Chapter 4

Eastern Ylisse: Highroads

After the assassination attempt on Emmeryn's life the previous night, the royal family gathered together in consideration for what should be the next course of action. It was possible that this was some sort of contracted band to take the Fire Emblem and deliver it to Gangrel. The man even said so himself that he wished nothing more than for all Ylisseans dead and buried and for the Fire Emblem to be his. It all made such perfect sense that he would have his will be done covertly if he would not be handed what he so desperately wanted.

The answer was clear: Should Emmeryn continue to stay in the palace, the attacks would never stop, and eventually, she would be slain. Already their defenses could be breached, and it was only by chance the Shepherds happened to be in the area to fend off the attack. That, and of course the word from Marth that helped as well. However, should a time come that Chrom's army was not by his side, the worst would surely happen to his dear older sister. Not wanting to risk her life any longer, the prince insisted that she be taken out of Ylisse, temporarily. Despite the good judgement on Chrom's end, Emmeryn refused to leave her people in their greatest hour of need, but Chrom continued to insist. More than anything, he just wanted her safe, and if he had to, he would throw away his own life for hers.

Seeing as how Emmeryn would not win this discussion, she reluctantly decided that it was truly for the best. The people were important to her, yes, but what good would that do if she were killed due to her own selflessness? As cold as it sounded, and as much as the very thought left a chill in her blood, she had to leave her country behind for a short while. There was simply no other way around it. And even if there was, Chrom certainly wasn't going to let her take any other route that his own. He just couldn't stand the thought of losing more family.

After their long debate, the Exalt and her brother's army headed due east to the coast of Ylisse so she could be safe within the eastern palace. the monks and sages would surely be enough to keep her safe within its walls. They marched briskly away from Ylisstol on their journey. If they kept at this pace, they should be there by tomorrow afternoon.

Along the roads they walked, Maribelle and Lissa talked among themselves of many different topics. No matter where they went though, they seemed to revert right back to Lissa's paranoid fear of losing Emmeryn to the Plegian army. The noblewoman did her best to console her dear friend. After all they had been through in the past few days, it was hard to not think about the possible outcome, however, if there was anything that Lissa did count on it was Robin's ability to pull off the impossible with little effort.

She almost idolized him with the way she spoke so highly of his skills. Maribelle couldn't help but roll her eyes. Whenever Robin came up, Lissa would talk hours on end about how "cool" he looked when he would fight against the enemy, or his "awesome" tactical skills. Though, one detail did intrigue her; In all the times that Lissa gushed about him, this was the first time that she heard her mentioning he had amnesia when they found him. Until now, she thought that the small group Chrom had with him simply found the man by choice. He joined around the time the attacks began to worsen, and thought Chrom was hiring a strategist to improve the Shepherds' ability in battle. Yet, here she was, completely awestruck by the fact that they found him by utter chance, without memory. In fact, Lissa stated he had a hard time remembering his name the moment they first met.

The noble couldn't believe she never even bothered to ask of his origins and how he even joined the army. Now that she knew a little more about him, she couldn't help but find the man interesting herself. One who cannot remember their past, yet is a master at crafting strategies at will. More and more did the need to converse with him arose in her. She turned her head to see the tactician in question with his nose buried in a book. Yet another thing that astounded her; The fact that he was reading! Granted, no tactician worth his or her salt could ever be as skilled as he was without cracking open at least one book. But it didn't seem like a guide on strategy, but rather a normal novel that anyone would read in leisure.

"Hey, Maribelle. You listening?" Lissa, asked, tapping on her friend's shoulder. The noble snapped out of her thoughts and turned to Lissa. "Oh, my apologies, Lissa. What was it that you were saying?" A mischievous smile slowly crept across the small princesses face and her eyes narrowed accusingly. She noticed Maribelle had been staring directly at Robin for the past few minutes. It was obvious to her that she really wanted to speak with him. "You know, if you wanna talk to Robin, you only had to say so~." she teased.

"Oh Lissa, don't be ridiculous. I much rather stay here and continue with... whatever it was you were talking about." she responded. In truth, she had completely forgotten what it was that Lissa was speaking about when her attention turned away.

"I was talking about Robin..." Lissa shot back, her smirk never fading, resulting in a defeated sigh from Maribelle. "Look, you've had your eyes on the guy the whole time I've been talking. It's obvious you want to talk to him. Go on! Don't be shy!" Before Maribelle could defend herself, Lissa got behind her and forcefully shoved her towards Robin's direction. The noblewoman tried to restrict her advance, making her boot heels dig into the dirt trying to stop herself from moving. Astoundingly, Lissa was much stronger than her appearance let on, as she was able to steadily push Maribelle just a few feet away from Robin. Already being this up close, and being positive that he had probably noticed her, Maribelle struggled no more and approached the tactician willingly.

