Chapter 5: The First Encounter

The departure into the wide fields of Ylisse was uneventful, and the voice that plagued Robin's thoughts failed to return, even if he tried to speak with it directly. He would not let those around him see how rattled he was, but his hands trembled inside his pockets. The voice… It was so familiar, yet for some reason, he could not recall why.

His past life in Plegia had to hold some of the answers, he thought. He remembered almost nothing of those seven years of his life, and it had been that way for quite some time. His father called it a suppression of memory, most likely brought on by trauma, but no one would tell him what that trauma was. Every now and again, Robin would get flashes- moments of what he could only assume was his past. Dark rooms, lightning flashing across the night sky, and recently, a woman with pure white hair. When he was younger, his father never had any answers, and so Robin had stopped telling him about the memories he came across, no matter how strange and terrifying they were.

But this voice… That was a problem. Something inside the mage told him to keep this to himself, for it was weird and concerning for anyone to hear voices like that. His father might find him crazy, and worrying the man was one of the last things he wanted to do.

"Hello? Earth to Robin?"

Flinching at the sound of Chrom's voice, Robin snapped himself out of his thoughts. The prince was looking to him expectantly, which wasn't all too surprising. They'd been walking for almost three hours, and conversation with anyone else in the party wasn't incredibly… stimulating.

"Sorry, my mind was elsewhere. What did you say?" Robin asked, hoping Chrom wasn't keen enough to pick up on his internal conflict.

Chrom nodded in understanding. "Yeah, the anticipation is killing me too. I just wanted to ask about that coat you've got. I don't think I've seen you wear that before."

He looked up and down his sleeves, holding an arm out to Chrom to examine the fabric if he wished. "My father gave it to me this morning," he admitted. "It's styled after his own… Well, not the one he wears now, but the one he wore when he first came to Ylisse." A smile appeared on his face. "He had it made for me, almost like a way to blend the culture of my heritage and the culture I live in now. The blues and silvers were even modeled after your colors, I think."

"So I noticed," Chrom said in awe as he studied the handiwork. Just as Robin had said, it was definitely Plegian in fashion, but any identifying stiches or emblems had been removed. It was quite fitting for a refugee. "Guess that means you better not find another nobleman to serve when you become a full-blown tactician, otherwise our whole matching situation will be gone for good."

"Oh, come on. If this is about me being your tactical partner in crime once you get some more experience under your belt, then forget it. Even if I don't serve you directly, we're still going to be connected to each other. Think of this coat as a symbol of that, okay?"

"Okay, okay, I get it. But still, if you leave me and go serve one of those stuffed up members of the council instead, I might just have to hunt you down and steal you away until you come to your senses."

Robin laughed softly. "Good luck with that, Chrom. Now that I know that's your plan, I'll be preparing. Think you can outwit me?"

"Unlikely." A sigh escaped the lord's lips, and he shook his head impatiently. "Still though, I've said it before and I'll say it again: you're one hell of a tactician. Anyone would be lucky to have you on their si-" Before Chrom could finish, Frederick held out a hand, stopping them all in their tracks. Puzzled, the prince shared a concerned look with Robin before stepping forward to his knight. The brigands weren't supposed to be camped this close according to their intel, but something definitely had the cavalier spooked.

Waiting anxiously, Robin placed a hand on the hilt of his sword. Miriel and Vaike had fallen silent just as quickly, and though he couldn't see their expressions behind him, he knew they were just as worried.

Minutes of silence and waiting passed, and Robin felt his hands start to shake more. Relax, he told himself. He would be no good to his team if he was rattled like this, so with a soft exhale, he glanced around the area. Currently, they were on the outskirts of one of the open fields, and there was a thin treeline providing some cover from any possible enemies. That was good.

Nothing looked out of the ordinary though, and for the life of him, Robin couldn't figure out why Frederick had stopped them all. He swallowed thickly, continuing to keep his guard up.

"What's goin' on?" Vaike hissed, to which Robin offered a shrug. Miriel smacked the blond's shoulder lightly, eliciting a soft "Hey!" from him.

