Disclaimer - I don't own Fire Emblem. All of its properties belong to Nintendo and Intelligent Systems.

Chapter 17

"You bear the expression of a feline who has ingested a yellow canary. May I inquire as to why?" Miriel asks as we walk side by side down one of the castle's many hallways.

"No real reason," I say while a big grin threatens to break out even further. "Just a funny observation I noticed yesterday."

"And that is?" Miriel asks as she readjusts several books under her arm.

"You spent an awful lot of time with Vaike," I reply, trying not to sound smug. "I'm glad you two made up."

Unlike most people who would have tripped up or otherwise reacted in some small way, Miriel continues to walk without the slightest flinch. Ever the master of her emotions. She's such a blank slate, it's rare to ever grasp her true feelings.

"Indeed," she states with ambivalence. "I doled out the proper punishment in accordance with the severity of his illogical outburst. Enough time has passed that I feel the reparations of his transgressions have abated. We may speak freely again as "The Teach" has acquired himself a new lesson learned."

I stifle a laugh. "No kidding. He was starting to look pretty tortured there on the way back from Regna Ferox."

Miriel reaches out and pulls at the brim of her hat as it begins to slip to the side. "That was the desired effect." She points ahead with her forefinger. "We will be turning left at the crossway ahead."

"You know Miriel, sometimes you scare me."

I follow behind her as we enter into a new wing of the castle. The left wall here is comprised entirely of floor to ceiling windows. Hugging the edge of the inner courtyard, gorgeous sun spills over the carpeted floors and a light scent of flowers fill the air from the outside. Between the climbing vines I can catch a hint of the impressive gardens used by the staff as both a pathway and a break area from work. I wouldn't mind checking that out myself one day. I've heard nothing but good things about it from Sumia.

We continue our little walk a ways further before stopping at a grand set of double doors. I have to crane my head back to take in the entirety of it. A unique frame sets around it. A lone woman stands to the side. Her long hair flows in wild braids with flowers strewn in them, framing a delicate and youthful face. Opposed to her carefree look, she is bedecked in armor. She carries a sword at her hip and a crook held tightly to her body with one arm. The other is outstretched elegantly, blending in as the top of the frame. Her fingers come to a rest around the curving edge to touch a towering stack of books that create the left support of the door frame.

"That would be the Shepherd Queen. She constructed the royal library as a center in the castle for all literary material to gather. It is said she allowed both commoner and entitled alike to peruse its depths in the pursuit of knowledge. An admirable dream," Miriel quotes as she unlocks the door.

"You mean it's not open to the public anymore?" I ask while staring at the statue.

Miriel gives me a solemn look. "As I said, an admirable dream. But dreams easily give way to nightmares and human beings are not perfect. War and thievery have since altered the state of things."

"There's always some asshole out to ruin it for the rest," I sigh. "This is why we can't have nice things."

Miriel pushes open one door and holds it while I pass through.

"Woah."

I'm floored. I feel like I've walked into a storybook. This library is beyond description. I just...wow.

The room curves around me in a circular array of books and art. Case after case lines the walls with a rainbow of tomes flashing their titles, begging for a wandering hand to take them. As I walk to the center over the finely marbled tiles inlaid with gold lines, I find two grand stairwells on either side of me spiraling upward three stories high. The sloping walls join together into an overhead dome. A gorgeous mural covers the ceiling. Every phase of the sky, from sundown to sunup, stretches around the sphere. Various humans dance amongst the clouds and stars, each in a different theme and offering forth an object of some sort. Hanging from the very middle is a gigantic orb that glows with its own magical light. It burns bright orange and fills what would have been a otherwise very cold room with a soft warmth. The area is a perfect temperature, probably ideal for preserving the books and paper from decay.

"The pantheon of old," Miriel quotes from beside me. "Regardless of one's beliefs, it is an awe-inspiring work of art."

"Yeah," I murmur. I have next to no knowledge of these gods of theirs aside from Mila and Duma from Fire Emblem Gaiden. That's a whole other country though, right?

"Miriel, you're here!" A giant stack of books turns around one of the shelves and stop before us. "I got everything you needed! I also went ahead and got some other materials I think we might need. I was reading the reports and I think it'd be great if we- Oh!"

The books sway in place as they hover in front of us. "Who's this?"

"Miriel, why are these ghost books talking to us?" I ask.

Miriel removes the top most tome and I see the point of a mage hat, like hers, sticking up. "This is not an incorporeal shade. Only a rather overzealous assistant."

I lean over and peek around the fat books to see the corners of a youngster behind them. "Um, hi?"