Contrary to what she had thought, Robin hadn't noticed her in the slightest. Whenever he began reading a book, he was unaware of little else around him. In that respect, people would compare him to Miriel, as the articulate Mage had the same habit. He was far too ingrossed in the novel that he was currently reading.

"...and so, the battle between Wyverns lasted from the chaotic dawn to the somber, crepuscule evening, thus the bloody war had finally been won." he recited aloud. "Crepuscule... Crepuscule... What did that mean again...?" he thought, raising his eyebrow at the uncommon word. Maribelle briefly looked behind her to see if Lissa was still there. As fate would have it, she wasn't. She had gone back to marching with her brother, but looked over her shoulder at the noblewoman. Lissa shook her head at how utterly helpless Maribelle was, all she did was walk just behind Robin, not saying a peep. Lissa shrugged her shoulders and mouthed silently to her, 'Talk to him!'

Seeing no other option, Maribelle cleared her throat and spoke with confidence, "Good day, Robin. Are you perhaps studying?" she asked. The silver-haired tactician lifted his head from his book to meet Maribelle's gaze.

"Oh, good day to you too, Maribelle. I'm just doing of reading. Nothing tactical based, mind you. Just finishing up the final chapters of this novel." he happily responded.

"Reading? How splendid, I wasn't aware that commoners even read at all. I must say, I find it quite interesting." Robin couldn't tell if he should be offended or flattered by her statement. She was an odd woman to read sometimes. One moment she would come off as kind and sociable, yet the very next second, she would say or do something that would put her off to some people. No one knew this better than Robin in the past week, what with the intensifying battles that continued, she would act as if she was worried for his very life, then chastise him on his foolish behavior the very next second.

Rolling his eyes at the comment Maribelle made, Robin briefly considered going back to his book, glancing back at the pages to find his place. "So then, have you come to look down your nose at me, or was there something you needed?" he asked, albeit a bit coldly. He really did not want to deal with her condescending air of superiority, especially not this early in the morning...

'No, no, no! Not like that!' Maribelle thought. 'You're losing him, Maribelle! Think, blast it... Sociable... Be sociable...'

"Oh, silly, Robin. A noble's nose takes no part in such activities! Make no mistake, I was genuinely impressed. However, if my phrasing offended you in any way, I do apologize. Forgive me?"

The surprised tactician looked over his shoulder at Maribelle. Out of all the times she's ever said anything negative to or about him, this was the first time she actually apologized. Perhaphs she wasn't as heartless as she lead on. "Well, all right. If you really are sorry then I retract my last statement. So, was there anything you wanted to speak with me about, then?"

The noblewoman breathed easy, having redeemed herself for the moment. It was hard to tell with her calm face, but she was struggling to try and speak with Robin on matters that didn't involve warfare or healing wounds. She was stepping out of her comfort zone to speak with someone who wasn't a friend of hers. She already had a rough time speaking with the other Shepherds... if Speaking were supplemented with the word 'criticizing' that of this, making friends was still very hard for her to do, despite having spoken with Lissa for so many years. She desperately wanted to break free of her noble patterns if only to relate with people of a lower class.

"Actually, there is. You see, I was hoping that you would be so kind as to tell me more about yourself?" she asked. Robin scratched the back of his head in curiosity. He wasn't sure if she was aware of his amnesia or not. "Well, I would, but there really sin't much that I can tell you." he responded. "I don't remember my past at all. You speak with Lissa a lot, yes? Surely she's mentioned my amnesia. On top of that, what I DO know doesn't seem all that interesting."

Maribelle then moved from behind Robin to just next to him. "I highly doubt that, Robin." she said. "Frankly, you sell yourself too short. In the brief span of time that I have known you, you interest me quite a fair bit."

"I... Interest you?"

"Absolutely. Don't you find it interesting that you happen to be an amnesiac, yet you have unparalleled genius in tactical warfare? Coupled with that, you seemed to have earned the trust of my dear friend Lissa, as well. Can you fault me for wanting to know more about you?"

"Well, when you put it in that perspective... I suppose no one would blame you. Honestly, I never had a second thought about just how I manage to have this knowledge. I must have studied it somewhere, as I still retain my common sense and education. It seems that my memories are the only thing I lack right now."

"My point exactly. But it goes beyond mere interest. I suppose if I were to put it bluntly, you could say that I wish to become... friends? Of course, I'll not go any further without your consent."

