Disclaimer: all properties used belong to their owners.

"Robin!"

"I need…time…to adjust…"

"Robin, please-"

"I'll be back…when I know I can control myself."

Those were the last words his wife had spoken before she had vanished after the climactic battle with Grima. It had been nearly a month since then, and Chrom still had not herd so much as a word about his wife, even with scouts reporting back to Ylisstol from all across the continent almost everyday. Not even Naga could say exactly where Robin had gone to when he had asked the goddess after the battle. The Divine Dragon soon left, telling the Shepherds to be wary of her return.

It had been sometime after the sun had set that Chrom had finally finished his duties as Exalt for the day with his mind perpetually distracted by Robin's absence, the worried looks and a half asked question from everyone he met served as a constant reminder for Chrom, who had decided to not spread panic by simply saying that Robin had disappeared in a burst of flame from the fell dragon's maw.

He was not the only one that had a distant feeling of worry. All the Shepherds shared the same sense of worry at her disappearance, and fear of her return, most especially Lucina. She had spoken to Chrom after the Shepherds return to Ylisstol about the future children's joint decision to disappear from their parent's lives after a final goodbye, but now, they did not know when, or if, they would be able to.

The worry that Chrom saw on the Shepherds faces came in two shapes. The first was the kind he possessed, shared by all the shepherds in his generation. It was a dull feeling that most of the time just settled In the back of their minds as they went about there daily lives, but then swept through them whenever someone brought Robin up, content to give them small pause before proceeding.

The feeling was much more visable on the faces of all the future children, who had no true duties to attend, wandering half in the shadows of Ylisstol. They always could be found participating in the various activities that had been denied to them in the bleak future, from dancing and music to various street games, or in the more antisocial members cases, watching others perform them fondly. But at the end of each day they all wore similar faces, having just remembered that they did not truly belong, and, that in a moment, all of it would be taken away from them one way or another.

Chrom shook away these thoughts as he rounded the corridor leading to his infant daughter's nursery. He had missed far too much of Lucina's childhood already, and had no plans of spending his time with her worrying himself away. As he came to the door, one of Lucina's maids arrived at the other end of the hallway.

"Oh, Hello." Chrom called out to the maid. "Is Lucina already asleep?"

"No milord," the maid responded. "She was particularly energetic today. I just came back from putting one of her messes in the laundry."

"She is in her crib then?"

"Yes milord, I put her there when I went out a few minutes ago, as she was beginning to tire."

"Mmm… I think I will put her to bed tonight then. Feel free to retire."

"Thank you milord." The maid bowed, and after a moment of hesitation with her mouth open, turned to leave.

Chrom exhaled, and again turned to the door, his hand gently pressing the door open so not to disturb Lucina. As he began to gently open the door, Chrom did not hear any sound from inside the room, and assuming Lucina was already asleep, made a swift, quiet move, stepped into the nursery, and closed the door.

The nursery itself was a rather large room, full of toys for Lucina to play with, and lined with windows as tall as the room, overseeing the most picturesque view of the city below. No candles were lit, and the curtains were not yet drawn, so what little light that was in the room came from the rising moon and murky stars. Chrom turned to face Lucina's crib-

The fear that had been just below the surface of Chrom's mind suddenly exploded, numbing his body and stopping his heart. His eyes widened, his face awash with countless emotions, but the terror on his face was by far the most pronounced. Standing next to a sleeping Lucina's crib, with her back turned to him, was Robin, her pale hair looking just the same as it did the morning of the final battle, and her Grimleal coat the same as it had been when she and Chrom had first met.

As Robin gently leaned on the cribs railings, Chrom continued to stare at her in a fearful stupor. After what felt like hours, Chrom took a breath and then called out to her.

"R-robin?"

Robin raised her head from Lucina's crib, but did not turn. Another moment passed at an hour's pace, and Chrom spoke up again.

"Robin, is that you?"

Robin turned around, and Chrom was instantly drawn to her eyes. No longer were they brown in color, but a striking, glowing red, illuminating Robin's face against the moonlight. So shocking was this change that Chrom was entranced by their glow, finding it impossible to break eye contact with Robin.

And then, with a single, soft-spoken word, his wife broke the spell of her eyes. "Yes."

Chrom finally tore his eyes from hers, and gazed at the rest of her. Her face was still the same, with the same striking features that it always had, still wore the same cloths she always had, and her hair was styled with the same two tails she always had.

"Is…Lucina asleep?" Chrom asked quietly. While his features had calmed, the fear in him far from satisfied.

Robin seemed quite pleased with the question. She turned her head to gaze at Lucina with a small smile forming on her lips. "Yes."

Hesitantly, Chrom continued. "How-I mean-" "Ssshhh." Robin put her finger to her lips, and Chrom almost immediately stopped, and had to stop himself from reaching for the sword at his belt that was not there.

Robin looked quite uncomfortable with Chrom's immediate silence, as her brows furrowed and a frown came across her face. Trying to regain his voice, Chrom quietly asked her "…can we talk somewhere?"

"Where would you like to go?"

"Err…our room maybe…?"

Robin held out her hand, an expectant look on her face. Chrom hesitated, and a question formed on his lips.

"You don't want me to be seen by anyone on our way to our bedroom." Robin reminded him.

"You're going to, what, turn us invisible?"

Robin snorted out a laugh. "No, I am going to teleport us there." This still did not sway Chrom to take his wife's hand, and a frown returned to her face.

"Chrom." Her tone became scolding and familiar, one she always used when explaining something he should have known. "If I wanted to hurt you, or anyone else, they would already be dead."

That small assurance sent another jolt of fear down Chrom's spine, but at the same time, Robin's logic also put his mind at ease. With his shaking arm, Chrom reached out to place his palm in his wife's unmoving hand.

