Author's note: Sorry about the wait guys, life's been a bit busy and I've only had about an hour of free time a day since I posted the last chapter. My goal is to write about a thousand words per day, but that hasn't been happening because I've been totally wiped and too tired to write a sentence you can understand (it was a bit unrealistic anyway). But anyway, it's been 2 weeks since I've published this, and I've already passed 50 followers, 30 favorites, and 20 reviews! I thank you all so much, and really appreciate it. I'll try to reply to those soon, so look out for that. Now, without further ado, here's the next chapter.
"..." Robin blinked, unsure of what to say in response to the sight before him.
"..." Azura was much the same, biting her lip.
"..." Gunter looked downright confused, looking to the others in hopes of some sort of explanation.
"What in the world is that thing!?" Jakob finally cried, in confusion as much as outrage. In front of him was an odd floating animal that sort of looked like a blue and red koi, sitting on top of a strange ball. With giant yellow eyes, it was a bit creepy, but the strangest thing by far was the fact that it spoke. Because it did. And sounded like an 18 year old girl. For whatever reason. Because that made complete sense.
"It's Lilith!" Corrin cheered, arms wide and pointing at the animal now dubbed 'Lilith'.
"You're trying to tell me that that thing is your old stable girl? Lady Corrin, are you feeling alright? I can get you some tea and herbs if you need," Jakob questioned, doubting his Lady's words.
Robin stared at the butler after the man's comment, even more confused than he was before. A stable girl? How could a fish be a stable girl?
Corrin didn't seem put off, though. Instead, she smiled. "Yes, I am! Here, Lilith, let's show him!"
Suddenly, the group was surrounded by a white light. Robin put an arm in front of his eyes, and when he lowered it, discovered they had been transported to another realm. It was different from both Valla and Canta, having much more energy floating freely in the air. It felt sort of like the way it felt when Robin was gathering energy for a spell, but instead of just being centered on his head and hand, the pressure was everywhere. No one else seemed to notice though, so Robin figured it was just the mage in him reacting to the new land. Lilith seemed more at ease here, opposite of Robin. She had been the one to transport them though, so Robin figured she either lived in the place, or at least spent a considerable amount of time in it, and would therefore feel better in the strange realm.
"Welcome to the astral plane!" Lilith greeted, before taking them on a tour of the place. She explained how these things called 'Dragon Veins' that Corrin could use were present throughout the realm, and that time flowed differently there than the outside. The weird koi-lookalike also explained that she was technically a dragon, much to Robin's disbelief, and that the plane was accessible from any location, though upon exiting it could only drop one off at their point of entrance.
After seeing Grima and Naga, (and Tiki, Nowi, and Nah he supposed,) Lilith's claim didn't really seem true. Now, those guys were dragons. Huge, imposing, powerful, and winged. Lilith, who was tiny, gentle, looked like she would die if he so much as kicked her, and lacking wings didn't really fit the description of dragons as he knew them. But maybe that was just a world difference. In his world, dragons were Grima- and Naga-like. In this world they resembled Lilith. Simple as that.
Too bad for the people of Canta, though. The dragons of his world were pretty cool. These guys were missing out.
"Well if you knew about us and this place, why didn't you come for us yesterday after the battle?" Jakob asked, mildly irritated as always. "If it's such a safe place, then you should have immediately retrieved Miss Corrin to save her from any further attempts made on her life. We may have gotten lucky in that none occurred, but what if they had? Really. Knowing that, why didn't you at least stop by and take her, even if you couldn't bring the rest of us here?"
"O-oh. I just… something happened that I wasn't anticipating. So I decided to wait a bit to see what happened. But after what occurred today my worries have been erased, so I came as soon as I could!"
Though the dragon didn't say exactly what caused her to stay away, Robin had an idea what it was. This world didn't seem to be the same one as that which he had come from, so chances were he had an odd aura or feeling about him in the eyes of this semi divine being. If animals were the slightest bit sensitive to strange people, then talking mini dragons were undoubtedly even more so. He still had no idea how he ended up in Canta in the first place.
Speaking of which, he had to come up with a name for his home world and this one, as he never learned the names of them and doubted there was a term to reference the combined realms of Canta, Valla, the astral plane, and whatever else existed here. He'd call his home world Arit, after Marth's homeland of Altea. Robin associated himself with Ylisse, though he was technically Plegian, and Ylisse was Chrom's home. Chrom was a descendant of Marth, so his home world could be Altea, or rather Arit. Some older texts he had read called Altea Aritia, but he'd go with Arit instead.
This world would be Archaea, after Akaneia, which he had noticed was sometimes called Archanea in some of the older texts he had looked over. Akaneia had been the whole region, and as this world encompassed many planes/realms, the wide term of Akaneia seemed fitting. But Archaea sounded better, and since he was going by the modified term of Arit instead of Altea, it would do.
So there he had it: the collective world of Valla, the astral plane, and Canta would be called Archaea; and his home world, with Ylisse, Plegia, and so on would be called Arit. At least in his mind. That would make them easier to keep track of.
Coming back from that tangent, he still had no idea how he was transported from Arit to Archaea. Maybe it was some similar method to that which brought him from Canta to Valla, or Canta to the Astral Plane, but either way he had no way of manipulating it himself. If he asked Lilith there was a chance she would help him, but he wasn't really in a situation to be asking that. Plus, she would probably find him insane or something. That or given her earlier suspicions shown when she downright abandoned the group after they met him, she would tell the others and they'd leave him behind. Right now allying himself with Corrin and her company seemed like his best bet for figuring out what was happening, so he'd let things go as they would and look more into it later. For the moment, he decided to settle in one of the rooms that had come along with the mini complex that had suddenly appeared according to Corrin's will, and sleep until it was time to go. He still wasn't exactly sure what Dragon Veins were, but whatever they were they made an entire building appear from thin air, so they were impressive.
"... Darn."
