A/N: Happy New Years everyone and sorry for such a long delay; Between finishing school and then the holidays coming up I've been busy. That being said with my birthday coming up in only 5 more days I felt like this needed to come out before it got delayed another week. I'm pretty tired at the moment so I'm not going to write and author's notes at the bottom and will just opt. to tell you to review or pm me if you want here. with all of that out of the way enjoy

Tournament of the King Part 3-The Promise

-One month ago near Valm Castle-

It had been almost a year since they left, almost a year since the two that became loved by the people, despised by the nobility and feared by those that crossed them departed off across the sea to focus on their own quandary. In this time many things began to occur all across Valm, most of which didn't bode well for the continent as a whole. At first the problems were strictly on a political level; with the twins gone shady back handed dealings, information leaks, and false accusations were being done under the noses of the common folk by the corrupt noble houses and dynasties seeking to gain more power. This power struggle was mainly due to the initially started and failed conquest attempt of Walhart after he was defeated by the twins and left many of the countries that neighbor Valm in shambles, which those with only selfish intentions saw as a way to expand their reach, gain more status and crush their political enemies under heel. This inevitably resulted in the middle and lower class people suffering from the political backlash of this 'shadow war' that they had no idea was even happening to begin with.

However all of that changed when Walhart began a new campaign, one that started slower than the last but had snowballed into something that eclipsed his previous one by an overwhelming margin. He had somehow amassed a new Calvary through some method, though how he convinced his new army to follow him was left unknown since the whole reason his first attempt even began was because of the premise that he was unfallible which was proven false with his defeat. His first act in showing that he had regain some semblance of power back was his retaking of the lands that he had claimed in his previous attempt with little to no effort on his part. This show of strength was enough to momentarily stop the more corrupt nobility from attacking one another and prepare for what they thought would be the return of the conqueror, however after that little display was shown Valm had gone quiet and didn't give any signs that they would be taking any farther action anytime soon. For those that really didn't want to get involved in a war and focus on their previous endeavors they thought nothing of this lack of activity and went about their business, but to those that had never involved their selves in what they thought was a pointless 'power grab' they saw this as nothing more than a simple reprieve from something greater to come. With such little known about Walhart's current military strength and any of his plans the king and queen of Chon'sin, at the behest of their eldest child Yen'fay, thought it prevalent to send people in to keep an eye out for even the smallest sign that something could happen.

Now standing watch a decent distance away from Valm Castle were 3 Chon'sin Soldiers that decided to go deep in what could be considered enemy territory, watching over where Walhart's main forces were being held. They have been monitoring the place for some time now and not seen any movement going on besides the occasional guard shift, which was standard procedure for any stronghold.

"We've been out here for 2 weeks now and we have yet to see any signs that show that they have any ill intent" One of the men spoke in an exasperated tone, clearly sick of being stuck here watching something that could quite possibly be a non-threat.

"Your right, but you have to remember that that we're on the outside, we have no clue as to what is going on behind those walls and as long as we are left in the dark we're at a clear disadvantage should they start an attack" another soldier replied to the first as he continued to monitor the guards on duty.

"He's right, beside after they so blatantly flaunted their military might and knowing their leader's previous track record do you really think that they don't have any farther plans in the works" The third member of their party spoke, trying to reassure her comrade that their actions have purpose.

"I understand that, but it's been mouths since Walhart displayed that little show and we still have other issues to worry about that are, in my opinion, far larger than this. The continent is going to hell because of poor choices being made by the higher powers, it makes me wish that they were here to clean Valm up again"

She laughed at her comrade's statement "Be careful what you say, if you ask for those two demons to resurface they might actually show and if they do and see this mess there will be hell to pay and noble's heads might actually start to roll. As satisfying as that may sound it could actually affect the balance of Valm for the worst"

"Now that you mention it, that could be what Walhart is waiting for, maybe not for the twins to return, but perhaps he's biding his time and waiting for the political situation to weaken the other nations more before he strikes. I know that's what I would do if I was attempting to take over a continent, strike when they're at their weakest"

"Y'know that was shockingly really well thought out for you" she said giving her companion a sly grin.

"Oh shut up!"

"As riveting as this topic is we have movement, the guards are heading back in the castle" the one who was keeping watch says.

"So? It's probably just a guard shift, nothing new" the man said in an annoyed voice.

"I would have thought the same, but no others came to relieve the current guards from their duties" he said back.

"That is odd, they been follow their routine very strictly since we started watching them, in fact…" the female soldier looked up in the sky to confirm something "If the position the sun is in is any indicator, this shift is a whole hour early"

"You're right, somethings amiss" he said as he continued to watch what was going on.

"Perhaps a fight broke out and they needed more people to help contain it?" the other male soldier replied.

"Or perhaps they are under attack"

"Unlikely, that place is too well defended for an enemy unit to sneak in undetected" the female spoke.

"Wait did you feel that?" the first soldier asked.

"Feel what?" the other two ask him.

At first it was subtle, so much so in fact they could barely feel what was happening, then the feeling got stronger and they felt as the earth began to shift from under their feet.

"An earthquake?"

Then it turned into a violent tremor that almost knocked off their feet.

"This is really bad you two, get down!"

The soldiers dropped down to the ground and braced the violent shaking of the earth, trees began to shake in a dangerous manner; looking as if they were on the cusp of falling over.

