Author's note: For people wondering what was added, check Author's Unprompted Ramblings or Cordelia's Tale Act I Part VII
What Remains of Ylisse
Cordelia's Tale: Act I
Child of Chaos
Part I
Smoke filled her lungs as she scrambled through the burning halls of the outpost. Bright flames flickered and danced before her eyes, eating away at the walls and floors. She covered her eyes with her arms as she coughed.
Mere moments ago she had been tending to her pegasus, and the next her nose was filled with the smell of smoldering flesh. The screams of her comrades pounded at her ears and made her heartbeat climb.
Her foot slipped on a pile of ash, sending her tumbling to the hot floor. She hurriedly sat upright and tried to get to her feet, but a rough hand shoved her back to the ground.
She looked up from the burning floor to see a man with a steel covering over his jaw. He was one of the ones who started the fire; she was sure of it. He pushed her down with his free hand and raised his axe to the ceiling. She shut her eyes in terror as the steel weapon began to swing down towards her.
A clang of steel forced her terrified eyes open to reveal a woman holding the man's axe at bay with her blade.
"Cordelia! Get up!" She yelled as she used all her strength to shift the axe away. "You have to get out!"
"Catrina!" Cordelia yelled back as she got to her feet. "I'm not- I can't leave you!"
"Yes you are, gods-dammit!" Catrina shifted her feet and continued to block the axe while her green hair flapped in the wind. The man was bearing over her with a demented grin.
"B-but…" There had to be a way for Cordelia to save her. "I can help you! We can take down these-"
"You can help me by staying alive and getting the hell out of here!" Catrina growled back as the axe slid down the blade of her sword. She knew her time was running out. "That's an order, cadet! Now move!"
Regretfully, Cordelia took a few steps back and broke into a sprint in the opposite direction. She resumed her escape as Catrina's screaming was added to the chorus of flame and wailing.
An open doorway shone at the end of the hallway; safe haven from the flames of war. Cordelia ducked her head underneath the crumbling support pillars for the roof and emerged into the sunny outside. She panted for breath and turned around.
Amidst the snowy mountains near Regna Ferox, the outpost of the Ylissean Pegasus Knights burned with an intense flame. A circle of wyvern knights flew above as though they were vultures.
She had to force her eyes away from the bright flame as she ran towards the stables. Inside, the frenzied neighs of the pegasi made Cordelia cover her ears as she opened the gates that kept them inside.
One by one, the pegasi fled the stables and flew away in various direction. One remained in the stables; a mare by the name of Aurora that Cordelia treasured from the first day she joined.
Cordelia mounted the steed and flew off. Her grip tightened on the reigns as she remembered what Phila had told her earlier today. Chrom and the Shepherds were going to march through Breakneck Pass. If she could intercept them to join their ranks, she could inform them of what had occured.
Her thoughts drifted back to her comrades. Why had they saved her?
"Sir, please! You have to listen to me!" An old man wearing a green hat fell to his knees before another man riding a wyvern. "Gangrel promised me amnesty!"
Vasto turned his attention from the groveling Hierarch to a group of Ylisseans that were fast approaching, led by a man dressed in white with blue hair. His wyvern gazed around at the mountain ridge to the right before growling at the old man.
"Tell me why you did it." Vasto sneered. "More specifically, turn around and tell the Exalt why you killed his sister." As the rays of sunlight blinded the Hierarch, all he could focus on was Vasto's smirking head that blocked out the sun
"Al-alright…" With a cough, the Heirarch stood upright then turned to face Chrom.
"Why? Why did you murder Emmeryn?" Chrom scowled as he struggled to remain upright; the damned assassins from last night had taken his mobility in the raid. "You taught her everything she knew, and you slaughtered her!" Robin rushed to Chrom's side and helped him remain upright.
"It was all about…" The Hierarch struggled to breathe. He felt sick to his stomach as the stares from the Shepherds tore through him like knives through a sheet of paper. "Gangrel offered me safe haven in exchange for information. I simply had to-"
Robin watched in shocked horror as Vasto's wyvern reared up behind the Hierarch and angled its head sideways. The wyvern chomped into the man's sides, who shrieked in horror as he was lifted into the air and shaken around like a bone for a hound.
"Rats like you deserve no haven…" Vasto laughed maniacally while his wyvern continued to shake the old man in its jaws. "Before they are thrown off the ship!" Using his reins to direct his mount, Vasto grinned from ear to ear as his wyvern tossed the old man through the air.
