Chapter 34: Aid
Their swimming took them out of the shipwrecks and into more fertile, grassy plains. The sea grass drifted in the water, just brushing their fins as Robin guided them close to the ground. The sea grass might have been richly colored, but it didn't provide as much cover as Robin would have wanted.
"What if they see us-?" Chrom voiced her worries out loud. He stuck to her side, letting Robin tug and guide him along.
"Hopefully, they won't have a chance. We're getting into more vibrant areas, after all." Robin stirred the grass with her fingers as they drifted over it.
"What does that mean-?" Chrom started to ask, right as a veil of colors flooded around them. Chrom's sides brushed against Robin as his breath snapped out in a quick yelp.
"Steady, Chrom." She told him, not wanting to startle their new visitors.
A shoal of fish crowded the water, darting back and forth along the currents and tangling the eye. With the boneyards fading away, the fish grew more bold and lively. They were a dazzle of multi colored scales, and they seemed to shadow Robin and Chrom. And always, the fish swam above them. Obscuring them, and hiding them from the eyes of the hunting party.
"…How'd you know about that?" Chrom finally asked, staring at the fish.
"Lucky guess. I… Felt like there should be some fish around here. They like the more lush, wild areas. I-I think… Someone told me that, once." Her memories were too patchy to suggest who, but she doubted it was the venom voiced king. It seemed to belong to someone warmer. Someone with an almost motherly air-
Chrom didn't give her much time to dwell on that, bumping against her when one of the fish swam too close. His scales shivered along her side, surprisingly cool compared to his hand.
"S-sorry. I… I guess I've never seen fish like this?" He gave a mumbled apology, while the fish swirled around them. Robin paused for a moment, noticing how he listed in the water. He still wasn't used to his form, even if he didn't understand why.
Her own body had known how to turn back into a mermaid… But it certainly didn't offer any clues on how to become human again. Or how she could do the same for Chrom. Somehow, Robin doubted that just swimming to the surface would do much to trigger the change.
'Before, I needed an artifact and a sea dragon. Now, all I have is an amnesiac prince, and some patchwork memories. It's not much.'
And if they weren't going to get any answers immediately, she knew she had to look after him. And hopefully not cause another surge of pain in the process.
"Do you… Remember how to swim?" She hated how hesitant that question was. How fragile she felt… And how her heart threatened to break when Chrom gave her a confused look.
"I… I don't-" He rubbed at his head, only to break off when he looked her in the eyes. "H-hey, it's okay! Please don't cry. I'm sorry if I was supposed to know-"
'This is the price.' She remembered Tiki's words. 'The price of traveling between the realms of air and waves.'
"But… I'm sure it'll come back to me, won't it? Whatever I'm supposed to remember?" He offered. "Actually… It feels like there's one thing at the edge of my thoughts. That this thing happened before. Someone having a blank in their memories… And I think that it turned out well enough. D-didn't it?"
She didn't trust herself to speak just then, instead giving a nod.
-o-o-o-
Lucina kept a dozen questions locked behind her teeth as she walked the docks. Morgana's warnings echoed in her head; these people had no reason to trust Mer, and likely wouldn't believe them even if Morgan and Lucina confessed to being such creatures. Admitting what they were would be a recipe for trouble either way.
'Which means no questions that would make them suspicious.'
And thankfully Morgan seemed to realize that too, with how he kept his silence. Though he still stared around with startled eyes.
"As you can see, we're in a bit of a rough spot." Lissa spoke up, taking note of his interest. "We don't really have any sailing boats right now, and our food is gonna run out in just a few more days. So now we REALLLY need to get some ships ready, for fishing and to get some sorta trade partners."
Lissa glanced up the docks, to where a collection of red haired women lounged at the posts. They had the look of restless people, longing for a chance to be back out on the waves.
"Which is also where you need to come in. If you're going to seek safety here-"
"W-we are!" Morgan hurried to tell her.
"Well, if that's the case, you've got to help out everyone else here, so we can all stay afloat. Follow me down." Lissa started to walk… But kept looking back to the two, tilting her head this way and that, like she had water or something else stuck in her ears.
Morgan wavered as well, looking unconfident when it came to walking… And something else seemed to distract him. As Lucina watched Morgan, he tilted his head and tried to pick out something. Before Lucina could ask, something teased at her own ears, and she found herself tilting her head the exact same way. The sound was almost metallic, but carried a soothing harmony. And it came from the castle, ringing off the pale stones.
