Chapter 2
Cherche guided Minerva down between a stream of water and a dirt road, close to the entrance to a forest. She then jumped off Minerva and helped her passenger off as well.
"Thank you, my dear Cherche. Your hands are as soft as your heart," Virion said, brushing himself off.
"I'm wearing gloves," Cherche pointed out.
"All right, lord and lady, sorry to interrupt your love cruise, but we must ask for your purpose here." Surrounding the two people and one wyvern from Rosanne were three archers and three axemen. Cherche had landed because of the prompting by the six warriors.
"My good gentlemen," Virion began.
"Oye, I'm not always this gentle," the captain of the patrol said. "Now, your purpose?"
"If you would take a look at this," Virion said, revealing the letter from Khan Flavia.
The patrol captain took a few seconds to examine the letter, then lowered his guard. "My apologies, sir and ma'am. Just doing our job, you know."
"Of course, no offense taken," Cherche said. Minerva shrieked. "Minerva understands too. She's only a little annoyed."
"Minerva?" the captain asked.
"But may I ask why the tight security? This is the second patrol stop so far in our trip, and we're not even a day out."
"Apologies, milady, but there've been some bandit sightings recently. Plegian expatriate soldiers. But please, go on, I don't want to keep you from Khan Flavia for too long." The patrol backed away and moved on.
"I had thought you said the Plegians had surrendered," Cherche said, as she watched the patrols leave.
"Ah, but were peace that easy," Virion said.
"Are they that committed to violence?" Cherche asked.
"'Tis a shame, but they cannot throw away their desire for conflict. Well, some of them. Most Plegians are like you and I. Perhaps not as young or beautiful or intelligent. But they're a dark folk. Strange, embracing dark colors but living under the blazing sun. Those remaining few Mad King loyalists, though… They aren't very pleasant."
"Wise of Regna Ferox to remain cautious, then," Cherche said. "Though it will slow us down." She patted Minerva and looked at at Virion. "Shall we continue on, then?"
"Er…" Virion shifted his weight from his left foot to his right foot. "I must take care of some important business though. Perhaps you can give Minerva a little snack or some grooming or a massage while I conduct my business?" Virion asked.
"Your business?"
"I will be done in less than five minutes," Virion said, ignoring Cherche's question. "I am off!" He darted away, into the forest.
"Well," Cherche said, watching Virion disappear amongst the trees. "Minervykins, anything you want? A massage? Some water?" Minerva snarled and looked at Cherche. "You smell something good? Are you sure you want to eat more? Why, my dear Minerva, haven't you gained some weight recently?" Minerva snarled at the sky and swung her tail. Cherche laughed. "Oh, stop pouting, you know I'm only kidding. I can only say that because it's so obviously false. Don't you worry, Minervykins, you're as beautiful as you were when I found you." Minerva screeched and looked straight ahead. "Okay, go on, go get your food. I'll wait for Lord Virion." Minerva started to ascend. "And no eating Lord Virion, okay?" Cherche shouted to Minerva. Minerva screeched and flew off. Cherche took her water pouch and took a swig. She then walked towards the stream and crouched down to refill her pouch. She turned her head and stood up at the sound of someone coming. Two people were walking towards her. Cherche watched them cautiously. Their jackets were brown with hints of red. One wore a red hood. Both wore black and purple cloaks, which their hands kept securely wrapped around their bodies.
"Hail, friend!" one of them said, raising his hand to wave.
"Hello," Cherche replied, waving with one hand and placing her water pouch back on her belt with her other hand, checking that she had her handaxe within reach as she moved. "What brings you to these parts?"
"Just gathering food and resources for our community," the man wearing a hood said.
"Might… Might you have anything to spare?" the other man asked. Cherche turned to look at the man. His eyes were on her face, but would occasionally glance elsewhere. "The children are so hungry, and we could do with some... food."
"You've caught me sorrowfully without any food," Cherche said. "Though you are fortunate. I spotted plenty of game in the forest."
"Some… money, then?" the hooded man said with a smile. "We could buy food n' stuff."
"You know. For the children. They've in need of much, you know," the other man said. Both of them continued to approach Cherche, still wrapped in their cloaks.
"Once again, I'm afraid you've caught me without money. I am new to this area, and my liege provides for me."
