Odd request, but man some fanart really sounds good right now...I don't know why I want some so much, I just...do. Thankfully I've already been notified that someone is creating a custom cover photo for this story and that it should be done by the end of the week...so there's that, at least. But seriously, I'm calling it out now, as this story progresses, feel free to give a quick sketch of your favorite ELaB moments or your favorite ships and email them to kingwykkyd . Hopefully, I get at least something! Anyway, enough advertisement, on with the story! Happy reading!

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Dwyer blocked a strike from Absalom, the force behind it strong enough to send him sliding back. The butler just managed to keep his balance, stumbling a little as he did so. He looked up and saw the hellish horse charging straight at him, its rider raising his levin sword high above his head. Dwyer gave a cry and dodge-rolled to the side, taking the chance to throw his silver dagger at the dark knight's direction. Without effort, Absalom parried away the dagger, charging at the butler once more.

Now without a weapon, Dwyer was forced to run. He looked towards the direction his dagger had landed, and with a burst of energy, he sprinted that way, the hellish horse right on his heels.

"Come here, little servant!" Absalom snarled from behind him. "I'm not letting you get away this time!

Dwyer rolled over his dagger, picking it up in his hand and jumping to avoid the swing of the levin sword. A sudden bolt of lightning grazed past his cheek, burning it and causing him to cry out in pain. He staggered up and prepared for the next phase of battle. Absalom stared at him through the dark slits of his mask, urging his horse to slowly circle around the boy.

"Did you really think you and your pathetic friends could hide from me, boy?!" he hissed. His horse snorted, black smoke shooting from its nostrils. Absalom laughed soullessly. "Boy, I will not show you what your master put me through all those months ago. I will kill all your friends, ONE by ONE, and I will force you to watch the blood drain from their paling bodies. Only then, will I kill you, but it will be a slow, drawn-out death."

Dwyer gulped and readied himself, holding his dagger in a defensive position. "I-I won't let you hurt them," he growled, narrowing his eyes.

Absalom grinned underneath his skull mask. "I already have..." he chuckled darkly, gesturing his sword behind him.

Dwyer peeked by the dark knight, and his eyes widened at what he saw. "Oh, gods..." he whimpered, dropping his dagger. "No...this can't be."

Rhajat was laying in a pool of blood.

"NO!" Dwyer cried, rushing past Absalom to the diviner's side. She was bleeding heavily from her side, and Dwyer pressed his hands against the gaping wounds in an attempt to stop the bleeding. "No, no..." he sobbed, tears cascading down his face. "Rhajat, wake up!"

"Too late, boy!" Absalom taunted from behind. "And she is only the first of many! They will all die because of YOU!"

"No, NOOO!" Dwyer screamed, looking around frantically. Bifrost! Where was Bifrost?! It was nowhere to be seen. Dwyer turned back to Rhajat, whose eyes were glassed over. Dwyer choked back a cry, and he weakly fell over the girl's body, holding her tightly and not giving a damn about the blood staining his clothes.

"Rhajat..." he whimpered. "Rhajat, Rhajat...RHAJAAAAAAT!"

"Dwyer, wake up!"

Dwyer's eyes shot wide open, and he threw himself out of his cot and onto the ground, clutching his chest tightly as he tried to control his frantic breathing. He felt bile rising from his throat, and he covered his mouth and forced himself to swallow it back in, grimacing at the taste. A soft hand began rubbing his back, and a gentle voice whispered into his ear, "Breathe, Dwyer, breathe...it was just a bad dream. You're okay."

Dwyer glanced behind him and was surprised to that Rhajat was the one comforting him, a look of worry across her pale features. Dwyer blinked, then looked around frantically. "Bifrost!" he demanded. "Where's Bifrost?!"

Confusion flashed by Rhajat's eyes. "Bifrost? You mean your new staff?" She pointed towards his cot. "It's right next to your bed, it's been there the whole time."

Dwyer took a deep breath and rubbed the sweat from his forehead. He turned back to Rhajat and raised an eyebrow. "What are you doing in my tent?" he asked.

The dark diviner frowned. "You were screaming my name like bloody murder," she explained, "you woke up half the camp. We thought we were being invaded."

