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Chapter Text

Exploitation

Chrom felt the warm air from the mess hall waft over him as he sat by himself at a table. The collection of obnoxiously loud voices from the other Shepherds formed together into a null roar while he buried his head into his hands. Not even a single day had passed since Emmeryn took her own life, and Chrom found himself unable to think of anything but her.

“Hey, Chrom.” Chrom’s gifted tactician and close ally, Robin, sat down on the other side of the table. “Are you holding up alright?” He gave Chrom a concerned look while his fiancée, Cordelia, seated herself at his side.

“Yes, I’ll be fine.” Chrom threw a quick glance at Robin and Cordelia before focusing back on the wooden texture of the table. His thoughts were interrupted by a loud burp expelled from Vaike’s mouth. Chrom responded by slamming his fists down on the table and standing up. “I just need a minute outside.”

Robin watched with concern as Chrom stomped out of the mess hall, and he motioned to follow him before Cordelia caught him by the arm.

“He just needs some time to catch his breath.” She gave him a sympathetic look, but Robin still struggled to break free from her grip. “ Alone .”

“If you insist.” Robin sighed as he stopped his struggling and tightly held Cordelia’s hand.

A cold breeze drifted by Chrom’s nose as he stepped outside the tent and gazed to the moonlit sky above. The commotion from the mess hall still followed him as he walked his way through the field of tents that the Shepherds had set up. Tomorrow was the day when they staged their final battle against Gangrel, and Chrom was more than eager to drive his sword through that man’s wicked heart.

His feet made quiet squishing sounds as he stomped through the grass and toward a hill. A single tree sat atop the hill, which Chrom promptly seated himself against.

As he sat against the tree, the only thing Chrom could think of was Emmeryn. He could only reminisce about how she looked out for Lissa and him while they were growing up. He could only remember how those wicked peasants threw stones at her while she was trying to save their kingdom, and this was what her kindness was rewarded with.

He buried his face into his hands then battled the urge to cry. Emmeryn wouldn’t want him to cry. Emmeryn would want him to lead the proud people of Ylisse to victory.

“You know, Emmeryn was wrong about Plegians.” A frigid blast of air tickled Chrom’s nerves as he jumped upright. “They deserve no mercy.”

“W-who said that?!” Chrom got to his feet and hurriedly scanned his surroundings. “Show yourself!” He shouted into the night air. His breath became bated when a dark circle appeared before him, and a figure stepped out. He wore black robes that contrasted his gray skin, and his neck was abnormally elongated.

Chrom immediately recognized him as the man who led an assault of the Ylissean Castle in an attempt to take Emmeryn’s life; he would’ve succeeded, if not for the help of Robin’s quick thinking. “You tried to kill Emmeryn.” Chrom spoke through his teeth as he grasped the hilt of Falchion. His heart was filled to the brim with metaphorical fire while he glared at the man in front of him.

“What? Oh, no no no.” The gray man shook his head back and forth. “I would never intend to kill your dear sister. That scoundrel Gangrel held my family at the chopping block, and I had no option but to comply with his deranged orders.” The man’s voice was practically asking for forgiveness from the prince of Ylisse. “From the bottom of my heart, I am truly sorry about that night.”

“You sent an assassin to wound me.” Chrom gave the man a cold stare while his heart raced. He remembered how Ricken noticed something odd in the bushes that night, and that something turned out to be a concealed assassin.

“Gangrel sent him without warning me. I had no idea that assassin was there, and I would never send an assassin to wound a brave, courageous man like you.” The man cracked an uncanny smile as he put a freezing hand on Chrom’s shoulder. “I had so much respect for your sister, and to see her life wasted like this… Well, it brought a tear to my eye, really.”

“Why should I trust you?” Chrom’s tone sounded incredibly rigid as he brushed the man’s bone-like hand off his shoulder. He was debating driving his sword through the man’s chest.

“Look at these and tell me I’m not trustworthy.” The man reached into his pocket and pulled out a bundle of papers. Chrom snatched the documents out of his hand and began to read them aloud.

“ ‘Validar is one of the most trustworthy people I’ve known, and he would never hurt the proud kingdom of Ylisse.’ Signed by Exalt Igna-” Chrom paused as he read the paper and studied the name. That was the name of his father. “This is from my father.” His tone had devolved from a growl to a neutral voice.

“Precisely. And if you still believe that I’m lying…” Validar spoke while he outstretched his arms and summoned a purple hole in the open air before Chrom. Inside the hole depicted a man with a scruffy, blue beard shaking the hand of a man with gray skin. “I worked extensively with your father before he met your mother, and I’d just like to say…”

The purple hole disappeared and Validar got to his knees. “I have served your family before you were born, and I am incredibly sorry for what has happened to you and your sister. Gods, I love illusion magic. ” Validar thought after he spoke.

“Why are you telling me this?” Chrom removed his hand from the hilt of his sword and raised an eyebrow. No matter how strange this man looked, if Chrom’s father trusted him, then he should hear the man out as well.

“Because, I’ve worked with those vile Plegians. I’ve heard the things they have all said about your sister; about how they would like to strip her of her clothing and-”

“Stop.” Chrom shut his eyes and raised his hand before the man could finish speaking.

“I can show you how they view your family, you know. Just follow me into that portal over there.” The robed man motioned to the dark hole he had stepped out of, which continued to swirl as Chrom noticed it.

“What if this is a trap?” Chrom asked his perfectly-logical question.

“I, Validar, of the royal house Riamg, solemnly swear that I will do no harm unto you.” Validar held up his hand and smiled. Even after all these years, he was still surprised at how good of a liar he was. He successfully fooled the head of the kingdom he was after into believing his lies, after all. “Don’t you want to see how much of an impact your sister had on them?”

After giving it a thought, Chrom stepped forward into the portal while Validar followed him.

Chrom opened his eyes and looked to his feet, which he noticed were floating a couple feet above the dirt ground. At his right stood Validar, who also floated in the air. Chrom looked around and saw wooden shacks lining the road. “Here we are in the grand capital of Plegia.”

“This place smells awful.” Chrom stated as he covered his nose with one hand. He wasn’t sure if the stench was of horse dung, corpses, a failed sewer system, or some foul combination of the three.

“Here, let me show you around.” Validar smiled and thrusted his arm out. He floated in the same direction of his arm, and Chrom followed after him. Townspeople wearing cloaks walked underneath them, but acted as though the two flying men were invisible.

Validar landed on his feet as he stood before a door to a wooden shack-like building. He passed through the closed door as though he were a ghost while Chrom followed inside.

Candle-lit tables sat atop rows of wooden tables, and at the end of the room was a metal counter with various grisly men sitting atop stools. Chrom noticed a sign that said ‘The Fell Dragon Inn’.

“‘Ey, barkeep!” One of the patrons spoke. He wore a coat of animal fur and had a skull for a hat. “Where’s that poster we used last night?”

“Keep ya pants on; it’s right ovah here.” The man standing behind the bar pulled a poster from underneath the counter. It depicted a scribble of a blond-haired woman with her tongue sticking out, and she had crosses for eyes.

“Now where’s the platter o’ knives?” Another man asked while the barkeep used a metal stake to keep the poster fastened to a nearby wall. Chrom felt his heart sink when he noticed that the words ‘Egg Salt’ were scrawled underneath the poster.

“Oh, gods…” Chrom walked next to the man who demanded the poster and stared at his face. The man didn’t react to Chrom’s presence.

“Alright. First one to land a knife directly in the Exalt’s stupid head gets a free drink.” The barkeep spoke as he went back to the counter, grabbed a platter of crudely-made knifes, and placed the platter on the counter.

“Hang on laddies; I got this.” The man Chrom was studying stood up, grabbed a knife by the hilt, and angled it towards the poster. He closed his left eye and stuck his tongue out, then threw the knife. Validar watched as the knife sailed through the air and directly struck the center of the poster.

Chrom had to control his urge to punch this man in the face before Validar tapped him on the shoulder.

“See what I mean?” He asked while he gave Chrom a smile.

“This is just a sample of the entire country. It’s not like all of them are this vile.” Chrom spoke while he studied the face of the bar patron.

“Oh, but they are.” Validar outstretched his arms and slowly lowered them to the ground. Purple holes emerged from the walls in the building, and inside the holes were visions of various places in Plegia. One hole depicted a man punching a statue of Emmeryn; another had a woman showing a picture of Emm with devilish red horns to her child.

Chrom had to avert his eyes as Validar walked before him.

“But… I thought her death meant something to them… Those Plegians led by Mustafa didn’t want to fight.” Chrom jerked his head back up and stared into Validar’s eyes. “She died to bring peace to the two countries.”

“I am not implying that she didn’t. But I simply cannot grasp why you fail to recognize these scum for who they are.” Validar pointed out across the multitude of holes. “These people cared not for the death of your sister. Those soldiers you fought yesterday were, as you put it, ‘...a sample to the entire country.’.”

Even though every fiber of Chrom’s being told him that these people were good, he couldn’t find the strength to deny Validar’s claim. Here he stood in a musty tavern filled with people who would love to kill his sister, while listening to the sounds of many more who would do the same.

“What are you trying to accomplish?” All of the confidence in Chrom’s voice had departed. Validar knew he was close; very close to achieving his goal.

“I’m trying to advise you, as you’re set to inherit the title of Exalt from your sister. Do not trust Plegians. They are a vile bunch of scoundrels, and a great deal of them didn’t care for your sister’s message.” Validar walked outside the tavern while Chrom followed.

“You sound exactly like my father.” Chrom stated as he stepped into the cold air outside. Chrom’s father had been known for his bloodthirsty conquest of Plegia, which Emmeryn had spent her life trying to undo the damage his ‘holy war’ war caused.

"That's because he had the right idea." Validar looked over his shoulder to smile at Chrom. "Regardless, I think this lesson has served it's purpose." He snapped his fingers, and another dark portal materialized. "If you ever need my help, just say my name thrice." Validar outstretched his spindly hand.

Chrom shook the man's hand and stepped into the portal. His mind was still tripping and falling over itself in its attempts to make sense of what just happened.

"I... I'll consider what you've said, Validar."

Validar smiled with glee as Chrom stepped into the portal and disappeared. Sure, it had cost him a small fortune of gold to bribe all those townspeople into pretending to hate Emmeryn, but it was a necessary cost.

What mattered was that phase one of his plan was complete.

Robin simply couldn't go to sleep as he laid in his bed. The interior of his tent was pitch-black and all he could make out was the shape of Cordelia.

Cordelia turned around to face him as she laid on her side. Blankets covered her body.

"Are you doing alright?" She asked in a concerned voice.

"Yes, yes. I'm just anxious is all." Robin spoke as he tightly clasped Cordelia's warm hand.

"We're all anxious." Cordelia smiled as she buried her head into his bare shoulder. "But whatever the future may bring, we'll get through it. Together."

So this is a little idea I've had for the last few months, as a sort of 're-imaging' of the second half of Awakening, which (in my opinion) was the weakest half of the game due to Robin stealing the spotlight from Chrom when it came to the main plot. In this, however, the spotlight is shared between Chrom and Robin.

Bear in mind that certain things were slightly altered from the canon of Awakening to fit the events of this story (the absence of that mysterious swordsman, Marth, being one of them).

The chapters of this story will be uploaded in a weekly manner, similar to how Hisame's Beautiful Smile was handled.

Chapter Text

Union

A cool waft of air breezed by as two armies stood at opposing sides of the Border Wastes. Amidst the rocky outcroppings of the mountains stood Gangrel's remaining forces, who situated themselves beside their king inside a collection of three forts. To the north of Gangrel's army stood the entirety of the Shepherds, who had been chosen to lead the final assault on the Mad King.

"Milord, I've a report from Khan Flavia." Frederick spoke as he rushed to Chrom's side. "The Plegian army is in disarray."

"How so?" Chrom raised his eyebrow while the midday sun shone onto his head.

"It seems many of their soldiers are opposed to further violence. There has been infighting, desertion…" Frederick gazed out across the field at the three forts. "Gangrel is trying to stamp out the mutiny by force, but with little success. Outside of a few faithful who serve him directly, his army has all but collapsed."

Chrom took a long pause before speaking. He remembered all of what Validar showed him last night, and how Validar had warned him about Plegians. On one hand, he had firsthand evidence that a great deal of Plegians couldn't care less about Emmeryn's death. On the other hand, Emmeryn was always against needless violence, and she would never approve of Chrom starting a targeted attack on them.

Chrom decided that the dream he had last night was the best option he could take. He wouldn't kill the Plegians, but he would annex Plegia into the kingdom of Ylisse. That way he could teach them the importance of Emmeryn's sacrifice while also nurturing them back into a prosperous nation. In a way, the annexation sounded like something Emmeryn would want.

"Order our soldiers to round up the deserters." Chrom's stated his outlandish order in a relatively calm voice, which threw Frederick for a loop.

"But… Sir…" Frederick had to bite his lip to prevent himself from calling Chrom's order out on its harshness. "The deserters were chanting 'Emmeryn' as they left the battlefield. Your sister's message convinced them to her cause!"

"I know." Chrom gave an empathetic glance to Frederick when he spoke. "Just trust me on this."

"Chrom, what are you doing?" Robin gave Chrom a look of utter disbelief as he placed his arm on the Exalt-to-be's shoulder.

"Not now, Robin." Chrom brushed Robin's hand off his shoulder. He really wasn't in the mood to hear endless whining from Robin regarding his new idea. Frederick sighed as he turned around and spoke to a nearby commander.

Even though Chrom looked the same as he always did, Robin could tell there was something… off about him. Sure, his bright smile that could liven up any tactical meeting just with its presence was still there, but it looked like the figurative wheels in Chrom's mind were now turning as he pondered an idea.

Chrom's thoughts were interrupted when he stared with a burning intensity at Gangrel, who stood across the field with his smug grin. Without saying a word, Chrom began to stomp toward the Plegian army by himself.

"Chrom, get back here!" Robin shouted as he began to hurry after him. "Charging in there alone is suicide!"

Chrom tossed Robin a frustrated glance as he continued along. He needed to exact revenge against the dastard who had killed Emmeryn.

"Um, Mister Robin, sir." Robin felt a warm finger tap his shoulder and he turned around to see the new recruit, Olivia. "I thought I was supposed to go with Chrom…" She had a rather worried look on her face.

"Just, ugh. Just give me a minute." Robin pressed his hand to his head before looking back at Chrom.

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see a burly, armored Plegian general stomping towards Chrom. "Chrom, watch out!" Robin broke into a sprint towards Chrom while the general readied his lance. The knight angled his spear directly at Chrom and thrusted his weapon, but watched with dismay as Chrom grabbed the spear by the shaft, yanked it out of the knight's hands, then stabbed the knight through the skull with his own spear.

"Stay out of my way," Chrom muttered to himself as he spat onto the corpse of the knight. Those who opposed him in his goal deserved to meet their end at his blade.

"Chrom! As your tactician, I order you to stop!" Robin screamed at Chrom, who stopped his advance. Every single movement seemed to slow to a crawl as Chrom stood with his back facing Robin; the gentle swaying of grass in the breeze made the entire scene look ironically peaceful.

Chrom could feel his blood boil inside his skin as he turned around and stomped toward Robin. "That's it, Chrom. Come over here and we can discuss our battle pla-"

Chrom stood before Robin and lunged his hands out at Robin's neck, and Robin closed his eyes in fear of the incoming strangulation. A few seconds passed, and Robin opened his eyes to see Chrom with his hands at his side.

"I am…" He took a deep breath while the sun shone at his back. "That was unacceptable of me, and I am sorry for lunging out at you. I need you to let me do this." Chrom had a genuine look of remorse on his face. "These fiends stole my sister from me, and I need to exact justice."

"Okay, I can understand that." Robin slowly placed his hand on Chrom's shoulder. "But please don't run ahead of the group like that."

Out of the corner of Robin's eye, he could see a man with a red and yellow outfit advancing behind Chrom. A rather ominous presence filled the air, and Chrom's breathing became sporadic.

"Well, isn't this a lovely surprise? The brains and the brawn together on the battlefield. What a sorry shame it would be if some dashing king of Plegia were to cut you two into little scraps…" Gangrel snickered to himself while he spoke. He was practically salivating at the chance to kill the ignorant little prince.

Robin watched in dismay as Chrom's neutral expression shifted into a seething glare of malice before he turned around. "At least in the afterlife, you can join your wretched older sis-"

The following events happened so blisteringly fast that Robin would have problems describing them in years to come. He was certain that it started with Chrom sprinting towards Gangrel and smashing his fist into the king's face, then kicking him in the gut. The rest of Chrom's attacks were a barbaric flurry of punches and sword slashes that by the end, Gangrel's flesh resembled a bloody collection of ribbons instead of an intact corpse.

"I hope you suffer in eternal damnation." Chrom didn't even bother to look at Gangrel's remains before he raised his sword to the sky. "Shepherds! Gangrel lies dead at my feet! Round up the remaining Plegian army and the deserters and bring them here!" He shouted to the small Ylissean army. Chrom had an idea yesterday night, and he wanted to introduce it to everyone.

"Chrom, what exactly are you doing? If they deserted, we should just let them be!" Robin stood in disbelief as Cordelia's pegasus trotted behind him.

"Chrom, I would never round up innocents for the slaughter," Cordelia spoke as she sat atop her steed. She had sworn an oath to defend the just from harm, and these Plegian soldiers were undeniably just in their surrender.

"Slaughter? What kind of violent madman do you take me for?" Chrom sheathed his sword and stared directly into Cordelia's eyes. "There shall be no more needless violence. I'm only introducing them to my new decree as Exalt."

After a short while, all of the remaining soldiers had been forced onto their knees and had their hands tied. They all had a look of ghastly fear while they waited for their incoming execution. "People of Plegia! Today marks the start of a new era for your nation!" Chrom shouted into the large crowd with a boisterous voice. "The glorious nation of Ylisse will annex your frail, sickly country, and we will raise you back into a land of prosperity!"

Validar watched from the peak of a nearby mountain while his pawn shouted into an army of deserters. He couldn't help but crack a smile, knowing that his plan was finally coming to fruition thanks to his subliminal messages he had sent to Chrom while he slept.

Aversa stepped out from behind him and watched the scene unfold.

"You remember your duty in my plan, yes?" Validar glanced behind him to his compatriot. He had rather enjoyed working with someone as obedient as her, but unfortunately, the next step involved her falling into the clutches of the enemy.

"Seduce the prince and teach him what love is before you tear his heart out," Aversa repeated her instructions that Validar had spent the previous night reminding her about.

"Now, you will need to wipe your memories clean before you can meet with him." Validar fumbled with his pockets until he pulled out a purple-like tonic. "Here, drink this."

"As you wish, milord." Aversa smiled as she took the potion out of Validar's hand and immediately downed the dark liquid. Normally, one would have many qualms about drinking suspicious liquids. Fortunately for Validar, Aversa was the kind of person who would selflessly follow his orders without a second thought.

Validar watched in a state of neutrality while Aversa doubled over and clutched her head. She began writhing in pain, but Validar couldn't care less.

"I'll see you inside the jaws of our fell lord." Validar bent down and lifted Aversa's chin up.

"L… Likewise…" Aversa spoke with a constrained tone as she fell to the ground. As she laid atop the stone texture of the mountain, Validar snapped his fingers and summoned a purple hole to his left. He lifted Aversa's unconscious body off the floor and grunted as he slung her over his shoulder. He felt a slight twinge of nostalgia shoot through him while he stood before the portal, seeing as he had done this entire routine before when he liberated Aversa from the town she grew up in.

Validar stepped into the portal and immediately began to calculate the rest of his scheme.

Meanwhile, Robin was still appalled at Chrom's newfound idea to annex Plegia. Before the day was over, he would spend hours explaining to Chrom exactly why this was a bad idea, but Chrom would hear none of it. Chrom's reasoning was that through curfews, festivals, and the injection of Ylissean values into Plegia, the Plegians would be able to see what they had done and make amends.

However, Robin's incessant talks had annoyed Chrom so much that he disappeared the following night.

Chrom sighed to himself as he slowly walked through the empty field of grass. He rather enjoyed the long walks through the royal garden he would have during his childhood, and his little stroll through the meadow heavily reminded him of those times. Sure, the future Exalt wandering through an open meadow without his guards would be considered by many a stupid idea, but Chrom couldn't care less.

"If I can kill Gangrel that easily, then surely nothing can touch me." Chrom thought to himself as he stood in the field of swaying grass.

"Sir Chrom!" The familiar, low voice of Validar called out from behind Chrom. "I require your aid immediately!"

Without sparing a second thought, Chrom hurried towards the sound of Validar's voice until he found the cloaked man leaning over an unconscious woman who laid on the ground.

"Validar? How did you find me?" Chrom raised an eyebrow as Validar got to his feet.

"Must be a divine coincidence." Validar feigned a look of fear while Chrom formed his own concerned look. "Regardless, this woman needs your help!"

Chrom turned his gaze down to the unconscious woman and noted her appearance. She had tan skin, white hair, and a black dress. She also looked incredibly familiar...

"Wait a minute…" Chrom immediately recognized this girl as Aversa, Gangrel's subordinate who had attempted to kill Emmeryn. "She tried to kill Emm!"

"What? No, no no no!" Validar quickly stood before the girl while Chrom held his sword above her head; Chrom debated bringing the blade through the wicked girl right then and now. "She was brainwashed by Gangrel to follow his orders!"

"A likely story." Chrom scoffed at the very notion while his hands remained firm.

"I was able to break the spell Gangrel had placed on her, but now her memory has been erased." Beads of sweat trickled down Validar's face as he stood with his arms outstretched in a protective manner. Chrom sheathed his sword and gave Validar a stare of normalcy. "She is in dire need of assistance, and surely you'll help a person in need."

"What do you need me to do?" Chrom couldn't argue with Validar's plea of character, and he looked down at Aversa, again. He noticed that the hood that normally covered the back of her head was gone; her white hair was now revealed, and Chrom had to admit she looked rather… nice.

"A side effect of the spell breaking is that she has six hours to live." Validar pointed to the woman, who began writhing in pain and clutching her hand onto a clump of dirt. Chrom immediately began to worry as he leaned over her. "If you can bring her to a place of healing, such as a church, then you'll save her life."

A thought stirred in the back of Chrom's thoughts while he leaned over Aversa. Her writhing had stopped, and she looked rather peaceful while sunlight poured onto her pretty face.

"She's Plegian. I thought you said all Plegians were lying dogs." Chrom turned his gaze back to Validar. Why was Aversa the outlier to the outrageous statement Validar made last week?

"Ah, but you see, she was born in Ylisse and kidnapped from her village by Gangrel's men." Validar outstretched his arm and opened the palm of his skinny, gray hand. "Here, gaze at the palm of my hand."

Chrom leaned towards Validar's hand and noticed the glass orb in the center of it. The inside of the orb depicted men with skulls for hats and fur coats burning down a village and dragging a small, white-haired girl away. The symbol of the Exalt was plastered above one of the houses, which confirmed Validar's statement about Aversa's heritage.

"Okay, so she's Ylissean, and you need me to bring her to a church?" Chrom pulled his head back and raised his eyebrow at Validar. He couldn't necessarily argue with Validar's request, considering a woman's life was at stake.

"Yes. After you rescue her from the clutches of this spell, she will surely thank you for your kindness. Now take her into your arms and I will summon a portal to a nearby church." Validar pointed down at Aversa, who still laid unconscious.

Chrom bent down, held Aversa by her back and her knees, then lifted her above the ground like a bride. She let out a faint groan as she moved her head into the area against Chrom's neck. He had to admit that Aversa had a 'pleasing' aura to her.

Validar snapped his fingers, then a dark hole appeared before Chrom. "Thank you for doing this good deed." He said as Chrom carried Aversa through the portal.

Now that the unknowing infiltrator had been placed within Chrom's circle, Validar was confident that this plan would go swimmingly. Fortunately for him, the next step involved waiting for two years, so he would have plenty of time to mull it over.

*Robin felt his heartbeat steadily climb as he waited atop the altar of the church. Elegant drapes were strung along the marble columns that lined the walls, and behind him stood a large stained-glass window that depicted the Ylissean symbol.

As he looked out at the lines of brown pews, he could see that nearly every member of the Shepherds had gathered here to witness this wonderful day. The only person missing was a certain man with blue hair.

“Hey, buddy.” Stahl -who had rushed from his seat to briefly speak with his friend- whispered into Robin’s ear. “Gaius and I spent all day trying to find Chrom, but we couldn’t find him before the service started.”

“Any idea where he went?” Robin leaned his head next to Stahl’s and whispered back. Although he originally wasn’t too fond of Stahl, the man had grown on Robin until they became close friends.

“Nope. It’s like he just vanished after he killed Gangrel last week. I’ll check later and see if he’s at the front door, though.” Stahl smiled at Robin as he pulled his head back. “Congratulations on the wedding, by the way.”

“Thanks.” Robin smiled at his friend who scurried back to his seat. Robin felt a wave of anxiousness crash over him; all he could think about was whether Cordelia would say yes or no.

Nearly the instant Stahl’s behind touched his chair, the front doors of the room slowly creaked open to reveal a woman with long, red hair. She wore an elegant blue dress and slowly walked down the center aisle while an organ sounded to her left.

Robin smiled in an exuberant manner while Cordelia made her way across the room. Sumia walked a couple feet behind Cordelia and spread flower petals on the carpeted ground.

“Dearly beloved,” The priest that stood at the altar spoke after Cordelia had made it to the elevated platform. “We are gathered here, today, to witness the sacred union that is betrothal.”

The priest looked at Robin, who had to struggle to tear his eyes off of Cordelia’s bright smile. “Do you, Robin, take Cordelia to be your lawfully wedded wife?”

“I do,” Robin spoke without giving a second thought. This was the moment he had been waiting for, and he relished every moment of it.

“And do you, Cordelia,” The priest turned his focus to Cordelia. “Do you take Robin to be your lawfully wedded husband?”

“I do.” Cordelia continued to smile as the priest took a step back.

“May Naga smile down upon you two, and you may now kiss the bride.”

The crowd sitting in the pews stood up and began to cheer as Robin tilted his head at a downward angle and felt Cordelia press her soft lips onto his while pleasing sunlight shone down onto them.

About an hour after the wedding service, Robin stood in the central hall of the church with a glass of cider in one hand, and Cordelia’s hand in the other. He looked around and noted his surroundings, which consisted of a multitude of windows, a large, red carpet, and a massive pair of wooden doors.

Said doors were pushed open to reveal Gaius and Stahl, whose backs were illuminated by the sunlight.

“Hey, Robin, we found him,” Gaius spoke and raised an eyebrow. “You’re gonna want to see this.”

“I’ll be right back, dear.” Robin gave Cordelia a reassuring smile as he followed Gaius and Stahl outside.

In the central stone plaza of the church stood Chrom, who had his back turned to Robin, Stahl, and Gaius. “Chrom, where were you?” Robin asked as he walked toward the silent man.

“Uh...” Chrom slowly turned around and revealed that he was holding something. Upon closer inspection, it was not something , but rather someone . “I found her unconscious in a field.” The person Chrom was holding like a bride had rather tan skin, ash-white hair, and wore a revealing black dress.

“Chrom, that’s Aversa!” Robin couldn’t believe how nonchalant Chrom was about this situation. “She was working for Gangrel !”

“There’s no need to shout.” Chrom flashed a quick glare at Robin before turning his focus back to Aversa. “Besides, she’s unarmed, so let’s see what she has to say for herself.”

