Disclaimer: I do not own Familiar of Zero or the Fire Emblem Series. This is merely a work of fan fiction - for fun only! All characters belong to their respective owners!
After staring at Robin's robe for a couple more minutes, Louise soundly falls asleep and dreams once again, experiencing the continuation of her last dream.
"AAAAAHHHH! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!"
Commoners ran in all directions, some managed to reach the forests to hide, some unfortunate ones were cut down by axes and swords.
Brave souls who tried to fight back with makeshift weapons only managed to slow the monsters down. It took around 6 or 7 commoners to actually vanquish one, but the odds were just too overwhelming, the monsters were fueled by pure malice and seemed to ignore bodily injuries.
As Louise closed her eyes, ready to recieve her impending doom, the monster stopped, dropping it's axe beside her.
"GRAWRrrr..."
Louise notices a sword jutting out of the monster's chest, killing it. Louise moved to the side as the monster's body slid away from the sword and dissolved into a black and purple mist.
Louise looked up at her saviour, a tall young man with striking blue hair scanned the area. He had a magnificent muscular physique and was quite handsome.
"SHEPHERDS! MOVE OUT AND ROUT THESE BASTARDS!"
"HEALERS GIVE AID TO THE WOUNDED!
The young man ordered his group, known as the "Shepherds" to save the townspeople. The Shepherds were well armed and trained, something that Louise had only seen from Tristain's soldiers, as she sometimes saw them with her mother. The young man had the air of nobility in him, but saw his comrades as equals as he gave out orders, a peculiar sight for Louise.
"Are you hurt miss?"
The young man kneels down, offering a hand to help her up.
Louise takes his hand and stands up, she makes eye contact with the man's sky blue eyes and blushes.
"...T-t-thank you sir, I owe you my life. I thought I was about to be killed by that fiend"
Sounding as grateful as she could, as she wipes the tears off her eyes.
The young man gives her a warm smile, assuring her once again that she is now safe.
A knight on horseback gallops over to the young man. The knight was around 30 or so years old, was clean shaven and had brown hair. Louise could classify him as a stereotypical knight veteran.
"My Lord ! We've found the leader of these monsters! It's over the mill and it's giving us trouble!"
The knight gives his urgent report to the young man.
"Alright! I'll take care of the big guy!"
He whistles and a white steed comes galloping to him.
The young man turns around to Louise one last time.
"Stay here with our healers miss, you will be safe here, I promise you."
He gets on his horse and is about to leave for more battle
"May I know your name noble sir?"
Louise asks, wanting to know the name if her saviour.
"Chrom. My name is Chrom"
The young man replies with a gentle smile.
"I wish you good health miss."
The young man and the knight ride off, Louise watching them off, wishing for their success...
Robin was impressed by the academy's size. Although not as big as one, it certainly felt the cosiness of a castle. She recalls those lazy sleepless nights in Ylisstol in the castle. She and Chrom, and sometimes other Shepherds would take a walk around the castle, telling silly stories and jokes. How she missed everyone...
Walking around a corner, she heard voices. Peeking over at a corner, she saw a flamboyant looking boy with a rose talking to a girl with blonde curls.
"Oh Monmon! There is no one else in this world for me but you! You are like a beautiful rose that blooms amid the wasteland that is life!"
Listening carefully, she could make out the boy's attempts at wooing the girl.
"Pfffffffhaha...haha!, I can't believe I've just seen this world's equivalent of Virion!"
She recalls one of her comrades, a flirtatious and flamboyant playboy who hit on every woman he met, Robin included!
Robin continued to eavesdrop on the couple, numerous times she rolled her eyes around at some of the corniest pick up lines she has ever heard. The curly blonde seemed to share her sentiments at times, but seemed genuinely fond of the boy.
A group of three boys came from the opposite side of the hallway. The one on the left had short red hair and a lanky build, the one on the right had brown hair and was chubby, the middle one had blonde hair with a cowlick. The one in the middle seemed to be the leader of the group. They wore different clothing from the couple and looked older, so Robin deduced that they were seniors. They focused their attention on the couple.