After two or so hours of lying in bed, Robin decided that yet again he was chasing sleep only to be duped. After everything that had gone on, he felt tired, but not tired. It was more like he felt exhausted, but not sleepy. The tactician wasn't lacking enough energy to say he was exhausted though, so it was a loose term. Physical, but not mental exhaustion, maybe?
Eventually he decided to light the candle next to his bed, open up a window, and crack open one of the books he had bought. As long as he was awake, he was going to make some sort of good use of his time.
A book or two later light from outside his room began to shine in it, causing Robin to look out to watch the sunrise. To his surprise, there was no sun in sight. There hadn't been a moon visible the night before, either. It was just as if they had been in a room and someone had dimmed the lights, and later added some fuel to the burners. His candle had already long burned out, and Robin had spent a while reading by the bright moonlight, so the sunlight was a nice change. If he kept that up, he would probably need to get glasses soon. Reading in the dark really wasn't good for the eyes. It was a miracle Tharja could see as well as she could, because who knew how many hours she spent in the dark conjuring up new curses and hexes. It was far more than healthy, that was certain.
Turning back to his book, Robin finished the chapter he'd been working on and decided that he had been sitting long enough. The man then walked over to the door and headed to the new mess hall that had appeared alongside his new residence. Technically it wasn't alongside, rather on the opposite side, but the two had suddenly manifested at around the same time in roughly the same area, which was close enough. What Corrin had referred to as her castle was quite large, though not a true castle in that it only seemed to be a large open space surrounded by stone walls. What lay beyond the walls was a mystery to Robin, but he didn't feel like questioning it for the moment. He had enough on his mind as it was. Strange realms with endless space were too much for his tired mind to comprehend.
When Robin got to the mess hall, he was pleasantly surprised to see Jakob behind the counter, already chopping up vegetables for that morning's breakfast.
"Can I help you?" the two said at the same time, causing the butler to raise one eyebrow and his companion to chuckle. Though they both said the same words, they had meant different things. Robin had said it in a friendly manner as an offer to assist Jakob and thus get closer, but Jakob had said it in a condescending tone, as to tell Robin that he had no business there and should leave. Robin wasn't going to let one of his few precious moments alone with Jakob slip through his grasp though, and acted as though he thought Jakob said what he did as an invitation. Moving to cook some of the rice that was in a bowl nearby, Robin started up some small talk, hoping to improve their relationship. Jakob replied to Robin's chatter, though he wasn't too happy about it, and the two spoke for a good half an hour, each doing little but meaningful things around the kitchen.
Soon after, Gunter walked in, though Jakob shushed him off before the older man could even get a word in, and so the old knight left to do whatever he felt like doing at such an early hour in a confined space. Half an hour after that, Azura showed herself, and the two light haired men served her a small breakfast. Jakob then excused himself to wake Corrin, asking Robin to put some water to boil for tea as he did so. Robin had to hold back a little fist pump at this, though he did let it go as soon as Jakob left the room. It seemed that he was quickly gaining way on the Jakob trust-o-meter, even faster than he had originally anticipated. Giggling followed his action, and Robin felt his face heat up as he realized Azura was still sitting at the counter, slowly finishing her meal. She must have seen him. Azura put one finger in front of her lips, signaling her silence, and Robin replied by pointing two fingers to his eyes and then to hers, which she responded to by giggling even more. After all, though she had told him she would keep her silence, he had to make sure she knew he was watching her for any slip ups. Because he was.
Corrin and her butler walked in shortly thereafter, accompanied by Gunter who seemed right at home with the two. Breakfast was served, a few words exchanged, and the five then split to prepare for the day's journey. Corrin had decided their best bet was to head to Hoshido to try and convince some of her blood siblings to join them, as even by her short time there she could tell they were much more accepting than her family back in Nohr. Azura seconded her motion and warned them yet again about the curse, and the group headed towards their destination. They would be visiting Fort Jinya, which was really far into Hoshidan territory, but where Corrin wanted to start.
Robin was worried for a little while about being attacked on their way there by mercenaries or the royal army, as they had exited the astral plane back at the bottomless canyon and the fort was quite far away, but his worried turned out to be groundless. Either word traveled really slowly in Hoshido or the people didn't care, because the group managed to hitch a ride with a traveling company almost all the way to their destination. Rather than using horses as he had seen back in Arit, the travelers used these strange beasts that he hadn't caught the name of to power their vehicles, which moved them forward at lightning speed. Robin was a bit disappointed he didn't have more time, because he would have loved to learn more about the beasts. It seemed that was for another day though, and he joined the group in their march towards the fort.
Once there they were greeted by an angry man named Yukimura, who scoffed at their attempts at reconciliation. In only a few words, ththe situation grew dark and full of anger.
"Hello Lady Traitor, Lady Azura. It seems you've gained even more Nohrian curs since your abandonment of your true family. And to return with them by your side, do you truly believe we'll simply welcome you with open arms?" he spat through gritted teeth, seething.
"Yukimura, please! I can explain-" Corrin began, before being interrupted by Yukimura who was even angrier than before.
"Don't try and reason with me, traitor! You've betrayed the family that accepted you, even after you were stolen and trained by the enemy into thinking you were one of them. And you, Lady Azura, you've tarnished the name of the family that raised you as one of their own, even knowing who you truly were. You two do not deserve to have ever received their kindness. Leave now, or I swear you will regret it!" he shouted, swiping his hand in front of him.
"You don't understand! I never meant to betray anyone! I just-"
"Stop this. I have no time for your poisonous words. You and your actions are not just or justified, in any way, shape, or form. You've abandoned your true family, and allied yourselves with those that murdered your mother. I bet... No, I know it. You were the one that orchestrated the disappearance of Lord Takumi, weren't you? And no doubt you are also the cause of Lord Ryoma's current missing status."
"They're missing?! Oh gods, no. Not them. I would never do that to my family-"
"What right do you have to call them your family after what you've done to them!? That's it, I will no longer deal with your lies and gross presence. You must atone for your crimes. Guards, ready yourselves! And to you, prepare to feel the might of Hoshido!"
Yukimura left, hopping on some piece of machinery that carried him inside the fort.
