Author's Notes:
And so it begins… the lost children arc. I've always been quite adamant about the whole Donnel and Maribelle pairing, for a couple of reasons. The first was that of all the characters, Maribelle was always the one that was most likely to sneer at someone of low social status. In other words, she is the closest shepherd to a stereotypical noble. So the fact that she gets over this in order to marry someone from the countryside like Donnel always felt right to me. The second reason is Brady. No matter who Maribelle marries, Brady always talks like a "thug" and has unrefined language. In this case, I think it makes Donnel the perfect father for him, since Donnel talks in a somewhat similar fashion. These two reasons combined makes me always pair the two together.
That is enough rambling for now though, here is chapter 32:
Castle Valm…
Gaius, Stahl and Gregor were waiting for Robin to return. Gaius had found the other two, and alerted them to the possibility of Robin finally making a move, and so the three of them decided to wait around the throne room for them to return. After all, Robin had run off in the exact opposite direction of where the rest of the shepherds had gone towards, so there was a large possibility that they'll have to come back through the throne room. Even if there is another way to get to their desired destination, chances are, they won't know Castle Valm well enough to take that path instead of the one that they originally used.
"And you say Chrom was there as well?" Stahl asked. "Man, did we miss something good!"
"Maybe... but unfortunately, none of us will be there for the moment of truth." Gaius sighed. "Although… I suppose it's how it should be. It should be something only for the two of them to talk about. I just hope that everything works in Bubbles's favor. It would be a shame if the princess turned him down after everything that's happened."
"Oy, but as Sumia say, Lucina like Robin, yes?" Gregor laughed. "Then fear not! No need for the nervousness!"
"Yeah, Gregor's right on this one." Stahl agreed. "Since it's something that they probably both want, then the only logical conclusion is that they end up together."
The three of them stopped talking once they heard the sound of Lucina's giggle coming from down one of the halls. Moments later, they saw Robin appear, with Lucina firmly gripping his left arm with both of hers. Robin seemed to be talking about something to her, and although they didn't hear what he had said, they knew it was something that had caused Lucina to laugh.
"So I take it everything went well?" Stahl called towards the newly formed couple.
As soon as Lucina realized the presence of the other three shepherds, she froze. She hadn't been expecting for anyone to see the two of them together so soon. And certainly not before they talked about it with her father first.
"Yeah." Robin chuckled, which came as a surprise to his new girlfriend. "Thanks guys."
"W-wait... " Lucina stammered. "Th-they knew about… this?"
"Yup." Gaius confirmed as he gave her a thumbs up. "But don't worry, Blue Jr, we're all happy for you two."
"You make Robin a happy man, yes?" Gregor laughed. "He have eye on you for very long time!"
"He… what?" Lucina wondered out loud. She looked up at Robin, and found that he was covering his face with his other hand. Underneath his fingers, Lucina could make out a hint of pink. She giggled at the sight of it; Robin usually never seemed flustered.
"All right, we shouldn't keep you two here for long." Stahl eventually said. "After all, I'm assuming you two are going to find Chrom?"
"Y-yeah." Robin nodded, recovering from his earlier embarrassment.
"Well then, by all means…" Gaius gestured towards the hallway that lead to where the rest of the shepherds were. "I'm sure Blue will be happy to hear it."
"Thanks." Robin smiled. "That means a lot."
The pair walked by them. Lucina gave them an appreciative smile and a nod of courtesy as they passed by. Once the two of them were disappeared, Gaius, Stahl, and Gregor gave each other high fives in celebration.
"I didn't know there were others that cared about… us." Lucina admitted as they walked out of earshot. "Are there any more of them that I should know about?"
"Well… kind of." Robin admitted. "Cordelia knew… and I guess… so did Sumia. Also, Sully might know too…"
"So that's why…" Lucina's eyes widened in realization. "My mother asked me about whether I had a boyfriend or something the other night… she must have had this in mind then."
"I guess I never realized how much everyone cared about me…" Robin chuckled to himself. "They really all came together just for this."
"And it seems I got truly lucky." Lucina giggled to herself.
"My word!" a female voice called out, redirecting the attention of the two of them.
"What is it Maribelle?" Donnel asked, wandering out of their room and into the hallway.
"Look!" Maribelle gestured towards Robin and Lucina to her fiance.
Donnel turned towards them, and found that Lucina was still firmly attached to Robin's arm. "Oh hey, whad'ya know... are y'all together now?"
"Yeah." Robin nodded. Lucina bit her bottom lip and mirrored his action.
"Well, congratulations!" Donnel exclaimed. "I really mean it, gosh darn it!"
"I approve!" Maribelle nodded as she closed her eyes and smiled. She waved an index finger at the two of them. "Far better than some random nobleman's daughter. Those tramps couldn't hold a candle to the princess of the realm! And as for you, dear Lucina, you'll be hard pressed to find a man better than Robin, after all. The two of you are perfect together."
"Thanks Maribelle." Robin chuckled. Meanwhile, Lucina had a sudden fascination with the patterns sewn onto the carpet she was standing on.
