"Hmm... I see. That's troubling news indeed." Libra said, as Robin finished the explanation.
"Yeah, but now we have a lead. If the others are stuck in those things like you were, then all we need to do is find them," Robin replied.
"You said we were missing for a month, correct?" Libra asked, looking uneasy.
"Hmm? That's right."
"I see," Libra muttered. He paused a moment to catch his breath. "If that's the case, then I would prefer to find these things as soon as possible."
"Why's that?" Robin and Nah asked, almost in unison.
Libra sighed. "I was trapped, you see. Trapped in a nightmare, and I believe it was specifically tailored for me. I had lost track of the days, but it felt much longer than a month... closer to a year," Libra said, his voice beginning to shake.
There was a collective gasp in the group. Seeing the normally calm war monk shaken up like this sent murmurs through the collective. Nah gripped her father's hand, as if to comfort him. She felt a squeeze back.
Robin nodded thoughtfully, then turned to Lucina. "Lucina, send a message to as many nobles as possible in Ylisse and Valm. Tell them to be on the lookout for strange things falling from the sky." He turned to the rest of the group. "We'll be ready to mobilize once another one of these things is found."
Everyone nodded, and Lucina headed to the council room to notify the councilors.
"Father," Nah said, leading him out the room by his hand, "let's go."
"Go? Go where?" Libra asked in response.
"Around town," she replied. "We're going to get those nightmares out of your head."
"Nah, I... thank you."
Robin watched as they left the throne room.
"We should start getting things ready ourselves," Robin said, and everyone nodded.
The sun had just finished setting, and Robin had finished organizing the supplies for the convoy. He shuffled over to the mess hall, grabbing his food before sitting at one of the tables. He was joined by his daughters, Morgan had brought a book with her to the table and Severa's hair was down, with a towel around her neck.
"Morgan," Robin scolded, "you're going to get soup on the pages."
"Oh, I'll be fine, Father," Morgan replied, "I've gotten used to doing this. Not a drop will fall on this book."
"Yeah, but that's no condolence for the dozen books you did ruin."
"I didn't ruin them that bad!" Morgan shouted.
Drip.
A simultaneous sigh escaped from Robin's and Severa's mouths as a bit of soup stained the page that Morgan was reading.
"So... that's number thirteen." Severa said, exasperated.
"It wouldn't have been if you hadn't said anything!" Morgan shouted again.
"Girls, please," Robin said, "I want to enjoy this meal... together."
They looked at him, then at each other. Then they slunk back into their chairs.
"Yes, Father."
"Sorry, Daddy."
Morgan sighed and closed the book, pushing it to the side.
"But, seriously, what book is that? That better not be one of the strategy manuals I gave to you," Robin said, reaching for the book.
"Wait, Father, that's not..." Morgan started, but she was too slow.
"Flowers for the Wyvern Rider?" Robin inquired, reading the title of the book.
Severa gasped. "Wait a minute, isn't that the story with that really steamy-" her face turned red. "Morgan! You can't read that kind of stuff! You're too young for that!"
"Too young?! You're barely older than I am, sis!" Morgan countered.
"Nevertheless, I've got to disapprove! I mean, I know you and Brady... but... gawds! Just no!"
"What about you and Owain, huh? Last week I heard you guys-"
"Girls, please!" Robin shouted, and the two girls could vaguely register stifled laughing at the next table. Inigo, Cynthia, and Yarne were desperately holding in laughter. Owain and Brady had their faces in their palms, their faces red.
"...Yes, Father."
"...Sorry, Daddy."
Robin had been lying in his bed for almost thirty minutes, but he was unable to find sleep. There was a lot on his mind, Libra's words hitting particularly deep. If they had all disappeared at around the same time, then it would have already been over a month for all of the Shepherds to experience those nightmares he spoke of. Libra's comment about a month feeling closer to a year was particularly troubling. That meant that relative time, as it were, was around ten times longer in those nightmares than in reality. The thought made him shudder, and didn't want to imagine having to endure something for that long.
He rose from the bed, deciding to take a short walk around the grounds. It would give him time to clear his head.
He had chosen the garden as his destination, and had arrived after a short walk. He was surprised to find he was not alone.
"Libra? What are you doing here?" Robin asked as he caught the war monk standing up from a kneeling position.
"Ah, Robin. I'm surprised to find you here," Libra replied. "I was just praying to Naga, asking for her guidance."
"Guidance... yeah. I could use a bit of that right now."
They stood in silence, and Robin worked up the courage to ask him something.
"Hey, Libra... that nightmare of yours, what... did it entail exactly?"
Libra stood silent for a few seconds.
"Um... if you don't want to talk about it..." Robin offered.
"No, it's fine. Nah has taken me around Ylisstol the whole day; I don't think I'll be suffering from nightmares for a while. Even if I did, I would probably be too tired to do so."
They both shared a chuckle at that.
"My nightmare..." Libra started. "It's still a bit painful to remember, but it is mostly faded. I can talk about it if you need me to."
"I'm... grateful. Please." Robin said.
Libra sighed. "My nightmare... as I'm sure you know, I was abandoned by my parents at a young age, and was alone until the clergy."
"And that had something to do with the nightmare..." Robin guessed.
"...Yes. I found myself in darkness, and this unshakable feeling that I was... alone. You must understand... I was with Nowi just moments before, and... when I woke up, I didn't even look for her, I just... knew."
"I see... that would be a terrible experience for anyone, let alone for someone with your past," Robin said with a hint of sympathy.
"Yes... but it doesn't stop there. Even I could handle something like that. It began to worsen very quickly. I began to see them."
"...Them?"