Corrin sighed. "Damn it. Guys, get ready, it looks like there's no way around this!" She then turned back to the group, running towards them. "Now let's see… Gunter you should… no actually maybe Jakob. Err, then again he and Gunter can go the farthest so instead, Azura, you-"
"Gunter, take the rear. Azura, you head slightly in front of him, but be in line with Jakob. Jakob, you stand over there, within arms reach of the wall. Here the wall is strong enough and seems sturdy enough that I doubt any magic or arrows will be able to pass through if there's anyone hidden behind them, so you should be fine. I'll take the lead, and Corrin, you stay directly behind me until we pass the first wall. From what I've seen, Hoshidans tend to have a lot of Ninja, which employ ranged attacks. Thankfully their use of shuriken means that they won't do too much damage, but it's best to be careful.
"Right now Jakob is our only healer, and we should save our vulneraries until we absolutely need them. Speaking of which, make sure you have one on you Azura, as you have the lightest armor and will take more damage from any hits than the rest of us. I don't want you falling due to an attack that would have only injured you if you had been at full health. Though, as of now, I only see a club user and two swordsmen. There are some enemies to our right and left as well, so watch out for that. They aren't moving at the moment, so chances are they've been ordered to hold unless we try to escape. So, let's defeat those in front of us, then move left. After we take the left, we can go right, and then come back to this path. Does that sound all right with you?" Robin ordered, taking in his surroundings.
"That sounds better than anything I could've thought up in that amount of time. Let's go!" Corrin replied, slightly amazed at Robin's quick thinking.
As per Robin's orders, Jakob headed for club user, throwing a few daggers his way. As the enemy stumbled back, Corrin jumped in, swinging Yato across her opponent's body, causing them to fall to the ground, bleeding heavily. Corrin seemed totally convinced that she could get her family to join her, but Robin wasn't, and he knew that slaughtering her family's troops wasn't the best way to do so. As such, he asked the group to aim to injure rather than kill, and for them to remove the weapons of those they defeated as to prevent further attack. Once they were down, Robin and crew could then knock the enemies out with a quick blow, which would further lessen any chance of an attack by a defeated opponent. So, Corrin kicked the club as far away as possible as Azura ran up to Jakob, singing him a quick song.
Thankfully, her placement put the blue haired princess right next to Robin as he cast a simple lightning spell (bought from a small shop that had also suddenly appeared in Corrin's Castle) at the swordsman to the club user's left, and the songstress followed up his spell with a slice from her naginata, causing the samurai to turn her way. With his back to Robin, the tactician had the opportunity to get even closer as he brought down another round of lightning (as thunder was the sound, not the rain of energy as whoever named the Aritian spell must have thought. At least it seemed Archaeans were slightly better in their naming habits) and delivered a stiff palm to the side of the samurai's neck. Dropping his weapon, the man slid to the ground, unmoving, and Robin strapped the blade to his side. The katana was a bit different from the broadswords or other blades Robin typically used, but it would make do. He had left the blade he had used the day before in the astral plane in anticipation of such an event, so it was reassuring to have a physical weapon back within reach.
Looking back to Jakob, Robin saw that after hearing Azura's song he had pulled out another few daggers and thrown them toward the second samurai. Though the man had more clothing and thus technically more armor, the third enemy seemed less resilient than the first, and took considerably more damage. He was fast enough that Jakob was unable to get in a second hit before the swordsman rushed the butler, but Gunter jumped in front of his companion before the blow could land. Instead of cutting fabric, the sword clinked off the knight's armor, causing no damage. Gunter raised his arm high, swinging down his weapon and slamming his opponent to the floor, slicing him up, knocking him out, and likely giving him a concussion all in one movement.
"Good! Now, out and to the left! If anyone can call reinforcements, it's them, as everyone else is confined inside the fort and can only call upon the other people inside who are preparing to attack us anyway. Eliminate them, and we'll go right. After that we move back here, and then we can take the second room. I see a few chests, so some of these guys hopefully have the keys!"
All of the keys were in fact with enemies outside the fort, and a considerably long time later, Robin was in front of a different type of enemy, at the very inside of the fort. He had gotten so used to fighting with Chrom and the Shepherds that this battle felt almost excruciatingly lengthy, but the tactician knew that that was to be expected from his current group. It was an army of only five people, three of which looked to have never experienced real combat before the day they had found him, one of which was old enough to be his grandfather, and the last being himself.
"Nice to meet you! My name is Orochi, a retainer of the late Queen Mikoto, who must be addressed as such thanks to you! I can't forgive you for your actions, and I promise that I will get revenge for Lady Mikoto! Now, meet my scroll!" the new woman introduced, raising a large fan. She tossed it in the air, confusing Robin until he saw it start to split and rotate, runes surrounding it as some sort of animal flew out of the space and toward them. He could tell beforehand that she was some sort of magic user, but to see her spell in action was another thing. Whatever her fan was, it seemed to be a modified tome, capable of using some sort of either minor summoning magic, or of gathering energy in the form of a beast to fling at opponents.
Azura was the one closest to the upset retainer, and took the blow with a small cry. Corrin looked horrified, seeing her friend hurt, and began to move toward her friend's attacker before Robin stopped her.
"Wait! Let Jakob get in the first blow! He can heal her later!" he shouted, anticipating an objection along the lines of 'but she's hurt and needs attention; there are still enemies about!' He had placed everyone the way he had for a reason. Azura was a songstress, and her voice had a magic quality to it. Magic users typically had higher resistance to magic spells, so Azura wouldn't and didn't take considerable damage when compared to the others. Jakob could use staves, so Robin sent him in for the first attack, as he likely had the second most resistance. This was of course not counting Robin, but the tactician knew the others needed the experience more than him, so kept his distance unless absolutely necessary.
After Jakob threw his daggers, getting in a double attack, Robin nodded to Corrin who went for the final blow. With that, Orochi fell to the ground, hitting her head against the wall on her way down.
