Invisible Ties | Fire Emblem Awakening (Novelization)

Chapter 27: Inexorable Death

Robin

"You can't remember the dream?" Chrom asked.

"No. It's all...hazy."

He took me by my shoulders with a curse. "Is there anything else?"

"What?"

His eyes were wide. "You haven't forgotten anything else, have you? Can you remember what we did today?"

"Yes. From the moment we woke up." I lifted a hand to my temple and frowned. "It's just the dream that I can't remember."

Chrom sighed and pulled me against his chest. "Oh, Robin. What's happening to you?"

"I don't know. I wish I'd just told you as soon as I'd woken up!"

"Can you remember any details at all, Mother?" Lucina asked hesitantly.

I drew away from Chrom. "We were in a temple, fighting someone. That's all I can make out. I still remember how I felt when I woke up, though." I shivered. "I was convinced that in my dream, I'd died."

My husband's arm stiffened around my shoulders. The colour drained from my children's faces.

I lowered my eyes and ran my fingers around the rim of my pendant. "Yet now that I'm trying to think back to it, I feel like part of the story still hasn't been told. Perhaps I will get another dream. Then when I wake up, I can write it down. I'm so sorry. I wish I hadn't waited to describe it to you, Chrom."

"It's all right," he said roughly. "Our main concern doesn't lie with the missing details. It lies with why they're missing."

I chewed my lip and avoided his gaze. "I wish I knew. But I don't think we will ever be able to find the answers we need. All we can do now is wait for something else to happen."

***

My family would not take their eyes off me for the rest of the evening. Chrom stuck to my side again, and Morgan was hot on my heels like a helpless puppy. Lucina was more respectful of my personal space, but her sorrowful gaze followed me everywhere. Each of them asked if I was all right on a frequent basis until it was costing me considerable effort not to snap at them. My children quickly sensed my mood and backed off, but Chrom remained oblivious. Or perhaps he was just ignoring it.

"Robin," he asked again that night when we were preparing for bed in our tent, "are you –"

"Yes, for Naga's sake! Stop asking me!" The careful unbuttoning of my coat turned into a series of vicious tugs, and one of the fastenings flew across the tent. "Oh, great!"

I threw my coat off my shoulders, dodged Chrom's outstretched hand before he could touch my arm, and dashed across the tent. When the button was in my palm, I closed my fist so the metal was jabbing into my skin and glared at the canvas wall.

Nothing happened for a moment. Then I heard Chrom move towards our bedroll and settle down. When I finally glanced over my shoulder, hurt was laced across his features.

I opened my mouth but hesitated over my words. Tears started running down my cheeks.

Chrom's expression softened. He patted the space next to him.

I flew to his side, shedding the rest of my clothing along the way. I fell into his arms. "I-I'm sorry. I d-don't want to hurt you anymore."

He rubbed my back. "What do you mean, anymore?"

I sagged against him. He was holding me normally for the first time all day instead of crushing me. "Every time this happens, you get so worried and upset. I just...I can't...I don't want you to! You k-keep asking if I'm all right, and it keeps reminding me how worried you are, and I hate it."