Forgive me if the last chapter felt rushed: the idea of making the joke about the chaotic meeting sounded better in my head.
In regards to the ongoing Fates survey, I've decided on the Corrin-Azura pairing. However, I think I'm going to make a change to the pairing list in Chapter 1. Morgan, I think, will be paired with Inigo rather than Yarne, who will now be paired with Cynthia. I was on the fence about who to pair Morgan with, and when I saw Yarne and Cynthia's support conversation in my third play-through, I found I like that pairing a lot more.
This chapter starts with Donnel and Olivia's wedding, which, unfortunately, could not happen at Walhart's castle. Ah, I love this pairing. Donnel is one of my favorite characters, and I thought it was fitting to pair the farm boy with the traveling dancer. In addition, their support has them singing and dancing together, and I loved that. I think it's also because I love The Princess Bride, and Donnel reminds me of Wesley. Anyhow, enjoy!
Chapter 9
"By the Divine Dragon's power, I hereby pronounce thee, Donnel and Olivia Tinhead, lawfully wedded partners!" Olivia reached to the side, seized Donnel's head pot off of a stool next to her and held it up between them and the Shepherds while she kissed Donnel passionately, so that only Donnel and Libra, who was performing the rite, could see her face redden. The Shepherds cheered madly, even Robin, who was standing next to Donnel as his best man. It had taken Lucina, Cynthia, Lissa, and Sumia badgering him (as well as a couple death threats) to get the Grandmaster to remove his beloved cloak for the occasion.
Whoops and cheers could be heard throughout the royal courtyard as the farm boy and the traveling dancer went back through the aisle of wooden chairs. It had only been three days since the Shepherds returned to Ylisse, so it was not a very lavish event, but that was just fine for them. "DONNEL!" Olivia yelped in alarm while Donnel swept her off of her feet, which was followed by the dancer putting the tin pot back on the farm boy's head. The group made their way inside to the dining hall, which had been converted into a dance floor.
Robin, though only a novice pianist, joined Virion and Brady in starting a waltz, while Donnel set Olivia back on her feet. "Wait, are we dancing alone? Now… in front of everyone?" Donnel chuckled and replied, "Why 'course we are! Yer the center of the party, darling!" The shy dancer was shrinking up in nervousness, so Donnel took her right hand in his left and said, "I asked Virion and Brady to play the swan song! We danced to this darn near a thousand times! All ya gotta do is go through the motions! Ain't nuthin to it!" Olivia hesitantly took her husband's hand as he put his right hand on her hip.
Shepherds went speechless as the farm boy and the traveling dancer glided across the floor with unmatched grace. Donnel spun his wife with grace while she stepped silently around him. They stayed pressed close together for almost the entire thing. The farm boy lifted his wife up in the air as she wrapped her legs around his torso, then spun around him and spread her arms while Donnel held her up by her hips. The Shepherds started gasping, and when Robin turned around from the piano, he saw why.
Olivia was perched with her hands on Donnel's shoulders, while he held her up by her waist. While her left leg was bent in a 45-degree angle, her right leg was extended straight up in the air. And through it all, their lips stayed pressed together while Donnel slowly spun in a circle. He slowly lowered the dancer to the ground as he kneeled next to her, their lips still pressed together as the song ended.
The dining hall erupted into cheers as the Shepherds crowded around the couple on the dance floors. Other musicians replaced Virion, Robin, and Brady so that they could join their allies. The rest of the Shepherds started pairing up to join in the dancing themselves. While Maribelle pushed by her to join Stahl, Lucina was surprised to feel Robin's hand grasp hers.
"Would my fiancé like to dance?" Lucina shook in awe. "I'm still getting used to that, Robin. I can't quite believe that on top of discovering Morgan, we're going to be wed soon." Robin smiled and was about to take Lucina onto the dance floor when he saw Inigo dancing. With MORGAN.
"Lucina, look!" The blue-haired princess turned to see Inigo and Morgan dancing almost cheek to cheek. Morgan was pink in the face while Inigo spun her gracefully. Funnily enough, the philandering gentleman was blushing too. Lucina and Robin walked to Inigo together, while Lucina proceeded to grab Inigo by the collar and pull him off to the side, while Morgan followed angrily.
"I would like to say this only once, Inigo: GET THE HELL AWAY FROM MY DAUGHTER!" Inigo winced as Lucina yelled in his ear. "Leave him alone, mom! We were just dancing!"
