"I think Robin's startin' to come to now."
Even though his body was sore and aching, Robin was glad for that. If anything, it meant that he survived the battle. His eyes remain closed with the tactician tired after the whole ordeal. He could feel the warmth of the blankets that covered him and the smooth comfort of the mattress beneath him. The tactician smiled lightly with joy when he came to the realization that they had managed to find better shelter than a tent and a bedroll for the night. He was tempted to fall back to sleep but there were too many questions left unanswered for him to keep resting.
Robin opened his eyes, finding himself in a dark room with wooden floors and walls. The only light in the room were the candles lit on the stand next to his bed and the light of the full moon coming in from the window that stood between his bed and another bed. Casting a glance over to the other bed, the tactician was surprised to see Lon'qu, similarly covered in blankets with his eyes closed. He recalled briefly that the warrior had rushed off ahead to fight the Risen's leader, but never suspected that the fight would prove to be too much for him.
Finally, Robin turned to face Donnel, who watched him expectantly but otherwise remained silent. He was sitting down on a wooden chair with another one placed right next to it. If he had to take a guess, Kellam was here too, likely waiting on their patient to wake up. Slowly, the tactician sat up, groaning in pain as he did so, but waved Donnel aside when he tried to stop him.
"Where's Chrom?" Robin asked through gritted teeth.
"He's sleepin'," Donnel answered. "It's the wee hours of night. Everyone's sleepin'. But he was waitin' for ya to wake up for hours. When Frederick pulled him and Lissa away, he ordered me and Kellam to wait for ya to get up."
"Thanks for that," Robin leaned up against the wall. "Kellam, it's good to see you weren't injured during that battle."
"Actually, I'm thinkin' that he gone took off," Donnel looked at the empty seat. "I said my throat was gettin' parched, so he left to get drinks. Haven't seen him since."
"That's Kellam for you," Robin grinned. "Could you give me an update on what I missed while I was out?"
"Sure can do!" Donnel smiled. "Turns out that the one fellah that got ya was the leader. Took care of both ya and Lon'qu over there before finally Frederick finally landed a killin' blow."
"Had my sword remained intact during the battle, it would have fallen to my blade," Lon'qu told them from across the room, eyes still closed.
"I'm guessing that after all the battles we fought in, our weapons may not be too reliable anymore," Robin commented.
"Chrom had that exact same thought, which is why the Shepherds are gettin' new gear here in town," Donnel told him. "I'm gettin' a new and shiny lance tomorrow!"
"Good to hear," Robin smiled. "So, I can already guess that Chrom managed to talk his way into letting the town accept us. What about the people outside of the walls when the Risen attacked?"
"They're all safe thanks to our fliers," Donnel revealed. "Sumia and Cordelia make for a great team. Chrom demanded that they stay here for as long as they want to. Bad thing is that we're only stayin' for two days for you two to recover."
"That'll be enough," Lon'qu told them.
"I don't imagine Chrom's too happy about the delay though," Robin sighed. "Can't say I blame him with Gangrel invading Ylisse as we speak."
"He was steamin' mad, but I'm thinkin' once he sees you up and walkin' here soon, he'll be fine," Donnel yawned. "Well, I'm startin' to get tuckered out."
"Get some sleep then," Robin ordered, taking a glance at the night stand to see a cup of tea that was not there before. "The both of you. If Chrom gives you any trouble, tell him it was my idea."
"Sure thing, partner," Donnel yawned again, standing up. "See ya when the sun comes out in just a few hours. Everyone will be wantin' to see ya then. Oh, and I almost forgot. Some of us put together a get well soon package. Right underneath the bed. Hope ya like it."
With that, Donnel walked out of the room, closing the door behind him. However, the door opened once more and closed, although no one saw if anyone entered or left it. Robin reached for the cup placed on the nightstand, taking a sip from the sweet brewed tea. He sat the cup down and looked down at the floor, seeing a basket had been prepared and was partially underneath his bed. Carefully, he picked it up from the ground, setting it down on his lap.
Robin smiled when he saw that most of the contents were books. Stacked on top of each other and wrapped together. He recognized the title to be the first book in a popular fiction trilogy. Although he normally was not too big on fictional book series, he figured that he needed something to read while he was on bedrest. He pulled the first book free and flipped it open. Written on the back of the cover page was a note from Sumia, wishing that he would get well soon.
