Chapter 29
"So... help me wrap my head around this," Morgan demanded, pressing her palm to her temple in an apparent effort to do just that.
"What's not to understand?" the older vision of her youngest brother answered, "We're you guys, just from the future."
"But... why? How?" she insisted.
"There are forces at work in your heritage you know nothing about, my dear girl," the older silver-haired man replied.
"And as for why," the future Sylvia added, "Isn't it kind of obvious?"
"But... the disguises...?" the young redhead protested.
The future Anna nodded, "We had to keep things under wraps. Altering the future too much could be dangerous. Plus, it could be upsetting to the current timeline versions of ourselves... id est, you guys."
"Wait a moment," the younger Steven commanded, "do you mean to tell me you're our... their mother? If you came back, why not their Robin? I mean, he'd be old by now, no doubt, but he'd be an indispensable ally."
The Anna shook her head, "Unfortunately, that's not quite the case, kiddo. I'm nobody's mom here, just an aunt. I'm afraid their father... didn't quite make it."
"Father died of a terrible illness when my Sylvia, Leo, and Morgan were still practically tots," the older Steven elaborated.
"And your mother?" Morgan's eyes went wide.
"Died in childbirth," the other Morgan spoke up, "Giving birth to me, in case that wasn't obvious." The future Leo adjusted his stance, flicking an eye over at his baby sister.
"But then," the present Leo interjected, "how'd they live this long? Unless you guys..."
"We've always been on the fringes," the older Steven smiled, "Every step of the way, keeping folks alive, preventing crucial mistakes that led to the ruin of our world."
"So Nihilus won in your future?" Sylvia supposed.
"Indeed," the future Steven folded his arms, "Most governments were eventually overtaken by his forces. People became downright animalistic, every man scrounging and fighting for everything he could claim. The strong victimizing the weak; assault, murder, and... crimes much worse became commonplace. The anarchy was worldwide, such that no organization could ever hope to cull it. The world became a place wherein people can and do take whatever they want... whatever they want. In short, Nihilus got his wish."
"So... all this time," Steven breathed.
"It's been us," the future Leo nodded, "bailing you outta your jams, putting people on the right paths... Of course, some of this is becoming unknown territory; we can't account for everything, but I'd say we did a bang-up job of fixing things before we set the stage."
"And now?" Morgan wondered.
"Now it's time to bring this to an end," her future counterpart provided, "We'll help you finish this fight and retake the capitol."
"What about Nihilus?" Leo asked, "I thought gutting him was the whole point o' your coming back."
"Not quite," the future Steven shook his head, "There were a lot of things we wanted to fix. But for Nihilus... well, we need your father, suffice it to say."
"You're talking about the Emblem, right?" Inigo suddenly piped up, entering the conversation. The future Morgan's eyes widened and she turned her head.
"What?" the future Leo faced him, "Who are you?"
"Inigo," he answered, "Chrom and Olivia's son, Lucina's sister."
"Ah," the assassin nodded, "sorry, uh... we never met."
"In any case, you're correct," said the future Steven, "The power of Naga's divine protection... Only father—er, Robin stands a chance against it."
"Why would that be?" the present Steven wondered.
His counterpart smirked, "I think it'd be better to let you have that conversation between yourselves. For now, we need to focus on the castle itself."
Leo turned his head to see the assassins still swarming the coalition of mercenaries and Feroxi. Nodding, he looked to the castle next, seeing a sea of soldiers begin to pour out from within. The soldiers were heavily armored, the hulking metal clanking as they filed out. "About that," the assassin said, "You said you're gonna help fight? How? I mean, you guys have gotta be almost as old as mom and dad by now. You especially, other Steve."
The older silver-haired man smiled and folded his arms, "Oh, arrogant, impetuous Leo. You're just as I remember you. Allow me to show you a little something about age."
Leo opened his mouth to offer a retort, but the present version of his older brother tapped him on the shoulder and he caught a look from his own future counterpart, who shook his head.
The older silver-haired man strode out in front of the group and sighed, moving a lock of hair out of his face. He eyed the guards sprinting out of the gates and pulled a scarlet tome out of his coat pocket. Dahlia emerged from the crowd stepping out of the castle and glared at him across the plain. She scowled, baring her teeth. The lines on her forehead creased as she shouted, "Attention! First one to bring me that man's head gets fifty thousand gold!" Jubilant shouts came from the mercenaries, who began to rush forward.
