience was from real fighting, what with the bandit problem slowly taking over the land, although they still needed to practice formally like the rest of the soldiers. Cordelia sighed as she continued to walk towards the narrow stairs. As she scaled them carefully, she heard someone come in through the east door. Her heartbeat accelerated. She didn't even have to wonder about who it was, it was the only other person in the world that would show up this early to train. She went though the door and into the grounds, which were illuminated by the pale sunrise.

And there he was, preparing his stance. His clothes were dark, blending into the shadowy walls, but the sun reflected brilliantly off his white cape and silver armor plate, hanging off his left shoulder. He reached for his sword, the legendary Falchion, which hung at his side. As he took it out, the blade gleamed in the rising sun. And then, with a powerful movement, he went straight for the log sitting in front of him, and cut it down with two clean slices. And then seamlessly stepping into the next one, never leaving himself open, always quick on his feet. One by one, each log was annihilated, finishing with a great stab into one on the ground. He spun his sword around once and stuck it into the ground, as was typical of him. His cape danced in the breeze. He truly looked heroic.

Cordelia sat on the bench, watching.

"That sure was something." she finally said.

Chrom turned his head. "Oh, hello Cordelia. I didn't see you there." He effortlessly pulled his blade from the ground. "I don't think I saw you at the-"

"Party, yeah, sorry about that." she cut in, looking down at the ground.

"Heh, well I'm not sure if I'd really have called it a 'party', but I suppose it could have been described as one." He brushed the dirt off his sword with his gloved hand. "Anyway, did you hear about the new recruit?"

"Oh yeah. I heard. Robin, was it?"

"Yes it is. Robin's our new tactician."

"Really?" She wanted to say that she didn't know they needed a tactician, but then she figured that the militia was growing a bit larger lately, so perhaps they really could use one. She sighed. This person would end up closer to Chrom than she ever would dream to be. But she decided that she needed to continue the conversation.

"So... what's she like?"

"Who now?" Chrom looked over at her, a bit confused.

"Robin. The tactician?"

"Er, well first of all, she happens to be a man." He picked a rapier off the weapons rack.

"Oh gods, right. Of course. Sorry." Idiot. Of course Robin could have been a man or a woman. "What is he like, then?"

"Haha, well I actually found him laying unconscious in the middle of a field a few days ago. Naga knows how long he'd been there."

"Goodness."

"The man had a terrible looking bruise on the side of his head, from an injury most likely, so we decided that we should help him. Of course, Frederick didn't approve at all, but Lissa was able to heal the bruise and wake him up."

"Do tell."

"So when the man woke up, he told us that his name was Robin, as well as the fact that he couldn't remember anything about who he was besides that. No family, no history, no homeland, nothing. We'd decided that the man had had a concussion, so we decided to take him to the nearest town to find him a doctor."

"Mm-hm."

He went on about him and told about how they'd faced some brigands, how he'd earned his trust, and how he was currently staying in town and was coming by later that day. Cordelia could have listened to that strong baritone voice for hours on end. It didn't even matter that some of the things he was saying were completely absurd. His presence right there had made everything all right.

Suddenly, a completely different voice caught her attention.

"All right ladies! I want you all to give me four laps around the field! We're focusing on speed today!" It was Phila and the rest of the knights. Was it past sunrise already? An hour seemed like a mere minute when she was around him. And gods, how she hated running laps.

"I'd better go." she told Chrom as she stood up to his level.

"All Right, whatever you need to do. I need to go find Frederick anyway." He was at least half a foot taller than her.

"Bye, Chrom..." She said as he walked off to the door, calling for his lieutenant.

She sighed. She was so bad at this.

"Tiamo! I need you for a minute." Oh good! No laps today.

"Yes, Commander Phila?" She asked as she walked as fast as she could across the field.

"Cordelia, I'm going to need to talk with you later on today. It's about your performance." Great, another one of these. Every time it was something different. Pick up your speed, improve your aim, you can't protect the exalt.

"Oh, yes, of course!" She said with a fake smile.

Phila smirked. "Cordelia, I can see the worry in your eyes. I can assure you that it is not a bad as you may be thinking."

"Oh! Well, okay, then. That sounds great!" Cordelia was now incredibly perplexed. What could she have in store for her? Could it be her first mission? An award? Something completely different? A marriage proposal from Chrom okay maybe that wasn't going to happen. Either way, now she was actually excited. Oh gods, what a tremendous opportunity this was going to be. She could feel the excitement rising up in her chest.

She left to go grab some weapons to practice with. "Oh, Thank you, by the way!" She shouted back.

Phila had a genuine smile on her face, something Cordelia never thought she'd see. "I'll see you tonight, Miss Tiamo."