Author's Note: By the way, I've revised my first chapter by toning down how aggressive Ryoma and Xander were, and by tweaking a few other things that won't really affect the story in any way, but you might want to check out nonetheless. Do I even need a disclaimer? If so, let this apply to all chapters and know I obviously don't own the Fire Emblem series.
Now to the story!
"Mmmm. What would you like to eat, Robin? I think I could go for good steak and greens," Corrin asked, practically skipping towards the nearest stall.
"Lady Corrin, I ask that you don't speak so loudly. Out outfits are suspicious enough, we don't need to draw any more attention to ourselves. And remember, we are currently in Hoshido, which has been at war with Nohr for years. Asking for Nohrian dishes won't improve our situations any, so you'll have to refrain from ordering your usual favorites. If you truly wish, though, I can search out the ingredients and prepare the food myself," Jakob warned, sighing at his Mistress's naïvety.
"Oh. I'm sorry about that, Jakob," Corrin said, slowing as her face settled into a frown. "I never really thought about it. In the castle everything just kind of came to me. I never had to worry about all the Hoshidan-Nohrian conflicts. I guess I'm really going to have to step up my game if we're going to pull this thing off, aren't I?" she chuckled softly, before continuing on to the food stand with a more determined expression.
"The castle? So you are princesses, huh?" Robin said to himself as he followed the bounding girl.
"Princess-es? How did you know that we both are, Robin?" Azura asked, knowing that neither she nor Jakob had mentioned it, and that Corrin wasn't the type to flaunt their royal blood.
"Your general demeanor. If Corrin is a princess like you just confirmed and I inferred due to her description of living in the castle, then you, who are much more formal, likely are too. You seem accustomed to Jakob's mannerisms more than the average person as well, so it just makes sense. To add on, you just… have a royal air about you, no matter what you do," the tactician shrugged, trying to put words to the feeling he had. He was also trying not to give away the fact that he wasn't really a complete amnesiac, and actually not only knew, but was good friends with, royalty. He was an amnesiac in the sense of not being able to remember anything before his first encounter with Chrom, but he did remember what he was doing right before he woke up with a different C-named figure above him.
"Hmph. If that's what you say," Jakob hummed, obviously not believing a thing Robin had said.
'How nostalgic,' Robin noted, thinking about how similar it was to the first time he woke up in a field. Again there were 3 people, one of which had blue hair, one was a grumpy servant of some sort, and the third was a peppy girl. There were of course differences, as Chrom and Azura were only similar in that they were both royal and both had blue hair, Jakob seemed to be more of a jerk in general than Frederick, and Corrin seemed less of a pampered princess than Lissa, but connections were easy to make and similarities easy to spot.
"What'cha thinkin' about, Robin?" Corrin asked, drawing Robin's attention back to his current situation. It seemed that she, not recognizing the dishes at the stand, had roped Azura and Jakob into ordering something for her.
"Mmm. Just trying to remember. This seems familiar somehow. Not the area or anything. But more like the… situation. Maybe I'm amnesia prone or something! Don't worry about me, though. I'm sure my memories will come back soon. For now, I at least know my name and how to protect myself, so I should be fine," Robin said, shaking off Corrin's questions before they got to a point that he wouldn't be able to deflect them.
Or… he theoretically knew how to protect himself. Though Vaike had insisted on training him in hand to hand combat, (the lessons of which were more undignified wrestling matches where the smaller tactician left bruised and limping, hardly better than before unless you counted stronger in the sense of wariness) and Chrom would drag him out to the training field and give him actual lessons during the two year gap between wars, Robin wouldn't ever willingly challenge someone unarmed. Which he was at the moment.
"Oh. Well, how are you feeling, then?" the girl questioned, curious as to what exactly was going on with her newest companion.
"I have a slight headache and my body aches a bit, but that's probably just a result of whatever messed up my memory. Are there any such things as memory spells? Ones specific aimed at erasing memories, at least. I've read books that say… that say… err… I'm sure I've read something on memory. Why can't I…" Robin answered, scrunching his eyebrows as he trailed off. That would look convincing enough to her, right?
"Don't worry about remembering if it hurts, Robin! And no, I don't know if any things like memory spells exist. Though once Leo snuck me a book in which one of the main characters had his memories altered though, so maybe you've read something like that," Corrin suggested, looking back to her butler and female friend who walked over, bags of groceries in hand.
"It would take too long for him to prepare anything, so I asked him to simply give us ingredients. That way I'll be able to prefer the dishes to your exact tastes, Milady. Now we should get going to that inn, shouldn't we?" Jakob said, answering the unasked question of as to why he came back from a street food cart with ingredients but no meal.
"Of course! To the inn we go!" Corrin affirmed, smiling as she skipped over to the large sign that marked their destination.
The town was crowded, the streets filled with people to the point that Corrin had to twist and turn every few moments to avoid hitting anyone. They were clearly in the farmer's market section, as every inch of sidewalk was taken up by stands overflowing with fresh fruits and vegetables. Some Robin recognized, some he didn't. But, being in a new land, that wasn't unexpected. He had never seen a squash in Ylisse after all, and Plegia prided their squash harvests even more than their royal family some times. Seriously. There was one time he was passing through a village during the war and went up to a squash field, not knowing what they were, only to be hit over the head by a woman babbling on about how 'these squash here are the only things that matter to me, boy! How dare you touch them! Who do you think you are? Why, I wouldn't even let the king put his greedy little hands on them! Hell, I'd even trade the king to Valm or Ylisse if that meant I could double the crop!'
