A Change Of Tactics

by JLDavenport

Summary:

His sacrifice saved the world and freed him from Grima. Unfortunately, as Robin quickly learns, such freedom comes with a price. Now struggling against powerful new desires, the only course he can take lies with an unthinkable strategy. And so, to protect himself and protect his family, Ylisse's greatest tactician's schemes are aimed, not at some battlefield enemy, but the Shepherds themselves! Robin/All Female Shepherds. Heavy Manipulation. (Latest Target: Say'ri)

Chapter 1: Robin - A Prelude to Change

Notes:

Authors Note: Some chapters will be light and sweet, others will be somewhat less so, but the as a whole this story will not be especially dark. There won’t be any character death, gore, excessive kink or anything nasty. However, the goal of this story is about an exploration/twist on Robin’s character and he will be acting as such.

What’s important about this is that Robin is not a blunt force character. Don’t expect rape or blackmail. Do expect manipulation and social engineering.

Robin - A Prelude to Change.

 

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Lucina wasn’t his first, but she was the one he loved with all his soul.  She was the woman he died for, the woman he returned for and the one he thought he’d spend his life with.

It was a love borne from humble beginnings, one both had thought impossible and ultimately, one that gave him the strength to face everything that came next.

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It had all seemed so simple. The simplest thing in the world.

He loved a beautiful girl and was loved by her in return. What could possibly have been easier?

How had it all changed so quickly?

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Two Years Ago

Humming nervously to himself, for want of attempting any distraction he could get, Robin stared at the ring held in his fingers once more.

‘Gods…’

This was happening. He really was going to do this.

He’d arrived early, far too early. It was a simple plan, a hope that the wait would settle his nerves, but even after waiting almost an hour in the tent of the woman he loved; still he could hardly hear himself think over the hammering of his heart in his chest.

Had he ever been this nervous before? He couldn’t tell, it was difficult to even think right now… all his thoughts came back to the fact he was here, that he was only minutes away from finally proposing.

Had it really been almost two months since their mutual confession? The expression was a cliché upon a cliché and yet, it barely seemed a day ago since he’d come stumbling into her tent, clutching tightly to a bouquet of flowers and wearing his heart on his sleeve. Everything since then had been almost a blur, even with the dredges of their Valmese campaign dragging on, that day stood out more clearly than any battlefield.

“Lucina...” He whispered her name to the silent tent, struggling to suppress the burst of desire that thought evoked. Her name was rarely far from his thoughts these days. The obligations of their shared duties served only to heighten his feelings, their times together were rarely more than fleeting moments and the few touches they’d shared were little more than tentative tastes… but still, he yearned for her, for everything. The more he thought of her, the more his heart ached for her.

‘It’s time, it’s more than time.’

He had no doubt he loved her, he refused to entertain that idea any longer, not after the months spent trying not to fall for her. He cared for her in ways he’d never felt for anyone else. He’d told her the same that day in her tent and he’d made it as clear as possible since. Nor did he doubt that she returned his feelings, she’d been as adamant about that as anything.

Waiting any longer would be nothing more than cowardice, and for whatever else he was, Robin would not be craven.

Curling his fingers around the ring and sliding it back into his pocket, Robin set his determination. As happy as he was, he knew they couldn’t stay with the current situation, even despite their feelings they still danced nervously around each other. Their time together spent far too wary of missteps or misunderstandings.

Partly it was necessity; she’d sworn him to secrecy about their relationship, lest the rest of their camp know he was involved with his best friend’s daughter. Partly it was their own inexperience, with little time and the burden of secrecy they had traded little more than loving words, small touches and quick kisses.

He couldn’t stand it and he couldn’t bear the thought that his inaction would lead her to ever doubt him. It was time for decisive action; he needed to show her exactly what he felt for her; that he would always be at her side.

“R-Robin?” as if on cue, a soft question dragged him from his thoughts, Lucina stepping lightly into the tent, shrugging Falchion to the ground with a curious look as she moved into his offered embrace, “What are you doing here? Were you waiting for me?”

Not trusting his voice for a moment, Robin simply nodded, pulling her against him and letting his lips drag over her neck, savouring her quiet gasp as she shuddered in delighted surprise.

“No, not waiting, not really,” he answered finally, forcing his voice level as he stepped backwards, “I-That is, Lucina, I-”

His words fell away to nothing. Everything he’d planned, everything he’d intended to say slipped from his mind and instead he found himself simply staring blankly, watching as the woman he adored slipped from his embrace, worry filling her face, “Robin, love? What’s wrong?”

“I love you.”

His voice finally returned, his conviction returning with it as a broad smile fell across his lips. His plans were ashes, staring at her in a daze, he couldn’t even remember what they had been right now. Instead, he spoke from his heart, without a single doubt clouding his mind.

“Lucina. Marry me.”

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“Robin… I, Gods, Robin.” Lucina choked out, repeating his name as she stared at the ring he’d presented, holding it tightly in both hands. She clung onto it as if her life depended on it, as if she held a piece of some ephemeral dream and that single wrong movement would send it slipping through her fingers, lost forever.

Seconds passed slowly and with them so did her tightly held composure.

Her body shuddered, first a single twitch and then it trembled, until she found herself pulled tightly against him, unable to resist as light sobs were wrenched unbidden from her mouth.

“Don’t cry, please,” he begged, his hands gently stroking her face, “I- Whatever your answer, it’s fine. I swear, I’ll accept it. Just, please, don’t cry.”

“I-I-Hhg,” she sniffed, nuzzling her face against his warm touch, “I-I’m so happy, just, I ne-never thought...”

“You never thought I’d propose?” he chuckled, his fingers threading through her hair, “I did say I wanted to spend my life with you.”

Despite herself, she laughed with him, wrapping her arms around him even as she trembled with the aftershock, “No, no…I, just never thought, I never truly considered that I would-”

“Robin...” she sighed his name, her explanation suddenly seeming unimportant, “I love you too. I can’t even, I don’t know how to express how much.”

Looking back later, she had no idea how long they stayed standing like that, just quietly holding each other. Maybe it was minutes, perhaps it was hours, all she knew was that by the time her thoughts cleared and the surprise passed, it still wasn’t long enough.

“I love you,” She repeated finally, disentangling painfully from his arms even as her heart screamed for his touch, “I never thought it was possible I even could, that I could… but, I do. I do love you, more than anything.”

He remained silent, but she could see it in his face. The answer they both knew she would give.

Her composure cracked, the words came only with great effort. But still, she held strong, “B-But, I, I cannot… I told you, my mission I h-have to rank it above anything.”

Normally talk of duty or conviction came easily to her. She was so used to sacrifice and pain, she’d lost and given up so much she’d long thought herself numb to anything beyond her goals, but now, squeezing her eyes shut and barely able to speak the words, already she could feel her resolve cracking, tears threatening to push out. It took all she had to force them back, “When it’s over, I’ll-I’ll have to return to my time and even if I cannot, I don’t belong here. I can’t stand by your side.”

Watching the pain on his face was almost as terrible as feeling it in her heart. Reaching out without thought she pressed her hands against his cheeks.

“I love you Robin. But I cann-I cannot make such a commitment knowing that.”

“I understand.”

His answer came easily, far too easily. Baffled, Lucina watched as a small smile slowly formed on his face. Hesitant and nervous, it was still unmistakable, the a ghost of the smile she’d seen on him so many times, the smile he wore in the face of victory.

“I understand that’s your answer now,” he continued, gently taking her left hand from his face and pulling off her fingerless glove, “But, that doesn’t need to be your answer forever.”

“I-I don’t…” she paused, any attempt to speak halted when he took back the ring she’d been clutching.

“I love you. I want to be with you, forever. If you can’t marry me now, that’s fine. I’ll wait; I’ll wait as long as it takes.”

“So take this,” lifting her finger, he hovered the small band over it, awaiting only her assent to confirm the act, “Take this as proof of my feelings an-and, and whenever you’re ready, if you ever change your mind, I’ll marry you that same day.”

Her mouth opened but no words came out.

Numb with shock it took Lucina almost a full minute to process his words, unable to believe them or what he was offering.

First he’d given her his love, a dedication she thought she could never deserve. Then he’d accepted her fear of a public relationship, holding back his own feelings for her sake and now, now he offered her everything, everything she’d never thought she could have.

Unable to speak and almost biting a hole through her lip, she nodded. She watched for a single moment, as his ring slid slowly down her finger, before all further will collapsed and she threw herself at him.

Pressing her lips as hard as she could against his, sobbing, shaking and laughing she kissed him hard and desperately, pushing her body against his with all her strength. Deep, long and with nothing restrained, it was their first true kiss- the end of all further doubt or hesitation between them.

Even if she couldn’t admit it yet, it was that moment that Lucina knew she would be with this man as long as she lived.

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It was more than another month before Lucina first came to him.

The war with Valm was finally over.

After almost an entire year of terrifying battles, hopeless situations, and fighting for their very survival; the last battle had begun with little ceremony or circumstance, a siege lifted and a brutal assault set a few hours after dawn.

Walhart had been slain, his citadel captured and the Shepherds had scarcely ceased their celebrations since.

With night beginning to set and the jubilations showing no signs of stopping, their tactician had quietly taken his leave, nodding a silent goodbye to Chrom before making his way back alone to what had been designated as his quarters.

‘This…’ he grinned, shutting the door to the lavish officer’s suite behind him as he stripped off his cloak and threw his shirt to the ground, ‘Now, this is what I’ve been looking forward to.’

Already full of food and with far too much needing to be done tomorrow to risk drinking more, there was only one thing on the forefront of the man’s mind.

“A-Auuhhh!” he groaned, throwing himself down and sinking into the soft bed. “It’s been far too long…”

Victory had left him pumped full of adrenaline and relief, there was no way he could sleep even if he had wanted to, but after more than a year of sleeping on hard camping bedrolls, this was like heaven on earth…

…Which explained why he was still lying there -wide awake and bathing in the blissful afterglow of victory- an hour later the entrance to the room quietly creaked open and the woman he loved slipped in.

“L-Lucina?” He gasped, sitting upright and staring in surprise as she carefully shut the door behind her.

“I was hoping you were still awake,” she answered an uncharacteristic nervous lilt clear in her voice, “I didn’t expect to take so long to… tidy up.”

‘Tidy up?’ He blinked, almost unable to believe what he was seeing...

Clearly Lucina had spent some time preparing for this visit. Blushing lightly and with her skin radiating a soft sheen in the magical lamplight’s glow; even from across the other side of the room he could smell a gentle scent of cherry-wood soap. Falchion was nowhere in sight and no hard edges lined her eyes, she looked a world apart from the battle-hardened woman he knew so well.

Perhaps most surprising of all was that her usual attire was nowhere to be seen, with her hair loose around her shoulders and a light cream coloured robe replacing her tunic, free from her bindings he could even make out the modest swell of her chest. Apparently, she took after her mother a little more than he’d expected.

For the first time since he’d met her, Lucina looked completely unguarded. The way she smiled at him wasn’t the look of a time-traveller always jumping at shadows, but the gentle gaze of a woman in love.

Any of that alone would have surprised him, but what truly took his breath away was the sight of her hands as she clenched them in front of her stomach…

…She wasn’t wearing any gloves. His ring shone proudly on her left hand.

Robin gulped heavily, his heart raced at the sight, “I-You look, you look amazing,” he breathed, forcing his thoughts gradually back under control, “But, what’re you doing here so late? Do you need something?”

“Is it truly so strange for a woman to visit her fiancé?” She asked in return, pushing off from the door and taking a shaky step towards where he was staring from the bed. “Surely it’s stranger for the hero of Valm to retire so soon? Locked away in his room while all his companions celebrate?”

Smiling lightly at her teasing, she paused for a moment a step away from him before moving forward, climbing up onto the mattress beside him.

Recognising her clear nervousness, Robin forced back his own. Trying to be calm for her, he shuffled forwards, wrapping an arm gently around her waist pulling her closer to him.

“I’ve more than had my fill already, there’s plenty to be done tomorrow and I want to be in a state to do it. I’ll get drunk with the rest when everything’s in order.”

“You’ve done enough already Robin,” she scolded with a wry smile, “It’s to you we owe this day, this victory and our safety.”

“Me?” He scoffed, “Funny, I seem to remember it being you and Chrom that took that monster down. And due to the others we even managed to pierce his sanctum. Our victory was from everyone’s efforts.”

“That may be true. But our lives are due to yours, to your strategies and your diligence. This war would never have ended so soon, nor so well, without your efforts Robin, don’t forget that,” shaking her head she grinned cheekily up at him, “I know I’m not the only one to think so, Lady Say’ri certainly seems very impressed with you… or did you not notice the way she was looking at you all day?”

Lucina of all people was teasing him? Robin blinked, too stunned to even laugh, ‘Well, she’s certainly changed.’  And to think, he didn’t think he’d seen her down a single cup all day. Still, it was nice, a secret side of her, he didn’t think he’d ever seen her act so unrestrained before, not even around him.

“What’s this? Are you jealous?” he teased back, pulling her closer and taking her hand in his, his fingers turning the ring she bore around her finger, “You already know my feelings.”

“I do…” she sighed, shuffling against him and leaning her head against his shoulder, her words were warm and full of promise, “And they mean everything to me.”

Robin swallowed again, his body reacting to her closeness even as his heart hammered loudly in his chest. Lucina had clearly prepared for this conversation and she was wearing his ring openly, had she finally come to accept his pro-

“Robin…” She continued, cutting off his thoughts before he could even ask, “We-we have a daughter.”

“We do.” He grinned, that thought never failed to bring out a surge of joy within him.

Morgan. His greatest pride and the Shepherd’s most recent addition, they’d found her in a half ruined Valmese temple barely two weeks ago and she’d all but turned their lives upside down ever since. Even with her curious amnesia the Falchion she wore at her side and the brand in her right eye left no doubt to the girl’s heritage.

“I can scarcely believe it,” Lucina added, “So much about us I cannot believe. That I could be-that I am a mother. There’s so much I need to learn.”

“I know it was a shock, it was for me too.” He assured her, his hands gently rubbing her back as she leant deeper against him, “But, there’s nothing to worry about. You’re a wonderful mother already and you’ve seen how much Morgan adores you.”

“I thought at first that I would complete my mission from the shadows,” she admitted quietly, “That any interference with the past should be avoided.

“And then, even after I joined I tried to deny what I was feeling for you, I thought such emotions could only cause trouble. My mission was all I could care about. I never thought we could be like this, that we could be together.”

“And now...?”

“And now, I thought… Gods, I told myself so many times I cannot stay. I know it, I know it deeply, I don’t belong here, even if I- even though I love you. My place is back in my time and yours will be at my father’s side. B-But…”

“But we have a daughter.” He finished quietly as words fell to nothing.

“We do.” She agreed, letting a heavy silence fall between them as she gathered her courage, “Robin… I, I am not a prophet. I don’t know the future, I don’t know how Morgan came to be here or even what circumstances lead to her existence. But, but, after meeting her, I think-I think that no matter what, a future like that, with you… It must have been a happy one.”

“Lucina…”

“I told myself I would wait till this war was over,” She shuddered and he followed her eyes as they darted down to the ring, “I still, I cannot…”

He nodded, even with everything that had changed, she couldn’t so easily accept a life in this time, not with so much unresolved. Her mission wasn’t yet complete.

“R-Robin, we have peace now. I know not for how long, but…but so long as it lasts, I-I would like to try-” she swallowed heavily, her body shivering against his as her nervousness was clearly displayed, “To try being your wife.”

Staring in disbelief as she leaned upwards into him, Robin’s body acted before his mind was able to even process what she was saying. Jolting in shock, he cupped her face with his hands, meeting her halfway and gently covering her lips with his own.

The last of any restraint remained for barely a moment, quickly overpowered by a spark of long withheld desire. Pressing his tongue against her lips Lucina’s mouth yielded a soft gasp and she leaned backwards, falling onto the bed and tugging him down with her.

“Are yo-Are you sure about this?” He breathed hotly, even as his arms slithered around her waist, dragging her further up the covers until she was spread fully below him.

“I-I’m not, not -ah, not sure what to do.” She replied instead, gasping in breathless pants as he broke their kiss once more, his mouth moving along her jaw and down her neck.

“B-ahn, but, I, I want this. I want you.” Lucina forced out, passion rising by the moment as his hands ran down her side, her hips grinding instinctively back against him as she felt his cock pressed hard into her thigh.

Nodding he sat up, reaching for her ties and pulling her robe apart under him. Leaning back Robin sucked in a deep breath as he drank in the sight, it was more beautiful than he’d ever expected. Lying below him, Lucina averted her eyes, smiling nervously as his fingers carefully peeled off the thin cloth tied around her chest and exposed her breasts to the warm night air. Larger than he’d expected, her bust filled his hands as he reached down, drawing a quick gasp when his fingers sank into her soft flesh.

“R-Robin!” she moaned unsteadily as he pulled back, dragging his thumbs over the hard nub of her nipples. Pausing for a moment he savoured the sensation of her perky breasts within his hands before pressing down once more, slowly and firmly. “Th-That’s, ahh, I feel, I feel…”

Smirking at her response, he pressed in a little deeper, watching as her back arched at his touch, massaging and kneading with increasing urgency as he she squirmed, throwing her head to the side and gasping out shallow pants.

“Ahh.” He moaned, holding back his own desperate need as leaned down, dragging his tongue around her skin before pulling her nipple roughly into his mouth and squeezing firmly on its twin.

“R-R-Robin!” Lucina repeated, her voice growing high pitched and desperate as he sucked harder on her breasts, “Wh-What’re you? I-I, ahhnn! I feel so-so strange.”

Even despite his desire, he could barely believe he was seeing Lucina like this, so vulnerable and nervous, it was a sight no other man had seen... or would see. “You’re pretty sensitive, aren’t you?” He teased.

“O-Only because it’s you…” She answered, smiling warmly even as she squirmed against his touch.

“Yeah.” He nodded, releasing her breasts, sliding further down her body as he trailed light kisses across her taut stomach. “I- I feel the same.” It was growing almost impossible to ignore the way his cock was straining painfully against his pants. Mixed with love, desire, and months of suppressed lust, Robin doubted he’d even been this turned on before.

With the way it was pressing hard against her, his own need wasn’t lost on Lucina, “It’s fine,” she whispered, shuddering and raising her hips to let him pull her panties down, “You don’t need to wa-ohahhn.”

Her words were cut off with another shudder as the soaked fabric was pulled stickily from her body, his hot breath brushing directly against her bare pussy, “D-Don’t need to wait,” she finished a moment later, her own hands reaching down and tugging at the waistband of his pants. “I want this, I want to feel you.”

“R-Right.” Robin nodded, reassured somewhat by the arousal glistening off her slit. He didn’t have all that much experience himself, but she at least appeared to be ready.

Fumbling with his belt as he shuffled back a bit, he made quick work of tugging his pants off, finally freeing his member from its restraint with an eager grin.

“O-Oh.” Lucina mouthed in surprise, leaning forward and tentatively running her hand along his length, “I-I…” she muttered, her cheeks flushing even deeper as it twitched under her gentle ministrations. It wasn’t like anything she’d seen before, different even from how she’d imagined, “I didn’t know it would… would be so…” She swallowed nervously.

“Lucina?”

“I-Is it really going to fit?” She whispered, attempting to wrap her fingers around it and gauge the thickness.

“Don’t worry.” He reassured her, taking her hand reassuringly in his as he laid her back on the covers, lining himself up against her entrance. “I-I’ll go slowly, I’ll be gentle. Just, just tell me if it hurts, okay?”

“O-Ah, oahh,” she gasped, struggling to answer as she felt the cockhead pressing against the lips of her pussy, feeling herself slowly spread open as Robin held himself again her entrance, “Ah, hah…ahhn.” Panting heavily, the unfamiliar pleasure driving out any lingering nervousness.

Seeing the Princess so vulnerable and so turned on was almost more than he could take.

Leaning down and kissing hard along her neck once more, he pressed his cock in further, silencing his own groans into her shoulder as he slid forward, gently opening her entrance enough to take him.

“Ah! Ah! AH! I-I, R-Robin!” She shrieked, her arms wrapped around his shoulders, clinging to him with all her might.

“O-Okay… Okay, Lucina,” he groaned, pausing as he felt her pussy’s resistance finally giving way. “You’re okay, you’re doing great.”

He could feel her entrance slick against his cock, the way her hips were instinctively rocking against his- threatening to suck him fully inside her. It took every ounce of Robin’s willpower, of his love and respect for her, to restrain himself one last time.

This was it. They were finally at the pivotal moment, an action he could never take back.

“Lucina.” He repeated her name, seeking approval one final time from the loving expression in her eyes he stroked her face gently, smiling down with as much reassurance as he could.

Grinning back at him, she nodded one last time and he moved forwards, pulling her head towards his and capturing her lips once more. He kissed her softly for a moment, opening her mouth with his tongue.

Feeling her gasping into her mouth he gave her a moment to adjust, letting her kiss him back, her fingers threading through his hair as her entrance ground against the head of his cock.

Then, he pushed forwards.

“AhNHGGGGH!” Thrashing wildly, Lucina broke from their kiss with a guttural moan, her body convulsing with a thousand new feelings as she felt his length slowly force her walls apart.

He didn’t stop.

Arching off the bed, Lucina’s mouth dropped open with a silent scream, overcome by a thousand feelings she could do little but gasp as he pushed inside at a steady pace, piercing her hymen and sinking inch after incredible inch further inside her.

‘Tight!’ he gasped, gritting his teeth to fight against the overwhelming urge to drive into her, ‘Gods, she’s so tight.’ Even tighter than Lissa had been. Warm and slick, her walls coiled securely around him, squeezing comfortably around him and attempting to pull him deeper.

‘I-Haa, this…’ His thoughts fragmented as he struggled for coherence, almost losing control as he stifled a moan, feeling the pressure of the woman he loved holding him tightly in place as he buried himself fully inside her, filling up her deepest reaches.

Finally pushing completely inside, he paused, gently cradling her head, silencing her gasps with his lip once again. “Ah-hah,” he panted, between kisses, “Are you okay?”

“I-I…” biting her lip as another shudder ran through her body, feeling him moving inside her, Lucina struggled for words, “I-I’ve never, f-I’ve never felt anything like this. It, it’s amazing.”

As wonderful as that was to hear, Robin restrained himself once more. That wasn’t the answer he’d expected, “You’re not hurt?” He asked carefully, even from his position on-top of her, he could see a small trickle of blood slipping out from where they were connected.

“No… no.” She assured him, regaining a little composure as she slowly grew accustomed to the sensation of him stationary inside her, “It doesn’t hurt at all.”

“Lucina…” he sighed, “My love, you don’t need to- haahn, you don’t need to act tough. This isn’t a battlefield.”

“It’s true,” She laughed despite the situation, her eyes shining warmly as she reached up stroked his face for reassurance, “If I think about it, I can…perhaps it stings a little? But-ahnn, but this level of pain? I don’t feel it at all.”

Robin blinked in surprise, he hadn’t expected that.

But then, why hadn’t he?

He’d seen first-hand just how tough the woman he loved was. Never mind her royal heritage, Lucina had spent the better part of her life on the front lines, for years she’d lived for nothing more than fighting monstrous creatures and he’d watched in horror as she’d taken incredible injuries in the process. With a life like hers, was it really so surprising that she would be accustomed to ignoring all but the most terrible pain?

“All I can feel is you,” she assured him, screwing her eyes up in a silent gasp as she moved her hips against his, feeling his cock scraping against her inner walls, “Y-You’re reaching so deep inside me…H-haaa! It’s like, it’s like you’re touching my whole body!”

“Yeah,” he agreed, losing himself to the pleasure again as he withdrew slightly before pushing in gently once more, slowly rocking back and forth inside her, “You feel amazing, it’s so-ah, so hot inside you.”

“I-Ah, I’m g-glad!” She forced out, her voice raising an octave as Robin built up a slow rhythm withdrawing an inch further and sliding back inside a fraction faster.

Her pussy remained almost painfully tight around him, pulling at his cock in ways he’d spent months dreaming of, but with each small thrust he could feel the constricting pleasure loosening slightly. Lucina’s gasps came faster and louder as her juices coated his cock more and more each time he slid back inside her, letting him deepen his movements until he was pulling almost all the way out, then grinding slowly back inside, hilting himself at the very back of her tunnel.

Moaning and panting, Lucina quickly lost what little control she’d maintained, her fingers clenching into his shoulders each time his cock pushed against the back of her pussy, her legs shaking each time the head rubbed back across her most sensitive parts.

“G-Gods!” she groaned, “Robin! R-Robin! I-It’s I, I’m, so-something’s happening!”

“Y-You’re fine.” He groaned back, burying his head in her shoulder as his movements picked up pace, “Don’t fight it… You’re fine, don’t fight it. Naga, Lucina, it- it feels so good.”

“I-Ahhh! OOOH!” Clinging desperately to him, Lucina’s screams grew louder and louder as the intensity of their movements rose.

‘Sh-She really is sensitive.’  Robin grinned in amazement, watching as her face flushed even deeper, ‘To be like this, on her first time…’

She always had been more affectionate in private, but even so, this was Lucina! One of the most reserved people he knew, the shy and awkward woman he loved...

…And now, she was clinging to him with all her might- her mouth agape and eyes wide, practically screaming each time he drove into her. It was incredible! He’d never even imagined he’d get to see Lucina like this. She was going to cum! He was making her feel this good!

“Gods!” He repeated, groaning aloud and almost losing control at that thought, his own release coming faster with each pressing moment.

Wrapping her legs tight around him and grinding her hips against his, Lucina’s movements were certainly clumsy, but there was no denying the incredible sensations they caused! “Mngh!” He winced, pulling on all his willpower to hold on, it was as if some primal core of her sought to wring every last drop of cum from his body.

“I’m getting close.” He grunted, slowing his movements and thrusting as deep and hard a possible, making sure to hit the same spot over and over.

The response was instantaneous, his fiancé’s grip on him becoming almost painful.

“I-I’m! I’m goi-G-Gods! ROBIN!” Lucina screamed, her legs locked tight around his, as a feeling like nothing she’d ever felt before crashed into her, “KHYAAAA!” 

Arching her back and lifting herself almost entirely off the bed, she came hard, her entire body convulsing and her legs locking him inside as far as she could pull him.

Even if Robin hadn’t been on the verge of orgasm, feeling her walls clenching around him even harder, the sensation of her suddenly pulling him all the way inside would have sent him over the edge regardless.

“I-GHaaaah!” He gasped, all control lost as his vision went white, his cock spasming and shooting thick blasts of cum directly against her deepest walls, again and again it shuddered inside hr as he came harder than ever before.

Already overcome by the feeling of his entire length inside her-hitting her core again and again- feeling Robin’s release, the pressure of his thick cum against her inner walls, drove Lucina even further over the edge, amplifying her already powerful orgasm beyond what she’d ever believed possible.

Words died as she threw her head back in a silent scream, releasing her grip on him and slumping bonelessly to the bed. Her eyes were dazed, only weak pants escaping each time she felt his cock twitch, shooting another load inside her.

“A-Hah, ghahahh…” Robin moaned weakly, gasping lightly as the tension all flowed out of his body at once. “Gods, that-that was incredible.” He breathed, relaxing gently atop her.

“Y-Yeah.” She answered shakily, still looking dazed as he wrapped himself softly around her, his arms cradling her head. “I-I feel…Feel… Mmmm...” Apparently giving up talking, Lucina simply favoured him a loving smile, turning and laying herself against his arms.

“I love you.” She murmured a few minutes later, her arms slowly regaining the strength to wrap around him.

Wrapped up in her warmth and feeling his adrenaline gently fading, Robin could only beam back. He didn’t know if he’d ever been this happy, all he knew was this was what he wanted, this was the woman he wanted to be with, for the rest of his life.

“I love you too.”

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

That perfect night in Valm began what Robin believed, what he wished, would be the rest of his life.

There was no outward difference in their relationship; still it was kept secret from the rest of the Shepherds. But, no longer was there any hesitation or doubt between them. As often as possible they sought the other out, blissful nights making love or small moments spent in the other’s arms, it was a closeness beyond anything he’d ever felt.

Even when the drums of war began to beat once more and the ill tidings of Grima’s return began to sound, Robin was surer than he’d ever been before. Lucina’s love gave him the confidence to face down anything, he knew now beyond doubt what he wanted and was reminded of her own desires as often and as passionately as she could manage.

They both became busier, between marching and fighting time for a hidden relationship became thin, but still nothing changed. They made time for the other as often as possible and that was all they needed.

Even when his resolve was tested, as he faced what it meant to be a man and a lover, nothing changed. He faced his shortcomings and vowed to never again let them reach him.

Even when she came to him, that harrowing evening, shaking with desperate fear and indecision, asking for his life at the end of her terrified sword, nothing changed. His life was hers, but she would never take it, they would face this future together.

Even when the truth of his relationship with Grima and what that meant for his role in the final battle was revealed, even during their final night together when she sobbed wordlessly into his arms and he prepared to sacrifice himself… Nothing changed.

He would return. He knew it as well as he’d ever known anything. For her, for Morgan and for himself.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

And then he died. And everything changed.

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Notes:

AN: And there we have the first part, the pieces are in set and now things will begin to change.

If you liked it/hated it/anything, please drop a PM/Review. I’m very new to all this, so I’d love to hear any feedback.

The pairings, circumstances and plots for every character are more or less set, but many of them are quite flexible. If there’s someone you’d like to see sooner, or show up more then please drop a line. I’m here to please after all, I’ll see what I can do!

Chapter 2: Lucina - A Pure Love

Notes:

And now, the story begins properly! This chapter will be a little darker (and a lot more sexual) than the previous one, but it should be a lot clearer by the end exactly what’s going on.

Lucina - A Pure Love

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

No matter how much time passed, Robin never doubted his love for her. Lucina was his fiancé, his love and the mother of his daughter. He thought he would be with her forever, that she would be all he needed.

In everything that came after, in all the choices he made and everything he came to do, it was to that unwavering love he clung the tightest…

But then, was that not natural? It was to protect that love that he walked headlong down the path he did…

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Four Months Ago

“Gods! Robin!” Chrom’s voice cracked with emotion as he hauled his friend to his feet, pulling him instantly into a furious hug, “I knew it! G-Gods! I knew you’d be back!”

Still half dazed, Robin could barely do more than laugh happily at his friend’s clear relief, stumbling back a step and trying to get his bearings, “Haa, Chrom, I-”

“R-R-Rooobin!”

“O-Ooof!”

Anything he’d intended to say was quickly cut off when a princess sized bear hug slammed around his mid-section. “L-Lissa?” he choked out, eyes bulging as he gasped for breath.

“I, I’m so happy!” She cried, a statement somewhat undermined by the wet patch he could already feel forming on his shirt, “Uaaah! R-Robin! Yo-You’re finally back! It’s been months, we, we were all so worried! An-And I was so scared, scared you’d forget everything again!”

“N-No…” He wheezed, gulping for air as he gently pried the spritely princess off him. He wasn’t sure how he’d managed to return, but he had no doubts as to where he was now or what had happened to him. “No, I remember. I remember everything.”

“Thank Naga.”

Looking up sharply, Robin’s world fell instantly back into focus, all cobwebs and dizziness swept away. If Chrom or Lissa said anything in that moment, he didn’t hear them.

“Lucina…”

Meeting his eyes, she nodded once, making no move towards him. She didn’t reach out towards him, nor let loose even a single tear.

Gods.

His beautiful Lucina, his strong princess…tougher than anyone, undaunted in the face of any fear.

In that moment, he stood in awe of her. At how she held herself a step away from them, smiling warmly but giving no more than that. To anyone but him, she would seem cold, almost dismissive about his return.

But to him… Robin could see the strain in her eyes, he could see how every ounce of her strength was being spent forcing her legs not to shake. He saw the instant her smile wavered and how she grit her teeth to hold back a sob.

He saw the way her fingers twisted around the ring he knew was still hidden on her left hand.

“Welcome home Robin.”

He didn’t have anywhere near her restraint, nor any reason for it. Choking up at the sight, Robin turned his eyes to the heavens, the moment fading away as he sobbed with joy, as he laughed with relief, saved from collapsing to the ground only by Chrom’s intervention, the taller man pulling him into another fierce hug.

“I-I’m back!”

Chrom’s words echoed once more through his heart. It was over, it was finally all over.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

“I almost can’t believe it.” Robin sighed, forcing his concentration back to the conversation as he averted his eyes once more “I was really gone six months? It feels like it’s been so much longer…or, like it was yesterday.”

“Ohh?” Lissa chirped up skipping along beside him, as they slowly meandered towards Southtown. “You remember what it was like? Being…ah, you know?”

“I, ah, no, not really.” He frowned. He’d tried to think about it a few times, but it was like trying to recapture a dream. “The last thing I can actually remember is the battle, Grima dying and…” And then his death.

But that hadn’t been all? …Had it? Naga, he’d- he’d talked to Naga hadn’t he? As he’d…pulled himself together? She’d needed to tell him something? Or- or-

Another movement caught his eye and like before it chased all other thoughts away.  “I don’t know.” He finished instead, gulping heavily as he shook himself back into focus.

The trip to Southtown was a lot harder than he’d expected to be.

Physically, he was fine, or at least as near as any of them could tell. Lissa had given him a clean bill of health and her certainly felt great, hell, he felt better than he’d ever felt! Every one of his senses felt sharper, he could breathe easier, and even after all the walking they’d done, he didn’t feel even the smallest strain on his muscles. He’d been in good shape before, but never this good. It defied explanation, all they could put it down to was that he was now unshackled from Grima’s influence.

‘G-Gods.’ He winced, his thoughts scattered once more as his eyes turned instinctively to where Lucina was walking ahead of them. ‘Did she always walk like that?’

He’d always been attracted to her of course. She was beautiful, easily among the most gorgeous of any woman met…but it had been her determination he’d loved, her kindness that had charmed him and all her hidden strength he’d fallen for.

Yet, right now, he could scarcely think of anything but the way her hips swung as she strode ahead of them.

He’d noticed it shortly after he’d woken up, but it had only become worse since, it was if the more his body got used to being alive, the more it reacted to her…his heart rate increasing as he noticed the way her breeches showed off the tight contours of her ass, his mouth going dry as he remembered the feeling of her lips pressed against his skin, of her long legs wrapped around him…

‘Naga!’  He cursed silently, screwing his eyes shut and attempting to clear his mind. ‘What’s wrong with me?’

It wasn’t as if she’d never tantalised him before, but never like this! Just as his senses felt sharper, so too did this new fire burning inside him, a desire that pulsed with an intensity he could scarcely believe. Right now, walking along some dry country rode beside her father and aunt, Robin wanted Lucina as badly as he’d ever wanted her before in his life.

‘Calm down, calm down.’ He reminded himself, faking a cough as an excuse to suck in a deep breath and hold it.‘It’s just a reaction to being dead surely. There’s nothing wrong with being attracted to your own fiancé.’

‘That would be so…’ The treacherous part of his mind pointed out, ‘If it was only Lucina…’

Gritting his teeth, Robin quickly averted his gaze from where it’d fallen on the younger princess instead. Thankfully being too distracted by his return, Lissa had missed the way his eyes had followed the moderate swell of her chest, or along the delicate curves of her body, the way his mind was mentally peeling back the layers of her clerics dress. Unbidden images followed even as he forced his eyes away… thoughts of her soft moans under him, of her tossing and writhing beneath him, blushing deeply as he drove into her, the thought of her so-

‘No! Gods!’ Wincing again, he forcefully cleared his mind again, pulling his cloak shut firmly around him –thankfully, the bulky garment more than hiding his arousal— he knew he sorely needed to take his mind from the women surrounding him, at least until he could get a hold of himself.

Rolling her shoulders as she walked ahead of them, Lucina suddenly reached up, pulling her arms above her head and stretching backwards with a gentle sigh…with her tunic pulled tight along her body it was stretched almost skin-tight over her stomach and sides.

That…that didn’t help.

“A-And,” Robin coughed, struggling to holding back his reaction, “That is-Morgan. She’s not with you? Is, is she okay?” Even despite the distractions, he couldn’t help but worry for his little girl. As happy as he was to be around his friends, and Lucina, her absence was sorely felt.

“Er- Morgan…” Chrom winced.

“I need to apologise. Seeing me just disappear like that…” He sighed, the guilty thought finally serving to ease the tensions he'd felt. “I never said a word about it to her, I couldn’t, I couldn’t risk her interfering. I can’t imagine how she must have felt, it must have been such a shock.”

“It was a shock for all of us.” Lissa mumbled sullenly, Robin didn’t need to even look at her to imagine the pout on her face at that. Not only Morgan, he hadn’t told any of the Shepherd’s he'd planned to die. Only Chrom and Lucina had known it was even an option, and only Lucina knew his full intentions.

“How is she?” He repeated, ignoring her for now, “Is she alright?”

“Be proud Robin.” Lucina answered clearly, spinning in place and turning a serious, regal, look towards him. “Despite her pain, your daughter bore your passing well. She is more than a credit to her heritage, you need not worry for her.”

“Lucina…” He grimaced. Lucina’s own pride in their daughter was clear, but that wasn’t quite the answer he was looking for.

“She was a wreck.” Chrom answered instead, placing a hand on Robin’s shoulder with a sigh. “She was practically inconsolable for weeks. It was bad.”

“I see.” It wasn’t a surprise, but still his heart ached at the news. He’d known his actions would hurt her, that springing it on her would only make it worse. He couldn’t even imagine what she must have felt after the battle, to see him suddenly die in the midst of their celebrations! Gods, wha-

“But,” Chrom squeezed his shoulder slightly, shaking him from his thoughts, “She’s had all of us looking out for her. Especially Lucina.” Grinning wryly he nodded to where the girl’s mother was looking supremely uncomfortable at them airing Morgan’s private feelings so freely. “And she always believed you’d return. She never doubted you Robin.”

“I-Hah.” It was a humbling thought, “Then, I’ll have to apologise for taking so long.”

“Oooh!” Lissa suddenly groaned, “B-But! But she’s in Regna Ferox! Argh! Noo, that’s, that’s not fair. Poor Morgan…after everything. She’s been so eager to find you, she was always asking to go look for you, or to try find a spell to find you or, or, jump on any rumours whenever someone said they’d seen you... She’s going to be so disappointed.”

“She’s helping Severa and Kjelle with some job for Flavia.” Chrom supplied, laughing at his sister’s sudden depression, “They’ll all be back soon enough, and hey, just think about how much of a surprise it’ll be when she sees you!”

“Yeah.” Robin grinned, his mood quickly picking back up. It was a shame to not get to see her straight away, but he didn’t need to think hard to imagine how Morgan would react to his return. “Yeah, that sounds good.” He was back, he could make it up to her, that was what mattered.

Turning, they set off for home once more.

‘And…’ Robin thought guiltily, swallowing the lump in his throat a few hundred paces further down the road as his eyes eyes traced a path automatically up Lucina’s long slender legs, before settling once more upon the hypnotic sway of her hips and the tight round outline of her ass.‘M-Maybe it’s for the best that she’s not here.’ Reacting like this to Lucina –and Lissa— was bad enough, the last thing he wanted was for Morgan to complicate things.

They were still a few hours walk from Southtown and already Robin could feel the fire inside smouldering once more. Their conversation did a lot to distract him, but still dreams and memories forced their way to the fore.

Whatever was going on with him, he knew he needed to get it taken care of as soon as possible.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

It was early evening by the time they arrived in the small town, which despite three wars and almost the end of the world still looked almost exactly the same as how Robin remembered it.

Thankfully, without Frederick around, the group was deemed to have more than enough “character” between them, so there was no discussion about sleeping on the side of the road instead of one of the readily available inns.

It was wonderful being around his companions again, even if the last memory he had with them felt like barely more than a half day ago. The thought of arriving back in Ylisstol and rejoining the rest of the Shepherds was almost dizzying, however even that happiness was tempered by the growing desire within him, the smouldering heat growing hotter by the passing hour.

With the pressure distracting his thoughts and with his own excitement to resolve it, Robin had retired to his room immediately following dinner.

And now…while he waited, alone and unoccupied, with almost nothing to distract him, it was even harder to focus his thoughts.

He had taken to updating his strategic journal, something that had thankfully come back with the rest of his coat, writing down as much of the final battle as he could remember. It wasn’t a good solution, and in many ways it only made him ache to spend time with his comrades even more, but it did allow his mind some manner of calming.

Time stretched on painfully slowly, the seconds passing like minutes and the minutes feeling like hours.

Until finally an eternity later, a soft knock on the door jerked him from his notes. “Robin? Are you still awake?” A quiet voice whispered a moment later.

Pencil falling instantly from his hands, Robin was out of his seat almost before the words had left her mouth.

“Lucina…” He breathed, all but yanking the door off its hinges. His entire being bursting with joy at the sight of his fiancé, standing nervously before him once more, he knew it! He knew she would come!

“S-Sorry.” She answered, looking slightly embarrassed as she shifted her weight from foot to foot. “I know it’s late, I had to wait for everyone to fall asleep. You’re not-you’re not too tired?”

“No, no. Not at all, I feel amazing.” He replied truthfully, “Even better now you’re here. I-Gods!” Cutting himself off, unable to stand even a moment more of separation his body acted without a thought, his hands wrapping around her waist, pulling her back to him.

And suddenly, the world felt right again. Everything was better, he was back with her, he was back to where he was always meant to be.

“Gods.” He repeated softly, holding her tight and pulling her into the room with him, smirking as her legs kicked the door closed behind them.

“R-Robin…” She whispered in return, the last of the composure she’d held onto finally dissolving the instant she stepped inside. Pulling him fiercly against her, she buried herself into his shoulder with a wrenching sob.

“You came back.” She whimpered, her body wracking with an entire days’ worth of supressed emotions, “Naga, you really did…I always hoped-I, but it wa- uaahh... You, you came back to me…”

“You stayed.” He answered, moving his hands slowly across her back as he inhaled her familiar scent for what felt like the first time in forever, “I was so scared… So scared you would be gone.” Just like she’d said she would.

Even despite her tears she laughed, a small laugh at once bittersweet and joyful.  “I intended to… I thought to, I thought a thousand times th-that I needed to leave, that I didn’t belong. But, I-I couldn’t.”

“I belong with you.” She answered simply, nuzzling her face against his shoulder with a happy sigh, “I have already become your woman.”

“As I’m your man.” He answered, pulling her off him enough to lean down and capture his lips with his own. Moaning softly into his mouth, Lucina readily accepted him, her mouth opening and her hands wrapping around his neck in a loving embrace.

Standing like this, holding her and kissing gently, Robin’s heart felt as light as it ever had. Six months… even without memories of the time apart it felt every day of those. His soul aching as if he’d been away for far, far too long. But now, Lucina was in his arms again, the world felt right again.

He had so much he wanted to talk to her about! So much he wanted to do with her! So much h-

“Ghhnn.” A powerful surge of pleasure surged through him, shuddering with desire he broke apart with a soft gasp. Their separation lasted barely an instant before he pulled her back against him, kissing keeper, urgency and need rising equally within him. “Mmm, hhaah.”

It was like he’d been lost in a desert and was trying to slake his thirst with but a drop of water. Each touch, each taste of her only made him want her more and more.

There was no use hiding it, she could surely feel his arousal with the way his length was pressed against her.

A million things he wanted to talk to her about. A thousand things he wanted to do with her…but right now, he could only think of one.

“L-Lucina.” He moaned her name, breaking away once more, “I, I want to be with you. I want you.”

“Good.” She gasped, sliding against him and turning him in place. “Because I want you no less.”

Taking his hand, she pulled him backwards, a gentle, loving smile on her face as she tugged him further into the room. “I’ve missed you.” She whispered, pulling them both backwards onto the bed, not surrendering his hands until he was lying pressed tight atop her.

Sighing happily he lifted her hips, pushing them both completely onto the mattress, letting her legs wrap around his as her hands wound under his cloak and pushed it from his shoulders. “Each day and night I missed you.” She whispered, her hot breath tickling his ear, “More than anything.”

Feeling her already moving softly against him, Robin took up her pace, bringing out the soft moans he’d missed so much as he trailed light kisses along her jaw, “I’m, a-ahn, I’m yours Robin, I always will be.”

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

His movements were slow, unhurried. It had been both less than a day and more than half a year since they’d last been together and no matter how desperate his need may have been, his love for her burned stronger.

This night, he fully intended to savour every moment, to re-acquaint himself with all the parts of her body that made her gasp, and moan.

Running his hands along her shoulders he peeled her tunic apart, casting it aside and working her bindings free, loosening her breasts into his hands. His tongue trailing a soft line along between the while his hands gently kneaded them.

Sliding her panties carefully down her legs, his kisses followed their descent, his fingers tracing a soft pattern along the back of her knees as she tugged on his snowy-white hair.

And then finally, some unknowable time later, when neither of them could last a moment longer, he cradled her head in his arms, their tongues dancing gently together as he pushed himself slowly inside her.

The sigh of relief fell equally from both their lips, a warm shared smile shared between them as her legs wrapped around his waist, her hips moving against his to guide him deeper inside.

“Mh-ahh…”

“Uahh…”

Their time apart faded quickly to nothing as their movements adjusted to being together once more, their bodies moving in synch as they made love.

“I-ah, it’s so warm, so hot.” Robin gasped, marvelling at the incredible sensation.

It went far beyond simply sating the desire that had been gnawing at him, simply feeling himself buried within Lucina again was almost more than he could take. It was both familiar and new at the same time…

His memories told him clearly it’d been barely a day since they’d last lain together, he had vivid memories of her in his arms like this before their final battle. It didn’t just feel like yesterday, it had been yesterday! Her movements were certainly familiar, she rolled her hips against his, squeezed her legs around him and made love with all the skill she’d gained since their relationship had been consummated.

And yet, the months that had passed without him had left Lucina’s pussy even tighter, even more sensitive than he remembered, her walls were coiled firmly around his cock, sucking him back in each time he pulled out, pulling against him each time he trust in…

“G-Gods, L-Lucina. I-It’s so good!” He groaned, panting for breath, she was threatening to wring him dry with each thrust!

Fighting against the fast oncoming sensation, he kept his movements steady, pulling all the way out and thrusting deep into her pussy, pressing his cock firmly against her back walls and kissing hard along her shoulder in time with each resulting gasp from her.

Gods!

It was good, it was too good! He couldn’t take it much longer!

“N-Naga, I’m, I’m getting close.”

“I-Hnhh-Ahh, M-Me too!” She gasped back, clinging tighter around him and struggling to speak as she was almost overwhelmed by the long-missed sensations.

Having spent so long without the touch of a man, just the feeling of his cock inside her was almost more than she could take. Feeling it pressed deep within her, Robin kept grinding it hard against her most sensitive walls was more than enough to drive all other thoughts from her mind.

“Ahnng!” She gaped wordlessly, her back arching as his length pressed deep within her once more, his length leaving her completely full of him, the head of his cock pressing hard against the very back of her pussy. It was almost more than she could take.

“I-Robin I can’t, I can’t!” She cried, biting her lip and tossing her head to the side as a pleasure she hadn’t felt in months roared to life inside her, “I-I’m goin-Khaaa! I’m going to!”

“Cum!” He ordered, pulling out slowly as his hands found her hips, his fingers gripping firmly around her ass.

“I-”

“Cum with me!” Robin demanded again, lifting her waist off the bed as he suddenly thrust himself fully inside her.

She could do nothing else.

“Y-YES!” She screamed, her mind going blank as she felt his cock twitch inside her, felt his release slamming furiously into her walls, the sudden increase in pressure as if her entire body was soaked in his seed. “Y-YhhaHARGHH!” Clinging to the man she loved with her legs locked securely around his hips, Lucina came hard.

Her mouth hanging open in a silent scream, even her voice trailed off to nothing, her body shivering with pleasure each time she felt his cock twitch inside her, each time another burst of his warm cum spread through her.

“Ahaaa.” Equally dazed and gasping for air, Robin collapsed into her arms, “Ghaaa…” He sighed contentedly, his vision slowly returning as he watched his love shudder with each small twitch of his cock, felt her pussy wrapping tight around it with each small burst, attempting to milk out the last of his cum. “Wow. That…that felt good.”

It scarcely needed to be said, anytime he spent with Lucina always felt amazing…yet, somehow there was more to it this time, a drive he couldn’t put his finger on. Seeing her like this, feeling her under him, watching her shake and cum for him…He’d seen it a hundred times previously, but somehow today it fulfilled some primal need, a desire within him he couldn’t put into words.

“Ye-ahnm… Yeah.” She agreed, grinning warmly up at him, an unabashed love shining clear in her eyes.

It the same beautiful dazed smile he’d seen on her so many times before, the same visage of the woman he loved, her hair messed and her breath short, as she stared up at him gently lying on his arms. But somehow, it was more than that.

“I missed this, I missed it so much.” She admitted, shaking him from his thoughts as she ran her hands gently over his back, laughing lightly when he moved to place butterfly kisses across her exposed shoulders in response. “I thought, I was goi-O-Ooh?”

“Hmm?” He hummed, looking up from where he’d buried himself in her shoulder.

“Yo-You’re still hard?” She asked, the question came out half gasp as she felt his hips moving against her, his cock pushing again against the back of her pussy. “I-Ah, R-Robin, w-wait, I-I’m still sensitive, I…”

It was only after she mentioned it that he noticed. That he wasn’t tired, he wasn’t short of breath and that in adjusting himself to wrap around her, his body had been instinctively grinding against her.

“Hgh…Lucina.” He panted, gritting his teeth as the realisation brought with it a fiery surge of need, one even stronger than before. The fire within him raged still, hotter than ever.

‘More! Gods!’

Just once wasn’t enough, he wanted more, he needed more. Gritting his teeth, he clamped down on the sudden impulse. He forced his hips steady, holding down his instincts to move, despite how firmly her walls felt wrapped around him. “Hnghh… Do, do you mind?”

“Of course not.” She laughed, placing her hands around his head and drawing him close to lay a gentle kiss across his brow, before unclenching her legs and relaxing backwards into the bed. “I’m yours, as much as you need, love. I feel just the same.”

Her sweet words touched him, but they also unshackled the restraint Robin had been holding too so firmly. Leaning upright and taking hold of her hips, his body was already in motion, his waist pulled back barely a moment before he drove forwards, hilting his cock fully back inside her.

“GH-Ah!” He grunted, a base need driving him on, pushing him to move harder, faster. “Lucina!”

The first time had been tender and loving, their pleasure as much due to their long awaited reunion as the feeling of their bodies intertwined.

This time however, spurred on by an unfamiliar desperation, a burning need, Robin barely even heard her screaming his name as he thrust himself inside her.

“Lucina!” He howled her name, leaning back with a guttural moan as he slammed his cock inside her. The sensation was incredible! Even more than before! No matter how fast he moved, how hard he slammed his cock into her, still her inner walls were clenched tight around him. Even as he gripped her hips and fucked her as hard as he could, still she thrust back against him, still the woman he loved did her best to pleasure him.

Even having already came, as he drove furiously into her, his peak came even faster than before. He didn’t hold back, didn’t wait, didn’t even consider it. He needed this!

“GNG-HNNHG!” Again and again Lucina screamed in response, her voice coming only in bursts as she gasped raggedly for air, throwing her head back as her body arched and convulsed against him. Screwing her eyes shut, she thrashed under him, shocked by the intensity of the raw pleasure searing through her as Robin repeatedly ravished her body.

“I’m! Ghgh-Lucina!” He managed to howl her name one last time as a second orgasm crashed into him, barely even noticing her own peak as his vision turned white and his cock spasming again and again in desperate release, coating her insides with his seed.

Even as he came, still the fire inside roared!

Still the overpowering need drove him on!

“Gods!” He gasped, only pausing long enough to pin her hands to bed, collapsing on-top of her and continuing to thrust full force, “L-Lucina! I-”

“I-It’s f-it’s fine.” She assured him, her determination unwavering even as her voice shook with pleasure. “I can t-take it! Use me! A-As much as you nee-ahhnn! R-Robin!”

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

The first shock came that same night.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Some time later.

“I can’t believe it.” Lucina giggled, slinking a hand gently down his belly as she lay snuggled beside him. “Even after all that, you’re still hard?”

“Mmm.” Robin nodded, raising an eyebrow as her fingers slid down his thigh and wrapped lightly around his shaft, the proof of his arousal clear in her hands.

“It’s been like this all day, since I woke up.” He admitted, trying to keep his voice level as her hands moved gently over his length.

“Is that…normal? For a man? We’ve never…” Robin grinned as Lucina looked away, her cheeks dusted red even as her fingers moved up and down his length. Apparently she could still be bashful, despite all they’d done together. “We’ve never done it quite that much?”

The worry died inside him as her fingers moved a little faster over his length and Robin leaned back, gritting his teeth and holding back the quickly surging impulses. Already he’d cum inside her four times, and still the fire burned hot inside him. Even now he ached for her, his body all but screaming at him to roll over and take her once more.

‘Is that so wrong?’ Surely there wasn’t anything wrong with a man desiring his fiancé? Perhaps this was just the depth of his feelings, how much he missed her?

“I’m sure it’s just a reaction to being dea-to being away for so long.” He answered, unsure if he was lying or not. He didn’t mention that even after everything they’d done, he still wasn’t tired, still his muscles barely ached at all.

Still, as far as he knew, that was all he could think it could possibly be. Even if he hadn’t been around, it had been six months since he’d been with her…perhaps this was natural? Lucina didn’t seem to be any worse for wear, and while they had never done it continuously so many times, it was hardly the first time their love making had been a little rough.

And yet, some distant memory, a half forgotten dream tugged at him. ‘Naga?’ Was there something else?

“Hmm.” A curious determination flashed in his fiancé’s eyes, “Well, then… Allow me.”

So saying she disentangled herself from his arm, slithering slowly down his body until she was between his legs, her breath hot against his rigid length.

Shuddering in reaction, Robin’s words died in his throat, leaving him only able to watch as Lucina leaned forwards, opening her mouth and gently taking the head of his cock inside.

“Ahnhh.” He sighed, leaning back as her tongue wrapped around his glans. Shivering as her hands slid around the base of his shaft, slowly pumping his length as her head bobbed up and down, easing more and more of his cock inside with each movement. “T-Tha-That’s good…”

Pausing only long enough to pull away and flash him a victorious smile, Lucina returned to the task, sliding almost half his length inside this time, holding it inside a moment as her fingers gently cupped his balls. “Y-Yeah, yeah-nghnnn, like that…”

Perhaps the only thing more surprising than Lucina’s strange natural ability at giving blowjobs was her willingness to perform them for him. Even with the frequency he went down on her, given her restrained personality, he’d only even introduced the concept to her a few weeks before his death, fully expecting her to reject the act outright.

Gripping tight to the bedsheets, Robin watched as she pulled back once more, his cock sliding out of her mouth with a deliberate pop as she took it into her hands. Pausing for a moment that lasted an eternity, Lucina slid forwards once more, sucking down his entire length in one gulp, taking him all the way into her throat.

“G-Gods!”  Robin shuddered, his back arching off the bed as he felt the way her muscles squeezed around him, before she moved back, sliding her mouth up and down his entire length.

It was just another sign of her brilliance –Robin had always thought— how quickly, and eagerly, the shy woman he loved had leaned not just to suck his cock but to swallow it. At the time it had touched him deeply, a sign of how much she cared for him, that she tried anything she could to make him happy…

…Now however, watching as Ylisse’s perfect, pure princess took his length all the way down her throat, listening to the sultry noises her mouth made as it slid down his length…now, despite his love for her, he was all but overwhelmed by his unbearable need for her!

“Ghngh!” He gasped, his hands moving to cup her head, threading his fingers through her hair, “L-Lucina, h-harder!”

Humming ascent into his cock, she increased her pace, pushing her tongue against the underside of his cock and bobbing her head up and down, faster and harder, her hands gently squeezing his balls as she reached the base.

It was good…

Gods, but it was so good.

But it wasn’t enough.

“Haang…” He panted, his hips thrusting up into her, as his hands gripped her head, pulling her faster down his cock, until her lips were pressed against his balls and his cock fully sheathed inside her throat.

“I-Mmng.”

It still wasn’t enough.

Lifting her head up, he held it steady as his hips thrust upwards, burying his cock deep into her throat with a guttural moan. Relaxing into his grip, Lucina ceded all control to him. Bracing herself on the bed, she simply wrapped her arms around his legs, letting him use her mouth however he desired.

The angle wasn’t ideal, but he could hardly have cared less. Not with the way he could feel her tongue wrapping around his shaft, the way she kept her lips tight around him, the way she constricted her throat around his length each time he pushed in. Gods! She was amazing!

Fuelled by the overwhelming sensations, he moved fast and harder, the last of any restraint falling away as his peak arrived once more. “Lu-Lucina, I-I’m gonna, I-HNGGHH!”

Pushing off him the moment she felt his cock twitching, Lucina took control once more. Pulling back until only his glans was left in her mouth, she sucked furiously on it as her hands moved back to the base of his shaft, rapidly pumping up and down, doing her very best to wring him dry.

Shuddering in her grip, Robin let out one final cry before bursting inside her mouth, his cock unloading stream after stream of warm salty cum, filling her mouth in an instant. Shocked at the amount, Lucina’s eyes were wide as she sucked forcefully on his cockhead, desperately swallowing as much as possible.

Robin’s cock twitched one last time and she was completely overwhelmed, “Ughu-ah, ghah!” Gasping she pulled back, panting for breath as his release splattered across her face, more spilling from her open mouth as she gagged.

“L-Lucina! Are, are you alright?”

Holding up a hand, she nodded determinately, her resolution unwavering even despite his seed painting her ace. Closing her mouth and staring directly into his eyes, she swallowed heavily, the last of his load disappearing down her throat.

“I-I’m fine.” She answered a moment later, brushing the cum from her face with a victorious grin. “There was just, just more than I was expecting.”

That fact alone should have raised some flags, previously after making love so many times he’d be practically spent, and yet now his fifth load had been almost as big as the first.

None of that was on his mind as he stared at her though, his mouth going dry as she scooped more of his release from her face, sucking it from her fingers with an embarrassed smile.

For all that he and Lucina had done, for all the moments they’d shared… Looking at her now, the princess of Ylisse visibly swallowing his cum… Smiling up at him despite being covered in his load…

He simply stared as a small trail of cum dripped slowly from her face, watching as it slashed across her breasts.

‘G-Gods!’ He shuddered again, his entire body wracked with desire as the heat surged through him hotter than ever before. More! MORE! He wanted to see her even more debased, to hear every sultry moan and every lascivious look she had! He needed more!

Lucina didn’t miss his reaction, nor the way his cock twitched furiously against her hand. “You really have missed it haven’t you?” She teased, leaning down to place a small kiss on its head before shuffling away.

“W-We can stop, this is, that’s enough.” Robin lied.

“No.” The teasing tone dropped from her voice, as she shook her head, “I told you. As much as you need love. Until you’re satisfied, I want to make you happy… I know I don’t fit well into this world, there’s much I don’t know, or can’t do… At least in this, I can. Let me be your wife.”

“Bu-”

“I won’t break easily Robin, I can take it.” Grinning mischievously for a moment as she turned on all fours, deliberately presenting herself to him. “You like it like this right? Come, let it all out inside me.”

“I…Lucina...”

He gulped, his body shuddering once more at the sight.

Here it was, directly in front of him.

The same tight, round ass that had been tantalising him all day. The creamy thighs he’d dreamed of, the sight of his cum dripping down her legs, just as he’d fantasised.

He moved forwards with barely a thought, his cock painfully hard as the last of his reservations or hesitations were blown away. ‘She wants this too.’ He was reminded, as he took hold of her hips and pressing against her entrance.

“A-AH! R-Robin!?” Lucina gasped in surprise, rearing back as she felt his cock pushing against her ass. “Th-That’s not, the righ-KYGGGHHAAA!” Her words were cut off with a shocked moan as he pushed forwards, the head of his cock slowly pushing her walls apart and sinking inside.

“Gga-Kyhaaahh.” Her hands gave out at the sensation, leaving her moans muffled into the bedsheet as inch after inch of him pushed inside her tight passage. “Gruuuugh! I-R-Robin!”

“Naga!” He swore aloud, gasping as her muscles wrapped painfully around him again. She was squeezing his cock so tight it was almost impossible to move. Gods! Even compared to how firmly her pussy usually wrapped around him, this was something else entirely!

It took every ounce of restraint he’d built to move slowly, giving her time to adjust to feeling him inside her like this. More and more his desire raged within him, every fibre in his body screaming for release, aching or him to grab her hips and slam himself inside as far and hard as he could!

“Y-You’re fine, relax, j-just relax.” He panted through grit teeth, wincing again at the pressure around his cock as he finally pushed the last of it inside, burying himself fully inside her ass.

“Ghhnhn!, I-I, it’s…” Lucina moaned weakly, her body shaking as she slowly adjusted to the sensation, balling her fists and attempting to unclench her muscles. “I-I’m okay, you can, you can move.”

The pressure eased slightly and he rocked his hips back and forth, easing himself a few inches in at a time, gripping her hips tight and watching as her shoulders shook, her back arching at the new sensation.

“How does it feel?” He asked, the heat inside finally being quenched as his rhythm rose.

“It-it’s, it feels-I don’t know! It’s –ahhn it’s different!” She gasped, but there was no disguising the moans that were starting to come unbidden from her mouth. Nor the way her tunnel was stretching around him, her walls taking his shape as her own pleasure mounted. “Ah, ahn, I-, don’t know! Haa, don’t know what to think!”

“You like it don’t you?” He groaned a few moments later as his movements picked up pace, his hips hitting harder against hers.

She didn’t answer but even with her face buried in the blanket, it was impossible to miss Lucina’s moans, or the way she was pressing her ass back against his.

Something inside him drove him on, “You’re enjoying this!” He teased, grinning broadly as he ground his cock deeper inside her, “The princess of Ylisse! Th-ghnnn, the Exalt! You like being fucked like this!”

“D-D-Don’t! Please ahnn! Don’t say it like that!” She begged, her fingers gripping the blankets tightly as she struggled to comprehend the coalescing sensations, “I-ahh, I ca-can’t take much more!”

Grunting a response, Robin held tight to her hips, fighting back his own release as he slammed himself inside her gasping at the pleasure.

“I-I-AIYAAAH!” Lucina shrieked, unable to hold back, her entire body gave out as she came once more. Gasping, she slumped breathlessly to the bed, her legs held up only by Robin’s grip on her.

“AGHUUGH!” He roared in response, the painful pressure of her anal walls around his cock driving him well over the edge, hilting himself fully inside her, he came hard, spots dancing in front of his eyes as his release filled her passage.

“Agh..haa…” He groaned softly, pulling out and falling backwards onto the bed. “Naga…that was, that was…hah.”

Slumped on the bed, it was a few more seconds before his vision cleared. Grinning brightly, Robin turned to her with a bright smile.

“L-Lucina?”

Looking over at her quivering form, at the ravished body of the woman he loved. Robin’s heart stopped cold, a sudden oppressive guilt banishing any lingering heat as he looked on in shock at the cum slowly dropping out from her ass.

‘I did that to her.’ Without asking permission and without even attempting to be gentle, he’d taken her anal virginity. He hadn’t even cared! He’d used the woman he loved as nothing more than a tool for his release! ‘Gods, I-I did that!?’

 “L-Lucina!?” He repeated, urgency rising, “Are you okay?”

“Robin? I-gha. Yes, of course I am.” She called back, rolling over and offering the same loving smile, even despite her visible exhaustion. “Do you feel better?”

“I-Naga…” He sighed, even despite her assurance, the guilt didn’t lessen. “I’m sorry, I- that is, I didn’t mean t-”

Sliding over to him, his apology was halted as she wrapped herself around him once more. “Sorry? Why?” She asked, leaning happily against him as he took her into his arms, holding her with the same gentle love he’d always meant to show her.

“I was…I didn’t mean to be so, so forceful.” Given the secretive nature of their relationship, it was hardly the first time they’d had quick, rough sex, but never quite like this.

Wrapped up in his arms, Lucina didn’t answer. With her eyes closed and her breathing slowly setting back to normal, he would have thought her asleep already if not for the way her fingers were dancing softly across his chest.

“I like it.” She answered finally, her words barely more than a whisper as she steadfastly avoided his gaze.

“Yo-You like it?”

Again she fell silent, hiding her head in his shoulder while she carefully chose her words, only breaking their silence a few minutes later. “All my life I’ve had to be strong. My friends, my army, my country, everyone looked to me to lead them, to make everything alright, to…to save them. Even here in the past, I’ve spent so long pretending to be strong, acting like the Hero King they need me to be.”

“Lucina, you are strong.” He frowned, leaning over and pulling her face up to his, showing the admiration in his eyes. “You’ve proven that time and again, you’ve done so much. You are strong, stronger than anyone I know.”

Placing a hand against his cheek, she simply shook her head in response. “But with you I don’t need to be. I don’t need to wear a mask, or a façade. I can just…I can let myself be weak around you. I fear nothing from you Robin and you treat me well Robin, outside the bedroom I know us as equals in all things. So, when we’re like this, it’s nice… It’s nice just to, to…”

“To be weak?”

“To be yours.” She answered instead, a small embarrassed smile on her lips as her eyes caught his for a moment before sliding away once more. “I like it when you’re gentle- I feel like, like I’m wrapped up and warm and loved…but, I also- I also like it when you’re not. When you hold me down, or just take control. I-I feel like, you need me.”

“I do need you Lucina. I couldn’t live without you.”

Giggling lightly, she wrapped herself tighter around him, “So, don’t apologise to me Robin. Anything you need from me, I will gladly give you. I- I trust you. More than I’ve ever trusted anyone.”

“I know you’d never hurt me.” She finished, her voice not wavering once.

“I-” Utterly touched by Lucina’s words, Robin found himself unable to speak, choked up with both relief and gratitude. “I-, Naga, Lucina… I don’t deserve you.”

Reaching down he pulled her lips to his once more, silencing any attempted protest she made and just holding her against him in a soft kiss.

“I love you.” He swore, breaking their kiss for a moment and promising himself, as deeply as he’d ever promised anything. He would be worthy of her words.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

With Lucina’s admission doing much to clear his guilt, Robin attempted to put his worries about the sudden urges behind him, deciding to instead concentrate on returning to the life he’d wanted to live, alongside the family he loved.

However, the compulsion wasn’t so easily ignored. Even as the dawn of the next day rose, already he could feel the smouldering embers of the same desires beginning to burn within him.

The days passed and he was reunited with the other Shepherds, but with each reunion the desires only burned hotter. No longer could he look at Olivia and see just a shy dancing girl, or Cordelia and see a friend trapped in a painfully unrequited love…now his eyes caught every sway of their hips, followed every bounce of their breasts. There was no escaping it, his every waking hour began to fill with fantasies of Cherche riding him, of Noire’s soft lips sliding down his shaft, or of Anna’s legs wrapped around his own.

There seemed to be no way to fully clear the images from his mind, even the nights he managed to spend with Lucina allowed only a short reprieve.

And so, night after night, Robin sought her out.

And, time after time, the events of their first night were repeated, all his desires and all his frustrations emptied into her- their lovemaking dominated instead with lust and rough need.

And Lucina accepted it. No matter how often he held her down, or how desperately he drove into her, regardless of when or where he took her… No matter if he came to her with love or lust in his eyes, always she smiled for him and cared for him no less for it.

It seemed to Robin that perhaps her words held true, that she had no fear of his sudden increased need, that she would enjoy being ravished by him as often as being loved by him. So, with her assurances easing his own guilt, slowly the habit settled into a routine.

The days passed into weeks and Robin accustomed himself the new situation, allowing that perhaps this was simply a facet of his new life.

The second shock came just over a month later.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Two Months Ago

“Go-Gods! Robin!” Lucina panted, throwing her head back as her body shook, sending her crashing into another powerful orgasm. “Wait! Please, I-I can’t! Haaa! I’m going crazy!”

Slamming hard into her with a guttural groan, desperately chasing after his own release, Robin didn’t pause a moment.

By now he knew everything about her body, he knew just where Lucina’s weak spots where, where he should kiss or touch to make her quiver, what angle to take to ensure she felt him as much as possible, exactly which spots inside her made her scream the loudest…

All that knowledge came instinctively as he pushed her legs into her chest, driving his cock deep inside her, hitting against her most sensitive parts as hard as he could. Not hesitating for a second, even when he felt her pussy tighten around him.

“Fu-aaah!” Her voice came out only in broken gasps as his cock slammed into her, even through her orgasm. “Ro-ROBIN! KYYHHAA!” Rearing back one last time, Lucina’s voice fell silent, her tongue lolling out and eyes rolling backwards as her body reacted, peaking again before the previous orgasm completed.

 “I’m, I’m close!” He moaned in response, her pussy’s sudden constriction finally driving him over the edge as he buried himself fully inside her one last time, his cock twitching frantically against her far walls before his release exploded within her.

Letting out one final gasp at the sudden sensation, Lucina went slack in his arms, her head falling backwards onto the mattress.

“A-Haa…ah,” He panted, sucking in deep breaths as the spots in-front of his vision slowly cleared. “Woah, that wa-Huh? L-Lucina?”

She didn’t move.

Suddenly shocked from the aftermath of his orgasm, Robin stared in horror at the still form of his fiancé. Lying slumped under him, with her mouth open and glazed eyes staring unseeing at the ceiling, only the slow rise and fall of her chest held off his panic. “Lucina!? LUCINA!”

Still she didn’t answer. Biting back his shock and pulling out of her, Robin lay her as gently as he could on the mattress, cradling her head in his arms, and turning her face towards him.

“L-Lucina, a-are you okay? C’mon… P-Please?”

“I-Huh?” She whispered weakly, the light slowly returning to her eyes as they dizzily scanned the room. “Wha… Robin?”

“G-Gods… Thank Naga.” Wrapping his arms around her as tight as he dared, Robin was almost sobbing with relief as the chill on his heart slowly thawed. “Y-You’re okay…you’re okay.”

“I-Of course I am. W-What happened?”

Holding back his shock, he slowly forced back some composure. “You, you passed out…only for a minute, but, Gods, Lucina...I was terrified.”

“I-I fainted?” She whispered in disbelief, trying to piece together her memories, “I don’t- all I remember, it just it felt so good, it was-it was so much, more than I could take.”

“I’m sorry, I never thought…I Gods, Lucina I’m sorry.”

“N-No…” Shaking her head, Lucina’s eyes fell away from his her face contorting into a frown, “I never thought I would, to think I would just faint…”

The bitter disappointment in her voice was impossible to miss, nor was the defeated look in her eyes as her hands reached between his legs, “And, you’re still hard…”

“I-” He winced, the shock of seeing her pass out had blown away almost all his remaining lust, but still he remained painfully aroused. “I’m fine, don’t worry about me.” He answered instead, pulling her hands from his shaft and taking them in his.

“If… Robin, if I can’t…” Her words trailed off, but even as he gently squeezed her hand, she still didn’t look up at him. “I wouldn’t mind if you… If I can’t satisfy you, yo-”

“Hey!” Sitting up, he pulled her up with him, taking her head in his hands and forcing her to face him. “No. Lucina. You do satisfy me. This, is… This is just proof of how much you do, that I can’t get enough of you.”

That was the excuse he’d told himself a thousand times. It was the truth! It had to be, it was the only thing it could be! Months of being together and still he couldn’t get enough of her, that was only proof of his love! …Right?

“Y-You make me happier than anyone ever has.”

Lucina hesitated only a moment before nodding, “Alright.” Leaning back into him with a small sigh, she pressed a kiss against his shoulder. “And, I feel the same towards you, of course.”

Easily able to put her worries from her mind, Lucina simply curled up and enjoyed the afterglow, as exhausted as she was she was asleep within minutes.

For Robin, it wasn’t quite so easy. He couldn’t so easily pretend everything was fine, to ignore the growing desires within him, not after seeing her slumped unconscious like that…

‘I know you’d never hurt me.’

“Naga…” He whispered, “What’s wrong with me?”

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

With the full nature of their relationship still being kept secret, there wasn’t anyone Robin could easily turn to for advice.

Instead he had the best healers, medics and diviners check into him –as discreetly as possible— for any hexes, curses, or other ailments. Yet, all gave the prognosis Lissa had given him that first day, that his health was perfect- better than perfect.

He meditated on the balance of life, drank foul herbal concoctions and even resorted to taking powerful sleeping draughts each night… Nothing worked.

With no other avenues he finally turned to religion, praying to Naga -a dragon who’d assured him she wasn’t a goddess. The priests were kind, even understanding, but he received no answers nor solutions from them or their goddess.

Instead every day was spent fighting back his urges, his needs.

No matter how desperately he attempted abstinence or restraint, still he could barely last more than a few days before succumbing.

Lucina never raised a complaint, no matter how often he snuck into her room, or how hurriedly he dragged her into his own. Yet, each time, their lovemaking became rougher than the last, his lust taking more and more control each time she was within his arms.

Once again what had become a shock became a habit. Over and over again he took her, pounding furiously into her until at least the edge of his need was taken off, never was he fully sated but at least it was enough to let him think straight and to restrain himself once more.

More often than not though, that need was more than Lucina could take.

He couldn’t miss how forcefully she pushed herself, the effort she put in getting him off, in being what he needed, but, the more time passed, the more often their sessions ended with her slumped unconscious in his arms and his guilt finishing off the last off his lust.

More and more he knew his control was fading.

 He could feel it in every part of his body, the way his very soul seemed to scream for release. He refused to accept it, refused to admit it, but the deeper the urges drove him, the harder it became to ignore. Lucina was acting as little but a release valve, one that was quickly becoming overwhelmed, the need for “more” the fire within him raged for wasn’t as simple as more sex…

The third shock was the final decision that changed everything.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Present Time

“G-Godsdamnit, da-damnit!” Robin ground out through grit teeth, his hands pressing desperately against his head as he tried to force himself to turn away from the bed.

To look away from where once again, the woman he loved was lying passed out on her mattress. Her exhausted body covered in sweet, and his cum running thick down her thighs.

“Gods…”

It was soon! Too soon! ‘More, I godsdamnit!’

Holding himself naked against the wall, he’d forced himself off her, torn himself as far away as he could…knowing full well his resolve hung only by a thin thread. That only the barest force of will kept him from returning to the bed, from ravishing her unconscious body.

‘Sh-She won’t mind…’

“No! No!” He groaned, “I-I can’t! I won’t!”

Again the words Lucina had spoken to him rang clear through his mind, ‘I trust you. I know you’d never hurt me.’ He gripped tight to that memory like a drowning man, it was all he could do to retain his sanity, to keep whatever restraint still remained within him.

“GODSDAMNIT!” He roared, pounding his fist against the wall, trying to concentrate on the pain to force back his arousal.

It was like putting out a house fire with an eyedropper.

“G-Gods, I can’t… I need, I need…”

Robin was a rational man. He’d seen this night coming. He’d dreaded its arrival for weeks. Worst of all, he knew there was no happy ending here.

Even if he did resist tonight, would that change anything? The desire was getting stronger, could he resist forever? What if he never found a release from this compulsion, would he go mad?

‘I know you’d never hurt me.’

“I won’t, I can’t… I can’t hurt her.”

But…it wasn’t just Lucina that was at stake here. As much as it pained him to admit it, there was no denying the same urges that sent him to her also had him looking to Lissa, to Sully, to all the female Shepherds.

And…and, to Robin’s greatest shame. To Morgan.

“Gods… Gods no.”

That thought finally brought back a moment of clarity. A burst of self loathing clearing his mind once more, leaving him pressed hard against the cold stone wall of Lucina’s room, shaking with fear as much as supressed desire.

Before anything else, he was a tactician. A tactician never ran from painful truths, never feared what they must be overcome.

He knew the truth, even if he refused to accept it, he already knew. At some point, if this continued, he would lose control. How many times already had he tempered and urge to lay his hands on one of his comrades by dragging Lucina off to some spare room?

He couldn’t risk that! Couldn’t risk doing something unforgivable to one of his friends… or gods to Mor-… He couldn’t!

‘I know you’d never hurt me.’

A tactician always had a plan.

He’d thought of just leaving a thousand times, of killing himself a hunded more. To remove them from danger, to keep them safe, he would, in a heartbeat…but no… He couldn’t do that now, not to Lucina or to Morgan, not after returning already and seeing how much his resurrection meant to his family.

The die was cast.

There was no running from this. All he could do was face down his fate, to make the same terrible compromises he’d made on the battlefield so long ago.

Sucking in deep breaths, he moved slowly around the room, gathering his clothing and pulling it on. Already he could feel his control waning, already he could feel the desire, the need, surging back within him.

“Lucina… Forgive me. Forgive me.” He spoke to her silent form, his voice shaking and unsure. “I-I will, I will protect you...even from me.”

How far would he go to protect his family?

He didn’t want to know. He hoped he wouldn’t find out.

Turning with one final forlorn look to the woman he loved, Robin left her room.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

It wasn’t a long walk back to his chambers, Lucina’s room was just down the hall from Chrom’s and his was not much further.

Usually it was a convenient distance, being short enough that one of them could easily slip into the other’s room with little risk of being caught. For tonight however, he wished it was further, the distance not anywhere near far enough to attempt to clear his head.

And yet, despite everything, somehow it was easier now. The urges pulled at him less with each step he took towards his destination. It seemed whatever primal need was driving him was in agreement with this decision.

‘So much the better.’ He scoffed bitterly, his anger and frustration keeping his nerves keened to a knife’s edge.

Passing by his own quarters he spared a glance towards the shut door.

It would be easy, a small guilty part of his mind told him, so easy, to just go inside and lie down. Just try and sleep. Another surge of desire wracked through him before he could even consider it, a reminder of just how impossible that was.

‘No.’ He affirmed his resolve, stepping forward once more. ‘There’s only one solution, only one way out.’

His destination was barely twenty paces past his door, the room directly beside his. The door was shut tight of course, various sigls glowing eerily in the darkness all warned off any attempt at intrusion. Still, he knew it wouldn’t be locked, not to him, not even at this time of night.

Reaching out, he paused heavily, one final hesitation- his hand an inch away from the doorknob.

This was the precipice now, he stood on the cusp of breaking a promise made so long ago. To open this door was to change everything. His actions tonight would send him down a path he knew he could never return from.

‘I wouldn’t mind if you… If I can’t satisfy you…’

Again Lucina’s words rang in his mind, but this time they offered him no comfort.

‘That isn’t consent.’ He reminded himself. ‘That doesn’t make this okay.’

But, it was all he could do, all he could think to do. He would protect her, no matter what.

‘Forgive me.’ He repeated one last time.

But yet…despite his words, and in spite of his guilt, as he moved to push the door open, his hands shook not with fear, but with excitement. A thrill of exhilaration ran through him one he knew wasn’t due only to his oppressive need.

He wanted this. On some instinctive, primal level, he wanted this. It was as true for him as it was for any man.

As he stepped through the entrance, there was no doubt in his step, not a single moment of hesitation, his mind had been made up long ago, now was only the time to follow through.

“Tharja.” Her name fell from his lips like a prayer, and try as he might, Robin couldn’t keep the eager grin from his face.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Notes:

Finally things should be making a bit more sense now! A lot of people weren’t quite sure where I was going with this after the first chapter (prologue really). But now we see exactly what drives Robin to this course, why such a drastic change comes over him.

As to what specifically is affecting him and why it is, that should all be a lot clearer after the next chapter! (Look forward to it?

I do want to say, clearly though, that this IS Robin. There’s no mind control, no other personality, nor is he becoming or losing to Grima. The interesting part of this idea, for me, is to keep Robin consistent, to put him in a place where the pressure on him makes him choose some very different choices.

Also, for anyone worried, no he won’t be losing control or going insane either. After the next chapter he’ll have a much better control and understanding of the desires that’re driving him.

Anyhow, as always, PM/Review if you’ve got any comments, requests or anything else. I’m always eager for feedback.

I’ve received quite a few requests for Lissa, which is great, since I wanted to use her early anyway! So she’s been moved up and should appear soon. I’ve also had a few for Sumia, I’ve actually got what I think will be quite an interesting idea for her, unfortunately she’ll be a little way off yet (It’d take quite some change for Robin to do anything with his best friend’s wife I think).

Nowi should be along without too much delay (with Nah in tow), Noire is going to need some setup from Tharja though...

Chapter 3: Tharja – A Dark Mage’s Love

Notes:

Authors Note: And so we finally get some answers, eventually. This chapter’s a little longer than the previous ones, and may come with a few surprises.

Tharja – A Dark Mage’s Love

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Tharja was a close friend and trusted ally, someone who stood by Robin’s side throughout all challenges. But, she also served him as a reminder, of his weakness, his humanity, and most importantly, his vow to himself.

When the whole world sung his praises, she was walking proof that the Grandmaster of Ylisse, the Plegian Nemesis, the Hero of Valm was ultimately but a man.

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She was awake still, of course. Sitting at her desk, bathed in dim candlelight.

He watched as she turned, face flushed and eyes wide as she looked in disbelief from her scrying bowl to where he stood in the entrance of her room.

Just as he’d expected.

He’d long assumed Tharja spied on his time with Lucina. It wasn’t anything they’d ever talked about, but he’d seen more than enough evidence of short-distance scrying components during the last war, and given her personality, it hadn’t been a difficult conclusion to reach.

That he’d never brought it up –and so, tacitly allowed it— had been his concession towards her and the loyalty of her feelings towards him.

Somehow, it had seemed the least he could do for her, for the woman who’d stayed true to him, even after all these years. He couldn’t return her feelings, he couldn’t grant her the love she wanted. So if nothing else, he’d chosen not to deny her whatever happiness she’d gained from seeing his true love, the affection he shared with Lucina.

Gods.

And now he was here.

There was no doubt she’d seen everything. Little doubt she’d seen the entire progression of it, that she’d seen him losing his mind for months now. He’d made an allowance, to let her see his true love…and she’d instead watched him leave her, watched him every step of the way that brought him here.

It was almost enough to make him laugh.

Instead he just smirked, accepting it for the ridiculous situation it was and kicked the door shut behind him. His eyes never left hers as Tharja rose slowly from her chair, he watched as she walked unsteadily towards him, as if unable to believe what she was seeing.

Her chest heaved with shallow breaths, whether form the excitement of what she’d seen or of what she expected would happen, he couldn’t guess.

He followed her eyes as they darted below his waist. With his cloak left open he knew she could easily see his arousal straining painfully against his pants. Chest heaving, Tharja swallowed heavily, he remained silent, his reason for being here clearly displayed.

“R-Robin?” She whispered, disbelief slowly fading as she bit into her lip, wondrous excitement filling her eyes. “You’re really…you’ve finally come to me.”

It wasn’t a question.

He opened his arms. She was against him within a heartbeat, falling into his open arms and wrapping herself tightly around him, her soft lips parted against his as he leaned to meet her, pushing all other thought from her world as he drew her into a deep kiss.

Feeling her shudder at his touch, Robin pressed his tongue against hers, touching it to the roof of her mouth, opening her lips wider and pulling her closer against him as their shared passion rose.

A hand pressed against her lower back held her firmly in place as she squirmed against him, the thin sash around her hips doing little to cushion her against the rock hard length grinding into her thigh.

“R-Robin…” She breathed his name, breaking their kiss just barely long enough to gasp for air before falling desperately back into his embrace, her hands moving from around his neck to his cloak, tugging the thick cloth frantically from his shoulders, removing any distance possible between them.

“Tharja.” He sighed hers in return, pushing her hair behind her head and dragging his lips under her ear, feeling her shake and shudder, gripping tight against him as his fingers deftly undid the clasp to her collar. Her cloak joined his on the floor and her lips wasted not even a single moment before re-joining his.

His hands moved lower, stroking across her lower back.

Her fingers slid under his shirt, playing across his stomach.

She kissed him as if he was a dream, a heavenly fantasy that would disappear at any moment. Holding to him with all her might, she kissed him as if to ward off that awakening for even another single second.

He kissed her as if she was his salvation, her every touch acting like a massage upon his soul. At each moment she both soothed and ignited his desires. Each moment returned his clarity but left his need blazing ever hotter.

‘Gods.’ Robin supressed another moan, no longer fighting the primal need within him, his thoughts came faster now, easier.

As the fog lifted from his mind, so too did his awareness heighten…he could feel everything, her hands hot against his bare skin, her magnificent chest heaving against his own, the way her body trembled against his cock each time it ground under the single layer of cloth around her hips.

‘Gods…’ He repeated, ‘I’m really doing it.’

He was kissing a woman who wasn’t his fiancé, caressing a woman who wasn’t Lucina. The woman he was embracing wasn’t the one he’d promised himself to, the one he’d given his ring to…the woman he loved.

‘I trust you. More than I’ve ever trusted anyone.’

Clarity brought with it guilt, a terrible pang to his conscience that slammed directly into his heart, leaving him shaken. Breaking away from their kiss, he stumbled back a step, grimacing against a single moment of agony.

His heart wrenched painfully in his chest and images of the woman he loved danced before his eyes. Her smiling face, her tender touch, her soft words.

Gods, he’d thought himself prepared.

‘I know you’d never hurt me.’

And then, just the same as it did on the battlefield, once again it was Lucina’s faith in him that galvanised his will. Clenching his teeth, new memories came to him, images of her slumped unconscious in his arms, the pain in her eyes when she realised she couldn’t satisfy him, her ravished body lying exhausted on his bed.

All his pain, all his guilt was burned away in an instant. There were no more doubts, even with the fog slowly lifting from his mind, he’d made his decision before even stepping into the room.

Meeting Tharja’s questioning look with a confident smile, he pulled her towards him once more, kissing her harder, deeper, leaving no doubt as to his desires.

Where a moment ago there had been pain, now there was only excitement. The same exhilaration he’d felt earlier surging back through him twofold as he pushed forwards, moving her deeper into the room.

Gods but she felt good against him.

Soft and smooth in his arms, pressed so close against him, he could feel her heart racing, he could hear each of her soft gasps whenever his hands ran hot over her pale skin, he could feel her pulse quicken as he guided her unerringly towards her bed.

It was an incomparable feeling, holding Tharja in his arms like this. Feeling her full lips soft against his, her substantial breasts pressed tight against him as their desire rose without limits. The blazing fire with him sang in his chest burning hotter than he’d ever felt it, but for now his control, his sanity remained.

There was no denying how much he wanted this. She could certainly feel the proof against her, pressed hard under her sash, directly against her panties.

And yet, each step closer to their destination brought with it a heady nostalgic feeling, a bittersweet memory of hot desert sun, of scorched sand-dunes and of a promise he’d sworn his life to...

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Two Years Ago

“I don’t know, Robin.” Lucina whispered nervousely, as she closed the tent flaps tight behind them. “This seems very risky…”

“It’s not.” He grinned, lighting a small handful of candles around the room with a wave of his hand, just enough to bathe them both in a soft yellow glow. “Honestly, this is about the most privacy we’re going to get anywhere in the camp.”

“I-just…the command tent?” She answered, her own excitement betrayed by the light of anticipation in her eyes. “Do you really think this is a good idea?”

“Well, where else?” He teased, sliding in from behind and pulling her against him. “Both our tents are off limits, and I don’t think we want to chance trying to sneak out of camp with Frederick on patrol…

“This tent is warded.” Pushing her cerulean hair to the side, he laid a trio of kisses down the back of her neck.

“It’s silenced.” Brushing his hands around her sides, he placed them over her chest, cupping her modest breasts and kneading them slowly through her clothes and bindings.

“And, it’s not like anyone’s going to disturb me in here this late at night.” Running his fingers down her stomach he carefully unfastened her belt and peeled her tunic open.

“I-mmnn… Well, it’s-it’s not as if I don’t wish to.” Lucina sighed, leaning her head backwards onto his shoulder and quickly proving her words as she pushed her own hands down, sliding them flat along his pants, pressed hard along where his cock was already straining against the limits of his pants. “It has been some time…”

“Yeah.” He grunted, not really wanting to think about it.

Really, a tightknit army camp was hardly the place for a secret relationship to begin with. News travelled fast around the Shepherds and being in the middle of Plegian territory their patrols were even more vigilant than usual.

Their own escalating and conflicting duties didn’t help matters, the closer they got to the heart of the desert nation the harder it was to spend any time together, never mind how difficult it was simply finding a place they could arrange a few moments of privacy.

Lucina’s tent had been shared with Cynthia ever since the two sisters had been reunited, so that had never been an option. That by itself wouldn’t have been a problem, they’d done just fine with similar duties and with her tent being unavailable while travelling from Ylisstol or through Regna Ferox.

Unfortunately, things had suddenly become a lot more complicated when, just after crossing the Plegian border, Morgan had accidently destroyed her own tent in a burst of uncontrolled magic. With no spares available and no ability to procure any from behind enemy lines, she’d happily moved in with Robin ever since.

Her moving in had put an absolute stop, not only to his ability to sneak his fiancé in unnoticed, but also to any ideas he may have had about trying to release the resulting tension personally instead.

“Yeah…some time indeed.”

Robin loved his daughter, more than anything. But, it had been a difficult three weeks.

“I suppose…if we’re careful.” Lucina agreed finally, biting her lip as her own desires reigned over her sense of propriety. She, no more than he, could deny the fast rising heat in her body as her hands slid up and down over his length. Had it really only been three weeks since she’d last felt him? Naga, it felt like an eternity.

“Mhmm, careful, won’t be a problem at all.” Robin hummed an eager assurance. “There’s nothing to worry about at all, there’s nothing even strange about me being here, even this late. Naga knows, I probably spend half my life in this damn tent.”

“Well yo-O-Oh!?” Her words were cut off to a sudden yelp as Robin spun her in place, giving her just enough time to see his roguish grin before his hands unceremoniously grabbed her ass, yanking her from her feet. “W-Wha!? Robin!”

“And of course…” He continued, carrying his squirming fiancé as if nothing was amiss, “There’s nothing unusual either about you being in here assisting me.”

“R-Robin!” She hissed, clinging awkwardly around him as he walked her forwards, releasing her raising her up slightly and depositing her carefully on the large decorated table in the middle of the room. Right atop the Shepherd’s main strategy map. “W-What’re you doing!?”

“Doing?” He asked, the innocent look on his face utterly ruined by the way his hands smoothly unbuckled her trousers, pulling them down over her hips a moment later. “Lucina, I’m in here, late at night, working on our strategies of course. It’s important.”

“I don-Ahn-Wh-Wait! Wait!” Her panties were removed just as quickly a moment later, both articles smoothly pulled down her legs and, alongside her boots, swiftly deposited on the floor.

Which left her sitting, naked from the waist down, on the same thick cloth map she, Robin and the other leaders planned their entire Plegian campaign on, day after day. Feeling the hard wood and cool cloth directly against her most sensitive parts, Lucina could only gape at her lover in shock.

“And of course,” Robin continued, as if nothing was amiss. His hands gently easing her backwards, till she was lying presented flat before him. Stepping backwards and drinking in the sight, he nodded enthusiastically, the earlier roguish grin even more pronounced now. “You’re here helping me plan.”

“R-Robin.” She whispered, her body shivering as embarrassment and propriety fought desperately against a powerful nervous excitement. Weeks of withheld desire did little to help the cause.

“W-We really shouldn’t…” She added a moment later, the hollowness of her words made clear as she shuffled herself an inch closer towards him, her pussy already dripping wet with anticipation.

“Shouldn’t what?” He teased, schooling his face a moment before staring back at her with the same serious face she’d seen on him a thousand times- the same face he wore when studying their most vital manoeuvres. “Shouldn’t plan?”

And still, infuriatingly, he was standing a step away from her, away from where she desired him to be...holding his hands clasped behind his back, he was clearly enjoying just seeing her like this. “Naga.” She moaned, half in frustration, half in excitement, chewing hard on her lip as the damp spot on the map slowly spread under her.

Even in all their time together, in all they’d done, he’d never simply-simply observed her like this. Her breathing quickened at the thought, the warmth spreading hotter through her body as her arousal soared even higher.

“But, Lucina…” The slight hitch in his voice gave away his own excitement as he finally drew closer. “These plans are vital! Our troops, our friend’s, lives depends on it.”

“Ro-”

Just as she made to speak, his hands pressed hot against the inside of her thighs. His skin naked against hers, the first direct contact in weeks.

“-KYHAA!”

Jolted in surprise, a shudder of pleasure ran up her spine. Throwing her head forwards, Lucina twisted and gasped as his hands stayed firmly in place, using his thumbs to lightly caress her inner thighs, an inches from her entrance.

“Do you see these long ridges here?” His hands moved backwards, dragged slowly down over her thighs, resting once more on her knees. “I think these are our best direction of approach.”

“O-Oh?” She panted, finally seeing where he was going with this act.

“Mhmm, we can split our forces and make an approach…like this…” Drawing his words out, he turned his hands around to the inside of her legs, pushing his fingers slowly back up along sensitive inside.

“That, that sou-sounds good.”

“And, if this map is accurate.” He whispered, leaning in closer as his thumbs ran back and forth across her pelvic bone. “I believe there’s some cover here we can use to keep ourselves out of sight.”

“That’s…that’s important.” Lucina forced out, caught between the conflicting urges to rub her legs together and to push them out wider as her arousal peaked higher and higher. Her body screaming for more of his touch.

“Hmm, and the terrain appears to dip down slightly after that, into a small valley…” His touch was both infuriatingly slow and agonisingly light as his fingers began to finally dance closer and closer to her entrance.

“I-Anha-ahaa.” She panted, her body shuddering each time his breath blew hot across her skin.

“But, hmmm…” Robin paused, making big show of contemplating something.

If not for the continued slow motion of his touch, millimetres from her pussy, Lucina could have strangled him.

“There’s a small cave here that interests me.” He concluded an eternity later, leaning in even closer this time, letting his words blow against her folds and making her squirm even harder. “It could be important, what do you think?”

“I-I… I think we sho-should check it out.” She forced out, using up every ounce of her will to keep her hands from reaching down.

“Right.” He nodded, slowly pressing his fingers closer…closer…

“KYG-HYAAA!” She screamed, rearing up from the table, gasping and shuddering as he gently peeled her labia apart.

She couldn’t stand it another moment! “R-Robin, please. Don’t tease me!” She begged, her hands already on his head, threading greedily through his snowy-white hair, as she lifted her waist an inch closer towards him.

“It’s important we scout around it first I think though.” He ignored her, slowly sliding his fingers along her lips.

“A-Gha!” She whimpered, shaking in anticipation as his index fingers softly pulled back her clitoral hood. Eyes going wide as her most sensitive part was exposed directly to his hot breath. “Ahaaa-ha…” Lucina swallowed, biting her lip and fighting the urge to pull him down to her.

“I think it’s also important that we…get a taste for the land, so to speak.” He added, slowly, unbearably slowly, moving towards her.

“Ahaa, I-haa… KHYAAAAAAA!” Brought right to the verge with anticipation, Lucina climaxed the instant his tongue pressed against her clit, her legs instinctively wrapping around his head, locking him in place as her body convulsed.

“G-Gods… Ro-Robin… Naga…” She heaved a sigh, loosening her grip as the rush of delight faded and the spots dancing in front of her eyes cleared.

“Missed this huh?” He laughed, looking up just long enough to shoot her a victorious smirk before pressing his lips back against her now very sensitive clit, moving in time with her body as she shuddered at the heightened pleasure.

Diving back to the task with renewed eagerness, Robin slowly pushed two fingers inside, sliding them carefully along the roof of her pussy, searching for that spot he knew she loved as he listened for her moans.

“A-A-A little h-higher! Ye-Yes! There, there!” Lucina’s voice rose several octaves, her legs again wrapped securely around his head once more as she bucked her hips against his hand. “N-Naga, it’s good, Gods!”

Whether it was because of Robin’s fast learned skill, the sheer excitement of their actions in such a bold place, or simply because she was finally getting the release she’d missed these last few weeks, Lucina was quickly riding out a second peak within minutes of her first.

“Do-Don’t stop, don’t stop!” She half begged, half ordered, bucking wildly as he gently sucked on her clit, as his fingers ground fast and hard against her inner roof. “R-Robin, I’m, I’m getting close! I’m, I-”

“Oh? Robin? Is this where you are?”

Just as she had been preparing to crest the wave, a new voice rang out…from outside.

‘No, nononononononono!’

Lucina froze. Time instantly slowing to a crawl as her blood ran cold. Her mouth was open, but try as she might no words came out. Spread out, half naked on the strategy map, she could only watch in paralysed horror as the tent-flap was slowly opened.

“And you said you were having an early night tonight. You know, if you’re having trouble sleeping you can always use my te-EEH!”

Tharja.

Their eyes met for one single moment, for a brief instant Lucina was left staring into the equally shocked eyes of the dark mage, the other woman who loved Robin with the same ferocity as her. Numbly she could feel Robin pulling away from between her legs, his expression no doubt mirroring her own.

Lucina couldn’t move, couldn’t speak, she could only watch as Tharja’s expression changing from shock, to agony, to fury.

“E-UGH!”

Spinning on her heel with a pained scream, the sorceress was gone a moment later.

“Gods…” Robin whispered, catching one final glance of her midnight-black hair as he slumped backwards, falling to the ground with his head in his hands

Collapsing onto the hard wooden table, Lucina could only stare at the ceiling in mute horror. Never, in all her thoughts, in all her wildest imaginations, had she ever imagined herself caught in such a situation.

“I-Gods. Lucina, I’m sorry, I never-I should have…realised…”

In all the camp, there was only one person who would find it strange for Robin to still be working this late, who would come check on him. The woman who knew everything about his schedule, who knew everything about Robin and all his habits. Tharja.

“No.” She sighed, only the full experience of the life she lived giving her the strength to clamp down her fast rising panic. “No, the blame falls equally on me. I, I wanted this just as badly.”

Sliding off the table, she held her composure long enough to push her shaking legs back into her pants before collapsing into Robin’s proffered embrace.

“Well, I suppose we couldn’t hide it forever.” He forced a wry chuckle as he stroked her hair, “Not how I imagined everyone would find out, I’ll admit.”

“N-No!” Lucina gave a start. “No! We, we’ve got to do something!”

“L-Lucina…” He winced, it was already a sensitive enough situation.

“I-Gods, Robin, not like this. Please.” She begged, burying her face in his shoulder, “I-If word does get out about us, I could…it wouldn’t be so bad. After everything you’ve done for me, I-I wouldn’t mind…but, but please…Not like this, we can’t let them find out like this!”

He followed her gaze as her eyes tuned guiltily towards the strategy table once more, to the wet spot on the thick cloth map. “I couldn’t bear it, I could never face father again.”

“Right.” He nodded, the depth of her feelings clear.

She was certainly correct. There was a worlds difference between Chrom finding out he had secretly proposed to Lucina, and to him finding out…about this…

“I’ll talk to her.” He decided, his resolve clear in an instant.

This wasn’t the end, this disaster could still be salvaged! If it had been Lissa or Cordelia, then by now probably half the camp would already be aware of it, middle of the night or not. But Tharja…of all the Shepherds, she was by far the least likely to spread gossip, and the least likely to care for it.

Of course… He considered with a heavy weight settling in his stomach. She was also the one most likely to take him being in a relationship with someone else, very, very poorly.

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For the first time ever, when he stood outside Tharja’s tent, he was hesitant.

Of all the people in the camp, he’d always had the least to fear from her, by the time he’d even realised why the rest of the Shepherds were so intimidated by her she’d become a trusted friend and they’d remained close ever since.

It was now almost an hour since their encounter. Some of that time he’d spend comforting Lucina, but the rest he’d spent wandering around almost in a daze.

It was to give Tharja time to calm down he’d told herself, even knowing truthfully it was as much to steady his own nerves. Partially it was embarrassment, he’d never imagined having to take responsibility for being caught in such a state…but also partially it was simple dread.

‘No, that’s not fair.’ He scolded himself with a grimace. ‘She’s not in the wrong here.’ She was a friend, it wasn’t fair for him to be scared for her reaction, not from something he’d hidden from her…something he’d always known would hurt her.

“Tharja.” He called her name while his resolve held. “Are you in here?”

“Go away!”

The dismissal didn’t bother him, what wrenched at Robin’s heart was that her voice held neither its usual strength nor its usual malice. He winced, thinking about how much pain he must have caused. “I’m coming in.” It was time to face her, to account for his actions.

No hesitations. No backwards steps. A tactician could never be a craven.

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The first thing he noticed was the destruction. Her tent had never been a bastion of order in the first place, but with the books scattered about, clothes thrown across the floor and hexing tools he couldn’t even begin to name all spread in disarray the place looked as if a hurricane had swept through it.

The second thing, the more important thing, he noticed was his friend huddled in the corner of her tent, looking up at him her eyes a mixture of betrayed anger and hope. It was another strike against him he realised absently, she had always, always, taken pains to compose herself around him, no doubt she would be unhappy with him seeing her like this.

Something to worry about later.

“Tharja.” He sighed bitterly, reaching down to offer her a hand up. “I-I’m sorry you had to find out like that.”

Pulling her gently to her feet, Robin was suddenly sent stumbling back a step in surprise when she threw herself on him! Wrapping her arms tight around his waist, and burying her head into his cloak, Tharja’s clung to him like a lifeline.

Draping his arms loosely around her, Robin accepted the embrace, too surprised to even consider doing otherwise. Tharja was one of the stand-offish people he’d ever met. For all her actions, all her insinuations, she never instigated physical contact, not even with him.

“R-Robin.” She choked out his name, her voice shaking awfully. It was the closest he’d ever seen Tharja to tears. “W-Why! W-Why her?”

“I love her.”

It seemed almost cruel to give so simple an answer. But it was also the undeniable truth.

“…Why not me?” Muffled into his chest, her question was barely a whisper. “Why don’t you love me?”

Sighing bitterly, he stroked her head, threading his fingers through her dark hair. “I’m sorry.”

“I could…” Tharja’s words trailed off with the barest hint of hesitation. “I could do it too. Anything she does for you.”

“W-Wha?” Robin balked, releasing her and stepping backwards. Only now seeing the intensity of her gaze as she stared unwaveringly back at him, her hands clenched into fists.

“Whatever she does for you, I’ll do it just the same. Or anything she won’t do, I’ll do it for you.”

“Tharja tha-”

“I-I can be like her too, if you want! You know I can, I already changed myself once for you!”

He winced. Tharja’s “normal” self was, while probably well meaning, definitely not something he’d fast forget.

“No, Tharja, look! Don’t, don’t change yourself. It…” He sighed, there really wasn’t a softer way to put it, “It won’t make a difference.”

“So you choose her then…no matter what.” It wasn’t a question, they both knew his answer.

Shaking her head, Tharja took a step backwards, eyes blazing with determination as she ensured she had his full attention, then slowly, carefully, she reached up, unclasping her collar and sinking to a hip.

With the collar undone, her cloak fell softly to the floor, Robin’s eyes automatically tracking its descent. Swallowing heavily, his eyes swam along the smooth, enticing outline of her body.

Tharja never wore much to begin with, but somehow, even just missing her cloak…it made him re-evaluate her entire figure. It was suddenly impossible to ignore the slender turn of her shoulders, the way she angled her chest to display her alluring round breasts, the tightness of her bodysuit against her trim stomach or the gentle curve of her hips down to her long slim legs.

There was no doubt about the invitation in her eyes, full of knowledge that she’d seen his appraisal. Her smile was as devious as it was appealing. “But…why do you even need to choose?”

“W-Wha?” Heart thudding in surprise, Robin backed away a step.

“A girl like her can’t be enough for someone as powerful as you.” She whispered, her voice low. “I’m yours Robin. I’ve told you that… I don’t mind if you love her, so long as you love me too.”

“I-”

“Why choose?” She repeated, as if it was the question was most natural thing in the world. “You need not even tell her… You know I can be discreet.”

“W-Wha…?” Stunned, Robin’s mouth fell open in disbelief.

And yet, despite himself, he couldn’t deny the temptation of the offer.

Even aside from anything else, there was no arguing about Tharja’s raw sexual appeal, even a blind monk would be attracted to her! And, she was a loyal friend, someone who’d been at his side for years, he didn’t want to hurt her, was this a w-

‘What!? No!’ Furious at himself, Robin instantly shut down that line of thought, shocked the idea was entertained for even a moment. ‘How could I even consider that!?’ That wasn’t the kind of man he was! He couldn’t cheat on Lucina!

“No.” He answered clearly, moving away another step as he narrowed his eyes. “I’d never do that to her.”

“I see.” She answered bitterly, turning away from him as her face fell. “I suppose there’ll be a wedding soon then? The tactician and the perfect little princess of Ylisse… Tch, how appropriate.”

Robin sucked in a breath, not savouring this moment in the least. “No… No there won’t be a wedding.”

Looking over her shoulder in surprise, she raised a sceptical eyebrow.

“I didn’t hide this just from you, we haven’t told anyone about…about us. It’d be a shock to everyone if they found out and, right now we can’t afford to cause any distractions in the camp or to morale, so we’re keeping it a secret.”

That was a half-truth at best, but he could hardly tell her about Lucina’s resolve to leave when Grima was finally taken care of.

“That’s…that’s actually part of why I’m here.” He continued uneasily. “To check if you were alright, of course. And, to ask that you keep this quiet.”

Turning to face him fully, her eyes narrowed in contemplation.

“A secret relationship? …But it wasn’t your plan, was it?” Tharja turned to face him fully, her eyes narrowed in contemplation. “No, I’ve seen the way you look to the other couples in the camp, the yearning you hold…the space in your heart I wished to fill…”

He should have expected this, Tharja was too sharp not to pick up on that.

“She’s asked this of you…that you hide away, sneak around the camp.” She sneered. “She steals you from me and she won’t even wear your ring!”

“She didn’t steal me from anyone.” Robin forced his voice steady. “And, it doesn’t matter whose plan it was. Look, please, I need you to-”

“To keep Lucina’s secret for her.” Tharja scoffed. “Tch, to look the other way when she scampers around like a thief in the night, too embarrassed to even stand at your side.”

Hearing the rising anger in her voice only brought out Robin’s own fears. “And to leave her alone.” He cautioned, a stab of guilt running through him at even thinking of saying such a thing to a friend. “If you’re angry, be angry at me. I should have told you about my feelings for her, but she’s done nothing to you.”

The look in her eyes told him she vehemently disagreed with that, however, even that look was tempered by the surprisingly pleased look on her face. Instead of the offense he’d expected to see from his words, she seemed impressed, watching his rising frustration.

“Very well.” She hummed, slinking back a step as a small hopeful smile rose. “I shall keep Lucina’s little secret.” She continued, “And I shall leave her alone, I won’t touch her at all, even after this insult.”

Robin withheld his reaction, nothing was that simple.

“I’ll give her all that…but, in return I want one night.”

“One night?” He frowned.

“One night with you.” She explained looking suddenly forlorn, “I just…even if it’s only once, that would be enough. I, otherwise, I couldn’t…the thought that we would never, that I could nev-”

Tharja’s words cut off as she shuddered, wrapping her arms tight around herself as her eyes dropped to the floor. Even in spite of the nature of the demand, she seemed surprisingly vulnerable. “She’s stolen you from me, surely it’s fair that I steal you back for a single night!”

“No.” This time he held not even an instant of hesitation. His mind had already been made. “I already told you. I won-”

“So she gets to take you from me? Demand things from me? And I get nothing in return!?” She cut him off, her own frustration clear now. “…Then why should I do anything she asks? One night Robin, that’s all I ask. You need not even tell her, she doesn’t have to know. Just one night… Or, I could tell the entire camp of your little ‘strategy meeting’ over breakfast.”

“Tharja.” His words were cold steel, the opposite of the raging anger inside him. “I will not be blackmailed.

“I’m asking you, as a friend, to do this for me.” He continued, raising himself up to his full height as he bore down on her. “But, I will not be threatened, nor let her be.”

“R-Robin.” She sighed, breathing his name like a moan, her entire demeanour changing as she did so. All defiance and anger left her eyes, replaced instead by a light flush.

“You still don’t understand do you? Not really.” Tharja continued, her voice slightly breathless as she covered her face with her hands. “I’m no threat to you, I never could be. I’m yours. I’ve always been yours, even before I met you.

“You have no need to ask, or to bargain with me. I said already, anything I can grant I shall…anything you want, anything you need. I-If you order it of me, I’ll obey.”

Obey. There were a thousand meanings behind that word, a million emotions tied up into the extent of the devotion Tharja was revealing to him. Tharja respected strength of will, he knew that. Knew that the passion of cold anger held a meaning to her he couldn’t understand. But this…he’d never expected this!

Suddenly unsure, Robin hesitated. Order her…Order a friend? It wasn’t so simple a task, there were too many implications there, too many layers.

The eager look on her face told him doing so would be playing exactly into her desires, in ordering her, she would be bound even tighter to him and they both knew it. No longer could he claim her as just his comrade, he would be accepting a hold over her that he would never be able to deny.

Finally his thoughts turned to his fiancé, to her request. Ultimately, he had no choice.

“Tharja.” His words were iron, his will absolute. “You will not tell anyone about what you saw, nor will you harm Lucina at all.”

Watching her shudder with delight, her face flush even deeper as she nodded her head in agreement, the weight of his actions sank into him instantly… He had commanded her. He had no doubt she would obey.

The exhilaration, the rush from the act was undeniable. Flushing slightly himself and fighting back an excited grin, he turned away. “I-I’ll take my leave then.”

“Robin.” Her voice followed after him, her body only a second later. Her soft breasts pressed against his back and her words sweet in his ear. “My words were no lie.”

Clenching his fists, he fought back a reaction. Even in his best form, it would have been difficult to hide an attraction towards her in such a position. Now however, bursting with adrenaline and with his body aching for long withheld release…his physical response was immediate.

“I-To never be with you, I couldn’t take it, the thought, it hurts more than anything.” She continued. “I’ll love you forever, I’ll follow you forever… I just need to feel it once, just one time, to feel your touch. It would be enough…”

“Tharja… I-”

“You need not repeat your answer.” She whispered, sliding her fingers across his stomach. “But please…consider it… It would mean the world to me.”

“I won’t.” He wished his voice hadn’t shaken as he said that. “I won’t consider it. Good night Tharja.”

He was outside her tent a moment later, looking to the sky and trying to convince himself he’d done the right thing.

‘Gods…’

His body shuddered with denied need.

Slowly he trudged back to his tent, careful not to wake Morgan as he slipped in.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Two Days Later.

“More bread Robin? You sure ate that fast, you must be very hungry.”

Even as trusting as he was, Robin wasn’t quite able to believe that Tharja being seated directly opposite him in the mess hall was a coincidence.

“Here, allow me.”

He also doubted that the way she bent fully over, giving him full view down her generous cleavage, was entirely accidental.

“Er-Thanks.”

Nor did he think the way her leg was stretched out, rubbing up and down against his, was unintentional.

Shovelling more bread into his mouth, he tried to take his mind off it.

It’d been a few days since the night he’d talked to her and ever since, Tharja had practically redoubled her efforts to get his attention. Whether it was a reaction to the sheer nakedness of her reveal to him, or because she now knew she had competition for his heart, he neither knew nor cared.

Her leg moved slowly against the inside of his once more, knowing he couldn’t afford to make a scene, he fought back a shudder with another large mouthful of bread.

All he did know was that it was getting quickly out of hand.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Four Days Later

“Naga… I’m sorry love. I know we were to meet tonight, but mother needed to reschedule the patrols. I’ve been rostered on.”

“Ah, well, still we could-”

“With Frederick…” She finished, her own despondent look only partially managing to relieve his frustrations. With the Knight Captain around, there was no change of anything happening.

“I see.” He sighed. “Gods… It just, it feels like forever since we’ve last- since we’ve had time together.”

“It won’t be long love.” She promised, stepping forward with a quick kiss before pulling away. “We’ve just been busy lately.”

And with that she was gone, ducking out the tent and away before anyone could see them, before anyone could think anything odd about his time spent with Chrom’s daughter.

‘Godsdamnit.’ He groaned, running his hands over his face in frustration.

It’d been over a week since their interrupted encounter, almost a month since he’d last had any time with his fiancé at all!

It was maddening!

He saw her every day, he talked to her frequently…but their touches were brief, their kisses fleeting, always they were looking over their shoulder, always scared to spend more than a moment together.

As much as he’d sworn he was fine with hiding their relationship, there was no doubt it was wearing on him. Anytime he couldn’t bury his head in his work he was thinking about her, he was missing her…And what a bitter consolation that was! His own duties were half the reason he could never spend time with the woman he loved, his own freedom consisted of little more than brief respites between endless mountains of work.

Gods! It hadn’t been this bad before, but now that he’d tasted her, he couldn’t live without her. Now that he’d felt her touch, he needed it! He yearned for her like nothing he’d ever known before, desperate for her presence.

And instead he was left alone, baking under the hot desert sun and without a moment of relief.

“Oh, here you are Robin? I was looking for you.”

Tharja always had been and likely always would be, a constant presence in his life…but right now, she was a presence he felt far more keenly than ever before.

Her hands ran along his back and his reaction was immediate.

Somehow their conversation had changed something between them. After seeing her so open, so vulnerable…after seeing her submit herself to him… He couldn’t again see her simply as a comrade. Try as he might, he couldn’t help but acknowledge her in a way he never had before as a woman, a woman who wanted him.

He couldn’t help but remember the feeling of her soft touch against him, excite at the allure of her body as she slid against him, imagine her quiet moa-

‘No!’ Gods. ‘Get a hold of yourself man!’

“Sorry Tharja, I’ve got, uh, some troop details that need to be taken care of. I’ll talk to you later.”

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

The Next Day

Water was precious in the desert.

In order to conserve what little they had, bathing tents had been declared communal, the men of the Shepherds showered together and the women did likewise. Even as the tactician he was no exception.

It had become rare, very rare, that he could sequester even a moment of privacy within.

‘But.’ He grinned. ‘Rare doesn’t mean never.’ Not when a brief rainfall had led to one of the tents being kept open longer than usual hours.

The men had been rostered earlier in the day and the women throughout the rest of it. Buried under even more than his usual workload, Robin had barely left desk the entire day.

But now…now he had a moment, a single small gap in his duties before he turned in for the night. And! A small moment of privacy, a place to be alone, even if just for a few minutes.

Pushing the tent flaps open with an eager smile, he could already feel the tension ready to escape.

“A-AH! R-ROBIN!?”

Shrieking in surprise and instantly burning red, Tharja clutched her towel tight around her naked body, the thin sheet only serving to accentuate her incredible curves to Robin’s stunned eyes

“W-Wha? Th-There wasn’t an occupied sign!” He blurted out, spinning away and desperately trying not to think about what he’d just seen.

“I…must have forgotten.”

Gritting his teeth and ducking back outside, he barely even heard the offer for him to join her as he walked sullenly back to his tent.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Two Days Later

He could order her not to make advances at him.

Laying his head on his desk, he scoffed at the idea of it. What would such an order even consist of? Telling her not to love him? Telling her not to desire him?

Ridiculous.

Nevermind what even suggesting such a thing would mean…

Even attempting to do so would be as good at admitting that he wanted her. Gods…admitting that he was starting to struggle to ignore her advan-

“Ugh.” Slamming his head into the desk, he pushed all those thoughts from his mind. “It’s just…it’s just the heat.” He told himself.

He’d never had trouble ignoring Tharja’s propositions before, she hadn’t been quite this aggressive previously, but he knew that wasn’t the problem. Or, not the entire problem at least. Tharja wasn’t the one who’d changed here.

No, it was on him. He was the only variable, the delta she was betting everything she had on.

“I don’t want her.” He whispered, telling himself that wasn’t a lie. “Lucina is the only woman I think of, she’d the only one I want…I just…”

Gods…Lucina. It’d been half a week since their last contact. It hadn’t even been a touch, nothing more than a fleeting kiss before she ducked out of the tent, and still, his cock was rock hard, aching at the very thought of it.

“Grgh…” He moaned softly, sparing a single glance to where his daughter slept behind him. His sweet, innocent little Morgan. Just the thought of relieving himself in the same tent as her disgusted him enough to take the edge off his strain. That was not an option.

He would endure.

Endure? Had he always been this bad? Was it really only because he now knew what he was missing?

Then why did it feel like it was getting worse with every step they took towards the heart of Plegia? Why did it feel as if something deep inside him was whispering to him? As if the tiniest spark within his soul was being tindered…?

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

The Next Week

“Oh? So Morgan’s part of the scouting party?”

Finishing the last of what had been a surprisingly good stew, Robin could only marvel at how calm Lucina’s voice remained, especially considering how much he was struggling to control his own.

“Yeah, she wanted to spend time with Cynthia. I was against it personally, but after she got Sumia involved…”

“Ah.” Lucina nodded in solidarity, “Mother…can be a difficult person to argue with.”

Really, they were all just lucky the Queen only threw her rank around very rarely.

“Well, either way, she won’t be back until later tonight from the sounds of it.”

“And, didn’t you say earlier you had some free time this afternoon?” Lucina sighed, feigning mild disinterest. “That’s a shame, for you not to get to spend it with her.”

“Ah, well, I’ll figure something out.” He shrugged, forcefully suppressing the excited grin threatening to break onto his face. “Maybe I’ll look at one of those books your mother recommended me. Geez, Naga only knows how long it’s been since I last read something besides a strategy tome!”

“Oh?” Her hand brushed against his under the table, her pinkie interlocking with his for but a single moment. “Then, have you read ‘The Princess’s Desire?’ yet? I just finished it recently. It was…powerful. Er, a good read, for sure. I could bring it over if you’d like?”

The innuendo was about as subtle as a brick. Robin faked a cough to hold back his laughter.

“N-No, no I haven’t read that yet. If you think it’s good then, y-yeah that sounds great. I’ll be in my tent all afternoon so, just, well, come over whenever…”

“Alright, it’ll have to be after my rounds. So maybe in a few hours?”

“R-Right.”

Many wondered why Robin persisted on wearing his thick cloak even in the dry desert heat. He’d never truly been able to articulate a response, mostly it just felt right, it felt like something important to him. Perhaps it was the only relic of his past self that remained?

As Lucina left, and as his eyes tracked her retreat however, he was glad to be wearing it simply because its thick protection afforded him the ability to stand up from the table.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

The wait wasn’t easy.

With his schedule currently open while waiting for further reports to be compiled, he’d attempted to distract himself by going through old battle plans, recognising the pivotal moments and lessons he’d learned. And yet, the more he stared at the details in-front of him, the more his eyes unfocussed and it all turned to gibberish.

Shaking his head didn’t help, no matter how hard he tried to concentrate the details slipped through his mind.

“I’m too wound up.” He concluded with a groan, laying his head on the desk with his eyes shut, trying to remember one of those breathing techniques Libra had mentioned.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

It felt like a lifetime, like an eternity or longer… But finally, stepping lightly into his tent, with her face dusted slightly red, finally, She was here! He knew it would be little more than a brief respite, but it was precious beyond words, a small time they could spend together.

Smelling lightly of lilac and with her hair still slightly damp, even under the scorching afternoon sun, he guessed she’d even taken the time for a short bath after her rounds before coming to see him. It was a surprisingly sweet gesture.

“I brought that book you wanted.” Lucina laughed, holding the small novel out with a wry smile.

Fighting back the urge to roll his eyes, he accepted it…and was very glad to see she had already finished sealing the tent by the time he’d placed it on his desk.

“Gods!”

That was as far as he got before she was in his arms, their lips crashing desperately together and their hands moving hot over the other’s body.

She pushed his cloak from his shoulders. He threw her belt to the corner.

She pushed her hands across his chest, lifting his shirt up and throwing it over his head. He pressed hot kisses down her neck, holding her tight against him as his hands tugged at the fastenings to her tunic.

“Gods,” he repeated, pulling away only long enough to turn her in place, aiming towards where his bedroll lay, “I missed this…”

““I feel the same, I ha-, ha-, Y-Yooaaaww.” Blinking in surprise, Lucina’s words were cut off as she leaned backwards, letting out a wide yawn.

“Er, Lucina?” He raised an eyebrow in surprise, his movements grinding to a halt. “Are you alright?”

“Y-Yes, of course. I just, just, Yooawww.” Shaking her head as she let out another yawn, Lucina suddenly looked almost dead on her feet. “Oh, I-I suppose I’ve been feeling a little run down today, it must have all hit me at once.”

Leaning her backwards and laying her gently onto the bedroll, he gently crouched over her, his fingers inching across her shoulders, teasing at her undershirt. “Are you really that tired? Do you need to sleep?”

“N-No, I… I…” Seemingly ignoring his ministrations, Lucina’s words trailed off as her head lolled to the side, her eyes sliding closing and her breathing slowing to a rhythmic pace. “I, just, just…”

“Y-You’re really asleep?” Robin whispered, staring almost in disbelief as he rolled off, falling to the bedroll beside her. “Lucina?”

No response, but the sow rise and fall of her chest gave him all the answer he needed.

Heaving a frustrated sigh, he stared dully up at the ceiling. ‘This cannot be happening…’ They finally, finally, had a moment alone! Sucking in a breath, he forced his frustration down, he couldn’t blame her, if she truly was that tired then it was certainly for the best…but…

“Urgh.” He groaned, lying this close to her, inhaling her soft scent like this was definitely not helping restrain his desires.

‘Well…’ A second bitter sigh followed the first as the obvious compromise dawned. ‘I do at least have some time to myself.’

It wasn’t ideal, but after more than a month of denial, Robin wasn’t too worried about ideal. He was aching for Lucina’s touch of course, but…but there would be time for that in the future, right now, even just release was better than nothing!

“H-Haah…” His breathing hitched as he kicked his pants and smallclothes off, his shaft rising free in the warm afternoon air, already rock hard from Lucina’s early touch.

“Lucina…” He breathed her name, wrapping a hand loosely around his cock as he turned to face her, drinking in the sight of the beautiful woman beside him as his hands began to move.

Closing his eyes he breathed in her aroma, eager memories of their time together quickly springing to mind as slowly, ever so slowly, his frustrations began to ease.

“Ah...Hhaaa…” He remembered her first gentle touches, how she’d been almost fearful to hold his cock, her fingers wrapped only loosely around it as she pumped it hesitantly back and forth.

“Mhaa…” He remembered taking her from behind, imagined her soft moans and pants, the way she bucked and shook each time he pushed into her and the feel of her hips shaking under his hands as she came around his cock.

“Ahmm…” He imagined it was her thick, full, lips wrapped around his shaft right now. Slowly sliding up and down, taking his length further and further into her mouth as he ran his fingers through her silky black hair.

‘Wait!’ Some distant part of his mind screamed in response. ‘What? Black hair! That’s not Luc-’

“Ahmmaa.” His hand moved faster, harder, he didn’t stop, couldn’t stop. Opening his eyes in response, he stared at Lucina, at the woman he loved, lying beside him…

But still, in his mind’s eye, he saw visions of Tharja. He saw her that night in the bathing tent, imagined her throwing the towel aside, her pale skin radiant in the moonlight as she pressed herself against him. He imagined her skin, smooth and supple, sliding over his body, her lips hot against his neck as her hands pushed into his pants.

“Ahughh!” Guilt rose alongside his pleasure as he saw himself sitting at his workdesk, his pants around his ankles and Tharja between his legs. He watched as she wrapped her breasts tight around his aching cock. Saw her raising herself up and down, her mouth suckling greedily on the cockhead each time it poked through…

“Heh…heh…heh…”

“W-Wha!?”

Thrown violently from his fantasy, Robin jolted half up right, staring in shock at where a small laugh had joined his quiet moans.

And here she was.

He blinked, his mouth wide open in shock, unable to believe what he was seeing. Lying paralysed on the bedroll Robin could only stare at where Tharja was quietly sealing his tent behind her… At where she was smiling warmly down at him, her face absolutely beaming in delighted anticipation.

“Th-Tharja! Wh-”

“Shhhh.” She whispered, nodding her head over to where Lucina lay beside him, still sleeping.

Moving without another word, long before he could even begin to react, she was gliding towards him, the hypnotic sway of her hips drawing his attention the entire way…right until she dropped to the ground at his feet.

“T-Tharja!” He whispered, his voice equal parts anxious as excited as her fingers gently pushed his own from the shaft, as she leant forwards, mouth open wide…

“A-AHhhaha!” He gasped, jolting under her ministrations as her warm lips slowly engulfed his glans, shuddering as he felt her wrap her tongue around it, slowly sliding down his length.

“T-Tharja, wa-ahhaaah…” Reaching out he placed his hands on her head, ordering himself to pull her off him, to stop this. He couldn’t do this! He knew he couldn’t!

…Instead his fingers threaded lightly through her hair, his hips bucking slightly as her lips slid another inch further down his cock. “Gods, so good…”

“Mmmm.” She hummed into the shaft, dragging her tongue against the underside as her head bobbed up and down. Her mouth was completely full with his length and her hands were eagerly working over the remainder.

“Th-Tharja…I-I’m getting close.” He gasped, his breath coming in ragged pants as the dark mage pressed her tongue directly against the exposed skin atop his glans.

Shuddering under her ministrations and aching from far, far too long a denied release, the pressure inside roared furiously, she took him to his peak within barely a few minutes.

“G-Gods!” He groaned, his vision going dizzying white as he felt his cock twitching furiously against her tongue, felt her holding him as far in her mouth as she could, her hands maintaining a furious rhythm along his shaft.

“Naga!” He cried, finally, incredibly, held right on the edge of his peak. “T-Tharja, I’m gon- Tha-”

“Tha-Ah! A, h-huh!?” He screamed, throwing himself backwards and rearing up from his desk with a half choked gasp.

First came confusion.

“W-Wha…Huh?” Robin blinked, the last remnants of pleasure quickly fading from him as he stared dazedly around his surroundings.

He was at his desk? And…fully clothed?

And…still painfully hard, a dull ache emanating from his balls quickly reminded him of that fact. Once again, he’d been denied his release.

‘It was…just a dream?’ He gaped, slumping forwards, head in his hands. ‘Gods, it felt so…so real.’

It was only as he regained his bearings that he noticed the new addition to his desk, “The Princess’s Desire.” He read aloud, his heart sinking as he noticed a small note stuck under the book’s cover.

‘I saw you were already asleep by the time I brought the book over.’ He mouthed the words dully. ‘I know how hard you work yourself so I was glad to see it. I couldn’t bear to wake you. May you have pleasant dreams Robin.

-Yours, Lucina.’

“Godsdamnit…” He cursed, his voice low and cold as he looked through the gap at the entrance of his tent, trying to judge the time by the available daylight.

Late afternoon. He must have been out for at least four hours.

Lucina would already have left with the hunting party.

Morgan would be back anytime soon.

“Godsdamnit.”

So he’d fallen asleep, deeply asleep, right before Lucina came to see him? He’d passed out and missed something he’d been looking forward to, not just since today, but for a month?

He didn’t believe that for a second.

After confusion came anger.

Screwing her note into a ball, Robin’s fury rose quickly.

It wasn’t difficult to guess who had messed with him, nor, how she did so, to understand the nature of the dream he’d had.

“Godsdamnit!” Pounding his fists against the desk, he leapt to his feet. “I’ve had more than enough of this!” His soul blazed with fire and his heart slammed furiously into his chest, anticipation, exhilaration and adrenaline all surged within him as he stormed out.

This farce had gone on too long already. It was time to put an end to this, once and for all.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

He was at her tent, throwing the flaps aside and stalking in, long before he could think about what he planned to say, well before he’d decided what he would do.

“Tharja.” Her name dropped from his lips like a curse. Try as he might, Robin couldn’t keep the anger from his voice.

“R-Robin!” She spun to face him, an eager grin clear on her face. “You’ve come to see me! At last…we’re all alone.”

A quick wave of her hands ensured that, the tent flaps closing themselves behind him, sealing it shut.

Robin snarled, “Come to see you!? You hexed me!

“I trusted you.” He added, bearing down on her as he moved forwards, not giving her a moment to speak. “I’ve always trusted you, I’ve always considered you a friend, no matter what! And now, this!? A dark desire hex? Did you think I wouldn’t notice!? A hex from a book you gifted me yourself!?”

A long ago birthday present, something she’d gifted him a few months since joining the Shepherds. Despite his fear of it, he’d always had an innate skill for dark magic, and it’d been something she’d wanted to share with him. It hadn’t worked out, but he’d read through the tome none the less and memorised every curse, charm and hex.

It wasn’t even a particularly complex spell, certainly not the most impressive conjuring Tharja knew. It was a simple means of taking a desire, a fantasy, from a host and melding it with the target, practically it worked as little more than a basic form of suggestion. What he’d seen was her fantasy, an image created from her mind and joined with his.

“I…needed to show you.” Tharja answered carefully, her voice ripe with anticipation. “To show you what I can do for you, that I can make you happy, give you anything you desire.”

“I already told you, th-”

“You saw me, didn’t you?” She her words low and suggestive as she drew closer. “if you know the hex, then you also know it only amplifies what’s already there…if you felt nothing for me, if you didn’t want me or could never see yourself with me you would have woken up hours ago.”

Gritting his teeth in frustration, Robin glared back. He already knew that, what her words meant and what the dream meant. She’d proven, undeniably, that he was only human. That on some base level, he could dream of himself with another…

“You knew I was looking forward to this, that I have very limited time I get to spend with her.” He accused, struggling to stay calm. “And, you specifically interfered with that! Even when you know how much it means to me!”

“I showed you Robin…that you don’t need to always wait for Lucina.” Her hands reached out, stroking his chest. “You’ve seen it now. She doesn’t have to be the only one for you.”

“Tha-”

“You want me.” She purred, "Just as I want you.”

Somewhere, deep in his soul, a tiny spark- the ghost of a single ember, flared.

“GODSDAMNIT!” He roared, the last vestiges of his patience, of his rationality finally snapping. “Fine!” He snarled, snatching her hands roughly from his chest, holding them away from him in a vice grip. “That’s what you want!? For me to admit I want you? Is that what it will take for you to leave me be!?”

“I-Ah!” Tharja yelped as Robin threw her backwards across her tent, looking up with an excited grin when he caught up with her.

“This is what you want?” He raged, passion, desire and frustration all boiling far hotter than he could stand as he flung his cloak from his shoulders. Grabbing her again, he took hold of her only long enough to aim towards her bed, before pushing her roughly down. “Fine! FINE!”

Falling to the bedroll with a gasp, she stared hungrily up at him, her legs spread wide and her smile inviting. Her clear desire serving to remove the last of Robin’s hesitation.

Crawling atop her with another growl, he didn’t waste a moment- reaching down, he tore the sash from her hips, throwing the ruined garment across the room.

“R-Robin!” Tharja moaned, a single touch of nervousness in her voice as her hips squirmed under him, as she was displayed for the first time before him.

She was wearing tiny black panties he could see now, the thin fabric of the bodysuit she wore doing absolutely nothing to hide them from him. Nor did either conceal her arousal, the slick outline of her pussy clearly visible through her soaked garments.

“Eager.” He grinned, not having expected anything else as he hooked two fingers through her bodysuit and under the smallclothes.

“A-Wha!?” She yelped, her hips yanked to the sky as Robin suddenly ripped upwards, pulling with incredible force as he tore her clothing apart, creating a hole for his entry. “Ah-haaa..Haaa.”

Flushed deep red and trying not to squirm, Tharja’s whole body shuddered at the experience, her lower body now exposed fully before him. She’d scarcely even imagined Robin like this, it was incredible! To see a man usually so calm and collected, now so worked up, glaring down at her in a mix of fury and lust, too eager to stop, not willing even to undress her as he ripped a wider hole in her bodysuit, her pussy full revealed.

Pushing himself to his feet, Robin shrugged off his shirt and kicked off his pants, groaning with relief as his aching cock was finally liberated. He didn’t fail to notice Tharja’s eyes tracking his every movement, nor see her body shivering as she drank in the sight of his naked body, her eyes tracing along his rigid length.

Gritting his teeth at the raw need coursing through him, Robin took one final deep breath.

He couldn’t deny this anymore. Couldn’t hide his feelings behind some comforting lie.

She wanted this.

He wanted this.

It was all there was, the simplest of all human desires. Instinct. Primal need.

Sinking to his knees he didn’t even bother to hide the eager grin on his face as he positioned himself on-top of her once more, sliding his cock through the ruined fabric of her bodysuit and pushing her pussy lips outward, forcing the entrance to open around his cockhead.

“Hah-R-Robin…” Tharja stammered, her voice shaking violently as her legs wrapped awkwardly around his waist, her arms clinging desperately around his neck- trying to pull him down to her. “Ahn, I-I, hhaaa.”

He didn’t wait, there was no reason to.

Gripping hard to her waist he slammed his hips forwards, unleashing all his pent up anger, all his frustration, all his cravings at once. “Hrghhha!” Roaring with need, he forced her walls open, driving past any resistance as he buried his entire length inside her with one brutal thrust.

“GEIIYAAAAAA!”

Screaming, Tharja’s whole body arched off the bed, convulsing and shaking under him.

Almost overcome by the sensation of being wrapped up inside her, it took Robin another moment to realise something was wrong.

He’d expected this reaction, that she would be shaking and screaming as his length was fully buried in her deepest parts. He had no doubt of how badly she wanted him, that her need matched his own.

“Huh?”

But, he’d never expected her to scream in pain.

After anger came shock.

“T-Tharja?” He whispered, every last drop of anger frozen as he slowly took in the agonised face of the woman under him. Watching horror struck as she tried to hide her expression, as she tried to hide her hurt from him, even as he saw tears welling instinctively in her eyes.

“Please, d-don’t stop.” She whispered, voice hitching as she attempted to wrap her legs back around him, her hips moving weakly against his. “I’m fine...you can move.”

“Tharja…” He repeated, her name wrenching his heart open. “Gods…I…”

After shock came guilt.

Pulling back, he looked down, confirming what he’d already realised as he saw the blood flowing red down her thighs, staining her bedroll.

As he realised what he’d just done to her.

“G-Gods. Tharja, I didn’t… This was your-your first?”

“O-Of course.” She nodded, her voice shaking with obvious discomfort. “I told you… I’m yours. I always have been. Even, even before I met you.”

“I’m sorry.” He sighed, dropping his head and collapsing down gently into her arms, the last of his anger finally dissipating to nothing. He couldn’t blame her, should never have blamed her, she was only acting exactly as he should have known she would act. He was the one who lost control.

“I never meant to hurt you.” He whispered, resting his palm against her face and brushing away the welling tears with his thumb. “I, I didn’t know.”

‘But I should have! I should have known!’ An angry voice in the back of his mind told him. Tharja was among the most introverted people he knew, she kept to herself even among the Shepherds and by all respects had been even more stand-offish before she’d joined them. How could it possibly be a surprise that she’d never taken a lover?

Because of the way she acted around him? A man she herself claimed as special, and unique. Because of the way she dressed? A desert style not far removed from any other Plegian mage he’d seen. He’d let cursory judgements cloud his vision, never even taking a moment to think properly about it.That wasn’t good enough, not for a tactician!

“I don’t mind.” She answered softly, the pain on her face easing as she rested her cheek against his palm. “Just…please…don’t, ah-don’t stop, don’t leave me. Not, not now.” Looking into her eyes he could finally understand, the nervousness she’d shown, her fear and why she’d never said anything.

And he saw now, with his mind clear, what else there was besides primal need. What there always had been, the affection and love he’d always held for Tharja, even if not the love she wished from him.

To continue was wrong, he knew that, his only excuse was long gone…but the only thing worse would be to stop now.

Finally, after guilt came acceptance.

“Shhh.” He whispered, sliding his arms around her neck and drawing her softly against him. “I won’t leave you. You’re mine, remember?”

Moving before she could answer, he pulled her head up to meet him, laying her lips softly against his own, and holding her in a gentle kiss.

“A-Always.” She beamed when they broke away, her eyes as bright as he’d ever seen them. “Always, always… I’m yours, forever.”

“Then…” He sighed, moving his lips against hers once more, pushing her mouth open with his tongue and deepening their embrace. “We’ll take it slow, okay?”

“Oka-ahnn, Okay.” She nodded, eyes widening with a gasp as his cock twitched inside her, scraping along the very back of her pussy.

Easily fighting down the urge to move, Robin was content to just lay still inside her, letting her run her fingers along his back as he threaded his own through her hair. Giving her time to adjust to his length inside her as he slowly raised the intensity of their embrace.

“R-Robin…” She panted his name, her breathing starting to come faster as he felt her pussy slowly loosen around him, her juices flowing more freely as she relaxed.

Breaking away from her lips and dragging his mouth under her jaw, he sucked lightly on her neck. It was a new experience, he realised, unique.

It was clear she was unused to any of this, her movements-even the way she kissed him, was awkward…and yet, endearing. Even just being wrapped inside her felt different, when he made love to Lucina, her body was always gentle and soft, but with a confidence and strength that suited the time travelling princess, a willingness to do whatever was needed, the knowledge that she would match her pace to his no matter what he did.

With Tharja it felt as if her entire body yearned for him, the dark mage’s confidence fully surrendered to him as she relaxed into his ministrations. There was a wonderful softness to her body as she slid against him, each time she squirmed under him he could feel her pillowy breasts heaving and shaking.

And, and gods she was tight. “Ha-ah!” He gasped at that thought- feeling her pussy coil tight around him once more. Even as her body relaxed into his embrace, still her walls were agonisingly constricting against his cock, the sorceress’s smaller body pulling instinctively at his cock.

“It fe-feels, ahnnn, ah!” Tharja sighed, her words cut off to nothing but small gasps as Robin slowly began to rock himself back and forth, moving slowly, barely an inch in and out as he pressed gently against the back of her tunnel, over and over, “F-Feels… Like-like my entire body…can, can feel you.”

“It’s good…” He answered, gritting his teeth as he moved just a little further. “Gods, Tharja. It feels good.”

“I-I’m, I’m glad! I’I’m so glad!” She laughed giddily, burning absolute bright crimson as she removed her hands from his back, covering her face with them. “G-Gods, I-I can’t believe it.”

“Ahn-aaah!” Her breathing came faster and harder as her hips moved awkwardly back and forth against his, pushing him out further, pulling him in deeper. “I’m, we’re really! Ro-Robin! Robin!”

“Tharja…” He whispered in surprise, attempting to slow her pace. “Y-You don’t need, ah-ha, you don’t need to push yourself.”

“W-We’re making love! Y-You’re inside me!” Tharja cried, still hiding her expression behind her hands as she threw her head to the side, her body sliding faster against his, no more signs of pain evident at all. “G-Gods! Ro-Robin! Robin! I love you! I love you! I love you!”

‘W-Woah!’ He gaped at the sight, carefully matching his thrusts to hers as he watched her losing control, her breathing coming in frantic gasps and her words little more than guttural moans. ‘Sh-She’s really feeling this!’ He realised, seeing first hand just how much this meant to her.

“Tharja, a-hah… Here!” He answered, pulling her hands from her face and pinning them to the bed.

Her eyes went wide as she saw him staring directly at her, as he saw her in the absolute throes of passion. But, before she could attempt to move away, his lips were on her once more, cutting off her cries as he dragged her into another deep kiss.

“MMMHGHAAAA!” She moaned into his mouth, her movements finally halting as her body convulsed tight against him, shuddering and shivering, she came hard, her pussy sucking desperately against Robin’s cock, dragging his own ragged gasps out in return.

Their lips only finally came apart a minute later as the orgasmic high passed and she fell onto the bed with a dazed expression, her mouth open in wordless sighs and eyes glazed over.

“Hah, mmmm.” Robin hummed, ceasing his own movements as he let her recover, stroking her face lightly as she panted weakly under him. “How was that?”

“I, khaaa, ahh… R-Robin… I love you. I love you.” She repeated, turning her head against his hands and pressing her lips softly against his palms. “I love you more than anything.”

“Does it still hurt?” He asked, moving slowly inside her once more, this time dragging his cock fully out of her pussy before slowly grinding it back inside, pressing it again gently against her furthest walls.

“N-No, no…” She grinned, smiling the warmest smile he’d ever seen from her. “It’s just…perfect. I’m, I’m with you… With you… I’m so happy!”

“Good. Go-ahgnn, good.” He nodded, grinding in a little faster as he felt the pressure of his own release slowly building within him. “Gods, it’s good. Y-You feel amazing.”

Tharja’s response was interrupted as her body shook once more. Shuddering in his arms with a deep moan, she felt her pussy squeezed frantically around him. “Anhgggnnn!”

“A-Amazing!” He repeated, burying his face in her pale white shoulders and grinding harder inside her, groaning through grit teeth when her pussy constricted tightly in response.

Gods it felt good, incredible! Tharja’s movements may have been awkward at first, but she was learning fast! There was no-one in the camp more skilled at analysing him than her and already he could feel her body acting eagerly in response to his own.

“R-Robin…Robin!” She moaned his name again, her breathing racing faster and faster as she threw her head back, mouth falling open and her hands tugging weakly at his head. “A-Ah! K-Kiss, kiss me, a-again! P-Please!”

He was close! Naga! He was close, so close! Dragging his cock faster out of her pussy, grinding it back in harder, each thrust felt like it would squeeze his long awaited release out of him, her entire body seemingly acting to draw out every last drop of his seed.

“T-Tharja!”

Sucking in a desperate breath, he sunk down into her embrace, wrapping his own arms tight around her shoulder and burying his full length inside her. Pressing it as hard against her back wall as he could, their lips came together, locked once more in a deep, frantic kiss.

Her reaction was instantaneous, with her head raised up against his arms, Tharja’s body shuddered violently, writhing in his arms and moaning loudly into his mouth, she kissed him as passionately as she could, refusing to let him go, even as another thunderous orgasm slammed through her.

Robin’s reaction was no less so, his cock twitching and spasming the instant it drove against his back walls. Even with his mouth locked against hers and eyes closed, still he could see bright spots dancing across his vision as his release came almost painfully, his balls aching and pulsing as load after load of hot cum sprayed through the dark mage’s pussy, as he stained it completely with his seed.

Even as their orgasms faded, still they held their embrace, the kisses gradually slowing as the intensity lowered, until they were left lying still, holding each other tight and just kissing softly, gently, lovingly.

From there time seemed to stretch out, the distinction losing meaning as they simply basked in a comfortable afterglow. Neither tracked how much passed, neither cared.

At some point Robin pulled out, rolling off and lying dazedly beside her. Moments later she was snuggled against him, his arm holding her tight as she snuggled happily against his chest.

It was Tharja that broke the silence first, some unknowable minutes later. “Thank you.” She whispered simply.

“Tharja…I…” Robin followed, his thoughts still hazy from pleasure but his heart as clear as it had ever been. “I’m sorry."

“You mean a lot to me. I care, I care so much for you.” He added, squeezing her shoulder before she could answer. “You’re important to me, but…but I feel like, like I can’t help but hurt you.”

“Robin…” Her voice was soft, tender. “I, if it’s you… I’ll endure any pain. Nothing will stop me.”

“I’m sorry Tharja.” He repeated, sighing heavily, “I wish I could just… I wish I could love you like you want me to.”

Like he loved Lucina.

“Tch.” Tharja laughed, the happy giggle sounding almost completely out of place on the woman. It was a sound Robin was certain none other had ever heard.

She slid up against him and he was further shocked to see small tears shining in her eyes as she smiled gently down at him. “I’m happy…” She admitted. “You say that and…I, I actually believe you.” He could only smile. It had to be a trick of the light, Tharja never cried.

No more words were needed, there wasn’t anything left to say. Wrapping his arms gently around back around her neck, he pulled her back down to him, their lips locking together once more and their bodies moving naturally.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

The Next Morning

“Gods…” Robin whispered to himself, back in his own tent once more, having snuck in from Tharja’s during the early hours of the morning.

“Gods.” He repeated, his hands shaking and his heart aching as he replayed the previous night’s events once more.

‘I really did it… With Tharja.’

He didn’t have a single excuse, nor a single explanation. He’d come to her heady with passion and anger… He’d lost control, and he’d wound up deeper than he’d ever expected to go. ‘How could I even, why did I…’ His thoughts were as scattered as his emotions as he ran his hands through his hair, sucking in deep breaths.

Things had escalated so fast, faster than he’d even anticipated! But…he’d stayed… The first time perhaps he could rationalise, but he’d made love to Tharja twice more before they’d fallen asleep.

‘Was I really that pent up?’ He winced, what kind of excuse was that! He was a man! A tactician! Not some hormonal teen!

“Naga preserve me.” He sighed finally, slumping to his desk with his head in his hands.

‘Being in love, it all looked so easy. So simple from the outside.’

He loved Lucina, she loved him. That was all there was to it, wasn’t it?

‘Gods, I’m such a thrice-damned fool!’

He’d underestimated it, what it meant to be in a relationship. What it meant to be a lover or fiancé. Everything had just worked so well, had come so easily, he’d just…just assumed that was enough, that he knew what he was doing.

He didn’t have to think hard to remember the last time he’d let himself get so complacent, to just assume he knew what he was doing. ‘Emm…’ And once again, it was the royal family, the people he loved most that would be the most hurt by his actions.

‘Godsdamnit Robin!’ He swore, his fingers digging hard into his palm as he shook with anger and self loathing. ‘Godsdamnit! This isn’t the man you want to be! This isn’t the man Lucina deserves!’

And so, just like in the wake of the tragic mission to save Emmeryn. Robin accepted his failure, internalised his shortcomings. Finally, he understood just how fragile a relationship could be, even one that meant more to you than your very soul, he saw how a single mistake could lose him everything he loved, could hurt everyone he cared about.

And just like then, he knew, with everything he was, with everything he ever would be, that he would become a better man. That he would learn from this.

‘I will not, not ever repeat this!’ He vowed, his hands shaking angrily as he choked back hot tears. ‘I know now, h-how little it takes! I’ll never, never take it for granted again ’

It had been so easy to assume that his love for Lucina would be enough to prevent any other women from even tempting him. So simple! He only loved her, how could he ever be tempted!?

A single memory of how comfortable, how wonderful, he’d felt wrapped up in Tharja’s embrace was enough to drill that lesson deep into Robin’s soul.

‘So long as I live, I’ll never- never, touch another, only Lucina.’ He swore, teeth grit as he forced himself steady. ‘I understand now, I know how easy it can be. E-Even though, even though I love her.’

It was nearly a half hour before Robin managed to bring his breathing under control, by then his hands were skinned almost raw from how tight he’d been clenching them.

It was a lesson. He accepted it as a tactician accepted any harsh truth. A terrible, painful lesson, that for all else he was…he was just a man.

He’d never doubted that, of course, but when two continents sang his praises, when all his friends lauded his achievements…perhaps it’d been easy to forget -just for a moment- that he was just as fallible, just as flawed and susceptible as any other.

‘Never again.’ He promised one final time, swearing it on his very life. He would never repeat this act.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Present

‘Never again.’

The promise he’d made that day echoed round Robin’s head as Tharja’s fell to the bedroll with a gasp, staring hungrily back up at him, her legs spread wide and her smile full of anticipation.

His body was wracked once more by the raging desire within, and he shook the memory from his head.

It was funny, or perhaps it was something that should have been funny.

He stood here on the cusp of breaking a promise he’d sworn his life to, a vow that had been more important to him than anything, one sworn as he ached with regret… And he didn’t have a single hesitation.

He would never be the man he’d sworn to be that day, he saw that now. He accepted that, that was an acceptable price. ‘I will protect her. No matter what.’ That was more important, he’d made up his mind long ago.

His soul thrummed with approval. Grinning eagerly, Robin dropped to his knees, dragging his fingers along Tharja’s long, slim, legs and carefully untying the sash around her hips, throwing it to the floor.

“R-Robin!” Tharja gasped, her hips squirming under him as she looked on in breathless anticipation.

Her panties were a dark red, standing out visibly against the light mesh of her bodysuit and utterly drenched in her juices already, the slick outline of her pussy very visible through the fabric.

“I missed this.” He admitted, pressing his finger hard against her entrance, pushing it slightly inside her, despite the two layers of fabric, and listening as Tharja cried out in eager approval.

Fighting back his own desperate arousal through gritted teeth, Robin knew he was fast running against his limits, already near the verge of as much as he could stand, as long as he could wait! Gods! Especially when she was right here! Wanting him! He needed this!

Spreading his fingers out, he hooked them through her bodysuit, under her smallclothes.

“Ah-haahh. G-Go ahead!” She gasped, recognising this moment and already bracing her hips against his force. “I-I’m your-AHH!” Once again her waist was dragged skywards as Robin tore her clothing to shreds, her panties pulled right from her body and a hole torn in her bodysuit right to her abdomen, a testament to both her love’s strength and his impatience.

Flushing deep red and biting her lip with hot excitement, Tharja’s whole body shivered as she watched. It was indescribable to see him like this, to see Robin full of nothing but uncontrolled desire, of boundless lust towards her. She’d been pressed hard against his cock barely a minute ago and already her pussy ached for his touch once more.

Pushing himself to his feet, Robin frantically stripped his own clothing, throwing his shirt aside and kicking his pants off with a gasp of relief as his cock was finally unrestrained. Laying a hand around his shaft, he took a moment to present himself to her, laughing as he watched Tharja’s eyes eagerly drinking in his naked body, her lips quivering at the sight of his rigid length.

Gritting his teeth and fighting back the rough need coursing through him, Robin prepared himself with one final deep breath.

He wanted this.

She wanted this.

He cared for Tharja, he loved her. Not in the same manner he loved Lucina, but, in this moment, neither of them cared.

It was both the simplest and most complex of all human desires.

Sinking to his knees, he took a moment to position himself atop her as gently as possible. Sliding his cock through the ruined fabric of her bodysuit and gently easing her pussy lips outward, slowly opening the entrance around his cockhead.

“I-Ah, Ro-Robin!” She breathed, her voice hitching as she felt the glans sliding up and down along her entrance. Wrapping her legs loose around his hips, her arms slid gently up and down his, urging him on. “Robin, ahnn. Ahaaa…”

He didn’t wait, he knew she needed it as badly as he did.

Gripping hard to her waist he slammed his hips forwards, unleashing all his pent up frustration, the raging desire, his uncontrolled lust all at once. “HRGHAAA!” Roaring with need, he pushed her walls open around his cock, driving his entire length inside her with one thrust.

“AHNNNGUUAAAAAAAAA!”

Screaming, Tharja’s entire body arched off the bed, convulsing and shaking as she threw her head back, her eyes rolling back and her mouth hanging open.

“Ahh-gnnn.” Robin gasped in response, moaning and shivering at the incredible sensation as he felt Tharja cum hard around his cock, her pussy squeezing and sucking furiously again and again as her body trembled.

“R-Robin… I-Incredible…” She panted, her eyes slowly refocussing as she came down from the sudden incredible high. “Mmnngg. So strong. It’s like, like you fill my entire body.”

“Hngg.” He grunted a response, easing himself back and forth a little inside her as her pussy slowly relaxed around him, letting his cock grind against her back walls –grinning each time her head fell back with a silent gasp- “Gods. You’re still as tight as I remember.”

“I-It…ahnn, it has been, f-far too long.” She answered, her attempt at flippancy undone by the bright flush on her face and the moans already falling eagerly from her lips.

“Yeah.” He agreed, collapsing gently down into her waiting embrace and wrapping his arms tight around her neck, their lips meeting together once more, soft and loving for a single moment before the intensity, the raw passion between them spurred them on.

Sliding slowly back and forth inside her, Robin couldn’t help but marvel at the tightness of the sorceress smaller body, her walls still desperately snug around his cock. Even as she relaxed against him, her moans came faster and deeper and with each thrust her pussy pulled instinctively at his length.

“Ahnn-Ah! R-Robin! Robin!” She cried his name, her fingers threading through his hair as she threw her head back and forth, “I missed this! Gods! I love you! I love you!”

Silencing her cries with his lips, Robin pushed her harder into the bed, overtaking her rhythm with his own as her walls loosened enough for him to grind comfortably in and out. Feeling her thrashing under him, her legs wrapping tighter and tighter around his waist, only made him grind back inside with even more force, carefully keeping his speed the same as his cock ground hard against the top of her pussy, as it pushed directly into the rear walls of her pussy- again and again.

“MMMGHAAA!” She screamed into his mouth, shuddering and shivering as she came for the second time, her pussy sucking even harder than ever against his cock as her grip on him loosened, and she fell backwards into his arms, breathing raggedly as white spots danced between of her eyes.

“T-Tharja!” Robin moaned her name, not pausing for an instant as he drove into her with the same pace, pressing hard against the back of her pussy even as she peaked, her tunnel clamping down around his cock.

“G-Gods! Ro-Robin!” She screamed, with her whole body left incredibly sensitive following her orgasm, the continued sensations seared through her like raw pleasure. Gasping and shrieking, her mouth hung open as she shuddered in his grip, shaking as she felt another orgasm approaching before she’d even fully recovered from her first.

“Naga.” He grunted, burying his face in her pale white shoulders, and grinding even harder inside her, his pace increasing as his own need spurred him furiously on. “It-Tharja! It’s good, ghaa, so, good!”

“I-I can’t! R-Robin! Robin!” Tharja panted, finding her breath just barely long enough to scream his name as she felt his cock twitching desperately inside her, her mind focussing only on him as she felt his impending release, felt the pressure building from him.

Over and over his cock drove hard against the back of her pussy, she could only just barely stand it... Even just thinking about it was driving her wild! She was with Robin! She was having sex with Robin! They were together again! He was going to cum! He was going to cum inside her! It was too much, more than she could take. Another peak crashed through her, sending her body shivering as she screamed wordlessly, her tongue lolling out of her mouth and her vision going white.

“Tharja!” Robin repeated her name as little more than a grunt, his arms shaking as his own release built up inside him with incredible force.

Sucking in a frantic breath, he collapsed down into her arms once more, pulling his own tight around her shoulder and driving his full length inside him as hard as he could, pressing it against the furthest part of her pussy as their lips met in a deep, frantic kiss.

Feeling her coiled tight around him, feeling her cum around his cock one last time, there was no chance he could even begin to fight against the pleasure she was giving him. Shuddering with one final burst of pleasure, he gasped into her mouth as his cock twitched, his release surging through him and spraying load after load of his hot seed through the dark mage’s pussy, filling her entirely with his essence.

Tharja’s own reaction was instantaneous, her mind seared completely blank as she felt his thick cum pressed against her innermost walls, gasping and panting into their weakened kiss each time his cock twitched, pressing another release inside her. Breaking their kiss, she slumped bonelessly down into the bed, unware of even how many times she’d cum, feeling the intensity of his orgasm.

“W-Wow!” Robin panted, his own body slumped carefully atop hers as he sucked in deep breaths. “I-I’ve never…never felt, like… Gods.”

Sex always felt good. Whether it had been that previous time with Tharja, with Lissa, or with Lucina before or after his return, it had always been an incredible feeling, an intensely passionate experience unlike anything else.

But, it had never felt like this.

“Naga…” He whispered, knowing full well Tharja likely couldn’t hear him.

With each thrust it had been as if his soul was being cleansed, as if every part of his body was singing in unison.

The ache for release, the pressure building within him…it had been unbearable.

But now… “Gods, I-It’s like…”

Now it was gone.

The fire within him wasn’t simply mollified, nor lowered, he hadn’t just taken the edge off it… The moment he’d felt himself unload inside Tharja, it had disappeared completely. He couldn’t even feel the smallest embers within him. All the fog had lifted from his mind, for what felt like the first time since he’d come back, he finally felt like himself again!

“It’s like, I’m finally alive again!”

He didn’t know if he wanted to laugh, to cry, or to scream. A million emotions were surging through him simultaneously, far more than he could possibly handle.

Pulling out, he slumped bonelessly onto the bed beside the dark mage, gathering her into his arms and holding her gently as she wrapped herself around him. ‘E-Even just this… just this is, it feels almost strange.’

Stopping after one single orgasm was practically a novelty. Already tonight he’d came inside Lucina six times, only stopping when she’d passed out…and still his body had been screaming for more. Still, it had taken every ounce of will he possessed not to force himself on her unconscious form.

But now… Somehow, after only once, now he was satisfied. He was sated.

“Finally, f-finally...” He whispered, falling backwards into the mattress and staring wordlessly up at the ceiling.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

“I’m glad.” Tharja spoke first almost a half hour later, from where she’d been snuggled warmly against his chest. “So glad, you finally came to me.”

“Tharja.” Robin sighed, stroking her head softly as he summoned up the courage to face what he knew was before him. “You know what’s wrong with me, what’s been happening to me. Don’t you?”

It was the only explanation he’d been able to come to. The worry he’d seen in her, the relief she'd had upon seeing him, it went beyond simply wanting to be with him. He’d come to her out of desperation, knowing she wouldn’t turn him away, but now, now, a small part of him dared hope he’d finally have some answers…Even as another part of him feared what that answer might be.

“I…don’t know exactly.” She answered slowly, her fingers trailing across his chest.

“Then, then just tell me what you do know! I, It’s not something as simple as a curse or hex is it? It’s something…something big.”

“Robin…”

“Am I… Am I losing myself? Losing my control?” He forced the words out, the dread he’d tried not to think, a possibility that had haunted him every waking day since his return. “Godsdamnit… Am-am I becoming Grima? A monster?” Looking at Lucina’s exhausted form, the way he’d ravaged her body night after night, he’d certainly felt like one.

“No! Robin!” Tharja cried, sitting up and staring dead into his eyes. “Grima is dead. You killed him.”

Clamping down on her anger, she reached out, stroking his face gently. “Do you think if you were becoming Grima I would let you lay so much as a finger on me?” She asked softly. “My love is only for Robin, the man I helped kill Grima. I care not whose flesh that beast wears…he is not you.”

“Then… Then what’s wrong with me?”

“Nothing.” She answered simply, shaking her head and threading her fingers softly through his hair. “You’re not losing yourself Robin, you’ve regained yourself… You are, you are more yourself than you’ve ever been before.”

“Wha?” He grimaced, trying to make sense of that as he pushed himself into a sitting position, leaning against the wall and dragging an arm around Tharja’s waist. “Huh?”

“You were…you were never fully human.” She spoke carefully, giving off the impression of someone picking her words very carefully, treading carefully so as not to cause hurt. A very rare impression for Tharja.

“I don’t know all the details…but from what you’ve told me, Validar- your entire line has been bred for the purpose of housing Grima.” She continued. “But…that’s impossible, there’s no magic to simply possess someone, to take their body and force them out. Even if there was, a human cannot simply become a Dragon, and especially not one as powerful as Grima. Chrom has Naga’s mark, but he cannot become Naga.”

“R-Right.” Robin nodded weakly. He wasn’t fully human? Was that a surprise? He wasn’t sure. He knew he’d been bred to be Grima’s host…he’d never wanted to consider what such a task actually entailed. “So then…I’m, what? Part Manakete?” That wasn’t so bad, Nah was half-Manakete, and Yarne was half-Taguel,it was a little strange to think of himself in those terms, but it wasn’t too worrying.

“I doubt it.” She sighed. “More likely, born from the souls of Manaketes, their essence taken and fused with your blood… I can’t even guess what other rituals. But even that wouldn’t be enough… Grima, his essence, his power. Your bloodline must be infused with it, secreted within you, for you to house it…like a buried safe.”

“What do you mean?”

“As I said, he could not simply possess you, force your soul from your own body…not unless he had some anchor, a space inside you where he already existed. To host Grima, to become Grima, you must have already held his powers within you. That was the power he wished to take, the strength he hoped to gain from you.”

Nodding, Robin thought back, it wasn’t something he’d easily forget...the fury on his doppelganger’s face when he overcame the control, when he refused to join him. His future-self had been weakened by Naga’s time travel, but he’d made it very clear his strength would be returned on their fusion, that he’d be stronger than ever.

“Then…I housed Grima’s power?” It made a twisted sort of sense he supposed. How else would Grima become so powerful just from merging with him?

“Part of it, or more like…the potential for his power, the focus for them. Before there was always a thick aura, a layer of fell magic I could feel around you. It was…very appealing, and very, very powerful.” Tharja nodded, smiling darkly at the memory. “It was only when I looked close, I could see it didn't come from you…not entirely, it was all from only single fragment of your soul… The most powerful energy I’d ever seen, the thickest magic, and it was but a trickle, a leak from inside you.”

“Grima’s power.” Robin concluded. “So a part of his essence, his self was what-sealed inside me? It was…Saved for him? That was what would have let him control me?”

“Mmm, but now…” Pulling back, she ran her hands across his chest, grinning hungrily at him. “Now it radiates from your entire body, from your entire soul! Grima is gone and the power that was inside you has been unshackled, now it belongs to you alone!”

“Gods…” He grimaced, not sure how to even begin to process that. “Naga didn’t…when I came back, I just, why didn’t she remove it? Why didn’t she just…just make me human?”

“Tch, who knows?” Tharja wasn’t terribly interested in the machinations of Ylisse’s Goddess. “Was it even her who returned you?”

“She did say she couldn’t create or destroy…” Robin considered, recalling the benevolent dragon’s words. “Maybe she couldn’t just create a human.”

“Regardless of how, you returned! As yourself, as you true self! A human holding the essence of a God! You must feel it, how much stronger you are, how much more powerful!”

He couldn’t deny it. “I’ve, I’ve certainly noticed some changes. But then, then…this desire, this uncontrollable need within me. It’s like, god, it’s like a raging fire! What is it!? Some curse of Grima’s bloodline, a part of my father’s twisted rituals?”

“It’s proof of your power.” Tharja purred, twisting herself into his lap and wrapping her arms loosely around his neck. “It’s your instinct. It only burns because you refuse to sate it.”

“I-Instinct!?” Robin balked. It couldn’t possibly be so simple…could it? “Wh-What, like raging hormones?” It felt like a pathetic answer.

“You underestimate it.” She sighed, “But it’s instinct that drives everything, that controls all our actions. It’s instinct that drives us to sate our needs… And now, just as your power has increased, so has your needs and so has your instincts, your drive to satisfy them. Robin, you’re not human, you’re more than human, so much more…You must feel this.”

Frowning, he looked away. He didn’t want it to be true! More than human!? He didn’t want to be anything but human! ‘Damnit…’

“My…my needs have increased?” He asked finally, there was no point denying it, no salvation in running from painful truths.

“That’s what brought you to me.” Tharja answered leaning and laying her lips soft across his beck. “Instinct to conquer…to dominate…” She slid upwards, her mouth low against his ear, “Instinct to breed.”

His most basic, most primal need. Robin swallowed heavily, “But, when-when we finished, it disappeared. I feel, I feel better.”

“I doubt it will be enough.” She answered solemnly. “Being with me, you’ve sated it for now…but I, in time you may need more. Your soul will yearn for more women, strong women, women worthy of you.

It wasn’t difficult to follow her train of thought. “What!? T-The Shepherds?” He asked, horrified.

“You desired them as a man. And as a man, one woman was enough for your needs…but now…”

“Gods! No… I, I can’t! That’s I could nev-“

“Robin, p-please!” She interrupted suddenly, rearing back and staring him dead in the eyes, her hands gripping tight into his shoulders. “Please…don’t say that. W-Whatever it takes, whatever happens…don’t fight it, not anymore. I-I’ve seen how much it hurts you, I was…I was so terrified.”

“T-Tharja…”

Dropping her gaze, she fell back against him, laying her head against his shoulder. “I would…I would rather see you with a thousand women than see you go through that again.”

He didn’t answer, couldn’t answer that. Nor could he promise her… Even now, he still couldn’t truly deal with Tharja’s sheer devotion to him.

“Then, if you knew all this…why did you never say anything?”

“It’s not as if I didn’t want to.” She answered bitterly. “But…If I told you, if I was able to convince you. I knew you would always look back, you would always wonder if there was more you could do. You would regret it.”

“I-I knew you needed to fight it, to fight against your own instinct with everything you had… U-Until yo-you finally accepted it, I-But you were so strong, you held out so, so long…. I was, I was so scared…”

Closing his eyes and leaning back against the wall, he wrapped his arms around her, holding her softly against him as he breathed deep and processed what he’d heard, slowly accepted what he now knew.

She was right.

He had fought it, he’d fought it with everything he’d had and he’d almost driven himself mad. He’d almost hurt the people he loved the most.

Lifting her mouth to his, he kissed her once more, his hands sliding warmly down her back as she slid against him. Her pussy grinding slowly over his hardening cock.

“Thank you Tharja.”

It was a nice feeling, he decided, one he’d missed. To be able to simply desire from his own feelings, not from instinct or need…just simple affection.

“You know…” She added, her mood quickly rising as she felt his lips running softly down her neck “With your power now, you could even create your own brand. The Mark of Robin.”

“W-What?” Robin reeled back, horrified at the very idea, he tried to make sure she was serious.

Tharja wasn’t the joking type. “I would wear it with pride.”

“Gods…” Shaking his head, he pushed that thought instantly from his mind. He didn’t even want to consider something like that.

For now, Robin decided as he lowered her gently to the bed, untying the cloth that held her breasts and dragging his tongue down her neckline…For now, this was more than enough.

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Notes:

AN: First off, as always, thanks to everyone who’s left feedback about this. It really helps to have an idea about what it is you’re enjoying or looking forward to, so I can focus more around that.

Secondly, I know this chapter is a lot longer than the previous ones. I even cut a sweet Robin/Lucina/Morgan family bonding scene and it’s still this big. I’ve been trying to keep my chapters to 15-20 pages until now. So, tell me how you liked this, was it too big? Was it a slog to get through? Do I need to be more careful with my chapter size?

Chapter 4: Bonus – A Plan Forms

Notes:

Authors Note: A smaller chapter this time, much more in line with the length I’m trying to aim for. Bonus chapters (like this one) are my plan to move the plot and setting along, or show some fun scenes without having to make the chapter character specific.

This should be the only one for a while, but I’m planning to use them more as more women get involved and some more unique opportunities present between multiples of them present.

Bonus – A Plan Forms

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It’s only when they understand fully just how their actions have hurt those they love, that humans are open to the greatest change.

It was in that moment that Robin finally saw the path he walked down and what it meant, it was then that he knew that nothing would hold him back. Not anymore.

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Sleeping with Tharja – Robin had noticed – was different.

Before his relationship with Lucina, he had always had romantic notions of how a married couple slept. He’d thought often about how wonderful it must be, that he could go to sleep each night with his arms wrapped around the person he loved.

After consummating their relationship, he’d fast discovered the realities of body heat and hair- specifically, her hair in his mouth. Realities that meant, while it was still wonderful to drift off aside his fiancé, it was better to have a little distance when they actually did sleep.

Tharja on the other hand, seemed naturally inclined to disagree with this, even unconsciously. He’d gone to sleep with her clinging to him, and he’d woken up with her clinging to him no less diligently.

Which meant he was hot. And, since it was currently in the midst of a warm Ylissean summer, he was very hot.

He also currently had some of her long black hair in his mouth.

Surprisingly, this left him in a very good mood.

‘I’m finally myself again.’

Because he even noticed such things. Because, finally, he was able to simply lie there, simply enjoy the warmth of a woman he cared for and feel no pulsating desire to take her. To simply relish in the presence of another, with no other needs, it was such a minor pleasure, it seemed ridiculous to even consider.

But after losing that pleasure, to have regained it felt in that moment, like the most wonderful thing in the world. After so long spent fighting it, even simply feeling the absence of his burning desire was a novelty in itself, an appreciation he knew meant his world-view would never be the same again.

The previous night had held many revelations, none of which he’d had the time to process.

It was a rare thing for a tactician like him not to have a plan, but right now, Robin was adrift- unsure about what to feel about his actions, what he’d done, both to Lucina and to Tharja…and perhaps more worryingly, what he planned to do from now on.

Could he simply continue on? Would he just…just pretend everything was fine while he snuck off to see Tharja behind his fiancé’s back?

More worrying than that idea was Tharja’s ominous certainty. ‘I doubt it will be enough.’ He couldn’t soon forget those words. No tactician in their right mind would ignore such a warning.

“Tch.” He chuckled ruefully, lying in another woman’s bed with her draped across him was hardly the place for these thoughts. But, it was still early in the day and he was wide awake now. If he was to get his head wrapped around any of this, better to start now.

And so, after taking great care to disentangle himself from his dark lover, Robin set about searching her residence for his discarded clothing – mentally thanking himself for at least having the presence of mind not to ruin his own clothes when he saw her ruined panties and torn bodysuit…

“Hey, Tharja…” He whispered, kneeling at the side of the bed and softly stroking her head.

“Mpmhmmma.” Tharja was most certainly not a morning person.

“Hey I…” There wasn’t much point in thanking someone who couldn’t hear you. “I’ll be back later, okay?” He finished instead, leaning over to plant a soft kiss on her lips, holding her hand softly for a moment when it reached up to cup his face, before turning and heading to the Shepherd’s garrison-to his office.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

The barracks was only a short distance from the palace, not enough time to fully wrap his head around the enormity of what he’d learned the previous night, but it was at least enough to examine what he’d learned in the cool light of day.

He wasn’t fully human. He held a fragment of Grima’s power, or some focus of it at least. One way or another, this was who he was, this was who he always had been.

There was no denying it, no running from it, he’d seen proof enough of that. The urges wouldn’t stop until they were fully sated, whatever that would take.

He’d broken his promise to himself and cheated on Lucina. Worse. This time he had no illusions of it being a one off mistake, he fully intended to continue his liaison with Tharja.

That thought gave him pause, but only for a moment. Again, there was no point denying it. It was true. To secure victory a tactician had to take risks and make sacrifices. To protect the woman he loved, he’d sacrificed his fidelity to her.

There was no return from that moment, in every path he saw ahead of him, none lead towards him staying true to her. Not anymore.

And yet, despite such disquieting thoughts, ideas that should worry him and guilt that should be eating at him… Robin was in a great mood!

Perhaps it was because he’d already made peace with his actions? Perhaps it was simply from holding to the justification that Tharja had given him- that there could be no fighting instinct? Perhaps it was those instincts themselves, the warm contented thrumming he could feel within his soul, as if a great hunger had been sated…or perhaps it was simply the relief of knowing? The comfort that he was no longer grasping in the dark, he knew what affected him and what was required to alleviate it.

Whatever the reason, by the time Robin pushed open the door to the Shepherd’s barracks, he was walking with a clear skip in his step.

“Oh?”

Raising an eyebrow as he leaped up the dusty stone steps to the second floor, he was brought to halt upon seeing his office door already ajar and the sounds of shuffling papers and pencils coming from within.

Odd. It was strange enough for any of the other Shepherds to be up this early (Frederick excepted, of course).

But it was odder still for anyone to be so bold as to simply let themselves into his room.

Frowning, he stepped inside with a question burning on his lips…and instead found himself staring at the culprit in dull surprise. “Eh? Morgan?”  He shook his head in disbelief, if there was anyone in the Shepherds he would never expect to awake and working this early…well, it’d probably be Tiki, but after her, Tharja, Vaike, Nowi and Cynthia would be Morgan!

“What’re you doing up so early?” Taking into account his daughter’s frazzled hair and dreary expression, the early morning certainly didn’t seem to be treating her very well.

“O-Oh!” She turned to him, blinking rapidly in surprise, “Father! I, I didn’t expect you so soon!”

Leaning forwards as she took sight of him, the dazed expression on her face quickly brightened to a joyous smile, “Woah! F-Father! You look great today!”

He resisted the urge to roll his eyes. “First you come into work early, and now you’re trying to butter me up?” He teased, she couldn’t possibly seem more suspicious if she tried. “Alright, I’ll bite. What’re you after?”

“Ah, no, I just…” Looking abashed her voice trailed off as her eyes fell the floor.

“Morgan?” That wasn’t the reaction he’d expected.

Chewing on her lip a moment, the girl thought over her words. “Y-You just, you look happy again today…it’s, it’s nice.”

“I-” Robin blinked, in confusion. “I guess I am, yeah, I’m feeling good this morning.”

“I was worried…” She added quietly, shooting him a shaky smile as her fingers twisted around each other. “You just seemed really, really stressed lately. Like you were on edge!”

He reeled back, but now that she’d spoken her words came faster and faster. “I-It was scary! Like something was eating at you, and, and you always looked so tired! I tried asking mother about it, but even she di-AH!”

Racing forward, Robin quickly interrupted his daughter’s sudden rant, pulling her against his chest. “Gods… I’m sorry darling. I didn’t, I didn’t realise I seemed so bad.” Morgan nuzzled softly into his chest and things quickly fell into place. “That’s why you’re here isn’t it? You were worried about me…worried I was overworked.”

That was why she was here, awake and miserable, at the crack of dawn? Trying to help relieve his workload? Was this the first time she’d done this? Now that he thought about it, he could think of a few times where he’d come into his office and found reports he didn’t remember completing already stacked up and finished.

She didn’t answer, not that there was any need for her to.

‘Just like her mother.’ Rubbing his hands slowly across her back, Robin pressed his lips softly against the crown of her head. “You really are too good to me Morgan. Thank you.”

“Then…a-are you better now?” Morgan asked hesitantly, her fingers toying with the lapels of his cloak.

“Yeah. Yeah, I am.” He answered, promising himself in that moment that those words would not be a lie. “I’m…there was just some complications with my, my return. Your mother’s been helping me with it, but I think I’ve got it all under control now.”

“G-Good!” Morgan sniffed heavily burying her face further into his chest. “I’m so glad!” Chuckling ruefully, he pulled his cloak around her, blanketing her in as much parental love as he could manage.

He could hardly blame her if she was a little sensitive to this. Being the only thing she remembered from her time, he could scarcely even imagine what losing him must have done to her. He’d left her for almost half a year, and then even when he’d returned…seeing the toll he’d taken, fighting his instincts, she must have been terrified she would lose him again.

“It’s okay, I’m better now, it’s okay. The assurances came easier now as they stood together, letting her work out the last of her anxiety.

“Oh, hey, actually,” He added a few minutes later, spotting sight of a small red folder he’d put on top of his shelf, “Now that I think about it, I did have something I wanted you to look into.”

“O-Oh?”

“Mhmm,” He hummed, reaching over and putting it on the desk. “It’s nothing too exciting, I just need you to compile a report about our weapon suppliers.”

“You mean Anna?”

“Her and a few of her key competitors, yes. The details are all inside, you can start later on today if you’d like.”

“Later on? Why?”

“Well, for starters, because none of them will be open for at least another few hours…” He deadpanned. “But more importantly, because I need your help with a high priority mission.”

That certainly got her attention, pushing off him with a beaming smile, Morgan’s eyes were bright with anticipation. “An important mission!? What!?”

“Something very delicate and very time sensitive.”

“Oooh! You need me to spy on the nobles?”

“More important.”

“Hmmm! Then to gather a mercenary force, to act as a reserve?”

“Nope, far more important.”

“Ah!” Her eyes were wide with possibility. “You want me to re-gather the Gemstones and summon Naga!?”

“Much more important than that.” He laughed, offering her a hand and pulling her to her feet, leading her out the door with him. “You’re gonna help me make your mother breakfast in bed.”

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

“You know, I can’t help but feel a little taken advantage of.” Morgan pouted a half hour later as they made their way up from the kitchens.

“I told you I was more than willing to help with the actual…cooking part.” Robin shrugged. He hadn’t failed to notice that his daughter had relegated him only to chopping up and preparing the food, nor that she’d directed him to do so about as far from any of the stovetops as possible.

He also didn’t fail to notice Morgan’s resulting snort at his suggestion. He wasn’t that bad! Probably.

“No, not that. That’s probably for the best.” She teased, shrugging her shoulder instead to where he was carrying basket of their completed dishes. “I mean, your drag me all the way here, get me to help you out and then you only pack two sets of cutlery?”

“Oh, you noticed that did you?” He laughed, happily ignoring the implied question. “Perhaps you’re more perceptive than I give you credit for.”

“Hmm.” She hummed through thin lips, apparently deciding not to press the issue. “Hey, Dad…”

“Yeah?”

“You’re thinking about her this early, you even want to make her breakfast in bed… When are you gonna- you know, when are you gonna marry Mum?”

“Morgan…”

“She loves you!” Morgan insisted, “She’s just, she’s just not good at showing it but she really does!”

Sighing, Robin reached out, wrapping an arm around her shoulder and pulling her closer to him. “I’ve no doubt about your mother’s feelings for me.”

He should have expected this conversation really, especially when he was doing something like this for Lucina. Morgan was usually so good about it too, she tried not to cause a fuss, even though there was no doubt about her feelings on the matter.

Despite her brand and despite the Falchion she wore at her side, all her memories were of him. There was nothing she could cling to that tied her to Lucina, nothing that held her at her mother’s side. He could hardly blame her for yearning to have their whole family tied together.

“I just…it’d be nice to be a proper family, don’t you think?” Morgan added to his silence, kicking the stone floor and not meeting his eyes.

Robin winced, this was a discussion they’re tiptoed around a number of times, but this was the first time she’d asked the question so forthrightly. Walking silently beside her, he considered his next words very carefully. He couldn’t just lie to her, not to his own daughter. But equally, he couldn’t tell her about Lucina’s reluctance to marry him, she wouldn’t accept that. Not after everything that had happened.

“Morgan.” He sighed finally. “I’m going to tell you something. I’m only going to say it once, and I don’t want to hear it repeated, okay?”

“O-Oh, ah, of course!”

“Your mother, Lucina...she-” Gods, Lucina would be mortified if she heard him discussing her personal issues behind her back like this, even to their daughter. “She finds it very hard to let herself be happy.”

“Huh?”

“She was held up as the saviour of her world Morgan, that’s a burden you or I can never even imagine.” He explained softly, keeping his voice low and level. “But it’s a task she accepted and one she did everything to live up to. That’s how her life was, for a very long time.

“For years, for most of her life, anytime she spent on herself, or with her friends, she saw as time she could have spent doing more. Even if there wasn’t anything she could have done, she-she couldn’t justify deserving to be happy, or even wanting to be happy, not when so many people were suffering.”

“I, I uh…” No doubt Morgan had an inkling of this, it was something everyone knew on one level or another. But to say it out loud was to face exactly what that meant, to understand how intimately Lucina had tied happiness to guilt. He gave her a few moments to absorb it, to understand the weight of the obligation her mother had carried.

“She struggles with this even now, she’s not comfortable doing anything just for her own sake. And, you know how she feels out of place in this time. There’s a lot she finds difficult, or that she’s still getting used to.” He added, trying to explain while saying as little as possible, for Lucina’s own sake. “So, the people that care for her –You, me, your grandparents– we’re all going to let her take this at whatever pace suits her. We’re not going to push her, and we’re not going to guilt her into anything that may make her uncomfortable, even if it’s to try make her happy. Alright?”

He didn’t bother being subtle about his implications. He didn’t mind if Morgan bothered him about marrying her, but he didn’t want Lucina being pressured into anything she wasn’t ready for.

“O-Okay, yeah, of course!” Morgan nodded frantically, no doubt fully catching his meanings.

“Good girl.” He grinned, ruffling her blue hair to lighten the mood. “Anyway, it’s not so bad is it? Nah and Severa’s parents aren’t together either and they get along fine.”

Honestly, that’d been true for about half the camp. Few of the Shepherds had been officially married by the time their children had joined up. In most cases the arrival of their progeny had simply acted as a catalyst for the feelings already well established and the couple was announced soon after…unfortunately in the case of those two, both had arrived to parents that held no relationship of any kind. Even from a distance he’d been able to see the very painful awkwardness that had caused, with no-one quite sure what they were meant to say or do.

For all that he wished Lucina would let herself become his wife, he was thankful at least, that they’d avoided that fate.

“Yeah, yeah you’re right.” Morgan sighed, accepting his explanation as they rounded the halls towards the royal suites. “Oh, hey! Huh, how do we even know she’s going to be in bed though? Mum gets up pretty early!” It wouldn’t exactly be breakfast in bed if they found she’d already left for the training fields.

“Aha, so you finally noticed! That’s twice today, maybe you are starting to catch on.”

“Daaaad!”

“For this Morgan, we’re making a tactical deduction. Did you not see how exhausted she was last night?” He was bluffing, Lucina had been fine until he’d dragged her back to her room, but it was as good an excuse as any. “So from that we deduce that anyone would take a slower morning, even your mother.”

“Huuh…” Morgan hummed, clearly unsure about that. Thankfully any intentions to argue were interrupted as the door to Lucina’s room came into sight.

“Heeey! Mum!” She cried out, dashing ahead, with a laugh. “It’s u-Urk!”

Grabbing hold of her cloak and yanking her backwards, Robin just barely managed to prevent his daughter from bursting unannounced into the room. In the state he’d been in last night, he was fairly sure he hadn’t bothered to lock the door after himself.

“Morgan. Don’t you think we should knock?”

“She won’t car-Yurk! H-Hey, stop doing that!”

He sighed. It was hard to tell if she had inherited some of her mother’s ignorance of social etiquette or if she simply didn’t care, “Morgan. We’re not going to just barge into a woman’s room without knocking. Imagine if she was in her nightwear still. She’d be horrified.” Actually, if he had to guess, he imagined she was probably still completely naked.

“Come on, would you want any of the boys seeing you in your nightwear?” He added as she frowned.

“W-Well, that’s different…”

Rolling his eyes and releasing her, he gestured meaningfully towards the door once more.

“Heeey, Mum! Are you awake?” Morgan yelled out, thankfully while knocking on the door this time.

“M-Morgan? Is that you?” Lucina answered, a loud yawn following a moment after. Robin met his daughters impressed gaze with two taps on the side of his nose. “Yes, yes, I’m awake. What’s wrong?”

“We brought food! Open up!”

“A-Huh? Oh, er- Just a moment!”

“See.” Robin added unnecessarily, as they heard Lucina bustling in a clear panic around her room.

“Okay, okay. Fine.” The rolled eyes he got in response was about what he’d been expecting.

“Right. Now-” He passed the basket of food over to her, making sure she had a firm grip on it. “You tell your mother I said “Hi” okay?”

“Wh-Wha, huh, Dad?”

“Morgan, come now. Do you really think your mother would be alright being alone in her room with a man?” Even she couldn’t possibly ignore such clear social implications there.

“Well, I-But, but…it’s you.”

Laughing, Robin simply reached out and ruffled her hair again, “I’ll see you both later.”

And before she could respond, he was gone, ducking out of sight down the hall.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

“This is very sweet of you Morgan.” Lucina repeated as Morgan settled herself into the bed beside her. “Really though, I’m not sure what I did to deserve all this.”

“Well, it was Father’s idea!” Morgan grinned, happily accepting the thanks regardless. “So you’ll have to ask him.”

“I shall indeed, oh, what’s this here?” She blinked, as she carefully pulled the top off the large bowl Morgan was balancing precariously between her knees. “Soup?”

“Aye! ‘Tis miso soup!” Morgan answered, in what Lucina could only guess was an impression of the Chon’sin princess- the most likely culprit for having taught this dish. “Now this was my idea! Father was gonna’ just make you bacon and eggs, but I said you ate that stuff any day! Fish, miso soup and look, I even managed to find some leftover tofu!”

“I-Well, I, honestly now.” Even with all the time she’d had in the past, taking food selection so much for granted was still an alien concept. “Anything would have been more than fine. Ah! That is to say, I would have been-I am thankful. Thank you Morgan.”

“Mmahgmmugh!” Having already ladled her bowl full of food and shovelling fish into her mouth as her hands could move, there wasn’t a lot that could be made from the girl’s response. Chuckling, Lucina just began serving herself.

“Hea-Ughg!” Swallowing heavily, Morgan tried again. “Oh, hey, Mum, you sleep with your windows open? You’ll get a cold!”

“A-Ah, no. Not to worry.” Lucina glanced bashfully towards the open window her daughter was indicating, “I only opened them just before you came in…I thought, er, that perhaps the air in here was a little stale.”

That and she’d been terrified the room had still reeked of sex. Having passed out drenched in her lover’s seed, she didn’t trust her own nose for that. Turning back to her plate, she made a special effort not to let her eyes stray to the dresser where she’d hidden her ring-  as strange as it felt to remove it.

“Oh, ah, right.” Having already lost interest in the discussion, Morgan had already returned to shovelling food ungraciously into her mouth.

Considering she’d most assuredly raised the girl herself in what must have been a peaceful future, Lucina was almost impressed by how terrible her table manners were.

‘I should probably wash these sheets anyway.’  She sighed, watching as another grain of rice dropped onto the mattress. ‘Robin will likely want to see me tonight…’ Given how aggressive he’d been last night, he probably hadn’t had enou-

Quickly shaking that thought from her head as her face heated up, Lucina hurriedly reached for another topic of conversation. “So, Cynthia’s told me she’s very impressed with some of your latest work?”

“Oooh!” Morgan paused almost long enough to empty her mouth. “Yeah! She made me Junior Vice President of the Justice Cabal!”

“I-Is that so? You got a promotion?” She wasn’t quite sure why a four member group had a junior vice president, but that sounded like a good thing regardless.

And so, leaning against each other, each with bright smiles, the rest of the meal was slowly (less so in Morgan’s case) finished off as they exchanged small talk and simply enjoyed their time together as mother and daughter.

“O-Oh, hey!” Morgan piped up some time later, looking up from where she was lying in bed –recovering from her appetite- as Lucina stacked the plates away on a side table. “I almost forgot!”

“Hmm?”

“Father, he asked me to pass a message to you!”

“Oh?”

“Uh huh.” She nodded, schooling her features to look serious, “He said, er- he said he loves you!”

Chuckling, Lucina rolled her eyes. “No he didn’t.” She knew Robin better than that. This entire meal was his way of telling her he loved her. If he wanted to say more than that he’d say it directly, as he had many times before.

“Wha!?”

“As your mother, I can tell when you’re lying you know.” She added to the girl’s stunned face, settling herself back in beside her daughter with a comfortable sigh. “Would you like to know how?”

 “Y-yeah! Of course!” Morgan was, aside from anything else, a tactician. She’d never turn down strategic knowledge.

“Because…” Leaning in close, Lucina stretched the word out. “Your lips are moving.”

“Urrrgh!” She groaned, collapsing to the bed with an affronted look. “That joke’s so soooo old!”

 “I was serious though!” Morgan rallied a moment later, pushing herself back up by her elbows. “Okay, he didn’t say it exactly, sure, but still!”

“Really now?”

“Yeah! He said to say “Hi” to you.” Morgan nodded rapidly, “But you know Dad, everything’s got multiple meanings. He says “Hi”, but he means “Hiiiii”, *smooch* *smooch* *smooch*”

“Oh my.” Lucina laughed, feigning shock. “Is that what he meant? Sir Robin has certainly become very bold!”

“He’s serious about you!”

“I see.” Closing her eyes and crossing her arms, Lucina nodded, as if deep in thought. “Very well then.”

“Huh?”

“Very well.” She repeated, leaning in close and presenting her cheek. “I accept his message.”

“Muuuuuuuum!”

Affronted by the sheer unfairness of life – that even her mother had taken to teasing her— Morgan pouted furiously for a moment before gently delivering the required kisses.

Grinning happily, Lucina pulled her daughter in against her, “Thank you dear.”

Leaning into the embrace with a smile of her own, Morgan knew her mother enough to know the weight of those simple words.

“He really does love you though.” She murmured a few moments later, snuggling against Lucina’s shoulder. “Just-just in case you were worried. I know he does.”

“Morgan. Come now.”

“It’s only…” Her words came slowly now, a weight attached to them Lucina was unsure about. “He’s really smart, and kind, and handsome and…and he’s been back a while now, when he first returned I thought that you two wou…just… aren’t you worried? Th-That he might find someone else?”

Despite her daughter’s clear fear, an anxiety Lucina suspected had been building for a long time now, she could only laugh. “Are you sure you haven’t mistaken your father for Inigo?”

 “H-Huh?”

“No Morgan. No, I don’t worry about that at all.” She assured her daughter without a doubt in her mind, her eyes flicking briefly over to where his ring sat inside her dresser. She’d never even once seriously considered him seeing another woman. “That’s not like Robin at all. He isn’t the type to play around with women, don’t you think?”

“H-Hah!” Thankfully that brought a smile back on the girl’s face and Morgan was quickly laughing along with her. “Yeah! Hey, yeah, of course. You’re right, father’s really loyal! He wouldn’t do that.”

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Meanwhile

“You know Tharja, I really- I can’t thank you enough.” Robin smiled warmly up at the dark mage. “I can think clearly and I feel, just, incredible! Better than I ever have!” With the fog gone from his mind, he had a much stronger inkling of the power he now held.

 “J-Just, just don’t…don’t stop!” She begged, squirming from where he had her sitting naked atop her work desk, the books and spells having been hurriedly pushed aside when Robin had buried his face between her legs. “P-Please!” She added a moment later, her hands running desperately through his hair, trying to push his mouth back down to her aching pussy.

“I’m serious.” He laughed in in response, using his fingers to gently spread her lips apart, teasing against her entrance as she bucked suddenly under him.

“It’s amazing.” He drawled, letting her pull him closer again, unveiling her clitoris with one hand while his other pushed two digits gently inside her. “I feel normal again.”

“And…” His lips hovered a millimetre above her clit, his fingers paused just barely past her entrance.

“R-Ro…Robin…”

“I have you to thank.” He finished, pressing his lips hard against her, sucking furiously on her clit and simultaneously grinding his fingers inside, pressing as hard as he could against the roof of her tunnel.

“GYGHAAAAAA!” Tharja screamed, her legs wrapping vice-like around his head and her hips shuddering as she came.

Humming lightly against her, Robin didn’t pause, contenting himself instead with slowing to match her pace as he felt her ride out her orgasm, her hands tugging anxiously on his hair each time his fingers teased around her most sensitive spots, or tongue flicked back and forth.

“G-Gods, yes! Ke-keep going! R-Robin!” Tharja panted, arching her back and feeling herself quickly easing into a second peak.

Raising his temp faster in response to her moans, Robin pushed harder inside her, crossing his fingers and grinding them faster into her pussy.

“Gah-haaaa, haaaa!” She panted, pushing herself hard against him, letting go of his hair and leaning backwards onto the desk. “Haaaa-YAAAH!” Shuddering as she came a second time, Tharja’s arms gave out, dropping completely onto the table as her body shivered in pleasure.

“H-haaa.” Robin gave a self-satisfied laugh, watching his lover recover from her blissful high as he loosened his belt, pulling his hard cock free from his trousers and positioning it at her soaked entrance. “Ready?”

“W-Wait, wait.” She panted weakly, looking up and surprising him by holding a hand up instead.

“Oh?” He blinked, surprisingly taken off guard at the idea of Tharja turning him down for sex. “Are you tir-”

“I want to-I want to try something.” She interrupted, sucking in deep breaths and slowly regaining her composure as she wriggled off her desk, pressing against him and leading him back to her bed.

“Oh?” He repeated, unable to resist a curious grin as she guided him to sit down on the edge of the mattress, sliding hot, needy kisses along his neck and down his chest while her hands tugged his pants down to his ankles.

Kissing harder and faster as her own excitement built, Tharja moved down his body, her tongue trailing along his stomach and down his thighs, until her lips were finally pressed warm against his cock. Massaging his balls carefully in her fingers, she slowed her pace, turning her head to the side and pressing tender loving kisses all the way up his length until she finally reached the head. 

Then, just as Robin was biting his lip in anticipation, she pulled back. “S-Stay still.” She whispered, settling herself comfortably between his legs and looking up with a hungry grin on her face, her eyes burning with anticipation.

Cupping her mountainous breasts in her hands and leaning forwards she brought them slowly over his rigid cock, holding her hands to the side and squeezing them gently around him as she sank down along his length.

“T-Tharja!” He gasped, watching transfixed as his cock twitched hot against her chest, shuddering at the feeling of her soft skin holding him tightly in place. This was something right out of his most lurid fantasies, something he’d thought of countless times, of what it would feel like to be buried in Tharja’s incredible breasts- her bust rivalled only by Tiki and Noire for the largest in the Shepherds.

“Naga…” He gasped as she leaned down, pressing a loving kiss gently onto his cock head, sliding herself up and down an inch and getting used to the feeling of him between her mounds.

“Lucina… Lucina can’t do this for you.” She grinned excitedly up at him, leaning back slightly and beginning to pump herself fully up and down his length, picking up pace as she went. “I can. I can do this whenever you want.” She assured him, flushing red but never letting her eyes leave his, even when her lips returned to his cock, taking him into her mouth each time she slid down.

“Tha-Tharja… Come now.” Robin swallowed heavily, placing his hands lightly on her head and fighting for composure as she began to move faster. “It’s not, ahh, it’s not a competition between you two. Luci-Haa-Lucina’s not a rival.”

Not in the mood to argue, Tharja didn’t answer, instead opting to open her mouth and roll her tongue out as far as it could go, making sure she had his attention as she let a large trail of drool drip down between her breasts, loosening her grip enough to smear it fully around his cock, joining the saliva already present from her wet kisses.

“G-Gah!” He gasped in response as she squeezed tight around him once more, her saliva lubricating him to slide smoothly up and down through her bust.

“T-Tharja… I- Th-Gods.” Robin panted, stroking his fingers through her silken black hair and fighting back the temptation to pull her down his shaft as he shuddered at the twin sensations – her hot mouth gently teasing him and her breasts –velvety smooth around his length- sliding slick up and down his entire cock.

Despite having her lips wrapped tight around his glans, she grinned widely at his reaction, increasing her pace in response.

“I-I, Ah… It’s good, k-keep going!” He groaned, thrusting slightly up against her, feeling his peak rapidly encroaching. “I’m, I’m getting close!”

“Cum, my love!” She answered, closing her eyes and leaning back, her mouth wide open in anticipation. “Cum for me!”

“I-GHYHAAAAA!” Robin cried, shivering and panting as his cock twitched furiously between her firm grasp, his balls tightening for a single almost painful moment before his release finally exploded out.

“H-Haaa…” He panted, watching as his load sprayed hot across Tharja’s face. Shivering as his cum jetted into her waiting mouth, as it splattered across the bridge of her nose, over her lips and chin. Shuddering as she pulled back away, his cock falling loose and spasming one final time, coating her creamy white breasts with his seed.

“So…this is how you taste.” Tharja whispered awestruck as she carefully wiped a hand across her face and drawing his cum down to her tongue. “…I like it…”

She didn’t appear to be in any particular hurry, so Robin let himself collapse breathless back onto the bed, grinning as  he watched her scoop more and more of his cum into her mouth, leaning backwards and rubbing the last of it into her breasts with a pleased grin.

“Mmm.” Tharja hummed happily, sliding onto the bed beside him and wriggling eagerly into his open embrace, letting him hold her loosely from behind. “That was wonderful.”

“Yeah.” He agreed, pressing light kisses into her shoulder as he wrapped an arm around her.

After all his experiences with Lucina, Robin could see easily how tired Tharja was, even as she tried to mask it from him. It was still very early in the morning, and taking into account their activities the previous night, that wasn’t a surprise. Especially for a mage rather than a frontline fighter, she couldn’t be expected to have the same level of stamina.

So, with no need driving his body beyond simple attraction and excitement, he made no move to continue, simply pulling her closer and running his hands idly over her stomach, letting his thoughts drift lazily off.

“You know.” He sighed some time later. “Just thinking about all this, everything that’s happened to me, it’s a lot to wrap my head around, it’s a shock…but still, I can’t help but think about how lucky I am.”

“Heh...heh…” She giggled, her hands fingers dancing gently over his in response. “You didn’t have to wait this long. You could have come to me anytime.”

“Ah, well, yeah! That too of course.” He laughed. He was in an intimate relationship with two of the most beautiful women he’d ever met, both of whom loved him. There was no denying how lucky that was. “But I was thinking, I mean…I’ve been back a while now. About four months I think?”

“Four months, three days, twelve hours.” She corrected automatically.

“Er-Yes, right. And, well, with everything that’s affected me until now, considering how bad it got.” He tried not to think about how bad it could have been. “I was just thinking, well…after all we did, it’s amazing that Lucina’s not pregnant.”

They were both in their early twenties, they were in the peak of health and had been having sex almost constantly since his return. Very lucky indeed! ‘Well…er-assuming she’s not.’ He corrected to himself. As a man, and a tactician, he didn’t really know much at all about female reproduction aside from the mechanical basics. But, surely a woman could tell if she was pregnant or not? ‘And, she’d certainly tell me.’ He couldn’t imagine her hiding something like that.

“Hmph.”

“E-Eh?”

Robin and Tharja had been friends for years, whether willing or unwilling she’d been in his company for almost as long as he could remember. He knew Tharja.

He also knew that was more than just a snort of disinterest.

“Tharja?”

“…She’s not going to get pregnant.” She answered sullenly, her tone clear she didn’t wish to discuss this any further as she curled up against him, decidedly not meeting his eyes when he pushed himself up onto his forearms.

“Tharja…”

Sighing heavily, she finally turned around, to face him. “In Plegia. You made it very clear, you didn’t want anyone to find out about your relationship.”

Frowning he nodded, while he could vividly remember that moment –the first order he’d given her, he struggled to remember his exact words at the time.

“So I’ve kept a contraceptive hex on her ever since.”

“Huh?” Robin sat back, contemplating that news.

Doing so without their, or at least Lucina’s consent, was certainly presumptuous…invasive almost beyond belief. But, then…he hesitated in his reaction, if she’d done so- even stepping beyond the context of his words, then it must have been at least partially to help them.

Or, more likely, to help him.

He sighed. “Well… huh, thanks I guess. I suppose that does make thing easier.” Out of line or not, it was good to have someone else worried about something he should have been managing. After all, with her upbringing, Lucina’s sexual knowledge was spotty at best, she likely had no idea about contraception, and he’d hardly been in the state to think about it these past few months.

 “Good.” She beamed back, leaning her head into his chest and settling happily against him once more.

Still...He wouldn’t mind a little blue haired Morgan wandering around, he’d love it in fact, and he knew Morgan would be thrilled. A quick dose of reality pushed that thought back, as much as he wanted his daughter, having her out of wedlock was definitely not the best idea- not if he wanted to stay on Chrom’s good side at least.

It was only a few minutes later that Robin realised the unsaid implication in Tharja’s plan.

“Er- Tharja…”

“Yes?”

“You hexed Lucina to prevent her falling pregnant, right? But…er- but not me?” So saying, his eyes traced down her body, to between her legs where he’d came so eagerly the previous night.

Not looking up, she didn’t answer.

“Tharja?”

“I don’t mind…even if we’re not married. I would be proud to carry your child.”

Running his hands over his face, Robin stifled a groan. That wasn’t quite the point he’d been making.

“It would be the perfect cover.” She assured him, pulling back from his chest and finally meeting his eyes. “No-one would suspect you were in a relationship with Lucina if I was pregnant!”

“Tharja…”

“If that’s not to your tastes, then you need not even tell her, or anyone.” She whispered a hasty compromise. “It would be…just between us…”

‘She’s surprisingly attached to this.’ He’d never really pegged Tharja as the maternal type. He supposed it was probably the idea that it would be his child.

“Even if I did want to do that, there’s no way we could hide it.” He sighed. “You having a child that looked like me? No-one could miss that.”

Frowning, she shot him an incredulous look he didn’t bother trying to decipher.

“Looks, this, everything that’s happening. It’s all moving far too fast. I don’t know what’s going to happen, or how we’re going to make any of this work.” He spoke softly, pulling her gently against him as he chose the words he knew she wanted to hear. “But, I do know, I’d never want to not acknowledge our child. If we do have children, I want to raise them proudly beside you.”

“R-Robin.” Predictably, she melted instantly, any defiance or disagreement fading from her eyes and replaced with a deep blush and delirious grin.

“Now. There’s still a little time before I need to go.” He grinned, leaning down to drag his lips gently along her neck. “Why don’t you teach me the male version of that hex, something I can cast on myself…and then we can test it out?”

“I-” Her breath caught as his fingers reached down, cupping her ass. “Of course!”

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Walking stiffly towards the palace dining room several hours later, Tharja was in a very good mood.

Robin had returned to his work some time ago or her mood would have been even better. Still, she conceded with a small wince, that was probably for the best… She had always struggled to restrain herself around the man, if he’d been there when she’d woken up again no doubt she would have struggled to leave his embrace.

As much as she wanted it, she knew she couldn’t take much more from him right now, even despite how gentle he’d been that last time…

‘Heh…hehe…’

That thought at least was a very pleasant one, just thinking of his soft caresses bringing back a familiar warmth. Growing up, Tharja had always expected to marry a rough man, a strong and powerful man that suited her temperament. She’d never expected to fall for a kind, good man, nor for him to hold her so tenderly.

Another ache to her pelvic muscles dashed brought her back to reality.

As much as it galled her to admit it, for all that her body remained in the peak of physical condition, Lucina as a frontline fighter held a level of toughness she simply couldn’t compare to.

Even despite her jealousy, part of her had actually rather enjoyed watching Robin all but throw the petite princess around his bedroom these past few months. But, having been on the receiving end of his desperate need for even one night…Tharja was under no illusions about her ability to withstand the same sexual drive. Not yet at least. Last night had only been her second sexual encounter, she would get stronger, she would become everything he desired!

Never the less, even without Robin, and even with the dull pain in her lower half, her good mood remained. Because, this was a moment Tharja had been looking forward to for a long, long time.

She’d made love to Robin for half the night, and again this morning.

She was utterly soaked in his seed. Even now, hours later, she could feel it dry along her thighs and halfway down her legs. She could still remember the taste on her tongue.

She was even wearing the same clothes she’d changed into before he’d returned- he’d opted to not to destroy them this time, a fact that conflicted her slightly.

Normally it took a lot for Tharja to leave her seclusion for any sort of unnecessary public gathering. And, despite her abrasive nature, she was a lot less self-confident than her appearance suggested, she’d usually never be caught dead looking such a mess.

Today though, with her hair dishevelled, her clothing rumbled and with little more than a few spritzes of perfume to hide just how thoroughly Robin had marked her, Tharja walked eagerly to the dining room.

Because, she knew, the only thing that felt as good as victory, was rubbing it into the face of the defeated.

“Oh, Tharja?” Lucina looked up in surprise as the dark mage seated herself across from her, clearly not having expected company. “Good afternoon.”

Snorting a response, she ignored her, leaning back in the seat with a vicious smile instead.

This moment. Sitting here now, brazenly flaunting her night’s activities in front of the other woman, showing her proof of her fiancé’s infidelity- even if Lucina didn’t realise it. This was her victory.

“Is-er, is everything alright?” The princess queried carefully, taken aback as much by Tharja’s presence as her appearance. “You- that is…you look exhausted.”

“I didn’t get much sleep.” Tharja drawled in response, leaning forward onto her hands and staring a challenge directly into the girl’s eyes, “Robin came to see me…we spent the whole night vigorously making love.”

“He was insatiable.” She added with a smirk, curling the worlds softly around her tongue.

“Hmph.” Lucina scowled, leaning back and rolling her eyes in clear disbelief. “This is the second time you’ve made that joke. Yet, Robin was with Morgan first thing this morning, looking as refreshed as ever apparently.”

Tharja matched the girl’s frown with a glare of her own. “If you don’t like what you hear, don’t ask.”

Shaking her head in frustration, Lucina didn’t bother responding.

Tharja leaned back once more, crossing her arms and bathing in the cruel irony, oh what a moment! To tell the complete truth, to hold it right to the face of the woman she hated and watch it be dismissed!

“Tch.”

Strange…

Very strange.

Somehow, she felt unfulfilled.

This was the second time she’d taunted Lucina like this, the second time she’d flaunted herself like this to the upstart princess while still able to feel the touch of the man Lucina loved.

…Yet, for some reason, the rush she’d expected wasn’t there this time.

In Plegia it had been just a simple cruelty, a petty revenge.

Robin hadn’t been there when she’d awoken. Even knowing he likely wouldn’t be, it had hurt. The knowledge that he would probably never touch her like that again had been almost too painful to bear. Lashing out, even in her own small way, had been a welcome act of spite towards the woman who’d taken everything from her.

Now…she belatedly realised, it wasn’t the same.

Robin had returned to her this time and she had no doubt he would continue to do so.

But also, there would be other women. Just as Robin had left Lucina’s bed for hers, so to would he leave her bed for others.

And yet, now that she was here, sitting across from the princess, it dawned on Tharja that she didn’t mind. Even before, her obsession with him had been borderline worship, but now…Robin was more than human, so much more. She’d seen the depths of his need and she knew she could never hope to sate it by herself.

Suddenly, Tharja realised why she’d felt so amazing when she’d woken up, why her good mood had been so vibrant, unlike anything she’d felt before.

She finally had everything she’d ever wanted. She had the man she loved.

‘I don’t hate her?’

The anger, the vindictiveness within her, just wasn’t there. She also couldn’t miss that Lucina’s response had been about Morgan, even after her taunt, the princess had made no mention of Robin being in her bed, she’d made no attempt to lash out in return.

‘Lucina’s not your competition.’

She was reminded of his earlier words and now, was unable to deny them. They were two women in exactly the same boat, they both loved the same man and neither of them could hold him by themselves.

They were both, finally, happy.

“Sorry.” She grunted, not sure what she was apologising for, or even what she meant as she grabbed some fruit from the table and swiftly departed.

“Ah-I, huh?” Lucina gaped openly at the dark mage’s retreating form. Yet another shock piled upon a morning of unlikely events. Tharja had just apologised, to her!?

‘Why? For…that joke?’ She boggled, struggling to understand what had just happened.  It was about the only thing she could think it could be, for all she knew that Tharja hated her, the dark mage had never actually done more than offer cruel insults or snide comments, certainly nothing she’d ever expected an apology about.

‘Well…that’s nice of her then.’ She decided, trying to push it from her mind, laughing awkwardly at the absurdity of it all, perhaps things between them were thawing after all?

Still…what she’d said…

‘Her and Robin…’

Lucina bit her lip, thoughts and images searing across her mind before she could try and stop them. Thoughts of Robin entering Tharja’s room… Of her accepting his embrace… Of Tharja sliding against him, her clothes falling to the ground under Robin’s touch… Of their bodies twined in his bed, his lips on hers and her pale skin shud-

“G-Gah! No!” She groaned, forcing the thoughts from her head. She knew this was why Tharja had made that joke in the first place, messing with her like this was exactly the response she wanted!

She didn’t doubt for a second the words were but a simple taunt. Comparing how exhausted Tharja had looked with how happy Morgan had reported Robin’s state this morning left no doubt, her fiancé had returned to his room after she ha- after she’d pas…

“Urgh.” That thought was almost as bad, she hated even thinking about it. She didn’t mind being weak around Robin, letting him see all sides of her, but it was shameful, to collapse like that around the man she loved.

‘Gods.’  

Try as she might, still those thoughts burned at her, the thought of Robin with another… It was painful, so awful, her heart wrenched at the very idea of it, leaving her face flushed deep red and an unnatural heat burning from within.

She knew it was a lie, just a stupid callous line to hurt her…so why did it affect her so much?

Pushing her food aside and laying her head on the table, Lucina heaved a sigh.

This was all too far outside her experience, she didn’t know how to deal with any of this! She barely knew a thing about relationships to begin with. Complexities like this were why the idea of being a wife was so daunting!

‘…I want to see him.’ She moaned silently. Robin always made everything she didn’t understand make sense. That thought at least cheered her up a little, he was so kind to her, never holding it against her how unaccustomed she was to this world.

Even though she’d asked for it, it was difficult, hiding their love. The desire to march to his office and just be with him right now was almost unbearable. Sighing, she picked her head off the table and returned to her meal, at the very least she could maintain her dignity.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Caught up in duties and training, it wasn’t until that night that Lucina finally got to see him again.

“Ah, haah. Lucina…” Robin panted, burying his face into her shoulder and grinding his hips against hers. Pushing his cock smoothly inside her, again and again, he gasped, feeling her pussy coiled tight around him- sucking him back each time he withdrew, clenching him tight whenever he pushed in. “Ah, I-I love you.”

“Mhnn, I lo-love you too.” She answered, her legs wrapped tight around his and her fingers threading through his hair. “Love you.”

“I-Naga, it’s good.” His groaned, his breath coming faster each time she thrust her waist up against his, and faster again each time she squeezed her pussy firmly around his length. “I’m, I’m getting close.”

“G-Good.” She cried, throwing her head to the side in a silent gasp as she felt his entire length buried inside her, his glans scraping along the roof of her tunnel before pressing against her deepest walls. “C-Cum with me, my love, ah-ahhn!”

“Cum, my love, cum with me!” She repeated breathlessly, her arms around his neck, clenching him tight against her, able to feel every shudder than ran through his body.

“I-Gods, I’m! Gya-!” Cutting off his own words, Robin pulled her down, pressing his lips against hers and meeting in a gentle kiss. Groaning weakly into her mouth he sheathed his cock fully inside her one final time, holding it still against her far walls for a single moment, letting her feel each tiny twitch and shake as the pressure built-until it was finally more than he could take, his warm seed exploding out and filling her instantly.

“Uhmmm, ghhaa.” Lucina panted, kissing him desperately as her body shook in response. His orgasm driving her gently over her own peak as his cum soaked every inch of her pussy and dripped wet down her thighs.

“Ghahaa.” Collapsing weakly into the arms cradling her head, Lucina surrendered her mouth to his, exchanging soft kisses as their pleasure slowly faded.

“Hah… Lucina.” He grinned, sighing her name as he lifted his head and panted for air. “Ah, tha-that was great.”

“Y-Yeah…” She beamed, her words coming as a gasp and her vision turning hazy as a sudden rush of post-orgasmic emotions surged through her. “I- haa, uahaah.”

“L-Lucina?”

“I-hah..uahhah…”

“What’s wrong?” He whispered, his hands gently brushing over her face. “You’re crying?”

“A-Am I?” She asked weakly, the words coming out choked as she let go of his neck, feeling a little foolish as she hastily wiped her eyes dry. “I-I don’t know, I’m just… I’m really happy.”

“Y-You’re okay?” He knew well just how rare it was to see Lucina cry, even in private with him she still held tight to such dignities.

“I’m okay. I-It all just hit me at once.” She assured him, pressing her cheek against his warm hand and struggling to regain her compose against the tide of emotions swirling through her. “It was just…y-you were so, you were so gentle. A-And, I just felt so loved.”

Shaking his head, Robin supressed a wince, her words bringing equal parts pain and happiness. With the fire inside him having gone cool, without the driving need, he’d taken his time with her tonight. Softly bringing her to climax with foreplay before making love with all the affection he felt for her.

 After months of practically ravishing her, he’d finally been able to be tender with the woman he loved.

“Lucina… I-”

“Shhh.” She interrupted, leaning up to silence whatever apology he could manage with a quick kiss. “I-I’ve told you before, I don’t mind when you’re rough with me…it makes me feel needed, wanted, like-like I’m yours. That I always will be. No matter what.

“B-But...” She sniffed, snuggling her face back into his chest with a happy smile. “It’s nice like this too sometimes. Like you’re taking care of me, I-I feel really, really warm, a-and, and loved and…and I missed it. Thank you.”

How long had it been?

Too long.

“Lucina…I.” She didn’t want his apologies, he knew she’d say he had nothing to apologise for. “I do need you. And I do want you. More than, more than you can know.”

What he’d do to make her happy… He’d already done so much. ‘I doubt it will be enough.’ Tharja’s words echoed ominously in the back of his mind, reminding him, even as he held the woman he loved, of what he’d already done.

“Wait.” He interrupted in turn, before she could fully settle against him once more, guilt and a need to explain pulling his words from him without any set plan or intention.

“I-There’s been this, this pressure inside me, ever since I came back. This compulsion, I-I couldn’t ignore, e-even when I tried, even when I fought it…” He sighed, “I know you’ve noticed it.”

“I-I have worried for you.” She admitted quietly. “I knew not what the cause was, but I could see the toll it was taking on you. I know you haven’t been sleeping well…but, I could find now clue as to why, nor- nor any idea for a cure. I’m sorry love, I said nothing in hopes not to worry you.”

He couldn’t help but laugh, even as his heart shuddered, she truly was more than he deserved.

“I finally… It’s finally gone.” He answered finally. “Last night…after we finished… It was, I can’t even describe it, it was like an itch that I was finally able to scratch.”

“After last night?” She looked up, searching her memories for any indication of a change. “I, I’m sorry, I don’t remember much after-”

After he’d held her down, fingering her pussy and driving his cock hard into her ass, after she’d came hard, her screams falling silent as she fainted. He could remember the night vividly, it was only one day ago yet it stood in stark reflection to tonight.

“It was like this pressure inside me, it was finally released…and, hah, I slept well! I slept like I haven’t in months.” He continued. “L-Lucina, I know, it’s been hard on you. I know I’ve been rough with you.”

“Ro-Robin! No, no! Not at all.”

He refused to accept her denial.

He’d seen the pain in her eyes when she couldn’t sate him, he’d felt the desperation she’d held, trying with everything she could to get him off, he’d seen her pushing past her limits, ignoring any pain and exhausting herself completely- all for him.

“I can never thank you enough. I’ll never forget what you did for me, how you looked after me. I promise you, it means everything, it means the world to me. A-And I think it’s, it’s finally enough. I’m finally better now.”

“I-I’m glad then.” She sniffed heavily, choking on her words in response to seeing the strength of his emotions. “But, it wasn’t anything. I didn’t hate it, n-nor even mind it. I would do it thrice over, a thousand times over...anything you need- I’m yours.”

He’d already run out of things to say, so Robin simply pulled her softly against him once more, laying his lips gently against her forehead, and holding her securely in his arms.

“Thank you.”

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

She was asleep quickly, warm and secure in his arms, she’d whispered a few more gentle words of love before nuzzling happily into his embrace and drifting off.

Sleep didn’t come quite so easily for him.

‘I’m finally better now.’

It had felt so good to say. So good to finally be able to act like a fiancé to the woman he loved.

‘But for how long...’

As much as he would have loved to pretend everything was fine, to keep up the charade he was currently playing, Tharja’s warnings had left little room for denial. His oppressive instincts were calmed for now, but she clearly believed they would return if he didn’t act, if he didn’t sate them himself.

He was a tactician. As much as he wished to, he wouldn’t run from craven facts, nor turn crave. Robin had disciplined himself to accepting even the most difficult truths head on.

Morgan and Lucina, the two most precious women in his life. He’d held them both today as they’d cried, as he’d seen the pain in them he’d caused, the worry he’d created trying in vain to fight against himself.

He couldn’t do that anymore. He wouldn’t do that anymore.

‘Even the Shepherds.’ If that’s what it took, if that was the path that would keep his family safe, he would walk down it without a single doubt.

A tactician was always pro-active, even in defence. He would have a plan, the steps necessary to take assertive actions, any action required. If the Tharja’s words rang true, at the first sign of the instincts within him returning, he would already be prepared. He would act.

Holding tight to the woman he loved, he turned his head to the side, to the calendar across the room, still visible in the pale moonlight. Only one number caught his eye, a date he knew he’d never forget.

“Less than a week from now…”  

It seemed ridiculous that the timing would be so perfect. Was this some intervention by Naga? Serendipity? Or just luck?

It didn’t matter. If the fire returned, he already knew who he would seek out to sate it. There was only ever one choice, a long awaited resolution. Acceptance was instantaneous, a plan followed barely a moment later.

 ‘Lissa...’

Somehow, lying there that night, Robin didn’t know which possibility he hoped for.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Notes:

AN: And there we go, now things are completely in motion. Robin’s started creating plans and is prepared to act, from here things will move faster, the next few chapters should all bring more and more women into the fun.

Sorry for anyone expecting a Lissa focussed chapter, that was the original intention, however as this got further along I realised it just wasn’t working. Aside from being too long, it lost focus. So cutting it like this lets me expand on everything here, show some key scenes that’ll be needed for character growth later, and move everything Lissa related to the next chapter.

I’ve already written out a good deal of it, so ideally I should be able to iterate very quickly.

Thanks as always to everyone who’s responded with any feedback. It means a lot anytime I get any and it’s especially useful in knowing which things you guys like, or want to see. So, please, drop me a line and tell me what you thought!

Chapter 5: Lissa – A Grieving Friend

Notes:

Authors Note: Whew! Took a bit longer than I expected, but hey, the World Cup’s on! Japan beat South Africa in probably the greatest sporting upset in history. And the World Championship is on too! FnaaaticLETSGO!

Anyway.

There’s been some worries and they’re probably well founded. So let me just say now, before anything else.

Lucina is going to be fine. She’s going to have a happy ending.

I have literally zero sad Lucina scenes planned. There’s a lot of stuff going on and obviously a fair amount of it’s behind her back right now, but she’s far too smart to remain oblivious forever. Her finding out is a huge part of this story and a big turning point.

The happy ending part is true of every (main) character here. I got one review hoping for Robin to be miserable, and while I guess I can appreciate why…nope, sorry. Everyone’ll be more or less happy by the end of it. Everything’ll work out, just perhaps not quite how they expected it to.

Lissa – A Grieving Friend

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

 

For almost as long as he’d known her, Robin’s relationship with Lissa had blurred the lines between the familial and the romantic, she was at times like a sister to him and at others a lover.

Their companionship stood strong over the years. He was at her side for the most critical moments of her life, watching her mature from a girl into a woman. She in turn, was there as the years turned him from a simple tactician to a living legend.

More than almost any of the other Shepherds, his death almost broke her, it was a loss she could barely stand.

It was through that pain and that love that Robin bound her to his side forever.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

“Just…stay still.” Tharja whispered, her breath hot against Robin’s ear as she kissed along the lower side of his jaw, her tongue slowly trailing circles down the left side of his neck, towards his chest.

With her naked body pressed warm against his, her breasts slid slowly down his side while her kisses slowly trailed lower and lower, her fingers beginning to tease across his stomach.

“Let us take care of you.” Lucina agreed, her own naked body hot against his right side as she trailed an equally soft pattern of kisses down his neck, hooking her legs over his and letting him feel her pussy sliding hot and wet down him as her hands linked with Tharja’s in tracing across his stomach.

“I-Ahn.” Robin gasped, leaning backward into the bed, his words failing him as he simply watched, transfixed. “Hahaa, o-okay!” 

If he’d had more to say it was quickly forgotten as Lucina’s hand danced over his thighs and wrapped gently around the base of his shaft.

“Mmm, I’ll never get tired of feeling this.” Tharja’s voice was low and sultry as her own hand joined Lucina’s, their fingers intertwining and working in tandem to slowly, tenderly, stroke up and down his length.

“It was…a little scary at first.” Lucina admitted, her eyes still never leaving his as her tongue trailed along the hard muscle of his abdomen, and slowly, ever so slowly…further down.

“But, now-” she continued, smiling at him as their interlinked hands squeezed gently around his cockhead for a moment before sliding gently back down. “Now, I couldn’t live without it.

“G-Gods…” Robin gasped, arching his back in anticipation both women continued to slide further down, their mouths kissing lovingly across his inner thigh. Panting, he almost cried out as their hands released his shaft, their tongues moving to dance lightly around the base of his length.

“G-Gods!” He panted, “Sweet Naga…” Being so suddenly released from their touch, it was almost agonising!

“Mmm, just enjoy it love.” Lucina laughed, her eyes still gazing lovingly into his, even as she paused, drawing back for one terrible moment, before laying her mouth directly on the side of his cock.

“Heh…heh…hehe…” Tharja giggled darkly, watching him shudder in response before reaching out and draping her hands gently around Lucina’s head, placing her own mouth wet along the base of his cock, her tongue wrapping around his lips and dancing against Lucina’s.

“Mmmm.” The other girl hummed happily in response, her hands cupping Tharja’s in return and gently stroking her cheeks. Deepening her kiss on Robin’s cock, she could feel the dark mage’s full lips pressed lightly against her own.

 “G-Huaahhh, haaa!” Robin panted raggedly, his hips bucking automatically as the two girls continued to kiss around his cock, their tongues touching and teasing while their lips held him softly in place between them.

Dragging herself slowly up his pulsing length, Lucina’s tongue pushed further out, tracing along Tharja’s lips as she pulled the other woman closer towards her.

Moving around and kissing harder against the underside of his cock, Tharja’s lips sucked hard on Lucina’s for a moment, her hands running softly through the princess’s silken blue hair.

It was only when they reached his glans, holding him gently between them, that their mouths finally met fully, their tongues and lips teasing around his length in a warm three-way kiss. Moaning into him, both girls pulled the other closer, their movements coming faster and breath hotter with each passing moment.

“Gods, I- It’s good! Keep going!” Robin stammered, beaming and gasping at the unbelievable sensation as each woman took turns taking his cockhead into his mouth, suckling it for a moment before releasing it to the other.

“A-Are you…are you getting close love?” Lucina whispered, looking up at him a moment before bending down and pressing her lips warm against Tharja’s once more, her tongue pressed hard against the underside of his length.

“You don’t need to hold back.” Tharja added in loving assurance as she released the cockhead back into Lucina’s mouth, leaning down and dragging her tongue down his length. Staring warmly up at him, her eyes never left his the entire way down, not until her lips were pressed hot against his aching balls.

Releasing his cock with a small pop, Lucina smiled excitedly up at him. “Cum for us, dear. We…we want it.” Breathless in anticipation, she paused for a single moment before opening her mouth wide, leaning down and taking his length inside.

Inch by wonderful inch she sank down, holding her hair back and repositioning to allow more and more of him to fill her mouth. Then, without even a moment’s hesitation, she suddenly sank down, swallowing his length entirely into her throat. “God’s! Lu-Lucina!” He gasped, rearing back at being suddenly enveloped by her. Carefully constricting her throat around his length, she held him tightly in place, her tongue moving slowly across the base of his shaft.

Grinning, Tharja moved instantly to match the other woman’s movements, sucking harder and harder on his balls as she slowly opened her mouth wider…and wider.. “Th-Tharja!” Until she’d taken one in entirely! Slowing, she pushed it gently around her mouth for a moment before releasing it with a loud slurp and turning her attention to the other.

Taking the lead, Lucina slid backwards, working her way back up the length of his cock until she was left with just the head in her mouth once more. Pausing for a single agonising moment, she waited until she heard him groan in desperate need before finally leaning forward, bobbing her head eagerly up and down his entire length. At first she acted only to ease his shaft into her throat, but with each movement she swallowed him faster and faster, the pace quickly driving him toward his limits.

“N-Naga! G-Gods, I can’t hold it!” Robin gasped, desperately fighting back the urge to just grab her head and thrust into her as his body shook against the twin sensations.

He wasn’t used to being so passive, but even just lying back and relinquishing control, he could barely stand it, it was incredible!

The sight of it alone was beyond comparison, looking down at the two women servicing his cock with everything he had, he could hardly believe what he was seeing. The reserved Lucina eagerly taking his entire length down into her throat, loud, wet sounds echoing around the room each time her lips greedily sucked him in. The proud Tharja caressing his balls with every ounce of love he’d ever imagined from the dark mage, her eyes shining with devotion as she placed the gentlest of kisses across his sensitive flesh.

Gods! He’d never experienced anything like it! The feeling of Lucina’s throat wrapped securely around him, her tongue pressing hard against the underside of his cock each time she swallowed him.

Naga! And contrasting Lucina’s intense pace, was Tharja’s mouth, gently teasing or suckling on his balls, making his whole body shudder with the way she swirled her tongue around them.

There was no way he could hold back, even if he’d wanted to!

Tharja noticed instantly, her own pace rising as she felt the pressure building. Lucina answered a moment later, noisily drinking down his precum, driving his cock even faster down her throat.

“Keep going!” He ordered, arching his back as the pressure built to unbearable levels. His cock throbbing, orgasm barely moments away. “I-I’m gonna! I’m! I-”

Jolting forward off the mattress with a violent gasp, his eyes flew open and the dream half faded. “I-Uh-Huhaaannggggg!”

He had just barely enough time to see Lucina’s blue hair between his legs, her lips pressed hard against him – having taken him right to the bottom of his shaft, before his head spun, his vision swimming as his release finally exploded.

“GHAAAAHhhhaaa…!”

Sucking in deep breaths as he panted, Robin was left sitting paralysed as the pleasure seared through him, feeling his cock spasming desperately against Lucina’s hold, spraying load after load directly down her throat.

“Haah-haaa…” It took him almost half a minute to realise that Tharja was no-where to be seen and that the gentle pressure around his balls was coming from the soft touch of his fiance’s gentle hand, that Lucina alone was doing her best to wring him dry.

“I-Hah… Woah.” He panted, falling weakly back onto the bed as he slowly gathered his bearings. “T-That’s some way to wake me up.”

“H-heh.” She giggled, gently sucking the last of his seed of his shaft as she slowly released it. “Did you like that?”

“Y-Yeah… Yeah, of course. ” 

“Mmmm. Sorry, I couldn’t help myself.” She admitted happily, planting one final kiss on the head of his cock before wiping her mouth clean and wriggling up beside him. “I could feel you against me when I woke up. You seemed very happy.”

“Well…it was quite a dream.” He teased, planting a soft kiss on her forehead in gratitude before swinging his legs out of bed.

“You’re leaving already? It’s still early.”

“Better I do.” He laughed, looking around the room for where his pants had ended up. “Unless you’d rather your sister wake us up again?”

That moment, the sight of Cynthia walking unannounced into her sister’s room first thing in the morning was one he wouldn’t soon forget. Thankfully for all involved, they hadn’t been intimate at the time…but still, it hadn’t taken anything more to convince Lucina she needed a lock on her door. What had happened since then Robin hadn’t been privy to, but the former Exalt had someone managed to guilt the Pegasus Knight into keeping their relationship secret.

 “Robin…” She sighed, ignoring his teasing as she slipped out of bed, wrapping herself around his back with a worried look on her face. “Are you going to be okay today?”

“Lucina… I-”

He knew what she was asking…but that wasn’t what his mind went to. Instead, her words brought him back to reality, they reminded him that today was the day. They reminded him what he had planned.

Today, of sound mind and with no possible explanation, today he was going to attempt to seduce Lissa.

Suddenly the ground opened up before him and Robin found himself staring from atop a precipice. His heart thudded furiously in his chest at the reminder, and in that moment, with Lucina holding lovingly to him, Robin knew, as well as he’d ever known anything, that this was the final moment.

This was the moment that would decide his future.

He’d cheated on her for an entire week. Intended to confess his situation to her for an entire week. Planned out what he would say for an entire week…held his silence for an entire week.

This was his last chance.

Two paths stretched out before him. Neither was right. Neither was easy.

“I’ll be fine.” He answered finally.

Had that always been his decision?

“You should worry about your father, you know how hard it is on him.”

“Of course.” She sighed. “I just…if you need me?”

“I do need you Lucina, I always need you. Everything I do…it’s for you.” He forced a laugh, feigning the same light-hearted manner as before. “But today, Chrom needs you more than I do.”

Relenting, she squeezed him one final time, pressing her lips against his cheek, her words coming out as barely even a whisper. “No-one blames you Robin.” It was a simple, sincere, statement, a heartfelt sentiment.

It was never difficult to remember why he loved Lucina. Moments like this served only as an unnecessary reminder.

She never repeated those words, never justified them or argued them, she never wore them out. She knew, just as he knew when he said similar words to her, that he didn’t believe them, that they didn’t matter.

But she said them still, because they were true to her and she loved him.

“Thank you.”

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

‘I didn’t tell her.’

He managed to keep calm all the way back to his quarters, carefully shutting his door behind him before collapsing onto his desk chair, holding his head in his hands and suppressing a scream!

‘I didn’t tell her…Gods… What am I doing!? Sh-She doesn’t deserve that!’

He loved Lucina beyond words, she was the woman she wanted to share his life with. He knew that, it remained true even after he’d begun sharing his bed with other women.

‘How can I hide this from her!?’

Lucina didn’t deserve a fiancé that snuck around behind her back, one that betrayed her trust! She was incredibly understanding, an amazing woman, if he’d just told her, she would understand… She would…

‘How can I possibly…how can I tell her…’

He sighed, his heart wracking painfully as he heaved a sigh.

He hadn’t told her, he couldn’t tell her, because she would understand. She would force herself to. She was one of the most dedicated, loyal, people he’d ever met, if he explained everything, if he brought in Tharja and talked trhough what had happened to him…

She would be shocked, stunned, heartbroken, even mortified…but she would accept it. Even as it crushed her.

But she would force herself to understand.

Because that was the kind of person she was. She would suffer through it, never doubting that it was the right thing to do, just as she’d accepted so much pain for the sake of others already. She would force herself to accept him leaving her, him seeing other women.

 ‘She’d do it, even as it tore her up inside…’

If she believed it to be justified, there wasn’t a pain Lucina wouldn’t endure. Self sacrifice was hardly new to her.

‘I can’t… I can’t taint this…’ Even putting any ego aside, he knew how important their relationship was to her, how much she’d changed to let herself love him…to let herself be happy.

Telling her about his instincts, about what he’d already done…telling her she would never be enough for him. Telling her that if she wanted to be with him, she would never have the fairy-tale relationship she wanted…

Gods.

“Godsdamnit!”

It should be easy! The easiest thing in the world!

You love a woman, you marry her, you stay true to her! Nothing could be simpler.

If you mess up, you come clean, you beg forgiveness, you ask for understanding or compassion! He knew that! It was the most basic thing!

“Gods…godsdamnit…”

‘So…am I staying quiet to protect her?’ He scoffed in bitter self loathing. ‘Or because it’s easier just to hide it?’

Truly, he didn’t know, he didn’t have an answer. Perhaps one, perhaps both.

‘I can’t hide this forever, perhaps not even for long… She’s too smart for that.’

That thought should have worried him more than it did. But, he was a tactician. As much as he hated himself for it, he already had a plan.

Now, he was stuck, his course was set. Things would only escalate from here. By not telling her now, he could never tell her…not until, until the situation changed.

‘I will. I will solve this.’ He promised himself. One way or another he had to. ‘And… I won’t marry her. Not until she knows.’

Accepting that was painful beyond words. He’d wanted Lucina’s hand for so long…to just be with her, with only her… But it wouldn’t be fair, he couldn’t lock her into a commitment unless she knew exactly what she was getting into.

Sighing, he let it go. That dream was just another sacrifice he had to make, to set things right.

“It’s too late to worry about any of this.” He reminded himself. Forcing his breathing to steady, and his mind back to the task at hand.

The choice had been made. His path was set.

 He’d learned long ago not to dwell on regrets or what could have been. He would protect Lucina, even from himself and the terrible choices he would make to keep her happy. That was how a tactician acted, always with the end goal in mind, always weighing up the consequences, the price of any plan.

He would give her the relationship she deserved.

No matter what he had to do to achieve that.

For now at least, his next step was crystal clear. The dream this morning was only the latest sign, now that he knew what to look for, it was unmissable- the instincts within him were re-igniting. For now they were still quiet, still only embers, but there was no doubt they would only get worse as more time passed.

He already knew the consequences if he didn’t act, he’d seen first-hand the repercussions to himself and those he loved.

Today was the day. The day he would finally settle a long awaited resolution. Chuckling at the fast rising anticipation, his heart raced just thinking about what was to come.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Without anything else to do in the meantime, and knowing this would be the only moment he’d have to pay his respects, Robin arrived early to the service.

Emmeryn’s day. The anniversary of the previous Exalt’s death, a celebration of the sacrifice she made that saved two nations.

An annual reminder of his failure to the royal family.

Even now, years after her death, it remained a difficult day for the people closest to him. He wasn’t surprised in the least to see Chrom already present, standing solemnly in-front of her memorial and looking now, in this private moment, as small and weak as Robin had ever seen him.

It would pass, he knew it would, just as it had so many times before. Still, it ripped at his heart, just as it always did.

‘My fault.’ It didn’t matter if no-one blamed him, that didn’t change the truth.

He stepped quietly into place beside his friend, giving him time to finish his thoughts and acknowledge his presence.

“Nice day for it.” Chrom spoke finally, his voice only slightly strained. “Warm, bright…she’d enjoy a day like this.”

Robin nodded.

It didn’t seem fitting. This was a day for mourning, a day of pain and sorrow, by any logic it should be pouring with rain, as if the heavens themselves still wept for her departure. Or perhaps, freezing, as if the world itself remained chilled by her passing.

Instead, it was warm, pleasant, with barely a cloud in the sky. A perfect day. Perhaps one suitable for reflection on how far they’d come, or to reminisce about happier times with her?

He didn’t know. Having only barely known Emmeryn, he’d always been an outsider to the pain of her loss. He mourned her just as anyone mourns the passing of a truly great person, but the ache of his memory was always of the grief and anguish his failure had brought upon the people who had given him everything.

He could never undo that. No matter his success, no matter his achievements. He could never give them back their sister. That was his reflection, his truth.

“It’ll be a good service.” He spoke finally, pushing away such thoughts for the moment. “Father Boyde comes very well spoken of.”

“Boyde?” Chrom looked over, raising an eyebrow in surprise. “Not Libra?” As the Shepherd’s cleric, he’d been the one given the honour of holding the previous Exalt’s memoriam in past years.

“No, well, he’ll be in attendance of course. But, he felt it would be…inappropriate. You know, since he left the faith.”

“What? That’s crazy, he’s still a priest.”

“Well, er, sure, in the general sense I suppose.” Meeting Naga had trigged something of a crisis of faith in the man. Seeing your Goddess both admit she wasn’t all powerful and that she had no wish to be worshipped by men had been a shock, one that had ultimately culminated in him abandoning strict Naga worship and instead focus on teaching the gospel of the Godly pantheon.

“Anyway, the point is, he’s not a Naganite anymore, and Emmeryn was. He thought it would be disrespectful to her.”

“He just about gave his life trying to save her.” Chrom snorted. “She wouldn’t care a thing about what faith he followed, she was never worried about any of that nonsense. So long as they were a good person she wouldn’t mind even if they were a Grimleal!”

“Oh?” Robin laughed. “Should I ask Tharja to lead it next year then?”

That finally got a good response. Pausing in place, Chrom’s entire body shook for a moment before he leaned back, roaring with peals of laughter and suddenly looking much more like his usual self.

“Yes! Yes, do that!” He declared, slapping Robin on the back for good measure. “Gods save us! But, if anyone can convince her it’d be you. It’d be a riot for sure, and I know Emm would be laughing along with the rest of us!”

“Right! And damn anyone who complains?” Robin grinned with him, easily getting caught up in the Exalt’s momentum. “Right then, I’ll talk to her about it later.”

“You know…” Chrom added slowly, the excitement draining from his voice as he turned back to the tombstone. “I was thinking it when you came in, this is, it feels like the first time that I’m here, that I’m completely here.

“Gods.” He sighed, “Five years…five years and it feels like this is the first time I’ve been truly able to just…just stop and remember her.”

Robin waited silently, giving his friend a moment to collect his thoughts.

“At first there was the war. And then, we were just so busy rebuilding, then the wedding, then Sumia’s pregnancy and Lucina being born… And then, another war and another after that….”

“I died.”

“Y-Yeah.” He didn’t need to see the man’s face to see the grimace there, no doubt holding more than a few pained memories. “It was only shortly after-after that last battle. We were in shock still, all of us.”

“I…I’m sorry.” He rarely apologised for his death. It had been the best solution. But even so, he’d never wanted to hurt his friends. The timing certainly hadn’t been ideal.

“I just…there was no time.” Chrom sighed. “Things kept happening, something new always came up. Time never stopped.”

“It never does.”

“It should have! Gods, it should have. For you, as much as for her…it should have.”

Sighing, Chrom shook himself from the melancholy. “It doesn’t hurt as much anymore.” Time had passed, they had all moved on. The wound would never truly heal, but it had at least faded.

“That’s not a bad thing.” Robin spoke of the guilt they both felt at that feeling.

“Yeah.” Chrom agreed, looking over his shoulder with a surprisingly light-hearted smile. “Yeah, I know.”

The moment passed and silence returned, but at least it was a companionable silence, the silence of true understanding, two friends quietly mourning something irreplaceable, even if not the same thing.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

It was sad, Robin thought some time later as the service began, how easy it seemed to be to overlook Lissa.

The pain was subtle, he’d noticed. For both the royal siblings, everyone seemed to have assumed that after so much time and after seeing them happy- day after day, that the grief must be largely gone.

It was only natural of course, with all the added burdens of his role, that all eyes would turn towards the Exalt, to see how he was coping. There was nothing surprising about that, Emmeryn’s death had been a huge loss to Lissa, but to Chrom it had meant also a change to every part of his life, their burdens were not equivalent.

But beside Chrom –as always- stood Sumia, the same woman who had seen him through every step and every stumble in his recovery. They were flanked, a short distance away, by Lucina and Cynthia, each shifting their weight awkwardly as their eyes turned towards their father.

And, Lissa, barely a few metres to Chrom’s right, stood alone.

Her own family, Lon’qu and Owain, had both been delayed in Regna Ferox when the roads flooded for the summer. Maribelle stood beside her own husband some distance from the royal section and Frederick, beside his wife, stood even further back.

None of them were acting out of malice, nor even negligence. If any of them knew, how much this day still meant to Lissa they would be with her in a heartbeat, he knew that.

But they’d seen her through it before, day after day, year after year, each time as fine as could be expected. It had been almost five years, they’d seen her mourn Emmeryn, avenge Emmeryn, and ultimately recover from Emmeryn’s loss.

As far as anyone knew, her anguish had faded.

Because, unlike Sumia, none of them had walked that path beside her. None of them had seen the sorrow she hid, year after year, each time the memories returned.

Because he had.

Maribelle would notice first Robin guessed, probably within the next few minutes she’d abandon Gaius and be at her friend’s side.

He moved instead, stepping forward smoothly from his own position at the rear of the royal section and placing his hand gently on her shoulder. “Lissa. You okay?”

Turning to face him, her shaky smile became one of relief. “Robin…” She sighed, pulling his hand from her shoulder and holding it tight against her, clinging to it with both hands. This was what she needed, he knew that. There were few outward signs, she didn’t wail or cry, her tears had long since been shed, She simply ached. She simply needed him to be there for her, to feel the security of their familiar companionship.

Leaning against him, Lissa didn’t let him go for the rest of the service, finally turning and burying herself in his chest as the speeches reached a peak.

As near as Robin could tell, Father Boyde had done as good as job as he’d expected. There’d certainly been plenty of flowery words and comforting metaphors, it seemed appropriate in honouring an Exalt’s legacy. But then, he’d only barely paid any attention to it. Feeling her shivering against him, he doubted Lissa had listened much more.

“Come on, let’s get you back home.” He whispered, rubbing her back softly as everything finally began to wind down.

She nodded stiffly into his shirt, and so, after mouthing a silent goodbye to Chrom, he gently pulled her away, giving her a moment to return to pressing his arm against her as they walked back to her quarters.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

“I’m so glad you’re back.” Lissa whispered, releasing him only long enough to lock the door behind them.

“Gods. Last year…you, you were gone.” She continued, grabbing hold of him and laying her head on his shoulder. “It was so soon after… I couldn’t stand it, couldn’t take it.”

Chuckling ruefully, she pressed her lips softly against his neck, her mouth kissing warm under his jaw. “I’m so glad you’re back.”

“Lissa…” He sighed her name, his arms instinctively wrapping loose around her, only just tight enough that she could feel against her the effect her presence held on him.

“Mmm. I missed this.” She moaned, squirming in his light embrace and moving her mouth to his, her tongue teasing hips lips open before sliding inside. “Mmm, I-ah, I missed you.”

“W-Wait” He gasped, letting her close the distance once more, raising the tempo of their kiss for a moment before pushing her back. “W-Wait, Lissa! I-no! We-we can’t.”

Despite his protests, their mouths came together again, need and urgency slowly kindling. “We…We can’t do this.” He repeated.

“Robin… Please.” She groaned, clinging tighter to him pushing greedily against him, trying to silence his complaints.

“L-Lissa…you’re married.”

“I-” Finally she paused, her grip didn’t relent, but her head fell limply into his chest. “I know, I know that…but, just…”

Tugging at his cloak, she pushed herself needily against him, desire and pain overriding her conscience as her lips rose light against his neck once more. “Being with you, it-it helps… Robin, I know, I know you’re hurting too. Just a little, just tonight…just until it feels better…”

Their lips met once more, and this time he held her tight in her arms, feeling her lithe body sliding hungrily against his hard length.

“N-No. I…” He forced out, pushing her away a step once more.

Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath. “I don’t want that. I don’t want…this.”

Accepting his words, this time she didn’t move after him. Visibly restraining herself, Lissa nodded, forcing a weak smile as she did. “Because of Lucina? Th-That’s good, yeah. Yeah. You’re right we sho-”

“No.”

Stepping forward again, his hands cupping her face silenced the shaky assurance.

“No. Not because of Lucina. Because of you.”

Held captive by the intensity of his gaze, as much as by the comforting feeling of his hands warm around her cheeks, Lissa could only stare back. Surprised by his words and transfixed by his actions, she couldn’t move, not even as his thumb brushed over her lips, his lips following a second later, pulling her into a small, gentle kiss.

“This isn’t want I want.” He repeated in a whisper. “I don’t want only to be someone you come to when you need to feel better. I don’t want to hold you only a few days a year. I want… Lissa, I want what I’ve always wanted. To be there anytime you need me, I want you to come to me anytime you desire me. I want to come to you anytime I desire you.”

Her mouth fell open, but no words came out. His fingers stroked her face gently for another moment and he pulled her again into his arms, into a softer, deeper, embrace.

“I died and I returned. I know what I want. I’ve got no doubts left.” His voice was unwavering. “I want you to be mine.”

“R-Robin…” She gasped, face burning red at his sudden proposal. “I-I…But, I’m married.”

This was one thing. What he was proposing…an affair, a relationship… She didn’t know how to even being to respond.

“Lissa.” He released her face, pulling her into a tight embrace once more. His need clear against her, and her own shown in every shudder and shiver she gave. “Can you really tell me you only think of me during this time of year? That you never desire me otherwise?”

“I-Er, ah… R-Robin!” She couldn’t meet his eyes. She could only whimper as his hand slid down, cupping her ass and squeezing it gently.

“I desire you always.” He whispered, his mouth barely an inch from her ear as he continued to whisper the words he knew she couldn’t resist. “I want you. I know you want me too.”

“W-What about Lucina?” She stammered weakly, her voice hitching with barely restrained arousal.

“I love Lucina.” He confirmed, leaning back and staring unflinching into her eyes. There was no point hiding it now. “But what I feel for her doesn’t change what I feel for you.”

“I-”

“Does your marriage to Lon’qu change your feelings for me? Do you truly desire me only to ease your pain?”

“I-hah, of course I want…I.” Gulping, she hesitated, swallowing her words and looking away.

“I do.” Her words came softly, a guilty admission. “I do think of you, even-even throughout the year, but… But, I-That’s- I can’t just… Robin!”

“You were ready to be with me barely a moment ago.” He whispered the accusation, pulling her ass harder against him, feeling her squirming against his length once more. “I’m only asking that we continue, that…that you let me be more to you than just a source of comfort.”

Flushing guiltily, Lissa struggled for words, and once again his lips smothered any objection before she could even think to raise it. Yet, even despite her doubts she neither complained, nor resisted, her mouth accepted his tongue eagerly, and gently the passion between them was tendered ever higher.

“I won’t pressure you.” He sighed, grinning at her whimper when he pulled away, releasing her and moving toward the door. “It’s your choice. I just wanted…wanted to make my intentions clear. I’ll always be here for you either way, no matter what. However I can help.”

Biting her lip, Lissa looked away, her hands balled into fists and a thousand warring emotions crashing through her heart. “I don’t…I don’t know what to say.”

“You don’t need to say anything, not now. Take as much time as you like.” He nodded, stepping out the room. “But, if you need anything. If I can help at all… I’ll be in my room. Okay?”

“O-Okay.”

Offering one last warm smile, he left. Closing the door behind him and re-adjusting his cloak into place on the way back to his room.

‘That went well.’

Furiously clamping down on his surging elation, Robin’s composure was hard fought. “Gods.” His breath was coming fast now, his heart slamming loud and his chest all but bursting in excitement. Stepping into his own room and collapsing onto his bed, he finally let his composure break, laughing and shaking.

It was incredible! No different from the rush he’d had on the battlefield so long ago, the feeling of out manoeuvring your opponent, predicting what was to come and manipulating their actions!

The exhilaration of his strategy coming to fruition, of every step working exactly as he’d wished it. Seeing her react exactly as he’d wished her to… Gods! The adrenaline of the act itself, his audacious words, the carefully planned movements, even simply allowing his passions to take control for a moment…and, now…

‘She’ll come to me.’

Now came the anticipation of what he knew would take place.

This was even better than the rush of wartime strategy. Now he had no doubts or fears, only the roaring inferno within him, the sensation as if it was igniting every cell in his body with excitement, his entire soul thrumming with approval.

He’d carefully chosen his words, his movements and his every action. All to convince one of his closest friends to turn their sporadic affair into something much more, and every part of him knew, simply knew beyond knowing, that this was how it was always meant to be. This was the relationship he and Lissa were always meant to have.

‘She has always been mine.’

“Gods!” He breathed, his body shivering at the suspense. The pleasant burning adrenaline felt amazing, he’d never felt anything like this before!

Forcing a modicum of control as he sucked in deep breaths, he knew he needed to wait.

And yet, all he could think about was her, what brought them to this point...

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Five Years Ago

‘I’ll think of something Chrom, I promise.’

Staring blankly at the ceiling, Robin winced, his arrogant words running dull through his mind once more.

‘It’s a responsibility I do not take lightly. But I am equal to the challenge.’

Imaging them was terrible, the only thing worse was the thought of forgetting them.

‘Emmeryn is dead.’

Even now, three days later, it still felt unreal.

He hadn’t been good enough to save her. He’d given his all, worked through the night, fought with his heart…and then…after everything, he’d stood there impotent as the Plegians brought forth an army of the dead to fight them, he’d been able to do nothing but watch as the tables were turned in an instant.

He’d told Chrom to sacrifice her…to at least save the Emblem.

‘Emmeryn is dead.’ The words echoed once more, the only consolation being that they drowned out thoughts of his unfulfilled promises. ‘I killed her.’

Three days. The time had passed like a haze, only dimly aware of the passing time even his need for food and drink had been dulled by the shock.

The first day he could barely even recall, they’d escaped the Plegian courtyard…there’d been another fight-they’d gotten into wagons. He didn’t remember anything else.

The second passed in and out of memory. They’d arrived at the borders of Regna Ferox early in the morning and were currently holed up in some Feroxian border fort. He hadn’t left his quarters the entire day, only finally driven from the room sometime after midnight by the need for food.

Today had been more of the same, remaining in shut away, trapped in his thoughts, he’d left only for small moments and avoided any of the other Shepherds- he couldn’t face them, not yet.

Only now on the evening of the third day was had the shock finally faded. Leaving him here, staring  up at the unfamiliar ceiling of some Feroxian border fort with the numb certainty of what his next step must be.

“I need to talk to Chrom.”

His best friend, the man who had given him a place in the world, friends and even something of a family. The prince had trusted him, he had placed not just his own life but the life of his closest friends into Robin’s hands- even finally trusting him with the life of their Exalt, his sister.

He couldn’t even begin to imagine how badly his failure must be hurting his friend. There would need to be an accounting, a debriefing, but…more than that, before anything else, he knew he needed to apologise.

Stepping off the bed was terrifying, dragging himself out the room even more so, but with each slow step he forced himself forwards, thinking only of what he would say when he saw the man. There was no time for hesitation, he’d waited long enough .

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Even having taken a longer route than necessary, he arrived at the prince’s quarters far before he was ready, before he could ever be ready.

Pausing, with his hand raised to the handle, he gave himself one last moment to prepare, knowing that if he took any longer than that he’d never move.

“Chrom. It’s m-”

“Uguaaaaah!” Stepping backwards, a sudden roar caught him off guard.

‘Gods.’ Robin winced, recognising the voice instantly. ‘You’re hurting that much?’ Chrom had never been one to openly display pain, he knew how important a show of strength was to his comrades… Robin had never heard anything like this from the man.

With his guilt redoubling, he moved forwards again. ‘That only further prov-’

“G-Gods! Ch-Chrom! Yes!” A second, much more feminine, voice cut him off this time.

‘H-Huh!?’

If he didn’t know better, he’d have sworn that was Sumia…but, but that would mean, she wa-

“Ahn, yes! As much as you need!” The second voice rang out in assurance, clearly gasping for breath. “I’m here! I-I’ll take it all.”

“O-Oh!” Robin gaped, his face burning red in embarrassment as practically leapt away from the door, suddenly very aware of the sound of a wooden bedframe banging against a stone wall. “I-I see…”

‘W-Well, that’s…that’s good right?’ He, just like the rest of the Shepherds, knew that the prince and Sumia were close, but it looked like they were a lot closer than he’d ever guessed. Still, from what he’d heard (and was rapidly trying not to continue hearing as he raced back down the halls), she was comforting him.

‘Yeah. That’s good.’ He’d talk to Chrom later. For now, if the Pegasus Knight was able to ease his pain, that was definitely for the best.

If nothing else, the absurdity of the situation served to partially snap him out of the melancholy that’d haunted him until now. ‘Hah, probably better to keep this to myself though.’ He added with a chuckle. Knowing the kind of man Chrom was, he didn’t imagine a wedding would be far off…but no doubt he would be embarrassed if word got out they hadn’t waited for it.

Feeling slightly light-hearted knowing his friend was being looked after, Robin took a shorter path heading directly towards his room.

“It’s no good.”

Only to press himself flat against the stone walls a few moments later, peeking carefully around the corner at the sound of voices ahead. Heart racing, Robin watched with baited breath as Frederick stepped from one of the suites, closing the door behind him with a sour look on his face. “She won’t listen to me.”

‘Frederick. And…Maribelle?’

His good mood evaporated into uneasy fear. He couldn’t face the other Shepherds, no yet. Not until he’d at least talked to Chrom…

“She won’t come out?” The worry in Maribelle’s voice served at least to drag him from his thoughts. “I-I understand this is, that for her, I simply cannot imagine what she’s feeling… But this cannot be the answer.”

“She’ll be fine milady.” The great knight did his best to appease the noble’s clear concern. “If she wouldn’t listen to you, it was always a long shot that anything I would say could help.”

“Do-do not say that Frederick! She simply… We shall simply, just, give her more time. As much as she needs. I, now… Now, you shall help me brew some tea, we shall need to have it ready for her.”

“Of course milady.”

Letting out an unsteady breath he hadn’t even realised he was holding, Robin watched them retreat, thankfully in the other direction down the hall.

It wasn’t hard to deduce who they were talking about, but it was only just now that he realised, despite all his worry for Chrom…The prince wasn’t the only one he’d failed.

With all his energies focussed on his friend, he’d somehow forgotten, somehow let it slip his mind, the other member of the royal family- one who deserved his apology no less.

Biting back his guilt through clenched teeth, Robin’s resolve held true as he forced himself to her door, his fist pounding against it before he even knew what he was doing.

“…Go away.”

“Lissa.” His voice was like gravel, it the first time he’d properly spoken in days. “It’s me, can we talk?”

“No.”

Her answer was clear, and from what he’d heard from Frederick and Maribelle, she had no wish for company. Even so, he didn’t take a single step away, didn’t consider leaving for even a moment. Not now. His mind was clear and his determination set. He would see this through.

“Are you undressed?”

“W-What? …N-No. No, I’m…I’m not.”

He tested the handle, it wasn’t locked. Frederick likely hadn’t seen a need, what kind of person would intrude on a princess? Especially a princess grieving a lost sister.

“Then, I’m coming in.”

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Locking the door behind him and blinking as his eyes adjusted to the dim firelight, Robin grimaced at the sight of the usually spritely Princess frowning angrily up at him.

Turning to her, he was reminded painfully of the way Chrom always called her delicate, even despite her outgoing nature. Sitting now, huddled opposite a small fireplace, she looked as fragile as he’d ever seen her, like a beautiful crystal sculpture, forever ready to shatter into a million pieces with but the smallest touch.

As weak as it was, and as strange as it was to be receiving it, the glare she was sending towards him was somehow comforting. It was a sign of her spark still remaining behind the fearful look in her eyes.

