「 Letters 」Ricken x Robin

Third Letter

"Goshh," Lissa placed her empty bowl on the floor, "Seriously Robin how and when did you learn to cook so well?!"

Robin let out a small laugh, "Well it's not that hard. . . You just throw in some seasoning into water and boil it I guess." She really had no idea how she could make such fine soup.

"You could've done that for us when we first met! That way I wouldn't have to break a fit over bear meat." Lissa pouted, she stood up and over to the table where Robins cloak lay.

Robin placed the bowl into a bucket of  clean water and soap, "Hm, I had amnesia back then. Plus- the bear meat was quite tasty!"

While Robin cleaned the dishes, Lissa's attention diverted to an envelope sticking out of a large pocket on Robins cloak. The young girl's curiosity clocked in. "Robin, whats thisss??"

"Huh?," Robin turned to see Lissa slowly pulling the envelope out of the pocket, "HUH? Oh! Haha! That! That's nothing at all - Er - Just a note I need to deliver back to uhh. . . Er. ." Back to where? The only place she's known is with the Shepards.

"A LOVE NOTE!" Lissa exclaimed. "It's written all over your face!"

Robin hustles over to Lissa and reaches for the note,"No way, I could never-"

Lissa's hand pulled back, she did a twirl. The envelope was slipped between two fingers. "Who's it from?"

Robin sighed, there was no way out of this. "I don't know, it's not signed."

"Huh? A secret admirer? How exciting!! May I read it?"

Lissa was getting too excited about this. "Err. . . Well- I don't know about-"

"Pleaase?" The young girl clutched the note to her chest, "I won't tell anyone. And we can figure out who it is together!"

Robin laughed nervously, "Aha. . . Really." She had her doubts about Lissa helping her out stealthily. Still, this girl was stubborn and Robin couldn't do anything but give in. "Alright, but don't freak out or cause any scene."

"I got it, I got it ~" Lissa slipped the note out from the envelope. There was an awkward 5 second silence while she read it. Her head turned to Robin with a grin. "I know the culprit."

"Huh? Already?"

"Yep. It's obviously Ricken."

Ricken. So Lissa suspected him also. But Robin didn't want to jump to any conclusions yet so she acted as if this was new to her. "And where does that theory come from?"

Lissa pointed at the note. "'You're the thunder to my wind. Like a storm,'" she read it aloud, "First off, this is not a complex poem. Someone who's still in school most likely wrote it. Also, wind? Don't magic users control wind? It's suuper obvious, Robin!"

Robin raised a brow. It's not like Lissa was an expert detective. She was using simple clues and knowledge. Yet, Robin was still hesitant to believe it was Ricken. The two weren't very familiar with each other after all. Plus, he didn't seem to be evidently holding any secrets. "I suppose we could hold onto that suspicion. But there are other mages here like er. . . Ah! Henry?" She ended that suggestion off with the most awkward laugh that had ever escape her.

"No joking around. You should go confirm the culprit!" Lissa folded the note back into the envelope and into Robin's cloak.

"H-huh? How do you plan to do that?"

"Ask him!"

"EHH?!" Robin swung her cloak over her shoulders, "I am NOT doing that!"

"Okay fine, just observe his behavior around you then." Lissa poked Robin on the arm, "But make sure you report back to me what happens okay!!"

Robin patted her determined friend on the head before leaving the tent, "I will."

- - -

She found Ricken in the barracks conveniently. He was once again writing on a paper, this time it seemed like he had accomplished more than last time.

"Ricken? Another letter?"

Ricken looked up, breaking his concentration. "Oh! R - Robin! It's great to see you again!" He said while frantically using his arm to cover the writing on the paper.

"Whats wrong?" Robin asked. Was this the final hint she needed?

"N - nothing at all!" He laughed, though it sounded forced, "Just another letter back to home. . ."

"Hm? Is that so - Well er, do you need anymore help?"

"Not really, this one is more personal. Anyway, what are you doing here?" He looked up at her.

"Me? Oh, uh - I came here to grab a book!" She shuffled her way to the bookshelf in the back. Along the way, she took a quick glance over at the paper. Most of the writing was covered by the boys arm but not the words on the side. She could only catch onto one word: ring. Well that was helpful.

She scanned the books to pick out one that wasn't silly like yesterdays. Taking a hold of a book on magic techniques, she realized the book she had found yesterday (something about falling in a fortnight?) was no longer on the shelf. Hopefully it's rightful owner had it back in their hands.

"Um, Robin?" Rickens voice was quiet.

"Hm?" She turned to face him.

"I'm actually writing a letter to a crush back at home. . ." A light red blush was evident on his soft features, "I was wondering, if you received a love letter, as a girl, what would you like to see on it?"

Robin felt a small pang in her chest though she wasn't sure why. So Lissa and her suspicions were wrong after all. She knew it would be a bad idea to jump to a single person. "U - um. I suppose the writers true feelings. Although I'm not sure... All girls are different, Ricken."

Ricken looked back down at the covered paper, "I know that. . ."

"How about what makes her different from the other girls? Um. . . A lot of girls like to feel like a certain special one to their admirer."

Ricken pursed his lips. "I get it now, thank you." And in an instant, he went straight back into his own thoughts.

"No problem." Robin left the barracks with the book in her hands. The tight feeling in her chest was still there. It like it was sinking, slowly.

But why did she feel this way? Was it perhaps the feeling of loss when it turned out not to be their prime suspect?

"This is why you don't jump to conclusions, idiot. . ." She muttered to herself.

「note」

words: 1090