Disclaimer: I don't own Fire Emblem Awakening, all rights to the owners.
Guest requested Pirate, and Zero kami no mu requested Gunslinger. This takes inspiration from both, albeit she's not exactly a pirate because pirates are bad guys by definition. She's a mercenary ship captain that targets pirates though so she could be considered a pirate pirate (she pirates the pirates so to speak).
Chrom doesn't know how long it's been. A month? Three? Five? All the time spent aboard this pirate ship blurs together into one long, dreary, agonizing day spent rowing under the command of some loud asshole who likes to pick on him. The other men are crew, and rotate out every hour. Chrom is a prisoner, the only prisoner, he gets one break for lunch and nothing else.
He remembers, during those moments when his mind is clear enough to do so, the fateful raid on the coast. The Shepherds thought they were ready, they'd prepared defences, but the ballista blew them apart and forced them to scatter. Then the crew stormed out and routed the disorganized Shepherds. Chrom fought to keep his sister unharmed, taking on three men while Stahl got his sister to safety. He was the only one captured, and he later learned there were no deaths on the Shepherds' side.
The Prince of Ylisse suffers the abuse of brigands angry for the death of their friends, but it does not diminish his grim satisfaction knowing the Shepherds did them harm.
Days drag on long as Chrom is forced to row, and row, and row. The only days he doesn't need to are the days when the brigands dock, but even then he only has a day of not rowing before he is transferred a second ship he didn't know the brigands had and forced back to his usual task. Even in that off day he is forced to unload cargo, but at least it gives him a chance to stretch his legs.
Chrom wonders if he'll be ransomed, he has no doubt Emmeryn would pay. Maybe it's taking a while? Maybe these brigands are too stupid to think of it? Maybe he's being sold to the Plegian king and they're negotiating…
Row. Row. Row. Row.
###
Chrom doesn't recognize the sound. A loud bang, like a metal door slamming shut, but there are no metal doors on this ship.
Yelling, lots of it. The brigands manning the oars all scramble to their feet, grabbing axes off their belts. The foreman turns to Chrom, and quickly takes the Prince's manacles off the oar and drags the man down to his cell. Chrom is thrown inside and the door is locked.
The fighting continues for several minutes, and Chrom just sits numbly in his cell. He listens for a familiar voice but hears none. All the shouting is in distinctly Plegian accents. The noticeable banging noise rings out several more times over the course of the fight.
Eventually the shouting stops. Footsteps thunk on the floor above, and eventually someone walks down the stairs.
"Well… ain't this interesting?" A voice, female but blatantly Plegian, chuckles. A woman with a large hat, fancy longcoat, solid leather boots, and an odd metal device in one hand: it looks like a small tube with a crossbow trigger attached to the end. The woman is well-kept with straight long grey hair, unblemished pale skin, and relatively clean clothes. Her sharp blue eyes thoroughly scan him, and Chrom resists the urge to shrink back from her scrutiny. "I bet you were a looker before ya got caught, huh?"
Chrom just stares blankly at the lady as she taps her chin. She suddenly turns on her heels and walks up the stairs again.
"Hey! Any of ya find keys?!" She shouts. "Found us something interesting!"
"Gregor has found them, here go." A male voice chuckles. "What has Captain found?"
"Prisoner. Get some decent food and water will ya?"
The lady walks back downstairs, key ring twirling around her finger. It jingles as she finds the right key and jams it in the lock. She pushes the cell open, and Chrom forces himself to his feet. He's unstable from weakness, but he refuses to fall over now.
"So, what's your name handsome?" She asks, fiddling with his manacles.
"Chrom." The Prince rasps hoarsely. "And you are?"
"Robin. Captain Robin."
"An… honor to meet you." Chrom coughs. "Thank you for your help."
"You speak mighty fancy. Ylissian too." The lady notes. The manacles fall off, and the Prince gently touches his tender wrists. "Noble? Merchant?"
He debates telling her the truth, but realizes how danger it might be to tell a Plegian that he's the prince of Ylisse. "I am son to the Duke of Themis." Chrom says. Maribelle's father is the only duke in Ylisse he really trusts, all the others would try to get a favour out of him for their help. He can also trust the Duke of Themis to catch on quickly and not screw up the deception, that man is no fool.
