So... I am kind of straying off the main storyline for Awakening here. I'm going something a little different, but it will hopefully not be too different!

Oh, and I've also decided that one of a particular character isn't enough in this chapter too!

Robin hissed as she felt nails dig into her arm in what felt like an attempt to restrain her. All that she had done was go outside to try and see if there was any sort of hint as to why Validar would want Frederick dead, but now… this was happening.

"Stop trying to resist, Robin…" It was so frustrating to feel her wrists now chafing against rope, especially where her scars from the past were... Especially the one from that attempt by Gangrel's men to have her killed. "Any and all escape attempts made by you would be futile – I know every way in which you could even try to escape, or try to instigate a rescue attempt by calling for your allies." Following that was a faint laugh, one which seemed… familiar. Too familiar.

The tactician brought herself around into looking up, and her eyes narrowed. It was her lookalike, the one which worked as Validar's advisor… Once the woman had noticed that reaction, another, much louder laugh was heard. "What is going on here?… Let me go!"

Quietly, the woman knelt down in front of Robin, before gesturing to her allies to shove her down into the mud. With force. "Oh, Robin… You must be naive to have not figured things out yet."

After spitting dirt out of her mouth, Robin began to get particularly anxious. "Release me now, I have a worried husband and a dying son to look aft-"

With a hint of frustration on her face, the woman had to cover the now panicking tactician's mouth. "One of you shut her up, please!" Once a different hand was over her mouth, the lookalike was finally able to continue. "Vessels don't last forever, Robin… This one is dying. Seeing Chrom, Frederick and everyone else alive… it's killing her. And that's why we've come for you."

Grima. This woman… Her lookalike who was right in front of her… was Grima.

"This vessel only has about one week left… Just about enough time for your father to prepare you to become my next vessel whilst I hide amongst your friends acting like you… Well, I am you and they are naive, so what difference does it make?! Hah!"

It was Frederick's turn to watch over Morgan for a short while, and he couldn't help but feel guilty as he watched the teenager's rather shaky breathing. Every so often, he took a turn for the worse and stopped breathing for a few moments, but would then suddenly start breathing once more. It was horrible for Frederick to even think that if he had been able to react on time, then Morgan wouldn't even be in this sort of state…

With a deep sigh, the knight apologised to him, before he promptly began to cry as he covered his face. He was so ashamed that he hadn't been able to do anything to protect him, his son, his own flesh and blood…

Morgan suddenly took a louder gasp for air, before making a few quiet sounds under his breath. And then… "W- Why?… D- D- Don't cry… father." The boy's cold fingers then rested upon Frederick's trouser leg as he attempted to laugh. "F- Father… I… I'm o- okay..."

All that Frederick could do was cry even more, before giving Morgan a gentle hug. "You're my son, Morgan… You almost died because of me… Can you honestly not blame me for wanting to cry?… That, and you've had your mother and Lucina worried..." Gods, was Frederick relieved to let out one or two of those pent up emotions…

After about thirty minutes of Morgan bringing himself around into opening his eyes, and propping himself up with pillows, the door to the room opened. It was Robin – or so they thought. "Hello, Frederick… Morgan..." She quietly sat down beside Frederick, before pursing her lips as she glanced up and down at the bandages covering Morgan's torso. At the same time, she couldn't help but notice how the ring upon her finger seemed quite a bit bigger on hers than Robin's. But ah, the sheer delight of seeing the tears pouring down Robin's face as she took the ring, considering that her own was lost in the future.

She had never noticed the concern which was laced throughout Frederick's face as she sat fidgeting, but Morgan definitely did notice the worry. "M- Mother… Maybe you and father sh- should… Talk f- for a minute…" With a faint mumble, the teenager then closed his eyes once more. "I… I want… to sleep..."

Robin was shaking as she held onto her knees, wishing that she was anywhere but where she happened to be. Never in a million years had she thought that she would be chained up and imprisoned in a room at the Plegian castle, under the orders of none other than her own father. Every so often, she would catch a glimpse of the purple marking upon her hand, and each time it made her desire to grab a sword or dagger and just remove her hand even worse.