...It was an odd experience to say the least. But back to current events.
"Is she always like this?" Robin asked Jakob, wondering who he had gotten himself involved with.
"Not always. She can be a bit naïve and innocent, but it's probably just the freedom. This is only the second time she's been in a town, after all. Before this, Lady Corrin had been raised in a secluded fortress from which she was not allowed leave. She's likely just trying to take advantage of the chance to interact with other people and run around without threats on her person or life," Jakob responded, annoyed that some random newcomer was asking such personal questions about his Mistress.
"Only the second time?"
"I ask that you refrain from asking any more questions about Lady Corrin for the time being. For all I know you could be a pawn of King Garon sent out to assassinate Corrin for her actions. You wouldn't seem out of place as a dark mage, though I don't recognize your clothing. And I suppose you are a bit too… well dressed."
"..." Robin decided to remain quiet after that, realizing that conversing with the snappy butler was getting him nowhere fast. They soon reached the inn, and Corrin got them a three room suite, one room with a queen bed, one with two couches, and one with a kitchen. Jakob hastily prepared them dinner while Robin, Corrin, and Azura sat around the small table that was in front of one of the couches.
It was a sort of odd table. The sides had blankets running down them. Wouldn't they just get dirty very quickly? If someone happened to be a messy eater, then they'd spill sauce all over the fabric, and that would be a pain to clean up.
"So would one of you girls like to give me a rundown of the situation?" Robin asked politely, uncomfortable with being so out of the loop.
"Of course," Azura said, taking the time to organize her own thoughts in the mess they were currently dealing with. "I am Azura, a Nohrian princess kidnapped by Hoshido in retaliation for the Nohrian kidnapping of the Hoshidan princess Corrin. A little over a decade ago, Nohr invaded Hoshido, killing the King and stealing Corrin, after centuries of tension between the two countries. Until just recently, Queen Mikoto of Hoshido had kept a barrier over the land in order to prevent invasions by Faceless, which are sort of like undead monsters summoned by Nohrian necromancers. Without Faceless to attack with, Nohr hasn't risked any major attacks on Hoshido so far.
"However, recently Corrin was allowed out of the castle for the first time. On a mission, she was captured by the Hoshidans and returned to the castle where she greeted her mother for the first time since childhood. Unfortunately, it had been a trap by Garon, and the sword held by Corrin exploded, killing Mikoto who had moved to protect Corrin, and dissolving the barrier. With nothing blocking the Faceless, Nohr moved to attack Hoshido, trying to reclaim Corrin in the process. Eventually it came down to the crown princes of each family pleading Corrin to side with them. Corrin however, could not choose between her birth family and the family that raised her, and decided not to choose a side. That leads us to our current situation, where we are likely marked traitors by both major nations of our world," Azura summed up, occasionally glancing at Corrin who looked upset and guilty for her role in the death of the Hoshidan Queen.
Corrin looked to the side, sadness evident. Letting Azura explain what had happened to her rather than saying it herself was just as good of an indicator for her guilt. It almost made Robin feel guilty. Is that how people felt when someone gave their lives for another? And Corrin had only known Mikoto for a short time. How badly must he have hurt the Shepherds…?
"Ah, thanks. I do have to ask though, what's up with the sword and the pendant? And since you left out the lovely butler currently residing in the kitchen, I'm going to assume Jakob is just a very loyal servant from Corrin's days in Nohr that showed up sometime after she was kidnapped and decided he would follow her no matter what. I'm guessing that since you were in the same predicament as Corrin, simply reversed, that's why you sided with her, but other than that that was a pretty nice explanation," Robin concluded, a smile appearing in his face.
"Excuse me?" Azura said, not surprised at the strange man's mention of Yato as it certainly looked unique, but impressed and a bit suspicious at his recognition of the odd nature of her necklace.
"Well Corrin's sword is certainly much more ornate than your average blade, and has a weird air about it. It's different, but your pendant has something strange about it too, so I couldn't help but be curious."
The girl clearly wasn't satisfied with his response, but Corrin decided to speak, saving him from more questions.
"My sword is the Yato, a divine blade that resided in Hoshido until recently," Corrin said, contributing to the conversation at last. It seemed she had gotten over at least some of her guilt for her role in her mother's death and was finally up to saying a few words. "It can only be wielded by one person, or at least one person who's alive at one time, and is one of 5 total divine weapons. Two of the others are still in Hoshido, while 2 stay with Nohr. As for Azura's pendant… I've never noticed. Although it was doing this weird glowy, floaty thing when you calmed me down back in the square," she finished, a thoughtful look on her face.
"When she calmed you down…?" Robin questioned, needing more clarification. With the way they both left off the most important, or at least interesting, information, your figure they were raised by the same people. Which he guessed they were, but they were at such different parts of their developmental period that it just didn't -
"-da goes like this." Robin heard, and realised that Corrin was talking, "After Queen Mikoto… After Mother was killed, I kind of freaked out and turned into a dragon. I went about destroying things until Azura started singing. All the water around started to float, as did her pendant, and suddenly everything just seemed to slow and calm down. Transforming, which seemed impossible before, became possible and I turned back before I could do any more damage. Then Azura gave me a Dragonstone and things worked themselves out," Corrin summarized, smiling.
