Just outside Castle Caelin…
"We're almost there, milady." Kent encouraged. "You should be able to see the walls of the castle as soon as we pass these mountains."
"Grandfather…" Lyn clenched her fists. "I'll be with you soon…"
"Everything rests on this next battle…" Kent sighed. "There's no doubt Lundgren will still have men to guard the castle."
"Yes, but he will not be receiving any of the reinforcements he was probably expecting, right?" Sain asked.
"That doesn't mean the battle will be easy." Kent reminded him.
"No, of course not. I wasn't trying to imply that it would be."
"He's still going to come at us with everything he's got."
"Then let him come!" Lyn declared. "Let them all come! But I will not turn away. I've come too far to let anyone stand in my way! My friends, please lend me your strength for one last time!"
One by one, each member of the group gave their affirmation. Even Rath, who normally doesn't socialize with any of the others, gave a nod to show that he agreed, and he understood.
As the group turned around the mountain, they found themselves facing Castle Caelin in the distance. Between them and the castle stood a small bridge, guarded by a platoon of soldiers.
"There they are!" A soldier beckoned to his compatriots. "Quickly, someone go inform Lord Lundgren!"
Immediately, one soldier broke from their ranks and began running in the direction of the castle.
"Can you guys take out the soldiers?" Robin asked.
"Not a problem." Wallace pounded his chest plate. "Could probably do it by myself."
"What are you going to do?" Lyn asked.
"I need to concentrate on taking down that messenger." Robin explained as he began to focus. "We might be able to draw closer to the castle with little resistance if Lundgren doesn't realize we've arrived."
Robin ignored the cries of battle and the sound of Wallace's thundering footsteps as he barreled towards the poor troops of Caelin. Within his mind, he locked onto the coordinates of the runaway messenger. He raised his left hand as he held a purple tome with his right.
All Robin did was cast a simple flux spell. And yet, as soon as the messenger got hit by the attack, losing his life was already a foregone conclusion.
'I'm impressed.' Grima praised. 'You pick up things rather quickly. What you just did is actually extremely difficult. The spell itself is easy, yet the difficulty lies in the range of the attack. Actually, it's the entire basis of the Mire spell.'
'It looks like they're done over here as well…'
"Robin, there's enemies approaching from our rear!" Wil warned.
Robin turned his head to see many groups of soldiers approaching from behind. They had indubitably heard the sound of fighting, and were rushing over to check out the situation.
"Everyone, cross the bridge!" Robin exclaimed.
As soon as everyone made it across, Robin cast Bolganone on the center of the bridge. The ball of fire created was so hot it instantly burnt through the bridge, leaving two charred halves that were no longer connected.
"Quickly! Let's head to the castle. That'll buy us some time, but I'm sure they'll be able to find some other way to cross."
"...It's going to rain soon." Rath informed them matter of factly as the group rushed forward.
"Rath, this isn't the time for that!" Sain protested.
"I'm serious." Rath stood his ground. "I don't mean a few drops of water… I mean a heavy rain that will make it extremely difficult to move forward."
"You're sure about that?" Robin asked.
"When it comes to predicting the weather within the day, I've never been wrong before." Rath replied confidently. "It will be inconvenient, but such heavy rains usually don't last a very long time."
"How long do we have?"
"Fifteen to thirty minutes."
"...that should be enough time for us to make it over to those houses over there. We might be able to take shelter while the storm passes then."
Robin directed everyone to slightly alter their course, so instead of heading straight for the castle, they headed towards a small group of houses.
Unfortunately, they weren't able to make it before the downpour began. As the rain started to pick up, everyone increased their pace as they didn't want to be completely drenched.
Matthew reached their goal first, and after a short conversation with one of the homeowners, received permission for them to stay under the shelter of an empty stable to wait out the rain, or at least until it began to slow down.
"Honestly, I didn't expect to rain this hard." Lyn sighed as she tried to squeeze out some water from the end of her ponytail.
"My tome is completely drenched…" Erk complained. "Oh well, at least it wasn't the Elfire tome. The regular Fire ones are comparably easier to replace…"
"M-matthew, I'm fr-fr-freezing!" Serra complained as she wrapped her arms around herself, shivering.
"What are you expecting me to do? We're all in the same boat here." Matthew leaned against a fence with his arms crossed. "You're crazy if you think I'm gonna cuddle with you."
