Chapter 1: Rebels

"Fuck the king." The selfish man had brought the great nation further down the hell hole after the war was over. Driven to madness, he wanted nothing more than revenge even if that meant sacrificing the lives of countless of his own subjects to get it. Instead of rebuilding the nation after being devastated after the many years the so called crusade lasted, he would make it incredibly difficult for the common folk to live a decent life by raising taxes to amass weapons and train soldiers. For those that knew combat, they had a comfortable life if they joined the army. If they didn't, they could just rot like the rest of the low borns.

"Fuck the nobles." To keep their standing and their lives of luxury, they wouldn't lift a finger against the king, even if his demands were causing turmoil in their territories. Their response? To ask the king to help, of course! He would send his newest troops to stamp out any little disturbance that arose. And if there was plundering and rape on the wake of it done by those soldiers? That was fine by him too! It would work as compensation to the soldiers for their effort, right? The common folk had to be glad they got it easy… And of course the lord and ladies wouldn't say anything because they were safe in their castles. Bunch of arses, just watching as everything went down from their high chairs with their guts full of food provided by their people, acting high and mighty.

"Fuck the Grimleal." As highly as they spoke about trying to work towards a future where everyone was equal, they did nothing but pray to their blasted dragon. "Eat me, Grima! Eat me!" Poor bunch of mad men and women, though not more than the king. But because they were part of the church, they had it easier than any non believers or followers of Naga, who were rare on that part of the continent. They could wake up and not have to watch their backs for bandits or even the royal army. What a bunch of-

"Fuck the cravens." The people in power have nothing against the might of their subjects. Ignore those that claim to have power, and they suddenly become just another body. They all had the ability to go up to them and replace them; the numbers were in their favor. But they feared for what could happen to them. They feared that the big bad lord would come down and punish them after they failed. Because there was just no way they wouldn't fail! They had nothing! No, they were happy to give a man a sack of wheat and get back a slice of bread. "Thank you, milord! Gods be with you, milord!" Little sheep following the orders of a dog that was being guided by a blind shepherd.

That was their motto—the motto of the rebels—the brave few who would stand up against the king and his army, and fight against the status quo set upon them. They were all proud, smart, and strong people that came from all over Plegia. Their tactics were less than honorable, being fit for guerrilla warfare. But then, what is so good about honor in the battlefield? A dead man is a dead man, whether his life ends at the end of a sword or at the bottom of a pit. These underhanded tactics and their approach to warfare was what had kept them alive for so long, despite being outnumbered by their enemy a few hundred, if not thousand, times. With barely thirty members, they shouldn't have been able to cause as much trouble as they had for almost two years. What was even more surprising was the fact that not a single one of them had died or even been captured by the royal army. This was not the act of a god. No, it was all because they just happened to have a very smart man on their side.

"To another successful hit," a man raised his stein, followed by the rest of people in the small, tavern hidden inside a cave, far from any prying eyes. They all cheered as they continued their celebration. There were people playing some music, some danced to it in their drunken and joyful stupor. In some corners there were lovers sharing a passionate kiss and/or embrace, ignorant of the people around them. And then there were those that had celebrated too hard early on, passed out on tables or the floor.

The man sat back down with a jolly laugh, happy to see his comrades in such high spirits. The other people sitting at the same table laughed with the man. "I know we should be used to this by now, but it's still amazes me how easy it can be," said the man that wore an attire of a swordsman, a bandana ties around his head. The man was young, not older than ten and eight. He was amongst the strongest fighters the rebels had, but that wasn't saying much. Being self taught had only taken him so far with the sword.

"Don't start acting too confident, Shaw," said the archer from the group that went by the name of Isabella, though they all called her Izzy. She was the one that kept them in check, always scolding the other members, despite being even younger than Shaw, at ten and six, almost ten and seven. The girl wore light leather armor, mostly protecting her right side, as she was left handed. She was rather good looking, though most knew to keep away from her. At best, she would treat the other men as a mother treats their child. At worst, it was like a mean older sister, again, despite all of the men being older than her. "The moment you do, things start going wrong. Be happy that you made it to see another day and leave it there. We don't want to jinx what we have right now. And it goes without saying that this round is on you. Almost got us all killed. You were lucky Cap was there to save your sorry arse."

"Please! That guy? I had it all in the bag!" Shaw hit his chest twice, looking proud.

"You were literally surrounded by army soldiers, Shaw…" She tried to bring him back to reality.

"It was all part of my plan! That way I could swing my sword at any side and hit someone. If he hadn't showed up I would've had an epic story to tell. That guy, I'm telling you- Actually, where is he? Haven't seen him since we- Agh!" He was rudely interrupted when someone hit him hard on top of his head with a stein. To add insult to injury, some of the ale that was in it spilled, landing all over Shaw's hair, much to the amusement of Izzy.

"Keep blabbering, why don't ya?" The stein lifted from Shaw's head. The new arrival joined the others on the table, taking the last empty seat. "You got too reckless. We go into battle to win, not to come back with stories to boast about. You would do go to remember that. Leave the planning to me next time." He took off the tan colored shemagh that was tied around his head and set it on the table, revealing his short white hair.

"Nice of you to join us, Cap," said Izzy. The smile that she had plaster all over her face at seeing her comrade getting hurt quickly turned into a malicious grin. She leaned on the table, getting a little closer to the new arrival. "Had fun with that girl of yours again? You two are hardly subtle. You should think about the rest of us when you two get together. At least take a bath after you are done. I can practically smell it from here." She waved a hand in front of her face mockingly, earning a frown from the Captain.

"Funny," he said. "Last I checked, what I do in my spare time is my business. Hearing Shaw being...well, Shaw, is annoying, but having you get on my arse for something like that is even worse. Can't a guy have some privacy around here?"