With a flash of light, Chrom and Robin appeared right in the center of the Exalts quarters, just at the foot of the bed. The room was also quite dark, with nothing but the pale moonlight shining through the windows. Chrom hesitantly removed his hand from Robins, who gave no resistance, and moved her hand back to her side, her unblinking gaze never leaving Chrom.

With a deep breath, Chrom steeled himself for the coming battle in his mind. He would not allow any stray word to slip by him.

"Robin…" he began. "What happened to you? Just…what happened?"

"I kept my promise, Chrom. I promised you that I would survive the battle, and I did."

"By becoming Grima!? Robin-"

"I did not become Grima." Robin's tone accommodated no argument against her words. "When the final blow was about to be struck, Grima became desperate, realizing death was on the horizon, and made one last bid for my body and mind. But I won that struggle. Grima was not strong enough to overcome me after so many previous failed attempts, and was washed away against my power. Instead of me becoming Grima, Grima became I, and with it, I claimed all of Grima's power."

Chrom's fear was rapidly fading, settling into something that was no quite comfort. He continued on questioning.

"What happens now?"

Robin tilted her head at the question. "Now?"

"What happens the Grimleal? The Shepherds? Us?"

"The Grimleal's hierarchy was all but destroyed in this last war." Robin said matter-of-factly. "There will be quite a lot of time before they have the numbers to do much of anything again."

"And the rest of Plegia?"

"They all still work under the state religion of Grima. I hear all there prayers, and respond when I wish to."

"You can hear everyone who prays to you?" Chrom asked, more curious now.

"Yes. Like Naga, from what I have heard." Robin paused, looking for words to describe the feeling. "It is a rather strange feeling…when I first heard them, I thought I would go mad from hearing every little prayer from every worshiper I had gained. But it is actually become very manageable. I just had to get over the initial shock of it."

"That's what you have been getting the hang of all this time?"

In answer, Robin's hand opened, and a dark light flared up in her palm, its glow, overshadowing the glow in her eyes. "Among other things." She closed her hand, and the light faded.

"About the rest of Plegia…" Chrom began. "What are they going to do? Won't they feel the need to avenge Grima, or their dead friends and family again?"

"My worship does not lend it to chaos and destruction as easily as you might think Chrom." Robin explained as she always had. "The tenants of religion are not so far away from Naga's. If you base an entire religion on destruction, and expect to rule a country for a thousand years, it will not end well. Undoubtedly knowing this, the first Grimleal no doubt based the religion on order and cooperation much like all others. The destruction of the world was just the end goal when I rose again. As far the people go…some seek revenge. Most don't. I hear as much everyday, and from those who responded when I proclaimed to them that I was not interested in destroying the world anymore."

"All of Plegia knows you're alive!?" Chrom exclaimed.

"There was a panic after my predecessors defeat, and only so many people were listening. I tried again after the panic had subsided." Robin bit her lip and her eyes wandered in contemplation, half lost in her own thoughts. "It seems I can only speak to people who are listening for me." The focus that had left her eyes returned in an instant. "The nation as a whole seems content to just grieve for the dead at this point. A new ruler will be chosen eventually, and life will return to how it once was. I would also advise not to push your luck with a third war anytime soon."

"I would never plan to." Chrom once again steeled himself for a question neither wanted to ask. "Robin…What…what is to stop you from…?" Chrom trailed off, not certain how to end such a question.

Robin's eyes narrowed, the glow from her intensifying. "Destroying everything?" her tone betrayed no emotion as she waited for Chrom to answer.

A feeling of shame entered Chrom's mind, having to ask these questions to his wife. "…Yes."

"The same thing that keeps Naga from destroying the world, I suppose." Robin responded with the same tone as before, unmoving as ever. "And the power that let me defeat Grima in the first place."

"What power?" Chrom questioned.

Robin looked at her husband with a rare sincerity, a look Chrom had seen on her face only two other times, once on their wedding night when they had shared to each other their secret hopes and dreadful fears that awaited them in their future together. The other time was after Lucina's birth when they had told each other all they hoped their child would be in a few glances and fewer words.

"You, of course."

That single look convinced Chrom that the woman standing before him was indeed his wife, and not some overelaborate illusion crafted by Grima to destroy Ylisstol. He rushed to his wife and embraced her, holding Robin tight against his chest.

"R-robin, I-"

"Hush love." Robin cut him off, her face buried in his shoulder. "You don't need to say anything."

They stood there for quite some time, simply embracing each other, until finally Chrom's worries caught up in his mouth and he broke the silence. "How do you want to tell everyone else?"

Robin looked up at him with her eyebrow raised. "Like I just told you…?"

"I mean, they might have a harder time believing, and especially Fredrick, you know him…and what are we going to do with Lucina and-" the words died on his lips as Robin reached up and kissed him, his worry waning as his deep buried longing continued to take over.

"Don't worry so much." Robin's red eyes bore into his own with a grater power then they ever had before. "Lucina is sleeping away in her crib. Everyone else will soon follow." Robin's voice had a calming, supernatural effect on Chrom, as his worries seemed to fade away with his wife at his side.

"We have tonight just to ourselves for the first time in many months." Robin said. "I promised you I would not sacrifice myself, and here I am. Tomorrow, I will answer everyone. But tonight-" Robin broke her gaze into Chrom's eyes, and kissed a trail to her husbands ear the way only she knew.

Whispering softly to Chrom, Robin sent shivers down her husband's spine. "-I am no longer just your queen. I expect to be treated as your goddess."

Author's Note: I have been reading through awakening fanfics for the better part of a year now, and never really found one that had the same idea I did. So thought I would add my own poorly thought out idea to the pile. Please review so I might not offend you with my terrible writing as much next time.