Meetings and Premonition (2)

She was quiet, very quiet, she has not uttered a word since they have left South town. It is understandable why she wants to remain quiet, she has been taken a prisoner by them and would not want to say anything to them but still, the silence around her was unsettling. It was very isolating. Lissa had told them she started acting like this after they went to take out those assassins and he wondered if his words had hurt her, he did go a bit far. But he was angry to see his citizens get hurt due to her carelessness and he doesn't trust her enough to leave Lissa alone with her. But still, he accepts he might have come off too harsh to someone who really didn't instigate the attack and maybe, is someone related to him.

When he was brought in Ylisse he was only 7 and had lost all his memories, the only thing he had at that time was the battered coat he was wearing. The coat he still wore, he just couldn't part away from it. The things he could recall since then were his name, his birthday and some other minor things like his favourite colour was purple. Rest were buried in deep and as such the royal family, the previous exalt of Ylisse had taken pity and adopted him. He had known he was from Pelgia, but mostly he had deduced he was an orphan as even after the war he had not found anyone looking for a missing child with his features. So, he had given up on finding his old family and focused on his new family. But now in front of him stood a girl who looked quite a lot like him, and his heart himself was telling him he knew her and yet he had no memories coming back to him. She was someone who could very well be his sister or cousin and that scared him. He had stopped thinking about his family since he had turned 10, from then Emm, Chrom and Lissa were his family. But now that his real family arrived how was he supposed to speak with her or deal with her. And the more glaring matter above it all was that she had introduced herself as the princess of Pelgia, does that mean he was royalty in Pelgia? That brought so many questions in him that he didn't even know where to start.

"It's getting dark and all the bugs are out now. Disgusting, noisy bugs that are buzzing around and will bite-" Lissa started violating coughing out as she made a disgusted face, "Ugh! One went in my mouth! I think I swallowed it." His sister whined as she made a disgusted face and glared at them. Chrom chuckled beside her,

"Come on Lissa. Hardship builds character." He playfully chided her, and she made a face at him.

"I think I have built enough character for one day, thank you." She pointedly replied and he just patted her head and turned to him,

"Well Lissa makes a good point it is getting quite late should we set up camp, Rufure?" He asked him and he nodded back.

"Great Lissa do you want to come with me to get some firewood?" He asked and she immediately rejected him,

"Well I shall go and hunt us something for food," Frederick said as he tied his mare up.

"Well, then I guess I will start clearing the campsite. Lissa, you can help me and uh- Robin you can just wait for us there." He said and she walked away to one corner. It really unnerved him, her silence. Chrom and Frederick left, and they both started working on clear the campsite.

He was glad Lissa had stayed back because if it was just the two of them left, he was sure things would turn awkward fast and then he would blurt out something stupid. Lissa was keeping up the talk mostly by herself while she excitedly told him about something that had happened in the last tea party Maribelle had done for her. He sweats drop as he hears about her indirectly snapping at Lady Denver, well the lady could be quite a handful when she starts talking freely. He was glancing at Robin from the corner of his eye and all she had done in the last 15 mins was shift on her legs. He wanted to ask her so many things, but he did not know how to bring the topic or where to even start. He didn't know how to interact with her.

Luckily Chrom returned and just as they set up a fire, Frederick also returned with a bear and Lissa gave out a disgusted growl and he laughed. They sat down as they started cooking the bear meat and she took a seat beside Lissa but kept a good distance. He then decided he can at least ask her some diplomatic questions,

"So, who is this Aversa and councilmen who are chasing you down?" He asked her as he turned the meat around. A second passes, in silence and he silently flinches -

"Aversa is the King's advisor and the councilmen are the high ranked hierophant of the Grimileal sect." She answers, her voice low and distant, barely a whisper.

"Why are they targeting you?" Chrom asked her curious, 'If she was the princess shouldn't they respect her or something?'.

"Aversa wants the power to control Gangrel and all of Pelgia. I was the only one who could directly oppose her, so I was keeping her in check until now but the council didn't like me too so they must have made a deal and decided to remove me."

"What!? Wait, how can she held the same power as you, a princess?" Lissa asked, surprised. Such a thing would never be permitted in Ylisse. She sighed,

"I had expected at least Ylissean royalty to have knowledge about pelgian politics," she pointedly commented "To become an advisor or a member of the king's council in Pelgia you have to be a part of Grimileal sect, the only exceptions are made for the military men who have gained fame in their field as such they are believed to have blessings of Grima. So, as the advisor, she gains a high standing in the council. Thus, she holds great power not only in the castle but also in the sect, which are the two major powers in Pelgia. And unlike Ylisse, royalty is no longer revered in Pelgia. Therefore, her standing comes to the same rank as me" She explained her voice flat, and he felt slightly ashamed. He had tried to read up on Pelgia's culture and politics, but sadly the last exalt had burned down all the books related to Pelgians and their culture, restoration has begun but the progress is quite slow. He had somehow found some books but he was sure his siblings had not even bothered to read them. They were not the most book person.