"What's the deal with you two anyways, Robin?" Shaw asked as he rubbed the sore spot on his head. "Don't mean to be insulting or anything, but that girl gives me the chills. Yeah, she's pretty, but come on! She has this aura that says "don't fuck with me" that makes me want to stay away."

"Another bonus to be with her," said Robin as he smirked at the swordsman. "But don't make me repeat myself, Shaw. It's none of your business who I chose to be with." The younger man grunted, knowing full well that pushing the topic any further wouldn't get him anywhere. Robin looked around the place, as he drank down some of his ale. "Where's the old man? He left already?"

"You know he did," said Izzy as she leaned back on her chair, letting out a sigh when she hit the back of it. "We can't keep him around forever. He'll come back, I'm sure. He always does.." Robin nodded. It was true that the old man always came back. Since the rebels first gathered together, he'd come and gone countless times, which was in on itself impressive, especially when he returned with his pockets lined with gold.

The group had a long chat for a while. Jokes were made, mainly at Shaw's expense, and laughs were shared. It was that kind of festive environment that Robin wanted to always experience, though it was hard to do so when their supplies ran low. The younger fellows were drinking much more than him, which he didn't mind, even if they teased him about it. Truth be told, he had a high alcohol tolerance. He could've out drank everyone in that room. But it always left a bad taste on his mouth, which a certain someone did not like.

Robin decided to retire from the tavern after having a couple more drinks. Waking up with a hangover was something he'd learned to avoid after they started attacking constantly. If he was to have an early morning meeting the next day, it was just all the more reason to celebrate in moderation. The others tried to spot him, a lot of the them offering him drinks and what not, but Robin declined. As much as he liked the ale they were having, there was something much better waiting for him back in his quarters.

Like most of the other taverns that could be found anywhere in the world, that one had guest rooms that could be rented out for the night. In Robin's case, he owned one of the rooms, as he'd been the one to discover and then establish the cave as their base of operations. It had it's ups and downs. For one, it gave him complete privacy. As much as Izzy liked to joke about it, sound hardly echoed out of the room. There were also small holes carved into some of the limestone walls that would bring in light from the outside world as well as fresh air. The disadvantage was that it was a cave. It was freaking cold. And making a fire was out of the question, as the ventilation didn't permit it and it would give away their location.

Growing up in a dessert, he wasn't used to cold temperatures. To a Feroxi, the cold that could be felt would be nothing, to Plegians, it was enough to make them shiver a bit. It was pleasant, but bothersome after a while. Thankfully, the alcohol in his system kept him warm. He had to navigate around for a bit before he found himself in front of his door. He entered without bothering to announce himself. It was his own room, dammit! Home, sweet home, the tactician thought as he walked in. Waiting for him was quite a sight, the same one he'd last seen before he left. A beautiful woman laid on his bed rather peacefully. Her long black hair contrasted well against her fair skin, which was completely exposed to him. A smile crept up his lips as he observed her. He felt lucky that he could get to see that every time he came back to that room. It made things more bearable.

He sat down next to her on the bed. Being as delicate as possible, he ran his fingers through her hair and her back. Goosebumps started showing on her skin as he moved further down her back until he reached her bottom, he then repeated the motion again. He could only wonder what it was that Shaw was talking about. He never noticed the aura he mentioned during their conversation. After going through the motion a few times, he gave her bottom a squeeze and then turned away. He was just about to start to unlace his boots when he felt her arms wrapping around him, her exposed bosom pressing against his back, and her breath tickling his neck. His smile grew wider instantly.

"You are finally back, my love," said the woman with that alluring voice of hers that always wanted to pull him in. She bit onto his earlobe and then continued. "To think you would leave when you have me here. I swear, if I didn't feel so attracted to you I would've hexed you many times over by now."

Robin chuckled as he finished unlacing the first boot and then threw it across the room. "I would've loved staying here with you, Tharja," he admitted, "but I have to show face every once in a while after a mission, even if it's just for an hour or two." Truth be told, he would've rather spend his time with her, but with his position as the leader of the rebellion, that was hardly possible "You should join us next time. It's fun."

Tharja clicked her tongue, squeezing the tactician a little tighter like a snake does its prey. "And waste my time with a bunch of drunken fools that do nothing but joke around and piss on the floor? No thank you…" She leaned onto him, moving to a side so that their eyes could meet when he turned. "Besides, the only one I care to talk with is you, my dear Robin. And we can do that and much more when we are in this room, just the two of us." He turned to face her, as she'd predicted, and kissed him right on the lips, biting lightly on his lower one as she pulled away pulling away.

He repeated the process with the second boot once that was off, the item landing just next to its pair. He was looking towards the boots as he let out a sigh. "You do make a good argument…" She wasn't entirely wrong. Just a week ago, after their celebration, someone did piss on the floor of the tavern. He moved her hands away to remove his shirt, revealing his toned body from the many battles he'd fought even before becoming a rebel—during his time as a mercenary. Tharja took this as a signal to strike. With a smirk, she moved herself to straddle the man, her arms wrapping around his neck. He couldn't help but stare at her curves. Her breasts were at his eye level, it would've been rude to look away. He slowly moved his gaze to meet her eyes. He pulled her in closer. He could see her mouth opening just slightly before their lips met again. They quickly melted into each others', with her tongue making an appearance too.

The two parted for a moment. "When you put it like that," he mumbled. "Who am I to argue?" With a quick movement that would've only been reserved for battle, he picked her up and tossed her on her back on the bed. Her chuckle was like music in his ears, like an invitation to continue their dance, though in a more full contact way. He crawled on top of her, pinning her down. She had her hands on his back, already clawing at it, just adding more marks to the ones she'd left there during their earlier session together.

