Chapter 12

I sat atop one of the barrels of water in the tray, ignoring the way that my sweat-stiff shirt clung to my back as I did my best to watch every direction, including up, at once. Beside me, Grima snoozed as Anna kept us trundling along at the same pace we had been before.

We had spent the entire night mercifully unmolested, which had honestly surprised me. Given we'd whooped one of Gangrel's pet units, I was worried that there would be some pretty nasty reprisal for us. Maybe he wasn't with the army yet? Or maybe this was only part of the army, and he was already at the border? I frowned as I scanned the sky again, shielding my eyes from the brutal sunlight. There were just too many unknowns. I hated operating blind like this, but I no longer had the intelligence network I'd had in the past. Future? Future-past.

Next to me Grima gave a bored huff, glancing up at me from beneath the hem of her purple scarf, the only visible part of her right now her ruby eyes.

Me? I'd had to cannibalize one of my shirts to make headgear, because there was no way in hell we had time to go chasing my stuff through the desert after the wind picked it up. Fortunately, my sleeves were long, so I only needed to protect my hands by keeping them in my pockets all day-

Grima nudged me in the hip with her elbow, and I glanced down with a spike of anxiety. She'd drawn the scarf from her face, looking up at me with a mischievous little half smile and pressing a finger to her lips as a signal to keep quiet. I narrowed my eyes a little, about to tell her off for distracting me, but she jerked her head towards the front of the wagon. Anna was sitting rigidly, knuckles white on the reins, hands shaking a little. Even with the voluminous robes on, I could tell she was beginning to breath somewhat heavily…

I opened my mouth to call out to her, only to have Grima beat me to it by seconds.

"Ahn! Oh, Ben! Not out in the sunlight!" Grima moaned, before giggling a little.

Anna jumped almost high enough to put her head through the awning over the little bench seat as Grima gave a few more fake moans, and I quirked my brow. The redheaded merchant fairly tore the scarf from her own face as she spun.

"Really!? In broad day… light…" she started, trailing off.

Grima burst out laughing, falling back atop the barrels of water as Anna began to blush. She looked to me in desperate confusion, and I shrugged, pointedly keeping my hands in my pockets as I did so.

"I'm just that good," I smirked.

Anna spluttered indignantly, which just caused Grima's laughter to increase until she was literally rolling around on top of the barrels so intensely I was worried she was about to fall off the wagon. Anna gave a sound halfway between a groan and a sob, burying her face in her hands as I went back to watching the desert.

"You need to relax, Anna," I told her over my shoulder. "We'll tell you when you should be worried."

"That doesn't fill me with confidence!" she snapped over Grima's continued laughter.

Grima finally sat up, giving a few more chuckles as she wiped a tear from her eye and shook her head.

"Oh, calm down," she said, still grinning. "You're wound so tight you'll shorten your already miniscule lifespan."

"Spoken like a true immortal dragon," I muttered out of the corner of my mouth.

"You two are so weird," Anna groaned. "I should never have picked you up! I'd be-"

"You'd be very, very dead right now," I cut her off. "Or wishing you were while at the mercy of a horde of very bored Plegian conscripts after those assholes from yesterday stole your shit and hauled you off."

"You're welcome, by the way," Grima added.

"Face it," I went on. "We're the only thing that's gonna get you out of this desert alive. And all we've asked for is transport. I'd say it's a little rude of you to be wishing otherwise right now, given the circumstances."

"I even let you cuddle to keep warm," Grima smirked, shaking her head. "How's that for gratitude?"

"Alright! I get it!" Anna wailed. "I'm an ungrateful bitch! I'm sorry! Geez!"

"Well, so long as you accept that," Grima nodded.

"So, what is the plan, then?" Anna asked with a sigh.

"It hasn't changed," I shrugged. "We just keep going. We'll deal with any further… 'complications' as they happen."

Grima smirked, shaking her head.

"Complications, he says," she muttered. "That's the understatement of the century."

"Don't jinx us," I shot back.

Anna just groaned, gripping the reins a little tighter.

That night, I sat shivering on the end of the wagon, lamenting the loss of my warm robes and the fact that Anna still wouldn't let me cuddle with her and Grima. Honestly, after the last few days, I was surprised she was still willing to sit next to us, let alone snuggle up with Grima, but I guessed that the desire to stay warm overrode her growing suspicions about the pair of us.