"Wh-what is that?" She found herself asking. Lissa froze at the question, lifting her head.
"…Wait. Are you hearing that too?" Lissa blinked between the two of them. "I thought it was just me. What's going on-?" Morgan could only shake his head, wincing a little. Lucina could only give a helpless shrug, not able to explain the faint sound.
"…I swear, you're like little versions of Robin." Lissa muttered to herself, glowering at the ground. Thankfully that meant she missed the startled blink between Morgan and Lucina.
"Wh-what is that sound, though?" Morgan pressed.
"Wish I could tell you; I've been hearing it ever since the mists closed around us. Almost like something…" Lissa trailed off, worry and doubt crossing her face. "A-actually, sorry. Not that I don't like you guys, but I can't really talk about it."
They didn't miss the way her eyes darted towards the castle. A hint at least, on where they might find the source of the hum. Lucina also didn't miss the guards posted at the door, one an unassuming man in full armor, the other a woman with bright red, short cropped hair. Both of them had a steady gaze, and Lucina had the feeling they wouldn't be able to get past them without raising an alarm.
Not the sort of thing they wanted to do, if they were going to be welcomed on this island. Lucina tried to put the notes and sight in the back of her mind, as Lissa guided them down the docks and towards the ships.
Her eyes, however, kept going back to the hint of castle. Through the mist, she could glimpse brilliant white stone, and-
"Look at that!" Morgan hissed to Lucina. She raised her eyes to shining towers, gleaming in defiance of the gloomy weather. "Luci, doesn't that look familiar?"
Lucina managed a nod, staring at the buildings.
"I-I've seen that before, in my dreams. With mother and father close by…" And sometimes, plaguing her nightmares. She'd seen those same towers swallowed by flames and hungry waves, while the capital screamed. She reached for the ruby gem at her side and tightened her grip on it, half afraid she might slip into another nightmare.
"Same here." Morgan kept her grounded in reality. "So that means we're on the right track. And Morgana must have known that too… Even if I wish she'd stuck around."
"Hey, c'mon you two!" Lissa had moved ahead and called them forward. Lucina dropped the gem back into her pocket, and wrapped her arm back around Morgan. He hobbled with her, trying to push strength into his legs. Lucina wondered if he moved a little more confidently, shedding his wounds along with his scales.
All around them, others streamed from the castle. A few of them blinked at Morgan and Lucina, but most focused on the wrecked ships.
"I admit, I'll sleep easier once we do have a fleet of sorts." Frederick said, approaching them. He looked past Morgan and Lucina, watching the ragged crew move to the ships. "And if you're willing to help, then any questions about you can be put on hold."
"Well, hopefully we can remember while we help?" Morgan offered, his voice wavering; like he was still scared that Frederick would turn on them.
"That's all I can ask for, lad… And I admit, I could…" Frederick's face scrunched up, fighting to say his words. "I could… Stand to be perhaps a little more welcoming. Our last amnesiac helped us as well… And I perhaps should have appreciated that."
He didn't expand on those cryptic words, instead turning to oversee efforts on one of the ships.
"Don't worry about Frederick." Lissa told them. "He doesn't like just how defensive we need to play it. But he won't turn down help, either. And neither will I. You've got my word as… As acting leader on it."
Lissa's hand gave a shiver when she raised it in a promise.
Their path took them to a tattered looking ship… But one that was familiar, and that stirred Lucina's memories. She'd only looked at the ship on surface level a handful of times, instead of staring up at it from the ocean depths.
"The Shepherd…" Lucina whispered. She was a near wreck of a thing now, battered and torn by storms. A handful of people worked on it; a young mage went over the pieces of wood lining the docks, examining each of them before passing them over to his spectacle wearing companion. She in turn sorted them, as a collection of workers picked them up and fit them into place.
But even with their careful methods, Lucina could still see the seams and ragged edges in the hull. The ship had wounds that weren't healing properly.
"Miriel? How's it going?" Lissa asked, bringing them in close.
"Decently… But we still haven't locked in on a healing catalyst." A woman in robes looked up from her work, heedless of how they and her hat were soaking up water.
"Catalyst?" Morgan spoke up.
"Ah, more refugees." Miriel nodded to him. "The properties of the ship remain most curious; like the wreckage has soaked up ambient magic." Her fancy words faded out, in favor of a strange hum coming off the planks. It was like they'd turned from wood to the strings of an instrument, giving off a plucked note.