"K-uah!" Looking to Corrin, Robin saw a small shuriken embedded in her side, slowed by the armor but still piercing skin if it was at all symmetrical. She pulled it out immediately and Robin noticed some viscous purple liquid dripping from the edge that had stabbed his companion.
"Damn. Poison!" he muttered, watching as Jakob rushed to Corrin's side with his staff in hand.
'I knew that these people had some pretty impressive troops, but I didn't expect this level of silence. He must be someone truly high up to be able to sneak up on us like that. Another retainer, perhaps?'
"Gunter!" Corrin cried, wincing as her movement shifted her injury. Jakob took in a sharp breath and pulled Corrin close so he could better heal her.
Guntee moved in, slicing down at the ninja, but was too slow and the red haired enemy slipped away before the blow could land. He readied another shuriken, about to throw it at Jakob knowing that without the butler they'd be unable to heal past the possible vulnerary, but Robin was faster. With a flick of his tome hand, lightning struck the unnamed enemy, causing him to let out a grunt. Azura took her chance and hit him with her naginata, slicing through the fabric on his right hand and making him drop the weapons he had been about to release on Robin once he noticed who had attacked him.
Without a weapon in hand, the ninja was at a clear disadvantage, and Corrin moved in, now healed by Jakob. Her slice was caught by the extra blade on the ninja's sleeve, but the Yato was strong enough, and swung with enough force, that though the red-head's wrist remained attached, a large pop was heard. Their opponent jumped back, gripping the shoulder of an arm that was likely dislocated. He grabbed a shuriken with his left hand and prepared to throw it at them, before Yukimura called out to the man. "Saizo, stop! Let me."
With this, the ninja stepped back, breathing heavily, as Yukimura let an arrow fly from his bow, striking Corrin. "Lady Mikoto, please forgive me, but I must protect Hoshido, even if it means bringing down your only daughter…"
Corrin grunted, and Gunter moved to strike Yukimura, his blow landing. Too close for the Mechanist to get in a counterattack, Yukimura backed up, only to be met with another hit by Corrin, healed by Jakob and reinvigorated by Azura's song. Which didn't have any lyrics, and was just a few noted held out but was close enough.
"Can this… really be true?" Yukimura fell off the strange creature he had been riding, defeated by Corrin's blow.
Saizo stood by Yukimura's right shoulder, helping him stand as Orochi regained consciousness and unsteadily rose to her feet. The three stood quiet for a minute, as Corrin stood in front of them, a hand on her hip. Jakob glared at the trio, Gunter with an impressive face behind them. Azura looked pained, likely due to having to attack the people who had raised her, and Robin simply stood to Corrin's side, waiting for the Hoshidans to speak.
"Why… why don't you kill us? We are your enemies, and you have won. If you leave us, don't you know we can regroup and come back to attack you?" Yukimura asked, still panting. Orochi looked confused, as she likely was knocked out believing her fellow retainers would finish her job while she was incapacitated.
"Because this fighting is just senseless violence, and I want to bring it to an end. But to do that, I'm going to need you three the do me a favor." Corrin said, calmly.
"Do you a favor? Helping you at all would be going against Hoshido, and that's something that I would not do even if it was on threat of death," the glasses wearing man replied, grimacing. "Your current path puts you against all of Hoshido, so I don't see how your actions could benefit it. And how can I trust the word of someone who is going against all I know and love?"
"Yeah! Like Yuki says, how can we trust you?! The only thing you could possibly do for us is bringing back all the lives you've taken to get here!" Orochi suddenly interrupted, biting her lip.
"I'm afraid that is impossible," Robin began, quickly continuing when he saw Orochi open her mouth again, "as we have taken no lives up to this point, and thus cannot return any to you. If you backtrack through the fort you will find all of your troops without weapons and or unconscious. As Corrin said, our goal is to avoid all the meaningless violence we can, and going on a killing spree is no way to do that. So, we left everyone alive, and as uninjured as we could in order to get here." Robin shrugged, and put his hand back in his coat pockets.
"That's…"
"Absolutely true." This time it was Saizo who spoke up, clearly unhappy with the situation.
"Excuse me, Saizo? I'm surprised, you're usually the last person to trust anyone, so why do you believe these traitors?" Orochi frowned.
"Because they aren't lying. I've checked, and was watching as they defeated our allies. I didn't see them deal a fatal blow to a single person, and they seemed to be under strict orders by Corrin and the other white haired one not to."
'Other white haired one…?'
"Oh, sorry about that, I guess we haven't introduced ourselves. As you know, these two ladies are Corrin and Azura. The long haired one here is Jakob, Corrin's butler, and the older one is Gunter, another one of her servants. My name is Robin. I've only been with them for a little while, so those are the best descriptions I've got. You'll have to ask them yourselves if you want better ones."
Orochi's jaw dropped, Yukimura looked confused and slightly surprised, and Saizo lowered his eyebrows.
"So then, will you join us?" Corrin asked, waiting a few seconds.
"Looks like there's no other way…" Saizo trailed off, before opening the eye that was crossed by a scar, "You say you've taken no lives, but Lady Mikoto lies dead because of your actions! I will sacrifice myself for the good of Hoshido!"
With this flames erupted around the Ninja, swirling around him and licking Yukimura who was standing too close.
"He's initiating a suicide attack!" Robin shouted, backing up.
"We must get out of here!" Gunter began to grab Azura as if to hoist her onto his horse, and Jakob placed his hand on Corrin's arm, ready to steer her in the other direction.
"Brother, wait!" a new voice cried out, as another ninja ran toward the group, followed by a pink haired girl holding an odd staff.
"I-I won't let you hurt my sister!" the girl cried, quite literally, as tears welled up in her eyes.
"Why are you two getting in my way?" the first ninja asked, surprisingly calm given he was currently on fire. "Don't you know what these five have done? Don't you understand that what I'm doing is for the good of your country?!"