All of this played in the back of my mind as I frowned out at the desert. The simple fact that I could see light on the horizon was what currently occupied the majority of my attention.

I'd hoped that the army would take the hint and just leave us alone, but whoever was in command was clearly a little more pig-headed than I had hoped. We were being followed. By the entire army, apparently. Or by whatever was out there, anyway. At the very least, it was a lot of guys I didn't want to run into. It would be one massive pain in the ass, to say the least.

I glanced over my shoulder in the direction the girls were sleeping in. It was dark, so I couldn't spot them, but I could hear the camels snoring so I had a vague direction to work with.

If nothing else, the camels needed rest. I wanted to keep moving, create more distance, but it would be pointless if we exhausted our pack animals.

I turned back out to the desert. A few more hours. We could spare a few more hours to let the camels rest.

A few more days of this mindless walking and our light at the end of the tunnel appeared.

In the distance, just barely visible through the heat haze, was the form of the low mountains that separated the Nebaru Salt Flats from the dune sea around the Plegian Capital. There was a small oasis at the edge of the flats before we hit the Bidah Mountain Range, an oasis we were stopping at even if I had to kill the entire Plegian Army to get to it.

Speaking of, they had maintained a respectable distance from us for the last few days. Admittedly, I'd been cutting our sleeping hours short, but for all intents and purposes, it looked like they had no idea where we were.

Unfortunately, there were only three oasis' on this side of the Bidah Mountains, which meant they hadn't needed to track us down in the desert; they could just stake out the oases.

I mean, it's what I would do.

Fortunately, however, it didn't appear that the Army had expected us to take the extra couple of days to go so far east. The oasis was deserted as we approached, a small patch of pale green foliage and shimmering blue water against the brown of the mountains looming above it. The long grasses swayed in the breeze as we approached, the cool air coming off the water under the palm fronds a blissful reprieve from the dry heat of the salt flats.

At the front of the wagon I could see Anna visibly relax, her shoulders slumping as we entered the comparative shade under the first of the sparse trees. Grima was sitting up, still curious about the oasis' that dotted the desert kingdom while I maintained my lonely lookout vigil. Because god forbid someone worry about our continued safety…

We trundled right up to the water's edge, waiting to see if the camels would drink. If the water was polluted, the camels wouldn't drink it. And if they wouldn't drink it, then it sure as hell wasn't good enough for us.

Fortunately, the beasts didn't even hesitate to dunk half their faces into the water, and Anna let out a small sigh of relief.

Internally, I agreed with her. While doing so would basically ensure that Gangrel lost all control over the desert nomads, I wouldn't have put it past his army to poison the oases just to spite us. Apparently, such sacrilege was beyond even a jackoff like Gangrel, though, as the precious water appeared unmolested. Which was good news, because the extra few days in the desert had exhausted our own water supply and we'd been forced to dip into one of the barrels that was part of Anna's shipment to not die of thirst, so now we had to refill it and our own supply.

"Alright, let's make this quick," I said, hopping down from the back of the cart. "I want to fill up and be as deep in the mountains as possible during nightfall."

"We're not even gonna take a break?" Anna asked plaintively.

"As much as I'd love to, I don't want to risk another run-in with the army," I explained. "I doubt they'll commit any resources to hunting us through the mountains, but on the off chance that they do, I want a head start."

As I spoke, I pulled the half-empty barrel we'd been dipping into off the back of the wagon, setting it aside and going back for our own empty barrel. Of course, all it took was that one moment of distraction for the universe to kick me in the balls from behind, and just as I placed the barrel down on the ground, the sun above me was obscured by something flying overhead.

"Well, that was fast," Grima commented.

"Fuck my life!" I growled, looking up as five flying forms circled the oasis.

"Um… what do we do?" Anna asked, a tremor in her voice.

"You fill these barrels," I said, pulling the rag from my head and stuffing it in my pocket. "I'll try to beat the shit out of these guys away from the water so we don't pollute it."

"Look at you, being all conscientious," Grima chuckled.

Contrary to her calm, almost flippant, tone, though, Grima was attentively watching the shapes circling us just as I was.