"We have some blankets." Robin and Dorcas entered the stable from the entrance connecting to the farmhouse. In their arms were each a bundle of blankets, and they began to pass them out.
"A-about t-time!" Serra snatched hers from Dorcas's outstretched hand and immediately wrapped it around herself. "Uh… I mean, thanks."
"Where'd you get those?" Sain asked as he received one from Robin.
"The owner gave them to us." Dorcas replied as he gave another over to Wil.
"We told him why we're here, and he told us we can have them as long as we get rid of Lundgren." Robin explained as he gave the last one he carried to Lyn.
"Th-thanks." Lyn accepted the blanket. "...but… you don't have one…"
"Well, there's not enough for one for everyone." Robin shrugged. Indeed, Dorcas, Kent and Wallace had voluntarily gave up their claim to a blanket as well. "But don't worry, I'm already dry."
"Hey, he's right!" Sain pinched Robin's cloak, and didn't feel a single wet spot throughout. "How'd you do that? You were running through the rain just like the rest of us… and yet there's not a single sign of you being wet. That's like a magic trick or somethin'."
"Well, it does have to do with magic, I suppose." Robin pointed to his clothes. "These were made from an exceptionally magic resistant material… so all I did was cast Fire on myself. It dried out my clothes without burning them."
"Damn, that's convenient…" Matthew sighed.
"Hey Erk, can you do that for me?" Serra tugged on the sleeve of her 'escort'.
"Like hell I can! I'm more likely to burn through your clothes than I am to dry them."
"Ew! Pervert!"
"You're the one who brought it up!"
"But you're the one that took it in such a perverted direction!"
"I was just informing you of the facts!"
"Yes, and it's a fact that you're a pervert!"
"Who do I even bother with you…"
"Well, at least come sit down… you know, so you can conserve your energy." Lyn pleaded with her eyes, ignoring the banter between Serra and Erk.
"Uh, it's not really tiring… standing is nowhere near as hard as marching after all…"
"How tone deaf can you be, lad?" Wallace gave Robin a small shove in the right direction. "Don't keep the lass waiting! Why'd you think she asked you and not any of us that're still standing? "
Robin looked around, only to see Kent pretending to be busy tending to the horses, and Matthew forcefully turned his gaze away, pretending to not even notice the conversation. Even Rath had taken out his bow and was restringing it. Something that Robin knew definitely was not in dire need of attention right now.
'It looks like you've been stabbed in the back.' Grima noted.
'I think you might be right.' Sighing in defeat, Robin went over and took a seat next to Lyn. The greenette's face was downcast, evidently too embarrassed that Wallace had all but voiced out her intentions for the entire world to know.
When she finally worked up the courage to take a peak at Robin out of the corner of her eye, Lyn saw him trying to dry his hair off with a towel.
"So do you know how long this rain will last?" Robin directed the question at Rath.
"It's raining too hard for me to predict anything… I can't see anything besides rain clouds and more rain clouds." Rath explained. "But my best guess is that it's almost over. Any more rain and the fields will flood. From what I understand, that's something that doesn't happen very frequently, so it's likely that this time is no different."
"I wonder how the soldiers sent to stop us are doing." Wil fidgeted around with his bow. "I mean, we're lucky to be able to find some shelter and all, but I'm sure some of them weren't as lucky."
"With a little luck, maybe Lundgren will get swept away from the rain and drown in a river somewhere." Sain muttered.
Robin, as well as a few others, let out a chuckle at Sain's fantasy. He turned his head when he felt something touch his arm. It seems Lyn had nudged herself closer to him when she thought that no one was watching. They were close enough so that their shoulders were touching at this point. Robin felt like he should probably say something, but Lyn looked so content as is, that he ended up keeping his mouth shut.
'Sorry, Lucina…' Robin gave a silent apology.
The conversation continued. After all, they were all basically stuck while it kept raining, so there wasn't really anything better to do. However, Lyn had lost track of the topic a long time ago. Though it was through both of their clothes as well as a layer of blanket, she was still able to feel a slight bit of warmness emanating from Robin, and clutched onto that small feeling with all her might. At some point, Lyn began leaning her head against his shoulder without even realizing it.
