The Shepherds filed into the great hall before the ceremony kicked off. Some retirees had even come in from afar. The formation of a new noble house was a rare event after all, especially when it was a close personal friend.
"Think we're far enough away?" Gaius asked only to be elbowed by Cherche who was not running security with Frederick due to her being very pregnant. She was stubborn enough to only recently take leave when she could barely put on her boots by herself and even then it took some convincing.
"Be glad you got a seat at all," The woman huffed, "Most people are stuck outside."
"Nyah! Look at all those people," Henry said with his signature smile.
"Henry," Cherche started as a scolding mother, "Don't."
"What?" The dark mage kept grinning.
"It is something, isn't it," Stahl took his seat next to his wife ignoring the situation as Cherche scolded Henry.
"It is quite the event," Cordelia agreed.
"Eh," Gaius put his feet up on the back of the seat in front of him only to have them pushed down by Kellam which made him give a strange look before shrugging it off, "We all know what they're getting at here. This is like a pre-wedding. Only without the cake."
"I think they deserve some happiness," Cherche replied as she carefully maneuvered into her seat with a slightly less happy Henry sitting on the back row.
"Never said they didn't."
"Hush now," Cordelia waved them down, "It's starting."
Robin adjusted his far too fine gloves one last time as he was about to be ushered out. He had finally been forced to "upgrade" his grandmaster attire, and, of course, those upgrades came at the cost of comfort. However, he was more than willing to pay that price if it meant being with her.
So, as the doors opened and he was ushered into the main hall, he ignored his uncomfortable gloves and held his head high with the dignity expected of him now. He kept his eyes forward as he walked out which was made much easier by Lucina standing in front of him in her Exalt attire. The hard part was not looking like he was staring which was fairly difficult for him given her radiant beauty.
He kneeled when he reached her which honestly felt a bit odd. The disparity of their ranks became incredibly apparent. Fortunately, they were in the process of remedying that situation.
"Sir Robin," Lucina spoke regally, masking their personal ties though most in the room either knew or suspected that there was something between them, "You have done the people of Ylisse a great service by vanquishing the Fell Dragon Grima once and for all despite the risk to your own life. That, coupled with your devotion to the halidom and distinguished military career," Robin held back a grimace at that as Lucina did a sympathetic gaze. His career did not seem so successful to him when he thought of all the soldiers he lost in Valm. They may have not been Sheperds, but he felt that he had failed them and Lucina knew that, "You are deserving of one of Ylisse's highest honors."
"To that end, in accordance with our laws and traditions, I bestow upon you the rank of full nobility. It is also my understanding that you have no surname, so it is your choice as to what your new house shall be called. Do you have a name?" Lucina asked knowing full and well that he did.
"Yes. I have chosen Darean," There was not anything really special behind the name; he just knew that he needed to pick something to be with Lucina, and, as it turned out, that was enough for Robin.
"Very well," Lucina drew Falchion from its especially ornate scabbard. It was hers as while Lucina typically used Chrom's for official purposes leaving her own locked away, it felt more personal to use it here. Not that she told anyone about the little switch. She laid the blade on his left shoulder, "I hereby pronounce you the head of the Darean house." She then moved the blade to his right shoulder before removing and re-sheathing it, "Long may you prosper."
Robin stood, smiled, and took his place next to Lucina. With the ceremony more or less finished, Lucina dismissed the crowd. Afterwards, Lucina and Robin met up back in the waiting room.
"Well, guess I'm a noble now."
"Indeed," Lucina smiled, "So I suppose we are free to proceed."
"Yes, but we may want to give it some time. Don't want to make it look too staged…even if that is exactly what we're doing."
Lucina was about to speak, but she was interrupted by the Shepherds reaching them.
"Congratulations you guys!" Stahl spoke first.
"Er, thank you," Lucina responded, "But it was Robin's ceremony."
"Come on," Gaius chewed on some sugary treat, "We all know what you're up to."
Lucina's face turned quite red at that as she attempted to regain her bearings at having her personal affairs so open. Robin, for his part, took it a bit better as he had suspected they already knew anyway. They were not exactly the most subtle the past few weeks, and they were being pressured to work quickly.
"Alright, you caught us," Robin admitted.
"I think it's kind of romantic," Cordelia smiled.
"Yes," Lucina cleared her throat, "But could we please not discuss it here?"
"Alright, but we should still celebrate," Stahl chimed in.
"Yes," Lucina agreed, "I've actually had a diner prepared in Robin's honor."
"What are we waiting for!" Stahl was ready to make a one man stampede for the dining hall while Gaius perked up at the potential that he was wrong about the lack of cake.
"Uh, probably us," Ricken apologized as he and Maribelle walked up arm in arm, "Sorry, it took us a while to get away from the other nobles."
"Hmm," Maribelle observed Robin, "I suppose we can work on your bearing at a later date."
"Wait, what's wrong with my bearing?" She did not respond and instead the Shepherds made for the dining hall. Robin then turned to Lucina, "What's wrong with my bearing?"
"Nothing, dear," She wrapped her arm around his, "Of course, I may be a bit biased."
Robin decided he was fine with that answer and fell in with her as they made their way to join the others.
A/N: The surname is not exact as I changed the spelling slightly, but it is a reference.