Author's Notes:

To be completely honest, I didn't think this chapter would end up being a filler chapter. However, I began to realize just how long of a chapter it was becoming as I was writing it, and I decided that there was enough for it to become a chapter even without including any progression of the plot. Somehow, this ended up being the longest chapter I've written thus far. If nothing else, I guess the people who are more into fluffy chapters will be somewhat satisfied.

Anyways, here is chapter 27:

Just outside of Fort Steiger…

"C'mon, make sure you're following the person in front of you closely!" Chrom commanded as the shepherds and their soldiers ran through the night. Just as they expected, the ex Resistance members didn't try too hard stop them from leaving. They've opted to run towards the southwest, which was further and further away from where they had first landed.

They ran in the dark for several minutes. When it became clear that they had shook off the few ex Resistance members that were pretending to chase after them, Chrom gave the signal for them to stop.

"Let's take a short rest." Chrom said. "However, we're still not far away from Fort Steiger for us to be safe."

Robin nodded in agreement. "We're going to have to keep marching in the dark for a little longer. Then we can try to find a decent place to sleep."

After resting for a couple of minutes, Chrom got up. "All right, that's enough. The sooner we get far away from here, the sooner we'll be able to set up camp and truly rest." He lead the shepherds and began to march again.

Robin stood still and began to take a head count as the shepherds got up one by one to follow after Chrom. He took notice of Lucina, who seemed to be walking very slowly and panting hard.

Robin made his way over to her.

"What's wrong?" he asked with concern.

"N...nothing." Lucina panted.

"You could've fooled me." Robin frowned. "If something is bothering you, you need to tell someone. Maybe it's a small problem right now, but it could become a much larger one if you keep it to yourself."

"W-well… to be honest… my head really hurts." Lucina finally admitted. "I feel kind of light headed and a little dizzy. And… I also almost feel like vomiting."

"That sounds like it could be a concussion." Robin said, offering Lucina his shoulder. "We'll let Lissa take a look at it once we set up camp. But for now, take it slowly. Walk at your own pace. I'll be here."

Lucina wrapped her left arm around his back and held onto the tactician's left shoulder while simultaneously leaning on his right. "T-thanks." she murmured.

They began to follow after the rest of the shepherds slowly. They were eventually passed by some of their soldiers that were following behind them. At first, Lucina was able to make out the figures ahead of them, but as they kept walking, the people in front of them began to go out of sight.

Lucina began to panic slightly. If they got lost in the middle of the night, it would be very difficult to meet back up with the rest of them. In response, she began to force herself to walk faster.

Robin noticed this immediately. "Don't worry." he reassured her. "Take it at your own pace. I'm keeping track of where they are. All you need to do is put one foot in front of the other. Leave the rest up to me."

Lucina sighed in relief and slowed back down.

The two of them walked together for about an hour. If it weren't for Lucina's injuries to her head, she would've probably really enjoyed it. But then again, if it weren't for her injury, Robin probably wouldn't give her the attention.

A hopeful feeling began to well up in her chest as they walked through one of their soldiers' camps.

"The shepherds' camp must be just a little further ahead." Robin told her, reaching the same conclusion. "Just hold on a little longer."

Eventually, they reached their destination. Cordelia ran up to meet them.

"Robin! Lucina!" the Falcon Knight exclaimed. "When you didn't show up, everyone began to worry."

"Lucina has a concussion." Robin explained. "She can't move very fast, so I stayed with her."

"Should I go fetch Lissa?" Cordelia asked.

"Yes, please." Robin replied.

Cordelia immediately ran off towards one of the campfires. Robin and Lucina began to head in the same direction, albeit at a much slower pace.

Moments later, Lissa came running towards them with a staff in hand.

"Lucina!" she exclaimed. Lissa walked to the injured princess's other side and offered her own shoulder to her. "Let's go to your tent. I'll take a look at you there."

Lucina nodded in gratefulness, and allowed them to lead her towards one of the tents.

Once they were inside, they saw four bedrolls on the ground instead of the usual one or two.

"It's to conserve our energy." Lissa explained. "It's much more difficult to set up tents in the middle of the night, so we're putting four people in a single one. Aside from Lady Tiki, we put two couples inside each tent. This one is set up for the four bachelorettes."

"Bachelorettes?" Lucina asked.

"Yeah! The female shepherds that aren't married." Lissa explained. "You, Olivia, Anna, and… and Say'ri!" she counted on her fingers.

"So I'm assuming I'm with Kellam, Ricken and Henry then?" Robin asked.

"Yup!" Lissa confirmed. "I can show you to your tent later. But first, I need to take a look at Lucina's concussion."

Robin helped Lucina lay down one of the bedrolls. Lissa immediately began to work on her head injuries. Robin chuckled as Lucina let out pleasant sighs as her symptoms gradually began to fade from Lissa's work.

"Well, I guess I'm not needed here anymore." Robin said as he got up. "I'll go find someone who can tell me where my tent is. I trust she's in good hands now."

Once back outside, he headed towards one of the campfires.

"Hey, look who's finally here!" Vaike exclaimed as Robin joined their circle. "We were getting worried you got lost or somethin'!"

"No, Lucina was just struggling to keep up with everyone else." Robin explained. "It seems she suffered from a concussion in that last battle. I stayed with her to ensure she got here safely."

"What a gentlemanly thing to do." Virion gave his approval.

Gaius and Stahl looked at each other and smirked.

"Anyways," Robin continued. "I was wondering if someone could show me where my tent is. It's rather late, and I think I'd like to call it a night. Tomorrow is going to be a long day for sure."

"Sure!" Henry chirped. "I'll take you there. I was thinking of getting ready to sleep as well."

Robin nodded, and the two of them headed towards one of the tents.

With Lucina…

Lucina was lying down on her bedroll. Her aunt Lissa had just finished working her healing magic, and Lucina could already feel much better. However, Lissa also advised her to sleep early, and get some good rest. She assured Lucina that the wounds would fully recover within a day or two, but only if she didn't do anything extremely strenuous.

After maybe fifteen minutes, she could hear the giggling and the chatter of some girls as they approached her tent. Moments later, the flap was lifted, and Anna, Olivia and Say'ri entered the tent.

"Ah! Lady Lucina!" Say'ri exclaimed when they realized she was already inside the tent. "Prithee! We didn't wake you, did we?"

"No. I hadn't fallen asleep yet." Lucina replied.

"Lissa told us what happened." Olivia told her. "You're fine now, right?"

Lucina nodded slightly. "Yeah. She just said I have to get a good night's rest."

"That's a good idea." Olivia said, letting out a sigh of relief. "We all should do that too."

The three newcomers all picked one of the other bedrolls in the other three corners of the tent. The four of them all covered themselves up with blankets and were about to fall asleep.

Suddenly, the four of them heard the sound of rustling outside their tent, as if someone or something was running towards them.

"Hey, are you all asleep yet?" the voice of Nowi exclaimed from just outside their tent entrance.

"What do you want?" Anna asked suspiciously.

"Oh come on!" Nowi stuck her head into the tent flap. "I thought we were friends, Anna!"

Anna sat up and made a face at the Manakete. "We are, but I also know that if you're here this late at night, you're definitely up to something no good."

Nowi smiled sweetly. "I've just come up with a FANTASTIC idea! It's something that would benefit everyone in this tent! And I've run all the way over from my own in order to pitch it to you."

"Oh?" Say'ri asked curiously. "And what might this 'idea' of yours be?"

"It's easy." Nowi grinned mischievously. "We simply make Olivia trade places with Robin. We send her over to the boy's tent, and bring Robin over to this one."

The four occupants of the tent were glad there was nothing but a small lantern in the tent with them. Otherwise, Nowi would have seen three perfect imitations of tomatoes. The only one that wasn't quite so fazed was Say'ri, and even she couldn't help but begin to blush slightly at the thought of Nowi's proposal.

"Well?" Nowi asked innocently. "What do you think? Olivia would get to spend some time with her dear Henry, while the rest of you get to share a tent with Robin." She winked at them. "Not too bad, right?"

"Wait just one moment." Say'ri objected. "Why are you including me as well?"

