"GAH!" the bandit cried out in pain as the exalt drove his sword into his chest. Not wasting any time, the pushed the now dead man off and turned around just in time to block an ax that had been aiming for his back.

"Milord, duck!"

Chrom dropped to the floor, allowing Frederick to thrust his spear into the bandit's gut; the prince then grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and threw him against a third assailant, causing him to fall back and giving him enough time to rush at him and cut him down before they could even raise their weapon.

Panting hard, Chrom looked back at Frederick, "I believe this area is clear."

"It would appear so milord," the knight nodded before rolling over one of the bodies and checking it, "just as I thought: take a look milord."

The prince walked up and knelt down next to the body, looking at what the knight was gesturing at: a fading branding scar located on forearm.

"That symbol again..."

"It's a requirement for all members of the Plegian army. They're told to brand themselves once they enlist in order to prove their loyalty to the crown; and also to identify themselves to other members of the army during undercover missions"

"I guess it would be pointless to check the others for the same brand?"

"It matters not. Even the others were run of the bandits, it doesn't change the fact that there are actual members of the plegian army in their midst. I find it hard to believe that a common bandit makes more coin than an enlisted soldier, especially if they are raiding small towns alongside the border, which can only mean one thing: the rise in these attacks are a deliberate and most likely coordinated plan by the crown."

"Damn it!" Chrom slammed his fist on the ground, "I knew it! I knew that miserable sack of filth was behind all this! All of Emmeryn's hard work, and for what?! For this?!"

"I share your anger milord, but we must not lose sight of things right now. We must first get rid of all the bandits in this village, and we can't let anger cloud our judgement. Remember what I've always taught you: anger leads to recklessness, and recklessness lead to death."

Chrom took a deep breath, "you're right. We'll relay this information to Emmeryn once we arrive back at the capital; for now, we focus on finishing our job here. Come on, we have to check on Lissa."

The knight nodded as they both backtracked through the way they originally came from, their weapons drawn and keeping an eye on each other's blind spots. Eventually, they reached an apothecary and walked up to the door after scanning the area one last time before walking up to the door. Once they made sure the area was clear, Chrom gave the door two quick knocks, paused, then another three quick ones. After a moment passed, the door creaked opened as Lissa peered through the open crack.

"Chrom!" She threw the door opened and enveloped her brother in a tight hug, which he returned immediately, "what took you so long?! I was so worried!"

"I know, I know. I'm sorry we worried you, but we had to move with caution; there were a few more bandits than we thought, and it's only the two of us."

Lissa nodded before pulling back, only to notice that her clerical uniform was now stained with blood, "you're wounded!"

"What?" The prince looked down and saw blood trailing down, the origin being a gash on his arm, "ah, I must have been nicked without noticing."

"Get in here!" Lissa pushed him inside with Frederick following and closing the door behind them. Once inside, they saw that the shop had other people inside, most of them huddle together or laying on any available cots. Washing her hands in a nearby basin, the cleric grabbed a cloth and a vulnerary, pouring some of its contents on the clothe before pressing it on her brother's arm.

"Let that soak for a minute. We can't risk that getting infected."

"Understood." He saw the people laying on the cots, "how are they doing?"

"They'll live, thank the gods. Two of them were touch and go for a moment there, if we had arrived any later, they probably wouldn't have made it. I managed to close their wounds, but they absolutely can't be moved until their bodies have stabilized or else they might go into shock."

"Bless you, oh bless you young one." One of the older villagers took her hand and squeezed tightly before turning to Chrom and Frederick, "we thought all was lost, that this would be our end. You are all a god send, and we will be forever grateful for you."

"We are simply doing our duty," Chrom assured him, pulling off the cloth to allow Lissa to start closing the wound with her healing staff, "I promise you that we will not rest until all the bandits who attacked this village are brought down. You have my word."

"Thank you, oh gods thank you."

"We've taken out a good number of them already, but there still might be more," Frederick interjected, "does anyone here know how many bandits arrived at the village?"

The villagers murmured amongst them before one of them spoke up, "I believe that there were twenty of them sir."

"Ten. Taking into account the two we fought at the entrance and the three we just found, that means there's still half of them out there."