Sure enough, Dwyer could see shadows outside his tent, as well as a crowd murmuring. The butler sighed and slumped his shoulders. "Sorry..." he apologized quietly. "I...I had a very bad nightmare. It seemed so real..."

Rhajat nodded in understanding. "I've been having nightmares lately as well," she admitted, still rubbing her friend's back. "Mostly about Absalom..."

"He...he was in the nightmare..." Dwyer ran his hands through his blonde hair frantically. "Gods, he...he killed you, Rhajat...I...I thought..." Tears began leaking from his eyes, and the urge to throw up again hit him like a wave as the images of Rhajat's corpse flashed through his head.

"Shhhh...it's okay..." Rhajat whispered into his ear, drawing him into a hug. "I'm still here, I'm safe thanks to you...you have nothing to worry about."

"..." Dwyer sniffled and wordlessly wrapped his arms around the diviner's waist, pulling her tightly against him. "I thought I lost you..." he choked out. "I thought I was going to lose everyone."

"You won't," Rhajat vowed. "It was just a nightmare, and I get it. You're still suffering trauma from the battle, we all are. But you'll get through this, this will all pass in time. I promise, Dwyer." She rubbed his back again and began whispering more words of comfort into his ear. Slowly, Dwyer's body began to relax, and he leaned into Rhajat more, thankful for the source of comfort.

"I'm just...worried, I guess," Dwyer admitted. "We may have beaten him, yes, but he's still out there somewhere...he's not just going to give up because of one loss, he's going to come back with a vengeance."

"I know," Rhajat nodded. "But that time, we weren't expecting it. This time will be different, we'll be ready."

"..." A sudden remembrance passed by the butler. "Do you think...Nina knows? How she's related to him?"

Rhajat shool her head. "No, and it may be for the best," she told him. "Nina...I don't think she would take the news well, there's a reason her mother never mentioned him in the first place."

Dwyer nodded in agreement. "Yeah, you're right..."

"So why were you worried about Bifrost?"

Dwyer sighed. "My father told me that the staff had a special power and that I'd use it when the time was right, because it could only be used once before destroying itself. In my dream...I tried to find it because I thought it could help you, but...I couldn't." He closed his eyes. "My father trusted me with an important Nohrian treasure, if I had lost it...I don't know what I would do."

Rhajat pulled the butler closer, now unwilling to let him go. "It must've been terrifying," she breathed out. "But, Dwyer...nothing bad will happen, I promise you. You may have lost Flora, but you still have us." She pulled away briefly and gave him a soft smile. "We're not going anywhere. We all love you, Dwyer, and we can all promise you that we won't let anything bad happen to us. Or to you."

Dwyer nodded slowly. "And I promise you the same," he told her, looking into her eyes. "I'll keep you guys safe, I won't let Absalom have his way."

"Now there's the butler we know and love," the diviner said with a smirk. She stood up and offered her hand to the butler. "Come on, let's get breakfast."

Dwyer took his friend's hand and allowed her to pull him up. The butler turned towards his cot, where his two staves laid. He took the moon festival and kept it at his side as Rhajat led him outside. It was early morning, the sky still a pale pink. The air was chilly, but not unbearable. Dwyer lightly shivered as the dark diviner led him through the gathering crowd, some of the soldiers shooting him agitated glances. Dwyer did his best to ignore them as he and Rhajat went towards the collection of firepits that made up the makeshift mess hall.

The army had been on the move for two days now, and thankfully there hadn't been a single word of Absalom. Still, Dwyer could tell that most of the army was on edge, not too keen with having another threat to deal with. On the way to one of the fires, the duo passed by Caeldori, who was having a conversation with Asugi. She briefly made eye contact with the butler, and then quickly looked away, turning her back towards him. Dwyer sighed and shook his head, wordlessly following Rhajat to the fire.

They sat down by one of the fires, with Selkie cooking some birds over the flames. On either side of her were Velouria and Midori, the young apothecary eagerly bouncing up and down. The kitsune girl flicked her ears and turned towards the newcomers, waving cheerfully.

"Morning!" she chirped.

"Morning," Rhajat and Dwyer both muttered.

Velouria looked carefully at Dwyer and wrapped her cape tighter around herself. "You gave us all quite the scare this morning," she told him, eyes filling with concern. "Was everything alright?"

Dwyer nodded. "Just a horrid nightmare," he said.