"Is he going to do something?" Leo demanded.
The future Steven raised the tome to eye level and flipped it open. He flicked out two fingers on his free hand, and a spark emerged just above their tips.
The group concentrated silently on him, save Leo, who continued to ask, "What's he gonna do with such a tiny flame?"
The silver-haired man watched the mercenaries charge, slowly opening and lowering his palm as the flames formed a ball in his hand. He shut his eyes, letting the ball grow larger.
"Hey, do you have cotton in your ears, old man?!" Leo shouted, "Those guys are gonna be breathing down your neck any second!"
The future Steven exhaled loudly. He gradually raised the ball, which continued to grow and emit an amber glow that warmed the lifeless ground beneath him. He opened his eyes and the ball sparked quickly, doubling in size suddenly amidst the flash. Flames licked up the sides of the massive orb, perched delicately atop the orator's upraised palm.
The residual heat radiated onto the group behind him, who began to sweat. "Hell's bells, that's hot," noted Leo.
"That's some impressive magic," the present Steven remarked, wiping his forehead, "Could it be...?"
The future Steven lifted his arm a bit higher and then swung it down. The ball of flame descended onto the mercenaries who were rushing him. Most of them screamed and skidded to a halt, fleeing in the other direction as they saw the flames picking up speed through the air. The timing had been precise, however: none of the advancing troops were able to evade the the descending fireball. Those on the fringes were set aflame, and those within the radius of the ball were enveloped by its light, becoming black shadows for an instant before they vanished. The ball shook the ground that it collided with, setting off a swirl of powerful gales and tossing debris everywhere as it exploded. The family and soldiers on both sides of the field turned and held their arms in front of their faces to brace themselves as the detonation shook them and dug their heels into the dirt as they were pushed back.
Gradually, the force died down, and both present and future children looked out to where Steven had been standing. He remained still, dropping the tome from his hand as it burned up. "Check," the silver-haired man declared, dropping both arms to his sides.
[...]
Somehow, despite the burning in his throat and muscles, Robin found himself still moving forward. He, Tharja, and Anna had all purchased a trio of horses from one of Anna's sisters who they encountered several miles north of the Longfort (their Anna had chided her sister for not offering them up for free, but had conceded to the rationale that a merchant had to be able to turn a profit, even on the brink of world war). Robin despised the fact that his business was not ended, but justified it on the grounds that he was hurrying himself so as to meet up with his children, and to put this whole ugly mess to an end. Suddenly, a dot of orange on the horizon caught his attention. His eyes widened as it crashed into the ground.
"Uh," Anna piped up, "So, I'm not an expert on magic or natural phenomena... but whatever that is, I can feel it from here. That's probably not a good thing, is it?"
"Probably," Robin agreed. At once, Robin heard a sound from several feet ahead. He noticed a cottage on the horizon and heard a voice calling from it. A voice, he decided, that sounded distinctly familiar. "Anna, Tharja," he beckoned, "we need to check that out."
Anna frowned, "You can't be serious. Robin, our kids, for Naga's sake—"
"I know," he huffed, "I know, but, that voice... I'm sure it can only be one man."
The Grandmaster's horse came to a halt in front of the cottage and he leapt off it, bursting inside. He was both throttled and perfectly unsurprised by what he saw: Lon'qu was on an armchair, nursing a wound in his stomach, which had been bandaged. "Lon'qu!" he blurted.
"You?" the west-khan blinked a few times, "Hah. Somehow, I thought... No, there can be no such thing as fate. Still, it's good I was discovered by someone I can trust."
"We don't have a lot of time—"
"Indeed, we don't. That bastard Khan Regnant, or one of his men—"
"Way ahead of you, trust me. We'll get you somewhere safe, Lon'qu. Where's Panne?"
The west-khan dropped his eyes to the floor.
"Really? Damn. I can't adequately convey my sympathies, Lon'qu."
"Don't bother. She knew what she was doing, that fool woman... how dare she sacrifice herself..."
"I'll be happy to help you make arrangements, but right now we're in the middle of an even bigger threat."
"Is that so? Heh, then leave me. I'm no good to anyone like this."
"Not at all, your country is going to need a new Khan Regnant once this all blows over. Something tells me you'll he first in line."
"You don't understand, the easterners..."
