I last updated this in November?! What?! Where has the time gone?! =O
Well...I've technically been working on this Chapter on and off for the last two months or so, so...yeah, sorry to keep you waiting. xD
I actually really like this Chapter and I hope all you lovely (and extraordinarily patient) readers will too. Thanks for all the follows, favourites and reviews, I appreciate them! =D
To my guest reader who mentioned the spotpass characters, I know about them and I know that they're 'alive' in a sense but in this story, all of them (apart from one who isn't in the main story of 'Awakening' and never 'died' as a result) all of them are deceased, sad to say, so they won't be making an appearance and I aren't decided on that one exception yet. xD
Luckily whilst finishing this Chapter off, I came up with what I want the next Chapter to focus on so you shouldn't have to wait as long as you did for this one however, I've got some pretty hectic months ahead of me so I can't make any promises.
*Spoilers Warning* Definite spoilers about the 'true' end of 'Awakening'. Also spoilers about other elements of the plot throughout the game.
Disclaimer: I own nothing to do with 'Fire Emblem [Awakening]', its locations, characters etc. All rights go to their respective owners.
Rated T. (*Warning* Contains slightly 'raunchy' language, themes and suggestions but nothing actually happens or takes place.)
Together Again?: Suspicions
"She should be here soon." Chrom murmured to the people following behind him as he reached the clearing where he was due to meet with Lucina.
"I can't believe how long it's been," Lissa remarked with a longing sigh. "I bet you're excited to see her again huh Robin?"
Robin's head snapped up at the sound of her name, her face was ashen under her hood. "Huh? Y-yeah I guess..." She trailed off.
Lissa's eyes widened as something occurred to her. "Oh, do you remember this Lucina?"
"This Lucina?"
"Yeah, the one from the alternate future."
"Alternate future?!"
"U-huh, one where we all..."
Chrom quickly placed a hand over his sister's mouth, "Let me explain Lissa, you're not really one for subtlety."
She pulled away from her brother's grasp grumbling something like 'You're one to talk' under her breath as she turned around to check on the other Shepherds.
"Her time was destroyed by an evil dragon called Grima, it was thanks to him that all the adults in her time...perished." He grimaced as he recalled that particular news; it was difficult to face the reality that all of the Shepherds had failed to protect their children and to save the world even if it was in a different reality to their own. "She travelled to this time alongside the children of our friends to try and prevent a similar fate befalling our world. She's still my- no- our daughter though so you can rest easy in that regards."
The woman crossed her arms over her chest, "That's er, a lot to take in."
Chrom smiled ruefully, "Huh, I bet."
Just then, Tharja cut into their conversation with her 'helpful' quip. "Considering you recalled baby Lucina upon seeing her, it seems strange you haven't remembered everything relating to her- both the one from this time and the alternate one."
All the Shepherds shot the mage a steely look but before any of them could respond or cut through the now tense atmosphere a bright, yet serious voice spoke up behind them. "It does make sense however, whilst we're the same in name and role- we're still inevitably different so don't give her too much of a hard time Tharja."
Lissa and Chrom whipped around. "Ah, Lucina!" The young princess cried as she rushed towards her niece and wrapped her up in a bear hug, causing the blue-haired girl to grunt in surprise.
"Heh, hello Aunt Lissa, I'm glad to see you well." She then turned to the other Shepherds, "Same with the all of you, it's good to see you all again." She bowed slightly, a smile playing on her lips however, that quickly faded as she heard footsteps approaching her warily. Standing up straight again, her face filled with a deep sadness. "H-hello Mother."
The woman in question didn't respond, she just reached a hand out and grabbed a strand of Lucina's hair, rubbing it between her fingers before meeting her gaze. "Lucina, heh, you grow more beautiful by the day." Robin whispered before smiling. "I'm sorry I forgot you sweetheart, but...I've remembered you now and I'm sorry for leaving you the way I did, I hope you can forgive me."
