Marth could see the incoming blow from the assassin; with little time left to dodge it, he tried to jump back in order to avoid the blow, but the sword of the previously killed assassin made him slip and only the tip of the sword touched his mask, shattering it in two.
After that, Chrom charged at the assassin and killed him before he could strike back at Marth. When he turned to see if Marth was ok, he saw that Marth was in fact a woman, her long blue hair flowing free now.
The lord gulped and stated the obvious, "You're a woman? Then I suspect your name is not Marth either."
Marth chuckled and stroked her long hair before answering, "And quite the actress too. Seriously, you didn't have any clue about this!"
'Somehow she reminds me of Sumia… but that's not even possible! … I'm more confused right now… I need to speak with her someday…' Robin thought as he saw the woman talking to Chrom, suddenly fighting noises came from inside the castle. "Emmeryn is not out of danger yet! There are assassins still in there! We have to signal the nearby Shepherds of the attack!" he said.
Chrom gasped and hurried back inside the castle halls, trying to make it in time to Emmeryn's room. For his luck, the assassins hadn't reached her yet.
"Emm? Are you all right? There are assassins from Plegia trying to kill you! We must remain vigilant and protect you!" Chrom told his sister, then looking at Robin he said, "We must protect my sister until the pegasus knights arrive."
Robin stood silent for a minute and then started to look around him. "This is a good spot for a defensive stance. We can assign Shepherds in every door to prevent them from entering the main room", he said.
The tactician gave his instructions to every available Shepherd to cover every door, leaving Marth and Chrom to defend the main gate where Emmeryn's room was. As Robin planned their next moves, a hand posed on his shoulder, making him freeze with fear.
The tactician expected an assassin trying to kill him; instead, a tall soldier clad in a yellow armor was smiling at him. The soldier's face had a gentle look as he had his eyes closed.
Robin gulped, "I-I… err, who are you? I don't remember seeing you in the war meetings or, you know, seeing you at all…" and asked, still wary of the soldier.
"My name is Kellam, sir. I've been with you since the attack on the village…" he said with a sad look on his face, causing Robin to doubt even more.
"I know I'm easy to miss. I've been trying to talk to you, but every time I tried you walked away muttering something about water".
Robin was perplexed, "So the times when I found water on my desk… you put those glasses there?" he asked. Kellam smiled and nodded happily.
The tactician expected him to complain about the tactician carelessness; then again, he felt that he was a kind soul, ready to help. The tactician smiled and nodded, indicating Kellam that he was going to support both Marth and Chrom near the door, meanwhile Robin, Frederick and Lissa blocked the other door.
Robin understood that the rest of the Shepherds were in town buying some supplies for the barracks, so he tried to use the people the best he could.
A signal horn could be heard in the distance. Some of the invading warriors started to ransack the place, trying to block some of the escape routes for Emmeryn to flee; the only thing they didn't see coming was that the Shepherds covered the Exalt's room entryway.
They repelled the firs impact force, a small contingent of soldiers tried to make their way to the halls and attacked the prince. Chrom and Marth waited for them to attack and killed them as soon as they reached the main doors.
The other door was more or less challenging because archers aimed to kill them too. However, Robin had a protective wall in front of them, preventing the arrows from hitting them. Soldiers came near the door, but Frederick put them down with ease.
After a couple of enemy waves, the Plegian reinforcements arrived. "Their numbers are getting thin. We must push back now to exterminate them as quickly as we can." Chrom told his companions, as they got ready for the final push.
An explosion made them look at the castle's main entry. A mage wearing a black vest like a master wizard approached them; his gaze was fixed on Robin. The black mage stood still for a minute before saying, "Ha! Every piece is on the board now, all is going according to plan… now we must end the Exalt's life and all will be alright!"
As the wizard approached, he saw Marth in the distance helping Chrom and the others preventing the assassination of the Exalt. The mage clenched his fists as he pointed towards Marth.
"You should not be here. You DON'T belong here!" the black mage snarled and signaled his men to proceed, "Kill the Exalt, bring me the Fire Emblem and bring the other dogs to sacrifice them", he said.
Frederick grunted at those words, "Damned Grimleals! Those sons of a bitch are still trying to resurrect their master?!" he said fending more Plegian soldiers.
