Awakening of Fate
Chapter IX: Through the Northroad

When Chrom opened his eyes, he could already see the faint light of the sun through his tent. He replayed the dream of Robin he had last night in his mind. If only reality were as beautiful as the dream. He thought to himself as he sat up, or rather tried to sit up. Chrom felt resistance pulling him down and turned his head to see the figure of someone beneath his covers.

Lifting the covers back Chrom smirked to himself as he saw Lissa lying beside him. The young girl was sleeping peacefully in her frilly silk nightgown. What Chrom noticed next though was what brought about the most surprise as it wasn't Lissa's arm that held him down but another person. Turning to the other side Chrom found himself nearly face to face with Robin. The tactician was clothed minus her coat, boots, and pants and slept with serenity equal to Lissa.

Chrom's movement disturbed both females as they both stretched and yawned themselves awake. Robin's focus came into play first as she noticed her positioning relative to Chrom. Blushing slightly Robin sat up and too stock of the tent which was as simple as everyone else. Lissa saw the half-clothed woman and nearly yelped in surprise but covered her mouth to stifle the sound. Chrom just stood and walked towards the front of the tent.

"Good morning to you both, might I suggest leaving through the back flap. We don't need senseless rumors floating about the camp now, do we?" Chrom joked to both of the females.

Robin smirked back to Chrom as she dressed herself and left through the front of the tent. "Let them talk, we have nothing to hide from them." She stated boldly with Lissa following behind her. Chrom shook his head and decided to dress as well.

Satisfied with his attire Chrom left his tent and went to join the others. Most of the other shepherds were already up and about. Sumia was cooking breakfast with Felicia and Lissa assisting. Robin had taken a seat around the currently extinguished fire pit. It mystified Chrom as to why the girls hadn't just used the fire pit to roast some meat for breakfast since it would've been easier than their current setup but he left it alone.

It didn't take long for the other shepherds to wake up and arrive as breakfast was put out. Chrom noticed that Corrin was sitting much farther away from Robin than normal as the tactician conversed with Azura and Sully about something that caused the two women to laugh. Finishing his breakfast Chrom made way to prepare for the day's travel. He wasn't surprised to see Frederick already at work ensuring that the equipment was all tidied up and the road spotless of rocks.

"Good morning Frederick." Chrom greeted the older man.

"Milord, I have taken the opportunity to already set about ensuring that everything is accounted for and ready for our departure today." Frederick stated in reply.

Suddenly from up the road the loud thunderous beat of hooves filled the air. Speeding towards them on top his horse was Stahl. Chrom had noticed the glutton's absence from breakfast and would now possible learn the reason why. Before Chrom could get out a word of greeting however Stahl cried out breathlessly "RISEN ALONG THE NORTHROAD!"

Instantly everyone was on high alert. The camp, not being too far away from the caravan was easily within earshot of his shout. Utensils and dinnerware dropped to the ground as everyone gathered their weapons. Robin had drilled into them what to do should they come under attack along the way and everyone moved like pieces of a well-oiled machine. Chrom noticed this and along with Frederick began to run towards the direction where the enemy would be coming from.

The duo was soon joined by Corrin and Vaike. As they ran Chrom could hear Vaike grumbling about something and noticed his self-proclaimed rival didn't have a weapon on him. In his excitement to meet the new foe Vaike had forgotten his axe back at camp. They made it past a couple treelines and saw the Risen were rushing towards them across the bridge that officially divided the north and southern regions. From what could be seen there were nearly two dozen risen approaching them.

"Vaike you need to stay back, since you forgot your weapon." Chrom stated as the four men formed a line.

"The Vaike can fight with his fists. Don't worry about ole' Teach." Vaike replied raising his hands.

A sudden thunk sound caused him to look to his right where an axe was buried. Looking behind Vaike saw Sully readjusting her position from the axe throw. Robin rode on the back of the horse but dismounted a couple of yards away. Along with Sully, Stahl also road onto the scene with Lissa in tow and dropped the young royal off with their group. With instructions from robin beforehand Stahl and Sully rushed forwards signaling for Frederick to join them.