"Y'know, if sleep is the problem I have the perfect tonic for that!" Midori informed the butler, smiling at him gently.

Dwyer shook his head. "No thanks, though I appreciate the thought," he declined. "I think it was a one-time thing, shouldn't happen again."

Midori's cheeks puffed out adorably. "Poo..." she muttered. "And I just came up with it too, I need someone I can test it out on!"

"Then you can test it out on me," Sophie suddenly said, yawning as she approached the group. "Avel hasn't taken kindly to sleeping out in the open like this, he's been more antsy than usual." She plopped down next to Dwyer and shook her head. "I'm up all night trying to get him to calm down!"

"Well, maybe some delicious birdies will cheer you up!" Selkie suggested as she carefully removed the birds, setting each of them onto a large plate. "Breakfast is ready! Dig in, everyone!"

Everyone thanked Selkie for the food and took huge bites from their respective meats. However, instantly everyone save Velouria spat in disgust, gagging over their plates.

"It's hardly cooked at all!" Rhajat hissed, glaring daggers at Selkie. "Is this some kind of joke?!"

Selkie tilted her head curiously. "What are you talking about, dum-dum?"

"Yeah!" Velouria agreed as she pulled her bird away from her teeth. There was clearly blood staining her mouth. "It's delicious, you guys have no taste!"

Dwyer sighed and shook his head. "Just because you two love raw meat doesn't mean everyone else is the same," he reminded them as gently as he could. He turned to the human girls and offered them his plate. "Here, put them on here and I'll cook them for you."

The girls thanked him and placed their meat onto his plate. Dwyer sighed and quickly put them back over the fire. Midori watched him as he began cooking, and she lightly tapped his shoulder. "Say, Dwyer," she said, "how about after breakfast we go collect some herbs? I need to restock and it might help you get your mind off of things."

Dwyer tapped his chin and briefly pondered the idea before shrugging. "Sure, why not?" he agreed, smiling at the young apothecary. "I'd love to, Midori."

Midori grinned sweetly. "Great!" she cheered, and then turned to Sophie. "And I'll make sure to give you that tonic tonight, Sophie. Heck, maybe I'll make some for Avel too!"

"That'd be great!" Sophie tried to smile but another yawn took over. "Thanks, Midori, you're the best."

"Aww..." the young doctor blushed and looked away.

"Food's done," Dwyer announced, removing the birds and resetting everyone's plates. "There, it should be more well done."

Sophie was the first to take a bite, and she moaned in delight. "Delicious like always!" she praised. "Dwyer, you really gotta teach me some cooking tricks sometimes, okay?"

Dwyer gulped, not wanting to imagine what Sophie may come up with in the kitchen. "Sure," he finally said with a nervous smile. "Why not?"

The group ate their meal, laughing and enjoying each other's company all the while. Dwyer was grateful for a time like this, and he was able to put his nightmare in the back of his head for the time being. Finally, the group finished their meal and parted ways, save for Dwyer and Midori. The two smiled at each other and then set off towards the small patch of woods a mile away.

They worked their way through the woods in relative silence, picking up the odd root or mushroom here and there. Finally, Midori turned towards Dwyer and nodded. "Okay, that should be enough!" she chirped, setting her medicine trunk down. "Ah~ I need a quick break."

"Me too," Dwyer agreed as he sat down next to Midori. "Thanks for taking me," he added.

Midori rolled her eyes and scoffed. "It should be me thanking you," she said. "I'm not dumb, Dwyer, I know you typically don't enjoy herb-gathering. You do it just to please me."

"I-"

"And y'know what?" Midori giggled. "It's very sweet of you! It makes me so happy to know that you do this for me regardless of what you think!"

Dwyer patted Midori's shoulder. "I'll always be there whenever you need a partner to tag along." he promised.

Midori turned away and blushed, before sighing contently and leaning on Dwyer's shoulder, closing her eyes.

Dwyer raised an eyebrow. "Uh, Midori?" he began.

"Shush, you," the young apothecary cut him off. "I'm comfortable, and you still owe me for that scare you gave me during that faceless battle." She reached up and flicked the butler's nose. "Mister high-and-mighty, 'Who cares about injuries?'."

"Hehe...right, right," Dwyer nodded. "Sorry."

"Make it up to me by keeping me comfortable."