Robin was angry of the unnecessary violence and human sacrifices, but after spotting a shadow going into Emmeryn's room, he ran inside as he left Frederick and Lissa in charge of securing the door.
When the tactician got in the room, he saw an assassin lying on the floor death, on his side was a giant claw shaped mark. Emmeryn was fine and a woman at her side was inspecting the place so no more assassins would emerge from the shadows.
The tactician stood confused by the looks of the woman; she had a human body along bunny with ears; all in her screamed rabbit. However, she also looked like a proud warrior, so Robin tried to do his best to avoid angering the woman.
As he approached to the woman, he held a glowing stone in her hand. "Do not come closer, human! I will defend myself if I have to!" she threatened.
"Your Exalt is alright, man-spawn! You should focus on the task at hand!" the rabbit woman said, Emmeryn nodded in agreement, "Yes, Robin, don't worry about me. I'm fine…" she said.
Sensing no real danger from the rabbit woman, the tactician retreated slowly to the door where the others were still holding back the aggressors.
000
At the same time, Chrom saw a stray thief mumbling something, "How can we kill that sweet lady. She hasn't done anything to us!" Chrom carefully approached the thief, surprising him as he threw his weapon away.
"Who are you? Are you with those scumbags that are trying to kill my sister?" Chrom asked, pointing his sword at the thief's neck.
"N-No milord. You see, I'm not a killer. I'm just a simple thief hired to find some emblem, or anything of value! My name is Gaius and I'm not a Plegian soldier, I was hired to do what they told me, but after hearing the order that wretched bastard Validar gave to us… well, let's say I'm a freelancer." the thief said before Chrom lowered his weapon.
Chrom sighed. That thief could be lying however he had no proves. He thought of a way of helping the man in front of him, "How much for your services Gaius?" Chrom asked.
"You have to consider it back, milord. My prices are high and I don't want to take away the gold from your treasury?" the thief answered as Chrom raised his arm to scratch his forehead causing a bag full of candies to fall off his belt.
Gaius' eyes lighted and smiled, "I'll take those candies and we'll have a deal! I'll work for you!" he said. Chrom was confused and asked why.
"I like gold like anybody… but candies are the best payment for a man who knows his desserts!" Gaius smiled. Chrom just sighed and agreed, hoping he would not regret this 'contract'.
000
After Robin secured Emmeryn's room, he saw the black mage approaching the door while Frederick and Lissa stood patiently waiting to attack the mage. Validar grinned with malevolence, casting a force spell that pinned both Shepherds to the wall, restraining them and leaving him to fight one on one with Robin.
"You! I had lost all hope of finding you. After all these years… If you join me now I'll forgive the lives of your friends and I will let them go", Validar said, as a sinister grin appeared over his face, making Robin wary and confused about the man's true intentions.
"Who are you? I don't remember meeting you anywhere!" Robin said as his hands shone with a spell that he started to charge.
"It matters little if you remember me, boy. Know this though; I, the great black mage Validar, will vanquish the Ylissean kingdom! Fight now or later… you will die by your own hand!" the black mage said as he too charged a spell to counterattack Robin.
Both wizards started to circle each other; Validar wanted the Emblem for dark purposes and Robin wanted peace in Ylisse. As they summoned their most powerful magic, their spells clashed creating an energy vortex that destroyed everything it touched.
As the battle dragged on, Validar controlled the flow of battle and seemed to enjoy Robin's efforts trying to repel him, "Surrender! You can do nothing against the might of Grima… you have no power against me!" he said, "This was destined to happen before you were even born! This is your fate!"
Robin was getting tired as the battle dragged on. The display of power from his part made him realize that his magic skills were still too undeveloped compared to Validar's magic. The black mage laughed maniacally, strengthening his spell causing the tactician to kneel and pant from exhaustion.
At some point, Validar was distracted when he noticed that his soldiers were being annihilated and soon he would have to run. 'Damnit! I was so close in achieving my objective! I have to take this fool with me…' he thought.
Robin made use of those sloppy seconds and broke his spell and unsheathing his sword, he charged to the black mage, stabbing him in the chest. "I'll challenge my fate!" Robin yelled after stabbing Validar's heart.
