The Lion's Den
You will meet the Valmese not as a princess but as a servant to the house of the Exalt, specifically of 'minor blood'. Avoid eye contact with the leader if possible. Keep your eyes at their feet. Bend your knee if you must, but don't incite aggression. Be passive.
That was what her mother's note said when Lucina opened up her make-up case the next morning. Having been born a princess and raised to be the Exalt of Ylisse, paying obeisance to another was foreign to her. She had seen some servants in her younger years, but as supplies dwindled and outlooks became bleak, all but the most basic of formalities were quickly discarded for survival.
It had incensed her at first. She? Bow to another power, to one that she knew was to lose the war?
And minor blood? She was the Exalt of her time.
She fumed in her tent at the insult her mother hurled at her. First withholding information, and now this? Was there no end to what she would do?
And yet duty bound her to complete the task. Eventually, she walked out of her tent and towards the departure point. Robin had come to see the party off, and when she spotted Lucina she pulled the princess aside.
"Did you do your makeup today?"
"Yes." Her answer was curter than she had wanted to imply.
"Good. I know I'm asking a lot of you with that, but it's necessary. Should all things go well, we will be having lunch with them tomorrow."
Robin then produced a letter and tucked it into her clothes. While it all fit in an envelope, its contents seemed just a little bulky.
"This is something that is outside of your usual scope. If you feel stuck or threatened, show this to the commander, and they will accept our request."
"How are you so sure, mother?"
"You're my daughter and I'm about to put you in the lion's den," Robin said, gently brushing aside one of the locks of her hair. The style was a little different today – it lacked the braids tracing through her sides and over her ears, and one side of her bangs seemed significantly shorter than the other. "Your father and I are sending you in prepared, and no precaution is too minor to ensure your safety."
Lucina didn't feel particularly prepared. She wasn't allowed to carry the Falchion with her, nor could she bring Inigo's shield and Laurent's cape with her. All she was issued was her standard armors and a steel sword– enough to distinguish her from a standard soldier, but not enough to draw similarities in case any retreating Valmese troops identified her. She brought up her concern regarding the eye patch, but Robin waved that off as well – it wasn't an uncommon sight among soldiers, and it guarded something far more valuable.
"Still, don't forget. We're looking to learn about Walhart – who he is, how they talk about him, what he observes and what he ignores. Additional battle plans are always helpful, but our primary objective is Walhart. And AFE."
"I know."
Finally extricating herself from her daughter's side, she stepped back and watched as Lucina climbed onto Cynthia's pegasus, wrapping a single arm around the girl before they took off. With one last glance back to the ground, she spotted Robin walking back to her tent, a familiar Plegian shade following after her.
The flight to the tree was thankfully empty, if not a little long. It would have been nicer had it been with Gerome, but a wyvern might appear intimidating, and pegasus knights were universally recognized as the messenger of choice.
Sumia and Cordelia had taken off earlier with plain white flags to help signal the peaceful approach. But when they returned with a small entourage of Valmese riders, Lucina could not help but worry. She felt her trepidation grow as the Mila Tree came closer and closer, its branches reaching into the skies. Eventually they were directed to touch down in a surrounded area on one of the tree's southern roots. The senior riders seemed to know how to act, but she could see the concern in how Cynthia looked around the containment.
She leaned in towards the rider. "Cynthia, do exactly what I do. No sudden movements and avoid eye contact," she whispered. The redhead nodded slowly. She too had been ordered to fly unarmed, only carrying a concealed dagger with her.
Dismounting, she felt her heart pound. No weapon would let her fight out from this position, and they were too far to make a retreat. Very soon, there was a heavy pounding of feet and the surround parted to reveal an aged, bald man in heavy red armor and sharp eyes, perhaps in his late forties.
Eyes down.
"I am General Cervantes," the man boomed. "I have been tasked with safeguarding the Voice of Naga in this period of turmoil. What brings you, a part of the Ylissean force, here to my encampment?"
Keeping her eyes trained towards his shins and feet, she slowly knelt down onto one knee. Sumia, Cordelia, and Cynthia, after a quick gasp from the younger rider, quickly followed suit. "I come as a humble messenger of the Lord Exalt and the Queen of Ylisse." She calmly spoke, keeping her voice just a little below what she usually used. "Specifically, the Queen would seek to share a meal with you, the commander of this company, in formal parley."