"They've probably figured out that we're here by now and have already taken out some of their men." Once Lissa finished Chrom got up and clenched his hand to make sure there wasn't any lingering pain, "meaning that they are probably going to regroup and try and hold out until we leave or they wear us out. The question is, where could they try to hide?"

"It would have to be a structure with sturdy walls, yet also wide enough windows to watch the perimeter and spot anyone trying to approach them." The knight turned to the head of the village, "is there any building like that in this village?"

"The only one I can think of is the church at the center of the town sir."

"Then that's where we are heading to next." Chrom said got up and grabbed his sword, "come Frederick."

"I'm coming with you," Lissa said.

"Absolutely not, you're staying here."

"You didn't even notice you were hurt until I pointed it out Chrom. What happens if you take too long to come back here and you bleed out before I can patch you up? At least if I come with you, I can use my staff at a relatively safe distance and ensure that you don't die. I'm coming with you, and that's final."

Realizing that his sister was not going to back down and that time was of the essence, Chrom let out an exasperated sigh, "fine, but you do not leave Frederick's side; and Frederick, if anything goes wrong, I am ordering you to take Lissa away and head straight to Ylisse. Understood?"

"...yes milord."

"Good. Everyone, we're heading out to the church. Barricade the door and do not open to anyone else but ourselves; but if the worst comes to happen, my retainer shall stop by and let you know so you can evacuate with him."

The villagers nodded as the group made their way outside and then towards the town church. It wasn't hard to spot—it was the largest building in the village—but they made sure to proceed carefully, taking cover in alleyways and other houses. Eventually they reached the town square, hiding behind the rubble of an unfortunately destroyed house and peering through the broken windows at the church in question. They saw three men patrolling the outside, two at the bottom of the stairs carrying axes and once standing in front of the church's entrance with a bow and arrow.

"If what the villagers told us is correct, then we're missing two more bandits."

"They're probably stationed inside Lord Chrom."

"We'll worry about them later. Right now, we need to take out these three. The axe men don't concern me, but the archer could be a problem."

"Indeed. It is clear that he's positioned to attack anyone who goes after the other two. No matter how fast you may be, you're going to be left vulnerable to his attacks; and if you try to dodge or block his arrows, then the other two will have a clear shot at you. In order words, the archer needs to be dealt with first."

"Do you have your sword with you Frederick?"

"Always sire."

"Then I believe you know what I'm going to ask you to do, don't you?

"Aye sire." His grip on his spear tightened, "just say the word."

"When I rush out towards those two, you'll have a small window of opportunity to strike down the archer. It goes without saying that if you miss—"

"I won't," the knight said simply.

"Of course. Get ready." He pulled out Falchion, "Lissa, you're staff can reach us from here, right?"

"Y-Yeah."

"Good, then no matter what, you stay here. Understood?

"Chrom, be careful."

He nodded, "on my mark Frederick."

The knight positioned himself behind Chrom, raising his spear over his shoulder and tensing his arm.

"Now!"

The prince rushed from behind the rubble and towards the two bandits, catching their attention immediately. Not a moment later, Frederick stepped out from behind, took aim, and threw the spear with all his might at the archer already aiming his bow at the charging lord. The weapon flew past Chrom and the two shocked bandits and hit its target square in the chest, throwing him back against the church and killing him instantly. The brief moment of confusion of the two bandits allowed Chrom to take a swing at one before they could raise their weapon, slashing him from shoulder to hip and causing them to fall on the ground dead. The other one quickly took a swing at the prince, who sidestepped and then thrusted his blade under his arm and managed to strike him between the ribs. Pulling it out, he made a finally slash at him and cut off his head, ending his life instantly.

"ENOUGH!"

Chrom turned around and saw two more bandits coming out of the church, one of them drawing his sword and pointing it at Chrom and one of them holding a small tied up child by the neck. The bandit in question was a large man with thinning hair and war paint adorning his body, holding a large double handed ax in one hand easily.

"Nobody move or the brat gets it!" He dropped the child onto the ground and pressed his boot on its back, flipping his axe and then pointing it right next to the terrified boy's neck.

"Let the hostage go!"

"You are in no position to be asking me anything, boy!"

"Your men have been incapacitated and we have more troops just in the outskirts of town." The last part was a lie and Chrom hoped the bandit didn't know that, "it's over for you. Let go of the hostage and turn yourself in if you wish to leave this village with your lives."

