*Notice*: I have changed Robin's appearance to the default one for simplicity's sake, I honestly have grown to prefer Chrom with the default Robin rather than with a custom one and so have gone back to change this however, if anyone sees any mentions of the custom appearance within the previous Chapters then message me and I shall change them.

I'm still reeling after the last Chapter and I'm the one who wrote it. xD I was a little down at not getting much feedback on the last Chapter and so I've tried to give people a lot to work with in case they want to discuss things or whatever. I'm not vain or egotistical enough to expect reviews or whatever but it does help to know what you lovely readers think about things so don't be shy. =)

This Chapter features a lot of backstory for a few characters and so it isn't really introducing new events or anything but it does help to expand the OCs, the town in the desert and the plot twist featured in the last Chapter and so I hope you enjoy!

*Spoilers Warning* Definite spoilers about the 'true' end of 'Awakening'. Also spoilers about other elements of the plot throughout the game.

Disclaimer: I own nothing to do with 'Fire Emblem [Awakening]', its locations, characters etc. All rights go to their respective owners.

Rated T. (*Warning* Contains 'dark' language, themes and suggestions, mentions of torture and seduction as well as violence and mentions of forced conception and sexual acts (but none take place within the story, I just want people to be aware in case those topics are overly sensitive for them.))


Together Again? Origins

"You 'used' to be their queen...what happened?!" Lissa exclaimed at the old woman- Madame Ulima- as she took a seat opposite her.

After checking on the state of the town, Frederick and the others quickly reunited with their comrades back at the camp and let them know the good news that in the morn, the villagers would be allowed to start returning to their homes and businesses.

They'd also filled them in about the missing Shepherds and what Madame Ulima had told them. They'd managed to gleam the name of the town (Scorchfell) from her as they'd made their way back to the camp and as they aided the townsfolk with moving back and the few repairs that needed doing, they'd finally managed to get a moment to ask Madame Ulima what she knew.

Obviously they were all on edge as none of them knew what fate had befallen their comrades in their absence but Lissa was especially tense as in such a short period of time, her baby niece and her grown nephew had disappeared and now her brother, his wife (and her dear friend) was gone and so was her fully-grown niece as well as all her other friends. So it came to no surprise to anyone when she slammed her hands down on the table in front of the old woman, a pouty frown on her face and frustration in her eyes.

Ulima- to her credit- didn't even flinch at the princess's obvious anger instead she took a few deep breaths and a few moments to let her gaze fall on each of the Shepherds in front of her. Eventually she began to speak...

"This tale doesn't begin with me, it begins with the Grimleal and their attempts to resurrect Grima...and how one girl got caught in the middle of it..."


...The Grimleal spent centuries trying to resurrect Grima and that involved many of their people attempting to create someone who could be a host for him and his tremendous powers. Unfortunately for them, generation after generation came into the world and not a single one was capable of becoming a vessel.

It led to them becoming even crueller as a people as they were already deemed to be, children were born into loveless families with the sole intention of hosting Grima and when they weren't deemed worthy, they were sacrificed in special ceremonies that worshipped their dragon God. Many women were forced to bear children and were themselves executed when they failed either to produce or give birth to 'the chosen one'. They lived in a cycle of misery and glee at trying to aid Grima.

Eventually about twenty-four years ago, a baby was born to a man named Validar. The man had been born into a family that was determined to be the one who successfully brought Grima back from his slumber. He'd spent the majority of his thirty-three years working and studying tirelessly into how to finally create someone who could host the fell Dragon. He decided to try his luck by having a powerful mage become the mother of his child.

The poor subject of his desires was a twenty-year-old girl called Calypso with hair the colour of ash and deep brown eyes that saw right through to your soul. Despite her young age, she quickly became something of a legend within the Grimleal. She-like many of their people- were interested in bringing the Dragon back but unusually it wasn't her major desire.

However, it was her parent's.

When they were approached by the ambitious man about his yearnings to make their daughter the mother of the future host of Grima, they all but threw her at him much to her disdain but she was young and in no position to complain, she knew what happened to women who refused to have babies with men who were trying to bring back Grima- she'd be made to try for a host with this man with or without her consent.