Many other shepherds heard the commotion in the hallways and poked their heads out of their rooms to see what was up. Almost everyone took a turn congratulating the two of them when they realized what had happened.
Towards the end of the hall, Anna also poked her head out of her room. When she saw Lucina clinging onto Robin's arm, she instantly understood. She let out a sigh of exasperation. Her face scrunched up into a frown.
"My, you seem upset." Say'ri chuckled. She had also come out of her room to see what was happening, and had happened to see Anna's reaction because her room was directly across from the redhead's.
"Oh, are you trying to say you're not then?" Anna countered. "Hypocrite."
"Fie, maybe I am." Say'ri admitted. "But this is something I have been expecting after all. I'm not sure you'll be able to say the same. Nay, I actually expected you to have a much stronger reaction than this."
"Oh yeah?" Anna sulked.
"Aye, my lady." Say'ri nodded. "A reaction full of frustration, and possibly jealousy. You don't seem to feel either of those two emotions."
"Oh trust me, Say'ri, I feel them BOTH." Anna pouted. "But I guess when I put everything into perspective, I can't really complain."
"And prithee, what might you mean by that?" Say'ri asked, feeling slightly confused.
"Well…" Anna chuckled. "Robin was the one to save me… when I was in a bind. Literally. And because of him, I was given a chance to join the shepherds. I think I'm closer with them than I am with my own family at this point."
She suddenly let out a laugh. "I guess I was always wishfully thinking that I'd be the only one interested in Robin. And to a certain extent, I deluded myself by thinking that Robin must have been into me as well. However, the truth is that because of who Robin is, there will always be girls flocking towards him. It was something I was never guaranteed, yet I kept telling myself it was. Aside from feeling bad about not telling him how I felt earlier, it actually isn't quite as painful as I thought it would have been. After all, I still have the rest of the shepherds to consider my big, happy family."
"Aye, you're right about that." Say'ri nodded. "You're right about that one."
"Well, I'm gonna go take a nap… I guess." Anna waved Say'ri goodbye while simultaneously wiping away a stray tear with her other hand. "It's been good talking… and everything."
Anna closed the door to her room.
"She tried to play it off, but I could tell." Say'ri murmured to herself. "I reckon that girl will be crying herself to sleep tonight."
She sighed, and went back into her own room.
Meanwhile, Robin and Lucina had made their way to Chrom's room. Robin carefully knocked on the door.
"Come in!" they heard Sumia call from inside the room.
Robin looked at Lucina. She smiled up at him and nodded. Robin took a deep breath and opened the door. Chrom was standing in front of the windows on the far side of the room, while Sumia was sitting on their shared bed. She gave the pair a smile and a wave of encouragement.
"Hey… Chrom." Robin began awkwardly as they entered.
"Hey." Chrom nodded at the two of them. He took a moment to inspect them closer, particularly on how Lucina was hanging off his best friend's arm. "So… by the looks of it, I take it you two are together now?"
"Yes." Robin nodded slowly. "And you're fine with it?"
"Well, I just have one question… for Lucina." Chrom replied. At this, Lucina suddenly stood up a little taller.
"Is this something you really want?" Chrom asked. "It wasn't because he… convinced you? I know how he can have a silver tongue when he really puts the effort into it."
"Hey!" Robin protested, causing both the females in the room to giggle at his reaction.
"Yes, father." Lucina finally said. "This is something I want from the bottom of my heart. It's something I've wanted for so long, that I can't even remember what it was like before I felt this way."
Chrom breathed a sigh of relief. "All right then. I have no problems with it."
"Thanks, Chrom." Robin smiled at him.
"Just… take good care of her, Robin." Chrom nodded back at him. "But… I didn't think you needed me to tell you that."
"Don't worry, I will." Robin immediately replied.
"Well, then." Sumia interjected as she clapped her hands together. "Almost everyone has settled in now. There's a few more empty rooms down the hall, why don't the two of you go pick out the two rooms you'll be staying in?"
"Sure." Robin nodded. "Thanks, Sumia."
"W-wait!" Lucina protested.
"Is… something the matter?" Sumia asked her daughter.
"Can we… I mean… um…" Lucina stammered. She couldn't meet her parents' eyes. Her face had turned a deep crimson color. "I… is it fine if the two of us… share a room?" She almost whispered the last part of her question.
Chrom's eyes slightly twitched. "Don't push your luck, young lady. Let's take it a step at a time."
"D'aww!" Sumia giggled. "When did my daughter become such a cute little, blubbering, pile of mush?"
Her expression suddenly turned more serious. "But your father's right. I think it would be better if you two had your seperate rooms."
Lucina's shoulders sank. She was feeling quite sullen about having her proposal rejected. She wanted to argue with her parents. After all, when her mother was her age, her parents had already consummated their marriage. And that wasn't even what she had on her mind! She simply wanted to be able to fall asleep next to Robin. But at the same time, she felt that if she argued too hard, her father might become upset and forbid her from seeing Robin at all. She bit her lip, and decided to stay quiet… for now.
Robin turned towards her and touched her cheek with the other hand that was not being clung onto. "It's fine. We'll have plenty of time to spend together. The war's over, and I doubt we're going to be hurrying back to Ylisse. We can probably afford to take our time going home. I think it's what everyone deserves for going through what we had just gone through."
