Author's note: Happy 3 year anniversary, guys! This chapter's a little short, I'll be honest. But I've spent 90% of my free time since Three Houses came out playing it, and oh my gosh I don't think I've ever enjoyed playing a game so much. It's definitely a big contender for my favorite FE. I just got to the second half of the game, and I'm already over 40 hours... There's so much to do! But that's not relevant to this story (plot-wise. In terms of how many words are here...it totally is. I meant to go on to write a whole other scene), so without further ado, enjoy.
Grima continued to stare Takumi down. The boy took a step back, blue light flickering along his bow. His eyebrows were furrowed, his lip pulled inward where Takumi bit it hard enough he'd likely draw blood were he to add any more pressure. He wasn't shaking, though, which Grima admired. Even the flicker of his bow was slow and constant, not rushed or uneven as he assumed it would be were the boy really frightened.
Grima let out a chuckle. "Oh, don't look so grim. Just because I've done things Robin wouldn't approve of in the past doesn't mean I'm going to do more now. Besides, why would I? Eliminating you all right now wouldn't do me any good. I want Anankos dead as much as you do. I would say more, but you've good reason to hold a grudge against that snake, so I'll treat it as equal. It's surely more than the rest of the group, save only Azura. She's from this land, is she not?"
Takumi swallowed hard. "Y-yes. That's what she said earlier."
"Good." Grima gave a small nod. "So we've established my goal. Which is to defeat the same person you and your friends are aiming to defeat. There's no real reason for you to fear me, then. Hurting you would only make my path to Anankos' destruction more difficult. It's to my best advantage to keep you all alive and healthy. Not to mention how Robin would react if I went around getting his companions killed left and right. I really don't want to deal with whatever sort of whining he'd go on with after that. "
Takumi perked up slightly, eyes bright. "Robin? He's still in there?"
Grima frowned. "What kind of question is that? Of course he's still in here. This was originally his body, after all. I'm technically the guest here, even if he was only made to maintain this body until I arrived. He's not awake at this precise moment, but I doubt he's totally gone. I know he isn't with full certainty, even. Not even he ever completely disappeared, back in that time…"
The original Robin had always been there, in the back of his mind. He put up quite the effort to regain control of his body, the first year or so Grima had control. The second year his attempts waned, but still caused Grima considerable grief. It was hard to control a body when its original owner was fighting for control, after all. Even if the body was made for Grima, Robin had held it longer, and his grip was strong. By the third year Robin had markedly faded. Still, he never became entirely compliant. Where the more 'physical' attacks on Grima faded, the mental ones never did. Robin would make snide comments at times, as he grew increasingly cynical over the years. Other times he would merely question Grima's actions. Why was he killing that child? Why was he bothering to make a circle around Arena Ferox when he could go straight through? Why didn't he take out all of the Shepherd's spawn at once, rather than allowing them to flee in terror only to pursue them later? Why did he draw everything out? Little things like that to wear upon Grima's mind where Robin could no longer affect his body.
Grima had tried to get rid of Robin a few times, to push him away from the front, to evict him from his own mind. But he'd never been successful. The best he could do was shut Robin away for a time, but the boy always found a way back to the front after a few days. He was unfortunately stubborn, which while an admirable trait in some circumstances, was only irritating and inconvenient when it came to his relationship with Grima. Grima always felt that Robin's presence rumbling in the back of his mind. Always there, always discontent.
The current Robin was...completely silent. He was there, alright. There was rumbling. But when Grima tried to call the boy, there was no response. Admittedly, he hadn't put his full effort into trying to wake Robin yet. He had put out a call though, one to which the other Robin had always reacted, if not directly responded. This time, however, he was met with silence, no sign of a presence other than that constant thrum of someone else in his mind.
He'd considered for a brief moment that that silent thrum might have been Anankos. That the other dragon might have successfully latched onto Robin's mind somehow. Then he dismissed the thought, because it was possible. No two dragons could occupy the same space. Not only would the sheer amount of power destroy Robin, but the energies of two different types of dragon opposed each other in a way that staying in such a confined space was beyond achievability.
That, and the thrum was distinctly Robin. Just...slumbering away. Perhaps if Grima closed his eyes and receded back into his mind, he'd find the boy lying around their mindscape, as he had been after his self-injury on the ship. Curled in on himself, snuggled into that oversized coat of his, breathing softly in the blackness surrounding him. The blackness that Grima was far more accustomed to, and far more suited for.
The bright green of their current location was much more similar to Robin's personality. The boy liked to joke around, to make bright quips, to break up harsh environments with some little out of place that was bound to bring a smile to someone's face. Such a personality was something Grima enjoyed, to an extent, but it wasn't something he saw himself taking on. No, Robin could have his own way of doing things. Grima would stick to his silence and his desert and his scheming. He'd stick to pragmatism. To being austere, and treating situations as they were, not trying to avoid the truth with false optimism. It suited some, but not Grima. Not for ages. Not ever, really. That type of humor had never appealed to him.
