Chapter 21: Chapter 19: Robin – Amends

Nine days had passed since they left and we still had no news of Naomi, Fate or Carver. I was pacing the throne room and reviewing my strategy over and over, trying to find any flaws that should be fixed. The entire kingdom had been under attack, and each day the enemy's numbers increased; they had become so numerous that two different districts had to be completely evacuated. I had spent every waking hour of every day shuffling troops around, covering our weaknesses, taking the safest strategies and doing what I could to keep everything organized. After over a week of attacks, however, the guards and knights were getting exhausted. There was barely any time for rest.

I had slept at most two, maybe three hours each day since the attacks intensified on the fourth night. I was exhausted and running on stamina potions, but there was nothing else anyone could do but wait for Naomi's party to return. My mind wandered to their safety, especially hers. I regretted not kissing her goodbye before she left, even feeling angry for not having fully moved on yet. Even though we had shared such an intimate moment when bathing together, something about a kiss in that situation felt much more important. But surely I would get a second chance once she was back. Surely.

I could tell the other guards in the room were getting anxious at my endless pacing, or at least my tired brain made me think they were. I decided to patrol the gardens instead, and check in on my queen. The smell of roses always calmed me down during such times, and I desperately needed such familiarity at the moment.

The fake sky above was just as beautiful as the real thing, and the warmth of its sun was just as good. I took my time walking through the garden, looking at the flowers and butterflies, and finally found Sky within. She was kneeling with her back turned to me, staring at the ground. I picked up my pace, not wanting to scare her with my presence.

"My lady." I said while kneeling by her side. "You shouldn't be here by yourself."

"Robin." She was startled even after my noisy approach. "I... I'm sorry, I wanted a clear head before heading out."

"Heading out? Please don't tell me you're-"

"I'm going to fight. I have to, I'm supposed to protect these people!"

"And what happens to this place if you die? If your magic dissipates, 'these people' will have nothing!"

"If I don't act then I'll die anyway! At least if I'm out there we have a better chance!"

"Sky, I-" I stopped myself and took a second to think about my next words. "Your highness. What is safer for you is safer for your kingdom. If you go out there, not only can you get killed but people are going to notice."

"Notice what?" She glared at me, her eyes filled with more guilt than anger.

"You know exactly what."

"Maybe..." She sighed and pulled a petal from a rose. "Maybe it's time for them to know. I can't lie forever."

"My lady-"

"I lied to Naomi, Robin!" She shouted, losing her composure for the first time in decades. "What kind of queen does that?!"

"We're telling her eventually, all of them!"

"We promised there would be no more secrets!" A light began to form behind her.

"She was the person who came up with this protocol in the first place, she'll understand. This is different."

Before the light continued to take shape, I held her tight. She hugged me back and the light faded as she calmed down. I tried to give her a reassuring smile, and offered my hand to help her up. She took my offer, and once again stood in the middle of the garden.

"I'm sorry." She turned her gaze away from me, ashamed. "I should know better at this point."

I couldn't find the right words to say to her, and ultimately the silence ended up speaking for me. Neither of us spoke until we heard movement from somewhere within the field. I unsheathed my blade and turned to the source of the sound, only to find an unfamiliar woman lying within the roses.

I approached her with caution, trying to get a good look. She seemed to have just regained consciousness, and was in the process of sitting up when she finally noticed me. Her lack of clothes and any visible scars implied she had just arrived in the garden. Her long, red hair glistened in the artificial sunlight, parted by two small horns into bangs that covered her forehead. A pair of cow ears twitched on top of her head with each step I took.

"Robin..." She grasped her head and made a pained expression. "Can you help me up?" She said in a tired voice.

"Wait, who-" When the woman turned her head, I was finally able to see a mark on her neck. "Wait, Carver?"

"Yeah, that's me. I'm a woman now, it's a long story..." She chuckled, then sighed heavily. "Dying really sucks."

"Are you alright? Other than the... death?" I examined her mark, which was now complete, and looked over her body to make sure she was well. "What happened to you? And what about the others?"