There were two other books that stood alone in the basket. One was incredibly heavy with an incredibly long title that Robin never heard of. Flipping the cover open, he saw that the first page had been written in a long note that expanded from the top of the page to the bottom. The tactician immediately looked at the bottom, seeing Miriel's signature. He closed the book and returned it into the basket. As much as he wanted to read whatever the mage had written for him, he knew that he was going to need a dictionary to translate it.
The final book was one that Robin was familiar with. There were no words that give it a title, only a lightning bolt etched on top of it. He grinned, flipping it open to see the familiar spellwork written on it. After the close encounter with the Risen, the tactician was more than happy enough going back to casting spells. He flipped to the front of the book,seeing no message but a signature from Cordelia. His cheeks burned red while he closed the book, putting it aside.
Finally, there was a somewhat heavy sack at the bottom of the basket, no note on it at all. Taking a peek inside, Robin was surprised to see a large amount of wrapped candies, ranging from chocolate to lollipops. The tactician's stomach grumbled loudly when he gazed upon the food and decided a quick snack would not hurt. After a minute of eating the dark chocolate, he made a mental note to thank Gaius for the candy when he had the chance to.
"Do you want a piece?" Robin asked, glancing over to Lon'qu with a piece of chocolate in hand.
"No," Lon'qu bluntly answered.
"Suit yourself," Robin shrugged, throwing the candy into his mouth and chewing it. "So, did anyone get you anything? You're in as bad of shape as I am."
"Chrom gave me a new assignment," Lon'qu scowled. "I am to become his little sister's bodyguard, effective immediately once I am in suitable condition."
"That's not a bad idea, actually," Robin started to think on it. "Normally, Lissa hates it when people have to protect her in battle, but I think she will take an exception to you."
"She will slow me down in battle," Lon'qu argued.
"Truth be told, I think it will teach you a lesson," Robin told him sternly. "Frederick told me that you rushed off by yourself to confront the leader. Had you waited for him or Chrom to give you back up, we wouldn't be in this room having this talk. The Shepherds need to work together as a team if we're going to succeed in the coming war."
"I understand," Lon'qu sighed out, accepting his fate. "Still, I intend to not hold back on Chrom when we spar next."
"At least wait until you're in Ferox to give yourself time to recover," Robin suggested. "If you want, we could spar together until then."
"You still wish to spar with me?" Lon'qu opened one eye at the tactician in shock. "You wouldn't last long given your state."
"I figured as much, but today, I managed to fight several Risen warriors," Robin revealed. "Your training is helping me."
"But you have much to improve on," Lon'qu sighed. "You let your guard down during a middle of a battle."
"I know, and I hope to never have that happen again," Robin replied.
"Then we shall train when we can stand," Lon'qu told him, closing his eye. "I'm going to sleep."
"Shouldn't we wait a day or two after we stand to give us more time to recover?" Robin questioned, somewhat nervously.
Robin was greeted by silence, Lon'qu drifting away into sleep. He yawned loudly, exhausted as well, but not ready to fall asleep just yet. Instead, he grabbed the first book from the trilogy and started to read. The tactician knew that when the Shepherds moved out and marched away from the town, he would have little time to read. As such, he intended to finish the four books he had to read while he was confined to the bed. With only two days before they departed, he was going to take a little bit of a head start, remembering that tomorrow, the Shepherds would come to check in on him.
A/N: A little bit of a short chapter this week, and honestly, that's not a bad thing. The goal for this chapter was to give a recap on the battle and give a general idea of what's coming next.
Plus, I feel like this was a good chapter to catch up with the other Shepherds. While I am writing this story with the pairing of Robin and Cordelia in mind, I'd like to keep the other Shepherds in mind, whether it's from a single mention to a brief conversation. Part of me feels that I may need to think about the other pairings in the future (Asides from the obvious one, I already settled on the pairings for Chrom and Gaius). Not sure when or how I will decide on that, but I'm writing it down so I won't forget.
Warrior of Six Blades: Having Cordelia save Robin was something I considered doing, but ultimately, but as I played the game and wrote out the chapter, I ended up making the decision to have Frederick step in. Again, sometimes I just need to give another one of the Shepherds their time to shine. Still, with the Shepherds at war with Plegia, I'd be willing to wager that at least one side of the pairing will save the other one battle. Also, I apologize if this chapter was a let down for you since you mentioned looking forward to this, and I wish you the best of luck with your Hard Mode play through (One of these days, I need to step away from Normal).
Until next time.