Chapter 18

Themis, Early Morning

There it was again. That feeling of being weighted down by some sort of intrusive force that Robin had felt not too long ago before. Still just gaining consciousness from a very restful night's sleep, he smiled in contentiment. He knew, without needing to open his eyes what that feeling was. Reaching his free hand over, he gently found a place for it on the waist of the woman who's bed he shared last night.

"Good morning." he whispered, after gently raising his hand up to tuck her blond hair behind her ear.

Pretending to still be asleep, Maribelle simply buried her nose into Robin's clothed chest. It did little to hide her smile which he could feel from the threads of his shirt. Despite her efforts, Robin hugged her close to him. Even if he loved their time together last night, his false smile hid the thoughts in his head.

Last night. What he had completely forgotten about, Maribelle's suitor had arrived and he was caught completely off guard. It had taken such a long time for the noble to come to Themis that Robin had forgotten the whole affair. Suddenly, the cute gesture of simply holding the blonde noblewoman close to him took on a different meaning of fearful possessiveness. He was certain that Maribelle wouldn't leave him for another, but the thought of it sent a haunting feel through him that put him on the verge of panic.

Ultimately, it was up to Maribelle, not him. The thought brought some comfort to his mind. He was confident in their bond that she would accept no one else. After all, she was the one who invited him into her bedhambers that night. Nothing transpired from it, but if anything, it was a sure sign of her preference for him.

"Did you sleep well?" He finally spoke up in an attempt to make small talk while rising from the bed. His tone lacked any sort of playfullness to it. It was immediately noticable to Maribelle, and she knew exactly why.

Sighing, Maribelle rubbed her eyes awake, but her head remained on her pillow. "I already know what must be going through your mind, darling. Let the recordbooks show that I'll not leave you. There really is nothing to talk about." To punctuate her statement, she also sat up on her bed and wrapped her arms about Robin's waist and rested her chin on his shoulder. "Besides, I have already said all that I need to last night."

The display of affection was lost on Robin, still sulking over the fact that moments like this would need to be few and very far between now. "Can I just ask a question? What happens if this person proves more stubborn than you think?"

"Hmm." Maribelle hummed as she tried to come up with another plan, but she decided that she would handle this just like any other man who asked for her hand before this one. "Well, for starters, I will have to keep you and I under wraps for now. If he finds out I am involved with you things could get... rough. I suppose I will simple stick to my old method and come off as a rugged woman disinterested in anyone else. And if that fails, perhaps another 'extended vacation' in Ylisstol is just what I need."

"Heh. Your contingency plan is to run away until things get better? Doesn't that go against your whole image?" Robin chuckled as he peeked at her through the corner of his eye. Even if it was a forced laugh, Maribelle was thankful for the effort.

"Call it a tactical retreat. I believe you are familiar with the action?"

"If you say so." Robin gently gripped at the stray blonde hair that hung over his shoulder.

Maribelle only laughed at the tactician's nonchalant guise even though she could feel his worry underneath. She relinquished her embrace on him so they could begin their day. Both had issues they needed to tend to. Were it not for the unexpected guest they received last night, she would have invited him to breakfast with her and her parents. Alas, that would need to be saved for another day.

While Maribelle settled back into her bed for another minute of shut eye, she found some amusement in seeing Robin gather his clothes together from last night, ending with him throwing his coat on. He briefly stepped towards her bedroom door before retreating from it. His tactical brain was telling him that it was not a good idea to wander the halls of the manor. For all he knew, Maribelle's parents were already awake, and the last thing he wanted to saddle Maribelle with was explaining to her parents why that one lad from before was leaving her room.

Backing away from the door and sitting on the bedside once again, he scratched at his white hair for a solution of exit. The way to the front door would put him in full view of any other servants around the home, and very likely bring his appearance up to the owner of the estate. That and since a noble had come in the dead of night, that would be TWO men that Maribelle had to explain. For a moment, his thoughts drifted to another way. Looking to the far side of the room, the tactician eyed the obscured window and raised an eyebrow in intrigue.

Maribelle looked from Robin, to the window, then back again. "Darling, tell me you are not seriously considering jumping out of a second-floor window." The noblewoman giggled as she watched Robin stand up and walk across the room. She would have stopped him, but the prospect of him actually going through with this would make a fine story to tell Lissa.