"Oh I'm leaving this blasted place alive, I can assure you that; but it ain't going to be in chains," the man sneered while tightening the grip on his ax, "so here's what's going to happen: you and whatever troops you have are going to leave this village and stand down. My and my boy here want safe passage back to the border and assurance that we won't be followed. If not, this brat and all the others inside are getting gutted and their blood will be on your hands."

"Dastard!"

"So what will it be pretty boy? You either look the other way and let us walk free, or you explain to these villagers why their church is filled with a bunch of children's heads."

Damn it! I had hoped that they didn't have any hostages with them. Guess that was wishful thinking from my part. We can't let these men walk away unpunished, not after everything they've done to this village; but I can't risk them killing innocent people, especially not children. Looks like I have no choice. I'll just have to—

"BLAARGH!"

Chrom's thoughts were abruptly cut off as the bandit holding the axe dropped onto the floor face first, blood gushing out from the massive gash on his throat. Behind the body stood a familiar black haired mercenary, holding a bloody knife and with a look of annoyance etched on his face.

"Boss! You bastard I'll kill—!

Robin threw the knife straight at the bandit, embedding it between his eyes and killing him before his body even hit the floor.

"Idiots." He looked down at the child previously being held hostage, who still looked terrified at what was going on, "well? What are you waiting for? Go already."

The boy didn't move, other than the involuntary trembling from the absolute fear he felt while looking at the man looming over him.

"Oh for the love of," he grumbled and pulled out another knife from within his clothes, kneeling down at the boy.

"Hey!"

The man cut of the ropes holding the child hands together, "there, see? I'm not with them and I'm not going to hurt you. Now go and find your parents or whatever. This is not a place for children."

The child slowly got up and gave the man one last look before bolting back inside the church and closing the doors with a loud slam.

"Good grief, why must hostage situations always be a pain?" he sighed rubbing his temple before making his way towards the last bandit he killed, taking knife and wiping the blood off of it before sheathing in. He then turned to the still shock prince, "well, that was an eventful afternoon wasn't it?"

Chrom didn't answer, still processing what just happened.

Robin noticed the prince's silence and awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck, "all right so I might have lied earlier when I said I was completely unarmed. Sorry about that, but I wasn't about to be left completely defenseless out in the open, even if I was travelling with a group of people; besides, given how things turned out I'd say that was the right choice after all, no?"

"STAND BACK MILORD!"

Frederick ran up to Chrom and Robin his sword drawn and his sights set on Robin, who immediately took a step back and raised his knife into a defensive stance.

Stepping in front of his liege, Frederick took his own stance, "I should have known that you were lying to me earlier; you mercenary folk are all the same, always with some trick up your sleeve."

"You call it a trick, I call it insurance; regardless, only a complete fool would actually join a group of strangers without at least one weapon on their person. Even you know that. After all, you gave the cleric a knife when I joined your group," the mercenary responded thinly.

"I didn't hide it from you."

"Well that was very foolish of you, and entirely your fault."

"All right, enough, the both of you." Chrom intervened before they started exchanging blows, "you sir, you may have helped us out in a dire situation, but I will not allow you to talk to Frederick in such a manner; that being said, Frederick, I expect better from you. This man came back to help us, and more important the villagers, despite having no real inclination to do so."

"Hate to burst your bubble, but my reason to come here was not at all altruistic."

"Pardon?"

Not breaking his stance or even eye contact with the knight, Robin extended his free hand at him, "hand it over."

The knight looked at him confused, "what are you—"

"My sword. Give it back."

It took a minute for him to realized what the man was talking about. Looking over his shoulder he saw that indeed the sword he confiscated from him earlier was still strapped to his back. In the mist of all the commotion with the bandits, he had completely forgotten about it.

"Hand it over. Now."

The knight narrowed his eyes at him, "I don't like your tone."

"And I don't like people running of with my sword, so I guess we are even."

"Fine. I'll give your weapon back as soon as you lower the knife and place it and any other weapons you have on your person on the ground."

"No, I'm done doing things your way; I did that before and all that got me was almost losing my sword. I've already proven again and again that I am not a threat to you people, and I'm not going to keep jumping through hoops to satiate your paranoia," Robin growled.