Robin wasn’t sure exactly why Chrom had a sudden change of heart, considering Aversa was the reason the pegasus knights were unable to rescue Emmeryn, but the faint pink on Chrom’s cheeks and the area that he was staring at indicated that it wasn’t a single reason, but rather a pair of them.

Aversa let out a faint moan as she slowly opened her violet-colored eyes.

“Wh-where am I?” She asked as her focus turned up to Chrom. “Who are you?” Her voice was rather quiet, compared to her previous menacing growl.

“I, uh…” Chrom stuttered as he looked down at Aversa’s face. “I found you passed out in a field.” He felt as though his head was about to catch fire. “I was told to bring you to a church.”

“Oh. Thank you, then.” Aversa smiled at the man with blue hair before looking out at the rest of the growing crowd. “Do any of you know who I am?”

“You mean you don’t remember who you are?” Robin raised his eyebrow in a skeptical manner. This was one of the most blatantly telegraphed traps he had ever seen.

“No, I do not.” Aversa gave Robin a rather innocent look. She really did have no recollection of her previous life, though.

“A likely story.” Robin folded his arms and glared at Chrom, who glared back. “Chrom, I can’t believe you’re falling for this ploy.”

Robin would’ve prattled on for an hour about how this was an obvious trick designed to kill Chrom, but he was interrupted.

“Need I remind you that a certain someone also woke up in a field with no memories, and they turned out to be a rather nice person.” Chrom’s tone rose in frustration as he pulled Aversa closer to his chest. She seemed rather unnerved, but she made no attempt to break free from his grip. “Just give her a chance to redeem herself, Robin.”

Robin sighed as he realized Chrom would remain adamant about this.

“You two agree with me, right?” Robin asked Stahl and Gaius while he turned around, only to discover that they had left the plaza and went back into the church.

Suddenly, and without warning, Aversa let out a wail of pain as she clutched her gut with one hand, and Chrom’s shoulder with the other.

“Aversa! What’s wrong?” Chrom’s tone became incredibly frantic.

“Oh, gods. My stomach…” Aversa winced in discomfort as Chrom rushed inside the church with Aversa in his arms.

“Father, this woman needs your help.” Chrom stood before the priest at the altar, who had a concerned look. The priest took one look at her sickly body and could immediately identify the problem.

“You were wise to bring her here, Exalt. She’s badly poisoned.” The priest pulled an ornate staff out from behind her back. “Luckily, I have the cure.” The priest muttered an incantation and raised his staff to the sky; Aversa became enveloped in a flash of blue light and felt her stomach pain disappear instantaneously. “How do you feel, my child?”

“Much better.” She smiled at the priest. Even though her pain was relieved, she still kept her arm around Chrom’s shoulder.

Cordelia walked up behind Robin -who watched from the front doors- and whispered in his ear.

“Why is Chrom holding Aversa in his arms?” She looked rather puzzled, and she had to wonder why Chrom was now cozying up to Gangrel’s subordinate.

“I wish I knew.” Robin sighed as he tightly clasped Cordelia’s hand with his own. He rather enjoyed the comforting warmth of her fingers.

I always found Aversa's recruitment in Awakening to be one of the most illogical things in the game, so it's interesting to be writing about it in a different manner than what was done in her Spotpass paralogue.

Chapter Text

Atonement

The warming, orange rays of the setting sun shone onto Robin while he laid on his back. He hung his right arm over the armrest and combed his fingers through the grainy sand of the beach. As far as the eye could see there was nothing but sand, the ocean, and the occasional palm tree.

“ Gods, I could lay like this all day… ” Robin thought to himself while the gentle crashing of the waves lulled him into a trance. It wasn't until Cordelia called out to him after five minutes that he rose from his slumber.

“Found you!” Robin squinted his eyes while Cordelia spoke and he could barely see her advancing from his front. She wore a frilled, deep-blue swimsuit and dragged a wooden chair behind her; she placed the chair next to Robin and seated herself in it.

“Where exactly were you?” Robin asked with a concerned tone while he looked over to Cordelia. She had been gone for about five minutes.

“While you were bringing your chair over here, I stopped for a moment and made a palace of sand.” Cordelia shrugged and pointed to a sandcastle in the distance. Said castle stood like a solitary fortress against the nearby crashing of the waves. “In fact, I think I’ll go resume my construction.” Cordelia stood upright and began to walk towards the shoreline where the castle stood.

“I’ll help you out.” Robin smiled as he followed after his wife. The two of them squatted down next to the castle and began to build.

Their construction lasted two hours until the rays of the moon shone onto their newly-finished palace, which now had a moat and an armory. Cordelia admired her fortress while she rested her head on Robin’s bare shoulder.

“This private vacation idea you had is wonderful.” She spoke in a quite, pleased voice while Robin draped his arm around her neck. Earlier this morning, Robin had booked a private beach resort for their honeymoon with the help of one of the various Anna’s. The resort consisted of a lodge -which they had dumped their things into-, an excellent section of the beach to stroll on, and a small pool behind the lodge.

“Thank Naga that this place is uninhabited, seeing as it’s a couple’s resort.” Robin stated while he admired the architecture of their palace of sand. Something about the way Cordelia arched the peaks of the roofs gave the castle a nice ‘classical’ feel.

Robin turned his gaze from the small palace towards Cordelia’s head, who he slowly leaned his own against. While he stared at Cordelia, everything about her, from her heavenly hair to her luscious features, all merged into one burning, unwavering sensation of happiness in Robin’s heart.

About a minute passed before Cordelia yawned and stretched her arms.

“Well, we should probably retire for the night.” Cordelia turned her focus down to Robin and noticed that he had fallen asleep with his head in her lap. She had to admit, the way he snored as though he were without a care in the world looked incredibly cute. “Alright, let’s get you to the lodge.” Cordelia carefully lifted Robin’s head off her lap and propped him up against her legs while she stood up.

After Cordelia stood up, she bent down and lifted Robin off the ground, with one hand holding his back and another holding his legs. She was rather surprised at how effortlessly she was able to carry him, but then again, her training regiment was particularly focused on building upper-arm strength.

Cordelia felt the smooth feeling of sand rush through her bare feet while she walked towards the lodge. Robin was now burying his head into her shoulder while she walked. When she got to the entrance of the wooden lodge, she positioned her hand that held Robin’s back near the door knob and slowly opened the door.

After kicking some loose sand off her feet onto the entrance mat, Cordelia stepped inside the wooden flooring of the small cabin, which consisted of a large bed decorated with velvet-like drapes and a bathroom. The interior’s only source of light was a lit candle. “Okay Robin, you need to wake up now.” Cordelia placed Robin so that he stood upright and he slowly opened his eyes.

“Huh?” Robin spoke with a sluggish voice while Cordelia shut and subsequently locked the front door.

Cordelia made a shushing sound while she removed her swimsuit and tossed it into a corner. She assumed that Robin was still half-asleep, considering the manner in which he just stood upright with a tired look on his face.

“Robin, you need to remove your swim trunks.” Cordelia reminded her husband while she laid on the bed.

“Swim trunks…” Robin murmured to himself while he removed his purple shorts and threw them at a corner. He then lumbered over to the bed and pulled the covers over his bare body. Cordelia’s assumption turned out to be true when Robin immediately began to snore while she doused the flame on the candle.

Cordelia found herself drifting ever closer to sleep while she rested her head on a soft pillow, and she couldn’t even find the strength to rouse herself from slumber when Robin wrapped both of his hands around her stomach.

A mild draft of air wafted by Aversa while she walked through the halls of the Ylissean castle. At least, she had been told her name was Aversa before she lost her memory and was found in a field by Chrom. Ever since that occurred yesterday, she had been given residence in the lavish guest room of the castle. Regardless, Aversa wasn’t sure how to feel about this bevy of information she had received about herself.

“You were Gangrel’s right-hand woman, who did much of his unsavory tasks including kidnapping the daughter of the duke of Themis.” That Frederick man had told her that earlier today, and she still had a sour feeling in her gut just thinking about that.

“ I would never hold someone hostage… ” Aversa thought to herself while she walked down the pitch-black hallways. She was so distraught over this, that she had tossed and turned in her sleep to the point where the blankets on her bed were already on the nearby bookcase when she woke up a minute ago.

Now Aversa found herself back to endlessly walking down these never-ending hallways adorned with red carpets. It was better than lying awake in her bed, if she was being completely honest.

She would have kept walking, if not for a faint light emitting through the cracks in a closed door to her left. Her curiosity got the better of her, and she slowly opened the wooden entry to avoid producing a loud creaking sound.

Unfortunately, Aversa must have opened the one door in the entire castle that had not been lubricated since the dawn of time, because the following screeching noise sounded like a cacophony of screaming infants.

Aversa hurriedly swung the door open, scrambled inside the room, and shut it behind her without a care for if it slammed or not. “Curse my luck.” She muttered to herself as she leaned against the stone wall of the room.

Inside the area was a single, wooden table that had a chandelier suspended high above it. At the table sat a man with blue hair that Aversa immediately recognized when he turned his head around.

“Aversa? What are you doing up at this hour?” Chrom asked while he got out of his chair. He was more impressed that she managed to stumble into Chrom’s office out of all places.

Aversa couldn’t really formulate an answer while she backed up against the wall with a look of fear. Here was the man who had found her passed out in a field and saved her life from whatever poison she had been afflicted with before she lost her memory. Chrom had also defended Aversa when it came to the matter of where she should sleep, given that her village she was supposedly raised in was destroyed.

“Oh, uh, I was just trying to acquire a midnight snack.” Aversa avoided making eye-contact with Chrom while he maintained his distance. Chrom couldn’t tell if she was lying or not.

“Do you need me to guide you to the pantry?” Chrom gave her a friendly smile while her figure loosed up. She was a guest, after all, and until she could be given a suitable home, she would have to stay in the Ylissean castle. Until she was able to leave, Chrom wanted to make sure that she felt comfortable in her temporary home.

“I’d… I’d like that.” She cracked a sheepish grin while Chrom stepped towards her and opened the door. Aversa wasn’t hungry in the slightest, but at the very least walking with Chrom could give her something else to think about.

As the two walked down the hallway, Aversa couldn’t help but ask the same question she had been asking over and over again. “Was I really that awful of a person?” She whispered and turned her head to face Chrom, who gave her a look of concern.

“The short answer is… Yes. You were the subordinate of the mad king, and you had a reputation for killing indiscriminately.” Chrom watched as Aversa stopped dead in her tracks, lowered her posture, and stood there with her head hanging low. She looked to her hands, which she swore were coated with blood.

“How… How many lives did I take? How many wives had to hear the news that their husbands weren’t returning home because of me? How many mothers were told that their sons were never coming back?” Aversa collapsed to her knees as she buried her head in her hands. Her voice was now a quiet whisper as Chrom bent down at her side.

“Aversa, come on. There’s no use lamenting over what you did before, and besides,” Chrom stared directly into her tear-stricken violet eyes. “You can change.”

“You’re just saying that to make me feel better.” Aversa seated herself then brought her knees to her chest. Chrom couldn’t stand to see anyone this distraught, so he began to formulate an idea.

“What if…” Chrom gave her a warm smile as he spoke. “Tomorrow, we bake treats for the people of Ylisse, and then deliver the food for them? That way you can give back to the community.”

“You mean like a charity?” Aversa wiped her eyes and looked into Chrom’s. She had to admit, it sounded like a good way to atone for her deeds.

“Yes. We’ll talk about it tomorrow. You’re obviously tired, so let’s get you a snack before you hit the hay.” Chrom stood up, offered his hand to her, and helped Aversa get to her feet.

After a short minute of walking down the cold, dark hallway, the two found themselves before a door labeled ‘Pantry’. Chrom slowly opened the entrance, then continued to hold it open while Aversa stepped inside. The pantry was lined with wooden boards for walls, and against each wall stood a shelf that matched the length of the long, rectangular room.

Another minute passed and Aversa stepped out of the pantry with an apple in her hand. Chrom smiled and closed the door behind her, then walked beside her. “So, how are you liking life in the castle?”

“Well, these clothes you provided are very comfortable.” Aversa looked down to her waist, and Chrom remembered that her signature black dress had been discarded in favor of a green shirt with leather pants, which most villagers wore anyway. “The guest room is exquisite, and most importantly, I have a wonderful friend aiding me.” Aversa flashed a smile at Chrom, who looked quite flustered.

“You consider me a friend?” Chrom asked while he matched Aversa’s pace. Truth be told, he found it odd how a woman who worked with Gangrel was now calling him a friend.

“Yes, because you’re helping me with my struggles.” Aversa gave him a smile as she stood outside the door to the guest room. “Thank you.”

After Aversa closed the door, Chrom was left standing in place unsure of what just happened. He was also unsure of a strange feeling in his gut.

On a particularly sunny day in Ylisstol, a rather sizeable crowd had gathered in the courtyard while the Exalt himself and his lady friend with white hair handed out pastries and cakes they had made earlier in the morning. Said pair were standing atop a wooden platform while they passed out treats to the crowd.

“I’m sorry.” Aversa spoke as she handed a blue cake to a passing commoner. The commoner raised his eyebrow as he took the cake, noticed that the words ‘I’m sorry’ were spelled out in frosting, shrugged, then went on his merry way.

“I think they’re warming up to you.” Chrom flashed a grin at Aversa while he gave a passing family a large pie. The villagers had puzzled looks while they were handed treats, but they still smiled at Aversa before walking away with their new food.

“I hope so.” Aversa glanced at Chrom before handing a bag of muffins to a woman. Said woman noticed that each muffin had ‘Sorry’ written on them in frosting.

“‘Ey!” A ragged, weary voice called out. “I recognize you!” The source of the voice -which was an old woman wearing a cloak- shambled out of the crowd and stood before Aversa. “Why is the Exalt standing with filth like you? You worked with Gangrel! You killed our troops in the war!”

“Miss, please! My friend here is trying to make amends for what she did!” Chrom expected Aversa to lunge into a fury and attack the old woman. Instead, she just stood there, with a melancholic look to her face.

“Why should I hold my tongue? Because of this harpy, my son will never come back to me!” The old woman was practically screaming now while Aversa hopped off the wooden platform. She looked the woman right in the eyes, but with a look of grief rather than anger.

“Before I lost my memory, I was a heartless fiend who took a copious amounts of lives. I am truly sorry for what I did, but I understand if my apology is not enough to repair the damages I have done to your family.” Aversa almost choked on her words while her eyes began to fill with tears. “Please, just know that I spend every night trying to atone for my deeds, and that I am sorry.”

The crowd watched in awe as Aversa reached behind her for a treat, grabbed a cake, and slowly handed it to the old woman. The old woman squinted her eyes through the sunlight as she looked down at the cake, then to the expression of genuine remorse on Aversa’s face.

“You know,” The old woman put the cake on the ground and looked up at the woman with white hair. “You just reminded me of our previous Exalt, Emmeryn.”

Chrom’s heart skipped a beat just at the mention of his sister. “She would always deal with those who were unhappy about how her father plunged this land into war, but she would never lash out at the protesters. She asked them for forgiveness, just like you did.”

The old woman took a step back and smiled at Aversa. “I forgive you, and thank you for reminding me of her.” The woman disappeared back into the crowd, which began to loudly cheer for Aversa.

Aversa beamed with delight as she climbed back up to the wooden platform and resumed handing out delicacies. She felt immeasurably more confident in herself now, and she felt as though she had taken a massive step towards atonement.

The following night, Chrom had stayed up in his study -again- where he sat at his table with a quill in his hand, because there were laws that needed to be drafted. Nothing too serious; just a curfew to be enforced on Plegia and the deployment of Ylissean troops to keep the peace in the annexed land.

He heard a creaking sound come from behind him, and he turned around to see Aversa standing in the open doorway.

“Aversa? Do you need another midnight snack?” Chrom whispered in a kind tone while Aversa walked towards him. He rather enjoyed her company, though.

“No, but I just wanted to see what you were up to.” Aversa slowly pulled a chair next to Chrom and seated herself in it. She looked around the study, but couldn’t make anything out of the spacious room due to the only source of light being a candlestick on the table. “Thank you for helping me out this afternoon. Even though I still feel some guilt over what I’ve done, I now have solace in the fact that the citizens of Ylisstol trust me.”

“Glad to be of help.” Chrom flashed a smile towards her then looked back down to the document he was signing.

“So what are you doing?” Aversa asked as she leaned back in her wooden chair.

“Writing laws for Plegia now that we’ve annexed it. Normally, I’d have Robin with me, but he’s on his honeymoon right now.” Chrom continued to write without looking up at Aversa.

“Robin is the man with white hair, right?” Aversa asked with her eyebrow raised. “I don’t think he enjoys my presence.”

“Well, then he’ll just have to learn to deal with you being here, won’t he?” Chrom looked mildly upset, and he spoke in an equally harsh tone, as he looked up at Aversa. “I’m sorry, it’s just that he’s been questioning my judgment for a while.”

“That just means he’s looking out for you.” Aversa looked down at the paper Chrom was writing on then back to Chrom. “He just wants to see you succeed is all.”

“That’s a nice way to put it.” Chrom smiled, then began to think that Aversa was right. “Regardless, feel free to stay here and watch. Although this is quite a boring task.”

“I think I’ll watch.” Aversa yawned, stretched her arms up toward the sky, then leaned back in her chair. She watched as Chrom scribbled down on his paper, and continued to watch for about five long minutes before she felt incredibly tired. Her gaze drifted towards Chrom’s shoulder, and she began to feel a burning desire in her chest.

Aversa had no idea why, but she just wanted Chrom to hold her with his big, strong arms, and tell her that everything was going to be alright. She had so much of a desire to be with him, that she slowly pushed her head towards his shoulder until she was resting on it.

Chrom didn’t even react at first when Aversa placed her head on his right shoulder. He only noticed after he finished writing on the paper and looked over to see her arms wrapped around his own.

“Uh, Aversa?” Chrom asked, then heard the response of her sleeping. He felt mildly uncomfortable, but he also felt a strange sense of… something. “Aversa.” He tapped her on the shoulder until she woke up.

“Huh? Wha-” Aversa batted her eyes while she pulled her head back, then she noticed that her arms were wrapped around Chrom’s. “Oh, dear me I-I’m so sorry!” She scrambled backward while her cheeks flushed a bright shade of pink.

“There’s nothing to be sorry about.” Chrom stood up and smiled; his cheeks were also a blazing pigment of pink.

As the two stared each other in the eyes, Chrom couldn’t help but feel a newfound sense of longing while he looked at Aversa. He just wanted to be with her, and make her feel like she mattered because she did , to him at least.

Aversa gulped, took a step forward until she stood before Chrom, and quickly pecked him on the cheek with her lips. She had done it. She had made her feelings known to the man she loved.

“Chrom, I…” Aversa’s entire face turned beat red as she felt Chrom cup the sides of her head with his hands. “I love you.” She croaked the last few words out, as her throat felt incredibly clogged.

Chrom gave her a mild surprise when he said nothing, then planted his lips upon hers in a sort of silent acceptance of her feelings. The two kissed for what felt like an age before Aversa began to unbutton Chrom's blue vest and reveal his rippling muscles. Her knees felt weak just from the sight of his magnificent chest.

Without saying a word, Chrom helped Aversa out of her shirt until she wore nothing but her undergarments and her pants. Chrom struggled against his urges and maintained eye-contact with Aversa as she clambered into Chrom’s chest. She wrapped her arms and legs around his figure while he supported her waist with his strong, tender arms.

Chrom carried Aversa out of the study, down the hall, and into his bedroom where he shut the door behind him. Inside the room was a rather large bed lined with blue drapes, and Chrom shoved the curtains away as he placed Aversa on the bed.

His entire body felt as if it were on fire while he dragged a hand along the purple lines on Aversa’s beautiful face before once again pressing his lips onto hers.

Calling it now; Aversa X Chrom is one of, if not the weirdest ship one can find in the Awakening fandom.

Chapter Text

Ruthlessness

Holland awoke with a start as he laid on his soft, fluffy bed. Warm rays of sunlight shone through the window to his back as he rolled onto his side. Surely, his loving wife would be in bed, just like she was every morning.

Oddly enough, Holland’s wife was not in bed, and she was nowhere to be seen. Holland interpreted this as two things: either she was in the kitchen making breakfast, or she had been kidnapped. His gut reaction was that she was just making breakfast because the idea of his wife being kidnapped over some royal or duke was absurd.

Holland groaned as he got up from his bed, lurched over to his closet, and pulled a blue shirt over his chest. He figured that he should join his wife in the dining room, so he began to walk out of his room and down the wooden hallway of his house.

As Holland entered the dining room of his house, he did not expect to find his wife tied to a chair and with a rope covering her mouth. She began to scream, although her voice was muffled from the covering over her mouth. Her eyes widened with fear as she noticed the look of panic on Holland’s face, and her focus shifted to the space behind Holland.

The second thing Holland didn’t expect was a blunt, club-like object smashing into the back of his skull. He didn’t have enough time to process what just happened because he felt himself lose consciousness in a split-second.

The horrible, sour taste of iron brushed through Holland’s mouth as he opened his eyes. He felt as though he was being dragged along on a metal floor, and he looked up to discover that he was being dragged along on a metal floor. He also had an aching pain in the back of his head, which only served to add to his sense of dread.

His hands were tied by a rope and held behind his back by a pair of rough hands; said hands belonged to tough-looking ruffians who were the culprits of his dragging. The hallway he was being dragged through had a menacing air to it and consisted of dimly-lit stone walls.

“Wh-where am I?” Holland asked in a raspy voice. He was sure that this was just a nightmare, and that he would shortly wake up in his bed with his loving wife.

“Shut up, slave.” The thug on Holland’s right let go of his arm and swung his foot into Holland’s gut. The sharp pain in Holland’s stomach and the whimper that escaped his lips indicated that this was not a dream.

Holland continued to feel pain in his gut for another minute of silence before he found himself thrown from the clutches of his kidnappers, and he found himself tumbling through the ground until he collided into a nearby wall.

“Hey, Validar!” One of the men who had brought Holland to this room spoke while he brushed his hands together. “We brought a new member for you!” Holland felt a burning pain in his back as he curled into a fetal position, then he noticed a man standing before him. Holland also noticed that an unseen man had untied his arms.

“Get up.” The man who loomed over Holland spoke in a dark, menacing voice that sent a chill through Holland’s spine. When the man noticed that it took Holland more than five seconds to stumble to his feet, he responded by jerking his foot into Holland’s face. “I said get up, worm!”

Holland lurched and writhed in pain as he clutched his head, then hurriedly got to his feet. He studied the man who had just kicked him, and he noted that he was a thin man with gray skin. “Much better. Now then, let us get to business.”

The man snapped his fingers, and a flash of purple smoke appeared before Holland. When the flash had dissipated and Holland had wiped his eyes, he found his wife sitting before him with a blade to her throat and a look of fear in her eyes.

“Oh, gods!” Holland felt his heart skip a beat as he reached out for his wife, but was stopped by a rough hand yanking him back by the collar of his shirt. He reached out, and desperately tried to save his wife from the man behind her with the crazed look in his eyes, but to no avail.

“Now, you would not want to do anything hasty, would you? Especially when the life of your beautiful wife is at stake.” The gray man spoke as he held Holland’s neckline. He had a grating voice that only served to make Holland want to punch his smirk right off of his sneering face.

“What do you people want from us?” Holland glared at the gray man while he was still held by the collar. Holland had no idea why he out of all people was targeted by these vile men.

“Oh, it’s not about you , my dear boy.” The gray man stated as he dropped Holland to the floor and paced back-and-forth with his hands behind his back. “We just went down the neighborhood of your house and randomly chose you. Regardless, my organization and I need your manual labor to help us succeed in our goal.”

“What is your goal, exactly?” Immediately after Holland asked, his arms were grabbed and held at his side by two mooks. He was brought to the center of the room while his wife watched in terror as his shirt was ripped off his chest.

“You do not deserve to hear of our goal.” The gray man sneered while he snapped his fingers. From the shadowy corner of the room emerged a ragged old man, who held a branding iron in his hand. The old man had a deranged smile as he shambled towards Holland with the glowing iron illuminating the dark room. “For now, this will ensure your obedience.”

Holland screamed in pain while the old man pressed the branding iron directly to his chest. Burning sensations spread through his body like a wildfire while the metal prod remained on his chest.

When the iron had been pulled from his body, Holland collapsed to the ground while he clutched his chest. Holland just wanted to go home, where it was safe, and he began to cry tears of pain. “Is that crying I see?” The gray man stood before Holland with an ominous glare. “Crying without my permission? That most certainly deserves a punishment .”

The very instant he said ‘punishment’, Holland’s chest felt as though it had caught fire and he rolled onto his back in pain. After a few seconds, the intense pain died down, and Holland inspected his chest to discover a smoldering image of six eyes arranged in a circular fashion. “My name is Validar, and you will be working with me. That brand on your chest will ensure your loyalty, even though the life of your betrothed should be more than enough to convince you.”

Holland couldn’t even find the strength to speak as he laid on the floor. His fingers spasmed in pain while he continued to sweat profusely. “If you would join me, we have business to attend to.” Validar snapped his fingers while a thug tossed Holland’s shirt back at him. A purple hole appeared before Validar.

“Promise me that you won’t harm a single hair on her head.” Holland fitted his shirt over his bare chest, stood up, and wheezed those words out of his trembling lips while he pointed to his terrified wife.

“You have our honor that we will not harm your wife unless you refuse to do as you're told.” Validar pointed his hand towards the swirling, purple hole before he stepped into it. Holland gave his wife a desperate look then followed Validar through the hole.

Holland gasped for breath as he stumbled out of the swirling mass of lights and into a grassy courtyard, which had the familiar scent of pollen drifting through the air. He looked up to discover that he was in the sunny center of Ylisstol square.

“Your first task is to deliver this box of posters to the barracks of the castle. Do so in a speedy manner, or else you’ll receive a punishment .” Validar spoke and dumped a crate next to Holland, whose chest began to burn the instant he said ‘punishment’.

“Ow! Oh, gods!” Holland screamed while he clutched his chest. Another wave of intense, burning pain shot through his nerves while he writhed on the stone floor. Validar laughed to himself because he always found something funny about a man whose insides were virtually on fire. He would have to laugh at a burning man sometime else, though, as a crowd had assembled with worried looks aimed at Holland.

“Nothing to see here, good people. He just ate some peppery foods yesterday, and his bowels are experiencing the consequences.” Validar held his hands out and stood near Holland, whose writhing had stopped. The crowd began to laugh, then walked away. “Say anything to the contrary, and your wife is as good as dead.” Validar knelt down and whispered into Holland’s ear.

“Go… go to…” Holland glared at Validar as he got to his knees. He battled every urge in his body to punch Validar in the head.

“What was that? Backtalk?” Validar cracked a smile as he took a step back. He desperately wanted another excuse to immolate this man again.

“No… I was just wanting to tell you to go to… a nice beach.” Holland caught himself and got to his feet. His focus turned to the brown crate to his left. “So where are the barracks?”

“You think I would tell you?” Validar smirked as he watched Holland lift the crate into his arms. “That’s hilarious. Figure it out yourself.”

Holland groaned as he set off towards the Ylissean castle in the distance, and began to worry about his wife. “If you’re wondering about your wife, you’d best hope she isn’t being ravished by the strong, rambunctious men who are keeping guard over her,” Validar shouted towards the direction that Holland was walking in. Holland’s fingers trembled as he bit his tongue, and he prayed to Naga that his wife was alright.

Speaking of Holland’s wife, she found herself in a dreary mood after she was chained to the metal wall of the room where Holland had been sent away. Her hands began to chafe against the metal bracelet that held her arms, and she noticed a shadowy figure approaching her.

