Author's Notes:
Well here it is: One of the most important chapters, if not THE most important chapter in the story. Quite a lot is revealed in this chapter, so take your time to digest things. I've spent quite a lot of time thinking about how I should write this chapter, and definitely spent more time drafting it than the other chapters. I hope it doesn't disappoint.
With that, enjoy chapter 31:
Castle Valm…
Lucina ran through the hallways of the castle. She didn't pay attention to where she was going, she only cared about getting as far away as possible as she could. She also disregarded the possibility that there might be Valmese soldiers still hiding within the castle to ambush her. She turned right, left, then right again, without realizing any of it. Finally she found herself at the end of a hallway with nowhere else to go. She randomly picked a room to enter.
The room seemed to be a living room, complete with a bench and a fireplace. Lucina instantly ran over to the fireplace and knelt down. She continued to sob.
"This CAN'T be happening!" Lucina cried as tears kept falling down her face uncontrollably. "Robin isn't supposed to die! Why must this happen!?"
She continued sobbing for several minutes. Lucina, reluctantly, began to recall the words her mother had told her several nights ago…
'If you, or Robin for that matter, were to die in the upcoming battle against Walhart, wouldn't you feel miserable about not ever telling him how you truly felt?' her mother had said. The memory only made Lucina begin to weep even harder.
"I was such a fool!" Lucina whimpered. "I should have told him sooner, but now I'll never get a chance... I should have listened to mother! Why must this happen a second time? My heart can't take it! And now, there's no way we could ever fulfill that promise..."
This was true. Lucina was still seventeen at this point, after all. It had only been around nine years since that special day, but now it seemed that none of it matters anymore.
Lucina began to cry harder and harder for several minutes. Eventually, she began to have flashbacks to what possibly was her most important memory… a memory that now seems melancholic at best.
Flashback to the distant future…
"Wow, mister Robin!" a young Lucina exclaimed as she was riding atop a horse with Robin sitting right behind her. "We sure bought a lot of stuff!"
"Of course." The compassionate voice of Robin replied. "Otherwise, how would we be able to make your birthday dinner special?"
Lucina giggled. She was turning eight years old today, and Robin was helping her celebrate by cooking her a big dinner and baking her a cake! Robin had even agreed to let her help him make all the food. Lucina couldn't wait.
In fact, the truth was that Robin had spent the entire day with her. He was the one to gently wake her up today, and he had personally cooked her breakfast and lunch. Instead of teaching her and the children of the other shepherds like he usually does, Robin had taken them on a field trip to a nearby hill to play. Robin also took Lucina on a shopping trip the entire afternoon, and allowed the young princess to buy anything that caught her eye. They had then gone to the market and bakery to buy ingredients for the upcoming dinner celebration.
The day was turning out to be the best day in Lucina's life.
Finally, the pair returned to the castle. Robin immediately led the young princess to the kitchen in order to prepare the dinner.
Robin did everything that might have been considered dangerous for an eight year old to do. He gave the simple or less dangerous tasks to Lucina, who responded by trying her very best to accomplish her assigned tasks as well as she possibly could. After all, although Robin was a fantastic cook, she had to be able to pull her weight in the kitchen. At least, this is what Lucina thought.
Robin smiled at the earnesty and hard work Lucina put into doing the assigned tasks. These tasks, of course, were just to allow Lucina to believe she was actually helping. He made sure to discreetly double check everything Lucina did, in order to make sure everything turned out perfectly.
"Where did you learn to cook?" Lucina asked Robin as they worked.
"Well, when I was little, I lived with my mother in a small town on the border between Plegia and Ylisse." Robin explained to her. "We didn't really have enough money to eat, and so we ate whatever we could get our hands on. Sometimes, we didn't have enough food. But regardless, my mother always made sure that the food we had was as tasty as she could make it with what she had to work with. She taught me a thing or two. Once I joined your father's shepherds, I was able to start making more money, which allowed me to begin experimenting on how to cook even better. I picked everything up pretty fast, because my mother had taught me a lot."
"Wow, your mother must have been really nice to teach you all that!" Lucina's eyes glittered with admiration.
Robin sighed. "Yes, yes she was."
He cracked a few eggs into a large bowl. "Could you mix the whites and the yolks together for me?" Robin asked the young princess.
"Of course!" Lucina responded enthusiastically as she got to work immediately.
A few hours later, the food was all cooked, and the cake was done as well. Robin had even let Lucina be the one to decorate it. Of course, even with the help of Robin, the cake didn't look anywhere close to how beautiful the decorated cakes from a professional baker looked. Regardless, Lucina loved it because it was the cake that she had personally made with Robin.
One by one, they carried the dishes to the Exalt's personal dining room. The only ones to participate in the dinner was Lucina's mommy and daddy, her baby sister, herself, and of course, mister Robin. Lucina was more than fine with that arrangement.
They ate happily as a family. Robin chatted and laughed with her parents, and her mommy spoon fed her baby sister. Lucina tried to follow along in the adult's conversation because she was a 'big girl' now, but she found that much of what they were talking about still went right over her head.
Eventually, a servant ran into the dining room.
"Milords!" the servant exclaimed.
"Calm down." Chrom told him. "What did you need?"
"Ms. Cremont is asking for milord Robin." The servant bowed. "She says it is urgent."
Robin's eye twitched in disgust. "Tell her I'm busy right now. Inform her I'm not going to meet with her today."
"As you wish." The servant bowed once again, and promptly left. He seemed to be quite happy to be able to tell this 'Ms. Cremont' just that.
"That's the eldest daughter of the Cremont family, was it not?" Chrom asked. "What did she want?"
"Probably just wants to start things over and ask for another chance." Robin snorted. "Just like the many times before. Most likely, it was her father that sent her. There's no need to pay harlots such as her any attention. All she's looking to do is leech off of me."
"So have you officially closed yourself off to any romantic advances?" Sumia asked with concern as she spoon fed the four year old Cynthia.
"I wouldn't call them 'romantic' advances." Robin responded coldly. "Perhaps, 'political' advances would be more appropriate."
"Robin…" Sumia slowly said as she furrowed her eyebrows.
"Don't worry about it." Robin chuckled. "I'm going to end up by myself, and I think I've accepted it by now." Robin rubbed Lucina on the head affectionately. "After all, on days such as these, I almost forget that I'm not married in the first place. And it's not really a problem. There's no one decent enough for me to marry anyways, it seems."
"That might be fine and all, but aren't you worried that they'll be no one to look after or take care of you once you become older?" Chrom asked with concern. "You won't have any children or anything then."
"I'll do it!" Lucina exclaimed suddenly, with the conversation finally reaching something she could begin to comprehend.
"Lucina dear…" Chrom chuckled.
"No, I'm serious!" Lucina protested. "I'll marry mister Robin! And I'll take care of HIM once I get older!"