"Your liege. Where… Where might he be right now?" the hooded man asked. He had started distancing himself slightly from his companion, though they continued to approach Cherche slowly.
"Oh, he will be returning shortly," Cherche said.
"Then, might you… might you be willing to help us?" the hooded man asked.
"Yes, you'd probably fetch a good price yourself," the other man said. He licked his lips and released his cloak from his hand, allowing it to unwrap around his body and reveal a scabbard.
"Oye, come on," the hooded man said. He sighed, then opened a tome. "Apologies for my friend, here, ma'am. He's a bit zealous. But you could be an excellent worker for our community."
"Should we test the goods first?" the swordsman asked, unsheathing his sword. "She could be an excellent bed warmer, too."
"Come on, she hardly seems fresh. Ain't she a bit mature for you?" The mage started transferring magical energy from his tome to his hand.
"Old maid, whatever. It don't matter after this long!" the swordsman shouted. "And she ain't that old!"
"Ugh, well, if you must, you can have your way. But she can be valuable as a worker, too. Don't go damagi-aaaagh!" The hooded man collapsed on his left leg, which had been cut to the bone with Cherche's handaxe. His weight was too much for the bone, dropping his body onto the ground and snapping any connection his leg had to his body, save for a few strings of flesh.
"I'm sorry," Cherche said, leaning closer to the hooded man. She stopped for a moment and crouched down, extending her hand towards the man's leg. "You had almost stepped on this cute little beetle." A beetle crawled from a blade of grass to her hand.
"Why you..." The swordsman cursed Cherche as he charged, raising his sword to strike. Cherche quickly picked up her handaxe from the ground next to the severed leg. An instant later, she threw it at the charging swordsman. Before the handaxe could reach its target, an arrow pierced the swordsman's leg and knocked him off his feet. A moment later, the handaxe embedded itself in the man's shoulder, making him drop his sword. He started screaming in pain. His screams were muted by a louder screech from above. Then, any sounds he made were abruptly terminated as the top of his body disappeared inside Minerva's mouth. Minerva swung the twitching body around a few times before releasing it and hurling the body to the side.
"My dear Cherche, are you okay?" Virion called, running up to Cherche.
Cherche extended her hand for a moment, letting Minerva settle her head under Cherche's hand. "I am doing fine, thank you. You came back a few minutes later."
"For perhaps eight minutes am I gone, only to discover you getting to know two strangers?" Virion stressed, walking up to the one-legged, hooded man. "You are quite the popular one, my dear Cherche."
"They don't agree, I'm afraid," Cherche said. Her hand gently brushed across Minerva's skin until she reached a scabbard tied around Minerva. Cherche removed a steel battleaxe from the sheath and walked up to join Virion next to the wailing bandit mage.
"My good sir, you have no taste at all," Virion said, shaking his head with disapproval and ignoring the mage's feeble cries of pain. "Had we more time, I might entertain you with some conversation. But alas, we must be heading out." He turned to Cherche, then made a gesture with his head. Cherche nodded, then raised her axe and let it drop.
"Perhaps the Feroxians need to double their patrols," Cherche said.
"These people were from Plegia. See the colors and the ominous patterns? They were Grimleal." Virion looked back at Cherche. "I should have come back earlier."
"Don't worry, milord, I would have been able to take care of myself."
"No, I mean, we could've spared this one of such a… gruesome death," Virion said, gesturing to the severed leg. "Oh well, come, let's not delay any longer."
The beetle had been hanging out on Cherche's pauldron for most of the battle. It spread its wings and buzzed away. "Bye, little buggy," Cherche said. "Come on, Minerva. I hope your snack was good." Minerva snarled and flapped her wings once. "It wasn't? Well, maybe next time you should just hang out with little old me." As Cherche climbed up onto Minerva, she glanced at the corpses of the Plegian bandits. "Hmph. I'm not that old," she thought to herself. Minerva snarled again and wagged her tail once. "Aw, thanks, Minervykins. You're such a sweetheart."
Robin was in his office in Ylisstol Castle, trying to whittle away at the pile of reports on his desk. "Some of these shouldn't even be going to me!" Robin thought to himself, as he placed a financial report in a different pile. "Does everyone just assume I handle every single detail in Ylisse?"