"..." Corrin was a manakete? Now that he looked, he definitely saw pointed ears poking out behind the mess of silver waves on her head, but he wasn't expecting that. Could manaketes even look her age after only having lived what must have been under two decades given Azura's age? Wait no, of course they could. He had met Nah after all. But still. Did that mean there were 4 more manaketes waiting to kill them in the Hoshidan castle? Did that mean that the Nohrians were manaketes too? Were there eight manaketes looking for their heads? And since when did manaketes use weapons? Wait no, Azura seemed normal enough past her pendant. Maybe the Dragon thing was exclusive to Hoshido? Of course, it could also just mean that-
"Dinner is ready, Miladies. And you," Jakob called, coming out with several steaming plates of delicious looking food, some of which Robin recognized, some of which he didn't.
"Thank you, Jakob."
"Thank you!"
"Thanks for the meal."
"You're welcome, Lady Corrin, Lady Azura."
"Jakob…"
"And you too, Robin."
"Good."
With the last thanks out of the way, the group of four dug into their food. Or rather, Corrin looked as though she wanted to dig in but went for a more polite way of eating, while the others were just naturally neat eaters. As much as Robin hated to admit, Jakob's cooking didn't disappoint, and he was surprised that Jakob appeared to be a personal butler as he would have easily qualified for a castle cook back in Ylisse. Then again, maybe it was just the foreign food impressing him, but likely Jakob was just that good. Or maybe Nohr just had fantastic cooks in the first place, so Jakob wasn't all that amazing in comparison. Robin secretly hoped it was the latter, because that meant as soon as they got to Nohr he would be going on a trip to visit all the restaurants he could hit up during his time there.
When they were finished with their meals, Jakob took the group's dishes back to the kitchen to wash, leaving the princesses and Robin to discuss sleeping arrangements.
"Hmm. Well there are only 3 beds, if you count the couches, so that means two of us will have to share. It would probably be best that we share with someone of the same gender, so do you and Jakob want the large bed, or should we take it?" Corrin began.
"Well I worry Jakob might 'accidentally' skewer me in my sleep if I slept anywhere within 5 feet of him, so I think I'll be fine on the couch. Plus, you and Azura are princesses, and I'm used to sleeping on the ground, if my lack of discomfort when waking up on that field is any indication. Jakob, due to his position, has likely also spent a great deal of time sleeping in uncomfortable positions too, so we're both used to it and will be fine on the couches. Maybe we'll snatch the bed next time, but for now you've had a long day and deserve the best rest possible. I'll go move one of the couches next to the door to your room so that Jakob doesn't stay awake glaring, or even possibly throwing if what I saw at his waist is any indication, daggers at my back all night."
"What about daggers?" Jakob asked, returning having finished washing the dishes. He had even taken off the silly apron that he had gotten from who knows where.
"Nothing important. Anyway, Azura and Corrin will share a bed for the night. You and I are on the couches. Don't worry, I'll move one to the door in front of the girls' room so you don't have to worry about me sneaking in or whatever. Is that fine?" Robin commented, waving Jakob off. In response, Jakob just blinked, opening his mouth as if he had something to say before he frowned and shut it again.
"That's… fine. Thank you," the butler slowly said, suspicious not of Robin as a person, but instead his actions. Which was a considerable improvement, but still disheartening. Was Robin really that weird?
"Goodnight to you then. Do you require anything before bed, Lady Corrin?"
"No, and drop the Lady, Jakob. We're friends, aren't we?"
"Of course."
The group then dispersed to their respective places of rest, Robin and Jakob moving one of the couches to the entrance of the girls' room. They then all hopped under the covers, and shut the light out to go to sleep.
Corrin and Azura must have fallen asleep quickly, because their breaths evened out after just a few minutes. Jakob on the other hand took about half an hour or so. Most of which he spent staring at Robin, part of which he spent making sure Corrin looked like she was sleeping, and the rest of which he actually tried to sleep.
Robin, however, was awake the entire time, which he wished he wasn't because for one, it was creepy knowing someone was watching you while you presumably slept, and two, he didn't want to be awake. He couldn't fall asleep though, and wasn't even tired to boot. After what must have been three or so hours of just lying there, the tactician decided that he would get up and try to assess what he had on him. His eyes had adjusted well enough to the darkness, so Robin could see well enough to take stock of his items.
Disappointingly, his stock revealed that he had nothing. The clothes on his back were definitely his and were in fine shape, but he had no elixirs, concoctions, or even vulnerary, which he knew he had at least one of before his encounter with Grima. He also lacked his sword and tome, and even the small daggers he kept hidden in his waist and the inside of his coat were gone. The smaller weapons' absence wasn't surprising, as when he had woken in the field with Chrom he hadn't had them, but he had had a bronze sword and a thunder tome at that time, neither of which were currently in his possession. What was surprising, or rather alarming, was the mark of Grima that still shone on his hand, glowing just slightly in the complete darkness, despite the fact that the whole reason Robin was in this strange predicament was because he killed his counterpart.