"You were watching him the day you arrived, Morgan," her father replied, "He's a philanderer. I'm your father, it's my job to keep philanderers away from you." Inigo tapped the grandmaster on the shoulder and replied, "Robin, Morgan is the only person who will dance with me. Just give me a chance to dance at my parents' wedding." Robin smirked and signaled for the band to stop, ruining his chance to dance with the young tactician.
"As the best man for the King-Slayer himself, I think I have to make a speech now." The Shepherds all began to sit down and listen to the speech.
"Now this speech comes with a little bit of a confession. When I saw Donnel battle in his home town, I knew he had amazing potential. However, I also knew that he would pass it on to his children. And when I found out about the whole future children thing, I started to do a little bit of strategizing.
"When Olivia joined our group, it was easy to see that she was unique, and when I saw how kind and similarly strong they were, as well as how well they could both sing, I kind of started pulling the strings by pairing them together in battle. And when I saw how well they got along together, I may have started to pair people together in battle to try to make them fall in love so that I could get more effective children units."
Chrom drew Falchion and started to walk angrily towards the tactician before Lucina grabbed his arm while some of the other Shepherds began to shout angrily, mainly Tharja and Maribelle, while Vaike and Stahl looked extremely hurt. "You played Cupid with my Shepherds! You paired my sister with a thief and my daughter with yourself?! What makes you think you have the right to decide who we marry, Robin?"
Robin laughed and replied, "To those of you criticizing me, are you implying that you are unhappy with who you married and who your children are? You not happy with Sumia, Chrom? Because that would never have happened without my hand involved." Chrom went wide-eyed and took a few steps back. "O-of course not!" He glanced nervously in his wife's direction while Robin continued. "Or are you not happy with how your children ended up? Would you rather have had Kjelle, Brady, or Inigo as your child?" Chrom lowered his sword and sat back down.
"Sorry regardless, all of you. In retrospect, that was rather unethical. However, the point of telling you this is to say this: you two ended up being a happier and more perfect couple than I could have ever imagined. Good luck to you two." The Shepherds clapped happily (despite the annoyance at Robin's arranging) while Robin went to sit down. As people began to sit off at the tables by the side while food was served, Robin felt a hand tap his shoulder.
"Robin, can I talk to you for a second?" The grandmaster turned to see Chrom with a semi-serious expression on his face. He got up and followed the Exalt into a side room, while Lucina, Sumia, and oddly enough, Libra and Miriel followed them in.
"First of all, I want to thank you, Robin, for basically setting up my marriage. Thinking back on the Plegia campaign, Chrom and I would never have ended up together if it wasn't for the fact that you had us fight together." Robin smiled and replied, "Not a problem, Sumia."
"Second of all," Chrom added, "It's apparent to me that you didn't actually just happen to fall in love with Lucina. You fancied her from the battle at Sage's Hamlet!" Lucina stood up and yelled back, "Father, that doesn't matter! You're not taking Robin away from me!" The blue-haired princess was rather shocked to see both of her parents, as well as Robin, laughing harder than she had ever seen. After almost twenty seconds of constant laughter, Chrom replied.
"Lucina, I have no intention of punishing you two for that. I just think that it's hilarious. Your reaction helped with that." His daughter sat down, scowling. "Robin, how do you possibly find this funny?"
"Are you kidding? Your reaction was priceless! No offense, but that was the funniest thing I have seen since Noire's freak-out at her mother!" Lucina was at least able to smile at that until Chrom started talking again.
"I might punish you for one thing, though. You had Cynthia fight alongside Inigo." Robin was wide-eyed as he saw an angry expression on Chrom's face. "Chrom, dear," Sumia chided her husband, "Nothing's come of that. No need to be angry. That being said, you are not pairing any child of mine with that boy."
"Would you rather me test out some raising-the-dead spells on Walhart then? I wonder how well he and Cynthia would get along…" Chrom, Sumia, and Lucina all jumped up and yelled threats at him.
"If you do that, you are no longer my tactician! I will not allow it!" Chrom had drawn Falchion and pointed it at Robin's throat.
"Don't you dare, Robin! My daughters will not associate with that brute!" Sumia had a knife in her hand which she pointed at him.