Nowi stuck her tongue out at the woman from Chon'sin. "Don't play dumb, silly! I noticed the way you gaze at him. You're eyes have been full with desire ever since after we came down from the Mila Tree! These types of things cannot escape the observational skills of the great Nowi! I know all three of you have been secretly pining after him for a while now!"

At this, Say'ri became the fourth person with bright red cheeks within the tent. 'I didn't think anyone noticed…' Say'ri thought to herself. 'I thought I was discreet about it…'

"Well?" Nowi continued. "What do you all say? Should I pitch the idea to the boys?"

"No!" all four of them exclaimed at once.

"Aw, phooey!" Nowi fake pouted. "I was sure you all would be so enthusiastic about it too! Are you sure? I could volunteer to ask them for you."

"Just, go away!" Anna exclaimed. "Leave us alone! We're fine as is!"

Nowi sighed in mock disappointment. "All right then, I guess it's a no go." She replaced the flap on the tent and ran back towards her own to rejoin Gregor, as well as Gaius and Cordelia.

There was a long moment of awkward silence from within the tent after Nowi left.

Surprisingly, it was Olivia that broke the silence. "So, you all really like Robin that much?" she asked.

The other three members of the tent could feel their cheeks begin to heat up once again.

"Shut up!" Anna exclaimed. "You're the last one we want to hear from. At least we're not the ones offering Robin 'lessons' in order to spend more time with him."

At this, Olivia began to giggle.

"What's so funny?" Lucina asked. "Would you be willing to share?"

"Oh, it's just…" Olivia wiped a tear away from her eye. "When I was back in Regna Ferox, I don't think I'd ever be comfortable messing around or joking with the others. But since after I joined the shepherds, it feels like I'm a part of one big happy family. And it's only with you guys that I'm able to laugh and joke like that."

Anna smiled. "You know, I completely understand. This is so much more enjoyable than doing business by myself."

Lucina nodded as well. "Yeah…"

There was another period of silence.

"So…" Anna began, as she looked up at the top of the tent. "Since Nowi opened THAT can of worms… how about we reach an agreement?"

"A...greement?" Say'ri asked.

"Yeah." Anna replied. "Since we all seem to like Robin, we should promise to respect whoever he chooses. In other words, don't try to get revenge if you're not the one picked by him."

Lucina wanted to protest, but realized that it would only make her look unreasonable. "All right, fine." she sighed. "It makes sense, I guess."

Say'ri nodded. "I know that he might not know me as well as the two of you, and that my chances were slim to begin with. I won't hold it against anyone if things do not go the way I want."

"Perfect." Anna smiled. "We've reached an agreement then."

'Jackpot!' Anna thought to herself. 'Say'ri is right. Robin DOES know me a lot better than her. And as for Lucina, she's Chrom's daughter, so Robin probably won't even consider her.' she mentally patted herself on the back. 'Things are looking up!'

There was no more serious conversation for the rest of the night, and the four girls fell asleep, one by one.

With Robin…

Henry showed Robin where their assigned tent was. Ricken and Kellam were not back yet, and were probably still at the campfire.

The two of them picked out one of the corners to sleep in.

"Hey Robin…" Henry began once they had settled in. "I'm thinking of proposing to a girl."

"Oh?" Robin replied, clearly interested. "It wouldn't happen to be Olivia, right?"

Henry seemed embarrassed, which was significantly different than his usual cheerful personality. "Yeah. How'd you find out?"

Robin chuckled. "There was a rumor going around that you two were into each other."

"Really?" Robin swore Henry's voice shot up a couple pitches as he asked that. "Wait… into each other?"

Robin nodded. "I guess since one part of the rumor is true, then there's a good chance the other part is too."

"That's some good news for me then." Henry smiled.

"Yeah, I suppose it is." Robin agreed.

"Well?" Henry asked. "What do you think? Would you approve?"

Robin snorted. "Since when did you ever need MY approval to do anything?"

"Well," Henry fidgeted around from under his blankets. "For one, although I was akin to your servant back in Plegia, you've always treated me like a little brother. Like Tharja, my parents abandoned me as well. But you took me under your wing, and so I was happy to serve you. According to Plegian tradition, since you're basically my older brother, you have the right to shoot down my proposal before I even ask the girl."

"Really?" Robin asked quizzically. "I don't ever remember reading about that."

Henry let out a sigh. "It's a fairly old tradition. In modern day, not many people even follow it. And besides, it doesn't apply to all that many people either. But… I figured I may as well ask you, since you've known Olivia for far longer than I have. It'd make me feel better if you approved, because that would mean you think she's a good woman."

"So THAT'S what this is about." Robin smiled. "In that case, I say that you should go for it. Olivia might be extremely shy, but she's actually a really compassionate girl. She has a gentle heart, and honestly, she deserves better than to be in the middle of this war."

Henry smiled. "It feels really good to hear you say that." He stretched his arms a little. "Nya ha! That settles it then! I'll find a time to ask her tomorrow!"

"THAT'S the Henry I know." Robin chuckled. "It made me worry when you started being all serious." Robin sat up and looked at Henry. "So Tharja told me that for my sake, she wasn't going to tell me about my past. Is that something you agree with?"

Henry sat up as well. "Here's the thing… at first, I saw nothing wrong with telling you of your past. Afterall, it may even put your mind at ease." Robin nodded in agreement. "But, after talking with Tharja, she's somewhat convinced me. You clearly seem happy with your current life, and as for Tharja and myself, we're quite content here too. Sure, if we told you everything, there's a chance that nothing bad will come out of it. But there's always a chance… a chance for everything to fall apart. A chance that you'll end up hating yourself because of your past. Although I personally don't mind taking that risk, Tharja is convinced that it really isn't a good idea. That's why I'm going along with her as well."

Robin grimaced. "Was my past really that nefarious?"

"I don't know about that. We simply just lived with two different methodologies on life." Henry shrugged. "If it helps at all, you can think of your life with the shepherds as a new beginning. Instead of losing your memories, think of it as getting another chance at life. A clean slate."

"That… I suppose it's a fine way to look at it." Robin nodded numbly.

"Although…." Henry continued. "If you were to order me to divulge everything of your past, I'd be duty bound to do it. If it really is bothering you that much, I tell you everything. It's not really something I'd recommend, but I also don't really have the right to refuse you."

"No, no." Robin shook his head. "We're not in Plegia anymore. I don't have the authority to force you to tell me something like that anymore. And besides… if both of you strongly suggest that it's something that should be kept away from me, then I guess I'll just have to trust you."

Robin rubbed his face with his hands. "It's a bit frustrating not knowing, but I suppose there could be some good to it. I can choose to live this current life I have in any way I want, without any guilt of my past."

"Yeah." Henry agreed.

At this moment, their tent flap was opened, and Henry and Ricken walked in.

"Oh?" Kellam asked in surprise. "The two of you aren't asleep yet?"

"No," Robin admitted. "We were having a bit of a conversation."

"It wasn't about girls, was it?" Ricken asked.

"Nope." Robin grinned. "Definitely not."

Ricken snapped his fingers. "Darn! It seems I missed out on something important."

Robin chuckled. "It's late. We need to get to sleep."

The other three nodded. They were tired after the long day after all. Slowly, the four of them descended into the world of dreams.

Realm of dreams…

Robin could feel himself enter another vision. He was rather used to it by now, and decided to just go along with it.

He could see himself walking alongside the rest of the shepherds. What was interesting was that the ground they were walking upon seemed to be charred. There were patches of ground covered by a substance that glowed orange yellow. Just by looking at it, Robin could tell that the substance must have been extremely hot.

Across from them, many soldiers appeared. They seemed to be wearing the same type of armor that he saw Say'ri wearing.

'These soldiers must be from Chon'sin.' Robin concluded.

The battle soon began. Since Robin was floating in the air, he was able to observe the battle from a bird's eye view. He recognized the patterns and strategies deployed by the Robin in his dream as some of his own.

Just like how he commands the shepherds, tasks were distributed based on who was best fit for them. The shepherds slowly began to beat back the enemy troops.