But besides that, Jakob had reason enough not to trust him, and Robin figured a glowing sigil on the back of his hand wouldn't help, so he got up and headed for the door. Then it occurred to him that Jakob might be a light enough sleeper to wake at the sound of the door, and that disappearing in the night was really suspicious, so Robin wrote a short note explaining that he was going out to get some tea from the shop that Corrin had pointed out on the way there to help him sleep. It wasn't all that great of an excuse, but it was what Robin had. Even Jakob had commented on it, so hopefully it would work, but he wouldn't know until he returned.
A short time later Robin found himself in front of a clothing store that was still open despite the fact that it had to be well past midnight, possibly a few hours away from sunrise if Hoshido was like Ylisse in having roughly 12 to 12 hour days. Inside was a pretty girl of about 25 who seemed as though she was struggling to stay awake.
"Excuse me miss," Robin called, startling the woman into an upright position, "but you wouldn't happen to sell gloves, would you?" He hoped he hadn't been too rude, but as he knew he looked suspicious in his long foreign coat, covered in strange symbols and markings, he supposed it might be less creepy than just stalking through her store until he did or didn't find what he was looking for.
"Oh, umm… hello, sir. Yes, we do. What color would you like?" she asked warily, likely thinking he was some creep. Or maybe that he was from Nohr, if the way Jakob spoke of their clothing was any indication. Just walking around town it was obvious that they didn't fit in with the local style, and Corrin hadn't regarded his outfit with the wonder she had directed at the clothing of the townspeople.
"Black would be preferable, but what do you recommend?" he responded, knowing that Lissa had commented on his clothing more than once, ganging up with Maribelle to lecture him on what ungodly offense he was committing whenever he put together an outfit just for everyday wear. Tharja would butt in every once in a while, sliding up to him and trying to say that Robin looked good in whatever he was (or wasn't) wearing. Then the three would argue, and Robin would slip away so he wouldn't have to get yet another lecture from the blonde nobles.
"We have black, but we also have a nice purple fabric that goes with the get up you have on. If you want, I can make a pair with a base of black and some purple design to it," the woman answered, shrugging. She seemed a little less uncomfortable, but was still a little wary of the odd man before her. He noticed that he had a slight accent as well, one that likely didn't quite fit any of the accents found in this continent, which for whatever reason didn't appear to have a name. Though it probably didn't matter in Hoshido because he was foreign based on appearance alone, and the townspeople would just assume he had a random Nohrian accent as he was pretty sure that very few people of any at all had even been to Nohr, much less traveled around enough to know he was speaking in a unique accent.
"Ah, but that would require sizing. I don't want to take up your time," Robin dismissed, wishing to just grab some random gloves and leave before anyone woke up to notice he was missing.
"No, no, I insist! I'll only have to measure one hand, and do a few alterations to some premade gloves. Please!"
"Uh, sure, then. Here you go." Robin handed the woman his left hand, and she got out a few strips of ribbon. Wrapping it around his fingers, palm, and wrist, she made a few markings before taking the strip to a worktable behind the counter. There, she pulled out some fabric, not premade gloves as she had claimed, and got to work. A few times she went back over to Robin and made some more measurements or wrapped something part way around his hand, but it wasn't as complicated as he had imagined. She must have been quite skilled, as it took much less time than Robin thought it would. Then again, he was not informed on glove making in the slightest, so she could have been taking a really long time when compared to normal. She used a fabric that looked like leather, but couldn't have been due to the texture, and in no time had a pair of gloves ready.
"Oh, thank y-"
"No no, I'm not done! I have to make two more!"
"Two? I'm not sure I have the money to pay for two-" Robin started, pausing when he realized he probably didn't even have money to pay for one pair of gloves. He had some coins on him, but who knew if the currency was the same between Ylisse and Hoshido? It was a miracle that they spoke the same language…. He would have to get caught up, and soon. At least in Ylisse he remembered general concepts of things, though he couldn't recall names, people, or places. Here, he had no idea how anything worked. He recognized what a shop looked like, the animals around, and some of the plants, but there was so much more he didn't. He would have to look around for a library. Or preferably a bookstore, but that was only after he affirmed that he had valid money and enough to pay for the gloves, nonetheless a bunch of books. He'd also have to buy a bag, weapons, basic survival tools, a few concoctions, vulneraries, and bandages…
"Here you go! Three beautiful pairs of gloves!" The woman exclaimed, almost singing. In her hands she held, as she had just said, three pairs of good looking gloves.
"I thought you said you had two more to make?" Robin had been so engrossed in his thoughts that he hasn't even noticed her respond to his question, nonetheless finish a third pair of gloves.
"Yeah. Two more pairs, I already told you that when you were spacing out. See, I couldn't decide which design to make, so I made all three! Plain black gloves are an essential part of someone's wardrobe, so I made them. Then I thought that though they're essential, they're also a bit boring, So I lengthened them to about elbow length and made purple ones too, to add a bit more color to your outfit. Or at least to make a greater percentage of your outfit have color. Then I thought, 'Well purple with a black palm is better but it's still pretty boring,' so I made this third pair. Then I added the design on your coat to the palms of the purple gloves anyway, but who cares. They're beautiful, aren't they?" the woman described, handing the gloves to Robin.
