New AN: Definitely one of the chapters that I liked about the old version, since it was a lot of my own writing. This part of the story will be expanded on some more in the new version.
Old AN: Hello, everyone. Short filler chapter with a cute scene of Robin's daily life in the sea village. Then the twins are born, yay! Then Robin's side of the story finally catches up to Chrom's and the dramatic search for Robin by Chrom continues. Will Chorm manage to find Robin? Or will Robin evade him? Find out in this chapter! Thanks for the follows, favorites, and reviews! You guys are the best!
*Disclaimer: I don't own Fire Emblem. I just use the characters in my own creative story.
Chapter Nine
~Robin~
It was about three months since Robin had settled into the small sea village in northeastern Ylisse. Robin sat up in her bed and yawned as she stretched her arms to the sky. She rubbed her eyes as she looked around the room in Selena's house that had slowly become hers. Robin had her books spread out over the desk, her maps and various plans pinned to the walls. In the dresser lay all of her tunics and her spare cloak. On the nightstand lay Robin's favorite combat tome and against the wall, an assortment of Robin's swords.
Robin fingered her ring as she got dressed and slid her precious earrings on. She positively refused to take off her ring for anything and most of the adult villagers knew the vague story about her relationship with Prince Chrom. They believed it to be just a gift that Prince Chrom had given to his tactician and decided not to ask why Robin was trying to hide from Chrom. The children liked to admire the ring but didn't really know what it meant for the ring to have the brand of the exalt on it.
Slowly day by day though, Robin could feel her belly growing. She had found out about two weeks ago during one of Selena's checkups, that she was actually going to have twins.
Robin didn't know what to do with this news at first but had gradually accepted it. She had already thought of good names for her beautiful twins. Robin was sure it was going to be a boy and girl so she wanted to name them Morgan and Melody. She absently looked out the window and was so lost in thought that she didn't notice Kira come into her room.
"Robin!" the little girl exclaimed. "Can you teach me how to read a magical tome?"
Robin smiled at the young girl's enthusiasm and asked gently, "Have u asked your mother first?"
The little girl nodded quickly and said, "Yes, my mom said I could. I want to be as gifted with magic and swordplay as you are!"
"Ok," Robin said. "We will start with the basics then."
"Yay!" Kira shouted, running to get a pad of paper and a pencil.
Robin smiled to herself, grateful for this peaceful way of life. She adored Kira and was forever grateful to Selena and was friends with all of the other villagers.
'I could most definitely live like this forever. Peace. Nothing to worry about. No wars. No romantic drama. Just me, Selena, and Kira.'
However, Robin found herself constantly missing her old life as a Shepherd. She missed the eccentric people she had come to call family and the craziness that seemed to happen every day.
'I wonder if I could go back? ...No, Robin, that's a ridiculous idea...You're pregnant for goodness sake...the Shepherds can survive without you...going back now would just be subjecting myself to a ton of questions...I wonder if Chrom is doing alright...'
So Robin dedicated all of her energy towards helping the town and adapting to her new life in order to forget those that she left behind. As the months flew by and Robin's due date came ever closer, the whole village waited in suspense. All of them had come to love Robin and desperately wanted everything to go smoothly. It was expected for Selena and Kira to be the most worried but what surprised Robin most, was the anxious actions of Terrance.
Terrance had become her very good friend over the past couple of months but Robin was starting to get irritated with his attempts to keep her safe. He would do anything to ensure that Robin did as little moving as possible. Robin had her suspicions that Terrance saw her as more than a friend so she started being extra cautious around him. She knew that her heart forever belonged to Chrom so Robin wanted to gently tell Terrance that he was just a friend.
Robin finally had a chance to tell him about a week before her scheduled due date. Her stomach had grown extremely big and Terrance was at his usually routine of trying to make Robin stay put.
So Robin laughed at his antics and said, "Terrance, I'm fine. It's not like I'm fatally ill, I'm just pregnant."
Terrance looked at her skeptically and retorted, "But something could go wrong."
"Nothing going to go wrong," Robin assured him. "I appreciate your concern and that you care so much after only just becoming my friend. But honestly, I'm fine. I promise to send a note along with Kira if anything bad happens. I owe that to you as a good friend. But you have to leave for right now, Selena wants to give me a checkup."
Terrance blinked at her for a few seconds before saying, "Oh, um, yeah." He laughed nervously. "I'm, uh, glad that we became friends too. I, um, hope that everything goes as well as you say it will and uh, I'll leave so that you can do your checkup."