It took only a few attempts for her to fall pregnant and whilst she felt no love for the man who had fathered the child growing inside of her, she- like many women- felt unconditionally love for her unborn babe from the very moment she found out she was carrying the child. During her pregnancy, Validar pretty much kept her prisoner in their home believing that the confinement would somehow contribute to creating the perfect host. During this time she continued to practise magic in secret knowing that Validar would punish her should he find her using it whilst carrying his young for using magic is a great risk normally let alone whilst pregnant. She also read texts he kept around also in secret in an attempt to make herself feel happy with possibly giving birth to Grima's host.

It worked to an extent for she like many of her people was transfixed with the idea of destruction and revenge but whilst reading about the fell dragon, she picked up books about other subjects such as cults, other supposed gods and- of course- about places one of which happened to be Scorchfell. Like the people of the famed town, the Grimleal also made their homes in the sands and so the idea of another place that was ruthless and had a lust for power appealed to them in more ways than one. On numerous occasions, the people and the royalty of Scorchfell were approached in the hopes that they would help the Grimleal with their cause but to no avail for they had no interest in either Naga or Grima.

This fact caught the girl's attention and so for much of the nine months that followed- her time was dedicated to learning about Scorchfell just in case she ever needed a place to go...


"M-Morgan!" Chrom stuttered as he took in his son's familiar figure over and over again, trying to convince himself that this wasn't real.

His son- Robin and Chrom's son; the young boy who'd doted on his Mother and whilst he couldn't recall either his father or his sister, he'd quickly found his place within their unit and within the Shepherds in general. Chrom loved the boy in front of him so much- whilst he hadn't doubted for a second that Robin would one day return to him whenever he focused on her absence too much, a part of him always worried about how he would cope if the Morgan of this time was never born and every single time, that train of thought caused him such misery and anguish- after Lucy was born, Chrom quickly decided that he wanted more children with Robin at some point (as long as she did as well) and having met a grown-up version of his possible future son, his excitement at possibly becoming a father again had been bubbling under the surface ever since.

"Is that all you can say-my name?" The boy asked, raising an eyebrow and smirking at the caged man in front of him, he folded his arms over his chest and leaned against the wall looking completely unfazed at this turn of events.

"No- of-of course not but...what else am I supposed to say? You-you gave your mother that mark on her arm, you tortured her- the woman who gave you life."

"Well she technically didn't, another her did and then she left me all alone to fend for myself, if you ask me she's of no more importance to me than any other woman in this world."

Chrom tried to control his rage, gripping the metal bars in front of him with all of his might, he looked down at the floor, closing his eyes as he murmured in a strained voice, "How can you say that?! You're her world- you're her baby."

Morgan scoffed. "Please, a version if you two brought me and my sister into world whilst knowing full well that our Mother carried Fell blood- what sort of people do that? You doomed us both to a lifetime of never knowing whether or not we could control that blood,"

Suddenly, for the first time since he'd begun talking to Chrom, Morgan's voice carried an emotion other than faint amusement- bitterness. "-And your precious little Lucina, she was able go defeat it- able to let Naga's blood have more control over her fate and her choices...but I didn't."

"What do you mean?" Chrom inquired.

Morgan's gloved hands tightened into fists and he gritted his teeth. "Calypso- my Grandmother- helped me get my memories back when I first came here; it turns out that in my world, I became Grima's- no- Mother's servant. My darling sister became a hero who was meant to take us down and I became a villain who was supposed to perish alongside the Fell dragon- a monster the same as my Mother...

"It makes sense to me now why Lucina's your favourite in this time- in every time, I bet she makes you so proud, having Naga's blood run so strongly through her veins; nothing at all like your son who didn't even know you existed when you found him."

