Chapter 6
Robin wobbled past the city gates and back onto the cobbled streets of Regna Ferox. He had just finished his first combat evaluation of Cherche and Minerva. They acted very much in unison. Cherche rarely even needed to voice commands to Minerva. Minerva seemed to know where Cherche wanted to go and at what speed, and Cherche seemed to fully utilize Minerva's speed, maneuverability, and power. Together, Robin estimated that they surpassed all the Shepherds in potential strength except for Vaike. Overall, Robin was impressed with their performance.
Robin was also soaked from their performance, having been on the receiving end of Minerva's saliva or drool. Cherche noted that Minerva seemed to drool more than usual with Robin around. "She must really like you," she had said with an optimism that Robin lacked.
Robin was so occupied with analyzing Cherche and Minerva's performance that he failed to notice a dark mage gradually coming closer. "Robin… Robin… Robin…" Tharja said, to no effect. She placed her hand on Robin's arm and softly brushed it up and down his arm.
"Hmm?" Robin said, finally noticing Tharja's presence. "Oh, hey, Tharja." He stopped walking and removed Tharja's hand from his arm.
"You're acting peculiar," Tharja pointed out. "Rather than a sudden initial rejection to my touch, you're more receptive."
"Sorry, I was a little distracted. My arm is a little slimy right now, you may want to wash your hand now."
"It is not at all displeasing, Robin. I embrace your whole being, sliminess and all. But, if you feel unclean, I can cleanse you…"
"All right, Tharja, that's enough."
"Back to your normal self, then," Tharja noted, massaging the hand that Robin had touched just a moment earlier. "But still just as appealing."
"Were you looking for me?"
"The Feroxians will soon be ready to depart. Chrom wanted to talk to you before the Shepherds depart, too."
"Oh, thank you for telling me," Robin said, patting Tharja on the shoulder briefly, then retracting his hand before Tharja could capture it. "Hmm, so he chose you to be the messenger?"
"I overheard the redheaded pegasus rider saying that," Tharja said, caressing the place where Robin had touched her shoulder. "I was just out to restock some reagents after a successful trial on that blond muscle brain."
"They have names, you know," Robin said.
Tharja simply glared at Robin. Robin met her glare with a friendly smile. After a few seconds, Tharja looked down again. "He had volunteered to help, anyway."
"Hmm… I can see that, though I bet he didn't know what he was getting into. But I'm getting distracted. Thanks for relaying the message. Come, let's go find Chrom."
"I'll be right behind you," Tharja replied, quickly stepping behind Robin.
They walked for a few minutes in silence. Robin never saw Tharja, but he felt his cloak adjusting to her body as she maintained contact with it. After a couple years of this practice, Tharja's close presence behind Robin had become a familiar feeling.
Suddenly, a flash of red hair hurriedly walked past Robin for a couple of steps. Cordelia turned her head and recognized Robin. "Robin! I was just looking for you!"
"I know, Tharja had just told me," Robin said.
"She should come, too, the Shepherds are getting ready to depart."
"She's right…" Robin stopped himself, noticing that Tharja's presence had disappeared again. Robin sighed. "Well, she's close and following me, so don't worry about her. Let's go."
Cordelia waited for Robin to catch up with her. The two of them walked towards the gathering place. As they walked, Cordelia glanced at Robin. "So, what do you think of Cherche?"
"Oh! Yes, she seems quite excellent. She is strong, has stamina and skill, everything necessary for a warrior. Not so great with magic, though."
"Like me," Cordelia mused. "But I was talking about her as a person. What do you think of her?"
"As a person? She seems quite kind and respectful. Having followed Virion for so long, she has to be reliable and loyal."
Cordelia rolled her eyes. "You're no fun at all, Robin," she said. "What do you think of her as a woman?"
"As a woman?" Robin stopped walking, making Cordelia stop as well. Robin tapped a finger on his chin as he thought. "Well… Hmm. She is beautiful, I suppose," he admitted.
