#like an awakening grima didn’t die until Robin also died and only when they were both dead could Robin be free of grima’s hold

[bippap]

I wish we could at least spend our eternities together

HEY GUYS POST CANCELLED GAY RIGHTS WON

[kbsinclair]

A Family of Martyrs Chapter 2

The morning sunlight broke through the walls of the tent, beams of light visible as they attacked the eyes of the sleeping couple. Spooned together in their royal cot, Chrom and Robin were treated to the sunlight disturbing their rest. They fought valiantly for the few extra minutes, but the discomfort boiled over first. It left them no other choice but to get up.

Robin was the first, rising and letting a yawn loose as she stretched her arms above her head. Unfortunately for Chrom, his wife blocked most of the rays from hitting his face. Once she shifted, he received a full on hit he wasn’t expecting. He raised his arm to block them as he groaned and turned, only to move too far. He fell off the other side of the cot in a heap, taking the blankets with him. Robin looked on in mild bemusement. If one didn’t know her, they would’ve missed the slight quirk of her lips, and mistaken it for disinterest.

“Good morning, darling,” she deadpanned, “I see you’re off to a good start.”

“Please… not before breakfast. I’m not ready,” Chrom groaned, attempting to disentangle himself before giving up and spreading out on the ground.

Robin threw her pillow at his head, “Get up then and we can get some.” She scooted over to the edge and stood up, looking for her usual clothing.

“Please, would you-”

“No, I’m not bringing food back to the tent. You’ll leave crumbs and attract bugs here. I’m also your wife, not your servant.”

“… Robin-”

“You remember what happened last time you tried to pull rank on me?” Chrom snapped his mouth shut and forced down a shudder. “Good!” Robin smiled brightly as she tossed his cape at him, “Now get dressed so you can stop complaining.”

“Yes, dear.”

They took their food and settled at a table in the mess area. Since Naga gave them a day of relief, most of the Shepherds were still sleeping in, and they had plenty of privacy.

Once Chrom had food in his stomach, he decided to breach the subject, “Robin, about yesterday…” was all he got out before Robin interrupted him.

“Chrom, if this conversation has anything to do with Lucina having agency as an adult and being able to make her own decisions, I will depose you.” The glare Robin pointed at Chrom was sharper than Falchion’s edge.

“N-no! I agree with you in fact. Lucina and Morgan sacrificing themselves is absolutely out of the question,” Chrom began, raising his hands to show his innocence.

Robin blinked, then released her glare, “Sorry. I suppose I’m still… prickly, after that whole thing.” Robin sighed, shoulders sagging as she looked down onto her plate.

Chrom straightened himself up in his chair, and hesitantly continued, “It’s fine… In fact, I believe that ANY sacrifice in this situation is a little out of the question.” When Robin’s head shot back up, Chrom nearly recoiled, but held himself firm, “Robin, you can’t expect me to be okay with the thought of you dying any more than I am with our children dying.”

“Chrom, you say that like we have a choice.” Robin looked at Chrom as if he was a child. “Grima has to be destroyed.”

“Grima is a threat that needs to be stopped yes, and Naga has given us a way to do so.”

“The Exalted Falchion will put Grima to sleep, not end him. You do understand that, don’t you?” Robin questioned, left eye brow slowly raising.

“Yes, I did hear her. For one thousand years, we have the time to come up with another permanent solution to stop him,” He finished with a nod and a small smile, “Sounds like plenty of time to me.”

Robin wasn’t convinced, “You say that as if there is some other way.”

“There may very well be. We just haven’t figured it out yet. You can’t say that it doesn’t exist.”

“And you can’t say that it does!” Robin finally snapped, slamming her hands on the table and rising from her seat. The loud bang aroused the attention of the Shepherds meandering about. “We have to work with what we know! I can do it. Morgan and Lucina can do it, but that’s because they’re my children! The only way we know how to do this is through my blood, but what if that blood is too diluted in 1,000 years? Hells, what if my bloodline doesn’t even exist in 1,000 years!? There’s no way to know for certain.”

“Then they can use the Exalted Falchion to send him back to sleep,” Chrom stayed seated and kept his voice level, though there was a tone to his voice that tried to communicate to Robin to calm down. She ignored it.

“If they still have the sword, if someone of Exalted blood wields it, IF they have the Fire Emblem and the five jewels to call Naga to do it, and so MANY other things that would have to go right! We can’t take all of these chances, Chrom! You can’t!”

“I can’t?” Chrom questioned, arcing his eyebrow in a manner similar to his wife’s earlier.

“You are the Exalt, Chrom. Leader of the Halidom. Ruler and protector of Ylisse. You can’t play games of chance with the fate of your kingdom.”