Once more, he kissed her passionately. So much so that the dance the small candle's flame was doing was nothing compared to what was going on between their lips. She lightly moaned as they continued, her hands clutching his hair. He separated their lips, much to her displeasure, but when she felt them on her neck, she purred again. The tactician knew more than just battle. He slowly moved down her body, moving from her neck, to her clavicle, to her breasts. He fondled with the other as he kissed and licked at her nipples. But he hand to keep moving downwards, towards the valley of her naval. He teased her by pushing her tongue against it, her hands clutching his head even harder still. That gave him time to move his hands to her thighs and spreading her legs apart, which she gladly did, knowing full well what was coming next.

She hummed in pleasure as his lips kept moving down. He quickly reached the small fuzz of black hair she'd grown as of recent. He didn't particularly mind it. It made her look that much more mature. So he moved through it and onto her nether regions, a gasp quickly escaping her at the first sensation of her nectar being licked off of her. He could feel the motion of her back arching and her toes curling as he continued to pleasure her. He grown to know just exactly what it was that she preferred when it came to cunnilingus. Hearing her moaning and accelerated breathing only made him all the more eager to continue, and in return she called out her name in between moans, over and over again.

He knew what would happened when she squeezed his head in place with both her hands and her legs. He didn't try to fight back, instead, gladly receiving her juices as she climaxed. It was like a badge of honor, being able to satisfy the woman he loved like that. She lost all her strength, going limp for a second and releasing him as she tried to catch her breath. Meanwhile, he cleaned his face off using his hand before removing his trousers to join her in her nakedness. She got revitalized at seeing him completely exposed, crawling over to him. Not wasting time, she wrapped her hand around his erect member and starting reciprocating the pleasure he'd made her feel. Her lips found his once again and the two shared another passionate kiss between moans.

Without saying a word, she turned around, presenting herself to him, as she crawled on all fours. A small drop of her juice falling down onto the sheets from her labia as she pushed out her arse in the air for a better entry. He inserted himself into her in one swift thrust, her gasping in surprise. That was the position they would normally take. She would rarely let him see her face when having sex, as much as that bothered him. Still, it didn't make for a bad fuck. To change things up, he raised her torso, her back hitting against his front. To prevent her from moving away, he wrapped his arm around her neck, securing her in position by clasping onto his own shoulder. He could hear her excitement as the rhythm of her moaning changed. She got a hold of his wrist with her left hand, but didn't pull the arm away, instead just holding it in place. Her other hand guided his to her clit, eagerly moving his fingers to add more to her pleasure. And with every thrust he did, she would move her hips too, almost dancing.

He could feel his heart racing. Her face was flushed, or at least it felt that way from the heat radiating from her cheeks. Like that, the two continued until the very last moment, when he pushed himself as hard as he could and his seed was released inside her. A moment went by with neither of them making a move. Then finally both of them dropped their hands, being able to separate to one another, and flopped onto the bed next to each other. She slowly rolled over to partially cover his body, something she didn't often do. Tharja wasn't much for cuddling. Though she never rejected his shows of affection, she wasn't much to initiate them.

"We couldn't do that with the others around, could we?" Tharja asked teasingly, her hand gently caressing his other side. He did a similar gesture with the arm that was behind her. He gently set it on top of her waist, moving down to her waist and then back up.

"Technically we could," he joked. "Though I don't think how well we could perform with such an audience nor if they would be grateful to us for the little show." The two of them laughed in unison. With his free hand, Robin was able to kill the candle, leaving the lovers tangled in the darkness.

"We should leave Plegia," she told him. "Just the two of us… Go and explore the world, away from this damned place."

Coming from anyone else, he would've frowned if not lash out after hearing the phrase of leaving. With Tharja, he did understand the meaning behind it. Though the darkness wouldn't show it, he had a melancholic smile on his face. He wouldn't want anything more than to stop fighting and live a peaceful life. To get married, have a kid or two, and grow old with the person he loved. But that was hardly the time for it. "Just give it some time, love," he reassured her. "I can't just up and leave like that. Once we get the Mad King off his throne, we can travel anywhere and everywhere we want."

"I will hold you to that," she told him. "And if you decide to die before that time comes, well, I will make sure it's a painfully slow death. A hex here and there should act as incentive to keep you from foolishly going into battle."

"Duly noted, dear. I love you too."

The next morning the two woke up early, as the room was completely lit from the light coming through. As per a certain archer's suggestion, Robin decided to take a bath, courtesy of one of two hot spring situated deeper within the cave. One was only meant to be used to bath and to clean clothes, while the other was used for water to be used in cooking and drinking. At that time in the morning, there was no one else at the hot spring, which allowed the two of them to enter it together. Having a repeat of the night before was very tempting, especially when seeing the slight glistening of each others' bodies from the water, but they were in too much of a hurry to have time for it. Still, it was a moment of privacy they could share, which were far and few in between.

Together they entered the tavern, where they were greeted by friendly faces that had gathered for breakfast and to have a say on the rebels' next move. Right smack in the middle was a big round table that had books, scrolls, and maps piled on it. The tactician and the dark mage headed right for it. Some of the seats were already taken, notably by Shaw and Izzy, who were arguing about something when they approached.

"I'm telling you, we should march right up to the king's castle and just take it," Shaw said, noticeably irritated by the back and forth. "It'll be easy! One swift move and we can end it all!"

"I heard you the first time, numbnut," Izzy said, just as irritated with the swordsman's argument. "We have fifty able bodies on our side. Fifty! That's including Cap and taking out the old man. What do you think are the chances of us getting anywhere close to the castle? Let alone the king? Are we supposed to march there and just tell us to take us to him? It's a death sentence, if I ever saw one."

"We are not storming the castle," Robin said as he and Tharja took their seats at the table. "We aren't going anywhere near the capital any time soon. We don't have the men nor the coin to do so."

Izzy pointed her open hand towards the tactician. "See? Listen to Cap! For once in your life try to think before you speak!"

