Chapter 41: The Broken And Beloved


The current pushed at Robin, the bubbles turned into a swirling roil about her, and all of it sent her spinning head over tail. Castle, city, abyss and water all blurred together as she struggled. She was fast losing track of which way was up, but at least she hadn't lost Chrom… Mostly because she was desperately hanging onto him, digging her fingers into his improvised sail-cape.

Robin shuddered over the clammy nature of Chrom's threadbare clothing; blood from his cut had soaked into the fabric and stained the white with a dark scarlet.

"Keep going…" She whispered, trying to push them further ahead. But her tail ached, feeling like her fins were fraying at the edges after shivering through Validar's magic.

Chrom wasn't doing any better. The cut on his back sapped all of his strength, and he lurched against Robin. She cast her eyes around again, wondering if she could pick out Henry's group in the roil… But instead she saw a snarl of Mer troops, all darting towards them on the same current.

The ocean roared in her ears, muffled thunder beating down through the water and growling in her ears… And past that, came something else.

Something resembling a cry and song, something coming from the throat of another, different singer. And there was something about that voice that tugged at her memories, and made the lights on her cheeks try to pulse in place of half-formed tears. There was something familiar to the singer; and something that she liked, more than Validar's harsh and snapping tones.

Robin froze at the odd song, and the faint melodies pierced the roar of the currents. The call sounded almost like an echo of Robin's own voice. With how Chrom yanked his head up and blinked at her, he must have heard it as well.

'Who could be calling out like that-?'

But no matter how she searched there was no one else in the currents… Save for the guards closing with them. Those guards battled the waves, their limbs stronger than Robin's; they hadn't spent all their strength fighting Validar, and were gaining fast.

Chrom weakly tried to pull and turn upright, to better face the patrol. Something made his arms shiver, the bioluminsence on his skin giving off a strange shimmer-

But that shiver in his limbs also meant he couldn't hold the gemstone correctly. It slipped free of his fingers, and Robin snapped out a hand to snatch it, before it could fall into the abyss below.

The gem tumbled into her fingers, resting against her palm with a strange buzzing sensation. Immediately, she wondered if she'd made a mistake, with how her skin stung and her bones trembled. The ringing grew in her ears, and the silver gem seemed to be made from electricity, with how it thrummed against her hand.

It almost drowned out the battle cries of the guards, drawing ever closer and louder. They threatened to cut Chrom open, to take her prisoner… And their threats made the strange song on the waves and chime of the gem far more appealing to listen to.

"…Robin? What's that sound-?" Chrom's voice was oddly hushed, little more than a murmur against her cheek.

Hearing it reminded her of the faint echo she'd heard in the throne room; the way Chrom's voice had sung through her mind. And how it was now making her throat ache, barely containing something building in her-

'Can you survive another cry, calling on that power-?' She doubted it, her throat feeling fragile as her fins, and ready to be torn open if she called out too loud. She could do little more than whisper out a faint cry.

Chrom shivered against her… And a hum built in him, answering Robin's raspy song, and the mystery singer. And as much as his body shivered, Chrom's voice was surprisingly steady. The ocean seemed to quaver from his voice, trembling alongside the gem in Robin's palm. The stone stirred in answer to his voice, blazing bright as a star for an instant, and sending a lance of light into the sea, piercing the current.

The currents twisted in response, and with a sudden rush she no longer found herself fighting them.

A vortex opened between her and the guards, forming into a spinning whirlpool. Those among the patrol who tried to cross it quickly realized their error, as the maelstrom grabbed them up, the currents like a razor with how they rent tears into skin, ignoring armor and scales.

Over the scream of the current, the mysterious third voice continued to sing and urged the whirlpool to greater strength. Robin's mouth hung slack at the sight… But there was also something that still called to her, almost wanting to join the melody-

"What… What on earth is that?" Chrom whispered, drawing her attention, and stilling the note in her throat. Robin swallowed any hint of song, and felt the strain cease. At least now she didn't fear that note would make a ruin of her throat.

"I don't know… But it's the only chance we have to escape." In answer the current seemed to spin off the maelstrom, picking Chrom and Robin up and carrying them along. This time, it didn't twist them end over end, instead pushing the two along… And at last, well away from the castle.

-o-o-o-

'Impossible…' Validar managed the word. 'How could she hope to match me? And how could Argent answer their call, when it would always fight against my own commands?'

"Lord Validar!" Came a faint voice, growing louder in his ears as someone swam through the halls. "We've sent guards down to investigate a commotion in the cells! There's been a break out-"

The voice cut off when the speaker saw Validar, still crumbled against the columns. Mustafa came into his vision, staring down at him.

"Your Grace, are you-?" Validar's answer was surging upwards with a snarl. His strength finally came back to him, along with a red bolt of rage.

"The girl is still a traitor, just like her wretched mother!" He glared up at the broken window, and the forms dwindling in the waters. "I'll smash them into the city, before they ever think of escaping!"

