"We need to talk, alone," Robin said while being inside the medical tent, sending a glare at Radko who was being treated by Lissa. Robin was mad, not only Radko disobeyed the order he was given back in Ylisstol, but also roped Ricken into doing an extremely reckless act. Plus, he had a lot of explaining to do about a certain letter he had sent her.
Radko slumped, but then looked into Robin's eyes since he knew this would come eventually, after sending Robin said letter about what will happen in the parley between Gangrel and Emmeryn.
"Yeah, we do," Radko admitted and stood up from his spot, ignoring Lissa.
"Wait! You are not fully healed yet!" She said, but Radko gave her an apologizing look.
"I am sorry Lissa, but this is very important. I have disobeyed a direct order and I need to justify myself." He explained and trotted to Robin.
"Lead the way." Radko prompted her, who wordlessly left the medical tent with Radko in tow, leaving Lissa to her charges. They walked into a thick forest, where they were barely able to see the campsite. Once they were far enough, Robin started.
"Explain to me how you were able to predict the entire parley and summed it up into a single letter while knowing the enemy position, unit composition, and the fact that Ricken would come to save Maribelle."
Radko had to resist the urge to grimace, but he knew when he would send that letter, Robin would immediately start questioning him afterward, especially since he did predict the parley to a tee.
"Do you want me to be direct or do you want a round-about way of explaining it?" Radko asked, to which Robin responded curtly "Be direct.".
Radko sighed, then breathed deeply to prepare himself, before uttering a single sentence.
"I have future knowledge."
Robin's eyes blinked once, blinked twice, then thrice before shouting "What!?".
Radko immediately put his hand over Robin's mouth before berating her "Keep quiet! I wrote you in the letter to be silent about it for a reason!".
It took some time for Robin to calm down after what Radko said, but then nodded and Radko pulled his hand away while Robin took a deep breath.
"Ok then, maybe the long explanation would be better," Robin admitted and Radko almost chuckled, but quickly became more serious, because in his mind this wasn't a laughing matter.
"Let's start with something simple; where I come from," Radko said while crossing his arms "It isn't obligatory what my country's name is, the only thing that is important is that I come from a different world entirely.".
Robin had to do a double-take on what Radko just said. The idea of being from a different world seemed a little farfetched for her at first, but there were many things about Radko that were different from the rest of the people she had met so far.
"Ok, let's say you are from a different world, then what does that have to do with you predicting the last fight?" Robin pressed.
"The reason is surprisingly simple. What our worlds share is the way you can entertain yourself in your free time. You can read a book or play games with friends and it allows people to communicate in one way or another. Then some people create stories for others to read, immersing the reader into a world the creator shared." Radko explained and Robin was silently hearing him out, ready to put an end to Radko's secrecy.
"It just so happens that this world was also depicted by someone, and once you read it, you know how the story will progress, allowing you to predict the events in it." Radko ended his explanation leaving Robin baffled.
"So, you just simply read about our future somehow?" Robin had to resist the urge to start laughing but couldn't hold it. Radko had a scowl on his face, not liking that Robin found this conversation funny.
"You don't believe me, do you?" Radko stated.
"Of course I don't, who would believe an explanation like that!" Robin loudly exclaimed after her laughter died down, not satisfied with Radko's revelation. Radko didn't say anything, he only strode forward towards Robin, meeting eye to eye.
"Then how about that one time that Chrom accidentally peeped on you when you were inside a bathing tent?" And at that Robin immediately stiffened, her face becoming red and filled with shock and embarrassment.
"H-How do you know that!?" She almost squeaked and tried to hide her body that was covered by her thick coat.
"Didn't I just explain it to you?" Radko said with a hint of sass and Robin huffed, not liking that Radko knows about Chrom's blunder.
"Anyway, in our world, we thought that these stories we create are fictional, but now here I am reliving that story that I have read, and I already made a mark in it by just simply existing, which was the reason why I came to the border in the first place," Radko said and Robin wasn't keen on saying anything back, since it still shocked her that Radko knew such a specific thing about herself.
"Wait, if he knows this world through a book, that means he must know something about me!" She thought and immediately voiced her thoughts.
"You know who I am then!" Robin shouted again while pointing her index finger at Radko and he grimaced not at the volume of her shout, but what was she asking of him.
"Don't make me answer that, Robin. All I can say is that you do have a past, but it would be better for you to find that out for yourself instead. I have no place in revealing anything about you." Radko said adamantly, making no indication of what Robin's past might be. She frowned but didn't push it, since she was beginning to understand what Radko had at his disposal.
"I think I can finally trust you." She suddenly said, surprising Radko.
"You think?" Radko asked to which Robin nodded.
"Yeah, because if you are telling the truth then what you have at your disposal is effectively the most powerful weapon a human can wield, information. Since if you would use this knowledge against us then I am confident that we wouldn't be having this conversation right now." Robin said while her lips twitched slightly upwards.
"I starting to understand why you would keep this a secret, but then why have you suddenly sent me the letter about the parley?" Robin asked.
"I wanted to make sure you were prepared for the battle ahead so that no Shepherds would die." Radko then clicked his tongue "If it weren't for Frederick giving an order to Ricken to keep an eye on me then I would stay put in Ylisstol since Ricken was the one who would save Maribelle in the story I have read."
"But since Ricken was told to watch over you, you needed to make sure that Maribelle was saved by urging Ricken to do so." Robin finished for Radko who gave her a nod and she only sighed.
"Okay, I think I can live with that explanation, but what will you tell Chrom and the others?" Robin asked, quite worried over what was Radko's next move.
"As much as I want to tell them, I think it would be better if I don't. There is a reason why I was so adamant about keeping this a secret. Having an outline for what the future could be is frightening, knowing that after this war is done, it is far from over when it comes to conflict in the years to come." Radko said while looking up into the star-filled sky, completely foreign to his eyes. There was not a single constellation he knew in there, making him tear up.
"I miss my peaceful home, where war was the thing of the past, which this world is filled to the brim with. Plus, I feel like an outsider in this world, which is all the more reason for me to get back." He then clenched his fist and muttered "At least not until I have a talk with Alexander." without Robin hearing it.
"Do you really feel that way?" Robin suddenly asked and when Radko turned to face Robin, she had sad look on her face, surprising him and he nodded to Robin's question.
"Then don't. You say you are not part of this so-called 'story' but here you are anyway whether you like it or not. You saved Maribelle with Ricken, you helped us get our alliance with Regna Ferox, and most importantly," Robin said while giving Radko a thankful smile "You helped me protect the Shepherds in a fight that would certainly have casualties if it weren't for your letter.".
Radko couldn't help himself and started to sob. If it was from finally doing something right or just that there is one person who accepted Radko for who he was and what he knew, he didn't know.
"Thank you, Robin. You have no idea how much that means to me." He said while having probably the brightest smile Robin had seen him have yet.