"All right, that enou—"

"You clearly don't seem to realize the position you are in, so I suggest you stand down and watch your tone immediately," the knight threatened.

"My position is that I'm angry and I want my sword back. Hand it over. Now!"

"Lower your weapon!"

"Give me my sword!"

"Will the two of you just calm down before—!"

"Here."

Lissa suddenly appeared between them, holding a familiar looking scabbard and sword. Frederick's eyes went wide as he checked his back and saw that the weapon was indeed gone, the princess apparently having removed it without him noticing it and was now extending it to an equally surprised Robin.

"Milady, what are you doing?!"

"I'm giving him back his sword before one of you two gets stabbed," she responded simply. She turned to the mercenary, whose eyes were glued to the weapon in question, and smiled at him, "I believe this is yours. Here, take it."

He hesitated, his body still apparently tense from the recent exchange with Frederick, before slowly reaching out for the weapon. Upon placing his hand on it, he looked up to the princess again, who kept smiling at him. Once he finally had a hold on it, she let go and he immediately clutched it against him tightly as all the tension in his body was released and he let out a sigh of relief.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome. However, I have to agree with my brother: it was completely out of line for you to be speaking to Frederick like that. He may have been taking his responsibilities too far, but that's no excuse. So I believe an apology is in order."

"...fine." He faced the knight and bowed his head slightly, "I am sorry for the way I acted towards you. I let my anger and frustration get the best of me, and for that I apologize."

"Good. Now your turn Frederick."

"I beg your pardon?"

"You're just as guilty for escalating the situation Frederick. You may have taken his sword by accident, but you continued to antagonize him rather than simply returning what rightfully belonged to him. Therefore, you should also apologize to him.

"Milady, you can't be serious!"

"Apologize sir Frederick," she said sternly while crossing her arms.

Frederick looked at the princess in disbelief, realizing that she was completely serious. He turned to Chrom for help, but the prince simply raised his hands in front of him and looked the other way, essentially telling the knight that he was on his own. He turned to the mercenary, hoping to see some trace of glee or smugness in his face that would give him an excuse to refuse; unfortunately, the man's face was expressionless as he simply waited patiently behind the princess, not a hint of malice in his face.

Gritting his teeth and rigidly raising his fist across his chest, he bowed slightly before saying, "I...apologize for the way I acted towards you. Regardless of the reasons behind my actions, it was still most unbefitting for a man of my station."

"Good. Now that wasn't so hard now was it?" She beamed proudly at her accomplishment.

"I guess not," Robin said.

I would rather clean the knight' horses' stables for a week straight.

"I must say sis, that was actually quite impressive," Chrom laughed while patting Lissa on the shoulder, "I don't think I could have diffused that situation any better than you did. Emm will be so proud when we tell her."

"Aww, it was nothing," she giggled, enjoying his praise. She looked at Robin, who was unsheathing his sword half way out, carefully and meticulously inspecting the blade, "don't worry, Frederick didn't use it once since you gave it to him. Right Frederick?"

"No. I would never use a stranger's weapons when I always carry my own," the knight responded curtly.

"If you say so," Robin responded without looking at them.

"That must be quite the blade for you to be so worried about it. Reinforced with some sort of allow? Perhaps magically imbued? Or is it an heirloom from your family?" Chrom asked.

The mercenary sheathed his sword with a loud clack, "Not really. It's just an ordinary, albeit old, steel sword. Not a drop of magic imbued in it, unless you count the blood of any magic user that tried to kill me. As for being a family heirloom, my cloak has more pedigree than this old thing. Not all of us have a blade of legend lying around to fight of bandits."

"Fair point. Still, seems like you are really—" Chrom stopped, suddenly realizing what the man had just said, "what was that?"

Robin stood silent.

"You know about my sword?"

No response, the air suddenly becoming thick with tension, especially from Frederick's position.

"Which means...you know who I am?"

Robin clicked his tongue, "guess that cat's out of the bag."

"Answer the question!" Frederick barked, getting in between him and the princess.

"Calm down, I can explain." Robin back away slowly, hand still on the scabbard but not pulling out his weapon, "I had my suspicions about who you were, but I wasn't entirely sure. You just confirmed it now with that reaction."