“I told you not to come in! I just-, I’ve had enough! I just want to be alone!”

“I’m sorry…but, I-I need to talk to you.”

“Why!?” She demanded, her anger undermined by the hitch in her voice. “So-So you can say the same things? Th-that a princess can’t hide like this? Th-That Emm wouldn’t want me to be sad!?”

“What?” He blinked, brought up short as he processed her sudden tirade. “No. No, I wasn’t going to say anything like that.

“Lissa…” He added, crouching beside the shaking princess and placing his hand on her shoulder. His heart wrenching and his weakly held composure shattering the instant he touched her. “S-She was your sister.

“Your sister…”  He repeated, as much for himself as for her. Gritting his teeth and desperately fighting back his own grief, Robin forced himself to meet her eyes. “Lissa…you can mourn her as long a-as you need. As long as you want.”

Dropping her gaze, he saw the anger at least falling from her face as she sucked in a relieved sob.

“I-If anyone tells you different… You, pass them to me. I’ll send them running.”

“H-Hah…” A tiny echo of the girl he cared so much for finally returned at that weak threat, her lips turning up slightly in a weak imitation of a smile. “Thanks…”

Nodding, Robin let a small silence lapse between them. Organising his thoughts in his head, he gave her a moment to relax, knowing she must have had some very straining conversations already.

Counting silently to a hundred in his mind, he was glad to watch the tension flow out of her body, seeing a little of her normally spirited self returning as she fidgeted in place beside him.

“Lissa.” He forced his voice steady as he rose to his feet. “I actually…I came, to- to apologise.”

“I-Huh?” She boggled, blinking up at him in confusion.

“I told you, you and Chrom. I promised…I said I would save Emmeryn, th-that I was up to the task. I-I tried, I did my be-…” Frowning, he swallowed his excuses. They didn’t matter. “I wasn’t good enough… Gods, I-I’m sorry, I’m so sorry...”

Eyes wide in surprise, Lissa leapt to her feet. “R-Robin! Tha-”

“Y-You and Chrom, you gave me a place to belong, a purpose… Everything. I-I can never repay your kindness…a-and now, and now…” Again, his composure crumbled, fresh tears streaking shamefully down his face as his voice broke, the words almost refusing to come out. “Now sh-she’s gone.”

“It wasn’t your fault.” She answered, reaching for his hands and frowning when he pulled them away, as he instinctively pulled away from her. “I-It wasn’t, no-one could have predicted what happened. No-one blames you Robin.”

Looking at her, he knew for sure that her words were true. She wouldn’t lie to him, not now and not about that. Knowing that, it was then that he realised, that it changed nothing. It didn’t matter if no-one else blamed him.

“All my plans, all those nights...and then, standing there. I couldn’t do anything. I never even considered it.”

Surprisingly, she laughed. Not her usual laugh, this time it was a bitter, pained melody. “If anyone’s useless, it’s me! You guys, you do all the work, I-I just, I just stay at the back… Even for Emm, I couldn’t do anything, I couldn’t help…”

 “What!?” He gaped, her self-depreciation quickly snapping him from his own. “Lissa, th-that’s crazy! You keep us all going! We wouldn’t have gotten anywhere without you.”

“I can’t even fight.” She snorted.

“That’s not true!” He declared, a strange anger rising within him at her denial. “You fight beside us just the same as anyone, you’re vital to all my strategies! Even if you are near the back, you’re the only reason any of us can advance.”

Closing her eyes, Lissa didn’t argue, she just shook her head, letting another brief silence settle between them. With any attempt to break it dying on his tongue, Robin was left stuck in place, his guilt fast returning as the slight anger he’d felt burned itself out.

“Robin.” She answered finally, another tiny laugh on her voice as opened her eyes and she stepped forward, moving barely a few inches from him. “Your strategy was brilliant.”

“H-Huh?”

“Your strategies always are, I-I’ve always thought no-one can come up with plans like you can. They’re always amazing. No-one could have predicted what happened.”

“Then, it wasn’t brilliant enough.” He answered bitterly, fighting back a stronger reaction. “It wasn’t…enough.”

As sweet as her praise was, he couldn’t possibly accept it. He’d known there were Risen in Plegia, he should have accounted for the Plegians controlling them! He should have made su-

Again, Lissa’s laughter knocked him from his thoughts, a sad, bitter laugh utterly unsuitable for Ylisse’s bright, energetic Princess.

“It doesn’t help, does it?” She whispered, a wry smile on her lips. “Someone trying to comfort you, it doesn’t help…not when you blame yourself.”

Staring at her weak smile, Robin just chuckled in response. He didn’t need to point out how surreal it was for Lissa to be the one dispensing wisdom.

Turning away from him, she slumped back down, sitting opposite the fire once more.

“Hey Robin.” She spoke up quietly just as he made to leave. “Could you…stay a while?”

“Ah, yeah. Yeah, of course.” He answered instantly, dropping to the floor beside her. There was no need to think about it, not when he could hear the loneliness in her voice.

“Thanks.” She sighed, shuffling closer and leaning against him, drawing on his warmth as much as his strength, as much as he could offer. “I don’t actually…want to be alone. I just…I just don’t want to just, just be okay…”

“Lissa…”

“You’re the only one who’s not, not trying to make me better. They all want me to, to move on, to be right again. B-But I don’t want to be strong, or, or to inspire the people, or smile, or anything!” She whimpered, her small body shuddering against his. “I-I just, I just want my sister back!”

There was no doubt the other Shepherds, Maribelle especially, were doing their best to try support her, and with his limited memories Robin knew he didn’t know much about loss or grief himself, let alone how to deal with any of it. What he did know was that someone he cared deeply for was hurting in a way he was responsible for, and that he couldn’t fix.

She didn’t want to move on, let go, or push forwards. She just wanted to mourn her sister. For all that his failure had stolen from her, he knew he had to at least give her that. Surely she deserved at least that much.

Wrapping an arm around her shoulder, he pulled her unresisting into his chest, holding her tight as she trembled against him. “It’s fine.” He whispered. “Take as long as you need. I’ll be here anytime you need me.”

It took Lissa a few minutes to speak again, her shivering slowly stopping as she twisted her fingers around his cloak, leaning into his embrace. “And, wh-what about you? Are you gonna be okay?”

“I-” He didn’t know. He hadn’t thought about the future at all yet. “I still need to talk to Chrom. I, I don’t know what to say. I can’t, I know I can’t ever, that I won’t…”

“Robin…” Strangely, despite her own misery, it was the sound of the guilt in his voice that wrenched at Lissa in that moment.

“We’ll be marching soon I guess.” He answered instead, thoughts of the tasks still ahead weighing heavily on him.

“Yeah.” She nodded, the same dread clinging to her.

They were in a bubble right now, insulated from the world and from their duties. It wouldn’t last, soon she would need to step forward and either return to Ylisstol or to her position as their cleric. He, no less, would need to either leave or return to his own role, to once again try trust in his strategies and believe he would keep all those he loved alive.

Soon.

But for now at least, this shared moment was a small comfort.

“We’re…we’re a little alike, you know?” She murmured, turning sideways and laying her legs across his lap. “I think you did everything you could to save Emm, that no-one could have done better. A-And you say I was helpful.”

“You were vital.”

“Then, maybe that’s why it hurts so much?” She asked, ignoring him. “Because, despite what anyone else thinks…we both just feel useless?”

Maybe that really was part of it. The feeling of impotence, that everything he’d tried had meant nothing. He’d put so much of himself into being a tactician, that he’d practically forgotten to be anything else. He’d wanted to so badly to live up to what Chrom and Lissa needed from him, not being enough felt like betraying them.

“Yeah.”

“But…it’s not so bad like this.” She sighed, dropping her head back against his chest and wriggling comfortably into his arms. “It’s warm.”

“Yeah.”

“It feels good…you holding me.” She whispered, her breath tickling gently across his neck. “It, it hurts a little less like this.”

 He couldn’t deny it. It did feel good, being so close to someone. It wasn’t anything he’d ever experienced before, somehow the warm company pushed everything else away. The guilt, the anxiety, even his sorrow was slightly dulled against the soft feeling of the girl cradled in his arms.

“I feel…a little better.” She murmured as her arms wrapped gently around his neck. Looking down in surprise, he saw her looking up at him now, her mouth slightly open in breathless nervousness. “I like it.”

“L-Lissa, I-”

Moving without hesitation, she leaned up, her lips pressing soft against his and silencing anything he’d meant to say.

‘W-Wha!?’

Her arms tightened around him, pulling him deeper against her, her lips gently pushing his own open. For a moment, Robin was lost, his thoughts scattered to nothing and his body instinctively moving against hers.

“A-Ah!” The moment passed, he leaned away, gasping in surprise. “Lissa!”

“That was my first kiss.” She hummed, staring bashfully up at him, her face slowly turning a crimson red.

“A-Ah, yeah… Mine too.” He stammered, lacking anything better to say.

“I’m glad.” She beamed, wriggling herself around until she was sitting level in his lap, staring directly at him. “Glad it was you.”

His hands went to her hips, intending only to steady her, to slide her off him…instead she gasped, her mouth falling open the instant he held her.

And he was captivated, stuck transfixed, staring at her flushed face and realising for the first time that the girl he held wasn’t simply Chrom’s sister, wasn’t simply a friend…but a woman.  

A woman he desired.

“L-Lissa…” He breathed her name, unsure in that moment if he wanted to ask for more, or for mercy. Instead, still barely able to think, his words came from an instinctive duty. “W-We can’t.”

“Robin…” She answered, leaning forward, chewing on her lip, their faces only inches apart. “It, it feels better.”

“Y-Yeah.” It did, or perhaps it was just that it was hard to think about anything else right now.

“Please. Just…just a little.”

He owed Lissa as much as he owed Chrom, he could never deny her, not now, not ever. It was him that moved first this time, his arms sliding her forward against him and his lips capturing hers unsteadily with his.

He had no idea what he was doing, but then, neither did she. Both simply acted on instinct, their mouths open against each other and their tongues hesitantly touching.

“Mhaammm.” She moaned into his mouth, and slowly the tempo raised. Their kisses coming a little faster, a little harder, as his hands moved around her back and hers pulled him tighter against her.

“A-Ahhah.” He gasped in return, feeling her hips sliding back and forth over his waist, her pressure pressing lightly down onto his rapidly hardening cock.

Her hands slid from around his neck and under his cloak, pushing it back from his shoulders. “L-Lissa.” He breathed, too surprised to resist, releasing her as the garment fell to the ground.

Leaning back and panting, she didn’t answer, her breath came only in short gasps as she reached out with shaking hands, taking hold of his and placing them firmly against her chest.

‘B-Breasts!’ Robin gaped, his mouth falling open in shock as he felt the small mounds over her dress. Soft and smooth under his touch, he couldn’t resist cupping them, dragging his fingers around their shape even after she released his hands.

“F-Feels, ahnn, feels good…” She whispered, pushing her small bust harder into his touch. Panting, her hip slid harder over his cock, grinding up and down his length as he gently kneaded her breasts, eyes widening as soft moans fell from her lips..

“We-we shouldn’t.” He repeated weakly, forcefully pushing back the urge to side the top of her dress down, to touch her directly, as he watched awestruck as his best friend’s sister ground her hips against his.

“P-Please… Robin… Robin…” She gasped, shutting her eyes and savouring to the unfamiliar sensations. “I-I want this. It feels, ahnhaa, I feel better.”

It did. It felt so much better…even just holding her, just feeling her against him. Gods, he felt almost whole again, as if the pain belonged to someone else…as if he could just forget it, just ignore it for a while..

He wanted this. He wanted her.

Gulping heavily, it took every fibre of his restraint to forcefully stop his caresses, moving his hands to her head, cupping her face and turning it to face him. “Are, Lissa… Are you sure?”

Her smile came easier now, warm and loving. But she offered it to him only for a second, answering with another kiss instead of with words, tugging hard on his shirt and falling needily into his embrace once more.

“Mhaa-aah.” She moaned softly into his mouth, her hips pressing slow and hard down against his cock.

There was only so much a man could take. His restraint snapped and his need rose forth.

 “Ughaaa.” Half growling half panting, his arms clasped her to him, holding her tight against his chest as he kissed her with every ounce of restrained passion inside him, with every drop of love, fear, desire and lust he held. She matched him every step of the way, her own need no less than his.

Ah-iaa!” She yelped in surprise as his hands slid down, clenching firmly around her ass and holding her against him. Not hesitating for even a moment he moved forwards, pushing himself up until he was standing, holding her gently cradled against him.

Gods, he marvelled! She felt so wonderful like this. So small and delicate, held precious in his arms.

Their lips were apart only a moment as he walked carefully forwards, only finally releasing her to lay her softly down on her bed, crawling atop a moment later.

Even as she shut her eyes, turning away in embarrassment, still her touch spurred him on, her fingers running gingerly over his arms, urging his shaking hands down her body, helping as he hesitantly pulled open the leather corset around her chest.

“A-Ahn…” Her moans came louder now as his hands tugged the top of her dress down, exposing her small breasts directly to his touch. Spurred on by the sound of her excitement his hands pressed in a little harder, pushing flat over her chest and gently kneading over the small mounds, his heart racing as her breaths hitched, as her gasps rang out deeper.

Driven forward by need as much as by lust, his hips ground against hers, his cock pushing her dress hard against her entrance, his arousal racing at the friction.

“Ro-Robin.” She gasped, her hips moving clumsily against his as she arched her back further into his touch. “Wait, w-ahhn, wait a minute.”

His movements halted instantly and his blood froze…until he saw the breathless anticipation on her face as she pushed herself away from him, reaching back and undoing the strap around her neck. “L-Lemme just, just….” Her words trailed shyly off, but she moved without hesitation, pulling the strap away and squirming out of the dress, even as she couldn’t meet his eyes. “It’s…it’s a little embarrassing, when you’re watching.”

“I-Ah, Sorry.” He nodded, gulping and not quite sure what else to say as he matched her movements, tearing his shirt off and kicking his pants halfway across the room.

And at that, they both paused.

Both wearing only their smallclothes, they stopped, their eyes finally coming together again as their faces burned equally bright red, both at the situation and at their shared hesitation.

“Heh.”

“Ah-heh…”

Forcing himself to take the lead, to ease her nerves as much as he could, Robin moved first, sucking in a deep breath and pulling the final piece of cloth down until he was finally –for the first time— completely bared before someone else.

“Ahhah.” Eyes darting below his waist, Lissa gulped, staring for a moment transfixed at the sight of his length presented toward her, the first she’d ever seen.

Screwing her eyes closed, she gathered her courage, raising her hips slightly off the bed as she pushed her panties down, sliding them down her legs and kicking them aside before lying back, her head turned to the side and her breath coming in rapid pants, as she was bared completely before him.

“Lissa…” Robin could barely hear his words over the sound of his heart slamming into his chest.

A naked woman, the first he’d ever seen, it was like something out of a dream. Gods. She looked so beautiful, so delicate and soft even despite the trim lines of her body, the smooth fit curves.

Gulping, he moved closer, bending down and hesitantly touching his fingers to her sides, watching her shudder and gasp as his shaking hands dragged up over her ribs and were placed once more on her perky breasts, kneading them gently as he marvelled at her creamy skin.

Fighting back his nerves, the analytical part of his brain desperately reached out for guidance, struggling to remember the bawdy tales he’d heard from Vaike or Gregor- where to touch, where to kiss, how to make a woman scream…

…It all seemed so far away and so inappropriate. He didn’t want to make her scream. He wanted to make her smile.

“I-ahh, R-Robin.” She spoke finally, her own hands reaching around his neck, stopping his movements and pulling him down to her. “I-I’m a bit nervous.”

“Y-Yeah.” He agreed, gasping silently as he lowered himself fully onto her, feeling her skin hot against him, his mind racing as his cock pressed between her legs, the head sliding wet against her entrance.

“B-But, ahh! It, it feels…ah-aahn, feels good.” She added, clutching him tighter and pressing her hips up against his, biting her lips as she felt his cockhead pushing the folds of her pussy open.

“Are you, are you sure?” He repeated one final time, adjusting her around him, sliding up gently around her and cradling her head gently in his arms.

Throwing her head back with a gasp as she felt herself opening more- felt the head of his cock pushed slightly inside, Lissa just nodded, her arms shuddering across his shoulders as her body raced with a pleasure she’d never felt before.

The sight of it, her acceptance, released within him a desire he’d kept restrained longer than he’d ever known. Burning with lust, love, and need, he couldn’t stop now. “A-Haaaah!” Carefully aligning himself, he took tight grip around her and began to push himself inside.

‘Gods!’

It was good! So good! Even just watching her mouth open in a silent scream as her lips slowly spread around his cock head…it was better than he’d ever imagined!

“Gh-aah, L-Lissa!” He cried her name, thrusting his hips forward and burying himself inside her, losing himself to the incredible pleasure and pushing his cock fully inside her.

“Ahghaa-Ai! AIAAGH!”

Thrashing and shuddering, she shrieked, her voice changing quickly from rising pleasure, to shocked pain.

“Aha-haah… Naga!” Robin breathed, in that moment only aware of his own sudden pleasure. It was indescribable! The feeling of her pussy clenched tight around his entire length, the way her body shivered under him, her small movements running fully around his cock. Every fibre in his body ached for more, to drag his hips out and slam them back in once more, he wanted more!

It was only when he leaned back, sucking in a shaky breath, that he saw the look on the princess’s face, the way her face was screwed up in obvious pain.

“Lissa?” He whispered, shock instantly quelling his need as his hands cupped her face. “A-Are you okay?”

“A-Aha, oww, agughgh.” She moaned, opening her eyes for a moment to look at him before clenching them shut again. “Owww, it-it hurts…”

Only now did he remember. Something he’d heard some time ago, one of the many half-drunken boasts Vaike made that he’d only barely listened to, explanations of “maidenhood” and “proof of chastity.”

With rising panic, he couldn’t remember any of the details, but a quick glance showed a thin trail of blood running down her legs. “Lissa! Y-You’re bleeding! Let me, let me see that.”

She moved faster. Her legs were wrapped tight around him before he could even move to pull back, holding him tightly in place.

“Don’t…don’t leave me.”

“B-But, yo-”

“I, I like it.” She forced out. “Feeling you inside me, I feel… it hurts, a lot…but I feel, I feel better. Don’t leave me Robin, n-not yet.”

Hesitating with doubt, finally he nodded. Relaxing and letting her pull him gently back down into her embrace.

“K-Kiss me?”

There was no need to even ask, cradling her head in his arms he pressed his lips against hers once more.

She loosened under him, her mouth sucking greedily against his as her tongue forced his mouth open and their kiss deepened, nervousness slowly vanishing between them and the passion rising once more.

Her kisses were awkward but just as desperate as his, her skin was hot and smooth against his and her pussy remained clenched tight around him…it was incredible! Almost more than he could take! His cock pulsed needily inside her, twitching and scraping against her back walls.

“Y-You, can-” Lissa gasped, breaking away a moment, her legs loosening slightly around his hips. “C-Can move.”

“H-Uagh.” He moaned, gasping for breath and dragging his cock slowly out of her, feeling her pussy wrapped tight around him the entire way. “Gha, Lissa, it’s, it’s good.”

Clenching his teeth, he ground back inside, taking a firm hold around her and steadily repeating the movements, his body aching for more as he built a slow rhythm and gradually become accustomed to the sensations.

“R-Robin, R-Robin!” Lissa cried, moaning his name and shaking under him, her own hips rising to meet his as pleasure and pain mixed within her, the walls of her pussy slowly being shaped around his cock as her breath came only in ragged pants.

“Ahaah! Naga!”

“Ngha..owa, aa-ghh! Hahnn!”

Burying his head into her shoulder, Robin clutched her desperately against him- speeding up and losing all rhythm to desire when he felt her walls squeeze even tighter around his cock, groaning and driving again and again to the depths of her tunnel, pressing himself as deep inside has he could.

Digging her fingers into his shoulder and throwing her head from side to side, Lissa cried his name over and over, gasping and moaning, all control leaving her body.

It was clumsy, awkward and wonderful beyond words. For both of them, in this moment, all pain and grief was forgotten. There was only the two of them, only thoughts of pleasure.

“I-I’m gonna, Lissa! I-I’m getting close!” Robin moaned several minutes later, gritting his teeth and struggling to fight off the fast rising peak.

“Ah-Ahn, Hahh!” She panted, struggling to speak, her words lost each time she felt his cock pushing deeper inside her.

“I-Hagah! Lissa!” Robin roared, his pleasure mounting faster than he could take! Until he couldn’t fight it even a single moment longer! Gasping, and clenching her tight to him, he drove his cock as far inside as he could, pressing it hard against her back walls, holding her with all his might as the incredible sensation ripped through him.

Shaking, and gasping, his release finally erupted, thick ropes of hot cum spraying deep within her pussy, each spurt pressing new against her until every inch was coated in his seed. “Uughaaa-ahaaa…”

“H-Haaha…” Lissa gaped in response, her mouth falling open and even her moans falling silent when she felt his cock twitching inside her, felt her pussy suddenly flooded with his essence. “A-Ahh…W-Wow.”

“Y-Yeah…” He sighed, slumping weakly into her embrace, gasping silently as the last pulses pleasure ran through him.

They stayed like that for some time, him holding her securely in his arms and her hands running lovingly along his back. Their thoughts fogged in a pleasant haze as a warm afterglow settled between them, the rush slowly fading.

“Does it…does it still hurt?” Robin asked, rolling off her and slumping into the mattress with surprising fatigue.

“A-A little.” She answered, wriggling against him and smiling when his arms draped around her. “But mostly…I feel, I feel a bit better.”

It didn’t hurt, not right now. The grief was still there, just barely out of reach. But for now, it was a fuzzy distant sensation, the pain held back as each were protected, warm and safe in the other’s embrace.

For a time, no matter how short, he wasn’t a tactician. The weight of the world and all his regrets weren’t upon him. With Lissa wrapped against him in a gentle embrace, Robin was simply a man.

In that moment, even if it would pass, she wasn’t a princess. The worries of a kingdom’s needs and the grief of a loved one lost weren’t clawing at her. Secure in Robin’s arms, Lissa was simply a woman.

“That’s good…Yeah…” He beamed, pulling a blanket from the floor and draping it over them both, shutting his eyes and relaxing…feeling, somehow, for the first time since Emmeryn’s capture, finally at ease. “Me too.”

“Hehehe.” She giggled, her laughter finally light and happy again.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Blinking awake to an unfamiliar ceiling the next morning, it took Robin several moments to remember just where he was.

‘Lissa’s room.’

With that thought came the slow remembrance of his actions the previous night, of just what he was doing sleeping in the Exalted Princess’s room. And then, he was suddenly, uncomfortably, aware of the additional weight, the gentle warmth, against his chest.

‘G-Gods…’

All blood drained from his face as he forced himself to look down, right into the gentle smile of his best friend’s sister.

“Morning.” She whispered with a light blush.

“G-Gods! Gods! Naga!”

Robin didn’t react well.

Pushing her away and leaping from the bed, his eyes raced terrified around the room, but everywhere he looked was only more proof of his actions. The rumpled blankets, the clothing strewn without…his own nakedness…

He’d slept with her. He’d taken her virginity! Out of wedlock!

“I-Lissa, I-Gods, I’m sorry!” Gritting his teeth, he paused, forcing in a deep breath and fighting down the shock. “I’ll, I’ll make this right! I’ll go er-right now! I’ll go buy a ring and, and, don’t worry!”

“Pwahahahah!” Throwing herself back onto the bed, the sight of Lissa’s limber naked body shaking in shaking with laughter threw off Robin’s mental state as much as the sound itself.

Lost and bewildered, he was forced to endure her amusement for what felt like an eternity- a task made more difficult as he attempted to keep his eyes turned from her bare form.

“Ahhh, gods.” She giggled finally, slipping from the bed and wrapping herself lightly around him, her skin soft and warm against his. “I’llnever get tired of that rubbery face of yours. I could wake up to that every day.”

“L-Lissa, this is, th-this is serious! I-”

“Shhh.” Her lips pressed soft against his neck for a moment. His body reacted instantly. “Do you feel better?”

“I- er…Yeah.” He sighed, his panic fading away in response to her gentle manner. Perhaps, he wondered, perhaps she wasn’t as different from her sister as she’d always thought. “Yeah, I really do.”

“Me too, you helped me. That’s all that matters.”

Was that really okay? To just pretend like nothing had happened? Was that the right thing to do? He didn’t know how to begin answering that question…but, if it was what she wanted, he could hardly push the issue.

“I should probably… I should probably go.” He added hesitantly, “B-Before anyone comes to check on you.”

Nodding she released him, falling back to the bed and giving him a chance to reclaim his discarded clothing.

“H-Hey, Robin…” Lissa whispered a few minutes later as he was preparing to leave, her nervousness clear in her voice. “C-Could you…could you come back again, tonight?”

He gulped. Uncertainty filling him.

‘I’ll be here anytime you need me.’

It passed instantly.

“Of course.”

And so, for as long as they were able, that became their routine. They went through the day as beast they could, dealing with their regrets and their pain, before finally falling relieved into the other’s arms each night.

It was nothing more than a small respite from reality, a small concession and a time to heal until the weight of their tasks was upon them once more

When their campaign in Plegia resumed Robin’s nights were once more spent buried in tactics and strategies. The visits stopped and nothing more was left between them but a handful of furtive glances and pleasant memories.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Four Years Ago

The second time was his fault.

More than anything else, it was hard to believe a year had passed so quickly. With the remainder of the war against Gangrel, organising the Plegian disarmament and then the Ylissean restoration, Robin had barely had a moment to think.

Chrom had it the worst by far though, taking over a kingdom was no easy task and between his engagement to Sumia and the constant negotiations with nobles or merchants, Robin barely had a moment to spend with his friend that wasn’t official business.

Not that peace had been a quiet time for any of them, the chaos of war had been ripe for opportunists and even now, -almost ten months since the peace arrangements- whenever he wasn’t locked in his room under a mountain of paperwork Robin was leading the Shepherds to the far corners of the Halidom, stamping out pockets of banditry.

Except for today.

Because today was Emmeryn’s day. Chrom’s latest addition to the Ylissean calendar, a time of remembrance and reflection on the peace granted to both Ylisse and to Plegia by her sacrifice. A day of celebration as much as one of mourning.

Today, whether they were with their families, their friends or their loved ones, all Shepherds were in Ylisstol. All were in attendance when Libra performed the service for their previous exalt.

Robin spent most of the morning with Chrom, catching up, talking, joking, anything he could to support his friend…however, he was sharp enough to see that while his efforts were appreciated and company welcomed, it was his fiancé, Sumia, that truly eased Chrom’s heart.

On such a difficult day, it was a relief to see, one that only redoubled Robin’s affection for the clumsy Queen-to-be. She had been the one to pick Chrom up when he’d crumbled in Regna Ferox, the support he’d neededto lead the Shepherds again and the lodestone he’d returned to whenever his burdens had been too heavy. And now, Robin was glad to see even just in the way she looked at Chrom, that she would always be there for him.

It was an enduring thought, the idea of having someone that close to support him, of supporting someone you cared so deeply for.

Perhaps that was why, after squeezing his friend’s shoulder one final time, he gave them an excuse to leave, together.

Perhaps that was why when he re-joined the rest of the Shepherds, without even consciously thinking about it, he placed himself beside Lissa.

Perhaps that was why she’d breathed a shaky sigh of relief to see him, breaking off from a halting conversation and talking eagerly to him.

Perhaps that was why they were still seated, still talking, when everyone else had drifted from the room.

Perhaps that was why his hand moved to her thigh…or why she pulled him to her room.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

“A-Ahh… Lissa, that’s, that’s good.” Robin sighed, running his hands through the blonde’s hair, watching as she slowly lowered her mouth down his shaft again. Grinning, he marvelled at the sheer audacity of the act, watching the royal princess continue to take his cock into her mouth, savouring the feeling of her sucking greedily on it.

“Th-Yeah, just like that.”

Dragging her tongue along the underside, the princess pushed herself a little deeper, slowly taking in more and more of his length.

“Ahh, yeah, tha-Ah! Ou-ouch! W-Watch the teeth!” He winced, all pleasure instantly scattered at the sudden uncomfortable sensation.

“Mmoah.” Lissa responded, in what he assumed was either indignation or apology, before resuming her work, opening her mouth even wider and bobbing her head up and down his length.

“Haahaa.” Robin sighed, shutting his eyes and leaning back, trying to phase out the somewhat clumsy movements and focussing on the pleasurable sensation.

It felt good…slightly awkward, with the pleasure coming in small bursts, but still, it felt good.

Wrapping her hands around the base of his shaft and pumping in time with her mouth, Lissa lasted another few minutes before finally leaning right back, his cock slipping from her mouth with a small pop. “Ah-haaauah.” She panted, wincing and massaging her jaw.

“Are you alright?”

“Yuaah.” She nodded, shaking the ebbing discomfort away. “Just, my mouth’s tired… Hmmm, this is more difficult than it sounded.” She pouted, looking both petulant and disappointed, part of her frown clearly blaming him for not managing to finish in time.

“Ah, well.” He sighed, reaching down and pulling her up into his arms. “It might be easier sometime when we’re both fresh…we’ve gone at it pretty hard lately.”

That was probably an understatement. It was now two weeks since Emmeryn’s day and they’d been practically insatiable ever since, each night had been spent in the other’s bed, their bodies coming together again and again until their pain was replaced with pleasant fatigue. Even just tonight, he’d already cum inside her three times.

“Well, okay.” She agreed, grinning and squirming comfortably into his arms. “Let’s try again tomorrow then?”

“No.” He sighed, a reality he’d tried to ignore finally unavoidable. “Tomorrow I’ll be leaving for Heinswood.” More work for the Shepherds, more training for the army, and for him especially, more to do planning out a robust road network. 

“Ah.”

He returned three weeks later. By then, the worst of the pain had passed, and so, once again he and Lissa fell simply back into their normal routine, again neither spoke a word about their liaison.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Three Years Ago

The third time, she came to him.

The second year of peace was much easier on the Halidom. With the last of the chaos finally contained, trade continued with abundance and the country flourished.

It was a time of celebration, first when the new Exalt announced his marriage, taking the Pegasus Knight, Sumia as his wife, and then, even more so when she announced a pregnancy a few months later. Caught up in their love and shared excitement to be bringing a new life into the world, the ruling couple’s happiness was unmistakable.

Perhaps that was why Lissa felt so lonely that day, watching the support Sumia granted her brother, the way Chrom’s eyes would light up, even despite his pain, each time he felt his child move within her stomach.

It was a relief beyond words to know her brother was well…but seeing it made her ache even more for companionship.

And…once again, her thoughts were turned only to Robin. Her heart and body both yearning equally for his touch.

She didn’t know for sure if he felt the same, but when he came to check on her –just as he’d promised he would— she excused herself from a conversation with Maribelle, asking for a moment alone with the man.

She didn’t leave his side again for the rest of that day.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

“A-Ahh! R-Robin!” Lissa moaned, throwing her head backwards onto his shoulder, pushing herself down into his lap and feeling his cock pressing deep inside her, filling her completely. “I-I’m getting, I’m getting close!”

“G-Good.” He gasped in reply, holding her gently from behind, raising his hips to meet her as she bounced faster and faster up and down in his lap.

Feeling her pussy tight around his cock as he ground across the underside of her walls, Robin fought down his own rising peak, focussing instead on trailing hot kisses down her neck, sucking hard onto her shoulder- targeting all the spots she’d told him felt good.

“H-Haah!” He groaned again, squeezing and kneading her breasts, the moderate bust more than filling his hands as he gently pinching her nipples and pressing firmer into her chest when the soft mounds bounced along with her movements.

“I-It’s so good!” She cried, feeling him hit completely different parts of her pussy from this angle. Clenching his hands against her, she pushed his fingers roughly into her skin, her breath coming in ragged pants. “N-Naga, it-it feels different!”

“Lissa! C-Cum!” He demanded, matching her rough movements with his own, kneading his hands hard into her round breasts and thrusting his hips up to meet her, feeling his balls clenching as his release built beyond what he could resist. “Cum for me!”

Convulsing and shaking, the rough ministrations were more than she could take! “I! I! A-HngghGYYAAA!” She screamed, clenching herself tight around his cock as she came hard.

“G-GHYAAA!” That feeling, her pussy constricting even tighter around him, her shivers running through his length, dragged Robin irresistibly over his own peak. Pulling her as far down as he could he held her right on the base of his shaft, gripping her as tight as he could, gasping and panting as his hot seed finally sprayed forth.

Moaning and thrashing in response, feeling load after load of his cum filling her pussy just as she was coming down from her own high, Lissa was driven screaming to another orgasm.

“G-Ghahaa…” He sighed, releasing his hold on her and slumping backwards against the bed-head.

“T-That was…that was so good…” She gasped, desperately sucking in air as the fog over her mind slowly lifted.

“Yeah…”

“Mmm.” She hummed a few minutes later, slumping back against him and savouring the feeling of his cock still semi-hard inside her, “I’m going to miss this tomorrow…”

“Oh?”

“I’m going to Themis, Maribelle wants me to look at bridal dresses with her.”

“Really? But…the wedding isn’t for another year is it? Didn’t you say her father insisted on a long engagement?” Considering Maribelle had fallen Gaius, Robin couldn’t truthfully say he blamed the man. He was a good friend and trusted ally, but even with all the Shepherd’s vouching for him, his reputation as a thief (never mind his scruffy demeanour) had been difficult to accept for the Duke.

“Well…that’s Maribelle for you.” She giggled, her mood sobering a moment later. “I…I won’t be back for a week or so.”

He knew what that meant. Already it had been more than a week since Emmeryn’s day. How he felt about it…he wasn’t sure.

“I see.”

Once again, by the time they were reunited, they fell instead back to their usual routine. If either desired anything more, neither said anything. They remained friends, and anything other feelings were put aside.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Two Years Ago

“A-Are you sure about this?” Robin gasped, holding her tight against the wall and pressing his mouth hot along her neck. “I thought, thought you…you and Lon’qu?”

“We’re, a-ahn, we’re just friends.” She answered, her arms tight around his head as she felt his cock pressing hot between her legs.

He wasn’t sure he could believe that. They’d arrived in Valm a few weeks ago and ever since Chrom had assigned the swordsman to protect his sister, they’d been practically inseparable. They’d remained close even after the apparent threat had passed. There was no missing the way the Princess looked at the swordsman…

“A-Anyway, aren’t you…aren’t you with Lucina?”

“What!? No! Of, of course not!” He answered, a pulse of anger rising through him at the unfair question, his hands running faster over her body in response. “I-I’m not going to make a move on Chrom’s daughter! I just- we talk sometimes, I respect her.”

They talked constantly.

He lov-He didn’t love her. He couldn’t love her. He had an incredible amount of respect for her. That was all. He needed to believe that. He couldn’t allow it to be otherwise.

“Th-Then, just…just for tonight.” Lissa groaned, her voice hitching as he bit softly into her shoulder.

“Just tonight.” She repeated, tugging furiously at his pants, pulling them down enough to release his cock- rock hard and pulsing with anticipation. “Just, just till it feels better.”

He wasn’t in the mood to argue.

Growling with desire, he used one hand to hike her dress around her waist and the other to lift her right leg roughly into the air, holding her steady as he pressed her against the wall, thrusting his cock hard inside her.

“Mgh-Aghahh! Gods! Yes!” Lissa cried, clutching him tight against her as he drove right to the far depths of her pussy.

Was it the right thing to do? He didn’t know.

But it made them both feel better, it was what they both wanted. Perhaps that was enough.

Despite her words, Lissa returned the next night, and the night after that, each time claiming “Just tonight.” Full of the same desires and the same anxieties, Robin acceptance came easier each time, if for no other reason than to fight off his growing affection for Lucina.

Their rendezvous only finally stopping almost a fortnight later as the desperate march towards Fort Steiger began and all thoughts beyond pure survival were pushed aside.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

One Year Ago

Dead.

Robin was dead.

“H-he’ll be back, he’ll be back.” Lissa sobbed, clutching her arms tightly around herself and desperately trying to believe the words. “That’s what Naga said. H-He wouldn’t leave us, no way!”

People didn’t return from the dead.

Robin was gone.

Just like her sister.

“A-Hguaah!” She gasped, pain and fear ripping through her once again.  “No, no, no!”

Barely a few weeks ago, with a damnable smile on his face, a man who’d meant the world to her had turned to dust before her very eyes. And now…Now was Emmeryn’s day and he wasn’t here…wasn’t here for her!

Even surrounded by friends, loved ones, she felt alone.

It was bad enough her sister, “Naga…” Even after all these years, it still hurt so much thinking about her loss…but now Robin. Two people she cared desperately for. The hole in her soul she’d thought healed over the years had been ripped open by his loss.

“I can’t take it.”

Distantly, she was aware of her husband’s presence in the next room, kindly giving her the space she’d requested.

She knew she should let him comfort her, that he should be the one she turned to…but right now she could barely stand to even let him touch her. Today, she didn’t want him to hold her, it didn’t feel the same…and it only reminded her of him.

She wanted Robin…

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Present

“R-Robin? You’re in here right?”

Blinking himself awake from old memories at the sound of her voice, Robin’s soul roared in delight.

‘She’s here!’ Just as he knew she would be! Just as he’d known she always should have been.

He was at the entrance in seconds. “Lissa.”

“I-I don’t know what to say.” She stammered, stepping hesitantly into the room as he locked the door securely behind her.

“You don’t need to say anything.” Robin whispered, stepping up to her from behind and wrapping her securely in his arms. Grinning at her surprise, he pulled the top of her dress aside, planting his mouth hot on her bare shoulder and kissing slowly towards her neck.

 “I-Ah! R-Robin!” She gasped, small moans coming quickly from her mouth.

Staying silent, Robin slid his hands up her body, dragging them firmly over the thin fabric until they were both cupping her sizeable bust, kissing hard along her neck as he let the moderate breasts fill his hands.

“R-Robin! Wh-What’re you-” Lissa moaned as she squirmed in his grip, grinding against the hard cock she could feel against her ass.

“Naga.” She breathed, fighting for control as she felt his hands rough across her chest, squeezing, kneading and teasing her in ways she hadn’t felt in years. “Y-You don’t even kn-ahh! Even know what I w-was gonna say!”

“You’re here to accept.” He answered, not a single ounce of doubt in his words as he moved his hands from her breasts to the buttons at the top of her dress- deftly undoing them and pulling her clothing apart.

“If you weren’t, you wouldn’t have come tonight.” He continued, moving his mouth up and nibbling on her ear, his breath tickling hot across the side of her face. “And…”

One hand slid slowly down her half peeled dress, across her bare stomach and over her hips. Arching backwards and sucking in a ragged breath, Lissa gasped as he traced a finger along her thigh before pushing it lower, pressing it hot against her soaked entrance.

“You certainly wouldn’t have come without panties.”

“A-Ahh…” With one hand teasing across her pussy, and the other quickly peeling the last fastenings of her dress apart, no words would come, her mind was blank, filled only with pleasure and anticipation.

“Now.” He grinned, flicking the last button open and sliding her dress from her shoulders to the floor, unveiling her bare body. “Come.”

The instant he released her she shuddered, every fibre of her already aching for more, more of his touch, his warmth.

Lissa could only stare with hungry eyes as Robin walked across the room, tossing his shirt and pants aside with casual ease and throwing himself on his bed without so much as backwards glance.

He pulled off his smallclothes…and finally, there it was again… ‘Naga.’ Robin’s cock. The rigid length that she’d thought of so, so many times. The hard rod that had introduced her to sex and carnal pleasure. The source of a thousand fantasies she’d tried desperately to banish since the day of her wedding.

She gulped heavily, her mouth suddenly dry.

Robin turned to her, his eyes full of expectation, but she was already moving, already climbing on top of the bed, seating herself atop him.

She was married. She had a man she loved already. She knew this was wrong, that she should have more hesitation, more doubts…but she didn’t. She wanted this.

“I-Ah… Haah.”  

Leaning back with an eager smile, Robin placed his hands lightly around her hips, teasing her thighs gently as he watched her slowly lower herself onto his cock.

“Haa, haaaah! Ahhnhha!”

Taking him into her, Lissa’s breathing quickly grew ragged; gasping for air as she slowly sank further down his length, moaning as she felt her walls stretching to accommodate his girth. He didn’t move, just slowly dragged his fingers in a slow pattern up her stomach, urging her on, but letting her do all the work.

“N-Naga! Ahnh! Haah!” She cried, shaking her head back and forth as more and more of him sank inside her. “Gods!”

Until finally, clenching forwards and with her eyes screwed shut, she took him right to the hilt. Her mouth open in one last guttural moan as she slowly straightened, her hands balled into fists as she felt his cock pressed hard into the very back of her pussy.

“G-Gods.” She repeated. “I-I forgot…forgot what this felt like.”

“Oh?” Robin hummed, reaching up to cup her round breasts in his hands, gently tweaking her nipples as he enjoyed her uninhibited pants.

“I-It’s, it’s a little bigger.” She explained, wincing visibly as she sucked in a quick breath, struggling to adjust to the long missed sensations. “By a, by a few inches.”

Grinning at that, he didn’t otherwise comment. As nice as that was to hear, he only wanted her thinking about him right now. “Are you not going to move?” He teased, sliding his hips back and forth under her, letting her feel his glans scraping along the very back of her pussy.

“I-I don’t…I don’t th-think I can!” Lissa gasped in reply, her entire body shivering with each movement he made.

‘She really has missed this!’ Robin realised, eyes widening as he saw that all strength had already left the princess’s body.

Just sitting here, with him inside her, she was right on the verge of cumming! She was fighting desperately for whatever control she could maintain.

 “Heh.” He smirked, sliding his hands hot down her hips once more, reaching over and taking a firm hold of her tight ass.

Staring, with a mixture of excitement and fear, Lissa’s mouth fell open, ragged moans coming as he slowly lifted her, inch by inch, along his cock, dragging it hard against the roof of her tunnel. Holding her halfway out, he paused, waiting a moment to let her feel the remainder of his length still hard inside her…

“I-I, R-Robin! W-Wai-”

…Then, he slammed her down! As hard as he could, thrusting his hips forcefully up and driving roughly against the back of her pussy with all his might.

“AHGAYAAAAAAA!” Throwing her head back, Lissa screamed! Her body going absolutely taunt in his hands as she came violently around his length. “Ahhhnn! Yaaah!”

Shuddering and gasping in raw pleasure, Lissa rode the high for more than a minute before before slumping weakly down into his arms, her mouth falling onto his in a surprisingly gentle kiss.

“Mhah, Robin…” She sighed, her strength only finally returning a minute later. “I missed this.”

“Yeah, me too.” He smiled warmly, stroking her cheek and giving her a minute to catch her breath before rolling her off him. Kissing her hungrily a minute more before as he drew his cock out and turned her around onto her hands and knees.

“Are you ready?” Positioning himself behind her, his hands took firm hold around her round hips, his cockhead again teasing against the entrance of her pussy. Pushing the head only slightly inside, feeling her walls again spread out tight around him.

“Y-Yeah.” She admitted, her face burning bright red with shame. “I-I want more…”

He didn’t move, waiting another moment, drawing her need out of her.

“Robin. I…I want you.” Lissa begged, her voice dropping to barely more than a whisper, barely audible over her ragged panting. “Fuck me.”

His burning instincts whispered to him and his soul sang in response, every single fibre of his being calling for him to take her. To dominate her. To make her his.

He couldn’t think of a single reason not to.

Grabbing tighter to her hips, Robin thrust instantly forwards, slamming his cock into her without warning, as hard and as fast as he could, driving it furiously into her deepest walls.

“HNNGYAAAH!” Lissa shrieked, her body seizing up at his sudden penetration, arms shaking and vision going white as primal pleasure seared through her once more.

This time, he didn’t stop even for a moment.

Drawing his length out with a grunt, he pushed it again, forcefully inside her, hitting the exact same spot, right at the back of her pussy.

 “Ah! AIHHHA!” Screaming, Lissa came instantly.

Still, he didn’t pause.

Shaking and still in the midst of her second orgasm, she was only barely able to process the sensations as Robin pulled out once more, his cock slamming back inside barley a moment later, his movements coming faster and faster as his hands pulled her hips violently back against him. “AGH! GO-GODS! R-ROBIN!” Howling in pleasure, another peak crashed forcefully into her.

‘Gods! Yes!’ Robin reared back, pulling her hips hard against him and pounding her cervix again and again. With her pussy so unused to his cock from the years apart, her walls were incredibly tight around him. “Ughh!” He groaned, already very aware she hadn’t lost any of the skill she’d gained from all the time they’d spent together over the years.

Watching her blonde twintails shaking back and forth, feeling the way she clenched her walls instinctively around him, the way her round hips shuddered, pushing back onto him, desperate for his cock. It was like something out of a dream, a memory he’d thought to never experience again.

Gods it was incredible!

“Nghh! Naga! N-Naga!” Lissa repeated, collapsing onto her arms as another orgasm slammed into her. Already having lost count, she came again and again, driven over the edge without even a moment to recover from the high.

“I-I can’t take it!” She groaned, spots dancing across her vision as her eyes rolled backwards. Mouth wide open and tongue hanging out with desperate paints, she continued to shove her hips backwards against him, acting out of pure instinct. “I’m! I’m going crazy! R-Robin!”

“Lissa!” He howled in answer, thrusting even faster as he felt her pussy convulsing around him as she came once more. “I’m gonna cum!” He roared, “T-Take it!”

She could barely speak, could hardly concentrate on anything but how amazing it felt being so roughly taken. She’d had sex with Robin a hundred times, but never had he fucked her like this. ‘I-If he cums inside me now…’ Some foggy part of her mind feared, the warning not even complete before her being overridden by naked desire. ‘I, I want it!’

“Gnngghh!” He groaned, driven almost mad by the sensation. Lissa had always felt amazing, but this was incredible! He could barely stand it, how it felt with her pussy wringing his cock like this, the sight of the delicate Ylissean Princess collapsed face first into the bed, her body shaking as she lost all control, the way his soul blazed, every cell in his body surging with a delight he’d felt only twice before.

The pleasure was more than he could take, his release couldn’t be denied any longer. He couldn’t stop, he didn’t even want to stop! He never wanted to stop!

“GNNYHHA!” Pulling her waist against him one last time and thrusting into her with one final push, he buried his cock as deep inside her as he could, his body shivering and vision fogging as he came, his cock spasming uncontrollably within her, thick bursts of cum flooding her pussy, every inch of her dyed in his colours.

Feeling his cock throbbing inside her, Lissa’s entire body reared up, shivering with each movement as she finally felt, with every part of her body, the moment she realised she’d been waiting for, for so long.

Her mouth was open wide but no sounds came out, her mind was seared utterly blank as she felt his release pushing hard against her walls, as if his seed was touching every inch of her body. Again she came, and gain with each time his cock twitched inside her, with each smaller load pressed hot into her.

At some point it stopped.

At some point she collapsed dizzily into the bed.

At some point he drew her lovingly into his arms.

She had no idea when or how long. Panting weakly and without even the strength to move, it all passed in a warm, comfortable haze. 

All she knew, as she’d known instinctively from the instant she’d felt his cum filling her, was that she had changed. She could never live without this feeling…not anymore.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

“I…I missed that.” Lissa admitted, some time later as her thoughts finally returned, her mind slowly beginning to un-fog. “That was…wow…”

“I missed you too.” He answered, smiling warmly before kissing gently across the top of her forehead, holding her carefully  in his arms.

“I, I’m so glad you’re back.” She repeated softly, as she recovering slowly from the still fading pleasure. “I wasn’t…I wasn’t really thinking about Emm last year. I…”

Her words trailed off, but he remained silent, giving her time to finish them. “I, I missed you so much, th-that you weren’t there- I, I couldn’t stand it.”

“I’m sorry.” He whispered, once again hating the pain his actions had caused his comrades. “I… You know, if I could have been, I would…I would never want to leave you alone, not on her day.”

“I… It’s fine. You…you saved the world. And now you’re back…it’s, I, I really do feel better. Even today, it just feels, it feels right. I-I’m really happy.”

“Yeah.” He nodded. The pain would return, he knew that, even after all this time he still couldn’t forgive himself for the hurt his failure had caused.

But, for now. Everything felt right.

“Robin…” Somehow, in that moment, basking in the afterglow with a man who was not her husband, words Lissa had never allowed herself to speak came forth. “I always thought… You know, th-that something might happen between us.”

Normally he would deny it, play along with the charade they’d maintained most of their time together, that all he saw her only as the sister of his friend.

Today of all days though, he couldn’t lie to her, not about this.

“Yeah.” He nodded.

He’d thought it a thousand times, a million times. About a relationship with her, of approaching her some other time during the year, of what could be.

He’d thought about it right until he’d gotten to know Lucina. Then never once since.

“I love you.” She admitted softly. “But, it just…I got close to Lon, and I fell for him, I loved him, I love him. Just, it, it was all so fast, and with Owain…”

In many ways Lissa had been one of the lucky ones. Her son had arrived after she’d already begun a tentative relationship with Lon’qu, his sudden appearance had been a shock, but mostly it’d just acted as a catalyst, confirming their relationship to the group.

They’d been married within a few weeks of his arrival.

‘Lucky…’  Robin sighed, looking at the conflicted face of the girl in his arms. ‘A difficult type of luck.’ It had confirmed her feelings for Lon’qu and given her an assurance of the future…but also meant she’d never fully reconciled her feelings for him. To her, he had always remained a “what if”, a question she’d never had the chance to answer.

He loved her too of course, he always had. Just not in the same way he loved Lucina. It hadn’t been until he’d met the time travelling princess that he’d truly understood that.

“Gods…” Lissa winced, closing her eyes and rolling away from him, with her pain and fear pushed away and her lust sated, only now did he enormity of her actions finally weigh on her. “I love Lon. I do! I just- Just... Somehow I always knew it. I knew that I’d end up here again, th-that I’d do this. Naga. I-I really did, I’m a cheater, a who-”

“You’re not.” Robin interrupted, reaching out and dragging her back to him, wrapping his arms securely around her, his lips a millimetre from her shoulder as he spoke. “You’re neither.

“It’s natural you’d end up here.” He assured her, his voice a gentle whisper to her pained ramble. “You belong here.”

“I-”

“This isn’t cheating Lissa.” He continued, his lips laying gentle kisses across her sensitive skin. “How can it be? You’re mine.”

Gasping lightly as his fingers trailed softly across her skin, Lissa’s body shuddered once more in the lingering pleasure and she relented instantly.

She knew then, she couldn’t resist her desires, nor could she deny his words.

“Yeah.” She sighed finally, a warm smile returning to her face as she snuggled comfortably back into his loving embrace. “I’m yours.”

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Notes:

AN: So now hopefully you can see why I split this into the bonus chapter last time! Doing so let me expand on a lot of those scenes! Hopefully you enjoyed them!

Hopefully you enjoyed that dream sequence at the start too. A taste of things to come perhaps…

Up next… The stage is now set, the introductions have been done, isn’t it about time we brought on a dancer?

Chapter 6: Olivia - A New Dance

Notes:

Authors Note: Rumours of this story’s demise have been greatly exaggerated.

First off, sorry for anyone who enjoyed this and was waiting for so long. I never intended to have such a delay. I won’t bore you with the details, but if you’re wondering, then I guess it’s easiest just to know that a lot shifted in my work, I had to travel a lot, I didn’t have access to my computer…and then finally weeks later, when I did have time to write, a number of personal and professional crises hit at once. Not an excuse, just an explanation. Things are a lot better now, so it’s all.

And then of course, being me, this chapter ended up twice the length I intended. A lot of extra scenes added to really bring out the Robin/Olivia feelings I wanted.

You can tell me if it worked or not, but this chapter should read much closer to something like a (semi) sweet love story than the previous few. Lucina was aiming for heartfelt, Tharja for passionate and Lissa for nostalgic, so this should be a little more classical.

I will note, all the characters portrayed here are favourites of mine. I am not bashing any of them. They’re all people, they’re all flawed, they’re all at fault. Please don’t read it any other way.

Olivia – A New Dance

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Authors Note: Rumours of this story’s demise have been greatly exaggerated.

First off, sorry for anyone who enjoyed this and was waiting for so long. I never intended to have such a delay. I won’t bore you with the details, but if you’re wondering, then I guess it’s easiest just to know that a lot shifted in my work, I had to travel a lot, I didn’t have access to my computer…and then finally weeks later, when I did have time to write, a number of personal and professional crises hit at once. Not an excuse, just an explanation. Things are a lot better now, so it’s all.

And then of course, being me, this chapter ended up twice the length I intended. A lot of extra scenes added to really bring out the Robin/Olivia feelings I wanted.

You can tell me if it worked or not, but this chapter should read much closer to something like a (semi) sweet love story than the previous few. Lucina was aiming for heartfelt, Tharja for passionate and Lissa for nostalgic, so this should be a little more classical.

I will note, all the characters portrayed here are favourites of mine. I am not bashing any of them. They’re all people, they’re all flawed, they’re all at fault. Please don’t read it any other way.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Olivia came to him by chance but when he made her his, she would never again leave his side.

In all her dancing, all her dreams and all her yearnings, there was only one thing she ever truly sought- and perhaps it was he that was the only one who could have ever given it to her.

 ---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Five Years Ago

'Not good.' Robin grimaced backing warily away from the bandits ahead of him, sword held limply at his side as blood trickled thick down his arm.

Eyes tracking back and forth between the three men, his mind raced desperately for a means of escape. 'Godsdamnit!' He shouldn't have let himself get into this situation! He had expected them to reinforce the west, but he hadn't imagined an enemy mage would manage to destroy the so much of the terrain around him, effectively cutting him off from his allies.

And now, too far forward, too far from help and with his arm deadened from a lucky strike, he had no means to defend himself. His magic was as sealed as his swordsmanship.

'As sealed as my fate.' He concluded, scowling angrily his threatening visage at least managed to ward the men off for another moment- they'd seen enough bodies of their comrades already from his hand and were in no hurry to make any mistakes in their revenge.

Time seemed to hang thick in the air with each shuffling step he took backwards, only his tightly held control kept him from giving in to the rising panic as cold sweat ran slick down his neck. Pushed to his limits and pulsing with adrenaline, his analysis ran into overdrive, calculating and analysing every twitch, every movement, watching every breath they took...and came to the same conclusion over and over again.

Stretched taunt, time slowed further still as Robin's heartbeat pulsed.

"HYAAAA!"

And all at once it snapped, the world suddenly rocketing forward at a breakneck pace as the foremost bandit leapt towards him with a frenzied yell!

Barely able to move his arm and unwilling to look away from his fate, Robin could only stare.

"Hng!"

A blur of movement, a flash of steel and it was over.

The bandit slumped to the ground.

"Wha!?"

Stumbling backwards, Robin's foot slipped on some loose rocks, sending him crashing towards the ground. And all he could see was a long blue cloak.

"L-Lon'qu!"

Looking over his shoulder without a word, the swordsman offered only an almost imperceptible nod before turning back to the remaining opponents, flicking the blood from his sword with deadly intent and striding forward with all the confidence of a wolf hunting lambs.

"I-I" Too shocked to even breathe, Robin could only watch. "Naga."

It was over in less than a moment. And barely a moment later, he was clasping tight to the man's hand and pulled to his feet.

"Gods." A million warring emotions rose in his chest. "You, you saved me! Thank you."

"Hnh." Lon'qu just barely smiled. "That is my role after all."

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Two Years Ago

Lon'qu hated flyers.

Pegasus Knights, Gryphon Riders, Falcon Knights, even Wyvern Riders. They were all the same. He'd trained his entire life to face a man directly and defeat him through superior skill, to look your opponent in the eyes as you took his life.

Even mages or archers were more honourable, they held an advantage over him only so long as they could keep him at bay, to fight one was to fight a battle decided by agility, speed and endurance.

But flyers didn't even allow such comparison, preferring simply to sit at range of him, throwing axes, spears or magic and retreating as soon as any engagement turned against them.

It was a cowardly way to fight. It went against everything he stood for, everything he knew and believed in. Unfortunately…it was also very effective. It was one of the main reasons that despite its miniscule military presence Ylisse still retained its position as one of the world's pre-eminent military powers.

And, it was also the reason he was in so much trouble right now.

'Hng.' He grunted, forcing himself to ignore the pain from multiple hand-axe lacerations running down his body. 'Is this to be my fate?'

Five such flyers, Wyvern Riders, flew above him, slowly circling him, darting in and out only close enough to harass him with projectiles. Having no means to fight back after being caught out like this, he'd intended to retreat- a galling, but necessary strategy. Unfortunately, now slowly encircling him from behind was a small contingent of Valmese soldiers. They weren't anything that would normally threaten a fighter of his calibre, but were far more than he could deal with while wounded and being hunted by Wyverns.

'This is not how I wanted to die.' What a waste. There would be no honour and little dignity.

Lon'qu hated flyers.

So be it. There wasn't any point putting off the inevitable. "Come then!" He roared a challenge towards the startled infantry, "Valmese dogs! Come fig-"

The world suddenly turned white.

*KRAKHOOM*

A bellowing crackle followed half an instant later, like the roar of an angry God, it forced to silence all other sound.

'What in the?' Blinking his vision back, he turned slowly, following the terrified gaze of the soldiers, past him…

...To where ten charred bodies, both mounts and riders, were dropping lifeless from the air.

"Lon'qu!"

It was only then that he noticed the Shepherd's tactician barrelling towards him. Stowing his spell book back in that signature cloak of his, the man's face was red with exhaustion long before he even reached Lon'qu's side. "Made it in time!" He cheered, sucking in a deep breath and trying to shake off the after-effects of casting a spell of such magnitude.

Unsheathing his sword with a relieved sigh, Robin breathed a little easier, aside from a few lacerations across his chest, the swordsman didn't seem to be seriously wounded.

"Hnh." Lon'qu snorted with a wry grin. "Not half bad."

"And now." Robin answered, levelling his breathing and taking up a position at the swordsman's side. "Time to tip the scales!"

A stoic swordsman and an outgoing tactician. Even accounting for the incredible diversity among the Shepherds, they were two very disparate personalities. And yet, despite their differences, Robin knew, as well as he knew anything, that they made a great team. Willing to risk their lives without hesitation or jump into danger without notice, it was the same truth he'd told Chrom on the boats to Valm - they were more than allies, more than friends. They were comrades.

They trusted each other.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

The bar hummed with life, cheers, yells and all the sounds of general revelry.

Rotating his half empty mug between his hands, Robin purposefully tuned it out, deliberately kept both his eyes and thoughts strictly controlled. "So, Kjelle's staying up north then, in Ferox?" He asked, pushing all his focus on the friends next to him, their conversation acting as the necessary anchor to maintain his calm façade. "Are you okay with that?"

"Well…we worry for her, of course." Stahl answered after a quick glance towards his wife and a moment's hesitation. "We wish she'd stuck around of course. But, if that's what she wants, if it makes her happy th-"

"Phah!" Sully cut in, her face twisted into a frustrated frown. "It's all a load of bunk!"

Punctuating her declaration by chugging a large swig from her mug, she slammed it onto the counter with a resounding thunk, "She says she wants to get stronger, but what's she gonna learn sloughing through some muck and snow!? She's just doing petty mercenary work! I even told her, if she wanted training I'd be more than happy to drill my foot up her ass!"

Grinning at his friend's words, Robin shook his head, he knew Sully well enough to see through her bravado, she'd been just as anxious as her husband to hear news of their daughter when Owain ahd returned from Regna Ferox.

"Well, at least she's been staying in touch, er-when she can." Stahl offered with a placating smile. "Anyway, it's just a matter of-"

"Gahahaha!" Gregor's booming laughter drowned out whatever the green knight had meant to say, as the big man staggered drunkenly over to their table, depositing an armload more beer mugs with a hearty smile. "Come friends! Drink! Drink! Our comrade is being returned, is time to celebrate!"

"Ha-Haa!" Sully cheered, already scooping up another flagon and raising it in toast to the mercenary's already retreating back. "Damn straight!"

"Haha, yeah!" Stahl agreed, drawn into the happy atmosphere as he slammed his own tankard against hers.

Throwing back the last of his drink to hide his grimace, Robin's fingers were clenched hard enough to dig shallow grooves into the thick wood.

Swallowing heavily, his eyes had moved past the laughing mercenary before he could even think to stop himself. Towards to opposite end of the bar, where Gregor's words had given him an unavoidable reminder of just why they had gotten together tonight.

Lon'qu.

Slouching comfortably against a wall in the far corner of the bar and surrounded by a handful of other Shepherds, the swordsman had returned with his son from Regna Ferox just yesterday morning. All things considered, he had only been gone for a few months, not an excessively long period of time, but he was a Shepherd and a friend, they'd all missed him. And, of course, Gregor was never a man to turn down the opportunity for a celebration- especially these days it seemed.

Jerking his gaze away from the man with a wince, Robin dropped his eyes to the empty mug between his hands, his face burning red with the memories he'd been trying to supress.

'I slept with his wife.'

Stomach clenching tight at the thought, he managed to disguise his clenched teeth only by hurriedly grabbing a new tankard and downing more of the bitter ale.

Lon'qu was a friend. A trusted companion. He'd been integral in numerous of the Shepherds strategies, Robin couldn't even begin to count the number of times they'd saved each other's lives. And now he could barely even bear to look at the man.

'Gods.' With his tightly held concentration lost and the first thought having broken through, nothing could distract Robin from his guilt now.'Naga, the things I said!'

You're mine. His face blazed ret hot at that memory, the words he'd spoken seared vividly into his mind. It was all he could think of. How confidently he'd declared it. How arrogantly he'd promised it... How easily he'd claimed his friend's wife.

'It was the adrenaline.' He offered himself the weak excuse. 'I just, I got so worked up.' That at least was partially true.

The excitement, the rush, had certainly surprised him. Even with the experience he'd gained dealing with his new instincts, it had hit him far harder than he'd ever expected- like a snowball rolling down a mountain, he could see now that the instant he'd arrived at Emmeryn's memorial he'd set himself on a course he could never have stopped.

Just weeks ago it would have been unthinkable, what he'd said, what he'd done… None of it was like him! None of it was how he was! It was as if he had some split personality, as if he was losing control to some insidious voice inside his mind, a demon whispering in his ear!

Shutting his eyes, Robin sagged forwards at the thought. 'Perhaps that at least would be understandable. A spell or a curse I could blame.'

He knew better. Everything was exactly as Tharja had said it would be, it had all been his decision. Every step and every act had all been part of a plan he'd made calmly and executed thoroughly.

'It was just like back then…back in the war.' Planning an impossible strategy, moving the pieces into the perfect position, striking in such a way that no-one but he ever knew just how much he'd guided his opponents movements. The feeling of it, of being in control like that, it had taken him back, back to the days when that had been his life, when every battle was a gamble and he'd weighed his very life on his tactics.

…But then, was it really a surprise it should feel so similar? Was this really so different? If he was caught, if his plans failed, did he stand to lose any less now than then? Was losing Lucina and Morgan any different to losing his life?

I love you. Lissa's words echoed around his mind once more and this time when his eyes flicked up to the swordsman's happy face, to the sight of him drinking contentedly with his friends, all he could think of was the feeling of the younger-princess's body pressed tight against him, the touch of her lips against his, her breath hot against his neck…

…The look in her eyes as she'd begged him to fuck her.

Half groaning, half sighing, Robin looked to the ceiling at that memory. That was the crux of it, that was what everything came back to.

They'd made love half the night but by the time he woke in the morning, she was already gone- just as he'd known she would be. Neither of them had said a single word about it since and for the first time in their shared history it had been only Emmeryn's day itself that they'd spent in each other's arms. If that was the end of it, if it was just for that day, for all it meant to her and for their past together…then perhaps it could be forgivable.

But he knew now, in this dingy bar, just the same as he'd known when she'd pledged herself to him in his arms. She would return. The moment her resolve wavered, the moment she missed his touch and his words, she would come to him. Because of him, because of the way he'd spoken to her, the way he'd reminded her of their past. He had exploited her weaknesses and in return she had given herself utterly to him. There was no going back, as much as the words burned him, he knew they were true, Lissa was his now.

Exactly as he'd planned.

'Naga, is this the man I am now?' A quiet voice inside his mind needled at him. 'Is this the man I want to be?'

The answer came instantly and with a spike of anger. 'Yes godsdamnit! If this is the man I have to be, for Lucina and for Morgan, then yes!'He'd made up his mind long ago, he'd already damned himself with the path he was walking down, there was no purpose in berating himself further. 'No matter what. No matter how. I will protect them. I will keep them happy.' If he had to lie, if he had to scheme, if he had to cheat. So be it.

Shaking himself from the unpleasant thoughts, Robin fought back some composure, laughing to himself a moment later when he saw both Sully and Stahl had already moved on and left him behind. That wasn't anything too surprising, all the Shepherds were used to their tactician sometimes going off into a world of his own, lost in plans or strategies they couldn't hope to understand and he doubted either of them had even given it a second thought. 'Still, I do need to act normally.' He cautioned himself, remembering that he'd been very visible the other day, holding Lissa at the memorial. Everyone knew about their friendship, there wasn't anything suspicious about that act in itself, all the same, he couldn't allow himself to be seen seeming awkward around Lon'qu now.

Turning and seeing Chrom was already cornered by Vaike and Owain (and that he was currently trying to convince both of them he wasn't about to "chug" his beer, regardless of their goading) Robin looked around for someone else to integrate himself with. Mulling it over in the moment, he actually found himself wishing Tharja had followed along for some company, unfortunately after extracting a promise that he would spend time with her tomorrow, she'd secluded herself in her room as normal.

Likewise, there wasn't any hope to spend any time with Lucina. The princess wasn't much of a drinker to begin with, so she'd simply bid her uncle a welcome return and left them be. Unfortunately, the same was also true for most of the other female Shepherds- as expected of Gregor having dragged them to a bar in the far south side of town, the night had rapidly turned into something of a "boys night."

Still, despite the awkwardness of the night, it was good to see Gregor around, the mercenary had drifted away from the other Shepherds a little following the war. From what he'd heard, almost everyone had joined in with the celebrations in the capital after Robin's sacrifice and the final death of Grima. But then, while the rest of the army had soon turned their focus towards rebuilding their lives, for Gregor the revelry had simply never stopped. Then, predictably, as the weeks had turned into months, more and more of the Shepherds left the man's side, even the few who could or would keep up with his appetite were called away to their own duties…or in Vaike's case, were called away by fear of an angry wife who would sic her beloved wyvern on him if he even considered trying such a lifestyle.

And so, their company had slowly been replaced with like-minded people, a new group of friends- mostly mercenaries or ex-soldiers, all living for the moment and all drowning themselves in gambling, booze and momentary pleasures, just the same as him. It was a single-minded lifestyle, and one that seemed to have only intensified upon learning of their tactician's safe return, the news blowing away any last lingering dark clouds from the war.

'Well, it's not like they're bad people.' He reminded himself, he even recognised a few faces from during the various campaigns. Anyway, it was hardly his business how Gregor conducted himself in his free time. 'Olivia's obviously surprisingly easy-going though.' He chuckled to himself as he watched the old swordsman throw a whole bag of coins towards a pair of busty waitresses before scooping up another armful of drinks, from the gossip he'd heard bandied around, the man hadn't been home so far this week. Olivia had always been a rather reticent girl, but that was accommodating even for her.

"Wow," He commented aloud, spotting an opening and sidling himself up to the bar alongside a rough looking woman he'd seen hanging around a few times before. "He's certainly in a good mood tonight, isn't he?"

"What, old man Gregor?" She laughed, flashing him an aggressive grin as she did so, her features only exaggerated by the rough scar running the length of her face. "He's always like this!"

"What?" Robin balked, spinning to face her. "Always?"

"'Course!" She declared, taking a moment to drain the last of her mug before slamming it full force onto the counter. "Don't you know? He's rich! Praise to the Exalt! Hah, wish he'd shake some of that gold my way too though!"

'That's…but that doesn't make any sense.' Robin frowned. Of course Chrom paid Gregor a stipend in reward for his work with the Shepherds, just the same as the rest of their team. But, Chrom hadn't been the one to write up the forms, nor the one who balanced the books. These days Robin oversaw almost the entirety of the Halidom's finances, he knew exactly how much money Gregor was drawing from the crown. 'I suppose there's Olivia's money too, and his injury pay.' As a combination of his age, courage and position on their front lines, Gregor's injury pay was a lot higher than most of the other Shepherds.

"No way..." He concluded aloud, even only looking at the money he'd seen flowing across the bar tonight, the old mercenary had already spent more than a week's stipend! "He's been, he's been living like this for almost a year!?"

"Hah!" The woman beside him roared with laughter again, "Wouldn't expect you to understand, that's the life of a mercenary! We work till we've got money, then we LIVE till it's gone! Isn't that right, old man!?"

"Is right! Is right indeed!" Gregor bellowed, catching the tail end of her cry from across the bar. "Must enjoy life when you can, until you cannot! Ha-HA!"

"R-Right, right. I see." Robin backed down, conceding the point. It wasn't as if he'd heard any complaints about the man's spending from Inigo or Olivia, it was hardly his place to tell another man how to live his life. Especially not when he was only just barely in control of his own.

'They must have saved up quite a bit during the war.' He shrugged, waving a barmaid over for another drink. 'Or maybe he's just doing some mercenary work I haven't been told about.'

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

It was a few hours later before Robin found a good enough excuse to let himself duck out of the premises, bidding his friends goodnight almost as soon as he saw Vaike had managed to goad Lon'qu into a drinking contest. He'd seen that story play out before and had no interest in being the one to drag an unconscious swordsman all the way back to the palace.

"I should head home…" He hummed aloud, stepping from the warmth of the tavern into the crisp night air. It was only a little past twilight, but knowing her personality, Lucina would most likely be sitting around worrying- all the while telling herself not to interfere- until he returned. Despite not having any plans with her tonight, he doubted Tharja would be waiting any more patiently.

"Hmm."

And yet, a strange restlessness struck him, stronger with each step he took towards the palace until he was stuck standing in place, his hands balled at his sides and teeth grinding against each other.

'I'm frustrated.' He realised finally. It wasn't even much of a surprise, the whole night had been difficult. Haunted by memories of his actions, he'd spent the entire time doing little but maintaining a weak façade of normality. Even the alcohol hadn't helped, he'd hoped to get a light buzz and ease the awkward feelings but no matter how much he downed he didn't feel a thing. Yet another side effect of all these changes no doubt.

It was a strange pain he felt now, a dull ache in his chest at feeling so estranged from his closest companions, to be working behind the backs of the people he cared so much for, hiding things from the people who'd given his life meaning. It was practically the antithesis of everything he'd fought so hard for, everything he believed in.

"Urgh!"

And now there was nothing to do but go home, to walk back to the palace and continue the same distasteful act he'd put on all evening. There wasn't a choice, he obviously couldn't tell Lucina about it, it was too soon to approach Lissa again and Tharja, for all her hidden kindness, was not good at sympathy.

'I'm not the victim here.' He scolded himself, trying to force his body to relax, 'I'm the perpetrator. I'm the one at fault.' He had no right to complain, not after what he'd done! And yet, even that knowledge did nothing to quell the frustration that ate at him. Not good. He couldn't return to the palace so obviously uneasy. As far as anyone knew, he should be in a great mood. His good friend was back home in Ylisstol, he needed to come home with a smile on his face...

Still, it wasn't late yet and he wasn't exactly in a hurry. 'Maybe I just need to clear my head.' Perhaps the night air could do what the alcohol couldn't.

This was hardly the nicest area of Ylisstol and definitely not somewhere he'd normally choose for a walk, but then, didn't that just mean he was much less likely to run into anyone he knew?

Turning with half a laugh, he set off once more.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Regardless of his intentions, Robin's self-reflection lasted only a handful of blocks before he was jolted from his thoughts, his mind captivated the moment he caught sight of the woman ahead of him. Slender and graceful, she stood radiant and alone on the side of the road, yet as her body twisted and turned he could almost swear she was upon the grandest of stages.

'Wha?' Blinking rapidly as if to shake off a dream, still the vision didn't pass. Her movements were elegant, they were sublime, serpentine, ethereal and beautiful, somehow all at the same time. A singular vision of splendour that stood out among all that was drab and dull around her. Even as far away as he was, Robin was irresistibly enthralled in the performance.

Her posture shifted and his eyes slid down her long legs. She spun in place and he marvelled at the contours of her tight round ass. Her body swayed and his eyes tracked each gentle movement of her milky white hips. Her dance thrummed within him, somehow resonating with him in a way he hadn't felt in months…

Almost without realising he was doing so, he slowly stepped closer and closer, his eyes never once leaving sight of her. 'She's…that almost looks like-' The dancer spun in place once more, towards him this time, dipping low a moment to drag her hands along the ground before raising herself up.

Their eyes met.

Robin gaped, "O-Olivia!?" Even from this distance he couldn't possibly fail to recognise her, eyes wide with shock, he ran towards his old friend.

"R-R-R-Ro-Robin!?" The dance halted and the magic was instantly lifted. Covering her face, she practically shrieked his name, as much in fear as surprise. "Wh-Wha-What are you doing here!?"

"Olivia! It is you." He breathed, still almost unable to believe what he was seeing. "What am I doing here? What are you doing here!?"

In contrast to her occupation as a performer, Olivia had always been one of the shyest people he'd ever met, but looking at her now, her body shaking as she stood rooted to the spot, he couldn't even recall the last time he'd seen her so terrified. 'Naga! I'm surprised she hasn't run away!' He winced, not quite sure how to deal with the sight of a friend looking so distraught at seeing him. 'W-Wait…'

Only at that moment did Robin realise just why she'd stayed, his eyes following hers to a small box lying at his feet.

"Olivia…" He gasped, realisation of just what he was seeing almost knocking the wind out of him. This wasn't like one of those times one Shepherd or another had caught the shy dancer performing alone after sneaking away from the camp. "Y-You're dancing for change? You're dancing in the streets...for money?"

"N-N-No!" I-I,…tha-, it's not what it…"

"Olivia!" He interrupted, shock and anger both blazing hot through him as he stared at her shivering form. "You're a hero! You saved the world!" She'd been reduced to-to this? One of his brave companions was this desperate? He couldn't believe it! He didn't believe it!

"R-Robin! Stop! Please!" She begged, screwing her eyes shut and turning away from him. "You're embarrassing me!"

"Naga." He barely even acknowledging her panicked word, bending down to examine the box at his feet. "You're here, alone, this late at night…fo-for, Gods." There couldn't have been more than a handful of gold coins and barely more than twice that in silver pieces. Little more than a single meal. "You're risking yourself, for, for just this?"

She didn't answer.

"This is…" He swallowed the lump in his throat as more and more uncomfortable realisations hit him.

Olivia was among the best dancers he'd ever seen. Even for dancing anonymously in the streets, this was a pittance compared to her worth! If she performed in any of the nicer areas in Ylisstol she would earn thrice the amount without question...but she would be seen. By people she knew, or who lived in those areas, word would get around. 'Sh-She's hiding this.' He concluded numbly. Dressed in her usual alluring outfits and dancing alone in one of the more dangerous areas of the city, she couldn't possibly have made herself more of a target! All this, just to keep her actions quiet!?

"Olivia, what's going on?" Staring up at her, he hesitated only a moment, a mixture of shock and anger spurring him to ignore all politeness. "Do you need money?"

The words hung thick in the air, an icy chill running down his spine as he watched the horrified look on his friend's face when she finally turned back to him.

"N-N-No! No! Nooo!" She wailed, her hands clinging desperately to his cloak as she shook her head furiously. "N-No! You've, you've got it all wrong!"

Robin winced. In all the panicked distress he'd seen from her, he'd never seen her like this before, her eyes were begging him, desperate that he believe her.

"It's for, it's, it's for exposure!" She answered finally, dropping her gaze to the floor. "I, er- I just wanted, I needed to get my name out in, in Ylisstol a little more. So, I uh, I thought it'd be a good idea to just…to just show everyone."

Gods, he wanted that to be true. Robin loved the Shepherds like family, more than anything right now, he wanted to believe her. To laugh at a silly misunderstanding and to know that everything was fine. "During the day I could understand, but now? Here?"

"I-I don't usually stay out this late." She admitted awkwardly, "I just, it rained yesterday so I couldn't dance at all and I just…and I…" Her words trailed off as the desperate energy faded.

Shutting his eyes a moment, he forced himself to be calm. No matter how much he wanted to believe, he was a tactician. Tacticians didn't run from painful truths.

"Gregor was very generous tonight." He spoke softly, keeping his words as gentle as he could. "He was practically buying the whole bar drinks."

Dancers were expressive by nature and with her personality Olivia was even more so than most. Even if he hadn't been looking for it, he couldn't possibly have missed the fearful look in her eyes as he spoke. "O-Oh, good, good. I'm glad he's having fu-"

*Tchink* *Tchink* *Tchink*

Mouth falling open, Olivia's words died in her mouth, rooted in place she could only stare wide eyed as coin after coin dropped into her box, her own takings almost instantly hidden under a growing pile of gold, as each piece landed with a metallic clink.

"R-Robin! Wh-What are you, I can't just take your, s-stop! Stop! Robin!"

*Tchink* *Tchink* *Tchink*

He didn't answer, his eyes remained turned to the ground with a clear frown on his face, even as he upended his money pouch into her collections. An enchanted bag, common among the wealthy, able to remain the same size regardless of how much was stored in it, Robin didn't pause until he'd shaken it dry, more than two hundred gold coins easily filling her box.

"I'm glad, this lets me repay his generosity." He answered with a forced laugh.

"I, ah! I- Ro-Robin, please, I can't accep-"

"Olivia. It's late, let me take you back home." His words were quiet, but imploring. "Please."

Even at the best of times, she was never very good at arguing. "O-Okay." It wasn't as if she couldn't understand the danger of clearly showcasing such wealth in an area like this, no matter how competent she was at defending herself.

Breathing out a sigh as he watched her bend down and pick up the almost overloaded box, Robin finally smiled once more, shrugging off his cloak and holding it out to her. "Here."

"W-Wha? Robin!" She answered, forcing a glare towards the man this time as a spark of anger finally cut through her mortification. "I-I don't need to hide what I'm wearing! It's a traditional design! My own moth-"

This time it was a genuine, cheerful, laugh that interrupted her rant. The same soothing laugh she'd heard so many times with the Shepherds. "Peace, please, peace." He answered with a shake of his head. "I actually, I thought you might be cold."

"O-O-Oh…" Even she could barely hear herself as her face burned a blazing crimson again.

At least, she thought a few minutes later when she was wrapped up warmly in his cloak, the hood was perfect for hiding her embarrassment about this whole situation.

"Er, ah…Robin." Again her words were barely a whisper, only just managing to escape the long cowl and almost drowned out by the soft clink of the coins she was clutching tight to her chest.

"Hmm?"

"I ah…er, t-thank you."

His face dropped into a pained frown, but he didn't answer at first. Instead they simply walked in step together as he escorted her silently back towards her home.

"It's far less than you deserve." He sighed finally.

She didn't know how to answer that.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

By the time they arrived, seeing Olivia and Gregor's home for the first time wasn't a surprise, with what he'd already pieced together about the situation already it was almost exactly as he'd expected it. Squashed between a brewery and a church, she lived in a small apartment not far from where she'd been dancing. They weren't in the worst areas of the city, but it was far from how most of the other Shepherds lived.

Looking at the dilapidated walls and remembering her dreams of the grand theatre she'd wished to build was almost painful.

What did take Robin by surprise however, was that when they arrived she invited him in for tea.

'I suppose she wants to thank me for earlier?' He considered, shrugging his cloak back on and making his way to the kitchen while Olivia ducked into the adjoining bedroom to change. That happy thought lasted only a moment before the more realistic answer surfaced. 'She's going to beg me not to tell anyone.' Even now, he could practically hear her fretting through the thin walls.

By the time he pulled open the pantry to locate their tea leaves he'd guessed enough of it that the sight of the pathetically bare cupboard hit him with little more than numb acceptance.

'They could simply be out.' Apparently Gregor hadn't been home in some time, perhaps Olivia simply hadn't had time to get to the market recently.

'Gods.' Perhaps he could have believed that…if he wasn't standing in a kitchen almost devoid of personality, decorated only with cheap furniture and some minor trinkets from the war, if he hadn't been invited into a tiny flat worth a fraction of their combined stipend, if he hadn't seen tonight the excessive lifestyle Gregor lived…

…If he hadn't found a close friend dancing in the streets for change.

All lingering traces of his earlier frustrations were dispersed at that thought, a smouldering fire ignited within him in their place, his blood boiled and his thoughts raced out of control- a tactician's insight turning itself entirely to what he'd discovered, even as his body went automatically through the motions of gathering the tea and preparing the kettle.

The situation was obvious now. Unmistakable.

There wasn't any need to guess why. Despite her beauty, skill and ambitions, Olivia had always lacked terribly for any self-esteem, no matter how much praise the Shepherds had heaped on her over the years, she never truly believed it. When she and Gregor had fallen in love, he'd seen for himself just how fully she'd thrown herself into those feelings, how much it had meant to her to be a good companion, fiancé and finally wife.

No doubt Inigo's arrival had only exacerbated her resolve, having learned of the life he'd lived Olivia must have wanted to do anything possible to ensure that this time he would grow up in a happy, stable home. That she would make a happy family for them all, no matter what it took.

'Naga.' He winced, barely able to imagine what this situation must be doing to her. 'I don't think I've ever seen two people at such terrible cross purposes.'

Gregor believed in a life lived in the moment, in squeezing out all joy possible as long as you could. Robin knew the man loved his wife and son dearly, likely he wished them to join in the same pleasures as him. But Inigo was travelling with Brady and Olivia had never been one for social situations, so the mercenary was passing the time himself, without a single worry for the future- when their money ran out he would deal with it. But until then he saw no end to the merrymaking.

Meanwhile, Olivia was so resolute in making sure her husband was happy and in keeping a home for her son to return to that she was risking her life and body in the streets for whatever pittance she got- just to keep the dream going one more day.

Robin's fingers gripped tight around the countertop as his blood raced faster, more and more unstable thoughts filling him. 'It's hard to tell which of them is more ridiculous!' There was no doubt at all that Gregor was as oblivious to Olivia's deeds as everyone else, as he had been. He knew the man, he'd called him friend for almost five years now, if he knew his wife was in even the slightest danger or that his actions were troubling her like this, he'd stop them in a heartbeat. Hearing about any of this would break his heart!

But Olivia hadn't said a word.

Even now he could hear her pacing around their bedroom, hear the soft sounds of her murmuring aloud, working herself into a panic trying to figure out how to ask for his silence.

'I…I have to tell him.' Robin grimaced, his mind still reeling from the revelations. 'He'd want to know. He needs to know!' But...was that really to be his role? Was that right? To stick his nose into such intimately private business of his friends… 'No, I have to tell him.' The words rolled numbly through his brain.

"Tch." If only it were so easy.

Robin knew better than to believe it could ever possibly be that simple. Finances, betrayal and hurt feelings were all wrapped up tightly in this, even for all his insight as a tactician, he could only begin to guess at the possibilities that could spring up.

Olivia would of course know it was him that had exposed her. Almost certainly she would resent him, who was he to tell her how to support her family?

And, how would Gregor react? If he'd discovered this privately that would be one thing, but learning from someone else that his wife had taken such extreme measures to support his lifestyle…he would be shamed beyond words! Everytime they saw each other, Robin would be a walking reminder of Gregor's failings as a husband, of what depths the other man's wife had gone to.

'Naga, preserve me.' He turned his eyes to the ceiling in silent prayer, 'Is that the right thing to do?'

It had to be! It had to be Godsdamnit! Ever since his rebirth right and wrong had become muddied in far too many complicated feelings and half-truths, but surely this was right! At the very least he had to protect Olivia's life, her dignity!

'And…if it causes their marriage to end?'

As a tactician, he couldn't discount the possibility. At the very least telling Gregor would cause a shock, he would be stunned, hurt, he'd feel betrayed. Would either of them be able to trust the other again? Olivia's deception here could easily be the catalyst that drove them apart.

"Godsdamnit!" He swore aloud, his fingers digging a deep groove into the countertop as his mind spun. "No! If that happens then that's on her, she's the one tha-"

And then his thoughts were instantly struck dead as one final truth ran hot down Robin's spine. "She's the one who's doing exactly the same as me." Mouth open in a silent gasp, his words weren't even a whisper, lower than the sound of his suddenly rampaging heart, they still scorched instantly through his soul.

There was no point denying it.

Olivia was hiding the truth from the person she loved most, going behind his back and sacrificing her dignity for him. To ensure his happiness. To ensure the stability of her family.

"For Gregor and Inigo." She danced in the streets, fighting off rapists and muggers while risking exposure by their friends.

'For Lucina and Morgan.' He manipulated those he cared for into his bed, he had cheated on the woman he loved most and forsaken the man he'd wanted to be.

'No!' He clamped down on that thought immediately. 'It's not the same!' Even if it made him a hypocrite, even if they both came to hate him, even if it caused a wedge in their marriage! Olivia was a friend, a comrade, a Shepherd, he couldn't let her endanger herself. He'd dedicated his life to keeping his companions safe, he wasn't about to stop now!

'Except…'

Except that was far too simplistic.

The curse of knowledge. No matter how much he wanted to, no matter how much easier it would be, no matter how much his conscience wished for it, Robin knew better than to accept such easy "truths."

'Except, what if she wasn't in danger?'

His mind roared and his body reacted just the same, the fire inside him blazing into the same inferno he'd felt so many times before, every cell in his body turning towards one more truth, one final, unavoidable, realisation.

'Everyone can get what they want.'

Olivia wanted to protect and support her family. She wanted to keep her husband happy, to give him the lifestyle he wanted.

Gregor wanted his wife safe, but also to enjoy himself, to drink, to gamble, to live in the moment.

Robin wanted…he just wanted his friends to be happy, and their marriage to be stable of course. That's all he wished for.

Thoughts of Olivia's earlier dance ran across his mind again... Images of her soft, round ass swaying back and forth before him, of her luscious lips puckered into an alluring smile, of her generous bust, only barely hidden in the light silks she wore, bouncing and shaking with each turn and twist of her lithe body.

"Ha-haaa…" His breathing came faster as the images burned into his memories. His entire body enflamed as each sense expanded and every piece of his soul all begged him to make the same answer.

It was in that moment Robin saw again that two paths lay before him.

He could go to Gregor with what he knew, he could risk their happiness, gamble their friendship and hope that everything would be fine for the people he cared for.

Or…

'Everyone can get what they want.'

Gripping tight to the countertop, his fingers snapped right through the flimsy wood as his cock hardened rock solid beneath his cloak. It took everything Robin had just to still his breathing, to pull the excited grin back from his face.

By the time he stepped back into the main room, he had long since created a plan.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

'It's just Robin.' Olivia reminded herself, twisting her fingers nervously around the fabric of a much more modest dress as she stepped back out from her bedroom, to where the tactician was already waiting with two mugs of tea prepared.

'Just Robin.' She repeated, forcing a small smile to give herself strength as she desperately clung to the façade that everything was fine, that she wasn't panicking. 'B-Better it be Robin than anyone else!' Of all the Shepherds, of all her friends, Robin was the most calm, the most understanding, even she had never had the same difficulty talking to him she had with most of the others. If it had to be someone that saw her like that, then surely it was better him than anyone else!

She just needed to repeat her earlier words, that she just- she just needed exposure, that there wasn't anything he needed to tell anyone else.

Except… Her steps almost faltered a moment as she dropped gracefully into the chair across from him… Except you couldn't lie to Robin.

He was too smart, too perceptive and too gentle. Robin had a way of looking at you as if he could see right through you, as if he could see everything about you, everything you were and all that you weren't. As a friend it was a great comfort, the idea that someone could understand her, accept her, even when she couldn't find the words to talk to them…but she'd also seen the terror on the face of their enemies as they stood in front the Shepherd's tactician, as they saw that everything they'd tried to hide, every feint and bluff they made was already known to him. She'd seen countless veteran commanders and tacticians lose their composure to that calm gentle gaze.

Gulping heavily, she couldn't meet his eyes, her gaze almost boring a hole in the floor.

"Olivia."

"E-Eek!" Suddenly jolted from her thought, she almost jumped out of her skin! "I-ah, I ah, I mean…th-that is to say." She stammered, any thoughts already lost to the winds.

"Oh, sorry. I, ah, I didn't mean to startle you."

She blinked. His voice, it sounded so kind, so gentle...just like always. "Ah, I…I'm fine." Risking a glance upwards her heart almost melted from relief when she found herself staring into the same comforting smile Robin always wore. 'He's not…he's not mad anymore?' He'd seemed so shocked earlier, had she been worried for nothing?

"I, actually, first I owe you another apology." He cut himself off, looking surprisingly abashed. "For what I said before, I-that was rude of me. I was just surprised and worried I suppose. I wasn't expecting to see you like that."

He paused, searching for the right explanation and Olivia found her breath catching in her throat as she waited. "I know full well you can defend yourself and it's none of my business to be making assumptions about you like I did. So, er-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be so cold, it really was just a surprise."

Almost fainting with relief, Olivia slumped happily back in her seat, her laughter entirely unforced. "Th-that's fine! It was a surprise to see you too! Gosh, I wasn't expecting it at all."

"You know though," Robin added, laughing along with her as he drank a tentative sip of the tea. "Seeing you dancing like that really brought back memories."

"O-Oh?"

"Yeah, Gods, I'd forgotten how long it's been since I last got to see you dance! I don't think I've seen it since the war really." Shaking his head in a rueful sigh, he did his best to appear wistful. "I missed it though, watching you like that. I remember back then, those long nights when my work got all too much for me, when I couldn't take it anymore and needed a break- I'd sneak out and just go see you."

"Y-You did?" She gaped. "I, I never even knew!"

'Probably because it never happened.' He admitted to himself, but continued regardless. "It really helped me back then, with everything that needed to be done and the strain of trying to keep everyone safe, it was…it was difficult. But sneaking away like that, even just seeing you dance for a few minutes, it always refreshed me. It kept me going."

"I, wow, I didn't, I never realised you were..." Olivia stammered, her face burning at the praise. "I try not to look at anyone who's watching…or, I just get too embarrassed."

"I know." He nodded, schooling his face to a calm seriousness once more. "But seeing you dance again tonight, it got me thinking. Olivia, I've got a proposition for you."

Jolting upright, she was wide eyed in surprise.

"My work, for Ylisse, lately it's been-it's been getting to me. The Halidom is stable at least, but there's still so much reformation work to do. The tax codes are almost a century old, some of our borders still haven't been recovered from the war, every few months one duke or another is threatening to withhold their obligations, never mind everything I have to do keeping the nobles in line, just in the court." He was exaggerating the effect, but there was no downplaying the scope of work required of him. Helping Chrom restore Ylisse meant almost everything to him, but it also often took almost everything he had.

"I could use your help again, your inspiration and motivation." He finished, his voice absolutely serious. "I want to hire you as my assistant."

"Wha…Me? Assistant!?" She gaped, trying to wrap her mind around a night of one revelation after another.

Even as surprised as she was, Olivia was no fool, with the situation they'd found themselves in tonight it only took her a moment to see the underside of Robin's kind words. 'It's pity job? Because I was in the Shepherds!?' She knew for sure that with his role at Chrom's side he could offer her whatever work he wanted on Ylisse's payroll.

The realisation hurt more than she expected, her heart had almost skipped a beat when he'd talked about her helping him...it ached to realise, he was just trying to spare her feelings. He thought she was useless. He was offering her a handout. It was mortifying to even think about! Even as timid as she was Olivia still had her pride, both as a dancer and a woman, a bolt of affronted anger flashed through her and she responded with as harsh a glare as she could manage. "Robin! That's, that's terrible! I can't just, I couldn't do that to Chrom! An-And I've never asked for an-"

"I'm not offering this as a favour." He interrupted smoothly, his calm words quashing her frenzy just the same as they always did. "I'm asking because I want your help. Your dancing always improved morale, it made us feel less tired, it brought the best out of everyone. You did that for us the entire time you were with the Shepherds, I'm asking you to do it once again, to help me help Ylisse."

Holding up a hand before she could speak, he continued. "I know it won't help you get more exposure, but you've seen my office. It's easily large enough for you to move around in and this way you'll be able to practice your steps in private, it'd give you a chance to perfect your routines, and then you can still go out and perform in your free time."

"I…I ah." She bit her lip, that offer alone was surprisingly tempting. With the small size of their home, she hadn't had anywhere she could practice her dancing privately in what felt like forever. Granted it wouldn't be true privacy, but then if it was Robin she guessed he'd probably be more focussed on his work than anything she was doing. Was he, was he actually serious? Could he truly mean this? "W-Would I really be able to help?"

"I definitely think so." He answered, his smile warm and inviting. "I said this isn't some favour I'm granting you and I'm not going to be pulling strings to make it happen, you won't be working for Chrom or Ylisse, at least not directly. You'll be working for me."

"F-For you?" She stammered, eyes wide.

"Exactly. I want to hire you, to help me, to be my assistant. You'll be helping me do my work better, faster. I can't ask Chrom to pay for that." Even despite the nature of their conversation, that at least was the absolute truth. Robin would never ask more from the Halidom than the minimum he could get by on, he owed far too much both to Chrom and Ylisse to ever take advantage of either.

Still, the money at least, wouldn't be a problem either way. With all the revisions he'd made to Ylisse's trade routes and income codes, Robin had made the Halidom richer than it had ever been. Despite his protests, Chrom had then repaid his tactician in turn. Money was not something he needed to worry about anymore.

"I'll pay you more than you're making right now, it'll be a stable income with fair hours." He finished, leaving unsaid the clear inference that she would no longer need to risk herself.

Squirming in place, Olivia hesitated.

He seemed so sincere…like he truly wanted her help. 'I, I could help everyone again.' It had been so long since anyone had needed her, had wanted her. More than anything else, that was what Olivia missed the most from her time in the Shepherds, the idea that her dancing could be more than just entertainment, that it could help people, that she could help people. It had taken a long time to accept, but it had been the most wonderful feeling in the world.

"I…"

A stable income. No more chasing off scary drunk men. A large room to dance in privacy...It all sounded too good, it had to be too good to be true! 'B-But, it's Robin.'

Beaming widely, it was with that realisation that Olivia finally relaxed.

"Of course! If, if you think I could help you, I'd love to!"

She could trust Robin.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

"Robin!" Lucina cried, leaping to her feet from where she'd been sitting restlessly on her bed. "What took you so long!? Father came back almost an hour ago! I thought you'd have come home with him, I was, I was starting to think something had ha-AIAH!?"

Her frantic rant was suddenly interrupted as her fiancé barrelled across the room, his hands moving instantly to her ass, yanking her into the air tight against him.

"W-Wha!?" Taken by surprise, it was only now she could see the heady lust-drunk look in her lovers eyes, his grin so wide with excitement it was almost predatory. As if there was any doubt against his intentions, Lucina could feel his cock pressed hard against her, the thick rod held roughly between her legs.

"We'll talk later." He answered, barely finishing the words before his lips crashed forcefully against hers.

She wasn't unaccustomed to this, it was hardly the first time Robin had come to her so aggressively…but, he hadn't done so in more than a week!

"Mmmaah!" She moaned in return, her body flaming hot with desire as she surrendered herself fully to him, her tongue meeting his in equally desperate lust.

She loved it when he was gentle with her, when he was kind, sweet and gentle, when he was everything she'd ever dreamed an ideal man could be...but Gods! It had been more than a week since he'd grabbed so roughly. More than a week since he'd thrown her onto her bed. More than a week since he'd held her down and just used her for his sexual pleasure. More than a week since he'd claimed her as his.

It felt like a lifetime. Gods she'd missed this!

The night passed any anything more Lucina may have tried to say was instead drowned out by the sound of her clothing being all but ripped from her body, then by her increasingly violent moans.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

On the first day she started something new.

After almost a whole night fretting over it, working for Robin turned out to be a lot less scary than Olivia had dreaded.

When she'd arrived first thing in the morning, he'd already been half buried under a stack of paperwork. They'd made small talk for a few minutes as he dragged his desk to the far end of the room, turning it to face the door so she could have as much space as possible but then he'd simply returned to his tasks, leaving her to her own devices.

No pressure, no expectations, no directions. It was exactly the kind of quiet, formless practice she'd been yearning for, for so long.

Even despite the somewhat awkward circumstances and lack of music, her body had begun moving almost immediately and as it did so, slowly the rest of the world had faded out. Enveloped in the freedom of the experience she didn't notice Robin, she didn't hear the sounds of the other Shepherds arriving to the barracks, nor did she even notice the passing of time around her. All that existed was this moment, all she felt wa-

"Huh? Olivia?"

Hurtled back to reality, she found herself suddenly staring directly into two piercing blue eyes.

"E-Eeeek!" Leaping away with a scream, Olivia just barely managed to steady herself from falling flat on the floor. "H-H-H-Wha?"

"Whoa!" Morgan laughed, bending over and offering a hand to the stunned dancer. "Are you okay? Er-Why were you dancing here?"

"I was- Uh, I-" Intellectually she'd known that at some point she would have to explain just what she was doing to the other Shepherds, but now, caught in the moment and completely taken off guard, her mind drew a blank.

"She's helping me out," Robin answered instead, walking over and gently easing his daughter away. "I've hired her to be my assistant."

"Oh, right. That mak-Wait, WHAT!?" Morgan spun in place, staring at the man in abject disbelief. "B-But, I thought I was your assistant! Did I do somethi-F-Father!?"

"No." Robin chuckled, reaching out and tousling the girl's hair. "You're my apprentice."

Unsurprisingly, the distinction didn't quite ease Morgan's fear of having been suddenly replaced. "Olivia's here to help me get my work done, to make things easier for me. So that…" He paused, holding his daughter's gaze with a deeply serious expression. "So that you never have to worry like you did the other day again."

She didn't quite know what he was referring to, but a clear moment passed between father and daughter and even as she looked on from the outside, watching Morgan's mouth draw into a small "O" as her entire face lit up in happiness filled Olivia with an equal amount of delight. There wasn't a single Shepherd who hadn't been charmed by the girl.

"Your role though, is even more important!" Robin declared stepping away with a laugh, "You're not just here helping me, you're meant to be learning from me. As my apprentice, I expect you to not just carry on my legacy, but to surpass it! You're to become a greater tactician than I can even dream of."

"R-Right! Right! Yeah! I will!" Morgan cheered in response, almost bouncing around the room as she got caught up in the man's momentum. "Although, hmmm…"

Once again Olivia found herself staring nervously into a pair of bright blue eyes.

"Uh, h-hi?" She gulped.

"So you're here to cheer Father up then? So he doesn't get all stressed and weird?"

"I-uh. Yes!" She nodded, finding that answer much more pleasant than describing herself so professionally as Robin's assistant. She was here to make him happy. "That's right. I'm here to help."

"It's not as if it's some secretive deal." Robin added, seated back behind his desk again. "You know my door's always open, anyone who needs a boost can come watch. Knowing her, I'm sure Olivia will attract plenty of attention just on her own."

"Hmmmmm." Morgan hummed again, continuing to pout even with the displeasure on her face having lifted. "I just think, if anyone's going to be cheering you up, it should be mother!"

In this at least, Lucina was entirely aware of Robin's actions. He'd explained to her exactly what he'd found and done last night- as soon as she'd recovered enough to understand it at least.

Still, he knew how wilful his daughter was and he needed to make this point absolutely clear, there could be no possible misinterpretation.

"Morgan." Leaning over his desk and steepling his chin on his hands, Robin drew both women's attention entirely to him, his voice deadly serious. "If you can convince your mother to come dance for me. You will have already surpassed me."

Of course, if Lucina was dancing for him, especially if she was doing so in one of Olivia's dancing uniforms, his "open door policy" would be cancelled so fast it would make her head spin. That was for his eyes only.

"I-I'll do it! Hey! Don't underestimate me, I could do that!"

"I can help!" Olivia laughed, finding herself easily able to join in the comfortable mood. "I can teach her some steps!"

"Alright!" She now clearly had Morgan's absolute approval. "We'll show you, for sure!"

Leaning backwards with a new breath, new audience or not, Olivia's body was in motion once more. How could it not be with the rush rising through her breast and the laugh on her lips? She'd almost forgotten this feeling, she was helping again.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

On the second day she began to understand a tactician's work.

"Oof, here you go." Olivia grunted, unloading the thick pile of files she'd collected from Morgan's office onto Robin's desk.

"Mmm, thanks." Robin answered with a small nod, not looking up as he pulled the top one open and spread it out.

"Wait," She blinked, "You're going to work on it? Now?"

"It needs to be done." He answered simply, his pencil already jotting down figures along the side of the file as he flicked past the first few pages of his daughter's notes.

"But then…" Olivia chewed her lip in confusion. "Why did you send Morgan home already?" And not only had he sent her away, he'd done it hours ago, in the early afternoon.

By now the evening was starting to set in, even the Shepherds who had been retained on military duty had long since left for the day. The only ones left were the two of them and she'd been about to head home herself when he'd asked her to collect the files for him.

"She's still young." Robin answered with surprisingly wistful sigh, his hands finally stopping as he leaned back with a small smile. "Far too young to be spending all her time behind a desk, buried under paperwork. She should be out, playing with her friends, causing trouble… And anyway, she's worked hard this week, she's done more than enough already."

"But then, what about you? A-Are you not going home?"

Just like the day before, she'd arrived first thing in the morning and Robin had already been there working before she'd even walked in the door.

She hadn't thought anything much of it yesterday when he'd stayed behind after dismissing her to head home. 'He said he was just going to finish up…' Looking now at the fresh pile of files on his desk, she doubted his words had been true.

But, surely he'd done enough already!

"It needs to be done." He repeated simply, turning back to the files.

"R-Robin! This is- are you not even going to eat?"

"Oh? Ah, right." Blinking up for a second, that question seemed to catch him by surprise. Chuckling he pulled his top drawer open and plucked up an apple from a small pile of food inside. "Tharja always makes sure I've got something lying around." He explained with a grin.

"Ro-"

"Olivia." He interrupted, still not looking at her. "It's fine, I won't be here much longer. You should be heading home already, you've done more than enough."

More than enough.

Frowning, Olivia's gaze turned almost automatically past the man, to the large plush bed in the far side of the room. She hadn't thought anything of it before, it had seemed out of place in an office surely, but she'd dismissed it as but a small token of opulence. After so much time spent among the Shepherds someone with a bed in their workplace hardly seemed like much of a quirk.

Looking now, to the ruffled sheets and well-worn pillows, she finally understood.

It was easy to see how hard Robin worked, of course. Everyone knew that, every Shepherd respected it, they all told stories in awe of their tactician's dedication.

It was also easy, terribly easy, to take it for granted.

It had been the same again and again, so many times she'd lost count of it. Whenever they were in a pinch, or when things the situation became serious, their friend would disappear, for days, sometimes weeks, there'd be no sign of the tactician around the fire pit, in the mess hall, or even in the training fields. He would go away, and when he'd returned he'd have with him some marvellous strategy, some tactic that would save them all.

It had become a routine she realised as a guilty weight twisted around her stomach. Accepting that he would bear such a burden, that he would do whatever it took to ensure their safety had simply become normal. She, just like the rest of them, acknowledged and appreciated his efforts, but she'd never truly stopped and seen his diligence up close.

"Robin." Her voice was soft, but her words were like steel. "Stop."

It was late. She needed to get home too.

Gregor had finally returned sometime late last night, even after waking her up as he crashed around their apartment, it had been an enormous relief to see him safe and sound. She'd somehow managed to drag him to bed before he passed out, but even as drunk as he'd been, he would be waking up soon and when he did, he'd probably be absolutely starving.

She needed to look after her husband, to take care of him.

"Look at me." She commanded, her words brooking no argument as her body began to sway, as her hips slowly slid around in a slow circle, as her soul began to guide her steps.

One dance.

She needed to be home, she had a duty to her husband.

But right now, in this moment, having for the first time understood the true weight of the life their tactician lived for those he cared for…

...If her dance could help him, even just a little, then she would give it without hesitation.

"O-Olivia."

And so she danced, a wordless performance, soft and steady, graceful and refined- each step lingering with purpose and always held back with a restrained hesitation. Her movements told a tale of a man lost and seeking. A ballad of an unacknowledged poet. The dirge of a hero who worked only in the shadows and finally, the victory cry of the dutiful man.

Olivia had danced for years, for almost as long as she'd been able to move she'd danced.

In all that time she'd taught herself a hundred methods to ignore or to not see those who looked upon her performances. She'd always hated being watched, it dragged her from the moment, and brought back the embarrassment that always haunted her, her steps would fumble and the magic would end.

And yet…turning and swaying, twisting and shaking, no matter how she moved around Robin's office her eyes were constantly drawn to his. And each time she saw his tired smile brighten, each time she saw the light returning to his exhausted eyes, her steps grew stronger, and her confidence grew ever greater.

She'd never felt this before. She was dancing just for one person. She was helping.

One dance turned into three and by the time she left, with aching calves and tender feet, it was long past evening's fall.

She was tired, she was guilty and she was exhilarated with passion she hadn't felt in months.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

On the seventh day her life changed.

"Today's going to be a little different." Robin warned her as she walked in, only looking up from his work enough to offer the same warm smile as ever.

"Oh?"

"Yeah, it's going to be…a little tough." He sighed, indicating the large pile of papers strewn across his desk, leaning back he gave a resigned laugh. "I think I'll really need your help today."

Olivia's jaw almost dropped to the floor. He needed her!? In the entire time she'd been working for him, he'd never said anything even close to that before. If anything, he'd practically left her to her own devices, barely even turning a supervisory eye to her.

She had far too much pride to ever let herself slack off her routines of course, but she still spent as much time planning or repeatedly practicing her steps as she did actually performing them. He'd never raised a complaint and given how rare it was for him to even look to her- often no more than a handful of times a day- she hadn't thought he'd even noticed.

"O-Of course!" She nodded, already mentally planning out her day, if it was to be a day of performance, she would give it her all!

It was a wonderful thing, to be so clearly wanted, to be needed.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

"I really am sorry about this." Robin repeated again as he guided a stern looking older women into his office, the lady having arrived at the Shepherd's barracks only a few minutes ago. "I really do appreciate you coming out all this way."

"I would have preferred to discuss your proposal at my estate like usual." The lady sniffed, looking around the room with mild disdain. "But if it is as you say, that the venerable right hand of the Exalt is too busy to leave his office today. Well then, who am I to-"

Scanning around the room, her eyes suddenly met Olivia who had been doing her level best to blend in with the wallpaper.

"And just who is this beautiful creature?" She asked moving half a step closer and giving the dancer an uncomfortable feeling as if she was being spread open for examination. "A ring? Oho! So, you've finally taken a wife. Now that is a surprise."

"M-Me and R-R-Robin!? A-Ah, I, um-no that, that is to-" Flushing bright pink and trapped under a piercing gaze, she was only saved when the tactician's gentle laughter finally eased the mood.

"No, no." He grinned easily, "Nothing like that, Olivia's already married. She's my assistant, she's here helping me."

"Assistant, I see." The stare was lifted and with it any interest the other woman had in her. "In that case I'll have a berrywine tea, one sugar, no milk."

"R-Right!" Leaping at the chance to escape being the centre of attention and forcefully ignoring Robin's bemused smirk, she was gone within moments.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

By the time Olivia returned, both Robin and his guest were sorting through trade documentation and discussing what, to her ears, sounded like little more than gibberish.

Setting the tea carefully aside from their work and relieved to be left alone in relative peace, she leaned awkwardly against the wall in the far side of the room twisting her fingers around the laces of her outfit as she tried to decide exactly what she should do with herself.

Dancing in Robin's office had become almost normal. Performing with only Robin's occasional glance had become almost natural…but now…now it wasn't just Robin, nor even another Shepherd poking their head in from either curiosity or boredom. Olivia had performed countless performances, recitals or galas, even before she'd become a Shepherd that had been her life, she wasn't a stranger to having an audience. But never like this! Dancing for Robin was one thing, he was a close friend, she trusted Robin, but this stern lady was a complete stranger!

Watching them interact, the woman didn't seem quite as scary as she'd first appeared, if nothing else she seemed to keep easy company with the tactician, but still! She couldn't possibly be meant to just suddenly start dancing in such an intimate setting, in-front of someone she'd barely spoken a word too, in the middle of an office! It was ridiculous! She would look like a fool!

'Should I just…wait until they're done?' She wondered, shifting her weight nervously from foot to foot as she watched the other two occupants continue their discussion. 'Oh, maybe Morgan could use a hand.' She was fairly certain she'd heard the younger tactician come in a few hours ago surely she could find someth-

I'll really need your help today.

Robin's words echoed loud through her mind, keeping her firmly in place.

She couldn't possibly deny it. There was no way he hadn't expected this woman to come, he'd specifically requested she see him.

'But why?' Did he truly need her support to bear the other lady's company? He didn't seem to mind her presence at all! It didn't make any sense!

Did that matter?

It was hardly the first time Robin had asked something of her that she hadn't been able to make any sense of. All the Shepherds had experienced the same, at some point they'd just stopped questioning it. Listening to Robin had saved the lives of everyone she cared about. 'I don't need to understand.' She reminded herself, a twang of nostalgia pulling at her at the thought.

Robin needed her help. She trusted Robin. That was all there was too it.

Pushing off the wall with shaking legs, Olivia swallowed the dry lump in her throat as her body slowly began to sway in time to a song only she could hear. 'A-At least they're not looking at me.' She consoled herself as she stifled a whimper.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Dancing was an escape, it was her release, a way to put aside all her fears and doubts, to simply lose herself in the moment and celebrate the beauty in all life.

No matter her embarrassment at putting on such a strange performance this remained true. One dance turned into two, two turned into three, and slowly her anxiety drained away, gradually her steps gained more confidence and her movements more strength.

And once again, as she'd found so often these days when she danced for him, Olivia's eyes turned to Robin.

Concentrating on his work and on their discussion, he didn't look at up at her at all this time.

Yet the more she danced, the more she saw it, even as he turned from page to page flicking his eyes up and down the columns-the bright smirk on his face growing larger by the moment.

And the more she also saw his companion turning to look at her. It was little more than a curious glance to begin with, then she was staring up longer and longer each time she raised her head, by the time Olivia's fourth dance began, all pretence of nonchalance were abandoned, the other woman's interest both clear and intense. By the time Olivia's dance drew to a close the woman was standing directly ahead of her, patiently watching the final actions of her flourishing bow.

The routine ended and the magic died, "Hmph." The lady finally spoke, directing her snort back over her shoulder to Robin this time. "And I suppose you must think yourself very clever don't you?"

The tactician just shrugged, his smirk wider than ever.

"You. Girl." She continued, pinning Olivia in place with her presence once more. "What did you say your name was?"

"O-Olivia, er-ah, Olivia ma'am."

"Olivia." She repeated, smacking her lips as if tasting the name. "Very well, Olivia, I am Lady Penfold, matron of the Penfold house- and apparently, like you, a pawn to our meddlesome tactician's schemes."

"I er- I don't…"

"Oh yes. I am sure he thinks himself so very cunning, because he is a man and men always like to believe they are in control.

"Tell me, Olivia." Lady Penfold stepped closer, her previous strictness dulled as her eyes shone with barely restrained fascination. "Are you aware that there is a curse upon dancers in Ylisstol right now?"

"Wha, a- a curse?"

"It's been this way ever since the soldiers returned from the war." The noble continued, ignoring her surprise. "For almost a year now, any performance done for the masses is the same. No matter the skill of the performer, no matter the brilliance of the production, the audience cannot be pleased. The Soldiers talk only of a dancer they saw among the Shepherds and ludicrous tales of her have spread among the small minded until none other can compare. It's become to the point where even audiences of the high-born are affected."

Feeling her stomach twist into a knot, Olivia couldn't possibly begin to respond.

"They say that just watching her would remove their fatigue, that her performances lessoned both their fears and their pains, that the sight of her on the battlefield drove them to continue past what they thought possible...A dancer on the battlefield." Lady Penfold shook her head with a small chuckle. "A truly mysterious figure this woman. It is believed she must be the private dancer of His Radiance the Exalt himself."

"I ah, well…" Gulping, Olivia's mouth was parched dry, the woman's stern tone leaving her unsure if she was being praised or scolded.

"I dismissed all such rumours as nothing but boorish rubbish of course."

"R-Right."

The noble's face withered into a piercingly sharp look. "I see now I was wrong."

"I, well, gosh I wouldn't go quite th-"

"I am not wrong often." And at that admission, the stony look finally faded and instead she looked upon Olivia with unabashed amazement. "Olivia of the Shepherds! I had heard, of course, of your talents, I thought them to be greatly exaggerated by those who know nothing of the arts. Never once did I expect you would be so, so sublime. Glorious Naga, the way you move, I never seen the like before, I am almost speechless."

Considering all she'd said, that didn't seem all that accurate, but it was still incredible praise. "Thank you!" She answered, screwing her eyes shut and blushing almost red enough to light the room.

"Lady Penfold." Robin finally spoke up. "If you're really so distracted by my assistant, I truly doubt we'll get anything done."

"Oh and there's our master manipulator again." She snorted, making a show of rolling her eyes as she moved to stand beside the dancer. "Nevertheless, come Olivia, we shall continue to play along with him."

"Play along?" Robin's eyes were full of the falsest innocence she'd ever seen. "I was merely going to suggest that if you're so interested in her, there must surely be a better place to see her talents than my office? Oh, actually…isn't your studio not far from here?"

"S-Studio? Your studio?" The knot in Olivia's stomach tightened as her flushing face drained to a pale white, finally realising just what was going on.

"Yes. My studio. I am, after all, the patron of the Ylissean Exalted Arts Company."

'T-T-T-The Ylissean Exalted!?' Even as a foreigner, she knew the name, the most historic performing arts group in the Halidom and among the most prestigious in the entire continent, they were many levels beyond anything she'd ever dreamed of.

"And, as our tactician well knows, I have been struggling lately with finding suitable talent, talent I can again proudly display towards this nation."

Robin just turned back to his work with a shrug, "Oh? Did you say something like that? I'm sorry, I must have forgotten."

"No doubt the reason he dragged me all the way out here. No doubt the reason he has a dancer as an assistant." She continued, not even bothering to dignify the man with a response. "Very well then Olivia, come, let us see if those rumours were indeed true- if you truly have what it takes to perform for the Exalt."

"I-I-Ah, I-" She couldn't just-she had a job to do, and-and she'd! The Ylissean Exalted, there was-she couldn't possibly, it would just be a- And didn't he need her!? And, and "I, ah th-I don't b-bu-"

"Olivia." Smiling kindly up at her, Robin's reassuring voice cut through her panic once more, just the same as it always had. "Go."

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

"The Ylissean Exalted!" She gushed for what had to be the hundredth time several hours later as she sprung round Robin's office, twisting, twirling and all but bursting with nervous energy. "The Ylissean Exalted! They were, they were so nice! I never even dreamed of, of anything like this!"

"I'm glad it went well." Robin laughed, leaning back and watching her excitement just as he had for the last ten minutes since her return.

"Naga! They were all so nice!" She repeated, every cell in her body pulsing with joie de vivre. "And, ma'am Penfold, she said I had to be on the stage! Already! I-I, Gods! Robin! This is, this is…" Unable to tell if she wanted to laugh, cry, or scream, she couldn't even think to stop her feet, she couldn't think of anything at all but what had happened. "Naga! We perform at House Estelle in three weeks, I-I'm! I'm going to be on stage!"

All her wildest dreams, all her fantasies, all the silly wishes to perform for cheering crowds and packed halls- it was all going to be true!

"A-Ahuaah…Hah…R-Robin!" She sobbed suddenly, her legs collapsing and sending her to the ground as the raw joy finally overcame her. "I-I'm just, I'm so happy! It, huaa, it's everything I ever wanted."

"Olivia…Hey, c'mon now." He scolded her gently, pulling her to her feet and holding her softly in his arms, letting her slump weakly against him. "It's about time. You deserve it, you've always deserved this."

"A-Hu-huuah." She sniffed, blushing crimson and burying her face in his cloak to hide from the praise. "I still can't…it's like a dream." She added finally, sighing softly as she felt his hands holding her, strong and secure around her back.

"It'll surely help towards your dream, won't it? To have a theatre of your own?"

"I-I, R-Robin! H-Huhaaa!" That comment brought about fresh tears, leaving her laughing, sobbing and shaking all at once.

Feeling her tiny body shivering like a leaf and clinging wonderfully tight against him, it took everything Robin had to hold back his desires, to restrain a reaction. "D-Did I say something wrong?"

"N-No, no not at all." She sniffed, "You've never, never done anything wrong.

"I just, it's even, it's even better than my dream." She continued a moment later, pulling herself slowly from his embrace, her face flushed red and chest shaking with unsteady breaths. "I always, I always thought, th-that if I owned the theatre then I-I'd get to perform…even though I'm not very good. I th-thought that was the only way I-I could ever..."

"Olivia…"

"T-This, they want me." Even now the words came out half crouched in disbelief, "Robin… They want me to be on stage, to dance for everyone."

"As they should."

"I…I hah…" She sighed, shaking her head at his confidence in her. Unable to find a response, and even more unable to sort her feelings, Olivia simply began dancing once more, her steps slow and steady this time, no longer filled with nervous energy but with instead a warm and gentle happiness.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

It was some time before she stopped, having calmed down her shuddering heart. And yet, rather than feeling peaceful, the more she danced and the more her excitement slowed the more her emotions became uneasy, the more her thoughts returned to the earlier conversation…until they were all twisted around an uncomfortably clear conclusion.

Frowning, she bit her cheek in frustration. She couldn't even begin to count how much she owed Robin, both for his actions during the war and for his actions since, but even as timid as she was, even for all that had happened, she still had her pride.

"Robin." Sucking in a deep breath, she steeled herself for a confrontation. "There was…I need to talk to you."

Laying down his pencil and looking up from his work, this time the tactician's face was completely serious. "She was wrong." He answered simply.

"W-Wha?" Olivia gaped, stepping backwards in surprise.

"You were going to ask if I hired you just to introduce you to Lady Penfold." He explained, pushing himself to his feet- making a show of talking to her as an equal. "If that was the only reason I asked for your help."

"I-ah." Wincing, Olivia realised again just how hard it was to ever take Robin by surprise. "Yes."

"No."

"B-But, I me-"

"I won't deny that I did wish to introduce you to her. I've actually mentioned you to her several times before, she just never took me seriously." He interrupted, spreading his hands in a shrug. "But, I wouldn't need to hire you to do that, there's a thousand ways I could have arranged the two of you to meet. I asked her to the office today so that she could see you, that's true. But, I brought you to the office last week because I needed your help."

Olivia swallowed heavily, she wanted so badly to believe that. "I-Is that really true?"

"You know..." Robin sighed, shoulders sagging slightly as he stepped back "I wish it wasn't. I truly do, I wish I could say you were right, that this was all a plan to get her to see you, to get you the stage you deserve."

A sudden flash of guilt across his eyes stilled her to silence and when she didn't speak he continued, "I love Ylisse, this Halidom, the people. I owe it everything and I'm proud to be able to work for it in any way I can…but, but I'm still just a man. I get worn down, I get angry, I get frustrated- the long hours, the meetings, the endless paperwork, even just being stuck indoors all the time. Gods. I love my work, but sometimes I can't stand it."

"Robin." She breathed softly, stunned at the sight of their tactician baring himself so openly.

"Olivia, look, I know that it's hard for you to accept sometimes, that your dancing-that it helps, but it does. It does, it makes all the difference in the world sometimes. Even just in the time since you've been here, I've been getting more done than I had for months before." Restraining his emotions as quickly as they'd risen, his words were softer now, but so earnest she couldn't help but believe him. "I did want you to meet Lady Penfold, that's true, but that's not why I asked you to work for me.

"I hired you because of what I wanted from you… For completely selfish reasons."

Watching as he walked back to his desk, turning away from her and back to the paperwork Olivia finally accepted his words, a glowing warmth slowly thrumming through her body as the last of her anxiety faded away.

"It's not selfish." She answered, smiling radiantly when she saw him looking to her once more. "It's not selfish, not at all, it's…it's exactly what I want too, it's what it should be! I want to help you Robin! A-And I'm going to keep helping you, no matter what!"

She didn't need to spell out her meaning. Working for the Ylissean Exalted Arts Company, she would have both money and exposure, there was no reason to continue this job.

But she would. Whenever she wasn't at the studio, she would be here, at his side.

Because Robin needed her.

"I-but, Olivia..." Cutting his words off as he ran his hands through his hair with a reluctant sigh, finally, he nodded, accepting her resolve alongside his own. "Then, please..."

Laughing equally from joy as from relief, Olivia was already in motion, the surge of pride impossible to resist.

Her dance this time was quick and light, the complex turns and intricate movements telling a story of a woman who had yearned her whole life to find her place, the pain of being a burden, the bliss of being wanted.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

On the ninth day she scolded herself.

Humming happily to herself as she put the final touches on the stew she was creating, Olivia was in a good mood.

'The kitchen looks so much nicer like this.' She smiled, looking around at the few dashes of colour she'd been able to add recently, miniature potted plants, some new curtains and even a few decorations. They were small indulgences, but the feelings behind them were powerful.

"And…done." She laughed, dulling the fire and spooning out a single serving for herself before settling down at the table.

Gregor was out again. That was fine, he'd said he would be home tonight, but she knew her husband sometimes lost track of the time, the embers would keep the pot warm until morning and if he wasn't back by then she could simply rekindle them before she left for work.

Stirring her meal, Olivia allowed herself a small moment of self-satisfaction at that. Even if Gregor didn't come back until sometime tomorrow, whenever he did come in, she'd have a nice warm meal ready for him.

"Oooh Naga." The smell of the meat quickly knocked her from any introspection and she wasted no more time, practically wolfing down the meal the moment the first taste hit her mouth. "Mmm! Ahhh!" She moaned happily, 'It's so good!'

The difference the ingredients made was absolutely staggering, after so long spent scrimping and saving, eating as cheaply as possible and stretching the low quality foodstuff far beyond their lifespan…to be using quality meat, fresh vegetables, it was bliss!

Lost in a happy daze, it wasn't until the meal was completely devoured that rational thoughts returned.

'It's so late.' She thought, with a slight unease.

She'd been coming home later and later recently, it wasn't by any specific intention, each day she told herself she would finish early and head home, that she would look after her husband or clean and cook in his absence if he was out…and each day she found herself staying late into the evening, lost in her dancing, sometimes only even noticing the passing hours when she heard Robin yawning to himself.

It had become such a habit she'd even begun to come into the office after her practices with the performance company, having found herself feeling bored and restless when she tried simply returning home.

"I hope he's okay…" She sighed, looking again through the window to the dark night sky.

Her worries were kind, however, without her even being aware of it, Olivia's thoughts had long since wandered from her absent husband.

"He still had all that work from Frederick when I left." She added with a frown, a pang of guilt running through her at having left even despite the late hour. "I, I hope he's not still here."

"Phah." She huffed, pushing herself to her feet and making to clean up the kitchen, "It's ridiculous the way he treats himself."

She couldn't deny the importance of his work of course, but still, "He needs someone to take care of him!"

That was the solution. She was sure of it. Just like she took care of Gregor, supported him in his lifestyle, Robin needed someone there to look after him, someone to make sure he didn't push himself to collapse or… Uneasy memories ran through her again and all she could think of was the earnest look on his face when he'd confessed the strain his role took on him.

"Robin!" She growled, hating the very thought of him like that. "Hpmh, it's, it's just…" It couldn't go on! He spent so much time worrying about everyone else, about making sure Morgan didn't spend too much of her life stuck behind a desk, and he wasn't considering himself at all! He needed someone to be there for him.

But thinking about that only brought up another mystery. Why was he still alone?

As one of the earliest Shepherds, he'd been with the squad even longer than she had, almost five years all told. She'd never known any group as close as the Shepherds, they'd fought together, they'd bled together, they'd saved each other’s lives and slowly, one by one or a few at a time, most of them had paired off.

Except Robin.

Their wonderful, kind, caring tactician had remained almost obstinately single the entire time she'd known him. It defied logic.

After seeing the way Tharja had stuck to him when she'd first joined, she'd initially assumed they were together. But while she had no doubt he cared deeply for the dark mage, she was certain they'd never become an item… Tharja still wore no ring, and it seemed very unlikely to Olivia that if Robin had ever taken her hand that she would possibly hide it, Tharja would wear proof of Robin's love as loudly and proudly as she could and all would know of their relationship.

Lucina on the other hand, she was much more secretive, it was certainly possible to imagine her hiding an illicit relationship with their tactician... By the time the war in Valm drew to a close, she and most of the other Shepherds had all but assumed that to be the case, none had missed how close he'd become to the former Exalt. 'And, not to mention Morgan.' She added with a slightly guilty pause, it was very easy to remember that Morgan was Robin's child, it sometimes took a little more to remember she was also Lucina's child.

'He and Lucina were obviously together in- in…' Well she didn't really know how exactly Morgan could have possibly come to visit them, 'Insomewhere!'

Even among those who didn't suspect something had already kindled between Robin and Lucina, almost everyone assumed it would at some point. It wasn't as if there was any doubt they'd remained close following the war, Lucina came by the office almost as often as Tharja did.

'So then, why?' Robin had been back for months now, and still, their relationship seemed the same as it had ever been. As often as she'd seen them together, she'd never once seen anything suggestive between them. They'd been at peace for almost a year, and still there was no talk of a wedding, nor even any talk of them together at all.

Shaking her head in frustration, Olivia sighed, there wasn't anything for it. She'd asked him about Lucina, she'd dropped hints about gifts for her, or places he could take her…and always Robin's answer was the same. He held immense respect for her. He considered her among his closest companions. But he had no plans to marry her.

'Not yet at least.' He had laughed, teasing her in that infuriating manner of his before changing the topic.

It didn't make sense. They were undeniably close, they got on amazingly, they even had a child together…and yet, nothing. Still, she knew well enough that just the presence of the future children didn't guarantee a relationship, Cordelia's awkwardness around Ricken and Nowi's lacking relationship with Donnel were proof enough of that.

"So does that mean…he doesn't love her?"

If Olivia had been paying attention, she would have noticed her heart beating slightly faster at that musing, a small flush dusting her cheeks. 'Then perhaps he loves someone else?' She wondered, with a slight breathlessness.

'But then, why has he never sai-Oh! unless she was already taken?' And suddenly Olivia's thoughts were running away with her, thinking about how generous Robin had always been to her, how kind, how understanding, not to mention all he'd done for her rece-

'No, no, I, no. That's ridiculous.' She scolded herself, shaking those thoughts away with an embarrassed flush. 'That's completely unfair to him.' He'd done all that to help her and to request her help in return, she knew Robin didn't have some kind of ulterior motive!

"I'm just, I'm just tired." She answered, dutifully ignoring the small warm feeling in her chest as she finished cleaning the house, and preparing for bed.

"Still…" She added a few minutes later, lying in bed and staring up at the ceiling, finding herself yet unable to clear the tactician from her mind. "I do hope he's not lonely."

That thought shuddered cold through her, she couldn't bear to think of him like that. He didn't deserve it, not with all he did for everyone.' He's always working so diligently, for Ylisse, for everyone. And he's done so much to support this family.'

"A-Ah!?"

Eyes snapping open, Olivia bolted upright in bed the moment that thought hit her, a lead weight of guilt twisting around in her stomach. "No, that's… Geez, Olivia, what are you thinking?"

No! Robin wasn't the one supporting her family, she was. He just…he just needed help, that's why he'd asked her.

As she lay back down however, she found herself now uncomfortably wide awake. Even as she dismissed it, the thought was an insidious one. In such a short time Robin had done so much for her, helped her so much, maybe more than even Basilio had. As much as she tried to push the idea of it from her mind, it was impossible not to compare him to her husband.

While Gregor was passed out drunk in some bar. Robin was working hard to improve the Halidom.

While Gregor disappeared for days or weeks without notice. Robin was always there, in his office or the palace, reliable and honest.

While Gregor was out spending all their money drinking and playing. Robin had been helping her take her first steps towards reaching her dreams.

"Olivia!" She scolded herself loudly, shocked she was even thinking such things. "I-Naga, forgive me. I must be-it's far too late."

Gregor wasn't a burden! He was the man she loved! 'This is what I wanted, that's why I took the job, to support him!'

That's all she had wanted, that's all she was concerned with. To support her husband, to make him happy. That would make her happy, it would make her whole family happy. It was as simple as that.

And yet, somehow sleep didn't come easily.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

On the twelfth day she was shocked.

"Come on honey." She smiled gently, carefully helping her husband through the house. "Let's get you to bed."

"Bh-bahah!" Gregor bellowed, his drunken good humour loud and clear as he leaned heavily on her. "A-Huah, is too early to be sleeping! Gregor is ne-*hic*-need, Gregor is needing to make with celebrations!"

"I think you've celebrated enough tonight love." She chuckled, easing him onto the mattress. "Now, I'm just go take a bath and th-AIIE!?"

Moving to turn away, Olivia was suddenly yanked backwards into his arms.

"No! Is diff-is, is not the same!" He laughed, sitting up on the bed his arms wrapped clumsily around her waist. "Gregor is, must celebrate Olivia!"

"C-Celebrate me?" She asked, wincing away from the pungent smell of alcohol on his breath as she squirmed in his grip.

"Yes! Is Olivia great success, no? You are gett-hah, getting the dancing job!"

"Oh, ah right. Right." She'd told him about her audition and her work over dinner. It had actually been the first time they'd had a proper conversation in a few days now…she doubted he'd remember it in the morning, but it had still been nice. "Well, er- thank you."

"H-Haha! Do not be, be thanking Gregor! Gregor is thanking you! Beautiful wife is-is, Gregor is proud!" Pulling her tighter against him, his palms slid thick up her body. Surprised, Olivia completely froze as he tugged the top of her dress down, his hands squeezing heavily on her breasts.

"A-Ah-Ow!" She gasped in pain. Not having expected it didn't help, but he was always a little rougher when he was drunk. "W-Wait, gha, h-honey, ah!"

"Come! Come! Is celebrate time for family!" He laughed, pulling her clumsily into his lap, letting her feel his cock hard against her ass. "Is-*hic*- is, time of making love! Ahahah! And maybe of making baby!"

This wasn't unusual. She'd been here many times before. What was unusual was the sudden shudder of revulsion that ran through her.

The stench of alcohol, sweat and vomit. The clumsy movements. The lack of control.

"N-No. No, wait." She repeated, heart pounding as she tugged his fingers desperately from her chest.

She didn't want this!

"W-Wha?" He didn't fight her, he never would. He simply stared up in confusion. "Is Olivia being angry with Gregor?"

"No…I…" Squirming from his lap, her sudden panic died as soon as it had begun. There was nothing to fear, not from Gregor, not ever. "I just, not like this, not when you're drunk."

"Is but, Olivia is never complaining before!" He argued, his confusion not lessoning. "Gregor is telling all friends, has be-best wife in world, *hic* she always looking after Gregor! Never be turning down."

That was true, she realised, her heart shuddering. And-and wasn't that what she was meant to do? As his wife? A tremor of uneasy guilt settled in her…

"We'll do it in the morning, okay?" She compromised, forcing a smile as she leaned in and placed a soft kiss on his forehead, darting out as he reached for her again. "When you're sober, as much as you want, okay? Robin won't mind if I'm a little late."

Swaying back and forth on the bed, Gregor seemed to slowly accept her words. "Huah…" He answered, falling backwards with a cross between a grunt and a burp.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

'Naga.' Olivia sighed, sinking slowly into the hot tub several minutes later, sighing as the warm water gently eased away her worries.

"Sex…" She whispered aloud, just the sound of the word raising her heartbeat. 'It's been some time... I haven't even-even thought about it.'

In recent months Gregor had been spending more and more time away from home and with everything else going on, her constant worries about money, fears for her family's future and now the new role Robin had given her…carnal pleasure had been the furthest thing from her mind.

And now…

"H-Haaa." She breathed heavily, bringing her hands tentatively over her tender breasts, flushing deeply as she slowly massaged away any lingering discomfort.

…Now it was like the floodgates had been opened. Now that she was alone it was as if all the sexual desire she'd ignored were suddenly racing back through her body.

"Haa-haaa." She panted, rolling her fingers slowly over the large mounds, arching her back out of the water as she pressed gently against her pert nipples. "Naga. Mmmm"

It wasn't as if she didn't want it.

"H-Ahhmmm." A quiet moan escaped her lips as she spread her legs out across the edges of the tub, shuddering at the feeling of her legs spread open so brazenly and the soft desire burning from between them.

She just…she hadn't wanted that.

Frowning as the mood dulled and her desires ebbed away, the uneasy feelings returned. She'd never turned Gregor down before, not for anything...even now she felt guilty for doing so. Wasn't that her role as a wife? Her matrimonial duties? It was hardly the first time he'd come to her in such a state, she should have been used to it...so, so why?

'I don't…I don't like doing it when he's drunk.' She admitted finally. It was uncomfortable, it was rough and between passing out and throwing up, Gregor was as likely to complete the act as to not.

"I love him." She whispered aloud, knowing the words were truth. 'It's not like I don't want to be with him.'

Her fingers rolled gently over her nipples again-just how he used to do to her.

'I just…want it to be like it was.' Like it used to be, during the war, during their honeymoon...She could still remember, still envision the way it had felt.

"H-Hahhnn." She panted quietly, the need reigniting as long supressed desires slowly returned. Clenching her calves against the edge of the tub, a warm shudder ran through her body and she closed her eyes, surrendering herself to a fantasy. 'I, I want…'

She imagined herself held securely in his strong arms, safe and warm in his embrace.

"Mmmaahh." Her hands moved firmer over her breasts, squeezing and kneading them.

She could feel his soft kisses on her neck, his breath hot against her skin as he whispered his love for her.

"A-Hhaaaa. A-AHH!" Bucking her hips and unwilling to resist a moment longer, her right hand slid between her legs, pressing a finger against her aching pussy.

She could see herself running her fingers across his body, slim but muscular, she could feel the power within even as he held her so tenderly, even as he guided her hands away and eased her legs open.

"MM-MHhaa!" Squeezing down on her breast, Olivia gasped and shook, her body shuddering as her fingers spread her pussy lips apart, grinding her index gently over her clitoris.

She could feel his length hard against her pussy, feel his need as great as hers…

"AHMmmm-AHaah!" She cried, biting down on her lip to muffle the sound as she slowly pushed a finger inside her.

She could feel his cock spreading her open, pushing firmly deep inside her.

"G-Gods!" It'd been too long. Too long.

She could see herself gasping between kisses, see herself running her hands through his white hai-

"Gods! Robi-"

Everything stopped.

Eyes flying open and jaw wide in silent shock, Olivia jolted upright, squeezing her legs hard against her chest.

"I… I…"

She couldn't speak, could barely think.

'That's…I wasn't, I- That's not what I...'

Holding herself like that, shivering with sudden guilt, mystified confusion and unanswered lust, she didn't move.

She didn't know what to say. Didn't know what to think.

'I didn't, didn't mean to... Robin...'

Hours passed and still she couldn't get out. Couldn't make sense of herself, of what she wanted.

The water ran cold. She didn't move.

And then, sometime after midnight, with resolve weakened from desire as much as from fatigue…

"H-Ha-haaaa. Mhaah! A-Ah!"

...Slowly her fingers slid back between her legs.

In the morning she was gone with the daybreak, hours before her husband stirred.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

On the fourteenth day she fell.

"Olivia, it's late. You should go home."

Continuing to dance, she didn't respond. Somewhere in the back of her mind she knew he was right.

It was late, Gregor might be home, she should leave. She should go prepare dinner. She should go clean the house. She should go.

Dipping low, she caught Robin's eyes once again, held his gaze as he watched her slowly raise herself up, saw his eyes widen slightly as her hands ran up her sides, perfectly outlining the curves of her body.

Robin was still here. Robin was watching her. She didn't want to go, not while he was still working so hard, not when he still needed her.

And so, she continued.

Olivia knew a thousand dances, from classical to modern, to variants, to experimental. Her movements told stories, wove tales and showcased emotions. But her favourite type of dancing, the kind she did whenever she was able to, was completely freeform. No routine, no guidelines and no thoughts, she would follow whatever her soul, whatever her heart, desired and create from that something meaningful in that moment.

That was how she danced now. Clearing her mind, she acted without will, intention or purpose, thinking only of each step as she did it.

She swung her hips around in a wide lazy circle.

She leant herself backwards, sliding her palms down her smooth bare stomach.

She flicked herself forwards, mouth open in a tiny gasp and breasts bouncing against the limits of her clothing.

With each movement, with each passing minute, the mood between them grew thicker and he feelings more charged. Without a single spoken word, the atmosphere of the room slowly changed, filling with an alluring, sensual desire.

And Olivia watched him the entire time.

She watched as he worked. She watched as he looked up at her, carefully and furtively at first. She watched as he pushed his work aside, leaning over his desk and to her.

She watched as he looked only to her.

She was wearing a new outfit today, bought with the money he'd paid her.

A light silken top that wrapped around her breasts, squeezing them together full and round, tied around the back of her neck. A side-tied sarong skirt that slunk tight around her waist, open at the side to give a full view of her long slender legs with each movement.

Custom tailored, both were black with purple trim, the same colours as his cloak. His colours. She hadn't thought a thing about it when she'd ordered it made several days ago, it had seemed only natural, fitting... This was the first time she had worn it, the first time anyone had seen her in it.

And now, as she turned away from Robin, sliding a hand slowly down her long legs, she accepted the truth. She was wearing it for him.

Dancing, for him, in an ardour created from her own wants, her own needs, she understood.

The tension between them rose to dizzying heights, but all her doubts and anxiety had long since faded away. Twisting her body in slow, erotic movements, Olivia knew for certain why she was here.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

"Robin." Olivia was the first to break the silence, sliding her hips from side to side as she breathed his name, swaying slowly towards his desk. "Do you know, I've never… I've never danced for anyone else before."

Just as with her dancing, she let herself go, released herself from all thoughts and inhibitions saying only what her soul was aching to divulge.

"What?" He blinked, her words shaking him from his transfixion, even as his eyes tracked her every movement. "But what about all th-"

"No." She sighed, smiling warmly as she bent forwards, slowly pulsing her chest towards the man. "Before, even in the war and after, it was never for anyone. I just danced…and sometimes people watched. I couldn't even look at them without losing my focus."

She was looking at him now. Her eyes never once leaving his, the warmth inside her glowing hotter and hotter each time she saw his eyes tracing their way up and down the length of her body.

She was on display for him. Even as she flushed crimson, the fire inside her only burned fiercer.

"You're the only man I've ever danced for. The only one I've ever asked to watch me." She admitted. "Maybe…maybe that's why it feels so different?"

"D-Different?" He swallowed.

She didn't answer him with words, twisting in place, sliding her body slowly back and forth, she didn't need to speak. Her movements told no tale, they spoke of no story…only of desire, of a sensual ache and a primal need.

Not a single thing had changed, but the room suddenly felt hot-thick with want.

Stepping around the desk, directly in front of the tactician, Olivia closed her eyes, breathing in one final time-she made to steel herself, but there was no need. Her body, her soul, was already dictating her movements.

"When I was dancing, before you found me, I was asked- more often than any other request, to give a…a special dance. A private dance."

"O-Olivia!" The affronted anger flashing through his eyes was only more balm on her heart. Robin cared so much for so many people, he concerned himself with so many great and terrible things. That someone like him would be offended for her sake, that she would be propositioned like that...it was comforting.

"I never did, I never could." She answered, smiling warmly and standing barely a metre from the man, her hips turning in a slow, sultry circle. "No matter how much they offered."

"But now…" Running her hands slowly up the length of her body, pushing her heaving chest towards him, she wrapped her fingers around her neck. "But now, I-I'd like to try it."

"O-Olivia…" He held his hands out, a pained look on his face at hearing her story, "Wait, you don't have to. There's noth-"

"I want to."

The ties fell apart instantly, and with it her top fell to the floor.

Her breasts bounced free, and she leaned back, displaying herself utterly for him.

She watched as his jaw dropped, his mouth falling open as he stared transfixed at her body, his eyes following her every movement as she slowly, desperately slowly, slithered herself closer to him.

"I-I've never done anything like this." She whispered, her heart slamming against her chest, "B-but…"

"I-I don-"

"Please. Robin." She reached out, running a hand across his cheek...before giving into a temptation she hadn't even known she held, leaning forward and pressing her lips gently against his, moaning a quiet sigh against his mouth at the warm sensation. "Robin. You're the only man I've danced for. The only man I want to dance for."

"Please…watch me."

Swallowing heavily, he nodded, and so she stepped away, leaning backwards and running her hands up her stomach, cupping her sizeable breasts, kneading them gently with a soft moan "R-Robin."

Slinking backwards, she turned her hips in a wide, slow, circle, stretching her legs out as she pressed her hands firmer into the milky white orbs. Sighing and gasping as she felt the need between her legs burn ever hotter.

Spinning in place, she dipped forward, dragging her fingers along the hardwood floor and pushing her hips backward, ensuring he could make out every contour of her ass through the thin fabric.

Even without looking, she could feel his gaze on her. He was staring at her! He couldn't take his eyes off her! Gods! Had she ever been this turned on in her life?

"Robin…" She breathed his name once more, sliding to the floor before raising herself gracefully to her feet, swaying slowly towards him, stepping forward inch by inch until she was leaning right over him, until she could feel his breath, ragged and hot, on her bare skin.

She knew she should have been nervous or hesitant, she should have had doubts. There was nothing.

Leaning her head in his shoulder, she reached down, taking his hands in hers and placing them firmly on her hips, letting him feel every inch of her as she turned, holding back a moan at the feeling of his skin hot against hers as she rotated slowly on the spot.

A side-tie skirt. The purchase suddenly made sense now. It was so he could remove it anytime he wished. Her lips dragged against his neck and he didn't need the hint, the skirt fell to the ground a moment later.

Again she leant in, pressing her lips softly against his, and again she stepped back…only half a step this time, her entire body in full view…she wanted, she needed him to see, to see every inch of her as she slid her hands down her neck, arching her back as her fingers ran over her breasts, gasping as they trailed down her stomach…

…Biting her lip with all the restraint she had as they slid her panties to the floor.

"Olivia…N-Naga…" Robin gasped, his eyes following her every movement, watching as she pulled the soaked fabric from against her pussy, trailing them down her legs, staring as she stepped out of them and slid herself naked into his lap.

"I-I can stop." She promised, wrapping her legs around the base of the chair, gyrating her hips back and forth against him as her hands pulled at his belt. "If, if this isn't what you want. I ca-"

This time it was his kiss that interrupted her, his hands warm and needy on her cheek as he held her in place, opening her mouth with his tongue and kissing her with all the passion he'd restrained for so long.

"I never want you to stop." He answered without a single doubt, "Olivia…I need you."

The fire inside her exploded and she crashed her lips desperately back against his, moaning and gasping in his mouth as she finally pulled his belt apart, sliding off him and breaking the kiss only when she was able to yank his pants to the ground. Only when his cock, rock hard and aching for attention, was finally freed.

"I- Ah!"

Staring wide eyed, Olivia's jaw dropped…it was almost enough to stop her rhythmic movements.

"Robin…" She whispered, instinctively licking her lips as she reached out to it, gently cupping his balls and sliding a finger fully along his length. "I-It's magnificent."

She knew she didn't have a true frame of reference, it was only the second one she'd ever seen…but as she tentatively wrapped her fingers around his girth, she knew the words would remain true had she seen a thousand. In length, in girth, even the way it was curved, the very sight tugged at some primal need she'd never even considered until this moment. Squeezing gently on his balls and dragging a finger around his glans, she couldn't possibly think of another way to describe it. "Magnificent." She repeated, awestruck.

It would almost have been scary, if it had been anyone else. But this was Robin. She trusted Robin. He would never hurt her, not even by mistake.

"Ah-uhaa." Sucking in a deep breath, anticipation and exhilaration both peaking inside her, Olivia slid herself carefully forwards once more. Biting her lips as she draped her arms over his shoulder, she positioned herself above his hard cock, slowly pushing her hips down, letting it press against her soaking pussy, feeling it gently spreading her open.

"N-Naga!" Robin gasped, throwing his head back as her pussy finally made contact with his aching cock.

"G-Gods…AH-Haaaa." She gasped in reply, feeling the head slowly pushing her lips open, spreading her wider than ever before, than she'd ever imagined. "I- Robin, I want this, so much!"

Throwing her head back with a wordless sigh, Olivia began to move, rocking herself back and forth to a slow rhythm she slowly descended, her mouth falling open and her breath coming in increasingly ragged pants as she felt his hard cock sliding deeper inside her, his cockhead forcing her inner walls further apart and her pussy wrapping tight and slick around his length.

"I-It's good!" Robin gasped, the shudders from his body running through his length and transferred intensely inside her. "Olivia! It's so warm, an-and wet!"

"Mmaa-ah! Y-Yeah." She groaned, gritting her teeth to fight back the raw searing pleasure as she continued to slowly grind her way down, slowly sheathing more and more inside him.

"R-R-Robin! Robin! A-Ahhaa, ah-ahh!"

Until finally, she stopped.

Gasping and panting, Olivia threw her head from side to side, biting down on her lip and only just barely managing to hold onto her composure as she felt Robin's length filling her as deep as she'd ever been filled before. Holding herself still several inches off his lap, she felt the glans pressed hard against the increased resistance, the virgin walls of her innermost depths.

"Ghmm! GHA-Ahha! I! I- R-Robinnnn…"

With her pussy stretched tight around his pulsing length, she remained still, her mind struggling to cope as her legs shook violently at the intense sensations. Groaning and panting, it took everything Olivia had- all her courage, all her willpower, just to hold back from cumming right then and there.

Seeing her distress, Robin finally reached up, wrapping his arms securely around her waist, and moving his lips to her neck, pushing his hips slightly up inside her as he prepared to take over.

"N-No! No." She moaned, throwing her head shakily from side to side as she reached down and desperately pushed his arms away.

"N-No." She repeated, sucking in a deep breath and barely managing to fight back her composure as she wrapped her arms lovingly over his shoulders.

"Wha-" He stared at her in confusion.

"Shhh. Please, please Robin. You're always…you always work so hard. F-For everyone, for, for me. I-ahhn, ah, I… Just tonight. Robin. Just…relax. L-Let me, take care of you. Please."

"Olivia." His expression softened and she could feel him relax, laying his hands warmly and securely around her waist, but surrendering all control to her. "Of course, please."

"I-R-Robin." She sighed happily. "W-Watch me. Watch me."

"I will. Always."

Breathing raggedly and screwing her eyes shut, she kissed him as gently as she could, fighting with everything she had to ignore the way his cockhead felt inside her, the feeling of it pressing against areas within her no-one had ever touched before.

Leaning back, she sucked in one final breath, rocking her hips back and forth one final time in the same lusty dance as before, gripping tight to his shoulders, she arched back…

…And slammed down! Feeling the final few inches of his cock finally slam into her, driving hard to the very back walls of her pussy and at last sheathing his length fully inside her.

"GHA-UGHAAAAAAA!" She screamed, her vision exploding in a flash of white as her eyes rolled back into her head and raw pleasure ripped through her. Falling limply into Robin's chest, Olivia came, then came again, and again, her mouth wide open as she gasped, her body shaking and convulsing, feeling as if every part of her body was filled with him.

"G-Ghhaaa-Gods…" She groaned, only barely managing to form words a minute later as she slowly recovered, her body gradually growing accustomed to the thick rod inside her.

"-u okay? Olivia!" His words sounded fuzzy, as if coming from far away.

Huh? Robin was speaking to her? Blinking dizzily, slowly the rest of the world came back into focus and she was able to concentrate on more than just the feeling of her walls wrapped tight around his length.

"Robin…" She panted, pressing her lips against his neck, marvelling at the security of his arms wrapped comfortingly around her. "I-I've never felt…never felt anything like this."

"Y-Yeah, you feel incredible." He agreed, gently stroking his fingers along her back. "Y-You're so, Gods, you're so tight. It's lik-"

"It's because it's you." She answered, guessing his next comment.

Nodding, he grunted, his hands moving faster across her back in obvious need. "C-Can you move?"

Her legs were still shaking from the incredible orgasm, her pussy was still incredible sensitive, her body was still on fire from his ministrations.

But Olivia held tight to her pride. She was here to look after Robin! He needed her!

"O-Of course."

His hands relinquished control once again, squeezing firmly around her smooth round ass and she slowly drew herself up. "UNGH-Haa!" She groaned, feeling his hard cock scraping down the insides of her pussy and leaving her feeling almost unbearably empty.

It was that moment, with Robin's cock half out of her, with her eyes closed and her mind re-establishing her movements, that Olivia realised just how badly she was already addicted to this feeling. She needed to feel him sheathed inside her again. She needed to feel him. Without even intending to, she had already become his.

'That's fine.' Some distant part of her mind allowed, 'Robin needs me too.' That was how it should be.

And with that final thought, Olivia, once again, began to dance.

"Gh-GHAAA!" She cried, screaming again in pleasure as her hips lowered- rhythmically and carefully down his hard length, burying him fully inside her again.

"R-ROBIN!" She cried, her vision flashing white and her pussy constricting hard around his cock as she came once more.

But, burying her face in his shoulder and clinging to him with all her might, she didn't stop.

"H-Haa! Go-Gods! Olivia!" Robin answered her cries as she smoothly began sliding her hips up and down his cock, feeling her pussy wrapped almost painfully tight around him each time she came, feeling her fingers digging into his shoulder as she screamed in pleasure, but always, always feeling her continue.

Again, and again she danced herself down his length. Without ever changing the tempo, without losing the flow or slowing her pace.

With her vision long since faded to white and her tongue lolling weakly out of her mouth, Olivia's cries were reduced to barely more than ragged gasps, but even acting purely on instinct still her walls contorted tight around him, squeezing and milking his cock with everything she had, as if her entire soul was devoted to the one purpose.

Sliding noisily up and down, the atmosphere was thick with desperate, reckless need, her movements screaming only of a blazing desire, an uncontrollable lust.

"O-Olivia! I'm, Gods!" Robin cried, his fingers digging hard into her ass as he fought down the desire to take control back from the dancer, gritting his teeth and panting desperately as he felt her smooth melodic movements trying to wring every last drop of cum from him. "I-I'm getting close!"

'O-Outside!' Some distant echo of reason whispered in her mind. She couldn't possibly let him- it was too dangero-

"INSIDE ME! CUM! ROBIN!" She begged, her mind long since gone and voice returning only long enough to feel his cock pulsing inside her. "Naga! I-I want it!"

The thought of losing his cock now, of not feeling it inside her anymore, she couldn't possibly take that! She needed it, she needed to feel his seed inside her, to be painted in his colours!

"GHHAAA!" Robin roared in response, holding tight to her with all his strength as she slammed herself down one final time, peaking once again as his cock drove hard into the deepest walls of her pussy.

"H-Haa, ahaa!" Still orgasming, Olivia was barely able to even process the feeling as she felt his cock grow even larger inside her, felt it scraping and twitching against the back of her pussy for a single moment…

"G-GHHA!" He gasped, spots dancing in front of his eyes as the pressure finally exploded and his cock sprayed rope after rope of thick, hot cum violently against her innermost walls. Hands holding her clasped in place, he leaned back with a guttural moan.

"AIIYAAA-"

Sensitive beyond telling and with her entire body shaking and convulsing, Olivia came the instant she felt his seed pushing against her body, then again and again with each twitch of his cock, each fresh burst of his release. Her mind was seared blank and her vision faded, her eyes rolling back in her head as the indescribably pleasure coursed through her, changing her completely and utterly.

And then everything went white.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

"I-Ah…huh?"

Blinking herself out of a daze, Olivia had no idea how much time passed before she came back to her senses. "Ah-ghnng…" She added, panting weakly and squirming in his lap as her senses slowly un-fogged and she could once again feel his cock, still hard within her.

"Hey there." Robin whispered gently, running his hands softly up her back as she turned to look at his warm, smiling face. "Are you okay? You passed out at the end there."

"I-Oh, ah." She could only barely remember it, "It…it just felt so good." All she could remember was the pleasure, almost going insane with it.

…That and a small voice, an intensely burning desire within her, already telling her she needed more…

"Yeah." He sighed happily, cradling her head in his hands, pressing his lips against hers, they kissed gently, lovingly this time. "You were amazing, incredible."

"W-Was I?" Her heart skipped a beat, and even now, after everything, she found herself blushing. "I-It was good?"

"I couldn't take my eyes off you." He answered.

And she knew then, lying in Robin's lap and feeling his cum dripping thick down her legs, that he wasn't like any other man she knew. She could feel it in the way he held her, in the way he kissed her, in the very atmosphere of the room...

She could feel just how much he wanted her. Just how much he needed her.

"Good." She smiled, laying her head exhausted into his shoulder. "That's how it should be."

She should have felt guilty, or hesitant, or a thousand other things. But all she felt was an incredible warmth, the fulfilment of a desire she'd sought her entire life.

It was the greatest feeling in the world.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Notes:

AN: And there we have it! Like I said, a little bit sweeter this time no? Ignore the context a little and we’ve got what I think almost works as a Robin/Olivia love story. If nothing else, didn’t you have fun seeing the dancer who was scared to have anyone look at her, grow into a woman begging her man to watch her?

A little less sex than I envisioned (sorry to everyone I told I was going to put a threesome in this chapter, that and several other fun scenes got excised, expect them next time!) but a lot going on, and hopefully the sex that is here was enjoyable!

But again like I said at the top, I like Gregor, portraying him like this is NOT bashing him. It’s simply taking his epilogue seriously. He’s a great guy, but he’s also a flawed man, and even so Olivia is just as much at fault as he is. By refusing to confront the issue he never even realised he was causing a problem. Still of course, ultimately, Robin is the one to blame. Robin’s the bad guy here.

Also: I'm soliciting feedback. We’ve had quite a few of the first generation Shepherds in a row now, so I’d like to bring in one of the second generation soon. I’ve got them all planned out, but most of their stories are somewhat flexible in terms of order (not Cynthia, sorry).

So, here’s another chance to influence how this story progresses. Tell me which of the second generation Shepherds would you like to see first?

And, good news for those of you most concerned with the first generation, each of those stories also requires some setup with regards to their mother. So, a vote for Kjelle means Robin needs to take care of Sully first, Nowi for Nah, etc. So, if you really want to see any of those, go and make your voice heard. Bonus points for dropping your reason in a review/PM, you might be able to sway me over in a close call!

Anyhow, that’s enough out of me!
Up next… Does anyone else think it’s about time we applied some of Robin’s new instincts to the scientific method?

Chapter 7: Bonus – A Small Push

Notes:

Authors Note: Hey all! So a little faster on the update this time, thankfully. I was aiming to have this out before Christmas, obviously that didn’t happen, but, I did manage it before New Years. So! Merry Christmas and a Happy New Years to you all.

However, as you’ve probably noted from the title, this isn’t Miriel’s chapter just yet.

In short, as you will have seen, quite a bit of time passed during Olivia’s chapter. I was planning to lead into Miriel’s chapter by showing Robin’s perspective on those events, showing everything that happened on the way to that end.

However it ended up being a lot bigger than I anticipated, to the point where trying to shoehorn Miriel in would be doing it a disservice, so I’m going to get that all out of the way like this!

One thing I want to note quickly, just in regards to some feedback I’ve gotten. This is not an NTR focussed story, it has NTR/cheating elements to keep the scenario realistic, but the focus of the story is manipulation. It probably feels like an NTR focussed story because of the first few women I’ve focussed on two of them have been married, but remember the majority of the Shepherds aren’t married. Hell, I’ve even removed three potentially married ones from the pool.

I say this because I don’t want the people who’re here only for NTR to end up disappointed/bored in the next few chapters as a much greater focus is put on the single women. Especially when the children characters get involved (none of whom are married).

Bonus – A Small Push

 

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Robin knew, better than most, that sometimes all someone ever needed was one tiny push. After all, it’s often the smallest of changes that yields the greatest consequences.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Eighteen Days Ago

The first thing Lissa noticed was the comfortable warmth blanketing her.

“Mmmm…” She mumbled, eyes opening for just barest of instants before she snuggled back against the man behind her. It was still early, her internal clock answered, at least another hour before dawn…far too early to wake up yet. Mind resolved she squirmed happily back into his chest, smiling at the feeling of his arms draped loosely around her.

Lying like this, held in his arms, she felt safe, warm, protected. It was a wonderful feeling, but also somehow nostalgic… Strange for Lon to hold her like this, didn’t he usually sleep on the far side of the bed? She hadn’t been wrapped up like this in a long time, not since the last time she’d slept with Ro-

‘E-Hu-AH!?’

Eyes shooting wide open, a blast of adrenaline froze her in place, her heart slamming painfully hard against her chest as she suddenly recognised the feeling…

…As she recognised where she was.

‘Gods!’

The warmth of his body against hers, the comforting feeling of his breath across her shoulders, the security of his arms around her.

Screwing her eyes shut in disbelief changed nothing. She didn’t even need to look to know it. It was the familiar loving comfort she’d felt so many times before, that she’d thought of so many times since.

‘R-Robin...I, Gods. ‘I, th-that’s, I… No’

Breath held tight in her throat, Lissa’s stomach twisted into a tight knot as memories of the previous knight…of the previous few hours, returned painfully.

She was in Robin’s bed.

She was in Robin’s arms.

She was- she ha-

“H-Haa. Hhaa…” Her breath came again, ragged and shallow as she lay there, numb with shock, held securely in the embrace of a man who was not her husband.

It was only through years of personal experience in some of the most violent and dangerous conflicts around the world that allowed Lissa to keep her composure even as her mind threatened to shut down.

Her body slowly regained its movement and she wriggled out of the tactician’s arms, panicking far too much to even notice if she woke him or not. “H-Haa…” Walking on shaking legs around his room she set about awkwardly re-gathering her clothing in the pre-dawn light, shrugging her dress hurriedly back on, buttoning it back up as much as she could bear before finally fleeing the room.

*Thchunk*

It wasn’t until she was in the hallway, with the sound of his door thumping shut behind her that Lissa’s thoughts finally began to return.

‘I-I went to him.’

Running from the scene, with her footsteps echoing soft through the early morning tranquillity, only one thought haunted her all the way back to her own quarters.

‘I slept with him, I slept with Robin!’

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Returning to the safety of her own room finally allowed Lissa to regain a slither of her composure, locking the door behind her she slumped heavily against it and slid slowly to the ground.

“I can’t believe it.” She lied, covering her face with her hands choking back tears of frustration.

The truth was it was all too easy to believe. It was hardly even a surprise.

Can you really tell me you think of me only during this time of the year?

His words echoed dully through her mind, and even now, slumped to the floor and angrily not to think of what she’d done, of everything she’d said…still, she couldn’t deny his words. ‘No. No I can’t…’

“Gods.” She cried, leaning back and staring up at the ceiling in a daze. “Gods, I’m such a mess.” Lying there, sticky with sweat and cum, even now, she could feel his seed dry along her thighs and halfway down her legs.

“I need a bath.” She groaned, her voice shaking as she bit back another frustrated sob. She needed to clean herself off, to soak in the warm water and wash away the evidence of her sins…to think about what to do next, how she could possibly face her family again.

She needed all that. But she didn’t move.

Instead, running a finger tentatively along the sticky sheen running up her legs, Lissa’s thoughts returned to what had happened, just how she’d gotten into this positon.

“Robin! You told me you love Lucina!” She whispered, another guilty knot wrapping around her stomach at that. Was she a home-wrecker as well as a- a who-… Screwing her eyes closed she bit down hard on her lip. ‘Gods, Robin. Why? Did you really mea-’

“No!” She scolded herself, balling her fists in her lap and refusing to allow such thoughts. “No. It’s, this…it wasn’t Robin’s fault.”

She couldn’t blame him. He hadn’t done anything wrong. He’d comforted her when she’d been miserable, held her when she’d been about to break down at her sister’s memorial. He hadn’t had a single ulterior motive, he’d supported her, he’d been there for her, just the same as he always had.

‘A-And…’ Fresh, angry tears built in her eyes as she forced herself to admit the truth. ‘And I threw myself at him.’

Robin had been so sweet, so kind, looking after her, he’d taken her back to her room…And she’d just…she hadn’t wanted him to leave! She hadn’t wanted to be alone! She’d missed him so much last year-G-Gods, so much! She hadn’t even been thinking, she’d just…

She’d needed him.

“H-Huaaah.” She shook shivering in the spot.

I desire you always.

“R-Robin…” She breathed, shaking as his gentle words ran through her mind, unsure what to possibly make of them. After five years, after three wars and everything they’d been through, finally he’d made his feelings clear… Robin loved her. He’d loved her all this time.

But…But, he’d never said a word before, never hinted at any jealousy about her marriage, he’d congratulated her and Lon’qu as much as any other Shepherd.

‘H-He must have…he must have been holding it back for so long.’ He’d never said anything…he wouldn’t have said anything, she knew that. Robin would never have come between her and Lon, ‘I-If I hadn’t…’ If she hadn’t forced herself onto him, if she hadn’t kissed him.

Naga, it had just seemed so natural. So right. As soon as she’d been in his arms she’d been yearning to kiss him, even in front of all her family and friends she’d ached for a tighter embrace, for him to squeeze her, love her and take away all the pain of Emmeryn’s day, just the same as he always had before.

‘He even tried to stop me.’ She grimaced, another guilty weight settling into her stomach as she admitted that.

He’d confessed his feelings for her. He’d told her he wanted her to be his…but then he’d left. He hadn’t pressured her, he hadn’t tried to convince her or make a single demand of her. He hadn’t wanted her to make a decision based off any clouded emotions or an ultimatum. He’d apologised for his actions and left her to choose what she wanted…what she needed.

I’ll always be here for you either way. No matter what.

“Naga…” She groaned. No, Robin hadn’t done anything wrong. He’d held himself back, he’d tried to protect her, he’d given her space, even put distance between them.

‘But I went to him.’

She’d known what would happen. Every single step, all the way to his room. She’d known.

“Why…? Why did I…” She loved Lon! She loved him so much it hurt! She’d been so lonely lately without him or Owain around, she missed his presence every single day! So, why? Why!?

Because it had been Emmeryn’s day. Because even after all this time it still hurt so much. Because it was a habit. Because Robin always made the pain go away. Because she had been so lonely standing there without her husband. Because she loved Robin too.

All those reasons were true, if it was anyone but Robin, if it had been any day but Emmeryn’s day, she would have never acted like that.

But, with her finger trailing slowly over the dried cum on her thighs, she knew there was also another reason.

‘Because I missed it.’ 

“G-Gods.” She shuddered, a hot shiver running up her spine, her face heating up as more and more memories came to the fore.

It had been so long. So unbearably long, since she’d been held so tightly, since she’d been taken so thoroughly.

Lon’qu was always soft, always gentle, and always worried about hurting her, as if she was a porcelain doll and the smallest mistake could shatter her to a thousand pieces.

No matter how many hundreds of times she urged him faster or harder, still his movements remained always careful and precise. No matter how often she asked to hear his voice, still he remained silent. No matter how often she tried calling out to him, still he looked uncomfortable at hearing her moans. Their lovemaking was pleasant, but almost as emotionless as the man himself.

Being with Lon’qu she felt loved. He made her happy.

Being with Robin she felt…she felt everything. She felt needed, she felt used, she felt wanted, loved, desired and everything in between. His cock had slammed easily into depths her husband never even tried to reach and he’d made her submit to him, completely and utterly. “Ugh-ah.” Lissa gasped, stifling a small moan of satisfaction as her pussy throbbed at the memory.

It had been so long, so unbearably long. She’d almost forgotten sex could be so passionate. And it had bene even better than she’d remembered, better somehow than even what she’d guiltily imagined in her weakest moments.

Gods! Even now…even despite her guilt, Naga, she felt amazing! She could still feel a small warmth burning somewhere deep within her, her body thrumming with the sensations and already aching for more.

In all the time they’d spent together, Robin must have cum inside her a hundred times but somehow it had never felt as intense as last night. She’d known something was different the moment she’d felt it, the almost painfully raw pleasure searing through her soul…the whisper in the back of her mind that said she could never be the same again, as if he’d marked her permanently with his essence.

You’re mine. Again, Robin’s words reverberated through her but this time the memory sent her heart racing faster, a pleasant warmth flowing through her. She could clearly remember her response. ‘Yeah, I’m y-‘

“A-Ah, wh-what?” Gasping, Lissa suddenly jolted upright, screwing her eyes shut and shaking off her runaway thoughts. “What am I thinking!?”

Growling and pushing herself shame-faced to her feet, she just about tore her dress apart in frustration as she stripped herself naked, standing on shaking legs once more covered only in the proof of her sins.

“It was a mistake. Just a stupid, stupid mistake.” She cried, her heart shuddering as thoughts of her betrayal rose again. “Stupid, G-Go-Gods, H-huaaha, uaaah…”

The bitter guilt dragged all other thoughts away from her once and more and angry tears spilled hot down her face as she staggered weakly towards the bathroom, suddenly desperate to wash herself clean.

What would Emm think of her? What would Owain think of her? What would…what would Lon think of her?

I want you to come to me anytime you desire me.

“No, I-I won’t.” She swore, shaking her head furiously “It was, it was just a mistake.”

Even if she had missed Robin’s touch, even if she did love Robin, Lon was the one she’d married! Lon was the one she wanted to be with!

Lon was the only man she wanted to touch her. What she’d done was terrible, but she would remember it, she wouldn’t let it happen again.

She told herself that was true.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Fifteen Days Ago

“Are you sure you don’t mind?” Robin hummed, running his finger lightly down Lucina’s bare back, marvelling at her tiny shivers of pleasure. “About me hiring Olivia?”

“Of course not.” She answered simply, smiling warmly back at him from where she was resting her head on her hands, her face still glowing red in afterglow from their fierce coupling. “You surely must help her if you can.” Especially if Olivia was also able to help him in return, it seemed so simple she was surprised he was even bringing it up again.

Not seeing a need to explain further, Lucina gave a contented sigh and shut her eyes, relaxing back down into the mattress as she enjoyed his fingers teasing a gentle pattern across her flushed skin.

“Mmmm.” She hummed. This, this was perfect.

Robin had come to her, suddenly and aggressively. Yanking her into his arms and all but throwing her on her bed, he’d given her almost no option but to submit to his overpowering carnal desire- as if she could possibly have wished for anything else. She had surrendered herself to him immediately and he hadn't wasted a second. Holding her down and driving his cock into her with all his strength, Robin had made her gasp, made her scream, made her thrash and cum- over and over, until she finally collapsed to the mattress in a dizzy heap, her womb flooded with his seed. The former Exalt of Ylisse thoroughly and unquestionably marked as his.

It would have worried her how much she loved that thought, if it were not impossible for her to ever be scared of him.

“Ahhh.” She sighed, happily.

And now, leaning over her and gently caressing every inch of her skin, he was as gentle, as kind, a lover as she could ever have imagined. His fingers drew out softer, slower, passions from her, bringing forth small contented sighs from her lips as his tender ministrations continued until she’d long since lost track of time, his affection making no question of his worship of her.

It was a loving reminder, that just as she was his, so too was he hers.

The conquering lover and the devoted fiancé. He was more than she’d ever imagined a man could be, both her dreams and her secret lusts filled at once.

“It’s only…” He continued a few minutes later, leaning down and tracing butterfly kisses along her shoulders. “Most women would find it a little, er-well, you don’t think it’s a bit strange, me having another woman dancing for me?”

“I-I would…I would dance for you if I knew how.” She promised in return, her back arching as she released a soft gasp. “But no, I don’t think it’s strange at all. You must have seen her dance a thousand times before.”

“That’s true, but…” He paused, the air heavy with his hesitation. “Lucina. Tell me truly. If you-if you’re not comfortable with this, I’ll apologise to her, I’ll tell her I can’t hire her. I won’t do that to you.”

“Ro-”

“Olivia is a beautiful woman.” He interrupted, his words plain and clear even as his fingers traced anxious circles along her hips. “And I’ll be alone with her. Are you truly okay with that? With her dancing for me? W-Won’t you get jealous?”

“Robin…” Smiling at the warmth flooding through her from his concern, Lucina turned herself over in place, reaching her arms around his neck and gently dragging her down to her.

“I will get jealous.” She admitted, holding his head into her shoulder, sliding under him and wrapping her legs securely around his waist, guiding him slowly inside her once more. “But not because she’s beautiful.”

“N-Ahhn, Nor because she will be d-aah-dancing for you.” She added, pleased moans interrupting her words as he slid smoothly forward, his glans stretching out her inner walls once more as her well lubricated pussy slid tight along his length, taking him fully within her.

“Then… Then why?” He whispered, content to hold himself in place, his cock pressing lightly against her womb as he murmured the words into her neck.

“I-I will be jealous only tha-that she shall spend so much time with you.” She finished, pulling his head back and laying her hands against his cheek, letting him feel his ring on her finger, the proof of their bond, of her unwavering trust.

“Would that I could- could assist you, or be around you as often without drawing suspicion. I… I wish I could.”

It was a surprisingly melancholy thought for how good her mood was. She was his fiancé, she was the woman he loved, she should be around him that often. Instead, she was useless, their relationship hidden away as if she was ashamed of it… Robin had to put up with so much of her selfishness, it was something she truly hated about herself.

“Lucina.” He laughed both bitter and thankful. “You’re, you’re so much more than I deserve. More than I could ever deserve. I-I…”

A suddenly vulnerable look flashed across his eyes and she was surprised to see him suddenly gritting his teeth, clearly fighting back troubled thoughts. “I, I would…to make you happy, to protect you. I would do anything. N-No matter what it took. No matter the price.”

“I know you would.” She answered, stroking his face and slowly rocking her hips up against his. “I would do the same for you.”

Nodding, Robin smiled at her once more, his worries slowly fading from his face as he leaned down to her. Their lips came together and Lucina closed her eyes, melting into his embrace as they kissed- long and tenderly.

Holding each other tight, their tongues danced together in time with their bodies, quiet gasps and whispers of love exchanged intermittently as they let time pass languidly between themselves, making love in a softly passionate rhythm.

There was no haste or desperation this time, drawn only by love, neither sought anything more than the pleasure of being joined with the one they loved most.

“A-Ahhh.” She sighed. This, this was perfect.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Fourteen Days Ago

“Lon…” Lissa breathed, sitting bolt upright in bed, her slender body bathed in the pale moonlight as she gently stroked her fingers across her husband’s cheek.

It was late. Far too late. She should be asleep. She knew all that. But, just like it had the last four nights, sleep still eluded her, or maybe it was that the desire to sleep eluded her. And so, instead, she remained awake, staring silently at her beloved as her mind twisted itself in circles.

Once again, the same desperate urge seared through her, her hand suddenly tensing- She needed to tell him! That was the only way to make this better! She had to wake him, to confess her crimes, to explain everything and beg his forgiveness!

“Ga-Tch.” And again, she pulled away, screwing her eyes shut as she slumped weakly against the cold stone wall of their shared bedroom.

Yesterday her husband had returned.

After more than three months apart, more than a quarter of the year spent in the freezing northern lands, the man she’d married had finally come back to her.

Gods, she’d been so happy to see him, so relieved, so elated.

He’d held her, just like he always did and she’d kissed him, just like she always did. She’d stuck to his side the entire day, she’d pressed him for stories, she’d teased him for his silence and laughed when he got flustered…just like always.

It had been great, it’d seemed like everything could be okay, as if things could somehow return to how they had been- how they were meant to be.

And then, night had fallen. They’d retired to bed, he’d rolled into his side and she into hers…And…

…And nothing.

“H-Haaa…” Lissa sighed, her entire body shuddering with the heavy memory.

She hadn’t called out to him. She hadn’t slid over to his side. She hadn’t reached out for him. She hadn’t done a thing.

He’d wanted her to, he’d been waiting for her, she couldn’t possibly have missed the expectant tensing of his muscles, the way his eyes had darted over to her. But still, she’d done nothing.

Yesterday perhaps she’d had an excuse. He’d only just returned, a little after lunch, no doubt he must be tired from the long journey, her inaction could easily be understood as simple compassion.

But today, she had no such excuse.

After an entire day of telling herself she would, an entire evening of preparing, of planning…she’d lain silently, staring at the ceiling and tried not to meet his eyes, feigning fatigue until she heard his own breathing even out into slumber.

He hadn’t said a word about it. Of course he hadn’t, he never would. She knew her husband, Lon’qu’s logic was simple, if she didn’t approach him, then she didn’t want it.

‘No! I-I do want it!’

She wanted to feel the closeness of her husband, she wanted to think of no-one but him, she wanted to yearn for him, to playfully jump over to his side of the bed and pounce atop him, to suddenly surprise him…just like she used to, just like she had all the other times he’d gone away and returned to her.

She wanted to want it, she wanted to want him!

But…

But, she didn’t want to lie under him, stifling her voice and making as little sound as possible, worried about putting him off.

She didn’t want his hands on the bed beside her, his body barely touching hers from his fear of crushing her.

She didn’t want to feel him thrust carefully into her with such dispassionate precision, to see all her swordsman’s incredible strength restrained and each movement  of his body cold and calculated, controlled with the same discipline he held himself to on the battlefield.

She didn’t want to always make love in bed, always under the sheets and almost always at night. She didn’t want him to push her hands away during the day, she didn’t want him to ignore her coy glances in the gardens, or her suggestions to join her in the bath.

She didn’t want… she didn’t want…

‘Gods.’ Lissa’s heart shuddered and she didn’t allow herself to finish that thought.

It wasn’t as if she’d never said anything! She’d asked him a hundred times, teased him a thousand times, been mean to him a score of times…but he was too stubborn, just as infuriatingly stubborn as her. She was the only woman he was comfortable around, the only woman he’d fallen for. He loved her too much, respected her too much to ever compromise, no matter her protests.

She was a princess and the woman he’d married, she was precious to him in ways no other woman could be, Lon’qu could never let her sully her dignity, or damage her pride.

But Lissa was a free spirit by nature, all her life she’d never cared much for royal posturing or worried about propriety, to have such restrictions suddenly imposed on her, even out of love, it was as endearing as it was stifling.

Even so, she’d understood. She’d accepted it and loved him none the less for it. Each time he left her, shed yearned for his touch and as soon as he retuned she’d ached for whatever embrace he could offer. She’d thought of Robin sometimes, of their time together, but never enough to act on it. She’d been happy.

And now…now she felt nothing. No longing, no craving, nothing. Her husband had been back only two days, but already it felt as if he’d been back a week.

‘I-It’s because I feel so guilty!’ She rationalised angrily, telling herself that was the only reason for her hesitation. ‘Of, of course I’m not in the mood! I betrayed him!’ She scolded herself as another guilty knot settled inside her. She couldn’t just jump into his arms as if nothing had happened, Lon deserved far better than that!

“I have to make it right.” She swore, swallowing heavily as she reached out with a trembling hand.

She had to tell him. He needed to know. Being honest with him was the least she could do. She would tell him the truth, what had happened and everything she felt and…and they would work it out from there. She’d already intended to tell him a hundred times, a thousand times, she’d made up her mind! There was no reason to delay, no reason for her to have delayed even this long!

Except…

And again, just as it had so many times already tonight, her hand paused.

…Except, Robin wouldn’t want her to.

And at that thought, just as it had every other time, the tension in her arm collapsed and she fell away once more.

She didn’t know how she knew that, but she knew it to be true. She didn’t know why that was so important to her, but it was.

It shouldn’t have mattered. But it did.

A small fire smouldered within her as she slumped backwards, a tiny ache just on the edge of her consciousness, a teasing desire she could just barely ignore.

“Lon…” She breathed, her hand once again stroking her husband’s sleeping face. “Why? Why didn’t you stay with me? Why is Basilio so important to you?”

She didn’t mean the words, not really, she knew her husband was blameless. But she spoke them none the less, her heart aching painfully as she quietly gave voice to her guilt-ridden frustrations.

“Why didn’t you come back? D-Don’t you know how much that day means to me? H-How much I miss her?” Why had it been Robin at her side that day. “Why…why weren’t you there for me? Why didn’t you come back sooner?”

“Gods… Everything changed when you were away.” She finished, withdrawing her hand and shuffling back over to her side of the bed, turning away from her husband and huddling into a ball.

Staring numbly ahead, still far from sleeping, the words she’d spoken that day echoed endlessly around her mind, until it was impossible to think of anything else.

Yeah.  She had sighed, smiling warmly with acceptance. I’m yours.

Even now she could remember how easily they’d come, how right they’d felt.

‘Lon…Why did you let another man claim me?’

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Thirteen Days Ago

It was late morning before Lucina gave in to the uneasy feelings that had been haunting her.

‘He’s with her now…Again.’

Of course he was, he was meant to be, that was obvious. Today was Olivia’s second day working for Lucina’s fiancé, the second day that the beautiful dancer would spend the entire day in his company, while Lucina was left with only sporadic rendezvous whenever their duties would allow.

Even without consciously intending to, she’d lingered around the Shepherd’s barracks as long as she could after the morning training, she’d even gone out of her way to visit Robin and make small talk after preparing tea for him and Morgan. But eventually there had been nothing else for it, she had her own work to do in the palace, studying and training to eventually step into a role as an Ylissean magistrate- preparing for a future where she would help her father and Robin assisting the Halidom however she was able.

And even if that weren’t the case, and no matter how much she may wish to, she could hardly just spend the entire day with the man…not with the way the Shepherds talked. She’d find herself cornered by Maribelle and Lissa within the week, let alone her mother… Sumia was eager enough to see a baby Morgan without getting a hint of something actually brewing between the two of them.

‘Still… I cannot help but wish it were me that with him instead.’ She sighed heavily, allowing a spike of melancholy to run through her as she stared distractedly out to the palace gardens.

It didn’t seem fair at all, that another woman would get to be with him all day, would be with him every day, would be with him alone and in company and as close to him as Lucina could dream of. ‘It’s my own fault- my choice.’ She scolded herself bitterly; she was the one that had begged him to conceal their relationship. She was the one that had rejected his proposal.

The fact that she was now forced to stand aside, to continue to conceal her feelings and watch as another woman remained so close to him was nothing more than the consequences of her choices. ‘I have none to blame but myself.’

“Well,” she sighed, “Perhaps it’s for the best.” At least this way Robin would be able to help Olivia, and of course, she knew that Olivia would be able to assist him in return. Lucina had seen first-hand the stress his workload put him under, if the dancers abilities were even half as effective as they’d been on the battlefield then she would surely be thankful for her making his life easier.

And yet, event he thought of Robin’s terrible workload being eased didn’t quench her uneasiness, even as out of place as she sometimes felt, Lucina wasn’t so naïve as to not understand why men enjoyed watching Olivia’s dances. ‘Is that what Robin likes?’ She wondered, even for everything else he was, he was still a man.

She swallowed a hard lump in her throat at that thought.

It wasn’t difficult to imagine… The tactician watching Olivia with the same rapt attention she’d seen from countless other men during the war, him leaning over his desk, captivated as the beautiful dancer swayed hypnotically before him, her every movement alluring and enticing, holding him transfixed and teasing with hints of her generous assets, the flesh hidden only by the thin silks she wore.

“H-Haa.” She breathed heavily, her face flushing and heart wrenching at the idea but now her concentration had come unbound, the thoughts continued relentlessly.

She knew Robin would never be disloyal to her, she had no doubt of that, she couldn’t imagine him straying from her even in her wildest fantasies… But, she also knew how irresistible he was. She knew, that he was the most attractive of any of the male Shepherds, that his kindness and brilliance sometimes eclipsed even her fathers, she knew he could easily capture any heart, even without intending do.

It wouldn’t be surprising at all for Olivia to discover those same truths for herself, if she hadn’t already. “G-Ghhn.” Lucina winced, a painful heat suddenly burning inside her, but even still she couldn’t stop the images…

Thoughts of a late night, when both were wary and control was weak, of Olivia’s routine slowly changing, her starting a performance created especially for Robin. Of a the dance taking on a slow, sensual tempo, her hips shaking suggestively and her actions drawing his eyes all over her body, running her hands along her stomach, tugging on the hem of her shirt, guiding his view across her large round breasts…

“AH-Haa…”

Biting her lip, Lucina could picture the charged tension between them rising to an erotic high as Olivia slid around to Robin’s side of the desk, her clothing falling unwanted to the ground with each step…the dancer sliding hot into his lap, her arms around his neck and her hips grin-

“W-Wha, haaaah! I- Gods!” Gasping and shaking, she suddenly reared back, slapping her hands against her face and forcing away the terrifying images as she hurriedly fought back her usual composure.

Sucking in a deep breath and trying to ignore the rapid hammering of her heart, Lucina leaned weakly against the cold stone wall of the palace. ‘Naga…What’s gotten into me?’ She wondered as a guilty weight settled into her stomach.

‘Ridiculous! Insultingly ridiculous!’ Screwing her eyes shut with ashamed embarrassment, Lucina couldn’t believe she’d even allowed such thoughts to go as far as they had. Robin would never allow anything like that happen, and Olivia! She was married! She was Inigo’s mother for Naga’s sake. ‘G-Gods, I owe them both an apology, even just thinking such things…’ She only needed a second’s thought to remember how the situation had even developed to remember how devoted Olivia was to her husband.

“Perhaps I am jealous after all.” She sighed, unsure what to make of her troubled emotions. Was that really it? She didn’t think so…but then, perhaps that was just her ego talking, jealousy wasn’t an emotion she was very familiar with. The only other time she could remember feeling like this was when Tharja had taunted with predictable lies of being with Robin.

‘I wonder if this is just part of being in a relationship.’ She considered finally, shaking her head as the awful, wrenching pain around her heart finally began to ease, ‘To think that I would be unsettled so easily…’

“Hmph.”

“A-Ah, huh?” Knocked from her daze and spinning in place, Lucina suddenly found herself staring face to face with that very same dark mage. “Oh, ah-I, I apologise Tharja… I was just, just lost in thought.”

Taking sight of the woman, she quickly noticed the way the sorceress was clutching a small package carefully against her body. Leaning a step closer, she realised it was a basket of fruit, each seemingly having been painstakingly prepared already. “Oh, is that for…er- for Robin?”

“Someone has to make sure he eats.” Tharja scoffed, “He barely remembers to look after himself some days.”

It was an odd feeling, the knowledge of another woman looking after the man she loved, but it was one Lucina found herself more grateful for than put off by. Robin deserved whatever kindness he could get, whether from Tharja or anyone else.

“You’re right.” She agreed, smiling despite herself. “He’s always has much on his mind, it worries me often.”

“Oh? Is that why you looked so concerned?” Tharja smirked, clearly having enjoyed seeing the usually reserved princess so flustered.

“I-I,” Schooling her features, Lucina was careful not to react. “I’m fine.”

“Tch.” The dark mage scoffed, looking away but making no movement to walk past her.

“Tharja?”

Drawing herself up with an almost frustrated sounding sigh, the other woman scowled, thrusting the basket of fruit into Lucina’s hands as she did so. “Here.”

“W-Wha!?”

Spinning on her heel and walking away in her usual imperious manner, Tharja didn’t even bother offering her a single backwards glance.

“Don’t forget-you’re the one who makes him happy.”

“Huh?” She was gone long before Lucina could even begin to respond to her surprising words and, knowing her, she very much doubted Tharja would appreciate her chasing after her with thanks or questions. Even despite their differences, she knew the other woman well enough to understand that.

“Tharja…” She breathed, utterly touched as she stared at the unexpected gift…a reason to go see Robin, delivered from the woman she knew would wish to see him just as badly as her, a woman who must be equally as unsettled by Olivia’s new role in Robin’s life as she was.

‘I’m the one who makes him happy…’

In all her life, Lucina had never imagined to hear such an admission. Not from Tharja. The dark mage was too proud, too determined to ever give up.

Hearing them now, it felt as terrible as it did wonderful. Leaving her with an almost painful guilt at the pain she knew her relationship must be exacting on the sorceress as much as with a powerful elation at knowing that the words could only mean her acceptance, her acknowledgement of Lucina’s secretive relationship with the tactician.

“I-I won’t forget!” She promised, already racing towards the Shepherds barracks.

Whether the gift was from pity or from solidarity Lucina neither knew nor cared, all that mattered as her footsteps echoed down the halls was that all her previous uneasiness had vanished from her heart.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Twelve Days Ago

It didn’t happen every week, nor even often enough to expect it but the moment Robin heard that quiet, hesitant knock on his door his entire body suddenly perked up with anticipation.

“Noire?” He called out, smirking as he saw Olivia surprised out of her routine. “Is that you? Come in.”

“I-I’m not interrupting?” She answered, tentatively pushing the door open, just enough to slip through the entrance.

“Of course not! I was just-” Cutting himself off, Robin spied the parcel she was holding carefully between her hands, his stomach growling angrily in anticipation. “Oooh! You brought something?”

“Oh, ah.” Flushing as she shifted her weight nervously from foot to foot, her eyes dropped to the floor. “I-It’s nothing much. I just thought…maybe you’d be hungry?”

Pushing his work aside, Robin leaned back with a welcoming smile. “That’s incredible! Your timing is as good as ever, I’m absolutely starving!

“But,” he added, holding a hand up as the younger girl’s face brightened noticeably. “Do you mind if Olivia joins us?” So saying he nodded over to where the dancer was doing her best to blend into the furniture.

 “O-Oh, ah, er- hello Mrs. Olivia.” Noire offered nervously, only just now spotting the other woman. “O-of course not, if, if she wants?”

“Ah-please, just, just call me Olivia.” Olivia winced, looking equally as uncomfortable, each utterly failing to meet the other’s gaze as they shuffled awkwardly in place, not quite sure what to make of the situation.

“She’s been helping me recently.” Robin laughed, taking the lead as he walked around his desk, pulling up two chairs and gesturing them both to sit around his desk. “You’re in luck today though Olivia, whenever Noire brings something around, you know she’s outdone herself. We’re in for a real treat!”

“N-No! Ro-Robin! You’re embarrassing me!” The archer stammered, slinking red-faced into one of the chairs as she pushed the container to his side of the desk. “I-It’s not much, I just…I just, I like cooking and it always makes mother happy when she hears I’m spending time with you… AH! N-N-Not that that’s why I do it! I just, Gods, I’m sorry! I didn’t mean it like that!”

Nodding as Noire’s explanation trailed off into a familiar stammered series of apologies, Robin wasn’t surprised to hear about Tharja’s reaction at all. No doubt she wanted Noire to accept him as part of their family, her desire that he father the “Noire” of this timeline was hardly a secret.

Not for the first time he wondered just what role he’d had with the dark mage’s family in the original timeline, Noire clearly enjoyed his company and they’d formed a pleasant friendship during the war, but she didn’t seem to treat him as if he was some close uncle or family-friend. Perhaps something had soured between him and Tharja?

“Speaking of your mother,” He added, pushing that unhappy thought aside, knowing well just how poorly any attempts at prying would be received. “How is she? Is she treating you well?”

That Tharja loved her daughter was unquestionable- that she showed that love was very often questioned.

“Oh, yes!” Noire beamed, “She’s been soo happy recently! She spends a lot more time with me, and, and she’s always smiling, whenever she doesn’t think I’m looking! I, I think I even heard her singing the other day!”

“Tharja? T-That is a surprise, wow. Do you know what’s brought that on?” He asked, supressing a small burst of warmth at that knowledge. His actions, betraying the woman he loved, there was no doubt it was terrible- but no matter how guilt ridden he was, he cared dearly for Tharja, to hear that he was at least able to make her so obviously happy- it couldn’t only be a bad thing…could it?

“No, I, I don’t know...I don’t want to ask, I’ve never seen her like this. I-it’s nice.”

“That’s wonderful!” Olivia cried, beaming just as happily. She’d never been friends with Tharja, but she too was the mother of an equally troubled future-child, seeing any of the families getting along was always a pleasant reassurance for her. “I’m, I’m really glad to hear you two are getting along.”

“T-Thank you.”

‘It’s funny really.’ Robin thought as he leaned over, carefully undoing the packaging around Noire’s package. ‘They’re surprisingly similar.’It was something that hadn’t occurred to him until just now, but if you put aside the difference in appearance, their mannerisms were so similar you could easily mistake Olivia as being Noire’s mother instead.

“Oh, a cake!” Olivia gasped, the moment the box fell open, “You bake Noire? I never knew!” He couldn’t blame her, it was certainly hard to imagine anyone making anything like that in the ruined future.

“O-Only sometimes, I just…Mother had a recipe for a strawberry cheesecake and I thought, it might be nice to try?”

“Well I’m not gonna wait!” Robin declared, pulling out a knife and quickly cutting out three slices. “You know I’ve been looking forward to this, it’s Noire’s cooking that keeps me going sometimes!” Backing up his statements with action, the tactician’s piece vanished a moment later.

“Mmmm!” He hummed, despite his full mouth. Tharja’s surprisingly good cooking skills had certainly been passed down to her daughter.

“Oo-Ooh!” Olivia hummed in appreciation as she tried her own slice. “W-Woah, this is great!” Being a dancer, and someone of peerless grace, she managed to restrain herself enough that her portion lasted a few moments longer.

Savouring the last of the flavour as she closed her eyes in a small moment of bliss, the dancer was almost lost for words. After so long eating little but the cheapest foods possible, a delicacy like this, was-was, “Ahhhhh! That was…that was perfect.”

“R-Really, it’s not much.” Face burning bright crimson in a grateful mortification, the archer was too busy burning a hole in the floor with her eyes to even attempt to eat her share. “I just, I always thought…it’d be nice to be a chef. And, when we were in Valm, Robin offered to help me practice.”

“N-Nhot,” Swallowing, Robin tried again, “Not offered, so much as leapt at the chance!”

“Mhmm!” Olivia nodded, licking her fingers clean, already eyeing the rest of the cake hungrily. “I can see why. I can’t make anything like that, did you use magic?”

“Only a little... It’s really, it’s just a cake. I just thought, R-Robin’s always working so hard, and mother always complains he doesn’t take care of himself. I-I thought I could help…a little…”

“Thank you Noire.” Robin nodded, wishing she’d meet his gaze for a moment. “Really, I wasn’t kidding before. You should come by more often, it really is a joy anytime you visit. I look forward to it.”

His words did nothing to cool down the archer’s burning red face, or the way she was squirming self-consciously in her seat. “B-But, it’s nothing compared to Olivia. I always thought that your dances were so, so amazing… You made us all feel so much better, it was...they were so great. An-And now, Morgan told us you’re here helping Robin?”

Now it was Olivia’s turn to fidget in place, her own face heating up at the praise. “I-I’m not doing much, I ju-”

“Olivia heard I was having a hard time lately.” Robin cut in, keeping his voice light and easy-going. “And so she kindly offered to dance for me. She’s been an amazing help already.”

“T-That’s not how it happened!” Olivia squeaked, waving her hands in deflection. “I just, y-you always do so much…I-I don’t know if I even, even help at all.”

“I-It must!” Surprisingly it was Noire that spoke up this time, her voice as steely as Robin had ever heard from the timid girl, “I-I know when, whenever I saw you on the battlefield, it always cheered me up! And-and afterwards, when everyone was exhausted, o-or hurt, we’d see you a-and it felt better!”

“Wow, I-Gosh, tha-”

Unfortunately, the dancer was barely even able to get a word in edgewise. “So, so I know if you’re dancing for Robin, then it’s definitely helping him!”

“N-Noire...” Olivia breathed, touched by the younger woman’s assurance.

“I just, I’ve always…always thought you were so brave.” Noire stammered weakly, both women desperately trying to avoid looking directly at each other, or at Robin. “E-Even Inigo didn’t dance on the battlefields.”

“Heh.” Robin chuckled to himself, leaning back and watching as a spark of friendship slowly grew between the two women. Even despite the differences in their lives, they really were too similar.

‘Still,’ He added internally as he cut up some more of the cake and passed it out. ‘Olivia’s not who she really takes after.’

The future children by and large could be separated into two categories; those like Lucina and Cynthia who took heavily after their parents and those like Nah and Gerome who didn’t. There were some exceptions of course, but what had most surprised him- something he hadn’t truly understood until he’d started sending time with the archer, was just how much Noire belonged in the former category.

‘She really is her mother’s child.’

It was funny, they seemed to different at first glance. Tharja was one of the most powerful sorceresses in the world, while Noire could barely cast more than novice spells. The mother was cruel and merciless in battle but the daughter would never willingly finish off a fleeing enemy.

And yet, the more he’d gotten to know either of them, the more he’d seen the same truths. The same kindness, the same selflessness, the same mannerisms and that they were both almost painfully shy introverts.

The only real difference was how they dealt with it. Tharja feigned an aura of violent confidence, hiding her shyness behind a thin veil of hostility she flaunted her power and made it clear she would follow him, would protect him- even at the cost of her life. Noire meanwhile wore her emotions on her sleeve, withdrawing from attention and instead radiating a kind ephemeral beauty. No matter how many enemies he’d seen her dispatch, still there was an instinctive desire to hold her close, to keep her safe.

Even in their manner of dressing they had turned out to be surprisingly similar. Tharja’s alluring outfit made no mystery of her incredible body, but he knew well enough to understand the design was standard for mages in Plegia- he’d spent enough time in the boiling desert sun to realise the practicality of the light material and he’d seen the way she cringed away from the lustful looks she drew to understand she kept wearing it for similar reasons to why he always wore his cloak. When her life had been tipped upside down, her clothes were about the only familiar things she still retained.

Noire, meanwhile, having grown up in Ylisse covered her body almost to the extent at which Tharja didn’t, her bare shoulders the only exception, a concession made for her role as an archer.

Her body though… ‘Gods’… Even despite all she wore, there was no denying how strongly she took after her mother. It was something he’d only begun to appreciate when he’d returned, but now, as his eyes ran greedily over Noire’s generous curves, Robin couldn’t understand how he’d possibly missed it.

With full soft lips and a cute round face, Noire was unquestionably attractive. Slim and lightly toned, both mother and daughter possessed the same trim stomach, the same gentle curve of their wide hips and the same perky, round ass. However, no matter how impressive the rest of her figure was, Noire, just like Tharja, was almost unfairly impossible to define by anything except her most striking feature…

Swallowing his suddenly dry throat, Robin allowed himself a moment to drink in the sight- Noire’s incredible, pillowy breasts straining tight against the confines of her top.

‘Gods.’ He repeated, his instincts smouldering hot as he flicked his eyes over to Olivia, eagerly enjoying the view down her dress as the dancer reached over for her second helping of the dessert. Looking at her round, full mounds, wrapped tight in the thin silken top, he knew her bust was certainly not lacking.

And yet… Noire was her mother’s daughter. Before her, even the dancer’s generous assets seemed smaller by comparison. In all Robin’s travels and all the women he’d met, the only one he’d seen who could compete with Tharja’s lineage was Naga’s daughter herself.

‘I wonder…’ He grinned, biting down on his lip as he covertly watched the younger woman follow Olivia’s movements, drinking in a perfect view of her mountainous cleavage as she reached to take a slice herself. ‘How would they feel?’ Would it be just like her mother’s?

Ever since she’d seen the fruits of her first experimentation with them, Tharja had been eagerly incorporating her breasts into their encounters. Robin was now well accustomed to the feeling of such large, soft breasts wrapped warm around his length…

‘Mmm…’ Tuning out the woman’s conversation, his thoughts raced and as his cock became rock hard below the desk, he could easily envision it…

Him holding Noire from behind, nibbling on her ear and hearing her quiet gasps as his hands sunk softly into her heaving chest.

Her eyes going wide and face burning crimson as he spun her in place, kissing along her neck and undoing the bindings around her chest, releasing her mounds directly into his hands.

Him pushing her gently to ground, watching her expressions change as he pressed his cock between her mounds, gasping as he felt her warm, velvety flesh engulf him…her full lips hot and wet against his glans as he thrus-

‘A-Ah!’

Biting hard down on his tongue, Robin forcefully jerked himself back to reality, desperately hiding his excitement with a long, slow breath.

‘Naga!’ He cursed himself, a sudden sick weight wrapping around his stomach. ‘What am I thinking!? That’s Tharja’s daughter! I’m sleeping with her mother for Naga's sake!’ Is this the kind of man he was now? Gods, what kind of man would fantasise about the daughter of the woman he’d taken as a lover!?

‘AND, she’s one of Lucina’s trusted companions.’ His battered conscience reminded him, its words as dull as ever against pragmatic reality…was that really any worse than what he’d done with Lucina’s beloved aunt?

‘I need to be careful.’ He reminded himself with a sigh.

‘I want her.’ He didn’t bother trying to deny it. He knew it and accepted it. He was a tactician. He would never run from a truth, no matter how painful.

A deep, primal, part of him craved her. Even now, he could feel the fire within him crackling and sparking, burning hotter each time he looked at her. For all that Noire took after her mother, she also held a simple, pure innocence her mother lacked. Where Tharja wished to lay everything before him, to be his without reservation…some instinctive part of him wanted to conquer Noire, to defile her, bind her forever to him and make her his. Just as he did with Lissa, just as he knew he would with Olivia.

‘Gods!’ He scolded, shaking those thoughts away before they could progress any further. ‘Godsdamnit! Calm down! Calm down!’

Thankfully the fire inside him was smouldering only gently, sated by his actions with Tharja and Lissa, its heat was only a fraction of the previous need he’d felt. But then- didn’t that mean the intensity of the desire was from his own wants? That he was solely to blame, not his rampaging instincts?

‘No. It won’t happen. Gods! Tharja wants you to father Noire, not to fuck her!’ He reminded himself. Clenching his teeth and ignoring the furious spark of pleasure that seared through him at the thought of the dark mage proudly carrying his child.

“-in, Robin? Are you alright?”

“A-Ah, huh?” Blinking himself out of his uneasy thoughts, and trying to ignore the way his cock was straining painfully against this trousers, Robin looked up to see both women staring worriedly at him.

“A-Are you okay?” Olivia asked hesitantly, “You seemed lost in thought?”

“Oh, yes, sorry. I’m fine.” He nodded, forcing a smile and shaking his head with a soft laugh. “Geez, for some reason I was suddenly thinking about the Malinee accounts… Urgh, I’m not looking forward to dealing with those dastards again.”

“O-Oh?” He smiled warmly at Noire’s sympathetic look, glad she’d at least accepted his excuse.

“But, that’s actually just reminded me.” Robin added, his analytical mind quickly providing an ideal distraction. “Noire, it’s rare for you to bake a cake. You usually only do it for special occasions, have I missed something?”

“A-Ah! N-No, no, not at all!” She stammered, throwing her hands up in defence. “I just, have you heard? Severa’s coming back to Ylisstol soon! I-I’m really happy!”

“Oh right!” Olivia beamed, “You two are really close aren’t you?”

“S-She’s my best friend!” The archer declared awkwardly, recovering a moment later. “I know she can seem a little…harsh. B-but she’s very kind! I missed her.”

“That is good news!” Robin grinned happily, easing himself back into the conversation. “She’s been gone for a few weeks now hasn’t she? I know I’ve missed her myself, geez, Cordelia’s probably worried herself sick. It’ll be good to have her back.”

“I-It will!”

With that, the conversation quickly turned back to lighter matters while they finished off the last of the cooking. Pushing the earlier thoughts from his mind, Robin was able to slowly force his body to calm down to normal.

It wasn’t until nearly an hour later, with his eyes following every swing of the archer’s tight, round ass –his mind automatically comparing it against her mother’s-  as it swung innocently out the door, that he allowed his earlier musings to return. ‘Gods… Maybe I’ll go see Tharja tonight.’

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Eleven Days Ago

“Robin!”

Looking up from his work to see Lissa angrily pushing the door to his office open and stamping into the room with a frustrated frown, Robin had to hold back a smile of intense satisfaction.

‘Right on time.’ He noted. First thing in the morning, exactly a week since Emmeryn’s day and three days since Lon’qu had returned, finally, the Ylissean Princess was here to confront him. To discuss everything that had happened between them.

“I-I need to talk to you!” she continued, her hands balled into fists at her side. “I’ve been, it’s all jus-”

“That’s fine.” Robin interrupted gently, carefully keeping his voice “But shouldn’t we talk about it in private?”

“Ahu-wha?” Lissa blinked, looking around the empty room in bewilderment. That was part of why she’d come so early, to ensure that they wouldn’t be interrupted.

“Olivia will probably be here in a few minutes.” He explained, “And she’ll definitely think something’s up if my office is suddenly locked and soundproofed when she arrives.”

“Oh, er…right.” She winced, looking away as her momentum dropped. With the way her mind had been racing at the thought of finally approaching him, she’d somehow forgotten the dancer was working for Robin now.

“Look, Lissa, I’m sorry. Honestly, I’ve been wanting to talk to you too…” He offered, spreading his hands with a reassuring smile. “I just, I wanted to wait until you were ready. I didn’t want to pressure you.”

“Y-yeah, I know.” She sighed, twisting her fingers around each other awkwardly. As easy as it was to try blame Robin for everything that’d happened, she knew he hadn’t done anything wrong. She was the one who had approached him.

“Why don’t we…can we talk this afternoon?” Robin suggested, a trace of nervous anticipation heating his words, “If you come back after lunch I can ask Olivia to go take care of something else for an hour.”

“An hour? I-Sure, okay.” She nodded, turning to go. “I’ll, I’ll see you this afternoon then?”

“Right. It’ll be… It’ll be good. I’ll be looking forward to it.”

The door swung shut behind her.

Sinking heavily back into his seat, Robin lasted barely a few seconds before breaking out into a wide grin, his entire body ignited with an incredible surge of adrenaline.

‘So this is it then?’

Finally.

For a moment his heart shuddered at the memory of Lon’qu, at the guilt that had torn at him three nights ago, at the guilt he knew would haunt him for many days to come.

But it was too late to stop, too late to reconsider and far too late to turn back.

Finally.

 ‘What would be best…?’

When the dancer came in almost twenty minutes later, Robin was still deep in thought, his chin steeped in his hands as he ran through the myriad of possibilities before him.

When standing so close to victory it was only natural to try act safely, to hesitate and consolidate what gains you’d made rather than risk losing everything. It was a flaw he’d seen in countless tacticians, one he’d been guilty of himself earlier in his career…

“Olivia.” He spoke up, addressing the dancer for the first time since he’d entered. “I need you to do me a favour.”

…It was a flaw he’d corrected.

His very soul roared in approval, every fibre of his being pulsing with pleasure as Robin finalised his plan. He would act assertively, chasing a total victory with everything he had, trusting absolutely on his comrades and the surety of his knowledge of them.

Just as he had so many times in the past.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

The rest of the day passed almost unbearably slowly for Lissa, it was almost impossible to think of anything but her upcoming discussion with Robin. After finishing lunch she lingered uncomfortably around the Shepherd’s barracks, sitting quietly in a corner and feigning interest in a book she’d brought along- waiting nervously for Olivia to walk out the door.

By the time she finally watched the dancer skipping down the stairs and sashaying out the door, her mind was spinning with a thousand whirling emotions. She didn’t know what to think, what she wanted to say, or even what she wanted to feel- all she knew was that she couldn’t possibly wait any longer.

“Robin.” She called out, pushing his door open and glad to see the tactician looking up at her with the same trace of nerves, his room as empty as he’d promised. “I’m here.”

“Yeah.” He breathed, moving slowly from behind his desk and locking the door securely behind her.

This was it. She was committed now, she couldn’t run anymore, couldn’t hide from what she’d done.

Turning to him, Lissa paused, swallowing heavily, ‘Naga.’ He was so close! Barely a step away from her, staring down at her with that same caring smile as always, the same loving gaze that had always protected her.

A small fire smouldered softly inside her, burning away all the words she’d thought to say. “I-Robin, I…”

“Lissa…” He answered, his hand reaching out, laying softly against her cheek.

‘A-Ah!’ Leaning instinctively into his touch, feeling his skin warm and soft against hers, she had to supress a moan. It had only been a week, it felt like a lifetime.

“I’ve been waiting for you.” He whispered, his words sending a shiver down her spine and kindling the fire ever hotter. “I missed you. Gods, I just, I didn’t want to hurry you.”

“I-I know, I, Naga!” Pulling away, she desperately screwed her eyes shut, trying with all her might to make sense of everything. Talking to him like this, feeling like this, this isn’t what she’d planned! This wasn’t what she’d wanted…was it?

“Gods! Robin! I don’t know, nothing makes sense right now!” She wailed, stepping balling her hands into fists and retreating a step away from him. “I-It’s not fair! I never used to feel like this! I’ve never felt like this before. An-and, I know it’s all my own fault, I came to you…I just… Why?”

“Lissa…”

“Why…why do I love you?” She breathed, clenching her arms across her body as her eyes bored a hole in the floor. “Why can’t I stop thinking about you? I’m married… Gods… I’m married! I love Lon, more than anything! B-But he’s been back for three days now and I haven’t approached him, I haven’t touched him. I know he wants to but I just…What did you do to me?”

‘Huh, so it’s always on her to initiate sex?’ Robin considered, cataloguing that away. Thinking about it now, it wasn’t all that surprising, especially given the man’s long held discomfort around women. The thought of approaching even Lissa intimately must be almost impossible for him. She had a strong personality, but not so strong that she wanted to always be in control. ‘I imagine she got tired of that fairly quickly.’

“I didn’t do anything to you.” He answered, pushing those thoughts aside for later, “I only told you the truth, how I feel about you. How I’ve always felt about you.”

“R-Robin.” She hesitated, her eyes flicking across him for only a brief moment, not missing the sincerity in his eyes. “I don’t, I don’t know…” What was she saying? Hadn’t she come here to get answers from him? To finish things between them?

“You do.”

“Wh-wha?”

“You do.” He repeated, stepping closer, his smile as warm and reassuring as ever. “Lissa, you do know. It’s why you’re here, why we’re talking now. You came to see me this morning and then agreed to talk when we had more time, I said I’d send Olivia away for an hour and you were relieved.

If you were here to tell me what happened was a mistake, that you regretted it or that it only happened because it was Emmeryn’s day- that wouldn’t possibly take an hour. If you truly believed any of that you would have told me directly in the morning and that would have been the end of it. Instead, you were relieved to have enough time, relieved we would have an hour together, alone.”

“I-” Swallowing, she could only stare back, her heart racing as his words dismantled everything she’d told herself, blowing away all the comforting excuses she’d made.

“You do know Lissa. You know what you want and why you’re here, now. You just feel guilty about wanting it. The reason you’re so uneasy is because you keep lying to yourself.”

Was that true? That couldn’t be true…could it? Mind reeling, she desperately sought for an explanation.

‘W-Wha!?’

But Robin moved first, instantly covering the distance between them, his arms wrapped securely around her waist, tugging her gently into his chest and pressing his lips warm against hers. “A-Ahmm!” Moaning softly, Lissa’s mouth opened instinctively, accepting him as she melted comfortingly into his embrace. “Ahmm.”

His hands ran hot across her back and she found herself desperately fighting for control, holding back an indescribably sense of relief, a cruel feeling of satisfaction.

Breaking the kiss Robin dragged his mouth hot along her shoulders, sucking greedily at her smooth skin as his hands moved to the back of her neck, expertly undoing the ties to the dress- just as he had so many times before.

Wasting no time in tugging the fabric down, he freed her breasts to the open air, running his hands hot over her soft mounds. “A-Ahh!” Gasping at the sensation, Lissa’s eyes flew wide, her back arching into his touch and her mind finally jolted back to the present.

“W-Wait! R-Robin.” She begged, her breaths suddenly coming in ragged pants as she had to fight with everything she had not to simply give in to her desires. “W-wait.”

And he did. The moment she asked it, his hands stopped. Only barely touching his chest, she was abruptly denied all the pleasure he’d been eagerly offering a moment ago. Clenching her teeth, Lissa almost screamed in frustration.

“Of course.” He whispered, voice as gentle as ever. “Lissa, I’m never going to pressure you or force you to do anything.”  

“H-Haa…” She panted. She needed to stop this, she needed to get away. She knew if she didn’t, if she didn’t stop herself now, she would never be able to stop again… But even as she thought that, even as she tried desperately to remember why this shouldn’t feel so right, already she was pressing herself back against his hands, forcefully grinding them against her soft flesh. “HHa-Aahh.”

‘G-Gods!’ Her entire body was on fire, every inch of her aching for his touch, begging to feel him. Her pussy throbbed angrily as she squirmed on the spot and she could already feel how soaked the thin fabric of her panties was.

“I’ll wait.” Robin repeated, “If that’s what you want.”

Gods! Naga… If that’s what she wanted? “I-I want, I want…” Twisting her hands angrily around the lapels of his cloak the last of Lissa’s resolve finally gave way. “I want you!”

He went with her motions and finally their lips crashed together once more, mouths open in violent passion as one of his arms wrapped securely around her waist, the other again kneading wonderfully hot over her breasts.

‘Naga! I-I’m sorry!’ She lied, groaning lustily into his mouth and clinging to him with all her strength, her body blazing with joy, finally releasing her long withheld desire.

With practiced ease his fingers flicked the straps across her stomach open, loosening her leather waistcoat and giving him access to the buttons of her dress, something Robin wasted no time exploiting.

“H-Haa” She panted, flushing in excitement as her dress fell apart at her feet. Leaving her in nothing but the stockings up to her thighs and a thin pair of matching white panties…she was at least wearing her smallclothes this time.

Breaking their kiss and moving his mouth to her neck, Robin pulled her against him, turning her in place and running his fingers hot over her stomach.

“Lissa.” He sighed her name, his lips dragging down the length of her neck until he was biting gently into her shoulder. “There’s one more thing, this is important.”

“Y-Yeah?”

One hand moved up her body, cupping around her breast kneading it gently as she groaned in appreciation. The other trailed down her abdomen, tracing a path between her thighs and sliding only painfully slowly under the thin fabric of her soaked underwear, pushing them down her legs to the floor. “You’re not the only woman I’m with.”

“W-Wha?” She gasped, caught between listening to his words and bucking her hips against his teasing fingers, urging them toward her aching pussy.

“Since I’ve returned… you’re not the only woman I’ve taken to bed.” He clarified, as his middle finger finally pressed along the length of her slit, rubbing lightly across her clit. “Does that bother you?”

“I-Ah…Hnhaa”

Robin wasn’t true to her? He had another lover? Did it bother her!?

Of course it did!

She paused, chewing heavily on her lip and stifling a groan as she felt his fingers gently spread her aching pussy lips open.

Didn’t it?

…Weren’t they in love? Wasn’t that how they’d gotten into this situation? She’d always loved Robin, and when she’d lost control and pulled him into her arms, he’d admitted the same love for her. Even despite being married, she’d let her passions get ahead of herself and accepted his feelings.

‘No.’ No that wasn’t quite right. She knew it now just as she’d known the moment she’d felt his seed burning through her, engulfing her in the same warmth that lingered across her soul even now.

You’re mine.

Yeah, I’m yours.

This wasn’t an affair, nor any kind of equivalent exchange of feelings. She’d given herself to him, completely and utterly. Even if she hadn’t acknowledged it, even if she couldn’t admit it, it remained true. The fact that another woman had done the same changed nothing.

“No.” She gasped, her hand atop his as she pushed his fingers into her, leaning back with a guttural moan as he slowly slid two fingers into her. “N-No, ahghaaa… No, that doesn’t bother me.”

“I see.” Even without looking, she could imagine the grin on his face.  She could hear it in his words, the same smile she’d seen a thousand times before, the one he wore when he knew that everything was accounted for. That everything had come together, exactly as he wished. “Good, then you understand- why you’re here, what you want.”

“A-Hhha.” Screwing her eyes closed, Lissa nodded, her hips automatically bucking against his fingers, pushing them deeper inside her, grinding them harder against her walls.

“But,” He caressed her breast harder now, teasing and turning her nipple as she ground herself back along his cock, feeling it rock hard against her ass through his clothes. “You still feel guilty, don’t you? That’s why it’s taken you so long.”

“I-Of, of course.” She panted, screwing her eyes closed as the guilty thoughts ran through her again, as she thought once more about what she’d done…what she was doing. “Gods, of course I do! I love Lon, I just…just…” Just what? Did she even have a single excuse anymore?

“I told you before.” Robin scolded her lightly, dragging his mouth along her neck in rhythm with his fingers twisting inside her walls. “You haven’t done anything wrong.”

He knew, better than anyone, exactly how true that was. Lissa was blameless. All the blame, all the guilt and sin was on him. He was the only one at fault here.

“B-But, I-”

“But you feel guilty, you hate yourself for wanting this, for having always wanted this.” He finished, pausing his movements completely and holding her squirming in his arms. “You want to be punished, you feel like you need a penance for your actions.”

“Punished?” She repeated, her body already attempting to urge him back to motion. Is that what she wanted? To pay for all that she’d done-for all that she wanted to do? Was that even possible? Her breathing came faster as her heart raced. The answer came to her as much from instinct as desire.

“I told you before, that you’ve done nothing wrong, that this is where you belong. Words obviously weren’t enough, so I’m going to show you now.” He answered, digging his fingers back into her once more, laughing confidently as she gasped in delight. “You want to feel guilty, to be punished? Fine. I’ll do that.

“And then.” He continued, his words ringing with absolute finality. “I’m going to give you absolution.”

“H-HNngaaa!” Lissa moaned in response, rocking her hips back and forth against his touch. She wasn’t sure what to make of his words in the first place and it was quickly becoming harder and harder to think.

‘N-Naga! I’m getting…getting close!’ Lon’qu never held her this tight, never teased her so confidently- never made her feel like this! It was almost unfair how easily Robin could drive her so insane, it was like he knew everything about her.

And unfortunately, knowing her so well meant he could also tease her in ways she could barely stand! His arms held her securely, but his fingers kept a steady pace, ignoring how she shook her hips, refusing to move as fast as she ached for. Turning and twisting them inside her, he scraped them against her sensitive spots “G-GHaa!” but never quite hard enough, never quite enough to drive her over the edge!

She’d been soaking wet before he’d even laid his hands on her, more than ready to cum with but the simplest movements, but instead he kept matching his pace against hers, purposefully teasing her, dragging her pleasure out until it was maddening!

 “A-Ahhnggaa! Robin! I’m gonna- Ahnh!”

Throwing her head back and forth, crying out through grit teeth, there was nothing she could do but accept it, feeling her mind slowly going blank as her vision turned white and his relentless stimulation worked  her higher and higher, dragged with a torturously steady speed towards an incredible orgasm.

“I-I’m! I’m! R-Robin!”

And then, just as she knew she couldn’t take it anymore, finally standing on the verge of her peak, writhing and shaking in his grip…

“Robin? Love? You asked to see me?”

…Suddenly a new voice called out, followed by a gentle rapping on the door.

Eyes wide, Lissa turned in terrified shock towards the door, “No-Nagh! GHHH!” Both her hands flew to her mouth, desperately stifling her moans. She knew Robin had ensured his office was soundproofed long ago, but in that moment she couldn’t possibly think clearly.

The only thing on her mind was a desperate need to hold back her voice... “N-GhGAAhh!”… And an even more desperate need for the release her entire body had been aching for, for so long! 

Humming lightly into her neck, Robin’s fingers finally sped up, finally gave her the feeling she’d been begging for! Twisting and turning inside her, he continued to rhythmically scrape them along her walls, grinding them harder, deep inside her pussy.

“Ngghh!” Lissa whimpered, her hips thrashing and legs shaking, as she was forcefully taken right to the edge of the bliss she was seeking. Even despite her panic, she could barely concentrate on anything else. Not even when she felt his lips move from her neck, a minor incantation barely heard against her skin…one to remove him from the silencing wards for a few seconds.

“Yes, I’m in here.”

Not even when she heard his voice speaking up, not even as her fear spiked, she couldn’t hold back! She couldn’t care! It was too late! She was too close!

“Come in.”

The door swung open.

“Robin! Are we alone? I wa-EAH?”

He pushed his fingers deep into her, hard and rough, hitting every spot she’d been aching for.

“HNG-AIIHAAAAAAA!”

Face to face with the stunned face of the Shepherd’s dark mage, with her entire body arched backwards, shuddering and thrashing in the tactician’s strong grip… Lissa finally came.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Tharja had known, for some time now, that even without Lucina, Robin would never just be hers, that one day she would find her beloved in the arms of another. She knew it to be a simple truth, that the man she loved was so much more than just a man, that no single woman- even one who loved him as much as she did- could ever be enough for him.

But knowing was not the same as accepting and watching Robin with Lucina all those countless times through her scrying orb wasn’t the same as seeing it in person.

She still remembered the pain she’d felt so long ago in the scorching sun of the Plegian desert, when she’d first seen them together. And, knowing the inevitability of it, she’d wondered how she would react when the time did come, when Robin did come to her with another woman; would knowing of his needs dull the agony of her jealousy? Would she scream? Would she cry?

Finally she had her answer.

“Hehe.”

Closing the door behind her, Tharja walked calmly into the room, her eyes never once leaving those of the Ylissean princess as she watched Lissa held tight in Robin’s arms, her guttural moans echoing loud around the room as she came, her entire body convulsing in a violent orgasm.

It was in that moment, watching the Exalted Princess’s body still desperately buck against the tactician’s hands- even as she screwed her eyes shut in shame, that Tharja realised it.

This was right. This was how it should be.

Tharja had been raised as a Grimleal most of her life. Even as a reluctant believer, she still knew the rites, she knew the ceremonies.

But now, Grima was no more, Robin had killed him and stolen his powers for himself. As man he had slain Plegia’s deity, and now…now he was something greater than the Demon Dragon could ever be.

Grima was dead. Robin was her God now.

“I’m here, as you asked, my love.” She purred, her face flushing as she drew closer. A single incantation and a wave of her hand did away with her clothes, leaving her standing naked before them- her breasts heaving at the sudden release and her pussy throbbing in response to the powerful smell of sex in the air.

She looked again at the young princess, gasping and panting desperately in his arms, smirking to herself when she saw Lissa doing whatever she could to avoid meeting her eyes.

This was how it should be, him with some woman wrapped around him and her always at by his side.

Tharja knew now, everything she was and everything she wanted to be. She was never to be Robin’s wife, but nor would she be his whore. She was his Hierophant, his lover, his mistress. Lucina, bearing his ring, was his left hand. And she, loving him like no other, would be his right.

So, if his wife’s place was in his bed, bearing his children…

Tharja sank wordlessly to the ground, her hands reaching past the princess and releasing Robin’s belt, her fingers running automatically along the tantalising length of his rock hard cock as she released it from the confines of his pants.

…Then her place, was on her knees, between his legs.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

“A-H-Hey!” Lissa gasped, watching in numb shock as Tharja slunk to the ground in front of her, feeling her reaching around her, pulling at Robin’s length from where she’d been grinding it against her ass.

And then, unexpectedly, the tactician slowly drew his hand back, pulling his fingers out from Lissa’s sensitive pussy. “A-Ohhaauuuu!” She moaned loudly, unable to stop herself from crying out at the unwanted withdrawal. “W-Wait, I-A-Ahua!”

Without a single word spoken, both Robin and Tharja worked in perfect unison. He slid his fingers fully out from inside her, working them teasingly up her body and at the same time, Tharja pushed her feet apart, gently pushing his cock down and settling it warm and hard between Lissa’s legs- pulsing greedily up against her soaking pussy.

“Oh-A-Ahha” She moaned, her hips sliding instinctively back and forth along the rigid length, feeling her lips pushed out around this thickness and shivering in delight as both Robin’s hands moved to her breasts, eagerly squeezing and fondling her mounds in time with her movements. “G-Gods!”

Still coming down from the high of her orgasm and dealing with the shock of everything happening so quickly, of Tharja sitting before her, Lissa looked down at where her lover’s cock was jutting out from between her legs- looking almost as if it had come from herself. ‘Even just this much…it’s still bigg-’

“Mmmm!”

Jolted from her thoughts by the feeling of the dark mage’s hot breath tickling against her sensitive folds, Lissa’s body shuddered again and Tharja eagerly sank forwards, hungrily swallowing as much of Robin’s length as she could, continuing until her face was pressed right against Lissa’s pussy. “Ah-HHaaaa!”

“Ah-HAhmmm.” Robin sighed, releasing his hold on one of her breasts and speaking for the first time since the other woman had entered. “Gods. That’s wonderful Tharja.”

Reaching down and running a hand gently through her hair as he felt her mouth bobbing up and down along his shaft, he continued a moment later. “Yeah…Just like that, Gods… This is why I love you so much.”

Surprisingly, Lissa felt the heat inside her burning even hotter at hearing him whispering words of love towards another woman, but, she didn’t even have a moment to consider it; the sorceress’s reaction to his compliment was visceral! Practically shivering in delight, Tharja’s pace rose rapidly, the entire room quickly echoing with the wet sounds of her lips wrapped desperately around the tactician’s hard length.

“A-GHHaa!” Lissa cried again as Tharja again swallowed as much of him as she could get, her mouth pressing up against the princess’s soaking pussy, grinding it as far back along Robin’s cock as she could go.

Reaching up to press her hands over the tactician’s, pushing his fingers firmer into her soft breasts as she arched her back into his chest, Lissa couldn’t tell if she wanted to moan or to scream! Being pleasured like this was almost frustrating! Tharja’s lips never did more than brush against the her pussy each time she bobbed her head down Robin’s shaft, and as wonderful as it was feeling herself spread open by his thick rod, it only made her body ache to feel his length inside her.

“A-Ahgh!”

And yet, despite that, shuddering as Robin kissed hot across her shoulder-blades and Tharja’s tongue flicked across her labia, it was shockingly intense. She’d never even imagined being assaulted on two fronts like this! Chewing on her lip and throwing her head from side to side, she quickly lost track of time, barely able to concentrate on anything else as her hips bucked involuntarily up and down Robin’s length and she slowly risked losing what little control she’d maintained.

“Mm-mmah.” Tharja moaned, leaning back and letting his cock slip from her mouth with a loud pop, resting it warm against her face as her hands gently squeezed his balls. “Why are you holding back love? I want to taste it.”

“Ahh…” Robin sighed, humming his pleasure into Lissa’s shoulder. “Tharja, you’re too good to me.”

“Robin…” There was no doubting the adoration in the woman’s voice, Lissa had barely heard such a loving tone from anyone before, let alone from Tharja.

“But, that’s enough for now.” He answered gently. “I want you to look after Lissa.”

“B-But, I…” She hesitated barely a moment. “Of course.”

“W-Wha? M-Me?” Lissa gaped in confusion, her shock numbed by the feeling of Robin slowly drawing his cock back along her aching pussy, the cockhead teasing her lips open for a single moment before it too was pulled back and hard between her ass-cheeks, the sticky trail of Tharja’s saliva and her own juices dripping hot into the small of her back.

And suddenly, with Robin’s hands occupied caressing her breasts, Lissa was left feeling completely exposed, spread wide with her dripping pussy barely a few centimetres from the dark haired sorceress.

Gulping, Lissa looked down between her shaking legs and to where the sorceress was staring up at her…and for a moment she was stunned, captivated and humbled by the sheer desire writ across Tharja’s deep violet eyes. She wanted what Robin wanted, and Robin wanted her to…to… “T-Tharja, wait, I, I don-AHI-YYAAH!”

Ignoring the princess’s pleas, Tharja wrapped her arms softly around Lissa’s legs, leaning forwards and laying a deep, sensual kiss directly onto the girls clit. Opening her mouth, she rolled her tongue across the sensitive folds with surprising gentleness.

“G-GODS!” Lissa gasped, her hands gripping tight to the dark mage’s hair and her legs squeezing around the other woman’s head. “T-Th-Tharja! I-I-Nnnnaga!”

‘It feels just like-’ Her mind screamed as the sorceress slowly trailed soft kisses all around her labia, pushing her tongue inside and teasing it against the princess’s inner walls. ‘J-Just like, Robin!?’

The experience was as new to Tharja as it was to Lissa, Robin had always been the only lover she’d ever had, or wanted. However, the tactician had always been a generous lover to her and the dark mage had become very accustomed to finding herself lying back on her desk, or his bed, with her legs tight around his head as he got her off, again and again.

And Tharja, more than any other woman, catalogued everything there was to know about Robin. Everything he said, everything he did, an obsession she’d never needed to understand compelled her to understand every facet of his being. Even without experience, she knew exactly what he did to pleasure her, she couldn’t never possibly forget anything that intimate. To replicate his actions now was as natural as breathing.

Deep in her most secret thoughts, the guilty fantasies she’d never shared with another soul, Lissa had imagined another woman’s head between her legs a small handful of times. “Naga-aahnn!” It had been little more than an idle thought at first, just a few pleasant daydreams of blonde curls and sensual caresses, but never once, not even in her wildest imagination had she ever imagined Tharja’s black tresses bobbing up and down across her thighs. “Gods!” Never had she dreamed of the sorceresses tongue tracing a soft, loving, path across her clit. “Th-Tharja!” Never had she pictured the dark mage’s milky white hands gripping tight to her thigh, her mouth pressed hot against Lissa’s folds as she pushed her tongue further inside her pussy.

Robin’s expert caresses only further destroyed any ability Lissa had of trying to think, his hands alternating between gentle and hard over her breasts and his length rubbing hot along her ass and up her back. “I can’t! I can’t hol-Gods! I’m! I’m getting close!” She wailed, running her hands desperately through the other woman’s hair and bucking her hips equally against the soft tongue in front of her and the hard cock behind.

“Cum!” Tharja demanded, humming the command directly into her clit before again carefully taking it into her mouth.

“Don’t hold back.” Robin added, nibbling on her ear as he squeezed her nipples between his thumb and forefingers.

“G-GHGAHAAAAA!” She screamed, her legs wrapping tight around the mage’s head and her hands gripping the back of her head with every ounce of desperate strength she had.  “AIYAA-AHHHAA!” Convulsing and shaking, Lissa’s eyes rolled back in her head, her vision turning white as she came again, just as violently as the first time, her entire body going rigid for a moment before suddenly collapsing, falling slack into Robin’s chest once more.

“Gh-Haahaa…haaaa…” She panted weakly, spots dancing in front of her vision and her tongue hanging limply out of her mouth as she gasped for breath.

“Mmmm.”

Tharja, just like the tactician she was emulating, didn’t pause for a moment. Pulling away only long enough to catch her breath after being almost smothered by the princess’s lust, she quickly resumed, placing gentle, butterfly-light kisses all around Lissa’s clitoral hood.

“A-Gh-Ahha-Ahhhaaa!” Breaths coming in short bursts and still incredibly sensitive from orgasm already Lissa could already feel another peak quickly rising within her. “H-Hey, I-, hnaaa!”

“Tharja.” Once again, Robin took control just as she began to lose herself. “Do you know why I asked you to come here?”

And again, they acted in perfect unison- Leaning back and trailing her tongue up the length of Lissa’s thigh, Tharja drew herself to her full height, rolling her hands from the girl’s hips and around until the tips of her own smaller fingers were now dragging lightly across the princess’s soaked entrance. At the same time Robin drew back, releasing her breasts and trailing his fingers carefully down her back until he was resting the top of his hand above her ass, the top of his middle finger pressing lightly against the hole.

“H-Haaa…” Lissa shivered, clenching her teeth and standing rigidly in place as she felt both holes being teased at once.

If there was some signal, some cue between them, she didn’t see it, but they moved as one.

Tharja’s arm snaked around her hips, holding onto her and pressing her body hot against the princess’s “H-Hhaa!” The dark mage’s mountainous breasts pressed hard into Lissa’s own smaller bust, their nipples rubbing together and creating an indescribable friction as the mage pulled tight against her, burying her head in Lissa’s shoulder and nibbled gently on her burning flesh.

Robin held her securely from behind, his arm wrapped over her stomach and keeping her firmly in place as she felt his muscular chest pressed hard against her back. “Ahhnn.” His cock remained stiff against her back, even as his other hand claimed her ass, and his head lay on her other shoulder, his kisses growing with intensity as he worked his way up her neck.

“Ahhnnn.” She gasped, her hips shaking involuntarily once more as she felt herself sandwiched tight between the two bodies, Tharja’s flesh bare and soft to her front, and Robin’s hard and strong behind her.

“I wanted your help.” He continued, smiling at the princess’s weak gasps. “To help Lissa, actually.”

And again, their movements were as if synchronised. “Wwai-ghhaaa!” Robin pushed his finger even firmer against her, pressing past her resistance and sinking slowly into her ass. “G-Gods!” Tharja matched his pace, thrusting two fingers inside her, dragging them forcefully against the top of Lissa’s pussy.

“GODS! GHa-AHH!” Lissa cried, throwing her head from side to side, her whole body shaking at the sensation as they began moving together in a slow, soft rhythm. “Naga! R-Robin, th-this is, this is crazy!” In all her life, she’d never imagined anything like this, Robin’s finger gently opening up her virgin ass and Tharja hitting all the same sensitive spots inside her the tactician was so adept at. With their bodies pressed hot against her, his cock lying hard against her back and her breasts grinding against her own, she was being taken on two fronts! It was incredible!

“Oh?” Tharja purred, ignoring the princess’s shuddering pants as she continued to eagerly meet Robin’s movements.

“Yes, she feels she needs to be punished.” He grinned, drawing the words out as he watched Lissa shuddering under the new pleasures. “She’s feeling guilty, for sleeping with me.”

“What!?” Leaning back to stare her directly in the eyes, there was no mistaking the shocked anger Lissa could see shining in the dark mage’s purple irises now. “That’s ridiculous!”

“I-I” Neither stopped their movements, even as they talked. Biting her lip to hold back her cries, she could barely defend herself.

“You feel guilty for sleeping with him?” Tharja accused, teeth bared in clear affront. “You should feel thankful he’s chosen you! Do you know how long I waited, aching for his embrace?”

That was fine for her, Naga only knew how obsessed Tharja was with Robin, but Lissa loved Lon’qu. “I-I’m, a-ghaaa, I’m married…” Gasping and panting as both her pussy and ass were pleasured by people who weren’t her husband, the words came out a lot weaker than she’d intended.

“That’s just a promise you made to a man. This is far more important.” Tharja scoffed, her thumb pressing softly against Lissa’s clit serving to cut off any arguments. “If that truly bothers you, you should have remained loyal to Robin, like me.”

“Loyal…to Robin?” Was that…what she should have done? Gods, it was so hard to think and just as she was attempting to gather her thoughts, she felt the tactician gently insert a second finger inside her. “G-GHHAAA!” Shaking her hips back as she felt her walls stretched out slightly further, she couldn’t concentrate on anything else.

Tharja leaned closer again, squeezing tighter around Lissa’s waist and laying her lips lightly against the princess’s neck, grinding their breasts harder together as her breath tickled hot across the younger girl’s flushed skin. “Have you not already become Robin’s woman?”

“I-”

“He chose you. He wants you.” She purred, twisting and turning her fingers, grinding against Lissa’s inner walls just like how Robin always used to. “How can you possibly bear to let another man touch you? That cannot be what you want.”

‘I-It is! It is what I want!’… Wasn’t it? J-Just because she wanted Robin didn’t mean she didn’t want Lon’qu!

But then, a quiet voice whispered in the back of her mind…why had she not approached Lon in all the time he’d been back?

‘I just, b-because I feel guilty!’ She hadn’t wanted to embrace her husband as if nothing had happened, not after what she’d done. That was it…wasn’t it? It wasn’t because she didn’t want to… Lissa swallowed heavily, it wasn’t…it wasn’t because Robin felt so much better…‘N-No, I just-’

“G-GHhaa!” Shuddering and shaking as the tactician’s fingers crossed inside her, her thoughts were scattered again. “Gods!”

It was too much! She couldn’t possibly think like this! “GHUUGH!” Throwing her head back, Lissa screamed in frustration.

She didn’t want to worry! She didn’t want to think! She just- she just wanted more! Shaking her hips back and forth, eagerly accepting both assaulting sets of fingers, Lissa finally abandoned all pretence. “H-Harder! Please, Naga, ah-ahhh Naga! Robin! I’m getting close! Gahhn!”

Seeing the argument abandoned, Tharja smirked gleefully and as one, both her and Robin’s fingers sped up, thrusting harder, faster inside her.

“T-Tharja!” Lissa begged, reaching her arms up and wrapping them tight around the dark mage’s shoulders. “F-Fuck me! H-Harder!”

Gods! It was good, it was so good! In everything Tharja did, in every way she touched her, the dark mage’s movements were identical to how Robin touched her…in every way but one. “G-Gods!” One infuriating way! Panting raggedly, her mouth hanging wide open, she couldn’t stand it a moment longer.

“O-Oh!?” Tharja gasped in surprise as Lissa pulled her from her shoulder, their faces barely inches apart as the mage suddenly found herself staring deeply into the naked arousal shining from the princess’s bright blue eyes.

The way Tharja touched her, the way she held her, the way she fingered her-it was incredible, exactly the same as Robin! Except…except Robin, no matter how greedily he took her, no matter how rough he was with her, always kissed her.

She had never kissed a woman before, she’d barely even considered it and certainly never with Tharja. But right now, pressed hot against each other, with the sorceress’s fingers plunging deep within her, it was all she could think of!

“Tharja…” She breathed, mouth open with desire as she closed her eyes, her hands wrapping carefully around the other woman’s head, pulling her full soft lips towards her…

“A-AH! Urk!”

Surprisingly, just before they made contact, the dark mage suddenly jerked away, twisting her head to the side with an uncomfortable pout.

“Ah, huh?”

“I…” Biting her lip and suddenly looking supremely uncomfortable, Tharja still didn’t meet her eyes. “I only want to kiss Robin.” She finished finally, her words a lot softer than Lissa had ever heard from the other woman before.

“O-Oh.” The meaning was clear. She would do anything for Robin, anything he asked. She would join him in bed with another, or be with another woman if he wished it…but even so, she wanted some small piece of herself, some small intimacy, that she could give to him alone. “Tharja…” Even despite being rejected, Lissa found herself surprisingly touched.

“That’s fine.” Robin added, answering her devotion as he released his grip from Lissa’s stomach, reaching around and holding Tharja’s head. If he ordered her to, she would. But he would never make that order. “You don’t need to.”

“R-Robin…”

Wrapping his arm around her head Robin tugged the two of them even closer towards him, pushing his fingers deeper into Lissa’s ass as he leant over her opposite shoulder, he pulled Tharja into a passionate loving kiss.

“M-Mhaaa!” Moaning in delight, Tharja’s reaction was immediate, releasing her own grip from around the princess’s waist, she mimicked his actions, wrapping her arm around Lissa’s neck and taking hold of the tactician, kissing him with all her passion. “Mma-ahnn, R-Robin, I a-ah, I love you! Love you!”

Squeezed tight between them, Lissa barely even had a moment to appreciate the strangely tender scene. “H-HNHGAAA!” Neither had stopped their movements the entire time and as their shared passion rose, so too did the pace of their fingers inside her. There was no doubt she was still the centre of attention. “Hnhaaa! I’m, I’m gon-gonn’a! GNNNG!”

Mouth hanging wide open and vision fading as her eyes rolled back again, she was held too tight to even shake at the sensations, all she could do was submit, surrender to the pleasure as her hips shook wildly back and forth, eagerly accepting both partners.

“R-ROBIN!” She screamed, one last time as his fingers dug hard into her depths, “AHNAAAAHH!

With her whole body tensed up as an incredible blast of pure bliss finally ran through her she came even harder than before, her tongue falling limply out as she slumped backwards, again falling dizzily into Robin’s chest. “G-Goods…”

“Lissa…” He answered, finally breaking his kiss with Tharja as he turned her slightly, bending around to meet his lips softly with his own, giving her the faint sensation of her own taste as their tongues twinned with an erotic passion.

“A-Ha, haa… Robin…” She gasped, breathing raggedly between their kisses as she snaked her hands up and around his head, pulling him desperately back towards her, desperate to feel him as she soaked in the post orgasmic bliss.

“Cum for me.” He answered, slowly beginning to move his fingers inside her again.

“Haah, W-Wait, R-Robin, I just, I just…” Returning her attention to the opposite side of Lissa’s neck, Tharja was already matching Robin’s movements, the mage’s thumb running a light circle over her clit. “Th-this is too much! I-I can’t, I’m gonna go crazy!”

He didn’t answer with words, instead the tactician simply crashed his lips against hers once more, his arm securely around her head as he kissed her with even greater desire, even more need. Groaning into her mouth, his fingers were already thrusting harder within her once more, twisting and crossing inside her, forcefully dragging her back towards another peak.

“GHHHMM!” She moaned thickly into his mouth, gasping for breath as a shiver ran down her spine. It was more than she could take! Naga! Being taken so thoroughly, both in front and behind, while still so sensitive from her previous highs, she couldn’t stand it!

“GHAAA!”

She couldn’t even begin to resist!

“HAAAMMMM!”

Shaking and shivering, panting weakly into her lover’s mouth, Lissa came again almost instantly.

“MMMAAHHH!”

And again, moments later.

“H-haaa…”

With her head spinning and vision only slowly returning, Lissa only barely felt the fingers finally withdrawing from her body, the action doing little but leaving her slumping bonelessly into Robin’s arms, releasing a weak moan.

It was only as the consecutive orgasms began to fade and her mind started to clear a minute later that she felt herself being carefully carried to the far end of the room, cradled in Robin’s embrace while she regained her bearings.

“H-Huh?”

“You’ve done well Lissa.” He answered gently, laying a trio of soft kisses along her neck. “Very well.

“And now…” Releasing her, he guided her towards his bed, bending her over and running his hands lightly over her small round ass. “You should be ready.”

“Ready?”

“For the punishment you so desire.” Tharja answered, chuckling as she moved to Lissa’s side, running a finger lightly along her spine and drawing out another low moan from the princess. “Robin’s going to take your anal virginity.”

Acting on her words, the tactician moved forwards. Screwing her eyes tightly shut, Lissa had to choke back a guttural moan as he did so, feeling his cockhead pressed hard against her tight opening. Holding her in place, he remained still, as always waiting patiently for her permission- waiting for her to beg for it…

Shivering, Lissa swallowed heavily. Already she could feel her walls opening around the tip of his glans, as if her body was eager to swallow his thick length. ‘Gods…’ Just two fingers had felt so amazing, his entire length inside her… his thick rod forcefully pushing her walls apart… Biting down on her lip, Lissa tried to control her shaking legs, tried to ignore the fresh juices dripping wet down her thighs. ‘But I’m… I’m saving it…’

She’d already given Robin all her other first times, both her holes and every position she’d tried, she’d done them all with him first, more than she’d ever done with Lon. This at least, the one thing they’d never tried, she’d wanted to at least give this to her husband.

‘He doesn’t want it.’

She’d tried offering it to him once, shortly after their marriage and had been turned down with a surprisingly angry response. Lon’qu couldn’t imagine defiling her in such a way, never wanted to even imagine her like that… She’d been waiting since then, for him to relax, to stop worrying so much about her dignity in private…

‘Robin does.’

Tharja’s fingers danced a light pattern across her shoulderblades and Lissa swallowed one last time, gritting her teeth and bracing herself on the bed.

This was her punishment after all, this was to stop her from feeling guilty…right?

“O-Okay, go ahead.” He didn’t move. Shaking her head, Lissa grinned, she knew what he wanted. “Take it Robin, please... It’s yours.”

It always had been.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

“Ghaaaa.” Robin sighed, moaning with satisfaction as he slowly eased his cock into Lissa’s incredibly tight hole.

The teasing had been necessary of course, but after so long spent focussing only on her pleasure, he was aching for his own release. “Naga!” He was unbelievably pent up! Especially after the master-class Tharja had performed on his cock earlier, even with only the short time they’d been together, she was getting almost as good as his fiancé.

“R-Ro-Robin!” Lissa gasped, her hands shaking with the effort to hold herself off the bed, groaning as she felt her tight walls pushed outwards, stretching around him.

“Naga.” He repeated, “Gods it's tight.” At least as tight as Lucina’s had been when he’d first broken it in all those months ago. Thankfully, with the combination of Tharja’s saliva and Lissa’s own copious juices acting as lubricant, he was able to carefully push himself inside without risk of injuring the smaller girl.

That was the important thing to remember, “Urghaa.” Making sure he didn’t hurt her. “Gods!” Thrusting carefully inside her like this, after holding back for so long, was almost maddening! The urge to simply ravish her was almost irresistible! Almost every fibre of his being screamed for him to hold tight to her hips, to drive his cock hard into her and feel himself finally fully sheathed within the royal princess’s tight passage.

‘C-Calm down! Go easy, go easy.’  He repeated mentally, forcefully holding back his instincts. Lissa may not be as delicate as she was so often treated, but she wasn’t as tough as Lucina, his time travelling fiancé was almost invincible and even she’d needed him to restrain himself on their first time. So, gritting his teeth and gasping heavily as her walls constricted painfully around his cock, he instead rocked himself back and forth, sinking only gradually further inside her.

“Mmm,” Tharja purred, leaning over the smaller girl and tracing her tongue lightly down her back. “Isn’t it amazing? Isn’t it what you’ve always wanted?”

“Ugh-Ah, I-G-Gods! Ro-ghauuaah-Robin!” Lissa groaned, her words falling to little more than lust filled groans as she felt more and more of her anal passage opening up around his cock.

“Hehe.” The dark mage grinned, giving up on attempting conversation with the princess and turning her attention back to the tactician.

“And you my love?” She asked, sliding around to Robin’s back, pulling his cloak from his shoulders and wrapping herself around him, her fingers reaching around to undo the buttons to his shirt, finally stripping him as bare as the two women. “Does she feel good?”

“Y-Yeah! Ah-hnnah! Yeah!” Robin groaned out, the tension within him rising even higher at the feeling of the dark mage’s luscious body hot against his bare back, her heavy breasts pushed soft against his shoulders and her arms wrapping adoringly around him. “Yeah, she’s amazing.”

They continued like that for several minutes, the sorceress running her fingers and lips lovingly over his body as he finally pushed the last of his length into the princess’s constricted passage. “Ughaaaagh…” He sighed, a shudder running through him at the feeling of at long last being fully sheathed inside her, feeling her muscles clenched tight along the entire length of his shaft.

“H-How’re you Lissa? Are you okay?”

“Gh-Haa-haaa, Ai-Aiahnnn!” Panting raggedly, with her entire body shivering at the sensation, at the feeling of Robin’s cock buried entirely within her, Lissa couldn’t even begin to answer.

‘Oh?’ Robin smirked, raising an eyebrow at the sight before him. ‘This is familiar.’ Just holding herself like this, with him inside her, she was on the verge of orgasm! She was fighting with everything she had to maintain the fraction of control she still owned.

Taking a firmer grip on her hips he tried an experimental thrust, pulling back barely an inch and feeling her passage unclench slightly. Rocking back and forth a few times, he continued the motions until her passage was relaxed enough that he could move a little freer.

“Ooh.” Tharja cooed into his shoulder, guessing what was about to happen as she felt him draw back almost half his length. Wrapping her hands even tighter around him and pressing her breasts harder against his back, he could easily feel her own excitement.

“Ughaaa…” Lissa groaned involuntarily at the withdrawal, feeling his cock slowly dragging out, inch after inch of it pressing hard against backwards along her walls. Clenching his teeth, Robin waited, giving her one last moment to get accustomed to the feeling of him inside her…

…And then, digging his fingers into her thighs, he drove his full length back inside! Thrusting fully inside with one smooth motion, his hips slamming roughly against hers. “GH-GHHAAA!” She screamed, bucking wildly, her entire body clenching up as she came hard around him “AH-HHAAAAA!”

Her shaking hands gave way instantly, leaving the princess collapsed face down into the bed, mouth wide open in ragged pants and a small trail of drool falling out and onto the sheets. Quivering in place, she rode out another incredible peak.

“I-G-Gods…” She moaned her bearings only finally returning almost a minute later. “I came. Naga, I really came, from my ass.”

“How do you feel?” Robin asked gently, holding still buried inside her as he ran his hands slowly over her hips. “It doesn’t hurt?”

“N-No, no, it just…it just, aahn, feels…different.” She couldn’t really describe it, even now she was only slowly getting used to feeling her asshole stretched around his cock. “It…it feels good.” She finished simply.

Laughing Robin slowly rocked himself back and forth once more, feeling her walls slowly relaxing again from how tight they’d been when she’d came. “I’m goi-ghaa, going to start moving, okay?”

“Y-Y-Yeaaaah.” She gasped, her hips already shaking back against him as another blazing hot shudder ran through her body.

Moving slowly at first, and picking up speed with each small thrust, Robin was soon able to slide almost freely in and out of her painfully tight canal.

Groaning through increasingly ragged breaths, he quickly eased himself into a stronger pace, drawing almost his full length out before sheathing himself inside her once more, the sound of their hips slapping together joining together with Lissa’s increasingly wild moans and echoing loud around the room as his momentum built, faster and faster.

“A-Haaan!” He grunted, fighting back his own quickly mounting pleasure. Gods! It was even better than he’d expected! Lissa’s passage constricting and squeezing along his entire cock with each thrust and Tharja’s breasts pressing soft and warm against his back, her hands teasing and caressing his body…it was an amazing contrast, as if he was fully wrapped up between both women and combined with the earlier teasing, it was almost more than he could stand!

‘Not yet…’ Gods! As tempting as it was release his control, to pound Lissa with all his strength and spill his seed deep inside her- he fought back his composure, calming himself through grit teeth. There was one more thing he had to do first, one last card he needed to play.

Releasing one hand from the princess’s hips, he reached around his stomach, taking hold of her arm and pulling the sorceress around to face him. “Tharja.” He sighed, breathing her name and pleased to see the expected twinge of jealous impatience in her eyes- a small fire that burned hotter within her each time she saw his cock thrust hard into the other woman, each time she heard Lissa’s responding cries screamed into the bedsheets.

“Y-Yes, my love?” She asked in surprise.

“I said before, I wanted your help to punish Lissa. That was true.” He assured her, his arm around her waist, held her tight, even as he continually pounded the princess’s ass. “However, this is the true reason I told you to come here. I wanted you to see this.”

“To see…O-Oh!” Watching awe struck as his cock continued to piston in and out, right in front of her, Tharja’s eyes went wide with sudden understanding . Robin smiled, he could see she knew then- what he wanted, the point he was making to her. But that wasn’t enough, he needed to drag this out, to continue the pantomime. Because Robin understood Tharja, he knew her, what she wanted and what would make her happy.

Stifling a moan, he forcefully kept a steady rhythm, even as the pressure inside him continued to build. Lissa was shaking her ass back against him even more desperately now, faster and harder with each thrust, her screams losing all coherence as she raced towards another orgasm, her muscles squeezing him almost painfully as she howled. Gods, she felt so good! He needed this!

Gritting his teeth, he held himself back, forced his composure steady. “Tharja.” He asked, “Since I’ve been back, how many times have we had sex?”

“I-ah, forty nine times.” She blinked, giving the answer almost without thinking.

Knowing what she wanted, what she desired, Robin forced his voice cold, stern, bringing forth an anger he didn’t feel. “And of those times, in all the time since I’ve been back… How many times have you offered me your ass?”

Tharja gulped, dropping her eyes from him to the floor. “N-Never.”

She wanted to, he knew that with the same certainty that he knew anything about her. He understood how desperately she wished to have him claim every part of her body, she had seen him with Lucina, she could never stand to know that the swordswoman offered him something she couldn’t.

And yet, she’d always held herself back. He knew why, he’d always known why, it was the reason that despite all their bedroom activities he’d never asked, hinted or pushed for it.

Because she was scared.

Not of the pain- she’d probably cut her own arm off if he asked it of her, but of his reaction if he did hurt her, if she couldn’t handle him. She was scared to worry or disappoint him. Tharja knew she wasn’t as tough as Lucina, so as much as it had galled her, she’d held herself back.

“Lissa offered it to me without hesitation.”

But, even if she wasn’t as tough as the swordswoman, she was at least as strong as Lissa. If the Ylissean princess could handle it, she could see now, there was no doubt she could too.

“And yet, you hold out on me.”

Despite his goading words, he didn’t miss the flash of delight running through the mage as he pointed it out, nor the way she was rubbing her thighs together at his scolding.

“I’ve been patient with you, very patient. But I think I’ve waited about long enough, don’t you?”

“I-”

Letting go of her waist, Robin reached out, grabbing her chin and turning her head up to face him-interrupting her before she could offer herself to him. Schooling his face to a stern glare he, stared right into her eyes, stilling her to silence. He understood her. He knew what she wanted.

“Tharja. This is an order.” There was no missing shivers running through her body as he spoke, nor the naked arousal in her eyes. “The moment I’m finished with Lissa, you will give me your anal virginity.”

He released her and for a moment, Tharja simply stared at him, standing on shaking legs with her mouth open with a silent moan. Watching as her entire body tensed, chest heaving and thighs pressed desperately together as one final, violent, shudder ran through her, Robin was certain she came on the spot.

“Y-Yes!” She gasped, recovering a moment later and practically throwing herself on the bed beside Lissa, burying her head in the sheets and reaching around to spread her cheeks wide for him. “P-Please, help yourself!”

“Good.” Robin smirked, heaving a sigh of relief and running a calming hand gently over the mage’s creamy white hips, enjoying the feeling of her shaking and quivering again under his touch.

Looking over from her position on the bed, Lissa had only just barely heard pieces of their conversation. “Ugh-Hnaaa!” She moaned, slamming her hips back once more, she’d been far too pre-occupied to try make sense of their discussion, even now, feeling his cock slamming deep inside her, the unfamiliar pleasure was threatening to rip all other thoughts from her mind. All she’d really picked up, was the most important part, ‘So, she’s next?’ That wasn’t a surprise, of course. But, looking over at the cute way Tharja was biting her lip in nervous anticipation, looking at the way her whole body was shivering with excitement, she couldn’t help but feel happy for the mage, the fire inside her burning hotter by the second.

“Hn-Haaaa!” She gasped, a searing blast of pleasure throwing anything else from her mind as the tactician once again buried his full length inside her, leaving her asshole stretched around his entire shaft.

“G-GODS!” Mouth wide open in a guttural scream, Lissa was forced hard into the mattress, her tongue hanging from her mouth in a ragged pant as spots danced across her vision once more. “R-ROBIN!” She’d already came so many times today! Sh-She couldn’t take much more of this!

“G-GHAAA!” Robin roared, grabbing tight to Lissa’s hips as he finally let go of the last of his restraint, thrusting into her with all his might. It felt good! So good! Even without Tharja behind him, the sight of the royal princess eagerly accepting his cock, the feeling of her slamming her ass back against him, it ignited every dormant desire within him, the pleasure building beyond what he could possibly resist!

Seeing her arching back with a piercing scream, he felt her peak once more, her body collapsing weakly to the bed as he slammed into her with everything he had. Still, he didn’t stop, couldn’t possibly stop! He was close! So close!

“L-Lissa!” He groaned, barely even acknowledging her weak reply as her ass squeezed even tighter around him. “I-Ghnn! I’m! I-I’m gonna cum!”

Slamming his hips against hers one final time, he buried his cock as far within her as possible, the engorged rod stretching out her entire passage as it spasmed with the overflowing pleasure. “GYHAAAAA!” He roared, leaning back and looking to the ceiling as his entire body shuddered at the intense sensation- his long withheld release spraying rope after rope of thick cum throughout the princess’s ass.

“Gn-HYAAA!” Convulsing under him at the sensation, Lissa’s shoulders arched upwards once more, her desperate scream fading into a gasping pant as she felt his seed surging inside her, coating every inch of her passage and pressing hot against her inner walls. “GH-GHaaaaannnn!” She moaned, thrashing and squirming at the sensation, one final orgasm slamming hard into her.

“Hha-Haaa…” Robin sighed, closing his eyes and sucking in deep breaths as her ass squeezed every last drop of his load from him.