"Robin..." Sky said from behind me, still standing on the same spot as before. "Maybe we should take her to the infirmary before asking further questions?"

"Right."

I picked Carver up as carefully as I could. She felt cold to the touch and her face was pale. She held onto me without much strength, and breathed heavily as I walked with her. Much like the first time Naomi had died, the experience had probably taken a toll on her soul and mind, and she desperately needed the attention of healers and doctors. Every so often she would whisper a "thank you" here and a "sorry for the trouble" there. When our eyes met, I saw only gratitude and relief.

We walked into the infirmary and I laid her down on an empty bed. Most of the wounded had to be treated on the spot, outside of the castle, and so there was plenty of space for her. Dane quickly arrived with potions and scrolls for our aching friend, and started the treatment then and there.

"I did all I could." Carver was conflicted as she spoke. "I tried to heal her, and I think... I think it worked. I heard a heartbeat."

"Carv, what are you talking about?" I squeezed her hand. "What happened out there?"

"We got ambushed..." She continued, pausing a few times to drink the potions given to her. "They took us somewhere, and wanted Fate as a vessel..."

"Who did?"

"The last queen..." The woman's words made Sky extremely anxious. "And that demon. We got stabbed... I tried to rescue Nay, and I just... I hope it worked."

"You're not sure?"

"Again, I know I heard her heartbeat... But she was so weak, I..." She looked at me with fear in her eyes. "Robin, what do we do?"

I couldn't answer her immediately. For a moment my legs were close to buckling, my stomach churned and everything around me was spinning. I tried to keep my composure, but was betrayed by my own voice. Trembling and afraid, I tried to respond.

"I- We have to defend the castle." I cleared my throat, slowed my breath and tried to ground myself. "We have to make sure the place is safe for when-"

The doors to the infirmary burst open, and one of the new guards came running in. He was out of breath and clearly distressed, speaking complete gibberish.

"Calm down, man." I held him tightly by the shoulders. "What is the problem?"

"T-the demons! They're- They're advancing." He finally got a hold of himself, straightening his posture and giving me a quick, half-hearted salute. "We need all the hands we can get."

"I'm going too!" Carver jumped from her bed as if she hadn't died recently.

"No, you're not." Dane spoke up, holding her by the arm. "You have to rest."

"Stay, please." I pleaded with her. She opened her mouth to protest but light-headedness got to her first, and she fell back onto the bed.

"F-fine. But if you die out there, I'm-" She stopped to think of what to say next. "Pretend... Pretend I said something witty there." She only managed to get those few words out before losing consciousness again.

I sprinted out of the infirmary, dodging the guards in the halls. As I got closer to the front doors of the castle I could hear fighting, screaming and demonic roaring. In mere moments they had infiltrated our defenses, having somehow gotten past the rest of the territory undetected. We had run out of time, and they were at our doorstep. I ran through one of the side doors and took a few seconds to evaluate the battlefield.

Our troops had been taken unaware, and the demons flooding from the portals were easily walking over each soldier. The ones that still stood a chance were overwhelmed by sheer numbers. No preparations for the fight could have saved us from the sheer size of their army, and all we could do was to stand our ground. A storm raged on, its thunders turning an already chaotic battlefield into absolute pandemonium. I unsheathed my sword and ran towards the battle.

I ran in a straight line to the first guard I saw. He was locked in battle with a flying creature that was intent on pecking out his eyes. It was nearly his own size, and I arrived just in time to cut it out of the sky. With one swing the wretched being had lost a wing, in the next it was its head. They were weak, but the swarm that circled the skies above would prove a threat. They seemed to revel in the storm, not hindered in any way by the water or winds.

After making sure the man I had saved wouldn't die on me, I kept going. I ran through the perimeter, stabbing, striking and slashing at anything that moved. I focused on lessening the burden of our own, trying to give each of them a chance. Another guard saved, another demon with a hole through his chest, another struggling ally spotted. Rinse and repeat.