His present situation wasn't very humorous anyway. Takumi, standing in front of Grima, had adopted yet another displeased expression. This one closer to horror. An interesting choice, given Grima had just told him his friend was in fact alive and not wholly replaced. Weren't humans supposed to be happy when they learned their close companions were alive and well?
"Don't just stand there," Grima practically spat, eyeing Takumi's curious expression. "Out with it. What has you so worked up?"
Takumi opened and closed his mouth several times, never making a sound other than the release of breath, but clearly trying to start a sentence. It took a good twenty seconds for the boy to finally get out a full phrase. "What did you mean when you said Robin was just maintaining his body? That he was doing it until you came? Like he's supposed to give it up or something?"
Grima sighed. "I mean what I'm sure you've already figured out. Don't ask questions you know the answers to. They're redundant and a waste of time."
"But I don't know the answer!" Takumi shouted. "Sure, I can imagine some possible reasons, but that doesn't mean I actually know which one is true."'
"Then if you don't know, it's not my place to tell you. Not without Robin's permission, at least, and he's currently not available for consulting on the matter. This involves him as much as me, and I do respect his right to privacy. He's kept quiet about such things for this long for a reason, and I will not break his silence without his consent."
"He told me he would talk. He promised me."
"Exactly. Robin promised that the two of you would have a conversation on this matter. The two of you, not you and I. He might have wanted to include me, but he did not want me to take his place, and that I can guarantee." Grima stepped out of the shade, walking past Takumi to survey the land. "You've had your fair share of questions lately, for which I can't fault you. Possession is a tricky matter, and it's a blessing you've had the opportunity to speak to someone with experience. A rare chance it would've been foolish not to take advantage of. But I've grown tired of your questions. Forgive me for my lack of patience, but I've no real idea of how long I'll be in control and I'd like to take advantage of the rare opportunity presenting itself to me.
"We should be getting a move on, anyway. Corrin and the others will grow worried if they realize we're gone, and suspicious if we're gone for too long. If they ask where we've been, tell them I wandered off to find a more shady spot, as I thought the island was moving too fast to provide an adequate amount. You followed me, confused after having woken up to mostly unconscious bodies. When you got close and noticed the blood in my hair, you suggested we walk around until we found a stream or pond or some sort of water to rinse it off with before any misunderstandings were had. Once we found the stream we decided to return, hoping no one noticed our disappearance. Whether they did or not we'll find out upon said return. Don't offer the story if you're not asked about it. It's best to keep things simple when given the opportunity."
Takumi sighed, but nodded anyway. A rather smart decision. "Fine. Have it your way. Am I supposed to say anything about you being who you really are? Or are you supposed to be Robin as far as I know?"
"Robin," Grima responded. He then shrugged as Robin tended to do, putting on an amused smile. "I mean, I'm pretty sure Corrin would start freaking out if her little brother ran up to her and started yelling, 'Corrin, Corrin, I think our friend's being possessed!' when the only dragon she's seen so far is the really bad one who's out to kill her and everyone on her entire continent. And I'm pretty sure we wanna avoid that sort of thing, right? So, Robin I'll be."
Takumi blinked hard. "Okay then. Robin it is. You, uh, do a pretty good job of imitating him."
Grima's smile morphed into a darker grin. "Why, thank you. I do try."
Takumi just nodded uncomfortably in response, looking in the same direction as Grima. A hundred or so feet away, down a steep slope, was a small stream. They'd go down there and wash off Robin's hair. Then, they'd return and let the scene play out as it was meant to, allowing Corrin to take the spotlight once more. She did a well enough job.
Dunking his head into the water was unpleasant, but nothing too terrible. More annoying than having to shove his head into the icy water was having to deal with it dripping down his back for the next several minutes, lacking a towel or any other convenient cloth to dry it with. While Grima had picked up Robin's cloak after talking to Takumi, he felt bad using it for such a reason. Instead he did his best to shake his hair out with his hands, sliding the coat's sleeves over his arms and returning it to its normal position. He had to admit, though he'd never worn such a thick garment during his own life, it was kind of comfortable. Robin had made a good decision keeping the coat for so long.
He and Takumi walked back to the spot they'd woken up with, reversing the path Grima had originally taken to get to the mill. Takumi stared at the ground, watching each step he took. He didn't stumble, as he had some of the most stable footing Grima had seen in his time in Canta, but his eyes were so locked on his feet an ignorant man might think Takumi had a problem of doing so.
Grima had had enough. He stopped walking, throwing out his left arm to stop Takumi from moving any farther. Takumi stopped immediately, not making contact. He looked to Grima with a raised eyebrow.
"Don't look so dour," Grima warned, making a small circle so he was in front of Takumi. "Go back with an expression like that and your family will question you relentlessly. Try to smile. If, for some strange reason doing so is completely beyond you, then come up with a good explanation for why you look as though I insulted your name and threatened your family. And do let me in on what that explanation is. I'd rather our stories match."
Takumi made a choking noise. "What is wrong with you? Do you have to be so mean? Can't you just say 'please smile' and leave it at that without going out of your way to throw in some insult?" He huffed loudly. "Jeez, I don't get how Robin can stand you if you're always like this."