“Th-That…was amazing.” He grinned, taking a moment to bask in the afterglow before slowly pulling his cock from the princess’s quivering body, releasing her hips and letting her collapse dizzily down onto the bed.

“And now…” He breathed, gasping as his entire body blazed with pleasure, the inferno of his instincts burning within his soul easily spurring him on once more, his cock still rock hard. Another woman was waiting for him, was offering themselves to him and as he stepped over to at long last claim the dark mage’s ass, to make her his in every manner, every cell in his body sang in harmony.

“I-I’m ready!” Tharja assured him, shivering at his touch as he gently pulled her hands away, guiding her to brace herself and pressing his cockhead lightly against her entrance.

“I’m going to go slowly.” He whispered, running his hands over her hips and carefully pressing forward. “Just relax. Tell me if it hurts, or if you need me to stop.” He knew she wouldn’t, but he hoped his words would calm her regardless. 

“Gn-ghaaa!” She gasped, her whole body shunting forwards as her walls were pushed open around him, feeling the head of his cock slowly sinking inside her. “G-R-Robin! A-Ahhhnnna!”

 “Go-Gods!” He groaned, sucking in a fast breath as he felt her tunnel wrapped painfully tight around him. Naga! Her small entrance was an unbelievably tight fit. Biting back a shudder, Robin forced himself calm, without the same preparation he’d given Lissa, he knew he had to go even slower.

Still, there wasn’t any hurry. Having unloaded his earlier impatience inside the princess, his instincts were sated just from the sight of the mage shuddering before him. Carefully rocking back and forth inside her, he watched as her entire body shook in place, her cries rising to a fever pitch within minutes as her entire body arched backwards, hurtling towards orgasm as much from what she was feeling as the emotions she had wound up in it.

“R-R-ROBIN!” Tharja groaned passionately, hiding her face in her hands, and pressing herself backward urging him even deeper inside. “I-It’s incredible! I, I love you! I love you! I-ghha lo-love you!”

“I love you too.” He grinned, pushing forward another inch and smiling at her instant reaction when she collapsed onto the bed, her walls constricting around his cock as she came with a passionate cry, her entire body shivering in delight. It wasn’t a lie. He did love her, in his own way, just the same as he loved all the Shepherds and not quite the same as how he loved Lucina.

And so he continued like that, carefully pushing further and further inside Tharja’s tight round ass, taking his time and letting her ease herself open, maintaining a slow, steady pace until he was finally sheathed to the hilt within her. “G-Gods, it fe-ghnn, feels amazing Tharja.” He groaned, letting out a deep sigh as he felt her ass stretched down his entire length, her body already squeezing him with everything she had, doing her best to milk every drop of cum from his shaft.

With the haze in her mind slowly lifting, even as her body still shook from the lingering pleasure, Lissa’s thoughts slowly returned and with them her awareness of her surroundings- awareness of the bed shaking beside her, and of the repeated, heartfelt, cries ringing out a few inches from her ear.

Turning to her side and blinking away the remainder of the fog filling her head, she slowly took in the sight before her, watching awestruck as Tharja was pushed into the bed, gripping the bedsheets with trembling fingers as Robin took her from behind, the mage’s entire body swinging forwards with each powerful thrust.

Just the sight of the dark mage getting fucked in the same way as her was an incredible sight, hearing her cries and watching as her body gave out, seeing her back arch taunt and her eyes roll back each time she came…it was amazing, like nothing Lissa had ever imagined.

But, what captivated her, what she couldn’t look away from, was the look on her face, the sheer radiant happiness in the woman’s eyes. There was no other word she could think to describe it. Tharja was clearly shaking with pleasure, her senses drowned in lust and her body enflamed in desire…but more than any of that, she just looked purely and simply happy.

“Tharja…” She whispered, she’d known the sorceress almost as long as she’d known Robin but in all that time she’d scarcely ever seen anything from her but scowls and scoffing derision. She’d never imagined anything like what she’d seen, or felt, from her this afternoon, but somehow seeing the dark mage, offering herself to the man she loved with a wide, loving, smile was the most surreal of them all.

Even as she felt herself flush with a small, gentle want at the sight of Robin’s hips slamming against Tharja’s, as she watched his cock sliding thick into her ass, holding her hips tight against his…again and again her eyes returned to the mage’s face. Watching like this, seeing a side of Tharja she doubted any but Robin had ever seen before, it was a surprisingly tender moment.

Regardless of the situation, she was watching the face of a woman in love. Grinning happily, Lissa couldn’t help but be charmed by it.

 “HANHG-HAA!” Robin growled, his fingers digging hard around her waist as he felt his second peak fast rising, the urgency of his release desperately pressing on him. “T-Tharja! I-I’m getting close!”

“C-Cum! Pl-ahhn! Please, m-my love! Go ahead!” She begged, her words barely heard between the continual moans coming involuntarily from her lips, as she thrashed wildly against him, sent crashing through orgasm after orgasm- far too overcome with the situation.

Gasping through grit teeth as he drove himself into her, again and again, Robin shuddered at the sensation, her anal passage still clenched painfully tight around him, squeezing him as eagerly as it accepted him. “Naga!”

Watching her midnight-black hair bounce back and forth with each thrust, seeing her arms shaking as her fingers gripped the bedsheets with all her strength, gasping as her smooth milky thighs slammed back against him. It was amazing! It was too much! The pressure inside him rose to a fever pitch and again a desperate need for release ripped through him, far greater than he could control even if he had wished to!

“T-Tharja!” He roared her name one last time as he pulled her hips back onto him, slamming forward to meet her with all his strength and pushing his cock as far deep as he could. “GHHAA!” He gasped, his release exploding outward instantly, thick blasts of hot cum drenching her inner walls as his cock twitched again, and again, his load relentlessly filling her entire passage.

“R-ROOOBIN!” She answered in return, faring no better than Lissa had at the sensation of her ass suddenly filled with his seed. Having already been almost overcome with pleasure, the feeling was far more than she could take. Tongue falling from her mouth and body arching violently off the bed at the incredible pleasure, her eyes rolled back in her head and her vision faded to white. “R-Rooobinnn….”

“H-Hhaaaa.” He sighed, once again leaning back and shivering at the powerful afterglow. Slowly pulling his cock from Tharja’s limp body, he eased her down to the bed, laying her beside Lissa.

Stepping back with a wide grin, he couldn’t help but admire the sight before him. Two amazing, beautiful women, both collapsed before him and both with his seed trailing from their asses, running thick down their legs.

“Incredible. That was…incredible.”

Sucking in a deep breath and wiping away a light sheen of sweat, Robin forced himself to relax. His instincts still burned softly within him, gently urging him to continue and he knew he wouldn’t mind another few rounds…but no, for now, this was enough.

Pulling the two girls up with him, Robin let out a happy laugh, lying down and joining them happily on the bed.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

“You know, Tharja.” Lissa spoke up gently some time later, laying snuggled happily into Robin’s left shoulder as she trailed her fingers lightly across her chest. “Looking at you before…it was, well, you looked really beautiful.”

“Hmph.” Tharja snorted, not unkindly, from her own position wrapped around the tactician’s right shoulder, her fingers dancing across his stomach.

“N-No, I mean…I just mean, you, you looked so happy.” Lissa winced, struggling to find the right way to explain what she’d seen. “You were almost glowing! I…I don’t think I’ve ever seen you like that before.”

“Of course.” Tharja grinned, slinking her hand up and placing a kiss gently on Robin’s cheek, before laying her head back down on his shoulder. “I’ve wanted this, to be able to accept him like that, for so…so very long.”

Lissa blinked, trying to make sense of that. “Er, but, I mean… Why?” It was clearly very important to her, and sure it had been quite…veryenjoyable, but there had to be more to it than that.

“Hehehe.” It was impossible to miss the excitement on the sorceress face now. “Because! Because now, I’m his. Wherever, whenever and however he wishes.”

Leaning up, Tharja turned to her, beaming with the same radiant smile Lissa had seen earlier. “Now there’s nothing I can’t offer him, no matter what he desires from me. Anytime he sees me, anytime he wants me…I can fulfil his needs.

“Even,” she continued, her hand sliding up Robin’s body and linking with Lissa’s, squeezing it gently as the sorceress continued to grin happily. “Even…if he wants more than just me.”

“O-Oh!” Lissa gasped, flushing deeply at the realisation that Tharja had no intention for this to be a one-time thing. Nodding, Tharja settled back down onto Robin’s shoulder, still holding warmly to her hand.

‘So now…she can take care of him, whatever mood he’s in?’ Lissa considered, running the sorceress’s surprisingly vivid words through her mind. She could easily imagine the kind of scenario Tharja painted, Robin catching sight of her in the hallways, dragging her off to some private room, knowing that whatever he craved she could do it.

Biting her lip, Lissa didn’t have to think hard to see just what kind of value that idea would have to Tharja, it wasn’t hard to see how obsessed the sorceress was with him.

‘No,’ She corrected with a grin. ‘It’s not just obsession.’ She’d seen that clearly today.

“I don’t think that’s all.” She pressed, continuing from her earlier point. “It was more than just, just being happy to be his… It was amazing, I could see it just looking at you.”

Squeezing her hand back, Lissa sighed wistfully, she’d seen that same look around the Shepherd’s camp a few times and certainly between her brother and Sumia- but seeing it from Tharja!

“It was the look of a woman in love!” She finished.  

“Oh?” Tharja smirked, leaning up to face her again, this time with a mischievous glint shining in her eyes. “The way you say that…do you believe your face looked any different than mine?”

“W-Wha?”

“Do you think I didn’t see the same glow in your eyes when I watched him embracing you?” She teased, turning Lissa’s hand over and running her fingers across her palm. “That I didn’t see the same joy on your face when he entered you?”

Swallowing, Lissa’s throat felt suddenly dry. “I, of course I…I love Robin.” She conceded. “But, more than that, I also lov-”

“Hmph.” Tharja snorted, rolling her eyes at Lissa’s words. “Are you still going to deny it? Will you still claim that you feel any different than I do? …Even as you lie here, like this?”

“I-” Wincing, Lissa swallowed her argument.

She was lying in bed with Robin and another woman he’d taken as a lover. Even if it had been a surprise she’d eagerly joined in a threesome with both of them, she’d begged Robin to take her and…

…And the last time she felt as good as she did now was a week ago, the last time she’d been lying in his arms.

“No.” She sighed, finally accepting it. Just like Tharja, she was Robin’s woman. She wouldn’t be here if she wasn’t. “No, I don’t deny it.”

Speaking such an admission aloud the first time had been the easiest thing in the world. Accepting it in all the time that had passed, had been the most difficult…but now, the words fell from her tongue without hesitation.

“Lissa.” Robin spoke up finally, breathing her name as wrapped his arm around her waist, sliding her up to him and pulling her lips to his, holding her in a slow, sensual kiss.

“You didn’t argue.” He added, a minute later, breaking their embrace and smiling warmly at her. “I’m glad.”

“I-ahaa.” She gasped, catching her breath back. “Well…I ju-”

“Mmm!” Tharja interrupted, sliding herself up Robin’s chest and pouting with exaggerated jealousy. Rolling his eyes with an indulgent smile, he turned over, repeating the actions and pulling her into the same soft, passionate embrace.

“Heh.” Snuggling back into Robin’s chest, Lissa just watched the scene contentedly, still finding herself utterly charmed at seeing this side of the usually terrifying sorceress. ‘So, I’m the same?’ She wore the same loving expression when Robin held her?

It wasn’t surprising, not really. She’d known it to be true the moment Tharja had said so…or, really, she’d always known it, she’d just never been willing to accept it. Perhaps that was why she came to him so strongly on Emmeryn’s day? Why she’d needed him so much since?

What she did know was that, despite her words, she wasn’t the same as Tharja, not quite. She wanted to make Robin happy, that wasimportant to her, but she didn’t ache to serve him in the same way the sorceress did.

She understood it now. She wanted to be with him, to experiment and try new things the way they always had. The knowledge that Robin could come to her, or her to him, and he could take her however he wished didn’t excite her for its own sake…it excited her because it meant Robin would show her new possibilities, he would take her in ways or places she had barely even wondered about before.

‘It’s exciting.’

That she would do this with Robin, that she should give herself completely to him like this just felt natural, it felt right. Being his was the freedom she’d yearned for, for so long.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

“Hmmm.” Robin sighed, a few minutes later as he pulled his arms out from around the women and propped himself up on his elbows. “As nice as this is and as much as I’d like to continue… Olivia will probably be back soon.”

“A-AH!” Lissa gasped, jumping from a light doze to a sudden panic in moments, racing around the room and hurriedly collecting her clothes.

“Hmmm. A shame.” Tharja sighed, taking a much more sedated course of action as she leant up to lay one last gentle kiss on his lips before sliding off the bed.

Giving Robin a fantastic view as she stretched herself to her full height with a groan, she flicked her left hand across her body and repeated the earlier incantation, her clothes wrapping tight around her again a moment later.

“Useful spell.” He grinned, idly wondering about the mechanics of it and if it would be possible for him to hijack it for his own use. ‘Well…it’s more fun ripping her clothes off though.’ That had become something of a guilty pleasure, especially with the knowledge she could repair the shredded cloth with a minor charm.

“O-Okay! Ah-er…” Squirming in place and clearly overcome with the current situation and everything that had happened in the past hour, Lissa was bright red and stumbling over her words. “I-I’m gonna go then!”

He let her get right to the door first, waiting until she was about to fling it open.

“Lissa.”

“H-Yeah?”

‘This is the moment.’ Supressing a grin, Robin savoured this feeling of it, of everything that had built up to this. This was it…the final, tiny push that would bind her to him forever. ‘One simple choice.’

“Come see me tonight, in my room.” He offered. “I meant what I said before, I’ve missed you… I really have. Just an hour now isn’t nearly enough. Let’s continue tonight, we can spend the night together. Just you and me.”

“I…” Lissa swallowed hesitantly, a lump forming in her throat. “B-But…but Owain and Lon, they’re both home.”

Lissa’s quarters were barely a few hundred metres from his. She couldn’t possibly just, not be at home! She couldn’t just…just…

“You’ll figure something out.” He shrugged nonchalantly, pushing himself off the bed and tugging on his own clothing.

“I-I, ah…” She wanted it. Gods, she wanted it so badly. Even with as much as she’d gotten off, she was still aching to feel him inside her pussy. There was a fire inside her now, a small smouldering need that’d been waiting ever since she’d felt his seed inside her, a tiny spark that’d ignited the moment she’d finally accepted Tharja’s words.

“Hehe.” Shooting him a smirk to show she understood what he was thinking, Tharja sashayed past the squirming princess, having no doubt what Lissa’s answer would be she simply pulled the door open to made her way out. “Enjoy.” She offered, before disappearing around the corner.

Sighing, Lissa shook her head. She’d already stopped denying it. She had no excuses, she couldn’t say it was because of Emmeryn’s day, or because of the heat of the moment. Not anymore.

I want you to come to me anytime you desire me. I want to come to you anytime I desire you.

“Okay.” She nodded, amazed at the sense of peace she’d felt. She’d accepted it. It felt right. The uneasy feeling had disappeared, just as Robin had promised it would. Instead, all she felt now was excitement and desire. “Sure. I’ll see you tonight!”

“Ahhh…” He sighed, sinking contentedly back into his desk chair as he watched her shuffle out the door.

‘The final push. Her choosing me over Lon, being willing to lie to him to be with me.’

She still loved Lon’qu, she would remain married to him, of course. But right then, without even really thinking about it, she’d chosen to be with him over being truthful to her husband.

That was all there was too it. It was the smallest possible thing but the most important. Her choice had been made and she would change forever from it. Looking back, in years to come, he wondered if she would even remember this moment.

‘Hmm, and now to find a reason.’ Scratching his chin he quickly began running through ideas that would occupy both the swordsman and his son for tonight. ‘There were some rumours of a merchant trying to pawn off some legendary sword…’

The important point was that she’d made her decision, there was no need to hinge everything on Lissa’s ability to make something up.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

The Next Morning

“Mmmmmm.” Lissa hummed happily, stretched out along the bed as she slowly woke to the feeling of Robin’s fingers tracing a light path down her spine.

“Good morning.” He laughed, watching her blinking herself awake.

“Mmmmmm.” She repeated, turning over to her back and wriggling her way over to his arms, smiling happily up at his dopey early morning expression. “Good morning to you.”

Wrapping his arms around her, Robin pulled her up to him and into a small, soft, kiss. “Sleep well?”

Leaning against him, Lissa sighed warmly. “Yeah.”

She had. She really, really had. After a week of restless nights, of tossing and turning with fitful sleep as she was eaten alive with guilt…she’d slept like a baby, cradled in his arms.

‘Well…’ Stretching her legs out around his waist, she reconsidered slightly. ‘Making love six times probably helped too.’ She could still feel a slight ache, both front and back, from how vigorous they’d been.

With the thought of the previous day’s adventures quickly rising through her mind, Lissa savoured the small smouldering flame she could feel deep inside her soul, the heat between them rising as she draped her arms around his neck.  

‘I should probably go soon, befo-’

*Tchak*

It was a small sound, a slight metallic ring…but it was enough to freeze Lissa to the bone.

*Tchak* *Tchak* *Tchak*

‘N-Naga!’

Panic rising as she squirmed out from Robin, she fell off the bed, scrambling to her feet and watching horror struck at the sight of his door handle clinking up and down…at the sight of someone trying to gain entry.

“Robin? Are you awake?”

‘L-Lucina! Gods!’ Even whispered, she couldn’t possibly mistake that voice! Of all people to find her like this. ‘Lucina!’

*Tchak* *Tchak* *Tchak*

The time travelling princess’s attempts at forcing the door handle grew faster, followed moments later by a rapid knocking on the door.

“Robin! Are you there? Why is your door locked? What’s going on!?”

Lissa could only stare, paralysed with fright.

Rolling off the bed, the tactician just laughed.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Notes:

AN: And there we go! While the plot hasn’t moved a lot faster, things are definitely heating up! This is actually a chapter I’ve been looking to write for a long time! I mean, hey, a Robin/Tharja/Lissa threesome, I’m willing to bet you’ve never seen that before!

That’s one of the things I like about this idea, I can really mix in some fun combinations. Expect to see more of that kind’a stuff as we move forwards.

Astute readers will also note I gave Lissa some minor lesbian tendencies. But, that begs the question, just who was it her idle fancies were about? Perhaps we’ll find out later!?

Other than that, obviously a hugely long sex scene here. I’d really appreciate feedback here, because it took up I think almost half the chapter, I tried to mix the lemon scene with the character and plot development scenes. So tell me, did that work? Or did it just become a drag? Was the scene too long?

Obviously there’s still a little more flashback to catch up on before we get to where we left off with Olivia’s chapter, so that’ll be the focus for next time!

Chapter 8: Bonus – A Different Perspective

Notes:

Authors Note: Hi guys! Finally back again, this took a lot longer than I expected, BUT, I managed to get it done for Valentines, so hooray! That’s the romantic in me speaking, aawww.

One more thing I’ll mention that I meant to show in the last chapter but completely forgot… Noire’s hair colour!

I doubt this will come as a surprise at all- but her hair is midnight black, just like Severa’s is dark red, Morgan’s is deep blue and Nah’s is lime green. Essentially all the children except Lucina and Cynthia (blue) are taking their mother’s hair. Prevents headcanon hair colours and generally it’s the hair we most imagine the character with anyway.

Bonus – A Different Perspective

 

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

At times, especially when looking at the actions of a man like Robin, it’s only when you take a new perspective that you see things how they really are.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Ten Days Ago

“Robin, Robin?” Lucina hissed, continuing to repeatedly tug uselessly at the door handle as her anxiety slowly rose. “Robin?”

‘He’s not in?’ She considered, that was a logical conclusion, but if he wasn’t here, then where else could he be at this hour? He was an early riser, but she had specifically come first thing in the morning, long before she’d usually seen him awake- especially after one of his usual late nights.

“R-Robin? Are you in there?”

‘Maybe he’s in his office?’ Even that didn’t make sense, she’d seen him at dinner and then briefly again afterwards, if he’d still had work to do, then why would he have come back to the palace at all?

Again and again, her hands twisted uselessly at the door. She didn’t know why she was suddenly so fearful, she didn’t know what she was thinking, she just knew that each moment locked outside his room her heart was pounding with a discomfort she’d never felt before.

“R-Robin, I don’t unders-”

*Tchaaack*

Her voice vanished, mouth falling agape at the sound, the slow mechanical clunk of the lock being turned from the other side. With her breath held tight in her throat, Lucina only barely regained the presence of mind to pull her hand away as the door swung open.

“Lucina?” Staring at her with a confused look on his face, her fiancé stared back at her. “What’s wrong? Could you not hear me?”

“I-I…” Swallowing, she found herself still unable to talk, her thoughts momentarily crushed under the weight of the relief and embarrassment crashing into her.

“No.” She breathed finally, shaking her head and forcing a weak smile. “No, I couldn’t, couldn’t hear you at all.”

“Phaaa.” He sighed in abject frustration, rolling his shoulder and stepping back away from the doorway to let her in. “Sorry about that. I never can tell if I’m getting the dispelling incantation right. Sometimes I wonder if a silencing ward is even worth all the hassle…”

Normally she would have reacted to that, she was after-all the entire reason his room was warded for privacy like that, but right now her mind was too busy twisting itself around in circles. Why had he taken so long to answer? Why was his door locked in the first place? Why…Why…Why… ‘Gods!’ Why was she so worried!? He had taken some time letting her in, why was she even concerned?

Even realising how silly she was being, Lucina couldn’t calm down. With her heart continuing to slam against her chest, she slowly followed him inside, her eyes darting frantically around the room.

Robin was dressed simply, wearing only trousers and his cloak closed loosely around what appeared to be an otherwise bare chest, exactly the look she’d expect from him so early in the morning. The room too, seemed the same as ever, with the curtains drawn and the windows thrown open, warm sunlight was lighting up the entire apartment.

Nothing looked out of place, there wasn’t anything unusual…except…

…Except her instincts continued to pull at her, tugging at her right on the edge of her consciousness, keeping her steps wary and her attention sharp.

Something was wrong…something was out of place. She felt it, knowing it in a way she couldn’t explain. ‘Something or someon-’

“Lissa!”

Almost leaping in fright from the sudden cry, Lucina whirled on the spot to where she saw Robin now looking past her, to the door she’d just come in from… ‘Huh?’

“What are you doing?” He deadpanned, his voice the same half-indulgent, half-scolding tone she’d heard him direct towards Morgan a thousand times.

“A-Ah…er…” Stepping out awkwardly from where she’d been hidden behind the door, Lissa’s face was bright red at having been so clearly called out.

“I wondered what you were up to…” Robin sighed, staring at the spritely princess in clear exasperation. “Were you really going to try and surprise Lucina, of all people? Honestly, how do you think that would have ended for you?”

“A-Auntie?” Lucina boggled, staring at her wide eyed. So her aunt Lissa had been hiding from her? She was looking to surprise her? Shaking her head at the idea, she let out a small laugh, sighing with relief.

She knew she wasn’t a good target for pranks or surprises at the best of times. That was something her own daughter had unfortunately already had to learn the hard way, and with how on-edge she’d been already… She didn’t want to even think of how she might have reacted to a sudden shock.

‘But then… What’s she even doing here?’

Lissa looked the same as Lucina had ever seen her, a simple yellow dress, white stockings and the face of a woman caught doing something she knew she shouldn’t…but…but…

“Auntie Lissa.” She grimaced, feeling less sure of herself by the moment. “What are you… Why are you here so early?”

“I er, I, well-”

“She was just leaving.” Robin cut in, the exasperation still heavy in his voice as he moved in front of Lucina and gestured the other woman out the door. “Unless there was something else you needed to discuss?”

“N-Ah, Ah! N-No, o-okay, ah, okay! Bye then!” Stammering an awkward goodbye and doing whatever she could to avoid looking at either of them, Lissa didn’t need a second hint, she was gone a moment later.

*Khtunk*

Rolling his eyes as he swung the door solidly shut behind the fleeing princess, Lucina watched wordlessly as her fiancé trudged across the room, heaving himself onto the bed with a heavy groan. “Gods! That woman!”

Following hesitantly, Lucina couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt so nervous being alone with him, so unsure of herself and her situation. It was only by the time she reached the edge of his bed, twisting her fingers around themselves, that she found her words. “What-what was that about?”

“Uragh.” Robin groaned again, turning over to his side away from her. “Just Lissa being herself.”

Lissa being herself? What did that have to do with her being in his room…her being with him…being here so ea- swallowing, Lucina hurriedly pushed those thoughts away. “W-What do you mean?”

“Well, I suppose that’s not entirely fair on her.” He relented, rolling over towards her. “It can’t be easy for her right now, I think there’s some issues between her and Lon’qu. It really bothers her how much time he spends in Ferox.”

While interesting and a little worrying, that wasn’t quite the answer she was looking for, “O-Oh?” She prompted.

“Yeah. He’s with Owain looking into a situation down on the east-banks, so I suppose she thought it would be a good time to see me about it.” Stretching himself out, he groaned once more. “Naga only knows why she was even up so early though.”

Normally she would have laughed, Lucina knew well how much Robin valued his early mornings and how surprisingly difficult it could be to rouse the usually diligent man from his bedroll. Right now, twisting her ring around her finger and with her stomach filled as much with unease as relief, humour was about the last thing she was concerned with.

“S-So…She, she just came earlier right?” She asked, voice dropping to a whisper as she forced such a difficult question out. “S-She didn’t…she didn’t stay the night?”

“Huh?” Opening his eyes, Robin stared blankly up at her. “Stayed the night? Her quarters are less than five hundred metres from here… Why would she stay the n-”

His eyes suddenly went wide, jaw dropping open, he jolted upright, staring in shock back at her.

“Lucina! I, G-Gods, I, you mean di-”

“N-No, no, no!” She interrupted, face burning hot with mortification as she waved her hands, trying to ward of his question. “N-No! I didn’t, I didn’t actually think…I just, I was, I…I’m sorry!”

“No… No, don’t apologise… I never thought that, I was just and, Gods, and then when I didn’t answer…”

“It’s, it’s fine, really. I don’t even know what I was thinking, I just… I was just surprised.” She finished finally, talking hurriedly over him and feeling more foolish than she’d felt in a long time. “Please, Robin, please, forget I said anything!”

She couldn’t believe it, she’d gotten so ahead of herself, she’d accused him of infidelity, only because of that! Heart aching terribly, Lucina spun in place…and was only stopped from fleeing the room when his arms wrapped warmly around her waist.

“Lucina.” His words were gentle, cooling her instinctive desire to free herself. “Wait, please.”

“I just…” Pausing heavily she stopped, closing her eyes and leaning weakly against him. Caught without reason or words, a need to justify her actions rose unerringly and she spoke even without meaning to. “I know that you and her used to be…”

Wincing, her words trailed off, she regretted them the moment they left her mouth. She didn’t even know what had prompted her to say that, she hadn’t thought about it in years, hadn’t thought about it till just now. It had been a shock, of course, when he’d told her, back in Valm, shortly after they’d first confessed their feelings for each other.  She had scarcely known what to think at the time, it had been almost surreal, to think that her beloved aunt, that Owain’s energetic mother, had taken a lover before her marriage, knowing the happiness of her union with Lon’qu it had been almost unthinkable.

Worse though, had been knowing that it had been Lissa who had been Robin’s first, that the younger princess had captured a place in his heart Lucina could never venture.

Her jealousy had been small though and tempered by her happiness of his story, that they had come together when looking after each other through troubling times. Knowing that two people she cared so much for had looked after each other had eased her heart. Then, soon after, it hadn’t mattered at all, she was the one who wore his ring and it was to her he had pledged his loyalty. She’d put anything else out of her mind and hadn’t thought about it since.

But now…held in his arms, unable to relax into his warm embrace like usual, right now, she couldn’t not think about it.

“That was a long time ago.” He whispered, pulling her backwards towards his bed.

“I know.” She admitted, letting her unease fade as the guilt of her accusations returned. “I know, I just… I’m sorry, I don’t know what got into me.”

“No.” His words were soft, but firm. “No, you’ve nothing to apologise for, it’s my fault, all of it. I just, I’ve never meant to hurt you Lucina, I didn’t want this, I never wanted any of this.”

“R-Robin. Th-AYAH!?” Suddenly yanked backwards, Lucina was caught completely off guard, letting out a shriek as she fell down onto the soft mattress with him. “H-Hey!”

“I wasn’t thinking, this morning, I didn’t even consider what you would think, seeing us like that.” He whispered, his words again managing to halt her attempt to squirm out of his grip. “It won’t happen again. You’re the only one I love. You’re the only one I want.”

“Of, of course.” She sighed, giving in and relaxing into his embrace, feeling her worries fading away, just the same as they always did in his comforting presence. “And, I feel the same. I- I don’t have any doubts.” She knew that, it was true. So why had she doubted? What had come over her? Why had she been in such a state just at the knowledge of her fiancé’s door being locked? She didn’t have any answers.

“But I worried you.” He answered, bitterness clear in his voice as he wrapped his arms secure around her, nuzzling against her shoulder. “So, stay with me. Please, until you feel better.”

“I-ah, haa, Robin!” She gasped. “I-I can’t… I’m to meet father not long from now, I only came to wish you a good morning…”

His grip around her tightened a little more, squeezing her gently against him, cocooning her in the warmth of his love and almost melting her will to leave. “I-Robin, I can’t… Really.”

“I’m exhausted.” He answered instead and she could practically hear the smirk in his voice. “It was a long day yesterday and Lissa interrupted my sleep this morning.”

His fingers played softly across her stomach, “I always sleep much better with you Lucina…but it’s been some time. When was the last time we slept together?”

She bit her lip as her resolve crumbled further. “Admittedly, it has been a while.” Sleeping together was dangerous, that was something they’d concluded together after being discovered by Cynthia. Even with a lock on her door there were many ways they could be caught, short visits were far safer.

“Well then.” Snuggling up against her, he apparently considered the matter resolved.

“B-But…” It wasn’t as if she didn’t want to… She couldn’t even count the number of times she’d passed out or gone to sleep in his arms, but each time she’d awoken to an empty bed. It was a safe routine, but a lonely one. “But what about father? What if he comes looking for me?”

Chuckling, Robin reached up and waved his hand towards the door, a soft metallic thunk echoing around the apartment as the locks slid back into place. “I’m a tactician. I’ll think of something.”

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

‘Godsdamnit.’ Robin sighed to himself some minutes later as he looked down with an aching heart at the sight of Lucina sleeping in his arms.

She looked so innocent like this, so peaceful. He’d always marvelled at the sight, at seeing her so appearing so vulnerable, it was a side of her she only showed when she slept at his side, something only he had seen.

Hearing her knocking this morning, it had been something he’d been dreading for so long, for days now he’d been on edge about being caught, about her finding out what he’d done. To have it suddenly thrust upon him like that, first thing in the morning, it had been so ridiculous he couldn’t help but laugh.

He wasn’t laughing now.

‘That was terrible, worse than I’d thought it would be.’

He hadn’t been making an excuse, he truly was tired. Yet, no matter how often he laid his head down, or shut his eyes, all he could think of was of his latest regrets, of the pained guilt he’d seen on her face- the way she’d hated herself for accusing him of the crime he had committed, as if any single part of this was her fault, as if she held even a speck of blame. ‘Godsdamnit.’

‘I didn’t lie to her.’ That was small comfort. His words had been chosen carefully, specifically to deceive her. He’d run through the situations in his head a hundred times and planned out his lines a thousand more. The words, his truthful-lies had come easily, almost too easily and Lucina had accepted them readily.

And now, here she was, lying happily in his embrace- sleeping soundly, trusting in him, just the same as she always had.

‘It’s for the best.’ He promised himself as another guilty spike tore at his heart. ‘It’s for the best. It has to be.’

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Nine Days Ago

“I don’t know about this.” Olivia whispered nervously. “D-Don’t you think it seems a little…underhanded?”

“Phsah!” Morgan scoffed, skipping a step ahead. “Underhanded is natural for a tactician! I’m sure father expects at least this much.”

“I think it’s a wonderful idea.” Sumia added, grinning happily at the shimmering fabric of the dress she held in her hands. 

“See? Anyway! It’s important for her too, what kind of princess can’t dance? She needs to learn!”

“But…but, you already said you don’t know how to dan-”

“And here we are!” Morgan wasn’t listening, waiting just barely a moment for the other two women to catch up, she slammed the thick oaken door open.

“Oh, good morning Mrs Fri-” Looking up from her book, Lucina paused…a small nervous shudder ran down her back as she saw the wide grins smiling back at her.. “Er?”

“I’ve given Mrs. Frincheld the day off today, dear.” Her mother explained.

“Uh-huh! We’ve got a much more important lesson today!”

“R-Right?”

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Eight Days Ago

“It’ll surely help towards your dream, won’t it? To have a theatre of your own?” Robin whispered, holding Olivia securely in his arms as she slowly took in the enormity of what he’d done and what her future could become with the job she’d received in the dancing troupe.

“I-I, R-Robin! H-Huaaa!” Overcome by it all, his words brought on fresh tears, leaving her laughing, shaking and sobbing all at once.

Her body shook like a leaf as she clung wonderfully tight against him, it was almost impossible to restrain his reaction. Even keeping his eyes fixed over her shoulder he couldn’t ignore the feeling of her breasts- large and soft, pressing against his chest, or the smoothness of her pristine skin under his touch. With each shudder of her lithe body his heart raced and his need grew.

Whenever she was around he’d been adding to his workload, slowly building her impression of him. Whenever they talked, he’d always kept her slightly at arm’s length, giving her complete freedom and always staying one step away from the companionship she expected… But now, now it would be easy, so easy to make a move on her, to claim exactly what he wanted.

Deliriously happy and more than a little infatuated with him, he could tell she wasn’t thinking clearly. And he knew, as every urge in his body ached for him to take action, if he pulled her tight against him now, if he kissed her, she wouldn’t resist.

‘Urgh.’ His instincts flared angrily, a hot spike of desire running red through him.

He would pull her against him, take her in his arms and kiss her with all the blazing passion he held. Pulling away, he would proclaim his love for her, offer himself up as lonely and miserable without her, a wretched soul in need of support.

She wanted it. Stressed from the difficulties of her relationship and overwhelmed with everything he’d done for her, he knew she would accept him, that she would ache for him as much as he ached for her. So he would press her against him again, holding her just as they both yearned for, run his hands hot over her slim body, squeeze her tight little ass and grind her hips against his.

He would guide her across the room, leading her to his bed. And she would follow, she would pull his clothes from him as eagerly as he would unwrap hers.

'No.’

The vision, the image of them in his mind was so clear it took everything he had to restrain a reaction.

“D-Did I say something wrong?” He answered instead, the discomfort in his voice entirely unforced.

‘She has to come to me.’ He reminded himself, squeezing his eyes shut and forcefully pushing those thoughts away. It had to be her that acted, it had to be her that came to him, seemingly without any prompting from him at all. And he would deny her, he would push her away and pretend to be shocked. ‘I have to let it be her choice.’

Gods, but he wanted her right now. The fire inside him crackled indignantly at his refusal, searing a painful brand through his soul, flaming hotter and hotter with each unfulfilled desire. If his instincts hadn’t already been so thoroughly quenched by Tharja and Lissa, Robin doubted he could have lasted another moment.

‘She has to approach me, she has to make her choice.’ Just like Lissa had. ‘That’s the only fair way to do this.’ He would give her the choice and he would give himself every tactical advantage he could think of. But, he wouldn’t pressure her, he wouldn’t steal another man’s wife.

‘No. You’ll make her give herself to you.’ An insidious voice in the back of his mind taunted, the truths easily undermining any rationalisations he had about the morality of his actions. ‘Because you know that’s how you’ll keep her. To act now would be impulsive, amateurish.’

If he pressured her now, if he took her to bed in this state, she would almost certainly regret it in the cool light of day. And then, all she would be able to remember would be him making a move on her, his declaration of love and the depth of the desire he’d shown. No, he needed to be patient, to keep all traces of manipulations from her mind- to act only as a friend, a lonely and selfless tactician, so that when she did come, she could only possibly see it as her falling for him. Then, she would be his.

‘That’s why you stay your hand.’

Shaking his ragged conscience away, Robin forced himself calm. With everything he’d done, he couldn’t tell anymore how true those words even were. Was that just his self-loathing sparking up once more, or was he truly acting only from pragmatism? ‘No. I, I had always meant to help Olivia, even before I hired her.’ He could vividly remember standing in her parlour, struck numb with shock at her situation. ‘I will help her, I will give her whatever I can, regardless of her choice.’ He’d thrown away so many of his morals already but he refused to budge on this, no matter how much his guilt tore at him. Even with his worst actions, he would help his friends. He would never hurt those he cared for.

“N-No, no, not at all.” Olivia sniffed a moment later, her words dragging him away from his thoughts and back to the masquerade. “You’ve never, never done anything wrong.”

Her gentle trust seared through him like lightning, as agonising as the worst magic he’d taken. Robin welcomed it, embraced the clenching feeling tight around his heart. Because he knew, the pain he felt was proof, proof of love and proof he did still hold a conscience. If he didn’t care, if he was truly callous, he wouldn’t hurt so badly.

“Olivia…”

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Dealing with Olivia’s subsequent accusations around the meaning of him arranging for her meeting Lady Penfold acted as enough of a distraction to reign in the worst of his desires, at least enough to regain a measure of his focus.

But now, with his earlier lusts still smouldering unfulfilled, he found himself almost unable to ignore the sight of her dancing happily around the room. With each moment he spent watching her amazing body twisting and turning before him, his mind returned again and again to the feeling of her, light and soft in his arms, and without anything more to distract himself with, his soul slowly ignited with need once more.

It was a stark contrast to the usual effect her dancing had on him, even in just the short time she’d been working for him, there’d been no doubt of the boost she’d given his work…but now, with his instincts clawing hotter upon him with each passing moment, now the work ahead of him was impossible to even read. 

It was early evening by the time he gave in.

“Olivia.” He spoke up, keeping his voice carefully cheerful. “It’s starting to get late, why don’t you head home for the night?”

“O-Oh?” She blinked, knocked out of her dance mid stride and turning to face him with an earnest smile. “I-It’s not that late is it? And, if you’re going to keep working then I, I should also ma-”

“I appreciate it, but, come now. I can’t ask you to stay on tonight.” He interrupted with a gentle laugh, “You must be eager to get home and tell Gregor about your new job.”

“O-Oh, er, y-yes, of course. Yes!” She nodded, the blazing red on her face telling him that this was the first time she’d even thought about that.

“Exactly." He laughed, “And I know he’ll want to take you out to celebrate! If I keep you here, there won’t be anything left open!”

“A-Ah...er, right.” She hesitated, dropping her eyes from his as she shuffled her weight from foot to foot.

He doubted Gregor was even in Ylisstol right now, last he’d heard the man had disappeared down to South Town with some other mercenaries, but he knew Olivia couldn’t admit that. Nor could she say what he knew she’d already realised, that even if her husband had returned, she would rather stay and help him than return to look after an incoherent drunk.

“Of, of course. Yes.” She answered finally, trying her best not to look crestfallen. “Then, I…If you’re okay with it I guess I’ll-”

“Olivia. Go.” He laughed again, enjoying the conflict he could see within her, the comparison she couldn’t help but make between what she felt she was obligated to do and what she wanted to do.

“O-Okay! Right, I’ll, I’ll see you tomorrow then!”

If he’d had been in any other state, he’d have savoured the moment, the feeling of his plans coming together when he’d heard the disappointment in her voice. But right now, thoroughly enjoying the sight of her round ass bouncing out his door, he could barely wait for the sound of her footsteps down the stairs before he was able to finally relax his tightly held control.

“Gghaaa.” He panted, with his cock straining rock hard against his pants and fingers digging shallow grooves in the thick oak of his desk. “I, I n-need…haaa, need someone.”

It had been so long since he’d forcefully ignored his urges, he’d forgotten how painful it was to do so and just how much of his restraint it took to chain them back. Thankfully, now there was no need for that, no reason to hold anything back anymore.

“Heh.”

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

“Lissa?”

“O-Oh?” The princess blinked, looking up from where she’d been wandering the palace halls, lost in thought. “Robin! You’re back early?”

“Ah, a little.” He nodded, he hadn’t expected to run into her. Thinking over his plans for the evening, he quickly recalibrated, a number of new ideas quickly running through his mind.

“Hehe.” She grinned. “Well, it’s good to see you’re not working yourself to death for a change!”

Smirking in return, he stepped across the deserted hallway to her.

“I was just heading to the library actually.” He had been planning on interrupting Lucina’s studies. “There’s a small medical issue I wanted to…look into.”

Grabbing hold of her waist, he pulled her softly against him, just barely letting her feel the strength of his arousal.

“O-Oh?” She breathed, biting her lip as look of nervous excitement flashed across her eyes. “Well, I-I’d love take a look at it for you. If, if you wanted?”

‘No…’ He realised, pausing just as he moved to accept, his plans readjusting once more. ‘That won’t be enough.’ Lissa wasn’t as strong as Lucina, she couldn’t take what he needed.

“Well… I was actually thinking to discuss it with Tharja as well.” He answered instead, his fingers moving lightly across her hips, drawing out a small gasp from her at the dangerously public contact. “Why don’t we go see her together? I’d feel a lot better knowing you were both looking after me.”

Pulling her one last time against his rigid length, he released her, not waiting for an answer as he turned away, changing direction and heading toward the dark mage’s quarters.

“I-Ah…” She swallowed, stuck in place for a moment before racing after him. “O-Okay! That sounds, like, like a good idea.”

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

“R-Robin! GHUuughaaa!” Lissa screamed, arching back with a guttural moan as he continued recklessly bouncing her up and down in his lap, his fingers gripping tight to her ass as he thrust upwards, driving his cock as hard as he could into her. “I-I, I can’t take it! I’m going crazy!”

“H-Haa, it’s so good! Yes!” Robin roared in response, smothering his face in her cleavage and planting his feet flat on the ground from where he sat on the edge of Tharja’s bed.

 “M-MHmmm!” The dark mage hummed in appreciation from between his legs, sucking hard on his balls as their mixed juices dripped wet down his shaft and onto her face.

Fast losing control, Robin was barely able to stand the intensity of the dual sensations- Lissa’s tight pussy clenched tight around his length, squeezing and sucking him for all he was worth, Tharja’s warm mouth teasing and caressing him in all the ways she knew he adored, alone either feeling was incredible, together they were almost unbelievable.

As pent up as he was, there was no way he could resist his aching need for release. “Ha-HAA! GHaaa!” Robin panted, his breath coming in ragged bursts as he dragged Lissa down his shaft even harder, burying himself mercilessly inside her. “Gh-GHAH! I-I’m, I’m gonna cum!”

“N-N-NAGA!” The princess’s response was barely heard over her throaty moans, thrashing her head from side to side, she had long since surrendered to his desires, revelling in being used as little more than a target for his lust. “Ro-ROBIN! Ghhaaaa! Haaaa!” She screamed, knowing his thrusts wouldn’t pause for a moment, no matter how hard she came.

Feeling her pussy clenching continuously around him, wrapping him vice tight within her as Lissa peaked again and again, Robin couldn’t possibly hold out a moment longer. Clenching his teeth and gasping at the raw intensity of the pleasure, he pulled her down hard, right to the base of his cock, screaming aloud as he felt the pressure surging within him, pulsing thick up his length.

“GH-Ha-HAAAA!”

Shuddering at his release, Robin finally collapsed forward, his face falling heavily into Lissa’s soft breasts as his cock finally exploded within her, thick blasts of cum flooding her womb and spraying hot against her deepest walls, filling her pussy instantly and splashing warm down onto Tharja’s waiting face. Mouth agape in a silent scream, Lissa’s entire body was wrapped agonisingly tight around him, her arms and legs both squeezing with all her might, holding his length fully sheathed inside her as she orgasmed, again and again, higher and harder with each burst of his release.

Slumping down into him with a dizzy groan, Lissa’s tongue hung limply from her open mouth, her eyes rolled back and body slowly shivering with the aftershocks of her bliss.

“M-Mh-Ah-HHaaa! Sh-shuup”

Smirking from his position between the princess’s mounds, Robin matched her weak groan, an almost violent shudder running up his spine as Tharja slid her tongue upwards to the base of his shaft, carefully ensuring that she wouldn’t miss even a single drop of his essence.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

“R-Robin! Robin! Robin!” Tharja cried, her moans echoing loud around the room, with her mouth open wide, she drove herself continuously down onto his cock, riding as hard into her mattress as she could. “AH-AHN! Y-You feel! You feel so good! R-Robin!”

“Hey.” Lissa huffed indignantly, from where she was pressed tight against Tharja’s back, her breasts pushed softly against her as her hands kneaded the dark mage’s larger chest. “I’m here too, you know!”

“S-Shut up!” Tharja gasped, not about to let another woman take charge as she reached up and pressing the princess’s hands deeper into her mounds, grinding them roughly into her as she rolled her hips over, dragging herself wonderfully up Robin’s hard shaft once more. “Ha-Harder! MH-Gha! Yes, l-like that!”

“Gh-haa!” Robin groaned, leaning back and breathing heavily as his body shuddered in response to Tharja’s actions, feeling her clench herself tightly around him, using her inner muscles to caress his entire length each time she sank her hips to meet his.

“G-Gods!” He panted again, awestruck at the sight before him- A Plegian sorceress accepting the eager caresses of an Ylissean Princess, her incredible bust being roughly kneaded and her entire body shaking each time she drove herself onto him, each time Lissa kissed hot along her shoulders.

“R-Robin! L-Love, I, I, love you!” Tharja screamed, her eyes clouding over as yet another orgasm thundered through her and she lost control just as she always did he was inside her. She couldn’t fight it, she didn’t even want to fight it, just being with him made her happy, just touching him made her pussy throb, feeling him like this…seeing his face…hearing his moans… “G-GHA! ROBIN! ROBIN!” It was heaven! Better than that! It was everything she’d ever wanted!

Shivering in delight and unable to even think beyond this moment, he was all she could focus on. Thrashing and panting, even as her world exploded with a white light, Tharja’s hips didn’t pause for even a second, she needed this! Needed him to cum! Needed to wring every last drop from him and feel it inside her. Again and again, she peaked, as much from the intensity of the pleasure as the thoughts behind it.

“G-GHa, Th-Tharja, I can’t hold ba-I’m gonna!”

“C-CUM! For me! I-Inside me! I want it, I want it! R-ROBIN!”

He was close! He was so close! Even through her clouded vision she knew it, she could tell just from the look in his eyes, the blisteringly hot spark of lust inside him- She knew it for what it was, a dangerous desire, a need to her, for him to hold her, conquer her and take from her everything she could offer! “R-ROBIN!”

She didn’t need to see, she didn’t even need to think, no matter how deliriously happy she was right now, her body knew Robin, she knew the man she loved as deeply as she’d ever know anything and she knew when he would finally cum for her, right to the instant!

Screaming, she slammed herself down one final time, her entire body shaking as she felt his length pulsing hard down along her most sensitive walls, then shuddering again when Lissa abruptly began tweaking and pinching her over-sensitive nipples. The moment she stopped, with Robin sheathed fully inside her, his cock exploded and Tharja knew nothing except the feeling of his powerful release crashing fiercely against her womb, ropes of thick hot cum filling her instantly. 

“NGHAAA! R-Robi-AHHNNNN!” She panted, eyes glazed over and mouth open in a weak groan as the blazing pleasure rocked her to her core, his seed seeming to spread through her entire body, spreading an indescribable warmth across her entire soul.

Spots danced over her vision and the world spun around her. That didn’t matter. Nothing mattered but him.

“G-Gha-haaaaaaa…”  

Gasping weakly, with a dazed smile bright on her face, Tharja shrugged off Lissa’s attempt to hold her upright, collapsing instead, warm and happy into Robin’s embrace.

Laughing lightly at the display, the princess released her hold on the dark mage’s breasts, following her down into the tactician's embrace, letting him wrap his arms around her, sandwiching Tharja gently gently between their two warm bodies.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

“H-Harder!” Lissa cried, throwing her head back from where it’d been buried in Tharja’s shoulder, thrusting her hips back with all her might as she felt Robin’s cock slamming roughly through her depths. “Yes! Robin! Fuck me!”

Lying atop the dark mage, both women’s arms were wrapped tight around each other. With her legs intertwined and her body shaking in unison with the sorceress’s, Lissa was quickly going mad with the intoxicating pleasure.

“G-GHAAA!” She screamed, her cries were almost deafening as her voice lost definition, letting lose nothing but guttural moans as her lover’s fingers dug harder into her ass, pulling her hard against him as he drove his length again and again into the same spot at the very back of her tunnel.

“Ughaaaaa!” Pulling back fully, he withdraw fully from her pussy and for a moment all she felt was agonising emptiness…until she was suddenly sent gasping a moment later, the body below her shaking violently as Robin slammed himself into Tharja’s eager pussy. “N-NYAAA!”

With her arms squeezed as tight as possible around the other women and their breasts squished hot into each other, Lissa could feel every movement Robin made as he began relentlessly taking Tharja once more. With both women turned on beyond belief and each thoroughly lubricated, he was able to smoothly alternate between the two of them, each time filling them for barely more than a few thrusts before changing to the other.

It was agonising, it was maddening, it was the most intense, infuriating, incredible pleasure Lissa had ever felt.

“G-Gods!” She gasped, yelping as Tharja was jolted forwards, their nipples grinding roughly against each other with each movement, the intense friction almost stealing the words from her throat.

“G-Ghaaa!” She panted, when Tharja shuddered under her, the dark mage’s leg’s squeezing hard around Lissa’s as each movement scraped their throbbing pussies together. “T-Tharja!” She added, her mouth falling open in a ragged pant as she felt the mage’s clit pressing into hers, practically able to feel the other woman’s lust rising with hers into a blazing inferno.

“Ooo-AH! She bit her lip, her entire body tensing in momentary anticipation as she felt Robin’s cock withdrawing. “Y-YES!” And an instant later their movements were reversed, now it was her breasts shaking almost painfully against the Tharja’s rock-hard nipples, now it was her clit grinding back and forth in a blazing frenzy.

The pleasure was unbelievable, beyond anything she’d considered, more powerful than even her wildest fantasies. Ever since Robin had last invited the dark mage to join them she’d found herself thinking again and again about the encounter, about other possible encounters, even about other women she could share him with. But in all her fantasies, all her dreams, she’d never once imagined the staggering intimacy she felt now, the feeling of holding tight to a beautiful woman, sharing her every shudder, joining her in every moan and orgasming with her, over and over again, as they both utterly surrendered themselves to the man they loved.

It was almost shocking how natural it felt- to have gone from dismissing thoughts of being with another woman as little more than naughty thoughts, to now sharing the same man with Tharja of all people. But, it was natural, it was right. They were both his. Unquestionably. He’d proven that, he’d claimed them each, time and again.

Gods! But even so, even as incredible as it was, it was also maddening! Only feeling Robin’s thick cock inside her for a few thrusts at a time as it alternated between them, she wanted more! She needed more!

“I-I need it! I need it!” She whined, her every muscle clamping down on the pulsing rod, wrapping herself around it as hard as she could, squeezing with all her desperation, if only to keep it inside her a single moment longer. “R-Robin! Th-Tharja! I’m, I’m getting close!”

 “G-Nyaa! R-Robin, I-I’m gonna… I can’t, I’m gonna cum! I’m gonna cum again!” Tharja added, her focus as always, almost entirely on the man she loved, even as the princess’s body rubbed hot against her, driving her to new highs she’d never imagined. “Robin! I lo-NGA-love you!”

“Ye-ghaa, Yeah!” He panted, slamming himself mercilessly against Lissa’s innermost depths one last time before sliding out and thrusting down into the dark mage. Moaning instinctively at his withdrawal, Lissa could barely hear herself over the sound of the sorceress’s ecstasy. “I’m, g-gnahaa, I’m getting close, too! Al-Almost!”

“I-Inside! Inside me, my love!” Tharja begged and Lissa could practically feel the dark mage’s pussy clenching tight around Robin’s cock. Shuddering violently with each of the tactician’s thrusts and sending hot pulses of pleasure through the princess as she did so, the sorceress’s body was practically radiant with need.

And yet, it was no less than her own. Barely even able to think, still Lissa heard her own voice crying out in response. “No, n-no, Robin! M-Me! Inside me!”

“H-HA, Haaaa!” Hearing his ragged pants, Lissa had no doubt how close he was, even without looking she could tell just from the way his fingers dug almost painfully into her hips as much as from the breathless-anxious look she could see on Tharja’s face.

Just as she was thinking she couldn’t take it a single second more, she felt him pull back from the mage, her entire body tensing up with joyous anticipation.

“A-AHIYAA!”

“ROB-INGHAAA!”

Taking them both by surprise, Robin instead drove himself directly forwards, slamming his cock between them, his glans opening up both their pussies and grinding hard over their clits as he buried his full length into the tight space between the two women. “GH-GHAAA!”

Eyes wide and bodies tensed to a breaking point, all three of them were shocked to silence at the new sensation, feeling their burning hot bodies fully encasing his length, their twin entrances quivering against him.

Already long past his limits and acting more on reason than instinct, Robin drew back once more, again pulling his cockhead over their clitorises and opening their lips with an agonising intensity.

Pushing forward one final time, his thrust was frenzied and harsh. Feeling their warmth around them, gasping as their every shiver ran through his length and built inside him with an indescribably potency, he was unable to think of anything more than the release he needed.

All three of them came at once.

“NAA-NGHAAA!” Lissa’s entire body clenched up, burying her head against the dark mage’s shoulder, screaming wordlessly as a lightning bolt of pleasure blasted through her entire body.

“RoooBBBBIIIIIN!” Tharja howled, arching off the bed and pushing Lissa upwards, pressing them both even tighter around the pulsing length between them.

“Y-YEAH! GNHAA” Robin screamed, hips shaking wildly as his cock finally erupted, spraying out jet after jet of hot, thick cum- splashing it feverishly over their stomachs, across the underside of their breasts and through any small gaps that remained. Within moments, both women were soaked in a thick coating of his essence.

“H-Haa…” Heaving a deep sigh, he slowly pulled back and let himself slump down onto the soft mattress. “Wow…” Looking up through dazed eyes, Robin watched as Lissa collapsed limply into Tharja’s arms, both women utterly spent and each stained thoroughly in his colours, both inside and out.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Smiling weakly down at the sorceress as she slowly came back to her senses, Lissa only distantly noticed Tharja’s hands sliding around to her shoulders, not until she suddenly found herself rolled over onto her back.

“Mm-Ahhmmm.” She hummed, leaning into the bed as her body shuddered softly in a series of small aftershocks as she felt a slow, pleasant sensation tickling across her thighs.

‘Ah, huh?’ It wasn’t until almost a minute later that her mind cleared and Lissa realised the source of the gentle teasing pleasure was the other’s woman’s tongue sliding wet across her body, licking across her thighs and, “A-Ah-haaa.” And up over her stomach, the dark mage methodically sliding upwards as she went, leaning down and gliding her tongue across the underside of Lissa’s breasts.

Sighing and shaking in the warm afterglow, it was only when she felt Tharja smoothly cupping her bust, kneading them gently and slurping messily through the valley between them, that it finally hit her just what the other woman was up to.

“Hehe.” She giggled a few minutes later, leaning happily into the mage’s gentle ministrations as Tharja finished cleaning her up, gleefully cleaning the last few stray dollops of cum from where they’d reached Lissa’s neck. “You’re very thorough aren’t you?” 

There was more she’d intended to say, but watching as the sorceress drew back, her eyes darting hungrily over her body for anymore of Robin’s seed, Lissa instead found her words catching dry in her throat. Staring wide eyed, all she could concentrate on was the sight of his release shining wet against Tharja’s pale white skin, the way it pooled around the mage’s massive breasts, the tantalising trail of cum dripping thick across her stomach, down her thighs…

Licking her lips and leaning up to meet her, Lissa was moving before she’d even realised it. Wrapping her arms carefully around the dark mage’s hips, she gently laid her down onto the bed, spreading her out and sliding down between the sorceress’s legs, grinning a broad, contented smile as she eagerly began to return the favour.

It was several more breathless and very pleasant minutes before both his lovers finally wriggled themselves happily into Robin’s waiting embrace, once again snuggling warmly into either side of the tactician.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Five Days Ago

Leaning miserably against the outer wall of the trainee’s barracks, Cynthia was uncharacteristically quiet. Sucking in deep breaths and wincing with each stretch of her muscles about the only thing she could think of to cheer herself up was that at least the day was finally over. With severely dented pride and a thoroughly pained body, it was hard to imagine how it could possibly get any worse at least.

It was frustrating! She’d looked forward to this all her life, almost as long as she could remember, she’d wanted nothing more than to be a proud Ylissean Pegasus Knight, just like her mother and for the most part, it was a dream come true! She was almost giddy with excitement anytime she thought about how she was on her way to becoming a real Pegasus Knight. She adored working with Pegasii. She liked her comrades- most of the time and she even enjoyed working under her Wing Commander, Cordelia.

She loved almost everything about her training! Almost everything…

…Except. Except the ground-combat days. An entire day set aside on the second Wednesday of every month used to ensure the Knight trainees were in the best possible physical condition, able to fight both on and off their mounts- it was absolutely nothing like what she’d ever done in the Shepherds! Robin had never once asked her to fight without her Pegasus, neither had Lucina in their old-future and she’d even managed to get out of Frederick’s insane training most of the time.

But now…

Another bubble of frustration welled up inside her.

The run had gone badly. She’d worked harder than ever, giving it her all and yet, she’d fallen over three times, scraping her hands and leaving her a long way behind the others.

The drills had been a mess. Somehow she’d ended up completely tangled in the rope wall, she’d been left hanging upside down for almost twenty minutes before someone found and rescued her.

But the worst of it, time after time, the worst of the lot was-

“O-Oh! Cynthia? You’re still here? I thought everyone else was gone.”

Speak of the devil. Quickly pushing herself off the wall, Cynthia forced a smile, turning to see three of her newer comrades, just stepping out from inside the barracks.

“Ah! Yup, still here.” She nodded, quickly thinking up a believable excuse. “I was just lost in thought. Er, thinking about, about herostuff!”

“Are, are you okay?” One of them asked, stepping forward as an awkward look was passed between the trio. “It just, it looked like you took some really hard hits out there.”

“Yeah…” Another one added hesitantly. “You’re usually…usually so great! You fly circles around everyone, and- and the Wing Commander always says your form is perfect…but, but you always get knocked down in sparring. It looks really painful”

“Painful? Pshh!” Cynthia scoffed, backing up her attitude by stretching out, showing just how absolutely fine she totally was. “It takes alot more than that to hurt a hero!

“Bu-”

“I took waaaay harder hits than that during the war. I didn’t even feel a thing today!” She added, flashing her usual bright grin and performing a victory pose.

“Well, it’s just…” Caught between guilt and worry, the girl’s resolve dithered slightly, their gazes all shifting from hers as they shuffled from foot to foot. “Just, you, you always get back up, you never stay down, so we have to keep hitting you.”

“Of course! A True hero never gives up!”

Luckily they seemed to buy it. Which made sense, since it was absolutely true.

“Well…If, if you’re really okay? You don’t need a hand getting home?”

“Whaaat!?” She balked, “Hey! Don’t worry about me at all! The only reason I even get knocked down is, er, is because I have to hold back against you guys! I’ve gott’a let you win! I mean, I can’t just go around hurting you can I? That wouldn’t be right!”

None of them would meet her eyes so she couldn’t quite tell if they believed her or not.

“Okay. Well…” Sighing, they finally seemed to accept it. “Alright, we’ll see you tomorrow then.”

“Yup! Definitely!” She affirmed, calling after them as they walked around the other side of the stables.

It wasn’t until they were finally out of sight that she deflated. “Urgh.” She sighed. Sparring, by far the worst of the lot.

Father and Lucina both made it look so easy and Cordelia was always praising her stance and her grip, she trained harder than any of them at it, she was doing everything right…but almost as soon as the fight began, her feet would get tangled or she’d stumble and lose her balance, sometimes she was knocked down, other times she just tripped up, either way quickly ended up with her planted unceremoniously in the ground.

And then… Cynthia winced involuntarily at the next thought, gingerly pressing her hand against a painful bruise on the side of her abdomen. And then, they’d finish the strike. She’d be lying in a heap on the grass and her comrades dulled spears or wooden swords would slam full force into her armour, again and again. It was good training, it was important, Cordelia had stressed that time and again- even as she herself clearly found it uncomfortable to watch- it taught them the proper motions and ensured the movements were ingrained into their bodies, that they would finish their foes instinctively in a real battle.

Important, sure, but Godsdamnit if it didn’t hurt like hell!

“All…All part of the training!” She assured herself, shaking such negative thoughts away. “All part of becoming a hero!”

Tomorrow they’d be back in the air, she consoled herself. Tomorrow it would be back to normal, back to her flying rings around them, back to her planting her spears dead centre on all the targets, back to her knocking over even the heaviest jousting dummies with ease.

But, for now… Sucking in a shallow breath, Cynthia turned in the opposite direction to where the other girls had gone, planting her spear in the ground for balance and taking a hesitant step back towards the palace. For now she had to go home.

The palace wasn’t too far from the training grounds, but her steps were painfully slow and her legs were shaking even from just this much, even despite all the time she’d spent recovering after the sparring, the accumulated damage still shone through. Shuffling forwards as carefully as she was, at least she wasn’t at risk of tripping over, even if she could only just barely stay upright.

“Careful.’  Cynthia warned herself, leaning heavier on her spear as she made her way around the corner. ‘I just need to ge-’

Her legs suddenly gave out from under her, and she was pitched forwards with a scream…

“UWAAA!”

“Cynthia!”

…Right into a familiar warm embrace.

“Wo-woah… Hey there, you okay?”

“R-Robin...”

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Even as embarrassing as it was to suddenly fall into his arms, Cynthia couldn’t keep the smile from her face, looking up as Robin pulled her to her feet, wrapping an arm over her shoulder to help her steady herself.

“There you go.” He grinned. “Looks like I was just in time.”

“Perfect heroic timing.” She agreed, a real heroic last second entrance! “I didn’t even see you around today.”

“Ah, er, I actually got here only a minute ago.” He explained, nodding over to where he’d apparently  been standing out of sight. “I heard you with your friends and I didn’t want to interrupt.”

“Oh.” Waiting around the corner wasn’t quite as heroic as just having arrived in time to save her, but she appreciated the gesture none the less. And she felt better just seeing him regardless.

Robin was one of the few reasons the ground combat days were bearable, even despite all the humiliation and pain she received. Sometime, several months back, he’d come around to check on Cordelia and the squadron’s progress, he’d seen the training and apparently had been worried ever since. His concern was entirely unnecessary of course! But, she enjoyed his help, even so.

“You really don’t have to do this you know?” She asked, just as she always did, looking down to hide the flush on her face as he half walked-half carried her back into the barracks. “I’m fine, really. I just tripped, there must have been some loose stones or something!”

“I know. You’d be fine even without me.”

“Th-”

“But!” He interrupted, with a laugh. “I want to help you anyway.”

She sighed, still unable to keep the smile off her face, she knew what he was going to say next, it was the same reply he’d given all those other hundred times she’d protested his aid.

“After all, I’m trying to marry your sister, so I’ve got to make sure you’re in my good books.” He explained, his voice turning mock serious as he pulled her around to one of the deserted medical rooms, closing the door behind them. “I want to make sure you’re telling her all kinds of good things about me.”

Nodding, she relented, dropping her spear to the floor and kicking it out of the way as she relaxed into his grip, letting him ease her down onto a stool in the centre of the room. “A-Ahh.”

“Now, let’s…” Biting her lip, and flushing even deeper, she tried not to make a sound as she felt him move around behind her, his hands clasped tight around her as he pulled at the straps and buckles on her armour. “Let’s get you out of this.”  

Her breastplate fell to the floor with a dull clank, her shoulder-guards and gauntlets followed a moment later as he raised her arms up and gently tugged them free.

“H-Hehee.” She laughed nervously, squirming slightly under his touch as his hands slid heavy and warm around her stomach, unclipping the belt around her waist and pulling it to the floor with the rest of her clothes.

Which left her, as had somehow become normal, sitting away from him and wearing little more than her thin tunic, with her face blazing red and a heart pounding. ‘I-It’s no big deal.’ Robin had seen her in casual clothing or without her armour around the camp a hundred times. He’d seen her like this plenty of times too…though, somehow, being like this just with him felt a little different.

“Gods…” The pain in his whisper interrupted her swirling thoughts as he peered closer, running a finger gingerly along her exposed shoulders. “You were really going home like this?” He added, taking her hand in his and carefully pulling her glove off.

“W-Well.” She dithered, sitting like this, as embarrassing as it could be, somehow also took her mind away from the pain. It wasn’t so bad around him.

His fingers danced lightly along her arms and she could see a number of ugly black bruises already forming. “Cynthia…” Even without looking, she could hear the grimace in his voice.

Robin paused and she could feel the tension growing within him, the urge he was feeling to make the same request he’d made so many times before, that she let him talk to Cordelia, use his leverage to petition the Wing Commander to go easier on her. A moment of silence passed instead and Cynthia smiled in gratitude-that he restrained himself meant as much to her as the fact that he wanted to.

“At least, at least let me get a healer for you.” He sighed finally, pushing himself away from her and to his feet. “If it’s this bad, at the very least I need to make sure you’re taken care of proper-”

Her tight grip on the hem of his cloak halted his words.

“Cynthia. I can’t just…you’re Chrom’s daughter, Lucina’s sister…”

She grimaced, but held her ground. That her situation worried Robin was bad enough, the thought of her sister getting involved, or her parents…

“Robin! This is nothing!” She laughed, forcing herself to grin up at him. “I got hurt waaay worse than this during the war!”

His teeth clenched and she could see the argument in his eyes. That to him, her words were true, but that it wasn’t the same. Her ending up in the medical tent was his mistake, an error he took responsibility for, one he adjusted for…completely separate to her being knocked around on a scheduled basis.

“This is just training.” She added, her voice filled with determination. “It’s the same training any Pegasus Knight goes through.”

And that, more than anything else, was the key to it. Her goal, one equally important to her being a hero- that she become an Ylissean Pegasus Knight.

Flinching back, Robin visibly deflated. He couldn’t possibly compromise that, he knew how important it was to her, organising any kind of special concession would only taint the achievement, he’d be stealing her dreams from her.

“It didn’t use to be this bad.” He answered instead, turning away and walking to the medicine cabinet on the far side of the room. “It feels like it’s getting worse for you each time I see you.”

“Nah!” She shook her head, “It’s not like that at all.” Her comrades were all good people, they would all be fine Knights. There wasn’t a single shred of malice between them, they weren’t trying to make it worse for her, none of them wanted to hurt her.

They were just getting better, the other trainees were improving, week after week. A year ago, all her squad mates had been just nervous recruits, shaking anytime Cordelia so much as looked at them. Now, they were well on their way to becoming proud guardians of peace. She, on the other hand, had been in battle almost her entire life, she’d practically grown up on a Pegasus with spear in hand. Her fighting techniques weren’t the problem, there was almost no room for them to be polished any further.

Accepting her words with a sigh, Robin returned and kneeled before her with a small medical kit, gesturing for her to stretch her legs out. “A-Ahh.” She sighed, enjoying the slightly strange sensation as he took each foot in turn, carefully pulling her boots free.

Chewing on her lip, Cynthia tried not to squirm as his hands then moved warmly onto her thighs, a pleasantly warm shuddering running through her as she felt him carefully unclip her garters, freeing her stockings and rolling them slowly down her legs.

Looking away, with her heart pounding faster than ever, she instinctively tugged at the bottom of her tunic, pulling it as far down as she could, ensuring it completely covered her smallclothes as she desperately tried not to think about how exposed she was- sitting now in little but her underwear and tunic.

Shivering as her entire body burned bright red, Cynthia had no idea if she’d ever get used to this sensation, or if she even wanted to. No matter how many times she wound up in his care like this, the effect on her was electrifying. ‘I-It’s not like I have any intentions!’ She reminded herself, trying not to think about her sister and what Lucina would think if she saw them like this.

That’s not to say she was lying! Heroes didn’t lie! It was just…just that, ever since she’d first let Robin take care of her, she’d seen how much better he was at it than when she’d done it herself. That was the ONLY reason she let him see her in such an embarrassing state! Definitely! And! And, since he was dating Lucina she could trust him not to try anything funny.

That was all there was to it…

Putting her stockings aside, Robin opened a familiar jar of healing balm, a slow acting but less destructive alternative to the battlefield vulneraries. Spreading it across his hands, he took careful hold of her suddenly shaking legs, tenderly massaging the salve along her calves.

“O-Ohhaa.” She gasped, a sudden flash of warmth flooding through her the moment he made contact with her bare skin. Shoving her fist into her mouth, she quickly stifled an unbidden moan.

…If only, if only it didn’t feel so good.

It was all just too confusing! Everything was so much more complicated in the past, in the future all she’d needed to worry about had been fighting. Fighting made sense, it was simple! She just needed to punish the evildoers, rescue the innocents and bathe in the (heroic) adulation that followed! But now, it was tricky, the evildoers were often other humans and sometimes they didn’t seem all that evil…and now she wasn’t even fighting really, she was just training…which was good of course, but it meant she spent a lot more time alone with Robin, which was nice. But he was Lucina’s boyfriend and she was SO HAPPY for her, but it also meant that she felt that she shouldn’t acu-

 “Cynthia.” Robin finally spoke up, his voice interrupting her swirling thoughts.

“Uh, yeah?” She blinked, coming back to reality to see him releasing her left leg and moving to her right, his palm gently massaging the numbing balm over a thin bruise up her shin. “Tha-That’s me!”

Moving his hands a little further up her legs, the warmth of his touch spread faster through her body and her breath quickened. “I was thinking, about my schedule.” He spoke finally, taking his time collecting the words. “With Olivia helping me recently, I’m not quite as busy. I could, well, I could free up some time on Wednesday evenings, or Saturday mornings.”

 “Ohhkay?”

“I was thinking, if you wanted. I know you don’t have training on those days, so I wouldn’t mind teaching you some magic?”

“Magic?” She balked, that was certainly out of the blue but before she could comment, she saw a surprisingly earnest look on his face.

“Sure, or, if not me then I’m sure I could arrange for Miriel to teach you, or Lissa. Actually, hey, why don’t I ask Sumia? That’d be fun wouldn’t it, spending more time with your mother?”

Cynthia beamed, she would like to spend more time with her mother! She hadn’t thought about learning magic before, but it could be fun. Plus! More importantly! If she learned magic, she wouldn’t have to rely on Laurent to create explosions for her heroic entrances! Why hadn’t she thought of this earlier!? “Oooh.”

“I know you’d be good at it.” He grinned back reassuringly. “Your mother was always a quick learner when it came to spells and, Naga, your whole family’s full of great mages. I bet even Lucina or Chrom could learn if they tried.”

Cynthia giggled a little at that thought, it was difficult to imagine her sister walking around in a mage’s robe, let alone her father, she couldn’t even picture him holding a tome!

“Yeah, and I think, well, it’d be a bit easier on you. You wouldn’t have to move around as much.”

“Oh.” And with that, all her enthusiasm drained away.

She was enthusiastic, reckless and headstrong, but Cynthia wasn’t dumb, she understood his meaning. It was true, some Pegasus Knights did rely on spells instead of their lances, if she used magic when fighting on the ground she wouldn’t have to worry about moving around and losing her balance.

Her eyes flicked to the corner of the room, to where her mother’s spear was lying against the wall.

He didn’t miss her reaction. “Cynthia…” Pausing his movements, with his hands on her upper thigh, Robin leaned heavily into her leg, his fingers wrapped warm around her bare skin.

“I just-”

“Cynthia,” He repeated, “You already saved the world.”

Saved the world. She saved the world. There was no stopping jolt of warmth that surged through her at those words, pride, joy and even a little modesty. But it was true, she had been there, right to the end when Grima had been slain. There was no doubt she’d been part of saving the world but…it was only Robin who ever said it like that.

“You don’t have anything to prove to her, there’s nothing you need to live up to.” He added sincerely. “I know she couldn’t be more proud of you.”

“I-I know, I mean, o-of course!” She stammered weakly, biting her lip and finding it surprisingly difficult to meet the imploring look in his eyes.

“But, I just, I…”

Fighting with her mother’s spear, it was how she’d always fought, it was how she’d always wanted to fight. Even if her mother did sometimes use spells, it was the stories of her skill with the lance that Cynthia had been raised on.

“I just…” Her voice dropped, but didn’t waver. “When I use it, it just feels like, like I’m fighting with her. Like she’s still with me.”

It was silly, she knew that, she’d never admitted it out loud before. She knew (that jerk) Severa especially would never let her down if she caught wind of it. Even so, it was true, her lance was one thing she could never compromise.

“Ah. I see.” Clearly taken aback by her words, Robin turned away, looking abashed. “Well, I suppose heroes have to be rather stubborn don’t they?”

“Of course!” She nodded with a laugh. “Heroes never give up!”

Chuckling lightly, he didn’t add anything more. Watching as he turned his eyes to the floor, Cynthia left him to his thoughts.

‘A-Ahaa’

Except… Now that the serious discussion had passed, it was becoming impossible not to pay attention to the way his fingers were wrapped warm around her upper thigh. ‘O-Ohha.’ Screwing her eyes shut, Cynthia’s breath started coming faster, it felt good, really good! But then, it always did when Robin took care of her like this- nothing at all like any of the time she’d spent in the Shepherd’s medical tent, nothing like anything she’d felt before.

Chewing on her lip and fighting the urge rub her legs together, her thoughts fell from her mouth before she even realised she was speaking them aloud. “H-Higher.” 

“Huh?” Suddenly snapped from his thoughts, Robin turned back around to her.

Looking away to hide her embarrassment, Cynthia wasn’t sure where her request had even come, she’d spoken without thinking, reacting to nothing more than a sudden flash of desire. “I-Ah.” She attempted to explain, her breath catching in her throat as his thumb traced a soft pattern over her inner thigh. “A-A little higher up.”

Raising a questioning eyebrow, Robin did as she asked, his palms tentatively massaging the soothing balm another few inches up her leg…almost right up to where she was frantically balling her tunic between her legs. “You got hit all the way up here?” He asked sceptically. “I don’t…see anything?”

‘O-Ohh!’ She barely even heard him speak, it felt like her entire body was on fire! ‘I, I don’t…’ Her pussy was suddenly throbbing with an unbearable intensity.

‘W-What is this?’ She gasped silently, her mouth falling open and head spinning at the sensation.

Pausing right below her pelvis, Robin’s fingers gently rotated around her leg, using his palms to gently massage her sensitive skin.

‘I.. I!’

“T-That’s enough!” She squeaked, desperately getting herself under control before she…before she… “I-um, ah, I mean, t-thank you. T-That feels, feels better.”

“Right.” He nodded, pushing himself to his feet and moving around to her back.

Clenching her teeth as a violent shudder ran through her the moment his hands let her go, Cynthia was at least glad he didn’t seem to have noticed anything out of the ordinary.

‘Naga.’  She sighed, her thoughts whirring so fast she barely even noticed as Robin settled in behind her, winding a thin strip of gauze over a wound on her shoulder. ‘What was I thinking?’ She didn’t have an answer and it became even harder to think as he continued his work, beginning to gently knead the soothing balm down her bruised arms.

‘I, I shouldn’t enjoy this. It’s nothing, nothing like that.’ She scolded herself, this wasn’t meant to be anything enjoyable, it was just...just… it wasn’t anything bad! ‘And it’s Robin!’ She liked Robin of course, she always had, his battlefield tactics could use a little more heroic flare, but he’d always been very kind to her- even when she’d been a kid.

But she didn’t like him as much as Lucina obviously did! ‘And that’s the only reason he’s…’ His hands ran smooth along her arms, sliding across her forearm and her thoughts trailed off for a moment. ‘A-Anyway, he’s only doing this because he’s Lucina’s fiancé.’

Her sister’s secret fiancé. That wasn’t very heroic. Cynthia had never liked that idea, heroes shouldn’t keep secrets! Especially not secrets they knew would make their mother SUPER HAPPY to know about!

‘Er…’ Then again… Gulping, she remembered their discussion afterwards and how adamantly Lucina had insisted that her relationship was going to remain a secret… Perhaps there were exceptions? Surely after everything she’d done, her sister was heroic enough for that?

‘Hmmm!’ She considered, that was worthy of some thought. Could you be so heroic that you could do un-heroic deeds? But then, wouldn’t that make even Severa a hero!? ‘NO WAY! That can’t be ri-’

“There we go.”

“H-Huh?”

Blinking back to reality from her musings, Cynthia suddenly realised Robin was practically done. He’d already moved to her left arm and was just finishing tying up another thin band of gauze around her wrist.

She’d missed it! She’d been so lost in thought, she’d missed everything!

She didn’t want it to be over! Not yet! She’d completely zoned out and missed feeling his touch along her arms! But…she wasn’t doing this to enjoy it, so wasn’t that a good thing? BUT! But, it felt good! She wanted more! That wasn’t bad, was it? It was just a massage? Massages were meant to feel good…r-right?

“W-Wait.”

Again, she spoke without thinking, words spilling forth from her desires, without even a chance for her mind to catch up.

But this time, it wasn’t just words…

…This time, swallowing heavily and reaching up to flick open the ties to her tunic, this time she knew exactly what she was doing as she did it. Heart hammering hard in her chest, Cynthia paused only a moment as the last tie fell open, wriggling the cloth from her shoulders and rolling it down her body until it was bunched entirely in her lap.

Until she was finally sitting in place, breathing in shallow pants and squirming in place, completely naked from the waist up. Released from the tunic, her breasts- usually held tightly in place by her breastplate, bounced free from their restraint, tingling gently in the crisp evening air.

 ‘I-It’s just a massage.’ She assured herself as a series of small shudders ran up her spine. ‘And, and he’s behind me. He can’t see anything.’ Still, her self-assurances did little to stall the way her entire body was quickly enflaming deep crimson in embarrassment.

 “C-Cynthia?” He whispered, shock clear in his voice.

Gulping, with her mouth suddenly dry, she hurriedly tried to calm down. ‘Nothing is different! It’s just, it’s just he’s much better at doing this than I am! We trust each other! A hero and her tactician-healer!’

She needed to answer him, she needed to explain. “I-ah, c-can you also…?” Her words came out as little more than a shaky whisper.

Even as close as they’d become over the past few weeks, this was further than she’d ever gone, further than she’d ever thought to take things. Robin had only ever looked after her extremities, then sent her home with bandages and ointment, to take care of the rest by herself.

‘But, it doesn’t feel the same when I do it…’

It had started so many weeks ago with him just rubbing creams into her shaking legs, but now… Now, as sitting there half naked before him, with her heart threatening to leap out her chest, Cynthia couldn’t tell where she wanted it to stop.

“Gods.” Robin’s pained sigh pulled her back to the moment, but his breath tickling warm along her bare back had her quickly biting down on her fist once more, forcefully supressing her reaction. “Is it, is it always this bad?”

Punctuating his words by running his hands gingerly along her sides, his fingers traced a light outline across her damaged ribs, shying away from the dark outline of fresh bruises already forming across her trim abdominal muscles.

“I-It’s not bad.” She assured him, trying to ignore the return of the throbbing she could feel from between her legs each time his fingers brushed across her skin.

“Naga.” He sighed bitterly, once again restraining his complaints as he began to trace a path methodically across her body, carefully pulling a bandage over where her sides had been split open from repeated blows.

She didn’t feel the pain anymore, she hadn’t almost since he began, all she felt was the heat spreading within her body and the strange urgent thrum from within her core, louder and stronger with each time she felt his fingers, each time his breath ran down her spine, each time his hands clasped to her sides.

‘Thi-this is dangerous!’ Breathing even faster and clenching her teeth as a series of hot shivers ran heavily up her spine, Cynthia’s mind raced for anything to latch onto, anything he could concentrate on except how much she was currently enjoying her sister’s boyfriend’s touch.

‘Oh! M-My entrance speech!’ The thought coming only haltingly as Robin’s slid gently under her ribs, caressing the salve into her skin and forcing her to desperately choke back another gasp. ‘I had a great one earlier!’

‘I am, I am the hope of the universe.’ She recited mentally, picturing herself standing on a ruined plateau, wind and water swirling dramatically in all directions as her foe turned slowly to face her. ‘I am the answer to all living things that cry out for peace. I am the protector of the innocent. I am the light in the darkness. I am CYNTHIA! Ally to justice! Nightmare to you!’

His palms pressed across her stomach, tracing a bruise down to her hips and again her body shuddered in response. ‘Yeah, that’s a kee-keeper for sure! That’s the best so far!’

‘I am, I am the terror that flaps in the night!’ She continued, hurriedly remembering another one she’d thought up earlier as Robin’s fingers massaged the cream tenderly around her waist, sliding warmly up sides. ‘I, I am the chill that runs up your spine! I AM-’

Moving further up, his hand dragged across her chest, running his knuckles slowly against the underside of her heaving breasts.

“A-AHhn!” Cynthia moaned loudly, eyes shooting wide and her entire body shaking at his touch. It “A-Ah-haaa.” It was as if a bolt of lightning had just slammed into her, a sudden blast of intense pleasure, her every nerve firing off the instant she’d felt him make contact with her breasts.

“Cynthia?”

Screwing her eyes shut in mortification, she shoved her fist back into her mouth, biting hard into it and desperately trying to ignore the throbbing desire running red hot through her.

“Cynthia?” Robin repeated, “What’s wrong? Did I hurt you?”

“N-N-No.” She gasped, utterly failing to keep the breathlessness from her voice. “N-No, I’m, I’m fine.”

“Are…are you sure?”

She couldn’t answer. She wanted to cry, wanted to scream, wanted to beg for more…

“Well… I think I’m pretty much done anyway, do you want me to stop?”

NO! Gods…no, she didn’t want that. She wanted him to keep touching her! To hold her tight against him and touch her like that again! She wanted him to reach higher, cupping her br-

Clamping furiously down on that thought, Cynthia forced herself to nod. “O-Okay.” She breathed, clenching her fists tight and swallowing her mounting desires. Biting down harder on her bare fist as Robin’s released her, moving away to return the medical kit, it took all her hero's resolve not to make a sound as her body trembled at his absence.

‘G-Geeeez.’  She scolded herself, holding her breath as she reached down with shaking hands and began to awkwardly pull her tunic back into place over her body, a task made almost impossible when the feeling of the fabric pulled tight against her suddenly over-sensitive breasts sent another wave of powerful shudders up her spine. ‘Wh-What was that!? What’s am I doing!?’   

Breathing deeply, she slowly regained her control, letting the flames of desire gently die out.

Unfortunately, doing so only allowed more thoughts back into her head and her fretting got substantially worse, her fingers twisting painfully around each other as she sat petrified in place, embarrassment and shame almost crushing her to pieces. ‘Gods!’ She wailed,‘That wasn’t heroic! That wasn’t Heroic at all! Robin’s Lucina’s boyfriend and, and he was trying to be nice!’ Why had it felt so good!? Why had she moaned like that!? She’d almost made it something naughty! Heroes didn’t, heroes didn’t do that!

“Eh, uh, Cynthia? You coming?”

Blinking out of her self-flagellation she looked up to see Robin standing over her, holding out her breastplate and spear.

She breathed out a sigh. Somehow, thankfully, he didn’t seem to have noticed anything was amiss. ‘He’s a little innocent.’ She realised, even after all that he didn’t realise there was anything different about how she’d been acting. That, at least, was a huge relief.

“C’mon.” He smiled easily, using the spear to pull her to her feet as she clung numbly to it, her thoughts still whirling too much to pay much attention. “I’ll walk you home.”

“Ah.”

Even despite her humiliation she couldn’t resist the small burst of happy warmth from those words. He didn’t need to walk her home, he wouldn’t otherwise go in that direction, he’d almost never returned to the palace this early in the evening- he was only offering to look after her, to make sure she got back safely.

“Okay.”

It was silly, she’d been through so much her whole life, she’d lived through a truly nightmarish existence, to now have someone worrying so much about something so small...it was almost ridiculous. And yet, as pulled herself to her feet and fell into step beside him, she couldn’t deny how nice it felt, how wonderful it was to know that someone did care.

Between her own hard-earned resilience and Robin’s gentle care, Cynthia already felt much better- her steps steadier and her pain significantly dulled. And so, taking a sedate pace, the trip back to the palace passed uneventfully.

Of course, with Cynthia desperately trying to think of anything except what had just passed between them, the journey was also spent in a surprisingly comfortable silence…an event that was, for her at least, so rare that many people (meanies like Severa especially) wouldn’t have believed it possible.

She wasn’t used to being so quiet, it was strange…but somehow, being like this with Robin…it was nice. Enjoying the mellow calmness, she didn’t feel an urge to announce her return, or even to sing her entrance song as they made their way inside.

In-fact, so caught up in the pleasantly calm mood between them, it wasn’t until Robin had escorted her back to her room that Cynthia finally found herself with words once again burning at the tip of her tongue.

“Alright, here we are. You take care of yourself.”

“R-Right.” She murmured, chewing on her lip and dragging out the process of pushing her door open, leaning her weight against the frame and decidedly not looking in his direction.

She heard him turn, his footsteps slowly padding away from her and suddenly she couldn’t take it any longer! Burning up inside and gripping almost hard enough to crush the door knob…and again the words she’d never meant to say spilled from her mouth.

“H-Hey!…Hey, Robin.”

“Huh? Ah, yeah?”

“I know… I know that Lucina’s your hero.”

She’d thought about this more times than she cared to admit, but she’d never even considered saying it aloud. Yet, somehow, after tonight and everything he’d done for her- somehow she couldn’t hold her tongue.

Spinning in place she forced herself to stare directly at him, fists clenched tight at her sides and a fire blazing hot across her soul.

“B-BUT! If, if you were ever in trouble, and she wasn’t around… If you needed me, I’d come for you! I swear I would! I’d DEFINITELY save you!”

“Cynthia...” Walking back over to her, he breathed her name with a gentle sigh and a moment later she almost found herself almost moaning aloud again when she felt his hand warm and strong atop her head, gently ruffling her hair.

“I know you would. You’re my Pegasus-Knight in shining armour.”

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

It was several hours later before Robin let his thoughts return to the flustered Pegasus Knight.

‘Cynthia’s really gotten bold.’ He considered, feeling a dull pang of guilt at thinking about another woman as he ran his fingers gently up and down his fiancé’s naked back.

“Mmmmm.” Lucina hummed happily from where she was dozing beside him, her body shivering lightly from the aftershocks of their frenzied lovemaking.

“That was intense.” She breathed. “You must have been very wound up.”

“I suppose so.” He chuckled, teasing a finger between her shoulder blades and letting the conversation drop as his thoughts returned to her sister.

‘It’s not as this is some plan of mine though.’ He frowned, his time with Cynthia, even in the deepest throes of his maddening desire, had always been innocent. It’d started with nothing more than him helping her hobble inside, later he’d attempted to massage some strength back into her legs and now…

…He shuddered, another flash of desire running through him as he recalled his shock at watching Lucina’s sister stripping her top off before him, seeing the smooth skin of her perfect back, running his hands directly across her taut stomach. ‘Gods.’ He doubted he’d forget the sight of her shivering at his tough anytime soon nor that final sweet moan she’d given when he’d brushed his fingers against her breasts.

‘They sound so simil-Ah!’ Wincing, he shook that thought away before it progressed any further.

He’d never imagined hearing anything like that from Cynthia. Even more than Morgan or Owain, she’d always seemed to be one of the most naïve Shepherds and certainly the most innocent of them all, always lost in her own world of heroes and justice. Even in the bitterest days of the war, she’d been the one flying above the camp at the crack of dawn, swooping over their tents and screaming her newest battle cries to wake them up.

To think that Cynthia would now be acting so…so womanly… ‘I suppose it was inevitable?’ Innocent or not, she had to be almost twenty and no matter how deficient her upbringing was, it shouldn’t be a surprise for her to have developed an interest in the opposite sex. He should have seen this coming, should have thought about what it would mean to her that he’d spent so much time looking after her- but he hadn’t.

And now… She’d promised, she’d sworn, that if he were ever in trouble, she would come save him.

‘Geez.’ He sighed, no matter how embarrassing that thought was, he couldn’t help but smile. It was impossible not to be touched at such a sweetly earnest declaration.

For such a straightforward girl, it was remarkably easy to misread Cynthia. It would have been easy to just dismiss her words as just more of her over-enthusiastic boasts, to just smile and forget about them.

But, with all the time he’d spent with Lucina and all the stories she’d slowly opened up to him about, he knew better than any of the original Shepherds the suffering the time-travelling children had gone through and, even more than that, the coping mechanisms they’d developed to survive. So, he’d listened to Cynthia, no less than he had for Brady or Severa- even when she woke up half the camp in the middle of the night, even when everyone else rolled their eyes and tuned her out, even when she almost burst an ear-drum with her victory-cries, he’d listened. And he understood her now, as he did then.

She’d vowed to save him, to protect him. She wanted to be his hero.

Such simple, childish, words, but they meant everything to her. For Cynthia, to claim something like that, it might as well have been a love confession.

Running a hand through his hair, he let out another sigh. His fiancé’s little sister had a crush on him.

Even despite the awkwardness of that thought, he couldn’t help but give a rueful smile, his ego getting the better of him for a moment.‘I’m Cynthia’s first love?’ She was so forthright, so headstrong, just thinking about her blushing and stammering over him like that, it was as endearing as it was flattering.

And…it was also dangerously enticing. ‘It would be so, so simple...’ He noted, the thought coming before he could think to constrain it and with it yet another furious flash of desire at the memory of her squirming in his arms, her breaths coming faster with each touch and her arousal clearer with each gasp she tried to hide.

‘Ughaa.’ His cock pulsed rock hard and another blaze of need ran through him once more, his body aching with a pang of unfulfilled lust.

He could remember clearly the way her body had shuddered with just the barest caress across her chest-if he’d simply pulled her to him, if he’d slid his hands over her breasts, cupped them in his fingers… She wouldn’t have resisted. He couldn’t possibly have missed how badly she’d wanted him, she wouldn’t have even thought to say no.

The thoughts ran hotter now, faster and faster as they swirled around him.

Images of Cynthia arching and moaning as he kneaded her impressive bust. Thoughts of her pushing back against his cock, feeling it hard against her back. Of his fingers sliding smoothly into her soaked panties. Watching as she gave in to her lust…falling breathlessly to her hands and knees as he pressed his hard length against her aching pussy, slowly pushing her lips apart and sliding himself ins-

‘A-GHha!’ He reeled back, screwing his eyes shut and wincing with pain, the desire was agonising now! Blazing angrily within him in response to his continued restraint.

Shoving his fist into his mouth and biting down hard Robin forcefully silenced any gasps of pain, bringing himself back under control and letting his desire cool. Twice now this had happened, twice now his instincts had scorched his soul, screaming for action and raging painfully when he’d held back.

 ‘No.’ He reminded himself, slowly sucking in a shaky breath as he let the moment pass. ‘Not like that.’

He was used to it now, or at least as much as he could be. As terrible as the pangs were, they were nothing compared to what he’d felt before.

‘She has to come to me.’ It was just the same as Olivia, he wouldn’t pressure her in a moment of passion or make any kind of obvious gesture. Otherwise, the moment she came to her senses, all she would remember would be his actions, him taking his time getting closer to her, him seducing her. ‘It has to be her choice.’

And of course, Cynthia was safe. She practically idolised her big sister, she would never make a move on him.

‘But of course…I’ve got a plan for that too.’ His rationale taunted him, just as he’d started to breathe a little easier.

“Tch.”

It was true of course. Even without intending to, even without wanting to…he had a plan.

‘It would be...so, so simple.’ The thought repeated. Cynthia was just too forthright, too earnest.

All he would need to do was to send Tharja to her, have the dark mage let slip some hints of his unnatural stamina and some fake worries for Lucina’s health. Even as uncomfortable as the conversation would be for her, Cynthia wouldn’t be able to help but listen…and wouldn’t be able to resist keeping an eye out for her sister.

Then, he would simply visit Lucina. Only Lucina. Every day and every night, he would come to her, just the same as he’d done before. And, with his lusts constrained to one woman, the power would raise, again and again, until he was taking her with almost the same frenzy he’d shown back then.

She would receive him happily, he knew that. But, the greater his needs before the more it would drain her stamina until eventually, once again, it would be outstripping even her incredible strength. But of course, he knew the woman he loved, she would never relent, she would push herself to accept him, harder, and harder…

…Until Cynthia came to him- secretly and desperately, terrified of the fatigue she’d seen in her sister and having found Lucina herself refusing to talk about it, she would come to him.

 To save her sister. To be a hero. To be with him. She would offer herself. A virgin sacrifice.

‘GODS!’ He screamed mentally, regaining control and pushing that plan away just the same as he had every other time it had surfaced.‘No! No. I’m… I would never. I’m not…’

It was just a strategy, just…just an idle thought. Nothing more, no more than that.

Those words weren’t a lie, he promised himself, needing it to be true. Even with everything he’d done and everything he knew he would do, he wasn’t that callous. He couldn’t do that to Lucina, he could never lay a hand on her own sister.

‘Tch. How pathetic.’ He grimaced, rolling his feet off the bed and sinking his head into his hands as another wave of self-loathing welled up within him. ‘As if that’s somehow better. I cannot stay loyal, but at least there’s limits to who I cheat on her with?’ The voice that mocked him was his own, cruel and taunting, he couldn’t deny it’s words.

Since he’d begun, the guilt had never truly left him and it was only made worse by the knowledge that he’d always thoroughly enjoyed the encounters, by the fact that more and more he found himself looking forward to the thrill of once again taking to battle with his strategies. ‘I won’t sleep with Tharja’s daughter. I won’t touch Lucina’s sister… Oh, how very honourable.’ His battered conscience sneered sarcastically. ‘Truly…truly I am the fiancé she deserves.’

That was the thought that finally snapped him from his thoughts, his heart wrenching agonisingly the moment the words came to him. He’d wanted to be that- he’d wanted so badly to be that, more than he’d ever wanted anything.

Grimacing and unable to bear his frustrations a moment longer, Robin pushed himself up on shaking feet, stilling his breath long enough to continue the façade once more, turning back to the woman he loved and returning his thoughts only to her.

“I’d better leave.” He whispered, stroking a finger along her cheek and forcing himself to match her gentle smile when she turned to him. “Else, I’ll probably end up falling asleep with you.”

“Oftimes…I wonder, if that would truly be so bad?” She answered, grinning wistfully up at him before sinking back into the mattress and rolling onto her back with her arms spread wide. “Shall we chance it love? Just for one night?”

He’d fallen into her gentle embrace before he was even aware his body was moving and somehow…somehow, even though it was she who he had wronged, even though it was she who he had betrayed… somehow Lucina’s touched still soothed away his pains, just the same as it always had.

Wrapping himself around her and feeling her arms warm and soft around him, his guilt dissolved finally, replaced again with the same determination that had driven him this far already.

“Love you.”

It was for her that he did this. It was for her that he damned himself, to protect her, to make her happy. He would fix this and then, then he would tell her.

He would make it right. He would make everything right. He had to.

“I love you too.”

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

“WOOAAAHHHhhhhh.” Cynthia groaned in satisfaction as she stepped naked from her bathroom back into her bedroom, dumping her towel on the ground and stretching her limbs back out, testing her recovery. “That feels MUCH better!”

“Yup!” She nodded to herself, locating her own first aid kit and making something of an attempt to re-wrap bandages around the wounds Robin had dressed a few hours earlier. “It’s important for a defender of justice to stay in tip top shape!”

Of course, she thought, as she threw herself backwards onto her bed, spreading out across the large mattress, more than anything else she had Robin to thank for how well she’d recovered. ‘He’s so nice!’ She marvelled. ‘He’s always been really nice!’

He said it was just because he was dating Lucina, but she knew better than that! She knew, even if he tried to hide it, he was one of those people that couldn’t help but support true heroes. “Yup!” She nodded to herself, he took after his daughter in that way and Cynthia knew Morgan very well- she had even been seriously considering promoting her to Senior Vice President of the Justice Cabal.

You already saved the world.

“Hehehe.” She giggled, thinking about Robin also reminded her of his words. Hugging herself tight and rolling from side to side across the bed with a giddy smile, she took a few moments to bask in them. It wasn’t even just hollow flattery! That was the best part! She had been there, every step of the way. Anytime she took a step back and thought about everything they’d done it still amazed her, from the ruins of a desolate future all the way to the back of the Fell Dragon himself.

They’d all just taken it in stride, like it had been expected. ‘Well, that’s normal.’ They were a band of the bestest, strongest heroes ever, they were meant to do thigs like that! Still, she thought as her face burned a happy crimson, it was nice to be appreciated like that, even if it was expected.

‘But! A Hero can’t rest on her laurels!’ There was always more battles to fight and always more justice to bring! That was why she was becoming an official Pegasus-Knight after-all, so she could help her father as much as possible. Oh and Robin too of course, he’d definitely need her. “Heheh.” He’d practically relied on her during the last few wars!

You’re my Pegasus-Knight in shining armour.

Laughing happily, Cynthia rolled onto her side, breathing out a soft sigh as her mind filled with thoughts of the gentle tactician. “Ahh.” She breathed, rubbing her thighs together as a soft heat began slowly spreading through her body.

And of course, the more she thought of him, the more she found her thoughts turning back towards their time together this afternoon…memories of what she’d felt, how good it’d been being held by him, being caressed by him, feeling his breath tickling warm across her naked skin… ‘N-No! It wasn’t, it wasn’t like that!’ She scolded herself once more, trying to ignore the way her heart was suddenly pounding in her chest.

She’d never meant to do anything! She hadn’t! ‘I just, I got caught up in the moment!’

Another memory came forwards- a recollection of her, sitting breathless with anticipation as she asked Robin to continue… Biting her lip, she could never forget what happened next, how she’d rolled her tunic to her waist, she’d sat there before him, shivering with excitement as her breasts bounced free into the evening air.

‘Very caught up.’ She admitted, the smouldering desire inside her burning even hotter as she thought about it, as her mind wondered-what would have happened if she’d turned around?

This wasn’t right! She shouldn’t be even thinking about this! She should feel mortified, embarrassed beyond before! Not to mention guilty! Robin belonged to Lucina. She didn’t know much about love or relationships but she was almost certain it wasn’t Heroic to be half-naked in-front of your sister’s boyfriend!

And she knew she would be…would be…“H-Haaa.” The moment she calmed down.

But right now, with the pulsing warmth spreading even faster through her and with a perilous ache from between her legs, Cynthia was too pre-occupied.

“It was…it was like this.” She murmured, rolling onto her back and tracing her fingers along her stomach, trying to mimic the effect the tactician’s touch had done to her.

Shivering and squirming she trailed her finger lower, tracing it across her sides. “O-Oooh! Ah!” She gasped, her hips suddenly bucking wildly off the bed. Gods! Even now, hours later, she was still so incredibly sensitive from whatever he’d done to her! “Nagaaaa.” She whimpered, just the lightest touch was doing this to her.

“And then he…”

Sucking in a breath, she hesitated, holding her finger a few centimetres from her heaving breasts, anticipation building as she remembered the intensity of the feeling he’d given her- how she’d cried aloud the moment his hand had made contact.

“Just like…like this…”

Sliding her hand up, Cynthia dragged her fingers slowly across the underside of her large mounds, “A-AHNNN!” She moaned, her delight echoing loud around the room as she instinctively reached up, wrapping both hands securely over her chest. “NNMmmmmaaa!”

It felt good. Really, really good…

…But still not as good as when Robin did it.

‘It never does.’ She admitted, leaning back with a sigh and gently kneading her breasts against herself.

When he’d first started looking after her, she’d been curious enough to try matching the way his caress had felt on her legs. After that she’d tried to tease her arms just the same as he did…it was never quite the same, never quite as intense. Each time she tried she just wound up remembering the feeling of his hands on her.

Was that what a man’s touch felt like? Was that what Lucina experienced?

Frowning, Cynthia pushed that thought away, she always tried not to think about that. She never wanted to be jealous of her sister, not after every pain Lucina had borne for her, she more than deserved any good thing that happened to her. If Robin made Lucina happy, then Cynthia supported their relationship with her entire soul!

Still…

‘I wonder if Robin likes them big?’ She wondered idly as her thoughts wandered back to the tactician. She remembered Severa saying that once, the first time the red-head had worn a bra- that all men loved women with big breasts. ‘Hmm.’ She was pretty sure hers were quite a bit larger than Severa’s these days, almost as big as Noire’s.

‘Probably not.’ She concluded a moment later, he was dating Lucina after all and everyone had seen him reject Lady Tharja’s advances.

Did…did that disappoint her?

“G-Geeeeez!” She moaned, squeezing her legs even tighter together as a pulsing desire continued to rise between them, hotter with each thought of the tactician and stronger with every movement her hands made across her chest. “Why am I even thinking about him!?”

It didn’t make sense! He was with Lucina, she was happy for both of them. “I’m not interested in Robin.” He wasn’t her kind of guy AT ALL.

Letting her resolve slip a little, Cynthia slid her left hand slowly down her body, gasping happily as her fingers brushed gently over her aching pussy.

This was all too much, she wasn’t used to any of these feelings. Even just exploring her body like this was something she’d only discovered recently, barely even several weeks ago. She’d returned to her room after being treated by Robin and found herself assailed by the same unfamiliar feelings his touch always left on her, a pulsing need that didn’t go away no matter how long she tried to distract herself.

She’d spent the night tossing and turning, burning up inside as he juices dripped wet down her thighs and her body ached to be held in ways no-one had done before. Eventually, wide awake and breathing hard, she’d let her fingers roam across her skin, it had been little more than  a momentary act, a small tentative exploration, tracing her hands up and down her body just the way he did- frantically seeking a relief she didn’t understand.

Of course, it had NOTHING to do with Robin! She didn’t think about him AT ALL when she did so! Robin was a boring old tactician, that was totally NOT her kind’a guy.

“I want, I want, my prince.”

Nope, she didn’t think about Robin, ever. She thought about…about the man of her dreams! Her prince! She was a princess, so that made sense to her. Of course, she hadn’t met anyone like that, but even her mother had told her she definitely would! She just needed to find him, her true love!

Leaning back into the mattress with an excited grin, Cynthia screwed her eyes closed… She could see him now, standing tall and proud, his black cloak blowing majestically in the wind… on a battlefield… surrounded by Risen!

“H-Nghaaa!” She gasped, her right hand squeezing her chest a little harder as another hot shiver ran through her.

She envisioned him fighting valiantly…his sword flashed left and right, cutting down foes as fast as they came! But still, more were appearing! Even he was going to be overrun!

“H-Hold on! I’m… I’m on my way!” She screamed, her mouth falling open to a loud moan mid-sentence as her fingers gently spread her pussy lips apart, running bare across the sensitive flesh.

She could see him turning to her, his eyes flashing with hope as she dove closer, her spear flashing with the light of justice as she closed in on the monstrous foes! Fire burning from within and a courageous battle cry on her lips!”

“Don’t give up!” She screamed to him, an electric surge of pleasure slamming through her as her fingers began carefully twisting around her hard nipples. “Mirac-Miracles only occur for th-aaahn-those with the determination to never stop trying!”

She paused.

‘Hmmm.’

No. That didn’t seem right. It wasn’t bad…but…

She could see him turning to her, his eyes flashing with renewed hope as she dove closer, her Pegasus’s wings beating furiously as she raised her spear high, letting all see it shining bright with the light of justice!

“I’ll only say this once! So listen well!” She gasped, her body shaking as her movements were renewed. “The Shepherd’s Aerial Ace! With a hero’s soul and an unbreakable spear! A warrior of truth! The Pegasus-Knight Cynthia! Is ME!”

‘Y-Yeah!’ That was much better. She could just see her love staring at her now, his eyes full of admiration and wonder…and her foes trembling before her fury! Even though they were Risen!

“I-I’m here!” Pushing her fingers back and forth over the small nub at the top of her pussy, Cynthia’s cries echoed loud around the room (dulled thankfully by the soundproofing hex her parents had installed -for her privacy- after a few too many late night heroic-speech practice sessions). Shaking and gasping, her thoughts ran even faster as the pleasure within her rose to new heights, her mind going numb with pleasure. “Anot-Another mission complete!”

“Of course.” She imagined him saying after she’d finished off the last of their enemies, offering her his hand and easing her from her mount, to his side. “Just as I planned, I knew I could trust you.”

“I’m j-just, G-Gha-haaaa!” Moaning and shaking, Cynthia knew she wouldn’t last much longer now, she was too sensitive, too painfully aroused, she couldn’t take much more of this! “I-I’m just happy to see you safe!”

Smiling, he embraced her. And now she was naked, and so was he. Except she didn’t quite know what that would look like, so he still had underwear on. But it didn’t matter because she was in his arms.

“U-GHHAAAAAAN!” She gasped, her body trembling violently as she kneaded her breasts even harder, clamping almost painfully on her nipples and feeling her hips bucking relentlessly against her fingers, the heat inside her building to an incredible crescendo!

She, she didn’t know what came next! B-But, it didn’t matter, it felt good! So good! ‘Naga!’ She was in his arms, she could feel his fingers caressing her body, his hands pressing warm and strong against her chest, his length grinding against her entrance with an indescribable friction.

“I knew you’d save me.” She knew he would whisper, kissing her lovingly as their bodies ground even hotter together. Secure in his arms, her breathing turned into ragged pants and she lost all semblance of control. “You’re my Pegasus-Knight in shining armour.”

 “KYAA-HIAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHNNNN!”

Screaming at the top of her lungs, Cynthia’s entire body arched into the bed, her legs thrashing wildly in the air as an incredible jolt of pleasure slammed through her, blowing away all other thoughts and leaving her slumped into a mindless heap, shuddering and moaning as warm aftershocks continued to run through her.

“W-Wooaaaaah.” She breathed out in a shaky moan, turning on her side and wrapping her arms snugly around herself, her body still shivering from the throes of such a powerful orgasm.

If she’d stopped for a moment to think a little more about her supposedly un-named Prince, she would have felt terrible…however, with her thoughts addled and having been already exhausted from such a long day, Cynthia made no effort to fight the comfortable fatigue that settled around her. Smiling contentedly, she simply draped a blanket around herself and let her thoughts fade off into pleasant dreams.

 “Mmmmm.”

Drifting off like this, warm and happy as she basked in the glow of such an incredible high, she returned gently to her fantasies…to where she could see herself, lying on that hill with her lover, wrapped up against him, both covered in his thick cloak.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Three Days Ago

“You’re not wearing panties today?”

“Huh?” Knocked from her thoughts as she finished buttoning up her dress, Lissa turned to where her husband was peering curiously over to her from their bed. “Oh, ah, nope. Didn’t feel like it today.”

“You’ve been doing that often lately.” He pointed out, his face turning a little harder as he fixed her with a stoic look.

“Have I?” She wondered, counting back the last few days and humming as she realised he was right. It wasn’t something she’d put any conscious thought into until now, it’d never been more than a whim. “Huh, I guess so. Well I wa-”

“Is this some plan to try entice me?” He interrupted, a tiny mote of frustrated anger poisoning his words. “I’ve told you already, if you wish for us to have sex then it is to be in our bedroom. I won’t allow otherwise.”

Lissa winced and dropped her eyes, they’d had this discussion many times before and she didn’t enjoy it anymore this time.

His face softened slightly at the sight and his words grew calmer. “Imagine your reputation, if someone were to find out. You would be ruined.”

“I-” Sighing she stopped, shaking her head and relenting. There wasn’t any reason to argue. “No, it’s not because of that.”

Despite the unpleasantness of his words, it was the truth in her own that made her heart ache dully. She’d tried enticing him like that already, perhaps she’d even been too pushy about it, in trying to add some variance to their lovemaking. She’d tried a hundred times to excite him… This time, she hadn’t even thought about it.

It hadn’t occurred to her even once lately and…thinking about it now, she wasn’t sure if she even wanted to. She still hadn’t yet come to her husband at night, nor had she craved the feeling of his warmth against her, what would she even do if he did finally come to her? How would she react if he finally lost that stubbornness of his? She didn’t know.

“I know you don’t want that.” She added, again speaking the truth as she turned away and continued to get ready for the day. “I wasn’t even thinking about it actually, I just, I guess I just haven’t felt like wearing them recently.”

That was true as well, she’d always enjoyed going without in the past, it’d been a bit of a sneaky thrill, but it gave her pause as well. She hadn’t even been thinking about it, and yet, as he’d pointed out, she’d gone bare almost as often as she hadn’t in the last few days. It had just felt right, it had felt natural to go without.

Biting her lip as her face flushed, it wasn’t hard for her to figure out why. ‘Robin’s a very busy man. No need to waste his time.’ She joked with herself, remembering the words Tharja had spoken not long ago and realising that perhaps she wasn’t quite so different from the sorceress after all. It really was fun to walk around knowing that at all times she was willing, she was available, that he could take her wherever and whenever he craved- to have him pull her away in a small moment of privacy and slide right into her...

A shiver ran through her spine and she quickly banished those thoughts. It was almost scary how easily she surrendered to his whims now, even in all the time they’d spent together in the past, shed’ never felt as wholly his as she did now.

“Very well.” He relented and she heard his tone lighten, “Well, so long as you’re careful. You’ve certainly seemed happier lately.”

“That’s ‘cause you’re home!” She laughed, bouncing back over to the bed and pulling the spluttering swordsman into an abrupt hug. “I missssed you!” Even despite everything that had happened, those words were no lie, having her husband back brought a happiness she’d ached for every day of his absence.

“Hmph.” He tried not to look as happy as she knew he was to hear that. “Well. That’s for the best I suppose. I’ll be here for another few months.”

“Mnnnngg!” She huffed angrily.

“I have to.” They’d had this argument enough too, he knew her coming words. “I’m Basilio’s right hand, I have to return to him.”

“Then, at lea-”

“No.” He knew this one as well. “Your place is here, in Ylisse. I’ll not take you from your people.”

She scowled.

“You would hate it there anyway. Away from your friends, away from your family. It’s no place for you.”

Lissa sighed. As frustrating as it was to admit, he was right. She didn’t want to live in Regna Ferox, not really. She didn’t like the cold, there wasn’t all that much to do and she knew she’d be lonely without everyone else back in Ylisstol… “I just, I miss you.” She whispered sadly, drooping slightly as she pulled away, her mood soured by the thoughts of him leaving again.

 “It’s for the best.” He assured her. “And when Owain is born, he will be raised in Ylisstol with all his friends.”

Twisting her hands around each other, Lissa found herself surprisingly uncomfortable with that thought. Of course Owain would be born, of course she would be a mother one day- sometime soon most likely.

“Right.” She answered finally, unsure why that thought left her so unsettled. Sighing, she pushed her unease away, turning her thoughts back to getting ready for the day.

Maybe she would go bother Robin? He was always good for a laugh when she was down and needed to take her mind off things?

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Two Days Ago

“And so, I finally managed to talk her out of it. Honestly, I’ve no idea where some of Morgan’s ideas come from, but they’re certainly…they’re certainly.” Frowning, Lucina paused her recollection. “Robin? Are you listening to me?”

Looking up from his paperwork and leaning forward onto his hands, it took every ounce of willpower he had to keep his voice level. “Yes, of course I am. And I agree, her thinking can sometimes be a little…unorthodox.”

Moving forward a step, Lucina ignored his attempt to continue the conversation. “Is everything alright? You seem a little distracted.”

Swallowing a dry throat, Robin’s pulse quickened, he’d thought he’d hidden it better. In his defence, even keeping his thoughts straight right now was a herculean task, even, or perhaps especially with his fiancé standing barely a few metres from where he sat.

Even so, he was trying his best, he was fighting with everything he had to maintain his focus on what Lucina was saying, on her report about their daughter, on…

…On anything except how Tharja was currently sitting under his desk, or how she was currently between his legs. Gods! On anything except how her mouth felt, warm and soft, sliding slick up and down the length of his cock…

The dark mage on the other hand, seemed to have no such qualms- pumping her hands furiously around the base of his shaft and hungrily swallowing as much as she could take, it was clear her focus was entirely single-minded. Completely unconcerned about the former Exalt, he had no doubt, Tharja was thinking only about pleasing him, about milking every last drop from his balls.

For all her enthusiasm to the task, the sorceress wasn’t quite able to swallow him completely like Lucina could, even as greedily as she continued to suck his length, she was only able to take a little over half of it comfortably down her throat. ‘S-Sweet Naga!’ However, with the soft touch of her fingers twisting around his base, sliding up and down to meet her full soft lips with each motion, she easily equalled his fiancé’s skills.

“I suppose I am distracted.” He admitted carefully, flinching as the dark mage bobbed her head down once more, her tongue swirling hard around the underside of his length.

“What’s wrong?” Lucina asked, taking another dangerous step forward, close enough now that he could smell the gentle aromas of her perfumes. Their close proximity, the danger and the excitement, only heightened Robin’s arousal even further. Clenching his fists, he could feel his cock twitching violently inside Tharja’s mouth, his peak approaching rapidly.

“Nothing’s wrong.” He laughed, fighting back an instinctive urge to reach below his desk and place his hands on the back of the sorceresses head. “It’s only…” Pausing a second, Robin’s words fell away as she slid her tongue teasingly across his glans, forcing him to hide his reaction behind a breathless sigh.

“Only, you look so beautiful today. It’s hard to take my eyes off you.” He finished a half moment later, smiling warmly at the woman he loved, basking in the simple joy of her presence…while the woman who loved him moved a hand to his balls, gently squeezing and massaging them. “You’ve changed how you style your hair?”

“I-Ah! R-Robin!” Lucina stammered in embarrassment, leaping back a step instinctively as her face flushed a happy crimson. “Yes, I, well… Mother and auntie Lissa have been saying I should for some time now.” Looking away, she reflexively reached up, running a hand through her silken blue tresses.

“It really suits you.” He answered easily. Cut slightly shorter, Lucina’s hair now ran only a little past her shoulders, and with her side-bangs trimmed away, her whole face was now a lot more open. It was breath-taking…almost as much as the feeling of Tharja’s mouth, hot and wet, wrapped tight around his shaft.

“W-Well, I’m, that’s…” Even with everything they’d done and all that they’d shared, Lucina was still utterly terrible at taking an honest compliment.

Watching Lucina’s hidden shy side, did nothing to calm Robin’s excitement though and with the dark mage’s hands moving ever faster along his length, he knew he was fast approaching his limits…

Blushing and smiling, Lucina flashing him a warm, loving grin and his whole body almost melted from happiness.

Delighted and eager, Tharja dragged her tongue around his cockhead, dutifully licking up his pre-cum and his breath hitched dry in his throat.

He couldn’t take much more of this! Already his hips were bucking involuntarily against her and it was taking everything he had just to keep from groaning aloud at the sorceress’s masterful touch.

“Lucina.” He gasped, just barely managing to force his voice steady. “Come here.”

Confused but still clearly happy, she stepped forward without hesitation, leaning right up in-front of his desk. “Alright, is there som-Wha!?” Shrieking in surprise, his fiancé was taken completely off-guard when his arms shot out, grabbing hold of her shoulders and dragging her almost from her feet into his embrace.

Unable to wait even a second longer, Robin pulled her forcefully against him, crashing his lips into hers with every ounce of passion he held, reaching around and taking a gentle hold around the back of her head, his tongue pressed imploringly against her lips.

Acting on instinct, Lucina surrendered herself to him instantly. “Ahmmaaaa.” Moaning happily, she closed her eyes, reaching her own arms around his and leaning deeper into the kiss.

Cupping his ball gently in her hands, Tharja could clearly feel them tighten, could easily tell just how close he was. Sliding slowly back up his length, dripping wet from anticipation, she leaned back, leaving only the tip of his cock in her mouth, taking firm hold of his shaft with both hands once more, wrapping them tight around him and pumping with hungry desperation.

 ‘NAGA!’

He was kissing the woman he loved while another woman sucked him off. His lips were pressed passionately against those of the woman he loved, while another’s were sealed tight around the head of his shaft. It was incredible! Indescribable! It was amazing and terrible, wrong and right, it was a thousand things he couldn’t even begin to understand.

A surge of raw pleasure ran down Robin’s spine, and his world went white.

“M-GHHHHMM!” He almost screamed into Lucina’s mouth, kissing her desperately as his cock twitched one last time, his entire body tensing up for one single moment. “MGH-HAAA!” And then, all at once, it exploded! Again and again blasts of hot, thick cum sprayed directly into the sorceress’s waiting mouth.

With her lips forming an almost painful seal around his cock, Tharja desperately sucked down every fraction of his essence, even as her mouth was filled to bursting with his seed, still she refused to let even a single drop escape.

“H-Hahaaa.” He sighed, breaking the kiss a moment as his strength left him. Leaning against Lucina’s shoulder another light shudder ran through his body as he felt the sorceress finally disengage from his cock, releasing it into her soft hands as she laid her head against him, purposefully making sure he could feel her cheeks, still bulging with his release.

*Shluurp.*

And that he could feel, her throat pulsing with each careful swallow as she made a show of savouring his flavour, taking her time slowly gulping down every last ounce of his essence.

“R-Robin!” Lucian hissed, her anger quickly pulling him back to his senses as she pushed him back into his seat, her face burning red with both anger and embarrassment.

“What are you doing!?” She continued, gesturing over her shoulder to where the door to his office was wide open. “That was- Gods! Naga forbid! Anyone could have walked by!”

“Sorry.” He answered, not looking a bit of it as he slumped back in his seat, a wide roguish grin across his face. “I couldn’t resist.”

“This isn’t like you, being so reckless.” She sighed, turning in place and putting some distance between them again as she peered out the door, her entire body sagging with relief when she saw no-one was around. “Don’t…don’t think I don’t wish to…but, but imagine if someone had seen us! What if Father had come by?”

“Chrom’s in court for another few hours and none of the others have any reason to be back here for at least the next few hours.”

He knew he should feel bad about putting her in such a situation, but truthfully, it was a little difficult to really feel Lucina’s scolding right now. Not when Tharja had begun affectionately dragging her tongue around his shaft, lovingly cleaning his entire length.

“Still, I…” Looking a little abashed, Lucina moved back closer to him. “I just, it-”

“Stay.” He interrupted, raising his hand towards the door and focussing a small wind spell into it, seeking only her permission to seclude them in his office. “Olivia won’t be here for a while, we’ve got time. It’s been a while since we’ve spent some time here alone…”

Biting her lip and shifting her weight from foot to foot, Lucina wore her desire clear on her face as clear as the conflict she battled in her heart. It was almost a minute later before she finally shook her head, letting out a regretful sigh. “I, I’d better not.”

“Tonight.” She whispered, clasping his hand in hers and cancelling the spell. “I’ll come back tonight, before dinner, when everyone’s gone home.” That was the best concession she could make, satisfying both their desires…as well as providing the dangerously enticing thought of her sitting down for dinner with her family while feeling his seed dripping wet down her legs.

“Tonight then.” He nodded, an eager grin on his face as the same thought lodged clearly in his mind.

Both women leaned forward together.

Lucina planted one final, lighting fast, kiss on his lips. Grinning bashfully at him for a moment, she turned and with a final wave, was gone a moment later.

Tharja planted a soft, loving, kiss on the tip of his cock, smiling at her handiwork for a moment, she pushed it carefully back into his trousers, giving it one final pat before leaning away.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

“Comfortable?” Robin asked a few minutes later, locking the door to his office with a flick of his wrist as Tharja wriggled herself into a seated position on his lap.

“Very.” She nodded, happily wrapping her arms around him and leaning against his shoulder. “That was fun.”

“That was dangerous.” He corrected, noting how apt Lucina’s words had been, it really had been reckless. Just not in the way she meant it. “I honestly wasn’t expecting her to come by.”

Having dropped in barely a few minutes after he’d sent Olivia across town on a delivery, Lucina had hardly been terribly subtle. Thankfully, despite having almost the exact same intentions, Tharja had already been under his desk by the time the princess had dropped in.

“You were the one who invited her in.” The sorceress teased him in return, dragging a finger across his chest with a quiet laugh.

“True.” He conceded, but then, it wasn’t as if he’d had any choice in that matter, he could hardly have left her standing outside his office. And, he certainly hadn’t intended for anything like that to happen, he reminded himself in a small burst of righteous indignation, that had all been Tharja’s initiative.

“Still…’ Sitting now in a warm  afterglow, it wasn’t as if he regretted it. ‘That was, Gods, what a rush.’ Between his fear and his lover’s skill, he didn’t think he’d ever cum so fast from a blowjob before in his life. Wrapping his arms around her thin waist, Robin pulled Tharja a little closer against him and leant his head back with a satisfied smile.

“Speaking of Olivia though...” Tharja hummed, surprising him with the sudden change of topic.

“Oh?”

Chewing over her words, she instead laid her lips against his neck, pressing a slow series of light kisses across him. “I’ve seen the way she looks at you now.” She spoke finally. “I’ve seen the heated glances she sends you when she thinks no-one is looking. She’s come to rely on you, hasn’t she? Being your assistant, it’s become very important to her.”

“She wants to look after me.” Robin explained hesitantly. The thoughts Tharja was raising were familiar to him, but airing them was surprisingly difficult, he hadn’t yet said any of this aloud. “She’s missed that, being useful, being needed, ever since the war. It’s something even her dancing can’t give her.”

Olivia had suffered from self-esteem issues as long as he’d known her, likely for most of her life. Feeling wanted, the way she had with the Shepherds, had meant so much to her that he could scarcely imagine how difficult it must have been for her ever since. Between Gregor’s constant absence and Inigo’s travels, he imagined that clinging to the idea of being a dutiful wife had been all that had kept her going.

Frowning at those thoughts, he kept his silence. Even as candid as he was with Tharja, the only one who knew the full extent of his situation, he still had no intention of baring Olivia’s soul open for her inspection. The dancer was a dear friend of his, what he’d learned in his time with her was for him alone to know.

“I see.” Tharja nodded, accepting his minimal explanation. “But, it’s more than that isn’t it?”

Twisting around in his lap, she pulled herself even tighter against him, letting her breasts push softly into his chest and kissing a little hotter up his neck. “She’s falling for you, isn’t she?”

“Hmm.” He grunted noncommittally, sliding his hand down her back to take hold of her tight round ass as the sorceress began nibbling on his ear, her rapid breathing easily giving away her excitement.

“She wants you.” Tharja moaned happily, her body sliding anxiously back and forth in his lap. “She’s next isn’t she? You’re going to take her. Conquer her. Bind her to you.”

“You’re going to make her yours.” She panted, her body shaking against his and her arousal clear. “And she’s going to love you for it. Every step of the way.” Just like she did.

“It will be her choice.” Robin answered simply, still finding it difficult to talk openly of his plans.

Her choice. Influenced entirely by her actions. Guided entirely by his words…but still, it would remain her choice.

“I’m surprised.” There was no doubt in the sorceress’s mind what the dancer’s choice would be. “Lissa and now Olivia? I never expected you would start with the married women.”

Robin flinched, that same guilt had run through him countless times. “It wasn’t intentional.” He ground out through clenched teeth. He’d never intended to start with anyone godsdamnit! Even when he’d finally accepted his new needs, he’d never once planned to lay his hands on the wives of his closest companions.

“Lissa was…we’ve got a history together.” Emmeryn’s day, that was all it was. If it had been any other day he wouldn’t have. If it hadn’t just been…so perfectly timed, he wouldn’t have. He wouldn’t have!

“And Olivia was just…” He paused. “It just happened. Finding her, making her my assistant, it was a co-incidence. I didn’t plan for that.” There was no denying that, he’d found her entirely by chance, he hadn’t even guessed what was going on between her and Gregor until that night, he’d been stunned to see her like that! And then…his plan, it was…it wasn’t premediated, it was just pure opportunism.

“And, just what is your plan?” Tharja giggled, her excitement from this very clear. “Who else are you planning to bring to your bed?”

“Or…” She purred before he could answer. “Will it be to our bed?”

“My plan.” Robin forced back a wince, carefully ignoring that suggestion. “Is to involve as few women as possible.”

The need for secrecy with this was obvious, each new woman involved would make things an order of magnitude more complicated. He hadn’t had any plan by the time he’d approached Lissa, but now…

Rolling his eyes at her disappointed sigh, he continued. “Olivia was never intended but if she comes to me, then so be it. What’s important is that right now there’s two people who could easily give everything away.”

Even now, his words came only with great effort. It was difficult, almost impossibly difficult to say these things aloud. To sit and talk of plans to act against his friends, to manipulate them to his wishes. It felt almost like treason.

“I intend to give them both an incentive not to.” He added finally. The incentive obviously being that they would both also be his lovers instead. “With Lucina, you, Lissa and both of them, that should surely be enough, even for a dragon’s needs.”

“Huhmm. Two people who could…” Tharja paused, thinking over his words. “Oh! Ooohh! Heh, hehehee!” It didn’t take her long to follow Robin’s line of thought.

“Now.” Robin grunted, more than fed up with the conversation. “Olivia’ll be back soon. I don’t intend to waste any more time talking.”

So saying, he took a firm hold of her hips, pushing her off him and sending her splayed flat across his desk with a shriek.

“Ahahaha!” Shaking her ass enticing towards him, Tharja’s laugh was one of giddy anticipation, one that only raised in pitch as his fingers dug into her bodysuit, hooking under her panties.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Yesterday

“Good morning Robin.”

Looking up from his work as the dancer sashayed into his office, Robin’s heart stopped dead in his chest, a bolt of excitement running hot through his spine the instant he saw her.

He saw it in her instantly.

He knew it from the light blush on her cheeks, the slight pursing of her lips and from the nervous excitement dancing in her eyes…but more than that, with his entire body shivering in delight, he knew it from the clothes she’d chosen.

Pressed pristine, lacking even the slightest sign of use, they were clearly brand new. Her latest, most alluring outfit, more enticing than anything else he’d seen her in, more sexual than anything he’d ever imagined her in. He knew instantly, this wasn’t an attire brought for the performances she would give on Ylisse’s grandest stages, but instead purchased just for the dances she would give here, in his office. She had chosen it just for this job. Just for today. Just for him.

“Good morning Olivia.”

Leaning back in his chair, Robin couldn’t keep a smile from his lips as he marvelled at the sight, watching enraptured as she stepped carefully into place- the black silk of the side-tie sarong standing in irresistible contrast to her creamy white things and the purple trim doing its job, drawing his gaze up and along the fabric wrapped tight over her full breasts.

She had always been gorgeous but now- presented before him, swaying for him, wearing his colours, Olivia was more beautiful than she had ever been.

And he knew, without a single doubt, what the dancer wanted, more than anything else. To be his. His assistant, his confidant, his support. His woman.

Olivia had made her choice.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Notes:

AN: Whelp, there we go! For all those that asked for it, Lucina finally got her first threesome…she just isn’t aware of it yet, haha.

And we got to see Cynthia, so I got to use an ungodly amount of CAPS and exclamation marks! Man, I love Cynthia. Also, just another thing that makes this story unique, I bet you’ve never seen a story where Cynthia’s calling out battle cries as she orgasms before! I think it suits her, love to hear anyone else’s thoughts on it.

On that note, each one is a (fairly blatant) reference, I’ll give props to anyone who gets them all. Give it a go!

And now! We’re all caught up to Olivia’s chapter! What next, what next indeed…

Chapter 9: Bonus – A Weakening Resolve

Notes:

Authors Note: Hell, it’s about time.

Bonus – A Weakening Resolve

 

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

It’s very easy to make a steadfast resolution, to affirm an unwavering resolve. It can be the most difficult thing in the world though, sometimes, to keep that resolution.

A single exception, even with the purest intentions, can lead to another, and from that to yet another, until the resolve is just hollow words. The kindest hearts, the most caring souls, are those most vulnerable to this.

And Robin, for all his determination, was no exception.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

You don’t have to leave.

Walking slowly back to her apartment on still shaky legs, Olivia wore a wide smile on her face, devouring the incredible warmth still thrumming through her core as she thought of the pleasure she’d finally let herself drown in and the regret she was now feeling at having pulled herself from Robin’s warm embrace and into the chill of the night. Still blanketed in a pleasant haze, she could only distantly remember why she’d even done so.

Instead, breathing out a throaty moan as she let herself feel his seed still dripping wet down her thighs, Olivia’s thoughts turned again to the last few hours, her soul blazing with excitement as the images seared themselves through her mind once more.

She remembered the excitement. The thrill that had run through her at knowing he was watching, the way her heart had raced when she’d realised she didn’t ever want him to stop.

She remembered the relief. The sheer contentment she’d felt the moment she’d simply stopped trying to resist what she wanted.  How happy she’d felt to simply give in, to let her body dance as it wished… To dance for him, like she had for no other man- her body on display for him and her clothes left unwanted on the floor.

She remembered the ecstasy. The explosion of pleasure that had slammed into her when she’d finally claimed what she’d wanted for what felt like an eternity of desire, when she’d pushed herself down onto him- plunging his long, thick, cock inside her. The blinding shock she’d felt, how she’d came just from feeling him fill her, the way she’d been stretched wide around him, his length deeper and harder than she’d ever dreamed possible.

She remembered the intensity. The roughness in Robin’s touch when he’d picked her up and bent her over his desk, the way her breasts had ground painfully over the hard wood as he’d claimed her mercilessly. The way she’d screamed his name, begging for more as her body surrendered entirely to his whims.

She remembered the tenderness. The final hours they’d spent together, lying entangled in his bed, their bodies slowly moving together as they made love. How warm and safe she’d felt, cradled in his arms, the way he’d smiled so gently at her, whispering her name and caressing her face.

“Hmmhmm.” She giggled, a warm smile on her face as the images all ran together, her body still tingling lightly from the sensations. The pain, the pleasure, his gentle touch, his commanding grip… It was all nothing like anything she’d felt before, nothing like she’d ever imagined. And she knew, even without thinking, from the fire she could feel smouldering inside her… She wanted more.

Her mind was still fogged in a warm blissful daze by the time she finally reached her home, lost in thought she let herself in automatically, leaning heavily against the door with a deep sigh the moment she was alone.

You don’t have to leave.

Robin’s words rolled gently through her mind once more.

With their actions lost in a dull haze of pleasure, she couldn’t remember how many times they’d fucked, nor even how many times they’d made love. But even now, all the way across the other side of the city, she could vividly remember the feeling of his fingers hands clasped loosely around her wrist- urging her back to bed, back to him but making no demands of her…letting her choose, letting her leave him.

“Robin…”

His words had been whispered as a single offer, a final gesture even as he’d wrapped his thick cloak tight around her naked body- saving her the need to try pull her dancing outfit on with her trembling hands.

Sighing again, Olivia closed her eyes, tugging the robe tighter against her bare skin and letting her lips fall open in a silent gasp. It felt, just for a moment, as if she was back with him, as if she was back in Robin’s office, in Robin’s bed…warm and secure, loved and comforted in Robin’s embrace. Back where she wanted to be.

Another warm pulse spread out from her core and again she wondered…why had she left?

“Ah.”

The answer came to her slowly as she blinked herself slowly back to her senses, the blissful fog slowly lifting from her mind as her eyes adjusted to the darkness of her cold, empty house.

She’d left because she was meant to be back here. She was meant to be here for a husband who wasn’t…a man who didn’t want to be here.

“Heh…”

She winced painfully, pushing herself from the door and shivering a moment as the chill of the night air ran through her, the windows, still open from when she’d left this morning, left no doubt she was the sole occupant.

A familiar loneliness was the first thing to press upon her at that thought, ebbing slowly through her as the warmth inside her faded and her smile dropped. With it however also came her first twinge of regret... Not for herself, but for Robin, her heart clenching as she realised that he too was now forsaken, that she’d left him behind in the same office she’d already seen him give far too much of himself to.

“Sorry…” She whispered a quiet apology towards the tactician she’d found her heart yearning for. “After everything, we’re both still alone? Aren’t we Robin?”

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

“Mmmmm.” Tharja breathed out a delighted sigh from where she was lying in bed, waking up instinctually at the sound of the tactician closing her door behind him. Looking over her shoulder with an appreciative smile as his clothes fell to the floor, she shuffled herself over slightly, flushing happily as he slipped in behind her, his naked body wrapping warm around hers. “Did you have fun with Olivia?”

“Why Tharja...” He chuckled, slipping an arm under her head and wrapping himself comfortably around her. “Were you scrying on me?”

“Maybe… Just a little.”

Grinning, Robin dragged a teasing finger across her stomach in response, even without his now heightened senses, he doubted he could possibly have missed the thick scent of arousal in her room. Most likely she’d only been in bed a few minutes before he’d arrived, he guessed she’d thoroughly enjoyed tonight’s spectacle.

“I expected you to go to Lucina.” She hummed in reply, wriggling herself against him until she was settled tightly in his arms.

“Well, I didn’t want to wake her up. She’s got an early start tomorrow.”

“Oh? And not because you reek of sex?”

Robin snorted, not bothering to deny it. Olivia’s surprisingly energetic performance had left him feeling almost completely drained, far too tired for the hassle of running a bath at this time of night.

“Well,” he whispered, closing his eyes and sinking contentedly into the dark mage’s pillow. “If you’d like, you can clean me in the morning.”

“Hmmm…” Tharja sighed once more, her fingers interlinking with his as she mentally wrestled with the idea, her habit of sleeping in fighting with her constant yearning for more time with him.

He didn’t wait for an answer and she didn’t verbalise one anyway. Enveloped in the other’s warm affection, both were asleep within minutes.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Across town, sleep wasn’t coming as easily for Olivia.

Lying now, naked in her bed, the dancer pulled her legs up to her chest, hugging them against her and purposefully looking away from where Robin’s cloak was slung reverently over her bedroom chair. The heat she’d felt earlier had long since ebbed away into the darkness and now she was smothered in a slow encroaching horror, a realisation about her actions that chilled her to the bone.

‘I seduced him.’ The same thought rolled continuously through her mind. Unable to avoid it, unable to ignore it, again and again it returned to her. ‘I seduced Robin.’

 “Gods.”

The worst part, the sickening admission that wrapped like barbed wire around her heart, was the knowledge that she had wanted to. That she had wanted to for a long time no, ever since that time almost a week ago now, when she’d found herself being comforted in his arms, when she’d felt so warm and safe in the tactician’s embrace.

“Gods!”

If only she could deny it, if only she could pretend it was just a mistake, an impulse, a foolish slip… But she couldn’t, no matter how much she wished to, it was impossible. Because she’d felt it. She’d felt her desire for him in the very rhythm of her movements, seared into her instincts and branded across her soul, every part of her had yearned for him. She’d given herself over to her dancing, letting herself act without a though, just as she had so many times before and…and…

 “…Gods…”

And it had led her to him. Robin had been nothing but kind to her, he hadn’t had a single ulterior motive, he hadn’t even asked anything of her! He’d helped her so much! And, and, and she’d just thrown herself at him!

Slowly, as the guilt settled deeper within her, Olivia’s thoughts turned toward her wayward husband, to the man she’d pledged her loyalty to. She’d changed everything between them now, she knew that. She’d sullied her marital vows and committed an act she’d never even dreamed herself capable of… After everything she’d sacrificed for him, everything she’d done for her family, she’d failed as a wife. For all that she loved Gregor, she’d still betrayed him.

A throbbing pain followed that thought, the terrible realisation that their marriage could never again be what it was, that her actions had forever tainted their union.

And then… Unexpectedly, a hot spark of resentment flared within her, a small flame of angry frustration that she’d never even known existed.

Had it really been only her? Had it really been only her actions?

Lying as she did now, cold and alone, in an abandoned hovel the thought was an insidious one. Gregor loved her, and she him…but even as she trembled in the darkness, the guilt that pulsed through her remained stunted by the man’s absence. No matter how much she cared for him, or how long she’d fought to support him, there was no avoiding the fact that she’d barely spoken a single sober sentence to him in more than a month.

Were they even really husband and wife? Was she just a convenience for him? Someone to provide a hot meal and a warm bed anytime he felt the calling?

Whether the thought was borne from self-loathing or from the truth, in that moment she couldn’t tell, but the answer was clear regardless.

Her husband needed her for her money, for the support that kept him happy and content, drowning in alcohol and easy friendships. Her son was no different, to him she was a symbol, a memory of the mother and family he’d lost, he only needed her to be alive, to put on the same façade of contentment she’d always worn, so he could know he’d saved her.

She had money now and wearing a smile for her son’s visits was never a challenge. She provided everything both of them needed simply by existing, simply by going through her routine. Her family didn’t need her, not truly, not in the same way she so desperately wanted to feel.

Not like Robin did.

She’d felt every inch Robin’s need for her. “Ah…” A warm shudder ran through her at that thought, she could still feel it now, feel the pure primal, intensity of it- almost more than she could stand. His rough handling, the way his hands had forcefully held her in place, the domination in his grunts as his cock slammed into her, sending her screaming into a violent orgasm. His tender caress, the gentle way he’d kissed her, cradling her in his arms as his length slowly rocked back and forth through her, easing her into a sweet, gentle peak.

But… She knew it wasn’t just that, it wasn’t just a physical ache she felt for the tactician. Working for him had given her something she hadn’t felt in years, a feeling of fulfilment and of someone not just wanting, but truly needing her. Robin was alone. He didn’t have anyone else, he didn’t have anyone to support him, to care for him or worry about him in the dead of the night.

She could give him that. She wanted to give him that.

Her body shivered again as she twisted her ring around her finger, conflicting emotions clashing within her, guilt and desire both settling uneasily within her.

She wanted to support Robin, to help him and feel his need of her. She’d wanted it since the first day he’d hired her, since the first time she’d seen his shoulders relax at the sight of her dancing and she’d wanted it more with each time she’d seen a small smile break out across the tactician’s face, his tensions eased. Being around him, seeing clearly how hard he worked for everyone else’s sake and knowing that, even in just her own small way, she could help him… It was everything she’d ever wanted, filling the hole she’d felt within her ever since the Shepherds had broken up.

Robin had always been the only Shepherd as crucial as Chrom, he was one of the most important men in the world. His work was vital, far more than what any of the rest of them were doing. And… And she could help him. She could be the pillar that held him up, the support he needed.

Unfortunately, acknowledging her newfound desires didn’t bring her any peace. Tossing in place as thoughts of the tactician surfaced uncontrollably, Olivia’s heart again clenched tight with guilt, about what she’d done, about what she’d said, about… about the shocked look on his face as her dance had turned sensual.

‘N-No!’ Her mind reeled, eyes shooting wide as she remembered just how stunned he’d been. ‘Oh! Oh no… Naga, w-was that his…his first time?’

She almost couldn’t believe it. Not after everything he’d done to her, how good it had felt in his arms and how often his name had been ripped raw from her throat… but then, she was hardly one to judge sexual experience, her only other partner had been Gregor and he hadn’t been a virgin.

 ‘It, it had to be.’ When else would Robin have slept with anyone? While the rest of the Shepherds had slowly paired up, he’d always remained alone, even when Lucina and Morgan had joined their squad, he’d never had anyone. Even when they’d spent time in a city and the single men had snuck off to a brothel, she’d never heard about their tactician being among them.

‘I stole his first time...’ She concluded heavily, she’d thoughtlessly snatched away something priceless from him, something he should have shared with the woman he loved. Robin was such a kind, caring man…no doubt he’d thought about that, about how he’d wanted his first time to be- even if not, surely he’d wanted more from it than her just suddenly pushing him back into his chair at work!

‘B-But…’ She added hesitantly, carefully recalling the tactician’s admission so many days ago. ‘But, didn’t he say…couldn’t he have meant, th-that he loves…me?’

“Argh!” Biting hard down on her lips, Olivia threw that thought angrily from her head, furious at herself for thinking it as much as the small burst of happiness that rose within her when she did. She was married! She’d already made her choice and it hadn’t been Robin.‘What happened, it was just, it was a mis…’

And again, her thoughts trailed painfully to nothing. It wasn’t a mistake, it wasn’t a slip or a late night impulse…she couldn’t deny it. Her dance had shown it as clear as anything she’d ever felt.

She wanted him.

Gods, she wanted him so badly.

Even now, lying with her eyes clenched tightly closed, even now her pussy throbbed with wanton desire- a flame had been lit within her and a need she’d never felt before now pulsed thick through her core. Even despite her guilt and regret, she couldn’t possibly doubt it.

Somehow, in some way, Robin had marked her as his. Without even meaning to and through no fault of his own…he’d stolen her. He’d made her his woman.

“Why… How…”

It didn’t make any sense! Clenching her hands into a tiny fist, she pressed her ring cold into her cheek, if anything she could belong to Gregor! She was his wife, didn’t that mean she was also his woman!? She didn’t want to hurt him, she’d married him, she loved him. Sheloved Gregor!

‘No, I just… I can’t. I don’t want this!’

None of this was okay, none of it was alright. She wasn’t allowed to feel this way. She wouldn’t let herself feel this way.

“Gregor…” She whispered piteously into the empty night.

If only her husband had been here, perhaps she would be able to make sense of this, perhaps then it would be easier to ignore the ache inside her, the urge to return to Robin’s room, to submit herself to him and be engulfed in his desire once more. But he wasn’t. She didn’t know where Gregor was and had no idea when she’d even see him again.

Turning to her side she huddled even tighter into a ball. “What should I...what do I do?” Unfortunately no answers came. There was no easy solution, no easy way of easing her guilt, of facing her betrayal.

She had work again tomorrow, was she going to see Robin? “Naga…” How could she possibly face him after tonight? After what she’d done to him? Even just thinking about it terrified her! What would she possibly say to him!? How would… How would she just…

Again no answers came. And so, tossing and turning, with her mind running in terrible circles, the night passed agonisingly slowly for Olivia.

Hours passed and still she remained wide awake, from shock as much as shame. Even when the dawn’s light started to break through her windows, still she was granted no pace.

“It’s just… just one time. Just an infatuation.” She whispered aloud sometime shortly after daybreak, as if saying the words aloud would make them true.

She couldn’t deny her attraction to Robin, but, even as powerful as the desire was, it was still something that had only occurred suddenly within her, in response to his new presence in her life. She’d loved Gregor for years, a sudden rush of affection for the tactician couldn’t possibly compare to that.

Twisting the ring around her finger, she slowly forced herself to gain a measure of conviction. “I need to…to get myself under control.” That was all there was to it, it was simple. She was married. She loved Gregor and loved Inigo, they were her family. That was all that mattered. It was final.

“And then.” A terrifying fear gripped her. “I’ll tell Gregor.” She would explain everything, what she’d done, why she’d done it, the loneliness she’d felt. As soon as she saw him again, as soon as he was sober, she would throw herself on her knees and confess everything. Every ill thought, every ill feeling, that was the only way she could possibly atone.

And… And she couldn’t see Robin again. Not until she knew she was safe, that she knew she wouldn’t slip up again. After her sleepless night she was hardly in any condition to show up at work today anyway.

Her eyes turned wistfully toward the breaking sun at that thought. He would be awake soon, no doubt he’d be waiting for her… She’d abandoned him last night, leaving him again now, forsaking him to working alone in that lonely office… It was a painful thought. Robin had done so much to her, the thought of hurting him was a terrible one. She would need to apologise to him too.

‘Tomorrow, I’ve got practice.’

Today, she would just…just stay away. Then tomorrow she would be busy dancing with the Ylissean Exalted. That was two days to herself, two days to get everything back under control.

‘He won’t, he won’t say anything.’ Not unless she did at least, he was too much of a gentleman for that. Even if he did want to…even if hedid have feelings for her, if she never said anything about what they’d done, she knew he wouldn’t push the issue. To each other at least, they would both pretend it had never happened.

“Urgh.” With her mind now resolved, there wasn’t a lot left to think about. And so Olivia found herself left still uncomfortably awake, still unable to sleep as her mind twisted back around to thoughts of the tactician. “Mmghaa...” Twisting herself around and burying her head under her pillow, she tried her best not to think about the growing heat between her legs, a strong pulse of warmth she could feel within her each time she remembered his touch.

This wasn’t good. She needed to get over Robin, that meant she needed to stop thinking about him, to get him off her mind!

Trying to think about dancing didn’t help.

Stretching out didn’t help.

Biting her fingers didn’t help.

“Uhmaa…”

Slipping out of bed and wrapping his cloak tight around her again helped a little.

“Mm-Mhgaaa. Ah-hahmmm.”

Falling back onto her mattress, inhaling his scent and plunging her fingers frantically into her aching pussy helped a little more.

“Robin…”

With shaking hips, heaving breasts and guilty moans, time passed slowly and without any peace for Olivia.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Meanwhile, on the other side of the city, in the royal bedchamber, a certain Ylissean Princess was having a far more enjoyable morning.

“W-Wait, Lissa.” Maribelle gasped weakly, squirming away from her friend’s seeking hands and retreating further across the room. “W-We, we can’t.”

“We can.” Lissa answered decisively, chasing after the troubadour and sliding her arms firmly back around her waist- pushing her breasts softly against the noblewoman and laying her lips warm against her neck. “We can. We just haven’t.”

“B-But, but…” Standing facing a wall, Maribelle had nowhere left to run, nowhere left to escape as Lissa’s fingers danced a sensuous movement up her sides, undoing her neckerchief and dropping her collar to the floor. “W-We’re both married.”

“I don’t care.” At some point she would have. Not anymore. Now she was far more concerned with kissing deeper down her friend’s exposed shoulders, with feeling her body shuddering in her arms.

“But, w-” Gasping aloud, Maribelle’s breath suddenly hitched as Lissa brought her right hand back down, sliding it under her shirt and pressing it warm against her bare stomach. “B-But, we’re… We’re both women…”

It was improper. They were a noblewoman and a princess. At some point Lissa would have cared.

“That doesn’t matter, none of that stuff matters.” She answered, not bothering to hide the breathless anticipation in her voice as she pushed herself even harder against her friend, wrapping one arm tight around her waist and using her other to flick open the buckle atop her trousers. “The only thing I care about right now, is you.”

“I- Ahnh, Lissa, darling...”

“I’ll stop.” Lissa promised, whispering the words into Maribelle’s soft white skin as she carefully pushed her hand into her friend’s soaked panties. “If you don’t want this.”

Shoving a hand in her mouth, desperately biting back a deep moan, Maribelle could do nothing to stop her body trembling against Lissa’s touch, nothing at all about the way her hips slid instinctively forward, pressing herself greedily into the other woman’s touch.

“I’ll stop.” She repeated, kissing loving back up the troubadour’s shoulder she rocked her fingers lovingly back and forth over the soaked entrance. “If you tell me, this isn’t what you want.”

Even as she spoke the words, even as she held herself back, Lissa couldn’t keep the excited smile from her face. Any doubts about her friend’s desires had already been long banished by the feeling of her body, soft and smooth, shivering nervously in her arms. They’d both thought about this. They’d both dreamed about this. They both wanted this.

Again and again, Maribelle’s mouth opened, but no words came out, nothing but shaky breaths and half-stifled gasps.

Until, finally…just as Lissa was kissing back up her neck, she saw her friends arms reach out, bracing herself against the wall as her body relaxed, loosening herself into the princess’s soft embrace with a quiet moan.

“Maribelle…” She breathed, her heart skipping a beat as she leaned forward, pushing their bodes tighter together and pressing her fingers carefully into, ensuring she had her full acceptance.

“Ahn, hnghaa.” Her moans escaped freely now, quietly at first, but louder by the second. “I-Ah, Li-Lissa! My, my treasure… Hahngg!”

“D-Do you like it?” Lissa asked hesitantly, pulling her hand back and gently pressing into Maribelle’s clit. “I, I want you to feel good.”

“A-AH! AUNNNG!” Groaning out a deep, guttural moan, Maribelle’s arms collapsed instantly. Falling against the wall, propped up only by her elbows, she couldn’t even begin to respond. “N-Nngaa, ha-haaa.”

“It’s, it’s good right?” Lissa grinned, rolling the small bulb carefully under her fingers, just as Tharja had done to her, all those times with Robin.

Moaning loudly into her arms, Maribelle didn’t even try verbalise a response, watching as the noblewoman threw her head from side to side, Lissa could feel her entire body shuddering from the pleasure, her gasps coming louder and louder, and her hips pushing back, instinctively, against her touch.

Holding her friend so tightly, with her own nipples- rock hard through her light dress, grinding back and forth across Maribelle’s back with each movement, each time their bodies slid together, Lissa felt closer to her friend than she’d ever felt before. She could feel everything. Every moan. Every gasp. Every shudder.

She could feel her friend’s fast building pleasure, and even the final note of resistance within her, a last, tiny, doubt.

“Don’t hold back.” She ordered, moaning unabashedly as she felt her excitement growing even higher, pushing her soft breasts even harder into the other woman’s back. “Just, just enjoy it.”

“L-Lissa! G-Gods, I-I, I!” Only barely able to force the words out, Maribelle’s body suddenly arched back, pulled from the wall with a scream as the pleasure became more than she could fight.

“Maribelle!” Lissa cried in return, squeezing tight to her friend and, in a moment of inspiration, rolled her hand forward, pressing her palm against her clit and forcefully driving two fingers into her friend’s throbbing entrance- pushing them forward, as hard, as deep as she could.

“Ghha-” Moaning without restraint, completely unable to resist the incredible feelings slamming into her, Maribelle’s hips shook desperately against the princess’s fingers one final time. “GHNHUAAAAA!”

Feeling the troubadour’s entire body suddenly rigid in her arms, her head thrown back with a wanton cry and her pussy clenching, hard, around her fingers, Lissa finally relaxed. “Mmmmm.” She sighed, moaning happily as she felt all the strength flowing from her friend’s body, pulling her lovingly into her arms, she kept her friend from collapsing to the ground in a dizzy heap.

“Ahm, ahha… Lissa, darling.” Maribelle breathed, her body shivering with blissful aftershocks as she allowed herself to lean comfortably into the princess’s embrace. “I, I don’t know what to say…”

“You, you don’t need to say anything.” She answered, returning her lips gently to the noblewoman’s neck, brushing a light kiss along her skin. “I just… I didn’t want to wait any longer, not if you felt the same.”

There was more to say, more she needed to explain, but the words slipped away and Maribelle didn’t push her, so they stood silently together, content and comfortable, savouring the shared warmth and affection.

Basking in the pleasant afterglow, with Lissa laying soft kisses along Maribelle’s shoulders and the noblewoman’s fingers interlinking in turn with the princess’s…it was several minutes before she spoke again.

“I just… I always thought, if I was ever with a woman, that it would be you.” Lissa admitted softly, a tiny pang of guilt forcing her to explain her actions. “But it, that didn’t happen.” Instead, beyond anything she’d ever expected, the first woman to touch had had been Tharja. It wasn’t something she regretted, she’d enjoyed every moment spent shared with the dark mage and the tactician. But it had been a surprise none the less, it had opened her eyes.

“So, I wanted, at least, to make sure that your first time… That it was with me.”

“Lissa.” Breaking their hands apart, Maribelle pulled out of the princess’s grip.

“A-Ah!”  She gasped, stumbling back a step in surprise as her friend suddenly whirled around, freezing her in place with the intensely serious look in her deep brown eyes. “I-I’m sorry, w-was that selfi-Mmmph!?”

Throwing her arms around Lissa’s neck, Maribelle dove forwards, yanking the surprised cleric into her arms and pressing their lips, soft and wet, hungrily together.

Eyes shooting wide at the sudden embrace, for a moment, Lissa was too shocked to even react. But, only for a moment. “Mmmph…” Opening her mouth to her friend’s gently seeking tongue, Lissa relaxed eagerly into her arms, closing her eyes and leaning deeper into the embrace.

Kissing Maribelle was… It was different, like nothing she’d felt before. Her friend’s body was so soft and smooth against hers, her hands were so gentle around her neck… And her lips, her tongue, even the way she kissed- deeper for a moment, then pulling back, it was almost teasing. ‘Gods!’ She gasped, moaning weakly as she felt the troubadour’s large breasts pushing against her own, their nipples rubbing together even through their clothes.

Maribelle took the initiative this time, acting without a word as she eased Lissa back toward the wall, hiking up her dress and running a hand up the inside of the princess’s slender legs.

“Ahhma-” Not pausing even to comment on Lissa’s lack of underwear, she pressed a finger instantly against the cleric’s soaking pussy… “AHHNG!”

Deepening the kiss, with a renewed hunger, Maribelle sank the digit slowly inside, impatiently joining it with another barely a second later.

“Ahnng, M-M-Maribelle!” Lissa gasped, breaking away and sucking in a shaky breath as the noblewoman began smoothly rocking her hand back and forth, scraping her fingertips alongside the roof of Lissa’s inner walls. “H-HUuuuaaah!”

Whatever she lacked in experience, Maribelle more than made up for in sheer adoration. Pressing their bodies even tighter together, her breasts pushing hot into Lissa’s own, she moved her lips down the cleric’s neck, sucking hard along her shoulder, mimicking all the sensations she’d received only minutes ago.

“A-AH-AHMM!” Lissa moaned, throwing her head from side to side as she slowly grew accustomed to the pleasure, her pussy clenching wonderfully around her friend’s slim fingers.

It was good.

‘Gods.’

It was so good!

“H-AHhaaa…” And yet, even as she felt the pleasure building inside her, even as she felt her hips shaking against Maribelle’s touch… There was something else…something not quite…  As if something was missing? “Hnghaaa.”

And then, just as that feeling was disappearing, just as she was feeling the peak within her slowly rising…

“Well now.” A confident voice from across the room suddenly snapped the mood. “You two look like you’re having fun.”

“W-Wha?”

“A-Ah!?”

Yelping in surprise, both women fell away from each other, stumbling apart and turning, wide eyed, to where the Shepherd’s tactician was grinning arrogantly back at them, sitting bare naked on the end of the princess’s bed.

“Robin!” Lissa cried, taking Maribelle’s hand in hers and sauntering over to the man with a husky grin. “I was waiting for you!”

And suddenly, everything felt complete. Biting her lip as her eyes trailed to his erection, standing long and thick before her, suddenly she knew exactly what had been missing.

“AhmMM!” She groaned, pulling Maribelle into her back and wrapping her hands around her waist as she settled herself into Robin’s lap, his hands taking hold of her hips as she held his cock against her entrance, feeling his cockhead already spreading her lips wide. “G-Gods…”

Maribelle’s fingers had been loving and gentle inside her, the affection and love she’d felt from her closest friend had been wonderful. But, there was an ache inside her, for more…to feel her pussy wrapped tight around his thick shaft, to feel his length buried deep inside her, to feel filled in a way only Robin could provide.

“Robin.”

But that wasn’t all. Squeezing her friend’s hands with a smile, she understood.

“I-Ah, I also want to see, to see you fuck Maribelle.”

She’d seen it in Tharja, time and again, the sheer bliss on the mage’s face, her unrestrained joy, every time Robin had taken her. She’d felt it herself, no less intently, the ache within her, a small crackling fire that called out for his touch. She wanted to see that same look on Maribelle’s face and see the same lust in her eyes. She wanted to share that with her friend, she wanted to share him with her friend.

But first…

“G-GHHAA!” Lowering her hips impatiently, pussy opened wide around his cockhead, sinking down and eagerly accepting him inside her. “Annggh…”

‘G-Gods!’

She was already so excited! She’d already been so worked up! Just feeling him like this was more than enough. ‘I-It’s go-Gods! I’m, I’m going to! To!’

“ANHNHUG-”

Thrusting her hips an inch off the bed, Lissa’s eyes shot open in pleasure, the world swimming into focus around her as her peak ripped through her.

“-NHGHNnnng… H-Huh?”

Blinking in confusion, she slumped weakly back down onto her bed, sinking into the mattress. Lying there in a daze, as her vision slowly adjusted to the morning sunlight, it took a moment for things to fall into place.

She was in bed? Under the bedsheets even.

And she was alone? Lon’qu had already left for the day.

And… She currently had three fingers of her buried inside her!? Blushing, she pulled them out, staring in disbelief at the juices now running down her hand-that had never happened before.

‘That was, a dream?’ Of course. It had moved so fast, and some parts of it hadn’t even made sense. Still… ‘It was so…vivid.’

Rolling lethargically over to her side, she stretched herself out. Most of the details were already evaporating from her mind, lost in the morning light… Except… “Auugh!” She groaned, except for, one particular detail.

I want to see you fuck Maribelle.

“Auuugh!” She repeated, throwing her head to the side. “No! I did, I did not say that! It was, just a stupid dream!”

She felt guilty just thinking about it! She couldn’t even imagine what her friend would say if she really ever had said something like that!‘She’d be outraged, she’d probably, she’d probably DIE of outrage!’

“Auuaa... Sorry Maribelle.” She whimpered, trying, for the sake of her friendship to push the entire dream from her mind.

It wasn’t exactly the first time she’d dreamed about the troubadour, but previously it had always just been small snippets of intimacy, it had been innocent, sweet… Never had her dreams been so vivid, so wanton… Never had she woken, feeling so satisfied.

“Gah!” She cried again, forcefully cancelling that thought as well as she buried her head under her pillow, trying to pretend none of it had ever happened.

Somehow, she knew. She just knew. This was all Tharja’s fault.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

“Hmmm.”

It was almost midday and Olivia still hadn’t arrived.

Having estimated it would take her between two to five days to return, her absence wasn’t exactly unexpected. Still, even if it had only been an outside chance she’d give in so easily, he had thought it would have been nice to see her this morning.

Or at least, he had, until now.

“Hmm.” He hummed again, steepling his head in his hands and peering curiously across his desk to where the Ylissean Wing Commander was staring dully into space.

Right now, with Cordelia in an uncharacteristic state of disarray, the dancer’s absence actually seemed like a small moment of serendipity. She was ostensibly here to deliver her weekly report, something that usually led to the two of them spending time together as friends, he doubted she’d be dropping her guard so visibly if there was anyone but him around.

“Cordelia.” He spoke up finally, his brows furrowed further when he saw her jumping at his words, completely lost in thoughts. “Let’s put all this aside for a moment.”

“Huh?” She blinked, her mouth puckering into a cute look of surprise when he pushed her report to the side of his desk. “Er, ah, is something wrong?”

“I can’t remember the last time I saw you so distracted.” He answered simply, offering an easy smile as he leant back, creating space between them. “Are you okay? Is there something on your mind?”

“What? No, I’m… I’m…” Her words trailed off in embarrassment. “I just, it’s only…”

Wincing, she tried and failed to speak again, fidgeting in her seat and dropping her gaze uncomfortably to the floor.

Frowning, Robin sat back, crossing his arms but remaining silent, Cordelia was a careful, considerate woman, he knew better than to try force a difficult topic from her. Even if it was one she was clearly wracked with. Instead he simply watched as her entire body slowly tensed up, her fists clenching and breathing turning shallower.

Seconds turned into minutes before she spoke again.

“I shouldn’t…” She whispered, the words were brittle, as if smothered in a million regrets, a thousand angers all held back by propriety and station.

She shouldn’t speak, she should say silent, she shouldn’t say anything. Propriety and station. Cordelia was a true knight, she had lived by those ideals all her life.

“Cordelia.” He breathed, finding himself suddenly stricken by her silent distress as a painful trepidation welled up within him. Was this like Olivia again? Had he really missed another of his friends being deeply troubled? Did he really miss so much? Was he really so oblivious to the pain of those closest to him!? “Please.”

Thankfully, even with everything that had happened and all the time that had passed, one fact remained true among all Shepherds. They trusted him. She trusted him.

“It’s… It’s just…” Finally looking up to him he saw her face mired in conflicting emotions, anger and fear rushing across her eyes equally. And, as the words pressed slowly from her lips, she hesitated one final moment, all the tension, all the worry building up inside her, crashing around like a storm- screaming for release. “I-I’m going on a date tomorrow. With Ricken.”

“Oh?” Robin blinked, taken aback. That was unexpected. Ricken was Severa’s father and Cordelia’s apparent husband in the ruined future, but, in this timeline at least, they’d never seemed all that close. The frustrated look on his friend’s face at that admission certainly didn’t do anything to change that impression.

“Severa came back a few days ago, and, and we had dinner together last night. All three of us.” Her words came out in clipped tones, the need to explain finally overcoming her self-control. “She invited him around and I thought, well, that it’d be nice… I mean, we haven’t seen her in so long and I know he worries about her just as I do, and… and then he just asked me! Right in the middle of dinner!”

Robin nodded, no doubt the question had been at Severa’s prompting. He knew she’d been trying to encourage her father to push things along with Cordelia, even before she left. He also had a sneaking suspicion that her unease about interfering was why she left so often.

Grimacing, Cordelia’s entire body seemed to coil up, her muscles becoming taut as a stormy look took over her face. “And, o-of course, I accepted. I couldn’t  just… Not…not with her looking at me like that, she-she looked so happy.”

Turning uncomfortably away from him the moment her story finished, her eyes returned to the floor, burning a hole in the floorboards as she shifted awkwardly in her seat. “I do want her to be happy.” She added almost silently. “She deserves that, at the very least.”

“Well I can understand why that would be…difficult.” He probed carefully, feeling around in the dark and trying to put herself in her shoes. He was still missing something here. “But, is it really that bad? I thought you and Ricken always got on fairly well?”

This wasn’t the first time Cordelia had complained about Ricken to him, but it had never been more than a passing comment, no more than the same objective criticism she had for anyone else. She’d never said a word that’d given him pause before… Had she always been holding back, all this time? Even if they hadn’t had much of an official relationship together, she and Ricken had always at least been civil to one another, he’d paired them together time and again during the last war and he’d never once heard of any problems arising between them.

‘Ah…But…’ Frowning, Robin re-considered that last point. ‘I paired them together. I expected them to spend time together…’ Had he done that before…before Severa?

Of course not. Only just now did he realise, he’d given into the exact same assumptions so many of their friends made (albeit correctly) about him and Lucina- that simply because of their shared future, they would somehow get together. As if it was preordained.

He’d never even thought about it, never seriously considered either of them with anyone else… Even despite their vast differences in age and personality, nor even the fact that they’d spent the last year living and working separately following the war. He, and assumedly most of the other Shepherds, their entire peer group, thought of Ricken and Cordelia as practically a couple already.

Only now, watching in pure surprise as the resolute Wing Commander’s arms wrapped tight around herself, her strength suddenly seeming so brittle, only now did he remember just how shocked they had been at Severa’s arrival- at the idea of two people who’d at best spoken a handful of non-work related sentences to each other being married.

“No, no of course not.” She laughed lightly, her words pulling him from his realisation as she shook her head, offering him a wan smile. “Forgive me, you’re right, of course. One date? It’s not a big deal at all. It was, well, I suppose it was just a little overwhelming to be asked so suddenly, ha-aha.”

Her voice was light and clear, without a single trace of hollowness or anger, yet, as she spoke he could see the light in her eyes had turned dull. Cordelia was, Chrom aside, one of the strongest, most self-assured people he knew, just seeing her like this was maddening.

“I’ve missed something, haven’t I?”

“Wh-What? Oh, n-”

“Please.” Leaning forward he interrupted her attempt to wave his concerns away, making no attempt to disguise the unsettling worry growing within him. “I, I’m sorry, obviously I’ve misspoken or said something I shouldn’t have. Please, tell me. What’s wrong?”

She didn’t meet his gaze.

“It’s not as if spending time with him would put you under any kind of obligation.” He continued softly, speaking his rationale aloud to her silence. “And, he is Severa’s father, surely you want to get on with him?”

Sucking in a shaky breath, still she didn’t answer. This time however, Robin didn’t miss the way her eyes strayed to the far side of the room, to where his door was shut behind them, a small gesture of privacy.

It was hardly the most pleasant hint to receive and did nothing to ease his worry, but right now, anything was welcome. “Cordelia.” He breathed, getting her attention and raising his hands in the air, making a show of visibly activating all his silencing wards. “There’s more to this, isn’t there?”

They were alone now, truly alone… and, slowly, ever so gently, Robin could see a small fire alighting in the Pegasus Knight’s eyes. A distant anger? A painful guilt? There was something important here, something that’d gripped tight at her for some time, something she was never meant to speak aloud but that she couldn’t bear to keep silent for another moment.

“Why is it so bad spending time with Ricken? Even before we met Severa, we’d both known him for years. He’s a good man, he’s a hero.”

“Tch.”

Scowling, finally Cordelia reacted, shaking her head with a derisive snort.

“A hero? Really? Is that how you see him?”

“Wha-?”

“Chrom’s a hero. You’re a hero. The two of you fought together on the front times, every day for three wars!” She answered, spreading her hands in exasperation. “I saw you myself, I was right there with you, every step of the way, for so many years.”

Her eyes were blazing now.

“And Ricken, where was he? …Robin, you barely trusted him to guard our camp supply lines.”

Wincing, he reeled back, stumbling for a way to deny her words. “Well, he was, he was… You know that he…” There wasn’t much he could say.

“You didn’t bring him with us to fight Grima.” She finished simply. “I know it wasn’t Chrom who decided our roles.”

“I…” Again, Robin’s words died in his throat.

Grima had been their ultimate enemy, a challenge like no other, their greatest foe imaginable. He couldn’t have possibly risked taking any but their absolute best soldiers to face down the Fell Dragon. He’d invented a reason at the time, an excuse to justify a rear-guard, a job to keep his weaker fighters away from the fight without injuring their pride.

But, caught now in Cordelia’s hard gaze, he couldn’t even remember what that lie had been. All he knew was the same simple truth she saw- He had been there, Chrom had been there, she and Severa had been there. Ricken had not.

“I G-Gods, I mean, he wasn’t- Cordelia, it wasn’t like that. Ricken did, he did his best.”

“He ignored orders. He skived out of duties that didn’t interest him…he spent as much time looking after the camp as he did playing around.” She added, her voice strong against his weak assurance. “He was… He was just a kid.”

Robin’s teeth clenched automatically at her words, an unspoken truth and a cold, bitter, acknowledgement. Those words were almost a taboo, they both knew how deeply Ricken hated that label... Yet, even so, there was no denying how appropriate it was.

“It’s not the same as in, in the original timeline.” Cordelia finished, slumping back into her seat as the frustration inside her was finally released and Robin knew, just from looking at her, that despite the harshness of her words, she didn’t mean any of the venom behind them. She had no dislike of Ricken, only of her situation.

“Yeah.” He answered quietly, his mind slowly turning over her words as he slowly accepted what Cordelia must have known for so long. That, of all the changes both Lucina and Grima had made to history, perhaps the greatest of all was simply that the events had been vastly accelerated. What had originally taken place over more than a decade had this time happened in less than half that, three wars and a world entirely reshaped in barely a handful of years.

And, because of that acceleration, Ricken- the child that had joined them, younger than any other Shepherd, had been almost left behind. In the original timeline, he’d had many long years of peace before the Valmese war, enough time to calm down, to mature and to ultimately win Cordelia’s affection. But, this time…

“Gods. I’ll never forget it, the day Severa joined.” She breathed, the confession coming without a thought now as she rolled her gaze towards the ceiling, replaying the events in her head. “You know, I’d actually spent half that morning chasing him down. He’d been playing some, some game with Nowi and they’d wound up destroying almost an entire cart of rations! More than two weeks’ worth of supplies. He was such a mess when I finally caught him, he was practically in tears. I actually wound up promising not to tell Chrom what he’d done, so long as he cleaned up the mess.

“And then...and then, we met Severa, and by the end of the day the entire camp was practically planning our wedding.” She laughed, it was the same bitter, mournful laugh Robin had heard from her once before. His heart shuddered painfully at the sound. “Gods, it was, it was like a joke. I couldn’t believe it.”

“I never, I never knew.” He breathed, his words coming shakily as his mind filled in the gaps- it had been more than two years since Severa had joined them, she had kept this to herself the entire time. “Naga.”

“I never… I never knew.” He whispered, scarcely even able to imagine what it must have felt like for her- to have gone from scolding Ricken like a child, to suddenly having everyone expecting her to marry him, in the space of a few hours. His fists clenched involuntarily at the thought, it had been more than two year since Severa had joined them and he’d never even once considered this, he’d never once noticed how uncomfortable Cordelia must have been. She’d kept it to herself all this time and he had never even noticed. “Naga.”

“It was a shock.” She admitted, her explanation coming slower now. “It was as if everything had suddenly changed. I was, I had been doing better… Lucina had been born a few months before and I’d been making an effort, getting over Chrom, letting him go, j-just like you said. I was talking to other guys, I was spending time with them, I was- I really felt like I was moving on.”

Closing his eyes, Robin just nodded. He could see now where she was going and he could see well his own part in it.

“I was, I was happy.” She paused, the wistful words echoing softly around the room. “And then, suddenly, it was like… It was like there was something wrong with me. All the men started keeping their distance, no-one wanted to do anything with me, none of them were interested in me anymore… Stahl, Gregor, Frederick, even you. We used to talk all the time, after the wedding, even when you were busy, you always made sure we at least shared a patrol or two… I thou-I thought we were really close. And then, I suddenly, I barely saw you, not until… Well, until the last few months recently.”

Not until his job had made it almost mandatory that he spend time with her, when they’d fallen back comfortably into their old comradery. Robin’s heart clenched again. All this time and he hadn’t noticed.

“We never-I never meant to hurt you, Cordelia. I swear. I just…” Now that his actions had been so thoroughly pointed out to him, his justification seemed flimsy. “I just wanted to give the two of you space.”

“I know and, I understand. I don’t, it’s not as if I blame you.” She answered, the small smile she offered assuring him she held no grudge against him. “Naga, it’s not as I was any better. I didn’t even realise I was doing it at first, but we all did the same to you when Morgan arrived didn’t we?”

Robin blinked, completely surprised by her sympathy. ‘Had they?’ He’d been too happy at the time to have even noticed.

“So, y-you understand me? Don’t you?” Her gaze shifted slightly in uncertainty. “You know what it’s like? I feel, I… Gods, it’s as if, as if I’ve been promised to him.”

She grimaced terribly, her entire body tensing in on itself once more. “As if, as if I belong to him.”

“Cordelia…”

“A-And, and, everyone’s just fine with it! Everyone just expects me to go along with it, they’re all…they’re all so happy for me. He’s even fine with it! He told me, after the war, he was going to grow up into a man I could be proud of! Gods, the other week, for his birthday, he even tried to kiss me!”

“Eh? Really?” Somehow, even aside from all the other shocks their conversation had held, that one stood out. He’d never thought Ricken would be quite that bold.

“Well… ah, Ricken has always been rather short…” She explained, the mood finally breaking as a tiny, cheeky smile slipped onto her face. It was at least funny in hindsight. “I just pretended not to notice, I didn’t want to cause a scene.”

“I’m sorry.” Robin repeated uselessly. “I never realised, I never knew things were so… I’m sorry, I really am.”

Knowing the love he had for Lucina and joy that Morgan brought into their lives, he’d never truly considered what it would be like for Cordelia or for Nowi, to abruptly have the idea of marriage, of a life-partner thrust on them. He’d accepted, intellectually, that it was an uncomfortably awkward situation, but he’d still…he’d always just assumed it would work out. Just as it had for them in the future.

But the future was different, they’d changed it. Now Cordelia probably even resented the very idea of marrying Ricken simply from feeling pressured into it.

“I know it mustn’t feel like it, but I’m sure he… There’s no way he’d ever want you to feel like this.” Ricken was still a good man, he might be naïve but there wasn’t a single drop of malice in him. “He would never want you to feel forced into anything.”

“I know.” She sighed, twisting her hands around themselves. “I don’t… I don’t blame him. I just… It’s, it’s difficult.”

 Robin nodded, he was quickly beginning to appreciate just how difficult it was. Everyone she knew was expecting her to start a relationship with a man she didn’t love. Someone who was many years younger than her, who was practically a boy with a crush.

He sighed. That’s what made it worse. If Ricken had been as apprehensive as her, then at least they could work through the awkwardness together. Unfortunately, to someone as desperate to prove himself as Ricken, the thought of being married to someone like Cordelia, having a family with someone so graceful, so heroic and so beautiful...it must have seemed like a dream come true, the proof he would attain all the respect he’d always craved. He was probably as infatuated with the idea of being married, of being an adult with a family, as he was with Cordelia herself.

“It’s fine, really.” Again, her words pulled him from his troubled thoughts as she turned to him, her eyes imploring his understanding. “I mean, i-it’s the same for you, isn’t it?”

Robin’s eyes shot wide, suddenly realising what Cordelia had truly come here for, why she was finally opening herself to him specifically.

“Tell me, am I just, just being selfish?”

Unfortunately, he couldn’t offer her the reassurance she sought. “It’s true that our situations are similar, everyone does seem to expect me to marry Lucina, to have a family with her and Morgan. But, I… I’m sorry, Cordelia, I don’t think I’m the right person to advise you on this.”

 “You are!” She bit back, her eyes shining now once more, only this time blazing with the same unwavering trust she’d held for him, the belief she’d had in his words for so long now.

“I mean, you must be.” She finished, flushing lightly as she favoured him a soft smile. “You always have been, you’ve always been the one to help me. You’re the only one who tells me what I need to hear. Even before the wedding, when everyone was worried about me, you were the only one wh-”

“Cordelia.” He tsked, interrupting her with a shake of his head. “Come now, that’s ancient history. I’ve long since forgotten that conversation.”

“Robin, please.” She pressed, gathering the scraps of her courage as pushed for his judgement. “Tell me. Th-that I’m just being a child, that I just don’t like being told what I should do and I need to grow up. Ricken will… He’ll become the man I love, won’t he? And, and, Severa, she deserves her family, she deserves to have everything she lost. Everyone would be happier, I would be happy, w-wouldn’t I?”

He grimaced.

“Robin, tell me… Tell me I’m just being selfish.”

“I...I can’t trust my answer to that.”

“Wha-Huh?”

Hesitating for a long moment, Robin withdrew back into himself. He knew, as he always did, that this was a crucial moment. His mind accessed a thousand possibilities, a million distinct outcomes, but always he returned to the same fact- to the truth she needed to know, the secret he’d sworn to keep.

The words burned hot on his lips, and as they did so, his thoughts raced ahead, mapping out the remainder of their conversation, what she would say and how he would answer.

And slowly, over the course of a single instant, a plan unfolded before him.

His analytical mind reeled. It was foolish. Risky beyond measure and a complete betrayal of his previous plan. He already knew which two remaining Shepherds he would target, going after any more than that was risking discovery, it was far too dangerous. No tactician could possibly approve.

And yet… ‘I can help her.’ He could finally give her the support he hadn’t realised she’d sought all these years. ‘She needs this.’ Cordelia had been a true friend, a trusted comrade for almost as long as he could remember.

‘I won’t neglect her again! Not anymore.’ His resolve turned to iron and his path was cemented. He would hold back, he would walk along the knife’s edge. If he didn’t push her towards him, if he only…only did this much, then she could as easily look toward Ricken or any other man. Surely, surely that was alright?

“I don’t trust myself, because, our situations aren’t the same. Because, as much as I sympathise with you... I also understand Ricken’s feelings.” He answered finally.

In the end, the truth came far easier than he’d expected. “Because, I love Lucina.” Perhaps he was just used to breaking promises by now.

“W-Wha?” Cordelia balked, stunned by his sudden admission. “Y-You do?”

“Yes.” He nodded solemnly. “I love her more than anything. More than I’ve ever felt for anyone else, both her and Morgan. Meeting her, my own daughter, learning about the family we must have had, that was the happiest day of my life.”

Chuckling, he ran a hand through his hair. “I even asked Lucina to marry me once. Back in Valm.”

“She…she turned you down? B-But, but you two spend so much time together! And you get on so well, you’d, I always thought you would make such a great couple!”

Calming himself, he levelled a sombre look back toward the Wing Commander. “There’s only one reason Lucina and I aren’t married. Do you know what it is?”

“I, ah…” She stared blankly at him and it was clear no answer was forthcoming.

“Because she doesn’t want to.” He answered, spreading his hands wide. “Because she doesn’t want to marry me. It’s as simple as that.”

Staring wide eyed, Cordelia’s mouth fell open, but no sound came out, instead a deep silence fell between them as she slumped heavily back in her seat, letting the weight of his words settle within her.

“I, I see.” She answered eventually, chewing on her lip as she considered his own revelations.

“She needs no other reason than that. Lucina’s been through more than enough in her lifetime, Morgan and I are both more than willing to accept whatever she’s comfortable with.”

“But…” Cordelia spoke hesitantly, looking at the situation, so similar to her own, but able to see it from an outsider’s perspective this time. “You’d be happier if she did want to, if you were married. And so would Morgan, she must feel so lost seeing the two of you apart, and, and especially without her memories.”

Folding his arms, Robin held back, putting on a façade of unease as he let her finish, waiting patiently as she reached the conclusion he’d known she would.

“And, Lucina must know you’d take care of her, of both of them, you’ve shown that clearly. You’re, you’re a good man, a hero, and I know she thinks the world of you. She’s just, she’s gone through so much, if she’s, if she’s not ready, or if she can’t…” Shaking her head, Cordelia didn’t even begin to finish that thought, she couldn’t bear to even think about Lucina being pressured into a relationship she wasn’t ready for.

Another heavy pause settled between them as the key difference in their situations, the hint he’d guided her towards, finally became clear.

“But…but, Severa’s life’s been just as hard as Lucina’s.” And hers hadn’t been. For all her complaints, for all her frustrations and romantic trouble, Cordelia had lived a good life. She’d had opportunities and happiness’s her daughter could scarcely even imagine. “She’s gone through so much, and, and she deserves to have her family back, to see herself in this timeline, the one she saved.”

“No, that’s not what I meant…” He answered, leaning over the desk with a frown. “Come now, you know better than that. What Severa wants is exactly the same as what you want- for the other to be happy. I know you’re worried about her, but she’s no different, she worries about you just as much. She would never want you to be unhappy.”

After seeing it in his own daughter, he could imagine how hard the situation had been on the time-displaced mercenary, he had a lot of respect for just how much he knew she’d held herself back from interfering in her parent’s lives. But, just like Morgan, she wasn’t perfect. There was no doubt what she wanted.

“Th-then, I should stop worrying her.” Pushing herself to her feet, Cordelia’s words were hollow, lacking even a façade of strength as she rose on trembling legs. “I’m just, just being a child, afraid of my future. I-It would make everyone else happy, a-and, I know, I’d be happy too.”

“No! That’s not what I, wait, Corde-”

“N-no, no. It’s, it’s fine. I’m fine. Thank you Robin, talking to you, it always makes things clearer.” Raising her hand to ward off his concern, it lingered in the air for a fraction of a second, as if reaching out for him… Only to be snatched away a moment later as she spun quickly in place. “I’ve, h-haha, I’ve got a lot to think about.”

She made for the door. Leaping to his feet, he followed after her.

“Cordelia.” Her name rang out around the room, but this time when he spoke it was with the aura of command, the same tone he’d worn so many times giving orders on so many battlefields. This time, Robin’s voice brooked no argument or refusal, nothing but obedience. Jolted, her body snapped suddenly into place, her back going rigid in a soldier’s instinctive response.

“Have you forgotten already?” He asked, letting his tone soften a fraction as he marched towards her. “What we fought for?”

“Wha?” Turning with a glare, her eyes shot wide, surprised to see him barely a step away from her. “What do you- Mmmph!?”

Pushing her back against the door, Robin silenced her question instantly, leaning down and wrapping himself around her, giving her not even a moment to react before capturing her lips with his own.

“Mmmha…”

Sliding his arms tight around her, one reaching behind her waist and the other around her neck, he didn’t wait, opening her mouth gently with his tongue, Robin kissed her with a sudden intensity, his tongue meeting hers as he enveloped her in a soft-burning passion beyond anything she’d imagined, an affectionate desire that instantly blew past her defences and shocked her from any possible thought.

Feeling herself melting completely into his warm embrace, Cordelia didn’t even think to resist. Moaning softly in response as he pressed closer into her, her mind faded to a comfortable blankness and her body reacted purely on instinct. Clinging to his shirt as all strength left her, she fell into his arms, closing her eyes and giving in to his surprising tenderness, letting herself be held securely between the hard wood and the tactician’s soft ardour.

Blood racing as he felt her hands tugging on his shirt, pulling him weakly against her, Robin gently deepened their kiss, sliding his hands slowly down her body before taking hold of her long, slender legs and raising her an inch off the ground, leaning harder into the beautiful Pegasus Knight as they clung to one another.

Several minutes passed like that, time slowly fading away from them as the Shepherd’s tactician and Ylisse’s Wing Commander remained locked together, their bodies softly grinding against each other and their hearts pumping faster and faster.

Eventually it was Robin that leaned back, breaking the embrace and placing his hand loving on Cordelia’s flushed cheek.

“I-I can’t tell you what to do.” He whispered, stroking a thumb gently over her face. “But, I can tell you that it’s your choice, that you have a choice. I’m not destined to marry Lucina and there’s nothing forcing you to marry Ricken. We make our own path, we make the future we want. That’s what we fought for, that’s what we believed in.”

Staring at him wide eyed, she only distantly heard his words, her mind spinning as her thoughts slowly returned, her face blazing an even deeper crimson by the moment.

“We challenged our fate, and we won. The future is whatever you wish it to be. Whatever you want.”

Smiling gently, ran his fingers through her silken red hair, waiting patiently for her response…waiting to see if she would lean forwards, if she would kiss him this time.

“I! Ah!? R-R-R-Robin!?” She stammered instead, her hands releasing his shirt as if it was made of fire and her entire body suddenly going stiff as a rod in his arms.

“That was a reminder.” He explained, releasing her and stepping back, giving her some space. “That you are wanted, Cordelia. That you can have any man you want.”

“T-Tha…Tha-Thaaa…” Still standing ramrod straight against the door, still Cordelia couldn’t get the words out. “Th-th… That wa…”

“Hmm?”

“Th-That was my, that was my first kiss!” She gasped finally, staring numb in confusion as she rose her hands to her lips, feeling where they’d been joined. “R-Robin… You’re my first, my first kiss?”

He hadn’t expected that. ‘Well, that certainly explains her reaction at least.’ He hadn’t expected her reel away from him quite so strongly, not after suddenly receiving a taste of the affection she’d felt left out from for so long.

“You were saving it for Chrom.” He answered, thinking fast.

“I, w-well, I…” Looking away, she didn’t even bother trying to deny that.

“In Severa’s time you gave it to Ricken. But this time, I’ve stolen it.” He declared, walking away and making his way back around his desk as she squirmed awkwardly in place. “Your future has already changed. Remember that.”

Cordelia looked at him. Then she looked around the room. Then she looked at the floor. Chewing on her lip and with her whole body seemingly turning red, her composure lasted almost a full three seconds before she snapped.

“I-Iv’egotta, I’m gonna, I-I’m gonna go!” She squeaked, spinning away from him and almost falling out the door as she sprinted headlong from his office.

His door was slamming shut behind her long before the tactician could even offer another word.

“H-Haahaa.” Robin grinned, slouching against his desk and taking a moment to savour the memory of her body, soft and smooth against his, even despite her armour.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Hiding down an alley to the side of the Shepherd’s barracks, Cordelia leaned heavily against the stone building, pressing her hands against where her heart felt like it was ready to burst right through her breastplate and out her chest!

‘My first! Sweet merciful Naga, th-that was my first kiss!? W-With Robin?’

Panting heavily, she couldn’t even begin to make sense of her emotions. Embarrassment, anger, frustration, bewilderment and even a small bit of joy all warred furiously through her heart.

‘I never thought it would be so…so…’

She’d thought about her first kiss a thousand times, beautiful daydreams that had comforted her for years, all the way from the doldrums of training, right through to the despair of warfare.

She’d dreamed of herself and Chrom walking hand in hand through the palace gardens, his features standing out bright and handsome in a beautiful moonlit night. She’d dreamed of his radiant smile, the way he would take her breath away, whispering sweet nothings to her as he drew her into his arms…

She’d fantasised about the Prince inviting her to a picnic in the warm afternoon sun, seen herself leaning against him, happy and content, her face blushing a light crimson as he lay her gently on the ground…  

“Argh! No!”

After her talk with Robin and after Chrom’s wedding, she’d promised herself she wouldn’t think of those anymore! She’d done her best to try think about other men instead… She had even let her mind wander to the tactician himself a few times…

She’d thought maybe she might find him exhausted in his tent, that she might see the wariness fade from his eyes as he brushed a hand through her hair, the way he would smile and sigh, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her gently down to him. Or, of the two of them sharing a patrol together under the twinkling moonlight, his hand reaching for hers in a sudden impulse and all distance between them evaporating.

But she had never, ever, expected to be just…just suddenly pushed against a door! And, and, then for him to, to, practically throw himself at her!

Her first kiss! “Uaahh…” She wailed, it was meant to be romantic! She’d expected to be held gently, to be enveloped in a warm, caring love… just like she’d read about, just like she’d dreamed of so many countless times.

She should be furious! Offended beyond belief! But… But…

…But, her thoughts returned again to the kiss, and remembering the sensation now, she couldn’t possibly miss just how tenderly Robin had held her, how secure she had felt, cradled against him and held tight in his embrace.

It had been so sudden! Without even a word of warning! And yet…

‘I, I liked it?’ She conceded hesitantly, a shaky smile breaking out as she pressed her fingers against her lips once more. She’d been surprised, of course, but she hadn’t resisted, she hadn’t even thought to push him away. She hadn’t wanted to.

She swallowed heavily. ‘It felt…it felt good.’ She’d never experienced anything like that before, even in her dreams she’d never imagined what it would be like being held so firmly, or kissed so passionately. ‘It was so, so intense.’

“That was, my first kiss.” She whispered, a tiny smile breaking out involuntarily as she remembered her own actions- her tongue entwining with his, her fingers twisting around his shirt, her hips pressing instinctively against his. She’d acted without a thought, relaxing into his arms and the whole time savouring the warmth of his desire. 

“Ahmm.” Cordelia sighed, her heart racing once more as she replayed the scene again and again in her mind. The fire she’d seen in his eyes when he’d taken hold of her. The warmth she’d felt running through her being lifted into his arms. The affection in his caress when he’d whispered to her.

A small shudder ran down her spine…it was all, it was all…just like something out of her stories…

‘No, n-no, I’m being silly. I should be furious! Tha-’

“Wha? Mother?”

“Ahuh?” Spinning in place, Cordelia almost toppled over in surprise as she found herself looking into a very familiar frown.

“Gawds, I thought it was you.” Severa huffed, crossing her arms under her breasts- an action that served to simultaneously accentuate her moderate bust and send a small spark of jealousy through her mother. “What are you even doing back there?”

“I wa-”

“Urgh, and you’re grinning like an idiot. Again. Bleh, Chrom just passed by, didn’t he? What, are you hiding from him?”

“N-No, no not at all.” She recovered quickly, gathering her composure as best she could and forcing herself to walk steadily toward the end of the alley. “I haven’t seen the Exalt all day. I was just, er, just thinking of a joke Sumia told me.”

Her daughter rolled her eyes but thankfully let it drop.

“Anyway,” She coughed. “I thought you were free today, what’re you doing all the way down here?”

“Nothing.” Severa looked away. “I was just bored, so I thought I might drop by, make sure Robin wasn’t doing anything stupid. Again.”

A small pause settled between them, Cordelia knew her daughter well enough to spot the half-truths from the mostly lies by now.

“Urgh.” The mercenary frowned, “And, I guess, you usually give your report now don’t you? I thought you’d want some company, or something.”

“That’s very kind of you.” She carefully held back a laugh as she saw her daughter’s scowl deepen. “And, you’re right. I just handed in my report, so I’m free for the rest of the day now. I’d love to spend some time with you! It’s been so long since we did something together, why don’t we…”

She paused, the answer came immediately, if not happily. “Why don’t we go shopping? I, well, I’m going to need a new dress.” Regardless of anything else, she still had a date tomorrow.

Watching her daughter’s eyes light up made the uncomfortable concession a little more bearable.

“Hmph, fiiiiine. I guess I can help you out.”

Reaching out and taking Severa’s hand, with her heart skipping a beat when she wasn’t rebuffed, Cordelia fell comfortably in step beside her and, for a moment, with neither having anything pressing to say, a gentle silence grew between them.

Which, of course, lead to Cordelia’s thoughts turning back to the Shepherd’s tactician, and his surprising actions. Except, this time, as she recalled again the feeling of being in his arms, a small wrinkle appeared in her thoughts. Now, with her head clear enough to process it, she couldn’t quite wrap mind around another new sensation she’d felt…namely, the hard, thick rod that had been pressed firmly against her thigh.

‘W-What was THAT!?’ She balked. ‘It-it was so, was so…’ Descriptors failed her.

An answer came within a moment.

‘No, not, it couldn’t have been his…his…’ Chewing on her lip, Cordelia found herself lacking an appropriate name. ‘His…Manhood.’

It couldn’t have been? …Could it? ‘Gods!’ Her mouth pursed into a circle at the thought. But, what else could it have been? Strangely, he hadn’t been wearing his cloak, so he couldn’t have been hiding anything. ‘No, no way.’ She was being ridiculous, it couldn’t have been. She’d felt it pressing right up to her stomach!

‘And, and Robin would never, he’s a good person!’ She’d known their tactician for years, even despite his sudden actions just now, she trusted him. ‘He said himself, it was just, just a reminder? A-Anyway, he’s not the kind of man to…to just…to just thrust himself at someone!’ That was insane, it was like something out of her romance novels.

No, it must have been something else, she concluded. Most likely he simply had a dagger in his belt she just hadn’t noticed, or a wand of some kind, that made sense. ‘Of course. How, how silly of me.’ Matter closed she shook her head violently, forcefully attempting to push the topic completely from her mind.

‘Unless…’

Unfortunately, a small, nagging, memory ruined the attempt. A memory of the words he’d spoken to her, just minutes ago, words she’d only just barely heard. That was a reminder. That you are wanted, that you can have any man you want.

‘Unless…he couldn’t help it?’

“URGH!” Again, Cordelia was suddenly jolted from her runaway thoughts. “Gawds, look at you! You’re blushing, again! And, you’re smiling, like an idiot! It’s creepy, what’s wrong with you!?”

“Ah, ahheh.”

Her words had turned out to be more true than she’d even known at the time, now, she certainly did have a lot to think about.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

“Her first kiss.” Robin chuckled, shaking his head as he re-seated himself back behind his desk. “Of course it was.” It was so obvious if he actually thought about it.

Ylisse’s Wing Commander was an elite warrior, a veteran leader, a mature, serious woman…but, more than any of that, she was an absolute romantic.

“Cordelia.” He groaned, breathing out a bemused sigh. “You’re almost twenty-three…”

Most of her friends were long since married, the man she’d no doubt been saving herself for all this time even had a young child. But, of course, she, of all people, had still preserved her first kiss, her first everything no doubt. She’d probably even dreamed up some perfect event for it, something straight out of a storybook.

It was somehow a little sad and a little sweet at the same time

“Merciful Naga.” He chuckled, thinking about having taken all that from her actually left him feeling a little bad.

Of course, his ego comforted him slightly, reminding him that he’d now stolen the first kiss from four different maidens now. “Hah, I can just imagine if Inigo heard about that.” It was hardly something he’d ever imagined himself doing and, even now, he didn’t exactly want to. But, he was still a man. He couldn’t help but feel a small spark of pride at the th-

“Sir! Sir Robin!”

A loud hammering on his door quickly served to end anymore thoughts along those lines.

“Huh? Oh, yes. Come in.”

Bustling unsteadily into the room, a messenger boy he’d never met before all but thrust an envelope at him. “I- Sir! I was asked to deliver this, a message!”

Robin’s eyes narrowed, a deep frustration curdling within him the moment he saw it.

A plain brown envelope, but with a white seal.

Feeling his magic sparking within him in response to his anger, he didn’t bother hiding the scowl from his face as he took the missive and dismissed the errand boy.

‘Henry.’

He didn’t even need to read it. He knew what this meant.

One of his comrades, the Shepherd’s most unstable mage, had killed someone. Again.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Notes:

A/N: And there we go! I wanted to use this chapter to show a lot more of Robin thinking on his feet. He’s not omnipotent, he can’t know or expect everything, so I wanted to show him in action handling situations he wasn’t expecting and couldn’t have prepared for.

Other than that, we have a little more fun with Olivia, but more importantly, finally! After a hundred requests, it’s time for Cordelia to step onto the stage! And Severa too!

I’ve been really looking forward to the idea for their family dynamic. I think it’s a very interesting idea, looking at just how difficult it would be to so abruptly told what your future is, what it should be. I think it’s something many people would resent, the idea of being pressured into it. And I think equally it’s something many others, would take for granted, assuming it’s just going to work out.

Really interested in any feedback around that, tell me what’cha think. I quite like Cordelia, and I know she seems a little out of her element here, but hopefully, from a romantic sense at least, she seems a little sweet (saving her very first kiss) and a little sad (isn’t she a bit old for that?).

And! Now the important part! The Lissa/Maribelle scene! This is important to me because I want to know how you guys feel about pure lesbian scenes being put in every now and then.

Chapter 10: Miriel – A Strange Experiment

Notes:

Authors Note: It’s back! Faster than you expected (hopefully) and it’s finally time for another of the main girls to shine! Miriel’s joining the fun and, judging by some of the suggestions or comments I’ve had about her, I think this chapter may surprise a few of you, I’m taking a slightly different path to what I think most are expecting.

I can also say, for those of you who’re not as comfortable with the cheating/NTR aspects of this story, two pieces of good news.

Due to the circumstances between her and Henry, this chapter will be a lot different to the previous ones and hopefully a lot lighter with that.

This will actually be the last married woman introduced for quite some time (Maribelle and Sully fans have to wait a bit longer unfortunately). All the new women being introduced, for some time yet, will be unmarried and single. So, if you’re in that category, look forward to girls like Anna, Say’ri, Flavia and the children characters finally being introduced (Severa and Cordelia first, as per the poll requests!)

Miriel – A Strange Experiment

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Miriel, displaying for all the world to see, a personality that cared for little more than results, science and the never-ending search for truth, was, in many ways, the most honest of all the Shepherds and perhaps the most straight-forward of them all.

Henry, conversely, was perhaps the most different, the most unique of all.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

The Shepherds were a varied lot, coming from all walks of life and as many backgrounds as one could imagine. Henry was hardly the only one with an unsavoury past, Gaius was a thief, Basilio had been a pirate and of course Tharja was at least as familiar with the darkest magical rites.

But of all of them, of the entire group of Shepherds, Henry was the only one Robin remained wary of.

Pushing himself from his desk be began stalking around the room, his fists clenched tight. ‘Godsdamnit.’ It was a frustrating, unfair and thoroughly unpleasant truth.

Henry was kind, obedient, honest and even disarmingly innocent. And…he was also the only Shepherd Robin considered a murderer. He hated that he thought that, it seemed utterly ridiculous, a completely arbitrary distinction, they all had blood on their hands. In pursuit of the peace they’d sought, every Shepherd had cut down countless foes; bandits, slavers, mercenaries, but more than anything else, just soldiers, just men and women doing their job, fighting for their beliefs just the same as them.

And it wasn’t as if Henry was the only traitor among their ranks, Say’ri had wet her blade with Chon’sin blood under his orders and Tharja had turned on the Plegian army the moment she’d joined their cause… But, he’d seen Say’ri’s misery at every life she’d taken and Tharja had always been a loner, the Plegian’s she’d worked for had been neither friends nor comrades, she’d never turned on anyone she cared for.

Henry was the opposite. By his very nature he’d been friends with all rank and file across the Plegian army, from what Robin had heard, one of the Plegian Generals had considered him practically an adopted son. And yet, he’d betrayed them all without a thought.

He had been the one to send Panne to Ylisse, sending her to save Emmeryn from her impending assassination and critically undermining the Plegian cause, all for the sake of his own bloodlust, his fear that the war would end before he got to kill enough of them. And later, when they’d marched on Validar, Robin had seen, time and again, the mage waving to or shouting at his former friends within the Plegian ranks, moments before he’d slain them, brushing their deaths off without so much as a shrug.

‘That’s not fair. That’s not fair at all.’ He argued with himself, forcing back the enveloping frustration and running his fingers through his hair. He wasn’t privy of the mage’s innermost thoughts, he couldn’t know if he harboured regret at the lives he’d taken, or even if he simply mourned them in his own way. Henry had been part of their army for more than a year by then, he’d certainly been in an incredibly difficult position, the Shepherds were like a family to him, it was only natural his loyalties would lie with them.

Except… Robin scowled once more… Except, it was difficult to trust such loyalty when he remembered the report he’d received from Panne about receiving Henry’s offer to kill Chrom to make her happy, or when he thought about the deadly hex he’d put on Sully. He’d heard similar from almost everyone Henry had interacted with, close calls, misunderstandings or strange offers.

When Tharja had told him she’d felt no human emotions from the mage, he hadn’t known what to think, even now he didn’t know how to deal with that information.

Because… Henry was so very likeable. He was nice, he was friendly, he was kind and selfless, even if he was a little creepy at times, it was usually somehow funny. Everything about him was endearing, everything about him felt harmless. It was so easy to see that smiling face, to hear his corny jokes and to completely forget the incredible danger the man represented. The uncomfortable truth, the painful realisation that a tactician couldn’t look away from. He was one of their most powerful assets, one of the most powerful dark mages in the world, and, for all his good nature, for all Robin hated to accept it, he didn’t work on the same moral compass as the rest of the Shepherds.

His eyes turned back towards the letter, still lying unopened in the middle of his desk. He didn’t need to read it; he knew what it meant. As of last night, Henry had killed, for the third time since his return.

“Godsdamnit.” He growled, barely restraining the urge to put his fist through the wall.

‘It might not be that bad.’

His heart wanted so badly to believe that. That this could somehow be a mistake, a misunderstanding, something…anything…

Unfortunately, his mind knew better.

He’d realised a need to keep tabs on his friend shortly after he’d returned to life. Even then he’d seen that Henry was chafing with the realities of peacetime and the differences of life in Ylisstol compared to the Plegian military. Without the chaos and the wars, things had become increasingly stable, the Risen were no more and with trade flourishing fewer were turning the banditry, what little remained had practically been stamped out. Ultimately, that left them with less and less need for any combat and, even less for the dark mage to do.

“Godsdamnit!”

And, until now, Robin had covered for him. He’d protected his comrade, keeping his actions classified from the Shepherds, from Frederick and even… Even from Chrom. He knew it wasn’t right to do so, he knew it wasn’t his place, he had no right to try let a friend avoid justice, it was the epitome of corruption and against everything he believed in. And yet, he couldn’t bear to do otherwise, his entire life, every memory he still retained had been dedicated to defending those he loved, it was all he knew, all he’d ever done. He couldn’t change that.

‘No choice now. No choice at all…’

He’d given him warnings- the first time hadn’t been so bad, not really. He’d tried to give him advice, or help him find distractions- the second time had been worse. He’d done all he could- he doubted this time would be any better.

“Naga.” Robin sighed, mouthing a silent prayer as he slumped against the wall, all strength leaving him as his anger faded and the final remnants of his good mood thoroughly evaporated.

He’d believed in him, in his friend. All this time, for so long, he’d believed in the same dream, that they could all live the same peaceful life, that, after all he’d done and all he’d given them, he deserved the same reward as any other Shepherd.

Henry didn’t see things the same as them, he knew that. He’d never believed in their cause, in protecting innocents- Robin had known that from the day he’d found him trying to summon Risen against the Valmese, when the mage had pointed out the irrationality in Robin’s orders to protect strangers.

That didn’t matter. He’d long since accepted the difference between their outlooks. Even if he didn’t fight for the right reasons, he’d still fought for them, he’d still bled for Ylisse and for a better world. Even if he didn’t see the logic in saving innocents, he’d still protected them, no less valiantly than any other Shepherd, only because Robin had ordered him to.

And, even despite the mage’s different moral compass, there had been no doubting the changes he’d gone through, probably more than any other Shepherd. He’d mellowed out significantly since his marriage to Miriel, her love and affection had practically tamed him! He wasn’t anywhere near as reckless with his life as when they’d first met him, he’d gained, probably for the first time, a true family- people he cared for, a place to belong and a reason to want to keep himself alive.

Robin had wanted to believe that would be enough.

It had been enough for Tharja! So, why not for him? Were they truly so different? She was a dark mage no less than he was, and she’d adapted to life in Ylisstol almost without issue. Sure, he knew she sometimes missed the days of flaunting her magic across the battlefield, or of mercilessly hunting down their enemies, yet, even so, she’d still contented herself with purchasing a small store in town and simply supplying hexes or curses to those who wanted them. She’d even retired from hexing enough to give Noire the job of managing the store, letting her daughter keep the top floor as a home and only dropping by when she was bored or needed for a tricky consultation.

‘It doesn’t matter.’

Pushing himself off the wall with a bitter sigh, Robin shook away his reluctance.

There was no point wondering why Tharja had been able to settle down so much easier. The letter on his desk gave him all the answers he needed. The reasons didn’t matter. Ultimately it was simple, Henry wasn’t Tharja. For all their similarities, their differences had proven to be greater.

Walking to his desk and cracking the seal open, his familiar haunting mantra fell once more from his lips.

“A tactician never runs from painful truths.”

It was an all too common refrain these days.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

“Hiya Robin!” Henry laughed, opening the door and gesturing the tactician inside. “I was wonderin’ when you’d show up.”

“You were expecting me?”

“Yup! Yup! Of course, you always come check on me anytime I’ve been in a fight!”

Pausing as he pulled out a seat for himself at the mage’s dining table, Robin paused, well…that wasn’t completely wrong. “I am glad to see you’re unharmed.” He agreed. “But then again, I didn’t think a bunch of half-drunk mercenaries would be much of a threat to you.”

“Nya ha ha, nope!” Henry agreed, plopping down opposite him with a cheerful smile. “I got really excited for a moment when I saw all the blood on me, but then it turned out none of it was even mine! Hah, I guess they didn’t like me, I must’a struck a nerve? Or some arteries at least! Nyhaha!”

“A slum bar on the east side.” Robin drummed his fingers on the table. “That’s quite a way from here. Odd place for a drink.”

“Hah, I was bored! I thought it’d be a good place for some excitement.”

Clenching his teeth, Robin frowned. Even as much as he dreaded the conversation, there wasn’t any point beating around the bush. “You went there to get in a fight.” To instigate a fight.

“Ahyup.”

“Eight people died last night, another handful were badly injured.”

“Aw, Robin, c’mon! People die in bar fights all the time! What’s it matter if I get to join in?”

“We’ve talked about this. I told you. This isn’t Plegia. You can’t act like this anymore, especially not as a dark mage. Damnit, Henry, you promised me. You said, you wouldn’t attack anyone anymore.”

“Nyaha ha but I didn’t! I didn’t! I made sure not to attack anyone at all!” Henry assured him, shaking his head with a laugh. “The whole time, I only defended myself.”

Robin scowled, his mood severely worsened by his friend’s weak attempt at working around a loophole in their agreement.

“Robin! C’mon!” The mage cried in response, his happy demeanour fading into an obvious frustration. “It was just a group of mercenaries and thieves, just like the kind we used to kill all the time! We killed hundreds of guys like that during the war and you never complained! It’s a good thing, now they can’t bother anyone!”

“And, what about the bartender, or the two barmaids?”

“Huh?”

“The bartender and one of the maids was killed, another lost an arm. What about them? Were they like the people we killed during the war?”

Even if Henry had never understood his orders to protect civilians, even if he’d never agreed with them strategically, he’d always followed them. He’d put himself in harm’s way, for people he didn’t care about, for reasons he didn’t believe in, all because Robin had told him to. Until now. Now he was chafing at the restraints of a peaceful society, now his behaviour was escalating dangerously and now, Robin couldn’t protect him anymore- not from the wilful death of two innocents and half a bar of not-so innocents.

“I’ve…” Holding up a hand with a pained sigh, Robin forestalled Henry’s reply. It didn’t matter what he said, it was too late for excuses, far too late for justifications or reasons. “I’ve come up with an idea, an opportunity, one I think you’ll like.”

So saying, he pulled out the small purple folder he’d brought with him and slid it across the table to the other mage. His contingency plan, something he’d prepared months ago and hoped beyond all measure he’d never have to use, a final attempt at keeping his old comrade from jail.

“Hoo! What’s this? Some more bandits you need me to…” Henry’s voice trailed off as he paged through the information, but his smile widened by the moment. “Oooh, you want me to go back to Plegia?”

“Exactly.” Robin nodded stiffly. “I don’t know if you’ve kept up to date on what’s been happening there, but there’s something of a power vacuum at the moment, since the last war really. It’s not pleasant, the whole country has practically dissolved into a number of warring factions, some of which Ylisse is willing to support…and some, we’re a little more wary of.”

Robin let the implications hang in the air and Henry bounced happily in his seat, his smile becoming more sinister by the moment.

“The biggest disputes between them at the moment are religious, with Grima gone the Grimleal have lost a lot of their sway. There’s still some hold outs, even for them, of course.” Most of which wanted to worship him instead, as Grima’s apparent heir. Robin tried not to think about that, Tharja was bad enough at times, the thought of his name being elevated to the head of some death-cult was downright repulsive “However, there’s one small group in particular-” Reaching over he pointed out their profile on the papers. “-That’s turned towards Naga worship. This is who we think would be the best hope for future relations between our countries.” If Plegia could somehow become a Naga worshiping state, or even one that recognised Naga worship as an official religion…

“Nya ha ha! I see! Sounds simple! You just want me to get some ravens and CAWs a stir right? Make sure there’s more of these guys and less of all these other guys, right?”

“This wouldn’t be an official mission.” Robin clarified. “We can provide you with some supplies and get you in contact with the right people, but, other than that…” Wincing painfully, his words trailed off, this wasn’t quite exile. Not quite. Somehow that thought didn’t relieve his guilt.

“Oooh!” Henry cooed, paying no attention at all to Robin’s discomfort as he leafed through the pages again, licking his lips as he took in names, locations, profiles, all the details they had of the conflicts currently playing out around the desert nation. “This looks messy! And bloody!”

Folding his arms, Robin settled back into his seat with a sigh. ‘It’s settled then.’  The mage clearly didn’t have any qualms about the task- most likely it was exactly what he’d been missing ever since the war. This was the best result, Henry would be back in his element once more and his actions would be helping Ylisse at the same time. Everyone would be happier with this, or at least, happier than the alternatives…And yet, as the seconds turned to minutes, and as his friend’s excitement continued unabated, an oppressive frustration grew within the tactician. Slowly at first but stronger by the second, it welled up within him, until his teeth were on edge and his fists were clenched tight enough to draw blood.

Until all the words he was holding back roared within him and his hand slammed down on the table. “Godsdamnit man!” He cried, surprising even himself as he spoke.

“Ah-hah?”

His words tumbled out with uncharacteristic thoughtlessness, he wasn’t sure why he was arguing, nor even what he needed to say. “Damnit Henry!” There was no point in this, there was no other option, it was too late to take another chance. “Can you really accept this so easily? Don’t you see this is a coward’s choice!? You’re just taking the easy way out!”

“Ha… What?”

Even so, Robin couldn’t hold back his anger. “What about your family? What about Laurent, what about Miriel?” Perhaps he was just venting.

Meeting his eyes, Henry’s face curled into a questioning frown. There was no question of the man’s affection towards his family.

“It’s not that easy for her, not anymore. She’s not just some scholar these days, she’s finally been fully accepted by Ylisstol’s scientific community, she’s one of the Halidom’s most respected researchers. She’s got her own lab now, her own assistants, technicians… She can’t just pack up and go fight in Plegia with you, not anymore. She wouldn’t be able to do even a fraction of the work she’s doing now. You’d be asking her to abandon everything she’s worked for, everything her mother worked for.”

“Gyaha, well, she can just stay here in Ylisse.”

“And so, she’s left spending every day wondering about you, not knowing if you’re dead or alive? Is that what you want for her? And what about Laurent? How’s he going to feel when he comes home and hears that after everything he did to keep you safe, you’ve thrown yourself into another war?”

The dark mage dropped his gaze, his eyes turning over the papers before him, slower now, his excitement subdued. “I don’t get it… I thought you wanted me to do this?”

“I want you to stop killing people!” Robin roared, his anger flashing violently through him, his entire body pulsing red hot for a moment before his self-restraint quickly caught up. “Gods, we, we fought for so long, for years. We finally have peace, it’s not perfect but... why, why can’t that be enough? Why is it so hard to live quietly, like everyone else?”

“Because, it’s just all so, so BORING!” Henry snapped in response, clenching his fists tight in visible frustration. “I’ve tried it; I’ve done it all! I did everything you said, everything you told me to, every time you came by to check on me or warn me, or anytime Miriel suggested I try something. I play with the kiddies, or I help old ladies around the street, or I go shopping…and, and it’s dull! It’s the same thing, day after day! There’s no pain! There’s no blood! There’s no excitement!”

“Yeah.” Robin sighed, sitting back and letting his anger cool. It was exactly as he’d expected, exactly as it had been the last two times they’d been in this situation.

“It wouldn’t be so bad staying in Ylisstol. You did say if I got into trouble again, you’d have to tell Frederick.” Henry suggested, licking his lips, a small light glowing in his eyes. “That could be fun.”

Wincing, he didn’t reply. It all came back to the same painful truth, the two outcomes he’d long since predicted if Henry never did find a way to entertain himself – that either his friend leave Ylisse and throw himself back into the chaos of warfare, or he wind up face to face, and likely spell to spear, with the stern arm of Ylisstol’s law.

‘Godsdamnit.’ It wasn’t right. There had to be another way, a third option, a compromise, anything… For months he’d wracked his brain, trying to think of something, but no matter how many times he revisited it, nothing substantial had ever come to mind. Henry was hardly the type to be distracted by hobbies for longer than it took for the novelty to fade and there weren’t a lot of jobs that would interest an expert dark mage. His fingers dug a shallow groove into the wooden table as his emotions swirled. This wasn’t fair! It wasn’t fair to Henry, not after all he’d done. It wasn’t fair to Ylisse, to put the citizens at risk. It wasn’t fair to Chrom, to risk tarnishing his reputation. It wasn’t fair to Laurent, and it especially wasn’t fair to Mir-

‘…Miriel…’

Staring blankly ahead, Robin’s eyes widened as the barriers in his mind slowly unbarred and a new thought slowly coalesced within him, an incredible image carefully taking shape in his mind. It was nothing he’d ever even considered before, nothing he would have even been able to dream of it not for everything he’d been through. Another path. It was risk, upon risk, upon risk…

And yet… “Henry.” The words came unbidden, he was speaking before he’d even fully processed the idea. “It’s not only dealing pain that interests you, is it? You enjoy being hurt, or bleeding too?”

“A-Ahuh! Yeah, for sure! It’s all messy and colourful and everything gets really dizzy, it’s the best!” Grinning widely, the mage nodded happily at the thought. “Nyaha, but it’s no fun if it’s just people attacking me!”

No, that wouldn’t work anyway, Robin had long since discounted that idea. Telling his friend to just provoke people into beating him up would end up with him either dead or surrounded by bodies.

“Not quite. I was thinking… What about emotional pain? Do you enjoy that the same?”

“Ehh, I dunno. I’ve never really thought about it, sounds kind’a dull. All that touchy-feely stuff is one thing, but it’s not like looking at a bruise turning different colours.”

Biting his lip, Robin paused, his entire body tensing up in a moment of incredulity. Was he really going to suggest this? Could he really suggest this? It was insane! And practically a gamble, he would be risking not only his actions being discovered, but possibly his own life!

And yet, as horrible as it was, it was also the only thing he could think of. The only path he saw to protect his friend, one last time.

“Okay, but what about Miriel?”

“Huh?”

“Miriel, your wife. We all know how much she means to you, how much you care for her. She’s the woman who promised herself to you, the woman who said she’d spend the rest of her life with you.” Steepling his hands, Robin forced his voice neutral as he leaned forward over the table. “So… Think for a minute, picture it now. How would you feel, seeing her with another man? Watching her kissing another man, or holding him, seeing his arms wrapped around her and them smiling at each other? Can you imagine that?”

Staring numbly for a moment, Henry reeled back, his mouth agape as he grunted in confused anger, a myriad of emotions flashing across his face. “I-ah, grraa. It, it’s painful! W-Woah!”

“Miriel’s a beautiful woman.” Robin continued, gently twisting the knife. It was true too, something he’d realised very soon after his instincts had begun to get out of control, her personality was a little hard to reconcile, but there was no doubting the desirability of the scientists’ body, not with the way her full breasts pressed tight against the confines of her robes, or with the way her hips swung, smooth and round, visible even despite the thick trousers she wore. “She caught the eye of many other men during the wars. It wouldn’t have been surprising at all for her to have fallen for someone else, for her to have married someone else.”

Henry winced again, a pained grimace spreading across his features, even as a grim smile blossomed onto his face.

“You can imagine it then? It hurts, doesn’t it? The thought of her with someone else, someone else stealing your love away, her smiling as he caresses her? Isn’t it heart-breaking?” 

“H-Haaa, hahhaa!” Panting and giggling, Henry’s hands clutched at his heart, as if trying to numb a jolting pain, a wound he could suddenly feel within from a fear he’d never felt before. “Nyaaa, th-this is, haha, I’ve never felt anything like this! It’s, it’s like I’ve been stabbed, but-but better! And, and there’s not even a drop of blood! Incredible! Hahahaha!”

Robin sighed, steeling himself one final time. “Do you think that would help then, that it would entertain you enough? If Miriel took a lover?”

“Ah, a, a lover? Miriel… My Miriel… With another man. Her sleeping with someone else…” Speaking his thoughts aloud, Henry’s mind whirred slowly around the incredible suggestion. “I’ve never even thought about it, I can’t even imagine it!”

And yet, the way he licked his lips and the wild-excited light in his eyes, told the tactician everything he needed to know. “It would need to be someone you trust of course.” He cautioned. “And, someone you know could keep things discrete.”

“Someone I trust?”

“Of course. You can’t just expect her to just, just go to a bar and find a man, or something.” Miriel… Miriel of all people soliciting men… He didn’t even want to try picture how that would turn out. “If you do this, it has to be a secret, you can’t let anyone else find out. For her sake if nothing else, if word got out about her doing something like that, it could do terrible damage to her reputation, it could be disastrous to her standing in the scientific community. And… More important than that, imagine if someone hurt her.”

The eager look was gone in an instant, replaced instead with a murderous snarl. “I’d kill him! I’d rip him to shreds!”

“Exactly.” Robin nodded, holding up a hand to try placate the sudden flash of anger. “So, if you want to try this, if Miriel agrees to this, you’d need to find someone you can trust with her. And, well, I suppose, wouldn’t it be better if it was someone you knew anyway? I… I don’t think it’s something I can really understand, but if you’re so interested in this pain, wouldn’t it be stronger like that? Everytime you saw him you’d remember that he had sex with your wife, that he’d taken the woman you love.”

Another spike of guilt ran through his heart, parts of that hit far too close to home, far too close to what he’d done already. “Gods, I can’t even… I can’t imagine anything more painful than that.”

“Hrrng…” Judging by the excited grimace on the other mage’s face, Henry was in the midst of picturing it. “You’re right! You’re definitely right, hahaaa! Ohhh! This is exciting!”

“Alright then.” Forcing himself to offer a strained smile, Robin pushed himself to his feet and made his way past his comrade and back outside. “I’ll give you some time to think about it, to talk to Miriel about it… If you’ll be going to Plegia, or, staying here.”

“Nayah! ‘kay! Thanks for the help Robin, see ya!”

‘Insane, this is insane! What am I thinking!?’ Walking stiffly from the man’s house, with his thoughts swirling angrily around in circles, Robin barely even heard the other man’s goodbye, scarcely able to believe what he’d just done. He’d acted almost without a plan, with only the barest of forethought. A dangerous precedent. He wasn’t used to being so impulsive. ‘That’s my solution? To try convince him to have his wife cheat on him? That’s… Naga, I must be losing my goddamn mind!’

It was certainly not his finest moment. The Grandmaster of Ylisse, a tactician and strategist renowned for his brilliance, his unconventional thinking, all through the world… ‘And this is what I come up with? This is the best I can think of to try keep from losing a Shepherd?’ Was that really the best he could do, to keep a friend safe one last time!?

Self-loathing and guilt pulsed thick within him, but still, no other options came to mind. It may have been a spur of the moment idea, but it was still the only plan he had.

“Is that really it?” He breathed aloud, his voice shaking in doubt. “Was that truly just a sudden inspiration? Or… Or am I losing control?”

That was the crux of the matter, that was what scared him the most. His hands clenched into fists and a shudder of uncertain fear ran through him. He knew already just how dangerous it was, losing the tightly held control he maintained over his raging instincts, even now he could vividly remember the scars from the futile fight he’d waged against himself.

‘First Cordelia, and now Miriel?’ Was it really possible that this was just a coincidence? That he’d come up with two such plans in the same day? Two completely separate ideas but both borne from a sudden inspiration and both plans that would give him leverage to lead them each into his bed.

His footsteps stopped. ‘And there’s still two more Shepherds I need to…to…seduce.’ The reminder came painfully as he twisted his mind around the concept. Soon, he would need to take action, seeking out and manipulating two of his closest companions to ensure they wouldn’t give him away.

“How far is this going to go? How far am I going to go?”

No answer came. Or, to be precise, he already knew the answer, it was the same answer as always.

“As far as I need to.”

This time, his hesitation lasted only a moment before he continued his march back to the office. The self-reflection was as pointless as ever, whether his plans today has truly just been a coincidence or if his strategies were now being influenced by his instincts didn’t matter. Whether he had to seduce two Shepherds or ten, didn’t matter. He’d done too much and committed too many sins already, how many more he had to commit didn’t matter.

All that mattered was that he kept control. That he never let his instincts rule him again, not even for a moment. He would never forget the sight of his fiancé’s body, slumped naked and unconscious before him, nor would he forget the terror that had gripped him, the way his raging lust had stretched even to his daughter, the fear he would lay his hands on her.

Keeping his family safe was all that mattered. Lucina and Morgan were all that mattered.  

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

As it turned out, Henry’s response came much faster than Robin had been expecting. Barely a few hours after his conversation with the man, he found himself looking up across his desk at where Miriel was walking primly into his office, a neutral look on her face and a thick tome held loosely at her side.

“Ah, Miriel? Can I help you?”

“Of course.” As usual only the barest trace of emotion tinged her voice as she closed the door carefully shut behind her.

And yet, despite that and despite her detached persona, as she turned back to him, she hesitated and a single moment of uncertainty passed between them before she continued, breaking the spell as she adjusted her glasses. “I have come, as you may have guessed, to notify you. After deliberation between myself and Henry, we have decided to accept your offer.”

“My…offer?” Robin repeated, raising an eyebrow and deciding it best to feign ignorance for the time being.

“Indubitably. You made a suggestion that extramarital copulation may prove beneficial to my husband’s disposition.”

“Er, ah, right?”

“Indeed. I have myself previously considered the likelihood of his successful integration into Ylisstol. My initial hypothesis was that a difference in upbringing had instilled within him a divergent set of social mores to those found within our city. It has concerned me previously, that these disparate customs may become, in themselves, problematic… Unfortunately, with only one subject, I have lacked sufficient data to implement an accurate measure of testing this, and thus have reached no conclusion so far.”

Robin blinked. He’d gotten a lot better deciphering her over the years, but Miriel was still…Miriel. “Er, you mean, you’ve worried about this too, about him struggling to settle into Ylisstol? But you haven’t been able to think of anything to help him?”

“Precisely. However, after discussing it with him this afternoon, I have come to believe your suggestion may be a meritorious one.” She nodded, a small glint of pleasure shining in her eyes as she continued. “My husband believes it may be an experience beyond anything he’s even considered before. I am dubious of that, however, his reactions were heightened even at the merest suggestion of my infidelity toward him.”

“And, and you’re okay with this? With an, an affair?”

“In truth it is not something that had occurred to me before and…and when I examine my feelings I find a strange reluctance to it. Perhaps due to the nature of the vows we undertook.” She admitted, frowning silently for a moment. “However, all signs indicate that this situation shall only escalate further and the reservations I feel are far less than my concerns toward alternative outcomes. The thoughts of him being jailed, or imperilled in another war are both far more distressing.”

She paused. “And, despite my inhibitions, I must admit a certain…curiosity. All my knowledge of intercourse is limited to interactions with a single man, it may prove enlightening indeed to have a comparison study.”

“I see.” Exactly as he’d expected. It was no surprise that even someone like Miriel still had some hesitations at the idea of being unfaithful, but, with her personality and the situation they were in. Ultimately she was agreeable to the idea. “But, why are you telling me this?”

He knew, of course, this was exactly as he’d predicted. However, the façade of innocence was important to maintain, even knowing she likely wouldn’t care either way. Controlling what an opponent thought they knew was the most basic lesson of being a tactician.

“That should be obvious.” She smiled, pushing her glasses up her nose once more. “I wish for you to be my partner in this endeavour.”

“M-Me!?” He gaped, “Y-You want to, to… With me?”

“Of course.” She nodded, her lips curling slightly at his shock. “I understand your initial discussion with Henry outlined the importance of discretion in this matter? Your conclusion appears to be logical, talk of indiscretion within my marriage could impact my standing among my peers and may even affect my ability to maintain a proper scientific discourse. Therefore, as the only other person to know the plan, you are the ideal candidate. Furthermore, seeing as you are yourself unattached, that also reduces complications that may have arisen among other members of the Shepherds.”

“I… I see, well, I-er, I’m flattered.”

“Robin. I also respect you greatly as a man and an intellectual. You would rank highly among my preferred choices regardless of the situation. I firmly believe our experimentation together in this shall be something truly fascinating.”

Grinning, he almost laughed. A pep talk? It seemed all the years they’d spent together had some work to soften even her. “Miriel…”

However…just as he made to go around his desk, towards her, he found himself suddenly stopped in place as she thrust the book she’d been holding toward him.

“Huh?” He blinked, taking hold of it automatically.

“Normally, I would prefer to begin testing immediately.” She explained, releasing the tome and nodding once more, before promptly turning to leave. “However, acting without proper preparation will yield only sub-par results. As my mother always said, thorough research is the groundwork to a successful experiment.”

“Huh?”

“I shall return tonight. Until then, it would be prudent for you to read as much of that as is possible.”

And then, without further ado, she was gone, leaving Robin standing in place, staring mystified at the door swinging shut behind her. Blinking in confusion, he slowly looked down at just what she’d entrusted him with.

Kal’Sutara: A Complete Guide To Lovemaking.

‘Of course.’ He groaned, shaking his head and tossing the thick volume onto his desk. ‘Miriel thinks I’m a virgin.’

She was concerned he wouldn’t know what to do. It was a completely logical conclusion for her to make, and yet, somehow, he found himself feeling vaguely insulted.

‘Still.’ He sighed, slumping back into his seat, ignoring the book and turning back the trade manifests he’d been focussed on earlier. ‘At least now, there’s only one last obstacle to take care of.’ And, at least he could delegate that task over to his daughter.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

“Faaaather.” Morgan sang out short while later, bouncing into his office and slouching against the door. “I don’t get it…”

“Oh?”

“Yeah. Your message, I don’t get it! What do you mean, ‘The wards will be down’? What wards? When?”

Robin blinked. “Er, Morgan… That message was sealed.”

Quaking with a sudden, easy laughter, Morgan just beamed back at him. "C’mon Dad, I’m being serious, don’t tease me! You taught me how to open sealed messages when I was a kid!”

Blowing air out his mouth, Robin realised he was a lot less surprised at that revelation than he probably should have been. “So, you’re saying, you’ve read every sealed message I’ve asked you to deliver?”

“Uhuh! O’course! Just like you trained me, how else am I meant to understand what’s going on?”

Chuckling, the tactician’s grin matched the wide smile plastered to his daughter’s face. “Good girl. It seems you’ll be ready to take over from me sooner than I thought!” He didn’t bother hiding his obvious pride in her, there wasn’t any point pretending otherwise, it seemed barely a day passed now where she didn’t impress him.

“H-Hahaha!” She glowed, happily basking in his praise.

“You, er… You have still been delivering my messages though right? You did pass that note to Henry?”

“Of course!” She flashed him a thumbs up. “I re-sealed it and everything, good as new! Oh, he seemed really excited when he read it though, he was laughing like crazy… Even more than normal!”

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Miriel returned later that night, precisely as she said she would.

Sweeping the wide-brimmed wizard’s hat from her head as she stepped primly into his room, Robin was unsurprised to note that aside from a slight tenseness in her steps, she looked exactly the same as she ever did. While clearly having gone to the trouble of freshening up since her earlier visit, she was still dressed in the same everyday robes and in-fact, the only concessions he could see in her towards their planned activities was an application of pale red lipstick and a light citrusy perfume, one even his sharpened senses could barely detect even as he moved around his desk and toward the mage.

“Robin.” She spoke first, adjusting her glasses and holding a hand up to halt his approach. “Following our discussion, an idea has occurred to me.”

“Oh?”

“Indeed. Our plan for tonight is to conduct an experiment, testing the effect of my infidelity on my husband’s demeanour. However, I have since realised that for this purpose, actual adultery is unnecessary. Simply his belief that we have engaged in intercourse will suffice.” She nodded. “That is to say, because I have come here with the apparent purpose of having sex with you, so long as we are together for a reasonable amount of time tonight, that will be proof enough. He will have no reason to think otherwise, but, no action is required on our part.”

“Ah.” Smiling awkwardly, Robin did his very best to look abashed. Even if they were his friends, even if he felt guilty about his actions, he still couldn’t help but enjoy the thrill of having someone act exactly as he predicted, the exhilaration in knowing he had perfectly out-maneuvered another person, just as he had so many enemy generals. Lissa, Olivia, Cordelia and now Miriel, some of the sharpest minds within the Shepherds, some of the people who knew him better than anyone else. A pleasant shudder ran up his spine and Robin tried very hard not to laugh. “That…that, won’t work. I’m sorry Miriel, I- I didn’t even think of that.”

“Explain.” She frowned, dropping back a step away from him as a small flush broke across her face. That was a good sign, even Miriel still had emotions.

“I, well, that is…after you left, I sent a message to Henry telling him I’d disable the privacy wards in my office tonight, so he wouldn’t have to worry about you. So he could make sure you weren’t… Well, that you weren’t being mistreated, or being forced into anything you didn’t want. I wanted him to know that you were safe, I thought he’d worry about you. You’re his wife after all.”

“I-I see.” She answered and this time he caught a nervous tremor in her hands as she readjusted her glasses once more. “Of course, that is a wise precaution. One that I believe unnecessary in…in our case. But valuable peace of mind all the same, you are kind to have done so for him.”

“Right. Yeah. I, I could put the wards back up, but it’d take a few hours.” He lied with an apologetic shrug. In truth he’d only disabled the audible scrying protections, he could deal with the thought the dark mage listening to them, but he didn’t have any intention of letting another man watch him in bed. Tharja was bad enough. “He’s probably watching right now.”

Holding in place, for a moment Miriel’s entire body seemed to tense up, a silent breath of hesitation rippling through her. “In that case, there is no point delaying further.” She concluded.

Nodding in silent acceptance, she moved without delay, bending smoothly over at the waist, placing her hat reverently on the floor and shrugging the cloak from her shoulders.

“Oh?” Robin blinked, his lips curling to a grin as when she kicked the boots from her feet, straightening as her fingers already unbuttoning the collar around her neck.

Ignoring him, Miriel’s focus never waved, taking hold of her robes she pulled them from her body in a single smooth motion, discarding them on the ground alongside her other belongings without a second thought.

Even the small modesty of her underwear proved worthy of no further delay, and almost before Robin knew what had happened, he was left staring in wonder as she unclipped her bra, letting it fall from her chest and pushing her panties down her legs, stepping out of both in a single efficient movement.

“Woah.” He breathed, leaning back and drinking in the sight of the mage’s naked body, feeling his cock already straining rock hard against the taut fabric of his pants, reacting instantly both to the woman before him and the surprise at her actions. It wasn’t anything he’d seen before, in all the women he’d been with and across all the encounters he’d experienced, never before had he seen someone strip themselves with an air of such casual ease, baring themselves before him without a hint of shame or reservation. Even just the shocking simplicity of it was refreshing.

“Ah, I surmise from your response that you find me physically appealing?” Miriel asked, her gaze shifting slightly as she adjusted her glasses again, a deeper crimson slowly dusting her face.

She certainly wasn’t wrong. Hidden away behind a cold personality and bulky robes, it could be easy to forget just how attractive Miriel was, but seeing her now, with her heavy round breasts, at least as big as Olivia’s, her smooth, toned stomach, as trim as Lucina’s and her milky white hips curving round just like Tharja’s, there was no denying the mage’s raw sex appeal. Most of the Shepherd women were unnaturally beautiful and Miriel was no exception, even just staring at her now, with lips dry and blood pumping, the desire to sink into her embrace, to smother her against him, was almost overwhelming.

“To be desired by you… That is, strangely, a pleasant feeling. Unnecessary, however, convenient given our situation.” She continued, shifting her weight and causing her impressive bust to sway hypnotically before the tactician’s eyes. “It seems appropriate now that I inform you, I have also always found you pleasing to look upon. Easily within the top 8 male Shepherds.”

“Hah.” Robin chuckled, shaking his head as he felt the heat inside him cool slightly. As always, Miriel’s personality was a little difficult to deal with.

“Now, with the pleasantries taken care of.” She gestured her hands towards him. “Please, go ahead.”

“Ah.” Despite his enjoyment at having seen her bare herself so openly, suddenly finding himself expected to do the same under her clinical scrutiny was undeniably awkward. “Right.” He tried his very best not to think about Henry listening to this exchange, thankful at least that he’d restricted the mage from watching.

Feeling awkwardly put on the spot as he kicked his own boots off, Robin took a few moments unbuttoning his shirt, at least attempting to make something of a show of it as he let the garment fall to the floor.

Miriel’s eyes widened slightly, but she gave no other reaction.

Swallowing a small blow to his ego, he attempted the same with his trousers, spending a second unbuckling his belt and sinking to his hip, clearly showcasing himself as he pushed them down his legs.

“Hmm.” She hummed, and although he could seer face flushing a little deeper, still, she continued to simply stare at him with the same placid look as ever.

Robin wasn’t a vain man, he knew there were many Shepherds far more muscular than him, and yet, even so, he still took a certain pride in his body and in the athletic physique he’d gained from all his hard fought battles, being so casually observed like this was more than enough to stoke a fire within him. Frowning as he hooked his fingers under the waistband of his underwear, he was all but glaring a challenge towards the mage as he flicked them off.

“A-Ah!”

And finally, he received a reaction.

“Fascinating.” She breathed, her mouth dropping as she shuffled quickly over toward him, her inquisitive mind clearly taking command, even despite their mutual nakedness.

“Oh?” It wasn’t quite the reaction he’d wanted, but, as he felt Miriel’s hands wrap softly around his erection, Robin wasn’t complaining.

“This is, th-this is well outside my expectations.” She stammered, her voice dropping to a whisper and her tongue running instinctively along her lips. “Considering your height and body proportions, this must be at least…” Her hands ran slowly across his length, settling it into her palm as if to test its heft, and all the while she stayed, staring open mouthed at him, her warm breath tickling across his skin and her auburn hair shaking back and forth as her head swivelled in place, staring transfixed at his length. “In all dimensions, at least two standard deviations above my calculations.”

‘Her calculations?’ Shaking his head, Robin decided it was probably best not to think too deeply about that.

“Oh! It’s getting even harder? Very impressive.” Miriel gasped, curling her fingers a little tighter around where his cock was now pulsing against her grip. “Size is, of course, only one variable in intercourse. But, from the reports I’m aware of, this should serve to be rath-Ah!?”

Not wanting to wait for her complete analysis, Robin cupped his hands around her face, cutting her words off as he pulled her gently up to meet him. Holding himself warmly against her, and letting his length press hot into her waist, he leaned down, meeting her in a soft, welcome, kiss.

“Mmhmaa.” She sighed, opening her mouth to his seeking tongue without hesitation, accepting him automatically as she wrapped her arms around his, savouring the pleasant warmth growing within her each time she felt his cock twitching red hot against her bare skin. Even this alone was a new experience, new data.

Gasping into her and already eager for more, Robin clenched her even tighter against him, his instincts crackling within him as he sought an even stronger reaction, as he sought to hear her own moans in return, to feel her body shuddering against his and to stoke an even greater wetness between her legs… Instead, as the seconds turned into minutes and as Miriel willingly accepted his caresses, he found a small mote of frustration growing within him.

Even as tightly as he held her against him, even as his hands ran hot over her back and his length ground hard into her thigh, kissing Miriel, holding her like this, none of it was like anything he’d experienced before. No matter how similar his actions were, or how familiar the act was, among all the women he’d bedded so far, she was, somehow, entirely unique.

‘What…?’

Her lips were soft and warm, her tongue was accepting and her entire body was melting comfortably into his embrace, everything about her, from the way she gripped him to the way she pushed herself against her, it all spoke of her eagerness, her excitement… And yet… And yet, it was almost entirely mechanical, somehow no matter how they ground together, still he could feel only the barest spark of passion from the mage. It was as if she had memories every page and chapter of a “How to Kiss” book and was following it to the letter, as if her very actions now were in accordance to a script.

His mind spun, could this truly be normal for her? Even for Miriel that seemed wrong, it seemed as if th-

“Ahhnng.” Jolting him from his half-completed thoughts, she pushed him away with a small moan, wriggling from his arms and turning toward the bed, her smooth round ass bouncing enticingly with each step. “Well done. That was…pleasing.”

“Heh.” Robin grinned dangerously, a competitive fire sparking angrily within him as his suspicions were concluded and a new plan began to form. He could feel it now, the raging billows through his soul, the same driving blaze that had sent him to Tharja’s arms and which he’d thought finally smothered in Lissa’s embrace, once more the blaze burned comfortably through his soul. His instincts, his pride, did not enjoy being toyed with.

“Now then.” Miriel continued, sucking in a series of quick, calming, breaths as she turned to face him. “That should be sufficient foreplay. I have become moderately aroused.” A small glistening sheen between her legs told the truth of that statement. “To assist in the next stage, I believe the book I gave you should have detailed a spell for lubrica- OHAA!?”

Shrieking in surprise, again, her analysis was abruptly cut off- forcefully this time, as Robin suddenly jammed her Wizard’s hat back atop her head, pulling it firmly down onto her before wrapping his arms tight around her hips.

“W-What is-” She gasped, her chest jolting again as she felt herself leaning against him once more, her body automatically moulding against his and his chest pressing hot against her heaving breasts. “What is the meaning of this?”

“You look cute with your hat on.” He answered simply, mouth curled into a confident smirk.

“I-Is that so? Well, I supp-suppose that is acceptable.” She stammered uncertainly, only barely getting the words out before he captured her lips once more with his own, sliding his arms lower as he did so, taking a firm hold of her soft, round ass and pressing his body, hard and naked, into her. “Mmmaahha.”

Groaning into her mouth and cupping her smooth flesh with his palms, Robin moved forward, lifting her into the air, grinding her

Groaning into her mouth as his palms cupped her smooth flesh, Robin moved forward, jolting her into the air and grinding her pussy directly against his pulsing length. Savouring the feeling, holding her so tight against him, for just a moment he moved forward, cradling her into his arms he raised her up and carried her onto the bed- giving her one last moment, just long enough to feel her body shudder against him, before laying her gently down, easing her legs wide with her knees and spreading the voluptuous scientist naked before him.

“A-Haahn.” Miriel gasped, breaking their kiss and letting her head fall backwards onto the mattress, her hands reaching up automatically to secure the brim of her hat carefully under her head.

Admiring the sight before him, he remained still, relishing the fast building tension and in no hurry to relieve it.

“Y-You.” She attempted, pausing for a moment to suck in a deep breath as she quickly schooled her features back to the same placid expression, her experimental manner swiftly returning. “Very well, you may begin.”

And yet, still, despite her open legs and inviting words- as Robin leaned down over her, this time tenderly stroking her face with his fingers and pressing his lips in a slow kiss down her neck… Still, she remained stiff under his touch, even as her chest shuddered with a shaky breath, still her movements were delayed, as if by held back by an instinctive hesitation.

And still, worse, she gave almost no reaction at all to his touch. No response to his gentle ministrations.

Pulling back, he trailed his lips slowly down her neckline, kissing a warm trail of her chest and through the valley between her breasts- Reaching down Miriel rested her hands on his shoulders, neither encouraging nor discouraging his exploration.

Sliding his body down further, he let his fingers drag across the underside of her large mounds, pushing his palms carefully over them and kneading them slowly into her chest, letting the flat of his hands roll across her rock hard nipples- Her breathing quickened slightly, but still she said nothing, still he could see her muscles tensed beneath him.

Laying his shaft across the heat of her entrance, Robin rolled his hips lightly back and forth, letting the full length of his cock slide across her the most sensitive parts of her lips- Shuddering lightly, her breath hitched for a moment, yet still she remained silent.

‘I see.’ The tactician grinned darkly, the fire within him crackling excitedly at the challenge as he finalised his earlier conclusion, realising now what she should have foreseen long before his arrival.

It was simple really, but with all the female attention he’d received lately, he could almost forgive himself for missing it.

He’d never seduced Miriel.

He’d arranged for her to follow him to bed, but he’d never given her a desire to become his. Even with her willingness, the interest she had in experimentation and the desire she held to sleep with him, still some part of her remained stubbornly loyal to her husband- if not sexually, then emotionally.

‘She’s holding herself back. She’s trying not to feel anything.’ He concluded simply. He didn’t doubt she wanted this, that she was, both physically and intellectually, impatient to feel him, he could see that clearly in every shudder she restrained, and in every gasp she stifled. And yet, whether she was aware of it or not, some part of the mage wanted to resist being pleasured by him, some part of her wanted this to be just an act. ‘She’s trying not to give in, not to enjoy herself.’

As a scientist, as a woman, she wanted to experiment with Robin. But, as a wife, she wanted to enjoy herself with Henry.

Robin sighed happily, savouring the tingling pleasure burning within him now, heavier than ever as his cock throbbed rock hard in exhilaration, at the unexpected challenge before him. Of course, he couldn’t possibly accept that, as much for her sake as for his own. Even just thinking about it, trying to imagine attempting unenjoyable, emotionless sex left a painful pit within his stomach, he didn’t want to experience that and he certainly didn’t want to put a friend through it. After everything he’d been through at her side, all the years they’d spent together and the friendship they’d built, he could never allow that, he cared about her far too much for that.

“Miriel.” He whispered, breaking his silence and smiling gently back when her eyes turned questioningly towards him. “Please, don’t worry. I promise, I’ll make sure you enjoy this. I’ll make you happy.”

There wasn’t a single doubt within him now, he could see it clearly within her- the stifled reactions, the tensed muscles and unsteady breaths. He could see her worries writ plain in her eyes, thoughts of Henry and their marriage surrounded her, holding back her pleasure, like the walls to a castle.

But, Robin was no stranger to sieges.

And, staring into her eyes with newfound resolve, he swore to himself, just as he had to her- that if those reservations kept her from enjoying herself, from being happy… Then, as her friend and her lover, he would break down each and every one of them. Every doubt and hesitation within her, all her fortifications, all her defences. He would make her gasp, make her moan, make her cry out in pleasure.

He would make her happy.

And then, he would make her his.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

It took him twenty minutes to make her moan.

“R-Robin.” There was no missing the breathlessness in Miriel’s voice now. “While your efforts are appreciated, I have al-alre…already said, further foreplay is not required.”

Ignoring her, the tactician continued running his tongue slowly along the left side of her abdomen, tracing out the mage’s trim muscles as his fingers danced slow circles along her flat stomach.

His initial touches were simple, yet unrelenting. With his mouth alternating between deep and light kisses across her body, hands caressing her with a gentle passion and his breath tickling warm across her flushed skin, he remained silent, letting the room fill only with her slowly intensifying gasps, taking his time and exploring her top to toe, thoroughly pleasuring every millimetre of her body…

Every part, that was, except where he could feel her yearning for most. Holding himself carefully, just barely above her, Robin left her squirming under him, letting her juices drip wet down her thighs and never quite directly touching her aching pussy.

And slowly, slowly, her shudders came faster, slowly her breathing became shallower and slowly all the tension began to flow from her body. Slowly, she began to not just accept but desire his touch and slowly, her emotionless façade cracked around her, a smouldering passion growing in the crumbling remains. Because, of course, despite her dispassionate personality and regardless of her words, or even her actions. Miriel was a woman too. And right now, she was a woman thirsting for more.

Watching carefully, marvelling at every shudder or sigh the stoic mage couldn’t hold back only redoubled Robin’s resolve, it had taken some time already and would take even more, but he was in no hurry. She wanted this, as badly as he did, all that was left was for her to give in, to finally abandon her stubborn pride and give in to the pleasure.

“H-Haa, Haaa.” Another unsuppressed shiver ran hot through her and now there was no hiding the laboured sounds of her breathing.

Pulling himself further down, he rolled his hands back over her body, running them down her sides and over her hips, finally sliding them around to the small of her back as his tongue teased further inwards, crossing over her waist and trailing slowly across the overly sensitive skin of her thighs.

“A-Haa, hahaaa.” Panting wide eyed, her waist bucked an inch off the bed in an instinctive accommodation as his fingers slid lower, her heart hammering even faster as she felt them wrapping around her ass, firmly squeezing and kneading her soft flesh.

Kissing across her body, carefully keeping his lips at all times no more than a few inches from her throbbing core, Robin could feel her control breaking, her movements coming faster as the desire within her grew and the last vestiges of her self-restraint were sundered by a simple, instinctive need. Twisting and turning under him, Miriel’s legs kicked out involuntarily, trembling uncertainly in the air and now, even without looking, he could imagine just how hard she must be clenching her teeth, how tightly her hands would be clinging to the brim of her hat, as she fought for whatever control she still remembered she possessed.

He wondered if she still remembered why she was holding back, or if she even cared.

 “Ah-Ha! H-Haannaa!”

He slid another inch down, even closer to the heat of her entrance, massaging her round ass then suddenly sucking hard directly onto her pelvic bone.

“HA-Haaa, Hangg-!”

Her breath caught in her throat and Robin felt her entire body seize up, her back arching off the bed and all her muscles instantly tensed, as if a jolt of lighting had speared through her. Grasping the initiative, the tactician was merciless, pressing her even harder into her, he dragged his lips right over her hips, kissing the very length of her pelvis.

“GHHA- UGGHHAAA!”

And finally, with her body trembling violently in his arms, Miriel’s resolve finally shattered. Throwing her head back, with her mouth wide open, her moans echoed loud around the room.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

It took him five minutes to make her plead.

“R-Robin, GN-GNaaa, H-Haaa!” Miriel’s moans came unhindered now, louder with each movement the tactician’s tongue made over her flushed skin and stronger each time his breath tickled against her throbbing pussy. “Rob-Robin! I do-don’t understand the purpose of, of these actions.”

He couldn’t blame her confusion, with her juices dripping thick down her thighs, there was no doubt Miriel was easily wet enough to accept him now. Still, taking his time dragging his tongue down the length of her outer lips, the tactician remained silent. Even if he’d wished to, it wasn’t something he could easily explain, he doubted he could even put it into words. It was the fire inside him, the same burning instincts, a competitive thrill and need to dominate he’d always felt. It was stronger than ever now, even with his desires sated and control maintained, still his needs crackled like an inferno within him, always, always he wanted more.

It wasn’t enough for her to simply accept him.

“AU-GHUAAA!” Miriel’s body shuddered again, her hips almost leaping from his grip as his finger pressed gently against her clit. “Hgnaa! Ahhaa.”

She had to need him. To desire him.

“R-Ro-ROBIN!” Again his name tumbled from her lips and again her fingers gripped his hair, tugging uncontrollably each time he sucked tenderly on her labia.

She needed to beg for him.

“Th-This…This is, Robin, I wish….” Desperately forcing back some composure, Miriel tried to force the words out with some manner of calm. “It is di-difficult for me to continue like this. R-Robin! Wa-wait, please. I, I would prefer to feel you… directly.”

Kissing passionately against her clit, still he gave no answer and still he kept from pushing even a single finger inside her- from sating any part of her yearning to be filled. Still, he continued relentlessly teasing her outer lips, and still, he kept her trembling and moaning… Always inches from an orgasm, but always unable to finish.

Miriel’s legs clenched around his head once more, her body shivering and her words only barely heard through her moans. “Your actions, this is a-almost maddening.”

She was close now, so close. He knew there wasn’t long to wait now, only the last few strips of her pride still remained, only a faint echo of her reason still lingered within her. She wanted this, with every fibre of her being, she wanted this. She just needed to accept it. She just needed to ask for it.

A further minute passed, silent save for the mage’s trembling moans, then another after that, but still he remained patient, and still, the ache for release within her only rose, higher and higher, until nothing else existed, until nothing else mattered- nothing but a primal, guttural craving. There was no tension in her anymore, nor an ounce of restraint.

“Robin…”

And finally, with her words dripping with lust and hips trembling before his face, finally Miriel gave in. Finally, she pleaded for more.

“P-Please. Please Robin!”

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

It took him one minute to make her submit.

“This is illogical.” She gasped, forcing the words out as her pussy bucked once more against where his cock was pressing hard against her entrance, held in place at her opening and pushing her lips wide around his glans. “I, I have already given my consent.”

“Miriel.” Robin scolded, breathing her name into the base of her neck as he ran fast kisses along her clavicle. “You have to make it clear.”

Her legs tightened around him, but again he pulled back, refusing to allow her to draw him inside her and smirking at the disappointed moan she let out in response.

“Your husband is surely listening.” He whispered, stressing the title and shivering as the fire inside him crackled joyously at his words. He didn’t know where these words were coming from, but they fell easily from his lips regardless. “So, you have to say it clearly. You have to make sure that he knows. You’re not forcing yourself, this isn’t some experiment. You have to say it, exactly what you want.”

“I…” She screwed her eyes closed and a heavy pause settled between them as she examined her feelings. “I feel a strange reluctance.”

“Oh? That’s unlike you.” He pointed out. Miriel didn’t bother with sentimentality and barely worried about emotions, for her, if something was true, it was true.

Her arms were tight around his neck, yet no matter how many times her mouth opened or closed, no sound came out. Another heavy silence filled the room impatiently and Robin held back, waiting, letting her speak, slowly teasing the admission from her- the truth they both knew in this moment.

“I… I desire…” She swallowed, her words almost a whisper. “My, my body appears to be eager for i-intercourse. I wish to feel your phallus in-inside me.”

“Miriel…” He scolded once more, leaning back and placing his hands beside her head, staring down, directly into her eyes, watching as she trembled from the warring emotions within her- lust, nervousness, guilt and pleasure all fighting for control.

Biting her lip, the mage looked away, and another silence passed between them, longer this time, with each second stretched to its breaking point. Letting go of his neck, her hands reached again to the brim of her hat, twisting it in her fingers, frustration and impatience welling like a fire within her. She’d never been teased like this, never been held so close, so firmly against what she wanted, it was more than she’d ever felt before, more than she could take… Until she knew, clearer than she’d ever known anything, that she’d waited so long for this, she couldn’t wait anymore! Not another moment!

“Robin.” Her voice was louder now, any remaining hesitations already overcome by need. “I want you. I want you to fuck me.”

‘Finally.’ He leaned up, his back arching and a blazing pleasure thrumming irresistibly through him. The castle gates were open. Conquest. ‘Finally.’

“Robin!” There was only lust in her voice now. Only need. Her legs squeezed his and her hands clung imploringly to his arms as she begged. “P-Please, please fuck me! I want it!”

“Of course.”

Dropping down to his elbows, Robin rolled his hips over, pushing forward and at long last, smoothly sinking himself inside her.

The first few inches of his cock pushed forward and Miriel’s eyes shot wide in response, her back arching off the bed and hands jolting hard to his back- leaving the mage gripping tight to his shoulder blades, instantly left moaning and panting as she felt her inner walls stretching tight around him.

“Nnghh.” Robin grunted, gritting his teeth and barely pausing a moment to savour her pleasant constriction before sinking a few inches deeper now. “Nhgh!” Soon her walls were wrapped almost vice-like around him, the intensity coming from all sides as he pushed back her innermost walls, moving further inside than she’d ever felt before. His cockhead slowly smoothly forced her eager tunnel wide around him, carving out the untouched territory at the back of her pussy- claiming it for himself.

“Ughaa… Haa, I-I, th-this is…” She babbled senselessly, her words, usually so crisp and certain, now coming out as little more than wanton pants. “G-Good! It’s, it’s amazing!”

Hearing Miriel’s shuddering cries, feeling just how greedily she accepted him, how frantically her body now trembled- reacting in pleasure to every movement he made, the last of Robin’s own self-restraint finally evaporated. Sighing happily, he paused for one last moment, relishing the sight before him, of the Shepherd’s stoic scientist gasping in unfamiliar bliss, he took tight hold of the bedsheets and sucked in a deep breath…

“Ughnngg.”

…Before driving himself forward with a roar! Slamming the rest of his length hard inside her, hilting himself right to the back of her tunnel.

“Ahn-GHUUAAAAAAAAAA!”

Shrieking a wild yell, Miriel’s entire body clenched instantly tight around him, her fingers digging hard into his shoulders and legs clenching wantonly around him as her body was rocketed abruptly over her long awaited peak! Screaming and thrashing, in that moment, her every thought, her every rationality was all destroyed and all replaced instead with a singular, primal need. An impossibly strong ache she’d never known before, the knowledge that she needed this, that she would always need this- the feeling of surrendering like this, of feeling him filling her, being stuffed full with his length.

“Mghaaa.” Robin moaned, leaning back with a happy smile as her pussy pulsed tight around the entirety of his shaft, groaning as her body trembled under him, her pussy squeezing almost painfully as the aftershocks of her orgasm speared through her.

“I-Ah, I…” Mouth open and eyes blank, Miriel’s words trailed away as he slowly settled himself comfortably within her, rocking gently back and forth against the deepest recesses of her body. “That…”

Letting her adjust to feeling her pussy moulded around the shape of his cock, Robin contented himself holding in place, stroking his fingers teasingly along her neck for the next few minutes as he watched the light slowly returning to the mage’s eyes.

“Fascinating.” She breathed finally, her face flushed in a heady blush and her face plastered in an uncharacteristic giddy smile as she weakly reached up to re-adjust her glasses once more. “I-Ahng, I believe your phall- …your cock is pressed, gnng, directly against my posterior fornix. Haahn, that is, that is not something I thought possible.”

“Oh?” He smirked, unable to help but enjoy the sight of the usually straight-laced mage losing even the barest façade of a scientific demeanour, her voice was quaking with unrestrained pleasure now. “That’s a good thing?”

“It’s… I have ngh, never felt the like. To imagine that I would reach orgasm simply from inser-” Cutting herself off with a small smile, Miriel’s analysis was interrupted for the third time this night, but instead, this time, by herself with a sudden realisation she had no desire for any more discussion. Smiling wantonly back up at the tactician, her arms reached out, locking around his neck and pulling his lips hungrily down to hers, leaning forward into him their tongues met this time in an unquestionably passionate embrace.

“Mmah, m-more.” She begged once more, kissing him with thoughtless desire and already shaking her hips back against his, desperately rocking his length back and forth within her slick tunnel. “More.”

Laughing in reply, Robin needed no further inducements. Leaning heavily against her, he dragged the full length of his cock back through her pussy, grinning maliciously at the sight of her head falling back, mouth open wide in a shuddering moan. “You’ve been asking for it all this time.” He accused. “You can’t wait, can you?”