"Oi Grammont, what did I tell you about hitting on my Montmorency huh?!"
The older blonde picked up the younger one up by the collar.
"I don't think this little twerp gets it Kennard! Punch his face in!"
The lanky red head reveals the name of the older blonde, egging his friend on to bully the younger blonde.
"Nah Franco, you're being too nice! Cover him in mud and stick feathers on him! That'll teach him!"
The fat brown-haired boy replies to the lanky red head, revealing his name.
"Hah good idea Dean! But I think I'll do both!"
Kennard reveals the name of his fat friend.
"Stop it Kennard! I've already told you that you aren't my type! Put Guiche down!"
The blonde girl was now furious at the trio's interference and bullying.
"Sir Kennard! Please leave us in peace! It is unbecoming of a gentleman to make a woman mad!"
The younger blonde known as Guiche Grammont tries to shoo away the trio but to no avail.
Kennard's eyes narrowed at Guiche for his protest and slammed him into the ground.
"GWAH!"
Guiche gives out a loud grunt as he hit the hard stone floor!
"Guiche!"
Montmorency yells out as Guiche hits the floor, becoming dazed. She tries to go to his side but Kennard grabs her arm and forcefully embraces her.
"Ack!...let go of me you brute!"
She tries to struggle free but is no match for Kennard's size and strength.
"How bout a kiss my dear? Hehehe."
Kennard then attempts to kiss Monmon, who is now crying. Suddenly...
"Hrraaahhh!..."
Guiche manages to compose himself once more and shoves Kennard away from Monmon.
Panting heavily, Guiche glares at Kennard.
"Leave her alone you barbarian! How dare you make Monmon cry!"
Guiche makes it clear that he cannot forgive the one who made his love cry.
Kennard merely brushes it off and grins.
"I'm gonna make you regret doing that punk. BOYS!"
He orders his two companions. Dean restrains Monmon and covers her mouth to stop her from calling out for help.
"Monmon! Unhand her!...huh?!"
Guiche tells Dean to unhand her but gets caught off guard, as Franco grabs him from behind, restraining him.
Kennard approaches the restrained Guiche and slams his fist to his palm.
"A couple of broken teeth should teach you to know your place Grammont! Maybe a broken nose for good measure!"
Kennard taunts Guiche as Monmon, powerless to do anything, cries as she watches helplessly.
"Oh this has gone far enough!"
The sight of the three bullies ganging up on the couple infuriates Robin as she decides to intervene.
"Hey you! Stop that at once or I'll make you regret it!"
Kennard was about to punch Guiche but suddenly heard the voice from afar. Thinking the voice was from a teacher, the trio fled and left the dazed couple.
"Are you two alright?"
Robin asks them as she tries to console Monmon and helps Guiche up.
"Thank you very much miss"
Monmon, who stopped sobbing, thanks their saviour.
"Thank you for saving us beautiful miss, those barbarians resort to cowardly tactics to win."
Guiche thanks the woman who had just saved them.
"Don't mention it you two, just be more careful at this time of night, maybe find some place more private."
She gives them advice as she starts walking down the hallway once more, waving at them.
"She seems familiar..."
Guiche tries to remember her but can't. He remembers the bullies once more.
"I have to beat Kennard in a duel, if I can't, he'll never leave me and Monmon alone."
He tells himself, strengthening his resolve.
Robin finds herself outside, admiring the flowers. They were colourful and pretty, much like those from Ylisse during spring.
As she steps closer to sniff the flowers, she notices a maid approaching her.
"Good evening miss Robin, I see you took a shine to our flower beds"
The well endowed maid with short black hair, Robin remembers her as one of the maids who brought her and Louise dinner.
"Ah I remember you, but I didn't get your name. Thank you for bringing us dinner earlier."
Robin politely thanks the maid, and asks her name.
"My name is Siesta, I work as a maid in the academy, a pleasure to talk to you my lady."
