Chapter 2

Robin was bored to say the least. Although, that was probably to be expected, he was a prisoner after all. About a week had passed since he had found himself waking up in chains. Honestly, he would have probably gone mad from boredom if it were not for the occasional conversations with his red haired warden.

He would not say that they were exactly friends now. He was still technically a prisoner and she his warden after all, even though he did nothing to his knowledge to deserve being a prisoner. Although, he would like to think they were more than strangers. Perhaps, somewhere in between, like an acquaintance? He only shook his head as he flipped through a couple more pages of the book in his hand, before just tossing it aside completely. Throwing himself back into his cot, he covered his face with his pillow and groaned.

Cordelia's tastes when it came to novels seemed to heavily lean towards sappy romances. Needless to say, from the way the book had managed to capture Robin's attention, the same preferences were not exactly shared. Tossing his pillow aside, he began to count the cracks on the bricks of the walls, ignoring the footsteps he heard approaching from down the corridor.

"I take it the book was not to your liking?"

Robin groaned.

"I think I may be going mad Cordelia."

She stayed quiet as she unlocked the door to his cell and set the tray of food down on his table. Grabbing the stool near him, she sat down with a rather mischievous look in her eyes.

"You mean you weren't already? One would relate sleeping in front of the enemy fortress with madness you know."

He sighed.

"Ha-ha-ha, perhaps you should have become a court jester instead of a soldier."

"I am merely pointing out the obvious, Mr. Spy."

"You'll never let me live that down will you?"

She had a thoughtful look on her face for a moment before smiling.

"No, probably not."

"Hah… I wish I could go and ask my past self what the hell he was thinking."

She merely chuckled in response as he sighed again. He was doing that way too much lately.

"Speaking of which, how is your memory faring? Recall anything yet?"

She tossed him some bread, which he easily caught, as he thought about how to answer that question.

"It's rather strange," he paused for a second as he took a bite out of the bread before frowning at the taste. "I still cannot recall anything other than a name."

Cordelia raised an eyebrow, her curiosity once again getting the better of her.

"A name?"

Robin took another bite from his rather stale meal before answering.

"Yes, a name. Chrom, ring any bells?"

She had a surprised look on her face.

"Perhaps… you might be referring to the crown prince."

"Your tone makes it sound like you are familiar with the man."

She smiled with an almost longing look in her eyes.

"Indeed, I know him."

The rather dreary tone that she had used when it came to discussing the crown prince seemed to kill any further conversation on the subject. Munching on his bread, Robin decided to remain silent and lay back down on his cot. Cordelia took that as her signal to leave as she leaned over her chair and reached down for the book that Robin had tossed aside earlier. Dusting it off, she got to her feet and left the man to his thoughts, closing the cell door on her way out.

"I'll bring you a different book next time."

"Enough with the romance novels. Please."

She smiled in response.

"No guarantees."

Robin threw his pillow over his head and groaned.

The sounds of explosions rang through the air as Robin's eyes flew open. His tired eyes threatened to close once more, but his curiosity got the better of him. Forcing himself to get up, he walked over towards his window and looked outside. Any other feelings of weariness soon left him as his eyes widened at the sight of a giant boulder flying straight at him. Panicking, Robin did the most sensible thing that anyone would have done when faced with such a predicament. He ran; a grand total of about 10 steps to the other side of his cell anyway.

Robin closed his eyes as the impact of the boulder crashing against the outer wall of his cell soon enveloped his senses. Once the debris settled, he slowly opened his eyes, coughing a bit as he breathed in some dust particles.

In the place of where his small window used to be, was now a giant gaping hole. Carefully walking over towards where his wall once was; Robin looked down. He couldn't believe what he saw, there was a damn battle going on! At first glance, it didn't look so much like a battlefield as a chaotic slugfest. However, after taking some time to analyze the fighting, Robin was able to make out what appeared to be Ylissean colors along with what he assumed to be Plegian banners. As the fighting continued to intensify he noticed that the Ylissean soldiers got continuously pushed back as the Plegians continued to rush through the now broken down gates of Fort Boltan.