Anna hesitated, stammering and mumbling and looking up at the circling fliers instead of jumping to filling the barrels. I rolled my eyes and stomped over to her. Without so much as breaking stride I bent down and hauled her up over my shoulder, ignoring her indignant squawking and stomping right over to the oasis. I then proceeded to throw her in the water with a loud splash.

At this point, Grima was laughing so hard I was afraid she'd bust a gut. Anna resurfaced with a spluttering scream, coughing and spitting up water as I squatted down on the bank.

"Focused yet?" I asked with a small grin.

Anna stopped, waist-deep in the watering hole as she glared at me.

"As angry as I'd like to be at you right now, this does feel very nice," she said.

"Fill up the barrels over there," I chuckled, pointing to a spot further up the bank where the water was still clear. "We'll take care of the locals."

Anna sighed, shaking her head in a small shower of water droplets.

"You know what? Fine," she said, throwing her hands up. "My life is in your hands. Again."

I just grinned as I rose, turning back to look up at the flying Plegians. True to my plan from earlier, I began to walk back out towards the desert. As I passed the wagon, I hesitated, glancing up at Grima. The Dark Dragon was sitting up, resting her chin in one hand as she grinned down at me.

"Are we getting paid enough for this?" I asked her as she hopped down to the ground next to me.

Grima gave me a sideways glance, offering another small grin.

"Are we getting paid at all for this?" she asked.

I groaned, running a hand down my face as I began to walk back out towards the desert. Oddly, Grima followed me. I had been expecting her to stay by the wagon, if for no other reason than not wanting to have to deal with this shit-show, but she followed at my shoulder until we were back in the blazing sun, standing on the hard-packed earth of the salt flats. All the while, the forms continued to circle above us.

I glanced up, shielding my eyes from the sun's glare and counting the fliers circling us like vultures. There were four shapes, which meant that Orton had already been replaced. Not a great sign, but nothing we couldn't handle. At least they were still following Grima and I, and ignoring Anna. Not to mention that they obviously hadn't replaced the pegasus rider who had fallen to her death a few days ago.

As I stood racking my brains for the names of any other flying Plegian bosses, or even officers that hadn't been in the game we'd met in Plegia later, one of the forms broke formation and began to dive. As it got closer it got bigger. And bigger. And pretty soon I could make out the wyvern I'd given a black eye last time we'd tangled.

"This one is all yours," Grima said as she stepped away from me.

"Oh gee, thanks," I groaned.

Grima just smirked as she danced out of the way of the swooping wyvern. I barely glanced up at it, just stepping aside and spinning to continue to watch its following ascent.

Not like I hadn't done this a thousand times with Cherche and Minerva…

"Can you keep an eye on Anna and make sure that no one's trying to sneak up on the cart while I deal with this?" I asked nonchalantly.

"Yes, yes, I'll do the boring work, you play the hero," Grima sighed, waving her hand dismissively.

I grinned as I rolled out my neck, watching the wyvern come around for another pass. So far, the others didn't seem inclined to join in the attack. Maybe the kid had asked for first dibs? Whatever his reasoning was, he was in for a smackdown.

As the wyvern swooped low, teeth gnashing and claws extended right at me, I dropped onto my back and let the creature slide to a stop on the sand behind me. I sprung back up, feeling much sprier than I had last time I'd attempted this move, and smirked at the flying lizard. Sure, there was some schmuck sitting on top of it, too, but he was small potatoes compared to the three hundred pounds of angry, cold- blooded bullshit.

Stepping back into a basic stance, I brought my fists up as the wyvern hissed and-

A shocked yelp startled both the wyvern and me as a blast of purple fire threw the rider clear off his mount. I glanced over as Grima lowered her hand, grinning at me.

"You take too long!" she called.

I rolled my eyes as the young wyvern rider groaned, rolling onto his back and looking up at me. I barely spared him a glance, clapping my hands and wordlessly screaming at his mount. The juvenile wyvern hissed, raising it's hackles and backing up a little. When I shouted again, the spooked creature took the hint and flapped back into the sky, heading right for the mountains in the distance. Once it was gone and the dust was settling, I glanced down and gave the rider, kneeling with a terrified, stricken expression, a shit-eating grin.

Clearly, the rest of the pegasus riding soldiers were sick of me embarrassing them, because they chose this moment to begin a circling descent around us. Grima took the opportunity to drift back to my side, frowning a little as she watched the women closing in on us.