"Please, just call me Robin, and the feeling is mutual"
"Pardon me, but are you Miss Vallière's guest? I have not seen you before and you don't wear the students' uniform. I've never even seen you in town either, do you come from another town or possibly even out of Tristain?."
The maid asks out of curiosity. She frequented the nearby town during her breaks and when she needed to get supplies. She had a knack for remembering faces, and with that she could tell if someone was new.
"Oh, I'm supposed to be her familiar, and I came from a very very far away place..."
Looking at Robin, Siesta thought she was a commoner at first glance without her robe. Wearing just a simple brown shirt and a black skirt, she looked like a typical commoner. Although Siesta noted her demeanor around nobles was different to hers, Siesta was polite to them yes but she knew she served them. However Robin was different, in that she talked to them like equals, an act Siesta would regret if she attempted it, but dreamt of doing.
"Are you really a noble Robin?"
Siesta finally finds the courage to ask her.
"Hahaha..."
Robin chuckles a bit.
"You could say that, I'm married to nobility, and I'm a tactician working for my kingdom"
Siesta frowns, she thought she could relate to Robin, but she probably led a life of luxury too, much like any other noble.
"Oh...it must be nice living such a life, us commoners are just so unfortunate..."
"Siesta...where I come from though... Nobles and commoners are treated as equals."
Robin's statement shocked Siesta. A land where commoners and nobles were equals? No it can't be true.
"I bet you're just saying that to make me feel better Robin"
She goes back to her sad tone.
"Siesta...it's true, how else could I talk to you like this? To talk to you like you were my equal? A friend, even though I just met you"
Siesta was surprised at this revelation, no noble has talked to her like this before, to try and make her genuinely happy, to care about her feelings. She suddenly felt a bit ashamed at Robin.
"I...I'm sorry I doubted your words Robin, you ARE unlinke any kind of noble I've ever met."
Siesta apologises to her new friend for not believing her.
"It's okay Siesta...maybe someday, the nobles here would acknowledge commoners and treat them as equals. Without them, who would plough the fields? Raise farm animals and hunt for food? Who would feed two lazy ladies in the middle of the night?!"
Robin jokingly replies to her new friend as they admire the flowers and laugh together.
"Wait, what's that commotion over there? I thought all the students were asleep at this time."
Robin asks Siesta, pointing to the crowd forming a couple of yards away from them.
"Yes, they have classes tomorrow, they're all supposed to be asleep,unless...a duel.."
Siesta now focusing her sight on the crowd.
"I've seen it happen before, and I've seen people get badly hurt."
"Not on my watch!"
Robin starts walking towards the crowd.
"These kids, seriously! Ricken nor Donny were never this eager to get hurt!"
"You must've hit your head pretty hard to challenge me to a duel Grammont!"
Kennard mocks Guiche as they both get ready. Guiche unsheathes his rose wand as Kennard points his metallic wand at Guiche.
"Brutes like you will never learn to leave innocents alone unless you get shown your place!"
Filled with anger, remembering the sight of Monmon crying, he insults Kennard.
The other two bullies, Dean and Franco were behind Kennard cheering their friend on to pummel Guiche.
Guiche's friends and Montmorency stood behind him, cheering him on.
"My name is Guiche the Bronze and I challenge you, Sir Kennard to a duel!"
"My name is Kennard of steel! Prepare yourself!"
As the two finish their formalities, Guiche takes the initiative and summons a golem of bronze known as a bronze Valkyrie.
Guiche orders it to attack Kennard with it's sword however...
Kennard counters by summoning his own construct.
Guiche's magic enabled him to make constructs out of bronze, however Kennard's magic enabled him to create constructs out of steel - a metal even harder than bronze! Although steel was harder to manipulate, so Kennard could only summon one at a time.
Kennard orders his massive "steel centurion" to cut down Guiche's Valkyrie and succeeds.
Unfazed, Guiche four more Valkyries and commands them to attack head on, only to be wiped out again, the steel centurion merely being scratched.