"Well, that's interesting." The lady chuckles. "Got myself a Ylissian noble. Bet I can get a pretty penny for you."
Chrom's blood chills. "You-"
"Oh don't worry, I ain't sellin ya to Gangrel." Robin snorts. "I'll get ya to safety, but free escorts don't keep us alive. Need some coin to keep us afloat, literally. Repairs aren't cheap."
Ah, right. "That's reasonable enough." Chrom rasps, feeling a bit sheepish at jumping to conclusions.
"Good. Now let's get ya some food and drink."
###
The old man, Gregor, has Falchion. He must have taken it off the body of the head pirate. Chrom wants it back, but…
"Oye, Gregor found sword fair square!" The older man frowns. "Captain is letting Gregor keep it."
"But it's my sword." Chrom insists, starting to lose his patience. "Falchion belongs to me."
"This not falchion, is longsword." Gregor corrects, and Chrom sighs in annoyance.
"No, I mean the name of the sword is Falchion." The Prince explains impatiently. "It's a special blade, blessed by Naga. It is a slayer of dragons."
"Oh, magic sword." The man nods. "So… Gregor not seeing why he should give it to you."
Chrom tries not to swear at the man. "Because it's mine. Just because someone stole it from me and you got it after that doesn't make it yours!"
"Heeeey, what's going on in here?" Henry asks, poking his head through the door. He has his usual unconditional smile on his face and a few crows perched on his shoulders. "You guys are loud!"
"Gregor is trying to take my sword!"
"Oye! Captain is giving it to Gregor, not you!"
"Ohh… I smell a fight!" Henry laughs. "Nyahaha, don't kill each other! The Captain won't like that!"
"Like what?" Robin sighs, appearing in the doorway. "What's going on here? Gregor, are you bothering him?"
"Oye! Why Captain assume Gregor at fault?" The man scoffs. "Gregor think Captain just like pretty boy Ylissian."
"Well obviously." Robin snorts, leaning against the doorframe. "But you have a record of starting petty fights for your own amusement. How many bars have you gotten kicked out of again?"
"Ten…"
"Ten…?"
"This year. Much more total."
"My point exactly. Now what's going on?"
"Pretty boy want fancy sword. He think it is falchion, but is clearly longsword."
"Again, the name of the blade is Falchion! I didn't name it, it's a family heirloom!" Chrom growls. "And I'd appreciate having it back."
"Really now…?" Robin smirks. "How interestin'. Can ya prove it?"
"Pardon?"
"Can ya prove the sword is yours?"
Chrom is furious, but he hides it well. "You know very well there is no way to prove such a thing."
"Ya coulda written your name on the hilt."
"Of a family heirloom?" Chrom says dryly, hands clenching into fists. "I do not wish to ruin it."
"Then it looks like you're out of luck." Robin says, still smirking. The Prince grits his teeth, and the Captain laughs. "Well… I suppose if ya can prove ya know how ta fight I might be convinced to let ya take the sword."
Chrom's nostrils flare in annoyance, but he acquiesces. It's better than starting a shouting match. "Fine, I accept."
###
"Gregor will use fancy sword." The mercenary says smugly, pulling Falchion from its sheath. Chrom notes how the hilt and handle are dirty, probably from the brigand who was using it before. Gregor's actual sword, the one on his hip, is well-kept, so he probably hasn't had time to clean Falchion.
Chrom experimentally swings the sword Robin loaned him. It's a standard, but well-made iron sword. The Prince also notes how his muscles ache as he moves. It's been only a few days since they pulled him off the ship, he's still not anywhere near full strength. This fight is incredibly unfair, but Chrom has to try for the sake of Falchion.
"Pretty Ylissian boy is ready?" Gregor asks, smiling confidently.
"Yes, on your mark." Chrom grunts, leveling his sword.
"On my mark." Robin, who's acting as judge, corrects. Henry and Nowi lean forward in excitement while Tharja rolls her eyes and Gaius pops a sweet in his mouth. "Speaking of which… mark!"
Chrom pushes off the deck, forcing speed out of his bruised body. The iron sword is unfamiliar in his hands, having even weight along the whole blade rather than a large weight at the crossguard like Falchion, but still usable enough. The Prince swings hard and fast, knowing full well he can't take an extended fight in his current condition.