"Gods!" Sumia, Lissa and various other Shepherds let out a cry of disgust as the Hierarch's lifeless body sailed through the air as though it were nothing more than a sack of vegetables, then tumbled down the side of the cliff face.
"Alright men!" Vasto raised his axe towards the blue skies with a cheer. His eyes focused squarely on the crippled Exalt. "First, we take their lives! Then, we take their land!" The hoard of armed soldiers behind Vasto roared as they charged into battle behind their commander.
"Alright everyone, battle formations!" Robin stepped away from Chrom while Frederick rushed to his aid, knowing his duty was at Chrom's side and Robin's was at the field. Robin began to point and wave his hands as though he were conducting an orchestra. "Chrom, you're riding with Sully today. Stahl and Vaike, follow Sully and Chrom in case any lancers flank them."
Robin watched as Frederick hoisted Chrom onto Sully's horse, who rode by the side of Stahl's horse towards the enemies. "Kellam, go protect Miriel. Lon'qu, bring up the frontlines with Lissa backing you." Robin's focus shifted to see Gaius whistling to himself while kicking a pebble, and Sumia clasping her hands to her face in horror at the death of the Hierarch.
"How could that man just… Gods, that's inhumane!" Sumia muttered to herself as she turned to face Robin.
"Gaius, stay with Sumia and deal with any archers." Robin noticed the immediate look of annoyance from Gaius.
"Buddy, if you think my scrawny body is gonna protect her from some pointy arrows, then you are the worst tactician this side of Ylisstol." Gaius laughed to himself before he noticed that Robin wasn't laughing with him. "Oh gods you're actually serious." His face changed to a concoction of fear, anger, despair, and just blind amazement that this was the best Robin could come up with.
Gaius' chuckling was cut short when he felt a rush of air tickle his back, then felt a pair of hands grab him by the waist and lift him up. "What the hell!" Gaius frantically waved his arms and looked behind to see that it was Sumia who lifted him up.
"You're pretty lightweight, too." Sumia sighed as she placed Gaius in the back seat of her pegasus, clambered aboard, then began to fly off. "Wait, Robin! Could you please go check the gorge to see if the Hierarch's still alive?"
"A fall that high surely must have killed him," Robin answered back.
"I know, but there's always a chance. Plus, if he somehow survived, he could do even more damage." Sumia shrugged her shoulders then flew off while Gaius glared at Robin from the second spot on her saddle.
"She makes a good point…" Robin considered as he began walking towards the cliff. As he leaned over and got a good look at the canyon floor, he discovered why exactly it was called Breakneck Pass; a fall from the pass to the canyon floor would quite literally break one's neck without a shadow of a doubt. At the very bottom of the gorge, he could see the faint outline of the Hierarch's body being swept downstream in crimson water. One less informant for Plegia taken care of, but it was too late to undo the damage he had done.
Like a lost child returning to their mother, his thoughts drifted to that night last week, the night Emmeryn had been slain. Robin had followed Chrom while they tore through waves of Plegian assassins, even with Chrom's bleeding knee. The look on Chrom's face as he stood over Emmeryn's corpse with tears in his eyes… It wasn't a look Robin wanted to remember, but it was imprinted in his mind all the same.
Robin had some experience with grief, losing his mother the same day he had met Chrom and Lissa. But it didn't make the following morning any easier. This wasn't even accounting for the headache-inducing procedures like the funeral arrangements, Chrom's impromptu rite of passage as the Exalt, breaking the news to the public that their Exalt had been slain-
"Hold it right there, buddy." An unfriendly voice spoke behind Robin, and he turned around to see a Plegian soldier standing before him with a bow drawn and aimed at his heart. "Guess you should've been more observant of your surroundings, huh?"
Robin slowly raised his hands to the sky in an act of surrender. None of his friends were in the immediate area, leaving him stranded with nothing but a lethal drop at his back. "Put the magic book down before I let this arrow loose."
A sigh escaped Robin's lips as he dropped his tome to the ground. The soldier began to smile and speak in a giddy tone while he kept his drawstring taught. "I… I did it! I outsmarted Ylisse's master tactician! I'm a hero! Gangrel's gonna have fun picking your brain for secrets. Maybe he'll be kind enough to torture you."
