Chapter 13
Above the usual chatter and bustle that accompanied the familiar fountain plaza of Ylisstol was the sound of coins being flicked into said fountain, and the drip of the coppers hitting the immaculate water. Ricken was tossing coin after coin into the small pool, whispering messages to each and every one of them as if they were housing some sort of sentient spirit. Along with the young mage, Gaius sat in the wooden bench just a few feet behind him, arms crossed behind his head and feet lazily stretched out as he watched the boy squander his hard-earned money.
"Yo, Shorty, keep that up and you're gonna go broke in no time." the thief called, swirling a sort of chocolate confection in his mouth. Normally, the 'Shorty' remark would have gotten a rise out of Ricken for obvious reasons, but he seemed indifferent to it today.
"Have your fill now, Gaius, but someday, when my wish comes true, your short jokes''ll be baseless!" Ricken shouted back. He flicked one last coin into the fountain and tucked his coin purse away within his robes, finished with his daily routine. He turned around and joined Gaius on the bench as he waited for Lissa to finish whatever it was she had been doing. With Stahl and Vaike gone back to their respective training and homes after the war, the old group almost never got together as they used to.
The band of five men was shortened down to a mere trio, with Lissa being the last member. Even Robin had been completely occupied by either paperwork or Maribelle's strict lesson plans to accompany his friends on the rare day off. It wasn't as if the tactician even minded any of the two. When he was tired of learning which fork was for salad, and which was for meat, he was neck-deep in papers. And when he needed to give his eyes a rest, he could always learn to bow in the presence of a lady.
Soon enough, the princess arrived, sporting a new fur-lined coat for the steadily decreasing temperatures as Autumn was beginning its transition. "Heya guys! So, how do I look?" she asked, posing with her coat and doing a quick front-to-back turn to show off her new garment.
"You look like you're wearing the skin of a bear. It's kinda weird." Gaius commented. His statement only earned him a malevolent raspberry from Lissa, who turned to Ricken for positive support. Sadly, she received none, as the mage shared his friend's sentiment.
"Oh, whatever. You two just don't understand fashion." Her response only got blank stares from the two, as if she had spoken in a completely different language. "Anyway, what was it that you wanted to talk to us about that was so important you had to demand we be here?"
The expression of mischievous delight was easy to spot on the thief's face. Whatever it was he wanted to tell them was practically eating away at him. He straightened his posture and beckoned the princess to him with his index finger. With narrowed eyes, Lissa stepped closer and leaned her head next to his to hear what he had to say.
"A few days ago, I was in the barracks, and I saw Robin and Twinkles gettin' reeeal close with each other."
"...How close?" Lissa asked blankly.
"Touchy-feely."
Instantly, Lissa's eyes widened. It looks like those two were starting to get serious. "Gaius, tell me everything you saw!" She gripped at the man's collar with both hands nearly shaking him.
"Easy. At first it was just some boring dance routine... But then..." He fashioned his hands and fingers into a squeezing motion in reference to what was going on.
Again, Lissa's eyes nearly bulged from her head. "Maribelle... let Robin... do THAT?"
"Oh yeah. She even said it felt 'just right.'"
As always, whenever Gaius and Lissa had some sort of conversation, Ricken was left in the dark. He had no idea what that weird hand sign meant, or why it made Lissa seem so flustered. He was beginning to question why he even bothered accompanying them anyway. Most of their conversations flew over his head as it is.
"Gee, things sure have been moving fast between those two." Lissa shrugged absently thinking about what the budding couple would do next. Suddenly, her iconic mischief-making smile eerily stretched at her cheeks with a thought brewing in her head. "But, I think they could afford to be a bit closer. Gaius?" She addressed the man, who was busy unwrapping yet another sweet. "I think it's time we moved onto stage two."
