Chapter 2 – Seeing Red

Note: I am really proud of this chapter's name.

22nd of Great Tree Moon, 1180

Something was wrong. Completely, horrifically wrong. Everyone seemed blissfully unaware of the looming dread that encompassed the monastery. A horrible, sinister presence had appeared in the monastery, seemingly overnight. I could feel how it stalked through the darkened halls – lingering in areas where people were plentiful. The dining hall, the knight's quarters, the library, the training grounds and the marketplace. My fingers clenched around the book that I had been reading as I felt the shadow make its way towards my location. Maybe it was repentance – coming to enact retribution for all I had harmed with my accursed crest. The entity reached the doorway and my body jerked in fear. My legs immediately carried me away from the spectre, bringing me to the greenhouse. It moved towards where I had been sitting and lingered for a moment.

Then it started moving rapidly.

In my direction.

My instincts screamed at me to hide, and my mind immediately conjured the image of my dorm room. Something implored me to look back as I scrambled up the stairs. A dark miasma emerged from the dining hall – red eyes immediately locking on to me. I didn't even consider going for the handle – instead just ramming into the door with my forearms and falling into my room. Stumbling forward on my knees, I threw the door closed and fished my key from my skirt pocket. I locked the door and dove under the bed – hands clasped over my mouth as I heard footsteps slowly approach my door.

BANG

Tears stung my eyes as their presence filtered into the room through the gap under the door. I did my best to keep them in; terrified that the sound of my tears hitting the floor would give away my position.

BANG

My ears rang as the sound reverberated through my skull. My body curled in on itself as my lungs refused to take in oxygen.

BANG

I felt a scream tear its way through my throat, but I bit my tongue to prevent the noise from escaping. It lingered outside for a moment more before leaving me alone – the suffocating aura disappearing with it. Sobs finally racked my body as my throat burned from the air that it could finally take in. I had never felt more mortified in my entire life. I don't know how much time had passed before I finally crawled out from underneath my bed. I felt for that darkness again, finding it in the fields just outside the monastery gates. Looking out of the window, I see that the sun has reached its zenith - indicating that it was time for lunch. I made my way to the door and unlocked it, stepping out of the room. I nearly tripped when I felt my feet impact something on the ground.

Looking down, I see the book that I had been reading in the dining hall.

I had to check the road sign again to make sure that was I was seeing was correct. 'Garreg Mach Monastery'. I looked back at the massive fortress-like structure that looked eerily like Ylisstol Castle. I hadn't expected a church to be so… well-fortified. From what I had heard from merchants on the road, the monastery was quite open to all citizens of Fódlan. I even heard that they're somewhat accepting of foreigners despite the seeming hatred for them in other parts of the country. This would only be a problem for me if I was planning on revealing the fact that I was a foreigner – which I wasn't. Cordelia of common birth – a humble woman who simply raised pegasi for the citizens of Faerghus.

I made sure that I had changed out of my Falcon Lord attire before the gate had come into view. A breastplate and pauldron coated in gold, alongside boots and gloves with gold woven into them doesn't exactly scream 'commoner'. I made sure that the tracking locket was hidden deep in one of my bags – the last thing I would want is to be mistaken for an enemy dark mage. I had reached up to remove my golden wing-clip, but reconsidered and left it as is. 'A gift from my husband' would be good enough to drive away any suitors. I never understood why there had been so many of them – especially considering women like Olivia and Tharja were around. Shaking those thoughts away, I checked over my appearance one more time – almost a carbon copy of my cadet days. I felt a bit exposed without most of my armour, but just my standard breastplate would have to do for now.

I began my slow walk towards the massive gate that sat between equally large walls – noticing that there only seemed to be one guard stationed at the gate. However, I noticed the presence of archers lining the top of the walls and platoons of pegasus riders patrolling the area. As I gently pulled Caeda towards the entrance, the guard turned his head towards us.

"Greetings, ma'am! Please state your name and what business you have in Garreg Mach!" His tone was chipper and eager – quite possibly a rookie.

I bowed to the gatekeeper. "I am Cordelia of Faerghus. I heard rumours that my missing friend was last seen here."

The soldier straightened out at that. "Do not worry, ma'am! I'll do everything that I can to help you find him. Do they have any distinguishing features?"