Suddenly, Robin noticed something that caught his eye. A familiar looking redhead was darting around, slashing at the enemy soldiers with a killing edge.

'Anna?' Robin thought to himself. 'Didn't Lucina say that she wasn't a part of the shepherds in the future?'

He continued to watch, and his eyes bulged as he saw an enemy Griffon Rider blindside her. 'Watch out!' he wanted to shout, but of course, he couldn't because in the dream, he was just an observer.

Anna noticed the enemy too late, and slipped when she frantically tried to dodge out of the way. She ended up falling chest deep into the glowing substance.

Immediately after touching the substance, Anna let out a sharp cry of pain. Robin's heart began to beat faster from worry. He saw Cordelia immediately dive down on her pegasus and lift Anna from out of the substance. The Falcon Knight pulled the very injured Anna over to Lissa and Robin, who were towards the back of their formation.

"Anna!?" Robin exclaimed. "Anna!" he put down his Levin sword and tome and knelt down by her side. "Lissa! Hurry!"

Lissa immediately ran over and began to channel her healing magic. However, it didn't seem to have any effect on the severely burned mid and lower section of Anna's body. "It's no use!" Lissa exclaimed in panic. "It's not working!"

"R...robin…" Anna croaked as she reached out her hand towards the tactician.

"Yes?" Robin asked as he took the girl's hand in his own. Tears were beginning to fall down his face.

"T-thank you…" Anna managed to get out. "Thank you for everything."

"Please!" Robin sobbed. "You can't go! Hang on! We'll find a way to heal you!"

"N-no…" Anna weakly shook her head. "It's too late for that now. R-robin… I… I... lov…" her eyes went wide as her voice gave out. She struggled to speak for a few more seconds, but found that she couldn't.

Panic began to set in the eyes of Anna the merchant. She finally gave up trying after a couple more attempts. Anna let out one final, regretful sigh as she closed her eyes and passed on into the afterlife.

The Robin from the dreams knelt over her body and began to cry even harder.

Everything in the dream paused once again, as the Consciousness of Grima approached him.

"What… was that?" Robin asked it, already used to the process.

"It was another memory of the future you." Grima replied. "As your mind grows stronger and stronger, you'll continue to see more of these in your dreams."

"So you mean that was something that actually happened in the other timeline?" Robin asked.

"Yes." Grima confirmed.

"Why are you showing that to me then?" Robin asked suspiciously.

Grima chuckled. "I'm not showing you anything. I'm just the conscious part of Grima, and like you, a bystander in this situation. In fact, I don't think the other two parts of me had anything to do with this particular vision at all. It's something that your own brain is revealing to you. It seems that your own memories are beginning to combine with Robin's from the other timeline."

"And what is my brain trying to tell me then?" Robin asked.

Grima let out another chuckle. "I really hope this war hasn't dulled your sharp mind. You've been given a vision of your past. Use what you've learned to make things play out in your own timeline as you see fit."

"I… understand." Robin slowly said.

"That's more like it. I knew there were still signs of intelligent life somewhere inside of you." Grima approached Robin. "That's all I have to say to you tonight. I'll be seeing more of you in the near future…"

With that, several tendrils of dark energy reached towards Robin from the shadowy figure, causing Robin to jolt awake.

The next morning…

Robin woke up to find that the others were in the middle of packing everything up.

"Did I really oversleep?" Robin muttered to himself.

"No, not really." Ricken responded as he let out a yawn. "Frederick came around and woke us all up just a few minutes ago. The only one that he said was allowed to sleep in a few more minutes was you. He said something about how yesterday must have been extremely draining for you."

"That's not fair now, is it?" Robin asked dubiously.

"It can't be helped." Henry shrugged. "We ARE deep in enemy territory after all. We can't afford to all sleep in at a time like this. However, if there is someone that should be well rested, it should be the commander."

"If a soldier is not well rested, they can't fight well regardless of how awake their commanding officer is." Robin chuckled as he got up and began to roll up his bedroll. "But I can understand where you're trying to come from."

Soon, the four of them took their rolled up beds outside, and placed them in the appropriate cart.

Many of the other shepherds were already sitting near a makeshift campfire. Vaike was squatting down next to it, watching over a pot of food as it cooked. Robin hurried over to go join them.

"Good morning, Robin!" Anna was the first one to greet him, and she gave him a wave and a smile.

"G-good morning, Robin." Lucina nervously parroted.

Robin smiled and greeted them back. For some reason, there seemed to be a little bit of tension in the air as he sat down next to Cordelia and Donnel.

"Hey! Robin's awake!" Vaike grinned as he reached for a bowl. The Berserker quickly filled it up with some of the oatmeal that was in the pot, and walked it over to him. He then repeated the same gesture for Henry, Ricken and Kellam.

"Chrom wanted to talk to you." Cordelia told Robin as the tactician began to wolf down his food. She giggled at how fast Robin was making the food disappear. "There's no rush, but he wants to discuss our plans for the day as soon as you finish your breakfast."

Robin absentmindedly nodded as he continued to finish his food. Once he was done, he immediately began to head towards the command tent.

Chrom was busy looking at a map of Valm when he walked in.

"Ah, there you are!" The Exalt exclaimed as he looked up. "Come, look at this with me."

Robin made his way over and began to inspect the map with Chrom.

"So, if we were to march straight towards Yen'fay's army, we'd be able to meet them tonight at around this location." Chrom pointed on the map. "That's thanks to the scouting work done by Cordelia."

"Tonight?" Robin cupped his chin with one hand. "That might be a little too early."

"What do you mean?" Chrom asked. "We could use all the time we can get."

"By actively marching towards Yen'fay and away from Walhart, we're already delaying when Walhart would meet up with us." Robin clarified. "With Basilio running interference, it would definitely take them several days to meet up with each other. However, because we had to run from Fort Steiger last night, our troops are still exhausted and did not have a very good night's sleep. That's why, I propose we march towards this general location." Robin pointed at a point on the map closer to their current location. "It's somewhat close to a nearby village. We could set up camp there, have dinner, and get a good night's rest. That way, we can march to meet Yen'fay's troops the next day, while our troops are well rested. The mental state of our soldiers is a factor that is still important to consider."

"Hmm…" Chrom brought an index finger to his lip. "What you're saying does make sense. We're already outnumbered as is. There's no reason for us to take a fight when everyone is still exhausted. That's just a disaster waiting to happen."

"So? Does that sound like a plan then?" Robin asked.

"I think so." Chrom nodded. "I'll run it by Frederick and Say'ri to see what they think, but it's a decision that I think I can get behind."

"So, would it be all right if I informed everyone to get ready to march?" Robin asked.

Chrom nodded. "Good idea. It's something we have to do regardless of what choice we make."

"All right, I'll tell the others then." Robin began to walk out of the command tent.

"Wait, Robin!" Robin turned around as Chrom called out to him.

"Whatever happens, even if we both don't make it past this war…" Chrom began. "I'm glad I was able to meet someone like you."

Robin returned a smile. "Likewise."

An hour or so later…

The shepherds, at this point, had all had breakfast and finished tearing down camp. Because they didn't set up too many tents in the first place, naturally there would be less for them to do when they packed up.

Robin was busy helping pack up the final tent onto the carts. He was just about finished tying the knot that would secure the tent to the cart.

"So, Robin…" Sully asked as she approached him. "Are we gonna fight some more Valmese today?"

"Always so bloodthirsty…" Robin chuckled as he shook his head. "But no, it seems Chrom agreed to my plan. We're just marching a short distance near one of the nearby villages in order to rest up so we can take on the Valmese tomorrow."

"Wait…" Sully frowned. "That sounds like we'll actually have to have a cook tonight then…" she thought for a moment. "Let's see… Vaike made breakfast today… which means... FUCK!"

Robin chuckled as he reached the exact same conclusion. "Yeah, I guess that would make you the cook for tonight then."

"Ugh…" Sully complained. "This day just got so much worse…"

"If you want, I'll cook for you instead." Robin offered casually.

"Oh yeah?" Sully smirked, not wanting to believe it. "And what do you want in return?"

