"What was it like, Mama?"
"What was what like, death?" I grinned, in a ploy to scare the two. The two looked at each other, before turning back to me and nodding slowly.
"Wow, Mama's come back from the dead!" Morgan grinned, and Marc frowned.
"Wouldn't that make you a risen?" she asked, wisdom beyond her years sewn into her words. I chuckled, wondering where my daughter had gained the genius genes.
"It was most likely a coma, which is like a very deep sleep." I responded. "I've only ever felt that way twice."
Morgan rubbed his eyes, and I could see the sleepiness marching on his face.
"Is it bed time?" I asked, tilting my head, and he shook his own; messy mop of curls spraying about with the movement. Marc looked even more tired, but knowing they'd complain if I didn't, I carried on.
When I woke up again, the winter sun was caressing my skin through the still semi-opened window. I looked around, there was nobody in the room at all. Considering there were 4 of them here at naga-knows-when in the morning, it was weird to see none of them here at breakfast time.
Breakfast.
As if on cue, my stomach rumbled, acutely aware that I fell asleep before those two idiots I call best friends could return. A small bowl of soup sat on the table on the side. As I moved to get it, I felt stiff all throughout. I got small static shocks as my I placed my feet on the floor, and as I moved a similar sensation occurred with every step, and surprisingly, it hurt a little.
By the time I reached the broth, it was cold with a thin layer of oily grease on top, the by-product of the food being left out overnight. The layer had congealed into a light grey paste, but any intention I had of eating the broth faded as I inspected the congealed mess.
The door was softly pushed open, and I turned to see Libra.
"You should still be in bed." He replied, moving towards said furniture. I nodded, and my stomach growled again as I smelt the warmth of food from a plate he was holding.
Once I was settled back under the thick bedding, Libra held a fork out.
"I'm not letting you spoon feed me." I frown, and Libra sighed.
"How painful is it for you to move your arms?" he asked. I tested it with my left arm, and the stiffness of the month-long sleep left my arm barely able to hold the fork. "Exactly." He added, holding the egg-laden utensil out to me. "Open wide."
My belly let out yet another cry for food, and swallowing my pride, I went along with it. We were midway through, when there was a knock on the door. Libra place the fork back onto the plate, saving me the possible embarrassment of one of the others seeing the monk feeding me, and softly called for whoever it was to enter.
In came Chrom, shadowed by Frederick. The exalt looked tired and sleepless, eyes heavy and skin pale.
"Libra, I'm sorry if this is a bad time, but I'm worried about Olivia and the Baby. She hasn-" He suddenly noticed me sitting up, and staring at him intently. "Robin! You're awake!" He exclaimed, surprise echoing through the room.
"Yeah, I woke up last night." I smiled softly, and Chrom moved beside my bedside.
"How are you?" He asked, then creasing his nose. "Of course you're not well you just woke up from a coma..."
A quiet hem hem brought the clutzy ruler back to reality, suddenly turning back to Frederick, and then to Libra.
"If Frederick's willing to continue here, I can come and check on Olivia." Libra smiled softly. "Even if it's nothing, it's better for me to check." Frederick seemed to pale, though all three of them nodded to each other before the pair left the room, leaving me alone with the Great Knight.
"You alright, Freddy?" I asked, using Lissa's pet name. "I won't bite." I added, as he moved to sit where Libra was.
"What was Libra doing?" he asked, tilting his head.
"Feeding me." I chuckled, watching his reaction closely. "It's too painful for me to move my arms right now."
The great knight blushed, a deep crimson colour spraying across his cheeks.
"Right…well…I'll go and see if I can find someone closer to you to do that." He excused himself, moving hurriedly away, leaving me confused as to why it was such a big deal.
"He's probably secretly in love with you, Bubbles." Gaius snickered a few minutes later – Frederick having sent the two my way after his quick exit earlier. Stahl frowned as he finished pronging the eggs onto the fork, looking up at me.
"Didn't he hate you until not that long ago."
"I think so?" I shrugged. "He seemed like a completely different person last night."
"Maybe he realized he was in love when she was half dead." Gaius shrugged, unwrapping a lemon sherbet from its crinkly wrappers.
"Seems unlikely." Stahl snorted. "He hated her last month."
"Hate's close to love, idiot." Gaius retorted in a similar fashion.
"Hey, what happened to Muffin?"
"Wow, someone actually liked a nickname I gave them."
Luckily I only needed to be spoon fed the one time, regaining the use of my arms in time for lunch. By then, I'd had many visitors, almost everyone in the Shepherds. Maribelle and Lissa had brought a tea set with them, and with some assistance from the yellow-haired princess, the three of us sat and chatted for a while, making me realize just how much I'd missed. Lissa'd finally figured out how to use her tomes too, after stricter instruction from Miriel. (With Frederick present).