Said figure was a scruffy-looking man with red hair, and he continued to walk towards her.

“N-no, please…” Holland’s wife was absolutely sure that she was about to be defiled by these ruffians, and she pleaded for mercy. When the man knelt down next to her and began to touch her wrists, her only reaction was to smash her foot into his gut.

“Ow! Gods, lady!” The man lurched back and held his gut. “I’m trying to give you breakfast!” He had no idea why this woman had just kicked him in the stomach.

“W-wait, really?” Holland’s wife gasped for breath as her muscles relaxed, and she noticed the look of genuine concern on the man’s face. “I thought you were going to ravish me!”

“Lady, come on! I was just trying to untie your hands so you could eat this breakfast!” The man showed a plate -which contained a ham sandwich- that he held with his hand, and he set the plate next to Holland’s wife. “Now, I’m gonna untie your hands. Promise me you won’t run or kick me in the gut.”

“I promise.” Holland’s wife had a cautious smile as the man brought his hands to her wrists. He kept his promise, and her hands were unbound from the metallic chains. She, in turn, kept her promise and remained still as he moved away.

“It’s a good thing you didn’t try to make a break for it, or else my friend over there would have to kill you.” The man pointed to another armored man who stood guard near the only door in the room.

“Sorry, miss! Just doing my job.” The guard turned his head to face the two, and Holland’s wife swore that she saw the guard smile.

“You people seem awfully nice for a bunch of kidnappers.” Holland’s wife smiled at the man who sat before her while she ate the delectable sandwich he had given her.

“Eh, we’re just some humble Plegians hired by that Validar fellow. Now he and his crazy cult; those guys are a real piece of something. Anyway, my name’s Richard. Yours?” Richard spoke as he slowly got to the space to the left of Holland’s wife. She responded with silence and a quiet stare. “Don’t feel like sharing? That’s fine.”

“No, I was just… Marissa; my name is Marissa.” Holland’s wife finished the sandwich and set the empty plate at her side on the metal floor. “So who are these ‘Grimleal’ that you speak of?”

“Determined cultists who want to resurrect their dragon god, and they seem to have some use for your husband.” Richard stared off into the distance and at the opposite wall of the room. “They were the ones who branded your husband and brought you two here. The rest of the folks left here -including me- were just hired by them.”

Marissa looked out across the room and could see about four men, without counting Richard. Two of them stood guard at the front door, and the other two sat at a wooden table on the other side of the room. A deck of cards laid in the center of the table and each man had a couple cards in their hands.

“Got any threes?” One of them asked to the other. Both of them had incredibly bored looks.

“Go fish.” The other man spoke in a tired voice.

“You all do seem like fine gentlemen.” Marissa smiled at Richard, who couldn’t help but laugh.

“Gentlemen? That’s an overstatement if I’ve ever heard one. We just have morals.” Richard stood up and walked over to the table where the pair of men playing cards sat. “Alright, let me show you how a professional plays his cards.”

Marissa noticed that Richard had not bothered to chain her hands, which she interpreted as another sign that he was looking out for her. She enjoyed the fact that her guards were quite friendly, but she still couldn’t help but worry immensely about her husband.

It had taken Holland approximately thirty minutes to find the barracks of the castle and said minutes consisted of lugging a massive crate around while asking questions to passing people who wouldn’t even bother to respond.

As he dragged the wooden box into the cold, dusty air of the barracks, Holland stood upright and put his hands on the sides of his mouth.

“Is anyone in here?” He called out, but he got no response. He assumed that meant nobody was in the barracks, which could not be more farther from the truth.

“ And… One hundred and sixty-five. ” Cordelia thought to herself as she dragged her finger along the last spear in the storage house. She had taken it upon herself to count and sort all the weapons inside the barracks, and only now had she finished her task.

“Can we go home now?” Robin asked as he leaned against the stone wall of the armory.

“Yes, we can go back home.” Cordelia sighed as she looked to her husband. Not even a week had passed since they got back from their honeymoon, and Chrom had been giving them an overbearing amount of work.

“Is anyone in here?” A loud, unknown voice called out from the barracks. Robin and Cordelia’s ears perked up almost instinctively, and they rushed into the main room of the barracks where they discovered a man holding a box. “Oh, uh, I have a delivery for whoever runs this place,” Holland spoke as he noticed the two people emerge from the doorway.

“We’ll… We’ll take it from here.” Robin spoke in an uneasy tone, considering this mysterious man had just inexplicably shown up to deliver a box. Robin took the box out of the man’s hands, placed it on the ground, and with the help of Cordelia he was able to pry the top off the container.

Inside the box were rolled-up posters, and Robin hurriedly unrolled one to reveal an unsightly image. The poster depicted Chrom, wielding his sword, and with his foot over a ball that had the Plegian symbol on it.

“This is… This is absurd!” Cordelia felt a wave of disgust flow through her as she eyed the poster. Never in her life had she seen a more blatant representation of hatred and favoritism than this image. Robin felt exactly the same way, and couldn’t help but glare at the unsightly image. “Who made you deliver these?” She asked the man with the blue shirt.

Holland pondered what words he would use, seeing as he didn’t want Validar to step in at the last moment and punish him for speaking out.

“Oh, dear me.” A coarse, harsh voice spoke out as a man with gray skin entered the barracks. Robin’s eyes focused with pinpoint accuracy on the man, and he recognized him as the thug who had led an attack on the Ylissean castle in an attempt to take Emmeryn’s life. “It seems that my lapdog has found himself some new friends.”

“Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t run you through right now.” Robin and Cordelia spoke in unison as they each brandished a weapon. Their hands trembled with rage as they glared at the man with gray skin.

“Well, you two seem very hostile.” The man laughed as he grabbed Holland by the ear and began to drag him out of the barracks. “Besides, I am under orders from the Exalt himself, so bring your petty complaints up with him.”

Robin felt his heart skip a beat when he heard the man mention Chrom, and he hurriedly rushed out of the barracks and after the man with stone-like skin. When he emerged into the sunlight outside, he scanned the area around him but the man and his lackey had vanished.

“You don’t think Chrom would…” Cordelia had followed after Robin and gave him a worried look. She could tell that Robin was thinking what she was thinking.

Robin happened to be thinking if Chrom was stupid enough to be working with the man who tried to kill Emmeryn, so he grabbed Cordelia’s hand and rushed towards the Ylissean castle.

Chrom felt himself drift into a trance as he sat on his throne in the grand halls of the castle with Aversa snuggling into his lap. Sure, it didn’t look very Exalt-like to be sitting with his lover on the sacred throne, but that was insignificant compared to the joy Aversa gave him just by her being near.

A loud creaking sound of the front doors opening broke the silence and was followed by a familiar yell.

“Chrom, I cannot believe you right now!” Robin spoke in a very harsh tone as he stomped from the front entrance right up to the throne, where he saw Chrom sitting with Aversa on his lap. “Why the hell are you working with the man who tried to kill Emmeryn?”

Chrom helped Aversa get to her feet and glared at Robin. Of course, Robin had to always second-guess Chrom’s decisions and treat him like a child.

“He’s reformed, Robin. He worked with my father, and I believe he holds the interests of Ylisse above all else.” Chrom glared back at Robin, and the two began to imposingly walk towards each other.

“Why would you believe any of the lies he feeds you?” Robin was now directly in front of Chrom, and his blood was boiling inside his skin. His focus then turned to Aversa, who looked rather frightened. “Not only are you working with the enemy, but you’re also sleeping with the enemy! She could be out to kill you, Chrom!”

“Hold your tongue!” Chrom screamed in Robin’s face, and Robin retorted back.

“I’m trying to save you from your gods forsaken stupidity !”

Robin and Chrom were now inches from each other’s face and their screams increased in volume the closer the distance got.

“Enough!” Cordelia forced herself between the two and used her arms to keep one away from the other. “Gods, you two are insufferable sometimes…”

“Cordelia. Move.” Robin and Chrom spoke in equally hard, cold voices that sounded like they were ready to beat each other senseless.

“Not until you two make up. Robin, you need to accept that Chrom has a mind of his own and can make decisions.” Cordelia’s eyes turned towards Robin, then focused on Chrom. “And you, Chrom. You need to wait until other people weigh in on important matters before you make the final verdict.”

“Nobody deemed you the judge of arguments.” Chrom folded his arms and sneered at her. Robin fought the urge to lunge at Chrom for insulting his wife.

“Chrom, that was needlessly rude, and I want an apology.” Cordelia sounded as though she were teaching a class of children. Chrom stood in silence, with his arms folded while he glared at Cordelia.

“Give my wife an apology for your asinine behavior, or so help me Naga…” Robin tossed an insult in for good measure, which Cordelia did not appreciate in the slightest.

“You’re not helping.” She shot Robin a glare before focusing back on Chrom, who sighed and unfolded his arms.

“I’m sorry.” He spoke in a reserved voice as he stared at Robin. “To both of you.”

“That was very mature of you, Chrom.” Cordelia smiled and grabbed Robin by the hand. “Now let's go home before anything else happens.” Robin was practically fuming with rage as Cordelia lead him out of the castle and back to their house.

Validar had watched all this from a distance, and couldn’t help but laugh at Robin’s obliviousness to his role in the master plan. Regardless, he felt rather annoyed that Robin was trying to undo what he had done, so he settled on a way to calm his anger.

“ Punishment ,” Validar whispered to himself, and the cathartic sounds of Holland’s screams echoed from the courtyard.

Even though Validar always enjoyed screams of agony, he couldn't help but ponder just how familiar that Robin man was.

Just to note, chapter three of Mother 3 (the one where Salsa the monkey delivers boxes) was a massive inspiration for this chapter, which explains some of the similarities between this chapter and that segment.

Chapter Text

Family

Robin’s eyes fluttered open as he rested his head on a fluffy pillow. He had to squint his eyes due to the blinding sunlight that poured in through the nearby window, but eventually his eyesight adjusted to the brightness until he could see Cordelia directly in front of him. Both of them laid in their bed, seeing as it was rather early in the morning. Cordelia, in particular, hadn’t woken up yet and was snoring in a quiet manner as her arm stretched up to the mahogany headboard of the bed.

“Hey, Cordelia,” Robin whispered in a quiet voice as he pulled his head towards hers. She stirred, slightly, and placed her left hand on Robin’s face. “Cordelia, we need to get up.”

“Huh? What?” Every word Cordelia spoke was drawn-out and took five seconds for her to pronounce in her weary state of mind. “Do we really have to get up?” Cordelia yawned then pulled herself up until she sat upright against the headboard.

“I’m pretty sure the pegasus knights wouldn't tolerate if their commander was late to training.” Robin removed the warm blanket from his body and stumbled to the nearby closet. Inside the closet were piles of trousers and a single purple cloak that Robin had ever since he woke up. After he fitted his clothing onto him, he looked to his left to see that Cordelia was also getting dressed.

“You make a good point about the knights.” Cordelia grabbed one of the many red dresses that lined the walls of the closet.

Robin and Cordelia exited their bedroom, walked down the hallway, then settled themselves in the kitchen of their house. A few minutes passed of them sitting in silence.

“So, what do you have planned for today?” Robin asked as he sat at a wooden table. The kitchen inside his house consisted of a counter, a storage crate next to the counter, a water basin, and a table where food was served.

“Oh, the usual,” Cordelia spoke in a blasé tone as she put a plate of sunny-side eggs in front of Robin. “Teaching the new recruits how to use a lance, and maybe they’ll get to the basics of pegasus riding.”

“Thank you for breakfast.” Robin figured that he should thank her before continuing the conversation. “So you’re saying the new recruits don’t know how to use a lance?”

“Considering most of them are Plegian conscripts torn from their farms…” Cordelia stood up and began to cook her breakfast.

Robin groaned as he was reminded about that law Chrom had passed where all Plegians were required to serve at least one year in the Ylissean army. His reasoning was that it taught them the values of Ylisse’s superior military, compared to the ‘sister-murdering tactics’ Plegia had employed two years ago.

“I swear, that man sometimes…” Robin almost bit his tongue as he finished his serving of eggs. The two years Robin had spent working as Chrom’s advisor proved to be an excellent source of frustration, as Chrom made so many legal missteps in his first year that it made Gangrel look good.

“Try not to lose your temper with him at work today, alright?” Cordelia gave him a reassuring smile as she seated herself at the other side of the table. “I understand that working with Chrom is taxing on your mind, but he’s trying his best.”

“Yes, I know that.” Robin stood up and set his plate in the basin of water. “He is considerably less harsh on the Plegians now, but that Validar man…” Robin had been working alongside Validar for two long, miserable years of listening to that sniveling worm grovel at Chrom’s feet and appeal to the Exalt’s rage.

“Yes, Validar is a slimy snake.” Cordelia sighed before she wolfed down her breakfast and resumed speaking after she finished chewing. “But you still have to work with him. On the plus side, Validar hasn’t taken Chrom’s life in the two years he’s been working for him.”

“Well,” Robin’s eyes shifted to the front door as he stood up and quickly kissed Cordelia on her lips. “Have a good day at work.” He spoke as he pulled his mouth away from Cordelia, moved to the front door of his house, and opened it.

“You too, sweetie!” Cordelia smiled as Robin walked through the open doorway and into the bustling streets of Ylisstol. Cordelia sat in silence for about a minute before she looked over to the counter and noticed that Robin had forgotten to make a lunch for himself.

Robin stuffed his hands into the pockets of his cloak as he walked down the neighborhoods of Ylisstol and past the numerous rows of houses that lined the path. He had to admit, the city looked much better than he expected it to after two years of Chrom’s rulership. Sure, peasants living in poverty lined the streets and the entire capital looked less lively than when Robin had arrived two years ago, but it’s not like the entire town was on fire.

“Sir, do you have any gold you could spare?” A small boy wearing rags walked beside Robin and matched his pace. Said boy looked very malnourished, and Robin swore that the boy’s body could be crushed just by someone patting him on the back.

“Oh, uh.” Robin grabbed his coin purse out of his cloak and fumbled with the contents of the bag. “Here.” Robin smiled as he handed the boy ten pieces of gold. Each piece of currency had Emmeryn’s face emblazoned on the center.

“Thank you, kind sir!” The boy took the pieces of gold out of Robin’s hand and smiled jubilantly as he sprinted away with his new gift. Robin was normally against charity for strangers, but he couldn’t help but feel bad for the boy. Maybe the boy was born after his father had left his family and was forced to support his single mother. Or maybe, the boy had a severe gambling streak and needed some generous sucker to supply his next bet.

Robin considered both possibilities as he walked past the sunlit center courtyard of Ylisstol, which had a rather striking marble statue. The sculpture depicted Emmeryn -who had angelic wings at her back- holding two infants in her arms. One baby had the symbol of Ylisse on its forehead, while the other had the symbol of Plegia on its head. Originally, the Plegian baby was at Emmeryn’s feet and crying, but no sooner than a year ago did Chrom realize how distasteful that depiction was.

Robin continued along his way towards the grand castle of Ylisse, which looked incredibly pristine as it stood against the blue sky, which stood in sharp contrast to the majority of dilapidated houses near the center courtyard.

Inside the Ylissean castle, Chrom laid in his bed with his wife, Aversa at his side. Both of them rested in a peaceful state as Aversa’s smooth hands found their way from Chrom’s own hands to his rigid chest. It had been about a year and a half since they had gotten married, and Chrom relished just about every minute they were together.

“We should get up soon,” Aversa whispered in his ear as she rested behind him. Directly before her was the exit to their bedroom, and to their right was a large window that allowed the warming rays of the sun to pour in. On their left was a small crib and the entrance to a bathroom.

“Five more minutes.” Chrom turned around and smiled at her before nuzzling his head into the warmth of her bare chest.

The two lovers would have stayed like this, except their infant daughter began to wail from her crib. “Oh, come on.” Chrom groaned in an exhausted voice as he pulled the covers off his bed.

“Be sure to put a robe on before Lucina sees you.” Aversa murmured as she rested the side of her head on a pillow and watched as her husband stumbled to the closet next to the window. Chrom swung the mahogany door of the closet open to reveal an entire collection of white bathrobes.

After Chrom fitted a fluffy robe over his body, he shambled over to the crib where his daughter was crying.

“Shh… There, there Lucina.” Chrom spoke in a weary voice as he lifted his daughter out of the wooden cradle and into his arms. Her crying continued, and Chrom began to slowly rock her in his embrace.

It had been about a year and a half since Aversa had given birth to Lucina. Normally, Chrom would be against the idea of having a child only six months into his marriage, but considering he and Aversa had conceived a child after their first night together as a couple, his hands were effectively tied. Still, Chrom was surprised at how much he treasured Lucina more than he expected to. He would often worry about her and frequently check in on her and Aversa throughout each day.

“Try singing to her.” Aversa began to crawl her way out of the bed and got to her feet. “Wait, disregard that. Your singing voice is not that great.”

“Hey, at the very least I can hit a high note.” Chrom mildly laughed as he continued to rock Lucina.

“Yes, yes. Just give her to me.” Aversa was now standing at Chrom’s side and holding her arms out. Chrom turned around and gently handed Lucina to his wife, who he discovered was completely naked.

“So how come you don’t have to get dressed before Lucina can see you?” Chrom raised his eyebrow as he watched Aversa hold Lucina in her arms.

“Because I gave birth to her.” Aversa quickly answered his question as she stared deep into Lucina’s blue, innocent eyes. She began to sing a soothing tune that Lissa had taught her a few months before Lucina had been born; apparently, it was a royal song that was passed through each generation of Ylisse’s royal family, and it doubled as a confirmation of Aversa creating the newest member of the royal family.

Aversa never figured that she would marry a wonderful man like Chrom and bear his child. Sure, they had gotten together only two weeks after they had met, but that was insignificant compared to the amount of happiness she felt whenever she was with Chrom.

After she had finished singing to Lucina, she noticed that her daughter was now waving her hands in the air and giggling. “Now, we could get up and resume our boring lives,” Aversa spoke as she placed Lucina back in her crib, and her daughter began to snore the instant she was set in her cradle. “Or…” Aversa dragged her hands along her bare hips and up to her chest while she flashed a seductive smile towards Chrom. “We could get back to bed.”

“That sounds like a good idea.” Chrom removed his robe in the blink of an eye and brought his hands to her tan, smooth midriff. Both of them smiled as they crawled back into their warm, comforting bed and held each other by the waist.

After five more minutes of walking, Robin was inside the Ylissean castle and entering the room where he started his work day.

“Morning,” Robin spoke as he stepped into Lissa’s study, which also doubled as his office. It was a rather small room that had only the bare necessities of furniture, such as a velvet-like couch, two desks, and a carpet on the floor. Not only did Robin work as Chrom’s advisor, but he was also Lissa’s personal aid, which meant he was often running around town trying to get ingredients for whatever she needed.

“Morning.” Lissa glanced at him with a tired look before turning her focus to the massive mound of papers on top of her desk. Because of Chrom’s decision to annex Plegia into the kingdom of Ylisse, Lissa’s work pile was filled with complaints from citizens and the like. Lissa always questioned her brother’s choice on that matter, and she disliked how she was stuck with dealing with the deadly plague spreading through Plegia.

The first report of the plague had cropped up about a year ago when a man with purple rashes covering his face had stumbled into a Plegian apothecary and died soon after. The source of the plague was quickly deduced to be the water sources inside Plegia, which had been promptly contaminated after it was revealed. The real problem with the plague was that it wasn’t contagious, but it was hereditary. Any Plegian was doomed to spread the sickness to their offspring until a cure could be found.

The symptoms of the plague consisted of a burning fever, intense puking, one’s entire body going numb for minutes at a time, and then the aforementioned rashes. The very final symptom was death. The plague was so infamous that it had garnered itself a nickname, known only as ‘the Violet Scourge’ on account of the purple rashes that formed before one’s untimely demise.

Lissa had spent all her resources and time for over a year on curing this accursed plague, and she knew that she was close; so, very close to eradicating it once and for all.

“Did you get any sleep last night?” Robin asked as he settled himself at his desk, which was placed to the left of Lissa’s. Being Lissa’s aid was not what he thought his career would end up being, but he enjoyed working alongside her against the plague.

“No…” Lissa gave him a sheepish smile as she dumped her head back onto her desk.

“Okay, go home and get some rest,” Robin spoke with a slightly commanding tone as Lissa slowly picked her head off the wooden rest.

“Hey, buddy, did you forget that you work for me and not the other way around?” Lissa glared at him as she stood up. Robin could tell that she clearly needed to sleep, given the sags in her eyes and her drooping posture. “You can’t order me around.”

“As your aid, I can tell you what is best for you; and right now what’s best for you is to go home and get some rest.” Robin opened the door into the hallway outside as though he were advertising a vacation. “I’ll handle your work for today if you go.”

“Really?” Lissa gave him a skeptical look as she walked towards the door.

“Yes, really. Get some rest and come back in the afternoon.” Robin smiled as Lissa shook his hand.

“Thank you so much!” Lissa smiled as well as she hurried out the door and towards her room in the castle. Robin closed the door behind her and walked over to her desk, where he lifted the stack of papers off the counter and placed it on his own desk.

About three hours passed before Robin heard a knocking on the door to his office.

“Come in!” Robin yelled as he looked up from the stack of papers, which he was about halfway through. The door swung open and Chrom stepped in. “Morning.”

“Good morning,” Chrom spoke as he sat down on a chair opposite Robin’s desk. “So how’s the workload?” Chrom asked.

“Monotonous and dreary. You’d think two kingdoms alone wouldn’t have all these complaints.” Robin sighed as Chrom gave him a look of sympathy.

“So where’s Lissa?” Chrom looked around and was unable to find his sister.

“She was up all last night and I told her to get some rest,” Robin answered his question as he leaned back in his chair.

“She’s taking the day off?” Chrom didn’t like how that sounded, what with the plague running amuck and killing his subjects.

“No, no, I told her to try and be back by this afternoon.” After Robin spoke, Chrom began to think in silence as he sat on the chair. For the last month, he had been pondering what Validar had told him two years ago.

“So, I just want your opinion on something that I’ve been thinking about... “ Chrom began to speak, and Robin’s ears perked up. “It involves Plegia.”

“Go on…” Chrom had piqued Robin’s interest now, and he leaned forward on his desk.

“I just… I think we should let them out of the kingdom of Ylisse. They’ve suffered enough because of my interference.” Chrom sighed as he stood up and paced around the room. “What I’m saying is that we should pull our troops out of Plegia, dismantle the wall, and install a ruling party in there.”

Robin’s heart almost skipped a beat as the words ‘pull the troops out of Plegia’ flowed out of Chrom’s mouth like fine wine.

“Are… Are you serious?” Robin stared in disbelief as his eyes rapidly blinked.

“Yes. We need to remove the Ylissean influence from Plegia.” Chrom looked at Robin, who was grinning from ear-to-ear. What Chrom meant by removing the influence was that Plegia was ruled by a group of emissaries who were hand-picked by Chrom due to their countless years of serving Ylisse. The emissaries were allowed to use their best judgement when it came to ruling Plegia, but they were required to follow every law Chrom passed, and to list what had occurred each day within a weekly report that was sent back to Ylisse. This system had been in place for two years, and so far no problems had arisen out of it.

“That’s amazing!” Robin sprang out of his desk and vigorously shook Chrom’s hand. For the last year, Robin had noticed how mellow Chrom was becoming when it came to Plegia. When Chrom first came into power, he made a new decree almost every day; whether it was enforcing a curfew on Plegia, or building an entire wall around the whole country to teach the nation a lesson. But as Robin noted, Chrom had begun to roll back certain laws. First, the curfew was nixed. Then fewer troops were stationed around the walls, and Chrom had begun to increase Robin and Lissa’s budget when it came to curing the plague.

“It will take some time, but I think we can undo the damage that we have done.” Chrom was at a slight unease with how happy Robin seemed, but Robin did have a point when it comes to relinquishing Plegia. “Plus, I’m sure Regna Ferox will support us in these coming times.”

Even though the Feroxi favored physical strength over diplomacy, Flavia had often brought up her qualms with Chrom’s annexation of Plegia during the diplomatic meetings the two kingdoms would run every six months.

“Yes, and we’ll need some way to fend off those Valmese invaders that have been cropping up near the coast.” Robin returned back to his desk and propped his head on his hand using his elbow. Regna Ferox had often complained about the Valmese ships that would frequently make themselves apparent near the shores, then retreat a day later. Robin and Chrom both speculated that Valm was afraid of the combined military strength of Ylisse and Plegia. “But I’m certain that we’ll get through this. Thank you for seeing my side of the argument, Chrom.” Robin smiled as Chrom walked near the closed door.

“No, Robin. Thank you for having my back for all these years.” Chrom smiled as he opened the door, waved to Robin, and shut the door behind him as he exited Robin’s office. “Oh, hello Cordelia.” Chrom’s voice was muffled from the walls of Robin’s study, but Robin could definitely hear the word ‘Cordelia’.

“Hello, Chrom.” The distinctive, soothing voice of Cordelia echoed from outside the room as the door swung open and Robin’s wife walked inside. Robin noticed the gold breastplate that had been fastened to her chest, which meant that she should be at work right now. “Robin, you forgot your lunch.” Cordelia smiled as she held up a small brown bag that produced the sound of paper being crumpled whenever it moved.

“Really?” Robin sighed as Cordelia placed the bag on his desk. He was sure that he had brought his food with him to work, but apparently he was absent-minded enough to run the risk of starving to death at his job. “Thank you.”

“Keep this up and you’ll forget to bring yourself to work.” Cordelia joked and smiled as she walked to Robin’s side. “So what are you working on?”

“Well,” Robin couldn’t help but grin as she rested her warm arm around his neck. “Chrom just told me he wants to ‘remove the Ylissean influence from Plegia’, so I’d say today is the best work day I’ve had in two years.”

“That’s wonderful!” Cordelia beamed with delight as she removed her arm from Robin’s shoulder. “Good to see that Chrom is coming to his senses.”

“Yes. Granted, there’ll be a mountain-load of work to deal with regarding the removal of Plegia from Ylisse, but it’s positive change.” Robin looked up from his chair and at Cordelia’s radiant smile that always brightened his mood whenever it was near. “What I’m wondering is how you were able to deliver this while you were working.”

“Lunch break.” Cordelia leaned in and kissed Robin on his cheek. “See you after work.”

“See you after work, honey.” Robin waved to his wife as she exited the office and closed the door behind him. He resumed burying his head in the mound of papers, but with a newfound sense of motivation. Somewhere, deep down, he could tell that things were about to get better.

Validar hid behind the door to Robin’s office as Cordelia exited the room and walked down the hallway. He was too busy muttering curses underneath his breath to notice Chrom approaching from behind him.

“I didn’t know such vulgar swears were even used nowadays.” Chrom sighed as he heard every harsh word that Validar whispered.

“O-oh excuse me, my liege. I was just practicing my vocabulary. Regardless, you can not be serious about removing the Ylissean influence from Plegia.” Validar raised his bushy eyebrow at Chrom, who was now scowling at the gray man. “Don’t you remember what I told you two years ago?”

“Yes, I am serious. I’m also starting to question if what you said all those years ago was correct in the first place.” Chrom glared at Validar before resuming his walk down the hallway. For the last year, it had seemed that Validar and Robin had swapped places when it came to which advisor was right and which advisor was wrong. Robin always seemed to have the correct idea for the problem at hand, and Validar always had the extremely wrong idea. A perfect example of this was when Validar offered to have all Plegian children between the ages of seven and thirteen rounded up and forced to fight in the arena.