"Robin, you haven't even looked at the battlefield yet and you're already sending our troops out?" Chrom asked noticing the cavaliers charging deep into enemy lines.

"Don't worry they'll be fine." Robin assures the blue-haired royal as she scanned the area.

"Corrin you and Vaike go west and circle around the enemy from the outside. The bridge is a perfect choke point against their numbers which is what I have our cavaliers trying to shore up. Should the enemy try to cross the river then they'll be slowed by the rushing water. Having you both along the shoreline we protect our ranged fighters and flank." Robin instructed.

As Robin was giving out orders Lissa had gone to assist Frederick and the others after Stahl took a spear through the shoulder. Robin swore and tried to call the young healer back but Lissa had already sped off. Looking around Robin was relieved to see the rest of their forces consisting of Azura, Miriel and Virion arriving to the scene.

"Where are Sumia and Felicia?" Robin asked as she noticed her count was off by two.

"They stayed behind to watch the camp for now. Sumia felt she would be more in the way here then there and Felicia had tripped on the way out breaking a few of our travel dishes." Miriel explained. "There absence presents an opportunity for me to observe your tactical skills firsthand when denied your optimal soldiers. Please use me as you see fit."

Robin nodded and sent both Miriel and Virion to the left side to provide support to the rest of the group. Satisfied with the placement of the troops Robin turned to the last two members of their combat group. "So, the three of us are going to cross the river from the east and take the fight to the enemy across the way. The split leaves us more vulnerable to being overwhelmed but it is also the best way to get to the leader of this group." Robin stated pointing towards a larger risen near the back. Like the previous Risen leader they had faced this one also had a glow about him but he wasn't quite as large.

"Although this is only our second encounter I'm fairly certain that risen leaders are chosen amongst one another through fighting. The leader absorbs the power of the fallen growing in size and power. The one we face before was massive indicating how long it had been leading but this one isn't quite as large nor does its glow shine quite so brightly. The glow is a beacon for other risen. In our last encounter it maintained the portal that the risen came through." Robin explained as the trio ran towards their assigned spot.

From the bridge Frederick saw his charge in the company of the songstress and tactician. Keep one another safe. He thought to himself before turning to an axe wielding Risen and blocking its strike with his shield. Frederick's horse reared up on its hind legs avoiding the strikes of two Risen before crashing down onto their bodies and crushing them beneath its hooves. From his left side Frederick noticed Sully wielding her spear with expert precision.

The flame-haired warrior was like a force of nature as she took down foe after foe with pinpoint stabs. Her horse wasn't as armored as Frederick's and it used the mobility from lack of extra weight to its advantage by weaving between gaps of risen and knocking others down with its hooves to increase its range of movement. Sully's viridian armored counterpart Stahl took attacks of opportunity with his bronze sword when sully exposed the enemy with her movements. The two horseback warriors would weave like a needle through yarn amongst one another while Frederick took the brunt of the assault from the forefront.

Further away along the banks Vaike and Corrin dealt with some of the risen that had been smart enough to cross the river. They were supported by Virion who let loose arrow after arrow among the monstrous beings as well as Miriel who rained streams of fire down from the sky. Anyone not struck down by a projectile had to deal with Corrin's sword of Vaike's axe. The two young men fought back to back with one another. Their fighting styles were completely ill matched with Corrin's nimble assaults being too quick for Vaike's heavy blows.

The only upside either could see was the split it caused between their foes having to divide their attention. Vaike rushed in a small group and swung his axe in a diagonal cleave motion, ripping apart three risen at once as he did. When the other Risen came to swarm Vaike, Corrin was right there amongst the fray dealing death to the creatures with his kicks and sword strikes.

Turning to the right Corrin narrowly blocked a spear point with the flat of his blade as one of the risen tried to strike his blindside. Vaike cut down the enemy with a smirk and gave Corrin a thumbs-up gesture.

"Just leave it all to ole' teach here. I'll make sure to keep you sa-" Vaike's words were cut off as a spear erupted from his chest, splattering Corrin's face with blood.

