Author's Preface:
Like I said before, I'm usually about one or two chapters ahead of what I post. So I can call this kind of a "break" in the driving story, though it does focus heavily on building bonds with other characters. In the midst of essays and take-home finals, I decided I should give this one out as a tribute to all you other poor buggers who have finals as well.
Once again, I am extremely thankful for all the reviews I've gotten! As I said before, I enjoy writing this, so you can count on me to be pretty reliable on the updates barring the Apocalypse. On a side note, it turns out my grammar has somewhat fallen apart, so I'll try to fix these problems up when I revise them.
As it turns out, writing Vaike's lines is not only mentally but also physically painful. I feel like I'm writing quotes from Huckleberry Finn all over again. But this is a minor issue, and I'm willing to do this to flesh out some of the other characters. You should expect the next chapter at most within a week. I'll be gone camping for about two or three days so given a bear doesn't eat me, I'll have the chapter up when I return. In all, I'm glad to hear people like this so far!
Anyways, enough chit-chat. Here's the chapter!
Chapter 4: The Phoenix and the Dragon
He woke, wrapped by a sense of comfort he had not felt in a very long time. The bed he slept on was nothing more than multiple rolls of wool and sheets, though he would not trade this feeling away for anything. For a moment, it felt as if he was back at the capital in his own bed.
"Has it truly been so long ever since I've had a good night's sleep? I haven't had a nightmare in over a month..."
Robin's eyes cracked open to the beams of light leaking through his tent door. For the most part, today was his day off. He swept the blankets off his body and began to approach the bucket of water. Reaching in for the towel, he wiped it over his face and body. As he did so, he noticed the purple mark on his left hand; it had been there ever since Chrom had found him in the field. What significance it held, he did not know nor did he care to find out. Robin had already decided to leave behind what past he formerly had in order to create a new one with his companions. He dropped the towel back into the bucket and grabbed his robes and sword.
"Today, I will go into town and try to relax myself. I'll probably die of fatigue if I don't."
It was not until the next day that Robin had to travel to Plegia with Chrom. Given that neither Ylisse nor Regna Ferox had any sustainable ships to offer, Plegia was the last choice on the list. It was not a choice that Chrom had made easily, though he was able to recognize a greater threat in the Valmese army over his grudge with the Plegians. For this, Robin was grateful. Both he and Chrom had grown not only as leaders but also as people in their time together. The Chrom of old would have rather taken on the full Valmese army than even mention Plegia. Likewise, Robin would have been too preoccupied with trying to save others rather than face the imminent danger. With battle and time, they had both overcome these former obstacles and became better people for it.
Finally slipping on the last article of clothing, Robin stepped out of his tent and took in the sunlight. It was a beautiful day with the sunlight smoothly sliding across the countryside. Robin could only smile at the sight he was seeing. It truly reminded him of Ylisse, a country he now called home. The speed at which Robin had adapted to his new life in Ylisse surprised himself more than anyone else. However, he was neither in Ylisse nor was he in his bed. He was off far away in the countryside of some other remote village.
Robin set off on a stride towards the front of the camp. Judging by the emptiness of the camp, he assumed that most of the other Shepherds had already woken up earlier and left to town. Robin silently cursed his late-night sleeping habits and continued down on the dirt road by himself.
About a mile down, Robin was able to spot two small specks on the road ahead of him. Recognizing one red haired fellow with another blonde one, Robin smiled. This was his chance to get back at them for everything they had done. As he silently walked towards Gaius and Vaike, he drew out his tome. He dragged his finger down a page and murmured an incantation to himself to remember when he got closer. The tactician silently continued his stride behind the two unsuspecting targets. As he got closer to them, he could hear their conversation.
"So there ya go, candy boy! That's how good ol' teach saved all the Shepherds from a hydra!" The thief snorted in bemusement.
"Vaike, I don't even think hydras exist. Better yet, even if there was one, I highly doubt you would've gotten out with both your arms."
The two continued to squabble on like this, not noticing the tactician. As Robin got within striking distance, he timed his steps and put his mouth where they could hear him clearly. With a whisper, he spoke.
