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A Change Of Tactics	By : JLDavenport Category: +A through F > Fire Emblem (all) > Fire Emblem (all) Views: 90775 -:- Recommendations : 2 -:- Currently Reading : 5
Disclaimer: I don't own any elements of Fire Emblem or it's characters. I make no money from this.

Chapter List
- 13
- 14
- 15
Panne – A Woman of Pride and Instincts
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Authors Note: Finally another update! About damn time, enough with the commissions already, eh? For all those wondering whether this story was dead, nope, not even for a second. I do hope you read some of my other stories in the meantime, just took me longer than expected to get them written!
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Proud, noble, and driven by instincts humans can’t possibly understand, while still being equally unable to experience the wonderful effect he had on Manakete’s, Panne was in many ways, the perfect person to understand exactly what Robin was going through.
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Frowning in consternation, Miriel caught herself looking to the clock at the far end of workshop for the third time in the last hour.
‘This is thoroughly illogical.’ She concluded immediately, putting aside her research notes with a sigh and turning her attention towards her own status.
It wasn’t as if she wasn’t familiar with feeling restless, or with waiting for a work-day to be over. No matter how dedicated a scientist she was, she was still human.
Only, she reminded herself, the reason it was illogical was because there was no clear reason she should be feeling restless. She wasn’t tired- she’d slept adequately the previous night, and it was still only early afternoon, more than three hours before her median finishing time. Nor was the answer something as simple as hunger, the meal she’d taken for lunch had been simple, but fully sufficient for her needs.
In conclusion: There was no reason she could think of for her to want to go home so early in the day.
‘Ah…’
She paused, taking a moment to re-evaluate that thought. Taking a moment for consideration, she discovered the problem, her hypothesis had been flawed from the outset. She didn’t want to go home. Thoughts of her house elicited only the same comforting response as normal.
Rather, she realised, she was feeling restless because she didn’t want to go home, ‘I see. Then, I want to see him. I want to be with Robin again.’
She frowned, again, folding her hands under her impressive bust. That didn’t make sense either. She’d seen Robin, and had sex with him in-fact, just a few days ago. There was no doubt she would see him again soon, so she had no concerns about his well-being, and she was neither in love with him, nor married to him, so there was no reason to be missing him, especially not this soon.
For the sake of being thorough, she doubled checked her findings; Her breathing was slightly elevated, her face was moderately flushed and her heartbeat appeared to have risen slightly ever since she’d begun thinking about him.
“Oh!” she didn’t have any reason to believe she had contracted an illness, so Miriel could only conclude that simply thinking about the Shepherd’s Tactician was causing her to experience the early stages of arousal! “Then, I’m feeling… Horny?”
How interesting! She couldn’t help but smile! This was novel indeed!
Despite her initial, primarily emotional, resistance to her husband’s suggestion that she partake in infidelity, she had always believed that the experience would be the key to many new discoveries. Her very first night with Robin had proven her belief correct, but, even better, it seemed that her acceptance was still bearing fruit now, even when they were separated.
“Incredible.” To think she would become aroused without any external stimulus at all, now that she’d identified it, she could clearly recognise a powerful yearning for his touch, to feel him pinning her down and ravaging her body once more; She’d never experienced anything like this, it reminded her of a rather vulgar term she’d heard from Sully once, “I wonder, does this mean I’ve become cockthirsty?”
She’d never imagined herself as a -to use the Redheaded Knight’s words- depraved slut, just the thought of it was exciting!
Of course, she loved Henry and assuredly enjoyed their time together. But, so far during their marriage, she’d only ever sought sex as the logical necessity for maintaining the harmony of their relationship. It was pleasant, in the same way good food was pleasant, but it was also a distraction, so she’d made sure they kept it to a regular, monthly schedule, enough so that she was sure the two of them would by physically satisfied, but not so much as to get in the way of her work.
But now, now she was craving sex enough to want to put her work aside! Humming in delight at the sheer novelty of the idea, Miriel cheerfully examined this new phenomenon. “Are these feelings just the excitement of trying something new? Is it a part of the illicit thrill of adultery? Ah, or perhaps it’s simpler indeed, is this just a reaction to Robin’s superior ability?”
As an assured scientist, she was never one for sentimentality and thus she had no delusions about the fact that she vastly preferred being fucked by Robin than any of the times she’d spent engaged in marital lovemaking.
She’d recognised the Tactician’s physical dominance instantly, and while her memory was still a little fuzzy with the finer details, she distinctly remembered how pleasantly surprised she’d been to estimate Robin as being at least twice as long as the man she’d married, as well as much thicker. After that, it had only been a short time before she’d been forced to also acknowledge his equally impressive endurance when, rather than flagging after one (or sometimes two) rounds, both times they’d been together, Robin had maintained absolute dominance over her body again and again, until long after she’d lost track.
But, what had truly impressed her and, what stuck in her mind now, was just how quickly he had taken the lead in his office. Despite being a virgin, with only a single book and an afternoon of cramming on his side, he’d acted with absolute confidence and pleasured her, even subdued her, in ways she’d never previously imagined. That fact spoke of an almost fighting potential within him, one that outstripped anything Henry could offer, even aside from his (comparative, she reminded herself) physical deficiencies.
And, “Ahhmm,” it was a difference between them that left her breath running even faster at just the thought.
Coming back from her momentary introspection, Miriel realised that just those recollections had been enough to quell her unease; she now knew exactly what she wanted.
“But then, perhaps this time, restraint would be best.”
Even so, despite her fast budding arousal, Miriel was an eminently prudent woman. She knew if she was to be with Robin, the first thing she would have to do was to go home and inform her husband of her intentions to spend the night (and the morning, if she could manage it) with the Tactician.
That was obvious. No matter their unique circumstances, nor her own admitted emotional naiveite, she was easily smart enough to understand that maintaining a healthy relationship, like what she had with Henry, would require trust and honesty. She had already made a minor slip up with Robin already -when she’d visited to report her conclusions from their night together- and she had no wish to repeat that mistake. After all, she reminded herself, this wasn’t an illicit affair, but a simple arrangement; she had agreed to share another man’s bed, not out of a secret lust, but out of earnest love for her husband.
Unfortunately, acknowledging that only compounded her issues, “It’s too soon.”
It had, after all, only been a few days since she’d originally slept with Robin. In all the time she’d been married, she’d always kept their coupling to a strict schedule and she’d never once left work early to have sex. She was planning on breaking both those patterns at the same time.
Miriel frowned, again, turning the situation around in her head once more.
Henry, obviously, found pleasure of a sort in the pain of his wife being stolen. She understood that, but to make such a drastic change, so soon? Was that really okay? Wouldn’t it just cause him to worry? She was inexperienced enough in such things, she didn’t wish to accidently push him too far, and she certainly didn’t want to actually hurt him.
Chewing on her lip, her eyes glanced at the clock once more, as another idea rose, almost tauntingly, in the back of her mind.
“I’m not due home for another few hours…”
It would hardly be as pleasant as to have the whole night with him, but, if she left now, she could meet Robin and get cleaned up before she was due home.
It was a difficult idea, it clearly went against what she knew was right for her marriage. But, on the other hand, in her current state, it wasn’t as if she was going to be able to get any productive work done, even if she did remain here. And anyway, if she took the time to go seek out Henry, just to inform him, there was no guarantee that Robin would even still be in his office by the time she arrived- she had absolutely no intentions of trying to sneak around the Palace after all.
Miriel briefly considered seeking relief from her husband instead, but it was dismissed almost as quickly as it rose. Compromising on her satisfaction like that would only leave her frustrated. And, strangely, lately when she thought about it, she found herself with almost an aversion to the idea- but, that was something to examine later.
She hummed, twisting this way and that as she dithered, “I shouldn’t…”
A healthy relationship like hers was built on a foundation of trust and honesty, she knew that. But then, if being honest would hurt the man she loved, then wasn’t it prudent to prioritise discretion instead? Shouldn’t she be trusted to make such decisions?
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Bent over Robin’s desk, with both hands clenched tight around her mouth and her pussy squeezing just as hard around his cock, Miriel was fighting with all her strength to keep from screaming aloud.
Being still only the late afternoon, the sounds of people tromping around below them in the barracks downstairs could be clearly heard, and the scientist’s body trembled with exhilaration as much as apprehension with every footstep that echoed out around them.
It wouldn’t have been so terrifying, it might have even been exciting, if only– if only he’d used the soundproofing wards he’d mentioned the previous time!
It was illogical, beyond illogical and downright insane! The rational part of her mind screamed, far off in the distance. He fully understood her need for discretion, he had even been the one to suggest as much… So why hadn’t he taken the time to silence the room before throwing her across his desk!? And, even worse, why hadn’t she objected? Why had she been so happy not to wait!? No matter how she looked at the situation, it didn’t make any sense, and yet, that did nothing to change the way she shook her hips hungrily back against his powerful thrusts.
It was ridiculous how she was acting! And, she would have been furious about it, if only she wasn’t currently far too busy cumming her brains out, “MghhMMMM!” Her walls squeezed tight around his cock as her body lost control once more and again, she only just barely managed to stifle her screams in response. Unfortunately, for Miriel’s sense of dignity, as it was, her reason had been dropped to the floor alongside her panties, and the Shepherd’s smartest woman was currently little more than a lust-addled, drooling wreck.
Keeping her modest dress hiked up over her bare waist and holding firmly to her wide hips, Robin didn’t pause, even as her entire body clenched up under him. Slamming his full length, hard, into her once more, the force of his thrust pushed her up to the tips of her toes, dragging her large breasts almost painfully across the wooden surface as he spread her tight passage wide around him, driving himself all the way to the deepest, most sensitive areas of her pussy.
“MmghGHH-NNGHH!”
Miriel thrashed wildly in response, her body arching into the arc and her world spinning in place as she crashed violently through another peak, before she’d even had a chance to recover. He was always like this, it seemed to her, always so merciless in how he pleasured her, holding her down and bringing her forcefully through highs she’d never imagined. Despite knowing fully that she was fast becoming addicted to these feelings, it was impossible to resist, she knew her body had already begun automatically surrendering to his.
For his part, Robin had already cum inside her twice already. Rather than tiring however, he seemed to become stronger and rougher with each time he unloaded within her, the strength behind his thrusts had risen higher than ever as he forced her onto the balls of her feet, hammering her relentlessly into the hard wooden desk. A distant part, still scientific, part of her wondered if she was developing a taste for being dominated so thoroughly, the discomfort of Robin’s rough handling, rather than turning her off, was mixing with the same incredible pleasure his every touch seemed to alight inside her, sparking shocks of intense, painful bliss through her, until she was sure it was all more than she could possibly take.
He felt even bigger and thicker than she’d remembered, and each time she felt his length pushing her walls wide around him, each time he drove himself into areas of her pussy only he had ever touched, her head spun and more sultry moans escaped her lips.
From the sheer force of his thrusts and how readily her body was accepting him, Miriel was sure Robin must have already completely re-moulded her pussy in his shape. She doubted she’d even be able to properly feel her husband anymore. Strangely, just thinking about that gave her an almost unsettling disquiet. By now, Miriel was long past any reason, but the instincts that remained rejected the very idea of another man now touching her, exactly the same as they had when this arrangement had first been suggested to her- as if the positions had been reversed and she had already become Robin’s, as if it would be him she was cheating on.
“AAhmhhh, R-Robin!” of course, right now, she couldn’t care less. Her mind was focussed on only one thing, “Gods! I-I love it! Fuck me! Nghh, fuck me, like this forever!”
Her voice, slipping out accidently from between her fingers, was only just muffled enough not to carry, but, she couldn’t bring herself to care about even that. Finally pushed beyond the last of her limits, her restraint had gone and any traces of her usual, methodical persona was thoroughly lost.
Grunting aloud in answer to her cries, Robin’s hands clenched even tighter around her trim waist, pulling her hips harshly toward him and driving his cock recklessly into her, feeling it swell even thicker, pulsing wildly against her innermost walls as another peak of his own roared through him.
“AhnnaaaAH-” Miriel was given almost no warning as Robin suddenly slammed himself forward, burying the full length of his shaft within her in a single, incredible thrust- his cock ramming into the deepest region of her pussy with such brutal force that she was pushed completely onto his desk, leaving her feet dangling in the air, several inches off the ground and her entire body locked up in a searing bliss as she felt him suddenly (finally) explode within her again, “HhaYYAAAA!”
Her entire tunnel was stretched painfully tight around him and her body was held partially aloft, practically impaled on his shaft as jet after jet of hot, thick cum suddenly thundered through her, the reverberations of his release crashing against her most sensitive areas blasted away any hope of thought and her entire body was bathed once more in a dizzying warmth.
Completely lost to their shared desire- with her eyes completely glazed over, glasses askew and hat hanging limply from her head, Miriel threw her head back, shuddering with delight and completely uncaring of the consequences as she screamed with all her might!
“YNNAHAAAAAAAA!”
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Looking at the mage slumped limp across his desk -with her robe hiked over her round hips and his seed running thick down her toned, white legs- Robin couldn’t help but smile in satisfaction.