"Well, I would rather not run into your parents until we formally announcing our relationship. That and I REALLY would rather not run into your suitor on my way out the door. It probably won't reflect well on either of us." Robin expressed as he unlatched the windows and stared outwards. "Besides, the drop doesn't look harmful at all."

"The fall is not the part I'm worried about. I neglected to say that there is a rose garden just outside that window."

Peeking his head out of the open window and lookin down, the first thing Robin noticed, besides the ever-chilling weather was indeed a well maintained garden of roses that ran along the walls of the manor. The hedge was rather wide and if he jumped from here, he knew falling into it would be almost inevitable. Taking all that into account, he decided to risk it and tossed one leg out of the windowsill. "Don't worry, whatever scratches I get from that bush will easily be taken care of with quick treatment."

Sitting up straight on her bed, Maribelle was both startled and amused that the man would be reckless enough to do it. "It's not you that I worry about. I don't want you crushing my poor flowers, you brute." she chided jokingly. Her concern for the flora was real, but part of her really wanted to see if Robin was daring enough to fall into a painful net of thorns.

Swinging a second leg onto the outside, Robin sat on the ledge prepared to make his exit. He turned briefly and waved good-bye and took one last look below. "I think your flowers will do more damage to me than I will to them." After his last exchange, he quickly hopped off the ledge and a soft thud was heard below. Followed by some cursing and ruffling against leaves.

Maribelle tossed the blankets off of her person and rushed to her window to see if Robin was alright. What she witnessed was a man crawling pathetically out of a flower patch with a number of scratches and stray leaves clinging to his hair. Sighing and shaking her head, she walked to one of her dressers and pulled upen one of the drawers, where some old baubles were kept for one reason or another. At the back was a half-full bottle of a vulnerary and a roll of bandages she had left over from the campaign against Plegia. She carried both over to the windows and after confirming to see if Robin was still there, she dropped the items, which landed safely onto the same hedge the tactician crawled out of.

Lying on his back and wiping leaves out of his hair, Robin spotted the aid kit just for him sitting atop his landing spot. He looked up to see if Maribelle was watching, but just barely caught her shutting her window. Although she probably couldn't hear him, he still made the effort of offering up his appreciation.
"Thanks." He called up, as he stood to his feet, dusted off his pants and grabbed his medical supplies.

...

Just as the tactician had intended, he had managed to catch the earliest coach back to Ylisstol. As early as it was, however, he would surely be late to the Shepherd's morning routine. He only hoped that he could catch the final course in time and find a partner other than Lon'qu to spar with. Too many times Robin had suffered a dislocated shoulder from the brutal Feroxi swordfighter.

Once the carriage had arrived into the city, Robin immediately made haste to the training yard, haphazardly scrambling to grab a training weapon and make it to the field. Luckily, Chrom was also running late that morning, so at least the man wouldn't dole out corporal punishment for his tardiness this day. Still, just as he feared, he would have to train with Lon'qu today. If nothing else, at least the bruises he received would temper his skills as a fighter.

After training drills had concluded for the day and everyone was dismissed, Robin found himself with an all too painfully necessary skin full of ice water for his aching head and shoulder. If it wasn't the scratches from the bush of roses he fell into earlier that day, then it was everywhere else. While he nursed his aches and pains, his usual group of friends began to gather at the table he occupied. Lissa, Ricken and Cordelia were the first, followed by Olivia shortly after. She would have been the first to arrive, but preferred to be in the midst of company. Later, Gaius and Sumia entered together, talking with smiles on their faces. Though their conversation was inaudible where they were, everyone saw the two laughing at whatever stories they shared. When they were finished, they headed over to their companions and sat side by side.

"Whoa. You okay there, Bubbles? You look like you lost a fight with some sort of animal." The thief was the first to comment, earning an eye roll from his friend. He saw very well what happened out there in the training yard.

"Yes, actually. It was between me and a terrifying Feroxi barbarian." Robin adjusted the skin of ice water to his other shoulder in the meantime.

"Looks more like you were clawed by a vixen. Probably a lioness." Gaius pointed directly at Robin's face and wrists, which were marred by the criss-cross of scratches from the rose bush. "Damn. I had no idea Twinkles liked to play rough."