Robin frowned as he saw another boulder smash into a couple Ylissean soldiers. He could actually make out their cries of agony from all the way up here. Needless to say, listening to grown men screaming out in suffering was not exactly the most pleasant experience. At the very least, he now knew what the hell happened to his cell, Plegia had catapults it would seem. Although why they would still continue their aerial bombardment even when their own forces were already inside the fortress was a mystery to Robin as he watched another boulder crush Plegian and Ylissean soldiers alike. Either Plegia had a very incompetent commander or a real fucked up one. From what he heard of the rumors that got around in Fort Boltan, it was probably the latter.

Shaking his head, Robin sighed as he estimated the height from the ledge and the ground. He was not exactly in an ideal situation. Even though there was now a large enough hole for him to escape from, his cell was on one of the highest floors. It was rather cruelly ironic really, the walls that imprisoned him were now gone and yet he was still trapped. If only he had a Pegasus or a wyvern…

Turning his attention back towards the battlefield, he could see the Ylissean troops continued to get pressed into a corner. The battle would be over soon, from his vantage point, he could see that the Plegian soldiers outnumbered them at least 5 to 1. If his adrenaline wasn't pumping so hard, Robin would have been surprised at how easily he picked apart the battle, it seemed that he possessed a gift for warfare before he lost his memory. Captain Eliza's ridiculous theories for his past identity don't exactly sound as ridiculous anymore.

Even though the carnage and bloodshed was enough to make his stomach want to empty its contents, Robin found that he was unable to tear his eyes away from the battlefield. Having such a bird's eye view of the battlefield seemed to almost captivate him. Sitting down on the newly made ledge, he winced as he saw a man get burned alive from a fire tome. He hoped that Cordelia was alright. But, more than anything, he hoped that he wouldn't end up dead. He sighed once again; it was truly a horrible feeling, not having control of what happens to your life.

Squinting, he could make out Captain Eliza and her remaining forces take the field. Even with the reinforcements, there was no possible way that they would be able to repel the Plegians now.

The fall of Fort Boltan was near.

"Captain Riv, the enemy commander."

With a grunt, the Plegian soldier forced Captain Eliza to her knees. The once proud commander of Fort Boltan was now in shambles. Her armor was completely shot as fresh blood streamed out of the numerous cuts and gashes she received from the battle. With her hands bound, Eliza could only glare defiantly at the man in front of her.

"I must say commander, your forces lasted a lot longer than I expected," he smirked. "I didn't think that there were Ylisseans that weren't sniveling cowards."

Eliza clenched her fists in frustration as crimson fluid started to drip into her right eye.

"Who… Who was the traitor that opened the gate?!"

The man's smirk only grew at the venom in her tone.

"Look for yourself." He motioned to the side.

Turning her head, Eliza's eyes narrowed.

"Arthur! Why am I not surprised it was you?"

The man known as Arthur merely sighed.

"Isn't it obvious?" Arthur formed a circle with his thumb and index finger, the universal representation of a coin. "Plegia pays better."

If looks could kill, Arthur would have died ten times over from the glare he was receiving from his former captain.

"You traitorous bastard, where is your honor, your loyalty!? You would betray the Exalt for some damn gold!?"

Arthur merely shrugged.

"I'd say I turned out alright, look at your situation and look at mine. Honor and loyalty sure worked out huh?"

The Plegian captain laughed as Eliza continued to seethe in anger.

"Curse you, you traitorous scum, may you die a slow and painful death."

"Sorry captain, I think the only one dying today is you."

Riv drew his sword, "You're right about that one Ylissean", and quickly brought it down on the other Ylissean's neck. Eliza's eyes widened as the broadsword connected with flesh, her last thoughts cursing the traitorous bastard.

The Plegian captain quickly shook the blood off his sword before sheathing it. Looking over towards Arthur, he could see the color drain from the man's face.

"What's the matter, feeling guilty now about betraying your homeland?"