"Robin's right about that one." Chrom agreed. "There's no reason for us to run ourselves back to Valm Harbor. It would definitely not make me a popular leader if we were to do so. You have my word. You two will have plenty of time to… get to know each other on our journey back home."
"Well then…" Lucina murmured. "Would it be fine for our rooms to be close to each other?"
Robin turned towards Chrom. The Exalt gave a nod. "Sure, that's a much more acceptable proposal."
"All right then, we'll be off." Robin smiled as he waved Chrom and Sumia goodbye with his free hand. "Thanks, once again."
"It's no problem!" Sumia waved back cheerfully. "You two DO look so cute together, by the way!"
That was the straw that broke the camel's back. Lucina felt her knees give out for a moment from embarrassment. There was only so much she could handle. After all, she felt as if she had felt more embarrassed in the past hour than what she had felt in the past several years combined. It was just a short moment, but she had basically put all her weight onto Robin's arm, which caused him to notice.
"Are you…" he whispered.
"I'm fine." Lucina insisted, whispering back to her new boyfriend.
Robin shrugged. "If you say so, I guess."
"Take care." Chrom told them as they exited the room.
"Lucina…." Robin began as soon as the two of them were alone once again. "We don't have to rush anything. I'm more than fine with taking it slow."
"I'm sorry." Lucina lowered her head. "I didn't mean to make an inappropriate suggestion. It's just… I wanted…"
Robin could see her begin to tear up. "What's wrong?" he asked. "I'm not upset at all. In fact, I think that it would be nice to sleep together… in the future. But right now, it might be a little bit too soon."
"I know…" Lucina mumbled. "It's just… I've been having so many nightmares lately… I was kind of hoping that… well… that if I were to sleep next to you, even if I were to have nightmares, I'd wake up and realize that everything would be fine."
"Well, couldn't you just tell yourself that?" Robin asked. "And even if I'm not directly next to you, you could always come find me. Even in the middle of the night."
"Yes, well… then I'd disturb YOUR sleep." Lucina pointed out. "I just want to be able to wake up next to you. Your presence, by itself, is very comforting."
At this, Robin began to laugh.
"Did I… say something funny?" Lucina asked with a worried expression on her face.
"No, no. Sorry." Robin apologized. "It's just… you seem like a completely different person when you're on the battlefield. When you're in a fight, you seem to so ferocious… like the only thing in the world that matters is killing the person directly in front of you. But off the battlefield, you're actually pretty meek."
"Do you… dislike that?" Lucina asked hesitantly.
"Not really." Robin admitted. "It's just surprising… and different, that's all."
"In the future… the rest of my friends all looked up to me to lead them." Lucina told him. "Partially because I was the oldest, but partially because I was in the royal family as well. In order to win the trust of everyone, I HAVE to seem courageous and in control while fighting. And, truth be told, it's pretty easy to do when your life and the lives of all your friends hangs in the balance."
"I understand." Robin stopped walking and pulled her into a hug. "Since you feel comfortable enough to let your guard down, then I have to make sure you have no reason to put it back up again. And besides… I'm glad I get to see your softer side as well. "
Lucina closed her eyes as she wrapped her arms around Robin as well. "Thanks… once again… that's all I can say to you."
After around a minute or two, Robin finally broke their embrace. "Lucina… these two rooms are right across from each other." he gestured to two of the available rooms. "Why don't you take your pick first? I'll be right next to you if your nightmares wake you up in the middle of the night."
Lucina nodded. "Then… I guess I'll pick this one."
"Sure." Robin gave her a kiss on her cheek. "I'll see you at dinner then."
Lucina nodded as she opened the door on their right hand side and walked in, giving Robin one last glance over her shoulder when she did so. She had a small smile on her face.
"I guess this one's for me then." Robin smiled to himself as he claimed the left room.
The Following Day…
Walhart officially declared the Valmese Empire's surrender. Unfortunately for Robin, this meant that he had to take part in many meetings and conferences in order to properly discuss the details of the surrender. As a result, he was unable to see Lucina for most of the morning.
However, Walhart was proving to be quite cooperative and conceded to most of the demands made by the parties harmed by his conquest. The one demand that he refused to comply to was that he step down from the Valmese throne. However, this wasn't a major issue, because Chrom and Ylisse supported Walhart's stance on this one demand. Regna Ferox naturally sided with Ylisse, and Flavia gave her support towards Walhart keeping his seat as well. Virion also agreed to this, provided that the lands that used to belong to Rosanne. However, the one that had shocked the most people was Say'ri's stance. As the sister of Yen'fay, and as the leader of the resistance of the southlands, she was given authority over Chon'sin. However, even though Walhart had been the one to kill her parents, she also seemed to side with the Ylisseans on this issue.
The other parties, namely, the other regions of the southlands, did not play as large of a role in the defeat of the Valmese empire, so they could only bite their tongues and retract this one demand.