"Saizo, please! Lady Corrin and her friends are not out to destroy Hoshido! Back when I ventured to Nohr, she was the one that objected as King Garon moved to execute me - she saved me, a stranger from an opposing country that had already tried to kill her. I trust her with my life, so please stop this madness!" the green haired ninja pleaded, grabbing the arm of his brother despite the burns that would undoubtedly form due to contact with the flames.
"D-don't hurt my big sister! Everyone I passed on my way here was okay, and only a few of them were injured badly enough for me to have to heal them! So… So if she were out to destroy Hoshido, why would she do that? At least ask her before you hurt her and yourself!" at this the tears that had been building in the girl's eyes finally poured down, heavy and fast as she began to sob.
"..." The flames died down, and Saizo took a step back, shaking off his brother's grip. "Fine, I'll listen to what she has to say. But don't take this the wrong way. I certainly don't trust her or her strange crew, and am ready to act if they do anything to harm any of us."
At this the girl's tears and gasps slowed, as a unsteady smile graced her face. Saizo's brother sighed in relief, grabbing something from his back pocket and splitting it in two. He handed one piece, which was about 90% of the original stick, to his brother, and kept the small piece for himself, undoing some of the wrapping on it. It looked like some sort of cream, and as the ninjas began applying it to their uncovered chests Robin realized it must have been some sort of burn salve.
"Now then." Corrin took this opportunity to explain their situation the best she could given the curse on Valla, and looked across the three in front of her. "The one you all should worry about isn't me or any one of my friends, nor is it anyone from Nohr or some sort of spy lying in wait here in Hoshido. Our true enemy is from another land entirely, and aims to put us all against each other so they can come in and conquer the weakened forces that remain. King Garon wasn't the one who orchestrated Mother's murder, or the explosion in the square, but this outside force was." She then took a step back to gauge the reactions of those around her, Saizo taking the cue.
"... So that's your explanation then. Some mysterious enemy that no one has even heard of, from a land that's neither Hoshido, nor Nohr, nor anywhere else is the cause of all this? You truly expect us to believe that nonsense? If that's the case, then tell us who this force is, or your lies will only become painfully obvious." Saizo scoffed.
"Well… the thing is… I can't. Not exactly. What I can tell you, though, is that sometime soon the dark skies of Nohr and the bright skies of Hoshido will switch places. By then, we'll be out of time, but I'll be waiting at the Bottomless Canyon for you to prove what I've said so far is true. I can't offer any more than that, but I trust that when the time comes, you'll make the right decision." Corrin looked away at this, unsure of how she could better explain the situation without activating Valla's curse.
"As you did when given the choice of remaining with us or choosing your kidnappers. I've heard enough. If you're through with your pointless banter, then be off. I've not the time to waste with you, as I have a country to mend given its missing ruler." Yukimura snapped at the group, annoyed at their explanation, and glared at them waiting for the group to depart. Corrin, getting the message, turned, aiming to follow the mechanist's words, when the pink haired girl ran up to the so called traitor.
"Big sister wait! I may not have known you long, but I believe in you! Please take me with you! I know you can make things right!" Clinging to her sister's arm, the girl shoved her face at Corrin's armored chest, her nose making a slight clang on impact.
"Sakura…" Corrin hugged the girl tighter, long waves of hair falling around the two.
"Lady Corrin. I offer you my services as well. As I told Saizo, I trust you completely. I know you would not try to go against Hoshido without reason, and I know you wouldn't attempt to trick us like that. I apologize for my brother's actions as well, and would like to assist you as compensation." The ninja that accompanied Sakura got down on both knees, bowing to Corrin until Yukimura spoke.
"Lady Sakura. You cannot be serious. Your mother lies dead, your people injured, and your family betrayed. Do you truly believe that this traitor is acting for the greater good?"
Yukimura did bring up a great point. Though Robin only knew of what had been said in that conversation, the evidence seemed stacked against Corrin. Two sides are always present, and thus he could follow Corrin without regrets and believe she was doing the right thing for her situation, but he was unsure why this Sakura would want to follow her sister. Everything Yukimura had said sounded like great grounds for hating someone, even if that someone was their sister. Add in the fact that Sakura hardly knew that sister, and Robin just couldn't see any logic to her reasoning. She was of the sort that acted purely out of heart it seemed. Which was perfectly fine, if a bit naive. Robin appreciated it though - if everyone went by logic, then the world would be too harsh a place to live in. Every once in a while, you had to either follow your heart or find someone who did.
With the way Sakura seemed so determined to make her point, even as she cowered away, it was pretty cute and endearing. It was windy that day, and the breeze was ruffling the girl's hair every which way, making her seem even more silly. It reminded him of a bird that puffed up its feathers when threatened as if to make itself as big as possible, when they were of no threat at all. Still, those birds were successful pretty often, not only scaring off those who tried to hurt them, but attracting friends too. Corrin would have to be careful, as Sakura was probably going to be a… what was the female version of a lady-killer? Or maybe she would be a lady-killer. If she hit both, then she'd grow up to be a person-killer. Except she was too soft to ever kill something, no way she would find herself confident on the battlefield doing anything other than healing, so person-killer was a terrible way to put it. Of course, she could eventually pull a Lissa and end up a great asset for both healing and attacking, but Sakura was even less intimidating and more soft spoken that Lissa, so he doubted she'd reach the blonde girl's level of attack. Sakura would just be a lovely lady when she matured. There.
Yukimura had continued to list some of Corrin's fallouts and reasons for Sakura to stay while Robin had thought, and now the girl was giving her response, fire in her eyes (but not anywhere else, thank you Saizo. Seriously, what was he thinking? If Sakura was a Lady and Corrin's sister, then she was probably a princess too. They may have beeb in a land different than his own that had different customs, but in what kind of place was it acceptable for a retainer to fry his own princess?)
"Of… of course I do, Yukimura. I trust her with everything I have. Because she's my big sister, and I know she'd never really betray me, right?" Sakura mumbled, looking into Corrin's eyes momentarily before thrusting her head back at the older girl's chest. "I may not be the best at fighting… but I can help heal! I-if you need that I mean. Please make good use of me, sister."