"I need to think of something... I could hit him with a riddle and strike while he's distracted." Robin thought, trying his hardest to not smirk and betray his inner workings. "I have a-"
Before Robin could enact his plot, the soldier was knocked over by a blur of crimson and white that floated above the ground and sounded like a horse. As he tumbled to the ground, his hands let fly an arrow and he watched as it sailed into Robin's knee. The last thing the soldier heard before a lance plunged into his heart was the sound of Robin screaming in agony.
Intense pain shot through Robin's knee as he lied on his side and stared at the arrow sticking out of it. He slowly turned his head to see that soldier, dead and stabbed through the chest by a figure standing above him. He looked up with a pained expression to see who his savior was.
The first thing Robin noticed was her long strands of red hair that flapped in the wind like cloth on a flag. She looked to be a pegasus knight, judging by her namesake pegasus behind her and her armor that bore similarities to Sumia's, just with a red and white motif instead of purple and pink. She held a bloodied lance upright in her metal gauntlets as she stood against the setting sun, and Robin noticed that her armor had scrapes and cuts on it that revealed parts of her skin.
"Uh… Hi there." Robin coughed out as he clutched his knee and noticed that this woman was mumbling, completely oblivious to him. "Hello?" She looked as though her mind was someplace else.
"Ah!" The woman jumped up in surprise as she noticed Robin and leaned over him, then noticed the bloodied section of his pants around his knee. "Oh, gods that's a great deal of blood..."
"Would you mind helping me out here?" Robin asked, knee still throbbing.
"I have some salve here…" Robin watched as the woman walked to her pegasus and grabbed a bottle and some cloth out of a saddle bag. He swore that she mumbled along the lines of 'they're all dead' while she reached into the bag. "My name is Cordelia, by the way." Her eyes looked very frazzled.
"Wait, you're the Cordelia? The star recruit of the Ylissean Pegasus Knights?" Robin couldn't believe his luck; rescued by the most capable pegasus knight in the land.
"I… suppose…" Cordelia got down on her knees and dabbed the cloth into the bottle. "Please don't call me that. Just Cordelia is fine."
Robin watched as she pulled her gauntlets off to reveal her pale fingers that held his knee. "Now, this might sting a little." What confused Robin was that Cordelia seemed to be fighting back tears. "I can do this… I can do this…" She quietly spoke to herself. But Robin had other things to think of, like the searing pain that shot through his body as Cordelia pulled the arrow out of his knee and quickly applied salve to his wound. "Sorry! Sorry! I was told that worked!"
"No, no! You're doing great! It just... stings, is all!" Robin tried to comfort her given how obvious her distress was. It probably dwarfed his own.
Once Cordelia applied a bandage to Robin's wound, she helped him to his feet. Now that they stood together, Robin noticed that Cordelia was slightly taller than him. After watching Robin almost trip back to the ground from just one step, Cordelia suggested that Robin take a ride on her pegasus.
"How did you know who I was?" Cordelia asked as Robin sat behind her with his arms wrapped tightly around her waist for support.
"Phila told us a lot about you." Robin responded. "But why is your armor so damaged?"
Cordelia's silence told Robin everything he needed to know. Something personal had happened to her.
By the time Cordelia had gotten to where Chrom was, Vasto had been killed by Gaius with a dagger to the back and laid dead on the canyon floor.
"Alright, that's enough." Chrom sheathed his blade as Robin and Cordelia both got to their feet. "I'm proud of each and every one of yo-"
The Shepherds watched in mild horror as Cordelia leaned over Vasto's body and aimed her lance down at his lifeless face. She recognized his armor and metal jaw-plate from the men who had burned her friends and family to the ground. She mumbled something as she stabbed Vasto's head with her lance. She stabbed his head again. All of the Shepherds, besides Robin and Chrom, took a step back.
Once Vasto's head resembled a bloody pile, Cordelia sat atop his body and began punching it with her fists. With every strike, her posture loosened until she wasn't sitting on his body but rather laying on it. Both the rage and exhaustion in her voice was at a peak as she let out a scream of rage.
Vasto's body was unrecognizable as Cordelia stood up, looked at the Shepherds, then began to sob profusely before Robin began to walk towards her. She needed a shoulder to cry on and Robin deemed that he was-
"Coming through!" Sumia shoved past Robin and ran to Cordelia's side, giving her a hug. "Everyone, just give her some time."
Cordelia began to sob profusely into Sumia's shoulder. "She's been through a lot..."