"Agh, that's enough out of you," said Shaw as he turned to face Robin. "Come on Robin, you know full well that we are getting nowhere as it is. We should go all in and try and get what is rightfully ours." Izzy snickered to his side, slowly shaking her head.

"And gamble with all our lives in a battle with odds overwhelmingly in the enemy's side? No thank you," Robin said as he tapped his fingers on the table. "You are welcome to go by yourself, but if you think I would let you endanger the life of everyone because it would make a good story, you are sorely mistaken." Shaw flinched. "We are here to discuss our next move. It's good that you had a topic in mind to discuss, but I'm glad that I shot it down before the rest of the people get here. The old man won't be here this time, so we are only missing one more before we start."

"Right, the money-grabbing merchant."

"The who?~" An ever playful voice came from behind Robin was sitting. He turned to see the owner of the voice, smirking. The woman was dressed in the red clothes that were so characteristic of her. Her long, red hair set on a ponytail moved from side to side as she walked closer to the table. She smiled at Shaw, a finger on her chin to make her look that much more innocent.

"Speak of the devil. It's good to see you, Anna," said Robin. "You always seem to come here at the right time. I worry about poor little Shaw here. You'll give him a heart attack."

Anna laughed as she walked to her seat. Plopping herself down, she leaned closer to the table, resting her chin on top of both her hands. "That would be unfortunate. He comes by and purchases so much from me. I would shed a single tear to see such a loyal customer pass on." She fluttered her eyelashes at the swordsman, getting a grunt back from him in response. "But on to business. We are ready to start, no?"

"Let's do it then." Robin coughed into his fist a couple of times, getting the attention not only of the people sitting at his table, but of the others around them. People began shushing each other until the entire room was quiet, all eyes on the five seating on the round table. "As you all know, we completed another successful mission yesterday. We got enough supplies to keep the cooks busy for a while." There were a few small cheers around the crowd.

"Not to mention all that beautiful, brand new gold coins!" Anna looked the most cheerful as she said that. "I can't wait to get all of them in my pocket."

"What makes you think you'll get it all?" Shaw questioned. "That money is for the rebellion, not your personal account."

"That's because a certain someone didn't get the right information and we ended up attacking the convoy that only had some gold but no weapons," Izzy said. "We are running low on weaponry and armor. Anna has been kind enough to set us up with some deals to keep going. She is getting the hefty portion of that gold."

"Top notch merchandise for my favorite customers~"

"That brings us to the next topic of discussion," the tactician said, "our next move. As we all know, we've been doing good since we started our operations. Not a single time have we failed, and our numbers and contacts are slowly increasing. That being said, we are at a stalemate. We can continue doing what we are doing, but as we stand, we won't make much progress in beheading the king. We just don't have the numbers."

"Are you suggesting we withdraw?!" Shaw got up of his seat. "What the hell, Cap?!" The people started whispering in the background.

"Quick to draw conclusions as always," Izzy said under her breath.

"Peace, Shaw. I'm not saying that. I'm pointing out the obvious. Only a blind man wouldn't see that we can't do much more. We call ourselves rebels, but other than not attacking villages, we are no different than a group of bandits. If we want to continue and ultimately reach our goal, we will need more men."

"But to get men you need a lot of gold, not coppers," said Anna.

"So what are you saying then?" Shaw asked.

"We have only one buyable option. We need money and we need men. We need an alliance."

"An alliance? But with who?" Izzy asked.

"We could convince the Ylisseans to help," Shaw suggested. "It's their fault that we are in the position we are in this position in the first place. They should take responsibility for what they caused!"

"You sound like a teenage girl trying to convince her first sexual partner to stay with her," said Tharja."

"Not even girls ask guys to take responsibility anymore…" Izzy said, a little disgusted.

"But the Ylisseans? Please," Tharja rolled her eyes. "They disbanded their so called army after the peace treaty was signed. They won't risk going into another conflict when they can barely keep the peace in their own nation. All they can offer us are some petty words of encouragement and their condolences."

"Fine. The Feroxi then? They have many warriors over there."

"Didn't you hear coin-bag over there? Ferox is full of men willing to fight...for a price. We don't have enough money to spare on sell-swords."

"What the fuck, then? Those are our only neighbors! I sure as hell don't want to get in bed with some bandits from around here. They'll slit our throats while we sleep!"

"There is one more neighbor left," Robin said as he stood up. Using one of the knives meant for cutting meat that was on the table, he stabbed the map that was in the middle of the table. "That's where we'll get what we need." Everyone but Tharja leaned on the table to take a closer look.

"Chon'sin?" Izzy read out, confused.

Robin nodded in confirmation. "I have it under very good authority that Valm is in a state of war right now. A man by the name of Walhart is slowly conquering territory over there. Many have tried to stop him, but they are overwhelmed by his numbers. The leader of Chon'sin, however, refuses to take the knee. He has thousands of men at his disposal, but little to show as far as progress in stopping the Conqueror."

"I don't get it…" Shaw just looked more confused by the second.

"I'm proposing to send half our forces to Chon'sin and to say hello."

"Wait, I thought we were the ones that needed the help."

"Won't you shut up and let him explain?" Tharja said, her brow furrowed at the younger man, who quickly quieted down.

"It's a perfect example of "we scratch your back, you scratch ours,"" the tactician said. "If we help them defeat Walhart, we can get an army on our side large enough to defeat the Mad King. We could even recruit more people to our side if we liberate some of the smaller nations along the way."

"But why would we only take half our forces?" Izzy asked. "Wouldn't it be better to keep our numbers together."

"If we do that, we won't know what we'll be coming back to. The ones that stay behind will be acting as our sleeper agents. They will go on with their normal lives and gather information for us and keep exchanging information with our contacts. We will also need them to spread the rumor that the resistance is gone for good. Gangrel will be relax and pull his defenses after a while without any attacks. That will make things easier for us once we come back."