A round, boyish face pops around. The overly large hat threatens to slip off the side of his ginger-colored hair. He's trying very hard to concentrate as he weaves his rune covered hands in keeping his spell working. "Ah, uh, hello," he strains in greeting without taking his eyes off the books.

Miriel's own hands flash viridian in color and a cool breeze lowers the surrounding temperature. With practiced ease, she weaves her hands so the runes twist into streamers. They swirl around the boy's pile and lift them effortlessly. With a half a step to the left, she guides them to a nearby table.

"Commendable effort Ricken. Though overexerting one's abilities will not hasten the development of your control," she responds as she winks out the magic in her palms.

Hey! Ricken! What's up? Oh my God, look at you! You're so adorable and small and just...ugh! I want to pinch those cheeks! You're so young though! I had thought maybe you were around Lissa and Donnel's age but I have to wonder if you're younger than that. Maybe you're just hitting puberty late?

The younger mage wipes his forehead with and oversized sleeve and gives her a weak smile. "I know. I just wanted to show you how far I've come since you left. I think I'm almost ready for advanced wind magic."

"We'll see," she responds neutrally. Miriel notes my gawking and gestures to the boy before us. "My apologies, I have neglected proper introductory etiquette. This is Ricken, the young scion of House Weatherly. He is my protegé."

Ricken's stumbles out a bow and tries to straighten up as tall as he can. I think he's trying to balance on his toes to add a few extra inches. Instead of looking dignified, he looks silly as he tries to stop swaying. "It's a pleasure to meet yo-" His eyes go wide as he takes me in. "Oh wow! It's really you, isn't it? You're Lady Robin, aren't you?"

I'm taken back by his declaration. That's a surprise. How did he know who I am? We've only just met.

"I've been wanting to meet you ever since Chro- I mean Captain Chrom sent word of you! He's written a lot about you in his letters. I can't believe how lucky the Shepherds are to have a real trained strategist with them."

That catches me off guard. I feel my face flushing as I cringe out the next sentence. "Chrom did what now?"

Ricken's eyes light up with adoration as he recounts the 'adoring praise' heaped upon me by his idol. I'm a bleeding tomato by the time he's done recounting a rather harrowing encounter in the Arena of how I delivered some hour-long speech on the sacrifice of personal gain in favor of what is moral and just for the world. As soon as he starts blurting out my heroic sacrifice with the creeper Risen, I jump in.

"Okaaay cool story, kid. Saved the day, right. That's me," I blurt out in an attempt to stem the word flow pouring out of him. I'm seriously going to kill Chrom the next time I see him.

"Aw, I was just getting to the good part." Ricken folds his arms. "I suppose you were there though so me recounting everything is kind of silly."

"Yeah, that," I sigh desperately. "Don't you and Miriel have important junk to get to?"

I look over to the other mage but she's contentedly leaning up against the table with her face shoved in a book.

"Don't you have things to do Miriel?" I say a lot louder.

Her eyes peek over the edge of the book. "Mm. However, I do not wish to interrupt your soliloquy Ricken. Please carry on until you are finished. I do not mind."

"What?" He ponders her words, and then starts to turn a bright pink himself. "Oh, sorry. I got carried away again, didn't I?"

"A wee bit," I say as gently as possible. "Trust me, I'm not as grandiose as Chrom may have you think. You could probably kick my ass in spell casting any day."

"That's okay. You can't get any worse, right? Only better."

Miriel snaps her book shut. "Such youthful exuberance. That is precisely why you have been such a model student."

Ricken gives her a funny look. "Miriel, I'm your only student."

"Exactly. It is because all others lacked perseverance. Or, they possessed the inability to comprehend the most basic of lessons. 'Duller than a tack', I believe they say. Unacceptable."

Ricken and I share a look of understanding. As both of us have been taught a thing or two by Miriel we can both agree, it's not us that's the problem. It's her. She's just a really peculiar woman.

"Uh huh. Listen, I've got, uh, stuff to do so I'll leave you two to do things. Chrom mentioned you've got a trip to take so you probably have a lot of supplies to gather. I've got a lifetime of history to catch up on myself so I better get started on this curing amnesia thing."

Ricken sombers up and offers me an apologetic glance. "Oh, right. I remember that too. Sorry to hear about your memories. If there's anything I can do to help, just ask."

I almost make a joke about his age and the depths of his knowledge before I remember that he's spent a lifetime training in scholarly and arcane arts. Even at his age, whatever it may be, he's probably ten times my senior in the brains department. He could school me any day of the week.

