Armored Heart Chapter 5. Prompt 24 On one of their birthdays
It was another day's march for the Shepherds. But everyone was in a much improved mood compared to the earlier days. After defeating Yen'fay's forces the tension in the camp had cooled down a lot once the scouts reported that Walhart's forces had retreated to the capital. Many shepherds were socializing and having a day of leisure to celebrate. Kjelle however stayed away from those celebrations and chose to train particularly hard instead. For Kjelle a good training session was something she enjoyed like other people would enjoy a good book or a shopping spree. She was in the middle of her regime when she realized that she had company. She looked to see who was approaching her, and once Kjelle realized who it was she promptly stopped what she was doing, stood up and snapped to attention with a salute.
"Greetings Sir!" Kjelle said formally.
"At ease, Kjelle." Chrom said, smiling at how stiffly Kjelle spoke. "Hasn't your mother told you I don't care much for formalities."
"Yes, sir- I mean… a-hem, alright Chrom." Kjelle said stiffly while Chrom laughed at her discomfort.
"Heh heh, did Sully always tell you to respect your superior officers?" Chrom asked.
"She did, mother always was a stickler for discipline." Kjelle said as she forced herself to relax. "She drilled that into me, and it helped keep me alive in the future."
"I suppose that it would have kept your will steady while others perished." Chrom said. "But that's not why I'm here. I need your help tonight."
"Why would you need my help, sir?" Kjelle asked, unsure of where the conversation was going. "You're the strongest person in this army I know of, and the Prince of Ylisse. And you are my mother's best friend."
"This is about a more personal matter." Chrom replied, smiling. "You know that Robin doesn't have any of his memories before he met me right?"
"Yes, he told me that not long after I started duelling with him." Kjelle said. "He doesn't speak about it, but I can tell it bothers him from time to time."
"Yes, I've also noticed that it affects him, despite his loud and obvious protests." Chrom said with a sigh. "He eventually took the day that he woke up in the field I met him in as his birthday. That makes today his unofficial birthday, and I have a surprise party planned for him. He'll likely figure it out, but I need you to make sure that he stays away from his books long enough to turn up at the party, and celebrate with us."
"Heh, I think I can persuade Robin to turn up." Kjelle said confidently.
"Thanks for your help, Kjelle. Make sure that he arrives at the mess tent just after sundown." Chrom said appreciatively, before he walked away. It didn't take Kjelle long to come up with a suitable idea, and she continued with her training with a grin on her face. Once she finished Kjelle headed for Robin's tent to speak to him. The tactician was inside and entertaining company. Virion was engaging him in a grueling game of chess, and to her surprise Robin was in a difficult spot.
"Well that didn't go as well as expected..." Robin grumbled as he lost one of his rooks to one of Virion's bishops. He tried to hold his defenses together but Virion was relentless in his assault on Robin's position. Within a few turns Robin conceded the match.
"It seems I have vindicated my cravat once more." Virion said with a regal confidence. "It was your gambit with the knight seven moves back that doomed you."
"...Ah, I see. The exchange that followed meant I wasn't able to bring in enough force to overcome your defenses. And my weakened pawn structure meant I couldn't maneuver quickly enough to defend myself." Robin said in understanding.
"The pace of your progress is frankly frightening." Virion said contemplatively. "Have you been spending many sleepless nights studying our noble game?"
"I have trained on the sly, Kjelle's has been taking the role of enemy general for me." Robin explained. "Between the two of you I'm learning my trade a lot faster than before."
"Aha, I thought that I glimpsed someone else's guiding hand in our match." Virion said. "Little did I know that your fair lady was the one providing you with plentiful practice in your spare time. A love as fulfilling as the one you share with lady Kjelle is the noblest of pursuits, is it not?"
"I suppose you recite the same words to your dearest flower Olivia on a daily basis?" Robin shot back.
"But of course!" Virion said sincerely. "The scarlet blush of her cheeks and the demure adoration that shines through her eyes is a most noble reward for my efforts."
"I suppose that I could admit to there being more to you than your overly flowerly way with words." Robin commented with a roll of his eyes.
"It's not often I see you being beaten in a battle of wits Robin." Kjelle interrupted, and Robin jumped out of his chair and knocked several pieces off of the board.
"Kjelle you gave me a damned shock!" Robin said as he caught his breath. "How long have you been waiting there?"
"Heh, not that long. I just wanted to take a good look at the match you were having." Kjelle said smugly. "Good to know I can catch you off guard."