Validar bit his lip in frustration as Chrom stomped his way down the hall and clenched his fist. His influence over Chrom was waning, and he needed something to make Chrom realize why his ideas were the only way for Ylisse to succeed.

Although, the failure of all kingdoms was Validar’s true goal; influencing Chrom was simply a means to an end.

Validar knew exactly what he should do when he saw Aversa walk by with Lucina in her arms.

Cordelia entered the training yard that was next to the Ylissean castle and saw all the members of the Pegasus Knights standing on the stone courtyard and striking training dummies in perfect synchronization. She was confused at first, considering she had been gone from the lot for almost half-an-hour.

Her confusion was removed when she saw Sumia standing before the rows of recruits with her hands behind her back in a commanding fashion. Her brown hair and the flaps of her uniform swayed in the breeze.

“Lunge!” Every command that Sumia ordered was followed to the letter by the recruits. “Retreat! Jab! Block! Bash!” Sumia would’ve continued for an hour, but she saw the distinctive red hair of Cordelia waving from behind her back. “Oh, Cordelia I’m so sorry! I just wanted to see how it was to command the recruits and-”

“Sumia, everything’s fine.” Cordelia gave Sumia a reassuring smile as she placed a hand on her friend’s shoulder. “Besides, you were commanding them wonderfully.”

“Really?” Sumia glanced to her side in a skeptical manner. “It’s not like it was that hard to do; you could say anything and these impressionable girls would do it.”

Their conversation was interrupted by one recruit with short, blond hair stepping forward and tapping Sumia on the shoulder.

“Excuse me, Ms. Sumia. Are you going to keep the training going?” The girl asked as Sumia’s cheeks flushed a bright shade of red.

“Sumia, you should finish the job.” Cordelia looked to the recruit, then to her friend.

“If you insist…” Sumia held her arms behind her back and looked up from the stone ground. “Alright recruits! I’ll be handling the rest of your training for today!”

Cordelia looked very pleased as she walked to a nearby bench underneath the shade of a tree and seated herself. After all, she was very curious to see how Sumia ran an entire squadron of Pegasus Knights that had been rebuilt from the ground up when Cordelia inherited the title of ‘Commander’ from Phila.

About three hours passed as Cordelia watched Sumia guide the Pegasus Knights with incredibly ease before a bell rung in the distance. It rang about four times, which indicated that it was four in the afternoon. “Okay, everyone! See you tomorrow!” Sumia waved her hands in the air as the group of trainees all walked towards the central castle where their salary waited.

“You commanded the recruits extraordinarily well.” Cordelia walked up to Sumia and patted her on the back of her purple armor.

“Why, thank you.” Sumia grinned from ear-to-ear as she walked towards the front gate of the training lot, where the town of Ylisstol waited outside. Cordelia watched her friend depart before she walked to the armory where all the Pegasus Knights congregated.

After dropping her armor off at her designated space, Cordelia left the armory and began walking along the stone path of the training yard until she was standing in front of the Ylissean castle. The afternoon sun shone behind her back as she walked through the city and past the crowd of citizens.

“Excuse me, lady! O’er here!” A high-pitched voice called out, and Cordelia stopped walking for a moment. “You in the red dress!” Cordelia assumed the voice was talking to her, and promptly found the source, which was an old woman sitting on the doorstep of a crumbling house with a sign above her that read ‘Flea Market’.

“Yes?” Cordelia raised her eyebrow as she examined the objects at the feet of the old woman.

“You look like a maiden of fine taste. I got some good wares for you at bargain prices, so buy something, will ya?” The lady drifted her finger along the objects that she was selling. Her merchandise consisted of rather commonplace objects, such as a hairpin, a rolling pin, a wooden figurine of a man wielding a sword, but one object in particular caught Cordelia’s attention.

In the tucked-off corner of the carpet rested a worn, blue book that had a golden cross on its front and back. In the center of the cross was a symbol of a spiraling, gold dragon. Cordelia assumed that it was a magical tome and that maybe Robin would enjoy it.

“How much for that book?” Cordelia pointed to the tome with her finger. The old woman’s gaze drifted along until it met Cordelia’s.

“Oh, that ol’ thing my grandson found in an abandoned castle?” The old woman pressed her finger to her chin and looked like she was pondering something. “Two-hundred gold.”

“Deal,” Cordelia spoke as she grabbed her coin purse and handed the old woman two large coins that had Emmeryn’s face embedded on them.

“Pleasure doin’ business with ya’.” The old woman smiled as she handed Cordelia the book and watched as the red-haired woman walked away with her purchase.

As the cool air of the town drifted over Cordelia, she began to think about what Robin had said regarding Chrom. She did feel that Chrom was losing his temperament over the last year, considering that conscription law had been reworked until any Plegian was not forced to join, but allowed to join the Ylissean military. The only reason Cordelia and Sumia had so many recruits to deal with was because many of them needed the money to support their families back home.

Cordelia continued to ponder what the future would bring even after she stepped into the comfort of her own home and put the book on the dining room table. She had about an hour to herself before Robin would get back, so she seated herself on the couch and grabbed her book off the nearby end table.

Robin heard yet another knock on his door just as he was about to finish the last paper for the day.

“Come in.” Robin’s voice had grown incredibly tired just from the amount of work he had done today. The door to his office swung open, and Aversa stepped in with Lucina in her arms.

“Hello, Robin. Lucina wanted to say hi to her friend, and I couldn’t deny her request.” Aversa walked over to Robin’s side with a bright smile on her face. Originally, Robin had been incredibly mistrusting of Aversa, but as the months went on, she slightly grew on him. The fact that she frequently told Robin about her pleas to Chrom for him to stop this madness with Plegia might’ve helped with that.

“Hello, Lucina.” Robin smiled as he looked down at Lucina and watched as she swayed her tiny hands in the air. “Wait, hang on…” Robin covered his face with his hands in an attempt to feign invisibility. “Oh, where did I go?” He spoke in a playful face

Robin quickly removed his hands from his head and made the funniest face he could muster, which Aversa could only describe as a depressed jester discovering his family had been burned to a crisp. “Peekaboo!”

Lucina began to giggle at the predictable trick, and Aversa joined in laughing.

“By the way, can you look at something that I’ve been working on?” Aversa asked as she began to rummage with the pocket of her blue dress in one hand and cradled Lucina with the other. Robin watched as Aversa pulled a stamp out of her pocket and held it in front of Robin’s eyes. The tiny icon depicted a miniature Chrom nuzzling his head next to a small Aversa against a watercolor-like blue background.

“That looks very good.” Robin glanced up to Aversa while she placed the stamp back in her pocket.

“Why thank you. I’m going to give it to Chrom before today ends, as a sort of early anniversary gift.” Aversa grinned as she walked out of Robin’s study with Lucina slouching over her shoulder. “Thank you for cheering Lucy up!”

About ten seconds had passed after Aversa left before Lissa burst through the door and panted for breath.

“Robin, I found a way to cure the plague!” She doubled over and almost fell onto the carpet of the room.

“Wait, what?!” Robin bolted upright and leaned his hands onto his desk. “What did you do?”

“Look!” Lissa reached into her brown bag at her side and pulled out a white rat that poked its head out of Lissa’s hands. This was the same rat that Lissa had injected with the Violent Scourge and used as a test subject, except its purple rashes were gone. “It came to me in a dream! You know that formula that we thought was almost the cure? I thought about adding a pinch of Spirit Dust to it, and that did the trick!”

“So you’re saying our formula mixed with Spirit Dust is the cure?” Robin’s heart was practically beating out of his own chest now. She had done it. After two long years of spending all her time on making a cure, Lissa had finally done it, and Robin couldn’t be happier. “I can’t believe you did it…”

“I can’t believe it either.” Lissa let out a hearty sigh of relief as she slumped into the chair at her desk. “I’ll let Chrom know that we have the cure, and I’ll make more of it. Tomorrow we’ll ride to Plegia to deliver it and end this stupid plague once and for all.”

“That sounds like a good idea.” Robin sighed as he got out of his chair and stretched his legs. He had grown accustomed to spending over six hours in a chair only for his legs to ache when he finally stood up. “Well, I finished your workload and mine, so there’s nothing else I have to do for today.” Robin made his way across the carpeted floor and stood in front of the door to the hallway outside.

“I’ll handle the rest of the plague business. Go ask Chrom for your compensation for this week and go back home.” Lissa smiled and waved to Robin as he exited the room. “You deserve the rest.”

After Robin had received his salary from Chrom and exited the castle, he walked through downtown Ylisstol and past the massive crowds until he was back in the warming comfort of his own home. Cordelia was sitting on the couch reading a book when he entered the dining room.

“How was work?” She asked as she rested her head on the back of the cushiony seat and placed her book back on the end table.

“Well, Lissa was able to find a cure for the plague that’s been running rampant in Plegia.” Robin sighed as he kicked his shoes off to a pile at the side of the door.

“Really? That’s great!” Cordelia beamed as Robin sat on the couch beside her. “What was the cure?”

“Oh, it was just the formula we had been working on for two years but with Spirit Dust added.” Robin slumped forward as Cordelia scooted next to him. “How was your day?”

“Mostly boring.” Cordelia sighed as Robin rested his weary head against her shoulder. “Sumia commanded the troops for about three hours while I observed from a nearby bench.”

“That’s not very commander-like of you, is it now?” Robin teased her with a smile on his face.

“Still beats sitting in a cramped office all day.” Cordelia joked back as Robin mildly laughed.

“You’re not wrong there.” Robin’s gaze drifted to the dining table, where he noticed a blue tome sitting at his chair. “Say, what’s this?”

“Oh, I found that book at a flea market and figured you would enjoy it.” Cordelia followed Robin as he stood up and lifted the book off the table. His hands flipped through the dusty pages of the tome while he inspected the archaic writing inside it.

“This looks incredibly ancient, but it’s still a nice gift. Thank you.” Robin set the book back on the table and kissed Cordelia on the cheek.

The moon had begun its trek across the starry sky by the time Aversa returned to her room with Lucina in her arms. It had been a rather tiring day for her, seeing as she needed to be with Chrom for the numerous public events they appeared in, including the opening of a soup kitchen to help feed the starving masses of Ylisse. At the very least, Aversa had given Chrom the stamp she made of them, and Chrom had adored it to the point where he promised to have it sown into the back of his clothing.

The very instant that Aversa set Lucina in her crib, Chrom opened the door and gave her an apologetic look.

“I’ll be in bed in two minutes, honey. Lissa just made a major breakthrough and I need to finalize the details with her.” Chrom beamed at his wife, who smiled back as she seated herself on the bed.

“Okay, dear.” Aversa couldn’t find the strength to complain, considering Chrom went to sleep at the same time as her almost every day. She watched as Chrom shut the door to their room and could hear his footsteps grow quieter and quieter as he walked down the hallway.

Validar felt his heartbeat accelerate with anticipation as he watched Chrom walk away from his bedroom. He needed to do something, and fast before Chrom fired him and ruined his plan.

His thoughts returned to Aversa, and a certain something that he had left deep in her mind two years ago.

Validar scurried across the castle until he got to his study and locked the door behind him. The room was pitch-black, which was just how he liked his interior decorations. After making out the center of his office, Validar sat down and crossed his knees in a meditating position.

There was a certain role that Aversa was destined to play in Validar’s plan, and it was the tool to push Chrom past his limit. She would achieve this goal by being manipulated by the spell that Validar placed on her two years ago before she voluntarily lost her memory; said spell was created to allow Validar to control Aversa just when the time was right.

Validar began to chant to himself while he activated the spell, and he could feel his spirit leave his body and pursue Aversa’s own in her room. Today was the day the Grimleal would tell stories about; how a single man like Validar was able to shatter the Exalt’s life into small, insignificant pieces.

Aversa snapped upright as her fingers clenched and her head was craned upwards. Froth began to gush out of her mouth while she felt some strange, unknown sensation course through her body. First, her fingers and toes went numb. Then, her entire lower body stopped responding to her commands.

This ended with Aversa essentially being trapped within her own mind; she was completely aware of everything she was about to do, but powerless to stop it.

Her pupils dilated until her eyes were as dark as the sky, and her unearthly gaze turned to Lucina, who slept in her cradle like an innocent little angel who was blissfully unaware that her mother was now controlled by some malicious entity.

Aversa grabbed a nearby pillow off her bed and walked to Lucina’s crib with an inhumane gait. She slowly brought the soft, fluffy cushion down onto her daughter's face and held it there. Aversa tried to pull the pillow back and she screamed inside her own thoughts as loud as she could. She wanted to save her daughter, but she was powerless to stop whatever was controlling her.

After a minute, the rhythmic movement in Lucina’s chest had stopped, and Aversa tossed the pillow aside. Her thoughts were filled with nothing but sobbing; the crying of a mother who had just killed her daughter. On the outside, Aversa expressed no emotions as she looked onto Lucina’s inanimate body.

Her eyes focused on the bathroom directly before her, so Aversa promptly walked into the small area and looked at the glass mirror on the opposite wall. She swung her fist into the mirror as sharp pieces of glass flew everywhere.

Some brushed past her face, and some lined the floor, waiting for some unlucky soul to step on them. Aversa grabbed a particularly large shard and exited the bathroom; her feet were impaled by the broken pieces of glass on the floor, but she could not feel, or care less about the pain in her feet.

Aversa stood before the wall opposite the large window of her room as she threw the paintings that lined the wall onto the floor. Only when the surface was bare and empty did Aversa prick her finger with the shard of glass, and use her bloody finger to write a message in blood.

Once the message had been written on the wall, Aversa walked over to the single, massive window on the other side of the room and opened it. A cold breeze wafted in as she sat on her bed with an emotionless stare. She held the shard of glass to her chest with both hands, and her thoughts had devolved into a repeated scream of a rather simple phrase.

‘I don’t want to die’.

Normally, when one was holding a jagged piece of glass aimed at their chest, their hands would tremble and quake with fear. Aversa’s hands did not shake; even after she plunged the shard into her own chest.

Aversa doubled over in pain as she could feel her heart snap in two while she laid on her bed. She covered her bleeding chest with her arms in an attempt to make the agonizing pain go away, but to no avail.

Blood soaked the sheets of her bed as Aversa drew her final breath.

*Two minutes passed until Chrom opened the door to his room.

“Okay, dear. I’m bac-” Chrom’s gaze drifted up from the floor and straight ahead to his bed, where he saw nothing but a deep shade of crimson staining the sheets on the cushiony bed. “Dear?”

Chrom’s pulse began to steadily accelerate as he walked towards his bed. “Aversa, are you alright?” He asked as he noticed his wife was lying face-down on their bed. He prayed to Naga that the red stain was just tomato juice.

Chrom took a sharp breath as he nudged Aversa, and she didn’t respond. Chrom nudged her again but to no response. “A-aversa…?” Chrom’s eyelids began to rapidly blink as he rolled Aversa onto her back, and he almost fainted from what he saw.

Here laid his wife, who had a large, bloody stab wound in the center of her chest. The crimson stain was revealed to be blood gushing out of Aversa’s wound. “Gods…” Chrom’s lips quivered as he pressed both hands to where Aversa’s heart should be.

No pulse.

Chrom pulled his hands back to his side and began to sob as he rested his head on Aversa’s cold lap. He couldn’t care less that her blood was staining his clothing, or that he was hugging a corpse.

All he could focus on was the memories he would remember Aversa with. How she would always be there for him with her bright smile that would brighten up his day, or how she would tell him how Lucin-

Lucina .

Chrom’s blisteringly-fast heartbeat grew even faster as he hurried over to Lucina’s crib as he noticed she made no sounds. Every fiber of his being prayed that she was just asleep.

Chrom’s tears stained the wooden railings of Lucina’s crib as he saw her lifeless, innocent face. Like Aversa, her beautiful eyes were shut, and she had an air of peacefulness to her. Chrom delicately placed his hand on her tiny chest, and he could feel no pulse.

Lucina’s tiny heart, that Chrom loved dearly, was not beating.

Chrom lifted the corpse of his infant daughter out of her crib and whispered into her ear. “I-I-I’m sorry, Lucy…” Chrom’s voice sounded as though it would collapse on itself at a moment’s notice. “D-daddy should’ve been there for you and mommy…”

As Chrom held his child against his chest, his attention was drawn to the open window to his left, which was the source of a cool draft of air.

His focus then shifted to his right, where he saw a message written in crimson blood on the walls.

‘Plegia will rise again.’ The message read.

As Chrom inspected the terrifying message, he couldn’t help but feel searing rage as he put the pieces of the murder together in his head. Chrom deduced that a Plegian assassin had snuck into the room through the window, killed Aversa and Lucina, then left a note on the wall before they fled like the cowardly rat they were.

Chrom’s sobbing became more frequent as he placed Lucina next to her mother. “ First, they take my sister… And now, my family… ” Chrom buried his head into the mattress of his bed while he clenched his fists tightly. “Every Plegian is going to pay for what they did to me,” Chrom whispered to himself as his crying stopped, and all that was left was his anger.

Chrom put his thumb into the little space in his suit where he had sown the picture Aversa made. His eyes continued to water as he saw himself nuzzling next to Aversa, and experiencing a feeling he would never feel again.

Love.

Chrom pounded his mattress with his fist as his thought drifted to something that was currently causing a great deal of misery in Plegia. It was a certain something that was about to be cured and would stop their suffering from continuing.

Chrom exited his room and stomped his feet down the hall until he arrived in Lissa’s study.

“Chrom, are you…?” Lissa noticed the tears on her brother’s face as he entered her office and grabbed the green vial that contained the cure to the Violet Scourge off her desk. “What are you doing!”

Lissa could only watch in terror as Chrom threw the tiny glass onto the floor, where it shattered into minuscule pieces while the liquid inside the glass stained the carpet. That was the only cure Lissa had; the cure that was going to be replicated until she had enough to cure Plegia of its suffering.

“The Plegian killed Aversa and Lucina!” Chrom screamed into Lissa’s face as he slammed his hands down on her desk. She shielded her eyes from him as his breathing slowed.

“T-they killed Aversa and Lucina?! How?” Lissa asked in a panicked tone. “Why would anyone harm an innocent mother and child?”

“Assassins snuck in while I was away, stabbed Aversa, and strangled Lucina! They wrote ‘Plegia will rise again’ on the walls with her blood!” Chrom’s breathing had become extremely sporadic as he pulled himself back. “As long as I draw breath, all of those Plegian worms will suffer under my rule. I will ruin their families as they have ruined mine. I will burn their villages down as they did to ours in the war! I will conscript their children to fight in my army! I will destroy all culture that they hold dear! I will-”

Chrom continued to rant and rave as Lissa’s heartbeat accelerated. She was deathly afraid of her brother; not only because of his rage but because of one other fact.

Nobody could stop Chrom in what he was about to do. He was Exalt, and his word was law. It didn’t matter if his word meant the death of every Plegian; any who opposed him would be executed for treason.

Now's the point where you (the reader) should notice some differences between Awakening and this story plot-wise.

And no, Chrom does not get better.

Chapter Text

Fatigue

All Aversa could see as she gazed out was fire. Hot, red flames erupted from the ground in the distance and covered out the sky itself.

“There she is! Get her!” The loud voices from before echoed behind Aversa, and she had no choice but to hold Lucina against her chest while she sprinted away. Her feet kicked up charcoal as she ran atop the soot-covered ground, but she could still hear a wave of footsteps behind her.

To her left, over the burning hills and the ruined towns, stood the crumbling, dilapidated remains of the Ylissean castle that stood like a beacon against the crimson sky. To her right was a forest of dead trees, and over half of them had fallen over.

Aversa felt a freezing blast of air as she ran into the glade of trees and continued her sprint. Lucina began to cry as she continued running, but Aversa couldn’t tend to her daughter’s needs at this moment. She needed to escape.

“I think I saw her run through here!” More of the voices echoed throughout the forest while a thick fog rolled around her surroundings. Aversa turned in every direction, but couldn’t tell which way lead out of the forest and which way lead her into the clutches of that mob.

Aversa heard the sound of footsteps behind her and rushed next to a nearby tree. She sat against the rough bark of the tree while she looked down to Lucina, whose eyes were watering.

“Mommy, I don’t want to die...” Lucina whispered into her mother’s ear.

“I don’t want to either, dear.” Aversa couldn’t help but sob as she held her daughter close to her chest. “Chrom, please… Help us…”

“Found you!” A gruff voice spoke as a man lunged out of the fog before Aversa and grabbed her by the foot. The man gave her a twisted grin as he began dragging her away into the fog while she held Lucina.

“No, please!” Aversa cried out as she attempted to kick the man but her efforts bore no success.

Chrom took a sharp breath as he awoke in his bed. Generally, his sleep was riddled with horrifying nightmares such as that. He sat upright and examined his surroundings, which was the same old room he used to share with Aversa and Lucina.

Chrom turned around to face his other side and hugged a rather musty, old pillow that rested on his bed. Throughout the last year, the servants of the castle would beg Chrom to clean that pillow because it had been ages since it had been in the washroom. Chrom would respond by telling them the pillow was special because it was the one Aversa had rested her head on. He swore that it even had her scent.

Chrom would never respond verbally though. For the last year, he had silently commanded his kingdom with Validar, his closest ally and trusted tactician, working as his mouthpiece. Chrom’s reasoning for this was logically sound, to him at least:

This world had taken so much from him that he didn’t want to give the world anything back. In other words, he had become so cripplingly lonely that he couldn’t even find the strength to speak.

After spending a minute burying his head into a pillow, Chrom stood up and walked over to an empty crib that was placed in the center of the room. He placed his hand on the railing of the wooden crib and began to slowly rock it back and forth.

Lucina would have been two and half years old by now. She would’ve been able to talk, and walk, and brighten up Chrom’s day just by looking at him with her beautiful smile by now. Aversa and Chrom would’ve had to teach her how to use the bathroom, and how to control her voice so she didn’t scream all the time.

But that would never come to be. For some reason, Plegian assassins saw fit to kill Aversa and Lucina in cold blood as a way to get revenge. Revenge for what? For Chrom saving their kingdom and nurturing it back to health? For Chrom trying to cure the plague?

Apparently, Chrom’s actions were not good enough in the eyes of Plegia. He  was disgusted by the mere fact that they would not only bite the hand that feeds them but instead rip the hand’s fingers off. So disgusting, that Chrom figured he should repay the entire country of Plegia in a fitting manner.

‘Do unto others as they have done to you.’ Those were words uttered by Chrom’s father as a means to justify his war on Plegia. The older Chrom became, the more he realized how right his father was when it came to exterminating those fiends.

Even Emmeryn wouldn't offer peace to these murdering scoundrels who couldn’t care less that she perished to stop their bloodthirstiness.

Chrom stopped rocking the cradle back and forth, then he inspected his room. He noticed that the walls had lost their color, and became rather muted as a result. Chrom walked over to his closet, fitted his blue outfit over his body, and left his room.

As he walked over the room, he inspected the small drawing that was sewn into the back of his clothing.

Robin sighed as he rested his head on the armrest of his couch. Cordelia stood at the basin of water opposite the room while she washed her hands.

“Remember when I said things were going to get better?” Robin glanced at Cordelia, who briefly turned around to look at him. Sunlight shone in through a window behind her.

“At least we’re not dead.” Cordelia let out a sigh as she grabbed two plates off the counter and brought them to the dining table. Robin seated himself at the table and began to eat his breakfast.

“Thank you.” Robin couldn’t even bother to smile as he began to think about the last year that had passed by like a dreadful storm.

It was hard to believe that the very same night when Robin thought things were going to get better, they instead got worse, starting with the assassination of Aversa and Lucina. Immediately after that night, Chrom had destroyed the cure to the Violet Scourge and rendered all further progress towards the cure illegal. Then came the draft laws, where every Plegian child older than twelve years old was conscripted to join the Ylissean army.

It had seemed that Chrom was back to ruling things as he did in his first year as the Exalt; making incredibly specific laws targeted towards Plegians as a way to quell his rage over Emmeryn’s death. Only now, his rage was doubled due to the loss of his wife and child.

Regardless, the number of laws that had been passed was blisteringly high, to the point where Robin could only count what privileges the Plegians didn’t have.

“Isn’t today the ceremony?” Cordelia asked as she dragged a fork through her pile of various meats that she called breakfast.

“I think it is.” Robin sighed as he continued to eat his food. Today marked the yearly anniversary of Aversa and Lucina’s death, but Chrom also saw fit to include a remembrance for Emmeryn in there. All citizens of Ylisse were ordered to attend, and the same exact ceremony was happening today in Plegia.

After Robin and Cordelia finished their breakfast, they both stepped outside their house and into the chilly air outside. Robin observed his surroundings and was reminded that every house in their neighborhood was either dilapidated, smoldering, or a combination of the two. Beggars lined the streets and most people who passed by wore rags instead of functioning clothing. Things had somehow gotten worse than how they were last year, and reports said that Plegia wasn’t doing any better.

Robin and Cordelia’s house was the only one on the entire street to still look intact, which was due to Robin and Cordelia’s income allowing them to live comfortably. Comfortably was only used to describe their income though, as emotionally, Robin had become a wreck in the last year.

Frequently, he would toss and turn at night over what the future would do to himself and his wife, and Cordelia would have to soothe him almost every night. In fact, Cordelia had become a sort of ‘Emotional Anchor’ for Robin.

“Excuse me, but could you please spot some coin?” A small street urchin emerged from the crowd of people while he looked at Robin and Cordelia with a pleading look.

“Just keep walking. We’re running low on money anyway.” Cordelia whispered into Robin’s ear as she increased her pace. Robin matched her speed and avoided making eye contact with the child.

“Sir! Sir, please! My mother has fallen ill and she needs food!” The boy called out as he disappeared into the distant crowd of commoners. Robin couldn’t help but feel guilty about neglecting that poor child as he followed Cordelia to the central square of Ylisse.

In the center of the courtyard stood a statue of Emmeryn with clipped wings at her back. She had a forlorn look in her eyes while her foot hung over a child with the symbol of Plegia on the baby’s head.

A large crowd began to assemble around the statue, and before it stood an immensely-angry man with blue hair who did nothing but stare with a scowl. Robin sighed as he noticed Validar standing behind the man.

“People! I am pleased to see all your wonderful faces of delightful joy!” Validar called out into the crowd; Robin and Cordelia noticed that everyone in the crowd looked either bored, tired, or just plain frustrated. Ever since Chrom decided that being tight-lipped was ‘imposing’, Validar had been promoted to the position of ‘Mouth of the Exalt’, which meant that he spoke in Chrom’s stead. “Today, on this grim day, we need a reminder.”

Validar stepped in front of Chrom and grinned from ear-to-ear; Chrom looked like he couldn’t care less. “Three years ago, the previous Exalt gave her life so that Plegia could see the error of its ways. Unfortunately, Plegia was simply too ignorant to understand what repentance is, and exactly one year ago, they killed our queen and princess in cold blood.”

Robin wished that he could just shut Validar up, considering he had tried to kill Emmeryn in the first place. “As for that reminder, we need to know that every Plegian is not to be trusted. No sooner than the instant you turn your back to a Plegian, you will surely find a knife in your back, as our queen did.”

Cordelia expected Chrom to lunge out and strangle Validar for that rude comment regarding Aversa, but instead, he did nothing. He just stood there, looking incredibly tired as his mangled hair swayed in the breeze.

It was at that moment that Cordelia realized that Chrom was tired. He was just exhausted and sick of managing two crumbling kingdoms. He even looked like he was tired of being alive . “As a way to remind you all, we at the royal foundation have prepared a song for you.” Validar bowed, then stepped back at Chrom’s side. Robin raised his eyebrow in surprise, considering he had never heard anything regarding a ceremonial song.