“I-I, UGH-GHAAAAA!” His cock drove back into her and Miriel’s answer turned into a scream, her cries echoing loud around the room as he pulled himself out once more, driving roughly back in a second later. Groaning and gasping, he didn’t bother waiting for her response, quickly building to a fast rhythm until he was soon pouring himself wildly into her, slamming his cock hard against the back of her tunnel and stretching the very limits of her deepest walls, again and again, over and over.  “GHN-R-Ro-ROBIN! W-Wai, wait, th-AIGHAAA!”

Her joyous cries filled the room and despite how desperately tight her pussy remained around him, sucking against him as if she refused to be without him, the only tension in the mage’s body was her lust for him. All resistance, all reluctance or hesitation she’d held had been completely replaced. There wasn’t a single reason to hold back, nor a single argument for going easy. He wanted this. She wanted this. It was all that was left, the most basic of human desires, a simple primeval need.

“You-ghna, You love it, don’t you?” He grunted, gasping as her walls pulled even tighter around him in response, her waist rising against him as if she refused to let him go. “Is this what you wanted? Wh-gnaaa, what you came here for?”

A pause, her eyes screwed closed, her mouth opened, and for a moment no answer came out. The same “strange” reluctance she’d mentioned earlier, proof that despite her personality, no matter her disposition, Miriel was still a woman, she was still a wife.

“Y-YES! YES!” The admission came a second later, her body arcing off the bed with the words and her legs locking even tighter around him, pulling his cock as deep inside her as possible.

Ultimately, perhaps more than anything else, Miriel defined herself by truth and results. She was, in many ways, the most honest of all the Shepherds.

“M-MORE! YES!” She screamed, again and again, begging for more with each time his cock slammed against the same spot at the back of her pussy, with each time his glans scraped forcefully along all her weakest spots. “YeeEES! Ke-Keep ggn, keep going! Yes! I-I’m, I’m going to, I’m! RobIIINNNNN!”

Again her body clenched tight around him and again he was sent gasping as he felt her pussy pulsing desperately around him, her walls gripping manically across his entire length. “Nngghaa!” He grunted in response, his own breathing coming faster now as the fire inside grew ever hotter, his blazing needs crackling furiously through his soul.

Miriel’s head fell away from him, thrown to the side with mouth agape and tongue frantically panting for breath as she came hard. But Robin didn’t pause for even a single beat this time. “Hngaa, Miriel, yeah, th-that’s good!” Even with her mind lost to the pleasure, her walls were milking him harder than ever, her hips shuddering automatically in time to his movements, her body having long since accepted his lead.

Gods! It all felt so good, too good! Better than he’d ever expected from the serious, expressionless scientist! After all the teasing and all the anticipation, feeling her surrendering to him like this, seeing Miriel- of all people, utterly lost in pleasure, was exhilarating almost beyond belief and already he could feel his own peak rising fast in response. “Gods!” He repeated, feeling his release coming faster with each time the stoic mage’s fingers dug into his back, harder with each time he saw the dazed look in her eyes and stronger with each scream she cried, her enviable vocabulary now reduced to little more than pants and moans.

Whether the time passed in minutes or seconds, Robin couldn’t tell, with the fire inside him burning away any restraint, his hard fought control faded faster than ever before! He couldn’t stop, he couldn’t even slow down, his mind, his very existence was filled with him and, with the incredible sensation of his cock slamming hard into her deepest walls, feeling it being milked and sucked by her entire tunnel. His own peak built inexorably within him.

It shouldn’t feel this good. She was his friend’s wife. Her husband was surely hearing them fuck right now. Gods! This was crazy! Even for how insane his life had become since his resurrection, this was messed up beyond belief. Just a few short weeks ago it would have been outside his wildest imagination, but now…

Now, none of that mattered.

Right now, in the entire world, only one thing mattered.

“M-Miriel! GHNG, I’m getti-I’m gonna cum!”

Her faded eyes shot wide in response, but with her mouth already wide open in a guttural moan and hips bucking frantically against his, she couldn’t possibly force an answer out.

“Ahgn, y-you got even tighter, the, the moment I said that!” He taunted her once again. The words came without a thought, without any plan, spurred on only by the crushing instincts within him. “That excites you, doesn’t it! That’s what you want to feel? You want to feel me cum inside you!”

Once again she hesitated…but this time, it was only for the barest possible moment, only long enough for her body to jolt against him, a violent shudder of anticipation pulling her hips from the bed and her legs locking desperately around his waist, driving him as deep within her as she could possibly take.

“YES!”

His release exploded, his cock jolting upwards and pressing forcefully against her cervix this time. “Ungh-GUUUUUAAA!” Jet after jet of thick, hot cum erupted directly into her room, flooding it instantly as her pussy suddenly constricted around him, automatically milking every last drop of his load as it sprayed roughly across her innermost walls, until every last inch of her tunnel was painted with his seed.

With her eyes rolled back in her head and lips pursed in a silent scream, Miriel’s body remained locked tight around him, sheer instinct alone driving her as she attempted to wring everything from him, the feeling of his release already searing through her and driving her far beyond anything she could have possibly imagined. She’d came hard, the moment she’d spoken, the first orgasm slamming into her like a thunderbolt and then again, and again, over and over, smaller but with no less intensity, she peaked, each time his cock twitched and unloaded within her.

Lost in bliss, without a single thought, it wasn’t until almost a minute later that she finally unlatched herself from him, falling dizzily back into the mattress as the adrenaline within her slowly faded, the scorching pleasure still ebbing within her as she slowly regained her bearings.

“My…” She breathed, chest heaving as her head slumped to the side, relaxing into the soft mattress. “That was…Fascinating. I-Incredible even.”

“Mmmm.” Robin agreed, groaning in satisfaction and taking a small moment to savour the afterglow as he slowly pulled out, dragging his length still hard from between her legs. “Yeah… Yeah, it really was. It was, you were amazing.”

Blinking in surprise at his sudden withdrawal, Miriel wasn’t given a moment to respond. “O-Ohha?” She squeaked, feeling him take firm hold of her waist, turning her carefully over to her stomach and raising her hips off the bed.

“Yeah.” He laughed, wasting no time in aligning himself back at her entrance, rolling his shoulders and giving her a second to prepare before smoothly pushing back into her soaked pussy. “That was an incredible warm up.”

“O-OhAHNNGGGA!”

Grabbing tight to her hat with a cry, Miriel fell face forwards into the bed, burying her head in the covers as Robin’s cock pushed her smoothly forward. Her mind was still spinning and her body was still tingling with pleasure, almost overloaded from the previous intensity… And yet, her hips were already in motion, sliding back against Robin’s slower thrust and eagerly taking his length within her once more. There was a fire she could feel burning within her now, an ache for more that came from her very soul.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

It took him two hours to make her his.

“Ungaa…” Falling from Robin’s lap, Miriel slid forward, collapsing facedown onto the bed with a weak moan, only barely retaining enough presence of mind to notice the tactician finally relaxing as he slumped heavily down beside her.

Both her hat and glasses had been lost sometime during the night, and so, now without a trace of clothing, with her face deeply flushed, her auburn hair thoroughly messed up and tongue hanging limply from her mouth, Miriel had lost every ounce of her usual decorum. Utterly dishevelled, plastered in sweat, drooling saliva and with her body coated inside and out with the tactician’s cum, she looked nothing like the emotionless scientist the Shepherds had known for so many years- it was a sight no-one had seen before, one a distant voice in the back of her head told her, that only Robin was worthy of seeing.

“Mmmmaaah.” She sighed, her body still shivering from the residual pleasure as the hours’ worth of bliss spent in his arms continuing to thrum gently through her. It was a heady sensation, one that somehow filled her with a deep sense of satisfaction and contentment, the kind she’d only ever felt before for fleeting moments following a scientific breakthrough.

Her body shuddered once more, tingling with the thought and another soft moan slipped unhindered past her lips as she sank further into the mattress, finding herself enjoying the wanton pleasure of soaking in Robin’s seed. It was warm and pleasant across her back and over her breasts, it was thick and sticky down her throat, but more than any of that, she savoured the feeling of it dripping from both her holes, the sensation of his multiple releases running thick down her thighs and pooling beneath her.

It was a comforting delight she’d never expected, yet another new sensation in a night that had been full of them. “Ungmmmmmm.”

Miriel had considered anal sex before, of course. She’d even discussed it with Henry once, outlining the details and compiling a report on the practice… However, her conclusion had been against it and she’d always dismissed it as an unnecessary and pointless task. Now, however, after receiving three loads deep within her pussy and two more in her previously-virgin ass, she had already thoroughly reconsidered that conclusion.

‘The feeling of being... entirely filled, of being thoroughly taken. Is not to be underestimated.’

A slight guilt tugged distantly at her, reminding her that it had been with Robin and not Henry she’d made this discovery. But she couldn’t find any scientific merit in that worry, so she dismissed it. It was the knowledge that was important after all, not the partner she learned it with.

“Robin.” She spoke, rolling over to face the tactician as she tested her voice. A new conclusion was becoming apparent as her she re-considered the night’s events. “I believe that I made a miscalculation.”

“Oh?” He hummed, her words knocking him from his own pleasant daze.

“Yes. I had assumed, given your bachelorhood and my assumptions of your character, that you were a virgin. Ergo, the book I provided you. I wished to facilitate your knowledge in sexual satisfaction, for both our sakes.” She paused, and Robin couldn’t help but smile as he saw her eyes light up, her face flushing again as she spoke. “I, after your… Your performance… I believe my assumptions were in error.”

“Miriel, what’re you talking about?” He laughed, reaching a hand under her and pulling the mage’s light body into his arms. “I read that book of yours from cover to cover.”

“O-Oh?”

It was a lie, but from the way she snuggled warmly against him, he knew it was one that made her happy.

“Heh.” He chuckled, smiling at the sight of her settling gently into his embrace as he reached down and dragged the bedsheets over them. Closing his eyes, he finally relaxed, letting his mind drift away as he soaked in the sheer satisfaction he was feeling.

It was insanity really, when he thought about it, almost beyond belief. The idea that he would sleep with Olivia one day and then Miriel the next, two of the most attractive Shepherds, two almost polar opposites and both married. He should feel terrible about it, he knew, yet even despite himself he couldn’t help but feel a strange pride at the idea of it, his ego glowing as he compared just how eagerly Olivia had been with him, in this same bed, not even a day before. And, that wasn’t even considering his other liaisons, the knowledge that he could have Tharja or Lissa whenever he wanted, or both of them together… And Lucina, of course.

It was incredible, like something out of a dream. It was nothing he’d ever thought he’d wanted, yet something he also knew he was fast growing accustomed to. ‘Is that also part of this, my instincts?’ The idea that this would somehow be normal, that he would find himself as comfortable as he was with such a reckless situation? He didn’t know, he couldn’t know.

All he knew was the taste of it was slowly leaving him wanting more.

The flames within him smouldered appreciatively and somehow, the guilt he knew he should be feeling, wasn’t quite so near.

‘Well…’ He considered, pushing those thoughts from his mind and looking over to where Miriel was already asleep, wrapped securely in his arms. ‘That’s not really so surprising.’ After all, why should he feel guilty? He had Henry’s enthusiastic permission and, after all, he’d done all this to help his friend…hadn’t he?

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

The next day, Miriel’s promptness surprised Robin once again.

Having blinked himself awake just in time to see the mage finish gathering her clothes in the morning light, slipping from his office with one last glowing smile in his direction, he hadn’t expected her to return for some time, at least for the rest of the day.

And yet, barely a few hours later, here she was- standing before him once more and this time clutching a thick logbook against her chest as she shut the door behind her. Thankfully, being in the midst of summer, it had been a warm enough morning that Robin had kept the windows open since he’d woken up, so the room wasn’t still suffocating with the smell of sex and sweat.

“Robin.” She began, keeping her usual placid expression in place and nodding a simple greeting before he could say a word. “I wished to report on the results of last night’s experiment.”

“Oh?” He grinned, pushing himself up from his desk and over to her. “That didn’t take long.”

Adjusting her glasses with a slight flush, Miriel faltered a moment. “Er, w-well, do keep in mind, these are only the preliminary findings. Long term viability remains to be seen.”

“Of course.”

“However, I can confirm that the initial response appears to be highly positive.” She added, her eyes shining happily as she found herself back in her element. “My husband described it as a pain unlike any he’d ever felt before. Knowledge of, and participation in, my infidelity seems to have been incomparable to any past experience he has, he stated it to be a truly unique sensation. Judging from his demeanour this morning, it appears to have been easily the most exciting thing to happen to him since our return to Ylisstol.”

Humming, she chewed on her thoughts for another second. “He also claimed to have masturbated five times last night in response. Although, it’s unclear what role that has in our overall conclusion.”

“I… See.” Robin repeated with a wince, not sure just what to think about the idea of Henry getting off from hearing him sleeping with Miriel. He’d accustomed himself to the idea of Tharja watching him with Lucina, but still…

‘Are all dark mages like this?’ At least the wards were back in place now. He’d made sure of that first thing this morning, he had no intention of putting on a repeat performance.

“Therefore, it seems logical that the next step is to track these findings over a repeated study. I wished to make sure you were agreeable to th-”

That was more like it.

“Definitely.” He grinned, closing the distance between them and taking hold of her waist, pulling her smoothly against him.

“I-Ah, R-Robin!” Miriel yelped in surprise, but there was no stiffness in her this time as she fell against him, nor any hesitation as their lips met and this time, as her lips parted and her tongue accepted him into her mouth, they came together in a soft, passionate, morning’s greeting. “Mhmmaa.”

Relaxing into their embrace, her body softened against his, her large breasts pushing heavily into his chest and her hands sliding around his neck, giving into her own desires as she pulled him deeper into her, letting him take control, pushing her carefully back through the room.

It wasn’t until her back came into contact with his desk that she finally pulled away, instantly realising his intentions. “A-Ah. Wa-wait. Robin, I- *ahem*That, that is not why I came here this morning.”

“Oh?” He breathed, sliding his lips down to her neck as his hands moved to squeeze her round ass. Honest or not, it was a little hard to believe her words from the way she was leaning back into the solid weight behind her, nor from the feeling of her legs spreading around his- letting his length press hard into her through their clothes.

“Of, of course not. I came to simply, to organise a schedule that would fit with both our timeta-”

“No.”

“Wh-What?”

“No.” He repeated, his voice firm and unyielding, shifting easily into the same commanding tone he’d used when giving orders so many times before. “No schedule. No rosters”

“I don’t… Robin, surely it is logical to ma-”

“I don’t care how you organise it with Henry.” He had little doubt she had some precise system with her husband, something efficient that would ensure they maintained the minimum marital time for a healthy relationship, without compromising her work. “But, I won’t be just some timeslot in your diary.”

“I…” Caught entirely off guard, Miriel swallowed heavily.

“When you want this, when you want me, you come to me. When I want you, I’ll come to you.” Pausing, he pushed himself harder against her, gripping tight to her ass and lifting her unresisting up to a seated position atop his desk. “And. Right now, I want you.”

Flushing, Miriel looked away. “I, I told Henry that I would be back shortly.” Despite her words, her legs remained open around him and she made no attempt to get down.

“Even better then.” He assured her, reaching out and taking the diary from her hands, flicking it across the room onto the floor. “Think how he’ll feel when you don’t return. He knows you’re with me, he’ll know for certain why you’re late. What you’re doing.”

Reaching back out, he pushed against her shoulders, easing her down onto his desk with an easy smile.

It was something he’d noticed years ago, after the war against Gangrel and something that remained true for any of the Shepherds, even this long after the wars. If ever they were put on the spot, caught off guard or unsure, they always looked to him for instruction. The moment he put away his natural, friendly, persona and talked like their commander once more, they listened.

It was the result of a lifetime of battle, the very same obedient instincts that had so many times saved so many lives on the battlefields…

“V-Very well… That seems logical.”

…And now those same instincts were responsible for the breathless gasp Miriel let out as Robin hiked her dress up over her hips.

They didn’t need a roster, or a schedule. She would come to him now. Whenever she ached for him, whenever she wanted him, whenever her timetable said she was meant to be with her husband. He knew that.

Because she was his now.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Notes:

A/N: First off, just as with the Olivia chapter, let me state clearly. I’m not bashing Henry here, even with Robin’s thoughts or doubts about him, he’s still a beloved comrade and someone that risked his life to save the world. He’s a hero, regardless of his reasons. Remember that Robin’s literally breaking his own ethics as he covers up for him, even keeping this from Chrom. So no, Henry isn’t my favourite character, but I don’t have anything against him. Hell, if nothing else, at least he enjoyed himself!

Regardless, this time we had a little more of Robin thinking on his feet! And now, hopefully after seeing this and the previous chapter, and realising they were originally one, you can understand why it took so long getting them out! But, things are gonna move a little faster now, Miriel is all sorted and due to the circumstances of her situation, doesn’t have the same amount of guilt or worries that say, Olivia or Lissa have to work through, so we’re going to go straight into the next girl!

However, on the topic of the time for these chapters to come out, one of the things I regularly hear from my readers is how much they’d like faster updates (ideally without sacrificing quality of course). I absolutely understand, I’ve got some amazing scenes planned for when we have more of the cast involved, I can’t wait to showcase scenes with Tiki and Say’ri, or Lucina, Severa and Cynthia, all the crazy combinations that you can’t see anywhere else. I’d love to get these chapters out faster, believe me, I spend a lot of time on them. However, the biggest roadblock is obviously my work and the time I spend there.

And, up next… Robin takes up a new hobby, but, does our illustrious tactician really have what it takes to become a Dragon Tamer? Find out next time in “Dragons: Balls Deep!”

Chapter 11: Bonus - A Return To Form

Notes:

Authors Note: Hah! As anyone following along to my weekly updates would be able to tell you, this chapter ended up taking a few weeks longer than expected. Not due to feature creep this time, but simply due to wanting to make sure I did the best job I could with what’s ended up as something of a rather detailed character study. So, this may be a little more in depth from a character examination standpoint than some of my previous chapters. I’ll be interested to hearing what you think of it.

As one final note, I’d just like to share a wonderful note I was sent my of my readers. “I guess you could say that Robin changed his job to being a baker. Why? Cause he makes creampies at 5am!”

Mwahahaha. More like that! Please!

Bonus – A Return to Form

 ---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

 

Sometimes true freedom is the answer you find for yourself, not the answer you always expected it to be, or the answer you always thought it should be.

 ---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Finally, with the evening sun setting red over the golden dunes, the nobles, petitioners and courtiers began to file from the room, each leaving with one final reverent bow towards their watching lord, before finally letting the long day draw slowly to a close.

And, finally, with the audience gone and the King slumping heavily back into his seat- his stoic gaze dissolving into a wary smile and with his eyes the only ones to see her, Olivia began to rise from her place at the foot of the throne.

Her body moved automatically, swaying and sliding, she followed the movements inside her heart without needing thought or any kind of instruction. Guided only by her soul, her very being was open on display in her movements, as if lit by a beacon, her very thought and feeling was all bared with naked honesty. And yet, despite that, she was happy- relieved to be able to simply lose herself in the motions and comforted by the quiet solitude they shared, together as the lord and his dancer.

The palace was unfamiliar. She was dancing in a gilded hall like none she’d ever seen.

So too was her clothing. Wrapped in black and purple, she was covered in thin silks, finer than any she’d ever touched.

But her lord… Dropping to a knee for a moment, before slowly raising herself up, shivering at the feeling of his eyes tracking along her body, Olivia looked up towards him with a happy sigh. She knew this man, her liege, with every fibre of her being.

“You seem to be in a good mood tonight.” Robin chuckled, his eyes sparking as the fatigue cloaking him slowly disappeared, his incredible strength beginning to return once more.

Her heart fluttered at his words, racing at having his attention, but she didn’t speak- she had no need to, her dance said more than she ever could. Picking up the pace, with her arms wrapping tight around her body, her feet glided lightly over the ground. Swaying her hips in a large, lusty circle, her fingers began to unfurl from around her, sliding down and outlining the smooth, sensual curves of her body, leading his eyes across her, from the gentle shake of her breasts around to the tight bounce of her ass.

Heart racing even faster, her toes kicked lightly across the stone floor and her feet glided across the ground. Spinning and weaving across the full length of the room, the silent performance was akin to a cry to the heavens, her actions told a story of contentment and adoration, a fulfilled yearning and a love that had become twinned with worship.

She displayed everything in her motions, letting her dancing speak for her, all the words she could never get right. Her very self was open for him, she had nothing to hide and no reason to do so. Right now, lost in her dancing, the rest of the world faded slowly into the distance and all other thoughts floated away- there was no reason to worry about anything else, no reason to think about anything else, no reason to focus on anything else…anything but him.

“Olivia…” He breathed, not one single movement of hers escaping his notice.

And so, under his watchful eyes, on and on she danced, as the seconds turned into minutes and the sun dipped even lower over the horizon.

She watched as he leaned forward, straightening his back and sitting taller in place as her movements came faster. Flashing a bright smile over her shoulder as she turned away from him, Olivia shook her hips quickly back and forth, trailing her hands roughly down her thighs and tugging the thin silken coverings to the side, a lascivious grin spreading across her face as more of her body was shown to him, her long, toned legs, tight round ass and creamy thighs all bare before him. All for him only.

She watched as the familiar fire burning bright in his eyes once more-, his lips turning into a familiar, hungry smirk as her movements deepened. Slinking with deliberate steps to within a half metre from the throne, she slowly arched herself backward, cupping her generous bust as she leaned almost parallel to the ground. Sliding her fingers below the midnight-black chest wrappings- she ensured he could see every movement she made as her hands began to knead her breasts, moving in long, thick, strokes and filling the silent hall with her quiet moans.

Again and again, she extended her performance, the story of her dance slowly changing as all her emotions were laid open and it instead took on a tone almost akin to religious worship- and still, she didn’t stop. How could she? Just seeing the long day falling from his shoulders filled her with the greatest contentment she’d ever known. Before her sat one of the most important men in the world, a lodestar that entire countries turned to- and, she was his support, the small pillar that gave everything to hold up the giant pantheon, how could she possibly do less than all she could?

He wanted her. He needed her. This magnificent man had use of her… It was with those reminders and the accompanying thrill that never failed to follow them that sent Olivia’s tale into its crescendo. Dropping to the floor as the music inside her exploded into a fever pitch, she slowly let her dance come to an end as she curled herself up tight, into a ball.

Bowing her head in welcome submission and curling her left leg underneath her ass, she withdrew almost herself, pushing all focus and all attention only upon her right leg as she slid it forward, planting it flat upon the warm stone tiles and running her hands adoringly down its length…and, around the beautiful golden shackle that covered her ankle- her most prized possession.

Still curled up on the ground, a light shiver ran down her spine the moment her fingers brushed tenderly over the cool metal and another quiet moan was released into the evening air.

When Robin had company, it would be bound to a thin golden chain, binding her in place at the seat of his throne. But, when they were alone, she would be released- to dance for him, to soothe him…to please him, however she could. The chain came and went at his command, created or dismissed upon his whims with but a simple wave of his hand, but the shackle always remained.

With her eyes lowered reverently toward the floor, she didn’t bother trying to keep her composure, heady smile breaking across her face the moment her fingers traced along the its outline,

With her eyes lowered respectfully toward the floor, she didn’t bother to restrain the smile that broke across her face as her fingers traced a path along the smooth rounded outline, stroking loving across where his markings and crest were engraved deep into the metal. Nothing she owned mattered as much as this, it was a symbol of her place, her role- where she belonged and who she belonged to. It was a reminder, that she was always wanted, that she was always needed. Olivia wore it with more pride than she’d ever worn anything before in her life- all her shoes were open top and none of her dresses nor any of her finery ever hid her right leg from view. All could see, at all times, the proof of his ownership upon her and the immense pride she had at that knowledge.  

It was her greatest comfort and the kindest gift anyone had ever given her. No matter where she was or how the world changed, Olivia knew she would never be lonely, she knew she would never be left behind again. It was a reminder, whenever she needed one, of her purpose, her reason to exist and that she belonged to his eyes only. She was his. Always.

“Marvellous.” He breathed, pulling her from her thoughts as he settled back onto the throne with a sigh. “You always know just what I need.”

Heart fluttering again at his words as she smiled gratefully up at the man, she had no doubt of his sincerity. She could see it in the relaxed ease now settled upon his face and, even more so, upon the arousal she could see in him, his thick rod straining hard against his trousers.

Licking her lips as she unfurled from her position, Olivia slunk to the ground, stretching herself out and crawling towards him, her ass shaking from side to side as she crawled towards the throne and her heart racing in excitement as she finally settled between his legs, resting her hands on his thighs and laying her head gently in his lap.

“Then…” She whispered, breathing the words into his clothing as she let her lips lay reverently against his rigid length. “Will you allow me to look after you, my love?”

Even as she spoke the words, her fingers were already in motion, deftly unbuttoning his pants and sliding carefully into his smallclothes. Moving fast enough to satisfy her own burning hunger, but slow enough to allow for his rejection- she was, as ever, at his whims.

“Ah!” Lips pursed into a circle, she let out a quiet gasp as his cock was finally released into her soft hands. Leaning down and laying a loving kiss along its base, a shudder ran both up his length and down her spine. No matter how often she saw it, or how often he let her touch it, always she couldn’t help but marvel at it- from the girth that needed two hands to fully encompass, to the length that had re-shaped her pussy for his private use, even to just the sensation of it lying now along her face, pulsing rock-hard against her… It was, in all senses, just like him, magnificent. “Mmm.”

Running her tongue around his shaft with happy moan, she took her time, kissing slowly up the length as she felt her own juices running thick down her thighs. Right now, under the dying light of the waning sun, Olivia’s world consisted of only the two of them.

His mistresses would complain later, she knew, when they found out she hadn’t invited them, they would call her selfish and accuse her of being greedy with Robin’s affection, again. She couldn’t blame them, she’d made just the same impassioned arguments countless times when it had been her that’d been too late to relieve their liege. She, more than anyone, knew how painful it was to be left out…but right now, she couldn’t care. They weren’t here and her impatience pressed at her far too strongly to ignore. She didn’t have time to get anyone else when her lord needed her right now.

“Ahhm-haaa.” Robin sighed, his hands laying firmly on her head, threading through her hair and urging her on. Humming happily into his cock in response, Olivia’s heart was filled with a contentment only he’d ever provided her. She’d never felt as happy in all her life as she did like this, how had she lived without it? To feel so wanted, so desired and needed- to be owned like this. It was the greatest joy.

Sliding her lips along the underside of his length with a growing hunger, she didn’t doubt once she was doing the right thing. She’d promised his wife she’d always take care of him and she’d promised herself the same. She hadn’t said anything to him, of course, there’d been no need to, he’d never once doubted her service.

“Olivia…” Her name passed her lips once more, echoing around the empty throne room and her own arousal became almost impossible to ignore, the heat between her thighs and the excitement to taste him drowned out all other thoughts to a distant buzz.

Running her tongue, even faster now, around the crown of his cock, she knew, she couldn’t possibly hold back even another moment. Holding him steady in her hands, she rose up higher, her mouth falling wide open as she eagerly gave in to her desires. Leaning down and placing one final kiss atop his glans, her tongue rolled out, guiding him in as she let his glans fill her mouth. “Mmm-” 

A sudden, strange, feeling of emptiness washed over her. As if some great need was unfulfilled.

 “-Mmah- Ahuh?”

Blinking herself awake into the same familiar bedroom as always, the dream slowly faded. “Ah.” She sighed, stretching out across the bed as the evening light of her thoughts was slowly replaced by the dawning glare of reality, leaving her with a profound feeling of loss as it did so.

“Gods.”

Groaning around as she flipped over onto her back, she could feel her heart racing and her breaths coming in quick gasps, even as the dream began to fade from her mind. She didn’t bother checking how wet she was, the smouldering heat she could feel from her core, the same heat she’d felt ever since first fallen into Robin’s embrace, already told her enough of that story.

And, somehow, none of this was surprising.    

Ever since leaving his office the previous day, she’d hardly been able to get the tactician from her mind. She’d spent almost the entire day yesterday locked in a guilty, restless haze, as much dreading the recurring memories of everything they’d done together as relishing them. Having been too fearful of the raging desires to face him again in his office and without any practice scheduled with the Ylissean Exalted, she’d had absolutely nothing else to occupy her mind until exhaustion had finally caught up to her and she’d collapsed.

Breathing a deep sigh and resisting the urge to rub her legs together, Olivia pulled herself to a seated position. With all that considered, it was hardly a surprise that the handsome tactician would haunt her sleeping thoughts too, not when she could feel her whole body aching to be with him once more. ‘It was so vivid.’ Even now, sitting in a guilty puddle of her own juices, the dream didn’t fade easily, she could still remember every detail, every sensation and feeling she’d experienced.

‘At least I kept my clothes on.’ She consoled herself ruefully, that was better than she’d managed to do the last time she’d been around him.

Unfortunately, that compromise came with a stark reminder of just what she’d done instead.

“A-Ah!” She gasped, her mouth dropping and face burning a furious crimson as her mind cleared and she quite clearly pictured herself crawling across the room towards him, she could easily remember how she’d pulled his cock, hard, from his pants and…and… “Oh, oh my.” Mind reeling, Olivia’s blush burned even brighter, there was no way she could help but imagine it now, the way she’d been kneeling before him, how happily she’d been, holding his shaft tight in her hands and, and, how eagerly she’d began to swallow it… Even now, her body pulsed with a dull disappointment at being denied the ability to taste him.

“Gods!” She repeated, shaking her head as the images of her lips wrapped tight around Robin’s cock refused to leave.

It was ridiculous! The very thought of it, of doing something like that, it was like one of the bawdy tales she’d heard in one of the women’s gossip circles, a salacious whisper shared between the female Shepherds…but not something anyone would ever actually do! She’d been furious with Gregor once, when he’d suggested she try it with him, even to this day that remained one of the few times she’d ever gotten angry with her husband. She was meant to be his wife, she’d told him, not his whore. She hadn’t even considered debasing herself like that for a second, she’d been offended that he’d even asked it of her!

That wasn’t the kind of woman she so desperately aspired to be for him, the kind of idea wife she wanted to be. She couldn’t possibly imagine someone like Maribelle or Lucina ever doing such a thing! That wasn’t how a proper woman acted.

Her spinning mind crashed to a halt as an insidious reminder rose once again at the back of her mind… Proper women didn’t dream about other men. Her heart clenched tight with an echo of the same dull guilt that had worn at her over the last day, after everything she’d already done worrying about her respectability now seemed patently ridiculous.

Sighing, Olivia pushed herself to her feet. It seemed keeping him off her mind was going to be even more difficult than she’d feared… The thick cloak still hung warmly around her otherwise naked body was proof enough of that. She’d never intended to sleep in it, Gods! She’d never intended to even wear it! Even now, with the urgency of her morning finally giving her the resolve to reluctantly slide the garment reluctantly from her shoulders, she couldn’t explain what had prompted her to slip into it the previous morning… Only that, once she had, she’d found it perilously difficult to remove- somehow just wearing it had provided a strange comfort, a soothe for the ache she felt within her anytime she thought about Robin and about her decision to distance herself from him.

‘No, no. Not now.’ Hanging the cloak back in place over her bedroom chair and pulling on some smallclothes, she hurriedly shook any such thoughts from her mind. Thinking about the tactician, or about any of the time they’d spent together would only send her mind spinning once more. She’d spent almost all of yesterday in a daze as she struggled to process it, but now, with her practice for the Ylissean Exalted starting in a few hours, she finally had something else she could focus on.

Unfortunately, the moment she opened her closet, trying instead to turn her attention towards deciding what to wear for the day, she was struck with an odd sense of unease. Shuffling through her clothes, she soon found herself turning aside her entire collection, once and then again, rifling through them over and over, until with a deep breath, she finally snagged a pale blue dress, a familiar one-piece she’d worn happily a hundred times before. Somehow, it all felt off today, somehow none of her clothes felt quite right. And, as she wrapped the cheap silks over her bare skin, she felt a small mote of frustration growing within her.

Slipping on her shoes only made it worse, and, after walking across the room to examine herself in the mirror, she found herself filled with a profound ache. Frowning deeper, she tried accentuating the outfit a little- tightening the ties around her neck until her large breasts were pulled completely taunt, her nipples straining hard against the cloth. “Hmmm.” Even like this, she still felt somehow undressed. The answer danced right on the edge of her consciousness, just barely out of reach and, unable to quite put her finger on it, the more she looked at her reflection the more the tiny spark of discontent grew. Something was missing.

Undoing some of the fasteners around her waist, baring the smooth curve of her creamy white hips and the barest hint of anything underneath did nothing to help. Neither did her annoyance stop when, after a single moment of flustered hesitation, she tugged at the knot on the side of her panties, letting them fall to her feet and kicking them aside.

“A-Ah!” She gasped, staring in muted shock at her form in the mirror. This was far too far, further than she’d ever gone before, more than she’d ever dared or even dreamed! And yet, it felt…it felt right. Somehow, in that moment she knew, this was what she wanted, this is how she wished to present herself. “Hhaaa.” She groaned angrily, even despite that, no matter how she adjusted her outfit, she could only frown. Something was wrong. It was as if all the colours on a painting were slightly muted, or as if a song was sung one octave off key, just the subtle, tugging knowledge within her telling her she was undressed, that she couldn’t possibly go out like this.

Pursing her lips in frustration she turned away, glad at least to have something else on her mind as she looked around her room for further inspiration.

It wasn’t until several minutes and a handful of failed attempts later, when, after searching through an old box, Olivia found a thick golden bangle she’d almost forgotten about, one she hadn’t worn in years, not since long before she’d been married. “Ahhhh.” She sighed in momentary relief as it slipped comfortingly in place around her right ankle.

The frustration had abated slightly.

It wasn’t the same. It still wasn’t quite right and not quite what she needed.

But, for some reason, the added weight around her leg felt intimately familiar, and she felt a little better all the same.

 ---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

It was early morning in Ylisstol, barely a few hours past dawn. With the sun’s rays still barely cresting over the horizon, most of the populace remained blissfully asleep, the city belonging, for now, only to a select few. Fishers and merchants were plying their trade along the waterfront, Frederick was jogging around the castle, Robin was watching with a satisfied smirk as Miriel stumbled out of his office, and Olivia, Olivia was dancing.

With practice not due to begin for several more hours, the studio was deserted. Soon enough, it would be a hub of energy and excitement as throngs of performers, assistants and coaches all prepared for the upcoming festival season, but, for now, the halls were empty, the costumes packed away and the floors polished clean. It was quiet, peaceful and serene, and for now at least, it belonged only to her.

At first her movements were hesitant and slow as her thoughts spun around everything that had happened, delayed by memories of the last dance she’d performed. But, slowly, in the quiet tranquillity of the empty stage, she relaxed. Setting her mind free and casting her worries aside, Olivia twisted and turned around the empty hall, her movements coming without direction, following only the slow thrumming beat she could feel within her soul.

Even with all the thousand dances she’d learned, the hundreds of routines and countless variants, dancing like this was what she always preferred to return to- a complete freeform expression. Swaying and turning, tumbling and shaking, she danced without thought, will or intention, creating each step only as she did it. Unguided and unfettered, this was how she displayed outwardly everything she felt inside her, everything she thought and everything she was always too embarrassed to speak aloud. Her other dances told stories, wove tales or showcased emotions, but dancing like this, following her heart’s rhythm, was how she spoke, privately, about herself.

Even if no-one saw it. Even if she couldn’t bear the idea of anyone ever seeing it. This, more than any other performance she knew, was her dance.

Her movements came faster and easier she accustomed herself again to the comfortable solitude of the empty studio and, slowly, as the seconds turned into minutes and the last of her hesitations drifted away, slowly her mind returned once more to that night, to everything she’d restrained herself from thinking about and to the warm, comforted feeling she’d felt, waking up in the tactician’s cloak.

‘Ah!’

Her thoughts were suddenly jolted as the full implications of that memory struck her. ‘I have… I have his cloak!’ Suddenly thinking about it now, she could scarcely believe it, Robin’s cloak was his most treasured possession! It was the only memento he had of the life he’d lived before he’d joined the Shepherds, in all the time she’d known him, through three long wars, she didn’t think she’d once seen him even let it out of his sight before, it had even been important enough that not only had his future-self gifted it to his only daughter, but she- Lucina’s daughter and Princess of Ylisse- had worn it unceasingly, treasuring it no less than he had.

‘Robin, Robin gave me his cloak!’ The explosion of warmth in her chest was unmistakable, so to was the way her feet picked up, skimming across the polished floors of the dance-hall so fast she seemed almost to be floating. He’d clearly wanted her to have it, he’d stopped her from picking up her own clothes and wrapped it tight around her. That had been the second time she’d been wrapped in its warmth. The smouldering fire within her sparked anew at that memory, her cheeks heating up as a giddy smile broke across her face. She didn’t think she’d ever been entrusted with something so valuable in all her life.

‘I…’ Her movements slowed and her hips began to sway slowly from side to side as her mind turned over one final conclusion. ‘Of course, I have to return it. I have to give it back to him.’

And not only that. More importantly than that- ‘I have to see him. Tonight, today. I have to give it back to him today.’ Breathing faster, Olivia was suddenly spinning in place, her hands reaching out towards the distant ceiling and body thrumming with adrenaline as a rush of excitement surged through her.

She couldn’t possibly delay. Even aside from how valuable the cloak was, just the fact that it was in her house was an unthinkable risk, and worse! There was also the fact that it meant he also had her clothes, still in his office! What if someone else found them? How would she possibly explain that, her outfit left behind in Robin’s office? Or his cloak hanging in her house! Even if she was planning on telling Gregor about what had happened, that wasn’t how she wanted to begin the conversation! She couldn’t possibly let that happen, it would be terrible, she wouldn’t be able to even face him!

‘I have to see him again.’ The thought repeated in her mind as her fingers traced a teasing trail down her stomach, matching the rhythm of her hips as her tight ass swung in a husky circle. ‘B-Back to his office. Back to him. To R-Robin.’ There was no other option, she couldn’t hang onto it and she certainly couldn’t ask anyone else to return it for her, how would she possibly explain having it, or him having her clothes?

Biting her lip nervously, her mind returned to her original plan, the one she’d made without any real thought at the end of a restless night. She could see now it had been nothing but fear, just a reaction to what had happened- she’d planned to avoid him, to keep herself away from him as long as possible. She’d already done so for one day...she’d left him alone, surrounded by all his work and all his worries, without her there to help him, probably with no idea what he’d done wrong… ‘No.’ With her mind working clearer now, she could see how foolish she’d been. That wasn’t an option, she couldn’t possibly do that, even if she had wanted to.

‘Naga.’ She swallowed, spreading her arms wide around her, leading her body onwards as she spun, twisting and leaping across the room, each movement coming with renewed energy, blazing in time with the flame Robin’s touch had lit inside her, as if revelling in some unbound thrill, an excitement withheld till now.

She had no choice. She had to give up the plan she’d made. She had to return his cloak and get her own clothes back.

She should be terrified, worried, frustrated, or at least anxious.

But she wasn’t. She wasn’t any of those things. She couldn’t possibly deny the warmth inside her, the happiness and joy she could feel flowing from her body with every step, every vault and turn.

‘Because, I love him.’

She didn’t try deny it any further. It wasn’t possible. Lying motionless in the quiet and cold of her apartment, left alone and abandoned with her guilt, she’d been able to downplay what she’d felt as nothing but an infatuation and what they’d shared as just a mistak-, as a mist-, a…

“Hehe.”

Her laughter came easily, far easier than it should have. Ringing cheerfully around the warm halls of her stage, the sound of it filled the air with the same lightness she could feel inside her now- the same spark she’d felt ever since the moment she’d finally accepted him inside her. He’d left something with her then, she knew, some small piece of himself. She could feel the truth of that right down to her soul, she could feel it in her dance, from the way her hands wrapped tight around herself to the way her entire body shivered with the memory. He'd claimed her as his own and changed her destiny forever.

‘I’ve fallen in love with him.’

It wasn’t a simple infatuation, nor some commiseration between friends. She’d known Robin for years now and thought him a close friend for almost as long, but, these last few weeks, working with him and being so close to him… she felt like now, now she truly knew him, like no-one else did. She’d seen how hard he worked, she’d seen his strengths and weaknesses, the tired face he wore when the day drew to a close and even he couldn’t bear to lift his pen a moment longer. He’d opened himself up to her and she knew she’d seen a side of him no-one else had ever seen. He’d shown her everything, he hadn’t hidden anything from her… The Grandmaster Tactician of Ylisse, the Right Hand of the Exalt, the Godkiller, he’d accepted her into his life and let her support him with everything she had.

‘And, that’s…that’s what I want. That’s all I want.’

For almost as long as she could remember, dancing had been her life, it had been the only reason she had to exist. She’d been born alone and unwanted into a world where she’d had nothing to offer. Without strength, willpower, or purpose, dancing had been the only thing that had left her stand out, the only reason for her to be alive. For almost as long as she could remember, it was the only thing she had. All her hopes, all her dreams- performing on the grandest stages, gaining the adoration of the widest crowd… Everything she’d fantasised about, everything Robin had gifted her, it had all just been a desperate yearning to mean something, as a way for her to be something, as a way to matter. She’d wanted to be a famous performer, a name on everyone’s lips, a beloved entertainer, she’d wanted to be someone important.

And then, the war had come and the Shepherds had changed that.

She’d mattered to them no matter if she was offering a simple dance to a single exhausted soldier, or an elaborate performance deep among the hearts of their formations. She’d helped them, she’d truly been part of them, part of something great! Being with the Shepherds had changed everything she’d thought, everything she’d believed! And then…and then, the war had ended and their lives all moved on. And Olivia had been left once more dancing only for entertainment, living only for fame and coin.

And she’d felt hollow ever since.

She’d tried, for years, to fill that void in her role as a wife, as a partner and mother. She’d thrown herself into it with an almost frantic desperation, trying to be the best she possibly could for the people she loved the most. But, Gregor was self-sufficient, he was a great man and a reliable one, all she’d been able to offer was to make his life easier, she hadn’t helped him do anything he couldn’t already do. He loved his drinking and his camaraderie, she could do nothing but help pay for that. Was it really so surprising that he sought her out only for a convenient meal and warm bed? What else could such an inadequate wife offer her husband? The same was true of Inigo, for all his fragile outer-shell, she knew her son had an inner core as strong as iron. He’d lived through experiences she couldn’t even imagine and was still smiling to this day. There was no doubt she was important to him, as important as he was to her, but he didn’t need to be mothered, he only needed her as a symbol, proof that he’d saved the future and his world. So long as she was alive and seemed happy, that was all she could offer him.

She’d ignored those thoughts for years. Without anything else to help her going, clinging to her domestic life had been all she had.

And then, without any warning, Robin had suddenly just given it all back to her, everything she’d missed, everything she’d ached for. One of the most important men in Ylisstol, in the world, had called her to his side and asked for her support. He’d given her a purpose once more, a reason to dance and someone who needed her. It was as if the greys of her world had been doused in colour once more.

How could she possibly not have fallen for that man? A man who so effortlessly made her dreams come true, both spoken and unspoken. A man whose gentle affection had thawed the cold loneliness she hadn’t even realised had surrounded her heart.

Her heart clenched again and she shook her head to the side, struggling with the radiant happiness those memories brought. ‘Supporting him, dancing for a purpose, that’s all I’ve ever wanted.’ The thought repeated in her mind, stronger this time. She still enjoyed dancing for entertainment, she still wanted to perform on the grandest stages, she still wanted to do her best for the Ylissean Exalted, but…

‘But, more than that…’ Her thoughts returned to her dream, still burned vividly into her mind. Most jarring of all was how incredibly happy, how safe she’d felt, seated on the ground like that before Robin’s throne. Shackled to his side like that, she’d been less his lover, more his slave… It should have been a horrible thought, a terrifying idea… But, it wasn’t. Because, her heart knew Robin would always treat her well, no matter what he wished of her, no matter what role he needed her to fulfil. She would be happy, so long as she could support him. ‘If he asked me to go with him, if he needed me to dance just for him. I would.’

He was the only man she’d ever danced for. The only man she ever wanted to dance for. Dancing for fame was nothing like dancing for love.

She would never be able to say any of these thoughts aloud; under normal circumstances, she would barely be able to even think this… But, dancing like this, she couldn’t help but be completely honest with herself, all that she thought and all that she felt was displayed clearly in her movements, and she knew each of those thoughts was undoubtedly true. And, with that knowledge, she could understand now, the joy the she’d felt in that dream, the happiness she’d seen in herself.

Another electric shiver ran down her spine and Olivia’s mouth fell open with a silent gasp as her final truth was finally unveiled.

A purpose. A reason to live. That’s what she’d always wanted, all this time, that was that she’d sought and what she’d thought she’d found, so many times. First with the gypsies that had taken her in, then with Basilio who saved her life, later with the Shepherds and finally with her family, with Gregor and Inigo. Each time she’d thought herself home and each time she’d found that home had turned barren, each time her own use had lasted only so long before she had nothing to offer. Each time she’d thought herself home, she’d found herself worthless. Even without being told so, she knew it, she’d known her own worthlessness all her life.

And now, now she finally saw the answer in Robin and, with her dance showing the honest feelings buried in her heart, she knew the truth she’d never been able to accept until now. She wanted someone who would always need her, someone who she could always support and who would keep her forever at his side. She’d spent so long searching for a home, but that was flawed, she didn’t want somewhere to belong, she wanted someone to belong to. She’d known this already, she’d felt it deep inside her, ever since he’d touched her- ever since he’d claimed her, stolen her away and made her his woman.

It was exactly as she’d seen. She wanted to wear proof that she always had a place at his side. She wanted to wear his symbols and know she was his only private dancer. She wanted to be his. She wanted him to own h-

“Magnificent!”

And, all of a sudden, the tranquil early morning silence was broken as a loud, excited clap began to echo around the theatre.

 ---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

“Magnificent. Truly magnificent.”

Heart dropping into her stomach as her dance came to an abrupt halt, Olivia turned to where she could now see Lady Penfold walking towards her from one of the main-hall’s side entrances.

“Ahh!” The matron cried, clenching her fists tight and shaking them into the air. “Olivia, my little mouse. Tell me, Robin, does he drink?”

“I-er…” Of all the questions she hadn’t been expecting, that was near the top. “I, I think so? I’ve seen him dr-drinking beer with the other Shepherds before?”

“Beer? Like a commoner? Phsh.” Her patron scoffed, rolling her eyes in an exaggerated dismissal. “How utterly boorish. And, how very like the man. Very well then, let us see if we cannot improve his tastes a little. I shall have a bottle of my finest whiskey sent to him, directly from my collection.”

Losing all traces of sternness, Lady Penfold shook her head, a wry smile clear upon her lips. “No. Scratch that. I’ll send him an entire case of it. And some wines for good measure.”

“I-ah, I.” Olivia wasn’t quite sure why they were discussing Robin’s drinking habits so early in the morning, but it at least seemed like the other woman wanted to do something nice for the man. “That’s, that’s good?”

“And you. You, Olivia.” Striding purposefully towards her, Lady Penfold covered the distance in seconds, light shining bright in her eyes as she took Olivia’s hands, clasping them desperately in her own. “I’ll give you whatever you wish! Whatever you ask for! Name it, and I’ll make it so!”

“U-Uh, ah… AAAHH!” She squeaked, her eyes shooting wide and entire body going rigid in fear. It was more than she could take, the other woman’s eyes were boring right through her! She wasn’t good at this kind of thing! “A-AH!” Embarrassing! Embarrassing! It was scary! She wanted to run right back to Robin’s office and hide behind his desk!

“Oh, Olivia, Olivia, Olivia!” Thankfully releasing her hands, Lady Penfold stepped away, spinning in a circle and reciting the dancer’s name like a song. “Olivia! You are my little mouse no more! Oh, again and again I underestimate you! And each time you impress me beyond words! You shock me to silence! I’m completely lost for words right now!”

Placing a hand over her heart and attempting to steady her racing breaths, Olivia tried desperately to make sense of what was going on, she was getting more confused by the moment and the verbose noble’s baffling claim of muteness wasn’t helping matters!

“Do you know, I’ve been agonising for weeks now! Sleepless nights, wondering what I should do with you! When we first brought you in I thought to put you in a side act, to test you and to accustom you to the stage, but no! No, nay and no again! I realised instantly I was wrong, that I needed you at the front! That I need you right before my audience, I need them to see you and for you to capture both their hearts and their souls!”

That seemed, well that seemed good? However, just as she raised her hand to try get a word in edgewise, Lady Penfold spun around again, her noble calm completely gone as she pressed her hand to her forehead in apparent despair.

“But! What was I to do? The play for this season has been long since decided and woe, the role for it, I thought, you could never play it! Oh, woe it was, oh, my Olivia! A dancer like a gift from the heavens, a beauty surely able to make even Naga herself fume with jealousy, and so pure, so innocent! Sweet Goddess, if I hadn’t seen the ring, I would never have imagined you married, I can still scarcely believe it!”

“Er…” Frowning, Olivia couldn’t help but feel vaguely offended at that. She was a war veteran, an accomplished fighter, a wife and mother- she’d seen more than her fair share of the horrors and wonders of this world. Even if she was a little…bashful…at times, she didn’t want to be treated like some sheltered virgin priestess, especially not after being married for years! “T-That’s, well, I really think, ah ma’am, that you’re being a little t-”

“And so, I wished for you to lead. But I was struck with worry! I thought to myself, oh, how can my pure little Olivia play such a part? Oh, woe, what am I to do?” Unfortunately, there was no stopping her now, Lady Penfold continued talking right over her. “And I see, again, that I was wrong! I would never have believed it if I had not witnessed it with my own eyes, but your dancing just now, it was perfect!”

Heart hammering at the praise she couldn’t even begin to respond to that.

“Gods! Olivia, it was positively wanton!”

Her mouth fell open. “W-Wha!?”  Face blazing painfully red, Olivia instantly turned away, her breath catching in her throat as her whole body seized up in shocked mortification.

“It was shameless, it was lascivious, Naga! It was downright depraved!”

Far too busy looking for a hole she could crawl into and die of embarrassment, Olivia didn’t try speak.

Laughing heartily, her patron didn’t seem to notice her discomfort. “My, my, to bring out such powerful emotions from you. I simply must meet this man of yours one day, he certainly must be quite something!”

And, at last, Olivia’s head stopped spinning as her thoughts returned guiltily back to the tactician- there wasn’t a shadow of the doubt who the man responsible for bringing out such motivations in her was. ‘My man…’ Even despite her horror at being seen in such a state, those words enveloped her like a warm shroud and once more she could feel the fire smouldering at her core being gently stoked.

“He, he really is.” She whispered quietly, placing a hand on her cheek as her face burned anew, for entirely different reasons this time.

Sighing deeply, Lady Penfold finally seemed to calm down. Placing her hands on her hips, she shook her with one final chuckle. “Seeing that in you, seeing you dance like that, I shall say it again- Olivia once more you have surpassed all my expectations. I thought you unsuitable for the leading role I wanted for you, that you were far too innocent to perform it believably or even that you would reject the idea outright. But now, now I have no more doubts of you, not ever. Olivia, I am certain. You must be my star. You must be the leading act.”

“Y-You mean… You, you want me to be-”

“Yes.” Deadly serious, her voice now carried a noble’s absolute command. “You shall become the Plegian Temptress.”

‘The Plegian Temptress.’  Staring in shocked wonder, Olivia dropped back a step, blood draining from her face as her head spun again, replaying the other woman’s words over and over again, sure she must have misheard. The production alone was one of Ylisse’s most famous performances, a star-crossed love story almost as old as the Halidom itself and more storied than any other tale. She’d been humbled just learning she was to be a part of it, and now- now she was to play the main character? The title role? Even in all her wildest imaginings, in all her dreams of fame and glory, she’d never once pictured herself as the Temptress.

She almost laughed. Once again, without even needing to lift a finger himself, Robin had granted her a dream beyond imagining. It was ridiculous how effortlessly he made impossible things seem natural. Without even being present, without speaking a word or taking a single action, just by being in her thoughts, he had offered her this…

“I can’t believe it.” She whispered, the Plegian Temptress was like a tempest, careless and free in ways Olivia had never dreamed herself to be. It was nothing like any part she’d ever played, nor like anything she’d ever thought she could play. She didn’t believe it, she couldn’t possibly believe she could manage such an auspicious role… And yet, before the thought to refuse even germinated in her mind, it was snuffed out. This role, this offer, was due to Robin. And even if she didn’t believe in herself, she believed in Robin with all her soul. “But, if, if you really th-think I could…”

“Ah!” Eyes shining, for a moment Lady Penfold looked ready to explode into joy, and then, barely a second later her features had been masterfully schooled back to her usual stern look, becoming once more the strict matron of the theatre. “Then, in that case, there is one other matter we need to discuss.”

“O-Oh?” Caught flat-footed by the sudden change, Olivia could only blink as the other woman reached out, taking her left hand and holding it up.

“Your ring.” She explained simply, running a finger softly over the golden band. “The Plegian Temptress is a wild creature, a woman unfettered by societies chains, someone who chases after what she wants with an unquenchable passion. She is beholden to no-one and ruled only by her heart and her desires.”

Olivia gulped, silenced by the sheer conviction in her words.

“Until, of course, she finally meets the man she’s truly been looking for, the Ylissean Hero, the first man to ever truly touch her heart, the man who seals her soul with his love until her entire world is full of him. He’s the only man who can make her submit, the one who tames her and holds her forever at his side.”

The smouldering fire burned hotter again in Olivia’s core as the words reverberated through her. She knew all that of course, she was intimately familiar with the tale, but as she heard it aloud her thoughts returned once more to that office and to that silver-haired man. “I-I see.” She gulped.

The Plegian Temptress belonged only to the Ylissean Hero, she couldn’t possibly wear another man’s ring.

“It’s optional, of course. You would hardly be the first to object to it.” Lady Penfold sighed with a grimace. “I can’t say I don’t understand, I’ve been married a time or two myself.”

“O-Oh?” It shouldn’t have been, but somehow that was a surprise.

“Mmhmm. For whatever reason it never quite took.” The other woman shrugged. “Regardless, I understand all the same. The ring is the representation of your vows, to remove it is almost as if you remove them. So, if you refuse this, I would not blame you, it is after-all a purely symbolic gesture. Naga above, if you can dance like you did just now, then I won’t let anyone speak a single word against you! I shall destroy anyone who even dares look twice at you!”

Biting her lip, Olivia dithered. It was a symbolic gesture, but it was an important one. She knew as well as anyone, the tradition had existed almost as long as Ylisse itself, the Plegian Temptress always danced with her hands bared.

“I’ll… I’ll think about it.”

 ---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

It was several hours after Miriel left, a little after midday, before Robin got his second visitor of the day- a familiar face poking through his open doorway, her head swivelling left and right to look around the room before she finally stepped inside.

“Ah, Tharja.” He grinned, closing the file he’d been examining, leaning back with an easy smile. “Good afternoon.”

“Good afternoon to you too, my love.” She answered, cheeks tinged red as she closed the door behind her. “I-I ah, brought lunch.”

Eyes going wide at the sight of the covered basket she was now holding up, Robin was on his feet before he even realised it. “Oooh! You cooked Tharja? Now, that is a rare treat!”

A conflicted look passed over her face for a moment, before she sighed. “It’s…it’s Noire’s actually. From last night.” Eyes darkening, she let out a bemused chuckle. “It’s not anything fancy, heh, she’d be mortified if she knew I’d given it to you.”

Laughing, he brushed the comment aside. It wasn’t too surprising really, Tharja would never offer him a substandard meal, Noire just had an almost unreasonably high standard for herself when it came to anything she shared with others.

“I’ll, I’ll cook for you tomorrow.” She promised, looking away with a small pout as he took the basket from her outstretched hands, settling it down on his desk.

“Olivia hasn’t returned yet.” He answered, having guessed what she’d been checking before coming in. The meal, while very welcome, was obviously just an excuse to see him. “Although, I am expecting her within the next few hours, after her practice wraps up.”

“So soon?” Tharja blinked, turning to him with a raised eyebrow.

“Well, I made sure to give her my cloak before she left.”

“Ah! Heh, hehehe.” Tharja chuckled darkly, dropping her head and letting her bangs cover her face as her shoulders shook. “I see.”

“So then…” He gestured toward her, leaning back against his desk and letting the conversation drop. It was nice just to see her, but it was about time they addressed the elephant in the room- that is, the sudden change in her style of clothes.

“I-I thought I’d try a new look.” She explained, her face burning red with uncharacteristic shyness as she spread her hands wide, guiding his eyes down along the contours of her new dress. “Do…do you like it?”

With her head ornament left at home and her hair pulled back loose over her shoulders, that alone was a new look for her. What had truly caught his eyes however, was that rather than the thin bodysuit he was familiar with, today Tharja’s body was wrapped tight around a dark black dress, one that hugged close to her incredible figure- cut low at the front and with a thick slit running down the length of her right leg, it was no less appealing than her previous outfit.

A dark black dress…with two deep purple highlights running in parallel up the length of her dress, from her legs right over her chest to her neck.  

The meaning behind this new look couldn’t possibly be more obvious.

“No.”

“W-Wha!?” She balked, eyes wide in shock. “B-But, I-”

The dress was undoubtedly stunning, and combined with Tharja’s incredible body, it gave off an incredible feeling… Or, at least, it would have if just seeing it didn’t fill him with dull pangs of guilt. Robin didn’t know much about fashion, but even his untrained eye could recognise the familiar Ylissean design to it, and even a novice could tell that the material was far thicker than the usual light cloth Tharja wore around her breasts or hips. It was long, elegant, beautiful…and, completely unsuitable to life in a desert.

He sighed. It was undoubtedly a Ylissean style dress, far closer to something Noire might wear than something he’d expect from Tharja.

It had been some time since she’d last been to Plegia and, as a traitor, he doubted she’d ever truly be welcomed there again. With no time to pack or prepare her belongings, she’d given up everything when she’d joined the Shepherds, taking with her little more than a handful of spell books and a single change of clothes. She’d replenished her outfits when they’d overthrown Gangrel, of course, but no matter where they’d gone since- from the mountains of Ferox to the valleys of Valm, no matter the weather, she’d still worn the same Plegian designs.

He, more than anyone else, could understand her. The illogical need to cling to the one last piece of your old life you still had, it was exactly why he’d still held firm to the same old cloak, even after finding out the truth behind it’s symbols. Even despite the passing sneers she got, walking through Ylisstol, it had been all she’d had to hang onto. And now, she was willing to throw that all away, just to try please him? His heart clenched tight, of course she was.   

“No.” He repeated, keeping his voice light but firm. “No, I don’t think that design suits you at all.”

Stuck gaping in place, her beautiful violet eyes flashed through a thousand different emotions as Robin stepped slowly towards her- everything from fury to despair.

“Tharja…” He whispered, reaching out and stroking her face, smiling as she melted into his touch. “I know I’ve taken a number of lovers already and I still need to do more. Are you truly feeling this lonely, have I hurt you that badly?”

“N-No!” She shook her head. “Hurt me? No, it’s just-”

“Just that you know Olivia’s going to return to me and that when she does, she’ll be dancing in black and purple. And, you hate the thought that she’ll be openly wearing my colours, instead of you?” He finished for her, it was no mystery what was going on. It was just the same competitiveness she’d shown to Lucina. She hated the thought that one of the other women he was with could do something for him that she couldn’t.

Dropping her eyes, she looked away.

It wasn’t the same. Olivia was a dancer, someone who told stories with her outfits and movements, there was meaning in her changing up her designs like she had, for Tharja to do it, it was just… Nothing but jealousy. A fear of not being special to him anymore.

Releasing her with a bemused sigh, he stepped back. “I thought this might happen.” Despite herself, Tharja was could be rather predicable sometimes.

“Do you remember? Back before we left for the Dragon’s table, we ransacked the Plegian Palace, looking for anything that could help us?” He continued fishing into his pockets. “I managed to recover some stuff from my father’s quarters. Spoils of war I suppose. Notes, books, some trinkets and, this…”

So saying he pulled out a small golden armlet, one to be worn around the upper arm, and pressed it into her surprised hands.

“R-Robin?”

“I can’t be sure, but going from his journals… I believe that belonged to my mother.” He couldn’t be sure of course, even now he had no memories of anything like that, but it certainly explained why a man as focussed as Validar would keep such a simple piece of jewellery. It didn’t have any magic blessings and it wasn’t something Lucina would wear, except as a favour to him. Until now, he hadn’t had any use for it.

Staring at him in shock, Tharja couldn’t even begin to form a reply. They both knew, there was only one other woman he’d ever given jewellery to.

“You don’t need to compete with Olivia or Lucina, or anyone else. You’re never going to just be one of my woman Tharja, none of you will. You’re unique, you’re special to me and you always will be.” He continued, shutting her fingers around the bracelet and stepping back. “If you ever doubt that, just look at this and remember my promise.”

“Y-Your, your promise?”

“Yeah… The one I’ll make right now.”

He’d put a lot of thought into this, he’d debated it back and forth time and again before reaching his conclusion, but still the words came only slowly. Swallowing his suddenly dry mouth, he forced himself to meet her eyes.

“When, when all this is over, when I’ve got myself under control, I’ll tell Lucina. Whatever happens, I’ll make sure she knows.” It was a difficult thought. He wanted to say he didn’t even know how he’d begin to have that conversation, but truthfully, he already had some plans. “And then, whether we get married, or she leaves me, after it’s all done, I’ll… If, if at that time, it’s still what you want, then, after Morgan, I’ll give you a child too.”

He never thought he’d see the day when Tharja, of all people, would reel back from him, her hands flying to her face as she stared, wide eyed in disbelief.

It wasn’t a decision he’d come to easily, he felt terrible just thinking about it. But, if he was honest with himself, he knew it was a decision he’d made long ago, a decision he’d made that night he’d come in desperation to Tharja’s room. She hadn’t made any progress towards Noire’s father by then and him rekindling their relationship had surely sabotaged any chance it may have had. Even if he did let her, he couldn’t possibly imagine Tharja wanting to have a child with any other man, he’d imperilled her daughter’s existence in this timeline ever since the moment he’d taken Tharja into his arms.

He didn’t know how he could ever make it up to the archer, but, for all Tharja had done for him, he could at least give her what he knew she wanted. “I’ll father the Noire of this world.” He promised, so long as Lucina knew, he could accept that.

Eyes pinned to the floor, Tharja’s body trembled. “I-Is this… Is this what L-Lucina feels?”

“Eh?”

“Y-You’re always…Always so kind to me.” She whispered, her voice hitching and breaking, coming out as barely more than a whisper. “Far, far kinder than, than I’ve ever deserved. I-I’m always just… loving you, being in love with you is, is, ahuaa, I-I’m always s-so happy. You, you-”

Stepping forward, Robin collected her gently into his arms, pulling her against him and letting her sob quietly into his shoulder. He knew she hated the thought of him seeing her at anything less than her best, she’d dread the thought of him seeing her crying.

“Shush now.” He answered, rubbing his hands across her back. “You’re always trying to make me happy too, always looking out for me. I don’t know how I ever became so important to you…but, but I’m glad I did.”

“I love you.” She breathed, still pressed tight against him some minutes later, when she trusted herself to speak again. “No matter how many others there are, I’ll always be your woman, I’ll always look after you.”

“Good.” He chuckled softly, reaching up and pulling at the ties around her neck. “Now, c’mon, lets get you out of this.”

Honestly, Robin sighed, the last thing he needed was for his lovers to establish some kind of uniform. As if his job wasn’t hard enough as it was!

 ---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

The sun was high in the sky by the time Olivia returned home, thankfully after Lady Penfold left to talk to the director, the rest of the practice was uneventful.

And now, except for the bangle still wrapped comfortingly around her write ankle, she was one again, standing bare naked in-front of her wardrobe, flicking through her clothes with a frustrated frown. “Hmmm.” She was due to see Robin again very soon, and, with no intention of turning up in the now sweaty clothes she’d been training in, she’d taken the time to make sure she was clean washed and freshly scented, just the same as she always did before her work with him…only now, once again she found herself stymied, trying to choose an appropriate outfit.

It was a surprisingly difficult decision; she couldn’t just pick anything after all, she needed to talk to him properly, to apologise for missing work yesterday and return his cloak.

‘And, I’ll have to dance for him too.’ She added internally, rubbing her left leg against the thin golden bangle as she considered that thought. ‘It would be rude to simply turn up and leave.’ That was obvious, she couldn’t do that, not when he must already be so confused and hurt by her actions, and especially not when he surely still needed her assistance.

Her fingers flicked listlessly through her collection once more, trailing against the smooth silks and fine satins she owned, if she was going to perform for Robin, especially after everything that had happened, then she needed to be presentable but, even so, there was no reason she should have any trouble with this, it was no different than any of the other numerous times she’d gotten ready to see him. Before, she’d selected whatever had caught her attention and never given it a second thought, but, even from just looking at them, none of her clothes felt quite right and no matter how many times she leafed through them, the same hesitant frustration filled her.

Except… her foot kicked again at the bangle around her ankle, except there was one possibility that still lingered on her mind…

Using both hands to push all her other outfits aside, Olivia uncovered a single pristine dress, hanging alone on the back wall of the closet. Stepping forward with a shy smile, she pulled it into her hands, letting the watery material run softly through her fingers. Made from the finest Chon’sin silk and cut in a distinctly Chon’sinese style it was clear from a glance that this was far more elaborate than any of her other clothes.

It was a complete outfit, consisting of a pure white bodysuit, one that would cut off just atop her breasts and wrap tight around her body, as well as a matching pair of white fingerless gloves that would run right to her shoulders, a thin silken collar to wrap around her neck and even a light veil that would cover her lower face. What made it truly unique though, was the nature of the design- the left side would open up around her abdomen, giving a teasing glance at her bare stomach and proof she wore nothing else under it, while the right side would open up completely over her waist, leaving that side of her hips entirely exposed and her right leg completely open. The dress was long and elegant, sweeping right around her body, to where it split right down her right leg. At rest both would be covered, but when she danced, when she moved, her left leg, clad in a pristine white stocking, would be hidden in a display of modesty while her right leg would be unadorned, both her leg and waist, right to her panties, would be entirely bared for any to see.

A simple gold and blue flower engraved around the waist and another on her opposite shoulder were the only designs it bore, the rest remaining a pure virginal white. It was a dress of contradictions, at once revealing and reserved, conservative and risqué, it was unquestionably the most beautiful piece of clothing she owned and she would look incredible in it.

Would look. She knew all about how she would look in it, but she had never seen even once how it did look on her. It had been custom cut by a tailor recommended by Say’ri herself and yet, Olivia had never worn it even once.

Heaving a conflicted sigh, she released the dress, letting it fall gently back into place.

It had been such a beautiful dream once, one she could still remember even now. She’d purchased it years ago, shortly after Gregor had proposed and when she’d still been riding the high of making wedding preparations. It was far too elaborate and much too revealing for her to say her vows in, of course, she’d never intended that. Instead, she’d been planning to change into it during the reception, and, because only Say’ri even had the barest idea she was even interested in creating something for her upcoming nuptials, take their entire squad by surprise with it.

It was to be a bold declaration of her feelings, wearing her heart openly for all to see, a fantasy like something right out of Sumia’s novels.

She had planned to slip quietly away amidst the conversations, returning just when people were staring to worry about her. With all eyes turning toward her and all conversation halted, she would slink confidently into the room, wearing a dress designed in Chon’sin style, a celebration both of their victory over Valm and of the love she’d found during the long war. Then, finally, she would dance -for the first time- for one person, for the man she loved, her husband.

“Tch.” Olivia winced painfully. As beautiful a romantic notion as the idea had been, reality had been far more predictable.

She’d lost her nerve.

Like many of the other Shepherds, they’d had a simple campground wedding, held in a field in Roseanne, catching the last days of summer before they sailed back to a winter in Ylisse. And, of course, in such a simple setting, milling around in a large tent, surrounded by all the friends she knew and loved, such an elaborate dress had felt supremely out of place and, the more she thought about it, the more her planned performance felt like nothing more than self-indulgence… A thought that wasn’t helped by the fact that she went bright red at the thought of the rest of the army seeing her in such a risqué outfit, her head spinning at the idea of them seeing her panties with each shake of her hips.

She still regretted it sometimes, every now and then. Of course, she could see now looking back, her friends would have cheered her on, none of them would have thought anything at all about a dancer wearing such an enticing outfit and, if there was a day to make herself the centre of attention, then surely it must be her own wedding. She could see that now, but at the time her mind and feet had both remained frozen in fear.

And so, the day had passed without ceremony and the dress, known only to herself and the newly crowned Empress, had remained hidden safely in the back of her closet- just the same as it remained now, pristine and untouched, a reminder of her cowardice and of an embarrassingly simple fantasy.

‘But then…’ She sighed, running it through her fingers once more with a wry smile. ‘It’s not as though I could ever sell it.’ In tune with the basic setting of the day, Gregor had worn a simple suit and requested that she wear the same dress she’d worn on the day they’d met- a sweet gesture, but still an outfit she’d worn often both before and since. Even if she’d never put it on, this was the dress she’d brought specifically for her wedding.

In many ways, this was her wedding dress.

“Hmm.” She hummed to herself, lost in thought as she pictured herself in the dress, letting the silks flow through her hands for another few minutes as she drifted away to idle dreams. “It’s so nice… It really would be a shame if it never did get worn…”

‘W-Wait!’ Until a moment later when she suddenly realised what she was thinking. ‘That’s crazy, I should be, I nee- Naga!’

She was going to see Robin. She was getting dressed to meet him. “…I need to be careful.” She breathed, stepping away with a racing breath and frantically grabbing the first outfit she saw. “I should be wearing more clothing, not less.”

‘Naga. I really need to be far more careful.’ She scolded herself, turning away and pulling the other outfit on, barely even taking the time to look at it as she did so. ‘Much, much more careful.’

She should be scared to see him. Madame Penfold’s words and the memories of her dance this morning were still seared hot into her mind, she knew now how dangerous stray thoughts could be. The last time she’d let herself get carried away by her feelings and by her dancing, she’d wound up giving in to her desires and seducing Robin. She couldn’t repeat that. She wouldn’t repeat that. No matter what, her plan hadn’t changed. She would go see Robin, she would keep herself strictly under control, she would support him as a friend- and no more.

“Yeah.” She nodded to herself, tightening the straps around her breasts and hurriedly completing the outfit. “That’s right.” When she looked at it like that, being caught in such an embarrassing way by Lady Penfold had actually been a happy co-incidence, it was a warning to her, that she had to carefully monitor her actions.

Thankfully, she knew that he was too much of a gentleman to ever make a move on her without her instigation. Robin was forthright and trustworthy, she knew he would let their conversations remain on her terms, if she never mentioned what had happened between them…if she never brought it up… Then he wouldn’t either. Her heart ached at the thought, but she knew that ache would pass, and they would both be better for it. Even if she had accepted her feelings for him, that didn’t change the reality that she knew she couldn’t act on them.

No, that she didn’t want to act on them! She corrected herself. She was a married woman and a mother. She’d made her choice years ago, and it hadn’t been Robin. No matter how happy he made her, no matter how safe she felt with him or how fulfilled she’d felt at his side, that could not and would not change.

Her plan was crystal clear once more. She’d used his offer as a chance to practice her dances, try out new steps or to simply dance freely around him, she wouldn’t do that anymore. She would strictly make sure not to get lost in her routine or fall into the supressed desires. Nor would she stay late with him anymore, no matter how much she saw the fatigue piling onto him, she would leave in the early evening, while she was still in full control.

A lonely guilt wrapped around her at that, mixing with the yearning within her, the urge to belong and to be needed throbbed almost painfully through her core, but Olivia ignored it, forcibly pushing down any stray thoughts. She didn’t need to use Robin’s office to practice or to express herself, she had the studio for that. This was a job, one she’d taken to support her friend and comrade, she would treat it as such- she would carefully select her dances and perform them with the same care as if she was dancing on the stage or in a production.

The thought settled within her like a sombre melancholy, but she knew that, at the very minimum, was the price she had to pay for her sins- both to Robin for taking advantage of him, and to Gregor for her infidelity. She was resolved. She was certaint… Sh-She had to be. ‘No matter what. I love Gregor. I married Gregor.’ She’d slipped up once, she wouldn’t do so again. Today would be only proof of that, proof that she was able to supress her desires and push away these unfair feelings she’d somehow developed for the tactician. It only made sense after all, if she could fall in love with him so quickly that she could fall out of love just as quickly. The quickfire, sudden feelings she’d developed for the tactician were nothing compared to the long-burning love she felt for her husband, a time-tested relationship even through its ups and downs. No matter what, Gregor was the man she’d chosen, the man she wanted at her side and the man she wanted to wake up next to each morning.

“Yeah.” She nodded again. “That’s right.” She repeated, promising herself that it was.

Glancing into the mirror and seeing the light peach-coloured outfit she was now wearing brought about another, now familiar, surge of frustration. Biting her lip, she forced down the urge to change, slipping away from the closet and back across her bedroom.

“H-Haaa…”

She should have been scared, worried about what was to come and nervous about the thought of seeing him again, after everything she’d done to him…

…But, as she and grabbed his cloak and took her first steps towards the tactician’s office, the pounding excitement in her heart left no room for anything else.

Sparing one final glance at the beautiful dress, still hanging in the back of her closet, Olivia closed the door behind her with a sigh, already pushing it from her mind.

‘Those colours wouldn’t suit me anyway.’

 ---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

“H-Hello Robin, g-good morning.”

Stepping into the tactician’s office with a shy smile, it was all Olivia could to just to keep her breathing steady as all the feeling she’d kept buried inside suddenly welled up all at once, the moment she shut the door behind her. The familiar sights and sensations filled her, instantly dragging out all the memories she’d been trying so hard not to think about.

It had been right here. Just two nights ago… Just two nights ago, she’d seduced him, she’d seduced Robin, the Grandmaster of Ylisse and taken his first time.

‘Gods!’

Face lighting up a bright crimson, her head spun wildly and she was suddenly drowning in the recollection. She could picture it easily, she could remember the entire night, down to the last detail- how could she possibly forget? Just two nights ago, she’d been lying in that bed, her arms tight around Robin’s neck as they kissed, her hips shaking in time with his slow thrusts. Just two nights ago, she’d been bent over that desk, her ass clenched tight in his hand as she screamed, begging him for m-

“O-Olivia!” Thankfully, Robin’s reply knocked her back to reality. “I-Ah! Y-Yes! Good, good morning!”

Their eyes met and the gentle warmth she could see in them slowly cooled her panic, just as it always did. ‘Robin…’ Somehow, just being with him put her at ease. It was the look in his eyes, she’d always thought, the knowledge that he understood you without you even needing to say a word, it never failed to soothe her, especially when she tripped over her sentences.

And yet, even more than that, looking at him now- at the way his own face was quickly turning red, at the similarly awkward smile he was wearing, or the way his eyes kept darting away from hers, only returning a moment later… Her heart shuddered, filling with a warmth and feeling she couldn’t even begin to supress. This was one of the most powerful men in the world, a genius tactician like none other and yet… and yet, here he was, looking so bashful and so, so happy…j-just to see her? The way he was looking at her, the sweet affection in his gaze was unmissable.

Had anyone else ever seen him like this? Had anyone ever seen the confident Grandmaster looking to shy? So clearly vulnerable and open? He was so earnest, it couldn’t possibly be an act. ‘Robin…’ Her heart melted at the sight of it and, in that moment, Olivia knew she’d fallen in love with him all over again.

“I-I’ve got your cloak.” She squeaked, releasing the bag she’d been holding protectively against her chest. “T-Thank you, fo-for lending it to me.”

“O-Oh! Right! Thank you!” He beamed, hesitating a moment before pulling open the bottom door to his desk and retrieving a small black bag of his own. “I’ve, well, I kept your dress here for you.”

Her dress. The dress she’d undone for him. The dress she’d left unwanted on the floor as she’d displayed herself for him. Olivia swallowed heavily. He’d been sitting right there, seated just like that… ‘N-Naga...’ Automatically licking her lips, she pictured it, she couldn’t possibly not- his cock, that thick rod standing out before her, so hard and so long. She could remember every inch of it, feeling it pulsing hot below her, feeling it slowly spreading her open as she’d lowered herself down, stretching her wide an-

“Here you go.”

Blinking in shock and suddenly realising Robin had stood up from his desk and was now right in-front of her, Olivia just barely managed to keep herself from reeling back in shock as she desperately dashed those memories away.

“R-Right.”

They exchanged bags… And, just for a moment, as he took his cloak back, his hand lingered against hers. ‘A-Ahhhmm.’ A soft thrum ran through her body at the contact, his hands were warm, soft and full of the same gentle kindness she’d always known from their tactician.

“A-Ah!”

“E-Er!”

A moment later they both came to their senses and spun around, turning their backs to each other in embarrassment.

‘Gods! Olivia! What are you doing?’  She scolded herself, biting hard onto her lip and angrily forcing the blood down from her cheeks. ‘This is, this is ridiculous!’ They were both acting like, like awkward virgins! That was understandable for Robin, sure, but she-… ‘Gods.’ Is this the effect he had on her? She wondered, her thoughts derailing instantly. Even just being in his presence again, the urge to make him happy was almost overpowering, it felt like she was putty in his han-

‘No.’ Sucking in a deep breath, she slowed her racing heart. ‘No.’ She’d known it would be like this, she’d never expected to be able to avoid the feelings she was fighting or the memories of what they’d done. That didn’t change anything. She had a plan. This was simply the first test.

She was here to help Robin, her job was to support him, to dance for him and assist in the work he had to do. Nothing else. She was married and he would surely fall in love with Lucina. That was fate, or if not, then it was something almost as good.

And so, pushing down any further overly-romantic notions, Olivia settled her bags in the corner of the room, bending slowly at the knees as she prepared herself for the first steps in the Dance of the Forlorn Queen. She already had an entire routine planned out for the day, more than she would need to take her through to early evening. She would dance, just as she had planned, and then, before her control would waver, she would leave.

“Olivia.” His soft voice filled the quiet room. “It really is good to see you. I’m glad you’re here, I really am.”

“Robin.” Already in motion, her answer came from pure instinct, rushing out before she could even think to stop it. “Please, watch me.”

“Of course.”

 ---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Flowing like water, she glided lightly around his office, one routine shifting seamlessly into the next, her every step planned and perfected with the graceful air of a true prodigy. Her movements were perfect, her timing, her balance and even the subtle gestures she allowed, all were as ideal as she’d ever made them…

And yet, still the hollow ache inside her remained.

Few words were spoken between them- she barely trusted herself to speak, and from the piles of work she could see with guilty eyes stacked atop his desk, he was busy enough without her trying to attempt their usual friendly camaraderie. It was a lonely experience, she’d never danced like this for Robin before, performing as if he as nothing more than just another nameless face in a crowd, in all their time together, she’d never felt so stilted around him. She was barely a few metres from his desk, but the distance between them felt like a chasm. 

It was hard, harder than she’d ever thought it would possibly be, to hold everything back within her, to deny the desires she’d already accepted and restrain the very nature of her dancing. It was as if she was trapped within her own self, as if everything she felt and thought had to be buried deep within her, as if all she could do was keep the façade going for just one more moment.

But… This was the only way wasn’t it? To save her marriage and her soul while still being able to dance for Robin… To still be needed, and still have somewhere she belonged… Wasn’t this what she wanted?

The hours passed slowly, stretched out in a dully agony as the frustrated yearning roiled and stormed inside her.

Until finally, with the evening sun setting red over the horizon and her feet tapping rhythmically across the warm wooden floor, Olivia’s final dance came to an end and, far too soon, long before she was ready, the day drew slowly to a close.

‘Ah.’

And finally, with Robin slumping heavily back in his seat with a yawn, his tired gaze breaking into a weary smile the moment their eyes met, she began to gather her things and prepare to leave.

Wishing him a quiet goodnight, she could barely force herself to look at him, the goodbye was forced painfully from her, dragged forth with the knowledge that even after she left, he would still be here, for Naga knows how many more hours… The understanding that once again, by her choice, they would both be spending the night alone and forlorn.

But then, just as she made to leave… A strange thing happened.

Somehow, whether she used one hand or both, Olivia found she couldn’t open the door.

It wasn’t locked or enchanted, neither of them had done a thing to it. With both her hands wrapped around the handle, even the barest possible effort would be enough… And yet, no matter how she tried, she couldn’t manage it. Standing stuck in place, the thin golden bangle felt now like a lead weight around her ankle and, as the seconds passed into minutes, she began to realise… She couldn’t hurt him. Not again and not anymore, not after all she’d already done to him and how far she’d fallen for him.

Robin had done so much for her, he’d given her a purpose, he’d cared so kindly for her all this time and she’d never done a single thing for him. She couldn’t stand that, she couldn’t possibly abandon him to the same loneliness she’d felt for so, so long… The same loneliness she knew he must have experienced for even longer, with him being left behind while almost all the other Shepherds had partnered up.

Robin needed her.

‘A-Ahh!’

Those words, a simple reminder, wrapped around her like a comfortable blanket. ‘He needs me…’  And slowly, as they echoed warmly around her head, an image began to form in her mind’s eye- and she could see, a thin, golden chain appearing from around her ankle, stretching taut across the room and held securely in Robin’s hand.

Her body pulsed with an excitement she’d never felt before.

Robin needed her.

And suddenly, as her hesitations fell to the wayside, she understood- it didn’t matter at all how he needed her- dancer, friend, whore, comrade, wife, servant, lover, slave… She didn’t care. The title, the role, none of that mattered, so long as she could help him! So long as she had a place at his side.

Squeezing her eyes closed and trying not to imagine the soft clinking of that wondrous golden chain against the floor, Olivia collapsed heavily against the thick wooden door. Her breath came in short gasps and her heart pounded thunderously, she knew without a doubt, she was standing now on the knife’s edge- her entire future was laid out from this moment… ‘Or, had it been decided, long ago?’

“Olivia…” Robin’s voice cut softly through the oppressive silence, pulled back to reality at the sound, she stiffened. Of course, he couldn’t possibly have missed her acting so strangely.

“I-I have to go.” She whispered in reply, one final gasp of sanity as she stood before an abyss of desires.

A moment passed between them, stretching out into eternity, and all the while she could feel his eyes on her, knowing her, understanding her, seeing right through her, just like he always did. “Do you want to go?”

‘Did she want to go...?’

 “Uraagh…” A piteous cry was wrenched unbidden from her lips, half a sob, half a moan, and Olivia was left trembling against the door, heart squeezing painfully in her chest as her stomach tightened itself into furious knots.

This was her plan. Didn’t she want this? Even if it was difficult, even if it was hard, didn’t she also… didn’t she want to leave?

Biting her lip as her body shook once more, she finally released the handle. Collapsing forwards, her chest was pressed hard against the door while her legs remained stuck in place, leaving her round ass pushed out towards the tactician. 

‘No.’ The same frustration she’d been fighting rose within her again, crashing through her with such fury she just wanted to scream! ‘I-I don’t want to go!’

A million thoughts, a million doubts and a million desires all rose up within her at once. There was so much she needed to tell him, so much she needed to say, so he could understand! So he would know just how much he meant to her, that she’d never wanted to hurt him, that she had never meant to lead him on… But, she couldn’t, she could never explain anything! She always got flustered and the words never came out right, she couldn’t possibly put into words the feelings she could barely even understand herself, everything she wanted, everything she needed.

Body shaking with heavy breaths, Olivia’s hips slowly slid to the left. And then, a moment later as her waist dipped in a circle, they wove back to the right. And, slowly, with neither conscious thought nor permission, her ass began swaying back and forth in the air. Stretched tight over her tight, round curves by the way she was bent over, the thin silks of her outfit did nothing but outline the creamy white skin they barely hid.

‘I don’t want to be alone!’ She didn’t want to return to another night of painful solitude.

With her strength finally returning, Olivia pushed off the door, turning in place and facing the tactician once more- their eyes met and, unable to keep the nervous smile from her face, she leaned back, leaning against the wood with her feet still planted flat and her hips still rolling slowly back and forth, she began sliding an inch up and down. “A-Ahh.” She gasped, mouth falling open and a thrill running up her spine when she saw the concentration in his eyes, the sheer intensity of his gaze. He was watching her. He was staring at her. He was drinking in her every movement.

‘I don’t want to leave him!’ She didn’t want to abandon him, not again.

Taking her hands from the wall and laying them against her burning cheeks, she dragged her fingers down, along her neck and then over her generous bust. Squeezing her eyes closed as she released a quiet moan, her palms began to knead the pillowy mounds against herself. “H-Haaa.” Gasping again, louder this time, she let go- locking eyes with him as she let her round breasts bounce heavily back into place, Olivia trailed her fingers down the side of her body, tracing them over her swaying hips before finally resting them on the inside of her thighs.

‘I don’t want this, I don’t want to feel so distant from him!’ She didn’t want to spend her days with him dancing a prepared routine, always holding back, forever second guessing herself.

With her hands pressed against the inside of her legs, her hips shook again in a deep, slow circle, her grin returning to the same shy smile as before… And, all the while, their eyes never once broke contact. All the while, Robin watched her. All the while, she saw him watching her.

And still, it didn’t help! None of it helped! Still, the same frustration she’d fought down all day clawed maddeningly at her, still the same needy yearning rose within her, higher and higher, until she couldn’t take it another moment!

‘I don’t…’ She didn’t doubt for a moment the source of her aggravation, she’d known it all along. But, it was only now, under Robin’s unwavering gaze, she finally found the strength to admit it. ‘I, I don’t want to be wearing peach and white!’

It was wrong! Every part of it, it was all wrong! “Uhaagh!” Pushing off the door with another pained cry, Olivia stumbled upright, all semblances of rhythm or movement stilled as desperation finally overtook restraint.

Her shoes were the first to go, kicked halfway across the room, even as her hands tore frantically at her chest-wraps. “H-Haaa!” Panting and shaking, the silks lasted barely a moment under her anger, pulling with all her renewed strength, Olivia ripped the offending clothing to shreds, scattering the tattered scraps unheeded to the floor as her heaving breasts bounced free into warm evening air.

‘Gods!’

Her pants lasted barely another second, clawing and tearing at the fabric, she was barely even comprehending what she was doing, all she knew, all she cared about, was that this wasn’t what she wanted! She couldn’t bear to be dressed like this, to stand before Robin garbed in colours that weren’t his, for even one more second! Toughened through years of combat, Olivia was stronger than she looked, far stronger than a light dancing costume, the waistband was ripped apart, the leggings were torn into strips and even the thin white panties she was wearing underneath were furiously stripped from her body.

And finally… When her large, full breasts were his to see, when her tight, bare pussy was his to examine… Finally, when she was standing before him, wearing only a thin, golden bangle around her legs, Olivia was free.

“H-Haaa.” She sighed, her entire body awash with relief. It was as if, she’d passed through a veil, as if she’d been drowning underwater and had finally broken the surface. The moment the last of the unwanted clothes fell from her body, so too did the last of her frustrations, and the last of her doubts. “H-Hahmmm.” Suddenly everything made sense again.

Her feet moved finally, taking her back into the room, back where she’d always wanted to be. And, at long last, with all her poise and confidence reclaimed, she stood before him and declared for certain what it was she truly wanted.

“I want, I want to dance. I want to dance for you.”

It wasn’t a good explanation but it was all she could manage. Even now, she couldn’t possibly put everything she was feeling, everything she needed him to know, into words.

‘I want to stay. I-I want to feel his eyes on me… I want to know he’s always looking at me.’ Clasping her hands behind her back as she awaited his judgement, Olivia’s entire body was on display for him. From her hard, pink nipples, to the creamy flesh of her trim stomach, right to the shimmering juices, already dripping from her entrance- she had nothing to hide. ‘I want to see the smile on his face, I want to know I’ve helped him, that I’ve eased his worries.’

‘I want to have a purpose again.’ Staring at him now, silently seeking his permission, her bright smile lit up the room, all the love she’d found in him overflowing around her. ‘I want to be needed.’

Her heart skipped a beat as she saw a wide grin break out across the tactician’s face, all his earlier nervousness seeming to have vanished.

“Then, I want the same.” He breathed, leaning back in his seat, his eyes still locked onto hers. “Olivia, I’m a selfish man. It’s not enough to have you just dance in-front of me anymore. I want you do dance for me, only for me. That’s what I’ve been waiting for all afternoon, that’s what I want to see every day.”

Her heart rang like a bell and, as she drew herself up, her arms raised towards the ceiling, she could feel her entire body humming with excitement.

Until finally, at long last, with all her doubts finally cast aside, Olivia began to dance. For him.

“Please.” She begged. “Watch me.”

“Of course.”

 ---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Following the rhythm of her soul, her body moved automatically, swaying and sliding without a thought or need for instructions. Losing herself in the motions, baring her entire body and soul with naked honesty, her steps came with a welcome familiarity, even as she danced them for the first time.

Dropping to a knee before slowly raising herself up in fully display, Olivia turned her eyes, half-lidded and joyful up towards him. Her mouth falling open in a silent gasp as she watched his eyes trailing up and down her bare body, following the movements of her fingers as they traced a slow path across her stomach, rising over her large bust as she stood to full height, cupping the heavy mounds as she leant forward, pushing them out towards him and kneading them softly against herself.

Swaying her hips in deep, lusty circles, she wrapped her arms tight across her chest, keeping them still and drawing his attention down her creamy white skin to where the incredible heat within her had left her juices dripping slick across her thighs.

“Olivia…” Robin breathed her name again, his eyes travelling up and down her frame, never once wavering from her.

On and on she danced, as the seconds turned into minutes and the intensity between them growing quickly with an unimaginable force, until she was certain she’d finally said everything that needed to be said, until she’d told him all about her love, her thanks and all about her yearnings… Until the only thing left in her movements was pure desire.

Feeling the excitement building hot within her, her movements came faster. Turning away from him and beaming a teasing smile over her shoulder, her waist swayed back and forth with a slow tempo. Dragging her hands across her chest, she used them to outline a trail down her hips, pushing them teasingly down to her knees as she bent herself over, arching her body forward and showcasing every last inch of herself to him. Her long, toned legs, her tight, round ass, her creamy, white thighs. All for him only.

Turning once more and slinking to within metre of his desk, just barely out of his reach, her lips fell open in an eager moan as she arched herself back, cupping her breasts and teasing her nipples, as she leant almost parallel to the ground. “Ahhn.” She gasped quietly, an electric shock running through her body the moment she felt his breath against her, the hot air blowing right across her bare skin and teasing her aching pussy. Biting down on her lip to keep from crying out, she savoured the sensation, reaching back with one hand to keep herself steady as she trailed the other down, moving it across her hips with almost agonising slowness as she slowly kept time with the music inside her- rocking back and forth in-front of him with the same smooth motions.

“Robin…” She couldn’t help but breathe his name as she straightened herself back up, holding her finger just barely an inch from her entrance, teasing herself just as much as him. It wouldn’t satisfy her anyway, she knew that- there was only one thing in the world right now that could possibly quell the heat raging inside her. And so, with her moan turning into a hungry grin, she abruptly threw her shoulders back once more, tipping her head up to the ceiling and letting her large breasts bounce with a pleasing shake.

Beaming as she felt the tempo between them increase once more, Olivia spun to the side, holding her hands above her shoulders and shaking her hips, faster and faster as the dance grew slowly into the final motions. Catching Robin’s eye, she shot him an encouraging smile, leading his gaze along the trim silhouette of her body- the soft jiggle of her bust, with the tiny nubs of her hard nipples bouncing with each movement, the taut flatness of her stomach, pulled tight as she swayed and the smooth curves of her ass, round and soft, just the right shape to be cupped in his hands. She wanted him to see all of it. She wanted him to want all of it.

Twisting and sliding, weaving and turning, her dance told no story and spun no tale- it existed only in the moment, only to show off her love, her affection, her needs, aches, desires and wants. She made clear all the lusts and all the fears she’d held ever since she’d last been cradled, warm and safe in his embrace.

 Again and again, she flitted just barely outside his reach, feeling his breath tickling across her scorching skin and his eyes on her soaked thighs. Again and again she forced back the desire to simply collapse into his strong hands, or to throw herself down at his mercy. The yearning for him, the ache for his touch, fuelled her steps with even greater desperation, her movements coming faster and deeper as the need within her built into an inferno and the movements of her dance dove towards the climax.

Until, finally and all at once, the music within her played its final beat, and Olivia was standing directly before him once more, raised up on one leg, with her heard thrown back and arms held high towards the ceiling. For a moment, and one final time, her entire self was given over to him, for his examination, for his approval… And then, releasing the breath she was holding, slowly, she let her dance end, lowering herself to the floor and curling up into a tight ball.

“A-Ah!” Unable to hold back a soft moan as she felt the cool wood against the burning heat of her flesh, she curled her left leg underneath her ass, bowing her head to the ground in reverence and withdrawing almost entirely into herself, pushing all focus and all attention to her right leg as she slid it forward, planting her foot flat upon the oaken boards and running her hands teasingly around it…around the thick golden bangle hanging from her ankle- a substitute for her most earnest desire.

And then, breath held and heart clenched, she waited.

She’d seen his arousal already, her mouth had gone almost dry at the sight of the thick rod straining once more against his clothes. But, she knew that wasn’t enough, that could never be enough. If capturing the tactician’s heart was as simple as turning him on, then he would have taken Tharja to bed years ago… Instead of… Of waiting… Waiting for… For her?

Another electric shiver ran down her spine and, with cheeks flaming in embarrassment, she could feel her juices dripping wet onto his nice clean floor.

“Wow.” Robin breathed, his voice uneven with wonder at the sight he’d just seen. “Th-that was, Olivia… I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like that. That was fantastic.”

Heart racing at his words, she risked a quick look up at the man. She had no doubt of his sincerity, but seeing him now, with the stresses and strains of the day seeming to have slid from his face was another thrill just in itself.

Licking her lips as she unfurled herself, Olivia slunk to the ground, stretching herself out and crawling towards him, her ass shaking slowly from side to side as she slunk forward, at long last, crossing the final few metres to where Robin was sitting. Breath hitching in excitement, she settled between his legs, sliding her hands eagerly onto his thighs and rested her head lovingly on his lap.

“Robin.” She whispered, the words coming without a thought, directly from her heart, as her fingers fumbled with the buttons on his pants, pulling them carefully down, over his bulging length. “Please, I beg you, when you’re King… Bind me in shackles and chain me forever to your side.”

“Wha-Ah-AH!” Robin gasped, any attempt to understand her strange request interrupted by a sudden shock running through him when Olivia released his cock, rock hard, from where it had been trapped in his clothes. Looking down at her, at the sight of his cock lying flat against the dancer’s innocent face, all his words were stolen from him. With her pink hair hanging below her and her eyes shining loving up at him, it was as if he was picturing the very moment of her defilement, the image of her absolute submission- her beautiful, pure features hidden behind his adulterous length.

‘G-Gods.’ His mind trembled and the fire inside him roared with delight, even as his rational mind made a distant reminder to try the same actions with Lucina, a quick image of Ylisse’s perfect, royal Princess’s face equally sullied by his length shaken away as fast as it appeared.

Neither Olivia’s words, nor the desperate plea he’d heard in her voice made any sense to him, but right now, feeling her hands tugging his pants from around his feet and with her lips pressing gently against the base of his shaft, he couldn’t possibly have cared less.

“Ahh.” She whispered in a low moan, mouth pursing in a small circle as she marvelled at the feeling of his length pressing hot against her face. She’d seen it so many times, even when she’d tried not to, she’d seen it in all her dreams, her memories, her idle thoughts… But, looking up at him now, with her eyes dancing with excitement and his cock almost covering her face lengthwise, she realised instantly- that to remember it was once thing, but to actually feel it pulsing against her, to savour its heat and drink in the heady aroma… That was quite another. It suited him, she thought distantly, this magnificent cock. It had ensnared her desires as strongly as his kindness had ensnared her heart.

Her tongue poked out automatically pressing softly against the warm underside of his shaft as her fingers tentatively wrapped around the base, taking it into her hands for the first time. Leaning further forwards, she followed her instincts, pushing her lips firmer against him and trailing soft, passionate kisses slowly up his length. Even as overcome as she was, her own arousal was impossible to ignore, and by the time her lips crested lay gently against the crown of his cock, she was filled entirely with a desperate hunger, a need to taste him in a way no-one ever had before.

“I-I’ve never done this before.” She admitted shyly, her face burning red as the words tumbled awkwardly out. “I don’t know if I can do it well, b-but, but if it feels good, then please…go, go ahead and c-cum.”

Opening her mouth as wide as she could, Olivia leaned down, parting her lips eagerly around him and letting his glans fill her mouth. “Mm-hhmmmph!”

‘C-Careful.’ She reminded herself nervously as she slowly took him in, opening her small mouth as wide as she could manage around his thick girth. ‘C-Careful.’

Even despite the situation, she couldn’t help but remember the advice she and an equally scandalised Cordelia had received one night, years ago, from a surprisingly enthusiastic Sumia, shortly after her wedding. ‘Go slowly at first, get used to…get used to his size a-and, and be careful not to use your teeth.’

Sliding both hands hesitantly along his shaft, Olivia spent the next few minutes slowly experimenting with her limits, bobbing her head up and down as she carefully took more and more of his length into her mouth. Keeping herself under control, forcing her mouth open, maintaining a slow rhythm, it was all a lot more difficult than she’d expected but- the feeling of his cock throbbing hot in her hands and the sensation of his crown pulsing greedily against her tongue. ‘Naga…’ It was like nothing she’d ever experienced before. And, moment by moment, as she felt his hard length pushing her jaw wide, filling her entire mouth with him, she knew this was exactly what she wanted.

And, a few minutes later, as the tactician released a deep sigh and laid his hands gently atop her head- feeling the gentle pressure of his need urging her down faster, deeper, harder… Olivia could finally understand the meaning of this act and why her heart had led her to this.

It was so amazingly simple, she could barely understand how she’d missed it until now- in all the time she’d been married and all the times she’d had sex until this point, it had always been for mutual enjoyment. Even when it hadn’t been very good, it had still always been two people sharing pleasure together.

This was nothing like that. This was all for Robin’s pleasure. This was her supporting him. This was her complete submission.

“Mm-Mhaaa!” She moaned joyously as she felt his fingers threading gently through her hair, letting the sounds vibrate into his cock for a moment before pursing her lips tight around it, suckling back up his length with all her strength. “Ahmmma!”

Shivering, she moaned again into his flesh as an electric thrill ran down her spine. Down on her knees, with his length rock-hard in her mouth and his hands holding her in place, there wasn’t even the barest pretences of equal positions…. She’d thought it would feel degrading, an improper, embarrassing act. She’d never once imagined it would feel this good! This was what she wanted, to make the man she loved happy, to help him and serve him- that was the meaning she’d found that had returned the spark to her life.

‘Not somewhere to belong, someone to belong to.’

Moaning happily at that thought, Olivia’s fingers clenched a little firmer around his length and she moved faster, bobbing her head greedily up and down his shaft, filling her mouth with as much of him as she could manage, greedily trying to suck everything out of him.

“A-Ahhh!” Robin groaned heavier this time, releasing the dancer’s head just long enough to shrug the cloak and shirt from his shoulders, stripping himself just as naked as her. “Th-that’s… That’s good.”

Looking down between his legs, he marvelled at the sight of the dancer’s pink hair bobbing up and down over his shaft. Even with everything he’d planned and all his manipulations, to just sit here now, in this moment, savouring the sight of the innocent woman’s red-flushed face sucking eagerly at his cock… It was something else. “Naga.” As much as defiling two royal princesses, as much as snatching away a dark mage’s chastity, or breaking a scientist’s composure- this was something unique all to itself.

“Ahhm!” He let himself moan freely, encouraging her ministrations with his voice. Even without her admission, he could tell easily she was new to this, her movements were a little awkward, and despite her best efforts, he could feel her teeth bumping against his glans almost whenever a surge of pleasure had his cock twitching inside her mouth. The need for dominance warred inside him, and it was only with considerable restraint that he held himself back from taking a firm hold of her head and controlling her pace…

…And yet, it still felt amazing! “G-Gods!” He moaned, throwing his head back to the ceiling as her tongue swirled tentatively around the underside of his shaft.

She couldn’t swallow his entire cock like Lucina, nor could she trace her tongue against all his weak spots like Tharja, or compete with the sheer frantic energy of Lissa, but… “N-Naga!” …but, somehow, looking down at her blushing face and feeling her shy, tender rhythm, as if she was following along to a song only she could hear- it was incredible all the same!

“Ah-gh! O-Olivia…” Perhaps it was the anticipation he’d felt for her arrival all day, perhaps it was the build-up he’d felt while enthralled with her final dance, perhaps it was the sheer audacity of the act or the knowledge that his was the first cock she had ever tasted… Whatever the reason for it, gripping tight to the back of the dancer’s head, Robin could feel the pressure inside him building at a breakneck pace.

“I-I’m, G-ghnna!” He groaned, taken off-guard as her sweet-gentle rhythm built faster again, her lips and hands sliding along his shaft in perfect synch with every twitch his cock made, as if she was milking him to a score, one that was fast building to a deafening crescendo. “Gng, I’m, I’m going to, t-GH-HNHA!”

Her lips wrapped event tighter around him, her hands pumped faster along his length and her eyes suddenly turned upwards, locking into his, even as her whole mouth slid up half the length of his cock. “HGHNHHA!” Arching forwards with one final violent shudder and unable to hold back even another instant, his shaft expanded even thicker in her hands and his release suddenly blasted out.

“Mm-MHA!?” Olivia’s eyes shot wide in response, her hands grabbing tight to his legs and her lips instinctively forming a tight seal around the head of his cock. “UMMGH!”

Even as she instinctively opened her throat, swallowing with all her might and gulping down it down so fast her mind had no time to even savour the taste, Olivia’s cheeks were still left bulging at the volume and, as Robin’s cock twitched furiously between her lips and more thick ropes of warm, viscous cum filled her mouth, she was almost instantly overwhelmed. “UM-GH-GHaaah!” She gasped, suddenly releasing his cock and reeling back, his seed running down her chin and falling wet onto her soft breasts, even as his final load sprayed into her wide open mouth.

“H-Haaa.”

“Hahh, haaah.”

Slumping backwards, they panted in unison, a minute passing silently between them as both slowly recovered- him from the aftershocks of the sudden, incredible orgasm she’d wrung from him and her from the sensation of the bitter, salty flavour that had flooded her senses and was already inflaming every cell in her body with an addictive craving.

“Naga…” Robin sighed, “That was, good…”

“Gods…” Olivia whispered, her head spinning in a daze as her hand wiped the last of his release from her chin and breasts, licking her fingers clean with a heady grin. “Mmahh.”

“Olivia.” There was a note of finality in his voice now, as he bent down towards her. “I can’t, I won’t hold back what I feel anymore.”

She leaned into his hands as they wrapped around her, “A-AH! Oh?” And then suddenly yelped as she found herself pulled into the air, being carefully cradled in Robin’s arms as he stood from his seat. She’d expected his arms around her… But she’d expected him to pull her into his lap, or to bend her over his desk. To push her into place, hold her down and claim her as his own- just like he had last time.

Instead, finding herself held tenderly in his arms and being carried like a princess, she was taken completely off guard. “R-R-Robin?” She whispered, her questioning voice coming out as little more than a breathless whisper as all the blood rushed to her face and her heart pulsed with warm affection.

Carrying her carefully over to the bed at the far end of the room, he didn’t reply straight away, instead he laid her softly out onto the mattress, joining her a moment later and slowly letting their naked bodies press hot against each other. “Olivia.” He repeated her name, stroking her face and capturing the entirety of her attention, reaching out and staring deeply into her eyes as his fingers entwined with hers.

“R-Robin…” She sighed back, utterly transfixed by his gentle smile.

“I’ve always cared deeply for you, you’ve always been important to me.” He continued, holding his cock against her soaked entrance, savouring the way her lips spread easily around him and the feeling of her legs wrapping automatically around his waist- the knowledge that her entire body was aching for him, begging to accept him inside her. “You’ve done so much for me. You’ve helped me so much.”

He should stop there, he knew he should. But, as he felt her fingers squeezing his, as he saw the light shining in her eyes and the way her breathing stilled, he knew exactly what she wanted to hear, the simplest phrase that would bind to his side forever…

“I love you.”

It wasn’t a lie. He did love her...just the same as he loved Tharja, Lissa and the rest of the Shepherds.

“I-I, R-Robin…I, I feel the… I lov-”

Lowering his head down to hers and tenderly capturing her lips with his own let him avoid seeing the happy tears building in her eyes.

They stayed like that for some minutes, hands linked and tongues dancing as they let the time stretch out leisurely between them. Their bodies ground slowly together, the heat shared between them rising slowly- Her large, pillowy breasts pressed deliciously tight against his muscular chest. His thick, hard cock rolled back and forth against the opening of her pussy with an almost agonising pleasure. Her body shuddered under his, shivering with each moan she gave into his mouth and with each time he broke their kiss, gasping in a deep breath of air. The moments continued unabated, but always, even as desire throbbed hungrily within her, always Robin’s gentle touch and soft embrace tempered her ache.

They’d made gentle love last time too, but not at first, only after he had thoroughly overwhelmed her. She’d expected to be pushed down or held tightly, expected to be taken and used… Instead he took his time, instead, he cradled her gently and kissed her tenderly.

“A-Ahhn!” Olivia moaned again, breaking their kiss as her head fell backwards and eyes squeezed shut. Her head was going blank, it was already too much, it was already more than she could take.

“Hammgh.” Matching her moan with one of his own, Robin finally pushed forward. There was no need to bother asking for permission or preparation, what she was waiting for was clear beyond a doubt. Squeezing tight to her hands, he let her legs pull him inside, slowly sinking his length into her waiting folds.

Eyes shooting wide, she arched back instantly, her fingers clenching against his as her mouth fell open in a breathless gasp. “A-AhhhAHHHN!”

Now in motion, he gave her no pause, even as her cries reverberated loud around the room, Robin continued, pushing deeper into her with a slow, methodical pace, spreading the tight walls of her tunnel around his length and re-moulding her pussy again, into the shape of his cock.

Until, “G-GH-Gods!” Until, with her entire body shaking and her muscles constricting almost painfully around him, he was once again forcing apart her deepest walls, the farthest depths of her being that had only ever belonged to him.

“Gngh-GODS!” She cried, throwing her head to the side, crashing instantly into an intense orgasm as she was finally hit with the sensation she’d been yearning for all this time- the feeling of Robin once again, sheathed entirely inside her, the feeling of the back walls of her pussy stretched tight around his cock. “Gha-haa… Ahhgnaaaaa.” She moaned weakly, gasping and panting as her legs clenched tight around him and her mind slowly began to accustom to the feeling of his length fully encased within her.

A few moments passed before their eyes met once more, and then, as a warm smiled was shared between them, their bodies each began to move, both to the same rhythm, coming together in a soft, slow dance.

Locking her legs around his hips, Olivia’s pussy was clinging tight to entire length. “Anghaa.” Robin groaned happily, breathing deep as he felt her muscles clenching in time around him, matching him beat for beat, pulling and sucking at every inch of his cock the moment he began to withdraw.

Grinding their bodies even closer together, Robin’s cock pressed again, right to the back of her tunnel. “Ai-Ah, Ah! Ah! AH!” She panted, her breath coming in short bursts as she felt herself moulded around him, his cock pushing into her deepest walls and always, always hitting the same spot, over and over, his movement synching instantly against her own.

“Ah-HMNNAH!”

Again she came. Clenching tight to his hands, and gasping in delight as she felt her entire body lock up around him.

“Ro-ROBIN! NNG-”

And then again, some unknowable time later, her gasps cut off as he sealed her mouth with his once more.

She lost track of time, lost track of reason, lost track of anything beyond him, beyond the feeling of the tactician’s strong body atop her and his thick cock inside her. Her world was clouded in a white daze and her moans had become little more than small whimpers. “Ahn, ah-ahhnn!” Holding tight to his hands and basking in the tender affection in his eyes, she couldn’t help but beam happily back at him.

‘Naga.’

It was unfair, how gently he was treating her. Feeling his length siding within her, matched to her own slow tempo, she couldn’t remember the last time she’d ever felt like this- so warm and so happy. His cockhead pushed gently against the back of her pussy once more, his hips rolling with hers as he hilted himself deep inside her, stretching her entire tunnel tight around his cock and she gasped in delight, squeezing tight to his hands as she felt another shudder running up her spine, pushing her closer again to another blissful peak.

“Hnngh.” Robin groaned, giving silent thanks to the fact that his previous adventures had given him enough control to truly savour this, without needing to take her roughly. Any time spent within Olivia’s tight pussy was wonderful, but, “Nnngha!” but, making love to her like this, it had a quality all of its own. Even just with the way her hips were rolling so easily against his, accepting him and pushing against him, her natural affinity keeping her perfectly in step with his thrusts, it was addicting and it was very quickly driving him, again, toward the same incredible release she’d milked from him barely twenty minutes ago. Time to finish this.

“Don’t worry.” He assured her, his voice cloaked in sincerity. “I’ll never let you go again, I’ll never let another man touch you.”

‘Wha?’ Olivia’s eyes shot wide at his words. He wasn’t asking her? He was simply telling her? Telling her…that she was his?

And suddenly, as the world exploded into colour around her, finally she understood- why he was being so gentle, why he was holding her so kindly and why she was so, so very happy. Finally, she understood, what she’d done to deserve this loving treatment.

The last time they’d been together he’d held her tight, conquered her absolutely and, when he’d re-shaped her, both inside and out, into his woman… then he’d released her. He’d sent her into the world, dressed only in his symbols, with his gift running hot down her legs. ‘Th-this is, this is my reward.’ She realised, for returning to him, for coming back to him and for giving herself to him. She’d expected him to conquer her once more, but of course…there was no need. She was already his. She already belonged to him.

Releasing his hands, she reached up, brushing away the happy tears spilling down her face. “Th-Thank you.” She sniffed, smiling gratefully up at him, her eyes shining with wonder.

“You’re mine.”

More tears spilled unstoppably from her eyes, it was everything she’d always wanted, everything she’d never been able to admit. She didn’t want somewhere to belong to, she didn’t want a cold apartment, an empty home paid for with hollow dancing… She wanted someone to belong to. She wanted someone to support, someone who needed her and who, no matter where he went or what happened, would always keep her by his side- she wanted someone who would never let her go. Someone who would always look at her when she danced. Someone she could always dance for.

She’d always known she had a dependant personality, that she saw her worth in how she helped others, but she’d never before had the strength to admit this, she’d never before found a man she could admit this to. She’d been born a gypsy, without family or connections, she’d never belonged to anyone or anything, she’d never been needed and rarely been wanted. She’d been free all her life and it had always left her lonely and aching. She didn’t want freedom, not anymore. She wanted to be owned.

“T-That’s right.” She continued his words, reaching up and laying her hands softly against his face, stroking his cheeks as the love within her overflowed beyond anything she’d felt before. “I am yours. I b-belong to you. I-I’m, I’m your property. So, so please, treat me kindly.”

Mouth dropping open in surprise as he stared in bewilderment at the woman below him, Robin was taken completely off guard for the second time tonight. Thankfully, from the way she was brushing at the tears still running down her face, he knew she wouldn’t be able to see his shock. Sucking in a deep breath, he shook head, forcing himself calm. It was far more than he’d expected, far more than he’d been prepared for…but, it didn’t change anything.

“Of course.” He answered simply, lowering his lips to hers once more, his cock sealing the promise firmly against her womb.

“G-Hnhgaaaaa!” She gasped. Just from hearing his claim on her, she could feel her very world changing, she could feel his words coiling around her like welcome chains, shackling her forever to his side and engraving his name, his ownership, into her soul. “G-Gods!” Throwing her head to the side with a deep moan, she could feel the electricity suddenly racing down her spine once more! With her pussy clenched wonderfully tight around his magnificent length and her back arching more than an inch off the bed, Olivia let out one final scream as she came, hard, around the thick shaft.

“G-Gods.” Robin groaned back, instinctively raising his pace and gritting his teeth tighter as he felt her hips instantly match his new tempo, beat for beat. “O-Olivia.” Just being held inside her, the dancer’s pussy was already wonderfully tight around him, feeling her cumming around his cock. “Gods!” She clenched like a vice to the entirety of his length, but her movements, the gentle rhythm of her body didn’t pause for even a moment, it was almost agony, it was bliss without a moments respite!

Mouth pursed in anticipation, Olivia’s body shuddered anew under him, she could feel it- she could feel every inch of him pulsing within her, she could feel his cock growing even larger inside her!

“Ah! I’m, I’m gett-”

Acting on pure, wanton desperation, Olivia grabbed onto him, wrapping her arms tight around his neck and clenching her legs forcefully around his waist, pulling him against her, pulling him as close as she could against her, her entire body shivering with need as she begged him. “P-Please, I, I want it! Let me feel it!” She couldn’t bear not to, not after everything.

“Gh-GHHA!” Spurred on by her need, Robin slammed himself into her with sudden force, gasping into her shoulder and feeling her entire body locked tight around him, sucking desperately onto him, as his cock slid upwards, pressing tight against her cervix and suddenly erupting.

“I-I-I, I love you!” She screamed, her eyes rolling back and world again exploding into a dizzying array of colours as she felt the first jet of his release spraying directly into her womb, filling her instantly with his hot, thick cum. She hadn’t meant to say those words, but that didn’t mean they weren’t true. “I, I, ANGH-”

Locked in place around him, Olivia’s body trembled violently with each twitch of his cock inside her, each time another dense blast of cum sprayed hard against her innermost walls. With her voice stolen from her and mind seared blank by the sudden jolts of pleasure, she came, again and again, over and over with each spasm he let out and each load he unleashed within her.

Eyes blank and mouth hanging wide open, her world descended into a dizzy haze of bliss.

And finally, when she fell from him, slumping weakly back into the mattress, with her heart, soul and body finally all dyed in his colours… Finally, Olivia knew she was truly happy.

“Thank you…”

The night continued slowly from there, time stretching out slowly between them with neither giving a single thought to anything but their shared pleasure. And, finally, when her ardour gave way to fatigue, nestled safe and content within the tactician’s embrace, Olivia dreamt once more.

 ---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Twisting and turning to the pace of a slow, sensual rhythm, she was dancing once again.

She was in the same unfamiliar palace, under the same red sun… And, before the same familiar King.

Lying ahead of her, spread out, naked, on a massive, luxurious bed, covered in silks and pillows, Robin was surrounded on all sides this time. His wife was lying between his legs, her head bobbing happily up and down his shaft, and his mistresses were crowded around his sides, pulling his arms around them and running their fingers hungrily over his chest- all were begging for the same thing, for another moment of his attention.

And yet, staring past them all, with the same loving smile, as she danced for him, at the foot of his bed, for now at least, his eyes were only for her.

Shaking and sighing, shivering and sliding, with her milky-white skin shining bright in the waning evening light and her clothing long since discarded unwanted to the floor, Olivia’s silent dance continued endlessly, so long as she held his attention, she could never stop.

And, minute by wonderful minute, as the intensity of her movements rose and the need within her smouldered hotter, Robin tugged gently on the thing golden chain connected to the shackle she wore proudly around her ankle. And slowly, tantalisingly slowly, she was drawn ever close towards him.

 ---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Night passed into day, and, the next morning, when Olivia left, she did so wearing the outfit Robin had kept safe for her- carrying the shreds of her previous outfit to be discarded on the way home.

And, that afternoon, when she returned once again, she was wearing a dress Robin had never seen before.

“W-Wow.” He blinked, instantly rising from his seat, as Olivia shrugged off the plain cloak slung over her shoulders, revealing the outfit she’d hidden beneath. “That’s… That looks amazing on you.”

“Th-Thank you.” She blushed, smiling bashfully as she leant against the door. “I’ve, I’ve wanted to wear it for some time actually. I just, I never had the nerve…”

He could see why. It certainly wasn’t an everyday outfit, it was absurdly beautiful for one, with what he guessed was Chon’sinese silks cut into an elegant, sweeping design, complete even with gloves and a veil, it was far more elaborate than anything he’d seen her wear before. And, ‘Sweet Naga…’ With the bodysuit wrapped tight around her large breasts and the entire right side open down the length of her smooth, long leg, leaving even her tiny black panties visible to his eyes, it was also far more risqué than any outfit he’d ever imagined her wearing.

The effect it had on him was instantaneous, swallowing heavily and completely transfixed with her, Robin made his way slowly around the other side of his desk. “Those colours definitely suit you.”

“A-Ah! Y-Yes!” She beamed in response, the thin veil doing little to hide the way her entire face lit up in delight. “I, I think so too!”

It had taken her almost two hours to find a mage she’d been able to trust with such a delicate job, but, with the outfit now changed to a dark black, with deep purple highlights, Olivia had barely been able to restrain herself from running home and putting it on all morning!

“I, I, wanted you to be the first one to see it.” She continued, closing her eyes for a moment and letting her hips slowly begin to slide from left to right. “I wanted to, to wear it when I danced… Danced for you.”

Her words were full of pure innocence, but, as their eyes met once more and their smiles matched in synch, their hands both were already in motion- her fingers turning the lock on the door shut as she pushed herself off it, and his raised in the air, already working through the incantation to activate the silencing wards.

Neither had any doubt how this dance would end.

And so, finally draped in both the colours and the dress she’d wanted to wear for so long, performing for the man who had touched her heart- sealing her soul with his love and filling her world up only with him, Olivia began to dance.

And this time, just as Madame Penfold had suggested, her ring was left behind, tucked away, safe and sound, in her top dresser drawer.

 ---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

 

 

Notes:

A/N: And there we go! A very strongly Olivia centric chapter this time. Perhaps not the direction you were expecting their relationship to go? Or did you always think this was a natural path for someone as dependent as Olivia? I’d be interested to hear!

For anyone wondering, Olivia's final dress was meant to look just like (a mirrored version of) Azura's dress from FE: Fates, specifically the Nohr colouring. It's a beautiful design, but when you really look at it, a little surprising that someone as reserved as Azura can wear it as a casual outfit.

Obviously, similar to the Miriel chapter, with everything ending up being as involved as it was I ended up squeezing Nowi out of this one to make sure she’s got space to stretch her wings in her chapter. So! Next time, we are finally going to get some of our heavily requested Dragonkin involved! (Hey, don’t complain about the wait, I wrote an entire other oneshot to apologise to all you Nowi, or Nah fans!)

Anyhow, more importantly. As I mentioned in my Manakete side story, based off some very positive feedback when I asked, from now on more information about my story statuses as well as a weekly updates and any other details can be found at:

http://jlcdavenport.blogspot.com

Other than that, for anyone who’s reading and enjoying this story, I’d like to suggest you check out a story by a friend of mine called “Robin’s Mansion”, it’s apparently been inspired by this and I think I can safely say, if you enjoy what I’ve written there’s a very high chance you’ll like what he’s doing too. It’s a much more lighthearted Robin- Harem story, none of my NTR/Angst stuff and some of the best flowing dialogue I’ve seen in fanfiction. He had one chapter written when I published my Miriel chapter, I said I’d give him a plug when he got to three… Instead he got to 4 in the time it took me to get this out there. Slightly smaller than mine, but that’s an incredible pace. Go check it out!

http://archiveofourown.org/works/7122247/chapters/16176916

Chapter 12: Nowi - A Dragon's Desire

Notes:

Authors Note: Phew! Been a while hasn’t it?

Funnily enough, I’m actually pretty happy with how fast this chapter came out, I was delayed in starting it due to being overseas, but since then it came together very quickly.

It’s a long chapter, and part of that’s because I know a lot of you aren’t entirely comfortable with Nowi. That’s fine! I’ve put in a whole bunch of other stuff for you guys. Hopefully you won’t just skip this chapter…

Nowi – A Dragon’s Desire

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Recap: Robin is returned to life a little more than 6 months after sacrificing himself to slay the Fell Dragon. However, when he returns, he finds himself soon overcome with incredible lusts, desires that Lucina (his secret fiancé) is unable to entirely sate.

Over the next four months, things get steadily worse and soon Robin is driven almost to the point of madness by the rampaging desires, knowing that sooner or later he’ll lose control of himself entirely. With this terrible knowledge in mind, he finally abandons his resolve and sleeps with Tharja. As the Dark Mage then informs him, in being revived and in establishing full control over what used to be Grima’s power hidden inside him, Robin has now unlocked the true potential of his heritage and gained both the power and instincts of a Manakete. The most basic, primal urges, to Conquer, to Dominate and to Breed, urges that till now he has been fighting, at a terrible cost to his sanity.

Eventually accepting that the only path forward for him, to protect his family, is to sate these desires, Robin has set out, using his wits as a tactician and influence as the Shepherd’s Grandmaster, to seduce enough powerful women to satisfy even a Dragon’s selfish greed. So far, he’s succeeded in having sex with Lucina, Tharja, Lissa, Olivia and Miriel (at her husband’s suggestion). Unfortunately, there’s still much he needs to do…

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

I always thought it was remarkably unfair that, even after everything that happened, it was Nowi who became Robin’s first dragon. Perhaps it was inevitable, given their long friendship, but, if things had only played out a little differently…

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

“Cynthia, uh, hi, good morning.”

“Eh?” Looking up from where she’d been engrossed in her early morning practice, Cynthia hadn’t even noticed she was no longer alone in the barracks. “Oh! Father? Hi! What are you doing here?”

“Well, I wanted to speak to you.” He added, closing the door behind him. “Er, privately.”

There wasn’t much risk of them being overheard as it was, this barracks was only used by the trainee knights and without any official practice scheduled for today, there wasn’t much chance of anyone aside from her being present. That was, after all, the entire reason she was always here on her off days.

Cynthia wasn’t one to look the proverbial gift pegasus in the mouth. “Of course!” She replied brightly, skipping over to his side. Given both their schedules, it was rare she got an opportunity to spend much time alone with her father recently.

“So, well, as you know, Dragon’s Rest is coming up.” Chrom began with a half sigh, referring to the festival to be hosted a little over a month from now- an ancient celebration of Naga’s ascension from the physical world to the world beyond. “And as part of that, the palace will be hosting a ball with all the noble families across the Halidom.”

“One that you’ll be attending.” He clarified a moment later to the questioning look in her eyes.

“Oh. Right.” Cynthia didn’t dislike balls, not really, she enjoyed all kinds of celebrations, galas and occasions, anything interesting or exciting. It was only that, the more formal it was, the less she felt able to fit in. Despite her royal heritage and the brand shining softly in her right eye, she’d spent a lot more of her life as a warrior than as a princess.

“And of course, Lucina’s birthday isn’t too far off after that either.” Chrom suspected the future children would have their own plans for that day, but he didn’t intend to pry. “Anyway, with that in mind, I thought it’d be a good idea for me to help you- er, to ah, to teach you how to dance.”

Cynthia blinked, staring blankly back at him with uncharacteristic silence.

“So… So, you can participate.” He added awkwardly.

“Wait, Father, you can dance?”

“What? O-Of course I can! I mean, I had to learn, it was part of my education as a child, just the same as your sister was taught a little.” He wasn’t quite sure how to feel about the surprise in her voice, had she really never seen him dance? He didn’t think he’d avoided it that much.

“Hummm!” She hummed, circling around him with a serious look on her face. “Yeah! It’s a little hard to imagine at first, but I can totally see it! Woah, I bet you’re a great dancer, totally dashing and heroic!”

“Uh, err.” Oh Gods, Chrom winced, there was that look in her eyes, he knew that look far too well by now- the look she had just before she wound up trying to talk him into posing with her, or letting her re-design his battle attire. “Anyway, the important thin-”

“Oh! But hey, wait! Why are you teaching me then? Wouldn’t it normally be Mother? Or Olivia?”

He winced, again. For someone so flighty, his daughter could be frustratingly perceptive at times.

“Well, I thought we should spend some time together? And, well, I’m no master dancer myself, it wouldn’t hurt me to brush up on… Urgh…” Raising his eyes to the ceiling with a groan he gave up, running a hand through his hair with a sigh. “This all sounded so much better when Robin explained it.”

If he’d been looking, he would have noticed Cynthia’s entire body suddenly tensing up. “R-Robin?” She whispered.

His tactician had advised him not to mention him or their discussion, but Chrom never did like being indirect. “Yeah. As my advisor, one of Robin’s jobs is to keep me informed about things going on in the Halidom I might otherwise miss. Things like, for example, my youngest daughter’s Pegasus Knight training leaving her an absolute mess of bruises and apparently getting worse every month.”

“N-No!” She gasped, her eyes locking frantically onto his as her hands clenched fearfully tight around the spear she was holding. “No! Please, Father, it’s not lik-”

Holding up a hand in interruption, he placated her with a soft smile. “Peace, Cynthia. You don’t need to worry, I’m not here to interfere, or to try stop your training. Actually, well, if anything, I’m proud of you.”

“Fa…Father?”

“Ah, well. Don’t get me wrong.” He chuckled ruefully. “When I heard what was happening to you, Robin had to stop me from sending my guards out to drag Cordelia into my office for an explanation.”

Cynthia paled, looking horror stricken.

“But, I also know that she adores you.” He sighed. “And so, when Robin tells me there’s other factors involved, that there’s nothing malicious going on, I can believe him. I don’t like it one bit, but I can understand. I know what being a Pegasus Knight means to you, and I’ve been in similar situations myself, where it was too important to stop, no matter what happened or what I had to go through.”

He understood, she could see, just as Robin did- that neither Cordelia nor the other recruits were being cruel to her, that if he used his influence to ease off in the training for her, he’d forever rob her of her pride as a true Ylissean Pegasus Knight.

“As your commander and as the Exalt, of course I’m impressed by your dedication and your commitment… But, as your father, it scares me Cynthia, thinking about you getting hurt like that. No matter what, you’re still my little Pega-Pony-Princess.”

Her spear fell from her hands, by the time it clattered to the ground Cynthia had already crossed the distance between them, throwing herself into her father’s chest and wrapping her arms vice like around him. “Th-Thank you.” She sniffed, rubbing her face back and forth against his shirt to dry her suddenly damp eyes. She wasn’t very fond of tears, she didn’t think showing such obvious weakness was very Heroic, people wouldn’t be able to believe in her if she was just crying all the time- but sometimes, like now, she didn’t mind quite so much.

“Just remember.” Chrom answered, wrapping an arm around her back and softly stroking her hair. “You don’t need to bear everything alone any more, you can talk to me or your mother about anything. We’ll always support you, we’ve always got your back.”

 A few minutes passed quietly between them before either felt like speaking again.

“So… While it was Robin’s suggestion, I really do think learning to dance is a good idea. It’ll help you train your balance and co-ordination if nothing else, and with the upcoming ball, it’s a good excuse.”

And, they both added internally, the thought of spending more time together doing something as father and daughter, was nice just in itself.

“Hehe.” She giggled happily at the thought. “I still think it’s a bit of a funny idea though! If it’s to help with my training, wouldn’t it be better to practice fighting?”

“HAH!” Chrom roared, releasing her and taking a step back with a beaming smile. “You know, I actually said exactly the same thing!”

“Oh!?”

“Yeah! Er… And then Robin just glared at me.” He admitted, looking a bit abashed as he remembered the withering look the tactician had sent him. “Since that would mean, well in his words, socking my little girl in the face.”

Cynthia paused. She hadn’t thought of that.

“Right. Now, here, we’re gonna dance. Look, take my hands like this…”

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Slumping backwards down into his chair with a broad smile, Robin allowed himself a few moments to marvel at the sight before him- Olivia spread out atop his desk, her face flushed with delight and body still quivering gently from her own climaxes.

In an uncharacteristic spur of the moment decision, this morning he’d decided to pull out as he’d finished, spraying his seed thick across her stomach and breasts, with a few thin ropes even reaching her neck and face. In the interests of pragmatism, Robin usually tended to prefer finishing inside his lovers, but, looking now at the way the dancer’s pure white skin shone in the dawn’s light, glistening under a sheen of his cum, he was finding himself quite partial to the sight.

Leaning back with a satisfied sigh, he felt the tensions already built up from the few hours he’d worked so far begin to unwind from him. Olivia’s return to his side a few days ago had made the early mornings in his office considerably more appealing. Olivia, it seemed, enjoyed performing for him much more when she’d already received at least one load inside her, so, beginning her day by being spread across his desk or pulled into his lap had quickly developed into something of a habit for the pink-haired woman.

Reaching forward to offer her a hand as she pulled herself upright, Robin could only smile as she slid breathlessly down to the ground at his feet, nestling herself comfortably between his legs, a warm shudder running through his spine a moment later as he felt her soft, wet lips gently enveloping the head of his cock.

Amazingly, sinking to her knees and cleaning his cock like this, was the other habit the shy dancer had recently taken to. It was an action he’d only ever seen previously from Tharja, an idea both girls had apparently arrived at completely independently and something he could only imagine was related to the incredible words of devotion she’d spoken to him. ‘Bind me in shackles and chain me forever to your side.’  He still wasn’t sure what to make of that, it was far more than he’d anticipated.

“A-Ahh, Olivia.” He breathed, threading his fingers through her silken hair as her tongue coiled around his shaft. “You’re too good to me.”

“I only want to make you happy.” She answered, sliding his cock from her mouth and smiling shyly back up at him. “I like it… I just want to ser- to serve you properly.”

Even now, he still wasn’t sure quite what to make of her words. But, relaxing further into the seat as she returned to her task, diligently cleaning off all their mixed juices, he wasn’t too concerned. He could worry about things like that later, all that mattered to him right now, was that having a woman pamper him so submissively like this after sex felt good. Very good.

“A-Ah!” Almost too good.

Snapped back to reality by a sudden jolt of pleasure, Robin looked down with a wry grin at where Olivia had clearly moved from simply cleaning him- her lips pursing tighter around his glans and her head bobbing hungrily up and down his shaft. Letting her continue was almost dangerously enticing… But… ‘I’ve put it off far too long already.’

“That’s enough for now.” He said instead, cupping her head and gently pulling her to her feet, placing a tender kiss on her forehead in thanks as she rose. “Sorry, I’ve got a lot I need to work through this morning.”

“O-Of course.” She nodded, grinning bashfully back at him as she wiped her hand across her mouth. “Thank you, t-this morning felt great. I really… Really enjoy being with you like this.”

“Yeah, me too.” He agreed easily, suppressing a laugh at the sight of her spinning away from him and walking quickly across to the far side of the room- even despite everything they’d done, whenever she wasn’t having sex or dancing, she still managed to be as shy as ever. “You always give me something to look forward to in the mornings. It’s amazing how much more work I’ve gotten through since you began helping me!”

Ignoring Olivia’s answering squeak, he set about retrieving his clothes, making himself presentable again and dropping back into the chair behind his desk as he watched with interest as Olivia set about the same task, picking up the black dancing outfit she’d left lying across the floor and wriggling back into it.

‘Oh?’  Resting his chin in his hands, Robin couldn’t fail to notice that as she did so, the dancer made absolutely no effort to clean herself up first- her face burning bright red but her mouth letting off a small pleasured gasp as she wrapped the silks tight around herself, soaking them directly in the cum still damp across her skin.

Gulping, he quickly looked away, fighting down the sudden burst of desire running through him once more. Looking at the wet discolouration on the cloth or the undoubtedly satisfied look on Olivia’s face was disastrous for his focus.

Truthfully, he didn’t have much pressing work left to do this morning, normally he would have eagerly preferred to carry her back to bed and go another few rounds. But, today, he’d promised himself, was the day he would finally make start on the plans he’d put off making for far too long.

Raising a hand and whispering a simple incantation quickly filled the room with a fresh scent, washing away any lingering smell from their exertions. When he’d actually bothered to read it, he’d found Miriel’s book surprisingly helpful after all, there were even a few more simple spells it had recommended near the back he was interested in trying out.

A few moments later, Olivia had finished re-dressing herself and had unlocked his office-door, leaving it slightly ajar as was normal when he was available.

And so, with the other Shepherds likely to arrive over the next few hours, it was as if nothing at all had happened. The room was back to normal, she was limbering up, preparing to dance and he was seated at his desk, an ocean of possibilities unfolding within his head.

‘It’ll be dangerous to leave it any longer. It was dangerous even leaving it this long.’ He scolded himself, knowing full well the sheer unsavoury nature of the task was the reason for his hesitation. Once again, he needed to think up strategies to deal with the people he considered his closest friends. The thought of taking action against any of his comrades was a terrible one, unfortunately, what he risked by not doing so, was even worse.

Flipping open one of his journals and pretending to read through it, he sighed, his entire body thrumming in self-recrimination.

He’d already made his plan long ago, before he’d even started anything with Olivia. A plan to deal with the situation he was faced with, while minimising the harm his actions would cause as much as possible. A plan to seduce some of the women closest to him, a plan to betray the woman he loved most… All to cure the destructive urges that so often tore through him. All to protect his family, to save Lucina and Morgan, even from himself, even from the truth of his crimes.

Five women. He had five women now. It was almost unthinkable, in his quest to cure the instincts that boiled within him, in barely a few weeks he’d taken on four additional lovers. Tharja had been borne out of pure need and Lissa had been largely expected, but Olivia had been a complete surprise, Miriel even more so. It hadn’t been an easy task, he’d stretched his tactics to the limits, pushing his mettle as far as he’d dared, saying and doing things so audacious even now it was difficult to believe he’d gotten away with it… But, he’d succeeded. He’d taken them all, bound them to his side and made them his.

Five women. Each one strong and beautiful, dazzling with their own unique brilliance and charm. Five of the most incredible women he had ever met, that had to be enough to soothe his rampaging lusts once and for all, surely enough for even the most selfish Dragon’s hoard.

‘But.’ His fists clenched involuntarily as he once again accepted the terrible truth, the same discussion he’d already had with Tharja in this exact chair only a little over a week ago. ‘It’s not that simple.’

That was the truly unsavoury revelation he’d gained, that it wasn’t enough for him to only act on offense, his situation wouldn’t be resolved simply by claiming enough women to sate his needs. No. If he truly wanted to protect his family, then his defence was just as vital. He had to protect himself from being exposed, from letting the truth of his crimes come to light.

‘Lucina will know about this.’ He reminded himself, the promise he’d before starting down the path he now walked, the same promise that had kept him going even when suffocated by his regrets. ‘But, it has to be me that tells her.’

No matter what, he refused to let the woman he loved discover his betrayal from anyone else’s mouth. She deserved better than that… ‘She deserves better than me.’

And so, until he was cured, he would continue walking down this road. He would protect her, even if only to let her smile for just one more day, he would protect her from the truth of the man she loved, no matter what it took.

Shaking his head with a rueful sight, Robin pushed those melancholic thoughts aside. They weren’t productive and, with his body still humming lightly with a craving to taste more of Olivia, the guilt wasn’t as strong as he knew it should be either. Instead, he cleared his mind, setting himself to the task ahead, forcing himself into the same focussed, analytical mindset he’d become so famous for as he, once again, evaluated the situation.

‘Boldly speaking.’ He began, reiterating the conclusion, he’d come to some weeks ago. ‘In terms of the risk they represent me, the Shepherds can be largely divided into four categories.’

The first was the general majority, those on the periphery or kept uninvolved in his plans. Thankfully, due to the nature of his work and their trust in him, Robin was actually relatively insulated from suspicion. They should have no reason to look closer without a specific impetus. There was always an inherent threat of something going wrong, or something he hadn’t prepared for cropping up, but, so long as he was cautious, there shouldn’t be any problems.

Secondly was the extremely perceptive or involved Shepherds, people like Gaius, Maribelle or Severa that would notice anything out of the ordinary and who would take it upon themselves to look into it. He didn’t need to manage these ones directly, not yet at least, but he did need to be especially careful not to give them a reason to investigate.

Thirdly and even more difficult, was those he was already involved with and the threat of them accidently exposing their own involvement with him. Thankfully, in what had become something of a twisted blessing, without having any intention of doing so, most of the women he’d approached were already married, so they had the same need of discretion as him. Tharja wasn’t a worry at all, but Cordelia… being single, if anything did happen between them, it would only be her fear of Severa’s reaction that would keep her silent. Right now, she was harmless, but he would need to be very careful depending how things unfolded between them.

Finally, however, was the most dangerous group of all- those with extraordinarily sharp senses. Tiki, Nowi, Nah, Yarne and Panne, not only were they all exceedingly difficult to conceal anything from, they all had the ability to uncover everything in a single instant. Truly, even with his own now heightened perception, he couldn’t even begin to guess at just how powerful a Manakete or Taguel’s senses were, but, the thought of any one of them smelling the other women on him, or smelling his scent on a multitude of women was more than enough to warrant extreme caution.

Tiki had returned to the Milla tree in Valm after the war, so, for now at least he didn’t have to worry about her.

Yarne was currently off searching for some apparent safe haven, but even when he did return, given his skittishness, he wouldn’t be too much trouble to deal with.

Nah, likewise, was a fairly manageable threat. Due to her young appearance and cold mannerisms, she was always left somewhat aloof from the rest of the group as it was. It was something Robin had noticed back during the wars, that even among the other time-travellers, while they all cared deeply for her and would lay down their lives to save hers, he suspected that only Lucina would list the younger Manakete as her best friend (along with every one of her other companions). Realising this was actually one of the reasons Robin had initially made such an effort to befriend her back during the Valmese campaign.

But, for now, that aloofness would work in his favour. Nah was no gossip, she would never take a stand on an issue this serious unless she was absolutely sure of herself, and even then, he doubted she’d speak up without sufficiently good reason, she surely had a strong inkling of his relationship with Lucina, but as far as he knew, she’d still never mentioned a word of it to anyone around the camp. She was unlikely to be close enough to smell anything unusual on any of the women he was with and, so long as he was careful in his own interactions with her, she should have no reason to believe that any other female scents she did catch on him was from anything other than their standard behaviour.

Which only left the final two, the most dangerous risks in the entire core of the Shepherds and the women he’d admitted to Tharja that he needed to deal with more than a week ago. Panne and Nowi.

Panne was absolutely headstrong and wouldn’t hesitate for a moment to speak up if she even suspected something untoward was going on. Thankfully, like Nah, she mostly kept to herself, apart from the other members of their group. Especially… Robin grimaced, his body tensing in dull anger… Especially after what had happened. She was dangerous, but he could deal with her later.

But Nowi… Nowi was a problem. Loud, friendly and recklessly impulsive, she interacted with the entire army constantly. And, with her characteristic inquisitiveness, if she caught so much as a hint of his scent on any of the other women, then everyone in Ylisse was certain to know about it by night-fall.

‘Nowi…’ He sighed, picturing the diminutive Dragon as he rested his head in his hands. Despite her age and occasional sign of the hidden maturity he knew she possessed, he couldn’t help but wrench with guilt at the idea of “targeting” the carefree woman in any manner.

Ultimately, however, even that guilt wasn’t enough to give him pause- the thought of Lucina’s broken heart was scarier than anything else.

Perhaps the most troubling part was that, despite his misgivings and despite her petite body not being the kind he was usually attracted to, the thought of seducing Nowi was still an uncomfortably attractive one, even aside from the risk she presented him.

‘I don’t actually need to seduce her.’  He reminded himself, thinking along those lines was just his instincts talking, all he actually needed to do was to come to some kind of understanding with her. ‘Still…’

There really was no denying that Nowi had a type of charm all to herself. Somehow she combined the vivacity of youthful playfulness with a hidden maturity that shone through anytime you made the mistake of underestimating her. Unlike Tiki the millennia of life she’d lived seemed to rest easily on her shoulders and unlike Nah she bore herself openly and honestly, wearing her heart freely on her sleeve. Nowi was someone unique all to herself, she wasn’t naïve, but there was still much she didn’t know or hadn’t experienced. She was carefree, she was endlessly enthusiastic and more than anything else, she was beautifully kind.

Sighing, Robin shook his head. Despite the differences in age and even species, he had no doubt she would make a wonderful wife for any man.

Which, of course, was the problem.

‘When I think about it.’ He considered carefully, his face dropping into a worried frown. ‘There’s actually a good chance that’s she’s in a very similar position to Cordelia.’

Nah wasn’t quite as overt about it as Severa, but her strong personality still clashed frequently with her mother’s and there was no doubt that her parents lack of relationship chafed at her.

A new guilt bubbled within him at that thought, the same hollowness he’d felt upon learning about Cordelia’s hidden pain. Because, just the same as with her, the moment that Nah had arrived in their camp and declared Donnel to be her father, he’d practically considered them to be married in all his thoughts from then on.

‘Except, it’s probably even worse for her.’ He realised, fists clenching atop the desk as he painfully re-lived old memories, only just now putting himself in the shoes of the diminutive Manakete he’d called a friend for so many years.

Unlike Cordelia who had known Ricken in one capacity or another for years, Nowi and Donnel’s actual time together had been practically non-existent. Aside from some training camps he’d done with Frederick, for most of the peace between the wars, Donnel had returned to his home village, and then when the Shepherd’s had left for Valm, he had been one of a small handful left behind; to protect Ylisse and guide their defences against Plegians, bandits, or Risen.

And of course, after they met with Nah in Valm and after the war drew to a close, everyone had been laughing with Nowi about her return to Ylisse and to seeing Donnel again. Everyone but Cordelia. He sighed, it was all so obvious in hindsight. He doubted it had been any easier for Donnel, having been introduced to the idea of future children only a short time before the rest of the Shepherd’s left, and then having them return with a little girl jumping into his arms and calling him “Father.” All told, by the time everyone put the two of them together, Nowi and Donnel had probably shared a handful of conversations ever. And, even when they were back in Ylisse, with everything that was happening around Plegia and then Grima, things had been far too hectic for something like a new romance.

They’d only truly even had any time to even attempt to think about becoming a couple after the war. Which of course put them at the mercy of Nah’s prompting and everyone else’s unsaid expectations- everyone wanted the happy ending, he supposed.

 ‘Of course, that’s not even considering the inherent sadness that comes from a Manakete to begin with.’ Nowi marrying anyone came with both a commitment and a guaranteed heartbreak that he doubted he could even fully imagine- the quiet sorrow that surrounded even the perpetually single Tiki spoke volumes about that.

“But then…” He breathed, leaning forwards onto his hands and pausing for a moment to savour the sight of Olivia’s luscious curves swaying in place a few metres from where he sat (and to return the smile she shot him when she saw him appreciating the view). “The true problem, is that I don’t know how she feels about any of this.”

Perhaps, just like Cordelia, she had bottled it all up inside and was letting it drive her to madness. Or, perhaps she didn’t mind at all about the details, perhaps she was simply excited at the idea of having a partner and a family- she’d certainly revealed a core of loneliness within her to him more than once. It was even possible she didn’t care at all about it either way, perhaps she and Donnel had come to an arrangement to just let everything be and ignore the possibilities and expectations completely.

“I don’t know.” He truly had no clue and no way to even guess at her feelings.

Because… ‘Because, she’s been avoiding me.’ He frowned, finally facing the truth he’d been tacitly ignoring for the last few months.

Stemming firstly from her own strange friendship with Tharja and then from the Dark Mage’s constant presence at his side, Nowi had quickly become a great friend of his. She’d been a confident and a constant companion from Plegia to peacetime, through Valm and right to the day he died.

And then, almost as soon as he’d returned, she’d become as scarce as he’d ever seen her.

He’d tried not to worry about it, she certainly had her reasons and he’d had more than enough to worry about between soothing Morgan’s angry-joyous tears and rekindling his secret relationship with Lucina. After that, as he’d felt himself almost driven mad by his own instincts, he hadn’t had the time to worry about a strangely distant friend. ‘If anything, it was even convenient.’ He admitted to himself, with another spark of guilt. Before his death the time he’d had to spend alone with Lucina had been strictly limited, there were often days or weeks between encounters… Afterwards, as his reckless desires grew, they’d wound up spending almost every night either in his bedroom or hers, hiding their relationship from someone like Nowi (and thus, the rest of the camp) would have been impossible.

But now, now he had no choice but to worry about it.

Without knowing why, she was avoiding him, he had no idea if she would continue to do so, or for how long. Which meant that Nowi was always one change of heart from leaping into his lap once more and revealing everything.

‘Right.’ He nodded in confirmation, putting aside a handful of half-formed plans he’d already created around potentially escalating their relationship. ‘The first step then, is to find out wh-’

“Father!” His door suddenly slammed open, smashing into the wall with a thunderous crash! “I’ve come to challenge you!”

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

“Actually, no.” Morgan corrected herself as she strode in, a look of pure determination shining bright on her face, her cloak whipping forcefully around her body. “Father! I’ve come to surpass you!”

Looking up, Robin’s entire body sparked with excitement, electrified the moment he tasted her resolve. Sitting ramrod straight at his desk he met her resolute glare with an eager grin of his own, all other thoughts being pushed aside in the face of the sudden adversity.

“Oh?”

A challenge. Another challenge. Just as he’d believed she would, truly, his daughter never failed to impress him.

“You’re going to surpass me? That’s quite an ask.” He goaded her on. “Are you sure you’re ready Morgan?”

“Do you remember what you said?” She asked instead, her back stiffening at his words. “That if I could convince Mother to come dance for you, then I would have surpassed you!”

“Ah, I do remember that.” He nodded, his interest piqued even higher at the thought of his fiancé wearing any of the incredible outfits Olivia performed for him in.

“Hmm. So, then,” Turning he tilted his head towards the pink haired dancer, standing in the corner of the room. “This is where you’ve been heading off to lately then?”

It couldn’t have been more than a few hours a week, but he had noticed her sometimes taking a little longer than he might have expected arriving at his office after finishing her practice sessions. It wasn’t anything he’d concerned himself with, certainly not anything he’d planned to confront her about, but it was nice to have confirmation regardless.

 “Fu fu fu.” Morgan crowed, covering her mouth with the back of her hand and staring down at him with a haughty expression. “That’s right Father, I’ve turned even your own subordinate against you! And now! Be amazed!”

Taking her cue at the younger tactician’s command, in walked Sumia and, just as his daughter had declared, at her side and dressed in an elegant form fitting blue-silk dress, was Lucina- Little Lucina.

“Heh.” Regardless of what he’d expected, Robin still couldn’t hold back a minor twinge of disappointment.

“Okay, go on honey.” Sumia urged quietly, gently nudging the young princess into the middle of the room- whereupon she instantly froze, looking nervously up at the adults whose attention she’d suddenly commanded. “Let’s show Uncle Robin the dance you’ve been working on.” 

Sumia. Robin’s mood improved just at the sight of her. Looking over and catching the Queen’s eyes for a moment, a warm smile passed between them.

She was the partner of his best friend, his trusted comrade in battle and beloved ruler of his country. For years now Robin had considered her practically family and it was no lie to say that he loved her, both as a sister-in-law through Chrom and as a mother-in-law through Lucina.

With a kind, heart-shaped face and an athlete’s slender body -albeit one with curves almost enough to rival even Tiki or Tharja, more than enough to easily put even the modest robes of an Exalt’s wife to the test- Sumia radiated a soft and gentle beauty, one that he knew had captured the hearts of many across the Halidom. Even the birth of her first child had only increased her allure and, while failing to notice his own heart beating faster at the thought, Robin was certain there were countless men who would gladly offer to assist her in producing her second.

It was always a pleasure to see her, Robin thought, his eyes absently tracking every bounce and shake of her magnificent breasts as she followed Lucina into the centre of the room, cataloguing just how they strained indecently against the creamy white fabric of her dress and drinking in the view down her cleavage as she leaned over to give some final words of encouragement to the young princess.

He was always glad for her company, because, in everything that had happened since his revival, without her ever knowing it, Sumia had become his rock- a reminder that even when it had felt like his sanity was slipping away, that he had still remained himself, that he was still the same man he had been.

Leaning back slightly as she moved around her young daughter, bending at the waist to face her directly, Robin’s gaze slid carelessly up her long slim legs and around her soft, round ass, some distant part of his mind noting (not for the first time) both that her hips were a bit wider than Lucina’s and that she would still fit comfortably right into his lap just the same… That she would likely squirm and gasp just th-

‘Eh?’ Snapped back to reality as she straightened, Robin blinked, trying to recover his train of thought. What had he just been thinking about?

 Another warm smile from the Pegasus Knight put that question aside after she turned to offer him a confident thumbs-up, her hand resting on the younger Lucina’s shoulder in support.

‘Yeah.’ He smiled back in relief, continuing to ignore the way Morgan was smirking victoriously at him from across the room. Sumia was his rock. Oh, he could admit she was attractive, of course he realised that, but, no matter how hard it had been, even when he’d been at his absolute worst, he’d never once found himself looking at his Queen (at his best friend’s woman) with the same burning lust as he’d found himself looking at the other female Shepherds.

Sumia was like family to him, he just couldn’t see her that way.

“O-Okay! I’m, I’m ready!” Dropping his eyes down to where the now red-faced princess was tugging nervously at the hem of the blue silken dress, Robin couldn’t help but smile. Even acknowledging that they were separate people, just hearing such a nervous lilt from a voice so very similar to his fiancés was almost impossibly cute, the way she looked up at him with such beautiful blue eyes only made the heart-melting scene even more impossible for him to look away from.

Sucking in a deep breath, her entire body suddenly snapped taut, holding itself rigid in an exact mirror of the post he’d seen countless times from the woman he loved and, for a moment, Robin’s breath caught in his throat.

‘Geez…’

Even if he hadn’t been engaged to her adult self, Robin seriously doubted he would have been able to stop himself from wanting to dote on the young princess.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

The room thundered with applause! Seeing as there were only four of them present, they all clapped especially hard.

“D-Did you really like it, Uncle Robin?” Lucina squeaked out, her entire face lighting up in a beaming smile as she rose up from her finishing bow.

“I did! I really did!” He declared, from where he’d been offering a standing ovation behind his desk. “That was wonderful, it really picked me up! It was just the thing I needed after working so hard this morning!”

He pointedly ignored Olivia’s wry grin at that comment.

It wasn’t only platitudes, it truly had been a very impressive performance for such a young child, especially with only a few weeks of actual preparation. Lucina had always been graceful and poised in a way both her mother and sister lacked, it appeared that those same traits had been passed down to her younger self. Chuckling ruefully to himself, he spared a moment to pray for Cynthia’s inevitable younger self, if she too inherited her elder self’s grace and poise, well, he could at least hope for a few less falls for her.

“And as for you, and this display of yours.” He declared, cooling his features and walking around the desk toward his own daughter, noticing that the humour on her face had wilted under his serious expression.

“You knew what I meant and what the significance of my words were. And yet, you intentionally twisted my meaning, undermining the very point I could make. For what? To prepare a scene like this and foist it on me? So, you can use something I never agreed to against me?”

Morgan swallowed, but her eyes never slid from his. “That’s right.”

He cracked first, the proud smile he’d restrained breaking through instantly. “Very impressive! Not bad at all, kiddo! You even did it behind my back, using people I trusted against me! Hah, just like a true tactician!”

His hand reached out across her face, brushing her messy blue hair back over her ears. “No. Just like a true Grandmaster.”

Quailing under his praise and in the realisation that the moment she’d waited her entire life for had finally arrived, Morgan’s entire body felt light, the whole world fading into a glowing bubble. “F-Father…” Completely lost in her happy daze, she couldn’t even tell her if she’d spoken aloud.

Taking her gently by her shoulders, Robin turned her around and guided her slowly towards his desk, walking her through the room and past the others as if she was being given a parade. “You’ve always amazed me Morgan.” He sighed. “From the first moment we met, I knew you were going to be exceptional. I worked harder than ever after you joined, improving myself, so I could match up to your expectations and to give you a goal to work towards, a target for your own growth.

“But now.” He finished, easing her carefully into his seat and straightening the collar on the robe his other self had passed onto her. “Now, I’m just so very proud of you. Well done daughter.”

Unable to respond and barely able to even think, Morgan just sat in a blissful daze, dizzy giggles escaping from her tightly pursed lips.

“Now then!” Dropping the solemn mood and turning on a dime, Robin strode over towards the young princess, hoisting her into his arms with a roaring laugh. “After a performance like that, I think this little deserves a reward!”

Squealing happily, Lucina’s eyes went wide, her arms wrapping tight around his shoulders as he carried her across the room.

“C’mon, my little dancing-bluebird, how about we go stuff you full of Ice-Cream?”

“Yeah!”

“Wha? Hey, wait!” Knocked from her own reverie, Sumia lurched after them, stumbling in place but just barely managing to catch herself before she ploughed head-first into the doorway. “Robin! Hey! Don’t you spoil her appetite! ROBIN!”

The shouts, and the sounds of Ylisse’s Queen chasing the Royal Grandmaster out into the streets echoed up the stairs and around the barracks, but Morgan barely even noticed them.

‘Grandmaster Morgan.’ She preened, face flushing with pride. ‘No, wait! It should be Grandmistress Morgan!’

“Ahhhh.” She sighed in delight, sinking comfortably back into the luxurious leather seat. It was certainly better than the one in her office, not a bad upgrade at all. “Grandmistress Morgan. Number one Tactician of Ylisse!”

Yup. That sounded perfect.

It was only then, as she examined her new domain, that Morgan finally noticed the papers, spreadsheets and charts spread out in thick piles all across the desk.

‘Huh?’

This wasn’t what her father had been working on when she’d come in, she was more than observant enough to notice that. Then… He’d changed it out during Lucina’s dance? He’d had all these stashed away? Why?

‘W-Wha…?’

Her face turned pale and the warm buzz she’d been enjoying slowly drained away.

The documents stacked high across the desk were all jobs she was very familiar with- work he had specifically trained her to do just over a week ago. A second glance told her all she needed to know, everything she could see before her was all tasks she was authorised to take care of.

Her mouth dropped wide open. “H-He predicted this? He had all this prepared!?”

Even despite the blow to her ego, it was still a comforting thought. The man she idolised was as incredible as ever, the goal she’d chased for so long was as unassailable as before.

“Geez Father.” She sighed, tossing her hair and grinning ruefully at the trap she’d fallen into. “I really wasn’t ready to surpass you after all, was I? You really are amazing.”

Unfortunately, that wistful look only lasted one single moment.

“H-Hey! Wait! He left me behind to do all his work!?”

Her aghast eyes met with Olivia’s, but all the dancer could offer was a weak shrug.

“Daaaaaddy… I want ice-cream too…”

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Despite her somewhat airheaded personality and aside from her initial misgivings about the sudden workload she’d received, Morgan was a diligent girl and committed tactician, so she proceeded quietly through the stacks of documents spread out over her father’s desk for the next few hours, periodically pausing to grumble about workplace inequality or unfair labour practices.

The tasks themselves were almost impressively monotonous (intentionally so, she was certain) enough so that more than once she found her thoughts drifting off, taking far more interest in the beautiful sheen she could occasionally see glistening across Olivia’s stomach (some new beauty routine? She wondered) as the dancer whirled around the room, than in the minutia in front of her.

Stuck fighting fatigue as she worked through the boring documents, it wasn’t until the pink-haired assistant finally took pity on her and left to go prepare some tea and snacks that Morgan found something suddenly capturing her interest once more.

‘Oh?’ She blinked, leaning over on her right side to get a better look inside the bottom drawer she’d just pulled open on her father’s desk.

She had been looking to see if he’d hidden away a higher class of pencil than the one that had just snapped its lead across the page she was working on, but instead, she found herself looking at the embossed brown cover of a thick tome- one stashed curiously right at the back of his bottom drawer, rather than a few metres away in his bookshelf.

“What’s this?”

In all her time back in Ylisstol, Morgan had never once rifled through her father’s desk- not out of some concern for his privacy, as a tactician her consideration towards that ended the moment she thought she could gather information without being caught, but rather, simply due to the immense respect she had for the man. She had believed, until this very moment, that looking through his desk would be an absolute waste of her time. If her father wanted to hide something, he would have put it in the royal vault or in some safe she’d never even heard of, he wasn’t so careless a man as to simply stash something in his desk and hope no-one ever opened it.

Which is why, barely a moment after pulling it from his desk and seeing the title, the book fell limp through Morgan’s slack fingers and tumbled to the ground with a dull thud.

“Kal’Sutara.” She mouthed, staring wide-eyed at the tome she could see now lying between her legs. “The complete guide to…to…lovem…”

Unable to finish the sentence aloud as her face burned bright red in shock, it was several moments later before she built up the courage to bend over and tentatively taking the book back in hand, re-reading the title a few more times, just to make sure the tedium of the day’s tasks hadn’t caused her to imagine things.

‘Lo-Lovemaking? They… They have guides for that?’

Bewildered at the find, her mind spun, the analytical part of her quickly taking over as she sought refuge from the shock with comforting logic and deduction.

It didn’t look worn, at least not in the way the books her father usually poured through were at least. There weren’t any signs of his usual styles bookmarking or dog-eared pages. It was either brand new or very close to it.

A gift then? A joke gift perhaps, for Chrom or one of the others? But then… The only celebration she could imagine that was coming up over the next few months was her mother’s birthday and… And she certainly couldn’t imagine her father giving this to her.

Then… Then… There was only one other conclusion that seemed to make sense.

‘Th-This is fathers?’ She concluded, running a finger tentatively along the spine as she attempted to reconcile a book like this with the man she knew. ‘Father read this?’

She swallowed, it was hard to believe, hard to even imagine… The diligent, serious man that spent all his time looking after the Shepherds and Ylisse, the Grandmaster himself, had read this? Had read through a tome on lovemaking? As a highly trained tactician, that thought alone filled her curiosity… If there was something to learn, if there was something in here her father, had thought was important enough to buy an entire book to study… Then…

Chewing nervously on her bottom lip, Morgan set the thick tome in her lap and cracked it open, chasing after the same knowledge her father had seen fit to investigate.

“Woah…”

With her face shining a bright crimson and heart pounding loud in her chest, Morgan turned slowly through page after page- hesitantly at first, but then faster, with growing confidence as a guilty excitement built within her, stronger by the second as she drank it in, filling her mind with the poetic titles, the beautiful descriptions and the fanciful suggestions and… Most of all, with the pictures. With page after page of images of a man and woman, or a man and multiple women, their bodies tangled together in ways she’d never imagined and the throes of pleasure clear even in the artistically blank faces.

“Woah.” She repeated, squirming in her seat as a strange anxiety bubbled within her.

While she was the youngest of the time travellers and among the youngest of the Shepherds, Morgan wasn’t oblivious to sex. She’d already had more than a handful of nights spent tossing and turning atop her bedroll, tugging her cloak tight around her body and rubbing her legs together as she savoured the strange warmth of a breathless fantasy.

She even knew what it felt like to fall in love, albeit a painful unrequited love, but love all the same.

However, looking at it now, at a man and woman entwined in positions she’d never dreamed, at names she’d never heard and advice she could only scarcely comprehend- Somehow, it seemed real, it seemed physical.

This wasn’t just a fantasy and it was far from the vague dreams that enjoyed as an adolescent, she realised, swallowing her dry mouth as a small shudder ran through her spine. This was adulthood. This was coupling, it was lovemaking.

“This is… This is father’s book.” She reminded herself, closing the tome and hugging it tight against her chest, just the same as she would treasure any of her father’s possessions. “Then… Then, does he also?”

There wasn’t much point in studying something you had no intention of putting into practice. The images and titles she’d seen ran hot through her mind once more.

“He’s been researching this…”

Gasping quietly, her breath hitched in her throat as the images she could see in her mind’s eye slowly began to shift. Clenching the book tighter against herself, surprised at how receptive her body was to the sensation right now, the pictures she’d just seen ran again through her memories-

Only, instead of a blank male silhouette holding a woman pressed firmly against the wall… Now the man was garbed in a familiar, beloved tactician’s cloak. And now, she could recognise the same strong arms she knew holding the woman aloft, keeping her secure against him as he pinned her against the solid surface.

And, instead of the empty face she’d seen staring down at the two women wrapping themselves around his waist… Morgan now saw it filled with the same reassuring smile that had lifted her heart so many times, she saw his white hair tousled with exertion, but the same reassuring kindness she loved from him shining out all the same.

Where before she’d see-

‘Ah!?’

The soft sound of approaching footsteps snapped her back to reality and, with her heart leaping to her throat, Morgan frantically jammed the book back where she’d found it, only just barely managing the self-restraint to keep from slamming the drawer shut.

Flicking her hood up, she bent completely over the desk in an attempt to hide her flustered expression. However, even as she tried to suck in deep, calming breaths, her mind continued to race.

The book belonged to her father.

Now that she thought about it, it wasn’t surprising really. She knew well how amazing her father was; he was the most handsome, smartest, kindest, man she’d ever met. Even if they wouldn’t say so, she was certain that all the other female Shepherds were jealous of her mother for being the woman he (definitely, even if he hadn’t admitted it) loved. For a man as incredible as him, he must have countless offers thrown his way, surely he could have the choice of any woman he wanted. He must have had endless opportunities…

But, now he owned this book. And, whether he’d done so already or not… That was proof he was… He was researching things like this.

‘Lovemaking.’ The word echoed gently around her head and a mischievous smile rose on her lips.

Ultimately, no matter how many offers he (surely) received, there was only one reason she could imagine for her father to be interested in things like this.

“Heheeee.” She grinned. “I’ll have to keep a closer eye on him and mother!”

It was unlikely they’d done anything yet, she was fairly sure she would have noticed and her mother had always been rather shy, but, even so, ‘Perhaps they’re not so platonic after all?’

The book was obviously brand new. Either something had very recently changed between them, or her father was finally ready to admit his undying love for her mother!

“Fu fu fu!”

And suddenly, the world was full of possibilities. After all, no-one could blame her for wanting to cheer on the events that would lead to her own birth would, they?

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Walking through the palace halls that night, Robin was only vaguely aware of his surroundings as his mind turned through a myriad of topics.

His work of the Halidom could never be put aside, of course, so he had all his usual endless list of concerns there, everything from the defences of the borders to the allotment of taxation. Atop that, he was mildly worried about the strange looks he’d received from Morgan all afternoon when he’d returned to his office (and reclaimed his seat), she’d been strangely quiet ever since- most likely plotting some form of revenge for him dumping so much work on her like that.

But mostly, now that he’d allowed himself to worry about it, the vast majority of his mind remained fixated on Nowi- on what he knew about the elusive Manakete as much as what he didn’t, on how to arrange time to spend with her, and, ultimately more than anything else… He worried about how he could make her happy, how he could make sure she stayed happy. He needed to ensure his own safety from her, but he knew he’d never be able to forgive himself if he couldn’t find a way to do so without hurting a friend he cared so deeply for.

Fists clenched at his sides, his mind wrapped itself endlessly in that terrible balance- the need to protect Nowi from him, as much as him from her.

Which was why, when he was suddenly stopped in place by a soft body colliding with his back and a slender pair of arms wrapping tight around his waist, he was so caught off guard his heart almost leapt out of his chest.

“W-Wha!?”

He only received an answer a second later, when his assailant pressed themselves closer around him, pressing two large, soft globes into his shoulder-blades and resting their head gently against his shoulder.

“Robin…” She whispered quietly, the warm affection in the voice instantly soothing his shock as much as it raised his tension.

“Ah.” He gulped. He knew that voice, of course he did, he’d heard it a thousand times before... But, he’d never imagined he’d hear it so low and tender, nor with such a measure of yearning. “Cynthia?”

As if he had any doubts, the massive orbs he could feel sliding slowly around his back as the young Pegasus Knight wrapped herself around him, resolved any lingering questions.

Sliding her hands around to his chest and nuzzling her chin into his shoulder, it was a long tense minute before she finally spoke. “I-I’m grateful, Robin, I truly am. A-And, I wanted to, to thank you. As long as I’ve known you, you’ve always made time for me, always looked after me.”

An incredible sensation ran through his spine as her breath tickled against his ears and Robin found himself unable to speak.

“But… But this isn’t what I want.” She whispered, her voice still uncharacteristically quiet as she spoke with a gentle assurance rather than the enthusiastic declarations he usually associated with her. “You always being the one worrying about me, always protecting me or helping me… It’s not right, that’s not how it should be.”

Ah. Robin nodded to himself as his mind caught up. Of course. He should have guessed that Chrom wouldn’t be able to keep even such a simple story straight. It should have been perfect, solving some of Cynthia’s co-ordination issues while letting them spend some time together as father and daughter, there was no reason for him to be involved at all.

“I’m meant to be a hero, I’m meant to- I want to protect you.” She whispered, her hands clenching tighter around his chest as her emotions shone through. “Please, Robin… You don’t need to worry about me.”

“I know.” He answered speaking sincerely as he took her hands in his. If she already knew about his recommendation to the Exalt, there wasn’t any point playing dumb or trying to lie to her. “I know that Cynthia. You’re incredible. You’re brave, strong and honest, you’re everything a true hero should be. I’ve no doubt about any of that, and, I know I’ve never got anything to fear, because if something did happen to me, I know you’d always save me. I know nothing could stop you.”

“R-Robin…”

“But, even so, I can’t stop worrying about you and I can’t just stand by instead of helping you.” He added, entwining his fingers with hers and feeling her squeeze his hand gently. “You’re Chrom’s daughter and Lucina’s sister.”

Her fingers clenched his in frustration.

“And more than that, you’re my beloved comrade. You’ve saved my life and fought at my side, you’re incredibly dear to me. I may not be a hero like you, but I still want to help support you however I can.

“You’re never far from my thoughts Cynthia.” He concluded while she struggled for a reply, feeling her body leaning heavily against his. “So, I’ll always look after you. As much as I can.”

If he’d been thinking about his words, he would have realised it was a surprisingly similar offer to the one he’d made to his fiancé so long ago. That, for what it was worth, she always had him to count on. However, as he closed his eyes and sucked in a deep breath, it was all Robin could do just to ignore the sensation of her breath tickling across the back of his neck or the feeling of the two hard nubs he could feel digging gently into his back.

‘She’s Lucina’s sister!’ He reminded himself, clenching his teeth as he felt his cock straining painfully against his pants. ‘I can’t… I’m not going to touch her own sister!’

He’d known Cynthia had feelings for him for some time now, it had been impossible to ignore that fact after she’d practically confessed his love for him barely a few days ago. He’d told himself he’d simply ignore it, that, no matter what evil’s he done to her already, he wasn’t so heartless as to cheat on Lucina with her own sister! But as he felt the young Pegasus Knight’s hands wrap even tighter around him, pressing her incredible body softly against his back… It was difficult.

‘It has to be her.’ He repeated instead, strategy finally managing to cool his instincts where his loyalty faltered. ‘It has to be her that makes the offer.’

Just like Lissa, just like Olivia and Miriel, he couldn’t make the first move. It had to be their choice completely, a decision they reached and not one he’d pressured them into in a moment of passion or weakness. That was his rule. That was how he ensured he never hurt them, that they never felt taken advantage of- so that his hand was hidden and it was always them who had come to him.

His control returned. Even if he had never attempted to manipulate Cynthia’s feelings for him like he had for the other girls, he would still treat her the same. She had to come to him. And, thankfully, he knew she would never make the first move. Not on him- she loved Lucina far too much for that. So, Cynthia was safe.

“Robin.” Her fingers wrapped tighter around his, squeezing them as her words came a little louder but with more determination than ever. “I’m going to get even better. I’ll become even more reliable, I definitely will! I’ll become so strong a-and so heroic you’ll never have to worry about me again!

“And, and, I’ll always, I’ll always be…”

His breath hitched in his throat and her body tensed taut against him. A terrifying, electrifying moment passed between them as the words she could not say hung loud in the air.

She couldn’t be his hero. Lucina was his hero.

“I-I’ll always be your Pegasus Knight in shining armour!” She promised, repeating the title he’d granted her in a breathless rush as her hands unwound from his and she fell back a step.

Robin sighed, his whole body aching equally with unquenched desire as with unnecessary fear. Cynthia was safe… It was hard to tell if he was enveloped more with disappointment or relief.

“Yeah. I know you will.”

“And! And I’m gonna learn how to dance too!” She declared, her usual volume returning as she stepped past him, shooting him a brilliantly warm smile before dashing away, down the hallway with a happy laugh.

“Heh.” Robin chuckled ruefully to himself, running his hands through his hair and savouring the sight of Cynthia’s perfect round ass bouncing up and down ahead of him until she disappeared out of sight. Just looking was a weak comparison to how it had felt with her hugging him like that. And just feeling her hugging him was a sore comparison for all the things he so badly wanted to do to her…

Heaving a sigh as he stretched back and pushed aside any lingering desires to chase after her, he rolled his eyes to the ceiling, feeling the heavy thrum of arousal surging through him, far more than he could easily ignore.

He did feel slightly guilty about having somehow gained Cynthia’s affection, but Gods, if she didn’t make him suffer for having earned it…

“Urgh… What now then?” Further planning was downright impossible at the moment, there was no way he’d be able to concentrate on much of anything with thoughts of the busty bluenette running red-hot through his mind.

Lissa was just down the hall and he was fairly certain he’d seen Miriel poking around the palace library a few hours ago. “Hmm.” Then again, the last time Cynthia had gotten him this wound up, he’d ended up working out the tension through several exceedingly pleasant hours spent in Lucina’s bed (along with her wall, floor, window and bathroom), right now, the chance for a repeat performance certainly seemed like the most attractive proposal.

After all, gave a wry chuckle, shouldn’t the elder sister take responsibility for her younger sibling’s actions? He was sure Lucina would agree, she’d clearly enjoyed their time together last time. And so, with his mind made up and body tense with desire towards the time travelling Royals, Robin set off to track down his wonderful fiancé.

Unbeknownst to either him or Cynthia however, the woman he was looking for was a lot closer than he could have expected.

Having arrived midway through the display and shocked to silence at the sight of her little sister wrapped around the man she loved, Lucina had wound up watching in quiet surprise from the other end of the hallway behind them both, with a troubled look on her face.

Humming to herself, Lucina turned away, walking in the opposite direction with a pensive frown on her face as she considered what she’d seen, her thought spinning in uneasy circles.

She too, had a lot to think about.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

As it turned out, Robin wound up reconnecting with Nowi a lot sooner than he’d anticipated.

In fact, the very next morning, while on his way to deliver some reports to the palace, without meaning to at all, he ended up stumbling across her while she was shopping in the market square. With him having already sent a thoroughly satisfied Olivia off to her morning practice, and with Morgan out looking into the merchants he’d tasked her with investigating, it was an unmistakable opportunity, a window that would not soon repeat, and he’d leapt at the chance, happily inviting the surprised Manakete around to visit his office later in the morning.

It was an amazing co-incidence, serendipity upon serendipity, as if Naga herself had tipped her hand in this matter and, although he had no intentions of doing more than trying to rekindle their friendship or at least, learn more about her sudden avoidance, he also was not about to waste this opening.

Which was why, after casting the scent removal spell he’d learned from Miriel’s book three times in his office and after almost an hour spent soaking in an almost excessively soapy bath, Robin was, for the first time since he’d returned to life, sitting at his desk, across from the woman who’d once been among his dearest companions. The crux of the strange three-way friendship they’d shared with each other and Tharja.

“It’s great to see you again Nowi, it really feels like it’s been forever since we’ve had any time together!”

His smile was entirely unforced, he really had been disappointed by the Manakete’s absence. Given Nowi’s straightforward, earnest nature, it was hard not to feel that for her to distance herself like that, he must have somehow done something terrible.

“Yeah! I missed you too!” Thankfully, the same wide, open smile met his and the ice that had been coating his heart began to slowly thaw. “I-ah, I’m sorry Robin! I’ve wanted to spend more time with you since forever! I’ve just been… It’s just…”

Pursing her lips in frustration, her face screwed up into a bitter frown as her words trailed off.

“It’s fine, it’s fine.” He answered, waving away her explanation as he saw her eyes beginning to glisten with unshed tears. While he did want to find out her reasoning, he hadn’t expected it would be something she could talk about quite that easily, a point that her uncharacteristic silence seemed to attest to. Still, even without any details from her, just seeing her like this was a relief somehow- a sign that even with all the years that had passed and all the changes they’d all gone through, Nowi was still the same as ever, that she still wore her heart so freely on her sleeve.

It was hard not to love that about her. He didn’t even bother trying.

“We’ve both been really busy.” He continued, leaning back into his seat with an easy laugh. “Gods, I know Chrom’s got me practically run off my feet half the time with the stuff that gets dumped on my desk! Honestly, if it wasn’t for Morgan and Olivia, I sometimes doubt I’d ever get to see the outside of this damn office!”

“Hehee.” The comforting smile blossomed back on her face and the room felt a little warmer again, the two friends easily settling into the same familiar rhythm they’d enjoyed so often in the past. “That’s so boring though! Ooooh! I can help, I’ll help you! I’ll just turn into a dra-”

Somehow, even hearing that familiar hare-brained plan was enough to make him laugh. Although, one he quickly stifled before she took it as an approval. “Ah, no. No, I don’t think that’d be a good idea.”

“Robin! C’mon!” She continued, reaching for her Dragonstone. “If I just transform, I’ll be able to burn up all those papers for you!”

“Along with half the room I’d wager.” He agreed quickly, before she got carried away. “And then, I’d have even more work to do just cleaning it all up.”

Pouting, her hands dropped away from the Dragonstone, wrapping around herself in a loose hug instead and, for a moment, he saw a strange expression flashing across her eyes.

“I hear you’ve been busy too.” He continued, unsure what to make of the momentary change. “Libra tells me you’ve been helping him out over at the orphanage?”

“Y-Yeah!” Her voice caught for an instant before she recovered, her boundless enthusiasm shining through once more. “They’re SO much fun! I play with them all the time, as much as I can! I take them on Dragon Rides, or go hunting with them, and, and I even cook for them, just like you taught me!”

Snorting, Robin sat back with a sigh at hearing that. How he’d even wound up being the one to teach her cooking, instead of any of the vastly more qualified Shepherds, he couldn’t even remember. Their time together had been fun, but considering that even his own daughter now banned him from being near any food preparation, he doubted he’d been much of an example for her. And, judging from the horror stories he’d heard from Libra about Nowi’s culinary creations, his doubts seemed unfortunately well founded.

“I wanted to get Nah to come visit them this weekend too!” Nowi continued with a huff. “But, she’s already taken off down south, visiting Donnel’s family.”

“Ah.” Robin nodded, easing himself out of the pleasant atmosphere as he remembered the reasons he’d been so eager to instigate this talk in the first place. “Actually, speaking of Donnel and Nah. That’s something I wanted to talk to you about. I, Nowi, I believe I owe you an apology.”

Kicking her legs in the air under her seat, she leaned forward toward him. “Oh? Why? What’d you do?”

“Yeah. I’ve been thinking recently, about, well about a lot of things really, and one of the things I’ve realised is that I don’t think I was very fair to you and Donnel, back when Nah joined the Shepherds. Or ever since then really- I never put much thought into it, I think it was the same for the rest of us, we just assumed that the two of you would become a couple without even thinking about it.”

Shaking his head, he let out a small mirthless laugh, his heart clenching at the memories. “We spent all our time trying to change the future and yet we acted like it would still be the same for you two. I never even realised that I must have been pressuring you, or that you may not have even wanted anything like that.”

“Ah, hey, Robin! It’s fine, you don’t need to apologise.” She assured him. “I didn’t really mind at all!”

“Is that really true? I know you’ve argued with Nah about it in the past.” He’d heard of at least one failed attempt to plan a wedding for to the two of them by their daughter. “We haven’t spent much time together in so long, I was worried you might have resented me for it.”

“N-No!” Shaking her head angrily from side to side, Nowi denied his words forcefully, but as she tried to explain, her eyes still wouldn’t quite meet his. “That’s not… I don’t! I’m not mad at you, not AT ALL! I really, really like you, Robin!”

“Ah, sorry. I guess I was just worried about you.” He grinned, letting the topic drop as he pressed her gently on a new front. “But then, if you don’t mind me asking, how are things between you and Donnel then? What are your plans with him?”

“Hehee.” Squirming slightly in place, Nowi’s face brightened once more at his words, this time blossoming into a cheeky smile. “You know how it is, don’t you? When everyone expects you to do something, it just makes you not wanna do it!”

Leaning forward onto his hands, Robin couldn’t help but laugh at that. “Somehow, that makes perfect sense.”

“It’s just dumb!” She added, her shoulders twisting in place and cheeks shining slightly red. “I don’t wanna get married to someone just ‘cause I did in the future! I wanna fall in love properly!”

“Yeah.” It was a relief really. Despite being caught up in a similar situation to him and Cordelia, her thought process seemed to be a lot more straight-forward their either of theirs had been. While it didn’t appear she loved Donnel like he loved Lucina, it also didn’t appear that she resented him the same way the Wing Commander resented what she’d come to see as her own obligation. Ultimately, Nowi was just being rebellious. “I can definitely agree to that.” It was so refreshingly honest, for just a moment, he couldn’t help but be charmed by her. She was surprisingly like his fiancé in that sense, almost impossibly straightforward and earnest.

‘It’s probably for the best like this.’ He decided. While Ricken had an understandable infatuation with Cordelia, Donnel was probably in exactly the same boat as Nowi, no doubt the weight of expectations weighed down on him just as much, so Nowi refusing those expectations freed him to feel however he wished. Was this another one of those glimpses she sometimes gave, of having a hidden maturity? It was hard to tell.

“And, what about Donnel? Has he ever said anyth-”

“A-Ah, Robin.” She interrupted suddenly, squeezing hr hands together and looking awkwardly around the room. “I don’t wanna talk about him right now.”

“Huh?” This was new. “What do you mean?”

“I-I dunno?” She admitted, her cheeks flushing a deeper red as her eyes met his. “I just don’t like talking about him with you? It feels weird.”

Peering closer, he had no idea what to make of that statement, nor even a clue as to what had set her off, but clearly talking about the man she’d been expected to marry with him made her visibly uncomfortable.

“R-Right.” He coughed, his heart jumping a moment as he found himself captivated by the sight of Nowi’s lips pursing together in a silent gasp. “Well, anyway, I just wanted to make sure you were doing okay. It’s part of my job to look after the Shepherd’s wellbeing after all!”

“Y-Yeah.” She nodded, a little too fast.

‘I’m missing something here.’ Seeing her like this only painfully highlighted the sheer lack of information he had towards his friend’s situation, or why she’d even begun avoiding him in the first place.

Unsure what to think about her reactions, Robin changed tack, switching back to much more mundane topics…

…Or, at least, that’s what he attempted. However, of the next several minutes, no matter how he tried to keep the conversation flowing, Nowi’s responses became increasingly vague and disengaged, until she was barely even offering him one word answers.

That alone would have been strange enough, considering the girl’s usual exuberance, but, even more concerning was the change in her demeanour- even after moving away from their previous topics, she was flushing an even deeper red now, squirming distractedly in her seat and twisting her fingers around themselves. In all the years they’d spent together, he didn’t think he’d ever seen her so clearly uncomfortable.

“Nowi… What’s wrong?” He asked finally, frowning as her reply trailed off once more. “Are you alright?”

“I-ahhnn.” Her body quivered as she drew in a shallow breath. “Y-Yeah! I’m, I’m fine! Absolutely!”

“No way, I can’t possibly believe that.” He answered, pushing himself up from his desk and making his way over to the anxious Manakete. “What’s going on?”

Her distress rose threefold with every step he took towards her, the panic shining in her eyes suddenly freezing him in place. None of his comrades had ever looked at him like that before.

“N-Nowi? I, I’m sorry, have I done something wrong?”

“NO! No! You, you haven’t done… I-Ahh, I…” Jolting backwards, her chair abruptly clattered to the ground as she leapt to her feet. “Sorry! I’m sorry, I’ve, I gotta go!”

Practically yelping the last words, she spun on her heel and almost leapt away from him as she tore across the room.

“Wha-HEY! Nowi! Wait up!”

Gaping in shock as the small Dragon-Girl ripped the door open and fled out down the hallway, Robin was left standing dumbstruck, heart clenching tight in his chest and his mind only catching up a moment later as he frantically spun and gave chase, sprinting out into the hallway. He didn’t know what why she was avoiding him, nor even why she’d left so suddenly, but what he did know was that something was very wrong right now!

Adrenaline coursing through his veins, he leapt down the stairs after her, taking them three at a time. The door was already swinging shut long before he made it to the lower level, she was incredibly quick and already had a head start, but he didn’t pause for even a moment.

His comrade! His friend! He’d never seen her like this, he couldn’t possibly ignore it! If he’d caused this- if he’d hurt her, or if something had happened because of him, he’d never be able to forgive himself.

“Nowi!”

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Even barrelling after her at top speed, by the time Robin made it to the, currently deserted, training field behind the Shepherd’s barracks, he was only just able catch sight of the diminutive Manakete slipping into the woods beyond.

“Shit!” He cursed, gaping at the distance between them. “She’s fast!”

Considering the ruckus their members tended to cause, usually having their headquarters on the far edge of Ylisstol city was convenient. Now was not one of those times. Still, he reasoned, at least she hadn’t (or couldn’t?) changed form, there was no way he would be able to catch her if she suddenly flew off.

He was faster than ever now, his speed having risen just as dramatically as the rest of his attributes ever since his revival, and yet, as a testament to the power of a true-blooded Manakete, in just the few minutes it took him to cross the field after her, any visible trace of Nowi was long gone, lost in the countless small trails branching off through the woods.

Face twisted into a furious frown, Robin came to a halt barely a few metres into the treeline, his head swivelling uselessly around as he sought for any clues. Broken branches and uneven bracken lay strewn all around the paths, but he didn’t have anywhere enough skill to discern between what was new and what wasn’t. He’d learned a little tracking and hunting during his time in the Shepherds, enough to chase down some game or another when it was his turn to do so, but something like this, was well out of his league.

“Godsdamnit.”

Biting back his frustration and steadying his breath, Robin closed his eyes, forcefully expanding his senses. He didn’t have the ability to track Nowi in a forest, that was true, but that alone wasn’t reason to give up on a friend in distress.

“North?” It was another oddity of his return, something he had at best guesses and half answers to. Ever since the day he’d come back to life, not only his lusts but every part of him had been heightened far beyond what he’d been capable of before, he was stronger, he was faster and it felt at times like his stamina was almost endless. And, along with the physical changes, his very perceptions had been altered too- he could see tiny details that would have eluded his eyes before, he could smell minute changes in his environment, his entire body felt inflamed with just the barest touches of his lovers and… And of course, if he concentrated, he could easily hear the sounds of a frantic Manakete crashing through a forest. “No, further east than that.”

After all, more than anyone else, almost as much as Lucina or Morgan, it was the Manaketes that stood out brightest in his perceptions, their presence limned with an invisible luminescence that was guaranteed to draw his attention, there was no way he could miss her now. “Perhaps, whatever was done to me had some uses after all.” It wasn’t something he enjoyed thinking about, more than anything else it was a reminder of the heresy his birth had represented and of the fact that he wasn’t quite human, but right now, he was almost grateful.

Pushing forward once more, he left the path, following his way between a pair of trees and through some rough foliage until he uncovered another smaller, hidden, trail- a track made up of little more than grass trodden down enough to stay worked into the ground, that twisted ahead, deep into the forest.

Even as Robin followed this new route for the next several minutes, his progress was frustratingly slow, the path was unclear as it was and being unused to relying on his hearing to this degree, he could only get a vague impression of her location… 

…An impression that, thankfully, seemed to have come to a halt not long ago.

‘What’s this? Why here?’ He wondered, frowning as he ducked low below another half-fallen tree. ‘Is this some secret spot of hers or something?’ That, at least, wouldn’t be out of character for her, he could easily imagine Nowi having countless little personal spots she’d discovered in the areas around Ylisstol, and, to his relief, as he wound his way further in, the treeline seemed to begin to open up slightly.

“Ah-Haahhnan. Hhnnaa!”

‘W-Wha?’ The unmistakable sound of heavy breathing ripped him from his thoughts, his eyes snapping up toward where he could now hear them echoing softly through the quiet underbrush. ‘She’s… panting?’

“AH-hhaa, R-Robin… Robin…”

She was calling out to him? “I’m here!” He cried out, crashing faster through the forest, chasing after the direction he could hear her cries coming from. His heart slamming recklessly in his chest as he heard her voice coming closer, stronger, repeating his name again and again. Until, at long last, after racing headlong through a fern almost as big as he was, the treeline completely broke apart and Robin spilled out, stumbling into the suddenly revealed glade with a shout “Now- Wha?”

Just the sight before him stole his breath away, for all around him was a picture of serene majesty. The afternoon sun shone dazzlingly bright through the opening in the trees, illuminating a beautiful field of lush green grass, dotted with wildflowers and even a small bubbling stream that wound off into the distance. But, most captivating at all, was right in the centre of the clearing- the woman he was looking for.

“Nowi…” He mouthed her name, staring at the unimaginable sight before him.

On all fours, collapsed, face down in the grass, Nowi’s eyes were locked tight onto his, shining with sheer desperation as her entire body quivered in place and, most surprising of all, her naked hips swaying hypnotically back and forth before him.

Unable or unwilling to stop himself, he stood dumbfounded, drinking in the sight.

In his peripheral vision, he could see her pink shorts, lying almost ten metres from where she was currently writhing around the ground, her panties, still wrapped around her ankles, hadn’t even made it that far. Panting and moaning on the ground, Nowi’s entire lower body was bared before his eyes, form her creamy white thighs to the smooth curves of her petite round ass, right to where her fingers were clumsily running up along her inner thighs and pressing desperately against the glistening folds of her pussy in a mindless wanton need like none he’d ever seen before.

“Ro-Robin! Robin, ahhannn!” She repeated, moaning his name each time her fingers brushed wet across her soaked entrance. Her face was burning a bright scarlet, but it was clear that whatever embarrassment she felt at being seen like this was eclipsed by her sheer need. “R-Robin. Help, help me!”

Stepping forward, Robin let out a deep sigh, the pieces finally coming into place. ‘This must be why she was avoiding me.’ Even without knowing the specifics or reasons, it wasn’t difficult to understand what was going on now. ‘So then, she’s suffering from her instincts… Just like me?’ Perhaps that shouldn’t have been so surprising, but then, in all the time he’d spent with the three Manaketes, he’d never seen any of them like this- there must be another catalyst.

“A-Aghnaaa! Nhhaaaa!”

The details weren’t important right now. What was important was that his friend was caught in the maddening throes of desire, that she needed help. He’d felt this same ache himself, to the point where he’d feared losing his very sanity, he couldn’t possibly let her suffer like this.

“Of course.” He reassured her, his gentle smile entirely unforced as he felt his own body reacting eagerly to Nowi’s lust. “Don’t worry, I’m here. I’m here now.”

Still, he thought, letting out a rueful sigh. ‘It’s a little disappointing all the same.’ All those plans he’d made, all the worries and fears he’d held- and it was as simple as this, it almost felt too easy. His presence obviously had a powerful effect on the Manakete girl, to make her his, all he’d ever needed to do was spend more time with her. Is that what he’d wanted? Before now, he hadn’t thought so, but now-

“Ro-Robin, please, I-I can’t take it!”

“Don’t worry.” He repeated. “I’ll relieve you.”

Mind resolved, he stepped forward, reaching out for her. “Ah-HHHAAAANNNN!” She cried, her body wrenching violently the instant he made contact, new juices dripping visibly thick down her thighs as his palms rested warm over the small globes of her ass, kneading her flesh gently under his fingers.

“It’s fine, you’re okay.” He whispered, brushing her hands away from between her legs and replacing it with his own fingers, sliding his forefingers across her entrance with an experienced touch. “Relax, Nowi, just relax.”

“Mm-Mmmaaa.” She moaned weakly, accepting his words as she folded her arms under her chin, still lying face-down in the grass as her hips bucked greedily under his touch. “I-It feels, I-Imamaahhhh.”

 Running his left hand soothingly across her hips, he turned his right hand over, spreading her lips open and carefully pushing two fingers into her throbbing pussy.

“A-GHGH-HHAAAAANNN!”

‘Gods!’ The physiology of a Manakete was evident instantly- it was hot inside her, far hotter than he’d ever felt before, and tight, her muscles were contracted so securely around his fingers, it felt like even with just these two he was spreading her open.

“Gh-HAAA, Ro-Robin, I-Wha, ahhahaa?”

Ignoring her gasped pants, and fighting back the roiling desire now throbbing clear through him -a reaction to her own needs, he was sure- Robin drew upon the experience he’d gained, screwing his digits around inside her and quickly locating her most sensitive spots.

“GH-Ah-HHHHHNNNNN!”

Nowi came almost instantly, her entire body sized up the moment his fingers dug into the walls of her tunnel and she let out a wild shriek, fingers digging rivets through the grass as her body thrashed against his touch, before collapsing slack down onto the ground the moment the tension lifted, dropping her into a weak heap at his feet.

“Th-There.” He breathed, forcing himself to look away from the dazed look he could see on her face, the clear ecstasy thrumming through her body as she squirmed below him. “How’s that, did that help?”

“N-Nooo.” She whined, letting off a low groan as she rubbed her legs together, her small, round ass shaking back and forth between Robin’s stunned eyes as she anxiously rose herself back onto all fours, visibly presenting herself to him. “No! R-Robin, I- I need, I need more!”

“W-What?”

“No, please!” Twisting around to stare at him over her shoulder, Nowi’s tone turned from imploring to pleading. “I-I’m going crazy! P-please, not enough, hhaaa, it’s not enough Robin! Mate! I, I wanna mate! I need to!”

“You, you want to have sex?”

That was further than he’d intended to go with her in this state. Shaking his head, he opened his mouth to reject her. ‘Ah!’ It was the look in her eyes that stopped him cold, the chilling sight of the desperation he could see in them turning frantic.

‘Is that how I looked?’

Even now, weeks later, he could still remember the fear that had haunted him, the terrifying feeling of being driven mad by his own lusts. He doubted he’d ever forget the ferocious desperation that had clawed at him until he’d finally found relief in Tharja’s arms. Fighting his own instincts had been terrible, it had felt like he was ripping himself apart and losing his very sanity, it had been that same fear that had driven him on since, through everything he’d needed to do to quench his lusts.

Strangely, his own fiery needs were unusually subdued even as her body twisted and shuddered in-front of him. Where normally, he would be blazing with unstable desire at the sight, instead his body simply smouldered with a pleasant contentedness, one that had flowed warm through him since the moment he’d first made contact with her.

“Nowi.” Odd as it was, it was also convenient. It meant his decision was made entirely with a clear head. “Are you sure? This is what you want?”

He couldn’t possibly let her suffer the same pangs he’d felt. He wouldn’t stand idly by while a friend was in pain.

“Hnggga!” Raising her hips up, she slid them back, rubbing her bare crotch clumsily against his, moaning in unsatisfied need as she felt his hard length through his clothes. “Y-Yes, YES! I’mmaaa. More, please!”

That’s fine. He wanted more too. “Hold on.” He smiled, pulling out his cock and lining it up against her soaking entrance. “I’ll relieve you.”

Placing both hands gently on her sides, Robin took a moment to savour the sight before him- standing only as tall as his shoulders, with a practically flat chest and an idyllic, whimsical personality, she was remarkably different from any of the other women he’d been with, and yet, as he ran his hands lower, letting the small, firm globes of her ass cheeks fill his hands, he couldn’t deny a remarkable attraction, even to her physicality.

“Mmm.” He sighed, sliding forward and pressing the head of his cock against the heat of her entrance, counting down several long moments as he gave her time to prepare herself.

“Aa-AHHH!” Her gasp suddenly caught in her throat as he carefully pushed forward, easing her lips open around him and slowly rolling his hips over. Despite the difference in size, her tunnel opened up around his shaft with surprising ease and so, ever mindful of hurting her, he cautiously plunged inside, spreading the lips of her tiny slit wide around him and pressing himself another inch within. “A-Ah! AH! AH!”

“Ahh! AH, AHH!” Her body suddenly seized up, her back arching forward with a yelp. “A-AIIAAHH!”

Robin paused, his heart clenching in his chest as he was brought up short by the sudden change in her tone, worried about their difference in height he had been ensuring he started as gently as possible. “H-Huh?” She was smaller than him, but not that much smaller! And her pussy had opened up around him far easier than he had expe-

A thin trail of blood now running down her thighs answered his questions.

“Wha? Nowi?” He whispered, eyes wide with disbelief. “Are you… Is this your first time?”

“O-Of course!” She gasped, her breath coming in short pants as her lithe body quivered in place. “It’s, it’s way too embarrassing! I couldn’t do this with anyone else!”

‘No way...’ He’d just taken Nowi’s virginity. Deep within his soul, his most primal instincts purred in approval but Robin couldn’t believe it. It didn’t seem possible. She was a thousand years old and one of the friendliest, most curious people he’d ever met, vastly different from a recluse like Tiki. Even aside from that, the time she’d spent with the slavers, he’d never liked thinking about it, but it had always just seemed. ‘I suppose she would have held more market value if s-’

Snarling at himself, he furiously cut that thought short. Now was not the time to think about it, or for any more doubts. The proof was before his eyes and it was far too late for him to back out now.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt you.” He whispered, running his hands soothingly over her ass as he paused in place, waiting for her to get her breath back. “I’ll be gentle, I promise.”

“I-It’s fine!” She stammered, her hips shaking tentatively back against his, urging him to continue his movements. “It didn’t hurt, I-ngha- I was just, just surprised!”

Nodding, he took a slightly firmer hold of her small body and gently pulling her back towards him, taking his time to slowly ease in, spreading her inner walls apart around his shaft before slowly pushing forward once more, sinking inch after inch deeper within the panting Manakete.

“Auuuhaaa!” Her body shuddered and her hands clawed at the grass beneath her, but there was no doubting the visceral pleasure in her moans now. “Rooobbbiinn-ghuuuuuaaa!”

“G-Hhaaa.” His own pants joined hers, echoing quietly around the peaceful clearing. It had been apparent immediately, but the deeper he pushed inside her, the more of his cock he buried within the tiny Manakete, the more Robin realised the stark differences between a Dragon and a Human.

The first thing he noticed was the heat. He’d felt it earlier with his fingers, but feeling it from her walls now clenching securely around his length was another sensation entirely. She was hot in a way he struggled to put into words, throbbing with a warmth he’d never felt from anyone before and transferring it gently through his cock with each pulse of her innermost muscles in a way that only served to heighten the already intense pleasure her tunnel provided.

The second was the accommodation. Somehow, in what felt like a ridiculous contradiction, no matter how incredibly tight Nowi’s pussy remained around him, still her walls seemed to eagerly accept his shaft, opening up around him with only the slightest resistance even as inch after inch of his cock slid deeper within her. Rather than the sensation he’d often felt before, of his lover’s walls being stretched to their limits around him, it felt as if Nowi’s body was simply yielding naturally to him, her tunnel welcoming him without restraint and then wrapping itself around him with a pressure that wouldn’t lose to even Lucina’s well trained muscles- coiling just as tight around his thick shaft as it been around his two fingers earlier.

Rolling his hips gently forward and spreading Nowi’s tunnel easily around him, Robin’s cock was soon sliding behind her cervix and pressing gently against the furthest walls of her pussy, still with a significant portion of his shaft left outside.

“AuuuHHAA-”

Her breath caught in her throat, moan dying into a silent gasp as even those walls surrendered instantly to him, easing back to envelop even more of his length as Robin, eyes wide in disbelief, continued to bury more and more of himself within the smaller Manakete, until-

“Ugh-HHAA!”

-Until, impossibly, he’d hilted his cock entirely within her.

“Go-Gods!” He gasped, electricity running up his spine as his breath ran quick, it was incredible! Beyond anything he could possibly have expected, given their height difference, he must have reached almost to her navel and yet, he was still nestled comfortably within her. Clearly, even in human form, a Dragon’s physiology wasn’t to be underestimated.

Obviously too, the effect on Nowi was considerable. “GH-HhhaaNH. HHAAaaaaaah.” She garbled incoherently, panting violently with her head hanging towards the ground and her thin arms shaking like leaves, just barely managing to keep her from collapsing to the ground one more. From the looks of it, he guessed she must have already came at least once, no doubt she needed a minute to recover her thoughts.

They passed the next few minutes like that, with Robin’s hands gently kneading the soft curves of her petite, round ass as he savoured both the incredible heat and constriction of Nowi’s virgin depths, waiting patiently as her breathing slowly came back under control.

“Are you okay? How do you feel?”

“I’m no-not, nhaa, I’m not sure.” She breathed, her words coming with an unmistakable excitement. “My whole body feels really, really warm an-and, haaaahmmmm. Ahhn, I, I like it…”

“Yeah.” He grinned, leisurely rocking his hips back and forth, stirring his cock around inside her. “You feel wonderful Nowi, it’s, you’re incredible.”

“Hehheee.” She giggled happily and even right now, despite their position, he was sure she was making her usual smile, blushing at the praise. “Y-You’re soo big, hahhh, I feel really full!”

“I’m going to start moving, okay?”

“OkaaaAAAAhuuuua!” She gasped, her lime-green hair thrown back and forth the moment he began easing himself out. Her voice hitching and fingers again clenching at the ground as he worked his way back fully inside her again.

“Ahh-haaaa. That’s good, that’s really good.” He sighed, leaning back with a low groan as he began to gently build himself up to a slow rhythm, savouring every moment and every shudder of her body around him as he began pulling almost all the way out, grinding easily to his hilt within her once more. “Y-Yeah, huuaaaaa.”

As the minutes passed, his thrusts grew deeper and his grip on his hips grew firmer, yet, surprising himself, he felt absolutely no urge to up the pace, nor to drive himself any harder inside her. ‘I’m in no hurry.’ He realised, marvelling at the sight of Nowi throwing her head back with a delighted, wanton cry. ‘I just want her to be happy.’

He’d made tender love with all his women, of course he had, he wanted to make sure they knew for certain how much he cared for them, how much he cherished them. But ever since his revival, always, always, it had come only after he’d dominated them, after he’d conquered them and made them unquestionably his woman. The fires of his raging lusts, his very instincts, had demanded it- his very soul and every part of his body had driven him on, until he had their submission, their fealty.

Until now.

Right now, the flames didn’t burn him at all, rather than the roaring fire he was used to, they simply smouldered with the same wonderful fulfilment they had all afternoon.

Right now, he knew, down to the very core of his being, there was no need to dominate her, there was no need for conquest. Because she was already his. She had always been his. He could feel that truth on a deep, instinctive level, in a way he couldn’t possibly put into words- the other women he had to fight and defeat, making them submit, making them his, was his victory. They were his spoils of war. But not Nowi, Nowi was a Manakete. She was his birthright. The sudden rush of lust she’d felt in his presence was proof enough of that.

And he knew, she understood that just the same. Her words from earlier, “I just don’t like talking about him with you? It feels weird.” Of course it did, why would she want to talk about another man around him? She was his.

She’d waited a thousand years for this moment.

And so, with those confusing thoughts swirling around the back of his mind, Robin passed more than a score of minutes gently making love to Nowi- delighting in each lust filled scream that slipped from her lips, marvelling at the way her words would suddenly die and her body suddenly tense up, with each time she came around him.

Her hips shook enthusiastically back against his. His cock dragged meaningfully against all her most sensitive spots. Again, and again their bodies came together, their moans entwining and filling the serene glade with the thick sounds of their fast-rising passion.

“Unhh-Ah-hhHNnng!” She gasped, her arms finally giving out and sending her collapsing down into the grass, leaving her hips still high in the air, her legs fully extended and her thighs held firmly in the tactician’s grip.

“Gh-HHaaaaa!” He answered, clenching his teeth shut as a jolt of pleasure slammed through him as their bodies shifted to this new angle, her tunnel pulsing violently around his entire length.

Nowi, being thoroughly overwhelmed by all the new sensations -a fulfilment and an ecstasy she’d never imagined- had already cum a half dozen times, the bliss rising recklessly within her and fast stealing away any conscious thoughts.

Robin too, despite the leisurely pace and his partner’s inexperience, was finding his own peak fast rising within him. The feeling of her heat throbbing through him, filling him with a gentle warmth strong enough to help any resistance. The sensation of her pussy accepting him easily and constricting around him desperately, how she caressed his entire length even as her body yielded to it. And even the sight before him, just watching as his towering length pushed the small girls entrance wide around it, as it disappeared entirely inside her, filling her beyond reason… Any of those alone was more than enough to drive him wild, all together, was more than he could fight.

“Nhaa, N-Nowi.” Moaning her name through grit teeth, he could feel his length expanding within her as the last vestiges of his resolve dripped away. “I-gh, I’m gonna cum!”

“A-AHhaa? Ok-Okkaannnhh!”

Unable to even articulate a response, it was all Nowi could do to simply, brace herself, folding her hands under her head on the grass as she felt Robin bury himself in her one last time, his cock suddenly twitching violently.

Gripping tight to her hips as he hilted himself entirely within her, groaning when he felt her pussy clench vice-like around him as she peaked one last time, Robin’s world suddenly exploded in a dazzling burst of colours as he came with a guttural roar.

“Ghha-UUHAAA!” Mind turning blank in the momentary bliss, he felt his cock spasming wildly, jet after jet of hot, thick cum erupting out, slamming into her walls and flooding her entire tunnel with his seed, the sheer pressure pushing her walls out even further, filling her to overflowing and beyond.

“AuuuAAH-” Again, Nowi’s words fell into a silent scream as she felt a sudden unimaginable warmth exploding within her, sending her crashing roughly into another mind-shattering orgasm, even while her body was still peaking. Eyes rolling back in the sockets, her mouth hung wide open as her head lolled to the side.

For several long moments, they were stuck rigid like that. The Manakete lying face-down in the grass with her hips in the air, cum and juices both flooding thick down her legs. The tactician with his head angled toward the beautiful summer sky, his hands clenching tight around the smaller girl’s hips and his cock buried hungrily inside her.

“Ughaaaaa…” Slumping bonelessly forward, Nowi’s strength left her, and her waist slid from his hands, letting her collapse in a dazed heap down onto the ground, breath coming in thick pants through glazed eyes as her tongue lolled from her mouth.

“Hhauuaaaaa.” Following her to the ground, Robin sank down with a heavy sigh, the blissful aftershocks of an incredible orgasm thrumming through him, mixing with the irresistibly satisfied feeling he could feel from deep within the depths of his soul.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

“Uwaaa.” Nowi moaned with a sigh of deep satisfaction as blissful afterglow thrummed warmly through her.

Lying a half metre from her, Robin watched in bemusement as she flipped over onto her back with a low groan, stretching herself fully out, a dizzy smile lighting up her face as her small chest pounded up and down, still heaving from the exertion.

“Better now?”

“Mhmm!” She gave a giant nod, shuffling over to his side and giggling happily when he slung an arm over her shoulder, pulling her onto his chest and wrapping his cloak around her. “I feel, it’s… It’s amazing! It’s like, like everything inside me was let out, all at once!”

He chuckled, unable to help but smile at that, he could vividly remember the same feeling of overwhelming relief after going to Tharja. The sudden return to clarity, as if all the fog in his mind had been lifted and he was himself once more, it had almost been enough to bring to tears.

“Hey… Robin.” She added a few moments later, speaking quietly as her chin nuzzled against his shoulder. “I’m sorry. I didn’t… I didn’t want to avoid you. I just, it was always, anytime I was around you I felt really strange.”

“The same as today?” He clarified, to her small nod. That, at least, put to bed any ideas he might have had about her having gone into heat. Still, it was a troubling thought, one that raised as many questions as it answered.

“I’ve never felt anything like this before. I-I don’t even know what I was feeling! My parents never mentioned anything like it… I was, I was really scared.” She admitted quietly, obviously ashamed of having spent so many months running away from a close friend. “I didn’t want to leave today. Since, since it’s been so long a-and, I really missed you!”

“Ah.” He nodded, too satisfied to feel guilty. So usually as the feelings had built up within her, she’d run away before it had gotten too much and managed to retain control of herself, that was why he’d never noticed it before. But today, just as he’d spent so many months attempting to fight back his instincts, she’d done the same, forcing herself to stay until she simply couldn’t take it anymore. “Then when I came here…”

Knowing now, that her condition seemed to be related to his presence, he could guess that by tracking her here, when she’d already been so thoroughly overwhelmed, must have pushed her to her very limits.

“Heheee.” She giggled, her hands tracing a comfortable pattern across his chest. “It felt really good! And, and now, I’m back to normal!”

Right. That made sense. Just the same as he’d sated his instincts in Tharja’s arms, she’d soothed them in his. For the time being at least, she seemed completely comfortable with him, a little more affectionate than previously, but that was to be expected. More than anything else, it was a relief to know she was okay again.

Well, mostly okay, he conceded. She looked exhausted in a way he’d rarely seem from the smaller Manakete- someone who was usually fighting fit even after their toughest battles.

Understandable, he considered, a familiar masculine pride welling within him as he looked down at her, noting both the sheer satisfaction radiating from her smile and the thick river of his cum pooling from between her legs.

Even with a Dragon’s seemingly endless stamina, this had been a completely new experience for her. She’d probably strained muscles in ways she’d never even considered before, no doubt it must have been incredibly taxing for her, both physically and mentally, not to mention -he added, a moment later with an uneasy glance at the splotches of dried blood he could see scattered across her thighs- emotionally.

“Nowi…” He began carefully, his heart clenching slightly at the thought. “Are you okay?”

“Yup!” She nodded vigorously once more before he could even properly articulate his question. “I’m a little tired, but ahahaha, I feel really warm right now!”

“R-Right, but… Your first time.” He pressed on, despite her cheery demeanour. “Don’t you mind that it was with me? Are you alright with that?”

He wasn’t sure what he would do if it wasn’t. All he knew was that he’d broken his own rule. Even if she’d asked for it and even if he hadn’t meant to, he’d still pressured her into her act. Whatever consequences were to come, he needed to face head on.

“Nuh huh!” She laughed happily, beaming up at him with the same trusting smile as ever, instantly dismissing his melancholy. “I’m… I’m actually really glad it was you.”

 Shifting her eyes away from his and blushing beet red, Nowi somehow managed to look adorably shy for a moment, even with her bare hips squirming over his stomach. Pausing with only a moment of indecision, she pulled herself up, raising her head from his shoulder and sliding forward, until she was staring down at him- her lime green hair hanging loose around her face as a remarkably tender light shone in her eyes. “I-I like you Robin!” She admitted, the words coming out with a slight hitch in her voice. “I really, really, like you! I have forever!”

“Ah.” Dazzled by the sight of her bright lilac irises shining down at him, Robin’s body moved automatically, his arms reaching up and around her neck, drawing her gently down into his embrace.

Their lips came together softly, her mouth opening up against his tongue as their bodies fell into each other, drawn into a deep kiss. Moaning softly into his mouth, Nowi’s hands clung to the cloak spread open over his shoulders, her eagerness quickly making up for lack of experience as she pressed herself warmly atop him. It was strange how little hesitation he felt anymore, but as Robin’s hands pulled her harder against him, deepening their caresses, there wasn’t a trace of doubt within him.

“Mmmah” She gasped some unknowable time later as they separated, a cheeky smile rising naturally to her lips. “T-There see!? Now you’ve got my first kiss too!”

“I see.” Listening to her declare it as proof of her feelings with such determination, Robin could only accept it with a dry smile, shifting his arms around her and letting her rest comfortably back against his shoulder. “Well, good. I really like you too. I’ve been worried about you for a while now, you know?”

“Heheee!” She giggled, rolling around onto her back and resting her hands atop her stomach with a happy moan. “It’s funny, just thinking about it. I never expected it to happen this soon!”

“Hmm?”

“Me being a mother!” She explained, leaning back and reaching a hand up to tousle through his hair. “Oooh, I hope Nah gets your white hair this time! It’s soo pretty.”

“Er, ah.” Shrugging off her hand and pushing himself up, Robin peered down at the smaller girl in bewilderment. “What?”

“Oh? Robin? You don’t know?” Nowi blinked, completely misunderstanding his confusion as she turned herself over again, settling into his lap as he sat up. “Right, don’t worry! I’ll explain! Hmm, okay, well… It’s where babies come from, you see? When a man loves a woman, an-”

“N-No. No. I understand that.” He interrupted, quickly holding a hand up to stop her. The last thing he wanted was more people assuming he had no sexual knowledge. Pausing, he considered that. No, scratch that, the LAST thing he wanted was a lecture on the birds and the bees from Nowi, of all people. “Sorry, I, I do know that stuff. It’s just…”

He paused, deliberating for a second before deciding not to mention the contraceptive hex he was using. That would only raise more questions. “It’s just, it’s not that simple, you know? Just one time doesn’t guarantee anything.”

Nowi looked surprised. “It…it doesn’t? But, I thought, we had sex and, your seed and my egg, and...” Her words trailed off, apparently, that was the limit of her own sexual expertise.

“There’s a few other factors.” He winced, noting mentally to find a way to ask one of the other female Shepherds to explain the finer details. “It can take some time, or a lot of attempts. Otherwise, half the Shepherds would have kids already, wouldn’t they?”

“Hmmm.” She nodded slowly, her hands returning to running around her stomach as she conceded the point. “So, I’m not pregnant?”

Taking a moment to pray to Naga that the hex worked as well with Manaketes as with humans, Robin shook his head, wrapping his arms loosely around her waist. “Probably not.”

“Huuh, okay then!” Screwing her face up for a moment, her expression suddenly brightened and she slipped from his arms, sinking back to the ground on all fours and waving her hips teasingly back at him. “Alright! Let’s do it again then!”

Mouth dropping open in surprise, Robin’s body reacted instantly to the offer, the sight of her bare hips weaving ahead of him, his cum and her juices still drying heavily down her thighs, provoked a powerful reaction in the tactician. “Y-You, you don’t want to go back inside?”

“Nope! I like it out here! It feels natural!”

“Naga.” He breathed, not bothering to fight back his desire as his arms reached out to take hold of the smaller girl. 

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Several hours passed between them like that, their bodies coming together time after time, both clothes and inhibitions discarded under the warm afternoon sun as the peaceful meadow was filled with the gentle warmth of passionate affection. Until finally, lying wrapped up together, fully naked and entirely sated, with Robin’s cloak acting as a blanket, they gave into their fatigue, drifting off comfortably surrounded by the quiet sounds of the woods surrounding them.

And… As Robin slept, with a Divine Dragon curled up in his arms, the proof of his conquest splattered all across and through her body, the primal instincts buried at the core of his soul began to swirl.

And slowly, the thick obsidian portcullis, in the deepest recesses of his memories, was raised an inch off the ground.

And, his dreams began to shift.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Some Time. Some Place.

His consciousness came and went, periodically. He had no concept of time nor of place. He didn’t know where he was, nor for how long he’d been here, he knew nothing about his situation or even himself, save for some faint stirrings he could feel at far in the distance, just barely out of reach.

He existed. That was all he knew for sure.

“You should not have come here.”

A voice? He could hear a voice? It existed on the edge of his consciousness, but it existed none the less. Meticulous and restrained, but not without warmth, the voice echoed both around and through him at the same time. He could hear a voice. Even lacking ears. He could hear it.

“Mother…”

A second voice joined the first, this one filled with so much emotion the words were almost drowned by the feelings it released. But, just like the first, it’s presence filled the space and echoed gently through him, speaking without making a sound.

“This is my home, the area between worlds, between the living and the dead. It is not a place for you, not yet.”

“I… I’ve felt him. I’ve felt his presence again, in my dreams, I-I’m sure of it! He’s here, isn’t he!?”

A thunderous hesitation filled the room but it quailed under the determination of the second voice, it was replaced instead with a deep sigh.

“Very well.”

“A-Ah!”

Something like a door flew open, then another after that, and slowly, even without them saying anything, slowly he could feel the voices drawing closer toward him, becoming sharper, more distinct and, as they did so, they lit up like a beacon in his mind, shining like auras so bright he almost felt he could reach out and touch them. Even without eyes, he had no trouble seeing them.

“You’re… Looking after him?” The second voice asked hesitantly, shining a deep sea-green as it followed closely after the first.

“Of course.” The first confirmed, pulsing bright with in emerald hues. “After all that he’s done, to guide him like this is the least I can offer. But, for now at least, that’s all I can do. I have no control over life or death.”

“I under-”

One final door flew open and the sea-green voice dropped silent in shock. They were closer than ever now, and so sharp in his mind a thousand memories began to stir. ‘I’ve…heard this voice? I know… her.’

“R-Robin!” Her voice shuddered and snapped, and he -Robin- had a sudden urge to take her into his arms. Something within him broke apart at just hearing her ache. “G-Gods! Robin!”

“Indeed.” The emerald voice spoke up, her own happiness shining through clearly. “As you can see, he’s putting himself back together. His body is remembering itself at an incredible rate, it’s only been a few days since the battle and already we can see the outline of his form.”

“H-Hah.” The other voice choked out a laugh somewhere been pained and amused. “H-His cloak… Even here, even now, he’s still wearing that cloak.”

“This is only the beginning.” The first voice warned carefully. “All that was Grima’s is now his. The incredible power that was released is being taken in and fuelling his revival. Very soon it will overpower him entirely. After that, it’s up to him.”

“Then, is he, is he okay?”

“I do not believe he feels any pain. I do not believe he is yet aware of pain.”

“This power…” A painful hesitation, something she dared not ask hung in the air. “Wh-When he does come back, what will he be?”

“He will be himself.” They all knew that wasn’t the question she’d asked, but it was the more important answer. “It’s his memories, the bonds he shares with you and the rest of his comrades that are giving him shape right now. When he returns, no matter what else has changed about him, he will be himself.”

‘Memories? Bonds? My, my comrades…’ The words ignited something within him and suddenly the teasing fragments at the end of his consciousness were within reach! All at once they rushed at him, a furious torrent of names, faces and voices, a thousand scenes and pictures all seared themselves across his mind with an unstoppable fury.

‘CHROM!’ He thrashed in place. ‘LUCINA! MORGAN!’

As his mind reeled, he could feel his hold on himself slipping, his aura cascading out and encompassing the room, enveloping both the voices at once.

“W-Wha! His power? It’s, it’s incredible!” The sea-green voice gasped, letting out a low sigh, almost purring as she felt their auras entwine. “Robin… It’s, it’s so warm. Wonderful.”

“Indeed. The power of a God, given shape in a man. But, to release it like this, is far too much for now.” A surge of magic crackled to life and in the next moment, Robin could feel his power being restrained, the emerald voice’s power supressing his own, wrapping it gently back around him. “Sleep child. Sleep and recover. You will regain it all in time.”

“R-Robin! I’ll be back!” He could hear both hope and despair equally in the sea-green voice, as he felt the other woman’s power washing over him. “I’ll be waiting for you, I’ll always be waiting for you!”

His consciousness dimmed but, just before it faded, just before he slipped away again, he remembered how to speak.

“…Tiki…”

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Notes:

A/N: And there we go! A really long chapter this time, but one I’m actually pretty damn happy with.

First off, I know it was probably quite a surprise to many of you that Nowi was a virgin and maybe you disagree with that idea. I can understand that. However, I’ll refer you back to the very first chapter of this story, where I said, there will be no rape. That doesn’t mean just Robin, that means none at all. Not in the present, nor in the past. Bad things can and will happen, but that’s not one of them, no-one in this story is going to be or have been raped. Anyhow, personally, I think that since Nowi shows zero trauma from her experiences, never mentions them again and doesn’t even seem worried about returning to Plegia, it’s not all that difficult to take her story on face value. Although, your mileage may vary.

Secondly, for anyone wondering about Robin’s strange thought process while they were going at it, remember- that’s his instincts talking, just as Tharja pointed out, they’re his primal urges, the actions of a Great Wyrm as it jealously guards its hoard. Definitely not something he’d think in the cool light of day.

As always, more information about my story statuses as well as a weekly updates and any other details can be found at:

http://jlcdavenport.blogspot.com

Chapter 13: Bonus - A Time For Taming

Notes:

Authors Note: First off though, before we get cracking, I’ll make a note about the Noire scene in this chapter, keep in mind, the terrible thing that she alludes to from the past is just her own supposition.

Other than that, I just wanted to mention two pieces of art based off this story.

The first is based off Robin and Cynthia’s massage in the Pegasus Knight’s barracks, by Kibazoku:

http://www.hentai-foundry.com/pictures/user/Kibazoku/466542/Massage-gone-too-far...

And the second is based off the time Tharja was sucking Robin off while he made out with Lucina, by Awedacious

http://www.hentai-foundry.com/pictures/user/awedacious

Check them both out if you haven’t seen them already! Really damn impressive pictures!

Bonus – A Time For Taming

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Recap:  Robin is returned to life a little more than 6 months after sacrificing himself to slay the Fell Dragon. However, when he returns, he finds himself soon overcome with incredible lusts, desires that Lucina (his secret fiancé) is unable to entirely sate.

Over the next four months, things get steadily worse and soon Robin is driven almost to the point of madness by the rampaging desires, knowing that sooner or later he’ll lose control of himself entirely. With this terrible knowledge in mind, he finally abandons his resolve and sleeps with Tharja. As the Dark Mage then informs him, in being revived and in establishing full control over what used to be Grima’s power hidden inside him, Robin has now unlocked the true potential of his heritage and gained both the power and instincts of a Manakete. The most basic, primal urges, to Conquer, to Dominate and to Breed, urges that till now he has been fighting, at a terrible cost to his sanity.

Eventually accepting that the only path forward for him, to protect his family, is to sate these desires, Robin has set out, using his wits as a tactician and influence as the Shepherd’s Grandmaster, to seduce enough powerful women to satisfy even a Dragon’s selfish greed. So far, he’s succeeded in having sex with Lucina, Tharja, Lissa, Olivia, Miriel and, most recently Nowi.

Spending time with the enthusiastic Manakete, Robin discovered that for some reason his presence seemed to have an incredible effect on her, drawing out feelings very similar to those he suffered from in the smaller girl, accidently sending her wild with lust, a problem he was only able to cure by thoroughly sating her.

And then, sleeping, exhausted, on the forest floor with the young Dragon, his dreams took him down a path he couldn’t possibly remember, giving him visions of the first moments of him pulling himself back together, the time he’d spent in Limbo… Time spent with Naga and Tiki.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Whether by design or by co-incidence, all the initial women Robin took were, in one manner or another, submissive to him. Even the spritely Lissa and headstrong Miriel were, by nature of the situation they found themselves entangled with the Tactician in, comparatively subservient.

But, with what was to come, with the women he had still to claim, that would soon change.

Unable to compromise and unwilling to risk everything on the reckless impulses or whims of another, only one path lay open to the Grandmaster. To bind these free-willed, dominant women to him, to claim them as his own and then curb their impulses, to control his instincts enough to shape their behaviour toward his own needs.

In short, Robin needed to learn to tame them.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

After sending Nowi home to recover and promising to spend time with her again tomorrow, Robin was once again, seated back in his office behind his desk.

However -absently breathing out a contented sigh as another warm ripple of pleasure thrummed through him- despite his current pleasant haze, or the work piled up over his desk, his mind was miles away, tumbling through recollections of a time he had no memory of, a time he could have no memory of.

‘Tiki…’ Once again, the image of her, the feeling of her presence so close to him, rose in his head.

Just dreaming about the busty Manakete would have been one thing. Before his death his dreams had been steadfastly loyal to Lucina but, ever since his recovery, the beautiful Oracle had starred in his subconscious desires just as much as any of the other Shepherds. He was exceedingly fond of Tiki, they’d become very close during the Valmese campaign and he considered her a beloved friend, but even so, more than a handful of his nights had been spent savouring that guilty pleasure, tossing and turning as he envisioned the Voice of Naga wrapped tight around him, her innocent face flushed in shame and emerald hair tousled from their exertions.

‘Were you really there? Did that… did that happen?’

Another immoral fantasy would have been one thing, but this, this hadn’t felt like any of those times and, unlike his dreams, it hadn’t faded at all upon the waking light. Even now, almost an hour later, he could still remember it vividly, could still picture the scene, crystal clear in his mind.

Rather than a dream, it felt like a memory, a recollection he’d forgotten until now that had somehow come unlocked.

Was that possible? Could he truly remember something from the time spent between life and death? Even if that were the case, why did he only remember it now, months after his return?

None of it made any sense and, as if to compound onto that, no matter how hard he wracked his brains or strained his memories, no more came to him. He could remember nothing before or after, not until the time he’d awakened in that same field with Chrom and Lucina.

‘Am I missing something?’ he wondered, a repeated burst of satisfaction taking the edge off his frown. With everything that had happened since he’d come back, he’d put it completely out of mind, but now that he thought about it, he recalled a strange impression he’d gotten from talking to Lissa when he’d first woken up… That he’d talked to Naga? That she’d told him something? ‘Was that related? Is it the same?’ it was so long ago, the feeling was utterly lost and he could barely do more than guess.

What did it mean? Why now? He had no clue. Most probably it had just been a strange dream. If not then he certainly couldn’t find any deeper meaning to it, as surprising as he strange vision had been, it had hardly been revelatory, in-fact, as much as it warmed his heart to think of Tiki trying so earnestly to guide him back to life, the scene had been otherwise almost completely incidental.

‘If I think about it, it’s pro-’

*Tchk*

It was the sound of his door opening that finally knocked him from his musings.

“Robin?”

Then, a moment later, he was looking up in mild surprise as his fiancé poked her head in, soft cerulean hair shaking loose around her shoulders as she looked cautiously around his office.

“Oh, Lucina?” he grinned happily, a small rush running through him at the sight of her. No matter his mood, or even his circumstance, even at times like this, when he should have been preoccupied already, it was always a great feeling to have the woman he loved visiting him when he worked, “Yes, hello!”

“H-Hi,” she smiled in reply, shuffling into sight at the entrance, but moving no further inside, her eyes darting to each of the corners of the room and her voice surprisingly quiet, barely rising over a conspiratorial whisper, “Uh, so… So, Olivia’s at practice right now, isn’t she? S-So, it’s just, er that is to say, it’s only you here at the moment, Robin?”

“Well, I told Morgan I’d have dinner in the palace today, so she’ll probably come get me in a few hours. But, until then…” Grinning eagerly, Robin let his words trail off meaningfully. Sitting straighter in his chair as a sudden surge of excitement burst through him, he made absolutely no attempt at subtlety as he reached down to quickly adjust himself, preparing for her next move.

This was something to be savoured! Even after all their time together, he almost always made the first move, it was exceedingly rare to see Lucina so bold like this! What a rush!

Surprisingly however, despite a very similar light of anticipation dancing bright in the princess’s eyes, she made no move towards him.

“I-I see,” she answered with a shaky smile, nodding at his words, “Okay!”

And with that, she was gone. Slipping back out the door with little more than a shake of her sapphire hair and shutting the door firmly behind her.

“Luci-Wha?” He gaped, slumping back in his seat in abject confusion. “Huh!?”

A confusion that was only magnified a few moments later when, rather than heading back down the stairs outside, he realised Lucina’s soft footsteps had just taken her into their daughter’s, currently vacated office. The muffled sound of Morgan’s door clicking shut echoed out a second later.

And then, even more baffling than that, was the unmistakable clang that followed, a sound he’d heard countless times over the wars, the metallic tang of a bag of armour being dropped to the ground.

“Huh!?” He repeated.

Armour? What armour? Lucina had only been wearing her usual tunic, the outfit styled after the Hero King that she’d brought with her from the future. Having adjusted to a life of (mostly) peace, she only wore the armoured battlegear Chrom had had created for her when she was training or out on bandit hunts. ‘Did she bring it with her?’ he boggled.

Now, this was a surprise, he realised. Lucina, despite the cryptic nature of their initial meetings, was usually a thoroughly straightforward woman- easily among the most predictable of all the Shepherds. Taking off guard by her actions and without a clue what to make of them, Robin had half a mind to go after her, “What in the world?” instead, however, he used her arrival as a reminder of the work still awaiting his attention and so, pushing the competing distractions aside, he turned his mind back to the piles of papers Morgan had helpfully left stacked on his desk.

Unfortunately for that plan, his renewed focus lasted for only a little more than ten minutes before he was again jolted from his comfortable deliberations- this time by a hesitant knocking on his door.

“Huh?” he repeated for the third time… Surely that could only possibly be Lucina, but, why hadn’t she simply come in? Again, he had no clue what to make of her actions.

“G-Grandmaster Robin?” a surprisingly timid voice, one he could only just barely recognise as belonging to his fiancé, rang out quietly through the wood, “Sir, are you in?”

Thoroughly lost and feeling long overdue for some answers, Robin shoved his seat roughly backwards, taking barely a moment to compose himself before striding across the door and flinging his door wide open.

“Okay, what’s go…going…?” jaw hanging to the floor, his words trailed off the moment he saw he.

There was no doubt about it, the analytical part of his mind assured him, the woman standing before him was unquestionably Lucina. Somehow, that was the only coherent thought he could manage at the moment.

Squirming shyly in place, with her deep blue eyes upturned towards him and her hands clenched together over her stomach, the princess stared meekly back at him, her face burning a red bright enough to guide ships.

Robin swallowed, a shudder from somewhere deep within his subconscious running up his spine. He’d seen Lucina acting nervous before, he’d seen her being shy, aroused and everything in between… But he’d never seen her, never known he’d wanted to see her, like this.

With her long blue hair pulled back over her shoulders and decorated with a pair of small white ornamental wings, aside from her usual golden tiara, the woman he loved was dressed head to toe in the uniform of the Ylissean Pegasus Knights.

Her familiar tunic was still in place, reaching down to just over her hips but this time, rather than the dark blue of her battlegear, strapped atop her chest was a well-polished silver breastplate. Glowing softly in the fading afternoon light, it beautifully accentuated the moderate bust she normally kept bound tight under her clothes. The usual black undershirt she wore was completely gone and in its place her arms were encased in long metallic gauntlets that stretched all the way from her hands right up to a pair of embossed iron pauldrons. Equally, her modest leggings had been removed and instead she was clad only in a thin pair of thigh length navy blue stockings… ‘Gods.’ … Just seeing the thin garter straps connected to them running further up her legs and under her tunic was doing terrible things to his composure.

Staring in silent disbelief, it took Robin several moments before he realised why he was so awestruck at the sight. He’d seen Lucina completely naked and he’d seen her fully clothed, he’d seen her in a thousand different compromising positions, with her clothes pulled down or bunched up in a hundred different ways… But, never like this. Somehow, he’d never once beheld her wearing only her tunic and panties, her underclothes discarded and her creamy white thighs bared indecently before him.

It was incredible! And, because her tunic was never designed to be worn alone, it was far more alluring than even the normal Pegasus Knight uniform. Where Cordelia or Sumia’s dresses teased the imagination, reaching most of the way down their thighs, Lucina’s was downright immodest, barely even beginning to cover her hips!

The urge to simply reach out and pull her into him -to run his hands under that skimpy skirt, grind his painfully hard erection between her legs and squeeze the small, round globes of her magnificent ass- was almost insurmountable, restrained only by an even greater anticipation to see just what had brought about this change of costume, just what her plan was.

“A-Are you Grandmaster Robin?” she spoke first, her nervous lilt breaking the momentary silence.

“Er, ah, yes, yes that’s me,” he answered, more out of instinct than anything else, stepping away and gesturing her inside the office, “Here, come in.”

“Thank you,” she nodded, bowing her head in polite deference and closing the door behind her -a further spark of adrenaline igniting within Robin an instant later when he noticed her fingers also deftly flicking the lock into place at the same time- “It-It’s an honour to meet you sir, truly! I’ve, I’ve heard so much about you!”

Robin was no fool, no matter how surprised he was, the pieces very quickly fell into place, ‘Lucina…’ She’d checked first to see if he was free, then she’d changed into this (incredible) outfit and now she was pretending not to know him? Faking an act of nervousness around him? ‘I never expected anything like this… You really have gotten bold, haven’t you?’

This was a far cry from the stoic princess he’d first met so long ago, the reserved warrior he’d fallen for, traumatised by her past and lost under the weight of her obligations.

It was almost unbelievable! Lucina, of all people, was inviting him to a game, ‘Very well!’ his mind roared in eager approval, already spinning through what his own role in this would be, ‘A young Pegasus Knight, likely a trainee, sent to see the Grandmaster?’

“Well then,” he nodded, holding out a hand and offering her an encouraging smile. “In that case, it appears you’ve got me at a disadvantage, miss…?”

“I-ah, er…” Stumbling over her words, Lucina’s eyes shot wide open and Robin had to stifle a laugh, clearly, she hadn’t thought quite that far ahead. Flinching back, her head dropped to the floor. “My, ah, my name?”

“Yes?”

“My name…”

A momentary pause settled between them as the game they’d begun balanced on a knife’s edge and he watched his fiancé’s mind racing in circles. Her body tensed completely taut, as if in combat, as she scrambled for an answer, a name for a young trainee Pegasus Knight, come to visit the Grandmaster.

And then, a second later, she turned to him once more, shoulders squared and brand of Ylisse shining bright with determination.

“Cordelia… My name is Cordelia.”

‘W-WHA!?’

Now, it was his turn to flinch back in surprise! Reeling, Robin wasn’t sure just what he’d expected, but that definitely was NOT it, ‘Was that the first name she thought of?’ Obviously, she wasn’t going to use either her mother or sister’s names, but still…

Swallowing heavily and only just barely managing to cling to his composure, he desperately forced himself not to think about the position he’d had the real Cordelia in, just a few days prior.

“C-Cordelia eh?” he nodded, hiding the slight hitch in his voice with a hum, “Well then, it’s a pleasure to meet you, Cordelia. But, what brings you to my little corner of the world?”

“Th-The, the Wing Commander sent me to see you, sir,” she explained quietly, “I, ah, I think she’s wasn’t sure what else to do with me.”

“Your Wing Commander did? Why?”

Squirming silently in place, Cordelia dropped her gaze, squeezing her fingers together, “Because… Because, I keep messing up,” she admitted finally, “The Pegasii won’t listen to me, they keep throwing me off or, or ignoring my orders, no matter what I do! I can’t stay in formation or, keep up with the others or…or anything.”

From the few, admittedly funny, stories he’d heard about their childhood from Cynthia, Robin couldn’t help but wonder if Lucina was basing this on reality.

“So…” still squirming away from his gaze, she tugged anxiously on the hem of her tunic, unable to do anything to hide the smooth white flesh of her thighs from his appraisal, “She-she was hoping you’d be able to help me.”

Frowning as he considered the request, he shook his head, “No. That’s not why she sent you.”

“S-Sir?”

“She sent you to me, so I could evaluate you,” folding his arms, his voice became stony, “Cordelia, your Wing Commander is no fool, she knows well; if you can’t become a Pegasus Knight, then you shouldn’t be one.”

“W-Wha!? No! Please!” she begged, reaching out and tugging desperately on his sleeves. “I have to be a Pegasus Knight! I-I’ll do anything!”

“Anything?” Robin smirked. Oh, but she was making it far too easy!

Flinching a step back, with her face burning red and eyes shifting from his harsh gaze, Cordelia’s hands rose instinctively to her chest. “I-er… If you, if you w-”

“And that,” he interrupted viciously. “Is why you’re not a Pegasus Knight.”

Too bad for her, he was having far too much fun to stop their game this soon!

“The Pegasus Knights are the backbone of the Ylissean Military,” he continued, speaking directly over her surprise, “Respected and feared the world over, they make up both our first and last lines of defence. To most people, the Pegasus Knights are Ylisse, as much as the Exalt or the Fire Emblem.”

Pinned under the merciless intensity of his gaze, Cordelia swallowed a dry throat.

“And you… You would do anything to join them?” he scoffed, the mocking words twisting cruelly through the young trainee as he drew out a painfully heavy pause. “What could you possibly offer, Cordelia, that can match that prestige?”

“I...” Mouth hanging open, she reeled back as if stung, face colouring in mortification and eyes dropping to the floor.

“Exactly,” he answered for her, “You realise it yourself, don’t you? You’re not a Pegasus Knight, Cordelia, and you should never be one.

“That’s why you instantly tried to bargain with me just now, isn’t it?” he added, watching the nervous girl tremble as he ripped open the cold truth. “If you’d said you were determined to be one, if you swore to improve, if you told me you me you would work harder than anyone to live up to the title- then I would have accepted it. But, the truth is, you already know, it doesn’t matter what you do or how hard you work, you’re not meant to be a Pegasus Knight.”

Without giving her a chance to respond, Robin slid closer, cupping her chin with his right hand and raising her head to face him.

“You always put on a show of strength, don’t you?” he breathed, running his thumb in a small circle across her cheek, “For your family, or your friends? Just like today, you square your shoulders and act as if you can take on anything. But, behind that act, you don’t truly have any confidence, do you? You’ve spent your whole life just anxiously waiting, for someone to unmask you, to show the whole world who you really are. Even I can see that, you’ve never believed in yourself, you just don’t want to trouble others.”   

Referencing what he knew of Lucina’s insecurities and mixing them into the story she’d concocted for this young Pegasus Knight, Robin knew what he was doing wasn’t exactly fair… But, from the awe he could see shining in the bluenette’s eyes, he knew she was captivated- completely enveloped in her role.

Releasing her face, he stepped slowly around behind her, making a show of resting his hands atop her pauldrons, flicking his fingers down and carefully pulling open the fastenings that connected them to her breastplate. “So, tell me, do you think the Pegasii are stupid, Cordelia? Are they just dumb beasts to you?”

Startled at the rude question, she finally found her voice. “N-No! No, of course not. I adore them, they’re incredibly intelligent, empathetic animals!”

Just the kind of answer he would have expected from Sumia’s daughter, or perhaps, from Cordelia herself.

“Exactly,” he drawled, sliding his hands down and tracing his fingers across the leather straps at the back of her breastplate, twisting them open with practiced ease, “Then, if I could tell all that from the moment I met you, do you not think they must also understand it?”

“A-Ah!” Gasping, the young trainee suddenly tensed up, her entire body jolting rigid at his insidious words.

*Clnnng*

Falling loose from her body, the breastplate dropped to the ground with a metallic tang. Still in shock from his words, Cordelia shivered involuntarily at being so suddenly exposed, but gave no other reaction as Robin stepped closer, bringing his hands around to the thick belt slung tight around her waist and slowly beginning to unfasten it.

“That’s why you can’t ride them,” he continued, his voice low and unyielding, speaking easily, as if it was the most natural thing in the world, “Because they don’t respect you. How can you as them to trust themselves to someone who fears to lead them?”

“I, that can’t be…”

Ignoring her disbelief, Robin pulled the belt smoothly from around her waist, dropping it carelessly between her legs.

“They won’t follow you because they know that you’re just like them. What you want, what you really want, isn’t to lead, but to be led. Just as each Pegasus waits for it’s ideal partner, you’re waiting for your ideal master. The person you can show how weak you truly are too, someone you can trust to take your reins and instruct you. Someone who will train you.”

Letting his breath tickle around the back of her neck, Robin slid even closer, finally pressing his body directly against hers, letting her feel the strength of his strength of his arousal as his hands wrapped tight around her waist, dancing his fingers up along her incredible, toned body.

Very familiar with holding her in this position, Robin’s fingers traced automatically up her stomach, teasing over the embossed patterns in her clothing and reaching up to cup her soft mounds, smiling happily as he let them fill his hands.

Free from the chest bindings she usually wore, Lucina’s chest pushed her dark blue tunic out far more than usual. Designed for a man, the outfit was strained tight over her bust, making her moderate breasts look even larger than they were. Only a little smaller than Lissa’s, they had a decidedly immodest bounce to them- pert and springy under his fingers, when hanging free like this Lucina’s assets easily as eye catching as Tharja or Miriel’s.

 “W-Wha-What are?” the Pegasus Knight’s voice suddenly caught in her throat, turning instead into a soft gasp as Robin dragged his thumbs over her hard nipples, grinding the light fabric roughly into her overly sensitive skin, “Ahhnn!”

“The Pegasii won’t accept you atop them,” he continued without missing a beat, breathing his words millimetres from her skin, “Because they know that’s not your place, you’re the same as them. You should be beside them… In the stables, bent over and waiting to be bred.”

“W-WHA!?” She exclaimed in shock, squirming in place against his embrace for a moment before his firm touch put her back under his control.

“It’s this body,” Robin answered simply, releasing her now tingling breasts and dragging his fingers up to her neck, slowly bringing them down once more, but this time smoothly flicking open the ties to her tunic, just as he had so many times before. “Look at it.”

He pulled apart the fabric over her chest, sending her supple mounds falling free into the heated air with a lascivious bounce.

“These soft breasts.”

He ran his hands lower, his fingers dancing beneath the cloth, teasing along the entirety of her torso as he unveiled just the same.

“This toned stomach.”

The last of the restraints fell undone under his touch and her tunic swung back, open around her shoulders. Not missing a beat, his hands had already moved to the thin strip of cloth hiding the last of her modesty, easily tugging apart the side-tie to her panties and casting them to the floor… (Honestly, some distant part of his mind wondered absently, just what kind of self-respecting Pegasus Knight wore side-tie panties in the first place?)

“These smooth hips.”

Shivering under his confident touch and lacking any shreds of her composure, it was all Cordelia could do not to moan aloud as his fingers slid roughly around behind her, cupping and kneading her shapely, around curves.

“This tight ass.”

“S-Sir!” utterly shaken from being caressed so aggressively, the young trainee stumbled hopelessly over her words, “Wh-What are…Nnnh, what are you…?”

Truthfully, Robin was glad to be standing behind her right now, listening to the words coming out of his mouth, he was blushing almost as hard as his love, making it all up as he went along, he was almost completely out of his element. Aside from a small few times where his instincts had gotten the better of him, he’d never been one for dirty talk in the bedroom and he’d certainly never roleplayed like this, or like anything else, before.

But, as his heart raced and his adrenaline surged, he was finding himself thoroughly enjoying this new game. He couldn’t deny the rather twisted rush he was savouring, taking control with such heartless words.

“There’s no way a body like this was meant for fighting,” he concluded in a harsh whisper, releasing her ass and taking hold of her open tunic, yanking it up and over her head, giving a moment’s thanks that it was loose enough to clear her pauldrons as he tossed it across the room, far out of reach. Finally leaving the young Pegasus Knight stripped to nothing but her golden crown and shining armour, “Cordelia, Naga gifted you a body like this for only one reason… You were built for fucking. You’re a natural whore. A cheap back alley slut.”

Her entire body jolted in place, the sheer audacity of his words finally bringing her back to her senses.

“N-No! Nngh, s-stop! Stop this, please!” she cried, thrashing about in his arms. He was holding her with barely even the lightest touch, a fraction of his strength, and yet, despite her words she remained in place- lacking the willpower to actually break his hold, “This, this isn’t why I came here!”

“This is exactly why you came here,” he retorted, sliding his hands down and spreading his fingers across her thighs, giving a mocking laugh when her squirming suddenly came to a halt, her body arching automatically back into him in response, her hips shaking against his caress, “You came to be evaluated, to find your true place and I have told you.”

“S-Stop!” she repeated, the word coming out in a breathless moan, devoid of any conviction, “Th-This is, this is sexual harassment! Abuse of power!”

All at once his movements halted and Cordelia couldn’t restrain a throaty gasp in response.

“You’re right,” he nodded, stepping away and releasing her to stumble forwards on shaking legs, “It is.”

Weakly, she shook herself in a daze, unsure what to say or even to think, all she could do was try deny his words, “I’m, I am a Pegasus Knight…”

“Is that so? You can still say that, even with your juices dripping all over my floor? Hhm, very well then. I’ll leave it up to you.”

“A-Ahuh?”

“If I am wrong about you, then show me. Pick up your clothes and get dressed. Report me to your Commander- she’ll be horrified to hear about it and far too guilty to ever question your role again. I’ll be fired and you can go back to pretending to be a Pegasus Knight… Pretending you don’t want this.

“Or,” savouring the moment, Robin let the word hang long in the air, not missing the delightful quiver that ran up her spine as he dragged the sentence out, “If I’m right… Then give up on being a Pegasus Knight, Cordelia. Stop fighting your true self and bend over my desk like the whore you are.”

A moment passed, then a second, but still Cordelia remained stuck in place. The denial that should have come instantly from her couldn’t make it past her lips and each time she looked towards her discarded armour, her eyes darted automatically away.

Moving forwards with a dark chuckle, Robin loosened his pants, unsheathing his cock and laying it rock hard against her bare ass, letting her feel the heat of his desire across her naked skin, right up the small of her back.

“How long are you going to act tough?” he whispered, sliding his fingers around to her inner thighs and teasing them through the sticky warmth spreading fast down her legs, making a show of rubbing in just how wet she already was.

“I-I,” stumbling away from his touch on shaky steps, the young trainee shuffled forwards… away from her unwanted armour and over her unneeded clothes, until, finally, at long last, she all but fell over the tactician’s desk- her face burning in shame even as her body pulsed with an unbearable desire. “Y-You’re wrong. I am, no matter what you say, I am a Pegasus Knight!”

“Is that so?” he repeated, his eyes hungrily following the way her shapely round hips swung impatiently through the air, thoroughly savouring the sight of the corrupted trainee presenting herself to him, “You can say that even now? Well, let’s put it to the test then, shall we?”

Stepping forward he took a firm grip on her waist, pressing his hard cock against the heat of her entrance, holding it in place and letting her throbbing lips open wide around his thick glans, “A true Pegasus Knight has pride and honour. She would never let herself lose to someone like me.

“So, if you can defeat me, I’ll apologise and accept your words.” Dragging the moment out, he rolled himself a half centimetre forwards, pushing his cockhead just barely inside her- teasing her to madness while holding her tightly in place, refusing to let her move herself, “But, when you succumb… Once I defeat you, you won’t just become a whore, you’ll become my whore. You’ll exist only for my pleasure.”

“Nghh,” lacking the resolve to scowl back at him, Cordelia simply snarled in defiance, her fingers digging into his desk as she braced herself, “D-Do your worst! I will never lose to som-AIYYAAAAA!”

Slamming his cock forwards without a single word of warning, Robin drove himself into her full force, spreading her unprepared pussy wide around his thick shaft as he hilted his entire length inside her, crashing mercilessly into her deepest walls and stretching them back, wrapped tight around him.

“AUUUGHH!” Cordelia screamed. Jolting forward under his power, her knees smacked into the back of his desk with a dull thunk, a sound her torso repeated a moment later when she collapsed down atop it, her legs trembling weakly and mouth hanging open in a shocked euphoria, “UNHGhhhhhaaaaa.”

 “Oh my, Cordelia?” Robin teased, dragging out her name as he leaned forwards, swirling the full length of his cock around within her and running a finger softly down her spine, “Did you cum already?”

“N-Nghh, N-No, no… Of co-course not,” she lied weakly, barely able to raise her head with her shaking arms a thin trail of saliva running from her open mouth. “I, I can still.”

“Good, that’s a relief,” Robin answered, wasting no time in withdrawing his shaft, watching with a smirk as her fingers scrambled for purchase on the polished wood while he scraped back through her pulsing tunnel, “It’d be a shame if this were all over so soon… HHaaa, your pussy feels amazing, you know? Just as I knew it would.”

“D-Dastard!” she swore, her voice hitching dangerously high as he slid smoothly back through her depths, jolting her knees again into his desk and sending another intense surge of bliss right through her core. “Do-Don’t just, just assume, th-that, ghaaa, hhaa, Ah! Ahh!”

“Augh, merciful Naga!” he groaned, happily ignoring her complaints, his fingers clenching tight around her thin waist as he quickly built up a rapid pace, driving himself roughly into her, again and again. His body shuddered and his instincts gnawed at his control, his soul blazing with delight as he began fucking her harder, faster, his cock slamming the naïve Pegasus Knight hard into his desk and the urge to claim her, to own her, twisting through him with a cruel ferocity, “It’s amazing! Gods! You’re so unbelievably tight!”

With her lithe body and battle toned muscles, Lucina had always been almost unreasonably tight. Even after all their tight together, no matter how often her walls were forced wide wound his shaft, nor how rough he was, still, each time he was with her, it always felt like he was opening her depths anew.

‘Naga!’

And right now, absolutely caught up in this game of hers, he could swear she was squeezing him harder than ever!

“Anngh. Th-There’s no doubt about it,” he continued, stifling a groan as her hips shook automatically back against him, her body visibly convulsing as another orgasm speared through her, before collapsing in a heap, back down to his desk once more. “This really is your true calling.”

“Nghuuhaa, n-no! No, pl-please, I beg you… Sir! D-don’t say that.”

“Oh? You’re still denying it, Cordelia?” he laughed, not minding her refusal at all. It was only more reason to continue enjoying her depths, “But, to, ahhngn, to, feel this good, you must be very well practiced, tell me, just how easily do you spread your legs? How many cocks have you had already?”

“N-None , none sir!” she panted defensively, her words barely coming out over the lewd moans now falling unbidden from her throat. “Only, only this one. Only yours!”

“Oh?” caught up in the roleplay, his eyes widened in genuine surprise. A stunning woman like this had gone untouched? This was her first time? He hadn’t felt any resistance but then, he had heard that being on horseback was sometimes enough to-

-Blinking, it was only at that moment that Robin remembered just where he was. The daze of pleasure, the feeling of Lucina’s, incredible pussy wrapped tight around him, it was sending his thoughts in a whirl. Shaking his head with a rueful smile, he withdrew fully, holding himself for half a moment at the very tip of her the bluenette’s aching entrance, “And, how do you like it? Your first cock? How does it feel?”

Leaning over her, he drove violently forward, slamming himself into her as hard as possible, hilting himself in one thrust and scraping his cock directly against the point, deep inside her, that always brought Ylisse’s proud Princess to her knees.

“AuuGHH!” she screamed, her torso pitching wildly into the air as she came again, her entire body seizing up and her tunnel squeezing tighter than ever around his cock, “AHHNG!”

“Be honest now!” He ordered, repeating the motion again and again, watching as all possible vestiges of resistance evaporated from the blue haired trainee, until her body lay limp across his desk, spread out in acceptance- fully opened up for his use.

“I-I-I…” ultimately, her mental resistance was sundered just as easily. “Nnng, I, I LOVE IT! Annghh, F-Father, forgive me, G-Gods! I love it! I can’t, sir, I can’t take it! Hhhaa, it-it’s too much!”

“Say it clearly!” he commanded, his composure fought hard against the pulsing shake of the Pegasus Knight’s tight pussy as another overwhelming orgasm seared through her, “What do you love? What are you really?”

“I, I…” for just one single, final moment, the young Pegasus Knight clung to the dignity of the role, of the dream she’d chased…

...Then, Robin’s cock slammed again into her most sensitive area, driving her forcefully into his desk as his shaft pushed right to her furthest walls, stretching them tight around him once more. And suddenly, as the last remnants of her pride shattered around her, she realised only one thing mattered. “I love being fucked like this! I’m, nghhaaa, I’m your whore! I’m your whore! For your use! N-Naga! I’m cumming! I’m cumming again!”

“Yes! Good, very good!”

Watching in abject satisfaction as the bluenette’s slender body fully submitted to him, the soft bouncing flesh of her toned ass shuddering with his every thrust and turn, and impulse rose suddenly within him, to spank her- to slap his hand hard into that luscious target and put her completely in her place.

‘W-Wha?’

It was an impulse that lasted barely a moment before Robin furiously quashed it, a stab of guilt at the thought jolting him painfully back to reality.

This was Lucina, he reminded himself, the woman he loved more than anything, the woman he’d offered his life to. Lucina enjoyed rough sex because she trusted him, because she enjoyed being able to surrender to him, to relinquish control in a way she couldn’t do in any other facet of her life. Being obedient to him, being dominated by him gave her a freedom she’d never experienced before. She was not a masochist.

 ‘Stupid.’ He scolded himself angrily, his guilt thankfully soothed slightly by her happy screams echoing through his ears as he continued to drive himself roughly into her. No matter what game they were playing, no matter how this “Cordelia” was acting, he reminded himself, he was with his Princess. He could never, would never hurt her, not even for fun. Keeping her from being hurt was why he’d started this mad quest in the first place, it was why he’d betrayed his friends and was walking down a path he knew could only possibly end with his own disgrace.

“Lucina…” Wrapped up in thoughts of her, as much as by the familiar feeling of her body wrapped tight around him, her name fell from his lips without a thought.

“L-Lucina?” the girl before him whimpered in reply, her pleasure drunk voice tinged with disapproval “Please, sir. Do-Don’t, don’t think about other women right now!”

Instincts flaring into an inferno at the sound of her insubordination, Robin fell eagerly back into his own role.

“I’ll think about whoever I damn well please!” he snapped, leaning forward and pushing her head firmly down into his desk, holding her face against the wood as he drove into her even harder than ever. “And, you are in no position to argue!

“If I’m not thinking of you, it’s because you’re not worth thinking about!” Bending almost completely over her, Robin slowed the speed of his thrusts, putting all his focus into his power, his cock spearing brutally through the Knight’s narrow tunnel, jolting her body further and further forward over his desk until she was stretched out on her tip toes, almost off the ground. “Is that clear, Cordelia?”

“Y-Yes, yes sir! Sorry sir! NGHHAA!” she pleaded pathetically, her feet flying splayed into the air as he drove into her once more, her hands just barely managing to catch onto the far side of the desk as she was sent crashing through another peak.

“Lucina is the woman I love. She’s an incredible person and the pride of all Ylisse,” he continued, finally relinquishing his assault and pulling her back, settling her feet back down on the ground, “She’s a thousand times better than some cheap whore like you, Cordelia. You should be honoured just being compared to her!”

“Nhghuuaa… Y-Yes, yes sir. I’m sorry, hhaa, I didn’t realise, I, I am honoured, sir.”

“Good, good. This hole is the only worthwhile thing about you Cordelia, don’t waste it.”

Laying bonelessly atop his desk, with no time to recover from her latest peak and already half gone from the world, Cordelia gave no verbal answer. But, from the way she continued to shake her body hungrily back against his, it was clear what she was craving from him.

“Ahhmm… That said…” He sighed, slowing his movements to a gentle pace and savouring, for a moment, the blissful feeling of the young trainee’s complete submission. “You are rather impressive, in your own way. I’m proud to own a good little slut like you.”

“Oh? Th-Thank you, sir!” she stammered, practically glowing with pride. Judging from her reaction and the picture she’d given him of her life so far, he doubted she was used to being complimented.

“Yeah,” he nodded, pulling back and dragging his shaft completely out of the surprised girl, “It makes me want to show you off!”

“Huh? Ah! Ah!?”

Ignoring her squeal of surprise, Robin wrapped his arms tight around her waist, yanking her abruptly into the air.

“G-Grandmaster?” Cordelia balked, squirming in his arms but far too weak from pleasure to struggle as he carried her over to the east side of the room, depositing her, with surprising gentleness, against his windowsill.

In the late afternoon of a warm summers day, the window had been wide open since before she’d even arrived and so, the startled bluenette was left holding desperately onto the edge, her head hanging out into the air as her new master positioned himself wordlessly behind her.

“Ah-” only, this time, his aim was a little higher. “AuuGHHAAA!”

Lining his cock up against the entrance to her ass, and taking another firm hold of her gorgeous round hips, Robin wasted no time in pushing forward. With his shaft already thoroughly lubricated in her copious juices, he was able to smoothly open up the amazingly tight entrance around him, gasping in delight as he soon hilted himself within her once again, feeling her entire body tensing up in shock at the feeling of his thick rod filling her back passage.

“N-Naga, this ass is divine,” he praised her, running his hands soothingly over her shapely round butt and marvelling at the sight of his entire length buried within her. “Just as I expected from you, Cordelia.”

Already he knew he couldn’t last much longer. His stamina had already recovered from his earlier fun with Nowi and, with everything they’d done so far, after fucking her as hard as he had, even just being inside his fiancé like this almost enough to tip him over the edge.

“I, nghhaa, I, I can’t…” She gasped, her mouth hanging wide in a weak moan as she felt his cock start to rock and forth within her, smoothly building into a slow rhythm.

“Ahh, like I said, it makes me want to show you off,” he repeated, clenching his teeth to bite back a groan as her muscles coiled tighter around him, pulsing wonderfully across his entire length. “Look out there, don’t you see them?”

