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Lucina thinks she can hear him before she sees him.
The shepherds pass by the area, paying little attention to the goings on of the tiny village. It’s none of their business, especially if nothing’s going on. They’re on their way to Fort Steiger, which they know will end up being a tough battle. But something is going on, and Lucina’s ears never deceive her. So she makes them stop, much to the protests of her parents.
It sounds like a skirmish, but she hears the unmistakable tones of her cousin, and knows that he will be welcomed with open arms into the group. He’s yelling again, the names of his attacks and weapons that Lucina wishes he never called, merely so they weren’t ingrained into her brain. She supposes it was lucky, though; it meant they were able to find him.
“Father, I think there’s trouble across in the village. I hear… yelling,” she says vaguely, and as they come to the top of the hill, Chrom spots that the village has indeed been run over with bandits.
“Well spotted. Robin?”
“Yes, I see. I feel like this shouldn’t be too much hard work. Let’s work on protecting the villagers. And Chrom, make sure to talk to that guy in the middle. He looks confused,” she says in reply, pointing a slender finger towards the figure in the centre of the village. He’s surrounded on all sides, and Chrom nods in acknowledgment.
“Let’s go, troops!”
“Uncle Chrom?” Owain calls, and Lucina appears by her father’s side, shaking her head violently at the boy. That wasn’t perhaps the best introduction, especially since Chrom knew nothing of Lissa’s relationships. Owain was a few years younger than Lucina, which was to be expected, but this timeline’s Owain would arrive in just less than two years time.
“Who are you? And why do you call me Uncle?” Chrom demands, taking a break from cutting down enemies. Lucina moves to his other side, talking to the villager standing outside her house.
“It’s me, Owain! And I call you uncle because you are my uncle!”
Chrom turns hastily to Lissa, who is a good few meters away, healing Gaius who sustained a slice to the arm from a brigand. He looks back to Owain, and then back at his sister. With a thunderous expression, he calls the healer over, much of the rest of the shepherds following since the area is quickly cleared.
“What is it? Are you injured?”
“What is the meaning of this?” Chrom asks, gesturing to the boy on his left, who holds a shaky hand up in a wave. Lucina sighs at his expression- he’s like a puppy.
“I don’t know who this is!” Lissa says, looking at Owain as though giving him a medical examination. “Why are you asking me?”
“He called me ‘Uncle Chrom’. Uncle, Lissa. And unless Emmeryn’s kid came back from the future, I think that leaves us with one other option!”
“Dear, leave her be,” Robin chastises, coming to Chrom’s elbow in an attempt to calm the man down.
“She’s a child!” Chrom complains. “And this Owain looks only a little younger than Lucina!”
“Actually, I’m-“ Owain starts, but is promptly cut off.
“I’m nineteen!” Lissa says, stomping her foot. “It’s been ages since the war started Chrom, I’ve grown up! And may I remind you, that you met Robin when you were the same age as me!”
“Hey, don’t bring me into this!”
“Tell us, Lissa! Which one of the shepherds is this kid’s father?”
“I-I don’t know!” Lissa says, glancing at the ground.
“You’re lying.” The other shepherds have moved off by this point, and outside of the exalted family, only Maribelle remains. Being the best friend of Lissa, she steps in promptly, sticking her arm out in front of Chrom.
“Leave the girl alone!” She says, her tone stern yet caring. “Don’t you think it’s enough to deal with that her child from the future has appeared? And yet you need to chastise her on the battlefield and embarrass her in front of the others! Frankly, Chrom, her personal life is none of your business!”
“Maribelle, take Lissa and heal up the army. I feel like this is only the beginning of this fight,” Robin says, stepping curtly in front of her husband to stop him from interfering any further. Maribelle rides away, and Lissa follows close behind, shooting one last glare at Chrom as she goes.
“What do we do about him?” Chrom says, motioning with his head to Owain. He’s still glaring, and his arms are now folded across his chest. His words are curt, and clearly he’s upset about Robin interfering.
“You’re armed. Can you fight?” Robin asks.
“Yes ma’am!”
“Then join us,” she says, and he nods before joining Lucina across the battlefield. Chrom sighs audibly, leaning on Falchion and looking ten years older than he actually is. “I know you worry about Lissa, but… she’s a good kid. She’ll be fine. And as she said, you were her age when you met me,” Robin laughs. “And if you add on two or three years for children to come into the picture, well, I think she’ll be fine.”
“You’re right. Do me a favour though, and find out who this kid’s father is.”
“I’ll try my best, captain,” she says, snapping into a lazy mock salute. “Let’s go. We have a battle to finish.”
Lissa avoids Chrom for a week, and with avoiding Chrom comes avoiding Robin, so it makes it hard for the tactician to track her down. She finds her in the stables, absent-mindedly pulling hay out of one of the bales. Maribelle’s horse watches over her, almost as though the girl has told her horse to protect the princess.
“Mind if I sit here?” Robin asks, and Lissa looks up.
“I don’t mind.” Her voice is small and quiet, and it worries Robin because she’s never seen the girl like this before.
“Your brother has forgiven you. He’s more mad that you didn’t tell him you were… how did he put it, courting?”
“He uses that word a lot,” Lissa says, giggling and then sobbing halfway through it.
“So, who’s the lucky guy? Do you think we’ll be welcoming anyone into our weird extended family any time soon?”
“Um…”
“I mean, we’ve got three kids that have come from the future. It can’t get much weirder than that, can it?”
“You’re right,” Lissa smiles, rubbing her tears on the end of her sleeve. “It’s… it’s Ricken.”
“I absolutely hoped you would say that. And let me tell you, I think it’ll be a relief to Chrom that you’re practically the same age. You should hear him- he was convinced it was Gregor for three days!”
Lissa looks horrified at this, and soon the two girls are doubled over in laughter, the hay bales they’re perched upon barely sustaining their weight. Lissa wipes tears of mirth from her eyes, before launching herself at Robin, who wraps her arms around the younger girl.
“Thank you, Robin.”
“For what?”
“For keeping my brother in check, for a start. I can’t imagine him being with anyone else. And for listening and understanding. And… for not shouting at me.”
“I would never shout at you.”
“Chrom shouts at me.”
“That’s only because he cares about you.”
Robin pats the girl awkwardly on the head, listening to her contented hum before letting her go. She never realised how lucky she was to be part of this family.