For a brief moment, Lyn forgot about Lundgren and the Caelin inheritance dispute. She forgot about all the soldiers standing in their way and all the obstacles they had already crossed. The only thing she felt was Robin's presence next to her. It was a pleasant feeling, one that made her chest feel all bubbly with excitement. In her head, she gave a silent prayer of gratitude towards Father Sky for giving her the opportunity for this feeling through the rain.
Perhaps her tiredness finally caught up to her. Perhaps the steady drumbeat of raindrops falling onto the ground was making her drowsy. Or perhaps she just felt safe to do so. Lyn slowly drifted off into the realm of dreams.
However, all good things must eventually come to an end. Eventually, the rain began to slow down, until it eventually stopped. Once this occurred, Rath informed everyone that it was fine for them to begin marching again. And with that, her happy moment drew to an abrupt conclusion.
"Hey, we're going to start moving again." Robin gently nudged Lyn awake. She blinked a few times, and it was evident that she was still a little hazy and confused from just waking up. But she didn't question the situation and slowly got up.
Seeing her state, Kent helped her onto a horse, and the group set out once again.
"She must have been really tired." Sain pointed out as they set off. "I guess we really have been through a lot."
"I'm surprised that she was able to fall asleep next to Robin, considering he's so sc-" Florina didn't get to finish her sentence before Matthew and Wil turned and glared at her. Warning signals flashed in Florina's head as she realized her mistake. "-Eep! R-robin, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean-"
"No, it doesn't matter." Robin laughed it off. "I really don't mind. In fact, I think Lyn is the odd one, who can somehow completely let down her guard. I think that coming from your perspective, showing an appropriate amount of caution is rather wise."
Matthew let out a sigh of relief. 'It seems he's not quick tempered…'
"That's the castle right over there." Kent pointed in front of them after they traveled another half hour or so. "Right across that bridge."
"It looks like they have some guards stationed." Sain shielded his eyes from the sunlight.
"And I have some more bad news… it seems there are some people coming from our backside as well…" Wil added. "They don't seem very friendly."
"Damn, I guess we're surrounded." Erk balled up one of his hands into a fist.
"Milady, the battle's going to start." Kent assisted Lyn, who had finally woken up completely, from the horse.
"What's the plan?" Wil asked. "If we do nothing, they're going to sandwich us!"
"Cross the bridge." Wallace pounded his chest plate. "Leave the backside to this old bull!"
"Can you hold them off?" Robin asked. "And for how long?"
"I can prevent them from crossing for hours if needed!" Wallace boasted. "Although… I'd prefer if things were settled on the other end sooner than that. The point is, you can leave this side of the fight to me!"
"All right then, I'll take your word for it." Robin nodded. "It shouldn't take too long. Maybe the guards are stronger than what we've faced in the past, but there's far fewer enemies… we should be able to defeat them and beat Lundgren in less than 'a few hours'. We won't keep you waiting."
"That would be appreciated." Wallace grinned as he put on his helmet and readied his lance. "Now go!"
"Robin, please let me defend those of us incapable of defending themselves." Lucius requested.
"All right." Robin nodded. "Ninian, Nils, are you fine with that?"
"Yeah." Nils agreed instantly.
"Y-yes… thank you, milord." Ninian nodded.
Compared to the bandits and soldiers they've previously fought, the guardsmen defending Castle Caelin were a cut above. However, at this point Lyn, Kent, and even Sain had received enough training that they could each defeat an opponent in a one on one confrontation easily, and without any assistance. Erk had also trained extensively with Robin by this point, and his spells posed a major threat to anyone that was not cautious of him.
Furthermore, despite the fact that their opponents have had formal military training, Lycia as a whole has had less experience with war and conflict, at least in the last several decades, as Robin himself. Two wars with Plegia and one against Valm, not to mention actually slaying the Fell Dragon Grima and inheriting his knowledge and experience… no one on the entire continent, and perhaps even the world, could boast to be more familiar with war than Robin.
With Robin's shotcalling, Lyn and her friends began to push back the guardsmen, one by one without suffering a single major casualty. Any minor wounds were patched up by Serra, and Robin stepped in from time to time to ensure that everything went along smoothly.
"Robin!" Florina suddenly called out from the air.
"There are cavaliers incoming from our flank!" Robin called out. "Good work, Florina!"