"Thank you, Terrance," Robin said, with a kind smile on her face. Terrance slowly walked out of the house and silently shut the front door.
Robin watched him go with a troubled expression. 'I guess my suspicions were correct. I really hope I didn't hurt his feelings too badly...It...it's just...My heart forever belongs to Chrom and letting Terrance in any closer would just upset him more...sigh...I miss you...Chrom...'
Then about a week later, after three long hours of being in labor, Robin finally held her beautiful twins in her arms. Her heart swelled with pride and joy when she first laid eyes on their delicate faces. Their tiny hands and feet were beautiful and her twins were completely perfect. Morgan and Melody, her two beautiful angels.
But then, Robin realized something. Their eyes and their hair would give away who the father was. And if the Brand of the exalted blood ever emerged in a noticeable place, his lineage would be revealed. The village knew that she used to be Chrom's tactician but she kept the identity of her children's father a complete secret. Only Selena and Kira knew the whole story. Robin had told them about four months after she had moved into the village. She knew that she could completely trust her adopted family to keep her secret.
She hugged her twins to herself and murmured a soft prayer. "Naga...Please judge only me for my past sins and spare my child. I do not want to cause any more harm to anyone anymore...Please...don't let their hair and eyes be blue...Please veil their Brands from others' eyes."
And Robin repeated a similar prayer every day since then.
She watched her children slowly grow and held her breath in anticipation. She breathed a huge sigh of relief when Morgan and Melody grew up with purple hair that was slightly darker than her own and darker blue eyes than Chrom's. Their brands revealed themselves two days after the twins were born. Morgan's brand surfaced on his left shoulder and Melody's on her right hand. Robin took extra care in making clothes for her children that would cover their brands from view and promised herself that she would tell her children about their father when they were older.
Her children brought much needed joy to her life. Through them, she felt Chrom's presence and it was like she was still by his side.
However, the peace didn't last for long, when the twins were about four months old, the Shepherds came to check on the village's wellbeing. Robin was sitting on her bed in her room feeding Morgan and Melody milk from her breasts when Kira suddenly burst into the room.
"Robin!" Kira exclaimed. "You have to hide, and you have to hide now!"
Kira ran around closing the window and drawing the curtains.
"Whoa, Kira, hold on...slow down," Robin said, gently setting Morgan and Melody gently down on her bed. "What's going on?"
"Stay here and don't make a sound," Kira said. "The Shepherds are here!"
Robin's face paled and then asked Kira, "Is Chrom with them? What about the other villagers? Will they say anything?"
"Yes, Chrom is with them. They are patrolling for bandits, I think. But we haven't had any problems with them since you came here," Kira said. "My mom and I already told the other villagers not the mention you."
"Ok, thank you Kira," Robin said. But then Melody toddled out the door with Morgan attempting to follow her. "Melody! Morgan!" Robin exclaimed scooping Morgan up just in time. The twins had already learned to walk and Melody toddled fast out of the cottage.
"No, Robin, you have to stay hidden," Kira said. "I'll go get Melody." Kira then walked quickly after Melody.
"Oh, please Kira, get Melody before any of the Shepherds see," Robin said. Melody was wearing a cute navy blue dress with tiny gloves to cleverly hide her Brand, but Robin was worried about Melody's hair and eyes giving her away.
~Chrom~
Chrom walked through the fields on his way to check the last village on his route for that day. He called it checking on each village for any problems but Chrom's second task was to search for Robin. He had insisted that Sumia stay home so that their unborn child would be safe. In reality, Chrom was grateful to have some time away from his wife to ponder his thoughts.
This last village seemed extremely suspicious to him because they hadn't had any bandit troubles for the past year. Chrom had a small flame of hope ignited in his heart that Robin was in that village. Who else, could teach the villagers how to keep away bandits and other problems.
The Shepherds spread out throughout the village to just get to know the residents. Chrom walked among the village himself personally greeting everyone but then he saw something that made his heart stop. A small child, about four months old if Chrom had to guess, toddling away from him. The child was wearing a navy blue dress with sleek gloves to hide her hands. Chrom thought that the gloves were kind of odd but the sight that spooked him was the child's hair. It was a darker blueish purple but it reminded him so much of Robin's hair.
He ran toward the child but just as he was about to reach her, a teenage girl, dashed out from a pathway to his right and ran toward the child.