Grima frowned. "I was just letting you know my thoughts. You're the one who interpreted my honesty as an insult." He paused. "As for Robin...we do have our disagreements. But he's learned over time how to not do pointless things, so the situation doesn't arise as often."
"Ugh…"
"Hmph."
They stared each other down for a moment. Neither making a move.
Takumi rolled his eyes. "So what's the story, then? I'll try to not look so 'dour,' as you put it but pretty much no one else would because who even uses that word anymore, and you can look sort-of guilty over disappearing. If they ask me about why I'm down, I'll tell them you were being a jerk. And it'll all be up to you what jerk move did that, since you want to be so stubborn."
"Fine by me. Let's go."
They didn't say anything else as they walked back. Elise spotted them once they'd come over the crest of the hill that lead them to the level the others were on, so Grima crossed out the 'pretend to never have left' plan. Corrin asked them where they'd gone, and he gave the story he'd delivered to Takumi. He threw up a smile and gave a few nervous laughs, and Takumi took the opportunity to throw a few jabs at Grima. Grima threw some right back. It got Corrin and the younger sisters to giggle somewhat, while the rest of the conscious group made smiles of varying degree. That group being made up of the royalty of the group and Jakob. What an honor for the butler.
"So, what's our plan from here?" Corrin asked Grima, flanked by her siblings.
Grima glanced up at the sky. The sun in this land appeared to move at about the same speed as the one in Canta, and it was already lowering. "It looks like we only have a couple of hours until the sun sets. We should probably send some scouts to find shelter before it gets dark and things become more difficult."
Leo scoffed, voice full of mocking. "And what exactly are you thinking our scouts will find? Azura already told us this land was completely destroyed nearly two decades ago. There are no signs of current civilization where we stand, and she's found none in her trips back. Are you thinking we're somehow going to find an inn that miraculously survived to stay in for the night?"
"Leo." Xander's voice cut through the air. Leo backed down slightly, biting his lip. A short but effective warning.
"While it would be lovely to find an inn, that's not what I mean by shelter. I meant a cave. Or a cliffside. Something to get the wind away from us, and to keep us from being flooded out of our tents in case it starts to rain."
Ryoma was the next to speak. "Wouldn't that leave us at risk of an attack, though? If we were to sleep under a cliff, our enemies could sneak up on us from behind by hiking up the cliff and launching an attack from above. We've fought their archers before, and it's much easier to fire down than up."
Xander nodded. "Prince Ryoma makes a good point. Our enemy knows this land far better than we do. They'll know how best to traverse the surroundings and use them to their best advantage. How do you expect to overcome that?"
Grima smiled. He'd paid attention to Robin when Robin had gone over his possible strategies, so he knew some of what the boy had originally planned. That meant he didn't have to make it all up in the spur of the moment, which saved him some time and fumbling about. But he could still make a few adjustments.
He turned to address Azura. "Anankos' castle is to the North, is it not?" She nodded in affirmation. "We'll send three scouting teams. One to the North, one to the Northeast, and one to the Northwest. There's little point in going south if we'll have to turn back around. If we're to go East or West, it's most efficient to put a northern tilt on it so we can start progressing toward our final destination, saving us time and energy that we'd put into a needless walk otherwise."
Coughing from Grima's left made the group turn toward the source. Takumi had his elbow near his face, lowering it after a moment. "I'm sorry. The mill was really dusty and I got something caught in my throat. I was trying to hold back the cough so I wouldn't interrupt. But don't worry about me. Go on, Robin. About your scouting plan, and all your fancy directions."
Ah.
Grima had slipped in his impression. Hopefully the royals wouldn't think too much about it. He had no idea whether Corrin had explained his 'concussion' to any of them, but it wasn't a real excuse anyway. He didn't want a nonexistent injury to be brought up if he could avoid it.
He smiled toward Takumi, doing his best to make it seem authentic, or real. He was genuinely thankful but...his genuine smile and Robin's genuine smile were very different things. Robin tended to pull his lips far higher, smiling wider than Grima did at his happiest. But he had impressions to maintain, so he smiled a smile far wider than he was comfortable with, putting a hand on Takumi's shoulder and giving him a small shake as he spoke. "No worries, Takumi. That's my fault for hanging out near a huge pile of stones that were obviously breaking apart. Maybe it's a good thing I didn't get that nap. My throat would probably have been killing me by the time I woke up!"
More giggles from the younger girls.
Grima cleared his throat. "But moving on. As I was saying, we'll send three teams to look for shelter. North, Northeast, and Northwest. Where we are now, it would be easy for someone to sneak up on us. We may be on a hill, but there are mountains to our sides. If Anankos is smart, he'll set archers on the crests and have them shoot down on us as soon as we went to bed. Even if we had watch set up on all sides, it's dark, and with the island floating above us our view of the tops of the mountains might be obscured long enough for our enemy to set up on one of them, firing as soon as the shot was clear. We wouldn't be able to run in time. Many would die. It's not safe to be so surrounded. We may be on high ground, but there's still land above us."