"We're on it!" Kent and Sain each dispatched the enemy they were currently tangling with, and headed off in the direction of them. Rath also redirected his firing, as per Robin's direction.
"Wil, Dorcas could use a little assistance!"
The archer shot an arrow in Dorcas's direction, injuring the soldier he was wrestling with. Dorcas elbowed the side of the man's head and shoved him aside, getting ready to face the incoming Knight. However, before he was in range to get into a fight, a fireball from Erk came in his direction and struck his incoming enemy directly in the chest. The startled Knight was unable to then defend himself as he lost concentration. Dorcas was able to smash his axe through the slightly softened steel on the front of the man's chestplate.
"Lyn!" Florina began to dive towards her friend in alarm as an enemy charged her from a blind angle. Lyn also turned at the warning, but at that point, the enemy was almost in her face. There was no way she could defend herself from both her current opponent and the new one.
At this point, seeing as she couldn't defend herself on two fronts, she made the decision, though reluctantly, to ignore the assailant and focus on her current enemy.
Several bolts of lightning suddenly rained from the sky, electrifying the surprised assailant just mere steps away from Lyn. After she defeated her opponent, and realizing she was still unharmed, Lyn turned to look for the person that saved her.
She wasn't disappointed.
"Keep fighting." Robin gave her a grin. "You don't have to be afraid of anything when I'm watching your back."
Lyn gave him a grateful smile. Robin's words gave her confidence to continue slaughtering her way towards the castle.
"Over there!" A Caelin soldier called. "Get reinforcements to our right flank! Don't let the girl through! Inform the archers-"
Before the man could finish his sentence, he turned around to see his subordinates lying on the ground, dead.
"Did you forget about me?" A voice from behind asked. A knife was abruptly brought to his throat, and the commander followed his subordinates to the afterlife.
"To kill a snake, cut off its head." Matthew nodded in approval as he cleaned his knife off. "But how did Robin know there would be a commanding officer directing the battle from this location?"
The thief looked off in Robin's direction. "Ylisse… I'll have to let Lord Uther know… hopefully Lycia and Ylisse can form a friendly relationship, or at least a peaceful one. I don't know much about Ylisse, but if they are as militant as Bern, Lycia could be in big trouble… especially if there are more people in Ylisse capable of… that."
What Matthew was referring to was Robin's magic as he defended himself. Eventually, the Caelin soldiers realized that there was also a shotcaller on Lyn's side, and once they connected the dots, many soldiers began targeting the tactician.
However, none of them got remotely close to him.
A sharp gale knocked away the arrows that were shot at him. A ball of magma formed out of nowhere and exploded, burning several foot soldiers to death. Thunderclouds formed overhead, occasionally, striking individual soldiers that approached. Robin flung his hand, and icicles flew out, impaling more enemies. As quickly as the spell was cast, Robin pointed at another opponent, and a stream of fire flew out from his fingertips, incinerating his opponent. Once in a while, someone would step on a dark sigil Robin had laid on the ground, causing it to explode and damaging them with a combination of dark magic and flying debris.
His right hand was a blur. He was cycling though tomes like a court jester that made cards seemingly appear out of the air. Except, in this case, the tomes really were appearing out of the air.
Robin himself was at the eye of the magical storm. He casually and calmly followed behind Lyn from a distance while simultaneously fighting and calling out commands. Instead of a straight line, he often moved forward in a zig zag, walking towards the bodies of his felled enemies, prioritizing the largest groups of them first. Once he arrived at their locations, he could be seen kneeling down, perhaps inspecting them or something. Matthew wasn't sure.
Eventually, those that had been watching Robin fight on Caelin's side lost their morale. Some soldiers opted to toss away their weapons and run for their lives instead of charging towards the hurricane of magic that surrounded their opponent. Others that were more confident in their ability met the same fate as their other compatriots who had previously challenged him.
With Robin at her backside, it was extremely easy for her to charge towards the castle, from both a physical and mental perspective. Soon, she found herself standing in front of the drawbridge to the castle.
A lone General was standing on the other side.
"So you're the girl claiming kinship with my brother…" Lundgren smirked at Lyn.
"You'll play this farce until the end, won't you, Lundgren?" Lyn asked.
"The royal house of Caelin has no need for a Sacaen mongrel." Lundgren responded. "I'll put an end to this foolishness right here, right now."
