"Ugh... Probably should have expected this..."
Robin grunted as he pulled himself off the ground and quickly parried another blow.
All of his friends had been happy to see him when he returned, however, only Flavia had challenged him to a duel.
A duel he was definitely losing. Robin was a good swordsman, but by no means an expert. Flavia, on the other hand, had studied different styles of swordplay for years, and, as ruling Khan, was easily one of the toughest warriors in Regna Ferox.
Robin primarily used a variation of a common Plegian style. It was versatile, focused mostly on defense. The goal was to tire the opponent out, which worked wonders against standard soldiers, but in a one on one duel against a talented opponent, it wouldn't exactly hold up.
And Flavia knew this. She'd switched to a Chon'sin style, striking her wooden sword at Robin with blazing speed.
Each strike was like lightning. Robin's face was covered in beads of sweat as Flavia's attacks pushed him back further and further. He found himself only able to defend, not seeing anywhere he could gain ground. He dropped to the ground, rolling out of the way of Flavia's attacks, nearly tripping her in the process.
The moment there was an opening, Robin shifted his feet. Alright, let's see how she fares against the Ylissean royal style! Chrom, Lucina, and Morgan had all been trying to teach him to fight like the Ylissean exalts of legend during the war, although, again, he was no expert. It was a style known only to a few people, kept to the royal family and their closest advisers.
Hah... Perfect! She can't possibly have experience fighting like this! He charged forward. It was focused on acrobatics and aggressive attacks. Robin ran as fast as he could, jumped, and...
Was promptly dealt a heavy blow to the stomach. Flavia had seen it coming from a mile away. She crouched and simply struck her blade upwards as Robin was leaping.
Robin rolled to the ground, completely and utterly defeated. Flavia pointed her wooden sword at his throat and kicked his sword away.
"...Why did I agree to this?" the defeated tactician moaned.
"What's that put as at now? Eight to one?"
"Eight to two." Robin corrected her. "Have you forgotten about our fight in Port Ferox?"
"You cheated that time!" said Flavia, extending a hand to help Robin up.
"Your exact words were 'no tomes,' not 'no magic.' I won fair and square."
"...You know... Now that I think about it... Wasn't that just after Lucina joined the army?"
"Come on, now!" Robin cried in mock indignation. "If you are implying I would rig a fight simply to impress-"
"Dad! Are you okay?" shouted Morgan, rushing in from the sidelines.
"Don't worry, Morgan. I'm fine. Just a little bruised." Robin smiled at the girl, still clearly in a bit of pain.
"Hang on a sec! Let me try something!" Morgan pulled a staff from her robe. "I've been trying to learn healing magic. Mind if I give it a go?"
"No, no, that's-"
Whatever protests Robin had were cut off the moment he saw Morgan's brown eyes filled with excitement.
"...Alright, go for it!"
Robin was suddenly covered in a faint green glow, and then... Nothing happened.
Morgan frowned and shook her staff. "Stupid thing..."
"Morgan, I don't think healing magic would work on something this minor. It's designed for battlefield injuries."
She sighed. "Still..."
"Every failure is a chance to learn something new."
The young girl gave her father a half smile. "Yeah, I guess you're right."
One of the consequences of being the daughter of two of the biggest overachievers in the army was that Morgan often took even the simplest failures harshly.
"So, Robin... Can I ask you something?" interjected Flavia.
"Go for it."
"What's your plan? How're you going to find Lucina?"
Robin smiled cheekily back at her, stretching and cracking his knuckles behind his back. "Yeah, you've got a point. After all, it wouldn't make much sense to just go charging into Valm hoping to find her, eh? It's a big continent."
"...You never told me anything about a plan, father." Morgan chimed in.
"...Haven't I? ...No, I suppose I haven't. Regardless, I have a plan. I always have a plan. When we reach Valm, the first thing we're gonna do is go see an old friend. ...A very old friend."
"...Lady Tiki?"
"Precisely."
"...Well, I suppose she and Lucina were rather close, but I don't think-" Flavia added.
"No no no no, it's not about that..." Morgan butted in. "Manakete talons."
"Bingo."
Flavia just looked back at the pair, dumbfounded. "...You mean to tell me... You two are going to travel halfway across the world for toenail clippings?"
"You aren't getting it. Magical toenail clippings." the older tactician responded.
"Indeed. My father's plan is toe-tally great." added Morgan.
"...I'm just gonna... Go get a healer..."
Robin smirked. "Listen. Manakete talons are a vital ingredient in dark magic divinations. The sort of spells that will tell us exactly where Lucina is. We just need to visit Tiki, get us some talons, then a quick ritual, and we can find Lucina!"
Flavia sighed at him and rolled her eyes. "And the reason you didn't open with an explanation that made sense is...?"
"The fun of it, mostly." he admitted.
"...I really don't get you sometimes."
Robin shrugged. "Well, that's the plan. We'll be heading to Port Ferox to charter a ship in a bit."
"You know Regna Ferox would be happy to provide you with a ship."
"That's kind of you, Flavia, but we can't ask that. We'll be fine just hitching a ride on a merchant ship."
"If you insist. But the offer still stands."
"And I thank you for it, but don't worry. We'll be fine!"
"So what are you going to do after your journey, anyway?"
"Well..." responded Robin. "That'll really depend on what Lucina wants to do. Ideally, I'd like to continue my work as royal tactician of Ylisse. And I think Lucina would like to stay near Ylisstol, so I should still be able to work for the crown. However, she's sort of... Been nervous about it. She's thinking that she might cause problems, being another bearer of the brand so near the castle. Morgan can just wear gloves, but... I'll think of something for Lucina... In the event that I can't, I suppose we'd have to leave Ylisse."
"Mom could always wear an eye patch." Morgan pitched.
"...Not a bad suggestion, but I doubt she'd be into it."
Although given her sense of fashion...
"Ah, well. Our first priority is finding her."
"Well," continued Flavia. "more to the point... Regna Ferox has been looking for a new tactician. The position is available, if you'd like it."
"I'm honored, of course! But-"
"I know, I know. You have more pressing matters to attend to. Think it over?"
"Gladly."
He'd almost stopped to recommend she take Morgan as her new tactician, however, he knew just how stressful being in charge of a nation's military was. Morgan was only a teenager, and Robin had no intention of pushing that much responsibility onto Morgan before she was ready. She would probably accept the position, were it offered to her. That girl was far too eager to bite off more than she could chew.
There was also a voice nagging at the back of Robin's mind. Regna Ferox handed power to the strongest, and, should someone other than Flavia or Basilio come to power, someone eager to do war with Ylisse... He didn't want to consider it. The best case scenario would involve one of them turning traitor.
Some day, Morgan would lead a nation's armies. Robin had no doubt of that. As her mentor, he was proud to know she was nearly on his level, and likely could lead a country's armies. He fully expected Morgan's talents to equal his own with only a few more months of training. As a father, however, he was only hoping the day she directed troops into battle was far off in the distant future.
Flavia smiled. "Good. Now come on, I promised the oaf I'd meet him for drinks, and you two are coming with me!"
...The worries of a father never end, do they...
A/N: Sorry for the slight delay! I was busy with Christmas stuff, and all that. So um... Not much to say this week... I think I said all I needed to last week, anyway. :P I finally have a semi-official outline for how the rest of this story will go. It's looking to be about 17 chapters, give or take, and then I'd like to do a sequel of some sort! We'll cross that bridge when we come to it!
Thanks for reading, reviews always appreciated! You guys are the best!