"Good morning."
Before the two could turn, they were instantly thrown off to the sides of the road by a sudden gust of wind. Vaike tumbled into a river nearby while Gaius flipped over with his cape now covering a majority of his body. Copious amounts of sweets and candies began to roll around the road. Robin stood at the top of the road, admiring his work. Vaike, who was now soaking wet, was not amused.
"Oi! What the hell was that for?!" Likewise, Gaius merely grumbled and focused on retrieving his candies.
"That was for all the flak I've been getting these past few weeks. I think we can call the score even." Robin grinned at the two victims. Vaike murmured something along the lines of Robin being lucky. The tactician ran up to the two and placed his arms around both their shoulders.
"So, guys. I'm guessing you two are headed off to the village as well?"
Gaius picked up the last of his sweets off the dirt, seemingly ignoring that they were all covered by dust. "No, we just wanted to walk in a random direction towards nowhere in particular. Where else would we be going?"
Robin couldn't stop grinning now that he had gotten his revenge. Perhaps what Tharja had told him was true: revenge was sweet when timed correctly. But he no longer thought of such things anymore. Vaike and Gaius were now his friends again, seeing as they were on equal footing of pranks. Noting the absence of a particular young mage, Robin decided he would ask them.
"Say, where's Ricken? Isn't he usually around with us most of the time? And on that note, where's Chrom?"
This time, the blonde warrior responded to the tactician's question. "Eh, lil' Ricken went off to meet some lass in town. Pretty sure he's gettin' better at finding girls than we are!" Vaike let out a hearty laugh. "As for the boss, good ol' Teach offered him to come with us, but he said somethin' like Sumia wanted to spend the day with him. After all, man's gotta please his woman, right?" Vaike looked to Gaius and Robin who both shook their heads.
"Aw, come on! We might not have women, but y'all have good ol' Teach right here! Who needs women when you got me?"
Robin seemed mildly amused. "Vaike, even if either of us suddenly had romantic feelings for you, I'm pretty sure you fail in every aspect of being loving or caring. As for Gaius here, well..."
"Don't drag me into this, Robin. Unlike you two guys, I'm getting free haircuts from a nice girl. I'm pretty sure she'd be upset to hear Vaike started giving me haircuts." Gaius spoke with a little pride in his voice. "Gotta go down to town and buy something for her for all these nice trims."
Robin and Vaike were now curious. Among the three, it was no mystery that Gaius would be a hot commodity among the female Shepherds of the camp was it not for the fact that he was an utter, total slob. Robin was pretty sure Gaius hadn't switched his robes for a good two weeks at the very least. As for Vaike, the man waked around half-naked most of the time, so there were no real clothes he owned to speak of.
"Well, well, don't leave us hanging, Gaius. You should tell us who this mystery girl is." Robin posed the question, finally happy that he was no longer the target of romantic speculation. He had a few guesses in his mind as to someone would want to clean up a slob like Gaius. Among these guesses, only one was a female.
"I betcha it's Sully! She always cuts hair and stuff!" Vaike seemed to enjoy this game like a giggling child. Gaius, however, was utterly terrified.
"Way off the mark, boys. She's not a bad person, but I'm pretty sure she'd beat me to death with a lollipop." Gaius paused for a second before turning to Robin. "Say, Robin. You're a smart guy. Why don't you use those magical thinking powers of yours and guess it? If you can get it, I'll give you one of these babies." He pointed to the bag around his back, which Robin guessed could only be filled with sweets. "And if you're wrong, you buy me some in town."
Robin grinned. "Challenge accepted." He began to scratch his chin, analyzing the mannerisms and daily rituals that each Shepherd had. He knew that among the female Shepherds, only a few were obsessively concerned with appearance. There was always the possibility, however, that Gaius may have mistaken Libra for a woman. Robin secretly hoped that this was not the case, as Chrom almost did. Maribelle was always one for appearances, though Robin could hardly imagine someone like her willingly touching someone as unhygienic as Gaius. Cutting down his options, he finally managed to isolate the choice to one person who was always busy tidying up the place…
"Hey, Bubbles? You've been scratching your chin for a pretty long time. I'm beginning to think you're wishing for a beard or something."