He pointed over to the mill. "None of you saw me or Takumi go to or come back from the mill, right? You only noticed us when we came back up the hill and were a thirty second jog away?" Nods. "Our enemy could do something similar. This hill is tiered. Terraced. They could come from below too, walking along some of the more covered areas until they reached a point they could attack from."
Hinoka butted in. "But what about our guards? Our watch? You're right, we can't stop them from above. But we can watch for them when they're below. We could warn and wake everyone while they're busy climbing up the mountain."
Grima tilted his head from side to side. "Yes, we technically could. But I'd like to avoid that if at all possible. See how wide the top of this hill is? Think of how many men we'd have to put on watch duty to cover all sides. How many men would then be tired for the next battle. Not to mention how many sides we could be attacked from. We're in a very open area, and they could come at us from several sides. While we attack those in front of us, they could easily approach from behind, confusing our men and bringing about unnecessary chaos."
Fun chaos, really. But they didn't have any extra men to replace those that would be lost if such a situation were to arise, so while it might be fun chaos, it was also unacceptable chaos. A pity.
Hinoka blushed, frowning intensely. Ryoma leaned over to say something to her. Grima couldn't care less what it was. He continued.
"Not to say we're in the worst spot. Hinoka's right; we are on higher ground. Being open to attack from multiple sides isn't the worst thing if we have guards who can inform us where those multiple attacks are coming from." He took a breath. A dramatic pause of sorts. "But it's not ideal, and I'd like to avoid the situation if at all possible. Hence why I say we send out scouts to find a new place to hide. Our new 'shelter' would be in a more ideal area, maybe higher ground. Someplace where there aren't islands floating above us or mountains looming over us that the invisible soldiers could rain fire from. Someplace beneath a cliff could work if the cliff was steep, and nearly inaccessible. A jutting mountain you could climb if you had to, but would probably avoid if you could. Something too steep to climb quickly or easily, and probably impossible for horses. If we had that at our backs, we'd know we couldn't be attacked from that side. And if we sent a scout up top, they'd be able to see the enemy far before the enemy could climb up to attack them. And ideally they'd be too high up to hit with an arrow, with a wide enough view to see any possible assailants before the arrow was nocked.
"If there's no convenient cliff, then a cave on a hill might work too. Like with the cliff situation, we couldn't be attacked from behind. The enemy would have to come from one place, and it would be easy to form a wall to pick them off from. Armored units in the front, mages and ranged units in the back. If the cave's ceiling is high enough, we could even send our flying units over the wall to attack the enemy from above, flying back to safety whenever they need healing"
He shrugged. "Or we could just look for another flat area closer to our destination. Make some progress today to cut down on walking tomorrow, y'know. How does that sound?"
Corrin blinked a few times. She and the others looked fairly stumped. "That sounds...good. I think. It's a lot to take in, actually. I'm really impressed you came up with so much so fast."
Well. Robin had done a great deal of thinking on such things in the past few weeks, after a few conversations with Azura on how much she remembered of Valla, and how much she knew of the terrain. A lot of what Grima had said had been formed from the many plans Robin had discussed with Grima as they walked, trying to anticipate whatever sort of danger they might encounter. Grima had to tweak a fair amount of it, but he was thankful for what Robin had started for him.
Corrin wasn't aware of that, though. She smiled and continued, speaking happily to a friend who was not actually awake to listen, hidden behind a creature he'd struggled so long to hide. "But that's why we have you! What do you guys say?" She addressed her older brothers.
"Robin's plan is sound. I'll gather up scouts immediately if Prince Ryoma agrees," Xander said.
Ryoma nodded. "I do. I'm happy to send a few of my own men with your scouts as well. I see we have a few more flyers than you do, so they can take to the air while your cavaliers cover the ground."
Xander returned the motion. "Thank you for the assistance."
With that the royals moved on to wake up the rest of their troops, Nohrians going for Nohrians, Hoshidans going for Hoshidans. Grima standing around and doing nothing because, despite being 'ordered' to sit down and rest by Corrin, he refused to do so where so many people would see it and interpret it as weakness. He was fine. And tired of the charade. He could pretend to be Robin, but he would not pretend to be an injured Robin. That was too much of an insult.
Corrin herself was once again engrossed in conversation with Scarlet, who was in awfully good spirits for their situation. What did she even have to be happy about? She was twirling some sort of flower around, something Grima didn't recognize. Some plant unique to this new world, he supposed. He wondered whether it had any medicinal properties. Or toxic qualities. Though the latter wouldn't be very good for the girl, who he'd seen sniff the thing quite heavily before the jump. It was missing a few petals, now that he thought about it. But it and she seemed fine otherwise. Although, for some reason he felt as though she shouldn't be. It was a small feeling and he couldn't quite place it, but it was there. Perhaps it was some sort of residual worry from Anankos' attack. Scarlet had jumped only a short time before Robin had. If he hadn't gone in, would she have been Anankos' victim? Or would Corrin? Corrin would've been a prime target for the dragon, if he was trying to get rid of those who stood closest to stopping him.