"WHERE DID THIS COME FROM ALL OF A SUDDEN!?"

"I HAVE NO CLUE, BUT WE'LL JUST HAVE TO WEATHER THROUGH IT UNTIL IT SUBSIDES!"

The sudden earthquake continued to rattle on for a good while, but no sooner than it started did it too abruptly cease.

"Well that was unexpected"

"That's an understatement, but we're lucky it wasn't worse with how bad it got"

"Um, guys?"

"Huh?"

"Look" one of them pointed back to Valm Castle or where Valm Castle once stood.

"Dear Naga…."

"What is that?..."

In the spot where the castle once stood was a far larger castle in its place, one that seemed to continue reforming itself even as they stared at it. Large amounts of stone just floating towards on point and form a place far grander than the build that once occupied the spot (It's Rigel Castle).

"This took longer than I would've liked, it would seem I've grown weaker since I was last among the living" The three heard someone say as they decided to conceal their selves behind some trees.

The three then watched as someone began to walk down the road towards the newly formed castle. He was a short decrepit looking man with ghastly grey skin, he had Brown hair and looked like he only had one working eye, and he also was dressed in green mage robes and carried a tome that gave the Chon'sin soldiers a cold chill looking at it. His very presence screamed danger to the three as they watched him a get closer and closer to where they were hiding.

He turned his head in their direction "It would seem some vermin have stuck their noses in affairs that would be better left alone" he drew energy from his tome then raise is hand, spawning forth a void of dark power that spewed ghostly skull shaped orbs that floated around him "If they were wise they would scurry back to their din"

The Chon'sin soldier took that as their one and only warning to flee and ran as fast as they could away from dark mage.

"Insulant fools, it matters not what you try because soon all will bow to the might of Gharnef" he continued on his way to the newly reconstructed castle "Even you will soon fell dragon" he hissed that last statement with venom as he thought back to his first encounter with Grima.

- one week ago The Mila Tree: Valm-

As she has done many times in the past Say'ri once again made her way up the great Mila tree to check on the Voice, however she wasn't making this long trek alone. Accompanying the princess of Chon'sin was a young women with rose colored hair who wore a maid outfit and walking directly behind her was her partner, which just so happened to be a very large wyvern. Cherche had come to Chon'sin to discuss the information that was reported by some scouts that had returned a few weeks back as an envoy of Rosanne, since Virion thought it was such good idea to go on vacation. Based on what the scout had reported Valm Castle had been completely changed before they're very eyes; this change was later discovered to be a complete restoration to what the castle formally looked like a few millennia ago, they also reported a suspicious person making their way towards the castle, though who this person was and what his purpose may be, they had no clue. With so little to go on and a clear plot in the works Say'ri suggested getting the advice of 'the voice of Naga' to see if she could possible shed some light as to what could be done next and since Cherche wanted to bring some information back to Rosanne back with her she decided it may be wise to tag along.

"So how close are we?" Cherche asked as they ascended the steps leading to Tiki's shrine.

"Tis only a little ways farther" Say'ri replied back as she steadied the bag at her side that was being blown by the constant stream of harsh wind.

"By the way… what do you have in that bag? Is it some kind of offering for the Voice?"

"Nay, these are simply my painting tools, whenever I come here on casual visits I find the shrine to be a most wonderful place to paint"

"I see, though I thought we were here to ask 'the voice' for advice"

"Aye we are, though I had not originally planned this trip to be about something like this, it would seem fate does not favor me in that regard"

"So true, it seems like that's starting to become the norm here with Valm now a days" Cherche stated with a slight scowl.

As the two approached the final steps leading to Tiki's shrine they were greeted to a brick covered lot in the middle of a grass bed that was in of itself surrounded by trees, and in the very center of it all was a shrine dedicated to 'The Voice of Naga' herself. What broke the normality of the scene that was before Say'ri was the fact that Tiki was shockingly already awake and that wasn't all, lay on the ground next to where Tiki sat was a young man who appeared to be asleep. As Say'ri, Cherche, and Minerva drew closer they noticed an assortment of weapons and tomes strew about around were Tiki and the red haired boy were.

Noticing the arrival of her guest, Tiki turned and greeted the ones coming towards her.

"Hello Say'ri it's nice of you to visit again and I see you have brought a guess with you as well" Tiki says as she turns to look at Cherche and Minerva.

"It's an honor to meet you" Cherche replied.

"Lady Tiki, what's going on up here? Say'ri asked.

"Whatever do you mean?" Tiki asked back with a look of confusion.

"Well for one; and do pardon me for saying this lady Tiki, but it's rear to find you here awake when I arrive, then there is also the matter of this person next you, who is he?"

Tiki cast her gaze back to the boy lying next to her "I do not know who this young man is, but a few days ago a loud noise and an immense power stirred me from my slumber and when I came out to see what it was I had found this boy here along with these items that lay around him"

"A few days you say? Has he been like this the enter time?" Cherche asked with a bit of concern.

"He has, though I would not worry. I don't know what kind of spell it is, but there seems to be some sort of magic keeping him asleep, however it also seems to be keeping him alive while in this state" Tiki answered

"What of these weapons that lay around" Say'ri asked.

"I do not know what they are, but each one of them has immense power coming from them, when I asked Naga about them she warned me not to touch them, so they must be dangerous"

"Hmm I see" Say'ri said as she gave the weapons another once over.