A rough scoff greeted her request. "The king and queen would travel hundreds of miles across the ocean, invade our port, then discretely march to my location and seek peace?" He walked up and planted his feet in front of her, no doubt looking at her kneeling form. "Tell me, young lady. Do you think that she would want peace after just that?"
"I cannot claim to know what our Lord Exalt and his Queen desires." She had never been drilled on such speech, but after watching Robin meeting and lobbying with delegates and representatives and nobles, such words seemed to form on their own. "I have merely been tasked with proposing the time and date. The Queen would be more than happy to prepare a luncheon for you and your officers at noontime tomorrow in an effort to discuss peace."
"Why, so she may poison us?" he loudly laughed. "Please, I knew the Exalt and Queen were fools to invade Valm, but I didn't think they were daft." The troops around her chuckled and she felt her face burn. Never had she openly heard someone shame her father and mother in such a way.
Taking a breath to calm her anger, she spoke again. "The Lord Exalt and the Queen have always believed in extending the olive branch when the opportunity arose. Even the late Exalt, Exalt Emmeryn, sought peace by choosing-"
"She leapt off a rock to build a path towards peace, yes." Cervantes paced towards her left, and she could feel his eyes boring into her back, taking in every detail about who she was – she didn't doubt that he knew she was a combatant and not a mere messenger. "Our leader is very aware of that path she took and disagrees with it heavily. What good is peace if you cannot live to enjoy it?"
Her anger rose again, and this time she felt some of it come out of her lips when she spoke. "Would you rather have had men and women, fathers and mothers, brothers and sisters fight, then? Pit the very people you sought to bring peace to into battle?"
"It would have made this war even easier."
"So you would reject us then, who have come under the universal banner of armistice?"
This was getting nowhere. But instead of answering her question, the general raised one of his own.
"Your hair. It matches that of your Lord Exalt. Who are you, really? You don't speak like a mere soldier."
Breathe. Relax. She needed to remind herself that things hadn't gone entirely south yet.
"You would be correct. I am merely a servant to the house of the Exalt. Though we may be related, I am of minor blood, and am relegated to a position of servitude. My Lord Exalt bid me to wait upon his and the Queen's commands."
The pacing stopped in front of her. Cervantes suddenly reached down below her chin and tilted her up to meet his eyes. Quickly recovering from her surprise, she turned her gaze towards her left and away from him. Hopefully he didn't remove the eye patch.
"Hmph. I can see the resemblance."
Letting her go, she quickly spoke again before he could. "I was given a letter from the Queen this morning…" she paused a tiny bit, taking out the envelope from her armor. "I was advised to pass this onto you should you have any questions."
Cervantes sniffed before grabbing the letter brusquely from her hand. Prying open the wax seal, he took out the letter, but paused. Reaching inside, Lucina heard an object scratching against the parchment and looked up.
It was a lock of wavy brown hair, like it had been braided and left that way for a long time. Her eyes widened when she realized that it was her mother's hair that Cervantes was holding and she gasped. But between the strands were what seemed to be tiny, crystal-like purple glimmers that flashed only once before never being seen again.
She had seen this type of magic before. Daring to take a quick glance up, she saw that Cervantes' eyes were a little different, glossed over just a tiny bit, but she blinked and the difference was gone. They had suddenly become sharp again. The general began to read the letter and soon a deep, rumbling laughter rose from the man's chest. The strands of hair fell away to the ground, forgotten.
"I take it that you are pleased with the arranged time?" Lucina ventured.
"Return to your queen and tell her that I accept." The general looked down at her.
"You, however, are to remain here."
Laurent had been watching the sky, waiting to see the three riders return. And while Gerome hadn't been with him while he watched, he later appeared not long after the messengers were spotted. However, when it became clear that Lucina was not with them, the mage's heart stopped for a moment. Had the talks gone sour? Did something else happen? Immediately he regretted not speaking up more during the meeting to try and dissuade Robin, but what had happened had happened.
Cynthia shot a pained look to both of them not long after she landed. Her gaze lingered on Laurent and her mouth opened and closed, clearly having difficulty in trying to convey what happened.
"Cynthia, what happened? Where's Lucina?" He bit his lip, realizing he sounded rougher than he meant to.
"I... Damn it," she turned her gaze to the side, distraught. Her mouth twitched before she took a deep breath and turned back to the mage.
Just as she finally began to form words, though, the queen had come up and asked for a status report from the young rider, and whatever firm countenance she developed gave way to fear.
"W-Well, your letter was able to get the general, Cervantes, to accept the meeting. But… Lucina was held behind."