The sound of rhythmic thumping came from Robin's quarters that afternoon, along with rough groans. A lot of the maids who passed by the man's room couldn't help but wonder just what it was he was doing in there, and almost none of them had the stomach to disturb him. Only about two or three went as far as to knock on his door to ask if he was well only for him to mumble that he was perfectly okay and that he needed absolute silence and privacy.
Eventually the thumping stopped and so did the odd groans for a period of time... and then they started merely an hour after silence. By this time, Sully happened to be traipsing around the palace, making sure everything was ship-shape when she happened to pass by the tactician's room hearing those same odd thumps and bangs she heard everyone whispering about. Not one to eavesdrop or stick her nose in anyone else's business, the queen contemplated on finding out what was going on. She walked over to the wooden door and listened for anything besides the obvious. Gods help her if her husband saw her sneaking around...
"Dammit, it's just too hard..." Robin groaned, loud enough to be heard outside of his chambers. "Gotta finish this up though, my hand's starting to cramp."
'The hell?' Sully thought. She tapped her knuckles on the door, completely tossing out any chance of trying to be covert. "Hey, Robin, you alright in there?"
Robin picked his head up from his slumping position in his chair. He recognized that gruff voice from anywhere. His mind started racing. He wasn't finished yet, and if Sully walked in on him, Gods only knew what she would do... "Uh, y-yeah. Just fine!" he called.
"You mind if I came in for a sec?" Sully pressed. Her arms were crossed and she tapped her foot on the marble floor. The question was partially rhetorical; He was living under her roof, refusal would be quite suspicious.
"Come in...?" Robin's eyes bulged a bit and he realized that he hadn't set the lock on his door. Sully could waltz right in if she had a mind to. "Would it be asking to much to come back in maybe 10 or 20 minutes?"
The crimson queen narrowed her eyes. "Tryin'a hide something, are ya?" Her mocking tone only unnerved Robin on another level. This time, rather than ask again, or even taking the offer to return later, Robin heard the damning click of the doorknob and hoped that what Sully was about to see wouldn't end with a fist to the jaw.
"Huh. So that's what you were doin' in here."
"Yes... I'm sorry you had to see this..."
"What? You embarrassed or somethin'? Crap Robin, this happens to all of us at one point or another."
"I know..." Robin gathered the stacks of paper that littered his desk and straightened them into a neat pile. All of the paperwork he had been shirking was building up and he wanted to try and put a dent in them before the next hundred documents saw their way into his lap. "I just thought I'd get more work done today so you and Chrom wouldn't have to worry about all this anymore."
"Uh huh. So what was all the thumping I've been hearing about?"
"I was... banging my head on the desk in frustration..." Robin admitted rubbing his sore forehead tenderly.
Sully bit her lip, looking at the former-tactician. Frankly, the whole situation was pretty pathetic to her, despite the importance. "You know what? Screw this noise." Not bothering with organization, Sully promptly grabbed all of the papers from Robin's desk. "You've done your job well enough. I think me and Chrom can handle the rest."
"You're sure? Because I can always put in a few more hours."
Sully exhaled and shook her head at Robin's workaholic attitude. "Look, this was something we were supposed to take care of in the first place, yeah? So, you're off the hook. Go have a drink with your pals. See what blondie's up to these past few days. I hear she's been looking for ya."
"Maribelle?" Robin immediately perked up.
"Yep. Now get goin' and see her already." She shooed, practically dragging him up from his desk and pushing him out the door, disregarding the sheets of paper that fell behind them in the process. Robin started down the hall, stretching his limbs after hours of sitting in the same position without a break, and ready to see Maribelle once again. As the walked away, Sully stared blankly at the topmost slip of paper of the huge stack she held, turning her head to the side in sheer confusion. She had no idea what it was she was even reading. "Okay... now what does all this crap mean...?"
