Disclaimer: I don't own Fire Emblem Awakening, all rights to the owners.
Tackling another much-requested idea. Zero kami no mu, Zash101, Guest and Mr. Martin all asked or suggested this in some capacity.
By the way, Grima Robin got a bit of a change to mitigate some of it's problems. It's still not great, but better.
Robin just isn't normal. That's not to say he's super strange and alien of course, but Lissa certainly thinks there's something off.
He looks sorta unusual for one: jet black hair, snow-white skin, and blood red eyes. The princess actually thinks he looks sorta cool. Handsome too. There isn't one odd thing about him though, it's more like a bunch of small things. He sleeps in really late, usually waking up just before lunch, and his room is always really dark. Lissa usually wakes him up when Chrom is busy because the tactician will sleep until the afternoon if someone doesn't lug him out of bed.
Speaking of his bed, he puts it in a really weird spot. The tactician has a suite at the castle, consisting of a main room, a bedroom, a bathroom, and a study. The very first thing Robin did was take everything out of his study and move it to the bedroom, and then move the bed to the study.
The only reason he gave was "there's no windows in the study." Yeah, like that explains anything.
Lissa assumes his tendency to wake up late is because of his late night walks. The tactician takes one every four days without fail, leaving just around sundown. The only thing that dissades him is a prior engagement, in which case he just walks later than usual.
Lissa is curious as to what's so important about these walks. She asked him directly, and he said "I enjoy the sounds of nighttime." That's a weak excuse, the princess smells something fishy.
That's why she's following him tonight. She's going to find out if this is really just a walk.
Robin is easy to lose in the darkness of dusk. His 'walking cloak' doesn't have the same embroidery his usual longcoat has, instead being straight grey. Lissa herself is wearing a relatively inconspicuous shirt and trousers, and trails a dozen meters behind the tactician as he leaves the castle.
They travel down into the upper-class area of the city. The guards on patrol nod to Robin as he walks past, and raise an eyebrow at seeing Lissa. They don't hassle her though, and instead shake their heads and continue walking.
Robin suddenly takes a turn to the side, ducking into an alley between two fences. Lissa follows tentatively, glancing to the side at the shrubs around her… and when she looks forwards again Robin is gone.
"What?" The princess whispers, blinking. "No way, where'd he go."
A pair of hands land on the girl's shoulders, and Lissa is suddenly very aware that she's a defenseless lady in the middle of an alleyway with no guards around. Someone breathes on her neck, and goosebumps prickle her skin. "Lissandra…"
And suddenly the fear is gone, Lissa knows that voice. "Geeze Robin, you scared me! How'd you know I was following?"
"You are not exactly subtle." The man chuckles, taking his hands off her. She turns to face him, her head only coming up to his collarbone. "It takes more than a decent disguise to be stealthy."
"Hey, I didn't exactly get sneaking practice! I think I did pretty well." Lissa huffs. "I just wanted to see what you actually do on your walks, you never let anyone tag along."
Robin smiles politely. "They're private Lissandra."
"Fine…" The princess sighs. "It's not a problem though, is it? I know Chrom takes nighttime walks when he's feeling stressed sometimes."
"I'm fine, though I appreciate your concern Lissandra." The man murmurs. "Now let's get you back to the castle, I'll bet Frederick has noticed you're missing."
The two Shepherds walk side by side back to the castle, but they walk in silence. Lissa never knows what to talk about with the older boy. He's naturally quiet, and having only a few months of memory his response to most of her questions about him is somewhere along the lines of: "I don't know, I never thought about it."
"Be careful about leaving on your own." Robin tells her as they reach the entrance of the castle. "Unless you know how to fight it isn't safe to be out alone so late." He bows politely, proming the girl to roll her eyes. "Goodnight princess."
Lissa huffs in annoyance as the man walks off. One day she'll figure out what these walks are about-
"Milady! What are you doing out here so late?!" Frederick calls, jogging down the hallway. "I have been searching for you!"
-but it won't be tonight.
###
"Robin!"
"What?" The boy asks sleepily, sitting up in his bed. He yawns slightly, showing off perfectly white teeth. "Lissandra? Is Chrom busy today…?"