"Now then may I ask what has brought you here? I would have assumed that this was a causal visit, but something tells me that is not quite the case" Tiki asked

"Aye we were wondering if you could impart some wisdom onto us as to what's going on with Walhart and his men" Say'ri asked

"Hmm? Let me see" Tiki closed her eyes and just sat there for a moment without doing anything.

"Is she ok?" Cherche asked.

"Aye, she is just speaking with Naga at the moment"

Tiki then opened eyes, with a look of discomfort as she stood and began to walk over to her shrine.

"Lady Tiki?" Say'ri questioned her actions.

"I cannot tell you anything of Walhart, because Naga didn't speak of him, but I do need you to do two things for me Say'ri"

"What do you ask of me?"

"First Naga said to inform the one known as Robin of this boy and the weapons that lie here as quickly as you possibly can"

"We need to get a message to Robin? But we currently have no idea where he could be right now" Cherche told her.

"He currently is making his way to Regna Ferox and will more than likely be staying at Arena Ferox when he arrives" Tiki told her.

"What is the second thing you need?" Say'ri asked.

"I need you to take me to Divine Dragon Grounds, I need to perform the ritual to get my power back as soon as I can"

"Lady Tiki what's going on?" Say'ri said as she started to grow more concerned by how Tiki was acting.

"I'm sorry but I must prepare some things before we go" and with that Tiki made her way inside her shrine to prepare.

"What was that about?" Cherche asked.

"I have no clue, but we should prepare that message for Lord Robin and get it to him with haste" As Say'ri says this she opens her bag and readies her paints and some sheets of parchment.

"What are you about to do?"

"I going to paint the boy and the weapons lying about so he has a better idea as to what we're talking about in our message to him" Say'ri says as she begins to paint.

"That won't take too long will it?"

"Nay I should be able to get this done quickly enough, the problem is getting a message to him in a reasonable amount of time. It may take a month to get this across the sea to him and there is no guarantee that he will remain where he is until it gets to him"

"Hmm, I might have a way to make it work where we can get it to him quickly, it's something the twins mentioned to me awhile back, However that method is quite…..expensive" Cherche said as she thought about how much money she was I about to lose to get this letter sent.

'I guess I'll just take it out of Lord Virion's account' she thought to herself.

-The Night of the Second Day of the Tournament: Arena Ferox-

The masked swordsman, Marth, was setting in their room awaiting the arrival of one of their allies.

'Where is she? She isn't trying to avoid coming here is she?'

By now the matches for the day had ended, and Marth was not surprised to see that their ally had dominated the competition, what they didn't expect though was for them to be competing in something they specifically told them not to. For Marth the mask had come off, their hair had come down, and Marth wanted nothing more than to relax knowing everything was going according to how they planned it, but because of this all of that had to be put on the back burner and they were left waiting to see if they would show up or potentially do something else that could blow their covers. Marth's fears were put to rest when they heard a knock on the door that was done in a code that only their allies would know to do. Still Marth was cautious so on the way to the door they grabbed their mask and sword and spoke.

"With every foe we have the heart to face…"

There was a short pause before the person on the other side of the door replied back.

"We take back our future"

Knowing now that there was nothing to worry about Marth put away their sword and opened the door.

"Wow lucy paranoid much, come on put the mask away" said the cloaked girl as she entered the room.

Slightly annoyed by her friend's comment Marth, or rather Lucina, closed the door and took her mask off "I would be less paranoid if someone followed the plan while we're on an import mission"

"Wow your bed is awesome, way better the one I have at my hotel room, it so bouncy hehe" the cloaked girl said as she bounced up and down on Lucina bed.

"Are you even listening!? And would you stop jumping on my bed!?" Lucina shouted at the girl who looked like was having the time of her life jumping on her bed.

"Of course I heard you, after all I'm the one who helped come up with and approved this plan, or have you already forgotten who's the junior tactician is for our junior shepherds?" the cloaked girl asked as she stopped jumping on the bed, already getting the enjoyment out of the act that she wanted.

Lucina sighed "Your right, you are the tactician, which means you should know better than to do something that could potentially blow our covers Morgan"

Morgan let down her hood, letting her short black hair flow down as she glared back at Lucina with her mismatch eyes with a huff and a pout "You're one to talk, if anything you're more likely to blow our cover than I am"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Lucina exclaimed with shock that she would even insinuate such a thing.

"I mean your first encounter with them couldn't be helped and I understand that we intend to throw the match during the battle of the Khans, but wouldn't you get suspicious of a random stranger appearing before you 2 times in a row in the span of less than 2 weeks?"

"I don't see how that has anyth-"

"And…" Morgan cut her off "That's not even addressing the elephant in the room" she said as she pointed at the Falchion that was resting against the dresser "The least you could do is use a different sword so people don't ask questions or have you forgotten that there is literally only one Falchion that looks like that in existence" Lucina looked as if she was going to rebuke her but before she could Morgan continued "and before you say anything, my father's Falchion does not count, it looks nothing like your dad's Falchion, which is why I brought up the fact that no one else should have a sword that looks like that"

"Which is why people will just think it's just a replica and not the real thing"

"Why risk it in the first place? In fact you'd be better off letting my brother or sister handle this rather than doing it yourself since your fighting style is a mirror image of Chroms' and they wouldn't have to hide their faces to conceal their brands like we would" Morgan stated as she pointed to her fell brand that was located in her right eye and acted as a stark contract to Lucina's brand.