The three adults in the room were understandably dumbfounded by Lucina's suggestion. Chrom and Robin both let out a chuckle.
"Lucina, honey…" Sumia told her daughter. "You're a little too young to talk about things like that."
"No I'm not!" Lucina exclaimed. "I'm eight years old now! I'm a big girl!"
"Yes, but eight years old is still too young to talk about marriage." Chrom told her. "Your feelings will change in a few years."
This may have been true in most cases. After all, a childhood crush on an adult eventually fades away after said child hits puberty. However, no one in the room knew that Robin will be forcibly taken away from Lucina's side in a mere year or two, which is well before young Lucina would have had a chance to rethink her feelings about him. And as such, her feelings for Robin persisted even through her transition to adulthood.
"I don't care!" Lucina retorted. "I love mister Robin, and if no one will marry him, I'll be the one to do it someday!"
"Lucina, stop." Chrom commanded. "You're too young to understand any of this."
"I will not!" Lucina told her father. "It's how I really feel!"
"How about this then?" Robin suggested as he let out a nervous chuckle. "In ten years, if you still feel the same way you do, and I'm still not married by then, I'll agree to marry you. Is that acceptable?"
"Robin!" Chrom and Sumia exclaimed at the same time.
"It's just as you say." Robin whispered to Chom. "Ten years is more than enough for her to grow out of it. And in the meantime, it might make her calm down."
Chrom thought about it for a moment. "Fine," he conceded eventually.
"You too?" Sumia asked her husband in disbelief.
"It's fine." Chrom assured her. "Robin does make a good point. I'll tell you later."
Lucina, in the meantime, completely ignored this short conversation between her parents. "Really mister Robin?" she asked. "You promise?"
Robin smiled at her. "Promise."
"Pinky promise?" Lucina asked once again while she stuck out her pinky at the tactician.
"Pinky promise." Robin nodded, and hooked the young princess's finger with his own.
"Yay!" Lucina exclaimed excitedly. "Ten years is such a long time though… I'd better start waiting then! Oh… why can't I grow up any faster?"
Lucina didn't realize at this moment, but this promise would be the most important promise to her that she'd ever make in her entire life.
Throne Room, Castle Valm, in the 'Present'…
"There has to be a way to save him!" Anna protested. "There's no way we can just watch him die!"
"Our healing magic doesn't work on him. His wounds are too severe." Libra, the normally kind and calm priest, informed her in a voice dripping with anger and frustration. "Unless you'd like to give it a try. Or perhaps, you have a better idea on how to save him?"
At this, Anna couldn't give a response. What he said certainly made sense. If Libra, Maribelle and Lissa couldn't heal him with their advanced proficiency in the usage of staves, then she would have absolutely no luck with her paltry skills. She could only let out a painful whimper.
"I might have a solution." Henry said, speaking up.
"Speak." Chrom commanded. "Anything that might help him would be welcome."
"Robin's body begins to heal any wound he receives using his stored quintessence." Henry explained. "So, technically speaking, as long as he has enough stored energy, he would be able to heal any wound."
"We all know that!" Tharja exclaimed in anger. "The problem, dear Henry, is that he obviously does not have enough to heal himself right now. That's a pretty fatal wound."
"You're right." Henry conceded. "But, you forget that Robin can harvest life energy from his victims in more than one way. The first is that he removes the quintessence from a recently killed organism by hand."
Henry raised an index finger. "This method is the most efficient. However, for obvious reasons, it is not a possibility right now."
"So hurry up and get to your point." Anna demanded. "He's dying over there for Naga's sake!"
"All right, all right." Henry conceded as he raised his hands defensively. "The point is, another way for him to harvest quintessence is to kill someone with his scythe. It's less efficient, but we could funnel quintessence into him using this method."
"And how do you propose we do that?" Chrom asked.
"Well, it's simple." Henry shrugged. "We wrap his fingers around the scythe, then we sacrifice some people by pushing them onto the blade. Their life energy will begin to transfer to Robin, and once the sacrifice has been completely drained, we move onto the next victim."
"Preposterous!" Miriel exclaimed. "Do you plan on volunteering yourself?!"
"If it comes down to it, I'd gladly lay my life down for Robin." Henry replied instantly in a cheerful manner. "But as it turns out, there are even better sacrificial lambs that we have."
The Plegian sorcerer pointed towards Walhart, who, at this point, had been forced onto his knees with his arms bound behind his back.
"The stronger the target, the more quintessence they will likely have." Tharja said, as if pondering the proposal. "Perhaps sacrificing Walhart and his men would be enough to save him…"
"Milord!" Frederick objected. "With all due respect, although saving Robin would be extremely important, what Henry is proposing still means murdering soldiers that have already surrendered!"
Chrom thought about it for a moment. "Walhart has caused more pain and suffering through his conquest than what any of us are able to fathom. And so, putting a stop to his madness was necessary. But Robin didn't deserve to die, and so I think it's fitting that Walhart and his men be sacrificed in order to bring him back. After all, Walhart has committed enough crimes to warrant execution, has he not?"
Frederick nodded. "You do make a good point, milord. But what about his men?"
"Are you trying to say that they are more innocent than Robin was?" Chrom challenged. "They still followed him, and many of them were the ones dealing the pain to the civillians."
"You are right." Frederick bowed. "I'm sorry. It is not my place to say such things. It won't happen again."
"All right then." Chrom nodded. "Bring Walhart over. Frederick, you pick out a few other shepherds to find the soldiers that Walhart used to command. Bring them here, and they'll be next."
He turned to Henry. "This was your suggestion, so you're welcome to set things up the way you see fit."
Henry picked up Robin's scythe and forced the weapon into Robin's unmoving hands.
Vaike and Gregor pushed Walhart towards the rest of the shepherds, but it was clear that Walhart was pretty reluctant to walk.
"We're going to have to kill you." Chrom calmly told the Conqueror. "No hard feelings."
"None at all." Walhart replied, showing no fear in his voice. "But before you do, can you please indulge me by allowing me to ask a question?"
"What could you possibly want, you filthy Imperial trash!?" Say'ri asked.
"Peace, Say'ri." Chrom held up a hand. "Let's hear what he wants to ask."
"That Falicorn…" Walhart gestured in the direction of Sumia's mount with his head. "What is her name?"
"My Falicorn?" Sumia asked, quite surprised. "It's… um it's Belfire. And how did you know it was a 'she'?"
"What was her original rider's name, and where is she now?" Walhart immediately demanded.
"Um…" Sumia had to think for a moment. "I think I remember someone telling me… it was Katarina or something. As for where she is now, I really have no idea. I honestly don't even know who she is."
"So it IS her…" Walhart sighed. "It's such a shame that I couldn't see you again."
"Oh, THAT Katarina." Henry cupped his chin with one hand. "Yeah, I've heard of her."
"What do you know about her?" Walhart quickly asked.