"Lon'qu, we will have plenty of time to discuss this later, but right now I just need you to listen. I'm going to send you back to Ferox. Do what you can to keep people calm and safe; they're going to need you."
"F-Fine," he grunted, "but keep me apprised of things."
"Of course," Robin nodded, "I think you'll be getting plenty of news by the time you get back."
Robin exited the cottage and waved for Tharja, who wandered over straight away, "Yes?"
"I need you to take our friend back home to Regna Ferox, the west palace. On the double."
"B-But..."
"Tharja, I have exactly zero time for deliberation on this," he insisted.
"Fine, fine," she sighed, cocking an eyebrow, "Try to calm down, the extra stress isn't good for you."
Robin blinked a few times, his face grave, "There are so many reasons why it is impossible for me to calm down, and I'd really like to yell at you for that, but I'm just gonna to insist that you hurry."
"Oh...kay?"
"Don't wait up," he threw out, climbing back on his horse. He reared the animal and began speeding along the open plain again. Anna followed shortly after.
"Not particularly considerate of him," the dark mage muttered to herself, walking into the cottage, "Wonder what got up his—ack!"
Lon'qu lifted his head to the noise and saw the woman with raven-black hair scowling at him.
"Oh gods, it's you."
[...]
The Legacy Shepherds had already gone through their second wind. In fact, between the intervals of fighting, losing, and rallying, it could be reasonably expected that they were on the fourth or fifth wind by now. At this point, the exhausted parents had fewer reservations about allowing their children to hit the front lines of their enemies, who pressed on in spite of overwhelming odds. Cynthia and Owain had given up on their posing and now satisfied themselves by simply swinging their weapons in banal fashion as wave after wave of enemies met them. They panted profusely.
Kjelle was furious at the enemy for having made numerous small dents and chips in her armor. Sadly, she lacked the verve to justly repay them, bunched up with Brady and Severa. Noire had eventually descended into the group along with her father and the Plegian forces, but now she only trained her bow to keep advancing troops away from Nah, who had collapsed behind her. Yarne continued to wait in the very back, behind the other children's parents and the assembled Ylissean and Plegian forces, the emotion draining from him with each rattle of a saber.
The adults who had lost spouses in Dahlia's brief but devastating assault fought with marked lividity to recover the bodies; Cynthia and Owain collaborated to recover both of Cynthia's parents, part of a reason for the decline in spirit on her part.
The rush of the White Talon assassins had helped significantly, but had only served to intensify the confusion: units with no distinct markings or coloration were attacking one another wildly, bringing down anyone who got close, not having time to check the status of their relationship. The fighting had gone on all day, and somehow, there was still no end in sight. Troops were tired, indescribably tired, cold, and losing hope that their struggle would end in any manner that was not their death.
Chrom and Lucina found themselves gradually regaining their footing as they saw Inigo and both versions of Robin's family take off toward the castle. Despite his arm hanging limply at his side, Chrom glanced at his daughter and nodded, "Lucina... do you...?"
"We have to try," she agreed.
"Right," he bowed his head, taking a breath, "Okay. We can do this. But... someone should take care of your mother." The exalt looked to the ground, seeing his wife collapsed in a pile of sod, clutching her stomach and oscillating between states of consciousness.
At that moment, as if on cue, Stahl broke through the fighting and jogged over to the Ylissean royal family, hair matted to his head by sweat. "M-Milord," he saluted, "I saw... what happened. I... only wish... I could have... done something."
"You were fighting to protect the lives of your countrymen," Chrom winced, "That's all I can ask. But... if you could provide us one more service... watch over Olivia, all right?"
"Of course," the viridian knight bowed, "but... I have to suggest you... don't go after the insurgents, milord... too dangerous."
"Stahl," the exalt stared at him.
He relented, "I know. Just trying to do my job."
"Your admirable service is duly appreciated, Stahl," Lucina assured him, "Now, father?"
"Right," they set their sights on the castle.
[...]
"Dahlia," Nihilus announced, stepping out of the darkened chamber and allowing the stone wall to shut behind him.
The Rose Blade stood ready, "Milord. May I presume your success?"
He extended his arm and presented the shield, each of the five gems on it gleaming brilliantly. The amethyst-haired man clenched his fist, "Everything has gone... according to plan."