Overall, the meetings actually were extremely productive, and the details of the surrender were agreed upon relatively quickly by all parties involved. With that out of the way, Chrom decided that they would depart from Castle Valm this afternoon and begin to head home for Ylisse. They didn't need to rush the journey, but Chrom had decided that they should begin marching at the very least.
The other parties also decided that it was about time for them to head home as well. A few of them were suspicious about Walhart's intentions, but they decided to let it go. After all, Valm was now a small nation once again, and it wouldn't be able to support an army quite as large as what Walhart was able to achieve during his conquest. Furthermore, many of the other regions would keep their guard up against Valm in the future, so the sudden invasion that worked to Walhart's favor would likely not happen a second time. One by one, the other groups left Castle Valm as soon as negotiations were over.
The shepherds were just about to leave as well. Anna was just doing the final checks on all of their carts to make sure they didn't leave anything behind. Chrom was standing towards the front of the train of carts, and was talking with Robin. Lucina was standing close besides them.
Suddenly, Say'ri approached them.
"Sir Chrom! Sir Robin!" Say'ri exclaimed. "Prithee, allow me to accompany you to the coast. 'Twould be an honor to be able to see off the ones to bring salvation to our lands."
"Say'ri!" Robin smiled. "While the sentiment is quite appreciated, I do not believe it is necessary. We'll make our way to Valm Harbor rather slowly, and we can't really demand you to give up that much of your time."
Chrom nodded in agreement. "Aren't the other dynasts already headed home?"
"Aye." Say'ri nodded. "Many of them are, but I thought it would be best to accompany you all one last time."
"You'll be away from home for another period then." Robin frowned. "Don't you miss home?"
"Aye, sir." Say'ri sighed. "But without your help, I may not have a home to return to in the first place. While I do miss it, I also think it is my duty to see this to the end. Once your ships set sail, I'll return home."
"Very well then." Chrom smiled. "First, we'll head to the northeast, towards Rosanne. We'll drop off Virion and Cherche, and then head towards the southeast, to Valm harbor. Now that Walhart has returned the lands he took from Virion, he's elected to stay and help rebuild."
"Sure." Say'ri agreed immediately. "I'm ready to leave at a moment's notice." She gave a nod of acknowledgement towards Robin and Lucina before going towards the rest of the shepherds.
Moments Later…
Lucina was feeling ecstatic. This was the first march in which she could walk next to Robin and openly display her affection for him. She held his hand and happily chatted with him and some of the other nearby shepherds. It was pretty clear that Robin still felt slightly awkward due to what some of the others might think, but he did his best to not show it. Lucina honestly didn't care.
The only other person that was as happy as Lucina was Virion. After spending over two years hiding away in Ylisse, he was finally able to return home. And this time, he was going to marry Cherche when he got back.
However, even though these two were especially happy, it did not mean that the others were not. The overall mood was extremely good because it was essentially the victory march as the shepherds headed back home. The nervous or solemn air was gone, and everyone was happily talking with each other. Some even sang as they walked.
They had been marching for around half a day before Chrom signaled everyone to stop for a rest. The shepherds stopped by the sides of the road, and sat under the shade of some nearby trees.
Lucina sat down next to Robin, who offered her a canteen of water to drink. She smiled and gladly accepted it. She hadn't really noticed how thirsty she was, and managed to down half the canteen immediately.
"You really need to be more mindful of your own health." Robin chuckled. "Otherwise, you could get sick. Once you begin to feel thirsty, it means you're already dehydrated."
"Thanks, I'll remember that." Lucina replied.
"Robin!" Chrom called from several meters away. He was holding what looked like a map in his hands. "Can you come over here for a moment? I need your input on something."
"I'll be right over!" Robin called as he got up. Lucina reluctantly watched him go.
Anna, who had been watching the two of them, took the opportunity to come over and sit next to the princess.
"So… I guess you and Robin are a thing now… huh?" Anna asked her.
"Yeah…" Lucina replied awkwardly. They both didn't want to meet each other's eyes.
"Well, I'd offer my congratulations, except we both know it wouldn't be genuine." Anna continued. "And I'm sure you'd understand if our positions were reversed."
"So get to the point." Lucina looked down at the canteen Robin had left her. "What do you want?"
"I don't WANT anything…" Anna replied. "Well, that's to say, what I want is out of my reach… at the moment. I made a promise that day… and so I'll keep it. I won't look to make any trouble for you or Robin."
"Thanks Anna." Lucina genuinely said.
"But…" Anna continued. "I also can't get rid of these feelings either. I'm sure you can understand." she reached over and tilted Lucina's chin so that their eyes met for the first time in their conversation. Their faces were mere inches apart. "Because of that… I won't do anything to try and break the two of you apart… but if you two ever DO break up, know that I will do everything I can to snatch Robin back up. THAT'S a promise you can expect I'll keep."
"Y-yeah…" Lucina stammered. "I understand."
"Good." Anna got up and giggled. "Now I'll go double check our supplies. One can never be so sure about these things!"
She waved Lucina goodbye, leaving Lucina slightly dumbfounded.
"I'll make sure to keep that in mind." Lucina murmured to herself.