"Lady Katarina was… is Robin's mother. But she died twenty years ago." Henry revealed, which was a shock to everyone, especially Sumia, as this was the first time anyone had heard of Robin's past. "I wasn't working at the palace when it happened. In fact, I was barely a single year old at the time. But according to rumors, she was killed by her husband himself."
"What's your relationship with her?" Sumia asked curiously.
"She… Katarina was my older sister." Walhart replied. "She was unrivaled in terms of magical skill and was the princess of the empire. However, my father sold her hand in marriage for political gain around twenty five years ago. That was the last time I ever saw her."
"Wait a minute…" Lissa chimed in. "If Katarina was Walhart's sister, and Robin was Katarina's son… then that would make Walhart…"
"Robin's uncle." Chrom finished for her, eyes widening in realization. "Naga above… so that would make Robin a legitimate heir to the Valmese throne?"
This revelation was a shock to everyone, including Walhart, Tharja and Henry.
"That damned Validar!" Walhart spat. "I knew he couldn't be trusted! But my father wouldn't listen to me. He only cared about what he had to gain from that marriage. And look what happened! He even had the audacity to kill my sister after she graciously agreed to marry him! It's a pity that I couldn't sail over to Plegia and wring the life from that pathetic sorcerer's neck myself."
"Wait… Validar?" Chrom asked. "As in, King Validar of Plegia? The current ruler?"
Henry and Tharja looked at each other nervously.
"But that doesn't make sense!" Lissa protested. "Because that means Robin's father would be the current king of Plegia!"
A sudden wave of realization hit the shepherds once more.
"So, does that mean Robin belongs to the royal family of two different kingdoms then?" Stahl asked nervously.
"It would seem so." Maribelle nodded.
"To think, the man we thought was a lowly spy or thug would turn out to be both a Valmese and Plegian prince." Frederick chuckled to himself. "Oh, how wrong we were!"
"I'm still trying to wrap my head around it." Chrom said, closing his eyes and bringing one hand to his forehead. "I guess, since Walhart may be Robin's uncle, we should hold off on killing him for now. Let's just try his soldiers instead. Maybe he'll want to talk to him or something if we can bring him back."
"On the contrary." Walhart responded. "I would be honored to die for my nephew's sake. I have no regrets. Losing to foreigners would be shameful, but losing to the younger generation of your family is expected. As they say, the new generation always overcomes the old. And besides, it would work in your favor as well. Robin can take over as the new emperor of Valm."
Walhart let out a melancholic chuckle. "To think, just days ago, I was still thinking about world conquest. I never realized I had a nephew out there with so much potential. Imagine if he had grown up in the Valmese court…"
Some of the shepherds flinched. The thought of Walhart the Conqueror taking the same side as Robin, especially when they would be enemies of the shepherds, was pretty terrifying. Walhart's unmatched strength paired with Robin's unrivaled intellect truly would have been a force to be reckoned with. They probably WOULD have been able to take over the world with relative ease.
"All right then, you do make a good point." Chrom nodded. "Henry, are you ready?"
"I believe so." Henry chriped. "But you'll need to remove Walhart's armor first."
"That's enough!" a voice exclaimed.
Everyone turned, only to find Tiki walking up to them. Except, it wasn't really Tiki. Her eyes were glowing light green, and she seemed to be in a state of a trance.
"Lady Tiki?" Say'ri asked.
"That may be what you call this body." The voice replied. "But no, I am not Tiki. I am speaking to you as the Divine Dragon, Naga."
"Naga…" Chrom breathed. The shepherds fell to their knees, one by one.
"You may rise. While your plan certainly has the potential to work, there is no need for it." Naga told her followers. "For you see, I tend to disagree on just about everything with my counterpart, Grima. However, this is one of the rare times that we both agree on one thing: Robin must not die here. And so, we will bring him back from the brink of death and return him to the realm of the living."
"Truly?" Chrom asked. "Thank you, Divine Dragon."
"Yes." Naga replied. "I will go to him now. But… I will be bringing HIM with me."
Tiki's body pointed at Walhart.
"As you wish." Walhart replied coolly.
"Damn, he really doesn't fear death!" Gaius whispered to Stahl. "How can he say that with a straight face? And without soiling his trousers?"
"Dunno." Stahl whispered back. "Must be why he's called 'The Conqueror'."
Their whispering got them another smack across the back of their heads by their significant others.
Tiki snapped her fingers, and immediately, Walhart's head fell as he suddenly lost consciousness. However, he didn't hit the ground because Vaike and Gregor were holding his body upright.
The same could not be said about Tiki's body. She instantly went limp as Naga left her, and Say'ri instantly rushed forward to catch her falling form.
"Well, what was that about?" Lissa asked.
"I don't know." Chrom answered truthfully. "It certainly wasn't anything I was expecting, that's for sure. I guess all we can do now is wait."
"Yeah…" The rest of the shepherds seemed to agree with them. And so they sat around, their minds racing with all that had been revealed to them mere moments ago.
The Realm Between Life and Death…
Walhart regained consciousness and seemed to realize he was in a completely different dimension. In front of him was a woman. However, unlike normal women, her entire body seemed translucent. She was light green, and it seemed like if he tried to touch her, his hand would go completely through her.
"Welcome, Emperor Walhart of Valm." the woman told him. "I am the Divine Dragon Naga, the one whom you've been trying to drive out of your lands."
"I assume you're taking my life in exchange for Robin's?" Walhart asked.
"No." Naga shook her head. "On the contrary, I'm giving you a gift in exchange for a chance to talk."
"About what?" Walhart's eyes narrowed.
"You seem to be against me." Naga noticed. "I was merely wondering why that is."
"You're supposedly a god, and you don't know that? You need me to tell you what I'm thinking?" Walhart scoffed. "Pathetic."
"Just because I am a 'god' does not mean I'm all knowing. And it does not mean I'm omnipotent." Naga replied. "Such a being might exist if it were the only god in existence, but because there are many of us that can be considered 'gods', we must share the power over the universe. The power we hold governs the world collectively. But that means each of us only gets a piece of that power. However, it is more than what any individual human is capable of fathoming, which is why we have been elevated to the status of 'god' by your people."
"All right then." Walhart replied. "I'll tell you. It's because of my elder sister. She was always a devout follower of Naga and her Voice. I may have even followed in her lead at one point. However, you turned your back on her. You did nothing when my father gave her away to Plegia like a farmer sells a pig on the market. That is why I oppose you. Man cannot trust you to keep their best interests in mind."
"You fool." Naga chuckled. "But I cannot really blame you. After all, you lack the ability to see the entire picture. I've been taking care of my dear follower, Katarina for all of her life. Even in her last moments, I ensured she passed away without feeling too much pain or suffering."
"I don't believe you." Walhart told her simply.
