Man, it's been a while since I've updated this, haha.
- Disclaimer: Fire Emblem characters do not belong to me.
- Notice: May contain spoilers. Original characters may be added. Storyline may deviate from original video game. Contains fantasy violence, mild language, alcohol reference, and suggested themes.
The sun started to set when the Shepherds began preparing supper and the bonfire. Robin placed the ingredients for Panne's carrot soup. He arranged the vegetables to the side for Lissa to cut.
There was a little tent for them to cook around for the night .
The Ylissean princess shot several stares at the blonde tactician who wore a loose cloak over his bare chest. She blushed and immediately returned back to her work. 'Calm down Lissa!' She mentally told herself as Robin brushed past her to retrieve a pot.
"Are you okay?" His hair fell to the side to examine the girl while his hands held several cooking appliances.
"Oh..m-me?" She pointed at herself. "I-I'm fine." Her hands waved frantically to dismiss the topic.
He raised an eyebrow and grinned. "If you say so..." Robin continued walking before setting them down at his station.
'Geez...' Lissa formed a pout as she looked at the carrots before her. 'What am I getting so flustered for?'
He began boiling the water and looked over his shoulder. The vegetables remained unpeeled as Lissa had her head down. He was walked over to her. "Need some help?"
"Huh?" She looked up, her eyes glistening as she marveled at Robin's killer smile.
"Here," His shoulder brushed against hers as he gripped a knife and started peeling the carrots beside her.
'Gods, this is so embarrassing!' She took a knife and mimicked the boy.
"Isn't this your first time cooking with me?" Robin lifted the mood with his calm voice.
Lissa nodded in agreement.
"Don't worry," He chuckled lightly. "I'm not a perfectionist like Fredrick when it comes to cutting up all these vegetables. As long as it tastes great, I'm fine with it."
Lissa smiled as she finished peeling the carrot. Her hand slipped as the knife pierced her finger. "Oww..." She winced in pain.
Robin set down the knife and held her hand. Blood started to drip. Luckily, it hadn't penetrated deeply.
He took a towel nearby and applied pressure onto it.
Lissa's heart started to race. She had never been so close to the boy. They were even holding hands! She started to feel lightheaded from all the excitement.
He held her hands for a few more minutes when she suddenly collapsed. "Lissa?" He caught her and noticed that she was unconscious. Robin knelt on the floor as the Ylissean princess rested in his arms.
Donnel marched along the forest in search of some firewood. He was accompanied by several boys as they made their way through the woodlands. Virion was a few paces away, the villager ran up to the nobleman to converse with him. "If yer still fixin' to tell me more about being a bigwig. I'd sure like to hear it!"
The archer turned to find Donnel beside him. "Ah, but of course." He straightened his cravat and turned to meet the boy. "I promised to tell you of the woes of noble birth. Very well...Now I suspect you have often bemoaned the idleness of the ruling classes, yes?"
"Sure have!" Donnel gave a toothy smile. "Ain't none of us could afford to buy so much as a single crown or carriage..."
"I sympathize deeply, of course. But do you think nobles are without hardship?"
Donnel furrowed his brows. "I sorta doubt it..."
"As I have stated, I am sympathetic to the daily tribulations of peasantry. But you do understand-we nobles spend our days with our very lives on the line!" Virion tightened his grip on the wooden sticks in his hand.
"Yer very lives?" Donnel tilted his head to the side with a confused expression.
"Indeed," Virion's eyes shot at the villager with intensity. "We are expected to protect our subjects, no matter what the cost." His eyes drifted to the other Shepherds from a distance. "In times of conflict, we stand on the front lines with our weapons drawn."
Donnel absorbed the archer's words carefully.
"We must be a shield to protect our people. And at times, we must die for them." Virion took several steps as he bent down to retrieve another branch. "This is our duty. And it is one we may neither shirk or shrink from." He stood and looked back at the boy. "Such is the burden of nobility."
Donnel placed his hand by a nearby tree to steady himself. "I reckon i see what yer gettin' at...So yer lives may look mighty easy, but all that lollygaggin' comes at a price?"
A grin formed upon Virion's face. "Precisely, my dear Donnel! I am so pleased that you understand."