A small smile finds itself on my face – if only all soldiers were this eager to help people. "A male in his mid-twenties. They've got white hair and hazel eyes. They're also a few centimetres taller than me. He's always wearing a black, hooded coat."

"I'll ask around and see if anybody matches that description. For now, please follow me. We have a reception hall where you can wait." He opens the gate and we begin our quick march inside.

"Is there a stable where my travel buddy can relax?" I pat her broad neck and the gatekeeper nods.

"There's are stables right next to the entrance. I can have one of our stable hands take over for you. What's her name?" He smiles at the winged beauty.

"Caeda." She lets out a soft neigh at her name.

"That's a wonderful name." Was all that he said on that matter.

It seems that, just as we knew nothing of this continent, they knew nothing of ours. After all, there wasn't a single person back home who didn't know of Caeda – the greatest pegasus knight in history and the woman who had won the heart of Hero-King Marth. We march on with no words exchanged between us – the gatekeeper humming a tune to himself as we go. Pushing open a gate, we emerge into what appears to be a marketplace. My eyes weaved between the stalls – weapons, armour, field equipment, a mercenary tent?

As we approached what appeared to be the main building, the soldier waved at a blonde girl nearby. "Ah! Miss Galatea! Would you please take this pegasus to the stables?"

"Of course, sir!" She quickly jogs over to us – eyeing me curiously as I hand the reins over to her.

"Please take care of Caeda for me, Miss Galatea." The girl smiled in response.

She bowed deeply. "Only the best for her, madam."

I watched her slowly lead Caeda away, gently tugging on the reins. Her other hand slowly making its way up and down the length of the pegasus' neck. She murmurs in a soft voice to it – like one would to a child. With the sight of Caeda in capable hands, my shoulders untensed ever so slightly. The gatekeeper and I continue deeper into the monastery until we come to what I assume is the reception hall. The long tables that lined the room were simple but of high quality.

"Here we are, ma'am! Please, feel free to relax here while I go find whatever I can." I send a grateful smile his way and he salutes before leaving.

I quickly make my way towards one of the unoccupied tables. There are quite a few people staring at me, but I pay them no mind. After I sit down, I tap at the outside of my right boot with the toe of my left – making sure that my boot knife is properly attached. Reassured of the presence of a weapon, I simply lace my fingers together atop the table and let my gaze wonder around the room. There were several children around – all wearing the uniforms of Red, Yellow and Dimitri; only missing the capes that identified the three. Deciding that I have time, I close my eyes and go over the incantations for Fire in my head. Before we were separated, Robin had been teaching me about casting without a tome. It was far more difficult and way less mana efficient, but it was a useful skill that I would rather have than not. I hadn't managed to succeed yet, but I could feel I was on the verge of doing so. Now, I had to focus – I have the time.

I had spent the entire morning in the library – collecting the books that I deemed necessary. It was rather annoying that books on dark magic were scarce, but I suppose it made sense for a monastery. In my long search for the tomes, I had missed breakfast. As such, I decided that I would make my way toward the dining hall to acquire some sweets before retreating towards my room to study. The fastest route would be through the reception hall. If I were to take the route in front of the classrooms, there was a possibility that I would have to put up with brainless buffoonery – not one of my favoured pastimes.

I set foot in the reception hall and immediately stumbled over myself – dropping a book on the floor. My eyes had immediately been drawn to the long tresses of scarlet hair – the woman sitting alone at a table. I didn't understand. Why was Mother here? The noise I made had turned her head towards me. I caught a quick flash of excitement before disappointment swam in her red eyes – red, not green. So full of life – not Mother. I shake my head and hurry to pick up my book before changing direction and heading towards the classrooms. The quick encounter had taken my appetite away. Trying to calm my rapid heart, I made my way towards my dorm room. I would return to the dining hall for supper.

A gentle, familiar thrum roused me from my slumber. The feeling of one's lifeforce approaching implored me to open my eyes. The harsh sunlight assaulted my retinas before I tugged my hood down further to shield my poor eyes. The scent of grass tickled my nostrils with every breath and the sweet serenade of birds slithered into my ears. I stretch both my legs and arms – feeling the crimson fluid pulse through the limbs. Moving into a sitting position, I take in the sight before me – luscious grasslands that stretch on and on until they reach the stone walls.