Validar screamed with agony and falling to the ground, he yelled, "NOOOOOO! This wasn't supposed to happen! I cannot die here!" as he disappeared in the middle of a purple mist.
After Validar disappeared and the rest of the Plegian soldiers escaped Chrom and Marth ran towards Robin, who was exhausted and crouching, panting near the point of unconsciousness. Chrom hurried his way, but when he arrived, the tactician fell unconscious.
Lissa looked concerned, "Chrom? Is he okay?" she asked. Chrom shook his head and told Frederick to help him carry Robin towards his room while the chaos in the castle settled.
000
A couple of hours later Robin woke up to find himself on the bed in his room. Everything was blurry to him and he could make a couple of shadows in front of him.
"My lord, I think he exhausted his magic power. That caused the loss of consciousness and as he fell to the floor, he hit his head getting a contusion." Miriel said writing everything she could think about Robin's condition.
Robin rubbed his eyes attempting to clear his view; he clearly saw Chrom and Miriel looking back at him. The tactician felt exhausted and hungry, but none of that mattered to him because of what happened back there: his fight with Validar.
"I didn't knew you were a doctor, milady Miriel… you are full of surprises!" the tactician said, trying to make a joke but the mage just nodded and continued writing.
"I'm not. I'm just a mage like you so I can tell when someone is exhausted for overuse of their magical energy. Just like what you did before. Try to be more careful in the future, if not we will have to find a better use for use", Miriel said.
Chrom approached Robin and looked towards the sorcerer, "Leave us Miriel. Go find my big sister and tell her we will talk soon. I want to discuss somethings with our tactician."
Miriel nodded and went through the door. Once the mage was gone, Chrom gave his hand to Robin for him to stand up.
"Robin, what happened back there? Why did that mage know you? Could you be related in any way to him?" Chrom asked concerned, while Robin scratched his head with confusion.
"Augh! My head… I-I don't know what to say Chrom. You know I lost my memory and if I knew that 'Validar' then that means I was one of his black mages" Robin told him, "But if I was one of them, then why I was on that field that day! Nothing he said had sense… I-I'm confused about this, too."
Chrom had some relief with that explanation, but he could not shake the idea of Robin being manipulated and brainwashed by Validar. "Come then Robin, we must meet my sister and see if she is unharmed. Then we can figure something out of this mess and the true intentions of the Mad King for trying to kill my sister".
Robin didn't like it either, the thought of being one of the Grimleals made him sick, but deep inside, he knew that Validar had something to do with the rest of his lost memories.
The words he said 'even before you were born' caused him grief, not because he could know things of his past but because he despised the idea of being part of the Grimleals.
000
Once Chrom and Robin arrived at Emmeryn's room, they could see she was shocked by the recent events, the last thing she wanted was a war to come into her kingdom because the people were living in peace after her father's tyranny. Chrom was desperately trying to find a solution until finally an idea came to him.
"Because of today's events, I have a plan: Emmeryn, we will hide you in the western castle, near the mountain path. That's a secluded location and no one knows where it is!" Chrom said, looking with hope at her sister, but she wasn't convinced with the idea.
"I can't leave my people to protect myself! What kind of Exalt would I be if I abandon them? No Chrom I'm sorry, but I can't… not after all they have suffered…" Emmeryn replied tearfully. Lissa approached her sister and held her in a hug while she sobbed.
Robin watched all this and thought of a way to take Emmeryn to the castle while they dealt with Grangrel, but every way he imagined clashed with the Exalt's ideals.
Finally, the tactician sighed and said the very first thing that came to his mind, "My lady, we will take you to the western castle a couple of days. In the meantime, we will stay here in the castle to protect the people and after we measure the risks, we will come for you to deal with the Mad King. If you stay here for too long other assassins will come or the Mad King himself will come with his army and we'll have trouble fending hill off."
A single pegasus knight was there; her name was Phila, she was in charge of the personal guard of the Exalt and she was the captain of the pegasus knights. She got to the castle as soon as the battle ended and found the Exalt unharmed, she apologized to her because she wasn't there when the attack started.
"My lady, I suggest we proceed soon. There's no guarantee, as Robin said, that you would not be attacked again, or that this castle is as safe as we think", Phila said.
