Day 5: Beach
A breeze tinged with salt.
A light that cooked his skin.
And...a coarse and prickly feeling across his back...?
Chrom gasped and shot up.
I'm... I'm alive...?
It seemed that he was. Battered body, attire torn, and panting like a dog, but still, alive. He had survived the destruction of his ship. However, from what he made of his surroundings, his situation wasn't the best either. He was on a beach, but he didn't know if he was on the shore of another continent or of an island. Though he suspected getting stranded on an island more likely considering he had been part of a fleet in the middle of an intercontinental voyage.
That wasn't even considering the fact that...that...that he had no idea if his sisters or friends were safe.
He would have to put that out of his mind for now, unfortunately, not if he wanted to actually find out they were okay.
First off, he had to find out about this place.
It was an island, just as he thought. He walked a full circle in about a week, assuming he kept track properly. But the strange thing was, as he made his trek, the island seemed...almost like a garden to him, or perhaps a park. The trees close to shore had plenty of fruits he recognized were edible, but he wasn't sure should be native to such a place. There wasn't much wildlife roaming around, and the ones he did spot were migratory birds.
That image only solidified as he finally ventured into the "forest". There were trails already in place, leading him to several areas he could use while he was staying here. There was a decently sized lake pumped through a fresh water spring, even more kinds of plants he recognized, such as spices and vegetables, and, most curiously, a large cave that held a library of all things.
Shelves upon shelves upon shelves of books and scrolls and all manner of manuscripts were here. And he could tell a lot of it was well kept and well read. He had seen what Miriel's and Emmeryn's personal collections had looked like. So someone lived here.
And yet, in the days after he found it, setting camp within for shelter, he saw not even a hint to its owner.
Chrom was sure they weren't hostile. They would've made a move by now if they were. But that still begged the question on how they were evading his detection.
Unfortunately, yet again, he had to put that on hold. Now that he had examined the entire island, he knew he could make a raft with a decent amount of supplies and sail off.
Progress was slow, unsurprisingly, since he wasn't exactly that knowledgeable in sea faring. But he wouldn't let that stop him from rigging together a makeshift raft and drying fruits he knew could be dried so that he had longer lasting rations. He had managed to put the thought of the mysterious owner out of his mind.
Until his first nightmare.
Thunder crashing and winds roaring.
Waves dragging everything to depths.
His sisters.
His friends.
Screaming.
"Chrom!"
No!
He gasped and jumped awake.
Except—
"Ow!"
"Agh!"
He headbutted straight into someone else's forehead and left them both groaning at the collision, which was a lot considering he was able to easily lift large logs.
In his sleep addled state, he was confused as to what possibly hit him, and any chance of regaining reason left him once he saw who he had collided with.
It was a woman with hair as white as marble and eyes as brown as cedar.
It was another person with him on the island.
And she noticed his stare and froze.
Before he could ask what had her looking so terrified, she bolted.
Chrom was ashamed to admit that progress was even slower after that, but he couldn't help it. The look on her face, the pure terror in her eyes as if he was some great beast about to devour her, haunted him. He was used to vile slurs, anger filled grief, and false accusations come his way in the wake of his warmongering father's death.
But that look?
It broke his heart, in equal parts worry for her and hurt from being perceived like that.
As if he was just like his father.
So, resigned to the fact his mind would constantly wander to her, he resolved to settle things.
It...was easier said than done.
Any and all plans he had did nothing.
The "offerings" he left? Nothing.
The sleepless night patrols? Nothing.
The messages he left in the sands? Nothing.
It almost seemed like she vanished, but he knew that wasn't the case, considering it seemed that way before his encounter with her. He just had to think up some plan to meet her again.
But as he lay there on the beach, atop a makeshift mat as he stared at the stars. However, exhausted from his attempts and the nightmares, nothing new came to mind.
He worried nothing ever would.
Just as soon as he thought that though...
Snap.
