Robin, Grand Tactician for the King of Ylisse, rose from his bed with an eager smile on his face, a rare occurrence when his early mornings usually consisted of training and filling out mountains of paperwork for King Chrom. Today was going to be different though, today was the day when his visitors would arrive, two men that would help him with his tedious tasks, and therefore give Robin the extra free time he needed to spend with his family. He checked his bedside clock as he put on his robes and saw that he was okay for time, being the tactician he was, time management was never something he needed to concern over. After giving a gentle kiss to Lucina who was still sound asleep in his bed, Robin made his way out of his room and towards the castle's dining area, but not before taking a detour that led him past the courtyard. He discovered very quickly upon moving into the castle that when you stood on the first floor of the area that looked over the courtyard, you were gifted a magnificent view of the sunrise in the distance, it was that sunrise that Robin had proposed to Lucina in front of, and it was a sight he would never get tired of witnessing. When he reached the balcony, he placed his hands on the cold stone in front of him, already able to see the first shades of orange rising in the distance as birds sang and a light breeze flowed around the castle.
"After all the trouble we've had in the past year, I never thought I'd ever get moments like these again," the tactician thought to himself as another small smile broke upon his face, a familiar voice then sounded from behind him.
"You're up early milord," Frederick said with a slight nod as he moved to stand beside his trusted ally.
"Ah hello Frederick," Robin replied cheerfully, "I could say the same for you."
"As a servant of Chrom I must work tirelessly to ensure the safety of him and his castle, a few hours of rest are all I need," the great knight affirmed as he also began to stare into the sunset, "So why are you awake this early, perhaps you are not feeling well?"
"Oh no not at all," Robin said with a light laugh, "In fact quite the opposite."
Frederick raised his eyebrow, evidencing his interest, "Well that's pleasing to hear, may I enquire as to why milord?"
"Well, it will come as no surprise to you that Chrom takes no satisfaction in doing his royal paperwork," Robin began, "Which is precisely why he gets me to do it, I have no particular issue with this as it does lead to a much more infrastructurally sound kingdom, but it can be quite time consuming."
"As to be expected," Frederick said as he lowered his head, "Royal documentation is a large yet necessary evil."
"Agreed, now it isn't only the royal documentation that I must take care of," Robin began.
"You train a group of soldiers too, don't you?" Frederick instantly responded.
"Almost correct, I was given the role of training both the brand-new recruits and the Ylisse Elite Guard," Robin explained, "Which as you can imagine takes almost all of my time away."
"I see," Frederick replied as he folded his arms, "I assume Lady Lucina is not happy with these arrangements?"
Robin sighed, Lucina had frequently voiced her complaints to Chrom, and not in a polite way, on one occasion even going as far to publicly shout 'Give me back my husband!", Frederick sighed heavily as he seemed to have suddenly remembered this exact event as well.
"Ah yes, the grand hallway incident, I remember that," he said with a groan.
"I wish I could forget it," Robin said, "Lucina was furious when I tried to explain why Chrom needed my help, she thought I was taking his side, and because of that I was forced to sleep somewhere else for quite some time."
"I'm sorry to hear that," Frederick said as he lowered his head out of respect, "But I assume based on your jovial nature that you have put something in place to rectify and improve your current situation?"
"Indeed I have Frederick," Robin affirmed with a refreshed look back on his face, "Several months ago while we were still waging war, we were tasked with defending a port town, the one where we first met Say'ri."
"The name of that town leaves me milord, but I do remember that day yes," Frederick said as he peered out over the balcony.
"Well on that night as Vaike and I kept watch we encountered two men, they were returning from a quest they had ventured on and reached the town later in the day than expected, I told them of the battle that had occurred earlier that day they asked if they volunteered to help us with guard duty," Robin continued.
"They volunteered? Why would they wish to get involved?" Frederick asked suspiciously, "You didn't think they would have any ulterior motives?"
"I didn't get that feeling from them, they said I looked exhausted and if I'm honest I was, we don't all have the stamina that you do Frederick," Robin said with a chuckle, "So we talked all night and they told us of their numerous quests, they even showed me drawings of grotesque monsters they had slain and breathtaking places they had been to."
"They do certainly sound like two interesting fellows," Frederick responded, suspicion still present in his voice, "So what is their importance in this plan of yours?"
"Well, I've invited them to come to the castle and help me with my tasks, thus lowering my workload!" Robin exclaimed happily, Frederick however, did not look as pleased.
"My Lord! Offering them free entry to the Royal Castle after one instance of correspondence seems rather risky to me!" he said as his face began to turn red, "I don't know if I can allow this!"