Gregor is not a stupid man though. He slips the shield on his shoulder down to his hand, using it as a buckler to block Chrom's swings. The man plays patiently, defensively, not taking risks. He knows Chrom will wear out, all he has to do is wait.
The Prince tries his best to find a way around Gregor's guard. Swinging high, low, to the side, thrusting, chopping, but nothing works. The older man is too smart and too experienced to be tricked. All Chrom's feints do him no good.
The prince is tiring, his movements are slowing. He needs a big breakthrough, and he has one chance to get this right.
"Aether!" Chrom shouts, throwing his sword up high. He jumps after it, grabbing the hilt firmly, and slams down hard on Gregor's location. The older man dives out of the way and the deck splinters under the force of Chrom's blow.
The Prince isn't finished though, Aether is a two part technique. As soon as Chrom hits the ground he spins around and lunges. Gregor brings up his shield in defence, but the momentum of Chrom's lunge lends a strength even Gregor can't block and the shield is rammed into the older man's gut by the brute force of the blow.
That's where Chrom's advantage ends though. Aether totally exhausts him, and Gregor easily shoves him away. The man doesn't look particularly wounded, but laughs and nods. "Pretty boy has some skill! You have Gregor's respect! But I think he is too weak to continue fighting yes? Big attack make him tired."
Chrom grimaces, not wanting to admit Gregor is right. He can't lose this fight, he needs Falchion. "So long as you keep Falchion, I will not give in."
"Oye oye, Gregor respect your strength, but pretty boy being stupid."
"Nyahaha, he's got a point~!" Henry laughs. "Don't let this get bloody!"
"Regardless, I will take Falchion back." Chrom growls. He's well aware that his breathing is heavy and that Gregor isn't even winded, this is still brutally unfair, but he has no choice. Giving up Falchion is never the acceptable choice. "Prepare yourself."
"Yeah no." Robin says, stepping between then. "This is over."
"But-"
"This. Is. Over." Robin repeats, turning to face Chrom. "Stand down."
"No." The Prince responds. His expression is deadly serious. Out of the corner of his eye he can see Gregor sheath Falchion. "I will have Falchion returned to me."
The two stare at each other, Chrom glaring, Robin calm. The lady takes a step forwards, and Chrom instinctively puts the iron sword between them. "Really Chrom? You're going to turn your sword on me? The person who freed you?" Robin asks unphased. She actually reaches out a hand and grabs the end of the blade, and slowly lowers the point to the ground. Chrom's hands twitch on the hilt, resisting the urge to swipe at her. This lady is allowing Gregor to take Chrom's sword, in this moment she is the enemy. "Do you trust me?"
"Yes." Chrom admits reluctantly. Robin has been very accommodating, and has yet to ask for anything unreasonable.
"Give me the sword." She says softly.
The Prince stares her down for a moment, nostrils flaring in annoyance. Slowly, reluctantly, he hands her the sword.
"Good." She murmurs, sheathing the blade at her hip. "Gregor!"
"Yes?"
"Give him the sword."
"But you say-"
"That was before I knew it was his, and it obviously is." Robin snorts. "He wouldn't act against us and fight beyond his limits just for any ol' fancy sword. Clearly he got an attachment."
Gregor grumbles and gripes, but hands Chrom the divine sword nonetheless. The Prince instantly feels better having Falchion in his grip. It's dirty and scuffed from lack of care, but comforting nonetheless. "So… you just wanted to see me fight so you could tell if Falchion was mine?"
"Well I was fairly sure it was yours the instant ya told me such, mostly I just wanted to see ya in action." She reaches out and squeezes his bicep, grinning impishly. "I like what I saw."
Chrom doesn't know what to say to that.
###
"Yep, that's a brigand ship." Robin grunts, taking down her spyglass. "Prepare Communication!"
Chrom blinks in confusion as he watches everyone quickly run around the deck. Henry and Tharja pull a tarp off something in the middle of the ship, revealing a truly monstrous ballista. Gregor and Robin grab one of the pointed logs bound in a pile at the side of the ship, and Chrom suddenly realizes what he's looking at.
This ship has a gods damned log launcher.
"Cool, isn't it?" Nowi chirps, grinning.