His breath caught, and he bolted up and swerved to see, standing right behind him, the white haired woman from before, cloaked in black.
"You... You really don't know who I am...?"
"No." Chrom frowned. "Should I...?"
"You... You're of Exalt blood, aren't you...? You..." She glanced to his right. "You have the mark on your arm..."
Ah...so he had been right. She knew of his father. But still...
"...yes, I am, but I still don't understand why would that mean I would know you," he said, confused.
But then the woman turned fearful again and began to back off.
"N-Never mind, then. I'll leave you be."
"No! Wait!"
Before he knew it, he had rushed forward and grabbed hold of her wrist, startling her. As soon as he realized what he did though, he let go.
"Ah! Sorry! It's just..." He took a few breaths to calm down, watching if she would leave. "...please, don't go. I..." He swallowed the lump in his throat. "Please don't be scared. Is that why you never showed yourself after I was beached here? I don't... I don't want you to be scared."
For one long moment, Chrom feared she would run away.
For one long moment, Chrom feared that his demons were right.
For one long moment, Chrom feared he was no better than his tyrannical and paranoid father.
And then the woman calmed down, her posture relaxing as she let out a deep breath.
"O...Okay..."
And Chrom couldn't but smile and say,
"Thank you."
Chrom soon learned why she had been so terrified of him.
She was Plegian, the country his father declared war on. But not just any Plegian. She was the lost princess of Plegia, gone missing at the beginning of the war. Her mother had taken her away, not just from the conflict, but also from her father, as she was a key to his plans.
Plans that had made Chrom's father declare war in the first place.
"You're... You're Grima...?"
"No! I...I merely have his blood at its most 'pure'. It... It gives me great power." She trembled. "I promise, I don't want to hurt you. Please believe me! I don't want to hurt anyone! I don't—"
She was cut off as he pulled her into his arms.
"Shhh, it's okay. I believe you. I won't hurt you."
"...you...you won't...?"
"I won't. Believe me."
With that, she wailed, holding him tight as, no doubt, the years and years of others assuming she was dangerous crashed on her and she let it all out.
Before long, she settled, her sorrow now just sniffles.
"Feeling better now?"
"Y-Yes...thank you...ah..."
"Hmm? Is something wrong?"
"I...don't know your name."
He smiled. "My name is Chrom. It's nice to meet you."
She smiled. "I'm Robin. I feel the same."
Now that they had met, Robin no longer hid during the day, and Chrom wasn't alone during the night, and with it his nightmares ceased to be.
Much better though was when he learned how she had hidden herself from him.
"You transform?"
"Yes." She held out a stone—a dragonstone. "This is what I use."
Chrom grinned. "Then we can get out of here!"
Robin stared, befuddled, and with a hint of nervousness. "L-Leave?" Then, she seemed to realize something as she then frowned. "Oh..."
He mirrored her expression in concern. "What's wrong?"
"O-Oh, it's...it's nothing. Of course you want to leave. You... You have a lot of people waiting for you, don't you? I... I won't stop you..."
"That's why I said 'we' could get out of here."
She was startled. "W-We?"
"Yes. 'We'." He held out his hand. "I want you to come with me."
"B-But..."
"I promise you don't have to use your powers for anything other than getting me home. And when I do, I promise I'll protect you. You deserve more than just to be all alone in your home."
For a long moment, she stared at the offered hand.
For a long moment, he worried she wouldn't accept.
For a long moment, he had been foolish enough to doubt.
Because she took his hand with a soft smile and said,
"Okay. I'll come with you."
And he returned it with the brightest he could muster.
"Thank you."
Author's Notes: ...don't ask me how I came up with this. I just thought "let's go with the verb form of beach and have chrom beached" and went from there. I could've went further than Chrom asking Robin to come with him, but then this fic would be really long and I didn't want that. So this is how far it'll get.
I made the island about 244 sq miles (3 mph walk speed = 72 miles per day) to make it four 24 hour days, which is why it takes about a week for Chrom to do a round trip.