"So, where do we go from here?" Radko asked eventually after cleaning up his eyes that were filled with tears just a few seconds ago.
"As much as I want to tell Chrom what we discussed here, I think it would be better, for now, to keep your secret, well, a secret between us." Robin summarized but hold out her index finger in front of Radko "But under one condition.".
"Great, I am getting blackmailed," Radko mumbled, but Robin ignored him and continued.
"You will be part of daily strategy meetings in my tent and you will help me keep the Shepherds safe in the future." She commanded resolutely, which prompted Radko to chuckle, surprising Robin, who voiced her thoughts.
"Did I say something funny?" She asked, slightly annoyed by Radko's behavior.
"No, in fact, I would be honored to help you, Robin. It's not every day you get to strategize with the future Grandmaster." Radko quipped and Robin was surprised at the sudden title drop but didn't dwell on it for long.
"Good, let's get back inside the camp. We don't need people looking for us after all." She prompted.
"Yeah, let's." Radko agreed.
In the meantime, Chrom was currently inside the command berating the young mage Ricken for the successful attempt at rescuing Maribelle from the Plegians.
"Ricken, you know why I told you to stay in the capital," Chrom said with a leveled tone, not necessarily mad at Ricken, because thanks to him and Radko, they were able to save Maribelle, but they disobeyed a direct order and as much Chrom didn't like throwing out punishments, it was necessary sometimes.
"Yeah, I know…" Ricken said while slumping his shoulders and head. Chrom only sighed and patted Ricken on the shoulder.
"It's alright, it is just that you are extremely young, and I don't know if you are ready to bear the horrors of war yet." Chrom explained, "But if you are so eager to join the frontlines then I might as well let you.".
At that Ricken beamed at Chrom from excitement, that was until Chrom said "That doesn't relieve you from being punished, however." and Ricken almost began to pout but refrained himself from doing so. He was going to take what he was able to achieve by showing Chrom what he was capable of and was happy to be included not just in research with Miriel.
"I don't know what punishment awaits you yet, but right now you are dismissed. Rest well, Ricken." Chrom said.
"You too, Captain. Good night." Ricken bid and left the tent. The tent being empty of all people except Chrom himself let him do some self-reflection on how he could have handled the situation at the border better. Even if Emmeryn told him it wasn't his fault for attacking one of the Plegian soldiers, he still felt guilty for bringing the war to her sister's doorsteps.
His train of thought was interrupted when Frederick entered the tent.
"Milord, everyone has been accounted for including Maribelle, Ricken, and Radko. Everyone made from the border safely with only minor injuries that were quickly dealt with." Frederick summarized their battle.
"That's great to hear, can you bring Radko here for a minute?" Chrom asked and Frederick bowed slightly while saying "Yes, milord." And left the tent to find the second troublemaker.
It didn't take long for Frederick to appear with Radko in tow, but what surprised Chrom slightly that Robin had come along as well.
"Hello, Chrom. Is there something you wanted to talk about?" Radko prompted Chrom, although Radko already knew why he was summoned.
"Yes, it is about what you have done at the border." Chrom elaborated and Radko only sighed.
"Yeah, I was expecting that. So, basically, it was my idea to go to the border to help you guys just in case a fight would break out between the two parties. Sadly, it did and I and Ricken had to intervene to help Maribelle. I was happy that we were able to save her and I still need to thank her she saved me in return." Radko explained.
"So, you admit that it was you who prompted Ricken to join you as well and save Maribelle?" Chrom questioned and Radko nodded to that. Chrom just sighed, not knowing how to deal with him.
"You know, I can't even be mad at you because of how much you wanted to join, not unlike Ricken, but bringing him with you was reckless and irresponsible," Chrom said while crossing his arms.
"Yes, it was reckless of me and I will accept any punishment you see fit, Chrom," Radko said while bowing slightly, but Chrom put a hand in front of himself.
"Peace friend, if it wasn't for you and Ricken, Maribelle wouldn't be here in the first place," Chrom reassured, but then looked at Robin and voiced his previously thought question.
"Can I ask what you are doing here, Robin?"
"Well, about Radko's punishment…" Robin trailed off a little too smugly for Radko's liking.
"Robin, you are enjoying this way too much than you should," Radko remarked but then silently added "Not like you already blackmailed me once today." and Robin had to resist the urge to not smirk but failed at it quite miserably.
"I was thinking about making Radko my assistant when it comes to strategizing and making marching routes, I think he would fit that role quite nicely." Robin finished her thought and both Chrom and Frederick eyed her funny.
"I mean, sure we could make him your assistant, but how does that count as a punishment?" Chrom asked, bewildered by the sudden need of Robin needing extra hands.
"Oh don't worry, I will find a way to make it punishment worthy." Robin was almost giggling with anticipation, however, Radko had an ace up his sleeves. He came to Robin and put a hand on her shoulder to get her attention and Radko's deadly smile appeared on his face.
"Now Robin, you wouldn't like someone's blunder being revealed to the Shepherds, would you?" Radko asked and Robin suddenly began to redden like a ripe tomato ready to burst, quite the contrast to her pale skin.
"Y-You wouldn't!" She stammered.
"Just make the punishment at least somewhat bearable, ok?" Radko's smile didn't leave his face and then looked at Chrom who had no idea how the conversation derailed so quickly.
"Is there anything else you wanted to say?" Radko asked.
"Uh, no there isn't." Chrom eventually replied.
"Great, then I will take my leave then." Radko said as he aimed for the exit of the tent, but before he left, he looked at Frederick with a disappointed look "Frederick, if you need to have me constantly be watched over, do it yourself next time, okay?".
Chrom was slightly surprised because he didn't issue any command to watch over Radko after his week in the infirmary was done. He eyed Frederick and he elaborated the unspoken question on Chrom's mind.
"Milord, I have ordered Ricken to keep an eye out on Radko for any suspicious behavior he could have conducted during our absence at the border."
"Then cancel that order and any other that could be similar, you are also dismissed." Chrom said sternly and Frederick didn't try to protest, only sighed lightly "Yes, milord." and left the tent.
Chrom on the other hand sighed deeply after Frederick left and was eyeing Robin who was still in the tent.
"Honestly, I sometimes wonder if we should rename Frederick from Wary to Paranoid," Chrom remarked while taking a seat at one of the chairs inside the command tent.
"Chrom, if you weren't trusting to a fault, Frederick wouldn't need to be as paranoid of Radko as he was of me the first day I joined, although I don't remember ever needing to be watched." Robin contemplated.
"I don't either, but Radko had almost died twice by just trying to help us and I don't see why Frederick still needs to keep his guard up even after what he had done for us." Chrom pondered.
"I think Frederick has his reasons and that is something the two of them must talk over. Anyway, I just came here to assign Radko as my assistant as punishment." Robin elaborated.
"I still don't see how him becoming your assistant is a punishment." Chrom inquired.
