New AN: As the chapters start to get shorter and shorter... hopefully for the new version all the chapters will be much longer and more detailed.

Old AN: Meh I officially started school on Thursday, cries. I'm sorry that I didn't update in a while but I will definitely try to have a chapter uploaded every saturday. For some reason, the site wasn't letting me into my account for the entire weekend plus half this week. Yay! Thanks for all the reviews and the suggestions that were mentioned. Some of them have given me really good ideas and I'm excited to see where this story goes!

*Disclaimer: I don't own Fire Emblem, Nintendo does. I just use the characters in my creative story.

Chapter Twelve

~Chrom~

'She no longer loves me.'

Chrom felt his heart breaking into a million pieces and he knew that the damage was definitely permanent. The devastating truth that Chrom had been trying to avoid was now crushing him like a huge metal weight.

During the past two years, Chrom was at least able to wake up with a small sliver of hope. He was able to hide his true emotions and his speculations about a better life kept him going. But now, even with the sun shining brightly outside, Chrom felt like he was in a suffocating darkness.

If being only friends was were their relationship had come to, if this is what they were meant to be, Chrom wished that Robin had never returned. At least then, he could still delude himself and fantasize about a life with Robin.

Chrom was confused on what was left for him to do. All he could think of was to lock his heart away, and slap on a cheerful mask and stumble through life as best as he could. He would have to go about life the same way he had done for the past two years without her.

At the break of dawn, Chrom and the Shepherds continued their march to Regna Ferox.

The prince struggled not to trudge along and drag his feet and he kept stealing fleeting glances at Robin. His heart was heavy but he managed to keep his footsteps light and carefree so that no one would notice. Chrom's heart sank even further when he noticed that Robin seemed to be doing just fine without him.

It didn't look like she was struggling to hold her feelings in, instead she was happy as she talked to the rest of the Shepherds.

Had she forgotten about him? About them? About their love? What they had shared on that blissful night, two years ago?

How could she forget? Chrom had tried so hard to forget but he kept thinking about her beautiful purple hair and her soft skin. He could never forget the pleasure that he had felt that night, how whole and complete he felt when he was with her. She had just left him, even after all that they had shared. And now that she was back, the only thing she has to tell him -

...she tells him that she no longer loves him...

'She no longer loves me...But...I still love her...I love her...I will never stop loving her...'

He cursed himself for being so stupid and not noticing that Robin had actually loved him back the entire time that he had wanted her. He had been blind to Robin's feelings and he had tried to ignore his own, for the sake of duty. Now, the gods had seen fit to punish him cruelly, so that he would never have his love reciprocated. He would never be able to live his life out with her. He could never call her his own, no matter how much he wanted to hold her tight and never let go.

He could have called her had her, it would have been a small chance, but he could've had her, if he had made different choices. And he truly wanted to, this desire of his consumed his entire being.

Chrom then decided, that even if they no longer had anything, he wanted to continue to love her from far away, because that was all there was left.

It did not matter that she did not love him. He would love her enough for both of them. Chrom also confirmed that he would never be able to love another like he loved her.

Chrom ahd been so lost in his thoughts that by this time the Shepherds had arrived in Regna Ferox. Chrom entered the throne room with Sumia, Robin, and Frederick by his side. The rest of the Shepherds waited in another room until the summit was over.

As Chrom approached Khan Flavia he said, "I apologize I could not come sooner, Flavia."

"What matters is you are here, Chrom," Flavia replied with a smile.

"Is it true Valmese warships have set sail?" Chrom asked. "What can you tell us?"

"Not much more than that, I'm afraid," Khan Flavia said, shaking her head. "The details remain hazy. Just a moment... Oaf! ...Where are you, you big, bald - Chrom is here!"

"Ah! Well met, boy. I knew you'd come," Khan Basilio said, as he entered the room. "We have someone you should hear from. I believe you've met? He claims to have insight on Valm's intentions."

Chrom wondered who the man could be, but was very shocked when Virion walked through the door with a red haired woman following behind. Virion had departed on an errand shortly after Robin's return and didn't march with the Shepherds. Chrom had asked where he was going but Virion just assured the prince that he would be present when the Shepherds needed to fight again. But Chrom never expected Virion to be the one with the inside information on Valm.

"Good day, lords and ladies. How fare you all?" Virion said with a smile. "Allow me the greatest pleasure, and indeed honor, of introducing myself..."

"We all know who you are, Virion," Chrom said, flatly. "Although I don't believe we've met your companion?"

"Hmph! You know nothing! Prepare for my great unmasking!" Virion said dramatically, ignoring Chrom's question. "Long have I posed as archest of archers! Yet that was but a ruse! Yea, an artifice, to disguise myself as a mere above-average man. In truth, I am -"

Virion's red haired companion cut him off, by clearing her throat and saying, "May I present, Duke Virion. I am his humble servant, Cherche. Greetings, sire. You honor us with your presence."