A few minutes of checking the battlefield for stragglers passed. Cordelia went to discuss her joining with Chrom and Frederick once she had the strength to draw away from Sumia. Robin, on the other hand, immediately made a beeline for Sumia.
"Do you know her?" He asked. His shoulders still hurt from being shoved aside.
"Childhood friends." Sumia quickly answered as she stroked her pegasus' mane. "She just told me our squadron was wiped out."
"Oh..." Robin replied as he looked to the rocky ground. "She was close with them, wasn't she?"
"You could say that." Sumia turned and looked to Robin. There was something in her expression that wasn't being revealed by her words, and Sumia knew that Robin was aware of it now. "She said Catrina saved her life"
"Who's she?" Robin asked again.
"Our squad leader, and Cordelia's harshest judge."
The roar of the Shepherds campground was loud, constant and as overbearing as a judgemental parent. News was abound the entire area while the Shepherds discussed the comings and goings of their day, intersperced with revelations regarding the Heirarch or the Ylissean Pegasus Knights that had been revealed earlier. Sumia, however, could focus on none of it as she sat on a log by herself.
All her mental capacity was taken up by Cordelia, worrying for her while also feeling a strange sensation in her gut knowing that her former squadmates were all gone. She wasn't exactly on the best of terms with them, what with her leaving the squad to join the Shepherds (partially because she found their hazing too intense), but the knowledge that they had all perished still gnawed at her. Loss was not something she was prepared to deal with, regardless of how close she was with the lives lost that day.
"Just... gone." She thought to herself. "Just a swipe of a sword is all it takes for a life to be taken from this earth..." The thought continued to eat away at her, burrowing into her head and festering like a weed as it propogated more ideas that were hard to swallow. "Should I visit their families? What would I even say? How many Plegians are feeling this way about the soldiers I've killed?" She stood up and took a deep breath. "Focus. Cordelia needs you. " Sumia put her thoughts on hold, a skill she had to learn through years of dealing with invasive self-criticisms, and began to walk back to her tent. The other Shepherds noticed and waved to her, prompting her to wave back and briefly wear a smile before her face shifted back to a more dour stare. Eventually, she reached her tent and ducked her head as she entered it. Amidst her containers full of clothes, washroom materials, and all other sorts of items was a bed currently being occupied.
Cordelia sat atop Sumia's bed with her knees brought up to her chest and held tight by her arms, while her back was facing Sumia. She was visibly shaking, and Sumia realized she would have to avoid startling her. "Hey, Cordy?" She spoke in a quiet tone, keeping her distance and trying to convince herself she couldn't possibly give her best friend a heart attack from surprise. Cordelia had no visible reaction while Sumia took a very small step forward. "How are you holding up?"
"I'm fine." Her head was angled down to the ground. Her voice sounded hoarse and tired. Sumia didn't respond as she continued to approach, eventually reaching the bed and sitting next to Cordelia but facing the opposite direction. "You don't need to check on me." She shifted her gaze to Sumia, then back to the floor.
"I don't need to, but I want to." Sumia replied. "You're the only other person here shouldering this grief I feel." Cordelia said nothing, instead sniffling her nose while Sumia kept her hands at her side. "It's... suffocating." This was what finally got a response: a nod from Cordelia.
"I should've been the one to protect them, not the other way around." Her tone shifted and grew colder, slamming down on Sumia with its intensity.
"Please don't say that. I don't know what I would do without you. It's bad enough Catrina and the others aren't with us anymore, but if I lost you..." Sumia shifted her gaze to Cordelia and slowly put a hand on her shoulder. "I think I would crack."
"But why me? Why did they save me?" Cordelia asked, not reacting to Sumia's hand on her shoulder.
"We don't know what they were thinking, but it's what they chose. You were the youngest member there after I left, so maybe that was-"
"My skill is nothing compared to theirs. The only thing I can do right is trip and fall in front of an armed soldier." Cordelia cut her off, her harsh tone refusing to leave. Sumia sighed as she tried to think of a response.
"Do you remember when Mia had us do drills in the middle of a sweltering summer day?" Sumia tried a different approach, hoping Cordelia would obliege and follow it.
"Yes. You looked like you had jumped into a lake by the end of it." Cordelia did indeed follow along, her voice sounding lighter than before. "Smelled worse than the stables, too." She cracked a smile.
"And I was also laying on the floor, too tired to get up. In fact, weren't you the only person still standing by the end? I think even Mia might've passed out by the end."