Pushing the large doors of the palace open and stepping out into the sunlight after a near eternity, Robin savored the smell of the outdoors. The only question he had to ponder was where to find the noble that had been searching for him, in an ironic twist of fate. It was hard to believe just how long the tactician had been inside. Already he could see the sun dropping towards the mountain ridges in the distance. Not enough for the time of day to be considered sunset, but enough for the skies to change to a soft purple view. It's a good thing Sully kicked him out when she did, otherwise nightfall would be upon him had he elected to stay and finish his duties.
Regardless, Maribelle was probably out and about at this hour, considering he has seen quite a lot of her these past few days. Quite a lot in fact that he wondered if she ever returned home. He didn't recall ever seeing her depart from the city on the few chances that he ever did. As he walked down the palace road and into the town proper, he spotted Lissa, accompanied by Ricken walking together with the young mage up to his neck in different varieties of coats.
Right when the princess had notice her friend come into view, she quickly ran to him, happily greeting with a friendly wave.
"Hey, Robin! Finally gotten out of bed today I see!" she mocked with a playful tone.
The tactician rubbed the back of his neck, not out of shyness, but from a literally painful reminder of his work. "I wish I had the luxury of sleeping all day. Beats the heck out of what I've been spending the last few hours doing..."
"Aw. Well, perhaps tonight you'll have a better time." Lissa hinted with a wagging finger
Her tone made it sound like she knew something he didn't, prompting Robin to take an interrogative approach. "And what do you mean by that, O mischievous one?"
"Oh, just wishful thinking!" she refuted. "I mean, I kind of expect it, since Maribelle's been looking for you and all."
Again, that knowing tone that sent a message that something was going on under the man's nose. "And what do you mean by THAT?" he asked again, crossing his arms.
Lissa cocked her head to the side at the question. "Huh? I mean just that: Maribelle's been looking for you. What's so hard to understand?"
"No, no. I meant the 'I kind of expect it' bit that you said a second ago. What do you mean you expect something?"
"Oh, that. Well, isn't it obvious?"
"What is?"
The princess slapped her right palm on her head. She knew Robin could be thick headed at times, but this was acting just plain idiotic. "It's not a secret to anyone that you and Maribelle have a thing for each other, you dunderhead!"
"Oh..." Robin responded with a look that matched Lissa's current view of him, intelligence wise. "Yeah, I suppose that cat had to come out of the bag at some point."
Lissa simply rolled her eyes. "Not that you were great at hiding it in the first place..."
"Oh, really now? And how much do you know?"
"Enough to know that you and Maribelle definitely are certainly more than just buddy-buddy or 'student and teacher' that's for sure."
Ricken looked back and forth between the royal and tactician as they themselves went back and forth at each other with witty remark after witty remark. Snarky sarcasm met with accusing questions and playful teasing with flustered annoyance. Hard to believe these two weren't siblings from his point of view. It was like a little sister mocking her older brother for having a crush on the girl across town. Lissa was practically mirroring her behavior when she found out that Chrom was courting Sully just a few days before even meeting Robin, and here she was again.
"...furthermore, I don't need you standing over my shoulder like a guardian angel, Lissa. I know what I'm doing." Robin groaned, rubbing his forehead.
"Pah! You were practically afraid of the girl before I forced you to go on that date with her! Admit it, she terrified you!" Lissa retorted, jabbing a finger into his chest.
"Alright, I'll give you credit on the date part, but I'm sure I'll be fine on my own, I don't need your help... And I was NOT terrified by her! Just terrified of being hit by her parasol. Again."
Lissa finally conceded and shrugged her shoulders. "Whatever lover-boy. So you wanna know where to find Maribelle or not?"
"If you'd be so kind..." Robin deadpanned.
"Check the library. She's probably there reading up, like she always is."
"Thanks, I'll see you guys later." Robin then left the princess and her mage-assistant to themselves as he walked off to the city library.
When he was a fair enough distance away, Lissa nodded in content to herself with her work done for the day. "Ricken, my friend, Stage Two has officially begun."
Once again, Ricken merely rolled his eyes and just went along with whatever contrived ride the girl cooked up.
