Chapter 5

Regna Ferox: Western Fort.

The brittle snow crunched audibly beneath Robin's feet for every step he took. He walked slowly through the biting cold, carrying Lissa in his arms. The poor girl had all but fainted when she heard news of Emmeryn's planned public execution tomorrow. All the shaking and calling for her in the world wasn't enough to rouse her from her state. The pained expression on her face cut Chrom and Robin deep. The latter tried to keep a brave face in front of the others, being the head of the army, but the pure, uncensored terror Lissa showed was radiating unto them.

"Tomorrow on the noon... I honestly cannot believe the small window of time we have. Gangrel truly does wish to end all Ylissean lives." Chrom thought aloud as he walked alongside his friend.

"I know... I'm trying to think of something we could do, but honestly, I'm in a very tight spot here, Chrom." Robin responded. As they walked back to the Feroxi barrocks, Lissa began to stir from her slumber. Her face still bared the same expression as her eyes fluttered open. Her normally shining gray irises seemed to dull, almost as if her spark of life was drained from her, yet again, causing a surge of fear in Robin's chest.

"Robin..." she said, looking passed his face, instead focusing her gaze at the falling snowflakes. "Sis is gonna be okay, right...? You're gonna save her, aren't you?"

Chrom looked upon his younger sister trying not to show his worry. "Lissa, I don't think-"

"Yes, I will." Robin cut in. "Don't worry. I swear I'll think of something to get her out of this mess. Just you watch; this time tomorrow, she'll be back in the palace safe and sound." a false smile stretch across his face to try and look convincing, but he didn't even believe in his own words. It would be a miracle for him to do this... If he even COULD. Thankfully, it seemed that Lissa bought his statement and closed her eyes again. Whether it was because she was simply tired or she found peace in his words, he couldn't tell.

"You don't have to lie to her, you know..." Chrom spoke up. He waited for a response but was only answered with silence for a few moments. It wasn't that Robin didn't want to address his statement, but rather he wanted to find a way to justify his 'lie'.

"Well, I haven't been made a liar yet, and it's better than outright telling her I have no clue what I'm supposed to do right now." Robin said, finally. "Lissa has an unwavering faith in me, Chrom. I feel that if I show her that I'm afraid too... I may disappoint her. The two of you are very close friends to me. It's hard enough that you know I'm not fully sure of my own skills for the task ahead..."

Chrom placed his gloved hand on Robin's shoulder. "Whether you think you can or you can't, you have to remember that strategy is only part of a battle. Don't ever forget that the will to fight is just as important as any tactical move."

The tactician sighed as he took Chrom's words into account. He was right. His strategies were never perfect, and he was not so naive to consider them to be so, but he tends to forget that a strategy is nothing more than marks on parchment unless they were willingly carried out by soldiers, his friends. "You're right. As you usually are. It still goes without saying that I'm still scared of failure just as much as anyone else here..."

"It's only natural to be afraid, Robin. I may not look like it, but I, too as afraid of what will happen if we don't come to Emm's aid. The deciding factor, though, is that we put aside our fears and hope that we make it to her aid tomorrow. I do hope that you'll be ready when the time comes."

Robin couldn't find a suitable way to respond to Chrom. Not even the generic 'I know' sounded like it would be a meaningful answer. He only continued walking as he carried Lissa in his arms.

Meanwhile, the Shepherds were gathered in the Feroxi barracks waiting for their captain and strategist to return. Everyone felt the tension from the high stakes but despite themselves, they were determined to keep a positive mindset. After all, they have been able to topple soldiers from Ferox twice now, and that was no easy feat. As the army busied themselves with sparring or just relaxing until their departure, a pair of nobles sat across from each other in total silence, waiting for one or the other to say something.

Virion sat still, staring at Maribelle, who's facial features showed some sort of nner conflict she was undergoing at the moment. One would think it was caused by the revelation of Exalt Emmeryn's kidnapping and inevitable execution. Oh, no. It was something that weighed much more on her shoulders. Her brows furrowed as she struggled internally with her next choice of words, all the while, Virion continued to wait for whatever it was she asked to speak with him about.

A strained grunt escaped Maribelle, followed by her dragging her filed nails through her neat pigtails until she raised her head up to meet her fellow nobleman's gaze. With an audible inhale, she sat straight, hands clasped together and prepared to finally convey what she had been tryingto say.