"Can we DO anything with that magic?" Lissa pressed. Miriel launched into an explanation, but the words rushed past Lucina, in favor of the faint melody.
Lucina gave a soft hum as she heard that, trying to match her voice to the sound. The noise grew, almost in answer to her voice. The sound only increased when Morgan added his voice to the notes.
Miriel blinked and stared down at the ruined planks. They seemed to almost shiver. Lucina tilted her head, wondering if Morgan was picking up on the same thing-
"Morgan!" Lucina hissed a warning. He'd drifted closer to the Shepherd, and matched his voice to the hum of magic coming off the planks. No one had taken notice of him yet.
When the Shepherd gave a blue white glow along its edges, she realized no one likely WOULD, with how busy they were with staring at the ship. The Shepherd was almost a living thing, its bones mending back together and wounds healing.
"What the-!?" One of the carpenters blurted out, sweeping olive colored bangs out from his eyes. He splashed backwards, taking in the changes. Others gathered around, murmuring in confusion but not daring to raise their voices above a whisper.
"The hell?" A red haired woman asked. The same woman who had been standing guard just a moment ago at the castle, now rushing forward to take in the shimmering ship. The changes demanded everyone's attention… Save for one.
Lissa kept glancing around, and it looked like her attention was torn between the sight of the ship, and the same sound flooding Lucina's ears. The notes had solidified, and with how Lissa scowled, she wasn't having anymore luck shutting them out of her hearing.
"Okay, I've had it with weird music." Lissa muttered; if Lucina wasn't close by, she would have missed her words. "You all can gawk if you want, but I'm going to figure out where it's coming from-"
"Not alone, you aren't!" That was Morgan staggering from the ship, blurting out the words and making Lissa start. It took her a moment of sputtering to find her words, and while she was doing that, her eyes darted over them both.
"F-fine. I guess I could use some company. And if you can hear it, too…" She trailed off, as Morgan shuffled forward. Lucina frowned at his steps, and how he still seemed haltered by the old wounds at times.
"And after that, we'd better see about healing you up." Lissa added, looking over Morgan. He tried to shrug off her worried frown. For her part, Lucina forced her attention forward, and source of the sound.
-o-o-o-
The chase lasted through the rest of the day, until the water turned a wine red and violet with the setting sun. The band of Mer settled in a collection of rocks far up ahead, pointedly ignoring a half-broken ship sunk into the sea grass.
"We're getting more and more of gap." Robin murmured to herself. "Even with all those supplies, they can swim faster than us. But… It looks like they're heading..."
She trailed off. It was easy to lose direction, with the sunlight diluted through the waves. Robin shut her eyes, tilting her head back and forth; with one sense shut off, she could pick out miniscule changes in the currents, the way they pushed and swept like winds. There was also an odd whisper of intuition, suggesting where they were being pushed.
"W-west. They're heading west. And they've never tried to slip out of this current and head in a different direction." Robin finished with a nod, opening her eyes. She let the dip of her head drop her down, towards the sea grasses. And the wreck of the ship.
If the other Mer were ignoring it, that made for the best spot to sleep for the night. The broken hull jutted out of the sands, with long spars of wood like the ribs of a long dead whale. It was a ragged and unnerving sight… But it would also double as decent shelter.
She tried to ignore the glimmers of white, showing up bright against the boards and grass. If she kept her eyes off them, she could half convince herself the wreck was littered with shells instead of bone fragments.
The cabin was half exposed to the open waters, and bits of sea greenery had found their way into the plank seams. It gave the effect of resting half in a room, half in a garden. Crabs skittered about on the floors and walls, picking over the threadbare remnants; bits of metal and leather book bindings, the pages rotted by saltwater.
'At least there aren't any bone fragments in here.'
"It's… Not the most welcoming place, but I think we can-?" Robin cut off, when her eyes fell on Chrom.
He'd hesitated in the gap, looking past her and staring at the ruins.
"What's wrong?" Robin found herself asking before she could think it over, and consider this might have been a personal moment for Chrom. The way his shoulders slumped, and the weight pulled his head to the ocean floor didn't seem all that conductive to speaking to others.
That was proven when Chrom snapped his head around in a flurry of bubbles. But even through the spray, she saw the stricken look on his face, and the tired lines in the corners of his eyes… And the telling glow that dotted his face.
Neither of them had learned to really control the bioluminescence, and it seemed determined to act out of reflex.