"So you do know who I am?"

"Yes, I do. You're Chrom Lowell, exalted prince of Ylisse and second heir of the throne after the current Exalt, Emmeryn Lowell."

Chrom couldn't help but feel a chill run up his spine as his identity was laid completely bare by the stranger, "how did you know?"

"Like I said, I wasn't entirely sure until just now; but there were a few tells that, given the information known about a high-ranking public figure like you, set off a few flags about your identity. I already knew you were a noble by the way you carried yourself, and it would be clear to most that the sword by your sider is no ordinary blade, even if they are not familiar with Falchion itself. Also, word of advice?" He reached up and patted his shoulder mirroring Chrom's, still wrapped with the bandages from earlier, "you're just drawing attention to the fact that you are hiding something, like, say, a birthmark that the prince of a certain nation is known to have on his shoulder; personally, I would recommend just wearing something with sleeves."

As much as I hate to admit it, the man is right, Frederick thought while looking at the slightly embarrassed Chrom, I should have said so earlier.

"And then there was also the fact that you are travelling with a man who is clearly a knight acting was your bodyguard as well as your own personal cleric; at that point I was certain you were, at the very least, a high ranking noble. Everything else just narrowed it down to you being the exalted prince Chrom."

"Excuse you? Personal cleric?" Lissa looked at him crossed.

"Sorry. I believe the prince said you were a cleric in in training?"

"No! I mean, yes but...ugh, I'm his sister!"

Robin made a double take, "you're the Exalt Emmeryn?!"

"Wha — NO! I'm Lissa! Princess Lissa to you, bucko!"

"Oh...Oh right, right!" He slapped his forehead lightly, "Princess Lissa Lowell the youngest sibling and last in line for the throne."

"Hmmph!" The princess turned her back to him, "Maybe I shouldn't have given you your stupid sword back."

"Sorry, I meant no disrespect. It's just, people usually talk about the current exalt or about prince over here. You're not the main interest in people's minds."

She turned her head and glared at him.

"That came out worse than I intended to..."

"Nyeh!" She stuck out her tongue at him before turning her head back.

"All right, I deserved that."

"You deserve much worse," Frederick interjected coldly, "you lied to Lord Chrom and Lady Lissa, and for who knows what nefarious reasons. For all we know, you were sent to target them and were simply playing the fool until you found the right moment to strike. That's more than enough reason for me to arrest you here and now for conspiring against the crown."

"Frederick!"

"No, he's right. Even if I wasn't completely sure, I still had enough to make an assumption about your real identity; and I kept that to myself. If I had asked you and you denied it, then I would have been absolved of any responsibility. Unfortunately, I didn't do that."

"And why not?"

"Because I didn't want to risk you actually confirming my suspicions and revealing that you were the exalted prince. As I said earlier, I needed to get out of Plegia as soon as possible, and I saw an opportunity to increase my chances of getting to Ylisse safely by joining your group. I was afraid that, if I revealed that I knew who you were, you would think I was trying to latch on to your royal highness for a juicy paycheck. Isn't that right, sir Frederick?"

The knight stayed silent, not wanting to admit that he was indeed correct in his assumption.

"Still, I understand that I lied to you. Twice even. So, if this is where we split ways, I'm fine with that. I think I've covered enough distance from Plegia and I can make my way towards Ylisse on my own from here."

"Rather quick to try and get away now that you've been discovered, aren't you?"

Chrom placed his hand on the knight's shoulder, "peace Frederick; I believe that's enough. As for you, Robin, I can't say that I am pleased with the fact that you lied to us. If you had just been honest from the beginning, I wouldn't have assumed that you were trying to leach on to us for easy money."

"No offense, but you can't be too careful these days."

"Still, you did help us out right now, even if you claim to have done it for less than selfless reasons. I believe that, at the very least, is enough for us to consider forgiving your transgression and perhaps let you accompany us back to Ylisse. Don't you agree Lissa?"

"Hmph, I guess so."

"You are too kind, both of you," the mercenary said with a small bow, "and I promise you, sir Frederick, I have no intention of causing you any problems. If you allow me to travel with your party, once we arrive to Ylisse, you won't have to worry about me anymore."

"We shall see about that."