"Your nephew, Robin, was born due to a collaboration between myself and the Fell Dragon, Grima." Naga continued. "He has the potential in him to do great things. Depending on how the future goes, he will be the one to either unite the world, or destroy it. Katarina answered her calling, and was able to birth such an important man. That was her greater purpose. The question now is, will you follow him? He was the potential to achieve your dreams, although not necessarily in the same way you might have achieved it. Will you reject him, or will you follow his lead and unite the world?"
Walhart seemed to ponder this for a moment. "If Robin truly is as great of a man as you make him seem… then yes. Yes, I will. I want to see him unite the world with my own eyes."
"See, that wasn't so hard." Naga smiled. "I'm not asking you to worship me, or even to like me. All I'm asking is that you give Robin your support in the future to come."
"I suppose that is an agreement we can reach." Walhart nodded. "He was able to best my army with a force less equipped and not as well trained. That is respectable enough as is."
"Good." Naga smiled. "With that out of the way, there are some people we'd like you to meet before we send you back to the realm of the living."
With Robin…
Robin awoke in a place he had never seen or even imagined before. There didn't seem to be any objects anywhere in sight. It was as if he was suspended in an empty room with walls the color of various shades of green and purple mixed in a tie dye pattern. However, it clearly was not paint, because the colors continued to swirl and move around, which actually caused Robin to feel slightly nauseous. In front of him were two figures, but his vision was a little blurry, and he couldn't make them out at first.
"Where am I?" he wondered aloud. "Am I dead?"
"No, child." A familiar voice called out to him. "However, you are currently hovering on the brink of death."
Robin blinked a few times, and his vision finally focused. The two figures in front of him were two that he recognized. The first was the shadowy form of Grima that he had grown accustomed to seeing. The second figure… the one that spoke to him, was Katarina, his mother, which he had also seen in his dreams. She looked the same as she did when she was murdered. In fact, she looked young enough to be his sister.
"M-mother!?" Robin asked in shock.
"Yes, it is I." Katarina smiled melancholically. "I never got to watch you grow up. However, seeing you now, I'm glad you turned out to be so strong... so handsome."
"Take pride in who you are, and what you've become." Grima agreed. "I disagree with Naga on much, but this is one thing we agree on: You are too important to die now, and you have the ability to change the world. Naga and I bicker about exactly what that utopia may be, but what we both know is that you have the ability to achieve either of our dream worlds, depending on the choices you make."
"Really…" Robin couldn't really believe what he was seeing or hearing.
"Sorry to keep you waiting." A new, feminine voice called. "I've brought the other guest."
Katarina immediately fell to one knee and bowed her head as she faced the approaching figure. "Lady Naga."
"Please, lift your head." A translucent, green woman told her. "I've brought to you someone you haven't seen in twenty five years."
"Walhart!?" Robin exclaimed. "What is he doing here?"
Katarina raised her head, and her eyes went wide. "Walhart!? Is that really you?"
"Sister?" Walhart asked, with a hint of doubt in his voice. "Why are you here?"
"Lady Naga has graciously allowed me to return from the land of the dead temporarily, and be in this realm between life and death in order to see my son again." Katarina explained. "But it seems that I possess even more luck than I had dared hope for. Not only do I get to see my child once again, but I get to talk with you one last time."
"Then… would it be possible for you to return to the land of the living with us?" Walhart asked.
"No." Grima spoke up. "I'm willing to work with Naga in order to send Robin back, but not the mother. There's no incentive for me to allow her anyways. We're breaking enough laws of the universe as it is."
"You've heard him, Wally." Katarina smiled as she used the name she used to call him from several decades ago. "But it's fine. This is already more than I could have ever asked for."
"Wait." Robin raised his hands up in a 'stop' gesture. "What is the meaning of this? The two of you are siblings?"
"Yes, honey." Katarina replied.
"And you're my mother… which means…" Robin mumbled, beginning to piece things together in his head.
"That's right. He's your uncle." Katarina confirmed.
"This is news to be as well, Robin." Walhart assured him. "But still, it makes me feel better that I lost to the son of my beloved sister, instead of some stranger from a distant land."
"I have no desire to be related to YOU!" Robin snarled.
"Peace, Robin." Naga assured him. "I had a talk with Walhart. He is no longer your enemy."
"What do you mean?" Robin asked suspiciously.
"I have been shown the error of my ways." Walhart explained. "Once we get back to our own world, I will step down as emperor of Valm so that you may claim the throne for yourself."
"I have no desire to rule Valm either." Robin responded.
"FOOL! I am offering you all of Valm and yet-" Walhart began.
"If what you say really is true, then you will hold onto your position as emperor." Robin continued. "Stop your conquest and use your army to do good for the people of Valm. But I want no part in it. I wish to remain with the shepherds. They are my family now. Not some uncle that I've never met until recently."
Walhart stared at him with a deathly glare for a moment. "Fine. It will be done."
"Since Naga seems to claim that you're not my enemy, I'll trust you for now." Robin continued. "But, should you do anything to rouse suspicion, such as attempting to reconquer the lands you'll undoubtedly lose due to your defeat, we will return and dethrone you once more. If that time ever comes, we'll be sure to end your miserable life."
Walhart accepted Robin's animosity surprisingly well. "I understand. The conquered do not have the right to argue. But, I have to ask. The Ylisseans seem to have found out about your father's lineage. What if they were to reject you for it?"
"My father's lineage?" Robin asked. "Does it have to do with Plegia then?"
"Yes." Walhart nodded. "After all, the Ylisseans and Plegians are not fond of one another. That much is certain."
"If… and I mean IF they were to force me to leave the shepherds… then I suppose I will reconsider your offer." Robin said after thinking for a while. "But unless that happens, I will not abandon them."
"Understandable." Walhart agreed. "Like my men, you have a fierce loyalty. And as such, your soldiers have a great respect for you."
"Please," Katarina walked over to Robin and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Although you may not have any memories of me, I have memories of you, dear Robin. And even though it may seem unreasonable for me to ask I'd like-"
"You're wrong." Robin interrupted. "Recently, I've been having some lucid dreams. I've seen much about both my past in this timeline and the past of the future me. They are different, and yet somewhat similar at the same time. My point is, I saw the vision of you protecting me as you were killed. I also saw how great of a mother you were to me had you successfully fled to the Ylissean border."
Katarina looked shocked for a moment, but quickly recovered. "I see. I'm truly fortunate then. I'd like to ask this of you as your mother then. Please don't be suspicious of my brother. I'm sure he'll do his best in supporting you."
She turned towards Walhart again. "Isn't that right, Wally?"
"Of course." Walhart bowed his head. "This will quite possibly be the last time I might see you. I'll consider it as your last wish. You can be sure I'll honor it."
"Good." Katarina smiled. "Now, if you all wouldn't mind, could you allow me some time alone with my son?"
"Of course." Naga nodded, and the two of them walked a good distance away from the others.