The two girls seemed nigh worry-free though. Clearly not bothered by the same negative thoughts that plagued Grima. Or that frequently found their way to him. A plague was unwanted; negative thoughts were usually worthwhile points of realism.
Once everyone had been woken up, they assembled into three sections, lined up in neat rows. The royals stood in front of them once more, Corrin at the head of the group. She informed them of their plans. There were no objections.
As Corrin turned away from them to start the march, Grima walked up to her side, clearing his throat. She turned back around. He had an unapproved announcement to make.
"Now, I know most of you are not familiar with each other. Prince Xander's troops may know each other, Prince Ryoma's troops may know each other, and Corrin's troops know some of one or the other depending on their place of origin. But the majority of you don't know the other side very well, and that's no good for going to battle. Fighting next to a stranger is definitely possible, but it's not easy. It slows you down. As such, I think we should take some time to get acquainted while we walk. We're marching in rows of six, as Corrin informed you. I want every group to have two members of Corrin's army, two of Xander's, and two of Ryoma's. And I want you to talk. You don't have to be loud, you don't have to fake enthusiasm, but say something. Get to know each other as fellow soldiers and humans, not just as men who were once enemies but have been forced into allies without your consent. I'm sure you'll find some common ground."
Grima felt Corrin's eyes glued to his face, as the eyes of Xander and Ryoma burned into his back. He didn't care. He wasn't going to have the group fighting over petty things and birthplaces.
Xander and Ryoma had said they wanted to form an alliance after the war was over. To make treaties, to bring their countries together in friendship and trade and mind where possible. With how deep the hatred was, that would be no easy feat. It would be much easier to do so if they had soldiers who could tell their people, with full honesty, that they had been able to get along with people from the other country. That the Nohrians had spoken to them about their families and worries of starvation during the long famine, but also of the hope for a better future with the help of the surplus food Hoshido produced that could cross the border and help keep Nohrians alive and working until their own fields began to produce food again. That the Hoshidans had spoken to them of the tragedy of losing their queen and the fears of Faceless attacks, but also of the hope that the Nohrians would help supply them with weapons to secure their borders and fight off the dark creatures that had tormented them for so long, and that Grima was fairly certain Corrin would convince Xander to make illegal or something. She had a real aversion to those things.
But getting back to the main topic, if they wanted a successful alliance, they'd have to start with those closest to them. The ones who'd pledged their lives to their causes. If they couldn't convince just those few dozen people, there was no way the princes would have lasting success with their entire countries.
Corrin took a step forward and raised her voice to speak to the troops. "You heard Robin! Just pair up with the people in your rows. But if you're from my group, try to get one person from the Hoshidan side of the wall and one from the Nohrian side of the wall, please. I know it might not be easy, but Robin's right. I'm sure you'll find out you have a lot more in common than you'd think. Or, even if you don't, you'll get a new perspective and maybe even some fun stories to take home!"
There was a small rumble from the group. Murmurs and shuffling as dozens of heads moved back and forth, trying to process the situation. Grima had changed the plan. Before they jumped into the canyon, the soldiers had likely assumed they would be able to stick with their own countrymen. That they would fight on the same side as their former enemies, but only figuratively, not physically. On the same battlefield against the same enemies, not back to back. March together, but separate. Always a line between them. Always a safe distance. No need to mingle. No orders to mingle.
Well, Grima would make sure they were wrong.
They'd be happier for it in the end anyway. Marching long distances was much more pleasant when you didn't hate the people marching five feet away from you. Sleeping was much more peaceful when you weren't silently worrying the soldiers in the next tent over wished you were dead or gone.
Thankfully Corrin's words were all the troops needed to start forming their little groups, though not all of them were particularly quick about it. Some did as they were told as fast as polite movement allowed. Some bore a wary look, but did so after a few seconds of milling around. Some wandered in discrete patterns that made them appear to be doing as they were told, but upon examination showed they were just faking attempts, and really only circling around in ways they wouldn't have to make a pair. Grima sighed at the last group. What did those people hope would happen? There three armies didn't each have the same number of soldiers, but that didn't mean anyone would be allowed to march in a row with only their own countrymen. A few of the last groups might have to be shuffled slightly, but they would have no row of all Nohrians or Hoshidans. Even if one of Corrin's soldiers was a part of it.
Grima made a point to go up to some of those wanderers and personally lead them to a few of the more friendly members of Corrin's group. It was a better way to spend time than just standing. He didn't want to bore himself.
Meanwhile, Ryoma and Xander assembled the scouting groups, each composed of one cavalier and one pegasus knight. Or Kinshi knight. Some sort of flying Hoshidan on a white steed. He didn't care about the name. It was the animal's capability to fly that mattered, not what humans called it.
Having such a combination of mounts was good for two reasons. The first was that they were faster than foot soldiers. That way they could cover more ground than, say, Corrin could in the same amount of time. The second was that having someone on horseback meant they'd have a good judge of whether the terrain could be crossed and it was worth their time going to a certain area. Some infantry weren't capable of determining whether land could be crossed on horseback and would sometimes report a 'good' route that was impossible to cross once the full group got halfway through it, as there was a portion of ground too steep or uneven for a horse to go up. Or an area that had a certain aura to it that humans couldn't detect, but animals could, so they'd all start bucking as soon as their riders got close. That sort of thing tended to eat up time they didn't have. Not to mention how annoying it was to backtrack when they reached an impass, and all the blabbering the scout would do as they made stupid excuses as for why they'd reported a path that could not be used.
