And we're back!
Does anyone even care about Awakening with 3 Houses upon us? Well I sure do! Will probably be pumping out Awakening stories well into the next few FE release. ...Once I'm done this one, that is. Hopefully it won't actually take until the next FE release...
Anyway, I've noticed some of you mentioning how we've been really pushing that T rating with the last few chapters. Yeah, that's certainly something, isn't it? I feel like I'll have to bump the rating of this thing to M for what I have in mind later on. Well, that, or make some M rated side chapters. I don't know. But for now we'll have to content ourselves with implications!
Also I've been debating whether to release this chapter now or save it for later. There were two branches I was playing with and how it could've gone, but I ultimately decided to get it over with now. While it does close some avenues, it also opens others. You'll see what I'm talking about once you get to the end.
To all of you who are still here, thank you for your patience, reviews and continued readership! I aim to not have such a long gap between the next chapter. Hopefully.
I hope you enjoy the chapter!
There were few things in life Robin loved more than his coat. In fact, if you asked him this question before, the answer would've been that there was nothing he loved more than his coat. There were things he liked as much as his coat, chief among them being his friends and Sumia's pies, but that was about it.
Robin's coat was probably the nearest and dearest thing he had, and not only because it was a remnant of whatever his past was. The coat was also cool, stylish, and kept him safe from enemy magic. And as the thing that defined him and literally saved his life on more than one occasion, Robin made sure to keep his coat safe, clean, and tidy. It wasn't for nothing he spent the best part of two years putting layers of protective magics and regenerative spells on his coat. On top of increasing its already helpful protective magical properties, he also made it so it wouldn't suffer wear and tear!
So…yes. The coat was very important. Possibly the most important!
And that remained true right up until Morgan burst into his life. Although to be fair, Morgan being the most important thing in Robin's life didn't mean that his coat was any less important than it was before. It just meant that his daughter was of greater importance.
So even with the appearance of a beloved daughter he never knew he had or wanted, the coat still occupied a very important place in Robin's life and he would be very upset if someone was to mess with it!
…Of course, there were always exceptions.
"Robin, I…I…"
And as he looked at Sumia's almost-on-the-verge-of-tears face, Robin felt whatever anger he would have had be instantly replaced with an overwhelming sense of trying to make her feel better. There were few things in life sadder than a sad Sumia. That went double for a crying Sumia.
So despite how his coat was a total mess, Robin tried desperately to comfort Sumia instead of yelling at her.
So that's where they were now. After having prevented a disaster (ie. Sumia crying), Robin and Sumia both stood at the edge of camp, waiting for Anna.
"Robin—"
"No, Sumia. I already told you it wasn't your fault."
"B-but—"
"It was an accident."
"But I ruined your favorite coat…"
"It was an accident," Robin repeated firmly. "I mean, sure, you spilled soup and grease and stuff all over my coat that I literally killed men over much lesser coat-related crimes, but at least the damage isn't permanent…? At least I sure as hell hope not."
Sumia looked down guiltily.
"Of course it's not!" Robin said quickly, seeing her crestfallen expression. "That's why we're here! We'll just give this thing to Anna for cleaning and she'll bring it back good as new and better than before and it'll be like all of this never happened! All I need to do is wait it out. Without my coat. Alone…"
"…Robin, how do you manage to put up with me for so long…?"
"Hm?"
"I'm basically a walking disaster area. As long as I can remember, I've been clumsier than everyone else around me. Despite how much I want to help others and how hard I try, more often than not I make things worse and create more work and trouble for everyone. Especially you."
"Me?"
Sumia nodded, not meeting his eyes. "We've spent so much time together and got to know each other. You know how often I mess up more than others, mostly because I mess up really badly around you! Whether it's tripping on you or burying you under boxes I'm carrying or even ruining your favorite coat, you're usually the one on the wrong end when things go wrong because of me. I even seriously hurt you a few times! After all of that, you still choose to spend time with me. I'd have thought after the first few instances you'd have gone as far as possible…"
"Hey, come on…" Robin wrapped one arm around Sumia. "You're not that bad."
"Robin, I landed you in the medical tent on more than one occasion."
"Well, yeah, but you don't really think something as petty as that will drive me away from you, do you?"
"Robin…"
"Besides, you've saved my life countless times on the battlefield. That has to count for something, right?"
"I was only doing my job. And you saved me more times than I can count out there…"
"Hey, come on…" Robin said softly, rubbing her shoulder. "I'm not going anywhere, yeah? You're one of my best friends. I care a lot about you and I can definitely say that I'm not going to leave you anytime soon. So don't fret, okay? I'm neither angry or upset."
"Robin, sometimes I feel you're too good to me…"
"I don't even know what that even means. All I know is that you deserve happiness and only the best. And I think I'm pretty close to that! So please don't be sad, Sumia. Please? It makes me so sad to see you so…"
Sumia finally looked up and met Robin's eyes.
"You're one of my best friends," he repeated gently. "Me leaving you is basically like me ditching Chrom."
"...Thank you, Robin," Sumia mumbled. "For your words, for being my friend, for putting up with me…"
"Hey…" Robin wrapped his hands around Sumia and pulled her into a hug. "I enjoy spending time with you, okay? It'll take a lot more than some silly accidents to get rid of me!"
Sumia leaned into his chest. "I'm sorry you had to be there to help me with my issues again…"
"Don't apologize, Sumia. Need I remind you how many times you've been there for me when I was dealing with my issues? So thank you for being there and putting up with me all those times. If it'll make you feel any better, we can call it even, okay?"
Sumia laughed softly. "If you insist."
"I'd actually say your help in preventing several nervous breakdowns on my part counts more than what I do, but sure. Let's call it even." Robin smiled and stepped back. "Feeling better?"
"Yes. Thank you, Robin." Sumia smiled. "You always seem to know exactly what to say to make me feel better."
"I like to think I've had enough practice to become somewhat of an expert in the field."
"And I appreciate it."
Robin breathed an internal sigh of relief. It seemed he had avoided another close call by bringing Sumia back from the brink of tears. Robin honestly didn't know what he would've done if Sumia started crying. Even the thought of it made his heart hurt. A crying Sumia was possibly the saddest thing in the world.
"Ah, there you are!"
Robin and Sumia turned to see Anna making her way to them.
"What was so urgent you had to drag me down here in the middle of nowhere so quickly?" demanded the merchant. "I got a business to run and people to see, you know!"
"And I would hope that you'd see us first of all, given that we're, you know, your best customers and all," Robin remarked curtly.
"Okay, someone's not in the mood…" Anna muttered under her breath before putting up her best saleswoman smile. "So what's this emergency, then?"
"This," Robin said, handing her his coat.
"This is…you coat."
"Yes."
"With what seems to be some very nasty-looking stains on it. A lot of them, too."
Sumia looked down guiltily.
"An astute observation," Robin said.
"So why are you giving this to me, then?" asked Anna. "If I recall correctly, your coat is maybe your most important possession, at least based on how much you talk about it."
"Another astute observation. Yes, I take pride in my coat and treasure it greatly."
"And you're giving me it full of stains because…?"
"Because I heard you have a cleaning business running, yes? Used to taking and cleaning the clothes of nobles and other people in important positions with fancy clothes and such?"
Anna's face lit up. "You heard correctly! Our business spans many sectors, including cleaning clothes of the rich and powerful. Although it's a new venture for me and my sisters, we've already established a reputation for quality! It's guaranteed or your money back!"
"Good. That's just what I need to hear. And that's why I'm entrusting my most prized possession to you. I want you to do your magic and make my coat look as good as new."
"You got it, hon. Although it looks like a big job with all these different stains. I already see some of them requiring more than our usual efforts. It'll cost extra."
"That's fine. Oh, speaking of," Robin said, reaching back and passing a large pile of documents to Anna. "Here."
"What's this?"
"This is the separate contract that I am hiring you under for this particular job."
Anna quickly flipped through the pages. "But the vast majority of this beefy document seems to be penalty clauses and what happens if we fail to deliver…or damage your coat."
"Yes."
"…Why do you think I would ever agree to abide by this? It seems you'll claim highly unreasonable damages if we even miss one puny stain on your coat!"
"Do you see how much I'm willing to pay you for this one simple job?"
Anna flipped through more pages. Her eyes then widened as she looked up at Robin in disbelief.
"That's right," Robin said simply. "And you know it's serious because that's money I'm paying you out of my own pocket."
"That's certainly a lot of zeroes…"
"It is. And as a gesture of goodwill…" Robin picked up a small chest and presented it to Anna. "Here."
"What's this?" Anna opened the lid to see it filled with gold coins.
"Consider it a deposit," Robin said. "I'm giving you a third of the price right now, up front, to encourage you to take the job."
"Holy mother of—"
"And to return my coat in nothing short of the condition as stipulated in the contract," Robin continued, pulling the chest away from Anna's grasp. "Or face all the penalties."
A brief look of uncertainty flashed in Anna's eyes as she gazed at the contract in her hand. "Those are some serious consequences…but the reward…"
"You said yourself you guys are really good, right? So provided you're not exaggerating your sales pitch, you shouldn't have anything to worry about. Just get me my coat in clean and pristine condition and I'll pay you the rest of the fee."
"Of course we're good! I said we offer a money back guarantee if you're unsatisfied, didn't I?" Anna exclaimed, sounding almost insulted. "Do you know how serious that is for us?"
"Then do you have a deal?"
Anna looked at the contract, at the coins in the chest, at the coat, then back at the contract.
"The things I do for money…" She took out a pen and signed at the dotted line. "There."
"Wonderful! Here is my deposit, as promised." Robin took the contract and handed over the chest to Anna. "I look forward to receiving my coat free of stains and other imperfections."
"I can guarantee it!"
"I know. You haven't let me down before and I don't expect you'll start now."
"Right. Well I guess I'll be off to get this bad boy all nice and clean. I'll have it back to you soonish."
"Take your time. I'd rather you do the job well than fast. Although I'd also appreciate if you could hand it back to me before we take on Walhart."
Robin waved as Anna waltzed off to wherever she conducted her business.
"Wow. Is that how you conduct all your negotiations with Anna?" Sumia asked.
"Not really. I usually let Cordelia handle the negotiations because I get a bit too easily distracted by Anna trying to sell me shiny new things. But when my coat's on the line, I'm not tolerating excuses or distractions."
"You sure were assertive…" Sumia looked at Robin with admiration.
"Like I said, coat's on the line. Not going to let Anna pull her usual business in these circumstances."
"O-oh. Right."
"But hey, if Anna's as good as she says she is, then my coat will be clean and as good as new! So something to look forward to. It'll just be the waiting that'll be tough…"
"Is there anything I can do to help?"
"I think I'll be okay. Already dropped off all my essentials to Morgan, thank the gods she has some version of my coat with all its pockets, so all my most important possessions are safe in her hand—er, pockets."
"But what will you do in the meantime? I know how much you love your coat, but you can't really go out to fight in just your shirt, can you?"
"Yeah, that's…" Robin looked down at himself, feeling strangely exposed. "I guess I'll just have to find something else to wear for now…even if there isn't anything remotely as cool as my coat…"
"Well, you can think of this as an opportunity to try out different fighting styles!" Sumia suggested.
"But I like my fighting style! Stabbing bad guys with my sword and tossing lightning bolts? That's how I roll! Without that, what am I?"
"I don't see why you still can't do that…"
"It really depends. Have to have something that has enough space and flexibility to keep both my spellbook and my sword. Can't really cast spells if I'm encased in armor, can I? And before you ask, no, I'm not fighting as a knight or any heavy infantry. I kind of pity them, having to move in all that metal."
"Oh. Well, how about…" Sumia thought for a moment before an idea hit. "Oh! I know what you can do that'll be right up your alley!"
"Do tell."
"You know how you always envied Lon'qu?"
"Yeah…" Robin grumbled. "That guy. Thinks he's so cool with his swordsmanship and his fighting style. Do you know he sometimes fights wielding two swords? Two swords! And he probably doesn't even know or care how cool that looks. Man! I wish I could fight with two swords at the same time!"
"Maybe now is your chance to learn."
"What do you mean?"
"With your coat in Anna's possession, you'll have to find something else to wear and possibly change the way you fight in the process. And you yourself said you envy Lon'qu's fighting style. So I thought why not take this opportunity to fight like he does? You've trained with him for a while so you're not starting from scratch. And although nothing will be as cool as you coat—"
"You can say that again…"
"—the outfits swordmasters wear are pretty close, right?"
"Not close, but guess they're an acceptable alternative…"
"Well there you go. And think about it: maybe in the time it takes Anna to clean your coat, you'll learn to fight with two swords just like Lon'qu!"
Robin thought about it.
Sumia did have a point. As much as Robin liked to whine and complain about things, whining and complaining wouldn't bring his coat back or hasten Anna's work in bringing it back. And with no whining or complaining, Robin had no choice but to do something productive with his time, like learning how to be better with swords! After all, Robin always swore that he would brush up on his swordsmanship after watching (or getting his ass kicked in training by) Lon'qu. Lucina too. And Chrom, to a lesser extent, although he managed to actually level his win/loss ratio with Chrom.
"I guess being a cool swordsman like Lon'qu wouldn't be the worst thing in the world…" Robin certainly liked the idea of dual wielding swords. If anything, it was maybe the most badass thing he's witnessed, and he tossed fireballs at bad guys on a daily basis!
The more he thought about it, the more he liked this course of action.
Sumia must've noticed his increasingly excited face.
"I see you're coming around to this idea."
"Well, you do have a good point. Several, in fact. Fighting with two swords was one of my distant goals that I promised I would strive for in my spare time. And while not as good as my coat, I guess the garb swordmasters wear is close enough. Sort of. While I will miss being able to blow guys away with devastating magic spells, I think I can toss small fireballs and stuff without my spellbook. In any event, I'll still have my trusty Levin Sword! So…yes. Great idea, Sumia. Let's try to find some clothes or whatever right now!"
Sumia giggled. "I'm glad to see you're enthusiastic about this."
"Two swords, Sumia. Two. Swords. At the same time! Do you know how cool that is?!"
So after a little searching, some fumbling, and one change of clothes later, Robin managed to don the usual swordmaster garb.
"Well?" he asked, exiting the tent in which he was changing clothes. "How do I look?"
"Dashing. Very cool!" Sumia said approvingly. "Although I think you'd look good in anything…"
"Even that bulky knight's armor?" Robin asked teasingly.
"W-well, it would certainly make you look a lot bulkier…" Sumia cleared her throat and decided to change the subject. "How does it feel compared to your usual clothes?"
"Light. A lot less armor than I'm used to wearing. This is going to get a little getting used to, especially since there's no layers of anti-magic protection…"
"I have the utmost faith in your abilities, Robin. I'm certain you'll get the hang of your new fighting style in no time."
"Here's hoping. And here's also hoping life will be nice enough to give me a few training sessions before throwing enemies at me. Scouts say there aren't any enemies in the immediate vicinity, but knowing my luck…"
"I suppose you'd better get training, then."
"Yeah. Guess I'll start by seeking out Lon'qu."
"Sounds like a plan!" Sumia went silent. "Um, Robin?"
"Yeah?" Robin looked at Sumia's somber expression. "Oh, tell me you're not going to apologize again, Sumia! I already told you it's not your fault."
"I know, but—"
"And you gave me this awesome idea of pursuing my kinda-sorta dream of being a cool sword guy like Lon'qu. If that's not even, I don't know what is."
"I feel that I still owe you, Robin."
"Sumia—"
"Ooh, I know! Why don't I bake you a pie? As my way of truly apologizing?"
"Sumia, I already told you that—"
"I'll even make your favorite."
"Liver-and-eel pie?! Wait, no. Strawberry! Wait, no! Uh…uh…I can't decide!"
"Well it's a good thing I'm making you both."
"Sumia…" Robin wiped the drool from his mouth and tried to put on a serious face. "While your pies are always greatly appreciated, you don't have to—"
"Robin, I know what you said and I appreciate you trying to make me feel better. And you have! But I want to show my appreciation for you being such a patient and kind friend in the face of my mishaps. Ah!" Sumia raised her finger when Robin tried to speak. "I insist. Please let me do this for you. I'll be so sad if I can't."
"…Well I wouldn't want to be the reason you'd be sad. So if it takes you making me some pie, I guess I have no choice but to let you do that," Robin declared dramatically.
Sumia smiled. "Thank you for your generosity, Robin. I'll have your pies ready in no time."
Robin waved Sumia off.