"He and Sumia are out in town for the day." The princess giggles. "So yeah, he's busy."
"Hmm…" Robin hums, motioning for her to leave the room for a moment. Lissa does so, and can hear him quickly moving about to get dressed. In a few minutes he's out, standing next to her in his usual longcoat. "I presume you know their exact plans?"
"Yep. They should be going to Madrina's for lunch." Lissa recounts. She overheard Chrom talking to himself yesterday night.
Robin grins, mirroring her impish expression. "Lead the way, all of a sudden I'm feeling peckish for Valmese cuisine."
The two of them travel out into the city, swiftly making their way to the restaurant. Lissa leads, knowing the upper class section of the city better than Robin. As they get closer to their destination the two try to be inconspicuous, they don't know if Chrom and Sumia are already here or if the two will come in a bit later.
"Remember, the best way to avoid drawing attention is to not make eye contact." Robin whispers as they're about to step in the door. His cloak is up, casting a shadow of his face. He never did like sunlight. "If you see them, don't look them in the eye, watch from the corner of yours."
"Got it." Lissa nods eagerly. They step in the restaurant, and the princess asks for a table. She doesn't look around as they're lead to their seats, and only when they have their menus up to block their faces does the girl start searching.
"I see them." Robin whispers, grabbing her attention. "Three tables to your right. Sumia's back is to us."
And there they are, sitting at a table just like Lissa predicted. She watches them for a moment, smirking at Chrom's nervous smile and slightly erratic gestures as he talks. "Looks like Chrom's feeling on edge."
"Wouldn't you?" Robin chuckles, leaning back in his seat.
"Well yeah, but it's still funny." The princess giggles.
They turn their attention off their unwitting targets when the waiter comes to ask orders. Despite just waking up less than an hour ago Robin takes a full meal with lamb as the main dish. Lissa gets something a bit smaller, taking a quail dish with an assortment of cheeses as the entree.
While they do keep an eye on Chrom and Sumia, the two spies also take the time to enjoy their meals. They talk quietly to each, with Robin asking about her studies and Lissa griping about the boredom of etiquette class in response. The tacitican listens intently, nodding his understanding.
"I know the feeling." He says empathetically. "Maribelle tricked me into one of her own devising, and I'm never dealing with that again."
"Lucky you not being a royal." Lissa huffs. "At least you have a choice for the lessons."
"But I don't have servants, a castle, the highest social status possible in the realm, top class education, and more money than I know what to do with." Robin counters.
The princess really can't argue with that. "Okay, fair point." They eat in silence for a moment, and then Lissa speaks again. "You do know I'm paying for this right?"
"You are? Thank gods." The tactician sighs. "I thought this was going to be my pay for the month…"
"You really thought I'd make you waste your money on something I wanted to do?" Lissa scoffs, a bit offended.
"It's considered good manners not to make a lady pay for something." Robin coughs.
The princess rolls her eyes. "Well thanks for playing the gentleman, but I'd feel like an ass making you pay for something on my behalf."
"As you wish Lissandra. By the way, it'd seem your brother has finally noticed us." The tactician murmurs. He raises his drink with a cheeky smile towards the other table, where Chrom is glaring daggers at them from his seat while Sumia leans down to grab a dropped fork.
Lissa waves, grinning broadly at her brother. The man's nostrils flare for a moment, but his face returns to neutrality when Sumia sits back up. Chrom's eyes flick from the girl to Lissa's table, now distracted by the knowledge that his little sister and best friend are watching him.
"Maybe we should leave soon." Robin chuckles, "they're doing fine, we'll just be in the way now that we've been spotted."
"Yeah…" Lissa says. Her mind immediately latches on to a new opportunity. "Say, seeing as we're in town, how'd you feel about a tour? I know you take night walks, but you're usually busy during the day and I don't think anyone's ever shown you around."
Robin gives her a curious look, trying to read her motive. The girl tries her best to look innocent, not giving away her true intent. After a moment the tactician seems to decide he doesn't care all that much what her reasoning is, and nods his agreement. "I would be honored, Lissandra."
###
Robin, just like all the other Shepherds, volunteered for this mission. He wished he'd given it greater thought though, because the trip to Ferox leads them through forests devoid of human life… and Robin needs human life to feed on.