Robin ran through his choices one more time before turning to Gaius. "I would guess it would be Cordelia? She is the only one walking around camp, cleaning up after others."
Gaius's face dropped to a frown, clearly showing disappointment. "Well, it never pays to bet against you." He reached into his pocket and threw Robin a white-and-red candy. "It's called a peppermint. They're pretty popular around Regna Ferox."
Robin and Vaike both laughed at the red-haired thief. "Well, ain't that a match made for life? It makes so lil' sense but makes so much more!" Vaike began to laugh even harder, with Robin trying to hold in his laughter. Needless to say, Gaius seemed relatively calm.
"Least I can get a girl. You two poor saps can't even get near one. As for you," he pointed at the tactician, "You almost got eaten by a wyvern the last time you tried."
"Oh Naga, not this again…"
Robin could almost guess what was coming next. He decided to take action before that question could come. "Speaking of that, how about you, Vaike? I'm pretty sure at least one of the fair ladies in the camp fell victim to your muscles."
Vaike guffawed a bit, before smiling gleefully to Robin. "Course that's true! Speakin' of Sully and such, I got to get in a fight with her!" He spoke the last bit with a great deal of pride. Robin couldn't help but feel confused.
"Vaike, fighting a woman is hardly the best way to court her. Then again, we are talking about Sully here."
"Damn straight! She's like no other woman like Teach has ever seen! Good ol' Vaike reckons that she was pretty impressed! We're gonna go out and keep at it a bit more and before ya know it, she'll be in Teach's arms!"
Robin grimaced. He was hoping Vaike would throw out a story of failure. There was still about a quarter of a mile to the village, leaving more than enough time for the other two Shepherds to interrogate Robin. No doubt that they were going to pester him about some asinine subject. Gaius started the questioning.
"So, Robin. I think you know what's coming up next." The thief looked over to Vaike, who was grinning in excitement. "I say since you've been asking us all these questions, it's our turn now. So who is it?"
Robin, having expecting this, replied tartly. "Like I keep saying, no one. I like to keep myself focused on the battle." The two looked at each other before raising their eyebrows towards the tactician.
"Robin, ya know that both Teach and Gaius think that's a load of pegasus dung. Even a lonely feller like you has a woman to fancy. You know that ol' sayin' or whatever? All great men have a nice lil' lady by their side!"
Robin raised his hands again. "Trust me, guys. I speak the truth and only the truth on these matters."
"That's not what we heard. After all, you seem to be going for that new wyvern rider, say what with you training and fighting with her." Gaius leered at Robin, knowing that he had trapped the tactician in a spot he would be hard-pressed to talk himself out of.
"Her name is Cherche, and I was simply doing what I do with all Shepherds." Robin tried his very best to remain composed. For some reason, he could feel himself faltering and hitting illogical mental barriers when speaking about her.
Before Gaius or Robin could talk, Vaike let out a load cry. "We've finally arrived! All that fallin' and talkin' paid off!" Gaius took a glance over at Robin, as if to say, "This isn't over." Putting aside the conversation, the three companions marched into the village.
It wasn't long before night had begun to fall on the village. In lieu of heading back to the camp for dinner, it was the general consensus of the Shepherds to dine over in the village. Gaius, Vaike, and Robin had run into Chrom and Ricken. According to Chrom, Sumia had opted to return to the camp with Cordelia to get some rest. As for Ricken, he was found wandering around the village with Lissa and Frederick. Upon meeting Chrom, Ricken decided to go along with the prince to meet up with the rest of the group.
The five entered a tavern on the outskirts of the town named The Screaming Dragon. Robin looked at the tavern's name with a slight amusement. He could hardly visualize Minerva screaming after having heard her bellowing roars in the past. As they entered the tavern, there were recognizable faces throughout the place. Stahl was conversing with Frederick while trying to get Lon'qu to talk. On the other side, Robin spotted Lissa and Maribelle talking with Miriel. Ricken stepped out in front of the group.