"To further your own black ambitions, you've harmed my grandfather and the very land you ought to serve. I have neither pity nor mercy for you. Lundgren! Prepare yourself!"
Lundgren leveled his lance at Lyn and charged her. Lyn drew her Mani Katti and did the same. Lyn had run across two thirds of the drawbridge before their first exchange.
Though Lyn had improved a lot in the past few weeks, Lundgren had been fighting for far, far, longer. He expertly kept Lyn at a distance with the longer reach of his lance. Lyn had to keep dodging backwards to prevent herself from getting impaled by the powerful lance. Because she wasn't wearing armor, a single stab could mean the end of everything, so she had to play it extremely carefully.
Lundgren was casually stabbing and taking steps forward. Though Lyn didn't realize it, Lundgren was simply toying with her. She was too focused on looking for opportunities to counter attack. She knew her sword could not pierce through Lundgren's suit of armor, so she was looking for chances to strike the only unprotected area: his head. Before long, they had already moved to the end of the drawbridge that was pointing away from the castle.
At this point, an opening came. 'There!'
Lyn darted in towards Lundgren and slashed at his face. However, Lundgren was ready for the swing, and caught her blade with his free gauntlet. Lundgren grinned at Lyn victoriously.
'Not good!' Lyn panicked. 'He left that one on purpose! I've been tricked!'
Lundgren swung his lance arm, and slammed the shaft of the weapon into Lyn's stomach. Lyn lost her grip on her sword, and fell to her knees. She supported herself with one hand, while she clutched her stomach with the other. Lyn coughed up a mouthful of blood.
There was a sound of thunder, as rain began to fall from the sky once again.
"You've lost, you stupid Sacaen savage." Lundgren positioned the point of his spear at her face, a mere inch away, right between her eyes. "If you beg for forgiveness, I'll kill you quickly and mercifully.
In response, however, Lyn only glared daggers at him.
"Still catching your breath?" Lundgren chuckled. "Well I can't blame you. That last hit must've knocked the wind out of you. It doesn't really matter. As long as you're dead, I won't face any more problems."
Lundgren raised his lance. "Farwell, bitch."
Lyn closed her eyes and turned away, expecting her death. 'I guess this is the end…'
However, it never came. Instead, Lyn heard Lundgren scream in pain.
"...After all this time, you really don't have much faith in me, do you?" the familiar voice of Robin asked her. "I told you, when you have me watching your back, there will be nothing to fear."
Lyn opened her eyes to see Robin somehow standing behind Lundgren, who had fallen to his knees. His forearm was still clutching the lance, except it was lying on the ground, far away from the rest of his body. In Robin's hand, he held a strange, curved weapon that she had never seen before. She began tearing up after realizing that everything was going to be OK.
"My hand! My hand!" Lundgren continued to scream in pain.
"I've just about heard enough out of you." Robin raised his scythe.
"No… wait!" Lundgren raised his remaining hand in front of his face. "I… I know about you! Please, serve me and I'll give you far more than whatever that mongrel offered you! I'll forgive and forget about my arm as well! Please!"
"Oh?" Robin grinned. "What are you offering?"
"M-money!" Lundgren stammered. "However much you want!"
Robin scratched his chin as he lowered his weapon. "Ok… I'm listening…"
"Wait… R-robin?" Lyn asked, not believing that Robin would even consider betraying her.
But Robin seemed to ignore her.
"...and… women!" Lundgren continued. "I'll round up all the fair maidens in the castle… a-and the villages! You can take your pick! A-as many as you want!"
"Really now…" Robin seemed to be considering the offer. "Is that it?"
"N-no!" Lundgren's eyes darted from side to side. "A-and… power! Yes, power! You can be my right hand man! You'll have power over Caelin's military forces. You'll have the castle staff at your beck and call. Th-think about it. If you could defeat me with this Sacaen mongrel's paltry forces, what can we do if we joined forces? We could take over all Lycia!"
"Interesting…"
"Wait, Robin, you're not really considering helping him, are you?" Lyn asked him desperately.
"Don't listen to her!" Lundgren let a grin escape him, feeling more and more confident by the second. "What is she offering you? If there's something she's giving you that you want, I'll work to give it to you as well as everything else I've promised so far."