"Hah, as if, the only thing I'm loyal to is gold. I just don't think most people enjoy watching beheadings. Anyway, my jobs done here, I'll be taking my leave now."

Arthur damn near ran away, the coin pouch in his pocket jingling as he left the grisly scene as quickly as possible.

Riv only laughed in response.

"Hah, Ylisseans, damn cowards they are."

"C-captain!"

Raising his eyebrow at the meek voice, Riv turned around to see a rather young looking girl dressed in light Plegian armor. One of those new conscripts probably? Although a better question would be how the devil this girl survived that battle. Riv smirked as the color soon drained from her face as well. It seemed that the now beheaded enemy commander seemed to unnerve the young girl.

"Aye, what is it girl?"

"We found someone locked in one of the Ylissean prison cells, sir. He claims to have lost his memory, although he seems to be of Plegian descent."

Riv nodded in response. Now, who could the Ylisseans have captured?

"I see, I'll see to this myself."

The Plegian captain began to make his way towards the prison cells.

"W-wait sir! The lieutenant requested orders regarding the captured Ylisseans."

He didn't bother stopping.

"Tell him to execute them."

"B-but captain! They already surrendered!"

This time, he stopped and turned his head back. It seemed the girl had some backbone after all.

"What's your name girl?"

"Amelia, sir."

"This your first battle?"

Amelia nodded, unsure of where this was going.

"Then what would you have us do with them?"

She raised an eyebrow in confusion. Why was the captain asking her?

"Well… They're our prisoners. It's unethical to kill them when they have already surrendered."

"That doesn't answer my question girl."

Amelia frowned.

"They are our prisoners so we should just keep them captive instead."

Riv only laughed at the young soldier's response.

"Hah, and waste our supplies feeding these Ylissean bastards? See, this is why I'm the commander officer here and you're the grunt."

"…"

The captain turned around and began heading towards the prison cells once again, snickering all the way. Ethics, hah.

"Remember to relay my orders to the lieutenant girl."

"Yes sir…"

Amelia frowned as she watched her captain's back disappear into the distance.

"Well, well, looks like the girl was right. Definitely a Plegian alright."

Robin raised an eyebrow as he studied the man standing outside his cell door. Typical Plegian armor, scar over his right eyebrow, and dirt brown colored hair. Nothing else really stood out about the man other than the huge broadsword hanging from his side.

"The commander of the invading forces I presume?"

Riv only stared in silence for a few seconds before responding.

"Aye that I am. One of my men tells me you've lost your memory, is that correct?"

Robin nodded in response.

"Yes, that is indeed correct. I have no memory of my past since waking up as a prisoner here a week ago."

The Plegian captain crossed his arms over his chest as he leaned against the wall straight in front of Robin.

"Well now, that isn't very good now is it? Even if I were to let you out, you wouldn't have anywhere to go would you?"

Robin frowned. This man wanted something.

"No, I suppose I wouldn't."

Riv smiled.

"Tell you what, you join up with me and my boys, I get you outta that annoying little cell, not a bad deal right?"

"…You mean for me to be one of your soldiers."

The captain nodded, flashing Robin a thumbs up.

"Yep, I lost a lot of men capturing this dingy little fort today, so I have to fill up my ranks again you know? You get to serve your country and make your countrymen proud! This is a win-win situation here my friend."

The sarcasm wasn't lost to Robin's ears. Working under this man didn't seem to be a great idea… But he had to get out of this damn cell somehow.

"Very well, I accept your terms."

"Atta boy, nice to have a fellow Grimleal around too you know?"

Riv takes out his broadsword and begins smashing the lock in. After a couple of hits, the rusty thing quickly fell apart as the cell door opened.

"Grimleal?"

The Plegian captain began scratching his head as he led the way out, Robin following closely behind.

"Ah right, memory loss. It's the main religion back at home. I'm just assuming you're a Grimleal too you know? You got the whole mark of Grima plastered all over your robes and all. Name's Riv by the way, though you're going to call me captain anyway, heh."