He supposes it is accurate to call him a parasite. He drinks the blood of humanity, giving nothing in return. He didn't choose to be this creature: a vampire stalking the night, drinking the blood of whatever poor drunk crosses his path.
However, this trip will take them nearly a month, with only one stop near the border a week in to resupply. That's two weeks with no company but the other Shepherds, and Robin can only feasibly wait a week before the thirst becomes maddening.
The first week is manageable, if highly uncomfortable. Robin is used to having a meal every four days, and the three extra see him slowly start to lose focus, sometimes staring at those around him or being unable to focus on what he's doing. As soon as they arrive in the village to resupply, Robin takes a quick leave under the excuse of relieving himself.
He acts quickly, locating a lone priest behind the village church. He won't easily find a drunk in the village during the middle of the day, so Robin will have to rely on the innate powers of suggestion every vampire possesses.
The powers aren't very strong though, anyone sufficiently suspicious can shake it off with ease. He doesn't have the time to spend on gaining the priest's trust though, he just has to hope they're not naturally suspicious.
Silently he stalks up behind them, identifying his target as a young girl. She has blonde hair, and that gives him pause for a moment as his thoughts go to Lissandra. However his thirst is overpowering, and his reluctance is swiftly shoved aside.
"Pardon me." He whispers, startling the girl into turning around. Robin gives her a brilliant smile, and bows deeply. "Sorry for to startling you, but I am in need of assistance."
"Th-The head priestess is inside." The girl stammers. Bright blue eyes flick back and forth nervously.
"Of course, but I need your help." Robin emphasises. "I need someone young."
"F-For what?"
"I have a confession I don't feel comfortable telling the older priests. A youthful mistake on my part I want off my chest without their judgement." Robin is making this up on the spot, praying it is enough to put her under hypnosis. Trust, eye contact, and a bit of magic in his voice is all he needs for a bit of memory blocking. "May I confess to you?"
"I… yes." The girl stands upright, determined to do her duty. "What is it you wish to confess?"
"Again, it is private. Lean in…" Robin says, lacing his voice with magic. It's an innocuous suggestion, and the girl does as he says. Once she's sufficiently close Robin opens his mouth, and slowly sinks his teeth into her neck.
A natural poison pumps into her veins, fogging her mind and relaxing her muscles. The girl is passive as Robin takes his fill. She tastes far better than random street drunks, probably due to being in good health. He doesn't take more than he needs though, and pulls back after a moment.
"Thank you Milady." He says, pulling his head way. The girl blinks once, twice, confused at what is happening.
"What…?"
"Your advice was most useful. I'll be sure to follow your words." Robin murmurs. "However, I must be off. My comrades are waiting for me."
The girl is still disoriented, but the suggestion magic and the lingering poison make it easy to convince her that she just took a confession and gave out advice. "Of course, uh, any time. I am glad to help a child of Naga."
Robin gives another bow, smiles, and walks back to the Shepherds. His mind is finally clear, and his focus has returned with the meal. He can't help but worry about the two weeks ahead of him though. There's no stops there to prey on an unsuspecting villager, and he is loath to violate a friend even for his own survival.
###
Lissa is worried, Robin clearly isn't feeling well. He's been breathing heavy for the last few days, fares poorly in training, and can barely hold a conversation without spacing out. His eyes are bloodshot, a nasty distortion of his usual warm red eyes.
"Seriously Robin, are you sleeping alright?" Lissa asks, putting a hand on his forehead to feel for a fever. His skin is cool to the touch, not strange considering the chilled air of the Feroxi wild, but concerning nonetheless.
"I'm fine Lissandra." He says, voice hoarse and quiet. The tactician seems to lack the energy to push her hand away, and picks at the food on his plate. "Sleep has been difficult, but not so much as to render me incompetent."
"Yeah, I doubt that." The princess scoffs. "You look like you could fall over at any second."
"I'm fine." He repeats, and forces himself to take a bite of cheese so he doesn't have to speak further.