"A tempting offer." Robin snuck a glance at Lyn, who seemed to not be able to comprehend what was happening.
'Yes, yes… just a little more…' Lundgren thought, his feelings of pain escaping his mind for the moment as the thought of victory was on his mind.
"But, I refuse." Robin smirked at Lundgren.
At this point, Lundgren was finally able to get a good look at Robin. He noticed instead of human eyes, Robin had reptilian ones. Though it was only his imagination, he even thought he saw a tongue flicker in and out.
"Y-you…" Lundgren stammered as despair washed over him once again. "Y-you're a monster…"
"Oh, I'm the monster now? How ironic." Robin chuckled. "You've brought a lot of trouble to me… Yes, I think I will enjoy killing you…"
Robin raised his scythe once again. This time, despite Lundgren's wailing, he swung the weapon down, decapitating him. Without a head, the body fell forward, hitting the drawbridge. The head of Lundgren flew off into the moat below. The blood that flowed out of his body was washed away by the rain.
"Lundgren has died." Robin exclaimed, using magic to amplify his voice. "Soldiers of Caelin! You've no further need to keep fighting! But be warned, I will hunt down each and every one of you that continues to fight myself! The choice is now yours!"
Robin finally turned to Lyn. Her legs were still shaking uncontrollably, though she was still on the ground.
"Come, we still have to meet your grandfather." Robin smiled as he offered her a hand.
For the first time since meeting him, Lyn had doubted Robin. However, it seems her worries were ill founded. She shook the thoughts out of her head and gladly accepted Robin's hand.
By the time the rest of her allies had grouped up with them once again, Lyn had recomposed herself.
"...is… is it over?" Florina asked.
"Yeah, it's over." Kent smiled. "The soldiers of Caelin are no longer fighting. It seems most of them were only following Lundgren because they were scared. As for his loyal supporters..."
"What's happening to them?" Wil asked out of curiosity.
"Old man Wallace is taking good care of them." Sain responded. "He seemed eager to do so. I've no doubt, they're dying for a taste of his hospitality."
"Let him." Robin shrugged. "How can we meet Lyn's grandfather?"
"Let me lead her there." Kent offered as he gestured for everyone to enter the castle. "If it's not a problem, could the rest of you wait in the reception hall? You too, Sain."
Surprisingly, Sain didn't protest. "Yeah, I got it."
"Wait Kent…" Lyn spoke up.
"What is it, milady?" Kent asked.
"If it's all right, I'd… I'd like Robin to come with me."
Kent didn't even act surprised. "As you wish, milady. I'll lead the way."
Kent walked in front, followed by Lyn and Robin. Lyn had a tight grasp on one of Robin's sleeves the entire time.
They were approached by one of the castle staff. "E-excuse me, you are Lady Lyndis, are you not?"
"Um, who are you?" Lyn asked.
"I am Reissman, the chancellor of the Caelin royal family. I had received word from Kent and Sain when you first met, but then Lundgren discovered the message and imprisoned me. It is my great pleasure to welcome you to your true home."
"Thank you... may I see my grandfather now?"
"Yes, of course. But do not be shocked by what you see. Lundgren has been poisoning the marquess's meals for some time. His body has been ravaged… He's been bedridden for months."
At this point, Kent stopped guiding them, and Lyn and Robin followed Reissman to her grandfather's room.
Reissman politely knocked on the door.
"Who's there?" An old, fragile voice could be heard from inside. "I said no visitors. I will see no one."
Reissman ignored the marquess and slowly opened the door.
"What are you doing?" Hausen coughed. "Just… leave me to die…"
"Um… pardon me…" Lyn finally let go of Robin's sleeve and approached her grandfather. "My name is… I'm Lyndis."
"Eh?" Hausen raised his head in surprise. "Did you really say Lyndis?"
"My father's name was Hassar, chieftain of the Lorca. My mother was…Madelyn. I was raised on the plains."
"… Could it be?" Hausen looked at her intensely. "Come, come here. Let me see your face."
Lyn obliged.
"Oh… yes…" Hausen began to tear up. "No doubt… you are Madelyn's trueborn child."
"Grandfather!" Lyn and Hausen embraced each other.