"As I said, don't worry. I will make it a punishment for the first couple of weeks," Robin reassured, becoming slightly giddy. Chrom hummed and stood up from his chair and began preparing the necessary papers for Radko becoming Robin's new assistant. They remained mostly silent and once was Chrom done, he handed the paper to Robin.
"Also, what did Radko mean by mentioning someone's blunder?" Chrom suddenly asked, interested what he said that made Robin blush like at that, and as if by sheer coincidence, Robin began to do so in the same color as before while almost crushing the paper in her hand.
"N-Nothing!" She squeaked out "I-I'll go back to my tent, s-see you in the morning, Chrom!" and bolted to the exit of the tent, leaving a baffled Chrom. He contemplated over what he said to Robin to make her react like that but came blank.
{*}{*}{*}{*}{*}{*}
After the failed attempt of a parley between Emmeryn and Gangrel, the Shepherds were able to reach back to Ylisstol in minimal time, allowing some reprieve after the battle in the border pass.
This week were no scheduled patrols for the Shepherds since Chrom wanted to make sure that everyone was ready for any emergencies that could pop up suddenly. Most of the Shepherds were inside the main hall waiting for any call to arms while doing mundane tasks or trying to use their free time for training or honing their wits in creative ways.
Such was the duo of Virion and Robin, playing a match of chess were, yet again, Robin was winning with more pieces in play than Virion. That was until Virion repositioned one of his rooks to capture Robin's queen and trapped her king into a position where there was no escape as the rest of the possible spots were either blocked by her pieces or a single pawn that was sitting on the only spot the king could have moved away from the rook, forcing Robin to admit yet another defeat.
"Gah! What it is with you and Radko beating me with a pawn of all things!" She shouted, frustrated that the pawns were her bane of existence.
"Don't take it to heart, dear Robin. With each defeat, we grow stronger from our failures to conquer the obstacles before us." Virion supported with a flourish, but Robin groaned, frustrated that she just couldn't seem to beat Virion without him blundering.
"Easy for you to say when you haven't lost in a while." She grumbled. Ricken was carefully watching the match that unfolded before him because he was quite intrigued by the tactics both players used but stayed silent throughout the match.
"So, how has your now new assistant been helping with your work?" Virion asked, quite interested as to how Radko was holding up. Robin's expression changed into a slightly bemused smile.
"Well, the workload is much easier to bear thanks to him. It was surprising just how many things I have been doing alone, and Radko picked it up with vigor and grew into his new role much faster than I expected." She elaborated.
"Where is he right now?" Virion inquired since it has been some time since the last time he saw him today.
"He is in the castle with Miriel right now, he said he has a problem when it comes to casting and it seems it isn't something minor." Robin scowled lightly "Something about his chest heating up.".
"Oh." Ricken suddenly spoke, prompting the duo to look at him. The unwanted attention Ricken suddenly got was unexpected but he elaborated non the less.
"From what I have heard from Miriel, it might be related to the wound he got back in Ferox, but she still doesn't know for sure. She tested Radko's blood but found no problems there. So, right now he is training under Miriel to find the problem."
"I see…" Virion trailed off, not necessarily happy with Radko's predicament, almost as if he could never get a break from anything troubling him.
"Well, I might as well check on him. Where is Miriel's lab?" Robin asked and instead of getting an immediate answer from Ricken, he instead stood up and went to the exit of the barracks.
"I am going inside the library so I will show you the way there instead." He said, prompting Robin to follow him and they headed towards the castle, where Miriel's lab resided. Once they part ways, Robin found herself in front of the doors leading towards the place where Radko and Miriel should be, so she knocked and waited for a response.
After a short moment, the one who opened the door was Radko and he had a surprised look on his face seeing Robin here of all places.
"Hi Robin, is there something you need? I left the next week's marching paths for the Shepherds on your desk if that's what you are looking for." Radko informed, trying to find the reason as to why Robin was here.
"Yes, and you did quite well for your third attempt, but there were still a few things you forgot about. But that isn't why I am here, I just came here to check on you how are you doing." Robin explained herself and instead of answering, Radko gestured Robin for her to come inside.
The room was spacious, many bookshelves filled to the brim adorned the place, with a table that was currently occupied by Miriel, who had many vials with different substances, some were powder-like, while others were liquids.
Miriel was writing down something on a piece of parchment that Robin couldn't read from so far away, but she was able to spot Radko's name on it with big letters, meaning it was a probable documentary of Radko's performance.
Speaking of his performance, there were many training dummies littered on the ground in a designated place for magic training. All of them were pierced by Radko's icicles, some still being embedded in them.
"It seems you have been quite busy regardless," Robin remarked while still eyeing the dummies.
"Yeah, and still not a single step into finding what happened to me." Radko grimaced, he looked at his dominant hand, the one he uses for casting, and clenched it in frustration.
"God damn it, always when I think I got things figured out, there is always another obstacle that blocks me." Radko cursed. Miriel was done with her assessment and turned to face Radko, but, just like him, she was surprised to see a visitor she didn't notice.
"Ah, Robin, what a pleasant surprise to see you here," Miriel said in a monotone voice.
"Hi, Miriel." Robin greeted.
"Is there a reason as to why you are here?" Miriel questioned, not wanting to be slowed down in her research.
"No, I just came here to see how the research is coming on Radko's predicament," Robin explained.
"I sadly wasn't able to conclude yet what could be causing Radko's problem casting magic efficiently without getting hurt in the process. We were ready to initiate another round of experimenting if it weren't for your timely intervention." Miriel's monotone voice hadn't left her and if there was supposed to be irritation in Miriel's explanation then Robin missed it by a mile.
"Can I watch?" Robin asked, quite interested as to how their experimenting looked like. It was also some time since she saw Radko casting any ice magic recently.
"Hm, I don't see why you couldn't," Miriel remarked and she eyed Radko for his opinion. He shrugged, as he didn't care who was watching him, he just wanted to be rid of this parasite in his stomach that was causing his pain.
"Very well, let us begin. Radko, please go inside the designated area for you and I inquire you to cast your barrier." Miriel asked Radko and he nodded while taking out his tome with the aforementioned spell ready for casting.
"Begin," Miriel commanded. Sparks started to form around Radko, small wisps of cold air breezed around him until they picked up in strength, creating a small snowstorm that was just big enough to cover Radko entirely. Robin felt a chill go down her spine because of the sudden shift in temperature, but Miriel and Radko weren't faced by it in the slightest.
She then spotted Radko grimacing and started to clutch his stomach in pain, a small groan escaping from him, but Miriel didn't call him to stop and Radko's pain was getting worse. Robin began to scowl from the nature of this experiment, but didn't voice her thoughts yet, she waited for how it will play out.
Radko was starting to cough from the spell being active for so long. The coughs then formed into gagging and once Radko had enough, the spell dissipated, leaving a patch of frozen ground around him and went to the nearest bucket and proceeded to vomit.
