Chapter 17: Currents
"Robin..." A voice hissed in her ear. It was masculine, and snarled in a way that made her blood run cold.
"Robin," the voice insisted, drawing her head up when she would have ducked it. "Robin. These wanderings of yours must cease." It commanded and made her glare back.
A blue haze greeted her. She wondered if someone had hung an azure veil over her sight, and draped her surroundings in the same cloth. Her eyes drifted, finding the source of the voice. A figure was seated on a great throne, carved from stone and crowned in coral.
"You neglect your station, and place us all under risk. We can't afford any chance that those airbound fools might find you. And whenever you take such a risk, you abandon your duties to your kingdom."
'My kingdom?' Her eyes widened. 'Who... am I?'
"Why do you demand this of me?" The words flowed out on their own, with her thoughts as a powerless bystander. There was defiance in her voice, at odds with confusion racing through her head. "Father, please-"
'Father!?' The rest of her thoughts reeled. She saw very little of the figure seated on the throne. Only a gaunt and dark shape, a collection of pointed gold jewelry decorating him like shark teeth.
"I am not just your father." The voice hissed. "I am your king, and I safeguard OUR kingdom."
A hand caught her under the chin. Robin thrashed away from the contact-
And found herself tumbling through a haze, falling through a dark chamber. The blue haze fell away, as her surrounding transformed into a tunnel that seemed to pierce through rock. A pin prick of light shrank as she plummeted. Her father's voice was little more than an echo in her head.
"You have a destiny, Robin..."
"But I won't be part of your destiny." She hissed to herself, putting her back to the light and focusing on the other end of the tunnel. A strange blue glow, like a gentle azure moon waited for her.
"Robin," the light seemed to call to her in a female voice. "If you wish to escape… I fear that there is a price. But if you are willing to pay it, I swear on my name. Tiki…" Robin burst through the blue light, and raw air burned at her lungs-
And she woke, staring at Chrom.
"Back with us, Robin?"
"Y-yes? What happened-?" She whispered.
"You got us out of a tight spot, but apparently needed a long rest after whatever you did. You've been out for several days now." She wobbled upright, at those words.
"Days-?"
"Yeah… Lissa looked you over, and said there wasn't anything wrong. Just that you needed time to recover." He glanced at her, grimacing. "I guess I should've had more faith in her words, and that you'd pull through okay."
Robin glanced around the cabin, noting that the sun was streaming in through a window. The sky held hints of blue… And perhaps most importantly, no storm clouds.
"I'm guessing since you had time to worry over me, we escaped?"
"Right. Gangrel couldn't chase after us, and there hasn't been any storms since then. I think we've got a clear route on finding the escort, and making it back to Ylisse." He trailed off when Robin swung her feet over the bed.
"I-I think I need some fresh air." That, remind herself that dream was only that; a fever dream that came from an exhausted mind.
"O-of course." Chrom held the door open. Robin stepped through, tugging her shirt and pants into something presentable.
Beyond she saw all the Shepherd crew, present and accounted for. There were also two new faces; Gregor and Gaius were both fitting in. Gregor was speaking with Sully over something, as she showed him some of the rope lines. Gaius leaned back, twirling a card between his fingers under the watchful eyes of Miriel.
"They've settled in. Good to see." But standing in the doorway, and missing her robes, she couldn't help but feel contrasted with them. Even without the pirates hounding them, the songs still haunted her head, lurking in the back of her thoughts.
'What did I do back there? Why could I tap the same powers as Gangrel's sea witch?'
"Robin? What's wrong?" Chrom spoke up, keying in on her unease. She couldn't think of any excuse, and blurted out the truth.
"I was remembering what happened to us at the lighthouse."
"You're worrying over that? But you did amazingly-" She shook her head, stilling him.
"Chrom... I read the runes carved into the floor. And when I sang, it wasn't in any Ylissean tongue. Every sign and skill I have points to me being..." She hated saying it. Hated imagining the disgust that would cross his face once she confessed it. "...Being Plegian."
She stared down at her hands and the symbol etched on one. The purple mark had been far from her mind, initially; there'd been plenty to learn, and slipping bracers over her hands had made it easy to focus on other things. But now, she worried over the mark.
'It could be Plegian; you've never seen anything like it in Ylisse, or Ferox.'
