"Chrom...we have to do something."
"Well, what do you propose we do?"
"I-I don't know!"
A groan emerged from the lips of the unconscious person on the ground and the two people speaking perked up from the sound. Their eyes opening up from the light and noise around them.
"I see you're awake now."
"Hey there!"
"There are better places to take a nap than on the ground, you know." The man stretched out his hand, offering it. "Give me your hand."
Groggily, I extend my hand towards the man's. The leather hand guard that rested on my wrist slipped down my arm, revealing a dark brand of some sort. I felt myself being pulled up and I allowed myself to land on my feet. Looking up, I made eye contact with the man. He had a warm smile and I instantly felt safer with him than on the grass.
Brushing myself off, I adjusted my clothes to make myself look more presentable. The brand on my hand made me uneasy, but I slipped my hand guard back on to think about it later.
"Are you alright?" He spoke. I could tell he was concerned.
"Y-yes...thank you, Chrom."
The words came out of me before I could even realize it. Did I know him? My head buzzed from the sudden thought, and I tried to remember...
"Ah, then you know who I am." The man I called 'Chrom' looked surprised but looked more relieved than anything.
"No, actually. I..." I tried to correct him. Maybe I should tell him that it was a guess? But that didn't feel right. My gut told me to tell him the truth. "It's strange...your name, it just...came to me..."
"...hmm, how curious."
I could practically hear Chrom's voice deepen from suspicion. It didn't help that the knight behind him practically glared daggers into my soul.
"Tell me, what's your name? What brings you here?" Chrom asks.
"My name is..." My voice hesitates. A cold panic sets over my body. The buzzing gets louder, and I try to search my memory for something—anything! "It's...hmm?"
"...you don't remember your own name?" Chrom's voice is an echo at this point, ringing in my head as I try to wave away the fog in my head.
I can tell I'm scaring the group as I stand silently in front of them. Let's think through this, I can still tell them the truth. Chrom seems to be trusting enough.
"I'm not sure if...I'm sorry, but where am I, exactly?"
The girl beside Chrom gasps softly, but her voice rings as loud as bells in my ear.
"Hey, I've heard of this! It's called amnesia!"
"It's called a load of Pegasus dung." The knight scoffs and gently places his hands on both Chrom and the girls' shoulders. He drags them slowly behind them, before sizing up to me. "We're to believe you remember milord's name, but not your own?"
"B-but it's the truth!" I cried out, suddenly feeling desperate. I thought they might have been kindly people—friends to people in need! For gods sake, they picked me up from the ground and asked if I'm alright.
"...What if it IS true, Frederick?" Chrom pushed past him, now shielding me from the knight. "We can't just leave him here, alone and confused. What sort of Shepherds would we be then?"
"Just the same, milord. I must emphasize caution. 'Twould not do to let a wolf into our flock."
The two of them seemed to have a stare down for a moment before 'Frederick' yielded and only sighed, before pulling the two to the side. They seemed to talk for a brief moment as I stood awkwardly to the side. Should I just make a run for it? My gut tells me that it'll be alright but judging by how Frederick looked at me, my survival is a 50/50 chance.
"Right then—we'll take him back to town and sort this out here." I heard from the group. They break and Chrom makes his way towards me, a smile plastered on his face.
"Wait just one moment." I held my hands out in front of me, trying to stop him from coming any closer. "Do I have a say in this?"
"Peace, friend," Chrom laughs, opening one of his own arms in an inviting way. "I promise we'll hear all you have to say back in town. Now come."
We walked a fair distance from where they had found me before I broke the silence and began questioning them. Chrom was nice enough to give me answers as Frederick only gave me yes or no answers.
Chrom made introductions as we walked on: Chrom was the leader of The Shepherds, an independent army that helps others in need, but is stationed in the country of Ylisse. At the moment, the four of us were in Ylisse. The three of them were traveling from the border of Ylisse and Plegia, aiding villages in getting rid of brigades and thieves. Frederick was one of Ylisse's best knights and frequently accompanied Chrom and his sister when they went on any expedition. Chrom's "delicate '' little sister, Lissa, accompanies him as a healer and fighter.
"I am NOT delicate!" Lissa harrumphed, her cheeks pink from embarrassment. "Ignore my brother, please. He can be a bit thick sometimes. But you're lucky the Shepherds found you. Brigades would've been a rude awakening!"
I felt one of my eyebrows go up as I was reminded of their group. "I was going to ask-Shepherds? You tend sheep? ...In full armor?"