"If only I had realized your father's intentions sooner…" Katarina sighed. "I could've taken you and fled Plegia sooner. Perhaps… perhaps we could have spent some time together before I left."
"Perhaps, but there isn't much that you could have done." Robin replied.
"You know, you were the cutest baby when you were little." His mother giggled. "It's hard to believe you're the offspring of that vile man."
"My father… it's Validar, isn't it?" Robin asked.
"Yes." she sighed. "I tried my best to love him, despite being in an arranged marriage. However, being able to love such a monster is… extremely difficult. People like him are dangerous to even associate yourself with."
"Just as I don't see Walhart as an uncle, I don't see him as a father." Robin assured her. "And I'm not going to lie, that's the same for you as well. Despite knowing you're my mother, I don't really feel anything towards you."
"Oh, that's quite all right, dear." Katarina said as she pulled Robin into a hug. "After all, when I died, you weren't old enough to even realize that I was your mother. Having you acknowledge that I am your mother is more than enough to satisfy me."
"Of course I acknowledge you as my mother." Robin nodded. "It's who you are. But the fact that remains is that you're still dead. Even though my father by blood is still alive, he is family no more. Instead, I have the Ylisseans to call family."
"If only… I had been stronger…" Katarina's eyes began to tear up as she pulled away from Robin. "We could have ended up in Ylisse and lead a happier life…"
"Don't regret too much, mother." Robin tried to comfort her. "In my visions, when you HAD made it to Ylisse, we lived extremely impoverished lives. We barely had food to put on the table, and you eventually died of sickness because we couldn't afford to buy you medicine. While my childhood certainly could have been better if I grew up with a loving mother, I DID also grow up in the Plegian palace with a silver spoon in my mouth."
"Impressive." Katarina looked closely at her son. "Naga told me… I was under the impression that you had forgotten much about your early life."
"Yeah, it's interesting…" Robin scratched his head. "I think it's all coming back to me… I'm getting some pieces of memory back, and filling in the blanks accordingly."
"So you remember that you were a prince in Plegia then?" Katarina asked.
"Yes…" Robin said slowly. "Now I do. But does that mean…."
"That you were both a prince of Valm and a prince of Plegia?" Katarina asked. "Yes. It does. You hold within yourself the hope and strength of two nations, and, as Naga had told you, you possess the ability to change the world. Your father would have you help him resurrect Grima, while Naga hopes that you'll help HER instead. It's a heavy responsibility. You truly are a powerful prince, but this power comes at a great price."
"I understand, mother." Robin nodded. "There's no way in hell I'm helping that monster of a father with his plans."
"Hearing you say that makes me satisfied." Katarina smiled. "While I've certainly loved talking to you, we should really get back. Your friends in the living world must be getting awfully worried about you. Always remember that I loved you, and I still love you. Never forget that."
The two of them returned to the other three, and Katarina said her final goodbyes to her brother and her son.
Naga reached out her hands towards Robin's face. She placed them on Robin's cheeks. Robin closed his eyes and felt an overwhelming feeling of peace and tranquility. He slowly opened his eyes, and found himself no longer in that strange dimension, but back with his friends.
Throne Room, Castle Valm…
Robin slowly began to stir.
"Robin!" Chrom exclaimed. "Robin, are you awake?"
The rest of the shepherds immediately hurried over when they heard Chrom.
"Ugh…" Robin slowly rose to a sitting position. He gripped his head with one hand. "I feel like I've been run over by a wyvern."
Nearby, Walhart and Tiki began to wake up as well.
"How is your wound?" Say'ri asked in concern.
Robin looked down at his chest. His cloak didn't have a single scratch on it. It was as if he had never been slashed. However, when looked underneath his clothes, he found that there was an extremely large scar on his chest.
"It doesn't hurt, so that's good news." Robin reported. "But there is a nasty scar. It might stay there for a long time."
"So were you really saved by Naga?" Lissa asked.
"Uh… yeah, I think." Robin replied. "I saw both Naga and Grima. They said that they both wanted me alive, which was why they were going to work together and save me."
"Thank the heavens!" Chrom exclaimed. "It's good to have you back."
"Yeah." Robin agreed. "It's good to be back alive."
"So… do you know?" Chrom asked him. "About Walhart?"
"Yeah. I talked to him in that other dimension." Robin nodded.
"Other… dimension?" Chrom asked, feeling quite puzzled.
"It's some place that's apparently in the realm between life and death." Robin waved his hand. "But that's not important. The point is, I know that Walhart is related to me now."
"And what about your Plegian lineage?" Chrom asked.
"Yeah… I know of it too." Robin admitted. "Does it mean… am I still welcome in the shepherds?"
"What are you talking about?" Chrom asked. "It doesn't matter what your past is like, or who your parents were. All that matters is who YOU are, and there will always be a place for you, or someone like you, here among the shepherds."
"Then I need not worry." Robin gave a sigh of content.
"Still, there is the matter of what we should do with Valm now that we've defeated the empire…" Chrom asked.
"He just woke up for Naga's sake!" Lissa scolded her brother. "Could you at least give him some time before you discuss that?"
"It's fine." Robin quickly said. "I feel much better than a few moments ago already."
He slowly got to his feet.
"We don't need to do anything with Valm." Robin continued. "We can leave her under the rule of emperor Walhart. He will assign his resources to rebuilding and maintaining the welfare of his citizens rather than conquest, and will be Ylisse's ally in the future. Isn't that right, emperor Walhart?"
The shepherds, who were understandable shocked at Robin's words turned to Walhart, who wore a smirk on his face.
"Yes, it is just as my nephew says." Walhart agreed. "We will cede all of the territory that I conquered during my campaign back to their original countries, and I will rebuild the country of Valm. You can expect no more trouble from me in the future."
"Robin…" Chrom looked at him. "Is this…"
"It's something we discussed already." Robin smiled. "Rest easy."
"I'll take your word for it then." Chrom nodded. "We'll leave reparations for the war in the hands of the Valmese then. I'm sure their treasury can handle it. After all, they no longer require as many funds to govern if they are to return to their original land holdings."
"A fine idea." Flavia agreed. Robin hadn't seen her in the castle earlier, so he could only assume that she made her way inside at some point while he was stuck on the brink of death. "We should draft up a formal document of surrender in the next day or two. Once Valm has officially declared its surrender to the world, we can finally go home."
"You're right." Chrom nodded. "In the meantime, we can all take some time to rest. The war has been taxing on all of us. All of you are dismissed for some rest. We'll stay at Valm Castle tonight, so why don't you all go see if you can find any guest bedrooms?"
The shepherds acknowledged their leader, and most of them began to disperse. Anna was one of the few shepherds that seemed to want to stay by Robin's side as he recovered.
"Don't worry too much about him, Anna." Lissa told her. "I'll make sure he's fine. Why don't you go join the others?"
Anna, under the suggestion of Lissa, reluctantly left.
