Wow, I'm a lazy dastard. Sorry, for the wait on this one. Have an extra long chapter. As promised, this is a follow up to the last chapter. Have at it!
Sully woke up at her usual time, just before dawn. She looked to her right expecting to see Robin still asleep but found him holding his right hand up in the air and staring at the back of it. Following his gaze, she noticed the Mark of Defile on the back of Robin's hand. "What the hell is that?"
Robin looked at her. "Hm? You never noticed it before either?"
Sully shook her head. "No, I-Wait, are you saying you didn't?"
"No. Or I don't think so at least. I noticed it last night. I know it was the first time I saw it, but now I feel like I've always known it was there." Sully grabbed his hand and examined the mark. "I guess this confirms I really am Grima's pawn, huh?"
Sully sat up and ran her hand through his hair. "Hey, this doesn't change anything between us."
Robin smiled. "I know that." He sat up and kissed her cheek. "But I am worried about what the others think. If we're to stop Grima, we need to do it together."
"We'll follow you to the ends of the earth, Robin. We trust you with our lives."
"But I can't just pretend that everything is normal. This has already started causing some division among us. Just look at that whole fiasco with Lucina. I've seen some of the other Shepherds giving me some suspicious looks too."
Sully looked upset at the sound of that. "Just send them my way. I'll set them straight."
"No!" Robin said a little louder than he meant to. "Sorry. But I don't want to just hush everyone up like that. I need to clear the air with them."
Sully nodded. "Alright, if that's what you think you need to do. I've got your back."
Robin wrapped an arm around Sully's shoulders and pulled her close. "Thanks. Now, if we can just get the girls to talk things over with Lucina."
"I think you're just going to let them resolve that one on their own, hon."
Robin sighed. "Yeah. That's what I'm worried about."
"Stop rubbing at it, Kjelle," Morgan said. Kjelle sat on her bedroll on the other side of the tent, rubbing at the mark on her shoulder. Both of them had woken up to find Grima's mark on them.
"If this was someone's sick idea of a joke, it's not funny!" she shouted. "I bet Lucina is behind this."
Morgan looked at the mark on the back of her hand. "How would she have even gotten them on here without us noticing?"
"I don't know. There's a lot of things I don't understand about her anymore."
Morgan frowned. "Sis, I know what Lucina did was wrong, but-"
Kjelle glared at her. "What? You're on her side?!"
"No!" Kjelle looked surprised at Morgan's outburst. "But how mad can we get at her for it? We came back to stop Grima, didn't we? He's effectively beaten if Father's not around."
"Wow, Morgan. Never thought I'd hear you talk about killing Father."
Morgan stood up from her bed and looked Kjelle in the eye. "Stop putting words in my mouth! Of course I don't want that. But Lucina's goal, your goal, was to save the future. It might have been cruel, but it was the most pragmatic solution." Kjelle still looked angry. "What would you have done if it was someone's else's father that had to die?" No reply. "You would have at least considered it, wouldn't you? I'm ashamed to say I probably would."
Kjelle didn't say anything at first, letting Morgan's argument sink in. As usual, she had a fair point. "It doesn't mean we would have gone through with it."
Morgan sighed at her sister's stubbornness. "Kjelle, we can't know for sure how we would have acted if the roles were switch. All we have is what did happen, and when everything is said and done, Lucina did spare Father."
"I'm still angry about it."
"I know but-"
"Give me a chance to earn your trust back then," a third voice interrupted. The two girls were quiet as Lucina stepped into the tent. An uncomfortable silence hung in the air.
"What the hell do you want?" Kjelle asked. "You spying on us now?" She showed her the new mark on her arm. "Looking for these?"
Lucina shook her head. "I didn't even know you had those."
"Us either," Morgan said. "They just sort of showed up."
"But to answer your question, Kjelle, I'm not here to spy on you. I promise. I came to ask your forgiveness for my actions yesterday."
"And what makes you think I'm just going to give it to you?" Kjelle asked.
"Come on, Sis," Morgan said. "Can't you let it go? We have a bigger enemy in common."
"The only enemy I see," Kjelle stood up and slowly walked up to Lucina, "is someone I thought was one of my oldest friends."
Morgan sighed. "You're being overdramatic."
"No," Lucina said. "She's not. I betrayed what was a lifelong friendship. I let my desperation get the best of me. I don't expect you to trust me so easily, Kjelle, but I ask for the chance to redeem myself."
Kjelle was quiet as she glared at Lucina. Morgan noticed her sister slowly balling her hand into a fist. "Kjeeelle? What are you doing?" Morgan asked. Without a response, Kjelle suddenly punched Lucina across the face. "Oh, gods! What the hell?!"
Lucina fell flat on her back, her nose bleeding. She groaned a little as she sat up and wiped the blood off her lip. As she tried to stand up, she felt Kjelle grab her arm and pull her to her feet. Lucina looked at her in confusion. "I don't understand."
Kjelle shrugged. "I needed to get that out of my system." Lucina just nodded in reply. "I'm still angry with you for what you did, but maybe . . . I understand it a little better. If my father can still trust you after that, I guess it can't hurt for me to try."
Lucina smiled. "Kjelle, I-"
Kjelle shook her head. "No. Don't start. This doesn't make us friends. It just means I'm willing to work with you. I'll be watching. If you make another move towards my father again, I WILL kill you next time. Consequences be damned."