"...I can read Plegian script. I can sing in the old tongue, like that witch of theirs. I... it would even explain why I'm adept at tide reading, considering her skills. Maybe I'm just another pirate, who got cast overboard in the storm and lost her memories. I-" She stilled, at the set of fingers resting across the mark on her hand. The fabric of the glove brushed at her skin.
When she looked up, Chrom's expression was gentle. Not revolted, or angry.
"Don't you want me away from your crew and ship, if that's true? You hate Gangrel and his brethren, don't you?"
"That doesn't mean I hate you." He answered, his voice soft.
"Robin, asking me to hate you would be like asking me to breath underwater. As long as you want to be here, you have a place at my side-" He saw the way her eyes widened. "O-on the Shepherd! At all of our sides, I mean! As part of the crew. Y-you understand what I'm saying, right?"
"Right... I think I do." A smile spread across her face, dimming the unease and fear that had pinched at her chest. Though she couldn't quite explain the odd squeezing that had gathered around her heart.
'It's better than worry, at least.'
"And... I also think I want to be here. More than anything else." More than any memories teasing her head, giving her half glimpses and fragments. She didn't need those, Robin told herself.
Maybe if she thought it enough times, she'd start to believe it.
-o-o-o-
Gangrel raged at his men. Aversa knew that from the thud of bodies on the deck. Either he'd settled for striking a few with his hands… Or he was in a black enough mood that he was separating heads from shoulders.
Either way, it didn't concern her.
She heard a new set of feet drumming against the deck, likely a messenger stepping on board. A wyvern's growl threaded across the deck, lending credence to that theory.
'That would be Walhart's man, no doubt.' And she had no desire to make her presence known, and force more awkward questions. It seemed the same was true of Gangrel. She could almost hear his teeth squeaking, from how he must have clenched them.
"...To what do I owe the pleasure." He gritted out. The messenger took his time with replying, and when he did, his voice was terse.
"Gangrel. Walhart entered into an agreement with you. He doesn't expect such failure on your part."
"I know the details of the agreement." Gangrel seethed. "Chunks of Ylisse's land for my pirates, in exchange for the Fire Emblem for Walhart-"
"Which you have yet to produce."
"I haven't seen you do any better." Gangrel snarled, his patience fraying. "But don't fret. I'll get Walhart the Emblem, or the means to find it soon enough. As for you… I suggest you go to Wreckage. Your presence is not needed."
Aversa trained out the conversation and kept her focus on the waves, from where she hung off the side of the ship. She trailed her hand through the sea, murmuring a soft melody under her breath. Asking the waters to remember what had swam through them, and to deliver any traces of it back into her fingers.
A touch of red splashed across her hand, and Aversa knew the blood didn't belong to her.
'Poor girl, you've been in bad form and don't even know it. Letting your blood spill into the sea was an amateur's mistake.'
Aversa stilled the song, tugging once on the rope to be brought up. The sailors under her watch were quick to comply, as it kept them well away from Gangrel and his temper. They shrank from Aversa when she climbed on board, and she didn't spare them a glance. Her focus was keeping the blood pooled in her palm, and not spilling a single drop as she stepped into her cabin. The wane light of the moon vanished, replaced by shrouded windows and dark silks.
She moved to a bowl, placed in the cabin windows. No one had disturbed it; not after she'd demanded the fingers of the last person who had made that mistake. On top of proving a point, they'd made a good harvest for her own spell work.
A pool of saltwater rested in the bowl. Aversa dipped her fingers into it, letting the blood cloud the water. A smirk crossed her face when the pool answered, the waters slowly flowing and spinning.
"...My lord," she intoned. "Are you there? Do you sense what I've brought?"
Ripples completely obscured her reflection. Outside, the moon vanished behind clouds. A wane ray of light was left, piercing through the gap in the curtains. It showed something different from her in the bowl. Something that could have been another's face, but obscured in shadow and distance. Only the red glow of the eyes showed clear.
"I tasted blood in your summons, child." A voice echoed inside her mind. "And I felt something stir in my veins in response. Only a few can cause such a thing. Is it-?"
"I'm certain it was her; your little runaway couldn't stay hidden forever." The red eyes slid shut, and she glimpsed a flash of teeth showing a satisfied grin. "She may have changed, but she couldn't hide the silver of her hair. Nor the power of her blood."
"…Changed?" The voice inquired.