"Stop it Morgan- that's not true-!" Chrom's voice cracked with sadness, he wanted to embrace his boy, hold him tight whilst reassuring him that he loved all of his children equally- the numerous versions of his daughter and son both and any other children that he and Robin may have had in other worlds where things played out differently- if of course- they had any other children...he loved them all as much as his own baby girl who he'd witnessed on the day of her birth regardless of their fates or their roles- they were his and Robin's babies and they always would be. "I'll admit- it was strange at first- all of the other future children knew their parents and Lucina had worked so tirelessly in both her own world and this world, it broke my heart knowing how badly the version of me from her time failed her, I felt obliged to make it up to her on his behalf and so bonding with her was easy...but you didn't know me- not that that was your fault of course! Lucina knew you but you'd disappeared in her world and so neither of us knew how you came to be in this world and how you didn't know us but knew your Mother.

"Learning to interact with you, watching you suffer with the consequences of losing your memories in the same way I had to watch your Mother deal with them- it...hurt. I didn't know what I could or couldn't say to you, I didn't know what you needed from me- if anything and I'm so, so sorry if that made you think I preferred Lucina over you- that I was playing favourites. The Fell blood inside of you means nothing in the same way being Grima's host meant nothing about Robin- you are both people in your own right- your blood doesn't define you, in the same way mine and Lucina's blood doesn't define us. My Father and Emmeryn both had Naga's blood and they were like chalk and cheese and both you and Lucina have Fell and Divine blood within you, neither of you are defined by either blood."

"It's easy to say that in retrospect isn't it? That our blood doesn't matter now that Lucina has no need to be a hero and I aren't Grima's slave but if things had played out differently- I would've been a monster and Lucina the hero."

"Why are both you and your Mother so convinced that your monsters, that you don't deserve salvation or happiness or whatever it is you desire- you helped to change fate, you helped to destroy Grima, whatever Calypso is trying to achieve by convincing you that you're irredeemable monsters- you can't let her succeed."

Morgan contemplated his words for a moment before an unnerving grin sliced across his face, "You'll quickly learn soon enough Father- the only people allowed within Scorchfell's walls are all- in their own way- monsters."


...When his baby was born, Validar was slightly irritated that it wasn't a boy as he believed a fully-grown man would be a more befitting host for the infamous God but despite his reservations, he couldn't hide his elation.

Now don't ask me how they could tell when the possible hosts were still newly-born babes but they were able to tell that Validar and Calypso had succeeded in making a baby that could host Grima and as such, the baby quickly became the Grimleal's focus however, they were not concerned with the baby's welfare for there was nothing that the Fell dragon wouldn't be able to fix when he came to use his host- they just had to sustain her body enough to come of age. The new-born child was treated no better than the failed hosts- from just a few weeks after she was born, she was left alone for hours at a time, Calypso was only allowed to feed her in small doses, she was barely changed and her temperature wasn't monitored despite desert temperatures being two versions of extreme between night and day.

Calypso quickly grew tired of Validar and the Grimleal's treatment of her flesh and blood and the idea of her baby hosting a dragon that was a God to a people she was realizing to be vile and cruel. It was these moments of clarity that finally convinced her to take action.

Using her magic and the knowledge gleamed from all those books read during her pregnancy, she concocted a plan to take her child away in the dead of night. After she made her escape with the young babe in her arms, she knew of only one place that she could go, Scorchfell, which she'd managed to work out a route to get towards using maps from the books and intuition.

When she approached the entrance, the guards stopped her, she held her head high as she addressed them. "I have business with your Queen-"


…"Wait hold up, Calypso just turned up on Scorchfell's doorstep and demanded to meet with royalty?!" Lissa shouted incredulously.

Ulima met her gaze and held it. "Indeed she did. The books she had access to covered a range of topics about my people- from its deepest history right up to a few years before she came to us."

"How do you know about Calypso's past if you weren't there?" Sully asked- suspicion colouring her tone.

"Rumours and stories, my good children, I have lived here for a long time now but I wanted to learn as much as I could about the person who dethroned me and what her intentions are. She knew about me, it was only fair that I returned the favour."

"So...she knew she was going to meet with you then?" Frederick inquired.

Ulima shook her head. "Not exactly, you see despite Scorchfell's dark and twisted past, during the past century or so, the ruling royal worked tirelessly to stop the barbaric acts that the people were so famed for, they aimed to create a happy- yet still secluded people- with many ways to make a living and many ways to be free. Unlike the Grimleal, the people were no longer bound to their past grudges and their mad obsession for revenge, they were happy with finally finding peace.