“Hu-”voice catching in her throat, Cordelia’s entire body suddenly locked up in shock as she fully realised just where she was, “Ah! Ah!”

Hanging half naked out the Grandmaster Tactician’s eastern window, she was overlooking a small, private training ground… The Shepherds private training ground. Where Exalt Chrom stood, barely twenty metres away, currently leading a small group of his squad through their final routines for the day.

“Ahmmmm!” Eyes wide in fear, both her hands flew to her mouth, leaving her leaning right against the wooden frame as she desperately stifled any possible sound, frantic not to give any of them a reason to look up.

“That’s right,” Robin whispered, slowly increasing his tempo, easing her ass open around his thick shaft as he ground himself into her, “The Shepherds, Ylissse’s most elite group and my own personal charge. They’re my most trusted companions, people I share everything with. Surely, I should introduce you to them Cordelia? To show them all who you truly are?”

“Mmmph! Mnnaaph!” Thrashing against him in protest only served to stir his cock around inside her, the resultant blast of pleasure only dragging her closer to yet another peak and making it impossible to even offer a token resistance.

“This room is currently warded for silence. That, of course, includes anyone in it.”

Feeling her sag in relief, he increased the force of his thrusts, his breath coming in ragged pants as the pressure within him rose faster than ever.

“Nng, but, luckily, it’s so very easy to undo that,” waving a hand lazily through the air, he feigned the motions of undoing his wards, sending a minor spark of lightning fizzling through the air instead, “There we go. Okay! Now, go on!”

“MmmphHHH!” caught right on the edge of another peak, the helpless trainee shoved her fist into her mouth, forcefully biting back a scream, “HMMMPH!”

“Come on, Cordelia!” Robin taunted, his fingers digging hard into her waist as he began strongly driving himself into her tight hole, “Let it out! Show them our true self, let them all see what a slut you really are!”

“N-No,” she forced out weakly from between her fingers. “No!”

“No? You don’t want to? Are you still denying yourself?”

“I-I’m not!” She gasped, clenching her teeth down on her knuckles as her chest slammed again into the windowsill and as another violent orgasm speared through her, “You… You said, hhnaaa, you said that I, that I belonged to you. Ahhhaa, th-that I was for your exclusive use!”

Smirking as she acknowledged it, Robin groaned happily, leaning back to scrape his cock along the topmost walls of her ass, pushing her right to her tiptoes as he did so.

“I don’t, don’t want anyone to see me but you!” the young Pegasus Knight finally finished, forcing the words out through stifled screams of bliss, “I-I’m only for you.”

“But, what if that’s what I want? What if I order you to do so?”

Still Cordelia held on, fighting for her words even as her eyes rolled back and her world descended into a white fog, “Peg-gnha-Pegasus Knights have a, a duty to refuse unjust orders!”

Robin’s soul blazed in delight. The perfect answer! Exactly what he’d been looking for from her. “Good girl.” She may have been a failure as a Knight, but this Cordelia’s potential in the bedroom was incredible.

Then, all at once -as the last of her willpower faded away and as the pressure raging inside finally overwhelmed him- they both suddenly realised they’d gone far beyond their limits and, that they’d finally reached the end of the game.

“GhnnGHHHAAA!” Pulling back at the last possible moment, Robin dragged his cock from inside her tight passage, leaning back with a strangled cry as his long-awaited release exploded furiously out! Jet after jet of his hot, thick seed splattered across the princesses back, defiling her beautiful white skin with the proof of his lust and leaving trails of cum plastered across her- from between her silvery pauldrons, right down to the small of her back.

“AnnghhUHHAAA!” Crying out in one final peak, her knees finally gave out under her. And, as she slid down the wall and onto the floor, the last thing Lucina saw before she passed out was the sight of a Warrior sparring against a Pegasus Knight.

‘Father… Mother…’

It was a strangely encompassing thought that ran through the time-traveller in that moment. Far from the image of the ideal princess she’d always tried so hard to live up to, she’d just been fucked like a cheap slut, easily giving up both her holes, barely meters from where her beloved parents were standing, thankfully unaware.

‘Robin… he’s changed me so much.’

Her body pulsed with delight one last time and she collapsed in a heap, a contented smile beaming across her face as everything around her faded to white.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

“Mmaaahm” Lucina hummed warmly several minutes later. “I never expected that!”

“I’m fairly sure that’s my line.” Robin deadpanned in response.

They were both stripped fully naked now, with him having discarded the last of her armour and his clothes as he’d cradled her unconscious body carefully to his bed. Having been put through the wringer himself, he wasn’t sure exactly how much time had passed since, but, with Lucina snuggling happily against him, with her arms and legs both wrapped around him, he didn’t much care.

“Hhaa, but you were so mean!” she continued with a small laugh, “It was as if you’d trampled all over my hopes and dreams.”

“Oh,” he blinked, realising he could hardly deny that, “Ah yeah, I guess I did go a little overboard there, didn’t I?”

He’d never done any kind of sexual roleplay before, but, now that he was calm enough to actually stop and think about it, the scenario of “The young Pegasus Knight trainee is sent for discipline” probably didn’t usually involve a complete psychological breakdown.

“Ack,” he winced, suddenly feeling rather sheepish as he remembered how he’d even brushed off her offer to do anything for him. “S-Sorry, I, ah I hope I didn’t take it too far there? I wa-”

“No, no.” Lucina interrupted, all but purring as she clung even tighter to him, “Robin, it was amazing! Naga, I’ve never felt anything like that! It was… It was as if you broke down everything about me, tore away everything I ever wanted and replaced it with you, as if I should feel ashamed for caring about anything but you. Ahehe, you were so strong, so determined, I couldn’t do anything but be swept up in your authority.”

“Ah,” he grinned, his face heating up gently at his fiancé’s vivid description, “well, so long as you enjoyed yourself.”

“Definitely,” she nodded, “Ah, it was a little strange to borrow a name though. Huh… I wonder if the real Cordelia would have acted the same?”

“Er… Robin balked. “I would have no idea… But, why did you use her name anyway?”

“Hmm, there was no particular reason, it was just the first name that popped into my head.” She explained, giving a light shrug and playing it off as if roleplaying under the name of one of your fiancé’s longtime friends was perfectly natural, “I, I hope it wasn’t strange for you? Me using her name?”

“Ah, no, it was, it was fine.” He answered carefully, deciding after a moment’s thought that it was better not to probe any deeper. Lucina had always been a little strange about the elder Pegasus Knight, her respect was genuine yet there was a subtle but clear edge in her dealings with the red-head. It wasn’t exactly difficult to guess why, but what role that had played in their game -and particularly in how much Lucina seemed to have enjoyed being degraded by him- he couldn’t guess.

“Robin,” she breathed quietly a moment later, “Were you thinking about her, while we did it?”

“What!? L-Lucina!” he gaped, her questions were getting stranger by the moment! “No! No, of course not.”

It wasn’t a lie. Regardless of the name she’d taken or the act she was putting on, he’d always only been thinking of her. The Pegasus Knight trainee had been simply another facet of the same woman, the woman he loved.

It wasn’t much, but while he was with her, at least, he was faithful to her.

“Ah, well, that’s good, of course.”

She was smiling, but strangely she seemed surprisingly conflicted by his answer.

“Lucina, what’s this all about? I- Come now, what brought this on anyway? Something like this doesn’t just happen out of the blue?”

She perked up at that, “Oh! Actually, it was an idea I received from Sir Vaike.”

“V-Vaike!?” This was becoming ridiculous! He didn’t know how many more surprises he could take. “You mean, Vaike knows about us?”

“To be honest, I’m not entirely sure actually. I spoke to him a few days ago, after his dance lessons an-”

“His… dance lessons? Vaike dances?”

Lucina’s giggles filled the room, the soft, joyful melody acting as a stark contrast to the Tactician’s growing confusion. “I was surprised too! But, I saw him the other when I was patrolling past southtown, he was just leaving the Red Rose Dance Hall.”

Shuffling up along him a little more, the princess leaned over, “I think he’s keeping it a secret from Lady Cherche.” She added, lowering her voice to a conspiratorial whisper as her brilliant blue eyes sparked mischievously.

“I’ll bet he is…” Robin deadpanned.

The Red Rose Dance Hall, a Gentleman’s club, for the loosest possible definition of the world “Gentleman”.

Closing his eyes with a sigh -and completely ignoring his own hypocrisy on the issue- Robin consoled himself that at least his friend was smart enough to look, rather than touch. When Cherche inevitably found out, perhaps Minerva would simply maim him.

“He was certainly surprised when I called out to him,” Lucina continued, oblivious to her love’s concerns, “But, he came over to me and he gave me some advice. He told me, ah, it’s, it’s actually a little embarrassing.”

Even after all they’d done, the knowledge that the idea of their affection being publicly recognised was still enough to bring such a giddy, innocent smile to the princess’s face, Robin couldn’t help but be charmed by her all over again, his heart melting at the sight.

“He told me, that… Well, that is to say, he said that married men get bored of just being with the same woman all the time, even if they love her. A-And, that… that it’s healthy to, to spice things up a bit.”

In the next moment, as Robin leaned off the bed, staring in open mouthed shock at the blushing face of the woman he loved, more than a thousand methods of brutally murdering the Shepherd’s resident muscle-head flashed through his mind.

‘What in the hells is he saying to her?!’

“So, I thought, well, of course we’re not married yet, but… But you enjoyed it, right? It was a nice change?”

“L-Lucina…”

“Hehe,” running a finger across his chest, she smiled playfully at his stunned face, “I actually got the idea for a Pegasus Knight from seeing you with Cynthia last night!”

“W-Wha?” Robin’s shock suddenly took on a completely different tone as he remembered just how Lucina’s sister had been clinging to him. Heart racing in panic, he swallowed a suddenly dry throat, “You… You saw that?”

“I did, I wondered if either of you noticed me.”

“W-We, we were just talking about, she was thanking me for, for Chrom an-”

“Robin,” placing a finger across his lips, she interrupted him gently, “I made no attempt to listen to your conversation then and I have no wish to pry into it now. I was simply surprised to see you accepting her like that, normally I would have expected you to shake off someone holding you in such a manner.”

‘Naga. She’s right.’ He realised, his mind suddenly flashing back to his behaviour over the last few weeks… How many times had he run his hands over Lissa as they passed in the hallways? Or allowed Tharja to wrap herself around him before letting her drag him into a spare room? How often had he so recklessly risked everything? ‘I- I hadn’t even noticed… How much I’ve changed…’

What else had he missed about himself? About his desires?

“W-Well, usually that someone would be Tharja... Or Basilio,” he answered weakly, “Your sister’s a little different.”

“That’s certainly true,” she laughed, easing him back down to the mattress and resting her head atop his chest again, “But, I’m happy to see you two getting on so well all the same, to know that you’re looking out for her. She’s had a far worse life than she deserved Robin… There were few pains I was able to protect her from.”

Robin winced, hating the familiar bitterness in her voice. Her mission was long complete and the people she loved saved, but he knew she would still never truly appease the guilt she carried within her. “Lucina, come now…”

“It matters not at the moment.” She answered, waving off his attempt at comfort- she wasn’t that fragile. “I just wanted to say, I’m pleased to see you taking care of you. You’re important to her, you know? She really likes you, she always has.”

“I-Is that so?” “Definitely! I’m sure that’s why she was able to hug you like that,” Lucina answered with all the confidence of an older sister, “She wouldn’t do that to just anyone you know? It’s because she sees you like an older brother.”

Trying very hard not to remember the way Cynthia’s nipples had been pressed, hard into his back as she wrapped herself around him, her words only just stopping short of an absolute love confession as her soft breasts squished heavily against him, Robin couldn’t answer that.

“That’s why… Although it was, really, really embarrassing. I’m glad she knows about us,” Lucina admitted quietly. “Since she knows, it’s as if, as if you’re like a brother-in-law to her. I, that, that makes me very happy.”

Leaning back with a sigh, Robin couldn’t argue with that.

“Mmm, so, anyway…” Lucina added a few minutes later, blowing hot air across his chest. “Today was only, only one idea.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah, so… if, ah, if you wanted to try again, I could… could borrow a cleric’s outfit? If you’d like?”

Jerking upright once again and gaping at where his lover wasn’t quite meeting his eyes, Robin couldn’t possibly miss the message implicit in that offer. “Lu-Lucina! Look! Hey, whatever Vaike said, ignore it, he’s an idiot! He doesn’t know us at all. I’d never, never get bored of you. I don’t want anyone but you.”

“R-Robin! I, I know that, I believe you, I trust you, of course,” Lucina answered quickly, burying her face in his chest and wrapping her arms tight around him. “Forgive me if I misspoke, this is all still new to me. But, I swear, I have no doubt of your feelings, nor any lack of faith in you… I, Robin, I’ve come to love you more than I ever believed possible and, and you’ve proven yourself to me time and again.

“It’s only…” She paused, her voice dipping to a whisper. “Only… Even if Sir Vaike was mistaken… You have always been very close to her, don’t you… don’t you ever miss it? Sleeping with Aunt Lissa?”

“No.” Robin answered clearly and instantly. “No. Not at all.”

It wasn’t a lie either. He’d made love to Lissa, in this very bed, just two days ago. That was far too short a timeframe to miss anything.

Lucina’s expression was unreadable, “I-Is that really true?”

Obviously the blonde Shepherd’s careless “advice” had dug up insecurities Robin had thought the princess had long since buried- the fact that she hadn’t been his first, that someone she respected so deeply had held his heart for a time.

“You’re the only woman I want Lucina. The only one I ache to be with. If I could spend the rest of my life only sleeping with you, I’d be happy.”

If… If only that were possible.

“A-Ah, I see.”

Lost for a response to his impassioned declaration, Lucina was blushing a brilliant red, the light of her bright smile shining clearly through even the darkest parts of Robin’s soul. She giggled once more and his heart rang like a bell.

“You’ve got me wrapped around your little finger,” he teased, tugging accusingly on said finger, “I’d break the world if only to see this smile again.”

Shaking her head with another soft laugh, the bluenette dropped her head back to his shoulder, “It’s the other way around I fear. I find myself willing to do almost anything to please you. Things I would have never considered before I met you, I now do happily.”

Dressing up like a Pegasus Knight and surrendering herself to him was proof enough of that.

“If there’s anything you wish of me, any permission I can grant, you have only to ask me.”

“Is that so?” He chuckled, closing his eyes and trying to make a guess at the time -how long he had left to enjoy this time with her before Morgan arrived- “I’ll have to make sure to take advantage of that then.”

With them each relaxing comfortably into the other, a warm and gentle silence fell over the two lovers after that…

…A silence broken only a minute later as Lucina slid herself atop the tactician, laying her naked body flat over his, steepling her hands on his chest and letting her silken blue hair fall freely over them both.

“Hey, Robin… You’re not too tired, are you?”

“Mmm?” Cracking an eye open he didn’t miss the clearly earnest look dancing across the princess’s face.

“We’ve still got some time,” she explained, her voice barely a whisper as she breathed the words across his skin, “Do, do you mind if we do it again? Normally this time?”

Ah!

Naga! She was so cute when she looked at him like that! So, innocent and pure!

“I dunno… Cordelia certainly wore me out.”

He couldn’t possibly resist teasing her!

“R-Robin!” Her small fists drummed playfully into his shoulders with exaggerated anger.

“Haaah,” he sighed, looking away. “Well, I guess I could… If you were to ask very nicely.”

“I see…”

Pausing her movements, Lucina drew her hands back, placing them flat over his chest and dropping her head down between them, turning her eyes imploring up towards him.

“I understand you must be tired. You work so hard and you’ve already taken such great care of me,” she spoke softly, each word slow and measured, “Sir Robin, my love, I know this is selfish of me, but, but I ache for your touch, I yearn to be held by you once again.”

Staring numbly, mouth hanging wide in shock, Robin was held captivated as the once Exalt of Ylisse again lowered her head, the brand of Naga shining bright as she shamelessly threw away all her pride.

“Please…” Frozen in place, he couldn’t move, could barely even think. He doubted Lucina had ever begged for a single thing in all her life. “Let me feel it again, I… I need it, I need you. My love, one last time, please, fuck me.”

“A-AH!”

His cock was pulsing agonisingly rigid under her, harder than he could ever remember before, his entire soul inflamed by the proud Princess’s absolute submission.

But…

“L-Lucina! It, it was a joke,” he stammered, biting down on his tongue to fight back the crushing urges and looking away as his cheeks burned red in mortification. This was too many surprises for one day! He’d never expected her, of all people, to take that request seriously! Gods, could he ever face Chrom again after hearing that from his beloved daughter? “I’m, I’m sorry, you shouldn’t, I never meant t-”           

Her melodic laughter once again filled the room with warmth, easily cutting off his words.

“I know,” she grinned, taking his shaft firmly in hand as she raised herself well above the bed, wasting no time in lining it up against her entrance and slowly sinking down onto him, “Auunngh!”

Embarrassment tuned to surprise then just as quickly to pleasure and Robin could only gasp. Given her personality, Lucina didn’t often want to be on top, that combined with the novel experience of her suddenly turning things around on him and taking charge was more than enough to send his world into a tailspin.

“Mmnng! B-But, but, like I said… I-If, hha, if you enjoy it, I don’t mind… And, and anyway, it’s nice to tease you for a change!”

Catching her cheeky wink, Robin could only sign… Then groan happily as the former Exalt smoothly showed him a glimpse of heaven.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Meanwhile, Tharja, still curled up hidden under Robin’s desk, was biting down furiously on her left hand to keep from crying out as her aching pussy pulsed and shuddered around two fingers of her right.

Despite having lost the taste of the Tactician’s cock in her mouth, just listening to their previous display, especially hearing him being so commanding, had pushed her ability cum silently to its absolute limit. And now, with the small respite between the lovers actions being more than enough to refill her own lust, that same control was being very quickly tested once more.

The sounds of the two lovers moving together echoed loud around the room and, as Robin’s groans filled her ears, Tharja’s body shuddered in delight and her juices pooled wet on the floor.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Meanwhile, across the other side of town, a vastly different liaison was taking place.

“Severa!”

“Hah,” The short-tempered mercenary smirked, sinking back to a hip at the sight of her friend’s glowing face, “It’s about time! I was starting to think you were avoiding me!”

“N-No! I-I’m not, not at all! I came to visit you twice already!” Noire stammered, waving her hands in a sudden panic, “B-But, Miss Cordelia said you were with her parents.”

Shrugging, Severa stepped past her and into the home the archer stayed in above Tharja’s shop. She’d been inside plenty of times in the past, but somehow, it was still strange every single time she tried to remember this was meant to be a Dark Mage’s abode. Tidy, clean and with wide open windows letting the light in, the apartment was perpetually bright and cheerful. Vases full of colourful flowers were dotted throughout the rooms and pictures of cats or sunlit landscapes adorned the walls... All in all, it wasn’t hard to believe her friend at all when Noire said that her mother spent most of her nights staying in the palace, closer to Robin, than living in the house she technically owned with her daughter.

“Yeah, yeah,” she answered, shaking her head at the uncomfortably welcoming ambience, “They insisted I go stay with them after I got back… Well, it wasn’t so bad really.”

One of the few good things about having the world’s most perfect mother, was that she (of course) had a fantastic relationship with her own parents, in-fact one of the very first things Cordelia had done when they’d returned from the Valmese war was introduce Severa to them. She only barely remembered her maternal grandparents from her own time, so it had been a little strange to reconnect with them at first, doubly so when her apparent Grandmother had kept going on and on about how much she took after Cordelia, as if it was even possible for anyone to match up to her.

“Well, I-I really missed you!” Noire insisted, sniffing back happy tears as she chased after her.

She didn’t doubt that, but, despite the archer’s words, Severa noted she still never made a move to close the distance between them. Noire stood -as ever- a little over a metre from her, holding herself always just barely out of arms reach. Truthfully, with their stunted upbringing, none of the time travellers were very used to any sort of physical contact, but Noire was undoubtable the worst of them all, the fault of which Severa pinned squarely on Tharja’s shoulders. She had a distinct impression that her friend’s upbringing, such as it had been, hadn’t involved a lot of hugging.

 “I was worried about you!” Noire insisted, “An-And, it’s just, it’s really good to see you again Severa. I missed you.”

“Pah,” she shrugged, turning away as her cheeks dusted pink listening to her friend’s unabashed affection, her ego soaring none the les, “Geez, you’re always such a crybaby. It was only a few weeks, we were separated for much longer than that after we first came back.”

“Ah, no… not me,” Noire corrected softly, turning away and guiding her inside the small apartment with a suddenly shaky smile, gesturing the Mercenary to a table already overflowing with baked goods, “You guys found me almost right after I arrived.”

From the very moment her friend spoke, Severa already knew she’d messed up, “Ah!” she winced, heart clenching in a very familiar self-loathing. Noire’s arrival to the past had always been a topic that the two of them pointedly avoided talking about.

‘I’m not even here for two minutes and I say that…’

It was always the same. Always stupid dumb Severa speaking without thinking and messing everything up. Always putting her foot in it and hurting the people she was tr-

“A-Anyway, go ahead.” The Archer prompted, pulling her from a familiar depressing spiral as she reached over and poured a cup of tea with an encouraging nod.

“H-Hey! N-Noire…?” The red-head blinked, only now finally taking in just how much baked goods Noire had provided.

Stacked high with cakes, buns, muffins, sponges, scones and even three separate types of tarts, she could only barely even see the (surprisingly cute, white) tablecloth from under the assorted treats.

“What in the hells? I can’t eat all this!” Not if she wanted to keep wearing the same outfits at least. Which she did. Her ability to attract attention with a turn of her hips was one of the few things Severa liked about herself.

Oh. And she wouldn’t be able to do anymore mercenary work either. That’d be bad too, she supposed.

“A-Ah, sorry, I just, I just got really excited,” her friend explained, hanging her head low in embarrassment, “It’s fine though, really. Just eat as much as you want and I’ll give the rest to Robin.”

“Ohhh!” That perked her up. There was only one thing better than being shown a veritable feast of sweet treats. “Heh, so Robin’s going to be eating my leftovers then?”

Far too often for her liking, it had been the other way around! So, with that in mind, in what was possibly the smallest act of pettiness imaginable, Severa made a point of taking at least one piece from every plate.

“You’re in a good mood today.” Noire pointed out cheerily, filling her own plate at a far more sedate pace.

“Am I? Huh, well, yeah. I guess so.” she shrugged ambivalently, a wistful smile sneaking onto her face regardless, “I ran into Father earlier, you know, hah, he was still practically glowing from that date he went on with Mother the other day. Such a dork.”

“O-Oh!” The Archer covered her mouth in surprise, “Your parents have started dating? Th-That’s wonderful!”

“Well, yeah.” Severa allowed herself a small moment of self-satisfaction at the thought, it had already been so long without any progress, she couldn’t help but be impatient, “FINALLY! I had to practically force Father to ask her out in the end.”

Thinking about that for a second, her face dropped into a more familiar scowl.

“Gawds. I really should have known nothing would happen while I was away. Everyone told me they just needed space, to just spend some time together, without me around,” she huffed, “And look, nothing happened! Phah! It’s pathetic, how can you rely on your own daughter to get you together? What a useless family…”

More than used to her friend’s outbursts, Noire simply giggled at the idea of it, it certainly was a strange concept, that a couple’s own child was being forced into the role of matchmaker, to ensure her own birth.

“It’s all mother’s fault!” emboldened, Severa fell into her usual lecture topic, “I know Father really loves her, but he’s always so shy about it, because she’s still mooning over Chrom!”

“I-Is she, still?” Noire was surprised, she didn’t think she’d seen Cordelia looking towards Chrom in that way since back in Valm. But then, she reminded herself, Severa would have a much better idea than she would.

“Well, of course! Why else would it be taking this long?” the red-head answered, more than satisfied with her own conclusion, “Gawds, they’re both useless. I swear, if it wasn’t for me, neither of them would have ever made a move! You know, she was meant to be pregnant with me already by now? At this rate, I’m gonna end up being the youngest of us all! Urgh.”

“Well, at least it’s working out now?”

“Bleh. Yeah, I guess so.” Severa conceded, swallowing a pastry in a single frustrated bite before turning her attention back towards her friend. “It’s the same for you though, you know?”

“H-Huh?”

“Oh, don’t act dumb,” she scoffed, pointing an accusing finger across the table, “I saw your mother earlier too. All this time and she’s STILL following after Robin around like a little lost puppy.”

“Oh, ah…” Surprising, rather than agree with her that both their parents were equally pathetic in their failed romantic endeavours, Noire instead seemed to withdraw into herself, shrinking back and holding even less presence than usual. “Well… That’s alright.”

Blinking in abject disbelief, it was a long moment before the Mercenary could even begin respond. She had been expecting commiseration, not capitulation! “What?” she deadpanned, “Alright? How is that alright!? He belongs to Lucina, they’ve got a kid together for Naga’s sake! He’s never even shown her the slightest scrap of interest and she still acts like he’s the only man in the entire world. It’s ridiculous! How can you be okay with that!?”

“Well… It makes her happy…”

Withering under Severa’s harsh glare, Noire quickly realised that wasn’t going to be a satisfactory explanation.

“In the future, Mother, she was miserable,” she added quietly, twisting her fingers in her lap as she spoke, knowing that the woman in question would likely flay her alive if she heard her talking about her like this, “She was really angry and bitter… And, and she used to cry, a lot.”

“W-Wha? Your, your mother? Lady Tharja!?” The red-head gaped, utterly failing to even begin to imagine that. No matter how she tried to picture it, the scene just wouldn’t play in her mind, it was impossible! When she’d been a child, the Sorceress had been a terrifying presence in her life, the permanent scowl etched on her face more than enough to keep Severa and all the other children at a distance. Even now, as an adult, she was still almost instinctively wary of the Dark Mage. “No way, I can’t believe that.”

Of course, Tharja was a human too…. But, even if she did acknowledge that, it didn’t mean she could accept it.

“Only, only when she was alone.” Noire clarified, her voice barely raising above a whisper, “she was always furious if she realised I’d heard her…”

“R-Right.” That sounded a lot more believable. For someone as solitary and anti-social as Tharja, she certainly held a lot of misplaced pride.

“I wasn’t strong enough then, to help her. I just, I just got in the way… And… And got her killed. Th-That’s why I wanted to come back, to fix things!” the Archer clarified finally, her eyes still not rising above the wooden table between them, awkwardly confessing a secret that even Severa hadn’t known the full depths too, “Mother, she really enjoys being in love with Robin, I-I’ve never seen her as happy as she is right now. It’s…it’s really nice, it makes me happy, it’s all I wanted.”

“I, I see.” Severa breathed, as surprised by her friend’s words as by the contented expression she wore, clear on her face.

Noire was telling the truth, she realised finally. She wasn’t just saying this and she wasn’t just backing away from confrontation. She really was satisfied with how everything had turned out. Her mother was happy just being around Robin, even without being in a relationship with him, and she was happy staying close by them both, just being there to support them.

‘What a ridiculous situation.’ She snorted. Still, wasn’t that about what she should have always expected from a family of weirdos like Noire and Tharja?

“But, what about you?” she pressed, a moment later, increasingly frustrated that the only person who seemed concerned with the archer’s welfare was her, of all people, “Aren’t you worried? If your mother keeps mooning over Robin like that, you’ll never be born!”

“Oh, ah…” again, Noire fell silent and an uncomfortably tense few seconds passed between them as she flinched away from Severa’s gaze, “I think… Well, maybe… That might be, for the best.”

‘W-What!?” her fists slammed down onto the table before she even realised it, “What the hells!? For the best, what’s that supposed to mean!? What’s with you? Why wouldn’t you want to be born?”

Unable to meet her eyes, again, her friend quickly wilted under her heated glare. “I-I just think… That, everyone would be happier the way things are…”

“Everyone?” Severa snarled, folding her arms below her moderate bust and scowling at the weak answer, “You mean Tharja would be happy with how things are. What about you? Hells, what about your fath-”

She paused, her words catching in her throat as a sudden realisation coursed through her.

“Er, hey… Noire, who is your father anyway?”

They’d known each other almost their entire lives, ever since they’d been introduced to each other as children, but back then, Noire had mostly kept to herself and Severa had spent most of her time playing with Lucina and Cynthia. They hadn’t really become close at all until years later as young teens and by then, with most of their parents having been slain in the war, the children only rarely discussed their families. Except, as Severa suddenly noted, with Noire it hadn’t even been “rarely”, she didn’t think she’d ever heard the timid girl talk about her father.

As a child, the other adult Shepherds had just been friends of her parents, she hadn’t known any of them that well back then and after coming back in time, she’d never given it much thought, she’d always just assumed all the designated couples would inevitably come together. She’d been so concerned with her own parents fledgling love life that she hadn’t had the energy to worry about someone else. But now… Now, her mind spun… Who had Lady Tharja married in their future? No matter how hard she thought about it, she couldn’t remember ever seeing her with a man.

The seconds turned into minutes, but still she received no reply.

“Noire…?” She breathed, treading with uncharacteristic caution into unknown territory.

“I, well… I don’t, I don’t know.”

Of course. Why had she possibly expected a simple answer about anything from that family?

“You… Don’t know?” Severa repeated back in a flat deadpan. “That’s stupid. How can you not know?”

“Er, ahh... Well, Mother never told me, a-and she always got really mad when I asked,” Noire explained, with no small amount of hesitation, “And, as far back as I can remember, it was the same, there wasn’t anyone like that with us. It was always just me, mother and, and Mr Robin.”

Blinking as she suddenly realised she’d accidently used her childhood nickname for the Tactician, Noire’s cheeks dusted pink in a newfound embarrassment. She’d be mortified if he heard her say that these days!

“And… Mr Robin? Robin was with you and your mother?”

“He was,” Noire smiled wistfully, “Before, before everything, when I was young, he was always looking after me. He visited us a lot and, and he was very kind to both of us.”

“Er… Noire…” Blinking, Severa wasn’t quite sure how her friend seemed to have missed the blindingly obvious conclusion. “Then, if he was always around that like, wouldn’t that mean Robin is your dad?”

Jolting in place, the Archer went suddenly rigid, her eyes shooting wide and mouth dropping open.

“No way! Really!? ROBIN is your Dad!?” Severa howled with laughter, taking her friend’s shock as confirmation, “That’s crazy, I never would have expe- oh Gods! Morgan is gonna FREAK!”

“N-No! No!” frantically waiving her hands, Noire just about knocked half the dishes from the table in a sudden panic, “W-Wait, wait, I-Robin’s not, he can’t be my father!”

“Huh?  But you said so yourself, he was always aro-”

“R-Right and, and I’m sure that Mother loved him then, just as much as she does now,” the usually timid girl interrupted with surprising zeal, tumbling over her words as she rambled, “They were very close, th-that’s why she was so miserable after everything that happened. She loved him, more than anything… S-So it doesn’t make sense, why wouldn’t she tell me if he was my father? She’d be proud of it.”

“Ah.” Severa pursed her lips, she hadn’t considered that.

“It’s the same with my Mother in this time too, she would be able to tell straight away if, if I was his, but she’s never said anything like that,” Looking away as an old, half-forgotten memory rose in her mind, Noire’s face burned an even brighter red, “A-And, and… a couple of times, when I was very young, I ah, I called him “daddy” by mistake… B-But mother was furious when she found out! I-It was the only time she ever yelled at him.”

Of course, since it was Tharja they were talking about, Noire also remembered that her yelling had primarily consisted of her arguing that if he was going to let Noire do that, he should just marry her. Either way, the lesson had stuck and her family friend had been resolutely labelled “Mr. Robin” ever since.

“Huh. Well, yeah, I guess that makes sense.” Severa shrugged in defeat. She didn’t have many clear memories of the old Grandmaster but she was fairly certain he’d always been single in her time. That’s why everyone was expecting him to marry Lucina after all.

“Tharja probably would’a told the whole camp if you were his daughter,” she added aloud, nodding to herself. They’d found Morgan some time before Noire had arrived and while the Sorceress had been (surprisingly) kind to the blue-haired tactician, her jealousy toward Lucina had been palpable, “And, Robin’s not really the kind’a guy to go for a secret relationship or anything like that anyway.”

“Yeah, he’s far too honest.” Noire agreed, calming down with a cheerful laugh.

It was a funny thought really, being so open like he was, was a strange trait for a tactician, a profession that usually relied on guile and deceit, but then that same sincerity was also part of why they were all able to trust him so easily.

Examining a piece of raspberry tart that she’d decided was far too good to waste on the man in question, Severa took a moment to refill her plate before returning to the matter at hand, “So, you’ve really got no clue about this mystery man then, huh?”

Smile fading from her face, Noire shifted uncomfortably in her seat, her eyes falling away from the mercenary’s once more.

Caught off guard by her friend’s reaction once more, Severa regarded her with a curious expression. “Noire?” That didn’t stack up with what she’d said earlier, didn’t she say she didn’t remember any father? Was there something more she’d held back after all that?

“I, ah… Severa, I…” the archers voice trailed off again, but this time, as she slowly gathered the words to speak, Severa was left with a distinct impression that she was doing so only because of the complete faith she had in her- an affection borne from all the years the timid girl had relied on her, “You know how it is, the timelines, things are, they’re really different this time around.”

“R-Right.” She nodded uneasily, she knew that far better than most. With Emmeryn’s sacrifice destroying the Plegian resolve, three of the major battles that her father had distinguished herself in had never happened in this timeline, the first war with Plegia had ended before they’d ever been fought. Hells, it had ended years before Henry had even defected to the Shepherds. And, that was without mentioning all the changes that had happened in Valm with the accelerated timeframes.

“In our original timeline, I was born shortly after the war, so, so… That means Mother was pregnant during the fighting.”

“Yeah? Okay? That’s the same as most of us though.” Severa shrugged, not having a clue what her friend was driving at. Almost all the children had been conceived either during the waning months of the war, when victory was becoming certain, or shortly after peace had been declared. The subsequent Ylissean baby boom hadn’t been a surprise to anyone.

“Ri-Right… But… But, everyone else was married by then,” clenching her hands together, Noire’s face was ashen, “The fighting lasted for years in our timeline, so many people died… A-And mother, she was a traitor a-as well as a Dark Mage…”

Severa nodded along in confusion as the words washed over her. Tharja and Noire had always been part of her life and, as part of the Shepherds, they were due significant respect form the populace. Yet, even so, the Sorceress had never been well regarded in Ylisstol, even in this timeline, despite everything she’d done for the Halidom. Her attitude certainly didn’t help matters but ultimately, she was a Dark Mage in a holy city and a woman famous for betraying her home country. While unfortunate, it really wasn’t all that surprising she was regarded with suspicion.

And now that she thought about it, it wasn’t all that difficult to see where her friend was coming from. The war had been far less terrible in this timeline, in the original timeline, at the height of such an abominable conflict, a war caused by an aeon of strife between the two countries, her position would have likely been far worse.

Swallowing a suddenly dry throat, Severa’s hands shook in place and she finally began to realise what her friend was implying.

The life of a traitor was guaranteed to be a bitter one, Tharja would have been surrounded on all sides by people with ample reason to resent her. Hated by both her old and new home, she wouldn’t have been able to trust a single person, except, hopefully, the Shepherds. While the fighting was going on, while people had been dying in the thousands, she would be in danger by from both the Ylisseans and the Plegains, someone like her would have been seen by almost everyone as either expendable… Or, a target.

“N-No, th-that, no… Noire, you’re, c’mon! You’re talking about Lady Tharja!” she stammered weakly, instinctively falling back to her childhood name for the mage as images of the woman’s scowling face rose in her mind, “That’s not even remotely possible A-And, and you’ve got no reason to even think it, you’re just guessing!”

“R-Right…”

Clenching her fists as she forced down the thousands of welling emotions within her, Severa forced out a laugh, “H-Hey, you, you know what I think? She’s always experimenting on your right? Maybe that’s where you came from, some crazy dark magic spell! Gawds! That’d explain why you get sick so easily at least!”

The far more likely explanation was that Tharja had simply fallen in love with, or bedded, some unknown man who’d then died during the fighting. But, she doubted raising even that possibility would improve the mood at all. Knowing the Sorceress, there was an all too real possibility she’d been pregnant when she’d joined the Shepherds and that Noire’s father had later fought against them.

No matter what the situation was, the outcome was the same. There was no happy resolution here, there was no pleasant outcome to the mystery of her parentage.

“Yeah, y-you’re right.” Noire agreed softly, the tone in her voice making it clear she’d already considered all these grim possibilities countless times, “S-Sorry, I was just, just being silly.”

“Noire...” Each of the future children could fill a book with their insecurities and hang ups, this was hardly the first time she’d had found herself sitting across from a friend when they were completely vulnerable before her. But, as always, it was at times like these, that she never knew what to say. “I…”

Her attempt to speak trailed of uselessly, what could she even say? What even was there to say? Lucina would know. Robin would know. Severa dropped her gaze to the table uselessly.

“So, I’ll, I’ll be really happy to see you getting born in this time Severa! I-I’m really looking forward to meeting the younger you! But, but… I think it’s better how things are now, for me.”

Severa’s world shuddered. Even after all she’d heard, she still couldn’t believe it. Noire was really okay with that? Were the circumstances of her birth really as grim as she thought, was there truly no other possibility? Was she, was she honestly okay with a version of herself not existing in this world? Her heart clenched.

And then, all at once and without a single moment’s thought, she exploded! Slamming her fists into the table, the red-head leapt to her feet, years worth of frustration worrying about the circumstances of her own birth all boiling over at once.

“Stand up!”

“W-Wha?”

“Oi, I said, stand up!”

Eyes wide in surprise, Noire could barely look at the sheer intensity radiating from her closest friend. Swallowing heavily, she pushed herself shakily to her feet. “Oka-AH!?”

Suddenly throwing her arms around the other woman, Severa pulled her desperately into a fierce hug, yanking the archer forcefully into her embrace until she was cradling the other woman’s head softly against her shoulder.

“S-Severa…?”

“I-I’m sorry, Gods, it was a stupid question, I shouldn’t have asked about all that,” she sniffed, blinking rapidly as her eyes misted over, clenching her friend tight against her as her heart pounded, “I don’t even care, it doesn’t matter, doesn’t matter how you were born or where you came from!

“And, and even if you’re not born in this time, that doesn’t change anything. N-No matter what happened, you’re still, you’re still wanted. You were always wanted. We all… We all love you. Your mother’s the same an-and, I know the Tharja from that time did too.”

Slowly relaxing into the mercenary’s arms, Noire gently wrapped herself around the emotional red-head, returning the hug with equal affection. “Severa… Thank you.”

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

“You know,” Noire chirped happily, sometime later after they’d both settled back down, “It was really funny seeing you react like that when you were talking about Robin.”

“Uh huh.” Severa answered dryly, far more interested in worrying about what the blueberry muffin she’d just procured would do to her figure than talking about him.

“Mhmm! You usually keep everyone at arms-reach, but you still always get so excited when it comes to him!” the archer nodded cheerily, “I-I think it’s really sweet you’re still like that even now, since you’ve liked him all this time, just like Moth-AH!?”

Her commentary was unceremoniously cut off as her face was suddenly splattered with a spray of half-chewed muffin, courtesy of one spluttering red-headed mercenary.

“Wh-WHAT!?” Severa gaped, the other half of the poor muffin squished to smithereens as her hands balled reflexively into fists, “I-I do not! I’ve NEVER thought of him like, like that!”

Reeling back and swiping blueberry bits weakly from her hair, for the third time, Noire found herself cowed by her friend’s sudden spike of intensity, “B-But, during the war, you always spent so much time with him.”

“N-No! I-It wasn’t like that at all!” Severa eloquently corrected her friend, “I was just, hey, someone had to look over his plans! Everyone else just always did whatever he said, I needed to make sure he wasn’t gonna get us all killed!”

“But, but even after the war yo-”

“I don’t have a crush on Robin! I don’t have any feelings for Robin!” she thundered, face burning and eyes blazing, “He’s just, he’s just a big dumb tactical jerk! All he ever does is criticise my strategies and make fun of me! Gha, he’s not even all that good looking! He’s always wearing that stupid cloak and, c’mon! Who’d would wanna marry someone with white hair!?”

“Oh.”

Severa blinked, her wild emotions cooling at the sight of her friend now pouting disappointedly up at her, visibly upset by her words.

‘Naga preserve me.’

She’d forgotten. Noire could be as bad as her mother or Morgan when it came to that man. Caught off guard and embarrassed by the other girl’s earnest words, she’d reacted without thinking and put her foot in it. Just like usual.

“Ah, hey, look Noire, I-“

“But, he really likes you! And I bet you haven’t even apologised to him either! I’ve seen the scar you gave him!”

Severa winced, hard. Noire never brought up the day she’d arrived in the this timeline and she did NOT want to think about that right now, “Hey, he-he knows I didn’t mean it! I was trying to protect you for Naga’s sake! Gawds, look, he doesn’t have any grudge about it or anything.”

“He is very forgiving.” The archer agreed carefully.

“Yeah, he is, and… And, look, okay, he’s not all that bad I suppose,” she huffed, looking away as she pictured the man in question, as she saw in her minds-eye the same welcoming grin he always offered her whenever she stormed into his ten,. “He’s patient at least.”

Despite how it may have appeared, Severa never really meant to be a difficult person. The two women she respected most were both kind and patient, exactly how she always aspired to be… It was, only, instead, it never seemed to be that easy. Instead, she’d speak without thinking, or get wrapped up in her emotions and say things she didn’t really mean. She’d always get frustrated, usually at herself, start yelling and mess everything up. And then, before she’d realised it, another person would start avoiding her.

She knew, even her own mother, Cordelia herself, found her exasperating at times and she hated that about herself. It was another entry in the endless list of failures that haunted her thoughts.

In fact, of everyone she knew, there were only two people who had never gotten sick of her company- Lucina (who was practically perfect) and…

Breathing out a quiet sigh, her cheeks dusted to a light pink and her heart jumped, just as it always did when she saw that same warm smile.

…And Robin. Despite how she always inevitably ended up snapping at him, often flipping things around his tent or office in the process, the tactician had always made it clear that his door was always open to her.

She’d come to him originally to complain about his strategies and soon found herself using him to complain about anything else that bothered her. As pathetic as it was…it had been comforting.

“Ah…”

Noire’s quiet approval snapped her back to reality, whereupon her mood suddenly spun full speed into reverse.

“H-Hey!” She fumed once more, “What’re you accusing me for!? You’re the one who’s always cooking stuff for him!”

“Th-That’s true, I really enjoy cooking for him.” The archer admitted quietly, a warm smile slipping onto her face as she flushed a bright pink. “Because, he’s always, always so kind to me and it makes my Mother happy too… I, that’s all I want. I’d like to, to be good enough to work for him, to be his chef! I’d be really happy if we can all stay together, if we could both look after him.”

“He’s Morgan’s Dad though.” Severa deadpanned.

Just what kind of ridiculous dream for the future was that meant to be? It was obvious just looking at her how Noire really felt about the man and everyone knew that Tharja wanted to do a lot more than just look after him. How naïve could she get!?

“I-I know that!” the archer stammered back, her hands balling into fists as she leaned away reflexively, “That’s fine, he’s going to, he’s probably going to marry Lucina. But, but why should that mean I can’t be around him anymore? Sh-She’s never complained about it before…”

“Er… I guess so.” She conceded awkwardly, surprised by the sheer intensity of her usually quiet friend’s answer.

So, she was seriously planning to pine over a married man? ‘Gawds.’ Severa signed. This was her fault, she shouldn’t have expected anything rational from a weirdo like Noire, she really did take after her mother.

But then, it wasn’t as if her own mother was all that much better.

“I suppose it’d be a bit of a shame not to see him anymore too,” she added with a shrug, realising that the thought of losing his friendship did make her slightly uncomfortable. It really had been some time since she’d last seen him too… “But anyway, GAWDS! This is dumb, that’s enough about your ridiculous love life! Let’s talk about something interesting!”

“Wha? It’s not li-”

“Okay, so, you would not believe the shoes they’ve got out in the west! I picked up just the cutest little…”

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

It wasn’t until some hours later, when all the plates had been collected and goodbyes said, that Severa allowed herself to think back to the spontaneous hug she’d shared with Noire earlier.

Pausing her journey home, she bent over backwards, clenching her fists against her head with a frustrated groan. “Urrrgh! What is WRONG with me!?”

She always did this. She always, always messed everything up.

She’d even had the best intentions, she’d honestly been intending to simply comfort her friend, to help her… But instead, almost the moment she’d wrapped her arms around the other girl, she’d found herself breathing in the archer’s soft scent. Then, without even realising it, she’d felt her heart suddenly beating faster at the sensation of having the frail girl quivering in her embrace, at feeling Noire’s massive chest squishing gently against her own, at the touch of her skin, so soft and supple under her fingers…

“Gods! What in the hells!?” She groaned again, feeling her face heat up a little just at the memory of it.

Even when she kept her mouth shut, she still managed to mess everything up. How frustratingly typical! It was the story of her life really, stupid, useless Severa, can’t even hug a friend without suddenly getting all weird. She could only hope that Noire hadn’t noticed, at least she hadn’t said anything if she had.

“But, what was that?” She whispered aloud as her mind spun in circles.

The real problem was that, for all Severa’s bluster, thanks to her stunted upbringing, she was actually completely clueless about the finer points of love and sexuality. With absolutely zero experience and being far too proud to ask for advice, she was instead left confused about what she’d felt and why.

“Urgh, what-EVER.” She growled, scolding herself with a sigh. “This is dumb, I’m just overthinking it.”

It wasn’t as if this was the first time she’d ever felt something like this or anything.

During the wars, whenever she found herself too exhausted to move after battle, it was always Lucina that helped her from her armour- the feeling of the Princess’s (surprisingly) light fingers dancing deftly across Severa’s body as she stripped her, had sent her heart racing just the same. She’d even had it again the one time Kjelle had done it for her, with the Knight’s firm grip around her sides lingering long in the red-head’s memory.

Hells! She’d even felt her heart jumping once that afternoon after she’d finally made peace with Cynthia. Falling asleep beside the flighty girl and waking up to find the bluenette resting on her shoulder, with her incredible bust pushing gently into her arm, had left her stuck rigidly in place until the younger princess had finally woken up.

Anyway, she rationalised as those memories helped calm her down, she knew for sure it couldn’t actually be anything strange. After all, she could distinctly remember how embarrassed she’d been, that time she’d accidently walked in on her mother changing- how her body had heated up and face flushed red as she’d stood, rooted in place, staring at the soft, tight curves of Cordelia’s bare ass wiggling back and forth in-front of her… And, she OBVIOUSLY wasn’t attracted to her own mother.

So, it must be nothing.

“Yeah.” She sighed, cooling down at that rationalisation. “No biggie, I was just, just surprised.”

Clearly her body was just recognising that these women were pretty. She’d just been taken off guard by how nice Noire’s body had felt against her, by the feeling of the archer’s massive, pillowy breasts pressing against her own moderate bust. Nothing strange. 

And! She added to herself as she set off for home once more, it wasn’t anywhere near as intense as her heart raced when she thought about guys. So, that was normal. She was normal.

“Well…” Severa corrected herself a few steps later as her face dropped into a frown, “Some guys at least.”

Her prospects among the male Shepherds were actually depressingly slim, despite how much she cared about her comrades with her volatile personality she struggled to get along with any of them for long. It was entirely her fault, she knew that, she said stupid things and started pointless fights, but it still hurt whenever someone started avoiding her. Civilians weren’t any better, between her temper and her lifestyle, she scared them off as quickly as she attracted them.

Really, she thought, curling a finger absently through her crimson hair, most of the time, it was only ever one guy that made her feel anything at all…

“Urgh!” she sighed squashing that thought for the millionth time, “Not even gonna go there.”

One guy. One guy, that just so happened to be very clearly claimed, by Lucina no less.

“Of course.” She growled, her ruby ponytails shaking with the familiar spike of self-loathing. Typical, stupid Severa. No wonder she’d felt all weird around Noire, she couldn’t get anything right. Even with something as simple as liking someone, she still managed to mess up. She still managed to wind up somehow liking Robin…

“URGH!”

As if that cocky dastard didn’t have enough godsdamned admirers!

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

The Next Day

“Robin? Th-ah, hello! How are you? You’re not working today?”

Grinning warmly down at the half-Manakete, Robin couldn’t help but wonder if his strange serendipity with Dragon’s was continuing.

Just the same as he’d accidently met her mother the previous day and without any intention of seeking her out, he’d suddenly spotted the youngest Dragon-girl, Nah, shopping in the market as he made his way back from a lunch meeting with one of the Western Dukes. After seeing the twin braids of her dark-green hair bobbing back and forth as she’d poured through the book selection of some foreign peddler, he hadn’t been able to resist calling out to her.

Standing roughly as tall as his shoulders, with a light, slender body and distinguished only from looking like a young teenager by the tapered ridges of her cute pointed ears, Nah could pass as her mother’s twin in all but personality. Which, due to her personality, was something she very forcefully attempted to make as clear as possible (even ignoring the fact that doing so, only made her seem just as similarly stubborn).

Completely unlike Nowi however, Nah shared Robin’s love for more literary books and the usually lonesome Manakete had been a welcome addition to the book club he’d organised with Sumia, acting as a happy counterbalance to the more whimsical novels that Sumia (and a half protesting Cordelia, who joined them under “Queen’s orders”) preferred. With her withdrawn nature, it was hard sometimes for him not to worry about the solitary girl, so their friendship had been a welcome companionship and, thankfully, one he’d been glad to retain even following the conclusion of the war. Despite their new lifestyles, it was never too rare for him to meet her in the library or for her to drop by his office, book in hand and pointed opinion ready to fire. 

None of that however had led to the spark of curiosity that had seen him calling waving her over, nor why he was currently engaging her in small talk.

“Unfortunately, I’m not that lucky,” he groaned, “I’m actually on my way back now and no doubt Morgan will have piled my desk high while I’ve been gone.”

 “Robin, I, I know I’ve offered before… I may not know much about strategies, or, or politics and such, but if it’s really that bad, then I’m sure I could at least help you with filing, or I could look af-”

“Nah,” holding a hand up, he cut her off with a shake of his head. “I’m sure you’d be a great help and it means a lot to me that you’d offer. But, you’ve got your own work to focus on. Didn’t you promise Tiki that the next time you saw her, you’d fill her in on everything she’s missed?”

Apparently, after being inspired by her talks with the Valmese Oracle, Nah had found a fresh direction for her life during the peacetime. She’d decided to embrace the longevity of her existence and become a historian, someone who could chronicle the tales of the Shepherds, and even of Ylisse, when the rest of them had passed on.

“I-” colouring slightly at his mention of her uncharacteristically bold promise, Nah relented. “R-Right.”

Rather than her, appreciated, offer of help, what truly interested Robin right now and why he had called her over in the first place, was because of her simple lack of reaction in his presence.

‘It doesn’t affect her?’

He’d met up with Nah numerous times following his revival and while his new instincts had forced him to bite down on countless heated thoughts of the smaller Dragoness, he’d never once seen anything implying the same was true for her. From what he’d learned yesterday, it sounded as if Nowi had been affected by him ever since he’d returned, but even now, standing barely a metre from him, Nah seemed perfectly at ease in his presence. ‘Is it because of how different they are?’

It was a rather sombre thought that one, a reminder that Manaketes as a species were effectively gone. For all their similarities, the mother and daughter held some very obvious physiological differences between them, Nah was only a half-Manakete after-all. Even with that aside, Nowi was at least a thousand years older than her. ‘Is that why then?’

Or, was whatever had changed about him somehow only affecting Nowi? What about Tiki, by far the most mature of the three, being more than four thousand years old, how would she react when he saw her again? He couldn’t tell, he had no way to know… Mind drifting off for a moment at that, Robin swallowed a suddenly dry throat, while he knew he shouldn’t even begin to entertain the thought, the idea of the generously endowed Oracle looking at him with the same smoky gaze he’d seen in Nowi the previous day was an unimaginably appealing one, albeit, one with no small amount of guilt attached.

Even so, his lack of information on the subject was concerning. As a tactician, he knew full well the danger of stumbling around in the dark.

There was no doubt about the seriousness of the situation. Something about him had affected Nowi so thoroughly that even the typically carefree Manakete had been driven to maddening lusts- desires unmistakably similar to what he’d been experiencing himself. The entire situation was troubling.

“I just… I, we all worry about you, Robin,” She added quietly, dropping her eyes as she turned the book she’d purchased over in her hands. Blunt and slightly awkward, while she almost always had the best intentions, Nah had never been all that good with social interactions.

“Ah, actually…”

His mind spun, the corridors of possibility opening up before him as a strategy began to unfold. There were hundreds of prospects about what could have set off such a change, especially when he considered the talk he’d had with Tiki so long ago about a Manakete’s ability to sense “Auras” and everything that had been unlocked within his self and magic since his resurrection.

But… In that moment, watching as the youngest Manakete turned her trusting violet eyes toward him, he found himself stepping forward toward her, placing his hand on her shoulder and giving voice to the simplest possibility of them all.

“If you’d like, yeah, you really could help me.”

“O-Oh?” she blinked, her eyes shot wide at the unexpected contact, but she didn’t shy away from his touch.

After returning from the forest with Nowi yesterday, he’d spent the afternoon with Lucina. Then, Lissa had snuck into his room first thing in the morning, however, they’d shared a bath together before he’d left for the office

After leaving the forest yesterday, he’d spent most of the afternoon in bed with Lucina. Today however, while Miriel had visited his room first thing in the morning, they’d shared a bath together before he’d left for his office and, with Olivia out at morning practice, he hadn’t seen her at all yet. Which meant, he should be clean, or, at least as much as he had been the previous day, before he’d met Nowi. It was a little risky, but…

“Yeah, well, you see I’ve actually been trying out a new cologne recently. It cost quite a bit, but I’m actually not all that sure it even suits me,” he lied, the false story coming quicker than ever these days. It surprised him just how simple it had become to deceive the people who trusted him so much, “Manaketes have a great sense of smell, don’t they? What do you think of it?”

“Of…Of your cologne?” Nah faltered, taken off guard by the strange request, “Er, alright then, I-”

Shuffling closer toward him, until she was holding her face barely a few centimetres from his chest, Nah closed her eyes, drinking in a deep whiff of his aroma and taking a moment to simply fill her senses entirely with him.

“I-Ahnn, eeep!” She squeaked out a half second later, pushing off him, eyes shooting wide and face suddenly burning a bright crimson.

“Nah?”

“I ah-haa,” soft lips pursed in a breathless gasp, she dropped her gaze, clutching her book tight against her chest and suddenly not quite able to look at him, “It, it smells v-very nice Robin. You should keep wearing it… I-I, I like it, a lot.”

He tried his very best not to laugh. “That’s great, thank you! That re-”

“A-Anyhow! I, I need to get going! It was nice seeing you again, let’s catch up soon!” practically spinning on her heel, Nah took just barley the time it took to send him a shaky wave before hurrying away at top speed.

“Huh.”

No doubt about it, it affected Nah too. But then, even as close as she’d been and even with her purposefully taking in his scent like that, it still hadn’t done so to the same extent as her mother. Still, he supposed, Nowi had spent closer to a half hour in his office.

‘So, it’s something to do with smell then?’

Giving his armpit a cautious sniff, he couldn’t detect anything out of the ordinary… and yet, somehow, he’d gained a power over Manakete’s he’d never expected.

‘Interesting.’

He still didn’t have any answers as to what caused this or why, but at least now he had a place to begin.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

“So, you never felt anything like this during the wars? It was only after I came back?”

Nowi was in his office once again.

“Yup! Yup! That’s right.”

It was still early afternoon, only a few hours after he’d met with Nah and still several hours before their agreed meeting time… but, after seeing how she’d acted yesterday, this was entirely as he’d expected. Which, of course, was why his schedule had already been largely cleared for her arrival.

Morgan had been dismissed already and Olivia was helpfully arranging some files for him back in the palace, so, for now at least, he intended to take full advantage of his time alone with the small Manakete.

Tugging absently on the straps to her top, as if chafing from the thin fabric, Nowi was obviously thoroughly affected already, either by his presence or by lingering memories of their last time together. Even so, despite her discomfort, she’d continued diligently answering his questions.

“And, it’s not like those rampages Nah sometimes sneaks out on?” The ones where she would demolish hectares of forest and somehow believe no-one noticed.

“Nuh uh.” rubbing her thighs together, she shook her head, tossing her lime-green hair cutely back and forth as she pouted, “She only gets like that ‘cause she never lets herself have any fun! I don’t get like that at allll.”

Robin suspected a more accurate description would be that she was always like that.

“A-And, like I said, it’s only around you. I just… It makes me feel strange.”

He nodded. There was no doubt it was a strange phenomenon. At first, when thinking about it with a cooler head, later that night, he’d assumed that Nowi had most likely been suffering from instincts close to his own, that perhaps he’d simply missed the signs during the war. But now, more and more, it seemed that his initial, rash, assumption had been the correct one. That somehow, he was awakening these instincts, these desires, in her.

‘And…’ For a moment, his mind returned to the sight of Nah’s flushed face, to the single quiver he’d seen running down her legs as she’d turned and bounced away from him. ‘Not just her.’

Didn’t that make it likely it would affect Tiki just the same? He couldn’t help but wonder. Surely it shouldn’t, the Oracle was several thousand years older, fully aware of her Draconic heritage and possessing of far more self-control than either of the other Manakete’s.

He had enormous respect for Tiki, she’d been a wonderful friend, a wise guide and even a great comfort to him during the wars, he had no desire ever to take advantage of her, or to put her in a situation where she was acting outside her own desires… But, still, no matter how wrong he knew it was, the thought of seeing the serene Voice of Naga in the same state he’d found Nowi in was a difficult one to put out of his mind.

“When you say strange, what exactly do you mean?” He probed carefully, guiltily quashing images of Tiki’s bountiful assets and instead bringing his mind back to the warning Tharja had given him some time ago. “Do you get the urge to… To dominate? To conquer?”

“What?” Nowi pulled a face, “Nope! Nothing like that, not at all!”

‘Oh? It’s not the same then?’ He blinked in surprise, unsure if that was a relief or not. But, even so, it had to be similar, it had to be connected. His time with Nah had already proven that it was him somehow acting on them. He’d felt his own unstoppable desires many times and he’d seen Nowi caught in the throes of a remarkably similar madness. He couldn’t possibly believe it wasn’t linked.

Tugging a little harder at her top, Nowi inadvertently gave Robin a clear view down over the soft curves of her budding chest as she struggled to explain.

“It’s just, it’s a warm feeling, like, like a fire in, in here…” leaning back, she laid her hands flat along the base of her stomach, directing his gaze toward her womb, “And I, it felt even better when I was, was like that…on all fours, waiting for you.”

That, at least, made a little sense, he remembered her making a comment about her preferring it like that, just the same as she’d wanted to continue doing it out in the open. Was that some latent, almost animal instinct? He wondered, an urge for her to be bent over, on her hands and knees, presenting herself? The memory of Nowi’s small, round hips wiggling enticing toward him suddenly rose sharply in his mind at that thought. ‘Naga!’ While he’d long been charmed by Nowi’s bright personality, he’d never once imagined himself actually attracted to her body… but now, after tasting it once… Swallowing hard, he quickly snatched his focus back.

“I dunno,” she giggled finally, dropping her gaze bashfully to her feet, “I just, I just felt like I needed to make you happy, to be a good girl.”

“Huh.” It really was different. No doubt it had been equally powerful, but nothing at all like his own aggressive desires.

‘Perhaps that’s how it is for females?’ He considered, recalling how Nowi had brought up giving birth to Nah barely minutes after they’d finished (as his cum had trickled warm down her legs, his seed filling her womb to its limits…) ‘Rather than wanting to breed, she suddenly felt a need to be bred?’

It was a remarkably simple answer but at the same time, he thought, also a rather likely one.

‘So, these new urges, these mating instincts of mine, they somehow set off her own?’

Frowning to himself as he tried to figure out how that could be possible, Robin began mentally collating the information he’d gathered. He still didn’t know why it was happening exactly, beyond it being some result of the changes he’d gone through after his death, but then again, that wasn’t really important. He didn’t need to know everything about what was going on, he just needed to understand how it worked, he only had to make sure it didn’t endanger him, the people he cared about, or subsequently, his plans.

“You can smell changes in people, can’t you?” he asked suddenly, remembering a discussion he’d had long ago with her daughter. “Do I smell different now?”

Having expected Nowi’s visit and, after meeting Nah, having known he would need to ask this question, Robin had made the opposite preparations to the previous day. Rather than attempting to remove any traces of his liaisons, he’d paid Miriel’s lab a courtesy visit directly after meeting the youngest Manakete. Then, from the moment he’d returned to the office, right until an hour later when he’d sent her to the castle, he’d taken full advantage of Olivia’s delicious body.

His room had been aerated and he’d cast the same spell on himself twice already.  No human would be able to smell anything different about him. Which meant that now was the moment, with his factors controlled and excuses prepared, now was the time to ascertain just what level of threat Nowi’s senses presented him with and to manage her danger once and for all.

“Ah, haha! Nope! Not at all!” Her cheerful laughter was a rather anti-climatic response to his careful planning. “You smell just the same as ever! It’d be sad if you didn’t! I’d miss it otherwise, I really like your Robin smell!”

She couldn’t tell? Her sharp Manakete senses couldn’t pick up the aroma of sex that must be lingering thick around him?

“Haha, is that so?” Robin couldn’t help but laugh along with her, it seemed too good to be true! What was this? Some blessing from Naga? Was he under some kind of divine protection? It was the best imaginable result, it almost defied belief!

“Ahuh! That’s all I can smell from you! It’s soooo strong now too, waaaay stronger than anything else.”

“All you can smell? What do you mean?” he probed carefully, finally coming to the crux of the issue. “I thought Manaketes could smell, well, emotions and so forth.”

Isn’t that what Nah had told him?

“Ahehe! Well, sort’a?” Nowi laughed again, leaning back in her seat and folding her arms, putting on a mock lecturing voice as she explained, “That’s just what Nah says, but that’s only really ‘cause she doesn’t know better. You can’t smell that kinda’ stuff, telling if someone’s happy isn’t like, like sniffing a flower or something.”

“Oh?” He was almost entirely sure that was how it worked for Taguel. But then, neither Panne nor Yarne had ever claimed to be able to smell emotions or anything like that, just that had far more acute nose than a normal human.

“it’s, uhh, we can just tell? We can sense it, or something?” she offered awkwardly, losing her authoritative tone, “I can smell things too though, I’ve got a reaaaally good sense of smell, that’s why I’m such a good hunter.

“But, but I can’t distinguish one from the other, it all gets mixed together. That’s why, for you, I can only smell you! Because it’s too strong, it drowns everything else out. It’s waaaay more than it used to be, when I’m around you, all I can smell is Robin!”

Leaning over his desk and steepling his chin in his hands, Robin tried to make sense of Nowi’s jumbled, haphazard explanation. It was all too confusing to really understand and too full of guess work to fully trust.

But.

But, it did bring to mind a surprisingly similar conversation he’d had, sitting around a warm moonlight campfire beside the Valmese Oracle, when Tiki had stared entranced at him, her eyes shining wet with yearning as she’d told him about the “Aura” that surrounded him, the similarity he somehow bore to the Hero King himself.

“I see.” He nodded as things slowly clicked into place. He couldn’t know for sure of course, but it at least seemed logical enough. With the power of a dead God now unlocked within him, his “Aura” had become magnitudes more intense, enough to drown out anything else.

It wasn’t too shocking an idea when he really considered it, Tiki had been able to sense Grima’s power from across the other side of the world. Even if, as Tharja had said, he held just a reflection of that strength, it wasn’t surprising at all that it would be practically smothering in close proximity.

“Then, what about those I’m with? I’ve been spending quite a bit of time with Olivia lately, for example. Does that affect how you, er, how you sense her?”

“Uhhuh!” Nowi’s head bobbed rapidly up and down, “I really like it! I can smell you on Olivia, or Lucina, or Tharja-”

Robin’s fist clenched.

“Or Chrom, or Nah, or Sumia and, and everyone else!”

He relaxed.

“It’s really warm and nice and… And, not as overwhelming as it was being with you, so, so it wasn’t scary at all,” she added, giving a rather whimsical smile, “Hehe, it’s a really musky smell, and a bit dusty, like old books and, and it always makes me really happy.”

Leaning back with an easy laugh, Robin finally felt the tension coiled in his stomach flow out of him, “Well, that’s good then! I’m glad.” He still didn’t have the full picture of what was going on, but he had enough details to prepare himself, that was enough.

Watching as the tactician drifted away in thought, Nowi’s eyes shot wide, realising the questions he’d been hammering her with were finally over. Hopping quickly from her seat, she danced around his desk, reaching out and tugging impatiently on his sleeve.

“Hey, hey Robin,” she pouted chewing on her lip and squirming in place as he turned to her -the heat in her core burning even hotter under his kind gaze- “Just talking is boring! C’mon! Lets, ahh, I w-wanna do it again!”

Looking down at the way she was tugging imploringly on his sleeve, Robin restrained his pleased reaction.

‘Perfect.’

This was the other reason he’d wanted to speak to her again so soon. The danger he’d feared from her wasn’t only present in the sharp Manakete senses she possessed, but rather, in her impulsive, reckless behaviour.

It was a difficult thought, but one he’d accepted ever since the moment he’d realised the need to seduce her… And, it was true, even if he hadn’t in the end.

Nowi didn’t have a malicious bone in her body, but she had very clearly enjoyed sleeping with him and it was only a matter of time before she showed that in public, whether accidently or not. Beyond ruining all his plans, it would also destroy her relationship with the other Shepherds, Nah and Donnel especially.

He would have to teach her- to curb her wild actions and train her to become truly his woman, the kind of woman he needed.

When he didn’t respond, Nowi tugged imploringly on his sleeve once again, “Y-You said, I couldn’t ask if anyone else was around.” She pointed out.

He nodded. Of course, that had been the very first rule he’d given her when they’d talked yesterday. While he loved her boisterous nature, the absolute last thing he needed was for her to jump on his lap in-front of Lucina, or to ask for sex when someone else was around to hear them.

“An-And, you said we couldn’t do it anymore, if I was with another man.”

Again, he nodded, urging her on. That had been his second stipulation, that she would need to decide her future for herself- he’d told her he had no intentions of getting in the way of her relationship with Donnel, that he would only be with her until she got together with the young farmer… And of course, in doing so, he’d ensured that he would remain her only source of relief, that she would stay at his side.

“But, Robin! There’s no-one else here, right now and I’ve been a good girl, I don’t want anyone else, I just… I just wanna be with you, again,” she finished finally, frustration and arousal both acting to push the blunt words out, “So, c’mon!”

“Well, I don’t mind,” he answered slowly, reaching out and placing his hand atop her head, threading his fingers slowly through her lime-green hair as he dragged the words out, stretching her impatience to its limits, “But, what’s with this? Didn’t I teach you to ask for it properly yesterday? You know the best way to get what you want is to ask politely.”

Chewing on her lip, Nowi dropped her gaze, her face burning bright in shame as she shifted anxiously on the spot, clearly recalling her actions from the day before. Raising her head instinctively into his touch, her fingers gripped tighter to his cloak, but she didn’t speak.

Laughing gently, Robin rolled his hand down to her chin, carefully raising her eyes up to meet his once more, “Come now, what’s wrong? You were asking so obediently yesterday.”

“I-I… It’s different!” she whined, amethyst eyes shining bright with frustration as she squirmed against his warmth, her legs rubbing even hotter together, “You only, only made me ask afterwards, after we’d done it a bunch! Uaaah, Robin… It was, it was easier yesterday. You’d already… Already came inside me a whole lot, it was, I felt really warm! My whole body was all tingly and happy.”

Of course. He’d waited patiently until she was fully drowning in pleasure and satisfaction before he’d redefined the parameters for their relationship, how things would be between them from now on. But, what mattered, what she was surely remembering right now was that she’d agreed. Regardless of the situation, she’d gone along with his whims at the time, giving in to his control and accepting his commands. And, in doing so, she’d felt better than ever. With his touch, his cock, the seed he’d left inside her- he’d brought her to highs she hadn’t even been able to imagine and left her mewling under his touch.

That was why, now, even as she frowned up at his continued resistance, the usually impulsive Nowi remained passively static, making no move to either leave or take control herself.

The seeds had been thoroughly sown, it was vital, now that she’d come to him with a clear head, that his instructions were reinforced.

“So, you’re feeling shy now?” he scolded softly, rubbing his thumb in a slow circle over her cheek, drawing her an inch closer and dropping his voice to a whisper, “Nowi… My cute little Dragoness. Come now, there’s nothing at all to be embarrassed about, it’s just us here, just me and you. You don’t need your pride, not with me. After all, didn’t you say you wanted to be with me? That you wanted to be my woman?”

Swallowing heavily, a powerful shudder ran through the smaller Manakete. No matter her embarrassment, she couldn’t deny the urge she felt, the spark from deep within the depths of her soul, ignited by his words, at being acknowledged by him- at being his. It felt right in ways that she couldn’t even begin to understand. It was what she wanted. What she needed.

Breathing out a shaky moan, she finally nodded, her head bouncing slowly up and down as she leant greedily into his touch.

Smiling encouragingly toward her, Robin slid his hand toward the side of her face, running his thumb lightly across the top of her ear, remembering just how sensitive the draconic appendages had proven to be in his experimentation the previous day.

“Ua-Ah!”

She didn’t disappoint. Jolting ramrod still, Nowi flushed an even brighter red the moment his finger brushed across her ridged ear. Tilting her head up toward him as he reached out with his other hand, repeating the motion on the other side, her eyes drifted shut and arms fell limply back to her side, “Oha-ahnnnn.” Shivering under his touch, the stunned Manakete gave a low moan as he began gently stroking his thumbs back and forth.

“Hnnhaaa, annaa… Y-Yeah, I, I want to be with you,” seeing her purring under his caresses, with her lips pursed open and face the picture of contentment, Robin couldn’t help but feel his heart melt. Nowi wasn’t a woman with many reservations to begin with, but watching as her final hesitations slowly collapsed, she looked absolutely adorable, “I really like you, I really, really like being with you. Nuaa, I-I want to be yours.”

“That’s perfect, because I feel the same way,” he assured her quietly, leaning forward for a second and placing a soft kiss on her forehead, grinning as she yelped in response, “I love being with you, I enjoy all the time we spend together, you feel incredible, I’ve been wanting to touch you again ever since, I’ve been waiting for you all day.”

She whimpered happily at the praise and he knew that even if his words weren’t quite true for him, they were true for her.

“So, there’s nothing to be embarrassed about, is there? You’re my woman. So, throw away your pride. You don’t need it, not with me. All you need to worry about is this, just… Me. And you.”

Letting his words hang in the air, he released her, trailing his fingers lightly across her cheeks as he leant back in his seat, folding his arms and awaiting her decision.

“Ah-hanaaaaa.”

This was it. Just like Lissa, just like Olivia and the others, whatever happened next would be up to her, it would be her choice, freely made. Yesterday had set things in motion, but right now, this was the key moment. For her to return to him, for her to ask for him, would solidify the tone of their relationship forever.

Watching as her violet eyes cracked open once more, arousal and affection warring against pride and embarrassment within, Robin already knew what she would say. In some manner, some primeval instinct, at the very base of his soul, he had no doubt. She was a Manakete. She’d waited a thousand years to give this answer.

“Ha-haaa.”

Shaking her head clear and steadying her breathing, the decision took only a few moments. Ultimately, Nowi was an impulsive woman, she knew what she wanted, that alone was enough.

“I-I want to feel good again,” she moaned wantonly, lust thick in her voice as her hands fumbled quickly with the clasps to her belts, flinging them open and hooking her fingers under her tight pink pants, shaking her hips with a lascivious wiggle as she forced them past her boots, dropping them to the ground and kicking them away as she turned her eyes desperately up toward to the tactician, “Pleeeaase, Robin, nhhgaa, I want you to make me feel good again.”

She’d left her panties behind, just as he’d instructed.

Staring at the girl now standing before him, her small, elfin body outlined by her usual form-fitting cloak and wearing only her top and boots, Robin felt his throat going dry and for a moment, he could do nothing but drink in the sight. Her cheerfully innocent face was staring at him with eyes aching for his touch, ‘Naga.’ her adorable blush was burning brighter with each time her eyes flicked excitedly down to his crotch. Her cute, wind-tossed hair was shaking back and forth as she squirmed in place, her bare pussy openly on display for him.

Nowi was nothing at all like any of the other girls he’d been with, nothing like any of the girls he’d ever pictured himself with… But, as his cock strained hard against his pants, and as his instincts blazed in fiery anticipation, Robin couldn’t possibly deny that she had an appeal all to herself.

“You’re not going to fight it anymore?” He asked, gently pushing apart the last remnants of her crumbling resistance.

 “N-No,” tossing her head from side to side, Nowi slid her hands around behind her, leaning back and spreading her feet another few centimetres apart, clearly showing the sheen of desire, already coating her thighs, “I-I’ll be a good girl, I’ll be yours, whatever you want, I just, just want… Please…”

She swallowed heavily and, as their hearts began to beat together, in perfect unison, her knees buckled and she fell to the floor between his legs- her fingers tugging this time at his pants, quickly pulling his erection free and into her soft grip.

“R-Robin… Please, fuck me.”

Of course, it wasn’t enough to just ask. They both knew that.

Wrapping her small hands tentatively around the base of his shaft, Nowi shuffled forward, right up against his chair, opening her lips as wide as possible and carefully took the tip of his cock into her mouth, gently suckling on it. Just as he’d taught her.

“A-Ahhh,” Robin gasped, leaning forward with a deep sigh as the Manakete’s soft tongue flicked teasingly against his most sensitive area, his hands moving automatically to the back of her head, easing her forward and threading his fingers through her hair, “Very well done. T-That’s how it should be, Nowi.”

His cock looked huge between her little hands, too thick for her to even wrap her fingers completely around as she began sliding them up and down his length, building herself into a slow rhythm, “Aumaaa.” Equally, with her small mouth unable to fully take in his glans, she instead alternated between kissing and sucking around his crown.

“Ah-haaa,” her movements were a little clumsy, but, as she bobbed her lips faster, up and down over the head of his cock, the same enthusiasm Nowi put into everything quickly shone through, more than making up the difference. Her tongue flicked across the underside of his shaft and her hands pumped harder along his length, holding him with a strength belied by her thin arms, each eager motion sending ripples of pleasure through his core, “Mmhhhm.”

Somehow, there was a certain level of attraction in receiving such an earnestly amateur blowjob and it occurred to him that this wasn’t something he’d experienced for a long time now, not since he’d trained Lissa so many years back. Lucina and Tharja, due to the princess’s natural ability and Tharja’s obsessive observations, had learned all his weaknesses very quickly and Miriel had some prior experience with her husband, it was only with Olivia and now, with Nowi, that he got to experience the awkward charm of such innocent attention.

Relaxing into her ministrations as her confidence built, Robin rolled his own hands back down the side of her head, stroking his thumbs along the length of her adorably pointed ears once more.

“A-AHM!” the gasp she gave out, breathed directly into his cock, was more than enough incentive for him to continue, “MMmaaaaa!”

Teasing his fingers along the ridged underside, he quickly took control once more, matching the speed of his strokes to her own, dragging his thumbs right to the tip with each time she filled her mouth with his glans.

Losing herself in the sensations -the feeling of her mouth filled with him, of being surrounded by his presence, of having her sensitive areas so gently teased- Nowi fell rapidly into his rhythm, sucking and swallowing him in time with his movements, kissing and lapping whenever he withdrew.

‘Good,’ Robin smiled warmly, watching as the younger Manakete’s body gave in to the pleasure, her hips shaking back and forth in the air as she mewled wantonly into his cock, ‘You’re doing well Nowi.’

This was important. He needed this to be ingrained into her. This dynamic -her kneeling between his legs, lips pursed tight around his shaft and body shivering with jolts of ecstasy- was what their relationship would be. He needed her to understand that. He wanted her to enjoy it. He was teaching her to delight in submitting herself to him, that was the true purpose for all of this, to train her, to train her body, until she associated asking for his affection (rather than attempting to take it) with the bliss she was currently losing herself in.

Nowi, just like Olivia, had been lonely for a very long time and just like Olivia, she had ached to be wanted. She wanted to be spoiled, to be showered in love. And, that was exactly what Robin intended to do. This game, denying her for so long, then rewarding her by letting her suckle his cock, this was only the first step. He would repeat this lesson, grant her this pleasure, as many times as needed, as much as she could handle, until she had become exactly the woman she wanted to be.

Moaning softly to her as she teased her tongue clumsily across the underside of his cock, Robin savoured the warm feelings spreading through his heart at that thought, because that, more than anything else, was the crux of everything. This was what Nowi wanted. He knew that for certain, he’d been very, very careful with that point. He adored Nowi, he had for almost as long as he’d known her and he knew, no matter how ruthless his actions had become, he could never bear to hurt her. If she’d resisted, or shown any signs of being unhappy, he would have stopped. If submitting to him wasn’t what she’d wanted, then he would have found another way.

Instead, however, it seemed their instincts overlapped perfectly. Just as he knew she belonged to him, she knew that she was his. Somehow, in some unspoken way, they both knew that it had always been so, that it would always be so, as a Manakete, her soul had been branded with his name since before they’d ever met.

‘Now,’ judging by the rising desperation he could feel from her, she was getting close. He could feel the pressure building impatiently within him too. Time to finish this, ‘Cum for me!’

Dragging his hands solidly, right to the end of her pointed appendages, he took the very tips of her ears between his thumb and forefinger, pinching them lightly as he rolled them within his grip.

“A-AhNGH!” squealing in shock, Nowi ripped her mouth from his cock, bending over and curling into herself, her legs squeezed tight together as a sudden electric jolt speared through her, “GYIAAAAH!”

Wrapping her hands tight around herself, the young Dragon-Girl convulsed in place, eyes glazing over as a sudden incredible orgasm rocked through her, blasting all reason and all other thoughts far from her mind.

“Perfect,” Robin groaned, releasing her and relaxing back in satisfaction. With only her enthusiasm, she wasn’t yet good enough to get him off, but, even that suited him perfectly, that was only more reason for her to seek more lessons from him, “Very well done Nowi. Ahh, my little Dragoness, that was fantastic.”

Panting weakly as she recovered from her peak, she couldn’t answer. So, he simply reached out, taking her hand and carefully pulling her up to him, wrapping his hands behind her and kneading the delightfully soft flesh of her small, round ass as he collected her into his lap, until she was sitting on his legs, his shaft still standing imperiously before her, reaching right to her stomach.

“And now…” he whispered, leaning down and kissing gently along her shoulder as he undid her top, throwing it to the floor and moving his hands to her small chest, running his thumbs in soft circles over her pert nipples, “Go ahead, claim your reward.”

Relaxing automatically into his gentle caress, it was another minute before the fog cleared in her mind and the light shone again in Nowi’s eyes, “Ah-Hhaaaa.” She moaned, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling the tactician hungrily into a sloppy kiss, as she rose herself up, grinding her dripping entrance fully along the length of his cock.

“Mmmaa! R-Robin! Robin…” she breathed, her entire face lighting up as she finally reached the top of his shaft, feeling her lips being spread wide open by his glans as she settled atop him, “I-I love you, Robin!”

“Yeah, I love you too.” He assured her, whispering the same half-truth he’d said so many times now as he moved his hands to her waist, steadying her as she opened herself up around him.

“Nn! Nnn! Nnn!” Nowi mewed, clenching her eyes shut and dropping her hips down, shaking and moaning as she felt her walls spread almost impossibly far apart, wrapped tight around his thick length as sank down, further and further, slowly taking inch after wondrous inch deep inside her, “AuuuuNNNN!”

Fingers digging hard into her soft ass, Robin was soon left gasping by the selfsame pleasure- the feeling he suddenly realised he’d already missed of the Manakete’s tiny body spreading around him, her pussy paradoxically tight and yielding at the same time, “Nagaaaaaa!” He groaned aloud, leaning back with a violent shudder as he forcefully relinquished control, eyes wide with wonder as he watched more and more of his cock disappearing into her constricted tunnel, pushing back her deepest walls and filling her beyond any reason.

Even with her tongue hanging out and hands clutched painfully tight around his neck, Nowi’s determination held true. Not pausing for a moment, she continually forced herself down, screaming both louder and longer as her pussy pulsed vice-tight around his thick shaft, knowing somewhere back in the depths of her soul that she couldn’t possibly stop, not until his length was filling her just the same as it had the previous day, just the same as she’d dreamed about ever since.

“AHhhUAAAA!”

And eventually, crying aloud, with one final shake of her hips, finally, agonisingly, wonderfully, her hips met his and his cock was sheathed fully inside her once more.

“Ahhaaah. Go-Gods! Naga!” Robin groaned, unashamedly calling out to her patron deity, his hips bucking automatically off the chair and lifting the stunned girl several centimetres into the air, “So hot a-and tight…”

Being fully sheathed inside her, feeling the glowing heat of the Manakete’s pussy squeezed tight around his entire shaft, it was an almost unfairly good feeling, addicting in all kinds of dangerous ways. And, of course,

“A-NuuuAHhaaa! hhaaaa! Ro-Robin!”

It was even more so for her.

Flushed bright red, with her eyes dazed and mouth hanging wide open, Nowi had moved her hands to his shoulders, clinging to him tight enough to draw blood as her entire body writhed with pleasure, “Nnaaa,” she whined weakly, only just barely managing to hold onto her sanity, “It, it feels, ev-even deeper, li-like this… Being, being on-ontop.”

“Yeah,” he soothed, resisting the urge to take control and force her over the peak she was clearly forcing back. This was her reward, so, for now, he would let her take the lead, “Just take your time, are you able to move?”

“I-I…” clenching her eyes shut, a moment passed before she eventually nodded, shuffling around in his lap until she was resting her weight on her knees, then slowly pushed herself up, grinding his cock back against the walls of her pussy as she rose several inches into the air, “I c-can.”

Robin slid his hands back to the smooth curve of her hips, steadying her as she steeled herself, for one final moment.

“UhhAIYAAA!”

Suddenly driving herself down, Nowi slammed the tactician’s thick shaft back into her, screaming aloud as her innermost walls were instantly carved open once more, as the very depths of her body submitted to his strength.

Her world exploded into a dizzying array of colours, her eyes rolling back in her head and tongue lolling wantonly from her mouth as she came, “NUAAAH!” But, still, her determination held true. With her mind seared of all rational thought, she acted on pure instinct, a desperate primeval instinct to please him, to wring the cum from Robin’s body and feel it flooding her womb. Digging her knees deeper into the chair, she pushed herself even higher up his length, dragging her tight, round ass almost halfway up his cock before slamming it back down into her, burying her face into his chest as she screamed his name.

“W-Woah!” Robin gasped, taking pleasantly by surprise by the little Manakete’s sudden aggression, “D-Damn, th-that’s, Nowi! Ah! Th-That’s good!”

Her hands slipped from his shoulders and he caught them in his own, entwining their fingers together and squeezing them in a show of support as she continued her desperate rampage. Leaning over him, her head nestled fully into him as her small, round hips bounced frantically up and down over his cock, the minutes passed like seconds as the horny Manakete continuously drove as much of his length into her as she could take. Shaking, gasping and moaning, with her eyes rolled back in her head and mind fogged with little but thoughts of him, she was long since lost to the ecstasy.

“R-Robin! Nhaaa, I-I’m, I’M!” her words were only just audible over the lewd sounds of their hips slapping wet together, “I’m going crazy! Uhaaaa, I, I ca-can’t! I ca-GNHAAAA!”

Cutting off her words as another orgasm ripped through her, Nowi curled deeper against him, her fingers clenched tight around his, but even so, she still couldn’t stop. Drowning in his presence and lacking even the basest control over her instincts, her pace rose even faster, body trembling as she fucked him with everything she had, her pussy pulsing tighter and tighter around his cock even as her walls spread easily against his power.

“GAhha, Now-Nowi!” gasping her name and clenching his teeth against the incredible pleasure, the tactician was thoroughly enjoying her ministrations. She was attacking him with far more force than he’d dared to use against the virgin dragon the previous day, and -as he felt her walls again pulse fully around his length, as if her entire body was dedicated to milking him- his own peak was not long off coming, “Na-Naga! I’m, gonna, cum!”

Unused to relinquishing control and, with his mind seared white by the incredible bliss surging fast through him, Robin didn’t even think to stop himself as his hips bucked frantically up into hers, suddenly slamming his shaft hard into the depths of the smaller girl’s scorching hot tunnel, “UnGHHAAAA!” Rearing back and loosing a guttural roar, he drove her completely from the seat, lifting her several inches into the air.

“AiiYYAAAAAAH!” head lolling back as her feet kicked out into the empty air, Nowi’s entire body finally seized up, unable to move or think as she felt his grow even thicker inside her, opening her up even further as his thick seed suddenly erupted, rocketing hard against her walls and instantly filling her to the brim, “YHAA-hhaaaauuuuaaaaa.”

“GhnAUUGH!” holding himself in place, above the chair, with his cock fully buried inside the smaller Manakete, Robin clenched his eyes shut as he felt his release finally surging through him, his balls squeezing in almost painful ecstasy as load after load of cum sprayed into the previously innocent girl, “GHhahaaaaauuuu.”

She slumped back down into his chest, head falling limply against him as her mind flittering on the edge of consciousness as her body shook, twitching and shivering from the lingering aftershocks of her countless orgasms, “Hu-uhaaaahh.”

He dropped slowly back down to his seat, acting almost entirely on instinct as he released her hands, wrapping his fingers around the small of her back and cradling her against him, “Ha-hhaaaaaa.”

A few minutes passed slowly between them after that, vision clearing and thoughts slowly returning to focus as they lay, warm and comfortable against each other. It was a gentle, loving scene, and after such an intense session, there was no doubt they were both fully satisfied.

But… Of course, Nowi was a Manakete. Even if her mind wouldn’t be able to handle it just yet, her body still held far more stamina than a normal human’s. While mentally drained, she was far from physically spent and, feeling his cock still nestled thick and hard within her, she couldn’t possibly resist the new urges burning within her soul.

With his cum flooding her womb and dripping down between their legs, her mating instincts had already been thoroughly sated. That wasn’t what drove her on now, instead, all that was left, as Nowi turned to him, her eyes upturned and lips pursed in desire, was a deep, abiding lust, “M-More?” she implored quietly, leaving no doubt to her supplication. Her instincts were satisfied and the effect of his presence on her had long been lifted, but still her body ached for his touch, yearning to be given completely over to him in a way she didn’t fully understand.

And of course, blazing hot with unstable draconic instincts himself, Robin wasn’t about to let it finish with just one round. Not with his instincts commanding him to take control, to return upon her the full force of the frenzy she’d let loose upon him.

“Mmm,” he nodded with a delighted smirk. It was too much for her just yet, but the potential Nowi held as a lover, as someone who could keep up with him, was incredible, “We’re just getting started!”

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“Au-NnnGH! Ro-Roooobin!” lying spread out atop the tactician’s desk, with her legs in the air and ankles held tight in his grip, Nowi cried out as another orgasm seared through her, screaming his name as her back arched off the wooden surface and her hips bucked hungrily against him. “ROBIN!”

Driving himself forwards as her body suddenly jolted upward, Robin didn’t slow down for even a moment. Standing right on the verge of his own release, he threw his head back, thrusting wildly forward and groaning aloud, “H-Hnngaaaaa!” Too close to even consider anything else, he slammed his cock roughly into her tight pussy, spreading the narrow entrance wide around his cock again and again.

“A-Auuuu!” without anything to hold onto and unable to do anything in this position but (eagerly) surrender her body to him, Nowi’s hands gripped to her head as she threw it from side to side, thrashing in pleasure. She could tell he was almost there, could tell she was about to get what she wanted, “Cum! Robin, please! I-I want, nngh! I want to fe-feel it!”

Already well past his limits, Robin could only smirk. She certainly was a cheeky one.

“GNA-!” acting on a sudden impulse, he abruptly pulled out! Dragging his cock roughly from her heated depths, he thrust it forwards, between her legs, crossing them over, tight around his shaft, right as the pressure within him finally burst! “AUUGHHHHAAA!”

Jet after jet of salty cum shot out, splashing warm over the delighted Manakete and easily coating her smaller body, leaving thick ropes of cum plastered across her bare skin, all the way from her navel right across her face.

“Ahhmmm!” Nowi moaned, shivering happily on his desk, closing her eyes and basking in the sensation of being stained with his seed, “Thank you.”

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

“Ann! Ngghh! I-It feels, feels too good!”

Recalling their time together the previous day, Robin recalled that Nowi had seemed to prefer being taken from behind, on her hands and knees, having found it more natural, more in line with her instincts most likely.

With the young Manakete currently bent over his chair, head down and ass raised up, screaming aloud with all her might as he drove hard into her, it certainly seemed to still be holding true today, “Auhh! Robin! I love it! AhAIYAAA!” pushing back against him and shaking her hips wildly against his every thrust, the same certainly seemed true today.

Spurred on by her cries, with his fingers wrapped tight around her deliciously smooth waist, Robin was fucking her even harder than ever, standing legs spread behind her and slamming his cock roughly into her heated depths, forcing her face deeper into the cushion and sending the thick loads he’d already dumped inside her splashing across the floor.

“I-I’m cumming, cu-cumming!”

Nowi was peaking fast and hard, her pussy still wrapping vice like around his length- even with all their combined juices within and even with her walls still yielding easily to his cock. Her mind was well past reason and her technique was non-existent, but, with the way she was hungrily slamming herself against him, greedily accepting every inch of his shaft into her tiny body…

“G-Gods! Nowi!”

…It still took only about ten minutes for her to wring another hot load of cum from the venerable tactician.

“GnHHAAAAA!”

Roaring in delight, Robin hilted himself one final time within her, a violent shudder running from his spine to his balls as his release erupted once more, spraying thick through her tight tunnel, again, flooding her womb with his seed, the overfill instantly crashing down between their legs.

“Ughaaaaaa.”

“Hnnaaaaaa… Th-that was, sooo good Robin.”

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“Mmmaphaaaa!”
“Mhh-mmmphh!”

Their lips crashed heavily together, tongues dancing against the other and bodies rocking hungrily back and forth as they each moaned lustily into the other’s mouth.

Holding tight to Nowi’s ass, standing tall as he carried her aloft, with her legs wrapped around his waist and his cock buried deep within her, Robin was taking full advantage in the difference in their height. Able to lift the light Manakete without a strain, he took complete control, slamming his entire length mercilessly into her, spreading her tight walls around his length as fast and hard as he could, using her whole body as little more than a sleeve for his pleasure.

For her part, squeezing even tighter around him and breaking their kiss to scream his name like a prayer as she came around his cock, Nowi wasn’t raising any objection.

“GN-Nghhhh!”

It wasn’t a position Robin had ever tried before but, as he felt his peak rushing uncontrollably through him once more, it was one he was already planning to experiment with again.

“Hggaaa!” driving his shaft up one final time, he sheathed himself fully within her, holding her clenched tight around him as the pressure finally erupted once more, ropes of thick cum spraying violently across her soaked walls, sloshing wet against the many previous load,. “HHa-huhaaaaa.”

Panting for breath, with her eyes rolled back and tongue lolled out, Nowi still leaned instinctively up towards him, pressing her lips eagerly against his once more, kissing with an instinctive hunger as both their thoughts drifted away in the haze of pleasure.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

It was almost two hours after she’d arrived that Nowi’s willpower finally gave out.

“I-I hhaaa… I can’t take anymore,” she admitted weakly, lying slumped against him, cradled safely in the tactician’s arms as they sat seated again in the same chair they’d begun. Still wearing her cloak, boots and gloves, Nowi’s lithe body was an absolute mess, her hair splayed in all directions, her eyes dazed and her entire body -front and back- sticky with sweat and cum, “It, it’s… Too much…”

And yet, despite her words, Robin could easily see the strength still lingering in her small body, even as her eyes fluttered closed and her head lolled against his chest, ‘Mental exhaustion.’ it was hardly surprising, spurred on by her enthusiasm, he’d barely held back at all. Despite her having been a virgin just the previous day, he’d wound up fucking her with a strength he usually saved for Lucina… And, perhaps even more surprising than that, despite the countless orgasm’s ripping through her, she’d still lasted through seven consecutive rounds, almost as many as the Exalted Princess herself.

“You did well Nowi, very well,” he praised her genuinely, laying a soft kiss on her forehead and gently stroking her hair as he withdrew his cock from her, lifting her comfortably into his lap, “You were amazing, incredible even.”

“Ahhehe,” she giggled quietly, sliding up his and pressing her lips lightly against his in response, “It felt really, really good! I had a lott’a fun.”

“Why don’t you come around again tomorrow, I’ve got some time before lunch. I’ll teach you some more things.”

“Mmmm, I’d… I’d really like that,” she yawned, pulling her legs up to her chest and curling into a ball, snuggling contentedly and soon drifting peacefully into sleep. “…Love you…”

‘Ah.’

It was those final, half mumbled words that brought Robin back from his own happy daze.

‘She said the same earlier too.’

Taking pains not to jostle her as he slipped his cloak from his shoulders, wrapping it around her, Robin looked down in concern at her sleeping form, gently stroking her hair as he let that thought run uneasily through his head.

He had noticed Nowi had been acting far more affectionate with him than before, ever since sleeping with her the previous day. Nothing officially had changed between them, but of course, forming a sexual relationship, especially her first, had changed things immensely for the young Manakete.

So, now she loved him? Or she thought she did at least?

It was convenient, of course, it made things far simpler between them… Yet, heart clenching with apprehension, Robin couldn’t bring himself to care about that for even a second. Far more than it was convenient, it was worrying. Nowi, despite her tough exterior and happy demeanour was surprisingly fragile, more than almost any of the other Shepherds. If she felt that way about him, he would have to take incredible pains to care for her, to ensure he didn’t hurt her.

‘She can’t love me, not really.’

She hadn’t before yesterday, they’d shared a close friendship but nothing more than that.

‘Can she?’

Hardly an expert himself, Robin wasn’t sure if it was possible to fall in love with someone by opening up so much to them, by sharing yourself so utterly with them like Nowi had with him. But, what he did know was that it was very possible to project those same feelings, to get swept up in a new experience and mistake excitement for affection.

There was no denying Nowi’s innocent streak, most likely she’d spent most of her adult life believing sex was something shared between two people in love. And now, she was suddenly sharing a physical intimacy with someone she’d always been very close to, someone she already held a great deal of affection for. Given that, was it really so surprising that her feelings would intensify to the point where she might believe she’d fallen in love with him? That perhaps, she’d always been in love with him?

Looking down at the woman sleeping so happily in his lap, Robin breathed out a low sigh.

Then again, maybe she really did love him? It wasn’t so hard to believe, she’d always been very fond of him, perhaps as their relationship had evolved, so too had her feelings for him.

‘It doesn’t matter,’ he decided, shaking the thought away a moment later, ‘It doesn’t change anything.’

His answer was the same either way. Whether she truly loved him or not was academic, all that mattered was that she believed she did. And, that he adored her in turn.

He cared deeply for Nowi, far too deeply to ever hurt her. So, no matter what reality of her feelings was, he would respond to them all the same, he would accept her love and treat her so well, make her so happy, that it wouldn’t make a difference.

“Go ahead and love me.” He whispered, smiling warmly down at the slumbering Dragoness. “I promise, I’ll take care of you.”

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Notes:

A/N: Phew! Quite a ride huh? But I managed to squeeze Nowi, Nah, Severa, Noire and Lucina all into one chapter! I’m pretty happy with that!

I’ll say again, like I said in the opening authors note, don’t take the terrible things Noire talks about from her past at face value, she’s guessing here, she doesn’t know the full details and neither does Severa. There’ll be more details about it later on, but ultimately, it’s not going to be any kind of huge twist or anything. I’m just saying this because I don’t want anyone worried about us going into some uncomfortably dark territory here.

Next up: Panne! And then something completely different, perhaps a road trip is in order!?

As always, more information about my story statuses as well as a weekly updates and any other details can be found at:

http://jlcdavenport.blogspot.com

Chapter 14: Panne – A Woman of Pride and Instincts

Notes:

Authors Note: Finally another update! About damn time, enough with the side stories already, eh? I’ll keep the A/N short this time since I’m posting this literally minutes before I head out the door to work!

Panne – A Woman of Pride and Instincts

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Proud, noble, and driven by instincts humans can’t possibly understand, while still being equally unable to experience the wonderful effect he had on Manakete’s, Panne was in many ways, the perfect person to understand exactly what Robin was going through.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Frowning in consternation, Miriel caught herself looking to the clock at the far end of workshop for the third time in the last hour.

‘This is thoroughly illogical.’ She concluded immediately, putting aside her research notes with a sigh and turning her attention towards her own status.

It wasn’t as if she wasn’t familiar with feeling restless, or with waiting for a work-day to be over. No matter how dedicated a scientist she was, she was still human.

Only, she reminded herself, the reason it was illogical was because there was no clear reason she should be feeling restless. She wasn’t tired- she’d slept adequately the previous night, and it was still only early afternoon, more than three hours before her median finishing time. Nor was the answer something as simple as hunger, the meal she’d taken for lunch had been simple, but fully sufficient for her needs.

In conclusion: There was no reason she could think of for her to want to go home so early in the day.

‘Ah…’

She paused, taking a moment to re-evaluate that thought. Taking a moment for consideration, she discovered the problem, her hypothesis had been flawed from the outset. She didn’t want to go home. Thoughts of her house elicited only the same comforting response as normal.

Rather, she realised, she was feeling restless because she didn’t want to go home, ‘I see. Then, I want to see him. I want to be with Robin again.’

She frowned, again, folding her hands under her impressive bust. That didn’t make sense either. She’d seen Robin, and had sex with him in-fact, just a few days ago. There was no doubt she would see him again soon, so she had no concerns about his well-being, and she was neither in love with him, nor married to him, so there was no reason to be missing him, especially not this soon.

For the sake of being thorough, she doubled checked her findings; Her breathing was slightly elevated, her face was moderately flushed and her heartbeat appeared to have risen slightly ever since she’d begun thinking about him.

“Oh!” she didn’t have any reason to believe she had contracted an illness, so Miriel could only conclude that simply thinking about the Shepherd’s Tactician was causing her to experience the early stages of arousal! “Then, I’m feeling… Horny?”

How interesting! She couldn’t help but smile! This was novel indeed!

Despite her initial, primarily emotional, resistance to her husband’s suggestion that she partake in infidelity, she had always believed that the experience would be the key to many new discoveries. Her very first night with Robin had proven her belief correct, but, even better, it seemed that her acceptance was still bearing fruit now, even when they were separated.

“Incredible.” To think she would become aroused without any external stimulus at all, now that she’d identified it, she could clearly recognise a powerful yearning for his touch, to feel him pinning her down and ravaging her body once more; She’d never experienced anything like this, it reminded her of a rather vulgar term she’d heard from Sully once, “I wonder, does this mean I’ve become cockthirsty?”

She’d never imagined herself as a -to use the Redheaded Knight’s words- depraved slut, just the thought of it was exciting!

Of course, she loved Henry and assuredly enjoyed their time together. But, so far during their marriage, she’d only ever sought sex as the logical necessity for maintaining the harmony of their relationship. It was pleasant, in the same way good food was pleasant, but it was also a distraction, so she’d made sure they kept it to a regular, monthly schedule, enough so that she was sure the two of them would by physically satisfied, but not so much as to get in the way of her work.

But now, now she was craving sex enough to want to put her work aside! Humming in delight at the sheer novelty of the idea, Miriel cheerfully examined this new phenomenon. “Are these feelings just the excitement of trying something new? Is it a part of the illicit thrill of adultery? Ah, or perhaps it’s simpler indeed, is this just a reaction to Robin’s superior ability?”

As an assured scientist, she was never one for sentimentality and thus she had no delusions about the fact that she vastly preferred being fucked by Robin than any of the times she’d spent engaged in marital lovemaking.

She’d recognised the Tactician’s physical dominance instantly, and while her memory was still a little fuzzy with the finer details, she distinctly remembered how pleasantly surprised she’d been to estimate Robin as being at least twice as long as the man she’d married, as well as much thicker. After that, it had only been a short time before she’d been forced to also acknowledge his equally impressive endurance when, rather than flagging after one (or sometimes two) rounds, both times they’d been together, Robin had maintained absolute dominance over her body again and again, until long after she’d lost track.

But, what had truly impressed her and, what stuck in her mind now, was just how quickly he had taken the lead in his office. Despite being a virgin, with only a single book and an afternoon of cramming on his side, he’d acted with absolute confidence and pleasured her, even subdued her, in ways she’d never previously imagined. That fact spoke of an almost fighting potential within him, one that outstripped anything Henry could offer, even aside from his (comparative, she reminded herself) physical deficiencies.

And, “Ahhmm,” it was a difference between them that left her breath running even faster at just the thought.

Coming back from her momentary introspection, Miriel realised that just those recollections had been enough to quell her unease; she now knew exactly what she wanted.

“But then, perhaps this time, restraint would be best.”

Even so, despite her fast budding arousal, Miriel was an eminently prudent woman. She knew if she was to be with Robin, the first thing she would have to do was to go home and inform her husband of her intentions to spend the night (and the morning, if she could manage it) with the Tactician.

That was obvious. No matter their unique circumstances, nor her own admitted emotional naiveite, she was easily smart enough to understand that maintaining a healthy relationship, like what she had with Henry, would require trust and honesty. She had already made a minor slip up with Robin already -when she’d visited to report her conclusions from their night together- and she had no wish to repeat that mistake. After all, she reminded herself, this wasn’t an illicit affair, but a simple arrangement; she had agreed to share another man’s bed, not out of a secret lust, but out of earnest love for her husband.

Unfortunately, acknowledging that only compounded her issues, “It’s too soon.”

It had, after all, only been a few days since she’d originally slept with Robin. In all the time she’d been married, she’d always kept their coupling to a strict schedule and she’d never once left work early to have sex. She was planning on breaking both those patterns at the same time.

Miriel frowned, again, turning the situation around in her head once more.

Henry, obviously, found pleasure of a sort in the pain of his wife being stolen. She understood that, but to make such a drastic change, so soon? Was that really okay? Wouldn’t it just cause him to worry? She was inexperienced enough in such things, she didn’t wish to accidently push him too far, and she certainly didn’t want to actually hurt him.

Chewing on her lip, her eyes glanced at the clock once more, as another idea rose, almost tauntingly, in the back of her mind.

“I’m not due home for another few hours…”

It would hardly be as pleasant as to have the whole night with him, but, if she left now, she could meet Robin and get cleaned up before she was due home.

It was a difficult idea, it clearly went against what she knew was right for her marriage. But, on the other hand, in her current state, it wasn’t as if she was going to be able to get any productive work done, even if she did remain here. And anyway, if she took the time to go seek out Henry, just to inform him, there was no guarantee that Robin would even still be in his office by the time she arrived- she had absolutely no intentions of trying to sneak around the Palace after all.

Miriel briefly considered seeking relief from her husband instead, but it was dismissed almost as quickly as it rose. Compromising on her satisfaction like that would only leave her frustrated. And, strangely, lately when she thought about it, she found herself with almost an aversion to the idea- but, that was something to examine later.

She hummed, twisting this way and that as she dithered, “I shouldn’t…”

A healthy relationship like hers was built on a foundation of trust and honesty, she knew that. But then, if being honest would hurt the man she loved, then wasn’t it prudent to prioritise discretion instead? Shouldn’t she be trusted to make such decisions?

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Bent over Robin’s desk, with both hands clenched tight around her mouth and her pussy squeezing just as hard around his cock, Miriel was fighting with all her strength to keep from screaming aloud.

Being still only the late afternoon, the sounds of people tromping around below them in the barracks downstairs could be clearly heard, and the scientist’s body trembled with exhilaration as much as apprehension with every footstep that echoed out around them.

It wouldn’t have been so terrifying, it might have even been exciting, if only– if only he’d used the soundproofing wards he’d mentioned the previous time!

It was illogical, beyond illogical and downright insane! The rational part of her mind screamed, far off in the distance. He fully understood her need for discretion, he had even been the one to suggest as much… So why hadn’t he taken the time to silence the room before throwing her across his desk!? And, even worse, why hadn’t she objected? Why had she been so happy not to wait!? No matter how she looked at the situation, it didn’t make any sense, and yet, that did nothing to change the way she shook her hips hungrily back against his powerful thrusts.

It was ridiculous how she was acting! And, she would have been furious about it, if only she wasn’t currently far too busy cumming her brains out, “MghhMMMM!” Her walls squeezed tight around his cock as her body lost control once more and again, she only just barely managed to stifle her screams in response. Unfortunately, for Miriel’s sense of dignity, as it was, her reason had been dropped to the floor alongside her panties, and the Shepherd’s smartest woman was currently little more than a lust-addled, drooling wreck.

Keeping her modest dress hiked up over her bare waist and holding firmly to her wide hips, Robin didn’t pause, even as her entire body clenched up under him. Slamming his full length, hard, into her once more, the force of his thrust pushed her up to the tips of her toes, dragging her large breasts almost painfully across the wooden surface as he spread her tight passage wide around him, driving himself all the way to the deepest, most sensitive areas of her pussy.

“MmghGHH-NNGHH!”

Miriel thrashed wildly in response, her body arching into the arc and her world spinning in place as she crashed violently through another peak, before she’d even had a chance to recover. He was always like this, it seemed to her, always so merciless in how he pleasured her, holding her down and bringing her forcefully through highs she’d never imagined. Despite knowing fully that she was fast becoming addicted to these feelings, it was impossible to resist, she knew her body had already begun automatically surrendering to his.

For his part, Robin had already cum inside her twice already. Rather than tiring however, he seemed to become stronger and rougher with each time he unloaded within her, the strength behind his thrusts had risen higher than ever as he forced her onto the balls of her feet, hammering her relentlessly into the hard wooden desk. A distant part, still scientific, part of her wondered if she was developing a taste for being dominated so thoroughly, the discomfort of Robin’s rough handling, rather than turning her off, was mixing with the same incredible pleasure his every touch seemed to alight inside her, sparking shocks of intense, painful bliss through her, until she was sure it was all more than she could possibly take.

He felt even bigger and thicker than she’d remembered, and each time she felt his length pushing her walls wide around him, each time he drove himself into areas of her pussy only he had ever touched, her head spun and more sultry moans escaped her lips.

From the sheer force of his thrusts and how readily her body was accepting him, Miriel was sure Robin must have already completely re-moulded her pussy in his shape. She doubted she’d even be able to properly feel her husband anymore. Strangely, just thinking about that gave her an almost unsettling disquiet. By now, Miriel was long past any reason, but the instincts that remained rejected the very idea of another man now touching her, exactly the same as they had when this arrangement had first been suggested to her- as if the positions had been reversed and she had already become Robin’s, as if it would be him she was cheating on.

“AAhmhhh, R-Robin!” of course, right now, she couldn’t care less. Her mind was focussed on only one thing, “Gods! I-I love it! Fuck me! Nghh, fuck me, like this forever!”

Her voice, slipping out accidently from between her fingers, was only just muffled enough not to carry, but, she couldn’t bring herself to care about even that. Finally pushed beyond the last of her limits, her restraint had gone and any traces of her usual, methodical persona was thoroughly lost.

Grunting aloud in answer to her cries, Robin’s hands clenched even tighter around her trim waist, pulling her hips harshly toward him and driving his cock recklessly into her, feeling it swell even thicker, pulsing wildly against her innermost walls as another peak of his own roared through him.

“AhnnaaaAH-” Miriel was given almost no warning as Robin suddenly slammed himself forward, burying the full length of his shaft within her in a single, incredible thrust- his cock ramming into the deepest region of her pussy with such brutal force that she was pushed completely onto his desk, leaving her feet dangling in the air, several inches off the ground and her entire body locked up in a searing bliss as she felt him suddenly (finally) explode within her again, “HhaYYAAAA!”

Her entire tunnel was stretched painfully tight around him and her body was held partially aloft, practically impaled on his shaft as jet after jet of hot, thick cum suddenly thundered through her, the reverberations of his release crashing against her most sensitive areas blasted away any hope of thought and her entire body was bathed once more in a dizzying warmth.

Completely lost to their shared desire- with her eyes completely glazed over, glasses askew and hat hanging limply from her head, Miriel threw her head back, shuddering with delight and completely uncaring of the consequences as she screamed with all her might!

“YNNAHAAAAAAAA!”

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Looking at the mage slumped limp across his desk -with her robe hiked over her round hips and his seed running thick down her toned, white legs- Robin couldn’t help but smile in satisfaction.

His desires had gotten slightly out of hand, he’d been a lot rougher than he’d expected, almost as much as he sometimes was with Lucina, but, in the end, he’d succeeded marvellously. In only three loads, he’d made the usually stoic, serious Miriel scream in unhinged delight. He’d gotten her so worked up she’d neither acknowledged, nor cared about the other Shepherd’s passing in and out of the building just a few metres below them.

It had all been a game, of course. He was staking his very life and everything he had on his ability to keep his actions a secret, that wasn’t something he’d ever risk on some whim, no matter how much fun it had been to try break her resolve. In truth, he’d had the silencing wards active since his beloved fiancé had come around to bring him lunch, maintaining the magic that powered them took up such little of his magic these days that he simply hadn’t bothered to take them down.

“Ooonnnngg.” She gave a low groan as he slowly withdrew his shaft, selling it -still hard- atop her ass cheeks.

“Miriel,” he spoke gently, running his fingertips lightly along her hips in a gentle caress as she gave signs of having come back down to reality, “Next time you come see me, I want you to wear a dress instead. Okay?”

He had a reason for asking, of course, one beyond simply satisfying his own desire to see such a stunning woman wearing something aside from her unflattering robes for a change. Miriel was, above all else, an eminently practical person, someone who considered it only natural that her work clothes would also double as a standard, everyday outfit, to the point where she’d shamelessly worn those same bland robes even for their very first time together.

It wasn’t out of the ordinary, no-one else would notice anything different, or think it worth commenting on, but, for her to go out of her way to change, for someone like her to walk all the way across town dressed up specifically for only one, secret, purpose… Not even she would be able to remain unaffected by that.

“And, leave your panties behind.” He added with a smirk, after a moment’s thought to savour that image.

That request, on the other hand, was entirely for his own preference. It was starting to become something of a trend between his partners too, Lucina had done so at his prompting ever since Valm, but now, of all his women, Tharja was the only one who still routinely wore underwear around him, and even then, she’d made it clear that was only because they both enjoyed the feeling of him shredding her clothes from her body. It was an incredible change to how things had been barely a few months ago and, despite the pangs of guilt he still sometimes felt, the thought of Lissa and Lucina, two of Ylisse’s Royal Princesses, both walking through the palace halls with his seed running hidden down their legs, was not a thought that ever bored him.

Miriel moaned something akin to acknowledgement (although he had no doubt he’d have to repeat the instructions again later) and Robin brought himself back down to earth, taking a moment to consider the situation while she recovered.

‘This is a lot sooner than I expected.’

Not just in regards to her coming to see him again, but in every aspect of her visit.

She was here in the middle of the afternoon, long before he could possibly believe someone like Miriel would have finished her work for the day.

And, even if he did assume that something could have happened at her lab, she’d specifically mentioned only having a few hours to spend with him, because she needed to be home at her usual time.

That wasn’t like Miriel at all. When she did something she did it thoroughly and with full examination of its every aspect, she was never the type to haphazardly try fit something into her schedule. If she’d planned to be with him, she would have set aside an entire evening with this, an evening that wouldn’t clash with anything else she needed to do.

Which meant, that this was an impulsive decision. Not only had she set aside her work for this, but she’d come without telling Henry, she’d intended to keep this from him.

All well within his expectations, of course… But, far, far sooner than he’d ever imagined. This was only their third time together, he’d anticipated her trying to trick him into a scheduled routine first, he’d expected to have to tease her out of that idea. He never would have guessed that Miriel, of all people, would fall to pleasure this quickly.

It was something of an ego boost. But he did try to temper his reaction, no matter how pleasing that thought was, he knew he should remain wary. It was just like with Olivia and Nowi, things had escalated far past what he’d planned for, far sooner than he’d ever guessed.

‘I’ll keep her at a distance for now then,’ he concluded, mentally going through the next part of his plan for her as he ran his fingers tenderly across the small of her back, ‘If she’s going this far, this fast. I have to give her a chance to come to me, even if I pull away.’

Then, of course, there would be no doubt in her mind that it had been all her choice. Every step she made to take things beyond the agreement she’d made with her husband would be entirely of her own decision.

He smirked, his soul crackling happily at the thought, suddenly excited. If things between them had come this far so soon, then what would play out with Miriel from here? No matter what, he was sure it would be very well worth seeing.

But first…

Stepping forward again, Robin took another firm hold of the still dazed scientists’ hips.

…He still hadn’t taken tried tight ass of hers all afternoon, it was long past time he remedied that.

“Ohhaa? R-Robin?”

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Themis – Ducal Manor.

“Lissa, my darling,” Maribelle began hesitantly, looking away from her friend as she rose from her seat to collect up the tea-set spread out before them, “I must say, while it is always a delight to have you in my home. I cannot help but notice, you, you seem rather distressed today?”

She’d noticed something was rather off about her friend almost immediately after she’d arrived, but it was something she’d restrained herself from asking about until right this very moment, when she’d suddenly been spurred into action after the bell had been rung and they’d been informed that the carriage to take the Princess back to the palace had arrived. Of course, she couldn’t help but worry for her dearest friend…but, because Lissa was her dearest friend, she’d tried to keep from prying. She was married now, after-all, Maribelle had reminded herself.

Unfortunately, no matter how she’d tried to edge around the topic, Lissa hadn’t said a word and so, from the fear of suddenly having her friend walk out the door with matters unresolved, Maribelle had finally thrown her decorum out the window.

“Oh, ahh, I’m sorry Maribelle, was it that obvious?” Lissa sighed, looking guilty, “It’s just, well you know, it’s everything that’s going on with Lon’qu, you know?”

“Of course dear,” the Noblewoman’s eyes shifted to her parasol, hanging in the far end of the room, “Shall I have a talk with that man myself?”

“No, no, I just… I’ve just got a lot on my mind I guess?” Shifting slightly in her seat, Maribelle raised an eyebrow as her friend’s face turned a light shade of pink and she began twisting her wedding ring around her finger, “About, well, about him and… And, some… some other stuff.”

That wasn’t particularly helpful.

“I see. Then, is there anything I can do to help?”

“Ahh…”

Lissa’s eyes shifted away. Clearly she had something on her mind. Something very specific. Maribelle’s heart soared with relief, the only thing more distressing than seeing her friend upset, was the fear of not being able to do anything about it.

“Lissa, my dear, please. Tell me?”

“I ah… N-No, I…”

Breathing out a sigh, Maribelle bent down, taking the Princess’s hands in her own and pulling her to her feet, leading her slowly to the middle of the room, “There’s no cause to be embarrassed,” she promised, running her thumbs soothingly across the other woman’s palms, “If there’s anything you wish for me to do, you have only to say.”

Lissa swallowed hard.

Feeling her heart pounding in her chest and her face suddenly burning a bright red, she could barely manage to even maintain eye contact with her friend right now. She’d been thinking about it ever since they’d been alone together, but, standing so close together like this, with Maribelle’s hands holding her own, it was impossible for her not to recall the dream she’d had, barely a few days ago. It was impossible for her not to think about all the feelings that had been building up within her these last few weeks.

‘I always thought, if I was ever going to be with a girl, it would be you.’

It was strange really. For all her life, she’d never seriously entertained the idea, it had always just been some vague thought she’d never taken too seriously.

She’d known Maribelle for almost all her life, but when she was a kid, her first love had been Frederick. Then, when she’d grown up, she’d had her first time with Robin, her first almost everything really. She’d had sex with him more times than she could count over the years, and then she’d finally fallen in love with Lon’qu. There’d been three men in her heart and over the many years, she’d never really put much thought sharing those same experiences with a woman, but, she’d always thought somewhere distantly, in the back of her mind, that if she ever did, it would be with Maribelle.

But it hadn’t been.

Far from anything she could possibly have expected, the first woman to touch her, the first woman she touched back, the first woman she had sex with, was Tharja. She didn’t regret it at all. Just as she’d admitted to herself in her dream, she’d enjoyed every moment she’d spent sharing pleasure with the Dark Mage and the Tactician. It hadn’t been like anything she’d ever felt before, she didn’t even have words to describe what she felt, feeling Tharja wrapped tight around her, while Robin plundered both their bodies in turn.

Especially now, especially standing here, she could clearly recall the words she’d spoken in her dream, ‘I wanted, at least, to make sure that your first time… That is was with me.’ She didn’t know if she’d ever have the courage to say them in reality, but they were true just the same.

Lissa had never kissed a girl, Tharja had refused her, she only wanted to kiss Robin. But, she knew there would be other women. She didn’t know how she knew, perhaps it was just a strange quirk of having submitted herself to him so thoroughly, like she never had all their years together before, somehow, it just seemed obvious, natural, a man who’d conquered them both so thoroughly wouldn’t stop there- there was no reason to, especially not when neither of them wanted him to. And, Lissa also knew that she wasn’t that earnest. She wouldn’t save herself for Maribelle in the vain hope that she, a married noblewoman, would somehow end up in bed with the two of them. And, even if she tried, sharing him like that, having sex with other women felt incredible, she didn’t have Tharja’s self-control.

So, before that happened, she wanted to, at least, give Maribelle her first kiss with a woman.
And, selfishly, she wanted to take Maribelle’s first in return.

She’d never seriously considered it all her life, but after her first taste of sapphism, she now couldn’t stop thinking about it.

It was wrong, it was terrible, it was completely unfair…

“O-Okay, close your eyes for a second.”

“My… Close my eyes? Are you going to surprise me?”

Her heart was pounding in her chest too loud for her to answer, but after a moment, Maribelle did just as she’d asked.

“And, and… open your mouth, no, not fully, just, yeah, just a little bit…”

It was crazy, it was immoral, it was… ‘Ah’ …looking at the innocent, gentle expression on Maribelle’s face, it was impossible to resist. Releasing the noblewoman’s hands, she reached up, brushing a thumb tenderly across her friend’s cheek, drawing out a shallow gasp as she leant in, linking her arms around the other woman’s neck and pulling her close as their lips finally connected.

“Ahmmnnnnn…”
“Eh-HMmaa!?”

She was soft! So soft! Lissa’s heart fluttered in delight, it felt wonderful! ‘Gods!’ it was so different from kissing Robin, her lips were gentler and her mouth parted to Lissa’s automatically, instinctively relinquishing control where he would have claimed it.

Easing Maribelle’s lips open with her own, Lissa pulled her even tighter against her, moaning softly into her mouth as she entwined their tongues and deepend the embrace.

“Mmmmmm.”
“Ah-Mmmmm”

The kiss lasted only a minute before they both pulled away, gasping for breath.

“Ah-Ahh, wh-haahhaa, ah!?” stumbling backwards as Lissa released her arms around her, Maribelle stared in shock, “L-Lissa, I… B-But, but we can’t! You’re, you’re married! I’m married.”

“Yup! I know!” Forcing her face into an innocent smile wasn’t as difficult as she’d expected, the pleasant joy swirling through her was too wonderful to deny, “Haha, sorry! Sorry! I was just teasing, it didn’t mean anything! I’ve just always wanted to try that!”

Swallowing heavily, eyes wide and jaw hanging open, the Noblewoman couldn’t respond.

“Ahh, I really surprised you, didn’t I? Hehe, that really was selfish of me wasn’t it?” Forcing a laugh, she skipped across the room, grabbing her belongings and making for the door, “I hope you’re not mad? I’ll, I’ll make it up to you next time!”

Unable to play it off as a game for another moment, and feeling far too aroused to pretend nothing had happened, Lissa slipped out the door, walking in almost a daze through the Ducal Manor until she finally threw herself into the waiting carriage, slumping into her seat and breathing out a low, ragged sigh.

…

And, still standing in place, staring in shock at where her friend had so suddenly disappeared, Maribelle raised her fingers hesitantly to her lips, pressing them against where the two of them had been connected as she breathed out a shaky gasp, “Th-That’s, that’s not fair…”

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

That Evening – The Royal Bedroom.

“He kissed you?”

“Yes!” Cordelia gushed, holding a hand over her chest as she spun in circles on the spot, the brief explanation she’d intended to give rapidly getting away from her, “Gods, Sumia! It was incredible! He just suddenly, ahh, he just grabbed me, and held me right against the wall! I couldn’t believe it, I didn’t even know what to… He was just so, so manly! I never would have expected anything like that from him, of all people!”

Sagging against the wall with a dizzy sigh, as if re-enacting the moment, Cordelia’s face burned a happy crimson as she pictured the image, she’d been itching to talk about this for days now! Of course, she hadn’t intended to say anything, she had too much pride to just kiss-and-tell like a giggling schoolgirl… But, Sumia had noticed her acting strangely and she’s gotten a little caught up in her thoughts, and surely it was okay to tell her best friend!

“He was so passionate! It was like he couldn’t resist, it felt like something straight out of one of a Thornstein novel, it was electrifying!”

While it had been a shock at the time, after having some time to think about it, as well as to unintentionally embellish some of the details in her head as she replayed it over and over through her mind, Cordelia had found herself rather relishing her surprising first kiss.

For as long as she could remember, she’d always thought she liked men like (how she envisioned) Chrom; someone kind and sweet, who would always be romantic and gentle with the woman he loved, letting her take the lead and do things at her own pace. But recently, after having her thoughts return so often to those few moments she’d spent held tight in Robin’s arms, she was starting to think that perhaps she could see the appeal of a more aggressive, slightly forceful lover; someone who knew what he wanted and took it without reservation- someone the exact opposite of her.

“He kissed you?” the Queen repeated in a dull deadpan, not even slightly swept up in the red-head’s romantic exaggerations, “Robin kissed you?”

“Er…” crashing back down to Earth with an awkward laugh, Cordelia belatedly remembered just why she hadn’t meant to say anything to Sumia. Her friend’s support of Robin and Lucina as a couple wasn’t exactly a secret, without even getting into how close she was to young Morgan.

From the stony look she could see on the Queen’s face, it seemed clear that the only woman Sumia thought Robin should be kissing was her daughter.

“No, well, it wasn’t, it wasn’t like that…” she sighed, shaking away the excitement and returning back to her previous explanation, “It didn’t mean anything, it was well… it’s like I said, I was feeling down and, and feeling unwanted I suppose.”

Her heart hurt slightly at the admission. She knew it was the truth, kissing her like that hadn’t meant anything to him, it was just his way of shocking her out of the rut she always seemed to find herself in… but, it had meant a lot to her. Building the fantasy of it up in her mind really had been pleasant, she’d had almost surprisingly intense daydreams of being desired so forcefully ever since. He was a dastard for stealing her first kiss so callously, but it was hard to be mad at him when her heart raced leapt excitedly at the thought of it.

“Robin was just being a friend, that was his way of supporting me.” 

Sumia didn’t look convinced.

“Ha… Well, it was certainly unorthodox, but, I did feel a lot better! I even went on a date with Ricken the next day.”

That, unfortunately, had been the exact same awkward, frustrating experience she’d been dreading. Still, at least it had made Severa happy, she’d spent most of the date just focussing on remembering the glowing smile her daughter had completely failed to hide. Thankfully, he hadn’t tried to kiss her again, she wasn’t sure how she would have reacted to that.

She’d always been very careful never to say anything to Sumia about her feelings for the younger boy (or, the lack thereof), she could never bring herself to, Sumia had just always been so happy for her, so happy she had finally found someone for herself. After everything that had happened with Chrom and how she’d acted in the past, Cordelia knew she couldn’t possibly bear to let Sumia worry about her anymore, her patheticness had already caused more than enough problems for her oldest friend.

A familiar weight settled in the pit of her stomach at that last thought, her mind returning guiltily to her actions in the lead up to the Royal Wedding, ‘Thank Naga for Robin…’

“You did, with Ricken?” The Queen’s gaze softened, and she looked almost out of place for a moment, “You know, it… it doesn’t have to be Ricken yo-”

“Oh! I forgot to tell you!” Cordelia, swiftly interrupted, cutting off that thought before it went in a troubling direction, “Before he, er, beforehekissedme… When we were talking, Robin admitted that he’s in love with Lucina!”

“H-He did!”

Dreams of cute little Grandchildren were suddenly dancing before the Queen’s eyes at that piece of gossip.

“Absolutely! He told me that, h-”

The door to the royal bedroom suddenly blasted open, crashing into the wall with far too much energetic force,

“Mother!” Cynthia laughed, bouncing into the room with just as much enthusiasm, “Aha! Here you are! I was looking all over you, I need some advice!”

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

“Er- Cynthia?” Sumia blinked, at the young Pegasus Knight who’d quickly captured the attention of the room, “What’s wrong? Weren’t you spending time with your father?”

Ever since their discussion a few days ago, Chrom had been taking her through some basic dancing lessons in an effort to help improve her co-ordination.

“We’re done already,” she announced proudly. And, her father had barely even been limping when they’d wrapped up, so she knew she’d already improved! “That’s actually part of why I’ve been looking for you!”

“Oh?”

Perhaps uncharacteristically, Cynthia paused a moment, not entirely sure how to explain herself. The dancing, was going well, even better than expected, she could already feel her balance improving and she was sure she’d do even better than normal the next time the Pegasus Knight Trainees had a grounded training session.

No, the dancing itself, was fine. Her problem was everything else wrapped up in it. Her problem was that everything that seemed to be going well, or making her happy right now all seemed to stem from one source. After all, the one who’d always looked after her when she’d been injured during training had been Robin. The one who’d asked her father to teach her had been Robin. The one who she always thought of when she was lying on the ground, bloody and bruised, was Robin. And... the man she’d sworn to protect, to save if he was ever in danger, almost before she’d realised what she was saying, had been Robin.

At the time, she’d told herself that was only natural, he’d done so much for her and he was so important to Lucina, even if she couldn’t be his Hero, of course she should protect him. But now, more than ever and especially as she felt herself improving, her mind kept coming back to him and it left her emotions feeling more jumbled up than ever.

Obviously she wasn’t in love with him or anything! He was already taken! And he totally wasn’t her kind’a guy at all. She liked… Well, since she’d never actually been in love, she wasn’t really all that sure what kind’a guy she did like. The only man who’d ever set her heart racing was Robin, and since she didn’t like him, it was hard to tell. Still! She was sure it would be someone really heroic! …Not that Robin wasn’t Heroic, in his own way, she supposed, he had died to save the world after-all, that was pretty big. But it was different. He never said any cool lines and he didn’t even have a catchphrase! Who would read a story about someone like that!?

She didn’t like feeling so confused about all this, and she didn’t know what to think about everything that had happened, so, she thought it was high time she learned about all this sort’a thing! “Yeah, you two, well, you’ve got that book club you run, right?”

Cordelia blinked, not expecting to have been drawn into the discussion, “Er, yes? Yes, that’s right.”

Technically, rather than just running the club, they were also the only consistent members; Robin had stopped attending regularly after becoming too busy during the wars and hadn’t improved his attendance since, Lissa and Maribelle both only came sporadically, Nah always seemed to complain about their taste in books and few of the other Shepherds had joined in more than once or twice.

That was probably why Sumia’s eyes had suddenly lit up at hearing of her daughter’s sudden interest in their hobby.

“O-Okay, so then, can you recommend me a book, about, er… about l-love?”

Sumia’s eyes were glowing brighter than ever, “Oh! You’re looking for a romance novel?!”

“Y-Yeah!” Cynthia blushed in embarrassment but still maintained her determination none the less, “That’s only natural, isn’t it? Heroes need to know all about love!”

Love, Truth and Justice! Every one of her idols fought for those ideals, what kind of Hero would she hope to be in comparison if she didn’t learn about something so fundamental?

“Ooooh!”
“Ah!”

Listening to her enthusiasm, both veteran members of the book club practically shook with excitement! No matter the reasons, there wasn’t anything better than helping guide a new reader into the hobby and romance novels in particular were a (not so) guilty pleasure of both women- it was a shared enjoyment that had spurred their dreams on and kept each of them company through any number of lonely and bitter days before they’d joined the Shepherds.

And so, in short order, Cynthia was practically dragged over to the far side of the royal bedroom, whereupon a previously inauspicious closet was forcefully thrown open and shelves upon shelves of books -of all kinds and styles- were spread out before the young Pegasus Knight’s surprised eyes.

The royal library was one thing, but she’d never known her mother had such an avid collection all to herself. Unfortunately, it was a revelation she had only a second to dwell on before a well-worn, grey novella was thrust into her arms.

“Oh! Oh! You’ve got to read this one! Galloping into Love!” the Queen cooed, “Have you heard about it? It’s about a Pegasus Knight, just like you, and the Prince she saves on the battlefield!”

“This one, you should try this one too!” Cynthia gushed, interrupting and plopping an equally well-read blue book atop the first, “Ahh, The Heart’s Desire, it’s about a Knight who falls for her best friend’s lover! It’s so sad, but then, she com-”

“Hey! Don’t spoil it!” Sumia chastised, taking the opportunity to drop a thin black book atop the pile as the two older women giggled to each other, both reaching in for yet another title.

“E-Eh?” Cynthia gaped, as the process quickly repeated, barely able to make out even the title of one book before another was dropped atop it. She could only stare in bewilderment as the explanations quickly began to overlap, never-mind the rampant enthusiasm.

An older looking red book was added, “-one is very exciting! The Prince is so manly!”
Another blue book, this time with a whole series of bookmarks sticking out, was handed over, “-but she doesn’t give in, she knows her Pegasus will be able to recognise her true love!”
A thick brown book with a gaudy illustration on the front was pushed into her hands, “-commander falls ill unexpectedly, so she’s called up to guard the Royal Family.”
Another black book was added atop that, “-actually the Prince in disguise, the entire time!”
A small green hardback was passed over next, “-a trainee, but in her first battle she winds up saving his life!”

On and on it went, until the trainee Pegasus Knight’s arms were stacked high with romance novella and all the most well-worn titles had either been suggested, or practically forced onto her. Then, finally, just as they were both nodding to themselves in satisfaction, Cordelia’s eyes were suddenly caught on the lower left corner of the bookshelf, her eyebrows shooting up in surprise as an unexpected title took her attention.

“Oh! You’ve got Strategies of Desire too?” She laughed, pulling a small white book from the collection, “I really liked this one.”

Not matching her enthusiasm this time, Sumia simply shrugged in response, “It was so highly recommended, I had to check it out. I never really got into it though, I didn’t even finish it.”

“Really? I really enjoyed it! I loved how she wrote the man in this one, it was such a great change from usual. He was brilliant, so smart it was as if he could see through anything!”

The Queen shrugged once more, it was clear where their preferences laid.

Leaning carefully around the pile in her arms, Sumia could see that this one, in stark contrast to the rest of the books she held, seemed to be almost in pristine condition. Was it really so different from the rest? She couldn’t help but be curious about that. “What’s it about?”

“A Pegasus Knight and a Scholar,” her mother explained briefly, “He impresses her commander with some of his suggestions, so he’s brought in to help her squad with their strategies on the battlefield.”

“He teaches her about tactics, she teaches him about combat, and together they both learn about love!” Cordelia swooned, jumping in and finishing with a far more enthusiastic explanation, “It’s very torrid though! It almost didn’t even get published!”

Cynthia wasn’t really sure what that meant and she wasn’t particularly convinced either way, “I dunno, a scholar?” she shrugged, “I prefer a more, action-hero kind’a guy!”

Well, she figured that was probably true.

“Exactly!” Sumia agreed, “It’s one thing to be ri-”

“Oh come on!” Cordelia insisted, reaching up and simply dropping the book atop the pile before either of them could stop her, “Just give it a chance. You said you wanted to learn all about love, didn’t you?”

Well, she could hardly argue that. And, maybe a change of pace from the other books could be good, it might give her a different perspective.

“Now…” her mother’s sing-song voice interrupted that thought as she rounded on Cynthia with a wide smile, “Isn’t it about time you told us? Why the sudden interest in love? What’s happened?”

“It’s because Inigo’s coming back soon, isn’t it?” Cordelia’s smile was just as excited as she stepped up on the other side of her, her eyes shining with interest in romantic gossip.

“E-Eh!?”

“Oooh, you’re right! Inigo? Hmm, should I invited Olivia around for some tea then?”

“Unless, it’s not about Owain is it? He’s been back for a few weeks now, did something happen?”

Shifting uncomfortably, Cynthia edged herself backwards a few steps.

“It’s not that North-harbour noble’s son is it? Prena? You did seem to get on well with him during the last meet.”

“Er, ah… Wha? H-Hey!?”

Blushing madly and thoroughly unable to even begin a response, it was quite some time before Cynthia was able to manage a hasty (but heroic) retreat.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

The Palace Kitchens.

“Are you sure you’ve got everything, Noire, sweetie? You sure baked a lot today.”

“Y-Yes, I think so,” Noire nodded bashfully, wilting under the warm smiles of what felt like the entire palace kitchen staff as they saw her off, “Th-Thank you again.”

“Haw! Haw! Haw! I should be the one saying that!” Baynor, the Head Chef answered, patting his rotund stomach and nodding to a long tray of pies cooling across the main counter, “I should be the one saying that, I think. You’re far more useful to have around than half these damn layabouts!”

It was something of an agreement she’d reached with the staff some time ago, in return for helping out around the kitchen, cleaning or baking or whatever else she could handle, they let her use an area of it for her own baking needs.

Truthfully, most of them were just awed to be working alongside one of the famed Shepherds and if she’d simply asked, they would have happily let her use the facilities for free…but, in contrast to her mother’s well-furnished room above, she couldn’t bear to ever take advantage of someone’s generosity like that.

“Now, don’t you worry hunnie!” Madame Sylvia pushed her way to the head of the small crowd and clapped the archer on the shoulder, “You’re using one of MY recipes this time, there’s no man alive that can resist my cooking!”

“That’s right, Noire,” Matilda, one of the younger kitchen girls added, her face glowing red with enthusiasm, “You’ve made it perfectly, just feed it to him like that and I know he’ll be eating out of your hand in no time!”

“Mhmm! And, I keep saying, you’ve got to bring him around with you next time!” Sofia, her twin sister, joined in, “I wanna meet this mystery man of yours already!”

“I-It’s not! It’s not like that!” Noire stammered desperately, blushing a furious scarlet and wishing terribly that she’d never so carelessly admitted her baking was for a man, all those months ago, “I’m, I’m not trying to seduce him!”

As always, her protests fell on deaf ears. And this time, it definitely didn’t help that she was baking for Robin again, so soon after her previous offering…. But, after giving him what had become practically Severa’s leftovers, she’d felt so guilty she hadn’t been able to resist.

“I’m just… He just works s-so hard, I just want to, to look after him.”

“For life right?” One of the twins cooed, cradling her hands against her chin with a dazzling smile.
“So you can cook for him every night?” The other agreed, looking equally charmed by the apparent romance.

“Geez… You always look so damn panicked,” Sam, one of the male kitchen hands complained with a sigh, pushing the younger girls away, “Aren’t you meant to be a hero? Have some more confidence in yourself.”

Noire nodded stiffly, that was exactly the kind of advice Severa (and her mother, in her own roundabout way) was always trying to give her.

“Haw! They’re right though, every man dreams of coming home to a beautiful wife and a proper cooked meal!”

“Mhmm! The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.”
“You really do have to bring this guy over, I wanna tell this guy off for leading you on for so long! You’re too good for that sweetie!”
“You know, if you make a move soon, you can still be married before the summer ends! We’re all coming along, okay?”
“Hah, just remember what I taught you. Wait till he’s started, then tell him you wanna invite him home for dinner. Bring him home, then stuff him so full he’ll never wanna leave! *BAM* Hook, line and sinker!”

“U-Uh, Ahh…”

Overwhelmed by their kind support and not-so-subtle insinuations, Noire couldn’t build up the courage to try correct their misunderstandings again. So, after bowing gratefully and thanking them for their generosity once more, she meekly shuffled out, away from the comforting warmth of the kitchen and set off- her plans for the night, and tomorrow, dancing excitedly through her head.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Cynthia’s night was not going how she’d hoped.

After somewhat uncharacteristically holding back her curiosity, she’d taken her time bathing herself and cleaning herself before finally slipping into a light nightgown and thrown herself atop her bed, eager to immerse herself in romantic tales and emerge from this night as a (heroic) master of love.

Unfortunately, after barely a few hours, she had a tall pile of discarded tittles heaped up on the floor and an equally large sense of frustrated disappointment. Few of the books had lasted more than a few minutes.

“Uhhaaaaaaa, this sucks…” She whined, flopping onto her back and reaching out over the mattress, letting the latest novel fall limply from her hands, down to where the rest lay. She hadn’t even made it past skimming through the opening chapter with this, as soon as she’d seen the setup, that had been enough.

The problem, she was fast realising, was that these books were all written for Ylissean women, and Ylissean women had very specific tastes.

It wasn't that the Heroine involved almost always seemed to be a Pegasus Knight; she was a Pegasus Knight herself! It was a noble and heroic endeavour, perfect for a romantic tale! The fact that it seemed to be viewed in an idealistic light only spoke well about the kind of people Ylisseans looked up!

Nor was it an issue that the Hero always seemed to be the Prince; she’d grown up hearing all kinds of fairy-tales about Princes rescuing or being rescued by Princesses like her, that was just the kind of man she wanted to meet, a great, heroic, Prince!

Unfortunately however, while the stories she’d heard as a child had never gone into great detail about just what kind of man the Prince was, these books were far more detailed and, as she’d soon discovered, after living for so many hundreds of years guided by the benevolent Royal Family, the women of Ylisse had a very specific image in mind.

Which meant, book after book, no matter whether he was in disguise or walking openly, the man in these romance novels was always the same- Tall and ruggedly handsome, with thick blue hair and the brand of Ylisse emblazoned proudly on his body. No matter what name he went by, no matter what situation he found himself in, the man involved was always a splitting image of her Father.

“Urrrgh!” She groaned again, trying to shake that image from her mind. She could understand why her mother would enjoy books like these, but for her…it was a little off putting.

Flopping listlessly onto her stomach, she flicked aimlessly through the now smaller pile stacked up next to her pillow, discarding one book after another, until, “Oh!” she found herself staring down at a certain title, “Strategies of Desire? Wasn’t this the one the Commander recommended?”

A quick glance across the cover seemed to agree with that- rather than a picture of another muscular, blue-haired Prince, this one depicted a much calmer looking man, one with (thankfully) brown hair and a robe akin the what the mages wore.

“A scholar, huh… Something a little like Robin?”

That definitely wasn’t an exciting thought, because she definitely didn’t like Robin and he absolutely wasn’t the kind of man she was into… But, after surrounding herself with stories of actiony-heroic kind’a guys that reminded her waaaaay too much of her father, she couldn’t deny it was an appealing change. And, anyway, the guy on the cover wasn’t bad to look at either, although, as she flicked it open, she couldn’t help but think that he would have suited the role a little more if he’d had shaggy white hair and a cool, mysterious cloak instead.

A Tactic-Scholar, a Scholar and a Pegasus Knight, after skimming through so many other ideas, that seemed like a very appealing idea! She’d completely forgotten about it, of all the books she’d borrowed it was the one she’d expected to enjoy the least, “Well, can’t hurt. The Commander did say I should learn about all kinds of love.”

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Finally arriving home again, Noire made certain to lock the apartment door behind her before she slipped into the kitchen, settling her baking into a cool cupboard, ready to be cooked for Robin tomorrow.

‘Robin…’

Chewing anxiously on her lip, her heart pulsed for a moment at that thought, the sight of the finished pie serving as assurance that she was committed now, that she would definitely be seeing the man tomorrow. The same nervous excitement as ever built within her at that thought, but she shrugged it off as best she could, ignoring the red tinge in her cheeks and the quickness of her breath as she made her way to her room, stripping off her everyday wear and dropping them in a tidy heap on the floor- breathing a pleasant sigh of relief as her massive breasts bounced free into the warm night air, released from the confines of her bra.

“Ah-hhaaa.”

Being able to expose herself so openly like this was such a simple joy, one of the advantages of living alone, but it was something she’d never once experienced in all her life until months after the end of the war, when Robin had returned and her mother had, more or less, moved back into the Palace; she would have never dared be so brazen if there was a single chance that anyone else would see her.

Tonight however, she knew there was no risk of that. She’d visited her mother’s royal suite after leaving the kitchens and had been told that she would be staying there, just the same as she did most nights, as close to the Tactician as possible. Noire didn’t mind, not really, she could still see her mother whenever she wished and being entrusted with what had become essentially her own apartment (especially after she’d changed up the décor) was an incredibly kind gesture.

…And, on nights like this, living alone was really, very convenient…

Heart clenching with a very familiar guilt, Noire slunk quietly from her room.

She always visited Tharja after she’d finished baking something for Robin. Partially because she always cherished the time she was able to spend with her mother and partially because she wanted to leave her some of her creations… But, primarily, because she wanted to make sure she would have some privacy.

“Sorry Mother,” she whispered as she reached the other woman’s room, running her fingers along the doorjamb and confidently undoing the various wards setup around the entrance, the very same wards she’d secretly replaced the previous time she was here, “I’m not the good girl you think I am.” 

Despite being alone in the house, it was impossible for her not to practically tiptoe across the bedroom as she made her way to her mother’s desk, kneeling before it and releasing the magic seals, traps and alarms just as confidently as she had to the ones around the doorway. She absolutely, positively was not meant to be doing this…which, of course, was why she’d never let on that she could. This, and everything else around her feelings for the Tactician, were the only things she’d ever kept secret from the woman. Her heart pounded with guilt as she removed a small key from a hidden compartment on the underside of the desk and used it to unlock the bottom drawer, but still she didn’t hesitate in sliding it open, it was the only thing she could do.

Inside, after unhooking one last alarm, Noire lifted out a beautiful wooden box, created from magically polished Maplewood, with burnished gold hinges and lacking even a single speck of dust or wear, it was undoubtedly a treasure. Her breath caught sharply in her throat as she lifted it reverently out and settled it atop the desk, undoing the latches and carefully easing it open.

And then, all at once, all her nervousness and anxiety was settled instantly… How could it not be when she now had Robin’s smiling face staring warmly back up at her?

“Ahh…”

No matter how many times she saw it, still it took her breath away each time. Inside the box were pictures of the Shepherd’s Tactician, hundreds and hundreds of pictures of him, all stacked into three tidy piles and all with such incredible detail she almost expected them to start moving or talking. Bursting with full and vibrant colour, displaying the man exactly as he looked, they were like no portraits or paintings Noire had ever seen. From the little she’d been able to find out, she’d discovered they’d apparently been created by a very fragile and very expensive device her mother had purchased from Anna.

This was Tharja’s secret, one she doubted anyone else in the army knew and one she’d only found out by complete accident several years back, before the march to Plegia. Despite having had entirely pure intentions at the time, Noire had been far too terrified of admitting to snooping around her mother’s tent, so she’d never said a word about having discovered the stash and, after her curiosity got the better of her, she’d returned ever since, time and time again, surreptitiously watching the collection getting larger and larger throughout the rest of the war and even afterwards, following his incredible return, right up until it had completely halted a few weeks ago. She wasn’t quite sure what to make of that part, her mother seemed just as adoring of Robin as ever, so she couldn’t imagine any reason for her to stop, she suspected the Camera had broken, or run out of magic, but she would never dare even dreaming of touching it to check.

Still, she reminded herself as she began flipping through the piles, it wasn’t as if she lacked for selection even so. There were countless pictures stacked up before her, all focused solely on the Tactician, images of him in all manner of situations, eating, studying, working, sleeping and even a few taken of him taken somehow in the midst of battle. What she was looking for however…

‘Ah!’ her heart skipped a beat, ‘Found it!’

…Was one very specific image. Humming gently in satisfaction, she pulled it carefully from the pile and cupped it in her hands, pausing in place just to stare at the usual guiltily familiar sight. Among the collection, it wasn’t anything unique, there was a good handful of others with just the same or similar subject matter, but it was the first one Noire had ever seen, and it had been special to her for that reason ever since.

Taken in what she assumed must have been the hot-springs the Shepherds had visited in Chon’sin, Robin was depicted looking lazily back up at her with an uncharacteristically relaxed expression on his face. Standing tall and proud before her, his lean musculature was captured in perfect detail and she could even make out several small scars usually hidden under his clothing as she traced her eyes down his battle-hardened body. Typically covered up in his habitual cloak, it was easy to forget just how toned their Tactician was; without a trace of fat anywhere to be see, he may not have been the most muscular Shepherd, but his frame radiated an assured strength that was no less impressive. It was incredibly rare to see him so open and exposed like this, that fact alone would have caught Noire’s attention, however, that wasn’t what had made this picture so memorable to her.

‘R-Robin.’

Instead, that came down to the simple fact that, in this picture, as he gazed out of the picture with the distant hint of a smile, Robin was walking toward the bath with his towel slung over his shoulder… Which allowed Noire to guiltily, lustfully, trace her eyes all the way down his body, especially including the sight of his cock hanging free between his legs, “Ah-hhaaa.” Unaroused, it still dangled round and thick, several long inches below his waist, while she had nothing to compare it to and there weren’t any pictures showing anything like that, she’d come to understand that when excited, it would even somehow become significantly larger.

A warm thrill ran through her spine. She’d returned to this scene countless times over the years, as well as many other similar ones within Tharja’s collection, but it retained a special place in her heart all the same; it was the first time she’d ever seen a naked man.

Breath hitching in her throat, she quickly flattened the picture against her voluptuous chest and fled the room.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

“O-Ooh, oh wow!”

Propping herself up onto her elbows from where she was lying on her stomach, with her face burning bright crimson and an excited heat swirling through her body, Cynthia’s eyes were glued tight to the pages before her.

She hadn’t been quite sure what to think at first, the plot had been a nice change from what she’d read so far, but she’d quickly found that as far as Tactician’s went, she much preferred Robin to the man depicted; the man in the story was quiet and withdrawn in ways she knew Robin would have been confidant and re-assuring. In the end, she’d begun enjoying herself much more as soon as she’d begun replacing some of his dialogue with things she as sure the Shepherd’s Grandmaster would be saying in his place- and so, lines like “Elina! Th-That was dangerous!” became “Cynthia, that was incredible! You saved us all!”, which, as far as she was concerned, was far more romantic.

Right now, however, Cynthia was just coming up to the half-way point in the book and was suddenly starting to get a very good idea of just what Cordelia had meant when she’d called it “torrid” and said it almost didn’t get published.

“Ylisse’s Flying Knights, of course, do it just the same as a Pegasus,” she read aloud in a scandalised whisper, gaping at the Heroine’s proud words as she drank in the description of the woman secluded away from the battlefield, bent over against a tree, with her panties lying around her ankles and her entire body heaving with delight as the Tactician’s thick shaft finally claimed her chastity, filling her with his desire. “Wo-Woahh…”

She hadn’t been expecting anything like this, the other novels she’d skimmed through had been a little racy, even risqué in parts but this was downright explicit. The way her careless moans filled the silent clearing, the feeling of his hands holding firm to her hips, the delight of her walls wrapped tight around his length, the ecstasy of his cock throbbing and pulsing within her... Every action, every thrust, gasp or scream was described so vividly that Cynthia was left mesmerised by the image being painted in her mind.

“Do-Does it… Does it really feel that good?” She wondered, breathing faster as she raised herself off the bed and onto her hands and knees, tentatively mimicking the same pose as the Heroine, placing herself in just the same position. She didn’t have any way to tell, no-one had ever touched her anything like what she was reading about, the closest thing was… Pausing as a rush of heat spun through her, she swallowed heavily… The closest thing was the time she’d spent with Robin.

Memories of being held tight in the Tactician’s arms rose sharply in her mind and she suddenly recalled the excitement she’d felt at being practically naked in-front of him, the sparks of pleasure that had shot through her as his fingers danced across her bare skin, the way she’d so frantically been forced to hold back her moans to keep him from realising the effect he had on her, “Ahh, mmmah.”

Spurred on by thoughts of the man her sister loved, Cynthia slipped her right hand down her body and into her panties with a low gasp. Her body shivered heavily and she suddenly realised just how aroused she truly was- her heart was racing, her nipples had become hard nubs and her juices were already pooling thick, right across her thighs.

“OooAHHHM!” A single digit slid tentatively against the heat of her entrance and the instant she made contact her entire body lit up with desire. The last time she’d felt like this Cynthia had focussed mainly on her clit -that had felt the most similar to the shocking pleasure she’d felt run through her when Robin’s fingertips had brushed over her breasts- but this time, she took her guidance from the pages before her and the scene still burned in her mind, spreading her pussy lips open before carefully sinking two fingers inside, gasping and panting as she sought out the sensitive areas she’d seen described so vividly.

Body pulsing in delight, her walls squeezed tight and, letting loose a long moan, Cynthia tried to pretend she was feeling herself wrapped around the same hard shaft from her imagination. Having never seen a naked man, she wasn’t sure just how big it was meant to be, but, given how tight it felt just squeezing two fingers inside herself, she doubted it could be much larger than that- she didn’t know if she could handle anything more than that.

Slowly adjusting to the pleasure, Cynthia began to move, her massive breasts bouncing through the air as she rocked herself in place, gasping aloud as her body trembled and shaking her hips back harder against her fingers in response, excitedly acting out the scene she could see in her mind, “R-Robin… Robin, hhaa, you, you feel so good!”

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

“I-I’m sorry, I’m sorry!”

Lying spread out naked atop her bed, with one hand between her legs and the other holding the picture she’d borrowed aloft, Noire was staring at the image of the Tactician with guilt and lust throbbing through her body in heavy amounts.

“Ro-Robin, hhnng, I’m sorry, I don’t mean to be so weird!” She knew this was not okay, that she was invading his privacy and treating him as if he was just some object of lust, she couldn’t imagine what he would think of her if he found out.

Rolling the tip of her index finger directly over her clit, Noire’s hips bucked into the air and she screamed in delight, taking full advantage of the empty apartment as the familiar sparks of pleasure speared through her. She’d done this by herself too, but Gods, it felt so much better when she had the image of Robin to look at it, drinking in his naked form as she revelled in the bliss swirling through her own…it was almost more than she could take.

“Nhgh, Mother, Mother, hha, I’m sorry, I can’t help it!” She knew her mother loved him, everyone knew it, she’d even known it in the future when she’d only been a child, it was part of the reason she’d never been too concerned about the identity of her father, because her mother loved Robin, that was all that mattered. She knew she took after her mother a lot but she’d never intended to take after her like this, she’d never wanted to fall in love with the same man she’d adored in her childhood. And, even worse for the sake of the guilt throbbing through Noire’s chest, while Tharja didn’t spend the night here very often anymore, when she’d used to it would usually be after the end of a long, tiring day, whereupon she would go directly to her room and lock the door after her. The majority of her hexing equipment was kept in the Palace, so knowing about her secret box, it wasn’t hard for Noire to guess what she was doing…surely both mother and daughter had pleasured themselves to this very same photo. She doubted Tharja would be as willing to share as she was.

Aching for more, Noire slid her hand further down, shivering in exhilaration as she spread her pussy lips open, before hungrily plunging two fingers into her tunnel. Feeling the digits suddenly scraping along her inner walls, a shock went through her body and it took almost all her willpower to keep from creasing the picture in her other hand as she arched backwards in delight. Breathing his name, Noire’s focus shifted entirely to the sight of Robin’s cock, marvelling at the thick shaft hanging low from his waist as her walls clamped tight around her. Naga! It was so tight, just like this, no matter how wet she was, she could still barely push both fingers inside, she couldn’t imagine how something like that would fit into her… More than that though, she tried to imagine how incredible it would be if he was aroused, to imagine him long and hard and surely stretching her walls wide around him.

“Lu-Lucina… Ahh, hhaa, I’m sorry, I’m, I’m not trying to steal him, I swear!” She knew Robin was going to be with Lucina, she wanted him to be with Lucina at least as much as she wanted him to be with her mother, they worked perfectly together, they were well suited together, they even had a child together! She respected Lucina more than anyone, for years in the future she’d been their guiding light and practically the embodiment of their hope, if anyone deserved to be happy it was her, she would never want to try steal her man, no matter if she loved him.

Bucking her hips a few inches from the bed, Noire’s uncharacteristically shameless moans grew even louder as her fingers drove even harder into herself, her quivering legs spreading even wider apart as her mind’s eye filled with the thought of the White-Haired Tactician atop her, his arms cradling her neck and her body entirely captive to his pleasure.

“Nnnghhh, I’m sorry, I don’t mean to be, hha, to be like this! I’m sorry,” she repeated, again and again, her words coming unsteadily as her arousal coursed higher and higher, “Robin! Nhgh, it’s, this is the only way I can stay sane!”

She’d felt like this ever since that day, and it had only become worse since. The more time she spent with him, the more she got to know him and the deeper in love with him she fell, the harder it had become to remind herself that she would be happy for him and Lucina, or him and her mother, or, or him and whoever else he chose. The closer she got to him, the more difficult it became to remember that she would never be with him like that, that she was more than content simply being at his side and that everyone was happier like that.

“Robin… Nhhaa, I- I love you! I love you! I love you!”

This was the only chance she would have to say the words she could never tell him. If she didn’t do this, if she didn’t release all her romantic energy and all her pent-up desires, there was no way she could possibly face him as his friend tomorrow.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

“Nghha! Ahnnaa! Mmph!”

With the book already pushed aside and her supporting arm having collapsed under her, Cynthia was lying face-down into her mattress, with her panties long since kicked off, her bare ass was hanging in the air, shaking back and forth as her inexperienced fingers pumped frantically into her pussy. Screaming her moans directly into the bedsheets, her entire body trembled and the still unfamiliar pleasure built higher and hotter, beyond what she could possibly control, until all that was left in her world were those feelings and the image of the scene in her mind, the thought of him holding tight to her waist, crying out her name as his shaft filled her, again and again, faster and harder!

“Ah! AH! AHH! R-RooOOOBIN! It’s too good, I’m, I’m, IAHYAAAAAAA!”

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

“Robin! I’m, I’m getting close!”

Pushed backwards into her bed, with her hips shaking in place against her fingers and arched a few inches into the air, Noire’s focus had shifted up the image once more- now staring, with all her heart, deep into the Tactician’s warm eyes, she was blissfully riding out the waves of pleasure crashing through her, keeping her gaze locked only on him as she felt herself finally pushed beyond what she could resist, the bliss growing to a crescendo within her. Even as her eyes glazed over and her world flashed white, still she only saw him.

“Ahh! I-I love you, Robin, I, I love yooOOU! NGHAHHHHNNNNNNN!”

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Lying flipped over onto her back and breathing hard as the lingering feelings slowly ebbed out of her, Cynthia was left feeling more confused than ever. ‘I was… I was thinking about Robin…’ She’d tried not to think about it, or to pass it off when it had happened before, but now, lying clad only in a thin nightgown, with her juices slick all across her thigh and her body still tingling from the ecstasy, this time she couldn’t possibly deny that it was Robin, her sister’s boyfriend, that she’d been fantasising about.

‘But, but he’s going to marry Lucy…’

She swallowed hard. They’d already done that, everything she’d been reading out, what she’d just been fantasising about, they’d already done it for real. A small spike of jealousy pulsed within her at that thought, mixing with the guilt now hitting her and the pleasure still ebbing from her core, leaving her more confused than ever.

‘I-I don’t know what to think… Should I… Should I say something to her?’

What would she say? She definitely wasn’t going to do anything but… but, fantasising about her sister’s fiancé was definitely, definitely not Heroic!

Ultimately, Cynthia wasn’t one for excess self-reflection, so after another minute of sitting in confusion, she re-focussed on what she could do, right now. Turning over, she wriggled across the bed and picked up the book from where it had been hastily shoved aside, ‘I should put this away.’ Obviously, she needed to be a lot more careful, this book gave rise to dangerous thoughts.

‘Ah,’ chewing on her lip, she hesitated, ‘It… It did feel reaaaaaaally good.’

She was still shocked by just how good it had felt, being wrapped up in her fantasy like that, better than anything she’d felt before. The only thing that had even been comparable had been the night after Robin had accidently brushed against her bare breasts when giving her a massage, when she’d attempted to mimic his touch and wound up getting lost in an intense desire. This had been even better than that.

Her chest tingled at that memory and, as a small warmth thrummed through her core once more, Cynthia was distantly aware that she was still lying practically naked atop her bedsheets, and that she still hadn’t retrieved her panties.

‘I did learn quite a lot,’ she reasoned, although, none of it had been about love, ‘I-I guess, it wouldn’t hurt to at least finish it?’

She wanted to know more about this stuff, she wanted to stop being surprised and bewildered by everything she felt anytime she was around Robin, or anytime she thought of him. It was frustrating, it made her feel like even more of an inexperienced virgin than she was.

And so, with her mind made up, Cynthia pulled herself into a seated position, leaning back against her bedhead, holding the book in one hand and flicking the book open to where she’d left of… And, as she did so, her other hand, still sticky with her juices, drifted slowly down, back between her legs.

The pages were as colourfully descriptive as ever, and before she even knew it, the younger Pegasus Knight was once more drifting off to a welcome fantasy about an overly sensual mission spent in the company of a White-Haired Tactician.

“Ah-hh, mmm.”

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

“Ohhh, that was… that was wonderful,” Noire cooed, relaxing happily back down into the covers as she stared loving up at the picture still held carefully in her right hand, “Sorry for being like this, I… I just always feel so much better when I can see you.”

Wrapped up in the warmth of her love and the lingering bliss still pulsing through her, she brought the image down, closing her eyes and laying a soft kiss directly atop where Robin’s lips were, just as she had so many times in the past and just as she was sure Tharja must have too.

It was strange being in love with the man her mother was obsessed with, it was stranger too to ache for the man that made her friend so happy. Usually just thinking about it would agonise her with uneasy guilt, leaving her convincing herself, reminding herself, that she would never act on her feelings- that, no matter how deep they ran, she would never let them be more than a private fantasy… But right now, with her eyes closed, her body thrumming happily with delight and thoughts of Robin drifting through her head, right now she could only feel happy.

“Mmmm.”

Basking in her thoughts, Noire’s pussy throbbed gently from the lingering pleasure and a small spark of desire flared into life once more.

And this time, when she opened her eyes, they sparkled with a touch of mischievousness. And, as she leant towards the picture once more, this time when she laid a kiss upon the Tactician, she’d moved her lips decidedly lower, pressing them futily against the shaft she’d longed to taste.

“Ahh, Robin…” She breathed, her fingers already tracing a course across her thighs, “…You can go another round, can’t you?”

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Meanwhile, in another part of the Castle altogether, the object of their affection was wrapped up in thoughts of his own, his gaze travelling idly around the darkened room as his thoughts drifted.

‘It’s been some time since I’ve seen Lissa so insistent.’ He mused, sparing a warm glance down at the young blonde Princess lying nestled against his left shoulder. Apparently, perfectly comfortable using him as a pillow, her naked body was pressed warm against him, fitting easily into the arm he had draped around her but, her sleeping face at least, was finally looking calm and satisfied once more.

After catching him coming up from a late dinner in the Palace kitchens, Lissa had practically pushed him into Tharja’s room.

‘Well, not that she minded much.’ Robin added with a wry grin, turning to his right where the Dark Mage was lying curled up just as securely against him, her incredible body squished tight around his and a look of equal contentment clear on her face as she purred softly in her sleep.

One gorgeous woman sleeping on his left and another on his right, the only difference between them right now was that while Lissa’s clothing had all been eagerly stripped off and strewn throughout the room, Tharja had very obstinately refused to part with the silver bangle wrapped around her upper arm, the gift he’d recently given her along with his promise to grant her a child, both pieces of information she’d very proudly informed the shocked Princess. Robin hadn’t exactly expected for anyone else to know about either of those things and, considering the work still to do in his office, this wasn’t how he’d planned to spend the night… But, even so, he still couldn’t think of a single reason to complain.

Leaning back into the mattress from where they were all currently wrapped up in the Plegian Witch’s bed, Robin also couldn’t help but smile at the sight of both woman’s fingers linked together across his chest, ‘They’ve really become a lot closer since this began between the three of us, huh?’ He couldn’t remember any specific animosity between the two of them before-hand, but it would have been hard to have considered either of them friends. Well, really, it would have been hard to consider anyone but him or Nowi friends with Tharja in the first place.

It was a complete surprise, to be frank. When Tharja had finally convinced him of the terrible role he would be playing in his comrade’s lives, he’d been determined that, until he came clean to Lucina, he would keep his actions completely hidden, known only to the two of them. And, while that aspect was still true, he certainly had never intended to bring Tharja and Lissa, of all people, together. It had been almost a spur of the moment decision, an idea that had lodged itself in his mind and captivated him almost beyond what he could resist- he was a Tactician, after all, he liked strategies and he loved bold, audacious schemes.

And now, after seeing how close the two of them had become -to the point where Lissa’s excuse for tonight had apparently been that she was spending the night with Tharja-, he couldn’t help but wonder… Given her recent disposition to him, what would Olivia think, learning about him with another woman? What about Miriel, given theirs was simply an arrangement? Or Nowi? Just like with Lissa, giving them the full picture would be playing with fire, but-

‘That’s not important right now.’ He scolded himself, cutting off his pointless musing with a frown and casting his thoughts back to the short bursts of explanation he’d managed to get out of the Princess between the gasps and groans of their wild lovemaking, the reason she’d been so upset- Lon’qu was returning to Regna Ferox.

Of course, he would have had to return at some point, he still had his duties there, but Robin hadn’t expected it to be anywhere near this soon and, judging from Lissa’s clear frustration, obviously she hadn’t been pleased to hear it either.

Obviously something was going on up North. But, that wasn’t what had left the Tactician lying awake even despite the multiple hours spent sandwiched between the affection of two beauties, whatever was happening in Regna Ferox he’d hear about eventually, either through the Ylissean intelligence network or directly from the Khan’s themselves.

Instead, what was on his mind was a far simpler thing, the upcoming Shepherd’s gathering; held roughly every month or so, depending on schedules and who was around, it was typically a fairly low-key event, really just an avenue for everyone to stay in touch despite their now completely different lifestyles. Obviously, the Shepherds living in foreign countries like Tiki, Say’ri or Flavia weren’t able to attend, but of the rest, everyone made at least some effort. Some, like Robin, Chrom and Lucina, attended every time without fail, others, like Maribelle, who lived a fair distance away, or Sully and Stahl, who were often away on missions, attended when they could, and the rest, those who kept to themselves, turned up depending entirely on their mood.

However, when word got around that Lon’qu was departing for who knows how long once again, then almost everyone in the region would turn up to wish him safe travels. Just the same as they always did whenever a friend left.

Which meant, for the first time in several months, Panne would almost certainly be in attendance.

Chewing on his lip, Robin swallowed heavily. Nowi had been dangerous enough and Nah was still a potentially dangerous outlier, he hadn’t counted on seeing Panne for quite some time yet, he’d hoped that he would have everything solved before he’d have to deal with her directly. Following the war, the Taguel woman had taken up residence on the outskirts of the great forest near the Ylissean Castle Town and become almost nomadic, no-one had any doubt that she cared deeply for her comrades, but, with her personality and especially after everything that had happened during the wars, they all understood her desire to keep to herself. She hadn’t turned up to Lon’qu’s welcome back, knowing he was safe was enough it seemed, but she’d turned up to every single leaving announcement so far and Robin was sure this would be no exception, that she would be there to wish the Swordsman safe travels once again.

‘Gods damn it…’

The more he thought about it, the more his thoughts swirled. At least after Nowi had explained just what her senses entailed, his worries about the other Manakete’s had lessened, but he had absolutely no illusions that the same would be true for their Taguel. After countless operations relying on Panne or Yarne to sniff out enemy positions, he knew just how sharp their noses were.

For a moment, he toyed with the idea of simply trying to find a reason not to attend. Unfortunately, nothing was ever that simple. Regardless of how suspicious it would be for him to suddenly avoid one of their gatherings, even if he wasn’t there, Panne would still be able to smell his scent clinging to several of the other female Shepherds, his guilt would be assured just as surely. Even the thought of trying to convince all of them not to attend was swiftly quashed, no matter how angry she may be, Lissa couldn’t possibly skip the well-wishing for her own husband… if she even tried, the other Shepherds would be liable to just try track her down!

‘And, of course…’ Robin sighed, sparing a look at the spritely blonde curled up happily against him, ‘We just spent the last few hours making it a certainty.’

If he’d known about it, he could have made plans! He could have kept some distance and avoided sleeping with her until the gathering, but, as it was, he’d already been fully sheathed inside her when she’d finally gasped out an explanation about why she was in such a bad mood!

‘Damn it… Lissa, just when did fucking me become your outlet to frustrations in your marriage?’

He felt bad the moment he thought that. It wasn’t fair to blame her and it didn’t even make him feel any better. Being both too focussed on the Princess’s assertive desire to pleasure them, neither he, nor Tharja had held anything back, he couldn’t even guess how many loads he’d released on or in her, never-mind how many times the Dark Mage’s long legs had been wrapped tight around the blonde’s head.

And, as a result, now, when Panne arrived to help send Lon’qu off… She would see his wife standing beside him, utterly soaked through with his seed and Tharja’s lust.

‘No avoiding it.’

His heart clenched slightly as he made up his mind, if a danger couldn’t be circumvented, it could only be dealt with head on.

No matter what he felt about it, or what his thoughts on the matter were, there was only one thing left to do. He already had a plan, he’d created one long ago, all that was left to do was steel his heart and to seduce another of his companions- for his sake, for Morgan’s sake, for Lucina’s sake… For the sake of everything he’d done so far and all the wrongs he’d done.

Beneath her harsh exterior, Panne was far kinder than she liked to let on, almost too much so. But, she was also one who respected strength, confidence and the determination to see a task through. That was what he would use, that was how he would make her his.

The night passed slowly from there, with the Tactician’s heart racing for several more hours. Whether that was from excitement, fear or guilt, he could no longer tell.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

A few days later.

Something felt off, Panne realised, the moment she walked through the door to the Shepherd’s barracks.

It was a curious thing, subtle and teasing, drifting on the edge of her subconscious and not something she could immediately identify. Intrigued, she made her way slowly into the building, turning her attention this way and that- everything appeared perfectly in place. On all sides she was being offered the same kind smiles and carefree greetings as usual, no matter that she saw them only rarely these days, still she knew for sure that she always had a place among them, her comrades were as warm and welcoming as ever.

And yet, again, the impression on the edge of her senses tugged at her. In the time she’d spent away, something had changed. Something was different. Mixed feelings swirled within her and she found herself frowning, reflexively narrowing her senses to a superhuman focus and examining her surroundings with an even greater level of clarity.

To her left, coming from the next room, there was the unmistakable dry, rustic smell of Donnel’s scent. She guessed him to be a little more than five metres from where she was standing and, judging from the touch of wilderness still lingering around him, thought it likely he’d arrived only earlier this same day, likely after working the fields in the morning.

Ahead of her, standing in the makeshift kitchen, there was Cherche, standing with her hands on her hips and looking just as exasperated as usual as she addressed her husband, Vaike, who was -for some reason- missing his shirt and instead, taking the occasion to flex his muscles.

Quickly turning away, lest she accidently overhear some of that conversation, she focussed instead on another equally familiar scent coming towards her from behind. Smelling of parchment, ink and a Dragon’s share of cunning, the confidence given off in Robin’s aroma was as soothing as always… ‘Ah!’ She smiled- that wasn’t quite right, was it? This smell was a little softer than she’d remembered from the Tactician, and far more feminine, mixed in with a pleasant aroma of lilac soaps and citrus oils.

She turned in place, addressing the approaching woman with a small smile, “Ah, good afternoon Luci-”

“Haha, nope!” Lissa giggled, the cleric’s blonde hair bouncing in place as she rocked onto the balls of her feet with a wide grin, apparently finding it very funny to have caught the typically sharp Taguel off guard, “Wrong Princess! Lucy’s just outside, with Severa.”

“My apologies.” Panne answered blankly, blinking in surprise.

Her composure was firmly tested for a moment as she subtly sniffed the air once more, making absolutely sure she hadn’t been mistaken, ‘What?’ There was no doubting it. Lissa, Princess of Ylisstol, wife of Lon’qu, was wearing Robin’s scent like a cloak.

She couldn’t believe it, staring stone-faced at the younger woman, she didn’t even have a clue how to react. Certainly, she’d seen Lissa in such a state many times in the past; no matter how well they’d kept it from the rest of the Shepherds , Robin and Lissa’s hidden liaisons were no secret to hers, nor had she missed the dates when their scents overlapped each year. But… This was weeks past Emmeryn’s memorial and, even more importantly, she hadn’t smelled anything like this from either of them for years, not since Lissa’s marriage and when Robin had (again, secretly) taken up with Chrom’s eldest daughter.

Was it her mistake? She wondered with a wince, of course her memory wasn’t great as to be able to remember exactly what they’d smelled so many years ago. But then, why could she smell little more than a wisp of Lon’qu’s aroma on the Princess? What possible explanation could there be for a woman to be wearing no sign of her husband beyond her ring, especially when she was almost drowned in the markings of her previous lover?

‘Is something goi-’

“Oh!” The Taguel’s thoughts were cut off as Lissa suddenly bounced on the spot, looking beyond her shoulder with an exclamation, “There’s Tharja! I was looking for her, I’ve gott’a steal one of her recipes!”

Struck by shock and confusion, Panne was left rooted in place, too focussed on the scent coming from the Blonde to manage a reply, she instead turned dumbly on the spot, following Lissa’s movements across the barracks as she jumped excitedly into conversation with the Sorceress, ‘Her too…’ Somehow, after smelling the Tactician’s scent cloaked thick around the Princess, looking over and finding it swirling just as strong around their Dark Mage was less of a surprise than it should have been.

Shifting her weight from foot to foot as she watched the display before her, Panne’s confusion only deepened, ‘Were they always such good friends?’ In all her memories she couldn’t remember Lissa ever being so friendly with Tharja before but, watching the carefree ease with which Lisa approached the usually sullen Plegian and how confidently she took the mage’s hands in her own, letting her fingers dance up and down her beautiful alabaster skin as she attempted to wheedle some information or another from her, there was no doubt to the compatibility between the two women.

Even more strangely though, after observing them silently for a few moments -watching how Tharja’s seemed to lean into Lissa’s touch rather than pull away from it- Panne realised that not only were they each bathed in Robin’s scent, but that, both also wore traces of the other mixed between them. A surprising hint of darkness and danger lay wrapped around the Princess and, if she focussed, an equally out of place streak of sunshine and cheeriness was dancing around the Sorceress.

Turning away from the two and walking in the opposite direction, Panne tried valiantly to make sense of her thoughts. Had something happened? Was something going on? What was she possibly supposed to make of a situation like this? Could….could Robin possibly ha-

‘Ridiculous!’ She scolded herself, instantly shaking that thought away with an angry frown. ‘Since when did I give such credence to idle supposition? If I think about it clearly, it’s likely nothing. Lissa has always been clingy and Tharja was never more than a few steps behind Robin. There’s no cause for undue supposition.’

Given the nature of her perceptions, Panne had always been privy to practically all the dealings around the Shepherd’s camp, it was part of being a Taguel and never something she’d abused simply for the sake of petty gossip before. Even now, she could distinctly remember being surprised one day during the final Plegian war when Robin and Tharja had practically reeked of each other, realising it was almost certainly a misunderstanding, or one of the Sorceress’s games, she hadn’t said a word about it then and time had proven her correct, just as she’d suspected, nothing had come of it. Yes, she reminded herself, slowly pushing her doubts aside, the same was surely true now.

“Panne, good afternoon. It is pleasing to see you well.”

Unfortunately, just as she’d thought she’d straightened out her thoughts, Miriel walked past, nodding a quick greeting on her way towards the main room.

“Miriel? Yes, yo-” Her words died in her throat.

Passing through the room, the auburn-haired mage’s hips swayed from side to side with far more swing than Panne had ever seen from her, but the whole time, she could only stare, mouth agape in shock, frantically checking and re-checking exactly what she was sensing, ‘Wh-What… What in Naga’s name?’ Just the same as Lissa, just the same as Tharja, the Shepherd’s stoic, unflappable scientist was cloaked thick in the Tactician’s scent.

There was no denying it, it was exactly the same for all three women, the same unmistakable smell wrapped around them with such imposing potency, almost to the point of making them seem marked.

Standing bewildered in place, staring dumbly at where Miriel had already passed out of sight, the stunned Taguel didn’t even notice time passing around her, or the other Shepherd’s drifting past and settling themselves around the long meeting table in the central barracks, not until a tiny voice spoke up from her side.

“P-Panne? Are you alright?”

Olivia’s familiar pink hair swam into view and, returning to reality, she saw the dancer looking back at her with worry, fidgeting on the spot and her eyes (as ever) not quite able to maintain contact with the Taguel’s serious gaze, “M-My apologies.” She stammered out for what felt like the hundredth time, swallowing her surprise and falling automatically into step behind the timid woman and taking an open seat beside her.

‘Olivia… Even, even Olivia…’

Panne didn’t hear a single word that Chrom spoke as he rose to his feet and began their meeting, the thoughts crashing loudly through her mind easily drowned out the familiar pleasantries being shared around the table as she sat in place, fists clenched at her side and heart pounding in numb dread. Slowly coming around to a conclusion she struggled to even put into words.

Tharja, given her personality, there could be any number of mundane reasons for her to be wearing the Tactician’s heady scent. It would hardly be a surprise to her if she found out that the Plegian had taken to wearing some of Robin’s clothes, or that she’d begun sneaking into his bed when he was out of the room at work.

Lissa, equally could be perfectly understandable, within reason. The Princess had always been rather taken with the man and always stuck fairly close to him in general, she could certainly imagine what she was smelling could be the result of a prank of some sort, especially given her apparent friendship with Tharja.

Miriel… Even Miriel, she could possibly believe had been caught up with him as part of some experiment or theory of hers… Robin was unique in many ways, perhaps there’s been a reason recently for their scientist to warrant some closer observation?

Even the fact she could smell him on all three of them together seemed to suggest that this was just some strange coincidence, rather than…. rather than, something untoward! After all, if Robin was doing something suspicious, why would he possibly be involving so many different, unrelated women? The Tactician she knew was certainly bold, confident enough to border on arrogant even, but she would never take him for a fool.

…

But… But Olivia. Olivia. The mousey, skittish dancer, who shied away from any physical contact and who could barely string a sentence together in the face of a sharp glare. Sitting right next to the Feroxian, there was no possible way she could deny it or avoid it, but no matter how much she thought about it, no matter how many minutes passed and how many times she turned it over in her head, Panne couldn’t think of a single reason why she, of all people, would smell so strongly of another man.

She’d heard that their Dancer had taken up a job as Robin’s assistant, but that alone couldn’t possibly explain it! That was simply them working in close proximity together! That couldn’t possibly be why the innocent, sweet, pink-haired girl to her left had barely a trace of Gregor’s scent upon her, and instead, just like the others, was practically cloaked with Robin’s.

‘She lives with Gregor, she must see him every day and share a bed with him, so… so…’

Quelling her confusion and raising her gaze, she was almost hesitant to look across the table to where Robin was sitting directly at Chrom’s right, she was almost fearful of the confirmation she knew was awaiting for her. Thankfully, he wasn’t looking her way when she finally did, but concentrating on him and letting his presence fill her senses only confused her more. It usually took years, or a significant change in environment for a person’s scent to change significantly, and yet, his was stronger than ever before, thicker and more potent she’d ever remembered, so much so that it was only after almost a minute’s concentration that she picked up on the other smells mixed in, practically a cocktail of feminine aromas, all swirling around him and wrapped up so tight she couldn’t even hope to distinguish them.

She couldn’t understand. This didn’t make any sense!

For years, the only people she’d ever smelled upon Robin was Lucina and Morgan, his family, the people he’d loved more than anything. She seen with her own eyes just how happy he’d become in the days following his relationship with Lucina, and no-one could have missed how proud he was, showing Morgan around their camp. She’d known Robin for years! She knew just how important his family was to him! She understood the security they represented to a man with no past! And now… Now she could smell so many women upon him, she couldn’t even distinguish them! Reeling back, she turned away from the Tactician in disgust, she’d respected him almost without peer among the man-spawn, she would have never thought he was the kind to… to do… Grimmacing, Panne realised she couldn’t even put it into words.  

It took another few minutes to calm down, before the same loyal voice of her conscience spoke again, ‘Perhaps…something happened between them?’

That still wouldn’t explain the other married women bu-

No. A single glance at Lucina was all she needed to confirm that, the Princess’s scent was as pure and sincere as ever. It was the same familiar smell of swords, strength and pride, mixed in equal parts with the aroma of the man she loved, exactly unchanged since it had been the first time Panne had noticed the two of them had become lovers in Valm. The only difference of note was that the Tactician’s scent clouded around her even stronger than the others. Noticing her gaze, Lucina offered a warm smile in return and her stomach dropped through the floor, forcing her to hastily look away.

Another spike of disgust speared through the Taguel and she found her hands clenching furiously on her lap, ‘Is this some kind of perverse manspawn game?’

That was the last possible explanation she could think of, an unpleasant consideration, but no, even that possibility was discarded immediately. Surely if that were the case, then Lucina would smell of other men? And, no matter how flighty Lissa could be, would someone as serious as Lon’qu truly consent to something like that? Could she possibly believe that Olivia, of all people, would ever join such an act!?

‘No.’

Panne held an incredible respect for Robin. She’d followed him as much as Chrom for years and put her life in his hands without question more times than she could even remember. Ever since she’d first gotten to know him, she’d thought him kind and honourable, selfless and understanding. She couldn’t possibly image that he was capable of… Of…

Standing right on the precipice of a decision, she hesitated, one final time, but, no matter how long she tried to deny it, no alternative explanations rose in her mind.

‘Disgusting! Abhorrent!’ Blood running hot in her veins, the last of her bewilderment finally gave way to anger, ‘Dastard! How could he!? He’s cheating on Lucina, after all she’s been through!?’ 

Panne had always held an incredible respect for the former Exalt. Her strength and determination was an inspiration, she considered her a true measure of what a man-spawn could be and what an Exalt should be. In her own way, the Taguel had always wished for Lucina’s happiness, just the same as all the original Shepherd’s did for the future children, they’d all suffered more than enough in their lives already.

Even if the others hadn’t realised it, she had, she’d seen exactly what the eldest Princess had been through. Lucina had found love, and then had it so cruelly ripped away after the war. She’d waited for months, finally been reunited… And now… Now, after everything, he was betraying her so callously!? It was despicable!

So wrapped up in her thoughts, Panne didn’t even notice that the meeting had already drawn to a conclusion, or that the other Shepherds had begun happily taking up conversation all around her.

She looked towards Lucina again, ‘Should I tell her? Is it my place to?’ This was manspawn business and thus, none of hers…but, surely, she deserved to know. Any woman deserved to know they were being deceived! Even if she didn’t believe her at first, she could simp-

Jolting her from her thoughts, a hand suddenly clamped down on her shoulder and she almost shrieked in surprise, “Panne.”

Her world narrowed to a point, “Robin.” The man himself. Looking at him directly, seeing the same casual look on his face, as if nothing was amiss, her shock turned immediately back to anger. Even so, the way he maintained a calm smile, despite her vicious glare, kept her wary.

“Mind having a chat?” He nodded up towards his office on the second floor, “There’s some business I think we should discuss, privately.”

Once again, she paused, this time as she very quickly reminded herself- Robin was no fool. This was the man whose strategies had toppled three regimes, the Tactician who had struck fear into the most imposing generals throughout Valm, a terrifying man whose name was whispered with fear and awe throughout the world.

If, she realised, he was truly doing the deeds she suspected him of, then her discovering this today was no accident. He couldn’t possibly have expected her not to notice, and yet, he’d made no effort at all to hide it from her. Rather, instead he was practically flaunting it in her face. They both knew exactly what she’d smelled, which meant that he’d wanted her to know.

“Very well.”

Surprisingly, she felt a significant weight of her tension release as she stood to follow him toward his office, there was something more going on here, she knew it, there had to be. Robin had been her friend, her comrade and companion for years now, he’d trusted her with his life as truly as she’d with hers. The absolute least she could do was listen to his explanation before she acted.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

“It’s exactly as you suspect.”

“Wh-What?”

“It’s exactly as you suspect,” Robin repeated lightly, locking the door behind her as she followed him into his office, holding up a hand for a moment before filling the room with a silencing ward.

She’d been expecting an explanation, instead she got an admission. Snarling, she rounded furiously on him, her anger pulsing red-hot once more, “Dastard! You’re cheating on her, cheating on Lucina! Is this the man you are Robin!? I thought you were better than this!”

Shrugging off his cloak and throwing it over his chair, he leaned against the desk with an arrogant expression so far from the kind demeanour she’d always believed in him that her breath caught in her throat, “That’s right, that’s exactly right, I’m cheating on Lucina,” he answered finally, rolling the words carefully off his tongue as if this was the first time he’d ever spoken them aloud, “I’m cheating on her with Tharja and then on both of them with Lissa. I’m also fucking Olivia when she works with me, along with Nowi whenever she visits and I’ve come up with an arrangement with Miriel. Of course, none of them know about any of the others, they all think I’m theirs alone.”

Stumbling back, almost unable to believe her ears, Panne’s heart clenched tight in her chest and her world spun to a halt.

It was then she realised that part of her still hadn’t believed it until this very moment. No matter how damning the evidence, some small part of her had truly believed in Robin, in the caring and honest Tactician she’d always admired…

…Looking at him now, at how easily he bragged of his conquests, at how disgustingly pleased he was with herself, that small, unwavering trust was finally, cruelly shattered. It was impossible, unbelievable, if it had only one woman she could have believed it, but the sheer audacity, to not just be faithless but to play around with so many women at once…with so many of her friends!? Just who did this manspawn think he was!?

“So... this is who you truly are.”

“That’s right.”

That left only one final consideration, “And, why have you shown me this?” To silence her? She doubted that. Even if Robin could kill her, a big if, the man who’d guided them to so many victories couldn’t possibly be so foolish as to try do so with so many of their friends in earshot. A silencing charm would do nothing against a desk crashing through his office walls.

“I wanted you to know, I wanted to see how you would react, what you’d think,” again, he sidestepped her question, “So, how do you feel? Does it disgust you?”

“Of course it does! Y-You despicable, pathetic manspawn! You’re all nothing but opportunistic cowards! Every time I think your race cannot sink any lower, you prove me wrong!”

She was exaggerating of course, they both knew that her time with the Shepherds had largely allowed her to make peace with her feelings towards humans. Her anger was almost certainly fuelled by him betraying her new expectations of humanity.

“Good.”

“Good!?”

Nodding, he pushed himself up from the desk, striding across the room in a slow, easy gait, “Humans disappoint you?” He asked, changing the topic once more and as he drew the words out, “What about Kellam, don’t you still love him?”

Panne’s world went white. Everything she’d felt, all the anger she’d bottled up and every ounce of her composure all snapped the second that man mentioned her beloved.

Screaming a roar loud enough to rattle the windows she dove forwards, crossing the distance between them in a single step, taking hold of the Tactician’s throat and hurling him violently against the nearest wall.

Or, at least, that’s what she had intended to do…

“Hmm.”

Instead, moving with a speed that even her eyes could only barely follow, Robin’s hand snapped out and caught her outstretched wrist.

And somehow, just that alone, was enough for him to hold her firmly in place. Completely nullifying the force of her charge, the Tactician didn’t move a single millimetre back from where he’d been standing, “W-Wha?” Grunting in disbelief, even Panne’s apocalyptic anger was instantly replaced with surprise. It was a shock that doubled a moment later when she realised she couldn’t pull away, with just the strength of his hand holding onto her arm, he was keeping her completely locked in place.

Pulling futily on her arm, she stared at him in abject disbelief, while her human form didn’t hold quite the same power as her beat form, she was still a Taguel, she was still considerably stronger than any manspawn. If it had been a muscle-freak like Vaike or Basilio, she could have perhaps understood, but Robin? His physique might have been impressive for a normal human, but he’d never stood atop the Shepherds out of pure strength. 

“You’ve grown stronger.”

No matter how little sense it made, Panne was a practical person, she was never one to doubt what she was seeing before her very eyes.

“I have.” He agreed solemnly and she finally noticed he arrogant smirk on his face had disappeared, his expression had returned once more to the same serious, calculating gaze she was used to. Somehow, even now, that was a relief.

Releasing her, he pushed her away, easily throwing her back a step- another surprise. Keeping a distance, she considered him carefully re-evaluating just who she was dealing with.

“I’ll apologise for my words,” he continued, taking the initiative, “I was trying to make you angry, I also wanted to show you that.”

That at least, made more sense. Still, she had no idea just what was going on, but at least his arrogant demeanour seemed to have been shed and he was acting a little more like the Robin she knew.

His eyes shifted from hers for a moment and a pained expression flashed across his face as he sucked in a breath, “We all miss Kellam, Panne. Every one of us.”

Again, he mentioned her beloved’s name and again, Panne’s heart clenched tight in agony.

Kellam. Despite his lack of presence, to her, he stood out unforgettably from all the hundreds of manspawn she’d met as a singularly unique existence. When she’d first joined the Shepherds he’d been the first to reach out to her, chasing her relentlessly and even putting his own body on the line to help reduce the distance between her and everyone else. Kind, selfless and generous to a fault, he had removed the hate from her soul and captured her heart without ever once intending to.

He was the only man she’d ever loved, the man she’d married and the father of her child from the future.

And, aside from Robin… He was the only Shepherd to have been killed during the wars.

She hated thinking it, she hated being reminded of it and remembering it. That pain and loss was the reason she kept a distance between herself and her comrades these days. If it had been someone’s fault, if she’d had someone to blame, then perhaps that might have helped; if he’d fallen in battle, she could have blamed Robin for his strategies, or cursed Chrom for his command, but he hadn’t, he’d been killed…murdered… in Valm, doing his duty, guarding his Exalt’s tent.

It was pure chance, all the Knights and many of the regulars took turns guarding the royal couple at night and Frederick took three times as many turns as anyone else, on any other night it could have been anyone else. But it hadn’t been, it had been that night, and it had been him, and, having surprised three of the Valm’s highest ranked Assassins as they’d attempted to sneak into his Lord’s tent, he’d fought with everything he had, giving his very life to protect their Commander and raise the alarm.

The fight had been over in a matter of minutes and, in the end, he’d killed two of the Assassins himself before Chrom cut the final one down. None of them had managed even a single step into the tent where the royal family had been sleeping, but, in return, the wounds he’d taken had been numerous and there was no possibility of healing injuries caused by the kind of cursed blades sent to kill an Exalt, he’d slipped away before they’d even managed to call for a cleric.

It was an unquestionably heroic death. But heroic deaths only sounded good in the bard’s tales, they did nothing for a grieving wife who had to return to an empty bed night after night, nor for a displaced son, whose very existence in this time was now impossible. Exposing Walhart’s tactician Excellus as the culprit for the attempt had been trivial, but even tracking him down into the Conqueror’s Palace and extracting her revenge had done nothing to ease her hurt, her own husband had become yet another loved one stolen away from her by manspawn’s cruelty.

“We all miss Kellam,” Robin repeated, his soft words pulling her back from the unwanted reminiscence, “I don’t think there’s a single Shepherd that hasn’t torn themselves to pieces thinking about it, wondering if there was something they could have changed, or wishing they could have done things differently.”

His words trailed off for a second and she knew, at the very least, he was speaking for himself. Knowing her companions as she did, she doubted he was wrong in his assumption though. It was a difficult feeling to accept.

“But, I’m also sure that our pain can’t touch yours.”

“No. No, it cannot,” she answered forcefully, an explanation she’d spoken before tumbling from her mouth before she even realised, “He… he meant everything to me. Losing him was, it was if someone had gouged out the happiness he’d planted in my heart. Even after getting my revenge, eve-even after all this time, nothing has changed for me.”

Stoic and sincere, Panne had never been one to speak openly of her feelings, or her love, even to those closest to her. She didn’t have the words to explain how she felt, nor did she have the knowledge of how to express them. Right now however, with her emotions more frayed than they’d been for years and matching herself against the Tactician’s unwavering gaze, she was goaded on by his words, feeling compelled to speak more frankly than she ever had before, as if she needed to honestly defend her feelings- as if she needed to explain, that she still did love her comrades, that she cherished them, but that watching them live the happiness that had been ripped from her filled her with a bitterness she couldn’t stand and that they didn’t deserve.

“Exactly.”

Spreading his arms wide open before her, Robin was smiling at her once more, but this time it was nothing like the soothing, understanding smile she was used to from their Tactician… It was the same smirk she’d seen on his face a thousand times on a thousand battlefields, a calculating grin directed towards an enemy who was moving exactly as he wished.

“You love him, you can’t forget him and can’t move on from him, even after everything that’s happened...” despite the lack of comfort in his gaze, she was surprised to realise his words were still no less sincere than ever. He was responding honestly to her feelings, without a trace of mockery or sarcasm, “And, knowing that, it must scare you Panne, it must terrify you, to know that eventually, another man will have to take his place in your heart.”

“What!?”

Her glare was razor sharp, but this time she made no attempt to move, there was no forgetting the power he’d displayed just moments ago, she could practically smell the strength radiating off him now.

“You love him, he meant the world to you,” he acknowledged once more, “But, I know you and I know how uncompromising you are. No matter what, you still have your duty. To the Taguel, and to Yarne.”

“I-” Panne hesitated, a terrible quiver running through her as she found herself suddenly unable to maintain his gaze. Robin had always held a practical harshness within his kind, consideration, but she was unused to being on the receiving end of it. Finally, she realised the point he was getting at, the same conclusion she’d steadfastly refused to think about for years now, “I-Ah.”

Pressing the attack, Robin didn’t hesitate a moment, stepping even closer towards her, he began mercilessly speaking aloud the truths she already knew, “Yarne hasn’t been born yet, you know very well how much that terrifies him and how much responsibility he carries already. The fate of the Taguel hasn’t yet been decided, but I very much doubt you’ll put all that burden on him.”

Stumbling back a step, Panne swallowed heavily, her anger seeping away as she failed to deny Robin’s words. She already knew he was correct, he was only giving voice to something she’d avoided for years, a nagging truth on the edge of her conscience she’d tried her very best to ignore.

She needed to have children. Even if Yarne could never be born, even if they could never be her husband’s children, the children she’d wished to have… She still couldn’t possibly leave the fate of her entire people all on her son’s shoulders.

The Tactician remained calm, speaking slowly and deliberately, the same smile on his face and the same absolute sincerity in his words, “That’s why I wanted to make sure you knew about what I’ve been doing, and that’s why I was so pleased to see your reaction. Because I can solve that dilemma for you, Panne. And, you’ll never need to worry about replacing Kellam in your heart again… After all, you’d never choose me over him, would you?”

She snorted, repulsed by the very thought, “That’s impossible.” It was hard to believe this was the same man she’d once respected so greatly, after discovering what she had about him, about how he’d betrayed the people who loved him most, it felt offensive to even compare him to the man her husband had been.

“Exactly,” he nodded, apparently perfectly content with her revulsion, “Assist me instead and there’s nothing to fear, is there? You’ll never fall in love with me, you’ll never have to worry about replacing him in your heart. Help me, and in return, I’ll help you fulfil your duty, I’ll give you children, strong children that will be worthy Taguel.”

“I see,” finally everything was clear, why he’d revealed everything and why he’d purposefully angered her- he wanted her to hate him, he encouraged it. Because, in doing so, she would be protecting the love she had for their fallen comrade. If it wasn’t so twisted, it would perhaps be admirable. “But any Manspawn can offer that, why would I ever want to let you touch me?”

He stared her down, his eyes radiating an unexplainable strength, “You already know the answer to that.”

Swallowing heavily, Panne didn’t even attempt to deny it. She’d felt how her instincts had been reacting to him ever since the moment he’d held her in place. Being overpowered so easily, as a warrior it was galling, her fur bristled and her heart raced just thinking about it, but, more than anything else, feeling his power directly against it like that had carved the truth of his point into her, right down to her soul. It was another simple truth, one her body had already acknowledged- This man is strong. He would certainly give her powerful children.

She hesitated, and he moved forwards in return, stepping lightly towards her with his hands open at his side, “Even aside from that… You make it sound so easy, but can you really just go out and find another man? Everyone would be fine with it, of course, but… Do you plan to introduce some new lover to the Shepherds? … What about to Yarne?”

Panne winced, once again Robin had struck right to her core. That was exactly why she’d been able to justify taking no action for all these years, because the only thing she could imagine worse than her comrades learning about her taking a new lover, would be Yarne finding out about it. After everything he’d been through, the thought of him having to acknowledge another man as his father, in Kellam’s place, was too terrible to accept.

“Exactly. You need to find a man who you can trust to keep his involvement absolutely discrete, someone you know for certain will never breathe a word of it, no matter what happens. And, of course, what better way to ensure that than by holding his secret in return?”

Her mouth opened and closed, but no sound came out. She still didn’t know why he’d done what he had, what could possibly have made the man she’d thought she knew betray his closest companions so cruelly, but, there was no mistaking what he was proposing; She would become another in his apparent list of conquests and he would give her the children she needed to preserve the Taguel. He would help her hide her children’s paternity and in return, she would keep quiet about what she knew.

It made an uncomfortable amount of sense.

“I’ll give you the children you long for, as many as you’d like, and when they’re born, you won’t need to name the father, no-one else will ever know. You’ll be able to raise them in Kellam’s name instead, just like you’ve always wanted. You know you can trust me on this Panne, because you know I cannot afford to ever betray you.”

“I, ah, I don’t…” she stumbled back half a step as Robin drew even closer, smoothly crossing the distance between them in the same slow, measured pace. Reaching out, she placed a hand on his chest, attempting to ward him off while her thoughts spun wildly, “Let, let me think about it!”

Peeling her hand away, he entwined it with his own, holding it with surprising gentleness, caressing her palm with his thumb as he slid directly against her, wrapping his left arm around her waist and dragging his fingers lightly across her hip, “What’s to consider? You already know this is your best option. If you didn’t believe that, you wouldn’t have taken all this time to hear me out.”

Once again, she couldn’t refuse his words. Everything he’d said was true, he’d completely read through her situation, he was offering her exactly what she wanted.

Releasing her hand, he dropped his right hand to her hip as well, tracing his fingertips lightly across her skin as he pulled her gently towards him.

Reflexively squeezing her eyes shut, Panne let out a sharp intake of breath. “A-Ahh…” Feeling herself pressed against his chest was like something out of a half-forgotten memory and a small shiver ran through her in response, it had been so, so long since someone had touched her like this, since someone had treated her like a woman.

She hadn’t been able to deny a single one of his words. He was offering her exactly what she wanted. She could fulfil her duty to her people without fear of betraying the love she had for her husband, a love even Robin had gone out of his way to protect for her. He was right, of course, she’d already accepted his words, she already knew his proposal was her best option.

A silent eternity passed within her as Panne stood on the edge of a towering precipice.

“No…”

Robin’s lips pressed softly against her neck. And, for a moment, she wavered.

“Panne, I-”

But, only for that moment.

“I said NO!”

Snapping back at her cry, Robin ripped his hands from her body as if they’d been burned, stumbling away from her in wide eyed shock.

In that instant, as their eyes met -his wide with shock, hers wild with torrid emotions- a small, final, understanding passed unspoken between them. They both acknowledged that he was stronger than her, he could have held onto her, that he could still stop her. And, they each knew then, that it made no difference, he would never have, and that he refused to. It was over in less than a heartbeat, and then, she was gone.

All but tearing the door from its hinges as she wrenched it open, Panne hurtled headlong from the Tactician’s office- away from his offer, away from the truths she didn’t want to acknowledge, away from the single moment she’d wavered… Away from the man who she’d once respected!

And… Stuck standing dumbly in place, staring at the spot where the Taguel had been less than a second ago, Robin’s jaw hung open and, as realisation caught up with him, his world began to crash around him.

“…Shit.”

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Full realisation dawned, and with it came mounting dread, the shock of what had just happened and the terrible implications about what would happen next.

It had been several minutes since Panne had fled from him and Robin’s mood had only worsened by the second. The silencing ward remained in place and the door was now bolted tightly shut, preventing all entry as the Grandmaster sat slumped in his chair, his hands clenched tight to the arm-rests and his world spinning madly around him.

His strategies didn’t always go exactly as planned, he wasn’t omniscient, he knew that. Everything that had happened with Nowi and Olivia were testament enough to that fact. But, he was careful, he was exacting and he was diligent. He spent countless hours working himself to the bone, doing everything he could to minimise any chance of error. In all the years he’d been a Tactician, in all the thousands of times his plans had been tested, only once before had his plans been so completely defeated, only the time he’d failed to save Emmeryn.

“Did I push her too far?” he breathed aloud, “I thought she reacted well to me playing up the arrogance like that. She surely understood my reasoning, then, was sh-”

His words cut off.

It didn’t matter.

What happened, why he’d failed, wasn’t important. What was important was what would happen next.

“She… She knows almost everything.”

She didn’t have any details, but she didn’t need them. He’d put almost all his cards on the table, he’d thought he’d had her completely surrounded, it had been a gambit, but everything he knew about Panne had told him it was a reliable one!

His hands clenched tighter around the arm-rests.

She’d refused him. In the final, crucial moment, after he’d done everything in his power to influence her, after he’d appealed to her logic, to her instincts, to her love and even to her sexuality… She’d refused him. And now, she knew almost everything, and he had no leverage over her.

He had nothing to prevent what would happen next.

He had nothing to prevent her from telling the other Shepherd’s exactly what he’d done, exactly what he’d told her.

“H-Hhaa,” Breathing out an unsteady sigh, he pushed himself to his feet. Plucking an unused tumbler from his desk, he walked over to a small cabinet in the corner of his room and took out a tall carafe of water, and pouring some out into the glass, “I just… Just need to collect myself. Get my thoughts back on track.”

He’d failed. When he’d started down this path, he’d bet everything on his ability to control what happened, to keep his crimes a secret and manipulate events from the shadows. He could never have hidden what he’d done from Panne, so he’d been forced to gamble on convincing her… And he’d failed.

And now, everything would come to an end.

Lucina was going to find out what he’d done. Morgan was going to find out the truth about him.  Chrom was going to find out what he’d done to his best friend’s daughter, let alone his sister.

The Shepherd’s would all turn on him. The people he cared for most would despise him, a traitor, a betrayer.

There would be no place for him in Ylisse anymore. At best, if they were lenient, he would be exiled.

“Oh!?”

A soft thunk brought him back to his senses, and when Robin refocussed, he saw the glass he’d been filling had slipped to the floor. Bending down, he reached to pick it up…but, all he managed to do was knock it further away from his fingers.

Again.

And, again.

“H-Hhaa, hhhaaa.”

His breath came in shallow pants, but no matter how hard he tried to concentrate, his hand -his whole body- was shaking too much to hold onto anything.

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Notes:

A/N: Phew! About time eh? Hopefully this chapter took you by surprise, at least a little. If nothing else, there’s were a lott’a fun characters showing up for their time in the spotlight and the plot just jumped forwards, Robin’s definitely got some work cut out for him, taming this beast next time!

Noire was a little yandere wasn't she? I much prefer her like that, she takes after her mother a lot, she's gott'a be a little strange, even if she is an absolute sweetheart about it.

As always, more information about my story statuses as well as a weekly updates and any other details can be found at:

http://jlcdavenport.blogspot.com

Chapter 15: Bonus - A Truth Revealed

Notes:

Authors Note: And it’s finally out! Although, I feel like I say that every time, so perhaps it doesn’t mean as much this time. I actually think I made good progress this time around, some parts took a lot longer than I anticipated and falling sick did a lot to slow me down (considering I do the vast majority of my writing over the weekend, losing that is a big deal), but, overall, not too slow this time.

Or at least, I don’t think so given the breadth of topics covered in this chapter. There’s quite a bit of wholesome stuff as well as quite a lot of naughty stuff, so, hopefully it’s all good fun!

Bonus – A Truth Revealed

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Recap: Robin returned to life a little more than 6 months after sacrificing himself to slay the Fell Dragon. However, when he returned, he found himself soon overcome with incredible lusts, desires that Lucina (his secret fiancé) was unable to entirely sate.

Over the next four months things got steadily worse for the Grandmaster and soon Robin was driven almost to the point of madness, holding back his rampaging desires, all the while knowing full well that sooner or later his willpower would give out and he’d lose control of himself entirely. With that terrible knowledge in mind, he resolved to at least make the choice of his own sanity and finally slept with Tharja.

Overwhelmed with the ensuing relief her body granted him, Robin listened attentively while the Dark Mage informed him of the truth- that in being revived he’d established dominion of the power that used to belong to Grima, power buried deep inside his bloodline. She claimed that Robin had now unlocked the true potential of his heritage and in doing so, gained both the power and instincts of a Manakete, desires far stronger than what should be contained within a human vessel. Among those desires was the most basic, primal urges, to Conquer, to Dominate and to Breed, the same callings that until now Robin had been fighting, at terrible cost to his very sanity.

Eventually he accepted that the only path forward for him, to protect his family and friends from himself, was to sate those same desires. And so, Robin set out, using his wits as a tactician and his influence as the Shepherds Grandmaster to seduce enough powerful women to satisfy even a dragon’s selfish greed. So far, he’s succeeded in having sex with Lucina, Tharja, Lissa, Olivia, Miriel and most recently Nowi.

His plans ran into a sudden hurdle however when, caught out by a meeting of Shepherds that he hadn’t been expecting, he found himself coming face to face with Panne (who had been keeping her distance from the Shepherds, in response to her husband’s death) far sooner than he expected and with no time at all for him to prepare a countermeasure for the Taguel’s incredible senses.

In lieu of a more cunning plan, Robin opted to instead appeal to her need to propagate the Taguel race, offering himself as a suitor for that purpose as well as one that would keep their liason a secret, allowing her to raise the children as her late husband’s instead. Unable to hide from her nose and with the need to soothe her fear of replacing Kellam in her heart, he was forced to reveal large parts of his hidden dealings with the other female Shepherds. Forced into a corner, he bet everything on his ability to convince her, and, in the end, Panne ran from his office, fleeing in shock from Robin’s touch as much from his terrible revelations…

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Even the greatest men have moments of weakness. The test of their greatness is in how they stand up again and what they resolve moving forwards.

Robin’s strength of will was often his greatest asset, it’s what fuelled his late nights and drove his incredible tenacity. When that strength of will was taken away from him, it was no surprise that even he found himself lost…

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Sitting silently at his desk, with the chair turned away from his work and his gaze pointed somewhere far out the window, Ylisse’s famous Tactician was alone, barred behind a firmly locked door, he’d sealed himself away from the world.

The sun shone golden bright through the glass pane and Robin was distantly aware that a full day had already passed him by. The Shepherd’s meeting had finished early the previous afternoon, his discussion with Panne hadn’t gone on much later than that… And, he’d been here ever since.

And yet, no matter how much he sat, or paced, or puzzled, still he couldn’t manage to bring his thoughts to bear. His mind spun uselessly away from his control, falling from one topic to the next without distinction and all his attempts at strategy or planning slipped from him, like sand through his fingers. It wasn’t that he was straining himself, his heart rate was barely above normal, the shock and panic he’d felt from before had already faded. In their place however, was a deep and chilling numbness, a soft lingering dread that wrapped tight around him.

It was uncomfortably easy to remember that the last time he’d felt like this had been in the days following Emmeryn’s death, although, this time the idea of finding comfort in Lissa’s arms was almost unimaginable.

‘Perhaps, after everything, I’m mentally weak.’

He wondered, catching onto yet another trivial topic as he tugged listlessly at one of the sleeves of his long cloak. So many years had passed since that unforgettable failure, there was no doubt he’d succeeded beyond what he could have possibly dreamed of… And yet, here he as once again, holed away once more, as if to barricade himself away from the whole world. Or… To barricade the whole world away from him… That thought too drifted away and in its place came yet another dark reminder of the events that were surely to come. This office was no safe haven, staying here like this wouldn’t grant him a single moments solace when reality finally came to encroach here and he would have no way to avoid it- that is, if it was not already too late.

That knowledge should have spurred him into action. He needed to prepare himself, to steel his resolve and chart a new course- at the very least, if this was to be his end, then he should face his imminent dismissal with dignity befitting a Grandmaster Tactician.

“Haaaah…”

The moment passed once more and again his thoughts fell away.

A thousand options, decisions and strategies lay spread out before his mind, but just the same, Robin remained firmly stuck in place. Unable or unwilling to move.

*Ktak!**Ktak!*

A sudden dull knock echoed around the silent room and Robin almost leapt from his seat in surprise.

Breath catching tight in his throat, it took him almost a full moment to realise that his fears weren’t becoming reality, not just yet. That knock didn’t belong to either Chrom or Frederick and he was fairly sure that no matter his state, he would have heard the heavy footfalls of the Kingsguard if he was to be dragged off for interrogation regardless.

A visitor then, he concluded, frowning with a small bead of irritation, that wasn’t something he had the patience to deal with right now, “Sorry, I’m a little busy at the moment.” Robin answered finally, when the knocking repeated, taking a second to keep his voice entirely normal.

“Daaaaaaaaaad! Lemme in!”

Oh. Robin blinked.

Morgan.

That changed things. He couldn’t very well send her away. He’d never once rejected her company before, she’d know instantly that something was wrong.

“Alright, alright!” He groaned, mimicking his usual exasperated teasing as he made his way across the room, “Far be it from me to actually get something done around here.”

Pulling the door open revealed the comfortingly familiar face of his daughter beaming happily back at him.

“What’re you talking about Father?” she laughed, holding up a small basket as she stepped lightly around him and into his office, “I’ve got plenty done, see?”

He paused, gathering his bearings and inspecting her bounty, “Food? Oh, you cooked for me?”

“Well, no… Mum did all this. She was worried about you, y’know?”

Robin jerked, brought up short by the sudden mention of his fiancé. He’d thought of Lucina countless times over the past day, he’d thought about her screaming in fury toward him, or about her gazing in disgusted contempt at him… He couldn’t think of a single reason why she’d be worried about him. “She was?”

“Of course! We haven’t seen you at all after the meeting yesterday, you didn’t even come up for dinner!”

“Well, I know I could certainly stand to be better about it, but it’s hardly unusual for me to miss a meal every now and then. It’s not like your mother to be concerned about something like that.”

“That’s what I said!” Morgan smirked with delight, as happy as ever that her thoughts were aligned with his, “But, Mother knows better! She said it absolutely is unusual for you not to come home when it’s the second Wednesday of the month, when you’ve already finished all the armoury reports and the IA logistics won’t be back for another week!

This is a low impact time of the month for you, she said that unless there’s some merchant or noble visiting that she hadn’t been told about, you definitely, definitely shouldn’t be so busy as to have to spend your entire night locked up in here. You’d usually be spending time with us right now!”

Robin’s jaw fell open and Morgan laughed happily at his shock.

“Hehee! I know! I didn’t realise at all, I’ve still got a lot to learn, huh?”

“Lucina… Your mother… She noticed all that?”

Just the same as his daughter, he hadn’t had a clue his habits were so predictable. He wondered momentarily if even Tharja would have been able to notice something like that, well, knowing her it didn’t seem too unlikely. And, if he stopped to think about it, it wasn’t really all that surprising that he’d usually want to spend any free time with his family, if he could.

“Mhmm, that’s right! Mum notices a whole lott’a stuff, even more than she lets on! She’s really smart too, y’know? You shouldn’t underestimate her!”

Robin could only sigh, first Panne and now Lucina, once again he’d been completely outflanked, “No, no, of course not.”

“Now! Let’s get some food into you!” Morgan cheered, stepping away from him and unloading the basket across his desk, “She was the one who made all this too, she wouldn’t let me help at all! Apparently, it’s to pay you back for breakfast the other day.”

In the numb haze he’d been surrounded by, he hadn’t even thought of eating all this time. It was only now, seeing the food, that he finally realised just how long ago his last proper meal had been.

Lucina really did know him far too well.

“I suppose I can’t say no to an offer like that now, can I?” he chuckled, “Geez, your mother’s really got me wrapped around her little finger.”

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Pulling up a seat across from him at the large wooden desk as she finished setting out her mother’s cooking, Morgan allowed herself a small sigh of relief.

Just as she’d said, she completely missed that anything was wrong with her father, she hadn’t even completely believed in her mother’s deduction until just now when she’d properly seen him for herself. Just looking at the stress shining in his eyes, she knew for sure he was straining himself with something difficult again- she didn’t know what and she didn’t even want to guess, that wasn’t important nor was it even strange for her father to act like this. All that mattered was that he was okay, she just wanted to take care of him.

“Hehee!”

And, the food looked pretty appetising too, that definitely helped her mood!

Loading up their plates (and secretly giving her father the larger serving, since she was just that nice), Morgan could see that her mother appeared to have cooked some kind of breaded pork cutlet- it was thicker than she would have expected from a schnitzel and had already been diced up into pieces, with a thick brown sauce dashed across it. Served with rice and a mixture of steamed vegetables, it reminded her surprisingly of one of the dishes Say’ri had used to make during her time in the Shepherd’s kitchen, ‘Hmm! Tonk…Ton… Ton-something!’

“Looks good, huh?”

“That it does.”

Actually, it looked slightly misshapen and it really hadn’t been plated well at all but Morgan had never been a stickler for details and Robin wasn’t one to turn down a free meal; it was meat, it was still hot and it was a gift from Lucina, someone they both adored, neither had any complaints.

Eagerly spearing a large piece with her fork, Morgan shot her father a cheeky wink -taking full credit for providing the meal- and bit into it.

…

‘Urk!?’

Jolted stiff in her seat, her entire body suddenly tensed and she recoiled back in disgust! A moment passed and, with great effort, she finally swallowed before hacking loudly.

“Pha-haaa! Wha!? W-Wow… Th-That’s, that’s really…”

Actually, she wasn’t sure just what it was.

In fact, she almost couldn’t even believe it. Screwing up her resolve and drawing on the boundless faith Morgan had in her mother, she convinced herself she’d just chosen a bad piece, reaching down slightly tentatively and taking a section from the other side of the plate, she slowly tried another small bite.

‘I-Ick!’

Clenching her eyes closed in a pained response, her fork clattered to the table and the younger tactician groped desperately for a glass of water- desperate to wash down the flavour!

Now she couldn’t help but believe it! The meat breading was undercooked to the point of still being soft and doughy in her mouth, while the cutlet inside had somehow been overcooked enough that it had been like chewing on cardboard. It was a shocking combination, made unbearably worse by the brown sauce spread in liberal doses across the dish that tasted almost salty enough to dehydrate a camel. With tears brimming in her eyes, Morgan spared a single forlorn glance towards the steamed vegetables, also covered in the same sauce and her appetite faded completely.

“Geez… I can’t believe it turned out so badly! Mother worked so hard on it too…” She sighed listlessly, flopping onto her hands and pushing her plate to the side, ‘Oh! Oh, maybe it’s because she worked so hard on it, do you think?”

This was far from the first time they’d eaten the former Exalt’s cooking, Lucina had attended to her turn on meal duty just the same as any of the other Shepherds during the wars and it had always been absolutely fine. But then, until now, she’d only ever made simple meals, bland and basic cooking that was entirely unmemorable when compared to the delicious creations of Sumia, or the disasters of Kjelle. What she’d made this time was obviously something several times more complicated.

“Well, it’s fine. If you’re hungry, why don’t we just go out and get so-Oh!?” Blinking out of her musings, Morgan’s eyes suddenly shot wide with surprise when she looked up across the table- in the few seconds she’d spent complaining, her father had already cleaned up half of his own plate.

“Woah,” she breathed, sitting up straight, dumbstruck for a moment as she watched him wolf the meal down with unflinching dedication.

Inspired by the sight (and feeling a little guilty at her own rudeness), she tried one final time, reaching for her fork and bravely attempting to follow his example-

‘No! NOPE! NOT GOOD!’

Unfortunately, her body instantly rejected it once again.

Clenching her fists tight and bringing the full force of her will towards swallowing the small bite she’d managed, as she blinked away the tears that had formed in her eyes and pushed her plate away -further this time-, it was only then that she noticed her father almost forcefully tipping the now half empty carfare of water into the tall glass aside his plate and that he was swallowing down a huge gulp with every few bites.

“Geez… Father…”

Leaning her head onto her hand, Morgan sat silently from then, watching with a bright smile and a warm glow in her heart as she witnessed Robin quickly finishing the task before him.

“Are you not hungry?” He asked her, speaking for the first time several minutes later when he finally looked up, indicating his head towards her own almost untouched plate.

“Ah, n-no, no, you go ahead.” She stammered, snapped suddenly from where she’d been almost mesmerised watching the man she admired so much.

And so, without another moment’s delay, he pulled her own serving across to himself and ate the cooking she’d rejected with the same steady pace.

‘Father…’

Morgan adored both her parents. It was impossible for her not to be touched.

Eventually, several long minutes later, after cleaning up every last scrap across both plates, Robin finally relaxed back into his seat, pushing the dishes back towards her with long sigh, “Tell your mother it was delicious.”

She couldn’t bring forth any of her usual teasing responses to that, her heart had long since melted.

“I’ll tell her you ate every bite.”

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Leaning back in his seat with a deep sigh, Robin was caught entirely unprepared when Morgan suddenly dropped herself onto his lap, seating herself sideways atop him.

“O-Oof!” he winced, “You’re a bit big for this aren’t you?”

She was probably only a little over 50kg, but that was still 50kg dropped unexpectedly directly onto him!

“F-Father!” she scolded, pulling back and pinning him with a scandalised glare, “You can’t say that! You’re meant to say you’re surprised at how light I am!”

“Oh? Is that so?”

Giving up, she shook her head with a sigh, “You’re useless with women, you know Dad? Stuff like this is exactly why you’re still single.”

Shuffling a little closer against him, she laid her head down onto his shoulder, linking her arms around the back of his neck in a loose hug, “Well, it’s not like I really mind… I’m just glad to see you’re alright.”

Feeling his heart pang with guilt, Robin spent a few moments silently threading his fingers through his daughter’s silken blue hair, reflecting on his actions, “Of course I’m fine. I’ve got you and your mother looking after me.”

She didn’t respond. Wrapped securely warm and soft around him, Morgan simply drew comfort from his presence. Her fingers danced lightly over his shoulders and her breath swirled gently across his neck.

“I really make you worry a lot, don’t I? I’m sorry… It’s not very fatherly of me, I suppose.”

“That’s fine,” she giggled quietly, forgiving him as easily as ever, “It’s not like I only think of you as a father.”

Robin blinked, caught off-guard once again by her surprising words, a small jolt going down his spine as he considered them.

It wasn’t something he’d ever given conscious consideration to, but even without her explaining, he felt he could understand exactly what she meant. They were about the same age, they shared many of the same interests and even looking only at the way they interacted, it was often closer to a brother and sister, or two extremely close friends, than a parent and child. Really, he was as close to Morgan as he was to Lucina, even closer in some respects.

He couldn’t blame her for thinking like that, but even so, it was an undeniably sombre thought. He’d only ever thought of himself as her father, changing that connection, even just slightly, felt a little lonely.

“What about you?” a note of worry crept into her voice and he realised she must be worried she’d offended him, “Isn’t it the same? Do you think of me as just your daughter?”

Her words were completely innocent and her question was harmless, but she couldn’t possibly guess at the chilly memories they raised within him.

It was something he’d almost forcefully refused to acknowledge, uncomfortable knowledge that he’d repressed with all his strength- when he’d been driven to the brink of insanity, when his instincts had been almost tearing him apart and his mind had been clouded only with desires he couldn’t control… In some moments, for a few seconds, the barriers between them had wavered and he had seen her just the same as any of the other women surrounding him.

A terrible weight settled in the pit of his stomach, just as it always did when he remembered those nights.

That had been the genesis of everything he’d done since, he reminded himself as the fog of doubt that had clouded his mind all day shifted slightly. Seeing Morgan like that, in those terrifying moments, had been why he’d taken it as far as he had, why he’d been able to muster the strength to do the terrible acts he’d committed.

Because, even in the depths of his madness, even when the fear of hurting Lucina by continuing even after he’d fucked her unconscious hadn’t been enough to stop him, it had been the horror of laying a hand on Morgan that had finally returned his sanity and that had given him the courage to finally break his vow to the woman he loved.

Shaking away those thoughts, Robin considered his next words. Ultimately though, the truth wasn’t as important as what should be true.

“Sorry!” he laughed, “You’re too small and cute! I can only possibly see you as my little girl!”

Technically, she was about the same height as Lucina these days, but he ignored that.

“Ehh… Well, that’s fine, I suppose,” she pouted, looking slightly put out, “I’m not sure I like how you phrased that though.”

He didn’t bother responding, so she continued, brightening up as she switched back to her usual tone, “It wasn’t only Mum and me that were worried for you though, Olivia looked really upset when you sent her home earlier too.”

Ah. Thinking slightly clearer now, he felt a little guilty about that. He hadn’t been in the right frame of mind to deal with her properly and he’d barely even thought about the dancer since sending her away. Frowning, he made a mental note to apologise to her properly later.

That was when he saw the smirk adorning his daughter’s face.

Sighing, he resisted the urge to roll his eyes, “Morgan, you can’t seriously still be jealous of Olivia helping me, can you? I thought the two of you were getting on well?” He wouldn’t soon forget the prank they’d teamed up with Sumia to play on him after all.

The bluenette shifted her gaze, but didn’t answer. As unjustified as it was, thy both knew why she was so anxious about other women besides Lucina getting close to him.

“She’s married.” He assured her simply, forcefully clamping down on the spike of guilt at him, of all people, using that as his justification.

“I know, I know!” Morgan sighed, throwing her arms up in surrender, “But still! You can’t blame me for worrying! You’re a very attractive man Father, you’ve got to be more careful! There aren’t many women who can resist your charms.”

“I really don’t want to hear that from my daughter,” he deadpanned. That was like an aunt telling you how handsome you were. Was she comforting him, or what? She really was getting too cheeky these days.

“Well, if you don’t want my warnings, just go and seduce Mother already!” she ordered, hopping off his lap with a smile and waving her finger as she lectured him, “She’s probably sick of you leading her on all this time! Be a man and propose to her, or something!”

Groaning, this time Robin didn’t bother keeping himself from rolling his eyes as he pushed himself to his feet and followed after her. They both knew that it was Lucina’s hesitation that was holding things back, it was one of Morgan’s few complaints about the woman she adored, so he refrained from commenting as he joined her in gathering up the plates she’d brought, putting them back in the basket.

“Hmmm.”

“…What?”

“You do still look a little strained Father,” stopping in place and linking her hands behind her back, Morgan bent over at the waist, pinning him in place with a close examination, “Would you like a blowjob?”

…

Robin’s mental facilities ground to a halt. Then, just as he had managed to convince himself he’d misheard her, Morgan made an unmistakable gesture with her hands and his mind overloaded! Genius Tactician or not, there was only so much a man could take!

…

“Wh-Wha!? HUH!?” he stammered, stumbling backwards away from the teasing light shining bright in her eyes. He was saved the indignity of falling over only because he backed up into his desk, “Wha… What the hells!?”

“That’d make you feel better, wouldn’t it?” the (clearly feigned) innocence of her smile was in a stark contrast to the red blush spread across her cheeks, a sight that was only made worse when she repeated the gesture once more, “Should I go get Mother? I told her that this morning, that she should do that instead of cooking for you!”

Heart still clenched tight in his chest, Robin couldn’t quite feel relieved.

That explanation was better than what he’d thought she’d meant a few moments ago, but…

“You… You said something like that to Lucina?” his fiancé was not a good target for jokes, she took everything far, far too seriously, “Gods! Wha… MORGAN! How, how do you even know about that kind of thing!?”

The last thing he wanted to find out right now was that his daughter had developed an interest in boys! He wasn’t ready for that!

“C’mon! Dad! I’m not a kid anymore!” she pouted, stomping her foot, exactly like a child, “And anyway, Severa told me, ages ago, she said if I ever needed to, it was the best way to cheer a man up!”

‘First Vaike, now Severa!? Just what are those idiots teaching my family!?’

Nevermind that, considering how fast the red-headed Mercenary chased away any man that dared approach her, he doubted she had any experience to be giving out advice on boys herself. Robin didn’t even want to imagine what the possible context of that conversation was.

Grimacing, Robin pointedly ignored the way she was poking her tongue out of him -as well as that she was staying carefully outside swatting range- as he hefted himself back to his feet and led her, finally, back out of his office.

“Look, Morgan, for your mother jokes like th-”

His words were cut off as he pulled the door open and found himself, completely unexpectedly, looking directly at the woman in question.

Out of her usual clothes, Lucina was wearing a light white sundress; light and soft in appearance, the simplicity of the design suggested it was one given to her by Sumia. The Queen had clearly chosen well because it outlined and accentuated the alluring femininity of her lithe form beautifully. Shifting her weight from foot to foot, with her deep blue hair tied back in a ponytail and her hands clenched tight over her stomach, the Princess bore an expression of naked anxiousness.

“Eh!?” Father and daughter both blinked in unison.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Almost all of Lucina’s developing years had been spent in battle, she’d trained, fought and bled longer than even she could remember. Even in the peace time she’d been unable to feel comfortable relaxing her practice sessions. She was without a doubt among the fastest, strongest, most elite champions in the entire world.

Which was why, after being caught flat-footed, Morgan didn’t even have a single second to react when her mother pulled the basket from Robin’s arms, dropped it into her own, and then forcefully pushed the Tactician backwards into his office, shutting the door behind her before the younger Princess could finish even a single breath.

“E-Eh?” Morgan repeated, staring dumbstruck at where both her parents had just disappeared.

Her mother was here!? Her mother had very insistently just pushed her father back into his office!? Suddenly, all the teasing she’d done earlier seemed a lot less funny.

“N-No, no way… She’s not really… Is she!?” the doorknob rattled loud in her shocked grip but it didn’t budge, it was already locked, “What!? No way!”

She shook her head, frantically collecting her spiralling thoughts. There was no way! It was impossible! IMPOSSIBLE!

Of course, Morgan was aware that she had to have been born somehow, so she could maybe, maybe, believe that it was possible for her mother to have sex. In bed. At night. With the lights off… But even that was a stretch!

Her mother was Lucina! The proud and dignified Hero Queen of Ylisse, former Exalt and current Princess! She couldn’t even begin to imagine her acting like this… alone, in an office, bending to her knees and looking up at-

“Ghaaah!” dropping to the floor, Morgan tried in vain to peek under the bottom of the doorjamb, “Whaaaaat!?”

The door shook again as she rattled furiously at the knob, but still it remained frustratingly steadfast.

No way! She couldn’t possibly believe it!

But… But Father himself had said not to tell those kind of jokes, that she still wasn’t very good with humour and tended to take everything far too seriously.

She swallowed… So then, did that mean, th-that right now… Her mother, Lucina, was… was…?

“N-No, geez, c’mon!” she scolded herself, throwing her hands up and breathing out a shaky sigh, “This is silly, I’m just overthinking it, geez, I’ve been thinking weird stuff ever since I read that book of Father’s.”

She quickly schooled away that thought, now definitely wasn’t the time to be thinking about that strange sex guidebook she’d found hidden away in her father’s desk, her thoughts had circled back towards that often enough already.

“They’re not dating. They haven’t even kissed yet,” she reasoned logically. After all, wasn’t that the big complaint she had about the two of them? That they were so annoyingly innocent about actually starting a relationship! Hadn’t she been pushing them to hurry it up already for months now?

No matter how terrible her mother was at recognising humour, and no matter how much she was totally, obviously, head over heels for her father, something like this was YEARS too soon! She would never instigate their relationship like that, not on… not down on her knees… Especially not with her daughter right outside!

“Yup,” Morgan nodded, it was painfully obvious what was really going on; Lucina was simply getting revenge for the way she’d teased her earlier. She’d never expected anything like that from her but, after all, hadn’t she said herself that you shouldn’t underestimate her?

“Ghhhaaaa!” Her composure cracked and she slammed herself flat against the wood, pushing her ear hard into the door and straining to make out any sounds!

…

Nothing. “Ahhhhh! Muuuum! What’s going on? Why’d you lock the door! Lemme in toooooo!”

Her naturally rampant curiosity mixed with the frustration of not knowing and potent sparks of lightning wrapped bright around her wrist before she even realised that she’d drawn on her magic. For a second, she let herself be tempted, holding her hand a few centimetres from the, playing with the idea of simply blowing it from its hinges.

“Phaaah.”

At length, she relaxed instead, letting out a long sigh and frowning in annoyance as she let her power dissipate harmlessly. Even if she didn’t seriously believe her parents were actually doing anything interesting, she did seriously believe that her father would fillet her alive if she wrecked his office.

Morgan knew she was just being a poor sport, reacting badly to having the tables turned on her. If there actually was anything happening between the two of them, she’d want to support it, not interrupt it.

“Geez, Father, you’re a bad influence on her,” she complained, turning on her heel to go look for something more fun to do (happily leaving the pile of her own work stacked up in her office for another day), “Pranking Mother used to be so much easier…”

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Meanwhile, inside the office, Lucina wasn’t paying even the slightest bit of attention to their daughter’s muffled complaints.

With both hands flat against her fiancé’s chest, she continued pushing him backwards, guiding him with swift, familiar steps through his office, until his legs hit against the large double-bed half hidden in the far corner of the room and he was sent falling over into a seated position.

“Lucina, I-Huh?”

He tried to speak but she was too focussed to listen. Dropping to her knees, between his legs, Lucina wasted no time in reaching out toward him, her fingers dancing confidently over the ties and buckles of his clothes, unfastening them all in less than a single breath before completely removing his lower garments -pants and smallclothes- in one forceful motion.

“Eh?”

Robin gasped aloud as his clothes were discarded over her shoulder and out of reach.

“A-Ahh!”

He gasped again when she reached for him once more, the warmth of her hands pressed directly into him this time. Her fingers wrapped around his shaft and Lucina smiled gently to herself at it’s comforting heat, marvelling at how fully it still filled her palms, even while soft.

“Ah-AHH!”

He gasped even louder still, when she shuffled closer, leaning down and flicking her tongue directly against the underside of his shaft (exactly as he’d taught her), before opening wide and hungrily swallowing his entire length. Easily taking the mostly flaccid cock into her mouth, Lucina slid her arms around his waist, pulling herself as close as possible into him as she pursed her lips around the base of his shaft- laying lewd kisses into his crotch, despite having her mouth filled with his cock, servicing him exactly how she knew he enjoyed

“Luci, Lucina!”

Especially with everything that had changed about him these days, Robin was not a man to remain unaroused long in his fiancé’s presence, and today was no exception.

“Mmmm!”

Lucina gave out a delighted response as she felt his cock shudder and grow, quickly forcing her mouth wider open and filling out against her cheeks. An electrifying thrill shot down between her shoulder blades and already, she could feel a thick desire growing between her legs- there was no doubt in her mind she’d become addicted to this man.

“Mhmmm! MmMMMM!”

Not retreating for even a second, she Princess remained steadfastly resolute in place, her hands clinging tight to his waist and her lips pressed firmly against his skin- even as his shaft grew quickly to full length, completely filling her mouth and -left with no other path- pushing mercilessly down her awaiting throat.

Another shiver ran through her as she held herself forcefully in place, her entire body soon bursting with delight as she felt the full, thick length of her lover’s heavy cock expanding down into her. Eagerly willing her body to accept him, to open up around him, Lucina didn’t even notice she was moaning even louder than before, “MMMMMMM!” Whichever hole he used, it didn’t matter, she loved it all the same, she adored the feeling of Robin being sheathed fully inside her.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

“Ghha, hhnngaaa!”

Moaning aloud as his cock finally stretched out to its full length- held tight all the way down his fiancé’s throat, Robin was utterly lost for words.

For what felt like the hundredth time today, he’d been completely taken off guard. Lucina almost never instigated things between them, even the time recently when she’d come to him dressed up as a Pegasus Knight, she’d still followed his lead. For her to be suddenly so forceful was completely against his expectations.

And yet…

“Mmnhaaa.”

…When she began to move a few moments later, in vivid contrast to that earlier hunger, she was soft and slow, calm and gentle.

Twisting her head back and forth, Lucina took her time rising slowly up his length, her dazzling blue eyes staring warmly back at him -the Mark of Ylisse shining proud in her left- as her lips drew gradually along his shaft and her experienced tongue snaked around him.

“Pwah!”

Bringing herself all the way to his glans and finally releasing him from her mouth, the Princess instantly pursed her lips together once more, planting a long, loving kiss directly atop his cockhead before shifting back, just enough to allow his length to fall, hot and hard, across her face as she looked up towards him.

“Robin…” the royal firstborn whispered quietly, smiling gently from where she was seated between his legs, wearing his cock with just the same pride as her family’s tiara, “I missed you.”

His heart skipped a beat. Looking at her like this, at how easily and how fully she gave herself to him, he felt like he could almost drown himself in the sheer depth of the love and trust in her eyes. And, in that moment, he knew he’d fallen for her all over again.

Whenever he was at his lowest, even when she didn’t know what was wrong with him, she was always the one to warm his soul once more.

“I… I missed you too.”

He always did. Whenever they were apart, even when he was in another’s arms, he still missed Lucina. Theirs was his only complete relationship, the only woman he’d given himself to in return; as much as she was his, so too was he hers.

Looking at her now, feeling her warmth flowing through him, Robin’s spiralling throughs gradually slowed and he was finally able to remember the truth at the core of everything once more. It was his love for her that had driven him all this time. First in his resistance, when he’d stayed true to her, and finally in his acceptance, when he’d betrayed her, both actions had been born entirely from his affection for her. It was to protect her that he’d done everything he had.

For her part, Lucina didn’t need any more words, pushing herself back up, she parted her lips again around his glans, flicking her tongue over the sensitive head and taking a moment to fill her cheeks with him.

She laid kisses along his shaft, from the tip to the base.
She suckled gently on his balls.
She rolled her tongue as far out as she could manage, and dragged it languidly all the way back up his length in one single motion.

And, when she finally took him fully into her mouth once more, she slid down him slowly and sensually, spending several long minutes bobbing her head up and down his entire cock and making it absolutely clear that she intended to savour both very single inch of him as well as every moment spent with him.

Lucina had mentioned several times before how much she enjoyed feeling the strength of his lust whenever he took control of her, when he would use her mouth or throat for his own pleasure… but, right now, Robin couldn’t even think to do anything like that. Lost in the sweet fog of her gentle ministrations, he could do nothing but thread his fingers through her deep blue hair and relax completely into the fast-rising pleasure of her slow, thorough servicing.

“Hhaaa…”

Robin’s body practically purred in satisfaction. It was completely distinct from the devoted way Tharja or Olivia worshipped his shaft, as well as from the cheerful way Lissa or Nowi excitedly sucked him off. There was nothing here but pure affection, Lucina was using her mouth to sweetly, tenderly make love to his cock.

Leaning back with a loud gasp, Robin’s entire body trembled with hot bliss. After how lost he’d felt for the last day, it felt unbearably good, it was incredible, almost more than he could take. And, as Lucina’s lips slid continuously up and down his length, and as her tongue slipped back and forth around him, within a few minutes, he could feel himself rapidly approaching his peak.

“Hhaa, Lu-Lucina, I-Ah!”

Luckily, even that abortive attempt at a warning was unnecessary. She could feel every twitch and pulse he made inside her and before he’d even gotten the words out, Lucina had already made her move, pulling herself even closer towards him, her fingers holding even firmer to his waist as she instantly swallowed him entirely- sheathing his full, thick, heavy length down her throat once more in one massive gulp.

Moaning in sudden shock, Robin stared down at her- his gaze locked into her sparkling blue eyes for a single moment, before she winked playfully back up at him, as if to tell him everything was fine.

“Ghh-AHhhAAAA!”

He lost any hope of control instantly, crying aloud as his shaft jolted wildly and the intense pleasure surged through him! Bending over, holding tight to the back of her head, keeping her roughly in place -as if she had any intention of moving- his cock swelled and exploded!

Robin’s world spun, his balls clenching tight with incredible pressure as his eyes danced with light and jet after jet of hot, thick cum sprayed out, coating Lucina’s throat in powerful blasts of his seed, shooting the viscous load directly into her stomach.

“Hghhaaaa!” Again, he shuddered, his cock twitching and releasing even more with every motion, staining the Princess with his thick, heavy cum, “G-Gods! Lucina!”

…

It was several long moments before Robin regained enough control over himself to release her, but despite that, his fiancé showed no signs of discomfort, rather -from the way her hips were trembling and how her thighs were rubbing together- she appeared to be very comfortable, with her head held in place against the Tactician’s crotch as his cock unloaded violently within her.

Panting aloud, he removed his hands from around her head regardless, sighing softly a few moments later when he felt her slowly drawing herself back up his shaft once more.

“Woah…” he breathed, “That was incredible, Lucina, that fe-Ah!? Hnngh!?

And yet again, the genius Tactician was caught off guard- this time when, after reaching the top of his length, rather than pulling back as he’d expected, the Bluenette dived eagerly back into action, dipping her head back down and smoothly, tenderly, sliding his entire length down her throat once more.

“GHh!? Wha? Luci-Lucina!?”

She didn’t respond, nor did she pause for even a moment. Releasing her hands from around his waist, and using them instead to carefully fondle his -now almost oversensitive- balls, she proved just how serious she was.

The pleasure crashed wildly through him again, swirling with an almost blinding intensity and, as his fiancé continued lovingly servicing his shaft, all Robin could do was lose himself in the bliss.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Slumping forward around her, Robin groaned out a low moan as he blew his fourth load down his fiancé’s awaiting throat.

It was only then, more than a half hour since she’d first pushed him into his office, that Lucina finally stopped. Rising slowly up his shaft one last time, she kept her lips pursed tight around him, wringing out every last trembling drop of his seed, before eventually releasing his cockhead from between her lips with a small pop, letting it fall to the side this time, laying it sticky and warm against her cheek. Robin was still hard, as usual, but he was thoroughly satisfied.

“Do you feel better now, my love?” She asked, breaking eye contact a moment to turn her head to the side, placing one last languid kiss into his shaft.

“Y-Yeah,” he sighed, the warm and gentle delight thrumming through his body would have made it impossible to keep the smile from his face, even if he had wished to try, “Of course, that was amazing.”

“Good, I’m glad,” she breathed, her own gentle smile matching his as she pushed herself up, rising to her full height before him, “Then, in that case…”

With her face burning bright red -even after all she’d done-, Lucina’s eyes slid shyly from his as she reached down, lifting her light dress for his examination, her bare pussy shone glistening wet before his eyes, as she spread her legs a further few inches apart.

She wasn’t wearing any panties. Robin gulped. The Crown Princess of Ylisse had come all this way to see him, wearing only a thin white dress. And, not only that, but she’d obviously so enjoyed her time spent down on her knees, submitting her body for his pleasure, that her juices were soaked wet all across her thighs.

“Th-Then,” she swallowed, her words hitching for a moment in unabashed excitement, “Then, why don’t we feel better together, this time?”

Chuckling softly, Robin let himself fall entirely into her pace, taking her hand and this time guiding her slowly forwards, onto the bed and into his lap. Letting her dress fall back down over them both and wrapping her arms instead around his shoulders, Lucina wasted no time at all in settling herself directly against him, quivering softly in his arms as she felt his cock opening up her ready entrance before gently easing herself down, sheathing him smoothly inside her once more.

Their bodies jolted together a moment as they felt the intense pressure of her narrow tunnel gently enveloping him, her walls coiling wonderfully tight around his shaft, even as her pussy was opened up obligingly before him. Even so, Lucina didn’t hesitate, holding onto her shoulders and bracing herself against him, she pushed herself determinedly down his length.

“Ah! Ahhng! AhhNNNGH!”

Her moans, quiet at first but fast raising in volume, increased in tempo with each inch of him she took inside. Robin could feel her legs locking around his waist and her hands clinging even firmer into his shoulders as she sank ever deeper, spreading her innermost walls wide around him.

“Unghh-HNAAAAH!”

Until, finally, with her eyes squeezed shut and her cherry red lips parted in a delicate moan… Lucina pushed herself fully down into his lap, and Robin could feel the softness of her deepest walls stretched back, wrapping tight around his glans.

“Ahhnnnn!”

Smiling as she threw herself into his embrace, Robin held her tight against him, wrapping one arm around the back of her head and the other around her waist as Lucina laid her head down onto his shoulder, quivering like a leaf and breathing out a quiet, yet wonderfully intense orgasm through clenched teeth.

“Uh, hhaaa,” Robin’s eyes flashed white again for a moment as he felt the incredible tightness of the Princess’s pussy pulsing hard and hot across his entire length. If not for how thoroughly she’d milked him earlier, he imagined he’d have been brought close to his peak just from that, “Gods, That’s… You always feel so good.”

“Robinnn…” his lover’s sigh captured his attention again a moment later, as she regained her breath, tracing her fingers across his cheek and flushing bright red while offering him a warm smile, “Naga. It feels incredible, even just sitting here like this. Mmm, aah, it’s always like this, your big, hard, cock always drives me wild.”

She was trying to stroke his ego, as part of trying to look after him, ‘Geez, Lucina…’ Even knowing that, he still couldn’t’ help but be utterly charmed by her kindness.

Taking the initiative as she settled herself into his lap, Robin rolled down the shoulders of her dress, unveiling her milky white skin and quickly moving to capture one of her small pink nipples between his lips, savouring the taste of her skin as he drew it warmer into his mouth.

“Ahhaha!” She giggled lightly, cradling his head with her hands and threading her fingers through his hair as he suckled against her, “Just like a child… Ahh, even if you suck like that, no-nothing’s going to come out, you know?”

Releasing another small moan, she shivered happily in his arms.

“Mmm, I don’t mind though. Ahhn, go ahead, you can use it as you like, my entire body, any of my wholes, use them whenever you wish,” freely giving that scandalising promise, the Princess slowly began to move. With her head still lying on his shoulder, she breathed out soft and sweet sighs only a few centimetres from his ear with each time her hips slid a few inches up and down his thick shaft, “It doesn’t matter, unha, if I’m in a meeting, or at dinner, or, or anywhere. I’ve already given myself to you, s-ooohaa, so, I don’t mind. Just, give me some sign and I’ll make up an excuse. I… I would be happy for you to unload all your frustrations into me, as often as you need to, anytime you’d like.”

“Lucina…”

Her name fell unbidden from his lips, whispered directly into the moderate breast still bouncing lightly in his mouth. He repeated it, again, and then again after that, moaning her name as if it was somewhere between a spell and a prayer. He held her close, as light and gentle against him as he could bear, his hands cradling her back as hers fell around his shoulders.

Staying like this, wrapped up in Lucina’s love, as much as the slow building ecstasy drawn out from her body, at long last, Robin’s mind finally cleared. Her pure affection lifted the haze of fear and doubt that had surrounded him ever since his failure with Panne and the Tactician blinked heavily, as if awakening from a long sleep.

‘I see,’ he breathed, arching back with a low groan as the Princess’s pussy pulsed tight around his length, ‘I’m standing on that same precipice once more.’

He’d been brought right back to the start, the reason he was so confused is because he was facing just the same terrible choice as he’d face back then. This was just like that moment so many weeks ago now, the day after he’d first broken his vow and slept with Tharja. Naga, or whatever God had had taken an interest in his fate must have wanted to give him a chance to reflect, to re-evaluate everything he’d done.

‘I can stop. I can give up now. I don’t need to do this anymore, I don’t need to hurt anyone else.’

When he’d made his choice, when he’d walked the path he had, it had already been too late to stop. So, he’d fought with everything he’d had, blackening his soul in the process, he’d manipulated his friends and betrayed his companions… And, after everything, he’d failed.

Panne had appeared sooner than he’d anticipated, his planning hadn’t been strong enough, and she’d completely rejected him.

He’d spent every hour since that moment fearfully awaiting the doom the Taguel was sure to deliver to him.

And now, looking at the smiling face of the woman he held cradled in his arms, Robin finally realised a new possibility.

‘I could tell her. I could tell Lucina everything. All I’ve done and why I did it… If she’s going to find out anyway, then surely the least I can do is to make sure she hears it from me.’

And then, if he explained everything properly, if she was somehow able to forgive him, then perhaps they could go see Panne together.

His eyes closed and his mouth fell open in a low moan as the soft waves of bliss pulsed through him, ebbing and flowing in time with his thoughts as his mind slowly gathered toward a conclusion. Lucina’s incredible body was wrapped tight around him, her pussy caressing his shaft and her heat thrumming directly through his core. And, to his relief, his instincts were completely silent. The fire that had burned so strongly within him was extinguished for now, and he was savouring the feeling of her with only love.

‘We could do it, we could fix everything together. We could work on this, together.’

Enveloped in the Princess’s kind affection, the words almost spilled directly from his mouth the second he completed the thought. He wanted to tell her, he knew, he hated the secrets and half truths he’d surrounded himself in, he wanted to be honest with the woman he’d given himself to. This was finally the moment to do so, finally the time to give up his reckless plan and relieve his heart.

“Lucina, I…”

But, just as suddenly as his words began, so too did they stop.

And, Robin fell silent once more, his mind abruptly filled with the sight of another smiling, blue-haired girl who had been just as worried about him. ‘Morgan… That’s right.’ He suddenly recalled the conversation he’d had with his daughter, and he remembered again, the twisted memory he hated to acknowledge that her words had reminded him about- that it had been his fear of hurting her that had saved his sanity when nothing else could, that it was his knowledge that even that fear wouldn’t last forever, that had finally sent him down the path he’d taken.

When he’d talked with her earlier he’d remembered his purpose- that he’d fought all this time, that he’d done everything he had to protect the two of them.

But, wrapped up now in Lucina’s cleansing love, it was only now that he could finally think properly again, ‘Yeah.’ that finally, he could remember the strength of his resolve and recall just why he’d made the choice he had.

Pulling her against his chest and savouring the warm heat of her thin body, Robin sighed.

He was right back to where he’d been so many weeks ago, standing top the same precipice and facing the exact same decision…

…And once again, he was making the exact same choice.

‘Maybe there’s nothing that can be done anymore. Maybe it’s already over and Panne’s already spread the word about what I’ve told her. But, even so. I’d rather die fighting than to just give up! I’ll gamble my soul again, rather than concede this!’

Telling Lucina now, stepping back from the mad path he’d chosen, would be nothing more than a compromise. The best he could manage, if everything worked out right, would be to hurt her less.

He hadn’t accepted that then, and he refused to do so now. He was fighting to keep from hurting her at all. He’d resolved to protect her, even from himself, no matter what price he had to pay.

‘I will tell her,’ he promised himself once again, as his resolve finally steeled itself firm inside him, ‘I’ll make sure she knows. But, only when she owes me nothing and when she has no obligation to stick by me. Only when she won’t feel pressured to forgive me.’

If he explained his situation while he was still being driven by these maddening instincts then, despite everything, he knew that she would feel a duty to help him, to assist him. Doing so would forever taint the love she held for him by chaining her heart with such compassion. Instead, he would tell her only when he was in full control of himself once again, when her decision would be weighed only by what she felt.

“Oh?” a soft laugh broke him from his thoughts and Robin looked back to see Lucina leaning back in his lap, examining his face with a warm smile, even as she continued bouncing herself gently up and down along his cock, “You look better all of a sudden. A-Ahh, has your mind cleared at last, my love?”

“Yeah,” he answered, “You, hhaa, you calmed me down. I know what I need to do now.”

Was it already over? Had Panne already told everyone? Would this be the last time he’d be able to enjoy her looking so warmly at him? There was no way he could know, but now at long last, the fear had disappeared from his heart and, thanks to her, his path was clear once more.

Lucina’s fingers brushed lightly across his cheek, waiting for an explanation, but he remained silent, his chest tightening under her curious gaze.

Before he could react, her smile broke into another soft laugh, mixed happily with a pleased moan and, once again, she washed away all his tension. “Uuaa, mmm, it’s fine, even if it’s not something you can tell me. I don’t mind. I’ll, ah-hha, I’ll always support you regardless.”

“Lucina…”

“It’s fine. I belong to you, don’t I? You’re my husband, the man I’ve given myself to. So, I’ll trust you, no matter what. Ai-hha… If, there’s something going on that you can’t tell me about, that’s fine. R-Robin, I believe in you, and I believe that whatever’s going on, you’re trying to look after me, to protect me and Morgan too. Your family.

“So, just know that we’re, hhaa, that we’re both here for you, whenever you need. And do whatever you have to.”

Choking back a sudden sob, Robin’s world blurred as tears pricked at his eyes, “Lucina, G-Gods, I love you. I love you more than anything, more than anyone!”

“Of course,” she smiled, “I love you too.”

Wiping away his tears with a gentle touch, Lucina fell warmly into his arms once more and, with everything that needed to be said, already now spoken between them, for the next several hours, the Tactician’s office was filled with only the sounds of soft, tender lovemaking.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Despite the hundreds of battlefields he’d fought on, and the thousands of terrifying monsters he’d faced down, standing now on Panne’s doorstep, it took almost all the courage Robin could gather to raise his hand and knock.

The house itself was fittingly simple for someone as straightforward as the Taguel, a small one-storey cottage several kilometres from Ylisstol on the outskirts of a nearby forest, it was reachable only by a single half-hidden dirt path which led to a small, sheltered clearing. There were no fences or signposts in sight, instead the only sign he’d come onto her territory at all had been almost a hectare’s worth of meticulously cared for turf spreading between numerous rows of long garden beds, each filled almost to overflowing with more types of vegetables than he could even guess at.

Given her senses, Panne was no doubt already well aware of his presence and likely had been since long before he’d been standing nervelessly outside her door. But, even so, she was giving the courtesy of waiting for him to announce herself, and he was grateful for that.

*Pkak*, *Pkak*, *Pkak*.

His chest tightened, but when he finally did rap on her door, he did so loudly and clearly. He was long past the point of no return, and long since used to fighting down any anxiety to do what needed to be done.

The door opened a few scant heartbeats later, revealing the Taguel in question, her arms folded across her chest and a flat look on her face, “So, you came, Robin. Greetings.”

“Panne. I’m glad you’re still here. We need to talk.”

Her brows knitted together, and for several very long moments, she remained silent, staring coolly back at him, clearly weighing the decision up in her mind.

“Please,” he added, “Hear me out. No matter what you decide, or what you choose to do next, at the very least, I owe you an explanation.”

“You owe me more than that.”

Robin faltered for a moment, “That’s true… But, I doubt an apology would mean anything right now, not unless you know why I’ve done what I have.” Given the gravity of what she’d found out, there was no way just apologising for his proposition toward her would be enough to keep her silence.

Another silent eternity passed before the door was finally pulled completely open, with Panne stepping aside and nodding him to follow her inside with a heavy sigh, “It’s comforting at least to see that you’re unarmed,” she pointed out, gesturing to the beast-stone held in her left hand, previously hidden behind the door, “I had worried about just what your next action would be.”

Wincing terribly, Robin faltered once more, only able to stare in shocked horror back at the comrade he’d fought beside innumerable times, “Wha- I can’t believe you’d thi- I would never! I-” pausing, he swallowed his words with a pained grimace. “Yeah… I suppose I deserve your suspicion, don’t I? You must be doubting almost everything you know about me.”

He’d never even considered that she’d think him capable of something like that, but given how callously he’d torn down her previous understanding of him and especially after how clearly he’d shown his strength in their last encounter, she had plenty of reasons to be wary of him.

Turning away to lead him down a corridor, deeper into her dwelling, Panne halted for a step, “Not quite,” she answered quietly, without looking back, “I’ve let you into my house and, I’m still… I’m still glad to see you, that you’ve come to explain. I’ve decided to trust you, Robin, just a little. I want to believe you’re still the man I knew for so long.”

A myriad of emotions twisted through him at that and Robin couldn’t find the words to reply. Feeling his composure cracking he breathed out some wordless thanks and followed silently after her.

Panne’s house was far bigger on the inside that it appeared, or to be more precise, the house itself seemed to act primarily as a large welcoming room the larger complex that opened up as she led him down a surprisingly polished flight of rosewood stairs that swiftly opened up to a large sweeping parlour, several meters below the ground.

Robin couldn’t help but be impressed, while it was probably obvious if he’d stopped to think about it, until now he’d never really considered the difference in accommodation that would suit a Taguel, rather than a human, it also made him wonder idly just Nowi and Nah’s house looked like.

Far from what he may have expected from a sub-terrainian burrow, the room was boarded up fully on all sides with what appeared to be magical valewood and lit brightly by the warm glow of numerous small magical lamps strung across the ceiling. Her house was cherry and warm, holding homely charm and without a trace of dirt or anything else to suggest they were anywhere but in a completely normal, well cared for, room. Somehow, despite the strange surrealism of being several meters underground, the only thing that stood out strangely to Robin at all was just how diligent a housekeeper Panne appeared to be.

Following along as she guided him into away and into a connected dining room, Robin couldn’t keep his curiosity as he examined his surroundings, all around him he could see what appeared to be a long webway of corridors stretching out, entwining and connecting to many other rooms deeper inside.

Far from the simple home he’d seen from the outside, he realised that this was a proper Taguel warren. And, he added silently to himself at that thought -pulling out a chair and seating himself at the table she indicated to him before gliding wordlessly away to the kitchen- it was also far too big for just one person, or even for two. ‘She really can’t deny her duty, can she?’ Even when designing her own house, after the war, with only her and Yarne, she’d still made it more than big enough for the children she knew she needed to have. It was just as he’d thought, despite how much she worried about it, Panne could never abandon the fate of the Taguel entirely to her son, especially after seeing how much that fear had pressed on him, his whole life.

No doubt some quiet part of her soul wanted to raise a whole brace of kids, enough that she could face him and tell him that he didn’t need to worry, that it was okay for him just to live his life for himself.

Robin gave a wry smile, seeing this, it only made it more impressive that she’d still turned down his offer yesterday.

Panne returned a short time later, placing two steaming mugs of black tea and a large bowl of assorted vegetables between them, settling herself down across from him, she plopped a small carrot into her mouth before returning to the same steely gaze as before, “I imagine you’re wondering, so I’ll tell you directly; when I left yesterday, I was in no state to talk to anyone, I was shocked and before I even realised it, I’d run all the way back here. I have been trying to make sense of it ever since. I know what you’ve done, and I know you want my silence. I also know that you intend, or at least, you did intend to continue your actions. I just don’t understand why…”

She breathed out heavily, her voice was steady and her gaze piercing, it was only the almost imperceptible trembling of her hands that showed her deep discomfort, “Looking back, I know you cannot have been like this during the previous wars, I don’t believe I could have missed something like that for so long, so… So, I still believe that you guided us honestly, that you were the man I thought you were. Which means that this is something that must have happened since you’ve returned. Did the Manspawn world corrupt you? Did you fall into arrogance from your past successes, thinking you deserved more than you were given? Is this supposed to be your reward then, treating the female Shepherds as just women to be toyed with!?” her voice rose sharply in anger for a moment, but was stilled just as quickly, she’d brought him here to hear him out, not to rant at him, “You’ve come to talk. You’re here now. This is the only chance you’re ever going to have. So, explain yourself.” 

Swallowing his pain at her accusations, Robin forced himself to meet her eyes levelly. Now that he’d come all the way here, now that the moment had finally arrived, speaking openly seemed an even more difficult task than he’d imagined. All this time, all these weeks and months, he’d never said a word of this to anyone, not to Lucina who he loved, not to Lissa who’d been with him the longest, nor even to Tharja who already knew most of everything.