Lucina didn't have anything to argue against Morgan with. She knew that she was right; she tended to be when it came to things like this, and despite Morgan's bubbly and carefree personality when it came to serious topics or situations she somehow managed to be the most serious out of everyone in their group, even herself.

Lucina gave a defeated sigh and sat down on the bed next to Morgan who was now giving her a warm smile "I know your right"

"I kind need to be most of the time"

The future princess let out another long sigh "But after I saw them again after so long that night, it took everything I had to not just throw myself at them. Its hard y'know to see them and not be able to say anything, which is why I guess I'm doing this, even if I can't tell them who I am or speak to them the way I want to, just seeing them and being able to be this close is enough"

"Which is why I didn't bring it up during our meeting, we all understood why you wanted to do this and that's why I didn't oppose you on it. Heck it gave me a reason to follow suit and do the same, which now that I think about it my big brother and sister will be at mad about, since they wanted to do it too" Morgan's expression turned to one of worry as she thought about what her sister might do to her when she finds her.

"Speaking of how long do you plan to hide from them?" Lucina questioned.

"Well at least until this tournament ends, actually I kind of half-expected for you to call them here as well and had intended to make a break for it as soon as I saw them in this room"

"I thought about" Lucina then gave the younger girl a sly grin "But I guess it must have slipped my mind"

A mock gasp escaped from Morgan's lips and she put a hand to the older girl's forehead "Oh my Naga, did you catch something Lucy? For a minute there I thought I saw and heard you do something out of character. Where did the serious and occasionally social awkward Lucy I've known almost all of my life and grown to love gone" she said dramatically.

Lucina playfully nudges her hand off of her "Geez, so much for trying to do something nice, if I knew you were going to tease me I might have actually called them here. Seriously I don't know who gets it worst sometimes, me or Inigo"

"Hey I take offence to that…you know I tease everyone in our little group equally" Morgan said as she gave a proud smile.

"Are you sure you don't go a little harder on Inigo?" Lucina asked while giving the younger girl a knowing look.

"Weeeeeeeeeeellll…maybe, I certainly wouldn't do it as much if he wasn't such an easy target" she said with a devious grin.

'There it is again' Lucina thought to herself as she lightly chuckled at Morgan, the calm feeling that came with being around her. She was always the like a bright sun that warmed the cold reality of their bleak future and one of only a handful of those who were able to get Lucina to truly relax and stop thinking of the negative. It was for that reason that Lucina was really happen that Morgan was one of the few she had found first.

"It's getting late, you should probably head back to your hotel soon"

Morgan's response to that was to lean back and let her back hit Lucina's much softer bed "Is it okay if I stay here tonight? Walking all the way back would take a while and your bed is like a prison I can't escape from"

"*sigh* fine, I guess I don't mind" Lucina said as she got up and turned off the lamp, leaving the only light source to come from the fire still burning in the fireplace 'not like anyone can say no to you anyway' she thought as she got in the bed as well and pulled the cover over them.

As soon as Lucina laid down she felt Morgan's arms wrap around her and her head rest against her chest.

"Good night Lucy" she said before she let sleep claim her.

Lucina smiled and wrapped her arms around her as well, allowing her head to rest just above the young tactician's head.

"Good night Morgan" Lucina said as she followed suit and fell asleep too. If Lucina would have stayed up just a little longer she may have notice tears start to form in Morgan's eyes and slowly trickle down her cheeks.

-Third Day of the Tournament-Early Morning: Arena Ferox-

If one were to pass by his room, they would hear the sound of voices coming from within. The scene was a normal one, most would even consider it mundane. Just two siblings talking to one another as they enjoyed each other's company in the early morning. But for them such an occasion of peace was uncommon, one that was so far from their norm that times like these had faded away into the realm of obscurity and had become one that they seldom got to enjoy. Robin was seated at his desk that was provided with his room, drafting up plans for his sister to use in her little scheme. In his haste to answer her, he was only dressed in an under shirt, a pair of pants, and his robes; his hair was in a far messy state, than it's normal 'controlled chaos' due to the fact that he just got out of bed. Linnet sat on his bed and watched as he went to work on the little project she had planned for her team to do today for their prep for the Battle of the Khans. She herself was also in morning mode, with her pajamas still on and with her own robes being throw on, on the way here as her only attempt to look semi presentable. Her hair, rather than being in its iconic pigtails, was down and went to about halfway down her back in a flowing silky white stream before ending in a burning auburn color at its tips, which many who meet her for the first time often think is just dye.

"You know, this has been fun. I've forgotten how it feels to be in such a large group and working in them" Linnet said as she played with her hair.

"Yeah I understand what you mean, it's been non-stop work for us over the past couple of years. I guess it just took joining the shepherd for me to realize that" Robin said with a faint smile.

"You say that like the work has stopped or do you not consider preventing a war to be work?" Linnet said jokingly.

"It's not like we haven't done it before" Robin replied back "Let's just hope that it doesn't become something we constantly get dragged into"

"Yeah lets…." Linnet then leaned forward a bit as she asked "So Robin, has a girl finally caught your eye?"

Robin finished up the last bit of what he was jotting down, turned towards his sister and raised an eyebrow "Huh? Where is this coming from all of a sudden?"