Robin had to look away, but right before she did so, she spotted flecks of red inside Radko's bile, making her more worried about what this disease could be if it was causing this amount of pain and trouble.
Radko was sweating, the tip of his nose having a droplet of sweat ready to drop down inside the bucket. He drew heavy breaths and once he recovered from his stupor, he stood up and looked at Robin.
"I am sorry you had to see that." He said in a tired voice, wiping his mouth to get rid of the rest of his bile. Robin's scowl didn't leave her, it deepened.
"Why are you forcing yourself like this?" She questioned.
"Because I want to be at my best when the Shepherds will need me, and if there is an illness in the way of that, then I will get rid of it." He adamantly stated, but Robin just didn't see why Radko needed to torture himself to find a cure.
"Miriel, tell me the purpose why Radko needs to torture himself." She demanded and if Robin will not like her answer, then she will prohibit Radko from casting before they find a cure. Miriel didn't look away from her parchment she was writing on.
"The nature of this experiment is to find the disease or a malfunction in Radko's body structure. His magic veins aren't interfering in his casting, because if they did, it would be impossible for Radko to cast all together and we haven't found any anomalies when it comes to his human anatomy. Meaning we haven't found the source of Radko's predicament and we are locating it by putting Radko under stress to find the source." Miriel explained while still looking at her parchment and Robin wasn't happy with the answer she got. She wordlessly trotted to Radko, took his hand without asking him, and started to drag him back towards the barracks.
Radko, being completely surprised by the sudden movement, voiced his protests "Hey, stop! Where are you taking me!?".
"To the barracks." Robin curtly answered.
"But I haven't finished with Miriel yet!" He reasoned.
"You did, and we are taking our leave. It's getting late." Robin fired back and through the protests, Radko kept spouting, Robin dragged him away from the lab without Miriel even noticing. Once they were in one of the hallways leading inside the garden of the castle, Radko forcibly yanked his hand away from Robin to stop dragging him.
"Ok, can you explain to me why you dragged me away as a mother would?" Radko asked with his arms crossed and a slight scowl on his face.
"Because I won't let you torture yourself just to find some cure for your illness." Robin reasoned while moving forward inside the garden and Radko followed her.
"This illness is prohibiting me from fighting, Robin. I won't be good enough on the battlefield if I am handicapped." Radko shot back and Robin turned around to face him, a stern look adorned her face.
"That doesn't mean you are useless. Gods, how many times do I need to tell you to stop patronizing yourself over how useful you are to the Shepherds?" Robin said in a slightly raised voice. Radko clicked his tongue and forced himself to not answer to which Robin sighed.
"Just come to the barracks." Robin prompted and Radko wordlessly followed her inside the garden. For the duo, it felt like going inside a small forest that was inside the castle walls. Flowers and bushes were littered in their designated area with many trees overlooking everything.
"You know, I never really understood the reason why put a forest around a castle," Radko remarked to break the silence between them.
"That makes two of us." Robin hummed.
They stopped to look at the garden itself to admire the sheer size of it, but suddenly Radko had to clench his head from a sudden headache that came over him.
His vision began to blur, and it almost felt like his eyes were trying to show him something akin to memory inside his head. Two blurs were running around this area in his field of vision and it felt like he heard the giggling of two young children relatively the same age, but just as quickly the headache came, it disappeared, leaving a dumbfounded Radko.
Robin saw Radko clutching his head and began to get worried.
"Are you alright, Radko?" Robin asked.
"Yeah, just a headache," Radko said but didn't mention the vision he saw.
"These experiments are wearing you down more than you thought if you are getting headaches of all of a sudden," Robin remarked.
Footsteps could have been heard from the hallway and the duo turned around to see who was making the sound to find it was Chrom walking down the path and once he turned to spot Robin and Radko, he was surprised by their appearance in the garden.
"Robin? Radko? What are you two doing here this late?" Chrom asked once he got close enough.
"Just admiring the garden," Radko said while turning to face Chrom alongside Robin.
"I see…" Chrom trailed off, a long sigh escaping his lips.
"Why the long sigh?" Robin asked, bewildered by the sudden action.
"I… just dueling with some unpleasant thoughts right now." Chrom elaborated.
"Care to enlighten us?" Radko said, prompting Chrom to speak his mind.
"It is just that we have a war at our doorstep, and we haven't gotten Flavia's troops yet. It makes uneasy at the thought that we aren't prepared for what I have caused." Chrom clenched his fist "It also doesn't amend the fact that Gangrel is in the right to be launching a war against us for what happened in the past.". Robin had to do a double-take for what Chrom said.
"Gangrel being in the right!? He captured Maribelle and then gave us an ultimatum for the Fire Emblem!" Robin stated, but Radko shook his head, agreeing with Chrom.
"No, Chrom is right." Radko said, leaving a baffled Robin, so he elaborated "From what I have heard the last Exalt of Ylisse was a warmonger who wanted to rid the world of the Grimleal and launched a full-scale war against Plegia that lasted for many years." to which Chrom nodded, surprising Robin.
"Yes, and only after his death did the fighting died down. Once Emmeryn took the crown at a young age fifteen years ago, an emissary came from Plegia to congratulate Emm on becoming the new Exalt and sign a ceasefire between the two nations. Once they tried to leave however, the hatred my father left was still felt by the masses and they attacked the convoy once it was out of Ylisstol, adding more fuel to the fire that was the hatred the Plegians felt." Chrom continued. This surprised Radko because in his mind there was no such thing as an envoy being attacked and mentioned in the story he knew making him perk up.
"This hardened her resolve to be better than our father and was able to heal Ylisse's wounds, although it weighed heavily on her. Famine ravaged the land and a lot of people were without a family nor had a place to go to, but she was able to accomplish both. I remember the hatred our people felt towards us and Emm took all the blows for us, but instead of fighting back, she brought peace to the land and healed its people instead." Chrom said while having a proud smile on his face.
"Once they found out their mistake and people forgave her, Emm never resented them for it and greeted them with open arms. She isn't the definition of peace, she IS peace." After that Chrom began to scowl "But Gangrel can't see that Ylisse has changed and still longs for revenge for what we did and he is willing to take advantage of Emm to sate his desire.".
Silence filled the air after Chrom poured his heart out towards two persons who wouldn't expect him to open up since one was found on a field around four months ago and the second was someone who wasn't viewed in a good light by a few Shepherds, but in his mind, he knew he could trust both of these strangers.
"My sister hides her pain very well in front of the masses, but only me and Lissa knows just how much it weighed on her." Chrom frown began to deepen "And now that Gangrel hungers for blood, it will only get worse. Sometimes I wonder if it would be easier to just off Gangrel and be done with it, but Emmeryn would never relay such order, in fact, I wish she wouldn't." Chrom then resolutely finished "The day Gangrel will know peace is the day when he will rest beneath the earth.".
The one-sided conversation took a back seat for Radko and Robin to ponder about what Chrom had just said. Radko then smiled at Chrom.