But slowly, with his fists clenched and heart jumping in his chest, slowly, he began his tale. He didn’t rush, and she didn’t interrupt, and so, for the next hour, Panne listened with increasingly shocked attention as he explained just what could turn the honest, caring Tactician she’d respected into the man she saw before herself today.

He told her about waking up once more in that field, on that day. About the incredible joy that had welled up within him as well as the first signs of his increased perceptions, and increased appetite.

He told her about the long, painful months that had passed from there. About his desires quickly growing past what he could ignore, about his futile visits to priests, to curse-breakers, to any kind of healer he could find.

He told her about the terrifying desperation that had gnawed endlessly at him. About the endless battle he’d felt, fighting back his lust, maintaining his sanity even as he had to hold himself back from assaulting his closest friends.

He told her about Lucina. About how his heart had broken, watching her push her body to the very edges of her limits, draining the very last of her considerable stamina in futile attempts to satisfy him, about the proud and strong Crown Princess collapsing unconscious, constantly defeated by his lust, and with him less satisfied each time.

He told her about Tharja. About the clawing madness that had brought him beyond despair, the terror that had finally defeated his pride and brought him to the Dark Mage’s door, about the night he’d broken his vow of faithfulness as well as the instantaneous relief the moment he’d done so, the way months’ worth of pressure had been relieved all at once and the way he’d finally felt clear-headed once more, for the first time in months, as if he could finally see the light at the end of the tunnel.

He told her about what he’d learned that night in the Dark Mage’s arms. What she’d told him of his instincts, the darkness she’d seen swirling around him and the helpless fear she’d felt too, having spent so long unable to do anything but watch as he’d driven himself to the very brink of insanity, trying to control the needs of his very soul.

And then, finally, although in lesser detail, he told her about everything else. How he’d rekindled his relationship with Lissa. The night he’d stumbled on Olivia’s secret. His agreement with Miriel. Even Nowi’s surprising reaction to his presence.

It was a difficult story, one that lasted longer than both the mugs of tea she’d provided and the bowl of vegetables shared between them. But, by the time he finally wound to a close, he could see that the steel in her gaze had melted, just slightly. Her expression wasn’t soft, with her, it never had been, but the affronted anger, at least, seemed to have lifted.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

“That’s… Quite a story.” Panne spoke finally, sagging back in her seat with a deeply conflicted sigh.

“It’s true though,” he answered, finding himself surprisingly exhausted as he awaited her judgement, “You’ve seen for yourself the strength I have now. You know it wasn’t like that before.”

“It’s certainly true that your power has changed, almost more than I can believe. But, that’s not necessarily also evidence of these overpowering instincts you talk about… Still, even then, I… I believe you. I can remember worrying about you, the few times we met since your return, you always seemed to be straining, more and more with some burden.”

He almost sighed in relief, before he saw a sudden fierce sharpness return to her gaze and realised where her thoughts had lead her. “Pan-”

“This strength, and these desires, this need you speak of, for dominance; even just thinking about how much you’ve changed, how you’ve acted since your revival…” Her lips drew into a thin line and her voice dropped, low and hard, “Rather than Robin, is it not better to conclude that Grima has returned instead?”

“NO! NO!” he roared, slamming his fist on the table, “I’m not! I swear to you, I’m not him! Gods! I’m Robin, me, the same man I always was! I remember every step of our time together, I remember how desperately we fought against him! Panne! I remember killing him!”

It wasn’t an accusation he could possibly have taken lightly, because it was something that had been on his mind endlessly through time warring against his instincts- the terrifying thought that Grima was somehow corrupting him, taking possession of him. It had been Tharja’s explanation, as much as the relief he’d felt, that had finally set him free of that fear but he could still remember the long days he’d spent wondering about the worth of his own soul.

“I told you, when I wasn’t sure what was wrong with me, when I was searching for a solution, I prayed to Naga time after time. I drank holy water, I fasted for days, I spent entire afternoons in communion. I’ve joined in the chorus in the holiest temples in Ylisse, Gods, I’ve been blessed over and over again by Libra himself. I’m… I’m me. I’m Robin. Grima died by my hand and he’s never coming back. Whether I have some aspects of his power or not, everything I’ve done, every wrong I’ve committed, it’s all been my choice. I’m not being controlled, influenced or manipulated, there’s no voice whispering in the back of my head and no other hand guiding me, there’s just… Just, this, this infernal need. But that’s all it is, just a desire, there’s nothing mystical about it, it’s no different from a hunger, or thirst, and it disappears just the same when it’s sated.”

Pulling off his glove, he raised the back of his hand toward her, “Look! Don’t you remember? When we were marching to Mount Prism, after Grima returned, Chrom showed you all my brand? He explained what I was, what I was... Why I was born. You remember how he asked you all, everyone, to stand with me all the same? It’s gone now… He’s gone. I’ve been free of any connection to him, ever since I’ve returned. I had his mark when I was just his avatar, don’t you think it’d be strange for that to disappear if I was him? Panne, you’ve seen Grima yourself… You’ve, you’ve seen him wearing my skin. Don’t you think you’d recognise him?”

Finally, her gaze dropped and she looked away. The sight of Robin’s body possessed being by that monster was not one any Shepherd enjoyed remembering, nor one they could easily forget.

“That’s true,” she conceded quietly, a tinge of guilt colouring her words, although she offered no apology for them, “Grima couldn’t pass as a manspawn. He had far too much contempt for mortals to ever successfully live among them. It’s true, when I concentrate my senses on you, I can feel an almost incredible power from you, but, but you’re right, it’s not the corrupted scent of the Fell Dragon. It’s the same power I’ve always felt from you, just magnified beyond belief.”

“Thank you…”

“Then…” Her eyes clouded over with pain, and her hands balled once more into tight fists, “Then, WHY!? The Robin I knew was kind and gentle. He was someone who always sacrificed himself and his health to protect the people he cared about, he worked impossible hours to keep us all safe. He was a Manspawn I was proud to call friend! Not someone that would so selfishly, s-so callously deceive his friends like this!”

His chest clenched tight in return and it was all he could do just to meet her gaze as his guilt wrenched away at his soul once more. “I’ve told you why,” he answered quietly, “Because there’s no other way. Because I need to protect my family, Lucina and Morgan, from anything, even from myself. I know what I’m doing is terrible, that I’ve done unforgivable things. But, I also know it would be even worse if I didn’t do it. I fought against this for months, I stood on the brink of insanity, and still, it only got worse. If I try fight it, if I hold back, I’ll just end up losing my mind, I’ll only end up a wild beast, I’ll wind up attacking someone, anyone, without concern.”

There weren’t many who could stop him now, and even if they could, it was doubtful his mind would survive such ravages. There was no happy ending in which he gained control over his instincts, he knew that now, he’d accepted it.

A heavy pause settled between them for a moment and Panne’s gaze slid away from his once more, “Among Taguel… If someone is ill and is putting the entire warren at risk, rath-”

“Do you think I haven’t thought about that? I’ve considered killing myself a hundred times, a thousand times. I’ve thought up a whole pile of different plans that would make it seem like an accident, or even a Heroic death, to keep everyone from blaming themselves for my suicide. I’ve thought about it. I thought about it endlessly when I didn’t know what was wrong with me, and I’ve thought about it since when I remember everything I’ve done since.”

His breath hitched in his throat and his eyes blurred for a second, “But, I… I can’t. I can’t do that to them. Lucina’s suffered almost her entire life. She does a remarkable job of seeming together, but you, you can’t even imagine how fragile she is, everything about her. She’s finally putting her demons to rest, sh-she’s finally recovering. She sometimes sleeps full nights now, you know? Even when I’m not with her. And, and she smiles again. There’s no way I can take that away from her. Dying once was bad enough, if I come back, only to leave again, it’d scar her heart forever, And Morgan, she’s no different. No matter what kind of brave face she puts on, I know she feels un-anchored in time, she doesn’t have any memories and doesn’t feel like she truly has a place to belong. I’m all she knows, the only consistent thing she has, she never talks about it, but I know how painful it was for her when I was gone. I can’t leave them again, not this soon.”

If nothing else, he was certain Panne could at least understand that. She knew better than any other Shepherd the pain of losing the one she loved.

“Then, even so, why have you hidden all of this? Why are you not acting in concord with Lucina? As you say, she’s earnest in her love and knows true justice, so, why are you sneaking around behind her back?”

“It’s because she’s so earnest,” he answered awkwardly, trying to put to words a feeling he’d based so much of his choice around, “If I told her, she’d force herself to accept this, she’d understand that I have no control over what I’m going through and she’d put her own feeling aside to help me, no matter how it hurt her. I will tell her, I promised myself that long ago, I’ll make sure she knows what I’m doing- but only when I can control it, only when she doesn’t need to stick by me, to help me. I know how important the love she has for me is, Gods, I cherish it more than anything; it’s innocent and pure, and I can’t, I won’t taint it with something like this, I don’t want that love to work against her, to make her feel like she has to accept such an ugly compromise, for my sake.”

Panne frowned, “Your determination is strong, but your words make no sense, hiding it is even worse, imagine if she finds out…”

Robin met her gaze fully, refusing to waver. He’d already made that choice, he was determined.

“You’re being ridiculous!” She answered, “Can you not see how short-sighted you are? You say you don’t want to taint her love, but isn’t that the inevitable conclusion? Either she finds out, or you eventually tell her, in either case her heart is broken! If you’d been open with her from the start, you could have healed the pain this would cause, together, but now, there’s no good ending for you here, all you’re doing is making it worse!”

“I won’t make a plan to soften the blow, I don’t want to hurt her less. I’d rather put everything I have into not hurting her at all.”

“And what about when you do finally come clean? When after all these years together, you finally tell her all the lies you’ve spun and all the hundreds of times you’ve betrayed her trust? What about, when rather than hurting her a little, you crush her completely!?”

Her words pierced his heart like an icicle, but still his determination was unwavering, “Then, I’ll give her the strength to spit on me and throw me to the side, to march off into a new future with her head held high. She will have no cause to bind herself to me and can choose whatever she wishes. If she can… If she can forgive me then, then it will be purely out of love, without any pressure, without any obligation to do so.”

“Foolish! Beyond foolish! Why did I ever think you were a genius!? This is the same stupid, pig-headed Man-spawn behaviour that does nothing but cause pain for everyone around you! It’s no different from a man who hides his mortal illness from his family, so they can live peacefully until he dies… Do you truly think they’ll cherish their false peace after finding out they were lied to all along!?”

“I know that. I understand. I’ve known that since the very moment I started walking this path. I know it’s foolish, it’s selfishness and idiocy wrapped up together, it’s self-destructive and can only end terribly… But, I can’t change my course. I can’t wilfully hurt her, or Morgan, they’re my family. They mean everything to me.”

With their eyes locked intensely across the table, Panne met his gaze for several long, silent minutes, before finally leaning back with a sigh, “Very well. That’s your business I suppose, how you conduct your relationship is your choice. But that doesn’t explain why you've approached only the other Shepherds about this, as I understand it, there are Man-Spawn females who specialise in exactly this trade, if you have this, this need as you describe it, surely they would provide the relief you’re seeking… Without you going behind the backs of we, who were your closest companions.”

“I, well, that’s a little harder to explain, or, harder to put into words…” Robin winced, trying to figure out just how to explain the nature of the instincts he’d been dealing with, “What I feel, it’s not just like some mating instinct, or a er, like being really… horny… It’s more than that, it’s, hmm, it’s more like an urge to possess, to claim something valuable? Do you know the old myths about Dragon hoards? Caves piled high with gold and gems, sapphires and rubies? It’s the same feeling, commoners just feel like pebbles in comparison, even when I was at my worst, I barely even looked towards the castle maids, or anyone around the city at all, they… They wouldn’t satisfy me for even a second. It has to be special women, women I respect and care for.”

In the end, as a matter of explanation, he’d fallen back to the same comparison Tharja had given him. The tales he was referencing were, as far as he’d seen at least, just myths (if anything, Tiki seemed more inclined to hoard comfortable pillows, and Nah would only use any riches to buy more books) but it was still a slightly uncomfortable reminder that his new instincts were Draconic in origin, that while he wasn’t a Manakete, so too was he not truly human, and that he never had been.

“So, you, you want to possess me?” 

“Of course,” saying it aloud was almost mortifying, but he’d come here to tell the full truth, so Robin stared back without wavering, “Panne, you’re strong and beautiful, charming and brilliant. I want to make you mine.”

Suddenly unable to stand the sincerity in his gaze, Panne’s eyes shifted to the side, her cheeks flushing red as she coughed awkwardly, “I, I see.”

It was another few seconds before she recovered her composure, “In that case, I think I understand the situation now. But, even if I did have some sympathy towards your situation… I can’t possibly-you can’t expect me to stay silent while you seduce all our comrades!”

“Eh?” Robin blinked, she thought he intended to conquer all of them? All the female Shepherds? Was that even possible? It sounded ridiculous, just thinking about it! It was the kind of thing Tharja would suggest, and definitely not something he’d pay attention to, “I wasn’t planning that at all! That’d be, there’s no way I could keep something like that secret, surely! I was only ever intending to be with enough of them to satisfy these instincts, so they’d go away! Er… You were meant to be the last actually, you and Nowi.”

“I-I was?” this time it was Panne’s turn to be surprised, apparently she thought higher of him than he’d even expected, thankfully, she caught on quickly, “Ah, because we would be the ones most likely to uncover you.”

“Exactly. And, that’s already six women, even without you. I can’t really guess at how this works, but surely, that has to be enough.”

She didn’t answer for a moment, dropping her eyes to the table, Panne folded her arms across her chest, her long ears twitching slightly in place as she slowly turned over everything he’d told her, “Then… If I am to believe everything you’ve said, even if I do believe you about this condition of yours, then, even so, how can I accept the manner you’ve dealt with it!? Keeping your secrets from Lucina? Telling yourself that you’re doing so to protect her? Pheh, fine! I can accept that as simply more pathetic Man-Spawn illogical behaviour, but, but why have you approached so many of the married women! If you truly have only ever intended to gather a handful of lovers, then why were they the ones you chose! Why have you betrayed your friends, the people you fought beside for so many years!?”

“Ah…”

Wincing, Robin finally found he couldn’t meet her gaze. It was a fair question and one he’d rarely examined himself. This time, there was nothing noble about his answer.

“Honestly. It was mostly pure opportunism. It’s just the way things worked out, I never intended it to go anything like that.”

The words sounded weak, even to his ears.

“When I started, I didn’t have a strategy of what I was going to do, I’d barely even accepted that I needed to do it, it was almost overwhelming just thinking about it. And then, Lissa was the first, after Emmeryn’s memorial, before Lon’qu returned, as I told you… And, well, I’m sure you’ve guessed most of the history between me and her over the years,” they’d never discussed it, but he doubted his multiple liaisons with the younger Princess had slipped the Taguel’s perception, “It was just the same as then. She was the one that brought me back to her room, she was the one who kissed me, all I did was convince her to make it more than just another night of comfort between us. Of course I planned for it, but, it was just a quirk of fate really, that everything happened, right when that day was coming up- I knew I needed to find another lover, and I knew that, on that day, she’d want me.

“Olivia, like I said, it was a complete co-incidence running into her that night. I knew I had to help her regardless, I couldn’t leave her like she was, so then… I gave her the opportunity, and in the end, she was the one who approached me. Miriel was the same, I never set out to seduce her, I never even mentioned anything to her, I did give Henry a suggestion, but that’s all, she came to me after an agreement with him, and it was something he wanted. I haven’t been specifically aiming for the married Shepherds, I definitely don’t want to do that and there’s no reason for me to do so, it’s just… How things have happened.”

He’d already explained the situations for Gregor, Lon’qu and Henry, she understood that while Robin was the one who’d taken advantage of the situation, he’d only acted on discord that was already there, he hadn’t sown any seeds of discomfort himself. The women held some fault for the choices they’d made with him and, equally, the men weren’t entirely blameless in how they’d treated their wives.

“Does Chrom know about this? I understood that the two of you shared everything together.”

That was how it should be, how it was meant to be. He loved Chrom, he trusted the man and would follow him to the Abyss itself, but, “I haven’t even told him I’ve been sleeping with his daughter yet. I really don’t think it’d be wise to mention I’m having sex with his sister in the same conversation.” There was only so much a man could take.

Her façade cracked slightly at his flippant reply and then a small hesitation spread out between them, as they both realised that, with that, he’d now answered the last of her questions; finally, everything Robin had come to share had been laid out between them. Rising to her feet, Panne was the first to speak.

“I see. Then, I’m glad, Robin, that you came today to explain all this. As I said before, it’s quite a story, nothing at all like what I expected to hear from you… It’s, it’s difficult to even imagine how I should respond.”

At the very least, they both knew there was no way she wouldn’t be able to recognise if he’d lied to her, by facing her like this, by baring himself openly, she was forced to accept that everything he’d said was true- or at least, that he believed it was so.

Returning to the kitchen for a moment, with slightly jerky movements, Panne quickly loaded up another bowl of miscellaneous vegetables and sat it down in-front of him, “Please, stay a little longer… I just… I just need a moment, to think.”

And so, without another word, or even so much as giving him a chance to reply, she turned and left the room, disappearing quickly out of sight down the winding tunnels spread out around him. Listening, right on the edges of his draconically sharp hearing, Robin could faintly make out the sounds of Panne’s soft feet pacing restlessly in the distance, but beyond that, he was given no course but to sit patiently, and wait.

Without any indicators of the passage of time, and with his nerves beyond frayed from everything that had already passed between them -let alone his unease at speaking aloud everything he’d thought, felt and done, for the first time- it was impossible for Robin to know how long he sat there, quietly munching on carrots or cucumbers. He knew it was probably no longer than ten minutes, but it felt like a slow eternity.

But finally, with a slightly softer look on her face and an almost nervous hitch in her step, his Taguel host returned.

“I’ll keep your silence.” She spoke clearly, without preamble.

“W-Wha? Ah, I mean, thank you.”

“And, an-and, I’ll… I’ll…” turning aside from his gaze, she looked away, her voice dropping quietly, “I’ll accept that you’re him, Robin, the same man I knew.”

He couldn’t reply, so with her voice hitching as she clenched her fist to her chest, Panne continued.

“I understood that you were just acting with me yesterday, that you were trying to make me angry with you, trying to make me hate you… Hhaa, when I calmed down, that thought actually comforted me a little, it made me happy, that you wanted to protect my love for Kellam, just the same as me.

“What you’ve done, what you still plan on doing… It’s awful. No matter the circumstances, it’s despicable to treat your companions so callously… However… After, after hearing your story, I believe that it’s also understandable, I can’t help but sympathise a little, the pressures of instinct are an inevitability, not something that any man can simply ignore. S-So, so, even if I detest what you’ve done, I’ll accept what you need to do, and I’ll accept that you’re still the same man I knew. You’re still my friend, Robin.”

Overwhelmed by her straightforward sincerity, he found his eyes suddenly pricked hot with tears, yet even as his vision blurred, the Grandmaster couldn’t tear himself away from the sight of the nerveless, anxious, bunny woman standing before him, “Panne…”

She gave a short, halting laugh, as her words continued hesitantly, “You know, yesterday and until you came to see me- as much as I thought about you, and everything I’d learned, I thought twice as much about what you said to me. It was, even if I couldn’t accept it, everything you guessed about me was correct… That I knew I needed to find a lover, that I’d been putting it off for so many years, that I was keeping myself apart from everyone else because of my fear of giving up Kellam’s sole place in my heart. I couldn’t deny a word of it. I need to raise another generation of the Taguel, and you… just like you said, you would be well suited to it, both for your strength and the secrecy you promised me… And yet, even so, I couldn’t bear to let you touch me. Hhaa, I was too shocked! It surprised me, I guess, I was even more sentimental than I thought?”

It had certainly taken him by surprise too, he’d been sure at the time, after everything he’d said and everything he’d offered her that Panne would accept him. Still, Robin kept his silence. Panne was a taciturn woman at the best of times, for her to speak this much just showed up much she must have weighing down her heart.

“I-I meant it when I said I was glad to see you earlier… It meant a lot that you came to explain yourself, I’d been hoping that you would. Because…” seizing up for a moment, her fists clenched and unclenched at her side, but slowly the words came free, “B-Because, some part of me wished that you did have an explanation… That, that you could somehow have an excuse for everything you’d done, something that could redeem you to me. Because we’ve been friends for so long… And, and also… So… So I could accept your offer.”

Her last words came out barely above a whisper, and, if not for the encompassing silence of the room, as well as the painful red blush spread across the Taguel’s cheeks, Robin was sure he would have misheard her. Instead, he could only stare back, open mouthed in shock.

“Today’s a fertile day! S-So, if you’re, if you’re still interested in possessing me, then come!”

Flicking around on her heel, Panne twisted on the spot and hurriedly made her escape from the room, walking away on shaking legs and out into one of the many hallways beyond.

Swallowing heavily, Robin gave a quick, surprised laugh. After spending the entire previous night and most of this day dreading what was to come, the most he’d allowed himself to even dream to hope for was that Panne would keep her silence, possibly with some condition or another! He’d long since given up hope that his argument from the previous day had held weight with her!

Shaking his head, he gave a wry laugh as he followed after her. It seemed, once again, he’d failed to properly predict the Taguel woman he’d known for so long.

The path’s through the warren were twisting and confusing, on his own he would surely have gotten lost; however, he could see that Panne had lit up a section of lights into the depths as she’d passed. So, with the ice around his heart finally melting and his chest pounding in excitement, Robin eagerly sought after his woman. 

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Following the lights, he eventually arrived at a rather tidy bedroom, although, as he noticed from the bare décor and empty wardrobe, it was not the master bedroom. There was no sight of Panne when he walked in, but the light coming from the adjacent room as well as the sounds of water splashing around left no particular mystery as to where she was.

Shutting the hallway door behind him and seating himself on the available bed, Robin weighed up the decision to strip off and join her in the bath… It was a tempting prospect but, given how tentative things were between them right now, he quickly thought better of it, ‘Most likely, she wants a little longer to prepare herself.’

Without anything else to focus on aside from the sounds of the naked Taguel washing readying herself barely a few meters away and his own resultant excitement about that thought, it was a rather awkward wait over the next ten minutes, before Panne finally arrived, wrapped up only in a thick white towel and blushing a deep scarlet as she directed him into the bathroom in turn.

‘This feels a little impersonal…’ Robin thought to himself a minute later, standing alone once more as he dropped his clothes to the tiled floor and lowered himself -only mildly begrudgingly- into the (thankfully) hot water she’d left for him, ‘It reminds me a little of Miriel.’

He knew he shouldn’t complain but, all the same, he came to a firm very conclusion that he much preferred heated romance and seduction to start an encounter, rather than a professional and dispassionate agreement.

‘Still,’ he consoled himself, taking a few minutes to clean away any sweat or dust that had accumulated from the night spent in his office, ‘It’s exciting in its own way, all the same.’

Just the thought of Panne waiting naked for him in the next room was enough to set the crackling embers of his instincts ablaze. For as long as he’d known her, she’d always been stoic to the point of being almost cold, he’d never seen this side of her before and he couldn’t help but find himself rather charmed by it! “Ahhhm.” The bath was a stonework pool built into the ground more than big enough for him to stretch out leisurely, the water was enjoyably warm and he was soon feeling clean once again, at any other time he was sure it would be extremely relaxing.

But, right now, with his cock pulsing rock hard between his legs and his desire swirling hot within him, it was all he could do to not to count down the seconds before he’d judged he’d given her enough time to get ready.

‘Alright!’ 

Pulling himself out and back to his feet with a broad grin, Robin paused for only a second, covering his body with a thin strip of wind magic and using a simple cantrip he’d modified from Miriel’s book to blow away any remaining water, completely ignoring the towel she’d left for him and striding confidently back to the bedroom and, finally, to his awaiting Taguel.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

“A-Ah!”

Panne let out a soft cry when she saw him, looking up from where she was propped up against the wall, already inside the bed and wrapped up in thin bedsheets. Her eyes travelled up and down, drinking in the full sight of his body and Robin couldn’t help but enjoy the sight of her surprise; she was looking, for the first time since he’d ever known her, nervous and soft enough to seem almost vulnerable. 

“Like what you see?” He teased, climbing onto the bed and closing the distance between them.

“N-No! I mean, it doesn’t matter if I do or, or,” stammering, red faced, she dropped her gaze, clutching the sheets tight between her fingers, “I was, I was simply a little taken aback.”

“Oh?”

Her eyes flicked across his body once more and she suddenly wore a rather defiant expression, “That must be about the average size for a Man-Spawn then? I was just thinking that Kellam… Kellam was obviously much bigger.”

“Is that so?” he answered with a wry grin. As straight-forward as she was, Panne wasn’t a good liar at the best of times and, as flustered as she was, he couldn’t find even a drop of sincerity in that comment. Still, his ego blistered slightly at her jab and, for a moment, he was taken with a desire to make her admit the truth, a desire he quickly stifled; for now, he needed to go at her own pace. If nothing else, he could at least admire her tenacity to put up such a bold front, “Well, there’s no helping that.”

Crawling across the bed, Robin took her hands in his and gently peeled the sheets back from her body, taking a moment to appreciate her naked form finally revealed to him. Her breasts were on the smaller side, perhaps only a little larger than Lucina’s and her athletic figure was impressively toned, without a single trace of fat to be seen, yet, even so, lying under him like this, she still appeared surprisingly soft and, as he wrapped his arms around her, easing her down to the mattress under him, her skin felt smooth and supple to the touch, in a way that wouldn’t lose even to Olivia’s professionally maintained complexion.

“Mmm.”

Humming in quiet appreciation as he watched her staring silently back up at him, with her face burning red and her long ears twitching in place he didn’t have any trouble guessing what must be running through her head right now. Panne wasn’t a woman to second guess herself, she’d already made up her mind that she wanted this, that she wanted him… all that was left was one last hesitation about how she would accept him- this was just an agreement after all, wasn’t it?

“Panne, relax,” Robin whispered softly, taking the lead for her and making the choice for her as he closed the gap between them, pulling her close and pressing his lips against hers, opening her mouth just slightly with his own, “I know what you’re worried about, I feel just the same, remember? I’m on your side. So, just, relax…”

Pulling her tighter against him, he punctuated the statement with another kiss, longer and deeper this time. And, “Mha-hmmm...” After a moment, the last remaining tension slipped from Panne’s body as she accepted him, opening her mouth against the gentle pressure of his tongue and wrapping her arms around his back as she leant into his embrace.

Moving slowly at first, but then more confident by the minute, as if remembering the steps to an almost forgotten dance, Panne’s tongue danced against his and she moaned softly into his mouth, sliding her hands across his bare skin, thoroughly reacquainting herself with the feeling of a man’s firm muscles under her fingers. Matching her pace with his own, Robin broke away from their kiss, trailing his lips instead along the underside of her jawline, and down the crest of her neck, smiling at the novel feeling of her soft fur brushing against his face as she shuddered under him.

His shaft was lying thick and hard against, pressed flat across her entrance. He could directly feel the heat of her body, as well as the gently building arousal forming between her legs, but he made no effort to escalate their embrace, contenting himself for now with the soft moans and sharp breaths falling from her lips as his length rocked back and forth across her pussy, grinding lightly against her lips in just the same rhythm his mouth kissed along her neckline.

Winding his hands from around her back and releasing her fully under him, into the mattress, Robin was struck by a sudden curiosity and, while leaning back slightly to observe her reaction, he reached out with both hands, taking gentle hold of her long fuzzy ears and stroking them between his fingers, ‘Oooh!’ a very unique feeling! They were velvety smooth, soft and fluffy even beyond what he’d even imagined. Caught up in the sensation, he rolled his hands back and forth, all the way up and down their length.

“Hh-haaa,” arching back slightly, Panne leaked out a low sigh as he did so, “What is it about my ears that, hha, that interests you Man-Spawn so much?”

He almost laughed, it seemed Kellam must have done just the same thing some time long ago.

Still, while she clearly found his caresses pleasurable, it didn’t arouse her in the same way it had for Nowi. Refocussing himself, he shifted his posture once more, leaning over and wrapping his left arm around her back, holding her tight and drawing her lips back towards his in a heated kiss as he shifted his right hand lower, cupping her breast between his fingers and gently kneading it against his palm. Pressing down firmer around the moderately sized mound, he dragged his thumb across the hard nub of her nipple,

“MmMMa!”

A sudden tremor ran down her body in reply and Panne’s fingers suddenly dug into his shoulders in a momentary shock. Breaking their kiss for a moment with a short growl, it was her who returned to him this time, crashing her lips back hungrily against his and pushing her chest firmly into his hand. Rolling her hips over, her lower body also began responding to his movements, matching his timing and sliding her pussy warm against his cock as her legs squeezed tight around him, locking him into an exquisite hold.

Grinding their bodies together like this, their kisses deepened even further and the tension between them rose quickly- Robin began moving his touch from one breast to the other, gently squeezing her nipples between his thumb and forefinger each time he changed. Panne shifted her hands both to his waist, pressing his hips firmly against hers as she moved her waist against his, pushing hard up and down along his shaft. Her body shuddered again and again under him, her skin growing hotter and heart pounding louder with each passing minute. He answered with low, pleased gasps, his cock pulsing with delight, right up to her stomach.

And then, just as Robin was about to escalate things further,

“E-Enough! Enough!”

Panne suddenly broke away instead, sharply repeating the command with a breathless insistence as she moved her hands around to his chest, firmly pushing the bewildered Tactician off her.

“Eh?”

“Enough of this!” she repeated, levelling him with a look that wasn’t quite a glare, “You’re wasting time. I’m not some newlywed wife, wanting to be pampered. We’re here for a reason, no more playing around.”

Without even waiting for a response, Panne slid out from under him, turning around on the spot and raising herself up onto her hands and knees, her little fluffy tail bouncing enticingly in the air as she pushed her hips out towards him.

‘Hah, obstinate to the end, eh?’ Robin grinned, once again finding himself charmed by her demeanour. In truth he’d wanted to take his time and to thoroughly break down any barriers between them, just as he had with Miriel. Ultimately however, the Taguel was very different to the scientist, and he knew better than to try treat them the same. Even if he knew she was really just rushing things to try cover up her embarrassment at being so obviously pleasured, for someone as headstrong as Panne, until she was used to him, he reasoned it would be best to simply follow her lead and worry about everything else later.

Settling himself in position behind her, he took a moment to admire the thin sheen of juices coating the usually stoic woman’s thighs, ‘Well, it’s not as if I have any complaints.’ He doubted there was a man alive who’d be unhappy at an invitation like what she’d just offered him!

Laying his hands around her hips as he lined himself up, Robin wasted no time in rocking his hips forward, spreading her pussy lips wide around his cockhead and slowly pushing inside, “O-Oohh!” he gasped in delighted surprise, he was sinking in far easier than he’d anticipated! With her incredibly toned body and having not had a lover for years, Panne was just as incredibly tight as he’d expected but, even so, her walls still opened up around him with just the slightest pressure- exactly the same as it had been with Nowi.

Easing the first few inches of his shaft into the Taguel, he couldn’t help but marvel at the unexpected comparison; her pussy didn’t have the same pulsing heat as the Manakete’s, but instead her walls were constricted tight around him with an almost delightful springiness, she felt soft and supple in ways he lacked the words to properly explain. He could only imagine it must be due to how adaptive their bodies were for their transformations, because just the same as how Nowi’s smaller body was able to somehow accept his entire length, Panne’s neglected pussy opened up eagerly around his thick rod.

“Kgh-hhaa!” of course, that was only her physical acceptance, he was still spreading her lips wider than ever before, “Ghh, haa! HaAAAH!”

Panting and moaning, the Taguel’s fingers clawed at the bedcovers, her head shaking back and forth and her body trembling more with each further inch he sank into her.

“Oh? What’s with this reaction? You’re breathing so hard!” Robin teased, running his hands lightly across her flank, “But, I thought you said Kellam was so much bigger than me?”

He knew he shouldn’t have said anything but watching her like this, he couldn’t help himself. Every man had his pride.

“Tha-That’s only because… Because it’s been so long!”

Of course, trying to deny his words, Panne then tried to forcefully supress her moans. Unfortunately, that only made her gasp even harder a few moments later as he filled her ever further, easily stretching the back walls of her pussy even deeper.

“And… And maybe…” with her hands clinging tight enough to the bedcovers to turn her knuckles white, her voice dropped to almost a whisper, “Maybe you’re… Just a little thicker…”

Robin smirked. He knew he should feel bad, she didn’t deserve that and he’d rather her not thinking about any other man but him anyway. But, even despite that, there was no way he couldn’t feel a rush of excitement, just from having wrung that small concession from her.

It was a funny thought really, as far back as he could recall, he’d never had anyone to compare himself to in that regard and he’d never had any reason to consider himself well endowed. But, now, this was the fourth wife in a row that had all but admitted he was significantly larger than her husband. Even though it was an achievement he’d done absolutely nothing to earn and had no reason to take pride in, he still felt his ego swelling at the idea. Although, he did wonder, and not for the first time, if it might have something to do with his heritage- he was born solely to be Grima’s vessel in this world after all and after everything he’d experienced so far, it wasn’t as if he needed any more evidence that the dead Dragon’s lineage had messed around with his biology in all sorts of ways.

Of course, now wasn’t the time to worry about such things and, “Ahh-hhaa, that feels good!” as he smoothly pushed the last of his length into the squirming Taguel, stretching out her walls across the full length of his cock, there was no way he could even attempt to focus on anything else.

“GhHa-HHAA!” trembling lightly in place and throwing her head back with a deep moan as she felt him sheathed entirely within her -stretching her walls wide around his shaft, almost unbelievably deep inside her-, it was clear that Panne had only just barely managed to claw herself back from collapsing into an orgasm through sheer force of will, “Ye-Yes, it’s, it’s not bad.”

“I’m going to start moving then?”

“Of, of course. Go ahead.”

Unfortunately, that sheer force of will didn’t last much longer. Acting on her permission, after dragging his cock almost back to her entrance, Robin hilted himself smoothly within her once more, and this time she couldn’t even resist as her world frantically exploded into white light, “HuuAhhhAHHHNNGGG!”

The feeling of her entire tunnel suddenly clinging even tighter around him, pulsing and coiling across his entire length with the same soft-springiness, was an almost irresistible pleasure, and without even meaning to, Robin quickly found himself crying out in response to her moans, “Ghh-hhaaaaa!” shifting his hands to take hold of her ass, he gave her no time to recover, instantly repeating the same slow, deep thrust, savouring every millimetre of the Taguel’s warm pussy.

Moving his right hand across to stroke the fuzzy fur of her tail as he built himself up to a slow rhythm, Robin was rewarded with the sight of Panne suddenly letting out a lusty yelp, her body suddenly jolting and her voice raising another octave with each of his thrusts.

He continued on like that, stroking her tail gently while he maintained a steady pace, dragging his length almost completely out of her pussy before rolling his hips forward and stretching himself right to her furthest depths once more. He wasn’t slow and loving, he knew she wouldn’t want that, but neither was he hard and rough- even if he could recognise the mess of emotions she must be feeling to finally accept him like this, he couldn’t truly understand them, he wanted her to trust him. His instincts crackled softly in the depths of his soul, but with all the women he’d taken already, they were easily sated with just this much. Everything else could come later.

“You feel incredible, Panne,” He assured her, praising her periodically as he felt a familiar tension quickly building within him once more. Lucina had done a thorough job of milking him earlier, but after having spent the previous night alone and given the feelings of pleasure coiling hot around his shaft, his libido had easily recovered, “It’s so tight, and wet, nhgaaa!”

For her part, Panne had largely didn’t answer. Her moans rose and fell each time her pussy clenched tighter around him and she crashed through another dizzying peak, but aside from that she seemed too self-conscious to say anything more.

“Ahuu, that’s good! Ye-Yeah, when you squeeze me just like that!”

Still, despite her silence, he could feel her body tremble happily around him each time he spoke and, given her nature, he doubted she was used to receiving compliments normally, so he continued giving her gentle affection as their bodies continued to come together.

Slowly the tempo between them raised, with her moans echoing loud around the room while his comments came between gasped breaths and, soon enough, Robin found the pressure within him swelling to the limits of what he could hold back.

“Gods, I-hha, I really, I can’t hold back much longer.”

“O-OH! It’s, it’s getting even bigger!?” Panne spoke finally, the arms holding her up shaking as much as her voice. It took several loud moans before she managed to say anything more, “Ro-Robin, it’s…it feels, feels amazing, ghha, for me too. S-So! So, don’t hold back! Inside, do it inside me! I’ll, uhgHHAA, I’ll proudly raise your children!”

“Ah-”

Sweet merciful Naga!

Robin’s body jolted bolt upright at that. The way she’d said it, the shock of hearing her admitting her pleasure and then in the same breath, ordering him to cum, to impregnate her, struck him somewhere deep within his psyche, hitting desires he hadn’t even known he’d held! And suddenly, before he could even think to stop it, the last of his restraints were blown away.

“-HhuuAAAAAAHHNG!”

Throwing his head back with a sudden cry, his fingers tugged hard on her bouncing tail and his hips rocketed forward, hilting himself desperately within her, his vision flashing white as his release crashed violently through him.

The pleasure was incredible, his cock was twitching and pulsing within her, spreading her walls wider than ever around him and yet, even as they yielded to him, they still coiled just as tight and just as wet across every inch of his length. Sheathed completely within her, scraping maddeningly against her furthest depths, he suddenly, finally, exploded, unloading blast after blast of hot, thick cum directly into the Taguel’s most sensitive areas, flooding her pussy and filling her womb within moments.

“HnnAHHH!”
“AuHHH! Y-Yes! RobiNNNGHHAAA!”

Losing control completely, Robin’s left hand dug hard into her ass and his body arched backwards, jolting his length hard inside her, even as his release surged through them. Equally, with her mind exploding with a dizzying spike of pleasure, Panne’s arms finally collapsed under her, and she fell face first down into the mattress, screaming aloud as she crashed headlong through peak after peak.

“Ghhaaa…”

“Uhga...hhaa…hhaaa.”

Eventually with her mind lost in white fog, Panne slumped forwards completely and she slipped from his shaft, losing the strength from her legs and falling completely onto the bed. Following her, with the blissful pressure around his length removed, Robin breathed out a deep, very satisfied sigh, smiling brightly as he dropped down beside her.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

“Mmhhaaa… That… That feels good…”

He didn’t bother trying to guess how much time had passed with the two of them curled up against each other, savouring the aftershocks of bliss, Panne’s eyes remained closed but she was humming lightly in response as his fingers played teasingly across her flushed skin.

“So…” Robin teased, drawing out the words as he rolled atop her, balancing his weight on his elbows as he gently eased her legs further apart, “Ready for round two?”

Her eyes finally flicked open, and her mouth pursed into a circle in surprise, “H-Huh?”

“Surely you can’t expect to get pregnant from just one round, can you?”

“Tha-Ahh, ohhaaAh! R-Robin, wai-, I’m hhaa, I’m, I’m still very sensitIIIIIIIAAAH!”

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

“Ohhaaa…” Robin sighed in contentment, several hours later, rolling off the collapsed Taguel and flopping down beside her, pulling her gently into his arms, “That… Was, good.”

In the end, they’d gone at it a further five times before Panne had finally been worn out. Considering how long it had been since Valm, he was impressed at just how long she’d lasted, a Taguel’s stamina certainly wasn’t to be under-estimated. In-fact, if he hadn’t been prepared from the time he’d spent playing with Nowi with her own incredible vitality, it wouldn’t have been surprising if he’d given out at the same time she had. As it was, while satisfied, he was merely tired. His energy had seemed almost unbelievable ever since he’d returned to life, but recently it seemed that, although it wasn’t a big change, the time he’d spent with the Manakete had reacted with him in ways even the other girls hadn’t. Let alone that strange dream-memory he’d had afterwards…

It was something he needed to think about.

“Ah…”

But, now wasn’t the time.

“Sorry Panne.”

He whispered an almost silent apology to the slumbering Rabbitwoman, a small spike of guilt settling into his stomach when he saw the equally contented look on her face, as well as the way her hands were laying flat across her stomach.

Everything he’d said to her was the truth, or at least, it had been what he’d believed to be true, there was no doubt about that. However, mostly for the sake of protecting the other women’s private secrets, he’d also made several small omissions… One of them being about the contraceptive hex Tharja had taught him.

Given that there hadn’t been any announcements of pregnancy throughout the group, she must have guessed that they’d used some form of protection and obviously, the assumption would have been that the other female Shepherds had looked after that, it was typically a woman’s domain to manage after all, not something men were typically welcome to meddle with. It was a small thing to overlook, but it was still careless of her- given the stakes and everything he’d risked, there was no way he could possibly let himself trust something that crucial to anyone else.

‘I will give you the children you need,’ he promised solemnly, making the same vow he’d offered Tharja, ‘But, Lucina has to have the first right of refusal. Until she knows the truth, I can’t have children with anyone else. No matter what I’ve done, or how I’ve wronged her, I have to give her that choice. Morgan will always be my first child, I won’t take that away from her, from either of them. It will be her choice to accept it, or not, when she knows…’

No matter what terrible things he’d done, or how badly he’d betrayed the woman he loved, he still had some scraps of morality. He wouldn’t have a child with anyone else behind his back. If he had a child beyond Morgan, it would be either with Lucina’s permission, or after she’d thrown him away.

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At The Same Time – Far From The Ylissean Coast

Standing at the head of a magnificent ship, a lone woman was staring silently at the endless blue stretching out before her.

Her perfectly maintained, midnight-black hair cascaded down to the small of her back, shining bright in the warm sunlight and framing the porcelain white skin of her face in an almost picturesque beauty. She cast a light figure, her silhouette trim enough to seem almost slight- yet, despite this, she was wrapped up from head to toe in multiple layers of ornate, silken robes coloured with such deep reds and dazzling golds that she radiated a presence of authority far beyond her stature, enough to instantly capture the eyes of any onlookers.

Neither the thick silks she wore, nor the modest design of the clothes did anything to hide her breathtakingly large breasts, pushing prominently against the rich fabrics, twining with her unmistakably regal appearance and giving her a look of calm, yet potent femininity.

Her expression was, as always, guardedly neutral, not giving off even the barest hint of her thoughts- but, even so, her heart continued to stir uneasily. Looking out at the horizon, it was as if all that existed was an infinite blue ocean, but the currents would be favourable for days and the magic winds empowering their sails were cast by their most skilled mages, it would not be long now before their destination came into sight.

 “My Lady Empress,” A soft voice interrupted her thoughts and another woman suddenly appeared at her side, seemingly stepping out of the non-existent shadows, as if in complete defiance to the midday sun. Bent down to her knee, she kept her eyes lowered respectfully towards the wooden deck, “Forgive me, but I must ask again… Are you certain this is what you want? You needn’t go through with this, no-one can possibly expect you to.”

She was hardly in the mood for conversation, if it had been anyone else that had approached her, she wouldn’t have answered but, of all her retainers, this was one of the few she couldn’t ignore; even aside from the name she wore, she was as close a friend as someone in her position could claim. This woman knew why she was troubled, she knew the true reason for the journey.

“You worry needlessly, Kagerou. I made a promise and now I intend to fulfil it, ‘tis as simple as that.”

Keeping her eyes downcast, the ninja accepted her words without further argument. But, perhaps as a sign of her own heart’s discord, she remained at her side, perfectly visible in a small, silent show of support for the entire time the woman spent gazing out into the distance.

And so, the boat sailed on and things began to change once again.

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Notes:

A/N: Phew, there we go! And now the wheels are in motion for the next major event to come along! Can you guess what’s going to happen from here? It shouldn’t be anything too crazy, but it’s something I’ve been looking forward to for quite some time, so it’s good to get it down.

I don’t usually do this and I feel silly for doing so, but just so I don’t get accused of ret-conning things later, yes, Severa has zero experience, that was discussed in the chapter with her and Noire. That’s the joke, Morgan is going to her for advice regardless, because she seems like she would know, and Severa’s improvising! I’ve got some fun scenes for that later on that I’d like to use, but we’ll see, a matter of fitting them in.

I know some of you don’t like that Robin is hiding this from Lucina. That’s fine, it’s completely alright to think he’s an idiot for doing so (Panne says as much when he explains his logic here), but I hope that this chapter at least makes things a little more clear as to why he’s doing it and what he’s hoping to achieve here.

Similarly, I know some people found Robin’s plan with Panne in the previous chapter a little reckless and I can understand that, hopefully you feel a little more on track with things in this chapter. The last chapter was effectively about him gambling heavily on the part of Panne that didn’t want to replace Kellam in her heart, he was TRYING to antagonise her- she recognises that herself in their conversation, because he wanted her to accept him as a lover without any specific emotions attached, he thought that was the only way he could win her over because otherwise she’d be too scared to commit.

Obviously, it didn’t work out. So, with his back to the wall, he was forced to come completely clean this time around.
But, what’s important (to me at least), is that it’s not as simple as just telling the truth. All that did was get her some understanding and some sympathy, the important point was the logical arguments he made in the previous chapter, she had to have a reason to want to sleep with him. This worked for her because she didn’t like what he was doing, she hated it and thought he was a fool for how he was going about doing it, she’s angry at him, so she’s not worried about mixing up her emotions and falling in love with him.

Anyhow, that’s enough rambling! Hopefully you liked this one, I’ve got something fun planned for next time, so it might be a small break and then back to ACoT. Look forward to it!

As always, more information about my story statuses as well as a weekly updates and any other details can be found at:

http://jlcdavenport.blogspot.com

Chapter 16: Bonus - A New Dynamic

Notes:

Authors Note: Ahhhh! It’s finally, finally, finally done! Goddamn, this one took ages. A ridiculous combination of just being too goddamn long (33k words this time), having a lot of finnicky scenes and just way too much real-life issues to deal with. Having to take whole weeks off to organise yourself a place to live just absolutely messes up any kind’a writing rhythm.

Anyhow, I don’t wanna write too much here this time, so I’ll just mention, to clarify in-case anyone’s confused (since some people send me comments/questions/suggestions along these lines): There’s no Mind Control, influence or any kind of passive domination going on with any of the women in this story, AT ALL. The Dragon effects shown in previous chapters ONLY affect Manakete’s, and even that’s only under a very specific condition (will be discussed later, re: Tiki). So, for anyone like Lucina, Tharja, Lissa, Olivia and the rest, their feelings are completely natural. Just comes back to what I’ve talked about before, the goal/concept of this story is about Robin manipulating those around him, sometimes not quite to the conclusion he expects. Throwing in mind-control makes it less manipulation and just hypnosis.

Also, there’s a little more NTR type theming this time, mostly just due to the characters involved. So sorry if that’s not your bag. It’ll be much less prevalent in the next few upcoming chapters, since I’ll (finally) be focussing back on the unmarried Shepherds. Anyhow, feedback around these elements is always welcome/wanted. So, if you like it, hate it, or wish it was different, throw me a comment one way or another, this is something I’m trying to be somewhat flexible on.

Bonus – A New Dynamic

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Authors Note: Ahhhh! It’s finally, finally, finally done! Goddamn, this one took ages. A ridiculous combination of just being too goddamn long (33k words this time), having a lot of finnicky scenes and just way too much real-life issues to deal with. Having to take whole weeks off to organise yourself a place to live just absolutely messes up any kind’a writing rhythm.

Anyhow, I don’t wanna write too much here this time, so I’ll just mention, to clarify in-case anyone’s confused (since some people send me comments/questions/suggestions along these lines): There’s no Mind Control, influence or any kind of passive domination going on with any of the women in this story, AT ALL. The Dragon effects shown in previous chapters ONLY affect Manakete’s, and even that’s only under a very specific condition (will be discussed later, re: Tiki). So, for anyone like Lucina, Tharja, Lissa, Olivia and the rest, their feelings are completely natural. Just comes back to what I’ve talked about before, the goal/concept of this story is about Robin manipulating those around him, sometimes not quite to the conclusion he expects. Throwing in mind-control makes it less manipulation and just hypnosis.

Also, there’s a little more NTR type theming this time, mostly just due to the characters involved. So sorry if that’s not your bag. It’ll be much less prevalent in the next few upcoming chapters, since I’ll (finally) be focussing back on the unmarried Shepherds. Anyhow, feedback around these elements is always welcome/wanted. So, if you like it, hate it, or wish it was different, throw me a comment one way or another, this is something I’m trying to be somewhat flexible on.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Recap: Robin returned to life a little more than 6 months after sacrificing himself to slay the Fell Dragon. However, when he returned, he found himself soon overcome with incredible lusts, desires that Lucina (his secret fiancé) was unable to entirely sate.

Over the next four months things got steadily worse for the Grandmaster and soon Robin was driven almost to the point of madness, holding back his rampaging desires, all the while knowing full well that sooner or later his willpower would give out and he’d lose control of himself entirely. With that terrible knowledge in mind, he resolved to at least make the choice of his own sanity and finally slept with Tharja.

Overwhelmed with the ensuing relief her body granted him, Robin listened attentively while the Dark Mage informed him of the truth- that in being revived he’d established dominion of the power that used to belong to Grima, power buried deep inside his bloodline. She claimed that Robin had now unlocked the true potential of his heritage and in doing so, gained both the power and instincts of a Manakete, desires far stronger than what should be contained within a human vessel. Among those desires was the most basic, primal urges, to Conquer, to Dominate and to Breed, the same callings that until now Robin had been fighting, at terrible cost to his very sanity.

Eventually he accepted that the only path forward for him, to protect his family and friends from himself, was to sate those same desires. And so, Robin set out, using his wits as a tactician and his influence as the Shepherds Grandmaster to seduce enough powerful women to satisfy even a dragon’s selfish greed. So far, he’s succeeded in having sex with Lucina, Tharja, Lissa, Olivia, Miriel, Nowi and most recently Panne.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

In time, such things would become normal, even expected, for all of us. But, from what Nowi told me, that first time was something special. If… If only I had been…

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Walking from the changing room into the Palace Baths, feeling the warm heat and humidity wrapping around them like a cloak, both bluenette princesses (mother and daughter), breathed out a decadent sigh.

It was one of the many everyday luxuries associated with life in the palace. All their individual suites came with personal baths, but in terms of size, scale and accommodation, there was nothing that quite matched the royal baths, open to all members of the royal family and their retainers. Of course, seeing as the royal family was a lot smaller than it used to be, it tended to go un-used most of the time, but, thanks to the water and heating both being controlled by simple, stored magic spells, that only made it easier for them to have the whole place to themselves.

Ostensibly, they were here to clean themselves up and have a thorough soak before dinner, specifically before, what was potentially a rather important dinner for (great) Auntie Lissa but really, they both knew the reason they were here was because they’d both been so busy lately and this was a perfect chance to simply spend some time together, relaxing in each other’s company.

Humming to herself, Lucina went ahead, opening up some of the cupboards around the room, turning up the heating spells and pulling out a selection of oils and soaps.

Meanwhile, suddenly feeling trapped on the spot by the reflection she could see in the half-fogged mirrors around her, Morgan pulled her towel tighter around her body and shuffled uncomfortably in place. Having grown up with a much happier childhood than the other future children, Morgan was a creature of comforts, she loved spending time with her mother and she loved lounging around in the bath, something like this must have seemed perfect for her, no doubt that was why Lucina had invited her in the first place. And yet, as her mother busied herself spreading the fragrant mixtures through the water, the younger tactician could only watch from the corner of her eyes, clenching her arms tighter around herself as she walked slowly into the room. Despite everything, she wished she’d been able to bring herself to find an excuse to have avoided this. Morgan didn’t like bathing with Lucina. Or with anyone, really.

Looking away from the former Exalt, her eyes shifted back to the mirrors surrounding them and her frown deepened… Just the same as it always did when she saw her body reflected back at her, or when she was forced to show herself off without being able to hide away in the comfort of her thick and proper Tactician’s robes.

“Morgan?” looking back from her task, Lucina caught the look on her daughter’s face before she could hide it, “What’s wrong?”

“Ah, no, er- Mother…”

Her attempt to fake a smile and play it off only intensified Lucina’s concern and suddenly she was brought up short, pinned in place by her mother’s serious, worried gaze. Her heart skipped a beat and, after a moment of guilt, she decided to come clean about what was on her mind. In reality, while impromptu, this was actually what she wanted, she’d been wanting to confide in someone about this for some time now. Even so, she dithered another moment… Unfortunately, that didn’t make it any easier to begin…

“I was just thinking, ah, y’know… Ha-haha, hey, Mum, do you, er, do you think guys like big breasts?”

She was an Exalt’s daughter and a Tactician’s child, she felt almost ridiculous worrying about something like this but all the same, she’d found herself worrying about all kinds of things lately, and ever since she’d read that book in her father’s office, she’d been more aware of herself than ever before. It was a troubling development and one that she’d been somewhat lost as to how to deal with. Perhaps, she wondered, that was why she’d accepted this invitation in the first place, as a chance to confide with someone she could trust?

“O-Oh, ah, huh?” Lucina blinked, clearly not having expected that question at all, “Well, I suppose I don’t really know. I’ve never given much thought to that kind of thing. I have heard Severa complaining that hers weren’t bigger several times in the past though, particularly when we were with Noire or Cynthia.”

The tactician snorted a half-laugh at that image, picturing the Red-head’s jealous/angry face was a very easy task, “Well, knowing her, she’d probably complain just as much if they were bigger too.”

“I’m sorry Morgan, I’m probably not the best person to ask about this sort of thing. I don’t know much about men, or romance, or, or anything else really. For the longest time, the only thing I could ever concern myself with was saving my world, I never allowed myself time to worry about anything else, or, about what would happen after that- in some ways, I feel as if I’m still catching up to this day… I… I do think though, that if a man wasn’t happy with my body, as it was, then I wouldn’t want to be with him anyway.”

“You’re really lucky though, never having to worry about something like that; Father must obviously prefer small breasts, because he’s crazy about you!”

“Th-They’re not that small!” Lucina puffed up indignantly, her modest chest bouncing just a little at the movement. It was true too, in a sense, despite being among the smallest of the female Shepherds, she had gone up a few cup-sizes ever since coming to the past.

Shaking her head in self-pity, Morgan breathed out a frustrated sigh, her own assets shaking considerably at the motion. Being currently wrapped up only in a thin towel, the difference between mother and daughter was shown in a stark contrast; despite being evidently several younger than Lucina, Morgan stood only a few centimetres shorter than her and her body seemed in almost all senses, much more developed.

Compared to the former Exalt’s modest bust, Morgan’s breasts stood out large and full, hanging unbound free in the bathroom, they were only barely constrained by the limits of the towel’s length. When not hidden away behind her bulky robe, it was clear the younger Tactician’s impressive chest was among the largest in their group, standing on equal ground with Sumia, Cynthia or Noire, and only visibly losing out to the likes of Tiki and Tharja. And even beyond that, despite having the same toned, athletic stomach as her mother, one devoid of any traces of fat, Morgan’s hips curved out noticeably wider, giving her a surprisingly gentle looking hourglass figure rather than Lucina’s slightly sharper silhouette, which was softened only by her deliciously round ass.

Looking down at herself, the tactician’s bitter frown returned, “You’re so slender Mother, so slim and beautiful! I-I think about it anytime I compare us, it’s no wonder Father likes you so much, you’re like the ideal beauty. I just… I wish I looked more like you…”

Lucina blinked, taken aback by Morgan’s odd phrasing. It wasn’t that she was unaccustomed to being complimented, Robin had told her countless times how beautiful he found her, often talking at length about how she enticed him and how he desired her, until she was red in the face and unable to stand listening anymore, instead she was simply surprised by the very idea of another woman being jealous of her. Her fiancé’s comments were one thing, but despite how disconnected she’d become from the normal standards of love and romance in her life, she still thought she had some idea about conventional attractiveness. She was aware that as soon as she looked closely at herself she’d see a handful of small, thin scars crisscrossing across her body, almost entirely faded now thanks to the healing magic employed by the Shepherds, but a mar on her femininity all the same, her skin was otherwise smooth and her body lissom but, with her sharp features and serious personality, Lucina knew she was lacking both the gentle nature and soft curves had by most of the other female Shepherd’s. As far as she had ever known, the ideal female body was meant to be much softer than hers, with unblemished skin and large round breasts, something closer to Tiki, or Olivia or Morgan was a lot closer to that than her.

‘Ah!’

Lucina had never been skilled at reading people, but when you spent as much time around Robin as she did, it was impossible not to pick up a few insights. And so, she was suddenly aware of exactly what was distressing the younger girl.

Reaching out, she ruffled her fingers through Morgan’s hair with a wry chuckle, “We really are far too similar sometimes, aren’t we? Well, I suppose that’s what I should expect from my daughter, of course.”

“E-Eh? Mother?”

Walking past her, Lucina set her towel aside and plonked herself, fully nude, down atop a small wooden stool near the entrance, “Would you mind washing my back for me, Morgan?”

Now it was the Tactician’s turn to be taken off guard, frowning as she tried to understand her mother’s words, she followed dutifully behind her, warming a bowl of water with her magic and wetting a soapy cloth against her mother’s back. A few minutes passed quietly between them like that, and, without even really intending to, Morgan found her inquisitive nature taking hold as she used the chance to examine the body she admired even closer than ever. “Your skin’s so beautiful mother!” She hummed happily, giggling as Lucina gave off a soft moan when she ran her fingers along the older woman’s back. It felt wonderful just to touch her like this, it was just as tender and just as supple as she’d imagined…

…And yet, seeing it this close and feeling it under her fingertips, Morgan slowly became aware, for the first time, of all the things she’d overlooked. She took in the faded outlines of old battle scars spread out over Lucina’s body and she felt the sheer strength residing in her muscles. Her mother’s body was undoubtably beautiful, but while it was soft to hold, there was little give in it, in many ways she felt almost wiry. It felt a little strange, examining her own parent so closely, but touching and feeling her so intimately, she became truly aware that this was the body of a Warrior-Princess and, just by tracing her fingers across it, she could almost feel the weight of her mother’s hardships. And somehow, that only made her seem even more beautiful than ever, and Morgan realised that this must be the same beauty her father saw in her.

Closing her eyes and leaning back into the sensations, Lucina began to talk, “It was a while ago now, so you may not remember, but do you know when we first found you, you were surprised at how young Robin looked? I think that was the moment when you finally believed us about what must have happened to you. Well, it wasn’t so different for me the first time I came back either. I was expecting it, of course, but even so, it was an incredible shock, just seeing everyone again, and especially seeing how young they all looked. The first time I saw Father, I was so overwhelmed I could barely speak, if not for the Risen attack, I don’t think I would have managed to keep my composure at all. Just seeing Father was amazing in itself, but as I followed them around, I saw Mother again, I saw Auntie Lissa, and I even saw Auntie Emmeryn for the first time… It was like a dream, they were all so young, and so vibrant, even with Naga’s forewarning, seeing it for myself was beyond anything I could have imagined.

“My mother, my aunts, I’d missed them all so much… And yet, one day, I realised it was becoming painful, just looking at any of them. Because, no matter how long I looked, or how often I saw them, I still couldn’t see myself in them at all. They were my family, but none of them looked like me.”

Sucking in a sharp breath, Morgan’s hands stopped in surprise.

“It was just a silly thought, of course, and one I quickly schooled myself from. But, at the time it took me completely off guard, because before that moment, it wasn’t something I’d ever given a moment’s thought to. My mother, Lissa, Emmeryn, even back then, they all had such beautiful, womanly bodies; even when I met Auntie Lissa the first time, she must have been only fourteen or so, and she was already almost as curvy as I was. I had my blue hair and my brand linking me to Father, but, looking so different from them, at the time I felt like I was lacking any connection to the rest of my family at all.”

“M-Mother…”

“You know, I grew almost ten centimetres from the time I arrived back in the past to when I joined the Shepherds? Well, I only really noticed because Auntie Lissa pointed it out, and she and Lady Maribelle helped me re-stitch all my clothes to fit. I never thought much of it at the time, but looking back, I suppose it’s obvious really; when I grew up, there was almost constant fighting or training, and as things got worse food and supplies only got scarcer and scarcer. Most of the time it was common for us to only eat every other day, or less, and by the end, we were practically scavenging for whatever meals we could find. I think I must have been around sixteen when I first came back to the past, so I spent almost all my formative years living like that, there’s no doubt living so desperately had an effect on me, on all of us.”

Lost for words, Morgan could only swallow and nod, almost blown away by her mother’s words. She’d never considered anything like that, but the truth of them was evident, Sumia and Lissa both had generous curves and beautiful, well-proportioned bodies, and from the images she’d seen of the previous Exalt Emmeryn, the same was likely true for her too, the connection Morgan had been yearning for was as obvious as could be. Heart clenching in her throat, her thoughts drifted towards Cynthia and Noire, both of whom had similarly generous curves, comparable against anyone in the original Shepherds and not lacking anything even against their respective mothers… But then, she was smart enough to realise that Noire was the youngest of the Shepherd’s children, and Cynthia had her elder sister looking out for her. Knowing her mother, no doubt a significant portion of Lucina’s scarce food had wound up pushed onto Cynthia’s plate, likely without any but the sharpest eyes even noticing.

Looking again, she knew for sure that her mother was undoubtably beautiful, but looking at the gorgeous, slim figure under her hands, Morgan could feel a new weight behind the significance of that appearance.

“It’s not something I’ve worried about for some time, of course. Spending time with my Mother and Auntie Lissa has been a blessing, I’ve found a thousand similarities between us and felt just as close to either of them as I ever did as a child. But, I understand your feelings Morgan, and I know it’s be worse for you, not having any memories must have left you feeling unmoored in our time, with only Robin as your reference.”

Lucina’s voice grew a little louder, more assertive.

“But, I assure you, there’s absolutely no doubt, you’re my daughter! You’ve got my brand as well as my sword, and I… I don’t know what exactly happened in your future, but I’m sure your father must have been so smitten with me he couldn’t even dream about any other women!”

Thankfully for Lucina’s sake, she was facing away from Morgan at the moment, so she was able to hide just how mortifying it was, saying something like that!

Wrapping her arms tight around her mother’s back with a bright laugh, the younger tactician’s towel, just the same as her unease, slipped from her chest and fell to the floor.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

A short time later, both girls were happily lounging around in the large bath and the mood was greatly improved.

“Hey, Mother…” Morgan began, her mind drifting now to the other consideration that’d been running through her mind recently, ever since she’d seen that book in her father’s study, “What do you think sex feels like? You think it’s really as good as they say?”

Having been languidly submerged in the water, all the way up to her eyes, Lucina wound up spluttering on the spot, gasping for air as she gaped in shock, “I-Wh-Hhaa, Mo-Morgan!? Th-That is… I think for, for something like that, it’s best to wait until you’re married to find out.”

Completely unable to meet her daughter’s inquisitive gaze and feeling just a little guilty about her own hypocrisy at making such a statement, the former Exalt quickly ended that discussion, barely managing to avoid a lie.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

That Evening

“So, what happened to you anyway today Robin? You were holed up in your office all afternoon yesterday, and then you disappeared all day today. Even Morgan didn’t know where you were when I dropped by this afternoon.”

“Yeah, father! You went off somewhere without saying a word to any of us.”

“Oh? But I saw you and Lucina just earlier for lunch, didn’t I? Well, in any case, sorry, Chrom; I went out to visit Panne, I only just got back a little earlier, actually.”

“Ah, Panne… I see, and…”

“She’s fine. Or, about as the same as ever I suppose. I… I talked to her after our meeting and I said some things that I think were unwise, so I went today to apologise and to explain myself. We talked for a time, cleared the air between us, and I think things should be okay now. Hah, I probably overstayed my welcome thinking about it, she looked downright exhausted when I was leaving.”

“Hmph, even so, to only just come back now… Panne doesn’t live that far away. You’re not getting slow now that I’ve stopped training you, are you?”

“F-Frederick! That look in your eye worries me!”

Nowi was sure that whatever Robin was talking about was important, it almost always was, but it washed over her all the same. Surrounded by the complete, extended, royal family and their assorted company, she squirmed awkwardly in her seat, there was no way she could concentrate like this!

Unfortunately, the reason she was uncomfortable wasn’t due to the heady, warm haze that often overcame her when she was around Robin (the feelings of love she was sure), she could still feel the same pleasant aura from him, of course, but she’d grown far more accustomed to that ever since they’d began spending much more intimate time together. Nor was she feeling anxious to be eating dinner in the Ylissean Palace, or because the mighty people of Ylisse were bantering feely and casually all around her; she’d been invited for meals here countless times ever since they’d returned from the Shepherd’s first Plegian war and such equal respect was normal in the Shepherds, to the point she often forgot that Chrom and Sumia were meant to be King and Queen.

No, instead, the reason she was so on edge was because of the dark-haired woman sitting directly across from her, at Robin’s right-hand side, Tharja, the most famed and feared Dark Mage in Ylisse, as well as Nowi’s best friend.

Ever since making up with him, Nowi had really, really, wanted to visit Robin in the Palace! She’d wanted to take more time with him, to play with him around the hallways and to spend the night with him in his room. But, she’d always held herself back for one very simple reason, the Palace was where she was most likely going to run into Tharja, and -as much as it hurt her to think about- she really, really hadn’t wanted to run into the Sorceress. Not after she’d slept with Robin, the man she knew Tharja adored above all else.

‘Uaaaaaa, it’s not fair!’ She wailed internally. Manakete or no, Nowi was no different than any of the other Shepherds. She’d wanted to fall in love, to experience a sweet romance and to start a family, just like everyone else, that was why she’d been just as excited as the rest of them when they’d begun meeting their children from the future… Right until she’d found out that she was apparently supposed to marry some young boy she’d barely ever talked to, who had been tasked with safeguarding Ylisse while the rest of them were in Valm. She adored Nah, and she didn’t have anything against Donnel, every time she’d talked to him since returning from Valm and since the war, he’d been incredibly nice to her… But… She didn’t love him and hadn’t even known how to begin talking to someone she was supposed to fall in love with and, with everyone in camp just expecting her to fall for him, it’d made her not want to! She hadn’t wanted to just marry someone because she had in the future, she wanted to marry someone because she loved him!

Nowi liked Robin, she really, really, really liked Robin! She always had, he’d always been incredibly nice to her, he’d always looked out for her, always helped her and always taken care of her no matter how busy he was. And, ever since he’d come back from being dead, she’d realised that she really, really, REALLY liked him, that she could barely even control herself around him. Robin made her feel warm and happy, and she wanted to make Robin happy, making Robin happy made her entire body thrum with delight! And, Nowi’s face reddened as her thoughts wandered, that was without even considering all the other things Robin did that made her body sing in delight.

She hadn’t felt any of that with Donnel. And she was sure that was how it was meant to work, Nowi didn’t think she believed in fate, but she liked the idea of having a one true love, and if she was meant to love Donnel, then why did being around Robin make her feel so good? No matter what had happened in Nah’s future, why had she been so happy being in Robin’s arms, or kissing him, or even giving him her virginity, if he wasn’t the man she was meant to love?

No. It was simple. She loved Robin.

But… But she loved Tharja, just as much! Tharja had always been nice and sweet and kind to her all the years they’d been friends, and then, without even meaning to, Nowi had gone and stolen the man she knew meant the world to the Sorceress! She didn’t have a clue how she should feel about that, given how she acted, Robin must have been Tharja’s one true love, but he was with her instead! She didn’t know what she was meant to do…

Which was why she’d been avoiding the Dark Mage and the Palace. And, which was why she’d been out in the market with Nah, shopping for her own dinner, when Sumia had run into them, tripped completely over them, and -after apologising profusely- invited them back with her to the Palace for dinner.

Nah was busy with one of those projects of hers, so she’d declined. But Nowi, taken by surprise and without any excuse prepared, had been completely unable to, despite being the Queen these days, Sumia was always very sweet and always so kind and nice, that it was almost impossible to turn down any invitation from her.

Which was why Nowi was now currently seated around the Palace’s largest, oaken dining table, shifting in her seat and trying very hard not to look over to where her Plegian friend was leaning comfortably against Robin while peering curiously over at her.

That in itself was another piece if unfortunate luck. As far as she’d seen since the war, the seat at Robin’s side was as hotly contested as it was during their campaigns; Robin always sat at Chrom’s right and whoever was quickest out of Morgan and Tharja would race to place themselves on his other side, while the slower one would spend most of the meal glaring (if Tharja) or pouting (if Morgan). Given the feelings she could feel radiating off the eldest Princess, Nowi had a suspicion Lucina didn’t like this turn of events very much, but as always, she held her tongue. Really, the only thing that seemed out of place tonight was that Lissa’s family was missing. But since Lon’qu and Owain were leaving for Ferox tomorrow, it seemed the blonde royal had wanted to spend the evening privately with them instead.

Caught up in her awkwardness, Nowi barely tasted the food and rarely contributed to the conversation, but thankfully her uncharacteristic silence was more than made up for by Cynthia’s ever-present enthusiasm. And so, slowly, the meal passed, and the evening wound down.

Practically counting the seconds as the food was cleared from the table and the conversation began to die down, she waited the bare minimum of what would be polite, before shoving her chair back and bouncing to her feet, “Alright! That was really tasty, thanks for inviting me again! I’m gonna go home now though!”

“Home?” Sumia blinked, the tone of her voice holding Nowi in place right when she’d been sure she could finally escape, “But it’s late already and it’s getting dark out. Why not just stay the night here?”

“It’s fine, it’s fine! I’m a Dragon! I’m not worried about something li-”

“Nonsense,” Tharja’s soft voice cut smoothly through her objection, “There’s no point going all the way home this late, stay here tonight. You can sleep in my room.”

Nowi swallowed.

Whenever she’d stayed over in the Palace any of the other times she’d been invited, or anytime during their time abroad whenever she’d had a bad dream, it had always been Tharja’s bed she’d wound up forcing her way into. Whether in the castle, an inn or a tent, the Dark Mage had begrudgingly opened her bedroll to the small Manakete time and again over all the years they’d known each other… but, it had always been at Nowi’s insistence. Her feet became leaden and her eyes turned slowly toward the Sorceress. Not once before, in all the time they’d known each other, had Tharja ever made the offer of companionship herself.

Had she been found out? With all her hexes and her prying nature, it was almost impossible to hide anything from Tharja, and doubly impossible when it came to anything related to Robin. Nowi’s throat stuck tight and her heart clenched.

And then, just as she was on the verge of panic, the Plegian Sorceress reached a hand out towards her, an uncharacteristically gentle smile on her face, “Come.”

“O-Okay…”

Tharja rarely said what she truly felt with words, but Manakete’s could always read her aura and her emotions, and her friend’s hand was just as soft and as kind as ever. Her nervousness melted away and she couldn’t help but smile as they walked off together.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

The door clicked shut behind them, sealing them both in the private darkness of Tharja’s room, and everything Nowi had been holding back spilled out all at once.

“A-Are you mad at me?”

She didn’t regret sleeping with Robin. She’d been really, really, happy lately, being with him, but she never wanted to hurt a friend, and the thought she might have was enough to have her on the brink of tears.

“Hehe… No, no, quite the opposite,” turning to face her with a surprisingly encouraging smile, the Sorceress’s fingers threaded through Nowi’s hair, stroking the top of her head for a moment. And, even with all the surprises she’d already dealt with, that still was enough to halt Nowi in her tracks; Tharja never initiated contact, and she’d never touched her so affectionately before, “I’m rather proud of you in-fact. You’ve been making some good choices lately… It’s pleasing.”

“H-Huh?”

“Well, you and Robin are together now, are you not? Hehe, or, perhaps I should say, you’ve become Robin’s now, haven’t you?” The Plegian smirked, an almost teasing, goading tone coming to her voice as she stepped smoothly through her room, waving a hand to welcome her friend deeper inside just the same as ever, as if nothing had changed between them at all, “A good choice indeed. I had worried you may have ended up with that dull farmer boy.”

“H-Hey! Donnel’s really nice!” Nowi frowned, utterly bewildered by what was going on, she still defended him instinctively. She didn’t know him very well, and she resented the fact that everyone just assumed she was supposed to love him, but it wasn’t as if she held either of those things against him, “He’s smart, and he’s funny, and, and he’s really good to Nah.”

That last part in particular she really appreciated, given that their daughter had to be an even bigger surprise to him than she was to her. Finding out that you had a daughter your own age, who wasn’t even the same species as you, was not something many humans had to deal with.

“I… suppose that’s true,” Tharja conceded after a moment’s thought. She actually quite liked Donnel, while she quite liked how nervous many of the Shepherd’s were around her, there was some positives to how reliable and eager to help he was instead. Truthfully, she ranked him quite high among the other male Shepherds, “But he’s not Robin.”

Ultimately, ranking highly among the other male Shepherds didn’t mean a lot to her. Robin was on a completely separate scale altogether.

“Uhh…” Dropping her gaze, Nowi shifted in place, twisting her hands together, “Yeah.”

She felt mean comparing them, and even slightly bad for feeling like she did, but there was no doubting her friend’s words. She liked Donnel, but he’d never made her feel anything like the oppressive yearning or the warm fulfilment she’d felt with Robin. Being around him made her smile, making him happy made her heart race, and… feeling him inside her, feeling his seed coating her walls… She felt complete. In all her thousand years, she’d never felt anything like what she felt with Robin, it was as if he’d taken over a piece of her soul and engraved himself into her very being.

Love really was an incredible feeling!

“I was surprised you’d kept something like this quiet,” Tharja added, gesturing towards the scrying equipment setup across her desk, “Even I only learned about it a very recently.”

Once again, Nowi balked, tears springing to her eyes as she grabbed onto her friend’s cloak, “Awwaaa! I-I’m sorry! I’m sorry, Tharja! I, I really wanted to say something! I really did, I know how much you love Robin and, and I never meant to- to steal him and, and I didn’t want to hide it! And-”

The Manakete’s voice broke as she clung desperately to the younger woman’s dress, her words becoming incoherent between her sobbing pleas.

“Tch, tears, really?” flinching a little at the unexpected contact, Tharja hesitantly placed a hand around the smaller girl’s back, an action that only encouraged her to grab on even harder. Since Nowi generally respected Tharja’s dislike of close contact, she was lacking in experience in this matter and, as it turned out, it was surprisingly difficult to extricate herself from the younger girl’s frantic hold, after a few moments of trying, she was forced to simply accept it, “Ah, Nowi… You misunderstand me. I’m not angry about that, I’m… I’m proud of you, you’ve done well.”

Breaking off her cries, Nowi looked up at her taller friend, her eyes rimmed red with guilt as much as hope and her voice small, “R-Really?”

“Indeed. It’s important to Robin that no-one finds out about your relationship yet. That you’ve managed to keep it even from me speaks very well of you. You’ve done well.”

Especially Lucina, Tharja added to herself, sparing a second’s thought for the Princess. Most of the other Shepherds could be handled in one fashion or another, but it was vitally important to Robin that he was the one to inform her, when he was ready. Strangely, Tharja had found lately that she didn’t feel any of the same delight to be sleeping with Robin behind her former rival’s back anymore, instead she’d found her distaste for the girl had almost entirely dissipated. It was an unsettling thought, a sign that her revenge had always been hollow and her dislike of the girl had never been anything more than jealously; when things were finally in the open, she knew she would owe Lucina an apology. But, for now, she decided not to say anything of this to the small Dragon, telling her to be wary would only make her act weird around the girl.

“I never said anything, be-because Robin asked me not to, I wanted to be a good girl.” Nowi spoke quietly, clearly confused but also just as clearly glowing with relief, “I really like you Tharja, I like you a whole lot, an-and, and I know you love him… b-but, but, I do too.”

Smiling gently down, Tharja’s fingers threaded through the Manakete’s soft green hair before she even noticed what she was doing. It was an instinctive reaction, she realised after a moment’s examination; just like it had with Lissa, despite her usual loathing of physical contact, her body seemed always happy to accept anyone who had accepted Robin. ‘Just more proof that I belong to him.’ She concluded, her thoughts drifting to the bracelet wrapped around her upper arm. In another life that would have been a wedding ring, later in this life perhaps it would be a signet of ownership, for now, it was more than enough.

“That’s fine. Love him as much as you like, as much as you can. He’ll make you happy, I promise.”

“You… You… You really don’t mind? Th-That I’m with Robin?”

“Of course not,” she answered gently, continuing to stroke the smaller girl’s head, “So long as you don’t mind that I’m with him as well.”

A moment passed.

And then another.

And then, Nowi fell back, gaping in stunned disbelief. Her relationship with Robin had only been short so far, but it had been intense none the less, it was her first brush with love and the young Manakete had projected many of her hopes and dreams onto it. She’d been alone for hundreds of years, but that didn’t mean she hadn’t yearned for companionship all the same, and especially after joining with and being around the Shepherds, she’d wanted the same kind of sweet romance she’d heard in the stories, the same romances she’d seen play out among her friends; if she was going to be with a man, she wanted to be with only one man, to love him with all her heart.

And Nowi truly did care for Robin, she’d loved him dearly, perhaps even romantically, even before the end of the war. She’d missed him dreadfully when he’d been gone and then, when he came back, her feelings had become so messed up she hadn’t known what to think. Simply looking at him had been enough to make her heart race, and when she was around him, it had been all she could stand, just to hold herself back. She’d felt lost and confused, scared and guilty. And then… And then, if she lived another 10,000 years, Nowi knew she would never forget the day he called her into his office; the day she’d run away from him and, more importantly, the day he’d chased after her.

Just as he had so many times before, just as he always did, Robin had saved her. He’d tracked her down and embraced her. He’d held her tight and filled her with his warmth. And, for the first time since Grima’s defeat, everything had finally felt right once again.

She loved Robin. She ached for him. When she apart from him she yearned for him, and when she was with him she wanted to fill herself with him until her body gave out. It had only been natural to give her heart entirely to him, being with him was more intense and more passionate than she’d ever imagined and she’d so she’d never even considered their relationship as anything but the pure, sweet, lovey-dovey romance she’d pictured from so many stories.

“Wh-Ahuh-H-HUH!? You… You too? Y-You’re with him too!? Isn’t that… But that’s, that’s… Isn’t that ch-cheating? Wait, wha, Ro-Robin’s cheating!?”

“No. Of course not. He’d never do that, he’d not that kind of man,” Tharja replied firmly, soothing her friend’s worries as she stepped forward once more, returning herself to stroking her hand comfortingly atop the smaller girl’s head. After all, it could only be cheating if Robin belonged to either of them, but he didn’t. They were his, the reverse wasn’t true, “My relationship with him is exactly the same as yours.”

Nowi looked ready to object to that, so Tharja continued, “I understand what you’re thinking, what you’ve felt until now. You know that very well, I felt exactly the same myself, for years. I wanted him to myself; I dreamed of marrying him, of monopolising him, of taking him away and being the only woman he ever looked at. I thought that way for so long, I thought that was what I wanted, that it was what would make me, and him, happy. It’s only recently I’ve realised how foolish I was.

“After all,” she probed gently, “No matter how happy being with Robin has made you, it’s tormented you with guilt just the same, hasn’t it? You didn’t know how to face me, you felt terrible for having stolen away the man you know I loved. And what about Lucina, she’s Morgan’s mother, does she not deserve the right to have her own child?”

Flinching away, the Manakete dropped her gaze, the Sorceress’s quiet words cutting directly to the core of her worries. Even more than her guilt towards Tharja, she’d practically refused to let herself think about Lucina and Morgan. She couldn’t. She’d had no idea what to think, or how to justify something like that. Lucina had been through so much, and while she didn’t seem to have any claim on Robin at the moment, the thought being responsible for of stealing away her happy future was a heart-wrenching one.

“But, no matter how bad it feels, giving up on him would feel even worse, wouldn’t it? Because you love him,” she, more than anyone, knew the answer to that question, even before the smaller girl responded with an awkward nod, “Then, isn’t it far better if everyone’s happy instead? If everyone gets what they want?”

“Well, I… I suppose… But, but tha-”

“I know it may not be how they do things in Ylisee, but in Plegia… It’s not uncommon at all for nobles or royals to have multiple wives or concubines, it’s a sign of their power and shows their ability to protect so many people. It’s normal. At the time, when we first discovered Robin’s true heritage, I didn’t want to even consider it. I was still being foolish back then, still selfish… I was thinking only of keeping him to myself; he rejected his lineage and I was content with that, he was practically Ylissean after-all… But then, after we found Morgan and Noire, I started thinking about it, about what it really meant to be a family.”

Noire’s tapered ears twitched and she turned back, “A… family?”

“Of course,” Tharja paused, her eyes drifting aside slightly as she spoke. She never was good at talking honestly, “Even if Morgan isn’t my daughter, she’s still his…  It’s only natural I want a connection to her. And the same for Noire, I want him to be a father for her… And even beyond them, there’s Lucina, and you.”

“Me?”

“Indeed… After all, you gave him your virginity, did you not?”

Nowi balked, reeling back and taken completely off-guard by the unexpectedly private question.

“You, er… Having sex, have you done that with anyone but Robin?” Tharja clarified awkwardly, apparently having taken her reaction to mean she hadn’t understood.

In all her time with the Dark Mage, Nowi had told her all sorts of things, from her dreams, to her favourite places, to poems she thought up in her head, but she’d never once come anywhere close to talking about her sex life. Blushing bright red, she eventually stammered out an answer, “N-No, only, only him.” Following the romance stories she’d heard, she’d intended to wait until she was married too… but it had all become far too much to resist, and she’d been loving it since. Robin’s very touch electrified her, he was the only one who’d ever made her feel anything like she did, she’d never even thought of doing it with anyone but him.

Tharja breathed out a deep sigh, her body sagging with relief and her face glowing suddenly, an uncharacteristically warm smile settled across the Sorceresses face, as if something she’d greatly hoped for had just come true.

“I… I had wondered, given all your years… Hehe… Well, it’s the same for me, of course. My body belongs only to Robin,” she declared, reaching down and clasping Nowi’s hands happily in her own, “And, by Plegian custom, two women who give their chastity to the same man are akin to sisters.”

“S-Sisters...?” Looking up from their joined hands to her friend’s welcoming expression, Nowi tasted the word carefully on her tongue, her eyes going wide and her heart thumping.

“Yes. That’s what it means for a man to take multiple women for himself; they all become sisters, and one big family around him.”

“Then… Then…” if Tharja’s relationship with Robin was exactly the same as hers, “Then, me and you… We’re sisters?”

Holding her gaze, the Sorceress nodded.

After so many years of being alone and after finally experiencing what it felt like to be surrounded by friends, the thought of having a family meant the world to Nowi. It was why she’d been so anxious to meet her own child from the future, it was why she’d been as open as she had to the idea of marrying Donnel, it was part of why losing Robin at the end of the war had hurt so badly and it was why she’d been so scared when the Shepherds had each started each going their separate ways. A family of her own, one that would never disappear and leave her behind, a place she and Nah could always belong to… And, no-one would have to be sad, and she wouldn’t need to feel guilty, everyone would be happy!

Her entire body buzzed with excitement and her lips opened into a wide grin as she let out a bright laugh.

“Then, then, that makes me your big sister, right? Since I’m so much older than you!”

“Hmph, that’s true I suppose… How strange, I never imagined I’d have such a small big sister.”

Giggling, Nowi suddenly tugged on her hands, pulling her down enough that she could reach up and pat Tharja’s head, “Don’t you worry, Big-Sis will look after you from now on! Ooh, and I’m Noire’s Auntie now too then! Hahaha, me and you and Noire and Nah and Morgan, and Robin, we’ll all be one big family!”

“Hehe… And not just us I think. There’ll be many more little sisters to come yet…”

“E-Eh? Really!? There’ll be… even more?” Nowi’s eyes sparkled with wonder, “We’re gonna have a really, really big family!?”

Any jealousy she’d felt about having to share Robin was vastly overrun by the sheer excitement of that thought, and for a moment, Nowi dreamed of being connected to all the friends she loved, being in one big, happy family with all the other Shepherds.

“Exactly…” eyes sparkling with a similar excitement, Tharja’s thoughts turned towards a similar future. Biting her lip, her fingers rubbed absently on the bangle around her arm, a thrill running through her as the images played out in her mind, “And soon enough, surely he’ll bind us all in collars, and properly show his dominion over us.”

That statement brought her companion up short and Nowi frowned in confusion, “Collars?” She didn’t think she liked the sound of that at all, she’d been forced to wear a collar once before and it wasn’t something she liked to remember. And yet, looking at her friend now, she wasn’t sure what to make of it… The way Tharja had said it, there was no mistaking her desire, the Sorceresses’ words had been so warm and so wanting that, despite herself, Nowi couldn’t help but be intrigued regardless. Perhaps… It was different if she wanted it? If it was Robin doing it?

“Indeed… Beautiful, finely crafted collars, with his nametag hanging off, proof of his ownership for all to see. Hehe, for mine, I shall request it to be inlaid with precious stones of his choosing, suitable mediums for me to infuse with fertility hexes… So, I’ll always be ripe for breeding, whenever the whim takes him.”

Stepping forward, she stroked her fingers lovingly around Nowi’s neck, and no matter her wariness, an enticing heat ran through the small Manakete at the suggestion. “And for you big sister, why not a magnificent Dragonscale collar? That way, when he rules, you shall always be shown off at his side, taking your place as his most loyal, most beloved Dragon.”

Swallowing, her jaw dropped at the idea. “I-Hh-ah?” She wasn’t sure where to even begin with that idea! It didn’t even make sense, when would Robin ever rule anything, anyway? Still… as strange as this whole thing was, it was clearly very important to her newfound sister, and she couldn’t deny that she kind’a liked the idea of being a prized Dragon; the thought of standing by a throne and roaring at all the nobles sounded really funny! Chrom would never let her do anything like that!

“Well, I dunno, that all sounds really odd! But if Robin wants it, then… Hah, maybe it could be fun?”

Tharja giggled darkly to herself, stepping back and pulling away from her distant thoughts, “Well, that’s all some time away… For now, shall we go see him then? Our beloved man?”

That brought Nowi’s interest back on track, her long ears twitched as she looked eagerly to where the Sorceress was now stalking purposefully around the room, “Oh?”

Humming, Tharja’s hands passed across a series of sigils spread out across the wall, nodding to herself as they turned began glowing a light green, with a series of orange marks all pointing towards the bottom right. “He’s in the palace baths right now it seems, and I’m in quite the mood to join him. Ahh, just a few days and it feels like too long already… Hmph, will you join me then? With my magic it will be simple to ensure no-one else disturbs us.”

“U-Uhm… O-Okay! Yeah!” It was another strange offer, and yet, Nowi was nodding before she’d even really thought about it. She’d never really thought of being with Robin at the same time as someone else, but she really liked Tharja and with everything they’d discussed, and their talk of the future, Nowi could feel that same anxious, heated desire her friend mentioned already pulsing within her. It had only been a short time, but already she could feel her body yearning for his embrace once more. And, she reminded herself, they were all going to share now anyway weren’t they? It was always more fun when you were playing with more people, and if everyone was going to be happy, then everyone should be happy together! “Yeah, I wanna go!”

Bouncing ahead of the Sorceress, this time it was her that held out her hand towards her friend.

“But! But, Big-Sis is gonna go first, okay?”

“Hehe, very well then.”

With an uncharacteristically happy smile matched by Nowi’s bright enthusiastic one, the two unlikely sisters walked off together, hand in hand, looking for the man they loved.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

“Ahh…” licking her lips from where she was wrapped around Robin’s back, her large, bare breasts pushing against his naked skin, Tharja was in the perfect position to watch as Nowi’s small body was stretched open around the Tactician’s thick, hard cock, “It truly is an enticing sight, isn’t it?”

Seated beside him, on the edge of the water, she watched intently as he pulled the young Manakete all the way down onto his lap, seemingly defying sense as he buried his entire length inside her. Shivering with hungry excitement, Tharja slipped her arms around his waist, pulling herself even tighter against him and watching intently as Nowi was thoroughly overcome with the pleasure.

“Mmm, don’t fight it, just, hhaaa, just enjoy it,” she whispered, reaching out and stroking her sister’s flushed face, “Ahmhha, you look so happy, it feels incredible doesn’t it?”

Kissing lovingly across Robin’s shoulders, grinding her body against him and whispering words of encouragement, Tharja watched intently as he began bouncing the smaller girl up and down along his cock. Her core throbbed with desire as Nowi’s cries of pleasure echoed around the room, and her whole body shivered in delight as the Manakete lost all sense of reason, drowning eagerly in the sensations.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

“W-Wow…” Nowi whispered to herself, her body still quaking with the aftershocks of her pleasure, swallowing heavily as she drank in the sight before her.

She’d known Tharja for years now, ever since the Shepherd’s first campaign into Plegia.

She’d stood at her side through unimaginable circumstances, supported her through countless challenges and fought beside her through innumerable battlefields.

The friend she knew was a proud and fearsome companion, dignified, strong and self-determined…

…And, nothing at all like the woman she could see before her!

Bent over the edge of the bath, lacking even the strength to hold herself up, there wasn’t even a single scrap of pride or dignity to be seen from her sister right now. Her usually angry face was flushed red with delight, her screams of love filled the room, and her body rocked desperately back against Robin with each time he drove himself roughly into her. She had never seen Tharja this happy before, and feeling the pure love and joy radiating from her was enough to make Nowi’s heart swell.

‘Is that what I look like?’

Even as inexperienced as she was, there was no way she could miss just how thoroughly Tharja had been subjugated. She had given her body up completely for Robin’s pleasure and was delighting in every second of it, in being used, conquered, bred, by him.

‘Just like me.’

It didn’t seem like it should be a happy thought, but it made her smile none the less. She liked it if they were the same. Because they were meant to be sisters. And because, it meant she knew exactly what Tharja wanted…

Giggling lightly and pushing herself up on shaking legs, Nowi moved a few steps over, sitting back down right in-front of the giddy Dark Mage, spreading her legs wide open around the other woman’s head.

“Here you go. See, I told you, Big-Sis will look after yoUUUAAAHHH!”

Rearing back with a violent shudder, Nowi’s moans quickly replaced Tharja’s as the Sorceress dove hungrily into the Manakete’s pussy, flicking her tongue through the smaller girl’s depths and hungrily slurping at the hot, thick cum Robin had shot inside only moments before.

Tharja had plenty of experience with Lissa, but Nowi had never felt anything like this before in her life. Locking her legs place around the other woman’s head and thrashing in delight at the new sensations, she realised she was beginning to fully understand her words and what it meant for them to belong to Robin. It wasn’t anything like she’d expected and it wasn’t the romance she’d dreamed of, but it made her happier than she’d ever been before, and the thought of sharing this happiness with her other friends only made her more excited.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

The Next Morning

Lying atop her bed with a decidedly sour look on her face, Lissa watched unhappily as her husband moved stoically around the room, ignoring her displeasure as he finished packing up and preparing the last of his belongings for the trip back to Regna Ferox. It seemed he’d left the last of his packing for this morning, hoping that she’d be asleep and to spare her having to watch, but evidently even the feeling of her glare digging into his back wouldn’t sway him from his duty.

“Lon… This is crazy. You’ve barely even arrived home, it makes no sense to leave already! Lon! C’mon, look at me! If Owain’s going anyway, I don’t see why you need to go too, why can’t he take care of whatever you need to do!?”

The Swordsman’s hands clenched around the bag he was closing and he snorted in annoyance, “You’re still going on about this? As I told you last night, and many times this week. The matter is decided.”

“Lon’qu… I… I know, that maybe I haven’t made you feel as welcome as I should… I know I haven’t… But, it’s not too late, c’mon, c-come back to bed,” her voice hitched and for a moment her body ran cold, her heart clenching painfully tight, filled with both guilt and worry. Reaching up, she pushed one of the straps of her nightgown from her shoulder, leaving the dress hanging invitingly open, “You’re always talking about your duty, what about your duty to Owain? To be his father?”

She knew this offer was coming far too late.

In all the time that Lon’qu had been back, she’d had sex with Robin countless times and shared him with Tharja almost as often; she’d broken her vows and even kissed her best friend with the full intention of continuing the same path of debauchery. And yet, night after night, she’d rolled away from her own husband, never once inviting his touch. Somehow, something had changed while he’d been away and despite wearing Lon’qu’s ring, it was the thought of cheating on Robin that held her back, time and again.

Her past and deep friendship with the Tactician had brought her to his bed many times over the long years they’d known each other, she’d given him her chastity, and sought from him both his warm affection and soothing comfort more times than she could count. Always she’d come to him and always she’d separated from him, the moments they’d shared were incredibly special to her, but they’d always been just the tender affections of two people who cared for each other beyond the need for words.

She loved him as a sister and as a friend. That was why, despite the events of her wedding night, it had always been Lon’qu she’d loved as a woman. That’s how she’d thought it was always meant to be.

And then. Everything had changed.

It was her fault. She knew that. He would have never done anything if she hadn’t acted first. She was the one who approached him, who pushed herself into his arms… She’d promised herself she wouldn’t turn to Robin to deal with her sister’s memorial anymore after being married… But Lon’qu had been away, and she’d been all alone… And… And somewhere within the banality of a lonely married life to a man who was never around, she’d begun to miss him.

 And he’d turned her entire world on its head.

‘I died and I returned, I know what I want. I’ve got no doubts left,’ Lissa knew she couldn’t possibly ever forget the words Robin spoke to her at that time, ‘I want you to be mine.’

He’d told her he loved her, not just as a friend, and not just as a brother, but as a man. He’d forced her to admit she didn’t only yearn for him when she was dealing with Emm’s loss and then, he’d left her. He’d gone back to his room and waited for her to come to him.

To this day, Lissa didn’t know when we heart had changed. Maybe she really had felt this way for Robin all those years and had simply been too afraid to admit it. Or maybe it had been that night when she’d followed him back to his room, giving her body to him like she’d ached for, for so long. Or maybe It was after that, when she’d confronted him about it and wound up entangled in bed between him and Tharja. Or maybe it was when she’d given him her anal virginity, letting him be the one to break in all her holes. Or maybe it was all those countless days, evenings or nights since, when she’d been wrapped around him, feeling more fulfilled than she had for years. It didn’t matter, the fact was, she knew now, she loved Robin just as she loved Lon’qu, and unlike her husband, the Tactician was always there for her.

Lissa had never intended to be a faithless woman, the first time she’d betrayed her husband she’d been wracked with guilt for days. But, in the Tactician’s embrace, her feelings had shifted, Robin had told her she was his and she knew it was true, she’d given her heart to him and it now ached to stay loyal to him.

That was why, it was only now, on this final day, with the sense of dread weighing against her, that she finally found the words to invite the man who should have held her sole affection. And even then, it was only due to the fear of what she knew would happen next. While Lon’qu had been away, another man had claimed her, if he left her now, she doubted she could ever be his wife again. The love she had for him and the fear of losing him forced her to speak, even as her heart quaked.

“It’s been far too long, hasn’t it? Why… Why do-don’t we make up for lost time? We can spend the day together…”

This was his chance to take her back, to try make her his woman once more.

Finally turning back towards her, Lon’qu appraised her with a long, silent gaze, before finally shaking his head, “No.”

Her body flushed with a relief she knew she shouldn’t be feeling.

“Hmph. I may not know much about women, but I still have my instincts and I understand you better than anyone. I can still see when you’re forcing yourself,” his sharp expression softened slightly, “I will never make you do anything you don’t wish to.”

Lissa closed her eyes, accepting her words as a quiet frustration bubbled through her. She knew she was at fault! She was the one that had done everything wrong! But this, this, was why!

Once again, and as always, he was far too gentle with her! In all the time he had been back, despite clinging to him all day, this was the first time she’d opened up to him in the bedroom, and still, he treated her with the same overly gentle demeanour. It was the same careful distance he’d maintained in the past when making love to her, as if she was so delicate she would break at the slightest pressure, no matter how much she goaded him or asked him, to be rougher, faster, harder… No matter how often she’d wished he’d fuck her like Robin had before their marriage.

He couldn’t possibly have missed that something was wrong with her all this time, but he’d been too kind to confront her and too stoic to bridge the gap between them. Always, she had to initiate anything with Lon’qu, always she had to tell him it was fine. Robin dragged her into storage closets and fucked her till she couldn’t see straight. Robin commanded her not to wear panties so he could take her anytime she wished. Robin would have pushed her down, he would have made her scream and moan, reminding her that she belonged to him until she’d divulged every last secret in her heart. If it was only that Robin’s cock filled her in ways Lon’s never could, or that he was so much better at sex, that would have been bearable… But it was the same difference that had pained her all this time, in the bedroom or out of it, Lon’qu treated her like a princess, Robin treated her like a woman. Like his woman. Robin understood her better than Lon’qu ever had, that more than anything else, was why she kept returning to him.

Misinterpreting the conflicted look on her face, the Swordsman continued, “You needn’t worry, I don’t begrudge you. I understand you’re angry with me.”

“Angry? Of course I am!” despite it being all her fault, this wasn’t what she had wished! This wasn’t what she’d wanted her married life to be! And the part of her still clinging to her marriage was raged furiously within her, screaming for him to stop, to stay with her, to be her husband for a change, “How many times have we been over this? How many times have we had this discussion!? Ever since the war, I’ve barely seen you! You’re always going back up to Ferox, always leaving me alone, do you understand how lonely I am!?”

“Of course I do, woman! Do you think I don’t feel the same!? I’m not leaving out of some spite or whim, I have a duty!”

“Duty? You mean your obligation to Basilio right? You know what, I actually wrote to him the last time you left, I asked him just who he thinks he is, taking my husband away from me so often. And, can you guess what he sent back? He said he’d never once summoned you to him, that he’s tried to send you back to Ylisse countless times! You’re doing this all of your own volition!”

She wanted him to deny it. She wanted him to tell her she was misunderstanding, or over-reacting, or that there was more to it; that he hadn’t just chosen Ferox over her time and again since the war ended. She’d wanted him to tell her that ever since he’d returned, and it was only now she was brave enough to ask him to.

Instead, he looked away, throwing some more of his clothes in the bag at his feet, “A woman wouldn’t understand.”

The anger inside the small Princess flared into a supernova, “You’ve always chosen it over me! You’ve never compromised, not even delayed a single day to stay with me!” not even returning to be with her on the anniversary of her sister’s death,  “Y-You’ve never compromised, never offered me a single concession!”

“We’ve had this discussion. We’ve had it far too many times.”

“Then take me with you! I-I’m meant to be your wife, aren’t I? I should be by your side. You… You said it’s only a few weeks this time, well, surely it’s fine for me to stay for only that long!”

Her body shivered and her heart clenched tight with far too many conflicting emotions. After all she’d done, she knew it was probably far too late for her, but she did love Lon’qu and she offered it regardless, a final-life line to him. Even if it wasn’t what she wanted anymore, she knew she at least owed him this; he could take her away, he could remain her husband and take back the heart that had been stolen. Then, without her feelings for Robin holding her back, she would finally be able to come clean to him, to tell him everything that had hurt her and all that she’d done. And then, if they were to part, at least they would part honestly.

“I will NOT!” his fist slammed into the wall with a dull thud and there was a sudden, unmistakable sense of finality, a conclusion deeper than he realised, “I’ve made myself clear on this! My duty is to Ferox and yours is here, in Ylisse. Now, leave it be damnit!”

Her mouth opened, in anger, in pain and in regret, but no words came out.

And so, a short time later, Lissa followed dutifully behind him, just as she had so many times before, silently walking her husband and son to the carriage waiting to take them both to Ferox, and away from her once more.

And, a short time after that, she was back in her room, ugly tears streaming down her face as she wailed in anguish, in anger, and in mourning for something she knew was already lost.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

“You know, it’s funny,” Inigo smirked, lounging back in his seat from where he was sitting across from Robin in the Tactician’s office, “Despite how long I was away, this scene here, this is exactly the same as before I left.”

“Oh?”

“Uh-huh. First thing in the morning and here you are, cooped up in your office like this, surrounded by piles of work on all sides! It’s no different from how you were during the wars, where you’d hole yourself up in your tent, day after day, and no-body would ever see you,” the dancer laughed, giving a shake of his head at his comrade’s plight, “You’ll never meet any beautiful women locked up in here, you know! You’re meant to be famous! A war hero! You must be the only one wasting his chances like this!”

“I’ve got plenty of beautiful women, all around me.”

“Ahhh, it really hasn’t changed one bit! Just the same as during the war!” Inigo laughed once more, his voice cheery and bright, even as he continued his apparent lecture, “They’re all around you, but they’re all just doing their own things, it doesn’t count at all. When was the last time you pinned one of them down and had some private time, a nice date, just you and her?”

Stroking his chin, Robin considered it. He’d certainly done a lot of pinning down and enjoyed a lot of private time, but it was true that he hadn’t done anything at all romantic like dating, “Well, I suppose the last time would be when Morgan brought me lunch, just yesterday.”

“O-Oh, with Morgan? T-That actually sounds kind’a nice…” The pink-haired man paused a moment, before quickly regaining his footing, “But I’m serious, you really do need to think about it. I hope you’re not assuming that just because something happened between you and Lucina in Morgan’s future that it’ll happen again here… You never know, while you’re locked up in your office, some dashing gentleman may come sweep her off her feet!”

The Tactician narrowed his eyes, “Is that a challenge?’

“Haha, no, no, nothing of the sort,” giving his usual smile, Inigo offered an incredibly non-committal shrug, “I’m simply saying, the future has no guarantees. After all, just look at any of us!”

“That’s true.” He conceded. There was no doubt the children from the future had all changed their fate, and even beyond that he only needed to look at Cordelia or Nowi for proof of exactly what Inigo was mentioning. But, then again, it also wasn’t as if he had any doubts about his relationship with Lucina in the first place, regardless of whether or not the dancer really did mean anything with his implication.

“Exactly, which is why I’m saying all this. If you’re not careful, you’re going to be left behind. Everyone around you will be happily married and you’ll be all by yourself as a lonely virgin.”

Robin scowled, he knew it was his own fault but all the same, he was getting rather sick of constantly being mistaken for a virgin.

“Yeah, it’s not a happy thought, is it? That’s why I’m telling you that holing yourself away like this isn’t how a man is supposed to live, my friend. After all, as they say, A true man wants two things, danger and play. For that reason he wants women, the most dangerous plaything.”

‘Huh, that’s from The Plegian Temptress, isn’t it?’ Robin was hardly a patron of the arts, but he’d become somewhat familiar with the famous play recently thanks to Olivia taking up a role. Shaking his head, the Tactician stifled a sigh, if Inigo was going so far as to quote famous literature to him, it seemed he really was in the mood to show off, after coming back from his journey. He knew the dancer meant well, by and large. He was a good guy, but all the same, his mannerisms could be frustratingly obnoxious at times.

“Things went well in your travels, I take it?”

“W-Well, er, not, not exactly. Or at least, not enough that I managed to find a lovely lady to bring back home with me… For some reason Brady always seemed to get more attention than I did… B-But! But! The point is, I was going out there, meeting and talking to all the wonderful beauties of the world. It’s a numbers game, and while you’ve been stuffed away in here, I’ve been putting in the numbers!”

He paused, losing his momentum, looking around the room with a curious look, “Actually, speaking of beautiful women… I’m surprised to find it’s just you here right now. Last night, Mother said she was working for you now, and she was already gone when I woke up this morning.”

“Ah, yeah, Olivia came about an hour ago. She’s taking care of something for me right now.”

So saying, Robin used the opportunity while the younger boy was peering around his office to surreptitiously reach down under his desk and take a firm hold of Olivia’s head, from where she was currently seated between his legs, with her lips wrapped around his hard shaft. He’d been having an enjoyable morning until now, it had taken her some time but the shy Dancer had managed to bring him almost to his peak. However, ever since he’d brought her son in, she’d stopped her ministrations completely, resorting instead to simply (silently) suckling on his glans and Robin was quickly growing tired of it; which, perhaps, was part of why he’d found Inigo’s line of questioning more frustrating than he should.

Running his hand through her hair for a moment as a warning, he then pulled her forward with no small amount of force, guiding her head impatiently back down his awaiting cock.

The dancing girl immediately took the hint, opening her mouth wide and swallowing as much of his length as she could take with a quiet moan, sliding her tongue back along his length as she withdrew a moment later before pressing a soft kiss into his cockhead as an apology. Curling her fingers around his shaft and tenderly cupping his balls with her free hand, Olivia’s warm, wet mouth slid eagerly down almost half his thick shaft and she swiftly fell back into her usual tempo- albeit one a little more hesitant and a lot quieter than normal.

Closing his eyes and breathing out a low sigh as the dancer resumed bobbing her head up and down his cock, Robin felt his frustrations melt away instantly.

Really, he scolded himself, it was pointless being annoyed at her anyway. He was the one who’d invited Inigo in, having acted on a sudden immoral thrill. And he hadn’t even been planning on doing anything like this with her in the first place, he’d originally only intended to apologise for the way he’d sent her away the previous day. He’d have to apologise for this too later, when they were alone, he decided. But right now… ‘Ahh.’ His body shivered in a soft contentment. Compared to some of his other lovers, Olivia wasn’t very adept at giving blowjobs yet, he’d only just begun training her and her inexperience showed. It was a stark contrast to Lucina and Tharja, both of whom had shown an almost unbelievable aptitude, swallowing his entire length almost straight away and it didn’t feel anywhere near as good as when Lucina massaged his entire shaft with her throat, or when Tharja would trace her tongue slowly down his full length as she swallowed him. But strangely, he found that very clumsiness incredibly endearing, reminded him of the old days of fumbling foreplay he’d had with Lissa so long ago.

So, wrapped up in the warm flood of sensations, it was only a moment later that Robin realised he’d completely missed what his visitor had just said.

“Ah, sorry, got lost in thought for a second there. What was that?”

Thankfully, he’d long had a reputation for going off into his own world when hit by a sudden inspiration for a strategy, and the Shepherds were all largely used to it.

“I just said, it’s a little strange isn’t it, Mother was a Shepherd, and now she’s working for one of the most prestigious dancing companies around, and yet, you’ve still got her here, dancing alone for you?”

Robin frowned at the not so subtle insinuation, leaning over the desk towards the younger man, “The way you phrased that… You seem to think it’s just the two of us locked in here?” Olivia’s tongue swirled around his cockhead and he fought for a moment to keep his voice level, “But as you can see for yourself, she’s not around here right now, is she? She spends as much time with me as she does helping Morgan, or delivering messages to the Palace.”

Feigning nonchalance, the Tactician gave a lazy shrug, “When she got hired by the production company, I said it’d be fire for her to leave. I didn’t think she’d be able to keep making time to help out around here. But, honestly, I think she finds it useful sticking around anyway, if nothing else, it gives her a place she can dance without worrying about anyone watching.”

‘Anyone but you,’ Olivia added silently to her lover’s words as she slid her mouth softly halfway down the length of his shaft. She hadn’t intended to listen, she knew her task right now was more important than the conversation going on above her and that she shouldn’t be dividing her attention, but when she’d heard her name come up, it had been hard not to follow along, ‘But that’s fine, I like it when you watch me. I love it when you watch me.’

Especially when she danced naked for him. And especially when she danced to entice him, to arouse and excite him, stripping her clothing off and shaking her body for him like she never had for any other man, moving without a single drop of the shyness that was usually ever-present in her life. During all her years as a dancer, hundreds of men had approached her, holding out purses bursting with coins and offering to for so called “Special Dances”. She’d never once considered entertaining the offers, it was too mortifying to even think about… And yet, for Robin, she performed them gladly, eagerly, and without him ever having to even ask. When she was with him, things she’d never previously even imagined, simply became natural.

She was aware of the concept of blowjobs of course, but she’d always considered them a concept suitable for brothels, or for the kind of racy stories Sumia read, not something for a respectable woman!

Even when Robin had brought the idea up, and even after he’d begun training her in the art, Olivia had never imagined being degraded as thoroughly as this; sitting on her knees at his feet, using her mouth and hands to pleasure his shaft, and worse, making sure to do so as quietly as possible, so as not to disturb him while he conducted his business. This was far from the give and take of their usual lovemaking, her body was being used for his pleasure. And, when he came, if she was able to make him cum, she knew she wouldn’t be able to swallow it all. His cock would fall from her mouth as she tried, and he would spray his seed carelessly across her face, her hair and down her naked body, as if she was nothing more than a receptacle for his lust.

If she had any pride or dignity, she would have been offended. But, instead, her body shivered in excitement at the thought. She had no use for anything like that when she was around him. She belonged to him, and in that ownership, he freed her from her worries in a way she’d never thought possible.

When she’d seen him again this morning, she’d been so relieved and so happy to see he’d recovered from whatever had been bothering him the previous day that she’d practically fallen to her knees, as eager to worship his cock as to pleasure it. And now, here she was, sitting with her lips wrapped around his shaft, hidden away below his desk, barely a meter away from her own child. Her son to another man.

She should have been ashamed, but instead the thought excited her so much that Olivia couldn’t help but move even faster, bobbing her mouth even further up and down his shaft, taking another inch more of his cock into her throat with a quiet, and very pleased, hum.

“Well… I suppose it just took me by surprise, finding out she’d taken up working for you,” Inigo continued with a sigh, accepting the Tactician’s explanation, “But, maybe it is a good thing, she certainly seemed very happy, anytime she was talking about everything you’d done for her. Father too actually, he seemed to be in very good spirits, so… Er, ah, I actually, I mostly came here this morning to say, thank you.”

“Inigo, you don’t need t-”  

Looking away, a little awkwardly, the younger boy kept going, “I was actually… a little worried about things before I left. I suppose, I don’t really know much about what married life is meant to be like, but… Well, in any case, I thought that it’d be easier for them if I just got out of their hair for a while, gave them a chance to just be together without having to worry about anything else, hah, and it sounds like you helped with that too! Geez… I leave for just a few months and suddenly Mother’s dancing for The Ylissean Grand and Father’s more famous than ever! You know, I went out with him last night and it was quite the experience, it seems like everyone in town knows him these days!”

“Really, Inigo, you don’t owe me any thanks,” Robin carefully forced his voice level as Olivia’s fingers gently massaged his balls. His visitor’s mother was completely back in her rhythm now, with her tongue dragging along his undercarriage and her other hand pumping lovingly up his shaft, and he could feel his long-awaited peak fast approaching. No doubt, she could feel the same, because her mouth quickly moved to swallow his length, and soon he was sitting with his hands balled on his desk, holding onto his control as his cock pulsed and throbbed down her tight, wet throat, “Olivia’s been… Hah, she’s been taking fantastic care of me. It’s been a joy to have her around, and honestly, I feel like I owe you and Gregor an apology for taking so much of her time away from them.”

Holding him in place with half his length sheathed down her throat and the other half being caressed with quick strokes from her light fingers Olivia’s body trembled in delight, and the juices spreading down her thighs pooled even thicker, ‘I-I did it, h-he’s going to cum! Cum for me! Please!’
Desperately clinging to the same placid smile and easy-going expression, it took all of Robin’s concentration to supress the electric bolt of pleasure racing down his spine, ‘GODS!’

Leaning back into the seat once again, Inigo made some reply, but Robin never heard it. His focus swam, and he only just barely held back a deep groan as the overwhelming pleasure crashed through him, sending his world exploding into a sudden burst of white light!

The full weight of his release thundered instantly through him and his cock swelled even larger down the dancer’s throat, pulsing wildly in place for one last incredible moment before finally erupting. 

He could feel her silently gagging as rope after rope of his thick seed burst out, filling her faster than she could swallow and instantly flooding her mouth when she instinctively pulled away, letting his cock slide freely back up. His shaft fell from between her lips and Robin felt his balls shudder between her fingers as the last of his load sprayed wildly through the air, painting the once innocent dancer’s face heavily with his cum, leaving it to drip shamefully across her flushed skin and down to her naked body.

‘Sweet Naga… That… That was incredible.’

Recovering another moment later as his vision slowly came back into focus, Robin gave a truly honest smile this time, his entire body thrumming happily with a warm delight, “Actually, hold up. What’s all this about you coming here to thank me? Are you sure about that? I could have sworn you came here to brag about your adventures with all those women around the world!”

Inigo gave a bright laugh in reply, spreading his hands wide and preening himself proudly at the implicit compliment in the Tactician’s joking accusation, “You make me sound so callous! But I’m here for honest reasons, I’m trying to INSPIRE you! You’ve done a lot for all of us, and it’d pain me to see you repaid by ending up a lonely virgin locked away in a stuffy office like this.”

“After all,” he finished, “You’ll never get a women if you keep acting the way you’re going.”

Still steadying his breath as he savoured the afterglow, a feeling made even better with the sensation of Olivia’s tongue lapping lovingly up and down his shaft, Robin could only shake his head in reply.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

“I-hhaa, I’m sorry!”

Looking at her sitting naked between his feet, smiling up at him with his seed covering her face and her eyes flashing with wild excitement, it was a little hard for Robin to take Olivia’s apology seriously.

“You never told me to stop,” she clarified when he raised an eyebrow, “But, I did so anyway, even though I should have been focussing only on pleasuring you… I’m ashamed…”

“Well, that’s fine. I was the one that invited Inigo in after all, and he is your son. So it’s n-”

“Ahh… You’re so kind, I love how sweetly you treat me… But, but, you shouldn’t! I-I want to serve you properly, but, if I mess up, it’s only natural for you to punish me! I won’t learn unless you put me in my place!”

There was no small amount of excitement lacing her words as she spoke, and Robin could practically see her body shiver in anticipation as she gazed meaningfully up at him. In the past, perhaps he would have been able to ignore it, but now, with his sharpened sense of self, he could practically feel the desire radiating from her and, before he even knew what he was doing, he was already moving, reacting to her need.

“Very well.”

His voice was like iron when he answered her, rising from his seat and reaching down to take a firm grasp of her head, holding her in place. Swallowing heavily, Olivia’s eyes fell irresistibly to the pillar of cock now held just barely a few centimetres from her lips. Still slick with her saliva, it stood fully aroused before her, hard and thick, and large enough to lay across her entire face. At the sight of it, the dancer squirmed anxiously in his grip, although not anywhere near enough to pull away.

“D-Do you want me to su-KYAAA!?”

Not sure what he’d intended and not having any idea what to expect, Olivia was completely taken by surprise when Robin suddenly pulled away, jerking his hips to the side and sending his shaft slapping hard across her cheek with a meaty thunk!

Her body jolted in shock and she let out a sharp cry… But… Robin recognised that scream, ‘Did… Did she just cum?’ Shaking his head in disbelief, he tugged on her ponytail and pulled her roughly back into position, giving her no time recover before repeating the action, slapping his cock harshly into her other cheek. This time, he released her at the moment of impact, so the force of the blow sent the lithe pinkette sprawling backwards onto the floor.

“I was willing to let it go this time, you’re still new at this. But, don’t let it happen again. I expect better from you.”

Breathing hard from where she was collapsed on the ground, spread out before him, Olivia looked up with eyes full of wonder. The pain was minimal, she knew Robin loved her, he’d never truly hurt her… But the sting of humiliation was almost unimaginable, she’d never, ever, been so degraded in all her life. Her entire body flooded with warmth and she shivered in undignified delight, moaning wantonly, “Ahh, hhaaa, thank you Master…”

Robin raised an eyebrow, “Master...?”

Olivia jerked to a stop, suddenly realising what she’d said the flush of bliss on her cheeks changed to one of nervous shame and she looked away, “Is… is th-that not okay?”

He sighed. That wasn’t some small slip of the tongue, no doubt she’d just accidently spoken aloud the way she’d been referring to him in her head for some time now.

It was baffling. For all his pride as a Tactician, he really did not know what to make of Olivia’s devotion to him. It was true that he’d set out to seduce her and to make her his woman, but he’d only intended to convince her he’d fallen helplessly in love with her, to offer himself as a comforting presence in contrast to her lonely, troubled marriage and to create a scenario wherein she could fall in love with him in return. He’d stacked the cards in his favour, but he’d promised himself that for her, or any of his other women, it would always be their choice to be with him, that it would always be on their terms. And far beyond his expectations, instead of something akin to the melodramatic love dramas she acted out on stage, the sheer intensity of the relationship she sought from him and the complete willingness she had in giving herself to him, constantly took him by surprise.

He supposed he should have seen this coming. In many ways Olivia was a perfect fit for his uncontrollable instincts. She’d talked before about wanting to belong to him in ways that he knew was no joke; she’d asked him to bind her to his side, both emotionally and physically, he’d already known she wanted to be conquered by him, to be owned by him and to devote herself to him. He’d compared them before, but really, she truly was far too similar to Tharja.

Which wasn’t to say it wasn’t appealing. He didn’t think there was a man alive who wouldn’t be aroused at the thought of a beautiful, intelligent woman like Olivia submitting herself to him like that. In truth, his heart was pounding hard and the fire ever burning inside him was crackling hot with delight.

“It’s not that I mind, I was just surprised.”

Still looking away, Olivia tremulously began to explain, “It’s just… I love you, Robin. Even though I’m married, I… I can’t help it, even though I tried not to fall for you, I still did. I k-know I can’t marry you, I love Gregor and I could never leave him, but, but, it’s just different when I’m with him. More than I ever realised, I was so lost and lonely, for so long, and it was you that saved me from that. I-I, hehe, I guess you probably never realised what it meant to me, when you offered me a place at your side, but it made me so happy, happier than anything. Being with you, helping you, belonging to you, has made me happier than I’ve ever been since the war, it just… I can’t explain it… it just feels right, like, like it’s something I’ve wanted for all my life.

“I was always alone, and always unneeded, people helped me, but I could never do much in return. Then… Then, the Shepherds gave me somewhere to belong, th-they relied on me as much as anyone else, I-hhaha, it feels like a dream… Even someone like me helped save the world… But, after the war, everyone went their own separate ways and I was… Just by myself. But then, then you came and, you needed me, and… I don’t care how you need me, I don’t care if I’m your lover, your servant, your whore, your slave, I don’t care at all. Whatever you want from me, s-so, so long as I can help you, so long as I have a place at your side…”

So, Gregor would remain her husband, but Robin would be her master. It seemed Olivia had found a place in her heart for both the men she loved.

The Tactician nodded in reply. It was a shock to hear it aloud, but nothing she’d said was anything he hadn’t been able to guess. From her life as a gypsy, through to helping Basilio and joining the Shepherds, Olivia had relied on her ability to support others to give herself an idea of self-worth. When the Shepherds retired and she was left with just her family, with Inigo travelling and Gregor out drinking, he imagined the only thing she could think to do to support them was to provide money for the family. He’d always recognised her loneliness, that’s why he’d backed himself to seduce her in the first place but it was the depth of that loneliness and the wholeheartedness that Olivia drew her self-identity from being needed that surprised him.

It was still strange to him that she would unilaterally declare herself his property, or that she would give herself to him so completely, but, while it certainly wasn’t what he’d intended, he understood. Rather than wanting freedom, she wanted to belong, she wanted a place to belong that she knew would always be hers. She saw him as being just as lonely as her, she believed that he’d fallen in love with her as she had with him, and so she’d realised that if she became his, if she was able to help him, then she’d never need to worry about being needed again. She really was far too similar to Tharja, he decided again, although perhaps, a little more selfish.

Running a hand through his hair, Robin took a moment to choose his words.

“You know… It’s not so different for me either. Naga, even before you were married, I could scarcely take my eyes off you, I was, I was happy for you of course but still I…” acting as if he was letting a thought manage to say aloud trail off, Robin reached down and gently turned her head gently back towards him. He spoke with every drop of conviction he could manage, earnestly telling her the half-truths he knew she was so desperate to hear, “Look, all that matters is, Olivia… You know I need you, you’ve seen that for yourself!

“All three of the wars we fought… All the people that were hurt, or killed… All of it, every single bit of it, came back to Grima, to my father, and, to me. Ever since I came back, more than anything, I wanted to set things right. I’m not so arrogant as to think I can help the whole world, but I owe Chrom everything, I wanted to at least do what I could for Ylisse. I was too proud to ask for help from anyone, I wanted to let everyone enjoy the peace they’d fought for without worry, so I wound up isolated away, more than I ever realised… I never even noticed how much Morgan was worrying about me. By the time I met you, I was at my limit, drowning in my work. I was lost and lonely and… Olivia, you saved me.”

Seeing her looking so adoringly up at him, for a moment, Robin had considered finally telling her the full story. But, he knew he couldn’t. No matter how dedicated she claimed to be, if she, or Nowi, or Lissa were to learn the truth about his desires, then they would surely wonder if the feelings he claimed to have for them were real, or if he was simply using them for the sake of slaking his instincts. He couldn’t allow that seed of doubt to exist.

Still, he consoled himself as he stroked his fingers tenderly across the dancer’s cheek, what he told her was true, in its own way. Not the words he spoke, of course, but the meaning behind them. He did need her, just not for the work she did supporting him, so much as for the release she gave him from his unquenchable lust. He did truly love her and always had, just not in the same way that she now loved him, he loved all the Shepherds, but only Lucina held his heart fully. And, he had been lost and lonely following his return, he’d spent his time hiding away from his friends, living in fear of the changes taking over his body. Just as he’d said, she truly had saved him from that, and just as he’d said, he wouldn’t be able to easily separate from her anymore, not now that he’d made her his own. Despite his deception, he’d never lied to her; she had no need to know the full truth, he would still make her as happy as he could, to the best of his abilities, just as he’d promised with Nowi, he would make sure he was worthy of her love.

“You’ve seen my workload, there’s an impossible amount still to be done. But, I know if I’ve got you by my side, we can do it, together.”

“I’ll help, I’ll do as much as I can! I owe everything to Ylisse too! And, and to you!”

“It is a little strange to hear you speak to me that, it’s not what I imagined our relationship would be… But, I, ah, I kind’a like it too. So, if it makes you happy, then, so long as it’s just in private, go ahead and call me whatever you’d like,” he conceded a moment later, speaking honestly this time, “But, Olivia… Naga! You know, if you go this far, I’ll never be able to let you go! I’m not like Gregor, who’s happy to let you spend all your time with another man. I won’t let you leave me, even if I have to chain you to my desk and keep you only to dance with me. I’m a jealous man, I won’t share you and I’ll never let another man touch you, not even your husband. Are you sure you’re okay with that?”

Looking at the way her eyes shone and how her body trembled, her answer was never in doubt.

“O-Of course! I want that too! I’m for your exclusive use! I, I can’t be your wife, but, I’ll be your woman, your lover, I’ll, I’ll be your whore, or your slave, or whatever you want, Master!”

Beaming in delight and, with their conversation now decided, Olivia closed the distance between them once more. Remaining on her knees, she wrapped her arms around the Tactician’s waist and returned her lips to suckling obediently on the head of his cock. Her master’s shaft was standing before her eyes after all, unless she was instructed otherwise, it was only natural she would service it.

Smiling in appreciation at his mistress’s fast learning, Robin sank back into his chair once more, leaning back into the cushion and guiding Olivia’s lips down his length as he did so, closing his eyes and simply enjoying her loving, clumsy care.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

It was some time (and two loads) later before Olivia spoke again, tilting her head up and laying his shaft heavily across the length of her face, “I know I shouldn’t have been listening, but, I don’t disagree with Inigo’s words.”

“Oh?”

“It’s… it’s something I’ve thought of myself several times already. I think it would be a good idea for you to take a wife. You should have another woman who can take care of you at home, when I can’t. And it would look far less suspicious for me to be spending time with you like this, if you did.”

Once again, despite all his pride in himself as a Tactician, the Shepherd’s dancer had taken him completely by surprise. Pulling himself upright, Robin stared in bewilderment down at where the pinkette had returned to laying kisses along his cock, “You’re really suggesting-You’re saying you’d be fine with that? Me being with another woman?”

“Of course.”

“Wouldn’t that make you jealous?” he narrowed his eyes, trying to make absolutely certain of what he was being told, “I already said I’m never going to let any other man touch you.”

Despite all she’d done, and despite the fact her face was currently crowned by the Tactician’s cock, it was only now Olivia blushed. Chewing on her lips at the memory, her mind returned to the dream she’d seen so vividly, the image of Robin lying on his bed, surrounded on all sides by his wives, but with eyes only for her as she performed before him. The bangle around her ankle shifted with a comforting weight and, for a moment, she could almost feel the welcome surety of Robin’s shackle around her leg, and of her chain securely in his hands.

“It’s… It’s only natural, isn’t it? I belong to you, b-but, but you don’t belong to me, it’d be wrong of me to want to monopolise you. A sword has only one master, but a swordsman can have many swords,” Olivia nodded to herself at her logic, it was a thought she’d returned to many times recently and one she’d found surprisingly easy to accept. She was his first woman, she was the one who’d supported and accepted him, that was more than enough for her, “I... I think if a man can only make one woman happy, then he should only be with one woman. But, but you’ve always done much more than that! You’ve always made everyone around you very happy! I-If you can make anyone else as, as happy as you make me, then, then you absolutely should!”

Taking hold of her head and guiding her eagerly back in place down his shaft, Robin didn’t answer immediately. Leaning back into the seat with a deep sigh, he closed his eyes, his mind spinning wildly with what she’d just told him.

And strangely, more than anything else, he found his thoughts returning to Inigo’s earlier quote, ‘A true man wants two things, danger and play. For that reason he wants women, the most dangerous plaything.’

Danger indeed.

The thought that came to mind immediately from Olivia’s declaration, the thought he found himself unable to dismiss, was beyond dangerous. It was yet another crazy, unnecessary risk that would complicate everything. He knew better than this. He knew the stakes were too high to do anything but make the safest choices available… And yet, the emotions now boiling inside him, the desire suddenly raging hot through his body, made it almost irresistible! And, it wasn’t simply his Draconic instincts that were responding to her suggestion; Robin was a Tactician, someone who’d fought wars on the greatest possible scale, who had challenged himself against the most renowned generals and strategists of the world. His soul chafed in retirement. He craved excitement, he needed a trial.

Complicating things only made his ruin more likely… And yet, the challenge, and the thought of the potential reward, was utterly intoxicating.

If he was still the same man he had been before his resurrection, he would never have considered it but, as he was now, it took Robin barely a few minutes of frenzied internal debate before he pushed Olivia backwards off his cock, rising to his feet with a wide, excited smile and a shiver of excitement coursing up his body.

“Lon’qu’s carriage should be leaving, right around now.”

He’d originally planned to assign Olivia some task for Morgan and leave her behind, but now…

“Get dressed and come with me. I want to make sure Lissa’s alright and, I’ll need your help.”

The words had their intended effect. Beaming in delight, the dancer practically dived back below his desk, scrambling for the skimpy black and purple outfit she’d so happily discarded earlier.

“Y-Yes, Master!”

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

The carriage was half-way out of Ylisse before the driver, a young boy sitting next to Lon’qu, finally broke the silence. Sparing a glance back at where their other companion, the famously loud, blonde Swordsman, was already slumped over and back asleep, he confirmed there was no-one to over hear them, “Was… Um, was that really okay? Leaving Princess Lissa like that? She seemed furious!”

Being an Ylissean himself, the sight of a member of their royal family being so obviously incensed was a terrifying thought and not one he’d soon forget.

Folding his hands with a grimace, Lon’qu gave a snort, “It was unavoidable,” clearly he hadn’t relished the sight of his wife so upset either, “Regna Ferox is no place for her. It’s hard and cold, a place for men. And, when we arrive I’ll be too busy to give her the time she deserves. I won’t take her somewhere like that, I won’t put her in that situation.”

Silence reigned for several long moments after that, as a driver slowly deciphered his words and realised just what the famous swordsman was implying, “Y-Y-You think… You think she’d cheat on you? The… The Princess?”

Princess Lissa was a bright, beautiful and cheerful woman, she was beloved across the Halidom and her young, carefree nature inspired a protective instinct from many men across her land, especially among the men who worked near the Palace itself. The announcement that she’d been married had sent waves of shock through many, akin to the thought of their own little sister being wed, to this day it was difficult for many Ylisseans to imagine someone as innocent as her as a wife and woman… To even consider Lissa, of all people, not just being with a man, but being unfaithful to her husband… It was unthinkable! It was tantamount of treason, or blasphemy!

“Of course, she would never intend to,” the foreign Prince’s words were sharp and cold, as if he’d already regretted speaking aloud in the first place, “But, this for is a Khanate tournament. There’ll be endless alcohol, non-stop feasting and strong, wilful men surrounding us on all sides.”

A place of revelry and of debauchery, of when the strongest men and women across the world got together, drank merrily and celebrated -or commiserated- to their hearts content.

At length Lon’qu spoke again, turning his head to the clouds and talking as much for himself as for the young boy beside him, “The life of a swordsman is about walking through danger while avoiding risks. I would never risk her so easily.”

He was her husband, the man closer to her than any other, the man who understood her better than any other. He knew just how friendly and just how bright his wife was, he could hardly seclude her in their room in Ferox, she would make friends with all comers and be drawn into the drinking, the games and all the celebrations. Taking her along and then leaving her alone in a situation like that would be tantamount of throwing her to a sea of rabid dogs. Of course, he trusted her, and of course he knew how strong she was; the chances of something actually happening was absolutely minimal, he was fully aware of that. But still, he cherished her far too highly to put her in such a situation, she was a Princess, and she was the woman who loved him, he would never risk letting her be disgraced.

Closing his eyes, he leant back into his seat with a sigh, his mind coming once more to the same conclusion.

Even if it made her angry, leaving her in Ylisstol was the safest choice. At least that way he knew she had the other Shepherds to look after her dignity while he was away. If it upset her or strained their marriage, that was an unfortunate price to pay, but there would be time to make everything right when this was all over.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Lying facedown atop her bed, Lissa’s body ached with pain and her chest heaved with sobs.

It hurt.

It hurt, so much.

Even knowing it would happen, still it hurt. Still her heart was flooded with an anger she could barely contain.

Her husband had left. The man she’d scarcely seen since the end of the war had abandoned her once more. He’d chosen a duty Basilio hadn’t even asked of him over her.

She’d known he would. And she knew everything wrong between them was all her fault. But still, she couldn’t hold back her tears. In some way, she knew that the pain and anger were proof of her feelings, that she did care and that she had truly wanted him to stay. If it was nothing more than her own pride and vanity, then she wouldn’t be half as miserable, nor anywhere near so infuriated.

It hurt. And Lissa regretted. And she mourned, and she let go; she didn’t know when she’d see her husband again, maybe weeks, maybe months, but she knew that when she did, she wouldn’t be able to think of herself as his wife anymore. The man she’d loved had left her unwanted, and another had taken his place.

‘Lon… Did you really not notice, that I belong to someone else now? That while you were gone, another man made me his woman?’

The door to her room clicked open, and in that heartbeat, Lissa’s entire body suddenly shivered with heated anticipation. Sitting up on the bed, a warmth grew between her legs like a switch had been thrown inside her.

“Robin!”

She called out for him, already halfway across the room. She knew it was him, she knew he would come for her. It was the same anytime she was hurting,

Chrom wouldn’t want to set her off, so he’d keep his distance until things settled down, rather than make it worse.
Maribelle would give her the space she thought she needed, giving her time by herself.
Frederick would never dare come to her room uninvited.

Only Robin understood her, only Robin understood that when she was in pain, or when she was angry, all Lissa ever wanted was to be held tight. The Tactician’s familiar, comforting smile filled her vision and Lissa’s cheeks flushed bright red. Because, just as Robin understood her, she, in turn, understood him. And, she knew, as he was now, Robin would never be satisfied knowing she was hung up on another man. ‘Sorry Lon…’ her husband hadn’t wanted her, he’d passed up touching her, so instead, ‘He’s going to push me down and fuck me, until I forget all about you.’ Between her anger, her hurt and her shifted loyalty to the Tactician, she wanted nothing else.

And then, one half-step away from the Grandmaster, with her arms reaching up to lock around his neck and everything playing out exactly as she’d expected, Lissa’s thoughts suddenly crashed to a halt, “E-Eh?” she stopped, striking a ridiculous pose as she paused awkwardly in place, “Olivia?”

“Y-Yes, uhh, hello Lissa.”

Looking out from where she was cowering, nervously as ever, behind the man’s back, the Dancer waved a timid greeting to the surprised Princess.

“Hey there Lissa,” entirely unaffected by the girl’s shock, Robin covered the distance between them and collected Lissa into his arms, wrapping himself around her and pulling her into a tight embrace. His touch was as warm and tender as ever but, as his hand slid possessively down her body, cupping her ass and pushing two fingers between her legs, he made it unmistakably clear that this was not an embrace between friends. This was a man taking what was his.

“E-Eh!?” Lissa gaped, even as her arms linked instinctively around his neck and her body shivered at his caress. Him taking hold of her was nothing unusual, but him doing so in-front of someone else very much was!
“A-Ah!?” Olivia’s jaw dropped just as far, even as she obediently closed the door behind them. She hadn’t known what to think when he’d told her they were going to look after Lissa, a married woman, but this was far beyond any expectation!

Keeping the same cheeky smile, while still holding Lissa wrapped around him, Robin reached over for Olivia’s hand, pulling her along as he led both woman through the room, sitting them down atop the Princess’s bed.

“Lissa, you don’t mind if Olivia joins, do you?”

“That… Is that really alright? But, she’s mar-”

“Well,” he interrupted, stroking her cheek, “Everyone has their own circumstances, don’t they?”

Lissa paused, her surprise slowly fading away as she considered his words. While she didn’t know much about Olivia’s private life, none of the Shepherds could possibly have missed the tales of Gregor’s escapades across town. She’d never even thought of it before, but now that she was put on the spot, she realised that it wouldn’t take much to imagine that the Dancer was just as hurt and just as lonely as she was.

It was then, as she paused in momentary reflection, that she noticed the enticing aroma from the woman seated beside her, her heart racing as she suddenly recognised the sheen on Olivia’s skin. She’d obviously cleaned herself up, but the signs were still unmistakable; Olivia, the Shepherd’s shy, innocent dancer, was wearing Robin’s seed across her face. She had already been soiled. She’d walked all the way here already like that.

The heat between Lissa’s legs grew hotter and she realised just how much that thought excited her.

It was strange really, for all the loyalty she felt towards Robin, he offered her none in return. He’d already made it perfectly clear that the woman he loved most of all was Lucina and, with how he’d brought Tharja into their relationship, he’d made it equally clear that he had no intention of remaining true to Lissa, or with replacing Lon’qu. And here he was now, without a single explanation or apology, brazenly showing off that he’d taken another lover besides her and Tharja…

…And, stranger still, rather than angering her, that knowledge only aroused her even more. Playing around with women’s hearts to this extent, Robin was obviously even more of a scumbag than she’d expected, but she didn’t mind in the least; sharing him with Tharja had already been among the best sex of her life, it had been intense, passionate and addicting, and she’d wanted more.

Lissa knew she wouldn’t soon forget the dream she’d had, of seeing him with Maribelle, and just how her body had thrilled at the thought of seeing her best friend working herself down the Tactician’s thick shaft. Nor would she forget the shameless indulgence she’d allowed herself in response- how she’d captured the noblewoman’s lips for herself, selfishly claiming Maribelle’s first kiss between women, as well as giving away her own.

“Y-Yeah, sorry, you’re right. I shouldn’t have asked,” Olivia was the same as her and the same as Tharja. That was all that mattered. She shouldn’t try pry into the details of her friend’s marriage, after all, she wouldn’t want to discuss her own situation. Resolved, Lissa smiled eagerly, “And, of course, Olivia! You’re always welcome with me!”

Smiling gratefully, Robin pulled her up towards him, meeting her lips with her own and drawing her into a warm, soft kiss for several long moments before releasing her slowly back down and turning his attention to their companion.

“Olivia, Lissa is feeling lost and lonely right now. So, me and you, we’re going to cheer her up, alright?”

Swallowing heavily and half panicked by the fact that she’d just seen one of her most trusted friends and the youngest Princess of Ylisse, kissing someone who was definitely NOT her husband, the pinkette Dancer just gaped in abject shock.

Her mind spun in a frenzy, she’d been simply following Robin’s lead when she’d been taken here. Was this to do with the conversation they’d had back in his office about him finding a wife? She hadn’t meant anything like this! It was all far from any possible expectation and she couldn’t begin to make sense of what was going on, or even what was being asked of her… let alone trying to understand the predatory way Lissa was now smiling at her.

It was then, flinching to herself in fright, that Olivia dropped her gaze… And then, when she saw herself, and remembered what she was wearing, that she had clothed herself today, as ever, in Robin’s colours. Soothed by that thought, as much as by the comforting weight around her ankle, her shock subsided and Olivia finally remembered herself.

She was here because Robin wanted her to be here. She didn’t understand because she didn’t need to understand. If she’d needed to know the details, then her master would have explained them to her. All that mattered was that he’d brought her here because he needed her. And now, he was asking if she would help him, her answer couldn’t have been more obvious!

“Of course! I’ll do whatever I can!”

“Good girls. Well then, this is what you both wanted, isn’t it?”

So saying, the Tactician calmly loosened his belt, tugging his pants down enough to free his still-hard cock, leaving it bouncing into the air before them, unrestrained and dauntingly massive, he held it in place between them, barely a few centimetres from their flushed cheeks.

“Ah!”
“Oh!”

With a sharp intake of breath and the sound of both women whetting their mouths simultaneously, the atmosphere of the entire room suddenly changed.

This was the cock that had conquered them both, the shaft that had laid a permanent claim upon both their bodies that their husbands could never match. It was if a switch had been thrown within them at the sight of it. Nothing more needed to be said, they were both instantly entranced and utterly subdued.

Lissa, having long lost any shame at performing lewd acts alongside another woman, made the first move. Rolling her tongue out as she leaned forwards, she ran it along the full length of his shaft in one long, slow motion, eagerly savouring the Tactician’s taste. Olivia followed suit only a moment later, pursing her lips back in their rightful place around his cockhead, letting out a low moan and she suckled greedily atop his glans. Falling into motion, the girls shuffled closer together, their arms twinning around the Tactician’s waist and their bodies pressing hot against one another as they shifted into position. Engulfed in the same excited, depraved hunger, neither married women had any patience for teasing, groaning in shared need, they instantly began moving faster and more desperately.

Leaving one arm tight around her lover’s waist, Lissa wrapped the other around the Dancer, facing her directly and pulling Olivia up tight against her as she trailed her lips down Robin’s cock. Her body shivered in desire as she felt her friend’s large, soft breasts squished heavily against her own somewhat more modest pair, and Lissa squeezed her in even tighter, delighting in the shy woman’s clear arousal and kissing deeper around their shared cock, laying hard, hungry kisses down his shaft.

Gasping softly at the feeling of Lissa’s body against hers, and the sensation of their soft breasts and hard nipples rubbing against each other, through their clothing, Olivia flushed even deeper, both with embarrassment and desire. Drawing on all the experience she’d gained from her profession, she dutifully followed the Princess’s lead, matching the other woman’s motions. Taking control of the tempo, she turned the grinding of their bodies together into a slow, lusty dance, pressing herself just as heavily into the Princess as they slid against one another. And, matching her rhythm to the blonde’s, she pushed her own lips down along Robin’s shaft, laying her own kisses along his length, perfectly in synch.

Placing his hands atop both their heads, threading his fingers through their hair, Robin leaned back, groaning in delight. Lissa was vastly more skilled, but Olivia was incredibly adept at matching her pace to another’s, and the result was a wonderous duet. Rather than the endearingly clumsy service the dancer had given him earlier, this was pure cock-worship, guided by Robin’s most experienced lover.

“O-Oh, it’s twitching… Hahmm, you’re feeling that good already, eh?” Lissa giggled up at him, from where her tongue was currently flicking across his glans, “Mmm! Are you that excited to be doing it in my room? Or is it because Olivia’s here?”

“Am, am I doing it right? I’ve never do-Ah!?” Olivia’s words were suddenly cut off in surprise as, in her efforts to match the Princess’s movements, her own ran into the blonde’s. Given their position, it should have been expected, but, having never even considered being so intimate with another woman, she was taken completely un-prepared, and, with the way she could feel the younger girl’s body wrapped tight around hers, grinding sensually against her, it was a remarkably intense feeling.

It took Olivia a moment to recover, but even so, she refused to back down. Despite her surprise, Olivia’s mouth never strayed from her master’s cock. Meeting the Princess’s questioning gaze, she urged her on, more than willing to follow her friend’s lead, whatever it took to better service the man they’d both given themselves to.

Sliding down, Lissa opened her lips wide in a deep kiss against her side of Robin’s glans. And, facing her, Olivia followed suit. Holding the girthy cockhead between their mouths, Lissa’s free hand slid up the dancer’s back and curled around the back of her head, while Olivia’s did the same in reply and the two girls pulled each other together in heated embrace; their lips and tongues meeting in brief dances as they turned their heads this way and that, showing off their eager submission and sharing a wanton kiss around the now twitching shaft.

Shifting their positions, the Princess pulled away first, gently pulling Olivia’s head around, she guided the Dancer’s lips down Robin’s shaft as she trailed her own lips down his underside, spending several long moments tonguing along the length below where Olivia was able to swallow before sliding herself all the way down and gently suckling on the Tactician’s balls.

An electric shiver surged up Robin’s spine and he moaned aloud without having even intended to; feeling Lissa carefully rolling his balls around her mouth at the same time as Olivia’s lips bobbed up and down, reaching almost halfway down his shaft, Lissa’s soft tongue caressing his most sensitive part, Olivia’s throat constricting around him- he couldn’t help but gasp in response!

Feeling his balls pulsing against her tongue and recognising that the Tactician was getting close to the edge, Lissa moved again, sitting upright and moving so she and Olivia were both sitting shoulder to shoulder, directly facing him. Taking the Dancer’s hand and entwining her fingers with her own around the base of her cock, she pulled the heavy shaft away from her friend’s mouth, she sank down in her place, moaning around her beloved cock as she felt it filling her mouth and stretching out her throat once more.

“A-Ahhh,” Olivia whined in regret at the sight.

But, the Princess was not selfish, after swallowing as much of Robin as she could manage, Lissa pulled herself off, releasing him from between her pursed lips with a sigh, she pointed the massive rod back towards the Pinkette, who eagerly accepted, drawing it back down inside her once more before repeating the same gesture back. And so, sitting side by side, with their hands pumping up and down along the base of his shaft, both ladies alternated sucking him in turn, their heads bobbing up and down along the length of his rod passing him back and forth in a fast building rhythm.

Even for Robin, after being pleasured so thoroughly, something like this was far more than he could take. Rearing back and squeezing his eyes shut as the intense sensations crashed through him, he let out one final guttural cry before finally exploding!

Whether due to her experience or simply pure luck, it was the Princess’s lips that were wrapped around his shaft when the Tactician suddenly went over the edge. Eyes bulging wide as she felt his cock abruptly swell and throb inside her, Lissa wrapped her lips as tight as she could around him, her body seizing up a moment later when he suddenly unloaded, firing rope after rope of hot, viscous seed directly down her throat. 

“UAhgMMMMM!”

Groaning with a mixture of both intense shock and deep arousal, Lissa swallowed as desperately as she could manage, drinking down as much of the heavy load as possible. Only finally pulling back when the sheer pressure overwhelmed her, by the time Robin’s shaft finally slipped from between her now pursed lips, every millimetre of her throat was painted in his colours and her cheeks were utterly stuffed with his cum. Dazed with the rush of delight, Lissa only offered a contented, wanton smile as the last of Robin’s release splashed across her face, the sticky seed coating her lightly-tanned skin, and dripping down the full length of her features, holding his seed still in her mouth she happily savoured the flavour.

Robin stepped back, panting heavily but, as usual, seemingly no less aroused than he had been just a moment ago. However, a moment later, as her thoughts returned and she began to relax, it was then that Lissa noticed the quiet whining sound coming from beside her and saw the envious, pleading look in Olivia’s eyes.

‘Heh.’

Tharja, of course, would have simply pushed her down and licked her clean. But, Olivia wasn’t Tharja. And, she thought as a delightful thrill ran up her spine, this was exactly what she’d wanted, to experience the differences between them, to try things she’d never considered and feel what it was like sharing Robin with all kinds of women. This was the moment she’d known was coming for some time now.

‘Sorry Maribelle, I’m glad you were my first… But, I’m going on ahead!’

Smirking hungrily, she turned on the spot, quickly taking hold of the dancer and pushing her down onto the bed,

“A-AH!? I-ah-UUHMMMM!?”

And, just as quickly, she captured the other woman’s mouth with her own, groaning softly as she passed the thick, sticky seed, still sitting between her lips across. Olivia resisted for a moment in surprise, her body tensing up as she felt Lissa’s tongue playing against her own, but, the Dancer had been thoroughly tamed and as soon as she recognised her Master’s taste, she relaxed once more.

Her mind soared through the clouds and her limbs turned to jelly. Wrapping her body instinctively around her blonde friend, their tongues danced together, and their kiss grew even deeper.

“Mmmaahh!”
“OhhmMMMmmm!”

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Nowi stirred as the woman beside her stretched out under the covers they’d been sharing.

In truth, the young Manakete rarely slept in and had been more or less awake for some time now. But, wrapped up in a very soft mattress, and snuggled up against her best friend, she’d been far too comfortable to want to properly wake up, and so had been dozing on and off for the last hour or so. While it was fairly common for Nowi to invite herself into the Dark Mage’s bed, never before had she slept wrapped up in Tharja’s arms, and especially not while the two of them were completely naked. In fact, aside from her few times sleeping in Robin’s arms, she’d never felt anything like this before at all, it left her feeling warm, loved and very, very happy.

Some small part of her was sure she’d like it even more if Robin was still in bed with them, but evidently he’d gotten up and left them some time earlier. She vaguely recalled a hazy memory of him wishing them a good morning and kissing them goodbye, but that could just as easily have been her imagination.

“Morning Sis!” Nowi grinned, laughing lightly as she watched Tharja waking up before her eyes, not missing how the Dark Mage immediately looked around, clearly seeking the company of their missing lover, “Yeah, Robin’s already gone, unfortunately. Shame… I want to play some more too.”

Blinking herself awake, Tharja raised an eyebrow. She’d woken up beside Nowi many times and, although the feeling of the smaller woman’s warm body pressed naked against her own was quite the novelty, she doubted that alone accounted for the Dragon’s flushed expression, “Oh?” she teased with a thoroughly amused smirk, “First thing in the morning, and you’re already horny for more?”

Holding Nowi against her with her left arm, she slid her right between them, trailing it down the Manakete’s stomach and dancing her fingers teasingly down the smaller girl’s bare waist, dragging them between her friend’s legs and across her pussy, smiling in delight as she felt the familiar warm juices already spreading across her thighs.

“I-Aii, I can’t help it!” Nowi answered, her voice hitching as her hips bucked against the Sorceress’s teasing fingers, “I ju-just really like it when he touches me. Ahh, and, and same for you! You felt really good too last night, Tharja!”

“Heheh… he’s really had quite the effect on you, hasn’t he?”

Tharja supposed she only had the Princess to compare it to, but Lissa was never this turned on just after waking up, and especially not when Robin had already left them. Was this reaction to do with the girl’s Draconic nature?

“Well… I can’t exactly say I’m any different,” peeling one of Nowi’s hands from behind her back, she guided it down between her own legs, shivering lightly at the contact as she let the Manakete feel the exact same wetness pooling across her own thighs, “And, there really is nothing quite like doing it first thing in the morning.”

So saying, Tharja pulled away, sliding out of the smaller girl’s arms and rolling off the bed, stretching her arms out above her head with a sigh.

Following her from the bed, Nowi swallowed. She’d known Tharja for years now, but watching from behind as her friend obliviously flaunted her naked body, this was perhaps the first time she’d truly appreciate just how truly beautiful she was, from her pristine white skin, to the toned, trim lines of her figured, to the enticing curves of her hips and the tight, erotic bounciness of her soft, round ass, the Dark Mage was absolutely stunning. She’d never considered another girl like this before and, while it didn’t arouse her in the same manner that thinking about Robin did, the thought that this was the woman she’d had sex with just the previous night still made her heart race.

She paused.

‘I had sex with Tharja,’ she turned that thought over in her head a few times, everything last night had happened too fast and felt too good to properly process it, ‘I… I really liked it! And, and she’s my little sister now, so, we can keep doing it!’

“I’ve never done anything like what we did last night before!” Nowi declared, leaning back into the mattress with a bright laugh. Her body was shivered a little at losing the warm and pleasant contact but, despite how aroused she was and as much she enjoyed her sister’s fingers between her legs (along with the memory of her tongue there), a woman’s touch wasn’t really what she was craving right now, “Last night was REALLY fun though, wasn’t it?”

“So it was. But… Last night was only the prelude.”

“Huh? What’cha mean?”

Rather than answering, Tharja turned her gaze towards the window, taking note of the sun shining through and mumbling aloud, “Little before, then… So, Lon’qu should have left by now? Hmm, so then, Lissa…”

“Thaaarja? Sis?”

A brief surge of magic and a wave of the Sorceress’s hand recovered her thin clothing that the Grandmaster had so eagerly from her stripped the previous night, and, turning around with another wave, she gestured for the young Manakete to get out of bed and join her, “Hehe… Well, with so many more who can join us, don’t you think things are only going to get even more fun from now on?”

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Despite being the one who was supposed to be being cared for, Lissa had insisted that Olivia go ahead of her. Having slid around behind the dancer and pulled her down to the bed, holding Olivia face-up atop her and wrapping her arms tight around the Feroxian’s silken smooth skin, the Princess was thoroughly delighting in watching Robin completely dominating her lissom body.  Just like her times wrapped up in Tharja’s surprisingly gentle embrace, and just like her dream of Maribelle, this was a new thrill that she’d only recently discovered within herself; these were strong, beautiful women, people she respected and cared deeply for- watching them submit themselves to him so shamelessly, seeing them moaning and thrashing, shaking their hips wildly and clinging desperately to him, making the most embarrassing expressions possible as they surrendered to him in exactly the same way she always did, excited Lissa in ways she could scarcely put into words. Olivia was usually so shy and graceful, watching her abandon her dignity alongside her wedding vows was amazing.

Perhaps that was why she’d been so accepting of the idea of sharing Robin with other women, and why she’d been practically waiting for him to bring more women into bed with her.

Lissa couldn’t help but marvel; she knew she was quite small herself, but Olivia’s body was so light and slender, watching enthralled when Robin had pulled the dancer’s legs apart and opened her pussy wide around his thick shaft, it hadn’t seemed possible for her to take such a massive length inside her. However, clearly very accustomed to the Pinkette’s body, Robin hadn’t hesitated for even a moment, sitting upright before them, he was holding tight to Olivia’s spread legs, using them for leverage as he continuously slammed his cock roughly into her, driving his length all the way to her womb. Feeling her friend buck and shake against his every thrust, and hearing her scream, louder with each time Robin hilted himself inside her, Lissa could only wonder if she looked just the same when she was with him, did she look just as small against his size? Was it hard to believe she’d be able to take him all the way into her either? She resolved to ask Tharja the next time she saw her, it wasn’t something she’d ever thought of before now, after-all, the Dark Mage was the only other woman Lissa had ever seen with the Tactician and, given her disposition, it was impossible to imagine her as anything except perfectly designed for Robin’s needs.

‘Ahh… I want to have sex with Tharja too…’

The Princess’s thoughts only drifted a moment before being quickly snapped back to the present as she felt Olivia’s body arc backwards atop her, a desperate cry slipping from the normally quiet girl’s lips easily filling the room as she crashed through an incredible climax. Robin had barely held anything back to begin with, but with his own peak quickly edging closer, he’d become downright merciless, holding onto her legs and pulling the dancer’s body back against his thrusts with an almost unnatural strength as he drove his cock harder, and faster, into her, burying it violently against the furthest depths of her pussy again and again, and making absolutely no pretences of his intentions- that he was using the married dancer’s incredibly body as nothing more than an outlet for his own release. Looking eagerly between the two lovers, and feeling their pleasure directly atop herself, Lissa’s body shivered in excitement and she wrapped her hands even tighter around her friend, holding her hands over the Pinkettte’s womb, as if to feel exactly where their shared lover’s cock was being sheathed within her.

“How is it? It feels like your whole body’s wrapped around him, doesn’t it?” Lissa breathed, sliding her hands back up to the dancer’s generous breasts, kneading and squeezing them as she spoke, “I bet Gregor’s cock doesn’t feel anything like this, does it?”

“I-I! AhhHHAA! I-I don’t remember! Hnghh! I’ve forgotten what he feels like!” Olivia admitted, screaming the words with great effort, shaking her bead back and forth as her body arched in pleasure, “NGHHA! I, hhha, I don’t want to think about him, n-not now! M-My body belongs to Robin! AH! HA! NAGA, it, it’s too much!”

He’d been getting close for some time now, but it was the dancer’s licentious admission that suddenly spurred Robin over the edge! Matching her scream with a cry of his own, he drove himself forwards, pushing his full weight into her as he buried himself to the hilt inside her tunnel and holding even tighter to her legs as he finally roared out his own release!

“GooOOOODS! AIAAH-”
“Ah-Hnnnngh!”

Both girls cried out happily in response.

Olivia’s scream was cut suddenly short, her voice dying as she was utterly overwhelmed by the rush of the Tactician’s release. Feeling him push her down and unload inside her, gasping as she felt the thick streams of his seed crashing against her deepest walls and flooding her womb, Olivia’s mind was seared white in pure bliss. Her eyes rolled back and her mouth hung open, her tongue falling pathetically out as she lost all reason, falling limply back into the Princess’s arms.

And Lissa, feeling every moment of this transferred directly to her through the dancer’s lithe body, moaned in delight as she rode out a small orgasm of her own.

For a long moment, the three of them stayed exactly like that, all locked in place, basking in mellow afterglow after such rough pleasure… But, only for a moment. The day was still young, and here was plenty of work left to do!

Taking hold of Olivia’s shoulders and assisting Robin in gently easing the dancer’s half-conscious form to the side, Lissa smiled warmly down at her friend. Everything about her, from the dazed look in her eyes, to the way her body was still softly quivering with lingering pleasure, to the sight of her tongue still hanging out of her mouth, made it unmistakably clear; beyond simply being satisfied, this was a woman who’d just been thoroughly fucked. It was exactly what Lissa had craved, exactly what she’d ached for so many times during her married life, and exactly what only Robin had ever done for her.

A point he proved a moment later when he pushed her back down onto the bed, hoisting her legs into the air around him and driving himself down into her (very) eager pussy in a heavy mating press, stretching her wide around him all the way to her womb.

“G-GoG-GoooDDDS!” Lissa screamed in joy, clenching desperately to his shoulders and cumming hard around him, almost from the moment he entered her, right until he was sheathed fully inside her, “H-Hhhaaa, N-Naga, th-that’s… incredible. Nghh, it’s so easy for you to drive me insane, isn’t it?”

She didn’t even attempt to hold herself back. She’d long since learned there was no point in trying to hold onto any sense of pride or dignity, even if she had wanted to, she couldn’t possibly resist him. The moment he wished for it, he would have her screaming like Olivia had, he would have her cumming like Olivia had and ultimately, when he was done with them, she knew she and Olivia would both end up lying side-by-side, barely conscious and with the same, unbelievably satisfied, fucked senseless look on their face. ‘Mmmm!’ Her body shivered in anticipation; it was surprisingly fun being toyed with like this, so long as it was by Robin- the man who’d claimed her love, and the man she’d yielded herself to.

“Hha, this, mmm, this really isn’t normal, is it?” She added with a light teasing tone, as she leaned back into the mattress, closing her eyes and simply savouring the feeling of being filled like this, before he decided to begin moving, “Aren’t guys meant to need a break afterwards? But, that’s twice now and, nghhaa, hha, it’s, it’s still so hard. You never seem to stop.”

To an extent, Robin had always been like this. Even during the wars, it had hardly been uncommon for them to go four or five rounds at a time, almost without pause, often multiple times a night. Having only ever been with the Tactician, it wasn’t something she’d ever given any thought to, until after her marriage, when she’d had to adjust to reality and her husband’s much smaller output. She’d always just put it off as a quirk of Robin’s, a difference between men, but now, ever since he’d come back and they’d rekindled their relationship, it felt far more intense than ever before. She wasn’t sure what to make of that. Of course, it was hard to make anything much of it right now, when she was currently coiled around the full length of his shaft, moaning softly, and not far from another, very satisfying, peak.

“When he’s got the chance to be with two beautiful women like this, what man would possibly stop?”

“Ahhauua, s-same as when you’re w-with me and Tharja?” many a night over recent weeks had been spent with the Dark Mage and the Princess laid out, side by side, or atop each other, soaked in his seed and their own juices, and far too exhausted to even stand up, “But, hha, what about when it’s just me, by myself?”

Leaning down, he kissed her, surprisingly tenderly considering how roughly she knew he was about to claim her, “Who could possibly resist your charms, Lissa?”

She melted.

“It’s the same for me too, you know? Nghha, what Olivia said, it’s the same for me! When, when we first got together again, I-hhaa-I couldn’t even move ontop of you at all, could I? But now, I can’t even remember what Lon feels like at all, I ju-just know this feels better!” she continued, her voice suddenly hitching several octaves as Robin began moving, driving the full length his cock through her in long, strong strokes. Roughly swinging his hips against hers as she screamed in delight, he wasted no time in pounding her waist deep into the soft mattress, “GNghaAA! Hhh, how about you? What’s it like, fucking me in my husband’s bed?”

Robin knew it was wrong. He’d taken this too far, much further than he’d ever planned for. He was only meant to be using her to cope with his condition, taking advantage of their past relationship to help calm the uncontrollable lusts that’d driven him to the very edge of madness. Anything between her and her husband should be none of his business at all. He didn’t want to break them up and he’d never made plans to steal her from him… But, just as it had with Olivia, a terribly selfish, draconic part of him smiled all the same. An intense sense of possessiveness had grown within him and now, no matter what his original intentions may have been, he saw them as his women. And, just as he would never consider sharing Lucina, he had no interest in allowing another man to touch any of his girls.  

Being currently buried inside his best friend’s little sister, he knew this was no time for an internal moral debate. And so, he simply allowed himself to revel in a deep and fulfilling satisfaction, his smirk matching her own, “It’s wonderful. Feels better than ever, and you always feel incredible.”

“Hhah, well, you’re welcome here anytime you know? You’ve, NGHhaaa, you’ve already made me your woman, so it’s yours now too. Mmmm, you can bring other women here too if, hhaa, if you want, anyone you like, s-so, long as you let me join in too!”

Her legs kicked uselessly in the air, and her hips shook desperately up against his as her entire body shivered. He was right, she realised. It really did feel better than ever before, it was even more amazing than usual. They’d passed a point between them now that could never be taken back, and Lissa could feel herself soaring. It felt freeing in a way she’d never even imagined, as if she was throwing everything away and giving it all to Robin instead. It was a surprisingly appealing thought and it was that understanding alone that lingered within her as Robin’s cock slammed against her womb once more and, arching back with a wanton scream, Lissa’s world exploded in white light.

And then, it was just as she was losing herself in that moment, that the door to her room suddenly burst open!

What a sight this was to walk in on! The Shepherd’s famously shy dancer was lying spread out across the bed, her body still quivering softly in unmistakable pleasure and a thick stream of cum pooling down her thighs. And right beside her, rather than lamenting her husband’s latest absence, the Princess of Ylisse, was pinned under the Grandmaster, howling with delight as she surged through a powerful climax.

Thankfully, rather than being shocked, this incredible scene was exactly what their newest visitor had been expecting. After all, the door had been locked with the wards she’d taught Robin herself.

“Lissa!” Tharja called out, standing in the entrance with an approving smile as she surveyed the shameless depravity, “I’ve come to eat you out!”

“Abuh? Th…Tharja?”

Head spinning as she was abruptly dragged back to reality, Lissa only vaguely noticed that Robin barely seemed surprised by the intrusion at all. Shifting their positions with no more than a grunt, he pulled them both up until he was sitting on the edge of the bed, turning her around at the same time so she found herself now seated in his lap, facing towards the entrance with her legs spread open over his, showing exactly where the Tactician remained fully sheathed inside her.

Just from being moved around like that, with her pussy still stretched wide around him and his cockhead jostling against her deepest walls, Lissa had to bite back another smaller orgasm. Biting down on her lip and forcing her mind clear, she gaped in disbelief at the Sorceress as she processed the Plegian woman’s words.

“Me? You’re… Ahnn, you’re not here for Robin?”

Flicking the door closed behind her and replacing the wards with a wave of her hand, Tharja stalked confidently across the room, her wide hips swaying hypnotically with her every step. Her clothes disappeared with another wave of her hand and Lissa swallowed a suddenly dry mouth, once again drinking in the sight of the Sorceress’s incredible, nude body 

“Of course I’m here for Robin. I belong to him. I don’t want to have sex if it’s not with him as well. But…” drawing out her words, she pressed her right hand against the Princess’s face, tracing her fingertips lovingly across her cheek, “But, I knew Robin would be here for you.”

“Ah,” leaning her head into the other woman’s soft hand with a welcoming smile, Lissa breathed out something between a sigh and a moan, “Tharja...”

“And so, I’m here to help Robin break you in. To make you submit to him, until you belong to him alone. Just the same as me.”

Stroking her fingertips tenderly across Lissa’s face, Tharja’s gaze was gentle and her voice almost melodic, a stark contrast to the nature of her words. Lissa couldn’t help but laugh in response.

“That already happened, a long time ago.”

Gentle smiles turned to eager smirks between both women and a moment of complete understanding passed between them. In everything from their backgrounds, to their personalities and beliefs, they couldn’t have been more different; but in this, they were exactly the same.

“Well then… In that case, I’m just here to help him make you feel good. Until you feel better.”

Without another word, Tharja sank to her knees, dropping to the floor at the foot of the bed she placed her hands atop Robin’s over Lissa’s hips and brought her lips directly to where the Tactician and Princess were connected. Pressing a soft kiss into his balls and practically shivering in eager anticipation, she rolled her tongue out, sliding it skilfully over her lover’s sack and all the way up along her friend’s throbbing pussy.

Throwing his head back with a loud gasp at the sudden burst of pleasure, Robin took that as his cue to start moving again. Taking a rough hold of the Blonde’s hips, he lifted her up, dragging her almost along the full length of his cock before slamming her harshly back down! Savouring her screams of delight as he began bouncing her in his lap, Robin was soon matching her cries with his own, shuddering as the Sorceress slid even closer towards them, hungrily tonguing his shaft each time he raised Lissa then smoothly switching to suckle on the Princess’s clit the moment he rammed her down.

“I wanna play too!”

Having been overshadowed by Tharja’s dramatic flair, Nowi was left still standing at the entrance, bouncing excitedly on the balls of her feet. Never one to dwell too long on the strange circumstances of her life, if Nowi was surprised to see her friend Lissa currently speared atop her lover’s cock, she gave no indication.

“You know you’re always welcome in my bed, Nowi.” Robin assured her, turning his attention, for a moment, from the Princess in his lap and the Sorceress between his legs.

Gigging happily, and in a stark contrast to the Dark Mage’s sensual stride, the young Manakete bounded across the room in two energetic leaps! However, Nowi was naturally a very sweet, considerate girl. She knew what it was like to be lonely, and if she ever saw anyone feeling left out she always made an effort to reach out to them. That was part of why she’d been forceful in making friends with the Tharja all those years ago and it was why now, rather than joining Robin as she may have liked, she leapt right past him and between the spread legs of the still recovering dancer!

“Uhhua, wha? Nowi?” still dazed from earlier, Olivia had only just pushed herself up to a half-seated position at hearing all the commotion. Still getting her bearings on just what was happening around her, she was absolutely unprepared as the lime-haired Manakete crashed onto the bed before her and buried her face directly between Olivia’s still quivering thighs, instantly pushing her tongue hungrily into the dancer’s pussy, “OHhWHHAA? HghhA-AHHH!”

Olivia crashed instantly back down onto the bed, her head spinning in confusion as her hips bucked automatically against the sudden rush of pleasure!

Having only experienced being with another woman the previous night, Nowi’s pussy (when it wasn’t stuffed with Robin’s cock, and sometimes when it was) had mostly been on the receiving end of Tharja’s skilled tongue techniques. So, this was the chance she’d wanted to dive right in and try them out for herself!

Leaning back over her shoulder to meet Robin’s lips in a desperate kiss, while threading her fingers through Tharja’s silken hair, Lissa abandoned control entirely to her two lovers. Screaming into Robin’s mouth as he used his strength to bounce her along the full length of his shaft and bucking her hips against the Sorceress’s tongue as it flicked across her clit or swirled along her labia, she crashed headlong through orgasm after orgasm, her world turning white with bliss once more.

Completely confused about what was happening, but far too aroused to resist it, Olivia’s hands held tight to the back of Nowi’s head as she squirmed and thrashed under the smaller girl’s care. Screaming aloud, her back arching off the bed and eyes glazing over as her still-sensitive body was electrified with pleasure once more. Much like Olivia’s own efforts with Robin earlier, Nowi’s ministrations were clumsy and awkward, but, just the same, what she lacked in experience, she more than made up for in sheer enthusiasm. And, the taste of Robin’s seed soaked all through the dancer’s pussy only spurred her on even more!

And so, within moments, the (thankfully silenced) room was filled even louder with the girl’s cries of delight; the sound of the Princess and Dancer both forgetting everything that’d troubled them and simply enjoying the sensation of drowning in desire.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Later

After happily receiving two thick loads, Lissa had collapsed tiredly off Robin’s shaft, relinquishing her position.

Unexpectedly however, the spot had then been immediately claimed by the diminutive Manakete, who’d claimed it as her “Big Sister’s privilege” as she’d thrown herself into the Tactician’s arms. Nowi acting impulsively was no big shock, but seeing Tharja accept it with a calm smile certainly had been! Nodding her acceptance, the Dark Mage had slid across the bed to take up a spot between Olivia’s legs, humming in her own excitement as she ran her tongue along the length of the dancer’s incredible body. Teasing and caressing the Pinkette’s smooth skin, kneading her breasts and sucking on her nipples, Tharja pleasured the dancer in just the same way as she’d done so often to the Princess and, despite being far gentler than the excitable Dragon, soon had her panting in breathless delight all the same.

Which left Lissa sitting back on her legs, catching her breath as she watched Nowi’s tiny body -propped up on her hands and knees- swinging back and forth, completely yielding to Robin’s surprisingly violent thrusts! Throwing back her head and howling in bliss with each time the Tactician shoved his waist against hers, each time he buried the himself so deep into her that her entire body swung forward, the girl’s usual innocent visage was thoroughly defiled; with her eyes open wide, face flushed bright red and mouth panting open almost to the point of drooling, there was no mistaking the sheer wanton desire on the girl’s expression- young-looking or not, right now, this was exactly what she wanted.

It was hard to believe such a small body could really take such a massive cock, but, since she was currently watching it happen before her eyes, she didn’t bother trying to understand it.

“AHH! HUUA! Li-Like this feels so gooood! I love it! AhhHHA! It’s so good!”

“Oh?” Lissa smiled, enjoying her friend’s clear happiness, “Is that so?”

“Y-Y-Yeah! Ah! AHH! It’s, it always feels really, ghaaaaa, REALLY good when we do it like this! It-It’s the best!”

Well, perhaps that was natural for a Dragon?

“That’s just like you Nowi,” she giggled, sidling right up to the smaller girl, “It suits you! You’re always so sweet, you can make friends with anyone. And doing it like this will be much better when there’s other girls around!”

“Huh? I don’t, nghhaa, I don’t understand?”

“Because,” Linking her arms around the Manakete’s neck, Lissa leant forward, pursing her lips against her friend’s open mouth and drawing her into a soft, gentle kiss. Moaning quietly into Nowi’s mouth and running her tongue enticingly along her lips, Lissa held the embrace for just a few moments before pulling back, a small trail of saliva linking them from where they’d been joined, “Sex feels even better while kissing.”

“Hhhhaa,” glowing, both with delight and surprise, Nowi’s body shuddered, “I-I’ve never, huuah, I’ve never kissed a girl before!”

“Feels nice, doesn’t it?”

“Ah, y-yeah!”

This time it was Nowi that dipped her head forwards, pushing her lips clumsily against the Princess’s. Happily accepting the invitation, Lissa deepened their embrace, pulling herself even closer towards the Manakete as she sank into her kiss, opening the smaller girl’s lips up with her own and teasing her tongue with her own.

“Mmmm!”
“MMHHHA! MhhhhmmmhHHHHHMMM!”

“Ah…”

Looking up from where Olivia was currently climaxing around the two fingers Tharja had buried inside her pussy, the Dark Mage had a somewhat forlorn look on her face.

She didn’t mind having sex with other women, it felt good and it made Robin happy. That it helped his plans didn’t really matter as much to her, she knew that if she’d felt uncomfortable with it, he could easily have simply made his plans without her. He included her because he cared for her and wanted her with him. She knew that. But, even so, she hadn’t wanted to give all of herself away so easily, she’d wanted to hold back parts of her affections for him alone; a reminder for him that no matter who he brought to bed with her, her love would remain only for him.

This was a consequence of that decision, her resolve not to kiss anyone but Robin. From all the times they’d shared a bed recently, she’d become remarkably close to the young Princess, and although Lissa had been too considerate to say anything, even she had felt guilty about continually denying the other woman’s desire to kiss her- especially when they were both wrapped up in each other’s arms, making love to one another as much as to the Tactician. And now, more women had joined them in bed, and she was watching Lissa happily making out with someone else, while they shared Robin together.

She wasn’t jealous exactly; with his draconic lusts and stamina, there was more than enough of Robin to go around, and she didn’t regret her decision, nor wish to change it. But, all the same, it left her feeling surprisingly left out.

“Ah, geez…”

Jolted from her thoughts, Tharja looked up to see the man she loved smiling down at her with a surprisingly amused expression.

“C’mon, get over here.”
“Eh-Ah?”

Removing his right hand from Nowi’s small round hips (despite not lowering the intensity of his thrusts), Robin reached over and pulled her from where she’d been kneeling before the panting dancer, using his strength to pull her towards him and holding her securely against his side.

“Robi-Ahhmmmm! MMmm!”

Her words were cut off as his lips met hers and her moans became louder as the hand that had been around her waist slid between her legs and pushed two fingers into her soaked pussy, grinding them expertly against the overly-sensitive weak points she’d admitted to him so many nights ago. Tharja gasped and Robin used that chance to push himself harder against her, both with his fingers and his mouth- deepening their kiss with a furious hunger as he twisted and turned the digits inside her, overpowering her instantly with complete dominance, exactly as she knew he loved.

He pulled back some moments later, the moment he felt her trembling through a climax, and Tharja fell into his chest with deep, heaving pants. Her arms holding shakily around his shoulders and her eyes shimmering with love.

“You really overthink things sometimes, don’t you?” He teased gently, pressing a soft kiss onto her forehead as he began pumping his fingers deep within her, moving them in time with his thrusts into the small Manakete, “And you Lissa, you’re not thinking enough!”

“Mhuam-chaa, Huh? What’s that supposed to mean!?”

“The ears,” he answered with a smirk, able to guess the look currently running across Nowi’s face as she tensed up, even tighter around him than ever, “Nghaa, hha… You didn’t think they were just for show did you? Ahh, Manakete’s love having their ears stroked!”

“Oooh! Of course!”

“N-No! NGha, haha, wa-wait! That’s too mu-AUUUAHH!” Nowi’s cries fell short as Lissa slid both her hands around the side of her face, taking a very gentle hold of the smaller girl’s tapered ears and running her thumbs along the length of them in one long, gentle caress, “GHuuuuuAAHHHH! I-I-I ahh, I’m, I’m going crazy! Ro-Robin! AHHNNGH!”

Robin’s cock was slamming into her, stretching her open around him and pushing deeper inside her than should be possible thanks to the nature of a Manakete’s human transformation. She always lost her mind fastest when he did it in this position, being on her hands and knees, as if submitting to a superior Manakete, burned some fire within her that she couldn’t understand. And now, with Lissa toying mercilessly (albeit tenderly) with her ears, stroking and caressing them with strokes almost unthinkably gentle compared to her Lover’s wonderfully rough treatment of her pussy… It was all far beyond what Nowi had been expecting and much more than she could take!

She came the instant Lissa touched her ears, and then the instant after that when Robin’s cock drove against her deepest walls! And then, screaming, thrashing and moaning, climaxing again and again, Nowi’s world exploded in white and she lost all reason.

“GH-N-Naga!”

Robin could never control himself quite as well with Nowi as he could with his other women. She was always perilously, almost painfully tight around him and, even if she acted more with instinct than skill, something about dominating a Manakete never failed to blaze a fire through his soul that he couldn’t quite put into words. It felt right in exactly the same way that giving himself to Lucina so many years ago had, in just the same corrupting, irresistible way that regaining his sanity with Tharja, seducing Lissa, claiming Olivia, dealing with Panne, or conquering Miriel had.

And so, feeling her body tense up, throbbing and squirming, as she peaked, with her pussy throbbing and coiling around him, Robin couldn’t hold himself back even one second longer!

Holding tight to her tiny body, buried to the hilt within her, his vision swam and his balls throbbed, “UhhHHAAA!” Loosing a scream, he exploded! His cock jolting and spasming against Nowi’s deepest, most sensitive walls as rope after rope of hot, thick seed blasted out, flooding her womb, soaking her pussy and gushing out, across her thighs and down her legs.

Nowi collapsed down into Lissa’s arms with a weak groan a few moments later, her mind spinning from the pleasure and her hands shaking too much to hold her up anymore.

Moaning out a much quieter gasp as the Manakete’s tunnel slowly slipped from his still-hard cock, Robin breathed out a deep sigh, his body shivering in the afterglow. However, his satisfaction only lasted for that moment. A release like that should have been more than enough to satiate any man, especially after all he’d dumped into, or shot onto Lissa and Olivia earlier. But, his instincts were far too greedy for that. Even if his madness had been abated, he was surrounded on all sides by four beautiful, devoted women. Just one look at sight on offer to him was enough to chip away at his sanity once more, his soul with need, and Robin knew he couldn’t possibly bring himself to stop. Not yet. There was still far too much to be done! 

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Later

Sitting atop a bed far larger and much more comfortable than anything she’d felt before, Olivia stared wide eyed at a sight she could hardly believe- as Nowi and Tharja, two friends she’d known and respected for years now, both wore expressions she could never have imagined.

The Tharja she’d known so long was proud and strong, a harsh, terrifying woman who never showed weakness to anyone.
The Nowi she’d loved so dearly was innocent and cute, a sweet, kind and overly excitable girl who always seemed in awe with the wonders of the world.

But right now, with Nowi lying face-down atop Tharja and both their legs spread wide to help her Master alternate between them, both screaming in joy each time he slid his length from one and into the other, they looked utterly wanton and absolutely desperate, Olivia could hardly recognise them. Burying herself between the Dark Mage’s massive breasts, with her small hips and round ass shaking back against Robin’s cock each time he thrust it into her, Nowi’s innocent visage was long gone, suddenly it seemed impossible to mistake her for the young-girl she was often thought to be, moaning, crying and eagerly, wilfully being dominated, Nowi looked every one of her thousand years. And, clinging tight to the young-looking Manakete, with her hips shaking up, grinding her pussy against the smaller girl’s with each time her body thrashed and squirmed, Tharja’s strength was nowhere to be seen, there was nothing scary at all about this woman who had completely yield to the man she loved.

But more than that, perhaps more than anything, between their screams, their moans and their declarations of adoration, they were each smiling brighter than she’d ever seen from either of them. They book looked happy, incredibly happy, as if they were fulfilled in a way she’d never seen from them before.

“It’s quite a sight isn’t it?”

Jolting at being suddenly addressed, Olivia was shocked from her thoughts, then shocked again as Lissa sidled up behind her, wrapping her arms around the dancer and pushing her naked body warm against Olivia’s own. Pressing her lips against Olivia’s lightly tanned skin with a soft giggle, Lissa’s right hand slid the dancer’s chest, tracing her fingertips lightly across her generous bust before taking her left breast into her palm, kneading it softly as she teased her left-hand down Olivia’s stomach, gliding it down over her thighs and between her legs. Arching back with a light gasp as she felt the Princess’s fingers push through her soaked pussy and grind against her most sensitive spots, Olivia’s words died in her mouth, so Lissa continued.

“He’s a ridiculous man, isn’t he? I thought it was just me at first, and then Tharja but now… I don’t even know how it happened, but somehow it feels like we’ve all become part of some harem of his.”

‘Master’s harem?’ it was an insane idea, and one some rational part of her mind told her she should instantly reject. But somehow (and especially while Lissa’s fingers were swirling inside her), Olivia couldn’t find a reason to complain, ‘That sounds… Wonderful.’

“I never imagined I’d be okay with something like this, but… Ngha, it’s exciting isn’t it?” moaning softly in Olivia’s ear, Lissa’s arousal was crystal clear, “Watching him dominate them both, at the same time. It feels like you need multiple women just to keep up with him, but, ahhh, but even then, he still makes them submit. I love watching them like this. And…” dragging the words out, her fingers tweaked the dancer’s nipple and grinded against her pussy walls simultaneously, “Of course, you were exactly the same.”

“It’s incredible. I love watching Mas-Robin make people happy. But, you’re wrong,” even as surprised as she was, Olivia didn’t reject the princess’s touch, especially not after all she’d already done. Rather, she leaned back into the other woman’s soft chest, twisting herself around enough that she was able to meet the Princess’s lips in a soft kiss. Thrilling momentarily at the gentle pleasure, she shook her hips back and forth against the Blonde’s fingers, and met her tongue in a passionate dance, “Seeing them like this is exciting. They’re both so… Ahh, it’s more than I ever expected…

“But, that’s not what captivated me.”

Meeting Lissa in another kiss, a harder, more intense one this time, Olivia slid her own hand back and down between where the Blonde’s legs were wrapped around her. Marvelling at just how thoroughly soaked the Princess’s entrance was with Robin’s cum and her own juices, Olivia pushed her fingers inside, twisting them around and easily matching their movements together.

“Tharja has always belonged to Robin, and Nowi has always wanted a family like this,” breaking their embrace with a soft moan, she looked up into the other woman’s eyes and a quiet, intimate moment passed between them, “But, you’re a noble, a Princess! You’re Ylissean royalty… And yet, the moment he calls, you’re down on your knees like a whore! It’s like you’ve got no dignity at all.”

Lissa smirked, “Yup, that sounds about right.”

Olivia matched her smirk with one of her own and, as one, they turned back toward the man who’d so thoroughly claimed each of their hearts.

By now, Nowi was collapsed face down on the bed, her small body trembling and a fresh river of cum gushing from her pussy and down her thighs. Not pausing for even a moment, by now Tharja and Robin had already switched positions, with the Tactician lying on his back with the Sorceress hungrily riding atop him, bracing her hands atop his chest and gasping in joy as she bounced up and down the full length of his shaft.

That was as much of a cue as the two of them required- without any need for words, Olivia and Lissa unwrapped from one another, smiling excitedly and moving with a perfect understanding as they slid across the bed, hand in hand and dropped down between their lover’s legs. Lying flat along the mattress, they each leaned in and began suckling tenderly together on Robin’s balls, their lips meeting around him once again in yet another depraved kiss as Tharja’s juices dripped down warm and sticky onto their faces each time she filled herself with the Grandmaster’s shaft.

“Mmm, Robin…”
“Ahmmm, Master…”

Sighing happily, they each focussed only on their task at hand, devotedly pleasuring the man they loved while he fucked another of his women.

Outside of here they were a Princess and a Dancer, they were respectable, married women. But right now, right here, they understood each other perfectly; they were both just two wanton sluts without a need for pride or dignity.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Later

With her arms linked tight around Robin’s neck and her lips entwined with his in an adoring kiss, Olivia was showcasing the latest dance she’d been perfecting; that is- the one that had her grinding atop her Master’s lap, spread wide around his cock and taking him all the way to her womb. Using all her skill and strength as a dancer, Olivia swung her hips in long, slow rhythmic circles, rolling her waist up and down almost half his length at a time as she slid his shaft around inside her, ensuring she was doing everything she could manage to squeeze and caress him with her body.

With her eyes half faded and breaths coming in short gasps, Tharja was wrapped around Robin from behind, hugging herself lovingly tight against him and looking eminently satisfied as she recovered from the three successive creampies he’d gifted her. And, a half metre to their right, Lissa was currently clawing at the bedsheets, her shoulders arching into the mattress and legs wrapped tight around Nowi’s head as the small Manakete demonstrated everything she’d learned about looking after women since the previous evening.

Which meant, for the moment at least, Olivia had her Master all to herself. It wouldn’t last, she knew, but she wouldn’t want it to anyway- there was only so much she could handle by herself and he was even harder than usual. But, for now at least she had a chance to show off everything she could do, a chance to directly compare herself against his other lovers.

Either because he understood her preference, or simply because he stayed true to his own, it was rare for her to take the lead when they were together. Which was why, no matter how tempting it was for her to simply let herself drown in the incredible pleasure he gave her, she maintained her focus as best she could, concentrating with all the same intensity as when she was on stage, making sure to bring out her absolute best performance. After all, he was no longer the shy, lonely Tactician who’d fallen in love with her and who she’d seduced through his first time; she wasn’t sure when things had changed, but he now had other women with him and, given how abruptly she’d been introduced to them, she knew there were more to come still. Olivia wasn’t competitive by nature, and the dream she was following was still of herself dancing for him, before his wives and mistresses- but, that same future she envisioned was for her performances to soothe her weary Master’s body, mind and soul. She couldn’t allow herself to simply delight in being with him, she wanted to be needed by him, to be able to please him in a way none of his other women could.

And so, for a time, for as long as she could manage, Olivia danced for the man she loved.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Later

“O-Oooah, Th-Tharja! Your… your, er, your pussy is incredible! It-it tastes so great! I-nghaa, I love it!”

“Of course!” Tharja laughed from where she was currently lying, turned around atop the Feroxian woman, with her own head buried between Olivia’s legs and her fingers twisting around the dancer’s pussy, “It’s been filled to the brim with Robin’s seed! *Mmpshlup* Ahhh, yours tastes just as good.”

“O-Oh! AhHAA! Th-Tha-Thank you!?”

Flinching at the strange praise and blushing bright red, Olivia had absolutely nowhere to hide herself except back between the Sorceress’s deliciously creamy white thighs, sinking into herself in shame, she forced herself to channel all the embarrassment she was feeling into the task at hand, flicking her tongue back along the Dark Mage’s quivering folds, suckling on her clit and doing her very best to force the same moans from the Plegian that had been forced so easily from her.

Tharja was right, of course. After being taken as much as she had, her pussy, thighs and legs were all coated thick in Robin’s essence, so much so that as they’d begun licking each other clean, she’d felt almost wrapped up in his presence. It was an intense feeling and, for someone like Olivia, who’d been uncomfortably nervous about her first time learning to pleasure another woman, a very soothing one. It was a strange position to be in and not one she’d ever dreamed she’d find herself in, but, as she slid her tongue back inside Tharja’s depths, she could taste her lover all through the other woman (as if soaked through to her core), and that comforted her.

And then, a moment later, the Sorceress’s own tongue swirled around Olivia’s clit, pushing down on it right as her fingers scraped along the topside of her inner walls and -as her world exploded in white light- she couldn’t think of anything more.

Looking over at them, Lissa opened her mouth as if to add her own reply to that… But, seeing as she was currently lying on her side, wrapped tight around Nowi, with both their legs raised high in the air as Robin fucked them each in turn… All that came out were a series of garbled screams and moans.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Later

“Beautiful…”

Breathing out a deep and thoroughly contented sigh, as the raging fires of his lust finally settled within him, Robin couldn’t help but take a minute to simply stop and admire the sight before him.

Only a short time ago, each of the four girls, each of his women had been lined up exactly as he’d instructed, standing bent over the edge of the bed, legs spread and all wiggling their asses towards him in gleeful anticipation. Just that by itself had been a breath-taking sight- from Tharja’s bountiful curves, to Nowi’s impish charm, Olivia’s sultry elegance and Lissa’s welcoming allure, to have four such incredible beauties, all together and all eagerly awaiting his touch, was beyond what most men could even dream of.

And now,

“Hhaaa…”

Now as he looked to them, the burning lust that’d boiled within him was replaced with a deeply fulfilling sense of satisfaction, of triumph.

All four were lying splayed out, collapsed facedown into the bed from where they’d been standing. With their tongues hanging pathetically out, eyes rolled up and hips still trembling in the air as thick rivers of his cum ran down their legs, any composure they’d held had been completely destroyed, leaving behind only a scene of four deliriously happy women, each fucked absolutely senseless. Four Heroes strong enough to save even the world itself had all been utterly conquered together.

Breathing out a ragged pant, Robin stumbled slightly in place. Even with his newfound sexual drive, going to this extent had pushed his limits and the fatigue was gnawing heavily on him, his feet felt leaden, and he could feel the dull ache of overused muscles all through his body. He would recover soon enough, he knew, but he forced himself to keep standing all the same, it wasn’t often a man had a chance to savour a sight of such intimate beauty.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

None of them really had any idea how much time had passed since they’d begun but, by the time any of them regained the sense to care, the sun was shining bright, high in the sky, clearly many hours from their early morning beginning.

Robin was lying on his back with Tharja curled up atop his left arm and Nowi snuggled contentedly between them, Lissa was resting securely on his right, which left Olivia wrapped up around the Princess, tracing her fingertips absently in slow, lazy circles across the girl’s supple white skin, “Th-That was, was intense wasn’t it? A-Are you feeling better now, Lissa?”

The Blonde’s answering giggle was soft and purely joyful, her worries and sadness long forgotten, “Of course! That was incredible! It was so much fun, and you guys were all amazing! Ahhh, hehe, I feel completely refreshed!” So saying, she nuzzled her cheek against Robin’s chest, offering him a silent thanks, both for looking after her and for turning what had seemed destined to be such a painful day for her into such an enjoyable event.

Nowi quickly cheered her own agreement to that statement, and even Tharja mumbled something that sounded like gratefulness. Smirking down at all of them, with his hands cupping both Olivia and Tharja’s soft, round asses, there was never any doubt of the Tactician’s thoughts on the matter.

“Good! I…” there was a hesitant pause as Olivia’s finger traced along Lissa’s thighs, “That’s good, I’m relieved.”

Lissa may not have seemed like the most observant person, but she was still a royal, trained from birth to read through the political intrigue that perpetually surrounded the affairs of the crown. And Olivia was no duplicitous noble, recognising that something was concerning the friend she’d known for years was like child’s play.

“Olivia? What’s wrong?”

“Ah!? Hwhat? Oh! I h-hha, huh? No, nothing!”

“Olivia.”

“I-Ah, no, well, I-I shouldn’t say anything…”

“Olivia.”

“I just, well…” tensing up, the dancer sucked in a deep, steadying breath. And, as she did so, she moved her hand up Lissa’s side, tracing over her shoulder and down her arm, until her hand rested atop Lissa’s own. Pausing one final moment, she traced her fingertips meaningfully across the golden band adorning the Princess’s right hand, twisting it around as she spoke, “If… If you’re Robin’s woman t-too, then… then, isn’t it time you took this off?”

“O-Oh!”

Lissa blinked, suddenly much more awake than she had been a few seconds ago. She hadn’t considered that. Swallowing heavily as her mind whirled, she looked down at the Dancer’s left hand, noticing for the first time that her own wedding ring was conspicuously absent.

Her gaze rose automatically up to Robin, but he simply shook his head, “It’s up to you.” He answered, maintaining the same look of complete confidence. And she understood, this wasn’t something that would concern him either way, it made no difference to him what she wore, she was his either way. Her ring was something that carried meaning only for herself, it was no more and no less than what she felt in her own heart.

Lissa could see Tharja staring intently over at her from where she was propped up, with her chin resting on the Tactician’s shoulder. But, regardless of her own (easily guessed) feelings on the matter, she remained silent, doing nothing to influence the choice. And… in a small gesture of something close to kindness, she was currently also keeping her hand clamped tightly over the squirming Manakete’s mouth, preventing any loud outbursts from that corner either.

Lissa’s mouth opened and closed, but no sound came out and no thoughts crystallised within her mind.

Olivia twisted the ring a little more and, after still hearing no objection, slowly, gently began easing it upwards.

‘Ah!’

She knew she shouldn’t. Surely this was wrong. Surely this was too much.

It would be so easy to stop it, all she would need to do was to say something! There were a million reasons she could give; that it was too risky, that it remained sentimental to her, that she at least owed it to her husband to wear his ring. A million excuses spun through her mind.

“…”

All she needed to do was to close her hand. To clench her fist…

…Lissa swallowed again, staring silently at her hand as her fingers splayed further open, spreading them as far apart as she could manage. She’d already made her choice. She’d already thrown everything away. She couldn’t even will herself to pretend otherwise.

“Ah!” Olivia sighed as the ring easily popped free. Cradling it carefully between her hands, she slid from the bed and carried it over to Lissa’s vanity, placing it as a centrepiece among her other jewellery- something pretty to be worn when she went out, for the sake of her appearances, “There we go, that’s better isn’t it?”

Lissa paused, opening and closing her hand before her eyes,

“Yeah…” despite having worn the ring for years, her hand felt just the same without it. But, somehow, her heart felt a little lighter, “Yeah. Yeah, it is.”

Letting out a snort as she turned away, Tharja said nothing, but the uncharacteristically warm smile on her face spoke volumes all the same.

Nowi was much more vocal, still squirming in place, she alternated between boggling at the latest addition to Lissa’s accessory collection and fuming at the Dark Mage for forcibly silencing her.

“I’m so glad…”

Breathing out a happy sigh, Olivia slipped back into the bed. But this time, when slithered back into Robin’s embrace and she wrapped herself warmly around Lissa, she made sure to entwine her fingers with the Princess’s, linking their two unadorned hands together. And from there the conversation turned back to lighter matters.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

“Soo, Nowi…” propping herself up atop Robin’s chest, Lissa shot a cheeky smile over towards the diminutive Manakete, currently nestled against the Tactician’s thigh, “I’ve been wondering, why’ve you been calling Tharja “sister” this whole time today?”

“Oh! I was wondering that too,” Olivia peeked over from behind Lissa, “I-It’s very cute! Is it some game the two of you are playing?”

“It’s not a game!”

The uncharacteristic anger in her voice, along with her ineffectually adorable scowl took both women back, reminding them abruptly just how seriously Nowi took all matters of family. Surprisingly, it was Tharja’s hand, running tenderly along her back, that soothed the smaller girl and her glare faded a moment later. Truthfully, most of Nowi’s reaction was from her own anxiety- both Robin and Tharja had been warned her that she wasn’t meant to talk about them being family around anyone else, and yet, she’d messed up almost straight away. When neither of them had scolded her, she’d taken that to mean it must have been alright if it was around people she was sharing a bed with and hadn’t held herself back. But even so, when Lissa had directly brought it up, she hadn’t been able to help but to snap back.

It was the Sorceress’s gentle touch now that finally melted the last of her worries, urging her forwards instead.

“It’s a Plegian custom!” she explained, having recovered her usual enthusiastic demeanour, as she diligently recited the words she’d been told, “Two women who give their chastity to the same man are akin to sisters! That’s, ummm, that’s what it means when a man takes multiple women for himself; they all become sisters, one big family around him!”

Olivia blinked, processing that strange news, “Huh, well… We did find you in Plegia, so, you’re Plegian too?”

But, it was the Princess’s response that captivated the Dragon’s attention, “Ahh, haha, that’s actually really swe- Oh! Oh! Hey! Wait a second… So then, doesn’t that mean I’m your sister too?”

It was the kind of declaration that brought a room to a halt with its implications.

Nowi’s mouth fell open in shock, her eyes alight with wonder and body jolting ramrod stiff.

Behind her, Tharja pierced Lissa with an intense look, one that spoke not only of her own investment in that idea, but also of just how disappointed she would be if the Princess was simply playing with Nowi’s feelings.

It was Olivia that spoke for the room, “But… But you’re married?”

“Yup,” Lissa nodded, rolling her head back down and nuzzling it against Robin’s shoulder with a warm sigh, “But this brute stole my innocence long before any of that. Way back, during the first Plegian war.”

Once again, the Blonde just casually dropped a bombshell onto their entire group.

“Impossible…” Tharja gaped in abject disbelief, almost unable to believe she could possibly have missed something like that.
“A-Ahhh!” Nowi’s eyes shone even brighter than ever.
“I… Then… You two were lovers back then? I-I never noticed…” once again, Olivia’s confusion spoke for them all.

“Lovers? Ah, no it was…” chewing on her lip, Lissa dithered, not quite sure how to explain, “It wasn’t like this, it was… It was different then…”

“It was support,” Robin supplied, joining the conversation for the first time, “We were looking out for each other.”

Somewhere between family and lovers. It was different now, but that was the feeling that had defined so many years of their time together. Looking up towards the Tactician, Lissa met his eyes and a soft, quiet moment passed between them. They’d been each other’s first, even among all his women, that bond, and everything wrapped up within it, was utterly unique.

“Yeah. Something like that.”

“Th-Then, does, does that count?” Nowi questioned, looking imploringly towards the Sorceress, “It’s fine, isn’t it? Even though she married someone else?”

“Well…” try as she might, Tharja couldn’t hide her own clear delight at the revelation. Even if she couldn’t understand how Lissa could choose another man after tasting Robin, she’d come to care deeply for the Blonde and the fact that she too had gifted him her virginity clearly meant a lot to the Plegian, “Everyone makes mistakes I suppose. What’s important is that she’s come back to him, to us.”

“Ahhh! Ah! AH!” quivering on the spot, Nowi was practically bursting from a mix of joy, shock and sheer, unrestrained exuberance. She’d been told there would be more sisters to come, but even in her wildest dreams, she’d never expected it would come this soon. Reaching across Robin’s chest, she held out a trembling hand, “Th-Then, then, I’m gonna be your big sister from now on, okay!?”

Smiling warmly, Lissa clasped the hand with her own, “I’ll be in your care, Big Sis.”

The Manakete’s pearls of delighted laughter filled the room for several minutes as she beamed at delight towards her newest family member, “Oooh, you’re the youngest sister then! Haha, Tharja! Tharja! That means you’re not the youngest anymore, you’re the middle child now!”

She paused, her whole body freezing suddenly in place. And then, a moment later, with her eyes shining almost dazzlingly bright and mouth pursed wide in wonder, her gaze shifted past Lissa and onto unsuspecting Dancer sitting behind her.

“Unless…!”

“E-Eh?” Completely unprepared to be facing down the full weight of the lonely Manakete’s innocent hopes, Olivia floundered instantly. Reeling back, and waving her hands, she scrambled for words, “Er, ah, no, I- that is… I’ve only… I-I’ve only been with Robin recently…”

Watching the joyous excitement fade from the small Dragon’s purple eyes, the other Shepherds all winced and the bright, warm atmosphere felt like it had been sucked from the room.

“Ah, r-right,” to her credit, Nowi did her very best to try hide her disappointment, “Of course. Ha-ha, yeah, that’s to be expected.”

Heart clenching tight at the sight, Olivia flailed around weakly, her mouth opening and closing without a word as she sought for something to say- some way to make this better. Having been responsible for dashing the girl’s hopes, she found herself somehow feeling inexplicably guilty for not having followed Lissa’s example and having had some torrid pre-marital affair with the Tactician during the wars- a feeling that was definitely not helped from the superior look she could see on Tharja’s face, one that clearly said that if she’d just fallen for him in the first place, then none of this would have happened.

“Haaaaah…”

Eventually, after several long, agonising moments, it was Robin himself that finally broke the silence. Heaving a deep sigh, he pulled himself out from under the women, pushing himself to a seated position and shaking his head with a troubled look on his face.

“Nope. Absolutely not. Sorry. There’s no way I can accept that.”

After all, he reminded himself, he’d promised to live up to Nowi’s love of him, to always make sure she was happy. What use was that resolve if he couldn’t do something as simple as give her the large family she wanted?

Of course, his denial only served to send Olivia’s mind spinning even worse, “H-Huh? Can’t, can’t accept it? But, but… I-I-It’s not like I can just go back to being a virgin!?”

Ignoring her confusion, Robin reached out, taking hold of her shoulders and pulling her up, guiding her over onto her hands and knees. Thankfully, despite her almost frantic bewilderment, she was as obedient as ever, and so she followed his lead as he bent her over onto all fours, only finally squealing in surprise when he spread her beautifully rounded ass-cheeks apart and traced a finger lightly around her rear entrance.

“E-Eiiiyaah! R-R-Robin, what’re you…?”

“You’ve never done it here before, have you?”

It was a slightly reckless gamble to base the crux of his strategy around a variable he didn’t know, but, seeing as Olivia had never even given a blowjob until he’d begun training her, he felt it was a fairly safe assumption.

“Huh? There? O-Of course not! That’s dirty. Ah, wait! Y-You’re not planning to actuAII!?”

A light slap across her ass-cheeks served to interrupt her objections, and so Robin turned back towards the Manakete, “Alright, Nowi! With this, you and Olivia can become half-sisters instead!”

“Half-sisters? We, we can!?” excitement returning in the blink of an eye, Nowi leapt at him, wrapping herself around his side and glowing with happiness, “Ahh! I love you, Robin! You’re the best!”

Savouring her joy, he took hold of his cock, pointing it towards his smallest lover, “Here, do you want to give it a kiss before I put it in her?”

“Okay!” Still locked around his side, she leaned over and planted her lips softly atop the crown of his cock.

“Oh!” Lissa pipped up at that, giving a laugh as she shuffled across the bed towards them, “Let me kiss it too then, she’s gonna be my half-sister too!”

“Hmph,” following behind the Princess, Tharja gave him a pointed look that very clearly said that this was absolutely not how the custom worked. But, despite how she liked to present herself, there was no chance she would be the one to trample over the young Manakete’s wishes, so she stayed quiet and dutifully pressed her own lips against his cock as soon as Lissa had relinquished the spot.

“W-Wait, R-Robin? We’re not… You’re not actually going to…are you? Mast- er, ah, Robin?”

“It’s fine, you can call me whatever you’d like around these three.” He answered, brushing off the rest of her question as he focussed his magic for a moment, waving his hand in a circle and breathing out a short incantation- then, a moment later, there was a slick green glow encompassing his cock like a sheathe.

Never let it be said he let his pride get the best of him; despite his initial misgivings about the book Miriel had given him, and his personal confidence in his bedroom skills, he’d read through it all the same and, as a result, he’d been surprised to learn a good number of simple but useful cantrips. There was the air-freshening spell he’d made use of a few times already and now, a lubrication spell he’d been meaning to try out. The book had talked at length about its very convenient usage in keeping both parties perfectly clean but, right now, his only concern was that it would ensure his pink haired lover wouldn’t feel any discomfort.

“Don’t worry Olivia. It’s a little strange at first, but, it feels really good!” Lissa assured her, kneeling alongside her on Olivia’s left and entwining their fingers together in a show of solidarity.

Doing the same thing on her right side, Tharja was a lot less comforting, “Hmm, so you haven’t done this with him yet. That explains why Robin hasn’t tried my ass all morning…”

The Sorceress was as perceptive as ever; not having wanted either Olivia or Nowi to feel left out, he hadn’t planned to do this with any of his women today. While he knew Nowi would be happy just being around everyone, he’d planned to do something just a little more romantic than this when he took Olivia’s first time. In the end however, a good Tactician had to be willing to change plans on the fly, and if the two of them really were to become half-sisters, then it only made sense that they should each lose their anal virginity together. 

Running one hand soothingly across Olivia’s hips -giving her the time she needed to prepare herself-, he reached his other out to ruffle through the hair of the small Manakete stilling clinging securely to his side, “Watch carefully now, okay? You’re going next!”

“O-Okay!”

“And then me after her right, my love?”

“H-Huh? I’m going last!?”

…

And so, the sordid morning quickly turned into a depraved afternoon.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

That Evening

With his face turning a ghostly pale as he read and re-read through the contents of both the letters he was holding, checking and double-checking that the seals and insignias they bore for identification were authentic, Chrom’s world narrowed to a point.

A moment later the door to the Exalt’s study burst open, the man himself following straight after! Tearing down the hall, he quickly rounded on the nearest palace guard, instantly shocking the thoroughly dedicated Knight from the haze of a night-time patrol.

“Robin! The Grandmaster! Get him, now!”

“Ah-wha!? A-At this hour, your radiance?”

“That doesn’t matter! Find him and bring him here!”

“R-Ri-RIGHT! Yes, of course sir!”

 

Notes:

A/N: Phew, and there we have it! Hopefully you can understand why this one took so damn long, even if you did get sick of having to wait and sick of my excuses. I am sorry for that. I really hate it myself, it shocks me just how long some of this stuff takes me to do. Some scenes really are like pulling teeth.

And hey, this one’s the first proper full on orgy scene I’ve written, so hopefully you liked it! I’d love to hear your thoughts on it, if you liked it, would rather see more of one aspect or another, or any other critique. I hope everyone enjoyed the pairings involved at least!

In regards to Morgan’s conversation with Lucina at the start, the point I was getting at there was that there’s no way to specifically prove that Morgan IS Lucina’s daughter, unless her memory returns. As far as anyone knows, she could just as easily be Cynthia or Lissa’s daughter instead. Now, obviously that’s not the case, she is Lucina’s daughter, but neither of them can prove that. So, they have to take it on faith. Hopefully that makes sense.

And speaking of making sense, for anyone that raised an eyebrow about Tharja’s line that Robin wouldn’t cheat on Nowi… I thought I’d explain that here since it’s a little bit of Tharja logic. Basically, Robin belongs to Lucina, he never gave himself to Nowi and he wouldn’t give himself to her in the same way he’s given himself to Lucina. As far as Tharja’s concerned, he’s not cheating on Nowi anymore than he’s cheating on her, since neither of them have any claim to him. They belong to him, he doesn’t belong to them. And yes, before you ask, it is meant to be very strange logic. That’s the point, Tharja’s meant to have a slightly skewed view on the world.

Oh, and slight aside to one of the guest comments, pointing out it was Summer with Lucina’s birthday (April) coming up, that’s not a blooper, that’s intentional. Ylisse is in the Southern Hemisphere! (Or at least, I like to think so).

A significant amount of this chapter was written/edited/re-edited in post-midnight “I’ve got to get it done!” binges, sometimes while drinking. So, while I hope everything’s fine, probably more errors than I’d like have slipped past me. If you’ve seen any, point them out and I’ll fix them. Sorry if that is the case.

Anyhow, enough of all that. Sorry again about how ridiculously long this one too, hopefully the length and content of it made up for it!

As always, more information about my story statuses as well as a weekly updates and any other details can be found at:

http://jlcdavenport.blogspot.com

Chapter 17: Bonus - A Short Interlude

Notes:

Authors Note: Phew, finally another chapter up. This one probably feels a long time coming for anyone who’s been following my updates, since I mentioned intending to get it out before Christmas and then aiming for after New Years. Well, more than just dragging on getting it done, it turns out January is a hell of a time to try get any free time to write at all, a lot of everything going on and a lot of people taking up more of my time than I was planning for. So, I’m sorry for that!

And, a slight warning, I’ve included a new (fairly light) lactation kink at one part of this story, it’s a kink that I haven’t really used before and, given it’s not something I’m all that into, it’s not something I’m expecting to use again. It was actually on request to a good friend of mine, and I thought if nothing else it’d be fun to try out, given that this chapter let me use it in a way that hopefully shouldn’t seem out of place.

If you’re not into that stuff, then I’m sorry, but you won’t have to worry about it much in the future. Alternatively, if you are super into that stuff, give me a heads up, I’m always interested to know what’s popular and what isn’t for my readers. I’ve no problems showing more scenes/characters that’re higher recommended.

Other than that, I wanted to quickly put down a note about something I’ve gotten a few comments and PM’s about, namely, to reiterate what I mentioned in the first chapter, as bluntly as possible: There’s no mind control, or passive domination going on at all. Obviously there’s an effect that Robin’s having on the Manakete’s (and them on him) and we’ll go into more details about that as the story evolves, but that’s only relevant to the Dragons. Lissa, Olivia, Tharja and everyone else aren’t affected by this at all.

And lastly, something cool. If you’ve been enjoying ACoT and you’re looking for more stories similar to it, you should check out “A Lustfull Price” by DigiChaos. It’s a story with a fairly similar setup but going in a vastly different direction. I’ve talked to him quite a bit about the story and about his plans, so I think it should wind up being a fun ride.

Bonus – A Short Interlude

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Recap: Robin returned to life a little more than 6 months after sacrificing himself to slay the Fell Dragon. However, when he returned, he found himself soon overcome with incredible lusts, desires that Lucina (his secret fiancé) was unable to entirely sate.

Over the next four months things got steadily worse for the Grandmaster and soon Robin was driven almost to the point of madness, holding back his rampaging desires, all the while knowing full well that sooner or later his willpower would give out and he’d lose control of himself entirely. With that terrible knowledge in mind, he resolved to at least make the choice of his own sanity and finally slept with Tharja.

Overwhelmed with the ensuing relief her body granted him, Robin listened attentively while the Dark Mage informed him of the truth- that in being revived he’d established dominion of the power that used to belong to Grima, power buried deep inside his bloodline. She claimed that Robin had now unlocked the true potential of his heritage and in doing so, gained both the power and instincts of a Manakete, desires far stronger than what should be contained within a human vessel. Among those desires was the most basic, primal urges, to Conquer, to Dominate and to Breed, the same callings that until now Robin had been fighting, at terrible cost to his very sanity.

Eventually he accepted that the only path forward for him, to protect his family and friends from himself, was to sate those same desires. And so, Robin set out, using his wits as a tactician and his influence as the Shepherds Grandmaster to seduce enough powerful women to satisfy even a dragon’s selfish greed. So far, he’s succeeded in having sex with Lucina, Tharja, Lissa, Olivia, Miriel, Nowi and most recently Panne.

And, where we left off last time, his efforts so far had all come to a head after Lon’qu left to return to Ferox, culminating in a wild orgy in Lissa’s room, between Robin, Lissa, Tharja, Nowi and Olivia. All of them are now very aware of each other and of Robin’s activities with them.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

It always seems like right when things are the calmest, that the biggest changes suddenly occur.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Ylisstol Palace – Lissa’s Bedroom

Rolling away from the women wrapped around him, Robin breathed out a peaceful sigh.

It had been an incredibly productive day. Or, at least, it had been a remarkably enjoyable one.

A small part of him was worried that none of this had been within his plans- neither Tharja bringing Nowi to him the previous night, nor the orgy that’d just ensued throughout Lissa’s bedroom today. Looking at how things were now, it seemed almost ridiculous that he’d originally envisioned his carnal indiscretions to be as discrete as possible, things were quickly getting well out of hand.

But… He couldn’t bring himself to really be too concerned, that was a worry for another time. Despite his role as a world-famous strategist, Robin was still a man. And, looking around him, from Tharja, to Lissa, to Nowi to Olivia, four incredibly beautiful women, all splayed out naked across the bed, and all with his seed covering their thighs, dripping from both their holes. After having spent an entire morning savouring their bodies at his whims, no matter how it had happened, he knew he couldn’t possibly raise any complaint.

Lissa and Nowi had both sucked on Tharja’s massive breasts as she’d bounced excitedly atop his cock.
Tharja had taught Olivia a masterclass on her techniques for swallowing his length.
Lissa had eaten out the Manakete as Robin had filled her royal pussy from behind.
Nowi and Olivia had both surrendered their anal-virginity to him, cementing their new role as half-sisters.

As the adrenaline slowly faded, more and more incredible memories swirled through him and a delighted shiver shot up Robin’s spine. Just a few months ago, even imagining something like this would have been unthinkable, but now it felt almost natural, as if it was only to be expected. And, no matter how often his rationality told him that things weren’t so simple, to his deepest, most primeval instincts, he knew that this was natural. After all, a thought at the edge of his consciousness reminded him, these women belonged to him, did they not? And they’d all given themselves to him of their own free will, it was what they wanted… so then, wouldn’t it have been more unnatural to hide them from each other?

Chuckling sardonically, Robin swept such thoughts from his mind. As appealing an image as that was, he knew he would never let himself be ruled by such desires. Everything he’d done was for the sake of overcoming his needs, not to revel in them. This was an anomaly, secrecy and discretion were his lodestars, as fun as it was to imagine himself indulging in some hedonistic harem lifestyle, he had no plans to make things even more complicated than they already were.

Savouring a moment trailing his fingers down the soft-skin of Lissa’s delicious, lightly-tanned legs, he reminded himself that the biggest part of that was to not let something like this become normal. Running his other hand lovingly over the Tharja’s porcelain thigh, he reminded himself that this was as far from normal as possible! This was amazing! Incredible! He’d just spent more than half a day fucking four beautiful girls senseless! Any other man would kill to experience something like this!

‘Absolutely unbelievable,’ he told himself, smiling wholeheartedly. And, as drank in the moment, not even the lingering guilt he still felt towards Lucina could dowse the sheer ego boost of having a whole bed full of women to himself, ‘I never could have dreamed I’d ever experience anything like this.’

He sighed again, but with a note of wistfulness this time. No matter how wonderful the morning had been so far, it still had to come to an end. Staying as long as he had in Lissa’s room was dangerous already, especially given that is was even the very same day her husband had left the Halidom, and even besides that, he still had a good pile of work waiting for him back in his office.

However, just as Robin was making to push himself to his feet, he felt a pair of hands wrap gently around his chest and a wonderfully soft pair of breasts pushing into his back.

“Tharja?”

“You’re leaving?” she breathed against his shoulder, clearly unhappy, “Already?”

“Mmmm, I’d love to stay longer, but it’s too risky to stay here much longer. Really, we should all get going.”

“No-one’s going to check on me today,” Lissa cut in, propping herself up to her elbow she’d apparently been stirred from her daze by Tharja’s words.

“I’m still tirrrreeeeed…” Nowi yawned, rolling over and stretching out in the early afternoon sun. A very enticing sight for the resident Tactician, given the thick layer of his seed painted all down her thighs, “It’s warm here… Let’s stay like this a little longer…”

“You were er… very thorough with us, Master.” Olivia added softly, gingerly caressing her now incredibly sensitive and formally virgin ass, “It was exhausting.”

“And you worked harder than any of us,” Tharja continued, “I don’t know exactly what happened to you the day before last, but I know Morgan believes you were up all night in your office. And then last night, me and Nowi kept you busy until long past midnight, yet you were still awake before either of us, and then, after all you’ve done today… Even for you, your strength has limits.”

Robin paused, unable to directly refute her words. Tharja was as perceptive as ever, in truth he could feel a leaden weigh of fatigue throughout his body. He’d pushed himself hard the last few days and he knew he was undeniably exhausted, it couldn’t be good to stay up any longer. Yet,

“There’s no way I can sleep right now,” he answered simply. Not after having so thoroughly conquered a whole group of women at the same time. His very soul was ablaze with delight, “I’m far too wound up right now, it’s like my entire body is pulsing with life. I’m satisfied, but I still feel like I need to keep myself moving, like all me blood is rushing through me, I can’t calm down just yet.”

“I had thought so… Then, let me help, please,” the Dark Mage pleaded, and her arms wrapped tighter around him, fearing to let him go, “My love, entrust yourself to me for now. I can cast a sleeping hex for you, it’ll soothe your fervour and give you a proper, deep slumber. Exactly what you’ve been missing.”

“Tharja, you know I can’t ju-”

“You won’t oversleep. We shall keep watch and wake you in just a few hours,” she assured him, cutting off his objection as her grip slackened and her fingers caressed his chest, “Robin, my adoration… Please, rest for now. Take it easy for the rest of the day, and then return to me tonight and sleep soundly in my arms.”

Her words were soft, filled with both warm love and gentle care- Robin had a hard time finding a reason to resist.

“Or, you can come back here,” Lissa added, “You’re always welcome in my bed. You can bring Tharja too if you want, you always sleep well between us, don’t you?”

“Ah! Or you ca- oh, ah… No, Nah’s home right now.” Nowi’s voice trailed off with a pout.

“Master…” similarly, Olivia wined in disappointment. Unlike Lissa, her husband was at home right now. She couldn’t offer succour to the man she loved, “I-I could make an excuse to stay over and look after you?”

With Tharja still gently urging him backward and the others joining in pulling him toward the middle of the bed, Robin breathed out a laugh, giving in and falling down into their arms. Of course, if he was going to choose someone to spend the night wrapped up around, it would be Lucina- but for now, he couldn’t think of any reason not to indulge in their requests. He wasn’t a man for pointless arguments and he didn’t want to let down people who had his own interests in mind.

He settled himself back into the bed, laying his head down onto Tharja’s lap and consciously accepting her magic, as she began the spell, allowing it to wrap around him while she threaded her fingers lovingly through his hair, whispering her hex with in soft chant.

Her words were rhythmic, almost hypnotic, spoken in a language he couldn’t understand. And, as her spell washed gently through his body, he could feel the triumphant blaze burning within him slowly begin to cool. His muscles went slack and his heartbeat slowed, and slowly, his tension unwound and Ylisse’s Grandmaster began to relax. Taking one last, very satisfied, look at the warm smiles, naked bodies and adoring expressions of the women surrounding him, Robin’s eyes slid shut and his consciousness began to fade.

As part of both his nature and his role as a Tactician, Robin was an exceedingly organised person, that was normal for a strategist like him. It was also why, just as he stood right on the verge of sleep, one final stray reminder slipped through his thoughts.

‘Oh, right. Cynthia’s training is later today, isn’t it? I’ll have to… to remember… to… go see…’

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

“Geez,” Lissa sighed, stroking her hand gently back and forth across the Tactician’s chest as she gazed kindly down on his quietly sleeping form. Even now just looking at him sent light shivers through her body from the still lingering delight. She’d never been so utterly satisfied before, nor had she ever been so thoroughly fucked, “You really are quite a guy, aren’t you Robin? To think you’d push yourself so far, and still last longer than any of us. Although, I guess, I couldn’t have expected it since I never expected anything like this… Actually, what is this? Are we all part of your harem or something now?”

“It’s fun like this!” Nowi answered happily, wrapping herself around their lover’s right arm, “I’m really glad we can stay together like this, we’re all one big family!”

“Y-Yeah! I’m relieved that Master has so many others looking after him too. He always takes on more than he needs to.”

Watching Olivia curl up around Robin’s feet, Lissa could only sigh, ‘Naga, he really did a number on you, didn’t he?’  once again, she was tempted to wonder about the Dancer’s status as a married woman, but, once again she held back, remembering that she didn’t want to go into any details about her own marriage, ‘Well, I suppose I’m no better, am I? I’m not gonna start calling him Master anytime soon though!’

Nodding to herself at just what kind of achievement that was supposed to be, it was then that she caught sight of her Plegian companion’s strange actions, “Huh, hey, Tharja, what’re you doing?”

Staring intently down at Robin’s sleeping face while waving her hands through the air, filling the room with her power, the Sorceress gave no response.

“Th-Tharja?”

“Heeeeey! Sis! What’cha doing?”

“Quiet!” she grunted finally acknowledging them, “I need to concentrate. Th-gh-This is a rather complicated piece of scrying magic.”

“Eh? Scrying?”

“Indeed… I just need to… Ah! There! Hehe, perfect…”

At her words, the spell coalesced and a glowing silver light rose from the Tactician, collecting into a small ball. Letting out soft pulses, it changed before their eyes, flattening to a disc and slowly beginning to expand.

“Tharja… What is this?”

The other women levelled stony gazes towards the Sorceress, silently demanding an explanation for the unsolicited spell.

She huffed, “Oh stop looking at me like that, it’s nothing to worry about. I put him to sleep, just as I said I would. But this sleep spell is just a little different… It will guarantee that he gets all the rest he needs, and also that he’ll enjoy a wonderful, sexual dream.”

As if on cue with her words, Robin’s mighty shaft began to rise to full prominence once more. The sight of it captured all their attention and gave each girl a moment’s pause, a dry gulp echoed across every member of their group. No matter how exhausted or satisfied they were, this was the cock that had subdued them each in turn, their submission had become instinctual.

“Hehe…” Tharja recovered first, her breathing notably faster as she gestured towards the silver disc still taking shape in the air above the man’s chest, “And now, I will get a chance to see exactly what his fantasies of me truly are, just what he sees in his own private thoughts. I shall finally be able to make his very dreams come true!”

Even when she was being sneaky, Tharja was still a good girl at heart.

“Hey! W-What makes you so sure he’ll dream about you?” Olivia interjected with uncharacteristic force. She staked her belief in Robin’s feelings for her no less deeply than the Plegian. Lissa and Nowi nodded too, equally affronted by the suggestion.

“Hmph. Even if I didn’t expect it from him, the spell makes sure of that. The dream it grants will typically focus on the last person they were thinking of, and since I was the one gently lulling him to sleep… heheh… Now, show me Robin! Shall I dress up for you? Play games for you? Show me exactly how you desire me!”

Right on cue with her words, the scrying spell shimmered one final time, pulsing with silvery light for a moment before spreading out to the size of a serving dish and a scene slowly faded into view.

“Oh! Oh! OooohHHHH! Naga! It’s too good!”

Accompanying the image, a very familiar voice rang out loud, filling the room…

“Eh!?”
“Wha!?”
“Tch!”
“Oooh!”

… But the woman they could see, screaming in delight and slamming herself down atop Robin’s cock wasn’t the Dark Mage.

“Ah, Robin! You always drive me crazy! Nnhh! You really are My Hero!”

Instead, the younger time-travelling Princess, Chrom’s second daughter, Cynthia was currently right where Tharja had expected to be, filling the projection before their eyes and eagerly filling her pussy with Robin’s shaft!

Stripped of her chestplate and tunic, the excitable young girl was currently wearing only her gauntlets, scarf and boots, showing off every inch of her deliciously round hips, tight-toned stomach, and -most of all- her massive, soft breasts, currently bouncing free in the air. Her hands were braced on Robin’s chest and her face flushed deep with joy as she tossed her blue hair from side to side, alternating between chewing on her lip and moaning wildly as his hands clenched around her waist, continuously slamming her bouncy, round ass roughly down the full length of his shaft.

Howling in abandon, as characteristically loud as ever, each of the women watching could see the shudders running through the Bluenette’s body and the way her eyes squeezed shut with each time her hips crashed down onto the Tactician’s. She was clearly delighting in the ecstasy, cumming her brains out each time his cock filled her and begging for more each time he pushed her back up. Cynthia was as unstoppable as ever, even as her body exploded in bliss.

“W-Whoa.” Lissa breathed, tearing her gaze away from their frantic coupling for a moment to offer a sympathetic pat on the back to the ashen-faced Sorceress slumped beside her. They were sisters now, after all.

“So… master is, is sleeping with Cynthia too?”

“No,” Tharja answered with more than a trace of bitterness. He surely would one day, and she would welcome the younger Princess into his bed, just like any of his other lovers, but she knew that, for now, his loyalty to Lucina meant that her sister remained off limits to him. She was fine with that, she didn’t begrudge him taking his future-wife’s sister for himself… but this, this was meant to be her, “He absolutely isn’t.”

Unfortunately for the Dark Mage, even the harsh tone of her words was undone by the soft, wet shlick of her fingers pressed between her legs, working their way in and out of her pussy, as well as the slight gasp in her breath as she brought her free hand up to roughly massage her still oversensitive breasts. No matter the situation and no matter her mood, Tharja could never resist Robin. Even as she watched him with yet another of her potential love rivals, still her body reacted to him.

“Looking at this, he definitely wants to though!” Nowi cheered, “Oooh, that’s great, I like Cynthia! She’s a lott’a fun!”

The Manakete’s priorities were a little different from the other’s in the room, but none of them could deny her words. Watching the dream, and how Robin had just flipped Cynthia onto her back, holding her tanned, athletic legs aloft, and was mercilessly driving his cock into her with his full strength, there was absolutely no denying his visible enthusiasm. There was no lack of eagerness at all in the way the Grandmaster claimed Chrom’s youngest daughter. And, as the scene continued, a growing desire built within each of them, to see this scenario truly play out in reality.

“N-Naga! NaaaaGA! Robin! I’m, I’m going crazy!” Dream-Cynthia screamed, throwing her head back and arching up from the mattress, as her toes clenched and body squirmed, “I’m losing my mind! I-ahh, pl-please! Don’t stop! Fuck me! Please!”

“Huh, hey! Wait a second…” Pausing from her own self-ministrations, having followed her Plegian sister’s lead, Lissa peered closer to the vision before them, “Were her breasts always that big?”

“Oh! You’re right,” Olivia nodded, despite her own fingers equally twisting around (mildly-satisfyingly) between her legs.

Taking after her mother, Cynthia had always been among the most well-endowed female Shepherds, she was matched only by Noire among the time-travellers, it was no secret that her breastplate had always been custom fitted. But, looking now at the mountainous round chest, heaving back and forth with her lover’s thrusts, they appeared to be bigger than ever! Even bigger than Tharja, or Tiki’s, in this dream, the Pegasus Knight’s chest was currently several sizes above her already impressive normal.

Nowi pouted, “I guess he really does like big breasts.”

“I-I think it depends on Master’s mood.” Olivia consoled the small Manakete, sparing a sidelong look at where Tharja was alternating between jealously and preening.

“Damn,” Lissa whistled, staring mesmerised at the way her niece’s body was being so thoroughly used by Robin and finding herself far more excited than she’d ever have expected, “Look at them! They look almost like they’re ready to be milked!”

Beside her, the Tactician groaned lightly, murmuring in his sleep. And then, before their eyes, as if stirred by their words, Robin released Cynthia’s legs to kick out into the air and instead reached over, taking her huge breasts into his hands.

“O-Ooh, w-w-wait!”

Cynthia’s gasped and squirmed, but her cries fell on deaf ears as he began gently stroking and squeezing her chest, kneading and caressing each breast in time with his thrusts- purposefully flicking his finger over her sensitive nipples whenever his cock hilted fully inside her, combining the sensation with the feeling of her deepest walls stretched wide around his shaft.

And, moments later,

“S-S-Stop! I’m, hhnhgh, it’s too much! I’m g-gonna…! G-GONNA…”

Cynthia bucked ferociously into his touch, squeezing herself tight around his shaft in a breath-taking orgasm and, right on cue, Lissa’s words rang true… fine, white droplets of milk sprayed lightly in the air as her body gave in and her mind crashed.

Not pausing for a second, even as his lover lost her senses under him, Robin drove himself into her once more, stretching the full length of her tight pussy around him. And, this time, when his fingers toyed with her nipples and his hands squeezed carefully around her heaving breasts, he was rewarded with another small spray of milk, and another equally shameless scream from the overcome Pegasus Knight.

“Wow…”

The four witnesses swallowed dry throats in unison, their hands pumping between their legs and their captivated gazes swapping back and forth between the sight of the Tactician’s long, thick cock pulsing before them and to where his dream-self was forcefully claiming the younger Princess, even harder and faster than before, a small pool of her liquid pooling over his hands as he continued caressing her oversized chest.

Thoroughly delighting himself in her incredibly light, toned body, Robin soon lost the last limits of any control, driving even harder forwards, grunting in pleasure he began kneading her breasts all the way up to her chin, sending a small spray of her own milk splashing across her face and into her mouth. Too caught up in crashing headlong through violent waves of pleasure, Cynthia only gasped and moaned in response, swallowing instinctively she was already completely lost to reason.

Spurred on as much by the sight of this new depravity as by the feeling of her tight pussy hungrily pulsing around his shaft, Robin quickly rocketed through his own peak! Acting on impulse as the pressure finally erupted, he abruptly pulled his length out, staggering up and thrusting one final time in the air, right over the Princess’s quivering thighs.

Groaning in bliss, his release thundered through him and his cock twitched again and again, each time unloading another thick load of cum across the Bluenette’s lightly tanned skin- coating across her taut stomach, pooling over her heaving breasts and even splattering warm across her face!

Panting as he blazed with satisfaction, Robin’s breath caught in his throat as his eyes refocussed, for before him was an almost unbelievable sight. With her eyes glazed, her cheeks flushed and her usually innocent, playful expression thoroughly stained, both with his seed and her own milk, Cynthia was practically unrecognisable from the girl he knew. Barely conscious, she was staring dizzily back at him, beaming happily and shivering with aftershocks of pleasure as the fluids coating her mixed together, dripping slowly down her massive breasts and trickling across her stomach. Looking at her now, Robin realised he’d never even imagined the earnest Pegasus Knight in such a state; practically naked, utterly conquered and eagerly defiled, Cynthia was radiating an expression of both pure joy and complete, womanly satisfaction. It somehow made her look more mature than she’d ever seemed before, to see such a beautiful, pure Princess like this was almost unthinkable.

It was a truly breath-taking moment…

…And one that went completely unnoticed by any of the four girls that had been spectating the dream!

While watching over the Tactician’s slumbering form, there had been an unspoken agreement formed between the women- an acknowledgement that even if any of them had still had the energy to ride him, they would still refrain from touching him. Aside from Tharja’s scrying, their whole aim had been to help ensure Robin had a chance to rest, risking disturbing his sleep in any way would ruin everything.

That didn’t mean however, that they would let the man they loved wake up, sticky in in his own prelease… or that any of them would possibly accept letting a drop of his seed go to waste! The very instant they saw his balls tighten and cock pulse, the very second they saw his release erupt into the air, all four were already diving towards him, their mouths open and eyes wide with shameless hunger.

Nowi was the one with the fastest reflexes. She was able to catch several ropes of cum directly across her face, or in her mouth. Trilling in delight, she beamed as she felt it splashing warm and heavy onto her bare skin.

Olivia was only a single beat slower. Happily receiving one thick load across her nose and another right onto her tongue, she linked her arms around the Manakete and the two girls quickly moved together, kissing and passing his taste back and forth as they licked each other clean.

Lissa was the boldest. Coming dangerously close to breaking their agreement, she wrapped her lips -soft and tenderly- around the head of his cock, lovingly suckling up his precum and every last drop remaining in his release.

Tharja was the most dutiful. Dragging her tongue adoringly across every inch of his chest, from his well-toned stomach to his pecs and down his abdomen, Robin’s Dark Mage happily cleaned up every drop the others missed.

Several very enjoyable minutes passed just like that before normalcy finally returned.

“Well, that was unpleasant,” Tharja complained, nodding toward the dreamscape where Robin and Cynthia were now resting comfortably in each other’s arms as she finished licking her lips clean, “Luckily… Given how he’s adjusted to his new lifestyle, I know my love would never be satisfied with just one round, not even in his dreams…”

So saying, she dropped to the bed, crawling towards the man and sidling up against him as she purred his name to his ears, “Robin… You’re waiting for me aren’t you? Mmm, don’t worry, I’ll be right there for you…”

Once again, the Tactician grunted, his expression changing as he shifted in his sleep. And, as he rolled his head to the side, in response to her words, the dreamscape began to change.

“Oh? You started without me?”

However, unfortunately for the Sorceress… After being in Cynthia’s arms, Robin’s mind was already focussed on thoughts of the Time-Travelling younger generation of Shepherds…

“N-Noire! Finally, you’re here!”
“We were waiting for you, of course.”

And so, the curious onlookers (and one very shell-shocked Plegian Witch) watched in astonishment as Tharja’s daughter sauntered into view.

Unlike the trainee Pegasus Knight’s stripped-down uniform, Noire was wearing only her usual feather-headband and an uncharacteristically sultry smile as she joined them on the bed- her equally massive breasts swaying and bouncing with every step, and her bare pussy already glistening before their eyes.

“Wow…” Noire breathed, leaning over and caressing a finger softly along Cynthia’s stained, flushed cheek, “You really made a mess, didn’t you?”

Scooping a little up and sucking it clean from her fingertip, the Archer shivered in unrestrained delight as she tasted the mixture of Cynthia’s milk and Robin’s cum, her own cheeks reddened in desire and a heavy pant fell from her mouth as she rolled it across her tongue. Suddenly too impatient to say even another word, she dived straight back in! Kissing and licking along her companion’s cum-covered face, she quickly cleaned up every last drop!

The two girl’s lips came together as she did so, meeting in an eager, passionate kiss. But even that lasted only a minute before Noire slid herself further down, tracing her tongue along the Bluenette’s throat and through the crevice of her breasts. Throwing her head back into the bed, Cynthia gasped in reply, unable to stop herself from all but urging the Archer’s mouth upwards, towards her now over-sensitive nipples.

AhhNUUAAAH!”

Not even Tharja could hold back a heated gasp at hearing Cynthia’s trembling cry when Noire finally finished cleaning the heaving breasts and squeezed them together for the main course. Suckling softly on each nipple in turn as she alternated between them, it was only moments before the Archer’s tender ministrations had her companion bucking and moaning.

And, all the while she was doing this, as Cynthia’s arms cling to her shoulders and as Noire delighted both in drinking the other girl’s milk as letting it splash onto her face, her tight, round ass was swaying enticingly in the air, waving enticingly (and very intentionally) back and forth before the Tactician’s eyes.

Robin had happily enjoyed the show to this point, but he was hardly a man to turn down such a welcome invitation…

“HhmmmUUAAAH! Yes! Tha-thank you!”

The usually quiet Archer’s voice abruptly echoed joyously around the room as the Grandmaster’s hands took possession of her hips and his shaft was suddenly slammed roughly all the way to the deepest walls of her awaiting pussy.

“Whoah…”
“Mmm…”
“Ahh, that… looks nice…”
“Tch…”

All four of the spectators gave out their own (softer) moans at the sight, their hands twisting between their legs once more as they watched him begin to alternate between claiming his two lovers, just as he had with them only a short time ago. Of course, one of them was scowling the entire time she was doing so, even as he hips bucked against her touch and her body flamed with arousal at watching Robin’s form.

“Awww, sis! Don’t be mad!” Nowi was the first to speak since the show had begun, shuffling herself across the bed with words of consolation, “Let them have their fun, you get to be with him in reality anyway. Now, here! Don’t you worry, just relax and let Big-Sis make you feel better!”

“Ah-eh? What are you-?”

Whether due to being caught off guard, or simply due to how much she’d accepted her, Tharja didn’t resist the smaller girl’s advance. And so, she allowed the Manakete’s hands on her as she was pushed smoothly back down onto the mattress once more.

“Here, now, just… like… thisssss.”

Acting without a single word of explanation, Nowi then slid herself down under and opposite the Sorceress, entwining their legs until they were scissor together with both their well fucked pussies pressing softly against one another.

And so, after twisting themselves around so that they were both able to watch Noire having the time of her life (Tharja concentrated mostly on Robin rather than her daughter), the Manakete began slowly, gently rocking her hips back and forth, sighing and moaning as their most sensitive spots tenderly and pleasantly slid together in synch.

Gasping lightly, Tharja felt herself trembling in blissful response, her body automatically moving in time with the Manakete’s and her fingers twisting into the bedsheets as a leisurely pleasure began spreading through her. And slowly, slowly, as she watched the man she loved filling her daughter up with his cum, again and again, even Tharja’s many frustrations began to ebb away. She always reacted to Robin, she couldn’t help it, even as she watched him with another woman, even as she watched him with her own daughter, she could never resist him.

And so, as the Tactician finally got the rest he needed, and as his lovers got a show they’d never expected (as well as several more tastings of his seed), the day passed fully into the afternoon, in a warm, pleasant haze of desire and affection.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

“Hmph.”

Breathing out a whistling sigh, Robin listlessly pushed the pile of documents around his desk once again. Just as she’d promised, Tharja’s spell had done wonders for his condition. Even having taken only a few hours rest, the fatigue that was eating him had been completely dispelled and he felt almost entirely refreshed.

Unfortunately, the same excited, restlessness that’d been coursing through him before had returned. It had been a minor bother at first, but ever since he’d gone to assist Cynthia with her Pegasus Knight training, it had been almost unbearable. For some reason, he’d felt his heart racing and blood pumping from the moment he’d first laid eyes on the younger Princess. He’d long since accepted that he desired Lucina’s sister, it had been almost impossible to ignore the effect she had on him after she’d practically confessed to him just a short time ago, but today, after everything he’d done this morning (or perhaps in spite of it), it’d been harder than ever to hold himself back when he’d felt her leaning her surprisingly-soft body against him while he’d assisted her back to the Palace.

Judging from how red her face had been, and how she’d (probably for her) attempted to subtly push her massive chest against his arm, Robin had a distinct impression that his spiralling arousal towards the Bluenette wasn’t unreciprocated.

‘I’ll have to be careful around her.’

No matter what he’d done already, and no matter how tempted he may be, he knew he wouldn’t lay his hands on Lucina’s sister. Of course not. Not on Chrom’s other child. He wouldn’t. He couldn’t. There was no way.

Clearing his mind, Robin slowly released the breath he hadn’t been aware he was holding and unclenched the fists he hadn’t realised he’d tightened.

Thankfully, the dancing training he’d organised between Cynthia and Chrom seemed to be paying dividends already, as she’d been in a far better state today than when he usually went to meet her. Apparently today had been a shorter than standard training session, but even so, today she hadn’t needed him to massage or aid her bruised body in the least. He’d helped her home and then she’d stumbled off, her face blazing a bright, cherry red as she tripped over a few words of farewell, and that’d been the end of it.

He wasn’t disappointed. It was a good thing. Robin was happy.

His blood thundered in his ears at the memory and the Tactician groaned in frustration. Given how insanely pleasurable his life had become, it hardly seemed appropriate to complain, but even with everything Tharja had told him in warning for the changes being wrought within him, Robin had never expected to feel so affected after having spent the morning unleashing his lusts however he desired, into and onto a whole group of incredible women! It was new and difficult territory, his plans had always revolved around seeking something like a release-valve for his desires, a way to sate them and return to normalcy, he’d never expected to have to face such a consuming ache for even more.

He was restless with success and delight, he recognised. It was a dangerous, heady feeling and one he knew well, exactly the same as the dizzying rush of victory after a long battle. His blood raced, his heart pumped and his entire body was enflamed with excitement, he felt as if he was invincible! As if he could do anything!

He’d conquered so many of the most beautiful, most intelligent and most powerful women he’d ever met; Chrom’s daughter and the once Exalt of a ruined Ylisse, a terrifyingly devoted Dark Mage from Plegia, the crown Princess of Ylisse, a beautiful and famous Feroxian dancer, one of the greatest minds of the Ylissean scientific community, a thousand year old Manakete, (and, a voice echoed around a portcullis in the depths of his mind… wasn’t there one more?)… It was like a dream, or a fantasy, to have so many utterly incomparable women spread around him, that after engaging in such an incredible orgy, his soul was practically a bonfire of approval.

‘This will take some getting used to,’ he supposed, carefully examining his psyche, ‘Although, I’ll need to be very careful not to go any further than I already have. Feeling like this, this feeling of victory, could easily become dangerously addictive… The last thing I need to do, is to start acting irra-‘

“Robin? Hello, are you free presently?”

“Uh?”

His self-reflection was suddenly scattered, as the Shepherd’s most famous researcher and one of the objects of his thoughts just moments ago, strode into his office, closing the door primly behind her prim behind.

“Ah, good, you’re alone. That is most fortuitous,” Miriel sighed in what he took for relief, not even waiting for his first answer before barrelling on, “If at all reasonable to do so, I would appreciate you allocating me some of your time right now. After much consideration and some research, I have settled on some new parameters that I believe have great potential and suspect will yield highly valuable data. I require your assistance for the testing.”

Leaning over his desk, Robin rested his chin atop his hand with a smirk, “You look nice like that, Miriel. Very cute.”

Caught off guard and spluttering to a halt, the Mage blushed a vibrant red. Reaching up to bashfully tug on the bring of her hat, her gaze slid from his. Forgoing her usual practical outfit, aside from the hat he’d praised on her previously, Miriel was currently taking advantage of the pleasant summer weather by wearing a light creamy sundress.

Exactly as he had instructed.

The low cut of the dress and the thin shoulder straps did a wonderful of job of showing off her impressively slim physique and considerable bust, and despite the hem falling conservatively a few centimetres above her knees, it still gave a very enticing look down the slender, creamy-white legs she usually had hidden under her thick baggy trousers. In truth the whole look was somewhat ruined by the wide-sweeping mage’s hat still positioned securely atop her head; it became a strange mix of casual and business that didn’t really work together.

However, Robin couldn’t possible have cared less. Miriel had come to him in a dress, exactly as he’d instructed her to. Exactly as he’d told her to do, for he next time she was craving him.

He didn’t believe for a second that she would have clothes like this in her lab, which meant that she’d gone all the way home to get changed into an outfit specifically for his pleasure. And then, she’d walked all the way across Ylisstol to his office, dressed like this, visiting him for sex. No, Robin corrected himself as his grin widened… At this time of day, Henry would almost certainly be over in the Western Quarter, which meant that Miriel had gone home, gotten dressed up for him, and then -without asking her husband’s permission- she’d come all the way here, to get fucked.

Even for someone as naturally stoic and collected as Miriel, it was impossible that something like that wasn’t having an effect on her. That was, he realised, probably why the usually unflappable scientist was currently blushing like a virgin and clenching her fists for calm.

“*Ahem*, y-yes, thank you for your compliment. Your praise is unnecessary, b-but, agreeable,” she recovered awkwardly, pushing her glasses up her nose, “Then, as you have… as you have most likely guessed. I have visited with the intention to continue our shared experiment.”

“Is it really an experiment if Henry doesn’t know?” He needled her, holding back a smirk. After all, wasn’t this whole thing for the sake of her husband’s pleasure? Had she forgotten that already?

“I-I shall inform him tonight, over dinner,” she answered quickly, confirming his earlier suspicion as a momentary look of guilt flashed across her face, “I-I’m sure he’ll enjoy that, he has always been favourable to listening to our, to er, to my reports!”

“Of course, I’m sorry. So, what did you want to test?”

Sucking in a breath, the tension drained from Miriel’s body and her awkwardness dissipated. Her eyes sparkled behind her glasses and she drew herself up with a grin, she was finally back in her element.

“As I’ve analysed the notes I’ve taken from our previous times together as lovers, it has become abundantly clear to me that even from our initial encounter you have always asserted a very strong dominance over me. My data is certain about this, and furthermore, this dominance has been showcased in even greater propensity the more we’ve coupled. In short, it appears that the more time we’ve spent together, the more comfortable you are taking firm control over both me and our sexual encounter.

Most interestingly however, this manner of yours appears to be very agreeable to both of our demeanours. This has come as something of a surprise to me, I have never believed myself to hold such a preference previously and I have never desired such treatment before we began having sex. However, the effect is undeniable; my body has begun to naturally submit to you, and I have repeatedly recorded notable spikes in my arousal at just the thought of your hands pressing me down or holding me in place at your whim. These and similar considerations have also been filling my dreams as of late.”

Miriel was difficult to deal with at the best of times. Hearing her rattle off such a ridiculously frank and open description of their sex-life in her own matter-of-fact way, it was all Robin could just to maintain his calm appearance. So, taking his silence as encouragement, she continued on,

“As I mentioned, the awakening of such a kink is all very new to me, so in light of the need to understand these desires, I have been conducting extensive research on this topic in my spare time and, the results of that, is that almost all my sources have led me to the exact same conclusion. Namely, that small, manageable, additions of pain within the pleasure you cause me would greatly heighten the experience for us both. Now, of the two most suggested methods for achieving this, I don’t have a ponytail for you to tug so-”

“You should grow your hair out.”

Miriel paused a moment, then nodded her acquiescence, “S-So, so I believe the best method for now, would be for you to… Er, to deliver a sharp, open handed blow to my behind, while we’re in the process of being intimate.”

Pushing her glasses back up her nose, she gave of a confident, self-satisfied smile, “I believe that this should add a powerful, physical dimension to your sexual dominance over my body, as well as supplementing and ensuring my resulting submission. And, if my research is correct, the outcome of this should be extraordinary!”

“I see. Alright then, I agree. It sounds like you’ve really considered this, we should definitely test it out at some point.”

Even as he looked down to make a show of turning over one of the papers spread across his desk, Robin couldn’t possibly have missed the way she shifted at his response, nor how her confidence evaporated like the morning dew.

“A-Are you unavailable presently? I had thought we could take advantage of this moment where Olivia and Morgan both appear to be otherwise occupied. I… Robin, I had hoped to test this theory forthwith!”

“Miriel,” he pushed her boundaries just a little more, “You must know how busy I am. You’ve come to my work to request a favour. Don’t you think you should ask properly?”

Watching as the last of the stoic, collected composure dissipated from the typically unflappable scientist, another warm thrill ran up Robin’s spine. She wouldn’t deny him, he was sure of that. She would recognise the importance of him doing this to her for their “game”, and so, she would fall even deeper.

A long, silent moment passed between them at his question, as the Scientist’s pride and logic warred with her desires…

…Until finally, at long last, swallowing heavily and blushing in deep mortification, Miriel reached down with trembling fingers and raised up the hem of her dress, displaying before his eyes, the sight of her bare pussy, already glistening wet, soaked undeniably with her lust. The famously prim and emotionless Shepherd, Miriel, had dressed up for him, then walked through the streets of Ylisstol, without panties, to see him.

Exactly as he’d instructed.

“Robin, ah, p-please…”

Her voice was as monotonal as ever. But, seeing such bashfulness from her, when she’d once stripped naked for him without a moment’s shame, only made him desire her even more.

“Please, would you… Robin, I’m, I’m asking you to please… Please, fuck me over your desk and spank my ass red!”

Robin grinned wildly. He hadn’t expected to see her today, but if she was going to ask so sweetly, how could be possibly say no?

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

A while later

Miriel was splayed out, groaning softly, atop Robin’s bed- wearing only her hat and a thick coating of his seed across her back and thighs, the evidence of their seven rounds of frenzied coupling and the proof of how thoroughly her body had been claimed by the Tactician once again. For his part, Robin was already back at his desk, pushing the papers around with a dissatisfied expression once again.

Playing around with the scientist had, of course, been great fun. Hearing her sudden shrieks or squeals along with the way her pussy tensed around him each time he’d slapped her soft ass had turned out to be even more fun than he’d anticipated. But it had only poured oil on the fire of his restlessness.

His dragon-born, rampaging lusts were thoroughly sated, they had been since the previous night with Tharja and Nowi. That wasn’t the cause of the sensations coursing through him now. He was happy, he was fully satisfied… but more than anything, he was overflowing with his success, he could practically feel his ego swelling with pride at thoughts of his Conquests and the delight pulsing through him was undeniable. Few men could ever even imagine living the life he was living right now! It was hedonism fit for a King, and he could feel his greed growing. The inexplicable need to push the boundaries, to take even more… beyond what he needed to solve the issue of his desires, to take more simply to see if he could…

He clenched his eyes shut, pushing the thoughts down for the thousandth time. For all his spiralling emotions, Robin was still a man of strategy and rationale, he was smart enough to recognise the growing weakness within him and also to know that, unlike the lusts that had almost driven him mad, this sensation would pass. This was a honeymoon novelty. So long as he kept control of himself… such things would become (dangerously) normal, and he would be fine.

That knowledge was cold comfort as the work spread out before him continued to slip through his mind. No matter how he tried to concentrate, or how he attempted to diligence that was usually second nature to him, right now the words on the pages seemed to simply pass through his focus, and his frustration only grew.

Robin wasn’t the kind of man to give up easily, nor the kind who would leave important work for later, pushing on and wringing out what little successes his efforts managed, even as his thoughts continued to drift and his focus faltered, he continued in that state for another half hour, before finally throwing his hands up in defeat.

“Fine! Fine! I suppose I’m just not getting any work done today then!”

Thankfully, he supposed, as he settled back into his chair with a groan, there was at least one other slightly productive thing he could spend his afternoon doing instead, something that he knew he needed to allocate more time to anyway as it was. It didn’t make him feel any better, and it didn’t lessen the feeling of guilt at putting off his duties (even if he was well ahead of this quarter’s targets), but it at least would be a better compromise than sitting in his chair, achieving nothing but wearing out his patience.

‘Now isn’t exactly the best time, but no-one does appear to be around…’

Pulling his clothes back into place, he trudged over to his set of bookshelves, reaching up and pulling down a thin tome he’d hidden atop the furthest one before turning to make his way downstairs, back into the main site of the Shepherd’s barracks.

“I’m going out for a bit,” he called back to his half-conscious guest, “I’ll lock the door behind me, so you can stay as long as you like.”

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Sometime later

“Ho now, what’s this?”

“A-Eh!?”

Caught unaware, Robin let out a surprised cry, stumbling to an ungainly halt as a light peal of laughter suddenly interrupted his concentration.

“I thought I heard someone bumping around in here, so I came to check if someone had broken in… I must say, I never thought it would be you. Just what am I looking at exactly? Has our Master Tactician finally lost his mind?”

“Cordelia…”

Slowly standing back upright and tugging awkwardly on his coat, Robin had a distinct feeling like he’d just been caught in the act and, for the first time, he found it difficult to meet the beautiful knight’s eyes. Despite her teasing words, Cordelia’s voice was gentle and her expression as friendly as ever, she clearly meant no ill-will with her laughter. Even so, he couldn’t help but feel his cheeks burn under her gaze.

He’d specifically decided to use the Shepherd’s small indoor sparring hall because he hadn’t expected anyone else would be around! The barracks as a whole was mostly unoccupied at this time of day, even Morgan was nowhere to be seen and she was meant to be here. Aside from Miriel, who he’d left upstairs, there shouldn’t have been any reason for anyone else to come by on a day like today!

And yet, here she was! Robin groaned, this was why he usually made sure not to do this during daytime, and now it seemed simple co-incidence had conspired against him. Was nothing going right today!?

‘Er…’

His cheeks burned redder at that thought. No matter how frustrated he’d become, he felt embarrassed just for having considered it. Five women currently had their wombs stuffed full with his seed, and his desires were so completely sated he’d been planning to spend the night making sweet and slow love to Lucina for a change of pace. No, the problem with today was that far too much had gone wonderfully, unbelievably too right. And now it was making things go wrong! He suspected that logic didn’t quite hold up, but as he wilted under the Wing Commander’s kindly expression, it felt justified.

“I was… *Ahem* If it matters- I was just brushing up on my formal dancing,” he explained at length, facing her straight on and forcing out every bit of composure he could manage, “The Princess Lucina’s birthday, as well as several major Naganite events are coming up… So, so, as Chrom’s right hand, I need to make sure I represent the Halidom to the best of my ability.”

A moment passed, the corner of her lip twitched, but she remained silent, waiting for him to continue. Cordelia was annoyingly perceptive sometimes.

“And… I wanted to surprise Lucina with it.” He added, explaining the secrecy, his composure faltering a little as he tried not to make that sound like an admission.

This time, she at least attempted to stifle her laughter as she looked him over, spotting the instructional manual he was holding, half hidden behind his back.

“You’re trying to learn to dance… from a book? Oh Naga! I-I’m sorry, that’s just, that’s so like you! Stuck away from everyone else, lost in your own world. Robin! Come now, you can’t learn everything in life from a book!”

“I thought I was doing fairly well.” He answered, only a little defensively.

Raising an eyebrow, Cordelia turned an appraising eye towards him once again, looking surprisingly contrite, even as her gorgeous face was still lit with amusement, “Ah, geez… You really have been working hard, haven’t you?”

Robin blinked before suddenly becoming aware of his uncharacteristically dishevelled state, he probably looked an absolute mess. Thankfully, it seemed that she’d mistaken his hour or so of bumbling attempts at dancing for his current sweaty, unkempt appearance. Wincing internally, he was immediately glad to be on the other side of the room from the red-head, after all the time he’d spent enjoying Miriel’s request, he was probably absolutely reeking of sex.

“Alright,” clapping her hands as she resolved a decision, Cordelia offered him another kind smile, “I’m sorry for laughing at you Robin, trying to improve yourself is always commendable. But, even so, you can’t learn to dance like this. As an apology, why don’t you let me help you? It won’t take me long to finish up here, and then I’m free after that. Why don’t you give me a bit of time to get cleaned up out of my uniform and then meet me at my place in about an hour? I-I’m no expert, but I’m sure I can teach you better than some book!”

She flushed slightly at her offer, brushing at the sleeve of her outfit with a hint of bashfulness and it occurred to Robin that she must have been busy until now, taking care of the training for the rookie Pegasus Knights, even after the practice had ended. He supposed she was embarrassed at the thought of letting him close to her after what was surely a physical day. Seeing his current appearance had made her aware of her own… But, as always with Cordelia, Robin couldn’t tell the difference in the least, barely a hair seemed out of place on her head, she simply looked perfect.

Still, he couldn’t discount her offer, it was certainly a lot less daunting than asking a professional like Olivia to teach him the absolute basics. And that was without even considering any potential consequences of letting himself be in any position of deference to the woman who’d branded herself as his property.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Cordelia wasn’t a noble, but her family had been a prominent house in Ylisse for generations and had long standing connections throughout both the knight orders and the merchant companies. And, as such, the house she’d inherited was a very impressive one. Resting comfortably on the quieter, wealthier side of Ylisstol, it was a modern looking mid-sized, two-story manor with a large rolling courtyard, sweeping open country views and, most importantly for their purposes, a large open showroom used to display the family’s impressive collection of assorted weapons and armaments.

Numerous embossed shields, shining spears and gilded swords, all carefully maintained and polished, hung proudly from every section of the wall… and, all were completely ignored as the Tactician and Wing Commander embraced each other tightly, sweeping (somewhat) gallantly across the polished, oaken floor.

To Robin’s eyes, Cordelia herself was no less impressive than her legacy; forging the usual uniform he was accustomed to seeing her in for a slim aquamarine coloured dress, she had done a magnificent job of making Robin feel underdressed for the lesson- despite the fact that, after cleaning himself up, he’d gone through the effort of actually changing into some of his nicer clothes and had even left his signature cloak behind (after his initial forays, he’d concluded it was unfortunately impractical for dancing). The modest cut of the dress hung just slightly below her neckline and showed off only very little of her creamy smooth skin. Instead, it wrapped tight around her figure, outlining both her beautifully trim, athletic physique as well as accentuating her nicely-sized, modest bust. The perceptive part of the Tactician’s mind noted that said bust was sitting somewhat strangely on her and that it seemed to move a little stiffly with her motions, but he wisely put such thoughts out of his mind and kept his mouth closed.

Given Cordelia’s overabundance of natural talent, learning anything from her was always a difficult feat, but Robin was a fast study himself and she thankfully kept their lessons to the simple, traditional dances. So, while he knew she still had a lot to teach him, it wasn’t long before he was able to simply go with the flow, leading her (somewhat) confidently around the room and allowing her to smoothly cover his mistakes with the usual peerless grace he’d, rather unfairly, come to expect from her.

Before either of them had noticed, more than an hour had passed like this, comfortably spent in each other’s arms.

“This… this is actually really nice,” Cordelia sighed softly, pulling him a little closer and letting her head rest on his shoulder as their tempo slowed.

“Oh?”

“A-hah, oh sorry… I was… I was just lost in thought for a moment there,” he could practically hear her blush, but he kept his arms tight around her and she didn’t raise her head from him, “This is- er, this is actually the first time I’ve ever danced with a man.”

Being the hopelessly romantic soul she was, a part of her had always wondered what it would feel like, and now that she was here, leaning against a man and feeling herself comfortably held in his embrace as he led her to the tune of a beat inside their head, she had to admit, it wasn’t quite like how she’d expected. And yet, in all the ways it differed from her fantasies, it filled her heart with a surprising amount of delight just the same.

Relaxing against his chest, feeling his arms around her and his presence, strong and sure, enveloping her, she felt secure, both safe and warm…

…She felt exactly as she had the last time he’d taken hold of her. The time in his office when he’d gra-

She shook the memory away. It was a silly thought, one unbecoming of a veteran warrior like herself. She could protect herself better than almost anyone in the Halidom… And yet, it was an undeniably comforting feeling all the same. There was something about the way he looked at her, about the way his hands felt on her body, as if he wanted to possess her, to keep him all to himself. It was such a simple thing, and something she’d never have expected to want, but, Cordelia knew that she’d never before felt as protected and as desired as she did wrapped up in Robin’s arms. In her imagination, she’d thought her heart would be racing, but it wasn’t, she wasn’t embarrassed or shy… she simply felt comfortable.