With Robin…
Chrom had wanted to discuss with him which path they should take on the upcoming fork in the road. One went through the mountains, but was a shorter distance. The other was a more roundabout path, but was along the plains. They were spending some time discussing the merits of both paths.
Their discussion was interrupted by Maribelle, who rushed towards them in a hurry.
"Chrom! Robin! We have to hurry!" The Valkyrie exclaimed.
"What's wrong, Maribelle?" Chrom asked in concern.
"There are people fighting just over that ridge!" Maribelle pointed to a nearby hill. "LOTS of people! Some look like civilians too!"
"Looks like it could be bandits." Robin surmised. "Perhaps they need our help."
"Shepherds!" Chrom called. "Prepare for battle!"
The shepherds, besides Sully and Vaike, all groaned at this command, believing that they wouldn't have to fight anyone on their trip back home. However, they got ready for combat just the same.
The shepherds mobilized and began to head up the hill, under the direction of Maribelle.
Mila Shrine Ruins…
"There's nothin' like war for the self made man! No sir!" The Hero named Xalbador laughed. "The strong rise to the top, while the high born try and keep their blue blood inside 'em."
"Hold, defiler!" An elderly man cried out as he walked out from within in the Mila shrine. "This is sacred ground! Your wickedness will be punished!"
"By who!?" Xalbador laughed. "The same gods that abandoned me when I was starving as a boy!? When you see the gods, tell 'em I said they can go rot in hell!"
With that, Xalbador swung down his tomahawk and cleaved the elderly man in two.
"Dastard!" The voice of a young man cried from within the shrine. "I'll gut ya for that!"
The voice belonged to Brady, a priest who was in his teens. He had brownish hair and a scar across his eye.
"Brady, no!" Another voice cried. "Who would tend to the injured if we lost you?"
"That's right, listen to you friend, dog!" Xalbador taunted. "Keep doing the work of women. That's all you're good for anyways!" he and his men had a good laugh at that one.
Their festivities were cut short when a bolt of lightning flew over their leader's head by a mere inch or two and hit the ground a meter away.
"Th' hell!?" Xalbador exclaimed in shock. He turned around to see a group of people that he did not recognize. One of them, a mage, it seemed, had his hand raised, with a yellow tome in his other hand. He was wearing a dark colored cloak.
"That's enough." A regal looking man with blue hair told him. "Consider that one a warning shot. Next time, he won't miss on purpose."
"You nobles!" Xalbador exclaimed, gritting his teeth. "You all think you're so high and mighty! In reality, you couldn't give a damn about your citizens if your lives depended on it!"
"Xalbador, what do we do?" One of his men asked.
"We're leaving." Xalbador told him, but he turned to the newcomers once again. "But we'll be back soon. You nobles better keep a careful eye on your heads. I'll come collect them later."
With that he stormed off.
The shepherds, seeming to have diffused the situation, entered the Mila shrine.
"We thank you for your kindness, milords!" One of the civilians told the shepherds once they had settled inside. "But, the truth is, Xalbador will return. He'll probably bring more of his men with him next time. He'll surely gut us all!"
"Don't you worry!" Maribelle exclaimed. "We're happy to help! If there's one thing that this world needs less of, it's wretched bandits."
Brady, who was busy healing someone, raised his head at the voice. "Wait… I know that voice. Is that… Ma?"
He shook his head. "I'm probably just hearin' things. Why would Ma be here of all places?" at this point, he refocused and began to work on healing the injured villagers. Once he began to work, his mind blocked out everything else, so he didn't notice the rest of the shepherds as they went around the shrine, passing out provisions to the civilians seeking asylum.
Several minutes passed before the peace was broken.
"Bandits!" Donnel cried. "They're back! An' they've got the place surrounded!"
"Then we'll just send those scallywags back to where they came from!" Maribelle responded. "Go inform Robin as quickly as possible!"
Donnel ran off to do just that.
Brady, upon hearing the voice again, decided to run over this time.
"Haw haw haw!" he laughed when he laid eyes on Maribelle. "Oh that's her. That's gotta be her!"
This behavior was immediately noticed by the Valkyrie.
"Pardon me, you mannerless cur!" Maribelle confronted him. "I'll not stand by and be laughed at by a base scoundrel of your ilk!"
"Yep, that clinches it." Brady nodded. "You must be Maribelle."
"And just how do you know that!?" Maribelle demanded. "Do you leer at me from behind the shades of whatever den of iniquity you frequent? I bid you good day!"
With that, Maribelle left without paying him a second thought.
"I guess you've always been like this." Brady chuckled to himself. "Still… it's good to see you again. And now that I've found ya, I'm afraid yer stuck with me."
With Robin…
Robin was busy passing some rations to some of the people in the shrine. Lucina, naturally, was standing next to him, doing the same.
"Thank you mister!" A young boy told him as Robin handed him a loaf of bread.
"My pleasure." Robin smiled at him. Lucina found herself staring at him. He wasn't just helping the civilians because it was his duty. He was genuinely happy to be able to make their lives better. Lucina really admired that in him. Not to mention, seeing him be nice to children was reminding her of her own childhood. She became lost in thought as feelings of nostalgia washed over her.
"Who is she?" A young girl asked Robin, pointing at Lucina. "She's really pretty!"