His desires had gotten slightly out of hand, he’d been a lot rougher than he’d expected, almost as much as he sometimes was with Lucina, but, in the end, he’d succeeded marvellously. In only three loads, he’d made the usually stoic, serious Miriel scream in unhinged delight. He’d gotten her so worked up she’d neither acknowledged, nor cared about the other Shepherd’s passing in and out of the building just a few metres below them.
It had all been a game, of course. He was staking his very life and everything he had on his ability to keep his actions a secret, that wasn’t something he’d ever risk on some whim, no matter how much fun it had been to try break her resolve. In truth, he’d had the silencing wards active since his beloved fiancé had come around to bring him lunch, maintaining the magic that powered them took up such little of his magic these days that he simply hadn’t bothered to take them down.
“Ooonnnngg.” She gave a low groan as he slowly withdrew his shaft, selling it -still hard- atop her ass cheeks.
“Miriel,” he spoke gently, running his fingertips lightly along her hips in a gentle caress as she gave signs of having come back down to reality, “Next time you come see me, I want you to wear a dress instead. Okay?”
He had a reason for asking, of course, one beyond simply satisfying his own desire to see such a stunning woman wearing something aside from her unflattering robes for a change. Miriel was, above all else, an eminently practical person, someone who considered it only natural that her work clothes would also double as a standard, everyday outfit, to the point where she’d shamelessly worn those same bland robes even for their very first time together.
It wasn’t out of the ordinary, no-one else would notice anything different, or think it worth commenting on, but, for her to go out of her way to change, for someone like her to walk all the way across town dressed up specifically for only one, secret, purpose… Not even she would be able to remain unaffected by that.
“And, leave your panties behind.” He added with a smirk, after a moment’s thought to savour that image.
That request, on the other hand, was entirely for his own preference. It was starting to become something of a trend between his partners too, Lucina had done so at his prompting ever since Valm, but now, of all his women, Tharja was the only one who still routinely wore underwear around him, and even then, she’d made it clear that was only because they both enjoyed the feeling of him shredding her clothes from her body. It was an incredible change to how things had been barely a few months ago and, despite the pangs of guilt he still sometimes felt, the thought of Lissa and Lucina, two of Ylisse’s Royal Princesses, both walking through the palace halls with his seed running hidden down their legs, was not a thought that ever bored him.
Miriel moaned something akin to acknowledgement (although he had no doubt he’d have to repeat the instructions again later) and Robin brought himself back down to earth, taking a moment to consider the situation while she recovered.
‘This is a lot sooner than I expected.’
Not just in regards to her coming to see him again, but in every aspect of her visit.
She was here in the middle of the afternoon, long before he could possibly believe someone like Miriel would have finished her work for the day.
And, even if he did assume that something could have happened at her lab, she’d specifically mentioned only having a few hours to spend with him, because she needed to be home at her usual time.
That wasn’t like Miriel at all. When she did something she did it thoroughly and with full examination of its every aspect, she was never the type to haphazardly try fit something into her schedule. If she’d planned to be with him, she would have set aside an entire evening with this, an evening that wouldn’t clash with anything else she needed to do.
Which meant, that this was an impulsive decision. Not only had she set aside her work for this, but she’d come without telling Henry, she’d intended to keep this from him.
All well within his expectations, of course… But, far, far sooner than he’d ever imagined. This was only their third time together, he’d anticipated her trying to trick him into a scheduled routine first, he’d expected to have to tease her out of that idea. He never would have guessed that Miriel, of all people, would fall to pleasure this quickly.
It was something of an ego boost. But he did try to temper his reaction, no matter how pleasing that thought was, he knew he should remain wary. It was just like with Olivia and Nowi, things had escalated far past what he’d planned for, far sooner than he’d ever guessed.
‘I’ll keep her at a distance for now then,’ he concluded, mentally going through the next part of his plan for her as he ran his fingers tenderly across the small of her back, ‘If she’s going this far, this fast. I have to give her a chance to come to me, even if I pull away.’
Then, of course, there would be no doubt in her mind that it had been all her choice. Every step she made to take things beyond the agreement she’d made with her husband would be entirely of her own decision.
He smirked, his soul crackling happily at the thought, suddenly excited. If things between them had come this far so soon, then what would play out with Miriel from here? No matter what, he was sure it would be very well worth seeing.
But first…
Stepping forward again, Robin took another firm hold of the still dazed scientists’ hips.
…He still hadn’t taken tried tight ass of hers all afternoon, it was long past time he remedied that.
“Ohhaa? R-Robin?”
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Themis – Ducal Manor.
“Lissa, my darling,” Maribelle began hesitantly, looking away from her friend as she rose from her seat to collect up the tea-set spread out before them, “I must say, while it is always a delight to have you in my home. I cannot help but notice, you, you seem rather distressed today?”
She’d noticed something was rather off about her friend almost immediately after she’d arrived, but it was something she’d restrained herself from asking about until right this very moment, when she’d suddenly been spurred into action after the bell had been rung and they’d been informed that the carriage to take the Princess back to the palace had arrived. Of course, she couldn’t help but worry for her dearest friend…but, because Lissa was her dearest friend, she’d tried to keep from prying. She was married now, after-all, Maribelle had reminded herself.
Unfortunately, no matter how she’d tried to edge around the topic, Lissa hadn’t said a word and so, from the fear of suddenly having her friend walk out the door with matters unresolved, Maribelle had finally thrown her decorum out the window.
“Oh, ahh, I’m sorry Maribelle, was it that obvious?” Lissa sighed, looking guilty, “It’s just, well you know, it’s everything that’s going on with Lon’qu, you know?”
“Of course dear,” the Noblewoman’s eyes shifted to her parasol, hanging in the far end of the room, “Shall I have a talk with that man myself?”
“No, no, I just… I’ve just got a lot on my mind I guess?” Shifting slightly in her seat, Maribelle raised an eyebrow as her friend’s face turned a light shade of pink and she began twisting her wedding ring around her finger, “About, well, about him and… And, some… some other stuff.”
That wasn’t particularly helpful.
“I see. Then, is there anything I can do to help?”
“Ahh…”
Lissa’s eyes shifted away. Clearly she had something on her mind. Something very specific. Maribelle’s heart soared with relief, the only thing more distressing than seeing her friend upset, was the fear of not being able to do anything about it.
“Lissa, my dear, please. Tell me?”
“I ah… N-No, I…”
Breathing out a sigh, Maribelle bent down, taking the Princess’s hands in her own and pulling her to her feet, leading her slowly to the middle of the room, “There’s no cause to be embarrassed,” she promised, running her thumbs soothingly across the other woman’s palms, “If there’s anything you wish for me to do, you have only to say.”
Lissa swallowed hard.
Feeling her heart pounding in her chest and her face suddenly burning a bright red, she could barely manage to even maintain eye contact with her friend right now. She’d been thinking about it ever since they’d been alone together, but, standing so close together like this, with Maribelle’s hands holding her own, it was impossible for her not to recall the dream she’d had, barely a few days ago. It was impossible for her not to think about all the feelings that had been building up within her these last few weeks.
‘I always thought, if I was ever going to be with a girl, it would be you.’
It was strange really. For all her life, she’d never seriously entertained the idea, it had always just been some vague thought she’d never taken too seriously.
She’d known Maribelle for almost all her life, but when she was a kid, her first love had been Frederick. Then, when she’d grown up, she’d had her first time with Robin, her first almost everything really. She’d had sex with him more times than she could count over the years, and then she’d finally fallen in love with Lon’qu. There’d been three men in her heart and over the many years, she’d never really put much thought sharing those same experiences with a woman, but, she’d always thought somewhere distantly, in the back of her mind, that if she ever did, it would be with Maribelle.
But it hadn’t been.
Far from anything she could possibly have expected, the first woman to touch her, the first woman she touched back, the first woman she had sex with, was Tharja. She didn’t regret it at all. Just as she’d admitted to herself in her dream, she’d enjoyed every moment she’d spent sharing pleasure with the Dark Mage and the Tactician. It hadn’t been like anything she’d ever felt before, she didn’t even have words to describe what she felt, feeling Tharja wrapped tight around her, while Robin plundered both their bodies in turn.
Especially now, especially standing here, she could clearly recall the words she’d spoken in her dream, ‘I wanted, at least, to make sure that your first time… That is was with me.’ She didn’t know if she’d ever have the courage to say them in reality, but they were true just the same.
Lissa had never kissed a girl, Tharja had refused her, she only wanted to kiss Robin. But, she knew there would be other women. She didn’t know how she knew, perhaps it was just a strange quirk of having submitted herself to him so thoroughly, like she never had all their years together before, somehow, it just seemed obvious, natural, a man who’d conquered them both so thoroughly wouldn’t stop there- there was no reason to, especially not when neither of them wanted him to. And, Lissa also knew that she wasn’t that earnest. She wouldn’t save herself for Maribelle in the vain hope that she, a married noblewoman, would somehow end up in bed with the two of them. And, even if she tried, sharing him like that, having sex with other women felt incredible, she didn’t have Tharja’s self-control.
So, before that happened, she wanted to, at least, give Maribelle her first kiss with a woman.
And, selfishly, she wanted to take Maribelle’s first in return.
She’d never seriously considered it all her life, but after her first taste of sapphism, she now couldn’t stop thinking about it.
It was wrong, it was terrible, it was completely unfair…
“O-Okay, close your eyes for a second.”
“My… Close my eyes? Are you going to surprise me?”
Her heart was pounding in her chest too loud for her to answer, but after a moment, Maribelle did just as she’d asked.
“And, and… open your mouth, no, not fully, just, yeah, just a little bit…”
It was crazy, it was immoral, it was… ‘Ah’ …looking at the innocent, gentle expression on Maribelle’s face, it was impossible to resist. Releasing the noblewoman’s hands, she reached up, brushing a thumb tenderly across her friend’s cheek, drawing out a shallow gasp as she leant in, linking her arms around the other woman’s neck and pulling her close as their lips finally connected.
“Ahmmnnnnn…”
“Eh-HMmaa!?”
She was soft! So soft! Lissa’s heart fluttered in delight, it felt wonderful! ‘Gods!’ it was so different from kissing Robin, her lips were gentler and her mouth parted to Lissa’s automatically, instinctively relinquishing control where he would have claimed it.
Easing Maribelle’s lips open with her own, Lissa pulled her even tighter against her, moaning softly into her mouth as she entwined their tongues and deepend the embrace.
“Mmmmmm.”
“Ah-Mmmmm”
The kiss lasted only a minute before they both pulled away, gasping for breath.
“Ah-Ahh, wh-haahhaa, ah!?” stumbling backwards as Lissa released her arms around her, Maribelle stared in shock, “L-Lissa, I… B-But, but we can’t! You’re, you’re married! I’m married.”
“Yup! I know!” Forcing her face into an innocent smile wasn’t as difficult as she’d expected, the pleasant joy swirling through her was too wonderful to deny, “Haha, sorry! Sorry! I was just teasing, it didn’t mean anything! I’ve just always wanted to try that!”
Swallowing heavily, eyes wide and jaw hanging open, the Noblewoman couldn’t respond.
“Ahh, I really surprised you, didn’t I? Hehe, that really was selfish of me wasn’t it?” Forcing a laugh, she skipped across the room, grabbing her belongings and making for the door, “I hope you’re not mad? I’ll, I’ll make it up to you next time!”
Unable to play it off as a game for another moment, and feeling far too aroused to pretend nothing had happened, Lissa slipped out the door, walking in almost a daze through the Ducal Manor until she finally threw herself into the waiting carriage, slumping into her seat and breathing out a low, ragged sigh.
…
And, still standing in place, staring in shock at where her friend had so suddenly disappeared, Maribelle raised her fingers hesitantly to her lips, pressing them against where the two of them had been connected as she breathed out a shaky gasp, “Th-That’s, that’s not fair…”
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That Evening – The Royal Bedroom.
“He kissed you?”
“Yes!” Cordelia gushed, holding a hand over her chest as she spun in circles on the spot, the brief explanation she’d intended to give rapidly getting away from her, “Gods, Sumia! It was incredible! He just suddenly, ahh, he just grabbed me, and held me right against the wall! I couldn’t believe it, I didn’t even know what to… He was just so, so manly! I never would have expected anything like that from him, of all people!”
Sagging against the wall with a dizzy sigh, as if re-enacting the moment, Cordelia’s face burned a happy crimson as she pictured the image, she’d been itching to talk about this for days now! Of course, she hadn’t intended to say anything, she had too much pride to just kiss-and-tell like a giggling schoolgirl… But, Sumia had noticed her acting strangely and she’s gotten a little caught up in her thoughts, and surely it was okay to tell her best friend!
“He was so passionate! It was like he couldn’t resist, it felt like something straight out of one of a Thornstein novel, it was electrifying!”
While it had been a shock at the time, after having some time to think about it, as well as to unintentionally embellish some of the details in her head as she replayed it over and over through her mind, Cordelia had found herself rather relishing her surprising first kiss.
For as long as she could remember, she’d always thought she liked men like (how she envisioned) Chrom; someone kind and sweet, who would always be romantic and gentle with the woman he loved, letting her take the lead and do things at her own pace. But recently, after having her thoughts return so often to those few moments she’d spent held tight in Robin’s arms, she was starting to think that perhaps she could see the appeal of a more aggressive, slightly forceful lover; someone who knew what he wanted and took it without reservation- someone the exact opposite of her.