Cordelia faced Robin and clapped her hands on Robin's shoulders. "There, was that so hard to say?" she asked. She looked at her hands for a moment, noting that Robin's cloak seemed a little wet and sticky. "Hmm. You might need to wash your cloak," she said. "But anyway, Cherche seems like a lovely person. Maybe she's just the person to get you to relax more."
Robin chuckled. He started walking again, surprising Cordelia and making her jump forward to catch up. "Maybe," Robin said. "There are more pressing matters to attend to, though. Cordelia, I think your mind is too into romance right now."
Cordelia sighed. "Sumia's fault. She's been pushing for this book series, and we've been reading it together."
"Uh huh. Sure. And you certainly didn't secretly fall in love with the story and occasionally sneak a few chapters in ahead of Sumia."
Cordelia was silent for a moment. "Certainly," she finally responded. "But back to Cherche. Maybe you should ask her out."
"Let's stop this invasion force first."
"Fair enough."
The two of them walked into a fenced area, where several troops were moving around. Chrom was standing with Sumia, Frederick, Flavia, and Basilio, when Frederick spotted Robin. He leaned in close to Chrom and spoke. Chrom turned and smiled. "Robin! Good. Let's get moving."
The cold, salty air on Cherche's face reminded her of when she arrived in the western coast of Regna Ferox so many days ago. She leaned in closer to Minerva, whose body was emitting heat and helping keep Cherche warm. "Good girl," she said softly, always appreciating Minerva's presence.
Cherche was patrolling the skies, scouting the western coast ahead of the Feroxian and Ylissean army. Robin had ordered the winged soldiers out over the water, just to get some eyes on the coast faster and more effectively than the land troops could and hopefully give some advanced notice. While the entire western coast was a large area to cover, Robin had a few ideas of where Valm might want to strike. He had gotten permission to evacuate some of the coastal settlements as soon as they reached them. The land troops were still some distance from some of the settlements, however.
Cordelia was also on the lookout nearby, with Sumia and Olivia on standby to relieve them. While the Pegasus Knights were still being rebuilt, their numbers were rather limited. After warning settlement leaders and relaying evacuation plans, the Pegasus Knights spread out over the water to areas that Robin had selected to patrol in shifts. The situation was not ideal, but Robin was trying to utilize their forces as best he could.
Cherche looked at the land mass that extended beyond her vision. She had been in the land of Ylisse for less than a month. It wasn't her home of Rosanne, but it still had its beauty. "I won't let it fall. Not like Rosanne," Cherche thought to herself.
Minerva shrieked, bringing Cherche's attention back to the water.
Cherche peered into the distance, trying to find what had made Minerva react. There were dark clouds brewing in the horizon. "A storm could be to our advantage," Cherche noted. "But what's that you saw?" Cherche asked. Minerva shrieked again. "I'm not doubting you. But I need some numbers to give a better report. Robin was very clear about the level of detail he wanted." Minerva released another shriek. Cherche smiled. "You think so?" she asked, massaging Minerva's neck. "Well, he was right about the weather, so maybe he'll be right about the invasion targets, too."
Minerva turned towards the distant storm. She kept Cherche up in the air, out of range of any archers they might encounter. As they came closer to the dark clouds, Cherche could see the sails of a ship. Minerva growled.
"Only a little closer to get more information, and then we'll turn around," Cherche said. "Don't worry so much about me." Cherche brought Minerva around the ship just to confirm that the ship was by itself. Finally, she headed straight for land. As the two of them passed over a settlement, Cherche saw some movement amongst the buildings. "Some still haven't evacuated," she noted. "I hope we'll get there in time."
Further inland, Cherche saw the Shepherds. She brought Minerva into a dive. Minerva let out a shriek as she descended rapidly. Finally, she extended her wings to decelerate and swoop back up before smoothly landing with a few steps. Minerva crouched to the ground, allowing Cherche to easily climb down.
"Cherche!" Robin called. He was running with Chrom and Frederick. As they approached, Minerva lifted her head and snorted.
"One ship spotted, heading for the port, maybe an hour away," Cherche reported. "The port hasn't been fully evacuated."
Robin processed the information quickly. He turned to Frederick and Chrom. "No stopping to rest."
"Should we march double quick?" Chrom asked.