"Yeah!" The first boy agreed. "Are you two MARRIED!?"
"No." Robin chuckled. "Not yet, at least."
Lucina began to blush at the implications.
"Wow!" The boy exclaimed as he ogled Lucina.
"Charlie!" An older woman cried, dragging the boy away. "Sorry milord. He's just a boy. He doesn't know anything yet."
"No, it's quite all right." Robin assured her. "Make sure he eats well. A boy can't grow unless he's well fed."
"Yes, of course." The woman, who presumably was the boy's mother, nodded. "My thanks, milord."
Robin chuckled as he saw the woman drag the protesting boy away. Immediately, he felt a tug on his sleeve. He turned to see that Lucina was the culprit. Her eyes were downcast.
"Do you really mean-" she began, but was unable to finish her thought before she was interrupted.
"Robin! Robin!" Donnel exclaimed as he ran towards him. "Bad news! The bandits are coming! The bandits are coming."
"Let's save this for another time." Robin told Lucina, giving her head an affectionate rub. "This sounds like it could be trouble."
He immediately took out his Hekseer and went off the find Chrom.
"What does the future hold?" Lucina sighed to herself. "For the first time in nearly a decade, I think I'm actually dying to find out."
Moments Later…
Robin had gotten a general grasp of the situation. It seems that Xalbador had not been kidding around. He and his men had the entire shrine surrounded. There was no way they'd be able to leave unless the shepherds fought through them all.
"How troublesome…" Robin muttered to himself.
Robin had already given orders to the shepherds, and they began to spread out to cover all of the entrances. Nearby, Chrom was ordering the civilians around.
"Make sure you stay here, in the center of the shrine!" Chrom told them. "We'll keep the fighting at the entrances, so you all should be safe as long as the shepherds are still alive. Stay here, and try not to panic. We'll send Xalbador scurrying home with his tail between his legs in no time!"
"Then our lives will be in your hands, milord." A self selected spokesperson told the Exalt. "We shall all pray for your success."
"My thanks." Chrom responded, before heading back towards Robin.
"Where do you want me?" He asked his best friend.
"I think it would be best for you to go help out at the southern entrance." Robin replied. "I'll stay here, and give commands. If one side needs help, I'll be able to rush over in no time."
"Sounds good." Chrom replied before heading off towards the south.
Robin turned back to his Hekseer. Stahl and Sully were leading the defense of the eastern entrance. They were fighting off a Paladin and a Swordmaster, while being supported from the rear by Virion and Tharja. An enemy Sniper shot at Cherche, hitting her wyvern and causing Minerva to get extremely injured.
{Lissa!} Robin called. {I need you to head towards the eastern entrance. Cherche got hit by a Sniper, so please go patch up Minerva.}
{I'm on my way!} he heard the princess exclaim.
{Cordelia, Sumia and Cherche, our enemies seem to be equipped with longbows.} Robin continued. {It will be extremely inconvenient for you all to participate in the battle. Fighting in a cramped, indoor space while our opponents have the freedom to fire at you from a long distance is not a good idea. Go to the center of the shrine and let the rest of us take care of things. Help keep the civilians calm. If we ever charge out of the shrine, I'll inform you so you can join us.}
The three fliers were clearly unhappy with the arrangement, but also knew that Robin made a good point. They begrudgingly moved further inside the shrine.
Robin took a moment to look for Lucina. She was guarding the northwestern entrance with Gregor, Donnel, Nowi and Maribelle. She seemed to be doing fine at the moment, and if she were to get injured, Maribelle would be able to heal her right away. She was currently slashing wildly at an enemy Swordmaster. Despite only wielding one sword to her opponent's two, she was both faster and stronger, and after a minute or two, scored a fatal slash to her opponent's chest.
Robin grinned. There was no need to worry about her.
He surveyed the rest of the map. Kellam was single handedly blocking off the southeastern entrance. It was a small hallway designed to be a sort of emergency exit, but none of that would matter to their attackers, and so the place still had to be well fortified. Robin almost chuckled at a Swordmaster's vain attempts at scoring a hit on Kellam through his heavy armor. Kellam eventually bashed the guy with his shield before gutting him with his heavy lance.
From a distance, a Sniper tried to shoot at the General. However, Kellam didn't fall for the provocation, and stood his ground. The Sniper wouldn't be able to deal damage to him anyways. And he knew he had Ricken behind him to back him up if anything were to happen. Although the Sniper was currently out of Ricken's range, the Sage would definitely be able to blast him if he were to get any closer.
Meanwhile, Chrom, Frederick and Vaike were doing a fine drop guarding the main entrance. The vast majority of Xalbador's troops were located near this location, and so Robin had naturally assigned the most people to guard this entrance. However, because only a couple of the bandits could approach them at a time, the fight was extremely one sided.
Aside from Cherche's accident with an enemy Sniper, the shepherds hadn't sustained any serious injuries yet. In fact, if anything, Xalbador was the one beginning to panic. After all, he's basically watching his men run themselves into the shepherds. It honestly looked like slabs of meat being run through a meat grinder.