"Indeed…"
"Robin named it 'Communication' because it's how we speak with most of the brigands we come across." The little girl giggles. "We try not to sink with the first shot though or we can't loot them, we just want to cause chaos."
"Pirating the pirates." Chrom mutters. "What do you do with the loot?"
"We drop it off at the nearest town and take a reward." Nowi hums. "Usually just some gold, but it's enough to get by."
"Hmm…"
The log is loaded onto the machine, and the crew quickly moves to the crank and turns it with their combined force to draw back the powerful string. With the string fully drawn Robin takes control of the machine, carefully aiming it towards the opposing ship.
The brigands have clearly noticed them by this point, and their ship makes a slow turn to face them. People scramble across the deck, manning the ballistae. Robin and crew are unphased, and carefully aim the log launcher.
"And… release!" Robin shouts. The launcher's string snaps forwards, throwing the log far in the air. The wood sails over the water, and comes crashing down on the opposing ship. The deck breaks under the impact, and the log goes right down to the lower levels. The enemy ship rocks under the impact, and Robin grins in satisfaction. "Checkmate. Alright crew, let's do this!"
Their ship lurches forwards as Nowi unfurls the sails. Her tiny body is surprisingly strong, and she pulls around the ropes without too much difficulty. Chrom would help, but he knows nothing about the workings of a ship.
"Henry, Tharja, prepare to shoot! Aim for the mast! I want that thing dead in the water!" Robin shouts, pulling the strange metal device from her belt and pops open the back, revealing a small disk with eight small holes. She loads dark powder into each hole followed by little metal balls and snaps it closed. "Me and Nowi will deal with the archers! Gregor, prepare the grapples! Gaius, keep us on course!"
"And me?" Chrom asks, one hand on Falchion. Robin pauses, looking him up and down.
"You good enough to fight?" It's been two weeks, and the Prince certainly isn't at his best. But some training duels against Gregor have shown that he's at least capable of holding his own now. "If you think so, help Gregor. You're the frontline when we board."
"Understood." Chrom grunts, moving over to help the older man with the grappling hooks.
A few ballistae bolts find their way to Robin's ship, smashing into armor belt just above water level. The Captain in unphased, and as soon as they're close enough the girl levels her strange tool and presses the trigger. A loud "bang!" rings through the air followed by the smell of coal. Chrom doesn't know what that weapon is, but it certainly makes a racket.
The other point of interest is Nowi, who grabs a small stone around her neck and suddenly transforms into a dragon. She roars once, blue fire trickling from her mouth, before launching a ball of flame at the opposing ship.
The mages both channel their spells, Tharja using fire and Henry using dark magic. They do as they're told, and aim for the mast. Fire and darkness fly towards their target, exploding on contact. The wood cracks and the mast tilts slightly to one side.
"Arrows incoming!" Gaius shouts in warning.
Chrom and Gregor huddle against the prow, which sticks upwards to provide a small wall at the front. Nowi shields the others, wrapping her wings around them and taking the arrows herself. It clearly pains her, but Nowi's scales provide good protection.
"Return fire! That mast isn't down yet!" Robin shouts as Nowi releases them temporarily. Her weapon roars again, shooting an unfortunate brigand in the head. Nowi joins Tharja and Henry in targeting the mast, and their combined firepower shatters the wooden structure and sends it crashing across the deck and into the water. Ropes snap and the boat lists to one side, barely moving without the help of the wind. "Gaius, get us alongside! Everyone else, prepare to board!"
Boarding goes relatively quickly. Robin's crew launch grappling hooks over the railings of the opposing ship once Gaius pulls them alongside, and Chrom and Gregor lead the assault. Robin's weapon roars loudly over the din of combat, and Henry and Tharja's magic wreak havoc in the small space of the deck. Gaius joins in the fight too now that neither ship is moving and hurls daggers from a distance. Nowi is a terror and easily smashes through brigands' ranks with her draconic strength.
Now that they're in close quarters, the fight is brutally one-sided. With mages and a dragon on their side Robin's crew easily murder their way through the brigands, cleaning out the ship in a matter of minutes. All that's left after that is drag the loot to their ship, and they sink the enemy with Communication as they sail away.