"Virion..." she started. "How's it goin'...?" she asked. Her left eye then began to twitch at the phrase that just left her mouth. Virion shared in the awkward moment of her sentence, though to a less noticeable degree. She wasn't one to speak in such common phrasing. Although the social stigma among nobles demanded refined speech, he cared little for it in the company of friends. However, for Maribelle of all people to start speaking like common folk was quite jarring.

"I beg your pardon, milady, but are you not the one noble in all of Ylisse to uphold the noble bearing of refined speech?" he asked.

An embarrased blush crept its way across Maribelle's face as her noble dignity was slowly chipping away. At this point she just wanted to run away and simply disappear, but she refused to simply cut and run. She always stood by her philosophy that once a task was started, it had to be finished. Noble upbringing or not, this was more of a personal motto. Her eyes shifted from the roof of the barracks to the side, though looking nowhere in particular. Rather, trying to remember any other phrases she picked up.

"Oh, lighten up, Virion." she responded. "There's no need to get your smallclothes in a knot." This particular phrase actuallly made her smile to herself as she spoke. As vulgar as it was, she knew Virion took personal pride in his appearance, and taking a stab at it, albeit for experimentation and not genuine hostility, gave her a dark sense of satisfaction in doing so. She pictured it as subtle revenge for his constant womanizing, if nothing else.

Feeling a little embarrassed of her phrasing, Virion adjusted his cravat instinctively after the mention of his undergarments. "Dear me, never have I thought I'd see the day that one such as you would speak in such plain language. And by the looks of it, I'd say you're having quite a time in doing so, no?"

TMaribelle's smile didn't disappear from her face. Instead, her blush from embarrassment seemed to be the thing to go. She was expecting a more brutal verbal thrasing at having thrown dirt and one of the common values of noble interaction. It was nice to see that a fellow noble wasn't chastising her on the way she spoke.

"Is it so obvious?" she asked, giving up the charade. "I apologize for that, Virion, especially if I seemed rude. I was merely conducting a sort of test to see how other would react if I chose to take on a more common approach." she explained.

"Ah, I see. While I can't say I approve the reference of my... smallclothes... I will say that a dedication to try and connect with our fellow companions is a noble one in of itself."

"Truly? Oh, Virion, you have no idea the relief I feel when you put it in such a way. Very well then, I shall continue my endeavors!"

"All well and good, milady, but if I may say one thing? Please keep mention of others' appearances to a bit of a minimum... Specifically, their choice of fashion."

The smirk on Maribelle's face only widened a bit more. "If I must."

The large wooden doors of the building creaked open, with Robin and Chrom walking inside. One of the Shepherds walked over to the two and took Lissa from Robin to find her a proper place to lie down for the moment. As the princess was whisked away, the tactician and prince walked to one of the many tables and sat down to talk strategy of the upcoming rescue mission. Time was of the essence with Emmeryn's execution scheduled tomorrow at noon. It was already an accepted fact that the army would be moving out by the day. The sooner they made it to Plegia the better. Thankfully the Kahns had graciously volunteered to join in this mission, even providing some of their own personal troops to supplement the Shepherds' numbers.

"Gods, just thinking of the impact of our next mission is enough to make the pressure overwhelm me to the point of panicking..." Robin muttered. He rubbed his temples, trying to focus his mind. Chrom sat back and tapped his fingers on the wooden table, patiently waiting for Robin to think of something. His usual "don't think to hard' line seemed rather redundant to say at this point. He'd think hard regardless what anyone said, and it was crucial for him to work his mind to its limits in such a short time. One of the Feroxi soldiers walked to the two, offering large mugs of mead to both, but Robin refused. Alcohol wasn't the wisest beverage to have when he needed to think. Chrom on the other hand, graciously accepted a serving. He needed something to take the edge off, lest he'd end up passed out from the tension alone like Lissa. Keeping a straight face in front of his comrades despite his true emotions was quite tiring.

On the other far end of the barracks, as Maribelle and Virion continued their conversation, the former noticed Chrom and Robin walk into the building It was odd though that Lissa was not with them. She was certain she saw her with the two after she left Khan Flavia's throne room. Excusing herself, Maribelle rose from her seat with Virion and walked over to see her companions. On her approach, she didn't exactly like what she saw: Chrom taking in large sips of alcohol and Robin with his head planted flatly on the table, his arms folded underneath. If not for the obvious severity of the situation, what with Emmeryn's execution at hand, Maribelle would have probably made a joke or to to break the duo out of their doldrums, but decided against it. Any situation where these two didn't look confident was, something to worry about.

