Anna and Anna - A Family Company


Day 211, nightfall


It took all of one day for the Shepherds to liberate Steiger of her Valmese occupants. Another to clean up the mess and account for any who surrendered. This was the first time the Shepherds had actually taken prisoners, but here they were, watching over the many hundred Valmese troops bunched like sardines in Steiger's countless cells.

All but one, of course.

"Commander to Commander, you sure had us thinking on our toes."

"..."

"Well, I hope you don't mind me using this chair," Robin continued, crossing his feet on Pheros' war table as its previous owner sat across from him, tied and restrained.

"..."

"I'll take that as a no then. Let's proceed."

Robin fiddled his thumbs, eyeing the subdued and defeated general carefully. Every movement was subtle, every glance was with purpose. Behind her, Corrin walked slowly, her bare feet making hardly a sound on the cold tiles.

"We're going to release you as we have with your many surviving soldiers- Of course, minus your Chon'sin deserters. We'll keep those, defectors willing." Robin paused slightly, gauging Pheros' reaction.

"Our only condition being," Corrin continued, "that those that wish to join us do so now, lest we perceive them as hostile and eliminate them as we have in all our other prior engagements."

"Say something. Or my fellow commander will elongate your height by a couple inches."

"Surely you don't expect me to believe your offers," Pheros retorted. "I-"

"To be brutally honest, which I do not hesitate to be, I don't care what you all do. We just captured Steiger with a tenth of your numbers," Robin answered back, just as stern.

"But it would be welcome aid for those who disagree with Walhart's doctrine to help us liberate the Valentian continent," Corrin added, taking the softer approach.

"Turn our back on the Conqueror? Do you think us so weak-willed?"

"On the contrary, rather," Robin clarified. "I think you all to be a morally righteous bunch. Under those Valmese breastplates beats a human heart. Same as us. Same as Emmeryn."

"We chose the path of conquest because Walhart's actions have produced results. He has unified Valentia under one banner and one cause- to destroy the Grimleal."

"While I agree that destroying the Grimleal is a priority, we can't let you just march into Ylisse or Ferox or even Plegia. You will not expand any further," Corrin reasoned.

"We are saving the world!"

"What you are doing is genocide," Robin corrected evenly, uncrossing his legs and sitting back up. "Release her," he added quickly.

With a quick motion, Corrin untied Pheros, leaving the valkyrie confused on the floor.

"Another ploy to catch me off guard?" she dared ask.

"I already did. I have no need for subversion now. We've lingered long enough here," Robin lied casually. "It's time we've moved onto bigger things."

"And what of me? My men?"

"Like we said. You are free to stand with us, stand against us, or stand aside. It doesn't change our mission," Corrin stated flatly.

"Do you honestly believe your method to save Ylisse better than what Walhart has?" Pheros directed to Robin.

The tactician nodded slowly, matching eye contact.

"I will not have my home burn to the ground in the name of saving it. If that means stopping the most powerful nation on the continent, then that is what I must do."

"Knowing full well you march to your deaths?"

"We're not dead yet," Robin challenged, glancing quickly to a nodding Corrin.

A pause.

Pheros shifted slightly, rubbing her palms gingerly before sighing in relent.

"I know determination when I see it. I also know the difference between determination and a death wish. But you aren't doing this for glory, are you? Something much more... noble. I can accept that, tactician."

"Glad you still see things rationally."

"But what happens when Plegia comes, a resurrected dragon overhead? What will you 'see?'"

Robin scoffed, waving the question aside with his hand.

"Like all things that threaten Ylisse, my Shepherds and I will rise to meet it on the field of battle. We will win, and our people will be safe. Plegia will have another dragon corpse to clean off in the years to come."

"So sure are you," Pheros muttered, rising slowly. Corrin did not flinch, though Yato was easily within her grasp.

"So I am," Robin replied.

"I disagree with what Valm has done to Chon'sin and Rosanne. I will not disgrace Emmeryn's memory by letting it happen to Ylisse," Pheros spoke softly, shaking her head.

"You are betraying Walhart the moment you-"

"I have betrayed my humanity. I will not accept a verdict any less than that."

"Just like that then? You accept our terms?" Robin asked, ever the skeptic.

"I... do. Steiger is yours after all. So are her soldiers."

"Very well then," Corrin spoke with a smile, putting a hand on Pheros' shoulder. "Your sentence, till your dying breath, is in service to the people of Valentia."

"Yes... I will do that. But do you not have your doubts about me?"

"Of course we do," Corrin laughed. "We don't leave loose ends lying around after all."

"Which is why you'll be leading your troops alongside us. You're not done commanding yet."