Sakura stepped back slightly, twisting from side to side as she kept up her position of not looking directly at Corrin. A groan or two and the occasional scuffle of some soldiers waking up in various places across the fort could be heard, and Robin turned to glance at the wall nearest the path to the fort's exit. All this talk of reunion and doubt was good, though a bit confusing for him as not everyone had been named (specifically the green haired ninja that had pledged his allegiance but had failed to introduce himself) and he had missed some key details in their backstory. He could follow along with their words, at least, though he got a bit creative in imagining the stories behind everything given the short sentences that addressed the last events.
It wasn't as if Robin hadn't had to make up his own explanation for lengthy conversations either. When he first joined the Shepherds, his allies frequently got into conversations about how similar or different the current war's events were to those of the Plegian-Ylissean war of the last exalt's time. As the first thing Robin could remember was waking up in the field, he only had the slightest idea of what had gone in during the old war, and made up his own explanation for what had gone on. Rather, he made up a few explanations, some so outlandish that he surprised himself with how unreasonable they were (though they were entertaining to think up) and some so tame that the actual war seemed more exciting. So, he came up with little fun reasons for the Hoshidan's dislike of Corrin, and the explosion at some square to not only pass the time while the group continued with their repetitive words, but also to try and find a good reason for the split.
"Well I would know that stubborn look anywhere. I've been by your side since Lady Ikona was pregnant with you, and that face is one that's only shown when you've failed to be beaten. Promise me you'll be careful. That you'll stay as safe as you possibly can." Yukimura chuckled, and Sakura followed his lead.
Robin frowned. 'I thought their mother was named Mikoto?'
No one else seemed confused or disturbed Yukimura's comment though, and instead continued on as if nothing strange had been said.
"I will! And when this all is over, I'll be sure to have a nice tea with you to make up for all the stress." Sakura giggled, likely imagining scenes of Yukimura turning pale over the idea of Sakura getting injured, pacing at night, wondering where she was., and pulling out some of his really nicely colored hair. Seriously. If Robin ever got tired of white and decided to dye, that would be the color he'd choose.
"And I'll do my best to protect her, too, so don't you worry, Yukimura! Sakura's in great hands!" Corrin said triumphantly, releasing one hand from the hug in order to hold a fist in front of her face.
"Goodbye, then. I'll see you all soon," Yukimura said with a smile, waving to the group before heading to check on his soldiers.
"Brother," the green haired ninja stated, eyes locked in Saizo, "I know you may still have your doubts, and I apologize for leaving you like this, but I ask that you try your best to forgive me and Lady Corrin, so that we may get along when we finally unite. Protect Hoshido in my absence. I'll try to make you and Father proud."
"... I'll see you soon Kaze." Saizo spoke in a low and quiet voice, giving a quick wave before disappearing. Orochi simply frowned at them, and the group then headed off.
Passing out of the fort, the group headed toward a forested area. There was an overgrown, though still marked path that the group took, this time with Azura leading the way. Corrin chatted with Kaze, giggling occasionally, and Sakura stayed right behind Azura, several times making motions as if to speak to the woman who had lived with her so long, but backing out before she got any words out. Gunter was acting as the ever stoic servant, looking straight ahead and only occasionally glancing back at Corrin when she made a noise that was particularly loud. Jakob, likely still wary of the two new members of their group, followed silently.
The mechanist gave a sad smile at the sight of the departing princesses as Corrin began skipping away, holding Sakura's hand in her own. Jakob let a glare fall back at Saizo, angry that he had not only hit but poisoned Corrin, and left to follow the two girls. Gunter led his horse ahead in order to take the lead, and Azura exchanged a few short words with the three retainers who would stay behind before jogging to catch up to her fellow princesses. Kaze and Saizo simply stared at each other, both looking as if they had something to say to the other, until Kaze sighed and left to trail the others. Robin, knowing where they were going in the short of things, decided to wait a few moments longer in order talk with the retainers.
"So, what do you think of Corrin?" he asked, lips pursed.
"Well, after what happened with Lady Mikoto, I can't help but hate her a little." Orochi was the first to speak.
Robin blinked in response. "Er, I mean as a person. Or of her goals. I don't really know what happened in the square or much about her past, but I'd like to hear what you think about the current her, ignoring the whole Mikoto thing. From what I hear that was a complete accident, or at least something she didn't know was going to happen, so I'd like to hear what you think of Corrin aside from the whole unintended murder thing. Whether you're glad Corrin took Sakura, if you're upset and grudgingly went along due to Sakura's insistence, or whatever else you come up with. So far I've only really heard about Corrin from her servants who like to glorify her, and Azura who's also pretty devoted, so I want to know what she looks like to an outsider."
The three in front of the tactician looked surprised yet again, each with their own tone. Yukimura looked intrigued, Orochi offended, and Saizo suspicious.
This time, Yukimura was the one to respond. "I think she's a very interesting person," he explained. "She's charismatic, in a way that doesn't mix well with her naïvity. But she also seems to grow at an astounding rate. I can already see a difference in the way she carries herself now compared to when we met a few days ago. She's maturing quickly, and that I can appreciate, but she still holds onto her ideals too tightly. I understand what she wanted to accomplish when she came here, but she was being to idealistic. She thought she could just walk in gain all of Hoshido's support simply by saying she didn't want to hurt us, but that wasn't going to, and will not, happen.
"Though Corrin has good intentions, she doesn't yet understand that good intentions aren't all that are needed to reach an agreement. She's blind to the ways and pride of our people. Just because Hoshidans try to be peaceful and she knows the royal family doesn't mean she can get her peace just by asking for it. From what I've seen, she decides what is good and what is evil quickly and firmly without much background, which often doesn't work out. She immediately decided that she was the only good and that Hoshido and Nohr were both evil when we met in that field, after all. The girl doesn't quite get who is who, like most would realize,"
Robin scoffed. "Like most would realize? But the concepts don't apply universally! After all, who decides good and evil but the one affected by the actions! In that situation, you would say Nohr was the evil, and you were the good, right? I'm sure if you were to ask the Nohrians they would say the reverse.