"That being said, I think it goes without saying that we're going to have to wait until tomorrow for that." The prince looked up at the darkening sky, "it's too late for us to continue of foot, and walking around in the dark is nothing short of a death wish, especially with the possibility of bandits still roaming around the area. I suppose we'll have to set up ca —"

"There you are!"

The group was interrupted by an elderly man stepping out of the church and making his way towards them as more people slowly came out the building.

"Young Thomas told us everything! You risked your lives to save us from those ruffians. If you hadn't stopped by, this village surely would have been done for! Please, you must let us repay you. You must stay the night! We are simple folk of simple means, but we would gladly toast your valor with a feast!"

Frederick shook his head, "A most generous offer, sir, and no doubt your hospitality would be grand... But I'm afraid we—"

"We already had a large meal right before we came here, so we couldn't possible bother you with a feast," the mercenary interrupted the confused knight, "but we would be ever so grateful if you would let us stay the night here."

"Of course of course! I'll speak with the inn owner and arrange everything!"

"Separate rooms I assume. We do have a young lady with us after all."

"Yes, yes I'll make sure of it! And don't worry about the cost, it's on us."

"Sir we couldn't poss—mmph!" Chrom felt a hand cover his mouth.

"Don't mind him, he's too humble for his own good," Robin chuckled while playfully draping his arm on the princes' shoulder, "anyways, the rooms?"

"I'll get to it at once!" he said with one last bow before rushing towards the inn.

"Robin what are you doing?! Chrom pulled his hand off his mouth, "we can easily afford to pay for rooms here!"

"True, I'm sure the exalted prince of Ylisse has more than enough coin with him to rent out an entire inn if he wanted to; but you're not the exalted prince of Ylisse. You're just a travelling mercenary who did a good deed and is being adequately compensated for it." Robin grinned while tapping the side of his head.

"I must protest! You can't possible expect Lord Chrom to lie to his own citizens!"

"He's already hiding his identity from them, so what's the difference?"

"The difference is that you are using that as an excuse to leach off these people livelihood!"

"It's a night stay in one of their inns, I'm sure they'll find a way to survive the harsh winter six months from now," the mercenary rolled his eyes.

"All right Robin, you've made your point," Chrom cut in before the bulging vein on Frederick's forehead ruptured, "one night in an inn won't be the end of the world. As long as we are civil and don't make a mess that causes any trouble for these people, everything will be fine."

"It is most unnecessary milord. We can easily make camp in the woods and be well on our way by day break without bothering anyone."

"Wait the woods?" Lissa turned back to Robin, "you know what? I completely forgive Robin for that comment earlier and now think we should listen to his suggestion and stay the night in a comfy inn."

"Not you too milady!"

"Frederick, it's been a long day. I believe we can indulge in comfort this once," Chrom said patiently.

"...very well; if that is what you wish milord, I shall oblige."

"Yes! No smelly woods for us tonight!" Lissa cheered, "still, it's a shame we couldn't get that feast too, I'm starving."

"Yeah sorry about that; but your bodyguard had already started declining the offer and I had to act fast before we lost the inn to," Robin said sheepishly.

"Oh well, that's better than nothing, so I can't complain. I can hold it until we get back to Ylisse tomorrow."

"Nonsense, we're getting you something to eat. My treat," he grinned while pulling out a small, jingling bag from his clothes.

"Oh I couldn't —"

"I insist. Also, this way we won't be completely mooching off these poor people and your retainer won't feel as guilty," he said, chuckling at the glare he received from the knight.

"I mean, if you're going to insist, who am I to say no?"

"Great. I'll just go and see what's on the menu and report back, princess." With a coy wink he headed towards the shop, leaving the other three alone.

Frederick clenched his fist, feeling his anger rise, "that man has some nerve to address Lady Lissa in such a manner."

"Oh relax Frederick, he's just being friendly," Lissa said.

The knight was about to respond, but stopped himself. Closing his eyes and breathing deeply, he then turned to address Chrom, "milord, I believe you already know what I am about to say?"

"That Robin is not to be trusted, he is a scoundrel without any shred of honor in him, and that he is probably lying about not wanting to mooch off my royal status just like he lied about knowing my identify and probably even more stuff he isn't telling us. Am I right?"

"That is the gist of it, yes sir."