Finally, one of his bowmen scored a lucky hit. A sharp cry of pain of a female voice could be heard from within in the temple. Xalbador grinned. 'Looks like the defense of that entrance has been weakened. Time for me to rush in and claim a kill or two for myself!'
Xalbador went off to do just that.
Northwestern Entrance, Mila Shrine Ruins…
"Maribelle!" Donnel screamed in concern, even while holding off an enemy Paladin. His fiance had been shot in the arm by an arrow that seemed to fly out of nowhere.
"Do not have time for the worrying!" Gregor reminded him as he held off his own opponent. "We must continue with the holding off of these evildoers, so that the others will not be making with the getting hurt!" Nowi chirped in agreement in her dragon form as he supported Gregor from behind him.
"Those scoundrels!" Maribelle gritted her teeth. "Had it been anything else, I would have been able to stay safe by being this far back. Those accursed longbowmen!"
{Robin! We need help!} Lucina frantically called. {Maribelle's been injured!}
{Cordelia's on her way.} she heard him reply in her mind. {Lissa still busy with Cherche, and Libra's in the middle of combat right now. Even though she's not as good as either of them, she still has basic proficiencies with a staff.}
Lucina sighed in relief. She was brought out of her thoughts by the jeering of a new opponent.
"Why aren't you a pretty thing?" Xalbador taunted. "Looks like this raid could be worth it after all. Now why don't you lay down your sword. Wouldn't want someone like you to get hurt accidentally."
"Are you the leader of this sorry bunch?" Lucina asked.
"Why, you're an intelligent one." Xalbador chuckled. "However, I have no use for intellect from someone like you. And if you won't get out of the way, I suppose I'll just have to put you in your place."
"I'd like to see you try." Lucina retorted.
Xalbador grinned arrogantly and charged her with his Tomahawk raised high.
However, Xalbador made several mistakes due to his pride. The first was that he naturally assumed that Lucina would not know how to fight. At least, not know how to fight very well. She was a woman, and he was a man. There was simply no way that this girl could be better in combat than him. It was science.
The second mistake was that he completely disregarded the fact that he was using a tomahawk against Lucina's Parallel Falchion. Axes are normally clumsy and inefficient against swords, and the tomahawk exaggerated these weaknesses even further when faced against a sword user in close combat.
Lucina either didn't realize these things or didn't care. She charged forward all the same. Risen or human, dead or alive, if she fought an enemy, she'd fight to kill.
Xalbador didn't realize something was off until his first few swings all missed. But by then, it was too late. Lucina had already dodged to his side, and swiped out with her sword multiple times. Each time Xalbador took a slash to his torso, he could feel himself losing the ability to fight back.
After several exchanges, Xalbador fell to one knee, leaning on his tomahawk for support.
"How… how is this possible?" he groaned.
Lucina ignored him. Her past encounters with the Risen have made her completely numb in regards to feeling sympathy for her opponents. Without saying a word, she walked over and slashed Xalbador across the throat.
"I'll… see you… in hell…" Xalbador croaked before he fell over, dead.
Lucina wiped her brow. "Whew, glad THAT'S over. And if he truly was the leader, maybe the rest of them will begin to retreat. I wonder how Maribelle's doing? Cordelia should be there by now."
She began to walk back into the shrine.
However, when she glanced at Maribelle, she found a figure that was obviously NOT Cordelia tending to Maribelle's injuries. For starters, this figure was a man, or rather, a boy. Even more surprising, it was a boy she recognized. Although Cordelia was standing off to the side, she clearly was just letting the boy do the staff work, possibly because he was more skilled at it.
"Aww Ma!" Brady exclaimed regretfully. "This ain't anyway for our reunion to turn out! Ya can't just let ordinary brigandes get the better of ya! How'd you survive for that long in the future anyways? Must've been th' work o' uncle Robin!"
"Quit your incessant ramblings!" Maribelle retorted, clearly not paying attention to what the boy was saying. "Don't expect me to offer you anything in return either!"
"Brady!?" Lucina exclaimed in shock. "What in Naga's name are YOU doing here?"
The boy in question looked up at her. "Why, if it ain't Lucina!" he exclaimed with a broad smile. "Seems my luck is pretty good today! I guess that clinches it… this group IS the shepherds!"
"I'm surprised you didn't recognize them." Lucina admitted. "But, you've always been thickheaded."
"HEY!" Brady protested. "I was too busy tryna tend to th' injured! Ya can't blame me for focusin' on m'work!"
"All right, you have a good point." Lucina smiled at her childhood friend. "You ARE talented with a staff."
"So Lucina, you know this filthy wretch?" Maribelle asked.
"Aww Ma!" Brady protested. "That's harsh, even from you."
"Wait… Ma?" Maribelle asked. "I'm sorry, but I can only heal physical ailments. You're clearly a deeply troubled individual whose diseased mind is beyond my healing."
"Stop talking for a minute an' look at this!" Brady exclaimed, taking off a ring and showing it to her.
"That ring!" Maribelle exclaimed, instantly recognizing it. "Then… that makes you…"
"Yes, Ma!" Brady nodded. "That's just what I was tryna say! I'm-"
"A thief!" Maribelle interrupted. "A rapscallion! A common lowborn cutpurse! How dare you come here and steal my beloved possessions!"
