Robin

The castle was a hive of activity the next morning. The air buzzed with excitement as the servants flitted about from room to room, their arms piled high with boxes of decorations. After breakfast, I stood just inside the entrance to the ballroom and watched them prepare for a while.

The walls were strung with bunting, and the tables and chairs that were dotted about were littered with rose-scented candles. At the centre of the room stood a potted tree, its branches bare of leaves and covered in hanging paper hearts. Apparently, it was tradition for everyone in each village, town, and city to hang a heart from one of their trees, and House of Ylisse had always liked to replicate it here.

Excitement briefly penetrated my nerves as I took it all in. The servants seemed to be enjoying themselves greatly as they decorated. Some hurried across the room to their own husbands, wives, boyfriends, and girlfriends when their supervisors weren't watching, and others tried to group together with their friends. All of them talked, laughed, and smiled as they worked. Love was in the air, and everyone who danced in this ballroom tonight would feel it, too.

I turned on my heel to go and almost slammed into Chrom's chest.

"Whoa, easy there," he said, placing a hand on my arm. "My apologies. I didn't intend to sneak up on you."

I smiled. "I can't believe that you did. I usually know when you're around. I suppose this beautiful ballroom was distracting me."

Chrom directed his gaze over my shoulder. His eyebrows lifted. "That's...much more decorative than I've ever seen it. I suppose everyone must be excited now that I finally have a partner to attend the ball with."

"You've never attended with anyone else?"

"No. I've never found anyone special enough. To me, Sir Amias' day is about more than people who are lovers. It's about people who are partners, who rule their lives together and pick each other up when they fall down. There has to be true friendship in the romance. You are my best friend as well as my fiancé." He reached into his pocket. "Which is why you're attending the ball with me, and why I need you to wear this."

His hand resurfaced, and he opened his palm. A small lever-lock key was sitting on his glove, the bow woven into the Ylissean crest. It had been threaded onto a thin chain that was joined with a clasp, and it looked to be about wrist size.

"Couples usually exchange keys on their first Sir Amias' Day," he said, "and our people will be expecting you to wear one this evening. It's meant to resemble –"

"– the unlocking of your heart," I finished. "Luckily for you, I read about that. And you know that you've unlocked my heart, too."

I opened my own palm to reveal a smaller, plainer key. It also had a chain, but this one was longer – perfect for Chrom to wear around his neck. It was usually acceptable for only the man to give a key to the woman, but we were equals here.

Chrom's eyes lit up, and he smiled at me as he lifted the necklace from my hand. "Thank you, Robin."

He put it on, then fastened the bracelet around my wrist. When I lowered my arm, the key fell forwards and rested against the back of my leather fingerless glove. I found myself idly noting that it would be a useful weapon to scrape someone's eyes out in a close-quarters attack. Then I mentally scolded myself. Did I really have to turn a romantic gesture into a tactical advantage?

But the bit of the key wasn't really...bit-shaped. It had been sharpened to a point.

I looked back up at Chrom in surprise.

His expression turned grave. "Just a bit of insurance. I know that you'll refuse to obey the rules and take your sword to the ball anyway, but in case anything goes awry with that plan, my mind will rest easier knowing you have this. Our high kidnapping rates are concerning me, as is your suspicion that the criminal in question is going to be here tonight."

I lifted my hand again and caught hold of his own, sparks flying across my skin with every finger we threaded together. "Thank you, but I promise that I'll be fine. Nothing worse than a few drunken guests exchanging harsh words is going to happen within these walls tonight."

❤ ❤ ❤

Late in the afternoon, I went to see the royal dressmakers so that they could sort my appearance for the ball.

They put me in my gown first. I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was rather plain, save for a bit of detailing around the neck and cuffs, and that it did nothing fancier than cut away from my shoulders and hang straight all the way to the floor. It was made of exquisite, deep red silk that floated around my feet and danced about my wrists, and it was even accompanied by a matching red leather leg strap for my sword.

To finish the outfit, Sumia had designed some lace gloves. All of the Shepherds knew that I hated to look at the strange mark on my hand, but at social gatherings it was especially important to cover it up. I certainly didn't want the nobility to catch sight of it and start spreading rumours.

By the time my hair had been piled on top of my head and a large smattering of powder, lip balm, and rouge had been applied, it was almost time to go.

The servants had only just put down their utensils when I heard Chrom knock on the door. Sumia went to answer it, and I took the opportunity to rub some of the rouge from my cheeks. Honestly, I didn't know why women wore make-up in such volume to events like this. In my opinion, it usually detracted from their beauty.

Sumia called for me, so I slipped my feet into my flat shoes and picked up my sword. I struggled for a moment to attach the sheath to the hangers of my leg strap, then hastily smoothed my skirts and ran to the door.

Chrom was standing in the hallway, looking especially breath-taking. He was wearing a finely embroidered jacket the same colour as my dress and a jewel-studded belt from which Falchion hung. Unlike me, he was allowed to be armed at this ball, but only because of his sword's legacy. It was meant to be nothing more than part of his outfit tonight. I knew that he would have felt vulnerable without it.

"You look beautiful, Robin," my prince said, taking my hand and kissing it.