The quiet awakenings were what truly made my heart ache. There was no Lissa dropping an insect in my nose. No Cordelia to yell at me for falling asleep in a stupid spot. No Chrom saying 'there are better places to take a nap than on X, you know' and then laughing as if he hadn't used the line a thousand times before. At this point, I would even be happy with waking to find out that Tharja had been staring at my sleeping form the entire time. Banishing those thoughts, I pushed myself to my feet. I turned towards the source of vitality that was steadily approaching my location.

Scarlet hair. Pegasus knight attire. Golden wing-clip in her hair. Speedwalking instead of running. There was no way. I threw back my hood to get a better look. Disbelief lodged itself in my throat.

"…Cordelia…"

A massive smile bloomed on her face. "Robin!"

I took off in her direction like a maddened Taguel. I felt my cheeks strain from my smile. If this turned out to be a dream, I would probably burn the entire monastery down. "Cordelia!"

"Robin…" Her eyebrows narrowed ever so slightly. Why was she curling her fing-

My momentum grinded to a halt before my body jerked to the side – skull rattling as pain blossomed in my left cheek. My body crumpled like wet paper. I pushed myself up with my elbows and looked up at her. Her face was twisted with rage – arm still outstretched after her punch. I hadn't seen her this mad since I accidentally dropped my book on her wing-clips and broke them. Actually, scratch that – she looked way angrier.

"Gawds! You are such a daft fool!" I winced as I set myself in a sitting position. I had a feeling this was going to take a while.

"What happened to letting Chrom take care of Grima? Isn't that what we all agreed on? That's why you came to consult us on the matter, right? Did our opinions not matter to you? Did our feelings mean nothing to you?" Her fists clenched and an inferno blazed in her eyes.

"You can't say that you changed your mind either! We found your list of instructions amongst your equipment – plans for what needs to be done after Grima; plans that could be carried out in your absence. We had our discussion and came to a decision the night before the battle – so there was no way you could have made your plans after the fact. You had already made up your mind before we discussed it – you LIED to all of us that entire evening! You never intended to listen to what we had to say! Did you enjoy making a fool out of all of us?" My body slumped forward slightly – every sentence rending a hole in my heart.

"What if it didn't work? Did you ever consider that? Only one year has passed, but what if it had been a hundred? What if you woke up in one of those Outrealms and we couldn't find it? What if killing Grima only got rid of his current body, and then he'd turn yours into a puppet – recreating Lucina's future?" Her voice had become hoarse as her eyes brimmed with tears.

This was a rather strange occurrence. Every doubt, every scenario that I ran through in my head about how things could go wrong – Cordelia recited them all nearly word for word. Now was not the time for idle thoughts though. Not when she was here in front of me. Living, breathing proof that everything was alright – that all my doubts and worries had been unfounded.

She collapsed to her knees. "Week after week. Nothing. Rumour after rumour. Nothing. We… I began to think… that we would never see you again…"

There was only one thing to do. I wrapped my arms around her shaking frame – tears stinging my eyes. "You shouldered these feeling all alone, didn't you? You didn't want to talk to others about it – feeling like you'd just burden them when they're grieving as well."

Her fists shook at her side in response. "I don't think I would have been able to do it. You're so strong, Cordy – far stronger than I am."

She grinded her teeth as she shook her head slowly. "No… you can't…"

"It's true that I lied to all of you that night. It's because I knew how much you all cared for me – the Shepherds would have done everything in their power to stop me if I told you all my plan. I knew that things might go wrong. I knew that there was a possibility that I may never come back. The thought of your rage, your despair, your sorrow – it tore me apart, haunted my thoughts every second. However, the price I would pay would be worth it a thousand times over. Nobody would ever have to fear Grima ever again. The children of the future would be able to grow up in the world they deserved." I pulled myself away for a moment so I could stare directly into her eyes.

"Above all else, I wanted all of you to be happy."