Chrom and all flinched feeling ashamed, but she looked away and ignored them. The meta sizzled just the right time and they all immediately turned to start eating. Frederick cut her binds and handed her the cooked meat, the knight hoped she won't raise a fuss like their princess about normal food. She just silently took it and thanked them and started eating it silently. Lissa, on the other hand, didn't even touch it,

"Why can't you catch us something that normal humans eat for once. Who eats bear of all things am I right Robin?" She whined and turned to her find some solace in the fellow girl, but she didn't even look up, she was eating diligently, only focused on her food. They all sweat dropped as Lissa sighed,

"I guess you will eat anything after not eating for days," Robin looked up and shrugged at which Rufure silently laughed.

"Come on Lissa meat is meat, you can eat it." Chrom tried to pacify her.

"When does meat smell like dirty boots! No boots smell better!" She grumbled and he silently sighed.

"Milady every hardship builds character," Frederick commented off handily and the glare now turned to him as she gave him look.

"Oh really!? Then why don't I see you eating it?" She asked pointedly and he looked away,

"Uh- I am not hungry, yes I had a very big lunch." He pitifully reasoned and she just gave him a dry look.

"Yeah right."

The three royalty just kept eating and ignored the batters of two of them. He and Chrom were used to eating bear meat now and they both loved it too, it had a very unique flavour that you won't find in any other kind of meat. Right now, it was not cooked best he would give them that, but it was still quite good. He really needs to make Lissa start eating game meat if she will come on their deployments every time. This time though he was going let it go, he got up and went to his bags and pulled out some small marshmallows and potatoes he had brought with himself as he knew this was going to happen. He can't have his sister starving and collapsing on him. He handed it to Frederick and there booth's faces lit up, but he gave them a stern look.

"Next time it will be only bear meat and you will eat that, understood?" He warned them and they both nodded, a bit too ethnically. He sighed as he went back to his seat and hoped they would keep their promise for their own wellness. As he sat down again Chrom gave him a teasing look and he sighed again, he was not spoiling them. They ate the rest of the meal is moderate silence with only Lissa talking chattering about some mundane topics with their one-word answers, all of them had quite on their minds.

They finished and started getting ready for sleeping, they first decided who would take the first watch and then took out the bedrolls and spread out. Her hands were tied again, and she slept beside Lissa on her side, with no fuss. Robin sighed slightly as she tried to get comfortable on the slightly hard bedroll and her tied hands were rubbing against the rope and irritating her. She gritted her teeth silently as she felt frustration fill her. She didn't want to be here anymore, she didn't even feel like being saved anymore. And yet here she was trying hard to sleep a bit, so she doesn't collapse tomorrow. The irony was stupid and she wanted to scream at someone, hopefully, Rufure.

She felt bitterness in her throat as she saw all of them going silent and the first watch taking his seat near them. She stilled as she kept eye on Chrom who just put his sword beside him and let out a silent sigh as he gave a glance to their surroundings and then turned to look at them, she immediately shut her eyes and hoped he didn't notice her awake. He went still and she decided it was clear and opened her eyes again, and her eyes widen as she shut her mouth forcefully to not scream and wake everyone up. Chrom gave her a lopsided grin as he put a hand out to her, and she sighed as she wiggled and tried to sit up again. He pulled her up by her arm and set her down beside him as she frowned.

"Can't sleep?" He joked, and she gave him the side eye.

"I think it would be weird if I could sleep in this situation, I have been tied up and taken as a prisoner by my enemies." She dryly commented.

He sighed, "Well normally I would hate treating you like this too but we need to be cautious." He looked ahead frowning slightly and she felt her heart stabbing again, they were different from what she thought they would be towards her, what she wanted them to be. And she didn't know if that was a bad thing or a good thing.

Her heart was feeling restless with all kinds of feelings whirling around and all kinds of questions desperately screaming to be answered in her mind. But she had not voiced them out the whole day, silent walking to try to calm herself down and make sense and calmly deal with this situation just as she had been thought. And she was exhausted, very exhausted with everything that had happened in the last 36 hours, mentally and physically drained. But she was trying hard to not show it, trying hard to be strong, to show she was strong. She stared at Chrom and wondered if he would answer her. He didn't have any obligation to do it, but she needs to know, she really needs to know. She decided to go for it, even if he won't answer he probably won't ask any questions. Gathering her last bit of courage, she went for it.

"Chrom If I may ask," She asks and he just nods, "Who is the second prince?" She finally asked, her voice was more stable and calmer than she was feeling but that was good, if she was wrong, he won't catch on anything. Still, her heart thundered in her chest as she felt her fingers going numb and, she waited with a baited breathe for his answer. He flinched slightly and turned to her staring with an unreadable expression. She didn't look away and as he stared in her eyes, she wondered what was he trying to find, honesty or betrayal? Whatever it was he let it drop and turned back to staring at the forest.

He silently took a deep breathe in, as he wondered how he was supposed to answer that question, if their suspicions - that was nagging in the back of everyone's head - was right then, he needs to know the truth right now but at the same time, he was worried. If the implications were right then this woman, they have done too many wrong things to this woman and he just didn't know if he could face them right now. Though it was already quite obvious, the thought of facing the truth this woman carried, didn't make him eager to share their stories. Yet, his inner thoughts reminded him quite sternly, she had the right to know, out of all people she did have the right to now.