"I'm sorry, but for obvious reasons, we can't let you just roam around freely." Chrom told Walhart. "We're going to have to keep you somewhere and have someone guard you until the official surrender."
"I understand." Walhart told him simply. "Do as you must."
The ex Conqueror was led away to one of the jail cells in Castle Valm.
At this point, Chrom, Sumia and Lissa were the only three that were in extreme proximity of Robin. However, Gaius and Cordelia were still hanging around the area. Cordelia had just told her fiance about the whole situation between Lucina and their tactician, and Gaius was itching to get the opportunity to give Robin the green light to make his advances.
"Gaius, Cordelia!" Chrom called. "I know you probably are concerned about Robin, but do not worry. We'll make sure he's in good hands. Why don't you go enjoy your time off with the others?"
"Yeah, well…." Gaius scratched his head. "I was hoping to get a chance to talk to Bubbles at some point."
"Oh?" Robin asked, feeling slightly surprised. "About what?"
"I think you might know." Gaius smirked. "But we can save that for another time. I'll catch you later!"
"Oh I'm sure it's fine to talk to him about it now." Sumia offered, giggling at the thought of it.
Gaius stared at her for a moment. Then stared at Chrom for a bit. "You're sure she's on OUR side, now, right?" he whispered to Cordelia.
"Yes." Cordelia whispered back. "She's the one that found out for me in the first place."
"You see, Sumia…" Gaius continued. "We have things to discuss that are very… sensitive." he made a gesture with his head towards Chrom to remind the klutz that her husband was currently right in front of them.
"So this is something you need to discuss with Robin that I cannot know about then?" Chrom smiled. Robin, Gaius and Cordelia all chuckled nervously at that. "Maybe Lissa is the problem. If I send her away, would that be sufficient?"
"Oh haha!" Lissa exclaimed angrily. "Very funny!"
"Well, he'll find out eventually anyways," Sumia reasoned. "Why not just tell him now? It might actually make things easier moving forward. And besides, I'll be here to calm him down if he gets too mad."
"Wait a minute…" Chrom narrowed his eyes. "Now I'm suspicious."
"Go on." Sumia told Gaius. "Just tell them."
"Uh… I don't know about THAT one, Stumbles." Gaius sheepishly declined. "I'd hate to be thrown to the streets again."
"Well, shall I tell them for you then?" Sumia asked.
"There's no need." Cordelia interjected. "I'll say it."
The Falcon Knight gripped their tactician's shoulders with her hands. "Robin. She likes you. Do something about it." she lightly slapped Robin across the cheek.
"Really?" Robin asked. His usually calm expression looked extremely flustered at the current time. He kept glancing nervously at Chrom every few seconds. He rubbed the part of his face that Cordelia just hit.
"She?" Chrom thought for a moment. "Wait a minute… you're not talking about Lucina, are you? You'd better not be."
"Of course they are!" Sumia exclaimed. She clapped her hands together and smiled.
"Sumia!?" Robin and Gaius exclaimed in surprise.
"Oh!" Lissa smiled. She couldn't help but feel as if she had just been let in on an extremely important secret.
"What?" The Dark Flier asked innocently. "Am I wrong?"
"Robin…" Chrom's expression darkened. "Is this true?"
Robin sighed. "I guess now that the cat is out of the bag, there's no need to pretend. I don't know about what she feels, but… yes. I do like… Lucina." he looked at Chrom in the eyes. "I hope you're not too upset. If you wish it, I'll leave her alone." This confirmation made Lissa squeal with delight.
Chrom thought for a moment. "If you want to court her, then that's up to you. I have no qualms about it."
"Hey!" Lissa protested. "Why is it that you had so much of a problem with Lon'qu marrying me, but you have no problems with Robin and Lucina getting together? She's your DAUGHTER after all."
"Well... " Chrom scratched his head. "A couple reasons actually. The first was that I was not very experienced, and I lost my cool without thinking things through. I never realized how much it would benefit you, as well as Lon'qu. The second is that… well… Lucina may be my daughter, but she's just about as old as you are, Lissa. She's already been through more than either of us can imagine, and so I think she's more than capable of deciding who she wants to be with. If she thinks that person is Robin, what right do I have to tell her that she's wrong? And besides, I didn't trust Lon'qu back then as much as I trust Robin now. If I had to pick one person in the world to entrust my daughter to, it probably WOULD be him."
"Truly?" Robin asked, not believing what he was hearing.
"Yeah." Chrom confirmed. "If it's what she wants, then I think it could be good for both of you. As long as it's something she'd like, I'll support the two of you."
"Thank you." Robin told his best friend sincerely.
"Don't thank me yet." Chrom chuckled. "Lucina is the one you have to talk to first."
"Speaking of…" Robin continued. "Where is she? I didn't see her earlier."
"When she thought you were dead, she ran off crying." Sumia giggled. "I know I really shouldn't poke fun of her, because for a moment we were all scared we'd lose you as well, but now that the feeling has passed, it IS rather cute, wouldn't you say?"
"Y-yeah…" Robin agreed in embarrassment. "I'll go look for her then."
He ran off down one of the halls in Castle Valm.
"Now then... " Chrom chuckled. "How long have you all been planning this from behind my back?"
"Er… not too long." Gaius admitted. "Nowi told Gregor that apparently Robin didn't marry anyone in the future, which kind of upset him. And so the two of us, alongside Stahl, decided to try and help him find someone. We took him to a tavern, and he admitted that he felt attracted to Lucina."
"But clearly it's not just the three of you that know about this…" Chrom accused.
"Yeah, I told Cordelia, and I'm guessing she told Sumia." Gaius shrugged. "Personally, I'm just surprised you're so calm about it."
"Believe me, I'm extremely shocked on the inside." Chrom laughed. "But somehow, I think I've learned a lot from seeing Lissa and Lon'qu together. I'm thinking if the two of them could be anywhere as close as they are, there should be no problems for any of us."
"I'm sure that will be the case!" Sumia smiled optimistically. "They're head over heels for each other, or so I've been told."
"Ooh… I can't WAIT to tell everyone else about it!" Lissa exclaimed excitedly. "I've just received so much juicy information to gossip about!"
"NO!" everyone around them exclaimed at once.
"Don't you dare!" Cordelia gave her a frown.
"We don't even know if they'll end up together for sure yet." Sumia reasoned. "It's better to wait for them to reveal to everyone, don't you think?"
"Yeah, that sounds much better." Gaius agreed.
"Once they make it public, you can talk about whatever you want, Lissa." Chrom told his sister. "But until then, I expect you to keep your mouth shut."
"Fine!" Lissa pouted.
With Robin…
For a normal person, it probably would have been impossible to track down Lucina. Especially considering that Robin had no experience with the interior layout of Castle Valm. Fortunately, he had been able to pinpoint the location of the future princess with his Hekseer. All that was left to do was to take the right hallways down to where Lucina was hiding.