"All right, now you're just being ridiculous Frederick," Lissa reprimanded him, "ever since we've met Robin all you've done is talk about how "untrustworthy" and "suspicious" he is."

"And he has done nothing to prove me otherwise. Need I remind you that he kept information about us even though Lord Chrom was gracious enough to allow him to travel with us?"

"But he came back and helped us save this village!"

"He came back for his own selfish reasons, not because it was the right thing to do; he even said so himself."

"That may be true Frederick, but it hardly matters," Chrom interrupted, "after all, he could have waited for us outside the village where he was out of harm's way, or, even worse, he could have tried to take the sword while we were distracted. Instead, he decided to assist us in dealing with the bandit leader."

"By sneaking up from behind and slitting his throat. Does that seem like something an honorable man would do?"

Chrom bit the inside of his cheek, "I will admit, I do not particularly condone his methods nor would I employ them if the opportunity presented itself; but remember, the bandit in question had taken hostages, including a small child that he would not hesitate to kill them if he felt threatened. I believe even you can agree that, if push came to shove and it meant saving that child and any other innocent person, you two wouldn't hesitate to cut him down."

Frederick didn't answer.

Chrom, noticing how displeased his retainer was, place his hand on his shoulder and assured him, "your concern is noted Frederick; and you are absolutely right, he did act in a dishonest matter by hiding information from us. Which is why I am letting you decide whether or not Robin will come with us to Ylisse."

"Milord?"

"Wait, what?!"

"On one condition." Chrom raised his hand before they could say anything else, "I want you to take Robin to a private room and question him like you would question anyone who wishes to join the Shepheards."

"You're going to ask him to join the Shepheards?" Lissa asked.

"Not necessarily, although to be honest I'm not completely against the idea. If Robin is going to be travelling with us, then it's important that he is trusted by all of us. You and I trust him, but Frederick doesn't, and for good reasons to be fair. Therefore, he shall put Robin through the same questioning process as he would anyone who could potentially become our comrade in arms. If Robin could technically be trusted to fight alongside us, then it's safe to assume he can at least travel with us back home. Isn't that right Frederick?"

"Yes sire, you are correct," the knight nodded, seeing no fault in his lord's logic.

"Are you sure about this Chrom? I mean, Frederick already has a bad impression on Robin, so is it really fair to let him decide whether or not we leave him behind? No offense Frederick."

"None taken milady."

"I trust in Frederick, Lissa. I am certain that he can set aside his personal feeling for Robin and judge him like he would anyone asking to join our ranks for the first time. Whatever his final decision is, not only will I have complete faith in it, but I will back it up with no questions asked."

The knight could feel his face grow slightly hot at that comment, "t-thank you, Lord Chrom."

"Yeah, I guess you're right Chrom. I'm sorry Frederick, I shouldn't have doubted you like that. I know that you only have our safety in mind; and I know that whatever choice you make will be based on what you think is best."

Frederick smiled at them, "thank you. Both of you."

"Then it's settled. I shall talk to Robin and explain the situation to him. If he wishes to accompany us, then he'll have to agree to answering to you first."

"All weapons at the door," Frederick said closing it behind them. Noticing the mercenary's hesitation, he said, "I won't be taking them this time. Once we finish here, you can have them back. You have my word."

"...very well." Robin took off the straps holding his sword and placed it down next to the entrance. Then he took out a knife from within his clothes. The another one. Then two more strapped to his boots, putting them all on a nearby stand.

"Is that all?"

Robin checked himself, "I believe so; but you are free to check for yourself if you wish to make sure."

"I will." The knight patted him down, feeling several other things hidden within his clothes (Is that a half eaten sandwich?) but no weapons, "you're clean. Let's begin."

"Oh wait, I forgot." He burrowed into one of his pockets and pulled out several hair pins from within; he then reached up to his hair and pulled out the pins holding it back, causing it to flop down and cover most of his face.

"What are you doing?"

"Setting all weapons at the door like you told me to."

"You are mocking me."

"No, I am not. There's a reason why I always keep several of these with me; in the right hands, hair pins have several uses besides simply holding hair. Like an impromptu weapon for a surprise attack. Take it from someone who has, unfortunately, had to gouge a few eyeballs too many."