"Well I kind of had the idea back when you first introduced Lilina and Nephenee to us. Since they only would talk to you and you spent a lot of time with them I had assumed one of them had caught your attention"

"I'm guessing that's not the case now, so you must be referring to Ayra then, right? He asked.

"Oh so you already know her name huh, when I saw how you acted back at the arena I thought the world might end, I mean you showing romantic interest in someone is rare"

"I've hardly talked to her so I don't think it's right to say I have a romantic interest in her, however I do find her to be quite stunning in both the ways she looks and fights" Robin said as he opened his tome and drew magic from it.

"You're right, it is fun to see her fight….by the way, what are you doing now?" Rather than answer her question outright Linnet felt as the entire room grew a few degrees cooler and looked to see Robin form a shard of ice, her eyes widened at the sight "Well….that's a call back, it's been a long time since you last used it"

"Yeah I think I'll start using ice magic again, maybe teach someone else since I'm the only one who knows how to" Robin said while staring at the ice with a small but sad smile.

"That's actually one of the things I envy about you, the fact that I can't use any kind of anima magic means I couldn't join you and mom in her research" she said sounding a little disheartened.

"You did get your own lessons in light magic through" Robin said trying to cheer her up.

"My lessons in light and healing magic where the equivalent of yours in anima and dark, but you researching with mom felt like a thing just between just the two of you. Our blood pretty much guarantees that we have a high affinity with the magical arts and yet I was so bad at it, it's kind of depressing" she said as she let her head slump down; her messy morning hair following suit.

"I'd hardly call you bad at magic, especially since I can't use any of the magic you can; in fact very few people can use light magic at all, it makes you very special"

Linnet let out a soft giggle.

Robin smiled and asked "what's so funny?"

"This is…" Linnet said as she raised her head to face him "looking back, it's been so long since we just talked about anything other than…well you know" Linnet turned her head to the side at looked out the window.

"Yeah, I know…" the room went silent for a bit after that.

"Hey bro…" Linnet

"Yeah sis?"

"It's been a while, so could you…" Linnet fidgeted a little.

"Hmm?"

She pointed to her hair "Could you style my hair for me?"

Robin looked a little taken aback by the sudden request, but gave his sister a warm smile "Sure thing, since you're asking me I can only assume you what something other than you normal pigtails right?"

She gave a nod.

"Alright than" Robin then then spawned the same mirror he used the day prior, along with an ornate looking brush and comb, and some shampoo "let's wash it up real quick before we do anything else"

Robin went to go fetch a pail full of water while linnet removed her coat, took his desk chair and moved it to the center of the room before taking a seat. When Robin came back he put pail and two towels on the desk, making sure to move the plan he worked on out of the way. He took one of the towels he grabbed and put it over her shoulders, then he took a wooden ladle and filled it with water before slowing pouring it on her hair to get it wet before putting the shampoo in and lathering her hair thoroughly. He lightly scrubbed her hair and massaged her scalp, which elicited a pleasurable sigh from Linnet before rinsing a majority of the shampoo out with water. He then grabbed the comb and started combing out her soaking hair, meticulously combing through it with care. He repeated this process 2 more times until he was sure the shampoo was completely rinsed off and her hair was properly combed out, afterwards he took the second towel and lightly dabbed it on her hair to lightly dry it. Then he channeled magic into his hands as if preparing to launch a fire spell before the flow of his magic change and a wind smell was cast instead; blowing warm air to dry her hair completely. After her hair was dry Robin took the brush and started going through it again.

"So what brought this on? Why'd you what to change the way you wear your hair?" Robin finally asked.

Linnet averted her gaze slightly "No reason in particular…besides do I need a reason when you do such an amazing job with my hair each time?" She said with a bright smile.

"And then I'm the one stuck maintaining your hair until you figure out how to do it yourself" He gave out a short sigh while brushing her hair "Ever thought about growing it out more?"

"I did once, especially since mom had such long and beautiful hair, but I hardly even know what to do with the amount I have now; besides it's already a hassle to manage at times, I really don't know how mom lived with hers"

"Tell me about it, her hair almost touched the floor, but knowing mom she probably created and spell or hex to make sure her hair always stayed in perfect condition. It certainly never got in the way when she was training us" he smiled at the memory.

"That's true and sounds like something she would do just for convenience sake" Linnet said with a giggle.

"So do you have any idea as to what you want to go for with your hair?" Robin asked.

"I want you to leave a majority of my hair down, but could braid either side of my hair and have it meet in the back to make a small ponytail?" Linnet questioned.

"Coming right up" Robin said as he took a portion of her hair and began to braid it.

"About your eyes…" Linnet started

"I was wondering when you'd bring them up"

"Chrom told me about them yesterday, he said you seemed a little distraught when you saw them and decided to tell me"

"I'm sorry"

"For what Robin?"

"I'm sorry because my eyes look like his now" He said in a sad tone.

'You had the same eyes back than too, but I guess you don't remember that happening 5 years ago' she thought to herself.

They remained quiet for a bit until Linnet asked "Hey Robin, what are we doing?"

"What do you mean?"

"Why'd we join the shepherd?"

"You know why"

"But…I don't want them to get involved in our problems, what if-"

"There's no 'what ifs' we won't let the same thing happen twice, besides so long as Ylisse and Plegia are at odds against one another the Grimeal will be involved and that all the reason we need to help" Robin reassured her.