"If Nohr were to invade Hoshido, the Hoshidans would mark the people of Nohr as 'evil,' since they would lose their own property if Hoshido lost. But to the Nohrians, their own troops would make up the 'good' side, as their conquest would bring in land to the country that could be used for farming and improving the dying economy and extreme poverty seen in Nohr. The Hoshidans, who 'selfishly' refuse to trade with them or give up some land would be the 'evil' ones, as their refusal would only bring hardship to the Nohrians. Most people don't decide to do things because they see those actions as evil. They do them because they believe their actions are righteous, and are for the benefit of either themselves or the many. From what I understand, the Nohrians went to that field to collect Corrin. Not because they were on some mad slaughterfest looking to stab a Hoshidan or two, but because they wanted their sister back. Though the Nohrians did kidnap her the first time, the most recent kidnapping was by you guys. All the Nohrians were doing was retrieving Corrin, even if that meant cutting down some Hoshidan soldiers in the process. They were doing the 'good' deed of rescuing their sister, not the 'evil' one of trying to kill whoever stood in their way," Robin explained. As he went on, he had a hard time not saying Plegia or Ylisse. He'd spent a long time in Plegia during the war, and the longer he spent there the harder it was to see his enemies as the insane agents of destruction some of the Ylissean troops tried to paint them as. The more time he spent in the desert country, the more he came to see Plegians as people trying to bring prosperity back to their homeland. Ylisse hadn't been the only country to suffer during the war Chrom's father had waged.
Robin continued his speech. "But I agree with what you said. Corrin doesn't see this idea of good and evil being dependent on what side you belong to as true. From what I've seen of her, after the battle in the field she decided that Nohr must be the ultimate evil because of their conquests and actions which have taken lives. She said she came here because she felt like she had a good chance convincing her siblings, but based on pure convincing I think she would've had a better chance in Nohr. She's lived with them longer, and they basically invaded the largest, most prosperous country in the world to get her back, so they obviously care about her. But since whatever it was convinced her Nohr is the 'evil' country, she came here first.
"The thing is, even based off the invasion, I'm not sure if you could really call Nohr a completely 'evil' country. Most of their land is infertile, several regions are facing severe drought, and they can't grow enough food to support their population. If Hoshido had decided to lend Nohr some food in exchange for some ore or tools or whatever other goods Nohr could produce, then maybe Nohr's situation wouldn't be so dire. Hoshido wouldn't have even had to give up land, or give up stuff for free. All they would have to do is trade. Open up the ports that have been closed off for however long they've held their grudge, and send out some food like good people.
"I know that the reason your people are without a king is that Nohrian soldiers killed him. That the reason this grudge exists is because of a few Nohrians' actions. But that's just the thing - a few Nohrians were behind it. King Sumeragi's murder isn't anything the people of Nohr sing about. It wasn't a plot the people of Nohr knew of or supported. It was something the nobility, or possibly only Garon, organized. Garon isn't the one who's suffering because of the famine, however. The people are. To help Nohr out you wouldn't necessarily even have to speak to him. You could make it so only peasant or merchant ships, not military or royal ones, could enter your harbors to make trade. That way the people that hurt you couldn't benefit, but the ones who didn't could. And even if Garon did hire merchants to come over in their own ships and get food for him, that would still help the peasants more than it could help him. The more food and supplies he has, the less he has to take from his subjects. Plus, if you still want to hold a grudge, I think that's a pretty good way to do it. By banning trade entirely, it makes you look selfish or uninviting. By allowing trade with peasants and merchants, it lets people know that you aren't really selfish, but you just don't like the nobility for what they did. It sends a stronger message, I think."
Robin looked to the others for a response, quietly adding, to himself: 'Of course, it may provoke attacks because Garon seems to be a man whose sanity is quickly slipping away, but things should be better with the next king, so it should work out.'
"But the Nohrians aren't trading! Garon's never tried to! And it's too late for that now anyway. They killed Queen Mikoto. Killing Sumeragi was bad enough, but they crossed a line when they murdered the queen," Orochi said, voice full of venom.
Yukimura nodded. "I'm afraid Orochi is right. I doubt our farmers and merchants would agree to such a system now, given the events that have occurred these past few days. At this point the only way the Nohrians could help themselves is to invade."
Robin's eyes lit up. "You see, th-"
"But," Yukimura continued, "that still doesn't mean their invasion is in the right. They aren't going to just take free, uninhabited land. The Nohrians will go for villages full of innocent civilians who've done nothing to harm them. Hundreds if not thousands will be murdered on their quest to help themselves. I can't see the good or righteousness in that."
"Are the Nohrian civilians who have nothing to do with Garon's death or the invasion not innocent?" Robin asked.
Yukimura looked puzzled. "Well- I suppose they are, but…" he trailed off.
"Exactly. They're innocent too. You said that if Nohr invaded, 'hundreds if not thousands' of people will be lose their lives. In other words, a couple hundred people are going to die, and a couple thousand might die. If Nohr can't get supplies by either way of trade with Hoshido, or way of taking Hoshidan land, thousands are surely going to die. And not one or two or three thousand civilians to mirror the number of Hoshidans who would be killed or displaced by whatever route the Nohrians take. I'm talking five, ten, fifteen thousand people or more. And that's a conservative estimate. Really, it's probably more like five to eight thousand Hoshidans compared to fifty thousand or so Nohrians. Whatever the numbers are, the deaths don't come close. If we're going for the greater good of the world, Nohr would be in the right if they invaded."
Robin paused for a moment, before frowning and speaking in a quiet voice. "...But I don't like that route. Whenever I have the option, I go for saving as many lives as possible. Five thousand or even five hundred deaths is way too many if the cause can be avoided. Just trade with Nohr, please. You're a royal advisor or something. Talk to Ryoma, or whoever it is that's going to be calling the shots in Hoshido now that Mikoto's dead. Because Hoshido wouldn't be hurt in anything other than maybe pride if they traded, but Nohr will be hurt in many more ways if you don't! Hoshido has food surpluses from what I hear. Food going to waste, not eaten because there's just so much of it! You wouldn't even have to increase production or decrease rations. Just figure out some way to get it to Nohr, and your invasion problem is solved." Robin sighed and looked to the three silent individuals before him.