Finally having caught his attention, Robin placed the book he had within his coat pocket. "Is that all? Well, it's not that I don't consent about us becoming friends or anything, Maribelle, but... I thought that we were already friends. Sure, maybe we've had a bump or two getting to that point, but I'm glad to say that we're companions." he said, smiling. When she wasn't chewing his ear off, she really could be a very nice person. If only she would show more of that honesty.

"Oh, how wonderful it is to hear you say that, Robin. Truly. Then, if you would be so kind as to answer a few questions for me?"

"Of course. Just ask away and I'll try to answer to the best of my ability."

With Robin's willingness to speak with her, and the subsequent confirmation of their friendship, Maribelle felt relieved. She was aware of her off-putting tendancies, and wanted to make sure that Robin of all people would be able to tolerate it. This was a good first step for her, and she hoped to continue this way to reach out to her peers.

"Well then, please tell me of the lifestyle of the common folk that you obviously hail from." she asked. "Specifically, I wish to know more about this 'slang' that you all dabble in. It is quite the far cry of the more refined speech that us nobles are familiar with."

The request made Robin stop and think for a moment. Why would she want to speak like the people she sometimes looked down upon? "Er... That's a bit of an odd request. May I ask why?"

"Ah, certainly. You see, Robin, as of late, I've been noticing that my formality can be seen as a nuisance to my peers in the Shepherds. It is true that I do have company from time to time, but I can't help but feel that there is always a bit of a gap between me and nearly everyone else. Excluding Lord Chrom and Lissa, I've no other to speak casually with... Well, that is, until you became part of our group."

Robin bit down softly on his lower lip when Maribelle imparted her motivations to him. He didn't expect such a melancholy response. This wasn't simply to just learn to speak like the others. She was just lonely, plain and simple. It was no wonder she was able to quickly attach to Lissa and himself, neither of which cared about status in other people. To Lissa and Robin, everyone in the Shepherds was an equal, regardless of social class. After thinking it over, he turned to her, "I see. Well then, Maribelle, if that's how you really feel then I'll gladly help you. After all, that's what friends do for each other, right?" he said, smiling gently.

Maribelle's eyes slowly looked to the ground, and her glum expression slowly changed to a more positive one. A small smile found its way to her face, and though Robin couldn't see it with her swirling pigtails confounding them, her cheeks began to blush into a soft pink. It felt a little embarrassing how Robin was so gung-ho to help her that she simply couldn't help it. Embarrassed, and yet, very happy that she was on her way to finally being able to have companionship in her life beyond one single person. Lissa did mean everything to her, but what about other people? She doubted she could go her entire life just relying on one friend. Her mind didn't stop there either. What about love? At some point she did hope to find a man to keep her happy in life. That very thought only served to deepen her blush even further.

With a small giggle to herself, Maribelle spoke, still looking to the dirt road, "Hm, friends. It feels very nice to say that. Well then, suppose I'll visit you later for those 'slang' lessons. I'm sure you have other things to do than speak with me at the moment. Strategies to plan, and all that. I'll just be off then." The noble then took her leave, walking her way back to Lissa, who was still in the company of her brother. Lissa wasn't watching the conversation they had, so she knowingly nudged Maribelle with her elbow as if to ask how it went. Her only response was a nod and a wink, confirming that her friend had indeed been able to break the ice with their new found companion. The young princess pulled Maribelle off to the side, just out of earshot from Chrom so she could speak with her.

"So, Miss Maribelle, what are you gonna do now? Are you and Robin gonna be close friends and maybe start dating? " she teased. Maribelle only shook her head at the thought of such a thing. "I... don't think so, Lissa. Robin is a very nice man but... Well, a woman of my breeding cannot hope to be with a man who has nothing to his name. He's very sweet, but I believe I'll save myself for someone more... high class..." she responded. Although, when she said that, she felt a small bite of pain in her chest. She couldn't explain it, but her mood shifted back into a glum state.

She had no idea why she was feeling the way she was either. It was as if she felt guilty for following what she had grown up believing her entire life. A Noble must find life companionship with another noble: It was pure and simple. Consorting with lower class was not exactly forbidden, but some did look down upon it, thinking that it was a disgrace to a family's name. She knew this in the very deepest parts of her mind, yet actually saying it out loud like she did made her feel as if she was betraying herself. and she couldn't understand just why that was. All she could do was press her hand over her heart to futile ease the small but noticeable pain she felt.

'Why? Why must I feel as if I've done something wrong...?"

A/N: Phew. Apologies for the lack of updates last week folks. See I've been busy with work and... Oh screw it. I've been playing the newest Tales of game and completely forgot about the update scheduled, alright? That aside, I'm going to try and make an extra chapter to make up for it.

Sorry for the delay, and I thank you all for your patience and support. This story is actually getting pretty popular in it's early stages.