To her surprise, Lucina did not unsheathe her own Falchion. Instead, she sat back down and said, "If you do that, Robin, you're sleeping alone tonight." Robin immediately said, "Okay, okay, but for battle purposes, I do have to pair up Cynthia with somebody." Chrom thought for a second, then replied, "Morgan, then. That also keeps your daughter and my… granddaughter from ending up with Inigo."
"Still having trouble getting your head around the fact that you're a grandfather? I can help with that. Since Lucina and I are engaged now, I think that means I can-"
"Don't you DARE call me that, Robin! You can look forward to extended training with Frederick if you EVER call me that!"
"Can we please get on to the next thing?" Lucina pushed the conversation further before her soon-to-be husband got himself killed.
"Okay, sure. The next thing is more serious: once we've completed the Fire Emblem, Libra, Miriel and I were discussing a plan for the future of the Shepherds." Libra and Miriel took that as their cue and stood up.
"The Shepherds of Ylisse," Miriel stated, "Have proven to be an exceptionally efficient military force. Thanks to Chrom's recruiting ability, Robin's exemplary tactical ability, and the genetic and magical miracle of the Shepherds' offspring, we have taken down hordes of Risen, thousands of bandits, the champions of West Ferox, and the entire army of Valm."
"As expected," Libra added, "The Shepherds have grown incredibly close in these campaigns. On top of that, most of the Shepherds are engaged or married to other Shepherds. I would know: I performed every ceremony except for my own marriage."
"Okay, I think we all understand that much, Libra," Lucina said, "But what exactly are you saying?"
"We have been discussing it," Chrom said, "And we think that it's best for Ylisse if the Shepherds are kept together after the war ends. But since some Shepherds have no savings beside their salary, or don't have anywhere to go, we thought it might work to build up a small village just outside of Ylisstol." Robin was wide-eyed. A 'Shepherds' Village' never occurred to him.
"Indeed. The decision seems obvious enough: keeping the Shepherds close to home will keep the kingdom safer. In addition, many shepherds who had no home or family will then have a place to stay and a community that they already know."
"That sounds amazing, Miriel!" Robin sat back and laughed, while clapping lightly. "What's the catch? Why are you asking me about it?"
"Robin," Chrom said in a serious tone, "I know that you have no memory of your past, but I don't know if you have any intention of moving away. In order for this village to work, I need to know that you'll stay in the village."
"I… don't understand," Robin said, puzzled. "Why is my staying here so important?"
"My goodness, you are more dense than Laurent." After muttering a little bit, Libra continued, "Despite the fact that you often dine alone, despite the fact that your tactics have created Minor Shepherds, and despite the fact that there are so many Shepherds in the camp, you are the most liked among us all. Everyone feels a strong connection to you, except for those future children that all got recruited in the same mission. You should probably address that, by the way. Anyhow, for this plan to work, you need to live in the village. Will you?"
Robin paused for a second before replying, "I will if Lucina does." The princess's face turned pale as everyone in the room stared at her. "You originally said when you joined the Shepherds that you planned to return to your time after this was done. If you do go, I'm going with you. But if you're willing to settle down in the village, I'd be happy to stay."
Lucina paused. The eyes of her parents and the heads of the Village operative were on her, and she felt pressured to make a decision. The princess was attached to that barren, flowerless time and the people who lived in it, but she had to seriously consider whether or not it would even be there. Then there were her parents: Chrom would be sad if she left, but Sumia would be devastated. And if Robin came with her, that would be too much for them to bear. Besides, she knew how much Robin loved the place. She couldn't take him away.
"Yes, Robin. There's nothing I'd rather do than live in that village with you." They embraced while Sumia smiled and Miriel and Libra headed back out to the wedding party. Then Chrom slapped Robin on the back and led his wife out of the room. And while Robin followed Lucina, he suddenly called out:
"HEY! WHAT DO YOU MEAN, MY TACTICS CREATE MINOR SHEPHERDS?!"
"I was worried that you would say you were leaving." Lucina turned to face Robin as he started talking from out of nowhere. They had returned to Robin's room, where Lucina sat and removed her Great Lord armor. "Now I know for sure that I'm now the luckiest man alive."
Lucina gave Robin a puzzled look as she removed her blue shirt and donned a nightgown, while Robin removed his jacket and shirt as he sat down next to her. "How are you the luckiest man alive?" Robin laughed and replied, "Because after we stop the Risen, I'll be able to settle down among my friends and live the rest of my life with the kindest, most pure-hearted, and most beautiful woman in the world."