Emmeryn tearfully agreed and said that she needed some time to prepare herself for the journey. The next morning was the day they would march towards the hidden castle and wait until they could defeat Grangrel, in the meantime the Shepherds adjourned and returned to duty.
As they got out of the hall, Chrom looked everywhere for Marth, but after achieving victory she disappeared. The lord was walking thought the courtyard and saw Marth walking away.
"Wait up, please!" Chrom yelled and Marth looked at the lord. "I wanted to thank you for helping us repelling the assault. If I can do something for you, just name it, I'm in your debt for saving my sister!"
The blue haired woman smiled, looking up at the sky. "There's nothing I want. Stopping the doomed future to start is the only thing I cared for, now that one of the events that could lead to that path have been averted, we have nothing to worry about", she said.
"But, are you sure that is the only thing that made you want to help us?"
Marth looked back at Chrom and answered, "Yes, I have other reasons to help you… but they must remain a secret if we can stop the future to happen. I bid you goodbye, milord. Until we met again!"
Marth parted with those words and Chrom stood there, watching as she left the castle, then he returned to Emmeryn's room where the rabbit woman was. Emmeryn talked to her while Robin was listening and writing something on his book.
"I thank you for helping me! I know you didn't have to, but I'm glad to meet you. My name is Emmeryn, I'm the current Exalt of Ylisse", Emmeryn said to the rabbit woman. Chrom was confused by the looks of that woman.
"Chrom, she is a Taguel. She belongs to a race of shape-shifters from distant lands. Our father banned them because he didn't share their views of peace and mutual understanding", Emmeryn explained to him but the woman grunted with disdain.
"My name is Panne. I am the last of the Taguel after your race brought us to extinction years ago… after all those battles my people lost faith in humanity and left for the distant lands in the east." she said causing Emmeryn to gasp.
"I-I had no idea of the pain you were put thought! I-I thought you were only banned from Ylisse. To think you people were killed near extinction… I apologize for… ", the Exalt said, but Panne cut her short.
"I don't want an apology from you! I just came to honor the alliance the humans and Taguels had for centuries… but I don't hold a grudge against you, because you were not the ones that killed my people." she said.
Chrom felt her pain after hearing that, for her to be the last of her kind was terrible. "Emm, what shall we do?" he asked as Emmeryn asked Robin to fetch Kellam back to her.
As the Robin and Kellam returned to the room, the Exalt said, "Kellam guide her to one of our rooms in the barracks. We need fine soldiers and she would be a great addition to our campaign. She won't be alone anymore; I want you to treat her as one of us."
"I thank you, your highness. I will help your army until the day I can avenge my fallen comrades." Panne said as she approached Kellam. "Nice to meet you, man-spawn" she said.
The tall soldier smiled for being spotted and took Panne with him. Robin was thinking in a way to help her, but the only option he could think of was procreation. 'I don't think that is a good idea… I mean, she may kill me if I approach her. It's best if I can find another means to help her' he thought.
"I think we need to rest for our journey tomorrow. Your highness, I bid you good night." Robin said exiting the room. The Exalt smiled and wished him a good night; Chrom stood still for a minute and then hugged his sister.
"I thought I'll lose you! I don't want you to go… I don't want my family to be torn again because of a war…" the lord said.
Emmeryn smiled and hugged him back. "My dear little brother, I won't go away from you… I promise!"
000
The next morning a small contingent of soldiers along with the Shepherds started to march towards the secluded castle, this had only one purpose: to protect the Exalt if the Mad King decided to strike back. A friend of house Ylisse suggested they travel across the mountains because the rough terrain would cover their tracks and was the safest and fastest route to the castle.
Along the way they were surprised by a small Plegian battalion, they positioned along the chasm surrounding the mountains making it impossible to flee. The emissary of house Ylisse started to sweat profusely as Chrom asked him what happened.
"N-nothing my lord, it's just that these patrols are here and this route is the safest!" the emissary said. Chrom looked at Robin and nodded for him to plan something ahead of time.
"You're right; someone must have given them the signal we may come this way. But they won't delay our efforts now!" Chrom said just as Robin approached them.