"I like the sound of it all," said Anna, nodding twice. "We'll need a boat if we are going to cross the sea. A big one. I know a couple of people that can get us one for cheap."

"That won't be necessary. Why buy one when we can steal one?" A few eyebrows rose at the notion. "Plegia has the largest armada this side of the world. By the time anyone notices that one of the ships is gone, it'll be too late. We'll be be days into our journey west. That will also leave us with some gold to act as a buffer, in case we need any more supplies once we land."

"I do know a few people we could get deals from in Valm…" Anna said to herself. Already coming up with ways to turn a profit for herself, Robin noted.

"So, who else is leaving and who is staying?" Shaw asked. "I say "who else" because it's clear that I'm going."

"I think it's clear that the five of us are going," said Robin. "That leaves twenty spots open. I'm not going to force anyone to come. I know some of you have families that you rather not leave behind, so this will be entirely voluntary. If you want to fight, and see some of the things other nations have to offer in the process, then you should take this as an opportunity to do so. But you're not getting much time to decide. The window for us to take a ship is small and it's a day and a half from here. That means you have a few hours to make your decision. If you decide to come, pack your things and meet up by the entrance at noon. That is all." The rebels scattered around them, but the five leaders remained seated. The first one to get up was Anna.

"Well, time for me to call some favors and send my wares to Chon'sin," she said. "I will see you all later." She waved goodbye at them and then disappeared in the crowd.

"I should get packing too," said Shaw. "I wonder what sword I should bring this time…" Asking the important questions, he left the table, heading towards his personal room.

"Are you sure about this, Cap?" Izzy asked. "I mean, sounds risky… The odds don't sound too different from us going for a frontal assault at the castle…"

"There's a big difference. In Chon'sin we will have allies. And the battles there have better odds. Walhart's army is only five times bigger than Chon'sin's. I'll go five to one over one to a thousand any day of the week."

"I hear ya. Okay then, I'll go pack too. See ya at noon." Izzy got up and walked the same line Shaw had, towards her room deeper into the cave.

With everyone but him and the black mage gone, Robin turned to look at Tharja, a big of a smirk on his face. "So what do you think, love? I know it's not exactly what you had in mind, but we get to advance our cause and travel the world together. Two bird with one stone, I'll say!"

"It would've been better if it was only the two of us…" Tharja said, giving him only a side glance. She always avoided direct eye contact when she was upset. He found that to be very cute.

"Ah, come on! If it was only us two, I don't think the nobles of Chon'sin would've promised much. A small company of armed forces is better than a pair, no matter how good that pair is."

She let out a long sigh. "I suppose it will do for now." He knew she would budge. She hated the cave to begin with. Traveling around, even with a group, was a more attractive option to her.

"Splendid!" He brought her head closer to his and kissed her on the cheek. "Now come! Everyone had their fill of breakfast but us. We can pack once we are done."

That meal was one of the better ones the tactician had had in some time. It was much sweeter knowing that it'd been made with supplies that some lord had worked hard to obtain. Even if the rebel chefs weren't world class, they knew their way around the kitchen. If he wasn't already with Tharja, he would go right up to one of them and ask for their hands if it meant he could eat something like that every day. It's as they say: the way to a man's heart is through his stomach. Not that he would ever tell the black mage that. She was a good cook, but she could be very possessive and jealous about him, which was why he always made sure to praise her cooking whenever she did decide to make him something.

Before long, the two had already finished their meals and headed back to their (Robin's) room. The packing went smoothly. Apart from their clothes, they each packed some personal items. Tharja was taking some tomes with her as well as a variety of ingredients she could use for her hexing work. Also, a simple silver bracelet that Robin had given to her as a birthday present. Robin on the other hand didn't have much to take with him. He had put on his armor, which was lightweight iron plate and leather. On his left forearm he secured a big shield that featured a sword scabbard, in which his blade of preference rested. His final touch was his shemagh , which he quickly wrapped around the top of his head. His pack only had a couple of books that had some records in it, and that was about it.

Carrying his and her things, Robin guided Tharja over to the meeting point. A dozen others were already there waiting for them, much to Robin's surprise. They all looked eager to come on the trip too. They were some of their best fighters, mages, and healers too, which he was thankful for. Others came soon after, including Izzy, Shaw, and Anna. In the end, they ended with twenty two members, just short of half the company.

"Okay everyone, listen up," he called for their attention. "We will be marching north-west towards Law's End. It will take some time to get there without horses, which is why we will be departing immediately. We won't be stopping until nightfall, so you better have your waterskins ready. Tomorrow morning we will also wake up before sunrise to cover good ground under the cover of the black sky. Don't goof off and get lost!"

The next eight hours were full of walking, more walking, with more walking on the side. Luck was on their side. Not once did they see a patrol or a single band of bandits during the whole travel. That didn't stop them from taking precautions, like taking roads that could easily conceal them rather than the more open ones. There was also no complaining from anyone. They were all in high spirits, maybe a little drunk still from the prior night's celebration. The hardest part of that first day was finding a suitable spot to make camp. They'd all ran through their water supply pretty quickly and they would need to refill them before the march the next day. Their throats were also all parched, which made them want to find a water source all the more. In the end, it was Tharja who guided them to one after casting some sort of hex on a stick that would have it point in the direction of the closest body of water. That earned much praise from the others, but she didn't care about any of them except for that of Robin.

Thier camp was nothing luxurious. They didn't even have a single tent to use. Most had brought bedrolls, which they were using to get some shuteye on the ground. Those unfortunate enough to have not thought about it had no choice but to sleep on the grass. The few that were still up had made a fire pit with the help of one of the anima magic users in their ranks. The fire not only kept them warm, but helped them cook some salted meat that they'd brought with them. Robin acted as the cook, making everyone his special bear meat kebabs. They were all so hungry that for the first time ever, not a single one of them complained.