"You know, seeing someone pour their heart out like that means they trust you well enough. Thank you, Chrom, for showing me you trust me." Radko thanked, but then a scowl appeared on his face.
"But it isn't nice when other people are eavesdropping on said heart pour." He suddenly said, completely surprising Robin and Chrom. He turned to face the garden yet again and then spoke "Isn't that right, Marth?".
The sudden rustle from one of the bushes signified a person was inside to the surprise of Chrom and Robin. The bush rustled even more and from it emerged their enigmatic warrior Marth, scoring his trademark butterfly mask.
"Marth…" Chrom trailed off, surprised to see Marth here of all places. The tension between Radko and Marth was so thick you could cut it.
"You have quite the audacity to show yourself here if you don't have good reason to do so." Radko resented and Marth clicked his tongue.
"Good evening to you too." That was all Marth said.
"How did you get in here?" Chrom asked, trying to ignore the tension between the two.
"The cleft in the castle wall, behind the maple grove," Marth explained and Chrom was beginning to grow sheepish.
"Wait, there? But how would you…? Ugh." Chrom groaned and Robin was curious enough to ask what Marth meant by that.
"You know the place, Chrom?"
"Yes. I accidentally bashed a part of the wall while training with the Shepherds. I swear I sealed that small hole well enough so that no one would notice." Chrom contemplated while rubbing the back of his head. Radko was holding his laughter successfully but couldn't hold his tongue.
"How do you 'accidentally' bash a hole inside a wall that is large enough for a person to go through?" He asked, barely containing his fit of giggles.
"You wouldn't want to know," Chrom advised and Radko, instead of prying, took his word for it. The way Chrom said it was ominous, to say the least.
"Your secret is safe with me at least," Marth said while tilting his head slightly at Radko who didn't miss the movement.
"I came here to warn you." Marth continued earning a bewildered look from Chrom and Robin.
"Warn us?" Chrom parroted.
"Yes, the Exalt's life is in danger," Marth explained and Radko had to resist the urge to scoff.
"That is absurd, Emmeryn is guarded at all hours." Chrom rebuked Marth's claim and he visibly clicked his tongue, before continuing.
"What if… What if I told you that I have seen the future, where Emmeryn dies this night, would you believe me?" Marth said a little more desperately than he probably intended and Chrom raised an eyebrow before scowling.
"I have no reason to trust you, Marth. After what you have done back in Regna Ferox, you would need good proof of your intentions." Chrom sternly stated and Marth slumped his head slightly, looking at the ground.
"I see…" was all he said before unsheathing his sword, surprising Robin and Chrom, but not Radko. Robin eyed Radko suspiciously and once he realized that he was being gazed at by Robin, he nodded to the silent question inside Robin's head.
"So, he knew Marth would come," Robin remarked in her head.
"Then allow me to prove my intentions," Marth said as he had his Falchion in his right hand, the tip leveled at the trio, this time all of them tensed up. Chrom abruptly grabbed the hilt of his Falchion as well, but before he could unsheathe it, Marth stopped him.
"I am about to save your life." Marth said vaguely while eyeing the bush behind him, rustles coming from the said bush "From him.".
As Marth finished his words, an assassin appeared out of the aforementioned bush, sword held in a reverse grip. He rushed for Marth, but he threw his sword into the air in return, surprising the assassin, while Marth jumped towards his sword and landed right behind the assassin, killing him with a strike at his back.
Marth flicked his blade to remove the blood from the assassin that laid dead on the ground. He eyed the trio, his voices almost sounding smug "I trust, this proof will suffice?".
Chrom, being stunned from the revelation that there were assassins in his castle, eyed Marth and slowly nodded while saying "Yeah…".
Silence filled the air after Marth's stunt until another came from one of the trees and another assassin appeared from it, poised to kill Marth.
Marth was able to spot the attacker in time, but when he tried to dodge him, he tripped on the blade of the first assassin he offed, sliding on the blade of the sword.
Radko was the first one to respond by opening his tome and threw one ice dagger at the assassin, piercing the leather armor he wore, but the strike still went through and cut Marth's mask cleanly in two, missing Marth by a hair's breadth. He then landed on the ground with a loud thud, limp from movement.
Chrom immediately went to help Marth up, but then realized that he was looking away and once Chrom had a better look, he realized that Marth wasn't a man.
"Wait, you are a woman?" He asked, bewildered and ashamed that he mistook Marth for a man. Marth stood up and looked at the trio, two were stunt while the one she was wary of looked unsurprised by this revelation.
"And quite the actress too. Honestly, I am surprised that you didn't realize it until just now." Marth said with sass. There was a pause until a loud sound of an explosion was heard on the other side of the castle and the quartet turned their heads towards the sound.
"It seems that those two weren't the only ones." Radko remarked with a scowl "I'll go warn the Shepherds and bring as many as I can!".
"Yes, do that! Chrom, Marth!" Robin said urgently "Let's head to Emmeryn immediately!" to which she got a nod from Chrom, but Marth was unnerved by the idea leaving Radko unsupervised and he turned his head to find him, but he was already gone.
"Come on, Marth!" Chrom shouted, who was already bolting to Emmeryn's quarters with Robin in tow, and Marth soon followed suit.
Going through the corridors of the castle at breakneck to get to Emmeryn as fast as possible, they were able to reach her before she got hurt. Emmeryn was with her retainer Phila, ready to defend her.
"Chrom!" Emmeryn exclaimed once she spotted her brother with Robin and Marth behind him.
"Emm! Are you alright!?" Chrom asked, but Emmeryn seemed to fine so far.
"I am, but what are you doing here? Go somewhere where it's safe." Emmeryn said a slightly raised tone, but Chrom wouldn't leave her sister behind.
"And leave you defenseless against these assassins!? I think not!" He bellowed and unsheathed his sword alongside Marth and Robin who opened a tome instead.
"Three entrances…" Robin muttered, thinking of the most effective strategy for the current situation. Once she was done she started to give the other two orders.
"Marth, if you are here to defend the Exalt then take the front entrance. Chrom, you take the one to the right while I'll take the left. Don't charge in, we do not know where the enemy is nor how many of them are. We just have to wait for Radko with the Shepherds in tow, got it?" Robin commanded and got a nod from both blue-haired sword fighters and they dispersed to their assigned locations.
Chrom met his first enemy and immediately went on the offensive, slashing at his opponent who was able to dodge the attack, but to the surprise of the prince, once he was done dodging, he held his arms up.
"Whoa! Easy there, blue blood! I am not here to hurt anyone!" Exclaimed the male assassin, but Chrom wasn't convinced. The thief had orange hair with brown eyes. Having a cloak blocked the majority of his attire, with only brown leather pants, shirt, boots, and armguards being visible enough to spot.
"I find your words hollow. You say you are not here to hurt anyone, yet you tag along with a band of assassins?" Chrom questioned.