They truly were impressive to look at, and the fabric they were made of was impressive to. They seemed like they'd be comfortable yet durable, which only made Robin more worried as that would hike up the price. Not only would it be had as they were custom made so no one would want them, but one pair had the eyes of Grima (not in the form of the sigil on his hand, but rather just a single eye as seen on his coat) on them and he really didn't want to be distributing that to the public. It was fine for his style, but he didn't want more evidence of his existence and oddity floating around if he could help it.
"Here, let me get out my wallet," Robin began, reaching into his pocket to grab some coins that weren't in a wallet, but just loose. Though he didn't have his daggers, he did have coins, which in this situation were more important but probably weren't in the grand scheme of things. He dropped a few on the counter before reaching into his pocket for a few more, and dropped those too. When he put his hand back in his pocket again, the saleswoman told him "Thanks!" grabbed the coins, and put his gloves in a bag. It had only taken about 150, which surprised him because the gloves were of such high quality he was worried they'd be 150 each. Or, they were worth 150 Ylissean pieces, since he wasn't sure what the conversion was. They were unmarked golden pieces, so it wasn't as if they had a portrait of Marth or someone in them that wouldn't exist in this place and thus be invalid, but he was still worried.
Thanking the woman, he slipped on the black gloves and walked around some more. When he finally noticed a building with books visible through the window, he went up to it only to find its doors locked. Looking up at the moon, or rather glancing slightly up and mostly to the side, Robin realized that the sun would be up soon and as Jakob had left the curtains open, he would definitely be caught if he didn't go back right away. Robin was really good at getting caught up in things and losing track of time, especially when it came to books, so he figured he was better safe than sorry. Plus, the building was locked anyway, so he couldn't have entered without breaking in, which he wasn't about to do.
Soon Robin found himself back in his room, completely unnoticed. He had placed the note in such a way that it would be blown away by the movement of Jakob's cover with a little piece of string over the underline that would have fallen into the dark carpet and stayed unnoticed and undisturbed had Jakob woken up and put everything back in an attempt to trick the tactician. But nothing was any different, so he knew he was safe. The innkeeper was fast asleep at the counter both when Robin left and when he came back, so he was probably safe in the case that Jakob tried to ask someone at the desk if Robin had done something either. All in all, it was a successful trip.
Sometime between half an hour and an hour later, Robin got up, stretching and stumbling around as if he was a bit groggy but had woken up on his own. He fixed himself some of the coffee that came with the room, and while waiting for the water to boil, Jakob woke up, looking straight at his only male companion. At first he looked startled, likely unused to staying with someone who was an even earlier bird than he was. Or maybe he thought Robin was making Corrin coffee and was trying to show the butler up? The thought hadn't even occurred to him until that moment. Maybe he should have boiled more water.
"Good morning, Robin. What are you doing up so early?" Jakob questioned, eyes partially squinted. Any progress that Robin had made was gone, and it almost seemed like he had gone backwards on his Jakob-trust-o-meter.
"I woke up just a few minutes ago, when the sun started reflecting off the mirror and into my eyes. Or maybe it was just when I was ready to wake up. Who knows how long I was unconscious in that field before you guys came? It wasn't ideal, but my body probably counted it as sleep and so I wouldn't need all that much last night," Robin said, shrugging.
"Of course. What are you making?"
"Just some coffee. I wasn't sure when you or the girls would be waking up, so I've only put enough for myself to boil as I didn't want it to get cold while you three slept. I can boil some more once I finish mine if you want."
"No, no. I'll take care of that, thank you very much. But would it be alright if I intercepted that water and made tea for Lady Corrin with it? She's had a very trying experience the last few days."
"I suppose you could, but wouldn't you rather she gets some beauty sleep and rests than she wakes now for a drink she could get later and is tired for the rest of the day? If we are going anywhere, then we need to be in tip-top shape, and getting a good night's rest after a stressful event is an essential part of any traveler's life."
Jakob frowned, and went about making his bed and sitting with an annoyed expression until around 8, when Azura came out of the girls' room. She said good morning to the two men in front of her, and sat at the table, simply watching the clouds pass by outside the window with a thoughtful expression on her face. Jakob finally made some tea, and then went to wake Corrin. She joined them a little later, it having taken Jakob a considerable amount of time to wake the excitable girl.
They didn't speak much, and just a few minutes after Corrin rose, the four left.
"So, where are we off to now?" Robin asked, eager to learn first person about the new land he was in.
"Oh, we were just going to wander about a little bit," Corrin answered, in awe of all the things she saw around her. It was a bustling town, that was for sure. The tactician hoped that it would be mostly unaffected by the upcoming war, but knew that that was extremely unlikely given the effect the wars he had experienced had had on Ylisse and the rest of the world.
"I think I'll go to the bookstore then," Robin added, acting as though the thought had suddenly occurred to him. When his blue haired companion tilted her head at him, he shrugged and continued. "Well, I don't really remember anything about Hoshido or Nohr or anything else, so I thought I'd go to the bookstore and buy a few books on the history of the countries, the geography of the surrounding area, and things like that. Why, is that weird?"
"Not… necessarily. You certainly don't appear to be from Hoshido so it might be difficult getting good service though. So you have money on you? I want to tell you how many books you should be able to buy and how much they are." Jakob was being nice for a change, which caused Robin to raise an eyebrow at Corrin. The girl just looked away and started to whistle, which made Robin chuckle as he pulled the coins he still had out of his pocket.