What Robin didn’t realize is that this meant he was beginning to lose his position within Chrom’s royal workforce.

A certain pink-haired dancer that Robin hadn’t seen for three years walked out into the center of the crowd and meekly smiled.

“U-uh, hello everyone… I’ll be performing for you today.” Olivia glanced back at Chrom with a forlorn look; Robin raised his eyebrow and remembered that he had originally planned on setting Chrom up with Olivia. She noticed the annoyed looks on the crowd that practically read ‘get this show on the road’, and Olivia focused her attention directly ahead. “Okay… A one, and a two and a…”

*Olivia outstretched her arms to the sky as she began to sing. “Noble Exalt, we speak for him. Noble Exalt, we speak for him. Grand lord of Plegia and Ylisse!” Olivia waved her arms out while she smiled. Robin remembered just how good her singing voice was. “Every day we wish him glory, every day we wish him glory. In his fight, for our land, and our offspring.”

Cordelia noticed that Chrom was slowly nodding his head back-and-forth in rhythm with Olivia’s singing. “Oh Exalt, destroy the heathens! In your divine presence let us stay! Yours is every land and kingdom. Now and always, night and day!” Olivia raised her sight to the cloudy skies above while she held a high note. Validar began to crack a smile as he noticed the lull the crowd was falling into.

“We implore you, grand Exalt. We beg of you, grand Exalt. Bless our land and be at ease! Slay and pillage, those Plegians must pay. Slay and pillage, those Plegians must pay! Grant us all comfort in their downfall!” Olivia’s voice began to slow as the song winded to a close. “All we wish for you, our lord, is that you never lead us wrong! Rule us all, beloved Chrom the Exalt! That we may all enjoy your song!”

The crowd erupted into a chorus of cheers as Olivia bowed, then walked back to Chrom’s side. Her cheeks matched her hair as she gazed up to the Exalt before she was escorted away by a group of royal guards. Robin folded his arms in pure disgust at how blatantly racist Chrom’s ideals were becoming, which was exemplified by that admittedly nice song.

“This concludes the ceremony. You may all get on with your lives and continue serving the crown of Ylisse.” Validar took step back and walked alongside Chrom to the Ylissean castle in the distance, which was suspiciously the only building in the vicinity that wasn’t smoldering or covered in ash.

Robin and Cordelia exited the crowd of people and walked through the cracked roads until they stood before the Ylissean castle. Even the garden of the castle was wilted and gray due to neglect.

“See you after work,” Robin spoke in an emotionless and tired voice as he kissed Cordelia on the lips.

“See you after work,” Cordelia responded in an equally tired voice as she walked to the training courtyard of the castle. This wasn’t due to the state of their marriage, which was surprisingly good. Sure, they still fought sometimes, but at the end of the day, they still loved each other.

They were just tired of living in a bleak world where horrible things seemed to happen every day.

“Morning,” Robin spoke as he entered the bleak, muted interior of his study and noticed Lissa sitting at her desk.

“Morning…” For the last year, Lissa had lost her splendor and upbeat attitude that could liven up an entire room with its presence. Now all she did was mope around the place and frown; she had justification for this, considering her last two years of work against the Violet Scourge had been destroyed in one instant.

“Soo…” Robin sat down at his desk and attempted to make small talk, seeing as he had practically no work to do. “How was your da-” Lissa interrupted him before he was able to finish.

“Why are you even trying to make things sound better? We all know this kingdom is going down the drain thanks to my boneheaded brother and his hatred of Plegia.”

“I’d argue with you on that point, but I can’t think of any reason to defend Chrom.” Robin sighed as he slumped his back into his chair. Something began to stir in his mind, however. “Did you make any progress on the cure?”

For the last year, Lissa had been trying to make a cure for the Violet Scourge from scratch, considering she had lost the funding from Chrom. She had to hide her progress from the law, and Lissa remembered that last night she had made a breakthrough.

“Oh, hang on!” Lissa fumbled with bag and pulled out a green vial which looked identical to the cure she had made last year. “It took a while, but we finally have it!” She stood up and whispered into Robin’s ear, least a passing guard overheard what they said through the closed door.

“Does that sample work?” Robin examined the light-green liquid as Lissa smiled, which Robin swore she hadn’t done in about a year.

“Yep. My plan is that my contact and I will pick you up in the hours of the night, and we’ll ride on horseback to Plegia where we can deliver the cure.” Lissa stood up and paced around the room with her hands at her back. “I’m allowed to leave Ylisse on my own, so there should be no problem with me going out to pick you up.”

“Sounds like a plan.” Robin smiled as his mind began to drift until it settled on Chrom. “Do you mind if I rant about Chrom?”

“Go ahead. I have a few choice words I want to give him as well.” Lissa sat down back at her desk and stuffed the cure into her bag. Even though Chrom was her brother, Lissa couldn’t help but fight the urge to smack him whenever he silently passed by as though everyone else wasn’t worth his words.

What Robin and Lissa didn’t know was that Validar had walked past the door to their study, heard the word ‘Chrom’, and leaned his ear to the door in interest.

“Well, for starters, I don’t think he’s made a single good decision in his three years of ruling Ylisse and Plegia.” Robin stood up and began to pace around the room while Lissa watched.

“You’re right there.” Lissa sighed. “Honestly he should just step down from the throne.”

“He’s too bull-headed for that. If he ever did, he’d have that Validar charlatan say something about how ‘Plegia doesn’t deserve a ruler like him’, when really Plegia deserves a ruler better than him. He’ll probably go down in history as the only ruler to burn his own kingdom to the ground in his attempts to burn a different one.” Validar could hear the frustration in Robin’s voice grow with every syllable. “Honestly, I think I’m going to resign from how disgusted he makes me feel. It's a miracle he hasn't been killed yet!"

Validar decided he had heard enough and began to walk down the hallways towards the main room of the castle. He now had enough evidence to have Robin's position terminated, which would set him down the slippery slope Validar wanted him to go down from the very beginning.

Thanks to Chrom's laws, the necessary human sacrifices had been made, and Robin was ready to play his part. He just needed to be emotionally broken before his duty could be fulfilled.

"I mean, people have tried to kill him." Lissa spoke as she twiddled her thumbs. "Remember that time when an assassin snuck into the dining hall and Chrom broke his skull on the table?"

The following day after Aversa and Lucina had been killed, Chrom immediately had assembled a royal guard that was hand-picked due to their loyalty and honesty. Frederick originally was the captain, but he resigned out of disgust a few weeks ago.

Many attempts were made on Chrom's life, but all failed, due to the sheer state of lock-down the castle was in. Guards patrolled the halls, kept watch over the Exalt, and checked that every room was empty before the day was done. Hell, Chrom even had his food taste-tested before he would eat it, and he always had a guard watching the hallway outside his room.

"I think the problem is that everyone's too intimidated by him to try killing him." Robin sighed. "If only the royal guard was gone, then someone could save us from this madness."

Ten minutes passed before a scribe appeared in the doorway to Robin’s study.

“Sir, the Exalt needs you in the main room immediately.” The scribe spoke in a squeamish voice as Robin stood up and walked past him.

“ Of course Chrom couldn’t get off his lazy backside and come to me; no, I’m the one who has to come to him, ” Robin grumbled to himself as he walked down the bleak hallways of the castle and emerged in the grand lobby.

On the walls were stained-glass windows that showed the symbol of Ylisse, and sunlight poured down through the windows and settled on Chrom. Chrom sat by himself on his throne, and to his left was another throne that was vacant and dusty.

“So…” Validar stepped out from behind Chrom’s throne with his hands at his side. “A little bird tells me that you’ve been slandering about our dear friend Chrom.” Robin had to battle the urge to march right up there and strangle Validar with his bare hands.

“I would never insult Chrom!” Robin feigned a look of shock because he suspected that Validar had overheard his ranting.

“Lies! I overheard your defamation from inside our lord’s own home !” Spit flew from Validar’s mouth while he shouted. Robin shifted his focus to Chrom, who glared at both of them while he sat atop his throne.

“Chrom, who do you trust? Me, your closest friend? Or Validar, the man who tried to kill Emm?” Robin raised his eyebrow as he gazed to Chrom, whose ears perked up at the mere mention of Emmeryn.

Chrom, without saying anything, raised his arm and pointed to Validar. Robin interpreted this as Validar was about to be kicked out of the castle for good. “I knew you would see reason eventually.”

What Robin didn’t expect was that Chrom gave Validar a thumbs-up, then he pointed to Robin while Validar cracked a smile. Chrom’s hand drifted from Robin to the grand door at the end of the room. “You can’t be serious.”

“Oh, but he is. Effective immediately, you will resign your position as Chrom’s advisor and Lissa’s aid.” Validar also pointed to the door.

“Are you kidding me?” Robin yelled as he marched up to Chrom and pointed his finger in his face. “I am the only person in your entire circus that understands how to run a damned kingdom! You lose me, and you’re losing any chance you have of-”

Robin’s yelling was interrupted by Chrom wrapping his hands around Robin’s neck and stepping off his throne. Robin struggled to breathe as Chrom’s massive hands strangled his windpipe.

Chrom began to walk down the hallway as he pushed Robin away by the neck, and continued to walk until he stood before the massive doors that lead outside. “Chrom… T-think about what you’re doing…”

“Get. Out.” Chrom growled in a low, menacing tone as he opened the front door with his free hand and pushed Robin outside. Robin massaged his neck as he fell onto the floor and gasped for breath. The massive, ornate doors to the castle were now shut, and Robin couldn’t believe what just happened.

He had just lost the source of pay that kept him and Cordelia alive.

Cordelia rested the back of her head onto the stone wall behind the bench she sat on. Keeping Robin afloat emotionally had proven to be incredibly taxing, considering almost every day he would have some new thing to worry and obsess over until Cordelia let him lean on her shoulder.

“Hey, how are you holding up?” Sumia asked as she sat on the bench next to Cordelia. Aside from the stress lines forming underneath her eyes, Sumia had managed to greet the last year with a smile on her face.

“Decent. Robin’s been worrying non-stop about the future.” Cordelia pulled her head forward and looked to Sumia.

“I don’t blame him.” Sumia sighed as she gazed out to the field of recruits, which Sumia had taught how to train themselves on their own.

“How’s the family?” Cordelia raised her eyebrow at her friend.

“Well, Gaius and I are gonna take Valm’s offer and leave the country. Maybe take a vacation in Valmna-Ferox or something; I don’t know. I just want to go anywhere but Ylisse and Plegia.” As Sumia spoke, Cordelia remembered that Robin discussed this very same offer last week.

Six months ago, Regna-Ferox had cut all ties with Ylisse due to the kingdom’s treatment of Plegia. Almost immediately after, the land was swallowed whole by Valm’s forces and became known as Valmna-Ferox. Since then, the king of Valm had made an offer to anyone living in Ylisse who was dissatisfied with their kingdom: move to Valmna-Ferox, and they would be offered safe-haven.

Stahl and Tharja, due to the law that no Ylissean could marry a Plegian, had moved there two months ago, and Stahl had written to Robin just last week. Apparently, the offer had no ill intentions, and Stahl was now living a comfortable life with Tharja in the snowy mountains of Valmna-Ferox.

“That sounds nice.” Cordelia smiled. “Maybe I could convince Robin to quit his job and we could move there.”

“Honestly, I’d recommend getting out of Ylisse as fast as possible.” Sumia stood up and noticed the position of the sun in the sky, which she assumed meant that it was time to go home. “We’re leaving tomorrow, so maybe you can convince Robin by then. Until then, I should probably get home and start packing.”

“Sumia,” Cordelia stood up and wrapped her arms around Sumia in a hug. “If for some reason we can’t go with you, then I guess this is goodbye.”

“I g-g-guess it is…” Sumia stuttered as she turned around and hugged Cordelia back. “Thank you for being such a good friend all these years.” Cordelia noticed the tears that formed in Sumia’s eyes, and she couldn’t help but get a little weepy-eyed as well.

“Likewise,” Cordelia whispered into her ear as she took a step back and exited the training yard. She waved to Sumia as she walked away from the castle, past the crowds of beggars, and into the comforts of her own home.

What she didn’t expect was that Robin was lying face-down on the couch when she opened the front door. “Robin? What are you doing here this early?” Normally, Cordelia was home before Robin was done with his work.

“He let me go.” Robin’s voice was muffled as he spoke into the fluffy fabric of the cushions. “Chrom made me resign from my job.”

“He did?” Cordelia gasped as she seated herself on the floor at Robin’s side and rubbed his back. “What for?” Secretly, she had hoped something along these lines would happen, so Robin would have no qualms about leaving for Valmna-Ferox.

“That dastard Validar told him that I was spreading ‘slander’.” Robin pulled his head off the couch and looked to Cordelia with his tear-stricken eyes. “We’re going to starve from our lack of income, and it’s all my fault.”

“Hey, hey, don’t insult yourself like that.” Cordelia wrapped her arms around Robin’s frame and held him in her embrace. “We have enough gold for three months worth of food, and we still have my occupation to fall back on.”

Robin couldn’t really argue with her logic as he wrapped his arms around her back before pulling himself off the couch. “Besides, tomorrow is when Sumia and Gaius would leave for Valmna-Ferox, and I was thinking we could join them.”

“You mean… Starting a new life in a new country?” Robin dried his eyes and looked up to Cordelia.

“We could even try for a child.” Cordelia smiled at Robin, considering he had always wanted to have a child with her. Their only reason for waiting was because they didn’t want their offspring to grow up in such a horrible kingdom.

“Let’s do it.” Robin smiled back and felt a wave of confidence surge through him. He didn’t need Chrom’s stinking job, or to have to hear Validar one more time.

He could live the rest of his life in the snowy mountains with Cordelia, and he would adore that.

Late at night, when the moonlight shone through the windows of their house, Robin and Cordelia heard a knocking noise coming from the front door. Robin opened the door to reveal Lissa and Olivia standing in the dark streets outside.

“Hey, Robin. It’s time to go deliver the cure.” Lissa spoke as she fidgeted with the cloak that covered her head.

“Lissa, Chrom terminated my position. I don’t work for him anymore.” Robin leaned on the doorframe as he noticed Olivia, who was shivering. Robin deduced that it was because she was wearing her dancing uniform and not actual clothing.

“So? Who cares if my stupid brother fired you? You can still help me out and do a good deed.” Lissa folded her arms and glared at him. “You promised me that you would help out.”

“Fine, fine. Hey, Cordelia!” Robin turned around and slightly raised his volume as he spoke to Cordelia. “Are you fine if I go with Lissa to deliver a cure for the plague in Plegia?”

“We promise to have him back before tomorrow morning!” Lissa and Olivia yelled into the house. Robin wasn’t sure if he was going on a playdate or eradicating a plague. Cordelia emerged into the living room and smiled at them.

“Well, we’re all packed and ready to go, so I don’t have any problems with it.” Cordelia walked up and placed her lips to Robin’s. “See you tomorrow morning.”

“See you tomorrow morning.” Robin smiled as he kissed Cordelia then stepped outside his house. “So why is Olivia here?”

“She got us two horses that we can use, and she knows her way to Plegia.” Lissa pointed to Olivia, who waved back at Robin.

“Hi, Robin! When was the last time we saw each other?” She smiled as she tilted her head.

“This morning when you were singing that awful song about Chrom.” Robin began to walk towards the front gate of Ylisse and motioned for the two to follow him, which they did.

“Oh, yeah, about that.” Olivia matched Robin’s pace and walked beside him. “I had nothing to do with making those horrible lyrics. That weird gray man said that song was originally used in his religion, and he just changed a few of the words out to match Chrom.”

“What was the song about?” Lissa asked as she walked next to Olivia past the dilapidated houses of Ylisse.

“It was about some fell dragon named Grima or something. I don’t really remember much about it.”

True to her word, two horses were waiting for Robin, Lissa, and Olivia when they walked out of the front gate to Ylisse. The ride to Plegia took them about two hours of slowly trotting along on horseback while the moon bathed them in a pale light.

When they could see a massive, crumbling wall in the distance, they knew they were close to Plegia.

Robin became incredibly appalled as he entered the capital of Plegia on foot with Lissa and Olivia behind him. The place was like a ghost town; the dirt roads were bare and lifeless while the houses that lined the roads looked like shacks rather than living quarters.

The most desolate part of the entire town had to be the massive walls that lined the outside and blocked out all life from exiting or entering without a special pass like Lissa had. Robin had been told that the only source of food here was supplied by the emissaries that ruled, but said emissaries had their privileges revoked. Now Validar was in charge of running Plegia, and it looked like he was indeed running it.

Running it into the ground, that is.

“The apothecary is this way.” Lissa pointed to a tent that had a crude cross symbol painted on its front. Robin and Olivia followed her past the sparse crowds of passing folk; Robin noticed that every single person in the town had violet rashes lining their face.

As they stepped into the dimly-lit tent, Lissa fumbled with her bag and pulled out the green solution from before. She walked up to a nurse who sat a front desk. “Excuse me, but I think I have something that might interest you,” Lissa spoke as she set the cure on the nurse’s desk, and the female attendant looked up to Lissa with hope in her eyes. “This is the cure to the Violet Scourge. I’ve tested it, and it does work. Here’s the recipe so you can produce more copies.”

“Oh, praise Naga!” The nurse beamed with delight as she took the cure and the paper Lissa gave her. “This will end our suffering!” She stood up and shook Lissa’s hand in a rapid fashion. “The people of Plegia cannot thank you three enough!”

“It’s always a pleasure to help.” Robin smiled at the lady, who smiled back at him and Olivia. Robin then turned his focus to the masses of patients writhing in the tent while purple scars lined their bodies.

These people didn’t look like vile murderers; they looked like sick victims who had been mistreated by their new ruler.

Outside of the tent, a certain cloaked individual watched with wide eyes as he pulled a dusty tome out of his pocket. As a member of the Grimleal, it was his duty to report suspicious activity to his master. The events that had just transpired certainly qualified as suspicious.

“Sire, I bear ill news,” Validar spoke as he entered Chrom’s study and found the Exalt with his head bowed in thought while a lit candle rested at his side. “My sources tell me that Robin just delivered a cure to the plague directly to Plegia.

Chrom stared at Validar with wide eyes as his hands trembled with rage. Robin had not only doubted Chrom through every step of his rule as Exalt, but now he was saving the vile murderers who had killed his sister, his wife, and his daughter.

Chrom had to fight the urge to smash his fist into the table as he sat down, grabbed a quill, and began to furiously scribble on a paper. If Robin was going to try and help the people who stole Chrom’s happiness, then Chrom would have to pay him back in kind. When he was done, he tossed the paper to Validar and stormed out of the office.

“All members of the Pegasus Knights are hereby ordered to attack the renegade squad of Plegian archers camping at Breakneck Pass. Any who refuse to comply will be hung for treason.” Validar smiled as he read the paper aloud. It was quite devious, especially for something he had no involvement in creating .

Robin felt a newfound wave of energy surge through him while he rode back to Ylisse. Considering his and Lissa’s three years of progress against the plague had finally come to fruition, he had no reason to not feel like a hero.

He also learned quite a bit about Olivia thanks to their small talk on the way back home. Something that piqued his interest, however, was that she had always held feelings for Chrom ever since that battle against Gangrel three years ago.

“Well, see you around, Robin.” Lissa and Olivia waved as Robin walked up to his house. Robin looked around at the other houses on the street and had to admit they looked leagues better than the ones in Plegia.

“See you around.” Robin smiled and waved to them as he stepped into his house. He inhaled a fresh breath of air as he felt the warmth of his own home waft over him, and he entered his bedroom to find Cordelia snoring into a pillow.

He slipped in-between the coverings of his own bed and wrapped his arms around Cordelia’s smooth torso. Robin drifted into slumber almost immediately afterward due to exhaustion.

The very next morning, Robin sat at the table and continued to study the book Cordelia had gifted him last year when he heard a knocking on the door. They were going to join Sumia and Gaius before they left for Valmna-Ferox, so maybe the knocking on the door was just Sumia, who was early to leave. Robin opened the door to find a certain, slimy individual that he never wished to see again.

“What do you want?” Robin snarled at Validar, who stood in the open doorway.

“This doesn’t pertain to you, Robin. It’s about your wife.” Validar spoke and struggled to keep the door open as Robin attempted to close it. Cordelia heard her name and stood beside Robin.

“What do you require from me?” Cordelia asked as she placed a hand on Robin’s shoulder.

“You and your squad are ordered to engage this squadron of rebel Plegian archers positioned at Breakneck Pass.”

“But that’s a suicide mission!” Cordelia and Robin spoke in shocked unison. Anyone with half a brain cell knew that archers were lethal to any winged attacker.

“Chrom’s orders, not mine.” Validar cracked a smile and held his hands up in a sign of peace.

“What if I refuse to lead my squadron into a thinly-veiled suicide mission?” The contempt for Validar in Cordelia’s tone was now blatantly apparent.

“You’ll be publicly executed for treason against the Exalt.” Validar handed her the paper documenting the order and walked away. “If you prefer to keep your life, then you should join your squad within the next hour before you set off.”

Robin slammed the door behind Validar while Cordelia’s gut sank as she read the paper.

“You are not going on that mission. Not while we’re this close to getting a happy ending.” Robin positioned himself between her and the doorway. There was no way in hell that he was letting his wife get taken from him; not after he had fought this hard to keep them alive.

“Robin, my hands are tied.” Cordelia sighed as she held Robin in an embrace. “I either lead my squad and have a slim chance of survival, or I wind up at the noose.” She used her strength to move Robin out of the way, and she noticed that tears were falling down his face.

“P-p-please don’t go.” Robin held his arms around Cordelia as she opened the door. “Don’t leave me!” He wailed.

“Robin, I’m sorry. I’ll be back home safe tomorrow morning, and then we can move to Valmna-Ferox.” Cordelia kissed Robin on his lips as she stepped outside and removed his arms from her body. Robin collapsed to his knees as he watched his wife disappear into the morning fog, and he wiped his eyes.

Cordelia would be back. She had to come back safely.

Twenty-four hours had passed, and in those hours Robin had only done minimal eating and sleeping. Most of the time was just him sitting on the couch with his fingers steepled against his head.

His lull was broken when he heard the neighing of a horse-like creature and the flapping of wings.

“ Oh, gods she’s back! ” Robin could hardly contain his excitement as he threw the door open and rushed outside. Sure enough, there was a pegasus waiting directly to his left, and someone wearing the standard attire of the Pegasus Knights.

The only problem was that the person’s uniform was purple and pink instead of Cordelia’s standard white and red, and she had brown hair instead of Cordelia’s red hair.

“Sumia?” Robin’s heart skipped a beat as he noticed who was standing before him, and his panic was increased tenfold when she noticed that her outfit was stained with blood and that she was crying .

“We have to go to Cordelia.” Sumia’s mouth gagged those words out as though she was choking on them.

Oh no.

Chapter Text

Blame

It had taken Cordelia’s squad about twenty-three hours to find the collection of Plegian archers. As luck would have it, they were nowhere near Breakneck Pass, as that was only their last reported location. It turned out the archers were halfway across Ylisse in the grassy outskirts of the country.

Endless amounts of clouds rolled in the gray skies above as Cordelia’s squad closed in on the crowd in the distance amidst the flat stretches of grass. Sumia rode beside Cordelia as the crowd grew closer and closer, and soon enough, she could make out members of the archers.

Every single person in the renegade archers looked like they had just walked out of a schoolhouse. None of them would be able to meet Cordelia’s height if she dismounted her pegasus, and every single one had a childlike stare as they gazed at the Pegasus Knights.

“U-um… You’re part of the Ylissean military, right?” One archer stepped out in front of the rest; Cordelia assumed he was the leader, judging by the white stripes of paint on his helmet that made him stand out from the rest.

“Yes, we are,” Cordelia spoke back as the rest of her squad waited at her side.

“L-look, we’re sorry we attacked that group of Ylissean bandits. They were trying to attack our home and…” The boy spoke and dropped his bow while Cordelia raised her hand upright. The eyes of her squadmates lit up as they noticed the hand, which meant that she was about to assign an order.

If her arm was pointed towards the group of archers, they were to engage in battle. If her palm opened and her arm remained upright, they were to put their weapons away.

Cordelia’s arm remained upright and her palm unfurled. The archers made a collective sigh of relief as they noticed the Pegasus Knights lose their tense demeanor.

“How old are all of you?” Cordelia raised her eyebrow as she asked, and her hand as now back at the reigns of her steed.

“About ten to sixteen years, ma’am.” The boy spoke as he took his helmet off. “A-are you letting us g-” Cordelia couldn’t believe that a group of children was engaged in combat.

“I can’t order my squad to attack children in good conscience.” Cordelia finished the boy’s thought and watched as her squad put their armaments away. “What do you mean by Ylissean bandits?”

“Ever since last year, bandits bearing the Ylissean coat-of-arms have been crossing to our land and razing villages to the ground. Our village was going to be burned by them, and we had no other option but to fight back and defend our homes.” The leader spoke as he looked to Cordelia with pleading eyes. “Thank you for showing us mercy.”

“Psst, Cordelia.” Sumia’s pegasus trotted next to Cordelia’s while Sumia whispered in her ear. “I don’t think Chrom will like it if we come back empty-handed.”

“Hmm.” Cordelia pondered her situation for few seconds before she noticed the red helmets on the head of every archer. “I’m sorry to say this, but we’ll need something to prove to our Exalt that we fulfilled our duties. Your helmets would suffice.”

Without saying a word, the Plegian children walked over to the squadron of Pegasus Knights and took off their tiny helmets. Cordelia felt her heart shatter when a girl who looked no older than nine-years-old stood before her with an adorable smile on her face.

“Thank you for letting us go, ma’am.” The girl beamed with delight as she handed Cordelia her small helmet. Cordelia’s hands trembled as she looked the girl in her bright, innocent eyes. The fact that a pure, sweet girl like her was forced to fight for survival was sickening to her.

So sickening that Cordelia almost gagged as she held the helmet to the sky.

After every member of Cordelia’s squad now had a ‘trophy’, they waved goodbye to the Plegian archers and prepared to take off back for Ylisse. Cordelia knew that Robin was worried sick about her, and she desperately didn’t want to give him anything else to worry about by lingering.

“Well, well. Looks like you really are as spineless as they say.” A certain, shadowy individual stepped out from a dark hole that materialized before the group. “Phila would be so ashamed of you, Cordelia.” “Validar slowly clapped his hands while his dark cloak swayed in the breeze.

“Hold your tongue.” Considering that she was about to leave the country, Cordelia saw no reason to not utter some choice words she had for Validar. “At least I understand what compassion is. You probably enjoy kicking puppies.”

“How hurtful of you… I feel so distraught at that harmful remark.” Validar continued to glare as he raised his hands to the sky. “However, I know you have some old friends who have been dying to see you again.” All of the pegasi reared back in terror as purple flames erupted from the ground, and several humanoid figures walked out of the flame. They all had purple, wrinkly skin and wore the standard attire of the Pegasus Knights, but their outfits were stained with blood and singed.

Cordelia gasped when she realized this was her old squad of Pegasus Knights that died to protect her three years ago when the Plegian-Ylissean border fell.

“You… You monster! You can’t just bring these tortured souls back from the dead in your sick games!” Cordelia was appalled by how monstrous and inhumane Validar’s sorcery was.

“Save your breath for someone who cares.” Validar retorted back as he began to walk away. “They’re Risen. They lack basic thought process and are no different from the animals that you ride atop. Regardless, I have more interesting things to attend to.”