Vaike looked down dumbly at the instrument of pain before furiously spinning around and beheading the risen that had struck him. In an instant the young man broke ranks and charged headlong into the fray of risen in the water. Miriel saw Vaike rushing out of formation and tried to lay down covering fire with her magic.

Beads of sweat appeared upon her brow as she felt her magical reserves quickly dropping. Virion clenched his teeth and tightened his jaw as he felt his quiver lighten. He knew he was running out of ammunition and fast. The amount of risen that were now joining the fray was more than Robin had predicted and some of them had begun deflecting his shots.

Virion desperately looked around for something to use as a backup weapon and found a lance lying about. Picking the weapon up Virion quickly slung his bow about his body and ran after Vaike to join the man in melee combat.

From the bridge area Lissa saw the shore forces coming under fire as well as the serious wound Vaike had taken. She stumbled as the exhaustion from healing Stahl and Sully finally hit her. Unlike Frederick who wore thick heavy armor the other two cavaliers wore thinner lighter armor and thus were more susceptible to damage. After Stahl had taken the initial spear through his shoulder he was further injured by an axe burying itself into his back.

Lissa had been able to heal the damage of course but Sully then took multiple strikes from all around when Stahl had been late to close a gap she created. From those two alone the young cleric felt her energy deplete. She tried to recuperate off to the side and observe the battle for anyone who became seriously injured. That was when she noticed how the shore party was doing and Vaike's condition which sent her stumbling over to him.

Frederick clenched his teeth as he noticed the exhausted young princess hurrying over to save their comrade. He was in the middle of the bridge and knew that there was no way to get to her in time in order to prevent something terrible from happening, so he opted on clearing the bridge and preventing more Risen from swarming over the shore group. His sharp attentive eyes caught Robin, Chrom, and Azura already across the river and making their way along the enemy flank towards the glowing Risen.

With the enemy focus directed to the bridge the others had a simple time of making their way to the leader. Chrom engaged it first with sword in hand. Leaping high into the sky he somersaulted over the creature and struck it from behind. Azura followed up the attack with a spear thrust into the Risen's chest. The creature roared and swatted her away.

Frederick saw the young woman crash into the ground, hard but Robin was immediately taking her position flanking the creature and with spellbook in hand sent out orbs of electricity into the monster's face. Knowing that his liege and companions would be fine taking care of the leader allowed Frederick to calm down slightly and return focus to the enemy before him. Rearing his horse on its hind legs Frederick forcibly crushed two Risen beneath the beast's hooves.

"Pick a god and pray!" Frederick exclaimed as he impaled three risen on his spear.

Lifting the weapon into the air Frederick shook it free of the bodies that had been pierced moments before. The corpses flew off the spear and crashed into other bodies which made everything into a pile. Frederick turned to Sully and Stahl and cried out to them with a rallying call. The three formed an arrowhead shape and stampeded across the bridge crushing the fallen Risen to death.

Once across the bridge Frederick circled around to the western area and caught the Risen that had been trying to cross the river in a pincher maneuver. Corrin had noticed Frederick's plan and rallied Virion and Vaike to him. The three men stood fast and began forcing the risen back to their comrades along the shore. Vaike looked worse for wear but thanks to Lissa and her healing magic it didn't seem as though he would be dying anytime soon.

The young woman in question had put her staff away in favor for a set of throwing knives and began to assault the Risen with the razor-edged projectiles. Miriel noticed the enemy seemed to be distracted by the knives rather than taking damage which lowered their ability to actively counter the assault from the others. Falling to her knees the Miriel took stock of the situation at hand while also trying to recuperate some of her magical power. Lissa coming to support them with healing and knives was greatly welcomed and appreciated.

With the combined assault from front and back Miriel saw her companions finish the Risen off within minutes. With their immediate foes dispatched everyone scanned the field for their leader, tactician, and fellow comrade. Corrin was the first to spot the three individuals in question and pointed them out to the others. Even though everyone was exhausted by this point they hurried to make their way and assist Azura, Chrom, and Robin.