"... This is…." Jakob started, Azura staring at the moment without saying a word. Was his currency not actually currency? Was that woman just so tired she didn't notice, was she thinking of how much she could get for the coins if she traded them in, or was she just being nice?
"You could buy the entirety of Juso Alum's 'Five Nights Under the Cherry Tree' series twice over for that much!" Azura finally shouted, breaking the silence that had come over them once Robin had taken out his coins.
Robin had never heard of Juso Alem, nor of any of his books, so he had no idea how long the series was or how much money that meant he had.
"And that means…?"
"I'll just tell you when to stop grabbing, if we somehow reach that point"
"Fantastic!" Robin practically sang, overjoyed. How much money did he have? Not that that mattered. To the bookstore he would go!
Jakob and Robin headed over, and Azura and Corrin went their own way. A little while later they regrouped, Robin equipped with a giant bag full of texts of all kinds.
They then left the town, heading to their next destination. Which was a place called "The Bottomless Canyon". Cheery.
Once they got there Azura told the group that they needed to jump in, and Jakob was having none of it. He seemed convinced that Azura was just trying to get Corrin to commit suicide for having killed the woman who raised Azura and for abandoning her homeland, which Corrin then vehemently denied.
"Jakob, why commit suicide after all this? I trust Azura, why can't you!?" the furious girl shouted, causing Jakob to look like someone had just murdered his only family member.
"I… I'm sorry, Lady Corrin. It's just, jumping into a canyon without a true explanation seems a bit…" Jakob began, before he was cut off.
"Dangerous. Suspicious. Frightening. Deadly. Basically, we'd like a little better explanation if possible. It's not that we don't trust Azura as a person, it's just that jumping off a bridge into something that has 'bottomless' in its name goes against all of our instinctual values that tell us to live and not jump into unknown depths with nothing to cushion ourselves. Right, Jakob?" Robin explained, turning to his only male companion.
"Exactly," the other man affirmed, nodding. Azura only sighed, commented on how she understood why they doubted her, and jumped in anyway. Corrin of course followed, as she had expressed no such doubts, and Jakob immediately kept after her. Robin waited a moment before sighing and simply falling off the edge, wondering what would happen.
He was already supposed to die, so it wouldn't be too terrible if he met his end there. Frankly he was grateful for even having the meal, though it may have just been a step towards his eventual death. Which suddenly became a lot more frightening when Robin realized the canyon was full of gigantic, jagged rocks that jutted out from the canyon walls and oh Naga did he not want to smack himself on one of those. He had to dodge quite a few before he finally reached the bottom of the canyon. If it could be called that, at least. Instead of the typical rocky floor, it was instead some sort of portal, leading to a land of green, green grass and bright, blue skies. There were also floating islands around, which really sealed the whole "this is a totally new world" vibe that the tactician got when not only when he woke up in Hoshido, but intensified when he got to this new land.
"Welcome to Valla," Azura greeted, looking around with sadness and longing in her eyes. "Should we wake them, or should we just wait until they wake themselves?" she asked Robin, looking at their two unconscious companions. It seems that during their fall, Jakob had managed to maneuver himself under Corrin so that in case they did slam into the ground, his body could cushion their fall. It was quite sweet, almost romantic, until you thought about how disgusting it would be to feel the smashed body of your best friend under you. To feel the bottom person's bones snap and jut into the body above them, possibly piercing them more than impact with the canyon's rocks would have... However, the two were uninjured, so that wouldn't be a problem.
'...Wait. Why am I thinking about that. That's really morbid. Ugh, what's wrong with me? Have these last few days really messed me up that much?' Robin thought to himself, disgusted with his own thoughts
"You don't mind if I wait until the others wake to explain our situation, do you?" Azura asked, calm as ever.
"Not at all. I'll just read for a bit, since I have all of my things!" Robin chimed, pulling out a book. He wasn't sure how well he would be able to focus on his text, though. Not only did he hold an intense curiosity as to what was going on, but he got a really weird vibe from their current location. Or rather, someplace to the west if the sun was any indication of direction. But it only really began once they entered Valla, so his words were close enough. Robin opened his book nonetheless, and began reading. It was on the geography of the continent to which Hoshido and Nohr belonged to, which the book deemed Canta.
The continent of Canta was split into two halves, divided by the mountains of the Infinite Chasm where the Bottomless Canyon was. It had eight, or rather seven, main kingdoms: Hoshido, Kohga, Izumo, and Mokushu were on the Eastern side of the canyon; Nohr and Nestra on the western side; a place called Notre Sagesse was located on an island chain to the south of the Chasm; and Valla was not mentioned. Given the land he was currently in didn't even appear to be on the same plane of existence as the other lands, that wasn't surprising. Other than that there were a few main tribes. The Flame, Wind, and Kitsune tribe were all on Hoshido's side, and the Ice and Wolfskin were on Nohr's. The book then went into much better detail on the exact geography of each land as well as the climate. It was extremely specific, which Robin truly appreciated. He'd have to go over it later, unfortunately, as Corrin and her butler began to stir.
"Ugh…"
"Welcome to Valla. Are you two feeling okay? I'm sorry for not explaining before we got here, but I was unable to do so without facing severe repercussions,"
"What do you mean?" Corrin asked, getting up and taking in the strange sights around her, Jakob doing much the same.
