Invisible Ties | Fire Emblem Awakening (Novelization)

Chapter 17: Vengeance

Robin

We arrived at Castle Ferox late that evening. After a long journey of stifling silence, it should have felt good to spill out into the fresh air and gather together again. I just felt empty.

Frederick took charge of the Shepherds and led them to the tavern that we had resided in during our first visit, while I followed Chrom to Castle Ferox's medical ward. Maribelle had done a good job of healing his wound while we'd travelled, but no one could make an injury like that disappear without a trace.

They wouldn't be able to fix our broken hearts, either. On the battlefield, my duties had kept my head clear. Now there was nothing to hold me in place. I drifted through the hallways of the castle with no purpose other than to follow Chrom. I needed to protect him and to somehow make this right.

Our short journey seemed to blur. Suddenly we were in a private medical room, and I had no idea if we'd just arrived or if I'd been standing at Chrom's bedside for a while. One of the healers was pushing me into a chair, so I suspected that it was the latter.

I watched as they worked, trying to focus on their instruments and not on Chrom's pale face. They examined the wound, administered more healing power, stitched him up, and mixed an alarming variety of medicines. Their voices were muffled and echoing, fading in and out of my ears.

For a moment, they became clear as I realised how unresponsive Chrom was. I started to worry that his wound was infected and he had a fever, but the healers were unconcerned. It was clean, they said. He was just in a state of shock. Like me. Would I like a glass of water? But their words were already fading away again, and my brain couldn't make my mouth respond.

A blanket appeared around my shoulders. The medicine will make him sleep, they said. So I watched as his eyelids closed, and my hand put itself in his.

Time passed. I did not care how much. The healers slowly left, aside from one to watch over him. I ignored her, just like I ignored everything else. Then she'd suddenly gone, all the lanterns were out, and someone was squeezing my hand.

Chrom. My head slowly started to clear. Now that he was awake, I had a job to do – but where could I even begin?

We stared at each other for a long time, until Chrom's eyes filled and he looked away. I cleared my throat. "Chrom, I'm so sorry. My plan just...wasn't enough."

He stared at the wall. No doubt he felt like me – here, and yet somehow not. In the past few hours, his skin had paled so much that it was as if there was no blood left in him at all, and the rings under his eyes had darkened until they were almost black.

"You did your best, Robin," he said eventually. "You have my thanks."

"It was my fault."

"No." He turned his head back towards me. His eyes locked with mine, a chasm of despair. "It's my own failures that haunt me now. Gods, I was just so powerless!"

"It's not your fault, Chrom!"

He shook his head. "It is. She did it for me. I can't just lie here, useless. I have to avenge her."

He tried to push himself into a sitting position, but his arms trembled under his weight, and his face crumpled in pain as he shifted. I rose from my chair and pushed him down. "Stay still. What do you mean?"

He struggled against my grip. "I won't rest until I've killed them all!"

My heart faltered. "No, Chrom! You can't mean that."

"Plegia has threatened Ylisse for too long." He stilled, his physical energy suddenly drained. "Now they have struck deep, but I will make them pay."