Day 212, morning

"That'll be five-hundred gold, hot stuff."

Chrom cursed silently as Anna declared herself five-hundred gold pieces richer. Here he was, the middleman to a mad merchant plundering from his own nation's treasury.

Ever since they rescued the redhead from the Ylissean ruins a few years before, she had stuck close to the militia, supplying both goods and information. However, despite her obvious gifts in combat, the merchant more often than not used her true talents at haggling down market prices of valuable gear, or perhaps finding the now-word in the local sticks.

"That's... A bit much, no?" Chrom begged as a last ditch attempt, hoping for an Exalt-discount.

"Listen, your excellency. You are holding an heirloom that has slain dragons, toppled kingdoms, and felt the hands of every ruler of Archanea since the Hero King himself, not to mention those before him. It murders anything that isn't covered in full plate-mail, and even then you just need to hit the poor sod harder. And here you are, begging me for a deal on javelins?"

Chrom could only gulp.

"I mean, go ahead and be a walking arsenal yourself, but stuff like that? That costs more than favors. I need money. To reimburse my stock first and foremost, and then to keep our suppliers happy. Thankfully, I have such stellar taste in clientele."

"But 500 gold pieces-"

"Don't tell me that Ylisse is going to plunge into the economic doldrums because of your warmongering?"

The Exalt fumed as he pulled out the bag of gold he already had prepared.

"We talked about this Anna. I couldn't thank you more for what you've done for us... But this is a war we're fighting. Especially with our numbers tripled, a decent weapon is few and between our ranks." Anna merely smiled, not buying Chrom's crap. At least, not at its estimated retail price.

"Says the one with the Falchion."

Chrom paused, at a loss at the clever riposte.

"I... Right. Well, um, thanks. I am glad we have you running our stock. Not someone with actual pity..." Anna chuckled at the Exalt's lack of resolve, shooing him off with a gesture.

"Try again next time, sweetie. I'll be right here! Ooh, and tell anyone that asks! Bravemetal swords! Instead of a thousand gold per, how about I bring that down to nine hundred and ninety-nine?"

Chrom turned away and wallowed at the light feeling he felt in his hip, the now-gone money leaving a void akin to starvation or perhaps a familial death. Running into Morgan on his way out the tent, the young tactician excused herself before bowing and nodding to the flustered Exalt.

"Captain Chrom! Uh... Sorry I'm in a rush. My Father is getting to work and everything's a mess and-" Chrom smiled and patted Robin's daughter on the head. The smile was a bit too malicious, Morgan realized.

"I'm sorry too, Morgan."

Uh oh.

"For what?"

"For the fact that you're on cleaning duty for the next week!" Morgan paled and shrunk into her coat. The Exalt let loose a hearty and bitter laugh, just as he walked away, a huge smile of satisfaction on his face.

"W-wait! What? Milord, surely you're... DAD! HELP!" Robin's head peeked out of his tent, not hearing the previous exchange. Scanning the surroundings, Robin raised his eyebrows and looked at the white-haired girl suspiciously.

"...what?"

"I'm on cleaning duty-"

"Aren't we all?"

Robin shut her up and went back into his tent, where the sounds of a couple Shepherd's quickly moving about were heard. Chrom, complete with a new set of javelins returned and turned back to Morgan after a bit of thought. However, the tactician in training was still yelling at her dad's tent.

"DAD WE HAVE A THOUSAND PRISONERS CAN'T WE HAVE THEM-" Chrom tapped her shoulder, shutting up the young girl and making her look to him in a begging manner.

"Y'know, if you want to cut off a couple days from that duty, there's a set of Brave weapons for sale in Anna's tent."

Morgan paled even further, showing Chrom the lint of her pockets.

"I'm not gonna break the Shepherds bank to get myself off cleaning duty! I barely have enough personally for a rock, let alone bravemetal swords!"

Chrom tsked in pity, turning around again, deciding to go towards Robin's tent.

"A shame... You know, we're marching soon. You know how dirty the tents get after a march..." Morgan fell on her knees, and rain began to fall over her head as Chrom disappeared into her father's domain.


"Ah! My blue-haired Exalt. Just the man I wanted to see." Robin greeted the walking armory with a smile and freed up a chair for the Exalt. Inside, Ryoma, Xander and Corrin were seated around what appeared to be a scroll placed on Robin's table.

"What's happening here?" Holding up the scroll with a smile, Robin unraveled the bindings and chuckled.

"You're in time for the second portion of our reinforcements."

"Reinforcements? You mean the prisoners from Steiger-" Robin shushed his King and opened up another portal to Hoshido and Nohr.