“He kissed you?” the Queen repeated in a dull deadpan, not even slightly swept up in the red-head’s romantic exaggerations, “Robin kissed you?”
“Er…” crashing back down to Earth with an awkward laugh, Cordelia belatedly remembered just why she hadn’t meant to say anything to Sumia. Her friend’s support of Robin and Lucina as a couple wasn’t exactly a secret, without even getting into how close she was to young Morgan.
From the stony look she could see on the Queen’s face, it seemed clear that the only woman Sumia thought Robin should be kissing was her daughter.
“No, well, it wasn’t, it wasn’t like that…” she sighed, shaking away the excitement and returning back to her previous explanation, “It didn’t mean anything, it was well… it’s like I said, I was feeling down and, and feeling unwanted I suppose.”
Her heart hurt slightly at the admission. She knew it was the truth, kissing her like that hadn’t meant anything to him, it was just his way of shocking her out of the rut she always seemed to find herself in… but, it had meant a lot to her. Building the fantasy of it up in her mind really had been pleasant, she’d had almost surprisingly intense daydreams of being desired so forcefully ever since. He was a dastard for stealing her first kiss so callously, but it was hard to be mad at him when her heart raced leapt excitedly at the thought of it.
“Robin was just being a friend, that was his way of supporting me.”
Sumia didn’t look convinced.
“Ha… Well, it was certainly unorthodox, but, I did feel a lot better! I even went on a date with Ricken the next day.”
That, unfortunately, had been the exact same awkward, frustrating experience she’d been dreading. Still, at least it had made Severa happy, she’d spent most of the date just focussing on remembering the glowing smile her daughter had completely failed to hide. Thankfully, he hadn’t tried to kiss her again, she wasn’t sure how she would have reacted to that.
She’d always been very careful never to say anything to Sumia about her feelings for the younger boy (or, the lack thereof), she could never bring herself to, Sumia had just always been so happy for her, so happy she had finally found someone for herself. After everything that had happened with Chrom and how she’d acted in the past, Cordelia knew she couldn’t possibly bear to let Sumia worry about her anymore, her patheticness had already caused more than enough problems for her oldest friend.
A familiar weight settled in the pit of her stomach at that last thought, her mind returning guiltily to her actions in the lead up to the Royal Wedding, ‘Thank Naga for Robin…’
“You did, with Ricken?” The Queen’s gaze softened, and she looked almost out of place for a moment, “You know, it… it doesn’t have to be Ricken yo-”
“Oh! I forgot to tell you!” Cordelia, swiftly interrupted, cutting off that thought before it went in a troubling direction, “Before he, er, beforehekissedme… When we were talking, Robin admitted that he’s in love with Lucina!”
“H-He did!”
Dreams of cute little Grandchildren were suddenly dancing before the Queen’s eyes at that piece of gossip.
“Absolutely! He told me that, h-”
The door to the royal bedroom suddenly blasted open, crashing into the wall with far too much energetic force,
“Mother!” Cynthia laughed, bouncing into the room with just as much enthusiasm, “Aha! Here you are! I was looking all over you, I need some advice!”
---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------
“Er- Cynthia?” Sumia blinked, at the young Pegasus Knight who’d quickly captured the attention of the room, “What’s wrong? Weren’t you spending time with your father?”
Ever since their discussion a few days ago, Chrom had been taking her through some basic dancing lessons in an effort to help improve her co-ordination.
“We’re done already,” she announced proudly. And, her father had barely even been limping when they’d wrapped up, so she knew she’d already improved! “That’s actually part of why I’ve been looking for you!”
“Oh?”
Perhaps uncharacteristically, Cynthia paused a moment, not entirely sure how to explain herself. The dancing, was going well, even better than expected, she could already feel her balance improving and she was sure she’d do even better than normal the next time the Pegasus Knight Trainees had a grounded training session.
No, the dancing itself, was fine. Her problem was everything else wrapped up in it. Her problem was that everything that seemed to be going well, or making her happy right now all seemed to stem from one source. After all, the one who’d always looked after her when she’d been injured during training had been Robin. The one who’d asked her father to teach her had been Robin. The one who she always thought of when she was lying on the ground, bloody and bruised, was Robin. And... the man she’d sworn to protect, to save if he was ever in danger, almost before she’d realised what she was saying, had been Robin.
At the time, she’d told herself that was only natural, he’d done so much for her and he was so important to Lucina, even if she couldn’t be his Hero, of course she should protect him. But now, more than ever and especially as she felt herself improving, her mind kept coming back to him and it left her emotions feeling more jumbled up than ever.
Obviously she wasn’t in love with him or anything! He was already taken! And he totally wasn’t her kind’a guy at all. She liked… Well, since she’d never actually been in love, she wasn’t really all that sure what kind’a guy she did like. The only man who’d ever set her heart racing was Robin, and since she didn’t like him, it was hard to tell. Still! She was sure it would be someone really heroic! …Not that Robin wasn’t Heroic, in his own way, she supposed, he had died to save the world after-all, that was pretty big. But it was different. He never said any cool lines and he didn’t even have a catchphrase! Who would read a story about someone like that!?
She didn’t like feeling so confused about all this, and she didn’t know what to think about everything that had happened, so, she thought it was high time she learned about all this sort’a thing! “Yeah, you two, well, you’ve got that book club you run, right?”
Cordelia blinked, not expecting to have been drawn into the discussion, “Er, yes? Yes, that’s right.”
Technically, rather than just running the club, they were also the only consistent members; Robin had stopped attending regularly after becoming too busy during the wars and hadn’t improved his attendance since, Lissa and Maribelle both only came sporadically, Nah always seemed to complain about their taste in books and few of the other Shepherds had joined in more than once or twice.
That was probably why Sumia’s eyes had suddenly lit up at hearing of her daughter’s sudden interest in their hobby.
“O-Okay, so then, can you recommend me a book, about, er… about l-love?”
Sumia’s eyes were glowing brighter than ever, “Oh! You’re looking for a romance novel?!”
“Y-Yeah!” Cynthia blushed in embarrassment but still maintained her determination none the less, “That’s only natural, isn’t it? Heroes need to know all about love!”
Love, Truth and Justice! Every one of her idols fought for those ideals, what kind of Hero would she hope to be in comparison if she didn’t learn about something so fundamental?
“Ooooh!”
“Ah!”
Listening to her enthusiasm, both veteran members of the book club practically shook with excitement! No matter the reasons, there wasn’t anything better than helping guide a new reader into the hobby and romance novels in particular were a (not so) guilty pleasure of both women- it was a shared enjoyment that had spurred their dreams on and kept each of them company through any number of lonely and bitter days before they’d joined the Shepherds.
And so, in short order, Cynthia was practically dragged over to the far side of the royal bedroom, whereupon a previously inauspicious closet was forcefully thrown open and shelves upon shelves of books -of all kinds and styles- were spread out before the young Pegasus Knight’s surprised eyes.
The royal library was one thing, but she’d never known her mother had such an avid collection all to herself. Unfortunately, it was a revelation she had only a second to dwell on before a well-worn, grey novella was thrust into her arms.
“Oh! Oh! You’ve got to read this one! Galloping into Love!” the Queen cooed, “Have you heard about it? It’s about a Pegasus Knight, just like you, and the Prince she saves on the battlefield!”
“This one, you should try this one too!” Cynthia gushed, interrupting and plopping an equally well-read blue book atop the first, “Ahh, The Heart’s Desire, it’s about a Knight who falls for her best friend’s lover! It’s so sad, but then, she com-”
“Hey! Don’t spoil it!” Sumia chastised, taking the opportunity to drop a thin black book atop the pile as the two older women giggled to each other, both reaching in for yet another title.
“E-Eh?” Cynthia gaped, as the process quickly repeated, barely able to make out even the title of one book before another was dropped atop it. She could only stare in bewilderment as the explanations quickly began to overlap, never-mind the rampant enthusiasm.
An older looking red book was added, “-one is very exciting! The Prince is so manly!”
Another blue book, this time with a whole series of bookmarks sticking out, was handed over, “-but she doesn’t give in, she knows her Pegasus will be able to recognise her true love!”
A thick brown book with a gaudy illustration on the front was pushed into her hands, “-commander falls ill unexpectedly, so she’s called up to guard the Royal Family.”
Another black book was added atop that, “-actually the Prince in disguise, the entire time!”
A small green hardback was passed over next, “-a trainee, but in her first battle she winds up saving his life!”
On and on it went, until the trainee Pegasus Knight’s arms were stacked high with romance novella and all the most well-worn titles had either been suggested, or practically forced onto her. Then, finally, just as they were both nodding to themselves in satisfaction, Cordelia’s eyes were suddenly caught on the lower left corner of the bookshelf, her eyebrows shooting up in surprise as an unexpected title took her attention.
“Oh! You’ve got Strategies of Desire too?” She laughed, pulling a small white book from the collection, “I really liked this one.”
Not matching her enthusiasm this time, Sumia simply shrugged in response, “It was so highly recommended, I had to check it out. I never really got into it though, I didn’t even finish it.”
“Really? I really enjoyed it! I loved how she wrote the man in this one, it was such a great change from usual. He was brilliant, so smart it was as if he could see through anything!”
The Queen shrugged once more, it was clear where their preferences laid.
Leaning carefully around the pile in her arms, Sumia could see that this one, in stark contrast to the rest of the books she held, seemed to be almost in pristine condition. Was it really so different from the rest? She couldn’t help but be curious about that. “What’s it about?”
“A Pegasus Knight and a Scholar,” her mother explained briefly, “He impresses her commander with some of his suggestions, so he’s brought in to help her squad with their strategies on the battlefield.”
“He teaches her about tactics, she teaches him about combat, and together they both learn about love!” Cordelia swooned, jumping in and finishing with a far more enthusiastic explanation, “It’s very torrid though! It almost didn’t even get published!”
Cynthia wasn’t really sure what that meant and she wasn’t particularly convinced either way, “I dunno, a scholar?” she shrugged, “I prefer a more, action-hero kind’a guy!”
Well, she figured that was probably true.
“Exactly!” Sumia agreed, “It’s one thing to be ri-”
“Oh come on!” Cordelia insisted, reaching up and simply dropping the book atop the pile before either of them could stop her, “Just give it a chance. You said you wanted to learn all about love, didn’t you?”
Well, she could hardly argue that. And, maybe a change of pace from the other books could be good, it might give her a different perspective.
“Now…” her mother’s sing-song voice interrupted that thought as she rounded on Cynthia with a wide smile, “Isn’t it about time you told us? Why the sudden interest in love? What’s happened?”
“It’s because Inigo’s coming back soon, isn’t it?” Cordelia’s smile was just as excited as she stepped up on the other side of her, her eyes shining with interest in romantic gossip.
“E-Eh!?”
“Oooh, you’re right! Inigo? Hmm, should I invited Olivia around for some tea then?”
“Unless, it’s not about Owain is it? He’s been back for a few weeks now, did something happen?”
Shifting uncomfortably, Cynthia edged herself backwards a few steps.
“It’s not that North-harbour noble’s son is it? Prena? You did seem to get on well with him during the last meet.”
“Er, ah… Wha? H-Hey!?”
Blushing madly and thoroughly unable to even begin a response, it was quite some time before Cynthia was able to manage a hasty (but heroic) retreat.
---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------
The Palace Kitchens.
“Are you sure you’ve got everything, Noire, sweetie? You sure baked a lot today.”
“Y-Yes, I think so,” Noire nodded bashfully, wilting under the warm smiles of what felt like the entire palace kitchen staff as they saw her off, “Th-Thank you again.”
“Haw! Haw! Haw! I should be the one saying that!” Baynor, the Head Chef answered, patting his rotund stomach and nodding to a long tray of pies cooling across the main counter, “I should be the one saying that, I think. You’re far more useful to have around than half these damn layabouts!”
It was something of an agreement she’d reached with the staff some time ago, in return for helping out around the kitchen, cleaning or baking or whatever else she could handle, they let her use an area of it for her own baking needs.
Truthfully, most of them were just awed to be working alongside one of the famed Shepherds and if she’d simply asked, they would have happily let her use the facilities for free…but, in contrast to her mother’s well-furnished room above, she couldn’t bear to ever take advantage of someone’s generosity like that.
“Now, don’t you worry hunnie!” Madame Sylvia pushed her way to the head of the small crowd and clapped the archer on the shoulder, “You’re using one of MY recipes this time, there’s no man alive that can resist my cooking!”
“That’s right, Noire,” Matilda, one of the younger kitchen girls added, her face glowing red with enthusiasm, “You’ve made it perfectly, just feed it to him like that and I know he’ll be eating out of your hand in no time!”
“Mhmm! And, I keep saying, you’ve got to bring him around with you next time!” Sofia, her twin sister, joined in, “I wanna meet this mystery man of yours already!”
“I-It’s not! It’s not like that!” Noire stammered desperately, blushing a furious scarlet and wishing terribly that she’d never so carelessly admitted her baking was for a man, all those months ago, “I’m, I’m not trying to seduce him!”