Lucina blushed as she pulled the tactician in for a passionate kiss. Robin lifted the sheets of their bed as they laid down. Lucina wrapped her arm around Robin's shoulders as they embraced until she fell asleep. Then, after Robin realized that Chrom probably did the exact same thing to Sumia, the grandmaster chuckled and drifted into sleep as well.
"Hello again, Dragon Bird." Robin was standing up now, in the ring across from Hans, while the Shepherds cheered around him. He could see everyone clearly: Inigo and Severa watching intently, Stahl, Vaike, and Kjelle enraptured by battle, and Lucina watching with concern behind them. Iago stood in the shadows behind her. "Look out!" The grandmaster ran to attack Iago, but ran into a wall that he couldn't see. He looked to the other side of the ring and spotted Kellam, so he knew that he was simply trapped within.
"They can't hear you, Dragon Bird. And even if they could hear you, why would they reply? You can't hear them." Robin turned back to face Iago as he stepped into the other side of the ring. "Oh, they all adore you. From Frederick and Ricken to Sully and Cynthia, you have inspired greatness, honor, and envy. They love you dearly, Robin, every one of them. But that wedding was only the third or fourth time you ate your dinner with the group. Never again. No, you only left them to boil in envy and hatred while you wallowed in loneliness, and they will turn their backs on you soon." Robin threw a quick jab at Iago, but he dissolved into mist, reforming on the other side of the grandmaster.
"Yah friends would grieve for a little while, but yew made them feel threatened. Soon they will suspect you to be their enemy, and then you won't have nobody to fight for ya. Not Chrom, not your friends, not your girl, not even your daughter." Robin swung his arms madly at Hans, but he dissolved into smoke like Iago, once again reforming.
"If you're going to cut me up again, Hans," Robin growled, "Get on with it already. Lucina will wake me up before long, so I recommend you do what you're going to do quickly."
Iago laughed evilly at Robin's suggestion. "Oh, here's the kicker. Your dream tormenters aren't even here. So while we can't hurt you, you cannot get rid of us, no matter how long you try. Because we're you, Robin. You will cave to our will eventually. Your internal darkness will be your undoing." Robin threw himself at the edge of the ring, begging for the Shepherds to let him go.
"C'mon, Robin! Beat him like the Vaike taught ya!" Robin ran to another edge of the ring, screaming for release from his terror. "Take him down, Robin!" Robin fell to the ground and backed away from Stahl. "Robin, stop! You're going to hurt yourself!" Robin ran to the edge of the ring again with the Shepherds' raucous voices and illuminated faces branding themselves into his mind, while the grandmaster screamed in agony for Lucina or anyone to free him from the infernal ring, while Iago's voice rang out, "This is your reality, Robin. Embrace your darkness." And so Robin fell to the ground by the outside of the ring, sobbing, while the incantation of his pleas was powerless to save him.
Lucina woke in a sweat, breathing hard from her own nightmares until she turned to see Robin tossing and turning while muttering incoherently. She had seen what had occurred days before, and she did not want to let him experience the same thing. So Lucina turned and shook him, but got no response. Resorting to the next quick option, she took a cup of water from Robin's desk and dumped it on his head.
Robin was up in an instant, screaming for a second before Lucina placed her hand over his mouth and asked, "Robin, did they strike again? But there's no blood! Just a bad dream?" The man who Walhart bestowed the rank of Grandmaster upon clutched Lucina tight, still unable to stop shaking. Lucina set her chin on Robin's shoulder as they slowly reverted into a sleeping position.
"Th-th-this has b-begun to be-become a h-habit…" Robin discovered that shuddering from fear, talking, crying, and laughing all at the same time was very difficult.
"It's- it's worth it. I'd like nothing more than to be nightmare ridden wrecks together with you." Lucina's reply prompted Robin to press his lips onto Lucina's, and they stayed pressed together in fear and a little bit of happiness throughout the night.
"You okay, Robin? You don't look like you're feeling good." Robin shrugged in response to Ricken's question and replied, "It's been a rough few days, man." Ricken nodded, and almost on cue, Nah ran in and tugged on her father's arm.
"Dad, you need to come quick, Mother is causing trouble in the marketplace." Ricken sighed, then stood up and said, "Just remember this whenever you have complaints about your family life." Then the dark knight ran off. Robin, meanwhile, just strolled on to the armory, watching Sully walk up to Gregor within a more organized dueling ring. Robin shook away his recent nightmares and looked on.