"In what sense do you mean?" Yet he was a coward, he shot it back to her, trying to delay the inevitable. She bit her lip, feeling annoyed, she was aware of what he was doing.

"Is he Pelgian?" She asked, forward and running out of patience. He was not surprised he noticed his delaying.

He gulped, "Yes, by birth we think he is Pelgian. But he has lived in Ylisse from a young age and is officially adopted in the royal family." He supplied her the much-needed information while trying to hide the fact that Rufure was not always with them, she catches in on though.

She felt her bitterness and anger rising again, he had let himself adopt in the Ylisse, the royal family of all people. She wanted to wake him up and scream but she refrained from doing so, only her discipline to remain calm in every situation was holding her back. She dug her nails in her palm as she worded a question mentally to make him answer what she wanted to know the most, 'Why did Rufure leave me?' She knew she was supposed to ask Rufure this, corner and confront him but she didn't have the courage to do that. If she heard him saying he hated her or despised her from his own mouth then she won't be able to handle it, she just can't. He was the only one she can't stand the thought of being hated from. And her treacherous heart still wanted to believe that there was an optimistic reason on why this man who looks and acts exactly like Rufure is a Ylissean prince. Her rational mind scoffed at her expectations, sounding quite like her father, but even if the chances were low, she wanted to hope.

(She had lost her ability to hope long ago, though.)

"You 'think'?" She prodded, not letting him get away. He scowled on the inside, 'shit,' his tongue slipped.

"He was not born here." That was all he said to her, he was being annoyingly stubborn.

She can also be quite stubborn when she wants, "And yet he was brought in House of Ylisse and was adopted, that is quite a wild story."

"You are not going to let this go, are you?" He finally decided to stop running around, he can clearly see she was going to be stubborn about this no matter how he evaded it.

"Yes, I won't, and I am sure even you have already guessed why." Yes, he had long ago, it was going to him, after all, to give her the news. He wondered how she was going to take it, he desperately hoped she won't hate Rufure at least.

"Robin, what exactly do you wish to know about Rufure?" He turned to her staring at her and she frowned, feeling her lips move before she could even think,

"Why is he here, why has he been here for so many years?"

"He has amnesia, he has lost all his memories except his name, long ago and since then he was adopted in our family. We always assumed he was an orphan with no intermediate family." He finally told the truth and her heart stopped. He saw her eyes widening and her mouth falling as her face grew pale. She had frozen and then her eyes started watering and he felt panic come over him. He had never been good with crying women. She immediately turned away as her tears started falling and he felt guilt start piercing him. He wanted to comfort her, he wanted to say her so many things, but he knew he didn't have the right to.

"I am sorry." That was all he could say, she didn't say anything instead she turned away and started taking her sleeping place again, wanting to be away from him, from them all. She just couldn't believe what she had just heard. Rufure had lost all his memories, he forgot everything, about her, about mother, about his dream. She hated this, she hated it so much and yet she couldn't do anything. And yet in the pain of being forgotten her heart burst in happiness, after all, this man was Rufure, it was definitely him.

Rufure was alive. He had lost all his memories, but he was alive. Her brother was alive. A miracle she never believed would ever happen had occurred. She remembered when she was young, in the days where her grief was still prominent, she had everyday wished, desperately, that it was all a lie and he was at least alive somewhere. When she had grown up, she had discarded all these foolish wishes and accepted the reality, that her loved ones were never going to come back. And yet he had. He was sleeping there beside her just like all those years ago.

It hurt, the pain of being forgotten was really biting and yet the happiness of him being alive overpowered everything. She pushed her tied hands on her mouth to silence her cries. The tears were of both happiness and pain. And she didn't feel one ounce of shame that Chrom could hear her.

Chrom put his one knee up and dug his nails in his palm tightly, as he heard her cries feeling the guilt screaming at him. He hoped one day she would forgive him, forgive them.

Neither had noticed Rufure was awake the whole time and had heard everything. His eyes went blank as he heard her cries, he was not sure how he was supposed to feel right now, but the guilt that was stabbing him told him that this was something he was supposed to hear. But, he decided that right now was not a good time to confront Robin and hear her side of truth from.

Hours had passed and Robin had quieted down and was drifting off to sleep, Rufure had decided to take a nap too since later it was his turn to be on watch, he can think about everything at that time. Chrom stretched as he gave the timely scan of their surroundings to check for any movements. He couldn't see any movements, but the forest had quieted down quite much, and he felt a bad feeling coming into him. With sharp eyes he looked deep into the woods again as he put a hand on Falchion and pulled it near him, there was nothing, no sound, no movements, no wind. It was like the forest had stilled and that brought an unsettling feeling in him. He silently got up, he needs to check the area out but Lissa heard the clank of his armour and got up looking at him questioningly.

"What's wrong, Chrom?" Lissa asked him while yawning.

"Sorry Lissa I didn't mean to wake you up but…something is amiss." He explained to her and she tilted her head.

"Define 'something'?"

"I am not sure." He shook his head, "But I think I will take a look around."

"Not alone." She chided him as she pulled out her staff, "I am coming with you." She put her foot down and he knew she won't be taking no for a smasher. He just smiled and started walking in the general direction of a big clearing he had seen before, while collecting woods.

