A/N: This is being written as part of a 20-minute creative sprint courtesy of LaurenTheFlute. Look up her twitch channel, she is a spectacular musician! As for this chapter, yes, it will have the avatar from Fire Emblem: Awakening. However, it will NOT be the default avatar. I have two avatars of my own in that game, one male, one female; this will be the latter, and her appearance is based on the one I chose for the game. I'll be using "Robin" as her name instead of my avatar's, though. Also, there will naturally be HUGE spoilers for that game, so if you haven't played it yet, you have only yourself to blame.

I waited excitedly for the Chozo to land, eager to see what the world of Fire Emblem held in store for me. Considering that it was a "swords and sorcery" type setting, I was especially excited to see what I could learn about magic and swordplay there. Not only did you have Chrom, a descendant of Marth, you had Robin, an incredible magic-wielder and master strategist; between the two of them, I was sure I could learn quite a bit.

The ship landed in the courtyard of Castle Ylisse; as the loading ramp lowered, I walked right next to Link, proudly wearing my green tunic; hopefully, being identified as his apprentice would make it more likely for Chrom or Robin to be willing to work with me. Waiting for us at the ramp was none other than Frederick, the most badass butler since Alfred in Batman. The stern knight was about as big as Simon, but with a much more stoic demeanor as befitting a butler.

"Greetings, knights of the Royal Guard, and welcome to Ylisse. I am Sir Frederick of Ylisstol. I must say, it is indeed an honor to meet such esteemed individuals such as yourselves."

Link nodded. "Likewise, Sir Frederick. I've heard quite a bit about you as well; your reputation precedes you."

The knight returned the nod, never leaving his ramrod-straight posture, even as he looked in my direction. "Who might this be? He seems quite young for a Royal Guardsman."

I had to struggle not to react to that comment. Fortunately, Link answered for me. "This is Casey. He isn't a member of the Royal Guard, but he is my apprentice. I hope his presence won't bother you?"

Frederick shook his head. "Not at all. Now if you will follow me, Exalt Chrom and Queen Robin await you in the throne room."

We were lead through lavishly-decorated halls until we reached the massive throne room, where the two protagonists of Fire Emblem Awakening sat. Chrom was dressed in shimmering white formal-wear armor, his signature sword Falchion at his side; Robin wore a black-and-red robe that complimented her tall frame, her short-cut dark red hair, and her calm eyes. Standing at either side of the royal pair were their children from the future (it's complicated), Morgan and Lucina. The latter's present-day counterpart, still an infant, lay in her mother's lap. I wondered how they would explain that to the kid once she got old enough...

"Well hello, Link. It's been some time, hasn't it?"

Link nodded to the blue-haired king, speaking in a surprisingly casual tone, considering he was talking to royalty. "Yeah, last time we met was just before the war with Valm—one of the best sparring sessions I've ever had, honestly. I don't think I ever had to work that hard in a straight-up sword fight."

"Oh, don't be so humble. You're still one of the best swordsmen alive," Chrom said with a chuckle before turning to me. "I'm assuming based on his uniform that this newcomer is your student?"

He nodded. "Yeah. He's got a long way to go, but he has a lot of natural talent."

"If he's training under you, he must have. Well, don't be shy, introduce yourself—I don't bite!"

I bowed deeply. In spite of remembering him from a game, I was pretty overwhelmed by the presence he had. "My name is Casey Kendall. It's an honor to meet you, Your Highness."

The ruler of Ylisse smiled and chuckled lightly. "There's no need to be so formal. I've never been one for excessive manners, anyway."

At that, his wife snorted loudly as she tried to stifle her laughter; he turned back toward her with a hilariously put-out expression. "What?"

Robin spoke with an amused tone. "I think that sentence would be a little more accurate if you removed the word 'excessive', Chrom."

He shook his head in slight embarrassment and gestured toward his family. "Might I introduce my wife Robin, my son Morgan, and my daughters, Marta and Lucina."

So that's how they're going to deal with future!Lucina... also, naming her after Marth is pretty clever.