"Gotcha, Melody!" the young girl exclaimed, as she scooped the young child into her arms. The young child laughed gleefully and the young girl tickled the child's stomach. The young girl had a look of relief on her face but then she looked up and saw Chrom. Her face paled for a split second before resuming a neutral expression. The young girl started to walk briskly back the way she came with the young child in her arms.
Chrom called out, "Excuse me, what's your name?"
"Um, Kira, sir," the young girl replied.
"Ah, hello Kira," Chrom said with a kind smile. "Is this young child related to you?"
"Um, yes, she is my niece," Kira said quickly.
"Ah, I see, I'll let you take her home then," Chrom said.
"Thank you, sir," Kira said. "I've always been a fan of you, Prince Chrom. I am honored to meet you." Then Kira walked back towards her house.
Chrom sighed to himself. 'Then that child wasn't Robin's. I know Robin doesn't have a younger sister...ugh...I guess I'll have to keep looking...Robin...I ...I miss you...so much...why did you leave me?... I love you and only you...please don't hide from me...'
~Robin~
"Oh my goodness, Melody!" Robin exclaimed when Kira came back into the door. Robin scooped her baby up into her arms and hugged her close. "Did anyone see?"
"Chrom," Kira said sadly.
"What?!" Robin exclaimed. "Did he notice?"
"He got drawn to Melody because of her hair but he seemed troubled when I said Melody was my niece," Kira explained. "It's okay to call Melody my niece right?"
"Yes, of course," Robin said. "I think of you as my little sister."
"Ok, good," Kira said and then breathed a sigh of relief. "But that was much too close for comfort. I dread to think what will happen when the twins can talk full sentences."
Robin nodded in agreement.
After the close encounter, life remained peaceful in Robin's little village. But one night, about a year later, Robin had finally gotten the twins to sleep in their cribs. She was utterly exhausted because the twins had been running everywhere and anywhere they could. Robin chasing after them in a panic trying to make sure that they didn't hurt themselves. When she had finally caught them she took them to see the ocean and the twins watched the waves and the dolphins in delight until sunset. Robin carried her sleepy twins to the house and slowly rocked them to sleep.
She collapsed onto her bed completely exhausted and feel into a deep sleep. Robin had a very strange dream that night...
She was above Port Ferox watching the Shepherds fight against these soldiers in bulky red armor. She quickly located the familiar flash of blue hair and shining white armor as it dashed around the battlefield. As usual, Chrom was at the head of every fight, taking out soldier after soldier.
She shook her head at the Prince's foolishness that probably got him involved in this conflict in the first place. Then Robin breathed in sharply as the tides began to turn against the Shepherds.
Chrom failed to notice a cavalier charging towards him from behind. "Chrom!" Robin tried to scream only her voice didn't work. "No...no Chrom! Behind you!" she tried to scream again. The cavalier stabbed Chrom straight through the back and Chrom coughed up blood and turned around in surprise.
The cavalier laughed and said, "Bow before the glory of Emperor Walhart, rightful ruler of all of Valm and Ylisse!" "NEVER!" Chrom shouted definitely even though blood was staining his armor red. "We will never give in!" Chrom roared. The two men clashed into a horrendous fight which was completely unfair because Chrom was injured so badly.
After a few minutes of severe fighting, the cavalier finally got a strike through and stabbed Chrom straight through the heart, killing him instantly. "CHROM!" Robin screamed but it looked like no one heard her. Then Robin was forced to watch in horror as every single one of the Shepherds fell to the ground dead. The Khans also lay in their own pools of blood with their eyes wide with shock. Then Robin paled when the scene changed to her humble little village. The same soldier from the port charged through the town and Robin tried to run towards her house to protect Morgan and Melody but her feet wouldn't move.
Robin screamed in anguish as she watched a soldier break down the door to the little cottage and kill Selena as Kira ran to try and protect Morgan and Melody. The soldier threw the young girl's body aside with one hand and Kira's head made a sickening crack against the wall. Just as the soldier was about to bring his axe down on Morgan and Melody who were wailing for Robin...the scene went black...
A voice sounded from the darkness, Valm will attack in a week's time...go to Chrom...stop the soldiers from burning Ylisse to the ground...
Robin jolted awake in a cold sweat and notice that is was morning as the sun was streaming in through her window. She put a hand on her chest and started breathing deeply to calm herself down. She jumped out of her bed and ran over to the twins' cribs and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that they were still sleeping peacefully.
