"And that should be it," Robin looked over his notes. Fortunately for him, Lucina took her new role incredibly seriously and even took care of some things before he brought them up. Despite only being a week into her reign, Lucina had taken the reigns of the halidom with dexterity.
Lucina did not reply right away and instead looked over the former tactician before speaking, "Robin, when was the last time you got a full night's rest?"
Robin was suddenly very aware of how tired he felt and probably looked, "I, well, I'm still capable of performing my duties."
"That was not the question," Lucina replied sternly.
"I…about a month."
"Robin," Lucina was clearly unpleased with the answer no matter how hypocritic it may have been, "Go get some sleep. That's an order from your monarch as well as a request from a friend."
"Very well," Robin moved to pick up his notes, but Lucina beat him to it with a hand over the top of the papers.
"Leave them. I'll have them sent to your office."
"If you insist," Robin answered and got up to head to his room. Though he was not sure what he would do when he got there. Sleep just served as a time for unpleasant thoughts to fester more often than not as of late.
Robin stretched after a fairly restless night. It had gone about as well as he had expected it to. Still, maybe it would appease Lucina. He drowsily got dressed and prepared for his day. First things first, he made for his office. Hopefully Lucina had remembered to send those documents down.
He opened the door to his office but stopped in his tracks upon seeing someone else walking around.
"Who are you?" Robin asked the strange man shuffling around his office.
"Hmm?" The other man stopped and looked at Robin, "Oh, greetings. I am your temporary replacement."
"'Replacement?'" Robin raised his brow.
"Temporary replacement. Only while you are on leave I assure you."
"'Leave?'" Robin was not following.
"Yes, and I must admit that, judging from what I've gone through so far, a very well deserved one."
Robin did not answer and made for the door, "Er, sir?" The man flinched as the door shut behind him.
Lucina looked up as her door opened to reveal Robin, but he did not look too happy. Lucina internally sighed and prepared herself.
"'Leave?'" Robin asked incredulously.
"Yes, Robin," Lucina responded calmly, "You were working yourself to the bone. Take a week off and relax."
"I can still work!"
"Robin, I don't need you exhausted."
"What about you? When was the last time you had a full night's sleep?"
Lucina was taken aback by the outburst, but she also found it a bit refreshing. He had not been so open with her in weeks. "Robin, I–"
"No, I'm sorry," Robin deflated, "I guess I am a little on edge."
"It's no problem, Robin," Lucina was almost upset that he retreated once again, "Just, please, take some time to yourself. I'm sure that the clerical work will be fine while you are gone. The halidom will not disappear in a week's time."
"Right," Robin replied softly, "I can, uh, catch up on some reading."
Lucina smiled, "That's more like it. Take some time to yourself, and come back refreshed."
"Maybe a vacation would be okay," Robin slowly left, and once he was out of her office he stared at the ceiling. What was he supposed to do? He supposed he had a week to figure it out.
Robin stared at the stack of books he had finished in the past three days. Though he might be hard pressed to give a summary of any of them. His idle mind was a playground for troubling thoughts. He eventually decided that he needed to get out of the castle. He had not been to town for a while, so he grabbed his coat and decided to go for a stroll.
The outside air was somewhat refreshing he had to admit. It was nice getting out and just walking amongst the people. He eventually found himself in an unfamiliar part of town though after walking while lost in thought.
He spent several minutes trying to retrace his steps. However, he noticed a group of shady figures gathering around him taking care to keep their faces hidden. What a day to leave his sword at the castle.
Robin managed to get a few good punches off, but a trained hand to hand combatant he was not. That fact combined with being outnumbered meant that he went down fast. They quickly swarmed him and started kicking him, but it was fortunately shortlived as a commotion drove the ruffians away. That was the last thing he remembered before he lost consciousness.
When he came to, he was in the infirmary of the castle with a nurse doing a final check to make sure he was patched up. Looking over to the right, he saw Frederick was standing ever vigilant by the door.
"What happened?" Robin groaned as he sat up. The healers had done a good job, but he was still a bit sore.