"Of course, you don't have to listen to me. I'm just a foreigner, and one who hasn't been here long at that. I don't know everything that's going on here. There could be and probably are forces at play that prevent my ideal exchange from happening. But just… consider it, please. Try to find some way to support the Nohrian civilians who haven't ever wronged you. Because until they're able to live comfortably, you'll never know peace.
"I don't need an answer on whether or not you'll do anything. In fact, I'd rather not have one. All I want is for you to spend a few minutes thinking about what I've said. Maybe mention it to some of your advisor friends. I'll probably bring up something along these lines with Corrin later on, because as you said, Corrin is quite blind to a lot of what's going on right now. But I have confidence that by the end of the war she'll see, if only a little. She may need some glasses, some advice, counseling, and a few comments to bring her down to terms, but she'll get it.
"I've gotten pretty off topic here, but the question is: do you think Corrin has the potential to figure out just what good and evil really are? What's she's gotten herself into by refusing to side with either Hoshido or Nohr? And though I don't need to know what you're going to do in terms of Nohrian and Hoshidan relations, I would like to know what you think of good and evil too. Have I managed to change your mind at all?"
Robin waited, judging their reactions. The diviner and ninja looked absolutely astounded by Robin's rant, while Yukimura looked sad. In all truth, Robin didn't mean to go off like that. He meant to add on his first sentence, about the basis of good and evil, but the rest was… Unexpected. Words just suddenly came flowing out of his mouth, anger building the longer he went on. All he could think about was how flawed the world was. How blind the people were to the suffering of others. And it scared Robin. When had he gotten so… pessimistic? He had always been a realist, and certainly hadn't been too cheerful as the final days of his time in Arit approached, but that was further than he had ever pushed. He couldn't find any fault in his words, though. His biggest problem with them was that he had gotten pretty off topic. He had asked the three retainers about what they thought of Corrin, and then abruptly launched into a lecture about the problems with designating good and evil, Hoshido's faulty reasoning, and the problems with their (and Corrin's) idealism. It just… was really random. Robin really needed to get some sleep before he started singing odes to a mountain spirit in the middle of a strategy meeting or something equally ridiculous as to what he had just done.
"Pity Azama couldn't have been here. He would have thoroughly enjoyed your speech, and probably agreed on at least a few things." Yukimura was talking again, and Robin tried to focus on what was occurring outside of his sleep-deprived mind. "I don't fully agree with what you said though. Maybe it's because I, too, hold onto idealistic views, but maybe it's because of the faults I would argue in your logic. That's for another day, though. I don't want to hold you back from your group.
"What I will say is this. I let Sakura go because I believe Corrin will ultimately lead her on a righteous path. Whether that path is beneficial for Hoshido or not I don't know, but I do know that it will help both Sakura and Corrin grow up a little. Corrin is a sweet girl, and I wish her the best. I'm only disappointed that she didn't spend more time with Lady Mikoto. When the Queen first got to Hoshido, back before she was queen and was just one of the King's good friends, she was foreign and new to Hoshidan life. She wanted to be friends with everyone, but the court and townspeople shunned her due to her status as an outsider. She acted out of heart despite it all, eventually even capturing King Sumeragi's. In time she grew accustomed to the ways of Hoshido, leading to great reverence of her and her character, despite earlier reservations.
"Corrin is definitely her own person, but I think she can channel that part of Mikoto for the better. I just hope that she doesn't crash on the way there. As you've made quite clear, the bias of good and evil is something interesting to think about. Judging based on what I've seen, I don't know if Corrin will come to that realization just yet, if at all. Like Lady Mikoto, she'll likely look for the good in everyone. Which, by your argument, can always be found. She'll just have to look at each individual from a different perspective," the mechanist concluded, exiting to the inside rooms of the fort.
"You… are very interesting," Orochi commented, looking Robin up and down. "As a person, Corrin seems nice. Like someone I want to be friends with. If I can get over what she's done, then I think we'll get along well." She then moved to join her glasses wearing companion.
Saizo was the last one left, and the ninja didn't appear to want to speak. With a sigh, Robin moved to join his friends.
"She's not bad. If she realizes that not everything is happy-go-lucky, then she'll have my support. And Kaze did follow her, so I suppose there's at least something within her of good worth."
When Robin turned, he saw and heard no one. Not even a flap of a scarf or the rustle of a disturbed leaf. Jogging, he went to catch up to his new friends, hoping they hadn't noticed his absence. Or rather that they hadn't worried. Not noticing would be kind of worrisome actually. Oh and now here he was the one worrying.
'Way to go, Robin' the tactician thought, picking up the pace.
Author's Note: Another chapter done! Let it be known that I (had a lot of trouble with Robin's rant at the end. It was originally much more pessimistic and dark, but I realized it was way too ooc so I revised it. If it still seems a little over the top, there's a reason behind it. Either way,) I love the content (good versus evil, and trade talks, which I honestly went into too much detail on) and that's why it's there. I appreciate all your reviews, and hope this chapter is okay. I'm not the best at fight scenes, and the rant makes me cringe but what's there is there. Oh and you know that explanation I had for Lilith not showing up? Well the real reason is that I forgot she existed for a little bit and so didn't put her in before... Yeah. Oops.
Please take the time to review the chapter if you enjoyed it, or even if you didn't, as I always like feedback. I do include some things my reviewers mention if I like them, so there's a possibility something you suggest might show up! I don't have a beta or anyone to consult when I write, so you guys are all the feedback I get - feedback I greatly appreciate! Thank you for reading.
Edit: most revisions to the author's note are written like (this). Some parts of the original note have been deleted.
Originally published August 19, 2016, word count: 9,300. Edit published June 25, 2017, word count: 10,310 without author's notes.
Eruran out.