Gods, it felt like forever since Sumia made him one of her special awesome pies! The war kind of ate up everyone's time, especially with them trying to sneak their way into Chon'sin. And while all of Sumia's pies were incredible, she promised to make Robin both his favorites! Gods, Robin was drooling just thinking about it. Although now that pie was on the horizon, Robin would have to spend an unreasonable amount of time thinking up ways to avoid his friends honing in on him and trying to get a piece of pie for themselves, thereby depriving Robin of his hard-earned pie!
"Robin? Is that you?"
The voice snapped Robin out of his premature pie scheming.
"Hey, Luci…na…" Robin trailed off as he turned and saw the princess. "Wow. You look…different."
"I can say the same for you," Lucina replied, looking Robin over. "I had to make sure it was you from a distance. Is there any reason you're not currently wearing your signature coat?"
"Er, through some unforeseen and unfortunate circumstances that were in no way my fault, my coat is currently…indisposed. While I wait for it to be not indisposed, I have decided to switch things up and work on my swordsmanship. Also look the part, too, as you can see from my current getup. And you just so happened to also follow this course of action…?" Robin gestured to Lucina, who was actually also wearing the standard swordmaster clothing.
"Not exactly, no. While training I've noticed that I haven't really done much to adapt my fighting style. Given that we expect a brief lull in the fighting before we decide to tackle Walhart, I figured this would be the best moment to hone my skills and try something new."
"And I guess the most natural route is to expand your sword skills."
Lucina nodded.
"Why the change of clothes, though? Surely your regular clothes are similar enough to keep them?"
"Truthfully, I believe it's about time for a change of clothes. Thinking about it, my Marth attire was the only combat worthy clothing I had."
"What, you never bought yourself new stuff?" Robin asked incredulously.
"It didn't seem all that important in the grand scheme of things. When I tried to buy some casual clothes for myself, I received…strange looks from everyone. I don't know why, but Mother insisted she go with me every time I go shopping."
"…Huh. You know, I don't think I've actually seen you wear anything other than your Marth clothes. Not casual or otherwise."
"I can say the same thing for you. Seeing you wear something other than your coat is…different."
"It sure is…" Robin sighed. "Anyway, it's good to see you expanding your horizons, skills and clothes. The swordmaster outfit suits you."
"Thank you, Robin. Likewise."
"So you just happened to be in the area or what?"
"Ah yes, I was actually looking for you."
"Oh?"
"I was hoping you would do me the honor of teaching me the ways of this new fighting style."
Robin raised a brow. "What, me? I don't know if there's anything I could teach you, to be honest. You're one of the best swordswomen I know. Besides, wouldn't Lon'qu or Say'ri be better suited to teach you the ways of the swordmaster?"
"Perhaps, but I heard that you've studied this fighting style in the past from Lon'qu himself, and then proceeded to teach all you knew to Mother."
"…Oh yeah, I did do that, didn't I?"
"You have. Mother praised your teaching methods and patience, especially since she had next to no combat experience when you began your lessons. Given your track record and Mother's recommendation, I thought you would be the best person for me to ask for training."
"Gods, training Olivia feels like a lifetime ago. But I guess it was a success, wasn't it? Olivia is quite confident out there with the sword. Graceful, too. Okay, sure. I guess my track record does make me the most qualified person to teach you. And hey, since I'm trying to get my swordmaster on, this is a great opportunity for us to learn together!"
"I'm happy to hear that. Where shall we begin?"
"Let's start out with a little sparring match and go from there," Robin suggested, picking up two practice swords. "I believe it's the most practical approach. Should allow me to examine your style and look for areas of improvement as well as my own."
"Very well." Lucina took one of Robin's practice swords and assumed a fighting stance. "Please be honest in your criticism, Robin. I wish to know my deficiencies so that I may improve."
"I'll keep an eye out," Robin said, putting some distance between them before also assuming a fighting stance.
As he was noting Lucina's stance, Robin noticed something…odd. With her new attire and her flowing swordmaster's coat, Lucina wasn't wearing any pants.
Was that normal? Did Say'ri not wear pants also? Why would that be? Robin and Lon'qu wore pants (which Robin quickly confirmed by glancing down at his legs). What was wrong with pants? As it was, Lucina left her legs completely exposed. Her smooth and slender legs which were—
"Robin, are you ready?"
"What? I mean, yes! Just steadying myself…" Robin tore his thoughts (and gaze) away from Lucina's bare legs to take a deep breath and prepare himself for a world of pain (given Lucina's record of not holding back even when sparring). "Right. Ready when you are!"
As soon as the words left his mouth, Lucina lunged.
As a man determined to make all the lovely ladies in the world smile, Inigo knew that presentation was everything. After all, women wouldn't readily say yes to some kind of slob (which is why Inigo made a point to always look his best. You never knew when you'd stumble upon a grateful maiden). And part of what made the presentation better was props! The fancier the prop, the higher the chance that a girl would say yes to a cup of tea. Inigo's usual go-to prop was flowers, since women always appreciate flowers (followed by a compliment or two), but now he had found something much better that would practically guarantee a date!
"Hello there, milady. Might I bother you with a small request? I see you've noticed the ornate sword I have at my side. Why, I'm glad you asked! It's actually an heirloom passed down through my family for generations! They said this is the same blade the Hero-King used long ago to save the realm from evil. Why yes, I am the current one wielding of this legendary blade, thank you for asking. Tea? Milady, I would never—"
"Hoy there, Inigo!"
"Owain, can't you see I'm busy?"
"I see you're busy talking to a tree. What manner of training is this? Oh! Are you trying to hone your mind and connect with the forest spirits? Or perhaps communing with the spirit of the Earth Mother to—"
"What do you want, Owain?" Inigo asked tiredly.
"Nothing much. Just wanted to see how my fair cousin…" Owain trailed off when he saw what Inigo was holding. "…Isn't that Falchion?"
"Why yes, it is. Magnificent blade, isn't it? All gold and shiny. A real head-turner, that's for sure! Certainly enough to start a conversation with some fine ladies, eh?"
"…And Lucina just let you take it, then?"
"Well, not…exactly. I went to talk to her about something but she was sparring with Robin. She did leave Falchion next to her stuff near the training grounds, though."
"Leaving Falchion unattended doesn't sound like something she'd do," Owain remarked.
"Sparring usually doesn't require Falchion," Inigo said, shrugging. "So I thought I'd have a little time with it while Lucina's otherwise occupied."
"And you're using it as, what, a conversation starter?"
"You bet! I'm sure the ladies will be dying to hear the legendary tales of this regal blade and its owner."
"…Lucina is going to kill you once she finds out you're using her beloved Falchion as some kind of prop to help you pick up girls," Owain said plainly.
"Not if I don't return it in time! Besides, didn't you ever want to see Falchion up close?"
"I mean, we talk to Lucina on a daily basis…"
"Yeah, but now you can hold it! The legendary blade of heroes, up to and including the Hero-King himself! Our ancestor! The blade that slew world-threatening dragons and stuff!"
"…Huh. You know what, you're actually right. Lucina keeps such a tight grip on Falchion that I never really got to hold it for myself. I can actually feel the power radiating from the blade…wait, no! Urgh!" Owain suddenly clutched his hand.
"What's wrong?!" Inigo asked, alarmed.
"Blood…boiling…so close to such power…! Down, sword hand! Down, I command thee!"
"Uh…"
"Hey, guys! What's with all the yelling?"
"Ack!" Inigo almost dropped Falchion when he heard the new voice.
"Hey, isn't that Lucina's sword that she always carries with her?" Morgan inquired.
"Why yes it is!" Inigo declared dramatically, quickly recovering from Morgan's surprise appearance. "Catches the eye, doesn't it?"
"It sure does!" Morgan agreed cheerfully. "Kinda weird seeing it out of Lucina's hands since she's the one who usually carries that thing with her all the time. Did she let you have a turn?"
"In a way, yes. I just have to return it to her before she notices it's gone. Anyway!" Inigo quickly made to change the subject. "Quite the impressive, isn't it? All gold and shiny. It's the first thing you noticed when you came up, which means that it's really working!"
"…It's really working at what?"
"Inigo here wants to use our family's precious heirloom as a prop to help him get girls," Owain informed helpfully.
"H-hey, I'm not using it just to help me get girls!" Inigo protested.
"It always goes back to philandering, huh? Guess it's to be expected." Morgan shrugged. "Anyway, what're your plans for that thing?"
"Huh?"
"You know. What're your moves? What can you do with it? You can't really expect to carry around a fancy sword like that and only use it as some kind of showpiece. You gotta have some fancy moves to go along with it!"
"I…er…"
"Morgan's got a point there," Owain agreed sagely. "One can't just carry the sacred blade Falchion without having some awesome super moves ready in the waiting to awe and impress! That'll be like making some really cool names for weapons only to keep them in the storage tent!"
"Don't you name every weapon in the stora—"
"So what kind of moves are you planning to bust out to impress the crowd, Inigo?"
"I…uh…"
Morgan and Owain looked at Inigo expectantly.
"H-hey, you can't just put me on the spot like this!" Inigo protested. "Besides, it's not like I've had practice with Falchion. I don't even know if I can properly wield it!"
"What does that mean? Isn't it a sword just like any other?" Morgan asked.
"Not according to Lucina. Apparently the sword is picky about who can wield it."
"Ah, of course. That makes sense. After all, it wouldn't be a legendary weapon if just anyone could pick it up and use it. It needs some lore as to why only real chosen heroes who are worthy can wield it." Owain nodded approvingly. "That's some really good lore, Inigo! I didn't know you had it in you."
"It's not 'my' lore, Owain, it's true. Well, according to Lucina, anyway."
"…Really?"
"Yep. She says that Falchion can still deem you unworthy even if you have the right blood."
"Jeez, Falchion sounds really picky," Morgan commented. "So what's the criteria you have to meet to be able to properly use it?"
"I…don't really know," Inigo admitted. "Lucina never really explained it to me. All I know is that it found her as well as Father worthy."
"Well then, I guess we know what the criteria is."
"We do?"
"Yep! Based on historical precedent and evidence, I can definitely say for a fact that Falchion's criteria of whether you are worth or not to wield it is based solely on…" Morgan paused for dramatic effect.
Owain and Inigo leaned in.
"Your hair."
"…What?"
"Blue hair, to be exact."
"…Seriously. What?"
"Isn't it obvious? Falchion only picks its users based on blue hair. If you have blue hair, you're guaranteed to be worthy!" Morgan said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"But…that doesn't make any sense," Owain felt compelled to point out.
"Doesn't it? Well let's take a look at the historical evidence, then. The Hero-King? Used Falchion, blue hair. Chrom? Uses Falchion, also blue hair. Lucina? Uses Falchion, and, what a twist! Also blue hair. So based on indisputable historical data, I can safely conclude that the ability to use Falchion is directly tied to one's ability of having blue hair," Morgan stated matter-of-factly.
"That's…"
"Hey, then that means I'm guaranteed to be able to wield Falchion!" Inigo said.
"Wha—?" Owain looked at his cousin incredulously. "You don't really believe that, do you?"
"Well, it sounds crazy and absolutely nonsensical, but then again, so does a lot of what her father says yet that stuff somehow works."
"I really hope you know the difference between pulling off crazy military tactics and the suggestion that the inner workings of Falchion are determined by hair color," Owain said.
"…You're just jealous the sword picked me over you."
"We don't even know if that's true!"
"You're just jealous the sword picked us over you," Morgan repeated, standing beside Inigo.
"Us? Who's 'us'?"
"Me and Inigo, duh!"
"You…you think you can properly use Falchion?"
"Well why wouldn't I? I've got blue hair just like everyone else who Falchion chose."
"Morgan, as much as that makes sense, I think you have to be part of my actual bloodline to even qualify to be able to wield Falchion," Inigo said, amused.
"Nuh-uh. Hair color trumps blood. That's like, a basic fact of magic sword wielding ability."
"If we're going by that, then shouldn't your father be able to wield Falchion too? I hear he had blue hair once upon a time."
"If he still had it, yeah. But his hair is white now, which unfortunately disqualifies him from the running. Candidates have to have blue hair in the present moment to be eligible," Morgan said sagely.
"I can't believe we're actually having this discussion. How does any of this even make sense?!" Owain exclaimed.
"Oh that's rich. You are the one asking about how anything makes sense," Inigo laughed.
"Hey, my lore and background all makes sense once you put the pieces together. After all, it's all explained in the Manual of Ju…I mean, uh, it makes sense more than this, okay?!"
"Well I guess there's only one way to find out!" Morgan looked down and picked up an apple from the ground. "If Falchion finds you worthy, then you should be able to cut this apple no problem! …That's how it works, right?"
"Sounds about right. Lucina said that in the hands of those it doesn't deem worthy, Falchion would be dull as a stone," Inigo said.
"Great!" Morgan put the apple on a nearby tree stump. "Come on, Owain, prove my hair hypothesis right by not being able to cut this simple apple."
"You may doubt the powers of Owain Dark, but I'm sure the legendary Falchion will recognize the heroic blood flowing through my veins and deem me worthy of its power!" Owain exclaimed dramatically before extending his arm. "Gimme."
"This should be interesting…" Inigo muttered, handing Falchion over to his cousin.
"Ah, finally, I have the sacred blade of heroes past in my hands! I can feel the power of countless eons of battle and legends flow through my very veins! Urgh, power…overflowing! RRAAAAAAAAAAUGH! TAKE THIS, FOUL FRUIT FROM BEYOND THE VOID!"
Owain proceeded to bring Falchion down on the apple, smashing it.
"Ha! Behold, my true power reveals itself! In the face of skepticism and doubt, Owain Dark delivers once again by proving that he is indeed worthy of using the legendary blade of legend of his ancestors!"
"…Nuh-uh," Morgan said after a brief silence. "If anything, this proves that my hypothesis is the right one."
"What? How does it prove that? If I wasn't able to properly wield Falchion, would I have been able to totally smash this apple?"
"I mean, if you were really one of Falchion's chosen, your cut would've been clean and split the apple neatly in two," Morgan pointed out. "What it looks like now is that someone hit it with a club or something. Like, look at it. It's a real mess!"
"W-well…uh…"
"Morgan actually has a point," Inigo said. "In the hands of those it deems worthy, the blade should stay forever sharp and is said to be able to cut cleanly through anything. Its cuts should be clean and quick. This, on the other hand…"
"Oh…" Owain visibly deflated. "Why, O sacred blade, have you forsaken me? Is the blood running in my veins not enough for you to deem me worthy of wielding you? Man, this is really gonna put a damper on my character bio…"
"Hey, cheer up, champ!" Morgan put her hand around Owain's shoulder. "You may not be able to use Falchion, but you'll always have your Sword Hand!"
"Yeah, I guess that's true. And the blood in my veins and this sacred mark on my shoulder are proof enough of my sacred lineage!" Owain immediately perked up. "Thanks, Morgan."
"No problem!" Morgan replied cheerfully before she turned to Inigo. "Okay, your turn, although we already know you should be able to use Falchion."
"We really don't..."
"Inigo, you have blue hair."
"But that doesn't—"
"Blue! Hair!" Morgan repeated for emphasis. "How many times must I tell you that it's scientifically proven?"
"How do you even—"
"Scientifically! Proven!"
"I—"
"Look, if you don't wanna try cutting apples, I can always do it."
"What? No, I want to!" Inigo insisted.
"Too late! You passed up your turn with all the hesitating." And before Inigo knew it, Morgan snatched Falchion from his hands. "Now watch as I, the Amazing Morgan, use my awesome powers of having blue hair to cut this apple in half with this legendary sword!"
Inigo grinned. "This should be good."
"And," Morgan continued, "I will awe you all with my amazing skill by cutting this apple not down the middle, but across!"
"…Won't you, you know, knock the apple away while doing so?" Inigo felt compelled to point out.
"Hey, if Falchion is as sharp as they say, then it should cut through anything like a hot knife through butter!" At Inigo's dubious expression, Morgan sighed. "Fiiiiine. If you really want to be a wet blanket about it, I guess Owain can hold the apple down while I cut it."
Inigo really didn't know why he was participating in this entire thing. Everyone knew that only those of the Hero-Kings's bloodline could wield Falchion, and even then only those that the sword has deemed worthy. Morgan, being neither or those things, was destined to fail and the sword was going to be nothing but a blunt instrument in her hands. If anything, Inigo was the one who should be trying this whole thing out since he was of the right bloodline and actually was curious to see if Falchion deemed him worthy.
Inigo glanced again at Morgan.
Then again, Inigo could never really say no to a cute girl. And Morgan, being a (very enthusiastic) cute girl, meant that Inigo committed himself to at least briefly entertaining her.
"Right, the setup is all set up!" Morgan declared. "Now prepare to be amazed!"