"Hey, if I could then I wouldn't, but believe me when I say that I am trying to make a living here. I bust open doors and chest; you know that kind of thing, right? What I am trying to say is that I am a thief." The thief explained. Chrom knew that some people are forced to steal but he wasn't convinced yet, so he remained silent and waited for the thief to continue.
"This lot said that they were going to break open into some vault, so I took that opportunity to get some quick royal coin. Nobody told me about an assassination of all things. I'd rather sit this one out and/or get out of here as soon as possible." The thief continued. What surprised Chrom was that he was chewing on a lollipop of all things, but that got Chrom thinking.
"Maybe he could defect and tell us about the assassins." Chrom hummed and lowered his blade.
"Then perhaps you'd be willing to prove your good intentions?" Chrom asked to the bafflement of the thief.
"Beg pardon?" He spoke.
"We need all the help we can get right now and every abled man to help the Exalt would be greatly appreciated. You appear to be capable and any information you have about our attackers would come in handy." Chrom elaborated and the thief realized what was the prince talking about.
"Oh, you mean those good intentions. Fine then, I'll prove my sincerity… if you know how to sweeten the deal." He offered to Chrom.
"You want gold at a time like this, you scoundrel?" Chrom groaned "Fine, let me just get my-oops.".
Chrom dropped a leather satchel that hit the ground with a thud. It was a sack of candy he was given to Lissa just this morning as a sorry gift from her because she pulled another prank on him. The thief spotted the satchel and picked it up, scanning it with his brown eyes.
"Well, look what we have here. I wonder what's inside this satchel, mmm." He hummed.
"Nothing, just candies given by my sister as an apology… gift." Chrom looked at the thief with a questioning look and almost looked like he was visibly salivating.
"Candies… as in 'sugar' candies, right?" The thief asked.
"Umm, well I think they are. I haven't tried them yet…" Chrom trailed off, but from the looks of things, he won't be able to get any information, since he didn't have any gold on hand.
"IT'S A DEAL!" The thief suddenly shouted to Chrom's surprise, only "Huh?" leaving his lips. After processing what the thief said and shaking his head, he regained his composure and further elaborated on what left him stunned.
"Wait, you would risk your life and give us the information for a… bag of candy?" Chrom asked if he heard the thief correctly.
"I did say 'sweeten the deal', didn't I? Don't get me wrong, I will take the gold later as well." The thief said while pooping one of the surgery confections inside his mouth and he instantly added "Unless you have more of these… Do you have more of these!?" The thief demanded.
"I'll… ask Lissa when this is over, but now is not the time!" Chrom realized what the current satiation is and quickly grew more serious.
"Tell all of the information to a lady named Robin with white hair and a big purple coat. She is the tactician, and she will tell you what to do. She is in the farthest entrance, there." Chrom explained while pointing in the general direction where Robin was and the thief nodded while popping another candy inside his mouth.
"Sure thing, the name's Gaius by the way." The thief named Gaius said while bolting to Robin and gave a small salute to Chrom. He smiled at another of his successful recruitments. Robin wasn't kidding when she said he had the weirdest times bringing new people to the Shepherds and Gaius will be able to fill a role that was quite needed in the Shepherds. But that was a thought for another day, now he needed to hold his position before his allies arrive.
Robin burned another assassin to crisps using her personal tome and was getting exhausted rather quickly, but thankfully she got enough time for a small reprieve. That was until another orange-haired assassin coming from the other side, surprising Robin, but from the looks of it, he was friendly.
"Hey, is your name Robin?" the thief in question said.
"And if it was?" Robin answered, wary of this newcomer.
"Jeez, you guys need to work on how to greet people. The name's Gaius and the blue-haired blue blood sent me to you because you are the tactician and I have some info about your attackers. So, are you the lady I am looking for?" Gaius asked once more, and Robin eased slightly and was happy to hear to have any concrete information.
"Yes, anything you know about them will help us." She said and Gaius nodded and started to explain where, how, and why the attackers were here.
"So, they are on the other side of the castle walls…" Robin murmured while thinking of a strategy once Radko gathered the Shepherds. Gaius was currently defending in Robin's stead and thankfully didn't meet many attackers, but Robin was sure this wasn't all of them. What went unnoticed by her that from the back, one assassin was able to sneak up behind them.
He silently trotted to Robin and once he was close enough, he aimed for the kill. Robin noticed her attacker too late and couldn't dodge the attack in time.
Suddenly, a shadow dashed through Robin's field of vision, blocking the assassin from her view for a fraction of a second, and then the shadow disappeared along with the assassin. Robin was confused and looked around to spot the assassin she was being attacked by, only to find something that brought a chill down her spine.
It was a rabbit twice the size of a normal human being, it was lined with white and brown fur and surprisingly, some sort of purple leather armor that covered its chest, back, legs, and arms. It was biting and clawing into the assassin with the ferocity of a wild animal.
After leaving its prey twitching on the ground, it turned to face Robin with its glowing red eyes and Robin felt a chill go down her spine. She opened her tome and got ready to protect herself, only for the rabbit to exude some grey light, blinding Robin, forcing her to cover her eyes.
Once the light dissipated, Robin looked around to spot the giant rabbit, only for her to find a woman of all people who were at the same spot as the rabbit was before. The woman had revealing purple leather armor, only covering a portion of her chest, her leather leg guards left her barefoot and only reached her knees. Her midsection was covered by fur instead, she was sprouting a short brown bushy tail and the most surprising feature about the woman was her elongated bunny ears, almost reaching to her neck.
"Are you the man-spawn called Robin?" The woman asked with a tone that exuded resentment but wasn't hostile.
"I-I am." Robin stammered, not liking the way this woman seemed to be unfazed by the mauled assassin behind her.
"Then what are your orders, man-spawn?" She asked curtly. Robin had to do a double-take on what the woman said, however, the bunny-woman wasn't as patient as her.
"If you don't have any, then I will make my own." She replied because Robin was taking too much of her time in her mind "Don't stand in my way, man-spawn.".
The light enveloped the woman yet again, but this time Robin was prepared and brought a hand to block most of the harsh light. A small scaly done appeared around the woman, engulfing her and after a few moments, the same bunny appeared and rushed down the hallway.
"Who was that gal?" Asked the sugar thief and Robin had no idea so she shook her head. She was going to have to ask Radko or Marth about this mysterious woman, but at least she was another combatant in their ranks they didn't have to worry about if that mauled assassin wasn't any indication about how deadly that woman was.
And if Robin's fate couldn't get any better, Radko appeared with the Shepherds in tow, ready to defend the Exalt with their lives.
"I couldn't get everyone, but I think this should be enough to survive the night," Radko exclaimed and once Robin took a look who Radko brought along, she started giving orders to all of them to occupy certain positions. After doing so, there was the last Shepherd that was waiting for his orders.
"And what about me?" Asked Radko.