"We can't afford to arrive tired." Robin turned back to Cherche. "How big is the ship?"
"I think it is an advanced landing ship. No more than eighty within."
"We have twenty-three," Frederick pointed out. "Twenty-four when Cordelia returns. Shall we wait for the rest of our army?"
"Twenty-six," Cherche corrected. "Don't forget about Minerva and me."
"Are you sure, Cherche?" Chrom asked.
"You've been out patrolling for a while, so I don't want to push you…" Robin began. Cherche raised her hand to stop Robin.
"This isn't our land, but it is our fight. These same people invaded Rosanne. We're not going to stand idly by as they invade another land."
"I wasn't questioning your motive, just your condition…" Robin made eye contact with Cherche. She locked her gaze straight into Robin's eyes.
"We're good to go," Cherche said unwaveringly.
Robin broke eye contact with Cherche to quickly scan her, followed by Minerva. Finally, Robin nodded once. "You are," he agreed. "Very well, let's keep moving. We'll send word to the rest of the army, but keep with the original plan. We'll need greater numbers in other parts of the coast." Robin glanced at Minerva. "Twenty-six, we should be fine with that."
A tall man in gold and red armor removed his blade from the chest of a poor villager. "Well, this should be an easy conquest," he said to no one in particular. "I wonder if the other landings are going just as well. Perhaps our easiest campaign. Though Emperor Walhart has made many campaigns easy." The man then looked at the ground and noticed some blood on his boot and on the floor. He cursed. "I should have kicked him off the ship. His blood isn't worth the effort. Aid!"
A soldier ran up and saluted. "Sir Dalton!"
"Take this body and prop it onto a horse," Dalton said, gesturing to the recently killed villager. "Perhaps it can enlighten the creatures of this land that Emperor Walhart is coming to take what should be his."
"Yes, sir," the soldier responded. He then waved at a few other people and dragged the body away.
"Excellent," Dalton said. "Oh, and get the blood off the deck!" Dalton watched in satisfaction as his subordinates carried out his tasks. He then surveyed the city before him. The ship's deck was high enough from the dock that he could see a good deal of the city. There were a few other piers for smaller ships. The dock was mostly empty, probably because of warnings before the Valmese ship had arrived.
Those that did not heed the warning or never received it were currently running or shutting themselves indoors while Valmese soldiers were moving around, unloading supplies from the ship or taking any valuable supplies they could find. The cobblestone dock was littered with piles of crates, barrels, carts, and other randomly gathered supplies.
The soldiers were starting to disappear in the distance, Dalton noticed. "Are they wandering too far from the ship? We might have to rally them back at some point," he thought to himself. He spotted one soldier on a horse, coming back towards the ship, past the crew that were unloading supplies. He was a higher ranked officer, a paladin like Dalton.
"Sir Dalton!" the paladin shouted, trotting up the planks and onto the ship.
"Yes, lieutenant, what is it?" Dalton asked, curious.
"Our advanced raiding party has not reported back."
Dalton sighed. "We don't want them to get too far ahead. They might get overly ambitious and steal for themselves. Has it been long?"
"A few moments past their check-in time."
Dalton sighed, then whistled. A young man appeared, guiding a strong, armored horse to Dalton. Dalton climbed onto the horse with ease. He was then handed his weapons by the young man. "Let's go." The two paladins maneuvered back down the gangplanks and onto the cobblestone dock. Dalton nodded at the progress his crew had made. They had found a substantial amount of materials that they could use to sustain their stay. He looked further into the town. "Perhaps I can secure a prize for myself," he thought aloud softly.
As he passed the material rally point, the sounds of his crew became distant. The remaining town residents were all out of sight, probably either all escaped or indoors. The result left the town in an eerie, quiet atmosphere.
"This town is bigger than it seems from the ship," the paladin mentioned.
"Indeed," Dalton agreed, eyeing his surroundings cautiously. Suddenly, years of experience made him raise his shield. A small volley of fire and electricity crashed onto the two horsemen. Dalton remained firm, his shield in the air, as the magic swept through his body. "Gaaah!" he shouted, holding his sword and shield tightly. As the magic finished its course, he sat up tall. "A magic attack on a paladin! Hah!" While he felt the pain of fire magic, he had for the most part resisted the damaging effects.