"We have the Exalt with us. A formation behind us will cover them while we dispatch the soldiers", the tactician said, "I suggest Sully, Vaike, Virion, Panne, Miriel, Lon' qu and Maribelle to stay and guard her, they all have a high defensive power." Robin told them as they formed a circle around Emmeryn.
"Meanwhile, You, Sumia, Lissa, Frederick, Ricken and me to cover the front lines. Stahl, Gaius and Kellam will guard the mountain's base and will scout if someone approaches from any other direction. And of course you, emissary, will stay with the Exalt." he said as they made a line in front of the other Shepherds.
The Shepherds gathered and prepared for the coming battalion in the front, but he sounds of screams coming from the mountains distracted them for a second.
A small looking girl was running away of an old looking man. The girl was scared to death as the man approached her. "Don't come near me old man! I have a rock and I plan to use it!" she said.
The man stopped as she said this, "Old man? Gregor is no old man. I only wanted to protect you, but you kicked Gregor in groin and other parts he would not say." he said making a sad face.
Robin saw this and thought of a way to bring the little lady with them. He saw as Sumia was looking at Chrom with a blush on her cheeks, fidgeting with her armor as if she wanted to say something to Chrom.
"Sumia, do you think that you can pair with Chrom and fetch that lady? I would not ask for this, but you are our only flying unit. Please?" the tactician said, causing Sumia's blush to deepen.
"O-of course!" the embarrassed pegasus knight yelled and helped Chrom to get up her horse. "We will return quickly!" she said.
Once both Sumia and Chrom approached them, the lord drew his sword and pointed it at Gregor, "Leave that maiden alone, you pervert!" he said.
Gregor lifted his hands and said, "Gregor don't want to hurt her. Gregor only wanted to help her, but little lady got scared of Gregor and fled before I could say my name."
The little girl was nearly crying, "I'm tired of men chasing after me! I had enough of them when they made me transform into a dragon a do tricks for them!"
Chrom frowned and looked at the small girl, "A dragon? Are you a manakete? But you are so young for that! The other manakete we know is Lady Tiki… but we haven't seen her for a long time now."
The little girl smiled and nodded, "I'm not a child, my name is Nowi and I have a thousand and something years! After the first centuries, one loses count of the years!" she said.
Sumia saw as the battalion approached more and more the formation in which Robin was launching spells delaying their arrival, "Can we do this latter? There are more urgent matters than this!" the pegasus rider said.
Chrom nodded and offered his hand to Nowi as they got up Sumia's horse. He then looked at Gregor and said, "I will assume you don't want to harm her, so what are you after?"
Gregor grinned, "Me? Gregor is mercenary, but if you let me work for you, I will give you a discount! Gregor just want to protect small girl!" he said, causing Nowi to blush and to frown.
"I'm not a child gramps!" the manakete said.
Chrom agreed to bring him up and then the four of them returned to the formation were Robin was fending arrows away as he casted some spell with the help of Ricken and Miriel.
The tactician assigned Gregor to the protective formation as Nowi transformed into a dragon and helped Robin repel the incoming arrows of the Plegian archers.
Plegian soldiers charged at the defensive barrier Robin planned, clashing weapons with the five warriors standing in their way as Nowi flew into the air, sending fireballs at the archers while the rest fought on land. The battalion was small but their attacks made them recoil at each strike.
Robin saw the opportunity and signaled Frederick to use staves to pierce their armors while Chrom and Lissa charged at them, stopping them from entering the formation.
Robin and Ricken charged their spells and launched them to the long range soldiers coming their way, cutting the remaining reinforces short and burning them. A group of soldiers descended from the mountain and tried to surprise them, charging at them faster than they expected.
Maribelle was charging a spell while Sully, Vaike and Panne stopped them from surrounding and attacking Emmeryn. Virion and Maribelle were launching long-range attacks to the remaining soldiers, but some of their spells were reflected by the Plegian mages.
The Valkyrie didn't finish her spell when a soldier jumped and tried to stab her; but a quick slash from Lon' qu's katana prevented this. Maribelle was concerned that the soldier made a small cut on Lon' qu's face.
"Let me help you!" she said, but Lon' qu backed away nervously and sweating, "Don't come near woman" he said. Maribelle sighed.
When every attacking soldier was dispatched, the exhausted Shepherds celebrated and continued a couple of hours more to camp at some point in the mountain.