As it was with the change of the seasons, the days grew shorter every day. Even though it was far from late, sunset was creeping over Ylisstol, blanketing the city with a soft twilight while the sun sank over the hills giving way to the moon in only a matter of minutes. Maribelle sat peacefully at a table with a warm cup of tea before her, and a book opened for her eyes to feast upon. With the growing lack of sunlight, it would prove futile to continue on.
Clapping the book shut and placing it before her on the table, the noblewoman reached over to finish her tea when she happen to notice a familiar figure sauntering towards her. The unmistakable red hair, fettered by a black bandanna were dead giveaways to the person's identity despite the darkening sky. Leaning over the wooden waist-high fence that kept non-patrons separated from customers, the man looked to Maribelle who maintained a neutral expression while bringing the small white cup to her lips.
"Evenin', Twinkles. How goes the reading?" He greeted with a mock salute and wide grin.
"Gaius." Maribelle said unemotionally, then picking her book back up and pretending to read again.
"Look, I get you're not my biggest fan and all, that's fine. I'm not really here to make small talk, I just have a message to deliver."
"Alright, let's have it."
"Bub- er, Robin wanted me to come over here and tell you that he wanted to see you today." Gaius twirled the lollipop stick, sans the actual candy since it had long since dissolved, in his mouth as he finished his sentence. It was for a brief moment, but he could see the noble's eyes light up before struggling to maintain their uncaring gaze to the book he knew she wasn't actually reading.
"Robin asked you, did he? And why not come to me himself?"
"Hell if I know. Ask him yourself when you meet him. He said he'd be at the palace gardens."
Normally, Maribelle would question Gaius' credibility, but for some special reason she decided to take what he said to heart. "Very well then." She sighed, clapping the book shut once more while maintaining her uncaring tone. Leaving a small handful of gold for the tea and without a second word, she tucked the book beneath her arm and walked passed the thief to the palace.
Despite the continued cold shoulder treatment, Gaius stood with a look of confidence knowing that his job here was done.
Stepping out of the building, Robin pinched the bridge of his nose in equal parts frustration and embarrassment. He had walked into the library hoping to find and see Maribelle, but was only greeted by another woman entirely.
Apparently the description of a 'blonde pig-tailed woman' was too broad and the tactician bumped into someone entirely different. A common problem enough, but made all the more worse on the woman's insistence that he stay and talk, being the famed Ylissean strategist that he was. It only prompted him to leave all the sooner as the strange air of familiarity with this woman made their short time very awkward.
As if orchestrated by Naga herself, Lissa came running to the front steps of the library with Ricken struggling to keep up with his hands full.
"Oh Gods, you're here! Good! I wanted to tell you that-"
"Maribelle's not here at all. I already found that out the hard way..." Robin interjected.
"I'm sorry about that, Robin. A few minutes after you left, Maribelle actually ran into me and told me where she'd be. I hope you're not mad." The princess gave a pouting look that almost bordered on the extreme.
"Of course not. Could have happened to anyone. But could you tell me where she really is then?"
"She said she'd be at the palace gardens. Princesses honor." Lissa raised an open palm to punctuate her statement.
"Heh, well back to square one." Robin chuckled and waved good-bye once more as he walked back to the palace.
Once again, with Robin clear away from earshot, Lissa folded her arms triumphantly. "On the contrary my fine friend; It's off to Stage Two: Square Three for you."
'This princess has gone mad...' were the only words Ricken could think of at present.
Tugging Rocken's sleeve, Lissa guided the young mage to the inside of the library and scanned the area for the other blonde pig-tailed woman. When the two met eyes, she walked over and sat down before her. "So, do you think he bought it?"
A hand went to the top of the woman's blonde locks and roughly pulled them free, revealing long red and matted hair from beneath. "I don't honestly know. Robin's never been one to fool so easily. Do you think a simple disguise like this would really convince him?" Cordelia asked, smoothening out her hair and picking off the false eyelashes.