Corrin approached Grima as he stood there in his thoughts, pacing silently back and forth. He stopped when she reached him, for once without a smile. "Why'd you do that?"
"Do what?"
"You know what I mean. You went up and told everyone to form groups when none of us had said anything about it before. Before we'd agreed to it."
Grima sighed. "It had to happen eventually. Why not now?"
"You didn't talk to Xander or Ryoma about it."
"I've only just met them. And I wasn't sure they'd give me the go, so I went ahead and said it before they could give me a hard no. Better to ask forgiveness than permission, right?"
"Sometimes. But you said you valued their word. You said you wanted me to lead, and you wanted them behind me. You going up and proclaiming things isn't exactly doing that, you know."
"Is there something wrong with it? Would you like me to stop?"
"No, I-...I just want to know what you're thinking. You tell me you want one thing and then you do another. How am I supposed to know how to lead and how to help you if you don't stick to what you said you'd do? You said I did well before the jump. You've been telling me all along to take charge, and I'm finally feeling comfortable doing it. I did do it, and it worked. People are listening to me. But now you're starting to steal the spotlight again and I'm not sure if you're doing it because you don't want to sit in the shadows, or because you think I'm incompetent and can't actually lead anyone." Corrin's voice hitched somewhat. She looked away from Grima, biting her lip, gripping the edges of her cape.
Grima raised an eyebrow but said nothing.
Corrin looked him in the eye. Her own had hints of tears. "Look, if you want to take charge, then that's okay. You're smart, you're brilliant, and it's thanks to you we've gotten this far without losing any of our men. But you're not consistent. I can't tell what you're thinking. I thought I'd got you figured out and that we were friends, but the last few days you've been acting funny, and since the jump you've just...I don't know what's wrong with you. I don't think it's a concussion. I don't know what it is. You say the right things, for the most part. There was a little bit a while back where you started getting all formal or just plain weird in what you were saying, but other than that you still sound like you. You, you just-" She sighed heavily. "It's like you're saying the right things but in the wrong situations. Why are you taking charge? Your words are right but your actions are wrong and really, I can't tell whether it's because of me or because of you, and here you are saying you want everyone to be friends while you're distancing yourself from me. I know Takumi knows something but he won't admit it. He'll only look over to you like he knows something and it makes him uncomfortable, but he's made some sort of promise to keep quiet about it. So what did you do? What's wrong? Is there anything I can do, or have I served your purpose and gotten you to where you needed to go, so now you don't need me anymore since I've done all the hard work of getting the armies together?"
The tears didn't fall, but they were heavy on Corrin's eyelashes, glittering in the sunlight of the new world they'd found themselves in. Her lips quivered, pulled tight in a line but threatening to fall into a frown. Into a sob.
Grima didn't know what to say. What could he say? He didn't have experience comforting humans. He'd lead them, he'd ordered them around, he's tormented them, he'd trampled them, he'd played with them like little toys and then tossed them aside when they no longer amused him. Pawns and playthings didn't need real comfort. When humans were terrified or wholly devoted, when they were so desperate for any sort of comfort they could hardly remember what love or comfort were anymore, "comfort" was easy. It wasn't real. He was never genuine. He could play a role based in what he saw others do, and he could use his power to manipulate someone into placing their faith in him. But he couldn't arouse genuine comfort. He could pretend at full power. He wouldn't be able to use that charade on Corrin, who had lost much of her trust in him.
Much of her trust in Robin.
As Grima, he had plans. He had methods. He was a god, he could make the world spin to his whims, he could create fortune and eliminate disease or danger. In theory, at least. As far as most humans knew, at least.
That was the comfort he was used to giving. Empty promises of miracles that could only be brought about by a god such as he, that the humans wouldn't realize were bare until they had served their purpose and he no longer had any need of their emotional stability.
Around manaketes, there'd been no need to comfort anyone at all. No one would look to him of all people, to the monster, for comfort. The only person he'd ever tried to comfort was his mother, and she died cursing his name.
He couldn't feed Corrin an empty promise. He couldn't give her a miracle. He couldn't twist some false tale that might convince her to drop her doubts and fight alongside him worry-free, not without doing something that would alert her siblings and shatter all trust their companions had in him. She didn't know who he was. Things might have been easier had she known the truth, but it was too late for that. Suddenly spouting nonsense about him being an ancient dragon who'd taken over her friend's body but failed in replicating his personality wouldn't make her feel better. Especially as he'd only been in control for an hour or so. Corrin said Robin had been acting strangely for days. Even if she could separate the time since the jump from Robin, she couldn't separate those days. Where Robin and Grima had gone back and forth over the actions they should have taken. Where Grima had made suggestions when Robin went to talk, and the boy sometimes listened. Would she think him a demon in Robin's body, trying to mold him into something he wasn't? A parasite trying to make his way to the front, ruining all that Corrin had fought and bled for in the process?