Validar did not really have anything better to do; it was just that he was not fond of direct conflict. Whenever a problem arose, he could just overwhelm the issue with Grima’s power and that was it. Putting himself in a dangerous situation was the last thing Validar wanted to do, and he intended to keep it that way.

Cordelia’s gut wrenched when she noticed a certain woman with pale-blue hair ride forward ahead of the group of Risen. Several arrows lined her chest, which was adorned with the golden breastplate that was associated with the commander of the Pegasus Knights.

Even Phila had been pulled from her grave, and Cordelia could feel her rage building as Validar disappeared into another dark vortex.

Phila and her squad of Risen Knights took off towards the darkened sky, which now had storm clouds rolling around in it.

*“Knights! Take to the skies and dispatch these abominations!” Cordelia raised her spear toward the sky with a cheer as the rest of her squad cheered in unison.

As the two squadrons of winged knights battled in the clouds, Cordelia couldn’t help but feel the familiar rush of battle shoot through her veins and provide adrenaline to her nervous system. Everything about the battlefield, from the flapping of her steed’s wings, the blast of air that blew her hair behind her back, the rhythm of following an enemy from behind before jabbing her lance through them, and even the fear of death itself all merged into one drive for perfection .

As she closed in on another Risen Knight, Cordelia jerked the reins of her steed in the other direction and was brought in directly to the undead’s left. She smashed the shaft of her spear into the nose of her enemy, and the shock from the blow knocked the Risen Knight off their steed and tumbling through the sky toward the ground below. The falling knight’s pegasus disintegrated into dust while Cordelia flew away.

Cordelia rubbed the side of her steed’s neck while she looked out to the rest of her squad. They had done enough combat missions in the last three years where she felt confident in their abilities, and sure enough, her squad was effortlessly defeating the Risen. As far as she could tell, no casualties were had for her squad, while the Risen were all but eliminated.

Cordelia’s squad of knights had effectively beaten Phila’s, which was a massive boost of confidence for the red-haired commander.

She would have to celebrate later, as a certain figure emerged from a nearby cloud and positioned herself between Cordelia and the rest of her squad. Said figure was Phila, who raised her spear towards Cordelia in an act of singling her out.

A one-on-one duel between two commanders of the Ylissean Pegasus Knights was eerily poetic to Cordelia. She had no option but to engage Phila in combat, seeing as she was the last obstacle between Cordelia and Robin’s emigration to Valmna-Ferox.

A cool blast of air drifted by while Phila jerked the reins of her pegasus towards Cordelia. Cordelia steered her pegasus away from Phila’s lunge and jabbed her spear in response. Her weapon struck Phila in the gut, who didn’t even react while a gray, mud-like substance poured out of her chest.

The steeds of the two commanders began to fly side-by-side at a relatively quick speed while Phila brought her lance down towards Cordelia’s skull. Cordelia dodged out of the way and shoved the long, cylindrical pole of her spear into Phila’s head.

The shafts of the two spears were crossed horizontally to make an X shape while the combatants while they pushed against the other’s strength. Phila’s hands mimicked Cordelia as she used both of them to push against Cordelia’s physical strength. Cordelia and Phila were now face-to-face with determined looks in their eyes, but Cordelia could notice just how lifeless Phila’s irises were.

Cordelia found a surge of strength shoot through her as she knocked Phila off her balance, and struck her through the gut with her spear in her lopsided state. Phila grabbed the spear by its metallic shaft and struggled to keep her grip on it as Cordelia yanked it out of her gut.

Phila began to tumble off her steed with a lance in her hand, and Cordelia assumed that was the end of the battle.

What Cordelia didn’t know was that each commander in the Ylissean Pegasus Knights had one invaluable trick up their sleeves, which was instructed to them when the title of ‘Commander’ was passed from one individual to the next. When defeat was all but assured and their lives were about to reach their end, the commander was instructed to take at least one of the enemies down with them. The only reason Cordelia had no idea this trick existed was because Phila was unable to teach it to her before she passed away.

Phila held her spear with one arm and pulled said arm back while her eyes focused on the leather covering over Cordelia’s stomach. She plotted the trajectory of her spear, aimed it, and watched as her weapon sailed through the air.

Cordelia’s hands twitched as she felt a cold wave of pain spread through her body like a flame. She struggled to breathe as she noticed the bloodied spear that protruded from her stomach.

The mere sight of the blood soaking her body was enough to cause Cordelia to faint and let go of her steed as she plummeted headfirst toward the ground.

“Cordelia!” Sumia had watched the battle from a short distance away and screamed. There was no way in hell that she was letting her best friend die on her.

Sumia’s hands trembled as she steered her steed towards the ground. Wind lashed at her face as she got closer and closer to Cordelia, who was blissfully unconscious while she fell. The grassy fields of the ground were fast approaching as Sumia outstretched her arm towards Cordelia.

At the very last minute before impact, Sumia tightly grabbed Cordelia’s foot and pulled her up. She held her friend on her lap as her pegasus corrected itself and now flew parallel to the ground.

Sumia scanned the nearby field for a place to help Cordelia, and her eyes settled on a dilapidated building that stood against the hills like a symbol of hope.

Sumia steered her steed through the open hole in the roof and settled Cordelia down on a raised platform inside the ruined building. Rubble lined the floor while a shattered stained-glass window stood behind them.

“Sumia… What happened?” Cordelia wheezed as she rested on her side. The shaft of the spear in her chest was used to prop her up. Sumia scrambled to her feet and began hurriedly checking the satchel on her pegasus’ saddle.

“You’re going to be just fine, I have a staff right here…” The panic in Sumia’s voice was incredibly obvious while she searched through her bag. Only after thirty seconds of failed searching did Sumia realize that she hadn’t brought a staff, or a vulnerary or anything to heal Cordelia’s gaping wound in her chest. “No… No! No no no!”

“Sumia, what’s wrong?” Cordelia’s words became constrained as she struggled to keep her breath going. Sumia sat next to her and began to punch herself in the head without mercy.

“I’m such a gods-damned idiot !” Sumia smashed her own fist into her face; it was the only way that she could feel better about failing Cordelia. “I didn’t even bring any healing supplies! Why. Am. I. Such. An. Idiot!” Every word that Sumia spoke was punctuated by her fist jerking into her head.

“Stop!” Even though it brought Cordelia an immeasurable amount of pain to get up, she slightly raised herself and wrapped her hands around Sumia’s arm. “You’re not an… idiot…” Cordelia’s facial expressions were also becoming constrained as she laid back down. Sumia brought her fist to her side while her eyes began to well up. “You couldn’t have predicted this outcome.”

“I’m… I’m sorry, Cordelia…” Sumia buried her face in her hands while she let out a ghastly wail.

“Please… get this spear out of my chest...” Cordelia tapped Sumia on the knee, who looked up from her hands with tear-stricken eyes. Sumia walked over to her satchel and pulled out an emergency cloth that she always kept at her side.

“O-okay… Sit upright for a bit.” Sumia walked to the area behind Cordelia as her wounded friend raised herself so the spear in her body was not touching the ground. Sumia grabbed the pole of the spear with both hands and closed her eyes as she quickly pulled it towards her.

Cordelia grunted in pain as the spearhead was pulled out of her body, and in its wake was a bleeding hole in her stomach. Sumia tended to her wound, and soon enough the hole was covered with a crimson-stained cloth. Even though her wound was now solved, Cordelia could feel her strength waning..

“Sumia… Listen to me.” Cordelia looked Sumia directly in the eyes as she rolled onto her back. “I’m not long for this world… Bring Robin here…” Cordelia just wanted to see her husband one last time.

“I will.” Sumia gave Cordelia a saddened look as she stood up and mounted her pegasus. Tears lined her face as she flew out of the building and towards Ylisse, which was a short two-minute flight away.

After Sumia had explained to Robin the tragedy that had occurred, he could only help but feel panic as Sumia landed her pegasus in a space before a ruined, gray building. All of the Pegasus Knights waited outside with weepy eyes while Robin dismounted the winged steed.

“You… You go on ahead. I’ll meet you back outside.” Sumia held back tears as Robin rushed into the building. She couldn’t stand to see Cordelia like this.

As Robin stood in the main entrance of the building, he looked around and noticed just how ruined the interior was. Grass and various weeds were growing on the floors; sizeable holes were in the walls that allowed air to pass in.

It was only when Robin’s eyes drifted up and he saw the room just beyond the entrance did he realize where he was. Broken pews were placed to the right and left of a faded red carpet, and at the far end of the room stood an altar that was looked over by a broken stained-glass window with the Ylissean symbol on it.

**This was the broken remains of the church Robin and Cordelia had gotten married in. The entire building was crumbled and shattered beyond repair, and it likely hadn’t been tended to in three years.

Robin’s heart skipped a beat when he noticed a certain figure laying on her back at the altar.

“No…” Robin broke into a sprint through the crumbling room as he got to the altar. “Cordelia…” He got on his knees and leaned over Cordelia, who stirred when she heard his voice. Blood stained her clothing and her entire skin was tinted a ghastly shade of white. Around her waist was a cloth tinted with crimson, but it seemed to do an ineffective job at stopping her blood from leaking.

Even her eyes, which Robin always loved to see their comforting warmth at the end of his day, looked as though they were fighting to stay open. The act of seeing someone as strong and infallible as Cordelia reduced to this state made Robin’s heart shatter.

“There you are.” Cordelia gave a sickly smile as she cupped the side of Robin’s head. Tears flowed out of his eyes and stained the stone ground. “I’m… sorry you have to see me like this.”

“D-d-don’t be sorry.” Robin’s lips trembled as he held Cordelia’s frigid hand. “I shouldn’t have let his happen…”

“Robin, you had no control over this.” Cordelia took a sharp wheeze as her eyes widened. Even the act of breathing was becoming too tiring for her. “Do not blame yourself for my death.”

“You’re not going to die here! You’re going to be just fine! We’re going to get you healed and good as new, and you’ll be safe, and… and… and…” Robin slammed his other hand into the dirt into frustration. After everything he had done; every hour he had spent working so he and Cordelia could afford to live a comfortable life.

It just wasn’t fair for this to happen, not when they were so close to living out the rest of their lives in peace. “You’ll be with me…”

“Robin, we need to be realistic…” Cordelia held his hand with her own and stopped his rage. Robin couldn’t help but think about all the things Cordelia said they would do after they emigrated.

“We were going to go sight-seeing in the mountains of Valmna-Ferox… We were going to go dancing in the halls of Ylisse… We were going to have a child, and now this…” Robin collapsed and rested his head next to Cordelia’s.

“I know… I wish that we could’ve done those things.” Cordelia held the side of Robin’s head with her hand. “But sometimes, life doesn’t work out the way you want it to.”

At this point, Robin couldn’t stop crying as he looked Cordelia in her beautiful eyes. “Robin, I need you to do something for me.”

“A-anything for you, dear…” Robin stood up and gazed at his wife while his lips trembled. Cordelia could feel her strength waning as she noticed the blood seeping out of her bandaged wound.

“Bleeding out is a slow and painful way to go.” Robin’s gut wrenched in pain when he realized where Cordelia was going with this. “Please, take that lance behind me,”

Cordelia pointed to the bloodied lance that sat behind her. “Take that, and end me with it.”

“C-Cordelia, I can’t d-d-do that.” Robin simply couldn’t muster the strength to kill his own wife. Just coming to terms with the fact that she was going to die was much easier to stomach than killing her.

“Please… Do it for me…” Cordelia looked at him with pleading eyes, and Robin realized how cruel it would be to leave her to suffer like this in her pale, dying state.

“A-alright, dear.” Robin bent down and lifted the cold lance off the ground. He stood over Cordelia with the spearhead angled at her chest.

Robin shut his eyes and looked in the other direction. His hands trembled, and he couldn’t bring himself to do it. The tip of the lance shook and wavered while Robin was unable to keep his hands steady.

Memories rushed through Robin’s mind while he let out a yelp of anguish, and he quickly brought the lance down into Cordelia’s chest.

She let out a cry of pain as Robin’s knees buckled and he fell to the ground beside her. His hands refused to stop shaking, even after he dropped the lance.

“Till death… do us part...” Cordelia pressed her freezing lips onto Robin’s forehead before pulling her head away. “I love you…”

Cordelia’s breathing stopped and her eyes closed as Robin held her hand. He remembered the soft, smooth feeling of her fingers against his own, and how she would always support him after a grueling day.

“No…” Robin muttered as he wrapped his trembling arms around Cordelia’s lifeless body. “No…”

Robin felt his entire body lose any sense of feeling while he cried next to Cordelia’s corpse. He wasn’t sure exactly what to feel, aside from a few basic emotions.

Sadness that this was all happening to someone like him, who had tried to play his cards right.

Anger towards people like Validar and Chrom, who had driven an entire kingdom into the brink of destruction. Validar’s name stuck out in Robin’s mind like the infernal screeching of an animal.

The roars devolved into a cacophony of chants that all repeated the same word.

‘Validar’.

Validar was the one who gave Cordelia the order to the suicide mission.

Validar was the one who had manipulated Chrom into ruining his own kingdom and name.

Validar was the one who had ruined everything.

Robin stood up, wrapped his arms around Cordelia one last time, and stomped towards the exit of the church. Purple flames flickered to life at his shoulders, and where he walked, crimson signs followed in his wake.

The signs depicted six glowing eyes that were connected by two lines. It was the standard sign of the Grimleal, and by association, the fell dragon Grima.

Robin looked to his right hand, which had a symbol of six purple eyes on it. The symbol had been on his hand ever since he had woken up, but now it was shining a bright, purple light.

Five minutes had passed by the time Robin emerged from the ruins to the squad of weepy-eyed knights. His cold, calculating focus shifted to Sumia, who rested the front of her head against a wall.

“Take me to the Ylissean castle.” He spoke in an emotionless voice as he firmly set his hands on Sumia’s shoulders.

“O-okay.” Sumia looked back with teary eyes as she walked to her steed, and soon after they both mounted the pegasus.

As Robin sat behind Sumia, he couldn’t help but feel distant to just about everything. It was as if when Cordelia had perished, so too did Robin’s emotions.

The only thing Robin was sure about was that he was going to rip Validar’s own skin off and flail him with it until he paid for what he had taken.

...

Chapter Text

Failure

Robin could feel his rage quietly build as Sumia’s pegasus flew into the town of Ylisstol before dropping him off at his home. The sun had come to the end of its day-long voyage, and as a result, the entire sky was a bright shade of orange while the sun shone behind the castle of Ylisse. As Robin stood before the front door of his house, he turned around and looked to Sumia.

“What exactly are you planning on doing?” Sumia asked as Robin gave her a cold stare.

“Storming the castle and making Validar suffer for what he’s done to my loved ones.” Robin stepped into the familiar air of his own house, but the noticeable lack of Cordelia’s smell was all he could focus on. He grabbed the blue tome Cordelia had gifted him a year ago off the table and stuffed it into his coat pocket. He wasn’t sure why he came back just for the book, but the most logical answer he could make was the sentimental value the tome meant to him. “Don’t follow me.” Robin glared at Sumia as he walked out of the empty house and into the equally empty streets of Ylisse.

“But you can’t just kill the Exalt’s advisor!” Sumia stomped her foot in frustration as Robin walked away.

“Goodbye, Sumia.” Robin waved to her as he walked away. He didn’t care if he couldn’t kill Validar; at the very least he could attempt to, and that would certainly soothe the growing rage in his mind.

Robin stuffed his hands into his pockets while he walked down the barren streets of Ylisstol. Three years ago, this town was the prospering capital of a nation with hope. Flowers lined the streets back then and the smell of joy itself was alway present. Now, it was a ruined wasteland devoid of people and devoid of said hope. Everyone with common sense had moved to Valmna-Ferox and was now living happily.

A sane person would stop their lust for revenge and leave for Valmna-Ferox where they could live out the rest of their days in bliss away from the Mad Exalt. Robin was not in the mood for bliss, or happiness, or anything of that matter. What he was in the mood for was the termination of Validar’s miserable existence.

While Robin walked down the deserted streets, he caught the attention of some unsavory individuals who poked their heads out from behind a nearby house..

“Hey, boss man! Look at the coin purse on that fellow!” A mook whispered to his leader. “You can see the bulge in his coat pocket!”

“Looks like a prime target to me.” The leader of the bandits whispered to his subordinates. “Follow my lead.”

What the thieves didn’t know was that the bulge they noticed in Robin’s cloak was the tome he had grabbed from earlier and that Robin was not in a mood to trifle with scum like them. “Well, lookie there! A lost lamb wandering the streets!” A man wearing a hood spoke as he walked out from behind a building into the path Robin was walking. What looked to be his cronies followed after him while they glared at Robin.

“Get out of my way,” Robin spoke in a low, menacing voice as he continued to walk past the bandits.

“‘Fraid we can’t do that, pretty boy.” The leader pulled out an iron knife and began to twirl it between his fingers. “Now just give us your valuables, and you can keep at least one of your ears.”

Robin groaned in mild frustration as he turned around and brought his hands out of his pockets. He began to wave his hands throughout the air while the bandits raised their eyebrows. The mark on Robin’s right hand began to glow with a faint purple light as the bandits were lifted off the ground and suspended in the air.

“P-put us down, you freak!” Most of the bandits screamed in terror while Robin pressed their bodies against each other and continued to walk down the streets while the large ball of floating bandits followed him. Robin calculated that with the bandits included, there were just enough people left in Ylisse to accomplish his plan.

Outside of the Ylissean castle were several watchtowers placed for the sole purpose of scanning for potential threats. Inside one of the watchtowers stood a soldier whose shift was just about to end when something caught his eyes.

In the far-off corner of the city, the roofs of the houses began to cave in and collapse. Then the houses next to the crumbling ones would collapse, and the cycle continued.

The guard assumed it was a freak earthquake or something along those lines, and prepared to sound the horn that signaled an emergency. It wasn’t until the guard pressed the horn to his mouth did he notice something else in the distance.

Screams echoed in the distance, then stopped. More screams followed, then were promptly ended by some unknown force.

Stomp.

Stomp.

Every few seconds, there was the sound of… something stomping its feet into the ground. The tower shook and the soldier struggled to keep his balance.

The guard pressed his lips together and blew into the horn with all the strength he could muster while his eyes widened with fear. He took solace in the fact that his family had left Ylisstol for Valmna-Ferox.

Chrom’s ears perked up as he sat on his throne inside the dull main room of the Ylissean castle. The sound of a horn blowing caught his attention, and horn-calls were reserved for if something disastrous was happening to the city outside.

“My liege, we need to get you to safety,” Validar spoke as he pointed to a nearby staircase to Chrom’s left. “You’ll be safe on the balcony.”

Chrom silently stomped towards the stairs and went to them. It wasn’t until he was gone did Validar call out to the last pocket of loyal soldiers Chrom had retained. “Alright, men! Something is attacking this castle, and you need to defend yours truly and the Exalt!” The fact that Validar had no idea what exactly was attacking was enough to send a chill down his spine.

Holland sighed as he stood among the crowd of soldiers with a lance in his hand. Today was the last day Validar required his services, and his wife had been sent back home roughly three years ago. They frequently wrote to each other, and Holland desperately wanted to be back home safe with her.

The room Validar and the troops stood in was the central throne room of the castle, which had rows of pillars on the right and left side respectively. At the side of the room opposite the two vacant thrones, there was a massive pair of wooden doors that lead outside.

The doors began to knock, and they knocked again. Something outside was using all its force to knock the doors down, and the troops inside the room began to quake in their boots.

*The sound of wood being split filled the room as the doors swung open to reveal the orange rays of the sun, and a towering figure loomed in the doorway. Holland had to fight the urge to scream when a massive, humanoid structure stomped into the entrance of the room. Its head reached the ceiling while it leaned over the small army.

“What the hell is that thing?” One of the soldiers asked.

“Oh, gods! Look at the texture of its body!” Another soldier noticed the tiny arms and legs that were poking out of this creature. Then he noticed the screaming faces that lined its body, which looked eerily similar to the standard uniform of the Pegasus Knights. Even the face of the statue had feminine qualities to it, even though it was made out of more bodies. At the top of the statue’s head was a river of blood that rushed behind it that mimicked long, red strands of hair.

Robin stood atop the moving statue of bodies with a demented glare in his eyes. He had used his newfound powers to gather almost every citizen in Ylisstol into an amalgamation of bodies that resembled someone very dear to his heart. The people were still alive as they squirmed against each other in this unholy abomination, but that didn’t mean they wished they were still alive.

Validar felt his heartbeat accelerate as the statue pulled its leg up, then began to slowly stomp down the hallway. It all made sense now; Robin was now tapping into the demonic powers of his bloodline, and used said powers to create a gigantic, moving statue in the shape of Cordelia .

All of the soldiers -and even the bodies inside of the Cordelia statue- screamed in terror as the statue walked down the hallway towards Validar. The soldiers sprinted away from the statue as fast as their legs could, and turned around to see it continuing down the hallway. The ground shook with every long, prolonged step it took.

Holland threw his spear onto the floor and decided that staying away from this statue was much more important than helping Validar. All of the troops seemed to have come to the same conclusion as they lowered their weapons with a terrified look on their eyes.

Robin looked out in disgust as his statue continued to walk down the long room until it loomed over Validar. He couldn’t care less that all these people he had molded into a statue had their own families and lives they were a part of.

All Robin could focus on was that his family had been taken from him by an insignificant worm, who was now cowering in fear at Robin’s power.

Validar squealed in terror as the hand of Robin’s statue lowered down and lifted him off the ground. His skin crawled as he felt the hands of the still-living peasants rub against his own.

“Please…” A girl who was pressed against more civilians to create the statue’s thumb wheezed in a raspy voice. “Help me…” She couldn’t even feel her legs within the mass of living people and her hands grasped at Validar’s shoulders. He had to fight the urge to hurl the contents of his stomach up.

Validar knew Robin always had the power of Grima inside him, but the sheer force of his abilities was mind-numbing, even to someone who had spent their life worshiping the Fell Dragon.

“Why did you kill her?” Robin shouted at the top of his lungs while the statue held Validar in its hands.

“Your wife? She was in the way of my plan! All those who oppose the plan must be execute-” Before Validar could finish his speech, the statue released him from its grip where he fell a good distance. Validar’s back smashed into the stone floor of the room while he writhed in pain; he squirmed on the floor while he gasped for breath.

The other hand of the statue held Robin in its palm, which was lowered so Robin could get to solid ground. The instant he was on the floor, Robin snapped his fingers and the amalgamation of flesh in the shape of Cordelia began to vibrate.

Groups of the bodies in the statue began to float away from it and were lowered onto the ground. After a couple seconds the entire statue was dismantled and its participants laid on the ground in tired confusion. They were physically unharmed, but mentally they would be unable to recover from what had just transpired.

“All of you. Go. Now.” Robin didn’t even look at the peasants who picked themselves off the ground and screamed in terror as they ran away and into the bright outside. Validar’s troops fled in panic as well, and Holland was the one directing them where to go.

“Cowards! You sully the name of the Ylissean military!” Validar screamed out as he laid on his back, and he noticed that Robin was busy studying the floor of abandoned weapons. “What are you doi-”

“Shut up.” Robin interrupted Validar as he lifted a silver sword off the ground. “Do you know how long I’ve dreamed of this day?” Robin began to stomp towards Validar with a look of pure, seething rage burning in his eyes. Validar gulped as he noticed that Robin’s left hand was balled up into a fist. “For three, long, agonizing years, I’ve had to put up with you. Only now, you’ve raised the stakes by killing my wife!”

Validar wasn’t exactly taught on the art of conversation, and as such, he didn’t know the standard rule of dealing with someone who had a bone to pick with them: angering them even further.

“I hope she died painfully.” Validar wheezed, and Robin’s ears perked up. His hands trembled with rage.

“Congratulations! You’ve just extended your torture by three years!” Robin screamed as he swung his boot into Validar’s head and knocked him onto his stomach. Validar’s head was now bloodied and buried in the carpets of the room, and Robin grabbed him by the hair and lifted his head up. “How should I kill you? I could force-feed your own tongue to you. Or, I could cut off your ears one at a time, grind them to dust, and then sprinkle it into your eyes!” He yelled with rage into Validar’s ear before releasing his black hair from his grip. “Or…”

Robin snapped his fingers, and Validar felt his gut sink when the entire room turned pitch-black. The area was so dark, in fact, that Validar couldn’t even see his own hands or feet when he groggily got to his feet. “I could let her decide.”

A purple flame erupted before Validar’s face, and he had to shield his eyes from the intensity. Strangely, the area around Validar remained dark regardless of the flame. When Validar removed his hands from his bruised face, he noticed a humanoid outline emerge from the flame.

The outline had a feminine quality to her as she strode out of the flame with her fists clenched. She wore the uniform of a Pegasus Knight and had long strands of hair that blended into her shape, considering she was nothing but a purple outline.

The woman grabbed Validar by the sides of his head with her flaming hands, and Validar screamed in pain while the flesh on his head burned. She continued to hold her hands over his head for what felt like an age until she pulled her hands away.

“Burn.” The woman chanted; her voice was distorted and echoed around the area. Validar was terrified out of his mind as he sat on his rear and rubbed the burning sides of his head. “Burn! Burn! Burn in hell !”

Robin emerged from behind Validar and grabbed him by the neck. He turned the man’s head around and glared at him directly in his terrified eyes.

“I want to see what makes a coward like you tick!” Purple sparks crackled out of Robin’s other hand, which he slammed into the side of Validar’s head. Bright, purple light shone out of both Robin and Validar’s eyes.

Robin really did want to see what went on in Validar’s mind and for one simple purpose. He wanted to know what Validar was afraid of, what he loved, and what drove him to be a murdering worm.

All for the purpose so that Robin could reduce Validar to a blubbering mess so he understood what it was like to lose everything .

What Robin didn’t know was that he was exploring memories that Validar had cast hexes on in an attempt to forget them.

A small boy stood in the doorway to his father’s room, which was lit by a single candle on a desk. The walls were adorned with red banners that had a symbol Validar had seen all his life but had no idea what it was besides being a bunch of eyes.

“F-father… There’s a spider in my room.” Validar spoke in a squeamish voice while his father stood up from his desk and glared at Validar. Validar’s father was a tall man with hair as white as the snow outside his house, and Validar had never seen him smile. He pushed the boy out of his way as he stomped down the hallway, and he returned a minute later with something in his hand.

“Take it.” His father growled as he threw the dead spider at Validar. Validar screamed as he threw the spider away from him and ran into a wall. He bumped his head into the wooden wall and fell onto his rear, where he cried into his hands. “Gods, you are such a failure… How can the future of the Grimleal be scared by such a tiny bug?”

That was the word Validar had heard all his life: ‘failure’.  Whenever he would pass members of the group his father owned, they would call him a failure. Apparently, he didn’t have enough ‘holy blood’ inside of him to do anything right.

Validar sobbed as he ran down the hallway and into the main dining room of his house, where his mother sat at a table reading a book. She had long, black hair and a comforting smile that was always there to cheer Validar up. His mother noticed his crying and put her book down.

“Vali, what’s wrong?” She gave him a comforting smile as he rubbed the top of his head, which was throbbing in pain. “Come here.”

Validar clambered onto his mother’s lap and rested his head against her chest. The pain in his forehead seemingly disappeared as he relished in the comforting warmth his mother gave off.

“Father threw a spider at me…” Validar’s voice was muffled through his mother’s body. No matter how mean his father could be, Validar could always count on his mother to make him feel better.