That was it. Her arms crushed me as she wailed into my shoulder. I held her firmly while a year of bottled grief escaped her. The tears staining my jacket and her broken sobs tore away at my heart piece by piece. The sound echoed in my ears – drowning out everything else in the field. My vision blurred as I felt my own eyes water. A tearful cry tried to force its way out, but I bit down on my tongue and silenced it. For me, it had only been days. For her, it had been a year. It wouldn't be fair for me to bawl my eyes out when my suffering had been so insignificant compared to hers. I discretely wiped the moisture on my cheeks with my coat sleeve. I simply held her as I turned my gaze to the sky – watching the blue change colour ever so slowly. I held her as her shaking turned to small trembled, as her eyes emptied themselves of all her tears, and as her heart-wrenching wails quieted into tiny sobs and hiccups.

She took a shuddering breath – voice hoarse as she spoke. "I'm sick of doing your paperwork. Come back and do it yourself."

I could only chuckle in response to that. It looks like the scarlet blaze hadn't lost her fire while I was away. "As lovely as that sounds, I'm afraid things aren't that simple."

She pulls away from me and her red-rimmed, puffy eyes throw a weak glare my way. "Choose your next words carefully."

I absentmindedly bring my finger to my mouth and start chewing the joint. "Well, I didn't know how long I would be here in Fódlan, so I needed a way to make money. Given my seemingly academic background and my experience with the Shepherds, I applied for a teaching job at the Officers Academy here. I'm bound by contract for a year, but I'll be free to go after that."

She let our her Resigned Sigh – a sign that I wasn't about to endure an hour-long verbal lashing. "I suppose I can understand that." Another sigh. "Crying is really exhausting."

I grinned at her. "How about we grab dinner and then we get accommodations for you? Is that alright?"

She smiles back at me. "That sounds wonderful."

My finger tapped at the desk repeatedly as I glanced over the documents again. One must always be thorough when it comes to life – no matter how tedious the task may be. I looked over the schedule a fourth time. A quick introductory session before a practical combat demonstration. This would carry on until lunchtime where the students would be dismissed. When asked about the demonstration, he simply stated that he would be 'going over the basics', but refused to elaborate further. Perhaps I should assign another member of staff to watch over him – couldn't be too careful, after all.

I leaned back in my chair and let a breath escape my nose. I didn't know what to think of our most recent arrival. He had introduced himself as Robin, just Robin. A supposed scholar who found himself in the monastery after a Warp experiment had gone wrong. While his backstory was shaky at best, I hadn't been able to discern any malice in his actions or words. He had an astounding aptitude for magic and the only unusual behaviour he exhibited was sleeping in strange locations (we found him in the stone oven yesterday) – that and his insane requests. Despite seeming harmless, I will not shake off my wariness around him – my post demands it. Seiros had even acted strangely during our meeting with the man, but she chose to trust him (or appear to, at least) and accept his offer for a teaching position. I wanted to protest her decision, but the look in her eyes as she turned to me told me that she would not be changing her mind. I decided that I needed to find out more about Robin – it would not do for me to be caught unaware.

I was brought out of my thoughts by a knocking on my door. "Who is it?"

"It's Robin, Sir Seteth." Speak of Nemesis and he shall appear.

The man walked into my office with his usual smile on his face – brown eyes immediately locking on to me. He had decided to forgo the armour that clad his chest and legs; replacing them with a simple cream shirt and a pair of riding boots. He had also gotten rid of the off-shoulder cape, exposing the thick stitches around the arms of his coat. What surprised me was the appearance of another individual. She was very… red. The long hair, the eyes, the stylized dress, and her knee-high boots. In contrast to the man before her, her expression was neutral as she scanned the room in silence. The way she held herself spoke of military discipline. Her eyes settled on me with a guarded expression – a far-cry from Robin and the goofy smile on his face. Best to get this started.

"I assume your next ludicrous request involves the lady beside you." Hopefully something more reasonable than 'can I see the forbidden books section of the library?'.

"That is correct." He gestures to the woman beside him. "This is Cordelia, a trusted companion of mine who was overseeing the Warp experiment. Since my contract forbids me from leaving until the terms are satisfied, I cannot return home with her."

"And you do not wish for her to return home alone. Thus, you want us to grant her living accommodations until your contract has expired." I concluded for him. I idly note that he had not introduced her full name as well.

He nodded in response. "I am truly grateful for the kindness that you and the Archbishop have shown me, despite my admittingly suspicious background. I am quite ashamed to ask for more when you have already provided me with so much."