"So yer like heroes, huh?" He set his pieces of wood down and motioned a jab with his hands. "Chargin' to the rescue when the common folk are in danger!" He smiled at Virion sincerely. "I oughta tell ya that makes me feel a lot safer. It's mighty nice knowin' yer all set to throw down yer life for me at the drop of a hat!"
The archer's grin faded slowly. "P-Pardon me?! Why would I-?!"
"Cause I'm a lowly, hard workin' peasant, and yer a big, mighty lord!" Her bent down to collect his wooden branches.
"Ah, well, I should clarify that a nobleman's duty is to the peasants of his fief-"
"Yee haw!" Donnel boomed in enthusiasm as he started walking past Virion. "It sure is a load off knowin' Ingot my own personal bodyguard! Thanks for lookin' out for me yer Honor!" He gave the archer a whole hearted bow before continuing onwards.
"N-No, Donnel, you misunderstand, I-" Virion held out his hand to reach the villager, but the boy was too quick. "...And he's gone." A sigh escaped his lips a he stood alone in the woodlands. "It seems we still have a few misconceptions to address..." He spoke to himself before trudging along the forest.
Meanwhile, back at camp, the sun started to set as the girls marched into Anna's shop. It was getting quite cold so she provided them some appropriate clothing for the night.
"You and Sumia sure do seem to spend a lot of time together, Cordelia." Maribelle spoke as she walked past the Pegasus knight."
"Now that you mention it, I suppose we do." Cordelia slipped into a blouse. "Is that a problem?"
Maribelle laughed lightly to herself. "Can you not bear to leave her alone for fear she might trip and brain herself?"
The crimson knight paused as her eyes narrowed at the girl. "O-Of course not! There may have been one or two...incidents, but she's a capable girl!" Her hair flowed to the side as she continued. "And if you want to talk about inseparable couples, what of you and Lissa?"
Maribelle closed her eyes while an amused grin played along her lips. "Why, Lissa and I are the dearest of friends! There's nothing peculiar about wishing to spend one's time in such pleasant company!" She pulled back the dressing room's curtain and stepped into Cordelia's. "She's a soothing and pleasant presence-unlike that addlepated butterfingers!"
"H-How dare you?!" Cordelia raised her voice an met the troubadour's eyes. "Sumia is kinder and funnier than anyone else in the army!"
"Ha, unintentionally perhaps?" Maribelle flaunted her blonde curls before the Ylissean knight. "Lissa's wit is both deliberate AND exceptional! It saddens me that you have yet to fully experience her joyful gaiety of spirit!"
"W-Well, Sumia's smile is brighter than the very sun itself!" She crossed her arms. "One glimpse of it is enough to make amends for any blunder!"
"And Lissa's has precisely the same effect." Maribelle took a step forward. "The only difference being that she doesn't MAKE any blunders!"
"Oh, really? Not even the blunder of making YOU as a friend?"
The troubadour returned Cordelia's words with an icy glare. "My, but you are a stubborn one!"
" ME, stubborn?" She was prepared to explode with anger at the blonde noble. "You are the most obstinate, contrary..." Cordelia formed a fist with her hands, threatening to hit the girl before her. "So-and-so I have ever met!"
"Hmph," Maribelle noticed Cordelia's rage. It would be wise to leave before something else ensued. "This is far from over!" She started walking out, her eyes were trained on the knight. "You will pay for your pigheadedness!"
"Ha, we'll see about that!" Cordelia placed he hands on her hips as she watched the troubadour leave.
Tharja walked along the beach as she recalled the events from earlier today. After Anna's pageant, which was a complete fluke, she ran to Robin. She summed up the courage and kissed him. Her mind still had difficulty processing the while thing, it was unlike her to do such a deed.
The pink haired dancer spotted her from a distance and closed the gap between them with a few, quick strides. "Tharja, do you have a moment?"
The dark mage turned to find Olivia in a white gown. "What is it?"
"I just wanted to say how wonderful you were in that last fight." She smiled at Tharja while the girl replied with a light frown.
"They were common brigands, I hardly worked up a sweat." She turned away, embarrassed by the sudden appraisal. "Do you want something? Fawning makes my skin crawl." Her eyes drifted to Olivia.