"I'm waiting with baited breath," Inigo said dryly. "Although I'm surprised you managed to rope Owain into holding the apple down for you."
"A good show is nothing without its assistants," Morgan stated matter-of-factly.
"Indeed! The right people are half the presentation!" Owain agreed. "Just, you know, make sure not to cut my arm off or anything, yeah?"
Morgan rolled her eyes. "Owain, give me a little credit. I may not be Chrom or Lucina, but Dad trained me well enough to at least keep my sword swings on target."
"Right! Didn't meant to question your father's teachings. I have faith in his and your abilities."
"Thank you, my dear assistant." Morgan smiled brightly. "And now, without further ado…"
Inigo watched with an amused smile as Morgan lined up Falchion with the apple.
"Here I go!"
"Morgan!"
"Ack!"
"WHOA!"
Everything happened so fast that Inigo's mind didn't have time to process it all. All he knew was that, as Morgan swung her sword back, a familiar voice shouted her name, and Inigo's instincts forced him to the ground when he saw Falchion slip from Morgan's hands and fly right to where he was standing.
"Oh gods…" Inigo breathed as he got up from the ground. "Guess living in a ruined future does wonders for your survival instincts…"
"Aw man, the Falchion slipped from my hands right when I was in the middle of my swing!" Morgan complained, looking to where Falchion was impaled in a tree behind her and then down the intact apple.
"Well that's—" Inigo began before he saw who was approaching them. "…Uh-oh."
And he was right to worry, as he saw a very cross Lucina coming right toward them.
"Oh boy, she looks maaaaad," Owain remarked next to Inigo.
"H-hey, Lucina," Inigo tried to sound casual. "Lovely day, isn't it? Is that a new outfit you're wearing? I must say, it really suits you!"
"Inigo, would you care to explain to me why you three are out here with Morgan swinging Falchion…" Lucina glanced at the stump. "…And using our sacred family heirloom to cut fruit?"
"Uh…" Inigo tried frantically to come up with a plausible excuse.
"And don't think I don't see you trying to sneak away, Owain," Lucina said crossly, not even looking at where Owain was trying to quietly walk away from the scene.
"Sneak? Me? Owain Dark does not flee from trouble!" Owain declared dramatically. "But if you must know, this was all Inigo's idea!"
"What!?" Inigo was aghast at his cousin's betrayal.
"And if you excuse me, I have nefarious forces to deal with that require my immediate attention. Farewell!"
Without waiting for a reply, Owain got the hell out of there.
"That traitor!"
"Yeah…uh…I think I…have to go and help Dad with a strategy meeting now. And, uh…" Morgan sensed she should follow Owain's example and flee while she could. "What Owain said. It was Inigo's idea!"
Morgan then took that opportunity run away, leaving a flustered Inigo alone with a less than amused Lucina.
"Luce, I can explain!"
"Inigo…" Lucina sighed. "Look, I know that I promised you that we would work together to see if Falchion found you worthy. And I know that I haven't been able to keep that promise with everything that's going on with the war. And for that, I apologize."
"O-oh…" Inigo was not prepared for this turn of events.
"However, that does not give you permission to snatch Falchion and then go off and cut fruit with it!" Lucina said irritably. "And why was Morgan holding it when I came in? What was she even doing with Falchion?"
"She, uh, thinks that she's figured out how Falchion judges those worthy of wielding it."
"Oh?" Lucina was genuinely curious, but then she remembered who they were talking about. "Did she actually find a logical explanation, or is it…?"
"She…thinks it's down to people having blue hair…"
That sounded so ridiculous Lucina couldn't help but grin.
"And you just let her think that? And even try that 'theory' by having her handle Falchion?"
"…She can be very persuasive when she wants to be. And pushy…"
"Inigo…"
"Look, Luce, I get that wasn't the best way to handle the situation, but I was curious, you know? It's our sacred family heirloom! Passed down from generation to generation! And given how you were busy with training, I thought now would be my chance to see if it found me worthy as it did you and Father. And that was totally the plan, but then Owain showed up, then Morgan showed up, and then, well…"
"It seems that things tend to take the turn for the bizarre when Morgan is involved, doesn't it?" Lucina said, amused. "She must get that from her father."
"Yeah, although I feel she judges me less when I talk about girls."
"Robin has a point though, Inigo. I noticed you do spend a disproportionate amount of your time trying to talk to every girl you see in every town we pass by."
"Hey, I definitely train and keep myself in shape. Kinda have to if I don't want to die during this war, yeah? I just like to talk to girls in my spare time. It's just…that doesn't work out how I intend it to, mostly. So the best way to improve is to keep practicing, yeah? Like today I even had Falchion ready to practice some new lines for—"
"I thought you said you took Falchion because you wanted to see if you could wield it?"
"O-oh. Well, I…uh…"
Lucina's eyes narrowed.
"Of course that was the main point! What I meant to say was…uh…!" Inigo desperately tried to find a way to save himself. "Oh look, Mother wants to talk to you!"
"Mother is here? I didn't—" Lucina looked back only to see nothing. When she turned around, Inigo was nowhere to be found. "That boy…"
Lucina sighed and approached Falchion, still lodged in the tree.
"We are going to have a very long conversation when I find him…" Lucina grunted, pulling the sword out of the tree. Examining it, she saw traces of apple on the blade. "…A very long conversation."
"So we got reports of someone matching Chrom's description in the east?"
The shorter girl nodded.
"But word is that the Shepherds were last seen headed toward that big desert."
"Why do you think they'd do that? Seems a bit nuts to just go off in a desert that has stories of people never coming back from it."
"Hell if I know. But if I had to guess, the maps we've seen show that Chon'sin is just on the other side. And given that the princess of Chon'sin is the one leading the fight against Walhart…"
"...They would want to head to her territory to find supplies and allies!" The shorter girl nodded excitedly, but then paused. "...Although that explanation totally makes sense, why do we have stories of Chrom in the east? What can he be doing there?"
"I...don't know," admitted the taller girl, shaking her head in frustration. "Gawds, why can't it ever be simple?! All we need is to follow the path of our parents until we catch up. That's it. But nooooo, now we have two possible Shepherd sightings in opposite directions!"
"Hey."
"Sev…"
"Okay, look. We're not going to get anywhere whining and complaining, no matter how much I want to. So instead of doing that, we need to come up with a plan of action."
"Right!" The shorter girl nodded and looked at her friend expectantly.
"Hey, it's time to wake up."
"Split up?"
"I think that's our best course of action, yes. We can't be sure which of the reports is the correct one and if we both follow one lead we risk wasting our time if it's the wrong one."
"But splitting up?" The shorter girl didn't look convinced. "You know how Dad felt about separating your forces, especially when resources are limited…"
"Yes, and if he were here right now I'm sure he'd point out at least twenty faults with my plan and tell me why I should never make strategies ever! But he's not here right now, so this is the best you get!" snapped the taller girl.
"Look, Sev, I didn't mean…"
"Hey, did you even hear me?!"
"So whichever one of us ends up following the right lead, we'll try to bring our parents and meet up here, yeah?"
"Sounds like a plan!"
Both girls looked at the map.
"Feels weird, huh?" said the shorter girl.
"What?"
"Splitting up, I mean. We've been traveling so long together here that it feels kinda weird being alone again."
"Hey, at least you're gonna have Daisy with you. I'm the one who's totally going alone in the wilderness here!"
"Oh, right." The shorter girl became quiet. "...Hey, Sev?"
"No, we're not changing the plan. This is the best bet we have to actually finding our parents and we're not letting this opportunity pass us by," the taller girl said resolutely.
"Y-yeah. Yeah! A heroic reunion! We'll definitely find our parents this time for sure! And it'll be cool and awesome and heart-warming and the rest of it just like in the storybooks!"
The taller girl rolled her eyes. "Just remember to be careful, yeah? You being out there alone means I won't be there to bail you out if you get into trouble. So you'd better not get into trouble, you hear? I have better things to do than worry about you out there!"
"Pffft, I'll be fiiiine. This is just another chapter in my awesome heroic epic! And nothing bad ever happens to the hero!"
"You—!"
The taller girl was suddenly interrupted as the shorter girl hugged her.
"The being careful thing goes to you too, you know. Doubly so since you're going to be totally solo for this mission."
"Please. I've been doing fine before finding you and I don't see that changing now." Despite her words, the taller girl returned the hug. "We'll see our parents again. Both of us."
"For the love of—! I said, wake up!"
The bandit swung his leg for a kick, but yelled in pain as his other foot was suddenly stabbed with a dagger.
"ARGH! My foot!"
"How many times have I told you idiots not to disturb me when I'm sleeping?!" The girl yawned, seemingly oblivious to the fact that she just stuck a dagger in the man's foot. "Great. Didn't get enough sleep. Now I'm tired. I hope you're happy!"
At seeing his attempts to try and pull the dagger from his foot, the girl rolled her eyes.
"Quit being such a baby, gawds! If you can't take a little stab to the foot, I don't even know what you're doing being a bandit." With that, she swiftly pulled the dagger out of the man's foot. "Better now?"
The man fell back, holding his foot and crying in agony.
"Grow up. It's not something a healer can't fix."
"Y-you…you…you'll be sorry for this!"
"I've been feeling sorry ever since I was roped into helping you idiots with, well, everything. And Nelson sees I'm way too useful to just off—much more useful than you, anyway. So you can go on and cry to him all you want, but know that I'm worth a lot more than you in the end."
The girl got up and left her tent. Once outside, she sighed.
She went following leads on her parents and ended up with some stinky bandits. Figures.
Severa hated her luck.
"Urgh…"
"You okay there, Robin? You don't look so good…" Chrom observed.
"Yeah. Came off a sparring match with your daughter. And Lucina being Lucina, she didn't hold back as usual." Robin grimaced. "Had to put on a brave face until after she left, then chug a few vulneraries to fix my ribs and stuff. Gods, Lucina hits hard…"
"I don't remember you having any issues when we spar."
"Yeah, but you're slow enough that I can see and avoid your hits. Lucina is like a whirlwind of pain. Granted, she doesn't hit hard as you, but she still hits pretty damn hard and pretty damn fast…"
"You have my condolences," Chrom said sympathetically. "Anyway, what's with the new getup? Thought it'd be a cold day in hell before you willingly give up your prized coat."
"Yeah, well due to some unforeseen circumstances that were totally not my fault, my coat is currently indisposed and I now have decided to hone my skills with the sword, hence this new outfit. Probably should've started with someone who didn't hit as hard as your daughter, but…" Robin clutched his chest as he slowly stood up straight. "Where are the others? I didn't just imagine we had a strategy meeting now, did I?"
"No. They should be here any minute now."
And just then, Say'ri entered the tent.
"Ah, there we are. Hello, Say'ri," Robin greeted. He then paused when he saw who was behind her. "Virion? You don't usually join us when we have our strategy meetings."
"A fair observation, Robin. I usually leave all the strategizing and planning to you since that is your area of expertise. However, I figured it would be prudent for me to attend now that we're getting close to Rosanne and I am intimately familiar with the surrounding area."
"I suppose that's fair enough. Now then—"
"Here I am!" Morgan exclaimed, running into the tent.
"Cutting it really close there, Morgan," Robin said with a disapproving glance at his watch. "Any sooner and you would've been late. What kind of aspiring tactician shows up to strategy meetings late?"
"That would be true if I was late, which I'm not. What I am is perfectly on time! Which is the opposite of being late."
"Any later and you would've been late."
"But you know me well enough to know that I won't show up any later than perfectly on time!"
"I would certainly hope so," Robin said, smiling and pinching Morgan's cheek. "Anyway, what's our status?"
"We are making good progress," Say'ri reported. "I estimate that we should be in Chon'sin territory in about a week at this pace."
"How's the situation there?" Chrom asked.
"My spies report that it is very favorable for us. My brother and the Valmese army he commanded were the only reasons Chon'sin stayed loyal to Walhart. My spies also report that the people and the remaining garrisons in Chon'sin are all too ready and willing to join our cause and throw off the yoke of the empire. I have my agents ready to take control and rally the people behind us once we make our way to the capital."
Robin nodded. "Sounds good. Once there we can hopefully rest a bit easy and plan our next steps. Once we regroup with Flavia and the others, we should be in a position to move against Walhart. Where is he, by the way?"
"He has been sighted riding out of Rigel with his troops to pacify the areas we have recently disrupted. Even with his entire remaining army at his back it will be a while yet until he can restore any semblance of imperial control."
"Rigel?"
"Aye. That is the Valmese capital. Walhart named it after the Rigel of old. I imagine he has tried to style his empire after it, too."
"Oh man, this is perfect!" Robin laughed.
Everyone in the room looked at him curiously.
"Think about it, guys. This guy wearing bulky armor riding around ruthlessly conquering others? And us, a merry gang of soldiers to take him down. We even have a cool name! Much cooler than the 'Deliverance,' that's for sure. Ours at least doesn't make us sound like some sort of delivery service. Anyway, don't you see? This is history repeating itself! Walhart even took the name of Rigel for his capital, and hey, we have our own character carrying a magical sword! And given that history is repeating itself, we're basically guaranteed the win!"
"…Huh. Now that you mention it, there are some striking similarities…" Morgan mumbled thoughtfully.
"As much as I'd like us all to take solace from historical precedent, let us take appropriate steps to ensure that history properly repeats itself, shall we?" Virion said. "For example, what are your plans once you get to Chon'sin and rally its people? Although they may bolster our numbers, we are still vastly outnumbered by the Valmese."
"Where are you going with this, Virion?"
"Although we are there to regroup and resupply, might I—"
"Hold that thought for a second." Robin reached into his coat for a notepad…and only then realized he wasn't wearing it. "This is going to take a little getting used to…"
"Don't worry, Dad. Got you covered!"
Robin looked beside him to see Morgan smiling brightly, notepad and pen in hand.
"I'll make the notes and hand them to you after the meeting's done."
"You make me feel so proud…" Robin ruffled Morgan's hair. He then looked back to Virion. "Sorry for that. Please go on."
"Birds of a feather…" Virion grinned. "Anyway, while in this part of the continent, might I humbly suggest liberating and enlisting Rosanne's assistance in the war?"
"Rosanne?" Robin glanced at the map. "I guess it's close enough for an operation to be viable, but why? I don't see enough reasons to risk our limited resources for such an operation."
"Allow me to give you some, then. First of all, much like Chon'sin, Rosanne's Valmese garrison army was almost entirely depleted in our previous engagement, mostly due to your brilliant volcano gambit."
"As nice as it is having my ego stroked, flattery will get you nowhere. I need some facts and strategic reasons for my decisions."
"A little stroking of the ego never hurts," Virion remarked cheekily. "Now then, I think it's safe to assume that any garrison forces that remain will be from Rosanne proper instead of other parts of the empire. I have also reason to believe that, much like Chon'sin, Rosanne and its people feel no special attachment to Walhart or his empire and are not willing to die for a cause they don't believe in. Given these facts, we shouldn't face much resistance if we choose to march into Rosanne from Chon'sin and enlist the aid of its citizens."
"I suppose that's true…" Robin muttered thoughtfully. "We could use all the help we can get if we are to face Walhart eventually…"
"And the people of Rosanne would be all too eager to help! Moreover, in enlisting Rosanne's aid, you also block off a potential attacks on your flank from Walhart's forces. If we rest in Chon'sin, Walhart may choose to move his armies directly into Rosanne and launch an assault on us from there. If we strike first, we will at least have Rosanne's reconnaissance and resources to alert us of Walhart's approach and create some obstacles for him."
Robin remained silent, considering Virion's words but not looking entirely convinced.
"And," Virion continued, seeing that Robin needed on little push, "I can personally vouch for the quality of Rosanne's soldiers. After all, were you aware that the best archers on the continent hail from Rosanne?"
"Really?"
"'Tis truth," Say'ri spoke up. "I can attest to the people's skills with the bow. Be it on foot or on horseback, Rosann—"
"Whoa whoa whoa wait." Robin looked between the two. "Archers? On horseback?"
"Aye. Rosannian archers can fight and shoot equally well both on foot and on horseback. Rosannian mounted archers are famous throughout the land for their skill and accuracy. Their combination of mobility and precision makes them a formidable addition to any army. I believe they were one of the main reasons Walhart quickly moved against Rosanne."
"High praise indeed! And all warranted, too," Virion declared dramatically. "Rosannian mounted archers are the best in the realm. That is not to discount any of the infantry. Our foot archers are skilled enough to be the lucky few to master the longbow."
"Oh?" Robin was visibly interested.
"Indeed. The mighty longbow, much stronger than the regular bow in both strength and range. Our specially trained soldiers can hit the enemy from a mile away!" Virion grinned victoriously. "Is that reason enough to convince you to take a little detour to Rosanne?"