"Thanks, Ricken. If I need it, I'll be sure to call."

The boy takes in my words as if they are the highest praise possible. He mustn't be used to people accepting his offers for help seriously. The game really played up his age situation. People didn't seem to take him seriously enough, despite being a capable mage. I'll have to remember to avoid that trope and treat him like any other member of the Shepherds. He probably wouldn't be one, trainee or not, if he didn't have some promise to him.

Miriel points out a small passage to the right that leads deeper into the archives should I need them further. For the time being though, I'm on my own and free to explore the public areas of the library at my leisure. Hoorah.

Problem is, I'm suppose to get into the restricted areas. At least, that's what Lucina wanted. That may be tricky, considering Miriel and Ricken are going to be next to, if not directly in them at some point today. Me waltzing in would probably look suspicious. I can just imagine the looks they'd give me if I asked to check out their most sacred books, locked away from all but the most trusted eyes. That wouldn't send up Plegian spy flags again.

I sigh and place my hands on my hips. I look about and try to decide what I could do. For now, maybe it would be best to simply familiarize myself with things. I don't know jack about this world aside from what the game picked out for me as a player to know. I don't expect to find clues or anything, but it would be good to simply get a foothold into things. Try to get my bearings again.

There's a table not too far from me where I set up my base. I slide my rucksack off and shake out the contents. An ink pot rolls out followed by a small bundle of quills and that empty journal I found. I figured I'd need to take notes if I find anything special. Arranging everything upright, I extract my map from my pocket and put it aside as well.

Miriel and I took some time to look at the map again this morning before we set out. Apparently, without the right materials, she wouldn't be able to crack the runes around it. She thinks there's a way I could further manipulate it but, without the ability to interact with the map herself, she can't offer any help. And since I don't know anything about enchanting, kind of screwed out of options. She did suggest a specific book on old relics for me to pick up though. She recalled a passage in it to describing something similar to my map.

With materials all set, I go about on a scavenger hunt for whatever catches my fancy. As much as I would love to check out the fiction section, I don't think anything I would need would be over there. I'll have to save that for another day that me and Sumia could look through. For now, I'll stick to the history and arcane genres.

Time seems to disappear for me as I wander among the shelves, collecting whatever catches my eye. The lone book I set aside to begin with slowly evolves into a grand stack as I pick out more and more of its kin to sift through. At the rate I'm going, I may have to ask to borrow all of this. Is that even possible? I wonder.

Surprisingly, I manage to find the book Miriel had mentioned. Seeing as I only really needed one passage from it, I immediately open it and follow the table of contents. The closest thing I find is a chapter labelled on scrying. With that as my only lead, I jump through the pages to it.

Ha. Ha ha. Miriel, what in Naga's name made you think I could even hope to understand this? Cripes, this is like trying to read a college textbook on theoretical physics. I have to rub my eyes a few times to prevent them from blurring out as I read and reread the entries to discern what they say. Nelman's Theory of Relative Subconsciousness? The Canterbury Effect? Thunderous Livewires?

My head thumps into the middle of the book. I give up. The best I can make out of this madness is that scrying is done with wind magic and requires some sort of key that binds it to the user, whether it be blood or something else. That's a fundamental law of all enchanting however. Pertaining to my map however, I did find something. I think I was able to make out that certain powerful artifacts could be linked to others via the same creator. An example given was some astrological chart that could pull up the stars with the touch of its creator's hand. To stay connected with constant discoveries in the night sky that were being made, the creator linked the map to a book that contained information on the stars. If changes in that book were made at any time, those same changes would appear on the map as well.

In modern terms, it's like someone changed information on a web page's main server and then refreshed the page on a monitor a room away. The monitor in the other room will now display the new web page with all the appropriate changes.

So technically, if I found a way to link my map to something, I could make necessary changes. I could add or subtract information should the need be there. Handy I guess for future developments considering all this craziness going down. Who knows what I may have to adjust later?

I put that book aside and decide to start looking through the history texts of Ylisse's past. I'm not sure what I'm looking for honestly. Information on the Outer Realms. Information on Naga. Grima. Anything. It's hard to think of what to look for when you have such a wide starting angle.

As my researching goes on, I don't get any further. There's a disturbingly increasing trend in what I notice as I pour through the books. I can barely find a single thing about Grima anywhere. The same goes for the Grimleal. Hell, even Plegia! Every book I find chronicles Akaneia's history to a point. When we reach two thousand or so years ago, Grima is simply mentioned as some tiny footnote. Basically, a one word sentence used as a stepping stone to bolster the great first Exalt and his queen to power. I assume this is when the continent separated into new countries because there's a brief mention of the north and west splitting off.