Hot tears began to brim in Lucina's eyes as her strong expression crumbled, "Mother!" She cried as she wrapped her arms around the bemused woman, in a lot of ways it reminded her of when she revealed herself as Lucina rather than as Marth to her father but this felt even more emotionally charged than that time after all, her mother was forced to play host for Grima in her time and almost succumbed to the same fate in this time but she didn't and ended up sacrificing her life to save he world, her mother deserved happiness and she vowed there and then that she would do anything to secure a peaceful future for the brave tactician and her dear mother.
"What do you know?" Frederick asked the blue-haired princess as he lay a map out on top of the table in the newly set-up tent which currently occupied him, Lucina, her father and her mother whilst there was still a bustle of noise and activity outside as the other Shepherds continued to set up their camp for the night.
Lucina quickly scanned over the map on the table, a frown marring her face. The last person to see him was Yarne who saw him..." Her finger trailed over the map until it came to a small town on the outskirts of Ylisse. "Here. He went into a shop to purchase a couple of books, he seemed rather distracted by a scroll he was reading on his way to a house. Unfortunately, he got lost in the hustle and bustle of the crowd and since then...zip."
"Hmm...Chrom, do you think whoever took Morgan took Lucy too?"
He'd told her and the other Shepherds about Morgan and the correspondence he'd received from Lucina the day after Lucy was taken and it caused them to feel even more grief than they already did but at least the letter has offered up a plan of action in the form of joining up with Lucina (and the other Shepherds seemed very excited by the prospect of probably being able to see some of the other children again) which gave them something to focus on other than their own misery. Robin also insisted on coming along to save both the baby girl she knew and the doting son she couldn't remember and as soon as she had Chrom's permission to tag along with the Shepherds despite her amnesia (even though he bet that even wild horses wouldn't have been enough to keep her away), her sadness was replaced by that look of steely determination he was so used to seeing in the tactician's eyes.
"That's my bet." He murmured grimly.
Lucina's head snapped up then. "Your baby is missing?!"
"Ah, yes, she was kidnapped just a couple of nights ago and we've been frantically searching ever since. It seems like that's all I've been doing for the last few years...searching." Chrom muttered under his breath.
"Gee sorry for the inconvenience." Robin's sarcastic tone made him realize how that must've sounded to her.
"N-not that I'm complaining" Chrom back-peddled as he waved his hands frantically in front of him like he was trying to tame a wild animal. his ear burning as he recalled the soap dish that had once attacked it.
A wry smile flashed across her face, "Don't worry, I was just teasing."
"Teasing." Frederick- who has been standing guard by the tent's flap repeated. How can she be teasing at a time like this, two of her children are missing! But he bit his tongue and decided against commenting but he still took a closer look at Robin. She seemed the same as she'd always been: dedicated to strategy, loving to her family and caring for her friends despite the amnesia but there was something...different about her eyes, they seemed full of bitterness and pain. Of course, she did sacrifice her life and spent the past two years of her life in some form of limbo, she has a right to have changed a bit. But...her eyes didn't seem human. They weren't the eyes of Grima that longed for destruction and pain so there were no concerns in that regard they just seemed so...so...
...twisted.
"Milord, may I be excused please? I want to check on how the other Shepherds are progressing."
The dumfounded Exalt was surprised by his request but still agreed to it.
"Is something amiss Frederick?" Robin asked curiously.
He managed to tug one side of his mouth up in a reassuring manner. "Not at all, Milady." He murmured as he bowed low before exiting the tent.
After a few brief moments of silence, the conversation continued; "Our first port of call should be to the town then to see if we can find any information of value there then; it's better than running around blindly hoping for them both to magically appear out of thin air." Robin advised.
"Yes, I agree with that." Lucina nodded and beamed up at her mother with awe in her eyes.
Chrom placed both hands on the table and leaned forward, "Then it's agreed, we leave at the break of dawn."
"Tharja?"
The booming voice caught the attention of the mage who was busy helping to set up the tent used for spells and magic.
"Intrude." She muttered sarcastically.
"My apologies for disturbing you but I wanted your aid with something."
