12
Robin was desperate, with the list of necessities in hand he goes to the only person that had the know-how and connections to help him…
"Understandable, I'll send a message to my butler and he'll take care of it" Maribelle says, writing a letter and handing it off to a maid who quickly takes off with just a single solemn nod. Robin can only stare, slack jawed at the duke's daughter who just simply whisked away all his problems in a single action. "Don't misunderstand, there's no way I'll allow Emmeryn's reception, be it ball or soirée to be hindered by something so easily dealt with."
"Thank you Maribelle, you've saved me… I don't know why everyone expected me to know how to set something like this up…" Robin sighs, a huge weight lifted from his shoulders.
"Yes well, that's twice now, so I finally expect some repayment" she says standing up, smiling a bit "and now is wonderful opportunity I think"
"Uh… sure, what did you have in mind?" Robin mumbles, never having been requested something by Maribelle before… surely there's nothing she'd want from him…
-0-
Over the past few days, she's been growing increasingly anxious, unable to sit still until Emmeryn is returned safely and they and Chrom can return to being a happy family. As a result, she's been growing increasingly needy as the days go on, and today Lissa found herself a bit bored, noticing a distinct lack of presence in the Castle. It was expected as much of its residents were dismissed or had followed Emmeryn to her new location, leaving only a skeleton crew to maintain it. Without anything going on she decides to visit Maribelle, happy she decided to stay around until everything was put back in order.
Wandering up towards her room in one of the quiet corners of the floor she begins to hear some talking, sounds a bit like Robin… and wanting some attention but not wanting to interrupt in case it's important, Lissa kneels at the door, peering through the keyhole to just scope it out, which is totally not eavesdropping…
"Aw shucks, sir Robin, you don' have'ta go that far for lil' ole me, why ahm just a simple farm hand after all." Maribelle coos in an embarrassing bubbly tone, a finger idly twirling her hair.
"Au contraire, mademoiselle Marie, you don't realize how beautiful you have always been, you are the object of my desires, always, and forever" he finishes off his odd sounding speech with a kiss on the back of her hand. Robin's feathery blabbering makes it seems like he spent too much time with Virion recently or something.
What fresh hell did she just stumble into? Lissa could only gawk at the scene, part nervous but mostly intrigued, she stood frozen in spot hoping to observe more. Was this what Robin and Maribelle did when she wasn't around? The idea of that begins to gnaw at Lissa's nerves as she begins to rethink watching some more.
The two of them shift slightly, barely exiting Lissa's view of them from the spot… she thinks she can hear Maribelle a bit… what's that sound!? Lissa's eyes slowly widened as she imagines the scenarios that could possibly transpire and quickly stands up, hitting her head against the doorknob, creating a loud 'thunk' before falling flat on the floor.
Knowing she already gave herself away she picks herself up and shouts "MARIBELLE! You around today!?" She doesn't give either of them a second to respond as she quickly swings the door open and heads inside. Maribelle is sat at a chair as Robin is standing to the side, a book balancing on his head, and as he turns to look at Lissa it falls, causing his tutor to click her tongue.
"Robin, do it again..." she commands before looking over to the nervous wreck of a friend "Lissa dear, I believe I've told you before not to go yelling and stomping around, is something the matter?"
"Uh… yeah?... I'm uh feeling weird, all of a sudden" her chest is heaving, she's a bit more panicked than the situation really called for but ignores that for now as she walks up to Maribelle, looking her over.
"Oh, Lissa, your head, there's a huge bump there… Robin, we're postponing this lesson" she says much to Robin's delight, only for her to add on "Instead bring us a pot of tea and some biscuits."
"That's really a job for a butler" Robin gives a half frown as he grabs the book off his head, setting it aside, not noticing Lissa slide up beside him.
"Until the real butler's back, that'll be you" Maribelle huffs, crossing her legs "Hm?... Lissa?"
"I'll go with Robin; I want to make sure he gets the tea and snacks I like!" Lissa quickly remarks grabbing Robin's arm, dragging him to the door before Maribelle can really respond. "I'll be right back!"