"Well-times news, sir," the rose-haired woman bowed, "Unfortunately, I must report that interlopers are approaching. I was regrettably unable to halt them, and they will be upon us any moment."
Nihilus shut his eyes and sighed, "Very well. I suppose it won't hurt to exercise myself a bit." The clairvoyant proceeded toward the main hall of the castle, Dahlia following closely by his side. They arrived in time to hear a clamor of footsteps outside the tall metal doors. In a moment, those doors opened, and both present and future families of the Grandmaster entered. Nihilus paused a moment and scrutinized them, "What is this...? Do you have twins?"
"We're mirror images of the children you see," the future Steven announced, "Aged more than a decade. We come from a world that was ruined by your selfishness, and so we stand ready to prevent your arrogance and avarice from inciting the same effect."
The amethyst-haired man leaned his head back and laughed loudly for several seconds, "I do apologize, but you must understand how ridiculous that all sounds."
The future Leo cracked his knuckles, "Believe whatever you want, all that matters is that this ends with you goin' down."
Nihilus smirked, "Hm. That's almost even more amusing. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, travelers from another time, but if stopping me was your goal, you're already too late. I have the emblem, and my wish for absolute power has been granted. See now that I am a god."
"You're a snot-nosed kid with a monstrously bloated sense of self-worth," the present Leo quipped.
Nihilus smiled, "You first."
"Bring it," the assassin settled into a fighting stance. As soon as he uttered the words, he saw a flash and felt a fist in his stomach. He looked down to see the amethyst-haired man striking him dead in the center of his gut. Assailed by the pain of several such strikes at once, and in spite of himself, Leo fell to the floor. The remainder of the group tensed their fists and jaws.
"Now, imagine what I could do with a sword," the clairvoyant grinned. He pulled a blade out and scanned the room before his eyes locked on the Anna that stood with the group, "You... you're his beloved, aren't you? You wormed your way out of trouble back in Lieben, but you can't escape me now!"
She shook her head, "The person you're talking about isn't here. I'm... a ghost of her ghost."
Nihilus rolled his eyes, "Whatever you are, you're about to fall like all the rest." In a similar fashion, there was a gleam, and the clairvoyant had poised his blade right along the neck of the redhead. She managed to block the attack with her upraised sword at the very last possible instant, however.
The younger Steven shouted, "What are we all standing around for? Attack him en masse!" The group acceded and charged the amethyst-haired man. Flashes lit up the room as he sequentially subdued all their attacks: he blocked an overhead strike from the present Steven, kicking him away, launched into a front kick on the future Sylvia, rolled back and elbowed the future Leo, ducked under a swipe from the present Morgan, punched the present Sylvia in the face, and swept out the feet of the present Leo until there was nothing standing between him and the Anna of the future.
Her hands shook as he walked forward, "See? Nothing gets away from me now. These eyes of mine can see everything, and what I see for you... is a very short, painful existence."
She leapt at him, trying to slash at his midsection, but he guarded with his own blade and headbutted the woman before her momentum could stop. While she was disoriented, he punched her in the face, reinforced by the pommel of his sword, then he drew the blade across her chest horizontally. Then again, in a diagonal fashion. Then again, in a vertical manner. He kicked the bleeding corpse to the floor, "Now you can be a damn ghost."
"Bastard!" the future Steven charged him.
The strike was blocked. Nihilus waved his finger, "Tut tut. So rash, and here I was led to believe that you were the smart one."
"I am," the present Steven answered, lobbing a fireball at the opponent. The amethyst-haired man ducked the flames and almost sent the future orator into the blaze, but settled for tossing the older man to the floor. When he was satisfied, he took aim at the younger man and delivered a quick slash. This was impeded by the present Leo while his future counterpart loosed an arrow at the clairvoyant's back. Nihilus spun around in a flash, caught the arrow, and snapped it. He kicked the young assassin from behind and took his next swing at his older counterpart. Said counterpart was quickly rescued by the future Sylvia, who Nihilus spotted lowering her staff when his target disappeared in a flash of light.
"You delay the inevitable," he chuckled, "you can't keep dodging forever." He charged after Sylvia, but was restrained by the future Morgan. Present Morgan and Leo both took his momentary falter as an opportunity to strike together, but he managed to evade both strikes. He ducked and punched Morgan in the stomach, stealing her sword, and cut Leo along his knee as well as the future Morgan along her arms. His target had been her head, but she had managed to brace herself in time.