The room was cold, and there was a build up of sand in the corners too. She didn't even want to get started on the occasional spiders and rats which she saw every so often in the dim torchlight. The flames flickering on the torches reminded her of Frederick, all thanks to his fondness of fire.

She knew that the next few days were going to be painful. Two had already passed… Five more days...

Except…

Her plan still had to be put into action. Chrom, Frederick and Flavia knew of a majority the plan, the supposedly deceased Basilio aware of it all. If everything went according to plan, without Grima trying to mess it up...Perhaps she stood a chance of escaping, as it involved coming here to the castle!

"I said look at me, daughter!" The sudden shout snapped Robin out of her daze, and brought her back to the reality of the situation. She was likely not to get rescued, and she was stuck here, with nobody but her father and Aversa for company when they decided to taunt her with their freedom and plans to turn her into Grima's next vessel. "Robin, if I have to order you to look at me one more time, then I will not hesitate to put your mind under my control!"

Meekly, Robin pulled her knees closer to her chest and forced herself into making eye-contact with Validar. "… What?…" Her voice was cracking as she spoke, tears welling up as she tried to comprehend what was going to happen to her.

The smirk and chuckle from Validar as he decided to stand over her was enough to send shivers down her spine. "We shall be… spending a few hours together. Father and daughter… Master and prisoner." Hearing that was enough to make Robin grow pale as she felt the chains around her wrists come loose and with her getting forced to her feet. What did he even mean by that? On top of that, she couldn't even try to escape, seeming as Validar had members of the Grimleal almost everywhere, every single one of them ordered to grab hold of her if she tried to get out.

How she just wanted to be in Frederick's arms, and to be able to see his smile…

All that she could do was internally wince as she heard her father laugh at the scared face which she was pulling, before he forced her to stand before him. "Now, you had better not dare try anything funny, daughter… You may technically be a world renowned tactician, and princess of this country, but that does not change the fact that you are powerless in Plegia until you accept your fate as Grima!" She had to bite her lip in order to suppress a scream when she then felt herself caught in what she assumed was meant to be some sort of embrace. It turned out that the man was only wanting to hiss down her ear. "If only your mother had not ran away with you when you were simply a newborn babe… The night following the marking of your bloodline appearing upon your hand, she fled with you in her arms, simply because she was one of those wretched 'Divine dragon' followers, and she wanted to 'cleanse' you of your destiny! Wretched woman… I should have requested that Gangrel executed her the day after your birth for scheming against Plegia!"His voice sounded dark… scary even. "And then, you make the situation much worse by deciding to cooperate with that Ylissean prince, and initiating a relationship with that knight! There had better not be anything else which you haven't told me about, Robin..."

He couldn't find out about Morgan… She couldn't risk her young son, one not even a year old, the other close to sixteen, being exposed to danger… Exposed to his grandfather…

Then an almost horrific thought came over the woman, based on what had been said to her by her lookalike... 'This vessel only has about one week left… Just about enough time for your father to prepare you to become my next vessel.' Morgan's birthday was in one week as of the day in which she was taken, meaning… He was probably going to lose his mother on his birthday…

She began to cry then, and it made her father look at her in suspicion… He knew straight away that Robin was most definitely hiding something, but he knew that in such a state that she was in… It wouldn't take much to get that out of her…

Before he could dare do or say anything though… "Oh Validar… I have some important information for you~ I'm sure that your precious little daughter would like to know this too..." Aversa was most definitely not welcomed by the tactician as she tried to find a way to worm out of Validar's grasp as she wept, but what was said afterwards made her freeze up. "The Ylisseans are approaching… They shall be here by nightfall. And also… There have been some sightings in a nearby town which I believe will pique your interest..."

"And… An apple, please!"

"That makes it now, adding that to your tome, lance and water… Six thousand gold."