"N-Nothing!" He blurted out, in a way that said very clearly that something was wrong. She must not have looked very convinced, since Chrom continued. "At least… Nothing that makes sense."
"What do you mean?" She found herself pressing, and swimming closer to him… And beyond, she saw another few scraps of other ships lining the sand. These with more color in them, courtesy of the greenery that fed off the wood. Almost resembling an underwater forest.
Chrom glanced at them, and the light flared bright around his eyes before he shook his head, temporarily banishing the shimmer.
"It's just… When I looked at those wrecks, something in me…" He brought his hand up to his chest, webbed fingers brushing the skin and scales over his heart. "I get this ache in my chest, but I don't know WHY. Just like I lost something important-"
He cut off, wincing.
"And the headache I get when I think back doesn't help either."
"I-" Robin tried to speak, and hated how she hesitated.
'Choose your words carefully.'
"It is important, Chrom. M-most of the things I associate with you, is with ships. The crew of the Shepherd, Lissa, and even Emmeryn-" She wanted to say more. To tell him everything… But as she spoke, a glassy look settled over his face. His eyes went unfocused, until he doubled over in pain, clutching his head.
"Ch-Chrom? CHROM!" No response from him, and he hung unnervingly like a corpse in the water. Robin yanked herself forward. Her tail scrapped the planks, as she seized his face with both hands. She felt a ghost of breath from his gills, and a touch of warmth to his skin-
Followed by a painful jolt that traveled between the two. It threw Chrom's eyes back open, with a terrified light to them.
"Gods, what was that?" Chrom whispered… And slowly tried to push away from her with a few insistent tail strokes. Robin's hands fell back from his face, and she felt a stab of pain at the hurt look on his face.
'Did I do that to him, by trying to get him to remember?'
"I-I'm sorry it just… hurts to remember, and I-" Chrom sagged his head, and shut his eyes.
"I'm a coward." He snarled, hate evident in his voice. "I keep flinching away from whatever is on the edge of my thoughts, because of how much it hurts."
He looked at her again, but the heat was gone from his gaze.
"N-not just in my head, but…" He glanced towards his heart again, tracing his fingers in a circle over the space. "Also here. And I know it makes me a coward, not wanting to confront that pain."
"I don't want to cause you any, either. OR see you drown, when the memories try to halt your gills." Robin pointed out.
"But… maybe there's one thing you can tell me. Did I lose something more? Other than my memory, I mean?"
"Y-yes." Robin managed. And this time at least, he didn't double over from pain. Even if a hurt look remained in his eyes.
'More than you know… Or that I can tell you.' She looked back towards the sea rocks, and the other Mer. She could only hope that as they followed the band, they'd find some sort of answers. And something to help Chrom.
For his part, Chrom didn't seem fully satisfied. He gave her a cautious look as the last of the sunlight slipped away.
"T-tell me… Why are you staying around with me?" Chrom asked her, in the gloom of the night. "I haven't exactly been the easiest person to manage. But still, you've been helping me."
"Because…" She paused, trying to find just one reason out of many. And one that wouldn't give him another touch of pain. "Because you did the same for me, when I was lost. I know you don't remember, but it's the truth."
He stilled at that, before cautiously swimming forward.
"I… It DOES feel like there's some truth to that." He glanced up, and gave her a wane smile. "At least, I can think about that and not hurt, either here," he tapped his head. "Or… Not very much here." His fingers drifted down to his heart, and that wane smile vanished. Instead, the faint glow on his skin picked out a resolute look in his face.
"I think I owe you an apology. I've been confused lately, but… The fact is, you're the only other person around to help me. Or is willing to help me. And it feels like I should put some more trust in you. And besides that… I…" He might have been blushing, but it was hard to tell in the dark. "I… Feel right, being with you. I-it feels right-"
A laugh startled its way out of her, and stopped Chrom.
"It's okay," she rushed to tell him. "I understand what you're saying. And I feel the same."
Or perhaps felt a bit more strongly… But she wasn't about to burden him with that.
Chrom gave a sigh at her words, finally relaxing.
"Then… Can I ask a favor? I'd like to prove myself by taking first watch for tonight."
"O-of course." Robin told him. "Make sure you get some rest as well… But of course I trust you."
'And so much more…' A part of her longed to brush her fingers over his face again. To reassure him through touch and words both, that she trusted her life to him. 'But one thing at a time. You can't help him if he's in agony, or if those memories are doing something to the spell.'
That's what she told herself as she settled down to rest. Even as it squeezed at her heart.