The day's battle was over, victory won to the combined forces of Ylisse, Ferox, and Chon'Sin. They had assaulted an outpost to raid supplies and intelligence, all coordinated under the master tactician of the entire coalition Grandmaster Robin. With the battle won, allied troops began pouring back into the hidden encampment to receive aid, food, and get some much earned and needed rest. The camp's various medics all stood at the entrance, waiting to receive the wounded who were always escorted back first and foremost. Next would come the slain, followed by the procession of survivors.

While the air around the camp was always energetic after a victory, it also held a tense feeling as friends and spouses left behind stood waiting to see their loved ones return. More often than not their would be relief filled reunion as the surviving soldier stumbled into camp, exhausted and sometimes injured but most assuredly alive. Sadly there was also a wail of grief heard as a loved one was brought in, killed in the events of the battle. No one liked to hear these wails, the sounds penetrating a heart far more sharply than any blade could ever hope to. Every wail also left a fear instilled that there may soon come a time when the wail heard would be their own.

That same fear laid in Maribelle as she watched with baited breath at the survivors marching in, her eyes desperately searching for the white hair that belonged to her husband Robin. While Robin insisted no one's life was inferior to his own, everyone knew that as the head strategist Robin had a target painted on his back. As the war progressed, this target only grew as the bounty on him only grew larger and larger, rumors stating Emperor Walhart himself desired the capture or death of the Ylissean Grandmaster. Over time there many, Maribelle included, who pressed the man to take more of an armchair approach, arguing that the tactician was to important to the war to risk losing, but Robin infuriatingly refused to sit out a battle unless grievously injured. Such steadfast determination on his part had earned him the respect and admiration of all those who fought alongside him, both Shepherd and soldier alike.

It's what had won him Maribelle's heart. And no matter how much she wished he would do otherwise, she knew any time there was a battle she'd have to wait with this fear in her chest, breath held as she scanned the returning faces. She dreaded that every battle would be the one where she saw not the warm, exhausted face of he husband, but a cold emotionless one. Where rather than a relief filled tearful embrace, she'd have to clutch a cold lump in a tearful mourning embrace. That she would retire to her bedroll alone, never again to be held in the arms of her beloved. She prayed every day to whatever gods there were that that day would never come.

Than, as if an answer held til just than, she saw the disheveled appearance held underneath the messy white hair. The calm brown eyes that she could spend an eternity staring into.

It was than she could breath again.

...

Man it took forever to find the right kind of feel for this prompt. I went through six different drafts before finally getting inspiration for this one here today. Woo, now just gotta finish the other 89! Haha! I'll try to push them out quicker than this, but I don't want to do shoddy work just to fulfill a time table as you all know.

Also, some wondering why I changed Robin's name to that of Sekai, my MC in Retained Memories back in chapter 10. I though I expressed this in chapter 9, but just to make sure some chapters will actually be unused ideas or snippets from back when I was considering having Maribelle be Sekai's love interest. They won't pop up often, probably only two or three more if any, but they just may pop up. We'll see you all next chapter.

Fave, follow, review, and have a great saturday! Also, belated Happy Thanksgiving!