"Hey guys? I think I'm going to talk with Miriel and the others. I hardly get a chance to see her and could learn a whole load of new spells from her!" Robin nodded and waved his hand over to the youngster. With Ricken gone, Vaike had an uncomfortable smile plastered on his face.
"Well, well. Now that the youngster is gone, Teach is guessin' a lil' drinkin' contest is in order?" He looked from Robin to Chrom and finally to Gaius. The four men looked at one another before merely shrugging their shoulders. Chrom, however, was a little hesitant.
"I'm not so sure Sumia would want me absolutely out of my wits when I return to camp. I will merely have a mug or two and watch." Vaike nodded in consolation before turning to the other two.
"Well, both y'all have no excuses! Let's get started!" The warrior called over to the bartender who handed them four mugs filled with ale. Raising his mug, Vaike proposed a toast. "To our good leader and buddy, Chrom and Robin! May we all get some nice rest and women by the end of this big ol' war!" The men clanked their cups together before taking a swig of the ale. Chrom sat next to Robin, curious to see how his strategist would handle copious amounts of alcohol in his system.
One thing Chrom noticed was that Gaius was not a very good drinker. The thief was already turning as red as his hair and started showing signs of an addled man. As for Vaike and Robin, they both seemed to be going toe to toe. From Chrom's experience, Vaike was a champion drinker who prided in his ability to hold his drink. The only person to have bested him was surprisingly Frederick, who showed absolutely no signs of inebriation while Vaike was sprawled on the ground. Thankfully for most of them, Frederick was still occupied with Stahl. To his great concern, it seemed as if Frederick was still going around asking others about their opinions of his portrait of Chrom.
"That man…" Chrom could only place his head in his hands. "He honestly works too hard sometimes. I need to have another talk with Frederick sometime." The memory of Frederick clearing off a road he could've easily walked on and then proceeding to dust Robin was still fresh in his memory. Needless to say, Frederick did every action with pride. Chrom's only regret was that these actions often came with a great deal of embarrassment on his part. For now, he decided to push these matters from his mind.
As the men reached in for their second mugs, Chrom put his hands behind his head. He could focus on Frederick later. He knew this was going to be amusing.
Compared to Rosanne, Cherche generally found the village to be quite similar to her homeland. With the hills in view and a great deal of attention spent on flowers and trees, she almost felt as if she was back home. The place was quite beautiful at night, with the candles creating a nice luminescence around the streets. To her regret, she had to leave Minerva behind in front of the town, as she didn't want to risk scaring the townspeople or have them nearly eaten. She was confident that Minerva had enough self-control not to devour anyone walking past her.
She had initially entered town with Virion, though he had opted to leave early on the count that his groins still hurt from Flavia's brutal thrashing. For as much abuse Virion received from others for being a braggart or a coward, Cherche knew better than anyone else that this was hardly the case. When Rosanne came under siege from Valm, her lord had offered to give himself up in order to ensure that no one in Rosanne would be harmed. However, his knights firmly refused and rode out to combat, leaving her and Virion to decide what to do. From that point, it was determined that Virion was to escape while she would buy as much time for the people to embark off to Ylisse with him. In all her years of serving the man, she felt ashamed that she was unable to gauge how courageous he truly was.
It was her duty to protect Virion, and it was also her job to ensure that he never gave up on reclaiming Rosanne. If one's lord lost hope, it was only a matter of time before the other people did so too. She had not willingly entered his service, but she intended on serving her lord to the fullest extent. Of course, this was a secret she kept to herself. She knew others would scoff had she told them Virion was, in fact, a braver man than most warriors.
In Virion's absence, Cherche had decided to look around the town for possible things to give Minerva. She had seen a ribbon or two that she thought would've looked nice on her wyvern, though she hardly had the coin to afford such commodities at this time. Instead, Cherche had spent the day visiting armorers to repair her equipment and her axe. Her very first lesson as a knight was to constantly maintain her equipment. One who failed to even maintain his or her equipment had no business being a knight.