Much to Laurent's concern, Robin did not seem worried that Lucina did not return with the party. In fact, the queen had smiled at the news that the general would meet with them for lunch. She dismissed the team and told them that they had done well. Sending for Cherche and Frederick, she passed out orders to gather ingredients to prepare Ylissean and Valmese dishes according to the amount of officers Cynthia reported would be present. She started the next phase, which was to bring the Shepherds along as the advanced guard to the luncheon. She also directed that a particular supply wagon that was to hold barrels of it (Miriel, much to his surprise, refused to reveal what it was she was preparing) to follow after them the next day, aiming to arrive at night. The other soldiers were to remain behind with Chrom to form a defensive position surrounding the south path to the tree.
It was as if Robin hadn't given a thought to Lucina's possible capture. But when she finally turned to him and Gerome, he felt a chill go down his spine.
There was that smug smile on Robin's lips. "You and you, come with me. I have some things to discuss with you two."
Shooting a glance at Gerome, Laurent was able to see that even he was uncomfortable being addressed so directly by her. The pair followed after the queen in silence. In his head, Laurent had always known that this was going to come sooner or later, but that still didn't take the edge away from his fear, and it only increased when they finally sat down in the empty war tent.
"Before we get too far, I just want to clarify something," the queen started after taking a seat. "It is to my knowledge that Lucina, you two, and a third person are in some sort of courting game. Am I correct?"
The mage gave Gerome an uncomfortable glance, and was only met with the mask's stare. A part of him wished he had one as well. "You would be correct, Lady Robin," Laurent was able to make out. Gerome merely gave a curt nod. "Since you are aware of the presence of a third male, I assume that Lucina had shared the full nature of the… courtship?"
"Indeed. Such a format for a bet is not unheard of, but it is morbid when applied to matters such as these." Leaning over a blank parchment, she began to prepare a quill. "Now I'm not going to ask about the third person. Lucina is starting to realize that she is a grown woman. I trust she will bring that up in her own time and I'd rather take a hands-off approach if I could. So far, though, you two are in good standing. I haven't seen anything detrimental so far," Robin glanced up and gave the pair a sharp look. "I hope you keep it that way. While I don't see myself taking too much action regarding her relationships, I will have to follow procedures if it begins to affect performance. Am I clear?"
The warning was blatant. The both of them silently nodded.
"Good, because I have plans for the both of you in the next phase."
"Before we begin," Laurent mustered, "I must ask. Are you not concerned about Lucina? All I've seen you do is smile since you've heard the news."
The queen yawned before waving his question away. "Standard collateral applies, unfortunately. As a sign of good faith, the requesting party leaves their messenger with the other. But there is no need to worry. She's in the best of hands. I made sure of it."
"Now then, let's get your orders straightened out."
Much to Lucina's relief, Cervantes had ordered her to be well kept. A small tent was prepared for her at the south edge of the camp, and a heavy surveillance was put around the area. Still, despite the general's orders to leave her be, she found herself apprehensive. Even in her own time she had never been this far behind what was considered enemy lines. And while she was alone for the better part of three years, that was while she was still acting as an independent agent. She was wrapped up in a war here.
She found herself attempting to finger the missing shield from her arm. It suddenly felt cold without Laurent's cloak over her shoulders. All she had was the eye patch.
A bedroll and a simple soup and bread were provided, but she found herself unable to eat or sleep. She feared that the food was poisoned or drugged and that she would be attacked in her sleep. The general had promised her protection, but it was hard to believe even with the supposed hex that was cast.
Finally, however, Cervantes had come again with an escort of guards, rapping at her tent frame.
"Come on out, messenger. We have some things to discuss."
With a final breath, she stepped out of her shelter and tilted her gaze down towards the heavy breastplate.
"Don't be alarmed now. This is just standard procedure."
A pair of soldiers, women, firmly stepped towards her and she felt their hands lightly go over her body. Satisfied that they had found nothing on her, one of them produced a thick black cloth, swathing it over her eyes and carefully knotting it behind her head. A pair of hands (she assumed it was those two soldiers) firmly grasped her shoulders, mashing the cloth against her sweltering skin. Then they pushed and pulled her, guiding her through the camp, the snickering voices of men and women peppering her ears until finally she was directed to sit and the blindfold was taken away.
The tent flap closed and she was alone with just the commander, who was seated at his wide desk – a weapon would have been perfect here. His arms were at his sides and his position seemed lax, no way ready to defend himself.
"You seem nervous."
Eyes down. Breathe. Remember what you're here for.
