Fire Emblem: Awakening - October Prompts

Corrupted (Chrobin Week)

Sometime before Chapter 6. Anna

Rain spattered against the tent canvas, shrill winds caused the fabric to slightly cave and concave, soft breaths filled the dark space. I barely truly registered each of these sounds, my sleepy state made it difficult. Whenever I tried focusing on one thing, my chances of drifting to sleep would be squandered.

Most rainy nights were trouble for me. I would huddle in piles of blankets and even keep my candle lit as long as possible; I would still be cold. However, my opinions on rainy nights have changed over the past few weeks.

I no longer worried about the cold. Nestling up to Chrom every night gave me all the warmth I would ever need. My dear fiancé may be the strongest warrior in all of Ylisse, but he was quite the cuddler. The idea of sharing a tent with him was risky and stupid, but so was our relationship. I may have been against the idea at first, but all the cuddling has certainly grown on me.

A light rumble of thunder pulled me from my thoughts. I snuggled closer to Chrom, and, almost instinctively, he hugged me tighter. Gods, I hate thunder! It shouldn't even be happening! My eyes slowly peered open. They were heavy and cloudy, fighting to fall closed once more. I lost the fight, ready to drift to sleep. I can just sleep through it. It won't be too bad, right? If I fall asleep quickly, it will go away.

Time stopped existing along with the outside world. I was left with the fogginess of pre-sleep.

.......

"You're a disgrace."

My eyes shot open as I heard a voice, heart racing. I leaned up and looked down at Chrom, who was sound asleep. Did...did he say something?

"Don't ignore me!"

The voice spoke again, this time I was able to fully understand it. Its tone was harsh and rough, echoing after each word. To add to it, a piercing headache traped its way in my skull. I collapsed onto the bed, trembling. "Wh-who's there?!"

"How dare you take comfort in laying with him!" It screeched, increasing the migraine. "How daft are you to accept his so-called love!"

I clutched my head, attempting to cover my ears. "Shut up! Who are you? What are you talking about!"

"You lay here with the man you are destined to destroy! You taint your blood just by being in his presence!"

Tears broke through my eyes, breaths coming out in choked gasps. "Stop it!"

The feeling of burning claws raked through my brain. "You do not tell me what to do, you insolent cur! It is embarrassing to call you and me one in the same!" Everything was going white. "This man is the enemy! The one who will end our brilliant plans!"

I must have been hyperventilating at this point. "What plans?! Get out of my head! Leave me alone!" I cried.

"I am always with you!" The voice screamed as loud as it could. I wanted death more than anything. "There is no escape! Accept your destiny and you will achieve great things! Kill the exalted blood and begin our glorious campaign!"

"No, no, no! I won't do it! I won't!"

"YOU HAVE NO CHOICE!"

"STOP IT!!!"

Icy cold liquid splashed on my head. I gasped at the sensation, however, the voice was gone. Instead, it was replaced by dull ringing.

A few seconds passed before I could hear a muffled voice. "An-- are you-- hey- lis-- me! You-- ok!" The blanket covering my lower half was torn away, and I was hastily pulled up. "Anna, look at me! Open your eyes, dammit!"

I wanted to throw up. My body was both on fire and freezing at the same time. My head throbbed from the aftermath of a migraine, throat scratchy. However, I could attempt to speak. "Chrom..."

"I'm right here, calm down." My senses slowly returned. I could feel his arm wrapped around my back, holding me up. The other sought out my hand. "Hey, it's all right. Just take a deep breath."

Frigid water dripped from my hair, confusing me even further. "Why...why am I wet...?" I couldn't even open my eyes. My head was beginning to lull forward - my whole body was limp.

"Er, that would be my doing," Chrom explained. "You were screaming and wouldn't get out of your trance no matter what I did, so I had to splash you with water. I'm so sorry."

I managed what I thought was close enough to shaking my head. "No...it's fine..."

He brought his hand up to cup my cheek, thumb brushing against the bottom of my eye. I took that as a sign to open them. As soon as I did, I was greeted by blurry sights and a short throb towards the front of my skull. "Are you ok?"

I slumped into his hand. "I-I don't...know..."

He stopped holding me up and instead held my head in both hands, pressing our foreheads together. That slight pressure seemed to melt my anxieties away. "Was it a nightmare?" His voice was quiet.

"I'm not sure...it felt so real..." I trembled, attempting to recall what happened. To my shock, memories of the incident were too foggy to remember. "I-I can't remember...what happened..."

"Shh... It's all right," he hushed me. "You don't have to remember. I don't need to know the details. My only priority is making sure you're safe. How are you feeling?"

My body lost all of its strength, struggling to even lean upright against Chrom. "My-my head hurts...everything hurts... I feel really sick..."

"Should I get Lissa or Maribelle?"

"I-I don't know... I don't want them to know about our secret..."

Chrom sighed. "If anyone found out our secret because of this, I could not care any less. You're clearly not ok and need help."

Guilt nipped at my heart. "B-but-"

He pressed his lips against my forehead, fully pulling away and making me flop forward. However, before I could hit the bed, Chrom caught me; arm supporting my upper back and the other tucked beneath my knees. He carefully held me in his lap. "I'm going to carry you back to your tent and then find Lissa, ok? That way no one will suspect anything. I simply heard you screaming and came to your aid."

I painfully nodded. "Ok..."

I barely registered the walk back to my tent or the rain falling on us. What just happened...? Have I heard that voice before? It sounded so familiar... Well, wherever I've heard it before, I never want to hear it again. Nothing or no one will ever make me hurt Chrom.

*****

WHO WANTS SOME ANGST? This was really fun to write. It's to early and I'm really tired XD. Thank you so much for reading and look forward to reading more!

Next Prompt: October 17th - Outrealms

Link: https://youtu.be/_nc-ezQAyUU