Guiche had the advantage of numbers, but Kennard's steel centurion was too powerful to be overwhelmed with numbers.
Robin came here to stop the duel, but instead came to a conclusion that the only way this could end positively is for Guiche to win. She remembers Guiche and the bullies from before, and that the only way to get rid of bullies is to stand up against them, much like what Gangrel and Plegia had done to Ylisse. She weaves through the crowd trying to get to Guiche's side to give him advice...
4,5,6,7 Valkyries at a time, all decimated by the centurion. Things looked bleak for Guiche, but his friends still cheered him on. Summoning 8 more valkyries, he once again orders them to attack - and get destroyed. As the 8th Valkyrie gets destroyed he is sent flying to the crowd. As he tries to get up, he hears a familiar voice...
Robin finally manages to get through and reach Guiche as he lands near her.
Battles are not won by brute force but by cunning strategy, as she is about to show him.
"Guiche! If you want to win listen to me!"
Robin whispers to Guiche, as Kennard is still showing off.
"You can't win a head on battle, but you can win this duel!"
Robin whispers her strategy to Guiche, and with nothing to lose, he nods at her plan.
Guiche, nearing his limit, summoned 10 Valkyries at once.
"You don't get it do you?! HAHAHA!"
Kennard once again mocking Guiche.
However, this time Guiche had a plan.
Instead of sending his Valkyries for another ill-fated head on attack, he sends 2 valkyries north, 2 south, 2 east, and 2 west of the steel construct. One he put in front of himself, the final one behind him.
He orders the eight surrounding Valkyries to attack, the giant steel soldier finding it hard to swat them all at once as they alternated on attacking at different sides and retreated as it tried to counter attack. The 8 Valkyries were still intact after 10 more minutes, they lasted ten times longer than their previous comrades!
Kennard however was getting annoyed at this delaying tactic, Guiche could still not be able to overcome his might centurion. Using up a great deal of magic, he makes his centurion even more powerful, multiplying its arms from two to eight, and enlarging it's maces.
"How's THIS Grammont!?"
Breathing heavily himself now, his empowered centurion swats all eight of Guiche's Valkyries, all were still intact but were downed. All of a sudden, Guiche's ninth Valkyrie charges at Kennard at full speed, taking advantage of the preoccupied centurion.
"DAMN IT!"
Kennard, now sweating profusely, attempts to order his centurion to attack the Valkyrie. Will Kennard's centurion stop the Valkyrie or will the Valkyrie vanquish Kennard?
The answer was the former. Merely inches away from Kennard, the Valkyrie was knicked by the centurions mace, sending it stumbling a couple of metres away from Kennard, unable to stand.
"...ahaha...AHAHA...! I win Grammont! You LO..!"
*THUD*
Kennard falls to the ground unconscious. A bronze Valkyrie behind him the culprit. The crowd was speechless, Kennard's supporters were dumbstruck at what happened.
And then Guiche's friends broke the silence and cheered loudly. Guiche had won!
In Guiche's side, Monmon was accompanied by two other females, Kirche and Tabitha. Guiche may be a playboy, but he wasn't a brute like Kennard, so they cheered for Guiche, aside from the fact that their friend Monmon was fond of him.
"Wow... Guiche somehow won...and he looked kind of cool there!"
Kirche now had a better opinion of Guiche. Not only did he beat Kennard, he did so laying down his pride for the sake of Monmon.
Tabitha however was just reading one of her books during the duel, that is until Guiche started fighting smartly instead of just commanding head on attacks.
She also noticed a lady that wore commoner clothing, whispering something to Guiche earlier. She recognises her as the noble Louise summoned.
"Louise's Familiar"
She tells her friend Kirche, gasping as she finds out from her friend.
"Oh wow, you're right, it's her! What's she doing here?"
"Gave Guiche...advice"
She deduced this after Guiche suddenly went from hopeless lunk-head to a strategist after she talked to him.
Guiche, exhausted, sat down on the ground, giving a smile to Monmon.