"Lundgren told me... that… that my daughter had died." Hausen got out between sobs. "My heir…and you, too. He told me you were dead. Thank you… Thank you for living. Ah… I am blessed…"
"Mother and Father were slain last year by brigands. I… I was the only survivor. I lived on, but…"
"Lyndis, please forgive a prideful old man. If I had but accepted your parents' love… There would have been no bandits. We would have lived here together in perfect peace."
The two of them left each other's arms.
"Grandfather. My parents… My tribe… Our life was one of love and peace. The end was tragic, but… up until the attack, we were truly happy."
"Truly? Madelyn had a life of happiness? Knowing that gives me so much joy. Thank you, Lyndis. I can die in peace now…"
"No! Grandfather! You mustn't say that!"
"There's no avoiding it, Lyndis. I've taken too much poison for far too long. It's too late… not even the healers can help me anymore..."
"About that…" Robin, who had been standing there silently the whole time, finally inserted himself into the conversation. "I think I can help you with that..."
"R-really?" Lyn asked. "Then please... please help my grandfather!"
Robin approached the bed. "Marquess Caelin… could you lie down for me, please?"
Hausen didn't know what was happening, but he did what he was told. Robin laid a hand on the old man's forehead. Though he was startled by the wave of warmness that began to emanate throughout his body, Hausen stood still.
"How do you feel?" Robin asked.
"I… the pain… it's all gone…" Hausen muttered in surprise.
"Good. That means the poison is all gone."
"Thank you, young man. You've saved my life. Lyndis… who is he?"
"This is Robin." Lyn introduced. "Uh… back when I was in Sacae… I found him unconscious on the plains. He's helped me get here alive. In fact, it's no exaggeration to say that without his help, it would have been impossible for me to make it here…"
"Robin…" Hausen gave him a smile. "I… will remember you… not only have you saved my life, but my granddaughter's as well, it seems. I know my brother well… it indeed would have been near impossible for a young girl to get past all of his preparations. If there's anything you want, let me know, and I'll do my best to get you it."
"I don't need or want anything in particular right now." Robin shrugged. "For now, I'm glad to just see Lyn reunited with her grandfather."
"Words cannot describe how grateful I am… Robin… thank you."
The rest of the evening was filled with pleasantries. The castle staff prepared a large banquet for Lyn and her friends. Though Robin had healed the Marquess, his body was still frail and hadn't physically recovered yet, so Reissman took the duty of taking care of Lyn and her friends.
"It's amazing!" Reissman exclaimed as he cut into a piece of meat. "The physician says Lord Hausen looks like a new man! It's as if he were never ill in the first place!"
Everyone else at the dinner table glanced at Robin, who wasn't even paying attention. No, Robin was too busy stuffing his face with all of the food. And no one could really blame him. After all, they didn't eat anything gourmet like this while they were traveling.
None of the staff bothered to admonish Robin for pigging out. No one even sent a glance of disdain in his direction. Hausen had informed Reissman, who had then informed the rest of the staff that Robin was key in helping him reunite with her granddaughter.
"So… what now?" Dorcas asked. He felt slightly uncomfortable, having never attended a formal banquet, but he did admit that the food was extremely good.
"Oh, you probably want to return to Natalie, right?" Lyn asked. "I'll talk to my grandfather after dinner. I'm sure he'll be willing to compensate you for your help."
"Please, milady, I'm sure all of you are tired from your travels." Reissman added. "I've already arranged rooms for each of them. Why not let them rest for the night, and then make a decision on what to do next tomorrow?"
"Uh…" Dorcas began.
"Why, that would be wonderful!" Serra smiled. "We'd love to sample your hospitality!"
"Excellent!" Reissman smiled. "Then I'll have the maids show you the way after dinner."
True to his word, the rooms were all prepared. After dinner, Lyn and her companions began to retire for the night.
They all slept better than they had even slept in a long, long time.
The next day…
Dorcas, Serra, and Erk were paid for their help. They thanked Lyn and went their separate ways.
Lucius, though offered, did not accept payment for his help, citing that he was only doing what anyone should.
Rath and Matthew weren't even there in the morning. It seemed they had already left without pay and without saying goodbye. It would seem they didn't feel there was a need to be compensated for their help.
Nils and Ninian decided to leave and begin traveling once again, despite Lyn offering for them to stay at the castle.
Kent informed Lyn that Wallace seemed to have left on an adventure. The last battle seemed to whet his appetite for battle once again.