"I've never been this far from my master."
"And what of enemy lines?"
"That, too."
The genera scoffed. "Like I said before, I have little reason to believe that the Queen has come for a peaceful talk," Cervantes boomed. "By my moustache, I'm far more inclined to believe that she's here for information. I'd much rather take the initiative and make you talk, and yet talks that may lead to surrender are to be respected and its rules observed."
Only talks of surrender? She had watched Robin lobby trade routes, negotiations, and treaties.
"Talks of surrender? What about other conferences of peace treaties or sanctions?"
Cervantes waived his hand. "We merely crush those who seek that. Surrender is valued because that is Walhart's only requirement: complete and utter submission. Anything else is brushed aside with our power."
Interesting – Valm seemed focus on becoming the only super power in the area.
"And so his allies," Lucina carefully prodded, "they have all surrendered or otherwise been conquered by him? What of trade routes or partnerships?"
The general gave a punctuated laugh, "What use are trade routes if all lands hoist our flag? But I'm asking the questions here."
Breathe.
And thus Cervantes asked question after question. Lucina did her best to remain obstinate, only answering the simplest of questions while deferring the rest for tomorrow. But through his questions, she could begin to see how Valm, and ultimately Walhart, thought. They were the best – an unstoppable red tide stymied only by the enemy's obeisance. They were unbeatable, invincible even.
Until they fought Ylisse, the princess reminded herself. And that was when Lucina wondered if they accepted the invitation out of fear, seeking to prevent any further Ylissean involvement.
"General Cervantes," she stated. His eyes flew wide for a moment as her head tilted up to look at him. "You speak much of how Valm is invincible. How do you feel about the port invasion?"
His shoulders rose and his moustache twitched. "Servant," he reminded her, "do not forget your place."
"Let us discard our titles," it was a line she happily borrowed from Robin's lobbying. Besides, she didn't want to pretend to be meek anymore. "When the port was lost, were you scared?"
Cervantes' chair fell back as he rose from his seat. His arm snapped out to the side and the cold metal of his gauntlets stung her cheek.
"Guards, return this messenger to her tent."
As strong hands wrapped beneath her arms, she looked up at the general. His eyes had dulled once more, and she felt her lips curl upwards as that black cloth wound itself around her vision.
The next morning, Lucina had been roused from the chair she fell asleep in. She had intended to maintain a vigil and be wary of guards, but her fatigue had gotten the better of her. Still, when the soldier had said that the Queen had come to retrieve her, whatever tiredness she had felt was soon forgotten. Exiting the tent, she was blindfolded once more and was guided towards the south.
Once the cloth was stripped away from her eyes, Lucina could not have asked for a better receiving party. A pair of gold and blue Ylissean standards fluttered in the morning winds. A wide canopy had been raised, and stationed about a hundred meters behind it were the Shepherds. And underneath the tent was a spread blanket, with a wide variety of foods on top. Some of them she recognized as Ylissean dishes while others she presumed were of Valmese origin.
And at the edge of the blanket was Robin, reclining over the side of a small yet regal couch and already eating. On her sides were Khan Flavia, Virion, and Lady Say'ri, each sitting cross-legged with taut backs and shoulders on laced cushions, along with seven other empty seats. On the sides of the tent were ten Shepherds posted as guards, two of which she recognized immediately as Laurent and Gerome. Standing by the couch with parchment and some ink was Laurent's mother, Miriel.
As Lucina's eyes met the queen's gaze, Robin lingered a moment and then she sighed. "I see that my letter was not fully successful in its objective. My servant has come to me harmed."
"I can hardly see how you could call her your servant," Cervantes scoffed. He was dressed in a lighter chainmail, though he still kept his greaves. Lucina suspected that it was just a bit more formal than practical, as it proudly featured Valm's emblem at the front.
"Indeed. Some would say she is more like a daughter to me. Unfortunately, as per protocol, treatment must wait." Lifting her shoulders from the side of the couch, the queen straightened her back and turned towards the general. "Alas, who should be the one bow? I am merely a traveler in your lands, and yet you are in the presence of royalty. Let us instead be like equals and dine." She reached forward and grabbed what looked to be a piece of flatbread and dipped it in a pale sauce. "Miriel, the terms, please."
The mage stepped forward and kneeled at the side of the two parties. Drawing a document from her coat, she adjusted her glasses.