"Abandoned children. Or perhaps they were the souls of children. But they kept asking me questions. 'Where is my father?', 'Why don't want my parents want to see me?', they kept asking me. I didn't... have an answer, and I couldn't drown it out. Everywhere I went, they were there. Asking me."
"Abandoned children..." Robin said thoughtfully. He remembered fighting those things inside the crystal. When he thought about it, the connection made sense.
"I'm... I'm actually glad I was able to say it. It's now a lot off my mind." Libra said, with a small smile on his face.
"Libra... do you think we... do you think we can do it?" Robin said hesitantly.
"Robin? Where is this coming from?" Libra asked.
"It's just... you said that for you it felt like a year. By the time we save everyone else, they could be in those nightmares for... for years. What if when they come out... they..."
Libra placed his hand on Robin's shoulder.
"I have faith in you, Robin. You, and everyone else. Nah has already eased my pain so much in only one day," Libra closed his eyes. "I am lucky to have such a kind daughter."
"Libra..."
"I saw Nene again. She has kind eyes, just like Nah does."
Nene was the Nah from this timeline. Nah had talked about her and all of the present children during last night's dinner.
Robin took an deep breath, then smiled again.
"You're right, Libra. Thank you. If we can give them more good memories... more love... they can forget about the pain."
"I believe in everyone, Robin. You all have the bonds to break their nightmares."
"I should get back to bed... you should start painting," Robin said.
"...Painting?" Libra replied, confused.
"Yeah," Robin finished, turning to leave, "Show Nowi a whole gallery to appreciate when we find her."
Robin heard a chuckle from behind him.
Robin opened the door to find someone else in his room.
"Morgan?"
"Father..." she said, turning toward him. She held a piece of parchment in her hands, and she was looking at him with disbelief. "What is this?"
Robin looked closer, and recognized the parchment in her hand as the one he'd written the other day. "Morgan... that's..."
"I found it hidden under your books. Father... do you not remember what happened?"
"Morgan, it's not that, I'm..." Robin was lost for words. How could he explain this? He was trying to think of some excuse, but nothing he said could possibly make sense...
"Father... how many..." she stopped, hesitating for a bit. "How many... how many cycles do you remember?"
Robin finally realized what was going on... and what Morgan was getting at.
"You... you remember too...?" Robin stammered.
He felt Morgan tackle him in a tight hug, and felt the front of his shirt begin to wet with her tears.
"I'm so scared, Father! What am I even... how am I supposed to deal with this?! I don't know who I am... my memories are a mess... I'm afraid I'll say something wrong... like I'll call someone else my mother... It'll be confusing for everyone, and... I'm..."
"You're scared you'll hurt someone," Robin finished.
Morgan sniffled. "Yeah..."
"Listen, Morgan. You're not alone, okay? We'll figure this out together. You don't have to do it alone anymore. You don't need to hold back; you can confide in me. I'll always be your Father... literally."
Morgan chuckled softly, wiping the tears from her eyes.
"You know, Father... what you said..."
"...Was kind of amazing?"
"Well... I was going to say cheesy," Morgan finished, grinning as she saw the frown on her father's face. "But that... it's made me feel better. Thanks, Father."
She handed the parchment she was holding to Robin.
"You should probably get to sleep," Robin said.
"I probably should," Morgan replied, before letting out a yawn. "Goodnight, Father."
Robin wordlessly nodded.
As soon as Morgan left the room, he returned the parchment to its rightful place under the strategy books, then lied down on his bed.
This time, sleep came almost instantly.
Morgan stood at the door to her room, standing and debating whether or not she should head in. After awhile, she decided against it, instead tiptoeing over to another room. She gave it two soft knocks.
"Hunh? Whosat?" she heard from inside, before the door opened, revealing Brady. "Whuh? Morgan? What're you doin' here this late?"
"Brady... can I sleep with you tonight?" she whispered.
Brady's face began to turn red and he stammered out his next words. "Wh... wh-why would that... I-I mean, I guess we're at that age, b-but still... I-It's jus' so sudden, ain't it? I-I mean..."
"Wh-what? No! No no no no no, not like that, I didn't mean..." Morgan stammered back, her face turning as red as his. "I just... I just wanted to be with you tonight."
"Eh...? Oh! Course ya did! Aha ha ha... Heh... y-yeah, I getcha now, but..."
"Oh come on, Brady, this is nothing... Everyone else has already... I mean... they've done things like this before, and... well, it's just..."
"Yeah... I getcha," Brady said, bringing Morgan into a hug, "you miss yer Ma... so do I. If it'll... if it'll help ya sleep, you can crash in my room whenever."
"Thanks, Brady," she finished, giving him a quick peck on the cheek.
Morgan decided that she wouldn't feel guilty about anything anymore. She wasn't going to hold back because of her unexplained memories. She was going to surpass it, with her father, and with all of her friends. She knew that they all loved her regardless, and she wasn't going to betray that love by shying away from those that cared about her. She wasn't scared anymore.
Her fingers intertwined with Brady's, and sleep took them at roughly the same time.
A/N: Let's take break from the whole trinket searchin' shenanidealies, hey?
This chapter deals with a few character interactions and sort of flip-flops around with the mood. I hope the mood changes weren't too jarring for you guys. It also brings back something I hinted at in Chapter 7, namely that Morgan remembers everything just like Robin. I fell like it may have resolved itself a bit too quickly, but I dunno. I'm still overall pleased with this chapter.
Thanks for reading up to this point so far! I appreciate all the reviews you've given me so far. The reviews have all been generally positive so far, and I thank you guys for that, and I hope that my writing stays at a good enough quality that the reviews stay positive. Anyways, stay tuned for the next chapter!