A/N: Text in brackets, like [this] is meant to be in Chon'sin's language. Not particularly relevant to this chapter, but should be noted.
—-
The Ylissean royal palace was filled with people milling about, be them government officials, guards, members of the Exalt's personal defense force, or the royal family themselves. In this state of normal palace activity, we see two men walking and talking to one another, one with blue hair, and one with white hair.
"Okay, but are you sure you can handle me being gone?" Robin asked, slightly teasing with a hint of genuine concern evident in his voice.
"Well, are you ready to go?" Chrom responded, clearly trying to get his closest friend and advisor to stop worrying.
"Yeah, but I-"
"Same here. You're acting like if I would rule without your advice, the country would be on fire within a week."
"Chrom, you are my best friend, so I think it is safe to say I know you. And with that in mind, I can confidently say that you are not good at statecraft at all and are generally reckless and bullheaded, which is going to cause issues."
"Come now, it is not like my emotions fully override my ability to lead. I was head of the Shepherds and that went well," Chrom stated with his usual level of confidence.
"I was the one coming up with strategies. You were useful in inspiring the troops, but if you were to actually lead them in battle, I wouldn't be surprised if the army would get routed by a bunch of peasants with pitchforks."
"I'm not that bad, am I?"
"Your loses in board games due to your impatience and inability to plan forward has led to you losing to every Shepherd bar Vaike, plus me and Morgan have been able to beat you in a single turn in many of them," Robin said, before adding "Which might I add, should not be realistically possible, and the only other person that has lost that badly is Vaike."
"Clearly I'm not the worst," Chrom responded. "Plus all that means is that I need competent advisors which I have. Maribelle can easily advise me in matters regarding domestic policy. Since Anna is sticking around, I can get her help with fiscal policy. There are still plenty of people to help with military matters. And finally, international relations should be easy, given at worst I just have to follow what you or Flavia are doing."
"Ah, so he can be taught," Robin's condescension evident, "I would not fully take to just following others' international policies, since that would make Ylisse seem weak."
"You act like we have enemies on this continent anymore. Ylisse is allied with Regna Ferox and Plegia is currently incapable of waging war, so we only have to fear invasion from Valm." Robin looked like he was going to say something, but Chrom continued before he could say anything, "And at that point, we should be looking to our Chon'sin allies for at least a warning."
"You know, I was being sarcastic before, but clearly you have grown in ability in regards to managing a country. And here I was thinking the man who got married to a woman he only just met a week before wasn't going to be a capable leader."
"You act like you are any better, you and Say'ri were practically inseparable within a month," Chrom said, a defensive tone showing.
"One, that was still longer, and two, we still haven't been married, and we only got engaged after three months on campaign," Robin responded also defensively, seemingly perturbed at the idea of being as reckless as Chrom.
"Wait, does that mean that…"
"Call my daughter a bastard Chrom, and we'll know what would've happened if I didn't have that prophetic dream," Robin said with his most threatening voice, which had hints of the fell dragon to it.
"Alright, alright. Regardless, I'm going to miss you, your daughter, and our occasional verbal or literal sparring matches," Chrom said, a tone of sadness to it.
"I'll miss you too. But hey, it's not like we will never see each other again, we still have meetings and diplomatic visits to look forward to."
"True, but it just won't be the same without you working late into the night, or Morgan running around, helping you with the latest issue that had popped up."
"I can't say that I won't miss this place, but in the end, we knew this was going to happen, the fact that it has been a few months since Grima's fall just meant that me and Morgan's time here lasted longer than maybe it should have."
"I did organize a few things before you left in order for you to not feel as lonely. But for now, here is a departure fitting for two heroes of Ylisse."
Robin was a bit befuddled by his remark, before Chrom opened the gate they had just reached, and soon he saw the various Shepherds who were still in Ylisstol throwing confetti into the air or holding a banner saying "Safe Travels Robin and Morgan".
Morgan herself was among some of the other time-traveling children, clearly enjoying her time with friends. Lucina left due to not wanting to cause issues for their parents, Gerome had gone to find more wyverns for Minerva, Severa just wanted to prove herself outside of her family, and Inigo had gone chasing after Severa's and other women's skirts.
This meant that it was Yarne, Owain, Noire, Kjelle, Nah, Brady, Cynthia, and Laurent. Laurent was standing away, wanting to show some support while not being too close. Meanwhile, Cynthia and Owain were giving Morgan a speech about her leaving the Justice Cabal (unofficially). Yarne was forced into staying next to Morgan due to her constantly petting his fur. Kjelle, by contrast, was looking solemnly at the young tactician, as if to drill her training regimen into her brain telepathically. Brady and Nah were helping Morgan by getting some of her stuff onto the wagon Robin and Morgan planned to use. And finally, Noire was just kind of standing there, wondering about what she should be doing.