The two stood quietly for a moment before Lucina finally nodded again. "I understand."
"Good." Morgan finally approached the two and handed a handkerchief to Lucina.
"Here you go," she said. "Um, sorry about that." The apology earned Morgan a glare from her sister.
Lucina shook her head. "It's fine, Morgan." She began to wipe off the blood still trickling from her nose. "I deserved that."
"Maybe but-"
"What's going on over here?" the girls heard Sully shout from behind Lucina. They saw her approaching them. "Lucina, what are you-damn, what happened to you?" Kjelle and Morgan glanced at each other. "Did you two have something to do with this?"
"The fault was my own, Lady Sully," Lucina finally said. "The result of a foolish impulse I'm afraid."
Sully crossed her arms, not actually buying Lucina's lie. "Hmph. Sounds like an understatement." Lucina frowned but didn't reply. "Anyway, Robin wants everyone at the mess tent. He has an announcement that he wants to make."
"Yes, Ma'am," Morgan said. Kjelle nodded. The two headed for the mess tent while Lucina stayed behind with Sully.
"I see they have the same mark Robin does," Sully said.
"Robin has one too?" Lucina asked. Sully nodded. "Not surprising I suppose." The two were quiet for a moment. "Um, Lady Sully. I haven't apologized to you yet for-"
Sully held up a hand to stop her. "Save it, kid. You needed Robin's forgiveness more than mine and he gave it to you. That's good enough for me."
"But-"
"Look, Lucina, I don't approve of what you did." Lucina averted her gaze a little. "But I don't know the kind of world you came from or the kind of pressure you must be feeling. I don't have the fate of the future on my shoulders. I'm just glad you didn't go through with it or we'd be having a very different discussion."
Lucina smiled. "I want you to know that I have nothing but respect for you and your husband, Lady Sully. You've both been like family to me. Choosing to kill Robin was one of the hardest decisions I had to made. I'm glad he and Father talked me out of it."
"Same here." She began to head towards the mess tent. "Come on, kid. I think you'll want to hear what Robin has to say."
"Yes, ma'am." The two headed to the mess tent. All the Shepherds had gathered while Robin stood on top of the box at the head of the tent. Morgan and Kjelle stood in the back. Lucina noticed that Kjelle was wearing Morgan's coat, likely to hide the mark she had forgotten to cover. While she was wearing gloves, Morgan kept her mark hand covered by the other.
Finally, Robin spoke up. "If I might have your attention, everyone." The noise quickly died down and everyone turned their attention towards him. "I've asked you all here to talk about some . . . unsettling revelations recently. You're all likely aware by now of my connection to Grima. And if there has been any doubt." He pulled off his glove and showed the mark on the back of his hand. "Let this be your proof." There were some murmurings among the Shepherds. "I won't pretend all of you are okay with this. So, if the majority rules, I will step down as tactician and leave the Shepherds. I still wish to help you defeat Grima but I won't be a liability to the group's cohesion."
It was quiet. Robin remained stoic as he waited for a response, but Sully knew he was a nervous wreck on the inside. The Shepherds were the only family he knew since he lost his memory. She knew that being kicked out would tear him apart no matter how hard he would try to hide it.
"Is this a joke?" Vaike asked. All eyes were on him as he stood up. "Because if it is, Teach doesn't find it funny." He looked at Chrom. "You really going to kick one of our best men out, Chrom?"
Chrom quickly shook his head. "Hey, I wanted all of us to just let this go. This meeting was Robin's idea."
"Robin's saved all of our live more times than we can count," Cordelia said. "We've won two wars that we had no viable reason to thanks to him."
"I don't smell any treachery about him," Panne said. "And a warren does not abandon one of their own when he needs them most."
"Have had many bad employers," Gregor said. "Robin nowhere near as bad. Would follow to help and back."
"Hell, Dear," Cordelia said.
"Yes, yes, there too!"
"What of the rest of you?" Chrom asked. "Stand if you side with Robin." Without missing a beat, everyone stood up from their seats. Soon the tent was filled with the sounds of cheers and support of the Shepherds for their beloved friend and tactician.
Robin nearly fell off the crate he was standing on. He watched in stunned silence at the scene before him. He noticed all the children standing in the back. Most of them remained quiet. "What about you?" he asked them. "You came back to stop Grima. Can you find it in yourselves to trust me still?"
"We can!" Lucina said, stepping forward. "You've proven yourself too often for us to betray you. If you think we can find another way to stop Grima, we're with you."
"Here, here!" Owain shouted.
"We'll back you up all the way, Robin!" Cynthia added. The other children quickly gave their own affirmations. Lucina looked back at Kjelle and Morgan, the latter of whom was nearly brought to tears. Kjelle smiled a little at Lucina.
Sully finally walked to the front of the tent. Robin stepped off the crate and wrapped his arms around her. "Satisfied?" she asked. "I told you we all still trust you."
Robin let out a small chuckle. "I don't know what to say."
"Then don't say anything." She pressed her lips against his, earning more loud cheers from the others. Robin had to admit he didn't know how this would all end.
But he knew they would all go through it together.
Fun fact: According to the Awakening art book, Robin doesn't actually know he bears the Mark of Defile on his hand. I decided to play with that concept a little.
We're nearing the end folks. Now that I got probably the longest chapter out of the way, I can wrap this up quickly. Thank you for your patience.
Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed!