"She's keeping company with a land prince right now." The grin turned to a snarl at that. "One Chrom of Ylisse, and his ship the Shepherd."
"Interlopers." The voice snarled the word. "Foul wretches… and she decides to throw in with land dwellers? How?"
"She's forsaken her old form, somehow… And now she's attached to the ship, and the company it keeps; foolish girl." She allowed a little scorn in her voice, certain she wouldn't receive a reprimand. Not when he'd almost torn the sea floors apart looking for the girl, shattering ruins in his rage once she'd slipped his net.
"…That's one more mystery to solve. She'll have plenty to answer for." He finally said.
"Though now that we've found her, it makes her all the more easy to track. What would you have me to do?" Aversa pressed.
"At the moment, observe. Keep tabs on her. When the time is ripe, I'll send my own forces to fetch her back... though I shall not be waiting long."
Satisfaction colored the words.
"Now as for you, Aversa? What do you say, for the captain you sail under…"
"He seems more focused on burning everything on the surface, instead of building anything." Aversa answered. There were dozens of wrecks sunken to the sea floor at his hands. "He puts on the mask of a leader to keep his followers obedient... but I've seen it slip, and the bloodlust beneath. He could have the makings-"
"Of a decent weapon, provided he's pointed at the right target." The reflection nodded. "I'll consider it. But you, in the meantime continue to prove your worth. I shall send you another boon of blood, soon enough."
Her eyes gleamed with anticipation, Aversa knew. Another taste of power, for her service.
"Your grace, Validar. You honor me… and I can hardly wait."
-o-o-o-
"You seem to be spending a great deal of time in her company." Frederick's voice almost yanked Chrom out of his skin, and he jumped from his seat. The knight favored Chrom with a confused blink. "My pardons, milord. I didn't think you were in such deep thought…?"
Frederick left the sentence open for Chrom to fill in, but Chrom shook his head. Frederick wouldn't enjoy that Robin was taking up his thoughts, as well as his company.
"Just… Savoring the meal?" He offered instead, glancing around to see how empty the dining room had grown. "Nothing much to talk about… So you can stop scowling at me, right?"
"I still worry. It seems you have a knack for running off on your own, lately." Even Wreckage several days behind them, it seemed Frederick wasn't about to let the incident slip by.
"Frederick, I've ALWAYS done that. If it wasn't sneaking off to the tide pools, then it was going to the docks and looking at the ships. I half suspect that's why Emmeryn commissioned the Shepherd in the first place, to keep me from signing on with a crew." Frederick gave a pained look at that. Doubtless remembering how Chrom had first encountered Sully in a portside tavern brawl during one of those attempts to find passage.
"Be that as it may… You've only been increasing those excursions. And I must ask why. And why you always seem to pull Robin into them."
"To… To follow Emmeryn's orders of course. The same as you; figure out where the storms are coming from, how to stop them, and safeguard Ylisse." The fact that something in those lighthouses called out to him, or how alive he felt in the presence of the sea was all incidental to that. Or at least that's what Chrom told himself. "It only makes sense to pair up with Robin, and do just that. She's had a talent for helping out, and giving us more leads… If we're lucky, we might find a few more lighthouses, and clues to go with them."
But Frederick didn't look very convinced.
"I still worry, on how she came by those abilities. They've been a godsend to us true… But what happens if the favor of the gods runs out? Or if there's a less than noble side to her ability? What if she decides to no longer throw her lot in with us?" With each word, Chrom felt his blood go a little colder.
"She… She wouldn't." Not anymore than he'd turn his back on everyone.
"Frederick, why are you still so afraid of… Of her?" His face burned, and not just from the almost-confrontation. He cursed how his tongue had almost turned traitor. How he'd almost said 'of someone like me.' Sweat gathered at the back of his neck, sticking strands of blue hair to his skin.
"I wouldn't call it fear." Frederick didn't pick up on Chrom's unease, opting for a little indignation of his own. "I'm not afraid of her, merely concerned. She's not-"
"S-something you understand." Chrom couldn't keep himself from blurting that out.
"That wasn't…" Frederick blanched, and lowered his head. "Forgive me. I was hoping not to phrase it in such a fashion. But how did you know what was on my mind?"
"Because I've heard that same thing said in court."