He looked at his fellow paladin. He had also resisted the magic and was sitting up defiantly. The paladin looked at Dalton and was about to speak, when he suddenly jerked back on his horse. "Agh!" he shouted in pain.
As the paladin reeled back, Dalton saw an arrow protruding from the paladin's chest armor. "Back to the ship!" Dalton shouted, bringing his horse around and whipping the reins. He sprinted his horse back to the rally point. "To arms!" he shouted. "To arms!"
The crew looked at him, puzzled for a moment. When the other paladin came rushing past in obvious pain, the crew started to hustle. Crates were dropped, and men started running everywhere.
Dalton made it back to the dock. "Sound the alarm!" he shouted, moving up the gangplank. When he turned around to view the situation, he saw the Valmese soldiers already on deck running around chaotically. "Lieutenants, to your squadrons! Armored division up front!"
"They're distracted! Let's pursue quickly," Chrom said, watching the two paladins turn around and run away.
Robin was with Chrom, Frederick, and the rest of the Shepherds. He was satisfied with the stealthy attack they had landed on all the Valmese advanced scouts. They had caught them scattered and distracted, and had easily eliminated them. The Shepherds had then advanced a significant distance into the city, when they encountered the two paladins.
Robin nodded at Chrom's suggestion. Chrom smiled and shouted, "Forward!"
"It'll probably take some time before they can rally," Robin said. "Until then, we can attack them while they're off guard. We might be able to pin them to the dock, so that their strength in numbers will be offset by their limited space."
"Sounds good!" Chrom said, before running forward. "You recover!" he shouted back to Robin, already several paces away.
Robin had taken part in the volley of magic on the two paladins, so he had expended some energy from the attack. As he followed Chrom at a slower pace, he caught up to Virion. "Nice shot, as always," he said.
"I'm afraid I owe them a great deal more arrows than just that," Virion said. "They're both still in the fight, though."
"I can't fault you on that, Virion. We need to work on our ranged power," Robin noted.
"If you'd let me get closer, I can stick a curse on them," Tharja said.
"No, stay back with me. I don't want any enemies to get too close to you."
"Robin…" Tharja reached out to Robin.
Virion interrupted Tharja's plans and tapped Robin on the shoulder. "I'm fairly certain one of them is a commanding officer. The tall one." Virion pointed. "He should be our target in this attack." Virion jogged ahead. "But the horrid sounds of battle call upon my gallantry. It would be impertinent of me to decline!"
"Hmph, go," Tharja muttered.
Robin watched as the Shepherds charged into the unprepared Valmese soldiers. Frederick dropped Chrom off right before piercing a Valmese soldier. Sully and Stahl allowed Vaike and Panne to jump off before joining the fray. The rest of the Shepherds on foot caught up and cleared off most of the landing. By the time Robin caught up with the others, the dock was clear.
The brief lull in activity didn't last. Robin saw horsemen and armored soldiers charging down from the ship. In their haste, they had the armored soldiers in front on the gangplanks, slowing down the cavalry behind them. Robin allowed a brief smile, before shouting his orders. "Fall back!" Robin shouted, shooting a red magical ball of light into the air. It exploded in a beautiful light show that told any Shepherds outside of shouting range to fall back to Robin's position. In a well-trained demonstration of rapid response, the Shepherds carefully disengaged.
"Our fliers are returning, too," Frederick pointed out. Sumia, Cordelia, Olivia, and Cherche had been sent to expedite and secure the evacuation of the remaining town residents.
"Good," Robin said, continuing to observe the Valmese soldiers. "The Valmese will probably send their cavalry to the flank," he thought aloud. "Anti-armor up front! Vaike, you still have the hammer, right?"
Vaike lifted up the heavy anti-armor weapon. "Teach won't be forgetting! Er… twice!"
"They'll establish a formation before attacking, so we have some time," Robin said. "Chrom, Vaike, you'll take the front."
At that point, some large wings fluttered behind him. Sumia was the first flier back. "Chrom!" she shouted, landing and trotting up to Chrom.