"Cherche!" Virion exclaimed, waving his arms dramatically and staring at her exasperatingly. "You stole me moment!"

"A pleasure, Cherche," Chrom said, ignoring Virion for the moment. "Perhaps you could speak on your master's behalf?"

"That may speed things along, yes..." Cherche said.

"Then please. Time is of essence," Chrom replied.

"Very well, then," Cherche said with a nod. "First, concerning our origins... We hail from Rosanne, a fertile territory on the continent of Valm. Milord is the head of House Virion, and the rightful ruler of Rosanne. A fact he often reminds us of - and loudly."

"Ha! Is she not a true wit?" Virion said with a small laugh. "She gets it all from me, you know."

"So what brings a noble and his charge all the way across the long sea?" Chrom asked.

"The Valmese. Theirs was an unremarkable nation once. Tiny, almost pitifully so," Virion answered. "Had our continent not shared its name, you might almost have forgotten it existed. And so Valm might have remained, if not for Walhart the Conqueror. One by one, he has taken the surrounding realms into his growing empire. I had no choice but to ru... Er, that is to, RECRUIT new allies to aid my people. That's why I've come."

"...You fled for your life," Chrom said.

"More or less, yes," Cherche said, sadly.

"While milord hastily gathered his valuables and guided his people out to safety... I alone remained to keep an eye on the Valmese crisis. I was there as Rosanne was swallowed up by Emperor Walhart's overwhelming forces. In the end, I, too, fled here to Regna Ferox, seeking asylum."

"To my great relief, I might add!" Virion said with a smile. "Eligible woman are one of Rosanne's most precious natural resources! It would be a shame to waste any, even one who cuts off her lord and ma-"

"*Ahem!* As I was saying..." Cherche interrupted again.

"Yes, yes, all right, it was only a jape!" Virion said. "Please, by all means, you may con-"

"So, begging your pardons, but perhaps it is time to cut this long story short: Walhart has conquered our continent and now he seeks to conquer yours," Cherche summed up grimly.

"She claims the Valmese fleet will be at our shores in a matter of days," Khan Basilio added. "We'll know soon enough if her story proves true."

"I speak only what I know for true, good people," Cherche said. "As does my lord. ...At least, with respect to this matter."

"There's that wit of yours again! Aha! That wonderful...needling, chafing wit," Virion said.

"I believe you both," Chrom assured.

"You should know that Valm has the strongest cavalry in the world," Virion pointed out. "You will want to station troops with experience in fighting mounted troops."

"Why, Virion, are you volunteering?" Chrom asked.

"Ha ha! But of course!" Virion said. "The Shepherds will need the archest of archers to back them up."

~Robin~

Robin threw herself recklessly into the heat of the battle at Port Ferox in order to support their newest addition, Cherche, and to make sure that her dream didn't occur. She fended off any enemies that got too close to wyvern rider and weakened them just enough so the red haired female could finish them off. Robin wanted Cherche to be trained to the same level as the rest of the Shepherds as soon as possible so she was working really hard.

However, Robin knew she and Cherche were in trouble when they became surrounded by many different enemies. She noticed the cavalier that she had seen in her dream and smiled to herself. She would take him out before he had a chance to hurt Chrom.

"Cherche! Fly back towards the main group and assist them in getting over here! I can handle these guys!" Robin shouted.

"Are you sure?" Cherche asked.

"Yes, I can do this," Robin said.

As Cherche fly away on Minerva, Robin began chanting her most powerful thunderspell. She would only get one shot with this, because it would spend all of her mana reserves.

"MJOLNIR!" Robin screamed and all of her enemies turned to ashes immediately from the power of the shock. Robin collapsed to the ground out of the exhaustion and paled even more when she noticed an archer not far away.

'Argh! A critical! I'm done for! Must get up...no strength...'

"ROBIN!" Robin turned toward the person who had shouted her name and saw Chrom was fighting his way over to her. Robin breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that Chrom had a little blood scattered on his clothes but it didn't look like his.

Then Robin remembered the archer and braced herself for the pain of the sharp arrow as it left the archer's bow. Instead she heard a metallic clang and then she was pulled against something strong and warm. Robin opened her eyes and saw that Chrom blocked the archer's arrow and was holding her close to his chest. She tried to pull away out of extreme embarrassment, but Chrom wouldn't let her. Robin's heart was beating insanely fast due to her proximity to the prince. She could smell his familiar scent, and feel his toned chest through his clothes. She tried again to pull away and compose herself, but Chrom held her there and sheltered her with his cape until he killed all immediate threats.

"Robin." Chrom said.

Robin gasped a little bit and quietly looked up at Chrom. She tried to say something to Chrom but her heart wouldn't stop pounding and Robin couldn't stop staring at Chrom's lips.

'Robin... This is not the time! You are on a battlefield...Answer him...And stop staring at his lips!'