As she walked towards the center of the town, she spotted a figure walking from the distance. Upon closer inspection, she could tell it was Sumia. Soon enough, Sumia had noticed Cherche and waved excitedly towards her.
"Cherche! It's so nice to see you! What are you doing alone here?"
"It is nice to see you here too, Sumia. I was merely accompanying my lord, Virion, before he opted to go back to the camp. Naturally, I decided I should have a look around here." She smiled over to the pegasus knight.
Sumia offered her hand out to Cherche. "Well, it's always more fun to go with others! We were on our way back to the camp. Would you like to go with us?"
Cherche looked to the sky. True, it was turning to night quite quickly, and she was growing a bit tired. She smiled over to Sumia. "Very well. Thank you for you offer, Sumia."
The two began to walk off to the entrance of the village. As they continued on, Sumia began to speak. "So Cherche, how do you like it here so far? I certainly enjoyed my first days with the Shepherds."
Cherche smiled, "I certainly do enjoy it around here. I would've never expected such a strong bond between such a diverse group of people."
Sumia seemed to delighted by the answer. "That's wonderful! I knew you would like being here! I feel like you would get along with Cordelia quite well! You two act very much the same!" She turned to Cherche with her eyes filled with a gentle kindness.
"I can see what you mean. I notice that you two share a bond with your pegasi very much like the one I share with Minerva. I guess the differences aren't that distinct aside from my companion being a wyvern." Cherche giggled softly. "It must be nice, though, being the wife to the future exarch of Ylissse?"
Sumia blushed slightly, though maintained her smile. "It hardly matters whether he is exalt or not. I admire Chrom's character as well as his kindness. He may not admit it, but he really is a big softy inside." She then addressed the wyvern rider. "What of you, Cherche? Do you have anyone you care for?"
Cherche pondered the question for a few seconds. She was never terribly close to those back at Rosanne, though she was sworn to protect her lord. As for Virion, what she felt for that man was along the lines of two who trusted each other unconditionally. Sadly, she could not say the same for Virion's other servants, who all had reason to believe that Cherche was only protecting Virion for "ulterior" motives. In the end, Cherche had decided on her family.
"I do care for my family very much in Rosanne. It is my ultimate goal to ensure that they are safe and sound before any befalls them."
Sumia's smile slightly lowered before coming back even stronger. She held out a reassuring hand towards Cherche. "Don't worry about it. Within no time, we'll have Rosanne and your family back together with you. That is why we fight, after all. We do it so we may have a better future."
The two finally reached the entrance of the town, where Minerva was fast asleep. She turned to Sumia, who nodded her head and watched Cherche approach the wyvern. As she came closer, Cherche walked up to Minerva's ear and scratched behind it. While doing so, she whispered softly into her ear.
"Minervykins, it's time to wake up. We should get going so you can sleep near a warmer place."
Minerva began to move a little, her wings shifting back and forth. As the wyvern stretched her body, she opened her mouth and let out a rather loud purr. She scratched the ground with the talons before getting on her two feet and whipping her tail in excitement. Off to the side, Sumia was utterly astonished with what she had seen.
Cherche turned to Sumia, her hand still scratching the side of Minerva's ear. "She is quite beautiful, isn't she?"
Sumia seemed to grapple with words a little before she managed to speak. "O-of course. She is quite beautiful in her own ways. I would guess that she would think the same of her rider as well."
Cherche opened her mouth to reply before she was interrupted by the sound of the tavern door behind her opening. From within the tavern, she could hear a great deal of music and cheering from within. The smell of ale permeated throughout the air. Stumbling out of the tavern was a rather tall and muscular blonde man, supported by a blue-haired man. Off to the side, Sumia exclaimed excitedly at the man.
"Chrom! I was just on my way back to the camp. What happened to Vaike?" She seemed to be indicating the blonde man. Prince Chrom groaned before pointing to the tavern.