As they got closer, I realized that one of the pegasai was actually black, and I felt the breath hitch in my throat.

"Oh shit," I groaned.

"What?" Grima asked.

"Pretty sure the army's general showed up," I told her.

"Anyone we know?" Grima asked, sounding almost bored.

"Intimately," I sighed.

Grima shot me a questioning glance, but realization dawned on her features once she recognized the black feathers on the pegasus.

"You realize that she will recognize me," Grima muttered.

"So, we improvise," I shrugged.

We waited patiently for the women to land, and once they did, the wyvern rider climbed to his feet with a smug look on his face. I quirked an eyebrow at his grin, about to remind him that he'd spent the last few minutes sitting as still as possible so we didn't notice him, but didn't get the chance. As soon as the young wyvern rider opened his mouth to speak, he was hit with a fairly powerful bolt of dark magic and thrown onto his back.

"Such is the price of failure!" an imperious voice declared behind us.

Frowning, I looked down at the body of the young man who I had tried so hard not to kill. It was honestly a little irritating, someone else killing him so casually like that. Not that I would have hesitated myself, in my previous life. I'd summarily executed soldiers before, when they had broken the admittedly few rules I had for the army. I'd killed prisoners of war, when they had outlived their usefulness. But usually, when I wanted someone kept alive, they managed to stay alive, so this was new.

I rolled my eyes again, earning a small snicker from Grima as we both turned to face the speaker.

Aversa glared down at us from atop her black pegasus, dressed as scantily as ever despite the harsh conditions. Her frown only deepened when she spotted Grima, clearly recognizing her as Robin.

"You," she growled. "How dare you show your face back here?"

Grima gave me a questioning look, and I shrugged helplessly. Honestly, I didn't know how to play this one.

"You must have us confused with someone else," I tried.

"You will be silent," Aversa said, turning up her nose. "You have assaulted and killed several members of King Gangrel's Elite Guard at this point. Your life is already forfeit."

"I would not be so quick to threaten my pet were I you," Grima said, her tone carrying a very clear warning.

I resisted the urge to smile. I was in for a catfight.

Or so I thought.

Then Grima flexed.

Not literally, of course. But even with my lack of any discernible talent, I could feel the pulse of dark magic energy that she gave off. All the pegasai except for Aversa's black one lost it; two bolted, their riders struggling to hold the reins, while the third reared up and started pacing in circles while its rider tried to calm it. Aversa's simply froze, like a prey animal faced with a predator. I was sure I could hear the camels honking in the distance, too, which made me wonder if Anna had felt the little mana pulse.

Aversa gaped, her expression one of confusion.

"Robin?" she asked.

"I prefer Raven, actually," Grima drawled, idly inspecting her nails.

"No, no you can't be Robin… she was never this…" Aversa started to say, shaking her head. "But… your face… are you…?"

Grima glanced up, flashing a nasty smile at the older woman.

"Are you a god?" Aversa asked, her voice trembling a little.

"Something like that," Grima chuckled.

"I have never been more turned on," I muttered so only Grima could hear me.

Her breathing hitched, and clearly she was clearly trying very hard not to laugh, and maintain her composure.

"You hush," she said instead, sparing me a brief glance over her shoulder.

I held up my hands in mock surrender, taking a step back to give her space to do… whatever it was she was about to do.

To my surprise, Aversa actually dismounted. Grima huffed, stalking towards the King's right- hand woman. I followed a few paced behind, wanting to see how this played out but not wanting to get in the way in case hair started getting pulled or clothes got ripped.

… the sun may admittedly have been making me a little delusional.

"I was trying to let that boy live," Grima said with a dissatisfied frown.

"He had failed in his duty," Aversa said, rallying a little. "The only reward for failure is death."

"There are different variations of failure," Grima said. "For instance, throwing an untested boy against a battle-hardened veteran? I would say that is a failure more on the part of the boy's commander than himself."

Aversa actually cast me an appraising glance, and I had to quickly school my features into my patented 'General Glower' expression. She took a few tentative steps towards Grima, brow furrowed as she studied the woman.

"You… you're not Robin-" Aversa started.