000
At night and near the fire, the Shepherds gathered to eat supper. They have pretty much banned Sully from cooking after she made a stew and everyone went unconscious. Of course, she said that wasn't her fault. Still, everyone feared when she went near the kitchen.
Robin was smiling at Sumia and Chrom; she gave him as a dessert a pie of rhubarb-and-fiddlehead, Chrom was looking at her nervously and backing away from the pie the auburn-haired girl tried to give him.
Chrom always complained about how much he hated rhubarb, especially when Sully cooked it wrong and everybody got the urges. He pushed back that memory and ate it, giving a smile of satisfaction to Sumia who was cleaning some of the army's smallclothes. When he finished eating, he approached her, "Thank you Sumia that was the best pie I have ever eaten…" he got close and gave her a small kiss on her cheeks.
Robin helped Sumia cook some of those pies, but after fifteen failed pies he had eaten, Frederick added more training to his schedule until he 'sweated pies'. The tactician was pleased to see such peace within the Shepherds even when there was a war.
Maribelle was trying to get near Lon' qu, but the proud warrior ran every time she got near to thank him for helping her earlier, while Nowi, on Gregor's shoulders, laughed at them.
Vaike was showing off his muscles to Sully, but the cavalier was laughing at him; they decided to spar a while after eating supper. Both of them looked like they were having fun.
Chrom and Lissa sat in front of him, smiling at the tactician. "You have become such a fine tactician Robin. I don't have doubts anymore, you deserve your position and your place here with us", Chrom said along as the rest of the Shepherds nodded at him.
Robin smiled, "I will work harder so you don't lose that trust in me!" he said as Emmeryn as well as Phila approached him. Robin stood up and bowed at her.
"Robin, you have my trust and I hope you stay with us for a long time. You have proven to deserve a place with the pegasus knights!" Phila said making Robin blush at the praise from the woman.
The Exalt smiled and ruffled his silver-blonde hair. All the Shepherds laughed because Robin blushed even more.
000
After a couple of days they were getting near the hidden castle, Robin was wary of the lack of sound in the environment. At the base of the mountain, near the end of the great chasm of Ylisse, a man with a white flag appeared.
The Shepherds stopped as the emissary ran to the man with the flag. "They have the emblem with them! I know their tactical disadvantages they have… you must fulfill your end of the bargain!" he said.
The man with the flag smiled and drew his sword, "Good job, now prepare to meet Naga!" The emissary got on his knees and pleaded for his life, but the Plegian mercenary beheaded him.
The Shepherds heard a horn of alarm sounding across the mountains. As it sounded, wyvern riders appeared and horse riders came down the base of the mountain. Archers polluted the entrance of the secret path to the castle and combat soldiers started to march towards them.
Robin was caught by surprise as the leader of the small army said, "Give us the Emblem and you will be executed nicely. Refuse and we will slaughter the men first and have our way with the women! Either way, you will not let this mountain alive!"
The tactician thought of a way to prevent the Plegian army to kill them. He told Sumia to cover the rear flank with Sully, Maribelle and Lissa, then he signaled Vaike, Gaius and Kellam to cover the sides for ambushes and Virion to kill at long range and cover Emmeryn along with Lon' qu and the group of Pegasus knights lead by Phila. Frederick, Chrom and he would try to stop the soldiers on foot while Miriel and Ricken took care of the horse riders.
The army clashed with them, trying to get to the Emblem. The archers covered the sky with arrows, but as soon as the arrows reached their position, Ricken and Robin burned them as Miriel casted thunders on the archers. The wyvern riders attacked Lon' qu with their mandibles; however the warrior threw the rider to the ground with his weapon while Virion dispatched the wyvern.
Maribelle helped Lon' qu healing him after he fought with the wyverns, while Lissa and Sumia repelled the incoming horse riders. Phila commanded her forces to stop the soldiers coming down from the mountains.
Little by little, the Plegian forces thinned and the commander blew the horn again, calling for reinforcements. The Plegian commander expected a whole garrison of soldiers; instead, a lone pegasus knight appeared, hurrying to get near the Shepherds.
Phila noticed who the woman was and said to her once she got close enough, "Cordelia? What are you doing out here?! You were supposed to be with you unit down south?" she said.