As they walked their footsteps resounded in the surrounding area and he felt his instincts jump around as they walked, the silence grew around them, it was like there was not even one animal in the whole surrounding area of them. Lissa clutched her staff tightly as she looked around,

"It is dark and quiet. Where did all the birds go?" She asked particularly no one, she felt unnerved by this all. She didn't like it one bit.

"Something is wrong here…" he muttered, silently wondering if he should go back and wake others up and have them move away from here, it would be sudden, but he had a very bad feeling of this. He was going to propose it, turning to Lissa but - it happened. It was first a small tremor they both felt, stilling they looked around and then the earth started rumbling and they both stumbled, Lissa almost fell over and she shouted for him as she lost her balance,

"Ah Chrom," He immediately ducked and caught her. He stabled both of them and then the earth started shaking violently and they both looked away panic filling in them as they tried to make sense of what was suddenly happening.

"Gods, what is this madness? Lissa stay close to me." He instructed her as he turned, ready to head back to their camp. She whimpered as she stood more firmly now and they started walking when he heard something cracking and looked being him. A few paces away the ground was cracking, a crevice was forming and trees were falling over from the tremors. His eyes widened and he knew they need to run, now.

"Lissa run," he pushed her, and she slightly stumbled,

"Huh?"

"Just run!" He shouted and she didn't need to be told twice she started running straight full speed and Chrom ran behind her not looking back. The ground they just stood on ruptures and the other half raises bringing red hot lava with it. Stones covered with lava started spewing out from the torn ground falling like fireballs, burning the trees down, and flooding the area with lava rapidly. Chrom catches up with her and looks around trying desperately to find a place they both could escape from the fire and lava, a clearing catches his eye to their right and he immediately shouts at her to turn as they both take a sharp right and run faster, adrenaline pumping in their veins. Chrom jumps as they reach another uphiller and Lissa screams as she jumps behind him. They both land on the soft grass and run to the clearing. They finally stop, catching their breath, with Lissa kneeling over as her lungs burned, she then lifted her eyes up and gasped. White dust suddenly concentrates on one point in the sky and then bursts, a golden ringed incarnation appears, made of stars, and in between the circle a sea blue eye opens, with white crystals lining it.

"Chrom what is that?" Lissa shouts as he turns to her and she points to the eye. He sees and it gives them chills. Suddenly they hear a groan and somethings fall from the eye. The thing on the ground gets up and walks to them and Chrom stands in front of Lissa and takes a stance. The two figures groan and they see red eyes glow in the darkness as they move in the clearing, now they could see them clearly. They looked like some bandits, wearing their armour, but they had blackened skin and red eyes. They were walking very unnaturally, and they held axes loosely in their hands. He instinctively knew these were not humans, something viler and more sinister.

The creatures noticed them, screamed and ran towards them, one raising its axe jumped going to attack him. Their movements were very simple, he easily bent and slashed at him but to his surprise that thing just turned its neck around and attacked again but he blocked it, pushing up he elbowed the creature. It flew to the other side, they were quite weak, he twisted his hand and jumped stabbing its heart from behind. The creature melted away in purple smoke making him shudder. As he tried to catch his breath, he forgot about the second one, a scream resounded and he immediately turned around,

"Lissa!" His sister was against a boulder with the other creature approaching her, backing her against it, as she snakingly held her staff up, in a vain attempt to protect herself. It raised its axe up ready to strike But -

The eye slightly rippled and glowed as another figure hurriedly rushed out of it. A young man came out and jumped down, got up and ran. He caught Chrom's attention as he ran to her, he pulls out his own sword and jumped between them and stopped the axe in time. But his stance was poor as he had to put up his sword behind him to stop it, making it very hard to handle the weight. He looked down at the girl and then groaned slightly as he turned to Chrom, who stopped in shock at seeing his sudden entrance, and shouted at him,

"Help!" That shook Chrom out of his sudden daze and he immediately got his bearings back and ran to help him, that caught the creature attention as it turned to Chrom and unconsciously lifted some weight from its axe. The boy immediately noticed this and with that opening he pulled out his sword and turned matching timing with Chrom and they both turned, slashing it from both sides, cutting it in half. It dissolved in purple smoke. They all felt relief and Lissa stood up from the boulder and looked at the stranger in surprise and curiosity. He sheathed his sword which they both couldn't make out in the dark but Chrom knew its length was the same as his. He didn't sheathe his though and stared at the boy's back. He was thankful to him for saving his sister, but he was suspicious too, after all, he had jumped from the weird eye that had also summoned those horrid creatures. He just couldn't trust him not when he needs to protect Lissa and find the others.

"Who exactly are you?" He questioned the stranger.