"What I mean is-" Azura was interrupted by some rustling, followed by sounds of clashes not too far off. "Follow me!" she shouted, running off into a cave as the other three did just that.
"Huff. Huff…" the golden eyed princess panted, apparently unused to such strenuous activity. It surprised Robin, as though the cave was a good distance away from where they had landed and the group had practically sprinted, he had assumed the girl would be in better shape. Not to say she looked out of shape, but he just assumed she'd have a little more energy after watching her bouncy companion. Corrin looked a little out of breath too, however, so it really shouldn't have been surprising at all. Lissa, princess of Ylisse, wasn't the most impressive runner either, despite her travels with the Shepherds. All of it just added up to him making dumb judgements.
"So what exactly is going on here? Who were those figures? And where are we? I've never heard of this 'Valla' before," Jakob finally said, voice strong as though he hadn't just sprinted for a minute straight.
"It makes sense you haven't. Valla is the name of where we are now, which you've likely gathered from my earlier words. It's a land separate from Hoshido and Nohr," 'Can't you just say Canta? Do the people not know the name of their own continent or something?' "and there is a curse upon it that causes anyone who speaks of Valla beyond its borders to fade away and die. That's why you haven't heard of it - not only have very few people managed to leave Valla, but those who have wouldn't dare speak of it for fear of death. And even if they didn't fear death and did mention it, spreading the story would be near impossible as the storyteller wouldn't live to finish their explanation, so no one would believe would attempt try to pass their knowledge on."
"What about writing it down? Would writing it down trigger the curse? Because if it really only activated when someone spoke of Valla, writing isn't speaking and would be a pretty good loophole, wouldn't it?" Robin doubted that was the case, but he thought it would be funny to see Azura's reaction. Which it was, as the girl just gaped for several seconds, horrified. If he had to guess, someone close to her had died trying to explain the existence of Valla to someone, which may have been for naught if what he said was true. "How does it work any way? What brings down this curse? Is there some entity or god or whatever here that doesn't want anyone to know about their land other than those who inhabit it, or is Valla actually a word with some runic meaning that activates a spell of death? And if it is the case, then how do they know Valla has been mentioned if it is done in a different plane of reality? Even the runic spell thing is weird, because that would be like if a thunder tome suddenly didn't work here if the rune curse would activate in Canta but not Valla. Also-"
"Um, Robin, I'm sorry to interrupt you, but this really isn't the time for that. I hear footsteps!" Which Corrin definitely did, as soon three figures entered the group's vision. They seemed to flicker in and out of visibility, always at least partially visible by glowing purple outlines, but only infrequently in the form of fully opaque humans.
"W-what in Naga's name are those!?" Robin yelled, taken aback. Watching the men flicker in and out of view was making his headache come back, and this really wasn't the time for that. And he had seen plenty of Risen before, but these were on a whole new level of "not right." Risen at least sort of made sense, as animating dead bodies was freaky but possible. It was like shocking someone - do it in the right place and you can make their limbs move beyond the person's control. With that logic, a really powerful spell could maneuver even the zombie like Risen to their will. But these things, which seemed to cease existing momentarily? That shouldn't have been possible! Unless it was some sort of invisibility spell but it was a terrible one. Well, it could have been one gone wrong but-
"Those are Vallite soldiers. Animated by Anankos to eliminate all those in his way. I thought we'd be able to escape them by coming in here, but I guess I was wrong. Can you fight, Robin?" Azura explained, eyes locked in the figures without so much as glancing at Robin.
"If I get a weapon, then yes. I use tomes and swords."
"Take this, then!" Corrin shouted, tossing a blade in relatively good condition to the shorter of her two male companions.
"Thanks!"
The group then attacked their companions, Jakob throwing daggers at one from a range and Corrin following up to deal the final blow. Robin wasn't sure how Jakob would take him being three or four times stronger than he, so the tactician decided to hold back and only slash hard enough to seriously injure. He felt as though he looked fast enough, so he dealt a second blow which then took down the fading figure. He stumbled a bit though, pretending he was surprised at having been able to get in two hits before the enemy could. Jakob nodded and Azura then ran over to Corrin, singing a short tune. Robin was about to question it when the latter girl suddenly perked up, running to Robin's side and slashing the man in front of him. Robin thought that was a good excuse to have get in a blow, so he too stepped forward and cut the last foe. Though this world may or may not have had dancers to the effect of Olivia, it at least had a substitute.
"Wow! That was amazing Azura, what kind of magic was that? Is that what your pendant is for?"
"Hm? O-oh, yes. My pendant helps me tap into the power of the song I sing… Thank you for your assistance Robin. Now where should we go next?" Azura stuttered, failing to stem Robin's curiosity though he followed along with the changing topic.
"Well there are two routes. How about we toss a rock into each one and see what happens? If it's a dead end, we'll hear the rock immediately smack a wall. If it takes enough time to make a sound, then we know the path is worth investigating. Here goes nothing…" Robin then picked up a small stone from the floor and hurled it toward one dark pathway. Not a moment later Jakob made a little noise in pain.
"What was that?!" he cried, hand on his backside. Robin, however, was intrigued. The timing was too close, and he didn't notice anything out of the ordinary that could have hit the grumpy butler. Picking up another rock, this one with a distinctive purple shape in the middle, he threw it back at the dark opening.
