The merchants were thankful for the Shepherd's aid in protecting them. Before the Grimleal's attack, they wanted nothing to do with the war and wished to remain neutral. Now, they were willing to aid Ylisse in their mission. While they had no warriors among their ranks, they offered the Shepherds their camps to use as a base to launch their rescue mission. They also agreed to trade their supplies to the Shepherds, including food and clothes for the desert. Robin figured that most of the Shepherds would be interested in the clothing designed for roaming the desert. For him, his robes were enough to handle the heat but he still looked forward to a rest.

After the battle yesterday, the Shepherds settled in with the merchants, thankful for the aid they provided. For most of the day, Robin and Chrom haggled with the merchants for the best deal on the items they offered. Just because they offered their camps to the Shepherds didn't mean that the services were free. At Robin's advice, Chrom didn't go and set up camp away from the merchants. Although it cost them gold from the war campaign, the tactician figured that setting up a tent in the desert was not the easiest task.

Robin briefly met with the Shepherds during the haggling, to see what weapons and armor to get. The Shepherds were welcoming to Gregor and Nowi, accepting them into their ranks. Robin was glad to see that they were part of the family that he had grown to care for. After finishing up with the merchants, the sun was starting to set, and everyone was tired. Robin decided to handle updating the Shepherd's inventory tomorrow, and had the merchants leave the supplies with the storage tent (which they had set up, for a price of course).

That morning, Robin was up and early again. After getting ready for the day, Robin was out of his tent. The sun was just now starting to rise, and the tactician thought that the Shepherds would all be asleep at this hour. Yet, Gaius quickly stepped into sight and waved at him. Robin sighed, knowing full well the reason why the thief would be awake at this hour. He tried to walk in the opposite direction but there was no escaping Gaius, who walked by his side.

"Mornin', Bubbles," Gaius yawned. "How can you get up like this every morning?"

"Gaius, it's too early for this."

"It's never too early for what the heart wants, Bubbles. Now, listen, I talked with some of the merchants and we're good for step four."

"That's good to hear," Robin slowly nodded. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to handle our supplies."

"Hold on just a moment," Gaius quickly stepped in front of Robin. "I did my part, and I'm going to do so much more, so you have to do your part now."

"I'm listening," Robin sighed.

"You have to ask Cordelia out and do something together, just the two of you."

Robin was silent. Gaius' request was a simple one. He knew about step four for a good amount of time to have expected it. All he had to do was ask Cordelia one question. Yet, the doubts in his mind were starting to come against him. Robin didn't think for a moment that Cordelia would say yes. Not when she still had feelings for Chrom.

"I have to ask her today?" Robin asked silently.

"You do," Gaius answered. "Look. I talked with a couple of the merchants, worked out some deals, traded favors for favors, and now there's a festival happening tonight."

"Gaius, how did you even manage that? Getting a festival up tonight sounds like a lot of work."

"When a group of heroes saves a group of nomadic merchants from an evil cult, it isn't hard to convince them to celebrate with their saviors. Plus, I threw in a little bit of coin from some treasury."

"Wait, what?" Robin gasped.

"Don't worry about it," Gaius assured Robin and placed a hand on his shoulder. "You're dodging the topic."

"Maybe I am," Robin looked away. "And did you really have to tell me this morning?"

"You're still dodging the topic," Gaius grinned. "And to answer your question, I had to since I may have mentioned that you were going to need help getting those supplies stocked this morning. She's waiting for you. How you two can get up this early is beyond me."

"I can't believe you, Gaius," Robin sighed. "I have work to do. I have a war to plan."

"That you do. You sort out all of the items for the inventory, and before she leaves, you ask her if she wants to go to the festival with you. Food, dancing, games, and more. She'll start falling for you no problem."

"When you put it like that," Robin thought out loud, thinking. "If the moment comes up, I'll ask, but I don't think it will. It shouldn't take too long to sort out the items we bought, especially if we're just confirming the merchants sold us the right amount."

"That doesn't sound like it won't take too long, but when you're with her, time will slow by. Catch you later, Bubbles."

Robin certainly didn't like that glint of light in Gaius' eyes when he left. The thief had a plan, and as much as he would like to know about it, there was just no telling with Gaius. He had no choice but to go along with whatever he had in mind. Unsure of how events will turn out, the tactician continued onto the supply tent. At the very least, he had his duty to the Shepherds to uphold. And if he could ask Cordelia to join him at the festival Gaius had planned, that would be a bonus.

As Robin neared the supplies tent, Robin saw Cordelia standing outside of the tent, with several crates of new supplies next to her. At first, Robin's pace slowed down as he saw her. It was only when she noticed him that he quickened the pace, and stood in front of her.

"Good morning, Robin," Cordelia greeted with a nod.

"Morning, Cordelia," Robin greeted, slightly more nervous than before. "What brings you up this early."

"I thought you could use help sorting some of the new supplies. If you want, I could do it myself so you can get back to your duties as tactician."