"Y-yes?" Robin asked with a small stutter, and she mentally kicked herself.

'That was the best you could do? Really?!'

"Here." Chrom said flatly, handing her an elixir bottle that would restore her mana and a disposable tome just in case.

"Oh..." Robin said, taking it without hesitation and felt a pang of sadness for a minute. The only link left between them was simply: commander and tactician. Nothing less. And definitely nothing more. She had told him as much the night before. Robin was about to thank him, but he had already started walking away to dive back into the fight.

Robin felt a huge mixture of emotions. Regret, sadness, longing, but mostly forlornness and affection stirred her heart.

'Thanks Chrom...'

The rest of the battle was won pretty quickly and Robin went around checking on the Shepherds for any major injuries and thinking the entire time on how she could improve her plans.

Robin was positive the war had only just begun so she wanted to have strategies ready in advance. These soldiers had given the Shepherds some difficulty and Robin wanted to make it so that winning these battles would be easy.

Robin made her way over to Chrom as the tired Shepherds and Feroxi soldiers started to regroup. "Chrom, is that all of them?"

Chrom glanced at her quickly before snapping his eyes back to Lissa, whom he was examining for injuries. She had just begun her training to be a Sage and this was her first difficult battle. "Yes, but victory's come with a price."

Robin noticed that Sumia was standing by Chrom's side rubbing his shoulders. She felt a pang in her heart at the intimate scene but she told herself that this was for the best.

~Chrom~

Khan Basilio came over and said dejectedly, "The town is in shambles, as is my army."

Frederick, who was standing nearby said with concern, "This is most troubling news. Feroxi soldiers are the finest east of the long sea. If they are having trouble, we are ALL in trouble."

Khan Flavia huffed and said, "That's not the half of it. This was just the vanguard - but a taste of the meal yet to come."

Khan Basilio continued. "And once it arrives, their host will wash over the whole continent in weeks. There's no way we could repel them and defend our people. It would be a slaughter."

Chrom rubbed his chin thoughtfully and looked up to meet everyone's eyes. "Ylisse is no better equipped to handle an attack from the sea..." Chrom's eyes reluctantly drifted over to Robin. "Robin, what do you suggest?"

Robin answered him after a moment of thinking, "Hmm... Their greatest strength is calvary, which puts us at a disadvantage...on land. But if we were to catch them at SEA..."

Her new words, caught Chrom completely off guard, "But how?! Ylisse has no warships, nor does Ferox."

~Robin~

Chrom had never objected to her ideas so strongly before. Robin wondered if it was because he was trying to distance himself from her. For some reason, this hurt Robin way more than it did to see Sumia standing by his side.

Thankfully, Khan Basilio started talking, unawaringly breaking the tension. "So we'd need aid from a kingdom that does..."

Flavia asked incredulously, "You have someplace in mind, oaf?"

"Perhaps a land that borders the sea, with enough wealth to afford this campaign?"

Robin caught on after a while. "Plegia!"

Chrom immediately shook his head firmly. "No. Absolutely not. Out of the question."

"They have gold, boy! Countless ships! And more importantly, we have a fart's chance in the wind without them," Khan Basilio said firmly.

"The oaf is right... Crude, but right. There's only one path forward," Flavia added.

Robin knew that he hated this idea, but she also knew that it was a necessary course of action if they were going to protect Ylisse against the Valmese.

'And Morgan. Melody. Kira. Selena. I have to win this war.'

So as his tactician, Robin was going to have to stress the importance of this action. "Chrom, will you reconsider?"

~Chrom~

'This is a horrible idea...I know that it is necessary for the war...but still...'

Chrom weighed his options one more time. He knew the Khans were right, they needed Plegia's ships and gold to even stand a chance against the Valmese. But they had just finished a war with Plegia and Chrom didn't want to stir up more trouble with that nation unless he had to. He looked at Robin once more and found her beautiful brown eyes staring at him with fierce determination.

"Very well..." Chrom relented under that strong gaze. "Send a messenger and request a summit immediately. Let us pray this new king is more reasonable than their last."

Robin looked at him for a little while longer before replying, "Indeed." Then she looked away. Chrom started to walk off with Sumia at his side as he tried to persuade her to stay home with the baby Lucina.

~Robin~

Robin started walking behind the couple, intending to retire to her tent for the night and then she noticed Khan Flavia walked next to her. Flavia said, "You know, Robin... For your first time against Valmese forces, that was an impressive victory. You and Chrom have both grown a lot lately. You should be proud."

Robin did her best to smile even though the comment stung a little. "Thank you, Flavia." The Khan nodded and then went over to Basilio to help him organize the Feroxi soldiers.

Robin looked ahead of her and saw Chrom and Sumia talking to each other urgently about something.

'Yes... We have grown...Grown far apart...'

AN: So here's this chapter. the longer chapter's should start this saturday. Entrance of Lucina, the twins, and then the rest of the future children. I can't wait! See you then! :)