It's...it's kind of jarring to read. Is this what they're teaching their kids nowadays?

After that, it's like the whole history of the world revolves around Ylisse. The old gods disappear and Naga becomes all they know. Foreign exports fade from the pages and Ylisse focuses solely on home produced goods. Ylisse shuts itself off from the world and recreates itself into some romanticized utopia with the Exalt as some holy figure akin to Tiki herself. It's like someone's gone through and wiped history, leaving only the books that describe them in their favor. Where's the books chronicling Grima's war? Where's the information on Medeus?

Out of desperation, I head back to the arcane section with hopes that maybe everything I'm missing is filed with the dark magic and curse stuff. I follow the bizarre organization system they have to the back corner where the books should be. The sight of the bookcase causes me to halt in my tracks.

"They're gone."

I wave my hand through the empty shelves just to make sure I'm not imagining things. Someone has gone through and ripped out every reference source for curses and dark magic and whatever might be associated with it.

I make a face and lean back against the opposite shelf. This has to be intentional. Someone's gone and purposefully removed every material in this library concerning Grima, dark magic, and whatever else is considered an enemy of Ylisse. And they've done a damn thorough job of it too. Talk about extreme prejudice. I can't help but feel there's an underlying reason for it.

That fact alone make me nervous. Whatever fears I had subsiding about inheriting this Plegian back story and this stupid mark are coming back in full swing. If even one word got out from amongst the Shepherds about any doubts they may have once had in me, or still do, I could be in serious trouble.

Someone went out of their way to clean up this mess. They wouldn't hesitate to do the same to me if a connection is made. And I'm real sorry but I enjoy living. Death's really not my cup of tea.

This isn't the revelation I was looking for, but it's important nonetheless. I need to get this down on paper. That and what I found about the map.

Gods, what a shit day.

I make my way back to the table and sink into my chair. With one hand, I flip open the journal and take up a quill with the other. I flick the top of the pot off with my forefinger and dip the quill in, stirring it around to get a good coating on the end of it. I flatten out the page with my other hand and trace the paper to the starting point of my sentence. I pull up my quill and carry it over to the book with the intent to write. The point is heavily laden with ink and I watch in disappointment as the excess dribbles down and collects at the edge. A single black bead rolls off and falls to the paper with a majestic splatter.

The dark ink splashes against the off-white sheaf and expands momentarily. My breath catches as something rather odd happens before me.

The offending spot begins to dissipate, as if the paper itself was drinking it up. Something hums through me, like an electric surge, as the page flutters with magical energy. In the same likeness of my map, the book begins to color itself into existence. I watch in stunned silence as the book finishes scrawling. What in the ever-loving hell is this?

My eyes quickly flicker to the artifact book not too far away. Could it be? This is either really ironic or really lucky.

I quickly throw my quill in the pot and pull the journal before me. My eyes greedily take in the single title on the first page, desperate to uncover this new mystery. My eyes feel like they're ready to roll from their sockets and my mouth drops open in shock.

Roster Contents

What.

Oh...oh my God. Is this what I think it is? Is this written by who I think did?

I lean back in my chair, hand covering my mouth. My breaths come quick and uneven as I realize that I may have just stumbled upon the very clue I need to shed some light on these bizarre events. I quickly look to make sure no one is around and then jump on the text.

The writing on this is absolutely identical to that which appears on the map when activated. The slants on certain letters, the way i's are dotted, the flourish on the ends of sentences...It's no doubt in my mind the same person owned these two magical tools. That person is Robin herself.

I don't immediately read the contents, instead choosing to quickly flip through the pages to catch sight of the contents: biographical information, sketches of maps to different places, in-depth observations of enemy tactics. An oddity I note is the change in page texture and size the further along I go. Opening the book wider, I notice that the spine looks tampered with. Robin must have been adding more pages to this as she went along.

I flip back again to the beginning and start over, more intent to do a deeper analysis of things. My hand is shaking as I flip through the first few pages of rambling notes on organization tips and rune rearrangement. I turn to the first page indexed in the biography section and find a familiar face staring back at me.

Robin is quite the artist. She has a very well done portrait of Chrom inked in the left hand corner. The notes organized underneath are a quick collection of information pertaining to his strengths and weaknesses, typical equipment, preferred commands, and the like. Literally, this is everything that pops up on my map should I tap someone's portrait.