"That's what you get for procrastinating."
Robin looked up briefly to give his guest a glare. "Did you curse me, Tharja? Or curse everyone in the castle to submit their reports to me?"
Tharja shrugged, not looking up from the tome she was writing in. "An interesting concept. But no, it wasn't me." Tharja turned a page. "Not this time," she muttered.
"Eh?" Robin asked. Tharja didn't bother to respond. Robin sighed. Tharja was correct in that he had procrastinated. He had spent a few recent days away from work, celebrating the birth of Chrom's and Sumia's baby. The baby was already a few months old by the time Chrom and Sumia celebrated in public. All of the Shepherds were able to gather to celebrate. Even Tharja had joined, though she kept her distance and only watched Robin. "Why are you here, anyway? Don't you prefer the privacy of your new office? Or the privacy of any hiding place?"
"You removed the good hiding places around your room," Tharja pointed out calmly, continuing to write in her tome. "This is much more convenient than finding a hidden vantage point. And you already seem to be able to sense my presence." Tharja took a moment to put her tome down and stretch. She then turned her head and locked her eyes with Robin's. "There's a slight dimple to the left of your mouth. You're pleased with my presence."
Robin kept his eyes on Tharja's for a moment, before breaking the stare and chuckling. "I guess you're not completely wrong," he said. Tharja had been extremely creepy in the past, stalking him and being cold to others. She had never really harmed any of the Shepherds in the past, but each Shepherd, at least in the back of their minds, had a small fear of Tharja living up to her words and using an experimental curse on one of them. Over the past two years, Robin had spoken to her, and Tharja had become more receptive to people, or at least less threatening to people. While she still had a strange obsession with Robin, she was more open about it and less creepy. "But hey, what about your new office?" Robin asked. "It has more tools than my dusty office."
Tharja stood up and brushed herself off for a moment. "Someone's coming," Tharja said. "I'll take my leave." Tharja walked towards the office window. "Bye," she said.
"Bye," Robin responded, still not used to Tharja's use of his window to enter and exit. He found it impressive that she managed to casually and smoothly leave his room through a window on the second floor of the castle. He watched with amusement as she left, but then averted his eyes, a slight blush on his face, before his eyes were able to lock onto an even more impressive part of Tharja's character. There was a knock on Robin's door that brought Robin's thoughts away from Tharja's figure. "Come in!" Robin said.
The door to Robin's office opened, and a woman in chest armor walked in. "A report for you, Robin," she said, brushing a few strands of red hair that escaped her winged hair clip as she stopped walking. She looked at Robin's desk for a moment. "Another one to add to the pile, I'm afraid."
"Cordelia. Good day. Come in, you don't have to stand around at the doorway." Robin waved for Cordelia to enter.
"Of course," Cordelia said, approaching the desk. "Where do you want the report?"
"What is it about? Status report from the Pegasus Knights?"
"Requisitions. Actually, this is for Sully and Stahl and the horse riders. I noticed they're low on training lances and have been focusing on swords, but the Pegasus Knights have a surplus, so I don't mind helping them out."
"Cordelia, your ge-... attention to detail never ceases to amaze me," Robin said. "Put it in that pile over there, for Miriel." Robin gestured to a stack of reports. As Cordelia placed the report, Robin eyed her armor. "You know, I've been wondering, Cordelia. Why do you always wear armor?"
Cordelia was caught off guard for a moment.. "Er… Well, it's always good to be prepared, isn't it?" she asked.
Robin shrugged. "I suppose. I just worry sometimes. You're not overworking yourself, right? You find time to relax?"
Cordelia sighed, then showed Robin a small smile. "I appreciate it, Robin, but don't worry about that. I could say the same to you. Look at your desk. Do you ever find time to relax? If you need help..."
"Hah! Actually, it's because I did relax the past few days that these reports built up," Robin said. "And it's hard to relax now that there's a new heir to the throne."
Cordelia clapped her hands together. "I know! The cutest heir ever! Just like Chr-... Chrom and Sumia. Eheheh." She scratched the back of her head. "It was a fun birthday party though." Cordelia sighed.
"We all needed that time to relax," Robin said, his eyes finding a random spot to gaze at as he recalled the celebrations. He shook his head and looked back at Cordelia with determination and enthusiasm in his eyes. "So let's make sure that the throne remains secure, so we have all the more birthday parties to celebrate!"