The future Leo fired several more arrows at the clairvoyant, who avoided them easily. While he was distracted, the younger silver-haired man loosed a wind spell in an effort to knock him off-balance. The endeavor failed, as he simply skipped out of the attack's range. "You're wasting your time!" he shouted, "We can play this game all day, but I'll kill all of you eventually! You can't defeat me! You're accomplishing nothing but stalling your own deaths!"
"We know!" the future Steven shouted, sending a trail of lightning arcing at the clairvoyant.
He only narrowly avoided the attack, "What the devil do you mean you 'know?'"
"You mean you haven't figured it out yet?" the future Leo laughed, "For a clairvoyant, you're a pretty short-sighted little idiot, aren't'cha?"
"Watch your mouth, cretin," he hissed, "I don't think those words would look very good on a headstone."
The future Morgan giggled, "You talk too much. I guess I can understand, though, since you're trying to avoid the one thing that scares you most..."
"What the hell are you on about?!" he demanded, gritting his teeth.
The future Steven pointed his sword, "Your undoing is on his way. All we have to do is make enough time."
Nihilus's eyes shrank, "No... you don't mean... Ha! You honestly think your dolt of a father stands a chance of killing me?"
"You must, seeing as how you led him here so you could trap and kill him," the future Morgan replied. The clairvoyant's jaw tensed. "What?" the redhead shrugged, "We're from the future. We know everything you've done and everything you're going to do."
"No..."
"You thought your plans were so well laid-out... Admittedly, without us, things would be pretty bad."
"No...!"
"But... Did you ever get the sense that something just wasn't right? Like you were always just a few seconds shy of getting things right?"
"No!"
"It's all led up to this, Nihilus! For every year you've been operating, we've been there sabotaging just as meticulously! And now... Haha! I feel so giddy watching the look on your face as it comes to a head! Now, your one and only weakness is headed right for you, and there's no stopping him!"
"Dahlia, get outside! Nothing human passes those doors unless it's in pieces! I'm going to extirpate these scum before I completely lose my head!"
"Face it, Nihilus... All you've ever 'seen' is just what we wanted you to see!"
[...]
A steady rain had begun to fall and pelt Robin and Anna in the face as they rode upon the darkening ground surrounding the Ylissean capitol. The pair hadn't exchanged a word since leaving Lon'qu, but as they drew near to the imposing pallor of the castle, reinforced by the indigo darkness poured down upon them by the black clouds above, their eyes met, wide and empathetic. They rode around the fighting and drew their steeds to a halt at the castle gates to see the Rose Blade standing outside, evidently awaiting them. The pair dismounted, and Robin looked closely at the girl, "I've seen you before... your his confidante, aren't you?"
"Don't presume to know me, you loathsome man," she scoffed, "I have no words for you."
"Yeah, I remember you, too," Anna recalled, "Didn't your boss man practically send you to die back in Lieben?"
"Hardly. If anything, your duplicity was almost the more immediate cause of my demise, and yet here I remain."
"Listen," Robin pleaded, "you seem like a smart girl, so maybe, unlike the rest of th lunatics in your boss's employ, you'll actually pay attention when I tell you he's using you. He doesn't really care about any of you, he just wants the world to function the way he wants."
"You're an idiot if you think such empty words will persuade me," she answered, "I believe in my master's ideals, and I know I'm not being taken advantage of. I happen to know that Lord Nihilus cares especially for me."
"Honey," Anna cooed, "I've heard this song and dance before, trust me. I know you think he cares, but he's just good at telling you what you want to hear. It's time you woke up. Come on, make this easy on all of us."
"Enough!" the Rose Blade shouted, "I won't hear any more of your slander! Lord Nihilus saved me from a meaningless, horrible existence! Without him, my life would be nothing! Lord Nihilus is everything I aspire to be! He is everything that I desire to see in the world! And you are his enemies! As such, I will bring you to your knees!"
"It's always the hard way," Robin began to draw his sword, but before he could, he was knocked off-balance. The Rose Blade struck him, cutting his arm before Anna intervened and distracted her. "F-Fast..." Robin sputtered.
Dahlia attempted a series of quick swipes, but Anna parried them all, "Hah! I may not be as tough as some folks, but if you think you can beat me in terms of raw speed, you're gonna be disappointed."