"Nothing." Robin said truthfully. "Tomorrow's battle could be a turning point in the war. I think being able to cook the dinner right before such a historical battle would be quite the privilege."

'And... I would prefer if everyone had a good meal, instead of whatever Sully usually makes that can be barely passable as food.' Robin mentally told himself, but knew better than to say it to Sully's face.

"Hmm…" Sully seemed to think for a moment. "So I guess it would be beneficial to both of us then? I guess that's fine." she smiled at Robin and patted him on the shoulder. "Thanks then. I'll leave tonight's cooking up to you."

Robin nodded. "Don't worry about it. I've got it covered."

"Sully!" Robin and Sully both turned to see Stahl run over to them. "Oh, Robin, you're here too. Anyways, Chrom says we're going to start marching soon."

Robin nodded. "All right. Let's go then."

The three of went to join the others. Chrom was briefing everyone of their objectives for the day.

Shortly after, the shepherds began their march. It didn't take very long, because their destination was not too far away. After around three to four hours, Chrom decided to stop so that they could set up camp.

Once everything was set up, the shepherds and soldiers were dismissed to rest for the day.

Robin spent some of the time alone in his tent, reading. Once it became a little later in the afternoon, he got up in order to go to the nearby town to buy food for dinner.

He went to go get the gold allotted for dinner, as well as a horse and a cart.

As he was just about to leave the shepherd's camp, he was stopped by Olivia as she ran up to him.

"Wait!" The pinkette called to him. "Please, wait for me Robin!"

"Olivia?" Robin asked. "Did you need something?"

When she reached him, Olivia stopped to catch her breath. "Sully told me... you're the one cooking tonight, right?"

"Yeah…" Robin slowly replied.

"Then please take me with you!" Olivia begged. "I want to observe you, so that I can cook for the shepherds as well as you can!"

Robin scratched his head. "Well, I don't see how that would be a problem." he smiled at her. "Sure, why not?"

Robin turned and began to head for town. Olivia happily followed along, humming and skipping as she tailed Robin.

"Hey Olivia?" Robin asked after a couple minutes.

"Eep!" Olivia squeaked in surprise. "Ah… um… yes?"

"You seem awfully happy today," Robin observed. "Did something happen?"

"Oh… umm… well…" Olivia stammered as her face began to heat up. "Henry… asked me if I would marry him earlier today…"

"Oh?" Robin said, pretending to be surprised. "And that makes you happy?"

"Mmhmm…" Olivia nodded. "And now, you're being really nice by letting me learn from you, so that makes this day even better!"

"Well that's good to hear." Robin said wholeheartedly.

They walked for a few more minutes before Robin spoke again.

"So, I noticed at Fort Steiger, that you seem to have admired Gaius when he snuck up to those two guards and killed them." Robin told his companion.

"Y-yeah…" Olivia mumbled, clearly embarrassed that someone had noticed. "It's just… well… he did it so elegantly. His movements looked like they could've belonged in a dance routine. And… I just wished I could be as useful as someone like him."

"Oh, don't be like that!" Robin exclaimed. "I've noticed how hard you've been working on your swordplay. Lon'qu says you're almost his equal."

"Well, Lon'qu is exaggerating a little too much." Olivia said, her face still red. "I'm nowhere near as good as him. I'd be lucky if I were half as valuable to the shepherds with my skills."

"So is this what this is about?" Robin asked.

"Huh?" Olivia asked, not seeming to understand.

"You feel like you're not useful, so you're trying to learn new skills that might make you worth more? Like cooking?" Robin clarified.

"I...I guess…" Olivia stammered nervously. "I just… it's just that you all have been so nice to me, and I don't wish to be a burden…"

"You're definitely not a burden." Robin laughed. "But if you really want to be more useful at fighting, I suggest you find your own unique style."

"My… unique style?" Olivia asked.

"Yeah." Robin nodded. "Right now, you're fighting with Lon'qu's style, right? It will be difficult for you to ever surpass him if you only fight that way. After all, it's the style that Lon'qu has developed himself. You mentioned that Gaius's movements were like dancing right? What if you were able to adapt your own fighting style in a similar way? That way, you could incorporate your experiences as a dancer onto the battlefield."

"W-what do you mean?" Olivia asked.

"Well, you already know how to fight with a sword, and you used to be able to fight with a dagger, so what if you blended the two styles?" Robin suggested. "You could take a page out of Lon'qu's book, a page from Gaius's, and if you ask Virion really nicely, I'm sure he'll give you a tutorial on how to shoot a bow."

"So… you're suggesting that I become an assassin like Gaius?" Olivia asked.

"Well, sort of." Robin admitted. "I have to admit, I think that role would fit you quite well. And you'll also fit a special niche, because Gaius doesn't really fight with swords. And if you refine your own style of fighting, then there's no one that could replace your contribution to the shepherds!"

"Wow…" Olivia murmured excitedly. "I've never thought about it like that! I think that's what I'll do! I'll work on finding my own style of fighting with both swords and daggers! I'll ask Virion to teach me how to shoot a bow as soon as we have the time, too!"

"You gave me your dagger when you decided to change to sword fighting." Robin continued. "I'll be happy to give it to you back. You'll probably need it."

"N-no!" Olivia protested. "I gave that dagger to you as a gift… and besides… you're making good use of it too! I'll find another one somewhere else! Worst case scenario, I'll just ask Anna to find one for me, and I'll buy it from her!"

"Well, if you're not going to take your dagger back…" Robin reached out a produced another dagger from the air. It was an elegant weapon, with a crimson red handle. The figure of a blood red wolf with its mouth open connected the blade to the handle. A long, sharp blade protruded from the wolf's mouth, and had to be around ten to twelve inches long. "Why don't you take this one instead?"

"I-is… is that…" Olivia began.

Robin nodded. "It was that Valmese General's dagger. I took it because it's of really high quality. I'm thinking it would be more useful in your hands than mine."

Robin handed the dagger over to Olivia. "R-really? You're giving this to me!?" she squeaked.

"Yup." Robin nodded. "You gifted me a dagger once, and now I get to gift you one back."

Olivia immediately strapped the dagger and sheath onto her side. "Thanks Robin!" she gave him a genuine smile. "Today just got even better!"

Soon, the two of them reached the town. Robin had made sure to leave his cloak back at camp so that the citizens wouldn't recognize him. It was probably unnecessary, but he felt that bringing it along was a risk he didn't have to take.

The two of them walked through the market for a bit. Olivia wasn't sure exactly what the plan was, as everyone had different ways of going about the task. She just quietly followed Robin as closely as possible.

'The market structure is different than Ylisstol's…' Robin thought to himself. 'There's no separate vendor for spices and seasonings. I guess it can't be helped.'

His thoughts were interrupted by a nearby vendor.

"Plump chickens! Fresh vegetables! Low prices!" a older man shouted.

"Hmm… that sounds pretty good…" Robin murmured.

"Yeah." Olivia giggled. "I bet you'd be able to make something really good with those ingredients."

Robin nodded. "The meat here has been pretty expensive. Let's go see what this guy means by 'low prices'."

Olivia nodded, and Robin began to direct his horse towards the vendor.

"Welcome, welcome!" The old man greeted them. "What can I get for you?"

Robin scanned his wares for a minute.

"Yes, I would like…" Robin began. He listed out the ingredients, herbs and spices that he needed, and the old man began to weigh the produce immediately.

After the man got everything ready, he calculated Robin's tab.

"That'll be 1,245 gold, sir." he eventually stated.

Robin's eye slightly twitched. "With all due respect, that's quite expensive, sir. Would you be willing to lower the prices at all?"

The old man sighed. "Yes, I understand it's quite expensive, but times have been tough. Ever since emperor Walhart began his conquest, most of the young men of the villages have been drafted into his army. That's where all three of my sons are right now. They're fighting for the good of the empire, but that means there's no one left to help me tend to the crops."

He eventually shrugged. "Believe it or not, I'm trying to make my prices as low as possible. The other vendors here… they're younger, and still looking to profit off of people's misfortunes. But not me. I'm just trying to help other people out, while still trying to make a living for myself."

"I… see." Robin finally said.