As always, her protests fell on deaf ears. And this time, it definitely didn’t help that she was baking for Robin again, so soon after her previous offering…. But, after giving him what had become practically Severa’s leftovers, she’d felt so guilty she hadn’t been able to resist.
“I’m just… He just works s-so hard, I just want to, to look after him.”
“For life right?” One of the twins cooed, cradling her hands against her chin with a dazzling smile.
“So you can cook for him every night?” The other agreed, looking equally charmed by the apparent romance.
“Geez… You always look so damn panicked,” Sam, one of the male kitchen hands complained with a sigh, pushing the younger girls away, “Aren’t you meant to be a hero? Have some more confidence in yourself.”
Noire nodded stiffly, that was exactly the kind of advice Severa (and her mother, in her own roundabout way) was always trying to give her.
“Haw! They’re right though, every man dreams of coming home to a beautiful wife and a proper cooked meal!”
“Mhmm! The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.”
“You really do have to bring this guy over, I wanna tell this guy off for leading you on for so long! You’re too good for that sweetie!”
“You know, if you make a move soon, you can still be married before the summer ends! We’re all coming along, okay?”
“Hah, just remember what I taught you. Wait till he’s started, then tell him you wanna invite him home for dinner. Bring him home, then stuff him so full he’ll never wanna leave! *BAM* Hook, line and sinker!”
“U-Uh, Ahh…”
Overwhelmed by their kind support and not-so-subtle insinuations, Noire couldn’t build up the courage to try correct their misunderstandings again. So, after bowing gratefully and thanking them for their generosity once more, she meekly shuffled out, away from the comforting warmth of the kitchen and set off- her plans for the night, and tomorrow, dancing excitedly through her head.
---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------
Cynthia’s night was not going how she’d hoped.
After somewhat uncharacteristically holding back her curiosity, she’d taken her time bathing herself and cleaning herself before finally slipping into a light nightgown and thrown herself atop her bed, eager to immerse herself in romantic tales and emerge from this night as a (heroic) master of love.
Unfortunately, after barely a few hours, she had a tall pile of discarded tittles heaped up on the floor and an equally large sense of frustrated disappointment. Few of the books had lasted more than a few minutes.
“Uhhaaaaaaa, this sucks…” She whined, flopping onto her back and reaching out over the mattress, letting the latest novel fall limply from her hands, down to where the rest lay. She hadn’t even made it past skimming through the opening chapter with this, as soon as she’d seen the setup, that had been enough.
The problem, she was fast realising, was that these books were all written for Ylissean women, and Ylissean women had very specific tastes.
It wasn't that the Heroine involved almost always seemed to be a Pegasus Knight; she was a Pegasus Knight herself! It was a noble and heroic endeavour, perfect for a romantic tale! The fact that it seemed to be viewed in an idealistic light only spoke well about the kind of people Ylisseans looked up!
Nor was it an issue that the Hero always seemed to be the Prince; she’d grown up hearing all kinds of fairy-tales about Princes rescuing or being rescued by Princesses like her, that was just the kind of man she wanted to meet, a great, heroic, Prince!
Unfortunately however, while the stories she’d heard as a child had never gone into great detail about just what kind of man the Prince was, these books were far more detailed and, as she’d soon discovered, after living for so many hundreds of years guided by the benevolent Royal Family, the women of Ylisse had a very specific image in mind.
Which meant, book after book, no matter whether he was in disguise or walking openly, the man in these romance novels was always the same- Tall and ruggedly handsome, with thick blue hair and the brand of Ylisse emblazoned proudly on his body. No matter what name he went by, no matter what situation he found himself in, the man involved was always a splitting image of her Father.
“Urrrgh!” She groaned again, trying to shake that image from her mind. She could understand why her mother would enjoy books like these, but for her…it was a little off putting.
Flopping listlessly onto her stomach, she flicked aimlessly through the now smaller pile stacked up next to her pillow, discarding one book after another, until, “Oh!” she found herself staring down at a certain title, “Strategies of Desire? Wasn’t this the one the Commander recommended?”
A quick glance across the cover seemed to agree with that- rather than a picture of another muscular, blue-haired Prince, this one depicted a much calmer looking man, one with (thankfully) brown hair and a robe akin the what the mages wore.
“A scholar, huh… Something a little like Robin?”
That definitely wasn’t an exciting thought, because she definitely didn’t like Robin and he absolutely wasn’t the kind of man she was into… But, after surrounding herself with stories of actiony-heroic kind’a guys that reminded her waaaaay too much of her father, she couldn’t deny it was an appealing change. And, anyway, the guy on the cover wasn’t bad to look at either, although, as she flicked it open, she couldn’t help but think that he would have suited the role a little more if he’d had shaggy white hair and a cool, mysterious cloak instead.
A Tactic-Scholar, a Scholar and a Pegasus Knight, after skimming through so many other ideas, that seemed like a very appealing idea! She’d completely forgotten about it, of all the books she’d borrowed it was the one she’d expected to enjoy the least, “Well, can’t hurt. The Commander did say I should learn about all kinds of love.”
---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------
Finally arriving home again, Noire made certain to lock the apartment door behind her before she slipped into the kitchen, settling her baking into a cool cupboard, ready to be cooked for Robin tomorrow.
‘Robin…’
Chewing anxiously on her lip, her heart pulsed for a moment at that thought, the sight of the finished pie serving as assurance that she was committed now, that she would definitely be seeing the man tomorrow. The same nervous excitement as ever built within her at that thought, but she shrugged it off as best she could, ignoring the red tinge in her cheeks and the quickness of her breath as she made her way to her room, stripping off her everyday wear and dropping them in a tidy heap on the floor- breathing a pleasant sigh of relief as her massive breasts bounced free into the warm night air, released from the confines of her bra.
“Ah-hhaaa.”
Being able to expose herself so openly like this was such a simple joy, one of the advantages of living alone, but it was something she’d never once experienced in all her life until months after the end of the war, when Robin had returned and her mother had, more or less, moved back into the Palace; she would have never dared be so brazen if there was a single chance that anyone else would see her.
Tonight however, she knew there was no risk of that. She’d visited her mother’s royal suite after leaving the kitchens and had been told that she would be staying there, just the same as she did most nights, as close to the Tactician as possible. Noire didn’t mind, not really, she could still see her mother whenever she wished and being entrusted with what had become essentially her own apartment (especially after she’d changed up the décor) was an incredibly kind gesture.
…And, on nights like this, living alone was really, very convenient…
Heart clenching with a very familiar guilt, Noire slunk quietly from her room.
She always visited Tharja after she’d finished baking something for Robin. Partially because she always cherished the time she was able to spend with her mother and partially because she wanted to leave her some of her creations… But, primarily, because she wanted to make sure she would have some privacy.
“Sorry Mother,” she whispered as she reached the other woman’s room, running her fingers along the doorjamb and confidently undoing the various wards setup around the entrance, the very same wards she’d secretly replaced the previous time she was here, “I’m not the good girl you think I am.”
Despite being alone in the house, it was impossible for her not to practically tiptoe across the bedroom as she made her way to her mother’s desk, kneeling before it and releasing the magic seals, traps and alarms just as confidently as she had to the ones around the doorway. She absolutely, positively was not meant to be doing this…which, of course, was why she’d never let on that she could. This, and everything else around her feelings for the Tactician, were the only things she’d ever kept secret from the woman. Her heart pounded with guilt as she removed a small key from a hidden compartment on the underside of the desk and used it to unlock the bottom drawer, but still she didn’t hesitate in sliding it open, it was the only thing she could do.
Inside, after unhooking one last alarm, Noire lifted out a beautiful wooden box, created from magically polished Maplewood, with burnished gold hinges and lacking even a single speck of dust or wear, it was undoubtedly a treasure. Her breath caught sharply in her throat as she lifted it reverently out and settled it atop the desk, undoing the latches and carefully easing it open.
And then, all at once, all her nervousness and anxiety was settled instantly… How could it not be when she now had Robin’s smiling face staring warmly back up at her?
“Ahh…”
No matter how many times she saw it, still it took her breath away each time. Inside the box were pictures of the Shepherd’s Tactician, hundreds and hundreds of pictures of him, all stacked into three tidy piles and all with such incredible detail she almost expected them to start moving or talking. Bursting with full and vibrant colour, displaying the man exactly as he looked, they were like no portraits or paintings Noire had ever seen. From the little she’d been able to find out, she’d discovered they’d apparently been created by a very fragile and very expensive device her mother had purchased from Anna.
This was Tharja’s secret, one she doubted anyone else in the army knew and one she’d only found out by complete accident several years back, before the march to Plegia. Despite having had entirely pure intentions at the time, Noire had been far too terrified of admitting to snooping around her mother’s tent, so she’d never said a word about having discovered the stash and, after her curiosity got the better of her, she’d returned ever since, time and time again, surreptitiously watching the collection getting larger and larger throughout the rest of the war and even afterwards, following his incredible return, right up until it had completely halted a few weeks ago. She wasn’t quite sure what to make of that part, her mother seemed just as adoring of Robin as ever, so she couldn’t imagine any reason for her to stop, she suspected the Camera had broken, or run out of magic, but she would never dare even dreaming of touching it to check.
Still, she reminded herself as she began flipping through the piles, it wasn’t as if she lacked for selection even so. There were countless pictures stacked up before her, all focused solely on the Tactician, images of him in all manner of situations, eating, studying, working, sleeping and even a few taken of him taken somehow in the midst of battle. What she was looking for however…
‘Ah!’ her heart skipped a beat, ‘Found it!’
…Was one very specific image. Humming gently in satisfaction, she pulled it carefully from the pile and cupped it in her hands, pausing in place just to stare at the usual guiltily familiar sight. Among the collection, it wasn’t anything unique, there was a good handful of others with just the same or similar subject matter, but it was the first one Noire had ever seen, and it had been special to her for that reason ever since.
Taken in what she assumed must have been the hot-springs the Shepherds had visited in Chon’sin, Robin was depicted looking lazily back up at her with an uncharacteristically relaxed expression on his face. Standing tall and proud before her, his lean musculature was captured in perfect detail and she could even make out several small scars usually hidden under his clothing as she traced her eyes down his battle-hardened body. Typically covered up in his habitual cloak, it was easy to forget just how toned their Tactician was; without a trace of fat anywhere to be see, he may not have been the most muscular Shepherd, but his frame radiated an assured strength that was no less impressive. It was incredibly rare to see him so open and exposed like this, that fact alone would have caught Noire’s attention, however, that wasn’t what had made this picture so memorable to her.
‘R-Robin.’
Instead, that came down to the simple fact that, in this picture, as he gazed out of the picture with the distant hint of a smile, Robin was walking toward the bath with his towel slung over his shoulder… Which allowed Noire to guiltily, lustfully, trace her eyes all the way down his body, especially including the sight of his cock hanging free between his legs, “Ah-hhaaa.” Unaroused, it still dangled round and thick, several long inches below his waist, while she had nothing to compare it to and there weren’t any pictures showing anything like that, she’d come to understand that when excited, it would even somehow become significantly larger.
A warm thrill ran through her spine. She’d returned to this scene countless times over the years, as well as many other similar ones within Tharja’s collection, but it retained a special place in her heart all the same; it was the first time she’d ever seen a naked man.
Breath hitching in her throat, she quickly flattened the picture against her voluptuous chest and fled the room.
---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------
“O-Ooh, oh wow!”
Propping herself up onto her elbows from where she was lying on her stomach, with her face burning bright crimson and an excited heat swirling through her body, Cynthia’s eyes were glued tight to the pages before her.
She hadn’t been quite sure what to think at first, the plot had been a nice change from what she’d read so far, but she’d quickly found that as far as Tactician’s went, she much preferred Robin to the man depicted; the man in the story was quiet and withdrawn in ways she knew Robin would have been confidant and re-assuring. In the end, she’d begun enjoying herself much more as soon as she’d begun replacing some of his dialogue with things she as sure the Shepherd’s Grandmaster would be saying in his place- and so, lines like “Elina! Th-That was dangerous!” became “Cynthia, that was incredible! You saved us all!”, which, as far as she was concerned, was far more romantic.
Right now, however, Cynthia was just coming up to the half-way point in the book and was suddenly starting to get a very good idea of just what Cordelia had meant when she’d called it “torrid” and said it almost didn’t get published.
“Ylisse’s Flying Knights, of course, do it just the same as a Pegasus,” she read aloud in a scandalised whisper, gaping at the Heroine’s proud words as she drank in the description of the woman secluded away from the battlefield, bent over against a tree, with her panties lying around her ankles and her entire body heaving with delight as the Tactician’s thick shaft finally claimed her chastity, filling her with his desire. “Wo-Woahh…”
She hadn’t been expecting anything like this, the other novels she’d skimmed through had been a little racy, even risqué in parts but this was downright explicit. The way her careless moans filled the silent clearing, the feeling of his hands holding firm to her hips, the delight of her walls wrapped tight around his length, the ecstasy of his cock throbbing and pulsing within her... Every action, every thrust, gasp or scream was described so vividly that Cynthia was left mesmerised by the image being painted in her mind.