The more I read these entries, the more I come to realize how connected they are. Just to verify my hypothesis, I switch over to my map. Smoothing it out, I activate the contents. The library inks to life, filling in every last detail from the shelf to wall corners. I pull it off to the right toward where the archives and vault are. As I do so, I'm surprised to see tunnel like paths beyond the walls. Secret passages? I suppose a castle wouldn't be one with hidden tunnels. I'll have to check that out later.

Miriel and Ricken's blue dots hover in one of the inner chambers, moving about as they presumably grab their scrolls. I poke Miriel's portrait and watch the map erase a portion of itself, only to ink in her information. Back in the book, I flip a few pages to her own entry.

They're identical.

Exactly to the point of there being an ink splot in the same corner of her portrait as the one in the book. So Robin's mythical roster and her map are connected! It must be just like in the artifact book. I feel like Miriel when I say this but, let's experiment again, shall we?

I go back to Miriel's entry in the roster. In the short biographical segment under her picture, I take my quill and add a quick line. "The most superfluous packer." With a final dot for the period, I end the sentence. And now to watch.

Sure enough, within seconds, the map begins to ink in the same line.

"Hot damn!" I shout in glee as I slap the table with my hand. This is actually working! A strategic discovery has been made! Everything in this map is somehow recorded in this roster. Every person, every enemy, every -

Something dawns on me.

Enemy information. Enemies on the map! Hold the phone ladies and gents! A breakthrough may have been made here.

I erratically grab clumps of pages as I whip past entries to the enemy sections. Where's the Risen at? Okay, here! Let's see. Nope, nope, nope, that's there too. Is it...?

Holy smokes. They aren't in here. Those freaky-ass Risen we encountered on the way to Regna Ferox aren't there. The typical grunt is, the weird blobby ones, specialized 'boss' units. Nothing pertaining to the black fingered or invisible ones.

Is that why they weren't on my map? I-I think that may be why! Those suckers aren't in the roster! So my map isn't broken! AWESOME!

And then the realization hits me.

If they aren't in the book, that means other Robin never met them.

Fear snakes its cold slimy fingers against my spine. These things never existed before. But now they do. Why? And does that mean there are more like them More importantly, does this have something to do with my appearance and her disappearance? Or, dare I say, Grima's?

I fall back into my chair and feel deflated. I can't help but laugh darkly to myself. Like the parting of clouds in my brain, a tiny memory trickles in.

The light from Julliet's laptop illuminates her face, highlighting the lusty grin plastered on it.

"What in God's name are you dirtying our bandwidth with now?" I ask as I try to fill out more dumb tax papers.

"Ike/OC smut," she giggles.

"That's nice," I mumble into my palm. What am I suppose to put in 3A again?

"You might actually like this one Robin. It's a really well done self-insert."

"I stopped reading those after you linked me the one from Awakening. It's fucking creepy when I see my name in those things."

"Too bad," she sighs. "I, for one, will continue to relish these and wait for the day that I will someday fall into my own wild and wacky adventure beyond this boring realm of normalcy. It'd be the best thing that could ever happen to me. I might be even convinced to bring you along if it happens."

I roll my eyes. "Uh huh, sure thing. Until the day comes that those dwarves of your's coming knocking at the door, maybe you should focus on real life. Like helping me with these taxes."

A pillow from the couch crashes into the back of my head. "You're no fun, you know that?"

"Wild and wacky adventure, huh Jules? Yeah right. Try a bloody nightmare."

I lazily rise from my slumped position and stare at one of the few empty pages still existing in the enemy chapter. I might as well start an entry for those bastards so I don't get the rug pulled up from under me again.

In horrible chicken scratch, I scrawl out a blank box and title for the two, mimicking other Robin's style. I leave the picture box alone for now having no faith in my drawing skills. Names though. I need names. Eh, I'm not feeling creative right now. How about...?

Black fingered Bart

Shitty pirates who got caught with their hands in the captain's cookie jar. Got punished by having their fingers frozen in ice blocks. Passed away, sadly, because they could no longer hold a spoon to eat. R.I.P. you sad motherfudger.

Ms. Humperdink

My high school gym teacher. Had the frightening ability to appear just when you were about to do something you shouldn't have. Snuck in a porno for your friends? Caught. Try to sneak in a Twinkie between workouts? Detention. Has come back to haunt me even in Ylisse because I managed to get out of every two mile run by faking cramps. Stubborn windbag.

Yep, that'll do for now. The next time Bart and Humperdink try to pull a fast one on me, I'll know they're there. Now just to fill in some info on the attack junk and special abilities here and...done! Ugh, the ink is still wet though. If I shut this it'll just smear. Let me just air dry it.