"I see. I shall keep that in mind. Now then, have a seat." Frederick pulled up two chairs and placed them facing each other.

"Yes sir," Robin said as he tied up his hair with the torn fabric from earlier and then took a seat, with Frederick following suit.

"Now then, I believe Lord Chrom has explained the situation to you?"

"He said that if I wanted to continue travelling with your party, I had to go through some sort of process with you and that depending on the outcome you would decide what happened to me."

"Correct. Now then, I have made it no secret that I personally do not trust you and your actions so far have done little to mend that. Rather, it has only made my opinion towards you less favorable."

This is not going to end well for me.

"That being said, Lord Chrom and Lady Lissa have entrusted me with carrying out this task in a fair and impartial manner; therefore, in accordance with their wishes and their trust, I shall be disregarding my personal feelings towards you and be treating this as it were our first meeting. In other words, the results will depend entirely on what you say now and now what you have said and done before."

"Oh. Thank you for that."

"Before we start, I will tell you the same thing I tell everyone who goes through this process: do not try to lie to me. You might think you can pull the wool over my face like you did earlier, but the situation is different now. We are alone, in a controlled environment with no distractions, and I have you directly in my sights."

Robin couldn't help but chuckle slightly, "is this where you tell me that you are secretly a psychic and this is the ideal situation for you to read my mind?"

"No. This is the ideal situation for me to discover your tell."

"My tell? Sorry to disappoint you, Sir Frederick, but I've played cards with enough dangerous individuals to know that I do not have a tell; trust me, I would not be here now if that wasn't the case."

"Is that so? Why don't we test that theory? Tell me two truths and a lie, in any order."

"I owned one more knife but I recently lost it. I have some loose pieces of silver in one of my pockets. I'm allergic to shell fish. Now tell me, which one of those was the lie?" He asked smugly.

"All of them. All three of those statements were lies," the knight responded immediately.

Robin's eyes went wide, all trace of smugness gone from his face, "h-how did you—?"

"Everyone has a tell; and people who think otherwise either a) are truly oblivious or b) simply have one so miniscule and subtle that they themselves don't know it. If it's any consolation, you are the latter."

"...any chance you could tell me what it is?"

"No."

"A-All right," he shifted nervously, suddenly feeling very exposed.

"Now then, let me explain how this works. You're going to start talking and tell me about yourself. You can start anywhere you think is best and provide whatever information about your background you deem to be important. Every now and then I will so this," he raised his hand slightly in front of him, "which indicates that I have a question concerning whatever you just said. You will then answer my question and once I feel it has been answered appropriately, I will lower my hand for you to continue. If you refuse to answer, then we are done here; and the same goes if you try to lie to me. Understood?"

The mercenary nodded.

"Good. Whenever you are ready."

Robin hesitated, still looking rather uncomfortable due to the current situation he found himself in. Eventually, he closed his eyes and clasped his hands together, taking a deep breathe, "you're putting me in quite the sticky situation here, Sir Frederick."

"That depends entirely on you and what you decide to tell me."

"Fair point. Let me just ask one thing: that little "test" of yours, that wouldn't be part of your consideration for the final verdict, will it?"

"No; and if it eases your concerns, you are not the first person to try and pull the three lies trick on me. In fact, I even gave some of them my approval once the process was over," he responded truthfully.

Upon hearing that, much of the tension left Robin's body and he let out another sigh, leaning back on his chair, "it does put my mind at ease, at least somewhat. It doesn't make this any less hard for me if I were to be honest." He paused for a second, "though I suppose honesty really is the only way for me to get to Ylisse with you. Very well then, guess I have no choice. I'll just start at the beginning."

He sat up straight again, looking at Frederick in the eye.

"My name is Robin, and I am a Plegian."

Author's Note: another chapter. Sooner than I expected too to be honest.

So, as you may have noticed, the fight scenes here where much, MUCH smaller than the ones in a certain work of main that shall not be mentioned out of shame from my part. And that's exactly how it's going to stay because I am NOT going through that again. Don't worry though, I have it all planned out.

Anyway, here we get to see a little more of Merc Robin and the kind of person he is; and next chapter we'll find out even MORE about him. Why? Because it's gonna be the exposition chapter! Yaaaay!

As always leave any comments and critiques below and I'll see you next time. Bye!