"I was, yes." Cordelia said nothing else, but Sumia trusted she was smart enough to reach the same conclusion she had.
"Or what about that time Klara's pegasus went missing? How we both teamed up to track it down, only to find it stuck in a tree."
"You were the one that calmed the pegasus down." Cordelia interjected, but this didn't deter Sumia.
"Yeah, but I couldn't climb the tree to get it out. You did. Klara even thanked you specifically when we brought it back."
"...I suppose she did." Again, Cordelia's voice was noticably less harsh than before.
"Or how about that time when..." Sumia tried again, only to freeze. The metaphorical dam she had made to try and control her grief was breaking down the more memories she pulled out of it. Her eyes watered up. "That time when... Catrina..." She began to sob, slamming her free hand on the bed and lightly shaking it. "G-Godsdamnit..."
"That time when Catrina..." Cordelia tried to finish her train of thought, only to hit the same emotional roadblock while she also began to cry.
"I never even got to say goodbye to them, for real!" Sumia wailed. "All they ever knew me as was the flunk!"
"They never saw you as that." Through her tears, Cordelia managed to squeak a few words out before she leaned in close to Sumia. "They always... talked about how much they missed you..."
"Gods..." Sumia and Cordelia embraced on the bed, each crying into the others shoulder while they shared their memories of the squadron, and their grief.
"Hey, Sumia?" Robin called out from outside the tent. "Are you in here? I need to ask you somet-" Through the flap of the tent, Robin could see the two of them huddled on the bed. "Oh, uh... sorry. I'll just-"
"I'll be out soon!" Sumia called out, opting to remain with Cordelia for a few more moments. "Thanks for talking with me." She mumbled into Cordelia's shoulder.
"I should be the one thanking you." Cordelia sniffled back as Sumia withdrew and stood up. "Do you think anyone would mind if I took stock of the armory? I need something to distract myself."
"If you really want to, nobody would stop you, but-" Sumia was cut off by Cordelia standing up and already heading out the tent. She quickly followed, noted that Cordelia waved and smiled to Robin as though they had already met, and especially noted the fact that Robin's gaze followed her as she walked away. "Is there something you wanted to ask me?"
"Well, yes, kind of but." He looked flustered. "Sorry, I just remembered I have some other stuff I really should get to. Can we talk about Cordelia tomorrow at breakfast?"
"Sure?" Sumia raised her eyebrow, trying to think of the last time she had seen Robin this clearly unfocused. Her confused stare remained on her face even as he walked away, leaving her staring at nothing but air while Gaius walked up to her.
"Hey, Sumia." He stood at her side and checked her face, noting the confused look and wondering what she was thinking of. "You in there? Hello?"
"Right! Sorry, I was just distracted. What do you need?" She snapped back to reality and looked at Gaius.
"I'm bored and figured I could hang with you." His nonchalant tone was a very sharp contrast to her conversation with Cordelia. A contrast she realized she could use more of as she nodded her head and walked away with Gaius.
Later that night, Cordelia paced back and forth in the armory of the Shepherds' camp. Her thoughts should've been on the kind words her new companions had given her, but instead all she could think about was Catrina's last words.
"How am I helping her? When have I ever helped her?" Catrina was always the first to call Cordelia out on any slight mistake, or even a triumph. She was the one who had concocted the pet name of Little Lady Genius. But despite all her teasing, her mocking, and her rude behavior, she had risked her life for Cordelia's. Why?
This question had rose to such a fever pitch in her mind that Cordelia began sorting the weapons in the armory as a means to distract herself from the wails of her past. This was a similar tactic she used while she was with her comrades, completing all the chores as a means to distract herself from their teasing. Unfortunately, this only garnered her more of their mocking words. She was so absorbed in sorting that she failed to notice Chrom enter the tent.
"Cordelia, are you alright?" Cordelia's heart nearly skipped a beat as she turned to face Chrom. His kind, gentle face was one she had often dreamed of in her younger years. A few years ago, she had snuck away from her squad's mission in Ylisstol to see him speak on stage.
"Oh! Yes, I'm... fine." She stopped sorting the weapons and noticed that Chrom had made his way to a chair. "I was just... sorting, uh, weapons..."
"Thank you. We really needed someone to do that, but we're always shorthanded." Chrom gave her a reassuring smile that pained her immensely. In another life, one not fraught with the perils she faced, she might have the time to pine for him.