She raised an eyebrow as she turned to face the brown-haired knight, "Hmm...what can I do for you? Help with your bear meat issues? Loosen you up a bit? Curse all of your future descendants into oblivion?"
Frederick frowned at that, although he knew she was joking it was rather difficult to accept since he'd met a version of his future child already but he chose to let it slide as he wanted to keep her on side. "Actually I wanted to inquire about Robin."
Tharja stiffened at that, her expression instantly becoming wary, "Robin, what about her?" She drawled.
Frederick's eyebrows knit together, "Do you believe she is under a curse of some kind."
Cocking her head to one side, Tharja let the question hang in the air as she considered her response. "Hmm...as far as I can tell she isn't but I aren't the expert of curses." She twisted her body away from Frederick and called to someone further back into the tent. "Henry!"
The other Plegian dark mage placed a huge pile of books down onto a nearby desk before turning to face Tharja who waved her hand to beckon him over.
"How can I help ya?" The seemingly ever-cheerful man asked.
"Can you detect a curse placed on Robin?"
The white-haired man moved a finger to his lips as he thought. "Hmm...nope, not at all."
Frederick looked at him and took a step towards him, reaching a hand out to place upon his shoulder, his eyes pleading with him to think harder. "Please, there must be some mistake."
"Well...there always could be, just because I'm great with curses doesn't mean I aren't privy to either missing them or making a mistake with them from time to time but I can tell you that I'm 99.99% sure that Robin doesn't have a curse, hex or other placed upon her at this moment in time."
Frederick staggered away from him and Tharja at that point, his hand going up to his heart, clutching it as his eyes widened with horror. "But that's impossible...!" He chocked out.
"Why is that." Tharja asked as she observed him, already having an inkling as to what he was going to say.
"Because-" Frederick turned to face in the direction of the tent flap, a little gap in them allowing him to see the already setting sun. "-if she isn't cursed then how she is now and how she's behaving is...by her own personal choice."
That night, he had that nightmare again.
The one that had haunted him for the last couple of years; the one about facing Grima and just like all those times before, he woke up drenched in sweat, tears streaming from his eyes. However, there was one noticeable difference this time.
He got up from his bed and fled from his tent to another one nearby without even bothering to put on a shirt or a pair of shoes, he pulled back the flap of the other tent and saw the figure stirring slightly in her own bed, no doubt disturbed by the sudden disturbance.
As quickly as he opened the flap, he closed it again and sank to the ground, a hand going up to cover his eyes as relief flooded through his veins now he knew that she was really back. Even though they couldn't share a bed together again just yet due to her memory loss, at least she was there; blood in her veins, life in her eyes, colour in her cheeks. She could walk, talk strategize...love. For the last two years, he'd woke up knowing she wasn't there but at least now whenever he had the nightmare, he knew that there was proof that it was just that...a figment of his imagination.
He didn't realise he'd begun crying again until his chest began to heave with his sobs.
"Milord, are you okay?!" Sumia asked him with concern as she went over to him and wrapped an arm around his shoulders. "Come on, lets get you back to your tent, you'll catch your death of cold!" She scolded as she escorted him back to his own tent.
When they were inches away from there, he came back to his senses slightly. "N-no, don't take me in there! Whilst the Shepherds know that nothing untoward would happen between us, if anyone else saw then it would be...problematic."
"Huh?!" Sumia looked confused for a moment before she realised that how it would look for her to be escorting the Exalt who was wearing only a pair of pyjama bottoms to his tent in the dead of night when she wasn't his wife. "Oh!" She jumped back as if she'd been scalded and almost tripped over her own two feet whilst doing so. "Woah!" A hand reached out to grip her arm, it was Chrom steadying her.
"Are you okay, Sumia?" He asked with concern.
"Few, yes I am Milord, honestly I'm supposed to be helping you not causing you trouble." She sighed before looking at his face that was still deeply troubled. "You dreamt about that day again, didn't you?" She asked although she already knew the answer.