The Risen leader staggered as Chrom cut its arm off and spun off his own attack to follow up the assault with a spinning straight kick to the creature's chest. With its unstable footing the creature fell prey to Azura and her spear quite easily. Azura rapidly stabbed the creature along its chest and torso. The Risen chieftain collapsed to its knees as the glow started to fade from its body. Slowly walking up to the creature Robin closed her spellbook and drew her sword.

"I don't know if your kind has a soul. I don't know if your kind shares some type of hive mind. There is much about your kind that I don't know." She stated closing the distance. "Here is what I do know however. Your kind is ruthless. Your kind doesn't care who it hurts. Your kind must be stopped." With each statement Robin gave the creature she emphasized the point with a sword strike before finally beheading the Risen.

Robin sighed loudly and turned to inspect the rest of the troops as they finally arrived. Everyone looked a bit worse for wear but Vaike had taken the most damage that she could see. With the battle finally over, Robin felt herself beginning to relax ever so slightly. This hadn't been her greatest strategic victory and she could see where she would need to improve but so long as everyone was alive, that would be enough.

Everyone trudged back to camp at a stalled pace. When they arrived, they saw Sumia and Felicia ready with first aid supplies. The remainder of the day was spent resting after everyone had been treated for wounds. The following morning the group set off again although Vaike was sentenced to riding the caravan due to his injuries. As they traveled the Shepherds could see small pockets of civilization thriving out and about. It raised everyone's spirits to see that the risen hadn't managed to harm the people living out this far away.

On the fourth day of travel things took a turn. For better or worse one couldn't say. The group found a wounded pegasus in a nearby meadow while scouting. Sumia instantly took a liking to the creature which had rebuffed Chrom, Corrin, and all the other males that had approached it. The young woman intended to nurse the creature back to health but the problem was it couldn't move very far from the spot it was at.

The shepherds were trying to make decent time to Ferox so as not to lose the trail of the merchant and could ill-afford to stop while the pegasus was nursed to full health but they were also loathe to leave Sumia alone. Virion offered to stay behind with her for two reasons, one he need to fletch more arrows and two he could get some practice in with his new spear. Vaike also opted to stay behind. He regretted that he wouldn't be able to continue but with his injuries he was a liability to the group as a whole if their camp came under attack. By staying back with Sumia and Virion at least it lessened the risk to the group as a whole.

With their three companions left behind with supplies and the promise of the others return Chrom led his shepherds ever onwards north to Ferox. Another two of days travel was all it took for them to come within viewing distance of the Longfort that served as the entrance to Ferox. Everyone had recovered from the last battle with a combination of Lissa and Felicia's healing as well as natural medicinal remedies.

During the trip Robin noticed the distance Corrin seemed to be giving her. He stood opposite of her during strategy meetings. During dining times, he always seemed to slip away to the furthest eating spot as well, even if this meant he wouldn't be seated near his cousin. The young man had barely spoken to her since they departed from Ylisse. Although she had yet to find the time to confront him about it she could ill afford for the leadership to be in disarray and sought him out that evening.

Corrin had taken a leave of absence away from the others and was currently standing alone in a lightly snowed patch of field. Robin saw the young prince holding his dragonstone with his eyes closed. In a moment Corrin had shifted into his dragon form. Robin observed Corrin's movements as he fought off imaginary enemies. A thought came to her mind as she realized Corrin rarely if ever used his dragon form in actual battle.

Corrin's training lasted for a good half hour before he shifted back to his human form. The first thing he noticed was Robin staring at him and he made to move past her but was stopped by the young woman's arm. The two locked eyes with one another, neither blinking or stepping back.

"What is your problem with me Corrin? Ever since the meeting in Ylisse you have been very cold towards me. Have I done something to offend you?" Robin asked the prince, trying to keep her voice from cracking

Corrin's gaze upon Robin softened as he frowned and shook his head. Robin continued to stare at him and bar his path however indicating his response wasn't enough for her. Corrin sighed loudly exhaling a breath he didn't know he was holding.