Cordelia came to attention. "Right!" she exclaimed.
Robin chuckled briefly at Cordelia's enthusiasm. "If it weren't such a waste of talent and skill, I'd love for you to assist me. But no, you can better serve the kingdom in other ways. The new Pegasus Knights need you."
"I can do both... " Cordelia looked at Robin's eyes, then closed her eyes for a moment and sighed. "Well, just let me know."
"Thank you, Cordelia. I really do appreciate it. But no, for now, just worry about being the eyes and ears… and mouth… of the kingdom."
"I'm three body parts, and you're just one? What part, the brain?" Cordelia laughed for a moment. "I guess that's a pretty important part, too."
"Sorry I don't have wings. The Pegasus Knights really enable us to function a lot more effectively." Robin looked outside the window for a moment, watching some birds flying. "I wish we had another way, but for now…" Robin turned back to Cordelia. "I will be in the care of you and the Pegasus Knights."
"I hope not to disappoint!" Cordelia said, once more coming to attention.
"I as well," Robin said. "But don't disappoint me by working all the time, and find time to relax every now and then, too, okay?"
"Sure, sure," Cordelia said. She was about to turn to head out, when her eyes caught something leaning on a table beside the window. "So, Tharja was here?"
Robin turned and saw that Cordelia was looking at the tome that Tharja was writing in. "Yeah. She's been working on creating more powerful anima spell tomes. I don't think it was personal or anything, but she left when she sensed someone coming."
"Yes, she does tend to prefer to keep to herself. Or to keep to you," Cordelia said.
"She's better around the Shepherds now though, don't you think? Think about it, she had the courtesy to not threaten you with a hex," Robin said with a small laugh.
"Have you ever thought of asking her out?"
Robin blinked for a few moments. "Ask her out? Well…" Robin looked back at the tome.
Cordelia scanned Robin's face for a moment, wondering what he was reflecting on for what seemed like minutes but was probably a few seconds. Finally, a weak smile appeared on Robin's face.
"She is a wonderful person, if you ever get the opportunity to get to know her. But asking her out… Maybe if some things hadn't happened..."
Cordelia was puzzled with Robin's facial expression. He seemed to have been reminiscing about something, and Cordelia was unclear of if it were a fond memory or not.
Robin turned to look back at Cordelia's analyzing face. "But now that you've asked, I have to return the ques-"
Robin was interrupted by a knock on the door. "Robin!"
"Yes, come in!" Robin said. The door opened, and a young mage ran in. "Robin!" Ricken called, before taking a few heavy breaths. "Oh, and Cordelia!" Ricken said, seeing the interim leader of the Pegasus Knights present as well.
"Hello, Ricken," Cordelia said. "Go ahead, if it's important enough to go running through the hallways."
"We have a guest from Regna Ferox! A messenger!"
Cordelia and Robin exchanged concerned glances. "I'd better get back to my knights," Cordelia said. "Let me know if you need help with anything."
"Thanks." Robin stood up. "Come on, Ricken, where do we go?" The three of them began to leave the room. As he closed the door behind him, Robin looked back briefly at his desk. "At least I'm spared of these reports again. For the time being. I don't like the sound of things, though."
A/N
I wanted to hint (or blatantly show) at two things with Cherche's part of the story. In the game supports, Cherche had hinted that she might end up being an old maid and no one would be interested in her. Also, it might've been in the game description of Cherche, but she's apparently scary when angry?
For Robin's part, first I was teasing some backstory about Tharja. And, if you'd like to know, I was hinting that in another story, I'll write a Robin x Tharja, but not this story. I kinda feel bad that I used Cordelia to provide or prompt some background information. After writing that part, I felt like I defffffinitely need to make a Robin x Cordelia fanfic.
Oh, and btw, the title of this story is a play on some French words. I also thought of adding some commas in the title, for it to be "I, Search, for You" and then not immediately identifying the romantic pairing. But eh. Didn't. Fun fact.
Anyhoo, please read, review, recommend to others, private message, follow, and favorite!
Thanks for reviewing, Guest! I hope this is a promising continuation! And thanks, everyone who is following!
