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Chapter 3: A Walk Amongst the Flowers and Swords
"When did you and Robin first meet?"
"E-excuse me?"
"You must have known Robin very well for you to be so bothered by us talking about him." Zelda and Cordelia walked through the garden leisurely. "I mean, the way you looked when we first mentioned him, it wasn't my imagination, was it?" She took a seat on a stone bench. Cordelia followed suit. "You loved him, didn't you?"
Cordelia shivered. Her hands balled into fists in her lap. "Y-yes." Zelda saw tears drop onto the ground. "I mean, of course I did! He was my husband!" Cordelia's voice was rising. Zelda touched her shoulder gently.
"I would like to know more about him, if possible". Cordelia sniffed, looking up at the Princess. "Cordelia, it might help you too."
"... I met Robin in the Shepard's Camp. It was late summer, and we had just suffered a terrible loss. We barely managed to survive." The summer breeze blew through the garden. "I had lost a lot of my friends that day. I had become that last Pegasus Knight." Cordelia paused. "Robin had no reason to talk to me that night, he had so much else on his mind."...
One Year Ago-
… Cordelia entered the tent. Robin had called on her personally, or so Vaike claimed. She attempted to knock on the tent flap. Not exactly an easy task.
"Permission to enter?" Cordelia squeaked out.
Robin popped out from behind the tent flap. His white hair was disheveled, his eyes had bags under them, and he seemed to have grown older over the day. He looked at Cordelia, and silently opened the flap wider, inviting her inside.
The tent was large and cluttered, filled with loose papers. There were two seats with a small desk inbetween them. She took the seat closest to the front of the tent. Robin sat across from her. He put his head on the desk and let out a large sigh.
"I apologize that you must see me like this, Cordelia. I know that your loss is much greater than mine." Robin's voice was muffled by his desk. "I'm supposed to interview all Shepards as soon as possible."
"Robin, with all due respect, this should wait until you have gotten some rest." Cordelia stopped herself from touching his head. "I'll be . . . fine."
Robin snorted. "You're a poor liar, Cordelia. A very poor liar." He lifted his head from his desk. "You've lost more than I can imagine, but I suppose you do have a point." He stumbled over to the entrance. "We will continue this later. I'll just have to trust in you for the moment." Cordelia stood and made her leave of the exhausted tactician.
"Cordelia? Please take care of yourself." Robin called out. She froze, and then smiled. It had been a long time since someone had told her that outside of battle.
"Even then, he was there for me." Cordelia smiled. "Zelda, when he asked me to marry him, I saw a man who could look past my awkwardness. A man who loved me as much as I loved him. I was happy." Her fists clenched harder. Zelda gently put her hand back on the redhead's shoulder.
"He seems like a good man." Zelda softly said. Cordelia smiled.
"I tried my damnedest to keep my distance from him, though." She held Zelda's hand. "You know, wartime is a terrible time, and it wouldn't be the last time I- failed..."
"Cordelia!"
Cordelia did not pause. Two Plegians screamed as the crimson knight shredded through them. She had to get to Phila. She couldn't let her teacher die here, in this wasteland. She deserved to die old, surrounded by her many students. Not in a desert where Cordelia had failed her again. She was so blinded by rage that she didn't feel the sudden weight around her waist, until she noticed she was being dragged off her pegasus.
"Cordelia!" Robin had grabbed her. "It's over! We need to leave!" Tears streamed down his face. "I'm sorry, Cordelia!" Cordelia's fist connected with Robin's stomach.
"You idiot!" She shrieked. "You failed them!" She couldn't hear Robin trying to reason with her. She threw a kick at the backpedaling tactician. "You! You! You!" She dropped down on her knees, sobbing. "Everyone is gone." She felt Robin lift her up and begin moving her.
"I'm sorry, Cordelia." She could hear him through the thunder and echos of Plegian soldiers. "I know I failed them. But I can't let you end everything. You have too many people that need you." Cordelia blinked in confusion. Few people had even talked to her, how could she-
Almost as soon as they had started moving, Robin screamed in pain. An arrow pierced his shoulder. Cordelia turned around, and stared down the soldiers advancing to them. Cordelia's eyes flashed.
"I've already lost too much today. I'm not letting you take him too." She snarled defiantly. Many Plegians would remember the Crimson Terror, at least, those that survived.
"Wow." Zelda was quiet. "Those were your first few meetings with him?"