I take a moment to consider. "Ms Cordelia, if I may ask a few questions?"

Her expression did not change as she spoke. "I will answer as honestly as I am comfortable with."

"Where is your current residence?" Her answer is nearly instant.

"A secluded location of which I cannot reveal. This information is kept secret so that Robin may follow his scholarly pursuits without interference from others." There is no hesitation in her tone, and her eyes do not leave mine for a moment.

That matches up with what Robin had told me. "Do you have any military experience?"

"Most of my experience comes from driving off bandits who would raid villages. I was trained by one of the guards – a woman with a wealth of military experience." Her expression remains still, yet there is an underlying sadness to her tone. I'll leave this topic alone.

"Do you have any teaching experience?" An eyebrow shifts upwards almost imperceptibly. That one caught her by surprise.

"I have some experience teaching the younger generation in the same way that I was taught. I can only hope that I was even half as good as my teacher was." Her voice had evened out again – all traces of the early sadness completely erased.

I set my palms firmly on the desk as I come to a decision. "I will speak to the Archbishop tomorrow about employing you as a teaching aide to Mr Robin."

The aforementioned man grins widely while the woman exhales quietly. "Mr Robin has been granted a vacant room to himself in the knight's quarters. I will arrange a similar room for you as well."

She raised her hand and spoke unprompted for the first time. "That will not be necessary. I do not wish to impose on you more than I already have. I will simply share a room with Robin."

I'm very tempted to raise an eyebrow, but Cethleann has told me that I look rather unflattering when I do. Thus, I refrained and kept my expression neutral.

Robin opens his mouth to protest. "Need I remind you of the Library Conflagration incident?" Robin closes his mouth.

That sounds like something that should be brought to my attention. "Pray tell, what is this incident?"

Her eyes shift from me to Robin – the faintest hint of mischievousness shining through. "On nights where Robin is restless, he will often wander out of his room in search of something to do. While this is usually harmless and mostly ends up with him asleep in unusual places – there are seldom exceptions to this. One night, he had gone to the library to study a flame tome. He had fallen asleep with the book open and somehow mumbled the incantations for the spell in his slumber. Come the morning, a third of the library had been burnt down."

That is… rather concerning. "I would rather avoid these sorts of incidents from occurring at the monastery."

Cordelia nodded at that. "It is a wish we both share. If I am to move into Robin's room, I can ensure that he does not sneak out at night."

Robin finally set his foot in this conversation. "Cordelia, even Lissa doesn't go this far with her pranks. If you want to embarrass me, there are better ways to do so. Besides, I outgrew that habit long ago."

She turned towards him and stared directly at him. "If you can look me straight in the eyes and tell me that you haven't gone for a midnight stroll in the past few days, I'll move into a separate room."

He defiantly set his eyes on hers and opened his mouth to speak. It hung there for a moment as the room descended into an awkward silence. His jaw shut itself and his eyes turned to the ground. "You need to stop beating me in logical arguments."

The first semblance of a smile makes its way to her face. "You're too focused on saving everyone else. Someone needs to save you from yourself."

"And where do you think you're going?" I raised my eyebrow at the woman who had been failing to climb aboard my wyvern for several minutes.

She scratched at the back of her head as a lopsided grin overtook her features. "Ah, Sir Cichol. I was going to take this wyvern on a patrol of the area. You know, scout for enemies and such."

"You were going to go fishing, Medb." I called her out on her lie immediately.

Her face fell in resignation. "I was going to go fishing…"

"If you are going to go off, at least let someone now. It wouldn't do to cause an uproar in the camp because you seemingly disappeared."

I approached the wyvern and it obediently brought its neck to the ground. I put my left foot in the stirrup before swinging my other leg over – sitting comfortably in the saddle. Medb looked up at me with awe in her eyes. I was actually starting to feel rather embarrassed, so I held out my hand to her. She gazed upon it in confusion.

"If you're intent on going fishing, I might as well be there to supervise you – just in case there is danger. Someone needs to save you from yourself."

A radiant smile graced her features as she placed her hand in mine.

Ah… so that's how it is. I couldn't stop my lips from twitching upward, but the two were too busy arguing in whispers to notice. I clapped my hands twice and drew their attention.

