I am on a roll! Setting up for the next chapter admittedly took longer than I was expecting, but I'm focused on this until I can finish it. After this there should only be a few more chapters left, finally. So, hope you all enjoy, read and review!
Maybe it was Grima, that had her usually trying to handle everything on her own. Or perhaps it was the lack of memory, of Henry and Owain...whatever the cause it could be a problem and dangerous with the work she did. This time though...this time she needed a partner to get her plan going, and she was fine with that.
The tactician slept through most of the time the great knight was gone, remaining weakly in bed. Everyone fretted over her, but none of them (save Henry and Owain) were willing to give life energy for her to get better. With her unable to use the most fulfilling method of collecting life energy it felt like the two were barely able to keep her afloat.
"Robin, you shouldn't be out of bed!" Chrom frowned as the orange haired girl stumbled, because no matter how much she wished otherwise that was the kindest description, into the throne room.
"Milady!" Frederick barked the title as her foot slipped from under her, a misplacement causing her to begin falling. She hadn't closed her eyes, meaning she saw the look of terror on the retainer's face as he darted forward to catch her...and did so, her body half collapsed against his armour.
"I'm fine." Robin insisted as he tried to right her, only to be pushed away a bit once certain she wouldn't fall again. "I'm not incapable Chrom. It's hard to walk because you refuse to let me try." So much bed rest had left her legs weak...all of her, really, but no one needed to know that. Not to mention the lack of exercise caused maybe a few pounds of heft to be added to her stomach.
"How did you even get here? Henry was supposed to keep you in your room." Sully stood beside her husband, looking as worried as him about the small teenager.
"I sent him to get me food."
"And Owain?"
"To get me books." The royal couple both sighed.
"Why are you in here Robin?" The king questioned.
"Because I heard Frederick returned. And I'm getting his report, just as you are." The glowing red eyes made her stubborn, a fault of the Fell Dragon. Another sigh left his mouth.
"Frederick? Your report?" Fighting with the vessel any longer wouldn't change her mind. The mentioned man cleared his throat.
"Robin was correct about Plegia having Sable, Validar confirmed it to me himself." He began, taking a breath. "He wishes to hand it over, but is apparently quite busy with matters of his kingdom. We are to meet him at the Dragon's Table."
"A trap, just like Robin said." The Queen stated, waiting for an answer from the mentioned teenager. "Robin?" She looked to the younger, taking a startled step back at the red eyes that greeted her. Not glowing red irises, but both eyeballs seemed to have suddenly become a bright red.
"Robin!" Henry panted as he ran into the doorway, his panic clear. Seeing the familiar hair calmed him, causing him to stop and turn his head back. "Someone tell Owain she's in here."
"Of course." A servant answered from out of view, closed eyes turning back to his friend.
"You-"
"That place is death." The words spilled from the cloaked teenager's lips, neither side knowing who wanted to speak them but both knowing it was true. Finally red eyes closed, back to the simple glowing irises when they opened again. "I don't know how I know. But if we aren't careful something awful will happen there." The eyes locked with blue. "I need to speak with Owain." Once wobbly legs held strong as the owner spun on a heel, walking from the room with no further warning.
¬NF¬
"Robin!" Owain's voice called from down the hall, the books she'd requested still piled in his arms. "Thy companion and I were-"
"Dragon's Table." Robin said the two words the moment he was close enough to hear without raising her voice, several thuds following as the book hit the floor and each other. He'd dropped them.
"H...how...?" The prince's voice was too high, a panic clear in the tone.
"The king of Plegia just invited us there himself." He stared for a moment with horrified wide eyes before his legs collapsed and he too fell to the floor.
"Owain?" She hadn't actually realized the dark mage had been following her until she heard his voice, but she should have expected as much.
"That... that's not right..." Red eyes watched as the blond's breathing picked up. "It's not supposed to...this is too soon!" He was quickly hyperventilating, hand suddenly gripping the sides of his head. "Oh gods, it's us! Coming here sped events up! I knew that but I didn't-"
"Owain." She spoke his name, firm and clear. Immediately he looked up, tears having gathered in his eyes.
"We killed Uncle Chrom..." The blue eyed boy had a broken voice almost too soft to hear.
"You're no more responsible for his to-be death than you are our own." The pigtailed teenager would squat in front of him, like the last time he'd been crying, but was concerned her legs would give out. "That said...what you may be able to help with is his survival." The shock of her words seemed to halt the tears, at least for the moment.
"His...survival?"
"What? You didn't expect me to just sit by and walk into a trap without a plan, did you?" Finally he sniffled, wiping away at the tears.
"Of course not."
"Good. Then tell me all you know of Chrom's death."
¬NF¬
To be frank Owain hadn't been able to tell her much. She had expected as much though, seeing as he and the other children hadn't actually been at the Dragon's Table to witness the king's death. Despite that the small amount he could give did actually help a great deal, since it reaffirmed the tactician's suspicion. The vivid and reoccurring dreams of Chrom dying at her hand were in fact, somehow, the events of the Dragon's Table. The how of it wasn't important, all that mattered was stopping the outcome she'd seen.
"Robin?" The mentioned teenager blinked, turning to look at the owner of the voice from her place on her bed. "You have that look on your face." Henry's smiling but it doesn't hide the worry he clearly feels.
"What look?" Robin asked, raising an eyebrow in confusion.
"That look like you think the world will end if you don't have the perfect plan." The words were unexpected.
"I assume I had that look often before I disappeared?" The dark mage nodded as she sighed. "Unfortunately this time...the world may well end if I can't figure out what to do." The dark eyes opened slightly.
"...So, what do we do?" The faith he held in her...she felt like it was misplaced here.
"I'm not... I'm not sure yet..." The tactician hated that, hated not knowing. Her eyes closed again, picturing the battlefield she remembered and the reason they'd been called. "...Wait..." Glowing eyes snapped open suddenly, an inked quill and parchment immediate placed in her hand. Quill met parchment, ink left in the scratches and scribbles to make letters and words.
"You've got something?" She didn't look up but a grin spread across her lips, eyes seeming mostly black.
"I knew I had the advantage but panicked when I realized the situation. The difference is I have advantages now that I didn't in Owain's future." The words were quick, almost rushed as an afterthought to the writing. "I can do this!" The confidence is back, the certainty. She knew what to do and how. Finally the eyes looked up and locked with the closed ones. "But I'll need your help to do it." This time the white haired boy was the one to give a wide grin.
"That I can do."
Why would Robin need Henry? Why, crows of course! We're nearing the end and everything is beginning to fall into place. Hope you all enjoyed, read and review! And see you all later!