Lissa also spent the first five minutes sobbing into my bed at how guilty she felt, before confessing that she was falling in love with Lon'Qu, with said bodyguard waiting dutifully on the other side of the door. She seemed distracted and distant, however, and a quick glance at Maribelle confirmed that this impromptu tea party was a distraction from Olivia's complications this morning.
Midway through, Cordelia and Sumia arrived, and the five of us continued on until it was near enough to lunchtime. There was a quiet knock on the door, which would've been inaudible had it not been for a lull in conversation. Cordelia pulled it open, and revealed Stahl standing there with a laden tray.
"Ah…sorry if I'm interrupting." He paled. "I'm just bringing Robin's lunch."
"Ah, let's take this cue to leave." Maribelle smiled, and the four of them gathered their tea cups, moved chairs, and left the room looking virtually untouched in a matter of seconds. Stahl watched carefully.
"How did they manage to do that?" Stahl asked in confusion, and I shrugged.
"Girl magic."
"I ran into Libra, who asked me to bring you some food. He suggested you try to go for a walk this evening, so how about dinner?" he asked. Suddenly, his eyes widened. "I mean, come to the mess hall… with everyone else! Not just me…" he rambled, and I tilted my head.
"Stahl" I frowned. "Can I eat now?" He grinned, moving to the chair beside the bed, holding the tray carefully.
"Of course you can." He plopped himself onto the chair Lissa had previously been inhabiting, and smirked. "Do I need to spoon feed you again?"
"Nope." I grunted, leaning over to grab the tray. "I can move my arms better now, if you couldn't tell by my amazing tea drinking skills."
"That's good then." My olive haired companion smiled. "I also ran into Frederick, who told me to apologize for his earlier departure." I chuckled at the memory.
"Did you think it was weird having to feed me?" I questioned, tilting my head and speaking with my mouth half full.
"Well, it was weird yeah, but we were practically ordered to do it by Frederick." He replied, watching the spoon diving with vigour into the stew. "Gaius told me immediately he wouldn't do it, and Libra's been busy with Olivia all day."
"How is she?"
"Tharja's convinced she's going to lose the baby." Stahl murmured darkly.
The spoon dropped with a loud thunk, back into the bowl. Like a small boat, it quickly sunk underneath the carrots and potatoes, out of sight in the brown dish.
"No…" I whispered, my distress for the couple becoming evident on my face. "That's horrible."
"Libra's convinced they're twins as well." Stahl sighed. I could feel my heart tearing in two – the same heart that had broken at their marriage. The same heart I'd kept soft and tender with love, tearing off the hard shell that had grown at Chrom's engagement.
"She can't lose them both." I frowned, indignantly.
"All we can do is hope."
A few hours later, I was walking between Stahl and Gaius, no longer feeling the painful electricity roaring underneath my skin. Lissa skipped ahead, with Lon'Qu a few meters behind us. His usually indifferent expression towards the sunshine-yellow princess melting into a very small, very loose, but still very much there smile.
"How does it feel to be up and about again, Bubbles?" Gaius asked, with a grin.
"Odd." I laughed back. I'd donned my regular clothes before – freshly laundered, though strangely heavy against my skin.
"We're under orders from Libra that you can only walk to the mess hall and back." Lissa giggled, spinning around and facing me as she walked backwards. "So, you'd better appreciate your little entourage while it lasts!" I then made the mental click between how the group were walking around me, and how likely I was to keel over.
"I appreciate it." I assured her. "Don't you worry."
We made our way into the dining rooms, and Stahl and Gaius bundled me into a seat.
"Wait here." Stahl ordered, and I nodded. I grinned as Lissa sat opposite me.
"Do you think I have a chance?" she hissed to me, nudging towards Lon'Qu, who was discussing something with Frederick.
"I think you have more of a chance with a dead fish, Princess." Gaius snorted. "Lon'Qu's as terrified of women today as he has been since you tried to climatize him to yourself." The pair of them returned to the table, each plopping a plate in front of me.
"Actually," Stahl muttered, swallowing a mouthful of hot mashed potato before continuing: "I think he said he was starting to appreciate your presence."
"Really! Aw gee!" she beamed, turning back to staring at the aloof myrmidon. I followed her gaze, and my eyes caught the cold, chocolate brown ones of Frederick.
Just as I was about to break my gaze, a glass shattered across the room. All attention turned to Tharja, who was sat behind the shattered glass. Her attention was on the new arrival in the room – Libra. A few people stood up, but others watched him cautiously, waiting for news on their new queen.
"The twins will live."
A/N: I hope you all like this bumper instalment! I hadn't meant for it to be this long, but I couldn't find a good point to break it. I've been working on this on-and-off all week, so I hope you all enjoy it!
I'm going to try and update every Sunday from now on, but I can't promise for next week as I have a coursework hand in next Monday.
Review time:
Guest: I hope you like who Robin (eventually) gets with, it's not too far off, but at the same time, it's not too soon!
Also, shout out to my lovely new follower, Himeno Kazehito!