'Those flags, that armor, what the soldier said...all of those hints point to the country of Valm...Are they going to instigate a war? Can I even trust this dream? That voice at the end, it sounded really familiar...it was light and peaceful...'
Robin thought over her ominous dream before breathing in sharply with realization.
'EMMERYN!'
Robin immediately knew that she could trust the former exalt and began to pack her things. She slipped on her tunic and her cloak and packed most of her tomes and swords away in her bag that she had brought with her two years ago. She also packed two separate boxes had beautiful labels on them saying Morgan and Melody. Inside each she put a cloak that was exactly identical to her own, a tome filled with all the spells that Robin knew, and several other clothes and tomes. Robin guessed that if the Valamese were as powerful as her dream indicated then she would be gone for a while so she wanted to leave behind a part of her for her children. Robin hated that she had to leave them but told herself that she was doing this to protect them.
She carefully took off her precious ring and earrings that Chrom had given to her. She put the ring into Morgan's box and slipped the earrings into Melody's box. Robin hoped that her tactical plans and the Shepherds strength would be enough so she could come back alive, but in case she couldn't the ring and earrings would serve as her children's precious momento of her. And a memory of their father as well.
As Robin was packing vulneraries, concoctions, and elixirs into her bag, she felt a tap on her shoulder, and she turned around quickly and came face to face with Kira.
"Robin," Kira said with a confused look on her face. "Where are you going?" Kira asked, and Robin could detect some sadness in her voice.
Robin smiled at Kira and patted her on the head. "Kira...There's somewhere that I need to be. I have to go so I can protect you, Selena, Morgan, Melody, and this village."
Kira sniffled a little bit but nodded bravely at Robin.
Robin stood up and slid the her bag onto her shoulder and she walked over to where Selena was standing in the doorway. She bowed to the woman who had taken care of her for the past two years, the woman who had become like her mother. "Selena, thank you for taking me in and giving me a home." Selena looked stern for a moment before her facade gave way to sadness and Selena threw her arms around Robin. Robin smiled softly and hugged back tightly.
"Selena... I don't want there to be any more wars. But there will always be people looking for such conflict. And that is why I must go."
Robin released Selena slowly and looked at her before continuing. "While I am gone, please..." Her eyes wandered to her twins. "Please take care of Morgan and Melody for me? I can't bring them along... It'd be too dangerous..."
Selena nodded sorrowfully and patted Robin on the shoulders. "Please be careful out there, okay?"
Robin gave a determined nod in return. "I will. I will come back as soon as possible." Robin gestured to the boxes that she had put together. "Give these to Morgan and Melody if...if I don't come back by the time they are ten."
"Robin!" Kira exclaimed. "Don't say that. I know you will return to us. I just know you will."
Robin smiled at the young girl and nodded in agreement. Then she walked over to the cribs were her twins had woken up from the commotion. She picked Morgan up and slowly rocked him back to sleep and kissing him on the head. "I love you Morgan." She did the same with Melody and said, "I love you Melody."
She looked to Selena, Kira, Morgan, and Melody, one last time. "I'm off." And with that she shut the door behind her.
'Chrom, I'm coming back.'
~Chrom~
Chrom slowly marched back to Ylisse, still pondering over the young child that he had seen in that village. Melody had hair that was similar to Robin's but from what Chrom could see there was no visible Brand.
'Sigh...Robin...where are you?'
Another year passed and even though Chrom lead countless searches, he was never able to find Robin. He made it a point to visit that village by the sea a couple more times but he could never locate Melody or the young girl, Kira.
He couldn't find her no matter how far or wide he searched. He could never answer the question that had been in the back of his mind. Chrom couldn't figure out why Robin had decided to leave him.
But, Chrom did not want to hurt anyone on his behalf, and he was certain that Robin would've wanted no less. So he would constantly remind himself of who he should love, not who he wanted to love. He started talking to himself every morning about staying in Ylisse and watching over his family instead of running around everywhere looking for Robin. His family had to be at the forefront of his life because now he had a new member to protect, his daughter, Lucina.
Lucina's brand surfaced a few days after she was born, in her left eye. Chrom felt a grown attachment to his young daughter even if she wasn't created from love. Lucina had a talent of making him smile with that adorable giggle and the cute look in her eyes.
However, one day he was standing in the throne room with Frederick the Wary not far off, and the prince was completely lost in his thoughts.