"Robin, what is this?"

"Hush, Chrom. You'll like this." As if on cue, a woman stepped out of the portal with a smile and a wink, notably to Chrom.

"Need me so soon, handsome?"

"Anna!?" Chrom winced, glaring at his tactician. "Really, another one?"

"She's a friend from... before all this," Corrin admitted, scratching her head and smiling at the Nohrian Anna.

"Robin, one Anna is quite enough. We can't have two of them-"

"Supplying our army with discounted supplies? Chrom, you know this is the right thing to do at a crucial time like this." Chrom wasn't having any of it. He crossed his arms and looked at the new Anna. Unlike the one he just got hustled by, this one seemed to be more of an archer, wearing fingerless gloves and a cloak of rougher material than the whimsical clothing of the Ylissean Anna. Not to mention she looked a bit... younger? And not to mention-

"It's rude to stare handsome. At least in public it is... Perhaps I can take you out back for a private peek? For enough gold, I bet-" Chrom nearly choked on his own cough, blushing in shock.

"That will not be necessary," Xander said calmly, looking to Robin. "Looks like the scroll worked well enough."

"Ryoma, Xander, thank you for the help," Corrin smiled, greeting her two brothers.

"Anything to aid our cause," Ryoma bowed, leaving. Xander did suit, leaving just Chrom, Corrin and Robin with the Anna.

"So. Anna," Robin started. "You are aware we have one of your sisters here... Right?"

"Of course! I've heard stories of this Anna. But I'll tell you what! No one out-Anna's Anna!" With that, the adventurer Anna ran out of the tent, her huge backpack nearly ripping open Robin's own doorway as she set up shop, causing a commotion that brought about several Shepherds to introduce themselves.

"...Why?" Chrom asked, showing Robin his empty coinpurse for emphasis.

"Chrom, what happens when two people sell the same thing?" Chrom scratched his head. "Come now, you're an Exalt. You have to know something on how market prices work."

"People go for the cheaper one or the better one?"

"And if two Anna's happen to be selling swords at low prices..." The light dawned on Chrom at the thought of market competition, and he patted Robin on the back.

"Nice work then. But how'd you find a Nohrian Anna?" Corrin stepped in, proudly pointing to herself.

"She may dress Nohrian, but it's just because of the weather," Robin interjected. Corrin cleared her throat and began.

"Leo and Xander, among others, rescued her from border-ruffians a few weeks before the war," she explained, "And I had the pleasure of meeting her in Hoshido when she was selling wares at a food stand!"

"So she's not on any side?"

"She is one of the few that could readily travel between Nohr and Hoshido," Robin clarified. "A person like that is very valuable to have at a time like this."

"A time like this?" Chrom asked.

"It's hard to tell just by watching," Robin started, gritting his teeth in apathy, "But there is still tension between some of the Nohrians and Hoshidans."

"It's to be expected," Chrom said, relieved. "Two armies at a standstill because of a supernatural threat. You think tension would disappear overnight?"

"It almost did," Corrin said, "And thanks to our success, morale has been high. But once our momentum shifts, especially with how difficult the Valmese campaign has been going, they might start having doubts.

"Which is why we brought Anna," Robin continued. "A person that can broker both sides without bias is very valuable at a time like this. So far, only Corrin, Azura, Kaze, and a few others have that expertise."

"Still," Chrom sighed, pocketing his sack of no coins, "Is this Anna..."

"She's as Anna as it gets, sadly," Robin frowned.


"YOU'RE NO SISTER OF MINE!" Ylissean Anna yelled, angry at the giant tent blocking the sun from reaching her own tent. "A REAL ANNA KNOWS WHEN TO BACK OFF ANOTHER ANNA'S SECRET SHOP!"

"Secret shop? Ha! It's not a secret your wares are secondhand!" Hoshidan Anna countered, before showing off her shiny goods. "Nohrian-forged swords, Hoshidan-strung bows, really rare Hoshidan and Nohrian magic, and guess what! THEY DON'T BREAK!"

Both Anna's paused their fight briefly as Morgan sulked by, the dismal cloud over her head leaving a muddy trail behind her.

"Hey you! Tactician's daughter!" Y-Anna yelled, causing Morgan to turn, pointing at her chest.

"...Me?"

"YES YOU! I CAN SEE IT IN YOUR EYES! You're having doubts! 'Oh, will I ever be able to clean Chrom's tents... If only there was something to help me! But there is!" Grunting as she dove into her stockpile out back, Yanna revealed a bucket of... something magical. Hanna gasped as she recognized the product.