"Wh- What?!" The white haired girl flinched as she heard the total amount, before wincing as she reached into her coat's pocket. Where was her gold!? "Oh gods… Where is my money?!" After a few more moments, she breathed a sigh of relief as she pulled out small handful of gold. "Uh… How much does this cover?"

The shopkeeper snorted, and turned his back on the girl as she narrowed her eyes. There had to be at least fifteen hundred gold there, surely enough to cover at least one of the items which she wanted to purchase! "I want the lance."

He gruffly muttered a few curses under his breath, placing the lance as far back in his stall as he could. "Kid, this is no place for games. If your trickery is discovered by the king, then you shall be swiftly locked up. Now get going to your parents-"

She slammed her fist down upon the table, sending a small box on the edge falling into the Plegian sand. Her parents were somewhere in this damn realm, and she didn't know where! Hell, she hardly knew who either of her parents were!

Before she had the opportunity to even shout at the man once more, her eyes began to well up with tears. Without even thinking, she then pushed past the table and the man, and grabbed hold of the tome. "You just mentioned a very touchy subject to me… I don't even know my parents. So, I'll give you a choice… You let me have what I wanted to buy… And you can live." Her face was dark, considering that her eyes had narrowed and her fringe had parted slightly, coving more of her face than previously.

At the lack of any response, her hand began to become enveloped in a dark, purplish glow, considering that the tome was one which utilised dark magic. "I guess that you don't care about your life then!" The surrounding areas of the town fell silent after she had released the built up magic, and the shopkeeper's limp, pale body ended up in the middle of a pathway. Children were hiding behind their parents, and nearby, there were Plegian soldiers picking up their weapons, looking straight at her.

That hadn't worked out how she had wanted it to.

She grabbed the three items beside the tome which she had intended on buying, before stepping back a slight bit as she looked for a way to run. But before she could consider running… A hand much larger than her own took hold of her wrist. A bony hand at that. She was terrified, the situation felt on par with kidnap… But then again, she had just killed a man…

"Show me your hand, child." The girl winced at the cold breath touching her ear as everyone in the area stared at the situation. But then, the mumbles of the citizens caught her interest…

"Isn't that the new king?..."

"I think that it could be, it looks like all of the illustrations I've seen..."

"King Validar?..."

The man holding onto her was the king… That terrified her, as she had read that many Plegian rulers loved the premise of executions over crimes, no matter what happened to be. Because of that, she dropped the items in her hands and stood shaking. "I… I don't get why you want to see my-!"

Before she could continue, her right hand, the one which was being held onto, was pulled closer to the man, making her fall to her knees because of the force used. "So… She is the one we have been looking for, she has the marking… Aversa, take this child to our other prisoner. I am sure that they would appreciate company in their final days..."

Final… days…

The girl began to tear up then, before the book which she always kept in her coat dug into her skin. "I'm sorry, big brother… I promised I would meet you here… I guess not..."

The brother she was speaking of was Morgan.

Frederick was feeling more and more reluctant the further that the Shepherds moved into Plegia. He was growing fearful that if Validar became aware of his presence in the country again, his life would surely be taken this time… Leaving Morgan without a father would hurt not just the child, but Robin too… And speaking of Morgan, the one from the future was also one reason on as to why he wasn't exactly keen on advancing any further forward.

The teenager had insisted upon accompanying the group into Plegia, despite him still recovering from his injuries. Yes, the wounds had mostly been healed thanks to Brady, with them being all closed up and simply just scars by that point, but the pain was still evident in his breathing and speaking. Frederick still felt responsible for him being hurt, and it just made him feel… terrible.

"Come on, father! If you want, I could accompany Chrom as we speak with Validar… I know that mother isn't going to be there whilst he does meet up with grandfather, but Chrom would need some sort of company other than Lucina… Validar doesn't know that I am your child and his grandchild, seeming as the people who attacked us were caught before they could return to Plegia, so hopefully he won't try to do anything to me..." Morgan placed his hand upon the knight's shoulder, before putting on a grin so similar to Robin's…

In response, Frederick gave a strangely timid smile back, before nodding and hugging his son. "If you do not mind, Morgan… I will stay with the group which remains outside the Plegian castle, if you go inside..." And then, the person who they assumed was Robin walked over to the two, which made them move apart a slight bit.