"It may be…" Robin narrowed his eyes. "You aren't just telling me this because you want us to liberate your home, are you?"
"Why Robin, I would never put my personal interests to jeopardize the war! All my points made are with the aim of assisting us to victory."
"And liberating your homeland just happens to be, what, a coincidentally nice bonus?"
"Be that as it may, do Virion's points not make strategic sense?" Say'ri asked. "We could always use more soldiers to fight against Walhart, and the archers of Rosanne would be an incredibly powerful asset to our army. It seems to me that the benefits of liberating Rosanne far outweigh any of the risks. And if we end up liberating his homeland, that is just a tangential benefit, no?"
"I suppose. And your people's reputation certainly has me intrigued." Robin paused. "Wait a minute, you're telling me your people are all talented with the bow, right? That include yourself?"
"Robin, do you think I've been calling myself the Archest of Archers for my own amusement?" Virion was actually offended at this question.
"Well, given that it's you we're talking about...but that's not the point. What I'm trying to say is that you were able to shoot arrows from horseback and wield longbows and you're only telling me this now?!"
"Well, you never asked."
"You…!" Robin glared, facepalmed and sighed heavily. "You're teaching what remains of our army your skills when we get to Chon'sin. Do you know what I could've done with mounted archers and long ranged bows?! Why, the course of this entire war could've—!"
"So, uh…" Chrom cleared his throat. "That's a yes to the Rosanne expedition, then?"
"Yes, yes. I'll make preparations…" Robin waved dismissively.
"Wonderful! I promise you that the people of Rosanne will not disappoint, Robin," Virion said gratefully.
"They'd better be as good as you say."
"They are and more."
"Good. Now that that's settled, on to more immediate plans." Chrom unrolled another map across the table. "There is still the issue of supplies. We're a ways off from Chon'sin still and supplies are running low. Our misadventures in the desert really did a number on our reserves."
"I'll say. Feels like I haven't eaten something sugary in years…" Morgan mumbled, still taking notes.
"If reserves are of concern, there is a small village not too far away from here where we can rest and resupply," Say'ri said.
"Oh? I don't see any villages nearby on this map."
"Not all maps accurately reflect surrounding areas. This village requires a little effort to get to, but we can get there before the end of the day if we are determined enough."
Chrom looked to Robin for his input.
"I say we do it. That desert trip really did blow a hole through our supplies and we haven't been able to visit a single town or city since we got out of there. We can afford a little detour so that we're fresh when we make it to Chon'sin."
Chrom nodded. "Then it's decided. When can we depart?"
"Everyone's traveling light and we haven't really made camp. I'd guess it'll take us about ten minutes tops to pack our things and go," Morgan said.
"Good to hear. Say'ri?"
"I will make ready to lead us to our destination."
"Excellent. So we have our plan. Let's get ready."
"Well look who finally decided to join us."
"Can it, Nelson. I'm not in the mood," Severa snapped. "What do you want?"
"Charming as ever, I see," Nelson said, rolling his eyes. "I hear you haven't been a very good girl, putting a knife through poor Ned's foot."
"It was his own damn fault. I told you people not to interrupt me during my beauty sleep!"
"It's a shame no amount of sleep can mask that ugly personality of yours."
Severa grit her teeth. "What. Do. You. Want."
"Heh, touched a nerve, did I?" Nelson sneered. "Anyway, despite the fact you're actually one of my more useful minions, I can't really have you going around stabbing my other subjects. It's bad for morale and all."
"So what, you're going to put me in the naughty corner?"
"I mean, I could just destroy it right here and now…" Nelson grinned maliciously, putting his hand into his pocket and taking out a ring.
Severa kept her face straight. "You could, but then you'd be destroying the only thing keeping me here and also the only thing preventing me from stabbing all of you in your miserable faces. And that's only if I'm in a good mood."
"Tough words for a little girl who still does everything I tell her."
"If you want to know what this 'little girl' is capable of when she's incredibly pissed off, I dare you to destroy that ring."
Nelson pretended to consider Severa's words, even going as far as having his hand holding the ring glow with magical energy. When she only crossed her arms, he frowned.
"Even though I really should burn this miserable trinket to teach you a lesson, it's more fun having you listen to my commands like a good little mutt."
"I'm not your dog, scum!" Severa spat.
"I beg to differ. Now, back to the topic at hand. While I was going to send you out to do some 'tax collection' on our behalf, but given that you knifed Ned's foot, I'm going to have to assert my authority here."
"Just get it over with."
"You're on inventory."
"What."
"You heard me. Your job will be to go downstairs and take stock of what we got and what we need. The entire storeroom."
"You're kidding."
"You wish. Such a dull and mind-numbing task should be perfect for someone like you. Maybe it'll give you some time alone with your thoughts and time to reflect on what you did to poor Ned. Oh, and don't think of doing anything stupid unless—"
"Yes, yes, if I ever want to see it again. I'm well aware."
"Good girl. Now get going. Oh, and take that useless waste of a human being Holland with you. Taking inventory should be something even he can't screw up."
Severa growled and headed out the room.
"Hey, Nigel! Get the boys together and get ready to collect our dues from the surrounding villages! One of them has been falling behind schedule, so go pay them a visit and…"
Once outside, Severa took a deep breath.
She had to relax. Stay calm and not let her emotions get the better of her. She was alone out here now and her most prized possession (she was still beating herself over the fact that she was careless enough for it to get stolen off her) was in the hands of some dirtbag bandit. Although she doubted he'd actually go through with his threat to destroy it (because then she would go through with her threat to kill every last one of these miserable idiots), the possibility of losing it still kept Severa here. For now. Until she could get it back.
Severa closed her eyes and recalled her father's words.
Stay calm. Stay focused. Stay alert. Bide your time and look for openings. Plan meticulously and take into account all the variables. And when the time is right, strike your enemies down with one blow.
"It sure feels nice to have a normal bed and a warm room," Morgan said.
"It sure does," Robin agreed. "A luxury when you're constantly on the road like us."
"At least then it's always special when we find an inn after prolonged periods outdoors!" Morgan said cheerfully.
"Indeed." Robin nodded. "Oh, and I end my turn."
"Great." Morgan added another card from her deck to her hand and smiled. "Heh, really great."
"…I'm not going to like this, am I?"
"Definitely not. Prepare yourself, Dad!"
"Oh boy."
"First of all, I sacrifice both my Bartre and my Fir in order to summon my maximum level Reinhardt!" Morgan took two cards off the table and dramatically slammed down her latest one.
"Oh boy…" Robin grimaced.
"You know what's coming, don't you, Dad?" Morgan grinned. "Firstly, I use my Reinhardt to attack your Raigh. And thanks to Reinhardt's special weapon effect, he strikes twice before any retaliation. But given his high attack and the special effect from my adjacent Camus giving my Reinhardt more attack, nothing should survive his initial assault!"
Robin sighed and placed his Raigh card to the side.
"And now I use my Ninian's special ability to grant my Reinhardt another turn! And I use that turn to attack your Shanna!"
Robin duly placed his Shanna card to the side.
"But that's not all!"
"Morgan, really?!"
"Really." Morgan nodded enthusiastically, flipping over one of her facedown cards. "I activate my Galeforce magic card, hereby giving one of my units another turn! And of course I choose Reinhardt to attack—"
"—My castle points directly," Robin finished gloomily.
"Which should tear your defenses down to zero, giving me the win!" Morgan pumped her fist in the air triumphantly.
"Congratulations, Morgan," Lucina said, observing the game between father and daughter from the side.
"Quite the swift takedown," Cordelia commented.
"I think I'm starting to get an understanding of how to play this game…" Sumia muttered, looking between the rulebook and the cards on the table.
"…I hate this stupid game…" Robin grumbled.
"Come on, Dad, anyone can make a really cool and efficient deck if they tried."
"Easy for you to say. You don't get trash in your decks. Every time we have our little new deck opening rituals, you're either showered with super rare units or at the very least really useful magic cards and skills. Me? I get Raighs and Bartres and Shannas!"
"Care to trade me some Shannas, Dad? I feel I haven't gotten one in ages. I have like ten units that could really use Desperation."
"You wish. I'm not helping you make your deck even stronger!"
"Oh, while we're on the topic…" Cordelia reached into her bag and pulled out two packages. "It's that time again."
"Ooh, goodie!" Morgan was clearly excited.
"Great, more chances to get trash…" Robin sighed, clearly not excited.
"Dad, if this game bums you out so much, you can always just quit."
"Nice try, Morgan. I'm not quitting until my win-to-loss ratio against you is overwhelmingly positive! Also not until I pull and build every one of my favorite characters."
"But Dad, you have so many favorite characters," Morgan pointed out. "And they keep on adding new ones on a regular basis. And your luck so far has been terrible."
"It's not been that bad. Why just yesterday I pulled J—" Robin stopped himself. "Whoops. Almost gave away one of my secret special cards."
"It won't help you against my super deck."
"It will once I make the right team and pull the right skills!"
"Now children, there's no need to fight," Cordelia said, amused. "There are plenty of cards for everyone. So which card pack do each of you choose?"
"Hm…"
"Wait! Halt!"
Everyone looked up to see Owain rush into the room, followed by Nah and Noire.
"Here you all are! We're not too late for the grand ritual of opening, are we?!"
"He means the cards," Nah clarified.
"Not at all. In fact, you're just in time," Cordelia said. "Robin and Morgan were just about to pick theirs."
"You know, I didn't expect our little card game get-togethers to become so popular with you guys," Robin said, still trying to pick between the two packs in Cordelia's hands.
"Are you kidding? This is basically what I live for! A game built around the legendary heroes of ultimate legend taken from the most popular stories? And it's up to you to build them to be as powerful as they were in their original tales to take down equally legendary villains? It's like someone built a game specifically for me!" Owain exclaimed.
"And the game mechanics and rules are surprisingly complex," Nah added beside him. "Really makes you think before you move."
"And the artwork is so pretty!" Noire said timidly.
Sumia sighed dreamily. "Isn't it? I think some of the cards are worth collecting for the art alone!"
"Sumia, collecting cards with pretty character art is the only reason you're here with us," Robin commented playfully.
"Th-that's not true! I really want to learn how to play the game! It's just…I want to collect all the pretty characters while I do it…"
"Yeah, this game is pretty great," Morgan said nonchalantly. "The only way it can be better is if the figures on the cards somehow talked and attacked each other, with special effects and everything!"
Nah raised a brow. "How can that possibly work?"
"I dunno. Maybe we can create some kind of ritual where we can summon ghosts of the characters to fight for us! …Or something. Haven't really figured it out yet."
"Maybe you should write that in to the makers as a suggestion," Robin joked.
"Maybe I will. Would be really cool if they figured it out! Also, Dad, you still haven't chosen which pack you're going to take and the anticipation of seeing which cards I'll get from mine is killing me."
"Right, sorry." Robin looked between the two packs in Cordelia's hands before committing himself and picking a pack. "Done."
"Finally." Morgan immediately swiped the card pack from Cordelia's other hand.
"Hey, don't open your packs without us!" protested Owain. "This sacred ritual has to be synchronized so that we may all unleash the power of the packs together and maximize our luck in—"
"Yes, I have yours too," Cordelia interrupted, opening her bag and putting more card packs on the table. "It's a good thing Robin made dedicated schedules for us to place our orders in. This way we can all receive our orders at the same time and see what we get together."
"Yes, amplifying both the joy and the misery," Robin said, bracing himself. "Everyone ready?"
Everyone nodded and opened their packs.
"Not bad, not bad…"
"Yes! An Olwen to add to my cavalry team!"
"Oh wow, look at the art on this Ayra!"
"Ha ha! The Hero-King joins the ranks of my warriors of light and justice!"
"I wonder if these ones are any good…"
While the everyone else was excitedly looking over their cards, Robin was shuffling through his with resignation. And his expectations proved true, until he saw the gold outline on the last card in his pack.
"Oh?" Examining it, Robin grinned. "Finally, some good luck. This will make a fine addition to my collection…"
"But will it bring you victory against my devastating cavalry teams?" Morgan asked, seeing her father not devastated at his haul.
"It will do that and more, you'll see. I just need to try out some team compositions."
"I look forward to crushing you."
"I look forward to crushing your dreams of crushing me."
With that, Robin got up and made his way to the door.
"Dad? Off somewhere?"
"Have to do the rounds and think up new strategies based on my newly acquired cards," Robin said casually as he walked away.
"While he does that, face me, Morgan! I have been granted the power of several more legendary heroes! My deck of righteousness is now unbeatable for sure!" Owain declared.
"Owain, that's what you said last time. And the time before that. And the time before that," Morgan pointed out.
"Yeah, well this time…"
Robin inhaled the fresh air as he stepped outside.
True to her word, Say'ri had led them to this little village in the middle of some forest. And everyone was thankful for a rest after a long day of marching. Luckily the villagers were also nice enough to provide food, water and whatever else they needed for their journey to Chon'sin.
So now everyone was taking it easy, the Shepherds either making themselves comfortable at the small inn or doing whatever outside.
"Robin…"
"What is it now, Tharja?" Robin asked tiredly.
"I just wanted to talk to you about our last magic session," the sorceress said, doing her thing of appearing at Robin's side seemingly out of nowhere. "You magic potential is so vast. Why do you insist on rejecting your natural affinity for dark magic?"
"Hey, it's not my fault, okay? Dark magic seems both cool and useful, but I doubt I have such an affinity toward to like you say I do. You've seen so yourself that it doesn't even work right when I try my hand at it!"
"Well not with that attitude it won't!" Henry chirped merrily, appearing at Robin's other side. "You gotta put your mind to it!"
"I can't just will myself to be good at dark magic," Robin said.
"Sure you can. Dark magic is all about one's will!"
"Will?"
"Well, will and emotions. The fun emotions."
Robin sighed.
"Henry's right, Robin. Unlike other forms of magic, dark magic draws its power entirely from you. Its efficiency is based on your will; its power, off your emotions," Tharja explained.
"Well I feel a lot of emotions during battle and haven't ever felt any semblance of dark magic," Robin said.
"Well duh. You just weren't feeling the right emotions when fighting!" Henry laughed.
"While elemental magic is rote, dark magic is unique to you. Nosferatu draws its power from your desperation to live—your body clinging on to life by taking that of the nearest living thing around you. Ruin's power is based off your negative emotions: hatred, vengeance and desire to kill your enemy. Mire is fueled by your—"
"I get the picture, thanks."
"Oh, and the feeling you get when your emotions coalesce into a spell that can tear right through your enemies…" Tharja shivered. "It's wonderful."
"You should really try it, Robin. You sure got a knack for it!"
"As…interesting as that would be," Robin began, slowly backing away from the dark mages, "I really don't think I have time to feel things and put my feelings into spells while I'm on the battlefield. It's much easier shooting fireballs, to be honest. Besides, we tried dark magic in training and that just turned out to be a huge waste of time."
"That's because you refuse to channel your well of negative emotions during training," Tharja said flatly.
"Hey, it's not my fault I can't feel so much hatred or desperation when I'm not fighting for my life."
"But you did do so when we were on the boat…"
"And I refuse to put myself in such a situation in real life," Robin said sternly. "Were anyone stupid enough to actually try and hurt Morgan, well…"
"See, you have to feel like that!" Henry said excitedly. "Only with more feeling! And channeling into spells!"
"Yeah…that's not happening."
"Aww…"
"Er, I guess I should thank you two for at least teaching me the theory behind dark magic spells, but…I'm going to walk away now. To take care of things. Don't follow me."
"Nya ha ha, like that's ever stopped us!"
"Well, I could tell you how Virion was looking at Noire in what seemed to be an inappropriate manner…"
Tharja's expression immediately darkened.
"…They're in the inn, by the way."
"We're leaving."
Without waiting for Henry's response, Tharja dragged him away as she made her way to the inn.
"Well that's one way to deflect her attention, I guess…" Robin made sure to see that Virion was actually not in the inn. Once he saw the archer sitting under a tree sipping some tea with Say'ri, Robin felt a lot better and continued walking.
He was going to try and seek out Frederick and get a report on their supply situation, but then Robin found Brady standing still and staring at nothing in particular.
"Hey, Brady? You okay, there?"
"Huh? Oh, Robin."
"The one and only. What's up?"
"Ain't nothing up. Why?"
"You're just looking a bit dazed. Is it the magic? How's that going, by the way?"
"It's a real pain the keister is what it is. Ma keeps nagging me about keeping my posture when tossing fireballs at dummies. Says I gotta 'dispatch the barbarians with elegance and grace' and all that malarkey."