"But… seeing as you brought your lady friend here today…" the vendor continued. "I'll cut you a special deal. I'll bring your tab down to 1,200 gold instead."

Robin turned his head to see Olivia blushing bright red. He began to laugh, partly due to Olivia's reaction, and partly due to how little of a bargain he'd been given.

After thinking about it for a moment, Robin nodded. "All right then, 1,200 gold it is." He began to fish the money out of his pockets.

"B-but Robin!" Olivia's eyes went wide. "That's still so much! If you leave out some of these…" she gestured to the spices. "Then we might be able to afford it."

Robin eye twitched as he shook his head. "No, we have to buy everything."

"B-but…" Olivia protested.

"Don't worry." Robin leaned down next to Olivia's ear. "It's not that big of a deal. The extra money will just come out of my own pocket." he whispered. "Please, don't make a big scene about it."

"O-ok…" Olivia finally nodded. "I'll listen to you."

The vendor gave them a look that said 'D'aww, they look perfect together'.

Robin handed the merchant the money, and placed everything onto his cart.

"You look pretty new to this area." The merchant noted.

Robin nodded. "Yes, we're just passing through."

"Well, here's some friendly advice from this old geezer." The man continued. "Keep a close eye on your surroundings, and a close eye on your girl. There are bandits who would try to snatch anything and everything from you if you're caught off guard."

Robin snorted. "Thanks for the advice. I'll be sure to keep it in mind."

Robin began to lead the horse back towards the direction of their camp. Olivia gave the merchant one last nod of appreciation, and followed after him.

"So… do you always spend that much on food?" Olivia asked him as they reached the roads.

"Well, usually not THAT much." Robin admitted. "It's hard to haggle with someone like that. Especially when what he's saying makes so much sense."

"But… you always buy the extra spices and stuff, right?" Olivia pressed.

Robin held an index finger up to his lips. "That'll be our secret, all right?"

"B-but… I won't be able to replicate something like that! I don't have extra money just sitting around." Olivia whined.

"Yeah, it's not something I would recommend someone doing on just soldier's pay." Robin agreed. "I'll admit, I get a little more because of my position, but in reality, it's not much more. However, I usually don't spend very much money to begin with, so it's just sitting there otherwise."

"Wow…" Olivia murmured. "I never realized how compassionate and how much you cared for the rest of the shepherds. To be spending your own money for the benefit of the rest of us..."

"It's kind of my job isn't it?" Robin chuckled. "I make sure we win and that everyone has the best chance of surviving on the battlefield, and so it's not much different to look after everyone else off the battlefield too, right?"

Olivia nodded. "That makes sense… I guess…"

The pair walked in silence for a few more minutes.

"That merchant…" Olivia pouted. "He just assumed that we're a pair."

Robin laughed. "But it makes sense. If you look at the two of us, it doesn't seem possible for us to be related after all. And if I corrected him, it might rouse the suspicion of some of the townsfolk."

"Yeah… I guess you're right." Olivia murmured.

"I'm just glad Henry wasn't here." Robin chuckled. "He might get the wrong idea. I wouldn't want to get blasted by dark magic in the back."

"Oh, you're too modest!" It was Olivia's turn to laugh. "Everyone knows that you couldn't be harmed by a little bit of magic."

Robin smiled. "That may be, but a large part of that comes from my cloak. Something I've elected to not wear today."

"Well…" Olivia continued. "Henry would probably respect you too much to do something like that to you. He told me about his past, about his childhood. I felt sorry for him, because I think that no child should suffer through what his parents did to him. But he told me about how you basically saved him from his previous life. And for that, he feels like he owes you so much."

"So… Henry told you about my past life?" Robin asked.

"N-no." Olivia admitted. "He just mentioned bits and pieces. If you're asking me to reveal something about your past, I don't think I'd be able to do it. … Sorry."

"No, it's quite all right." Robin replied.

Suddenly, Robin stopped the cart, causing Olivia to bump into him in surprise.

"Who's there?" Robin demanded.

"Well, well. You must be new here. Don't you know it's not safe to walk these roads by yourself? Now quietly hand over everything you own, and we'll be on our way." A voice replied as five figures walked out from the bushes along the sides of the road. Four in front of them, and one behind. "That's also quite a beauty you've got there. Wouldn't mind spending a couple nights with her…" The man, who was obviously the leader of the other four bandits licked his lips creepily.

Olivia flinched, but Robin merely chuckled. "You've got a good eye." he stroked his horse's mane. "She's a bit old for a horse, but indeed, it would be a perfect match for someone like you."

"Why you!" One of the bandits in front of Robin shouted, obviously offended that Robin insulted their leader. He charged Robin, and thrusted his knife at the shepherd's tactician. Robin dodged to his left. In one smooth motion, he drew his dagger in a reverse grip from the Astral Plane and slashed it across the side of the bandit's neck. He then stabbed the blade into his assailant's back, propelling the bandit further behind him. The bandit hit the ground face first, and very much dead.

Robin flipped his knife around and began to absentmindedly clean it.

"How rude…" Robin shook his head. "I'll give you one last chance. Leave, or I will be forced to spank you."

"Tch." The bandit leader snorted. "Them rich merchants and their egos. Take him down boys! Kill the man, but leave the girl alive!"

The bandit leader's lackeys immediately began to charge Robin and Olivia.

"Keep the one behind us busy." Robin instructed. "I've got these three up here."

"Right!" Olivia drew her new dagger and engaged the bandit to their rear.

"Hey pretty boy!" one of the other bandits in front taunted. "We've got swords, and all you've got is that tiny knife. Not to mention, there are three of us! Give up! We'll give you a quick death and make sure your girl is… well taken care of."

Robin laughed. "And why would I agree to that? You certainly don't know who I am, or you wouldn't pick a fight with such meager numbers."

As he said this, he produced his scythe from the Astral Plane. The two henchmen paused and looked at their leader.

"So what if he knows a little magic?" the leader shouted. "There's still three of us, and only one of him!"

Hearing their leaders words of encouragement, the three of them once again charged Robin.

Robin only smiled. It was no contest. He didn't have a hard time dealing with the Valmese regulars, and these bandits were nowhere close to a typical soldier's level. He quickly was able to cleave apart the two lesser bandits.

Seeing his subordinates getting killed so easily really make the bandit leader think twice about continuing. He immediately turned around and began to run, but Robin simply blasted the fool in the back with his Arcthunder tome.

Robin was just about to put his weapons away when he heard Olivia cry out in pain. He turned around to see the remaining bandit towering over the pinkette as she held one arm around her stomach. The bandit seemed to have several cuts on his body, but none that were fatal. Robin immediately cast his Arcthunder again, and killed the remaining bandit. He rushed over to Olivia's side.

"What happened?" Robin asked in concern.

"He… hit my stomach with his club." Olivia admitted. "I'm a bit rusty fighting with a knife… and I didn't have a sword with me. Mine is still broken from the last battle."

"Can I see your wound?" Robin asked. Olivia removed her hand. As Robin felt the general area, Olivia cried out in pain.

"Looks like you might have a broken rib or two." Robin guessed. "Hold on for just a second."

Robin went around to the bodies of the five bandits and tried to harvest their quintessence. 'Damn, just as I thought. There's not very much from these dumb brigands.' he thought to himself.

After gathering what he could, he returned to Olivia's side. He placed a hand over Olivia's stomach as energy began to seep from Robin to Olivia. Olivia could clearly tell the difference after a few seconds.

"There…" Robin panted, slightly out of breath. "I don't have too much more energy to spare, and the wound is only partially healed. We're gonna need to have Lissa or Maribelle take a good look at it when we return.

"T-then, let's hurry back." Olivia suggested.

"On one condition." Robin raised an index finger. "You ride the horse."

"W-what?" Olivia asked.

"With that injury, I don't want you to keep walking." Robin explained. "It would make me feel better that way." he guided Olivia to the horse and helped her mount it. Then Robin began to lead the horse back towards camp. They moved significantly slower, but they steadily made their way back to camp.

Eventually, the two of them successfully made their way back.

They were greeted by Anna, who had been waiting for Robin to return.