"Ms Cordelia, your request has been granted. I will make sure that you receive your key during the faculty meeting I will schedule tomorrow." A ghost of a smirk flickers in and out of existence.

"Sir Seteth, I implore you to reconsider. Think of all the rumours that would spread throughout the monastery – tarnishing the reputation of the church." He protests in vain.

I wave a hand at him. "Consider us even after the Day 1 Incident."

Cordelia raises an eyebrow at Robin as defeat overcomes his features. After all the headaches that Robin had induced since his appearance, it was quite cathartic to see the man in such a state. It was rather petty, I realized, but it had been a feeling I had missed since our departure with Macuil. Now that I thought about it, there was quite a few similarities between the two. Both were incredibly adept with magic, had a tendency to engage in verbal sparring, and had an unreasonably smug smirk that invoked irritation in all who witnessed it. In fact, I would not be surprised in the slightest if he bore his Crest. Although, considering Macuil's nature, the chances of finding a human with his blood were practically non-existent. I'm sure Hanneman will be telling us all about his crest in the coming days.

"If there is nothing else, I ask that you leave my office. I still have work to do." Both turn their gazes to me.

"No, that will be all. Thank you again for your generosity, Sir Seteth." Robin gives a shallow bow towards me.

"I am forever grateful for your kindness, Sir Seteth. I shall endeavour to repay it as soon as possible." Cordelia gives a far more proper bow.

The two turn to leave, Robin holding the door open for Cordelia before leaving and shutting it behind him. I looked to the documents that lie in front of me – the memory from before still fresh in my mind.

"Perhaps I should go and pay Flayn a visit. They are serving her favourite dessert tonight…"

Standing from my chair, I make my way out of my office. A father deserves to spoil his daughter frequently, does he not?

AN: I don't have much experience writing overly emotional scenes, so I hope that the reunion scene is done decently and feels realistic enough. Robin's choices were based on mine from my first playthrough of Awakening. I promised Chrom that he would deal the final blow, then went and did it myself because I felt that it was the right choice. When the final cutscene played, I was a tad surprised that there wasn't even a smidge of annoyance over the fact that I had basically lied to all the Shepherds and then basically killed myself with no guarantee that I would come back. If I were Chrom, I would have hit Robin at least once after giving them a massive hug.

I tried multiple POVs in this chapter. Hope I didn't make anybody too OOC.

Also, I'd love to hear your guys' theories on where Robin and Cordelia are going to fall in the Three Houses teaching system (and where their allegiance lies). I'd love to hear your ideas and speculation.

– AnimeTrashPile

I'd also like to say thank you to those who took the time to write a review for my story - StellarLupine, Kamencolin, 1740, DarthFlores and Measter42. I'd also like to thank everyone who favourited and followed this story. Every time I saw that notification come up, I felt inspired to keep writing. I'll try to aim for a chapter every 1 or 2 weeks. Thank you all for your support.

Tactician's Log

Name and Title: Robin Lowell; Grandmaster of Ylisse (Formerly: Robin of no name; The Foundling Tactician)

Age: 25

Current Class: Grandmaster (no Fódlani equivalent)

Level: 45

Personal Skill: Invisible Ties – this unit gains +1 to all stats for each support rank they have with adjacent units

Proficiency: Sword (A), Lance (C), Axe (E), Bow (C), Brawl (E), Reason (S), Faith (E), Authority (S+), Heavy Armour (E), Riding (A), Flying (E)

Skills Equipped: Sword Prowess Lv. 4, Reason Prowess Lv. 5, Offensive Tactics, Rally Spectrum, Lifetaker (Commander, Swordfaire, Dark Tomefaire)

Combat Arts: Astra, Assassinate, Soulblade

Mastered Classes (Fódlani): Commoner, Noble, Myrmidon, Lord, Mage, Dark Mage, Swordmaster, Assassin, Dark Bishop, Dark Knight

Notes: It's me! I'm not all that good at fighting, especially when compared to the likes of Chrom or Lon'qu, but my abilities as a tactician are without equal. Of course, tactics are nothing without the people involved in them. As such, I believe that bonds between myself and my comrades (and the bonds between themselves) are the key to a greater strength that cannot be found elsewhere. Contrary to popular belief, I do not bathe with my coat on – there's an entirely separate process dedicated solely to my coat.