Lissa quickly realizes she's not going to get him to reveal what's ailing him. She sits down at the table, chewing on her own food and glaring at the man for the duration of the meal. She needs another plan…
Chrom! Of course! That's who she needs! He's Robin's best friend, surely the tactician will talk to him!
As soon as the princess finishes her meal, she slides over to Chrom's table where he is talking quietly with Frederick. The two look up as she approaches.
"Good morning Lissa." Chrom says, giving her a nod. "You look worried, what is it?"
"Robin." The girl says bluntly.
"Ah… he's still looking rough, isn't he?"
"Yep, and he won't tell me why. So I want you to try talking to him." The blonde-haired princess says. "You're his friend, right? He should talk to you."
Chrom purses his lips. "I suppose, though if he hasn't told you I doubt he'll tell me, but I'll try anyways."
"Good. I don't want him getting himself sick because he won't talk about something." Lissa sighs. "Or maybe it's stress, do you think it's stress?"
"Do not worry yourself too much about him Milady." Frederick says. "If this continues, we can simply order him to tell us the problem. You have given him multiple chances to reveal his issue privately, and he has declined, you've been more than accommodating."
"I hate to say it, but Frederick is right." Chrom sighs. "We'll give him another day; if he doesn't talk or improve then I'll order him to talk."
"Fine…" The girl sighs. "I hope he's okay."
###
Robin knew this would happen but he can't find a way around it. There's no one here that isn't a Shepherd, his only viable targets are friends. The next occupied area, the Longfort, won't be reached for another week.
The tacitican can't hold out for another day, he needs to feed or he'll lose control and fall to impulse, attacking the nearest viable target. That is obviously not an option, so he has to choose which one of his friends to drink from and inevitably lose their friendship forever when they realize he's a bloodsucking monster.
Yay…
He could feed on anyone in the Shepherds and be just fine, but then comes the question of if he should take personal preference into account. Does he go for someone who will keep it quiet, or the person least likely to be traumatized? As much as he is reluctant to entertain the idea, maybe he needs to make use of his suggestion magic.
If he's willing to use magic Lissandra is the obvious choice of target. Getting her alone will be easy, and she already trusts him so it will be easy to suggest that she didn't just get bitten and instead listened to him voice his woes.
"Robin." Chrom's voice interrupts the tacitican's hazy, thirsty thoughts. The tactician forces himself to turn and look at him, ignoring the impulse to lunge and bite. The Prince falls in next to him, keeping up the pace of the march. "We need to talk."
"Now?" Robin asks wearily.
"Now." He says firmly. "You look half dead Robin."
The vampire can't very well tell Chrom that he's is half dead from thirst. "Admittedly I'm not at my best." He rasps. "But I'll be fine Chrom."
"I'd hope so, you've been worrying Lissa for days." The Prince scolds. "Seriously Robin, I don't know what's bothering you but you need to stop letting it affect everyone else. Either talk to someone or shape up."
Robin deflates. "I will."
"You sound like that's a bad thing."
"It is." The tactician whispers. "It's not something I want to reveal."
Chrom's eyes narrow. "Are you planning on courting her?"
"Ga- what?!" Robin sputters, caught very much off guard. "Why would you think that?!"
"Because it seems just like you to drive yourself mad over feeling guilty or something." Chrom says bluntly.
It takes a moment for Robin to figure out what Chrom's seeing, but he understands. From the Prince's perspective Robin looks stressed, not thirsty, and it's not exactly a secret that he and Lissandra spend a decent amount of time together. It makes some sense that Chrom would think the tactician feels guilty or foolish about being attracted to royalty (and Robin does think Lissandra well out of his league) and is stressing himself into illness.
That's not correct, but also not an unreasonable assumption on the Prince's part.
"No, it's not that." Robin mutters. "While thoughts of those sorts have crossed my mind, they are not the issue here."
"Whatever the issue is then, start fixing it. This is going too far Robin."
###
Dinner ends, and the sun starts to fall. Lissa says goodnight to Maribelle, and leaves the noble's tent for her own. She's tired after such a long day.
The princess finds Robin waiting outside the flap. He gives her a pained, tired smile as she approaches. "Lissandra, can we talk?"
"Yes!" The girl says, her exhaustion disappearing for a moment.