And those days… Was Robin's strange behavior only because of those conversations? The concrete words and purposeful exchanges they had as they worked together to develop the best plans? Or was it some sort of unconscious influence? The slow overwrite of Robin's personality by Grima's presence; an older, powerful, corrupting force that had been bound to his bloodline for a millenial and carved into his skin years prior with runes invisible to the eye?
It was complicated. Grima liked having time to think. Time was nothing to someone with such a long lifespan, and he'd never felt troubled by taking his time with things.
He didn't have that sort of time though, with a human staring him in the eye, mind surely racing with worse and worse scenarios the longer he kept silent.
He also didn't have much experience with caring about another person's feelings. It had been a millennia since anyone of worth had stood by his side and caught his attention. Since he'd had a friend, rather than an ally. Or pawn. Yet there he was, actually weighing the situation to determine how to deal with the little girl in front of him.
Perhaps the influence was mutual. He was rubbing off on Robin to make him more practical. Robin was rubbing off on Grima to make him more emotional.
Not the most fair exchange.
He placed a hand on Corrin's shoulder. She looked at it, confused. He mirrored the action with the other, holding her firmly. Contact was supposed to be comforting, right? He preferred his distance, so he tended not to use that avenue. But Robin liked pats and handshakes and shoulder presses, so it couldn't have been a bad action to take.
Grima squeezed tightly for a second before letting his hands slide further down Corrin's arms, near her elbows. This time she didn't look at them, keeping her eyes locked on Grima's (Robin's) face.
"I've been successful up to this point, yes. We've gone battle to battle without losing any of our own soldiers, doing our best to keep deaths on both our side and the enemy's to a minimum. And it has worked so far.
"But with every battle we enter, the stakes become higher. We have more men to fight with us, yes, but we also have more men to lose. As we grow stronger so do the men we face. The more frightening the battles become, the more skittish the soldiers are as they realize how much they have to lose. They can escape death once, but twice? Not as likely. Three times? Quite lucky. Four? A miracle. Five? It won't happen. Or rather, by the time they reach that point their minds betray them and tell them the odds are against them, that they best hide because they have run out of chances. They stop taking the risks they did before, but they also stop fighting with all they have. They hold back, hesitating in some of the fights they would've charged into before, thinking about how many times they've almost died rather than all the times they've cheated death. The larger your streak is, the more terrified you become of watching that streak break. The more terrified you are, the more mistakes you make. The more likely it is for that streak to break and for your head to be cleaved from your body."
"..."
He wasn't being very reassuring, was he? But he was being honest, and he knew she wouldn't appreciate any more lies.
Unfortunately, he wasn't in a situation where he could refrain from handing any more to her.
"I am your tactician." Grima's voice was low. He leaned closer to Corrin. That's what Robin would do, he thought. "It's my job to make sure everyone gets out of this alive. And when I see all that, when I see that terror and those mistakes and all the times one of my friends was three inches from losing an arm, it weighs on me. They worry about how long until their luck runs out. How long until they, a single person, die. I worry about how long I have left before mine runs out, being spread so thin over dozens of soldiers as I plan and scheme and try to make sure they all survive. That they all cheat death. It's stressful managing it all, and I've been trying to keep it off you the best I can. Letting you lead so I can concentrate on the dark things behind the scenes.
"And stress can make a man crack. I wouldn't say I'm anywhere near to shattering, but I have been a bit irritable lately. Tired. Ready to go and lacking the patience to wait for all the newcomers to catch up to me. So I apologize if I haven't seemed myself. A lot has happened at once, and my patience has been worn thin. My stress tolerance is being tested. And while I'm confident my decisions will withstand all the pushing, my cheerful demeanor hasn't stood up as well. So I apologize. I'm sorry."
He moved his right hand to her chin. Which didn't serve much purpose once he got to it. He had gotten so used to being higher than everyone, sitting on a throne and having his subjects kneel down before him, allowing him to tilt their heads up and look down at them, exerting his control. His power. His superiority.
But Robin's body was short, and they were standing on equal ground. Corrin was half an inch taller than him. The pose was awkward. He let it drop.
"You understand, right?"
Corrin sighed, a breath of air halfway toward a laugh. She crossed her arms and looked to the side. "That's your excuse? You're stressed out so you've suddenly had this big change in personality and goals? That's not what I expected from you."
Grima shook his head. "I didn't say it was an excuse. Only an explanation. Make of it what you will."
"Make of it what I will?"
"Er, I mean, it's up to you what that means-"
"That's it right there! You keep doing that! Acting all high and mighty, saying things in formal ways where you would've cracked some stupid joke about it before. Something is going on here that you're not telling me. I can believe you're stressed. I am too. But you're also hiding something, and I'm tired of it. The only time you ever reveal anything is when you have no other choice; when someone else has started unravelling your secret and you panic about how we're going to interpret it so you rush to tell us before we can get any big, wrong ideas. Whatever is going on now is no different."