Robin jolted awake when she heard footsteps, she immediately tensed and listened. It sounded like two pairs were walking away. She got up and stared at the back of Chroma and Lissa as they both left the clearing not noticing her being up, she immediately noticed their weapons and wondered if they both heard something. But if they saw someone, they would have woken them all up so she guessed maybe they went there for something and just took their weapons too for caution, that could be possible, but something just didn't sit right with her. She looked around as she tried to find what was causing her instincts to scream at her. She then noticed the silence, it was too silent and she realised something was wrong. She wiggled herself up and decided to wake them up and follow the other two, she didn't have a good feeling. She crawled to Rufure when suddenly the earth started trembling and she stumbled. She hurriedly got up and shook him awake. He woke up immediately and their eyes met. She felt her heart squeeze but she immediately convened him the emergency,

"Prince Chrom and princess Lissa went somewhere I do not know where, but we need to find them immediately. " She explained, nodding at her he got up, pulling her up he walked to the knight and called his name. He also got up and just before he could explain, the earth rumbled violently and the trees started falling. They all looked at each other and Rufure shouted at them to run. He pulled her along as they both ran followed by Frederick who freed his mare and ran behind them. As they both ran, she stumbled a bit and cursed at her bindings. He pulled out a dagger and cut her ropes immediately, slowing down only for a bit. They ran and Rufure looked around trying to find a clearing, knowing well the two of them would head there too. He noticed one and guided the other two as they turned and started running, another uphill came, and they all jumped down immediately. They ran through the forest and then they heard the swords clash and they all immediately pulled out their weapons.

She ran out the woods and saw a young man in front of Lissa saving her from a horrible looking creature, it looked like a human, but one glance and she knew it was not a human. Chrom was few feet away standing but then the boy shouted, and he ran sword poised, they both slashed the creature in a unison, that should normally not be possible with a complete stranger. Then, Chrom stood with his sword still out while the boy sheathed his, he was facing them, but he didn't notice them yet. Chrom asked him who was he, but he just glanced back. Frederick came at that and immodestly came out,

"Milord, Milady are you alright?" He asked very worried as he went to them. Rufure followed worried too, both didn't notice, only she did, the boy looked up their eyes meeting and then he turned around and ran away, with no noise at all. She gasped but somehow, she didn't feel unnerved or cautious, something about the boy made her not wary of him and that worried her but she heard groaning around her and decided to put that thought away, for now. Nonetheless, he didn't seem an enemy and she needs to focus on these creatures right now. As she walked to them, she unconsciously commented, as more creatures started appearing out of nowhere in distance.

"I was not aware Ylisse had such horrific creatures." She said off handily but Chrom heard her and shook his head,

"They are not from Ylisse I promise you that." She just nodded knowing that it was true, these things, if they did exist naturally, would have been more widely known but that brought the question what these creatures were, who had a build like human and wielded weapons and wore armour but looked dead. She decides to contemplate about it later, right now killing them was far more important.

The two tacticians immediately started assessing their enemies, knowing well they need to go in the battle right now. She bit her lip as a plan formed in her mind, if it was up to her she would pair them off and sent them off to kill them, but she was not in command. Rufure probably won't entrust her to anyone one of them, maybe Frederick, but mostly just like last battle, he will ask her to stay back, not trusting her at all. She scowled, not happy but she will have to comply. She hated standing back when other people were fighting for protecting her - though they were not really protecting her they still didn't let anyone slip past and attack her and even armed her (with conditions) so she can fight back in self-defence - that never sits right her, she would rather be killed than see someone be killed in front of her while she could do nothing. She would still concede if he ordered that.

He glanced around, already knowing the perfect plan, he still feels a bit apprehension but he now felt he can at least trust her enough that she won't backstab them at a given opportunity. At least that's what he is telling himself to convince himself to trust her so easily. He knows he shouldn't believe her story so easily, that he of all people should remain vigilant and cautious but he couldn't help but want to know her, to trust her. He knows he is being soft, that was not his job, that was Chrom's job but, if she was really his sister than he doesn't want to be hostile towards her. He wants to know her. He feels conflicted when he notices something from the corner of his eye, smirking he points at it,

"Frederick check that fort." He commanded and the Knight immediately complied, bring out a glass scope and inspected it. The fort on close inspection looked sturdy enough, not the best for siege tactics but it would hold well enough if they wanted to rest in between battles or hide Lissa in it. It also seemed to have a sniping spot where they could position an archer but sadly, they didn't have one. He put it away and turned to him,

"It is sturdy enough milord if we plan to rest there for a bit, but I wouldn't recommend siege tactics as the door would probably give away easily... and there is also a sniper spot." He reported.

Rufure put a hand on his chin, thinking, "Hm... ok let's do it this way," decided he hunched them all up and briefed his plan, "First we all will make to the fort, recount our supplies and safely tuck Lissa away in there and then we will move in pairs." He explained. They all nodded, her eyes widened though, she had thought he won't trust her at all.

Their eyes met and she read he doesn't trust her completely but enough that he doesn't think she will betray them or kill any of them in the back. She wondered why he suddenly trusted her. She hadn't really talked to him only for a bit, except that they both were pointedly ignoring each other. Did he read her? No, he can't, he doesn't remember her so he should have forgotten how she acts and thinks but he still made a judgement about her, how? She racked her brain to remember any such instance where he might have seen and changed his thinking. She suddenly gasped, when she had been talking to Chrom she had assumed everyone had slept, it seemed like that but what if? It could be very possible. Rufure used to fake his sleep many times in past too, and it had taken even her a long time to recognize it and even then, she had failed at times. She felt embarrassment and slightly flushed, no one paid attention to her though. She can't believe this, she was fine with Chrom hearing her cry because that was inevitable and he seemed sincere, the kind who doesn't think crying is weak, but having Rufure hear her too was embarrassing. The one who didn't remember her at all hear her cry was very embarrassing, she now desperately wished he won't bring it up or pair them up she can't face him. She used to never cry in front of Rufure even when they were small because she knew he would get angry at whoever would make her cry and go put them down, even if it that was their own father. So, she always tried to not cry, to make herself seem strong so he won't have to constantly keep worrying about her, that habit had taken root in her. She hated crying, alone and in front of others it made her feel weak, and she hated it.