I laughed. If Chrom was trying to be a gentleman tonight, then I supposed that I had better be a lady. I dropped into a curtsy, now smooth and flawless after a month of Maribelle's training. "And you look very handsome."

When I straightened back up, Chrom was blushing. I grinned. "Do you want me to say it again?"

Sumia cleared her throat behind me before I could embarrass my fiancé any further. "Shouldn't you be going, Captain, if you don't want to be late?"

"Indeed." Chrom took my hand and pulled me into the corridor. "Frederick's waiting for you near the ballroom, Sumia. You'd better get changed and make haste."

"Yes, Captain."

Chrom looked at me. "Come."

We hurried down the hallway. As we drew closer to the ballroom, the excited voices of our guests began to drift towards us. A shiver of nervous anticipation raced down my spine. It was time to put on my persona of the perfect princess.

The arrival was always the worst part, the part I tried to shut out. I'd attended a few small balls elsewhere in Ylisse already, but I still wasn't used to it. All those eyes on me as we descended into the ballroom made me shake, but I was glad that I didn't have to do it alone. Chrom gave my hand a reassuring squeeze before we started to move, and I focused on his touch all the way down the stairs.

Once we reached the bottom, some of the eyes drifted away again, while others fastened more firmly on us as their owners drifted closer.

I could see why Chrom was popular, of course, but it was puzzling that they always flocked to me regardless of whether I was alongside him or not. I couldn't understand it – I was nothing more than the woman who Chrom was in love with, and no matter how much they tried to suck up to me, I could offer them nothing. Perhaps they hoped that I would later discuss them with the prince himself, but we were usually so frustrated at the end of social gatherings that we were no-talking and all-action. The only words that would leave my lips in the depths of the night would be his name.

We stayed together for a while, but eventually different guests were attracting our attention, and we had to separate. I engaged in polite conversation for what felt like hours, allowing noble blabber to wash over me as our guests bragged about their land and welfare, each trying to outdo the last person who had spoken.

Eventually, I caught sight of Earl Mathis, Viscount Luther, and a young man who must have been Sir Arvo at the other end of the room with the Duke of Themis, and I excused myself from my present company. I didn't want Arvo to leave my line of sight, and the best way to ensure that didn't happen was to stay with him.

Mathis may have taken offence at my suggestions, but last night I had pinned up a map of Ylisse in Chrom's study and marked all the reported kidnappings on it with an x. As I had already observed, most of them were near Earl Mathis' estate, but what I hadn't noticed before was that they formed an almost perfect circle around it.

I'd considered that Mathis himself could have been a suspect and that the entire thing was just a set-up, but I felt that his sadness and concern were very much real. Right now, I could see the worry lines etched into his face as I drew closer and the circles beneath his eyes. Every smile he offered the Duke of Themis was forced and tight, the very notion that his mind could have focused on anything other than the disappearance of his daughter a lie.

I went through the formalities with them all when I reached them, then struggled to think up a topic of conversation that would be riveting enough to keep them with me all night. One didn't exactly spring to mind. Mathis barely engaged in my small talk, his eyes wandering the ballroom aimlessly. In the past few days, I had never seen him quite as lifeless as this. I supposed that the countless people offering their condolences as if his daughter was already dead was not helping.

I barely managed to entertain them for five minutes. Then Mathis was off towards one of the small tables, claiming that he needed some time alone, and, damn it, Arvo and Luther went with him.

I excused myself from the Duke of Themis and started to subtly follow, but I was very quickly swallowed in conversation again by the people around me.

It took almost an hour to free myself and locate the suspect once more. He was still sitting with Earl Mathis, consoling him with a worried expression. The third seat at their table was empty.

I turned in a small circle, scanning the room. Where was Viscount Luther?

People bumped into me as they danced by, casting me curious glances while I hovered in their way. I tried to block them all out, searching for a tall man who was handsome and hard-jawed.

When I eventually caught sight of him, he was attempting to dance with a young lady. She was a giggling mess in his arms, barely able to keep herself upright. An empty wine glass hung from her fingers.

Luther was looking down at her like he'd caught a prize. His gaze was malicious, and his arms were around her so tightly that I doubted she would be able to pull away.

I frowned, moving closer. A very drunk woman would be an easy target for a kidnapper, and the way that Luther was watching her was horrifying.

Perhaps I'd been barking up the wrong tree in assuming Sir Arvo was our primary suspect. Perhaps the kidnapper wasn't the man with the smallest house and the greatest need of coin. Perhaps he was the man with the biggest house to hide people in.

I was so deep in thought that I didn't realise I was staring until it was too late. Luther looked up as if he could feel my gaze, and his expression darkened as his eyes settled on me. For a long moment, we stared each other down.

He slowly ran his eyes over my body as if he was investigating something for sale. He lifted his gaze back to mine and gave wicked sneer, then softened his features into those of a normal man and vanished.

I blinked in surprise. Only a small swish of his cloak out of the corner of my eye told me that he had walked and not teleported.

The woman he'd been dancing with staggered, her drooping eyelids lifting in surprise. Thankfully, another man caught her arm before she could fall down and took Luther's place as her partner.

I shook my head in a daze and turned on my heel to see if I could locate the viscount again.

I found him standing right behind me.