"The first and . . . maybe the fifth real conversation." Cordelia giggled. "I mean, we didn't marry for another two years! It's just interesting how war can really..." She fazed out, staring at the sky.
"I'd like to hear more at some point. You too seemed to be very... meant to be." Zelda smiled. "Even though the two stories you told me were more violent than Hyrulian fairy tales..." Cordelia started speaking, but it was clear she hadn't heard what Zelda had said.
"...And of course he had to be the Avatar of death and destruction, and of course he had to sacrifice himself!" Cordelia was crying now. Zelda held her in her arms.
"You've been through so much, my dear." Zelda put her fingers through Cordelia's hair. The crimson was almost mesmorizing. "However, the saga of Robin and Cordelia is not over quite yet." Cordelia looked up.
"Zelda, lying to make me feel better is a terrible thing." Cordelia sniffed. Zelda shook her head.
"I'm not lying to you, Cordelia. If Master Hand has sent us here, then that means that both smashers are here." Zelda looked back at the castle. "Which means we will have to use..."
"This baby is called the Smash Positioning System, kinda like GPS, but it has..." Samus looked at everyone else. They all looked like they had seen a ghost. Maybe it would be best to keep it short and simple. "... Well, to keep it simple, we should be able to find Robin if he's alive."
Lissa was fuming. "You kept this to yourself, why?"
"Easy. This technology is dangerous. We wanted to avoid using this kind of stuff because of what it can do to the timeline and crap." Samus lazily motioned her hand in small circles. "But now it looks like we don't have much of a choice." Lissa tried to subtlely reach out towards the SPS, but Samus gave her a challenging look.
Lissa crossed her arms and pouted. "Doesn't look dangerous at all." She muttered.
"Well, I didn't mean like a weapon." Samus took the SPS from the table. "This kind of stuff could be used to create weapons, though. Things that would make it easy to conquer entire planets." Samus continued talking, while messing with the machine. "Alright, here we . . . are!" The machine started making several beeping sounds. "Oh good, it's only at 85% battery, so hopefully we can make this fast." Samus pressed on the touch screen. A small blue dot appeared in the same room. She faced the screen towards the others. "So this dot is Lucina, here. The center is me, and there should be a pink dot that represents Zelda over a little bit." She pressed another button. "So let's zoom out, and we should see Robin's dot somewhere on this map." She kept zooming out, past the city, past the region, past the continent. All of a sudden, deep in the west, a purple dot began blinking. Samus put the SPS down triumphantly. "There! Found him! He's very far away, but he's there!" Chrom was silent, but his smile gave it away. Lissa and Sumia started squeaking with enjoyment. Even Frederick seemed to brighten up. They looked at the map, and Lissa frowned.
"Wait, is that where I think that is?"
"Listen, Cordelia, the truth is that Samus isn't my bodyguard, she doesn't even use the spear she has."
"That's a shame, I thought she could get me a good workout, actually."
Zelda giggled. "She still would, but she's much more . . . hand-to-hand combat oriented." She mock grappled, making an exaggerated grimace. "But that's not the point. Samus is from a different world, where technology has grown to a different level. There are a lot of smashers from these kind of planets, and they have technology. Ways to find people."
Cordelia frowned. "But Robin's gone."
"I would expect you to be the last to give up, Cordelia." Zelda face darkened. "Master Hand wouldn't have sent us here on a wild goose chase. If he sent us here, then that means that both people we're searching for are here; he... likes efficiency."
"How can you know? You sound so sure." Cordelia stared down the princess.
Zelda grimaced. Should she explain the technology to Cordelia? From around the corner, Zelda could hear the sounds of several people walking through the garden in a quick pace. Samus burst around the corner, a communicator to her ear. She was agitated and arguing with someone over the phone.
"I don't understand what's so difficult about this request!" Samus's voice was raised. "We may need backup, so I'm requesting backup!" Long pause. "Jigglypuff, I get that some of you are busy, but air support may be necessary, and I need you to cooperate!" Another long pause, Samus clenched in anger. "WHO CARES ABOUT A STUPID FASHION SHOW?! YOU ARE TESTING MY PATIENCE TO THE BITTER END, AND I WILL PUT YOU IN A GODDAMN POKEBALL IF YOU DON'T FIND ME SOMEBODY TO ASSIST US!" Samus hung up and shoved the communicator in her belt. "Goddamn nuisance."
"Jigglypuff's working the comm center today?"