"Oh no-no-no Frederick I've been keeping in touch with them!" Robin said, feeling slightly idiotic for not fully explaining his relationship with these two strangers, "We've been writing to each other for the past six months, and I have met up with them on several occasions when I had free time."
Frederick seemed to have calmed down before another frown came across his face, "Wait, so you had some free time, and you left to visit these friends…"
"Yes…" Robin mumbled, immediately realising the hole he had dug himself into.
"Instead of spending it with your wife, and quelling the anger she threw onto all of us in the castle…" Frederick continued, a look of utter disappointment on his face.
"Yes I know that sounds awful," Robin replied, now feeling as small as a mouse, "But I needed to make sure I could get their assistance, and therefore spend more time with everyone, it was a short-term pain for a long-term gain!"
Frederick's facial expression was verging on disgust, but he did understand where the Grand Tactician was coming from. His head then quickly perked up as he checked the clock tower, soon realising he was about to be late for the armour polishing he performed every morning.
"I'm sorry milord, I must away or I shall be terribly behind on today's schedule!" he muttered as he dashed down the castle's outer corridor, "I hope your acquaintances prove useful!"
Robin waved as his friend disappeared down the stairwell, Frederick never ceased to amaze him, he would stop at nothing to make sure everything was perfect for Chrom and his friends. A yawn escaped Robin's mouth as he too looked at the clock tower, he estimated he had about forty-five minutes before his acquaintances would arrive, that would give him enough time to map out a full tour of the castle, explain what their duties would be and then finish by introducing them to everybody. His plan was perfect, however, as he was about to start making miniature magical maps he noticed a large group of the castle's women, noble and servant alike, led by Lissa, all charging to the hatched window beside the main gate excitedly.
Robin sighed, "Okay scratch that, they're here now…" he said as he jumped down off the balcony, using one of his wind tomes to cushion his fall. As he approached the women, they were all vying to get a peek of the two strangers approaching, Robin eventually managed to get their attention by shooting a small blast of cold wind energy at them.
"That wasn't very nice Robin!" Cynthia said as she puffed out her cheeks in annoyance.
"Would you ladies kindly tell me what you're up to?" Robin asked calmly, ignoring their complaints.
"There's two guys out there!" Cynthia cried energetically, her annoyance from several seconds ago having vanished.
"That's right there are," Robin said with a nod as he folded his arms, "They're two friends of mine, and I would appreciate it if they weren't trampled into the ground as soon as they arrive at the castle."
"We just wanted to see if they were cute, that's all…" the girl at the window said as she turned around, revealing herself to be Morgan.
"I can assure you that they-" Robin began before noticing his daughter was, in fact, amongst the group, "Wait, Morgan!? Get back to your room this instant young lady!"
Morgan responded by sticking out her tongue and returned to the window before immediately squealing and falling off the box she was standing on, "They're at the gate!" she shouted with a hushed whisper prompting all the other women to get excited once more.
Robin sighed and brought two fingers to his temple, he didn't need this today, "Ladies I understand that you wish to see the gentlemen, but that in turn means the gentlemen will be seeing you, and considering that most of you aren't actually out of your nightwear do you really think that's going to make the best impression?"
His statement had the desired effect, within seconds much of the group had disappeared with an assortment of squeals as they did so, most likely rushing to fix their hair and clothing Robin assumed. The only people remaining were Morgan and Lissa, "Please dad…" Morgan said as she clasped her hands together, using her baby-doll eyes in an attempt at persuasion.
"Yes, please…" Lissa said, mimicking Morgan's hands, "We're not in our nightwear, we can make a good impression, plus you need at least one member of the royal family to officially greet your guests!" she added, impressed with herself that she remembered some of Frederick's teachings regarding castle etiquette.
"Fine…" Robin said with a sigh causing the two girls to jump up in excitement and high-five, "But don't interrupt our guests and just please try to act courteous, can you at least do that for me?"