'Sometimes about me. And how I take after my father.' He couldn't meet Frederick eye to eye any longer. His retainer finally seemed to pick up on the unease… and perhaps remembered a few of those conversations. That, or he saw how Chrom's hands balled into fists.
"…I may have spoken out of turn, in that case."
"I won't order you to lose your wariness." Chrom told him. "But I hope you'll understand that I enjoy spending time with Robin."
That it was nice to be with someone, who either didn't know the superstitions about being Tide Touched, or didn't care. And who seemed just as alive as he did, around the water.
Frederick dipped his head at that.
"I'll do my best to obey, in that case. If you'll excuse me, I'm likely needed at the wheel." Chrom didn't stop him from leaving, knowing that was the best he could ask of Frederick.
-o-o-o-
The wayward storm died with one last snarl of thunder, one last warning growl from a god before it plunged back into a deeper sleep.
'Rest again, Grima. Still your nightmares.'
The waters had finally gone still. Even though the storms offered an excellent opportunity to harvest power, and send terror into the landsmen, a part of him was glad for a moment's respite.
Validar closed his eyes, feeling the cut on his arm slowly seal up with a faint lick of pain. The last of his blood faded, distilled in the currents churning through the ancient castle. The great columns groaned, complaining at the need to withstand another maelstrom.
But they were built of stern, stubborn things. They'd survived the first drowning, and would weather as many tempests as was needed. Validar shifted his gaze down, to where the last of the magic still clung to his fingers.
"So," his taloned hands clutched at a black and violet gem, and the image on the surface rippled, distorting his features. "My lost treasure finally shows itself again."
A smirk built on Validar's lips, one that he had no reason to fight down; not when fortune chose to bestow so many gifts on him. His fins flicked restlessly, glowing lines racing along his arms. For a moment the mottled, tiger striped patterning flared up along his tail.
'You cast aside your blood, then?' The truth bit at him; that was the only way she'd be on that forsaken ship. The vileness of trading a part of herself for legs, turning her back on the sea kingdom and her destiny there… It threatened to banish his grin.
"No matter..." He murmured, stilling the angry thrash of his tail. He also silenced the lights traveling along his face. With them gone, his features faded into vicious shadow. "...You'll learn the errors of your ways soon enough, child. You'll return to where you belong."
Even if he had to kill every wretched human on that ship in order to see it done.
-o-o-o-
"Still five days out from Ylisse." Chrom sighed, slumping against the table. Another fine meal had been cooked up, this time of sausages taken on from Ferox and served with a hot mustard that chased out any chill from the sea air. Chrom munched on a serving, looking across the table to Emm.
"You don't have to worry about me, Chrom. We'll arrive when we do... and we have plenty of information to go on. If anything..." she favored him with a smile. "I'm proud of what's been accomplished. We have clues to these storms now. Pieces to the puzzle."
That SHOULD have made him feel satisfied too, Chrom knew. But the words 'puzzle' had him thinking back to Robin.
"...You're worried about her About Robin..." Emm's question jolted him out of his thoughts.
"Wh-who, I-" a tiny frown from her was enough to make him tell the truth. "Well... yes a little. But... can you blame me?"
There'd been a distant quality to Robin's gaze, as of late. When she walked the ship, it sometimes looked like she was moving through her sleep. He found himself telling Emm as much.
"I wish there was more I could do. Something that would help-"
"Help what?" Came Robin's voice. Followed by the rustle of robes as she sat down next to Emmeryn. She'd put that lost look away, instead focusing on her food... though Chrom didn't miss the way as she hesitated over the meal. It was probably another thing she didn't recognize. Another thing she SHOULD have known about, but didn't.
"Oh, um just..."
"How we should make you feel a touch more welcome on board." Emmeryn finished for him. "Isn't that right Chrom? I actually don't know if there's been an official ceremony for you yet, Robin."
Chrom coughed on a bit of food while Emm continued.
"There is a more formal ceremony for being welcomed to a crew. And being Exalt, I can certainly preside over it, and enact it." Recognition flared in Chrom's mind at that, along with the faint memory of kneeling in front of Emmeryn. He touched his throat, remembering her placing jewelry around his neck, hanging a similar necklace around her own to show that they were linked.
"I...?" Robin looked back at Chrom. He gave a quick nod, assuring her that such a thing was true. "I-I think that would be nice."
