A/N: Hey, I got reviews, I want to respond to them.
The Restless Drifter: Yeah, that was hypocritical of Robin.
Temporal King: Thank you for the criticism and praise, this might be a bit long. Lucina and Inigo aren't out of the story. No Shepherd really is. I have plans to reintroduce many, if not all of them. I do agree in hindsight that there should have been more emotions associated with them leaving. Good to note for potential editing of that chapter. The tour around Chon'sin will come at a later point, it's part of the fluff and politics. An international Shepherds is a good idea that I will now include in this fic, thank you for the idea. And finally, while I do think it could be interesting to apply this concept to the other nations and people throughout Fire Emblem, I will probably hold off on that until a later date. It's mostly because I want to write other things, many of which don't even involve Fire Emblem, and it might feel a bit repetitive if I reused the same basic idea immediately after this one. Another note, Emperor of Chon'sin is not going to be the only title Robin will hold in the story. Hope you like the obvious foreshadowing.
—-
After about an hour of hugging and catching up, Say'ri had introduced Robin and Morgan to some of the servants working in the building, namely the servants that had been assigned as their personal servants.
"[My Lady Morgan, my name is Ka'me, your retainer and if need be, bodyguard. I shall serve you-]" Ka'me was interrupted by Morgan giving her a hug and saying "[I hope we can be good friends Ka'me.]"
Ka'me was not particularly old, she looked to be around 18, and was a bit small for her age, as she was about 4 inches (10 centimeters) shorter than Morgan. She was wearing a dark blue gi with a symbol over her heart with her family insignia on it, a red turtle shell.
"[Morgan can be a bit enthusiastic, but as you are needed by her side, becoming close to her is not only permitted, but recommended.]" Say'ri said, a bit of happiness at her daughter being fine with the arrangement. "[Yes, Empress Say'ri.]" Ka'me replied, voiced a bit restrained due to Morgan's hug.
"Emperor-to-be Robin, I am Gen'an, and I shall serve as your attendant, translator, and bodyguard as needed. I shall act whenever you need me to, regardless of circumstances."
"To go that far is unnecessary, but thanks." Robin replied. Gen'an was significantly older than Ka'me, and was possibly even double Robin's age. He looked to be about 40, wearing a bright purple and dull yellow robe and hat, with his family symbol emblazoned onto the hat, a green dolphin.
"Gen'an was the only retainer that could speak fluent Ylissean, so he was the natural choice, given that at the current moment, you are unable to speak Chon'sinese," Say'ri stated. "We still do have to educate you in that matter."
"Oooh, I can finally help teach Father something," Morgan piped in, having stopped hugging Ka'me. "Also, [me, Father, and Mother do not really need your help in protecting us]." Morgan made a few quick nods to the sleeve of her greatcoat, Robin, and the training grounds.
Robin rolled his eyes but followed Morgan to the training grounds. They then walked to opposite sides of the area, and had their backs to one another. Say'ri knew what was going on, and so after a moment or two, snapped her fingers.
Morgan threw her left hand outwards, seemingly manifesting a red tome out of nowhere, although in reality it was just hidden in her sleeve. Robin had instead stuck his left hand into his coat, drawing a yellow tome with a flourish. Both turned towards the other, casting a spell in the other's direction, causing Morgan's fireball and Robin's thunderbolt to strike in midair, stopping both in their tracks, resulting in their disappearance.
Both Gen'an and Ka'me clapped, though whether it was out of actual amazement, professionalism, or the social need to clap after someone shows off in a way that does not end in failure. Say'ri said to them, "[I do believe in their fighting abilities, so there is no need to lay your lives on the line. Still, in their lives were to be in danger, help them.]"
"[Yes Empress]" the two replied. "[Please don't, we can fight and this greatcoat is much better armor than what you might imagine]" Morgan added after walking back to the retainers.
Robin asked, "Wait, what about your retainer, Say'ri?"
"'Tis a simple matter. All the retainers in the palace, unless specified otherwise, are my retainer.I do have a few who in particular aid me more often than others, but all are."
"I guess that makes sense."
"Now, with the introductions for your retainers finished, I believe dinner has been finished."
—-
Robin, Morgan, and Say'ri were seated at a small table, a meal prepared before sitting on it. Gen'an and Ka'me were standing near the door, ready to act if needed. The meal prepared consisted of what Robin assumed was some of the raw fish, rice, and seaweed combination Say'ri had talked about before (Was it sushi or sashimi), along with a soup that he didn't know what was. There was also some meat on sticks as well, though what kind of meat was hard to say.
"[Thank you for the meal]" Say'ri had said, clapping her hands together before casting a quick look at both Morgan and Robin.