"Lady Lyndis!" Sain exclaimed. "You truly plan on staying?"
They were in the courtyard after seeing off Lucius, who had been the latest one to leave.
"Yes. I wish to stay with my grandfather." Lyn explained. "He is the only family I have left. I would like to see him live a long life."
"Lady Lyndis!" Florina rushed in, bubbling with excitement.
"What is it?" Lyn asked.
"I've been taken into service by House Caelin!" Florina exclaimed. "From here on Lyn… I mean, Lady, Lyndis, I can always be by your side!"
"Really?" Lyn chuckled. "Well, that pleases me so… but please don't call me Lady Lyndis… For you, I'm still just Lyn."
"My pegasus and I fly for your house now." Florina pouted. "There are rules to follow!"
"Florina!" Lyn frowned.
"I'm happy as long as I'm with you. It doesn't matter what I address you as…"
"I suppose I'll just have to get used to it, huh?" Lyn sighed.
"Oh, thank you!" Florina hugged her. "I do love you, Lyn!"
Florina then broke the embrace as fast as she started it. "Oops! I mean, Lady Lyndis."
"Oh, Florina!" Lyn let out a hearty laugh.
"Lady Lyndis!" Wil approached her as well.
"You too, Wil?" Lyn asked. "Don't tell me…"
"Yup!" Wil shot her a thumbs up. "I've decided to stay too! There's nowhere for me to go anyways, so I might as well continue serving you while earning some coin. Plus, they'll provide me a place to stay. Isn't that the dream?"
"I'm pleased to have you." Lyn smiled. "Thank you, Wil."
"No, thank you, milady." Wil bowed.
Lyn then looked towards Robin with a tinge of sadness. "Then, Robin… you really plan on leaving?"
"Yeah." Robin nodded. Naga had told him in his dream the night before that he was done for now, and should return to Ylisse. "I have to return home. My friends and family are probably worried about me."
"I… though I won't ask you to stay, I would certainly like it if you did." Lyn readily admitted. "When I found you unconscious on the plains… I had no idea we would be together for so long. You've helped us so much… thank you… but before you go..."
Lyn held out her arms towards Robin. She looked at him nervously.
Seeing Lyn's innocent expression, Robin couldn't turn her down. He returned the hug. Everyone else, reading the situation, left to give them some privacy.
"I'll… m-miss you…" Lyn struggled to hold back tears.
"You know, this isn't goodbye forever, right?" Robin whispered into her ear. "I'm sure we'll see each other again."
"Y-yes." Lyn wiped her eyes once they broke apart. "I hope we can meet again in the future. No… I know we will meet again in the future."
"I'll look forward to it." Robin smiled.
With that, Robin got onto the horse prepared for him. It was one of many gifts Hausen had prepared for him, along with a significant amount of money and the seal of House Caelin, to help him on his journey home.
Lyn stood at the entrance of the drawbridge and watched Robin ride off into the distance. The drawbridge, though stained with blood just half a day ago, had been washed perfectly clean by the rain.
Lyn followed Robin's departing figure with her eyes until she could follow him no more. When he turned back and saw her still standing there, he waved at Lyn, a gesture which she returned.
Only when he was completely out of eyesight did Lyn break down.
She fell to her knees and began to cry.
Author's Notes:
Well there it is… the long introduction of FE7 completed. Next chapter will be one that I look forward to writing, as well as one that many of you may be looking forward to as well: Ylisseans, Ylisseans and more Ylisseans!
As for the results of my poll, (closed, because the result plays an impact in the next chapter) it seems that the majority of people would prefer a harem for Robin, instead of just Lucina. This is also the case when it came to the reviews.
To be honest, I had originally planned on not having a harem. But, I'm not going to lie, after writing the first eight or nine chapters of this story, I began to grow a little attached to Robin x Lyn (unintentionally). This is why I decided to leave it up to the audience to decide. Though I'll have to make a few adjustments, I believe it is not a major setback and I can still create an exciting story.
That being said, I understand that this is not necessarily the number one choice for everyone. However, please also understand that it will be impossible for me to please all my readers. For those that were hoping for another option (and left a review), I will take your concerns into consideration. Hopefully, you'll still find the story enjoyable.
Thank you for everyone's support so far. Make sure to leave a review and favorite/follow if you like the story so far.