Two more parties – Christmas with friends at Ciel's, and New Year's at the Midford Manor, both led by Lizzie and a group of friends with more than enough excitement in them – and then Edward's winter break was up, and he was returning to his school once more.

At the entrance of the manor, Edward stood, hat and travel clothes on. His family stood at the entrance to bid him goodbye. The marchioness wasn't as outward with her emotions as the other two were – Lizzie and the marquis was bawling – but even she looked more saddened than serious.

Sieglinde stood to the side, observing them from a bit afar as the marchioness departed last words of wisdom to Edward, who took them in like they were holy. "I know it's your last year, and studies will be harder than ever, especially because you're a prefect in charge of leading your house," she said, "but you must persevere. A man without knowledge is a brute, and a brute cannot be a proper gentleman, let alone a knight. To be a knight is to have purpose in swinging one's blade, and to know and understand the consequences of one's actions."

The marquis clapped his hand on Edward's shoulder. "I am so proud of you," he said, and his usually deep voice was throaty with tears. "We are so proud of you. It feels just like yesterday when I was holding you, a strong baby bawling in my arms, and now look at you, all grown up and in your final year at Weston. Your mother's right, as usual, Edward. A knight needs to know not only how, but when to use the blade."

Lizzie stopped her sobbing long enough to chip in. "And who to use it for," she said, sniffing and wiping away her tears with a cutely embroidered handkerchief. "Who to protect."

Edward nodded, and gave fierce hugs to each member of his family. He turned, and when he saw Sieglinde he paused before taking her hand and brushing his lips against its back.

Of course. Because she wasn't family.

He must have seen disappointment on her face when he straightened, because he gave a bit of a crooked smile – almost in resignation – before he gave her a hug as fierce as the one he'd given to his family. Startled and a bit taken aback, she didn't get a chance to return it before he withdrew his arms, but it had done its job. She felt more included, and a little bit happier.

"Study hard as well, Sieglinde," he told her. "Save people. Create magic."

He, like Lizzie, had been told about her background back when it was first arranged for her to stay with them for the indeterminate future. Not all of the details of her anomalous life, just the basic overview and a few points to be cautious with in order to avoid hurting her.

He knew, from talking to her, that she wanted to become a doctor, or a scientist that could save people. Create miracles with science. He witnessed her study hard, observed her sneak off with books and saw his parents look high and low for more materials to study from and experiment with.

She didn't believe in magic, not anymore, but she knew what he was talking about when he said that. "I will," she said, reinforcing her vow to help people. Then, in a moment of impulsiveness she added, "And I'll write you all about what I learn so you'll know just how well I'm doing in my studies."

He grinned. "I'll hold you to that," he said. "Take care of yourself, alright?"

She nodded. "Have fun." Sieglinde wasn't sure what exactly the school was like, but from the stories Edward had shared it had sounded like he liked the time he spent there. 'Have fun' seemed to be the most appropriate thing to say in this situation.

"I will," he promised. Then, it was time for him to get in the carriage that would take him to his boarding school. He got in, but stayed glued to the window waving at them. Likewise, Sieglinde and the Midfords stood at the front of the manor waving until they couldn't see the coach in the distance anymore. They stayed a little longer, standing outside and looking off into the direction the carriage had gone, almost afraid of breaking the silence that had settled over them.

The marquis broke it first, in the end. "Shall we see if the chef has something to snack on?" he asked, sweeping up Sieglinde and Lizzie in his arms. Both of them squealed a bit, but it was in joy, not pain.

"Your teeth will rot," the marchioness reprimanded, but she never actually forbade them. Smiling, she joined them in their march to the kitchen where the chef had slices of lemon cream cake waiting for the family.

Despite the sweet snack, the family was quieter than usual throughout the rest of the day. It was odd, since Edward wasn't exactly loud and overbearing in conversations, but his missing presence was sorely felt. It was a lot clearer especially to Sieglinde, now that she had gotten used to Edward actively interacting with her. Before, when they weren't really on speaking terms, she hadn't noticed his missing presence very much, but now, it was acutely clear.

After a dinner that felt empty, Sieglinde climbed the stairs by herself, feeling that her cane was inadequate in helping her walk, and tried to study with the latest book the marchioness had brought for her on world history. When she found herself reading the same line ten times, over and over again, without once remembering just what it was about, she gave up on it and went to bed in hopes of having sleep clear her head.

Unfortunately, her attempt to sleep didn't have the effect of clearing her head like she had hoped. Not only that, but she found herself tossing and turning until it was far past her usual bedtime.

Sieglinde gave up on sleep, and brought out a blank piece of paper and a pen to write with. I'm not exactly sure what you learn at your school, she began with after the customary 'Dear Edward', but I don't think it's as difficult as the things I learn. Is that why you never told me?

The words just came out of her pen like she was speaking them to him, in person. They were on paper and couldn't carry the teasing tone she was thinking of when she let the ink form the letters, but she wrote them down anyways. She wrote and wrote and wrote until her hand began to cramp and she began feeling tired, but she didn't stop until the paper was filled with her writing and she was signing her name on the bottom of the page. Satisfied, she put away her writing utensils and headed back to bed, leaving the letter to dry on the desk.

This time, sleep didn't evade her for long after she had crawled in between her sheets and laid her head down on the pillow. She dreamed of walking all by herself, without any help from anyone. Despite that, someone still walked next to her. Sieglinde didn't remember who that person was when she woke up the next morning.

an: originally this was one long chapter but I split it into two

an2: realized that Diedrich is actually Dee's first name whoops oh well? I'll change it when his last name comes out or something.

an3: we do not talk about the parties of Christmas and new years