Robin was happily eating his portion as he approached Tharja, who was already on her way to cast a hex of some sort. He was biting onto a piece of the bear meat when he sat down next to the black mage, who was undisturbed by his sudden appearance. He extended the second kebab he was carrying. "Here, have some," he told her. Without turning to look at him, she grabbed it out of his hand and started nibbling on the meat. "What you working on?" Robin asked as he took a look at the many ingredients that she'd laid in front of her. They'd been together for some time, and still he never knew any of the basics of hexing.

"Give me your hand," she demanded.

Robin did as he was told, extending his free hand to her. Before he could even ask another question, he pulled out a dagger and made a cut across his thumb. "Hey! Give me a break! If you are going to do that at least have the decency of telling me beforehand." She squeezed some of the blood onto a small plate. When she was done with it, she put his thumb in her mouth, wrapping her tongue around it and sucking any of excess blood that was coming out. It was both disturbing and arousing.

"The saliva will keep it clean," she told him once she let go of his hand. She ate some more of the bear meat before and then continued with her work. Robin kept some pressure on his thumb to stop the bleeding while watching her work. So many ingredients went into the mix that he lost count of them. He couldn't even name half of them. She finished by pouring the contents into a clear glass bottle, sealing it with a cork, and finally handing it over to him. He took it, having had finished his meal, and looked at the contents in it, which had turned mostly clear. The very top of it had some sort of foam formation that reminded him of a cloud.

"Pretty," he said, still not understanding what the heck he was holding. "How do I use it?"

"It lets you see if there will be any climate change in the area," she said, deadpan. "See how the liquid is clear and there is some foam at the top? That means it will be clouded tomorrow for the next few hours. If the foam turns dark and the liquid hazy, that means you should expect rain to come.

"If you are planning on stealing a ship, you better know what is waiting for you," she finally said.

"Ooooh, neat!" She rolled her eyes at his description of her work. "That will be very useful tomorrow night! You are incredible!"

Tharja chuckled as she moved closer to him, running a finger down his torso seductively. "Then maybe you should give me," she licked her lips, "a reward." Robin was about to answer when someone else took it from him.

"Not when we are in earshot, thanks," came the voice of Izzy from a distance. "I want sweet dreams, not living nightmares." That girl's senses were too crazy. Such a cockblock. Robin sighed and Tharja clicked her tongue.

"Another time then, love," he whispered to her.

"Just another promise to add to the list…"

"Hey, if you collect ten, you get a price!"

Ignoring the joke, the two of them packed up all the ingredients back into Tharja's bag. The two of them had brought only one bedroll, even after Robin had reminded her to bring another one. He couldn't pretend to be mad at her, though. He knew she had done it deliberately and he'd done nothing about it when he noticed her pack ready but lacking the item. He honestly liked having her close to him when going to sleep. It was soothing. He'd grown to yearn for her body heat at night. He wrapped his arm around her to bring her close as they spooned. It was great, but she kept teasing him by rubbing her behind against his crotch, knowing there was nothing he could do about it.

The first one to wake up was Robin, as always. The sun hadn't even showed itself yet. The fire had burned out hours ago, leaving the party in complete darkness. All that could be heard was the swaying of tree branches as the wind blew and the snoring of some of the other rebels. Tharja, who had somehow ended up with her head on his shoulder, was the next one to wake up. Robin did not hesitate to kiss her lips. To him, it was a good way to start off the day. Also, it always lifted the spirits of the black mage. Starting the day like that would mean that she wouldn't be as cold to him or the others for a few hours, at least.

After quickly waking up all the others, they set off under the cover of the night, trying to cover more ground. Their plan remained unchanged. They were to reach the harbor close to Law's End by nightfall. To do so meant that they wouldn't be able to stop for more than fifteen minutes at a time. They couldn't afford to lose the window of opportunity that Robin had planned around. That meant they weren't going to have time for meals either, which irritated the others, though they were understanding enough as to see why they had to skip them.

And so the group kept walking hours on end until they finally had their destination in sight. By then the sun was already setting, painting sky red and the sea white. The different ships on the harbor stood out as black figures. Robin could spot four trade ships, each of which had a flag of a different nation on them, and six royal navy vessels. They all looked ripe for the taking. Few guards would patrol the harbor during the day. During the night, they would hardly bother with it. That's why Robin wanted to hit one of them after the moonrise.

"Which one are we taking then, Cap?" Shaw asked as he stared at the harbor. "Tell me that we are taking that large one over there." The swordsman pointed to the largest vessel on the harbor, a carrack that dwarfed the other ships around it. It was tempting to go for that one, as it would be full of supplies.

"If you all had more experience working on a boat, then we could," Robin said. "That's too much boat for us. I was planning on grabbing a galley. With just one mast, it would be enough for us. Plus, it's a lot faster than a showy ship like the carrack. We could blend in easier…" The swordsman sighed in disappointment. "That being said, now that we are here, I think a caravel would be much better. It's the best of both worlds. Pretty darn fast for a ship its size. They also have a big storage space, sleeping area, and captain quarters."

"You just want a room of your own, huh?"

"If you know how to navigate around at sea you can take the captain's quarters, by all means."

"How the hell do you even know how to do that?"

"You pick up a little bit of everything when you work as a mercenary for as long as I have. If you think I know a lot, imagine all the tricks the old man has down his sleeve. He's twice about twice my age and has been for three times longer than I have."

"Don't worry about it, Shaw," said Anna as she moved closer to them. "We can have fun too under the decks." Shaw's eyes widened as his cheeks started flushing. The kid was so easily flustered when it came down to matters like that, something everyone knew. "Yes. So. Much. Fun~"

"W-W-What are you talking about, woman?!"

