Did you think this was cancelled?! Heck no! I've been sitting with a break down for this chapter for the longest time but was having a hard time getting in the mojo for this story. Sorry about that! But! Here it is! Finally, some might say. I gotta say, after what's been going on in my other stories, coming back and writing for this one was fun, hahaha (not that writing the other two aren't fun!)

Anyways, enough about that. Hope you guys like this one! Remember to leave a review to let me know what you think and to follow and/or favorite the story if you really like it. Enjoy~


Panne II

"You keep denying it, but what happened made it very clear to all present, dear brother," said Aversa to Robin, who couldn't look more embarrassed, though he tried to play it off. If it weren't for his slightly red cheeks, now one would be able to tell. Panne hadn't thought about it until Robin mentioned it, but outside of taguel society, doing something like that could be interpreted as skinship between romantic partners, not equals. A strange notion for someone that grew up away from human society. In the warren, it was commonplace for her people to clean each other like that. Without any mirrors, they would do it as to save the others from the embarrassment of walking around with food on their face. It had no romantic implications whatsoever. It just showed a level of trusts between two individuals, nothing more, nothing less.

Since Robin had first showed up at her warren, he'd tried to learn more and more about the taguel. The man was always asking questions to satisfy his curiosity and to know of the proper way to act around them. As such, he quickly adapted to what would be expected in their society. He'd never gone as far as cleaning someone else's face like she had just moments before, but he could somehow blend in well within the warren that most thought of him as another taguel. And yet, for as much as he'd learned, he never preached what humans thought was right or wrong to them. He would often compare them when talking, but he never expected anyone to adapt to him, given that he was the one intruding on their territory. Even to that point, Panne knew very little about human society, which was troublesome for an event such as the Summit. She would be forced to interact with many humans from all over the known world, many of which had never seen a taguel before in their entire lives other than perhaps books. And even worse, she was out of her element. She was a fighter, not a political leader. She had the respect of her people, but making decisions that affected all of them on a scale greater than their own territory was a type of pressure she'd never been under nor did she desire.

"You should start learning about the taguel and manakete customs, Aversa," Robin scolded, shooting back a glare at the princess. "As the future queen of Plegia, you should learn some more about your people's culture. Plegia has become a diverse society, you know?"

"Father has you to deal with that," the older sibling retorted. "I will have you do the same when the time comes." She smirked as Robin kept on glaring at her. "And to make sure you stay, I will have you marry Tharja here. I'm sure you two will make each other very happy."

Yet another concept alien to Panne. Arranged marriages. Humans' family heads choosing marital partners for their offspring in order to gain power or stabilize tensions between two forces that could else find themselves in combat. It was a despicable concept. To marry anyone but the most suitable of mates was sacrilege. To make a warren stronger, taguel seeked out strong mates to have strong children with. That's the way nature intended it to be. And in the cases of same-sex partners, at least they would make each other stronger, and that on its own way was enough. Love was a great factor in it too, although to what extent it came into play varied from one to another.

Tharja looked exhilarated by just the possibility to the point of shivering. She turned her head down, having her bangs cover her eyes, but the grin on her face revealed what she was thinking. "I would gladly stay by your side," the girl said as she clutched her tome closer to her chest and then chuckled maliciously. It was no secret that the girl was fond of Robin. Everyone in the castle knew it… except for the man himself.

"Oh! Oh! Can I be one of your bridesmaids?" Nowi quickly asked, looking too excited for something that wasn't set in stone in first place. "I've never been to a human's wedding, but I've read a lot about them! It sounds like a lot of fun! Especially the thing with the cake."

Aversa ignored the manakete, continuing, "I won't judge her on her decision, but you two will have to discuss whether or not you can keep your playthings around after you exchange rings. Polygamy might be legal, but it is still frowned upon afterall."

"So you did learn from father… What a surprise," said Robin. "You are starting to sound a lot like him. I find it...unsettling. But enough of that!" He waved a hand as if physically dismissing the idea. "Father is healthy and I don't see that changing anytime soon. And I'll be damned if I were to let anyone else but me chose who I marry. I'll go into self exile if that ever happens."

That was one of the things that Panne admired about this particular human male. Despite his position, he would do things his own way. Instead of walking down the path others intended for him, he would do as he pleased. Though Aversa would nag and tease him from start to finish. And sometimes, like the few times that had already happened since they'd arrived at the party, that would include the taguel and the manakete too. Panne hadn't known the princess for long, but for some reason the topic of a romance between the fierce warrior and the tactician was a topic that came up over and over again, which caused many misunderstandings when word got around in her warren… And when Nowi kept yapping about it too, well, let's just say that a few asses had to be kicked for the rumors to stop.