Morgan had already started eating with a pair of sticks, but after noticing her mother's glance, she repeated the gesture and said, "[Thank you for the meal.]"
Robin also clapped his hands, and said, "[Fank yo far da mule.]" Both Say'ri and Gen'an looked at Robin, slightly confused looks on their faces. Meanwhile, both Morgan and Ka'me were holding back laughter, with Morgan having a harder time doing so.
While Morgan laughed, the three returned to their meal. In doing so, they saw another issue Robin had to adapt to, that being his complete and utter inability to use chopsticks. Nobody knew how exactly it had happened, but Robin managed to launch a piece of sushi into his face with the chopsticks, and thus began to eat with his bare hands.
"Fie Robin, I assume we have to teach you how to use chopsticks as well?" Say'ri said this after launching the sushi at his face.
"Wait, that's what the sticks are called."
"I had forgotten the name as well, but I can still use them," Morgan said, chopsticks holding another piece of sushi and a smile on her face.
"Well, I can still eat meat that's already on sticks without much issue." Robin then grabbed one of the meat sticks and bit into it. He began to eat more vigorously after the first bite.
"Wait, does that mean that.." Morgan said, grabbing and biting into the meat, before also eating with similar ferocity to her father.
"Aye, bear meat, prepared by the royal chefs. I had them start learning how to prepare it while you were both in Ylisse," Say'ri said, answering the seemingly lingering question in the air.
Ka'me, seeing her master eating with such disregard for manners, asked Gen'an, "[Is this normal for new nobility or something?]" "No, it might just be with these two," Gen'an replied, continuing to watch as the two consumed the bear meat.
"Say'ri, there is a matter I wish to discuss," Robin said, having finished his bear meat.
"Aye, Robin, what is it?"
"On the way here, me and Morgan ended up coming across numerous bandits and Risen, many of which attacked us. So I was wondering, since Ylisse and Chon'sin are currently allied, could we not attempt to expand the Shepherds' operations to include all of Valm?" It could help a lot of people."
"Nay, it would result in a political catastrophe."
"Wait, why? The Shepherds were an instrumental help to the continent and would help keep the peace."
"'Tis the result of how the nobility here in Chon'sin see Ylisse's intervention and our engagement."
"Wait, how does that factor into all of this?"
"If I were to make a guess, it's because Ylisse may be seen as power hungry. The marriage is not seen as the act of you two cementing your love for one another, but instead as a means to ensure Ylisse has influence on Chon'sin, and thus Valm as a whole," Morgan had chimed in inbetween bear meat sticks.
"Exactly right, my dear," Say'ri said, showing some pride at her daughter's deduction, before adding, "As a result of that idea, combined with you being Chrom's most trusted advisor before leaving, the nobility across not just Chon'sin but all of Valm results in the idea that if you were to try and expand a Ylissean institution, it would be seen as Ylisse expanding its influence."
"I guess I never saw it that way. And here I was thinking I was a capable politician," Robin said, taking in the statements from both his fiance and daughter. "I still believe something like the Shepherds should be created, maybe one that predominantly operates in Valm."
"Aye, that is better, but it would still face opposition. Before all that, we still need to assure the people and nobles of Chon'sin that they are going to support the concept."
"I guess that would mean the coronation of Father as Emperor of Chon'sin needs to win over a lot of people?"
"Aye, and that means we need to teach him enough Chon'sinese to be able to give a proper speech to the people, or at least be able to recite a speech."
"I have to ask then, when is the coronation?"
"I have arranged for it to occur in a month's time."
"Wait, why so close?"
"It is rare in Chon'sin's history for the spouse of the Emperor or Empress to not be coronated that same day the two are wedded."
"That is also when the wedding is happening." Robin was now realizing the time crunch he was under.
"I stated before that I wished for our union to be held under the cherry trees when they are in bloom, back when we were first engaged."
"True. This just means I have to work quickly to learn a speech."
"If any group could get someone to recite a speech in a foreign language within a month, that would be us," Morgan said cheerfully, as if it were an inevitability that they would succeed.
—-
A/N: And that's the second chapter. I hope you enjoyed it. Sorry if you came here, reading the previous chapter and thinking you were only going to get a post-Awakening fluff story. In future chapters, I will say that it will likely be ⅔ to ¾ fluff. I hope you enjoy those parts, or at least accept them as means to contrast and drive some of the fluff. While I think a pure fluff piece is good, I didn't necessarily want to write one. Also, Gen'an and Ka'me are the names of some generic soldiers from Pokemon Conquest, with an additional apostrophe with Ka'me. They don't have personalities, or at least strong ones, but do make it much easier to come up with names for people, and have something for me to base the characters off. That's all for now.