"Yeah you're right" Linnet said, still sounding unsure.

"…and done" Robin smiled and grabbed the mirror "So how does it look?"

Linnet looked in the mirror and saw her hair still flowing straight down, going along the sides of her head were portions of hair tied into braids that connected into a tiny ponytail at the back that lay above the rest of her hair.

"It's just what I wanted, thank you!" she said getting off her chair and giving her brother a hug.

"Anytime, now I should probably get ready for the day" He handed her the plans he wrote up "Good luck with that"

"Thanks, see you later 'king'" she said as she grabbed her cloak and exited his room.

As Linnet left Robin looked to the brand on his right hand.

"Hey G"

'Yes Robin?'

Robin shook his head "Never mind, we can talk about it later"

"Very well"

Without wasting anymore time got himself ready and left as well to start his day.

…

The tournament was more energetic than normal, with the contestants giving it their all in every fight, however the one dominating each fight he competed in was Lon'qu. With every victory Lon'qu claimed he made sure to give Robin a stern look from the fighting platform before exiting as if to silently say 'I'm coming for you' each time. Robin couldn't help but smile at his determination.

"Looks like Lon'qu ain't taking that lose to you lightly, huh boy?" Basilio stated with a smirk.

"He certainly isn't being subtle about" Robin said as he gave a small chuckle.

"But I can understand where he's coming from, I might need to get a rematch too once all this business is done" Flavia commented.

'A nation filled with people who hunger for battle' Robin internally sighed "I'm kind of missing the calmness of Valm"

"A land whose people value power, it reminds me of another place" G said

'I'm guessing you can only recall bits and pieces of that place and don't remember everything?'

"That place has no effect here actually so it be pointless to discuss about it"

'Really? You know that just make me more curious' Robin turned his attention to the empty booth the shepherd normally would be in 'I wonder how that's going'

…

Chrom, Frederick, Lilina, and Virion were all at an empty training field awaiting the arrival of the last member of their group. After their short training session the day prior Linnet had told her team that she had a plan and that she wanted them to report there at noon and to bring their weapons.

"Sorry I'm late everyone" The heard someone call out from behind them.

They all turned to see Linnet walking over with her Alondite in hand and a tome that she was putting into one of the four pouches she had along her belt. However what caught their attention the most wasn't her walking over, but the new look she was sporting.

"And I see everyone is equipped and ready" Linnet stated as she reached them.

"Wow I really like what you did with your hair, it looks so pretty" Lilina commented.

"Oh this? It does look nice doesn't hehe" Linnet said as she brought a hand to her locks.

"Nice doesn't even begin to describe this new found radiance that you have graced us with. I dear say…" Virion began to go on a rant so every started tuning him out.

"I've got to admit the look suits you quite well" Chrom said giving his opinion.

"Thank you, I appreciate the complements" Linnet said while at the same time bringing and open palm up and chopping Virion over the head to get him to stop blathering. She noticed Frederick said nothing, but just assumed that was because their relationship was still a little rocky and gave it no farther mind.

"So what do you have planned for us today?" Frederick asked.

"We're doing mock battles today against another group" Linnet answered.

"Interesting, against who?" Chrom questioned.

"Against us" They heard someone say as what sounded like a group was drawing near. They looked to see the rest of the shepherd arriving.

"It's good to see you all came" Linnet greeted.

"Whatcha talking about, teach is always down for a brawl miss…." Vaike stopped unsure who he was addressing.

"Linnet" she answered.

"Oh my goodness Linnet I love what you did with your hair" Sumia complimented.

"Thanks, but I can't take the credit for it, that goes to Robin"

"No way! Robin did that for you?!" Lissa questioned as she approached Linnet to get a closer look "It looks so shiny and there's not even a single hair out of place, do you think he could do me too?"

"I don't know, with all the pranks you pulled on him on our way here I doubt he'd be willing"

Lissa pouted "Hey I said I was sorry afterwards"

"I'm only joking, I'm sure he'd be more than happy too"

She instantly brightened back up "Really?"

"Do you think he'd be willing to do me as well" Sumia asked.

"Me too" Lilina joined.

"Hey! Are we here to fight or talk about hair? Sully intervened.

"Honestly I didn't expect Robin to have such a skill, interesting" Stahl said more to himself than anyone else.

"Not you too" Sully said bringing hand to her forehead.

Nephenee than grabbed everyone attention by bashing her lance and shield together "We're burning day y'all so let's get this under way, Linnet tell what to do"

"Alright then everyone it's actually quite simple, we holding a mock battle that will be between us, the ones who will be participating in the Battle of the Khans and you our practice opponents. Lissa will be here to provide heals for any injury we might receive and since there is 7 of you on that side vs our 5, 2 of you will have to switch out between matches" Linnet stated.

Everyone started looking around for a bit until Vaike said "Hey wait, ain't there only 6 of us?" and a bunch of people started nodding in agreement until Linnet pointed directly behind him.

"You guys always seem to miss Kallem for some reason, which is a little concerning"

Everyone looked in the direction she was pointed and jumped a little when they did see Kallem right there behind him.

"Dear Naga…you can see me too!" Kallem practically cheered as a small stream of tears flowed down his face and a bright smile graced his features.