"I don't have a problem with you Robin, the problem is mine and mine alone. You are correct though that it has only started recently." Corrin stated and motioned for Robin to follow him.

Together the two allies made their way to a starlit hamlet within the nearby forest of barren trees. It was there Corrin began to explain everything to Robin. He started with the realization that he had budding feelings for her and everything it entailed. Next, he tried to rationalize his previous actions in the best possible way. Robin listened to him with rapt attention, never interrupting the young man.

When Corrin had finally finished speaking he looked to Robin expectantly. The young woman grabbed her chin and closed her eyes as she began to think deeply about everything she had just heard. In truth she had suspected as much in terms of Corrin's feelings regarding her. Still to have everything out in the open certainly complicated things a bit.

"Thank you, Corrin for explaining everything to me. I'll be honest with you and tell you I suspected you had feelings for me. The feeling has been somewhat mutual but you made very valid points as to why pursuing a relationship together would be a bad idea." Robin stated, breaking the silence that had formed between them.

Corrin's shoulders slumped at her response, he had hoped the tactician would've thought of some way to circumvent his own logic. He didn't want to give up pursuit of her but he also never wanted to hurt Robin. The fact that she had mentioned the attraction was only "somewhat mutual" cut him deeply.

"Corrin, why are you attracted to me?" Robin asked suddenly.

"Honestly I would say it's your charismatic presence. From the moment we met I felt something about you that I couldn't shake. Even after you lost your memories your personality doesn't really seem to have change." Corrin answered causing Robin to blush.

"You've got an inner strength that I admire. If I'm being frank I could just have a crush on you. I have been locked up most of my life and you're really the first female I've engaged with who I wasn't related too. I want to explore these feelings I have for you Robin but I don't want to hurt you." Corrin told the young woman.

The response he got was pleasant and unexpected. Robin kissed his cheek softly and smiled.

"If we are being honest then I should let you know that I'm still figuring out my own emotions as well and having met everyone in the group thus far I can say my attraction to others is there. I don't want to hurt anyone either but I'm still trying to figure out the best pursuit of friendship and companionship." Robin explained.

At this Corrin's face twisted slightly in pain and anger.

"Do you think that's fair?" he asked.

Robin shook her head and frowned.

"No, I don't and I won't use my amnesia as a crutch for my reasoning. I don't know what I want Corrin. I also have to shoulder the responsibility of tactician for this group. I can't allow any feelings I develop to compromise my stratagems." Robin explained.

"Didn't seem to stop you from kissing Chrom and spending the night in his tent." Corrin muttered.

Smack

The resounding echo of Robin striking Corrin across the face with the flat of her hand reverberated throughout the area.

"How dare you?!" Robin exclaimed

"How dare I?! During that last encounter with the Risen you split our forces in a way that got Vaike seriously injured. You stayed by Chrom's side the entire time. Can you honestly say your feelings for Chrom didn't cloud your judgement?" Corrin asked in an accusatory tone.

Robin glared daggers at the prince.

"Yes, I can honestly say it because I look at the picture as a whole. It is regrettable that Vaike was injured but after hearing everyone's account of what happened it wasn't due to my strategy. Vaike let his guard down and engaged the enemy in an unorthodox way. I can't say I'm happy he was hurt but we achieved victory and that is something I am happy about because everyone also survived." Robin countered, her eyes shifting colors between red and brown.

"So as long as the end justifies the means any victory is acceptable?" Corrin questioned.

"You can't save everyone Corrin no matter how hard you try. I won't cut myself off from the troops under my command but I won't treat them like glass figurines either. There is a chance for anyone of us to die. That seems to be a fact you haven't truly grasped yet." Robin stated as her eyes settled on brown and she frowned with a look of pity in her eyes.

Corrin gazed at Robin in silence at a loss for words.

"We should go back to camp. We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow." Robin finally stated and left Corrin alone in the hamlet to think about what they had discussed.

A/N: so you guys get a double update this week because i'm taking a small vacation and wont be back for about a month. rather than leave ya'll hanging on for that time i've decided to double post.