"Yeah, the primadonna didn't want to 'annoy' the other smashers, especially on the day of the "Hoenn Region PokeFashion Contest." Samus looked at her communicator. "Whatever that means."
Zelda looked at the others. Lissa was wide-eyed, looking at the fuming bounty hunter. The others also seemed slightly perturbed. Zelda felt her communicator vibrate. She pulled it out, no sense keeping it a secret. She had received a text from Falco.
Falco: lol Aran lost her temper?
Zelda: Yes, apparently Jigglypuff was being difficult.
Falco: not surprising, she doesn't enjoy comm center duties. XD
Zelda: How did you hear about that? Word gets out pretty fast?
Falco: Jigglypuff sent a request out about a minute ago, not a lot of response, I think ppl think you and sam can handle it.
Zelda: I'm actually in the dark about it right now...
Falco: really? That's strange. Samus not briefing you?
Zelda: Keeping other company at the moment, something just came up.
Falco: Well, Pikachu and I will be making a visit tomorrow morning, it's almost midnight, and we need to set up a ship portal.
Zelda: We shall be glad to have you.
Falco: glad to be had lolololol XDD g'night!
"Samus," Zelda faced her counterpart. "Falco and Pikachu will be joining us tomorrow to provide support." She stared down the bounty hunter. "But I'm wondering why we need support, Samus."
Chrom stepped forward. "Your Majesty, your friend found Robin's location." Cordelia gasped, but Chrom's sobering look quieted her down. "But he is likely not willingly in the location he is in."
Cordelia looked up at Chrom. "My liege, where is he?" She stated, a bit too forcefully.
"Carrion Isle." Everyone's face was somber.
Zelda muttered, "Sounds like a lovely vacation spot."
Frederick looked over to Chrom. "Milord, it would be prudent to rally the Shepherds for this mission. I believe that many will take up the call."
"Good idea, Freddy." Chrom looked at Cordelia. "Captain, can you get your pegasus knights to deliver messages to the further away Shepherds?" Cordelia saluted her superior.
"Yessir!" She took off from the garden. Chrom looked at Frederick.
"Frederick, find the Shepherds that are still in Ylisse, and gather them at the castle." Frederick nodded and ran off as well. Lissa ran after him before Chrom could give her a job to do. "Lucina, could you possibly lead our two guests to the guest chambers? Your mother and I need to set up the barracks."
"Yes, father!" Lucina looked eager, and looked at the Zelda and Samus. "Come! You must see the castle!" She ran off ahead of the two. Samus looked at Zelda with an amused look. Zelda leaned over and sighed heavily. Her facade shattered in a second.
"Kid's got some energy." She said as she took a leisurely walk towards the castle. "It'll do her good."
Zelda did not look so amused. "I'll enjoy her energy when I'm not worn down and dead tired." She followed Samus reluctantly into the castle.
"So these are your quarters." Lucina entered a large room with two large, fluffy beds. "You can stay here while we wait for the rest of the Shepherds." Zelda ran into the room and jumped on one of the beds. The room had bright cream walls, with two braziers sitting near the middle of the room. A small desk sat in the corner of the room, and across from them sat the beds. The room smelled of lavender, and was cleaned to perfection. Samus was impressed. The staff here definitely worked very hard.
"So comfy!" She breathed a heavy sigh. "Samus, these are almost as comfortable as the mansion beds!"
Samus ignored Zelda and looked at Lucina. "How long do you think it would take for all the Shepherds to arrive, Lucina?"
"Probably a few days, it's always takes awhile to get everyone together." Samus frowned.
"Samus, I'll notify the board." Zelda stretched on the bed. "We can't help it if we need to wait for backup, we should just relaaaaaaaaaax." she yawned as she finished her sentence. Samus looked annoyed, staring down the reclined royal. They didn't have time for this, things needed to be done as soon as possible. She looked at Lucina.
"Your dad mentioned a war room. Where would that be?" Samus attempted to mimic the politeness that she had been hearing this whole time. It was really difficult. Lucina attempted a smile, but Samus could tell it was forced.
"I'll lead you to them," She motioned to the door, and led Samus out of the room. From her bed, Zelda swore she saw Samus look at her and mouth 'be careful.' It was so like Samus to worry about such silly things.
"You know that my father would go with you."
"Excuse me?"