Frederick and Chrom crept forward several steps, the former with his lance now drawn and at the ready. Turning back towards the rest of the group, Chrom motioned for everyone else to do the same. Warily, each of them followed his orders. With his hands trembling a little less than before, Robin held his sword out defensively.

Just as everyone had revealed their weapons, chaos descended. From behind a cluster of trees to the right, a man rushed at Chrom with an axe drawn and at the ready. In one swift motion, Frederick stepped in front of the prince and blocked the blow, his strength on par with the fully grown man who was now his opponent.

"What's the plan, tactician?!" Chrom called out as two more brigands rushed to their friend's aid. Robin spun around wildly, mind racing. Where were they even coming from?

From behind, Miriel let out a cry of pain as another new foe took a swing at her. It didn't look serious, but as he himself knew, mages weren't built to hold their own against many physical attacks. In retaliation, Vaike let out a fierce battle cry and swung powerfully at the target, actually landing a more severe blow.

Thinking at a speed he'd never had to work at before, Robin finished his assessment of the area. Wherever these enemies were coming from, they'd need to locate it at some point, but the priority right now was protecting everyone.

"Vaike!" Robin cried out. "Protect Miriel! Try and move together so she can get those guys around Frederick from a distance!" It looked like the concentration of the enemy was up front, and the only threats so far had emerged from hiding to their right. "Head left!"

The fighter and mage nodded, and Vaike kept himself between his enemy and Miriel. Without much hesitation, she increased the distance between them, and to Robin's surprise, she grabbed her tome and flung it open. A small but powerful ball of fire left her hands as she read the spell aloud, causing the brigand to reel backwards as it made contact. His hair and clothes caught fire, and in his few seconds of shock, Vaike attacked once again, though this time, he used the blunt end of his axe to strike the man's head. Miriel removed her magical flames and the man lay unconscious, undone by a combo that Robin had not expected. Had that even been planned?

Robin's focus shifted back to Chrom and Frederick. Not much had changed in those few seconds, but Chrom was facing off against an enemy of his own now while Frederick continued to hold off two. Neither would have too much trouble, but until he knew for sure there wouldn't be reinforcements from the same direction, he needed to go help.

"I'm coming, Frederick!"

Robin held his sword out threateningly and charged at one of the brigands, whose eyes left Frederick for a split second. Unfortunately for him, it was just long enough for the knight to gain the upper hand and deliver a devastating blow to his armored abdomen. A soft "oof!" of pain came from the man, but he was still standing. If Frederick wasn't able to take him out in one attack, then maybe the foes up front were stronger somehow.

"Robin!"

A cry of warning came from the female mage behind him, but it did not come soon enough. Sprinting towards Robin was another, tougher looking man, and he tackled Robin to the ground with ease. The impact knocked the boy breathless, his sword falling out of his grasp. "Let me go!" he hissed between gritted teeth, but the man only threw his head back and cackled. He roughly grabbed Robin by his shirt, hoisting him painfully to his feet. Dizzy and discombobulated, it took Robin a second to process the feeling of cold steel of the man's axe pressed against his neck.

"Listen up, you lot!" the man shouted. "Lay down your weapons or this one gets it!"

The threat rang across their entire battlefield, and everyone stopped in their tracks. All eyes rested on Chrom, who threw down Falchion. The brigand he'd been in combat with eyed the weapon with glee, making sure Chrom knew he was at a disadvantage now. Frederick's eyes were filled with fury at the action, but he said nothing and followed the lead of his lord, tossing his lance aside.

Though he couldn't see them, Robin heard the clatter of Vaike's axe on the ground, and he only assumed Miriel dropped her tome. Damn it, he thought, cursing himself for getting them into this situation. He tried to struggle out of the man's hold, but each time he did, the man forced the blade harder against his throat.

"Well done. Seems even them fancy soldiers from the capitol know when to give up," the man- presumably the leader of the group- said. "Now, here's what's gonna happen: You're going to leave us all your weapons and all your gold, and we just might let you all leave here alive."