The pair of girls nodded their heads obediently and turned to face the gate as Robin stood in front of them and called for the guard to open it, in a matter of seconds the large steel gate had been raised completely and in front of Robin stood his two acquaintances with their horses, both with hands raised to wave at the tactician. The man on the left was tall but had a thin build, he was wearing a white open-necked shirt and a long black trench coat that flowed freely in the wind. His trousers were black and he wore boots of a similar colour, the only other element of his appearance that Morgan and Lissa could see was a thick brown leather strap that stretched diagonally across his person, from his right shoulder to the left of his stomach and then around his back. Attached to this strap were two swords and a heater shield, the only parts of the swords that could be seen were their hilts which rose above the man's shoulders, both having black handles and white crosses etched into them. His hair was dark blonde and it reached the middle of his neck, being kept out of his sharp eyes by a dark black bandana, and on his face he wore a sharp grin, one that oozed confidence and charisma. The man on the right was sizeably larger than his partner, he was only slightly taller but had a lot more muscle and mass on his person, Lissa thought he might even give the Vaike a run for his money in an arm wrestle. He was wearing a similar outfit to the grinning man, but with black metal gauntlets, shin guards and pauldrons attached to his hands, trousers and shoulders respectively, the gauntlet on his left arm having a small shield attached to its exterior. His top was bright white but had various scuffs and other elements of wear and tear around it, there was also a red scarf that matched his dark crimson trousers, it was wrapped around a thick neck and trailed in the wind behind him. Attached to his side were a short sword and two hand axes, these, however, did not seem to be the man's primary weapon, as on his back was a much larger sword, plain in design and hanging freely from the leather strap it was attached to. His expression and face were a lot more reserved in their appearance than his partner, he seemed more serious, but not in an intimidating way.
"Hey Robin, how's it going?" the man on the left called as the pair began to approach Robin and the girls.
"Long time no see my friend," Robin replied as he extended a hand, "How are you Lusignan?"
"I've been better," Lusignan replied as he pulled the tactician towards him and dealt several heavy slaps to his back, "We got lost along the way so sorry it took us so long."
"When he says lost he means we got side-tracked by some bandits," the man on the right said with a sigh.
"Ah Xenon good to see you too, I'm not surprised, trouble never seems to leave you two alone!" Robin said with a laugh before hearing a small cough come from behind him.
"Oh yes sorry…" he continued, trying to hide his reluctance, "This is Lissa, the King's sister," he said as he gestured for Lissa to come forward, who eagerly complied and curtsied with dignity.
"It is a pleasure my lady," Xenon said with a short bow.
"Your hair is quite the sight milady, very eye-catching, just like the rest of you," Lusignan said with a flirtatious smile as he took her hand and gently pressed his lips against it, causing the Princess's face to turn a bright shade of red.
"You've been here less than a minute, and she's the King's sister, can we not?" Robin said with a groan before reluctantly motioning for his daughter to move forward, "Anyway, this is Morgan, another member of the castle."
"Hi there, I'm Morgan," the young girl said enthusiastically, before realising her father had already pointed that out to his visitors, "Oh um what I mean is…um…hi."
Xenon wasn't quite sure how to react, Lissa was thankful Morgan's embarrassment was drawing away from her own, Robin could not believe his daughter had failed so miserably at making conversation.
"Hah, cute," Lusignan said with a grin as he kissed the young girl's hand, heightening the red on Morgan's cheeks and putting a large smile on her face as she stared nervously at the swordsman.
"I hope you like it here Lord Lusignan…" Morgan began as she tried to regain her composure, "Maybe if you wanted we could get some food after-"
"-Absolutely not," Robin stated firmly, before Morgan could even put forward her request, "Both Lusignan and Xenon will be helping me so I can spend more time with you and your mother, Lusignan especially will be far too busy for anything other than work."
"Awh come on...you always said working all the time is bad, you told me that's why all the soldiers went into the lower cities on Friday nights, to get some relief!" Morgan pleaded.
"Er...well yes that is true but-" Robin replied before being cut off.
"Well then why don't I provide Lusignan with some relief? That way he wouldn't need to leave the castle!" Morgan suggested, proud of herself for thinking up such an efficient idea, yet completely unaware of the inappropriate connotations her words held.
"Well..." Lusignan said before raising his eyebrows to his partner as they both began laughing at Robin's face, they had never seen the tactician so gobsmacked before, it was a worthwhile sight.
"Come on Morgan," Lissa said trying to hide her laughter as she brought Morgan back inside the castle, "Let's leave your father and his friends, I'm sure they have a lot of business to attend to."
At the mention of the word father Lusignan and Xenon immediately stopped laughing and calmed down, "Ah, so that one's your daughter," Lusignan said sheepishly, "Sorry about that, didn't even notice the resemblance."
"It's fine," Robin said as he too began to return to normality, "I'm just glad you two are here so I can start to spend time with her again, and Lucina too, I've missed so much time with them already."
"That's understandable," Xenon said, "So let's get to work, what do you need us doing?"
"You'll each be doing a very important job for me, but for now don't worry about that, let's take a tour around the castle," Robin said with a smile as he gestured for the two men to follow him inside the main gate, "We better hurry, there's a lot to see."