I pick up the Roster and begin to wave it back and forth by the ends trying to get the wind to harden the ink quicker. I wave it faster and faster, hoping to hasten the effect. I flap to book hard though and my hand slips, sending it flying.

"Shoot!" I shout as it hits the floor. My heart flips when I see some paper fall out of it. No, no, no! Don't fall apart now!

I dive to the floor and pull up the book. Phew, still intact aside from the two pages. I hope they aren't too important to the map.

Huh, that's odd. These aren't actual pages. They're really small, too tiny to have come from the book. I pick up one of the miniature papers and turn it in my hand.

The paper is very thin but made of a particularly strong sort as it sits stiff between my fingers. I flip it to one side and see the back looks almost like a playing card. A textured pattern adorns the length of it surrounded by a white ornate border. In solid white sits the mark of Naga emblazoned in the middle. Curious for more, I flip it to the other side.

"Aw, that's cool," I grin as I drink in the stylized art decorating the new side. A recreation of Marth has been painted with painstaking detail within the tiny portrait frame. He looks almost alike to the one I know of from the original Fire Emblem game, down to the stupid tiara in his hair. He stands battle ready on a dark field with a grand set of armor on. He looks aloft to the skies as if waiting for an enemy to descend. Falchion is unsheathed and ready in his hands, though the design of the sword looks a great deal different from what I've seen of it now. I wonder how many times the original has been refit into a new form over the centuries.

I lower my right hand and raise my left to survey the other "card". The back is identical so I simply flip to the picture.

"Woah."

This one is the exact opposite of the other. The colors and tone are completely inverted, with soft pastels and a blue sun-seared background. A majestic pegasus rears from a side profile. Its wings are spread wide and majestic framing the rider on its back. A woman with long blue hair sits astride wearing pearlescent armor atop her red battle dress. She holds her spear aloft and gazes back at me with a strong and dignified gaze. My lore kicks in once more and I identify her easily. It's Caeda, Marth's lover and future queen.

I now hold both aloft and switch between the two, trying to figure out why two miniature artworks were floating in this book to begin with. Were they bookmarks? I set aside Caeda's and hold up Marth again, turning him in between my fingers. These are really cool. It's like a private collection of fan art. I wonder if other Robin had been at one time a fangirl for old heroes considering she's got a miniature collection of them.

Feeling playful, I hold out Marth and point it forward between my pointer and middle finger. With a dramatic pose, I flick my wrist forward and release it at the floor.

"Marth Card, awaken! Release and dispel!"

The card flutters forward and hits the floor. As soon as the corner connects with the marble, a bright flash ignites.

I yelp in surprise and stumble back over my feet, landing on my butt with a hard thud. I crunch my eyes shut to block out the flare of white light. What-what just happened? Ignoring the spots swimming in my vision, I try to focus forward on the settling smoke. I try to form words but my mouth just moves silently. There's a person standing in front of me.

H-holy shit. That's not suppose to work without a Sealing Wand.

I scramble to my feet and back away until I bump into my chair.

"Oh boy," I murmur in disbelief.

It's Marth.

Looking like he stepped right from the paper itself, an exact replica of the fabled prince stands before me. He looks a lot older than I expected. Much older than I would have thought for his appearance in the first game. Maybe this is him from that followup?

My body goes rigid in suspense when his bright blue eyes focus on me. He regards me with a calm expression of greeting, as if we were stumbling into each other while passing on the street. He raises a hand from his side and places it over his heart before bowing at the waist.

"Hail and hearty greeting to you. It has been a fortnight and then some since our last meeting Lady Robin." His accent is odd. It's definitely Ylissean he's speaking, but it sounds off. His speech is all wrong in pronunciation and intonation at points. He stresses differently and has a thicker concentration on some vowels. How bizarre.

Marth rises once more, regarding me with the same mild expression. I don't know if it's my training or what but I can practically feel the magic in the air. There's a heavy concentration of it that's pressing down on me from all sides. It's like a whirlpool current funneling around me. And at its center stands the hero himself.

I stare at him and then my own hands, trying to process and understand what just happened. Roster, card, command, poof! Magic poof, magic guy? I don't get it. So it's a magic card? Summoning card? A...

My God! I'm a moron!

"You're an Einherjar," I say breathlessly.

Marth rewards me with a calm smile. "Ah, so you do remember. I had a fear we may have fallen under a renewed predicament of your ever-present penchant for amnesia."

My eyes flicker to the table where Shiida's card lays. That means she can be summoned too?