Chrom still missed Robin, and often thought about her. His heart sank whenever he thought about what could've been his future if he had made different decisions. He missed her sorely. He would give anything to go back to the past to change his life now. The one walking towards him would not be a curly haired brunette but a violet-haired maiden with big, soft brown eyes that always saw through him.
Chrom was shaken from his thoughts when a soldier walked into the throne room.
"Sire, a messenger from Regna Ferox," the soldier reported.
"See them in at once," Chrom said.
The soldier bowed and said, "Yes, milord."
Chrom was very surprised when Raimi walked into the throne room and bowed to him. "Prince Chrom, I come on behalf of Khan Regent Flavia."
"Flavia?" Chrom asked. "Well, this is a surprise. Is something amiss?"
"I fear so milord," Raimi replied. "The khan requests your presence at a summit as soon as you're able."
"What's happened?" Chrom asked concerned.
"Our western neighbors of Valm are no longer acting so neighborly," Raimi said gravely. "The emperor, who they name the Conqueror, has launched warships against us."
"An invasion? Are you certain of this?" Chrom asked, alarmed.
"Yes, milord. The khan hopes to meet with you in Ferox, if it please you," Raimi said.
"What do you make of this, sire?" Frederick asked.
"Ill business to be sure," Chrom said. "Raimi, we will meet with Flavia with once..."
"Chrom..." Sumia said.
Chrom turned around to see his wife standing on the sidelines holding Lucina. "I'd stay with you if I could, Sumia, but we owe Regna Ferox a great debt. I must appraise myself of the facts there before deciding on a course of action."
Sumia smiled warmly at him. "I'm not asking you to stay here with me. I'm saying I'm coming with you."
"B-but Lucina is newly born! She needs her mother now," Chrom protested. Secretly, Chrom would've preferred this summit to be a low key trip. He also wanted a little bit of space for himself and his thoughts.
But Sumia persisted, "Can she not be wet-nursed as you and Lissa were? That is House Ylisse's tradition, is it not? Lucina is a strong child; she takes after her father. The Brand in her left eye is not your only gift to her."
"I'm worried about more than our child. ...I'm worried about you," Chrom dissuaded.
"That's sweet. I'm still coming," Sumia insisted.
Chrom sighed, "... I know better than to argue once your mind is made up."
Lissa chimed in jokingly, "Wow, Sumia sure has you trained well. Whh-kssssh!"
Chrom flinched a little at the whiplash sound his sister made. "Lissa - you're not helping," Chrom said irritated. He obeyed Sumia out of duty, not out of love. He turned to Sumia and said, "Just promise me you'll return at the first sign of danger, Sumia. Lissa and I had Emm of course, but we lost our parents when we were very young. I want Lucina to grow up with her whole family around her."
"I'll be careful," Sumia said. "I promise."
"I will ride ahead and assemble an escort, milord," Frederick said.
Chrom nodded and said, "Thank you, Frederick."
Frederick was just about to leave when a hooded figure entered the room. Chrom stared at the familiar patterns on the cloak and he couldn't believe his eyes.
"I'm quite impressed Chrom. You make a fine ruler. You've come a long way from tending the sheep," the intruder said.
Chrom's breath hitched slightly at the familiar voice. His heart was racing at the familiar tone of the voice who had guided him through all his troubles. The voice that had cried out to him on the battlefield and shouted his name in the dead of the night. The person who would always have the number one spot in his heart. He felt all sorts of emotions being brought to life all at once: happiness, anger, love, hatred, confusion. He felt the wheels of time begin to slowly move for him once again. He struggled to kept his real feelings off of his face and replied wittily, "Ha! Have I truly changed so much?"
The intruder pushed back their hood with their hands, purple waves cascaded down and a pair of brown eyes meet theirs, revealing a face that everyone, especially Chrom, thought they would never see again. Her lips curled into a small smile as her eyes wandered to baby Lucina, "Mmm... In a way, you haven't. But you've grown as a leader and, of course, as a father."
Chrom struggled to remain calm and not run over and kiss those lips that he had wanted for so long. He clenched his fists and said, "I've tried to do my best. My sister left a weighty legacy. I do all I can to live up to it."
Chrom just looked at Robin for a moment as blue eyes beheld brown in a blaze of old passions and new desires.
'Robin...she's back.'
AN: Sorry, cliffhanger! I'm going on a mini vacation this weekend so I didn't have any time to make this chapter any longer. I promise that I will publish more chapters when I get back. Yay! I love this story...but ugh...Chrom...how could you not recognize your own daughter?! Geez! :P