"I-I'm not fawning. I man every word and have only the utmost respect for you..."
"I don't see what you find so fascinating about me." Tharja lowered her eyes onto the golden sand.
"There are LOTS of things. I don't even know where to begin." Olivia's voice died down as she thought. "There's your figure for one. It's practically perfect. You're voluptuous where it counts and svelte everywhere else..."
Tharja could feel the dancer's eyes scanning her physique.
"Staying in that kind of shape must take hours of exercise each day!"
"Exercise? Are you kidding? I don't do a thing."
A cold sweat fell along Olivia's face. "You don't exercise?!" She stood in disbelief. "You can't be serious? You MUST diet then, right? No wine, no sweets?"
Tharja straightened her posture. "I drink my fill of wine, and I touch whatever sweets I please."
"Oh...so you've cast a slimming spell on yourself to stay thin, right?"
Tharja's face remained expressionless as she replied. "Even if a spell of such dubious merit existed, I wouldn't use it. And U haven't."
"Ugh!" Olivia groaned in jealousy. "Well in that case, I'm afraid this makes you the enemy Tharja...The enemy of every hard working maiden in the world!"
The dark mage shrugged contently. "No skin off my nose..."
"Oh, you won't brush us off so easily!" Olivia placed her hand on her hip while the other directed its fingers towards Tharja. "I hereby challenge you to a duel on behalf of all my sisters! I'll...I'll put a fattening hex on you and drag you down to our level!" She continued bravely.
"...Oh?" Tharja formed a devious grin. "You would trade hexes, with ME? Careful what you wish for, little girl."
"Oh, um...ha ha!" Olivia laughed nervously and stepped back, her courage receded quickly. "Did I say hex? I did, didn't I? Er...that was a jest!" She fidgeted her fingers before her. "I...I don't know what came over me! Ha ha...ha..."
Tharja stood still as she eyed the girl.
"Um, let's put down the cauldrons and scrolls and move along, shall we?" Olivia managed a nervous grin as she and the dark mage continued walking together.
Robin finished the carrot soup as he watched Lissa who remained unconscious on the bench. 'Why did she even faint? It was only a small cut...' He stirred its contents one more time before kneeling by her side.
Lissa clenched her eyes before waking from her slumber. She noticed it was already nightfall. There was Robin's cloak which was draped over her to keep her warm while the cold sea breeze blew often.
"Feeling any better?" The tactician asked her as he knelt by her side.
"Yes..." It only took seconds for the Ylissean princess to recall what happened. She fainted, but it wasn't from the small cut she received. Her face blushed as she sat upright immediately.
"Great, because we're going to have supper soon." Robin smiled as he picked himself up. He extended his hand to help her.
She took it without a second thought. His hand was warm and coarse, was it always this way? Lissa looked down at her feet once they stood across from each other. Her heart fluttered in her chest. She hoped she wouldn't have a fainting spell again.
His fingers ran through hers as he lifted it and examined the small cut from earlier. They stood in silence before Sully interrupted their moment.
"Hey! You guys finished with the food?" She leaned over the counter as Lissa quickly removed her hand from his. "I'll be damned if it's not."
"Because I'm starving!" Nowi jumped on Sully's back, a wide smile plastered on her face.
"It's finished." Robin motioned to the soup.
Lissa began taking out the bowls before she walked towards the dining area, the bon fire was already set as Virion, Donnel, and the others brought more firewood.
Robin took role of every Shepherd. It seemed that everyone was there to enjoy each others company for the night.
...To be continued
So if you enjoyed this chapter, remember to fave, follow and/or review. Updates should be pretty quick.
- Replies:
Legacy Emblem: haha, you know it.
Guardian54: oh, yes. I've only read a portion of it, but it's pretty great so far. Gale force army to the max!
Smashing Skunk53: yeah..well I needed to get the ball rolling with an intro. Many thanks for your reviews!
Grandshadowseal: tastes like carrots?
xTSx: right? Gott love persona and it's harem style. Haha.
Yeah, Robin and his harem will definitely be intriguing. A certain anime?
TheGreatTactician: haha, yes!
Thanks for reading