Chrom turned to her "So what's the catch? When you left yesterday you had a grin on your face that spelled trouble"

"Thanks for asking Chrom" she said as she flashed that very devious smile "the catch is that the opposing team just so happens to have a battle formation designed by our very own tactician" Linnet said as she handed Sully the paper with Robin's drafted up plans to show to the rest of her team.

She then continued "We've so far been working on minor combat improvement and in between said improvements we've only just started getting our team synergy down, this mock battle is too improve that" she looked at her whole team with a very serious expression "That being said I want you to go into to this expecting to lose and not get discouraged when it happens, because even a team of elite fighters can lose a group of people who are individually weaker than them if they're the one with a more solid game plan"

At that the whole team shifted into a more serious mood and nodded.

Linnet than addressed the group as a whole "One last thing, although this practice is to help the five of us, I want everyone to consider this to be a group exercise for the shepherd as a whole, Naga forbid we actually we get into a conflict with anything other than those zombies-"

"Risen" Chrom corrected with a smirk which earned him a glare from her.

"But…" Linnet said in a slightly more irritated tone because both Robin and Chrom knows she loathes that name "But it's good to have the experience nonetheless. And so with all of that out of the way let's begin"

With that the Mock battles between the members of the shepherds started.

…

It was late into the night, in one of the empty practice fields, as Ayra swung her sword in multiple slashing and stabbing motions as a moderate amount of sweat was gliding down her brow. She had been there for a few hours as evident by the amount of cut dummies and even a few visible shallow trenches she made in the dirt with her sword. This last little bit was just a cool down after her workout and when it was complete she would pack her items up and vacate the field. She was in mid swing as she heard a voice directly behind her.

"Working hard I see"

Ayra took a sharp breath and instinctively brought her blade around and had it pressed against her surpriser's neck. When she final got a look at the person behind her she was unsurprised to see that it was just Reflet standing there, beside the fact that he tends to come here late in the night to train, he was the only person here so far that could get the drop on her.

"I guess I should have learned from the first time not to sneak up on you huh?"

Now knowing exactly who she was dealing with Ayra let out a short sigh and lowered her blade before releasing the tension in her shoulders and letting her head and back slump down toward the ground.

"It's normally not a problem because no one else is able to, you're the only one who manages to sneak up on me Reflet" she then felt something cool hit her forehead and when she looked up she saw a flask.

"It water, you look like you could use some" Robin said while smiling at her.

She look at it for a moment before hesitantly grabbing it out of his hand and taking in a few swigs.

"Thank you" she said after letting a small smile grace her face as she handed the flask back.

'Was she just smiling?' Robin thought to himself, thinking it odd for to have any sort of expression other than her typically stoic one.

"I'm actually glad you showed up, I kind of wanted to talk to you" She said breaking Robin out of his thoughts.

"Huh? You wanted to talk to me?" Robin questioned.

Ayra response was a somehow softer gaze, from her normally sharp eyes, as she simple nodded.

"Okay than, what did you want to talk about?"

"I want to know more about you" she bluntly stated.

"You wanna what?" Ayra just let the man in front of her wrap his mind around what she said and waited for him to continue "Why?" was all Robin could muster.

"Because ever since I found myself in this place, you have become the biggest mystery to me"

Robin stared at her a bit more before he spoke again "I didn't think I could ever leave a strong enough impression for someone to say that to me in just 3 days" Robin stated to himself as he cast his eyes to the side. He didn't mean what he said as an offhanded commit, he meant it as a fact that he prided himself in. Up until the point he and his sister got too involved in Valm's darker affairs, the only thing people knew of them were their exploits, meaning that they could only rely on the own imagination as to who they were. Both Robin and Linnet learned early on that being too famous or too infamous could lead to unwanted attention, so they made a point to become those faces that could easily be forgotten.

"Trust me, I'm hardly an interesting person to talk to, let alone talk about" Robin final said to her.

"That's where you're wrong, because to me you hold quite a bit of interest" She said in an honest tone.

At those words Robin couldn't help the slight blush that dusted his cheeks for the briefest of moments, even though he knew she didn't mean it in such a way it still got to him, even if only shortly. Robin gave a sigh knowing he wasn't going to get out of this so easily. "Very well I'll tell you a little about myself if you want me too, however I want you to do the same for me, deal?"

"I had already intended to" she said as she let her lips curl up into another smile.

Robin couldn't help but think her smile was beautiful "So where should I start?"

"How about you tell me how you learned how to fight" Ayra had only seem bits and pieces of Reflet's swordplay but she knew he was good so she wanted to get an idea of what kind of training he went through.

"Well I was raised in a mercenary camp along with my sister. My mother and my master, who was the mercenary group leader, taught me almost everything I know" he answered.

"I see, so you've been training since you were a child pretty much, correct?"

"Pretty much" Robin said giving her a smile.

"I can see that in the way you move, like it's been etched into you. Very well you may ask of me what you will" She told him ready for his question.

Robin already knew what he wanted to know so he just voiced it out "So I assume you not from Regna Ferox, right? So from where do you hail?"

Ayra turned her gaze to the sky as she answered his question "I hail from Isaach, a country on the continent of jugdral, and a place I hold close to my heart" She said almost wistfully.

"No way…you're from Isaac?" Robin said in a slightly more excited tone.

Ayra picking up on this looked back at him "I take it that you've heard of it?"

"Of course I have, any person aspiring to at least use a sword half decently looks at Isaacian swordplay for inspiration, it's were the first great swords masters all used to come from"

At this Ayra couldn't help but to let another smile show from hearing her homeland receive such praise.