He took another glance at her and wondered why she seemed so embarrassed and worried. He knew, she knew he didn't trust her fully but did she hate that? It doesn't seem like that, maybe she just didn't expect him to trust her so fast and got surprised? It could be possible but he was not sure. He couldn't read her and that made him frustrated like he was supposed to understand her, completely. But he couldn't, no, he forgot how to and that frustrated him. She, on the other hand, seem to read him quite well, expected but it just irritated him more.

Someone nudged him and he turned to see Chrom frowning, "Rufure focus. We don't know anything about these enemies we can't have you going in a daze," He scolded him.

He flushed slightly, "Sorry I just drifted a bit."

"Yes clearly," he then turned to Robin and frowned deeper, "Robin you too focus." He scolded her and she blushed deeper as she slightly looked down.

"I am sorry I was just thinking about something."

"Clearly but you need to focus you also. We don't know anything about these creatures and right now it is just four of us and we need both of you." He scolded them and they both, heads bent, apologised as Lissa giggled slightly amused at their actions. She now was sure, as she saw them both acting so similar, they were indeed siblings, their unconscious behaviour and actions were enough to tell her that. She felt guilty towards Robin because from her perspective Lissa had stolen her brother. She decided, once they go back and clear everything she will properly apologise to Robin and make sure this time she can spend quality time with Rufure to her heart's content.

They all walked to the fort quite easily, the monsters walked quite slow and were making way towards them but not yet. They immediately head inside and checked the building, it was sturdy but not enough for them all to wait and lure those things out, the won't have enough space for them all to fight freely. He first instructed them to secure the place for Lissa and then took the steps to the top, it was decayed but was a good point to snipe and scout their enemies. He stayed a step away from the ledge as he studied the moving corpses and assessed them. He noticed her as soon as she walked up the stairs,

"What do you think of them?" He didn't turn around as he asked her.

She was not surprised, "They are not physically strong nor move properly so they should be easy to kill, but Chrom informed me they only 'die' when hit on fatal point, that can be challenging."

He nodded, "True, I am thinking of pairing me with Frederick and you with Chrom."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, it will balance it out, I can use both swords and magic, same should be with you, so while Chrom and Frederick parry with them we can snipe them."

"That's true and a good plan. But why me with Chrom? If you sent me with Frederick, he can easily kill me if I try anything."

"True but in turn, it will distract him, and he won't be able to concentrate only on the enemy in front of him. He doesn't trust you and won't let you handle his blind spots. Chrom, on the other hand, trusts anyone easily, even former enemies so he will trust you with his back."

She frowns, "Shouldn't that put him at more risk?"

"Chrom is like that and I don't believe you will hurt him. If you wanted to you could have done so already, with that dagger hidden in your boots."

She was not shocked, "You noticed." She doesn't voice out how she is glad to see he still has not lost his touch.

"Obviously I did. I might not remember anything about you, but I am the taction I need to have an eye for these things."

She blushes bright red, "You heard it." She accused him and he just hunched his eyebrows in confusion. Why was that so wrong? It was not like they were whispering or anything.

"Yes, I did."

"Ugh! Forget it, please. I can't believe even you heard me crying," She glares at him, "I don't normally cry, especially in front of strangers."

He slightly grins, "I don't mind if you cry. I mean I didn't even think it was embarrassing. But if it consoles you, I won't bring it up ever again."

"That would be good."

"Great then let's head out they should be on us now and we can't have them too near and put Lissa at risk."

She nodded and they both headed downstairs. He announced their plan and they both agreed but Frederick gave her a warning look just before they left, heading opposite to their direction. She had her thunder tome opened as she checked how many spells she had left, 20 should be enough. She still informs Chrom of this and he just asks her if they can make it, she nods, and he smiles. He has no idea about the magic she assessed but if he has been fighting alongside Rufure then he should be fine. She walked with him, a step back and when he glanced at her questioningly, she just replied with a flat stare that made his eyebrow shoot up and she sighed, this is going to be hard.

"I need to be prepared to back you up at any second, this is a good way to snipe." She explained and his face lit up in understanding, smiling wryly he dryly chuckled as he turned in front and continued searching for those creatures. (they really need a name for them if this is not going to be there only encounter).