“Do-Does it… Does it really feel that good?” She wondered, breathing faster as she raised herself off the bed and onto her hands and knees, tentatively mimicking the same pose as the Heroine, placing herself in just the same position. She didn’t have any way to tell, no-one had ever touched her anything like what she was reading about, the closest thing was… Pausing as a rush of heat spun through her, she swallowed heavily… The closest thing was the time she’d spent with Robin.
Memories of being held tight in the Tactician’s arms rose sharply in her mind and she suddenly recalled the excitement she’d felt at being practically naked in-front of him, the sparks of pleasure that had shot through her as his fingers danced across her bare skin, the way she’d so frantically been forced to hold back her moans to keep him from realising the effect he had on her, “Ahh, mmmah.”
Spurred on by thoughts of the man her sister loved, Cynthia slipped her right hand down her body and into her panties with a low gasp. Her body shivered heavily and she suddenly realised just how aroused she truly was- her heart was racing, her nipples had become hard nubs and her juices were already pooling thick, right across her thighs.
“OooAHHHM!” A single digit slid tentatively against the heat of her entrance and the instant she made contact her entire body lit up with desire. The last time she’d felt like this Cynthia had focussed mainly on her clit -that had felt the most similar to the shocking pleasure she’d felt run through her when Robin’s fingertips had brushed over her breasts- but this time, she took her guidance from the pages before her and the scene still burned in her mind, spreading her pussy lips open before carefully sinking two fingers inside, gasping and panting as she sought out the sensitive areas she’d seen described so vividly.
Body pulsing in delight, her walls squeezed tight and, letting loose a long moan, Cynthia tried to pretend she was feeling herself wrapped around the same hard shaft from her imagination. Having never seen a naked man, she wasn’t sure just how big it was meant to be, but, given how tight it felt just squeezing two fingers inside herself, she doubted it could be much larger than that- she didn’t know if she could handle anything more than that.
Slowly adjusting to the pleasure, Cynthia began to move, her massive breasts bouncing through the air as she rocked herself in place, gasping aloud as her body trembled and shaking her hips back harder against her fingers in response, excitedly acting out the scene she could see in her mind, “R-Robin… Robin, hhaa, you, you feel so good!”
---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------
“I-I’m sorry, I’m sorry!”
Lying spread out naked atop her bed, with one hand between her legs and the other holding the picture she’d borrowed aloft, Noire was staring at the image of the Tactician with guilt and lust throbbing through her body in heavy amounts.
“Ro-Robin, hhnng, I’m sorry, I don’t mean to be so weird!” She knew this was not okay, that she was invading his privacy and treating him as if he was just some object of lust, she couldn’t imagine what he would think of her if he found out.
Rolling the tip of her index finger directly over her clit, Noire’s hips bucked into the air and she screamed in delight, taking full advantage of the empty apartment as the familiar sparks of pleasure speared through her. She’d done this by herself too, but Gods, it felt so much better when she had the image of Robin to look at it, drinking in his naked form as she revelled in the bliss swirling through her own…it was almost more than she could take.
“Nhgh, Mother, Mother, hha, I’m sorry, I can’t help it!” She knew her mother loved him, everyone knew it, she’d even known it in the future when she’d only been a child, it was part of the reason she’d never been too concerned about the identity of her father, because her mother loved Robin, that was all that mattered. She knew she took after her mother a lot but she’d never intended to take after her like this, she’d never wanted to fall in love with the same man she’d adored in her childhood. And, even worse for the sake of the guilt throbbing through Noire’s chest, while Tharja didn’t spend the night here very often anymore, when she’d used to it would usually be after the end of a long, tiring day, whereupon she would go directly to her room and lock the door after her. The majority of her hexing equipment was kept in the Palace, so knowing about her secret box, it wasn’t hard for Noire to guess what she was doing…surely both mother and daughter had pleasured themselves to this very same photo. She doubted Tharja would be as willing to share as she was.
Aching for more, Noire slid her hand further down, shivering in exhilaration as she spread her pussy lips open, before hungrily plunging two fingers into her tunnel. Feeling the digits suddenly scraping along her inner walls, a shock went through her body and it took almost all her willpower to keep from creasing the picture in her other hand as she arched backwards in delight. Breathing his name, Noire’s focus shifted entirely to the sight of Robin’s cock, marvelling at the thick shaft hanging low from his waist as her walls clamped tight around her. Naga! It was so tight, just like this, no matter how wet she was, she could still barely push both fingers inside, she couldn’t imagine how something like that would fit into her… More than that though, she tried to imagine how incredible it would be if he was aroused, to imagine him long and hard and surely stretching her walls wide around him.
“Lu-Lucina… Ahh, hhaa, I’m sorry, I’m, I’m not trying to steal him, I swear!” She knew Robin was going to be with Lucina, she wanted him to be with Lucina at least as much as she wanted him to be with her mother, they worked perfectly together, they were well suited together, they even had a child together! She respected Lucina more than anyone, for years in the future she’d been their guiding light and practically the embodiment of their hope, if anyone deserved to be happy it was her, she would never want to try steal her man, no matter if she loved him.
Bucking her hips a few inches from the bed, Noire’s uncharacteristically shameless moans grew even louder as her fingers drove even harder into herself, her quivering legs spreading even wider apart as her mind’s eye filled with the thought of the White-Haired Tactician atop her, his arms cradling her neck and her body entirely captive to his pleasure.
“Nnnghhh, I’m sorry, I don’t mean to be, hha, to be like this! I’m sorry,” she repeated, again and again, her words coming unsteadily as her arousal coursed higher and higher, “Robin! Nhgh, it’s, this is the only way I can stay sane!”
She’d felt like this ever since that day, and it had only become worse since. The more time she spent with him, the more she got to know him and the deeper in love with him she fell, the harder it had become to remind herself that she would be happy for him and Lucina, or him and her mother, or, or him and whoever else he chose. The closer she got to him, the more difficult it became to remember that she would never be with him like that, that she was more than content simply being at his side and that everyone was happier like that.
“Robin… Nhhaa, I- I love you! I love you! I love you!”
This was the only chance she would have to say the words she could never tell him. If she didn’t do this, if she didn’t release all her romantic energy and all her pent-up desires, there was no way she could possibly face him as his friend tomorrow.
---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------
“Nghha! Ahnnaa! Mmph!”
With the book already pushed aside and her supporting arm having collapsed under her, Cynthia was lying face-down into her mattress, with her panties long since kicked off, her bare ass was hanging in the air, shaking back and forth as her inexperienced fingers pumped frantically into her pussy. Screaming her moans directly into the bedsheets, her entire body trembled and the still unfamiliar pleasure built higher and hotter, beyond what she could possibly control, until all that was left in her world were those feelings and the image of the scene in her mind, the thought of him holding tight to her waist, crying out her name as his shaft filled her, again and again, faster and harder!
“Ah! AH! AHH! R-RooOOOBIN! It’s too good, I’m, I’m, IAHYAAAAAAA!”
---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------
“Robin! I’m, I’m getting close!”
Pushed backwards into her bed, with her hips shaking in place against her fingers and arched a few inches into the air, Noire’s focus had shifted up the image once more- now staring, with all her heart, deep into the Tactician’s warm eyes, she was blissfully riding out the waves of pleasure crashing through her, keeping her gaze locked only on him as she felt herself finally pushed beyond what she could resist, the bliss growing to a crescendo within her. Even as her eyes glazed over and her world flashed white, still she only saw him.
“Ahh! I-I love you, Robin, I, I love yooOOU! NGHAHHHHNNNNNNN!”
---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------
Lying flipped over onto her back and breathing hard as the lingering feelings slowly ebbed out of her, Cynthia was left feeling more confused than ever. ‘I was… I was thinking about Robin…’ She’d tried not to think about it, or to pass it off when it had happened before, but now, lying clad only in a thin nightgown, with her juices slick all across her thigh and her body still tingling from the ecstasy, this time she couldn’t possibly deny that it was Robin, her sister’s boyfriend, that she’d been fantasising about.
‘But, but he’s going to marry Lucy…’
She swallowed hard. They’d already done that, everything she’d been reading out, what she’d just been fantasising about, they’d already done it for real. A small spike of jealousy pulsed within her at that thought, mixing with the guilt now hitting her and the pleasure still ebbing from her core, leaving her more confused than ever.
‘I-I don’t know what to think… Should I… Should I say something to her?’
What would she say? She definitely wasn’t going to do anything but… but, fantasising about her sister’s fiancé was definitely, definitely not Heroic!
Ultimately, Cynthia wasn’t one for excess self-reflection, so after another minute of sitting in confusion, she re-focussed on what she could do, right now. Turning over, she wriggled across the bed and picked up the book from where it had been hastily shoved aside, ‘I should put this away.’ Obviously, she needed to be a lot more careful, this book gave rise to dangerous thoughts.
‘Ah,’ chewing on her lip, she hesitated, ‘It… It did feel reaaaaaaally good.’
She was still shocked by just how good it had felt, being wrapped up in her fantasy like that, better than anything she’d felt before. The only thing that had even been comparable had been the night after Robin had accidently brushed against her bare breasts when giving her a massage, when she’d attempted to mimic his touch and wound up getting lost in an intense desire. This had been even better than that.
Her chest tingled at that memory and, as a small warmth thrummed through her core once more, Cynthia was distantly aware that she was still lying practically naked atop her bedsheets, and that she still hadn’t retrieved her panties.
‘I did learn quite a lot,’ she reasoned, although, none of it had been about love, ‘I-I guess, it wouldn’t hurt to at least finish it?’
She wanted to know more about this stuff, she wanted to stop being surprised and bewildered by everything she felt anytime she was around Robin, or anytime she thought of him. It was frustrating, it made her feel like even more of an inexperienced virgin than she was.
And so, with her mind made up, Cynthia pulled herself into a seated position, leaning back against her bedhead, holding the book in one hand and flicking the book open to where she’d left of… And, as she did so, her other hand, still sticky with her juices, drifted slowly down, back between her legs.
The pages were as colourfully descriptive as ever, and before she even knew it, the younger Pegasus Knight was once more drifting off to a welcome fantasy about an overly sensual mission spent in the company of a White-Haired Tactician.
“Ah-hh, mmm.”
---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------
“Ohhh, that was… that was wonderful,” Noire cooed, relaxing happily back down into the covers as she stared loving up at the picture still held carefully in her right hand, “Sorry for being like this, I… I just always feel so much better when I can see you.”
Wrapped up in the warmth of her love and the lingering bliss still pulsing through her, she brought the image down, closing her eyes and laying a soft kiss directly atop where Robin’s lips were, just as she had so many times in the past and just as she was sure Tharja must have too.
It was strange being in love with the man her mother was obsessed with, it was stranger too to ache for the man that made her friend so happy. Usually just thinking about it would agonise her with uneasy guilt, leaving her convincing herself, reminding herself, that she would never act on her feelings- that, no matter how deep they ran, she would never let them be more than a private fantasy… But right now, with her eyes closed, her body thrumming happily with delight and thoughts of Robin drifting through her head, right now she could only feel happy.
“Mmmm.”
Basking in her thoughts, Noire’s pussy throbbed gently from the lingering pleasure and a small spark of desire flared into life once more.
And this time, when she opened her eyes, they sparkled with a touch of mischievousness. And, as she leant towards the picture once more, this time when she laid a kiss upon the Tactician, she’d moved her lips decidedly lower, pressing them futily against the shaft she’d longed to taste.
“Ahh, Robin…” She breathed, her fingers already tracing a course across her thighs, “…You can go another round, can’t you?”
---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------
Meanwhile, in another part of the Castle altogether, the object of their affection was wrapped up in thoughts of his own, his gaze travelling idly around the darkened room as his thoughts drifted.
‘It’s been some time since I’ve seen Lissa so insistent.’ He mused, sparing a warm glance down at the young blonde Princess lying nestled against his left shoulder. Apparently, perfectly comfortable using him as a pillow, her naked body was pressed warm against him, fitting easily into the arm he had draped around her but, her sleeping face at least, was finally looking calm and satisfied once more.
After catching him coming up from a late dinner in the Palace kitchens, Lissa had practically pushed him into Tharja’s room.
‘Well, not that she minded much.’ Robin added with a wry grin, turning to his right where the Dark Mage was lying curled up just as securely against him, her incredible body squished tight around his and a look of equal contentment clear on her face as she purred softly in her sleep.
One gorgeous woman sleeping on his left and another on his right, the only difference between them right now was that while Lissa’s clothing had all been eagerly stripped off and strewn throughout the room, Tharja had very obstinately refused to part with the silver bangle wrapped around her upper arm, the gift he’d recently given her along with his promise to grant her a child, both pieces of information she’d very proudly informed the shocked Princess. Robin hadn’t exactly expected for anyone else to know about either of those things and, considering the work still to do in his office, this wasn’t how he’d planned to spend the night… But, even so, he still couldn’t think of a single reason to complain.
Leaning back into the mattress from where they were all currently wrapped up in the Plegian Witch’s bed, Robin also couldn’t help but smile at the sight of both woman’s fingers linked together across his chest, ‘They’ve really become a lot closer since this began between the three of us, huh?’ He couldn’t remember any specific animosity between the two of them before-hand, but it would have been hard to have considered either of them friends. Well, really, it would have been hard to consider anyone but him or Nowi friends with Tharja in the first place.