"You are going to stay with me and Gaius, heading through this corridor. I don't know where the rabbit woman went, but we are probably going to meet her on our way to the other side of the castle." Robin instructed and Radko brought his lance and got ready to defend.
"Don't push yourself too much, and only use your ice only when it is necessary," Robin added, getting a slight nod from Radko.
"Right," Radko spoke. He then turned to face the sugary thief who was eyeing him as well.
"Radko." Was all Radko said and Gaius smiled.
"Straight to the point, huh? Gaius." The thief replied and also got ready and Robin yelled out to all of the Shepherds to slowly move out to the other side of the castle, each group being at least three people big.
The trio trod slowly through the almost silent corridors, only faint sounds of clashing steel, footsteps, and magic could have been heard. Each person covered their backs, being as quiet as possible and careful not to alert potential threats that could appear.
That was until they got to a place filled to the brim with corpses, all looking like being killed by a wild animal. Some had deep cuts littered over their entire bodies while others had some of their limps bitten off, left bleeding on the ground. The sight looked like walking to a slaughterhouse of a butcher with a rusty cutlet.
"If I wasn't hardened by some of the stuff we went through then I would proceed to vomit, but I have nothing in my stomach left," Radko remarked at the horrible sight in front of them.
"Well, at least we can guess who did this," Gaius remarked and Radko and Robin nodded to that. They will just have to hope that this woman won't turn against them.
"Let's go, the garden shouldn't be too far." Robin urged the duo and they found the woman they were destined to find being on top of one of the assassins.
"Please! Have merc-!" The assassin pleads fell to deaf ears as the rabbit bit into his neck, blood starting to gush from the wound. The rabbit flailed the body around like a puppy would with a squeaky toy and threw the now dead assassin's body against the wall, blood splattering on it. It turned to face the trio and now it was Radko's time to get chill down his spine.
The rabbit then turned into the woman Robin saw just a few moments ago and she looked at the trio with a disinterested expression.
"Are you ready to give me orders then?" She asked once again and Robin involuntarily gulped from the pressure the woman exuded but steeled herself.
"You are going with us into the gardens." Robin curtly ordered and the woman expression changed into that of a curios fowl.
"You harbor fear, yet you are able to order me with a resolute tone." The woman remarked, a small smirk appearing on her face "Very well, I will follow your lead.".
Robin breathed a sigh of relief, thankful they don't have to fight the woman who was able to defeat half a dozen assassins without any wounds nor the loss of stamina.
"What is your name, tagual?" Radko asked, also slightly uneasy. The sudden race callout snapped the woman to look at Radko, a perplexed look on her face. Robin looked at Radko, having questions pile up in her head but didn't voice any of them since now wasn't the time.
"So, you know what I am. My name is Panne." The woman replied, sensing the slight hesitation in Radko's voice.
"I do, but I have only read about you and I don't want to get on your bad side if that mess back there was your doing," Radko remarked and urged Robin to keep going inside the gardens and the rest followed them.
The gardens weren't all that different from the ones they met Marth in, and everything seemed fine at first if it wasn't for the giant hole inside the walls of the castle allowing the assassins to move inside. Then they were able to spot the leader of the group.
"What do you mean the prince was left unscathed!? These incompetent fools don't know how to do their job properly. I want the Fire Emblem in my hands and Emmeryn dead on the floor! And don't let anything distract you from doing so!" He ordered the scout and he wordlessly left the leader; a sneer was plastered in his dark-colored skin. He scored a long narrow dark beard that reached his collar with jet black hair and dark purple robes lined with gold accessories and trimmings.
"That's their leader alright." Confirmed Gaius. He had two other dark mages with him, waiting for any threats that could come up.
"It seems we could engage now, we have the numbers advantage and Panne." Contemplated Robin but Radko had to stop her train of thought to clear up a few things about their target.
"He may not look like it, but their leader is extremely competent. So competent in fact that he might be able to beat all four of us head-on." Radko advised, surprising the trio, mainly Robin.
"You know who he is, don't you?" Robin asked and Radko nodded and elaborated further.
"From what I have heard his name is Validar and is the current leader of the Grimleal, and I am pretty sure that title isn't given to anyone lightly. Panne is probably able to smell just how much he reeks of dark magic."
"It seems you know more about the tagual than I thought. Yes, you are correct and that smell is quite overpowering." Agreed Panne, but Robin won't get persuaded easily.
"It doesn't matter who he is, he needs to be put down. Gaius, Panne," The two turned to Robin "You will stay here and make the two mages come here to investigate by baiting them in and dealing with them. I and Radko will come from behind their leader once he sends his mages to investigate. No matter how skilled you are, an ambush is an effective way to deal with powerful enemies." Robin finished and Radko was slightly uneasy about the fact he will have to fight Validar but didn't say anything.
The quartet got into positions and was ready to deal with the threat in front of them. Gaius picked up a fallen branch and threw it against the ground, breaking the branch and creating a loud enough sound to alert the three dark mages.
Validar whipped his head in the direction where the sound came from and ordered the two mages to go and investigate what was the source of the noise was leaving him alone in the gardens of the Ylissian castle.
Silence filled the air and Validar was getting rather impatient, it had been some time since he sent the two mages that hadn't come back yet. That was until he heard a rustle behind him and spotted Radko running at him with a spear in hand with an overhead slash.
The spear was brought down on him and he blocked it with his hand, forming a small barrier of dark magic, blocking the edge of the spear from cutting into his hand, but Radko didn't stop there. He brought his spear back to him and started a series of quick trusts, some were able to slightly graze Validar, but it wasn't anything major.
Validar grunted and brought his tome and dark matter started to form around his hand and unleashed it at his attacker who was able to dodge it in time, but it gave Validar enough time to spot another attacker who was charging a spell.
The sudden ball of lighting was blocked by another barrier made from shadow and Validar looked at his attackers who were together now at their unsuccessful attempt at quickly dealing with him and he spotted Robin. His eyes started to glint from the sheer euphoria he was experiencing and started to laugh.
"Hah! The fate is truly smiling upon me today and showers me with gifts that pile at my feet!" Validar said after his laughter died down "After years of searching I have finally found you, Robin!".
Robin instantly froze at the sound of her name coming from this man's lips and every fiber of her being was screaming her to run away from him and she had no idea as to why her feet were becoming weak and she started to backpedal.
"Y-You know who I am?" She asked weakly, her heart beating a mile minute, and was scared of the revelation this man could bring.
"Oh, I know you." Validar confirmed to Robin's horror "And perhaps I shall honor you with the truth if you will submit to me willingly." He sweetly offered, a contrast to his sharp features and an extended hand.
Robin's mind was racing, this man was offering her the truth about herself that she desired. Radko was the first person that knew about her, but he was adamant about not telling her. This man, who was trying to assassinate Emmeryn, knew about Robin and she was beginning to fear the past she forgot about if it involved someone like the man before her.