A young woman approached him and offered him her hand up.
"Well done Guiche Grammont, that was impressive"
Guiche recognises the voice from earlier, it was her that enabled him to win!
"I cannot thank you enough my lady, that was a strategy befitting of a general!"
The woman merely smiles at him as if to congratulate him.
"Remember Guiche, in war if you cannot beat an overwhelmingly powerful army, you go for it's weakness, it's head. This option also leads to the least casualties."
Robin remembers the battle against Walhart and Valm, where a strategic gambit paid off to ensure victory against insurmountable odds. The relation was rather uncanny.
Guiche notices all 10 of his Valkyries were battered but still intact as he just notices.
After years of studying military tactics, Robin was considered a prodigy among tacticians. She could form strategies on the go, even in the heat of battle provided she had ample communication.
The aim of the duel was to knock out the duelist, not defeat the golems. Using the 8 Valkyries, Kennard became frustrated at being stopped by a force inferior to his and poured more magic into his construct, taking his mind off his sorroundings. As he did this, he overcame the 8 Valkyries, however he was briefly left open, letting the 9th Valkyrie perform a desperate attack. Because of the centurion's reach however, the attack only stood a 50-50 chance to succeed. If that failed, Guiche's secret trump card would ensure victory. The 10th Valkyrie, the one behind him, tunneled underground. Kennard could not see this as it was behind Guiche and the 9th Valkyrie. It needed time to reach an ample distance to reach Kennard.
Kennard however, is also an earth mage, he would most likely sense it coming unless he was distracted enough. The 9th valkyrie's 50-50 desperation attack was enough to numb all his senses and concentrate on the desperate attack, as the 10th Valkyrie sneaks behind him underground. The centurion smashing the 9th valkyrie away further ensured the deception. The loud sound of steel hitting bronze generated as the centurion hit the valkyrie masked the sounds of the tunnelling valkyrie, letting it slip past.
Guiche shakes Robin's hand and tries to go over to Monmon. But the centurion comes back to life, smashing its mace between Guiche and Monmon!
Kennard was back up, enraged. He glares at Robin.
"YOU! You commoner! You did something to him! Did you use an empowerment spell on this brat?!"
Kennard's friends whispered of a commoner woman who talked to Guiche as he got up to turn the battle to his favour.
Blinded with rage, he has lost all meaning, there is no such thing as an empowerment spell. That and accusing a commoner of casting a spell.
He readies his centurion, ready to strike down Robin.
"It was pure strategy. And a tactic is only as good as the general orchestrating it!"
Robin readies to defend herself, however Guiche stands up in front of Robin, still exhausted and barely standing.
"How dare you point a weapon against a lady!"
His honour and determination unwavering, however he had no strength left, with his opponent blinded by rage and left without reasoning, Guiche might end up seriously hurt.
Both Kirche and Tabitha, and even Montmorency were about to intervene.
"Thank you Guiche, thanks everyone, it's alright, I'll handle this."
Robin tells the blonde, as she picks up one of the bronze swords the Valkyries dropped. She notices however that the runes on her right hand glow as she picks up the sword, making it feel as light as a feather. Giving a reassuring smile to Guiche and his friends, she gets ready.
With it, Guiche and the three girls back down. They watched intently, with Tabitha even hiding her book to give the fight her entire attention.
The centurion attacks Robin, some members of the crowd averting their sight on the commoner lady who was seemingly about to be killed. Robin however begged to differ.
Robin somehow felt as swift and skillful as Lon'qu or Say'ri, her concentration as refined as Virion aiming an arrow, and as strong as even Chrom!
Dodging the centurion's relentless assault as if she was dancing, the crowd who was expecting her to be killed was know awe-struck. Some of the boys blushing, one even commenting that she looked like a beautiful fairy dancing gracefully under the moonlight.
"YOU TWO! BACK ME UP! ARE YOU GONNA LET THIS COMMONER MAKE FUN OF ME?!"
Kennard orders his two lackeys, snapping them out of the daze they had watching the commoner-woman.