"Olivia!" Anna exclaimed in mock anger. "You're making Robin walk while you ride a horse? On such a short trip too? Tsk tsk!"

"She's injured." Robin quickly explained. "Could you go fetch Lissa or Maribelle?"

"O-oh." Anna replied, immediately feeling quite mortified. "I'll do that right away!"

She ran towards Lissa's tent. A couple moments later, Robin could see the War Cleric running towards them with a staff in her hands.

"What's wrong?" Lissa asked as she arrived.

"Olivia might have a broken rib or two." Robin explained as he helped her off the horse. "We ran into some bandits. If you could look at her wound for me, I'll go to the kitchen and begin to cook."

"All right." Lissa nodded. "I wouldn't wanted to make everyone angry by delaying the meal cooked by Robin!"

Robin chuckled, and parted ways with the two girls.

Once he reached the kitchen, Robin began to unpack everything he'd bought earlier that day. He immediately got to work making a broth, slicing the chicken, dicing the vegetables. Halfway through his work, Olivia hobbled into the kitchen.

"How are you feeling?" Robin asked.

"Much better!" Olivia exclaimed truthfully. "Lissa said that the wound was already mostly healed. She didn't actually have that much to do. She said to take it easy for the rest of the night, so I won't work on changing my fighting style tonight. But she said I'd be welcome to come watch you cook."

"Good, good." Robin said as he began to add the ingredients into the large pot.

Pretty soon, Olivia could smell the wonderful aroma of Robin's cooking.

"Mmmm…." Olivia's stomach began to rumble as Robin continued to make the food. Just outside the kitchen, Stahl was doing the exact same thing. The Viridian Cavalier always resolved to get to the dining hall extremely early whenever it was Robin's shift in the kitchen. After all, he gets rewarded when Robin asks for his help in tasting the food on occasion.

"Smells pretty good, right?" Robin chuckled. "I think I may have outdone myself this time."

"Yeah, it smells amazing!" Olivia exclaimed truthfully. "I learned just how much a little bit of spice can flavor your food from Gregor. So it's no wonder that your food tastes so good when you put in the right mixture. I guess it's something that I won't be able to learn from you easily."

"In truth, I don't think I'd be able to teach it to you either." Robin told her. "I can't explain how, but I just seem to know what I'm doing in the kitchen. It's like it comes naturally to me. Everything makes sense for me in my mind, but I can't put it to words."

"Yeah, I figured as much." Olivia grumbled.

"Well, the food's almost ready." Robin finally said. "Would you mind informing the rest of the camp?"

"Gladly!" Olivia chirped as she got up from her seat and out of the kitchen.

With Lucina…

Lucina was busy bathing at a nearby stream. She had just finished a rigorous training session and felt the need to get rid of the sweaty sensation after a large amount of strenuous exercise. It also wouldn't be very good to run into Robin when she smelled that bad. The water at this particular stream was particularly clean and clear, but just in case, she had borrowed some scented powder from her mother for after she had cleaned herself off. There's no need to smell like dirty swamp water, after all. Especially when she could run into Robin at any point in the camp.

She sighed when she realized just how much she'd started to pay attention to her appearance and personal hygiene after she'd joined the shepherds. She'd even started brushing her hair every morning, which was something she'd never really cared about in her own timeline. There was no one she was trying to impress after all. But it seems that being in close proximity with Robin, and especially because she knows that she now has competition, has caused Lucina to begin to feel a little bit inadequate as a woman. Her way to deal with that is to try harder on maintaining an attractive appearance.

Currently, Lucina was by herself. Everyone had agreed on this particular location being for the females, and so she wasn't worried about anyone walking in on her. The males had their own bathing location elsewhere.

"Lucina!" she eventually heard her mother's voice calling.

"Yes mother!" she called back.

"Dinner's almost ready." Sumia's voice called back. "It's supposed to be really good tonight too! Robin's the cook."

At this, Lucina's eyes almost bulged out of her sockets. It had been several years since she last had a taste of Robin's cooking. If it was anything like what she had eaten in her own timeline, then 'really good' would be a severe understatement.

"I'm on my way!" Lucina exclaimed. She immediately climbed out of the water and began to dry herself off. She took a dry towel and wrapped up her hair. Hopefully, it will have somewhat dried off by the time she got back to camp. She hurriedly began to redress herself after applying some of the scented powder.

Lucina hurried over to the dining hall as soon as possible.

To her dismay, the dining hall was already extremely packed when she got there. News travels fast through their campsite, and apparently everyone was equally as excited about the prospect of Robin cooking their food.

She immediately headed over and got in line. Robin was busy diligently serving everyone their food, and Lucina could smell it all the way from the other side of the tent. If the food tasted anywhere as good as it smelled, she was going to be extremely satisfied.

After what seemed like an eternity, it was finally Lucina's turn. Robin filled a bowl and handed it to her. She gave him a genuine smile, and Robin smiled and nodded at her in acknowledgement.

She made her way towards her parents, who had left an empty spot at their table for her. She sat down, and eagerly spooned some of the chicken soup into her mouth.

Lucina was expecting it to be good, especially since it was Robin cooking. However, she was nowhere as ready as she thought it was. As soon as the food touched her taste buds, waves of nostalgia began to hit her, and the feeling would not go away. Lucina actually felt her eyes begin to tear up.

Chrom chuckled at his daughter's reaction. "What's wrong? I didn't think the food was THAT spicy." This caused his wife to swat him on the back of his head.

"Stop it!" Sumia exclaimed. "Lucina probably hasn't had food like this in a long, long time!"

"Yeah, that was my bad." Chrom admitted, rubbing the sore spot on his head.

"Yeah." Lucina admitted. "The Robin in my future would cook on occasion. He was very talented in the kitchen, and this food just reminded me of some of the happier times in my childhood."

"I… see." Chrom muttered.

"Nya ha! I must admit, I completely understand your sentiment." Henry exclaimed. He was sitting next to Olivia on the other side of the table. "I haven't had some of Robin's cooking since he was back in Plegia!"

"So he used to cook back then?" Sumia asked out of curiosity.

"Yep!" Henry confirmed. "Robin was always a picky eater. Sure, he had servants and maids and stuff to do the cooking for him, but they always aimed to fill you up, rather than to leave you satisfied. Most Plegians were used to that though. Better to have an abundance of bland tasting food than to have none at all. However, Robin would have none of it. He got fed up with eating the same tasteless food over and over, so he resolved to learn how to cook himself. At first, it wasn't much better than the bland food that we were all used to eating, but as time went on, he got better and better. He also… had an abundance of funds to work with, and so he was able to buy the seasoning that most Plegians wouldn't dream of being able to buy. Even the rich refused to 'waste their money on frivolous things' especially since few people knew how to actually make them work. His father wasn't really pleased that Robin was spending time on learning how to cook, especially since he was a…"

Henry almost had a slip of the tongue, and said 'prince' on accident, but he stopped himself in time. "... a person of noble birth. 'That's what servants were for.' was what he would always say. But Robin didn't care. He'd always cook for me and for Tharja too. We'd often have meals together. Just the three of us. And to be honest, after a while, I kind of began to take it for granted. It was pretty difficult for us to adjust to eating what regular Plegians ate after Robin went missing."

"Wow…" Chrom breathed. "I didn't realize that was a part of Robin's past. After knowing that, I guess it's no surprise that he'd be a natural at it. I never was as picky in my early days, that's for sure. And I suppose that's why I can't cook if my life depended on it."

Lucina absentmindedly nodded, but in truth, she was only barely listening. She was preoccupied with finishing the soup in her bowl at the moment. If this was like any regular meal time, she knew there would be a call for seconds soon. And if that was the case, she needed to be ready to go up with an empty bowl.

Soon after, Robin rang the bell in the kitchen, signally that seconds were available. Like clockwork, nearly everyone in the dining hall stood up to go get in line immediately. Robin sweatdropped, as this was something that happened during most of his kitchen shift days. It was almost comical. Almost.