Emm whispered something in her ear, likely when the ceremony would be. How a gift of metal would show a bond, between Exalt and captain. Or in Robin's case, between captain and crew; he'd done the ceremony often enough, for others on the Shepherd. Robin dipped her head, agreeing to whatever Emm said, before taking her leave.
After she left, Chrom glanced to Emm. "So what are you using, in place of pendants-?"
He cut off when Emm opened her hand, showing a pair of rings nestled in her palm.
"...Emm..." Chrom dropped his fork.
"...Are those what I think they are?" With his hand free, he buried his face into his palm. "...And aren't they reserved for a different type of ceremony?"
He'd never offered someone a ring, when a pendant was called for. But Emmeryn only chuckled.
"I think with the circumstances, we're allowed to improvise with what's available." He could hear the smile in her voice, and ground his forehead a little further into his palm, grumbling. Gods help him, she sounded all too amused by this.
"And it IS for Robin's sake, correct? A way of making her feel better?"
"As long as she doesn't take this the wrong way." Chrom grumbled.
-o-o-o-
"It isn't too complicated of a ritual; gods know Chrom has practiced it before, when we were making our first voyage." Maribelle spoke to Robin, hurrying her up the steps. "So try not to look like such a white sheet; you can always follow his lead."
Maribelle's tone didn't allow for any questions, much as she wanted to ask some. Instead, Robin trailed after her, blinking once she saw new lanterns hung from the Shepherd. The moon had peeked out from behind the clouds, coating everything in a silver light. It wasn't the only witness to the ceremony. She saw Frederick and Emmeryn standing by, nodding to her as she climbed the steps.
The crew was on hand as well. There was an air of something about to happen. Lissa was the one with the most expectant expression, almost bouncing on the balls of her feet as she stepped forward to take Robin's hand.
"I... should I have combed my hair out a bit more? Or worn something better-?" Robin stalled in her steps, only for Lissa to make a shushing motion.
"Trust me Robin, you're fine." She led Robin the rest of the way across the deck, to stand next to Chrom. Chrom bowed to her, giving her a careful look before clearing his throat and launching into a speech.
"Robin, your deeds have kept the Shepherd, her crew, and her captain safe. For over a moon, you've kept to your duties. We're proud to have you among our crew... And also wish to make this gesture be officially known. To be seen as part of the crew, for as long as this ship may sail." Chrom kept glancing to Emmeryn as he spoke, like he was reviewing with her to be sure that he was reciting correctly. Emmeryn nodded, presiding over the ceremony with an odd smile on her lips.
"Do- I mean, would you accept this?" Chrom finished, a nervous but excited light shining in his eyes. His lips tugged up into an expectant grin. It was enough to chase any nervousness out of her.
'He meant it, when he said there was a place for me.'
"Y-yes. I... Gladly. I gladly would." That seemed to satisfy the assembled crew, as well as Emmeryn. She held two items in her hand, holding them out for Chrom to take.
"Our common ritual gifting is a pendant, symbolizing the bonds you now share." With a quick intake of breath, Robin saw the lamp light picking out a necklace around Frederick's neck, along with Lissa and Emmeryn. Some were cast from silver, others from gold.
'They must have fished them out, just for the occasion.'
"Again, commonly a pendant. But due to a lack of traditional jewelry, we'll make do with these as the next best thing. And ignore the usual betrothal function."
"B-be-what?" Robin stammered, right as Chrom choked and blurted out an indignant "Emm!"
That didn't stop Lissa from chiming in.
"Even though you'd make a cute couple." Robin didn't miss the pink spreading through Chrom's cheeks, nor the way he hunched his shoulders with a grumble. "Oh relax, Chrom! It's just a little teasing!"
A laugh startled its way out of Robin's throat at the banter.
"Y-You're all something else," Robin continued, knowing there was still a laugh in her words. "But... thank you."
For going out of their way to make her feel accepted. For the laughs they were coaxing out of her. All of those thoughts must have shown in her voice and smile, since Chrom finally lifted his head.
"Then... good." 'It's worth it.' She swore she heard that in his words and the relief that coated them.
"Then we can commence with the ceremony; may these two items always remind you, of the bond you have with ship and crew." Emmeryn intoned, slipping the necklace over Robin's head. Chrom took the other in his own hand, helping Emmeryn put it around his neck. "And while it's long overdue... welcome on board the Shepherd, Robin."