"That certainly sounds like Maribelle…"
"Takes me back to the dark ol' days of Ma's etiquette lessons, only with more magic this time. And just like old times, it's Pa to the rescue. Is a lot less of a stick-in-the-mud than Ma. Says I got a knack for magic and is real encouragin' like."
"At least that much."
"Still haven't found my own boss, though."
"…Your what?" Robin then remembered his surreal conversation with Brady on the topic in the desert. "Oh right. Gods, I thought I imagined that."
"Didn't think findin' someone for my criteria would be so hard."
"I still don't see why you can't just go and ask Frederick. He seems like exactly who you're looking for."
"I dunno…"
"Greetings and salutations, Robin."
The two turned to see Laurent approaching.
"Hey…you. What're you still doing here?"
Laurent blinked. "I…beg your pardon?"
"I'm pretty sure I imagined you in the desert. Are you still here?"
Laurent sighed heavily. "Robin, must you still dwell on that? I thought we already established beyond a reasonable doubt that I am, in fact, real."
"Well you certainly look real!" Robin poked Laurent's robes. "Feel real, too. What brings you here to me, then?"
"As difficult as it was for me to believe that you were the same Robin that I heard of in the future and the one who is currently in charge of organization of the Shepherds, your sensible conduct during strategy meetings and everyone's respect for your decisions have convinced me that you have the authority and good sense to deserve respect and deference as the tactician for the army."
"Er…thanks?"
"As such, I have taken the liberty of doing an inventory check as to the current state of our supplies and soldiers. Here is my report for your analysis," Laurent said, handing Robin a stack of papers.
"Wow. That's…wow." Robin quickly flipped through the report. "This is some quality work. Quickly done, efficient and detailed."
"I am nothing if not thorough."
"You did good, Lauren. Appreciate this. It's something Frederick usually does."
"Sir Frederick is unfortunately otherwise occupied at the moment. And for the record, my name is Laurent."
"Noted. Thanks again for this. Will review when I get to my room."
"A pleasure. If you require anything else of me, you need only ask."
Laurent bowed and walked away.
"He's definitely thorough, if a bit stiff," Robin commented idly.
"Always an egghead, that one," Brady said. "Although interestin' to see him be so respectful. He usually don't tolerate no nonsense…"
"Heya, Robin! And Friend!" Vaike shouted as he approached the two.
"Vaike," Robin greeted calmly. "What's up? Lose your axe again?"
"Oh sure, that happens maybe five times and suddenly it's all anyone remembers of Teach!"
"I would hope you'd have learned your lesson after me and Miriel cast a spell so that your axe would always stick to you," Robin said dryly.
"Yeah, that was certainly a crazy week, ha ha ha…" Vaike laughed weakly. "Say, Robin? You wouldn't happen to have that spell on you, would you?"
"Vaike, I swear to Naga if you're going to tell me you lost your axe again—!"
"I didn't lose it, okay?"
Robin looked at Vaike pointedly.
"Buuuuuuut if I did hypothetically lose my axe, would—"
"I advise you get one of the many in storage? Yes, I—" Robin was about to finish his sarcastic reply before a thought occurred. "…Actually, I do happen to remember that spell, Vaike. I can cast it now, too."
"Really? You're a real pal, ya know that, Robin?"
"I do. Now lift your hand in the air."
"Okay." Vaike did as he was told. "Now what?"
"Prepare to grab when you see it."
"What?"
Instead of answering, Robin snapped his fingers.
Nothing happened.
"Uh, Robin?"
"Give it a few seconds."
A crashing sound in the distance.
"…Robin?"
"It should be here any minute now…"
A few startled yelps from people and more crashing.
"...Uh, Robin?"
"Oh look, there it is."
Vaike turned his head to see his axe flying toward him…while spinning.
"HOLY—!"
He ducked and just managed to avoid his axe removing his head from the rest of his body as it lodged itself into the tree behind him.
"Look at that. The spell still works," Robin observed casually. "Although may need to tinker it a bit to avoid the potential death spinning…"
"GODS' BEARDS, ROBIN! That right there almost was the death of me!" Vaike exclaimed, dusting himself off.
"Yeah…sorry about that. Should be better next time. But look!" Robin picked up the axe. "It totally works!"
"Robin, that ain't—" Vaike was about to complain before his eyes widened. "My axe!"
"Yeah. It's kind of the reason you came to me, remember?"
"But not for that axe. Gods, ol' Teach thought he lost that thing ages ago!"
"…Just how many axes do you have?"
"Enough to keep the special ones. And that one right there is real special." Vaike took the axe from Robin. "Was the first one I really splashed on and maintained. Look at that craftsmanship! And it still got the shine, too!"
"Right…"
"Hey, thanks for findin' this thing for me, Robin!" Vaike grinned and roughly patted Robin on his back. "If there's anythin' you need in the future, just come to ol' Vaike, yeah? Whether it's fightin' moves or tips with the ladies, the Vaike is your man!"
"I'll keep that in mind…" Robin said, coughing at Vaike's rough treatment. "But you could just, you know, not misplace axes that are so important to you."
"The Vaike is only human, Robin. Which is why you'll hook me up with that boomerang spell thing, yeah? Only, you know, maybe so that the axe don't spin when in the air and risk decapitatin' me?"
"Yeah, sure. I'll get right on that. Not like I have better things to do with my time."
"Great! You're a real lifesaver, you know?" Vaike gave Robin a thumbs up before running off. "Hey, Sully! Look what I found again!"
"I'm surprised that guy can find his pants in the mor—"
"Robin!"
"Now what…"
Robin and Brady both turned to see Kjelle running toward them.
"Kjelle."
"Spar with me for true this time!" Kjelle demanded, panting from presumably having run full force to them.
"Again? Didn't I already prove that I'm strong enough to be part of, and lead, this army?"
"You may have defeated me a few times, but everyone must be tested to keep them sharp, including you," Kjelle said sternly. "Besides, I've upped my training regimen. There's no way you can beat me now!"
Robin rolled his eyes. "Aren't you getting tired of me kicking your ass?"
"Why you—!" Kjelle glared and prepared her practice spear. "You will mock me and my honor no more. Have at thee!"
Brady watched as Kjelle thrust her spear and, after a flurry of activity too fast for him to keep up with, ended up on the floor with Robin's foot on her back.
"Urgh. S-so fast…! How—"
"Because I didn't get to be the tactician of this army and Grandmaster of Ylisse by being a pushover," Robin stated simply. "Now are you going to keep on bothering me with this or do I have to kick your ass some more?"
Kjelle grit her teeth but was forced to acknowledge Robin's skill.
"I yield."
"Good." Robin extended his hand and helped Kjelle up.
"I challenged you with the idea of gauging your skills, but instead I find my own prowess has been called into question. To find my own skills to be lacking so starkly is…upsetting," Kjelle admitted.
"You'll get better. Just need to put a little thought into your attacks instead of relying purely on force and blindly rushing the enemy." At Kjelle's stunned expression, Robin shrugged. "You're a talented fighter, Kjelle. Just...reckless. Also tactician, remember? Being observant is part of the job description. Saw you coming a mile away as a result. However, I'm hardly the best this world has to offer, although I'm pretty damn good. Some opponents will be perceptive just as I am. And when you meet them, you won't stand a chance."
"I…understand." Kjelle closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Thank you, Robin. Your words may be harsh, but they are true. I will focus my training away from raw power to more strategic approaches."
"I recommend asking others to spar with you. You can learn a thing or two, you know?"
Kjelle scoffed. "I would if there was anyone who could last more than two seconds in the ring with me. There are only a handful of people who can match my strength for a prolonged sparring match, and I'm sure you, Lucina and Chrom have better things to do with your time."
"True, but what of…what's his name? The one with Minerva?"
"Gerome?"
"That's the one. Loner though he may be, he can probably keep up with you and has enough fighting experience for you two to share. You might have to convince him to spar with you, though. Probably by beating him into submission."
"Gerome, huh? My old rival. It's been far too long…"
"Excuse me?"
"I'll do it. I'll track down Gerome and force him to train with me and see what he has to offer. He should be worthy opponent…" Kjelle had a smile bordering on feral. "Thanks for the advice, Robin. This has been very helpful."
And just as quickly as she came, Kjelle left in search of Gerome.
"She sure is enthusiastic…"
Brady watched the series of exchanges intently.
"Hmm... Everybody likes him... They trust him as a tactician... His orders are so darn precise... He keeps his eye on the whole field... I know I wouldn't be scrappin' half as well if he wasn't telling me what to do. Plus the guy's a beast in combat, always defending the rest of us..."
"Right, okay." Robin stretched and only seemed to notice Brady. "Uh, right. Sorry about all that, Brady. I…where were we again?"
"Yeah. Um, you were about to answer my question."
"Oh. Okay." Robin paused. "…What was the question again?"
"Uh…when you make a plan, what's the most important thing?"
"Strange question but okay." Robin thought for a moment. "I suppose it's finding a clear path."
"A path's an awfully liberal answer," Brady said. "I was expecting something...I dunno. Fluffier. 'Faith in one another' or 'ties that bind.' That sorta malarkey. Or at least some kinda wacky concept like 'efficiency' or 'finesse.'"
"Well efficiency goes without saying, at least with me in charge. Also I think everything you just mentioned is important. But…" Robin tried to think of words to elaborate his answer. "I…view my job as charting a path from wherever we are to victory. Yeah, that's right. That way, when I give out the directions, there's a context. A logical continuity. I'd say that's first and foremost for me. Victory and the path to get there."
Brady's eyes lit up. "So you DO mean it as more of an abstract thing!"
"I guess? Well, literal roads are important too. I'm navigating our way through this war, but everyone…else is on…the…ship…? Yes, that's right. It's a ship. We all share in the journey, but I'm the navigator so I need to be sure we agree on the course and guide us true."
"So it's important it has a 'logical continuity'? ...Huh…"
"Does that answer your question?"
"I dunno. Gimme some time to mull it over. ...Alone."
"…Sure…" Robin watched as Brady pensively made his way somewhere else. "Where did that even come from…?"
Some grunting noises caught Robin's attention.
"Oh, hey! Lon'qu! Training as usual even after our long trip?"
"Robin," greeted the swordmaster. "You look…different."
"Thought I'd change it up a notch and see what life on your side of the fence is like."
"Fence?"
"Anyway, in pursuit of my trying out the way of the swordmaster, I need you to train with me so that I don't crumple in pain after training with Lucina."
"You never seemed bothered by it before."
"Yes, well now Lucina has decided to also switch it up and wants me to teach her just like I did her mother. And she wants me to do that by sparring. And I can't really be a good teacher if my student keeps on breaking my ribs after every match. I only have so many ribs! Anyway, I need you to give me pointers in how to be nimble and avoid getting hit like you do."
"Why the sudden change in fighting style?"
"Why all the questions? You're not usually this talkative."
"Heh. Very well. If that is how you want to take this forward, then—"
"S-someone help me!"
Lon'qu and Robin's attention was drawn to a woman being pursued by some rough-looking me.
"Run, wench! It'll make this that much more fun! We enjoy the sport!" one of the men shouted.
"Never a dull moment…" Robin muttered, approaching the scene when the woman tripped. He and Lon'qu stood between her and the men. "Hey, you there! What's going on?!"
"What's this, someone come to play hero?" sneered one of the men.
"You'd best move aside if you know what's good for you," said another. "And hand us your fancy sword there, while you're at it."
"My fancy—? You mean my Levin Sword? Ha! That's just not happening."
"You'll do as you're told, boy," growled another man, swinging his sword threateningly.
"Like hell I will!" Robin retorted, unsheathing his Levin Sword. "Just come and try it.
"Looks like we got ourselves a hero, boys!" the man laughed. "Let's show him what happens to 'heroes' around here!"
As it turned out, what happens is that heroes kick the scoundrels back to whatever hole they crawled out of. That or just kill them.
Also, what appeared to be a little altercation turned out to be a full bandit raid on the village. Once Robin and Lon'qu dispatched the current lot, they were made aware of other groups coming and attacking the village from other directions.
Luckily for all involved, the Shepherds chose that village to rest and resupply. That meant that the bandits stood no chance of actually fulfilling their raiding plans, even if their little attack did catch the Shepherds off-guard.
"Why is it that things can't just be calm for once….?" Robin wondered aloud after they drove off the bandits.
"Robin! Are you okay?" Chrom asked, making his way past the bodies.
"Peachy," deadpanned the grandmaster. "You? The bandits didn't catch you with your pants down, did they?"
"Even if they did, I always keep Falchion near me just in case."
"That's…right. Moving on. What's the damage? How are the others?"
"Frederick and the others are doing the rounds as we speak. Saw a few injuries when I was making my way here."
"That's not good. Hopefully no casualties…"
"Indeed."
"Father! Robin!"
"Lucina! I'm so glad you're safe!"
"And I, you, Father. However we have an urgent matter to—"
"Like a few bandits are going to be any match for Lucina!" Robin laughed. He then abruptly stopped. "…Lucina, where's Morgan?"
"Severa, I'm sorry you have to be here stuck with me instead of being outside," Holland said meekly.
"I don't know why you're apologizing, Holland. You're the only person here I actually like. And I'd much rather be stuck in here than out there, thank you very much," Severa replied.
"Really?"
"Yeah. Those dirtbags are going out to raid an innocent village because it didn't give everything it had to them. I want no part in that. So even doing this tedious inventory check is preferable to that. Besides, I'm finally away from people I want to stab in the face with all my being."
"Er, Severa?"
"What."
"You know why I'm here. But I'm wondering why you are. I've seen how you fight. You could probably take on Nelson and his cronies and be done with it. Why do you stick around?"
"Because that scum Nelson has something very dear to me…" Severa said quietly. "And I'd rather be an obedient little servant instead of risk anything happening to it."
"I see..."
"Although Nelson can't really afford to go through with his threats. He knows that I'm the best of his miserable little bunch by a longshot. He destroys what he has on me and that gives me free reign to end his blasted life."
"Then why—"
"Because I need to be patient before I can execute my plan. Have to make sure I minimize the risks before I take back what's rightfully mine. And that means waiting, no matter how much I hate it."
"Oh. So…when are you going to do your thing?"
"Hmph. Wouldn't you like to know."
Truth was that even with her skill, Severa was only one person. She'd need either a lot of help or a huge distraction to execute her plan. And since the former wasn't happening, she needed to create the latter. Which was partly why it was taking so long for her to just stick her sword through all these idiots.
"Well, I wish you the best of luck. I'd help you, but you know I can't fight."
"Yet you still stick around Nelson and his gang."
Holland grimaced. "You know I'm not doing it by choice. It might be terrible, but without Nelson's coin, my wife would starve. I have to do this for us to survive, Severa. I have no choice."
"There is always a choice, Holland," Severa said reproachfully. "And you would find it if you really cared for your wife…and your child."
"Severa, I…"
"Yeah. Think about it. Think about what's important and what'll happen to your wife and unborn child if you end up dead in a ditch somewhere."
Holland looked down, silent.
"Now come on, let's see what other inventory these idiots have stolen and if there's anything worth using…"
"Get the healers to stay behind and help the wounded."
"Robin."
"Some of the others are going to have to help the recovery efforts."
"Robin."
"Lucina, gather whoever's not doing anything so I can track these miserable vermin who dare—"
"Robin!"
"They took my daughter, Chrom!" Robin shouted almost hysterically. "And if you think I'm going to just sit here and do nothing—"
"No one thinks that."
"Then what're we doing standing around here for?!"
"Robin, get a hold of yourself!"
Robin closed his eyes and tried to steady his breathing.
"While you clear your head, here's what going to happen," Chrom said calmly, "You're right in that some of the healers will have to stay behind and help the wounded. You're also right in that some of us will have to help with the cleanup. So a significant number of us will be staying behind to help the villagers, all the others will be coming with you to get your daughter back."
"Really?"
"Of course." Chrom nodded and smiled. "You didn't think we'd just sit back and do nothing, did you?"
"I…thank you, Chrom," Robin sighed, trying to get this thoughts in order. "I really appreciate it."
"Always."
"Right, so here's the plan…"
Morgan didn't usually have bad days. In fact, her days usually averaged different shades of great. That was mostly due to her lack of memories making every day a day to learn something new and exciting! She could be amazed by something mundane even on a day when nothing really happened. Such was the beauty of amnesia!
So…yes. Morgan didn't really have bad days. And if she did, it's not like she could remember them!
Although there was a first time for everything, it seemed.
One minute she's playing card games with her friends, and the next minute a bunch of strangers are barging in yelling and brandishing their weapons!