"Oy, Sullykins." The paladin's face contorted with anger in response to Gregor's greeting. "Stop calling me that." Gregor gave a look of mock surprise to Sully. Or real surprise. Robin could never be sure with Gregor. "Ho ho! You no like name Sullykins? But name suits you. Very ladylike."
"There's nothing ladylike about it, you flea-ridden GOAT!" Gregor rolled his eyes. "You wound Gregor. When comrades fight together, they give pet names, yes? Is sign of friendship and respect, yes?" The sell sword set his swell sword down and began to make random gestures with his arms. "'Hail Sullykins, brave and faithful ally!' Come, Gregor and Sullykins are friends! No need to make with the blushings." Robin had to clasp his hand over his mouth to keep from laughing while Sully replied, "I'm not… blushing." The grandmaster kept track of every major conversation between Shepherds, and Sully had never acted like this.
"But new name is not only reason Sullykins is embarrassed! You know real reason, yes?" Gregor chuckled with a smug smile on his face. "Sullykins secretly in love with Gregor!"
The paladin's hand was on her sword in an instant as she replied, "You say that again, and I'll shove my sword so far up your ass that it pokes out of your mouth." However, all this did was make Gregor more confident and instigating. "Ho ho ho! Gregor likes woman with steam-filled head! Maybe he teases you more!" Sully then picked up her lance and yelled, "And maybe I'll turn you into a doormat! You've insulted me and my honor for the last damn time!"
"And if Sullykins loses?" Sully replied in a heartbeat. "Then that life and honor are in your hands." Gregor grinned in excitement and drew his sword. "Gregor accepts terms from Sullykins! Is ready when she is!"
Both of them were using real weapons, a sensation Robin was familiar with; he had dueled Sully twice, both times with real weapons and neither time official, and had a couple scars and a 1-1 record against her to show for it. Gregor's sword glistened in the early morning light as it clashed with Sully's lance. Sully took a jab at Gregor's torso, which he parried. Gregor took his opportunity to attempt to knock down the paladin, but Sully had seen the trick before and knocked the bow knight away with the butt of her lance. Sully then dropped the lance and readied her sword instead.
Sully then went on the offensive again, slashing rapidly at Gregor, but the sell sword was used to fighting Lon'qu, and had thus created a counter for aggressive swordsmen. He let a slash slide across his sword, then seized and twisted Sully's arm, forcing her to drop her sword. Then he tripped Sully to the ground and held his blade to her throat.
"Gregor-" The bow knight sheathed his sword and said, "If you want to dispute results, Gregor has nothing to say."
"No, I accept that you're better. For now, at least." The paladin stood up and wiped dirt off of her sleeves. "Now name your terms so we can be done with this and I can sleep at night!"
Gregor shook his head with his eyes closed. "Gregor is no longer interested in competition with woman like you."
"I admitted that you won! So if you're going to refuse just because I'm a woman-" Gregor interrupted her, aggravated. "Is not because you are woman! Is because you are Sully!"
"Okay, now I REALLY don't understand what's going on!" Robin bit his tongue to keep from laughing at Sully's angry yelling. Gregor threw up his arms in the air as he replied, "Gregor cannot fight woman who he is loving so madly." Sully was taken aback. "So instead of beating you with sword again, he buys you lovely gift instead." Gregor reached into his pocket and produced a small box. He opened it to reveal a simple silver ring. "Gregor is wanting to marry you, yes?"
Sully could barely produce words. "I don't understand. Why me?" Gregor urgently replied, "Because you are fine woman. Strong and brave and proud! Gregor is long time admiring Sullykins from afar." Sully leaned against a weapons rack, speechless.
"What are you looking at?" Robin whirled around to see Kjelle giving him and interrogative look. She was not wearing her heavy shoulder armoring, which allowed her to sneak up on Robin. "Kjelle, you might want to see this." The knight looked around the corner just next to Robin and listened to Gregor.
"Gregor knows he is old man with many scars. So is okay if you say no. But do not be saying so because of duels! That, Gregor's poor heart could not take." Sully stood up straight and said, "I wouldn't say no because of that. Actually, I wouldn't say no at all." Gregor expectantly replied, "Is meaning Sully says yes?"
"I've learned a lot from you, Gregor. I think we make a pretty damn fine team. So yeah. I'll marry you." Gregor laughed loudly and replied, "Oh, words of joyfulness! Gregor will do his happy dance!"