###
It's been two months, and Chrom is starting to adapt to sea life. Boredom is omnipresent, as chores don't take up nearly as much time as one might expect. In fact, chores are welcome just to have something to do. The only frequent activity is adjusting the sails and checking the charts, and even those only have to be done a once an hour or so.
The occasional stops at villages one every few weeks are welcome distractions, even if they're Plegian. Robin handles business, dumping off the spoils of bandit takedowns and taking rewards along the way. It turns out there's a system in place to deal with these sorts of occurrences where the Crown reimburses villages for providing rewards to mercenaries. The villages don't lose money, and the mercenaries get rewarded for doing good deeds or providing resources.
From the villagers Chrom hears whispers of war with Ylisse; apparently Gangrel has been blamed for the Prince's disappearance and it's creating even more tension among the two countries.
During time at sea Chrom finds his most reliable distraction comes in the form of Robin, who's almost always up to chat. Over the course of the trip Chrom learns about how she got her handgonne, training in tactics, and how she came about working with such a colourful crew. They also spend a decent amount of time playing chess (though Robin admits she'd prefer War of Worlds, but the rocking of the ship makes that a bad idea. The chess set even has little grooves in the squares to hold the pieces, perfect for playing on a boat).
Robin asks a lot about him too, and Chrom tells her about the Shepherds while carefully omitting any mention of his status as Prince. He regales her with the tales of Lissa's pranks or Vaike idiotic ideas, and fondly reminesses how he actually misses Frederick's fanaticism.
"Well you'll get to see em' soon enough." Robin chuckles. "We're almost to Ylisse, one month to go."
"And then we part ways." Chrom murmurs, smiling a bit. "I think I'll end up missing you all. You remind me so much of the Shepherds, I think you'd fit right in."
"Sure, if racial prejudice don't get in the way." The Captain snorts. "I doubt I'll get to meet em' though, it's low chances they'll be at the exact dock we drop ya off."
"True…" Chrom sighs. "Who knows though, perhaps our jobs will let us meet again."
"Maybe. That would be a treat." Robin chuckles. She snakes a hand out, lightly tapping his face. "Be a shame to never see this handsome mug again."
"Did you only free me because you thought I was cute?"
"Maybe." The lady grins. "Shoulda dragged ya into bed, make for a good story."
"Saving a Ylissian noble isn't enough?" Chrom snorts.
"It is. But imagine how much more I could brag! I saved this guy's life, got my cash, and got some action on the way!"
The Prince rolls his eyes to the ceiling, trying not to smile in amusement. "I think Gregor has rubbed off on you."
"Hey, all his stories are half lies! He never got with any duchess! I'd at least be tellin' the truth!"
###
"Well, here we are." Robin mutters as Gaius steers them into port. "Saltridge city…"
"Looks pretty normal to me." Henry chirps, dangling his legs over the side of the ship. "I was expecting flashy lights and weird Naga priests yelling in the streets."
"Ylisse is not quite so outlandish." Chrom chuckles. "It's good to be back."
"Those dockhands are waving us over Captain." Gaius calls. "They have guards."
"That's fine, follow along." Robin says, waving him off. "We're not here to cause trouble after all."
The anchor drops and the boarding plank is lowered. The officials and guards stomp onboard. "Alright Plegians, what business do you have here?" The man in charge asks, glaring suspiciously.
"We're just here to resupply and drop someone off." Robin says calmly, gesturing to Chrom.
The official purses his lips, stops, stares, and hastily drops into a bow. "M-My Prince! I apologize, I did not realize these men were working with yourself!"
Nowi's head snaps around. "Prince?"
"Yes, erm…" Chrom coughs, well aware of how Robin and crew are staring at him. He decides to avoid this awkward conversation for now and focuses on the official. "Robin and her crew rescued me from the clutches of bandits and agreed to return me home. See that they are treated with appropriate respect."
"O-Of course Milord!"
"I'll see to your reward." The Prince informs Robin quickly. "Uh… it might take a bit of time though. It will come out of my personal wealth, so it has to be transported from Ylisstol."
"Right, right." The lady nods, smirking. "I presume you're paying for our stay here then if you're making us wait?"
Chrom nods. "Of course I am."
Robin blinks. "Uh, I was kiddin' Chrom."
"I know, but I'm not." The Prince says firmly.