Dahlia backed off with a frustrated grunt, then shifted her focus. She surged after Robin again, who held up his sword to guard, but was surprised to suddenly be struck in the back. He turned to block in that direction instead, but was flanked from his left. The Grandmaster's eyes moved rapidly: he couldn't track this woman down! She cut him again before Anna stepped in once more, halting the next attack. "Out of the way!" the Rose Blade demanded, "I don't care about you, he's the one who needs to die!"
Anna cocked an eyebrow, "He's my husband, honey. No deal." The redhead slashed at the Rose Blade, who barely had time to block the strike. She tried to circle back around to land another hit on Robin, but she was blocked again. Frustrated, Dahlia decided on a new strategy: she shifted as quickly as possible from one side of the Grandmaster to another, attacking with every ounce of speed her feet could support so that Anna was forced to do the same. Before long, Anna was panting and becoming more lethargic in her defense of her husband.
"Heh..." the Rose Blade taunted, "You're outmatched, you old crone. You haven't the vivacity to keep pace with me."
"I'm gonna kick your scrawny little tail for that, kid," Anna panted, still holding up her blade.
"Anna," Robin declared, "this isn't going to work."
"Whaddya mean?" the merchant continued to pant, "I got her right where I want 'er."
He smiled, "I know, but, all the same, I think we might be fighting ineffectively."
"Oh?" she also smiled, "What do you suggest, Mr. Master Tactician?"
"How about a little mutual support?" he suggested, producing the Levin Sword she had given him.
"I like it," she acceded.
"If the two of you are quite finished...!" Dahlia ran at the pair again, but she was interrupted by Anna once more. As she tried to circle around again, Robin raised the Levin Sword skyward and a bolt of lightning trailed after the Rose Blade. She was forced to interrupt her run to dodge the shock, providing an opening for Anna to slash at her. She blocked the attack shakily, eyes widening. Robin repeated his gesture, and this time the lightning found pay-dirt, hitting and shocking the rose-haired woman. Anna followed up, striking Dahlia in the stomach before her blade was shoved away. "This is impossible!" she shouted, "You're just two old bags! How?! How are you so resilient?! Why don't you just die?!"
Robin pointed his Levin Sword and Anna did the same with her own blade. "If all you see when you look at us is two people," Robin chuckled, "You're laughably naïve."
"S-Shut up!" she shouted.
"I feel bad for you," Anna frowned, "You have no idea what a healthy relationship looks like, do you?"
"I said shut up!" the Rose Blade rushed them. She was tripped up by Robin, who raised his blade again and shocked her.
"You don't know what it's like to be something more than yourself."
"To be in perfect synchronicity with another body."
"To be two parts of the same whole."
The woman rose to her feet slowly, bleeding, scorched, and growling. Suddenly, the pair noticed something had changed: the girl's hair was no longer pink. The rose-colored locks had been replaced with a jet black that allowed the raindrops upon it to glitter like tiny diamonds. "Y-You two..." she roared, "You don't know anything...! You've never had hardship in your lives! You don't know what it's like... what it's like to not know what to do... When you have a hard decision to make!"
"You're wrong," Robin told her, "We've faced any number of difficult decisions, and we've done so together, because we make one another stronger."
Her eyes widened with fury, "Spare me your fairytale garbage! It's so easy for you to judge from your pedestal, your charmed life... If you were in my shoes, you'd know that I can't... I can't be forgiven!"
Anna shook her head, "I don't know what you're so broken up about, hon, but I guarantee you that people will forgive and love you no matter what. You just have to be willing to forgive yourself."
"No," she stood, the rain completely drenching her night-black hair, "I'm sorry, bur I can't walk away. Not now." She raised her sword.
"Don't make us do this," Robin begged.
"Mr. Grandmaster," she said in a voice that seemed smaller than the one to which they had been accustomed, "My name... my name isn't Dahlia. I've always hated that disguise. My name is Cypress. Remember me, will you?"
Robin nodded solemnly.
The girl charged between the pair, receiving twin cuts along her stomach. Robin and Anna repeated the patter with a few more swipes until the blood of the Rose Blade stained both their clothes and her body fell to the muddied ground.
Robin and Anna panted in unison. Rain dripped down from their hair across their faces. Thunder began to clap overhead. They turned to face the iron gates of the castle. Each looked into the other's eyes. They wound their hands around one another's.
Water accumulated in puddles around them.