And being in the middle of her leisure time, Morgan (and the others) weren't really in a position to really fight back. Well, everyone except Lucina. She kept her Falchion on her even when she did relax (and doubly so after the whole incident in the field).
So while Lucina held off the bandits, the others scrambled to find weapons to fight with. Luckily for Morgan, she didn't need a sword or whatever because she could just conjure lightning bolts from her hands! Unluckily for her, someone managed to snag her in all the chaos and confusion. They put her in a bag and everything!
Morgan had to admit that wasn't really an experience she enjoyed.
So some struggling, a bumpy ride and some angry exchanges later, Morgan found herself thrown into some dingy dungeon in some cellar (the bandits were nice enough to remove the bag she was in. Tied her hands, though).
Now, if Morgan was anyone else, she would've probably been scared. Probably cried and begged for her captors to release her. That, or stayed as quiet as possible in the hopes that they would leave her alone.
But she wasn't anyone else—she was Morgan. More importantly, she was the daughter of the best dad in the world. And the best dad in the world loved her and promised her that nothing bad would happen to her as long as he lived. And given that Robin was alive and well, that meant that he would come get her and give these bandits a lesson in not taking other people's daughters!
So really, Morgan had nothing to worry about. She could just relax and wait until her dad came and got her out of this predicament.
...Morgan waited a grand total of one minute before she remembered why she didn't like waiting for things to happen: she didn't like to wait in general. If things didn't happen for her, she had to act to make things happen.
Besides, who knew how long it would take her dad to find her? He could get lost, or bogged down, or take too long to pick up the trail of these smelly bandits. He could be held up for days! And then what was Morgan supposed to do?
So with her mind made up, Morgan decided to break free and be in a position to greet her dad when he came to rescue her…or help speed up that process by escaping this place and making her way to him instead. Whichever came first.
Fortunately for her, Robin being the overly paranoid/prepared dad that he was, he made sure to teach and practice with Morgan all the ways to escape restraints and capture.
Morgan tried to wiggle her arms and tested her bonds. When she determined that the bandits had tied her with rope, she smiled.
Amateurs.
Sitting up, Morgan turned her palms toward the rope and conjured a small fire spell. She then concentrated to increase its power while decreasing its size, effectively making a small and powerful stream to burn through her ropes. While she did that, she also recalled her dad's words.
Exaggerate your weaknesses.
With her hands free, Morgan walked to the bars of her cell, spotting the guard and the keys near the entrance to the room at the far side.
Project weakness and vulnerability.
"Hey, you! You with the bad hair!"
"What did you say to me, you brat?!"
Hide your strengths.
"You heard me! So you think you can let me out? I, uh, gotta pee."
"Do it in your blasted cell."
Lull your enemies into a false sense of security.
"Ew, gross! Do you know how bad it'll reek?"
"That's not really my problem."
"Are you really gonna let a little girl like me go in this gross cell all by myself?"
"Again, not my problem. Now quiet down or else!"
Let them underestimate you at their peril.
"Or else what, you're gonna hit me? Real big of you, hitting a poor, defenseless little girl like me when I have no way to defend myself."
"You've got a real attitude, you know that? Someone should teach you some manners."
"And who'll that be, you? I thought you had to have manners in the first place before teaching them to others."
And when they least expect it…
"You brat. You done did it now." The bandit started walking toward Morgan's cell.
"Oh no, I'm so scared. Whoever shall rescue poor little me from this big brute over here?"
"You'll be needing more than rescuing once I'm done beating some manners into you," the bandit snarled, unlocking Morgan's cell and walking in. "Now—hey, why are your hands free?"
"Oh, that? Funny story." Morgan flashed a cheeky smile, her hands crackling with electricity.
Strike your enemies down with one blow.
"So this is where they took my daughter, huh?" Robin looked up the abandoned mansion. "Doesn't seem very well guarded. We walked up to the door without any issues."
"Nya ha ha, they probably didn't have enough time for any of that stuff after they ran back to base with their tails between their legs from our beating!" Henry laughed. "Probably weren't expecting to get cursed like that when they came for their little raid!"
"At least they're not very subtle," Chrom said. "Everyone seemed to know where these bandits operated from. Made it easy to track them down."
"Track them down and show them what happens when people take my daughter," Robin muttered darkly, putting his ear to the door to see if he heard anything on the other side.
"Yay, violence!" Henry cheered.
"Are you really so looking forward to battle that you have come here with us even after the ambush?" Lucina asked.
"Not particularly, no," Tharja replied. "It would be too bothersome to follow these fools and deal with them. Ordinarily I wouldn't bother with such a useless exercise and leave it to those willing to deal with it themselves."
"But what has changed?"
"These people have taken Robin's daughter. That makes him upset, which naturally makes me upset as well," Tharja said simply.
"And what makes Tharja upset makes me upset too!" added Henry. "And I usually do very unpleasant things to people who make me or my wife upset."
"I…see…" Lucina tried not to think of the strange relationship dynamic between Noire's parents. They were interesting even in the future.
"Regardless, I appreciate you all taking the time to help me get my daughter back." Robin looked back at the small group and smiled. "Thanks, guys."
"You don't have to thank us, Robin. I know you would've done the same thing if you were in our shoes," Chrom said.
"We're happy to help," Olivia added.
"We'll get her back," Cordelia stated, her voice full of determination.
Sumia nodded right beside her, equally determined but looking hesitant now that she was on foot instead atop her pegasus.
"So how do we proceed?" Lucina asked.
"Unfortunately I don't have my magic toolkit to do things myself," Robin said, shaking his head in frustration. "So I'm going to have to rely on you when it come to the more complex spellcasting. Henry, Tharja."
"At your service!"
"Your orders?"
Robin stepped aside and unsheathed one of his swords.
"Get wind and fire spells ready. Blast the door on my mark. Everyone, prepare yourselves."
Henry and Tharja nodded, preparing their respective spells while the others readied their weapons.
"And…"
"What the hell was that?" Severa looked up from her papers when she heard a loud bang.
"I don't know, but it didn't sound good…" Holland said hesitantly.
A moment later, the two heard shouting outside. Lots of shouting and footsteps.
"That definitely doesn't sound good."
Severa rolled her eyes and made her way to the door. Opening it, she saw her bandit "friends" frantically running around.
"Hey, you!" she shouted, getting one man's attention. "What the hell is going on here?"
"I don't know, but I think we're under attack!" said the man. "There was some kind of loud noise in the main hall and now it's all full of smoke and someone's here now and I don't know!"
"Hey, you two!" shouted another man, "Don't just stand there, grab your weapons and help us defend our base."
"Yeah, I'll get right on that," Severa said sarcastically before going back into the storage room and slamming the door shut.
"What was that all about?" Holland asked worriedly.
Severa remained silent, mind spinning trying to take in this new development.
"Severa?"
"Holland, you need to get out of here. Right now."
"W-what? Severa, where is this—"
"Right now, Holland! You're not going to get a better chance. Whoever's attacking us means that everyone will be too distracted trying to fight or figure out what's going on to pay any attention to you sneaking off."
"But what about my—"
"Holland, you won't be any good to your wife or your child if you're DEAD!" Severa cried. "Do you understand, Holland? Dead. So what then? What will they do now that they don't have you to take care of them? At least now you have the chance to go back and find another way to look after them. Any other way. But if you insist on staying here, you'll die and leave your wife all alone to fend for herself, not to mention never meeting your own child. Do you really want that, Holland? Is all this really worth it?"
"Severa, I…"
"They deserve better, Holland," Severa said, her tone softening. "If you truly care for them, you'll sneak out of here and live for another day."
"…You're right. You're absolutely right! Each day I spend here is a day I risk not coming back to my family. And they do deserve better than me leaving them alone. I'll go back to them and find some other way to make some coin. There has to be another way. There will be a better way! A way that I don't have to risk my life every day." Holland looked determined. "Thank you, Severa. You made me understand—"
"Yeah, yeah, I know. Enough of that. Go before anyone notices you already!"
"But what about you?"
"I've been planning to take back what belongs to me for a while now, and this little attack is exactly the distraction that I need." Severa winked and unsheathed her sword. "Now let's go. I'll sneak you out to the nearest exit before we part ways."
The men inside the mansion were not expecting the door to suddenly blast open.
As they were coughing and trying to understand what was happening, someone suddenly ran thought the smoke and launched himself at the nearest bandit, impaling him with a sword.
The bandit's body just hit the ground when Robin used his momentum to roll forward and keep moving. Quickly drawing his other sword, Robin sliced the next bandit across his stomach, almost cutting him in two.
Some of the bandits got over their disorientation to draw their weapons and fight.
Seeing the men approaching him, Robin parried a few blows with his sword before stabbing the first bandit in his chest. Leaving his weapon impaled in the man, Robin pushed him away and ducked to avoid the second's axe swing. Robin then punched the bandit in the face. Unfortunately for the bandit, Robin was conjuring a fire spell and discharged it the moment his fist met the bandit's face.
The results were…messy.
"Oh gods."
Robin turned to see a very terrified-looking mage.
"S-stay away from me!" he yelled, conjuring what looked like a fire spell.
Thinking quickly (and using his newfound swordmaster nimbleness), Robin dashed toward the steaming fire spell and dropped to his knees, sliding under the searing heat. When close enough, Robin hit the enemy mage in his knees, dropping him instantly.
After he was done, Robin got up, dusted himself off and lifted the mage up by his collar.
"You. You have five seconds to tell me where you took my daughter before I gut you like a fish."
"W-what? W-who…?" stammered the mage.
"Three seconds," Robin snarled, visibly conjuring up a spell in his hands and making a show of winding up for a punch.
"You'd better answer him," Henry said in a singsong voice, casually walking up to them. "Robin here can get very fun when he's impatient. And by fun, I mean violent!"
"Wait, wait!" the mage said, visibly panicking. "I don't know who your daughter is or what you're talking about."
"Then say goodnight."
"BUT I do know we take our prisoners to the basement dungeon!" the mage quickly added.
"Where."
"D-down the hall to the left! Please let me live!"
"You'd better be telling the truth if you know what's good for you." Robin let the mage go, dropping him to the ground.
"Thank you! Thank you than you thank you!"
The mage quickly scrambled away.
"Are you really going to just let him go?" Tharja asked.
"He served his purpose," Robin answered, looking where the mage pointed.
"What if he lied?"
"Then I'll give you permission to curse him as you see fit."
"Oh yay! You don't usually let us do as we see fit!" Henry rubbed his hands gleefully.
Robin grunted, glancing back at where his little group was finishing up.
"Everyone good to keep going?"
"No injuries to report," Cordelia said. "We're still good to go."
"Good. Stay alert as we make our way further in. We don't have any intel on this place and don't know how many enemies are left." Robin started walking down the hall. "Just be safe, Morgan. I'm coming for you…"
Once Severa saw Holland off, she made her way in search for Nelson. It was harder than she thought, what with everyone running around in a panic and all. Fortunately, she managed to bluff her way into not fighting her former colleagues. She wanted to stab Nelson in his stupid, thieving face, not waste her time fighting his cronies.
Severa turned a corner to see several men get knocked back against the wall.
"What the…?"
She then saw a girl in an eerily familiar coat casually walk out, her hands glowing with magic.
"Hey, you!" Severa called out.
The girl's head snapped to Severa's direction.
"Hi! Because you've called out to me and got my attention, I'm guessing you're not here to try and kill me?" the girl asked in an unusually cheerful manner.
"Uh…n-no. No I'm not," Severa said, a bit unnerved at how peppy this girl seemed despite the circumstances.
"Well that's good. If you're not here to try and kill me, what're you doing here?" asked the girl. "Also you don't seem to be very panicked despite the fact that this place seems to be under attack."
"Wha—" Severa was not prepared for an interrogation. "I could ask you the same thing! You're just some kid casually walking around! Who are you? How did you get here? And most importantly, where did you get that coa—"
"Hey, you!" Some men ran toward her. "The hell are you doing just standing around for?! Can't you see we're under attack?!"
"I see that, idiot!" Severa retorted. "I was just taking care of something!"
"Well it can wait, whatever it is! I—" The bandit then saw the others knocked out against the wall. "What the hell is this?!"
"Would you believe it was a workplace accident?" the strange girl asked cheekily.
Severa tried to come up with some kind of excuse.
"Who are y—"
A flash of light erupted before the bandit could finish his sentence.
When Severa cleared her eyes, the men were lying on the ground with black marks on their armor. She then looked at her companion, who had a very satisfied expression on her face and whose hands were crackling with electricity.
"There aren't many problems that a good ol' lightning bolt or two can't solve!"
"…Just who are you?" Severa asked, trying to comprehend how such a young girl managed to take down several grown men and feel nothing but what seemed like satisfaction.
"I'm Morgan!" Morgan replied with a smile. "And I could tell you more about myself, but that might get more of your friends to come, which wouldn't be the most ideal situation in the world. So why don't we keep on moving until we find a safe space to chat? Or better yet, I'm almost entirely sure that the people assaulting this place are my dad and his friends. So why don't we try to link up with them?"
Morgan started walking off without waiting for an answer, leaving Severa stunned.
"H-hey, wait!"
"Morgan! Morgan, are you there?"
Robin rushed down the stairs to the dungeon.
"Morgan?"
The room was empty and the cell door open. As Robin approached, he saw a body in there.
"Hmm…"
"Robin? Did you find her?" Sumia asked, rushing down.
"No…"
"Oh no. Do you think they took her somewhere?"
Robin remained silent, examining the marks on the bandit's body.
"Robin?"
"Hey, what's the situation down here?" Chrom came down with the others.
"I…think that Morgan escaped by herself…" Robin said slowly.
"Really?"
"Yes. The cell door's open and it looks like the body has been hit with a lightning bolt. The key is still in the door, which means that whoever opened it had no chance to close it. And I'm assuming that person is our friend over there," Robin said, pointing to the body.
"So she just…broke out herself? She can do that?" Chrom was genuinely impressed.
"I'd assume that future me would've prepared her for something like this."
"But what now? Will she be safe with all the bandits on alert? How should we find her?" Olivia inquired.
"We go back up and try to pick up her trail," Robin said firmly, before adding, "Also try to clear this place of every last bandit. It'll make it safe for us and her while also helping the surrounding villages."
Chrom nodded. "Sounds like a plan."
"Let's go back up. Form up, people. Stay close."
Severa had a whole series of plans lined up for when she was finally going to go after Nelson and reclaim her parents' ring and put a sword through his stupid, smug face.
"You sure know your way around here, huh?"
Sneaking around with this weirdly cheerful girl was not part of her plan.
And it was also infuriating since Severa had about a hundred questions she wanted to ask her but their circumstances didn't allow them to just sit down and chat. So Severa had to bottle up her curiosity and focus on the task ahead, despite really wanting to demand, among other things, where this kid got her coat from.
"Are you sure you don't want to wait for my dad and probably his friends to catch up with us?" Morgan asked again. "They're really good at kicking bad guys' butts. And I'm sure they'll be willing to help you get back whatever it is you want from this guy."
"Be that as it may, forgive me if I'm not going to just blindly trust some people I haven't met to help me get my most precious possession back."
"You trust me," Morgan pointed out, looking at Severa hopefully. "…Right?"
"You've been nice enough to help deal with any of these idiots who ask too many questions. And you haven't tried to kill me as soon as you saw me. I'd say that's worthy of at least some trust."
"I'll take it!"
Man, how the hell was this kid so cheerful in these circumstances?! It almost reminded Severa of—
"So what's the plan?"
Severa paused. "What, you're asking me?"
"I mean, you seem to know what you're doing and seem dead set on doing whatever it is you're thinking of doing. I have some plans of my own, but it'd be bad manners to leave you all alone. So I'll help out however I can!"
"Thanks, I guess. You seem to know how to hold your own, so that's definitely helpful. Right, so the plan is to get to Nelson's main chambers and take back what he stole from me in the process. Should be easier now with all the confusion. And I'll stab him in his ugly face while I'm at it, too…"
"Sounds easy enough. Nelson's the leader of these guys, yeah?"
Severa nodded.
"Then lead the way!" Morgan said merrily. "Oh, by the way, what's he taken from you that's so important that it's worth risking your life rushing him instead of waiting for help?"
"He stole my mother's ring…" Severa mumbled, grip on her sword tightening.
Morgan sensed Severa's change of mood and decided to not press the subject. "Okay, then. We have our mission and our objective. So we just follow this narrow hallway to this Nelson's office and get the jump on him, yeah?"
"Pretty much, although we still have to be alert. We may still run into people here."
"I'm sure they'll be no match for the likes of us!"
Severa had to admit that the peppy confidence was infectious. Definitely reminded her of…
Severa shook her head.