Lucina silently lamented not having a seat closer to the kitchen counter. To be fair though, all of the seats were taken, as the other, clearly more experienced shepherds knew that these seats were of highest priority when Robin was the cook. She was lucky enough that her parents, who were sitting near the middle of the dining hall, saved a spot for her. Otherwise, she'd be like the unlucky individuals that got there late and had to sit in the back.

Robin tried to gauge how much food he had left, and handed out smaller portions for seconds. He was becoming rather accustomed to these types of situations after all. He managed to be able to serve everyone in the dining hall a second time, and was left with barely a single portion left in the pot.

After finishing her food a second time, Lucina, feeling quite satisfied, returned her bowl to the designated location. Many of the other shepherds did the same, and began to file out of the dining hall. Pretty soon, the tent became near empty. Lucina was actually one of the last people left there. She absentmindedly noticed that Gaius, Stahl and Gregor were deliberately staying behind, but didn't attribute it to anything out of the ordinary. Perhaps they were having a nice conversation, or playing cards or something after all. Lucina didn't pay much attention to it, and left to go have some free time during the evening with many of the other shepherds. Perhaps she'll sit around the campfire again tonight.

Sometime in the distant future…

A young Lucina was in bed. Her mother and aunt Sumia were also in the room with her. Aunt Lissa was busy trying to help keep the young girl's fever under control.

She wrapped her blankets up tighter around herself. Even though it was the middle of summer, Lucina's sickness made her feel extremely cold. Her entire body shivered, even though she was completely covered by a thick blanket.

"I've done all I could for now." Lissa sighed. "She won't be any critical danger, but she will need a couple days of bed rest."

Sumia nodded. "Thanks Lissa."

"Make sure she also eats." Lissa reminded her sister in law as she was leaving. "It's important for her to have nutrients. It'll let her recover faster."

Sumia nodded. "Robin was making some soup or something in kitchen earlier. He said he'd bring Lucina a bowl when it's ready."

Sure enough, a few moments later, Robin arrived at her room with a bowl of chicken soup in his hands.

"Lissa already left?" he asked Sumia, who gave him a nod. "And what did she say?"

"She's not in any danger anymore." Sumia said with relief. "A few days of bedrest and she should recover."

"Good, good." Robin murmured as he sat down on the bed near the young princess.

"Hey Lucy." he gave the girl a small smile. "I brought you some food."

"I don't want to eat." Lucina protested. "I'm not hungry."

Robin gave a look of disapproval. "How are you going to get better if you don't eat? That feeling is the sickness in your body trying to keep you weak. The way you get rid of your sickness is to toughen up and force yourself to eat, so your body can recover."

"But… I feel like if I have something to eat, I'll just throw up." Lucina said with concern.

"I promise you that won't happen." Robin smiled.

"Really?" Lucina turned her head slightly so she could look at Robin a little better.

"Yeah. I made this soup just for you. Try some of it, and I'm sure you'll feel better." Robin brought a spoonful of the food closer to Lucina.

"O...okay." Lucina said reluctantly as she opened her mouth. Robin was right. The soup did make her feel better, and it tasted good too.

"M...more!" Lucina meekly demanded.

Robin chuckled, and gladly obliged. Soon, the bowl was finished. Lucina felt quite content, and began to feel sleepy. Her eyelids became heavier and heavier, and she eventually closed her eyes and began to nap.

"You're really good to her." Sumia noted after Lucina had fallen asleep. "Honestly, you've probably spent more time with her than Chrom by now."

Robin let out a melancholy chuckle. "It can't really be helped. Chrom has responsibilities for not just his family, but for the kingdom as well. And besides, I don't have any children myself, so it's nice, even if it's for a short time, to actually try and take care of one."

"She seems to enjoy your company as well." Sumia smiled. "I really do feel bad about not being able to give her as much attention, but Cynthia kind of keeps my hands full."

"In the near future, the other shepherd's children will be old enough to play with Lucina." Robin said. "Pretty soon, Lucina will never have a shortage of people to play with."

"But you'll still be around to chaperone them, right?" Sumia asked. "You know, most of them all look up to you as an uncle. An uncle that knows exactly how to make things fun, without completely spoiling them."

Robin laughed. "I never really thought about it like that."

"I honestly wish I had your ability. Or that Chrom has your ability." Sumia continued. "To be able to have several more hours in a day and to be able to work as efficiently as you do… we'd almost have enough time on our hands to get everything we need taken care of."

"It's been a blessing." Robin admitted. "But it's also a curse. It's just more time in a day for me to feel lonely."

"Robin…" Sumia began.

"Don't worry about it, though." Robin smiled. "I think I'm slowly getting accustomed to it. I think I just need some time to pass, and things will get better eventually."

"Yes." Sumia responded. "They definitely will."

Shepherd's Dining Hall, with Robin…

Robin was busy cleaning the dishes after yet another successful dinner service. He loved to cook, and loved to make other people happy with his cooking, but he had to admit, cleaning dishes was the worst part of the experience. So he was overjoyed when Gaius, Stahl and Gregor came up to the kitchen to help him.

"Hey Bubbles." Gaius greeted. "That dinner tonight was phenomenal." The assassin touched the tips of his index finger and thumb together, forming an 'OK' gesture.

"Yeah!" Stahl heartily agreed. "I always look forward to your shifts in the kitchen!"

"Gregor agree!" Gregor laughed. "Which is why Gregor and friends come help wonderful tactician with the doing of the dishes!"

Robin smiled. "Thanks you guys. I appreciate it."

"No, no." Gregor protested. "It is us who should be doing the thanking."

The three of them dived right in and helped Robin wash the dishes.

"So, Bubbles." Gaius said as they worked. "We were thinking… there's this tavern in that town… we were gonna go grab a couple drinks there afterwards. You in or you out?"

"You know, we'll going to battle tomorrow right?" Robin asked with concern.

"Yeah, but if we stay back here, the butterflies in my stomach would consume me from the inside out!" Stahl admitted. "It's nice to be able to let loose and relax a bit right before a major battle. It's also not that late yet. We could stay for only an hour or two."

"Friend Stahl here make good point." Gregor nodded. "Nothing like a drink to get your spirits up!"

"C'mon Bubbles!" Gaius urged him. "We're pals, right? I'll even buy your drinks for you!"

"We'll all chip in!" Stahl suggested.

Gregor nodded as well, which was what proved to Robin beyond all doubt that they were serious. Whenever Gregor gave out his own money, you knew it was something important. He couldn't really blame him though. He'd been struggling to make enough to stay alive for a quite a while now.

"Fine." Robin gave an exasperated sigh. "You've convinced me. But show some restraint, all right? Wouldn't be good for us to get completely wasted either."

"All right!" Gaius exclaimed, and began to scrub the dishes ever harder.

With the four of them working on the same task, the mountain of dishes became sparkling clean in no time.

Robin grabbed his cloak from his tent, and the four of them began to walk towards the town.

Along the way, the four of them chatted about random things, laughing and grinning at each other.

Once they reached the tavern, the four of them instantly found a small round table to sit at. Stahl sat across from Robin, with Gregor and Gaius to his sides. A server came around, and each of them ordered a beer.

Gaius, Stahl, and Gregor (who was also in on the plan at this point) deliberately avoided their main topic of interest at first, and talked with Robin and each other about other topics. They made it seem extremely convincing that all they were doing was enjoying a drink or two with some of their friends.

"Don't expect Robin do be able to hold down his alcohol." Gaius joked. "Remember the last time Robin had a 'drink'?"

Gregor and Stahl laughed. Robin let out a chuckle himself.

Flashback…

The shepherds had just come down from the Mila Tree.

"Why does the water here seem so clear?" Lissa asked. "And why is it that we can't see any of the bodies that fell in from the fight earlier?"

"Allow me to hypothesize." Miriel began. "My best projection of why this phenomenon occurs has to do with the density of the water."

"Density?" Lissa asked.

"Suffice to conclude, I'm referring to the 'weight' of the water." Miriel explained. "When there exists impurities in water, it makes the substance weigh more. That is why bodies may float easier in the ocean than in a stream. It's possible for the water here to be excruciatingly pure, meaning that nearly everything that falls in will sink. It's also possible that there exists a layer of mud at the bottom that behaves quite like the rumored quicksands of Plegia. Anything that falls in is immediately sucked in, leaving no traces behind. The bodies and other foreign objects can then decompose out of vision."