Robin shrugs, deciding not to mention that the first thing Maribelle made him learn was the two blonde's favorite drinks and snacks, followed by tea party setup-and-etiquette. Lissa continues to grip his arm even outside of the room as she drags him towards the kitchen.
"Thanks for saving me there… Err is something wrong Lissa?" he asks a bit concerned as she's not usually this pensive, and the lack of response from her only makes him grow a bit nervous himself.
-0-
Compared to her father, Morgan was having the time of her life, having 'borrowed' some horses from the stables, she and her two companions were making great time toward their objective. She assumed by now her father would have realized she was missing; it might take some additional time to figure out where she went but by now it should be too late to do anything about it… unless he learned how to fly a Pegasus in about a day... or wait, only women could fly those, she was probably safe!
She was sure she could handle the situation herself but had brought along Ricken and Gaius for a few reasons. First off, they made her fake note look plausible, second it would hopefully make father not be too mad, and third… they can carry food and supplies with them! Really though, when she heard 'haunted manor' she needed someone who could unlock doors, and another mage to help look for anything fun or interesting.
The air around the bay was cold, and the water in the area freezing already, though it's to be expected when sharing a coast with Regna Ferox. The situation was just as the Count stated in his letter, a few risen wandered the sandy shores, covered in seaweed or whatever they would drag up from under the waves. The risen couldn't swim but the idea they could walk from the island all the way to the shore sent a shiver even up Morgan's spine.
The small group cleared the wandering monsters before Morgan finally decided to do what she came here for. "First off, we need to get the boat on the water, and we can set sail. I want to explore this place before it gets too dark" she says eagerly tossing her bag onto the beached sailboat.
Gaius eyes the water, the boat and the island that can barely be seen in the distance and arches an eyebrow "Now hold on… you and I both know we were on-" he can only get out as Morgan tosses a small leather pouch at him. He pauses to take a look inside, before slipping it into a pocket, the stern expression on his face doesn't change but he's all of a sudden much more agreeable "Alrighty, let's go!"
Ricken who's a bit more apprehensive shakes his head "Wait… no I wanted to hear what you were going to say."
Morgan is the first to go by his side "Ricken come on, we just beat a bunch of Risen a few minutes ago, a few more won't be so bad"
Between Morgan and Gaius who was just bribed, Ricken can only sigh and toss his bag onto the boat. It's either go with them or stay alone on this creepy shore and that decision is an easy one for him to make.
-0-
In the kitchen Robin begins by bringing the water to a boil, turning to gather a few items he'll need, methodically making his way around the kitchen before finally turning to Lissa. She stares wide-eyed at Robin who looks back a bit uncomfortably, then looks away for a bit, and when he looks back to see Lissa still inspecting him, begins to blush, not particularly used to people staring at him this much. "Lissa, uh… Is everything okay?"
Lissa blinks, snapped out of her stupor begins to babble "Huh? Oh! Yeah? I'm fine…" she sputters before trying to change the subject. "Oh yeah, how's your lessons with Maribelle going?" she asks before mentally berating herself, she did not want to bring that up, Robin might figure out she was watching…
The tactician turned butler who's currently arranging cookies on a tray doesn't pay much mind to Lissa's question, shrugging in response "Same as usual I guess…"
The princess' jaw drops, wondering if that's him confirming what she thinks he's confirming. "What's that mean?" quickly spills from her mouth, though she's not sure if she really wants to know…
"Uh… dress code, extended greetings, dance, posture…" Robin lists a few things off, sounding a bit bored, not noticing Lissa narrowing her eyes at him.
"Oh yeah?... fine, when we're back, you'll show me" she states, trying to smile naturally.
Though it looks as if she's trying to tease him, Robin just feels apprehensive as Lissa has been wringing out the hem of her dress for a while now…
-0-
The estate was clearly abandoned and dilapidated, though in a picturesque sort of way. Though the colors were muted, and vegetation had begun taking over, the mansion still held a noble air about it, as if barely holding itself together in preparation for its owners return.
Morgan was the first to stroll through the front garden and up the staircase, pressing an ear against the door as the two other two hesitantly keep an eye open as they try and catch up.
"You know there's probably risen around here, we need to move carefully" Gaius says, experimentally jiggling the door handle.