"You're not difficult to read, I can tell you just want to go off and rescue Robin by yourself." Lucina spoke as the two headed down the stairs. "My father would absolutely take the risk if he could." They entered the main hallway, and Lucina moved across, almost completely silent. The evening sun reflected through the stained glass, and shades of red and yellow permeated the hall. Samus almost missed the hard right Lucina took into a new hallway. "But the Exalt has responsibility, and Robin wouldn't appreciate it if you put yourself in danger for him." Samus rolled her eyes and scoffed.
"Maybe you haven't noticed, Princess, but I'm not exactly from your time." Samus didn't hide her annoyance. "I could wipe through these backwards enemies without breaking a sweat." Lucina looked back, they had reached a heavy wooden door, one that didn't match any of the others in the castle.
"Lady Aran, I appreciate your confidence." Lucina was somber. "But if I've learned anything, you can't do everything by yourself, no matter how strong you are." She opened the door, revealing a large room covered in weapons and bookshelves. Samus had never seen such a mess of a room. She heard rustling in the back corner. Sumia popped out from around the corner. She was covered in grease.
"Ah! Lucina! Lady Aran! I could use your help!" She struggled with a heavy breastplate. "We have too much extra armor, I was trying to get it in it's place." Samus walked over and grabbed the armor with one arm. She held it with ease.
"Where do you need it?" Samus asked. This was more her style, heavy lifting and dirty work. Lucina ran to her mother, her voice betraying her concern.
"Mother! Carrying that stuff is dangerous! You could've fallen!" She paused, but Sumia's laughter made it clear that she wasn't listening. "Again!"
"Lady Aran, put it on the wall behind you." Sumia managed to say. "And Lucina, honey, I've fallen six times already!" Samus moved the armor to the wall, bemused. Was it common for the queen to do dirty work here? As she put the armor up, she felt another presence that made her shiver. She jumped around, and saw a figure behind her.
She was wearing a weird gold and black garb, almost bikini like in nature. She was also wearing some sort of black legging like material underneath. Her long black cape flowed with her long black hair, which was held by golden headband. She held a book to her chest, and was staring through Samus.
"Are you trying to steal my Robin, as well?" The bookholder was glaring. Samus looked at Sumia, who worriedly walked over to the two.
"Tharja, are you and Miriel done organizing the spellbooks?" Sumia squeaked out. So this Tharja scares even the Queen. Samus thought. Not good. And 'My Robin?'. She's probably his wife...
Tharja turned around and glared at the queen. "Not quite, your Majesty." Her voice was grim, but that seemed like her natural demeanor. "But when I detect a new presence, I'm compelled to..." She looked back and Samus and grinned. "...investigate." Samus tried to grin back, forcing an awkward grin.
"I'm Samus Aran, and I'm just helping you guys recover Robin, that's all." She felt disturbed by this Tharja. "I'm not trying to steal your husband or anything." Tharja blushed heavily, but hid behind her book.
"No, no, no. Robin and I are not..." Tharja's voice was quiet. "We just have parity, is all. Like... siblings." Oops. Samus could tell that 'siblings' was an afterthought. Hopefully I didn't touch a nerve there. "But if you're here to help us find him... then I'll accept you for now." Samus breathed a sigh of relief. Tharja bowed to Sumia, and quickly made her leave amongst the many bookshelves. Samus could hear another voice berating Tharja amongst the shelves, but she couldn't identify much about it. She was distracted by another noise in the back of the barracks. At the end was a giant double door that led to the stables. Chrom had come through the doors, muttering to himself grumpily. It wasn't until he got close that Samus could tell why he was upset. He smelled-
"Abysmal! Father, what could have possibly happened?" Lucina was almost retching, while Sumia was laughing even harder than before.
"I don't want to talk about it." Sumia was now laughing so hard she couldn't breathe.
"Honey, what did you wash-" Sumia was gasping. "What did you wash it off with?"
Chrom looked befuddled. "There was a tub next to the pegusi, I thought that was what you washed them wi-" He was interrupted by Sumia howling with laughter.
"THAT'S THE TROUGH!" Tharja and a woman with a comically large wizard hat and glasses had peeked around a bookshelf. Lucina's face twisted in disgust. "YOU CLEANED YOURSELF WITH USED PEGASUS WATER!"
As Chrom excused himself to go get washed up, Lucina went to her mother to check on her. Sumia was tearing up. Samus looked equally confused and worried.
"How does a group like this save anyone?" Samus said to herself.
That does it for this chapter! My thanks to everyone who has followed, reviewed, and read this story! As always, critiques and reviews are much appreciated!
Thanks again!