"What a day it has been…" Robin chuckled to himself. They had defeated Walhart not once, but twice. Furthermore, he had almost died, but was brought back to life by the combined efforts of both Naga and Grima. Not only that, but he had also met his mother for what was basically the first time, AND found out about his past as both a Valmese and Plegian prince. Oh yeah, and Walhart was apparently his uncle now. And not only that, but Chrom is now giving him permission to make romantic advances on Lucina.
That actually made him kind of nervous. He had no idea what he should do or say. He spent some time thinking over what he would do once he reached Lucina. There was only one chance at this, and he didn't want to screw things up too badly.
Finally, he reached the room and opened the door slightly. Lucina was still on the ground, bawling her eyes out. She didn't even register the noise of the door opening. Had Robin been a Valmese Assassin or even just a Risen, Lucina might have just died. It wasn't something pleasant for him to think about.
"Lucina?" Robin finally called, figuring that it was a good place to start. He didn't have anything fully figured out yet, but he couldn't go wrong with that one, right?
Lucina turned around. As soon as she laid eyes on him, her expression immediately changed. It was as if she had just seen a ghost.
"Robin?" Lucina asked, not believing her eyes. "You're… you're alive?"
"Yeah." Robin chuckled. "Long story. Basically, I was as close to death as I possibly could, but I was saved by both Naga and Grima."
"Grima!?" Lucina instantly became suspicious. Her hand moved towards her sword.
"Calm down, Lucina." Robin told her. "They said that they both preferred to have me be alive than dead, which is why they worked together to bring me back."
"Prove it then." Lucina told him. "How can I know you're not something or someone trying to decieve me? Tell me something only Robin would actually know."
Robin chuckled. "Had I wanted to kill you, you'd be dead already. You didn't notice when I first walked into the room, after all. I would have no need to inform you first, right?" At this, Lucina began to blush in embarrassment.
"M-maybe." Lucina said, still not quite sure.
"Hmm…" Robin thought about it for a moment. "What about that conversation we had at night on the ship as we sailed for Valm? Or what about when I helped you in that fight at Valm harbor? Or when I walked with you after we left Fort Steiger? Or… what about reading the Waltz of the Three Kingdoms early in the mornings? Do you need me to go further into the details? I can if you wish."
At this, Lucina's previous doubts about him were vanquished. She got up and rushed towards Robin and enveloped him in an embrace. He smelled the same way Lucina had always remembered, which was further proof that what she had deemed impossible was actually reality.
"You're really alive then?" Lucina asked.
"Yeah." Robin replied. "It's hard for me to believe as well."
Lucina could feel tears begin to well up again, but this time, it was out of happiness. 'If I've learned anything from the past day, I won't let this chance escape me again.' she told herself.
"R-robin…" Lucina whispered. "There's something I'd really like to discuss with you."
"Sure." Robin instantly replied. "And… actually, there was something I came here to talk to you about as well."
"Oh…" Lucina murmured.
'Probably just the plans for the upcoming few days or something.' she thought to herself.
"Well, it's not actually super important, and you said you had something to talk about first, so let's talk about what you had wanted to discuss." Robin smiled.
"N-no." Lucina shook her head. "I'd prefer you to go first."
"Are you sure?" Robin asked. To be completely honest, he hadn't made too much progress on how he would tell Lucina his feelings. His mind was currently racing with different possibilities. He couldn't come off as overly desperate or creepy, yet he didn't want to seem too distant or cold either.
"Yeah." Lucina smiled up at him. "I'd like that."
"All right then, let's sit down." Robin gestured towards the bench in the room. He began to move towards it, which gave him a few extra moments to think. Lucina eagerly sat down next to him.
"Lucina…" Robin began. "You'd consider the two of us to be friends, right?"
"Y-yeah…" Lucina replied. The conversation was already going in a completely different direction than what she had been expecting.
"So if I had something I need some advice on, would you be fine with me asking you?" he continued.
"Um… I guess." Lucina smiled. "But what advice could I possibly give YOU?"
"Well, I'm really smitten with this one girl…." Robin admitted. Lucina's eyes widened. "And I really want to tell her how I feel, and to be together with her, but I'm concerned about what her reaction might be. The possibility of rejection scares me. What do you think I should do?"
At this, Lucina began to break down once again. Her emotions had been fluctuating far too much today. She had her heart broken, mended, only to be broken once again. Even in the past few weeks, or even years, her life seemed to follow a similar pattern. She felt as if her mind had finally snapped at this revelation.
Based on how Robin had asked her the question, he must be referring to someone else, right? After all, he wouldn't ask HER about it if the person he had in mind was herself. In other words, Robin did have someone else in mind, but getting pretty solid evidence from what he had told her was proving to be more than Lucina could handle. Despite her own feelings, she still felt that Robin deserved an answer, considering he had decided to confide in her.
"I think…" Lucina sniffled as she continually tried to wipe away the tears falling down her face. She decided to tell him what she truly believed, even though it hurt immensely. "I think you should just tell her. If you wait too long, you might lose your chance forever."
After answering him, a tsunami of tears seemed to erupt from her eyes as she lost herself to sorrow and despair.
"L-lucina?" Robin looked at her. He'd never seen her break down quite so much. Even in the past, when he saw her crying, he didn't think she looked as… vulnerable as she did currently. "Are you… what's wrong?"
"What's WRONG is that this world seems intent on taking away everything from me!" Lucina sobbed angrily. "Right when I feel as if things are beginning to look up, something comes up that crushes all of my hope. It feels that, despite all of my efforts, everything bad just HAPPENS to occur to me. What did I ever do to deserve this treatment from Naga?"
'Damn…' Robin thought to himself. 'Maybe I did just screw up.'
"I'm-" Robin began.
"Wait." Lucina commanded. "Since you've asked your question, I need to tell you what's on MY mind. Since it clearly doesn't matter anymore, I'll just say it. I love you Robin. I've loved you ever since I was just seven or eight years old. When I came to this timeline, I realized that not only were you alive, but you were everything I had remembered you to be from my childhood. And furthermore, you were younger and around the same age as me. I thought that maybe, MAYBE I could have a chance at winning over your heart, but now I see that it was all completely pointless."
"Wait a-" Robin wanted to interrupt. Instead, it was Lucina that interrupted him.
"LET ME FINISH!" Lucina demanded as she continued her rant. "You have NO IDEA how many feelings and emotions I've kept inside me this whole time! You cannot even begin to understand why I'm so devastated right now! When I was younger, you would always spend time with me when my parents were otherwise too busy. You made life interesting and enjoyable for me, and even though I was a little wary of you at first, that feeling quickly disappeared and was replaced with attraction. Even though you were much older. You filled the place in my life that my parents couldn't because of their own responsibilities! By the time I was around nine years old, I would have preferred to spend time with you over my father! THAT'S how much you meant to me!"