"Sumia!" Chrom responded.
Robin was glad that they held back from a long string of affection. "Mounted units, stay back." Robin pointed to some of the approaching Valmese. "They have some anti-cavalry weapons. Though…"
A loud shriek announced Cherche's return. "Milord Virion!" Cherche shouted, landing next to Virion and Robin.
"Cherche, Minerva, you can defend the right flank." Minerva shrieked. Cherche rubbed Minerva's neck to calm her down. "Er, if that's okay with you," Robin added.
"That's perfectly fine, isn't that right, Minerva?" Cherche said.
"Stay back and allow them to come to you, though. We want to stay close."
Minerva shrieked again. Cherche nodded. "We'll be patient," Cherche acknowledged. "Minerva here's not used to staying on defense though." Cherche saw Robin's face begin to show concern. "But we'll be patient, don't worry."
"All right," Robin said, turning back to the others. "Virion, support Cherche. I'll defend the left flank with Tharja."
"Let's show them our magnificence, eh, Cherche?" Virion said. "Like a beautiful pair in a coordinated dance… Cherche?" Minerva was walking away, bringing Cherche to the right flank.
"What was that, milord?" Cherche asked.
"Oh, how I've missed your presence," Virion responded.
Robin looked at the remaining Shepherds present. "All right, Sumia, Frederick, Sully, Stahl, you guys will stay back with the healers, and finish off any enemies that we engage. Hit and run, but don't let them land a hit. Your main priority will be to avoid their beast killers. Got it?"
"Right!" Sumia exclaimed, clenching her fist."
"Understood," Frederick said. "We'll finish them off."
Robin looked back at the Valmese soldiers, who had finally made it down from the ship. They were beginning to organize a formation. Robin saw that several soldiers were still on the ship, including the leader. "We'll weather their first wave of attack, and then we'll be in position to take their ship."
"Sounds good," Chrom said. "Everyone ready?"
"Ready!" the Shepherds shouted in unison.
Robin looked at each Shepherd. They all seemed to be ready, full of energy despite their march. His eyes then fell on Cherche. Her hands were clenching her battleaxe tightly. "She seems fine, but I hope she performs well in actual battle."
Cherche was in position in the right flank. Minerva was walking on the ground, allowing both of Cherche's hands to grasp her battleaxe. "Another land, invaded." She caught sight of a dead villager near the ship. "The horrors of the Valmese. No more…" Cherche looked at the Shepherds around her. "We'll be able to stop this. We have strong allies now." Her eyes stopped at Robin's sight, who seemed to be evaluating the situation. "Rosanne, we'll be coming back for you. And it all starts here."
"Here they come!" Chrom shouted.
Cherche took hold of Minerva's reins again. "Minerva, be strong," she said softly. Minerva shrieked, then stood up on her two legs and spread her wings, showing off her large frame. Cherche raised her battleaxe in the air. "For Rosanne!"
A/N
Jeez, it's been a while since I've updated any of my stories. Sorry, everyone. I get distracted easily, and current events have offered a lot of distractions. I've been writing a little bit here and there for Searching for an Olive Branch and for Fates: Convictions. Just haven't posted anything. I hope I haven't lost my touch or anything!
If you haven't noticed, I made Olivia a Pegasus Knight for now. I know that I would make all the girls a Pegasus Knight if possible, just to get that good ole' Galeforce, though with Olivia I settle with Swordmaster. That was a small detail though, and one that probably didn't need an entire author's note paragraph…
Cordelia is going to be Robin's good friend, kinda like Lissa in my Searching for an Olive Branch book. And so I can practice, because one of my future stories just haaaas to be a Robin x Cordelia.
The battle will be the majority of the next chapter. So… let me know if you have any comments, requests or thoughts about the next chapter, or construction criticism with this chapter!
Thanks for continuing to read and comment, Draen!
And thanks, everyone for following and favoriting! I hope you keep reading and reviewing!
Also, crap, I didn't see that I left my future chapter ideas notes in the last chapter! Guyyyys, you should've told me! Or, hopefully, you refrained from reading those notes!