"Vaike, Robin, and Gaius decided to have a drinking match with predictable results. It was fun while it lasted, though Gaius passed out after the first round. I believe Ricken took him back with Maribelle and Lissa. As for Vaike…" He pushed the half-naked warrior over to the side. "Vaike doesn't seem to be getting up any time soon. Strange, really. I never expected Robin to best him." He turned to his wife with an apologetic look, "I hate to ask you, but Vaike is pretty heavy. Do you think you could help me with him?"
Sumia didn't seem to mind at all. "Of course not. Just bring him here…." The couple lifted the warrior to his feet with Chrom supporting Vaike, while Sumia carried his equipment. She turned to Cherche, "I'm sorry we couldn't talk much longer. I do hope to meet you again soon at camp!"
She waved off to Cherche, who returned the gesture, before turning towards the direction of the camp. As Chrom began to turn, he looked to Cherche as if remembering something important.
"I hate to burden you with this, but do you think you could take Robin out back to camp on Minerva? I believe it would be safe since he's ridden her before, and there's no one really left to take him."
Cherche seemed a bit befuddled by the request, but nonetheless accepted. He was her commander, after all. "Of course, my lord." Chrom waved off the gesture with his free hand.
"Don't mind the title at all. Just call me Chrom. In any case, thanks for helping out. I would talk more, but Vaike is starting to talk about women in his sleep." With that, the prince quickly turned to the direction his wife had gone off to and slowly walked over the hills before he too disappeared over to the other side.
Cherche watched with amusement as Chrom began to shuffle away. "What a peculiar man..."
Sighing to herself, Cherche slowly opened the door to the tavern, dreading what she would find on the other side. She began to feel as if she were back in Rosanne, retrieving Virion from one of his midnight trysts. As she entered, the sounds of lutes and lyres rang through her ears. The smell of fresh ale and stinking cheese hit her noises. With her senses overloaded, she was barely able to keep from audibly reacting to the tavern. She looked table to table, though after a few minutes she was unable to locate Robin.
"Where could he be? I remember he always wore that black robe…"
Her eyes finally managed to locate the solitary tactician. Robin was face down on the table, clearly passed out from the amount of drinking he had done. To his side, she could count at least seven jugs of ale. Cherche was mildly impressed; she never expected to see Robin as the drinking type. Bending down to Robin's ear, she talked into it.
"Robin, wake up." She shook his limp body. "Robin, wake up." Again, no response. Cherche knew what she had to do, though she was not so jubilant at the idea of dragging Robin to the front door. Placing his arm around her shoulder, she lifted the tactician with a heave and dragged him to the entrance. After what seemed to be a few minutes when in reality it only took ten seconds, she at least managed to get him out of the tavern. She softly laid him on the ground and turned to Minerva. Petting her head, she pointed to Robin and cupped her two hands to her mouth. The wyvern understood as she opened her mouth and let out a crippling screech.
Robin's eyes darted open as he instantly sat up and began to yell in a drunken stupor.
"WHAT HAAAS HAPPENNNNED?! ARE WE UNDER ATTAAAAACK?! GATHER THE CHILDREN AND TAKE THEM OUT OF HEREEEE!"
After panicking for a few moments, Robin looked up at Cherche, who was looking at him with mild interest. She looked at him before offering her hand.
"Robin, can you stand?" Her answer came as he attempted to lift himself, only to mutter and collapse on the ground. Cherche felt a little flicker of annoyance dash into her mind. Clearly, she hadn't anticipated Robin being this inebriated. She patted Minerva's head as the wyvern grabbed Robin by the back of his robe and placed him on her saddle. Cherche mounted Minerva as well, with Robin lying down with his body against her back. She pulled on Minerva's reins, as the wyvern took flight into the starry, starry night.