Radko then stepped forward, pointing his lance at Validar while blocking Robin from ever reaching for the hand the dark mage was offering.
"Robin isn't going anywhere, not while I am here," Radko stated and Validar started to sneer once he met eyes with Radko.
"And who you might be? Another actor who doesn't belong here?" Validar questioned, his head held high and looked down upon Radko.
"I may be an outsider," Radko agreed, but then got into his stance and his eyes were filled with determination "But that doesn't mean I don't have a say on what fate has to offer.".
"Hmph, fighting against fate is futile. You should know how to embrace it instead." Validar advised, "But enough talk, you are just another obstacle I just have to get rid of.".
As Validar finished his sentence, a dark aura started to envelop him and Radko could sense the pressure Validar was exuding, but he didn't falter. Radko looked back at Robin who still had a shellshocked expression.
"You with me, Robin?" Radko asked and that seemed to snap Robin out of her trance. She eyed the enemy before them and then resolutely nodded. She opened her tome and instructed Radko of her potential plan on how to defeat Validar and Radko wordlessly smiled, acknowledging Robin's strategy.
Radko charged at Validar once again, this time with a spell at the ready and Validar unleashed his barrage of dark shaped spikes at the duo. The sudden attack was then blocked by Radko creating a cold wind barrier in front of the two, knocking the spikes away and he was able to reach Validar once again.
He attacked with one of his combinations, mimicking his training with some of the Shepherds he had and Validar dodged most of them, only leaving a few scratches at his robes and almost visible chest. Radko's sweeping slash was then blocked by Validar's barrier and Radko could see the sneer he had turned into a full-blown scowl.
Validar summoned one of his spikes and jabbed it inside Radko's shoulder, coating his arm with his blood. He howled in pain and then was pushed back by one of Validar's punches, sending him stumbling to the ground on one knee.
"Hmm, what do we have here…" Validar contemplated while looking at the blood of Radko on his hands and brought it closer to inspection until…
"It can't be…" He uttered without Radko hearing it. Validar then looked at him who was treating his wound by freezing it with his ice magic, but he was still tired from the experimentations with Miriel he had done today and started to cough up blood, but to Validar's bafflement, he was still intact.
He didn't get to ponder about it for long however as a stream of purple fire irrupted from Robin's position. He tried to dodge the attack but he found out that he couldn't move from his spot. That was until he looked at his legs that were frozen to the ground and once he spotted Radko he had a smirk plastered on his face.
Validar brought up as powerful a barrier as he could muster to block the magical attack but the barrier quickly shattered, leaving him slightly charred after the attack was over.
"No… this is all wrong… you couldn't have known the plan…" He weakly muttered, he got ready for another spell he would launch against the duo if it wasn't for a sudden Falchion sprouting from his chest.
He didn't yell in pain nor said any last words, he wordlessly slumped to the ground on his pool of blood, leaving the corpse of the dark mage to rot. Chrom came to Robin and Radko, feeling of déjà vu flooded Chrom's mind thinking back at the situation back in Ferox, but this time Radko thankfully had a much smaller injury. Robin just seemed to be tired and only shallow cuts were visible on Robin's coat.
"Are you two alright?" He asked the duo and he got a smile from both.
"From the looks of things that was probably the last assassin we had to deal with," Radko remarked and Chrom smiled at that.
"Yeah, everyone was able to come out of relatively unscathed," Chrom reassured and Robin breathed a sigh of relief.
"Oh thank the gods for that," Robin said while helping Radko hoisting himself up.
"You should probably get that healed." Advised Chrom and Radko had to resist the urge of giving Chrom a deadpanned look but that probably would be distasteful in Radko's mind so he kept it to himself.
"Yes, let's go see how Emmeryn is doing," Radko said, prompting the two to follow.
"Since when did you start calling my sister by her name?" Chrom asked, slightly bemused.
"Because she asked me to during a teatime with her," Radko answered.
"Of course, you and your tea," Robin remarked and it brought chuckles from both, leaving the gardens and aiming to Emmeryn's quarters. Unbeknownst to them however, Validar wasn't fully dead.
With the strength he had left he hoisted himself up, breaking the ice that encased his legs. He grabbed his chest to cover the wound and trying to stop the bleeding to buy himself more time, but he was losing consciousness fast.
"How…" He muttered weakly to himself "How were they able to prepare for the assassination…".
He slumped from exhaustion, both knees on the ground and clutching his wound tightly.
"My purpose is too significant for me to fall here…" He flinched from the pain earning a grunt from himself. His vision blacked, he couldn't see the foliage of the Ylissian castle and everything around him darkened, but he was sure his eyes were still opened.
Suddenly, he could spot an outline of a figure in front of him, a dark fiery aura exuded from it. Validar squinted his eyes to make sure his mind wasn't playing tricks on him, but the outline was still there. It approached him, its footsteps were heard by Validar, confirming that this outline was a person.
"Validar." It said in an ethereal voice mixed authority and power.
"What? Who… are you? Where did you come from?" Validar asked the being while still grunting in pain.
"I am but a humble servant of my mistress and she seemed to be quite interested in your endeavor at trying to please her with your acts of faith." It answered and if Validar could hear well enough there was also a slight amount of bemusement in its voice.
"I always thought you were mostly fodder but she thinks otherwise, and she will grant you the means to survive your ordeal here at the castle." The being elaborated and Validar expression changed once from bewilderment to shock.
"Impossible! You are not her!" He almost yelled with the strength that was leaving him fast.
"Correct, I am, in fact, not her." It confirmed, "However, that doesn't mean I don't have the power to heal your wounds.".
It outstretched its hand and some of the purple aura flooded inside of Validar, immediately healing his wound, sealing it shut. His strength began to return and he eyed the figure with a perplexed look.
"Do not see this as an act of kindness, Validar. You are merely a puppet in the eyes of my mistress, and puppets are only good to her when they aren't dead but I am certain that you will gladly play your part in the future, no?" It asked, and Validar knew that the being before him was some sort of a messenger of the god he chose to worship.
"Of course." He answered and Validar could spot the grin on its face once he said so.
"Good, it's nice to see you humans cooperate so easily." It then looked somewhere beyond what Validar could see, but from what you could tell, the being was looking upward towards the darkness. As to what he saw there was unknown to him.
"Now, time to watch from the sidelines and enjoy their senseless struggle."
AN: Ok, first of all, I am sorry that this chapter was posted a little later than other times, but the reason for it is because didn't let me upload the chapter.
Second, I am taking a small break from writing A Beaten Path, real life has been, in a sense, a bitch and I need to get my priorities straight. That doesn't mean I won't continue the story. I proclaim that I WILL be one of the few SI writers that will finish their story, that I swear.
The break shouldn't last more than two weeks, but who knows what will happen. Thank you for being able to put up with me.
As always, thanks to the people at Fanfiction Treehouse for being a good company.
Link: gg/9XG3U7a
God's speed.