The royal heirs didn't say anything, instead smiling and nodding. Robin looked on with a smile of her own. "I'm pleased to meet all of you. What brings you all here?"

Link explained the situation, including my powers and my situation. Chrom's demeanor shifted almost instantly from a friendly warrior to a serious king; Robin displayed a similarly severe expression, obviously going into "strategy mode". Once explanations were done with, the former turned to Frederick and spoke in the stern voice of a commander.

"Frederick, inform the Shepherds that they are to be combat ready as soon as possible. Also, have the army on standby."

"Shall I inform them that we are once again at war?"

"No, don't tell them anything just yet. Let them know there is a potential threat, and that they need to be prepared for anything, but until we know more, we ought to brace ourselves rather than march out without thinking. Once Robin comes up with a strategy, we'll call a war meeting to discuss it. For now, just tell them to be ready."

"It shall be done at once, My Lord."

The stoic knight bowed and took his leave. Once he was gone, Chrom looked over all of us with a smile. "Well, until we come up with a war plan, I suppose it wouldn't hurt to help all of you settle in for now; the servants will show you to the staterooms. By the way, Link, Casey, please meet me in the training yard after you unpack. I'm interested in seeing what you're both capable of!"

I soon found myself standing in the training yard along with Link, Chrom, and future!Lucina—er, Marta.

"Casey, how much has Link taught you?"

I answered Chrom's question with some embarrassment. "Not much besides the basics so far, Your Highness. We've been really busy lately. I was hoping to learn some more while I was here, maybe even study a little more magic as well.

"Well then, you're in the right place. Take up that practice sword and shield from the rack there; Marta will test you a bit, and we'll see just where you're at."

I grabbed the items in question and got into my best ready stance, but was already intimidated by the princess of Ylisse as she leveled her wooden practice blade at me.

"BEGIN!"

I began with a few simple thrusts, which Lucina easily batted aside before countering with a light chop to my left side. I barely got my shield up in time to deflect the blow and respond with a quick sword cut to her own flank. To my shock, not only did my attack not hit, she had leapt clear over my head from a standing position and in one swift motion made a wide arc with her blade at my back. I rolled forward, turning around as I got to my feet, only to immediately find myself desperately defending against her impeccable blade work. Just as I found myself backed into the wall, she immediately sheathed the practice blade and gave a slight bow, which I returned nervously.

It was obvious that I was not even a gnat compared to her level of skill. My dismay at this must have been written all over my face, because Lucina smiled gently at me, speaking in a reassuring tone. "Hey, don't feel too bad. You did well for a beginner. Link definitely hammered the basic footwork into you pretty well, considering how little time you must have had to train."

I felt my face go beet-red at her praise. I wasn't sure whether it was from the compliment or her smile, but either way, it led to me babbling like a moron. "W-well, I, um... g-guess I just had a good teacher...? Or something..."

Both Link and Chrom both laughed very loudly at my response. The former turned to Chrom, still recovering from his amusement. "Well, that's an interesting compliment. I hope you don't mind it if I let him work with your daughter a little more while he's here?"

"Not at all. And from the looks of it, I don't think your apprentice would mind it much, either!"

Lucina's only reaction was the typical "teenager whose dorky dad just embarrassed her in public" sigh as her face turned a color similar to mine.

Later that evening while wandering through the castle, I came upon the library, where Robin sat quietly, a book in her hands. I looked around in awe at the hundreds upon hundreds of books on nearly every subject before the Queen noticed me.

"Ah, Casey. What are you doing in here?"

I looked at her, somewhat startled. "Um, sorry, I didn't know anyone was in here."

"It's fine. You seem to be interested in books, if I'm not mistaken?"

"Well, uh, yeah, kind of," I said nervously. "I'm actually learning magic in addition to combat, and I just thought there might be stuff on that in here."

She smiled brightly. "Well, you've come to the right place, then! I could give you some tutoring myself if you'd like."

There was no way I was going to pass up that kind of opportunity. "Wow, really? Thank you! Um, uh, I mean, thank you Your Highness—"

"Hey, don't worry. I don't like being that formal any more than Chrom does. Now, let's see, where did I put that book on theory..."