The Plegian woman's head snapped aside from a brutal backhand, Grima's eyes actually flashing with red light as she struck. Aversa fell to the desert floor as I winced sympathetically. Even the pegasus rider that was still struggling with her mount gasped at the sight, almost being thrown from her mount in her moment of inattention.

"Never call me that name again," Grima said, her voice low and dangerous.

"Th-there's… no way!" Aversa gasped. "We… we failed! You weren't awoken! You can't exist!"

"Can and do," Grima said, her voice tight.

"How?" Aversa asked.

"Soon as we figure it out, we'll let you know," I cut in. "We'll add you to the list of people who want an answer to that question, right under our names."

Aversa sat up now, frowning at me as she wiped a small trail of blood from the corner of her mouth with the back of her hand. Grima's blow must have split her lip.

"And who are you?" Aversa asked, a little more confidently now that she wasn't facing down a god. "You look Ylissean, but you don't sound it. Are you Valmese? You're too pale to be Chon'sinian."

I rolled my eyes as Grima huffed.

"Where my consort is from is inconsequential," she drawled.

"Consort!?" Aversa and I both asked at the same time.

Aversa shook her head, getting up onto her knees and crawling towards Grima.

"Then… then it did work? You are our Lord?" she asked, her voice a whisper.

Grima knelt down, pulling the scarf off her head and leaning down until she was nose to nose with Aversa.

"I am what you call the Fell Dragon, yes," Grima whispered.

Aversa shuddered before throwing herself down at Grima's feet. Or trying to, anyway; Grima caught her halfway down and hauled her back up to her feet.

"And I am trying to keep that fact quiet," Grima hissed, standing Aversa up.

"You… you must come with me!" Aversa said quickly. "You must lead us! We… we've tried for-"

"Stop," Grima sighed, placing a hand over Aversa's mouth.

I quirked a brow, impressed with just how much my speech patterns and behavior had rubbed off on her.

"I am in the process of returning to the capital now," Grima explained. "You are moving your forces towards the border, yes?"

Aversa, her mouth still covered by Grima's hand, nodded.

"Take your time," Grima grinned, dropping her hand. "I will meet with Gangrel and Validar, and then decide the direction we will take."

"You can't possibly mean to leave Ylisse-"

"Do not think to question me, child," Grima growled. "You will do as I say. You will tell no one of my existence. I will reveal myself when the time is right, not before. Am I clear?"

Aversa clamped her mouth closed, nodding quickly.

"Good girl," Grima said, smiling.

Tenderly, as if petting a favorite cat or dog, Grima reached up to stroke Aversa's face.

"Do not disappoint me," Grima said softly. "Go on. You have your tasks."

Aversa nodded again, her knees trembling like she was about to fall down. Instead, she spun and sprinted back to her black pegasus, still standing frozen where she had left it. With a little urging, Aversa coaxed the creature back into the sky, the other pegasus rider giving up trying to calm her own mount and letting it follow after Aversa's.

Then, Grima and I were alone in the desert again.

I glanced over at her, still watching as the two pegasai disappeared into the horizon, and sighed.

"Well, I feel inadequate right now," I said.

Grima snorted, spluttered, and then burst into laughter. She shook her head, wiping a tear from her eye as she practically skipped over to my side and grabbed my hand in both of hers.

"So, now we are going to take over the war effort?" I asked.

Grima hummed, and we started walking back to where we'd left Anna with the wagon.

"I don't think so," she said slowly.

"But you said…" I trailed of, raising my eyebrows suggestively.

Grima shrugged. "I told the woman what she wanted to hear. I just wanted her to go away."

I smirked, chuckling a little myself.

"So, our plan has not changed," Grima went on, swinging our hands between us a little. "We will go to the Capital, deliver this water, get a feel for how things are going in a timeline without either of our interference, and then…"

"And then decide what to do?" I finished for her.

"Indeed," Grima nodded.

I glanced back over my shoulder as we walked, making a thoughtful sound of my own.

"You know, Aversa accepted what you are pretty damn quick," I commented.

Grima scoffed.

"She is like a child looking for a purpose," Grima explained. "She merely wishes to be led. Just like last time; I merely showed her a small glimpse of my power and she was all too willing to throw herself at my feet."

"I mean, you can't really blame her," I said. "You are literally her god."

"No," Grima said softly. "Not… not this time. I just wanted her to go away."