"I brought cards with me!" The merchant teasingly put a finger on her chin, pulling lightly on her lower lip, stuck out her tongue, and winked at Shaw. "We can even bet some of the money we got on the last mission. What do you say?~" Robin laughed out loud, which only embarrassed the swordsman even more.

"Screw you guys. Call me when we are ready to move."

"Awww, don't be like that! Come on! I'll give you a discount next time you come by, okay? Buy seven items, get twenty percent off on the eight."

"What the hell kind of discount is that?!"

With Anna chasing after him, Shaw left Robin to go hide himself. Meanwhile, Izzy and Tharja had made their way towards the tactician. He didn't have to explain to them what had happened. Shaw's yells in the distance was more than enough for them to know. Robin explained to them the same thing he had to Shaw about which boat they would be getting.

"How does it look, Cap?" Izzy asked. "Are we getting our boat tonight or what?"

Robin nodded. "Looks that way. There's even less guards here than I would've expected. We'll go in silent. Slit some throats and throw the bodies to the sea. That will buy us more time to get as far away from shore as we can." Remembering Tharja's present, he took out the bottle he'd gotten the night before. It looked like they would have clear skies for the time being. "We won't have to worry about a storm for some time either."

They had nothing else to do but wait. Robin took advantage of that to clean his armor and sharpen his blade, as did many of the others. The mages, like Tharja, and healers made sure that their tomes and staves were in order too by casting smaller spells that wouldn't give them away. When they were finally ready, they moved into position by some shrubbery that was near the pier. They remained motionless, staring at the different guards that would come and go. The merchants that the other ships belonged to had been long gone, probably by Law's End, where they would sell their wares. For that Robin was glad. He would never kill a bystander, but if they were seen it would put them that much more at risk.

Finally, the time came for them to take action. The coast was as clear as it would get, with only a small group of guards making rounds on the pier. Robin signaled for the operation to commence by jumping out of cover and moving forward, sword in hand. He kept his shield in front of him, in case there was a surprise attack coming his way. To his left, Shaw moved also with sword in hand, holding it tightly and close. To his right, Anna was walking more sneakily than anyone else, as if she was used to it already. Behind them was Tharja, who held her tome close, ready to cast one of her spells on any unsuspecting scum that got on their way, and with her was also Izzy, bow and arrow ready to be used. The rest of their numbers trickled behind them, trying to keep a safe distance to one another, but close enough so that they could run for aid.

They navigated their way around the many ships, passing them without giving them a second glance. They knew which one they were taking. The caravel was at the very end of the pier, and as luck would have it, the guards were all there, gazing out to the sea, chatting with each other. There were four of them. It would be no problem to take them out. Robin gave a signal to stop by lifting his sword. Without saying a word, he looked behind him and pointed his sword at three of the guards. He heard the sound of two bow strings being pulled and the pages of a tome fluttering. He nodded at Anna, who answered with a nod of her own. The two moved closer to the group, leaving the others behind.

It only took three seconds. Two arrows flew by, hitting one of the guards on the neck and another on his left breast. The two that remained standing didn't get a chance to scream. Both Robin and Anna ran to them. The tactician covered the mouth of his target with his left hand to prevent him from alerting anyone. The man was too stunned to defend himself. Using his sword, Robin slit the throat of the man, blood immediately pouring out of the wound. The man's hands tried to keep his neck together, but he was already choking with his own blood. The other man was still standing was reaching for his sword, anger in his eyes, but he never got to take out his blade, as a purple mist enveloped him and crushed him to death. Robin quickly got a hold of the man's lifeless body with his sword-hand, not an easy task when he was still holding his weapon.

With the enemies dealt with, the others quickly moved into the ship. Anna was holding onto the two men that had been taken out with the arrows. They couldn't leave much more evidence behind. Trying their best to prevent a loud splash, they both dropped the four bodies into the water, letting them sink slowly to the bottom because of the weight of their armor. The two then boarded the ship using the wooden plank that extended from it, which was pulled back into the ship once their feet had touched the deck. He ordered the men to lift the anchor and to lower the sail. Those were easy tasks for even an amateur to do. Without anyone knowing, the group of twenty two had successfully stolen a royal ship. They slowly made their way out to sea, picking up speed the further away they were. Thankfully, the wind was blowing in their favor.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the first stage of our mission is now complete!" Robin said after they were well away from the shore. The harbor wasn't visible any more to them, which meant that they could be as loud as they wanted, which they were. Everyone cheered in celebration. They all knew that they were one step closer to their ultimate goal, despite getting further from their homeland. "But don't get too crazy just yet. I want all of you to go check the underbelly of the ship, see what you can find. Ideally, we can get some food started. I know you are all starving by now. And keep your eyes on Anna. I don't want to see here pocket anything without me knowing." Anna pouted, but the remark got some laughs from the rest of the people. Everyone dispersed except for Robin and Tharja, who remained by the ship's wheel. Robin decided to take advantage of their new found privacy, wrapping his arms around her back. He slowly started kissing her neck. She didn't even resist.

"What do you think?" He asked her. "Pretty good for a day's work, no?"

"I suppose…" she purred as she adjusted her neck to allow him to get a better shot at her neck.

"You suppose? Aren't you excited? With this, by this time next year we will have dethroned the Mad King. That will leave us to do anything we want in peace. We should enjoy this trip while it lasts, you know? We are going to an exotic land!"

"I can only imagine the new ingredients I might find for my hexes. Oh, the excitement!" There was a hint of sarcasm in her voice, but Robin couldn't decide whether it had been just his imagination or not. After all, she did always get excited when it came to hexing.

"I was thinking more along the lines of you, me, the beach… Maybe some wine?"

"Blegh!" The couple turned to see Izzy making gagging noises as she stared back at them. "You two should get a room. There's literally one for you just down the steps…" Tharja frowned at the interruption, while Robin only sighed. He let go of the black mage and took a step towards the young archer.

"Found something?"

"You could say that."