He tried to call his power back, only for pain to burn through his skin and sink into his throat. His breath turned into a rasping cough… And his vision blacked out, the magic deserting him completely.

As the currents churned around him, Validar swore that he heard an echo of the wretched girl's voice, or something close to it.

'Or close to HER. Her thrice drowned mother.'

The sound was almost a match for the scream that had echoed across the city, and distorted the ceremony. Regardless, she was taking his magic, his power… And squandering it.

"You damnable child…" He rasped, as the palace swirled about him. And it only stabilized when the humming and spell at last died out. When he looked up, it was to see pale scaled Mer drifting about him, trying to push healing magic onto him and lessen the burning of his skin.

"Enough!" He snapped, looking up to the shattered window. But there was no trace of Robin, or her retainers.

"Did you find them?" He shrugged out of the grip of the healers… Only for Mustafa to shake his head.

"They escaped the clutches of my soldiers, into the wild currents."

He hung his head, trying to hide the shame clouding his face.

"I apologize for my failure… But it was like the sea fought against my soldiers. We have more than a few broken bones and deep gashes. They were dashed against buildings by currents, or their skin was torn raw by the waters. It was…" He glanced up to the broken windows. "That girl had a power almost equal to yours. And it seems like she can call a similar magic out in others. She has to be Grima's Heart-"

"And your priority is to find her." Validar growled. "Any lives are secondary to that."

"U-understood. But your grace, what's happened to her? She seemed almost lost when she first arrived… And then she fled again?" The concern in Mustafa's voice rankled. "What could've happened to her?

"Silence." Validar was curt. "That isn't your concern… Only getting her back, so she can be corrected."

"Corrected-?"

"The girl is confused. She must be brought back into the fold, in order to understand again. And realize her purpose. She can only achieve that if she comes back to us… Which I hope you will deliver on."

Mustafa hesitated at that, looking to his own troops. Validar dismissed their bruises and wounds with a flick from his tail, forcing himself to float proud.

"Send all my soldiers out. I want you on patrol with your finest as well. Search anywhere she could have fled to." Validar spat out. "The forests, the borders of the city… Even the surface!"

"Th-the surface?" Mustafa paled at that suggestion.

"I rule nothing out." Validar growled, grudgingly allowing the healers to tend his wounds again. "And I want you to leave nothing unsearched. Now go."

-o-o-o-

At last the storm eased off. As did the currents, and the chaos of fleeing and seeking safe harbor. Robin had time to raise her head, and search for some place they could take shelter.

A long trail of rocks stretched below them, dotted with tiny glowing sea life swimming against a blackened fissure. Robin dropped from the current and into the gaps of the canyon, feeling the struggle and desperate flight sink into her all at once. Her weight pulled them both down, threading them between the stone shelves.

At last she and Chrom came to rest in a grassy stretch at the very bottom. They were shielded from sight thanks to the black rocks closing around them, and the sea grass was soft enough to form a bed. It all encouraged Robin to take a moment, and gather her breath.

"Are… Are you safe-?" Chrom whispered. He hovered a few inches over her, just managing to swim with jerky tail motions. Where he found such strength, Robin wasn't sure. But he wasn't about to sink down, or break his eye contact from her. "Are you okay?"

"Y-yes." Robin whispered, barely able to manage the words.

"Then in that case…" Chrom's fingers gave a shiver where they touched her arms. But when they spun her upright to look at him, she realized his grip still had plenty of strength.

"H-how could you do any of that!?" Chrom fought to keep his voice low, still afraid of alerting anyone or anything. But that didn't keep the worry out of his words. "You could've- I almost lost-"

He shook his head, voice going choked.

"What are you talking about?" Robin managed, staring at how stricken his face was. She never thought he could look that hurt, or make something in her own heart ache in turn. "Acting as a distraction was the best way to get the attention off you, so you could rescue Emmeryn-"

"And almost lose you!? Gods Robin, I was terrified…" All at once his grip went nerveless, and she almost slid through his fingers. "I… I'd never ask you to risk yourself like that."

"But it worked, didn't it?" Robin offered.

'And I don't think you even remember what happened- or almost happened between us. Even if I was lost… It wouldn't hurt as much as it otherwise would.' She couldn't stop that ugly snarl of a thought from forming in her mind. "It was an acceptable risk, if it meant helping you and Emmeryn… And making up for all the trouble I've caused you."

She hung her head at that, her tail curling deeper into the grass. She half wanted to sink completely into the grass and sand, with how exhausted she was by everything… And how despite her best efforts to make things right, there was still a pang of sorrow in her chest.

Worse still, that same sorrow was echoed with Chrom, and how his eyes kept trying to meet hers, and how his hands shivered over her limbs; it was the only thing holding Robin up, along with his voice.

"Robin, you don't need to take such a risk for me I… I was terrified of losing you, love." Her exhaustion burst like a bubble, replaced with shock. The fins on her ears flared in alarm when she snapped her head up.