"…But only if you don't do that happy dance." Sully took her turn to laugh, then pulled Gregor in closer to her and kissed him right on the lips- just as Kjelle stepped forward. Sully noticed Kjelle and quickly pulled away, asking, "How long were you watching?" Gregor took two steps closer to the knight, looking directly into her eyes, still not noticing that their hair color was the same.
"Kell," Gregor said nervously, "Gregor knows he is not true father. So if Kell is angry at sell sword with swell sword, Gregor understands." Kjelle threw her arms around Gregor and yelled, "Do you not see that I inherited your hair?! I'm YOUR daughter!" Gregor merely replied, "Oy, Gregor cannot breathe. Your father is old man, Kell. Take easy." Robin quickly hurried away, leaving the reunited family to themselves.
Continuing on, the grandmaster saw Kenshin looking over the wall of Chrom's castle instantly. The young man was impossible to miss- he radiated glory. Walking up next to him, Robin saw Kenshin's mother Phila leading drills for the other Pegasus knights. He stood there for a second, watching them go through the motions of attack. Hover, slash. Spin, jab.
"When Chrom comes up onto this wall," Robin spoke, making Kenshin jump, "He's evaluating potential Shepherds. But you aren't evaluating the Pegasus Knights, or admiring your mother. No, you're admiring the pegasi, and while they do look rather well-groomed, I should tell you that marrying an animal is only legal if they're a manakete or a taguel."
"I-I'm not- ugh, whatever. I'm just disappointed. I skipped the wedding last night in order to sneak in a flight on a Pegasus." Before the cavalier could continue, Robin said, "You really did want to become a Pegasus Knight, didn't you?" Kenshin nodded and continued to look on. "Yes, but since they're all female, I could never do it. My only chance to ride a Pegasus is at night. I do wish I had gone to the wedding. It would have been nice to see Morgan again." Robin gave Kenshin a curious look. "You seem awfully attached to Morgan. Is it just because she's from the same future as you, or is it because she was your girlfriend in your time?"
Kenshin gave him a disgusted look. "UGH! Morgan's my cousin, Robin!" Kenshin's eyes grew wide as he buried his head in his hands, realizing his blunder. "I'm your uncle, aren't I? Is Kellam my brother?"
"No. My mother is your sister." Robin sat down on the battlements, his hand on his forehead, processing this news. "Do you know who our mother is? Because I don't, and I'd like to know." In response to Robin's question, Kenshin shook his head. "My mother doesn't remember her at all either. Mother was raised in a Ylissean orphanage until a wealthy family took her in."
"I'm sorry, Kenshin," Robin stood up, knees still wobbling. "I shouldn't be grilling my nephew with these questions. But thank you." The tactician hugged the cavalier, who squirmed to escape the embrace.
"Please don't tell my mother, though. She didn't take it well when she found out you were siblings: she interrogated you constantly in an attempt to jog your memory until you showed her some letter. It was weird."
"I know what letter you're talking about, so I won't show Phila. But you should hurry off before you're categorized as a stalker." Kenshin smiled faintly and replied, "Thanks… Uncle Robin." The tactician rubbed his head while his nephew walked away. The whole "Uncle" thing would be harder to get used to than Father.
"Grandmaster, we bear urgent correspondence from my uncle!" Robin turned to see Severa help Owain up the steps, saying, "Could you not shout your big words in my ear?! Gawds!" The grandmaster rolled his eyes and said, "What's the big news?"
"Validar has invited us to Plegia so that he can give us Sable. Most obvious trap EVER!" Severa's yell made Robin wince before replying, "I would like to keep my ears, but yeah, it's definitely a trap. Knowing Validar, once we get in and talk for a bit, past his guards in the shadows, he'll probably say something like…"
"Give me the Fire Emblem! Give it to me!" In the halls of the castle of Plegia, Robin, Chrom, and Lucina readied themselves. This was just what they predicted. "Never, Validar!" The king of Plegia shook his head.
"Then this parley is over! Seize them!" Grimleal dark mages began casting spells at them. "This way!" The three Ylissean 'diplomats' dashed down a staircase to a meeting place with the other shepherds while Robin heard a voice echoing behind him:
"If he had half the wits of his father, he would know they've already lost." Joining the Shepherds, Robin and Lucina moved to the front of the group. The battle ahead would change their lives forever.