Robin turned out to be a very patient and helpful teacher, and I managed to learn more about magic from her in a few minutes than I had learned on my own since I had arrived in the multiverse. Theory was actually just as fascinating as learning spells; in fiction, the actual mechanics of magic are almost NEVER discussed, so discovering how it all worked was an interesting experience. Soon enough, I was using basic telekinesis to lift books in the air and hold them open as I read; this was extremely difficult, as it basically entailed two forms of telekinesis on top of each other while dividing your focus at the same time. At times it made my head hurt, but the encouragements from Robin were great for motivating me.

"Now close your eyes and focus on the energy flow. Try to imagine it as a bunch of ribbons of different colors; then, just grab the one that corresponds to the appropriate energy, then reach out with your hands as if to pull on it as you make the hand motions. Visualization is a great way to remember the direction of the flow, and it helps train you to recognize the energies involved better."

I did as she was told, waving my hands in the pattern required for the spell.

"Now, just as the energy starts to coalesce, let go of the ribbon and allow it to 'snap' back, and that should release the spell with a little more force."

"Like pulling on a bowstring?"

"A very good description, actually! Whatever helps you visualize it better. The ribbon thing is just how I learned it."

The ribbon thing was working just fine for me, so I just went with that and released the energy as I spoke the word.

"ELWIND!"

A small tornado formed in front of me, spinning in place. It took all the control I had to prevent it from going all over the place and blowing books and papers everywhere; instead, after a few seconds, the spell "fizzled out", the tornado dissipating as I clutched my forehead in exhaustion.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, just worn out. Thanks for the lesson. I never knew how much of a difference a tutor made! I've been studying all on my own since coming here; Princess Zelda was the only one I knew who used magic, and she was obviously too busy running the multiverse to teach me. "

Robin smiled again. "Well, there's your problem! Magic is a complicated thing. Unless you're already really experienced, self-study can feel like slamming your head against a wall without effect. Once you get back to the Hub, try to get an actual teacher. I'm sure she wouldn't object to that."

"Mother, are you in here? Dinner's ready!"

"Yes, Morgan, I was just helping Sir Link's apprentice with his magic studies. We'll be right there!"

I'd never eaten dinner in a royal dining hall, and even the food at the Hub castle was mostly just standard fare in the Royal Guard quarters rather than the kind of sumptuous feast that lay in front of us: Roast chicken, perfectly-seasoned steak, fresh salads, and the fluffiest and most perfectly baked dinner rolls ever conceived by man. And that was just the main course! The desserts featured cakes, pies, candied cherries, bread pudding, chocolates, and more. This was as close to heaven as any dinner could get, and by the time I was finished I felt like I would burst if I had one more bite.

As I walked down the hallway towards the stateroom I was staying in, I was in such a daze from the oncoming food coma that I almost ran into Lucina on the way.

"Oops! Uh, sorry about that. I ought to pay more attention to where I'm going..."

"That's fine, I was just talking to Sir Link about our training regimen."

I perked up at that. "Oh, that's right! I was hoping you could teach me a little bit about how you do those amazing acrobatics in mid-combat. Watching you flip over my head like that was great... uh, I mean, I wasn't WATCHING you, so much as SEEING you, not that I actually SAW anythingandokay, I should probably stop talking now..."

She chuckled a bit in response. "It's okay, according to mother, father was about as awkward when he proposed to her."

It took all my strength not to pull an Ethan and faint right there. She apparently noticed my reaction, because she panicked a bit as well. "Er, I mean, not that you were proposing anything..."

"No, not at all..."

"So we should..."

"Yeah..."

"Um, see you in the morning?"

"Right, right, uh, goodnight? I mean, goodnight!"

A few minutes later, Link arrived to our shared room and wondered why I was banging my head against the wall. I didn't have the strength to tell him.

Why yes, I DO love making my OCs squirm. I'm not sure if anything will come of this, but even if it doesn't it ought to make for good comic relief—which will absolutely be needed as the plot kicks back up. As always, read and review!