"If I do that, I would be shrieking my position as quartermaster to the Shepherds," Robin pointed out. "I greatly appreciate the help though. With your help, we'll be done in no time at all."

"Of course," Cordelia picked up one of the crates to carry inside. "What did you and Chrom get for the Shepherds?"

"Desert garb for Plegia and additional weapons," Robin told her, picking up one of the crates. "Once the Shepherds come to collect their new clothes, we'll have to update the inventory, but I think the merchants sold us extras anyways."

"Let's get to work then."

The two carried their crates into the tent to begin the sorting. It was a simple process. They opened the crates and took count of what was inside. They sorted the weapons and clothes where they belonged and Robin took note of the addition in his journal. Afterwards, they would carry another set of crates and repeat the process again. It was a tedious task, but with the two of them working together, it wouldn't take too long to finish.

While they worked, Robin did try to work some small talk in with Cordelia. He hoped that it would be enough to work up the courage to ask her to come with him to the festival. However, with it being the middle of a war, the tactician wasn't sure what to say. Finally, he decided to muster up something that was on his mind.

"You fought well in that last battle," Robin said suddenly.

"Hmm?" Cordelia looked up from the contents of one crate at Robin.

Quickly, Robin grew nervous. "Well, I was just thinking, but with the last battle, you handled yourself with no problem. You probably could have fought by yourself if you had to."

"Thank you, Robin," Cordelia smiled. "You're doing a good job yourself. It's not easy to adjust to the skies in a short amount of time."

"I did have a good knight to fly with," Robin pointed out. "I imagine that we'll have to keep working together when we arrive to stop Gangrel. Plegia doesn't seem to have anything but deserts."

"And that might be the end of the war. We stop Gangrel and save Emmeryn. I'm looking forward to that battle."

Robin nodded in agreement as they continued to work. He tried to work up the courage to tell her about the festival and if she would be willing to accompany him to it. Yet, he fell silent. In his mind, he saw Cordelia as a professional, someone who would probably prepare for the upcoming battle. That's what he should be doing. Even without scouts, he could have asked the merchants if they knew about Plegia's defenses and try to come up with a strategy.

While Robin was conflicted with his duty against his feelings, he noticed a strange occurrence. Each time they brought in a crate and returned to get a new one, there was at least one more crate waiting for them. As they continued and the pile nearly depleted, one extra crate turned into two extra crates. Robin grew suspicious when he saw the items were not what he ordered.

"Just a moment, Cordelia," Robin said after taking a crate inside the tent

"Of course," Cordelia continued sorting the supplies.

Robin stepped out of the tent, pulling out his sword. After a few seconds, Gaius came into view, his vision blocked with two crates. The tactician sighed in both relief and shock, then sheathed his blade. Although it wasn't an intruder, he wasn't exactly happy to see Gaius with his interference. When the thief set down the crates, then looks up at Robin in shock.

"Bubbles?!"

"Hello, Gaius," Robin smirked. "Where did you get the crates?"

"Eh, don't worry about it," Gaius whispered. "I'm just making sure you have enough time to ask her about the festival. I knew you would find out about this eventually. So, did you ask her?"

"You're dodging the topic," Robin whispered back.

"And you got me with one of my own tricks. You're learning and I like that!"

"Still dodging."

"I'm very good at dodging."

"Robin?" The tactician gasped to hear Cordelia behind him as she stepped out of the tent. "What's Gaius doing?"

"Oh, uh, Cordelia," Robin greeted and turned around. "I'm sure Gaius has a perfectly good explanation for what he's doing."

"Yeah, right," Gaius chuckled. "I did some haggling with the merchants. I run my own stall sometimes, so I know how to get good prices. Just thought I would help out with the war effort."

"And you didn't tell us?" Cordelia asked, her tone accusing. "Robin, you were whispering with him."

Robin gulped. "Yes, I was."

"We were just talking about that festival the merchants are throwing in celebration of Blue's victory over the Grimleal," Gaius quickly said.

"They are," Cordelia asked, growing more interested. "Is Chrom going to be there?"

"Maybe," Gaius shrugged. "I bet Bubbles could find him if he is. Maybe you two should go together and find him? Two eyes are better than one."

"That's a good idea," Cordelia turned to Robin and smiled. "Will you help me?"

"Uh, yes, I can," Robin nodded, his cheeks turning slightly red.

Thankfully, Cordelia turned around and didn't notice. "Let's get back to work, and then tonight, we can meet up."

Robin sighed in relief when Cordelia stepped into the tent. Gaius walked away with a whistle, leaving the two to finish their work. Gaius walking away without a single comment, especially after he did his task for him. The tactician hoped that wasn't bad news. He set out to help Cordelia finish up, carrying the remaining crates with him. There was no telling how the rest of the day would turn out now.

A/N: And here is the last stop on the "return from hiatus" trip. I'm back.

I look forward to continuing this story. I have adjusted to college well enough and am holding off on personal writing projects (which are in the editing process) to finish up my incomplete fanfics. I am excited to announce that I've plotted most of the remaining story out and am ready to get back to writing. Here's to a new year.

Until next time.