"There it is again!"
"Wait a minute, is the floor glowing?"
Sure enough, right behind Jakob, was the quickly fading light of a magic sigil, and just underneath the butler was the rock Robin had thrown l moments earlier.
"Interesting…"
"What's so interesting? Me getting hit by invisible objects?" Jakob sneered, quite annoyed.
"No, no. What's interesting is the fact that this pathway seems to link back to the center of the room. See that rock there?" Robin moved to pick it up, and tossed it a few times in his hand.
"I threw that over there, and suddenly it appeared here. And unfortunately hit you in the back, but revealed an impressive spell. Let's continue this, and it will probably lead us the right way.
Picking up a new rock (Robin really liked the one that had hit Jakob. Not only did it look cool, but it was a reminder of his mini revenge on Jakob for not trusting the foreign man), Robin flung it at the other hole. A clang and a growl later, the room lit up, three more soldiers visible inside. Robin rushed forward, ready to fight.
The process of throw, check, and repeat continued on for quite a while, the group even discovering a few chests along the way. Making sure to explore all paths, despite the extra time it took to backtrack on a few occasions, the group progressed through the cave faster than Robin had anticipated. They even got a few good chests out of it, which was pretty nice. At one point they reached a completely lit path, which signaled the exit. Taking the lead once again, Robin quickly headed for the lightest part of the room that seemed closest to a natural light source. Suddenly, a new man on a horse came galloping in, fully visible and while he didn't seem to be a Vallite soldier, still foreign to Robin.
"Gunter!" Corrin suddenly cried, running to the man who looked to be in his late 60s. The man, Gunter apparently, was wearing full body armor and appeared to be in great health and fitness for someone his age. It honestly creeped Robin out a little, he had to admit.
"Heh, it's you old man. I thought you would've died by now, either by the fall or just of old age," Jakob chuckled, a mixture of fondness and annoyance evident in his voice despite the insult found in his words.
"No. Hans' blow only injured me, not killed. After I fell into the canyon, I woke up in this strange place, and have been fighting against strange invisible enemies ever since. Who are these two?" Gesturing to Robin and Azura, Gunter led his horse closer to the three who hadn't moved since the man's sudden appearance.
"This is Azura, she's a Nohrian princess kidnapped by Hoshido." Azura bowed slightly, raising her head after a short second. "And this is Robin. We found him unconscious in a field. He's an amnesiac, but from the short time we've known him has shown himself to be a great tactician." Robin too gave a tilt of his head, waving his hand slightly at Gunter who was rightfully confused at Corrin's explanation. She had basically described finding a random guy and spontaneously making him the head of her small 4 person army. Which though true and not really missing any important information, was really weird. It was pretty much the same thing that happened with Chrom though, and Gunter was just pulling a Frederick. Heh, the old man was even a Great Knight just like the brown haired nanny of the Ylissean Prince too. Whad'ya know.
"Ah Azura, I remember you. I didn't see you often, but you're the daughter of Arete, aren't you. I'm sorry that your short time in Nohr was so unpleasant. I didn't have much say though, so refraining from interacting with you was the best I could do."
"I see. Don't worry, Gunter. And don't worry, I don't blame you for inaction. If I did then I'd have to blame the whole of Nohr, which would be unreasonable and quite difficult if I must say."
Gunter laughed, and apologized again, this time sounding less like he blamed himself for the event, but still showing guilt at the whole occurrence. He then launched into a surprising detail of his actions, explaining how the king didn't really like him due to the knight's refusal to become Garon's right hand man so many years ago. Apparently the old man had a wife and kid back home, though he didn't seem to concerned with their well-being despite the fact that the king sent someone to kill him. If Robin had been hunted down, his wife and child's safety would be his top priority.
"Robin, you look very focused, but we need to get going."
"Huh?" Blinking, Robin noticed that his companions were all staring at him. "Ah, I'm sorry. I was just lost in thought for a moment there."
At that Azura smiled, suppressing a giggle at his words (which weren't meant to be a joke so he had no idea what was so funny) as she walked forward. A few minutes later the group had defeated the last of the Vallite soldiers in their way, and exited the cave a few weapons and potions heavier. It wasn't too bad. They had gotten a considerable amount of loot, learned of a new enemy and new dimension of sorts, and had improved both their battle skills and their teamwork. All in all, it hadn't been a bad day.
Author's note: I know I said that pairings are up to suggestion... But there's one (or technically four, but basically one) that's concrete. Robin will (probably) not be marrying anyone in the world of Fates. One big reason for this is due to my absolute incompetence when it comes to romance, another due to the fact that this is not at all based on romance but just can include it if you guys want, and the third is semi(?) plot important. Corrin can marry whoever the heck you want though. As for the other three ships I mentioned above. Selena's father is Frederick, Odin's father is Lon'qu, and Laslow's Chrom. Last pairing that I have down but isn't concrete, is who Azura will marry. Again, if you want her to marry someone else then go ahead. Only Robin's Significant Other, also known as Nobody, has been (possibly) decided. I'll see you next chapter!
Though as a parting note, I always giggle when I see a Fire Emblem character mention they were lost in thought, so I just had to mention that. Originally published August 6, 2016. 9,600 words.
Eruran out.