Robin winced at the demands. This was a small encounter, one that the five of them easily could have neutralized, and now they were going to lose like this? The thought sickened him.

"That's not going to happen, I can tell you that much," Chrom finally said. "We are knights of Ylisstol, and we do not bow to your demands."

"Boy, do you think I'm daft? That there sword you've got doesn't belong to any knight I know of. That's the sword passed down through the exalted bloodline, and only a member of the royal family can wield it. There's only one Ylissean prince that I know of, and it just so happens that he'd be around your age. Bet taking that noble whelp into our custody would pay a handsome amount of coin through ransom."

Robin's stomach dropped, and Chrom's face paled almost instantly. Frederick at least managed to keep his face of stone, but his eyes still blazed with anger.

"Well, have anything to say? Any cutting remarks, prince? Pleas for mercy?"

Chrom's hands balled into fists, and it was clear his thoughts were racing. He took a step towards their leader, raising his head so their eyes could meet. "You have trespassed on our lands and wreaked havoc on the surrounding villages. If you expect me to believe you built up the resources and skill to go from petty thefts and mild arson to kidnapping royalty in the span of a day, then you're wrong. I'll say it again: we will not bow to your demands. I'm offering you a chance to surrender now and come back to Ylisstol with us quietly, or else we will drag you there to answer for your crimes by force."

Robin inhaled nervously as the grip around him tightened painfully. Chrom winced a little at the sight of his tactician in pain, but did not lose the power in his threat. "Well? What say you?"

The leader of the group smirked. "Boy, look at you now. There's four of ya, and you're all children. How exactly do you expect to drag us anywhere?" He chuckled, digging the steel of his blade into Robin's neck ever so slightly. "Now, me and my lads are gonna take your friend and your fancy sword for now, and ya better have a mountain of gold to exchange for them. If them fancy nobles don't want to gather up that amount of coin, I understand, but we'll kill the boy, no hesitation. Sound fair, princey boy?"

"You cravens," Vaike hissed. Chrom sent a glare his direction, soon shaking his head in protest.

"Take me for ransom instead," the prince demanded. "He isn't the prince here, not even a noble. I'm much more valuable to you than he is."

The bandits laughed loudly in unison, and the blade eased up from Robin's throat. He could see that Frederick was practically shaking now, ready to spring into action the moment an opportunity arose. "Interesting proposition you've got there," their leader remarked. "If I agree, then you're not to struggle or fight back, ya hear? We caught your ragtag group of friends once, and we can do it again."

Chrom swallowed, but he eventually nodded. "Let him go, and you've got a deal."

Robin couldn't take it anymore. He had held his tongue until now, but Chrom didn't seem to have any sort of plan to get out of this. He was agreeing to do something awful! "Chrom, don't do this! I'll be okay, I promise! Just think about this for a second, please!"

"I have thought it through, Robin," he said firmly, not breaking eye contact with the man in charge. "Release him," he repeated. "Release him now."

With a satisfied grin, the man lowered his axe and tossed Robin to the ground several feet away, where he landed with an "oof" and sat up slowly, head spinning. He was quickly surrounded by more of the brigands, and a bitter expression found its way to his face. "You're a damn fool, Chrom," he muttered, to which the prince said nothing.

"Well then," the man said, "I hope your boy here has a decent memory, because here are the terms for your release." With a rope he'd had attached to his belt, the man took Chrom's hands and tied them behind his back. The prince's face was practically expressionless save for his resolve, and Robin could only watch in terror. "There's an abandoned group of fortresses just north of here. Tomorrow, we best be seeing ya there, but this time, you'll be handing over all the gold you can carry. Show up with anyone else or without the money and noble boy here gets it. Understand?"

"Yes."

"Good. And if you try and follow us, same deal. Try and stop this, and ya get your prince back in pieces."

Despite being captured, Chrom kept his head high, looking on as the brigands picked up Falchion and carried it in one of their sheaths. With no more words needing to be exchanged between any of them, the leader escorted Chrom out of the woods, his men following not long after. Once they finally walked out of sight, a frustrated grunt came from Frederick, and his eyes rested on Robin.