"However, many rules our ancestors created remained in our laws in order to remind people of who we used to be- the people who lived within Scorchfell knew that they were just kept for this very reason but keeping them (well...one in particular) had very dark consequences when it was acted upon by an outsider..."


..."I wish to challenge you for the position of leadership."

Gasps rose up around the court as the fifty-three-year-old woman narrowed her eyes at this fragile- looking young girl with a struggling new-born in her arms. Ulima's hands tightened on the arms of her throne. "...And what makes you think you can just waltz right in and challenge me for the rights to my throne?"

Calypso took a deep breath to steady herself before answering. "Why your Grace, isn't it within your rules that the leader of the people of Scorchfell must accept all challenges presented to them be it from an insider or an outsider for if you refuse then it is a sign of weakness- a sign that you are not in fact fit to rule."

The murmurs within the court grew in volume as they realized that she was indeed right about this law- it was a barbaric one that was made to create bloodshed and to assure the people that only the strongest- most volatile person possible was their ruler. Due to the people having experienced improvements to their quality of life, there hadn't been a challenge of leadership in over a hundred years- there was no reason to challenge for it when the person at the top was doing a great job.

Now an outsider was threatening to undo all that they had achieved.

Ulima was silent for a moment. "That rule is still in affect, therefore I must accept your challenge but be warned, I am not an easy opponent."

A blast of fire magic hit the wall beside her. "Neither am I." Calypso stated, fire still flickering at her fingertips on her left hand whilst her right gripped the baby.

Ulima smiled. "The challenge begins at midnight, make sure you're ready."

...

… ...

… … ...

The arena was about to see its first bout of action in over a hundred years.

The two women stood face to face preparing to spar using magic. At the left side of the arena were two cradles; one held the newly born girl with ash hair and brown eyes and the one next to her's held a boy who was a couple of months older than her. He was tanned with ebony hair and startling eyes: one the colour of emerald and one the colour of amber.

His name was Samael and he was also Ulima's grandchild. His Mother died during childbirth and his Father had left shortly after finding out his wife was pregnant which meant that it fell to her to raise him which also meant she couldn't afford to lose here because if she did...is she did...

He'd be all alone in the world because most duels that took place here regardless as to whether they were fought with spears or magic were fought 'to the death'.

She couldn't afford to let that happen and she believed she had the advantage over her opponent due to her advanced years and experience. However she quickly began to realise that Calypso was an incredibly unique opponent, her skill with magic was unbelievable when compared with her young age. She also seemed to be a strong tactical thinker as she was seemingly always at least ten steps ahead of Ulima.

Ulima was trying her very best to keep up with Calypso's attacks whilst trying to get spells of her own to work however she was quickly being drained of energy.

Calypso realized that her opponent was losing her stamina and began to throw a flurry of quick attacks her way, forcing Ulima further and further backwards until she eventually stumbled and fell on her back.

Ulima looked up wide-eyed at her opponent who was looming above her, the moonlight illuminating her pale figure and her even paler hair. Her eyes burning with fire and passion.

Ulima lifted her hands up to cover her face, she knew she couldn't give up no matter what but she couldn't think of what else to do! There hadn't been much conflict during her reign, finding ways to defeat the odds wasn't one of her strong points. "Wh-why did you have to do this? Why did you have to challenge me?"

Calypso looked as if she wasn't going to answer at first but she eventually spoke up. "Your palace has dungeons and is heavily guarded by walls- you know, don't you? That myself and my daughter are Grimleal? She is meant to be Grima's host and so I am duty-bound to prevent what I am disinterested in happening- I have my own designs for my daughter, my own plans but until I can begin to put them into action, I am going to keep her locked up in the dungeons away from Validar and the Grimleal- in order to do that I need your title."

Ulima was startled into silence at the lack of emotion in the woman's voice; she was talking about chaining up her daughter, ruining Scorchfell's hard-earned peace and using her daughter for her own selfish plans and yet there was nothing there.

"Then kill me." Ulima rasped. "You have to do it, don't you?" Her eyes flittered to her grandson. I'm sorry. She thought. I'm so sorry.