"Gawds!" Brady exclaimed in exasperation. "Quit yer bleatin' for one blessed second an' check yer own ring!"
Maribelle glanced at her hand. "Oh. It's still here."
"And the fact that I know Lucina should indicate somthin'." Brady continued. "That clear things up any, Ma?"
A look of realization crossed over Maribelle's face. "Everything, save how I gave birth to a common thug!"
"Yeesh!" Brady exclaimed. "I may not be the prettiest guy around, but I AM your son! ...And it's also good to see you… again."
"How did I ever permit my child to refer to me as 'Ma'?" Maribelle asked herself as she facepalmed.
"You gave up tryin' after a decade or so." Brady informed her.
"Well can you at least ride?" Maribelle asked. "Have you read the classics? Do you play violin? Chess?"
"Yes, yes, yes an' yes." Brady told her. "All of th' above. You beat all'a that junk into me."
"Glory be!" Maribelle sighed in content. "My son is salvageable after all! And don't worry dear, now that mother's here, I'll take care of things from now on."
"Thanks, Ma!" Brady smiled, wiping a stray tear away from his eye.
"So, Brady," Lucina continued. "Is anyone else with you?"
Brady frowned. "No, I'm 'fraid not. Got separated from th' rest'o them. An' can you really blame me? I was frickin thirteen when we got to this time! I was too busy just tryna survive, and didn't have th' time or money to even begin to look for everyone else."
"How unfortunate." Lucina sighed.
"What about you?" Brady asked. "Who else is with us?"
"No one." Lucina replied glumly. "It's just me. And you now, I guess."
"Well gosh darn, that's no good!" Brady exclaimed. "I mean, I guess it feels nice bein' the first one found an' all, but the fact yer all here means the war with Valm is prolly goin' on. We could use everyone's help!"
"Actually, dear." Maribelle interrupted. "The war is already over. We defeated Walhar, and we're on our way back to Ylisse. It seems the news hasn't traveled here yet."
"What!?" Brady exclaimed. "That means… we missed the entire war?"
"Yeah." Lucian shrugged. "But the shepherds still managed to win. After all, they already did it once before."
"Gosh darn it!" Brady exclaimed in rage. "I woulda loved to see ol' Pops in action! That man was a livin' legend! Or… IS a livin' legend, I guess."
"Oi!" A gruff voice called to them. "The bandits are making with the retreating!" Gregor laughed as he walked back inside the shrine.
"Them little piggies are squeakin' back to their hideout, methinks!" Donnel agreed.
"Pops!" Brady exclaimed as he tackled Donnel in a hug. He began to sob. "Oh Pops, how I missed ya!"
"Er… Maribelle?" Donnel asked awkwardly. "What's this guy's problem? I ain't never seen a guy like this 'un b'fore!"
"He's apparently our son!" Maribelle informed him. "And I think I now know the reason behind his speech impediment. I hope you're ready to face your… consequences."
Donnel gulped at the venom that seemed to be dripping from her voice. "Yes ma'am! Sorry ma'am!" he hurriedly said.
Lucina brought a hand to her mouth to cover the smile that was beginning to form from the antics of Brady's family reunion. She felt a hand on her shoulder.
"Robin?" Lucina asked, turning around.
"That's me." Robin grinned. "The rest of the bandits are retreating. I think their leader was killed."
"Yeah, I think I might have killed him." Lucina nodded.
"Nice work." Robin gave her a thumbs up. "Chrom's talking with the civilians. Apparently, they're scraping together something to give us as a thanks for our help. After that, we'll be on our way."
It was then that Robin noticed Brady sobbing into Donnel's chest.
"Uhm... " Robin pointed to them. "Can you explain what that is?"
"Oh, him." Lucina giggled. "That's Brady, Donnel and Maribelle's son. He came to the future with me. Let me introduce you to him."
"Hey Brady!" Lucina called. "Here's someone else you'll no doubt remember!"
Brady looked towards Lucina, and saw Robin standing next to her.
"Uncle Robin!" Brady continued to sob as he ran over and gave him a hug as well. "Oh, I missed ya too, gosh darn it!"
"U-uncle!?" Robin exclaimed in shock, which caused Lucina to giggle some more.
"That's what most of my friends refer to you as." she explained. "And you DID spent a significant amount of time with all of us."
"I still 'member the arithmetic tricks ya taught me!" Brady continued to sob. "Never got t' tell you this, but they saved me from a serious beating from m' Ma!"
"Well, it seems like I was certainly a well respected guy in the future…" Robin chuckled nervously.
"Robin!" Chrom called from far away.
"All right, it looks like Chrom is almost finished." Robin said out loud. "That means we're almost ready to hit the road again. We'd better introduce Brady to him before we do."
"Yeah, you bet!" Brady exclaimed, clearly happy to have found his parents and Lucina again.
Brady: HP: 65% Str: 50% Mag: 55% Skl: 45% Spd: 50% Luck: 80% Def: 35% Res: 50%
Age: 15
Class: Priest