Now was not the time for that. She'd worry about Cynthia once she was done here. Right now, there was still work to do.
"Come on, we're almost there."
"Lead the way!"
"Urgh." Robin pushed his sword out of the bandit he just stabbed and kicked the body away. "Still no sign of Morgan and resistance is getting stiffer. That means we're getting closer to whatever these people are guarding."
"It…sure…is…!" Olivia panted.
"Olivia, are you hurt?" Chrom asked, concerned.
"You don't have to worry about me. I'll—" Olivia tried to move but winced and clutched her arm.
"Mother!" Lucina rushed to Olivia's side to support her.
"Here, let me at least help with that," Sumia offered, taking out a simple healing staff that she had brought with her. "A little healing magic should patch you up in no time!"
Robin raised a brow. "Since when can you use healing magic?"
"I've been learning for a while now, actually. You know I've been helping the healers here and there when I could, but when I discovered I was magic capable, I thought maybe that meant healing magic too. And it did! So on top of being a part-time nurse, I can be a part-time healer, too!" Sumia said rather proudly. "Although I don't have nearly enough training as Lissa or the other qualified healers. Still, patching up scratches and bruises is better than nothing!"
"…How come I wasn't aware of this?"
"Come now, Robin, must we report every new development in our lives to you?" Cordelia asked jokingly.
"Well I would certainly appreciate if you did! It'd make keeping my roster updated a lot easier, not to mention enabling me to open up new strategic deployments for you. But I can only do that if I'm aware of your new skills!"
"We can be your eyes around camp. You need only ask…" Tharja offered.
"Ooh, fun!" Henry laughed.
"Uh…"
"U-um," Sumia spoke up, "Before we go off and deploy me as some sort of expert healer, can I just say again that I'm only good enough to do the basic healing…"
"Details, details…" Robin said dismissively. "Also, Henry, Tharja, no spying or being creepy around others. It's bad enough you still watch me sleep. Tharja, how many times have I asked you to stop doing that?"
"You can't expect me to just give up one of my favorite hobbies," Tharja stated completely seriously.
"Can't you get a better one? One not involving me?"
"But you're like family, Robin! What would life be without us all doing things as one big group?" Henry said.
"I don't know why I even bother…" Robin muttered before a thought occurred and he turned to the pegasus knights. "Hey, how come I don't see you guys using magic more often? You're still sticking to using spears and lances and such."
"It's what we're familiar with," Cordelia said. "You can't just expect us to cast high level spells just like that, you know."
"Although it's not like we haven't been practicing," Sumia added.
"I'll have to review your magical skills and training. Maybe I can help speed up the process and have you throwing fireballs and lightning bolts sooner rather than later." Robin reached for his notebook in his coat before remembering he no longer wore it. "Cordelia—"
"A thought for another time," Cordelia said preemptively. "I'll bring it up when we have a moment."
"On top of things as usual." Robin nodded approvingly.
"It's what you pay me for."
"There." Sumia got up and put away her staff. "Are you feeling better, Olivia?"
"Yes." Olivia stood up and took a deep breath. "That was very kind of you, Sumia. Thank you."
"We're about to go and tackle whoever remains behind these fancy doors ahead," Robin said. "Olivia, are you sure you want to—"
"I do," Olivia confirmed, nodding resolutely. "I'll be okay. I want to help you rescue Morgan from these people."
"And we'll be right by your side, Mother," Lucina said.
Everyone nodded and looked to Robin to proceed.
"Thanks again, you guys," the grandmaster said gratefully. He then turned and forcefully kicked the door open.
The small group of Shepherds were immediately confronted by a line of shields and spears.
"Huh. They actually managed to form a defensive line," Robin muttered, somewhat impressed.
"They did say their leader was a former Valmese general," Chrom noted.
"Oh yeah. Not like it'll save them."
"Congratulations, whoever you are," came a voice behind all the armed men. "You've barged into my base, killed my men and very rudely interrupted the quiet little life I've made for myself. And for what, may I ask? Some sense of justice? Or my loot?"
"Look, none of that matters nor is it your concern. Tell me where's my daughter and I may decide to let you live!" Robin shouted.
"Brave of you to try and command me!" The voice laughed. "But if you haven't noticed, the odds are in my favor now. So I suggest you lay down your weapons if you want to—"
The voice was interrupted by the sound of a door being kicked open to the side.
"NELSON!" came an angry-sounding female voice. "Give me back my property, you cur!"
"You? What the hell are you—"
"Yeah!" The second voice made Robin's head immediately snap to the source. "You heard her! Better do what she says or—"
"Morgan?!"
"Huh? Oh, Dad! And friends!"
"Dad?" The taller redhead looked at where the Shepherds were and her eyes went wide. "What—"
"Severa?!"
"Lucina?!"
"Hey, isn't that the prisoner?"
"What the blazes is going on here?!"
Robin took that opportunity to take down the nearest armored knights with a blast from his Levin Sword.
Then all hell broke loose.
In the chaos and confusion that followed Robin's attack, he tried to make his way and regroup with Morgan.
Unfortunately all the armored enemies between him and Morgan made it a bit difficult to get to her. The mages lobbing spells from behind the lines were also an unpleasant surprise.
In between trying to get to his daughter and cutting down his enemies, Robin got brief glimpses of her. He saw her casting spells at this Nelson character. He saw how her redheaded friend managed to tackle him to the ground. He saw how she jumped off in time to avoid a stream of fire. But most importantly, he saw that Morgan was still okay.
So after much casting, hacking and slashing, Robin finally managed to close the distance, only to see Morgan being knocked back by a spell and whisked away into a separate room.
"Morgan!"
"Robin, go!" Chrom shouted beside him. "We'll keep these men off you. Go get Morgan!"
"Thanks, Chrom. Stay safe!"
Seeing his daughter being taken by a stranger was enough to enrage Robin and have him cut through anyone who was stupid enough to stand between him and Nelson.
When he made an opening, Robin chased Nelson into an office.
"Stop right there!" Nelson warned, clutching Morgan with one hand while holding a knife to her throat with the other. "You won't make any sudden movements if you want her to live."
"And you better let me go this instant if you know what's good for you!" Morgan said defiantly.
"Shut up, you!" Nelson snarled, pulling the knife closer to Morgan's throat.
"Ow! Ooh, you're gonna get it now! Dad is totally gonna tear you a new one once he frees me!"
"I said shut up!"
"Let her go," Robin said calmly, not betraying the rapidly rising anger at seeing his daughter in this bandit's filthy paws.
"You're in no position to be telling me what to do. Now, let's discuss this like civilized gentlemen. I'm sure we can come to some agreement."
"Yeah, an arrangement that involves you letting me go and my dad not kicking your butt!"
"For the last time, shut up!" Nelson pushed the knife further.
"Ugh! You pushed it enough to leave marks!"
Robin's eye twitched.
Marks?! How dare this lowlife scum treat his daughter this way?! To threaten her and put her life in danger! To try and use her as a bargaining chip? The audacity. The gall! If he actually hurt her…
This man had to die.
Robin closed his eyes and steadied his breath, trying to control his emotions.
Despite the fact that every fiber of his being craved, demanded he end his miserable bandit's life in the most gruesome and the most painful way possible for daring to take his daughter, Robin had to keep his wits about him. After all, Morgan's safety was paramount. Once he managed to secure her, then he would make this scum pay. Oh yes, he will pay…
Robin felt a burning sensation on his right hand.
"Brat, I am this close to just ending your annoying life just to shut you up," Nelson said threateningly.
"Oh yeah? Well—"
"Morgan," Robin said calmly. "Close your eyes."
"Dad?"
"Listen to me, dear. Close your eyes. And whatever you do, don't open them until I tell you to no matter what, okay? Can you do that?"
"Okay…"
"Everything will be fine, Morgan." Robin tried to put on his most reassuring smile. "Just remember to keep your eyes closed no matter what happens and until I say it's okay to open them."
"Okay. I trust you, Dad."
Morgan did as she was told.
Robin quietly cast a silencer hex on her so that she wouldn't be able to hear anything.
Despite the fact that she probably felt very confused about why the world suddenly went quiet, Morgan kept her eyes shut.
"Well wasn't that just a sickeningly sweet moment?" Nelson said mockingly. "Now are we going to get down to business or do I have to gut her like a fish?"
Robin felt his anger spike.
Nelson had to die. And he would, oh how he would. Robin just needed to keep him talking for a bit…
Robin's right hand burned with dark magic.
"Listen here, you scum. Here's what's going to happen: you are going to let my daughter go right now. And in exchange, I will show enough restraint to not end your miserable life and be gracious enough to let you walk away with it instead."
"Ha! Some terms. You must be a master negotiator," Nelson mocked. "And why in the world would I possibly do that?"
"Because if you don't," Robin said, weaving his unseen magic across to where the other man stood, "and you decide to kill my daughter here, well, a few things. Firstly, I would be very upset. Secondly, you lose what little leverage you have in this situation. Because if you decide to kill her, that would take away the only thing preventing me from killing you. And since I'll be so upset, you can bet that I'll take my time with you and make you regret ever being born."
Robin's dark magic formed invisible ties, loosely wrapping around Nelson's body, ready to tighten and immobilize.
"Tough words for someone in your position," Nelson retorted. "But right now I'm the one with upper hand and the hostage, so why don't we try this again? Drop your weapon first."
"Very well." Robin dropped his sword on the floor and raised his hands. "See? I'm unarmed."
"Good. Now let's have a civil discussion, shall we?"
"Yes. Let's."
Robin snapped his fingers.
Immediately the spell he was weaving materialized, multiple strands of purple magic appearing all around Nelson's body, rendering him completely immobile.
"What the—! Urgh!" Nelson struggled. "What did you do? I can't move!"
"Good. Now let's fix this situation, shall we?" Robin slowly waved his hand.
Despite all his efforts, Nelson found that whatever magic was binding his body was slowly pulling on his arms. And it continued pulling until he let go of Morgan and his arms were now secured by his side.
"And step back," Robin said, extending his hand.
Nelson gasped as he felt himself suddenly being dragged to the floor.
"Argh! What is this?! What are you doing?!" he demanded.
"Nothing much. I'm just showing you what happens when you threaten my daughter," Robin said simply, letting his anger and hatred drive his magic now that Morgan was safe.
A dark pool of magic formed around Nelson. When he looked to the side, Nelson was alarmed to see dark, skeletal arms emerging and wrapping themselves around him.
"W-what—?"
"Think of this as being put in the naughty corner. Only a lot more painful." A savage grin spread across Robin's face as his hand erupted with dark magic fire.
"W-wait—!"
"Waste."
Nelson screamed as his body was suddenly consumed by purple fire.
"Take this opportunity to think about what you've done," Robin said, motioning downward.
The hands started dragging Nelson down into the pool of dark magic around him.
"Don't worry. It'll only hurt for an eternity."
Once Nelson was fully dragged down, Robin snapped his fingers again and the dark magic dissipated.
Robin laughed.
Gods, that felt exhilarating! Finally letting himself go and making Nelson suffer for ever threatening Morgan was just so invigorating…
Robin exhaled, his emotions coming back in check.
What just happened? What did he do? How did he even do it? Robin wasn't aware that he knew any spells that did…that.
Robin looked at his hands, still glowing with residual energy.
Was that dark magic just now? He supposed Tharja did say he had a knack for it, although he didn't properly channel during combat because elemental magic was just much more convenient. But having Morgan threatened just now made Robin feel so—
Robin's head snapped to his daughter and he was relieved to see Morgan was still standing with her eyes shut, just as told.
Robin smiled and undid his hex.
"Morgan?"
"…Dad?"
"It's okay. You can open your eyes now."
Morgan slowly did just that and looked around.
"Wow. I close my eyes for a little bit and things certainly change. Where'd that guy go?"
"Let's just say he won't be bothering anyone ever again," Robin said, rushing and tightly hugging his daughter. "Oh gods, Morgan, are you okay?! Are you hurt? You can't imagine how worried I was!"
"I'm fine, Dad!" Morgan chirped, hugging her dad back.
"You…you are?"
"Yeah! …Why wouldn't I be?"
"I mean, that was kind of a really stressful situation you were in. Being kidnapped and taken hostage and all?"
"Maybe. But I knew everything would be fine."
"What? How?"
"Because I knew you'd come and rescue me," Morgan said simply. "You said you'd never let anything happen to me, remember? And you keep your promises."
"You're right. I won't and I do," Robin said firmly, tightening his grip on Morgan. "But you weren't even a little scared?"
"Maybe a little at first, but a good tactician doesn't let her fear control her in dire situations! Also you taught me enough to get myself out of those types of situations."
"…I did?"
"Yep! How else do you think I managed to wiggle myself out of that dungeon and find myself here?"
"Heh, guess I shouldn't be surprised." Robin ruffled his daughter's hair. "Now let's go back to the others and get out of here. This little detour made us miss dinner!"
"Oh. Oh! That's terrible! All this excitement made me forget that I'm starving!"
"Thank you, Sumia," Chrom said, wincing. "I guess I got a little bit careless during all that fighting."
"It's my pleasure," Sumia replied, healing Chrom's wounds. "I'm glad healing staff training is paying off!"
"Watching you makes me feel I should do the same," Cordelia noted, drinking a vulnerary.
"I'm actually surprised you haven't. Given how you like to try your hand at anything that you think may be helpful, I thought healing would be the first thing you'd try after we found out we have some magical abilities," Sumia said.
"Yes, but I thought learning offensive magic should take priority, not realizing how long proficiency would take…" Cordelia muttered.
"Or you can learn dark magic and just use it to hurt your enemies and heal yourself!" Henry said.
"Ack!" Cordelia almost impaled Henry on the spot. "Gods, now I know how Robin feels when that happens to him…"
"Yeah, okay, it's good to see you too, etc, etc. Now can you please stop hugging me? It's embarrassing!"
Everyone turned to see Lucina disengage from the new girl.
"Wow. Another one?" Olivia said.
"Another one," chuckled Chrom. "I don't know why we keep on being surprised. At this point we should basically expect to find Lucina's friends everywhere we go."
"—was here to get something very important to me," Severa said.
"Did you manage to retrieve it?" Lucina asked.
Severa revealed the ring in her hands.
"Ah, I see why you were so determined to get it back. I'm glad you managed to do it, and that you're okay."
"Yeah, me too. And it's, uh, good to see that you're okay too, Luce," Severa said, giving one of her rare smiles.
The good mood Lucina was in as a result of finding Severa vanished as soon as she saw who was approaching behind her.
"Lucina? What's wrong?"
"Severa, I have to tell you—"
"Okay, mission accomplished!" Robin announced triumphantly. "Bad guys are dead and we're all fine! …Right?"
"Patched up thanks to Sumia here," Chrom said. "You?"
"We're all in one piece and also taught the bad guys what happens when you mess with the world's greatest tactician and his daughter. So again, mission accomplished!"
"The what and the who?!"
Robin raised a brow at the outburst.
"…Who's the new girl?"
There were many ways this situation could've played out, none of which were any less awkward than the last. The current situation was on the wrong side of that scale.
Lucina tried to envision the many ways she could handle Severa's inclusion into the group. Severa's prickly personality made that job difficult, but with Robin being Robin and the unexpected appearance of Morgan, it…well, it was far from ideal.
So as the group walked back to the village, Lucina asked that the others give them some space to "sort some things out."
So now it was just her, Robin and Severa walking behind everyone else.
"…You're not Robin."
And things weren't off to a great start.
"What? Of course I am!"
Severa looked Robin over. "No you're not."
"Severa, please—" Lucina tried to contain this unfolding debacle.
"Am too."
"Oh yeah, then where's your coat? The Robin I know put a lot of emphasis on his campaign coat."
"I…urgh, you got me there," Robin conceded, before adding quickly, "I can explain that, though! See you—"
"It doesn't matter what you say. The real Robin wouldn't be caught dead without his signature coat."
"Severa, Robin, why don't we—"
"At least that part of me survived into the future…" Robin muttered. "But seriously, I am too Robin! Even with the annoyingly unfortunate circumstances surrounding my lack of my signature coat."
"Whatever. If anything, I'd be more inclined to believe that she's Robin," Severa said, pointing at Morgan. "She at least has the coat to prove it."
"Yeah, my coat."
"If that's your coat, why aren't you wearing it?"
"…Okay, her coat isn't strictly mine per se."
"Ha!" Severa laughed triumphantly.
"Let me explain!" Robin snapped. "It's not mine because it's hers now. But it was mine because I handed it down to her in the future!"
"And you know this because…?"
"She told me so."
"But we come from the future and have no recollection of her or you handing down your coat to anyone."