They both noticed one a few feet away and it noticed them back. Chrom gave a glance and then ran, thrusting his sword to its chest with his superior strength. It grunted as it dissolved in smoke, she shuddered slightly as she saw that. These creatures were creepy and that made her worried. He sighed slightly as he shook his sword, to throw the blood off. That was peculiar, even though they dissolved in smoke they left blood, quite darkened but it was human blood. A morbid curiosity bloomed in her but from the corner of her eye, she noticed two more approaching so she took a stance and put the thought away for later. She opened her book and chanted as Chrom aimed for one of them the same way as before, but it blocked and then jumped striking back, she pointed and sniped that one, which made it groan as it staggered, and he stabbed it. He suddenly ran to her and pushed her away as she feels on her side roughly, scrapping her knee a bit, groaning slightly she looked up at him irritatingly to gasp slightly, he grunted and sat down holding his shoulder. An arrow which she had not noticed was lodged in his shoulder and she frowned as she hurriedly got up and sniped at the archer a foot away from them, hiding in the woods. It died and she sat down as she assessed his injury, it didn't seem that deep, she was glad but he still needs to get it looked at properly. She pulled out a vulnerary and handed to him, he drank it and smiled at her. She frowned deeper, feeling guilty, she had lost sight of it and he had to pay for her mistake.

"I am sorry," She immediately apologised, and he just shook his head.

"It's ok it's not that deep in, once we are back Lissa will cast a heal spell and it will be fine." He reassured her.

"Still I should have kept an eye on it. You paid for my mistake."

He slightly chuckled, "Don't be so hard on yourself we all make mistakes. I am also sorry for pushing you so hard."

"It's just a scratch doesn't matter."

"Lissa would beg to differ." He quipped she sighed feeling like she had lost. Letting it go, she got up and told him they should head back and get that healed, agreeing, they both walked back to the fort. She helped him up and thought, 'He is kind and selfless, The kind I can never hate.' She just silently sighed, accepting it. It was the truth, after all.

Lissa stayed put as she looked out from a hole, her whole party walking away, she knew they would take them out before they could reach her but still, she couldn't help but feel a tinge of fear run through her. So, she kept a vigilant eye out. She noticed two figures in the woods and she gulped, with a grave look she prayed it was not one of those creatures. She saw red hair from the gap and gasped,

"Captain Chrom!" Shouted a high-pitched voice as hurried hooves came out of the forest, a woman appeared. "I am coming! I knew I shouldn't have left 'em. All right, your ash-faced freaks! Which one of ya wants to try my lance on for size first? I know just the spot for it: shoved right up you're—"She grunted, wild red hair on the back of a brown horse holding a lance in her right hand. She grinned happily, glad to see Sully, one of their shepherds, here. But then from her back came another figure, a man a bit older than her brothers, with styled blue hair, wearing armour and holding an archer. He made a gallant gesture as he called out to the woman interrupting her.

"Life may be long, but the attraction is fleeting! Would you leave me in your sweet dust? Leave war to the warriors, dear bird! A beauty such as you need to wage only love." He serenaded her, his voice deep and flirty.

Sully frowned, "The hell, are you?"

"Ha! Is the lady intrigued? Of course, you are—it's only natural. I am myth and legend! I am he who strides large across history's greatest stage! The man who puts the "arch" in archer! My name, dear lady, is Vi—"

"Sorry, Ruffles—no time for this. Onward!" She cut him, not impressed and galloped towards her totally ignoring the man running behind her as he looked shocked.

"Virion, my name is Virion." He said hopelessly but the woman ignored him, instead approached the fort and looked around searching for them. Lissa sweatdropped, exasperated at the ridiculous scene she had just witnessed in the middle of the battlefield, "Milady please at least tell me your name." He begged her, she turned around confused and frowning.

"I'm Sully...And I'm a Shepherd." She answered him, nonetheless, just so that he will shut up.

"'Sully', How divine! A starkly beautiful name, as befits its owner, truly. Will you marry me, my dearest Sully?" He confidently asked her, and both the ladies stared at him in shock.

"Will I what now!?" She tries to rationalise this nonsense, "Oh wait, I get it…This is a joke. And when I put my boot through your face—that's the punch line." She hopes it is a joke because the alternative would be too crazy for her to handle.

"I realize my manly figure and noble bearing can be overwhelming. 'Tis common! So please, don't feel pressured to answer right a—" He assuredly answered her back and she grumbled, disgusted.

"How's this for an answer?!" She kicks him and he stumbles back,

"Oof! G-goodness, but those shapely legs certainly can kick, can't they… P-please, milady! Allow me to accompany you, at least! Mine is a cold, empty world without you. I shall be your most willing servant, and you, in turn, will give my life purpose…" They couldn't believe this insane man and his self-impassion, she wanted to kill him and end this nonsense right now but she knew her captain won't like that. 'Ugh for captain I must tolerate this nonsense.' she thinks.

Sully sighed, "Fine... Anything to shut you up." She grumbled, tired. He stared at her happily and she huffed, "What? Stop staring at me like that!"

Lissa sighed and came out her hiding spot and called out to the woman, who immediately noticed her and grinned. Following her the man too came up to her and smiled wide, flirty as he made the same gesture and she rolled her eyes at him, nonetheless she chuckled a bit. This was quite a hilarious situation. Then they immediately shared their information and when they asked him if he could use the bow, he flipped his hair back as he suavely answered them,

"Goddesses, I, as it happens, am an archer...The archest of archers, in fact." He bragged and they both just rolled their eyes, already getting used to his antics, and Lissa mused silently he may be weird but his weirdness was on par of all the shepherds, she had a feeling if he will come with them, he is going to definitely fit in.