A contemplative look came across the woman's face and then she summoned a bolt of thunder that she pointed at Ulima's heart, gasps, shouts and screams sounded around her but Ulima only winced, anticipating the blow.

But it never came.

"I have no intention of ruining the lives of your citizens- they will continue to live with the luxuries they have grown accustomed to-" Calypso sounded disgusted at that but it was clear that she was being honest even if she didn't approve of their lifestyle. "-I also have no desire to kill you but you will leave this place...and you will leave without the boy."

"What do you want my grandchild for?!" Ulima cried.

Calypso snorted. "That is no longer your concern but even if it was, you wouldn't be able to leave this place with him anyway, there is a reason no one under the age of ten is allowed to leave this place- the desert is treacherous enough for fully grown adults let alone for babies. You'd be sentencing him to death if you took him with you."

Ulima hung her head in shame and defeat. Misery overcame her at the truth of her opponent's words.

"I will tell him of you though, I have no desire to let him think of me as his family or mistake me as his Mother. Luckily I am planning to abolish the law which led to your downfall so he won't be able to take revenge upon me should he ever desire it which I will see to it that he doesn't."

She smirked before finally losing interest in the old woman. "People of Scorchfell- I am now your Queen and you will bow to me!"

A foolish, hopeful part of Ulima hoped that her people would refuse, would stand up to this woman and fight for her case but instead they bent and chanted Calypso's name- she was the strongest, she'd earned the right to rule.

Scorchfell hadn't changed as much as the royals had thought.

With the attention no longer on her, Ulima silently made her exit from the town in the desert without daring to look back, tears streaming down her face at the loss of her town and her grandson.


There was a clattering of bars and heavy footsteps approaching Chrom. He tried to pretend that he hadn't heard anyone approach and he thought it had worked when he heard the steps retreat...

...Until a bucket of water was thrown over him.

He coughed and spluttered as he pushed himself up.

"Rise and shine, sunshine." A drawling, deep voice taunted and Chrom groaned inwardly when he realized his visitor was none other than Samael- since his discussion with Morgan, he hadn't seen either his son or his wife since and so it was even more irritating to have his visitor be the man who kept hitting on his wife.

At least he was wearing a shirt this time, much to Chrom's surprise.

Wiping some water from his mouth, Chrom pushed himself up, narrowing his eyes at the man. "What do you want?"

"Why you and your daughter have been summoned from the depths of the dungeons to meet with our dear Calypso. You should be honoured, you get to spend time with your Mother-in-Law.

"...And whilst your doing that, I think I shall pay Robin a visit, she's spent a lot of time cooped up in her room since Morgan gave her a...refresher course as to where her loyalties should lie, I think she'd appreciate the TLC."

Samael chuckled and Chrom launched himself at him for the second time since they met. "Keep your hands off of my wife you son of a-"

Samael wagged his finger. "Ah-ah-ah, you better watch that mouth of yours, that sort of language isn't acceptable to be used by Ylisse's blessed Exalt." He sneered. "Do you use that same mouth to kiss Robin with?"

Chrom shoved Samael and pushed himself away. "What is your obsession with her- you barely know her, you only met about a year ago."

Samael stroked his chin, contemplating what he was allowed to say. "I know her better than you think." Chrom looked up into the man's tanned face at the sound of his voice, he thought he saw a flash of envy in his strange eyes.

Before Chrom could ask him what he meant, Samael shoved a change of clothes his way; you have to look at least somewhat presentable in front of our Queen, put these on and don't take too long about it, she isn't known for her patience."

Samael left the cell and locked the gate before standing just out of reach with his back to Chrom, preventing any attacks coming his way whilst also giving Chrom some decency.


"Are you okay?" The boy murmured as he approached the small girl chained to the wall. He'd been doing this every day for about a week- the girl was nearly six-years-old and yet he'd only found out about her only about a month ago when Calypso had let him enter the dungeon for the first time.

"This is my daughter." She'd told him and Samael had looked at her wide-eyed with surprise. "What is she doing chained up then?"