"Ah this is a most rewarding experience, our tactician being caught with his guard down." Virion said amid his laughter. "But I think I shall take my leave for now. Fare thee well my friend."
"Thanks for the game Virion." Robin said with a farewell wave before facing Kjelle. "It's good to see you. What brings you here?"
"Um… I was hoping for a bit of a favor." Kjelle said, hoping to hide her deception behind a valid excuse. "I want to cook a meal for mother and father, and I was hoping that you could help me out and show me what I'm doing wrong."
"Well I'd be happy to help." Robin said with a smile. "What are you trying to make for your parents?"
"I'm hoping to make a passable stew." Kjelle said hopefully. "Why don't I show you what I'm going to put into the stew in the mess tent?"
"Alright then, let's go." Robin said before donning his tactician's robes. Kjelle followed behind him, confident that she had managed to distract Robin from her true purpose.
"By the way, why did you ask today?" Robin asked, his tone of voice suggesting that he was merely curious. "You normally spend Monday evenings with Vaike and Sully. Today's Thursday."
"Ok fine. The word going around camp is that it's your birthday today." Kjelle answered with a sigh. "I want to spend time with you so we can celebrate your birthday together."
"Kjelle... that's very kind of you to say." Robin said contentedly. "I appreciate what you're doing here."
"You're welcome." Kjelle said as they approached the mess tent. "Come on, let me show you the ingredients I have for that stew."
"But what I mean by I appreciate what you're doing is that you dragged me here for this!" Robin replied with a grin as he pulled the curtain open.
"Surprise! Happy Birthday Robin!" The shepherds shouted out as one. In response Robin waved his arms towards the crowd as they approached him.
"Thank you all very much everybody!" Robin said appreciatively. "And thank you Chrom for setting this party up!"
"You knew all along about this party?" Kjelle asked in defeat. "And you went along with my excuse?"
"I did, Chrom didn't hide his tracks well. Getting your help to bring me here was way too obvious." Robin said with a chuckle.
"I knew that I didn't have much hope of outsmarting you, but I had to get you here somehow." Chrom said before eagerly embracing his best friend. "And Kjelle was more than happy to offer her help."
"And I still appreciate that the both of you have dragged me out here." Robin replied with a slap on Chrom's back. "We all need moments like this to celebrate the lives that we're living. And it's for moments like these that we're fighting this war against Valm."
"Oh no, no more of that kind of talk!" Chrom said in mock outrage. "Today is your birthday party, and as your exalt I forbid you from talking or thinking about the war."
"And why do you think I'd listen? Today is my birthday. I might end up feeling a bit... rebellious." Robin said slyly.
"And what if your girlfriend decided that you have slacked off when it comes to training, and she decided that her parents would be a part of the training regimen from now on?" Kjelle asked.
"I concede the point..." Robin replied, his arms raised in surrender.
"That didn't take much convincing." Kjelle said with a smirk. "But this kind of thing... it's nice. We never got enough reason to celebrate in the future. Every day we had to focus on surviving the next battle. And even if we won, we couldn't let our guard down. We never could dream to hope of happy times like this. So we should damn well make the most of it!"
"Take my advice and listen to Kjelle on this matter." Chrom said hopefully. "You've done so much for all of us and we want you to be happy. Especially today of all days."
"How can I be gloomy when I have both of you telling me to have a good time?" Robin asked with a shake of his head. "Fine! You two schemer's win! I promise not to think about the war for the rest of tonight and tomorrow also!"
"Good. I wouldn't have accepted anything less." Kjelle answered happily. "Let's go celebrate your birthday together!"
With that Robin gave himself over to the celebrations and spent the night making jokes, dancing, feasting and drinking (nothing alcoholic, he didn't need that to have a good time) telling jokes. He especially enjoyed the time he spent with Kjelle, who managed to enjoy the night despite her stern and sometimes aloof nature. In all Robin considered the night to be the best night that he had ever had and no one from the shepherds could disagree after such a night.
Well hi guys, I'm back! I've been away for such a long time because I lost interest in writing for a long time. I never had the time to write anything and I struggled to get the pen moving so to speak. I'm hoping that from here on I can start getting motivated when it comes to writing chapters for Armoured Heart. Next chapter will be based around Challenge number 9: Hanging out with their friends. This chapter I'm stoked for, because I can include some serious Kjelle and Lucina friendship plot, as well as Lucina talking to Robin about his relationship with her best friend.