The parents of the various future children were clapping Robin on the back, giving him their thanks for the help in the various wars, and that they'll miss him. Tharja was a bit creepier than the others, but it was sincere, and not particularly romantic due to her having been married and getting a bit over her infatuation with Robin. She still liked him, but now as a creepy friend and him being the second most important man in her life.
Lissa had also attempted to put a frog down Robin's shirt, but he had stopped that and instead got a worm in her sleeve (how he got that worm on such short notice will never be known). Gregor and Gaius also offered him a drink, Gaius' having much more sugar in it than Gregor's (Robin took Gregor's). Cordelia and Sumia also gave Robin a book each for the ride, though Sumia also accidentally gave him a copy of The RIbald Tales of, which Robin did not get much farther into the title before handing it back to her. Vaike also wanted to have a quick spar with him, but Robin refused due to concerns about the nearby wagon.
But the jubilation soon began to die down as Robin and Morgan needed to leave soon, and so the Shepherds finally saw their tacticians leaving for Chon'sin, waving back to the group as they left.
"Ack!" Robin onomonapia, before thrusting the hand he was not waving at the Shepherds down the back of his shirt, before pulling out a frog. "When did that get there?" Morgan asked aloud. "Lissa," Robin said, not elaborating further.
—-
After some sailing, wagon riding, and the occasional bandit/Risen attack, Robin and Morgan soon found themselves at the gates of a large, multi-story castle with slanted roofs. It sat on an elevated section of land, with a moat surrounding the steep stone bricks that held the castle above the water.
The two soon met with the guards at the entrance, one of whom said, "[What is your business here?]"
Oh dear gods, I don't know how to speak Chon'sinese. Robin thought to himself, before immediately jumping into trying to come up with a plan in order to communicate with them.
That line of thought was made irrelevant as Morgan, after waiting a bit in order to see if her father would say anything, responded for him saying, "[We seek to talk with Empress Say'ri.]"
"[Bah]", Robin at least understood that part, "[Why would the Empress want to speak with outsiders who likely aren't even nobility?]"
"[Tell her that Robin and Morgan have come to speak with her]," Morgan retorted, a level of confidence exuding from her.
The guards, taken aback, said, "[We'll pass the message along.]"
After some time, Robin and Morgan were ushered into the palace's throne room. The throne where Robin expected Say'ri to be was empty, as either she was not there to begin with, or had somehow rushed to his side, as she was now hugging him. Robin, after a moment of recognizing what happened, reciprocated the hug, with Morgan joining in during Robin's moment of confusion.
"My heart has ached for every moment you two were not by my side," Say'ri said, breaking the silence that surrounded the hug. "I miss you too Mom," Morgan responded, a hint of sadness, but overall joy at the new situation. "I'm sorry it took us so long but-" Robin wanted to continue further, but Say'ri interrupted with, "I know why you were gone. I'm just glad to have you both with me again."
"[Uh, why are you so friendly with the foreigners, Empress?]" One of the guards said, as he was forcefully volunteered to ask.
"[The man is my betrothed, Robin the Grandmaster of Ylisse]" Say'ri said, somewhat annoyed at the fact she had to disengage from the hug and had to tell her guards about who Robin and Morgan were. "[The true identity of the girl should not be spoken of outside the palace, but she is my daughter from the future, Morgan]".
The guards now looked even more confused, "[Wait, he is the Demon Tactician of Ylisse? The one led an elite force into battle with no casualties, who were able to-]"
"[Defeat Walhart, Plegia, and the Fell Dragon Grima despite having connections to the last. Yes, that's my father]" Morgan said, interrupting the guard as she was also annoyed at the circumstances. "[Can you just go now?]"
The guards, knowing they couldn't really ignore the will of the new Princess of Chon'sin, even if she had not been crowned as such yet, left to guard the parts of the palace they were assigned to, leaving the family alone in the throne room.
"So, we should probably get introduced to the palace's servants and layout?" Robin said after the guards left.
"Aye, but first," Say'ri then grabbed Robin and Morgan, hugging them again, "I wish to hear of what has happened since we departed".
—-
A/N: And that's the new fic's first chapter. I doubt many of you thought I would write a new chapter so soon. Well, that's where you're wrong. In any case, this story is going to be mostly a fluff slice of life affair, with any and most drama either being resolved relatively quickly or be of a more political deal. Honestly, while I think A Betrayed and Cruel Love was alright (at least right now), it hurt me to write, at least to some extent, and so this functions as a long lasting palette cleanser of sorts. Regardless, I hope you enjoy and will stick around for both this and future works.