"It is different. Bigger."
"How? What can be bigger than coming from another world? Especially now that we've gone to one ourselves, and I have evidence you're telling the truth?"
Grima closed his eyes. What to do, what to do? Did he tell her specifically who he was? Did he say he was a dragon and leave it ambiguous? How much had Robin told her about him, anyway? He'd spent a long while unconscious. He had no idea whether Robin had gone on about Grima as a dangerous being, or whether they were connected.
He wasn't confident Robin would handle the topic well either when he was finally cornered into a position he had no choice but to tell the truth. An unabridged version. He could no longer turn Corrin's head the other way with half truths and incomplete stories.
So Grima would do the boy a favor and tell Corrin himself. He'd deal with the initial fallout, and Robin could deal with what came after once he returned from whatever deep pit of his consciousness he was stuck in. Robin could be quite fragile emotionally, sometimes. Grima had had millennia to deal with emotions and sadness and shock. The longer he waited to talk, the less Corrin would trust him regardless of knowing or not knowing the truth. It was best to come out with it now. Or, some of it.
"The strange actions 'I' have taken before today are complicated. I can't give you a full reason as to why, as I was not fully involved in the thoughts that lead to them, and thus I don't have enough understanding to deliver an accurate explanation. I was consulted a few times in those days, but I wasn't the decision maker. Only an influence." Corrin's eyes widened. She was catching on. "As for the time since our free-fall into this canyon and this new world, I can explain some things, but I won't explain them all. I like secrets, even if Robin doesn't. What concerns both of you I will reveal. What doesn't I will not."
Corrin's eyes narrowed. She pitched her voice up for the beginning of her words, but not the end, her questions not questions at all. Just statements, just her proving her knowledge, putting up a question to be polite. "You're the friend, aren't you? The thing in the back of his mind that the Rainbow Sage was talking about."
Grima laughed. "I am. The thing-" he spat the word, letting his distaste for it be known, "-the Rainbow Sage was talking about, at least. Whether I'm Robin's friend...Well, we haven't fought recently. Not heavily. I'm not certain he'd consider me a friend though. I've done quite a thing to his friends that he didn't approve of."
"...What kind of things?" Corrin looked wary.
"They got in my way. I cut them down. Simple as that."
Corrin's eyes widened, and Grima watched as her right hand shot to the hilt of the Yato.
"But," Grima said, emphasizing the T, "I did that before Robin and I found ourselves in the situation we're in today." He paused. "Ah well, before we found ourselves in the situation we awoke in once we landed in your world. This arrangement in particular is a bit new…"
Corrin kept up her cautious tone. "And that arrangement will keep you from hurting his friends this time?"
"Yes. If you want details, ask Takumi. I've explained it to him, and it might help you understand if you talk to a third party who's already had time to process it all. Feel free to come back to me with any questions you might still have after your conversation. I can't promise I'll answer everything, as some might require Robin's input and he's currently unavailable, but I can try."
"So you're delegating the responsibility to someone else?"
Grima smirked. "You told me I was taking the lead too much"
And I'm used to it, he didn't say. When he led the Grimleal, he had far too many people wanting to know things to tell them all individually. Instead, he'd send them to one of the higher ranking cultists, someone he'd already given the long explanation to. Usually said cultist could answer the important questions. Anything they couldn't was either a dumb question, or one so unique Grima would enjoy the thought that went into answering it.
Corrin scoffed, shaking her head. When she stopped, she wore a small grin. "No, what I meant was that you're taking the lead in the wrong situations. Really, the problem is that I'm confused about what you're doing, not that you're doing it. But if you're not Robin...I guess that explains why you're not doing what he said he would. Doesn't mean I'm happy with it though." She narrowed her eyes. "He is coming back, right?"
"Presumably."
Grima had no real way of knowing whether Robin would or not. But it would be nice. He didn't want to have to deal with these people himself. They were useful, but not worth the pain of interaction. If Robin could just come back for long enough to deal with them and then kindly hand his body back over to Grima...
Corrin resumed speaking. "Then I'll wait for him. I can get my explanations when he's back. All of them."
Grima blinked. That was surprisingly easy.
He held out his hand. "I see we have an agreement. You can ask Takumi what you need to know, and what you find lacking you will wait to ask until Robin is back."
Corrin took it, but didn't shake. "And in the meantime, you'll do nothing to hurt any of my friends."
Grima quirked a brow. "I didn't say I agreed to that."
Corrin tightened her grip. "But you will."
Grima burst out laughing. "Well when you say it like that!"
The two shook.
Author's note:
So. I realize I've made Corrin cry many times at this point. So I guess the Corrin in this story is a little emotional. Sorry for the lack of battle, but I promise it's coming. Really soon. Next chapter soon. There has been so much talking about who Grima is without saying it, and I get that, and I'm ready to move on. So I hope you have fun with this, on the three year anniversary of me posting this story. I have some Three Houses (Blue Lions ftw!) to get back to.
Originally posted August 4, 2019. Word count: 8,974 not including author's notes.
Until next time, Mariyekos.