"In private, please?" He murmurs, gesturing into her tent. "May I?"
Lissa is both excited and nervous, she doesn't know what to expect of this. It's probably about whatever is bothering him. "Of course! Come inside!"
It only occurred to her a few seconds later that she'd invited a man into her tent at dusk. It was just Robin of course, but the situation still made her nerves tingle.
"So, what's this about?" Lissa asks nervous. "This about what's been bothering you, right?"
"Yes." Robin says, grimacing. "I apologize for doing this to you."
"No need, I'm more than-" A sudden chill, like ice, stamps her neck. She blinks, trying to process what has happened. Robin is no longer standing a few steps away; instead he is directly in front of her, mouth pressed against her neck. His hands are carefully on her arms, and Lissa can feel him holding her up.
The princess' mind starts to grow foggy, and she her legs start to tremble. Be that from the numbness in her veins or just due to nerves she isn't sure.
"R-Robin?" Lissa's voice is slightly slurred. Her hands grip his coat tightly, she doesn't know what to do. "What's going on...?"
The tactician pulls his head away, and the Princess can see the drops of blood on his incisors. Where before he looked exhausted and sick he now looks healthy, like his usual self. His expression, however, is one of immense guilt. "I'm sorry Lissandra."
"Sorry…?" Her mind is still clouded, she struggles to think straight.
"For burdening you with my problems. I wish you did not have to know of my depression."
"Depression?" Lissa thinks, brow furrowing. "No… you…"
"Confessed my problems, thank you for hearing me out."
His voice is so earnest and soothing. Depression, yes, she… she… "No… no, no, no. That's not right. You didn't confess anything."
Robin's eyes widen. The Princess can see a spark of fear in his eyes, fear of her and what she now remembers. Lissa doesn't like that, Robin is a friend, he should never be scared of her.
"You bit me." She says, shaking her head. There's a small ache in her neck as the numbness wears off. "You're a vampire, aren't you?"
"Yes." Robin winces. His hands immediately leave her arms, and he takes a quick step backward. He seems to be cowering from her, and Lissa realizes that his attempt to modify her memory was his only plan. "I truly am sorry Princess Lissandra. Desperation has driven me to something I never wished to do. I can only beg forgiveness."
Lissa is certainly a bit unnerved, but it's more because she didn't get a warning for any of this than out of a feeling of fear. Out of everything she could latch onto though, she chooses the name. "Lissandra was bad enough, you are not going to start calling me Princess! Call me Lissa."
"I am not worthy of using such an intimate address." Robin mumbles.
"Don't be ridiculous. You're a close friend." Lissa scoffs.
"But I-"
"-needed to drink or you'd die." The Princess says, cutting him off. "That's a perfectly good reason Robin. What were you expecting?"
"A punch in the face, you to run off to Frederick or Chrom, ending our friendship, imprisonment." Robin lists dolefully. "Constant guilt over violating a friend, you having permanent mental trauma, exposing my identity to everyone-"
"Okay, okay, I get it!" Lissa says frantically. "None of that is going to happen! I'm totally fine! You don't need to feel guilty or whatever!"
"I bit you against your will."
"Well yeah, and I'd appreciate a heads up next time and for you to not try and remake my memory, but it's really not a big deal. Like you said, you were desperate."
"But-"
"If the only way for me to live was to break your arm, would you blame me for breaking your arm?"
"No."
"Same deal here. Don't. Worry."
"Okay…" Robin looks defeated. It looks to Lissa like he really wanted to believe he was doing something terrible. Maybe he didn't want to believe he was causing himself so much pain that could have easily been avoided.
"I do have a question though."
"What is it?"
"Does this mean I'll be a vampire too…?"
Robin stares at her. "You went through all that trouble of convincing me I didn't do anything wrong without knowing what my bite actually does?"
"Well yeah." Lissa giggles. "I wanted to make sure you weren't beating yourself up first."
"Turning someone requires magic, so you're in no danger of becoming a vampire." Robin murmurs, feeling sheepish. "The bite just has a harmless poison, a weak numbing sedative that lasts only as long as the feeding does."
"That explains why my head felt so foggy." The Princess says. "Oh, and if you need to feed again don't wait until you're half dead, just ask. I don't like seeing you nearly kill yourself over something like this."