"If we don't make this quick, we won't get back in time for the party, or are you fine missing out on the cake?" Morgan says not even bothering to look over at him, already predicting his reaction.
Gaius turns to Ricken "You hear that? We're doing this quickly, in-out, no sightseeing" he says turning professional again as Ricken can only roll his eyes, wondering if he should have taken up Miriel's offer instead.
The lock has long since been destroyed allowing the doors to swing freely, if risen were inside they would have no trouble walking right out whenever the door was wide open. The front of the manor was empty, it looked as if everything of value had long since been carried out and Morgan was a bit worried as the trip may have gone to waste
"Okay, let's split up and we can-"
"Hold it…" Interrupts Gaius, placing a hand over Morgan's mouth as he turns his attention to the ceiling. The two mages look upwards for a moment as only the faint creaking sounds of old wood echoes around. Seeing as the two don't understand the thief decides to spell it out. "There's something moving around upstairs…"
Ricken tenses up upon hearing that but Morgan doesn't seem as worried considering it was their reason for coming in the first place. "Right, well let's head up there and deal with that first, how many could there be!" she laughs
-0-
Robin swallows, standing beside the table as Lissa and Maribelle have a bit of tea and cookies. He really would have liked to go but then Lissa went and brought up wanting to see the results of Maribelle's teaching… and well…
"That's a wonderful idea, Robin as I've taught you" she says gesturing to the tactician who nervously shifts his weight from one foot to the other.
"Uh… right, so what do you want me to demonstrate?" he asks trying to stall for a bit.
"Approach, chat up, ask to dance, dance" Lissa says spelling it out quite clearly, leaving the tactician little room to evade with such simple wording
"Chat up, is that also slang?" Maribelle asks under her breath
"So, which of yo-"
"Pick" Lissa cuts of Robin.
Robin nods but stills stand frozen in spot taking note of the situation. Maribelle is sitting there smiling, looking quite pleased with herself and Lissa is staring holes into him. Both girls were acting quite odd today but now that they're together in a room it's quite suffocating…
-0-
The three climbed the rotting staircase to the top floor of the mansion, now clearly able to hear risen shuffling around behind some of the walls. The empty looking environment along with the threat of attack makes the whole situation a bit more frightening… to the others at least. Morgan was nonplussed, quickly crossing the hall, passing by a few quiet doors as she tries to locate where the mass of the risen are…
Morgan is about to wave the others over as one of the doors further down swings open, a young girl coming out… the mistress of the estate maybe?... or the ones who created the risen? The group freezes as she turns towards them, no one sure if they should initiate dialog first…
"Uh…" Is all Morgan can get out as the girl glares at her through narrowed eyes, giving off a look of disgust. Morgan has seen that sort of look before and slips an arm behind her back getting ready for a fight, though what she doesn't see is what comes next.
In the blink of an eye, where the girl stood now lays a dragon, slowly blossoming out from the well of magical energy. The area is thick with the dragon's ominous aura and without a second thought it breathes in, giving the group only a second to realize what's going on before expelling a line of fire.
The fire splashes across the ground, barely contained by the wall as the pillar spews towards Morgan. Thinking quick she dives into one of the adjacent rooms as the burst of flame sails past the door. Hopefully Gaius and Ricken are smart enough to dodge is all she can bother thinking as she picks herself up and pushes her way through another door, trying to think up a way of killing this thing.
There we go, that's my chapter and I'm probably sticking with it. I originally wrote more of Maribelle and Robin talking weird, but I cut it since I'm sure that would probably get really annoying really quick. I also did something else with Lissa but changed it, maybe I'll do it another time, who knows. Also might have jumped around too much, I figured it was a way to cut out the travelling bits, tell me if I did though.
Thanks for the reviews, I don't think I responded to all of them since I was busy this week, sorryu.
When I'm writing this story, I want to be writing my other one and vice versa, anyone know that feel? Either way I end up with complete chapters eventually. Is anyone reading both by the way?
Review or pm if you want to tell me if I screwed something up or if there isn't enough Lucina, like 'Whenever Lucina isn't around, all the characters should be asking "Where's Lucina?"'