She squeezed my hand a little tighter as we walked, and for a few moments there was silence between us.

I don't like silence.

"So, when did I level up from pet to consort?" I asked blithely. "Seems like a big jump."

Grima snorted again, and for the second time that day her laughter echoed off the nearby mountains.

Dinner that night was a subdued affair. We had proceeded into the mountains immediately after Aversa had left into the mountains, Anna having filled up our water supply with no issues as Grima and I had chased off the Plegians. We had continued along a path in a valley between the hills until it had gotten almost too dark to see, then set up our little camo-camp in a small hollow. It was far earlier than I would have liked, but too; with the dry hills and mountains around us blocking the sun, it had gotten dark a lot earlier than out on the salt flats.

Everyone was hunkered down and sitting quietly with their own thoughts in the twilight. Anna was slowly munching on some jerky while Grima stared off into the distance from next to her. Fortunately, it appeared that the merchant hadn't witnessed Grima's exchange with Aversa, or else was keeping quiet about it. Grima, for her part, simply looked tired. I think that little mana pulse she'd given off to intimidate Aversa had taken more out of her than she wanted to admit.

I sat on my usual perch on the end of the wagon, away from the girls, watching for potential threats.

I knew from bloody experience that mountain trails like these, especially in a region as sparsely occupied as this part of Plegia, were a haven for bandits and highwaymen.

I didn't care what Grima thought about it; if anyone like that tried to fuck with us, they were a corpse.

There was a big difference between killing conscripts following orders and bandits who made a living off rape, pillaging and looting. As far as I was concerned, my 'kill on sight' attitude towards banditry from the army days was still in effect.

"So…" Anna spoke up. "What's the deal with you two, anyway?"

I glanced over at the two women, sitting shoulder to shoulder in the lee of the wagon. Grima didn't react, still staring off into space.

"I'm the guy training you and keeping you safe during a dangerous desert crossing," I shrugged. "Is that not enough?"

"Well, I mean, yeah," Anna shrugged right back. "But you've already chased off the goddess-damned Plegian army twice. I don't really see what's in this deal for you."

"I am finding myself quite enjoying your companionship," Grima spoke up suddenly.

"Oh," Anna chirped. "Well… uh… thanks?"

Grima just smiled at the redhead, before going back to staring into space.

"If I told you," Grima said slowly. "That he and I are time travellers… would you believe me?"

Anna sat there silently, watching Grima's face for a moment before speaking again when she remained silent.

"You mean… from the future?" Anna asked.

Grima just nodded slowly.

"It would explain a lot, honestly," the redhead sighed. "It raises a lot of other questions, but… well… there are times where the two of you are really… intense. Like you've both seen some pretty crazy stuff. I know things aren't great over in Valm, but nothing on the level of what you two seem to be dealing with."

"Is it that obvious?" I scoffed.

Silence reigned for a few minutes as Anna tried to process this new revelation.

"So, I take it things get bad in the future?" she asked.

"Depends which future you look at," I shrugged. "There's as many different timelines as there are hairs on your head. More, even. Some, good. Some, not so good."

Grima glanced up, and we shared a glance. I sighed out my nose, going back to inspecting the valley around us before speaking again.

"The one that Raven and I are from, though, is one of the not-so-good ones."

"At least you did better than the Princess," Grima scoffed.

"Hey, technically I've died three times now," I shot back with a grin. "When she dies three times, then she can compare herself to me."

"Were it so easy," Grima muttered.

"Yeah, you two clearly have a lot of history," Anna commented, shaking her head. "Time travel… real time travel?"

"It ain't that much different from your family's dimensional travel," I shrugged.

Anna froze, going very still and silent to the point where Grima and I both looked at her with concern.

"What? I told you I was close to Anna," I shrugged.

"But… that's… you… I…" Anna stammered. "You… you're not supposed to know that unless you're part of the family!"

"Or if you're from another world altogether," Grima added. "Which he is. So, you have a time-traveling outrealmer as well as a time traveling god."

"Wait… you're a god!?" Anna asked incredulously. "Okay, time travel I'll buy. Maybe. But you… a deity? I find that a little hard to believe."

Grima glanced up at me, quirking an eyebrow.

"Is this how most people are going to react?" she asked.