"I wouldn't mind making this part of my routine. I could just get up early and start sorting." The questions returned and clouded her mind. Was this what Catrina meant? Being an invaluable help to the army?
"That'd be a great help around camp. Thank you." By the time he finished speaking, Chrom noticed Cordelia's eyes were watering. He had no way of knowing that question was back in her head. "Is... Is everything alright?"
"Yes! Everything's..." Cordelia could barely contain her anguish as her lower jaw trembled. "Why did I live? Why? I should've been the one to die this morning!" She immediately covered her mouth when she noticed she had said that last part aloud, taking Chrom aback and only making her double down on her self-criticism. "Godsdamnit! Cordelia, you idiot! He thinks you're insane now!"
"Sumia told me you lost your squad today." Chrom interjected, his posture remaining steadfast unlike Cordelia's.
"She should know better than to trouble you with my issues." Cordelia replied, staring at the ground instead of Chrom's handsome face.
"Listen, I... You probably think this sounds rich coming from me, but I know the pain you're going through." Chrom mumbled.
"Right, when you lost your father. I remember the entire kingdom was in shock after that. Nothing felt real, and I can't imagine the stres-" Before Cordelia could prattle on any longer, she noticed the look in Chrom's eyes. It was a look of someone politely asking you to stop talking, and one that she immediately complied with.
"Nobody told you, I assume." Cordelia shook her head in response, but her gut sank. "Emmeryn... She's-" He was choking up. "She's gone."
It took Cordelia a minute to process this. The news had such a visible impact on her that she somehow looked even more distraught than before.
"That's impossible. How? Did the guards not check properly? Was there an informant? Who's responsible? We need to find them and-" Chrom gave her that look again only now tears were in his eyes.
"Everyone was at their post. A family friend ratted us out and is now at the bottom of Breakneck Pass. There's nothing more to be done except arrange for her funeral, and that's what hurts the most." With a weary look in his eyes that shifted to pained as he put pressure on his knee, Chrom stood up. Cordelia finally noticed his knee as this occurred.
"Oh, gods they went for you as well..." She gasped.
"It's a miracle Lissa and I are still alive." Chrom went for the exit, but had no plans to leave. He just liked the feeling of the air at his back. "But I... I share your sentiment regarding our surviving. I wonder if we would be in a better situation if I was the one to fall, and not her."
"Sir, with all due respect, that's absurd." Cordelia began to pace towards him, a stern look forming on her face. "You are Emmeryn's legacy. You have to carry on her name. It may not be what you think is right, but it is the reality we live in. Your kingdom needs you. Your army needs you. Your friends need you. I... need yo-" She cut herself off, both at the dawning realization at the truth of her words for her own plight, and to avoid embarrassing herself. Chrom's response was putting a hand on her shoulder and giving her a smile.
"Thank you. I needed that." Just the touch of his hand on her shoulder was enough to make her feel like she could melt.
"I needed it too. Thank you as well." Cordelia replied back, somehow steeling her resolve just long enough to say one sentence before Chrom drew back. They waved goodbye, leaving Cordelia in the tent with no questions burning in her mind. She was their legacy, and she would carry on their will. And she would do just that by sorting this pile of weapons and doing the chores as she had done before.
"Hey, Cordelia. Are you in here?" Robin asked as he opened the flap to the armory tent and looked around. All of last night was haunted by the vision of Cordelia crushing that man's head to a pulp. Even the soreness of his knee was almost forgotten in the midst of his concern for her. "I was just worried that you might have som-"
Robin's eyes settled on Cordelia, who stood upright with bloodshot eyes and two lances in hand. She placed both of them on a rack before collapsing to the floor with a wheeze. "Gods, are you okay?"
"Oh… Hi Robin…" Every word she spoke was long and drawn out. Robin knelt down beside her and looked at her eyes. "I sorted all of the tent… Aren't you proud...?"
"Did you stay up all night doing this?" Robin asked in a worried tone.
"Yes… It's not that important though… I'm making myself invaluable to the Shepherds and to Chro…"
Cordelia shut her eyes and began to snore on the spot as Robin panicked. He stepped outside the tent and eventually got Sumia to help carry Cordelia to her tent. By the time Cordelia had been placed on Sumia's bed, Robin was already starving and eager to finally get a meal. He smiled and waved to the various members of the Shepherds as he made his way to the mess tent, but he still was unable to think of anything besides Cordelia.