"What sort of game were you playing to get scratches like that?" Ricken asked, pointing at the one around his neck that nearly trailed up to his ear.

'Oh, Ricken. Bless your heart.' Cordelia thought as she contemplated what would only seem like the natural course between men and women when they are attracted to each other the way their tactician and noble were.

"I'm guessing 'wrestling'?" Sumia chimed in with a wide smile. Everyone's head quickly turned to her in surprise at her comment. She was practically the most innocent woman of the whole army, only to make a statement like that? Truly, she was spending too much time with Gaius. "What?" She finally asked when each set of eyes continued to stare for much longer than comfortable.

"Is that what you and Gaius were playing last night?" Robin shot back with a devilish grin of his own. Sumia didn't answer, and Gaius just tossed a small candy into his mouth and pretended he heard nothing. Setting the skin of ice water on the table and folding his hands, Robin stared at the couple with that same face. "And what would make you think Maribelle and I... played wrestling last night?"

"It is because you share that woman's same scent." Spoke Panne who happened to be walking by. Her keen ears picked up on the conversation on her way past them. She meant to continue onto her own matters, but she thought it would be worthwhile to say at least one passing greeting to the tactician. The beastkin leaned in a bit too close for Robin's liking and sniffed his scent twice. "There is no mistaking it. You reek of the same flowery smell that woman wears at nearly all times." Robin was taken aback slightly, and even brought the sleeve of his coat to his nose for a whiff of the scent. Perhaps he hadn't noticed after he adjusted to Maribelle's essence, but he did remember the sweet perfume that drifted through her bedchambers. "For one to be so utterly bathed in another's odor would require much physical contact."

"Thank you, Panne." Robin huffed. The taguel woman lifted her sensetive nose away from him and walked off, leaving Robin to his friends and their idiotic grins. "Okay, fine. If you have to know, Maribelle and I shared a bed together last night. But nothing physical happened."

"Hey, it's fine if you don't want to go into detail, Bubbles. We get it; don't kiss and tell." The thief of the group responded without his familiar teasing.

Before anyone could press the tactician for more answers, the doors to the garrison opened with Chrom finally arriving to greet his companions. Robin had secretly wished Maribelle would be the one to walk through, hoping that the others would pick on her for a little while, but he had no qualms about seeing his best friend. Especially considering his usual tardiness today.

The prince spotted the tactician sitting with company and casually walked over towards the group. "Good afternoon everyone. I trust training went smoothly today?"

"I think the real question would be where you've been all day, Chrom?" Lissa interrupted. No one was more perceptive about her brother's punctuality than her, and Robin dare not even pretend to be on a higher horse than him with his own reasons for being late.

"At court, unfortunately." The prince sighed. "It seems like we have trouble in some small parts of Ylisse." Everyone at present felt a wave of tension hit them. Thoughts instantly went to a possible revenge plot orchestrated by Plegia after the end of the war months ago by some band of faithfuls to their fallen king. Robin especially turned ashen at the thought of going to war again. "Everyone relax, it's not as horrible as your thoughts may perceive, I assure you." Chrom stated to ease some of the distraught from his companions. "But it appears we've reports of Risen stalking Southtown. Luckily, no casualties have been noted, but I thought it best if some of the Shepherds would assist me in clearing them out."

Robin's brow furrowed as he recalled their last encounter with the Risen. If he remembered correctly, they seemd to appear at random during the war with Plegia. Whatever those abominations were, they had abad habit of gathering into small groups and terrorizing townsfolk just about anywhere, even Plegian soil. Some were even spotted far north in the Feroxi snowy wastes.

"I don't understand this. What triggered their return?" The tactician asked. Chrom simply shook his head in response.

"I can't say. But deep down, something tells me that perhaps things won't be as peaceful as we hoped they would be."

"Whatever it is, we won't let those things just walk around as they please." Lissa chimed in. "When do we leave, and who's coming with us?"

"Us? You're already volunteering for a spot on the away team, Lissa?" Chrom asked sarcastically. "Just as well. I was going to ask you and Robin to join me there anywhere. And of course Frederick would insist on joining us as well. Perhaps that should be enough for this mission."