"Only to ones who can't feel mana and tell how crazy OP you are, baby," I snickered.

"I am not used to having to prove what I am," Grima admitted. "Although, technically I am not a deity, I was once worshipped as such. I am… trying to leave that life behind me."

"Okay, that's slightly more plausible," Anna nodded slowly. "Let's say I buy all this… this… stuff."

"Eloquent," I snarked.

"Hush, you," Grima shushed me.

"Let's say I buy this," Anna repeated slowly. "What does… where does that leave me?"

"With two very powerful friends," I said offhandly. "I haven't got any designs on you outside our initial deal. Raven?"

"Friends…" Grima repeated, as if feeling the word out. "Friends… is… that what we are?"

"I… guess?" Anna said slowly. "I mean, we already know each other's secrets. That's pretty friend-like. I think."

Grima nodded, a wide smile slowly rising to her face.

"My first human friend," she said, before smiling up at me. "I made my first human friend!"

"Excuse the fuck out of you, but what does that make me?" I deadpanned.

"You skipped friend and went straight to lover, don't complain," Grima laughed giddily. "I have a friend! I cannot… is this what Alm and Chrom and the Princess have? This… warmth? I have bonds… I'm not… alone…"

"Wait… you said Alm?" Anna asked, tilting her head to the side. "You mean Emperor Albein Alm Rudolf the Second, the guy that unified Valentia more than a thousand years ago? How old are you?"

"I may not be human, but I do know that it is rude to ask a lady her age," Grima chuckled.

"Wow, a real goddess…" Anna breathed, glancing up at me. "I don't believe this. So what does that make you?"

"Time traveling Duke, General and right hand of the Exalt of Ylisse, Chrom the First," I shrugged. "Godfather of Princesses Lucina and Cynthia. Liberator of Chon'sin, Conqueror of Valm, Scourge of Plegia. Any of those titles will work. Take your pick."

"That's quite the resume," Anna commented. "So… does that mean you'll be all that again?"

"Nope," I sighed. "Near as we can tell, there's only one of me. And this time, I came here instead of going to Ylisstol."

"Well, I, for one, am glad you did," Anna said emphatically. "I'd probably be dead right now if you hadn't."

"I am glad as well," Grima admitted. "I did not relish the idea of having to face you in battle again. You were almost painfully frustrating to make war against."

I didn't respond, instead turning and blowing Grima a raspberry.

"Wait, you two fought against each other?" Anna asked. "Is this some kind of star-crossed lovers sort of thing?"

"Something like that," I chuckled, before sobering. "Doing the kinds of things we do… it's hard to find someone that really understands."

"Wait, does that mean you changed sides to Plegia then?" Anna asked.

"No," I said seriously. "There's only two sides in this game. Our side, and everyone else's. Right, Raven?"

"He speaks truth," Grima nodded, smiling softly. "It is us two against the world."

"Three," Anna piped up, looking between the two of us. "Us three. If, I mean, I'm good enough to join a time traveling badass and a goddess in… what are you two doing?"

"Yes, I would say you are good enough," Grima laughed.

"For the wagon if nothing else," I added with a smirk.

"Oh, ignore him," Grima huffed. "We would welcome you on our journey."

"Journey to where?" Anna persisted.

"Wherever," I said, holding a hand up lazily. "Our only plan is to just kinda see where we end up. I'm sure there'd be plenty of places to pedal your wares along the way."

"As long as you keep teaching me what you know, then that sounds perfect," Anna agreed.

We lapsed into silence again, Grima and I alone with our thoughts as Anna sorted through everything we had just thrown at her. She'd taken it all very well, actually. I'd been expecting her to pretty much break down from all the knowledge bombs we were dropping on her today, but I guess when your family are interdimensional travellers to begin with, weird was normal for you. After a little while, in which time I was sure Anna had actually fallen asleep, the young merchant spoke up again somewhat hesitantly.

"So, uh… I have one more question," she said.

"I highly doubt you only have one more question," I scoffed.

"Is Raven your real name?" she asked Grima.

Grima and I exchanged another glance in the dark, and I shrugged as if to say I was leaving this one up to her.

"It is the only name that matters to me now," she said with a soft smile.

AN: Okay, I'm gonna try to remember that I'm supposed to be updating this regularly again. My bad.

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