Her white hair was looking particularly scraggly, and she seemed a lot… skinnier than usual. "Morgan, could you give me and your father a moment… Alone?" She then smiled at the boy as he walked outside, before turning to face Frederick with a straight face… She looked devoid of any and all emotion. "I wish to give you this, Frederick."

With a bit more force than she intended, she took hold of his hand and placed something in it… The very ring which he had given her in Ferox all those years ago…

He froze when he realised what the object was, before looking at her with wide eyes. "Robin… What in the name of-?… Wh- Why?..." Why would she have given him her wedding ring?!

"Frederick, do not worry… It is only for now… I want you to protect this for me… And if the worst does happen after all of this, you will have this to remember me by..." Grima was really just getting frustrated at the ring being too big for her finger. It was better to let Frederick die soon with at least one memento of his wife, who had only a few days left before she becomes the new vessel...

She then, against her will, placed a kiss on his cheek, before turning to walk outside again. "And if we get through this all intact… You can return it…"

One outside, she then hissed in pain as she looked at her right hand. The blood vessels around the brand were slowly starting to glow with a deeper purple than it used to, and was spreading across her body. Once they become visible upon her face… That was the signal to finish preparations for her power to be transferred to Robin. Soon… Only a day or two at most until that day comes…

"Here, let me see that injury..." Robin bit her lip as she checked over the arm of the girl who was now imprisoned alongside her. There was quite a bit of bruising on her wrist, where it looked as thought somebody had really took hold of her wrist tightly. "How did you get hurt?… Actually… Who are you?..." The tactician gave the girl a forlorn look, before putting on a weak smile.

The younger of the two looked at the dirt on the ground, before tracing a few small shapes into it. "I was looking for my big brother, and hopefully my parents… I caused a bit of trouble in a nearby town, trying to buy supplies for whilst I looked for them... Then that king guy grabbed hold of me. I thought he was going to execute me for stealing and killing the shopkeeper, but… it was because of some mark which was on my hand…" She spun one of the loose threads from her gloves around a finger from her other hand, before putting on a timid smile. "My name is..." She paused for a moment, before taking a while to think. "I don't know. I think my father was killed before I was born, and something happened to my mother just after I was born, meaning that I wasn't officially… named." Robin stared at the girl with wide eyes, before the girl put on a small smile. "As a joke, my friends did just call me by my brother's name as a nickname, seeming as we share a birthday despite him being older, but added an 'a' to the end… So… I guess that I could be called Morgana…"

That then made Robin blink for a moment, before sighing as tears welled up in her eyes. "My son is called Morgan… He's only just a toddler… I'm probably never going to see him again..." She whispered, just as the girl gasped and placed her hands upon her shoulders.

"Lady… You don't have to cry! I'll- No! We'll find a way out of here, I'm sure of it! You can see your son again..." Almost straight away, Robin then began to bawl even more. This girl almost reminded her of her future son too… And then she noticed something. The mark on the girl's hand. "Just as I am sure that I'll see big brother Morgan again, maybe my parents too… Robin and Frederick are their names..."

The tactician's eyes grew wide, and despite tears running down her face, her pupils were growing drier because of her not blinking. "You… You're looking for… Robin and Frederick?…" She forced herself to blink, before grabbing hold of the girl tightly. "Well… I guess that you've found your mother… I'm Robin… Frederick is my husband."

"M… Mother?..."

So... Uh... Yeah. Female Morgan is here (just not called Morgan...)

That and Robin's being held prisoner by her lovely father...

I think this story is only going to have about three or four more chapters, so... It's getting up to a conclusion soon! Sorry for the chapters taking so long though...