After Aversa teased Robin enough to be satisfied, she decided to take her leave. Robin putting little to no fight must have bored her. The princess took Tharja with her to look for something more entertaining to do. Almost instantly, Robin let out the most defeating sigh Panned had heard from the man yet. It spoke volumes about his mental state if he had grown up with a sister like that for his whole life. Then again, given how strong he was, could it be that his sister was even stronger if he dared not challenge her…?

"Little girl with tongue of snake looking sad," Gregor commented after the two human females left, snapping Panne out to reality, something that didn't happen often. "Gregor thinking she wanting lovey-dovey relationship with Robin, yes?"

"Yeah, Robin, don't be so mean to Tharja!" Nowi piped in, puffing out her cheeks, her hands on her hips. "Think about her feelings too! She's a nice girl!"

"It isn't as if I was trying to be mean to her," Robin said defensively. "Aversa keeps trying to get us together, gods know why. I'm sure she is a good girl. I really do, but I can't help it when someone is forcing me to be close to her! Doesn't help that she would sneak around, following me at times and not giving any sort of explanation when I asked what she was trying to accomplish. Actually, she doesn't even talk to me other than to dismiss the conversation!"

"Robin be having many beautiful ladies around him like flower do the attracting to bees," Gregor said. "Some of Gregor be rubbing off on him! Ha!"

"You think too highly of yourself, merc," Panne said, frowning at the older man. "I've never seen you with a single woman at your side for as long as I've known you. I think that it, like many of your stories, is a figment of your imagination. I hear humans starting going senile when they reach a certain age."

"What is this with all the hurting of Gregor's feelings? Gregor always saying the truth! Why is bunny always so cold to dear old Gregor? What of friendship?"

"Okay, okay. That's enough, you two," Robin cut in as he stepped between them. "As pleased as I am that you turned the spotlight away from me, Panne, I hardly believe this is the time or place for this." Panne raised an eyebrow. She hadn't intended to switch the conversation towards Gregor to protect the Plegian prince. It'd just happened that way. She would've voiced this had he not spoken up again, snatching away the chance to correct him. "I can't have you two arguing, especially here of all places. We've already brought a lot of unwanted attention to ourselves with the princess' prank and all that." Panne looked around and, sure enough, some of the local nobles were staring in their direction. Whenever her eyes would connect with one of the bystanders, they would look away and pretend they hadn't been staring.

"Robin be doing with the paranoia," Gregor said. "People having many reasons to stare at us. Manakete and taguel not common sight in Ylisse. Mercenaries neither. Not in fancy parties unless big battle takes place."

"Fair point," said Robin as he rubbed his chin. "Perhaps we should split up then."

"What for?" Panned asked. "I am not bothered by people looking at me for being taguel. It's not the first time nor will it be the last."

Nowi shrugged her shoulder and then nodded in agreement. "Me neither. It's not like they are asking me to transform for them like those freaks did before. I bet I just have them charmed~" Somehow, Panne doubted that…Though there were some men that prefered someone with a more...undeveloped physic.

"In any case," Robin continued, "we came here to talk about keeping the peace. It would do us some good to introduce ourselves to more people around here. You know, mingle? If nothing else, to make acquaintances. That could serve as an advantage once the official talks begin tomorrow. Besides, meeting new people from different parts of the world is always interesting! Think of the stories they bring with them! You could learn a lot by just listening."

"What do you call what we've done thus far?" Panne asked, crossing her arms. "We've already introduced ourselves to the "major players" here, as your father called them. What's the point of going around and doing the same with others?"

Robin sighed, making Panne frown. "Yes, but if those were the only ones that mattered there wouldn't be this many people here. That's why the guild masters will be attending too. I wish the leader of the Fighters Guild from Ylisse would be here. You two would have that much to talk about." What he said was true. There had to be at least a hundred other people in the palace that had been invited that they'd yet introduce themselves too. But it was a bother… Had she known she would have to deal with all of this then she would have forced her brother to take her place. "I think we should split off and cover some ground. So far we've being going around as a group. It would be best if we try to divide and conquer."

Nowi laughed. "You make it sound like this is a fight!"

"It is a fight! The weapons are just different. Instead of steel, or stones in both of your cases, we use words and paper. Why don't you two go back inside and see who you can find? Gregor and I will take the courtyard, given that it's bigger and there are more and more people coming out here."

"Yes, sir!" Nowi mocked-saluted Robin before given her best impersonation of a marching soldier. Before she could get too far away, she turned their way again. "When should we regroup, sir?"

Robin chuckled. "The Exalt will be giving a speech inside sometime soon. We will meet at our assigned table after it. By then they will start serving dinner too. We can exchange intel then, got it soldier?" Was he really going along with it? Panne sighed as she watched the exchange, which ended when both of them exchanged the Plegian salute. In the end, she was dragged away by the greenette, who was eager to see who was taking the task way too seriously.