Perhaps it was just because he was a man, or perhaps it was because it was him. She didn’t know and she didn’t care, it didn’t matter, even today there was only one other man she’d ever considered letting this close to her.

“All us Pegasus Knights were taught formal dancing in those days, but I only ever danced with Sumia at the balls,” she explained, “I got invitations from some of the other Soldiers and a few of the nobles, but I always turned them down…”

“You were always working up the courage to ask Chrom.”

He could easily picture her dithering back and forth on the edge of the dance hall, taking a step forwards and two steps backwards every time the Prince looked her way. He actually felt a little sorry for Sumia who no doubt had any of her own plans scuttled by having to rescue her friend before things got too awkward, or she got completely surrounded by suitors.

“It all feels so silly now…”

Robin pulled her a little tighter against him, projecting what confidence he could as he led her around to his right, “That’s all in the past Cordelia. Forget it, or learn from it, either way, you’ve got your future still ahead of you.”

Blinking her eyes open, Cordelia almost missed her step at that. Raising her head from his shoulder, she peered quizzically at the Tactician, “That wasn’t what I expected you to say at all Robin… All this time already… Don’t you have something you want to say to me?”

He frowned, making a show of thinking that through.

“Thanks for your help? You’re a very skilled dancer?”

“No.”

“You’re remarkably soft and light in my arms, I never expected such a trained warrior could feel so amazing to hold.”

“R-Robin!?”

“What do you want from me Cordelia?”

His face was suddenly serious and expression piercing. Still reeling from the unexpectedly bold compliment, her confidence faltered and she flushed, feeling a little breathless, “Aren’t… aren’t you going to apologise?”

“Apologise?” he hummed, “No, I wasn’t planning on it.”

The red-head balked, fumbling over her words, this wasn’t going how she’d expected at all!

Inviting a man over to her house for the first time, she hadn’t been able to help but play everything out in her head over and over. This was the first time they were alone together since, since then, and she was doing him a favour, showing that she didn’t bear him any grudge for his actions! What better time was there!? He was meant to apologise for how he’d treated her last time and to actually ask her out properly! She hadn’t decided what her answer would be yet, she had imagined she’d tell him she needed to consider it! But, even so, after what he’d done, it was only polite for him to ask!

“Y-Y-You! You stole my first kiss! And you did it right after declaring your love for another woman! Don’t you feel guilty!? Look, look, I know you didn’t mean it, so, so if you apologise, I’ll forgive you. S-So, so just… just… stop looking at me like that…”

Robin stopped completely and their dance came to an abrupt halt, even before her words had petered out.

“No. I don’t feel guilty at all. Surely you know I respect you far too much for that.”

Thoughts spinning in confusion and lost completely out of her depths, Cordelia swallowed nervously. Blushing under the intensity of his gaze, she stepped back.

He moved forward, still perfectly in synch, “You’re one of the strongest, most self-reliant women I’ve ever met.”

She stepped backwards, aware somewhere within her rushing thoughts that she was only retreating a single step at a time. His arms were still around her but, somehow, she felt no desire to pull away.

He stepped forward, “I can put you on any battlefield and know that you’ll always turn the tide for me.”

She stepped backwards. Squirming at his unabashed praise and the deep sincerity of his tone, she found herself enraptured by his gaze, suddenly very aware it was only centimetres from her own face. It was almost too intense to look at right now, but also too commanding to turn away from. This, she realised as her heart thumped, was the focus of the man who’d led her through countless battles, the words of the leader whose orders she’d entrusted her life to.

He stepped forwards. “Throughout three wars and more misery than I care to think about, you’ve always stayed strong, you’ve always steadfast and unwavering, you’ve always been at my side.

She stepped backwards. Now however, Cordelia found that she’d backed all the way to the showroom’s eastern wall. She gulped, still somehow unable to look away and still strangely unwilling to leave his embrace. Her back was pressed up against the wall and his hands were wrapped around her waist- just like last time.

He stepped forwards. “I’ve seen you dodge an arrow in flight and throw off men twice your size. No, Cordelia, I don’t feel guilty at all. Because, I know you. And I know how securely you guard your heart. I know you would never let anyone lay so much as a finger on you without your permission.”

Raising his right hand from her hip, he cupped it against her face, stroking his thumb tenderly over her cheek, “I’ve got some confidence in my skills, but I know I could never match you in a straight fight, nor have even a hope of taking you by surprise. Cordelia, I could never have kissed you if you didn’t want me to.”

Her world slammed to a halt and her head spun. And yet, faltering in place and feeling a warm, electric shiver running down her spine, she realised she couldn’t deny the truth in his words.

While he was certainly in great shape, the Shepherds were the most elite of elite warriors, and Robin was definitely not the most physical among them. Especially now, after the wars, without anyone to fight and with far less time spent on training, he couldn’t be even as strong as he’d been during those days. So… So then why did it feel like she couldn’t resist him at all? Her logic told her she could easily throw off his touch, but somehow, impossibly, the fighter’s instinct she’d honed to a razor-sharp point, sung only of his superiority.

‘Is, is this what I want? To feel so overpowered?’

Did she wish to feel as if she was desired so strongly that Robin would never let anything keep her from him? Is that why he felt so overwhelming right now? And why she felt so unwaveringly safe in his arms, despite how he’d backed her up against a wall?

Her heart raced and she squirmed as a yearning warmth pulsed through her body, spreading from her core.

“You’re never one to do things by impulse Cordelia. If you truly only wanted me to apologise, you’d never let me kiss you a second time.”

“Ah!”

She had plenty of time to react as he leant in, as his hand pulled her waist against him. She had all the time in the world.

But she didn’t.

Robin kissed her slower this time, softer and gentler, as if they had all the time in the world, as if he planned to treasure her for as long as he could. He pulled her carefully against and slid himself even further forwards, pressing her back against the wall behind her with just a little force, just enough to leave her feeling giddily trapped between two solid objects as their embrace deepened.

And this time, for her first time, Cordelia kissed him back. No longer taken by surprise, she moved with his motions, clumsily and awkwardly, but with no small amount of tenderness. Ylisse’s Wing Commander was naturally gifted in anything she sought to do, and it took almost no time at all for her adjust, opening her mouth to his, she moaned with contentment as she linked her arms around his shoulders and let herself fully melt into the Tactician.

Once again, Cordelia was held in his arms, pressed up against the wall and feeling her body give itself up entirely to his mercies, but, as the minutes passed between them, far from the shock and passion she’d felt the previous time he’d kissed her, this time Robin never sought to escalate or hurry things between them. And so instead, the spark of lust between them was replaced by a tender, smouldering sensuality. Following his movements as the hesitation slowly dissipated from her own, his tongue led hers in a gentle dance and she pushed her body back tentatively against him in response, grinding against him more by instinct than anything planned, she moaned aloud a moment later, feeling every womanly instinct within her tremble in delight.

Even through her dress and bra, she could feel her breasts scraping against his chest, sending electric pulses down her spine as her nipples grew hard. She could feel his hands moving possessively over her skin, leaving her quaking and trembling as her body grew hotter in a way she’d never felt before. She could feel an ache growing and pulsing within her core, sated momentarily with each new touch but still yearning hungrily for more.

And, unlike in his office, this time, Cordelia couldn’t possibly pretend that the thick length she could feel pushing unbelievably long and undeniably hard all the way up to her abdomen was anything else. It was a sensation she’d tried not to think about ever since, but one that had haunted the edges of her imagination and her nights all this time. Somehow, it seemed even larger than in even the most risqué stories she’d read, ‘A-Are they normally that big?’ it was somehow a little daunting, and surpassingly manly at the same time.

She could feel the physical proof of his desire for her pressing so forcefully against her. It was indecent, downright depraved, and yet she couldn’t help but shiver in response.

Her arms linked tighter around him, and her tongue followed his more confidently, kissing like this was nothing at all like what she’d expected or fantasised about, it was completely different to her romantic daydreams. But, right now, feeling his strong body holding hers with such desire, feeling so plainly and openly wanted, Cordelia dizzy wish a rush she’d never experienced before.

“…Robin…”
“Cordelia…”

They broke apart together, gasping for breath, but a moment later the second kiss became a third, and then a fourth, and then-

“Heeeeeeey! I’m home!”

And then, the mood was suddenly shattered by the sound of Severa’s voice calling out, followed a moment later by the impact of a good number of bags being lazily dumped onto the ground.

Jaws falling open, they instantly fell away from each other, attempting to pull their clothing back into place.

“Se-Severa? Is that you?” Cordelia, sang out, desperately trying to calm her racing heart. Covering her cheeks with her hands, she was immediately glad she hadn’t decided to wear lipstick for the lesson.

“Duh! Who else would it be?” the eyeroll was practically verbalised as the younger red-head trumped through the house towards them, “Why, what’re you doing back here anyway- Huh? Robin? Why’re you here?”

Standing as if to bar the entryway, the mercenary’s mood turned icy and she eyed Cordelia with a piercing look. Severa had actually had a very enjoyable day out on the town, but coming home to find her mother home alone, with a man who wasn’t her father, put her instantly on guard.

“Robin, er, Robin actually, he just got here! He said he wa-”

“I’m here for you of course,” Robin cut in, speaking over the panicking Knight with a smooth candour as he leaned against the wall with an easy smile, as if nothing at all was amiss, “I’m here to take you on a date.”

Severa paused.

Then she blinked.

Thrown off balance and forced to switch gears, it was a moment before she could make sense of a statement like that. As soon as she did, she reeled back, her eyes shooting wide as she spluttered in confused surprise, “Wh-Wha!? What the hells!? A date? With you? When did I ever agree to something like that!?”

“You didn’t.”

She gaped.

“But then, I haven’t had the chance to ask, have I? How long have you been back in Ylisstol now? You haven’t come to see me even once!”

At that comment, Severa’s mood shifted. She couldn’t help but feel a little abashed at that, especially given that she’d blown off the Shepherd’s meeting the other day too. She’d never expected him to complain about something like that, it wasn’t as if she was avoiding him after Noire put all those strange thoughts in her head!

“I… I just thought you’d be busy,” she admitted, tugging guiltily at the hem of her shirt.

He answered her with an infuriatingly smug smile, “Well, I figured it’s long past time I rectified that. And, I knew that rather than trying to chase you around town, if I waited here for you, eventually I’d catch you for sure. Aha, just as planned! Thanks for your help, Cordelia.”

Severa fumed! Even Inigo wasn’t this presumptuous! He just thought he could waltz in her and then, an-

And just as she was puffing herself up to bite her head off, her anger slowed. There was no way someone with an eye for fashion like her could miss that Robin was dressed up far nicer than usual. He’d even left his signature cloak behind and she knew how much he loved that gaudy thing. Her heart clenched, just a little. Was this all for her sake? Had he really gone to all this effort for her?

“A-Are you stupid!? You set this all up with my mother? What kind of plan is that!? And, and anyway, what are you even thinking? What’s wrong with you!? If you’re going to be taking anyone out, it should be Lucina! She’s the one you’re supposed to be with.”

She didn’t see her mother wince at that. Instead, her thoughts went to Noire and to the discussion they’d shared, just for a single moment before she shook them away.

Amazingly, Robin completely ignored her. Clapping his hands, as if he’d just come up with a brilliant suggestion, he turned away towards the older red-head, “Ah, actually, that’s a great point. Cordelia, would you like to come along with us too? I can go find Ricken and we’ll make it a double date!”

Predictably, both women balked at that suggestion. But luckily Cordelia was spared the need to come up with an excuse by her daughter’s familiar hair-trigger anger.

“WHAT!? No! NO WAY! I am not bringing my father on a date!”

“Oh? So just you and me then?” facing her once more, Robin offered an understanding nod, “Actually, I’d prefer that myself. I just wanted to make sure you were comfortable, I thought that might be better for you.”

‘Urk. Gawds. Aren’t you meant to be smart? You don’t know the first thing about women.”

If Severa had been paying attention, she might have noticed that Robin had shifted the direction of the conversation from whether or not they would go on a date together, to instead what kind of date they’d go on.

“Don’t worry, I’ve got enough money and I’ve already made reservations,” he lied smoothly, knowing that his reputation would guarantee him a table anywhere regardless, “You’ll like it, I’ll take you somewhere really nice.”

“You think that’s all I ca- URGGH! Fine! Fine, if you’re going to go this far!” she huffed, “Gawds. At least give me a chance to get changed out of these clothes then! Urgh, just wait here. I’ll be back in ten minutes.”

“You already look stunning as you are!” Robin teased to her back as the volatile Mercenary spun on her heel and stomped off, disappearing back into the house a moment later.

“H-Hhaa…”

Watching her daughter’s furious retreat back to her room, Cordelia let out a breath she hadn’t realised she’d been holding, sagging in relief. It wasn’t as if she was doing anything wrong by being with Robin like this, but, even so, she absolutely didn’t want Severa to know that she’d kissed a man who wasn’t Ricken. At least, not before she’d sorted through the mess of her own feelings on the matter.

However, just as she was beginning to relax, she was startled from her reverie by the sensation of Robin’s hands curling around her once more. Gasping in surprise, she barely reacted as he turned her in place, pulling her against him and pushing her back up against the wall once again.

“Now,” he purred, trailing his lips along her neck and leaving her mouth open in a moan as her fingers clung weakly to his shirt, “Where were we?”

“Ah, w-wait, no, Robin I-”

He moved to kiss her, but this time, she turned away and his nestled his lips under her ear instead.

Severa’s interruption, as well as the daunting threat of discovery, had finally cleared Cordelia’s mind; enough that she could think and enough for her to remember the last time he’d held her so tight in his embrace, the secret he’d shared with her that her daughter had hit on only moments ago.

“Lucina… You told me you loved her, but that you couldn’t be with her. Th-That she doesn’t want to marry you. Then… Then, in that case, Robin,” her body trembled against him and her words came as a whisper, as she voiced the insidious, curious thought that’d drifted through her mind ever since that day, “Then could you love someone else in that way instead? Like how you love Lucina?”

After what he’d told her, she’d considered this situation countless times. After all, was Robin not now exactly as she had been, with her old helpless love for Chrom? He’d counselled her about that himself, years ago, he’d been somewhat cruel to her, but in doing so, he’d saved both her heart and her closest friendship. So then… if he was like that with Lucina… then… what if the two of them…

“No,” she could understand from the moment she looked into his eyes. Cordelia had agonised over her love for Chrom, especially after his engagement had been announced, she’d wanted to let go of it. Robin had no such intentions of giving up on Lucina, “I love all the Shepherds, they’re dearer to me than anything. But the love I feel for her is unique, it’s irreplaceable.”

And yet, unbelievably, right after saying that he moved forwards to kiss her once more. The temptation tugged at her, but once again Cordelia turned away, leaving his lips teasing along the underside of her jaw instead.

“Then… why?”

Why was he driving her so crazy? Why was he doing all this to her? Why did he make her feel so… so…

“Robin… then, what is this? What are we doing?”

He looked towards her with a soft chuckle, running his fingertips across her cheeks and looking at her as if the answer was almost too obvious to say.

“Cordelia, come now, isn’t that up to you? I told you, this is a message, a reminder. It’s anything you want it to be, exactly what you wish it to be. And, just because I love Lucina, doesn’t mean I don’t adore you.”

For a second, she fumed in disbelief at the sheer audacity he was showing her… but then, a heartbeat later, she was surprised to find that there was no icy dagger through her heart at his words, nor any heat of betrayal. He’d continued declaring his love for another woman, while holding her in his arms, and somehow, she wasn’t as jealous as she had expected to be.

And so, recognising that, Cordelia slowly relaxed, playing her thoughts through her mind once more.

‘So, what if he loves Lucina?’

Lucina wasn’t the one in his arms right now. Lucina had rejected him, she’d held back from making a move on him. Lucina was exactly as she had been when she’d always ran away from Chrom and ruined any chances to win his love. Lucina wasn’t the one Robin was trying to kiss, nor was she the one making him as excited as Cordelia could plainly feel from him.

“Who cares how I feel?” Robin whispered, as if reading her mind, in that frustratingly perceptive manner of his, “Wouldn’t it be nice to focus on how you felt instead? Aren’t you tired of always having your love dictated by someone else?”

She didn’t know if his words were carefully chosen, or spoken from the tip of his tongue, but they resonated with every bit of frustration, resentment and anguish she’d pushed down, for years. She acknowledged them throughout the deepest levels of her soul. First by Chrom and Sumia, then by Ricken and Severa. She hadn’t been able to be with the man she’d loved, and when she’d been trying to move on, her daughter had arrived and suddenly every bachelor around her had disappeared. Always her heart had been restricted, her choices pre-ordained. She couldn’t marry Chrom. She had to marry Ricken.

When she’d come to Robin in his office, she’d been nearing her breaking point, she’d been almost completely resigned to the thought of simply doing what was best to make everyone else happy.

That was why she’d never been truly angry at him for kissing her, because just like all those years ago, she knew he’d saved her once again. In the same cruel, painful way as before.

And here again now, once more, Robin was throwing her world and everything she’d expected into chaos. He wasn’t acting in the least like any suitor she’d ever dreamed of, he was asking for everything while promising nothing and offering her not even a single commitment. But her heart pounded in her chest and her fingers clung tighter to his shirt, because, once again, it felt like he was saving her.

The third time he moved towards her, Cordelia didn’t turn away. Melting into his embrace, with one hand threading through his beautifully snowy white hair, and the other wrapping tight around his neck, Cordelia, finally and truly, let go. Losing herself in the moment, her thoughts drifted and she fell against him, and into him, with all that she was.

By the time Severa finally came back downstairs, almost 45 minutes later, Cordelia was an absolute mess; she was breathless, her heart was pounding worse than on any battlefield and she could feel an almost painful yearning heat radiating from her core. It took everything she had just to maintain her composure as her daughter swept back into the room. But luckily, Severa -now looking much calmer, significantly more embarrassed and a little overdressed- barely even looked her mother’s way. Blushing deeply, but still allowing Robin to take her arm and lead her out, the two of them were gone almost before Cordelia realised it. 

And then, as the door swung shut behind them, and she realised she was alone with no pretences to maintain- Ylisse’s Wing Commander slumped to her knees, panting for breath and shivering at the powerful wet heat pooling thick across her thighs.

It was several long minutes before the excitement and adrenaline finally began to fade. And, as she calmed down, as her rationality returned and as she thought back to just exactly what had happened, Cordelia’s head spun in a whirl.

“Wh-What the hell!? What… Just what exactly am I doing!?”

It wasn’t altogether strange for her to be propositioned, in her time she’d received no shortage of romantic offers from men. Commoners, Knights and even some of the nobles had all come seeking her hand with promises of loyalty, tales of their valour, or simply by attempting to ply her with gifts.

And yet, twice now, Robin had toyed with her, completely at his whims, and all without promising her single thing at all! He hadn’t given her a ring, he hadn’t asked for her favour and he hadn’t even offered a single word of faithfulness to her! Did he want her to be his partner, or was he treating her like some carefree fling? She didn’t even know. Seemingly without any effort on his part, he threw her into a spin and made her feel so… so… confused.

Shaking her head with another sigh, she reprimanded herself. There was no point denying it, she knew that a small part of her had been hoping he’d hold her like that again when she’d invited him around, the thought had excited her. Was that why he was so uncharacteristically bold with her lately? Had he really seen through her so easily?

“Dastard! Dastard… You, you cad of a man! There’s a limit to how arrogant you can be!” she whined uselessly, pushing herself back to her feet. If he was going to kiss her, then he should at least have the decency to ask her out, rather than running off with her daughter!

Well… Cordelia corrected herself, it’s not like she would have accepted an invitation from him anyway. Of course. She couldn’t possibly do something like that to Sumia, let alone Lucina or Morgan. She wouldn’t. But! Still! She should at least have had the chance to turn him down! ‘Right’ She nodded, that was why she was such a mess right now. If he was going to toy with her, then he should have at least had the good grace to have made his intentions clear. Not because she wanted to spend the evening with him, but just… just so she could clear things properly between them, and make it clear she couldn’t possibly accept his advances. She tried very hard in that moment not to think back to the last question he’d posed to her.

“Huh… Wait… So, my daughter is going on a date before me?”

That thought was far too annoying to consider.

“Well, it’s not as if it’s a real date anyway.”

Still, she considered idly as she collected herself. Now that she thought about it in a calmer state of mind, Severa’s reaction had been a little surprising, ‘Didn’t she tell him that she couldn’t be with him because he was meant to be with Lucina?’

She could remember that well enough, the words had hit her like an iron bar to her stomach. They were exactly the same words that had been implied so many countless times towards her, by all her well-intentioned comrades and friends. The same weight of expectations that had left her on the verge of offering herself up to Ricken for her the sake of her daughter’s happiness.

‘But, wouldn’t you normally expect something like, “As if I’d want to go on a date with you!” or, “You really think I’m just going to date you, just ‘cause you say so!?” from her?’

Cordelia paused, her daughter had softened a little from the time she’d been with the Shepherds but even so, she couldn’t help but think back to the way Severa had been looking at Robin after she’d returned, and the way she’d shuffled under his gaze before they’d left.

‘It couldn’t be… there’s no way she would actually… No. No, I’m being silly. Naga, I’m so messed up that I’m over-thinking everything right now, aren’t I?’

And anyway, she reminded herself, what did it matter? Robin was just trying to distract Severa from what he’d been doing with her. He hadn’t taken her out on real date, she repeated the assurance to herself.

Strangely though, as Cordelia passed back into the main house, she found that after all the emotional stress she’d just been through, she couldn’t muster the energy to work on any of the other errands she’d left for the afternoon. Slumping down onto her comfortable, oversized leather couch, she closed her eyes, soaking in her mood and pressing her fingers back to her lips, basking in the heat she could feel pulsing through her body- the pleasant, wet ache she could feel from between her legs.

She’d never felt wanted like this before, nor had she ever felt so clearly physically desired and the effect it had on her was substantial; even her deepest, most secret fantasies of Chrom had never turned her on this much. It was overpowering and dominating, nothing at all like the sweet and soft romance she’d imagined, but exhilarating in a way she couldn’t put into words.

Obviously, Robin wasn’t serious about her, he’d made that clear enough. Nor did she think he was so callous or selfish a man as to simply tease her for his own enjoyment, she knew he was correct in his assessment of her, she would have never let him lay even a finger on her if she truly believed that. Which meant, most likely, he truly was trying to help her, to bolster her wavering self-esteem.

And, just as obviously, she wouldn’t actually do anything with him unless he finally, properly asked her out, like a gentleman. Cordelia wasn’t that type of girl. 

And, clearly, if -when- he finally did ask her out, she would turn him down. She was flattered by his attention of course, and, and it wasn’t as if she thought he’d be a bad partner… when she’d been trying to move on from Chrom, he’d been one of the men she’d most enjoyed spending time with, as well as the man she’d most pictured a possible future with. All the way until she’d learned she was supposed to marry Ricken. But she couldn’t possibly even consider stealing the man that was supposed to marry her best friend’s daughter! (Could she?)

…

‘Still…’

Cordelia hummed, chewing her lips as her mind wandered and a lingering shiver inched down her spine.

‘…In the meantime… maybe it would be okay… letting him toy with me again… just a little…?’

Cordelia sighed.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Meanwhile, on the other side of town, Noire was having a difficult afternoon.

It had been an unremarkable day really, she’d managed the shop, she’d done some chores and she’d cooked a little, completely unmemorable. Right until her mother had come home.

That in itself wasn’t too strange, despite the decorations and design being all towards Noire’s own (pleasant) tastes, her mother did own this place after all, and while Tharja mostly stayed in her room at the Palace, she did occasionally spend some time in the apartment with Noire. She wasn’t sure exactly what prompted these visits, but Noire liked to think it was because she wanted to spend time in her daughter’s company.

It had been nice to see her actually, and especially to find her in such an unexpectedly good mood. Her mother had seemed tired, borderline exhausted really, looking just as weary as she’d seen her after their most difficult battles and things had been strangely awkward between them at first too, for some reason it had felt like her mother was almost unable to look at her. But, after Noire sat her down at the table and brought out some food, things had returned to normal and they’d talked. She’d spoken about her day, and Tharja, in turn, had told her all about how she’d spent a very enjoyable morning with Nowi, Lissa, and Robin.

And then Noire had ruined everything.

“And Robin?” she’d asked, feeling her insides clench tight together even as she’d spoken, “You wouldn’t be this happy just being with them, would you?”

Even now, she didn’t know why she’d said it. She knew far better than to pry into her mother’s affairs. But somehow, when she’d seen the woman she’d come back to the past for practically glowing, the words had just slipped free.

As soon as she realised what she’d said, she’d expected her mother to simply deny it, or to tell her off for her impudence…

…But instead, Tharja had suddenly looked gentler than Noire had ever seen from her. Without even attempting to hide the bright smile on her face, she’d laid her head down on the table, sighing happily and running her fingers along the golden armlet she’d recently taken to wearing.

“It’s wonderful,” she’d whispered, as the Archer had stared in disbelief, “Every day now feels like a dream come true.”

Lost for words and equally lost in a world that barely seemed to be making sense, Noire had excused herself a moment later. And, ever since then, she’d been just as she was now, lying atop her bed, tossing and turning, twisted up with herself and with a thousand warring emotions eating her up inside.

She was overjoyed for Tharja’s sake, of course. She’d never seen her mother as unashamedly happy as she’d been lately, it was enough to make her heart sing and enough to bring a tear to her eyes. It was exactly what she’d come back in time for…

…And yet, her heart ached. It ached so badly she wanted to cry.

For more than a year, she’d resigned herself to the fact that Robin would (and should) marry Lucina. Lucina was her liege, the Exalt from their time she still held fealty towards, she respected her more than anyone. She was the one who’d lead them through hell on earth and through to the peace they knew now, none of the happiness they held would have been possible if not for Lucina and in doing so, they all knew that she was the one who’d suffered more than any of them. Noire knew, without a doubt, that after all she’d been through that she deserved whatever happiness she could find. She’d resolved herself that she would bury any other feelings inside her, that she would smile for her Exalt and honestly, happily congratulate them both on their wedding day.

But the war was over now, and Robin was back to life and months had passed… And still, nothing seemed to have happened between them! Even despite the presence of their own child from the future bouncing around, neither the Princess nor the Tactician seemed to have made any move at all!

And instead, more and more, he actually seemed to be growing closer to other women; she often saw him walking around the Palace with Lissa, Olivia was working with him now, Nowi had been stealing glances his way and laughing all through their last meeting, and Tharja… her mother was happier than ever, happy in a way Noire could only remember from her childhood, and even then, only in small doses.

“Arrrugh!”

She wasn’t prepared for this at all! This wasn’t what she’d imagined! Noire agonised, how was she even supposed to react to the idea of Robin being with another woman?

If Robin did choose her mother, then she would be happy, she knew that, she would honestly and truly be overjoyed for them. She was already pleased just to see them getting along so well…

…But she was still painfully jealous. No matter how glad she would be, or how she would congratulate them, just the thought of it burned through her soul.

She couldn’t help it. She knew she had no right to love him and that her feelings were inappropriate to begin with, given the role his other-self had held in her life. But she couldn’t help it. Ever since that day, ever since that moment, ever since she’d had his arms around her and the sense that she was finally safe, it had been impossible to remove him from her heart, it was as if he’d carved his name deep inside her. Noire was her mother’s daughter and she loved the same man with just the same unflinching stubbornness.

Not for the first time, she wished that this could all just be easier, that they could all just simply share him- to be with him without taking him away from anyone else. It was unconventional, but given the life she’d lived, she hardly cared, if only it were possible, it would keep everyone happy. They could all be a big family together. But, unfortunately, Noire knew her mother, and she knew Tharja would never accept another woman with Robin, that she wouldn’t even consider sharing him with anyone else.

She would never consider taking him from Lucina, and if the Princess truly wish to take his heart, then she knew Tharja would. And, no matter her feelings, no matter how her heart ached, Noire knew that she would stand aside. She loved her mother, she wouldn’t betray her for anything, not even for Robin.

Which meant that everything tormenting her all boiled down to one simple answer: Even if Robin wasn’t with Lucina, he still wouldn’t be with her.

That was the cold truth, the painful reality she could barely stand to face, and it cut through her until she felt like she could hardly breathe.

Flipping over on the bed once more, Noire stifled a wrenching cry with her pillow. This was too much! She wasn’t ready to accept that, she wasn’t prepared for any this! It was too overwhelming! She knew she needed to calm down, that she needed to chase these dangerous thoughts away and bring herself back to normalcy once more. But her mother was home and so, the pictures that had served the Archer so faithfully as an outlet for her stress relief were unavailable.

Another stray thought, another dangerous impulse danced across her mind.

‘No, no… I can’t… Ahahh, no, I can’t, I couldn’t do something like that…’

Unfortunately, despite her mental assurances, the poor girl’s resolve was in tatters and her hands were already reaching under the bed, pulling out a small wooden box that she had hidd- that she’d placed there, for safe keeping.

“No, no… I… I… Aha-uaaahhh”

Opening it up, she pulled out a completely plain looking, slightly crinkled, off-white shirt.

As it turns out, by complete co-incidence, a few days ago she’d been collecting her and her mother’s laundry at exactly two minutes after Olivia had finished dropping off some of Robin’s clothes from his office. And somehow, entirely by accident, one of Robin’s shirts had wound up getting mixed up with Noire’s washing and she’d ended up taking it home with her. This accident tended to happen every few weeks, so Noire knew all she had to do was simply clean it herself and then sneak it back in with the rest of his laundry, next Thursday, at exactly 2pm after the Palace maids had finished ironing and folding it.

But, for now, she brought it up to her face, sinking back into the bed as she clutched it against herself.

“Ahhaaah, it smells like him…”

She’d never had the courage to do this before. But today, she couldn’t help it.

Flicking open the button to her trousers, she slid her left hand down, inside and against the hot, wet heat of her pussy, using her other hand to raise the shirt to her face, drinking in the Tactician’s comforting smell.

It always amazed her just how wet she became like this, whenever she let herself revel in thoughts of Robin. She’d never gotten anything close to the same reaction from any of the other fantasies she’d sometimes entertained and, rather than exciting her, even trying to think of any other man always just made her feel guilty and contrite. More than once she’d heard people wondering why her mother was so obsessed with one man over so many years, but Noire had never struggled to understand, the effect he had on her was intoxicating, she wondered sometimes if Naga had made her just for his sake, as if her body was made for him.

Occasionally, she found it almost scary, thinking of just how much power he didn’t even know he held over her. And tonight, as she let her mind fill with thoughts of the man she loved, and as she surrounded her senses with his scent, the effect was even stronger than ever.

Her hips bucked greedily against her fingers and she cried out even louder than she’d intended, automatically moaning out the Tactician’s name without even intending to do so as her body trembled in delight.

Flipping over, Noire quickly threw her head back into her pillow in an attempt to stifle her voice. But her hips remained raised in the air (as if being offered up for him to claim) and her fingers didn’t even pause for an instant as they ran over the edges of her labia and teased across her pussy lips.

‘RobinRobinRobinRobinRobinRobinRobinROBIN!’

Bolts of pleasure raced through her body and her legs trembled as her mind collapsed, ‘Oh! Oh! Nag-Robin!’ she couldn’t stop, or even think of slowing down! With her eyes closed and his shirt held up against her, it was like he was right there in the room with her! She’d only just begun and already the pleasure was driving her insane!

“AhnNNN! Ah! R-Robin! I’m sorry! Ihhuaaa, I-I’m sorry for being such a creepy girl, doing things like this! You must hate it, don’t you?”

Filling her thoughts with the man she’d fallen for, Noire could only imagine if he saw her now, like this and she couldn’t help but apologise as her body burned with shame…

…But, thoughts of being displayed for him also had her plunging two fingers into her eager pussy, choking back a scream as her virgin walls constricted painfully right around the digits.

“I’m, uhhha, I’m, sorry, I’m, NnnGHH! Ro-Robin, I’m just like my Mother, aren’t I? I can’t help myself around you! AHHNNNN! So, if, if, hhhaa, if you choose her, pl-please, choose me too! I won’t mind, at alllllll! Ah-ah, Robin!Robin!ROBIN!”

Both Noire’s words and thoughts became hazy as she drove her fingers even harder into herself, scraping them against the spots inside her that felt especially wonderful and trying to imagine it was the Tactician’s shaft inside her instead. With how many times she’d borrowed her that picture of him from her mother’s study, she had no problem at all picturing Robin’s cock in her mind or imagining him holding it against her from behind. And, given how tightly her unclaimed pussy clenched around the two digits she managed to push inside herself, she could only drool at imagining what it would feel like to have his cock shaping her walls around it instead.

Noire’s huge breasts ground pleasantly back and forth across the mattress as she bucked and trembled against her fingers, her tight round ass swayed deliciously in the air and her legs trembled weakly at the pleasure running through her. Basking in thoughts of Robin’s presence and lost in the way her body seemed to automatically submit to his, the Archer’s juices were spread thick down her thighs, and within minutes, her world was sparking with white light as she felt a tremendous orgasm surging throughout her core.

Her womb throbbed with yearning and her body jolted hard into the bed, squishing her breasts hard into the mattress as the rush of bliss overwhelmed her all at once!

Just barely succeeding in muffling her screams into her pillow, Noire shuddered, shivered and squirmed as she came, with her walls pulsing vice-tight around her fingers and her hips

Squeezing her eyes shut, Noire shuddered, gasped and screamed as she came, with her walls pulsing vice-tight around her fingers and her hips trembling in the air. Unable to keep herself from crying out for the man she adored, she was kept from disturbing her mother only by how desperately she forced her head into her pillow- and, even more desperately, into Robin’s shirt.

A minute passed like that and, as the euphoria ebbed away, so too did the little strength still remaining in the Archer’s body. Breathing in ragged pants and still shivering from the afterglow, Noire slid gracelessly down onto the mattress, slowly removing her fingers from between her legs as she rolled over, onto her back.

“Th-That… that was… incredible…”

In time she knew she would feel absolutely terrible about doing something as shameless as this. She knew Robin would be mortified and probably disgusted if he ever found out that she’d used something of his for stress-relief. But when this was the only outlet she had for her rampaging emotions she couldn’t help it. And, for now at least, she couldn’t possibly care about the future. Right now, she felt a lot better, she simply felt good.

Robin always made he feel good. He always made things better. The old Robin had, ever since she was a child, and this Robin had, ever since that day.

With her mind still dizzy from lust, it felt strangely out of place to be still completely dressed while soaking in the afterglow of being pleasured by (her imagination of) the man she loved. So, now that the heat inside her was quelled, and now that her heart was filled only with joy and affection, Noire kicked her clothes off into a pile by her bed and wriggled herself naked under the covers, taking a moment to then stretch herself out and run her fingers teasingly across her still hyper-sensitive skin.

Which of course, brought another irresistible thought to mind.

‘Would… would it be okay to try it on?’ Noire’s core throbbed at the question and she chewed on her lip in contemplation, ‘It’s pretty good material, it won’t get stretched, right?’

In the end, it would be several more hours and several more intense orgasms before the love-lost Archer finally calmed enough to fall asleep. But when she did so, it was with a relaxed smile finally on her face and the Tactician’s shirt wrapped comfortingly tight over her massive chest.

She didn’t know it yet but, unfortunately for Noire’s dignity, this experience had awakened something new within her. And as a result, unfortunately for Robin’s wardrobe, his shirts began going missing more often.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Themis – Maribelle’s Bedroom

Similarly, some long distance from Ylisstol proper, Maribelle was also tossing and turning, suffering through a restless night. Another one.

What made this worse today, of all nights, was that she’d specifically made sure to have an early night, just to try avoid this. And yet, sleep continued eluding her. This had been happening frustratingly regularly as of late and it had left her sleeping poorly for some time now. If anyone asked, she blamed her fatigue on the early year heat. That was also the exact same reason she tried to give herself.

But, in truth, it wasn’t so easy to lie to yourself and she knew that it was much more than that. She was feeling a difficult, unsatisfied restlessness, one that had been kindled within her only recently. And, it was one that left her thoughts constantly drifting back towards her closest friend, to Lissa, time after time.

Not for the first time, Maribelle wished that Gaius could have been in this bed with her. She was certain that the presence of the man she loved would surely grant her some peace of mind.

But it wasn’t to be. And she felt ridiculous each time she considered it. That was the price of her noble position, the image and dignity that she upheld as part of a pillar that all of Ylisse looked to. Despite that she proudly wore his ring and despite that they shared a roof in her father’s estate, he was still not yet officially her husband, and so, it would still not yet be proper.

They had been engaged for some time now, but she was a Duke’s daughter and marrying nobility, especially at the upper echelons, was no simple feat. She couldn’t even possibly consider eloping and she’d roundly rejected the idea of holding a simple camp-ground wedding like so many of the other Shepherds or Ylissean soldiers- it would have been absolutely unthinkable for her to be wed without her parent’s presence. And so, there had been nothing for it, but to wait.

Unfortunately, as she’d expected, when they’d finally returned from the war, the country had been in such a state that, with all she’d had to do, just to get things running again, she’d hardly had time to think. Between the endless number of things she’d been tasked with to get the Halidom back in proper shape and her mother’s insistence about the particulars of the ceremony, even after all this time, the actual wedding would only be held more a year hence.

Attempting to push at least that thought from her mind, Maribelle punched her fists into the pillows, frustrated as much with herself as with the continued hot, restless night.

It was difficult to deal with, with all that was going on and all the changes happening, right now it felt like her whole life was in flux, and even the things she’d thought certain felt dangerously unmoored.

Because of how long it was taking or organise the wedding (as well as to deal with suffering through at least the bare minimum of a proper engagement period first), her first kiss, the very kiss she’d intended to give to her husband at the altar on that day, had instead been claimed by her beloved Lissa instead.

It was hard to begrudge her darling anything, she knew that she had absolutely no ill-intentions and she also knew that she was over-reacting herself to even worry about such things. She knew that it was simply a Princess indulging in an act of whimsy, Lissa had said as much herself.

It didn’t mean anything.

It didn’t mean anything.

It didn’t mean anything.

Maribelle sighed, turning over once more.

Of course it didn’t. She and Lissa were both nobles, they were the highest crust of Ylissean society, raised in the best environments, with the most skilled tutors and born from the most respectable lineages possible. They were both respectable, decent and innocent women. There was obviously no way they were the kind of deviant women who took interest in other girls. Lissa’s marriage and her own physical attraction to Gaius was proof enough of that, never mind any of the other male Shepherd’s she’d admired from time to time.

It didn’t mean anything.

And so, Maribelle passed another night slowly, twisting around herself and trying not to think of a bed with three. She tried very hard not to want share in witnessing her friend’s most intimate expressions, nor hear her most secret cries. She did her best not to dream of warm hands around her, of tussled blonde hair spread out before her and of the beautiful softness of the lips she’d felt that day.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Night had long since fallen by the time Robin and Severa returned. Walking together at a leisurely pace under a sky lit with stars, thankfully, given the prestige of her home district, the way was guided by well maintained magical lanterns set along the streets.

“Well,” Severa announced with a haughtily, skipping ahead of her companion as they drew up to her house, “Hmph, I suppose that was actually kind of fun! I guess if you really wan-Eh!?”

He was so close!

Cutting off her words as she reeled backwards in surprise and, before she even realised it, the red-headed time-traveller was suddenly standing flush against the outer wall to her house, just barely a few metres from the door.

“What are you-huh?”

Robin had followed her, matching her step by step and her breath was suddenly caught in her throat. He was suddenly right in front of her, without any warning, he was standing just centimetres away, staring directly at her! As her head spun, she couldn’t help but wonder idly if anyone had ever looked at her so intently before.

Robin’s left hand thudded into the wall above her shoulder with a soft thump and his right reached out, stroking softly across her cheek before lifting her chin gently up towards him.

“R-Robin, hey, this is n-AhmmMMMMPH!?”

Cupping her face with his hand, Robin closed the distance between and before she could even get a word out, he’d already sealed her lips with his own.

Severa’s world jolted. His kiss was tender and filled with a surprising wealth of affection. And, feeling him pressing against her like this, with his body pushing gently against hers, squeezing her lightly against the wall to her back, he suddenly felt bigger and stronger than she’d ever imagined him. Despite the shock, feeling herself held in place against him like this, she felt strangely comforted in his arms. Perhaps it was just due to how deeply the absolutely trust she’d held in him for years ran, but she felt safe, secure in a way a life like hers had never allowed.

For just one second, Severa melted into his embrace.

And then, a moment later, reality snapped back into place and she tore herself away with a furious, scandalised gasp!

“Wh-What! What was that!?” she demanded, her face blazing red and her chest pounding, both with relief and disappointment when he stepped away, giving her some distance.

“Mmm, that…” Robin whispered cheekily in response, drawing the word out as he stroked his fingers back and away from her chin, releasing her completely, “Was whatever you want it to be. No more, no less.”

She spluttered in wordless confusion, so he continued.

“I wanted to make myself clear, so you didn’t think I was making fun of you, or that I wasn’t taking you seriously. I’m not playing around and I’m not treating you lightly. I said I had come to take you on a date, and I meant it, a kiss is how a date ends. I know you have trouble trusting people, but I want you to always believe in my words.”

Mixed between glaring in silent fury and trying to process his surprising explanation, it took Severa another minute to find her voice.

“Wha-What the hells!?” she hissed, “You-You… What are you doing!? What about Lucina!?”

“I love Lucina, of course. But that doesn’t mean I don’t adore you.”

He spoke his heart so boldly that she could only stare, hearing something like that right after being told that one of the few men she did believe in wanted her to trust him made the confusion hit her twice as hard. Of course, as she slowly made sense of just what he seemed to be saying, it took no time at all for the familiar fire inside her to spike red-hot, “Y-You… You expect me to just accept that!?” she scoffed, scowling violently, “What, do you think I’m meant to be happy to hear that? Am I to be your mistress or something then!? Gawds, don’t you think highly of yours-”

“I don’t expect anything from you at all. It was important to me simply to show you my sincerity, to make sure you understood how I feel. You’re free to answer however you like.”

Now her glare became downright predatory, “Oh? However I like eh? Well then, maybe I’ll answer by telling Lucina about this then!”

To her surprise, despite the anger and sharp words enough to have set any other man running, the calm, affectionate smile never even slipped from Robin’s face, ‘You could,” he nodded, “But, I don’t think you will.”

‘Oh, that’s it!’

Blood pumping in her veins, she raised herself up, ready to bite his head off!

And then, suddenly her instincts flared and she paused, her breath catching in her throat and her entire body slamming to a halt. The world slowed to a crawl as she felt herself deflate. She couldn’t explain it, and she didn’t have a clue where it was from, but the moment she’d looked into his eyes, she’d been struck by a feeling she’d never felt before. It was a sudden realisation, that she was staring across not at Robin, the comrade she’d known for so long, but at the man who’d twice brought ruin to Plegia, who’d crushed Walhart’s ambitions and conquered Grima himself, she was staring at the Grandmaster of the Shepherds, and he was looking right through her. He could see right past all her bluster, all of her pride and all of her bark, he’d always been able to. Somehow, Severa realised, he understood her.

It was a thought as wonderful as it was terrifying, and to the woman who closed her heart off tighter than anyone else, she could only feel her chest tighten as he slid closer once more, caressing a hand soothingly across her shoulder.

“You respect Lucina deeply, more than anyone. You’ve been with her the longest, you’ve protected her, been saved by her and supported her in every way possible. You admire her and you love her…”

Severa shivered, her mouth too dry to respond. She could practically feel the “But” hanging in the air, yet, even as Robin gently gave voice to her innermost secrets, she couldn’t act to silence it.

“…But, a tiny part of you, a small dark corner of your heart, also resents her.”

“N-No, tha-”

“Because, both back then, and again now, it’s Lucina who gets to live out the perfectly happy, family life that you’ve always wanted. The life you’ve never had. And, while part of the blame for that falls on your mother, it also falls on her father.”

Suddenly, Severa found she couldn’t look at him anymore. Her face was to hot and her breathing too ragged.

She wanted to say something, but nothing came out whenever her she opened her voice. She couldn’t deny it.

Even now, after their victory and everything was over, Lucina had a perfect, idyllic life together with her family. She had both her parents together, she had a beloved sister, and somehow, she’d even picked up not just an incredible catch of a husband, but a daughter that was the apple of everyone’s eye!

And meanwhile, this was the first date that Severa had ever been on and it was all she could do to even just get her mother in the same room as her father!

It was a pathetic jealousy and not anything her once Exalt deserved, Lucina had done absolutely nothing wrong. She knew that and she hated herself for even giving such things a moment’s consideration. But, it was an insidious thought, one that lingered darkly in the depths of her soul- the fact that Lucina got everything, when it was her father’s fault that Severa’s own family was such a mess.

Even so. Severa was a warrior and one with pride enough to spare, her shock lasted only a moment and as her composure slowly recovered so too did her stubbornness, she would never admit defeat so easily.

“H-Hah, that’s just st-stupid! You’re really dumb enough to think that? Hah, so much for the brilliant tactician! I-If that was really the case, then why wouldn’t I tell her!? Wouldn’t I want to get back at her? Moron! You’re just scared that she’ll know you’re really playing ar-”

Robin shifted his touch from her shoulder back to her chin and he turned her head towards him once more, “I already said, didn’t I? That’s only a small part of you, a tiny fragment of your feelings. Far more than that, a thousand times more than that, you adore her. You’d give your life for hers and have been ready to many times. You would never want to hurt her,” she and he were alike in that, he knew.

“I’m not married to Lucina. Or, to be precise, she’s already turned down marrying me…” lowering his voice to a whisper, his fingers caressed her cheek and she felt herself shiver in response, “There’s absolutely nothing wrong with you stealing me away from her… if that’s what you want?”

At that, he stood still, staring expectantly down at her, preparing herself for her reaction, her response.

 A moment passed… And then another… And then, all at once, Severa’s expression crumbled as she screwed up her eyes and thumped her fists into his chest!

“Auuugh! Jerk! Jerk! You stupid, big, dumb, tactical JERK!” she complained, although there was thankfully almost no power in her fists as she hit them repeatedly against him, “That was my first kiss!”

He had to grin at that, “Ah, I never expected you to be such a romantic.”

‘She really is just like her mother, isn’t she? They taste the same too.’

“S-So what if I am!?” she huffed, “Is there something wrong with that!?”

“Not at all. It makes me really happy actually. It’s not often I get to see another side of you like this, it’s really cute.”

For all her beauty and for all her usual show of feigned-confidence, Severa was still absolutely no good at receiving compliments. Her words caught in her throat and her face burned a much more pleasant shade of crimson.

“I said before I wanted you to believe in me. I would never have kissed you if I didn’t care deeply for you,” leaning close, his words tickled softly past her ear, “And, if you didn’t like me, I don’t think you would have let me. Or at least, I don’t think I’d still be standing here."

Sliding an arm into place around her waist, Robin stepped forwards, pulling her carefully towards him once more. Staring into her eyes for one heartbeat, the Tactician then stole her lips a second time. But, now, as she felt herself again held comfortably between his chest and the wall at her back, Severa’s arms linked around his neck and her lips parted cautiously against his.

And this time, she melted into his embrace for two wonderful moments, before both reality and embarrassment snapped back into place and she pushed him away with a gasp.

Retreating to give her space once again, Robin made no attempt to stop her and, acting more on instinct than any rational thought, before Severa even knew what was happening, her trembling legs had already carried her away from him and brought her back into the house.

“Ahhh… Haha…”

Watching her stumble away and seeing the door swing shut behind her, Robin chuckled -just slightly ruefully- to himself. He knew better than this. He knew far better than to be doing this. This was exactly what he’d warned himself about. He knew for certain he would regret this tomorrow, he’d never had the slighted intention of taking things this far, he’d even only asked her out as an excuse for what he was doing with Cordelia in the first place! But their date had been so much fun, and she’d been so incredibly cute, after running on a high all day, he hadn’t been able to resist!

He sighed.

It was absolutely, undeniably a mistake. Even coming to Cordelia’s place had been insane of him. He was more than smart enough to understand both those things. Getting even more involved with Cordelia was only courting disaster and to do even more than that, at the same time, was playing with fire.

And yet, right now, he was blazing with such absolute satisfaction that he couldn’t possibly bring himself to worry. Fire was what kept mankind’s souls warm, and it was a tactician’s duty to plan a path through any disaster! He’d done so countless times, the thrill of facing down a challenge was what made him know he was truly alive.

A mother and her daughter. Robin laughed again as his instincts smouldered in excitement. For such an unbelievable, unthinkable, unimaginable thought… it certainly was an appealing one.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

“Hey. I’m back.”

Jolting from her stupor at the sound of Severa’s voice, Cordelia did her very best impression of someone who had been lounging around, absorbed in a good book, and definitely hadn’t been waiting anxiously for her daughter to come back home.

“H-Hello! I, ah, welcome home, dear. Ah, Robin didn’t come inside with you?”

“Mmm. I already sent him home.”

“Oh, oh, well… Well, how was your dat- how was your night?”

“Eh. It was fun, I guess.”

Severa shrugged noncommittally, doing her very best impression of someone who hadn’t just spent several minutes leaning against the inner-door at the entryway, catching her breath and waiting for her world to stop spinning. But then, right as she made to brush past her mother’s questions and head back to her room, she paused. Despite her occasional struggles with self-esteem, Severa was a very sharp girl, one with half a lifetime’s worth of sharply honed instincts. And, looking back at Cordelia from the corner of her eye, she could easily recognise the anxiousness writ across the other woman’s face, what specifically she was anxious about, she couldn’t tell, but all the same, she suddenly felt just a little excited.

“Hmm. Well, he was a pretty good kisser at least.”

“WHAbuh!?”

Severa was just a little vindictive; watching her mother’s ever-perfect expression explode in to a shocked coughing fit, she only just managed to hold back a laugh.

And suddenly, she felt a whole lot better. In truth, she’d been anxious herself, ever since she’d come home and found her mother alone with another man, she hadn’t been able to stop worrying that there was something going on between them. But after tonight, and after the time she’d spent enjoying his company, she was filled with relief.

‘Huh, wait. That’s… that’s probably why he kissed me, isn’t it?’ she realised, blinking in surprise as she reconsidered Robin’s actions, ‘He said he’d wanted me to believe in his words, and… and that he’d come here to take me on a date. He wanted to show me that he was serious, that he wasn’t playing around. So, I wouldn’t think he had any intentions towards Mother…’

Her face burned hot, as much at the memory as the conclusion she’d reached, and as her heart leapt in her chest, Severa found her thoughts returning back to that day so long ago, and the scar on his chest that she’d never managed to apologise for, ‘G-Gawds… That man… He’s always doing unnecessary things…’

The memories lasted only a moment, but her good mood persisted. And so, shaking her thoughts clear, Severa bounced up the stairs with a spring in her step.

No matter her attitude, she loved her mother, painfully so and more than she was ever able to properly convey. Under all her bluster and complaints, she respected her deeply and had always admired her. But it was also true that she’d grown up in Cordelia’s shadow and she’d dealt with a feeling of inferiority all her life. Tonight though, as she thought back to the feeling of Robin’s arms wrapped around her and the sight of her mother’s stunned face, tonight, Severa felt like she’d finally won.

…

A minute or so later, when her daughter had already disappeared and Cordelia had remembered how to breathe, she sank back into the couch with a frustrated scowl.

‘She was just winding me up… of course,’ it had been impossible to miss the way Severa’s face had lit up at seeing her surprise, ‘Just trying to get a reaction out of me, as usual.’

She was very aware her daughter had a testy personality, but really, a joke like that was just poor taste.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

That Evening – Ylisstol Palace

Lifting up stacks of papers, leafing through documents and peering through drawers, Chrom was very quickly beginning to regret the absolutely disorganised mess his office had devolved into. Robin had warned him many times about the state of his workspace, and Frederick had been more than helpful suggesting filing systems that the Exalt had completely ignored.

It wasn’t out of ignorance, nor even laziness. He’d simply been busy, and things had gotten away from him and he hadn’t managed to get them under control. It had always been something he was planning to take care of at a later date. But, with a lead weight sitting heavy in his stomach, Chrom had a sinking feeling that he was soon to find himself paying his dues.

This had not been how he’d been expecting to end his evening.

Originally, he’d only thought to return to his office after dinner to finish authorising a few of the documents he’d known he needed to have issued tomorrow, it hadn’t been particularly difficult, nor had it taken a particularly long time. However, right as he had been intending to leave and turn in for the night, by nothing more than a quirk of fate, he’d knocked over a ramshackle heap of forms he’d left precariously stacked on the edge of his desk.

And, in doing so, Chrom had unearthed a letter. A very important letter. A letter signed and sealed with the stamp of the East Khan of Ferox. And, unfortunately for the Exalt, a very old letter- one he’d received along with a pile of other matters, that he’d deemed too important to take care of at the same time and put aside… and one that he’d then completely forgotten about until just now.

The letter, currently clutched tight enough in his left hand to turn his knuckles white, was trouble.

Specifically, it was an announcement, dated some months ago, from Flavia informing him that the Khanate tournament was coming up and that she was requesting, not just his attendance, but his participation. And now, having checked the dates in a panic, never mind that he hadn’t sent a reply, Chrom had only a scant few weeks to organise a representative to be sent to Ferox in support of Ylisse’s greatest alliance.

That was trouble. But that wasn’t insurmountable. He could deal with that, he would deal with that. The Shepherds were an agile bunch and there were plenty of them not currently on any serious active duty that would be more or less available.

Instead, the reason the Exalt as currently in the process of turning his office upside down, was because on seeing the Khan’s missive, and specifically on remembering a letter from a fellow Ruler that he’d deemed ‘too important to deal with alongside this other stuff’, a long, half-forgotten memory had been sparked back to life about another, terrifyingly similar letter he’d received.

 “…Ah… Found it.”

His stomach sank. He’d really hoped he’d just been imagining things.

But just where he now remembered he’d put it for safe keeping (securely in a sturdy lockbox he never used, that had been pushed to the far corner of his office) was a small crisp envelope, still closed with what he recognised instantly as the personal wax seal of the Empress of Chon’sin.

‘Oh Gods…’

Chrom winced when he saw the date at the top of the letter, more than four months old. This was bad.

Already far too used to political letters, his eyes automatically skimmed over the pre-amble, the well wishes, the reminders about how valuable and important their alliance was, all the usual guff. There was a surprising amount of it, enough that he had to wonder if Say’ri had even written this herself, or if it was all pre-prepared for her, but the crux of the message, the part undoubtably written by the Empress herself, boiled down to one, very terse line.

“I am coming to fulfil my promise.”

What exactly that meant and what promise she’d made, Chrom had absolutely no clue, but that wasn’t important, they could figure that out later. Robin had been close to her during their time in the Shepherds, so he would probably have some idea, and if he didn’t and it was some kind of political obligation, then one of his advisors could surely fill in the details.

What mattered, was that Say’ri, the Empress of Chon’sin, was coming to Ylisse. And, given the months of advance notice she’d given, along with her vastly improved status, he severely doubted this was some informal catch up. She would have an entourage and would be expected to be met with one befitting royalty.

‘Okay, okay. I can get Robin to, he can arrange something with the Shepherds? And, if I get Cordelia and Frederick together, then the Palace Guards are surely sui-’

Just as Chrom was halfway through trying to panic up a plan, his eyes caught on the other vitally important part of the document, right at the very bottom under the Empresses beautifully handwritten signature.

Her estimated date of arrival.

The day after tomorrow.

“Oh shit.”

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Notes:

A/N: Dundundun! Now we finally know just what it was that had Chrom so freaked out about the letters from the previous chapter, I had a lot of fun reading through your guesses as to what was going on, some of you guys were dead on the mark and others were thinking way ahead of me, but it was all really enjoyable regardless.

Other than that, we've got Cordelia back in the picture AND Severa's now been thrown into the mix. I enjoyed writing them both, and especially writing Robin as the kind of guy brazen enough to use almost exactly the same lines on the mother as the daughter. Hopefully you found that fun too, and hopefully you're looking forward to where that's going to evolve!

And hey, we also got a lot of scenes with a whole bunch of the girls, Tharja, Lissa, Olivia, Nowi, Miriel, Maribelle and Noire, as well as cameo's for Cynthia. So hopefully you all enjoyed that, the sharp eyed among you may notice that almost all the "cameo" scenes were from the most popular results of the most recent poll I ran. That's right, not just the winner (which was Noire)! Everyone was a winner! Yay?

And, because I'm self-conscious and don't always know if the intentions I try make clear pay off

In the scene where she's dancing with Robin, Cordelia is padding her bra. That's why she's wearing such a high-cut dress, and why Robin notes that her breasts are sitting a little stiffly on her. She's still not comfortable enough around him to admit that her breastplate is a lie.

In her sequence fretting about Lissa, I'm trying to imply that Maribelle is bisexual, just like Lissa. In this story all the girls play around with each other to greater or lesser extents, but most of that is primarily driven by Robin's desires (eg. Olivia wouldn't be wanting to eat Nowi out normally, but when she's in bed with Robin alongside Nowi, she's happy to go along with any pleasure), for Lissa and Maribelle, I wanted to show that they've got a compelling interest in each other outside Robin's bed, but also, obviously, that they're not lesbians. So, thus the line about Maribelle trying not to think about a bed for three; just as Lissa had her fantasy about watching Maribelle go crazy on Robin's cock, Maribelle wants to see Lissa's most intimate expressions as she gets fucked. Hopefully that came across and made some deal of sense.

Anyhow, obviously, next time we've gotta deal with the plans for Ferox as well as Say'ri's imminent arrival in Ylisse, hopefully you're excited! How do you think it's gonna play out? What do you think is gonna happen now that Robin's gone and made out with both a mother and daughter, behind each other's backs?

As always, more information about my story statuses as well as a weekly updates and any other details can be found at:

http://jlcdavenport.blogspot.com

Chapter 18: Bonus – A Long Awaited Meeting

Notes:

Authors Note: Heyo, it’s been a long while hasn’t it? I hope no-one thought I’d abandoned this; I’ve just been chipping away at it. Mostly I’ve had to deal with other projects, I mentioned previously that I’ve stopped all my requests now so I can focus entirely on this story, and to do that obviously I had to clear my backlog out. After that I’ve been mostly working on this chapter ever since

In any case, it’s been a long while, so I hope you enjoy it! This is a chapter I’ve been looking forward to for ages, and maybe I wound up putting too much into it since I ended up having to split it into two! It’s 30k+ words as is, and that’s already getting too big. Still, I think it’s come out well, I’m fairly proud of how it looks and I hope you’ll enjoy it too.
And just as a reminder: Say’ri has a ninja retainer working with her called Kagerou. This isn’t the Kagerou from Fates, it’s just a woman that looks and acts exactly like her. Similar to Fates’s Caeldori/Rhajat/Asugi thing, but in reverse.

Bonus – A Long Awaited Meeting

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Recap: Robin returned to life a little more than 6 months after sacrificing himself to slay the Fell Dragon. However, when he returned, he found himself soon overcome with incredible lusts, desires that Lucina (his secret fiancé) was unable to entirely sate.

Over the next four months things got steadily worse for the Grandmaster and soon Robin was driven almost to the point of madness, holding back his rampaging desires, all the while knowing full well that sooner or later his willpower would give out and he’d lose control of himself entirely. With that terrible knowledge in mind, he resolved to at least make the choice of his own sanity and finally slept with Tharja.

Overwhelmed with the ensuing relief her body granted him, Robin listened attentively while the Dark Mage informed him of the truth- that in being revived he’d established dominion of the power that used to belong to Grima, power buried deep inside his bloodline. She claimed that Robin had now unlocked the true potential of his heritage and in doing so, gained both the power and instincts of a Manakete, desires far stronger than what should be contained within a human vessel. Among those desires was the most basic, primal urges, to Conquer, to Dominate and to Breed, the same callings that until now Robin had been fighting, at terrible cost to his very sanity.

Eventually he accepted that the only path forward for him, to protect his family and friends from himself, was to sate those same desires. And so, Robin set out, using his wits as a tactician and his influence as the Shepherds Grandmaster to seduce enough powerful women to satisfy even a dragon’s selfish greed. So far, he’s succeeded in having sex with Lucina, Tharja, Lissa, Olivia, Miriel, Nowi and most recently Panne.

Where we left off last time, we’d just learned Chrom’s office was an absolute disaster state and he’d completely misplaced a missive from Say’ri, informing him of her intentions to visit… all the way up until the day before she was due to arrive!

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

When Robin first looked back at himself, he believed that the turning point for him was when he’d finally sated his lusts, when he’d regained control over himself… and yet still found reasons, or perhaps excuses, to continue. He’d asked himself many times, did he do what he did for the sake of his friends, to help them? Or was that just another excuse of his, did he only see the ways to make them happy that he wanted to see? Everyone seemed happier being with him, and being his, so was it truly wrong? Was he adding to his crimes, or lessening them?

In the end, his questions became moot, because his true turning point was a little further ahead.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Say’ri hadn’t thought much of Robin when she’d first met him, so long ago now, in that small windswept Valmese harbour. She’d recognised him instantly as the Lead Tactician or Strategist for the Ylissean Alliance, from the way he’d been standing in the midst of the troops sieging the port, personally directing them through the chaotic streets as they’d finished off the last of the Valmese forces and secured their beachhead.

But she’d seen many such men in her time, and she’d only bothered to take note of the striking colour of his hair and the strangeness of his well-worn coat. If anything, he’d only given her the impression of being a surprisingly scruffy man to be standing next to His Radiance the Exalt of Ylisse.

And that, of course, had been the man Say’ri had been truly nervous to meet.

Exalt Chrom of Ylisse, the famous leader of a seemingly miraculous army and a man who seemed to have defied even logic itself just to stand on the shores of Valm as he had that day.

For someone like her, who’d been working in desperation with the embattled and fractured resistance army, every whisper of news about the Ylissean Prince and his Shepherds had been enough to fill her heart with wonder. While she found herself outmatched at every turn and struggled just to make even the smallest foothold against the seemingly impossible “Invincible Army” of Valm, to hear the stories told about the tiny force from that famously peaceful nation ripping directly through the heart of Plegia and humbling even the King of that powerful nation had been an inspiration like nothing else. Their situations had always seemed so similar, both fighting to save their country and both having lost family to the wars thrust upon them. But, while Say’ri’s losses had continued unabated, until her heart felt too heavy to even beat, Chrom had clawed back victory even after the loss of his own Capital.

She’d dreamed many times of their meeting.

And then, equally, after learning of the Tyrant Emperor’s cruel greed, she’d dreaded every new piece of news she’d heard of the upcoming Valmese invasion to the Eastern Continent.

After already having what felt like every last thing she cared for torn away, it had seemed like fate had found one last way to twist the knife in the Princess’s soul, that after losing everything else, so to would she lose the small, unrequited kinship she’d felt towards a man she’d never met. And, of course, she was just as painfully impotent as ever, being completely unable to stop or do anything at all to impede the forces as they prepared for their conquest. In the days following the loss of her homeland, Say’ri rarely rested enough to dream, but after that news it had felt like her nights were filled with nothing but images of that small, brave group being crushed under the same relentless march that had trampled through her own country.

She hadn’t believed it the first time she’d heard the hushed whispers of a staggering, unprecedented Valmese defeat. It wasn’t the first time she’d heard such things and each time had proven just as conclusively wrong as the last. But the rumours had swirled again and again, each quieter and with followed with more furtive glances than the last, as if even knowing of such a thing had put a price on the speaker’s head. Ten thousand men had been dispatched East, to secure a staging point that would begin with Ferox and end with the complete subjugation of the entire continent… and now, not a single one seemed to be accounted for. The army had been dashed and, with nowhere to flee or hide, had been captured or killed in its entirety. The finest men of Walhart’s Vanguard, men whose valour was to be rewarded with fine Ylissean territories and their pick of the surviving noblewomen, were now rotting in shallow graves, or serving prison labour in Ferox’s employ.

If a thousand years had passed over her, Say’ri would never forget the moment she’d finally confirmed that news. But no matter how often she’d thought afterwards, she couldn’t remember anything from the rest of the day, it was all lost in her daze as she’d walked through the town unseeing, her mind already a thousand miles away.

After fighting for so long without any kind of hope, to feel a whisper of belief suddenly sparked within her chest once again had left the usually stoic princess lost for words.

It had seemed like a dream. An impossible fantasy. A fluke that could only have come from some ridiculous chance or impossible event, something never to be repeated again… but, it had been followed with news that the Exalt and his Shepherds were crossing the ocean, that the Eastern Continent had forged an alliance in response and were coming all the way to Valm itself, to answer blood with blood.

But, as Say’ri had known all too well, the Conqueror’s strength was unquestioned and unchallenged.

No sooner had those whispers begun to spread throughout the continent than they’d been answered with more news; that a second invasion force was being prepared, one even greater than the last was to be launched in response to this irredeemable defiance. With a wave of his hand, every port city on the eastern cost of Valm had been emptied of both ships and soldiers. And once more, the unstoppable army was to engrave its mark on the world.

The resistance had been as painfully ineffectual as ever. No matter how much Say’ri had glared or yelled, no matter the rank she pulled, the honour she reminded them of or the concessions she offered, they had no men in position to act and no way to hinder the Empire’s machinations in the slightest. In the end, by the time the armada launched, the Princess of Chon’sin was as humbled and irrelevant as ever. No matter how much she wished it, the only help she’d been able to offer toward the foreign soldiers that had given her the first light of hope since the day her brother betrayed her, was to personally infiltrate and torch a single Galleon before it left port. An utterly meaningless effort. Insulting to even be considered a token gesture.

And then, to her staggered disbelief, the impossible had happened again.

Within weeks the entire continent was ablaze with even more unbelievable news… that all contact with the Valmese armada had been lost. Whispers travelled faster than even the Valmese enforcers could hope to suppress and speculation was rife, a million different stories filled the taverns, but no-one could truly say if the navy had been lost, pushed off course, or just somehow delayed. The single fact that had been certain, the thing that everyone knew, was that the Ylissean Alliance’s sails had been spotted only scant kilometres from Valmese waters, and their ships were fast closing in on the coast.

That had finally been what’d spurred Say’ri to throw herself into unabashed action. While the resistance leaders continued to hem and haw, and worry about the nature of this new “threat”, she’d thrown caution to the wind, abandoning her allies to their fence-sitting, verified the direction the Ylisseans were aiming for their landing, and silently infiltrated the fortified port-city herself.

And it was there, heart in her mouth, that she’d seen a sight beyond anything she’d imagined. The miracle she’d hoped for, for so many years, played out before her eyes as the Ylissean advance, and the Shepherds in particular, made short work of the so-called invincible army. It was only a small detachment of force that’d been able to arrive at the port in time to be sure, a long way from the finest soldiers, and it wasn’t as if Walhart had never lost skirmishes or engagements on his way to a greater victory… but to see his men routed and fleeing as their fortifications were overrun and their leaders cast down by a completely untouched Ylissean strike force… To even find herself rescued by and fighting alongside those same soldiers had been like something from the dreams she’d almost wanted to give up on.

It had been Robin leading the squad that had pulled her from her predicament, cornered on the edge of town after her cover was blown and his own companions she’d then fought beside for the short remainder of the battle.

But even so, and even without truly intending to, her gaze had fallen irrevocably past him and towards the Exalt himself. The man at the head of their forces, engaging the greatest bulk of the defending army and defeating their General himself. Exalt Chrom, the Legendary Hero of Ylisse, Commander of the Shepherds, and a man who seemed to make a habit of doing the impossible.

“Haah…” Letting out a sigh, the Empress broke out from her meditation, pulling herself momentarily from her memories as she looked out towards the vast, green land quickly filling the horizon. The closer she got to Ylisse, the more those memories came to her, stronger and more vividly, until it seemed sometimes that all she could focus on was the time they spent together in those days.

She could clearly recall the feelings of hope, admiration and forlorn expectation she’d held towards the Exalt in those days. And while, she still held him in the absolute highest esteem, just thinking about it… it all felt so very silly. Walking past the shoddy-looking Tactician to entrust her dreams to the Exalt, she almost had to laugh, looking back now and seeing how quickly that had begun to change.

Within the first few battles she’d fought alongside the Ylissean army she’d understood. Chrom was a gifted leader, a brave man and an almost peerless fighter. He was someone who was always destined to go down as a massive figure in history books, the driving force that had kept their Alliance together as well as the man who’d forged the Shepherds into the incredible force they’d come to represent.

Leading any other army, for any other country, Chrom would have been just as magnificent and earned himself just as much glory.

But Ylisse, and the Shepherds were an almost insignificant military power, a force that faced only impossible odds. And they overcame them, they won, because of Robin. It was his cunning, his strategies and more than anything else, his tremendous effort that had led them to victory time and again. It was the Tactician who they entrusted their lives to, and it was him who had always kept them safe, no matter how incredible the enemies they’d fought were.

In the weeks that followed her joining, in all the battles, skirmishes and missions that followed, Say’ri had seen first-hand the sight of him fighting alongside the others in combat, risking his life just as readily on the frontline. And then, when everyone else was relaxing, training, or celebrating their victory, she’d seen Robin throwing himself desperately into his planning- sometimes locking himself in his tent for days at a time, working through his plans, counterplans, strategies, feints and ruses until he was confident he could face every member of their army and tell them he would bring them home alive. It was something she’d never seen before. And something that had struck an indescribably chord within her. For a woman who’d spent so long trying to work with a scattered and directionless resistance, and whose comrades had often been little more than opportunists and fair-weather friends… to see someone so fully dedicating themselves to the path towards the Valmese Empire’s defeat -no matter the reason he had for it- it was impossible she wouldn’t have been moved. 

Say’ri had lost everything when Walhart invaded. Her home, her people, her parents, her beloved brother and even her respect. For thousands of years Chon’sin had been a fiercely proud, independent nation, and then in a matter of months, with the defeat of the army, the defection of Yen’fay and the slaughter of the royal family, it had been subjugated and relegated to nothing more than just another jewel in the Conqueror’s crown.

For years, for every single day afterwards she’d dedicated herself to whatever resistance she could muster and to the vain hope of fighting back against this terrible fate. For years, she’d suffered nothing but endless defeats and frustrating setbacks.

It was the Shepherds that had finally granted her the strength to take back what had been stolen from her.

And, in the weeks and months since her joining, she’d found herself watching from an increasingly short distance as Robin worked with just the same intensity as her pain and guilt demanded of her. All to make the dream she’d almost given up on a reality.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Southern Port – Ylisse

It wasn’t until her ship was docked in Ylissean waters that the first shivers of nervousness finally caught up to Say’ri.

Her promise and that man had lingered in her thoughts frequently ever since she’d left. Many times, her mind had drifted back to these shores and countless times she’d imagined this day. But now, at long last, rather than a dream, or idle fantasy, she was truly here… back within the ancient land of Anri and the Hero King. Back in the heartland of the Shepherds, of her dearest companions and…

Her heart slammed against the walls of her chest with such thunder that, for a moment, she was scared that everyone around her could surely hear it.

‘Breathe. Calm yourself. Now, slowly.’

Thankfully, she was able to hide her shaking hands within the long sleeves of the extravagant purple and gold kimono she was wearing and, wrapped up head-to-toe in multiple layers as she was, she could hide any traces of her unease as long as she could manage to keep her face straight. With all the time she’d spent in exile, she’d grown increasingly accustomed to the light, practical dresses and battle gear she’d worn. It had taken quite some time to adjust to the incredibly formal, regal clothing that befitted her station these days, but for now at least, she was thankful for it.

But now, the hour that’d lived so long in her thoughts was finally upon her.

Closing her eyes for just a moment, Say’ri welled up her courage once again. Of all the battlefields she’d thrown herself into through so many years, this was the first that drew her hesitation.

She stepped forward all the same.

The long, beautiful robes hid her shaking feet and a slow, measured pace covered the nervousness swirling through her.

“Behold!” her criers roared, the instant her painstakingly presented ponytail -raised aloft in a six-pronged golden hairpin- appeared over the side of the ship, earning an answering cheer from the rest of her people as she stepped slowly along the gangplank, “Her Imperial Majesty! The liberator of Valm and heart of her people! Empress Say’ri, the Phoenix!”

An honour guard of Ylissean soldiers had been prepared to greet her arrival, standing flanked on either side of the street, their armour sparkled so keenly she was sure that even Frederick must be proud of them. 

The Shepherds, her beloved and sorely missed companions, stood in their place at the head of either column. Decidedly, although expectedly, less disciplined than the royal soldiers, many of them broke formation to smile or wave over to her. Nowi especially looked about three seconds from turning into a Dragon to fly around overhead before Nah’s hand began squeezing tight around her mother’s wrist.

And, at the far end of the street Chrom stood patiently in place, awaiting her. His face was fixed forwards and posture firm, watching placidly as she slowly descended to Ylissean soil, meeting both it and him for the first time, not as his soldier, but as a foreign Empress.

He looked just as handsome as she’d expected. Ylissean royalty were famous for wearing their years well, perhaps due to their ties with the Divine Dragon, and Chrom was no exception. All the same though, the sight of him was almost enough to test Say’ri’s composure to its limits! Chrom was a trusted ally and close friend, she’d seen him in all sorts of different states in the time they’d spent together; in his normal clothes, in his battle-gear, in heavy armour, stripped half-naked for training, and once she’d even seen him in his nightwear after a late-night alarm had awoken their whole camp.

But she’d never once seen him like this! Draped head to toe in layer after layer of thick, heavy, robes along with ostentatious medallions and a huge fur-lined cloak that reached down even past his feet. And, somehow, he was even wearing a cravat tied up tight around his neck, adorned with what could only be the most expensive and luxurious silken tie she’d ever laid eyes on. In every respect, the man who usually slung off to battle with barely a care in the world, was done up in clothing no less regal than her own.

And, Say’ri suspected, also clothing that was no less stifling in the current Ylissean summer. Her sympathies went out to the man.

To the Exalt’s left stood his wife, Sumia, dressed in an equally impressive raiment but smiling far more openly despite it. And, as always, at his right was-

‘!’

Say’ri’s heart shuddered in her chest and her legs wavered. Forcefully keeping her face from betraying her emotions, she quickly cut that thought down, keeping her eyes instead firmly focussed forwards.

If she’d been a little less pre-occupied and paying more attention to her surroundings, the Empress may have noticed several very surprised looks spreading across the faces of her former comrades as she walked past them. Her extravagant clothing was one cause of the befuddled looks, of course, while they’d all known she was a Princess and the heiress to the throne, to see the warrior-maiden they’d all known walking unarmed and displaying such open beauty was a hard thing to reconcile.

But what truly left them stunned, was when their gazes took in the sight of the Empresses new look, there was no possible way any of them could fail to notice the unexpected sight of the Empress’s surprisingly prominent chest. In place of the wash-board flat chest they’d always known from their friend, her huge round curves were stretching the fabric of her kimono out beyond what even the multiple layers of exceedingly modest clothing could possibly downplay.

An audible gulp spread simultaneously through several of the male Shepherds. While Say’ri was certainly short of the outright supremacy that Tiki or Tharja held in that domain, she was at least equal to Sumia or Noire. Double-takes turned into triple-checks and more than one man simply held in place, staring in awed disbelief… the fields that all had thought practically fallow, were apparently even more bountiful than Olivia’s.

And, if the Empress had glanced to her right, she would have seen the rare spectacle of the Ylissean Wing Commander’s proud discipline break, as Cordelia’s hand drifted to her own (mostly hollow) breastplate, and her face went pale with a look of muted betrayal. The lance held in the Wing Commander’s other hand creaked with the strain being suddenly placed around it, Cordelia had always felt something of a quiet kinship towards the other seemingly similarly proportioned woman, it had been a comfort when surrounded by so many other exceedingly feminine beauties in the Shepherd’s ranks. And now she was made suddenly aware that all her feelings had been one-way.

With the sash tied around her waist, showing that Say’ri was just as slender in peacetime as she’d been in the war, and the turn of her round hips clear even despite the thick, ceremonial garb the Empress radiated a sense of composed and regal beauty as she strode carefully through the portside streets to the head of the reception. Soft but unyielding, beautiful but pure, serious but gentle- no matter how they’d once known her or how much time they’d spent beside her, a sense of distance was now felt between her from the Shepherds as they looked to her now. As if she’d moved to a place beyond their reach.

“Hey! Say’ri! Long-time no see!”

And, just a single moment after that thought began to settle in their minds, the very sense of it was instantly destroyed as Chrom obliterated the atmosphere that had been built up around with his overly casual greeting.

A sharp glare from the attendants walking in place behind her quickly stopped the Exalt in his tracks and with a cough he made a second attempt.

“Er, *ahem*, that is to say… Ylisse welcomes you, Empress Say’ri,” he proclaimed instead, spreading his arms wide in open greeting, “And the Shepherds as well, it’s been far too long since we’ve enjoyed your company.”

“And to you too, Your Radiance,” she replied, thankful that her voice came out clearly despite how dry her throat seemed, “It is to my gr… to my…”

Her words faltered and her composure with it.

Her steps became faster, before she could stop herself.

Now that she was finally standing before them, her resolve collapsed and she couldn’t keep herself from turning from the Exalt to the man standing at his side.

“A-Ahha,” she gasped open-mouthed, reaching up to cup his face with trembling hands, as if fearing he would slip through her very fingers, “R-Robin… By Naga’s grace. It’s true… It’s really true… y-you really are alive…”

She’d heard the news, of course. And then all the tales that followed in the wake of such an unprecedented event.

But to see him now, just centimetres away from her… To feel his warmth under her touch, to feel his breath caressing her skin and to see the same kind smile on his lips…

Empress or not, she felt suddenly a million miles away from any of her responsibilities. She felt like a young woman, in exile of her country, wrapped up once more in the simple happiness of being around the Tactician who’d become so important to her. Her eyes shimmered weakly and her body began glowing with a familiar soft and comforting heat.

The time since Grima’s final defeat had been hard for her, difficult and busy, and endlessly lonely in her station once Lady Tiki had retreated for to the Mila Tree. But as she stroked her fingers over the cheeks of the man who’d disappeared before her eyes, it felt like a part of her heart that’d been chilled numb for almost a year slowly began to thaw.

His hands clasped softly over hers, squeezing them gently as he lowered them to waist height, “I missed you too, Empress. I’m heartened to see you looking so well.”

Holding onto her hands and feeling the soft, secret trembles running from her fingers, Robin was made immediately aware of just how much he’d taken the acceptance of his return for granted. Most of the Shepherds were based in Ylisse or not far afield, and the others like Virion had made short trips in the months since he’d come back. Having been far too pre-occupied with everything else that was going on with him since his return, he’d barely spared a thought for what it must have been like for someone like Say’ri- someone who was far too busy to simply visit Ylisse on a whim, and had only stories about his miraculous survival to go on.

The moment passed and her composure returned. Unlinking their hands, her fingertips dragged over hers for just a moment before she finally let him go.

“Welcome back, Robin.”

“It’s good to be back.”

“And, I thank you for your kind greeting as well Exalt. I am greatly pleased to stand once more in Ylisse’s generous hospitality, and I have always prayed that the bonds between our two nations would be everlasting.”

“Of course,” Chrom nodded, before pausing a moment, looking past the Chon’sinese woman to the attendants standing to attention behind her, “Although, I’m surprised not to see Ti- er, Lady Tiki alongside you, did she not come as well?”

Left unsaid was the equally likely alternative that the respected Manakete had been left inside the ship, splayed out gracelessly in her bed and refusing any attempts at waking.

Robin perked up at the question, having been wondering exactly the same thing while marvelling at the Empress’s entrance. Ever since the vision he’d seen after the first time he’d taken Nowi into his arms, he’d been left with many feelings as well as a whole host of questions towards the ancient Dragon.

Say’ri shook her head, “Unfortunately not. Her absence is felt strongly I assure you, but the Voice exhausted herself greatly while among us. I believe she was troubled especially in having to adjust to the urgency of the human flow of life. She sequestered herself atop the Mila Tree some months ago and has been residing there ever since.”

“I see.” Chrom nodded.

“That’s… a shame… But not surprising I suppose. I hope she’d alright then.” Robin agreed, with just a minor pang of disappointment.

“I am sure the news of your return will delight her when she does re-join us. I daresay you will likely find yourself playing host to her almost as soon as I deliver the news.”

They all laughed politely at the light joke, equally unexpected from the stoic woman, and Sumia used that break in the conversation to step in and move things along.

“Alright, well, I hardly think Say’ri wants to be standing out here in the streets all day. Dear, why don’t you show her to the accommodation you’ve prepared?”   

There was very little forced formality in the Queen’s words, but somehow that suited her more that way. Even Chrom noted that none of the Empresses attendants so much as raised an eyebrow at how their mistress was addressed that time. Still, he wasn’t about to complain about a chance to get out from some of these oppressive robes, especially with the way the sun was currently beating down on him.

“Yeah, that sounds like a plan. Well, Empress, if you will?”

Receiving a small nod of agreement, the Exalt turned and fell into step alongside his wife, leaving her walking in time with them alongside the Grandmaster.

‘Steady.’

Say’ri’s façade was forcefully maintained. Her heart slammed against the walls of her chest so violently that she could scarcely hear a word of the conversation drifting around between them, nor follow exactly where she was led. But, all too soon, they seemed to have arrived and the arrangements dispersed, Robin stepped away from her side once more.

The building they’d come to was adequate at best. It was the best accommodation Chrom had been able to wrangle in the small port city on such abrupt notice, but he couldn’t help but wince under the disapproving sneers on the faces of her retainers. Yet another reminder to organise his desk more carefully. Thankfully, the Empress in question seemed to take no issue with the arrangements. If nothing else, he could console himself with the fact that it was a lot better than many of the places they’d stayed while on the road.

“Very well,” shaking everyone from their disparate thoughts, Say’ri welled up her courage and stepped forward into the unknown once again. Turning on the spot, she addressed the legion of handmaidens, guards, and attendants all following a respectful distance further down the street, “That will be enough for now. You may leave us.”

The collective shock was palpable. These people had followed her all the way across the ocean, they were here to support her and to keep her safe. None of them could possibly have expected to be dismissed so abruptly the moment they arrived on foreign shores.

“M-Milady, Empress..?”

“As you were informed; you were brought here to see to my needs and my safety. That is no longer a concern, I am now with the Shepherds, and under their protection once again. I will send word of the arrangements for departure in a few weeks, until then, consider your time your own.”

The shock, expectedly, didn’t diminish at all in light of such a brief explanation.

And, as the confusion rose to a fever pitch, the air at the Empresses feet shimmered and a woman who wasn’t there a moment ago, suddenly was.

With long black hair held up in a ponytail down her back and a fringe that completely covered one of her eyes she appeared in place, bent on one knee before her mistress. It was a position that, given her choice of light and loosely open clothing, gave a rather breath-taking view right down her own equally massive cleavage. For any of the men lucky enough to be standing to Say’ri’s back, it was a warmly received sight.

“My Lady Empress.”

Various questions were inferred in that simple statement and, at that, Say’ri hesitated. She hadn’t intended to bring anyone along with her, the promise she’d made was a private thing, something for her and him alone…

…But, she was well aware how convenient it was having her ninja around, and she, at least, would be unobtrusive. And, the Empress noted, she was also very pointedly holding the bag that Say’ri had packed away in secret away from her retainers. The same bag she’d been intending to send someone to gather from her quarters for her.

“Kagerou will accompany me, of course,” she decided after a moment, “A bodyguard is unnecessary, but she will act as my attendant.”

“As you will it.”

The air shimmered once more and the woman disappeared just as silently as she’d appeared. As if she’d never even been there at all, not a single trace of the woman remained, even the dust on the flagstones was undisturbed. For those un-used to such antics, it was quite the spectacle, something that left more than a few among the crowd doing a double take about what they’d just seen. And, that at least seemed enough to have interrupted the arguments being raised, so Say’ri swiftly seized the momentum.

“There will be no danger, these people are my comrades. I consider myself a Shepherd no less than any of them, our bonds will be lifelong.”

“Of course,” Robin added his agreement.

“You’ll always be one of us,” Chrom nodded, his support echoed by several other notes of agreement coming from the other Shepherds. Whatever still remained of the gulf they’d imagined between them, quickly vanished.

“Very well, let this be an order then,” she continued as she saw the legion of unhappy faces among her people, “If I am betrayed, then give the throne to my eldest cousin. The decision of going to war with Ylisse in revenge for such will rest with him. I command you to consider me dead under such an eventuality, and to pay no ransom.”

Their faces were no less pleased by that order, but her commands held a note of finality. She was the Empress and, in this, she would brook no disagreement.

At length, her handmaidens, attendants, guards, assistants and all other retainers bowed their heads and withdrew. Nodding acknowledgement at their departure, Say’ri finally turned on her heel and followed the rest of the Shepherds as they made their way inside the hotel.

Chrom, having gone ahead to keep from getting wrapped up in any of this, was left staring at the whole display with something between jealousy and amazement. He was delighted by her sentiments and (warranted, he hoped) trust in him. But even his admiration was dwarfed by his shock at the extent of her gall! To actually dismiss all her retainers, so she could take a proper vacation… He’d dreamed of doing something like that, but he’d never actually built up the nerve to try it, it was irresponsible, it was reckless, it was the kind of thing he’d expect Basilio to do!

Out of the corner of his eye he could see Frederick twitching in visible panic- no doubt absolutely terrified that such an example might have him try following the Empress’s lead.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Despite himself, Robin couldn’t help but almost sag with relief when he stepped into the building, away from all the various guards, onlookers, attendants and the ostentatious ceremonies implicit with welcoming a foreign dignity to their shores.

Unexpectedly though, just as he was catching himself from giving out that reaction, he turned to see the Chon’sin Empress wearing the exact same expression of visible relaxation as she followed them inside. Her proud and collected visage washed away like a sandcastle against the morning tide the very moment the door swung shut behind her.

“I believe I shall take advantage of this opportunity.” She declared to nobody in particular, walking past the assembled Shepherds and towards one of the already prepared rooms across the foyer.

“Kagerou?”

“At your side, my lady.”

With nothing more than a shimmer in the air to signify her arrival, the black-haired woman appeared once more before their eyes and this time fell dutifully into step behind her mistress, following her into the open room and sealing the door after them.

Suddenly left absent from the woman at the centre of this entire situation, the Shepherds were left, slightly awkwardly, bereft of anything specific to do. So, with nothing to do but wait for her return, they simply milled around the foyer, speaking in slightly subdued tones and catching each other up on anything that’d been missed in their daily lives. Chrom managed to remove some of his various layers, particularly the heavy cloak that was well out of season in this heat and successfully offload them onto Frederick. Severa caused a small fight, Sumia knocked over a vase, and Vaike drew a moments ire from Cherche after his gaze lingered on one of the maids for a little too long. But, for the most part, more than anything else, they simply took the time to mentally adjust themselves to the changes in their long-time friend and ally, how completely different she’d become in her new role, in everything from her appearance to her demeanour.

“Fie! ‘Tis a great relief to finally have that done with!”

And then, right as they’d almost wrapped their heads around it, their entire group was sent reeling once again when the door opened and this time it was unmistakably Say’ri who rushed out (in a careless, excited bound) to greet them.

“Ah!” Robin found himself smiling even more than he’d expected, as the warm delight of seeing a beloved friend fully washed over him, “Say’ri.”

The elaborate hairpin was gone, leaving her hair tied up in a basic ponytail and falling over her shoulders in silken black waves. Adorning her head instead was the same familiar headband they’d seen so frequently from the former Princess. So too had her extravagant, multi-layered clothes disappeared. Instead the Chon’sinese woman was dressed in a simple, waist-length purple kimono with light strips of cream-white fabric tied around her hips and hanging slightly-immodestly down her legs in her usual fashion.

Her kimono was as tightly closed as ever, but from the slight glimpse of white cloth he could make out (now that he could guess what he must be looking for) Robin guessed that her surprisingly immense bust had been tied town once again, because from outward appearances, her chest seemed just as slight as it always had during the wars, leaving no hints at all of the heavy curves that’d been stretching out her royal robes just minutes earlier. Of course, it was wonderful to see his friend looking just like he’d remembered, and smiling just as warmly as he’d missed from her… but all the same, as a man, Robin couldn’t help but feel a small twang of disappointment at that last change to her attire. Still, even that more lascivious side of his nature was more than satiated by the sight of Say’ri’s gorgeous long legs back on full display. Smooth, slender and just very lightly tanned, seeing them bared before him once more left several enticing thoughts racing through the Tactician’s increasingly deviant mind.

Unsurprisingly, just like his reaction, the Empress’s now much more familiar appearance was greeted warmly by almost all their company. Lucina’s face remained cautiously neutral as her eyes flicked between her and Robin, Cordelia’s cheeks were ghostly pale and she was swaying in place as if bordering on fainting, and a dangerously excited look was briefly shared between both Lissa and Tharja as their eyes also flicked between Say’ri and Robin. And, for her part, standing rigidly in place behind her mistress, while holding a bag stuffed full with the ceremonial kimono, Kagerou’s controlled ninja expression gave just the barest hint of exasperation at the whole display- especially at the sight of her Empress loosening her practiced demeanour.

“You got changed already? Now that’s some smart thinking!” Chrom laughed, eagerly supporting her new look as he fingered his own robes, more than a little jealous he couldn’t do likewise, “I wish I’d thought to bring a spare set of clothes myself.”

“Aye. But, ‘tis wonderful to see you dressed up all the same Chrom. Fie, if naught else, I’m sure your wife appreciates the change at least.”

Sumia appeared about ready to say something that would leave him dressed up like a this more often, so the Exalt quickly moved the conversation along, “What exactly would you like to do from here then? We were originally planning to stay here overnight, since we thought you’d be exhausted from the journey, but it looks like you’re set to travel straight away?”

It wasn’t hard to notice that rather than wearing some set of comfortable clothes, Say’ri was dressed almost the same as how she had when they’d been on the road, including the same long, sturdy boots.

“So, it’s your call, but if you’re feeling up to it, we could set off earlier and host you in Ylisstol instead? It’d be more familiar to you at least.”

“Aye, it would be, and I am certainly fine to travel… but, to Ylisstol? I… I have seen your capital already, and, forgive me Chrom, but I did not come here with diplomatic intentions this time.”

“Er.”

Chrom winced, looking lost and feeling suddenly thrown to the wilds. Say’ri had journeyed a long way to be here, and had put aside all her Imperial duties to do so, but so far, even in the letter she’d sent him to notify about her arrival, there’d been no actual indication of just why she had done so. It was a completely reasonable confusion, and one that was echoed between all the attending Shepherds.

All but one.

“Of course not,” Robin interrupted softly, stepping towards the Empress with a gentle smile. He’d wondered just the same himself all this way here, but now, seeing her after all their time apart, he knew it was just as he suspected. His thoughts clicked into place, connecting the dots, and his heart glowed with warmth as he understood her intentions, “You came to see me, didn’t you? So I could show you around Ylisse.” 

An answering smile blossomed on Say’ri’s face, but it was hesitant and only slight. As if unable to stop herself, her eyes slid from the Tactician to the bluenette princess standing in the back of the room. Her breath hitched and she slid herself a single step backwards.

Not missing a single heartbeat from her mistress, Kagerou tensed at the sight and her eyes narrowed to a point. The ninja had great care for her Empress and an even greater devotion, to stand silently at her side even when she believed that the woman she respected so greatly ad come all this way just to be hurt deeper than ever was no easy duty.

The moment passed, “Aye,” Say’ri nodded, her face settling calmly into a placid expression as she maintained a sombre distance from the Grandmaster, “I have never forgotten the words we spoke. ’Tis just as you say, I have come here to fulfil our promise.”

Not quite sure what to make of her cautious reaction in light of their previous close friendship, Robin simply leaned back and forced an easy-going laugh, “Well then it’s settled! The first place I wanted to show you was Ylisstol anyway. And, don’t say you’ve seen it already the last time you were here, I scarcely saw you outside our barracks in those days!”

Her cheeks dusted pink and her smile eased, and she didn’t deny his words, so he pressed on.

“There’s a lot more of the city to see than that, it’s considered the jewel of Ylisse for a reason. I should know really, I was no better, I’ve only really properly seen the city since I came back.”

“Aye. ‘Tis as you say, very well then.”

“So, we’ll work on whatever schedule you’d prefer but if you’re good enough to travel, why don’t we set off soon? I can’t imagine you’ll want to spend the day being cooped up after being stuck on a boat for that long.”

Her breathing quickened and her body let out an almost imperceptible tremble. Her reaction was quickly schooled away, and after a moment calmness reigned once more.

“As expected, you speak wisely. ‘Tis well true, I’m eager for a chance to walk more than a few paces. If it can be arranged, then let us be off immediately.”

Robin grinned at her one last time before turning back towards Chrom and arranging their orders. If he’d been looking, he might have seen the way her fingers twitched as he stepped away, but he was as efficient as ever, and within minutes their company was on the move once again.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Two Years Ago – Valm

The first thing Say’ri reclaimed was her religion. For a woman who’d lost everything, it was the lifeline that filled her heart with something beyond revenge.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, given their heritage, Tiki was close to Lucina and Chrom, frequently going out of her way to spend time with either of them. And she’d equally formed a fast friendship with the other two Manaketes, their shared bond in a world surrounded by humans couldn’t be understated.

But, as her closest companion, Say’ri couldn’t have possibly missed that above even above the royals of Marth’s lineage, her fellow Dragons or anyone else, the Voice seemed fascinated by Robin, their inscrutable Tactician. Spending as much time with her as she did, Say’ri was frequently witness to Tiki inventing excuses to needing to speak to the man, bumping into him in their daily duties, or even simply meandering their walks around their camp towards his tent with no greater purpose.

Having only occasionally had a specific reason to speak to Robin herself, prior to Tiki’s recruitment, Say’ri had previously considered him a rather difficult man to approach, even despite his friendly demeanour and kind reputation. Whenever she saw him, if he wasn’t up to his eyeballs in planning, he was with already busy with Chrom or Lucina. And, in the rare occasions he was away from either of those, then Tharja greedily monopolised his time, or Lissa pulled him around with her if the Sorceress was somehow distracted. It was those last moments, the sight of him being urged towards the blonde Princess’s tent, that always seemed to bring the most complicated expressions to the Voice’s face. But no matter how she asked, Tiki never explained, so Say’ri couldn’t begin to guess as to the cause of that.

As it was, Tiki always approached the Tactician repeatedly and unreservedly, and always had requested that he do exactly the same to her, ever since the first day she’d joined their company. So, as the Voice’s self-appointed guardian and directly-appointed friend, Say’ri had found herself quickly growing accustomed to the man’s presence as well.

And, soon enough, she’d wound up forming her own unexpectedly close friendship with him. Before long it felt like almost any time she wasn’t around the Voice, she was spending time with Robin instead; she trained him in the blade, he tutored her in foreign economics, she taught him how to cook, he refreshed her dormant skills in arithmetic and logic. And, when neither of them had the energy or focus for anything meaningful, she would simply regale him with tales of the world as she knew it, helping fill in his missing knowledge with stories of her beloved homeland, everything from their legends, to their culture, to their geography or anything else that sprang to mind.

It wasn’t anything she’d ever intended, but somehow once she’d started telling him about Chon’sin, the stories had rushed from her like water from a dam that’d been split open. He was an attentive listener and after being so miserably lonely for so long, it was a surprising comfort to talk to someone with an open and unabashed interest in the land she’d been driven away from, the country that meant so much to her. He wasn’t humouring her, or putting up with her out of sympathy, never once did she feel like she was simply licking her wounds. And before she’d even become aware of it, those simple conversations over so many different days, had left her heart warmed with a feeling of peace she’d almost forgotten since Walhart’s invasion.

Before long, she’d found herself secretly relishing the Tactician’s company as much as the Voice openly did.

Of course, that wasn’t to say that he made things particularly easy for her!

“Fie!” Say’ri fumed, stomping around the tent she shared with the ancient manakete and glaring at the still fluttering flaps following his most recent departure, “I swear! ‘Tis abominable! That man has no sense of respect at all!”

“Does it really bother you so much?” Tiki laughed, looking back over her shoulder with not even the barest trace of offence as she tied the tent back closed.

Folding her arms, the princess let out a heated sigh, her answer arriving only several moments later, “Nay… Not so much anymore. I suppose I have grit my teeth at his actions so often that they barely arouse surprise at all these days. But, Lady Tiki, you indulge him too much! You really must not entertain such, such questions as those, it’s beyond rea- it’s like he treats you with no reverence at all!”

“Mhmm,” the manakete hummed a happy agreement as she flopped gracelessly down into a pile of pillows, “You’re right. That’s one of the things I like so much about him. One of many really.”

Say’ri’s frown depend, but Tiki wasn’t looking at her.

“All the Shepherds are very kind to me, and it’s wonderful to be around Nowi and her daughter, I haven’t enjoyed the company of others like me in a very, very long time. But, when I’m with the others, it’s like they can’t help but see me as a link to their Goddess, and it leaves them unsure how they should act around me, even young Nah gets caught up in it on occasion.

“I get enough of that from you already Say’ri, despite our friendship. I’m grateful that Robin, at least, has stopped with all that. I’ve told you before, in the old days, Mar-Mar and his companions never treated me as anything other than one of their comrades, I was just another friend to them, and I prefer that feeling so very much.”

Say’ri sighed again, this time in contrition. They’d had similar discussions to this before, many times before, and logically she completely understood that Tiki wanted to only be her friend… but when the immortal child of your Goddess say such a thing, it was no minor request!

“Aye. You’ve mentioned before that Robin reminds you of Ylisse’s Hero-King. I must admit though, from the paintings I’ve seen of the man, I struggle to see the resemblance.”

Tiki laughed again, but this time it was a warm laugh, filled deep with treasured memories, both of the present and the distant past.

“That’s because he doesn’t resemble him at all! Not in appearance or even in personality. Mar-Mar was a leader and an inspired commander, he was quick to action and always eager to do only what his heart told him what was right. Of everyone I’ve met, Lucina is probably the closet match to him in any of those regards.”

“Tis likely she’d be overjoyed to hear such a thing.”

“Robin is a lot more… considered. Both in good ways, and in bad. He’s clearly more comfortable following Chrom’s lead than taking charge himself. He’s a man who always wants contingencies to his contingences, and you must have seen for yourself how excited he gets anytime he outwits or out-manoeuvres the enemy commander’s we’ve met.”

Say’ri paused. She hadn’t seen that at all. In truth, she rarely took the time to appraise him so closely. Still, she knew without doubt just how important his strategies were, both to himself and to all of them. They were his lifeline in this world, the thing that he clung to when he marched off to terrifying battle after horrifying foe, they were the culmination of his belief that if he worked hard enough, if he did everything he could, then he could keep the people he cared for safe. It was a dangerous mindset, a confidence that balanced on a knifes-edge, but it was an honourable one and one she respected deeply… just as deeply as she wished to never have to see him deal with the reality of his planning not being enough.

“Robin is a man who would do the wrong things for the right reasons. I believe that he could make choices that Mar-Mar would never accept, and I know that thought scares him. He knows what he’s capable of, that’s why he entrusts so much of himself to Chrom,” more than one Shepherd had talked in hushed whispers of the nightmares they’d had following their battle at sea, of the screams they’d heard as the Valmese fleet burned before them, and the sounds that had followed them as thousands of men floundered helplessly in the middle of the ocean, “But I’ve felt his soul, and I know that whatever else he may believe, that he’s good natured, kind and generous, just as much as Mar-Mar was.

“It’s that feeling that reminds me of him. When I’m with Robin, it’s as if I can feel his caring, warm aura wrap around me like a cloak… it’s… I… Hmm, forgive me, I don’t have the words to describe it, but it’s a feeling I treasure beyond words.”

Say’ri could only smile at that. She’d heard similar descriptions from Tiki before, but it was always comforting for her to see her friend with such an open happiness. There was a morose streak within the Voice that had always troubled her.

“Fie. Well, that at least I am glad to he-”

Tiki’s grin turned sly, “Oh, and Mar-Mar never stole glances at my breasts when he thought I wasn’t looking.”

“Wha-he! Tha-a-a-to-to… to you!?” the princess reeled back, her hands instinctively moving to her own chest, as if to shield herself from the Tactician’s apparently lecherous gaze, “Cad! Nay, bounder more like! L-Lady Tiki! ‘Tis utterly disgraceful behaviour from a Tactician, we mus-”

The Divine Dragon only laughed harder than ever, sending the massive breasts in question bouncing delightfully before her friend’s scandalised eyes.

“Oh peace, Say’ri, peace, please,” she entreated, “I was mostly joking, he’s not really that bad… And anyway, I don’t mind if it’s him looking at me.”

“Lady Tiki! I-I have no words! This is most improp-”

“You know I’m not someone accustomed to welcoming attention. Say’ri, such things are difficult for me… most men look at me with reverence, some are so bold as to stare at me with lust. I’ve always shied away from both; such gazes are always filled with nothing but their own intentions.

“But Robin is different. Whether he’s attracted to me, or he respects me, or even when he’s looking askance as if he can’t believe what I’ve just said… it never changes the warmth I feel in his gaze. He looks at me and he only sees me, his companion and his ally. That’s comforting to me.”

Starting to feel worn out, Say’ri heaved yet another sigh. Unfortunately for the sake of her indignation, she could understand more of what Tiki was saying than she’d like to admit. As a member of the royal family, she was well accustomed to seeing eyes filled with nothing but someone else’s intentions for her, even among the resistance, there was no small amount of people who’d thought of nothing but how useful a friendship with her could be to them. More recently though, she’d instead often found herself marvelling at just how warm and contented she’d felt when around the Tactician, even something as simple as introducing Chon’sin tea to him had left her feeling surprisingly optimistic. His gaze never seemed to hold anything but thoughts about how he could help her.  

He had a disarming, generous presence, there was no denying that. ‘Still!’ her indignation rose again, ‘That’s no reason to give yourself over to… to… indecency!’

She paused.

“Lady Tiki… is this why you’ve been leaving the uppermost buttons on your top open recently?”

“Ah, oh, S-Say’ri… *Ahhh*… forgive me… a sudden wave of fatigue has washed over me and…”

Apparently, the Voice didn’t think she could tell when her friend was feigning sleep.

Shaking her head, with yet another sigh, Say’ri turned to leave. It seemed her afternoon was free, so she might as well do some training to keep her mind sharp.

It was only a few moments later, on the way to the makeshift training field, that her mind began to wander a little and her thoughts drifted from Tiki’s voluptuous chest to her own, hidden away under her sarashi wrappings.

While she wasn’t in the same league as the Divine Dragon, her own breasts were still larger than most of the other Shepherds. It was a strange thought, and not one she’d given much consideration to before. Ever since fleeing her country and beginning her life in exile, she’d grown accustomed to keeping them wrapped up, so as to make fighting and training easier. It’d become second nature to live like that, she wasn’t sure if even any of the other women had seen her without her wrappings on.

‘But… If I… If I undid my wraps… would I see him looking my way too?’

It wasn’t that she wanted that, of course!

But, if she could spare the sublime voice of Naga having to endure such disgraceful conduct from their Tactician, then perhaps bearing such (unwanted!) attention in her place was worth considering.

“Fie!”

She quickly shook the thought away. No matter the reasoning she may have for it, the thought of displaying herself to try gain a man’s attention was just… it was just… She was a princess of Chon’sin!

“Fie!”

Her body felt unnaturally hot and her wrappings uncomfortably tight. But, of course, that was just her embarrassment at the idea of being disgraced in such a manner.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

“Uhnngh! Ha! Naga! I love it, I LOVE it!”

On the fourth floor of the Ylissean Palace, in a small supply closet off from one of the quieter side hallways Lucina, the eldest crown Princess of Ylisse, proud leader of the time-traveller Shepherds and one Exalt, was bent over, throwing her head up and down with delight, and crying out shamelessly as she roughly threw her hips back against her beloved fiancé’s equally beloved cock.

“Yes! J-Just like that! NgHHA! Fuck me! Claim me! Make me yours!”

Having left behind their supply train as well as the remainder of the royal guards that had been brought with them, the Shepherds had made their own way back to Ylisstol and arrived early that same afternoon.

True to his word, Robin had spent the rest of the day in Say’ri’s company, escorting the Empress and showing her around Ylisstol. In truth, she’d actually been a lot more distant than he’d anticipated, given their past closeness, but the day spent with a friend he hadn’t seen in so long had been undeniably pleasant. After saying his goodbyes and retiring back to the castle for the evening, he’d been promptly interrupted by a messenger telling him about an important, emergency meeting Chrom was arranging for the Shepherd’s leadership- to finally have a chance to actually get together and talk about this situation.

On his way, in what he’d taken at the time to be a co-incidence, he’d met up with Lucina, taking the same path as him to the same meeting.

And then, after being reminded by the princess of a faster route to their destination, he’d followed her down a usually deserted hallway… and had promptly found himself pulled forcefully (although, not unkindly) into a small supply closet, and then directly into his current (wonderful) position.

“It, hha, it’s okay to be rougher, if you want!” Lucina panted, proving her point by swinging her hips forcefully back towards him as he drove into her. Her hands clenched tight to the shelf in-front of her as she squeezed her pussy tight around the full length of his cock, having to hold herself upright as her legs trembled under the pleasure, “I-I want it just as badly as you! And, and this may be our last chance for a while!”

Meeting her request by slamming his cock brutally through the full length of her wonderfully tight tunnel, Robin swiftly drew a delighted scream from his lover as the pure and noble Princess of Ylisse was fucked directly into the wooden shelf she was clinging to so desperately. Lucina was jolted forwards harder and stronger with each thrust until her entire upper body was shoved right up against the shelf and she was left just panting and moaning, feeling his hands tight around her waist, and her finely toned body used as nothing more than a hole for his pleasure.

Which, of course, was exactly what she’d been goading him towards.

Succumbing to the pleasure, Lucina was soon left almost insensate to the world, doing little but shaking her hips against him as she crashed headlong through orgasm after orgasm, squeezing and pulsing her walls around his cock in a way that never failed to leave him gasping in equally heady ecstasy.

Robin’s own release rose almost as quickly. That at least wasn’t much of a surprise for him, given how backed up he was; they’d been either on the road or hastily throwing together their plans to greet Say’ri all day, it felt like he’d been just rushing from one thing to another since he’d been woken up by Chrom’s messenger pounding on his door. Aside from the two loads he’d shot into Nowi in the bath before breakfast, a brief rendezvous with Miriel while they’d been preparing to leave, and a single blowjob from Lissa when they’d arrived at the port, this was the first time he’d had sex all day.  

If he’d had his wish, he would have preferred to properly delight in Lucina’s body, preferably somewhere a little more private and a lot more comfortable, but there was no time for that, and his lover seemed even more impatient than him; so a quick, rough and heady liaison in a storage closet would have to suffice instead.

Lacking the space to properly bend her over, Robin simply drove into her harder, and rougher, again and again, until he was standing squeezed fully up against her, with his hands firm around her waist and his lips pressing hot against her neck, both with desperation and with needy affection.

“You always feel incredible,” he whispered between his own increasingly ragged breaths, “For as long as I live, I’ll know I’ll never tire of your body!”

And, perhaps ironically, he knew that now even surer than he ever had before his death. No matter how many women he tasted, or how many times he pushed one of their female companions down, still he always yearned for his Bluenette’s touch. He doubted she would be happy to know that, but it was true all the same.

She gave her reply in a shrieking yell, overwhelmed with delight!

But, surprisingly, despite the usual eager submission Lucina enjoyed with him, this time it was her who suddenly took charge to send him over the edge!

Swinging her hips back against his, perfectly in time with his own thrust, her entire pussy pulsed vice-tight around his length, caressing and squeezing him, she milked his cock with every drop of skill she’d learned through their increasingly ravenous lovemaking.

Gasping aloud, Robin’s vision flashed white, his world narrowed to a fine point and his cock erupted inside her. Sending hot, thick ropes of seed crashing hard into the Princess’s eager walls.

Lucina’s voice sang out in a melody of delight, her ecstasy overflowing once more from the instant she felt her womb flooded with his cum, her song turning to a satisfied moan and her body shivering with pleasure as she felt the entirety of her pussy dyed thick in the Tactician’s colour. It was exactly what she’d needed, just what she’d ached for all afternoon… Cresting peak after peak each time she felt his cock twitching inside her, spraying out yet another jet of his release, her mind was already flying among the clouds, her consciousness blissfully shattered and all the weight of the world finally washed from her shoulders.

For now, for this instant at least, she wasn’t worried, or jealous, or stressed, or horny, or filled with strange desires she couldn’t put words to. All that she was, was simply Robin’s woman- stuffed with his cum, wrapped tight around his cock, and with her body completely given up to his desires. She would be a Princess of Ylisse later, for now she was the Grandmaster’s trained slut.

Collapsing against the wooden supply shelf with that happy thought drifting distantly through what remained of her mind, the mass of orgasms caught up with her- leaving the former Exalt giddy, moaning weakly as she passed out of consciousness, with her tongue lolled out and thick trails of cum running down her legs.

“Nghh…hmmmmnnn…”

Watching his lover slump forward, falling among the dusty rags and cleaning supplies, Robin heaved a deep (and rather contented) sigh. His own legs were shaking slightly as he pulled his trousers back up and into place, there really was no denying the warm, joyous satisfaction he felt from being with the woman he loved most and seeing her so thoroughly satisfied. Lucina wasn’t a demanding person, nor was she difficult to please, but no matter how much time passed or how often he’d shared a bed (or anywhere else) with her, it never lessened how important it was for him to do so.

Of course, he fucked his fiancée as hard or harder than this regularly these days, so he knew she would recover in just a few moments. And then, she’d likely have just the same ache as him for more…

‘Unfortunately, if there was time for that, then we wouldn’t be doing it in a closet in the first place.’

And, with the way that she’d mentioned this possibly being the last chance they would have to be together for some time, things didn’t bode well for the desire he had to spend the night in her bedroom either.

Robin sighed, again, feeling a little like he was making a habit of it.

It wasn’t particularly hard to notice that Lucina had been on edge, nor was much of a challenge for him to guess why, given he’d spent almost the entire afternoon in Say’ri’s company. Not to mention that, by all appearances, it seemed like he would be escorting the Empress around for her stay in the Halidom. So far, with how hastily their trip down south had been organised upon Chrom’s urgent summons this morning and their similarly abrupt return this afternoon, he’d barely had time to offer his fiancée even a skeleton of an explanation about what was going on with him. It seemed it was long past time they had a proper talk.

Slowly getting her breath back, Lucina pulled herself back to her feet and, with a notable shiver, gingerly pulled her paints back up her waist and into place. Of course, watching the tight black fabric sliding into place around the princess’s shapely round (and now cum soaked) hips gave the Tactician another considerable pause.

With her lifestyle, she hadn’t put on any real weight even after arriving in this time and finally starting to eat properly. Even today, he doubted she’d even weigh 50kilo, she felt about the same weight as Tharja in his arms despite being half a head taller. Her stomach was as flat and toned as ever and she would probably remain lissom for all her life. But eating proper meals had done her notable favours regardless and she’d filled out the curve of her waist and the size of her (still very modest) bust in ways that did dangerous things to Robin’s still red-hot libido. Being with Lucina always felt wonderful, but it also always left him wanting more.

“That feels… a lot better. Thank you, Robin.”

Unfortunately, there was no time for that now. Shaking enticing thoughts away, he caught the Princess as she turned to leave, pulling her into his chest and holding her gently against him.

“You don’t have anything to worry about,” given everything he was still keeping from her, that probably wasn’t entirely true, so he quickly amended that claim, “You’re the one I love.”

“I know… I… I don’t doubt that, of course. It’s only… You know, she’s just, she’s always been very fond of you. And she’s come all this way here for you… and… and, I still…”

And she still couldn’t bring herself to be open about their relationship. By Lucina’s own inaction, she had no way of staking a claim on the man she loved. As far as anyone else knew, there was no reason the Chon’sin Empress couldn’t make a move on him, should she so wish.

“We don’t know how she feels about me, she’s never said anything like that. And anything you’re thinking about was a long, long time ago regardless. She’s ruling an entire country these days, she’s got the whole world on her shoulders, even if she did feel something for me in those days, I doubt she’s still carrying a torch for me after all this time. Hells, this afternoon she barely even said two words to me!”

“Then… Then why would she come all this way!? You said so yourself, she came here just to see you!”

Robin sighed, “It’s an old promise we made. You know how she gets about honour and keeping her word. And, well, we were close friends, wouldn’t you want to see one of your companions if you’d heard they’d come back from the dead? I know I was glad to see her again, I’ve missed her, and I know you have too.”

Lucina nodded, but the look in her eyes didn’t change, “Let me come with you. You said you’re going to show her around Ylissse, right? Then show me too.”

“Sure. I’m fine with that,” Of course, he would love to have her at his side. Even aside from how much he enjoyed spending time with her, the thought of being alone with his fiancée walking through some of Ylisse’s major attractions left Robin with several very interesting ideas he thought better of than to verbalise, “But you understand that doing so will mean you have to be open about us? I’d be happy to, of course, but…”

Lucina winced, her eyes sliding away from his and her light frame jolting in his arms.

Once again, for the thousandth time, she considered the topic. And just as with all the times beforehand… she hesitated.

The once-Exalt was a brave, straightforward and direct woman, someone who would dive into the greatest danger if it would protect those she loved or save the world she’d given so much for. But after a life spent with little more than conflict and with a heart un-used to the emotions that assailed her so frequently these days, she wavered. She knew how to be a warrior, she was still learning how to be anything else, as much as she yearned desperately to be a lover, a wife and a mother, the fear of it, of her inability and ignorance, held her in place. Anytime she imagined herself only standing at Robin’s side, of showing off his ring or walking with her hand in his… no matter how deeply happy the thought made her, it daunted her in equal measure.

She knew without a shadow of a doubt what she felt for the Tactician, she’d accepted that ever since that evening when she’d come for his life and been unable to take it. But, the thought of saying so to her father, of changing her world to truly embrace such a romance…

Her mouth opened and close, but no sound came out.

After a moment, her head dropped and she slumped against him, her fingers pulled at his cloak, but she offered no other answer.

Once again, for the thousand time, she’d come to the threshold of her heart. And, just as with all the times beforehand… she’d faltered.

A lifetime of trauma was not so simply left behind.

“It’s fine, it’s fine,” Robin whispered in quiet assurance, running his hands soothingly up and down her back, “There’s no hurry, and I’m not going anywhere. I’ll wait as long as you need.”

There was no deceit in his words. Whatever difficulty being open about their relationship would present towards him having to deal with his condition, he would have gladly accepted it if it meant he could have stood proudly beside the woman he loved, if it’d meant he could finally take her as his wife. But, all the same, he did understand. He’d been waiting all this time for Lucina to make that final step. She’d certainly come a very long way from how she was when she’d first arrived in the past, but there was no missing the lifetime of baggage still wrapped tight around her.

He wouldn’t push her. When she was ready, they would take the next step, together, at whatever pace she was comfortable with.

“It’s fine,” he repeated, “No matter anything else, you’re the one I want, and the one I chose. I love you. I want to be with you, and I intend to marry you one day. It never mattered what anyone else thought of me, or I would have married Tharja years ago.”

At that, finally, her mood broke and the princess breathed out a soft laugh, “That’s true.”

Regardless of what the foreign Empress may or may not feel for the Tactician, Lucina knew she had no place to doubt Robin’s feelings towards her. She only had to touch the ring still hidden under her glove to be assured of that.

‘I truly am foolish, aren’t I?’ she scolded herself, as she relaxed properly into his gentle embrace, ‘It’s not as if Say’ri is the first woman to take an interest in him. And Robin certainly isn’t the kind of man to just go along with anything, he’s always thinking everything through.’

He’d long since told her about his past liaisons with her Aunt Lissa and, while Lucina still found herself thinking occasionally about the nights those two must have shared, she also knew that if he was the type of man to just take anything that was within his grasp, then Tharja would have most likely never left his tent during their entire campaign! And instead, Lucina was the one currently held in his arms despite all her invitations towards Robin, the anti-social Plegian Sorceress was most likely still a virgin.

She trusted him, of course she did. And she wasn’t a jealous lover, she didn’t mind him being around other women, that was completely normal when half of their closest companions were female. It had been just the same during the war, and nothing had changed since then.

‘I suppose I was just envious at the thought of Say’ri getting to spend so much time with him.’

That was perhaps the biggest hazard of her having kept their relationship a secret. No matter how close they were outwardly as friends, she had to all but invent reasons to be around him, while others could practically come and go as they pleased.

It was something that’d built up somewhat in all the time since his return. Tharja, of course, did whatever she wanted and had always been an expected regular in his office, and Lissa had never been too far away either. But recently, Lucina had even found herself getting jealous of how often Olivia got to be with him ever since she’d become his assistant- which was too embarrassing for her to even mention, since Robin had trusted her with the full story of exactly how he’d found Olivia that night, and why he’d offered her the job, and the dancer was married regardless. It definitely didn’t help that Nowi seemed to be coming over to bother him more often recently, or how Miriel appeared to be working on some project or another with him, never mind how Cordelia-

Clenching her teeth, Lucina immediately banished that thought, and just as quickly decided to stop thinking about Cordelia. Not when she was in her lover’s arms.

“I’m just jealous,” she admitted freely, knowing he’d surely already figured out long before she had, “I’m not actually worried, and I like Say’ri, I cherish her friendship greatly. I’m happy if she enjoys her time here, and if you have fun with her… I just want to spend time with you, too.”

“Why don’t we do something when I’m back?” he offered, smiling at her improved mood as he stroked his fingers through her hair, “I’ll figure out some excuse to get away, and we’ll go away somewhere nice. Hmm, it’s still some months before your birthday, so it shouldn’t be too hard to manage.”

She hummed a happy approval to that thought.

“In the meantime, it’d be good for you to spend some time with Morgan anyway.”

“Ah!” she jolted again, shocked with sudden realisation, “Oh no! She’s going to be so unhappy if you leave her behind. She’ll miss you just as much as I will, I’m sure. I-I’ll h-have to make plenty of time to look after her!”

Somehow, thankfully, even despite her ongoing hesitation to confirm their relationship, Lucina had swiftly gotten over any reservations she may have had about their daughter. She didn’t have much confidence in herself as a mother, but she would never let her own fears hurt Morgan by placing distance between them, she dearly loved the young girl and threw herself fully into the role.

Having said everything that needed to be said, as well as finally gotten out all the stresses that’d been bottled up inside (and welcoming a delightfully thick load within her instead), Lucina slowly extricated herself from her lover’s arms, appeasing him with one final kiss as she did so. They were, after-all, now long past their urgent meeting’s supposed start-time.

Taking a second to tug her clothes back properly into place and pat down her sex-mussed hair, she pulled the door open and-

“Ah-Auagh!?”
“E-Eh!?”

And, quickly jumped in place, just barely short of barrelling herself into the back of her own sister!

“C-C-Cynthia!?” she croaked, eyes wide and heart hammering furiously in her chest, as the Bluenette Pegasus Knight turned around to face her, “Wh-What, *ahem* Whatever are y-y-you doing h-here?”

“Lucy...”

Cynthia turned in place stiffly, like a wooden marionette. Her cheeks were flaming red, but her eyes were wide and shimmering wet as her whole body trembled. Lucina winced, a spike of guilt shooting through her, rather than just being embarrassed, it was clear her younger sister was mortified beyond what she’d ever felt possible. However, mixed in with that was a tiny voice at the edge of her consciousness reminding her that if anyone was to be here, at least it was Cynthia- aside from Tharja, her sister was the only person that already knew about Lucina’s relationship with Robin.

“Luuuccyy…”

“I-Ah, I er-”

“I, I heard you!” Cynthia interrupted, squeezing her eyes shut and throwing her hands down at her sides, “When I was walking past, I heard your voice an-and heard you two g-going at it!”

“I ahah, I really don’t think we should be talking abou-”

“I thought… I didn’t want to interrupt you, s-since you’ve been on edge all day. But… but, but I couldn’t leave either! Be-because then if anyone else came they’d hear you too! S-So I stood guard till now!”

Cynthia’s voice cracked and she seemed close to sobbing. But Lucina could barely react. Her blood had dropped to her stomach and her face was now ghostly white… Until now she’d been trying to pretend that her sister had only come just now, or had just heard her talking to Robin about Say’ri. Standing as stiff as a pole, her mind spun with suddenly very painful memories of everything she’d been moaning to Robin just a minute ago… everything she’d been screaming out… with her sister less than a meter away from her.

“That’s very kind of you Cynthia,” Robin’s voice was just as awkward and stiff as she felt, but at least he’d forced himself to be able to talk.

“…Y-Yes, thank you, Cynthia,” Lucina echoed weakly, “I’m sorry, I rea-”

“Lucy!”

“H-Huh?”

“I… I…” Cynthia’s hands swung down at her sides once more, “I had to chase away Morgan!” 

“…Ah…”
“…Oh…”

Morgan had come to take the same shortcut Lucina had identified. And her younger sister, standing careful vigil outside the closet Lucina was having sex in, had been forced to chase away Lucina’s daughter, to prevent her from hearing her mother moaning abo- about various things she didn’t want to think about!

Lucina’s world spun and she staggered on her feet. It was no wonder why Cynthia was so upset with her. Just having had to hear the two of them like that would have been bad enough, without her having taken it upon herself to protect their secret. It was clear she owed her sister a great debt, as well as an even greater apology.

The young Pegasus Knight’s massive chest heaved as she let out several deep breaths. Thankfully, Cynthia was never one to hold a grudge or cling to her anger. Now that she’d let out the frustration and she’d been bottling up the last few minutes, she quickly began to calm back down.

“If you really, really need to do it… Then, I-I don’t mind if you… you can use my room. Just, I don’t want to have to-”

“Th-That really, really will not be necessary! I promise you, I swear, this was just a onetime thing! It’ll never happen again, I-I hhhaa… Naga… I’m so, so sorry!”

“Y-Yeah, like she said… Thank you very much Cynthia. You really did save us. And, I… er, Gods, sorry about… about everything.”

Another incredibly awkward moment stretched out silently between the three of them at that. There was more that should have been said, but none of them could quite force themselves to verbalise it. Eventually, Cynthia stepped away, turning and trundling slowly back down the hallway.

“I… need to lie down…” she offered back over her shoulder, before Lucina could point out she was going the wrong way, “Tell Father I’m not feeling well.”

“O-Oh right… I, of course.”

Watching her leave, Lucina and Robin shuffled stiffly in the opposite direction, standing now half a metre apart from each other and each tugging unconsciously on their clothes, as if to make absolutely sure everything was just how it was meant to be. In the future, this would probably be funny, but right now, it was taking all of the former-Exalt’s willpower to keep from sprinting back through the Palace hallways and diving under the protection of her own bed.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Two Years Ago – Valm

The second thing she reclaimed was companionship. The woman who’d been alone in the world, even before her exile, slowly healed enough to open her heart up to others.

“You know I can hear you pacing around the tent, Say’ri?”

“L-Lady Tiki!”

Jolted from her disquieted thoughts, the Chon’sin Princess jumped up from where she had indeed been in the process of completing her fourth trip around the tent she shared with the Voice of Naga and saw that same green-haired Manakete poking her head out from the entrance, turning her face to the side and regarding her with a puzzled expression.

“Is something the matter?”

“Ah… Fie, I… Nay, of course not, I was simply…”

“Here, why don’t we talk inside?”

Tiki had a rather insistent manner about her, and before Say’ri could really even think to resist, she found herself pulled inside and seated (comfortably) atop the Manakete’s usual pile of haphazardly placed cushions, trying her best to meet the other woman’s gaze as Tiki plopped down and sat cross-legged on the floor before her.

“My apologies, Say’ri, I suppose after all the time spent with this army, I’ve become just as impatient as all you humans these days.”

“Impatient?”

She nodded, “I’ve been waiting for this for a few weeks now! I’ve felt a growing discomfort in you for some time now, since a little after our last battle I believe? It’s been worrying me actually, I’ve never known you to stew on something for this long… actually, you’re usually rather sharp at telling me off when something’s amiss… But now, you’ve finally made your mind up, haven’t you? So! Come on! Out with it? What’s been worrying you so badly!”

Say’ri winced. The Voice was as astute as ever, she had indeed had a growing issue weighing on her mind lately, and she had been pacing around their tent trying to build the courage to finally face it. But she definitely wasn’t ready for being forcefully put on the spot, and the sight of the unduly-interested Manakete bearing down on her with a curious smile wasn’t making it any easier.

“Is it something I’ve done?” Tiki prompted, her smile faltering a little under Say’ri’s silence, “Am I troubling you in some way?”

“Nay! Never! Perish the thought!” her reply was almost instinctual… but then, after a moment she reconsidered, “Fie, at least, no more than you always trouble me, my lady.”

It wasn’t a big step, but even someone like the Chon’sin Princess could change, just a little. Tiki laughed in delight, and, as the tension that’d been wrapped around her began to ease, Say’ri matched her friend’s smile with a weaker one of her own.

“You are as perceptive as ever, my lady. ‘Tis true indeed, I’ve been meditating on a singular issue as of late, and ‘tis also true that I have been unable to steady my heart enough to reach a conclusion, even if a part of me already knows what my answer must be. So… So, I would, if it’s not too… if you would offer it, I would seek your advice. Fie, ‘tis not something I would want to bother you with, I just… I have no parents, or trusted mentors I can turn to anymore, none except you my lady. I-I apologise in advance! It must seem like a silly problem to be worrying about overmuch, and even more of one to be asking for your time with!

“But… But, all the same… If I may, I would seek your guidance.”

“As the Oracle?”

Tiki was as receptive as ever, but the question was slightly guarded.

“Nay,” even someone like Say’ri could change, just a little, “I seek not Naga’s mediation, but the advice of Lady Tiki. My closest and dearest f-f-friend!”

Tiki’s face lit up in delight! Mostly at having her ever faithful companion finally treating her as a confidant instead of a religious symbol. But also, a little because of how flushed pink the princess’s face was after forcing out that last statement.

“I just worry that… after spending these past months among the Shepherds, I find my thoughts shifting. ‘Twas in the past that all I could ever think about was avenging my nation, and my family. Even when negotiating with the other leaders of the resistance, even when fighting alongside their armies, I never felt any kinship with them, we were simply people with aligned goals. Fie, ‘tis not to say my fires of rage have been quenched, I still… I still hate Walhart with every fibre of my being,” her words distilled to a point at mentioning the Conqueror, cold and hard, there was no missing the emotion that still seared hot through the woman’s soul, “Just thinking about, or picturing the man leaves my blood racing with fury. I have spoken oft of my birthright as Princess, and of restoring my nation. But, ‘twas only sophistry, in truth, my eyes never saw anything beyond the image of the Conqueror’s blood on my sword.”

Tiki nodded quietly, waiting for her friend’s thoughts to settle, knowing better than to be stuck on this topic, lest it turn into a tangent.

A moment passed, the tension ebbed from the princess and her eyes drifted to the floor, “And yet… yet… Lately, I cannot help but think beyond that. Originally, I scoffed when Robin suggested he would help me study, help me prepare for my future. But we were free at the time, and… and he has quite the way with words when he means to, and… and, it’s been nice. To think of hope instead of hatred. A-Ah, fie! ‘Tis not just him I mean! Being around everyone, spending everyday surrounded by such kind people, I cannot help but smile. It’s as if I’ve been numb all these years, and I am beginning to thaw out.”

The Voice smiled happily at that summation, it was a change she’d noticed herself, Say’ri had been sharp as bared steel when they’d first met. But now, lately, more and more recently, she’d seemed a little softer, just a little gentler, “It’s funny,” she mused aloud as her thoughts drifted, “She said just the same thing to me not long ago.”

“Who did?”

“O-Oh!” jolted from her idle musing, Tiki suddenly realised she’d said too much. Shaking her head, she dismissed the question, keeping the bluenette princess’s confidence, “Oh, nothing. Please, pay it no mind.”

“Aye… I suppose I am speaking around the topic. I only mean to say, it feels like my emotions have been in a whirl lately, as if everything I put aside for so long is hitting me all at once. I have been thinking about the future, for the first time, I’ve been thinking about winning this war, and about what shall happen afterwards, after Walhart is finally dead. And… And, I’ve been thinking about my own future… A-And, and fie… I apologise again, Lady Tiki, this must seem very, very silly… ‘tis only… for the first time in my life, I’ve found myself getting distracted with, with *ahem*, with thoughts of… of romance.”

Her voice cracked a little and was very small by the end of her sentence, but Manakete hearing was sharp and Tiki picked up every last syllable.

“Oh!” she almost fell backwards from where she’d been sitting! She’d known Say’ri had been changing, and of course she’d felt such a swell of positive emotions leaking from the woman, but this was well beyond what she’d imagined! “Say’ri! That’s wonderful, I’m so happy for you!”

“F-Fie! La-Lady Tiki! P-Please! ‘Tis, ‘tis unbecoming of a woman of y-your station to, to, to hug one such as me!”

“Shush, this is a special occasion. Mhmm, my dear friend has fallen in love!”

“N-Nay!” blushing deepest scarlet from the tips of her ears to her toes, Say’ri squirmed out of the Voice’s soft embrace, jumping to her feet and retreating as much from the woman as from her statement, “Fie! ‘Tis, no-nothing like that! I am a warrior with an unshakable duty, and a Princess besides that. ‘Tis only that, that when I think of the future, I som-sometimes think that if I am to be Empress, then I shall need an Emperor to stand beside me, or at least a suitable consort. Aye, I have just been… just been thinking about, about the idea of love?”

That sounded far more like a question than she’d intended. Sucking in a deep breath, she forced herself steady. Say’ri cared deeply for her friend, but Tiki had a terrible way of always keeping her off balance.

“I wanted your advice because… because I’m worried that I am lacking in discipline to be even entertaining such ideas. ‘Twould be foolish to fall in love, would it not? There’s surely no time for such things in the midst of a war!”

Tiki hummed, “I think it’s perfectly fine. Humans live such short lives as it is, you should fill them with as much happiness as possible. All wars are dangerous, and none come with guarantees, a heart full of regrets is a truly terrible thing.”

“A-Aye? I did not expect your answer to come so quickly… but, your wisdom is as astute as ever, I… I shall take it under advisement,” Say’ri turned away, unable to meet her friend’s gaze.

“Good! And, you’re free for the rest of today, aren’t you? There’s no time like the present, why don’t you head ov-”

“Fie! Lady Tiki, please! ‘Twas only idle musings! Like I said, I was just thinking about the idea of… of it. Aye, even if I heed your words, would surely be unwise of me to fall in love for now anyway. When the fighting is done, I will need to lead Chon’sin as Empress, and I shall have to find a proper husband to rule beside me then.”

Tiki laughed, her smile turning sly, “That, at least, isn’t something you need to worry about. I’m sure Robin will make a fantastic Emperor, I know I would be proud to serve him.”

If Say’ri had been a little more composed, she may have noticed that beneath her friend’s teasing there was a tiny note of bittersweet feelings wrapped up in her words, the quiet, hidden sound of a woman putting her own feelings aside for the sake of her friend. There was no doubt that Tiki would be overjoyed to see two of the people she cared for so deeply happy together; she would congratulate them with all her heart and mean every word of it, because she would do so knowing that, whatever else she may feel, it was for the best. It was just as she’d said, human lives were so terribly, painfully short- even a man with an aura so akin to Mar-Mar’s would only live a scant few decades. It only made sense for humans to be with other humans.

Perhaps fortunately though, the Princess was far too flustered to possibly pay attention to anything besides the finer details of the tent floor.

“I-I told you, I wasn’t talking about anyone in specific! F-Fie, I never said a word about Robin, I was only… it was just a hypothetical question!” waving her hands around along with her claims, she paused, her words seemingly catching in her throat for a moment, “And anyway, even, even if I was interested in Robin, that could never work. He’s a foreigner… we could never have a foreigner on the throne, let alone fathering the royal line…”

Tiki shrugged, giving that defence all the credence she thought it was due, “I think you’d make a fine couple. He’s already famous through Valm as the man helping lead the Shepherds to liberate this continent, and to save Chon’sin. Your people would be overjoyed to have him, I’m sure. As the world stands now, I’m sure any country would love to get their hands on the ‘Ylissean Grandmaster’.”

Say’ri dithered, a thousand complicated thoughts and emotions working their way through her heart as she dealt with the Voice’s surprising offensive towards her love life. However, while the Princess was still glowing bright red and twisting on the spot, Tiki finally let her teasing drop. She’d had her fun, what her friend needed now wasn’t only encouragement, but also a cool head.

“I think very highly of Robin, as you well know,” she spoke, taking Say’ri by surprise once again with how calm her voice now, shifting to a far more serious tone, “But, if you do take any interest in him, then you would do well to be sure of your own feelings first. I’ve told you before that we Manaketes are highly sensitive to the feelings and emotions of everyone around us; being around Robin, especially these last weeks, I can feel his emotions stronger than any of the Shepherds, a powerful, warm and inviting love… it’s a feeling that’s almost all encompassing. It’s soft, tender and almost so comforting to pull you in just from being around it… Mmm, surely you’ve noticed that whenever Nah or Nowi walk past his tent, they always wind up smiling to themselves?”

Frowning to herself, Say’ri puzzled over the words, trying to make sense of them.

Normally to have your affections described in such a way could only be high praise- by any logic she could imagine, a man holding such deep love within him would speak highly of his character. But, the teasing nature had dropped from the Voice’s words, and she had faced Say’ri seriously. While not exactly a warning, there was no doubt there’d been a clear note of caution in how Tiki had phrased her explanation.

‘Fie. I don’t understand.’

Pressing for more details, or a better explanation got her nowhere. Her friend simply claimed she’d said too much already, that it wasn’t her place to say more. And soon enough, she’d retired back to her bed and left Say’ri alone to puzzle over both her words and her next step.

‘Was she warning me… telling me that the love Robin feels is… i-is directed at another?’

There was no reason for her to worry about something like that though. Obviously. Say’ri wasn’t in love with Robin. She didn’t even think about him all that often when they were apart. She appreciated his company but if he were to love someone else, then of course she would feel nothing but happi-

‘Fie! But the temperature drops quickly in this region!’ she cursed, wrapping her hands around her as a shiver ran down her spine, ‘And ‘tis still barely past the middle of the day even!’

Putting such thoughts aside and deciding the best thing to do would be to dedicate her afternoon to getting in some more training with her sword, she ducked out of the tent and made her way off back towards their makeshift training ring. It was only as her steps fell into a slow rhythm through the encampment, and only as her eyes drifted off to the large strategy tent setup on the edge of their camp, that another possible facet of the Voice’s words slowly revealed itself to her.

“Was she warning me… about what a man may do, for the sake of a love that intense?” she mused, her eyes going wide at the possibility. Certainly she’d heard all kinds of fanciful myths, legends and fairy-tales through her youth, silly stories about heroes filled with love powerful enough to change the very world to their needs, “Fie, I’ve seen it myself how hard Robin works for what he believes it… ‘twas one of the things that sent me to the Voice’s council in the first place.”

She paused, her steps faltering as her heart skipped a beat.

“Aye… ‘Twould be quite a thing to be loved like that…”

It was a thought she’d never fully appreciated until this moment. She’d seen the focus Robin had in his work, and the dedication he had towards his comrades, to imagine having all that same affection directed entirely at the woman he loved. Say’ri swallowed. A man both willing and able to move heaven and earth, smart enough to wrap the whole world around his finger and determined enough to see through anything he put his mind to. A man who could do even the wrong things, for the right reasons.

‘Fie! A-And now it’s suddenly hot again!’ she wiped her brow with a flustered frown, glaring up at the cloudy sky despite the heat pulsing from her core, and from between her legs, ‘Naga, I shall never be used to these lands.’

Her thighs trembled slightly, but despite the nature of her thoughts, there was almost a skip in her step as the Chon’sin Princess continued towards the practice ground.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Given the hectic day they’d had as well as the ramshackle organisation that’d gone about to make everything work as best they’d managed, there wasn’t a single person in the palace strategy room that didn’t think this meeting was well overdue, but, finally, Chrom, Robin, Frederick, Lissa, Cordelia and Sumia, the Ylissean Shepherd’s leadership group was assembled. Well, mostly assembled, the Exalt had been worried when he’d heard his younger time-travelling daughter wasn’t well enough to attend, but after a few minutes of assurances from both Robin and Lucina, had been convinced to go dote on her after they’d talked everything through- rather than immediately.

“So,” Chrom began things with a rather inauspicious start, “Before anything else, I want to thank you all for getting so much done on such short notice. It was a little bumpy, but we got through it, and it’s all thanks to you guys.”

“Hmm,” Robin leaned forward at that praise, eyeing his best friend suspiciously, “What was with that anyway? The more I think about it, the more I think how strange it is that Say’ri, of all people, would turn up with such little announcement. Even Virion notified us a month in advance!”

Not quite meeting his eyes, the Exalt coughed awkwardly, “L-Look, let’s not get side-tracked for now, it’s been handled, the most important thing is that Say’ri has arrived. The reason I’ve called you all here, and I’m sure we were all wondering exactly the same thing, is to find out what exactly it is that she’s after. She’s our friend, of course, so it’s not a problem to host her, but I, well, I originally thought this was meant to be a diplomatic meeting, that she’d come to keep the friendship between our nations, talk about our treaties or trades… But, going off what she said earlier, it seems she’s got another purpose in mind entirely.”

So saying, he pulled out the letter he’d been holding, a beautiful white parchment proudly embossed with the royal seal of the Chon’sin Empress, and laid it flat out along the table for them all to see. They could all clearly see the highlighted date notifying the recipient of when she would be arriving (strangely, the top right of the letter seemed to have suffered from a nasty and still wet, ink-spill, completely obscuring the date the message had been sent) along with a simple message, ‘I will be arriving, to fulfil my promise.’

“Robin, this something to do with you?”

He sighed. Seeing it in person really made it undeniable, “Yes, that’s right, sorry. With the mad dash to get everything ready I didn’t even have much time to think about it, I only just realised what was going on when she talked about how she’d already visited Ylisstol.”

“So, what is this about then?” Frederick pressed, leaning closer across the table with his brows knit, “What is this promise she refers to?”

And now it was the Tactician’s turn to flinch uncomfortably under the focus, “Er, well, it’s not really as big a deal as this probably seems. Back during the war against Walhart, she used to tell me a lot about her homeland and we talked about her future, what she would do after the fighting. In return for all our help, she always said she would help us with what we still had yet to do against… against Plegia. And, we promised that when that was done, I’d show her around Ylisse in return.”

It was a rather abridged recap, and not really his best work. Staring at a room full of blank faces, Robin coughed awkwardly, “It’s not really a surprise she’d be interested, you know? Ylisse is the home to Anri, and the Hero King, and it’s the ancestral homeland of Tiki and Naga. It’s an important place for any Naganite.” That didn’t really improve things.

“Is that really it? The Empress of Chon’sin has come all the way here, so you can play tour guide?”

“W-Well, I don’t think either of us really thought through the logistics at the time… Or, at least, we probably assumed we’d be in a similar position to how we were during the fighting.”

Understanding that his death was a rather uncomfortable point, Robin carefully steered around that topic to get his meaning across. Obviously, things would have been a lot simpler if he’d survived the fight against Grima, they would have had plenty of time for him to show her his adopted homeland before she returned home, rather than now, where they were both running and helping run two countries on opposite sides of the world. Still, as always, it wasn’t as if he had any regrets. Aside from gifting the world Morgan, stopping Grima was the most important thing he’d ever done and if he had to choose between that, or keeping his word to the Chon’sin Princess, then he would choose Grima’s death every time… no matter how frequently her luscious long, white legs rose in his mind.

He couldn’t help but feel a little guilty though, given how stiff Say’ri had been around him today. The whole afternoon had felt like she was forcing herself… most likely she was here for her promise alone, and even if he couldn’t blame her given how much of an inconvenience this trip must be for her, Robin couldn’t help but feel a little sad at that thought.

“I suppose she always was quite a stickler for honour,” Chrom mused. It wasn’t a bad thing certainly, and he had no problem with Say’ri visiting, he didn’t even mind her taking his Tactician away for a while, Naga knew how often he’d told Robin to stop spending his entire life behind his desk. All the same though he couldn’t help but deflate somewhat at how simplistic it all seemed, especially given how frantic everything had been this morning getting things arranged.

“How wonderful, she’s come all this way, just for you? It’s like something out of a story! Isn’t that nice Robin? I never knew you were so popular with so many women!”

Sumia was smiling, but her eyes were as cold as Robin had ever seen them. Feeling a shudder run up his spine as he was trapped under her icy gaze, his mind spun for a moment as to what he’d done to deserve the Queen’s obvious ire… until a second later when he saw Cordelia shifting uncomfortably in place from the corner of his eye, and he realised the redheaded pegasus knight’s lips seemed to have been a little looser than he’d expected.

‘How much did she tell her? She didn’t say anything about last night, did she? …No, no… she probably said something after that time in my office, she must have been confused about what to think a-’

“So, it’s just going to be the two of you out wandering around alone? Just like you promised?” Sumia continued, knocking Robin from his considerations with a question that was just barely short of being an accusation, “Hmm, but it’s a little strange for a head of state to walk around alone with the right hand of the Exalt isn’t it? Especially without any other protection?”

It wasn’t hard to see what she was leading to with that. Obviously, given that he had a future-daughter with Lucina already, Sumia didn’t think much of him spending time alone with other women.

“I assume she’ll be bringing that ninja of hers… but other than that I don’t think she’ll accept me bringing anyone else along. It’s meant to be me showing her around Ylisse, not a formal visit with a proper escort, especially after she dismissed her entire entourage in front of us,” he considered a moment, weighing the possibilities, “I don’t think it’ll damage the relationship between Ylisse and Chon’sin exactly, but I doubt she’d like it.”

Chrom nodded along with him, “I don’t like it much myself either.”

Perhaps, more than any of them, the Exalt was in a rather tricky position. Of course, he’d rather his best-friend had a proper level of protection looking after him, but even more than that… as much as he didn’t exactly feel completely comfortable about Robin being with Lucina, he also didn’t like the idea of him not being with her either. Even if he’d have preferred not to, he couldn’t have possibly missed how important his Tactician was to his daughter, nor how happy she’d been with Morgan in her life.

“Still,” he concluded, “If that’s what she’s come all this way for, it would be rude for us to insist on anything else. I think we’d be best to just accept it.”

“I suppose so,” surprisingly, Sumia relented without a fight. Clapping her hands together, with a much more honest smile, she let the argument lie without complaint and moved the conversation on, “So then, given that she’s already relatively familiar with Ylisstol, I can’t imagine she’ll want to stay here much longer. Where do you intend to take her next?”

“Er, I… haven’t really had much time to think about it in great detail yet,” again Robin found himself caught without much of an answer. Thankfully, Say’ri wasn’t the type to complain if things weren’t completely perfect, rather than an Empress, she was clearly here as his close friend, he’d effectively winged his way through a tour of Ylisstol this afternoon and she hadn’t seemed to take any issue with it. However, now that he was on the spot before the Shepherd’s leadership group, he was very aware that wouldn’t be good enough for the entire journey, “Mt Prism makes a lot of sense I think, there’s nowhere like it in the world, and it’d be nice to see it again under less strained circumstances.”

Sumia nodded, “Well, then why not head past the old Millennium Court ruins on the way? That’s a very important part of Ylissean history, and they’re still kept in good condition, if you’ve never seen them before, they make for quite a breath-taking sight!”

“Oh! Ah, actually, huh, thanks! That’s a really good idea!”

Happy to be useful, the Queen proceeded to cheerily rattle off several other major landmarks and interesting destinations in the same area, leaving the Tactician digging a pencil from his robes and quickly scribbling her suggestions down on the back of the letter Say’ri had sent.

Considering his own lacking knowledge about the intricacies of Ylissean historical sites, he’d been somewhat at a loss for where to go, so this was all very helpful. Distantly he remembered that Sumia had originally hailed from a region close by the old Archanea heartland, which probably explained why she was so knowledgeable on the topic.

Before long, thanks to Sumia’s advice as well as a few additional suggestions from Frederick, Cordelia and even Lissa, Robin had a good list of destinations and at least a working outline of what could easily turn into a full itinerary. The plan for this sudden trip was taking shape faster than he could possibly have expected.

“Great! Looks like you’re all sorted!”

“Hah, looks like it!” he gave a relieved grin, carefully tucking the notes back into his robe, “There’s still some details I’ll need to hammer out, but that’s a good starting point for sure. Than-”

“Oh! Actually! Come to think of it, all this talk of Archanea has reminded me!” Suddenly spinning on the spot, Sumia turned to where Lucina was standing, looking oddly stiff and stoic for such a relaxed meeting, and pinned her in place with the same kind smile, “Lucina! Don’t you think it’s long past time you’ve paid a visit to your Grandparents?”

“Abuh?” the young bluenette balked, knocked from her thoughts and caught completely off guard. Her paternal grandparents were long dead, of course, but the Queen’s parents were still living comfortably in their hometown, “I, huh?”

“That’s not good enough, young lady! You haven’t seen them ever since they stayed with us to celebrate the end of the War. And even then, they spent more time with Morgan than with you. All this time and you haven’t gone to see them even once, they’ll start wondering why their own granddaughter doesn’t want anything to do with them!”

“I-oh, ah, I-I do want to see them?” Lucina wasn’t very used to filial piety, this was all very overwhelming for the poor girl, “I-I’ll go visit them!”

“Perfect!”

And at that, the Queen turned back towards the table once, folding her arms and beaming with a look of absolute victory.

“So, now that we’ve got that sor-”

“Oh!”

Chrom’s attempt to bring their meeting back to order was interrupted immediately by his wife.

“Actually, now that I think about it, your grandparents live only a few kilometres from the old Archanean Capital, don’t they Lucina? And since Robin and Say’ri will be visiting there anyway, why don’t you all travel together? It’ll be a lot safer for sure, and it’d be good for you to see some of Ylisse’s history while you’ve got a chance.”

“Er…”

“Ah…”

“I, ah… oh…”

The entire room was left dumbfounded, able to do nothing but stare at the surprisingly devious glint currently shining in the kindly woman’s eyes. It wasn’t a very subtle plan, but there was no refuting anything she’d said- like this, Lucina wouldn’t be tagging along to protect or to supervise the Tactician or the Empress, she would only be alongside them out of pure “co-incidence”, just two travellers following the same path. Even if she didn’t like it, Say’ri wouldn’t be able to reasonably complain.

Beaming a wonderfully triumphant smile towards her daughter, Sumia caught her husband’s eye long enough to shoot him an exuberant thumbs-up, one the Exalt weakly returned. The Queen was, perhaps more than anything else, a woman that would always look after her family. Even if she had to accept that Robin would be travelling with another woman, he would do so while spending a significant amount of time accompanied by his (future) wife, an unmistakably clear message to the foreign woman.

Shaking his head at the turnaround, and just how thoroughly he’d been cornered, Robin couldn’t help but laugh. Caught up in her ambush, he’d been completely defeated by Sumia’s superior planning and foreknowledge, leaving him nothing to do but agree. Some quick mental math told him he’d probably be spending close to half the entire trip alongside Lucina- it wasn’t a prospect that worried him, if anything he was glad for it, but he couldn’t guess how Say’ri would take the news.

Equally, despite his own misgivings, Chrom could do nothing but go along with his wife’s wishes, “I guess that’s sorted then.” He groaned, comforting himself as a father might, with the reminder that at least his daughter wouldn’t be travelling alone with his friend. And, he added quietly to himself, it also meant that at least he wouldn’t have to be the one worried about having to host a foreign dignitary for a change.

“Now, while we’re all here; there’s something else we need to discuss at the same time,” so saying, Chrom pulled out a second letter and laid it flat out on the table before them, “From the sounds of this, it looks like the Khanate tournament will be held in just a few weeks.”

This time it was Frederick’s turn to express surprise, “What, really? And they’ve only just notified us now? That is unacceptably short notice!”

Again, the Exalt found himself awkwardly avoiding the Tactician’s sidelong gaze. This letter too, it seemed, had been the victim of an unfortunate ink-spill that had completely obscured the date it was sent on, “W-Well, maybe the messenger was delayed? In any case, what’s important here is that Flavia has requested our assistance once again. This time, it looks like they’re doing things a little differently, she’s asked us to supply just two fighters to help her keep her job.”

As it turns out, he wasn’t paraphrasing, looking to the rough, heavy parchment, they could see that was exactly how the female Khan had described it.

“So, what do you reckon, Robin? It’d be a pretty welcome break from work I say! Think you’re up to-”

A polite cough stopped him in his tracks, and once again, the Exalt found himself interrupted by the kind and warmly smiling wife, “That’s such unfortunate timing,” she bemoaned, “With such short notice, there’s no way you could clear your schedule for something like that. You’ve got far too many arrangements setup to head all the way to Ferox just to fight in a tournament.”

“I…”

Chrom faltered. He knew his Sumia, she wasn’t trying to spoil his fun. With the harvests coming up, it was unquestionably one of the busiest times in his year, with seemingly no end to the amount of petitioners coming to see him about one matter or another- which, of course, was exactly why he’d been excited at the thought to get some time away from all that.

Ultimately, as loathe as he was to admit it, she wasn’t wrong. If it was for the sake of an alliance or similar, then that would be a different matter, but it would be very difficult for him to justify leaving Ylisse just for the sake of a standard succession tournament.

“I suppose you’re right.”

In the end, he could only put it down as yet another reminder for him to keep his office in better condition.

“I do think it would be a good idea for Robin to attend though, after you, he’d be the best representative for Ylisse,” Sumia continued,  “And the timing works perfectly, that’s going to be about the same time when Say’ri’s looking to leave. Robin, why don’t you escort her up to the Northern Feroxian port, you can meet Lucina up there, and you two can be Ylisse’s representatives.”

“I-, ah, me?”

“Of course! You’ll already be up in Archanea won’t you? It’ll be far more convenient for you than anyone else, and we’ve all seen how well you fight beside Robin! Flavia couldn’t hope for better champions than you two!”

Lucina, despite all she’d done, was still terrible at receiving honest praise. Going beet red and smiling widely, she could do nothing but nod along, “O-Oh, ah, th-thank you, mother.”

“S-Sumia…”

Catching her eye, Chrom shot his wife a look. It was one many fathers were familiar with, a look that said, ‘While I’ve gotten used to the idea of Robin and Lucina potentially being together… I don’t want them alone together!’

“Yes?”

Unfortunately for the Exalt, the Queen shot him a look right back. Hers was a far less typical look, one that answered, ‘He makes Lucina happy and they bring out the best in each other. I won’t let anyone take this away from her, so you’re just going to have to get used to it! And, anyway, wouldn’t it be just wonderful if young Morgan and Cynthia could grow up together as playmates?’ In all respects, it was a truly masterful feat of silent communication. For whatever else you might say about her, Sumia was a truly expressive woman, and Chrom could only wilt under her gaze.

He didn’t like it.

He didn’t dislike it. But he didn’t like it.

Unfortunately, too much of this was all his fault for him to really argue. He didn’t have a good justification he could really manage for sending Cordelia or Frederick, or someone, with Robin instead, at least not one that wouldn’t end up with him sleeping on the (admittedly comfortable) royal couch for the next week.

Even so! Even so!

“Robin!” he still had his pride as a man! Even as he felt his wife’s gaze boring into his side, still Chrom faced down his best friend, levelling a stern gaze towards the man, “You and Lucina head to Ferox and fight for Flavia. But! One Morgan is enough for now! I don’t want to hear about another one, not for a very long time!”

“CHROM!”

“F-Father!?”

It was a testament to the deep respect Robin held towards his friend, as well as his appreciation of just how difficult his relationship with Lucina must be for the man, that Robin didn’t make a glib response to that, even as the whole room exploded into chaos around them, “Of course,” he nodded seriously, “You know I’d never disgrace her like that.”

It wasn’t a lie. It wasn’t true in the way Chrom wanted it to be, but it wasn’t a lie. After all, even if he’d taken the princess’s chastity long ago, so long as they waited until after they were married for her to get pregnant, no-one else ever needed to know.

Deflating slightly at his friend’s thankfully reasonable reply, Chrom was suddenly struck by a stray thought, “Actually… Lucina… given the er… well, the fact that we weren’t around for your upbringing... Have you been taught about this?”

“Taught about what, father?”

“Chrooooomm…”

This definitely wasn’t something to bring up in such a public setting, but he was completely off balance and in far too deep to back out now.

“About, *ahem*, about babies, were you ever actually taught about where babies come from?”

“I remember exactly what you told me, father!” beaming an amazingly innocent smile for a woman with heavy ropes of cum currently still dripping down her thighs, Lucina recited in a soft voice, “When a man and a woman truly love each other, they kneel down and pray to Naga, and when she thinks they’re ready, she blesses them with a child.”

The room went silent at that and, as one, the assembled Shepherd’s gazes all shifted away from the time-travelling Princess, with their expressions forcibly held tight against her beautifully pure words.

All except Robin, who was instead marvelling instead at just how thoroughly the woman he loved had changed since the day they’d first crossed paths. She’d certainly picked up a lot from their time together, and not all of it things he thought her father would approve of.

He was the only one to notice that she hadn’t actually answered Chrom’s question. Did she know where babies came from? She hadn’t confirmed or denied it, instead she’d simply told them all a story from her childhood. Regardless of what conclusions anyone else may draw from her words, it wasn’t quite a lie.

Suddenly abashed by his question, the Exalt was finding it rather difficult to face his daughter at the moment, “W-Well, good. Then, you be careful too. No, er… No praying alongside Robin while you’re in Ferox, okay?”

“Of course!”

“Lucina…” Sumia added cautiously, “Why don’t the two of us have a little talk?”

“Ahaha, when she gets back, dear! She’s going to be busy packing and getting ready tonight, no need to worry about anything else! Plenty of time for that later!”

A collective sigh echoed around the room at that, and, with more a whimper than a bang, the Shepherd Leadership’s emergency meeting awkwardly drew to an end.

“Heeeey, Robin!”

Just as the group had begun trundling out the door and back to their own various evening plans, a bright and very cheeky voice called the Tactician back.

“Hmm, Lissa?”

“You’re not busy now are you? You don’t need to start packing straight away, surely?”

“…Why?”

“Well! You’re gonna be leaving tomorrow from the sounds of it, and you’re not gonna be back for ageees… So, come back to my room now instead! I’ve got a bunch of furniture I want moved and Frederick never gets it right!”

“Lissa,” Chrom sighed, shaking his head at his younger sister’s selfish actions, “Come now, he’s got a lot to prepare.”

“Oh, don’t you worry Chrom, any more furniture moving requests will come straight to your desk while Robin’s away.”

Feeling as if this conversation was only going to go one way, Robin shook his head with a sigh, “Fine, fine. I don’t mind, so long as we’re quick, alright? I’m not going to remodel your entire quarters for you.”

The Princess’s arms wrapped around his tugging him after her, but she gave no other reply.

“Lissa..? Hey, Lissa!”

“Hmmm, hmmm, we’ll see! C’mon! C’mon! The sooner we start, the sooner you’re done, right?”

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

As it turned out, Lissa was perfectly happy with how her room was arranged. Rather than a whole lot of furniture she wanted moved, she had a whole bunch of furniture she wanted to be fucked on top of. It wasn’t any less exhausting, but Robin was more than happy to oblige.

Tharja and Nowi turned up not long after they’d began. From what Robin picked up through the scattered conversation that followed those two eagerly joining in the fun, it seemed that she and Nowi had been catching up about some manner or another when they’d been alerted to his return to Lissa’s quarters. Apparently, ever since their last group sojourn in Lissa’s bedroom, the Sorceress had warded the room to inform her whenever someone came or went, apparently assuming that he was intending to use it as his love nest from now on.

Normally he would have argued against that point, but it was a difficult case to make when he had the first princess of Ylisse bent over her tea-table, screaming for his cock. And the point only became more entrenched a few minutes later when he was seated in her luxurious sofa, bouncing Nowi in his lap while the Sorceress assisted the Princess in tonguing his balls.

In any case, while the other two women joining in had been unexpected, it was far from unwelcome to either him or Lissa, and soon enough the room was once again filled heavily with the sound of their ecstatic moans and scent of their rough, heavy fucking.

And, it had also afforded Robin an opportunity to fill in two of his lovers about what had been discussed during the meeting, and his upcoming trip. Olivia was home with her family at the moment, and it would have seemed suspicious for him to seek out either Panne or Miriel after their meeting, so he could do nothing for any of them but trust that word would get around to them before he had to leave tomorrow.

Surprisingly, Tharja had taken the new relatively well. There was no missing how disappointed she was at the prospect of having several weeks without his company, but it was tempered by her equally clear disdain of returning to Ferox and its freezing climates. With little more than a resigned sigh and a longing look, she’d accepted the reality of him leaving her behind in Ylisstol while he fulfilled his duties, especially when he’d agreed to her request to be allowed to scry on him anytime she wanted (she’d seemed sure she’d see some very fun things). The Dark Mage was just as affectionate towards him and just as adoring to him as ever, but it seemed that recently, ever since she’d gained confidence that she truly was his woman, and ever since she’d accepted sharing him with others, she’d become a lot less needy for his company and a lot less possessive of him in general. Or, perhaps it was simply due to the bangle she now wore proudly on her upper arm, an undoubtable proof of his own love towards her. A part of him worried that she was becoming as bad as Lissa with her excitement at the idea of him sleeping with more of their other female friends, but that at least was a concern for another time.

Unsurprisingly, Nowi had pitched an absolute fit. No matter how he’d tried explaining things, or what any of them had said to her, she’d refused to accept that she couldn’t just fly after him if he was going somewhere. As far as she was concerned, Say’ri was her friend who’d have no problems with her tagging along, since they were friends. And, according to her, she’d gotten really good at keeping her voice down when they had sex (the fact that she panted that claim out in between screaming in delight each time his cock knocked against her womb or Tharja’s tongue slid along her clit didn’t help her case), so she absolutely wouldn’t disturb Lucina or Say’ri at night. And, apparently, she totally wouldn’t mind if they didn’t even have sex all that often, even if it was only three or four times every other day, that’d be fine!

As it was, despite him having been almost dragged back into Lissa’s bedroom by the young Princess, and despite it being in her own room along with her and his most ardent stalker, he’d been forced to focus almost all his attention on the young Manakete just to calm her down, fucking her again and again, until she was left in enough of a happy, giddy daze, that his guilt was finally diminished. He’d promised himself to make her happy after-all, and he cared for her just as deeply as his other lovers, seeing her upset did terrible things to him.

In the end, between Nowi’s tantrum, Lissa’s own heightened affection, Tharja’s imploring look toward him on her “sister’s” behalf, and his own worries for how Olivia would react to the news, Robin had been forced to come to something of a compromise. While he couldn’t bring any of them with him during his tour with Say’ri, there shouldn’t be any problems with them visiting him in Regna Ferox, so he gave Nowi permission to fly herself, Lissa and Olivia (should she wish to) up to join him there. Tharja’s own invitation had been rejected following a reminder that the Ferox cold would be even more chilling when experienced on high from dragonback.

Caught up happily between the three girl’s rampant affections as well as their anxiety towards his leaving, it was only several hours later, when cleaning himself up in the oversized-bath of the attached bathroom, with the blonde Princess seated in his lap, leaning into his chest and grinding gently up and down the length of his cock, that Robin finally got a spare moment to directly address Lissa’s own feelings on the matter.

“Are you alright with me leaving like this?”

“I’ll miss you, but I’m okay.”

He hesitated a moment, unsure whether he should press her deeper on this. Given Lissa’s recent predilection towards group sex, it wasn’t often that the two of them spent time just gently making love like this, holding each other close and giving themselves over to the slow waves of bliss in a soft, unhurried fashion.

“I was worried about you,” he added finally, punctuating his words with the feeling of his cock pushing insistently up against the deepest walls of her pussy, knocking against the entrance to her womb, “I know how much it hurt you when Lon left you to go back to Ferox. I don’t want you to feel like I’m doing the same th-”

“I know,” she interrupted him the instant she got her breath back, dropping her head against his neck and whispering into his skin as she savoured the feeling of his full-length rocking around inside her. He had a way of dominating every one of her desires that she knew she’d become addicted to. Even just sitting atop him like this, her entire body was tingling with delight she could feel herself being urged softly through one small orgasm after another, “But it’s different when I hear it from you.”

Even despite everything she’d done, Lissa still didn’t like talking about her husband when she was having sex with Robin, “With… with him, I’ve always known that Ferox was his home, it’s what means the most to him, and… and I’ve always felt like I’m making him compromise, like I have to fight with him just to get him to stay with me even another day longer. But he won’t share that home with me, it’s his place and his alone… I offered a thousand times to move up there and be with him, but he’s always told me he wants me here, that he wants us to… to raise our children here in Ylisse.”

Groaning softly as she eased herself back up the length of his cock, rocking her hips back and forth along his shaft in the same tender rhythm they’d enjoyed since joining the bath together, Robin kept his silence.

“But, I know that your place is in Ylisstol, that this is your home,” catching his eyes with a smouldering look, Lissa drew her words out with a smoky heat, “And, it’s just like you always say, I’m your woman, aren’t I? I belong with you? So, I know even if you go away for a while, you’ll come back. And when you do, you’ll expect your women to be waiting there for you.”

“I expect you to be waiting for me when I arrive in Ferox.”

She laughed, the serious mood washing away at the sound, “Huh, is that so? Heh, well, maybe I’ll surprise you then… is there anything you’d like me to be wearing?”

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Lissa had been rather insistent that he stay the night with her and, after finishing her clean-up blowjob when he left the dazed princess in the bath, Tharja had been just as imploring. Thankfully, Nowi had slept through the two further loads he’d shot inside the blonde as well as the one more the Sorceress’s mouth had wrung from him while cleaning off the princess’s juices, so he avoided her adding fuel to the fire.

It was a tempting offer and not one he easily rejected, but he knew more than anything there was one woman he needed to take care of above all before he left.

‘Hopefully she’s okay…’

It appeared Lucina had been there for some time already when Robin finally arrived in Morgan’s room and, predictably, their daughter wasn’t taking the news of his upcoming departure with any sort of grace.

Turning to him from the second he walked through the door, the younger tactician dove into his chest, wrapping her arms forcefully tight around him while alternating between ordering him to tell her that her mother was just lying, and halfway sobbing for him not to leave her behind again.

Looking from his daughter’s small, quivering frame to the similarly devastated look on his fiancée’s face, Robin’s heart wrenched painfully. There wasn’t anything useful he could say to Lucina right now to fix this, but he knew she hadn’t done anything wrong, she was simply mortified at her inability to offer comfort to her own child as well as distraught to see the young girl so obviously pained.

Morgan had always been very close to him of course, but she’d never been like this. Countless times during the wars, he’d needed to move separately from her, for days or weeks at a time, for the sake of some mission or another and she’d always accepted such plans with minimal grumbling. But now, the thought of him going away for a few weeks, in peace time, without any fighting to do at all, was enough to get this much of a reaction from her… The leaden weight in Robin’s gut churned painfully inside him.

It was all just yet another tormenting reminder of just how deeply scarred his family had been by his sacrifice. Even if he couldn’t bring himself to regret the choice he’d made, he also couldn’t forgive the way that choice had hurt the people he cared for most.

In the end, after some time spent arguing and a little longer spent comforting, he and Lucina managed to mollify the younger girl with the promise that they would go speak to Cynthia in the morning and request her to fly Morgan up to Regna Ferox to meet them there. And that, until then, she would be the one responsible for all Robin’s work in the capital- something he’d long been training her for regardless.

The conversation drifted away, but none of them were in any hurry to separate, and before long they realised that the bluenette Tactician had fallen asleep against Robin’s chest, with her arms still wrapped tight around him. And so, after offering Lucina an indulgent smile, the two of them carefully lifted their daughter up, and carried her over to her bed, laying her down and each taking up a position on either side of her.

Being somewhere in her late teens, Morgan really was too old for this kind of treatment. And, with neither of them feeling comfortable undressing either her or themselves, they were all left snuggling together mostly fully clothed, doing little more than kicking off their shoes and loosening their shirts.

It was a little awkward, a little cramped and a little silly feeling. There was a good number of women in Ylisstol Robin could have chosen to spend a very comfortable night with, and many more comfortable beds he could easily arrange for himself, never mind all the packing he still had to do regardless.

But, right now, even as he slept with the full weight of his cloak, daughter and fiancée tight around him in the warm summer night, there was nothing Robin could have possibly preferred. There was nothing that meant more to him right now than this moment spent with his family. The pain he’d seen in them so many times from his sacrifice had always been what had hardened his resolve, and it was moments like this that reminded him what he was damning his soul for.

He’d already done terrible things; he knew he’d do many more. He didn’t even know if his intentions were as pure as they’d begun as. But, if he could at least protect these two women, it would be alright.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

The Next Day

The following morning was just as hectic as Robin had dreaded it would be. Probably as a response to how she’d acted the previous night, Morgan had insisted she take care of all his packing at least, so thankfully he’d been able to entrust her with that, albeit with a gentle reminder that they would be travelling light so he couldn’t take more than what he could personally carry or fit into his saddlebags.

But even with that taken care of, he’d still needed to pull Olivia from her dance practice and make a trip all the way over to Panne’s home to explain his upcoming absence. Given that he’d expected the taguel to insist on him making another attempt to breed her before he left, and that his assistant would be just as eager for some brief physical comfort along with his explanation, Robin wasn’t sure exactly how well-intentioned his motivations were. There was no denying that it was an enjoyable morning but, given how rare the he expected the chance for relief to be even with Lucina at his side, considering he would be escorting Say’ri and her ever-vigilant ninja, he couldn’t fully blame himself. If nothing else, he knew he would have felt guilty leaving Olivia without a proper (cum-soaked) goodbye, and given how readily she’d secluded herself from the Shepherds already, he didn’t wish to give Panne any more reason to feel left out.

Miriel, at least, he felt comfortable simply sending a messenger out to explain upcoming journey. He’d seen her just the previous day, so anything more she wanted from him he could take care of when he returned.

In the meantime, between the trip to Olivia’s dance-studio and Panne’s house, along with a combined hour of pleasant company spent in the taguel’s kitchen and the dancer’s dressing room, Robin had scarcely had any time to clean himself up before heading into his office and all but throwing himself into his duties. Not even leaving his desk while scarfing down a meagre breakfast, he worked frantically through the various stacks of papers, folders and schedules on his desk, throwing everything into as much of an order as possible.

Say’ri had sent a messenger to tell him she would expect him outside the palace near midday, and by the time he’d finally wrangled everything into a shape he felt confident he could pass onto his daughter, his mind was spinning, his focus exhausted and the sun was shining high in the sky.

“About another hour to spare…” he sighed, sinking back into his chair as he finally pushed the last of the paperwork away from him. It wasn’t perfect, but it was workable. Everything major and strategic was already taken care of, and if anything new popped up, Morgan could always get Chrom’s approval, or advice. It would be fine. Probably, “And now… I guess, I’m done for the next few weeks?”

It was a strange, almost alien thought. He hadn’t properly stepped away from this desk ever since he was back. And now, practically without any preparation or planning, he was going to be out sight-seeing for weeks? With everything that’d gone on after the meeting, especially his own indulgence in his more canal desires, all he really had for planning so far was the somewhat hasty plan he’d drafted up with Sumia during their meeting. A small burst of thankfulness towards the Queen welled up inside him at that thought, hasty plan or not, thanks to her motherly insistence at least he had something!

“I suppose I should look over this, see if there’s anything I need to reconsider…”

Opening his notes out before him, Robin made a show of pouring through the scrawl of details… but in truth, the words all washed over him without much recognition. This wasn’t what he really needed to focus on right now. More than anything else, he knew he hadn’t had any time to actually process that this was really about to happen… He would be leaving all this work behind him for weeks to hit the road again… He was about to take his beloved friend, the Empress of Chon’sin, out on a guided tour of Ylisse…

An image of the Empress as she’d appeared the previous day rose in his mind, dressed up in her royal garb and Robin swallowed. A soft and very familiar smouldering heat crackled across his soul at the memory, it was not one so easily dismissed.

“Heh… Thank Naga that Lucina’s going to be with me,” he chuckled, pushing the image down, if not away, “But that’s not what I need to be worrying about, I need to make sure I’m prepa-”

“Robin? Are you in here?”

A soft voice stole away his concentration before he could even begin to put his thoughts into some proper order, and then, without waiting for a response, the door to his office was pushed open… and then closed quietly behind the Ylissean Wing Commander when she spotted him in place behind his desk, a slightly nervous looking smile alighting on her face as she stepped carefully into the room.

“Cordelia,” he whistled, looking up from the task he’d barely even begun, “I wasn’t expecting to see you. Aren’t you training the rookies this morning?”

She certainly looked the part, or at least, he couldn’t think of any other reason why she would come to his office in her full Pegasus Knight armour. Of course, that wasn’t to say he didn’t appreciate the sight of her in her full regalia. The modest silver breastplate hid all but the outline of her moderate sized bust but, aside from just being a rather appealingly designed uniform in general, the short skirt and long boots did much to showcase the redhead’s smooth thighs and long, slender legs. As always, a distant part of Robin’s analytical brain noted that her breastplate never seemed to quite move in perfect synch with her body the way Cynthia or Sumia’s did, but he put that out of his mind, hers was a few sizes smaller than theirs and he didn’t know much about female armour to begin with.

“We just finished actually. I ah… I didn’t know you knew my schedule though?”

“Mmm, well, I don’t know all the finer points, but I like to try make sure I know who’s taking care of what.”

“Is that so?”

“Heh, well Chrom certainly isn’t going to, so if I don’t then it’s going to wind up with Frederick organising everyone’s workload, and I think we all had enough of that during the wars.”

“Yes, I would definitely prefer you.”

“I was just thinking through the logistics for this afternoon actually, I’ll be leaving in about an hour so I…”

Robin’s words trailed off as his thoughts caught up with him and he finally, properly, looked up from his various worries and towards the gorgeous Pegasus Knight currently alone in his office with him. Having had so much on his mind, he was suddenly aware hadn’t focussed on the smaller details. Details such as the fact that she seemed to have come here without any specific reason, that she was giving short and half-interested answers to his attempted conversation and, most importantly, that fact that rather than taking up a seat opposite him after he’d acknowledged her entrance, Cordelia was still standing right by the (fully closed) door to his office.

No, he corrected himself as a small spark of heat crackled into life across his soul… She wasn’t standing beside it; she was leaning against it. Leaning against it in a position very similar to the one she’d been left in the last two times they’d been alone together. The last two times he’d had her in his arms, held her roughly against the wall and kissed her until he’d felt her body shivering against his own.

Cordelia was the kind of person who stood to attention even when off duty.

‘She’s trying to entice me.’

Now that he was actually paying attention, it wasn’t particularly subtle really. The way she was spreading her hands out from her sides, acting completely defenceless, was a nice touch though. Or, at least, the sight of this incredibly skilled, deadly woman smiling a slightly awkwardly towards him as she tried to make a show of just how easily he could pin her against the wall if he so wished, set the Tactician’s desire ablaze!

“Forget it, that’s not important,” he declared, waving away their previous conversation as he stood to his feet, making his way around his desk and across the room, “Cordelia. I want to kiss you.”

“Ah-ahuh!?”

Despite whatever intentions she may have had, Cordelia jumped in place at his words and her face instantly burned as red as her hair, ‘Cute!’ it seemed she hadn’t been prepared to be propositioned so bluntly.

“Won’t you let me?”

“I-ah, um, that is…”

Her attempted reply, whatever she’d prepared herself to say before stepping into his office, faltered completely as Robin closed the distance between them, reaching his hands out to the door on either side of her head and pushing his body up lightly against her own, just enough to back her up a little more into the solid wood. Her eyes darted from one of his arms to the other, not rejecting their presence on either side of her, but instead seemingly surprised he hadn’t simply wrapped them around her.

“You were in that meeting, you know the details. I’m going to be leaving, today. I’ll be away for weeks, maybe more than a month depending on how Ferox goes. I’m going to miss you, and I want to kiss you before I go.”

“Y-You’ll have Lucina with you though.”

If she’d meant that as an accusation, it would have had a lot more bite if it hadn’t been accompanied by the sight of her licking her lips, never mind the way her legs spread willingly around his as he stepped forwards another pace.

“Then, would you like me to promise you that nothing will change between me and Lucina the whole time I’m away?”

Her eyes went wide, her mouth dropped open. She hadn’t really intended to reject him regardless, but now her entire world was shaken.

“You, hha, Robin, you do-don’t need to promise something like that…”

“I will regardless,” he swore, “Because right now, I’m with you. And I adore you. And I’m going to miss you. And I want to kiss you.”

It was true, of course. Nothing would change between him and Lucina. It wasn’t true in the way Cordelia thought it was, but it was true.

“W-Wait! I… I ah, I don’t mind,” she stammered weakly, her composure well and truly shattered and her blush strong enough to illuminate the room, “I just… I’m surprised. I didn’t expect you to ask…”

“I thought I’d better,” he teased lightly, sliding his right hand over to stroke her cheek, feeling her shiver hot against his touch, “I was worried I was a bit too forceful last time. I couldn’t bear it if you started thinking badly of me”

Cordelia’s eyes squeezed closed and her fingers tugged awkwardly at the hem of her shirt, her breath came in fast gaps and when she finally spoke her voice was so quiet he could only just make it out, “I-I don’t… I don’t mind if you’re a little forceful. I like it…” she’d been lonely her for a very long time. She couldn’t help but enjoy feeling wanted.

His arms wrapped securely around her, pulling her greedily into his embrace. His body pressed her firmly back into the wall, until she was pressed tight against him. And, her lips tilted up to meet his, opening easily against his insistence, and matching his motions in just the ways he’d shown her the last two times she’d found herself in this exact situation.

Her hands slid around his back, holding to his shoulders. Her body melted against his strength. And, as their kiss turned slowly from soft, to deep, to yearning, as her tongue danced against his and her moans rose unbidden from her mouth, Cordelia let herself fall completely into Robin’s overwhelming affection. The seconds turned to minutes and time slipped away from her as all her worries, all her concerns, doubts and second guesses gently ebbed away under the weight of simple, slow-burning passion. She could feel the full, hard weight of his desire pushing heavily up against her, and she could feel her own urging heat pulsing from her core in reaction- it was a sensation she’d only ever felt from Robin, and one she eagerly submersed herself in. To feel so plainly desired, to be wanted and cared for. To be held so tight, to remember his whispered words of affection and the way he always looked after her… electrifying sparks of lust shivered down her spine, and dangerously heavy pulses of love beat from her heart, and Cordelia delighted in every second of it. 

Caught up as she was, it wasn’t until sometime later, after they’d finally pulled apart and she was resting her weight comfortably against him, with her head laying on his shoulder, that she finally remembered the other reason she’d come to see him… the insistent thought that’d been stuck in her mind ever since the previous day’s meeting.

“This is difficult for me, you know? It feels like we’ve only just begun… whatever this is… And now you’re going away, for weeks, to spend time with another woman. I understand why, and I’m not upset, but still…”

“Cordelia…”

“S-S-So, *ahem*, so, before you go. I’m, I’m going to make sure that I’m the only woman you’ll be thinking of. I’m g-going to give you something to remember me by!”

It was a suitably determined statement from a woman who’d always been determined in everything except her romantic endeavours. Looking down at the sight of her staring steadfast up at him, Robin couldn’t help but be charmed by her resolve, even if he also couldn’t help but find the idea a little amusing, “Oh? Are you going to grant me your kerchief then? Am I to be carrying around a maiden’s favour-Ohhah!? C-Cordelia!?”

His joke caught in his throat as the Wing Commander abruptly dropped from his view, sinking directly to her knees on the floor. A rush of air suddenly ran from his lungs a moment later as he felt her nervous fingers suddenly tugging forcefully at his belt and pulling open his pants!

After feeling her body pressed so tight against his for so long, Robin’s cock had already been straining hard against the confines of his trousers and, with just a moment of awkward fumbling, it was suddenly unleashed! Bouncing hard and heavy into the air, swinging free before landing directly onto the redhead’s stunned face with a soft slap.

Surprisingly, in spite of anything he may have expected from the proud woman, Cordelia didn’t pull back, even as she felt the full weight of his shaft, the first she’d ever seen, pressing hot across her bare skin. Instead, she tilted her head backwards, drinking in his masculine aroma as her fingers wound tentatively down around the base of his cock, not quite able to reach around his full girth.

“W-Whoa… it really is…” she swallowed, and he felt every movement run through him, “It’s so hard and… so much bigger than anything I’ve read about.”

Robin had been hard already, but looking down now and seeing Cordelia, on her knees before him, with her breath tickling along his shaft and his cock towering along the full length of her face, sent his lust skyrocketing. His cock pulsed hard with desire, and he could feel her shiver in response.

“Cordelia, this is… you don’t have to do something like this just to-AH!”

His words were cut off as her fingers pumped gently up several inches along his shaft. Flashing him a surprisingly cheeky grin, even as she pulled back to settle herself into position on the floor before him, Cordelia pressed a wet kiss directly atop the head of his cock, easily drawing a heavy gasp from the Tactician.

“I’m only doing what I want to,” she promised, “N-Now, I’ve never done this before, so tell me if… well, I suppose you wouldn’t have either would you? S-So, just… just tell me if it feels good!”

Without even waiting for a response, she quickly repeated the motion, easing her hands carefully up and down along his length as she pushed her lips lovingly against the tip of his glans, kissing him again and again, wetter and deeper each time. It wasn’t an entirely unfamiliar feeling for Robin, but finding himself suddenly at the mercy of the expert Knight’s strict focus, he soon found his breath coming fast, and faster still when she grew bold enough to open her lips around his cockhead, drawing him directly into her mouth.

Just the head of his cock was enough to fill her cheeks, but that was enough for both of them, “Mmphh!”, letting out a small, pleased moan directly into him, Cordelia’s tongue slid tentatively around his cockhead, tracing a deliciously awkward path back and forth along the underside of his glans.

Releasing him only long enough to suck in a shallow breath, she repeated her actions, again, then again, with the same exacting precision, sliding smoothly into motion until her head was bobbing easily up and down along the head of his cock, and her fingers were pumping in time back and forth up along his shaft.

Holding his hands atop her head, although without any pressure, Robin gasped out words of approval his cock twitching and pulsing between her lips.

Letting out a small moan of her own at the feeling of a man’s hands holding her in place and his length in her mouth, Cordelia was spurred on by his encouragement, feeling her confidence swelling even higher. Her hands glided faster along his length, holding tighter to him as she grew more accustomed to the feeling of his cock between her fingers, and she began twisting her head back and forth over his glans, using the full range of motion to tease every inch of his glans with her tongue.

“Naga!”

Even as his body rushed with pleasure, Robin couldn’t help but be amazed with what he was experiencing, almost as much as at the sheer sight of Ylisse’s famous Wing Commander on her knees, casting her dignity aside as she serviced him so ardently and methodically, as if his cock and his pleasure was the only thing she cared about in this moment.

It was, he realised, somehow exactly what he should have expected from her. Cordelia was dutiful and sensible, she made no attempt to fully swallow his cock nor to do more than she could, even with her face blushing vibrant red and her waist squirming on the floor, she recognised her limits and didn’t act rashly at all. It was very different from Tharja’s depraved adoration or Lucina’s natural skill, but the feeling of such a diligent woman attempting to so meticulously pleasure him was perfect in its own way.

Moaning happily, he was swept up entirely in Cordelia’s tempered discipline, and within just a few minutes, Robin was holding tight to her head- his hips bucking along with her hands as her fingers stroked him harder, and his cockhead twitching in her mouth as her tongue teased him faster.

“I-hhaa, … I’m getting close!”

Continuously gliding over his shaft, her hands didn’t give a single moment’s pause, but she released him from between her lips and turned her face up towards him, “Go ahead! I’ll, I’ll do my best!” Her eyes were shining with everything from nervousness to excitement, and that request was far more than the Tactician could have possibly taken.

Her mouth returned instantly to his cock, her tongue slid insistently along the underside of his shaft and her fingers pumped even more urgently along his shaft.

It was almost enough to drive any man insane, and it was more than enough to drive this man to his peak! Falling past any restraint with a delighted roar, Robin’s fingers clenched hard around her head, just barely managing to keep himself to driving forward and burying himself in her unprepared throat as his release suddenly, finally, exploded!

“MmmMMMMPHHH!?”

Moaning something between surprise and delight, Cordelia’s lips formed a perfect vacuum seal around his cock the second she felt the first splatter of his cum suddenly crashing through her mouth, her eyes shooting wide and body jolted in place as rope after rope of hot, thick seed unloaded across her tongue, and filled her cheeks to bursting! The taste of it sent her mind spinning and her pussy throbbing, but she didn’t even have a single moment to process anything- working on pure instinct, she desperately swallowed as much as she could manage, only just barely getting any down before her mouth was once more stuffed to overflowing, with even more of the Tactician’s release.

Her world spun, her breath grew short and her mind fogged over, the time seemed to pass in a blissful eternity as she continuously took more and even more of his seed down her throat in deliberate, heaving gulps! Until,

“Gods… Cordelia…”

At long last, without truly even intending to or understanding that she could, Cordelia realised she’d successfully drunken Robin’s entire load. By the time he was done, not a single drop of seed had escaped her lips.

Slowly, almost regretfully she let his cock fall from her tongue and deflated her now empty cheeks. Bending over and bracing her hands on the floor just to hold herself up, Ylisse’s most renowned Pegasus Knight finally began sucking down gulps of air instead of cum. As her mind spun back into dizzy focus, she realised she was trembling… it felt like electric sparks were arcing up her entire body, her nipples were straining rock-hard against her shirt, and her pussy was yearning in a way she’d never felt before.

Robin.

The overwhelming, masculine scent of his cum filled her senses, and she felt like she could taste him not just along her tongue and down her throat, but as if he’d filled up every inch of her with him.

“That… hhhaa… That was incredible…”

Surprisingly, it was Cordelia that gasped those words before Robin even had a chance to.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

As Cordelia slowly came down from a very excited, and very aroused high, with the lingering flavour of Robin settling into her tongue and her wits finally returning… the enormity of what she was tasting, and just what she’d done crashed over her, and she suddenly found it almost impossible to even look at the man!

She’d considered doing this, she’d even planned it out, worked out the idea of it in her head… it’d felt like she’d spent half of last-night’s bath and several hours of her night just playing through this scenario in her head. But somehow, until she’d been in his arms, she’d never fully believed she actually could, and then after that she’d been far too exhilarated to even consider stopping. And now, her head was full of so many thoughts and emotions that she couldn’t even begin to get her words straight!

Robin did as best he could, trying to act a gentleman, making small-talk while she awkwardly straightened her clothes, and then helping up as she staggered to her feet, all of which she appreciated, but Cordelia could do little more than verbalise brief notes of appreciation.

He offered her the bed in his office if she needed some time to recover, but the rational, cautious parts of her mind had returned enough for her to turn down that offer. Not because she didn’t trust him, of course… but because she knew without a doubt, that she couldn’t possibly trust herself right now! That was what shocked, excited and worried Cordelia most of all, the realisation of just what an utterly tremendous effect it had had on her! The sensation of being down on her knees, of seeing Robin’s full cock towering above her, feeling it pressing down on her face, then caressing it with her tongue and… and she was still savouring the taste of his seed- it was masculine, potent, arousing and delicious in a way she’d never dreamed possible.

Her legs were shaking, her heart was racing and the yearning, aching need coming from her pussy was like nothing she’d ever experienced before.

Right now, she wanted more worse than she’d ever wanted anything!

If she let herself try rest in his bed right now, she doubted she’d even last five minutes before she was begging him to join her, to pin her down, to…

‘Focus Cordelia! Get your head straight, r-remember your training!’

She was smart enough to understand that she was probably feeling this so vividly because it was her first sexual experience of any kind, and because she had been a little repressed in that area for some years now. She knew she was a little lovelorn, but even so, it shocked her just how overwhelmed she was from servicing the man she… from servicing Robin! She couldn’t help but wonder what it must be like for anyone who was even worse than she was, she could hardly even imagine how someone like Tharja would react if she ever got to taste Robin like that… 

‘Focus!’

In the end, she simply let Robin escort her from his office, trying to walk as straight as she could as she burned with embarrassment, lust and nervousness beside him.

“W-Wait… wait, Robin… I…”

It was only when they were a few steps down the hall she finally forced herself to speak. This wasn’t how she wanted it to end! This wasn’t how she’d imagined it! She’d dreamed of how she would surprise him, that she’d drive him crazy and then send him off on his trip with some sultry line, utterly unable to forget her the entire time…

“When you’re back… I’d like to, I want to see you again.”

“Cordelia,” he brightened instantly, relief flashing through his eyes and the same joy flooded through her when she saw a broad grin shining on his face, “Of course! I’ll come see you the first thing when I ge-”

“Huuh!? Mother? What’re you doing here?”

A sharp voice cut through the soft mood like a knife.

Cordelia almost jumped out of her skin, “S-Severa!?” she was not in the right headspace to be dealing with her tempestuous daughter right now.

“Good morning, Severa,” Robin made a show of visibly perking up at the younger redhead’s presence, stepping away from Cordelia as he moved to cover for her, “Your mother was just helping me sort some things out before I left. She was kind enough to make sure I wouldn’t forget something important.”

“Huh, eh, whatever,” his explanation was immediately dismissed and he was, as usual, pinned under the smaller girl’s glare as she stepped forward and jabbed a finger into his chest, “I was looking for you! I need to talk to you!”

That was probably only mostly true. If someone wanted to find him, surely his office would be the first place they would look, “Oh? What’s up? I’ve got to be leaving soon.”

“Right, and you’re going to Regna Ferox. So, while you’re there, you’re going to do something for me!”

So saying, she pushed him back, away from the bewildered Wing Commander, and back into his office, with the door thumping shut behind them.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Following along with Severa’s insistence, Robin found himself unceremoniously pushed through his office until he was leaning back up against his desk, at which point the Mercenary finally let him go, standing a short distance away from him with her hands squarely on her hips.

“Hmph.”

“You wanted something from Regna Ferox?”

“Huuuh, what? Of course not! Are you stupid!? I was just saying that to get my mother out of the way! Gawds! Would you learn to read the mood just a little?”

Read the mood? Well, despite her aggressive tone and posturing, she didn’t actually seem annoyed with him. Which meant, as usual, she was just using her anger as a way of hiding her nervousness. And, for whatever reason, she seemed even more tightly wound than usual.

Actually, the Tactician corrected internally as a sly grin spread across his face, “Oh?” it wasn’t whatever reason he had a pretty good idea of just what had her so on edge.

“Obviously, I-I’m here to get you back for what you did to me yesterday!”

He’d been hoping it was something like that.

He’d been a little mean to her the previous day.

Despite their rush to get everything prepared and arranged for their meeting with the Empress, several times both before they’d met with Say’ri and then once while they’d been escorting her back to Ylisstol, Robin had bumped in Severa when she’d been walking around the town… and then, without giving her any warning, he’d promptly pulled her away and into some secluded spot, pushed her up against the wall, and then kissed her with all the loving passion he held for her. It wasn’t something he’d had any plan or intention of doing, more a reckless, spur of the moment idea that had taken hold of him since the first time he’d seen the Mercenary following their previous talk, a continuation of everything that was still unsaid since outside her house the night before.

Of course, he had felt a little bad about ambushing her like that… but, not enough to hold back from doing so, not when she’d neither complained, nor resisted his advances. Severa was one of the Shepherd’s most elite fighters, she was more than skilled enough to have noticed him whenever he was around her. There was no way it could possibly have been a co-incidence for them to keep bumping into each other, completely alone, and just a metre away from some deserted nook or alley. And, most importantly, she’d kissed him back just as hard every time.

“Ah! This is your revenge, huh?”

Now it seemed that he was the one who’d been shoved somewhere away from prying eyes, Robin mused as he quietly activated the spell to ward his office against listeners, well, that was fine, turnabout was fair play after all.

“Y-Yeah! Y-You jerk! You just did whatever you wanted with me! A-And then ran off to go spend the rest of the day doing whatever with Say’ri. Well, I better not hear any complaints now!”

Blushing frantically red in the face, it seemed like Severa had psyched herself up enough, because no sooner had she finished her accusation than she had launched herself across the distance towards him! Not even giving him a moment to reply, her arms wrapped around his neck, tugging him down towards her, before she smashed their lips together with all the fiery passion of a woman scorned.

Predictably, the Mercenary’s enthusiasm outstripped her experience, and Robin only just barley manged to pull back enough to prevent their teeth from clacking together. Severa didn’t even notice, moaning happily at feeling his mouth open against her forcefulness, she was already far too busy trying to show her tongue down his throat.

Kissing Severa, Robin decided, was always a funny thing.

At first glance she appeared to be completely different from her mother; without any previous lovers, she didn’t really know what she was doing. But where Cordelia moulded her body to his own, smouldered in his embrace and matched his movements as best she could, Severa simply charged forwards with unstoppable passion and force, sliding her wonderfully toned body against him as her tongue slid aggressively around his mouth.

But, she let out a shiver of delight in exactly the same manner as her mother when she felt Robin’s arms wrapping around her, shifting her in place until he could hold her comfortably against his chest.

And, despite how forceful and assertive she was, despite how her body language practically screamed that she was a woman trying to assert her place… after a minute, after she was finally able to let go of her insecurities, she would always relax into his arms, mewling softly into his kiss and inviting him take control as she fell into his embrace.

Just like her mother.

The minutes passed slowly and comfortably after that, with both of them losing any track of time as they concentrated only on each other. And, after they finally pulled apart, Severa still remained pressed tight against him, with her head resting on his shoulder and her arms around his neck.

“Do you really have to leave?” she whispered eventually, the added meaning of so soon hanging unsaid in the air between them.

Robin answered by stroking his hands gently down her back, caressing her in as soothing a manner as he could manage, “I’ll be back before you know it.”

“I… I heard you’re going with Lucina… That’s good, Morgan will be happy I’m sure.”

He sighed, “That’s only because of Sumia. I will be traveling with her for a while, but it doesn’t mean anything, I’d be just as happy to be with you.” That last part was mostly true. He loved Severa, of course, and he would very much enjoy travelling her, just in a different way to with his fiancée.

Severa was quite for several long moments after that, but she made no attempt to pull away from his arms or to reject him.

“Why?” she asked finally, “It’s how it’s meant to be isn’t it, it’s better for everyone if you’re just with her. You even said it yourself, you love her.”

“I do,” he nodded seriously, pulling her a touch tighter against him even as he confirmed his love for her Liege Lord, “It’s exactly as I told you; I love her and I asked her to marry me, and she turned me down…”

“Th-Then, you should, this is a chance for you to g-”

“And I adore you. Whatever I may feel for Lucina, I care deeply for you. I want you to be my woman,” he answered, wrapping both his arms possessively tight around her, being completely open about his selfish desires, “Like I told you, that’s why I kissed you that first time, to show you how serious I was.”

“A-And all those other times?”

“Because I wanted you.”

Her arms squeezed tight around him for just a moment… And then, she suddenly did pull away, stepping back with her trademark frown as she threw her hands up towards the sky.

“Urgh! Gawds, it always has to be so difficult dealing with you, doesn’t it? Hah, you always make me feel like such an idiot! But, I’m not that bad, I won’t just be some lame second choice you can run to because Lucina didn’t want you!”

“I never onc-”

She was in far too much of a frenzy to stop now, “Th-There’s things even I can do, you know!? Don’t underestimate me! I won’t lose, even to her! I can do things Lucina can’t, th-that she’d never even dream of!”

“Severa…”

Her face was blazing red, and her eyes were wild, but there was an irresistible determination shining from the young Mercenary as she glared at him now, “Hhha, I-I was thinking about this all last night, how to get you back! Th-This is my real revenge! I’ll… I’ll… I’ll show you I’m better than Lucina! I’ll show you something you won’t be able to stop thinking about the whole time you’re away!”

Despite himself, Robin couldn’t help but remain stuck standing in place, ‘S-She can’t possibly mean…’ In all his plans, all his musings and every single one of the scenario’s he’d considered, not once had he ever dreamed of his morning playing out like this.

“Eh-uuaAH!?”

The exact same scene played out once again, leaving him gasping aloud surprise as the beautiful redhead dropped abruptly to her knees, tugging at his belt with nervously trembling fingers. For Robin, even aside from the jaw-dropping sight of the young twin-tailed girl blushing furiously, tugging his belt open and seating herself between his legs, it was a truly beautiful moment… And one he knew that even the young Mercenary couldn’t fully appreciate; because, in that single instant, he fully understood just how badly he had underestimated her, and just how much of her mother’s daughter she truly was.

It wasn’t often that Ylisse’s Grandmaster was proven wrong, or caught unawares, to have it done twice in an hour was almost unprecedented. But, as the fire within his soul blazed redhot with excitement, he didn’t have a single complaint.

Severa didn’t lose to her mother, either in how she excited him, nor in how unreasonably beautiful she was. And so even despite his earlier release, just as before, Robin’s cock had been straining hard at the confines of his trousers even before she fell to her knees, and with just a few moments of awkward fumbling, it was suddenly unleashed! Bouncing free, hard and heavy into the air, it landed directly on the shocked redhead’s face with a thick slap.

Predictably, having suddenly seen the very first cock of her life, just in time for its full weight to crash down onto her, Severa reeled back! It hadn’t hurt, of course, but the sensation of it pulsing suddenly hot against her bare skin, along with the feeling of herself on her knees, held down by this towering pillar of flesh, had left her body shocked with a desire she couldn’t even begin to understand.

“Wha…”

Blinking at the sight, she reached out tentatively, wrapping her hands around it, holding it aloft and feeling the thick girth of his shaft weighing down her palms.

“Huh!? What the hells!? Isn’t this way too big, how am I even meant to..? Urrrgh! Gawds! You didn’t cast some stupid spell on yourself, did you!?”

“What? No, of course not! Se-”

“Tch, yes, of course you didn’t,” she scoffed, rolling her eyes, even as she rolled her hands gently around his length, “Because you’re always so perfect. You’re always the best at everything, so it’s only natural isn’t it? You’re already the smartest and most handsome guy I know, of course, you’d have this stupidly huge c-cock too!”

The complaints were always part of the charm when it came to Severa, but at this point, Robin wasn’t actually sure if she was complaining.

“Gawds! I’m sick of it! Why do you always make dealing with you so difficult for me!?”

Any attempt the Tactician may have made towards answering that was instantly lost when, without waiting for a single second more, Severa dipped her head forwards, opening her mouth as wide as she could and enveloping his cockhead gently between her soft lips. Then, just as her mother had not long ago, she began tentatively suckling on his glans, sliding her tongue along the underside of his shaft as she moved just a little hesitantly in place, getting accustomed to the feeling of his cock stuffing her mouth full.

Swept up in the sudden rush of pleasure, Robin’s hands flew instinctively around the Mercenary’s head, taking a firm hold of her twintails as he groaned involuntarily, feeling a shudder running up the length of his spine as she swirled her tongue around his cockhead.

“Not bad huh?” Severa smirked up at him, after rolling her mouth back off his shaft and letting it rest bare against her face once more as she tried to disguise the thrill that last act especially gave her, “I bet you’ve never felt anything like this before, I know that Princess would never do something like this for you! Heh, well, so long as you’re thankful, I don’t mind taking pity on you every now and then.”

Robin knew better. He really did. But all the same, he couldn’t help himself, “Oh? You’re taking pity on me? I thought this was so I wouldn’t be able to forget you?”

“S-S-Shut up! Gah! What’s wrong with you!? Do you ALWAYS have to spoil the mood!? Just stay quiet and enjoy it!”

He really shouldn’t have teased her, not when she was doing all this for him, and especially not when she already pushing herself well past her comfort zone. And yet, feeling Severa angrily throw herself back onto his cock with even more gusto, Robin couldn’t quite bring himself to regret it! Instead, he simply verbalised his delight, moaning even louder as her tongue began working around his shaft, and clinging even tighter to her head as her lips formed a tight suction around his glans.

Letting out a quiet moan of her own at the feeling of a man’s hands taking such a possessive hold of her and of his length in her mouth, Severa was spurred on by his encouragement, feeling her usually shaky confidence start to swell. Unlike her mother though, she wasn’t content at all to simply pleasure the crown of his cock; shifting her hands up to his waist and around the to his back, she began sliding her lips down, further along the length of his cock, gagging a little as she began taking him down into her throat.

“N-Naga!”

Eyes flashing white at the sensation, Robin could only stare in amazement down at the sight beneath him, the unbelievable sight of the Shepherd’s temperamental firebrand on her knees before him, bobbing her head several inches up and down his cock as more and more of her tight throat was opened up around him. There was nothing at all dignified about the sight, her fingers were digging hard into his skin, her brow was furrowed forcefully, and the room was filled loud with the sound of her lips smacking ever deeper along his cock, but the sight of it drove him wild with lust almost as surely as the feeling of her throat constricting nervously around his length.

Yet, for all that he was being swept up in the sensation… still he couldn’t help but worry for her. As incredible as the sight of Severa swallowing his length was, he couldn’t possibly have missed the struggle writ clear on her face. This was her first time doing any of this, it had taken enough of her resolve just accustoming herself to easing his cock down her throat in the first place, by now, her eyes were squeezed shut and she was grimacing with each further inch she swallowed.

Until… predictably, a few minutes later, she suddenly wrenched herself backwards, reeling away, coughing and spluttering, leaving his cock springing free in the air as she gasped for breath.

If he hadn’t been so awash with pleasure, Robin would have winced. He’d seen that glare on her face before, and he knew it was directed only inwards.

“Se-hha-Severa,” he panted, his own breath already coming in gasps from her ministrations, “You don’t need to force yourself like that. It felt incredible… just that much is more than fine. Just take it slo-”  

“I-I told you to shut up!” she growled but there was no venom in her words, just disappointment in herself. Ultimately, she was just as insistent on living up to her own expectations as she was in pleasuring him, “I… I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking my mother could easily do something like this!”

Robin sighed, shifting his hands atop her head and threading them through her hair, doing nothing to stop her as she forcefully dipped herself forwards and wrapped her lips lovingly around his cock once again, “No. Nothing of the sort. Right now, the only thing on my mind is you.” He promised, not bothering to otherwise correct her misconception.

Even so, what did remain of his worries was difficult for even him to maintain under the pleasure that swiftly assaulted him as Severa threw herself into the task with even more enthusiasm than before. Clinging roughly around his waist, she pushed herself further forwards, bobbing her head deeper down each time and stretching inch after inch of her throat open around his cock.

Breathing in ragged pants, Robin’s hands curled tighter around her twintails, and his body flushed heavily with desire. Again and again, he savoured the feeling of her tongue dragging inexpertly along his shaft and his cock pulsing against her tight walls- again and again, a little faster and a little harder each time, as more and more of his length was buried down the determined woman’s throat, until the entire room was filled thick with the wet sound of her lips schlupping messily along his shaft.

Severa too was finding herself flushed warm with something far beyond embarrassment. Her core was throbbing with heat and she could feel her pussy aching with a yearning unlike anything she’d ever imagined. Somehow, this was far more pleasurable than she’d been prepared for. Daughter of Ylisse’s most famous Pegasus Knight, unwilling co-leader of the future Shepherds and sometimes the only responsible one to be found, she was above all else a proud and temperamental woman… but, she couldn’t deny there was something special about being on down on her knees, forcing a man’s cock down her throat and feeling his hands heavy and insistent around her head, as if she was submitting entirely to his whims.

‘Mmmmm… I-I think I love this!’

Even knowing full well there was no way she could take something like that, a small part of her was hoping that Robin would take an even stronger hold on her twintails, using them to yank her all the way down his shaft and just brutally bury himself all the way down her throat. Another part of her wanted to beg him to do exactly that. But… but dangerous thoughts like that were all something for her to (fretfully) concern herself with later. For now, her goal was simple, she wanted nothing more than to show him all the things she could never say aloud; that she was worth remembering! That he should want to come back to her! That she could make him happy!

Minutes passed for both of them in heady bliss and Severa’s struggles didn’t diminish at any point. Her eyes were screwed shut with effort, twice more she had to pull herself off him, gasping for breath and taking a moment to recentre herself, and the whole time she clung almost desperately tight to his back.

“Gh-hha-HHHA! Gods!”

Gasping aloud, and staring somewhere between astonishment and disbelief, Robin could only marvel at the sight between his legs- where the young redhead’s lips were finally pressed up tight against the base of his cock, laying something like an imitation of a kiss directly onto his bare waist. At long last, after an enormous effort, the full, thick length of his cock was buried to the hilt down the Mercenary’s throat.

“Severa… that’s incredible…”

It wasn’t a particularly novel or rare sensation for him anymore, recently he often had at least two women swallowing his length on any given day. But even so, that didn’t diminish one bit from just how amazed he was. In truth he was impressed almost beyond words. Only Lucina had ever managed that on her very first attempt, even Tharja and Olivia, as worryingly devoted to him as they were had each taken far longer to learn. Once again, Robin was reminded of just how unbelievably impressive Severa actually was under her boatload of insecurities.

At least, he was for a moment, and then his thoughts swirled and his breath came out in a shuddering gasp as the temperamental maiden drew herself all the way back up along his cock… and then suddenly rolled herself forwards, forcefully, loudly and wonderfully swallowing his full length once again!

Feeling his body surging with pleasure, Robin could only be swept up in the sensations almost as much as the equally enjoyable sight of the Shepherd’s most thorny member on her knees, throwing aside her usual pride and servicing him with such fiery passion, as if his cock and his pleasure were the only things that mattered to her right now.

It was, he realised, somehow exactly what he expected from her. Severa was heartfelt but earnest, she was forever scared of meeting her own expectations, but she always threw her all into anything she did just the same. Watching her head bobbing up and down, faster and harder, along the full length of his shaft, hearing her moans and gasps as she made tentative attempts to squeeze him with her throat or tease him with her tongue, he savoured every last moment. Her lack of experience shone through her every action, her drool was running down her chin and her mouth never quite seemed to quite caress the same point twice. It was sloppy and messy in a way that reminded him of Olivia’s first hesitant attempts, but the feeling of such a guarded woman attempting to so honestly pleasure him was perfect all the same.

Moaning louder, he fell entirely into Severa’s recklessly emotional affection and within just a few minutes, he was clinging desperately tight to her head, his hips bucking along with her movements enough to be almost thrusting himself into her, hilting himself hard and rough as his cock twitched and throbbed all the way down her throat.    

“Gh-hhaa… I can’t hold back!”

She moaned something unintelligible directly into his cock, but it felt too good, and it was too late, Robin was well past his limits and far beyond being able to hold himself back any further! Arcing back with a blissful cry, he gave in entirely to his desires, slamming his hips forward and at the same time, yanking roughly on Severa’s twintails- sheathing his full length hard down her throat, and holding her forcefully in place around his cock as his release suddenly, finally, exploded!

“MmmGHHMMMMH!?”

Eyes wide with shock, disbelief and unabashed delight, Severa’s hands clawed frantically at his back. Wrapping her arms around him with every drop of her strength she held herself in position, lips smashed tight against his waist, with no less a frenzy than the Tactician from the first moment she felt the full length of his hotly pulsing shaft suddenly unload inside her!

Her world spun and her vision glazed as her body washed with heat, and as she felt thick, heavy ropes of cum crashing down her throat, firing right into her stomach. Clinging tightly to the Tactician and held forcefully in place by his firm grip on her, she happily, eagerly, surrendered herself entirely to his mercy, able to do nothing but groan with each successive load of potent, viscous seed splattering out within her.

Her mind went white, her body trembled with delight, and she remained blissfully in place, feeling his cock twitching and shaking inside her, unloading again and again, until,

“Phhha…phhaaaa… S-Severa…”

At long last, some distant eternity later, exactly as she’d always dreamed of doing, Severa realised she’d successfully swallowed Robin’s entire load. By the time she could feel his shaft slowly calming, not a single drop of his seed had been lost.

Slowly, and with no small amount of regret, she slid backwards, tracing her tongue almost automatically along the underside of his, still hard, length as she finally slipped it from her throat and once more, free into place atop her face. Closing her eyes and finally filling herself with air instead of cock, she tipped her head back, feeling his length resting comfortably atop her in a way that made her wonder why she’d ever recoiled before.

Regaining her rationality as her thoughts returned dizzily to her, Severa realised her entire body was shivering… warm, electric sparks were tracing up the length of her spine, leaving her moderate breasts tinging as they strained against the confines of her shirt and her, thoroughly soaked, pussy hot with an intense desire.

Even having never felt anything like this before, she understood it instantly.

Robin.

The Shepherds stupid, handsome, annoying, comforting, frustrating, wonderful Tactical-Jerk that she’d loved for years now… Robin… She could taste his seed, delicious, thick and potent all the way down her throat and she could feel the sensation seeming to spread throughout her entire being. Her entire body was throbbing for him.

“Th-That… Naga… Well, th-that wasn’t so bad…”

Predictably, it was Severa who gasped those typically dishonest words.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Brushing away Robin’s offered hand and staggering unsteadily to her feet, Severa’s mind was still a little dazed, but she was keenly aware of two facts.

First: That she wanted to fuck.

Second: That she wasn’t going to.

The first fact was a little scary by itself, she’d felt varying degrees of arousal in the past, and definitely seen plenty of cute boys who’d taken her interest in one manner or another, but she’d never felt anything like this burning desire before. It felt like she was straining against the limits of her self-control just keeping herself calm. She didn’t want to make love, she didn’t want to have sex, she wanted Robin to push her down, rip her clothes off, and just fuck her. It was as exciting a desire as it was dangerous.

Which was why she was at least a little thankful to the second fact.

Given the life she’d lived, Severa had never really intended to save herself for marriage but even so, she’d hoped for something a little more romantic than to suddenly lose her virginity on the floor of her long-time crus-… on the floor of Robin’s office. And, she was smart enough to know that she would definitely regret doing anything like that later. Robin should be with Lucina, she wanted Robin to be with Lucina, she wanted both of them to be happy and she knew they’d be happy together… how exactly she was going to justify having sucked him off, despite that, she was going to think about later.

And yet, right now, if Robin had asked her, she doubted she’d be able to say no. Rather, she was well aware that even as she made a show of trying to tidy herself up and tug her clothes back into place, she kept sneaking glances towards him, trying to see if he was going to ask her for more.

Ultimately, the biggest… maybe only (she would think about that later too!) reason was simply that there was no time left. The sun was high in the sky now, midday probably no more than a half-hour away if not already passed. She’d spent too much time wandering in circles around her room this morning, trying to prepare what she was going to say, that in the end, she’d run out of time.

He was going to leave her. She’d thought she’d accepted all of this, and she’d thought she was used to being away from him, especially after his disappearance following the war. But, everything they’d done recently had reawakened everything she’d kept locked so tight inside. He was going away for weeks with two other women, one of which he loved. Her heart hurt at that, and she reacted the same way she always did.

“Hah! S-See, I can tell you loved that, didn’t you! Now you realise what an idiot you are, for leaving a woman like me behind while you go off to play tour guide for Say’ri!”

Robin didn’t get angry, and he didn’t lose patience with her. He never did, “I’ll miss you Severa. I’ll come see you, as soon as I’m back.”

“Phah, what-ever, I’ll probably have moved on by the time you do get back!”

Stomping away and flinging the door open while she still had her anger to protect her, Severa barely made it three strides down the hallway before she passed her mother, waiting with a look of cautious impatience outside at the top of the staircase.

Cordelia tried to say something, but she brushed it off, storming down the stairs and finally, out down into the barracks below.

“Hmph!”

Frowning at her daughter’s predictable, but frustrating rudeness, Cordelia had better luck hailing the Tactician as he followed a few steps after.

“Robin..?”

“Oh, you were waiting for me?”

“N-Not here, hey! Mm-AH! Hey! W-When you come back, alright?”

“I’ll look forward to it.”

“I was just… Severa’s been a little, a little off lately. I was wondering what she needed to talk to you about so badly.”

“Cordelia!” he gasped, turning to her with clearly feigned outrage, “That’s private! She trusted me with this! I definitely can’t tell you about the handwritten letter she wanted delivered to Owain!”

“O-Oh!”

Cordelia’s eyes lit up at that and her face blossomed into an excited smile Robin had a great deal of difficulty keeping himself from kissing

‘Owain! So that’s what she’s been so concerned about lately!’ the Wing Commander hummed to herself as she split from the Tactician, taking a different exit from the building heading in a different direction towards her house, ‘Owain and Severa… Ah, that’s so nice.’

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Surprisingly, in spite of having brushed past her just moments ago, she saw that Severa was actually waiting for her when she stepped outside into the street. Mumbling something akin to an apology, the younger redhead shrugged herself off from where she’d been leaning against a signpost and fell into step beside her.

“Hey… Mother?”

Cordelia blinked. She’d been trying to think of a good conversation starter herself, (one that didn’t let on what she’d just heard about Severa’s little task for Regna Ferox). It was unusual for her daughter to speak first.

“Yes?”

“What do… Hmm… What do you think of Lucina and Robin?”

Normally that question would have soured her mood, but the taste still lingering on her tongue gave her courage that was hard to suppress.

“How do you mean? I think of them as great friends and reliable comrades of course.”

“I… just… well, it’s two people who’re the same age, but from different time periods… It’s, it’s really romantic isn’t it? Like they won’t let anything keep them apart?”

If Cordelia had been paying more attention, she may have noted that Severa didn’t mention Lucina at any point in her explanation. But this was a topic she’d never been particularly fond of, and one she’d found herself increasingly touchy thinking about in the last few days.

“No, I think it’s really strange. Marrying your best friend’s daughter? It’s odd,” she knew exactly how Sumia thought about it, but, “I’m sure Chrom thinks exactly the same.”

“Gah! Chrom? It’s always about what Chrom thinks with you, isn’t it!?”

Normally a conversation like that would have been enough to set Severa off in a huff and leave Cordelia sighing in frustration. This topic especially had, without either of them realising it, become a very sensitive subject for either of them.

However,… in all the years they’d been together, they’d both mostly gotten used to each other’s antics and their seemingly ever-present arguments. And, perhaps more than anything else, they were both practically aglow in an almost unassailably good mood right now. And so, as the topic of conversation died, so too did any anger, leaving mother and daughter walking comfortably in step together once again.

“Hmm, it’s just about lunch time isn’t it?” Cordelia mused, catching a fresh array of delicious scents as they passed into the marketplace, with the midday-rush ready to begin, “Would you like to get something to eat? I’ll treat you.”

“Ah! I… Nah, I’ll pass actually,” Severa shook her head after a moment’s thought, “I already had something, so I’m completely stuffed.”

“Oh? So, you did have something in the end? I was worried you’d skipped breakfast. I suppose I’m the same though, I had a big meal earlier, so I don’t need anything.”

 Both women hummed contentedly at that, idly stroking their hands over their stomachs as they were lost in their thoughts.

“A-Actually… I’ve been feeling a little strange for a while now. So, I think I might head home and just… lie down for a few hours,” the ache between Cordelia’s legs left her swallowing heavily, and she was suddenly thankful for the large, thick walls of her room.

“Urgh, if you’re sick, don’t pass it to me! Hmph, but I was up late last-night, so I guess I’ll do the same,” the heat swirling from Severa’s core left her legs a little shaky, and she was immediately glad she’d picked her room on the far side of the house to her mother’s.

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Notes:

A/N: Phew! I feel like I say this quite often, but hopefully now you can see why this chapter was delayed so many times. I meant to move the plot onwards quite a lot and have this be entirely a Say’ri chapter, but there was just no way that was possible. If you are looking for more of our lovelly Empress though, you can rest assured that most of the next chapter is already written (on pen and paper) and was done so before I realised this needed to be split. There’s quite a bit of work to do fleshing it out a bit more, and adding a few extra scenes to tie back into this chapter, but overall, it shouldn’t take as long to be completed as this one did. Hopefully.

That Robin/Lucina closet scene (as well as the Cynthia part) was entirely spontaneous, written on a whim because I thought it was a great idea, so hopefully you guys liked that. Got to delve a little deeper into Lucina’s mind, and we also got some humour at poor Cynthia’s expense.

For the goodbye scene, my original idea was for Cordelia to take him by surprise by kissing him just like he had for her, and then the big twist being that Severa would then do exactly the same. Mother and daughter, each making out with the same man behind the other’s backs, pretty hot! It got changed after I realised how much hotter it would be to have Cordelia take things a little further, and then Severa to still (unknowingly) match her. I was conflicted as to whether such a big step made sense for her character, but I did think it was reasonable considering she was finally taking her first steps towards claiming a relationship on her own terms. And, in the end, I put it to a poll for my supporters, Cordelia giving a blowjob for a goodbye was the overwhelming winner! I didn’t tell anyone, or leave any notes in my previews, about Severa also doing one. So hopefully that was a nice surprise.

I had a lott’a fun writing those scenes too, a lot of parallels between Severa and Cordelia, so different but so similar, I wanted to parallel Cordelia’s insecurities about herself with Severa’s for that purpose.

Anyhow, expect the next chapter in about 3 days. It won’t be done by then, but you can expect it then all the same.

As always, more information about my story statuses as well as a weekly updates and any other details can be found at:

http://jlcdavenport.blogspot.com

Chapter 19: Say’ri – A Moratorium From Duty

Notes:

Authors Note: And we’re back! Anyone who’s been following my updates will know how long this one’s been coming, it’s been almost one thing after another with the lockdown, with travels and with family recently. Luckily myself and the people I’m close to have managed to keep ourselves safe, and I can only hope the same is true for everyone reading this.

Most of you have probably already heard this, but for anyone who hasn't, I've been spending some of my time working on other Awakening story recently called Bred for Victory, so if you haven't seen it and like my stories, check it out. Anyhow, and at long last, we have the second half of the promised Say’ri chapter and the one I’ve personally been looking forward to for quite some time.

And again, as a reminder: Say’ri has a ninja retainer working with her called Kagerou. This isn’t the Kagerou from Fates, it’s just a woman that looks and acts exactly like her. Similar to Fates’s Caeldori/Rhajat/Asugi thing, but in reverse.

Say’ri – A Moratorium From Duty

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Recap: Robin returned to life a little more than 6 months after sacrificing himself to slay the Fell Dragon. However, when he returned, he found himself soon overcome with incredible lusts, desires that Lucina (his secret fiancé) was unable to entirely sate.

Over the next four months things got steadily worse for the Grandmaster and soon Robin was driven almost to the point of madness, holding back his rampaging desires, all the while knowing full well that sooner or later his willpower would give out and he’d lose control of himself entirely. With that terrible knowledge in mind, he resolved to at least make the choice of his own sanity and finally slept with Tharja.

Overwhelmed with the ensuing relief her body granted him, Robin listened attentively while the Dark Mage informed him of the truth- that in being revived he’d established dominion of the power that used to belong to Grima, power buried deep inside his bloodline. She claimed that Robin had now unlocked the true potential of his heritage and in doing so, gained both the power and instincts of a Manakete, desires far stronger than what should be contained within a human vessel. Among those desires was the most basic, primal urges, to Conquer, to Dominate and to Breed, the same callings that until now Robin had been fighting, at terrible cost to his very sanity.

Eventually he accepted that the only path forward for him, to protect his family and friends from himself, was to sate those same desires. And so, Robin set out, using his wits as a tactician and his influence as the Shepherds Grandmaster to seduce enough powerful women to satisfy even a dragon’s selfish greed. So far, he’s succeeded in having sex with Lucina, Tharja, Lissa, Olivia, Miriel, Nowi and most recently Panne.

Where we left off last time, Say’ri arrived from Chon’sin to fulfil the promise she made with Robin for him to show her around Ylisse, and after some strained negotiations among the various Shepherd’s leaders, it was decided that Lucina would join her and her ninja retainer on at least the first part of their journey.

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Despite how capable and reliable she was, one could not help but worry about Say’ri. Driven so relentlessly by the forces of her duty, her obligations and all the weight of traditions upon her, she wound herself up so tight it always seemed that the same strength that kept her upright would also be what gave out under her. It was only, finally, when she reunited with Robin in Chon’sin, that she was finally able to change and that she was able to begin to examine the woman she was beneath all the layers of obligation.

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“You intend to bring your… fiancée with us?”

Despite how regally Say’ri had been standing on the side of the street, the restrained excitement bubbling within her had been vibrant enough for even Robin to notice, and his heart couldn’t help but ache for the young Empress as he watched it drain away by the second ever since she noticed the small royal entourage following the Tactician. Just the fact that she was here before them, and appeared to have been waiting for some time, despite having spent the night in the Palace just the same as him, was proof enough.

Say’ri’s expression slowly cooled into a composed mask, however the ninja standing at her side made little attempt to hide her own emotions and a hard, grim frown was etched on her (still, stunningly beautiful) face as she too listened to the explanation for their travel plans.

“Not… bring her with us,” Robin vacillated, wondering what to say about Lucina being called his fiancée. It was true, but no-one else knew that, “Just travelling alongside us, for a little while. It only makes sense, we’re all going in the same direction, it’s a lot safer to travel as a group.”

Facing down the restrained hurt he could see in his friend’s face, a rather large part of the Tactician was tempted to add “It was Sumia’s idea!”, but he retained enough of his tact to hold back.

Not that he really needed to, the look on the Queen’s face from where she was standing just a few steps behind him made her thoughts on this matter painfully obvious. ‘Why wouldn’t he travel with Lucina?’ her very posture seemed to say, ‘You’re the strange one here, coming all the way to another continent just to try travel alone with a man you know is taken.’

Say’ri’s teeth grit, but for whatever else you could say about her, Sumia had taken to her royal duties well and just as she’d discerned, whether or not the Empress liked this situation, she had no choice but to accept it.

Watching the disappointment and pain flash for an instant across Say’ri’s face before she could school her features to her usual composed mask, Robin’s heart ached for his friend. He cared deeply for the swordswoman and he knew better than almost anyone just how difficult her life had been, and just how lonely the role her honour demanded she played was.

He didn’t know exactly what she was thinking, nor entirely what her intentions were, considering everything that’d passed between them since he’d made his promise to her… but he could easily understand that this trip had been the work of months for an Empress that now controlled the major part of an entire continent. This was not something she’d done lightly, and to accept a compromise like this must be a very bitter pill to swallow.

“I shall be in your care, Lady Say’ri,” Lucina added, bowing graciously as she took up her place at Robin’s side, “For a few weeks at least.”

“Of course, Princess Lucina. It does my heart glad to be travelling with you once again, ‘tis far too long since I have enjoyed your company.”

Just as she’d retained her natural, familiar style of dress (with, unfortunately, her miraculously restrained breasts) Say’ri kept her familiar manner of speaking. However, no matter how kind her words were, they lacked the gentle warmth he associated so deeply with the strict woman.

And again, Robin’s heart hurt.

The most difficult part of this, he decided, was that there was no deep division or ill feeling between any of these women. Regardless of Lucina’s occasional worries about how close he’d been to Say’ri in the past, the small flashes of jealousy he’d sometimes seen from the Empress in return, and Sumia’s personal interests in seeing her daughter happy, all three of them cared deeply for one another and respected each other greatly. All three of them loved the others, they’d fought and bled beside one another at various points, and all would throw their lives into danger to protect any of the others.

In all other situations this would be a pleasant meeting, a happy discussion and eager, excited plans they were making together.

But in this, at least, the line had been drawn clear in the sand, and the tension was palpable.

And so, after a few minutes of strained goodbyes and reiterations of his plans to meet up again with Morgan, Lissa and a few others in Regna Ferox, the small party finally set off from Ylisstol.

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Two Years Ago - Valm

The third thing Say’ri reclaimed was her destiny. The exile who’d lived on the run, bartering her name and waning influence for what favours she could manage, slowly gained control of her fate once more.

In the Shepherd’s strategy tent, long past the any reasonable hour to be awake, Robin was standing in place, staring intently at the intricately detailed map spread out on the table before him. His hands laid flat on the wood, and his body remained almost rigidity stuff, but his eyes were alight, pouring over every late note, formation and geographical detail, as if to burn the very image of it permanently into his mind.

The night was still yet long, but they would be rising before the first light of dawn tomorrow, this would be his final chance to memorise any of this. From the moment he folded this map up and stepped from the tent, the plan would be live and they would live or die, entirely by the weight of the Tactician’s skills, his memory, his reflexive reactions and his ability to command the battlefield at Chrom’s side.

Just the thought of it had Robin’s blood racing hot, and his body almost shivering in nervous anxiety. But he was used to this now. He was long past being considered a veteran commander, and such moments had become simply another part of his routine. He was well practiced in stilling his nerves, in hiding his anxiety, and delaying the excitement until the roar of battle swept them away. He wouldn’t show a hint of weakness or doubt to his companions, and in turn, their belief in him would ensure he could keep them all safe.

Their camp was lightly setup, ready to move at a moment’s notice, and even after weeks of hard marching the Shepherds were well conditioned and in good shape to fight. They were still well outside the range of any of the scouts the Valmese could send to them at night, and the territory they were marching through was unsuitable for any kind of night march, they would sleep warily, but they would sleep all the same, and then… in a few hours, they would begin their march towards Demon’s Ingle. Towards where their final confrontation with Walhart’s southern army would take place.

Fighting atop a Volcano, sacred territory or not, it was an incredibly dangerous plan… even after everything he’d done, it was easily his most reckless strategy…

Another shiver threatened to run along the Tactician’s spine, and he supressed it just as forcefully. Steadying his thoughts instead, he finally stepped back from the map, nodding instinctively to himself he shifted all the remaining pieces into place, ready to be packed up along with the table and the rest of the tent.

…But, ultimately, it was still a strategy. And it would work. Reckless or not, it wasn’t a gamble or a desperate hope, it was a fully considered plan. As much as he would have liked to follow a more conventional method, they didn’t have the strength or position to make that choice. If their only option for survival was to walk along the blade of a sword, then Robin had no room to doubt, he simply needed every ounce of his faculties to find out the best path along that sword.

Their weapons were prepared, their mounts were fresh, and the tension around the camp was at a fever pitch. Chrom and Frederick had already been informed of their roles, the rest of the army would be briefed on the march, there had been no time for anything more comprehensive, it had taken most of the night to get everything prepared as Robin wanted it, but at last, now all the final details for their strategy were complete.

All, but one.

“Say’ri?”

“Aye,” speaking for the first time since she’d entered the tent almost a half hour ago now, the swordswoman hurriedly straightened her posture, snapping to attention. Despite the myriad of thoughts swirling through her head, and the impossible flux of emotions that churned in her stomach every time she had a moment to think, watching the Tactician at work had been a surprisingly engrossing experience and… just as she always seemed to find when she was around him, her thoughts had drifted without her even realising it, and the worries weighing down on her had seemed just a little lighter, “I am here, just as you requested.”

He turned to face her, looking up for the first time since she’d seen him, and she found herself shifting momentarily under his gaze. Her cheeks dusted pink and in the back of her mind she found herself cursing herself for getting swept up, as she always did, in the conversations she had with Lady Tiki.

Ever since their talk not long ago in the Divine Dragon’s tent, Say’ri had taken to wearing her sarashi just a little looser around the camp. And, ever since their talk, she’d become far more aware of the -strangely warm- feelings that bubbled within her anytime Robin’s eyes passed over her.

‘Fie!’

Surely, he hadn’t noticed anything! It wasn’t as if she was walking around as, as, as, as… flagrantly… as Lady Tiki seemed to enjoy lately! Indeed, it seemed the Exalted Voice of Naga had practically forgotten how to do up the top two buttons of her shirt lately, or at least, they seemed to mysteriously come undone whenever the Tactician visited her.

Unable to bear the thought of Naga’s own scion being so disgustingly gawked at, Say’ri had taken it upon herself to try capture a part of the unsavoury attention the Tactician might otherwise direct towards the Manakete… just… just a little. Which was why she was currently shifting slightly awkwardly in place with her face heating up as when she moved, she could feel an unfamiliar bounce of breasts that had, until now, been entirely restrained. Of course, unlike her mistress, Say’ri wasn’t so bold as to show off the full curve of her bust but, given the sheer size of her typically hidden assets, just loosening her bindings as much as she had left her chest pushing out against the confines of her kimono in a way that put her almost on par with Maribelle.

It was a strange sensation, one she wasn’t used to but also one that, when she found herself under the Tactician’s gaze, was not unwelcome.

‘Fie!’ she repeated, ‘What am I thinking!? Today, more than ever, I keep getting distracted! Thinking such useless thoughts! ‘Tis as if my very discipline is start-’

“Tomorrow, in a few hours, we’re going to kill your brother.”

Her scattered thoughts instantly vanished, and her entire being felt like it’d been snapped taut. Her nervous blush vanished, her churning emotions disappeared, and her strained composure was replaced immediately with nothing but a noble’s dignity. Distantly, clawing at the edges of her control, she could feel the still bubbling anger inside her, along with a lifetime’s regret, and an excitement built from humiliating vengeance.

“Yes.”

 Tomorrow… she would have her vengeance. The man who betrayed her kingdom, who allowed the slaughter of her parents and who even now acted the part as Valm’s tame, lapdog Emperor, would be no more. Tomorrow, she would kill the brother she’d once held as dear to her as anyone. Her hands clenched at her side, and her world turned sharp with focus.

Seeing he had her attention, Robin drew a line with his finger along where Yen’fay’s forces would be funnelled, indicating exactly where the man himself would be drawn out, how the Shepherds would ensure that he would personally come to face him… and ultimately, where their archers would be hiding in place around either flank. Despite her composure, Say’ri swallowed hard as she watched Robin move the pieces along their path, watching as the greatest swordsman in Chon’sin would be drawn forward, exposed, and then greeted with three overlapping volleys of arrows.

It was a simple plan, as flawless as any she’d ever seen from the Tactician and ruthlessly efficient, almost coldly so. The position the Shepherds were in was terrible, for any other army it would be devastating. But Robin’s strategy was as precise as she’d expected and as he explained it, she could only possibly imagine it working.

And, as she watched him flick over the piece that symbolised her brother, a cold chill ran down her spine.

It was what she wanted, more than anything, what she’d dreamed of countless times over the years. This would be the end of Walhart’s control in Chon’sin, the start of a new era, it would be revenge for all the people that had fallen along with Yen’fay’s betrayal and it would be the final cleansing of the most dishonourable stain her family name had ever known.

She should have been happy, she should have been excited, but instead she found herself scarcely able to even look at it. Yen’fay should have been a legend, for almost as long as she’d been alive he’d been her hero, and yet he was going to be slain like this? Just shot down in a barrage of arrows, fired by foes he couldn’t see, hidden by the heat and the steam? It was a terrible and inauspicious way for a man such as he to die.

And… she would have no part in it. When the man she’d sworn a blood-oath of vengeance against died, she would be standing on their eastern flank, protecting their healers from any counterattacks.

“Fie… Robin, I…”

That was intentional. She knew that without a doubt. Robin could have placed her anywhere on the battlefield, and instead he had placed her as far away from her sibling as he could have managed. Despite the cold clinging to her body, she understood his intentions- he was trying to do her a kindness, to protect her heart from wavering, or her from having to watch as the man she’d once adored was riddled with arrows and fell.

“Your consideration, ‘tis appreciated dearly. I do not take such gestures lightly. B-But… But…” her words faltered and wavered, but her heart knew it’s truest course, and her duty drove her forwards, “You need not go this far. ‘Tis more than is required.”

Say’ri had been trained in battlefield tactics, just the same as any ruler. She knew herself that she wasn’t even skilled enough to fully understand the gulf of difference between them. But even she could understand that Robin could ill afford to spare those archers. Fighting on Demon’s Ingle was a daunting prospect and working your way up the mountain on foot was an even more terrifying one, there was absolutely no doubt that the surest force of their foe’s armies would come to them by air. Most of the Chon’sin soldiers would refuse to fight on the mountain just out of honour, and those that remained would hesitate to fight their way up the fiery slopes, if Yen’fay truly did come after them then desertion would be rampant all through his men. All except their Pegasus Knights and Wyvern Riders, men and women who could fight with a degree of mobility and safety the others could ill expect.

Yen’fay would march up towards them, but he would do so with the expectation that his winged brigades harried their flank and destroyed their formations. That much was obvious even from Robin’s own positioning, his countermeasures the angles he intended to spread the Shepherds along their lines.

She’d spent months now in Robin’s company, she’d become closer to him than she’d ever expected, and she knew as well as anyone just how desperately he worked to keep every one of them alive. The plan she could see laid out before him had come from immeasurable effort, a level of strain and stress she could scarcely imagine. It meant the world to her that someone would go to such lengths to finally see Say’ri’s dreams true, even if she knew that wasn’t really the reason he was doing so. It meant more to her than she could ever put into words.

And she knew, she had to repay that, she couldn’t accept this kindness from him. She had to show Robin she was strong enough to help support his ideals.

“You shall need these archers elsewhere, we both know that. ‘Tis far too dangers to commit them all to Yen’fay.”

“If Yen’fay falls, his men will flee. Everything our spies have told us, everything your spies have told us is that they fight under his banner purely out of respect for him as a Warrior, and for their honour towards the crown. The battle will end the moment we take his head.”

“Fie. My brother is neither a fool, nor is he suicidal. He shall not risk his neck easily.”

She paused, and this time, as her world cleared into focus and the door to her destiny opened before her, there was not an instant of hesitation nor a shiver of remorse affecting the Chon’sin Princess at all.

“If you wish for his head, then I shall gift it to you.”

Robin turned to her, narrowing his eyes.

“I’ve told you this before Say’ri. I don’t care one whit for honour, nor about dignity. I care only about victory, about succeeding in our goals and keeping the people I care about safe.”

If future historians came to spit on his grave, if his name was mocked and derided all through history as a synonym for cowardice, he would accept that happily, so long as he kept his friends alive.

“The Shepherds don’t do duels. We do high percentage engagements and retreats; we control the battlefield and we ensure that we come out victorious. Duels make for great stories, but they make for even better ways to lose our comrades, when we fight, it’s two on one or more.”

“Aye. I understand that, and I begrudge it not, ‘tis part of the reason for your success. But… I know also that you have made an exception in the past.”

Robin sucked in his breath and his face turned hard. That was one story you would almost never hear around their campfire- that after Gangrel had been cornered, Chrom had put his foot down and Robin had relented, giving permission for their Commander to face down the Mad King personally, and to kill the wretch with his own two hands.

“I ask only for the same consideration.”

A heavy pause set between them. Under any other circumstance he would have rejected the request outright but this time it wasn’t so simple. Her words had merit, and they both knew it.

Eventually, the Tactician’s tension ebbed away, and his gaze slackened into a far softer expression. Shaking his head with a wary sigh, he closed the distance between them before reaching out and taking Say’ri’s hands gently in his own.

“A-Ah!?”

Her own composure snapped at that, and Say’ri’s face suddenly blazed a vibrant red, her eyes darting up and down from where she could feel her fingers locking instinctively around his and up to the gentle, warm look in his eyes.

“If you do this… If you’re really going to be the one to do this, then you have to give me your word, Say’ri, you have to promise me- that you won’t risk your life in that battle. You’ve told me before about how strong Yen’fay is with the blade, I don’t want you doing this unless you’re absolutely, absolutely, sure you can, that you’re not just throwing yourself at him for the sake of your honour. If you start losing, or if you think you can’t win, then you have to retreat. I’ll give you a signal to use, and, and I’ll put myself not far from you, if that happens we’ll converge on him at that point to finish him off.”

“I-, ah, Ro-Robin…”

 “You have to live Say’ri. Live and restore Chon’sin,” he pressed, squeezing her hands tighter as his voice turned almost pleading, “I won’t accept you dying to avenge your country, and I know your people don’t want that either. Your dreams will only come true through victory. I care about you too much to throw you into some hopeless battle for the sake of your honour, I- I couldn’t stand it if we lost you. Not after coming this far.”

Head spinning in shock, she spluttered weakly in reply, ‘Cares about? H-He, he cares about, about me?’ Of course he did. She knew that, they were good friends and Robin made it clear how highly he valued all the Shepherds. Rationally she knew all of that… but right now, with his body only a few centimetres from hers, and his hands holding her own, she couldn’t possibly make sense of any of that.

No man had ever dared touch her like this!

She was utterly mortified, shocked and stunned beyond words! It was unbelievable! Even if she was in exile, she was still a Princess! In Chon’sin he would have been put to death for such an immodest act towards her!

…

But, even so, she didn’t pull away. And, as she felt her heart pounding in her chest, and noticed that her lips had turned up into a dizzy smile, she realised that she didn’t want him to let go.

…

Eventually the moment passed, and her head cleared enough to think again. Now however, instead of the cold focus from the duty that lay before her, all Say’ri could feel was the gentle warmth flooding through her entire body, as she stood in place next to the Tactician, squeezing her own hands around his in response.

“Aye,” she whispered, “I promise. I shan’t die tomorrow, my people need me, my country needs me and… a-and… there’s still a lot I wish to do.”

“Thank you.”

Her heart shuddered, and her courage held strong, “But, you ask that I risk my honour for this, so… so I request a promise from you in return.”

“Oh?”

“I have told you much of my homeland, and I have shown you some pieces of it in our travels. T’would be my wish one day, as I’ve mentioned, to show you more, to take the time to introduce you to the full beauty of Chon’sin… But, in all the time we’ve spent together, you’ve told me little of your own land in return. ‘Tis Lady Tiki’s ancient homeland, and the land of their Hero King, as well as a country that can inspire such devotion from a man like yourself, I would dearly like to see it for myself.

“After this war, in repayment for all that you have done for me, I intend to follow the Shepherds through with whatever is needed until we can prevent Grima’s return, I shall surely see this through. But then, after that… Robin, I ask that you show me around Ylisse and Ylisstol, show me the country that means so much to you, s-so that I can understand more of your heart as you’ve come to know mine. Promise me that.”

“Of course, that sounds great. I’d be more than happy to!”

Her heart burst with emotions, and she didn’t even bother attempting to smother the smile on her face.

“G-Good! Then ‘tis settled! Aye, in that case, I have a gift for you, to commemorate our oaths this day.”

So saying (and with not just a little reluctance) Say’ri finally pulled away from Robin and lifted up a small, ornate box she’d left near the entrance of the tent after coming in. Kagerou, her ninja retainer and one of the new Chon’sin agents that had remained loyal to her rather than Yen’fay had recently returned back to her, and in doing so she had brought with her a box of some very fancy, top of the line, Imperial Chon’sin sake. The kind that was usually used to celebrate the most auspicious of occasions, a coronation, a royal birth, or -in this case- the death of the Valmese Tyrant. With all the tactics he’d created and all the unmeasurable effort Robin had put in to destroy Valm, he had given her more than she could possibly ever repay, so she had always intended to give this to him, but now it could serve them both as a memento of their promises.

A gift of sake had no special meaning in Chon’sin culture, but as Say’ri handed the bottle over to the surprised Tactician, she silently made another promise to herself, engraining it deep in her heart.

There was too much in flux right now, everything she felt and everything she understood had been thrown on its head too many times already in her travels with the Shepherds. She couldn’t properly thank him for all he’d done for her just yet. But, she swore, when the fighting was over, when Walhart was dead and a new era dawned… she would find a quiet time with just Robin alone and drink that sake with him. And then, as Empress, she would find the words to tell him everything she felt and everything she couldn’t manage to say just yet.

In time, Say’ri would come to lament how foolish she was that night.

She bid him goodnight with a bright smile, wrapping her arms around herself as she almost skipped through the camp, bubbling happily with possibility. But, holding a dream like that dear to your heart was completely pointless, it was something out of a story and not well suited for reality. Robin had no way of knowing what she intended or what she had promised herself, and while she was making excuses for her inaction, time marched by, all around her.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

“Fie,” Say’ri breathed, turning slowly in place as she took in the field spread out around her, “So this is the end of the Eastern March? The turning point in the Hero King’s second campaign against darkness?”

A thousand years was an almost unimaginable amount of time for a human, and far too long for any remnants of that famous battle to still remain. The torn-up fields had grown over, the craters formed from clashing magic had been sloughed away by the rain and the endless weapons that had once littered the expanse had long since been picked over. All that now remained was a beautiful, lush meadow and a number of man-made monuments erected in memory of the historic victory.

Even so, to know she was standing in a battlefield that had defined the very course of the world, one that she had -until now- only ever known in her lessons and storybooks left a deep impression on the Empress, and she happily soaked in the majesty of it.

“That’s right!” Lucina chimed in, absolutely in her element, “This was the moment that the Hero King had finally gathered enough strength to take the fight directly to his enemies! The battle here was fierce, fiercer than anything even in the first war, but by now all of the land knew King Marth for the just ruler he was, and legions flocked to his banner from all over! Some say that when they saw the force of his army, more than twenty percent of his enemies deserted over the coming days!”

That, at least, was definitely not true, Robin thought silently to himself. Having commanded the alliance forces through three wars now, he had a good feeling for what those numbers felt like in reality, and twenty percent desertion was akin to the kind of defection that Plegia had faced after word of Emmeryn’s resolve and her final words spread through their ranks. The Plegian forces had collapsed in a matter of weeks, but from everything he knew about Marth’s wars, the fighting here had gone on for several more months.

He kept that to himself though

Really, he didn’t have much to add to the conversation at all.

In what really shouldn’t have been a surprise to him in the least, Lucina had turned out to be a far better guide than he could ever have hoped to be. Despite the truncated nature of her youth, she’d still grown up learning about Ylisse’s history, and her own personal idolisation of the Hero King meant she knew a great deal about the man’s wars, victories, and various landmarks around Ylisse. On the other hand, given that he’d largely just focussed on his work with the Shepherds (and more recently, with the Shepherd females) since being found in that field by Chrom, he knew barely more about the various ruins, villages or temples they’d come across so far than the woman they were guiding.

Not that he really minded, it was always fun to see Lucina shaking off her usual stoic nature and openly enjoying herself for a short time, and it was interesting as a change of his usual routine to spend his days simply absorbing Ylissean history and culture. But, while the time had loosened the tension between Say’ri and Lucina, it hadn’t changed at all how the Empress appeared to be treating him.

“Actually, it reminds me of that story you told me, about the Tai’shun valley,” he added, as nonchalantly as possible, before the conversation moved on, “Where the second Emperor was harried all along his march through the Southern Reaches, until he was finally able to move north and re-gather the scattered armies to finally take the fight to the invaders.”

Say’ri paused, her foot practically halting mid-step as she turned from the princess to regard him. Robin had kept his words light, but they were said with clear purpose- by relating this snippet of history back to the stories she’d told him in Valm, so long ago now, he’d wanted to show her that he still remembered, that he’d listened and that he’d understood. A flurry of emotions flashed across her face, and for a small instant he was sure he saw the corner of her lips tugging up into a small smile… but a moment later, her composure was tightly worn once again.

“Aye, ‘tis true indeed. I had never considered such before but, while his deeds fall short of defeating the Dread Dragon that risked the world’s fate, perhaps Emperor Shai’tan could be considered the Hero King of my nation.”

‘No, that would be you, surely.’

He opened his mouth to respond, but the words died in his throat as she simply nodded and turned away.

And so, once again, Robin was left standing still, a painful confusion burning in his heart as much as the frustrated ache was throbbing through the rest of his body. By all respects, the trip should have been considered a success thus far, but it certainly didn’t feel like one. Of all the things he’d expected from his time re-united with the Chon’sin woman, feeling this distant coldness from her was never one of them. The close and warm camaraderie they’d shared during the wars felt closed off from him, like she was holding herself at arm’s reach from him, and the feeling of her gently stroking his cheek while tears welled up in her eyes at seeing him once again felt like it’d happened in a different lifetime.

Even if she resented that Lucina had followed along for this leg of their journey, he was still struggling to understand the nature of her feelings towards him, or just why she was acting how she was.

A doubting part of him wondered if he’d always simply imagined the affection he’d sometimes believed the Empress to have for him, and that this was simply her way of showing that she was carrying no torch for him… but, anytime he thought that, and anytime he attempted to any amount of time with his fiancée, Say’ri was surely no more than a few steps away, ready to jump into the conversation, or ask about their next destination.

In one moment she seemed to want little to do with him, and in the next she appeared almost jealous and clingy over his attention.

For the first time in his life, Robin was wishing that he’d spent less time buried in strategy manuals and more time in some of Sumia’s romance novels, so he could have a hope of puzzling out just what exactly was going on here.

It was immensely frustrating. Firstly for the sake of his feelings towards her- just like with Tharja, even if he couldn’t truly return her love in the way he’d long suspected she wanted, he still did love her, he cared for her deeply and cherishes her. But also, simply from the knowledge that standing apart from him like this, when on a trip with him, couldn’t be any more enjoyable for her than it was for him. Whether it was her pride or her resolve that was keeping her distant from him, he didn’t know. But he knew that the closeness they’d shared during the wars wasn’t a lie, and if she’d come all the way from Valm to see him once again, then Robin wanted to make sure she spent the time making happy memories, she already had enough regrets for one lifetime.

‘Ah!’

A small displacement of air, right on the very edge of his senses, followed by footsteps almost too light to hear sent a spike of impotent frustration down Robin’s spine and served as a swift reminder of the other point of unexpected difficulty this trip was serving him.

Say’ri’s ninja, Kagerou. Whatever resentment Say’ri might have towards Lucina joining them on their journey, he was sure he felt it five times over towards her retainer.

She was almost impossibly difficult to track, even with how sharp and defined his senses had become since he’d come back to life, he could only barely manage to track her. It was something he’d never truly appreciated during the few times he’d interacted with her in the past, he seriously doubted any normal human could follow her movements and he wouldn’t have been surprised if she’d bene able to bypass even a Manakete or Taguel’s hearing. That alone was enough to set his worries on edge, but what had been trying his patience in the week since they’d set off was just how infuriatingly vigilant the woman was!

Even with the little time he’d had to properly plan this trip, he’d still envisioned that he would be able to have small moments of time to sneak away with Lucina during their travels, just like how they’d managed as best they could during the final Plegian campaign.

At the worst, he’d assumed that it wouldn’t be something worth worrying about. Even with how badly his lusts bore on him these days, they were almost fully under control now and he’d survived months with just Lucina’s body to quench his needs. Going a few weeks with just his hand to occupy his nights hadn’t seemed like such a fearful prospect.

‘Urgh.’

The sight of the ninja’s incredible body, her ridiculously massive bust, gorgeous face and tight, trim waist, caught in a fleeting glace out of the corner of his eye did nothing to help Robin forget to fiery ache that had been pulsing hotter and hotter within him as the days passed.

He had miscalculated.

Both in just how under control his needs were, and in how impossible it would be to get time alone with his fiancée.

While it was true that during the war he and Lucina had only spent time together as often as they could manage, and while it was also true that he’d managed to restrain himself forcefully against his urges for almost half a year… The situation had changed drastically since then, he’d taken on a whole suite of new lovers for the sake of protecting his family from his new urges.

It felt almost ridiculous, and unbelievably hedonistic to consider, but recently Robin become utterly accustomed to getting off multiple times a day, with multiple different women. Going from walking through the Ylissean Palace knowing he could simply drag Lissa into a spare room, pay Miriel a visit in her workshop, or rip Olivia’s clothes off her was a different world from travelling day after day through the Ylissean countryside, surrounded on all sides by three different, incredibly beautiful women, and being forced to keep his hands away from each of them. Despite knowing just how disastrous it would be, a dangerous part of him was beginning to wish Nowi truly would give in her to impulsive nature and wing down from the skies to pull him away for a wonderful, rough fuck.

His body was throbbing with need, and his soul was inflamed with desire.

And it absolutely was not helped by the fact that Lucina’s own lusts appeared to have risen in response to his own greater desires. Unable to sense the presence of Kagerou, time and again the Princess had made attempts to pull him away somewhere secret, to separate them from their Chon’sin companions, or even to visit his room at night… and each time, despite just how urgently his body had begged him to simply throw caution to the wind, Robin had been forced to turn her away. The few seconds he had managed to get with the bluenette, a few wonderful moments of stolen kisses and affectionate bodies pressing hot together, had all been swiftly aborted at the sound of the ninja drawing closer, seeking out where two of her companions had disappeared to.

He knew his body, and he knew his newfound desires. He wasn’t in anywhere near as bad a state as he’d been that night he’d finally given in to his temptation and sought out Tharja- he wasn’t yet in any danger of truly losing control, and he knew just being able to taste Lucina’s body alone would be enough to satisfy him. But knowing that the woman he loved wanted him as badly as he wanted her and having to hold back all the same was downright maddening.

“Fie, Robin, were you not listening to me? Is there something the matter?”

“Ah, oh, no, sorry! I was just, well, lost in thought I suppose, just thinking about everything this site represents... Are we moving on?”

Sucking in and slowly letting out a deep breath, Robin drew himself back into the ongoing conversation and forced his frustrations back down once more.

Maddening or not, he needed to do it all the same.

He’d talked directly with Lucina before they left about making their relationship public, and she’d backed away once again. He couldn’t force it on her, not for the sake of his lusts. Lucina had a world’s worth of baggage he could never understand, and he’d promised to support her however he could, if she needed to hide their feelings for one another, then he would keep up her façade with every ounce of his being.

Which meant hiding every aspect of their shared affection from Say’ri. Lucina, of course, would be absolutely mortified for the Empress to learn that she’d been having pre-marital sex, and even more devastated if the news then got back to her parents. Being caught in-flagrante was simply not an option.

And since, unlike the wars, Kagerou had no greater mission than to look over her travelling companions, that meant there was nothing he could do but simply wait it out and stay away. Even if that meant half his night was starting to become spent futily seeking his own comfort in the (minor) privacy he had at night.

“Aye! Come, we need to away soon if we wish to make the next lodgings before dusk.”

“Hmmm!” almost completely oblivious to the depth his frustrations, Lucina breathed out a sigh at that comment, “An Inn sounds great. I must have become soft since the wars, after camping the last few days, the thought of sleeping in a bed again sounds wonderful!”

Looking away from the Princess for just a moment, she shot him a suggestive wink, all but inviting him to try find a way to seek out her room at night, and Robin’s body pulsed furiously in answer. He already knew, he knew just as he had the last time they’d slept in an inn, it wasn’t possible. Unless he could somehow disable or distract a woman that was so vigilant even Frederick could take lessons from her, he would be spending his night holed up in his own quarters!

It was maddening!

But he had no choice but to accept it. He’d already made up his mind to accept it. This was the path he’d decided already, the other side of the sword from his decision to protect her from the knowledge of his lusts, and his alternative liaisons.

How he was going to handle things when his fiancée was gone, and he was left with just a woman who seemed to be trying to keep her distance from him, and her loyal ninja… uncharacteristically, Robin didn’t know.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

“How is it?” Robin asked casually from where he was sitting at her side, “Have you gotten used to eating Ylissean food again?”

For a moment, Say’ri’s attention dropped to her half-eaten pastry, warmed by his magic and wrapped up in a light cloth for easier handling. The meat inside was about as flavoursome as one could expect, and she could certainly appreciate the skill that had gone into creating the layers of coating, but in truth, until this moment her mind had been so occupied with so many other thoughts she even actually tasted it.

“Aye, ‘tis several sights better than the rations we ate on our march at least.”

He laughed, brightening her world at the sound, “Hey now, don’t let Olivia or Cherche hear you say that! Empress or not, they’ll give you an earful for sure!”

She wanted to say more, to respond to his teasing with some good humour of her own, to at least, to point out that while Cherche might indeed have something to say, Olivia would likely do nothing but squeak an apology. She wanted to say all the things she would have used to say with him, in all the ways she used to say them. But the words were held back, dying in her chest, and she simply gave him a light smile instead, nodding in reply even as she saw him trying to hide the way his face fell at her silence.

Her stomach twisted in a knot, and she wondered if she was poisoning the beauty surrounding them with her demeanour.

They were alone, for now, sitting together at the top of a truly beautiful outcropping at the top of a modest hill Robin had invited her to visit when Lucina had left them to purchase more supplies for the next leg of their journey. Neither the short hike itself, nor the vista that was unfolded before them had any particularly notable history that she was aware of, but she knew it would remain forever as a cherished her memory of this trip all the same. The view was stunning, with the town they were staying at clearly visible some distance below them, the beauteous green Ylissean forest at their backs, and the entire countryside seemingly unfolded all around them. She could make out the shape of Ylisstol far in the distance, see several of the Hero King’s battlegrounds away to the east, and even note Mount Prism stretching high above them to the North.

But it was the company that occupied her thoughts, and the warmth she’d felt at Robin’s invitation that she knew would remain ever etched in her memory. She knew how she’d been treating him, and she knew it wasn’t fair, that it was barely more than a wounded heart concealing itself from harm- but even so, he’d still reached a hand out to her, he’d still taken her away by himself.

The seasons stood on the edge of summer and despite the warmth of the Ylissean sunlight cloaking her, a shiver trembled up Say’ri’s spine as her stomach twisted itself once more.

They were all alone now, with no-one to hear them or stumble upon them, surrounded with the most second most beautiful sight she’d seen since her arrival in the Eastern Continent… and still she, the one they called the Phoenix of Chon’sin, sat beside the Tactician with such cold stoicism she may as well have been a carved statue instead.

‘I hate it.’

Her very thoughts mocked her. There was no doubt in her will. She wanted desperately to shuffle closer towards him, to close the meter between them and lean her shoulder against his. She wanted to speak warmly to him, to tell him of herself, of Chon’sin, and to hear about him and about Ylisse in return. As much as she’d ever wanted anything, she wanted to connect with Robin again in the way she’d missed so desperately. As Empress, as his comrade and as a woman, she wanted to silence the thousand-fold regrets that had haunted her nights ever since the day she’d seen him disappear and that had burnished her daydreams ever since the moment she’d heard he lived once again.

But anytime she made to speak the words were strangled in her throat, and anytime she made to act, her body wouldn’t answer her.

‘I am a fool, surely.’

Despite the conviction she held so strongly to, she couldn’t help but lament. It had been 9 day since the start of their Ylissean tour and no matter how close she was to the man she’d missed so desperately, still she was holding herself back. No matter what she wanted or how much she desired it, her duty and her composure were still clear to her, and so Say’ri held painfully true to the decision she’d made so long ago.

Even so, the ache of guilt bore into the Empress, it was clear that Robin was making a considerable effort towards her. Aside from big an ask it already was for him to leave behind his role in Ylisstol -regardless of what he’d promised her more than a year ago- this was now the third time he’d invited her out specifically to spend time alone with her. And despite already having made up her mind, and holding true to her intentions, she couldn’t resist accepting his offers, rather she could barely conceal her eagerness or the way her entire body thrummed with warmth each time he’d extended his hand towards her.

That guilt still wasn’t enough to change her mind. She knew what had to be done, she’d made her decision long ago, with a clear mind and clear heart. Reaffirming that, following that through was the only sane choice, it was for the best, for all of them.

Her heart ached. But she would do nothing all the same.

Even more than Robin did, Say’ri knew for absolute certain that they were alone because Kagerou had been sent to protect Lucina while she visited the town’s marketplace. There was no-one here but the two of them. And when they returned, and when Kagerou saw once again, that nothing had happened, she would worry.

Her ninja’s reports on this matter had been extremely clear: whatever Robin and Lucina’s feelings towards one another may be, there was absolutely no indication that their relationship had grown or changed at all from what it had been during the war. Rather it appeared almost as if the two of them had been left practically stuck in time. There was no doubting the warm affection or deep trust between them, but there was nothing beyond that. They talked and interacted like the closest of friends and dearest of allies, not as lovers, or as a husband and wife. There was no sly touches or stolen kisses, there were no whispered promises, or salacious late-night visits. There was, by every one of Kagerou’s reports, nothing between them but the same clear friendship that Say’ri herself had valued so highly with the Tactician.