"You were assaulted in the streets," Frederick supplied, "Fortunately, your guard was able to intervene before any serious damage occurred."
"I wasn't aware I had a guard."
"Her majesty assigned them."
Of course she did. Overly cautious to the end. Not that he was complaining.
"Any idea why I was attacked?" He was no expert, but that did not seem like just some mugging. To corroborate his point, Frederick appeared uneasy as if trying to decide whether or not to tell him.
"It seems that your relationship with the Exalt has garnered some…distaste in the halidom."
"Explain."
The knight shuffled ever so slightly, "Your quick rise to your current position is seen as…convenient. Some are also concerned that you are getting too close to her Majesty. Add in the fact that neither of you were present on the late Exalt's ill-fated trip and your heritage, and some are rather unhappy with your position. Especially with how…close some see you as to the new Exalt. More so in the nobility."
"I see," Robin considered it. He should have imagined something like this might come up, "So they think I killed them and kept Lucina around so that I could take the throne by proxy if nothing else. Is that about it?"
"Essentially," Frederick replied curtly.
"Have you informed Lucina?"
"I have sent word to her about your condition, but I left out the more sensitive issues."
"Good. That'd just make her worry more. Thank–" Robin was interrupted by the door to the infirmary being quickly pushed aside.
"Robin!" Lucina stormed in, "What happened?"
"I had a slight run in with some less than happy people."
"How could anyone just assault a man in the streets?" Lucina declared in outrage, "Are you okay?" She started to look him over.
"I'm fine," Robin held his hands up, "Your guards came through. Thanks for that, by the way."
"I'll have to make sure you have extra security. Why would someone attack you?"
"Give us a moment," With a nod, Frederick left and the nurse got the message and joined him.
With them alone, Robin sighed, "I think I should step down."
"What? Why?"
"Well, it doesn't seem to do you any favors for one. People think I'm climbing too high too fast. People might think that you are giving me too much special treatment."
"Is that…why you were attacked?"
Robin sighed again and nodded, "I've ascended from stranger your father found on the side of the road to one of the most influential positions in the land. Keep in mind that until not too long ago, I was wearing the insignia of our would-be destroyer. Not to mention that some find it…convenient that I did not go on the trip."
"'Convenient?'"
"They think that I may have had something to do it."
"What!? That's preposterous!"
"Nevertheless, it's what some people think."
"I…don't want to cause you trouble," Lucina looked down in dejection, "If this is what you want though, I will not oppose it. I'm sorry. I never meant for this to happen."
It broke Robin's heart to see Lucina like this, "It's not your fault."
"I'm sorry," Lucina corrected her posture, "I should not act like that."
"I won't fault you for show emotion. It's okay to let it out," Robin was keenly aware of the hypocrisy of his own statement.
"I…no, I am Exalt now."
"Let me tell you something," Robin started, "Exalt does not mean inhuman. It may be your job to appear larger than life, but you do not have to bear it all alone."
"I…I'm not used to being open with others," Lucina confessed, "In truth, outside of my parents, you are the only one I've been very open with."
"Then you can be open," Alarms sounded in his mind, but he silenced them.
"I would not want to make you uncomfortable."
"It's no bother. I'm here, for whatever you need."
"Well," Lucina hesitated one last time before giving in, and for the first time since the incident, she was completely open with someone. They talked for what seemed like hours about her doubts, fears, and concerns before Lucina insisted on eating lunch with Robin.
"Lucina," Robin started after he finished his meal, "I was thinking, and, maybe, I don't need to quit."
"Really?"
"Yeah," Robin continued, "Just, maybe I should stay out of public view. For both our sakes."
"That seems reasonable," Lucina smiled and Robin knew he was in trouble.
A/N: How do you, the readers, feel about the longer wait for these chapters? Do you feel the wait is worth it for what you get?
Also, I got the idea in my head of Lucina giving Robin the stink eye every time Robin pulled ahead in the gauntlet. Just a fun little thing for Lucina as her mom. Maybe I should write a one shot. Either way, go Morgan!