The hall was just as Robin had described it. Despite everyone making their way inside the palace through there, the foot traffic wasn't as bad as it was in the courtyard. In Panne's case, she regretted going back in there. The echoing sound of footsteps, chatter, and clinking of glasses was deafening. She could endure it. If she could only focus on one thing, then she would be fine. The easiest and closest thing? Nowi. From the ruffling of her cape to the sound of her bouncing steps, Panne focused her full attention on her. Doing so would also keep others from approaching her, at least. Nowi was into the scenario Robin had built, but the taguel was far from it. As they continued to navigate through the flood of people, they came to a stop when two familiar faces crossed their paths.

"Ah, what do we have here?" The flamboyant man said. "The two exquisite beauties making their way around without any escort to speak of? My! And here I thought lord Robin would be keeping a close eye on the both of you. But his loss is my gain! How do you fare, miladies?"

"Oh, it's the Duke!" Nowi turned to look at Panne to confirm it. "Wait, we spoke with him already. Does this count?"

"You wound me, milady!" The man feign pain as he clutched his shirt over his heart and made a hurt face. "Though I am glad to hear that you remember who I am. And you, lady Panne, I am most overjoyed to see you." The man somehow had gotten hold of her right hand and gently, but firmly, brought it up until it contacted with his lips- Wait! Had he just…?! She immediately pulled her hand back, balling it into a fist, ready to strike. Her actions took the other three by surprise, who eyed her with all their attention.

"Who do you think you are to do such a thing?" Panne asked, full of fury, though she controlled the volume of her voice. "Do you think yourself strong enough to claim me for your own, man-spawn?" If what the man wanted was a challenge, then he got it! The man had guts, to do such a thing in a crowded place meant to be all about peace.

"W-Wait! Please, milady!" The man waved his hands in front of him as he took a step back. "There has to be a misunderstanding! That clearly didn't mean the same to you as it did to me."

"In Rosanne, a man kisses the back of a woman's hand when he fancies her or thinks of her as an equal or of more renown than himself," the pink haired woman, Cherche, explained. For a bodyguard, she looked pleased to see her leash in a bad position. She didn't look like she would intervene at all if a fight were to start.

"Panne, maybe we should go talk to some other people," Nowi said as she reached for the warrior's hand either to calm her down or to prevent a fist from flying at the Duke. Panne huffed, keeping a close eye on Viroin as she was lead away by an apologetic Nowi. "Sorry about that! Hope we can talk some other time!" Gods, she hated this...


Little hints here and there about what the taguel are like. I'm basing a lot of this stuff out of things that pop into my head. I have no idea how accurate they might or might not be!

Because of how this story works, I want to know some of the things you guys might be interested in seeing. I'm not promising that I'll include all of the ideas you guys bring me, but if I find something interesting I'll make sure to make a chapter about it. You can suggest pairings too. I know it's hard when not a lot of characters have been introduced yet, but let's see what you guys were thinking. I don't have any pairings set in stone just yet myself.

Reviews!

potatoman098 -I completely agree. I really like being able to come up with entirely new ideas from the ground up for a group of characters we all know and love. It makes it easier to explore things that never got explained on the games, plus, it's just fun! The only down side is that you can't rely on a per-written set of events that you can use to pull yourself through writer's block. Good guy Validar is just misunderstood...maybe? I don't know why I keep thinking of him as Francis Underwood from House of Cards lol. Oh, for sure. There will be fighting. The scale of it will be most likely smaller unless things take a sour turn and a new war starts. I think I only have two more characters that I have to figure out how to bring in. All in all, not too bad. Once the second day starts, which will begin in one or two more chapters, we will get the second influx of characters show up. And thanks! I'm glad you are enjoying the story so far!

EVmeatdrummer98 -What's better than an embarrassed Robin after an awkward situation? Having everyone see it and misinterpret it, of course! This didn't come anywhere near "soon", but I hope you still read it .

Rihan K.A -I hadn't thought about people searching for stories that way, now that you bring it up. I honestly chose those four for different reasons (Gregor and Phila mainly because there are no stories about them at all!) I'll see how it goes once I replace one of those names for Robin. For the summary, I changed it to see how that does. Who knows? Might see a lot more views now? I hope so! The politics are what made me love shows like House of Cards and books like ASoI&F. I'm not saying that this story will get to those levels, especially when the rating is K+ (could change to T if need be,) but I do want to have dramatic moments like in those without having character get into a sword fight. As for the future generations, I'm not sure. I don't see how they would fit in. Then again, it could be that they landed on this peaceful timeline and don't know what the heck is going on haha! Check my profile again for Uncertain Times. I made it going off of that idea, though they aren't heading to Ylisse any time soon. Also, rated M, for a change... Read at your own risk?