"Heh, it's a dangerous job." Chrom chuckled at my skepticism. "Just ask Frederick the Wary here."
"A title I shall wear with pride." Frederick seemed to have stood up straighter, but he looked tired. "Gods forbid one of us keeps an appropriate level of caution. I have every wish to trust you, stranger, but my station mandates otherwise."
"I understand, sir. I would do no less myself." I mentally nodded to myself and felt a little relieved that they didn't trust me at first. Who knows what could've happened? Gods, Robin, try to think a little more next time.
Oh.
There it was.
"My name is Robin." I blurted out, feeling a rush of excitement and adrenaline. The three of them look back at me as if they hadn't known me before at all. "…I just remembered that. How odd. I suppose that's one mystery solved."
"Robin?" Chrom was the first to speak. He looked mildly surprised and glad as he tested the name out. "Is that foreign? …Ah, well. We can discuss it later. We're almost to town. Once we—"
"Chrom, look! The town!" Lissa screamed. Her finger pointing to the stack of smoke that poured from the village square.
I could barely smell the ash and smoke from where we stood. But as soon as I saw the smoke, all of my senses became alert. Some of the fog in my head cleared and I began to think...remember...
"Damn it! The town is ablaze!"
Chrom's shout brought me back to reality. They were already getting ready to embark to the town, saddling Fredericks horse, Lissa jumping onto the rear, and Chrom fixing his weapon and clothes into place.
"Those blasted brigands, no doubt... Frederick, Lissa! Quickly!"
"What about him?" Frederick jumped up in a swell-swoop onto his saddle, the horse circling me in excitement.
"Unless he's on fire as well, it can wait!"
Huh? Wait, what? "But what about—"
"Aptly put, milord."
"Let's go already!" Lissa smacked the horse's rear end, prompting it to gallop ahead. Chrom took that as a sign to also speed forward towards the town.
Leaving me behind in the dust. I could only stare at them as they reached the gates and moved inwards. But the strange thing was that when they reached the town, I saw something. Numbers? And...some weaknesses? My head was buzzing again, but this time it was a good kind of buzzing.
"Hmm..."
I decided to follow them, dashing at an alarming pace. A faint glow circled underneath my feet and I almost panicked if it wasn't for the voice in the back of my head saying safe, safe, magic good. Magic, huh? I guess I can use magic.
I skidded on air as I reached the town's gate and looked around at the fire and smoke that shrouded the town. The remaining townspeople that were around were scurrying back and forth from the well, drawing water and trying to put out the fire.
Upon patting my body down, I found a book tucked into a pocket and a sword strapped to my waist. How odd–who was I? Do I truly even remember how to fight if I didn't even know my name? A roar sounded behind me and turned to see an axe fighter running towards me. Instinctively, I dodged the attack, tripping over a loose weapon as I did. Seeing an attack of opportunity, they lunged towards me.
In a hot flash, my vision blurred, and the buzzing suddenly stopped. The color in the world was splotchy and time had begun to slow. Information and numbers began to materialize in front of me, telling me strategies that I could use.
Insight. That's what a memory tells me.
Using this as an opportunity, I grabbed at the bronze sword and unsheathed it from my side. Time resumed as soon as I started to move again, causing the axe fighter to come full throttle towards me. But I knew better. As he swung downwards, I moved just a bit faster using wind magic to propel me once more. With a swinging uppercut, I had successfully felled my opponent.
The muscles in my body seemed to remember how to fight, but my mind was not easily swayed. The buzzing in my head came back momentarily and I felt a sense of dread and disgust as I looked back to my opponent.
'A man can give no proper judgment to his enemy than the weapon he carries can.' A voice rings through my mind. My stomach churns for a moment before hardening my resolve.
'It doesn't matter anymore,' I think to myself, pushing the unknown voice out of my mind. 'It's all in the past.'
I rushed past some of the burned down buildings and found myself in the town square. A laugh rings out and some taunting echoes off of the standing buildings. Chrom, Frederick, and Lissa are standing near the edge of the opening. Lissa ducked behind a produce stall with Frederick riding a couple of spaces away from her. Chrom was the only one standing out in the open.
Two dead bodies lay bleeding on the stone floor either slashed or speared open, leaving 9 opponents waiting to strike any of them dead. One of the enemies, an axe wielder, made his move towards Chrom, missing his first swing. But using insight, I saw that he planned to use a second move, slashing Chrom's arm open.
"Back off!"