"I'd have to disagree." Robin finally stepped in after thinking about the situation. "Southtown is indeed a relatively small location. However, these are Risen we're talking about. They don't usually act with rationale. I advise we enlist Sumia and Cordelia as well. If nothing else, then at least they can see from the skies what we won't be able to on the ground."

"Brilliant thinking. Alright then, you've given me little reason to doubt your word." Chrom folded his arms after Robin's input. A more secure and tightly knit team sounded perfect. "I assume you two have no objections right?" Chrom turned to the present women, both of which nodded proudly for the task.

"So when are we heading out?" The princess asked as she stood to her feet.

"If I can find Frederick and have him prepare a transport for us, we should be out of here in one hour at the most."

Robin blinked twice as the information hit him. "One hour?" Robin made no effort to hide his surprise. "We've only just heard this news. Will we even have enough time to get ready for this?"

"We'll have to make do. The longer we take, the more potential damage will be done." Chrom stood up from the table and rested his hand on Robin's shoulder. "I know it's been awhile since your last battle, but I know you're up for this."

"Yeah... Right." The tactician weakly replied. Fighting was not the problem for him.

"Hey, are you ready to get going?" Sumia peeked into the Shepherd's armory looking for the groups tactician. He was gathering the last of his equipment and a crudely drawn map he scribbled together through sheer memory from his last visit.

Robin looked over his shoulder as he rolled up the map and tucked it away within his coat alongside a half-used Thunder tome. "Just finished getting ready." As he walked through the door and down the hall that lead from the garrison to the castle's front gates, the Pegasus Knight walked alongside him eyeing him the entire time. Robin pretended to not notice despite him being very aware of her prying gaze.

"So, are you going to tell me what's bothering you or will you pretend there's nothing wrong and then eventually tell me after I reassure you that you can trust me with secrecy?"

"Well, since you asked so kindly..." Robin deadpanned. "Something came up between me and Maribelle last night and I was hoping to talk about it with her. With our services needed, it puts a bit of a damper on things."

"Okay."

Narrowing his eyes, Robin peered at Sumia through the corner of his eye. She stopped looking at him, but he was certain she was aware of his own staring. Just like him before her, she too said nothing. "Aren't you going to ask what happened?"

"No. Because then if I ask about any details, you will probably say it doesn't concern me, then act reserved about it until you can tell someone who is really close to you, like the commander or Gaius."

This time, Robin slowed his pace and faced her fully. "Alright, stop doing that."

"I have no idea what-"

"I mean stop talking to Gaius about me. I know he keeps a close eye on my habits and probably tells you about all my quirks all the time." Sumia said nothing, but the smirk on her face told Robin he was dead on with his accusation.

"You have to admit though, you can get pretty predictable if someone is around you for a long time. That's probably why Maribelle has you wrapped around her gloved fingers all the time."

He had to give her that. Not that he considered predictability in social environments to be a bad thing, but it struck a nerve when people are quick to figure him out. As a tactician, he prided himself on the element of surprise or maintaining a certain mystique about himself. "Well, predictable or not, this is a serious personal matter that I don't intend to tell anyone... yet."

"I understand. Just try not to get distracted out there, okay? We need you to be at your best." She grinned warmly at him and quickened her pace so they could hurry to their transport into Southtown. "And don't worry about the trip. When we have a ride, it won't be but a couple of hours. Beats marching, huh?"

"That does make me feel a little better, actually." He followed closely behind her as they arrived to the carriage, with Robin accompanying Chrom and Lissa inside with Frederick at the helm and both Pegasus Knights taking to the skies.

A/N: Geez, I really should keep better track of this story more often. Aaanyway, that quiet hiatus aside, here's the next, albeit short chapter. I'll admit, the reason this took so long and why it's not quite as expansive as the others was because I had a bit of writer's block in coming up with this one. I wanted a nice, slow paced one to counteract the long winded melodramatic previous chapter. I understand that the long wait for an insubstantially short chapter probably doesn't excuse it, but that's my reason and I'm sticking to it! As always though, I thank all the people who have been very patient with the story so far and hope that however long you've waited, it was worth it for you.

And as of today, it's Maribelle's birthday! What a coincidence! :D (totally didn't upload this one day early to capitalize on this...)