Miriel adjusted her glasses. "That is merely my hypothesis on the situation. I would necessitate some experimentation for further proof."

"I think her explanation is pretty reasonable." Tiki said, causing everyone to turn to her. "The water is said to be blessed by Naga herself, so it would make sense for it to be 'pure'."

"Yeah…" Lissa nodded. "That makes sense."

Tiki smiled. "The water is also supposed to have a cleansing effect. One sip of it supposedly can restore a fatigued mind back to clarity."

"Wow! That sounds cool!" Lissa exclaimed. "Can we try?"

"Of course!" Tiki gestured to the water.

The shepherds each scooped out a little water and drank it.

"Wow!" Lissa exclaimed. "I feel so refreshed!"

"Oi! Gregor is feeling like twenty years younger!" Gregor exclaimed.

"I feel like I can cast any spell I want! Even the legendary ones!" Ricken grinned enthusiastically.

"I feel like I can take on all of Valm!" Sully declared. "By myself!"

"It does feel quite pleasant." Chrom admitted.

"Aye, sir." Say'ri nodded.

"I had no idea something like this existed!" Lucina smiled.

The only person that was not enjoying the experience was Robin. He took one sip and immediately began to hack and cough. He immediately began to claw at his throat.

Gaius and Nowi began to chuckle slightly.

"Did you really just choke on some water?" Nowi asked.

"And it was the good stuff too!" Gaius added. "How ungrateful!"

"It's not that." Robin finally panted. "I don't know, I just felt a severe burning sensation as I drank the water. I swear I didn't choke on it. I don't know, it didn't feel pleasant at all. If anything, I feel a little more agitated now."

"Nice try." Nowi said, winking at him playfully. "We all know when someone's faking it."

"No really!" Robin protested.

Tiki furrowed her eyebrows. "Interesting… I've never seen anyone with that reaction to the water blessed by Naga…"

Robin shrugged. "I guess it's not something for me. I'll take your words for it though. You all seem refreshed."

With that, the shepherds left the roots of the Mila Tree for good, and returned to their soldier's camp.

Back to the Present…

"Oh man!" Stahl laughed, remembering the moment. "That really was funny."

The mindlessly chatted about a few other things as they downed their beer.

After around two beers each, Gaius suddenly brought the subject up.

"So, Bubbles, are you into any girls?" The assassin nudged him with an elbow.

The other three had severely underestimated Robin's tolerance for alcohol. After all, they'd never really seen Robin do any drinking. However, Robin also didn't become suspicious either, especially with how convincing of an act the other three had put up. After all, it was a pretty common topic to bring up among a circle of close friends who all happened to be male. And to be honest, he was beginning to feel a little buzzed, which made him more open to this type of conversation.

"Well…" Robin began.

"Hesitation means yes." Stahl translated.

Robin sighed. "All right, you got me."

"Who is it?" Gaius pressed as he gave Robin a smirk.

"Mmmm… I don't know about that one." Robin returned the gesture.

"Oh come on!" Gaius protested. "We can go around in a circle. We'll all say the name of the girl we're into the most. I'll go first: Cordelia."

"That's not fair." Robin pointed out. "All three of you are married or engaged."

"Which is why Robin must be next!" Gregor pointed at him. "Your friends simply want to help you with finding the love!"

"C'mon Robin, we're all friends here." Stahl told him. "We can be sure to keep a secret for you. And we promise not to judge you."

"I don't know…" Robin said hesitantly. "I don't think I can tell you her name."

"It's Lucina, isn't it?" Gaius suddenly asked.

Robin was, for once, caught completely off guard. His eyes bulged slightly, and his mouth hung open.

The silence was an answer in and of itself.

"I knew it!" Stahl exclaimed as he gave Gaius and Gregor a high five.

Robin, to his credit, recovered shortly after. He placed an elbow on the table and placed his cheek on his hand. "I see. So THAT'S what this was about." he chuckled, realizing he had been tricked.

"So when were you planning to make a move, ya sly fox?" Gaius asked.

"Actually, I wasn't." Robin truthfully said.

"What is your meaning?" Gregor asked, slightly confused.

"Well, she's Chrom's daughter, and I'm his best friend." Robin explained. "I'll admit I find her extremely attractive, but there's no way I could do something like that to Chrom."

"Oi, oi…" Gregor placed an arm around Robin's shoulder. "You like her, yes?"

"Yes…" Robin slowly admitted.

"Enough that if given chance, you would take good care of her, and keep her safe, yes?" Gregor continued.

"Yes…" Robin nodded.

"So then why would Chrom have a problem with it?" Stahl finished for Gregor.

"But he's my best friend!" Robin protested. "And she's his DAUGHTER. Do you all really not see a problem with that?"

"Oi. It's not like you and most gracious employer are old men with great beards and Lucina is young, fetching maiden." Gregor protested.

"He's right." Gaius interjected. "Remember that the circumstances are extremely unique for us. Even though she's Blue's daughter, she's not much younger than you or I."

"True." Stahl nodded. "It would usually be bad mannered to marry a close friend's daughter, but I think there could be an exception when the friend's daughter is only a few years younger than the friend. This is something that would usually never be a problem, but Lucina is special because of the whole time traveling thing."

"But then there's the other problem." Robin continued. "What if she doesn't want that sort of relationship with me? Not only would I make her upset, but Chrom would DEFINITELY be mad if he realized I try to make a move on his daughter against her wishes."

"That's… probably your best argument yet, Bubbles." Gaius admitted.

"Oi, this may be a little bit of… how you say… bad mannered, but…" Gregor began. "Gregor will marry Nowi, yes? And Nowi is very lovely, but she have big mouth. One night, Nowi mention that Lucina said Robin is single in the future." At this, Robin flinched slightly. "Which is why Gregor think… won't Robin be more happy if friends help him get with girl?"

"Gregor makes a good point." Stahl nodded. "I'm willing to bet that no one realized that in the future, but because we're aware of that now, we are able to help you out here."

"I don't know about Sully, but I know for a FACT that this is something Nowi would be severely interested in, and I'm sure Cordelia would also want to help you find happiness." Gaius noted. "We could maybe talk to them and see if they're willing to help find out if Lucina feels anything towards you."

"But…" Robin began to protest.

"Don't be doing the worrying." Gregor comforted him. "We don't have to be letting them know that Robin is in on it."

"Yeah." Stahl agreed. "We could bring it up casually as if we're just gossiping. I'm sure they'd be happy to help us out here. It's pretty common banter among the married shepherds after all. And even if Sully seems cold and distant, she DOES have a soft spot in her heart if you really know her. I think she'd be interested in the topic too."

Robin sweatdropped. "It's almost as if you guys already put a lot of thought into this one."

"Guilty as charged." Gaius pointed at the tactician. "Although… you and Chrom are like the glue holding us all together. Think of it, I don't know too much about Stahl, but if it weren't for the two of you, I'd wager I'd still be a wanted convict crawling around the streets of Ylisstol, and Gregor would be Naga knows where working for some other cold hearted employer. By bringing us together, you were able to change our lives and help us find happiness. We simply want to repay the favor."

"Yes, Gregor agree!" Gregor nodded. "We not do this only because we like to do the gossiping. Gregor and friends seriously want to help out Robin."

"Well, I'm glad I have such… thoughtful friends, I guess." Robin chuckled. "All right then. If you do manage to find out that Lucina has feelings for me, I'll think about making a move on her. But the thought won't even cross my mind before then."

The other three looked at each other and grinned. Stahl gave Gregor another high five, and Gaius gave the other two a thumbs up.

"Shall we begin to head back then?" Stahl finally suggested. "After all, it'd be good to 'show some restraint' before our big battle, right?"

Robin smiled at his own quote. "That sounds like a responsible soldier right there."

The four of them payed off their tab and left the tavern.

Robin let out a genuine smile as they returned back to camp. For the first time in a while, he dared to think about the possibility of actually getting together with Lucina. The feeling excited him to no end.