"What the... I thought I had the only crate of-"

"FER-OXI CLEAN!" Yanna exclaimed, holding up the bucket with a grin. "Scientifically, magically, and personally tested by... uh... experts! Yes! Experts in... err... Cleaning! Tents, that is!"

"This is just what I'll need!" Morgan yipped, bounding over to Yanna's tent. Hanna wouldn't have any of it, so she pulled out her own secret cache of Feroxi Clean.

"Wait right there... What was it... Margon!"

"Morgan."

"Yes! Morgan! Whatever price that Anna offers for Feroxi Clean, I'll give you double for half!"

Morgan shrugged and went over to Hanna's tent. Yanna glared at her sister and pulled out two bravemetal swords.

"That may be so, but I'll throw in a brave weapon set ABSOLUTELY FREE!" Morgan's eyes widened at the deal and ran back over to Yanna's stall.

"But wait," Hanna said, diving into her own weapon's rack. "There's more!" Pulling out a dragonstone, Hanna grinned victoriously as Morgan's eyes glittered in awe. "Buy my Feroxi Clean and you too can bear your Mother's power!"

"Where did you even... never mind. Last time I had one of those I opened a portal and accidentally found my brother, who nearly killed my father," Morgan explained with a weak frown.

"SOUNDS LIKE A PLAN!" Yanna screamed, pulling out a large body from under her stand. "BUY MY FEROXI CLEAN AND I'LL GIVE YOU..."

What.

"Kana!?" Morgan stared at the unconscious body in Yanna's arms in shock. "H-hey! Let go of my brother!"

A crowd was forming outside the perimeter, with Robin frantically waving his arms about at the instant scene. A second later, he seemed to disappear, to the confusion of no one.

"Oh yeah!?" Hanna replied, "You've just activated my trap sale!" She pulled down the side of her tent, revealing her secret to be none other than Exalt Chrom, tied up and gagged. His eyes were clear enough to see his barely-suppressed anger.

"Buy my Feroxi Clean and you get the dragonstone AND a free Chrom to do your bidding!"

Morgan was sold. Her brother could free himself. But Chrom? She needed out of that cleaning duty!

"Deal!" Morgan said, yanking out her gold purse. However, it was intercepted by Yanna, who nabbed it with the edge of... Yato?

"That's... My mom's sword!" Morgan huffed, glaring at Yanna suspiciously.

"Not only that kiddo, but with your order of Feroxi Clean, you get not one, but two of your parents, complete with weapons and clothes!" Revealing a secret compartment in the back of her shop, Morgan saw Robin and Corrin tied up back to back, clearly beyond struggling. Yanna stood confidently on her counter as Morgan gaped in a mixture of awe and horror.

"H-how did you-"

"Hush kid," Yanna and Hanna said simultaneously. "Trade secrets."

"So, what's it gonna be, Morgan?" Hanna asked, standing on Chrom's shoulders for emphasis, much to his pain. Yanna cleared her throat and pointed at Robin and Corrin, who merely glared at her with two sets of angry eyes.

"I... I-"

"You won't be cleaning a thing."

Morgan turned to see Jakob in full butler regalia, standing gloriously on his tea kettles which in turn were balanced on Frederick, who was carrying his horse.

"When I heard news that milady and milord had cleaning duties to spare, I sprang at the soonest moment. Not only that, but the opportunity to save Lady Corrin and Shitbag Robin, AND acquire cleaning supplies at discounted rates? Bah, I may be a servant and a butler, but now I'm a thief for this STEAL!" Reaching into his pockets, Jakob pulled out two hefty sacks of gold, hurling them into Yanna's and Hanna's stands respectively. The wealth flew through the wood of the respective stands, making a small crater in the dirt where they landed. Complying immediately, Chrom, Corrin, and Robin were untied, with Kana being dropped unceremoniously onto the crates of Feroxi Clean.

"..." Chrom glared at Robin, thinking to draw Falchion if not for his sore wrists. Likewise, Corrin nabbed back Yato and pointed it at Robin, judging where to stab him in a non-fatal spot.

"Guys?" Robin laughed nervously, his hands raised and children in various positions around him. Pointing away, Robin's eyes widened and Corrin and Chrom looked to see...

Nothing. Turning back to where Robin was, they spotted a white flash of hair taking off into the main tents, and they gave chase. Morgan picked up Kana and looked at the scene unfold with curiosity. The Annas seemed at peace with each other as well, comparing haggling techniques for future use. Jakob and Frederick took to work polishing everything and everyone, and Robin's screams and laughter were heard in the far-off distance.

"What the hell is wrong with this army?" Hanna asked, to which Yanna shrugged.

"Get used to it, sister."