"I-I need to sit down." My fingers curl around the edge of my chair as I pull it back for me to collapse into. I drop my face into my hands and take in a large breath of air before letting it all back out again.

While I try to get my shit together, I can hear Marth move across the floor. The tide of energy around me seem to move with him as he goes. He stops beside the table and fiddles with the card. When I finally look up again, I see him staring down softly at it.

"So you really are an Einherjar?" I finally manage to push out.

Marth presents a nod as he gently places the card back on the table. There's a subtle shift in his form as he moves. It's hard to describe. His arm seems to waver and distort as he moves, though the effect is gone with a single blink. It's like a glitch or something.

"That I am," he confirms. "Though you present the wording as common knowledge, your tone begets hesitance. I must say, I am at a loss as to whether I should be presenting a proper reintroduction or not."

He's talking with a lot of familiarity. Has other Robin been in possession of these cards for a while then? I have to assume so given he knows my, er, her name and is aware of her memory issues. Cripes, this is weird. I wasn't expecting this aspect of the game to be real. I mean, it's DLC for crying out loud. It was just a cool way to blend past elements into the game for veterans to get a kick out of, right? Wrong, I guess.

"Maybe that would be wise. Things are really jacked up in my head and I'm not sure I can properly guesstimate an answer to this."

Marth regards me curiously with the tilt of his head. "You have adopted a rather...colorful accent since we last spoke. I can only assume something has happened yet again. What a hectic life you lead, my Lady."

"You have no idea. For the record, stick with Robin. Formality isn't my thing."

Something akin to suspicion flickers on his face before disappearing. "Of course." With another bow he begins. "I am Marth, prince of Altea and future leader of the reformed continent of Akaneia. And you, Robin, are my summoner. As you possess my fragment, I am bound to your will and command as you see fit to guide me."

"Your fragment? So you're aware of what you are?"

"Do you mean to ask if I am aware I am not alive? Yes. I am merely a shadow of my former self. I am but a small portion of the original soul given to time to provide aid for future heroes should the darkness rear forth once more. I may seemingly carry a personality and history but I am merely a glorified tool. Nothing more."

"Oh." Ouch. That's kind of sad sounding actually. "I'm sorry."

Marth offers a comforting smile. "There is nothing to feel sad for, though I will appreciate the sentiment nonetheless."

"Right." I stare at my intertwined fingers and try to think of what to say. "You're really an Einherjar? Wow."

"I am unsure how to respond to your disbelief. You have used me, as well as others, countless times before."

"I did?" No, not me. Other me. "Right. That. I think I've got some explaining to do."

I suddenly remember that Miriel and Ricken are not too far nearby. They could walk in on this conversation at any minute. And I definitely don't feel like trying to explain this. I need to continue this somewhere more private.

I rise from my chair. "This isn't the ideal place for me to rekindle this reunion. Is there a way you could, um, sorry if this sounds rude, disappear again until we're in a better place? Prying eyes and all that."

Marth raises his hand, tapping his thumb against his chin. "Ah, so there has been another incident. Though, seeing as you seem to at least be aware of the Einherjar, it is not nearly as catastrophic as your last episode."

"You could say that. Again, explanations later."

"If that is the case, I suppose there is little else to do. I shall return to my previous state once more and await your summons."

I hold up both hands in an attempt to stop him. "Wait, wait! Is there some way I'm suppose to properly call you out again?"

"Merely command me to life. That is all that is required."

I look to the side where Caeda's card rests. "Does that go the same for all of you?"

Marth follows my gaze. Again, a moment of longing passes over him. "Yes."

I think I'll summon them both next time. Poor guy.

"Okay. Neato. This has been...educational. Surprising? I don't know what to do with myself anymore."

"Calming yourself would be a first step. 'A clouded mind is no good for battle.' That is what your ancestor would always say," he quotes with a wistful smile. A warm glow emits from the ground around him as energy gathers at his feet forming a glowing circle of runes.

I stare at him in confusion. "My ancestor?"

"Katarina," he states before disappearing into the bright light. I close my eyes to block it out once more. When I open them again, a card remains suspended in air. It starts to drop and I quickly reach out to grab it.

I stare at the card and it looks no different from what I had held on to before. You couldn't even tell this was a man talking to me a second ago.

More importantly though, did I hear Marth right? Did he just say other Robin's ancestor was Katarina? That...would explain the strategist thing. That'd also be really ironic. History repeating itself in a warped fashion. I'm actually kind of jealous. She's not really my ancestor but I wouldn't have minded the fact.