Robin looks nervous. It's a look Lissa has never actually seen on him. "Are you offering your help…?"
"Yes Robin." Lissa sighs, exasperated. "You can nibble on my neck if you need to."
"Please don't phrase it that way Lissandra."
"Lissa."
"Right, L-Lissa."
"You should probably tell Chrom about you being a vampire by the way. That way you guys can actually plan around it."
"Yeah…"
If this went on for longer I totally would have delved into romance, but adding a section here wouldn't match the tone of the rest of the story. Still, I think this turned out a lot better than the last chapter.
I found making Robin a reluctant feeder to be somewhat necessary here. If he wasn't, that makes him unabashed about going around biting people.
I did consider having his feeding partner already established at the beginning of the story and turning it into a story about Robin's feelings of inferiority in a relationship with Lissa, but that didn't focus on the actual gimmick so I scraped it. I don't want to make the same mistake I made with Replicate Robin.
M. ram99: Unfortunately I stick to the rules I made for myself. It ensures the collection is cohesive. After all, these are just snippets meant to inspire others, not full stories in their own right.
SquidbaggerOfWoomyAndNgyeness: To each their own. I just don't like the time travel idea because of paradoxes.
Zero kami no mu: Yeah… that is problematic, isn't it? I probably made Chrom too lenient here. I don't want to lose his trademark trusting attitude, but I think it needed to be held back here a bit.
Laughing Dog: Sorry to shoot you down.
Omegazeroinfi: That's a case of a story that just wouldn't make sense unless I'm being meta, and this is intended to make sense in universe. So no.
CHPrime: I'll agree that chapter was fairly poorly written in retrospect. While I disagree with a few parts of your review, for the most part you make solid points and I appreciate your help. Thanks for the constructive criticism and the encouragement, I'll try to do better in the future.
Bonefish: Controlling weather huh…? That's a decent idea, though I think it'll be challenging to write (not that it doesn't fit, just that I don't know how to tackle it). I'll add it to the list.
Dark drow: I won't be visiting it again, at least not in this story. Thanks for your support though!
ScorinVoidseeker: I'm not sure how much of a 'reveal' it is. we already knew Grima killed a bunch of people.
In the end I suppose it drifted away from Good Grima because then they basically aren't Grima, and Fake!Robin got altered because I decided 'Grima' was more of a title than an actual person. They still provided inspiration though.
I understand the idea of Dancer!Robin just fine, it's how to incorporate that into a story with them still being Robin. If it focuses on the dancing career, there's no reason not to use Olivia instead. With other ideas I can focus on the quirk and make it unique because no one else has it or I put a unique spin (like Manakete Robin being the Plegian War Dragon). I need to add something more to Dancer!Robin to get it to work, something unique that Olivia can't provide. That's why I can't focus on the career, because Olivia can do that.
I only take the original suggestion so far when I write. This is my story, and while I want to please the crowd to a certain extent doing requests word-for-word narrows what I can do with my only shot at an idea. Sometimes I take inspiration from them, sometimes I don't. Depends on what I can make work.
Guest: Assassin Robin will probably be rolled into something else. Bountyhunter Robin is difficult because I have to make sure they still act like Robin. I know that's a vague thing to say (because I don't have a better way of putting it), but that just means I'll consider it but it looks difficult. Futuristic Robin is something I've considered for a while now on my own, it's hard to write that sort of character because the story naturally deviates to be about technology and that's a subject I know nothing about. There are other issues too (Why did they come here? Why work with the Shepherds? Do they stay at the end of the story?) that make the idea difficult to deal with in one chapter.
Cardgames on Pokemon: Schizophrenia is difficult because it makes Robin naturally unfit for military service. We'll see Multiple Personality Disorder Robin (kinda) down the line, but severe mental illness is a difficult subject to throw into a story about someone in the military. They need a certain level of physical and mental functioning that a lot of major disorders don't allow for (and MPD will only work because I'm taking the subject not so seriously and also taking artistic liberty with how it actually functions).
Still, if you have more ideas don't hesitate to throw them in or even try to make a story (even just a one-shot) yourself.