Chrom also promises to pay the docking fee, and leads Robin and her crew into the city. People react immediately to seeing them, Chrom's brand being very recognizable. Citizens bow and nod their head to the Prince, followed immediately by shock or at seeing the obviously Plegian crew following behind him. Eyes mostly go to the dark mages who haven't bothered to disguise themselves and Nowi who looks like a twelve year-old in a skimpy outfit.
The first thing Chrom does is fine the messenger service, sending a message to Ylisstol ordering a few hundred gold to be transported to Saltridge as soon as possible.
They all find a tavern for lunch, and sit down. An awkward silence permeates the air after the food is ordered, and eventually Henry breaks it. "So, a Prince? Does that mean you see a lot of executions, are they bloody!?"
"No, I don't see many executions." Chrom grunts. "They're unpleasant at best."
"Aww…"
"So why the lie…?" Tharja asks, staring with a crafted (and probably fake) indifference.
"I didn't want you to think I was too important or you might consider ransoming me more profitable than just returning me to Ylisse." The Prince sighs. "And after I realized you were honorable I had already established the lie…"
"Gregor is understanding. Plegia and Ylisse not get along so well, pretty boy was being smart." The older mercenary grunts.
"It's so cool! Do you live in a castle?! Do you have lots of pets!? Do you get to eat good food all the time?!" Nowi gasps now that the ice is broken. "I have a million questions!"
Chrom is relieved when the food comes to interrupt the excitable girl's stream of questions. It also gives him time to think about exactly what his plan is. The Prince doesn't want to lose contact with these people, he's grown fond of them. Maybe he can hire them, they're mercenaries after all...
###
"Hire us? For what?" Robin asks curiously.
"To help deal with out bandit problem." Chrom says. "Ylisse doesn't exactly have the best military, so we could use all the help we can get. I can give you a flat rate on top of a reward for every camp or ship you exterminate."
"So we get paid for being on call and for actually taking out pirates." Robin mutters, tapping her chin. A smile quirks on her mouth. "That's a generous deal Chrom, ya that desperate to keep us around?"
"Yes." The prince admits sheepishly. "My offer is not purely selfish though, Ylisse does need help. I'm not lying."
"What, your pegasus knights not enough?"
"Our military is nonexistent." Chrom says bluntly. "The pegasus knights are already spread thin. If you can guard even a small section of the coast you'd be a massive help."
"Well, assuming your flat rate in anywhere near decent that's a far more stable living than we'd ever get hunting in Plegia." Robin laughs. She extends a hand, which Chrom shakes. "Ya got yourself a deal Prince. I guess we will be seeing more o' each other in the future!"
Took a few tries to get the first section right. The rest of the story flowed easily after that. Gunslinger ended up being secondary to Pirate, but that's unsurprising considering how minor having a gun actually is for a story. It's basically just a fancy crossbow.
Zero kami no mu: I didn't bother to look into vampire lore for that chapter, and just went with whatever seemed to fit the best. Black magic for the vampire transformation rather than a random stipulation on the bite seemed fitting for their status as a sorta undead species. It also helped explain why vampires don't run rampant if all they have to do is bite someone within a certain category.
SquidbaggerOfWoomyAndNgyesness: Too confusing and paradoxical, maybe, I don't understand this one, no, Servant Robin maybe, and this one can already be applied to Grimleal Robin.
Guest: Banshee and bard. Noted. Thanks for the suggestions.
IsThisWorking: Might change the specifics around there, and that frankly sounds like a complicated idea to try and fit into one chapter. I like it though.
SirHaloFan: I'm going to say no to Einherjar just because I know so little about the past games and can't write those characters. I might be able to base it on a character, yes, but that's going to depend very much on which one we're talking about, and the powers are invariably going to need to be changed slightly to fit the Fire Emblem universe (if they fit at all).
Agent of Chaos 112: I suppose the Chapter accomplished what I wanted: an exploration of personality or a unique situation, preferably both. In this case it was just a unique situation, but it showcased how such a quirk would affect interactions and dealt with a part of the story made interesting by that quirk (how Robin would get recruited). I consider it a success, albeit a moderate one.
Still, it could have been better, and I appreciate your constructive criticism. You do make decent points (I disagree with some, but I'm also biased towards my own work). Thanks for the feedback! I hope to keep hearing from you.