It was a complete surprise, to be frank. When Tharja had finally convinced him of the terrible role he would be playing in his comrade’s lives, he’d been determined that, until he came clean to Lucina, he would keep his actions completely hidden, known only to the two of them. And, while that aspect was still true, he certainly had never intended to bring Tharja and Lissa, of all people, together. It had been almost a spur of the moment decision, an idea that had lodged itself in his mind and captivated him almost beyond what he could resist- he was a Tactician, after all, he liked strategies and he loved bold, audacious schemes.
And now, after seeing how close the two of them had become -to the point where Lissa’s excuse for tonight had apparently been that she was spending the night with Tharja-, he couldn’t help but wonder… Given her recent disposition to him, what would Olivia think, learning about him with another woman? What about Miriel, given theirs was simply an arrangement? Or Nowi? Just like with Lissa, giving them the full picture would be playing with fire, but-
‘That’s not important right now.’ He scolded himself, cutting off his pointless musing with a frown and casting his thoughts back to the short bursts of explanation he’d managed to get out of the Princess between the gasps and groans of their wild lovemaking, the reason she’d been so upset- Lon’qu was returning to Regna Ferox.
Of course, he would have had to return at some point, he still had his duties there, but Robin hadn’t expected it to be anywhere near this soon and, judging from Lissa’s clear frustration, obviously she hadn’t been pleased to hear it either.
Obviously something was going on up North. But, that wasn’t what had left the Tactician lying awake even despite the multiple hours spent sandwiched between the affection of two beauties, whatever was happening in Regna Ferox he’d hear about eventually, either through the Ylissean intelligence network or directly from the Khan’s themselves.
Instead, what was on his mind was a far simpler thing, the upcoming Shepherd’s gathering; held roughly every month or so, depending on schedules and who was around, it was typically a fairly low-key event, really just an avenue for everyone to stay in touch despite their now completely different lifestyles. Obviously, the Shepherds living in foreign countries like Tiki, Say’ri or Flavia weren’t able to attend, but of the rest, everyone made at least some effort. Some, like Robin, Chrom and Lucina, attended every time without fail, others, like Maribelle, who lived a fair distance away, or Sully and Stahl, who were often away on missions, attended when they could, and the rest, those who kept to themselves, turned up depending entirely on their mood.
However, when word got around that Lon’qu was departing for who knows how long once again, then almost everyone in the region would turn up to wish him safe travels. Just the same as they always did whenever a friend left.
Which meant, for the first time in several months, Panne would almost certainly be in attendance.
Chewing on his lip, Robin swallowed heavily. Nowi had been dangerous enough and Nah was still a potentially dangerous outlier, he hadn’t counted on seeing Panne for quite some time yet, he’d hoped that he would have everything solved before he’d have to deal with her directly. Following the war, the Taguel woman had taken up residence on the outskirts of the great forest near the Ylissean Castle Town and become almost nomadic, no-one had any doubt that she cared deeply for her comrades, but, with her personality and especially after everything that had happened during the wars, they all understood her desire to keep to herself. She hadn’t turned up to Lon’qu’s welcome back, knowing he was safe was enough it seemed, but she’d turned up to every single leaving announcement so far and Robin was sure this would be no exception, that she would be there to wish the Swordsman safe travels once again.
‘Gods damn it…’
The more he thought about it, the more his thoughts swirled. At least after Nowi had explained just what her senses entailed, his worries about the other Manakete’s had lessened, but he had absolutely no illusions that the same would be true for their Taguel. After countless operations relying on Panne or Yarne to sniff out enemy positions, he knew just how sharp their noses were.
For a moment, he toyed with the idea of simply trying to find a reason not to attend. Unfortunately, nothing was ever that simple. Regardless of how suspicious it would be for him to suddenly avoid one of their gatherings, even if he wasn’t there, Panne would still be able to smell his scent clinging to several of the other female Shepherds, his guilt would be assured just as surely. Even the thought of trying to convince all of them not to attend was swiftly quashed, no matter how angry she may be, Lissa couldn’t possibly skip the well-wishing for her own husband… if she even tried, the other Shepherds would be liable to just try track her down!
‘And, of course…’ Robin sighed, sparing a look at the spritely blonde curled up happily against him, ‘We just spent the last few hours making it a certainty.’
If he’d known about it, he could have made plans! He could have kept some distance and avoided sleeping with her until the gathering, but, as it was, he’d already been fully sheathed inside her when she’d finally gasped out an explanation about why she was in such a bad mood!
‘Damn it… Lissa, just when did fucking me become your outlet to frustrations in your marriage?’
He felt bad the moment he thought that. It wasn’t fair to blame her and it didn’t even make him feel any better. Being both too focussed on the Princess’s assertive desire to pleasure them, neither he, nor Tharja had held anything back, he couldn’t even guess how many loads he’d released on or in her, never-mind how many times the Dark Mage’s long legs had been wrapped tight around the blonde’s head.
And, as a result, now, when Panne arrived to help send Lon’qu off… She would see his wife standing beside him, utterly soaked through with his seed and Tharja’s lust.
‘No avoiding it.’
His heart clenched slightly as he made up his mind, if a danger couldn’t be circumvented, it could only be dealt with head on.
No matter what he felt about it, or what his thoughts on the matter were, there was only one thing left to do. He already had a plan, he’d created one long ago, all that was left to do was steel his heart and to seduce another of his companions- for his sake, for Morgan’s sake, for Lucina’s sake… For the sake of everything he’d done so far and all the wrongs he’d done.
Beneath her harsh exterior, Panne was far kinder than she liked to let on, almost too much so. But, she was also one who respected strength, confidence and the determination to see a task through. That was what he would use, that was how he would make her his.
The night passed slowly from there, with the Tactician’s heart racing for several more hours. Whether that was from excitement, fear or guilt, he could no longer tell.
---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------
A few days later.
Something felt off, Panne realised, the moment she walked through the door to the Shepherd’s barracks.
It was a curious thing, subtle and teasing, drifting on the edge of her subconscious and not something she could immediately identify. Intrigued, she made her way slowly into the building, turning her attention this way and that- everything appeared perfectly in place. On all sides she was being offered the same kind smiles and carefree greetings as usual, no matter that she saw them only rarely these days, still she knew for sure that she always had a place among them, her comrades were as warm and welcoming as ever.
And yet, again, the impression on the edge of her senses tugged at her. In the time she’d spent away, something had changed. Something was different. Mixed feelings swirled within her and she found herself frowning, reflexively narrowing her senses to a superhuman focus and examining her surroundings with an even greater level of clarity.
To her left, coming from the next room, there was the unmistakable dry, rustic smell of Donnel’s scent. She guessed him to be a little more than five metres from where she was standing and, judging from the touch of wilderness still lingering around him, thought it likely he’d arrived only earlier this same day, likely after working the fields in the morning.
Ahead of her, standing in the makeshift kitchen, there was Cherche, standing with her hands on her hips and looking just as exasperated as usual as she addressed her husband, Vaike, who was -for some reason- missing his shirt and instead, taking the occasion to flex his muscles.
Quickly turning away, lest she accidently overhear some of that conversation, she focussed instead on another equally familiar scent coming towards her from behind. Smelling of parchment, ink and a Dragon’s share of cunning, the confidence given off in Robin’s aroma was as soothing as always… ‘Ah!’ She smiled- that wasn’t quite right, was it? This smell was a little softer than she’d remembered from the Tactician, and far more feminine, mixed in with a pleasant aroma of lilac soaps and citrus oils.
She turned in place, addressing the approaching woman with a small smile, “Ah, good afternoon Luci-”
“Haha, nope!” Lissa giggled, the cleric’s blonde hair bouncing in place as she rocked onto the balls of her feet with a wide grin, apparently finding it very funny to have caught the typically sharp Taguel off guard, “Wrong Princess! Lucy’s just outside, with Severa.”
“My apologies.” Panne answered blankly, blinking in surprise.
Her composure was firmly tested for a moment as she subtly sniffed the air once more, making absolutely sure she hadn’t been mistaken, ‘What?’ There was no doubting it. Lissa, Princess of Ylisstol, wife of Lon’qu, was wearing Robin’s scent like a cloak.
She couldn’t believe it, staring stone-faced at the younger woman, she didn’t even have a clue how to react. Certainly, she’d seen Lissa in such a state many times in the past; no matter how well they’d kept it from the rest of the Shepherds , Robin and Lissa’s hidden liaisons were no secret to hers, nor had she missed the dates when their scents overlapped each year. But… This was weeks past Emmeryn’s memorial and, even more importantly, she hadn’t smelled anything like this from either of them for years, not since Lissa’s marriage and when Robin had (again, secretly) taken up with Chrom’s eldest daughter.
Was it her mistake? She wondered with a wince, of course her memory wasn’t great as to be able to remember exactly what they’d smelled so many years ago. But then, why could she smell little more than a wisp of Lon’qu’s aroma on the Princess? What possible explanation could there be for a woman to be wearing no sign of her husband beyond her ring, especially when she was almost drowned in the markings of her previous lover?
‘Is something goi-’
“Oh!” The Taguel’s thoughts were cut off as Lissa suddenly bounced on the spot, looking beyond her shoulder with an exclamation, “There’s Tharja! I was looking for her, I’ve gott’a steal one of her recipes!”
Struck by shock and confusion, Panne was left rooted in place, too focussed on the scent coming from the Blonde to manage a reply, she instead turned dumbly on the spot, following Lissa’s movements across the barracks as she jumped excitedly into conversation with the Sorceress, ‘Her too…’ Somehow, after smelling the Tactician’s scent cloaked thick around the Princess, looking over and finding it swirling just as strong around their Dark Mage was less of a surprise than it should have been.
Shifting her weight from foot to foot as she watched the display before her, Panne’s confusion only deepened, ‘Were they always such good friends?’ In all her memories she couldn’t remember Lissa ever being so friendly with Tharja before but, watching the carefree ease with which Lisa approached the usually sullen Plegian and how confidently she took the mage’s hands in her own, letting her fingers dance up and down her beautiful alabaster skin as she attempted to wheedle some information or another from her, there was no doubt to the compatibility between the two women.
Even more strangely though, after observing them silently for a few moments -watching how Tharja’s seemed to lean into Lissa’s touch rather than pull away from it- Panne realised that not only were they each bathed in Robin’s scent, but that, both also wore traces of the other mixed between them. A surprising hint of darkness and danger lay wrapped around the Princess and, if she focussed, an equally out of place streak of sunshine and cheeriness was dancing around the Sorceress.
Turning away from the two and walking in the opposite direction, Panne tried valiantly to make sense of her thoughts. Had something happened? Was something going on? What was she possibly supposed to make of a situation like this? Could….could Robin possibly ha-
‘Ridiculous!’ She scolded herself, instantly shaking that thought away with an angry frown. ‘Since when did I give such credence to idle supposition? If I think about it clearly, it’s likely nothing. Lissa has always been clingy and Tharja was never more than a few steps behind Robin. There’s no cause for undue supposition.’
Given the nature of her perceptions, Panne had always been privy to practically all the dealings around the Shepherd’s camp, it was part of being a Taguel and never something she’d abused simply for the sake of petty gossip before. Even now, she could distinctly remember being surprised one day during the final Plegian war when Robin and Tharja had practically reeked of each other, realising it was almost certainly a misunderstanding, or one of the Sorceress’s games, she hadn’t said a word about it then and time had proven her correct, just as she’d suspected, nothing had come of it. Yes, she reminded herself, slowly pushing her doubts aside, the same was surely true now.
“Panne, good afternoon. It is pleasing to see you well.”
Unfortunately, just as she’d thought she’d straightened out her thoughts, Miriel walked past, nodding a quick greeting on her way towards the main room.
“Miriel? Yes, yo-” Her words died in her throat.
Passing through the room, the auburn-haired mage’s hips swayed from side to side with far more swing than Panne had ever seen from her, but the whole time, she could only stare, mouth agape in shock, frantically checking and re-checking exactly what she was sensing, ‘Wh-What… What in Naga’s name?’ Just the same as Lissa, just the same as Tharja, the Shepherd’s stoic, unflappable scientist was cloaked thick in the Tactician’s scent.
There was no denying it, it was exactly the same for all three women, the same unmistakable smell wrapped around them with such imposing potency, almost to the point of making them seem marked.
Standing bewildered in place, staring dumbly at where Miriel had already passed out of sight, the stunned Taguel didn’t even notice time passing around her, or the other Shepherd’s drifting past and settling themselves around the long meeting table in the central barracks, not until a tiny voice spoke up from her side.
“P-Panne? Are you alright?”
Olivia’s familiar pink hair swam into view and, returning to reality, she saw the dancer looking back at her with worry, fidgeting on the spot and her eyes (as ever) not quite able to maintain contact with the Taguel’s serious gaze, “M-My apologies.” She stammered out for what felt like the hundredth time, swallowing her surprise and falling automatically into step behind the timid woman and taking an open seat beside her.
‘Olivia… Even, even Olivia…’
Panne didn’t hear a single word that Chrom spoke as he rose to his feet and began their meeting, the thoughts crashing loudly through her mind easily drowned out the familiar pleasantries being shared around the table as she sat in place, fists clenched at her side and heart pounding in numb dread. Slowly coming around to a conclusion she struggled to even put into words.