"But if you from Jugdral than aren't you quite a ways away from home?" Robin asked.

"I am indeed, which did sadden me a first, but now I'm using my time spent here to grow stronger" her face saddened a bit and she said just above a whisper "Strong enough to ensure something like that never happens again"

Noticing her sudden change in mood Robin asked "Is that why you wanted to fight me so badly yesterday?"

"It was" She faced him once more resolve in her sharp eyes "Because I believe you are the one who can break me out of my shell and can push me to new heights, so Reflet…" She raised her sword towards him once more "I ask again, will you duel me? Will you give me the honor of crossing blades with you?"

Robin could see it, that burning resolve that she had when she asked him to fight. So strong was her passion that it set his own heart ablaze and made him want to do nothing more than except her challenge, however he could not, at least not now "I'm sorry to say this but I still can't" at this she deflated a little but then she swiftly rebounded.

"You said that you are here on vacation right? At least until the Battle of the Khans is over?"

"I did…" Robin answered not know where she was going with this.

"Then how about this, after that day's events ends, we meet here one last time and we have a match"

Robin couldn't help smiling at that "I guess technically my vacation here would be over huh, But won't you be tired from your quarter-final battle of the tournament? And that's not even accounting for if you go on to semi-finals or battle the king" he tried to reason.

"I know about my other battle or possibly battles on that day, even still I'll come if it means you'll give me a match" Ayra said with even more resolve then before.

"Very well than…" Robin put out his hand "than let's make it a promise shall we? I swear after the Battle of the Khans is over I'll meet you here so that we may cross blades"

At that Ayra just stared at him, the thought of the red eyed greenette being somewhat dashing to her crossing her mind; which felt odd to her since she couldn't say she felt that way about any man in Sigurd's army. She quickly banished the thought and took his hand "I promise the same"

"Good…" Robin said as he shook her hand sealing the deal before releasing it "Now if you'll excuse me I think I have so training to get done" he said as he made way for the weapon's rack, his blue bandana drifting whimsically in the wind as he walked away.

Ayra let her eyes linger on his form a moment longer before taking her leave.

…

As Robin reached his room, he fully expected to lay on his bed and drift off to sleep. However those plans were dashed as a carrier had come to him delivering a large envelope that was addressed to him. Now he sat at his desk, giving what he just received his full attention, and upon closer inspection noticed a stamp at the bottom that said 'Anna's quick delivery' meaning that this letter was sent through the same line that the Anna's all around world use to share information between one another.

'Which means whoever sent this is probably in debt right now' Robin thought to himself, knowing how expensive sending information this way could be if you didn't know how to haggle with the Annas properly. But the fact that whoever sent it went to such lengths to begin with to get it to him told Robin of its import, so wasting no more time he swift opened the envelope and was instantly greeted with a bunch of paintings.

"What are these?" he said as he began to look through.

What he saw were weapons painted out on sheets of paper. He had never seen them before but oddly enough that felt familiar to him, two in particular caught his eye; they were a giant broadsword and a golden ax.

"Lord Eliwood, Lord hector…" Robin said as he stared at the paintings. He then took notice a staff of some kind that had three blades at its end as well. He didn't get the feeling from this one that he got from the sword and ax but he felt something nonetheless. When Robin looked at the final painting his eyes widened, then the light in the faded as the room began to spin around him.

"Roy…."

…

In the courtyard of Castle Ostia the sound of two children playing could be heard in the background. Sitting not too far away was four adults and friends talking to one another as they enjoyed the day. They had not spoken of anything important, just thought back to when they all met one another and how they've continued to keep the strong bonds that they made together throughout the years. That was until a certain blue haired man, that had grown a bread out over the years and looked much like his late brother, broached a certain topic to a tactician and a girl from the plains.

"You know…you two aren't getting any younger, so have you thought about having kids yet?" Hector asked Mark and Lin as he took another sip of his drink.

"He's got a point y'know, I've been wondering much the same" Eliwood said as he looked towards the two.

Mark had grown used to expressing himself more over the years, so when the topic came up and all he could offer was a nervous chuckle and a grin Hector and Eliwood knew something was up.

"Well you see…" Mark looked towards his wife who gave him a bright smile "We might have already had some"

"…"

"….."

"…."

"WHAT!?" both Hector and Eliwood screamed out in unison.

"Yeah, we have a little girl and boy back at home" Lin told the two shocked lord.

"Why that's great new!" Eliwood exclaimed happy for the two.

"Great news my ass! Why didn't tell us sooner!?" Hector questioned.

"Because Lin thought if we told you about it that you'd want to name them, and she had zero faith you would be able to give them proper names" Mark spoke.

"HEY!" Lin said giving her husband glare.

"What you wouldn't have been able to lie to them about it anyway" Mark told her knowing it was pretty much impossible for her to do so.

Hector smirk and just said "Yeah you're probably right about that" before laughing

"So why didn't you bring them with you?" Eliwood asked.

"Unfortunately the both got sick, so we left them with Florina, who is taking care of them until we return" Mark told him.

"Well don't leave us suspense, how old are they and what's their names?" Hector asked.

"Well we had them a year apart so one is three and the other is two" Lin started "We named our three year old daughter Kurisu and our two year old son is named Kris"

….

…

…..

….

…