Robin's head came up when she said her name, and from her look she was the woman of her dream, however, Robin focused on the battle and said, "Cordelia?"
Phila turned her head towards the tactician and answered, "Yes, she is one of the youngest recruits of the pegasus knights. But she is assigned to another part of the army, so why are you here Cordelia?"
The young Pegasus rider saluted her and answered, "Captain, my comrades in the rear lines told me to come and tell you that reinforcements are coming from the south and that an army is approaching Ylisse! They will arrive in less than a week!"
Emmeryn gasped at the news, but she could not move because they were still fighting. Phila analyzed the information and said, "So the other stayed behind for you to relay the message".
Cordelia nodded and looked sadly at her Captain. Phila sighed and assigned her to the front lines now that the archers were all dispatched.
When Cordelia arrived near Chrom, she blushed deeply, trying to concentrate in the remaining forces. Cordelia had the same effect with Robin because he had a deep blush on his cheeks.
The leader of the assault came near them, and with a crossbow he started to shoot bolts at them; Frederick grabbed Chrom and covered him behind his shield. Cordelia saw as a bolt flew her way burning and turning to ashes; Robin prevented the hit, earning a smile from the red-haired beauty.
As Robin lost his focus after the redheaded girl smiled at him, the Plegian leader continued launching bolts and Cordelia grabbed as soon as she saw the arrows heading to Robin, lifted him into the air.
"Now we're even." she said with a warm smile.
Robin was nervous because he was so close to the Pegasus knight that he could smell the lilac in her hair. "Let me fall down to finish him, then we can introduce ourselves." he said, but Cordelia frowned at him.
"Are you crazy, sir? At this altitude you will die!" she said. Robin smiled and assured her that he won't die so easily.
When Cordelia let him fall, the tactician readied his sword and a spell tome. "Let's tip the scales" he said and threw his sword at the Plegian soldier stabbing him thought his head. After that, the tactician casted a spell that lifted him before touching the ground. "Elwind!" he yelled and landed softly next to Chrom.
"Wow! That was awesome, Robin!" Lissa said as she jumped exited.
"Looking for someone to notice you, don't you?" Maribelle and Sully said at the same thing, causing Robin to blush again.
After the battle, Cordelia landed and dismounted her pegasi, making her way towards Phila and bowing to the Exalt and to Chrom.
"Your worship, we have reports that a large force is being displayed towards Ylisse. Plegia is marching to the capital and will arrive in less than a week", Phila said to a grim looking Emmeryn.
"I knew I should not leave my people alone!" the Exalt said, but Chrom assured her that it was not her fault.
Emmeryn smiled and took the Fire Emblem out and gave it to Chrom. "My brother, I will entrust you with this. You must take care of it while I return to Ylisse and strike a deal with Grangrel… If I fail, at least he will not have the Emblem with him".
With a surprised look, Chrom tried to protest, but Emmeryn shook her head, "No, you must proceed to the castle and wait until I return. As your queen, I command you to follow my orders… I'm sorry, but that's the only way the Emblem is going to be safe!"
Phila made a step forward and spoke, "My lord. I, along with the pegasus force, will escort your worship to the capital and we will send word after we get there so you can be sure she is safe".
Cordelia made a step forward too, but her Captain put her hand on the red-haired pegasus knight, "No, Cordelia, you will stay here with Chrom and help him".
Such statement made Cordelia blush deeply and nodded. "As you command captain. I will defend lord Chrom and the Shepherds with the best of my abilities!"
Phila smiled. She, along with her pegasus squad, escorted Emmeryn to Ylisse and secure the city.
After they left, Robin approached Chrom looking confused with the sudden departure of Emmeryn. "Are you sure it was the right call to let her go?" he said.
The lord looked at Robin with a slight smile, "I couldn't stop her even if I tried. You must learn to deal with it from time to time. If we have daughters someday, it will be the same thing, at least that's what I think." he said causing Robin to chuckle.
Chrom sighed and was about to signal the Shepherds to continue their path when he noticed Cordelia was still with her gaze on the floor. 'She must be nervous. After all, it's the first time she is left behind in charge of something from her superiors and the guilt of losing her comrades must weight within her' he thought.