I boosted himself to block the upcoming second attack, startling the blue prince. I could only hold him for so long and grunted as the axe grew heavier. I turned to look at Chrom, nodding my head at him. He seemed to know what I was trying to tell him and his surprised look quickly changed. He repeated the head gesture and took a stance, ready to attack.
With all of my strength, I unlocked the two weapons and pushed him forward, scratching a measly amount of his health away. Chrom took the opening and striked true against the opponent, causing his demise. With one swift swing, he planted his own sword into the ground before turning to me, a curious and wild look in his eyes.
"Robin–you followed us! Why?"
I looked around at the chaos once more, flicking my sword down to my side. "I…I'm not certain myself, but I am armed–and I know my way around a fight if you'll have me."
My voice wavered, making me sound more worried than confident. I don't think Chrom realized this and he nodded eagerly.
"Of course–strength in numbers. Just stay close!" He eyed the sword in my hand, then glanced at the tome in the other. "I see you wield a sword–Wait, is that a tome? …You know magic?"
"I…believe so?" I nervously looked at my weapons, checking for any sign of damage. "Let me check again…"
"You believe so?" Chrom gave me a weary look and took a step away from me. "Perhaps I'll just keep a few paces behind you…"
A scream resonated across the square and I look over to see Frederick making his way over to us with Lissa in tow, a lone body splayed on the ground behind them.
"A word of caution Robin," Frederick spoke to me, but he kept his eyes forward, locked on the group ahead of us. "We fight against seasoned murderers and thieves, be careful not to overdo it. They will grant us no quarter. It's kill or be killed."
As quickly as we started, the battle was over in a flash. I saw moves that benefited us and led the others towards a path of victory. Thankfully, we came out with no scratches thanks to Lissa's healing. The leader cursed us as he gasped for his last breath, but I paid no attention to a miscreant that would kill for selfish reasons.
"Well," I breathed, sheathing my sword and wiping the sweat from my brow. "That's the end of that."
I scanned the area, making sure there weren't any stragglers. The town was still in shambles, but the fire had been put out and the townspeople were already gathering to scourge what they could.
I felt a tug at my arm and Lissa's cheery voice filled my ears.
"...holy wow, Robin! You were incredible! Swords, sorcery, AND tactics! Is there anything you can't do?"
"You're certainly no helpless victim–that much is for sure." Chrom flashed a smile at me.
I suddenly felt embarrassed at the sudden praise. Pride swelled within me as I felt helpful during these trying times.
"Indeed," Frederick narrowed his eyes at me, but I could see that he was impressed. "Perhaps you might even be capable of an explanation for how you came here?"
The fuzzy feeling of praise slowly ebbed away and I couldn't help but bristle at his comment.
"I understand your skepticism, Sir Frederick." I stare hard into his eyes, holding my ground. If he couldn't trust me even after I helped them, then I would have to prove myself with my honesty. "And I cannot explain why only some knowledge has returned to me. But please, believe me. I have shared all that I know."
I could practically hear Lissa holding her breath as she looked between the two of us. Chrom stepped in beside us, clapping a hand on his steward's shoulder. Frederick doesn't waver and his face remains stoic as Chrom gives him a look.
He turns his smile towards me. "You fought to save Ylissean lives. My heart says that's enough."
"And your mind, milord? Will you now heed its council as well?"
If I were on better terms with Frederick, I would have laughed at this remark. But we can always become closer friends sometime. Better late than never.
"Frederick, the Shepherds could use someone with Robin's talents. We've brigands and unruly neighbors, all looking to bloody our soil. Would you really have us lose such an able tactician? Besides, I believe his story, odd as it might be."
The sudden trust and praise washed over me again. These siblings really knew how to butter me up.
"Th-thank you, Chrom." I mentally kicked myself for stuttering, but no one seemed to pay any attention as both Lissa and Chrom continued to scold Frederick.
"So how about it?" Chrom turned away from the knight and cleric, his hand outstretched towards me. "Will you join us, Robin?"
"Huh?"
They wanted me to join them? But didn't we just meet? They all seemed to mean well, but it felt all so sudden. It did feel good to help them–helping the greater good. I knew nothing of politics and of the world around me. How could I be so sure if I was helping the right people? But I felt that I could trust Chrom. There was something there that told me that he was reliable. Something inside me said to take his hand.
Say yes.
I took a hold of the waiting hand and gave it a little shake. I did my best to smile, feeling determined to help his cause. A cause that would help me find who I was. Who I could be.
"I would be honored."