The flight was not as rapid or as exciting as the battle had been. Minerva flew at a steady pace with her wings beating against the flow of the wind. With each flap, Cherche's hair danced with the rhythm of flight. Raising her head, she took a moment to gaze at the night sky. It was adorned with many twinkling stars, with the occasional brighter ones forming the centers of great clusters. Back in Rosanne, Cherche was taught that each formation of stars was a great hero who was honored by having his or her soul among the stars. To her, the stars were not a random clump of lights in the skies. Rather, each one represented a part of a myth, a hero that told a story. It was very much akin to reading a novel in the skies. For this reason, Cherche fell in love with flying during the night with Minerva, where she would tell her stories whilst flying through the sea of stars.
Robin was still passed out, though he was able to thankfully keep a grip around Cherche's waist and not fall off. As she was not wearing armor, she could feel the heat of Robin's body touch her own. So long as he didn't tighten the grip, Cherche was ably to fly normally without any discomfort.
Cherche spotted the fires from the Shepherd's camp and flew into the hillside nearby. As Minerva slowed her pace down, her wings began to flap against the wind. After gradually lowering, she landed her talons on the blades of grass below and lowered her back. Cherche got off first before holding Robin on her back. Despite all her training, Robin was still quite heavy, and she was quickly forced to find a nearby tree to place him down on. Having finally placed the unconscious tactician down, Cherche exhaled deeply as the fatigue in her body seemed to finally take its toll. From the battle the day before to lugging around Robin's unconscious body, Cherche's body was far from energetic. Soon enough, she took a seat next to the tactician on the tree.
It almost seemed as if the night was never going to end, though Cherche didn't mind. She quite enjoyed gazing at the skies like this. She could sit here forever, never taking her gaze off the stars if the nights lasted for an eternity. Alas, the sun had to rise at some point in time every day thought that would not be for a while. Unfortunately, she had to return Robin to his tent. As she moved to stand, she felt a tugging force prevent her from lifting her legs.
"Eh?" Cherche looked down in astonishment to see Robin had grabbed onto her arm. She tried the shake her arm to no avail. Robin's grip only tightened the more she shook. Frowning, Cherche sat down to move him off of her arm. She brought over her right arm to push Robin away, though he didn't seem to budge. She looked to Minerva for help, though the wyvern seemed to be watching with interest at the scene and merely let out a brief snort. Narrowing her eyes, Cherche struggled with the tactician, who was now hugging her arm. Given no other options, she tried standing up, only to be pulled back down by sheer force.
"Don't…go…" Robin whispered out in his sleep, as if talking to an infant. For the first time since arriving from Rosanne, Cherche was truly surprised. Never in her life had she found herself in a situation like this. Moving around even more, she kept rotating her left arm which was beginning to feel numb from the amount of force Robin was hugging it with. As she felt herself reaching the end of her patience, Cherche closed her eyes and began to focus. She recalled the lessons that she was-
"Ah!" Cherche let out a small cry as Robin suddenly shifted his position and wrapped his arms around her body, his head resting on her shoulder. For this moment alone, Cherche regretted not wearing her armor. With all of her options depleted and a great deal of annoyance in her face, she lifted her hand and prepared to slap some sense into Robin. As her hand came down, Robin murmured.
"St-stop…Don't…die…" Cherche's hand stopped as her eyes widened at the tactician. She could feel his body beginning to shake as he continued to speak. "I can't….let you…..It's my…fault…"
Robin began to shake even harder, his voice beginning to crack. Cherche saw the faint forms of teardrops forming near the edges of his eyes. Out of nowhere, Robin began to yell even louder and started to tremble.
"No! Don't go!...Ch-chrom…Lissa….Cher-cherche!" Her eyes widened at the mention of her name. She understood Chrom and Lissa, but why her name? Did she leave such an impact on his psyche?
Tears began to fall from his eyes, falling down from his cheeks and dripping onto the grass below. "I…I don't want to be alone again…." His tearful plea ended with an inaudible whisper. Robin was completely broken down, a far cry from the tactician she had first met.
Cherche gazed at Robin. She was no longer looking at a tactician but a frightened child. He had unknowingly shown her his softest side, one that even the closest of friends might never see in their entire lifetimes. She suddenly recalled the talk of Robin's fear of sacrifice. Only now did she truly understand how much effect the weight of lives had on Robin. The man truly cared for those closest to him. Her eyes were still fixated upon Robin, who had begun shaking again like a shivering child. Her eyes softened as she took her right hand and began to stroke Robin's black hair.