Calypso smiled down at him, "It is for her own protection. Barely anybody knows she's here and so you must help to keep the secret, can you do that?"

Samael nodded at the woman. "Can I come visit her?"

"Of course, that is why I'm introducing you to her, I want you to visit her as much as you can, talk to her and teach her things, she doesn't know many words as she hasn't had many reasons to talk but I hope you can help with that, okay?"

The boy agreed to visit her when he could. He only had about an hour each day since he was allowed back into the dungeon to spend time with her as he was obligated to spend much of his time training and attending school.

She hadn't even looked up at him let alone opened her mouth to speak and he felt like visiting her was pointless but he still did it because Calypso had asked him to and even though he was still young himself, he was already aware of the fact that he owed her his life and so until she ordered him otherwise, she would continue to visit the chained child.

He asked her loads of questions but never got a response and then one day, he asked a really obvious question- so obvious in fact, it hadn't occurred to him to ask it in the hopes of getting her to talk. "Do you have a name?"

The ash-haired girl looked at him then and he was startled by how piercing her brown eyes were, they were interrogative and curious- burning with a desire to learn despite the fact she hadn't had many opportunities to do so. "R-Robin." She rasped.

He cocked his head. "Robin? You're named after a kind of bird?! Kind of ironic for a girl who's chained to a wall." He laughed...

...She didn't respond in kind.

"Err...sorry." They were silent for a moment. "M-my name is Samael, I have been asked to visit you."

She didn't respond at first but then she began trying to form a word that began in 'h'.

"Are you trying to say 'hello'?"

She nodded.

"Hmm...I'll have to begin to teach you language, I'm about your age so I aren't the best either but we can learn together, okay?"

Her eyes became bright when he said 'learn', she wanted to know everything that she was missing out on.

Samael was surprised by how bubbly and happy she was despite the circumstances she was being raised in.

A bell tolled in the distance, catching Samael's attention. "I have to go." He sighed. As he began to turn away, a small hand touched his, turning it around so his palm was facing upwards.

"Wha-?!" He asked before he felt something light land in his palm. He looked at the object which showed Scorchfell's emblem on its surface. "It's a ring." He remarked with a frown curious as to where she got it.

"Mummy." She said and his eyebrows pulled together in confusion before he realised she was trying to say that she'd got it from Calypso.

"Maybe you should keep it." He said trying to hand it back but she shook her head.

"Samael...have."

He jolted at the sound of his name and he wasn't quite sure how to respond but he knew he had to go and so had no time to argue and so he nodded. "Okay." He then rose from the floor. "I shall see you soon...Robin." Her name came out like a prayer and he was blushing though he didn't know why as it was chilly in the dungeons.

...

… … ...

… … ...

As he waited for the blue-haired Exalt to change, Samael reached under his shirt and grabbed the chain that hung around his neck. He normally didn't wear shirts when he was out on business instead sticking with belts and leather but the cells were freezing and he was going to be entering Calypso's court with all of her advisors and staff who were more...formal than he normally was. Whenever he wore a shirt, he wore the chain underneath it but other times kept it in a pouch safely on his person.

The chain bore his gift from his childhood friend and he never went anywhere without it. Normally he didn't bother to look at it, just having it with him was enough but since she'd come back into his life, he'd begun to look at it more and more."

The man in the cell behind him coughed to let him know he was ready to leave and Samael bit back his anger as he turned to free Robin's husband from his cell in order to take him to face Calypso.


Samael is so cute, bless him. I hope Robin is okay as a character in this story; she is really strong and awesome in the game and so I really don't want to make her a tragic character or a 'damsel in distress' however, I want her to have some concerns about herself and her life which she needs to deal with and overcome through this story so I'm hoping that over time, I can find a balance between Robin's weaker side and her stronger one. Also I finally own a Chrom pillow! All I need now is a way to transport myself to the world of 'Awakening' so I can actually marry him and spend my life with him and I'm sorted. xD

I have come to realise that I can't decide between Chrobin and LeonxFrey from 'Rune Factory 4' for my favourite 'fictional' pairing and so they are now my joint favourites and their respective games my joint favourites of all-time...is that cheating? xD Until next time. xXx