"Well? Get on with it. If you interrupted me I take it that you found something good. Spill it."

"You're gonna want to see this yourself." The comment incited the white haired tactician to ask no further. Instead, he just followed behind her towards the lower deck. Tharja tagged along too, seeing as everyone else was already down there. Waiting just below was one of their healers, staff in hand. The stagg let off a soft glow that illuminated their surroundings. Some of the others were all around, rummaging through boxes of supplies or already laying on some of the hammocks that were near the walls. There was a barrel with some apples in them near them. Before they went anywhere, Robin grabbed one of them. He was pretty hungry. He deserved a damn apple. The healer guided them to a hidden compartment at the very front of the boat. Normally, that wouldn't be too strange. Smugglers made use of features like that all the time. All boats had them. What made this one special was the size of it. But what was shocking were the contents of it.

"A kid?" Robin said as he looked at the figure cowering as far away from them as she could get. She had a cloak with a hood covering her entire body. There were two chains that were secured to the tall that went under the cloak. "Some sort of slave?" He took a step towards the girl to get a closer look, but had to stop when the girl screamed at him.

"Get back!" She yelled. "D-Don't come any closer!"

"She's been saying that since I found her," Izzy said with a frown. "I tried getting near her, but she bit me and then kicked me." The girl stuck her tongue out to the archer.

Robin crouched down to meet the girl in eye level. He didn't say anything and neither did she. He bit into the apple, the crunching sound echoing in the small room. It was quite a juice fruit. He had to wipe away the juices that were going down his face. As he chewed, he noticed that the girl was no longer looking at him. She'd found that the fruit was much more interesting than the man in front of him. To make sure, he moved the apple to his left and then to his right. Sure enough, the girl's head followed the movements of the fruit. "Hmmm?" He tossed it to her. She was able to catch it, just barely. The chains around her wrists restricted her movement. She looked intensely at the apple, then at Robin, then back at the apple. "It's not poisoned." He swallowed his share. "I wouldn't have eaten it if it was."

The girl eagerly ate the apple, the rebels only watching her. Judging by the speed that she was eating, she'd been there for a long time and/or she wasn't given much food for as long she'd been there. Why would she be there? Had there been some sick pedophile in charge of the vessel that had her there to pleasure himself? Just the thought of it was enough to make Robin angry. He had many questions for the girl, but he had to go easy at first. He took the chance to ask his first one when she was done with the apple.

"Why are you here?"

The girl hesitated for a moment. She looked at him to see if she could trust him or not. "...those guys bought me a few weeks ago. They've kept me locked up here." She was a slave. At least that's what Robin assumed. It was sickening to think that someone would buy and sell children. "...It's been going on for years," she continued. "Before those guys there were others. And more before those ones…"

"Oh gods.." Izzy's maternal instinct was kicking in. "Cap, we can't keep her here! We have to do something!"

"Go get Gaius." Izzy headed back to the back of the ship in search of the rebel's expert thief. Meanwhile, Robin turned back to look at the girl. "Today is your lucky day, kid. We just so happened to have stolen this ship from those guys that bought you." The girl gasped. "We don't like them. And you've given us one more reason to go against them. Now, we've already set sail, so we can't drop you off anywhere right now. But you have two options. You can join us and travel with us or you can go your own way once we reach Chon'sin. We'll let you take some supplies with you if you choose the latter."

"What the hell, Cap?!" Izzy was fuming when she returned with the thief. "You just want to let a child fend off for her own?!"

"I can't let her come along if she doesn't know what she is getting herself into. Besides, she has some time to decide what she'll do." He turned back to look at the girl. "We are a few days off from reaching our destination. You can use that time to ask us anything you may want to know before you decide. Most of the people here are orphans, so they could give you tips on how to survive on your own if you want to go your own way." He turned to look at Gaius. "Can you get those chains off her?"

Gaius took a quick look at the restraints and grinned. He popped out the lolly he was sucking on before responding, "sure thing, Bubbles. Though I do expect you to get me something sweet when we dock wherever the heck we dock." Gaius' sweet tooth always guided him. The whole reason he'd joined them was because they had gotten a hold on a pie (by chance) that the thief had his sights on. Not that Robin would ever complain. The guy had a certain set of skills that came in handy. The price of those skills was also very cheap. "Done and done." He stepped away from the girl, who was rubbing her wrists with teary eyes.

"What's your name, kid?" Robin asked the girl.

"...Nowi," she muttered. "My name is Nowi."

Okay, so, someone (you know who you are, you magnificent bastard) suggested to me that I should do a story along the lines of Robin leading a rebellion in Plegia. I thought that sounded pretty freaking cool! Then I thought "what if events don't go in the same order as in the game?" Because of that, I can introduce characters in crazy different amount of ways. Also, because I don't plan to stop writing my other story (Different Awakening), I thought it would be good to switch it up so that it didn't became repetitive.

I chose to also make this ones deal with more mature themes, since I can't cover those too much on my other stories. It's just a bit of an experiment. I just had to give some love to Tharja. The girl hardly ever gets a happy ending around here... I find it that I like pairings that aren't very popular, now that I think about it, haha! At some point I'll make one shots with my favorite gals. No promises, though.

Let's talk about the elephant in the room: OCs. I tried to keep them to a minimum, as you can see. I know there are a lot of people out there that hate having OCs. I personally can be very iffy about them, but they are needed in this case. Hope it's no big deal for anyone.

If you worry that I will drop my other stories, don't worry! Especially those that read "A Gathering of Leaders". I've already worked out the next chapter for that one; it's on the way! Just wanted to get this out there because it kept slowing me down when I was trying to come up with what to do for AGoL's next chapter. That being said, whether I continue this story or not will be up to how well it's received. If you did enjoy it and want to see more, you have to let me know! Leave a review, follow and/or favorite the story. Any of those will do.