After Robin entered the yellow interior of the tent and got his plate of food from Stahl, who was on cooking duty, he found Sumia and Gaius sitting down at a table counting jars of honey.
"Twenty-one… twenty-two… twenty-three jars of honey?!" Gaius' eyes widened and his fists clenched at the realization that he had been scammed. "That merchant promised me twenty-five!"
"You still got twenty-three jars of honey. It's not the end of the world or anything." Sumia looked incredibly frustrated with Gaius, but she perked up the instant she noticed Robin sit down on the other side of the table. "Oh, hi Robin! Thanks for helping out with Cordelia."
"Yeah uh, speaking of her, though…" Robin would've continued before Gaius butted in.
"Oh, sure. Hijack my conversation with Sumia. Why not just steal my honey while you're at it." He spoke in an annoyed voice before Sumia turned to glare at him.
"Gaius! Shut up before I give you something to actually complain about!" Sumia quickly grabbed one of the jars and held it high, threatening to drop it.
"...Fine." Gaius replied as he folded his arms. Sumia placed the jar back on the table. "Sorry for interrupting you."
"As I was saying," Robin continued, only to notice Gaius was mouthing the words 'help me.' "Is Cordelia uh, known to have violent outbursts like that?" Sumia cocked her head, only for her eyes to flash as she remembered the scene with Vasto yesterday.
"That sure is a uh... It's new for her but I can't blame her. She's carrying a lot of chips on her shoulder, and it was against someone who wished us harm." Sumia replied.
"That is true, but it's still... concerning. Concerning enough for me to want to have her under surveillance on the battlefield before she rushes into danger."
"Is that really necessary?" Gaius asked without a hint of sarcasm in his voice. "We could use more headstrong people here."
"You're not the one who has to worry about anyone here dying." Robin shot back, a frown forming on his face.
"Oh, I do worry. But you're just being paranoid." Gaius stared back, putting his hands on the table and leaning up.
"Alright, that's enough. Calm down, both of you. Now." Sumia stood up and glared at both of them.
"Fine." They both mumbled as they folded their arms and looked in opposite directions.
"Robin, if you're so worried about her, then you're the one who's going to monitor her." Sumia stared him down.
"But I'm-" He stammered, trying to think of an excuse.
"Find a journal you can write in and take notes. Call it a field report if it makes it any less creepy to you. But if you're the only one around here who thinks she'll have a problem, you're gonna be the one to monitor it."
"...Alright." Robin sighed as he stood up, leaving for the tent and leaving Sumia and Gaius to find a scamming honey merchant.
Eventually, when Cordelia did wake up, Robin was the first person to greet her as she slowly stumbled out of her tent and into the warm sunlight of the afternoon. What didn't surprise Robin was that Cordelia immediately wanted to get back to work around the camp.
"Can I help you out with all your chores?" Robin asked, and Cordelia was taken aback.
"Are you sure? Chrom seemed to imply everyone else was busy, including you. I'd hate to eat out of your precious time." Cordelia looked to the side nervously.
"Today's a slow day for me" Robin responded and motioned to enter the storage tent. "C'mon, let's get a head start on it."
"If you insist." She responded as she followed him into the tent.
Author's note: you've probably noticed that big 'Cordelia's Tale: Act I Part I' sign up above by now and thinking "What the hell? How can a story have acts and parts?"
Allow me to explain.
This story is split into sixteen acts, five for Cordelia, five for Severa, three for Lucina, and three for Inigo. Each act has a subtitle (for this act, it's Child of Chaos) that can be used to identify it. After one act ends, the story will alternate to the other character's act. For example, this act is followed by Severa's Tale: Act I, and after that is Cordelia's Tale: Act II, and the cycle continues from there.
Every act has multiple parts, which are about the length of a standard chapter/mini-chapter. This act has ten parts, for reference. This is so that you, the reader, don't have to read one massive chapter. The last part of every act will be labeled as finale.
Originally, this story had ten acts. Severa's Act II ballooned so hard in size, however, that it started having sections which would be 20-30 parts long. That sounds ridiculous, and it is, so I reworked the sections into Lucina and Inigo's acts. These acts will start after Severa's Act II and alternate until they're done, then will be followed by Cordelia's Act III. Before you ask, Lucina and Inigo's are just as important as every other act in this story.
With that explanation out of the way, I sincerely hope you enjoy the following story.