'I have to be hearing things. He didn't just say-' The thought fizzled out when she saw his face… And how his eyes were stretched wide, the blue of the iris just a thin ring, like a water ripple against a night sky.

"Wh… What did you just say?" His throat worked in response, but no sound came out. "I thought for a moment that you called me-"

"L-Love." Chrom finished for her, finding his voice. "B-because… It's true. You are beloved to me."

The tips of his fingers cautiously traced down her arms and grazed against her own hands, half afraid that she'd flinch away from the contact. Instead Robin reached forward and caught his fingers between hers, praying she could coax more words out of Chrom.

And that seemed to encourage Chrom, as his words slowly came out in a stutter.

"I… I sort of feel like I've known that for a while now, on some level, even if I didn't fully realize it. But even though I couldn't remember… E-even though I felt lost at times…"

He glanced down, to where his fins twitched.

"Even when it felt like I was a stranger in my own body… I wasn't afraid. Because I wasn't alone."

His fingers curled further around hers, squeezing them into a tight weave. With how Chrom gripped at her, it was like she was the only solid thing in all the ocean.

"Because I had you with me. And it just felt… Right, having you by my side." He took a gulp, fingers shivering against hers.

"Gods, I'm terrified I might be wrong, but it feels like I've been in love with you, ever since I opened my eyes and saw you…"

He stilled when Robin tilted forward, pressing her forehead against his. The closeness and touch, even the way the bubbles from their gills teased at their hair… It was enough to still any more of his words. And for Robin to find her own courage and voice.

"I thought you'd forgotten…" Robin confessed. "And I think I… I owe you an apology. For doubting, when all this time we were both circling the same point."

"Wait, 'we?' Does that mean-?"

"Yes." Robin whispered. "It means that… I love you too."

She released him, weaving out from his fingers so she could cup his face in her own hands. Their eyes met for a heartbeat, right before their lips did.

Warmth flooded through her, and bloomed in Robin's chest at the contact. She couldn't help but notice how warm his lips were, and oddly soft compared to the strength in his arms. They wrapped around her, fingers shaking like they were still afraid she'd vanish.

In answer, Robin traced her hands down his neck and over his shoulders, drawing them in close. Chrom gasped against her lips, a few bubbles going from his throat and washing over her cheeks. But the touch encouraged him, as he tightened his arms around her, pressing them together.

It was a distinct advantage, Robin suddenly realized; having gills meant not necessarily needing to break apart for air. That, or they'd both gotten much better at holding their breath, with how long the kiss stretched out.

Though Chrom apparently hadn't forgotten everything from the surface, with how they broke apart eventually and he gave a small pant. His head dipped against hers as he breathed, their cheeks brushing.

"Robin…?" Chrom whispered out, nuzzling into her neck and tickling her gills. She hummed in answer, reaching back up to weave her fingers into his hair. He sighed again, whispering her name like it was a mantra… And clinging to her, like she was his anchor in a storm.

"I'm sorry, Chrom. I should've… Perhaps been a bit braver. And admitted this to you sooner." He stilled at her words. "That I've been falling for you." Her cheeks were burning, but that didn't seem to matter to Chrom; he still tucked his head against her.

"That… That I've felt stronger when I'm with you. And that you make me feel like I can handle anything. I… I feel… I feel like I've found where I belong." And it wasn't with Validar. It wasn't dependent on whether she had fins or legs. Just that she was by his side.

"I… I think I feel the same." He whispered. "Like it doesn't matter that I can't remember much. But as long as I'm with you, and… And I'm honest about how I feel around you, those blanks in my memory don't matter; it'll be alright, somehow."

She wanted to say that was more sentiment than reason… But that would mean arguing with what she felt in her heart.

He held onto her for what could have been hours, letting them both sink towards the grass and sands. At last the grasses tickled at their fins, prompting Chrom to lift his head and take a few deep breaths.

"I… I'm glad I DO have you close by." Chrom finally said. "Because there's still so much we need to do. Find Emm, figure everything out… AND we need to keep out of Plegia's reach. No shortage of things to take care of. But first…" Chrom sighed out, and they sunk all the way into the grass.

"I think I need to slee…" He didn't even finish the sentence, his eyes drifting shut; their escape and confession all weighing down on his lids.

"I don't blame you for that, considering what all we've been through." Her fins were telling her just how much of a strain she'd put on them… And that they didn't feel much like doing anymore swimming today. Robin curled into Chrom, letting the warmth from him envelop her.

Chrom shifted his arms around her shoulders and ribs, pulling her close and wrapping a little more warmth around her.

She never noticed how the silver gem slipped from her scarves, falling between the two as they drifted off… Or how it drank up the extra bits of blood from their wounds, to glow all the brighter. Like a silver campfire, in the gloom of the canyon.

She was too tired to dwell much on it. Robin was already failing to keep her eyes open after so much stress and revelations. She didn't think too much about the gleaming gem. Or how the sleep she sunk into was strange and hazy… Almost like a vision, and tinged with the same silver.