My knees start to feel weak and I find myself falling into my chair for the umpteenth time today. This was a lot to take in. I went into this expecting to find something completely in the other direction. Instead, I got a whole ton of something else. At least I have Marth. And Caeda.

I hold up both the cards in each hand. For the time being, I'm going to keep these two a secret. A back up plan of sorts. I have a feeling that, when I most need it, these two will be the literal trump cards I need to change the tide of battle. I just have to learn more about them first.

Voices echo from the far hallway signalling Miriel and Ricken's return. I quickly slide the two royals in-between the pages of the Roster and slam it shut. Aside from them, I've got a whole book of secrets to bust through as well. My head is down right spinning from everything I learned today. And this is just the tip of iceberg.

I can't help but wonder how much deeper this rabbit hole is going to get before I hit the bottom. I guess only time will tell.

A/N: Welp, there it is. The obligatory crack at the self-insert genre. Every story needs one, ha ha.

And good news! I was given a minor promotion to hold me over until the bigger one opens up! This means more stable hours and even interchanging weekends off. More time to write, whee! I'm very excited!

Review Responses -

LovelyThorn - Glad you liked the interactions. Sometimes it's hard to come up with interactions between people, especially when they're so different. If I did them one ounce of justice though, I'm happy at the end of the day. As for what happens with Maribelle, Robin will have to think of something. Or let it play out and hope for the best. Neither option is very comforting though.

Ensu - Thank you! It was a joy to write. Sometimes you just need a little break from things and these kids needed one bad. Poor Lon'qu though. I think he's regretting his decision to come along, XD

Eternal-Insomnia - I'm with you there. Every few seconds I would stop and just shake my head going, did I really just write that. They're a bunch of good-natured nerds, let me tell you!

A Shadow's Lament - Ha, well I was happy to oblige. It should have ended with the group hug but I actually really like the new ending I added in there. Your story inspired me to try and really vamp up the connection between my own world's Robin and Chrom, so I took to it and tried for some good solid development between the two. Who knew all it would take would be a tiny plant, ha ha. Ah, that menu though. I don't make a lot of dinner foods from scratch so I had to check and recheck all these different recipes to see if the right ingredients would be available for the time period she's in. I discovered that vinegar is thousands of years old but peanut butter in like, a century or two only. I almost made someone do a Shepherd's pie. Almost. I figured someone might have already done the joke though so I opted out, XD

Ah, pas de soucis! Votre français est facile à lire. Ma experience avec la langue est rouillé aussi. Il a été depuis plusieurs années mon classe française. Ma grammaire est horrible, ha ha. Mais, merci beaucoup pour ton mots!

faolae - You're very welcome. Sumia and Stahl is my new guilty pleasure and you only have yourselves to thank for that. I'm just here to push along the development. I'm excited for the Plegian war as well. I have a lot of research piling up that needs to get written soon! It's gonna be awwwesome. As for the chapter, I've been dying to get a group hug in somewhere. Up to this point, I've been doing singular character development but none showcasing the group as a whole, which is just as important. Showing their dynamics as a team and how tight they are even outside of the smaller pockets of friendships inside of it was integral for me. No matter what, they really are one big happy family of nerds :)

Nephyris X - Ha, that was what I was thinking. I didn't want to copy the game's "support events," so to say. While there are echoes of them, such as the cooking contest in this chapter, I want some original content to happen too. I'm happy that the overall chapter did what it was meant to do. Fluff everywhere! As for Robin and the Maribelle predicament, yeah she'll be on top of that soon enough. There's only a small window of time to react so she has to decide on something.

timewasting - As always, thank you for stopping in to review again! Heh, don't worry. Robin's a horrible listener so Lucina's warning pretty much means nothing at this point. The poor girl tried though. And yes, I enjoyed Robin's matchmaking as well. Sneaky thing!

Guest - I've set aside plans for another one later on. Like she said, cakes must be compared! And we need Gaius to be there as judge! Sumia vs Robin: The Rematch!

Rio 2.0 - Hi there! Thanks much for the kudos! Ha, ha, Robin's quirkiness is her strong point! I do love her odd thoughts and observations. She's a blast to write. As for the scenes, writing what happens in between events is what fanfiction is for! Expand and entertain! Glad you've liked what you've read!

Titan127 - I confess, I had a stack of uncrusted PB&Js beside me as well. Nothing like a classic sandwich to get things rolling. True to life, I name almost everything I have a fondness for. Plants, my laptop, a comfy pair of socks...don't know why. Glad to see another plant namer. Fistbump!