It turned out that he wasn't the only one who suffered from bad dreams about their fight with Grima; shortly after those events, he'd overheard Nowi discussing her own nightmares with Ricken and Cordelia who also claimed to be haunted by that day and what their friend did for their sakes and that of the whole world and he wasn't the only one as many of the other Shepherds joined her with their own tales of woe and when he'd told them his nightmare, he was baffled by their responses.
Nowi went over to him and gave him a hug, Maribelle huffed and scolded him for being ridiculous because of course they would never have done what they did in his incubus and Vaike and Sully punched his arm playfully and gave their own little motivational speeches; honestly, he'd felt really bad for worrying them so by telling them in the first place.
He turned to face away from her, crossing his arms over his chest as he shivered- from either the cold, the remnants of the nightmare, or from both- he didn't know. "It's silly...I know I shouldn't be bothered by it anymore but..."
Sumia felt one side of her mouth pull up in a small smile, "Just because your circumstances have changed it doesn't mean your dreams will reflect those changes otherwise people still wouldn't be haunted by childhood nightmares."
"Heh, that's true enough I guess." They stood in silence for a few moments. "Anyway, we should both get some rest, it's an early rise tomorrow."
"Of course, goodnight Milord." Sumia murmured as she bowed slightly before her Exalt.
"Goodnight, Sumia."
Chrom opened the flap to his tent and walked inside, sighing to himself. For some reason he thought back to his first night back at home in Castle Ylisse after Robin disappeared. He'd avoided returning to that place for as long as possible whilst attending to his duties during the aftermath of the war but eventually he couldn't bear to be away from his baby anymore and so he'd gone back. He recalled seeing her for the first time since his return, she was no longer the newly-born babe that had graced his life with her presence but instead she was a near six-month-old bundle of energy and noise. It was surprising (and worrying) to him at first simply because he had no idea if she'd remember him or not (luckily she did for which he was still grateful). He'd felt as if he'd missed so much of her life by that point and yet he knew that time would pale in comparison to what Robin would miss- even is she missed a minute longer than him, it would still be so much precious time with her baby that would be taken from her.
"...I want Lucina to grow up with her whole family around her..."
"As do I. You have my word."
Those lines were said before they set off to Regna Ferox and they had brought with them a sharp twinge of sadness and pain when he'd thought about them that night. 'Yet another promise she felt forced to break.' He'd thought to himself as he held their daughter in his arms.
But that wasn't the worst part of it, later that evening when he was supposed to turn in for the night he found himself unable to fall asleep. He was lying in bed- their bed- without Robin and that killed him. He'd vowed to himself that on the first night that they shared this bed together again after the war that he'd worship every inch, crevice and curve of her body but instead...he was alone. He tossed and turned and sometimes even found himself reaching over to where she used to lay to try and hold her only to recall the fact she wasn't there and start the whole process of grieving again. Eventually he gave up trying to sleep and instead went over to the balcony. He would sit upon it, bringing his knees up to his chest and staring out at the sky, the moon and the twinkling stars until he no longer had the energy to keep himself balanced and then he'd return inside to their room to sleep on the floor.
That lasted for a few weeks until Frederick caught wind of what he was doing and chose to remain guard in his room until he fell asleep in the bed.
"Heh, anyone would think she wasn't back the way I'm thinking about those times again." He muttered to himself with a wry smile which disappeared as quickly as it came. "No...until I can hold her in my arms again, until we can share a bed again; he return will never feel real to me. Damn, I love her so much, I just want my wife back!" He cried before collapsing to the floor in a heap yet again and allowing the tears to fall until he fell asleep.
"We should reach the town in only a few hours." Lucina stated just as they'd started to make their way.
"Then we should be able to continue our search further today? That's good to know." Chrom replied.
"Indeed" Robin smiled at them both.
Frederick's eyes narrowed when he saw that. "Milady, are you sure you're up to walking this distance? Even if it's not a long journey, you haven't had to travel with the Shepherds for a long while, you may find the strenuous exercise tiring and it's my duty to serve you as well so you may find the trek more bearable if you travel upon my horse." I just need to find a way to keep an eye on her and to keep her away from Chrom until I can find out what's the matter with her.