“I’ll talk to him about it.” She spoke back while she cradled his tiny frame. Validar’s father stomped into the room and grabbed an apple off the counter.

“Stop coddling the boy.” He growled while he chewed on the apple.

“Then stop throwing spiders at him and scaring him out of his wits.” Validar’s mother spoke back in a cold tone. She didn’t bother beating around the bush with the fact that her marriage was crumbling.

“It’s teaching him the hardships he will endure as the future of the Grimleal.” Validar’s father continued to chew on the apple while he glared at Validar, who was now avoiding eye-contact with his father.

“No, it’s teaching him how to be a horrible parent.” Validar’s mother watched as her husband stepped towards her with an ominous glare.

“Watch your tongue, woman.” He watched as Validar descended from his mother’s lap and stood before her with his arms outstretched.

“Don’t you dare hurt my mother!” Validar yelled directly into his father’s face. He shut his eyes and braced himself for his father to strike him. Validar knew that his father and mother would often get into physical fights, and he blamed himself for all of them.

Once, he had to cry himself to sleep while he heard his mother wailing in the room nearby, knowing that he had caused all their sorrow just by existing.

Validar’s father shoved Validar out of the way as he stomped towards his mother.

“Get out of my way, failure.” He made sure to emphasize the failure part of his sentence.

“Our son is not a failure!” Validar’s mother screamed at her husband.

“Then why does he spend all his time cooped up in here on your shoulder? He is never with other children his age, and he’s becoming too dependent on you.” Validar’s father spoke back in a calm voice, but his eyes looked as though he was ready to strangle his wife.

Tears lined Validar’s eyes as he ran away from the dining room and into his room, where he jumped onto his bed and began to sob into his pillow. He heard the screams of his parents arguing echo from the room he had just escaped from, and he had to accept that his parent’s unhappiness was his fault.

“Goodbye!” His mother’s voice reverberated around the house, and soon after the door was opened and then slammed shut.

That was the last time Validar had seen his mother.

The next memory Robin found was of Validar as a young adult.

A young man sat by himself at a table inside a foul-smelling inn. His hands drifted along the wooden texture of the table while noises from the other patrons at the bar barraged his ears. He wasn’t sure if the inn was in Plegia or Ylisse, but he couldn’t care less.

It had been roughly ten years since Validar’s father passed away, and as a result, Validar was placed in command of the Grimleal. Although, truth be told Validar didn’t enjoy the pressure from commanding an entire religious cult. Every day he would receive messages from carrier pigeons about how he needed to sire a child that had enough holy blood to resurrect Grima, and how he needed to find a mate fast. Validar couldn’t care less about this Grima dragon, or if the Grimleal needed him for some purpose.

He just wanted to put this Grimleal business behind him, if he was being entirely honest.

“Here’s your drink, sir.” A woman stood before the table before setting a mug of ale on it. Validar looked up and noticed that she had ash-white hair that went into two pigtails at the side of her head. She looked to be the same age as Validar and also wore the same attire as the other waiters, so Validar assumed that she worked here.

“Thank you.” Validar meekly looked up and had to fight to keep his eyesight off her outfit, which left very little to the imagination in regards to her chest and legs. No doubt that was the purpose, so any drunkard without brains would buy these girls a drink in an attempt to woo them.

“So what’re you doing here by yourself?” The woman asked as she pulled the chair opposite Validar out and seated herself. Her shift was done, so all she had to do was hang around until the bar at the inn closed. Plus, she had to admit this man looked rather adorable, in a ‘dropped his glasses and fell over trying to pick them up’ way.

“Oh, well… The funny thing about that is…” Validar wasn’t sure how to admit that he had stared at a wall for the last five minutes.

“Hey there, sweetcheeks.” A bearded ruffian approached from behind the woman and forced his hands onto her shoulders. “Why are you talking to this wimp anyway?”

The woman groaned as she stood up and stared the man directly in the eyes.

“Listen, buddy, I’m sure you’d like to take me to your shack that you call home and hang me on a wall where all your underlings can gawk at how an idiot like you managed to get a date.” As the woman spoke, the confidence in the ruffian’s face was practically drained out of him. “Furthermore, who the hell just walks up to some random woman and insults her for trying to socialize with a wallflower?”

The ruffian responded by bringing his fist back while he gritted his teeth.

“Nobody insults me and gets away with it.” He pulled his fist even further back. Validar recognized that he was about to strike this kind woman, so he scrambled to his feet and swung his fist at the man’s head.

“Get away from her!” Validar yelled as his fist connected with the scraggly head of the man, who was knocked to the floor. Validar assumed his fist would bounce off, but apparently, he had more strength than he gave himself credit for.

The supposed friends of the man gasped in shock as Validar panted for breath. Even the woman -when she had stopped wincing and realized the threat was gone- was surprised at how eager Validar was to defend her.

“How dare you attack him!” One of the friends of the man punched Validar in the head, and he lost consciousness as he tumbled onto the floor.

All of the peasants in the bar stood up from either the tables of the bar itself and cheered.

“Barfight!” They screamed.

What followed next could only be described as a cacophony of the sounds of punches, glass breaking, and chairs being broken while the woman lifted Validar off the ground with surprising ease and slung him over her shoulder. She made her way out of the inn and stepped outside into the night air.

She figured the least she could do was give the man a bed to sleep in.

Validar rubbed his forehead as he awoke in an unfamiliar bed by himself. This was not his room at the inn, and he had no idea how he had gotten himself into this bed. To his left, on a bed stand was his cloak, which had a black back and purple trim with the symbol of the Grimleal plastered over it. Above the cloak was a mirror, which Validar could see his own reflection in.

He was not built physically in the slightest, and he had pale skin. He had black hair like his mother, and even a small little goatee. In the reflection he could see that he was wincing in pain, but even then he did not look threatening in the slightest. People had told him that his glare was more of an annoyed look rather than an angry stare, which was strange considering all his father did was glare.

Validar’s head throbbed as he got out of the bed and noticed his trousers were still on his body, but he was bare-chested. He fitted his cloak over his body and walked out of the room, where he noticed the smell of something tasty. Validar walked through bright hallways while he followed his nose, and he emerged into what seemed like a dining room.

The woman from the inn was standing before a burning flame, which had a source of wood built into the counter she stood at. She wore a standard wool shirt and leather pants.

“Oh!” The woman shifted her focus and smiled at Validar. “Good morning! Your breakfast is just about ready.”  She pointed to a plate on a nearby dining table, which had sunlight from a nearby window shine onto it.

“Breakfast?” Validar asked as he seated himself at the chair the plate was closest to. He had a confused look on his face when he noticed that his platter of food contained four strips of bacon that were arranged to spell out the letters ‘T’ and ‘Y’.

“Thanks for saving my bacon last night.” The woman beamed with delight as she scooped some sunny-side eggs onto a plate and walked over to the table. She set half of the eggs onto Validar’s plate and then seated herself with the platter of remaining eggs.

“Uh… Is this your house?” Validar examined the room after he finished chewing on a strip of bacon, which tasted heavenly.

“Yep. I dragged you here last night after you got knocked out.” The woman wolfed a forkful of eggs down her throat and continued to chew while she spoke. “My name’s Singi. What’s yours?”

“Validar.” He spoke as he stood up. “I really should be going.” He moved towards the front door. He felt rather awkward to be staying at a stranger's house.

Singi moved between Validar and the front door with her arms outstretched.

“Hey! You can’t just walk out on me!” Her purple eyes widened as Validar tried to step past her. “Just let me repay you by giving you hospitality!”

“But I already have a place to sleep.” Validar sighed as he stopped trying and walked back to the table. He slumped into the chair and resumed eating his breakfast.

“Yeah, sure you do.” Singi knew the smell of the homeless just from growing up in Plegia, and Validar certainly had an unusual smell to him. “At least stay one more night here.”

“Why do you want me here, anyway. I’d just be mooching off of your livelihood.” Validar finished his breakfast and wiped the area around his lips with a napkin.

“Well… The funny thing about that is…” Singi’s cheeks blushed as her eyes focused on everywhere that wasn’t Validar. “I’ve always wanted a roommate.”

“You mean a friend who lives in your house?” Validar stood up and put his empty plate in the basin of water built into the counter.

“Yeah, exactly. You slept in my bed last night, so that’ll have to change, but you can just sleep on the couch. I make enough money from working at that bar to support myself and then some.” Singi brought her plate to the basin of water and seated herself on a nearby couch. Validar did admit that she had a certain charm to her, and maybe staying at her place wasn’t such a bad idea. His father always complained that he didn’t have enough friends, so maybe this could prove his departed father wrong.

Validar remembered that as leader of the Grimleal, he could manage the cult’s treasury. In other words, he could pull funds out to support himself and Singi.

“You know, the ‘organization’,” Validar made little air-quotes with his fingers. “The organization I run has more funds than they know what to do with, so I could pull some gold out every week.” After Validar spoke, Singi’s eyes lit up.

“Are you saying I could stop working at that crummy inn?” Singi always hated working there, what with the revealing outfit and the kinds of lowlife that would attempt to woo her.

“Yes. Besides, I wouldn’t feel comfortable if the person I was living with was getting cat calls at their workplace.” Validar wasn’t sure why he had a change of heart regarding living with this kind woman, but she did slightly remind him of his mother.

“Thank you so much!” Singi clasped her hands together and was brimming with excitement as she ran up to Validar and vigorously shook his hand. “Thank you thank you thank you!”

Validar’s hand ached just from how fast she was shaking it, but his heart was warmed by just how beautiful her smile was.

Validar and Singi had spent the last month living together and had quickly become fast friends. Singi had been able to quit her job and enjoyed the rest and relaxation of being unemployed, thanks to the packages of bullions that Validar received in the mail. Validar explained that the packages were from his organization, which compensated him for his years of service.

Validar was only telling half of the truth when he said that; the other reason was because he told the Grimleal that he was in the attempts to woo a maiden to sire a vessel for Grima. Of course, Validar had no interest in Singi outside of the two being friends. Yes, she was pretty, but Validar wouldn’t feel right in having intimate love with a close friend.

Validar and Singi spent their days doing community service, seeing as it gave them something to do outside of resting in Singi’s house.

After a particularly grueling session of removing litter from the streets of the Plegian town they lived in, Validar had said goodnight to Singi and went to his room, which was a new addition to her house that had been paid for by the Grimleal.

While Validar slept in his bed, his dreams drifted again to his father. His dream consisted of his father mercilessly beating him with a flail. In the waking world, Validar was tossing and turning while he began to moan loudly.

Singi quickly ran into his room, set a lit candle on the bedstand so she could see where she was, and leaned over Validar as she placed her hands on his shoulders.

“Vali! Wake up Vali! You’re safe! Your father is gone!” She spoke into his ears, and she looked at his closed eyes. He continued to cry in his sleep for about fifteen seconds before his eyes fluttered open.

“Was… Was that a dream?” Validar asked as he sat upright. Singi sat on his bed while she wore a purple, translucent nightgown, which was illuminated in the darkness by the candle to his left. He had told Singi about his troubles with his father because he figured she could help him get over his inner demons.

“Yes. That was a dream. Your father is gone, and you’re safe .” Singi stared into his eyes with her own tired pair. Frequently, she would have to wake up in the middle of the night and soothe Validar from his night-terrors.

“Thank you.” Validar smiled as he continued to sit upright. He planned on laying back down when Singi left the room, but for some reason, she continued to sit on his bed with a flustered look in her eyes.

Singi had no idea how to tell Validar that she had intimate feelings for him, and her chest felt as though it were going to catch fire as she stared right into his eyes. She just wanted to hold him, and ease his pains, and fix what had been broken inside of him. “Singi, are you alright?” Validar asked. Normally, she would have left by now back to her room.

Singi responded by slowly bringing her head to Validar’s and quickly pressed her lips to Validar’s left cheek. She pulled her head back and stared him in his flustered eyes. What she had done felt wrong on paper, but felt so perfect in execution. The feeling of her lips against his smooth skin was enough to send her into bliss alone.

Singi scrambled to her feet and ran out of the room. Validar was left by himself and wondering what had just happened.

About two months later, Singi and Validar had gone to a nearby hill to go stargazing in the dead of night. Neither of them brought up that strange night where Singi kissed Validar, and their relationship seemed to be better for it.

People who lived in their town often commented on how inseparable the two were, and some even mistook them for a married couple. Even the members of the Grimleal congratulated Validar for finding a spouse on the off-chance he’d meet one passing through town.

But friends they remained. Friends who lived, ate, and went stargazing together.

“Well, here we are.” Singi had finally surmounted the steep hill, and she looked down onto what laid on the other side of it. Validar’s feet dug up grass behind him as he ran to match her pace.

“Can you… slow down… please?” He doubled over and panted for breath. He wasn’t lying when he said he wasn’t physically built. Behind him was the town he and Singi lived in, with glowing windows in every house. Before him was a fairly large lake that was hidden from view of the town by the hill. The water of the lake was illuminated by the moonlight, and it looked rather clean to boot.

“I thought we could go for a swim or something.” Singi slowly walked down the other side of the hill while Validar followed. She stopped as she stood at the water’s edge and she began to pull her shirt above her head, revealing her pale stomach.

“Hey, wait for a secon-” Validar shielded his eyes, and after enough time had passed where he had given Singi enough privacy, he removed his hands from his eyes. “ Oh gods… ”

Singi had been wearing a bikini adorned with a floral pattern underneath her clothing, and Validar had to admit that she looked heavenly in it. Singi noticed the blush forming on Validar’s cheeks and squealed to herself.

“ It’s working! ” She smiled as she dropped her shirt, trousers, and shoes on the grass at the side of the lake. She dove head-first into the water and made a large splash before she surfaced. “Come on in! The water’s great!” Her white hair was flowing in the water behind her while her head peeked above the surface.

Beads of sweat trickled down Validar’s face as he stood at the lake. On one hand, he could dive into the lake with a beautiful woman who most certainly had feelings for him. But on the other hand, said woman was his closest friend who he had lived with for three months. “Just throw your cloak on the ground.”

Validar simply couldn’t handle the pressure and began to remove his cloak until all he had on was his trousers. “See? I knew you could do it!” Singi smiled as she watched as Validar jumped into the lake. He held his nose as he sunk below the water, and the frigid temperature of the lake made his skin crawl while he surfaced. Eventually, the cool water felt as though it were nothing but a mild temperature.

“This isn’t so bad…” Validar cracked a smile while Singi smiled as well. Validar had taken the bait, and now was the time to activate the trap she had spent two months setting.

Validar watched as Singi sank below the surface of the water with a devilish grin on her face. Validar couldn’t even see her as she disappeared into the blue, luminescent water. He did not like where this was going whatsoever .

Validar jumped in shock when he felt something grab his feet, and soon after Singi emerged. She was very, very close to his face as she placed her hands on his shoulders.

“Vali… I know this seems weird to you…” She looked incredibly flustered as she floated before him. “Do uh… Have you ever lived with someone, for three months, and at first you think they’re really nice…”

Validar had to admit that her purple eyes looked exceptionally beautiful. Her skin and complexion rivaled that of a goddess, and he simply couldn’t resist wrapping his hands around her bare back. He enjoyed the warmth from her body. “And after a month, you start to think more and more about them…” Moonlight bounced off of Singi’s skin as she brought her head in close to Validar’s. He didn’t bother struggling. “What I’m trying to say is…

Validar… I love you. I’ve loved you ever since you helped me out at that horrible bar, and I haven’t stopped!” Singi pressed her body against Validar and felt the warmth of his own skin against her own. This was what she had wanted for three months, and she finally got it.

“Singi… I love you too…” Validar couldn’t fight back against her charm, and he pressed his lips to her own. He brought his hands from her back to the lines of her smooth face where he cupped the side of her head. He gave her a tender look as his hands drifted from her head to her back. She wrapped her supple thighs around his waist while he untied the straps of leather that kept the top of her bikini fastened.

After half-an-hour of cuddling in the water, the two lovers emerged from the lake. The top of Singi’s swimsuit was now dejectedly floating in the lake, and Singi used her arm to cover her bare chest. Validar gave her his cloak to wear, and she wore it with pride while they walked back to their house. When they returned to their house, they both happily strode to Singi’s room where they both fell onto her soft mattress with their hands around each other.

That night was one of the happiest in Validar’s life.

Validar laid awake in his bed while Singi rested at his side. His arms were wrapped around her body while she snored into a pillow.

It had been about half-a-year since they had gotten married, and every day since then had been absolutely wonderful. Validar never knew that he could care this much about someone, and the Grimleal were especially happy that Validar had found someone. They were also intrigued by the fact that Singi was anticipating a baby.

Validar’s hands dragged over her stomach, which had grown quite large in her pregnancy. After a few seconds, however, Singi began to slowly rise until she sat upright.

“Oww…” Singi slowly sat upright as her waist felt as though a massive amount of pressure had been placed on it. “Ow! Oh, gods! I think the baby’s coming!”

Validar had rushed Singi to the closest hospital where she was admitted by the nurses and taken to a room where she could deliver.

Six hours passed while Validar waited in the white lobby of the hospital. His head was bowed and his fingers were steeped in thought when a man wearing a white coat walked in.

“Sir, the baby is ready.” The doctor smiled as he motioned with his hands for Validar to follow, and they walked down the hallways. When they emerged into the room where Singi was, Validar smiled with joy when he noticed his wife sitting in bed with a bundle of cloth in her arms. Her body was covered with a white bedsheet while she held the bundle close to her head.

“It’s a… It’s a boy…” Singi’s face beamed with joy as Validar sat next to her and looked at his son. He was covered in fluids while his eyes were shut.

“Oh… gods… He’s beautiful…” Validar slowly moved his index finger towards his son’s hand, which he grabbed and held onto. He was beaming with delight as he looked at his son.

“I was thinking we should name him Robin.” Singi smiled and kissed her husband on the cheek.

“I think Robin is a wonderful name.” Validar smiled as well and had to fight back tears just from how happy he was. He looked Robin directly in his small, innocent eyes and whispered. “I promise you, I will not fail you as my father failed me.”

Robin was about a year old when Validar heard a knocking on his door. What happened next would change his life forever.

“Sire, please! Open this door!” A muffled voice spoke as Validar held Robin against his shoulder. Validar opened the door to find a ragged old man wearing purple robes. “So the rumors are true! You have sired a child!”

“Oh, hello Veir.” Veir was Validar’s teacher in the sorceries of Grima and had been running the Grimleal under Validar’s orders. “Yes, I do have a child. Why do you ask?”

“If I may, sire, shall I inspect his right hand?” Veir stood in the doorway to Validar and Singi’s home.

“Uh… As long as you don’t harm him.” Validar spoke in a cautious tone as he handed his son to Veir.

“You have my word,” Veir spoke as he held Robin in his arms. “Hello, little one. I just need to see your right hand for a moment.” Veir soothed the boy as he slowly grabbed his right hand. He squinted his eyes as he inspected the tiny hand, and his heart skipped a beat when he noticed an equally small mark on the hand.

It was of six, purple eyes arranged in an oval-like shape. “Oh, Grima be praised! He has the mark! Sire, your boy has the mark! You’ve done it!” Veir’s heart was so excited that he feared it might give up just from how fast it was beating. He handed Robin back to Validar, who was now unnerved.

“What is the mark?” Validar asked as he held Robin against his shoulder. His smile was now replaced with an uneasy glare.

“The Mark of the Fell Dragon! The very same mark you, and your father and his father sought to bear! Your boy has enough holy blood to become the vessel for Grima!” Veir was now vigorously shaking Validar’s hand. “You’ve succeeded where your forefathers have failed! Ten-thousand years of failure, and you’ve done it!”

Validar’s stomach began to turn and twist as Veir stood outside.

“B-but what if I don’t want him to be the vessel…” Validar tossed the idea out in the hopes that Veir had some sense of sympathy. Veir laughed an old, ragged laugh.

“That’s a funny joke, Validar. But considering you’ve used our funds to support your life here, I think it’d be only fair that you surrender him to us.”

Validar’s mouth was agape as he took a step back. “I’ll be back in the wee hours of the night to collect the boy. Use your remaining time to make your goodbyes.”

As Veir closed the door, Validar slowly placed Robin on the ground and stumbled to the couch, where he cradled his head in his hands. Robin crawled up to Validar’s leg and tugged on it; Validar responded by lifting Robin into his arms and swaddling him.

“I-I-I’m sorry… I’ve f-failed you.”

Validar had spent the rest of the day explaining to Singi how the Grimleal were coming to take Robin away from them, and how she had to flee the country. Moonlight shone in through the window of the dining room while Singi sat on a couch with Robin against her shoulder.

“They’ll be here in an hour, and you need to go. Take Robin with you, and escape.” Validar paced back and forth with a distressed look on his face.

“Vali… Why can’t you go with us?” Singi’s eyes were watering.

“They would be able to recognize me if they searched for us.” Validar looked down to his wife and knelt beside her. “They have no idea what you look like from a distance, and Robin is too young to be recognizable.”

“B-but I don’t want to leave you…”

“I don’t want to leave you either, dear.” Validar dragged his hand along her smooth face. Singi could see the look of deep regret in his eyes, and she knew that he really did want to live the rest of their lives together. “But you have to go. You need to have a future. You need to teach Robin what’s wrong and what’s right… You have to be his mother, and the father he’ll never have…” Validar began to cry as he wrapped his arms around Singi and Robin. “I love both of you.”

“I’ll miss you…” Singi stood up as she hugged Validar back with her free hand. She handed Robin to Validar, who cradled him in his arms.

“Robin… You’ll always be my special boy…” Validar held Robin close to his chest while tears lined his face. “I’ll miss you.” Validar couldn’t believe that now when he finally had a family, it was being torn away from him.

Validar handed Robin back to Singi and took his cloak off. “It’s chilly outside; take this.” He handed the cloak to Singi, who fitted it over her body.

“G-goodbye, Validar…” Singi wept as she hugged Validar one last time, then walked outside to the night air with Robin in her arms.

Singi continued to weep as she walked through the town, and exited through a large gate.

‘This way to Ylisse.’ A sign next to the gate read.

An hour later, a group of Grimleal stood outside Validar’s house when he opened the door.

“Come on in,” Validar spoke in an emotionless tone as the mass of cloaked members walked into his house. He even looked emotionally drained. Veir stepped forward.

“Well? Where is the boy?” Veir asked, and Validar noticed the purple tome in his hands.

“Gone.” Validar figured there was no reason to lie; Singi and Robin were likely halfway across the continent by now. “Hopefully he’s already safe from you sick cretins.”

“G-gone?! Not only did you give birth to the vessel of Grima, but you squirreled him away from us!” Veir began shouting as more cloaked men walked into Validar’s house. “Hold him down while I prepare the book.”

Validar didn’t even bother struggling while he was pushed onto the floor where his hands and feet were held down by the Grimleal. “It pains me to do this, but I must use Grima’s Truth to teach you the wrong-doings you have committed.” Veir pulled the purple tome from the side of his hip and began to read the pages aloud.

As Veir read the scriptures from their holy book, a cloud of darkness began to form over Validar until it covered his whole body. Screams of pure, demented torture echoed from the cloud until it disappeared a minute later.

Using Grima’s Truth on someone caused them to become so fanatically devoted to Grima that they would lose sight of every goal they had except for his revival. Using Grima’s Truth on the same person again would cause them to be so devoted their heart would stop beating.

Validar’s skin was now black as the night, his goatee had a white stripe running down it, and he looked to be a foot taller when he stood up and loomed over Veir. “Now, Validar. Who is Robin?”

“An orphan who bears the Mark of the Fell Dragon who needs to be caught.” Validar spoke in a low voice, and he looked very intimidating while he glared at the members of the Grimleal. All of Validar’s memories regarding Robin and Singi were locked away in his mind; effectively forgotten, but still there. Validar’s only thought was his goal, which was the revival of Grima.

The only way he could get those memories back would be for someone to search his mind for them.

Amidst the grassy fields of a plain in Ylisse, Validar walked along the grass while the sun shone above his head. For the last eighteen years he had searched for Robin, and only now did the network of spies within the Grimleal have a lead on him. Supposedly, a man with the Mark of the Fell Dragon on his right hand had been seen in the southern regions of Ylisse.

Validar took a step back when he noticed a man with snow-white hair walking along the fields with a black cloak on his back. Sure enough, on his right hand was a noticeable purple mark of the Grimleal.

“ Finally… After all these years of searching… Your body belongs to Grima!” Validar thought, then yelled as he raised his hands towards Robin. Purple sparks flew out of his fingers, which was followed by violet streaks of lightning arced out of his fingers onto Robin’s back.

Robin doubled over and screamed in pain as his body felt like it had caught flame, and he began to fight back. He needed to fight back; he promised his mother when she passed away that he would fight back.

Validar gasped for breath as the lightning in his fingers was stopped, then Robin turned around to face him. Validar had no idea that Robin’s power was great enough to cancel out his own dark, abilities.

“Get away from me!” Robin screamed as he raised his hand to the sky and blasted Validar with a bolt of fire. Validar yelped as the fire burned his flesh, and he used his remaining strength to teleport away.

Robin was simply too strong to overpower. At the very least, Validar had placed a curse on the boy before Validar retreated to lick his wounds. A curse that would reduce Robin’s strength and memories until they were nothing, so that Validar may succeed the next time they encountered one another.

Validar had no idea that he had just attacked his own son, who had been wandering through the fields looking for his father. The only thing Robin had to remember his father by was his cloak, which his mother said was a gift from his father.

Robin panted for breath as he fell to the ground. It felt as though all his years of training and experience were being drained out of him as he clutched the dirt between his fingers. He shut his eyes and drifted off into a deep slumber.

Robin would later be woken up by a man with blue hair and his sister, only to find he had no memories of who he was whatsoever.

The darkness that enveloped Robin and Validar disappeared as they were sent backward in opposite directions. Robin picked himself off the ground and looked to Validar, whose face was buried into the carpeted floor and crying. His gray skin had turned back into a normal shade of pale, and his goatee lost its white stripe.

Validar remembered everything. He remembered how it felt to be a friend. He remembered how it felt to be a husband. He remembered how it felt to be a parent. He remembered the lilac scent that Singi’s hair had.

He remembered the day his little bundle of joy, Robin, had been born into this world.

“Oh… gods…” Robin got to his feet and fought to keep his knees from buckling. He had seen all of the memories along with Validar, and he no longer cared about breaking Validar, or torturing him, or killing him.

Validar had been broken enough already.

“Robin… I’m sorry…” Validar looked up from the carpet with tears in his eyes. “Please… come here…” He no longer scowled, or glared, or looked like he had nothing to run on except anger. Validar had a face of deep, mournful regret.

Robin slowly walked over to Validar and fell to his knees. Validar responded by wrapping his arms around Robin in an embrace. It had been twenty years since Validar had felt the embrace of his son, and he felt a wave of pure bliss shoot through his nerves.

“It’s so good to see you again…” Validar mumbled into Robin’s cloak.

“I… I had no idea…” Robin fought back tears as he hugged his father. For years he had wondered who his parents were, and how they raised him. Now he knew. His parents were ordinary people whose lives were ruined by the Grimleal, and by association, Grima. “I tried to kill you…”

“It’s okay, Robin,” Validar whispered into his son’s ear. “You had every reason to.”

Validar felt a wave of guilt wash over him when he remembered what he had done in the absence of his memories. “I caused you so much suffering… I ruined your kingdom… I broke Chrom’s heart… I… Oh, gods, I killed your wife…” Validar’s normally menacing voice squeaked. A father was supposed to support their son when it came to romance; Validar had down the opposite and had only broken Robin’s romance.  “I killed your wife… I’m s-so sorry.” His grip on Robin’s back tightened while he winced in pain. He could feel the ghosts of Aversa, Cordelia, and all the other innocents he had killed crawl on his back.