Pulling out their wands, they combine their magic and turn the centurion into a giant, wielding numerous weapons! The crowd was once again fearing the sight of a dead commoner.
Robin looks at the steel giant, then to the crazed Kennard and his lackeys, shaking her head in disapproval.
"You rely on brute force to fight, even after your loss. If this was a real battle, you already would have perished."
Robin stabs the sword into the ground beside her, as Kennard laughs.
"You wanna give up do you commoner bitch?! TOO BAD! For insulting me, death is the only punishment fitting for you!"
With her runes glowing even brightly before, she clenches her hand and speaks.
"Shall I demonstrate to you what happens when you use brute force against an overwhelmingly powerful foe?..."
Feeling a massive surge of magic and the glowing runes, she deduced that these runes acted like a spell that empowered her physical and magical powers. And it cost her nothing to use it.
"...checkmate!"
Robin declares as she let out the flurry of spells that amazed even her.
5 minutes ago
Louise was awakened by loud noises, like metal hitting metal.
"NnggggGg...what's with all that racket?! I'm trying to sleep!"
Looking out her window she saw a duel taking place. Not wanting to be left out of the gossip, she quickly grabbed her coat and ran downstairs.
Reaching the place of the duel, she tried to squeeze through. When she finally had a good view, it was all over. It was that playboy Guiche against that Bully Kennard.
Louise hated Kennard and his friends. Among her bullies, they were the most hurtful, managing to make her cry at times.
Looking at Guiche however, she saw a familiar sight. It was Robin, helping Guiche up. She found it strange.
Still wondering what transpired however, Kennard makes it clear he wasn't done yet, and focuses his attention on Robin.
She was about to intervene, much like Tabitha, Kirche, Monmon and an exhausted Guiche, however stopped as Robin stepped up in front of them.
Robin knew that Louise was there, as she gave her a reassuring smile. Robin was about to show Louise what her familiar was capable of
A symphony of fire, wind, ice, lightning, shadow and water greeted the steel giant. A barrage of multiple elements mercilessly battering the giant as each explosion took out pieces of it at a time.
This woman was no mere commoner, this woman was a square class noble!
As the smoke clears, nothing was left of the giant but a massive crater. It was vaporised by the woman's merciless onslaught of magic.
Kennard and his friends in utter disbelief passed out of fear.
The crowd cheers once again, breaking the silence. Some whispering the repercussions of Kennard attempting to seriously injure the noblewoman.
Louise with her mouth agape approaches Robin.
"...ho...ho...how did you do that Robin?! That was AMAZING! You were a square class all this time?!"
Louise was ecstatic of her familiar's powers. Meanwhile Guiche, Monmon and Kirche were left speechless. Tabitha's eyes grew wide, still trying to process what just happened.
Robin just smiled and rubbed the back of her head, embarrassed. She wasn't the type to show off like Vaike, Owain, or Cynthia.
She looked at the runes on the back of her hand, wondering one more time just what it was.
Headmaster Osmond watched from his window. He saw the whole duel but decided not to intervene after seeing Robin nearby.
His door suddenly burst open, Professor Colbert in a hurry.
"Headmaster! A duel just took place in the courtyard! I'm heading there right now, please come!"
"Alright alright I'll be there as soon as I am able."
The old man replies as Colbert hurries to the courtyard.
"Miss Robin sure is an interesting woman, don't you think ChuChu?"
The headmaster smiles as he pats his mouse familiar.
Author's notes:
Phew, this is my first attempt at completely original characters. I thought Poor Guiche should deserve a spotlight as he always became the whipping boy at the start of the story.
Seems that Robin's runes also augment her magic, weird huh?
Thanks for the reviews guys, as per suggestions, I've slowed down the story a bit and fixed paragraphing.
I'll try to keep improving the story, and I plan on changing the fates of certain characters in the story. "Cough" Matilda "Cough"
What do you guys think of Guiche having a spotlight?
Will start thinking of drafts for next chapter soon. See you then!