She told him about the sniping point upstairs they all were talking about and he grinned as he went up and shout back that it was the perfect spot for him. He stood on the edge and took a look, He heard and grunt and noticed two of those creatures were rapidly approaching them. He informed them and Sully immediately took the lance and told her to go hide inside as she stood outside the door, she glanced up at him and he nodded stating he will support her, nodding back she took got up on her mare and ran, aiming for the right one, she swiped at it but it just grunted and attacked her with its axe, she blocked creating an opening for him, he immediately took notice and sniped at its head, the shot lodged, gurgling it dissolved. She silently grumbled as she thought 'He does have good abilities.' She then turned to the other as it raised its sword and aimed at her mare, her mare jumped and backed, dodging it expertly and then her mare ran as she cut its head off. It dissolved but the dark blood on her lance made her grunt slightly. She went back to the fort and asked Lissa if she was fine.

The girl grinned and made a peace sign,

Virion again alerted them of two figures approaching but said it was humans, they looked outside, and Sully immediately recognised her captain, but she couldn't identify the woman on his right supporting him. He stared at her confused but Lissa grumbled as she shouted at her brother, already scolding him as she ushered him inside. He sheepishly laughed as the unknown woman frowned and explained to the princess that it was not the prince's fault, he was just covering her, which pacified her. Sully stared at woman taken back, that coat and her features eerily reminded her of their tactician, and the prince and she wanted to ask them about it but one look from her captain told her it would be discussed later. She silently nodded and then explained why she was here and also explained the crazy man's presence, who took Robin hand and did the same thing he did to them. Robin gave him a disgusted look as she frowned and shook her hand away, ignoring him. That made her laugh, this woman looked tough. Chrom sweatdropped, but true to his nature warmed up to him immediately and welcomed him far more kindly than anyone else.

They heard sharp knocks and they all tensed, Chrom nodded at her and she opened the door with her lance still ready. Rufure and Frederick stood outside both raising their eyebrows at noticing her. But the tactician immediately understood as he walked in, only gave a glance to the unknown man and then assessed them all, he frowned at Chrom but didn't say anything. Frederick frowned and glared at Robin and Chrom immediately pacified him explaining what happened, he still grunted but accepted that his milord himself hurt him. Rufure sighed and then went up, scanning their surroundings and then came down informing them that all of the creatures were gone, making them all relive. They all left the broken fort and gathered around as they looked around, wondering silently what just had happened.

The boy came out of the woods making the others tense but Rufure immediately put their worries to nought, "He took care of the rest of them." He informed, calming all of them down. The boy didn't say anything, he just stood there.

Lissa took a step forward, smiling a bit, "Thank you for before. You saved me."

"You saved my sister's life, I am in debt of you." Chrom too smiled as he approached the man, friendly, "My name is Chrom, can I ask yours?"

"You may call me Marth." He finally talked, his voice not so deep. Robin quirked an eyebrow at that.

"Marth? As in the hero-king Marth? Well, you certainly fight like a hero, where did you learn your sword style?" Chrom asked genuinely curious. He slightly flinched, something only the tacticians noticed.

"I'm not here to talk about me." He immediately cut the topic, "This world teeters at the brink of a horrible calamity. What you saw tonight was just a prelude. You have been warned." With that said, he immediately turned and ran away, shocking all of them.

Lissa gasped, "Huh? What's teetering where now? Hey, wait!" She shouted at him, but he just disappeared in the woods. The twin tacticians think, 'He is quite fast and agile, quite suspicious.'

"Not much for conversation, is he?" Rufure commented and Frederick nodded,

"I am sure we will see him again; his skills lie elsewhere it seems." He then frowned. "I am more worried about the capital right now." And the shepherds frowned feeling the same.

Rufure turned to Sully and asked her if she can make the trip back to the capital before them. She nodded grinning confidently when Virion asserted and said he wished to go with her, she frowned rejecting but Rufure interjected and said that would be a good idea in case they encountered more creatures, she then reluctantly accepted it. They both sat on her mare and galloped away. The group then decided to head back to their camp and salvage whatever was left and then head to the capital.

All while they walked, the three silently prayed that their home was safe, and no one was hurt.

They didn't bind her this time on Rufure saying something at which Frederick frowned but didn't fight back. She walked in between them still and with thundering heart silently hopes what waited for her in the Ylisstol was hope, not death.

A/N - Hey guys I know I am hella late, I should have posted this three months ago but I couldn't. I have been stuck with all my assignments and had to put my writing on a break. I had this chapter already written out but I was working on the fifth chapter and wanted to complete writing it before I posted this chapter so ya I was finally able to get that done once I got my holidays a week back. Now, you can expect more updates from me.

I hoped you like this chapter too, do tell me how it was and if I can improve somewhere it would be the most helpful.

If you like my writings and would like to support me then I would be more than happy if you consider doing a Ko-fi donation for me. It is with the same username there.

Don't forget to review, favourite and/or follow.

Xoxoxo, Luna.