Robin turned to narrow her own eyes at him. He knows something. She thought but just said, "No that's quite all right, thank you Frederick."
"You can carry me on the horse if you want, I'm the pregnant lady!" Lissa shouted from behind him, waving her arms in the air like a madwoman.
Frederick turned to smile at her, he was prepared for this. "I already offered this morning, Milady."
She crossed her arms across her chest and pouted in response. "Th-that's beside the point..." She muttered.
"...She walked further than we're going to be walking today yesterday." Chrom said, confusion colouring his tone.
To which Frederick nodded in response. "Indeed she did but you just said it yourself, we're planning to cover more ground than just this today after we visit the town, all the travelling may take it's toll on her."
Before either Chrom or Robin could respond, Tharja spoke up. "I agree with Frederick after all, I don't want my darling Robin wearing herself out." That was normally the truth but for the moment it was just an excuse so she could take Frederick's side without arousing suspicion. She knew that he trusted Robin still- as did she- they both presumed that something must be wrong because she wouldn't just betray the people she sacrificed herself to save but until they knew exactly what was going on, they had to play it safe.
Lucina smiled at her mother, "Well...the offer is there, you may as well take it."
Robin rolled her eyes. "Oh very well but just this once after all, I'll have to get used to this again eventually."
Lucina helped her up onto the horse and then they all began walking again.
After about half an hour of silence and after the attention drifted away from them, Frederick spoke up. "Just what are you up to Robin?" He whispered.
"Hmm...I'm not sure what you mean."
"You know perfectly well what I mean. Look if this is just some elaborate ruse as part of a strategy or something then I understand but you're taking it too far!"
Robin cocked her head to one side although he couldn't see as he was still looking straight ahead so as now to attract attention. "Am I now? Well...how have I 'taken it too far' exactly?"
"You know something about Lucy and Morgan's whereabouts, don't you?"
"What a wild accusation to throw at your amnesiac queen."
Frederick felt his fury begin to rise at the apparent glee in her tone- I don't care what Henry said, this isn't like Robin at all! She must be under a spell of some sort. "An amnesiac who had to meet both versions of her daughter in person before recalling them but took the word of the Exalt when it came to your son from an alternate future as gospel." He bit back.
"Well...amnesia is a hard thing to pin down, for all you know just hearing his name was enough to stir up some maternal feelings towards him. Besides, both versions of Lucy are Daddy's girls whereas from what I've heard Morgan longed to follow in my footsteps."
"So what, Lucina loves you just as much as her father and it's her duty to become Exalt when he is no longer around so it makes sense for her to be more like him in that regard- you aren't that petty Robin!"- He took a deep breath to calm himself.- "I-I aren't angry at you, I just want to help you overcome whatever...this is but I can't do that unless you talk to me. If you don't, I may have to warn the other Shepherds including Milord, Milady and Lucina about you and may have to take you into custody until we return home."
"Oh you will, will you? And how are you going to convince Chrom to allow you to get away with such a thing, huh? He'd never believe you without proof..." She leaned in close so she could whisper into his ear. "...And from what I can tell, proof is something you're currently lacking, am I right? Challenging the master tactician to a game of strategy will only end in tears, best keep that in mind 'Freddy Bear'."
The knight stiffened at that and his skin began to crawl but he didn't respond. No one had referred to him as that in front of her since her return, another inconsistency with her second bout of amnesia perhaps?
Or maybe...she didn't have amnesia at all?
What...you didn't think I'd just rehash the original 'Awakening' amnesia scenario, did ya? I thought you all thought better of me than that. Jokes. =') I hope all of your theories keep coming in about this story ('cause I love reading 'em) and I really hope that you won't have to wait as long for the nest update. P.S. I could really use some help coming up with some place names for both the upcoming town and the desert town/kingdom so suggestions are welcome. I'm also trying to work out which pairings I should go for just in case I need to refer to them at some point so feel free to contribute to that but know that I may not go for them. =) Until next time. xXx