They decided to hold the final rounds of the tournament the next day, which meant that Robin had the rest of the evening to herself. Making sure that everything was ready for tomorrow—that Chrom wouldn't have to do any work and that the staff were prepared to cater for the event—she then went to her room. Chrom, of course, came in almost immediately afterward.

"At least you don't have the book out," he noted when he closed the door behind him. "Almost every time you get reminded of it, you start reading it."

"I've learned when it's best to avoid things, even if I can't truly walk away from it," Robin replied. Both of them took off any armor that they wore and replaced their daily attire with something more comfortable to sleep in.

"You're still leaning towards saying no?" Chrom guessed when he finished.

She walked over to the bed and laid down, sighing. "He's thirteen," Robin pointed out. "I would be fine with Lucina—she doesn't worry me as much if she's with friends. She knows her limits, and she won't push past them if someone's there to remind her to stay safe. Morgan… I don't have the same kind of assurance with him. His magic is fine, but his swordplay is clumsy; he can think his way out of a difficult situation, but he's not used to making those kinds of decisions and they might overwhelm him."

"And you know what I'm going to say to that?" Chrom said, sitting down on the other side of the bed.

"Have faith in him, don't let the past haunt me," Robin replied. "I know all that, but it's hard in practice. I'm all right with Lucina, if only because I never saw her go. I don't have that acceptance with Morgan, even though I know the kid knows better than to run off and go who knows where without telling anyone. I'm willing to believe that Lucina got where she needed to be, but Morgan—"

"Wait, Robin," Chrom said, cutting her off kindly, "You're switching kids on me. I know that the older Morgan's actions affected how you how you handle the kids, but you have to focus on who's with us nowinstead of who used to be here. You'll think in circles if you can't separate them."

Robin sighed. "I know, I know. I'd like to be able to let them go, because I know it would be good for all of them—Lucina, Morgan, and the Shepherds' kids. It's just challenging for me to muster enough strength to stop worrying about what could happen; I know their strengths and weaknesses, and I know what's been done in the past. There's a chance that they aren't skilled enough—even Lucina, and especially Morgan."

"History won't repeat," Chrom said. It sounded dangerously close to a promise. "Not exactly, at least—and I know that we've raised our kids well enough that they won't walk the same path as their future selves." He flashed her a somewhat teasing smile. "And they're not going to be easy to kill if they've learned anything from you."

She managed a chuckle. "You don't give yourself enough credit—you were actually stabbed. I just avoided fading into oblivion."

"'Just?'" Chrom echoed, still maintaining some humor. "I'd argue if I wasn't tired." His smile faded to a more sincere look, and he said kindly, "Think it over. It would be good for the kids—even if, in some other time, they made bad choices, and even if in this time those choices still hurt. They can't get stronger if they don't know what they could be facing."

"…I'll try," Robin promised. "But I would like to discuss it with some of the kids and parents."

"Take whatever time you need," Chrom replied, smiling again. "Whatever decision you come to, it'll be the best one. I know that from experience."

She was able to smile in response to it, then further settled in to sleep.

…

Robin tended to get a bit nostalgic on birthdays—given that she was reminded of things in the past the night before, it was a stronger sense of longing than usual. When the celebrations began, she pulled herself enough into the present so she could enjoy them.

Breakfast went well, and the final matches were held afterwards. It was Chrom, Vaike, and Kellam against Lucina, Kjelle, and Cynthia. It generally relied more heavily on tactics on the children's part, since in an actual fight they wouldn't last very long; unlike the other two parts, the weakest two fought against each other, and then progressed through the others. The first match was Kjelle and Cynthia, where the latter was able to pull through with a win. Cynthia fought Lucina and lost; despite what Robin had expected, Lucina proceeded to best Kellam and Vaike. Most of her friends—including some of the children of castle staff, who had come to watch—insisted that she defeated Chrom as well.

She seemed to treat it as a typical training match, and Robin was pleased to see that she fought without hesitation. Lucina managed a single hit before Chrom could land three on her, and he came out to be the grand winner. Throughout the course of the matches, Robin spoke with the Shepherds about Morgan's idea. Frederick had obvious opposition to it, while Miriel was tentative on the basis of them traveling alone; an agreement was made with both, and all of the children seemed to be excited for it.

By lunch, Robin only needed to ask after Lucina's opinion. After it was served, Robin looked at her daughter. Lucina took immediate attention, as did Morgan.

"You never said how you felt about recreating the Shepherds," Robin said kindly. "You'll likely have to lead them—if only because you're the oldest."

"I understand," Lucina replied. "All things considered, I can't say I would mind. I could lead them well, if I had Morgan or Owain as a second."

Morgan smiled, likely glad to hear his sister consider him to be worthy of position of second-in-command. Looking at Robin, he said, "I know there's a reason I've been at the castle for most of my life, and I don't blame you for that because it's a matter of safety—but if we travel together, we can't get into too much trouble, and we might be able to help people while we're at it. We can do what you and Dad can't because you have to rule."

Robin looked at both of them, making her decision. "You have to promise," she said firmly. "Promise me you'll both stay safe, and keep the others safe. If there's danger, avoid it; if you run into something or someone that's too strong for you, retreat. Do you understand?"

They both smiled. Lucina said "Of course." while Morgan added "Yes!" Afterwards, Morgan continued, "So we can recreate the Shepherds?" When Robin nodded, he laughed. "Thank you, really. You and Dad both."

She smiled back at him. She had to believe that they would be safe. The world shifted between peaceful and restless countless times in the past few years; she would will herself to think that they wouldn't run into much trouble…for the kids' sake.

And, perhaps in a way, for what Lucina and Morgan had wanted for them.

(A/N: First fun fact of the story! I had wanted to include a similar chapter in the original Mini Shepherds, but I couldn't figure out how to write it. Later—either before, after, or while I wrote A Mini Shepherd's Promise—I wrote a oneshot that showed it. I wanted to include how Robin made the decision in this story, because I feel like I didn't give it enough attention. Regardless, thank you for reading! I hope you've enjoyed it so far and will continue to enjoy it as it continues.)