"Allow me to please confirm and verify the terms of the parley." She clearly spoke. "Robin, Queen of Ylisse, initiated the parley and Cervantes, General of Valm has accepted. From his side, he intends to bring five of his officers. As Robin, Queen of Ylisse, is the requesting party, we will bring only three of our officers and the messenger for a total of four. As per standard protocol for a parley of eleven, a rotation ten guards and a scribe from each party will be present."
She folded up the document and leaned forward again, shrinking her pose even further. "Is this in accordance to your preferences, General?"
"It is acceptable."
"Then, with this we officially begin the parley." Miriel extended a hand towards the six cushions facing opposite of Robin. "Please rest and enjoy."
The general huffed. "I think it has started already. Your queen has begun to eat."
Robin had opened her mouth to retort, but Lucina cut her off. "General," the princess-turned-servant turned to face the man, enjoying how his moustache seemed to twitch at the affront, "do you fear pride or poison?"
Not even waiting for a response, she turned on her heel and walked towards the spare cushion next to Virion and sat down. The archer briefly turned to whisper to her. "Couldn't have put it better myself, and judging from the dear Queen's smile, I think she agrees as well."
There was a clang of metal against metal and Lucina turned to see one of Cervantes' officers falling onto his rear, a wide-eyed look on his face as he turned from side to side to see who had hit him. A harsh bark from the annoyed general brought the man to his feet and scrambling to his seat. But then the man tripped over thin air and nearly landed on his face. She had begun to turn back to the spread foods, but there was a quick glimmer of light bouncing off of a tuft of fur. Tilting her head just a little to the left, Yarne's lithe body came into full view. He gave her a quick nod and once again disappeared from her sight.
With a wide smile and knowing that she was in good hands, she turned to the food and remembered that the last thing she had eaten was breakfast yesterday. Like Robin, she reached out and began to eat without fear of reprimand.
A/N: I'll be honest - this chapter wasn't originally planned to happen. It was supposed to be a "the parley was successful" type of deal, and then we are supposed to move onto the next chapter. But at the same time, I couldn't get past that this was a great opportunity for Lucina to stretch her legs - she's thrust into a position she is clearly unfamiliar with. This also gave me a bit more time to flesh out the other characters - we know they're there, but until now they just seem to be taking a passive role, which is something I would like to try and prevent. And so I ran with it and did my best.
Also I seem to use the pegasus riders a lot. Their class is too useful, I suppose, so this helps add a tiny bit of balance to it.
So that means that you could call this a filler chapter. And I would understand if you did. So that's why I also wrote the other chapter. It's finished and in the final proofreading process, so you can expect that by the end of the week latest.
But like I said, we see a lot of traits in the characters showcased, especially Robin. A lot of you commented in reviews that this Robin is pretty different, and you'd be right. She's not afraid to pull a trick or two to win, though I don't want to pretend that she has no moral compass. So this is a pretty intense balancing act at times.
I think I also approached this chapter with a lot of subcontext in mind. Characters act in certain ways for certain reasons, though those reasons are not expounded upon except maybe later. If you think you can figure it out, leave a review or shoot a PM my way and we can have some fun talking it over.
Reviews!
Noxious-Fics: I think this is more character driven than my previous works. This has 5 mainish characters: Lucina, Robin, Laurent, Gerome, and Inigo (when he finally joins us), while my others just tend to focus on one or two. So there's naturally going to be more scenes and interactions, and I get to sit and plan it all out (which honestly requires a lot of thought since I want the interactions to ultimately be believable).
Potatoman089: Say'ri sadly needs more screen time in the game. Her conflict ends too soon, so I will probably end up trying to do too much with her. Hopefully I can keep it reasonable.
Will Peterson: Thank you! I think the reason why we don't see this type of Robin very much is because Robin is supposed to relate to the player. A lot of times we don't want to be evil, so we probably imagine Robin to be moral or unlikely to play unfair. And in this case, this is what makes this Robin so fun to write - I get to break my own personal boundaries about the character and re-imagine what her limits and moralities are.
Like I said, this is a bit of a hold-over chapter. The next chapter will up soon, and it's honestly a scene I've been working and adding onto for almost a year - I had the idea for so long and while it's acceptable to my image right now, I'm trying to fine tune it to get it right.
Also, this chapter was proofread by Acqua Sole! I also highly recommend his piece, To Chase a Hart, an upcoming political thriller/humor piece featuring a cross-dressing fRobin. If you're looking for a nice, thoughtful piece with a side of smart humor, that could be the fic for you!
I do not own Fire Emblem, and I appreciate all comments and criticism.
See you all soon (real soon!)