"He truly isn't that much different from me..."
She whispered to Robin, "Hush, hush. Everything will be alright." She laid her head against the tree with Robin's head lying on her shoulder. Cherche gazed at the stars once again. She recalled her childhood memories when she would begin crying for fear of the dark. Her mother would rush in and open the windows for her to see the stars. As she would hold Cherche, her mother would tell her stories of the constellations. She let out a deep sigh and looked to Robin. Cherche gazed at the stars like a library to pick out one of the hundreds of stories she knew. To her left, she saw a cluster of two stars that the Rosanneans named the Phoenix and the Dragon. It also happened to be her favorite story. She looked back to Robin and began to slowly whisper to him.
"Many years ago, long before mankind stepped onto the world, there was a kingdom of phoenixes and a kingdom of dragons. The two had been at war with each other for thousands of years as they battled to rule the heavens. Among them, there was a beautiful crimson phoenix who had the most beautiful feathers in the world. It was said that her wings were like roses streaking through the sky. However, she was so beautiful that her father locked her in a tower so no other phoenix or dragon could take her away from him. On the other side, there was also an obsidian dragon, his scales as dark as the deepest depths of the night sky and son to the king of the dragons." She turned to look at Robin, who had quieted. Cherche continued with her story.
"Every night, the dragon would secretly fly out to meet the phoenix. As each meeting went by, the two eventually fell in love. The black dragon could not endure seeing his beloved locked away in a tower, so with his mighty breath, he destroyed her tower. The phoenix's father was enraged and sent out armies of them to search for her. Likewise, the dragons looked for the phoenix to capture her as a prize. Unknown to either of them, the black dragon had hidden with the phoenix in the stars where no living thing dared to look. After a year, the phoenix laid an egg which dropped to the world and from it hatched a creature that was neither phoenix nor dragon. However, both sides had seen the egg and thought it an abomination. They both wished it to be destroyed. Unable to bear seeing their own child killed, the phoenix and the dragon flew down from the heavens and shielded their child from the flames of both sides." Cherche took a deep breath, having talked for a quite a while. By this point, Robin had fallen fast asleep.
"The phoenix and the dragon both perished, but their child survived. Having seen the sacrifice that the two had made for their child, the phoenixes and dragons realized that in their blind fury for each other, they had destroyed that which they valued the most. Soon enough, the war was stopped. In honor of their sacrifice, the red phoenix and the black dragon were placed back home into the stars where their child could gaze upon them every night. They had done this so their family may never be separated. And that is the story of the first wyvern."
Cherche ended her story with a faint smile across her face. As she had remembered, it was the story that she so often loved to hear. While she was nowhere near the storyteller her mother was, she had managed to get Robin to calm down. She was equally as glad to see how quickly it had put Robin to sleep as well. The tactician was well and fast asleep to where not even Minerva could wake him. His head lay upon Cherche's shoulder and his arms were wrapped around her body. She could feel his breathing finally slowing down into a regular tempo and the warmth of his body against her own. She could feel some heat in her face, though she ignored it for the moment. Cherche turned to look at Robin's face, noticing some remnants of the tears left behind. She slowly lifted her hand and wiped them away from his eyes.
Cherche could feel fatigue at last setting in. Her body was unable to move without waking Robin in any case. After sitting for a while, she decided to sleep in the fields as she had done many times as a child. She turned her gaze to the sleepy wyvern reposed on the hill.
"Minerva, would you like to sleep in the fields tonight?" The wyvern purred soflty and slowly closed her eyes. Within moments, Cherche could hear the soft breaths of air from Minerva's nose blowing against the blades of grass. Soon enough, she felt sleep coming over her like a blanket and leaned her head against tree. As she closed her eyes, Cherche caught one last glimpse of the twinkling stars before dreams of Rosanne enveloped her conscience.