"…Yeah. I don't know what to say there."
"So she says she's your daughter from the future who somehow ended up here with no memories except for the fact that you gave her your coat despite the fact that we, who also come from the future, have seen no evidence of this?"
"Well of course it sounds stupid when you put it like that…"
"Of course it does! It sounds stupid and crazy and ridiculous! It also sounds like a load of pegasus dung. So the only conclusion is that both of you are lying," Severa concluded, smiling smugly.
"I'm not lying about anything! I am Robin, Morgan is my daughter, and that is my coat that I handed down to her in the future!" Robin insisted.
"Yeah, right. Not only do you not have the coat, but your hair is also wrong!"
"What, you're going on about my hair now?"
"Well the real Robin's hair wasn't white."
"I can explain that too!"
Severa crossed her arms. "What, you're not going to say someone else has your original hair color too now, are you?"
"No, although I could make a case that technically Chrom did since he has the same shade of blue that I initially did."
"Robin's hair was blond," Severa stated flatly.
"Once upon a time. For a day. I think…" Robin tried to recall. "It was a long time ago, okay?"
Lucina tried to intervene. "Let's all try to put this issue of color aside and—"
"It was never blue. Or white."
"Well it's white now. And that's because I tried to experiment and get my original color back but ended up draining it of all color instead." Robin saw Severa's unconvinced expression. "…It makes sense in context, okay? You just had to be there."
"I'll bet. So basically you have no proof that you're Robin."
"How many times do I have to tell you that I'm him!"
"Pfft, please. You're definitely not Robin. I remember our Robin very clearly and he's definitely not you. You don't have the coat, your hair color is all wrong, and I bet you can't command squat on the battlefield."
"You're questioning my authority and tactical ability?" Robin asked incredulously. "You barely even know me!"
"I know enough to know that you're not who you claim to be, that is, Robin."
"Oh yeah? Then how did I bring all of my friends back there past all those bandits to rescue you?"
"Please, I didn't need any rescuing. I had things totally under control. You guys showing up just saved me the trouble of having to beat all those idiots myself. Besides, I'm pretty sure it was thanks to Lucina's leadership that you didn't die."
"Lucinaaaaaaaa, your friend is doubting who I am!" Robin whined. "Tell her I'm really me!"
"Lucina, you don't really buy this load of crap, do you?"
Both Robin and Severa looked at Lucina expectantly.
"I…" The princess could feel a headache setting in. "Severa, I know that Robin isn't as we remember him—"
"Ha!"
"—But I can confirm that he is indeed Robin."
"Ha! It was Robin's turn to laugh triumphantly. "There we go, straight out of Lucina's mouth. You can't get more trustworthy than that!"
"Luce, you don't really believe that, do you?" Severa asked dubiously.
"Are you doubting Lucina's word?"
"Quiet, you!" Severa turned back to Lucina. "Well?"
"Again, I realize that the Robin of this time may behave somewhat differently than he did in our time," Lucina said, picking her words carefully. "But I have spent enough time to believe that this Robin is no less trustworthy than the one from our time."
"There we go!" Robin said with finality. "Trustworthy. Robin. That's me!"
Severa didn't look remotely convinced.
"Come on, still?"
"…You may have Lucina fooled, but I won't be so easily duped. I know Robin and he's definitely not you."
"But—"
"Besides, you said you had a daughter, right? Then who's her mother?"
Lucina's head shot up in alarm at the question. "Severa, I—"
"I…don't know," Robin replied. "I haven't met her yet and have no idea where to start looking…"
"Well there we go. You haven't—wait a minute. 'Haven't met her yet'? What are you, single?"
"Yes." Robin looked at Severa's surprised expression. "Is that really so hard to believe?"
"But, if you are Robin and you're still single, then…"
"Severa, please—!" Lucina begged.
"Yeah, I have no idea how that works either. I guess since I'm not at that point in time where I meet her mother yet…?" Robin ventured. "Well in my defense, I'm not the only one. We've met a few of your friends whose parents are still single, so Morgan's situation isn't that unique."
"But if you're unmarried, then…but your supposed daughter…but how…"
"I know. Hurts my head every time I think about it too," Robin said sympathetically, seeing Severa try to wrap her head about it. "So I just make a habit of not thinking about it too much."
Severa looked down at herself, then to Robin, then to Lucina, then to Morgan, and the other Shepherds up in front, then back to Robin.
"…Urgh, my head hurts…"
"See? Told you. Push all this time travel nonsense to the back of your mind and keep it there. It's better for your mind that way."
"I…" Severa sighed. "It's been a long day and I'm tired and thinking about this isn't making it easier. However," Severa looked at Lucina, "You and I are going to have to have a long talk later on."
"Of course," Lucina said, hopeful that this would be the end of it for now.
"And I still don't believe anything you say about yourself," Severa said, looking at Robin. "You may have others fooled, but I know better than to believe some guy who claims to be someone who I know and remember very well but acts nothing like him."
"Heh, you don't know the half of it. If you only heard how I joined the Shepherds! I still don't know how that didn't turn out terribly for everyone involved!" Robin laughed wearily. "Anyway, I'm too tired to argue with you about who I am. I'm sure my battlefield prowess and natural charisma will win you over."
"Hmph, we'll see. Your claims will fall apart if you're anything less than the world's best tactician."
"Oh good. So my victory is basically guaranteed, then. I can't wait to gloat in your face once I prove that I am indeed Robin, greatest tactician that ever lived."
Severa gave Robin a dirty look while he put his hands behind his head and casually kept walking.
"We are definitely going to have to talk," Severa said.
"I imagine that we will," Lucina replied.
Well that didn't end up being the unmitigated disaster that it could have been. Lucina supposed she should count this as a win, although the conversation with Severa would be…complicated. Lucina didn't even know where she would begin.
Lucina decided to follow Robin's advice and not think about it for the moment. Perhaps some food would make the conversation with Severa easier.
Maybe.
So the small group of Shepherds returned to the village to rejoin the others, who finished helping the villagers clean up after the bandit attack.
The grateful villagers then cooked up a great big feast for their saviors, much to the delight of some (like Stahl and Morgan).
During the dinner at the inn, much fun and merriment was had, with talking, laughing and good feelings all around.
Morgan spent the time animatedly chatting with the others about her adventures (when she was not gorging herself on food) while Robin glued himself to his daughter just to reassure himself that she was really there and safe.
The future children greeted their newfound friend (with Inigo being his typical philanderer self) and mingled amongst the crowds.
As the night went on, the Shepherds filed out to head to their rooms to sleep. Robin briefly saw Severa pull Lucina away somewhere and they haven't been back since.
When Morgan showed signs of fatigue, Robin made sure to escort her to her room to make sure she didn't disappear or something along the way. Once he was happy that Morgan was safe and sound in her room (and that the room was absolutely secure), Robin went downstairs again to rejoin the others who remained.
"I think I'll have to retire," Sumia said, yawning. "It's been quite an eventful day."
"That it was," Robin agreed, sipping his glass of ale. "Sleep well, Sumia."
"And thank you for the pie," added Chrom. "We all appreciated it."
"Yes, my apology pie," Robin said, glaring at Chrom. "How is it you always show up when my pies are involved?"
"They're Sumia's pies, Robin," Chrom corrected. "But we all appreciate you sharing them with us."
"Now boys, play nice with each other. We'd all hate for your friendship to break down because of a pie-related dispute," Olivia said playfully. "But I think I'll join Sumia in retiring. Chrom?"
"I'll be up soon."
"I'll see you then."
"Oh, Olivia?"
"Yes?"
Chrom looked like he wanted to say something. When Olivia leaned in, he gave her a quick kiss.
"Good night, darling."
"C-Chrom!"
Even after all these years together, public displays of affection still made Olivia blush furiously.
Robin rolled his eyes. "Yes, Chrom. Save it for the privacy of your bedroom, would you?"
"Come on, Olivia. Let's go before Robin here has nightmares about public displays of affection," Sumia chuckled.
"Oh, the horror!" Olivia exclaimed in mock mortification. "Good night, you two."
"Sleep well."
"Good night."
The two men waved off the women.
"Not going off to bed with the missus?" Robin asked.
"Not yet. Have to make sure you don't get into trouble here on your own," Chrom replied, taking a sip of ale.
"Thanks, mom."
The two men fell into a comfortable silence.
"Hey, Chrom?"
"What's up?"
"You know Olivia?"
"…Is this a trick question?"
"How did you know she was the one?"
Chrom looked at his friend curiously. "Where is this coming from all of a sudden?"
Robin sighed heavily. "You know, with all of the events today involving Morgan, let's just say that it's got me thinking about her, her future, and inevitably, her mother."
"I see." Chrom thought for a moment. "I don't think you'll like my answer, Robin."
"Why?"
"Because the moment I saw Olivia, I just knew. Well, not the very moment, because the first time I saw her was in Plegia after the whole Emmeryn situation and my mind wasn't really in the right place then. But when we were about to take down Gangrel, I…I don't know if I can explain it. It was like being hit by an Arcthunder spell, only not painful. As soon as I saw her then, I felt a rush of powerful, exhilarating and thrilling emotions. I thought this woman was the most beautiful woman in the world and everything about her was perfect and I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her and never be apart from her."
Robin remained silent, taking all this information in.
"But to be fair, I think my experience is the exception rather than the norm. And everyone's experience is different and unique to them so I don't think you can draw anything from one person."
"…You're right."
"You think so?"
"Yes. I don't like your answer," Robin said flatly.
Chrom laughed and drank the last of his ale. "Such is life, my friend. I think you're going to have to draw your own experiences with love."
"But how will I know, Chrom?"
"Oh, trust me, you'll know."
"That's not helping!"
"Then it's for you to find out!" Chrom laughed and patted Robin's shoulder. "As for me, I have to join my wife to get some sleep."
"Yeah, go and leave me with my unanswered questions and thoughts."
"If you insist. Don't stay up too late, Robin."
"Yeah, yeah…"
As Chrom left, Robin shook his glass watching how the ale swished inside it.
"Hey, stranger."
"Cordelia."
"This seat taken?"
"You're welcome to it."
"Don't mind if I do."
Cordelia pulled up a chair and sat next to Robin.
"What're you doing up so late?" he asked casually.
"The night is young and I don't feel like retiring just yet. You?"
"Have some thoughts after today's events."
"Want to talk about it?"
"I suppose you'd be one of the experts on the subject matter."
"Oh? Now I'm curious."
"Well—"
"Aren't you going to offer a girl a drink before letting loose your thoughts?"
"My, where are my manners?" Robin poured Cordelia some ale. "Shall we?"
"Cheers." Both of them took a drink from their glasses. "Please, continue. How may I offer my services?"
"I was just thinking about Morgan's mother."
"Oh?"
"And trying to figure out how I'd know I'd met the right woman, you know?"
"Okay…"
"Tried asking Chrom about it but he was worse than unhelpful, with his whirlwind marriage to Olivia and all…"
"Hmm…"
"Have you ever been in love, Cordelia?"
"I have. Feels like a lifetime ago…"
"Really? Who's the lucky man?"
"You."
Robin spat out his drink and stared at Cordelia incredulously.
"What—? I—! You—!" Robin narrowed his eyes. "…Are you screwing with me?"
"No." To her credit, Cordelia kept her face straight for a full five seconds before a mischievous smile spread across her face.
"Bah! I don't know why I even bothered…"
"I'm sorry, Robin. You made it impossible to resist! Please, go on."
"No. Just leave me alone."
"Come on, I promise to be serious from now on. Please?"
"So who were you in love with?"
"Going straight to business, are we?"
"Not in the mood for games, Cordelia."
"I see…" Cordelia took a sip from her glass. "I suppose there's no harm in telling you now. It was…Chrom."
"Really?"
"You sound surprised."
"Should I not be?"
"I would've thought it was obvious. You've been through countless sessions with me during our club meetings."
"Oh right. He's your typical prince of a kingdom, charming, handsome and with a special holy relic. Ticks all the right boxes for your standard main character love interest." Robin mused.
"It does. And after all the stories of involving princes and pegasus knights I've grown up with, you can see where the attraction came from."
"So what happened?"
"I guess…I never really had the courage to approach him and talk to him like a regular person. Yes, I went and gave my reports to him as was my duty, but beyond that…"
"Why? Chrom's open and approachable enough."
"I know, but…" Cordelia sighed. "I guess I always had this nagging feeling in the back of my mind that he's way out of my league. He was the prince, the heir apparent, this really important figure who commanded respect and authority. And who was I? Just some cadet. While I longed and hoped and dreamed that he would notice me and we'd fall in love and have a fairytale love story, I guess deep inside myself I felt it would never happen. That he deserves someone of his station. That he's too good for me, or a load of other things."
"Sounds like you were making excuses to not try your luck and see if something could happen."
"I guess I was. Funny, isn't it? Here is a man I dreamed of having something with yet did everything in my power to not even try. And in the few instances I did try to talk to him, I turned into some nervous, stuttery schoolgirl. I blushed and tripped over my words because I was talking to Chrom! It was so embarrassing I'd die thinking about it after the fact." Cordelia sighed, shaking her head. "At least Chrom was nice enough not to say anything about this weird cadet trying and failing to talk to him. Gods only know what must've been running through his head."
"And then he up and marries some dancer girl he met on the battlefield."
"Indeed." Cordelia laughed at that. "I don't know if that makes a better or worse love story."
"It's certainly different, that's for sure," Robin chuckled. "…You don't still have feelings for him, do you?"
"Robin, please. Chrom has been happily married for years now. I'm not one to pine after a married man. I've had plenty of time to move on with my life. In a way, it feels liberating."
"Oh?"
"Not to have this dream dangling in front of me," Cordelia clarified. "Before he was single, I was single, and there was always the possibility of something happening between us that I clung to, or at least imagined. Now that Chrom is married? I definitely know that there is no chance of anything happening between us and can move past that stage of my life. Because while having feelings for another is wonderful, it can also be exhausting if it went for as long as it did with me. It was like…being right in front of your dream, but every time you took a step forward, it moved one step away. I suppose it didn't help that I didn't take any steps to try and make my dream a reality, but you get the idea. So yes, I don't have any feelings for Chrom anymore."
"Well that's good. I'd hate it if you became one of those homewreckers we read about in some books that causes a lot of drama and breaks a family apart/gets someone killed."
"Truly a sad fate." Cordelia took a drink from her glass.
"…So what did it feel like?"
"With Chrom? It was a feeling of…longing, I suppose? Of want. A pleasant feeling of warmth and giddiness every time I was around him. It was powerful at times. Was a bit nervous when I knew he was looking and was determined to do my best then." Cordelia looked at Robin's contemplative face. "Although having said that, every person's experience is different."
"Man, why does everyone caveat their experiences with that?!"
"It's the truth, sadly. There's no one standard love experience. Everyone's is different."
Robin grunted unhappily, finishing his ale.
"Sorry it wasn't the answer you were looking for."
"I just want to be sure I know when I meet Morgan's mother. Is that so hard to ask?"
"Well, if all else fails, you have me."
"What?"
"Our pact, Robin."
"Ah, right. Our pact. Do you really think you'll be single in, what was it, twenty years?" Robin asked, pouring more ale for them.
"Only if you wait for me," Cordelia replied cheekily. "Cheers."
"To the pact."
"You and your pact."
"You're the one who brought it up."
The two friends shared a laugh and drank their ale, continuing to talk quietly about various things into the night.
"Look at him, talking with my mother so casually," Severa said, scowling. "Who does he think he is?"
"Severa…" Lucina sighed.
"I know what you said and I trust you, Luce, but forgive me for being wary about this whole crazy situation. Especially with this 'Robin.' I'm going to keep an eye on him, not to mention his so-called daughter…"
"I understand your feelings, Severa, and you are within your right to be wary. Just…please don't antagonize him in the course of your investigation. We all depend on him as the tactician of the army and it would not be very helpful if you were to have a troubled relationship with him."
"Hmph. 'Tactician.' I guess anyone can go around calling themselves that in this time."
"Severa, please promise me you'll at least try to have an open mind about this whole situation?"
"We'll see…"
Lucina sighed.
She supposed that was the most she could expect. To be honest, Severa took everything better than Lucina expected. Then again, that could've been due to the events of the day and everyone being very tired.
Lucina just prayed that it didn't get any worse from here, although given who they were still missing…
No. Better to park that thought for another day.
Gods, Lucina's life just got a lot more complicated...
You thought it was Yarne, but it was me, Severa!
And if you thought the "interview" part of this was on the short side, we still have...a bunch of chapters to go. So think of it as an interview that lasts several chapters. With drama.
Thanks for reading!