The lord smiled and made Robin follow him. 'I know Robin dreamt of her… I still don't know why, but he looks like he can help her to get rid of her burden' he thought.
Robin was confused with the sudden order form Chrom but he didn't mind. The tactician started to shake with fear when they approached Cordelia. On the horizon, the sunset made her hair shine like the fiery embers of nature.
Her hair flowed freely with the wind; he had a pair of wing-looking accessories like pegasus wings. Her red eyes reflected her compassionate soul and at the same time, her indomitable will.
She had a slender frame, but plate chest armor hides a well-defined body. Like Sumia, she wore a vest under her chest cover, with brown boots and clippings preventing her from losing her lower armor.
Cordelia's face was peerless white and a smile that made her look like an angel. She had a lance with her and a stance that made her look like the cutest thing alive.
"Cordelia, now that you are going to travel with us I'm going to introduce you to our tactician. Robin, she is Cordelia; the newest recruit of the pegasus knights and probably one of the best soldiers we could have." the lord said as he tried his best to introduce them.
When Chrom introduced them, Cordelia smiled to Robin and the world revolved around her. Robin saw her like a dream; she was with her armor, next she had a bath towel around her, next she had a red set of lingerie and finally she was carrying a child in her arms.
Robin couldn't take it and started to fall to the ground. The last thing he could hear was Chrom yelling to Lissa and Maribelle as Cordelia crouched beside him and looked at his face, concern showing on her face.
000
Robin woke up to a familiar face looking at him. Cordelia spent the last few hours at his side, taking care of him while Lissa patched him up, but since the cause was unknown to her, she left Cordelia to watch after the tactician and let him rest.
Robin tried to stand up from the bed, but his mind was churning. "Arrg! My head…! I can't move my body, I feel heavy!" he said.
Cordelia smiled and brought him a glass of water, "Are you alright Robin? You were out for a couple of hours. Lord Chrom asked to see you if you wake up sooner", she said, "I'm glad you are okay now. If you have time, then the Shepherds will have a meeting in the courtyard".
"Wait, courtyard? Did we get to the castle already?" the tactician asked confused.
Cordelia nodded and stood up from the bed, "Pretty much since yesterday, but we arrived at night. Once we got you down to rest, Lissa checked on you and asked me if I could watch after you"
"Wait, you stayed with me that long?" Robin asked as Cordelia nodded.
'Of course I watched over you… you made a cute face as you slept' she thought giggling to herself.
"Well, it's best if we go now. Chrom will surely want to know I'm okay. Thank you, Cordelia… for taking care of me." Robin said as he stood up, but his face revealed a deep blush from being near Cordelia. Robin sweated when the red-haired girl placed her hand on his shoulder, Cordelia's face of concern made Robin nervous as she gave him a small smile.
"Are you sure you are ok? If you'll like we can met tomorrow morning to talk about your condition and the battle tactics you can teach me." the red-haired rider said.
Robin nodded and followed Cordelia to the war council, where Chrom was waiting for him. Then Cordelia headed towards Sumia and Lissa in the corner of the room while Robin and Chrom discussed a plan for the day.
"Since when do you know Robin? I got the feeling he was analyzing me when we were introduced! It was not creepy, but I sense he now me more than I him" Cordelia said.
Both ladies chuckled and Sumia spoke, "He carries a book Lissa gave him. He has the description of every one of us and all the Shepherds call that book 'The Rooster' because it has information about all of us. It's natural for him to stare at someone; he's just searching for information."
Cordelia thought about this, but didn't look convinced. However, Lissa spoke then, "We found Robin a couple of weeks ago, and I suppose we will share the story with you later. But the point is, he writes about us and don't let us see it because I bet he wrote some perverted thing about us; like the size of our breasts", she said as Cordelia gulped.
Lissa saw this and said while chuckling, "Don't worry. We plan to see that book before too long, and ask him why he passed out when he met you!"
"Then what you say is that it's normal for him to do that!" Cordelia proclaimed and the three of them laughed, thinking of all the things Robin must have written about them.
At the war council's table, Robin sneezed.
000
A/N: Now that I think about it, Gaius resembles Hotaru from Dagashi Kashi… yup; I think he's as crazy for the candies as she was.
A/N 2: As always, please favorite and/or review