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The rain washed away the blood of demons and allies alike, and due to the adrenaline I couldn't be sure whether I had been hit or not. I kept running, even as my lungs started to burn and my muscles begged for rest there was nothing else I could do. My lack of sleep and the stress of the past week were getting to me, though, and I got too reckless. In the middle of another clash, one of the flying demons got a jump on me. It stuck its beak into a weak spot in my armor, and I heard one of my ribs snapping. It sank its full weight into me, knocking me to the ground.

A bright flash forcefully pushed the demon away from me, and a glistening arrow quickly followed to finish it off. I knew exactly what had happened, and as I got up I turned to face her.

"Sky. You can't-"

"Robin." The queen stood before me, a fox's tail made of light swaying from side to side behind her. Her ears perked up and she lifted her bow once again. "The time for secrecy is over. I can't stand by and watch you all die. Now get up and fight."

I did as she ordered, and tried to ignore the excruciating pain for the time being. I'd deal with the side effects later. The fighting went on, and I rushed to defend as many people as I could. I took more hits along the way, and though none were as deep as the first, the wounds were severely slowing me down. The rest of the fighters were retreating, too hurt to continue fighting, and I was left in the middle of the horde. Demons surrounded me from all sides, and I barely had the strength to lift up my sword. Arrows were taking out foes left and right, but there were way too many. One of them was fast enough to reach me, and I was powerless to stop it as it lifted its sword, ready to strike me down.

Before the humanoid abomination could deal the final blow, something grabbed it from behind. Claws tore at its throat and pulled with all their strength. Within moments, its head had been severed, and it fell to the ground, lifeless. Standing in front of me, covered in blood and looking angrier than ever, was the demoness herself. The very same that had attacked Carver in the basement previously. She threw a healing potion at my feet and the decapitated head towards the oncoming enemies.

"Drink, get up and fight." She growled, taking a stand in front of me as I opened the bottle.

"Why would you ever help me?" I asked in confusion.

"They killed her. The only person I ever gave a shit about, they fucking killed her." I refused to believe her words, but her grief was genuine. "And I gave her to them in a godsdamned silver platter."

"Carver helped her, she has to have survived." I finished the potion, got back up and got back to the fight.

"Cling to false hope, if you will. I'm just here to be a nuisance to that piece of shit."

For at least another hour, all I did was fight. The healing potion gave me a second wind, and I used it to keep the demons as far from the castle as possible. Dozens, maybe even hundreds of them fell, leaving the battlefield scattered with bodies and soaked in blood, and I had to be careful not to trip over the corpses. With every moment, however, I could feel the weariness return, and it reminded me I was running on borrowed time. I looked to my enemy-turned-ally and saw her in a similar position. Her body was covered in deep cuts and bruises, both new and old. She looked exhausted beyond belief, and the loss of speed in her attacks had to be made up for in sheer brutality.

Another hour passed, and I could barely feel my limbs. I could no longer count how many demons had been slain in battle. We luckily had bought enough time for some guards to recover, and they came to our aid with bows and arrows, following Sky's example. Her light continued to guide me in battle, but I feared it would not be enough. The demoness fell to her knees, and I rushed to her side to protect her. I felt as if I stopped moving for even a second I would collapse, and all that kept me going was the thought that Naomi could still be alive. I refused to believe otherwise.

It was then that I heard a thunder so loud, I thought the earth itself would split apart. The galloping hooves were followed by a familiar war cry. The clouds parted and the rain stopped, and in a moment the tide of battle was turned. A light as bright as the sun itself shone in the sky, its source being an armored group of knights on horses rushing towards the castle. Leading them was a figure I knew all too well, in an armor I thought I would never see again. Her sword lifted in the air, reflecting the holy light cast by the paladins behind her. For a few moments I was convinced I was dreaming or hallucinating in some way, but as the demons rushed back through the portals before they closed, and the ones that remained burned to a crisp, I couldn't hold back tears of joy.

