Three

A snowstorm had blocked one of the passes in the mountains, stranding the Shepherds in a nearby village for a few days. Robin saw this as an inconvenience. Chrom did not.

"You want me to what?"

"Hire a merchant named Anna in the town," Chrom repeated. "I overheard some of the villagers say that they've never seen someone better with resource management than her."

"Okay, but why?" Robin asked, confused.

Chrom laughed. "Sometimes I forget how relatively new you still are to the Shepherds. You see, with the Shepherds growing as they have been, we need someone who can manage how much we need of everything. Apparently, this Anna is someone well suited for the job."

Robin nodded, understanding. "Alright, but why ask me to do it?"

Chrom scratched his head. "Uh, because you're a good judge of character and a valued member of the Shepherds?"

The dastard wants to push work off onto me! Still, Robin only smiled and offered Chrom a nod. "I'll do it."

"Excellent! Watch out, they say she's a fearsome bargainer. I'm prepared for her to cost us an arm and a leg, but try to not run us out of money."

-X-

Robin found Anna's shop without difficulty. It was hard not to, her name plastered above the building in large letters.

Inside, he found a menagerie of strewn about items, ranging from knick-knacks to weapons. There seemed to be some sort of order to the madness, but Robin found himself distracted before he could figure it out.

"Welcome!" a red haired woman came up to him. Robin frowned, thinking the only word for her smile apt enough to describe it was 'greedy'.

"You're Anna, I assume?" Robin asked.

"The one, the only!" Anna laughed, though Robin didn't get whatever the joke was.

Robin returned her smile and laugh out of courtesy. "I am here representing the Shepherds. We're in the market for someone to manage our convoy and procure resources for us to use. Any interest?"

The merchant rested a finger on her chin in thought. "Hmm…tempting. What's in it for me?"

"Uh, money?"

Her eyes flashed and that greedy smile returned with a vengeance. "Tell ya what. Come back tomorrow. Let me have a little time to think about it. After all, you're asking a girl to make a big decision."

Robin nodded. "We'll be here until the snow clears out. But I'll check in tomorrow."

He departed the shop, missing the almost maniacal chuckle that came from Anna.

-X-

The snow had hit again, but Robin found himself out walking through the village to a certain shop.

Stupid Chrom and guilting me into coming out here, Robin growled to himself. His friend came up with a sob story on the spot, telling Robin how they would all starve if he didn't get Anna's services.

Well, it wasn't really a sob story so much that Chrom's atrocious acting needed to be stopped. Ergo his wet feet in the snow.

"Hello?" Robin called, stepping into the shop for a second time. The same disarray welcomed him as he heard Anna's voice call out to him, "Be with you in a minute!"

Robin strode over to a nearby table and selected a book from selection of tomes. He opened it to a random page and perused it with interest.

Until, that is, it was shut forcibly by the merchant. She smiled, though it looked strained. "Hey buddy, this is a shop, not a library. Interested, and I want to see gold."

Mildly alarmed, but having met enough quirky people in the Shepherds, he set the book down without complaint. "I'm here about the offer I made from yesterday. Have you considered it any further?"

Anna cocked her head to the side. "What offer?"

For the love of…

Robin sighed. "Anna, I don't really have time for games. I'm cold, wet and could really use a hot bath. I came here yesterday and asked you to join the Shepherds to manage our convoy."

She blinked, confused. "No one came into this shop yesterday. You sure you're alright, mister?"

Laughing, Robin shook his head. "Is this some kind of joke? I stood in here yesterday and you told me to come back tomorrow, that being today now. I spoke to you in person."

Her finger came right back up to her chin as she thought for a moment. "Hmm…"

Robin's breath caught.

"Nope. Doesn't ring a bell."

Forget this.

"You know what? Here's my offer: join the Shepherds and manage our convoy. I'll be back tomorrow for an answer. Thank you, good bye."

Robin left in almost a flourish, leaving an Anna behind who bit her lip to stifle her laughter.

-X-

Chrom tried acting again to motivate him to see Anna. Little did Chrom know, that Robin was already leaving the moment he heard Chrom fake a sniffle. That was not something he wanted to suffer through.

For the third (And hopefully last) time, Robin entered the shop.

Anna sat in a chair at the counter, lazily writing something down. When he entered, she fixed him with a hungry look.

I don't like this.

"Welcome!" she exclaimed. "What can I get a stud like you? Maybe some tight shirts? That cloak doesn't flatter you well, hun. But I think we can figure out something to show off your physique—"

"Um." Robin closed his eyes and counted to three. "I'm here about that offer from yesterday. And the day before."

"What offer?"

"You mean you don't remember me?" Robin worked very hard to control his voice and keep it even.

Anna winked. "I think I'd remember someone like you."

"Nope!" Robin screamed, finally snapping. "I'm done! I won't talk to another red headed merchant who can't remember a damn thing!"

He ran out of the shop, screaming more about a red seductress and her incompetent memory. Anna doubled over laughing, as did her other two sisters in the back. But none laughed harder than Chrom, who was on the ground.

"That was hysterical!" he said between breaths. "Good job ladies." He passed them each a small bag of gold. He turned to the Anna who had addressed Robin that day. "And you'll join up with the Shepherds for the agreed fee?"

Anna smiled and thought for a moment. "I'll give you a little discount for a piece of information."

"Sure," Chrom readily agreed.

"Is he single?"

Chrom blinked, then grinned wolfishly. "I suppose not everything you said was in jest, no?"

"Let's just say I've got a thing for intelligent types," Anna said, licking her lips.

"He's single and ready to mingle," Chrom replied. "I can't wait to see how this plays out."

Anna's laughed resounded through the room. "You won't have to wait too long, I'll bet."

Author Notes: I sat on this with the first scene complete for about a month before I just opened this up accidentally and wrote the rest in twenty minutes.

Oops.

Kinda RobinxAnna. Still tagging it as so because we all know that's where it's gonna end up XD