“You just… didn’t know what you were doing…” Robin began to bawl his eyes out. He had always wanted his father to hold him like a child, and now that he got his wish, Robin’s heart simply couldn’t take it.

“I’ve done so many horrible things… I can’t go on like this… Robin, please step back.” Validar gave Robin a forlorn look as he stepped back and pulled a purple tome out of his cloak. Said book was Grima’s Truth, which was handed down from each generation of the Grimleal leader to the next. “I know you have to kill me, and I know why…” Validar spoke as he held the book to the sky and began to read the words.

Robin rushed towards his father with his hands outstretched, but his knees refused to budge. “I’d do the same if our roles were swapped.”

A black cloud descended from the cracked window and enveloped Validar. A deafening silence filled the room until the cloud departed, and Validar was left on the floor wheezing for breath. Pain filled his chest as Robin ran to his side. Validar’s pale skin had now turned a sickly shade of purple, and his hair was snow-white.

“Father! No!” Robin knelt over his dying father and held his shoulders with his trembling hands.

"Robin… It's better this way… Now you won't have to live with the guilt of killing your father…" Validar wheezed, then stared into Robin's eyes. "Listen to me." Validar knew what Robin's fate was as the vessel for Grima. "Grima has already started to possess you, and soon he will have complete control over your body. If given the opportunity, he will kill everyone. I need you to fight against him."

Robin and Validar were both sobbing. "Fight for your mother, and for your wife. Fight for your friends, and for your family. Do not give up, and I know you can win."

Validar gave his last breath and looked up to the ceiling. He swore that he saw the ghostly image of someone familiar. "Singi… Is that you? Hold on Singi… I'll be right there. Please, just wait a little while longer, and I can be with you." After Validar coughed the last words out, his hand dropped to the floor and his eyes slowly shut. Robin knelt over the corpse of his deceased father and hugged his body one last time.

Robin wiped his eyes as he stood upright and grabbed a silver sword off the ground. He never thought that he could get more broken after the death of his wife.

He was wrong. So, very very wrong. Validar was an innocent soul who had been corrupted by the Grimleal, and the sheer tragedy of it all was enough to make Robin weep as he walked away from the main room.

As Robin neared the middle of the main room, a certain memory from Validar stood out to him.

Chrom was the one who wrote the order. Chrom was the one who had gotten Cordelia involved in their little personal war. Chrom was the one who had gotten Cordelia killed.

Chrom was the one that Robin was going to pay a visit and put out of his misery. But first, he needed to pay a friend one last visit.

Lissa slumped at her desk with a terrified look on her face. Chrom had placed her under a sort of 'house arrest' after he had somehow discovered she had delivered the cure to the Violet Scourge to the people in Plegia. The last two days since then had consisted of servants bringing her food and setting up a bed in her office so that she could sleep.

What unnerved her, however, was the sounds of screaming that had echoed from the main room of the castle, followed by a deafening silence.

The silence continued until the locked door at the front of her office started to budge. Something was smashing against the door in an attempt to open it, and soon enough the door fell forward off its hinges.

"Oh gods! Please don't hurt me!" Lissa assumed that the castle had been assaulted by bandits and she was about to be sold into slavery, or worse. What she didn't expect was that Robin was standing in the open doorway. "R-Robin?"

Robin walked forward into the office with a glare on his face. The room looked exactly the same as it did two days ago, save for the small bed where Robin's desk used to be. "You look like you've been through hell and back." Lissa spoke as she stood up and looked up into Robin's tired eyes. His posture was slumped over, he had noticeable bags underneath his eyes, and he looked like he hadn't slept in over twenty-four hours.

"It's good to see you again." He wrapped his arms around Lissa and hugged her in a friendly manner. His body felt cold to the touch. "I see Chrom locked you inside your office."

"Yep." Lissa's voice was muffled as she spoke into Robin's shoulder. "What are you doing here?"

"Validar is dead, and I'm not long for this world." Robin took a step back; he assumed it would be better to spare Lissa of the details that he was about to be possessed by a demonic dragon hell-bent on destroying the world. "Before I go, I'm taking Chrom with me."

Lissa's eyes widened at the mention of her brother.

"B-but Chrom's… Chrom's…" Lissa struggled to find a reason to defend her brother, but she knew there had to be one.

"Chrom is the reason Cordelia is dead." Even the action of speaking her name was enough to tug on Robin's heartstrings. "He wrote the order that sent her on that suicide mission."

"Cordelia's… dead?" Lissa couldn't believe what she was hearing. The light of Robin's life and one of her childhood friends was now dead because of her brother. "Okay… Do what you must with Chrom..."

In the back of her mind, Lissa hoped that Chrom would strike Robin down. Not because he was just, but because she couldn't bear to see Robin become a vessel for the Fell Dragon.

Robin reached into his pocket and pulled out an ornate book. He didn't need it anymore.

"Goodbye, Lissa. Thanks for being a good friend." Robin set the book on her desk and began to walk out of the room.

"Goodbye, Robin…" Lissa watched as her close friend almost made it out of the doorway before she thought of one final statement she could make. "If you strike Chrom down, please try and make it painless for him, okay?" Lissa asked.

"I'll try." Robin didn't bother turning around to answer her question and walked down the hallway. He knew where the balcony that Chrom stood on was, and now he had no regrets as he marched towards his certain doom.

Lissa sighed as her friend disappeared into the bleak fog of the castle, and noticed a bright light shining on her desk. Once she was sure he was gone, she cracked open a book from a nearby shelf and began to thumb through it. Her eyes settled on a description of an ornate tome. Its picture matched the one that Robin had given her.

"The Book of Naga..." She read aloud. "A holy book imbued with the strength of the Divine Dragon." Her mind began to toy around with various ideas to her problem. Maybe the book was powerful enough to free Robin from Grima's grasp? If worst came to worst, then she had no other options than to try it.

As Robin walked down the empty throne room of the Ylissean Castle, he couldn't help but laugh at the emptiness of it. Chrom's royal guard that had been built from the ground up was gone, and now there was nothing standing between Robin's fist and Chrom's head.

Chapter Text

The Mad Exalt

Chrom stood at the end of the central balcony while the setting sun shone behind his back. The cobblestone platform he stood on was elevated above the castle and surrounded by railings. Emmeryn had always wanted to build an observation deck for the castle so she could see the smiles of all her subjects, so Chrom had this balcony constructed in remembrance of her.

Unfortunatly for the ghost of Emmeryn, smiles were long gone from the citizens of Ylisstol.

In the center of the floor was the symbol of the Exalt, and Chrom's gaze turned up from the icon to the other side of the raised platform, where a ragged man with white hair made himself visible.

Robin's fist clenched as he surmounted the staircase and found himself on a sunlit balcony; Chrom stood at the other side with a glare in his eyes.

A cool breeze of air drifted by as the two stood opposite each other. Robin held a silver sword in his right hand, and Chrom's Falchion was thrusted in the ground to his right. The blade of Chrom's legendary sword was polished as sunlight bounced off its metallic edge, which stood in sharp contrast to Chrom's rugged look. His once proud cape was now a tattered cloth that swayed in the breeze behind him. Even his tattoo of the Exalt's brand on his right arm had grown faded.

Here stood two warriors who had lost everything; their families, their kingdom, and even their sympathy for one another.

The glare in Robin's eyes showed that he was itching at the chance to kill the fanatical dastard who had caused the death of his wife, and Chrom's burning pupils showed that he was salivating to drive his blade through his former friend who supported the scum that slaughtered his family.

There they stood, silently anticipating the other to make the first move. One might expect a grand or epic speech about which side was wrong and which side was right. At the very least, Robin should've made an appeal to Chrom's senses, considering three years ago they were close allies.

Chrom deemed that Robin was not worthy of such formalities, and Robin came to the same conclusion regarding Chrom.

*Chrom lifted his sword out of the ground and held it with his right arm; his shredded cap flowed in the breeze behind him while he sprinted towards Robin. Robin screamed at the top of his lungs in rage as he sprinted towards Chrom.

As they both screamed and ran at each other with blade in hand, they began to think.

"One last push." Chrom thought.

"One last struggle." Robin thought.

"One last hurdle to surmount before I know peace." They each came to the same thought as they met in the center. Even if they were to fall, they could finally be with their family again.

Robin lunged his sword out in a quick jab and Chrom deftly blocked the blow with his blade. The former tactician responded by frantically smashing his sword down towards Chrom's head, and the Exalt parried the bashes, then quickly sliced at Robin's arm.

A good chunk of the cloth on Robin's arm was torn off while Robin quickly darted back. His arm was uninjured, and he spent the next few moments circling Chrom like a fox hunting its prey.

Robin had adopted a frenzied and panicked style of combat, while Chrom seemingly retained the same elegant yet powerful style he had used three years ago. One might ask why Robin didn't use the newfound powers of his bloodline against Chrom.

The simple truth was said powers were simply too informal for Robin. Driving his blade through Chrom's chest and watching the life leave his eyes was much more personal.

Robin slammed his foot into the ground and slashed his sword upwards into Chrom's chest. The blade tore through the front of his armor like scissors cutting through paper, and a tear in Chrom's clothing formed to reveal his stomach. Robin glared with pure malice burning in his eyes as he brought the tip of his sword to Chrom's neck. Chrom's eyes focused dead ahead on Robin with a stare of contempt.

Chrom expected Robin to make some witty one-liner along the lines of 'time to tip the scales', or something while his sword pressed against Chrom's neck. But silence was the only thing Robin had in mind while his greasy white hair flowed in the breeze.

In the blink of an eye, Chrom swung his fist into Robin's head and knocked him to the floor. His sword was knocked out of his hands and flew across the floor until it landed at the railing of the balcony.

Robin's head throbbed in pain as he looked up from the stone floor to his sword, then found Chrom leaning over him with a glare.

Despite Robin's expectations, Chrom did not did not impale him or kick him while he was down like Gangrel would. Instead, he held his outstretched arm out. Robin grabbed his hand, and to his surprise, Chrom helped him to his feet.

Chrom's father had taught him that there was no honor in dispatching a downed foe. If possible, he should instead offer them the chance for a fair fight.

Chrom strode back to the other side of the balcony while Robin walked over to his sword, picked it up, then walked back to the entrance of the raised platform.

As they both stood with malicious looks burning in their pupils, they charged again with their blades dragging along the ground. When they met in the center, their swords locked together to form an X shape.

Sparks flew between the swords while Chrom and Robin used all their strength to push against the other. Their eyes met while their hands were at their swords, and there was something amiss about their pupils.

Gone was the familiar warmth in Robin's eyes that Chrom would see before almost every tactical meeting. In its place was a frenzied look of pure disdain for Chrom. It was blatantly apparent from Robin's quick and panicked fighting style that the only thing Robin wanted before he left this world was Chrom's head.

Gone was the calming resolve of a kind leader that was present in Chrom's blue irises. Now the only emotion his eyes could convey was emptiness and sorrow. Even in the precise, yet slow way that Chrom swung his sword, Robin could see that this fight was the only thing Chrom had left to look forward to in his life.

Chrom used his strength to overpower Robin and knock his sword out of his hands, then made a quick, vertical slice in Robin's general direction. A scar formed next to Robin's right eye as the blade tore through his skin like a knife through butter.

Robin and Chrom both retreated back while Robin clutched the side of his head. The wound was only skin-deep, and no blood leaked out of it, but it was still a noticeable gash.

As they stood on opposite sides of the courtyard, they felt their bodies fall to the ground as they remembered that it had been roughly three years since they had done any combat. Robin's knees started to buckle as his hands were coated with sweat, and his breathing had become incredibly heavy.

Chrom fell to his knees as well, and a blistering headache formed due to exhaustion. He checked the inside of his coat, where he could see a small, faded picture.

The picture depicted his wife, Aversa, and their daughter. It was the last thing Aversa had given him before her and Lucina's lives were wrongfully taken.

Before Chrom's head landed on the ground, a tear rolled down his cheek while he lunged his fist out towards Robin. Both of them shut their exhausted eyes as they laid face-first on the stone balcony and began to dream about simpler days.

Days when they were friends.

A boy with blue hair walked into his older sister's study with a fluffy teddy bear clutched to his chest as if it were a shield. Nightmares about his mother and father had been haunting him in his sleep for the last few nights.

"Emm?" Chrom asked while his sister, Emmeryn, sat at a desk with her head bowed in thought. Her head jerked upright and she slowly turned to face Chrom. She had noticeable sags underneath her eyes, but she still had a bright smile.

"Yes, Chrom? What do you need?" Emmeryn asked as she stood up from her chair. Chrom knew that it was not easy to rebuild the kingdom of Ylisse after the damage her father had done, but Emmeryn always greeted her task with an optimistic smile.

"I had nightmares about father and mother again," Chrom spoke as he wiped his eyes with his bare arm.

"Do you need me to tuck you into bed?" Emmeryn asked as she walked in front of Chrom and knelt down to his eye level.

"Yes please." Chrom held his sister's hand as she lead him out of her study and down the dimly-lit hallways of the castle. Considering that her mother had passed away when Chrom and Lissa were born, Emmeryn did her best to fill in as a maternal substitute for her siblings.

As Emmeryn opened the door to her brother's room, she stood at the side of his bed while Chrom pulled himself onto the raised mattress. Emmeryn covered his body with a blue blanket while he rested his head on a pillow.

"What did father do in your nightmare?" She asked as she got on her knees and rested her arms on the bed.

"He told me that I would never be a good Exalt." Chrom turned over and stared at a wall.

"Don't listen to him," Emmeryn spoke as she patted Chrom on the back in an affectionate manner. "You will bring great happiness to Ylisse when you rule as Exalt. I know that you'll make a good ruler, Chrom."

A man with blue hair stood at the side of his wife while their newborn bundle of joy rested in her crib. The crib was bathed in the sunlight from a nearby window while the couple held each other in their arms.

"I love you," Aversa spoke as she smiled at Chrom.

"I love you too, dear," Chrom responded as he held the back of Aversa's head.

A man with white hair sat at the top of a hill with a small box in his hand. The setting sun shone in the horizon while a certain someone with long, red hair walked up the hill and sat at his side.

"This is a rather nice spot." Cordelia smiled as she rested her head on Robin's shoulder. The shade from a tree behind them provided a comfort from the rays of the sun. "You always had good taste when it came to scenic lookouts."

"Really? Remember last time when it rained at that picnic spot the second we got there?" Robin mildly laughed to himself as he looked to the surrounding area. Grassy hills stretched out as far as the eye could see, and at the base of a nearby hill was the camp of the Shepherds.

Cordelia was silent as she threw her arm around Robin's shoulder as she continued to lean on him. "So, there's something I wanted to ask you."

"Is it about our rations today?" Cordelia asked. "Because I thought they were absurdly small and tasted like dirt."

"No, no, it's not about the rations." Robin smiled as he rested his arm on Cordelia's body. "It's about… us, really."

"Go on…" Cordelia's tone indicated that she was anticipating something while Robin fumbled with the pocket of his cloak.

"Ever since we got together, I've been thinking about the future, and… Well, I don't really know how to say this…" Robin slowly got to his feet and stood before Cordelia with a small velvet box in his hand. "Cordelia, I want you to be in my future." He got down on one knee and opened the box to reveal a ring adorned with a sapphire gemstone. "Will you marry me?"

Cordelia's eyes widened with joy as she clasped her hands together, then slowly took the ring out of the box and fitted it over the fourth finger of her right hand.

"Yes! A thousand times yes!" Cordelia wrapped her arms around Robin's body and pressed her lips to his own.

"Thank you," Robin spoke as he embraced her back. "You've made me the happiest man in Ylisse."

Chrom and Robin awoke and immediately let loose a blood-curdling scream as they scrambled to their feet. The setting sun was now replaced with a full moon that hung in the night sky like a shining lantern.

Even though the area around them was pitch-black, they were still able to see each other thanks to a newfound light source. A pattern of six eyes formed on the sides of Robin's head, with three eyes distributed on both the left and right side. The pattern glowed with a purple, sickly light that allowed Chrom to see Robin's cold, glaring eyes.

Chrom's faded tattoo on his right arm glowed with a resplendent, golden gleam, and allowed Robin to see Chrom through the darkness.

As these two broken warriors stood on the platform, they had acquired so much hatred and disdain for the opposing side that they threw their swords to the wayside and charged at each other with clenched fists.

"Chrom!" Robin held an 'O' sound as he charged.

"Robin!" Chrom growled at the top of his lungs and held an 'I' sound. The feeling of pure malice was practically palpable in their voices while they glared.

As the two met in the center of the moonlit balcony, their fists connected with the other's face and they were both knocked backward. Spit flew out of their mouths as they lunged again. Chrom struck Robin in the gut, and Robin doubled over in throbbing pain before swiping his foot into Chrom's knee.

Gone was their different fighting styles that conveyed what each side was feeling. Now they both adopted a slow, powerful method of punching, almost as if the only thing they had left was pure, never-ending hatred.

Chrom tumbled to the floor and sprawled on his back while Robin sat atop him. He pinned the Exalt down by the neck as he used his other hand to strike Chrom in the head. Chrom struggled and his eyes widened as Robin's fist connected with his face.

Robin struck again. His face had the expression of one whose blood was boiling.

And again. Blood and spit were expelled from Chrom's mouth. All Robin could think of Cordelia.

And again. Chrom was unable to throw Robin off no matter how hard he struggled.

Robin used one final strike to pull Chrom's head towards him as he leaned back and winded up a punch. He then struck Chrom's head with so much force that he was slammed into the stone floor and made a skull-sized dent in it. Robin stepped off of Chrom and backed off while the Exalt slowly got to his feet and wiped the blood from his lips. Chrom felt a throbbing sensation burn in his head while bloody gashes formed at his brow.

The two charged at each other again, and they brought their foreheads together like two horned animals locking their crowns and battling for dominance. Robin glared directly into Chrom's eyes as he pressed his forehead to Chrom's, and Chrom squinted due to the brightness of the markings underneath Robin's eyes.

They could both see in the other's hateful eyes that they didn't care if they were friends. They just wanted the other person dead and buried.

Chrom and Robin both slumped towards each other until their chests were pressed together. They pushed, and struggled, and fought with all their might to knock the other down, but they were too equally matched.

Finally, Chrom felt a surge of energy fill his body while he grabbed Robin by the shoulders and jerked his knee into his former friend's gut. Robin swung his fist in retaliation as he doubled over, and Chrom blocked the blow with his fist. Chrom then swung his knee into Robin's head and knocked him backward.

**Exhaustion began to take its toll on Chrom when he collapsed on one knee and fell onto his back. His body started to feel like it had caught flame. Robin laid on the other side of the balcony gasping for breath.

The two slowly got to their feet and began to limp towards each other. Gone was their burning energy in their eyes that allowed them to fight like there was no tomorrow.

Now, their eyes were drooping and half-shut. All that was sustaining them from falling over was how much anger they had.

As they slowly walked towards the center of the balcony, they made quiet grunts with every step they took. It gave off the sense that Chrom and Robin were just tired. Tired of living in a crumbling kingdom. Tired of fighting.

Tired of being alive.

As they met in the center of the raised platform, Chrom slowly swung his closed fist into Robin's head. Robin was knocked back, then approached with an uppercut at Chrom's jaw. Blood flew out of Chrom's mouth as his head was jerked upright, then he lunged back towards Robin. Chrom and Robin both had to fight to keep their eyes open as they reared their fists back and prepared to swing.

One final punch was all that was needed.

One final blow was the only thing keeping them from being reunited with their families.

One final strike was needed to end this madness.

Suddenly, Robin's vision began to blur as a tingling sensation coursed through his hand. The Mark of the Fell Dragon on Robin's hand shone with a bright light as Robin's hand jerked into Chrom's chest as though it had a mind of its own.

A bolt of Thoron sprang from his hand like a viper lunging out of a patch of grass and pierced Chrom's chest. Robin's eyes filled with regret as he watched the magic impale his foe.

Unbeknownst to him, an unseen observer had caused him to use the spell. Said observer knew that in a matter of mere moments, Robin's body belonged to him.

Chrom stumbled backward as intense pain shot through his body. He looked down to see a bolt of lightning piercing his chest and shining through the darkness of the night sky. He turned his gaze up from the Thoron to Robin.

"Chrom! I didn't mean to-" Robin spoke as he rushed to his friends side. Robin didn't care that mere moments ago they wanted to kill each other.

Chrom looked around with a newfound perspective and saw the crumbling ruins of a once-proud kingdom that had been destroyed by one man in his lust for revenge. No matter how much he fought it, he simply had to come to terms with one simple fact:

He had caused all this sorrow and pain. Not just for the kingdom, but his friends as well.

"In my madness… I was blind…" Chrom spoke in a raspy, exhausted voice as Robin knelt before him. "To the damage I had done…"

In Chrom's eyes, there was no hatred, or exhaustion, or disgust. All that was there was the look of a man consumed by regret and sorrow. "I've done so many horrible things… I've killed your wife… I've ruined both Ylisse and Plegia… Oh, gods…"

"You were just angry at the world for taking your family," Robin spoke. A tear fell down his cheek.

The bolt of lightning in Chrom's chest disappeared, and in its wake was a searing hole in Chrom's upper torso. "Validar manipulated your anger and made you into a monster."

"Robin… Do you... Do you forgive me?" Tears rolled down Chrom's cheek as he clutched the hole in his chest. Robin knelt down and slowly hugged his friend.

"I… I forgive you," Robin spoke into Chrom's ear while more tears flowed down his face.

What felt like an eternity of friends embracing came to an abrupt end after half-a-minute.

"T-thank… you…" Chrom's breathing began to slow as he slowly fell onto his back. He looked up to the sky with a forlorn gaze. "Lucina… Aversa… I'm... coming…" He raised his hand towards the moon above.

A final wheeze escaped from Chrom's lips before he closed his tired, bloodshot eyes. His hand fell to the ground and remained there. The rhythmic motions in his chest had stopped, and Robin knew he was the victor.

He had done it; he had slain the man who killed Cordelia and drove Ylisse into a downward spiral of despair. Robin had been waiting, no, longing for this moment, and he told himself that when it occurred, he would jump for joy and feel happiness.

But instead, there was nothing. No satisfaction from killing Chrom, or happiness from putting Cordelia's spirit at ease.

Robin felt a sickening amount of nothing. He couldn't even feel his own hands while he stood on the balcony with Chrom's dead body at his side.

He couldn't even feel terror when a swirling, black cloud covered his body and blocked all connection to the outside world. He couldn't even feel despair when he found himself adrift in an empty void while some unknown force began to control his body.

A short time later, the dark cloud over Robin's body disappeared, and in its wake was Robin.

Or rather, what remained of Robin, now that a certain Fell Dragon who had been sealed underneath the ground had possessed him.

Grima cackled with glee as he used his newfound body to stand up, then proceeded to stretch his arms and hands out. After spending ten-thousand years sealed below the ground, he was finally back, and he rather enjoyed the feeling of having a human body.

He had spent the last three years watching from his seal, and waiting until the boy Robin was so emotionally broken that he had no option but to accept Grima's gift of possession.

Unknown to Grima, a certain friend of Robin had been studying the mark on his hand and came to a conclusion regarding his fate. Lissa got to the top of the staircase and saw a horrific sight. The corpse of her brother sat on the floor while Robin stood at the very edge, looking over the countryside and with his back turned to her.

As silent as a mouse, Lissa tiptoed towards Grima until she was right behind him, clutching the Book of Naga tightly while her heartbeat climbed.

She now stood right behind the thing who used to be her friend. Her hands were trembling and beads of sweat ran down her brow. Robin just stood there, as motionless as a corpse, and continued to do nothing while Lissa pressed the tome to his back. She closed her eyes out of paralyzing fear as the book shone with a brilliant radiance.

A few moments passed. Lissa opened her eyes and saw that Robin continued to stand. He turned around, wearing both a crooked smile on his face and crimson eyes that peered into her soul. Eyes that continued to stare at her as Grima slashed his claw through the book held tightly at her chest.

Lissa fell to the ground. Grima stepped over her corpse and down the staircase.

Chapter Text

Epilogue

Reunion

A sad, broken ruin of a church stood amongst some small hills. The orange sky hung above and bathed a man in its glow while he approached the church. While he walked, talked, and looked like a man, he was almost certainly anything but. An unknowable, imperceptible malice burned within his soul as Grima stuffed his hands into his pockets. He did not care for the cold.

His white hair shook in the breeze, along with his coat. He stepped inside the church and still felt a breeze, seeing as there was several holes in the walls. Instead, his gaze focused at the very end of the long hallway where a corpse laid on the floor. A corpse that his former self loved. He casually strolled over to the body and looked down, gazing at its red hair.

After a moment of fumbling with his pocket, Grima pulled a mask out and placed it atop the visage of his wife. He took a few steps back and watched as the red eyes of the mask lit up, and Cordelia began to stir. She got to her feet as though she had awoke from a nap and wrapped her arms around her husband. The hole in her stomach was slowly fading away, thanks to the Necrophages that had traveled from the mask to her body.

In the mountains of Valmna-Ferox, a small house was situated alongside piles and piles of snow. Inside the small cottage was Sumia and Gaius, who were passing the time by hoping that Robin would appear in their doorway.

A knock on the front door was audible amongst the snowstorm outside. Sumia's ears perked up as she sat on the couch and slowly went to the door. From the foggy window, she could see what she assumed was Robin's outline.

"Oh, thank the gods... He made it out…" She went to the door and grabbed the knob. Despite an uneasy feeling in her stomach that she couldn't explain, she still opened the door.

In the doorway was Robin. Or, what she thought was Robin. Cordelia was at his side, leaning on his shoulder and grinning with an unnerving look while her skin had gone purple. "W-what...? Robin, what happened?"

"Robin's not here right now." The thing wearing Robin's body like a coat invited himself inside while Sumia backed up. Gaius had noticed what was occurring and rushed to her side, drawing a sword. "His body is... How do you mortals say it... 'Under new management'? Yes, that's the word for it." Cordelia started giggling with a distorted voice as she hugged his arm. Sumia noticed her masked face and bright, red eyes that looked almost as soulless as Grima's. "I guess you could say this entire kingdom... Actually, scratch that. This world is under new management."

Screams echoed out of Sumia's house as purple lights flashed. Grima and Cordelia emerged soon after, followed by a shambling Sumia and Gaius that were wearing the same masks as Cordelia.

Author's note: This story originally had a much happier ending where Robin and Grima fight through the edges of time in what I think was an homage to Star Dream in Kirby Planet Robobot, honestly it's been so long I can't even remember. Robin would defeat Grima, then go back in time to the start of the story and destroy Validar, preventing everything from happening and using his knowledge of future events to basically speedrun Awakening. I defended the -honestly in hindsight overly-saccharine- ending by citing works like Majora's Mask where the entire plot is a depression conga-line before ending in a happy ending. Looking back on it now, and after some comments from friends, I realized it was kind of a huge nothing of an ending? It's hard to describe but I feel like it's more fitting for a dark and moody story like this to end with a suitably dark and moody ending where the protagonists' plans completely go off the rails and the villain wins.

If you think otherwise, please let me know because I'd be interested in discussing this. I'd also recommend my other works like What Remains of Ylisse because I am a massive shill and I like to think I've improved a bit since writing this story. There certainly is a lot of stuff in here I'd change, stuff I would do differently. But that's neither here nor there. Either way, thank you for reading this story.