Tharja, given her personality, there could be any number of mundane reasons for her to be wearing the Tactician’s heady scent. It would hardly be a surprise to her if she found out that the Plegian had taken to wearing some of Robin’s clothes, or that she’d begun sneaking into his bed when he was out of the room at work.
Lissa, equally could be perfectly understandable, within reason. The Princess had always been rather taken with the man and always stuck fairly close to him in general, she could certainly imagine what she was smelling could be the result of a prank of some sort, especially given her apparent friendship with Tharja.
Miriel… Even Miriel, she could possibly believe had been caught up with him as part of some experiment or theory of hers… Robin was unique in many ways, perhaps there’s been a reason recently for their scientist to warrant some closer observation?
Even the fact she could smell him on all three of them together seemed to suggest that this was just some strange coincidence, rather than…. rather than, something untoward! After all, if Robin was doing something suspicious, why would he possibly be involving so many different, unrelated women? The Tactician she knew was certainly bold, confident enough to border on arrogant even, but she would never take him for a fool.
…
But… But Olivia. Olivia. The mousey, skittish dancer, who shied away from any physical contact and who could barely string a sentence together in the face of a sharp glare. Sitting right next to the Feroxian, there was no possible way she could deny it or avoid it, but no matter how much she thought about it, no matter how many minutes passed and how many times she turned it over in her head, Panne couldn’t think of a single reason why she, of all people, would smell so strongly of another man.
She’d heard that their Dancer had taken up a job as Robin’s assistant, but that alone couldn’t possibly explain it! That was simply them working in close proximity together! That couldn’t possibly be why the innocent, sweet, pink-haired girl to her left had barely a trace of Gregor’s scent upon her, and instead, just like the others, was practically cloaked with Robin’s.
‘She lives with Gregor, she must see him every day and share a bed with him, so… so…’
Quelling her confusion and raising her gaze, she was almost hesitant to look across the table to where Robin was sitting directly at Chrom’s right, she was almost fearful of the confirmation she knew was awaiting for her. Thankfully, he wasn’t looking her way when she finally did, but concentrating on him and letting his presence fill her senses only confused her more. It usually took years, or a significant change in environment for a person’s scent to change significantly, and yet, his was stronger than ever before, thicker and more potent she’d ever remembered, so much so that it was only after almost a minute’s concentration that she picked up on the other smells mixed in, practically a cocktail of feminine aromas, all swirling around him and wrapped up so tight she couldn’t even hope to distinguish them.
She couldn’t understand. This didn’t make any sense!
For years, the only people she’d ever smelled upon Robin was Lucina and Morgan, his family, the people he’d loved more than anything. She seen with her own eyes just how happy he’d become in the days following his relationship with Lucina, and no-one could have missed how proud he was, showing Morgan around their camp. She’d known Robin for years! She knew just how important his family was to him! She understood the security they represented to a man with no past! And now… Now she could smell so many women upon him, she couldn’t even distinguish them! Reeling back, she turned away from the Tactician in disgust, she’d respected him almost without peer among the man-spawn, she would have never thought he was the kind to… to do… Grimmacing, Panne realised she couldn’t even put it into words.
It took another few minutes to calm down, before the same loyal voice of her conscience spoke again, ‘Perhaps…something happened between them?’
That still wouldn’t explain the other married women bu-
No. A single glance at Lucina was all she needed to confirm that, the Princess’s scent was as pure and sincere as ever. It was the same familiar smell of swords, strength and pride, mixed in equal parts with the aroma of the man she loved, exactly unchanged since it had been the first time Panne had noticed the two of them had become lovers in Valm. The only difference of note was that the Tactician’s scent clouded around her even stronger than the others. Noticing her gaze, Lucina offered a warm smile in return and her stomach dropped through the floor, forcing her to hastily look away.
Another spike of disgust speared through the Taguel and she found her hands clenching furiously on her lap, ‘Is this some kind of perverse manspawn game?’
That was the last possible explanation she could think of, an unpleasant consideration, but no, even that possibility was discarded immediately. Surely if that were the case, then Lucina would smell of other men? And, no matter how flighty Lissa could be, would someone as serious as Lon’qu truly consent to something like that? Could she possibly believe that Olivia, of all people, would ever join such an act!?
‘No.’
Panne held an incredible respect for Robin. She’d followed him as much as Chrom for years and put her life in his hands without question more times than she could even remember. Ever since she’d first gotten to know him, she’d thought him kind and honourable, selfless and understanding. She couldn’t possibly image that he was capable of… Of…
Standing right on the precipice of a decision, she hesitated, one final time, but, no matter how long she tried to deny it, no alternative explanations rose in her mind.
‘Disgusting! Abhorrent!’ Blood running hot in her veins, the last of her bewilderment finally gave way to anger, ‘Dastard! How could he!? He’s cheating on Lucina, after all she’s been through!?’
Panne had always held an incredible respect for the former Exalt. Her strength and determination was an inspiration, she considered her a true measure of what a man-spawn could be and what an Exalt should be. In her own way, the Taguel had always wished for Lucina’s happiness, just the same as all the original Shepherd’s did for the future children, they’d all suffered more than enough in their lives already.
Even if the others hadn’t realised it, she had, she’d seen exactly what the eldest Princess had been through. Lucina had found love, and then had it so cruelly ripped away after the war. She’d waited for months, finally been reunited… And now… Now, after everything, he was betraying her so callously!? It was despicable!
So wrapped up in her thoughts, Panne didn’t even notice that the meeting had already drawn to a conclusion, or that the other Shepherds had begun happily taking up conversation all around her.
She looked towards Lucina again, ‘Should I tell her? Is it my place to?’ This was manspawn business and thus, none of hers…but, surely, she deserved to know. Any woman deserved to know they were being deceived! Even if she didn’t believe her at first, she could simp-
Jolting her from her thoughts, a hand suddenly clamped down on her shoulder and she almost shrieked in surprise, “Panne.”
Her world narrowed to a point, “Robin.” The man himself. Looking at him directly, seeing the same casual look on his face, as if nothing was amiss, her shock turned immediately back to anger. Even so, the way he maintained a calm smile, despite her vicious glare, kept her wary.
“Mind having a chat?” He nodded up towards his office on the second floor, “There’s some business I think we should discuss, privately.”
Once again, she paused, this time as she very quickly reminded herself- Robin was no fool. This was the man whose strategies had toppled three regimes, the Tactician who had struck fear into the most imposing generals throughout Valm, a terrifying man whose name was whispered with fear and awe throughout the world.
If, she realised, he was truly doing the deeds she suspected him of, then her discovering this today was no accident. He couldn’t possibly have expected her not to notice, and yet, he’d made no effort at all to hide it from her. Rather, instead he was practically flaunting it in her face. They both knew exactly what she’d smelled, which meant that he’d wanted her to know.
“Very well.”
Surprisingly, she felt a significant weight of her tension release as she stood to follow him toward his office, there was something more going on here, she knew it, there had to be. Robin had been her friend, her comrade and companion for years now, he’d trusted her with his life as truly as she’d with hers. The absolute least she could do was listen to his explanation before she acted.
---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------
“It’s exactly as you suspect.”
“Wh-What?”
“It’s exactly as you suspect,” Robin repeated lightly, locking the door behind her as she followed him into his office, holding up a hand for a moment before filling the room with a silencing ward.
She’d been expecting an explanation, instead she got an admission. Snarling, she rounded furiously on him, her anger pulsing red-hot once more, “Dastard! You’re cheating on her, cheating on Lucina! Is this the man you are Robin!? I thought you were better than this!”
Shrugging off his cloak and throwing it over his chair, he leaned against the desk with an arrogant expression so far from the kind demeanour she’d always believed in him that her breath caught in her throat, “That’s right, that’s exactly right, I’m cheating on Lucina,” he answered finally, rolling the words carefully off his tongue as if this was the first time he’d ever spoken them aloud, “I’m cheating on her with Tharja and then on both of them with Lissa. I’m also fucking Olivia when she works with me, along with Nowi whenever she visits and I’ve come up with an arrangement with Miriel. Of course, none of them know about any of the others, they all think I’m theirs alone.”
Stumbling back, almost unable to believe her ears, Panne’s heart clenched tight in her chest and her world spun to a halt.
It was then she realised that part of her still hadn’t believed it until this very moment. No matter how damning the evidence, some small part of her had truly believed in Robin, in the caring and honest Tactician she’d always admired…
…Looking at him now, at how easily he bragged of his conquests, at how disgustingly pleased he was with herself, that small, unwavering trust was finally, cruelly shattered. It was impossible, unbelievable, if it had only one woman she could have believed it, but the sheer audacity, to not just be faithless but to play around with so many women at once…with so many of her friends!? Just who did this manspawn think he was!?
“So... this is who you truly are.”
“That’s right.”
That left only one final consideration, “And, why have you shown me this?” To silence her? She doubted that. Even if Robin could kill her, a big if, the man who’d guided them to so many victories couldn’t possibly be so foolish as to try do so with so many of their friends in earshot. A silencing charm would do nothing against a desk crashing through his office walls.
“I wanted you to know, I wanted to see how you would react, what you’d think,” again, he sidestepped her question, “So, how do you feel? Does it disgust you?”
“Of course it does! Y-You despicable, pathetic manspawn! You’re all nothing but opportunistic cowards! Every time I think your race cannot sink any lower, you prove me wrong!”
She was exaggerating of course, they both knew that her time with the Shepherds had largely allowed her to make peace with her feelings towards humans. Her anger was almost certainly fuelled by him betraying her new expectations of humanity.
“Good.”
“Good!?”
Nodding, he pushed himself up from the desk, striding across the room in a slow, easy gait, “Humans disappoint you?” He asked, changing the topic once more and as he drew the words out, “What about Kellam, don’t you still love him?”
Panne’s world went white. Everything she’d felt, all the anger she’d bottled up and every ounce of her composure all snapped the second that man mentioned her beloved.
Screaming a roar loud enough to rattle the windows she dove forwards, crossing the distance between them in a single step, taking hold of the Tactician’s throat and hurling him violently against the nearest wall.
Or, at least, that’s what she had intended to do…
“Hmm.”
Instead, moving with a speed that even her eyes could only barely follow, Robin’s hand snapped out and caught her outstretched wrist.
And somehow, just that alone, was enough for him to hold her firmly in place. Completely nullifying the force of her charge, the Tactician didn’t move a single millimetre back from where he’d been standing, “W-Wha?” Grunting in disbelief, even Panne’s apocalyptic anger was instantly replaced with surprise. It was a shock that doubled a moment later when she realised she couldn’t pull away, with just the strength of his hand holding onto her arm, he was keeping her completely locked in place.
Pulling futily on her arm, she stared at him in abject disbelief, while her human form didn’t hold quite the same power as her beat form, she was still a Taguel, she was still considerably stronger than any manspawn. If it had been a muscle-freak like Vaike or Basilio, she could have perhaps understood, but Robin? His physique might have been impressive for a normal human, but he’d never stood atop the Shepherds out of pure strength.
“You’ve grown stronger.”
No matter how little sense it made, Panne was a practical person, she was never one to doubt what she was seeing before her very eyes.
“I have.” He agreed solemnly and she finally noticed he arrogant smirk on his face had disappeared, his expression had returned once more to the same serious, calculating gaze she was used to. Somehow, even now, that was a relief.
Releasing her, he pushed her away, easily throwing her back a step- another surprise. Keeping a distance, she considered him carefully re-evaluating just who she was dealing with.
“I’ll apologise for my words,” he continued, taking the initiative, “I was trying to make you angry, I also wanted to show you that.”
That at least, made more sense. Still, she had no idea just what was going on, but at least his arrogant demeanour seemed to have been shed and he was acting a little more like the Robin she knew.
His eyes shifted from hers for a moment and a pained expression flashed across his face as he sucked in a breath, “We all miss Kellam, Panne. Every one of us.”
Again, he mentioned her beloved’s name and again, Panne’s heart clenched tight in agony.
Kellam. Despite his lack of presence, to her, he stood out unforgettably from all the hundreds of manspawn she’d met as a singularly unique existence. When she’d first joined the Shepherds he’d been the first to reach out to her, chasing her relentlessly and even putting his own body on the line to help reduce the distance between her and everyone else. Kind, selfless and generous to a fault, he had removed the hate from her soul and captured her heart without ever once intending to.
He was the only man she’d ever loved, the man she’d married and the father of her child from the future.
And, aside from Robin… He was the only Shepherd to have been killed during the wars.
She hated thinking it, she hated being reminded of it and remembering it. That pain and loss was the reason she kept a distance between herself and her comrades these days. If it had been someone’s fault, if she’d had someone to blame, then perhaps that might have helped; if he’d fallen in battle, she could have blamed Robin for his strategies, or cursed Chrom for his command, but he hadn’t, he’d been killed…murdered… in Valm, doing his duty, guarding his Exalt’s tent.
It was pure chance, all the Knights and many of the regulars took turns guarding the royal couple at night and Frederick took three times as many turns as anyone else, on any other night it could have been anyone else. But it hadn’t been, it had been that night, and it had been him, and, having surprised three of the Valm’s highest ranked Assassins as they’d attempted to sneak into his Lord’s tent, he’d fought with everything he had, giving his very life to protect their Commander and raise the alarm.