She was no fool, of course. It could have been an act. She knew Lucina enough to understand that the former Exalt was uncommonly shy about such matters, and it wouldn’t have surprised her in the least to have learned that she had begged Robin to keep their relationship a secret. But… 9 days was a long time for any couple and, by her retainer’s own stressed assurance- they acted as no more than friends even when they should have had no reason to believe anyone was watching them. A ninja’s entire purpose was to be stealthy, and Kagerou was the best of the best, if she wished to remain undetected then even someone as sharp as Lucina wouldn’t know about her.

Say’ri was breaking her own rules and testing her own resolve simply by having her ninja spy on the couple, she knew that. But she’d justified it to herself as simply seeking the final evidence needed to put to rest everything that was locked away within her heart once and for all…

…and instead, her heart had leapt into her throat when she’d been told that there truly appeared to be nothing between the Tactician and the Time-Traveller. And it had throbbed harder and harder each time since when she’d been updated that nothing had changed, and that not even the barest hint of a relationship had been noticed by her ninja’s vigilant eye.

Having no small suspicion about just how much that news meant to her mistress, Kagerou had presented the news eagerly and happily, clearly expecting her to be overjoyed!

But still, she’d held back. Even as her heart ached, even as her body begged for her to reach out, to cross the distance between them and feel Robin’s warmth once again, Say’ri would do nothing all the same.

Kagerou thought that Say’ri had come to Ylisse just to be hurt.

Sumia thought that Say’ri had come to try steal Robin away from her daughter.

Both of them were wrong.

The true hurt that Say’ri felt was in the past, she remembered that pain keenly and would likely never forget, whatever aches she felt now paled in comparison. Knowing that Robin really was alive once more, and being around him again, was joyous more than it was ever anything else. Equally, she had long since come to terms with his affection towards Lucina. Whether they were together or not, she had no intention of getting in their way.

Say’ri was here in Ylisse for the sake of her honour, she had come to Robin to make good on the promise they had made. Regardless of how simple her words had been, they had been true.

‘Fie,” chewing on her lip, the Empress stared blankly out at the majestic view laid out before her as she stifled a bitter sigh, ‘Have I really resorted to lying to myself?’

That was what she’d told herself before she’d come. That justification was how she’d tempered her heart during her preparations, reminding herself time and again that there was nothing to be excited about, and certainly nothing worth dreaming about, that she was here only for the sake of her honour. Her time meditating on the sea-journey over had been almost entirely to steel her will, and to forcibly assure herself that she was travelling to Ylisse to see Robin, to remove any doubt that he truly did live once again and to get her promise over and done with. She had banished her daydreams and told herself that she was here simply to live up to Empress’s honour until her hands had clenched tight enough to draw blood.

That was the plan.

It was a great plan.

And it had made sense all the way to Ylisse…

…Right until she’d finally turned herself to see him again, and been so taken the most beautiful sight she’d seen in all her time in the Eastern Continent- the man who meant so much to her standing once more in the flesh before her, smiling at her just as she’d dreamed of so many times since that terrible day. Empress or not, she was still his dear comrade, and still a woman at heart, she hadn’t possibly been able to resist reaching out towards him. And the moment her fingers had brushed over his cheek and she’d felt his warmth against her, her world, her beliefs and her tightly held composure had all been thrown into absolute chaos.

Every emotion and feeling she’d held towards him, everything she’d thought and known and hoped and yearned and wanted more than anything had suddenly been rekindled within her, all at once and stronger than ever before.

And now, travelling once more at his side but without the war between them or anything else to distract them… every day and every time he spoke kindly towards her in spite of how coldly she treated him, every time he reminisced back towards those days together in Valm, every time he reminded her of just how thoughtful or considerate he’d always been towards her… every time he pulled her aside to spend time with just her alone… those feelings speared through her keener and hotter than ever, until her heart was aching enough to make her want to cry out, and her body felt like it was throbbing with the urge to be closer towards him, to speak kindly and softly to him like she used to… to tell him everything she’d once swore she would…

‘Perhaps Kagerou really was right to worry for me…’

Her fingers twitched at her side, a half meter from his hand, but Say’ri did nothing all the same.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Two Years Ago - Valm

The fourth thing Say’ri reclaimed was her honour. It was everything she’d thought she wanted, and nothing like she thought it would be.

Yen’fay was dead.

His forces were scattered and the Shepherds path forwards clear once again. In all respects, it was a resounding victory for both the Ylissean Alliance and for Chon’sin itself. Despite the incredible danger of the battle and that the General himself had taken the field, the number of casualties had been among the smallest for any major engagement in the war thus far. Few Chon’sin soldiers had been eager or even willing to step foot on Demon’s Ingle, and Yen’fay had (most likely intentionally, she now understood) cultivated very little loyalty for himself among his men, leading them simply by force of obligation alone.

The few loyalists that had thrown themselves to his cause had died along with him, and the rest of the army had disintegrated at the Shepherd’s advance. With her own claim to the throne now beyond question, Say’ri expected a good number of those soldiers to join up with her cause- especially if their victories held as true as they had been so far when they turned their attentions towards the north.

Three of Walhart’s generals were dead. The man who had betrayed Chon’sin was dead. The brother who’d left both her parents to die was dead.

Her honour was completely restored, her royal ascension was guaranteed and the dream of hope for her beleaguered country grew stronger by the day.

In all respects… by all possible metrics… by anyone’s estimation… This should be the happiest day of her life.

Instead, she felt numb in a way she’d almost forgotten, that she hadn’t felt since before she’d joined the Shepherds. A chill seemed to have settled over her soul and everything around her felt faded and muted.

Say’ri hadn’t been naïve enough to believe she would feel nothing upon killing her brother, or that all she felt towards him was anger, she had expected that the task she bore would be a heavy one, that this would be the moment where the true weight of her duty to Chon’sin, as Empress, would bear down on her. But instead, she found she could barely even stand to think of herself in such terms. She felt almost sick even thinking of herself as a princess, let alone an Empress.

In this moment, in this cloud of pain and confusion, she could only possibly look at herself as a murderer.

Her brother, her beloved elder brother was dead, by her own hands.

“I sneered at him, I screamed my justice at him, and then I killed him.”

Her body wretched and the cold, twisting pain in her stomach clenched tighter.

“All for a lie. All because I was weak! Because he needed to protect me!”

It was unthinkable! It was unbearable! Her brother had died seeing nothing but her anger and contempt, when everything he’d had and everything he’d cherished had been thrown away by his own will, all to protect her! Her mind revolted at the very idea and she shivered, shivering under her sins as she stumbled away from the camp in a daze. She didn’t have a destination in mind, she was barely even able to focus on anything around her to even acknowledge where she was going. All she knew was that more people would be looking for her. The friends she’d made among the Shepherds would come to offer their condolences, their support or their comforting words. The few servants she’d had that had joined the army would come to offer their own help, to try look after her. The Voice herself would probably come as soon as she learned the full truth of what had happened.

It was all too much; it was more than she deserved and it was far more than she could handle at the moment.

So instead, with no greater motivation than simply walking away, Say’ri put slipped away from her friends and away from the celebrations she could already hear unfolding in the distance as the camp was unpacked for the night.

…

…

…

“Ah!?”

She had no idea how much time had passed like that, with her -the newest Empress of Chon’sin’s imperial dynasty- wandering around in a stupor, all she knew was that by the time she returned to her senses the afternoon sky had grown dim and the sun was cresting below the horizon. And, far more importantly, she knew that the Shepherd’s Tactician, was apparently keeping himself away from the camp just the same as her.

It was the sight of Robin, the man who’d ignited feelings within her she didn’t know how to deal with and who had done more for her than she could repay with a lifetime of obligation, sitting before her, slouched on the ground against a tree, with his head hanging up towards the woodland canopy above, that finally shocked her back to reality. For the first time since their victory, Say’ri felt like she could feel her heart beating again and her head filled with thoughts beyond self-loathing. Instead, she found herself staring at him in both bewilderment and worry- this wasn’t the brilliant, invincible Tactician she knew… The focussed, intense gaze she knew was nowhere to be seen, and neither was the kind, reassuring gentleness, instead Robin was staring distantly up at the sky as if not seeing it at all.

He seemed just as wretched and just as lost as she felt.

It was enough to leave her stuck in place, trying to make sense of what she was seeing from her vantage point on the edge of a small woodland path, half-hidden behind a copse of trees. It was an almost ridiculous sight, to the point where if not for his distinctive cloak, she would have thought she was looking at a completely different man entirely- the Robin she knew was proud, strong and brilliant, she had only ever seen their Tactician standing in victory, she had seen that very look on him just earlier that same day as the enemy forces had been routed… to reconcile the look of crushed defeat she could see on him now was enough to leave her heart wrenching anew.

What was going on?

Did… Did he blame himself? For what happened? For allowing her to be the one to fight Yen’fay? ‘No…’ That didn’t make any sense! He couldn’t bear any responsibility for that, it was something she’d asked of him, something she’d practically begged from him! She certainly didn’t blame him, he wasn’t at fault for how things had turned out! More than anything else, it hurt her simply to see him looking so miserable!

‘I-I need to…’

She wasn’t sure exactly what came at the end of that sentence. Everything from telling him he wasn’t at fault, to collapsing into his arms, to confessing her love for him speared through her thoughts… but even as her mind jolted her feet remained leaden and she didn’t move from her spot. The weight of her own despair, as well as a half year of hesitation clung heavily to her and was not so easily discarded.

‘No, th-that’s… Fie! What’s wrong with me!? ‘Tis ridiculous to be concerned with myself,’ she shook her head and cleared her thoughts, ‘I need to talk to him. He deserves more than that from me, after all that he has done for my sake.’

That thought finally galvanised her mind and for the first time since the battle, Say’ri’s head was clear once again. Clenching her hands tight at her sides, she forced the despair and confusion from her face, calming her emotions and regaining her composure, for his sake. Drawing in a deep breath and redoubling her resolve, at long last, Say’ri stepped forwards.

“Robin?”

For one single pace, before she was again shocked out of her thoughts, this time by another very familiar voice ringing out across the small clearing. Turning in surprise, she was left simply watching as Lucina made her own way around the tress and towards the Tactician.

“So, this is where you are, I was worried about you.”

“Oh, ah, Lucina?”

“Everyone’s been asking where you were… I was… Robin, you look awful.”

Shaking his head, he gave a noncommittal grunt, “I’m okay, I’m fine. I’ll head back soon. I’m just, I’ve been thinking.” He answered vaguely, waving his hand as if to dismiss the question.

Lucina didn’t say anything. She didn’t admonish his weak response, nor did she press him for more details and try solving exactly what was wrong with the man. Instead, she simply took a seat beside him, leaning her weight lightly into his own, giving him nothing more than a gentle reminder of her presence, as she settled in silently at his side.

And, after a few minutes, perhaps in spite of himself, Robin began to speak. It was no mystery what was eating at him, the revelation that Excellus shared had made its way well around the camp by now.

“I… This is the second time this has happened, you know? The second time I’ve failed. I told you before about Emmeryn… It’s just like then… I had everything planned out, I had the perfect strategy, I thought it was… I thought I had… It’s just the same as back then. I didn’t connect the dots, I thought I’d learned, I promised I’d never let something like that happen again… and I still let something like this slip by me… I didn’t connect the dots! I didn’t understand anything about what he was planning!”

Her hands tightened momentarily in her lap, but Lucina remained respectfully silent, holding her tongue at Robin’s self-repudiation. Whether she agreed with him or not, she simply listened, giving the man who all the Shepherds looked up to a rare chance to vent.

“All the signs were there, it’s so obvious now that I even try make sense of it, but I didn’t even think! Say’ri told me that Yen’fay was an enemy and I never bothered to think beyond that, I thought it was horrible that her own brother had betrayed her, but I never thought about him as anything but an obstacle to our plans, I never focussed on anything but how to kill him! Gods! Lucina! I was so proud of myself, so sure of myself, I thought I had the measure of the man, that I knew exactly how he would think… but, I never thought of anything beyond the battlefield, I never thought about… about what would have driven a man like that… Gods… Naga… I promised myself I wouldn’t let it happen again, that I would protect the people around me… and this is the second time one of my plans have left someone I care about without their sibling!”

His head rocked forwards and fell into his hands.

“Gods… I sent her out to kill him! To kill her own brother!”

“No,” finally, Lucina spoke up, refuting his words with a quiet, soft but unyielding denial, “You told us all yourself, this was her own suggestion, it was the fight she wanted. Yen’fay came to us as an enemy, we were fighting for our lives, what could we even have done? I was… hearing about Aunt Emmeryn’s death crushed me, and it’s terrible learning the truth about Sir Yen’fay, but they both died the deaths they chose. Aunt Emmeryn sacrificed herself to save father, to save all of Ylisse, and Yen’fay fought us to save his sister. You’re not to blame for either of their deaths.

“We were facing an impossible situation and you kept us safe, you protected all of our lives, just as you always have. You’ve done more than I ever could, more than any of us ever imagined… You’re just a man, Robin. No-one expects you to be perfect.”

The light returned to his eyes, but he gave an uncharacteristically bitter laugh at her words, “They do, Lucina. You know that, just as they always have for you. And I need to be… I should be… even if I can’t be perfect, I need to be better than this.”

‘You’re wrong! That’s not it! ‘Tis my fault and mine alone! You bear no blame at all!’

Say’ri’s heart ached desperately in her chest and her stomach knotted enough that she could barely breathe as she watched the pained struggle playing out across the Tactician’s face and listened to his desolate words. Not one single fraction of her blamed anyone but herself. But, left standing on the outside of the scene playing out, she couldn’t bring herself to interrupt it. A cruel voice in the back of her head told her that it should be her comforting him like this, that it should be her letting him unburden himself from everything that’d been built up within him… but as she watched the tension slowly easing from Robin as he spoke quietly to the Ylissean Princess, her body remained stuck in place and she couldn’t move.

“Hey…” he breathed, his voice barely carrying through the small clearing, “Lucina, do you mind if we just stay like this for a while? I don’t think I can bear to be a Tactician right now.”

“Robin…”

“I’m fine, really. I just… I think I just need a bit of time to collect myself, and I don’t want anyone else seeing me like this. I need them to believe in me, to have faith in me, I need to appear strong and confident- everyone stakes their lives in my plans, they have to be able to believe in me.”

More than almost anyone else, Lucina could understand that, “Of course. As long as you need.”

The moments passed silently from there and after a time, Say’ri’s heart cooled enough that she was able to slip away, quietly respecting Robin’s wishes to not be seen in such a state. It had been a surprise, she’d seen a side of him now that she knew he didn’t want anyone else to see… but in her, at least, seeing him like that only strengthened the feelings already locked away in her heart. Ultimately, Chon’sin culture always found the truest beauty was in flawed, human, attempts at perfection and, in witnessing the wabi-sabi present in Robin’s own ambitious attempt at greatness, the pain she’d felt ever since the battle eased just a fraction.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

The Empress’s visit to Ylisse continued in just the same uneasy, awkward manner as it had begun, through a number of important religious sites, historic landmarks and famous Ylissean vistas, Say’ri’s resolve remained strong and Robin’s dissatisfaction smouldered. Whenever he reached out to her she withdrew, but whenever he moved back she was right by his side- always seemingly one step away whenever he was with Lucina and just out of reach anytime he tried to close the distance between them. He would have assumed he was being played with, that he was dancing to a tune he didn’t understand… if not for the bubbling frustration he could sometimes see between the cracks of her royal façade.

Say’ri had always been a powerfully reserved woman and a hard person to judge, and that had only become even more true in the time they’d been apart with the new duties she’d taken up in Chon’sin. But, when she was around him at least, her guard seemed just a little more relaxed, and every now and then, when the two of them were alone, he felt like he could almost see the strength of her willpower being tested.

Regardless of what she might say, this was proof to him that the Empress had not come here solely for the sake of their old promise. Buried there, somewhere deep inside, under innumerable layers of royal decorum and stubborn pride, there was something else she wanted, something she needed to say, or do, and that desire of hers had been enough to bring her all the way across the ocean that separated their continents- even despite what he could only imagine was an endless pile of responsibilities she now looked after. And that thought, that worry, was more than enough to keep the Tactician reaching out towards her, to keep making as much of an effort as was possible to spend time with her, to share happy memories with her, to try make her laugh or smile…

Because, all else aside, he cared deeply for Say’ri. She had been one of his closest companions in the wars, she was one of his dearest friends and the knowledge that her trip through Ylisse seemed to be as frustrating for her as it was for him (albeit, he admitted, for different reasons) was just as concerning to him as the cold distance she seemed to have formed between him.

Even as the days passed, and his forced celibacy made Robin ever increasingly aware of just how stunningly beautiful his three female companions were, that fact didn’t change. More than anything else, he wanted to know what was wrong with his friend, and why she was acting so distantly towards him.

And at last, about a half week before their route was due to split with Lucina’s, in a quiet, unremarkable village towards Ylisse’s northeast, everything that had been building within him finally came to a head.

Caught out by some unseasonal rain, their group was currently spending their second day sequestered inside a small, but comfortable inn within the small village. Having arrived just the previous afternoon, and having spent almost two full days now simply waiting for the weather to ease, they had long since exhausted any of the meagre entertainment in the inn itself as well as any conversation with any of the few other travellers around. In the end, without anything else to do, Robin, Lucina and Say’ri had all wound up together in Lucina’s room, left with little else to do but make conversation, clean their equipment and reminisce on past adventures. Kageoru was most likely somewhere in the vicinity, but, as usual, she was keeping to herself and until Say’ri called for her, would likely remain out of sight which mean, for now at least, it was just the three of them together.

Putting away the notes he’d made about today’s (non)adventure and wishing once again that he’d brought more than two books with him, Robin pushed himself to his feet. Whether it was due to his worries towards the Empress, the unsatisfied frustrations pulsing heavily throughout him, or simply the mind-numbing boredom brought about by two days stuck inside, he was getting to his wits ends, and was finally willing to take more drastic steps to change their situation.

Heading back to his own room for a moment, when Robin returned, he was holding up a small but finely decorated wooden box, a small and secret offering he’d kept hidden, protected at the bottom of his pack.

“All right, well, it’s not really the atmosphere I intended for this. But, it doesn’t look like we’ve got anything better to do tonight, so, why don’t the three of us share a drink together?” he suggested, pulling both women from their own conversation as he shut the door behind him and made his way back through the centre of the room, “This is something special I’ve been saving for the right occasion. With Say’ri visiting, I thought we’d share a drink together when we reached Mount Prism, but it might be nice to do now instead, especially while you’re here with us, Lucina.”

The Princess gave a small noise of surprise, given how carefully reserved she held herself, she had no real experience with alcohol. But here like this, in their now peaceful days, with people she trusted and nothing else to do, it was a surprisingly appealing suggestion.

The biggest reaction however came from the Empress herself. Having been lounging somewhat lazily against the room’s single bed, she gave a sudden start the moment she saw the details embossed on the box Robin was holding up, her jaw dropping open and eyes going wide as she saw exactly what he was holding out before them. The details and edgings were a little scuffed by time, and travel, but the same ornate pattern was utterly unmissable, there was absolutely no doubt, “Th-That’s… Imperial Chon’sin Sake!” she spluttered, staring almost in disbelief as the box was opened and the bottle inside matched exactly to the one in her memories.

“Yup,” he nodded, as if completely oblivious to the bafflement setting the woman’s world out of line, “Sorry to say, but I never really seemed to find the right occasion to drink it, even after all these years.”

Then… Say’ri’s mind spun… then it was the same one, the same bottle she’d given him? It was no surprise he’d never found a chance to drink it, something that important was suited to regal announcements, or celebrations of the finest calibre; ever since leaving Valm, with their victory over Grima tainted by the Tactician’s death, the only thing she could possibly have thought that would have been a suitable occasion in all the time since was his eventual return. But, of course, that was just her mind flitting desperately from topic to topic, something as simple as that wasn’t what set the usually stoic Empress reeling.

“I-I thought… But, but you… Fie, but did you not drink it already, all those years ago? During the night of Princess Lissa’s wedding?”

“Oh? You saw that? I was definitely tempted to that night, I thought it would have been appropriate, especially for Chrom dealing with giving away his little sister like that, hah, but by the time I thought of it, everyone was already half drunk, or worse, so I thought it would’a been a waste.” he laughed, once again as if completely oblivious to the turmoil roiling within her, or why such a simple question had thrown her thoughts into such disarray, “Maybe that was a little rude of me, come to think of it, but I wanted to save this one a little longer, so I gave them a bottle I’d picked up myself earlier- similar stuff, but a little cheaper.”

“… Aye?”

Robin nodded with a hum, focussed entirely on pulling out a small group of saucers to drink from, he didn’t seem to notice the light shining in her eyes, or the way she’d been staring transfixed at the bottle now sitting before her atop the table in the centre of the room.

“Honestly, I was a little worried. I don’t know much about drinking, or alcohol, but I could tell you had a lot of reverence for this stuff, so I wanted to drink it with you. But, I’d never even tried sake before, and I thought I’d probably need to be prepared first, so when I saw a bottle of the same type for sale, I wound up paying through the nose to pick it up… urgh, I still remember that, I spent almost my entire coin purse on that stuff! I figured I’d try it alone, or with Chrom, to get used to the taste, but well, as you saw, we ended up drinking the whole thing at Lissa’s wedding.

Say’ri could only nod in reply, swallowing heavily as she carefully picked up the bottle, cradling it between her hands and examining it slowly. It was just as she remembered, there was no denying it, even the message she’d written for him and tied around the neck was just as she recalled, “Fie…” feeling as if a years long misconception was crumbling away around her, her composure fell apart and she couldn’t even begin to hide the smile that spread out across his face.

It was true, of course, she could see it clearly now… she hadn’t taken any time to seriously look at what Robin had been drinking when she’d spotted him with Chrom, Vaike and Lon’qu during the wedding celebrations. She’d simply seen the four of them clearly surrounding a bottle of Imperial Sake and her stomach had dropped through her feet.

‘Robin…’ a warm, pulsing joy spread from her chest and throbbed throughout her entire body, stronger by the second as she drank in every last millimetre of the gift she’d given away so long ago, ‘Fie, ‘tis always that I underestimate him! Never once did I dream I had misunderstood, that ‘twas but a different drink! Naga, but of course, a man such as he wouldn’t make such simple use of so a treasured a gift, ‘tis only my own foolishness that has hounded me all this time!’

All this time, all these years and anytime she’d thought back to that night and the gift she’d given the man she loved… each time she’d done nothing but curse herself for her stupidity, in having never once told him her intentions, nor her true feelings. So long had she been haunted by thoughts of the chance not taken, and now, here she was, given that same chance again.

Finally, after all this time, the promise she’d made in her heart had arrived… she was with Robin, in his beloved Ylisse. Her people were safe, the world was at peace, and they were sharing this drink together.

She felt like crying but found herself laughing instead. As stoic and reserved as she’d been all this time, in this moment, there was absolutely nothing Say’ri could possibly have done to keep the same regal composure she’d held so desperately onto all this time. One by one, each time her chest heaved and each time the room filled fresh with her laughter, she felt the barriers she kept up, and all the walls she’d placed between them, crumble into nothing.

And soon, the regnant Empress of Chon’sin was replaced once more by the Shepherd Say’ri. Underneath all the cold distance and icy pride was, of course, a woman whose heart had long since been captured by the Tactician, who loved him dearly and had yearned to see him again all this time.

“Hah, well, I’m glad to see you’re eager! How about you Lucina, will you share a drink with us?”

This whole conversation had flown over the Ylissean Princess’s head, there seemed to be a history there she wasn’t familiar with, “Of course, al-although, go a little easy on me. I have little experience with alcohol.” But the main point she had picked up was that this was apparently some very special stuff, and likely well worth trying.

“Good, great! Hah, it’s exactly the setting I imagined, but this isn’t bad! And it’s about time, I’ve been looking forward to trying this stuff!”

Robin laughed easily, he had no reason not to, both his companions were in clear spirits and he had no way at all of knowing just how affected Say’ri was by this offer, how much this moment had been built up within her all this time.

…

Or, at least, that was the show he put on.

Of course, in reality, such a convenient story was obviously a lie. Just as Say’ri had seen, he had indeed drunk the wine she’d gifted him all those years ago, Imperial Sake wasn’t just the kind of thing a travelling Tactician would stumble over in any random town. However, unbeknownst to her, it hadn’t been a simple choice, nor one he’d made easily, Robin was more than smart enough to understand the weight of the gift he’d been given. He had opened it back then only as an important favour for Chrom, to answer his dearest friend’s expressed request for help, it was not something he’d done lightly, but rather something a decision made out of unavoidable purpose.

The bottle they were holding now was one he’d paid Anna to find him some time ago, although it was certainly true that he’d paid an entire coin purse for it (three, in fact). The design had been identical, and so with no more than a few secret flourishes he’d made before they’d set out, it had become as near a perfect match to her gift as possible.

Strangely, as he saw the unabashed joy across the face of the woman who’d barely given so much as a hint of a smile all this time- Robin couldn’t help but remember the warning Tiki had given him once; that by his nature, he was a man who would do the wrong things, for the right reasons.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

The three of them settled in place, pulling up chairs together around the table in the centre of the room; Robin with some eagerness, Lucina with a touch of excited nervousness, and Say’ri with a wistful comment about how she would have preferred a lower table and some cushions instead. Taking over as host, the swordswoman cracked the bottle open with none of the refined grace they may have expected from an Empress, and soon the three of them were clinking together the deep ceramic saucers that had been supplied along with the alcohol.

“Ah! O-Oh, it’s hrmm, it’s, it’s quite strong isn’t it?”

“Hmm… ‘tis just as I remember. How nostalgic…”

“Mmm.”

Just as Robin recalled from all those years ago, the rice wine was a very different flavour than what he was used to, and a very sharp contrast to the harsh Feroxian liquor he’d recently tried at the last inn they’d visited. It did, however, more than live up to its reputation. Now that he had a chance to try it while sober for the first time (as opposed to when being halfway as drunk as Chrom had been himself that night), he couldn’t help but appreciate the unmistakable quality of what he was drinking, it was not difficult at all to imagine why this, of all things, had been the gift chosen for him by the woman who would later become Empress.

Judging by what he knew about her and what she’d shared of her homeland, he guessed that Say’ri must have imagined drinking like this among the cherry-blossoms of Chon’sin, or while huddled indoors by a fireplace, keeping from the snow settling in all around them. However, for his money, savouring a taste like this, while enjoying the sounds of the rain beating down on the roof above him and while surrounded by such beloved friends, Robin was more than happy. And, despite what she may have wished for or dreamed of, the Swordswoman looked clearly happier than he’d seen from her in a long, long time, not since before their final battle together.

The time passed slowly and warmly between them like that, and as the minutes passed and as they got deeper through the bottle, the last of any tensions between them dissolved and the atmosphere became jovial and inviting, a return to the comforting friendship the three of them had shared before the end of the wars. For Robin’s part, just as it had ever since his return, the liquor seemed to have little effect on him, and he maintained nothing but a light buzz even as he drank through several servings, but even with that he didn’t have a word of complaint, not when he was able to see both Lucina and Say’ri, two of the Shepherds most serious and stoic members, in such an intimate fashion, with their guards lowered and their hearts a little closer towards their sleeves.

As the minutes passed longer, more and more of the alcohol disappeared and the atmosphere grew ever more comfortable, Robin noticed that an unexpected but very amusing interplay of cultural differences was playing out before his eyes.

He knew well from Ylissean culture that it was considered polite to finish any meal that was put out in front of you.
And, as he had been taught about Chon’sin culture it was the hosts hospitality to refill any glass that was emptied completely.

How this was playing out was that Lucina, being the polite and respectful woman she was and faced with what she knew well was a valuable and special wine, was doing her best to drain her cup anytime it was filled.
And equally, Say’ri, being excessively well trained in honour and decorum was filling it back up each time.

The outcome was obvious; Robin was perfectly fine nursing his light buzz, Say’ri was keeping herself well under control… and Lucina, a novice drinker with absolutely no understanding of her limits, was completely sloshed within about a half-hour of the bottle being opened. She appeared to be enjoying herself at least, he noted to his relief, watching with great amusement as the ever-careful Princess put away almost a third of the bottle in the time he and Say’ri had together shared the other third.

In the end, the result was just as obvious; it was all far too much for the girl and before even an hour had passed, she was swaying in her seat, on the verge of passing out atop the table. Cradling the bluenette gently in his arms, Robin took her carefully over to the bed on the other side of the room to sleep it off.

When he’d finished drawing the covers up over his fiancée, Robin saw that Say’ri had -presumably out of consideration for the other woman- shifted away from her seat as well, and was now seating on the floor leaning against the wall along the far side of the room. Her easy smile was as warm an invitation as he’d ever seen from the swordswoman, and so he moved to join her, sitting at her side just a small distance away in exactly the same manner he’d maintained any of the few times they’d been left alone together.

“Fie.”

Passing the bottle and his saucer back over to him, Say’ri breathed out a heavy sigh but this time there was not a single trace of regret or dissatisfaction in her tone. The wariness that had plagued her since before even setting foot in Ylisse was gone.

The time continued on like that for some time, as they passed the remainder of the bottle back and forth between them, not drinking so fast as to lose control, just enough to maintain the slight lightheaded buzz. And as the minutes turned into hours, and the twilight turned into night, under the gentle thrum of raindrops beating down on the roof above them, Robin and Say’ri finally began talking like they used to, openly, happily, and freely, in a manner she hadn’t enjoyed with anyone since she’d taken up her mantle.

Say’ri wasn’t the most observant person in the world, but even someone like her couldn’t possibly miss that somehow, things had ended up exactly as she’d dreamed of all those years ago. Finally, the promise she’d made to herself was here. It was nothing at all like she’d thought it would be, but it was just as she’d dreamed all the same.

And slowly, inch by nervous inch, with each time she passed the bottle back to him or took it from his outstretched hands, she slid almost imperceptibly closer towards him. She couldn’t hold herself away from him anymore, and she had no desire to even attempt to, not tonight.

Their shoulders touched, and she flushed so hot she was sure her face was blazing red. But she didn’t pull away, and she didn’t back down, “Ah…” smiling despite herself, she leant comfortably against the man she loved. And she understood now, that there was no hesitation or doubt left within her, she knew for sure how she felt and how she’d always felt. Now, all that was left holding back all the things she wanted to tell him, the truth she’d promised she would finally speak, was her own consideration for him.

‘I love you. I always have.’

Her thoughts were silent, but as heartfelt as if she’d shouted them to the sky. The situation was different to how it had been back then, Robin had a family now, a wife, and a child. She wasn’t restraining herself out of fear, or out of duty, but simply out of affection.

‘Fie,’ she mused, leaning herself into his shoulder, feeling his strength and his warmth against her, ‘Just as before, ‘tis always you that sets my heart at ease, isn’t it?’

And so, with the lonely distance between the two companions finally closed, the night and the conversation drew on. Soon, she was telling him stories about her life as Empress with a brash honesty she’d never once imagined. Soon, she was laughing at his tales of the Shepherd’s various exploits and issues they’d run into around Ylisstol in the time they’d been apart. And soon, as she felt Robin leaning against her just as much as she was against him, the warm heat that had been flushing through her since she’d made contact began turning into a dull, warm and wet ache between her legs.

But now, even that only left the swordswoman smiling brightly. Accepting just how much the Tactician turned her on was just another facet of finally being honest about everything she felt for him.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

18 Months Ago - Valm

The final thing Say’ri reclaimed was her country. It was her greatest achievement and the only thing she’d ever wanted for what felt like an eternity. However, her travels with the Shepherds had been a time of metamorphosis for the woman who had come to be known as the Phoenix of Chon’sin, and by the time her homeland was liberated, even that aspect of herself had changed.

The guilt of her towards Yen’fay never truly eased, but in the months that followed the Shepherd’s victory over at Demon’s Ingle, Say’ri found her transition from exiled Princess to being the true claimant to the Imperial throne a far more successful one than she had ever imagined. Steadying her heart by throwing herself into her duties, she was buoyed time and again by good news and prosperous fortune as the Allied forces slowly made their way north, towards their final confrontation against Walhart.

Just as she’d always hoped, the tides of the continental struggle turned considerably after the famous general’s defeat. Within days of her victory, Chon’sinese forces had flocked to her banner en masse, swelling their army far beyond what it had been only months ago. This, as much as the sight of their armies sweeping aside the minimal Valmese resistance that still remained in the central regions had been enough to tip the hands of all but the most cautious of the surrounding Kingdoms.

The so called “Resistance” forces had always been hampered by the usual weaknesses of men, self-interest, fear, greed and opportunism- but now, for the first time since she’d lost her homeland, those interests were all aligned in Say’ri’s favour. Valm’s previously iron grip had grown weak, the once invincible armies had been humbled time and again, only one remained of Walhart’s famous generals and barely a fraction of his supplies, or his manpower remained to challenge them. Even the fact alone that the man heralded as a “Conqueror” was huddled in his fortress, doing nothing but awaiting their arrival, told the story of exactly in which direction the scales of power were now tipped. Valm, all its plunder and all its prestige, was ripe for the picking and everyone wanted to make sure they got their own share of the spoils.

It was pathetic really, a sad state of affairs that the exact same vices she’d spent so many nights cursing were now a boon to her. If she was still the same woman she had been, it would have drawn a bitter smile from her, and perhaps even resentment at the very state of affairs.

But she had no time for such considerations anymore. As welcome a distraction as her new duties may have been, they were almost endless just the same. Managing the administration and allotment of the now considerable forces following the Shepherds wake -many of which had sworn allegiance directly to her- as well as negotiating tentative treatments and treaties with the countries willing to throw their support in behind them had left Say’ri with barely enough room to breathe, let alone to mourn, or to pine. She was no naïve girl, it was exactly as she’d always expected it would be, but the change from being a wandering swordswoman, to being an international diplomat was a staggering one all the same.

Even if she had yet to claim her crown from atop the Conqueror’s severed head, she was still swept up in all the thousands of myriad duties that had come with being a leader, and all the impossible expectations that came with being the true and last holder of Imperial Authority.

‘Fie, I swear, I even saw Lord Chrom looking at me with pitiful eyes,’ she sighed, momentarily scolding herself for the lapse in concentration that letting her fall back into her casual language in her thoughts as she warily pulled yet another leaf of paper from the seemingly endless stack of documents piled up before her, ‘It feels like I never so much as draw my sword anymore.’

She didn’t miss the conflict exactly, but she was feeling like a lot more of an accessory than an equal fighter among the Shepherds as of late. With the Valmese forces all fleeing desperately towards the north they’d had only a few scattered and small engagements since Demon’s Ingle and she had not been part of any of them. She didn’t really mind, she knew for sure that when the serious fighting came once again she would stand beside her comrades just as she ever had, but for now, she was far too busy to go off on the smaller, less important missions the Shepherds saw on their ventures.

Including one just today, where Chrom had taken Robin and several of their other companions away just a few hours ago now, to explore some ancient Temple of Naga that had been discovered. The auspicious title of “Ruins of Time” had drawn significant interest, especially among the time-traveller Shepherds, but by all the local accounts there was little there of note but some Risen presence and incredibly dubious rumours of a lost artefact. She couldn’t deny her own interest, but without any real hope of finding anything or of facing serious resistance, she couldn’t possibly justify her participation. But, of course, staying behind brought its own complications.

“Fie.”

On one hand, she was annoyed that Lady Tiki had snuck off with them, and worried for the ancient Manakete’s safety.

But on the other, she was with Robin and unlikely to be facing any meaningful danger besides… and, not having the green-haired woman around meant Say’ri was able to get a lot more work done.

“Erk.”

She paused, guiltily, at that thought. It wasn’t not true… but still, even as she smiled ruefully at the idea, she couldn’t help but chastise herself all the same. Lady Tiki was the Divine Dragon, and the sublime voice of Naga herself… she definitely shouldn’t be thought of in the same vein as an insistent, impulsive and very lazy housecat… even if there were, admittedly, some small similarities.

And then, just as Say’ri was starting envision the Ancient Manakete stretched out, belly up, in the sun and letting out a contented purr, a chorus of shouts and cries rang out across the camp, and she was suddenly pulled from her idle daydreams. There was no sound of worry, or hurry in the calls, just a dull, cheerful greeting she could hear rolling back and forth in the distance. Which could only mean,

“Ah! They’re back!”

Jumping from her seat, she quickly pushed the heavy pile of work still to do away and tugged her clothes into a presentable enough arrangement to be stepping out into public. Given how distracted she’d been by her worries for her adventuring companions, it would have been beyond churlish for her to have simply continued to hole herself up in her tent now that they had finally come back.

‘Huh?’

There was a strange tremor of surprise and interest in the air as the uncrowned Empress strode towards the head of the camp and took in the welcome sight of the returning Shepherds- by Naga’s grace, none of them appeared to be any worse the wear. Having first looked towards the sight of her friend, and her relief that Tiki was unharmed (although, with a strangely complicated look on her face) and then been delighted to see that Robin was not just healthy but in obviously high spirits, it took Say’ri several moments to even notice what seemed to have taken everyone by surprise. It wasn’t until she finally shifted her eyes away from the beaming Tactician, that she caught sight of the spritely looking young girl walking happily at his side- someone Say’ri had never seen before.

‘Oh?’ that certainly explained everyone’s reactions, ‘They found another one of those future children?’

That was odd of course, but in the time she’d spent so far with the Shepherds it had become par for the course.

Strangely, a cold shudder went up Say’ri’s spine, and she found her legs trembling for some reason as she looked at this new girl.

The blue hair was unmistakably distinctive, and there was no missing the sight of the Falchion strapped at her waist, ‘Another one of Chrom’s children? Fie, he certainly has had a successful future, has he not?’ just looking at the beautiful young girl, and the confident way she carried herself, Say’ri was sure if she came closer she would see the mark of the Exalt clear upon her.

But for some reason, she didn’t want to come any closer. And in-fact, she found it hard to even look at the girl.

Instead, by the time she noticed it, Say’ri realised she’d retreated several meters away, that rather than greeting her returning companions, she was fleeing from them, ‘H-How ri-riduclous!’ she chided herself, stumbling haphazardly through the camp and back towards her own tent, ‘Wh-What’s wrong with me? I, I ne-need to find out how their mission went, if… if they found any- Fie! Fie! B-But more than that, I-I need to, to make a proper greeting to that girl, t-t-to Chrom’s child… S-S-So, so, I just need to… just need to calm down for a moment first.’

It was incredibly rude for her not to congratulate her friends on their return, and even more to spurn their newfound companion. As their ally, and as the Empress to be, it was imperative for her.

…

But as a woman, she couldn’t manage it. The heart she’d thought kept tightly under control was tearing at her chest, her vision was swimming and her legs were threatening to give out under her at every step.

‘…Naga…’

Of course, the very first thing Say’ri had noticed, before even seeing the girl’s beautiful blue hair, had been the sight of the distinctive black and purple cloak that was wrapped around her shoulders.

Nor could she possibly have missed the way she was clinging to Robin’s arm, staring up at him in wonderous delight, as she’d waved a thick-heavy looking book happily before his eyes.

Under any other circumstances, the sight of Lucina walking unsteadily a half-pace behind the two of them, with her face burned blisteringly red and hands held awkwardly at her sides would have made the Chon’sin woman smile. She cared deeply for Lucina and it was always nice to see the ever stoic young girl expressing such heartfelt emotions… but right now, she couldn’t even acknowledge seeing it, she could barely stand to process the thoughts, and realisation clanging with deafening force throughout her head.

Stumbling back into her tent, she barely restrained the strength to yank the tent flaps closed behind her, before she sank to the ground.

“Say’ri…”
“Ah-hu?”

It seemed Tiki had gone ahead of her, predicting exactly how she’d react, she’d beaten her back to her own tent.

She didn’t have enough will left to talk, or to even pretend to keep up her usually composed façade. She could do nothing but shiver as she felt the ancient Manakete wrap her arms around her, pulling Say’ri’s head to her shoulder and collecting her into a heartfelt embrace. She didn’t have energy to resist, nor the presence of mind to worry about how improper this was, she was -in that moment- simply grateful.

A second passed, and then another after that. And with each instant, the fortress of walls kept inside the young swordswoman crumbled as everything she’d bottled up, everything she’d restrained, and all the years’ worth of feelings she’d never faced rushed out all at once.

And for the first time since she was a child, for the first time since she was taught to conceal her emotions under royal dignity, Say’ri cried.

Falling into her friend’s embrace, clinging tightly to the other woman and murmuring in response as Tiki’s hands ran soothingly up and down her back, the tears ran freely down Say’ri’s face as she sobbed out all her regrets, all the pain and all the hurt she’d tried so long to pretend didn’t exist inside her. A part of her mourned the life that was now behind her and the freedoms that would be sacrificed under duty’s crown. A part of her mourned the family she’d lost, crying finally for the parents slain by a madman and the brother she’d killed in her own ignorance. And a part of her mourned the future she’d sometimes let herself dream of- with the man she’d come to realise she wanted forever at her side.

Tiki’s comfort meant the world to her. But it was not only the Chon’sin woman that was being comforted in their embrace. Say’ri didn’t understand it at the time, nor would she realise it for some years still to come, but the feeling that was wrenching at her- that she would never meet a man like him again, was felt even more keenly in the Manakete than she could have possibly imagined. But Tiki was used to mourning, she’d mourned the loss of everyone and everything she’d ever cared for in the thousand years of her isolation since, so her own feelings were kept quiet, and her arms kept secure around her friend.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Between herself and Robin, over some comfortable period of time she couldn’t possibly have tracked, the remainder of the alcohol slowly disappeared. As the bottle was put aside, and the conversation dwindled, a soft silence spread out between them, one punctuated only by the rhythmic thrum of raindrops hitting the roof, and the slightly less rhythmic sound of the royal Ylissean Princess turning in her sleep.

For a time, Say’ri wondered if Robin had fallen asleep against her shoulder. Despite not being much of a drinker, she was well in control of herself, the light-headedness she could feel bubbling through her was as much because of her sheer proximity to the man she loved as from the sake itself. With the shivers of joyous excitement she could feel tingling down her spine, and the way her thoughts had been racing happily ever since their conversation had begun, she doubted she would be able to calm down soon tonight, if at all.

But she had no delusions that the same feelings would be true for the Tactician. No matter how important, or how cherished this moment may have been for her, she knew there was no reason he would hold it in special reverence.

It was a bittersweet thought, but one she’d embraced some time ago now. Even now that they’d finally been reunited, even now that she had finally opened herself up to him and even now that she had finally let the close bond between them be re-established, she had still held back on the promise she’d made to herself, and still restrained the years’ worth of feelings locked inside her. For her, this was the happiest night she’d had since the day he’d disappeared at the end of the war, but for Robin it was surely just another evening spent with a close companion. 

“…Say’ri?”

Which was why she was surprised, when the soft whisper of his voice broke the silence between them. And then surprised even further when she turned towards him and saw not the gentle drowsiness of a man warmed by drink and friendship… but the same light of brilliance shining undiminished in his gaze, and a look of troubled contemplation worn heavily across his face.

Her eyes widened and her heart jumped in her chest. She had seen this look on him before, the consideration and calculation of a man standing atop a precipice, unsure of which way to jump, but this was only the second time she’d found herself caught the focus of those same machinations. She was alone with him now and, for the first time since she could remember, perhaps since that fateful night in their strategy tent so long ago, she alone was the sole object of the Grandmaster’s attention.

A lump formed in her throat, and the ache between her legs burned hotter. Eventually she realised she’d been so caught up in staring at him, she had yet to give him a reply.

“Aye?”    

“There’s something I…” he paused, chewing on his lip for a moment, before narrowing his eyes, as if pushing himself forward through an uneasy path, “There’s something I need to ask you.”

“Oh? Fie, by, by all means. I shall answer whatever you wish.”

“I may regret asking, I… Heh, I’m a little scared you’ll hate my impudence at even… even considering it…” his eyes drifted from her and she was surprised to see hints of a bashful red colouring his cheeks, “But… I’ve… I’ve wondered about this for a long time, for years now… and I think this might be my only chance, I know if I don’t, I’ll regret it for the rest of my life.”

His words were clumsy, but he was talking to an Empress, a woman who had danced in politics since the very day she was born. She caught his meaning immediately when he said this may be his only chance. They were travelling together, this was neither the first time they had been alone, nor would it be the last, nor was there any reason for him to assume she would treat him coldly again tomorrow.

“Ho, Robin, ‘tis unlike you! Fie, perhaps Chon’sin wine was stronger than you expected?”

“Hah, maybe so!”

She immediately granted the concession he sought from her. A concession she would have never granted anyone else: the right to speak freely and without consequence tonight.

They had both had a lot to drink, and drunk people say foolish things. That was the unspoken agreement behind each of their words.

It didn’t matter that she could clearly see the reason still in his eyes. Nor that she had barely nursed more than a light buzz over several hours herself. The terms of their discussion were set down, “We had a lot to drink last night,” they had agreed. Whatever he needed to ask her, if he truly did offend her, or anger her, then it would simply be brushed away under that excuse tomorrow and they would never speak of it again.

His gaze turned serious once more and she found herself captivated once again, everything else around them and all other considerations fading away as she drank in the full intensity of the Tactician’s focus. Turning fully towards him, she swallowed heavily, her mind strangely clear and her heart still clenched tight.

“Say’ri…”

Reaching out, Robin surprised her by stroking his fingertips gently across her cheek. Her mouth fell open, both in shock and delight, and a soft, mewling sight echoed out in response as she felt her body shiver.

“I just, I’ve always wanted to know… Did I… Did I ever have a chance?”

Her world stopped.

All sound, all thoughts and all reactions turned numb. Everything faded to white and she simply stared, dumbly, not even taking notice of the way her body instinctively pushed her face against his soft caress.

…

At length, she slowly came back to herself.

“A-A-A-A…” she swallowed, “A chance?”

“With you.”

She hadn’t misunderstood.

Her world stopped again.

..- “Ahau!” but this time, she wrenched herself immediately back to reality. The fiery ache burning within her, as well as years’ worth of repressed need refused to let her waste another second in this moment, “Ah, ah, R-Robin!?” unfortunately her desires outpaced her thoughts and her words came out as barley more than simply calling for him.

“When I was first working with you in Valm, it was just for the sake of my duty. I didn’t have any particular desire to help Chon’sin specifically, it was just an objective for the sake of our war. I spent time with you for the sake of discussing strategy, or because I wanted to speak to Tiki. But… Well, I’m not really sure when it happened myself… but, after I got used to being around you, when I was making plans with you, or fighting alongside you, after I saw how hard you were always working, how much our efforts meant to you, and how deeply hurt you’d been by everything that had happened… I… I suppose I was captivated by you.

“Before I knew it, I couldn’t stop thinking about you! I kept finding reasons to come see you, or to be around you. I didn’t want to save Chon’sin for the sake of stopping Walhart, but because I wanted to see you smile again… I wanted to be the one to give you back your country, your family, to make you happy.”

Her heart thundered in her chest and her head spun at his words. He’d always felt this way? He’d felt… the same as her… all this time? It was everything she’d ever dreamed he might say, as if someone was plucking the words right from her fantasies, and it was only the warmth of Robin’s hand against her cheek that kept her grounded, that reminded her that this was somehow, unbelievably, real.

“Of course… I mean, I was just a common Tactician though, a guy Chrom found lying on the side of the road. I always told myself never to say anything to you, I tried to hide my feelings, so you wouldn’t think less of me… I’ve never said how I truly felt all this time…” Say’ri’s world shuddered along with her and she hung painfully on his every word. He was going to say it? What she’d longed to hear all this time, even before she’d been able to admit wanting it? He was going to say he loved her? “And now, I can’t. I know that, but…”

Perhaps another woman would have been disappointed in that moment, but Chon’sin culture worked heavily with context and implications, very rarely were such things said outright. And now, Say’ri couldn’t possibly have missed what Robin was saying. Her body was flushed warm, her cheeks were blazing red and her entire body felt like it was tingling with delight.

“You… can’t?”

“Of course not,” he answered, wincing with a bittersweet smile, “It wouldn’t be fair, not anymore… I’ve got a daughter now, I’ve got Morgan.”

The realisation hit her like a splash of cold water.

Once again, it turned out that all this time, all these years, Robin’s feelings had been exactly the same as hers… including, on that most painful day she could still remember, when he’d returned from the Ruins of Time.

“Even if I wanted to… No matter how much I may want to… I can’t marry another woman, that wouldn’t be right. I ha-” his voice hitched, “I have to do the right thing by Lucina. You know as well as I do, she’s had a terrible life, she’s suffered more than anyone, more than I can possibly imagine. I care deeply for her, she means a… a very great deal to me. I don’t know if she wants to marry me, or if she wants to be with me at all, I don’t even know if she thinks of me like that… but that has to be her choice to make, I can’t make it for her. She deserves the right to have her family, just like she did in Morgan’s future, and to be happy.

“And, of course, I owe everything to Chrom, I owe him my life and more. I could never let his daughter become an unwed mother.”

A barrage of excuses, unrelated reasonings and justifications. Say’ri had danced in politics more than long enough to know what it meant when someone gave such a scattered response.

But even so, she found herself barely able to reply. The thunderous joy that’d been echoing through her heart had been squeezed tight and just hearing Robin discussing his obligation to be with Lucina was painful. Despite whatever minor difficulties they’d had around this trip, she respected Lucina greatly, she could understand every word of what Robin was saying and in any other circumstance would agree wholeheartedly about the girl being more than deserving of happiness. But listening it to it now was like an iron spike through her soul.

Her thoughts must have shown on her face, because he waved them away a moment later, dismissing them with a shake of his head as his own expression turned stoic in place.

“Don’t look at me like that, Say’ri. It’s not like that… It’s not a cruel duty, it’s a happy one. Lucina is a wonderful woman, and I care deeply for her. If she does wish to be with me, then I’d be proud to spend my life making her happy. And I couldn’t possibly ask for a better child to carry on my legacy than Morgan. I have nothing to complain about… a-at all.”

Wincing, she almost bit her tongue as she forced herself to nod. She understood that feeling. She understood down to the depths of her soul. To be restrained by a duty of your own choosing, a benevolent and kind duty, one that made you happy… but that kept you away from happiness all the same. His words tumbled around painfully inside her. She understood those shackles as well as she understood anything. And so, she could only nod, offering the ghost of a smile.

“Y-Yes, of course. ‘Tis true, you cannot possibly dishonour Lucina.”

Her body shuddered again, but not from the delight of his touch, and her heart was clenched agonisingly in her chest. Her face was as clear and composed a mask as she could make it, but even in all her eloquence and all her reading, she didn’t even have the words to describe how she felt right now. After so many years, after waiting and wanting and aching, and after finally accepting the feelings she’d had for the Tactician, he’d finally told her what she’d never truly been able to believe he would. His feelings were just the same as hers, they had been all this time. And then, she had been reminded of the reality of their situation, of the reasons why she’d forced her feelings down all the same.

And it was colder than she’d even imagined. Rather than ‘Robin doesn’t even love me,’ the reality was, ‘It doesn’t matter, even if Robin does love me’. For years now, ever since that day Morgan had joined their camp, she’d been forced to accept that Robin would marry Lucina, but she had never once thought it would be like this. It was as if she was locked away, just one single step out of reach from the man she loved.

“You understand what I’m talking about don’t you,” he continued, “I mean, it’s the same for you, isn’t it?”

“For me?”

“Isn’t it? After all, you’re the Empress of Chon’sin now, the head of the royal line, you’ve got a duty to produce an heir.”

Again, she winced, and this time her body shuddered with outright disgust.

It was true, of course, she couldn’t possibly deny it. And already some of her bolder advisors had begun to suggest exactly the same thing to her. As Empress, her hand in marriage was fundamentally a political tool, and more than anything else, she had an imperative to raise a child that could carry on her lineage. That concept had been drilled into her head since she was little more than a child, if not for Valm’s war, she would have almost certainly been married off already.

Perhaps in those day she would have accepted it, but in her time of Exile, after spending her days among the Shepherds, after seeing the Exalt’s loving marriage and having her own heart claimed in turn, it was a truly bitter idea; not only did she have to accept that she could not be with Robin, but also that she had to let another man be with her. She had put it off all this time, banished it from her thoughts and from our courtly discussions, but it was her duty all the same… the vows she’d wished to share with Robin, she would instead take with someone else. Instead of the touch of his hands that she ached so desperately for, her body would be given up to another man’s enjoyment. Instead of giving away her virginity to the man she loved, it would instead be claimed by another.

It was an exceedingly sour thought. Enough to ruin the even the aftertaste of the Imperial sake they’d shared.

“Fie…”

She wasn’t some child, too bashful and nervous to accept what she knew. There was no mistaking the meaning behind Robin’s original question, or what he’d longed to say to her. At long last, she finally understood. And she understood that she could have been with him, and he with her… but that now, they were both restrained by their duties- by cherished, welcome chains they’d accepted willingly.

She didn’t know what to say, or how to react, but as she looked up at him, and as she fell once more into the depths of his eyes, she began speaking without even intending to.

He had been open with her. Instinctively, she realised that it was time, at long last, to be open in return.

“I’ve told you this before… honour is integral to Chon’sin culture. ‘Tis how I was taught, ever since I was a child, that no matter what happens in your life, you must live it with honour and that the royal family bears the honour of the entire country. Heh, Lady Tiki always called it foolish, she would say that humans have such short lives, all that we should worry ourselves with is being happy… But I could never agree with her, how could I possibly restore Chon’sin if I didn’t have honour to bear it with? My parents were kind to me, I loved them dearly, and I loved my brother more than anything, I idolised him, he was everything I ever aspired to be, the finest swordsman and surely the man to be my country’s ideal ruler. And then I lost them all, when I was left without my country, or my home, or anything… honour was all I had left. It was all that kept me going, it was all I ever thought I needed… but in the end, that desperate need to reclaim and restore our honour took my once dearest companion from me, the same brother I idolised and hated for so long.

“Even after the war, I felt this. I looked back and understood that I had a family with the Shepherds, and that now, no matter how happy I have been and how fulfilling it is to see Chon’sin restored to its true pride… I have been lonely. Kagerou is a welcome companion, but Tiki has returned to the Mila Tree ever since the war, and the endless tasks and responsibilities of my role have kept me from making anything but the scarcest contact with any of the companions who were so dear to me.”

She laughed, “Did you know, that upon the news of your return, I threw a three-day gala in celebration at the news? I was overjoyed, it was a blessing from Naga I had never expected- fie, ‘twas like something from the legends, the saviour of our world and the slayer of Grima returned from the heavens to join us once more. Even so, I still could make no time to visit Ylisse, to see the proof you lived for myself. Even so, even when I understood that I was lonely, I still took no closer companions or sought someone to walk at my side… I have turned down every suiter brave enough to face me ever since the war. Not out of pride, nor ambition, but simply because I cannot help but compare them to you, Robin. An Emperor needs to be smart, but always you are smarter. He needs to be cunning, but always you are more devious. Stronger, wiser, kinder, gentler… Every man I find reminds me only of how much I have missed you all this time.”

His hand stroked again over her cheek, and a soft smile blossomed on her lips as her words gained more strength.

“I have never missed, nor have I undervalued the contributions you have made to me and to my people, Robin and they have meant everything to me. You worked harder than anyone in our victories, and in doing so, it was you that always returned to me everything I had lost. Even if I was never the reason you did anything, even if it was just for the sake of Ylisse, it was always still thanks to you… Fie, ‘twould be impossible that the man who has given me everything I ever dreamed of would not take up a permanent place in my heart. Even after all this time, I know it more than ever; I can never replace you.”

She faced him now, finally sure of herself, of her path and everything she wanted. Once again, her cheeks blazed crimson, and once again her body yearned hot or his touch. But this time there was no hesitation left in her, and this time it was her that reached out to him, clasping his hand with hers, as she placed the other atop his chest.

“F-Fie! Robin, o-of course… you always had a chance. You have always been the only man who’s ever had a chance. I-I, ahh, Robin… I love you!”

Acting almost purely on impulse, Say’ri threw herself forwards, falling into his arms and pressing her lips against his!

“Ahmm!? Mm, mmmma…”
“MNnnnnmmmhhhaaa…”

She kept her lips closed, simply pushing them against his without any real idea what she was doing or what she was meant to do- her knowledge consisting of little more than a few scattered tales she’d heard around the campfire and a handful of salacious stories she’d read in secret when she was younger. But Robin’s arms slid securely around her waist, holding her against him in a way that left her body throbbing heavy with delight, and his mouth moved softly against her own, turning her head slightly to the side and gently taking the lead until she finally broke away with a heady gasp.

“Ah-Hahh!?”

One kiss quickly begat another.

And another.

And more.

And more.

And soon, Say’ri’s arms were as tight around Robin’s neck as his were around her waist, and rather than sitting facing him, she had been pulled fully up onto his lap, feeling his strength and his surely all around her as she moaned hotter, harder and more eagerly with each time her lips crashed back against his.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

“Nnnghh, Robin… Hhhaa!”

Robin had always known Say’ri was a brilliant woman, having spent her childhood trained by the best Imperial tutors, it was no surprise how capable she was. But even so, he couldn’t help but be impressed at just how adept she’d become at kissing in just a few minutes. She was still undeniably clumsy, and she had neither the kind of obsessive passion he’d felt from Tharja or Olivia, nor the kind of enthusiastic recklessness he enjoyed with Lissa or Nowi… instead, she reminded him of Lucina, kissing him with what felt like a humble yearning, giving herself up entirely to him and learning more and more with each time she shuddered in his arms.

The clear and honest adoration he could feel from her was no less than what he’d felt from the Princess either- for all the times Robin had wondered if Lucina’s suspicions were correct, if Say’ri truly did feel that way towards him, he now had his answer a thousand-fold. And of course, his own feelings were honest too, he loved her in return- just the same as how he loved Tharja, Lissa, Olivia, Nowi, Miriel and Panne.

More surprisingly however, was that Say’ri was the one escalating things between them. Robin had been the one to pull the Empress into his lap, but it was her that had begun tentatively shifting her soft weight back and forth atop him. And, when he shifted his kisses along the underside of her jaw, began trailing his mouth slowly down the length of her slender neck, Say’ri had reacted immediately by wrapping her arms even tighter around his shoulders and pushing herself hotter and harder against him. Instead of shying away from the feeling of his length pressing up heavily between her legs, the swordswoman had begun grinding herself into it- carefully and awkwardly at first, but with greater hunger and excitement by the moment, until now she was wrapped tight against Robin’s chest, with her moans singing out quietly beside his ears and her slender body pushed eagerly into him, rocking back and forth in time with the trail of kisses he was leaving down her neck.

The forced celibacy of this trip so far had strained Robin’s restraint far more than he’d ever expected, and feeling the stoic, pure Empress wrapped so wantonly around him like this was almost enough to destroy the remaining vestiges of control he still held. Every inch of his soul was screaming for him to take her, to hold her, to claim her.

“R-Robin, hhha,” panting his name, Say’ri shifted herself atop him once more, this time pushing her chest out towards him, urging his eyes down towards where her kimono had already become just a little looser, and where he could see the tantalising hints of her bindings below, “M-More, please, t-touch me…”

It was an unbelievably tempting offer, one that tested the full limits of even Robin’s now practiced resolve. And it was only with significant difficulty that he was able to pause, to pull back just an inch and swallow several deep breaths instead. He couldn’t. Not quite yet. Even if this was what they both wanted, taking action now would be the same as them both just being swept up in their desires. This next step had to be hers to take.

“Say’ri,” he answered instead, holding her in place, but making absolutely no effort to remove his hands from where they’d slid around her waist, nor in hiding the delight he took in feeling the Empress’s soft, supple skin under his fingers as he enjoyed the delicate curve of her hips, “We… We can’t…”

Heeding his words, she did stop. However, while the light of reason slowly returned to the Empress’s half-glazed eyes, and her wanton smile turned softer, she made no attempt to pull away from him, or to back down even a single millimetre. Instead, she simply laughed quietly, twisting slightly atop him and making it clear she was just as thrilled to be in his arms as he was to have her there.

“Aye, you are correct, ’tis as you say, I do understand your situation, I understand it fully because ‘tis just the same as mine,” she whispered in heated breaths, leaning over and laying her head on his shoulder, “However, I am not the same woman I was during my time with the Shepherds. As Empress of Chon’sin, I have seen for myself, in all the time since we last parted ways, the truth of everything Lady Tiki was trying to warn me about… Fie, I never doubted her wisdom, but ‘tis only when I look back now that I can see clearly what must be obvious to a woman like her. R-Robin, I… I have lived my entire life by honour… I believe that honour is important, ‘tis integral to our culture, and I am proud to bear the honour of my people, it means the world to me. But… but honour has left me lonely and continuing to live only for the sake of my honour will leave me lonelier still.”

Honour and duty had left her without her brother. It had left her alone in her own royal Palace. And it had led to her travelling all the way to Ylisse, just to keep a painful distance from the man she loved.

It was almost impossible to imagine the Say’ri he’d known saying any of this, and Robin could only smile as he marvelled at how much she must have grown in all the time they’d been apart.

“I do not mean to diminish the importance of duty, for either of us, we each have too much we could never give up,” she continued, pulling back and sitting upright atop him, facing him now, with her hands linked around his shoulders and their heads only centimetres apart. Her lips were curled into a nervous, tentative smile and her eyes were uplifted towards him, “B-But… But, Robin… m-m-my lo-love… w-we are, fie, ‘t-tis to say… we are on vacation, are we not? For at least as long as we are together, I want to propose a moratorium on our duties.”

His eyes went wide, and his body shivered hot in response. Again, he could have never previously imagined the woman he’d known saying such a thing.

For the duration of their trip, he would not be the Grandmaster of Ylisse, a man with the (apparent) obligation to marry Chrom’s daughter. And she would not be the Empress of Chon’sin, tasked with upholding the righteousness and purity of her nation.

They would simply be a man and woman.

It was everything she’d never been bold enough to realise she wanted… and exactly the conclusion he’d wanted to lead her towards. His body lit up in delight and this time, Robin moved first!

“Mmm!? Ahh, hhnnmmm!”

Pulling her just a little firmer against him and taking the time to enjoy the feeling of rolling his fingertips along the bare skin of her hips, Robin slowly slid his hands up to untie the sash pulled tight around her waist, tugging it to the side as Say’ri’s broke their kiss, gasping lightly into the air. Her kimono fell open easily after that, neither the light silken fabric nor the Empress of Chon’sin offered even the slightest resistance to his touch, and the dress was smoothly pulled open before his eyes.

“…Wow…”

Despite already having seen the truth of Say’ri’s figure when she’d first arrived in Ylisse, Robin still couldn’t help but gape as he took in the full scope of the mounds he could now see clearly wrapped up against her in a tight cloth binding. It was so distinct from the image he’d always had of her, he struggled to even wrap his mind around it, let alone just how such a feat had been accomplished. It must have been magic, or some ancient technique, because just the sight of Say’ri’s enormous chest straining in place, tight against the wraps, was beyond the scope of his reality.

“A-Ah, it’s… it’s a little embarrassing if you stare like that,” she whispered, shivering lightly atop him and blushing a vibrant scarlet as he took his time simply drinking in the sight of her.

Robin didn’t reply. Even as intensely worked up as he was right now, it was impossible for a man like him not to simply marvel at the sight that had been unveiled before him. The incredible body hidden away behind the Empress modest robes, or locked tight under the Swordswoman’s practical garb- the slender musculature that acted as a light definition to her pale white skin, the toned outline of her trim stomach, right down to the womanly curve of her wide round hips. Similar to his fiancée, it made for a powerful contrast between the soft femininity she couldn’t help but exude and the tough practicality of her warrior’s lifestyle, and it was intensely alluring on every possible front. Even limned only by the unflattering lamplight of the room, Say’ri’s radiance was unquestioned, and the aching, burning lust Robin had been fighting against this entire trip only flared hotter as he took in every last millimetre of her.

“Beautiful…”

Given the small gasp she let out, suddenly finding the length between her legs pushing up even hotter and harder than ever, there hadn’t even been a need for Robin to say that much for her to understand how much he enjoyed the sight of her. For Say’ri, it was an admission, and a sensation, that left her heart jolting in her chest. She had already accepted her own arousal to the Tactician -the wet ache between her legs was undeniable at this point- but hearing and feeling, the same back from him, learning once again that their feelings were in tune, was welcome beyond all measures.

“No man has ever seen me like this before,” she whispered on a dry breath, “I-I only ever wanted you… to see…”

“Are you sure you want this?” Robin asked in return, reaching out and laying his hands lightly atop the cloth bindings, smiling at the way she shivered and shook against the sensation of his fingertips just barely tracing across her bare flesh where it peeked out from under the cloth, “Aren’t we moving too fast for one night?”

“P-Please, don’t stop…”

If her words hadn’t been enough, the way her hands linked even more securely around his neck and the way she urged her chest forwards into his hands was more than proof of how badly she wanted this. Of course, he knew already that the feeling of his fingertips just barely teasing and tantalising her previously untouched body would have surely made this almost impossible for her to back down from.

Likely for the sake of her own convenience, the bindings around her chest were tied at the front with a simple knot. Which meant it was only the work of a few moments before the cloth was pulled smoothly away and Say’ri’s enormous bust was bouncing heavily out into the Tactician’s waiting hands. Once again, Robin couldn’t help but verbalise his amazement as he felt the full size of the petite seeming swordswoman’s chest, easily big enough to overflow from his palms and far more than he could even stretch his fingers across. Marvelling at the sight, and the full figure of her body finally revealed to him, he could see clearly that Say’ri stood easily among the largest of any of the women he knew; considerably bigger than Olivia or Maribelle, she only truly lost out to the ridiculous figures of Tharja or Tiki.

Even outside his current state, it would have been almost too tantalising a sight to resist, and so the Tactician wasted absolutely no time in helping himself! Rolling his fingers across her massive expanse, kneading his palms gently into her bust, teasing his thumbtips across the hard nubs of her now exposed nipples, it was all nothing like and far more intense than anything Say’ri had ever experienced before; in just a few moments she was squirming wantonly atop him, with her head thrown back as she twisted from side to side, gasping and moaning louder with each touch.

“F-Fi-Fie!” she panted, taking several deep breaths to try get her words under control, “Robin! Th-That’s… Naga! ‘tis, v-very intense!”

“Ah, sorry, was that too much?”

Even as he made a show of contrition, still he gently stroked his hands around the underside of her bust, drawing several more excited shudders from the usually composed swordswoman.

With great effort, Say’ri managed to gather her thoughts, “N-Nay, not at all… it feels… fe-feels incredible. ‘Tis just how I’ve always dreamed… Aye, you seem to have such confidence, are you so experienced in such matters?”

“Experienced?” pausing with just an instant’s hesitation, he shook his head, “No, or at least, I don’t think so… I played with Lissa a little in the past, back during the first war but never anything serious, obviously I could never do anything with Lucina unless we got married… and, hah, well ever since Valm, you’ve been the only woman I’ve thought of… Rather than confident, I’ve just been doing what I’ve always wished I could. ”

“A-Aye? ’Tis no great matter, i-if a man has a little experience, I would not have complained…” shifting happily both from his praise and his gentle caresses, Say’ri’s smile turned almost bashful, “B-But… but… I-I am glad, to be your first as well… like something out of a story…”

Robin was smart enough to know better than to tell such pointless lies, but the last thing he wanted was for her to start wondering about how far exactly he had gone with Lucina. For now, at least, it seemed prudent to play up the role of the hapless virgin so many of the Shepherds seemed to assume he was. If nothing else, it seemed to have pleased her to imagine that she was his first lover.

Dipping his head down, Robin quickly forestalled any further questions by wrapping his lips directly around her right nipple, leaning into her and suckling on it with a sudden force as he began kneading her left breast just a little harder than before. Say’ri’s words turned garbled, running into each other in a sudden throaty moan, and she clung desperately around him as her body was suddenly awash with even more stimulation than before!

Hearing her cries now echoing out around the room in response to his sudden assault, Robin abruptly reached around with his free hand, pulling the back of her head down into his shoulder and letting her stifle her gasps directly into his cloak.

Taken completely off guard, shuddering under what felt like a torrent of pleasure, and now being held stiffly against the man she loved, it took Say’ri a moment to even realise what he was intending before she finally caught on, and bit down directly into the fabric, burying her head into him and screaming her desire silently into the thick cloak.

Her hands locked forcefully around the back of his head and she clung tight around him with every drop strength that still remained within her now trembling body. Feeling her relaxing entirely into his control, Robin intensified his movements further, gasping his own pleasure aloud as the Say’ri squeezed even closer around him and as the swordswoman’s luscious hips began rolling clumsily, and frantically, against the where his cock was now stretching up between them.  

She didn’t appear to have any plan, and certainly didn’t have any experience, but the sash she usually wore around her waist was now bunched up around her hips, which meant there was nothing but the thin cloth of her undergarments covering her. Which meant that, even as her body tumbled headlong through the unfamiliar ecstasy that was spreading from Robin’s caresses and touches on her breasts, she could also vividly feel both the coarse fabric of his pants underneath her and every last millimetre of his rock-hard arousal towards her.

‘Incredible!’

Her massive, pillowy breasts felt amazing under his hands, bouncing and conforming around his kneading with a deliciously gentle allure he knew he would never get tired of. Her lithe, toned body with strength forged on the battlefield made for an irresistible contrast against the delicate beauty of her round hips, the softness of the ass he could feel now almost bouncing atop his lap and the wanton need all but radiating from her pussy. In every aspect of herself, Say’ri seemed the epitome of the Chon’sin feminine ideal he’d once read, of “silk hiding steel”, and Robin was being made very quickly and very intensely aware that even as it hid steel, it was still silk- even despite the time they’d shared on the battlefield and the trim musculature he could feel beneath her curves, between the massive breasts quivering in delight to his touch, the curved hourglass of the waist grinding against his cock and the slender arms locked desperately around his neck- Say’ri was intensely feminine, and unbelievably alluring.

Despite all that though, and despite his own ravenous appreciation for it, the most wonderful sensation for the Tactician right now, was the sound of the soft moans and wanton gasps being mewled right beside his ear. The shivering screams Say’ri would try stifle into his cloak each time his hands squeezed a little rougher around her breast, the trembling cries she couldn’t quite hold back each time he brushed his teeth across her nipple and the scattered groans that slipped out as her own hips pushed hungrily against him, beyond even her own control. The sounds of the Empress of Chon’sin surrendering entirely to his touch, losing herself in her desires and all but begging his name in each of her strangled gasps.

Even despite how reckless it was, doing such a thing just meters away from his own fiancée, Robin couldn’t have possibly held back. Right now, his entire mind was filled with the swordswoman, and with the feeling of her body atop him, succumbing, inch by inch, to a pleasure she’d never felt before.

She’d never done anything like this before, most likely he guessed given her sense of dignity, she’d never even so much as touched herself before. She had no knowledge of how to relax, to accept the pleasure and ease herself into her orgasm- instead she was fighting against it, trying to retain her sense of rationality, even as her body instinctively pulled herself into him, seeking him with ever greater need.

With every shiver and shake she gave atop him, with every time she tossed her head biting down a new moan even as she pushed her waist up along his cock, Robin was entranced.

“Say’ri,” he whispered, breathing the words directly into her skin, “I love you.”

Those words, and the feeling of him biting softly down on one nipple as he gently pulled the other, was far more than the Empress could possibly endure. In her last rational act, Say’ri desperately pushed herself forwards into him, shoving as much of his cloak as she could manage into her mouth, right before the rush of bliss suddenly and completely engulfed her!

“------NNNGH------!”

Say’ri’s body jolted violently in place, her arms locking so forcefully around Robin that his head was left (happily) buried between her huge breasts as moan after stifled moan echoed directly into his thick clothing.

In the end, it was a testament to just how long the pleasure throbbing inside her had been restrained that it took several minutes before the typically composed woman gingerly unhooked her arms from around his head, and slid herself a few inches backwards in his lap. A small rope of saliva stretched out momentarily from her lips to the now very damp spot on the Tactician’s shoulder before she quickly shook it away, her face erupting into an even deeper blush as she realised just how thoroughly she’d lost control of herself.

And, it was a testament to just how much desire had been built up within the Empress for so many years now, that even despite that, and despite having just crashed headlong through an orgasm almost strong enough to knock her senseless, the heated desire in her eyes only burned brighter as Robin turned her face gently back towards him.

“Th-That wa-was… f-fie… I… f-fie…”

Her words were still scattered as her chest heaved with ragged breaths. But her hands slid under his cloak, sliding eagerly up and down the muscles of his chest and she began chewing on her lip even as her attempt to speak faded away.

“We should stop here,” Robin answered, sliding his own hands back in place around her waist, drawing her gently back towards him and breathing the words out between soft, butterfly kisses laid up and down her now flushed neckline, “It’ll be dangerous to go any further than this.”

Say’ri shivered against his kisses, and then again as his fingers glided under her waistcloths and began tracing around the bare skin of her inner thighs.

“N-Nay! Nay, I cannot stand that, I… don’t want to! Robin, please! M-My heart is… it’s beating like a drum, an-and every inch of me is… ‘tis as if my body is singing with your every touch. I’ve never felt an-anything like this. I want this, more than I can stand. I want you.”

Sliding his fingertips back along her hips, he leant back, reaching up to catch her hands in his own, squeezing them gently as he held her gaze- her heady and openly exhilarated expression matched against the serious look on his face.

“We’re moving so far, wouldn’t it better to at least wait till tomorrow, when you’ve got a clear head?”

“Nay! I… Robin, I have waited years for this, t-to hold you like this, to be in your arms, and to have you look at me so… Always till now I have hesitated, doubted myself, or denied what I wanted. Nay. I shall not wait another moment.”

Robin couldn’t help but smile, matching the unabashed honesty in her eyes with his own. If he hadn’t already loved her, to have this ever-stoic woman staring at him so tenderly and declaring her love for him so boldly, he was sure he would have fallen completely for her in that moment.

“I feel the same… Then,” he slid himself forwards, aiming to lift her to her feet, “Shall we head to your room, or is Kagerou there?”

His room was fine, but it was also directly next-door. The last thing he wanted was for some creaking bedsprings, or a loose headboard to wake Lucina up.

“…Robin…”

“Ah?”

Unexpectedly, Say’ri brushed his question off entirely, slithering out of his hands with a shake of her hips and sliding herself backwards off his lap and directly onto the floor where they were sitting. Leaning back on her hands, with the same exhilarated fire blazing in her eyes, she gave him an intently meaningful look.

“Ah!”

Robin paused. His entire world shrinking to this moment and his hands almost trembling at his side- both from the uncharacteristic hesitation and from a desire almost as rampant as the one that had originally sent him to Tharja’s room that fateful night. This was far, far outside anything he could have possibly expected or controlled for. Even if Say’ri’s feelings had been as strong for him as he’d occasionally believed, he’d never expected an offer like this from the reserved, proud and deeply noble swordswoman! It was about as far from a romantic first time as he could have envisioned!

He swallowed heavily.

A quick glace over at Lucina told him she was in the same deep, drunken sleep as before, seemingly dead to the world. But Robin knew far, far better than to ever take such dangerous risks…

…On the other hand, a much longer glance in the other direction meant Robin also knew that the Empress of Chon’sin was currently leaning backwards and displaying herself openly before him, her breasts spilling out of her open kimono, the thin cloth of her foreign undergarments clearly visible as she spread her legs, and -he swallowed again- her hands beckoning him towards her.

‘When exactly did I become so reckless?’ he wondered as he shrugged off his cloak, laying it down under her as he collected the swordswoman eagerly into his arms. At the very least, even if she already had her kimono, he wanted to provide some cushioning for her from the hard wooden floor.

Running his hands gently along Say’ri’s inner thighs as he eased her down, Robin paid only momentary attention to the strange undergarments she was wearing. Notably distinct from the Ylissean style panties he was used to removing, he could only guess that the thin-white cloth was some kind of Chon’sinese loincloth- but the only thing that really caught his attention was that it was tied at the side with a single, simple knot. Which meant that a second later, the garment was discarded and Say’ri’s pristine, bare pussy was finally revealed for him.

Her voice hitched into a gasp as he gently traced his fingers along the outer lips, and then louder again when Robin leant down, tracing his tongue carefully across her entrance, earning a suddenly yelp when he flicked it up over her clitoral hood, “Mmm,” he hummed to himself, the Empresses taste had been every bit as alluring as he’d expected. And when that flavour was accentuated by the beautiful, soft pink pussy now just millimetres from his face, it only made things even better.

“R-Robin, do-don’t,” she begged, her voice shaking as much as her body, “Don’t t-tease me!”   

Leaning back in to drag his tongue along her entrance just one final time, Robin sat back with a smile. Truly, he would have quite liked to have spent some time just like that, with Say’ri’s legs wrapped around his head and the sounds of her going crazy ringing in his ears. But there was absolutely no missing the way her juices were slick all along her thighs, or the way her hands were tugging urgingly at his shoulders even as her head tossed around in delight. She was more than ready, and she was going almost frantic with the waiting.

Pushing himself back to his feet and throwing his shirt to the side, Robin took just a second to enjoy the feeling of Say’ri’s eyes suddenly burning hot across his bare skin and war-forged muscles, and the sight of her body abruptly jolting still as she stood in captivation. Although it wasn’t unknown for the male Shepherds to walk around shirtless, none of them had ever dared do so around the females (lest they find themselves on the receiving end of Maribelle’s umbrella and Cherche’s scorn). Given her station, she’d probably never seen a naked man before. And, given the way her tongue traced across her lips, she appeared to enjoy the show.

“O-O-Oh!”

And her enjoyment was utterly beyond doubt the next moment, when Robin flicked open the buckles to his belt, and kicked his pants and smallclothes off. With all that he’d done these days and all the experience he’d gained in the bedroom (and especially after being the focus of Miriel’s critical eye), he was well past any embarrassment at undressing like this, which meant he was fully able to enjoy the way the Empresses body stiffened suddenly up from where she’d been bracing herself atop his cloak, and how her jaw fell fully open as her eyes traced down along his shaft.

“F-Fi… Fie…” Say’ri stammered, staring wide eyed at the across at him, her cheeks flaming red and a single shiver running along her spine as finally saw the length she’d been pressing herself so eagerly into just moments before, “Su-Such a fearsome beast… is it truly to fit inside me? It seems to defy sense…”

Despite her words, the fire in her eyes was burning with excitement rather than anxiousness and she was now fully chewing on her bottom lip as she waited with hungry anticipation. The Empress, it seemed, was far beyond being even able to pretend to hide her desire at being wrapped around his thick cock.

Easing her down once more, Robin collected her into his embrace. Laying himself as gently atop her as he could manage -and breathing out a soft sight of delight at feeling her massive breasts cushioning softly him from below-, he cradled her head in his hands, tracing his lips up along her neck as he pressed his cockhead carefully against the wet, eager heat of her entrance. Say’ri breathed out another shuddering moan as she felt her lips opening up around him as her body moved instinctively to accept the man she loved, and there was no hesitation in how she wrapped herself around him, her arms locking around his shoulders and her legs stretching up around his waist.

“We can still stop here,” he assured her, stroking a hand through her hair, “Before we do something you can’t take back. It doesn’t have to be tonight.”

It felt pointless to ask, he already had her answer from the way she was all but pulling him into her. But, even so, he felt he had to ask, he needed to make sure this was her decision, a choice she made herself.

Despite the wanton desire still shining in her eyes, Say’ri nodded purposefully at his question, her smile softening slightly to a tender expression.

“You would have that we shall wait for our wedding day? Robin, ‘tis kind of you to ask… Hehe, perhaps, you’re more of a gentleman than I ever expected? In another life, mayhap I would wish the same… But I have already accepted that such a thing cannot be, and no more shall I wait without taking action. I love you, Robin. In my heart I shall always consider you my husband… S-So, so… please, make me a woman. Make me your woman.”

The frustrated inferno of desire within the Tactician flared in response, and he almost wanted to roar in reply! At long last! After so many days of nothing but his fantasies and memories to fill his bed with! He doubted there was a man alive that would have been able to resist Say’ri’s offer at that moment, and he didn’t even consider doing so.

Instead, holding desperately back to the last few limits of his restraint, Robin captured her lips with his own, pushing her mouth open and drawing her into a deep, passionate embrace as he forced himself to only slowly, gently, ease himself forwards.

“MmmmMMANNNNN!?”

Say’ri accepted him completely, her legs opening up as wide as she could manage around his waist, as she surrendered herself entirely to his arms, meeting his tongue with her own in just the same heated kiss she’d first learned minutes ago. Her voice hitched suddenly, and she breathed out a heavy moan as she felt his cock slowly push its way inside her, and felt her inner walls starting to be spread wide around his thick girth.

But she kissed him back even harder an instant later. Holding forcefully tight around his neck, she opened her mouth happily against his own, breathing a heady moan directly into their kiss as she pulled him down into her, and as his cock pushed even deeper inside her.

‘Naga…’

Given her slender body and swordswoman’s physique, Robin had expected Say’ri to be tight. And he’d expected his feelings to be heighted by the week of restraint he’d been forced into through this tour. Evidently, he’d miscalculated- even with those mental preparations, he was completely unready for the urgent rush of bliss spreading through him as he felt the Empress’s walls opening up and coiling around him!

Even with just his cockhead easing inside her, he could already feel his sanity being heavily chipped away, and the desire to plunge himself inside her, to make her scream his name all but echoing from the deepest recesses of his soul! Warm without quite reaching the same alluring heat as a Manakete, and welcoming but with a restrictive friction inside her, it was enough to make Robin suck in several heavy breaths, even as he spread her even deeper and wider around him.

‘Naga!’

In the end, thankfully, Robin had more than enough experience to retain the presence of mind to seal her lips with his own as he eased his cock, as gently as he could manage, through the final barrier of the Empress’s chastity.

“NN- MM!? MMMHHGG!?”

Say’ri jolted under him. Her hands scrambled and scratched against his back, her legs kicked frantically into the air and her moan hitched wildly in her throat as her virgin blood spilled out across her pristine white thighs, and as a momentary spark of pain speared through the bliss she’d been revelling in.

But she made no motion to pull away, to break their kiss, or to do anything but accept Robin even deeper inside her.

And her delight was soon pitching higher than ever as he continued pushing his hips down, spreading inch after inch of her inner walls open around him. As with the other Shepherds he’d been with, Say’ri was used to pain, she’d experienced more than enough of it on the battlefield to block it away completely. A momentary shock was forgotten almost as soon as it appeared… but she had absolutely no experience with this pleasure, and soon it was all she could focus on, all that existed in her world.

“Gh… G-Gods, R-Robin!” finally breaking their kiss with a gasp, she threw herself against his shoulder once more, breathing heavily and panting ragged moans directly into his skin, “’Tis, ‘t-tis as if I am b-being stretched ar-around you! Hnng, I, I am be-being moulded to your shape!”

From the exhilaration in her voice, and the feeling of her pussy clenching even more hungrily around him than ever, clearly, she was very pleased with that idea.

Her words fell away and her moans rose higher and sharper as Robin pushed further and deeper inside her, grinding across all her weakest spots and wrapping even her innermost walls tight around his shaft. Until finally, with his own gasps of bliss slipping from his mouth, Robin pushed himself forwards, abruptly sheathing the last few inches of his shaft inside and leaving the full length of his cock buried suddenly against the deepest, most sensitive walls at the back of her tunnel, straining them out until they were coiled tight around his cockhead.

“GHhhhNNN----”

Wracked with a sudden onslaught of pleasure after already being close to her limit, it was only the force of his hands suddenly snapping out and clamping forcefully over her mouth that kept Say’ri from screaming aloud as her eyes glazed over and her body jolted under him! Feeling the Empress’s visceral orgasm beneath him, Robin’s own vision blurred for a moment, and he couldn’t help but groan aloud as her walls coiled and clamped desperately around him, as every inch of her body shook and the full heat of her tunnel pulsed tight around every millimetre of his cock!

It was an incredible, alluring and intoxicating bliss…

… And waiting the ensuing few minutes for Say’ri’s own peak to subside and for the light of reason to return to her eyes, felt like an agonising eternity.

“A-Amazing…” she breathed at length, kissing weakly against his fingertips in lieu of his lips, “I… I feel s-so full… like I’m going crazy with happiness…”

She squeezed her eyes up, trembling lightly in place as she felt the weight of his cock pushing against her womb and another smaller orgasm washed over her.

For the Tactician’s part, he simply savoured the moment with rapt attention- as the feeling of his length buried entirely within her left all the strength and all the tension flowing out from the swordswoman, until she was relaxing completely in his arms. Smiling indulgently up at him, as if instinctively accepting his dominion over her and her sheer need for him, the Empress of Chon’sin surrendered herself entirely to his control.

“I-I don’t really know what to do… so, please, go ahead and use me as you desire.”

This time, it was an offer Robin wasted no time in accepting!

Finally, just barely loosening the grip on his restraint, he captured her lips with another heated kiss, and drew his cock backwards almost through the length of her tunnel.

Say’ri moaned back in delighted response and Robin began moving- softly, smoothly pushing his shaft back through her tunnel until she was once feeling her deepest walls stretched wide around his girth. Then back and again, over the course of minutes, he cradled her head, kissed her with all the loving affection rushing inside him, and rocked his cock tenderly through the full length of the Empress’s pussy, savouring the sensation of every last millimetre of her.

She broke their kiss to gasp, her head tossing backwards as his cockhead pushed against her deepest walls and the waves of pleasure rippled through her once more, “G-Gods!”

After a minute, he loosened his control a little more, speeding up just a little faster… Driving in with just a touch more force, his hips now pushed her down into the wooden floor as the room filled thick with the sound of their flesh slapping together. In the corners of his mind, Robin began fearfully wondering about his fiancée, sleeping just meters away from them, but he was far too aroused, and far too lost in the heady bliss of the swordswoman’s body to even consider stopping now.

Again, she broke away from his kiss, trembling under him and weakly attempting to stifle her moans through gritted teeth as her hands clenched at his back and her legs kicked into the air against his every thrust. The feeling of being pushed down, of having his strength pushing her into the floor and his cock beginning to thrust forcefully through her pussy, left the composed woman gasping aloud with his every movement, and peaking again with each time his cock was sheathed inside her, “Hnnng! HHhhnn! Ro-Robin! Robin! Ro…gnnn!”

Several more minutes passed, and soon they were both swept up deeply in the dizzying pleasure. Both the tempo and the power of Robin’s thrusts increased time and again, minute by minute, until he was positioned directly over her, thrusting the full length of his shaft directly down into her, crashing heavily all the way through her welcoming tunnel until it jolted heavily against the entrance to her womb. The Tactician’s own groans slipped out each time their lips came apart and they gasped for breath, and the sound of his hips driving hers hard into the floor beneath them was now echoing heavily around the room.

Say’ri’s voice cried out louder and deeper, her body jolting and gasps ringing out each time his she felt his cock crash through her pussy and each time she felt her body open up so obediently and so willingly towards him. From the way she had immediately followed his lead with their kisses, to the way her hips gave in completely against the strength of his thrusts- without even having realised she was doing so, in every aspect of their lovemaking, Say’ri had surrendered herself entirely to him, and the dizzying high of that pleasure was spearing through her more violently with every passing second. Having eagerly relaxed her body into Robin’s arms, to use as he wished, she could do absolutely nothing but against the torrent of bliss that swept over her with each time she felt herself pressed harder, and rougher into the wood below her back- nothing but cum, again, and again!

‘G-Gods! What the hells!?’

As several more minutes passed, as Robin continued shoving his cock back through the Empress’s pussy, as his restraint wore away further and further, as his thrusts became rougher and harder, and as the swordswoman urged him on even more each time… a strained dilemma began pushing forcefully at the edges of his mind. One desperate enough to break through even the lust addled fog he was engulfed in. Specifically, that Say’ri’s voice was now pitching out in loud, wild screams with his every thrust!  

Encouraged by the feeling of her climaxing around him time and again, Robin had shifted from the gentle, lovemaking begun with to where he was now fucking her almost as hard as he claimed any of his other lovers. Normally he would have been worried something like that would have been too much for her first time, but, from the way her legs were alternating between locking around his waist and kicking up into the air, and the way she was transitioning between moaning in delight to begging for more each time he drove into her, he’d long since concluded that the Empress of Chon’sin enjoyed being dominated just as much as Lucina or Olivia.

Instead, he was increasingly worried that her delighted screams were going to wake up Lucina from where she was, thankfully, still passed out drunk just a few meters away from them. While had had no intention of keeping the truth from his fiancée forever (or even much longer), he still wanted to be able to tell her himself, not have her wake up to find him rutting Say’ri senseless across the other side of the room to her.

His initial solution, of simply clamping his hands over her mouth had proven ineffective with the way the swordswoman was continually tossing her head around each time her body squeezed tight around him. Again, and again, her voice slipped through his fingers and Robin could do little to simply hold her in place with the way she was trembling in delight against his thrusts.

His secondary idea, of trying to calm down and take things slower, was just as swiftly discarded. They were both far too lost in the pleasure to possibly stop now! If he’d had more control over himself then perhaps he could have considered it, but between his newfound urges and how accustomed he’d become with making love several times every single day, to have spent this entire journey in the company of such beautiful women but without even a single moment of release had left Robin almost unbelievably pent up. Even if Say’ri had been willing to let him calm things down (which, given how reckless she’d become herself, was doubtful), feeling her body now wrapped around him, feeling her pussy coiled tight around his cock, her hands clinging desperately to his back and her moans of delight gasping in his ears, he couldn’t possibly hold back! The fires of lust were blazing painfully hot inside him, and with each time her eagerness spurred him on to take her rougher, and harder, he spiralled completely out of control.

He couldn’t stop. And he couldn’t hold her back. Which meant, the only thing he could do was to try silence her!

Unfortunately, his cloak was already stuck in place underneath her, serving as one of the few things cushioning the sounds of the Empress’s hips slapping into the floor from echoing even louder around the room. Acting without real plan, or intention, Robin’s hands darted frantically around them, grabbing for something, anything he could use!

‘Ah!?’

Suddenly finding something, he had just a single moment to recognise what it was before his plan was already in motion.

“ROBIN! YES! ‘TIS WONDE-MMMNmph!?”

Say’ri’s scream was suddenly cut out as a particularly damp ball of cloth was shoved roughly into her mouth, serving as an impromptu gag.

Her eyes went wide.

Time seemed to slow down between them as their eyes met, as his cockhead crashed powerfully against the far reaches of her pussy, and as she processed exactly what had just happened.

And in that moment, Robin was immediately made aware of two things.

Firstly: That he had just shoved an Empress’s lust-soaked underwear into her mouth, while fucking her roughly on the floor of a small-town inn.

And, more importantly: That Say’ri, the proud and restrained swordswoman he’d always respected, had just cum so intensely hard the moment he’d done so that his cock was being squeezed almost painfully tight within her. Trembling, writhing and clenching vice-like around him, her eyes rolled back, glazed over and she appeared to have come right to the verge of passing out from the flood of pleasure. Rather, it seemed to him, that the only thing that had kept her conscious was just how excited she’d become in that moment.

“Heh,” with all her restraints and inhibitions thrown away, it seemed the swordswoman had awoken to a new kink she’d likely never imagined before, “You like that, huh?”

She screamed in muffled response into the degrading, humiliating gag but made no attempt to spit it out.

“I see… I thought you were just impatient, hhng, but it turns out, this is exactly what you wanted, isn’t it? Who would have imagined that the Empress of Chon’sin wanted her first time to be getting fucked on the floor of some third-rate inn, like a common harlot!”

Say’ri’s fingers scrambled desperately at his back, scratching and clawing at him, as her pussy pulsed hungrily around him again and she hurtled headlong through another orgasm. As spurred on by his words and her desire-filled embarrassment, as the feeling of his cockhead again stretching her deepest walls around him.

That was quite a discovery, but Robin was now no stranger to women that liked him to dominate them in the bedroom. In many respects, Lucina was exactly the same in how she exhilarated in sexual surrender as a way of not having to be in such rigid control of one aspect of her life. When he’d already dealt with Tharja all but swearing herself to him, and Olivia practically begging him to put a collar on her, something like this wasn’t going to put him off. But nor was it something he was going to push any further, not when she was already at risk of being overwhelmed by everything already.

Running his hands through her hair, he simply filed that information away for later.

“I love you, Say’ri.”

Her expression turned slightly softer, and her legs found their way once more around his back as she urged him inside her once again.

Her moans rang out just as wantonly as before, but now they were muffled by the thoroughly soaked fabric and the danger was mostly passed. Which meant, there were no longer any concerns pressing down on Robin’s enjoyment, and no longer any reason to hold back!

Stifling a roar of his own, Robin threw himself vigorously into action! Pushing her fully down into his cloak, he gave in to his desires, rolling fully over her and thrusting his cock directly down into the ecstatic Empress, slamming his shaft straight through the length of her tunnel until it was driven against her womb and until her deepest walls were locked tight around him!

Again!

And again!

And again!

Over, and over, with almost heedless abandon and only the strength of his now significant experience instinctively keeping him from completely overwhelming her! Until his entire world was narrowed simply to the two of them, until he could feel her lose herself entirely to the pleasure, and until his own vision fogged with the urgency of the peak rushing headlong within him!

“HHHRR-------!”

And, at last, it was only by forcefully shoving his own fist into his mouth that Robin kept from groaning with all his might as the totality of his release finally speared through him! Biting down violently on his own fingers as he hilted his cock roughly inside his swordswoman one final time, Robin arched back, his balls throbbing and his cock spasming wildly inside her, for just one endless, rapturous moment!

“-----!”

“MMMMMPHHHHH!”

Until everything inside him finally exploded! And he was left arched up into the air, his vision spinning and world hazy with delight as rope after heavy rope of his cum suddenly erupted, splattering relentlessly against the deepest walls of Say’ri’s previously virgin pussy! Her womb was flooded immediately, filled to its limits with just the first load of the Tactician’s viscous seed. But ever since his return, Robin could cum enough to please a full group of women, and he had a frustrated weeks’ worth of release pent up! Again and again, his cock spasmed inside her, and again and again, the swordswoman’s pristine, untouched walls were painted heavily in his colours… until her entire tunnel was stained white with his seed, and thick rivers of cum were left streaming down her thighs and out into the kimono beneath her.

Already having submitted herself to him, and surrendered to the overwhelming pleasure, Say’ri could do nothing against the sudden torrent of bliss, the sensation of his release crashing against her walls, nor the feeling of her womb being so wonderfully stuffed with his seed. Jolting in place and arching automatically off the floor, she clung desperately tight around him, locking both her arms and legs around him in instinctive need as she cried out muffled screams of delight, over and over, with each time his cock pulsed inside her, and each time her walls were painted with his cum. As she crested orgasm after orgasm, her eyes rolled back and she succumbed finally to the haze of bliss, her thoughts scattered and consciousness fading away.

…

“---Nnnnggg….”

At length, Robin’s own rationality returned to him, and he was left slumped down, bracing himself carefully atop the swordswoman and carefully pulling the impromptu gag out from her now slack jaw, as his body trembled lightly in response to the aftershocks still flowing through her.

“That…” he panted, squeezing his eyes shut a moment as another heavy ebb of delight rushed through him- the feeling of his soul smouldering in satisfaction, “That was incredible…”

“…Aye.”

Her words were barely a whisper, but the deep affection and the open, honest love he could see in her smile as she slowly unlinked herself from around him and stared happily back up towards him, was more than enough to leave Robin’s heart racing once more.

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The Next Morning

“Ahhmm… nnnghh…”

Slowly, blinking herself awake from what felt like a long, heavy dream, the first thing Say’ri became aware of was the blissful tingling sensation running up and down the length of her body. Sparking gently from her core, she could feel it from the tips of her toes, all the way to the ends of her fingertips along her notably uncovered breasts and right to the sensitive tips of her nipples.

“Mmmm…”

The second thing was the dull, soft ache she could feel from her muscles, entwining with that pleasure in a strange contrast and leaving her feeling like she’d spent the entire previous day training her body, working out muscles she hadn’t previously known she had, let alone used. It wasn’t an altogether unpleasant feeling, and it mixed nicely with the strange, satisfied ache she could feel from between her legs in a way that made her want to sigh.

“A-Ah!”

The most striking thing however, was the sight of Robin’s face smiling softly down at her and of the secure warmth of his arms wrapped around her back! With just a moment’s shock she realised that she was completely naked, and that she was lying against him, with her own arms linked lazily around his chest!

‘!’

Her immediate reaction was to pull away, to cry out and to cover herself! …But somewhere instinctively she suppressed it, and a second later, she relaxed once more. Leaning her head back down to his chest as a warm smile blossomed across her face. That’s right. There was no need for that anymore. No need for her composed façade, her act as Empress, for her fears, doubts, hesitations, or anything between the but open and honest feelings.

The morning drowsiness faded, and with it the memories of the previous night returned. A night she knew she would look back on for the rest of her life.

They had finally talked, the distance she’d kept between them had finally been crossed. Robin had revealed his heart to her, and she’d finally confessed everything she’d always felt for him in return.

They’d kissed. They’d touched. Her body had ached for him in a way she’d never imagined before, and he’d shown her a pleasure she’d never even dreamed of.

They’d made love for the first time right there in Lucina’s room.

And then afterwards, he’d collected her into his arms and carried her back here, to her own bedroom.

Say’ri smiled and her body thrilled once more at that memory. Even now, lying against him she could smell the distant musk of their mixed exertions, her juices and his own release, even with the dawn’s rays now bearing down upon them, the room was filled heavily with the scent of raw, intense, sex.

Of course, they’d hardly been able to keep their hands off one another! Robin had carried her to her bed, she’d pulled him in with her and… in the end, their bodies had come together six more times before she’d finally succumbed to exhaustion, ‘Mmm…’ Robin had done practically whatever he liked with her, and she’d pleaded him for more every time. In just the span of a few hours, the Empress of Chon’sin had learned a great many new things.

The images that rose in her mind were enticing, but she shook them away, she would savour another time.

“Good morning, my love.”

She laughed lightly as she said it, the words ringing happily through her and her body flushing warm even as she spoke. They were words she’d thought she would never say, to the man she’d thought she would never say them to. Right now, rather than an Empress or a swordmaster, she felt simply like a woman, in a way she’d never imagined. Lying against him, sliding her hands around to the strong musculature of his chest and feeling the comforting security of his own around her, she felt naked, free, and almost overwhelmingly happy.

“Good morning to you too,” one of his hands reached up to stroke through her hair, and she felt almost like purring in response, “I’m surprised to see you up so soon after last night… but, I’m glad. I didn’t want to have to wake you, and I was worried you wouldn’t be up before I had to leave.”

“Leave? Oh… Lest Lucina discover you here?”

“Yeah, exactly,” he gave a beleaguered sigh, “I’d prefer to stay, but it’d cause problems for both of us if I was seen leaving your room.”

Instinctively, possessively, she wanted to reject that and to hold him right where he was… but she squashed that thought within a moment. She had already acknowledged and accepted their situations last night, and even if everything else between them had changed, that still hadn’t. She couldn’t simply demand that he throw away his obligations to Chrom, Ylisse, Morgan or even to Lucina, nor could she expect him to agree to elope to Valm with her without even having had the chance to consider it.

For her own part, she doubted there was anything to hide, Kagerou was almost certainly already well aware of exactly what had transpired last night. But her ninja was reliable enough to keep her discretion, so that was a discussion she would worry about later.

“R-Robin, wait!”

He hadn’t actually moved at all yet, but somehow she knew she had to say this before he did, while she was still lying in his arms. She could never make such a scandalous suggestion otherwise.

“Hmm? What’s wrong?”

“F-Fie, nothing is wrong, of course. ‘Tis only… only a passing idea I considered aheh s-some weeks ago…” while on the boat to Ylisse, “A possibility I thought I may… suggest to you.”

He leaned in, interested, “Oh?”

“Surely, you must have thought it a surprise that ‘twas possible for to join you on this trip at all? To journey to a foreign nation, and then travel in the care of one of their men, protected only by a single guard… The deep friendship between our nations, and the debt Chon’sin owes Ylisse plays a role of course, but ‘tis not an outing many royals could undertake easily. Fie, you must remember the tales? Even a man such as Lord Basilio needed to sneak away from his retainers to get away on the various adventures he boasts of.

“The royal family has always benefited strong authority in Chon’sin, yet even so, my father, nor my brother could have managed such a thing. An indulgent, selfish act like this is only possible for me, because I hold such unquestioned support from my people. Fie, I say this not to brag, but simply to explain… ‘Tis hardly something I ever intend to take advantage of, but because of my role during the war- in defeating Walhart, and in liberating my nation… the… expectations upon me are perhaps a little lighter than would otherwise be so.”

“I think I understand, but…”

Steeling herself, she cleared her throat, “I-I have the full confidence of all regions within Chon’sin, and no need to further galvanise any such relationship. Equally, with Chon’sin’s new prominence among all Valmese countries and our known ties to Ylisse, we are sought for alliances rather than needing to seek… th-that is… the reason I say this… Fie, simply put… my hand in marriage is worth far more to those that would take it, than it is for anything I can earn with it return.”

Eyes wide, Robin almost jumped in place, his hands tensing up around her as his thoughts raced along with hers to the same conclusion, “Then, you’re saying that you have no need of any suitors? But, even so, th-”

“Aye. Even so, my duty as Empress still requires that I produce an heir.”

So saying, she held his gaze with a deeply meaningful look. Delighting in the way his face seemed to twist up first with confusion and then with surprise.

“Hah, worry not! I am not suggesting you name yourself openly as my lover, even if I would be glad were you to do so… I… I mentioned that such expectations I face are perhaps a little more lenient than they would otherwise be… O-Of course, t’would be a shock for my people, but I believe it would be accepted if ‘twere to come out that during my war for Chon’sin’s liberation, and during the battle against Grima, that I took a lover among those forces, and that I had a child with that man.”

Again, his face twisted up in confusion. It seemed even Robin’s prodigious intellect couldn’t guess exactly where her thinking had taken her.

“It has yet been less than a year since the war ended. And were I to become pregnant, t’would be only another nine months before the child was born. Fie, I see your expression, I understand… Of course, the expectation is that any royal child would be announced to the people, but ‘tis not always so when concerning sensitive matters. ‘Twould be a simple matter to conceal such a child among the children of the Palace, and to raise it in secret… or, perhaps even to send them away to Ylisse for a time under some pretence or another.”

“But you mentioned having an heir… so you’re not just suggestion we simply have a secret child tog- Ah! O-Oh! You mean, so you can conceal the true birth date!”

She was glad she’d fallen in love with such a brilliant man, “Aye, indeed. I can easily put the matter of suitors and an heir off for several years yet. A newborn cannot pass as an infant, but a child of three could pass for four.”

“Then you would bring them out publicly, declare them to be your heir and claim they were conceived during the war, and born shortly afterwards… That’s…”

“Aye again! A child of an unknown lover during the wartime, a man perhaps fallen in battle… ‘Twould not lead back to you.”

“Say’ri…”

“Robin, t’was your own words last night that said I had a duty before me, as Empress, to take another man as my husband for the sake of my country. But ‘tis not so… If you so wish… Y-You c-can, can prevent that fate, y-you can keep me only for yourself! I will need never take another lover but you, if you wou- AhIIE!?”

Her words cut off with a sudden shriek as she was flipped over and suddenly pressed down into the mattress!

“I can make you only mine, forever. If I make sure you’re pregnant before you leave?”

“A-Aye, th- ahnnn, gh, R-Robin, wai-wait, I’m still, nhhhgh OOoOOOOOHH!”

As always, it seemed to Say’ri that their feelings were perfectly aligned.

And so, with the original promise she’d come to fulfil finally completed, as she wrapped her legs tight around her lover, Say’ri silently made another promise to herself.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Notes:

A/N: Ahh, I like Say’ri a lot, a whole lot! I know she’s not all that popular, but she’s one of those characters that I found really compelling- that the more you think about her and consider her, the more you realise there is to her, to her backstory and everything that makes her up. Although, conversely, I’m always worried about writing her because I’m worried that sticking true to her speech patterns will annoy people, and going easy on them won’t make it sound like her. Hopefully the writing didn’t seem too stiff or anything at least.

And now, hopefully the previous chapter and all the flashbacks that were woven into it makes a lot more sense. I think these two chapters will probably read better together than either of them does individually. Although, given that they’re about 70k total words, they also serve as another example in “How did he possibly think that was going to fit into one chapter?” Ohwell.

Either way, now it should be pretty clear exactly where I’m planning to go with Say’ri’s story and what my plan is for the rest of their trip in Ylisse. Obviously things aren’t as simple as she thinks, given that Robin’s currently got a contraceptive spell working on him, and he’s already resolved that he won’t get anyone pregnant before being honest with Lucina (and that Morgan should be his first child, if Lucina will let him). But aside from that, we’ve got the very blatant sign that our pristine, stoic Empress has something of a naughty kink in being degraded… that’ll definitely get explored a lot more in the next chapter, especially after Lucina bids the pair goodbye for the rest of their trip.

I shouldn’t have to clarify this, but obviously Robin wasn’t exactly being completely true with everything he told her. He loves Lucina, he adores Morgan, he honestly wants to marry Lucina and always has, when he mentioned that being an obligation, that was him saying what he wanted her to hear. Similar to Olivia’s chapter, this one’s meant to read something like a slightly sinister love story. He does care for her, he does honestly love her, he’s going to make her happy- but he’s still manipulating her.

Also: Obviously Say’ri’s underwear is a fundoshi, but that scene was from Robin’s perspective and he doesn’t know what that is. Just for anyone wondering why I didn’t actually name it.

As always, more information about my story statuses as well as a weekly updates and any other details can be found at:

http://jlcdavenport.blogspot.com

Chapter 20: Bonus - A Wonderful Fall

Notes:

Authors Note: I legitimately cannot believe how long this chapter took to come out. I know all my chapters take forever to come out, but I was hoping to have it done in November and expecting to have it maybe push into December. Having it drag all the way through Jan and then Feb was ridiculous and now here we are in April and all I can say is I never stopped working on it or anything like that… it was just chipping away for a long while. It’s another large chapter covering a lot of ground, but I did manage to trim a good amount from it, so hopefully it shouldn’t drag anywhere.

Robin will be acting quite forcefully at times in this chapter and I hope that doesn’t seem borderline out of character with how he’s been presented so far, he’s putting on a bit of an act for Say’ri’s sake and for her desires.

Other than that, I hope you enjoy it! Ideally this should feel similar to the Olivia chapter, where if you just read it without context it’d be a sweet love story, but with the context you can see some things (not so subtly) going on at the same time.

Bonus - A Wonderful Fall

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Recap: Robin returned to life a little more than 6 months after sacrificing himself to slay the Fell Dragon. However, when he returned, he found himself soon overcome with incredible lusts, desires that Lucina (his secret fiancé) was unable to entirely sate.

Over the next four months things got steadily worse for the Grandmaster and soon Robin was driven almost to the point of madness, holding back his rampaging desires, all the while knowing full well that sooner or later his willpower would give out and he’d lose control of himself entirely. With that terrible knowledge in mind, he resolved to at least make the choice of his own sanity and finally slept with Tharja.

Overwhelmed with the ensuing relief her body granted him, Robin listened attentively while the Dark Mage informed him of the truth- that in being revived he’d established dominion of the power that used to belong to Grima, power buried deep inside his bloodline. She claimed that Robin had now unlocked the true potential of his heritage and in doing so, gained both the power and instincts of a Manakete, desires far stronger than what should be contained within a human vessel. Among those desires was the most basic, primal urges, to Conquer, to Dominate and to Breed, the same callings that until now Robin had been fighting, at terrible cost to his very sanity.

Eventually he accepted that the only path forward for him, to protect his family and friends from himself, was to sate those same desires. And so, Robin set out, using his wits as a tactician and his influence as the Shepherds Grandmaster to seduce enough powerful women to satisfy even a dragon’s selfish greed. So far, he’s succeeded in having sex with Lucina, Tharja, Lissa, Olivia, Miriel, Nowi and most recently Panne.

Where we left off last time, Say’ri arrived from Chon’sin to fulfil the promise she made with Robin for him to show her around Ylisse, and after some strained negotiations among the various Shepherd’s leaders, it was decided that Lucina would join her and her ninja retainer on at least the first part of their journey. During the journey, Robin and Say’ri finally managed to reconnect about everything that had been between them, she confessed her love for him and he claimed to love her just as much. They made love on the floor of Lucina’s inn-room while the Princess was sleeping off too much alcohol, and afterwards, decided to both accept a moratorium of the duties they were each bound with to their respective countries, and simply enjoy their time together.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

The trip to Ylisse marked a turning point in Say’ri’s life, a singular event she would always look back on with the fondest memories. It was everything she’d scarcely dared hope it could be, in a way she had never possibly imagined it could be. She would never be the same since, but there was no missing how much happier she became.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Double and then triple checking that she was secluded away from where anyone could possibly see her, Kagerou carefully pulled open the false-bottom hidden beneath the first false-bottom of the small chest she’d brought for their journey through the Ylissean countryside. Ostensibly the chest held a small selection of weapons, tools and other miscellanies items useful for her line of work and the decoy false-bottom hid what would at first glance appear to be a map of the Chon’sin Imperial Palace (of course, in reality no such map would ever be drawn), but beneath that was the true treasure that she’d taken such pains to hide- one of the very few items in this world that truly belonged to her as Kagerou the woman, rather than as Empress Say’ri’s guardian. A small but much-loved book that had served as her picture diary.

It was a curious thing for a ninja to have, a record of her past actions, of her thoughts and her feelings, was in many ways antithetical to her very role, those were the very things she was supposed to keep hidden. However, that same role meant she’d lived forever in the shadows, always silent and always keeping to her own thoughts- something like this was one of the few chances she ever had for any kind of emotional or mental relief. It was something Lady Say’ri herself had gifted her, for exactly that very purpose. And, given that the book was sealed tight with a magical binding passed down only within Kagerou’s own family, she believed the chance of any kind of discovery was slim.

Flicking through her previous entries since departing from the Western Continent showed images depicting the kunoichi’s worries about her mistress coming all the way to this land for the sake of such a vague promise, her silent frustration after their arrival in Ylisstol when they’d learned that the Ylissean Princess was forcing her way into what was supposed to be Lady Say’ri and Sir Robin’s time together, and all the restrained pain she’d felt on behalf of the woman she cared for as she’d watched over her Empress ever since. Picture after picture showed depicted the ninja’s disheartening vigil, watching Lady Say’ri’s immaculate sense of propriety holding her back and forcing a distance between them, even now that she had finally been reunited with the man.

Since the moment she’d learned of it, the very idea of the journey had filled her with anxiety, and with the belief that this was nothing but the woman she respected setting herself on the course for pain and disappointment. And every one of those images, all the pages in her diary were heartbreakingly consistent with that fear. Despite crossing the ocean to be with him, Lady Say’ri had still held herself apart from the Tactician all this time, never quite bridging those final steps even despite the best efforts Kagerou had seen of the man to reach out to her.

Until today! Today! That all changed!

Today Kagerou’s face was alight with a brilliant smile and the stoic, silent ninja was humming to herself as she pulled out her inks and brushes.

Today, as her brush swished to and fro across the page, Kagerou painted a scene of a man and a woman. She drew two great and powerful people, each holding a world of obligations unimaginable to the common folk and each well accustomed to pushing down their own desires for the sake of their duty. She drew one in the robes of the Empress and the other with the famed cloak of the Tactician. And today, at long last, she drew them in each other’s arms, with no distance between them, and with both their hearts connected. And wrapped around both of them, she drew the red-string of fate she believed had always linked them, the binding that Kagerou was sure had always kept their hearts true for each other even over all this time and all that distance.

Sniffing aloud and wiping away a happy tear, her brush moved further and the full scope of the picture was slowly revealed as she put more of her emotions directly into the paper. Some distance away from the happy couple, she drew herself, the vigilant ninja loyally watching over the nascent lovers. Then, around the edges she inscribed her self-made vow, to protect Lady Say’ri’s newfound happiness and guard this couple for as long as she was able.

“Hehe…”

After adding the finishing touches, Kagerou spent several minutes just looking over her newest entry, satisfied with the piece and reflecting on the contented feelings that had been bubbling up in her heart ever since she’d watched the two of them finally open up to each other the previous night.

Still a maiden herself, as the specifics of those memories rose again in the ninja’s mind, a deeply red flush stole over the usually collected woman’s cheeks.

Lying on her back, splayed out of the hard wooden floor of another woman’s room, in some rustic countryside inn was not how Kagerou had ever expected the vaunted Empress of Chon’sin to lose her virginity…

…But there was no need for anyone else to ever know, and she vastly preferred the love she’d witnessed last night to the idea of Lady Say’ri’s first time being instead in the royal bedchambers with some eager suitor chosen by committee and someone she would never care for like she did Robin.

And besides, as rough and impromptu as last night’s liaisons had been, there was no way she could have failed to notice how eagerly and loudly her mistress had enjoyed herself. After finally being carried out of Lucina’s room and back to her own, the Empress’s lusty moans and impassioned screams had echoed around the (thankfully) thick walls through most of the night and almost all the way to morning! “Haa…” Shifting slightly in her seat as she swallowed at those specific memories, Kagerou quickly pushed the images out of her mind and resolved to simply be thankful that the two of them had retained the presence of mind to reconvene back in the Empress’s room.

“Oh.”

At that, she frowned, her good mood abruptly disturbed by a suddenly disquieting thought. The problem of course, was the reason why they’d had to move. Why they’d ever had to consider anyone’s feelings but their own.

And so, just as she’d been preparing to put her diary away and get prepared for the day, Kagerou picked up her brush once more and made another addition to the scene. Drawing a dark blue edging along the border, she added a symbolic representation of her dissatisfaction that Lady Say’ri was so kind as to protect even Princess Lucina’s feelings, even now.

Rather than doing what she surely wished to, and simply slinging Robin over her shoulder to return triumphantly to Chon’sin with her and arrange a fantastic wedding in the palace gardens, the Empress was once more forced into holding herself and her true feelings back for the sake of both their friendship and diplomacy. From what she’d heard of their discussions as they’d been lying in bed together, she understood that Lady Say’ri intended to keep their relationship hidden and act in secret while the Tactician navigated the problems of his remaining obligations to the time-travelling Princess and to the Exalt he called friend.

Even if she didn’t like it, Kagerou could understand Robin’s own loyalty, that he owed too much to Sir Chrom and Lucina to simply leave them behind even for the sake of his own feelings. From what she’d heard, Lady Say’ri intended to use the time left of their trip together to conceive a child with him in secret instead- it would become her heir, an unacknowledged father but still enough to secure her linage on the throne and keep any other suitors or claimants at bay. It seemed just that much was enough for her, so Kagerou had resolved to accept it too.

And so, with the final touches added, the picture finally represented the full weight of the kunoichi’s vow- that she would protect her Lady’s love, even when that meant doing dissatisfying things, or keeping another woman in the dark about even the existence of their relationship.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

“Lady Say’ri, good morning!” Lucina called out brightly as the Empress came into view, shuffling slowly down the stairs of the inn they were staying in.

Lucina’s head was still rather foggy from having passed out drunk for the first time in her life the previous night, and from what little she could recall of them, she had a feeling that her dreams had been among the strangest she’d ever had. But Lucina had a lifetime of bad dreams, and as far as she could tell, she didn’t seem otherwise any worse for wear after the experience, so she pushed any worries aside. She was healthy, the world was at peace, she was with the man she loved, the rest was just details.

“Oh? You’re looking rather stiff this morning?” she added a moment later, raising an eyebrow as she noticed the hesitant, almost tentative way Say’ri was making her way down the stairs. Far from her usually composed façade, the swordswoman was walking practically bow-legged and her hips seemed to be shivering with every step, “Is everything alright?”

“Fie, ‘t-tis nothing. I… I simply must have yet to accustom to the beds of this country. I believe I must have slept somewhat awkwardly.”

The Empress barely got the words out before they were overtaking by an equally uncharacteristic yawn. That sight alone was enough to set Lucina laughing, “Tired already? Perhaps you barely slept at all?” it wasn’t a particularly funny joke, but it enjoyable seeing her companion so unguarded like this.

“Well, I’ll not want for more sleep… last night was… wonderful.”

Lucina simply nodded. It wasn’t often she got to see Say’ri so clearly out of sorts like this and she doubted it’d last much longer than the early daze of morning, it seemed that the alcohol had affected the other princess just as much as it had her. While she’d wound up with a foggy head and bewildering dreams, Say’ri must have slept awkwardly and woken often to be in this kind of state. Mulling over that thought for a moment, Lucina’s smile grew and she felt a small bond of kinship built towards the swordmaiden. She had long considered them friends, just as she considered all the Shepherds friends, and she knew they had much in common, given their similar backgrounds, both having struggled through the life of a stranded leader to a fallen Kingdom… So, compared to all the fear, loss and pain they each held in their pasts, to know that something as simple and silly as weak alcohol tolerance was also shared between them felt surprisingly nice.

And, she added to herself, as she took notice of the way Say’ri’s face was flushing red from their conversation, she guessed that the Empress was just as shy about having her weaknesses discovered as Lucina knew she could be.

More surprising than any of that however, and something Lucina specifically kept herself from commenting on, was the strange sight of seeing Say’ri without her usual chest-bindings. It wasn’t exactly shocking, it certainly had been the first time she’d laid eyes on the woman in her monarch’s robes when her boat had arrived in Ylisse, but she’d had some time now to adjust to the knowledge that the friend she’d thought similarly proportioned to herself apparently had a bust that was almost a rival to Tiki or Tharja’s.

Say’ri must have worn those bindings the entire time Lucina had known her, throughout both wars, to the point that Lucina had never known better. And then at the harbour, from the minute Say’ri had disappeared and changed into her more familiar outfit, and ever since then as they’d begun their journey across Ylisse, her body had been just as Lucina had remembered it, as if the busty Empress she’d seen walking down the docks was nothing but a trick of the mind. But now, as if to blow away any semblance of doubt the Princess may have had… here she could see her long-time companion as she’d never seen her before- dressed in the same, familiar battle kimono as always, but with her massive bust stretching the typically loose fabric all the way to its limits. It made for quite a sight, and was more than enough to take the young time-traveller off guard.

‘Geez…’

Lucina had never been one to worry much about her body, there had simply never been time to even begin thinking about anything like that throughout her life. Love and romance, and everything that came with them had always seemed practically alien to the life she’d lived, so much so that she’d barely even given them a moment’s thought before she’d arrived in the past. And then, by the time she’d actually begun to feel like her frozen emotions were thawing, she’d been with Robin and he’d made it repeatedly clear just how attractive he found her ever since… And yet, even so, looking at a woman who just the previous night had seemed practically as flat as her now making her way slowly down the stairs with her breasts bouncing in a way that’d make even Cynthia jealous left Lucina’s gaze quickly turning away and back to the breakfast she’d been working through.

“Fie…” Say’ri breathed out a low sigh, sliding into a seat opposite her with just a fraction less grace than usual, “An ill morning it seems to be, the rain that keeps us here has yet to let up.”

“Indeed. Unfortunately, that doesn’t look like it’ll change anytime soon either. We’ll most likely be spending another night here at least.”

“Aye. Well, no matter. I shall not begrudge another night held in a warm bed, ‘tis far more appealing than a wet tent. I’ll tell Kagerou later, and, w-what about Robin? Is he awake yet?”

The slight hitch in the Empress’s voice as she mentioned the Tactician went completely unnoticed, with Lucina’s mind already halfway through pondering just how she would fill another rain-soaked day inside.

“Oh? Ah, yes, you just missed him actually. I think he went to talk to the innkeeper about something.”

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

The rain continued unabated for the rest of the day, leaving the travellers with little to do but wait it out.

Robin busied himself within the pages of notes and assignments he’d brought with him from Ylisstol, drafting letters and missives to be sent out the next time they passed through a convenient mail-route. Lacking any similar distractions, Lucina and Say’ri drifted aimlessly around the inn, alternating between reading the few novels the Tactician had stashed along with his work, or simply catching up and talking amiably.

They sojourned in Robin’s room that evening, but with some remnants of Lucina’s hangover still lingering and the sake already completely finished, it was a far more subdued affair than the previous night.

But! Lucina noted happily to herself as the night ticked on and she made her way back alone to her own room, it was an equally enjoyable evening all the same.

She wasn’t entirely sure on exactly what had happened the previous night, after a certain point her memories got too fuzzy to recall and aside from some very vivid memories of her sake cup being refilled again and again, even as she’d begun swaying in place and slurring her words… the better part of the night was practically blank. She didn’t even remember going to bed (or had she been put to bed? For the sake of her dignity, she hoped not… a worrying thought in the back of her mind wondered if she might have dragged Robin in with her, purely out of longing for her lover’s caress, regardless of Say’ri’s presence in the room), everything had simply melded in an indistinct blur until she’d woken up the next morning with a parched throat and a feeling like she was still in a daze.

But! Memories or not, Lucina knew for sure that somewhere between the drinks and the camaraderie, something important had changed between the three of them last night, and today was undoubtably proof of that.

The cold distance she’d felt between herself and Say’ri, along with the frustrating sense of competition that seemed to exist between them had finally dissipated. And for the first time since their Ylissean tour had begun, talking to the swordmaiden felt just as easy as it had back during the war when they’d entrusted their lives to one another. Just as the Empress’s impressive breasts had been freed from their restrictive bindings, so too did the Say’ri’s feeling seem as if they’d been released from her forcibly restrained composure.

Watching the swordmaster half stumbling down the stairs this morning, with her cheeks flushed, hair tousled by sleep and an unsteady gait in her legs was by far the most relaxed Lucina had ever seen from the woman.

Far from the wary distance that had previously stood between the two of them, even after Robin had finally shooed both women from his room, they’d still spent even longer just standing in the hallway, trading their stories back and forth, and simply savouring the pleasant company of someone they shared a war-forged bond with before the Empress had finally bid her farewell and walked off back to her own room.

Which was why Lucina was in such a great mood walking back to her own personal quarters-

“Ah…”

But unfortunately, that mood disappeared almost the second she stepped foot into her room.

Despite paying for the best lodgings available, this was still just a small building in a tiny, nondescript Ylissean country town and it seemed that two days of constant rain had been enough to let the water seep through the roof to where it was now dripping down from the ceiling. That in itself wouldn’t be a big issue, she had dealt with far worse, except that the leak happened to be directly atop the Princess’s bed.

“Hmm… this isn’t good.”

The water must have been coming down for some time now, probably almost the entire time she was out. From even just a cursory inspection Lucina could see that not only the sheets, but even the mattress itself was thoroughly waterlogged- not something she could ignore, even if she did move the bedframe out from under the leak.

Chewing on her lip, Lucina swept her eyes around the room, casting around for inspiration or answers. She was well accustomed to worse conditions than this, and she still had her blankets in her bag, it wouldn’t be a big deal to simply wrap herself up and huddle in the corner or on the floor for a night, certainly it would be far more pleasant than many of the makeshift shelters she’d been had to make do with during her time in the ruined future.

“Robin would call me a tremendous fool for doing so…”

They had paid for these rooms, they were owed proper lodgings, there was no point in her discomforting herself just because she was able to do so. A far more appealing prospect rose in her mind as she worked through her plans, and a wry smile spread across the Princess’s face as her heart jumped in her chest.

“Then… shall I ask if I can spend the night with him instead?”

Musing the thought aloud, her feet shifted on the spot and she felt a very familiar heat beginning to rise from between her legs as she imagined the possibility- knocking on his door and asking… and begging for entrance late at night. Even if it had only been a handful of days and even if she’d endured far longer apart from him during the wars, it felt like it had been far, far, too long since she’d last felt her fiancé’s comforting touch. And, given that they were soon to go their separate ways, if she didn’t do something with him soon, then it would be even longer still before she got the chance.

This was perfect, the reason and excuse she’d been looking for, it was practically a sign from Naga for her finally spend the night with-

“Urgh!”

Even with all Lucina’s hardened resolve, and even despite her strict temperament, she still couldn’t hold back the groan of frustration as she shook that idea away.

She wanted to. She wanted to badly. She wanted to wrap herself around him, to feel him push her down, to feel him hold her tight. Even just picturing it she could feel her womb aching with desire and feel the wet heat spreading across her thighs. Lucina had spent almost her entire life never once concerning herself with love, romance or affection… but now that she had, now that she had Robin and all three of those things, she’d found that he had an incredible, frustrating, wonderful way of making her body react to him. He’d always been domineering in the bedroom, but ever since his return they’d indulged in each other in ways they’d never been able to before, and now she felt as if she’d become addicted to him. She’d dressed up in a costume and put on a role to seduce him, she’d sucked his cock with their daughter standing right outside the room, she’d dragged him into a tiny storage closet and then attended a strategy meeting with his seed dripping down her legs.

She was at the point where her body submitted to him automatically. The serious, resolved and naïve girl she’d once been was long gone, and in its place was a woman who loved him and ached for him so badly that just thinking about him was enough to make her horny.

But she couldn’t go see him.

She couldn’t go spend the night in her beloved’s arms.

She couldn’t enjoy his reaction as she lowered her head and begged for him to fuck her. She couldn’t wrap her legs around his waist and use all her strength to pull his cock as deep inside her as possible. She couldn’t scream in delight, cry his name, or surrender happily to him as he pushed her down, reminded her that she was his woman and filled her with his seed.

She couldn’t do any of the things she’d been burning to do for a week now.

All because of that damnable ninja! That ever-present nuisance that was able to hide from even Lucina’s highly trained senses!

“No,” Lucina sagged, breathing out a frustrated sigh as she glared with self-recrimination, “That’s not correct. The blame lies with me… with my cowardice…”

There was no maliciousness in Kagerou’s vigil, she was simply doing her duty was a retainer, exactly the same as how Frederick acted towards her father. The inability for Lucina to relieve her pent-up desires was due entirely to her own hesitation in coming clean about her and Robin’s relationship. It was the choice Robin had given her during the war, after the war and so many times since, the same choice he’d given her before they’d left and she’d shirked from it the same way they always had.

She could change her mind at any moment.

She could change her mind right now.

There was nothing holding her back or stopping her from knocking on Robin’s door right tonight. Kagerou would almost certainly learn of it, and from her Say’ri would, and from her… it was impossible to say what would happen. But, that in itself was surely no reason for Lucina to hold herself back, she already knew without a doubt that this was the man she wanted to be with for the rest of her life, they’d been together for years now, they had a child (from the future) together; her father would be shocked but would accept it, her mother would be overjoyed, her friends would all cheer for her. There was no reason at all to wait, no reason at all to delay, no reason at all to deny what she knew she wanted!

“Hhaaa…”

Shaking her head, Lucina made the same choice she always made.

“I suppose I shall have to speak to the innkeeper.”

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Thankfully, the innkeeper didn’t give her any trouble when he saw the state of her room, and after making some hasty arrangements, another was prepared immediately.

It wasn’t as impressive as her original room (which hadn’t been particularly impressive to begin with) but Lucina wasn’t the type to care. Waving away his apologies, she’d settled in without issue and was soon, at last, wrapped up warm in a soft bed and comforting mass of blankets.

“Nn…Hhaaa…”

Unfortunately, even as minute after minute passed, sleep continued to elude the former Exalt and her body refused to properly relax. She was sure a part of it was from being in a new environment after having accustomed herself to the previous quarters over the last few days, even after all her travels around the world, sleeping in a new bed always felt a little different each time. But, more than anything else, it was the heat from her earlier thoughts still ebbing through her that kept her from calming down. The urge she’d felt to knock on Robin’s door and throw herself into his arms, as well as the discipline it had taken to restrain from doing so, now left the Ylissean Princess shrouded in memories and desires.

Even wrapped up in layers of cotton sheets and knitted blankets, Lucina was perfectly aware of just how hard her nipples were right now; she could easily feel every shift and pull over the fabric over her sensitive nubs with each time she shifted position and even with her legs pressed chastely together, she could feel the eager wet heat spread out across her thighs.  

Rolling over yet again, she loosed another heated sigh.

‘I knew I had become accustomed to… to that pleasure. But I never imagined I had become this bad…’

She’d been like this for some time now, and the more she thought about it, the more her thoughts drifted to him and the worse it got.

During the war, their liaisons had been few and sporadic out of simple necessity. They had gone several days or weeks so much as a stolen kiss just as a matter of course… but now, ever since he’d returned and their lives had settled down in Ylisstol, for more than half a year now, Lucina had gotten used to sharing a bed (or any unused space in the castle) with him almost daily, and typically for long enough that she lost track of everything else. Just a matter of days ago, Robin had been coming to her room almost nightly and fucking her with such frenzied intensity that Lucina had feared her body would break! It had become practically expected that she would finish her nights wrapped around him, passing out in a dazed, exhausted heap!

And now, just the same as he had been this entire trip, Robin was so close to her, and yet just barely out of reach. And Lucina was left alone, once again, tossing and turning in bed as she throbbed with the lusts that he himself had awoken within her.

‘I hope he’s alright,’ she added idly, twisting in place and trying -with only minimal success- to shift her train of thought, ‘It was always harder on him than it was for him than me. I hope he’s not suffering right now… Robi-’

“Ngh-AHNNNnnnngg!”

‘Ahuh!?’

A sudden low moan rumbled through the wall and echoed around the room, the unmistakably female cry of pleasure abruptly ripping the Princess from her thoughts.

‘Wh-What… what was tha-?’

The voice cried out again, louder and then louder still a second later, rising to a clear peak, hitching loud enough to carry through the wall and directly to where Lucina was now sitting bolt upright, blinking in confusion, at just what she was hearing. Any doubts the Princess may have had about what she was listening to were cleared a moment later as the next blissful cry was accompanied by the equally unmistakable squeak of cheap bedsprings and the groan of a wooden bedframe.

Face blazing red in embarrassment, Lucina realised she could very easily pinpoint exactly where this new barrage of noises was coming from. With the moans now echoing out even louder, building to what sounded like an utterly delighted tempo, and the bedframe creaking and rattling harder by the second, it didn’t take anything like the former Exalt’s war-forged senses to realise that it was all coming from directly behind her- the noises only just barely muffled by the thin walls of the inn’s cheaper rooms.

‘I-I-I… Th-That’s… Th…’

Her thoughts twisted and snapped, but as mortifying as it was to find herself invertedly eavesdropping on some strangers, there was absolutely no way she could deny what she was hearing, not with the way the woman’s cries and gasps reverberated through the walls just centimetres from where the Princess was sitting. The couple in the next room were having sex.

Forcing her body awkwardly back down on the mattress, Lucina swallowed heavily as yet another ecstatic cry echoed through the wall, and seemed to ripple powerfully all across her own sexually charged body.

The couple in the next room were having very loud and very satisfying sex.

Lucina’s breath came hotter as the cries continued and the woman’s peak came, and then again just seconds later. A heavy shiver, mixed with jealousy, excitement and simple arousal trembled up her spine as the stretched her naked body out beneath her sheets, chewing on her lip and craning her ear curiously towards the sounds of the other woman’s pleasure. The bedsprings squeaked louder and the unknown woman was louder still, her unmistakable delight ringing loud enough even to drown out the banging of the overwrought bedframe as it jolted in place, banging against the wall just inches from where Lucina was laying.

The couple in the next room were having exactly the kind of rough, heavy, powerful sex that Lucina had been aching for all this time. Exactly the kind of bed-shaking, sex that her womb yearned for so fervently. The kind of dominant, unruly fucking that always left her soaking wet, screaming in joy, and more than happy to bow her head to the floor and beg Robin to do whatever he wished of her.

“Nghh… Robin!”

Just the thought of her lover was enough to spark the fire in Lucina’s loins into an almost unbearable inferno. And, without even meaning to, she raised her voice out in time with the mystery woman’s… quiet at first, then building in temp as she squirmed beneath her bedsheets and the other woman came around her master’s cock. Stretching out along the bed, arching in pleasure, Lucina quickly found herself replacing the indistinct moans with cries of the Tactician’s name.

This was all his fault, of course. All of this was his doing. She used to be completely normal, a rational, disciplined, prideful Princess. She didn’t use to be so needy, she didn’t use to care one whit about sex, she didn’t use to spend her nights twisting around in bed imagining Robin fucking her as hard as the woman next door was being fucked. He’d done this to her! He’d made her his woman, and trained her in pleasures she’d never even known existed, and now he’d left her all alone, with nothing to do but ache for his touch and moan his name as she shuddered with lust.

It was a harsh male grunt intwining with the sounds of feminine joy that finally snapped the last of the Princess’s resolve, and Lucina surrendered to her desire. Moaning even louder now, uncaring if the people next door could hear her, her hand slid between her legs and her fingers pressed hungrily into the needy heat of her pussy.

She’d resisted from touching herself all this time; it would have been mortifying to have been caught in such a state, and more importantly, she knew it wouldn’t truly satisfy her like her lover’s cock. But now, listening to the rattle of the bed just a meter away from where she was lying, her voice synched with the moans of delight she was hearing and she was far too lost in her own lusts to hold herself back another instant.

Lucina’s hips bucked up greedily the instant she spread her entrance open, and another heavy shiver ran through her as her fingertips rolled over her clit. That wasn’t enough, that wasn’t close to satisfying. She wanted more, she wanted to be filled, she wanted to feel herself stuffed full with Robin’s cock! She wanted to feel her walls spread wide around him, all the way through to her womb!

Pushing two fingers inside at least took the edge off that desire. She moaned his name again, using her free hand to knead her breast as close to how she recalled him doing so as she could manage, squeezing her chest and pinching her nipple as her other hand slid deeper inside her, seeking out all the sensitive spots he found so easily.

“Robin, Robin, Robin! I love you!” Lucina moaned in time with shouts still reverberating through the wall, her voice catching and hitching as her hips raised up fully off the bed and she began pistoning her fingers faster, harder and more desperately. Her head tossed from side to side as the pleasure built rapidly within her, it wasn’t as good, but it was good enough, “It-It’s good! I, I love it! Hnnnng, More! Fuck me, Robin! Please!”

It wasn’t what she was craving, it didn’t fulfil her longing- her fingers paled in comparison to his huge thick cock, but after a week of unquenched desire, it was enough to leave the Bluenette’s head spinning as her hips pushed greedily into her hand and as tingling sparks of delight raced up her spine.

The fast-rising tempo and rough pounding she could hear echoing from next door, as well as the choir of strained bedsprings and hard-worked bedframe, rang out heavier and harder. Their own building climax spurring on Lucina’s own desires and soon she was surging towards the edge of orgasm, her voice crying out loud just the same as the woman screaming blissfully on the other side of the wall.

“Robin! ROBIN!”

Her fingers drove into herself one final time, scraping along her most sensitive spots right across the roof of her pussy, as deep as she could force them and her voice cried out her lover’s name without even a hint of restraint!

The peak washed over her far more gently than she was accustomed too, far less violently and intensely than she felt after having fully submitted to the Tactician’s cock…

“Hhnaa… haaa… Robin…”

…But she collapsed down onto the mattress with a dizzy smile all the same.

As strange as this situation was, Lucina could already feel a large measure of her frustrations dissipating as she shivered pleasantly in a post-orgasmic haze. Even if she wasn’t fully satisfied, she still felt better, she felt a lot better.

And so, tugging the sheets tight around her once more, Lucina rolled over onto her side. Rolling her head up towards the wall behind her, where she could already hear the tell-tale sounds of the next round beginning, she silently cheered them on, before burying her own head happily in the pillows. The heated tension that’d left her unable to relax had finally been soothed, and so -comforted by the sounds of enthusiastic lovemaking echoing all around her- Lucina finally drifted contentedly off to sleep.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Still in the habit of waking just a few hours after dawn, Lucina rolled out of the now slightly more familiar bed and arranged herself back into some kind of order before pulling on a fresh set of clothes and made her way out towards where she could kill a few hours before the inn arranged breakfast. With months’ worth of hard-won peace and none of the wartime tension still remaining, the onetime sharpness that pervaded every aspect of the Princess’s being had dulled and in its place was an appearance far more familiar with the typical laconic behaviour of someone who would rather be back in bed, but who was too disciplined to actually give in to that temptation.

Stifling a yawn as she buckled Falchion comfortingly to her side and kicked her boots on the hardwood floor, she pulled her door open- “Ah!?” and immediately jumped backwards in surprise!

“K-Kagerou!?”
“Good morning, Princess Lucina.”

Inclining her head politely to where the Ylissean time-traveller was blinking in dazed (and far too early-morning) confusion, the kunoichi was standing in place, stock still before the entranceway. She was completely blocking Lucina’s path and appeared to have been positioned here for some time, clearly having awaited this moment.

“Is, er, I-”
“I apologise for arriving so early, but would you mind if I came inside?” the ninja interrupted calmly, “There are a few small matters I would organise with you.”

“Oh, ah… Right, yes? I mean, of course, come in.”

Still completely taken off guard, and secretly not a morning person at all, Lucina could only blink in confusion as the other woman followed her into the room, inclining her head politely once more as she shut the door behind them.

“It truly is no important matter, so I appreciate your indulgence with this. However, for the sake of arranging Lady Say’ri’s schedule, I wished to confirm the details of your own travel plans, as I believe you shall split from us after the next town?”

A small stab of frustration dulled the Princess’s previously pleasant mood at that reminder; the knowledge that she would be leaving them behind and visiting her grandparents while Robin was left alone with the Chon’sin women. Her mother had worked a miracle typical of the surprisingly insistent Queen just to force Lucina even into what was supposed to be a private trip, but even Sumia’s excuse would only last a little further.

The moment passed and Lucina forced down that frustration, just as she always had anytime she thought about her impending separation from the man she loved (and that he had yet to lay hands on her this entire trip…). Even despite how unpleasant it was to imagine leaving her beloved Tactician alone with a woman she was very sure had feelings for him, this past week had done wonders for Lucina’s peace of mind. She’d seen it all herself first hand, from the closest possible distance- even after travelling all the way around the world, nothing significant at all had changed about Robin and Say’ri’s relationship.

She knew it was foolish and immature to be jealous of the affections she was sure the other Princess harboured towards the man, but she hadn’t been able to help it, just as she hadn’t been able to help the complex feelings she’d felt when he’d told her about his previous relationship with her Aunt Lissa. But now the difficult emotions that had gnawed at her in Ylisstol were quiet, and she knew them to be nothing more than the weak jealousy of a woman who was hiding a relationship for the sake of her own cowardice. Unwilling to lay a claim on Robin herself, she was overly cautious about anyone else doing so- just the same as she’d been conflicted to learn he’d taken Olivia as his assistant (even though she knew the dancer was married), or when she thought about the way Cynthia and Noire sometimes looked at him (even knowing neither of them would ever do anything like that).

Refocussing on the discussion at hand, Lucina raised an eyebrow towards the ninja, “It’s rather early to be arranging travel plans, isn’t it? Is there something the matter?”

“Not particularly. But, as you can see, the storm finally passed last night,” following Kagerou’s gaze, Lucina realised that she was right, the sun was once again shining bright over a clear blue morning sky, “And I believe Robin wished for us to depart immediately after breakfast, to make up for lost time.”

“Robin’s awake this early? Oh well, uh, I think I’ve got a map packed… in… ah, here.”

And so, as the former Exalt unfolded her map and laid it out before them, a small logistics discussion began between the two women.

And, while Lucina was being distracted by the kunoichi… Robin and Say’ri left quietly the room they’d been sharing immediately next door -the spare that the Tactician had secretly booked yesterday- and made their own way back down to the vacant rooms they’d left the previous night.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

The next entry into Kagerou’s secret diary depicted the scene a few days later when their paths diverged from the Ylissean Princess’s.

This time, the picture showed Say’ri with a visibly dissatisfied pout as she watched from the sides as Lucina embraced the Tactician in farewell, as well as the growing clouds above the Empress’s head as Robin then shrugged off his signature cloak and handed it to the Bluenette as a keepsake, telling her it would protect her until they were reunited again.

The framing of the setting made absolutely no mystery of the Kunoichi’s own thoughts on the matter; that despite the once-Exalt being a respectable figure who made for pleasant company, this trip was always supposed to have been for the Tactician and Empress, and that only now would that finally be underway. And, as it evolved from there, the edges also came to showcase the ninja’s own personal worries- that despite his calm, considerate and gentle nature, Robin was an unexpected beast in the bedroom!

The outline also spoke of her own rough, inexperienced understanding of the male nature and their needs, but that her beloved Empress had been a virgin only three days ago and had then spent every single night since then utterly overwhelmed by the man’s desires. A figure cloaked in shadows showed that it had gotten to where she herself had confronted him, scolding him for his reckless actions and-

The outline ended abruptly at that point, and the picture told no more.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Staying in yet another rustic Ylissean inn, in yet another almost nondescript countryside town on the evening after Lucina parted from them, the three remaining travellers were relaxing after dinner in the room Say’ri and Robin were now sharing.

Without the Bluenette Princess around, there was no more need for them to hide their relationship or for Robin to arrange a separate room to meet Say’ri at night. So this time, he’d simply paid for two rooms- one to give Kagerou some manner of privacy, and a double for him and his (newest) lover. Standing at his side, holding onto his hand and showing herself for all the world as his wife as he’d openly booked a room for the two of them to share had already been a heady thrill for the Chon’sin Empress, her stoic façade was in tatters and she hadn’t stopped smiling ever since.

The food was good, the company was better, and now all that seemed to lay before them was the long road towards Regna Ferox and a week with almost nothing to disturb their nascent relationship.

“Hmm.”

Which meant, naturally, that Robin’s mind was already running through with plans; where he was, where he wanted to be, and what he wanted to aim for. These were all things he’d thought over many times through the previous days, but now he was once again facing a small moment of truth. Leaning back in his chair, he closed his eyes in thought, picturing once again the best path forwards towards the future. Both for him, and for Say’ri.

‘Yet another gamble? Am I not being too reckless? Well… maybe not…’

As a Tactician, he’d knew well that choosing to play things safe was a coward’s choice, clinging onto the security of the present instead of being willing to improve the position you already held. He’d reminded Morgan of that many times, of how many naïve leaders lost ground simply by trying to defend what they already had. And he’d reminded himself of it as well, each time he gambled yet again in the dangerous territory of his lusts and the secret relationships he’d begun building with some of the female Shepherds. But being too fearful to hold your ground and taking needless risks was an even more foolish choice. Cautioning himself against playing things safe was very different to heedlessly charging forwards for the sake of making any ground. It was a difficult line to tread and, given the troubles he’d run into with Panne and Nowi, one he’d failed at previously.

‘No… I’m certain of it. I know what I saw, what I felt. This is for her sake too.’

Backing his own resolve, with just a moment’s hesitation, Robin moved boldly forwards once again. Gambling a safe position for a happier future.

“Say’ri.”

Startled up from her own thoughts and from the report she’d been reading, the swordswoman turned to him, “A-Aye?”

“I’ve been thinking about it for a few hours now, well, more like I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it, and I wanted to talk to you about this morning.”

“Aye?” she repeated with the faintest edge in her tone, “You mean about Lucina’s leavetaking… you wish to follow her?”

“Huh? No, she’s going to visit her Grandparents, just like Sumia arranged- these roads are all safe and well-guarded, she’ll be safe where she is and, well, I’m showing you around Ylisse aren’t I? Do you want to visit her Grandparents? They’re Sumia’s line, so they’re not strictly royal as far as Ylissean history goes, but if you-”

“N-Nay! Fie, forgive me, I just feared, *ahem*… What did you wish to discuss?”

“Right, right. Yeah, it was before Lucina left, do you remember this morning, right after we got up? When I was holding you up in the air, fucking you against the wall?”

“A-AH!” jolted in place, as if struck by a thunderbolt, Say’ri’s eyes shot wide, her face blazed crimson and her hands waved desperately towards him as she looked between him and the equally scandalised, open-mouthed, shock on Kagerou’s face from where the ninja was sitting right beside them, “Wha-huh, ah, Fie! Fie! Si-Sir Robin!?”

“I know you passed out not long after that but you remember, right? Your hands were around my neck and I was holding your legs aloft, you really seemed to love it, it felt like you came every time I thrust into you.”

Whatever Say’ri had expected from this evening, her lover casually and openly discussing the very private details of their bedroom activities was not it.

“Wha-What ar, what are you s-saying?” again her head jerked from Robin’s casual smile to Kagerou’s equally mortified face, “R-Robin, m-m-my love, fie, su-such matters… I am happy to, to discuss them. But, pray, let us keep them just between us!”

The loyal ninja, for her part, wasn’t faring much better than her Empress. Blushing just as deeply red, she had jerked rigid and her ever-present stoic façade had completely crumbled beneath an expression twisting between shock, anger and bewilderment.

“Sir Robin! Th-That you would… You forget yourself! I… I demand you treat Lady Say’ri with more respect!”

Despite the implied threat, the kunoichi’s stammered declaration was completely ignored.

“You’re embarrassed about me talking like this in front of Kagerou? But you must know she’s surely aware of everything we’ve done.”

His words crashed heavily through both women, sending them each jerking upright and their eyes quickly darting away from one another.

Exactly the response he’d expected. This wasn’t something they had ever actually discussed with each other, it was a simple, unsaid truth that was politely ignored by all parties- obviously there was no way that a retainer as diligent as the kunoichi would have missed their escapades over the last few days. But neither had ever actually acknowledged it, it had been unspoken and unconfirmed. By saying it aloud, Robin had made it real.

Barrelling directly past their shared discomfort, Robin continued on, “That’s actually part of the reason I wanted to talk about it now, I wanted to talk about you, about your tastes... Say’ri, you know I love you, I want you to be happy and I want you to cherish the time we spend together.”

This conversation was just one blindside after another for the bewildered Empress. Of course, she knew about Robin’s feelings, he’d told her those same words many times over the past few days, but he had never said them so brazenly, he had never said them around anyone else but her. A lifetime of decorum and etiquette told her that such things should be shared privately, that they should be soft whispers in each other’s arms, behind closed doors, not something flagrantly displayed before an audience.

“Ah, f-fie, ‘tis, o-of course…”

“I’m always looking at you Say’ri, I can’t help it. I want to know everything about you, I want to understand you completely. And so, I’ve noticed that you seem to enjoy yourself most of all when I’m rough with you. You’re always happiest when I fuck you into a wall, or throw you across the bed. And even more than that, more than anything else, you love it when I degrade you.”

“SIR ROBIN! You, th-this, you are completely out of line!”

Her retainer’s affronted shout finally snapped Say’ri from her shock and she immediately tried to regain control of herself, her usual composure crashing haphazardly back into place like a mask that no longer fit. Far from her practiced serene expression, her cheeks were flaming red, her breath was short, and her eyes were wild.

“Fie! I- I don’t… Robin, ‘tis beyond me what you think you may have thought I felt, b-but I am sure ‘twas nothing at all like what you seem to be suggesting. I never imagined you would be so… Robin, such flagrant disregard… this isn’t what I expected from you, from us…”

Calmly facing down the ninja’s thunderous disapproval and the Empress’s shocked rejection, Robin simply shook his head.

“Is that so? But even now, you’re enjoying it.”

“Wh-Wha!?”

“You’ve been breathing faster since I first mentioned any of this… Say’ri, my love… I’ve been talking openly about your most private, most intimate affairs; about how hard you cling to me when I fuck you, right in front of your most loyal retainer, a woman you’ve known since childhood and who respects you as a dignified Empress…” Robin shrugged, a very familiar smile blooming on his lips, “And yet, if you actually wanted me to stop, you would have shut down the conversation by now. Rather than getting upset with me, you’ve just let me keep talking- you’re not going to stop me at all, are you? Even if I start talking about how I’ve noticed you love being taken from behind? What about if I tell Kagerou all about how you lose your mind anytime I push you down and force your legs in the air, how you scream yourself hoarse when I fuck you directly into the mattress?”

“Sir Robin, you…” trailing off, the ninja’s words lacked conviction now as she turned her gaze weakly from the Empress to the Tactician, practically begging her mistress to deny his words, “That’s just…”

But despite her friend’s hopes, Say’ri just spluttered, squirming in her seat and waving her hands in weak protest, doing absolutely nothing to actually shut down Robin’s scandalous accusations.

“You’re turned on right now, aren’t you? I just explained to your most trusted attendant how you love being mating-pressed, how you cum so hard you have to try not to pass out… And you’re fighting to hold back a smile.”

“N-N-Nay! ‘Tis not, ‘tis just… Fie! ‘Tis ridiculous! K-Kagerou, pray, pay no mind to his word. Mayhap so-something was amiss in Sir Robin’s meal, o-or perhaps he is suffering from some magical malady! He is just speaking nonsense!”

“O-Of course my lady! Your dignity is, is unquestionable! I would never believe such-”

“Dignity? You lost your virginity on the floor of another woman’s room.”

“‘Twas only, I could n-not, I simply couldn’t wait any longer…”

“Then why did you cum the instant I gagged you with your own panties?”

The whole world seemed to pause at that question. Kagerou looked towards her Empress in disbelief, that at least, she hadn’t known. But rather than deny it as she was clearly being begged to do, Say’ri simply squeezed her eyes shut, avoiding her attendants gaze as the memory of that moment replayed forcibly in her head.

The Empress of Chon’sin, the heroic lodestone of her entire country and proud heir of a royal bloodline stretching back thousands of years… had been deflowered outside of marriage, by a foreign tactician (barely even a noble). She had begged for him, delighted in him, moaned his name and then peaked ecstatically when he’d roughly silenced her cries with her own -thoroughly soaked- panties. It was the most mortifying, humiliating, disgraceful moment of her life. And she’d replayed it in her memories a thousand times in the days since, savouring it with a guilty delight she’d never imagined Robin would have noticed.

“If I had to guess, I’d say it’s because now you’re here, like this, you’re freer. And you’re finally able to be honest with yourself,” she was remarkably similar to Lucina in that respect Robin thought, “You’ve had so many expectations, wishes and duties laid on your shoulders for so long… it must be a relief to finally be able to just let it go, just for a short time, just in private. You can finally be true to yourself as a woman, rather than only as an Empress.”

Robin spoke the words lightly, almost offhandedly, but they settled heavily atop both Chon’sin women. Sitting stuck in place, Kagerou was still looking towards her Mistress, waiting for her to deny him, to explain why Robin was mistaken, to reject his words… but, after a long moment, the swordsmaster finally dropped her head.

“Fie… ‘tis… ‘tis something I have… Aye, I fear you may be… may be correct,” her voice was soft and her voice hesitant, but the hesitation was born from the difficulty at speaking such unspoken things aloud, rather than any doubt in what she was saying, “‘Tis difficult at times, to act as I know I am ought, to always present myself as I know I must, as if my entire life is nothing but a careful pantomime, a performance for the sake of upholding my image. ‘Tis exhausting… There… There has long been a small, tiny wish deep in my heart to take that perfect image I must uphold, the appearance of being the perfect stately, pure Princess or of being an aloof unquestionable Empress… and shatter it!”

“M-My lady…”

“There’s nothing wrong with that, Say’ri. Lucina is no different at all, the weight of having to be everyone’s saviour was terrible for her, and I know that even Chrom chafes constantly against his responsibilities, without even talking about Basilio or Flavia. I imagine feeling forced into a role and having endless expectations thrust on you is something all royalty struggles with.”

“Fie… Fie, R-Robin, pray, do not misunderstand! ‘Tis nothing but an idle thought, not something I shall ever act upon! I am well aware that the image I present represents all of Chon’sin, and I am proud beyond anything to carry that honour! That feeling far outweighs anything else I may feel!”

“Of course. I don’t doubt that for a second, it’s only a piece of you, not your whole self. I’ve seen that same resolve from you in your time here. I’m not asking you to change, Say’ri, I’m asking you what you want.”

Another long pause settled before the swordmaster finally found the words to speak, “Fie… was this always inevitable? I wonder… ever since my exile, when I was driven from my homeland… being cut off from my homeland and everyone I cared for, ‘twas terrifying and miserable, more than anything I’d ever experienced, ‘twas as if I knew nothing but rage and despair. But there was freedom in it… aye, ‘twas the first time I ever realised I could be separate from the duties of my lineage, the first time I ever realised I was not only a princess of Chon’sin, but a person as well.”

Shaking her head, she gave a small, conflicted laugh, “Fie, ‘twould be expected that such experiences would have given me a better understanding of Lady Tiki’s heart. How often did she beseech me to look past her title?”

“You did,” Robin reminded her gently, “You frustrated her time and again, but you also closed the distance between her and became her trusted friend. Tiki loved you dearly, just as I do, and now, I’m going to do exactly the same for you.”

Now he had the undivided attention of both women, each looking at him in surprise- especially after everything he’d already done to her.

“You’re not in Chon’sin right now, and you didn’t bring your legion of retainers with you. You said it yourself, this trip is a vacation for both of us, a small moratorium from our duties. There’s no-one at all outside Ylisstol who could possibly know you by sight, and I’m not famous enough to be readily recognised outside the capital either. At least, not without my cloak. So, from tomorrow onwards, you’re going to leave your finery and your Chon’sin clothing packed away and we’re both going to wear normal, local Ylissean clothes. Instead of an Empress and a Tactician, we shall simply be a man and a woman, just two unnamed and unimportant travellers. Then it won’t matter what we do, or who sees us.”

Staring in shock as her face burned red once more at his suggestion and just what that implied, Say’ri gave a sudden start, “W-Wait, is, is that why you left your cloak with Lucina? Because you won’t be recognised without it?”

Robin simply smiled, neither confirming nor denying her suggestion, “Lucina isn’t here right now. The only person who knows you is Kagerou, and you’ve already trusted her with everything so far. Which means there’s no-one here to see you, to judge you, or to think anything of you at all, there’s nothing at all holding you back. If what I said earlier was correct, if I was right about what you want… then… For as long as you’re here in Ylisse, what say we shatter that image of the perfect, pure Princess and find out just where the Empress’s desires really lie?”

As always, it was her choice. Robin had laid all his cards on the table, he had confronted her bluntly with the cravings he’d suspected she secretly held and now he was offering her his hand. Kagerou swallowed heavily, looking in turn between the two of them but unable to speak at all. And, after a surprisingly short time, Say’ri’s voice came out in a choked whisper.

“A-Aye… I, wh-while we’re together… I would like… like to try… As you suggested.”

“Then you agree?” Robin prompted, pushing her just a little further, step by step, “For this trip, it’s not enough that I fuck you, you want more than that, you want to be degraded, to enjoy me demeaning you like this?”

“Fie, I, I am not sure exactly what I want… but…”

“But you’re turned on right now?”

She nodded stiffly.

“And you were excited, sitting there while I talked openly about your sex life, even with Kagerou right here? You didn’t want to stop me?”

“…A-Aye.”

“And you love it when I take you from behind? Or when I’m rough with you, holding you against a wall or bending you over a desk? You go crazy anytime I push you down and fuck you into the mattress?”

“…Aye.”

“And you came from me gagging you with your own panties?”

“Aye.”

“Then… before anything else, shouldn’t you be honest, Say’ri, with all of us? Isn’t it time to admit that the Empress of Chon’sin is a slut?”

Kagerou gasped.
Say’ri swallowed heavily.

But then she raised her head up towards him, meeting his eyes directly for the first time since her first denial. And she was smiling, a wide, dizzy and thoroughly exhilarated smile was spread across her face as she beamed at him, her eyes wild, cheeks burning and breath coming in short, excited gasps.

“Aye, ‘tis as you say… The Empress of Chon’sin is a slut.”

A familiar victorious smirk both women had seen across numerous battlefields shone on Robin’s face as he pushed his seat back in place, unbuckling his pants with certain motion, tugging them down and unsheathing his cock- already hard, pulsing thick in the air and standing more than ready.

“Ah!”
“O-Oh!”

The ninja and swordmaster swallowed heavily in unison, the sight of his massive length stretching into the air set both their hearts jumping and immediately silenced anything they might have thought to say. The atmosphere of the room was dominated in an instant and even from where they were sitting across the table, starting down at his cock, it felt as if it was somehow towering over them, intimidating and undauntable.

“Come then, Say’ri,” Robin’s voice was the same steady command they’d heard so often on the battlefield. And, in contrast to their stupefied bewilderment, “It’s time you learned how to use your mouth.”

“I, ah,” the Empress’s eyes darted quickly between the scandalised eyes of her most trusted retainer and the thick shaft that had so completely monopolised her thoughts recently. Kagerou was practically begging her to stop, but the yearning from her core was worse than ever, “R-Right here?”

Everything until now had just been talk, it had been the most mortifying/exciting thing she’d ever done, but until this moment Say’ri had never once ever considered the reality of doing something like this with someone else watching. It was crazy! She was supposed to… to get down on her knees and, and… A small part of her wished she wasn’t already so wet just from imagining it, but a far larger part of her was burning with a new, unbridled eagerness. She had already agreed, she knew this was what she wanted, there was no doubt of any of that, or any reason to hold back anymore.

“Hurry up.”

“Fie!”

Letting out something between a sigh and a moan, the Empress of Chon’sin slipped from her chair and fell to the floor beneath.

“Fie…”

And then, breathing fast in trembling, exhilarated pants, she began crawling under the table, shuffling on her hands and knees, with her face blazing red, a dizzy smile on her lips and a fast-rising heat between her legs. And, at long last, she settled into place -where she belonged- between Robin’s legs, taking on the very image of a dutiful servant as knelt before him, raising her tremulous arms to his waist and carefully spread her fingers around the full girth of his cock.

The sight of it now, directly before her eyes, left Say’ri’s head feeling light, and she didn’t even try resist the desire to feel it held against her. Raising her head up she let his shaft fall heavily across the full length of her face, feeling the hot, powerful might of it pulsing atop her before pressing her lips up, shivering happily as she laid a kiss directly onto the base of his cock. One quickly led to another, then another and another, with soft moans fell from Say’ri’s mouth and her heart pounded in her chest, as she trailed kisses all the way up along his length right to the very head of his cock.

“Fi-Mmmph!?”

Robin’s hands pressing down on her head wasted absolutely no time in pushing her onto him, and Say’ri’s lips parted wide as she immediately gave up to the pressure, her mouth instantly filled with him.

“Mmnnnaa...mphh!”

She had no training in this, she’d never done anything like this before, not even in the small private time they’d already managed to get together. But this too, from the powerful weight of his hands urging her deeper, to the thick fullness of his cock between her cheeks, was also an unspoken desire that’d nestled deep within her dreams. Kneeling on the ground before her lover, clinging to him with all her might, and both happier and more embarrassed than she’d ever imagined, Say’ri set immediately to work, servicing him as best as she could manage!”

“Ah, nnn, not bad!” Robin sighed as he felt the Empress’s mouth begin sliding clumsily over his glans and pursed around him as tightly as she could, and as her head began bobbing tentatively up and down a few inches of his shaft. In spite of himself, a contented moan rose from the Tactician as she began carefully moving her lips around his cock. His breath hitched as she pushed herself even further, opening up and cautiously easing an inch of him into her throat, the pressure causing her to gag slightly, but her resolve keeping her firmly in place around his shaft, “That feels great.”

By any objective measure his words were well out of place. Having absolutely no practice or preparation, Say’ri had no clue at all what she was doing. But, for Robin, there was a lot of enjoyment just in that itself.

Lucina had been amazing from the first instant her lips had wrapped around his cock. Tharja would never slouch for a second in servicing him and had practically memorised all his favourite motions even before the first time she got a chance to. Miriel, he guessed had some prior practice with her husband, so had just needed to adjust to a far larger size. Cordelia’s first blowjob had been just as perfect as her first anything else, and Severa’s forceful determination had painted an incredible juxtaposition to her mother.

Leaning back in his seat as the pleasure slowly rose around his loins, with his hands running through her raven-coloured hair and her head sliding further and deeper along his cock, her lack of skill did little to diminish his enjoyment and Robin happily savoured the experience of Say’ri’s virgin blowjob. The swordswoman’s tentative but deeply affectionate ministrations brought back warm memories of similar times spent easing Lissa around his cock during the wars, or training Olivia under his desk more recently. Say’ri was so similar to Lucina in so many ways, and somehow, despite the stark contrast between the way the former Ylissean Exalt’s well trained mouth practically drained him dry, the Chon’sin Empress’s clumsy, earnest enthusiasm felt just as wonderful.

Just the image of the stoic, serious swordswoman he’d known for so long, now down on her knees, clinging so hungrily to him and working her lips along his shaft to the best of her abilities, was enough to leave Robin’s breath racing by itself.

And equally, he knew that the sight of her crawling across the floor towards him was not one he’d forget anytime soon. How could he possibly forget the way that the leader of what now amounted to half a continent had slid underneath the table, nuzzled up in exhilaration against his cock, how she’d laid it so comfortably atop her face as she stared up at him in wonder? All without a single word of instruction from him. That had all been her own initiative, it had been what she’d wanted to do.

Robin had always known that beneath her aloof façade and cold, serious disposition that the real Say’ri was a warm and gentle person but he’d never imagined that she would be this submissive, or this eager. He was certain that Tharja and Olivia would be very impressed with her if they knew. And, as he watched, impressed, as she worked her way through taking almost a third of his cock into her throat, he knew the only thing to do now was to push her even further, to awaken her desires completely.

“So, Kagerou?”

“Ah-ha, hauwwhuh!?”

Jolted from where she’d been watching in numb disbelief as the proud, noble girl she’d known since childhood and respected so deeply, happily debased herself, the ninja gave a start caught completely off guard.

“You’ve been here for a while now, so, how are you enjoying your time in Ylisse? Do you like this country so far?”

“Wh…What?”

Robin shrugged with one shoulder as his other hand gently urged Kagerou’s mistress a few inches further down his shaft. The flush on his cheeks as her throat wrapped around his length was unmistakable.

“I just thought, mmnn, I’ve spoken to Say’ri about this a number time, but you and I haven’t really talked much at all. I always respected you highly during the wars too, I was happy to see you again as well, but I realised I haven’t reached out to you much since you’ve been here. So, I hope you’ve been enjoying the trip as well, it must be quite different to what you’re used to. I understand the food in particular takes some adjustment?”

“I… I… W-Well, that’s to say… It’s not… It’s not that it’s bad?”

“I see, well that’s a relief then! See, I know the places we’ve been staying have been a bit of a mixed bag, but you might quite like the next region we’re crossing into, there’s an important river that runs through it so it’s famous for the freshwater fish. Seafood is one of the main staples in Chon’sin right?”

And so, acting if nothing at all was out of place, Robin struck up a strangely casual conversation with the currently overawed kunoichi, prompting her for replies and leading the conversation along as the Empress of Chon’sin sat at his feet, doing her very best to swallow his cock. Kagerou’s stilted, halting answers were just as awkward as Say’ri’s adorably clumsy blowjob. And somehow, as Robin immersed himself in both sensations, the pleasure that thrummed through him was greater than the sum of its parts. The delight of Say’ri’s mouth sliding along his cock, the constant reminder she had that her friend was sitting right there watching her debauchery, the shock in Kagerou’s eyes as she watched the Tactician’s cock slide between her mistress’s lips… it all swirled around him and soon Robin’s breath was racing much faster and even he found it occasionally hard to lead the conversation along.

After a few minutes, Say’ri could feel the clear results of her efforts, with the way his cock pulsed between her cheeks. And Kagerou could see the clear signs of arousal across the Tactician’s face as their conversation continued. For the Empress, it was the same intense feeling of his cock swelling and growing even thicker inside her. For the ninja, it was just the same look she’d seen from him so many times recently when he’d been balls-deep inside her mistress.

“Ah!”

And just as suddenly as he’d begun this show, Robin brought an abrupt halt to the proceedings.

Pushing Say’ri from his cock, a small pop filled the air as it slipped out from the tight seal of her mouth and her confused, disappointed moan echoed out a second later as she looked questioningly up at him… her eyes shooting wide when she saw Robin buckling his pants back up, as he bounced to his feet!

“Actually, sorry Kagerou! Talking to you about that, I just remembered! I still needed to talk to the innkeeper about the directions to our next town, it’s getting late already so I’d better catch him now before he goes to bed!”

Grinning for a second in apology towards the two women staring at him in open-mouthed disbelief, there was nothing but clear amusement in his eyes as he turned to leave.

“Sorry! Sorry! It’ll only take a minute, just wait right there, I’ll be back soon!”

And without so much as a backwards glance, he was gone.

…

The shock hit quickly and passed slowly. Several minutes drifted by just like that.

…

“M-My Lady… S-Surely there is no need to…”

Not looking away from the door the Tactician had departed from. Very pointedly not looking anywhere else. Kagerou’s voice cracked as she made her soft entreaty towards her mistress… towards the woman still kneeling obediently in place. At where, even several more minutes since Robin’s departure, the Empress of Chon’sin was sitting in place, waiting right where she was, exactly as instructed.

Say’ri’s face burned with shame, but her core throbbed with an arousal unlike anything she’d felt before. It wasn’t better than all the times her body had been given up to Robin, but it was different in a way that left her aching for more. She didn’t budge an inch, “

…

“Should… My Lady… Should I leave? Would you not prefer to spend your time privately with S-Sir Robin?”

As her loyal ninja and most trusted retainer, Kagerou couldn’t simply leave her, not without being dismissed.

“My Lady?”

Say’ri’s eyes burned into the floor, but she remained silent.

Robin hadn’t actually said anything about her retainer staying, she could have dismissed the other woman at any time, he’d even offered her several chances to do so. She was smart enough to understand he was leaving the choice up to her…

…But, he wanted this, he wanted her to have to (want to) service him right before her friend’s watching eyes.

Being degraded in such a disgraceful fashion in-front of a trusted companion, someone they all knew had a deep respect for her was absolutely terrible, it was painful, humiliating, and utterly unthinkable. And, it was among the most intense, incredible, liberating sensations she’d ever known. It was impossible for Kagerou not to know everything that passed between them, that was a ninja’s job, but to have the woman sitting right there, to feel her eyes on her as Say’ri crawled across the ground, as she tasted Robin’s cock and silently begged for his seed…

Shivering quietly, Say’ri said nothing.

…

Some long minutes later, the door finally burst open once again.

“Aha, ha, I’m back!” Robin laughed. Walking over and slouching in his seat, he kept up his cherry conversation with the ninja even as he casually unbuckled his pants and smoothly pushed the Empress’s awaiting mouth back into place around his cock, “Sorry, where were we? You were telling me about the three dams in the northern provinces?”

Kagerou squeezed her eyes shut. The conversation continued as if it had never stopped.

And, acting as a backdrop to their halting, awkward discussion, the sound of the Empress’s lips eagerly working their way almost halfway down Robin’s cock filled the room.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

The next page in Kagerou’s diary was a far simpler one.

It simply depicted a dutiful servant, happy to serve support her mistress’s wishes, but one also worried that said mistress was being too agreeable, that she was going further than ever expected.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

“Here you are, milady,” Kagerou gestured deferentially to the clothes as she laid them out atop the bed before them both, “These are the Ylissean garments that Sir Robin suggested.”

They were doing this right now in the ninja’s room because the man in question was currently still occupying the bed in the shared room. While Say’ri was sure that the Tactician would rather enjoy the spectacle of seeing his foreign lover dressing up in the clothes of his homeland, that wouldn’t be fair to Kagerou. For the sake of the charade they were putting on, her retainer also needed to wear Ylissean styled clothing and there was no reason to impinge on her friends dignity if she could avoid it, never mind that Say’ri would much rather keep his eyes on her alone.

Yawning heavily as she blinked herself further awake from what had been an exhausting night following her blowjob training, Say’ri leafed curiously through the garments, mentally accustoming herself to the look for a moment before stripping off her nightwear and trying on the new look.

“A… a little unusual but, I suppose, not altogether uncomfortable. The fabric at least appears to of good quality.”

The mirror held up to her confirmed Say’ri’s expectations- her luxuriously black hair, high cheekbones and sharp facial features still quite clearly marked her as a foreigner at any close inspection, but not so much that anyone would take any kind of immediate interest, and certainly not enough that anyone would ever dream she was the Empress of Chon’sin.

Assisting with arranging the strange clothing around her mistress as best she was able, Kagerou gave a small chuckle a minute later when she realised that the Ylissean style underwear she’d purchased personally had been shifted to the side.

“My Lady, you don’t wish to wear these? I cannot say I blame you, I had the same thoughts myself but, will it not be strange to pair a fundoshi with such clothing?”

It was a strange thought indeed to picture these Ylissean skirts and blouses paired with the traditional loincloth both women typically employed. Still, even despite her question, Kagerou was already dutifully pulling out one of Say’ri’s usual undergarments, strange or not, if that was what her mistress wanted then it was-

“Nay, Kagerou you need not mind. ‘Tis fine like this.”

“Like this? But then you would have no…”

It took the straightlaced ninja a full further moment to understand exactly what she was being told and to realise the implications.

She intended to go without.

The Empress of Chon’sin would be strolling around a foreign country in these flimsy clothes, alongside her secret lover, and completely bereft of underwear.

‘No… it’s even more than that…’

Looking again, now in shock, Kagerou noted just how loosely Say’ri was binding her sarashi. The usually tightly bound breast-wraps were now simply acting as a form of support, doing practically nothing to restrain the tremendous curves of the Empress’s chest, by the time Say’ri had finished buttoning up the light blouse, the ninja could barely stand to look at the way the thin Ylissean cotton was being pushed to its very limits, just as her own garment was currently doing around her own equally unbound chest. But she was just a retainer, this was the leader of an entire nation! The Empress of Chon’sin was going to be strolling around a foreign country in these flimsy clothes, alongside her secret lover, and completely bereft of underwear at all!

“’Tis Robin’s instruction, his preference.”

She could have guessed that much without even being told.

“He truly enjoys humiliating his lover this much!?” Kagerou bit out before quickly restraining her shock, “My Lady, surely you need not do such things just at his say-so. You owe him no obedience!”

“He is the man I have dedicated myself to. I owe him all the respect that any wife would grant her husband, just as I would request that same respect in return. Fie, ‘twould that circumstances were different, he would be in Chon’sin as my consort.”

Kagerou winced at the gentle reminder, she understood that already, she knew well that as Say’ri’s would be husband she was expected to listen to him to some extent, “My lady, forgive me, I am not so belligerent you need to doubt that. I have great respect for Sir Robin and I have no hesitation in following his orders. He is the man who has made you happy in a way none other have ever managed to, and I will always hold deep affection for him because of that. I only worry for your sake; I have no qualms acting as the demon on your shoulder if you need it- I worry that you are being pushed so far and that it is in pursuit of his whims rather than your own.”

“Aye… ‘tis your place to worry indeed, to keep my path steady,” Say’ri conceded with a sigh, “But in this case, there is no need for your concern, I assure you. ‘Tis as I want it too. As his w-wife, I shall listen to and consider any earnest request he makes of me… an-and, he made a compelling argument.”

Judging from the flush across the swordswoman’s face, Kagerou doubted she wanted the exact details of what that argument had been.

Ever since their discussion last night, Robin had taken to letting his hands roam free across Say’ri’s body, even in public, no matter who might see them. And the ever increasingly exhilarated look on her mistress’s face was starting to burn heavily into Kagerou’s mind.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

The following pages in the ninja’s diary all depicted similar expressions of the same emotions- the simple and sincere joy she felt towards her Empress so clearly, openly and happily enjoying this trip and her time in Ylisse. And around the edges Kagerou inscribed her wariness that the skirts on the clothing Robin arranged to disguise Say’ri seemed to rise with each town they passed, and that her bust was displayed ever more prominently with each new garment. Even so, her minor discomfort at wearing (thankfully more modest) Ylissean clothing was far from enough to seriously dampen the scene, the swordmaster’s happiness was what was truly important.

There was a gently drawn image of Say’ri walking openly hand in hand with Robin down a bustling city street.

Another one of her beaming in almost giddy excitement as she held onto his arm and was introduced as his wife for the sake of booking rooms at the inn.

Even the next image that showed Kagerou dutifully keeping watch over their camp through the night while Say’ri’s screams of ecstasy rang out from the tent behind her, was still focussed on showing the ninja’s delight at her mistress’s happiness.

Her misgivings remained, but what mattered more than anything else was that contrary to all Kagerou’s warnings and her cynical expectations for this mad journey, Say’ri was undoubtably enjoying her time in Ylisse. Robin truly was the man that made the Empress happy. She was reminded of that fact repeatedly (and loudly) with every passing night… and usually several times throughout the day too.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Sitting opposite her “husband” in a rather upmarket restaurant, the names of various unfamiliar Ylissean dishes washed completely past Say’ri as Robin took care of the ordering for both of them. Normally she would have been eager to join in and would have savoured this as another chance to learn more about the native culture- today though, she was happy to leave it all in his hands.

Just earlier today, she had been excited to be visiting another major Ylissean city for the first time since Lucina’s departure. Now she wasn’t so sure. After less than a day in the bustling metropolitan atmosphere of what she understood to be one of Ylisse’s biggest cities outside the capital, and she was already wistful for the freedom of their life on the road once more.

“Ah…”

A heated sigh slipped from her lips, adding to the thousand she’d involuntarily let out over the last few hours. Her thoughts were scattered and drifting, she couldn’t possibly focus on something as mundane as a restaurant menu right now.

She was in a daze.

“Mmm…”

Her typical composure was fractured; she couldn’t keep the warm flush from her face, and despite her carefully maintained posture in this elegant mahogany chair, it took a strong effort of restraint to keep from squeezing her thighs together.

The light red dress Robin had provided her neither helped with that feeling, or with doing much to protect her modesty. The top had been measured at his instruction and was squeezed tight around her impressive chest, pushing her breasts up and showcasing them so prominently they were almost at risk of spilling out. Similarly, the hem of the dress barely measured more than a few centimetres below her hips, Say’ri’s long, lissom legs were on clear display… and it was only through very careful posturing did she ensure that no-one but the man she loved was aware that she was wearing nothing at all beneath this slim, silken wrap.

Dressing up ostentatiously for a formal occasion was completely normal to her these days… but putting her body on such blatant display, to the point of practically making a spectacle of the curves she typically kept modestly hidden was practically unimaginable for her image as the Empress of Chon’sin. Judging from the wide-eyed, scandalised look she’d seen on Kagerou’s face before sauntering out the door she, at least, had never imagined anything like this.

But of course, neither the dress, nor the food currently being ordered for her were responsible for the aching heat she could feel between her legs, leaking out across her naked thighs.

Instead, the heated yearning she could feel pulsing from her womb was the result of everything they’d done over the last few days. Every last enthralling, amazing, depraved, scandalous act she’d performed at Robin’s behest ever since that first night she’d given herself to him and especially since the moment she’d agreed to his degrading suggestion.

And specifically, her daze right now was the result of the fact that for all the wonderful things Robin had done to her in so many places and times, in their bed, on the floor, alone or before her ninja’s eyes… he had yet to lay a single finger on her this entire day!

It was maddening! And her mortification that something as simple as that was enough to drive her to ache for him this much, only reinforced his absolute dominance over her, and made her want him even more!

Sitting quietly in place, she fought to centre herself. Just going about their day normally should have any effect on her, but after doing so much, so readily, she’d become completely accustomed to it. Which was what made today so puzzling. She hadn’t been able to make sense of her lover’s actions since they’d arrived in the city this morning.

So caught up in her own head, she’d already forgotten this city’s name, but Say’ri understood it to be the largest and most populated city in Ylisse’s northern regions. The shops were filled with exotic goods, the noise of the city rang out all around them and the finely paved streets were flowing full with crowds in all directions. It was several degrees smaller than Ylisstol itself, and certainly from the capital city of Say’ri’s own Chon’sin, but compared to the quiet, rustic towns they’d passed through along the way it was in a league of its own.

Was that why Robin was so distant today? She wondered for the hundredth time, because he was far more likely to be recognised in a place like this than any of the previous locations they’d travelled through?

Even as she entertained that thought, Say’ri had to give a sardonic laugh and scold herself for her thoughts. This was distant? Because he hadn’t started touching her in public like she’d become used to? That was a very strange way of thinking about it, given that he’d been at her side all day. If anything, she should be glad that the man she’d entrusted her honour to was not treating it recklessly.

She could not possibly fine fault in how he was acting. He was being exactly the gentleman she knew him to be, and she appreciated it.

She did.

She truly did.

Even… Even if it meant that his hands had never once strayed across her body, or that he hadn’t surprised her with a single kiss…

She flushed again and scolded herself again, trying harder to compose herself as she nodded along with Robin’s explanations of what he’d ordered and why.

It was strange, almost alien, to think that just a few days ago she had never so much as had a man lay a single finger on her with lustful intent. And now, here she was, with her heart pounding and womb yearning from the anxiety caused by the man she loved restraining himself in a way he hadn’t since his presumed fiancé had left them. If she hadn’t been so happy lately, she would have been alarmed at just how fast she’d fallen. Was this her true nature all along? Was this who she really was under all the layers of propriety and aloof dignity- a shameless, submissive woman, who had to bite down on her lip to restrain herself from interrupting their meal to beg him to take her home and fuck her senseless.

It was his fault, of course. He’d awakened countless wonderful, intoxicating desires within her, to the point where she could hardly believe that her life had ever been otherwise. It was as if she was naught but his play thing, even just while they were walking along or in conversation, he’d trace his fingers across her breasts, or strike his hand up her thigh… and now she’d become so accustomed to it that she’d caught herself pressing her body up against his whenever she felt the need, pushing her breasts into him and silently urging him to release her hand and wrap his arm around her waist instead.

Just a few days ago she was the very picture of a of an innocent maiden, a sheltered princess who had never so much seen a cock and imagined that would change only on her wedding night. And now she was forcefully pushing down the building anxiety that sat in the back of her mind, telling her that with Robin’s apparently restrained attitude in this town, he may not even continue her blowjob training tonight.

‘Fie!’ 

Again, the Empress shook her head, banishing the ridiculous thought and returning herself back to reality.

‘I truly cannot think straight right now, can I? ‘Twould seem my head is full of nothing but the most absurd ideas,’ squeezing her hands together under the table, she forced herself calm, nodding to her lover with a warm smile and a thoroughly soaked pussy, ‘There is no reason at all to imagine that would be any risk at all. In the privacy of our room, surely there cannot be a single issue with us being together- we even registered as husband and wife. Fie! If anything, ‘twould be strange were his wife not to service him before bed!’

Say’ri knew there was still a lot she had to learn to perfect her technique, but she was sure that Robin enjoyed the feeling of her lips around his cock just as much as she enjoyed feeling it filling up her throat. She took a good deal of pride in that assurance. He had trained her himself, after all, teaching her exactly how to please him, and she had been as diligent as she’d ever been in her life, just as dedicated as when she’d been learning the sword from her brother, or when she’d studied politics with her parents. Just this very morning, before they’d set out for this city, she’d finally succeeded in swallowing his entire length, and Robin had held no shortage of praise for her achievement! She was sure even now that the seed he’d bestowed upon her -directly down her throat, as she’d learned to swallow obediently- had been even thicker than ever.

Satisfied with her conclusion and, once again, looking forwards to returning to their hotel, Say’ri pushed the thoughts out of her mind as best she could manage and made an attempt to join the conversation Robin was prompting of her. The meal arrived soon after that, and the strange food served as enough of a distraction to keep her mind from spinning further out of control.

The newly awakened lusts that now swirled throughout her were met by a love that was just as strong. And, it was with both a womb anxious for his seed and a heart already overflowing with affection for him that Say’ri rested her chin atop her hand, gazing across the table at the man she adored and at his own answering smile.

Say’ri was surrounded only by warm and wet, happy feelings.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Wrapping herself around Robin’s arm as they wended their way slowly back through the twilit streets, without the distraction of the restaurant, the onlookers or the food, Say’ri’s desires began overflowing once again. The feeling of the evening’s slight chill brushing across her skin that was barely covered by the light fabric of her dress, as well as the stares she noticed turning towards her as they walked slowly arm-in arm did nothing to offset her arousal. Her long legs were on full display beneath the short hem and her already massive breasts seemed even larger with how tightly they were pushed together, even her neckline through to her shoulders felt completely exposed.

Clinging to Robin as she was, dressed up at his instruction, rather than a noble with an unquestioned lineage, or a swordswoman with mastery of the blade, she seemed instead as if she was nothing but his prize, being shown off to anyone who cared to see. It was as exhilarating as it was mortifying.

She sighed, leaning pointedly into him as she rested her head onto his shoulder, “A wonderful meal and a pleasant day. I shall have fond memories of this town.”

“It is a nice place, isn’t it? Although it certainly kept us busy, trying to see everything in just one day…”

“Aye, and a long day it has been… Mmm, Robin… shall we return back to our hotel?”

“Oh, you’re tired? Did you want to go sleep?”

“N-Nay, not to sleep just yet…” she hinted, squeezing his hand gently with her own as his arm was pulled deeper in between the soft valley of her chest, “I just… ‘twould be my wish to relax, after doing so much, and since we’ve spent all our time out and about, ‘twould be nice to take some time just with you.”

“Ah,” he smiled gently, sending her heart swelling… right before deflating her excitement, “In that case it should be fine. The next place I wanted to show you should be pretty quiet, I don’t think there’ll be many people around at all.”

Jolting slightly out of her composure, Say’ri pouted, “I, er, ‘tis dark though. Surely… ‘twould be best we return tomorrow instead, no? We should have some hours before we’re due to leave.”

“Mm, it’s a nice night though,” Robin hummed obliviously, “There aren’t many places like this. Hah, c’mon, let’s enjoy it while we can!”

The heat between Say’ri’s legs now was almost as intense as the affection pouring from her heart. An undeniable sense of frustration caught in her chest, but even that was stifled by the knowledge that he was going out of his way for her sake. Robin, it seemed, was so focussed on wherever he had in mind to take her that he was left painfully oblivious to the not-so-subtle hints she kept leaving him. She did want to see the parts of Ylisse he wished to show her, that was certainly true… but right now, more than anything, what she wanted to see was the look in his face as he pushed her onto the bed and pinned her hands behind her head!

Her mouth opened to object and, for just a moment, she almost forced the words out, saying exactly what she wanted and where she wanted to be…

But she couldn’t. Even dressed as just a common upmarket woman, and even with everything they’d done and she’d already said, even as her pussy thrummed with desire and her body ached to be held, she still couldn’t openly say such things around, not outside, not with people all around them!

…The moment passed and she simply nodded instead, quelling the heat between her legs with the love in her chest.

“Of course. So long as I am with you, I am overjoyed.”

And so, matching his smile with her own, Say’ri allowed herself to be led on. They walked far away from the heart of the city and through the rich eastern districts, past the expensive housing and the quiet, perfectly maintained avenues, away from the small works of art that dotted the streets and under the floral covered arches that seemed to be in vogue in this region. On and on until she’d long since lost her way, and until she found herself walking hand in hand with Robin down a cobblestone path that opened up to an enormous park.

“Aye, ‘tis beautiful indeed.” She murmured, turning her head from one sight to the next as she drank in the wonderfully maintained foliage, the rows of hedges topped high with decorative shapes, and the carefully maintained waterway that sloughed lazily through the heart of the fields, all limned soft in the evening twilight and all holding a quiet, naturally ephemeral beauty in the quiet evening.

Just as Robin had said, the park was almost entirely deserted at this time and so, with the hustle of the city some distance behind them and Say’ri’s hand held warmly in his own, the Tactician’s voice seemed to fill the very air around them as he spoke quietly about the location’s history- apparently something he’d been told this very morning- the battles fought in the region, the victories gained and the trees planted in commemoration of a hard-won peace.

Still soaked in the daze that’d enveloped her most of the day, Say’ri was far from her most alert to begin with. And the soft, intimate atmosphere swiftly swept her up, to the point that she only noticed that Robin had led her a good distance from the main path and to a small clearing when he suddenly stopped in place, and directed her attention to the massive tree now towering overhead.

“Ah, here we are.”

“Aye?” she answered, leaning back to take in the sight, “’Tis magnificent indeed. This is what you wished to show me-Ah! Hhh, mmmMMMMmph!”

Without warning or hesitation, she was abruptly turned around and pressed forcefully into the trunk of the tree. Robin’s hands were firm around her waist and his lips hot upon her own. Moaning immediately, Say’ri’s mouth opened instantly to his own and her tongue met his with even more excitement than usual. The temptation to simply melt into his embrace was almost overpowering, it was only the surprise of being so suddenly held in such a public place that sparked her senses and retainer her rationality.

Even so, there wasn’t even a shred of desire within her to resist and it was a handful of very long minutes later before she broke their kiss.

“R-Robin… M-My love! Fie! You are impatient! If you are like this th-then, let us hurry back to our hotel!”

By now the Tactician’s body was pressed flush against hers, and her back was pushed up against the tree. Offering her nothing more than a sly smile in response, his lips moved to her bare neck and his hands slid up along her naked thighs, pushing the hem of dress further up over her hips.

“F-F-Fie! I-I understand! Believe me, my feelings are the same, I-I have been…” losing track of her thoughts, Say’ri tossed her head back as she felt his kisses trail down her neck and his hands slide up her thighs. A hot shiver ran up her spine as the dress was rolled up over her waist and her bare pussy was exposed -hot and wet- openly to the night air. Somehow her trembling fingers lacked the strength to pull her dress back down, and all she could do was clench her hands atop his, “This whole day, I have, nhgh, I have yearned for your touch. I fault not your impatience, fo-for I share it too. So, so, let us hurry back to our hotel a-and, nnhhaa, Robin, let us return and let nothing stand between us!”

“Say’ri,” Robin sighed playfully, speaking even as he pressed kisses right along her collar and even as she trembled against him, “My love, you misunderstand. This is what I wanted to show you.”

His hands slid now slowly up along her side and his waist pressed in firmly against her own, letting her feel the full, forceful presence of his cock straining at his pants, grinding against her exposed entrance.

“A-A-Aye?”

The shaft that had dominated so much of her mental faculties all afternoon was now being held right against her. Even if she’d wanted to resist, there was no way she could have prevented her body from moving against it. Her mind shuddered and she rolled her hips into him. This was what she’d longed for! She wanted to feel it more, harder, stronger!

Losing the scraps of her loosely held composure, a heavy moan fell unbidden from her lips and filled the quiet night air. And then a second and third, even louder and happier, as her lover slid the top of her dress smoothly down her body and her massive, heaving breasts fell directly into the Tactician’s skilled hands. Her face burned red with shame at being undressed in public like this and her head spun with confusion, still not entirely sure what was happening, but still she would never have dreamed of resisting- it felt too good. Just the sensation of his hands wrapping so securely around her chest was enough to leave her legs feeling weak and her body begging for more.

“This is a native Ylissean oak,” Robin explained calmly, his words punctuated by the kisses he continued trailing all along her collar, and each word echoed by the Empress’s moans as she squirmed shamefully-happily, under his ministrations, “The same one I mentioned just before, that was planted at the end of the Three Mountains War, it’s a symbol of this region’s peace and it has endured ever since. Almost two hundred years now.”

Say’ri’s vision flickered white as his fingertips rolled easily atop her rock-hard nipples, stroking and pinching them in exactly the way he’d learned to use to drive her insane, “I-I-I see…” Her legs quaked, the strength in them fading against the shivers running down her spine and the bliss pulsing from between her legs as she rolled herself against his waist. Her breath came in ragged pants and she found herself leaning harder against the tree behind her just to stay upright as her pussy pulsed and yet another small, rising orgasm flowed through her. It was both mortifying and wonderful just how skilled Robin had become at toying with her. More than anything else, it made her want to redouble her own efforts to learn his desires and it made her eternally grateful that he was the man who’d captured her heart.

They were alone for now, but anyone could still come at any time. She knew that perfectly well, but she was fast forgetting why she cared.

“You told me about the future you wanted, about your dream,” Robin continued, breathing the words across her flushed skin, “You told me how you wished for us to joined beneath a Cherry Tree… Well, no matter how hard I looked, I couldn’t find anything like that at all in Ylisse, so that’ll have to wait until I can visit your homeland.”

His hands kneaded and rolled even stronger across her massive breasts now, driving a heavier orgasm from the overwhelmed Empress as he teased and squeezed her sensitive mounds with enough confidence to steal the last of the strength from her legs.

“But for now, we’re standing beneath a mighty Ylissean oak, an important symbol of resilience and resolve both in this region and in the Halidom as a whole. It’s a native tree, one that bears the name of our country itself, you must have seen it’s even on our coat of arms… I can’t make your dream come true, my love, not yet. But to be joined under an Ylissean oak surely holds just the same meaning as a cherry tree in Chon’sin.”

Say’ri gasped, and then gasped again when Robin abruptly released her and took a step back. A heady, needy moan fell desperately from her lips as she slumped weakly backwards against the trunk, her chest heaving in racing pants as she stared up at him, her heart pounding in her chest and face blazing crimson.

The fact that he’d thought so deeply about her words was enough to fill her soul with happiness, but the fact that he’d toyed with her so easily made the aching need between her legs even worse than it had been before. Say’ri was sure that Robin must want her as badly as she wanted him, but she also knew that if he tested her, she would immediately give in. No matter how strong she sometimes pretended to be, her body knew far, far too well, the blissful pleasure of surrendering to his will.

This wasn’t at all what she’d meant when she’d talked about being joined with him. But surely, he knew that already, that wasn’t important. This was no different to all the other times he’d pressed her so far during their trip, where he’d made her acknowledge what it was she wanted now.

“Robin…”

Even despite all she’d done, and all she wanted to do, her mind still quivered at the reality. Were the really going to do it? Right here? They were going to make love right out in the open, in a slightly secluded little clearing, where anyone could just pass by? Even knowing that Kagerou was surely keeping watch to turn any would be intruders away, the very thought of it was still almost unbelievable.

All her years of royal training, of decorum and procedure.
All thousand years of imperial dynasty that laid heavily upon her shoulders.
All the millions of citizens that looked to her.
All the solitary nights of lonely restraint and hard-fought discipline she’d suffered through.
All she’d done, all this time…

And now she was going to be fucked in the open, in public, like a common slattern.

‘No.’

Say’ri knew better than that. For whatever else she was naïve and uneducated about in matters of the bedroom, she learned fast and adapted quickly. That wasn’t what was going to happen. She knew the man she loved, she knew that look in his eyes and what he was waiting for. She needed to be honest.

She was going to beg him to fuck her in the open, in public, like a common slattern.

“Please Robin, Love… I’ve been aching for it all day. I can’t stand it… I want it, I want you… I can’t wait any longer… Please, fuck me!”

Her heart almost beat out of her chest, but there was absolutely nothing but nervous anticipation and heady desire as Say’ri pulled herself slowly up to her feet and turned around, bracing herself against the tree with her trembling hands and raised her bare ass up towards him.

“Of course.”

All her worries, all those expectations, all her needless pride and unwanted dignity, all evaporated at once the moment Robin’s hands took hold of her hips. Just as they always did.

And the night air was filled loud with her scream of joy as he plunged himself into her!

Her body rocked forwards, her hands scraping at the bark for purchase and her legs almost completely giving out. Say’ri’s vision flashed white from the second she felt his cock finally pressing against her entrance, and then all rational thought became forgotten and discarded the second she felt her walls spreading wide around his shaft.

As always, one single thrust was all it took to establish his absolute dominance over her once again. The feeling of his cock driving powerfully through her pussy left Say’ri’s world shaking, any scraps of resolve dying inch by inch as his cock speared through her, until he was pressed all the way up against her womb -pushing in and stretching her most sensitive inner walls tight around him- and she surrendered entirely.

The last vestiges of strength collapsed from the (publicly) proud Empress’s legs and she was held up entirely by Robin’s own might, as well as the powerful force of his thrusts as he immediately repeated the motion- not even giving her a second to recover from the electrifying orgasm still searing through her before slamming himself right back out and into her deepest walls once again. Clenching tight around her ass, Robin offered absolutely no mercy, his hands held her aloft at his most comfortable angle and his cock hammered into her again, and again, with so much force that within a matter of seconds, rather than bracing herself against the tree, Say’ri was simply -desperately- holding onto it.

Her oversized, oversensitive breasts swung wildly in the night air, bouncing and jolting with each thrust in a way that sent even more electric shivers running up her spine, and left her peaking even higher than ever.

And all the while, without even a hope of restraining herself, her voice rang out clear and loud and utterly shamelessly across the park. At first she gave a shriek of delighted surrender, then she sung cries of ecstasy, and soon she was moaning nothing more than his name, repeating it like a prayer as her thoughts shattered and her world was drowned in bliss.

“Robin! Robin! ‘Tis, ‘tis too good! T-Too much! Fie! I love you! Pl-nhghh, Please, ke-keep goinMMMMPPPH!?”

“Don’t you think you’re being a bit too loud? We’re in public you know.”

Jolting in abrupt shock, Say’ri was suddenly jerked right back to reality when she felt Robin’s hand reach up around her head and forcefully shove something into her mouth.

‘AH!’

Even in her lust-drunk state, it took her only a moment to realise it. She knew this feeling, this cloth, this texture and taste! It was all intimately familiar!

To shut her up, because she couldn’t help but scream out in delight when he fucked her, Robin had just gagged her with her own fundoshi. Again.

That was why he’d instructed her to hand them over to him the next day after instructing her not to wear them anymore. Not to enforce her absence of underwear, but to silence her the next time she lost control of herself in public! Her face burned hotter than ever, and her pussy coiled almost painfully tight around the thick cock inside her. She, Say’ri the Royal Princess, the swordmaster, the Empress of Chon’sin… was being fucked out in the open, where anyone could see, out of wedlock with her own underwear shoved in her mouth as a gag.

“You really love that, don’t you?” Robin scolded, not letting up his thrusts at all, even as her body almost lost all sense of itself, “But do try to have some control, otherwise word really will get back to your people about the kind of woman you really are!”

It was humiliating! So unbelievably mortifying she almost couldn’t believe it was happening to her! It was so shameful she could practically feel her entire body burning with indignation!

“MmmMMMPPHHH!”

She loved it! She loved it more than she had words to describe! She loved him! She loved this!

Screaming incoherently into her gag, Say’ri’s eyes rolled back and her vision fogged as she came so hard, she almost passed out!

As it was, drowning almost entirely in a sea of pleasure and clawing uselessly at the tree trunk she was being driven into, she just barely managed to hold onto her consciousness for another few minutes…

…Right until she felt Robin’s cock swell inside her even larger. The same incredible, intense feeling she’d experienced so many times now that her body reacted instinctively to it, tensing up in anticipation as she felt her innermost walls stretched even further open around his shaft. His cockhead slammed wonderfully, brutally against the entrance to her womb and Say’ri’s world filled with white light, shivering with anticipation for the explosion she was waiting for so desperately! Until finally, at long last, the moment she’d been aching for all day arrived, and her mind collapsed utterly under the rationality-destroying rush of heat and bliss searing through her as his cock spasmed wildly, and thick heavy ropes of his seed erupted inside her!

The Empress of Chon’sin screamed violently into the loincloth shoved into her mouth, her body giving out entirely under the surge of pleasure as she felt her womb filled entirely with his cum, felt it flooding her pussy and splashing out, down her thighs.

Her eyes rolled back, her world spun, her grip on the tree loosened completely and slowly, as she felt herself slipping downwards… everything faded to white.

…

“Ah… ha… huh?”

It was some unknowable time later before Say’ri retuned back to reality. Blinking herself out of her mind-blank daze she slowly became aware, first that Robin had removed her gag and then that, apparently without his strength holding her up, she had collapsed to a heap on the ground. With her dress still rolled up over her (now cum stained) hips and pulled down beneath her still heaving chest, she was sitting on her knees, resting back dizzily against the tree trunk.

The next thing she realised was the familiar, welcome weight of Robin’s cock -still hard, and now soaked thoroughly in her juices- resting in place, where it belonged, atop her face. As her sight slowly returned from the white fog that’d covered her eyes, the sight of his shaft swam into focus and dominated her vision. And, as she slowly became aware of the rest of her senses, the scent of his seed staining her face, as well as the soft pulsing heat across her skin left her feeling dizzy once more.

Reality slowly dawned on the happily bewildered Empress. She was sitting right now on the grass in a public park, at the feet of the man she loved, with her breasts and pussy bared openly and her body stained wonderfully with his seed as she acted as his cockrest after cumming so hard she passed out. The pulse of shameful bliss she felt at that understanding spread wonderfully through Say’ri’s already thoroughly satisfied core.

“Nghh…” her voice came slowly, feeling a little hoarse after all the screaming she’d already done, “Robin… I… I do not believe I can stand just yet.”

Aside from how happy she was just to be sitting here, recovering with his cock laid across her face, even a tentative attempt to put strength into her legs told her they were still trembling far too much to carry her yet.

She reached her hand out towards him, waiting for him to help her up, and steady her once more at his side. Instead, Robin took it in his own, and placed it around his waist.

“That’s fine,” he assured her, drawing back slowly and dragging his shaft down as he did so, pulling it across her face until it was resting in place, hard and ready, directly against her lips, “If you need some time to recover, we’ll do your training here instead then.”

The taste of his seed and her juices dipped into her mouth as she panted for breath, and the surge of happy humiliation ran through her once more.

‘He plays with me like I am just a toy… Fie, but ‘tis all I wish for to see what, and where, we do it next…’

Moaning in quiet, delighted submission, the Empress’s mouth wrapped obediently around his shaft. And soon, the once quiet night was broken up once more as the sound of her lips slurping up and down his length filled the air.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

All the next several pages of Kagerou’s diary had been torn out.

Around the edges of the pages small scratches of attempted drawings could still be made out, but they had all been mercilessly torn out as the ninja second guessed herself.

Nothing more could be seen.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

“Ho, good morning Kagerou,” Say’ri called out pleasantly, looking up from her meal to the unexpected sight of her retainer stumbling awkwardly as the ninja shuffled slowly down the stairs for breakfast, rather than simply flitting through the shadows like usual.

Having been fucked happily into oblivion once again the previous night, the Empress was still basking happily in the warm afterglow.

“Fie, you’re walking rather stiffly today?” she noted, raising an eyebrow in surprise at the sight of the athletic woman holding onto the handrail as she walked gingerly, almost bow-legged, down the stairs, “Is there something wrong? Are you hurt?”

“N-Nay, my lady,” the ninja flushed, averting her gaze, “I was like this when I woke up, it seems I have yet to fully accustom to the beds of this country, I must have slept awkwardly. I-I am sure it will pass soon.”

“Mmm, well take it easy today,” Robin hummed from his own seat beside Say’ri, “We won’t be leaving till tomorrow, so you’ve got time to relax.”

“A-Ah,” at the Tactician’s words, Kagerou stiffened, the flush on her cheeks shining brighter for a second before she abruptly bent over at the waist, her massive chest bouncing notably in the air as she dropped into a deep bow, “Sir Ro- er, Robin… I, that is… I wished to convey my thanks, for last night. It shall not be forgotten.”

“Oh course,” he laughed lightly, waving away her appreciation with a small gesture.

“Aye?” frowning in mild confusion, Say’ri peered curiously at her two companions. They’d certainly become far more friendly over the course of this trip, lately Robin had been talking to Kagerou as comfortably as he had been with her, but this was the first time she’d actually felt left out from something, ‘’Twould seem there was something amiss after all?”

“Ah, it’s nothing like that, I was just helping her handle something she’d been worried about. She’s just too embarrassed about to be honest,” Robin shrugged her question off just as simply, leaning over and instead capturing her attention entirely with his gaze. Dropping his voice, he spoke with a cheeky, conspiratorial tone, “You know how she is; she’s always trying to be a flawless, ideal servant in her duties to you, so she gets too worked up about it.”

“S-Sir Robin! Pray, do not talk a-about me in such a manner to Lady Say’ri!”

“See?” Robin laughed, earning an equal smile from the Empress at her retainer’s expense, before sitting back straight up and adopting a serious expression, “Anyway, now that we’re all her, I wanted to talk about our plans for today. Well, I guess we can wait a little while if Kagerou needs to sort out her sleeping position or something… but, there’s a small temple nearby I’ve been told about that I think would be worth a visit. It’s meant to be mostly just a ruin these days, but it should still make for quite a sight, I think it’d be fun to check out- and if we leave early enough, we can probably have the whole place to ourselves.

Held by his gaze and by the smile on his lips, Say’ri swallowed heavily. The rest of this morning’s conversation was forgotten immediately as she focussed on exactly what he was suggesting. The whole place to themselves… it wasn’t hard to guess that Robin wasn’t simply proposing that it may make for interesting exploring. She could vividly picture how the two of them would be spending their time.

“A… A temple? Nay, an ancient ruin…”

A small pang of nervousness rose at the thought, but it was swiftly drowned by a heavy throb of lust. She could already feel her body heating up at the thought.

“A-A sound suggestion then. ‘Twould be prudent to avoid crowds if we’re able, they will only slow us down.”

“Oh! Oh, sorry, I guess I wasn’t very clear there was I? I’m not interested at all in the temple, I just thought it’d be somewhere interesting to take you, somewhere we could be alone,” Robin made a show of sitting back in surprise at her response, before breaking into a bright smile as he nonchalantly offered an unnecessary explanation, “I thought it would be a fun place to fuck you. Don’t you think that sounds fun, heading out to some ruins and having sex while we hide away by ourselves?”

They were sitting right in the middle of the dining hall of the inn they were currently lodging with, surrounded on all sides by other patrons eating their breakfast. He spoke in a calm, quiet conversational tone and his voice didn’t carry, but to have his already obvious intentions spoken aloud for anyone to hear sent Say’ri reeling all the same.

“R-R-Robin!”

Blushing red, she shook her hands in a panic, trying uselessly to wave him to wave him to silence.

But she was smiling excitedly all the same.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

The next few entries in Kagerou’s diary were varied, but with a singular recurring theme.

The pictures showed her respect towards and friendship with Robin as this trip had allowed them the chance to grow closer.

They showed her happiness and satisfaction in seeing Say’ri enjoy herself with a level of open honesty she had never before seen from the woman.

And entwined in each of those, they depicted her heartfelt worries that despite that, she still feared that her friend was walking down a path she may never be able to come back from.

With each passing day, the clothes Robin picked for the Empress seemed to be thinner and more revealing. And each passing day, his humiliation of her seemed to be more extreme, leaving Kagerou able to do nothing but watch silently as her mistress was fucked in a back alley, as she rode atop his lap in the secluded corridor of a historic ruin, or as she serviced him on her knees right behind a busy shopping centre. Even their simple everyday routine had somehow been twisted- When they were in a town, they would take their meals in their hotel-room, with her and Robin eating together while Say’ri sat under the table working the Tactician’s cock. And when they were on the road, rather than using their tent, the Empress was now fucked unconscious in the open air beside the campfire each night they camped out.

Perhaps, as the drawings suggested, this was simply a servant’s unfounded worries. The whole purpose of this trip was to serve as a moratorium from her duties as Empress, and -as Kagerou had been informed- Say’ri fully intended to return to Chon’sin carrying Robin’s child, there was surely no more certain way to go about that than what they were currently doing.

Even so, as her loyal aide, she still couldn’t help but depict her deepening concerns for the sake of her Empress’s heart. With both of them having expected this trip to be largely fruitless and likely painful, aside from her intentions to be re-united with the Tactician, the only other thing Say’ri had mentioned prior to their arrival had been a desire to see the holy Mount Prism, under a now peaceful context…

…But when they had instead learned that unseasonal rains had washed out the roads, Say’ri had barely seemed to worry for longer than it had taken Robin to throw her over the nearest hard surface. The three days the Empress had put aside specifically for visiting the holy landmark had instead been spent screaming her heart out in the Tactician’s bed, and then they’d headed north towards Ferox like nothing had happened.

Mixed in with all this was Kagerou’s own guilt at doing nothing to prevent any of this. Even if she wanted to, she couldn’t. Because she understood. As a woman, she understood, no matter how wrong this may seem, it was exactly what Say’ri wanted.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Shuffling awkwardly in place, Say’ri fretted silently as she looked out the window. It was almost mid-afternoon, which meant she was almost out of time.

“Fie…”

Ever since that night in the park where Robin had trained her to enjoy having sex with him in public, he’d set a strict requirement on her. Rather than leaving it till late at night, or early morning, her blowjob training now took place every day in the middle of the afternoon, regardless of where they were, or what they were doing- If they were travelling between towns, she would suck him off on the side of the road. If they were visiting town, she would pull him away to a secluded alleyway or quiet spot. If they were shopping, then she would hide behind whatever market stalls or cover she could find. Robin had told her very firmly that if she missed her training, she wouldn’t have another chance to taste his cock for the rest of the day.

Say’ri was both by nature and by habit a diligent person. While she’d gained more than enough confidence in servicing her lover that she no longer needed the “training”, she knew very well from her lifetime of studying the swordsmanship that true mastery came only after tireless practice. And so, she had been faithfully practicing with Robin’s cock just as diligently as she ever had with her sword.

She had no intention of testing just how serious Robin was about his threat, she had steadfastly refused to miss even a single day of training so far. Even just from a purely practical perspective, with how accustomed she’d come to the nights she’d spent with the Tactician, she doubted she’d be able to sleep properly anymore without at least one load of his seed filling her stomach. Of course, the Tactician hadn’t made it easy on her, and she’d continually been shocked at just how bold she’d become in dragging him away to be with her, or simply offering her mouth up when they had even a few moments of privacy. These days, whether they were in a temple-ruins, a forest path or an open field, the location she was to swallow his cock in barely registered anymore, all that mattered was that she was able to find a place to do so.

Not that either would be a problem at all today. That wasn’t what had her fretting. Their group had spent the entire day so far relaxing in another of the few modest city inns that had made for a pleasant rarity through their trip. Right now, Robin was only a few metres away from her, engrossed in a conversation with Kagerou.

Even that would be no problem in and of itself. By now she was well accustomed to her retainer witnessing her like this, it barely registered anymore that there was a time in her life where she would have been mortified to have Kagerou openly witnessing her servicing Robin’s cock. Recently in their travels, they had been taking advantage of the warm weather to forgo their tent entirely and simply make love under the night sky in a bedroll right beside the campfire and barely any further away from the ninja than Say’ri was standing now. It would be no matter at all for her to simply slip under the table and get to work while the two of them continued their conversation, she’d done so enough times already that she doubted the conversation would even pause.

The problem today, what left the Empress stuck standing on the spot, watching anxiously as the sun rose higher in the sky, was that today she had a request- a thought and an idea that’d been stewing within the back of her mind and the depths of her heart for days now, teasing and toying with her until her doubts were eclipsed and she felt as if she wanted nothing more than to finally give it voice!

But watching Kagerou and Robin, two people she cherished greatly, talking so happily together, she couldn’t help but dither. It was a difficult thing to interrupt them like this, especially when they’d been so distant during the first days of this trip, when all Kagerou had been focussed on was her, and when there’d still been that chilly gulf between her and the Tactician. Unlike her and Robin’s past, the two of them had never interacted a great deal during the wars, so to see them now so close and so friendly, Say’ri was loathe to get in their way, even a little. She of all people knew how lonely the world could be when your life consisted of nothing but the rigidity of your duty. Even so, she knew she was being ridiculous, and that her priorities were misaligned- she couldn’t simply wait until their conversation was finished; to ask so brazenly request a favour of Robin at a time when he would already be expecting his cock to be sheathed down her throat would have been the height of impertinence! Say’ri had been raised with all the dignity and bearing of a true Chon’sin royal, she knew far better than that.

Even so, she fretted. Time only marched on… and in the end, there was nothing to do but swallow her regrets and move forwards.

“Robin, my love,” she spoke up, catching his attention as she interrupted the conversation to join them at the same table, “Before we begin today’s session-”

“Before you swallow my cock.” He corrected gently.

“A-Aye, before I swallow your cock… There is something I would ask of you. A request I would make, as your lover.”

Catching the look in her eyes, his mood immediately sharpened and his laidback expression slipped away as he sat up straight, “Of course. Kagerou, would you mind?”

“Yes, of course,” the ninja echoed, sliding to her feet and tipping her head politely towards her two companions, “Let’s continue this later. Robin, my Lady.”

And with no more than a shimmer, the busty kunoichi was gone, and they were immediately alone. Or, at least, as alone as you could be with an elite shinobi surely positioned somewhere nearby outside the room.

“A-Ah, f-fie,” Say’ri stammered, suddenly caught off guard, surprised both that Robin had dismissed her servant and that Kagerou had listened to him, “’Tis not as if I cannot speak it in her presence. I have become… somewhat accustomed to such things.”

“Well, all the same, it looked like this was something important you wanted to discuss. So, I thought you’d prefer if it was a little more intimate.”

He reached for her hand and she clasped it with a grateful smile. It was a simple gesture, unnecessary by any logic, but it was also a meaningful one- despite all they’d done recently and all the new desires that she’d awakened to, there was far more to their relationship than simply revelling in her degradation. This was the man she loved, and the man who loved her, what was important to her was important to him as well. That alone confirmed the answer she’d already come to and the small traces of nervousness still within her slowly faded.

“’Tis something that has been on my mind for some time now, something I have oft wished for, for… for many years. Fie… I had always intended to ask this on my wedding night, as a celebration of being joined with you, of acknowledgement that our bond would last the rest of our lives… But… But, now I am aware that we shall not be wed, a-and th-that, that when this trip is over, it may be some time before we see each other again…”

The words were painful and only slowly voiced, but they came out without doubt as she faced him fearlessly, forcing herself to be as honest and open as he’d taught her to be.

“Say’ri…”

“Tell me, Robin… have you ever heard of bukkake?”

He blinked.

“…Bukkake?”

“Aye. ‘Tis as a Chon’sin tradition, one for married couples. To describe it simply… the woman kneels before her husband and he gives a show of pleasure, covering her with his love.”

“That’s, ah, that’s not exactly how I’d hea-… Er… covers her with his love?”

Her cheeks flushed a warm pink and she resisted the urge to squirm in place, “A-Aye, I… Fie! Robin! ‘Tis to say, I mean that quite literally!”

Robin processed what he was being told, and the specific interpretation of what he was being told for some seconds, making sense of it in his mind as much as he was able.

“…You want me to cum on your face?”

“F-Fie! T-To put it so bluntly! I, ah, ‘tis truly not a part of your custom then? Then, then, ah, it must seem a strange suggestion, pl-lease, think naught of it, I sha-”

Her squeezed her hand, cutting her off just as her heart had sunk into her stomach and right as she’d been about to pull away, “No it’s… It’s not something I’m familiar with, but it’s hardly any stranger than anything else we’ve done so far. I don’t mind, honestly. I was just surprised… I hadn’t expected something like that from you.”

She laughed, both a little nervous and a little relieved, “Aye… ‘Tis not a custom spoken oft. ‘Twas never once mentioned to me in any of my lessons, or my classes. In fact, ‘twas only by pure chance I heard about it as a young girl, when I chanced upon two of our Palace handmaidens talking about my mother- about how she so dearly loved being covered in my father’s love.”

Say’ri’s voice caught slightly at the recollection, even now, it was hard to think of her parents in such a manner, “They were always such a perfect couple, so serious and controlled, composed and regal, they were the very picture of royal dignity I had always aspired towards. So, to hear something like that, to imagine my mother was so openly expressive in private, ‘twas more than I could even picture! So, I ran out and begged them to explain… And, and… such has been my dream ever since! ‘Tis beautiful, is it not? That a man and woman could share such a purely physical expression of affection, something even more than words can say.”

Her description seemed to have taken Robin aback, because a range of difficult expressions flashed across his face, “Y-Yeah, that must be it…”

“Then, then know Robin that I have always known that the love I wish to cover me is yours alone.”

“Of course. And it’s the same for me, if I was going to cover anyone, I’d… Well, I suppose it’s not right to respond with words now, is it? Fine, okay, come then, Say’ri! I’ll show you just how serious I am about you!”

“A-Aye! Please do!”

Rising from his seat, Robin urged her back to her knees, till she was sitting obediently in place before him as he unsheathed his cock for her once again, letting it tower atop her face without delay. Say’ri slid immediately into action, dragging kisses up along the full heft of his shaft as she wrapped her arms around his waist and her lips around his cockhead.

With a delighted hum, she bobbed her mouth along his length, pulling him smoothly into her throat with practiced motions, moaning and shivering until the full length was finally buried warm and wet within her.

Placing his hands atop her head as her mouth began sliding up and down along his shaft, Robin couldn’t help but breath out a heady moan. It was impressive just how far Say’ri had come in just under a week of practice, already she could swallow his entire shaft with barely any difficulty, and the way she twisted and turned her lips around his length, or the skill she’d gained in stroking her tongue along his undercarriage as she went was easily on par with Olivia or Lissa.

Watching the dignified, noble swordswoman he loved and had respected for so long now sitting on her knees beneath him and holding tight to his waist as she dragged her lips all the way to the very base of his shaft was not a sight he thought would ever grow tired of. And it only added to the fast-rising ecstasy building within him with each time she sank forwards, teasing him with her tongue, stroking him with her lips, or squeezing him with her throat.

“Tha-That’s… That’s good!”

He couldn’t hold back his voice, or restrain the shivers running up his spine.

Say’ri had been giving him almost masterclass level blowjobs for some days now, he’d thought he was used to her wonderful ministrations.

But this was different! Right now, it felt better than ever! It was more intense than anything he’d ever known from the swordswoman! Breath racing and knees buckling, Robin found himself leaning over to brace himself as his voice came out in a low moan and as the Empress’s throat glided all the way along his length once more! Sitting on her knees before him and clinging to tightly around him, Say’ri was servicing Robin’s cock with everything she had, every bit of skill he’d trained in her as well as all the overflowing affection and adoration she now longer hid!

No doubt, this was just how she’d envisioned her wedding night.

It was the very picture of a blushing bride showing her devotion towards her new groom.

Losing himself to the sensations, Robin could halfway picture that very scene- He would be dressed up in the finest of Chon’sin style kimono with Say’ri kneeling in her perfectly presented wedding gown. Shut up privately in the imperial bedroom, the floor would be thick tatami mats and all around them would be the quality cushions, furniture and decorations. It felt almost impossibly far from where they stood right now, but somehow this small picture of wedded bliss left his heart pounding in a way he’d never imagined!

His voice rang out unrestrained around the room And, drowning in happiness just a great as his, Say’ri’s muffled moans echoed out in delighted unison.

The bridal service was utterly overwhelming, and in just over a half score of minutes later, with a half-choked gasp ringing out higher than ever, Robin abruptly pulled himself back, stumbling a half step away from where Say’ri’s lips had been pursed so tightly around his cock that it slipped out with an echoing pop! One hand remained atop her head, tugging her face up towards him, and the other flew immediately to his cock holding it in place directly before her, pulsing in the air for just a moment, just millimetres from her delighted expression!

Delighting happily in the sensation of having her head held so roughly in place, Say’ri’s face was practically glowing in eager anticipation as she looked towards him.

“Please!”

Rope after rope of hot, heavy seed landed across her blissful expression, each one drawing a higher, louder and ever more delighted cry from the would-be-bride. Her body thrummed with joy as she felt his load splashing across her face, over her cheeks, into her open mouth, sealing both her eyes and all the way down her chin, till his essence was dripping down and pooling over her heaving breasts.

Sitting on her knees looking up towards him, Robin’s seed seemed to cover every inch of her face; it landed warm and heavily across her skin, it slid in thick rivers down her cheeks, dripped down her neck and left her feeling as if every one of her sense was utterly overwhelmed with him. As if she had been covered entirely in his love.

By the time the last load had landed across her face, Say’ri had cum so much and so violently her head was spinning.

The submission and adoration entwined within her, and she knew the only time she’d ever been this happy had been their first night together. Then she’d become his woman and now it was as if she’d become his bride.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

The last picture Kagerou drew during their journey around Ylisse showed neither her thoughts nor her feelings on her mistress’s actions, but instead a scene that she’d seen in a dream that had remained stuck in her mind ever since.

It depicted Robin acting in the role she knew Say’ri wished for him- dressed up in the epitome of Chon’sin finery and sitting on the Imperial throne as her co-ruler, staring down imperiously at all before him.

Kagerou was standing dutifully in place, at the ready, behind the throne along with all the other royal retainers.

And yet, in the picture the ninja drew and in the vision she’d seen, the matching throne to Robin’s left sat empty. Because, rather than sitting at his side, the Empress of Chon’sin was lounging contentedly at his feet, her head in his lap and her gaze upturned towards him.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

The final culmination of Say’ri’s training, and of her new understanding of herself, came on the last leg of their journey after made their way through the distant northern Ylissean lands and towards the port of Regna Ferox where the rest of Say’ri’s entourage would meet her.

She was sitting beside Robin in a surprisingly dilapidated bar he’d brought her to, in an otherwise unassuming town near the Ylissean border region. The hired musicians were loud and unskilled, the locals were rowdy, the lighting was dim and there was a pervading atmosphere of keeping one’s head down and minding one’s own business that filled the place. Closer to a rogue’s den than an inviting tavern, it was clear that men of all types were welcomed here and it was far from the most impressive place Robin had brought her to. Rather, Say’ri was sure it was almost certainly the worst, and the fact that they’d walked past a few far more inviting restaurants or food-halls to come here was a strange one.

None of this was made easier from the fact that the outfit he’d arranged for her today consisted of a thin black skirt that just barely reached past her hips, and an even thinner strip of cloth to tie around her chest. Trying to pretend that skirt was a modified hakama and the top something akin to sarashi wraps did little to make Say’ri feel less self-conscious. Practically her entire body was on display and there had been no shortage of attention sent her way as she’d made her way through such a seedy location.

Fittingly, perhaps, the food was bland to the point of being almost unpalatable and the ale tasted as if it had been watered down to the point of incredulousness.

Given how Robin had sought the place out, she had been sure that there must be something about it that was worth the trip, but by the time she was halfway through her meal, she was already about to ask if they should just go somewhere else instead.

“Oh?”

And just as that thought was rolling through her mind was when Robin reached to his belt and made a grand show of placing a fat coin-pouch directly onto the middle of the table. The solid clink of the coins inside served both to interrupt her thoughts and draw a few more curious glances towards their table.

Say’ri looked to him in confusion. Was that a tip for their waitress? A bribe? She’d already seen him pass a good handful of coins directly to the serving woman when they’d arrived to arrange a “private” seating- or at least as much as it had been possible to arrange one in a bar floor. In the end they’d wound up seated in a murky back corner of the room, hardly hidden but at least mostly out of the way of anyone not specifically looking towards them.

“Go on, check it.”

She did so, and just as expected, a generous sum of coins lay within, only deepening her confusion.

“Fie. Forgive me, but I don’t understand. Is this some payment to the waitress?”

“No. It’s a payment to you.”

“To me, but I-”

Robin grinned a sly smile at her, and her question as well as her confusion was cleared up by the now very familiar sound of him unbuckling his pants, followed by a soft thump she could hear hitting the underside of the table.

“I, ah… Fie!”

“The money is your payment. And, it’s also a sign to anyone who looks of exactly what you are.”

Once again, even when she’d thought she’d lived through more shame and humiliation to ever be surprised by him again, the Tactician had taken her completely off guard. Say’ri swallowed heavily as the full implication of what he was asking of her settled in her mind, she had thought she’d long since grown past asking questions of herself and just how willingly she was to debase herself… but could she really do this?

Clearly this was the entire reason Robin had brought her here, why she’d suffered through the terrible food and unwanted attention.

A grimy, seedy bar whose name she’d already forgotten in the far corner of the Ylissean Halidom, it was about as far from the silks and finery of her palace as could possibly be imagined. And she was to slink to her knees, on this ale-stained floor, and service the cock she knew was already awaiting her? Right where anyone could see her at any time? They were as far away from the bar’s main throughfare as could be arranged, as secluded as could be expected in such a place… but that was a far cry from hidden, they were barely out of sight! The coin that Robin had already paid the waitress made sense now, she and the rest of the bar-staff would turn them a blind eye, regardless of what they did, but the same could not possibly be said for any of the other patrons.

There was no hope at all that she could remain unnoticed like this, her attire had already attracted far too much attention!

They would see her, see her swallowing his cock, see the money on the table- and rather than his wife or his lover, they would all understand that she was nothing but a prostitute he had hired.

“Well? I’m certainly not paying for you to just sit there. Hurry up.”

Say’ri’s cheeks burned in shame, but there was absolutely no hiding the dizzy smile spread out openly across her lips or the wet heat throbbing from between her legs.

‘Fie! Is this not what I had already decided? I said I would be whatever he wanted of me during this trip! If he wishes me to play his whore, then…’

She bowed, lowering her head deep and ensuring Robin had a perfect view right down her generous cleavage.

“Of course, sir. Please, enjoy your meal, and just let me take care of the rest…”

And with those soft words, in full sight of anyone who cared to look, the Empress of Chon’sin slid down beneath their table and to her knees. She crawled eagerly across a sticky, ale-soaked floor and towards the cock she loved so much, all for the sake of a bag of coins. It seemed that tonight she’d sold her dignity for less than 50 gold pieces.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

“Fie… ‘Twould seem we got away with it.”

Clinging to Robin’s arm as they exited the bar into the twilit evening, Say’ri kept her eyes focussed steadfastly forwards, forcefully refusing to meet the gaze of any of the other patrons and doing her very best to ignore any of the whistles or catcalls that rang out behind her as she stumbled outside.

In the end, in the time it had taken to finish his meal (hers had been replaced with three thick loads shot down her throat, a taste she much preferred) she had been the recipient of more jeers, and raucous cries than she cared to remember. But thanks to what she guessed must have been good luck as well as the bar-staff keeping things mostly under control, no-one had directly interfered with them. In the end, just as she’d suspected, the indescribable shame had been an incredible spice to a meal Say’ri already loved, and she herself had cum more times on that dirty bar floor than she cared to imagine.

And now, with the full realisation of what she’d done and the faces of everyone who had surely been looking at her hanging in her mind as she’d made her way out, she could escape back to their hotel and never see any of those people ever agai-

“Oi!”

A sudden rough shout from behind them caught both Shepherds attention, interrupting both their conversation and their lingering afterglow. Turning, they saw a grungy-looking heavyset man stepping out of the alleyway towards them. Say’ri swallowed, she could vaguely place him as having been seated near the opposite corner of the bar from them, surrounded by a number of similarly mangy looking men. Dressed as she was and with the coins now hanging from her waist, coming face to face with someone who had clearly seen her publicly servicing her lover’s cock, she couldn’t help but freeze in place, her heart hammering in her chest and eyes going wide. It seemed her escape wasn’t going to be quite as easy as she’d hoped.

Clad in a mix of ragged leather armour and what appeared to be Ylissean soldier’s boots, the man cut an imposing figure in the otherwise peaceful town, one heightened greatly by the naked blade hanging openly from his hip. And heightened a second later by the sight of the rest of his entourage stepping out to join him, standing around the pair in a loose semicircle.

Six men, along with this apparent leader. Hardly a threat to her in her normal state… but her sword had been entrusted to Kagerou, and her ninja was nowhere to be seen. A ripple of anxiety spread up the swordmaster’s body as her muscles tensed instinctively, she had faced far worse than this more times than she could count, but caught unarmed and unaware, she was immediately left on edge.

“Saw what you were doing in there, ha, looked to me like you wanted everyone to see, huh? Showing off… well, I guess I can’t blame you with a woman like this…”

Leaning towards her, the man made an obvious show of running his eyes all over Say’ri’s bountiful curves.

“Hell of a whore you got yourself there, and from Chon’sin too if I ain’t wrong! Now ain’t that a thing? No girls like that around here, no girls like that at all… where’d you find this one?”

“…She’s my property.”

Robin’s words set another hot shiver down Say’ri’s spine, but when she looked towards her lover, she was shocked to see an uneasy grimace on the man’s face. A far cry from the usual confidence and calm he pervaded, the man who always knew what to do and whose reliability had helped calm their army through facing down even the forces of the Fell Dragon himself looked just as wary as she was. Ylisse’s greatest tactician was unarmed and caught unaware.

“That so? That so? Well then…” licking his lips, the man’s eyes practically crawled across her this time. Twisting away from his gaze, Say’ri had never felt more exposed in her entire life than she did now in this ridiculous Ylissean outfit, “Me and the boys have had a bit of a rough time of it lately, and we could use a bit of cheering up, something like that little show you put on just now.

“I can’t remember the last time I even laid eyes on a woman from Chon’sin, let alone one like this. Hah, so, seems to me that we could use her a lot more than someone like you could. Your property, huh? Well, what’s say we negotiate ownership?”

The fact that there wasn’t a single coin to be seen and that several of the men facing them already had their hands on their weapons made it perfectly clear just what kind of negotiations these were.

“H-Hey now,” Robin intoned, cautiously falling back a step as he raised his hands, “I don’t want any trouble…”

His eyes met for a second with Say’ri’s and a meaningful gaze passed between the two of them.

Unarmed or not, these men were far below their calibre. His played-up show of clear nervousness had already been enough that they hadn’t even bothered fully surrounding the pair, taking them for simply what they appeared to be, a man with far too much money showing off an ostentatious prize at the wrong place. It was a troubling situation, but not a dire one, at the very worst Robin could surely take her and flee. Or she could take action herself. Or she could call for Kagerou who was surely somewhere in the vicinity. Or-

“Let me go, and, and uh, so long as you promise to treat her well, and I’ll give her to you.”

Say’ri’s world slammed to a halt. Her jaw dropped and her gaze shifted from the men still leering at her to the diminished stature of the proud Grandmaster Tactician… who’d just surrendered her without a fight.

No.

That was what they surely thought, and indeed a laugh was already spreading across the assembled thugs. But she knew better, she understood what this truly was… he wasn’t surrendering her to them… he was offering this to her.

‘F-Fie…’

A humiliation infinitely beyond anything she had faced so far. A degradation so far outside reality that she hadn’t even considered it until this very moment. This offer was the absolute culmination of all Robin’s exploration through the desires she had discovered through this trip.

She was the Empress of Chon’sin! And… and she would be taken, be claimed, and passed around between a group of low-life thugs she’d never met before and whose names she didn’t even know. With this, rather than an act, she truly would become a whore, or perhaps even lower. The very thought of it, the sheer, unimaginable scope of left her mind jolting and her body unresponsive.

“Oh, don’t you worry!” their leader let out a deep guffaw, shoving backwards and stepping forwards to sling an arm over her shoulder, pulling her hard against him, “We’ll treat her well. We’ll treat her very well!”

Any tension remaining dissipated as the men all joined in a chorus of laughter at the Tactician being pushed away and left behind, falling into step beside their leader as Say’ri found herself urged into motion along with them, back into the mouth of the alleyway they had appeared from. The path forwards lay open before her, seeming to stretch open all around her as her feet stumbled for an instant before beginning to move automatically.

There would be no coming back from this. Not ever. Even if Robin did come to find her, or she did make her way back to Chon’sin. This was the act that would finally and truly destroy any last shards of dignity she held as Empress.

“F… Fie!”

The sheer depravity of it left her head spinning! And, as her steps matched with the brute guarding her, her breaths came-

“Huh..?”

Her breaths came lightly. With no more tension than they ever had in any of the battles or dangerous situations she’d ever found herself in. Her heart was tensed rather than pounding. Her fists were clenched at her side. And her legs were heavy and perfectly steady rather than shaking.

The degradation she was being led to was beyond words, the disgusting humiliation would be enough to sully her for the rest of her life. It was the absolute height of everything she’d loved so much throughout this trip.

And yet, Say’ri wasn’t aroused in the least.

The juices that had pooled so shamelessly across her thighs when she’d serviced Robin in the bar were completely dried up. There wasn’t even the faintest heat from between her legs. During her exile and her time with the Shepherds, she had faced bandits countless times and never once desired any of them, and she felt exactly the same now.

Her self-examination immediately crashed to a halt when she felt a rough, heavy hand suddenly reaching over and groping her chest, “Huuhu, you’ve really got a great set of tits on you, don’t ya!” the leader drooled, his hand firmly on her breast as Say’ri’s entire body jolted in shock.

Another man was touching her, a man besides Robin was laying a finger on her.

“NAY!”

Her world shuddered with almost sickening disgust and she shoved him away with a sudden scream, her voice coming out for the first time since this encounter had begun. Her body recoiled and a wave of pure revulsion washed through her.

“Nay! I-I want this not! My body belongs to Robin!”

Snorting angrily from where he’d been shoved all the way to the alley-wall, the leader’s reaction was predictable, and his men slid close along with him, “You dumb bitch! It’s too late to argue! Now shu-”

“THORON!”

A blast of searing white light along with the familiar smell of zone and charred flesh served as a quick counter to that argument.

“Ah, huh?”

Blinking her eyes clear an instant later, Say’ri looked past the twitching corpses of the men now laying strewn across the alleyway and back towards the very familiar victorious smirk on the Tactician’s face as he lowered his outstretched hand. It was better to cast magic with a tome, it was easier, it was stronger, a mage without a tome could never hope to win a proper fight. But these were just bandits and Robin was one of the most powerful mages in the world, this was far from a proper fight.

“Took you long enough,” he teased with a casual shrug, “But that worked out well, pretty much exactly as I’d hoped. Those were the Red-Fang Band from the northern mountains, or what’s left of them anyway. Sully and Frederick’s men have been keeping order in that region lately, almost wiped them out from the reports I had. We lost track of them for a while, so I suspected they’d been fleeing east, and here they are.”

His explanation washed over her like a wave, and Say’ri caught none of it as she stood there, shaking in confusion and disbelief.

“That… fie… ‘twas all a plan? You weren’t serious about… about le-letting me go?”

“Say’ri…” whispering her name, Robin drew her close, pulling her head into his shoulder and wrapping his arms comfortingly tight around her. The combination of his presence, his warmth and his strength quickly stilled her trembles and relaxed softly into his embrace, “Of course not. I love you. How could I ever give you up to anyone else? No matter the reason, I’m far too greedy for that.

“Forgive me if I scared you… I just… I wanted to show you, to help you understand yourself and your limits. I had to make sure you knew that you hadn’t changed, that no matter what you enjoy in the bedroom, that doesn’t change who you are.”

A choked sigh, slipped from her lips. As always, he saw right through her. And as always, she stumbled awkwardly for the right words to explain what he surely already knew.

“Fie… I… Fie… I had, I had wondered what would become of me, where all these games and these new desires would end, and where I would be when they did. ‘Twas a fearful thought, that this, this desire of mine-”

“Your love of being humiliated,” he filled in what she’d meant to simply imply, “The fact that you get off from being degraded, teased and used. The way you’ve found that despite all your sweet, romantic notions, you really adore being fucked.”

As always, Robin’s firm but affectionate shaming left her ears pink and waist squirming as a smile spread across her lips.

“Aye. Aye to all of that. It has all been like nothing I’ve ever felt before, overwhelming but wonderful… So, I had feared I would lose control of those desires completely, that I would lose even what I valued most.”

She sighed, wrapping her arms happily around him and squeezing him with all her might.

“But, ‘tis clear to me now. My feelings are resolved and my doubts are as wind… Robin, my love, I adore it when you degrade me, I-I go crazy when you trample my pride and I love it when you fuck me. It all drives me wild, I c-c…cum so hard I feel like I’ll lose my mind. ‘Tis a singular joy I cherish greatly. But, ‘tis only you I hold these feelings for, and only you I wish to submit to. I know for sure now- I have no desire to be demeaned by any but your hand, nor to be touched by anyone but you. You are the only man I know to see me like that, ‘twould be my wish that you are the only man to ever know these desires.”

In the end, the answer she’d arrived at was as simple as it could have possibly been. The most obvious answer that she should have known without even having to wonder.

“’Tis as you say, I haven’t changed, I am still as I was and I always shall be. To the world I am Say’ri the Phoenix, the same fearsome Empress of Chon’sin they have always known. And to you, only to you, I am yours. Your woman, your lover and your whore.”

She smiled, looking up toward him, holding his gaze as she felt all the affection and all the lust she’d been so concerned with all this time finally settle into place.

“The Empress of Chon’sin is a slut. But, my love, she is your slut. For your exclusive use only.”

Robin laughed lightly, stroking his fingers gently across her cheek, “I’m glad to hear that, I’m overjoyed, that means the world to me, my love. And… and for what it’s worth, I am sorry for the ruse. I was always going to stop you, I would never hand you over to anyone. Just, well, like I said- I thought I had to make sure you understood yourself, so I’d know you’d be fine even when you do return home.”

Leaning down, he kissed her, softly at first then stronger as she kissed back, as she re-affirmed her place in the world was in his arms.

And then he pulled back, staring into her eyes as he swore an oath, “My resolve is the same as yours. I know that for sure now, I don’t have any doubts either. I’ll never let another man lay his hands on you, I’d rather die first. I love you. I want you to be with me, to be my woman, forever.”

“R-Robin!”

Her voice came out in a choked gasp and her eyes welled up with tears, she couldn’t possibly have mistaken those words or that declaration. Even despite understanding her role and her duty to her country; even despite his own binding duty to Ylisse and to Lucina, he’d still told her to be his. It was no different to a proposal.

“Fie, I… ‘tis the same, ‘tis as I want it too!”

“Then… kneel for me.”

She did so.

Blinking in quiet confusion, Say’ri slid to her knees down on the dusty alleyway cobblestones, and watched as Robin turned away from her to instead pick through the bodies of the men he’d just dispatched.

And, she watched as he returned a moment later, having pulled open one of the bandit’s rucksacks and found exactly what it seemed he had been looking for- a thick leather collar.

Say’ri gulped. She’d never heard of this bandit group before, but it wasn’t hard to guess their type, nor the likely intended use for a collar like that. It certainly wasn’t shaped to fit around a dog or cat.

“I can’t offer you a ring, but I can give you this instead. So that, no matter what happens, or how much distance there is between us, you can always know you’re mine.”

A shiver somewhere between nervousness and exhilaration ran up her spine, and somewhere distantly in her mind she wondered just how exactly she would begin to explain something like this back home. But there was still no hesitation in Say’ri’s heart as she tilted her head back, presenting her neck towards him. And there was no holding back the soft moan that slipped from her lips as Robin wrapped the slave-collar tenderly into place around her.

“Turn down all your suitors, laugh at any suggested courtship. You belong to me now, just as I belong to you.”

The spell embedded in the material activated the moment it was fitted into place and the leather melded into itself, sealing shut around her neck in a single smooth loop. Having neither a buckle nor any fastenings, short of going at it with a saw, there was no longer any way to remove it.

“Aye! Of course!”

Kneeling obediently on a dusty side street, in an insignificant Ylissean town, dressed up in what amounted to barely a few strips of clothing, the Empress of Chon’sin was collared. And she couldn’t have been happier.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

“Nmm, haa- Robin…”

After that, Robin led her back to the hotel room and carried her gently to their bed.

Say’ri had already lost all track of how much time has passed. It, along with the rest of the world, was forgotten in the blissful haze as their bodies wrapped around one another and they made love.

His cock pushed slowly, softly into her, stretching her walls open around him with such confidant gentleness that she felt as if she was going to melt away by each passing second. Her thoughts swirled indistinctly as her rationality completely succumbed to her adoration.

“Mmm, it’s… it’s too good… it’s always too much,” she gasped, catching her breath between their kisses, before happily sealing her lips against his once more, “I love you!”

After so many days of fucking in alleyways, being taken behind buildings, or ravished all across their room, such slow and tender lovemaking was enough to leave Say’ri’s mind numb with delight. It was just the same as their first night together, except with all the skill and experience they’d gained through all the time they’d spent together since.

His cock pushed up against her womb, stretching out her most sensitive walls, and her toes curled tight in response as she squeezed herself tight around him, peaking yet again. Her breath came in heaving gasps between heated kisses and her hips shook up against his in perfect synch to the rhythm of his thrusts, showing fully just how much she’d learned from in all the times she’d spent under him like this.

The collar around her neck shifted with each of his thrusts dragged back and forth along the bed as her body rocked in time with his and acted as a wonderful reminder of their love. There was no longer any hesitation or shyness left in her, nor was she held back by pride or propriety. Say’ri squeezed her pussy tight around him each time his hips rolled forwards, she clung happily to him, locking her arms around him with all her strength, she moaned his name and delighted in the heat of his body atop hers with every ounce of her being. Without any doubts or shame, all that was left was for the Phoenix of Chon’sin to revel in the ecstasy of the Ylissean Grandmaster’s love.

“S-Sayi’ri!”

“Nghh, f-fie, are you ge-getting close?” she gasped, voice hitching as his cockhead kissed once more against her womb, “Mngh, pl-please, go ahead… I want to feel you!”

Of course, by now she was perfectly adept at telling when the man she adored was getting close. Along their journey together, she’d felt him unload inside her more times than she could even count. She could recognise his fast-building peak practically from every pulse and shake of his shaft inside her, and even more intensely from the way she felt his length swelling thicker, stretching her pussy even tighter around him.

Her entire body heated up in reaction, flushing in anticipation and squeezing tight around him! Breaking their kiss, her tongue hung from her mouth and a trickle of drool ran down her chin as another orgasm built within her, purely from her eagerness to accept every drop of his seed!

Which was why she was so shocked when Robin suddenly slipped backwards and pulled himself completely out of her!

“Ah!?”

Eyes wide in surprise, that single moment of bewilderment and disappointment was immediately blown away by a new rush of delight when Say’ri felt Robin abruptly shift up the length of her body, grabbing onto her head to pull her towards him and holding his shaft in place, just millimetres from her face!”

“HHHHHHHHAAANNNNNNNnnmmmmm!”

Realisation hit her at just the same time as the first hot rope of his essence, and the Empress’s body jolted both in shock and joy! Shivering and panting, moaning and squirming, her hands clung to his legs and her body arched into the air as blast after blast of his thick, viscous cum splashed heavily across her face. Her voice cried out in gasps and her world flashed white as her eyes were sealed shut, and Say’ri came violently hard, again and again!

Her face was painted thoroughly with his load.
Her senses were filled entirely with his essence.
Thick streams of cum coated her face, running in rivers across her chin, down her neck and seemingly pooling all around her.

Once again, she was covered utterly in Robin’s love.

…

It was some unknowable time later before they each regained themselves after that, lying side by side in bed, their chests still pumping lightly as their racing breath returned to normal. By now Say’ri had scooped most of his cum into her mouth, and licked her fingers thoroughly clean to boot.

“Fie! Robin, as ever you are a surprise and delight to me,” she purred, letting out a small laugh as she beamed happily at the man, “But, as much as I love such a gesture… I shall never bear your child like this.”

It wasn’t something they had discussed much since their first night together, but the nearer they came to Ferox the more that thought weight in her mind. The whole crux of the plan they’d formed together was for her to leave Ylisse pregnant with his heir.

“That doesn’t matter,” once again he casually dismissed her concerns. Propping himself onto his hand, he turned to her with a look of certain sincerity, “We’ve come a long way since we made that agreement, haven’t we? Far too much to ever go back.”

His hands reached out and tugged lightly on the collar around her neck, a permanent reminder of promise, and Say’ri flushed happily in response.

“After all we’ve done, I’m sure you must be pregnant,” he lied, neither mentioning the contraceptive hex he’d always maintained since that night with Tharja, nor dropping his sincerity for even a second, “But, if by some chance you’re not… then…”

Despite himself, Robin paused. Once again, he stood on the precipice of a vow that he didn’t have to make, one that would surely make his life even more complicated than it already was.

“Then, I’ll come to Chon’sin, as soon as I can. And, if that’s still what you want when I arrive, then I’ll make absolutely certain of it there. I won’t leave until we have a child together. Say’ri, I swear it. No matter what happens.”

It was a vow that would make his life more complicated. But it was also the right thing to do, for someone he cared deeply about. Because his words had never been a lie. He loved Say’ri. Not in exactly the same way he loved Lucina, but he loved her all the same, just as he loved his other women.

He couldn’t have children right now. But when this was over, when he’d finally gotten full control of himself and sorted things out with Lucina… regardless of which way things went with the Ylissean Princess, he would make right the promises he owed the women he cared for. Just as he’d sworn to do with Tharja and with Panne, if she still wanted him to, then he would give Say’ri the child she desired.

“R-Robin...” there were tears in her eyes now, “Fi…Fie… you truly have such a way of… fie…”

“That collar is proof you’re my woman. So then… here, this shall be proof of my promise now.”

So saying, Robin whispered the words to an incantation he’d read in the book Miriel had given him. A spell he’d only tried a few brief times with Olivia and Tharja, one that was meant for harmless fun between couples, but with the strength of the magic he’d gained ever since his return…

“H-Ha? Robin? Wha… ‘tis! Fie!”

Ensorcelling the spell into the tip of his finger, he traced it carefully, methodically across her stomach, over her womb. The magic spread out at his touch, flowing from his fingertip onto her and laying upon her skin like black ink.

Breathing fast in heady surprise, Say’ri watched with rapt attention as Robin engraved his own personal symbol -two concentric circles- into her skin, and then as he traced out the words beneath it.

“Property of Robin..?”

He wrote the words in clear Ylissean script, engraving them across her crotch, directly beneath where his symbol now adorned the Empress’s womb like a brand.

It was a simple cantrip, a spell that would normally last just a few minutes, until now that was all he’d ever experimented with it until now. However, with the power of his spellcrafting, it was a simple act to engrave the spell upon Say’ri with enough strength to last years.

“Hmm!”

But were just years enough? With a sudden moment of inspiration coming from somewhere in the depths of his soul, Robin sparked his magic again and this time added one final flair to the spell, a small twist that came from the knowledge of hexes and dark magic he’d learned from Tharja. The hex merged smoothly with the original cantrip and reached its final step, adding a faintly dark-purple sheen to the previously black ink.

“T-T-To declare your promise like this… You… You are certainly a bold man…”

“That I am. But, I’m also a jealous, selfish one… I can’t marry you, or even swear my loyalty to you, but I still want you to myself all the same. Even with all your obligations and all the distance that will be between us… my heart won’t budge on that…”

“Fie, you have no need to worry about such things. My heart is the same.”

“Then this spell is my promise that we’ll be together again when I come to Chon’sin, whether you’re carrying my child or not. Normally it wouldn’t last long, but I’ve added another spell of my own creation, one linked to my own magic… it will make this engraving permanent so long as you are mine. If you ever change my mind, it’ll end the moment you accept the seed of another man, otherwise it’ll remain like this, permanently.”

His hand clasped hers.

“So long as you’re fine with it, of course.”

And with that he passed the remaining fragments of the almost completed hex to her, the spell shifting from his hand to hers and a faint purple glow forming around the tip of her index finger. Obviously, even as bold and occasionally reckless as Robin sometimes was, degrading an Empress’s body was no small feat. The collar was bad enough, but he could easily imagine that something like this could cause her no end of trouble in her role.

“I understand if this is too much. I’ll keep the promise either way! I just… well, there’s no need to go this far, I… er, well, I mean, it would be on you fore-”

“Nghh, AH! Ho…hooo…”

Before he had even finished speaking, Say’ri had already pressed her hand into the engraving spreading the hex across her skin with a small moan and sealing the spell shut atop her.

“S-Say’ri!”

“F-Fie! I… I think it quite suits me, do you not?”

There was a cheeky smile on her lips and absolutely no trace of hesitation in her voice.

And so, the Empress of Chon’sin was forever branded with the symbol of Ylisse’s Grandmaster atop her womb, and the inscription “Property of Robin” directly beneath.

“But I shall hold you at your words. This shall be a promise that you shall visit me as soon as you are able, whether I am pregnant or not.”

“O-Of course! I agree, I swear it!”

They would be apart again soon, but this time the distance would feel far less lonely and it would change nothing between them.

The collar would serve as her ring.
And the brand would serve as her wedding vows.

It wasn’t at all like she’d dreamed it would be, but still everything she’d always wished for.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

The next several pages of Kagerou’s diary, that would otherwise have depicted her thoughts during the short time they spent travelling through Regna Ferox to the Western Port, were all torn completely from the diary.

There was no clue at all left behind as to their content.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

“’Twas but a short time, but ‘tis as if it was a different life entirely. I believe I shall look back on this trip for the rest of my days.”

Standing on the chilled Feroxian docks, surrounded by retainers and guardsmen at all sides as she watched the final preparations being made on the ship that would bear her home, Say’ri spoke with a quiet melancholy to the ninja standing -as ever- loyally at her side.

“After so long abroad, it shall be a relief to see Chon’sin once again milady.”

“Aye.”

The beautiful kimono she now wore, stretching all the way from her neck to her feet, made for a stark contrast to the skimpy Ylissean outfits she’d been wearing until now. But even despite once more adopting the thick, regal robes of her station, Say’ri hadn’t quite let go of her familiar speaking habits. Even if it was a meaningless gesture, some part of her insisted that while she was still in the Eastern Continent, she would simply remain a swordswoman on a holiday.

“But, ‘twas a wonderful journey… and a moratorium like I had never imagined. I shall miss it dearly, no matter how much I welcome the sights of home.”

Despite herself and despite her words, not a single trace of red dusted Say’ri’s cheeks, nor did her stoic mask betray even a hint of the emotions swirling heavily in her heart. Even the woman herself wasn’t sure if the forced composure was a result of her taking up her role as Empress before the rest of her people once again… or simply as a way of keeping her tears from spilling out as she yearned for Robin already.

The Tactician himself was standing respectfully some distance away, several meters behind her, painfully out of reach. He would see her off, as anyone would expect, but the touching words and soft farewells had already been said in private. All that was left was this act- Empress Say’ri’s dignified leavetaking from, and the grateful well wishes from her former comrade.

Glancing to her side, Say’ri frowned. A small distraction managing to centre her thoughts somewhere else while she still could.

“There is however, one thing that still concerns me.”

“My Lady?”

“Yes… I… I can’t help but notice, Kagerou, that you have taken to wearing a collar, just like mine.”

“Ah!”

The ninja’s hands flew automatically to her neck where, as of this morning, a thick leather collar identical to the one adorning the Empress’s neck was wrapped around the Kunoichi.

It certainly made for quite a sight, the two of them standing together side by side, one dressed in all the regal finery and priceless accessories befitting a monarch and the other dressed in a light battle outfit suitable for a life in the shadows… and both of them bearing the exact same leather collar, a clear mark of ownership and control, despite their stations.

By her own quiet words, Kagerou explained that she had pillaged it from the same bandits that Robin had taken Say’ri’s from, and that she had waited until now, the day of their departure before finally gathering the resolve to wear it for herself.

“Milady… I… as I understand it, you plan to explain your collar as being but an Ylissean fashion statement you’ve been fascinated by, a way that Ylissean women show their devotion to the man they love. It’s a… reasonable explanation, few in Chon’sin know anything of these lands, let alone their customs. But even so, it shall be an incredible shock for the people to see their Empress collared so, m-my own heart nearly stopped when I saw you!”

Resisting the urge to chew on her lip, Say’ri nodded. There would certainly be some tension. No-one had dared raise comment yet, but she hadn’t missed the shocked glances she’d received, especially with her retainers knowing full well that she’d spent most of this trip with the Tactician. Although, thankfully, since everything following her departure with the Shepherds had been private, no-one knew that her time had been only with Robin.

“I fear that e-even your untouchable reputation may be dented from this. And so, I have resolved to return likewise, at your side, and lend credence to your story.”

Say’ri snorted, “A fashion statement so popular it’s followed even by ninja? Hmph, very well…”

The explanation was clear, and even logical in its own way. She could clearly see the logic behind what Kagerou was saying and, of course, the trust she had in her retainer was practically unshakable. She had been the one Say’ri had chosen to stay at her side through this trip, the one who’d seen every single shameful side of her throughout.

But even so, her heart remained unsettled, and she found she couldn’t quite let it go!

With her close proximity they’d lived in these past weeks, she couldn’t have helped but notice that her ninja had been acting a little different lately. A little more personable, a little more open and she had clearly become far more comfortable with Robin’s company throughout their travels. That was expected, of course, rather it was something Say’ri had hoped for, something she had been glad to see… right up until her own ninja was wearing the exact same symbol of ownership as her!

Now, her happiness at the bond she’d seen form between two people she cherished became instead marked with suspicion…

“Kagerou, lift your shirt.”

“M-M-My lady!?”

“Your shirt, show me.”

“R-Right here? Sh-Shall we not wait un-”

“Do you refuse?”

The Empress’s face betrayed not even a flicker of emotion, but her voice was firm, brooking not even a trace of leniency.

“Of, of course not.”

Swallowing visibly. Kagerou straightened herself up and tugged carefully at her clothes. The guard around her waist was undone and laid aside, and then, with her face flushing red in shame, Kagerou pulled up the bottom sash of her battle-dress, opening it enough to clearly show off her waist and stomach…

…Displaying a clean, white fundoshi, deliciously round hips with a nicely trim waist and a highly toned but otherwise completely normal abdomen. Exactly as anyone could expect.

“I see,” Say’ri nodded, turning away as she forcefully fought back her own responding blush at the mistake, suddenly feeling very silly for her unfounded accusation, “You have my apologies. ‘Twas simply…”

“Pray, think nothing of it,” Kagerou shook the words away as she swiftly tugged her clothing back into place, “I live at your command.”

“Fie… ‘tis actually, there is one more thing I would ask of you before we depart…”

Falling back into normal conversation with her Empress, it took every ounce of Kagerou’s ninja training to prevent the shiver that threatened to run up her spine, and just as much perilous effort to hide the hitch in her breathing after the accusation. Desperately forcing herself calm and focussing her attention on Say’ri’s instructions, the collar around her neck felt as much a guilty weight as it was a comforting presence.

Kagerou’s stomach was, as Say’ri had seen, completely normal…

…However, if Say’ri had pressed a little harder, if she’d somehow had the foresight to instead ask to see the Kunoichi’s round ass, she would have found exactly the symbol she had been looking for, as well as the words “Property of Robin” engraved there in the same black ink, with the same dark-purple highlight as her own.

And so, with the suspicions cleared the conversation drifted back to normal and, standing side by side, the two women talked about the future, what was next and what was to come.

All the while staring out at the same ocean.
With the same collar around their necks.
And the same man’s seed trickling down their legs.

---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Notes:

A/N: And with that, I finally, mostly bring to close my super self-indulgent “Here’s a whole lot of Say’ri!” chapters. I know she’s not super popular, but I like her a lot and I hope that even if you’re not as keen on her, then you still found it fun watching her complete fall into (a kind) depravity. I imagine most of you figured out pretty quick what was going on with Kagerou through her scenes, and you can look forward to a full showcase of those moments through the next chapter as well as a catch up on what we’ve been missing in Ylisstol. And after that it’ll be time to re-unite with our friends in Ferox and see if Lissa really was serious when she mentioned dressing up for the occasion.

You may have noted at the start that Say’ri and Lucina were both much more comfortable with each other than in the previous chapter. This is meant to be a bit of poetic irony, they both think that they’re the one with Robin, so there’s no reason to compete. Previously Lucina felt territorial about Say’ri, but now Say’ri is comfortable that Robin’s with her, so she’s not setting Lucina off, and they both rekindled their friendship properly during the drinking session last time anyway. So everyone’s all good friends and behind the scenes is even more of Robin’s lies and deceit! Mostly for a good cause? Kind’a!?

I’ll apologise again for how long this chapter took. I really don’t have any real excuses, I was busy over Christmas and had less time than expected, as well as various work engagements throughout Jan/Feb getting in the way, but it still shouldn’t have taken anywhere near this long. I kept saying I was chipping away at it, so I guess I’ll try chip away faster next time. Here’s hoping!

In other news, if you're interested in hanging out with me and/or some of the other great FE Lewd Writers, there's a bunch of us in this Discord https://discord.gg/SvxJHmsG and you're more than welcome to come hang.

Anyway, more importantly, it looks like things are getting better around the world but we’re still obviously in very turbulent times, so I hope you’re all keeping safe.
As always, more information about my story statuses as well as weekly updates and any other details can be found at:

http://jlcdavenport.blogspot.com