"This is your fault," he said furiously. "Lord Chrom being taken for ransom? How are we supposed to trust anything those foul brigands said?! What if they cross us and take him to the Plegian king instead? What would you have us do then?!"

Robin winced at his words. He picked himself off the ground, inhaling sharply as his bruised ribs ached. "Frederick, I- I'm sorry, okay? I didn't know Chrom would offer himself up instead! That was the most boneheaded thing I've ever seen him do!"

"Well, at least we're in agreement about that…" the knight muttered. "We will discuss your fate later. For now, we need for focus on getting Lord Chrom back. If we turn back now, we can arrive in the capital city before nightfall and prepare the ransom demanded."

"I… I'm not sure that's a good idea," Robin responded softly. Miriel and Vaike made their way over to the other two, and both were minorly injured. Thankful nothing worse than a few scrapes and bruises had occurred, Robin gently placed a gloved hand on his throat where the blade had cut. "You said it yourself, Frederick. We don't know what will happen to Chrom if those guys choose to cross us. We can't trust them in the slightest."

"I assume you have a plan?" Miriel asked. She sounded confident, almost as though she'd expected Robin to have a course of action prepared. That alone gave him a swell of optimism, and he smiled at her softly.

"Yes, I do. This is still Chrom's mission, and I don't want to jeopardize it. If we move quickly, we might be able to lose the soldiers assigned to watch over us." Vaike opened his mouth to object, but Robin continued, anticipating his question. "I know we lost bad, but if those guys spot actual members of the army, there's a lot more ways they can act. They're less predictable. If we somehow get spotted, it doesn't mean as much. We're way less of a threat in their eyes, which means they're far less likely to panic."

"Maybe- and hear me out- maybe we're seen as less of a threat because we actually are," Vaike commented. "We sucked back there. And let me guess, you want us to follow them and ambush them, right? In their own territory?"

"We weren't expecting an attack, first of all," Robin countered. "None of us were ready. Well, actually, some of us were ready, but that's besides the point. We weren't coordinated enough yet to fight off an ambush, so yes, we lost. And second, even though those fortresses are theirs at the moment, we still hold some advantage. If we ambush them, we might be able to succeed. We just need to scout out the area and plan our attack accordingly."

"That's incredibly reckless," Miriel warned. "We were outnumbered here, so the chances of them having even more reinforcements back at their encampment are quite high. With our current success rate, it's unlikely we would win against such a force."

"I know."

"And you realize that if they were to spot us coming, Chrom could suffer because of it?"

"Yes, I know. But we can't just leave him. You heard him stand up to that guy- he didn't want to bow to any sort of demands. If any one of us were in his place, you know he'd try and get us back as soon as possible," Robin argued.

Frederick sighed softly. "The young lord is… Not the most thoughtful when it comes to strategy. Of course he'd go after the hostage- he doesn't know any better."

Robin shook his head. "No, he doesn't. But I do. I've been training and studying my whole life, and even if the plan isn't the best, I know I can guide us through to a victory." He paused. "Please, let me do this. It's my fault we're in this mess. I want to make it up to you all… I want to make it up to Chrom. I was careless before, but I won't be now. I know we're small in number and limited in experience, but I have faith we can do this. The scales are tipped in favor of the enemy, but that doesn't mean the fight is lost."

Each of his companions exchanged looks and nervous glances. Robin felt his heart pound, trying frantically to recall every tactical lesson his father had ever given him. Their conversation from the morning came to him, and he remembered that he had been asked why he didn't send stronger warriors with Chrom. In hindsight, he knew that would have been a safer option, but given the information they'd had, there was nothing to fear. Now, it wouldn't be skill levels and numbers that defined the fate of the battle, but rather the expectations their enemies held.

Those men were older, more experienced in combat, but they didn't have near the same amount of potential as everyone sitting beside him. If led properly, that potential would carry them to victory.

They will underestimate us, Robin thought. They have good reason to, but I will make sure that is their downfall.

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