Now Chrom rose, face twisted in indignation, “This is not a game to me!”

“Then you need to be willing to step up and accept what needs to be done for the good of everyone! Sometimes that means sacrifice!” Robin paused, wincing at her next thought before continuing as sure as before, “Emmeryn understood that, and you need to as well.”

All emotion fell from Chrom’s face. The red that had been gaining on his cheeks disappeared, leaving only paleness to portray his shock. The few Shepherds that were listening in all decided to take their food elsewhere and depart quickly. It was a few moments after the last Shepherd departed when Chrom finally replied. “How could you use that against me?”

Emmeryn’s sacrifice was a meaningful moment for every Ylissean and Plegian present. For Ylisseans, it showed Emmeryn’s love for her people went so far that she would sacrifice herself for them. For Plegia, it showed the strength of Emmeryn’s character and how different she was from her war mongering father. It gave thm something to compare their own mad king to. For Chrom…

It was the moment of his greatest failure.

“Chrom… I’m sorry, but you need to grow up. I love you, I truly do, and you inspire me every day,” Robin’s voice lost its challenge, and she adopted a downcast expression, “I love how positive you are, I love your empathy, and I love the hero you’ve proven yourself to be. But like when I told you back in the desert… When Gangrel tried to force us to trade the Emblem for Emmeryn, you need to be able to let go.”

Chrom closed his eyes and took a deep breath before staring at his wife straight in the eye, “… I refuse.”

“Chrom-”

“No! You’re right, I do have a duty to my Halidom. I have NEVER forgotten that. Nor have I forgotten about my sister’s sacrifice! But I think you’ve forgotten about my other duty.”

“What other duty?” Robin challenged.

“To you. To my children. To our family. I swore on the day that I married you that I would love, cherish, and protect you to the best of my ability. When you gave birth to Lucina, I extended that vow to include all of our family. Assuming the Chrom of the future is half the man Lucina reveres him as, he made the same vow. I’ll take it up in his place to protect Lucina and Morgan as well.” His eyes shined with unshed tears. “I have a way to protect my family AND my Halidom. Naga has blessed me with the ability to put Grima down. I believe in us. I believe in the Halidom that we have sworn to protect that if needed-if somehow we can’t find another way to beat Grima, that we can put him back to sleep should he awaken again. And again. And every time we’d need to until he is destroyed.” Chrom paused to gather himself, before giving his wife a small grin, “I’m not the only one assuming a lot of the future, Robin. It’s only that you are so narrowly focused on the worst case that you don’t have hope.”

“I have to, Chrom. I’m a Tactician, and Grima is-”

“Not your fault, nor your sole responsibility.” Chrom said simply. “Have you thought about the Halidom that we share?”

“Of course I-”

“Then what about your family? Our family,” Chrom questioned, “If you sacrificed yourself, what would I tell Lucina when she asks me why her mother isn’t around? How could I be able to look into her eyes and answer that question when I allowed her mother to die, but I had another option? What about the other Lucina, and poor Morgan? He’d be devastated.

"Not only that, but the Halidom needs you… I need you. The Halidom wouldn’t be half as well off as it is now without you. Not only your military tactics, but your advice has been absolutely priceless in helping me settle disputes between the nobles and make the most people happy that’s possible. You make the Halidom better, and you make me a better man to rule it.” He stopped for a moment to wipe his glistening eyes, gazing at his wife in pure adoration, “I knew it the moment I met you. You complete me, Robin. I need you by my side.”

Robin couldn’t hold back her own tears anymore, and rushed around the table separating them, screaming, “Dammit, Chrom!” before throwing her arms around him in an embrace. The two stood there silently, holding each other up as they allowed themselves to cry.

After sometime, Robin sobbed, “I… don’t think I could live like that. I don’t know if I can accept that I could’ve defeated him, but didn’t. I wouldn’t let it go.”

Chrom tightened his hold on her, “And I can’t live with knowing the love of my life died when I had another option. I can’t let you do this.”

Robin stood still taking what comfort she could before she pulled away. “I… I have to go. I’m sorry Chrom,” she said before she hurried away. Chrom couldn’t even raise a hand to try to stop her. He just stood where she left him, fist clenched in anger toward Grima. Toward the cruel hand fate dealt to him and his family. But as his rage boiled, his resolve hardened.

He would not let his wife down. He would not fail again.

Hello again! Sorry for the delay for this chapter! I’ll do my best to make sure it doesn’t happen again.

Once again, thank you to my lovely Betas, CloudyLightning and tiger002 for their help in making this chapter as great as it is! Truly, you would not have as enjoyable an experience reading this without their help!