"That person…" Robin realized, remembering what they had talked about a while ago. "That person you talked about… it was me…"
Lucina nodded with her tearstained face. She began to tell him about all the memories she had of the two of them together. From her very first encounter with him to the day he gifted her with a toy Falchion… From the bedtime stories to the meals they shared together… From playing house to goofing around outside… From the time he spent on teaching her… the first time they rode on a horse together… the time he tried to teach her magic, but got yelled at by her mother… the time he snuck her out of her room past her bedtime to look at the fireflies… the time he took her to the fair and let her try all the food she wanted... the times he made up games for them to play when she was bored… the times he visited her when she was sick… the times he spent playing board games with her when it was raining outside… the times he comforted her when she was really upset… and finally, she told him of the entire day they had spent together on her eighth birthday. Robin eyes widened as she revealed everything to him. It was as if Lucina suddenly didn't care about hiding anything from him anymore.
Even though the others had hinted that Lucina may have harbored some feelings for him, it was nothing like what he had imagined. But he didn't say anything. He just sat there and listened to her.
"You promised me…" Lucina sniffled. "You promised me! You promised me that day that if I felt the same way about you in ten years, that you'd marry me! That was nine years ago! I know you must have said that while believing that my feelings would change, but they haven't changed at all!"
She let out a sigh. "But now, I guess none of that matters anymore, since there is someone else you're interested in. I guess there was no reason to think that you would have remembered it, of course. You wouldn't know about what the you of the future promised me after all."
She hesitantly looked at Robin in the eyes. "Whichever girl you're interested in… she's extremely lucky. And she'd be a fool to turn you down. So don't be worry about rejection. Just tell her how you feel."
"Lucina… I should apologize." Robin sighed.
"There's nothing for you to apologize about!" Lucina exclaimed. "You didn't do anything wrong, and I know you're not trying to hurt me on purpose… but that doesn't make things any easier to swallow." she placed her head in her hands. "If only… if only I had said something sooner… I was such a fool…"
Robin finally couldn't stop himself anymore. He leaned over and wrapped his arms around Lucina.
"Are you trying to pity me?" the princess hesitantly asked. "Because if you are, I'd prefer if you didn't. It will take some time… it will take a LONG time, but eventually… hopefully I'll be able to get over it."
"Stop." Robin commanded, making Lucina flinch slightly. "It's my fault. I was just trying to think of some clever way to tell you that I had feelings for you. I didn't want to make things too awkward. But now, after seeing your reaction, I'm definitely regretting it."
Lucina lifted her face from her hands for a moment. "You're lying. I didn't think you were going to go this far in order to try and make me feel better."
"I'm dead serious." Robin insisted. "This is not something I'd be able to jest about. If you were to give me the chance, I'd be willing to spend the rest of my life with you in order to prove it."
Lucina looked Robin directly in the eyes. He did look extremely serious about it.
Suddenly, Robin leaned in towards her face. He met her lips with his own. Lucina's eyes widened in shock momentarily. Finally, she closed her eyes and allowed herself to lean into the kiss, letting out a small moan of delight.
Neither of them had much experience with this sort of thing, so the kiss was fairly clumsy. However, it didn't bother either of them. They were both just happy that it had happened at all.
"Y-you… you really mean that?" she asked hesitantly after they broke away from one another.
"On my life." Robin assured her.
"Th-then…" she continued nervously. "Is it all right… I mean… it's fine for me to be your girlfriend then?"
"I'd have no one else." Robin smiled. "I've always been rather paranoid that the person I end up with won't love me for who I am, but rather because of my title or how much power I hold. But with you, I feel as if it's nothing to worry about… especially after everything you just told me."
Lucina felt her face heat up at the realization of everything she had told him earlier. Up until this point, Lucina had just sat there, letting Robin hold her. However, she now actively returned the hug. She buried her face into Robin's chest.
"I almost don't believe it…" Lucina murmured. "But the fact is, I really WANT to believe it. You have no idea how long I've waited for something like this."
"I know it hasn't been as long for me as it has been for you…" Robin replied, slowly rubbing his new girlfriend's back as she clutched onto him. "But this is something I had hoped for, for about two years as well."
This came as a surprise to Lucina. Had Robin really liked her for that long? Two years ago… that would've have been that night they fought off the assassin's going after Emmeryn.
"If only I had stayed with you all after saving Aunt Emmeryn's life that night…" Lucina lamented. "Perhaps… maybe we would be even closer by this point."
"It's possible, but I'm just happy to be with you at all." Robin chuckled. "Better now than never."
"Yeah." Lucina broke her embrace with Robin. She cupped the sides of Robin's face with her two hands. "So does this mean you'll spend more time with me then? I think I'd love that. Even if it's just to look at the stars at night together or something… I think anything would be enjoyable as long as I can be by your side."
"Yeah. For sure." Robin raised one of his own arms and cupped one of Lucina's hands with his own. "But for now, we should probably head back. The others will be worried about us."
"Y-yeah…" Lucina admitted sheepishly. "I kind of ran off on my own earlier…"
The two got up and left the room. However, Lucina insisted on holding Robin's hand as they walked. Robin had to admit, it was pretty cute how clingy she was turning out to be.
"So… all that's left is to make sure Chrom is OK with it." Robin casually said as they walked.
"What do you mean?" Lucina asked in concern.
"Well, he IS my best friend." Robin chuckled. "If he refuses to let us be together, then we probably should respect his wishes."
"That's absurd!" Lucina exclaimed. "Why would father be against us?"
"You're his daughter, and I'm his best friend." Robin reasoned. "Do you not see how that could be a problem?"
"I… well…" Lucina sighed. It WAS something she hadn't even really considered. "If father refuses to let us be together, then let's run away! We could still be together that way!"
Robin looked at her, and found that there was no chance that she could have been joking around. Determination and conviction filled her eyes as she looked at him.
"What about the future then?" Robin asked. "How could we help prevent your future if we leave the shepherds?"
Robin made a good point. Lucina couldn't say anything but pout and whine under her breath.
"All right, all right." Robin chuckled. "Chrom was already informed of this possibility before I came to find you. He seems to be fine with our current arrangement… as long as it's something YOU want."
"Oh. Well that's good then." Lucina breathed a sigh of relief. However, she still absentmindedly clutched onto Robin's arm with her other hand as well.
Robin noticed this and began to laugh. "You don't have to hold on THAT tightly." he joked. "I'm not going anywhere."
It was only then that Lucina realized just how much she was clinging onto Robin. She looked like she could have been his arm ornament.
"You never know." Lucina giggled.
For the first time in a long time, Lucina was able to feel something akin to true happiness. Considering everything that had happened to her in the past few hours, today was actually turning out to be a fantastic day.
Walhart: HP: 120% Str: 80% Mag: 20% Skl: 50% Spd: 50% Lck: 45% Def: 55% Res: 40%
Age: 43
Class: Conqueror