The fight had been over in a matter of minutes and, in the end, he’d killed two of the Assassins himself before Chrom cut the final one down. None of them had managed even a single step into the tent where the royal family had been sleeping, but, in return, the wounds he’d taken had been numerous and there was no possibility of healing injuries caused by the kind of cursed blades sent to kill an Exalt, he’d slipped away before they’d even managed to call for a cleric.
It was an unquestionably heroic death. But heroic deaths only sounded good in the bard’s tales, they did nothing for a grieving wife who had to return to an empty bed night after night, nor for a displaced son, whose very existence in this time was now impossible. Exposing Walhart’s tactician Excellus as the culprit for the attempt had been trivial, but even tracking him down into the Conqueror’s Palace and extracting her revenge had done nothing to ease her hurt, her own husband had become yet another loved one stolen away from her by manspawn’s cruelty.
“We all miss Kellam,” Robin repeated, his soft words pulling her back from the unwanted reminiscence, “I don’t think there’s a single Shepherd that hasn’t torn themselves to pieces thinking about it, wondering if there was something they could have changed, or wishing they could have done things differently.”
His words trailed off for a second and she knew, at the very least, he was speaking for himself. Knowing her companions as she did, she doubted he was wrong in his assumption though. It was a difficult feeling to accept.
“But, I’m also sure that our pain can’t touch yours.”
“No. No, it cannot,” she answered forcefully, an explanation she’d spoken before tumbling from her mouth before she even realised, “He… he meant everything to me. Losing him was, it was if someone had gouged out the happiness he’d planted in my heart. Even after getting my revenge, eve-even after all this time, nothing has changed for me.”
Stoic and sincere, Panne had never been one to speak openly of her feelings, or her love, even to those closest to her. She didn’t have the words to explain how she felt, nor did she have the knowledge of how to express them. Right now however, with her emotions more frayed than they’d been for years and matching herself against the Tactician’s unwavering gaze, she was goaded on by his words, feeling compelled to speak more frankly than she ever had before, as if she needed to honestly defend her feelings- as if she needed to explain, that she still did love her comrades, that she cherished them, but that watching them live the happiness that had been ripped from her filled her with a bitterness she couldn’t stand and that they didn’t deserve.
“Exactly.”
Spreading his arms wide open before her, Robin was smiling at her once more, but this time it was nothing like the soothing, understanding smile she was used to from their Tactician… It was the same smirk she’d seen on his face a thousand times on a thousand battlefields, a calculating grin directed towards an enemy who was moving exactly as he wished.
“You love him, you can’t forget him and can’t move on from him, even after everything that’s happened...” despite the lack of comfort in his gaze, she was surprised to realise his words were still no less sincere than ever. He was responding honestly to her feelings, without a trace of mockery or sarcasm, “And, knowing that, it must scare you Panne, it must terrify you, to know that eventually, another man will have to take his place in your heart.”
“What!?”
Her glare was razor sharp, but this time she made no attempt to move, there was no forgetting the power he’d displayed just moments ago, she could practically smell the strength radiating off him now.
“You love him, he meant the world to you,” he acknowledged once more, “But, I know you and I know how uncompromising you are. No matter what, you still have your duty. To the Taguel, and to Yarne.”
“I-” Panne hesitated, a terrible quiver running through her as she found herself suddenly unable to maintain his gaze. Robin had always held a practical harshness within his kind, consideration, but she was unused to being on the receiving end of it. Finally, she realised the point he was getting at, the same conclusion she’d steadfastly refused to think about for years now, “I-Ah.”
Pressing the attack, Robin didn’t hesitate a moment, stepping even closer towards her, he began mercilessly speaking aloud the truths she already knew, “Yarne hasn’t been born yet, you know very well how much that terrifies him and how much responsibility he carries already. The fate of the Taguel hasn’t yet been decided, but I very much doubt you’ll put all that burden on him.”
Stumbling back a step, Panne swallowed heavily, her anger seeping away as she failed to deny Robin’s words. She already knew he was correct, he was only giving voice to something she’d avoided for years, a nagging truth on the edge of her conscience she’d tried her very best to ignore.
She needed to have children. Even if Yarne could never be born, even if they could never be her husband’s children, the children she’d wished to have… She still couldn’t possibly leave the fate of her entire people all on her son’s shoulders.
The Tactician remained calm, speaking slowly and deliberately, the same smile on his face and the same absolute sincerity in his words, “That’s why I wanted to make sure you knew about what I’ve been doing, and that’s why I was so pleased to see your reaction. Because I can solve that dilemma for you, Panne. And, you’ll never need to worry about replacing Kellam in your heart again… After all, you’d never choose me over him, would you?”
She snorted, repulsed by the very thought, “That’s impossible.” It was hard to believe this was the same man she’d once respected so greatly, after discovering what she had about him, about how he’d betrayed the people who loved him most, it felt offensive to even compare him to the man her husband had been.
“Exactly,” he nodded, apparently perfectly content with her revulsion, “Assist me instead and there’s nothing to fear, is there? You’ll never fall in love with me, you’ll never have to worry about replacing him in your heart. Help me, and in return, I’ll help you fulfil your duty, I’ll give you children, strong children that will be worthy Taguel.”
“I see,” finally everything was clear, why he’d revealed everything and why he’d purposefully angered her- he wanted her to hate him, he encouraged it. Because, in doing so, she would be protecting the love she had for their fallen comrade. If it wasn’t so twisted, it would perhaps be admirable. “But any Manspawn can offer that, why would I ever want to let you touch me?”
He stared her down, his eyes radiating an unexplainable strength, “You already know the answer to that.”
Swallowing heavily, Panne didn’t even attempt to deny it. She’d felt how her instincts had been reacting to him ever since the moment he’d held her in place. Being overpowered so easily, as a warrior it was galling, her fur bristled and her heart raced just thinking about it, but, more than anything else, feeling his power directly against it like that had carved the truth of his point into her, right down to her soul. It was another simple truth, one her body had already acknowledged- This man is strong. He would certainly give her powerful children.
She hesitated, and he moved forwards in return, stepping lightly towards her with his hands open at his side, “Even aside from that… You make it sound so easy, but can you really just go out and find another man? Everyone would be fine with it, of course, but… Do you plan to introduce some new lover to the Shepherds? … What about to Yarne?”
Panne winced, once again Robin had struck right to her core. That was exactly why she’d been able to justify taking no action for all these years, because the only thing she could imagine worse than her comrades learning about her taking a new lover, would be Yarne finding out about it. After everything he’d been through, the thought of him having to acknowledge another man as his father, in Kellam’s place, was too terrible to accept.
“Exactly. You need to find a man who you can trust to keep his involvement absolutely discrete, someone you know for certain will never breathe a word of it, no matter what happens. And, of course, what better way to ensure that than by holding his secret in return?”
Her mouth opened and closed, but no sound came out. She still didn’t know why he’d done what he had, what could possibly have made the man she’d thought she knew betray his closest companions so cruelly, but, there was no mistaking what he was proposing; She would become another in his apparent list of conquests and he would give her the children she needed to preserve the Taguel. He would help her hide her children’s paternity and in return, she would keep quiet about what she knew.
It made an uncomfortable amount of sense.
“I’ll give you the children you long for, as many as you’d like, and when they’re born, you won’t need to name the father, no-one else will ever know. You’ll be able to raise them in Kellam’s name instead, just like you’ve always wanted. You know you can trust me on this Panne, because you know I cannot afford to ever betray you.”
“I, ah, I don’t…” she stumbled back half a step as Robin drew even closer, smoothly crossing the distance between them in the same slow, measured pace. Reaching out, she placed a hand on his chest, attempting to ward him off while her thoughts spun wildly, “Let, let me think about it!”
Peeling her hand away, he entwined it with his own, holding it with surprising gentleness, caressing her palm with his thumb as he slid directly against her, wrapping his left arm around her waist and dragging his fingers lightly across her hip, “What’s to consider? You already know this is your best option. If you didn’t believe that, you wouldn’t have taken all this time to hear me out.”
Once again, she couldn’t refuse his words. Everything he’d said was true, he’d completely read through her situation, he was offering her exactly what she wanted.
Releasing her hand, he dropped his right hand to her hip as well, tracing his fingertips lightly across her skin as he pulled her gently towards him.
Reflexively squeezing her eyes shut, Panne let out a sharp intake of breath. “A-Ahh…” Feeling herself pressed against his chest was like something out of a half-forgotten memory and a small shiver ran through her in response, it had been so, so long since someone had touched her like this, since someone had treated her like a woman.
She hadn’t been able to deny a single one of his words. He was offering her exactly what she wanted. She could fulfil her duty to her people without fear of betraying the love she had for her husband, a love even Robin had gone out of his way to protect for her. He was right, of course, she’d already accepted his words, she already knew his proposal was her best option.
A silent eternity passed within her as Panne stood on the edge of a towering precipice.
“No…”
Robin’s lips pressed softly against her neck. And, for a moment, she wavered.
“Panne, I-”
But, only for that moment.
“I said NO!”
Snapping back at her cry, Robin ripped his hands from her body as if they’d been burned, stumbling away from her in wide eyed shock.
In that instant, as their eyes met -his wide with shock, hers wild with torrid emotions- a small, final, understanding passed unspoken between them. They both acknowledged that he was stronger than her, he could have held onto her, that he could still stop her. And, they each knew then, that it made no difference, he would never have, and that he refused to. It was over in less than a heartbeat, and then, she was gone.
All but tearing the door from its hinges as she wrenched it open, Panne hurtled headlong from the Tactician’s office- away from his offer, away from the truths she didn’t want to acknowledge, away from the single moment she’d wavered… Away from the man who she’d once respected!
And… Stuck standing dumbly in place, staring at the spot where the Taguel had been less than a second ago, Robin’s jaw hung open and, as realisation caught up with him, his world began to crash around him.
“…Shit.”
---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------
Full realisation dawned, and with it came mounting dread, the shock of what had just happened and the terrible implications about what would happen next.
It had been several minutes since Panne had fled from him and Robin’s mood had only worsened by the second. The silencing ward remained in place and the door was now bolted tightly shut, preventing all entry as the Grandmaster sat slumped in his chair, his hands clenched tight to the arm-rests and his world spinning madly around him.
His strategies didn’t always go exactly as planned, he wasn’t omniscient, he knew that. Everything that had happened with Nowi and Olivia were testament enough to that fact. But, he was careful, he was exacting and he was diligent. He spent countless hours working himself to the bone, doing everything he could to minimise any chance of error. In all the years he’d been a Tactician, in all the thousands of times his plans had been tested, only once before had his plans been so completely defeated, only the time he’d failed to save Emmeryn.
“Did I push her too far?” he breathed aloud, “I thought she reacted well to me playing up the arrogance like that. She surely understood my reasoning, then, was sh-”
His words cut off.
It didn’t matter.
What happened, why he’d failed, wasn’t important. What was important was what would happen next.
“She… She knows almost everything.”
She didn’t have any details, but she didn’t need them. He’d put almost all his cards on the table, he’d thought he’d had her completely surrounded, it had been a gambit, but everything he knew about Panne had told him it was a reliable one!
His hands clenched tighter around the arm-rests.
She’d refused him. In the final, crucial moment, after he’d done everything in his power to influence her, after he’d appealed to her logic, to her instincts, to her love and even to her sexuality… She’d refused him. And now, she knew almost everything, and he had no leverage over her.
He had nothing to prevent what would happen next.
He had nothing to prevent her from telling the other Shepherd’s exactly what he’d done, exactly what he’d told her.
“H-Hhaa,” Breathing out an unsteady sigh, he pushed himself to his feet. Plucking an unused tumbler from his desk, he walked over to a small cabinet in the corner of his room and took out a tall carafe of water, and pouring some out into the glass, “I just… Just need to collect myself. Get my thoughts back on track.”
He’d failed. When he’d started down this path, he’d bet everything on his ability to control what happened, to keep his crimes a secret and manipulate events from the shadows. He could never have hidden what he’d done from Panne, so he’d been forced to gamble on convincing her… And he’d failed.
And now, everything would come to an end.
Lucina was going to find out what he’d done. Morgan was going to find out the truth about him. Chrom was going to find out what he’d done to his best friend’s daughter, let alone his sister.
The Shepherd’s would all turn on him. The people he cared for most would despise him, a traitor, a betrayer.
There would be no place for him in Ylisse anymore. At best, if they were lenient, he would be exiled.
“Oh!?”
A soft thunk brought him back to his senses, and when Robin refocussed, he saw the glass he’d been filling had slipped to the floor. Bending down, he reached to pick it up…but, all he managed to do was knock it further away from his fingers.
Again.
And, again.
“H-Hhaa, hhhaaa.”
His breath came in shallow pants, but no matter how hard he tried to concentrate, his hand -his whole body- was shaking too much to hold onto anything.
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A/N: Phew! About time eh? Hopefully this chapter took you by surprise, at least a little. If nothing else, there’s were a lott’a fun characters showing up for their time in the spotlight and the plot just jumped forwards, Robin’s definitely got some work cut out for him, taming this beast next time!
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A Change Of Tactics