"Don't fret." Lissa reassured with a dismissive wave. "On the battlefield, Robin's as sharp as a tack. Casually, he's as savvy as Vaike on a good day."
During the whole trek up to the gardens, Robin couldn't help but feel a slight tickle from his nose and let out a small sneeze into his sleeve. "Huh... It's nowhere near cold enough for me to be getting sick yet..." Shrugging it off, he continued passed the trimmed hedges to the terrace just beyond the gardens.
The terrace itself wasn't the exact destination, but he figured he'd make a quick stop to observe the city from this spot. The view was the best, especially at sunset or any parts of the night. On his approach, he noticed something more than just the bautiful view.
Right on the chiseled balcony edge, a dark red wine bottle sat between two crystal-clear glasses. Curiously, Robin picked up the bottle and squinted to read the label in the darkness of the night, immediately recognizing it.
This wine- no, this particular bottle, Robin had seen before. The exact same one that Gaius presented to him in exchange for his already silenced mouth over seeing his 'personal tattoo' many months ago. The only difference was the temperature. Rather than the abnormal warmth from Gaius' body heat, it was cool to the touch and ripe for the taking.
"You sly devils." the tactician whispered to himself, thinking of the hoops he'd inadvertently jumped through. The silence was broken from the sound of feet stepping against the plush grass behind him. Turning to see the familiar face, Robin smiled wider than he intended to.
"Well, isn't this a surprise?" Maribelle commented in her usual sarcasm-laden tone. Despite the way her message came across, she was genuinely surprised. To see Robin, of all people, carrying an expensive bottle of wine that even her manor saw rarely. What's more, glasses for two, and a gorgeous view of Ylisstol in the nightlight.
Robin had to admit, even though that mischievous princess strung him along like a pooch on a leash, she had a brilliant eye for tactics. Without even knowing it, he was pulled right into another private day with Maribelle.
'Doesn't matter how it happened, just go with it.' Carefully, he twisted the cork at the end of the bottle. "Would milady care to join me for a drink tonight?" He asked, adding a bit of uncharacteristic suave to his voice. The pop of the cork at the end of his question was also perfect in pulling the scene together.
The noblewoman had to stop and wonder just who this person was, and what they had done to Robin these past few days. Asking for the two to meet alone for fine wine and hopefully pleasant conversation. Her mind struggled to wonder the ulterior motive, but her beating heart seemed to get in the way of her thoughts.
"Why, Robin, I hadn't taken you for a charmer." She walked over to the man slowly and grabbed the one glass behind him.
Tipping the bottle delicately, the deep red liquid gracefully filled the very bottom of Maribelle's glass, and Robin followed suit with his own. "Well, what is a gentleman if not wanting to spend an evening with a good friend?"
"Oh? So this is Robin trying to be a gentleman?" she smiled dryly
"Is it working?" he smiled back.
Maribelle brought the glass to her lips and had the first sip of the night. The taste of wine was a credit to the aging process and just how hefty a price tag it carried. In short, it was amazing. "It's a start."
Robin could almost swear he heard the noble giggle after she said that.
A/N: Oooh. There I go again slipping back into me old habits. Sorry for keeping you guys and gals waiting for yet another update. After I came home from E3 last month, I got a bit lazy with writing this one, even though it was halfway finished at that point. But my main focus was going into work on my next fic which will start a while down the line. Already got 3 chapters written up! :D
Anyway, I wanted to do something a little different with this chapter. Rather than have another one with Robin and Maribelle together, I wanted to show something behind the scenes. Lissa's basically made a small squad of match-makers for these two. Who knows what they'll do next!
Like always, I thank you all for your patience and support!
Quick Edit: Lucina and Robin for Smash Bros.
Lucina. And Robin. For Smash Bros.
I am not kidding. Lucina and Robin... For Smash Bros...
What? You think I'm joking? Go to the website and watch!
I'm serious! Go! Get outta here! :D
DO IT!