"Thank the hells." The demoness, somehow unaffected by the holy magics, let out a sigh of relief. "The bitch had me worried for nothing." She let herself fall to the ground, breathing heavily.

The knights approached me and started to chant, their leader paid no attention to anything else around us. She walked to me and took off her helm, greeting me with a smile.

"I guess we both kept our promises." She said, as though she hadn't ever left.

"Carver told me- I thought you-"

"Carver is here?! Oh, thank fuck." Her calm demeanor quickly gave way to overwhelming relief. "Everyone is... Everyone is alright! You, Carv, Sky."

"Naomi. I'm sorry." She looked confused at my words. "I'm so sorry about everything. This whole thing is my fault, before you came back I got complacent, and when you did I was too angry to do my job. I hurt you, I hurt the kingdom and I'm so, so sorry."

"Robin." She gave me a stern look and placed her hand on my shoulder. "You apologized already. It's okay. And you can't claim that all of this is your doing."

"Well, I-"

"But if you're truly set on making things right... There is one thing you can do."

She pulled me in close to her, holding my hip in one hand and my face in the other. I closed my eyes as our lips met and once again hoped with all my heart that it wasn't a dream. I made the moment last as long as it could, and for just a few seconds I could set aside the setting we were in. She hugged me tightly afterwards, and I returned it with whatever strength I had left.

"If you really want forgiveness... You're going to have to let me carry you to the infirmary."

"Only this time." I let out a light chuckle, a sharp pain in my side keeping me from doing much more. "I have an image to keep around here."

"Good." She looked to the demoness lying on the floor as one of the paladins looked over her. "Keep an eye on that one but make sure she recovers. We've got questions that need answers."

"Understood, ma'am!" The man picked her up carefully and started making his way to the castle.

"Shall we?" Naomi quickly swept me off my feet to carry me back. Just this once, I completely gave control over to her.

We made our way through the halls, the guards and soldiers celebrating a well-earned victory. Sky walked closely behind us, not saying a word. I was now in the same position Carver was not too long ago, and I found myself worrying for her health once again.

---

Naomi sat between my and Carver's beds as she told me her tale. Periodically she would look back at her sleeping partner, doubtless hoping she would wake up soon. Fate aided Dane as well as she could with the patients, which sped things up considerably. Once my knight's story was done, she reached into her bag.

"And uh..." She hesitated. "This is the letter. I didn't read it, of course. For privacy."

"It's your own letter, Nay." I chuckled, the pain having subsided enough for me to do so.

"I'm not who she was, I don't have those memories." She sighed. "The woman I used to be is dead."

"You're not that much different from her." I failed at hiding my grief. "But you're right. I know that. And I'm... Not ready to read this yet."

"Take your time." She squeezed my hand.

"I'm happy that at the very least we're together again. Thank you for keeping your word."

"I'm here for good this time." Her smile brought me back to the present. "Oh, and about that... Proposition." She blushed, poorly attempting to hide it by turning away.

"The open relationship thing? The answer is yes, of course. Are those not common in the Other World?"

"Not really, no. It's not unheard of, but definitely not the norm."

"Well, don't expect me to go any easier on you during training. If anything, it'll only get tougher from now on." I half-joked.

"I sure hope so." Her eyes glistened at the challenge. "I have to catch back up to my prime somehow!"

"Once I'm out of here, I just... Want to spend some time with you. Before you go off on another mission."

"Of course. For now though, you and Carver have to rest." She leaned in close and kissed me once again.

"I do want to talk to you when you can, Naomi." There was a sadness in the queen's voice. "There's a lot I need to say."

"Right." The knight got back up and walked to Sky. "I'll be back once this is done, Robin."

"No problem."

Both of them left the room, and I closed my eyes to rest. The kingdom would be protected, everyone had returned safely, and we had somehow navigated the attack with minimum losses. I fell asleep almost instantly, ready for the best and longest night of sleep of my life, possibly.

For once, I was actually excited for the future.

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