"Pardon me, sirs." she started, clearing her throat. "I can see you two are in quite the mood, so I'll not pry, but have you seen Lissa anywhere?"

Robin picked his head up, peeking at Maribelle slightly with one eye, as he hadn't fully risen from his position. Though after being addressed by her, he made to effort to sit up properly. "I believe she may be resting in the bunks. Poor girl passed out after hearing of the Exalt's situation and hasn't awoken since." he stated gloomily.

"I see..." the noblewoman responded. "Well then... It's good to know you're here with us then, Robin."

"How so?"

"Well, why else? Your gifted mind will surely lead us to victory. I've no doubt you'll pull us through this."

The tactician slumped back into his old position after hearing her statement. Chrom somewhat reflected his behavior, but chose not to say a word. "Maribelle... I don't know this time. It just... It doesn't seem like I have the upper hand here right now. We've so little time to do what we must, but I honestly think this may be beyond me..."

Maribelle's lips curled inward as she heard the dread in his voice. It truly seemed like he had met his match this time. Despite that, she refused to let him think this way. The longer he spent moping on the subject, the less time he had to think of a plan.

"I understand the difficult position you are in," she said. "but, you must also understand, that I believe in you."

"But how? How can you be so sure? Even I'm not certain if I can-"

"Robin," she interrupted. "do you remember the day I was captured by Gangrel's men?"

He nodded in response.

"You single handedly managed to lead the Shepherds against an ambush from all sides on dangerous terrain, and saved me from the enemies ranks with minimal casualties and barely broke a sweat over it. Even then, you barely had any idea to find out what happen. Do you understand where I'm coming from?"

Robin's eyes drifted to the floor as he tried to figure out her point. "I'm afraid I don't." he answered, prompting a frustrated sigh from Maribelle.

"Gods, but you can be quite dense sometimes... What I'm trying to say is that Exalt Emmeryn's situation is no different from mine back then. The only difference is that you had a handful of hours to think of something. As of now, you have a day and a half. Do not squander your time over who was taken by whom, focus on what you must down between now and then."

Silence fell between the two for a long moment. The entire time though, Robin thought about what Maribelle said, and she was right. This was something that he had tackled before, and everything turned out just fine. This was no different than before, and just as Maribelle said, he shouldn't be wasting time, worrying about letting Chrom down. He had to saddle up and work his hardest. Slowly, Robin rose from his seat and turned to Maribelle, his glum expression replaced by sheer determination.

"You're right, Maribelle. You're absolutely right. This isn't time for me to sit here and mope, I've still got a job to do." he said. Chrom inwardly agreed with his friend and pushed the glass of mead away from him. Just as it was no time for Robin to sulk, Chrom couldn't afford to drawn his sorrows.

"And me as well." the prince added. "I'm supposed to be the captain of our army. not some drunkard trying to push away the responsibilities that lie before him."

A pleased smile found its way to Maribelle's cheeks as she saw the two completely change before her. "Now that's the team us Shepherds stand behind!" she said. "Use that enthusiasm to find a way to bring Exalt Emmeryn home. In the meantime, I'll check on Lissa and keep her company."

With a nod from the two, Chrom, Robin and Maribelle went their separate ways; The prince and strategist heading to the throne room to talk tactics with the Khans and Maribelle to be at Lissa's side. Just before Robin left the barracks into the cold snowfields of Ferox, he stopped and turned to Maribelle one more time.

"Maribelle, thank you." he said, a smile of gratitude on his face.

"You're very welcome... or, as the common folk say, 'don't mention it'." she responded, a laugh escaping the two. "In all seriousness, Robin, there is one thing I must tell you: Don't forget that Lissa is like a sister to me, and I'd never wish for any harm to come to her. That being said... promise me you'll bring the Exalt back safely. Whatever happens, please, don't ever make Lissa cry..." she said sternly.

Without hesitation, Robin turned to walk out of the barracks, with his last words to her being, "Don't worry. I promise."

A/N: Oh God... How long has it been now? About a month? Yeah, that sounds pretty accurate... Really sorry about the delay, people. I really wanted to get this chapter done, but it was actually pretty hard to write. First, I had writer's block every few paragraphs and kept writing myself into a corner. I had to really think hard about this chapter and where it should go. I know that's not a good excuse for this being so late, but that's my story.

If anyone still managed to wait long enough to read this chapter, your patience is very much appreciated.