Robin frowned as he quietly followed behind his new captain. Turning down, he looked at his robes and began to seriously study them; he then looked at his right hand and found that they all shared the same pattern, six eyes, thee on each side. How curious, perhaps he was a priest in his past life?

"Hey man, pretty rude to not give your name now that you know mine."

Robin blinked.

"Ah, my apologies got a little lost in thought there. I believe my name is Robin."

Riv snorted.

"You believe?"

"Yes I believe that is my name, although I don't exactly have any birth records to look through for proof. Memory loss is truly a rather… annoying aliment."

"Sure seems like it."

The idle conversation soon died off as the two Plegians continued their walk in silence. Robin had to blink a couple times as he stepped outside, his eyes not used to the sunlight after being cooped up in that cell for so long. As they headed towards the campsite, Robin frowned at the numerous mangled corpses they had to walk past. War was not a pretty sight. He saw a couple familiar faces here and there, luckily none of those bodies belonged to Cordelia or Captain Eliza. He could only hope that they were alright. They were the only two people that he really knew after all.

Riv began to bark out orders to stray soldiers left and right as the two Plegians closed in on the campsite.

"You there, girl, get the new guy geared up and ready to go. I got business to take care of."

Robin raised an eyebrow as he watched his new captain leave him behind with what seemed to be a young girl. Her golden blonde hair just barley reached her shoulders as her ivory green eyes stared at Robin uneasily.

"Uhm, hey there. I'm Amelia."

The girl gave a light smile as she held out her hand. Robin only smiled in response before reaching out his own hand.

"Robin."

Robin bit into his extremely stale bread and frowned. It seemed that this was all he was eating these days. What he wouldn't do for nice cooked meal.

Sighing, he tossed the rest of it into the campfire in front of him, the meager meal causing him to lose his appetite.

"You shouldn't waste food you know, we don't get a lot as it is, with the supplies so low."

Amelia ate the last of her own bread before pulling out a hanker chef and wiping her mouth. Seeing that the fire was getting low, she tossed a few more sticks into the makeshift campfire.

"Yeah, you're right. Just tired of eating the same damn thing for a whole week."

"Better get some sleep then if you're not going to eat. I'm going to back to my tent, night Robin."

She gave him a small smile and wave before leaving. Robin only nodded in response. With a grunt, he got up and quickly put out the fire. Picking up his newly acquired sword off from the ground, he began to head back to his own tent as well.

It wasn't a very long ways away from the campfire so he got there relatively quick. Slipping off his shoes and his robes, Robin tossed his sword to the side before dropping straight down into his tent's makeshift bed.

It had been an interesting day to say the least. He went from being a prisoner to being a soldier in less than twenty-four hours. His new captain seemed like an aright fellow, although he was a bit of an asshole. He hadn't talked to him since being left with Amelia a couple hours ago. Amelia on the other hand seemed like she could be one of the nicest people he would ever meet. It really didn't seem like she belonged here. Then again, he didn't know anything about her. They had made some small talk as they went to procure Robin a weapon, but he didn't lean much.

Robin shifted in his "bed" so that he was facing the side where his new copper blade sat. He had a choice between a variety of weapons, but in the end the only one that felt right was the sword. It wasn't anything special, just a typical copper made blade, probably wouldn't even last him through a full battle before broken. Only officers got the good stuff after all.

With a large yawn, Robin shifted a couple more times for comfort for finally closing his eyes. They were to be moving out tomorrow so he would need the sleep. According to his new captain, they would be going "prince hunting".

Author's Note: A little cameo from the Sacred Stones in this chapter. Robin finally escapes from his cell, but not in the way he planned. You know, I always did wonder why Chrom and co. were so trusting of an obvious Plegian. Especially when said Plegian had the Mark of Grima all over his cloak and happened to have a tattoo of it on his right hand. Strange how no one ever even mentions it isn't it? Anyway, hope you all enjoyed the chapter, updates have been slow, I know, but you'll just have to bare with me until I get some time off.

-SpecialFX