The butler rolled his eyes. "Who knew you could be so demanding?"

"My mom's a princess, y'know," Midori pointed out. "By technicality, I am too!"

Dwyer rolled his eyes a second time. "Another snarky royal, just my luck."

Midori hummed and nuzzled herself into his shoulder, breathing contently. "You're really warm, y'know that?"

Dwyer shrugged with his free shoulder. "If that's what you think..."

"It's what I know. Get it right."

"You're showing me a whole new side of you..." Dwyer smirked. "What happened to sweet, innocent Midori?"

The young apothecary looked up at him and winked, sticking her tongue out as she did so. "This is our little secret, okay?"

"Sounds good to me," Dwyer said, leaning back and closing his eyes. "Think we can catch a quick nap before heading back?"

"The army won't be leaving for another few hours," Midori answered. "I think we have time."

"That sounds like music to my ears." Dwyer sighed and soon enough, sleep overtook the two.

...

...

"Dwyer..."

Dwyer's eyes slowly opened, and he looked around to see he was in an unfamiliar forest. It took him a few moments to register how he ended up here, and he looked down to see Midori still resting on his shoulder. 'Oh yeah,' he thought, 'we were napping...I hope we weren't asleep too long.' He glanced up and saw the sky through the trees, and his eyes widened.

Thr sky was pitch black.

"What in the..." Dwyer rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn't seeing things. Yep, the sky was as black as coal. "But how?" the butler wondered aloud. "We couldn't have been asleep that long, could we?"

He glanced back down at the girl asleep on her shoulder and gently tried shaking her awake. "Midori, wake up," he whispered. "We have to go...Midori!"

Midori was motionless. Dwyer frowned as a ping of worry stabbed into his chest. "Midori..."

"Dwyer."

Dwyer's head shot up, and he looked around. "Who's there?" he called out into the surrounding darkness. There was no answer, and the surrounding temperature dropped harshly. It was now freezing! Dwyer shivered and his breath clouded around him. He looked down at Midori, who seemed entirely unaffected by the bitter cold. "Midori," he tried waking her up again. "We have to go, NOW!"

"You're not going anywhere, boy..."

Dwyer's blood froze as a familiar voice sounded from the trees behind him. He slowly turned around just in time to see a black horse with burning red eyes emerge from the darkness. It snorted, and smoke shot from its nostrils. On top of it sat a man with jagged armor, and a hideous skull mask covering his face. Dwyer watched in silent terror as the horse and its rider came closer, circling around him until they stood right in front of him and Midori.

"A-Absalom..." Dwyer gasped, instinctively drawing Midori closer towards him.

Absalom raised his hand for him to stop. "Fear not, she cannot be harmed here. Only you and I exist on this plane," he said.

"W-What are you talking about?" Dwyer asked suspiciously.

Absalom chuckled and removed his mask, allowing Dwyer to see his face once more. "Right now we exist in a realm that is not quite the astral plane and not quite the mortal world. Here is the plane where dreams exist."

"I'm dreaming again?"

The dark knight chuckled and shook his head. "Not quite," he said. "This is yet another one of my spells, one that allows me to visit others in their dreams." He pets his horse and cackled, eyes seeming to glow a bright gold. "Trust me, boy, I am ALL too real."

Dwyer stared at the dark knight for a few moments, before gasping. "Then...Then that nightmare-!"

"Was a warning," Absalom finished, eyes narrowing. "While I didn't really kill that Hoshidan wench, it was enough to give you a taste of what's to come." He unsheathed his levin sword and pointed it at the butler. "I will kill those you love, boy," he snarled, eyes shifting to Midori's still form. "Perhaps I'll start with her.."

"I won't let you hurt her!" Dwyer snapped, shooting up to his feet. "I'll protect her, I'll protect all of them from you!" He grinned tauntingly. "I already beat you once, I can beat you again!"

With almost blinding speed, Absalom was upon him, and Dwyer choked out a gasp as the levin sword impaled his body, sticking him into a tree. Dwyer gasped and coughed up blood, looking at Absalom with absolute terror in his eyes.

"I may not be able to kill you here..." the dark knight snarled, leaning in close to the butler. "But I can promise you your death will feel ten times as painful as this!" He twisted the levin sword and drove it deeper through Dwyer, causing him to scream in pain.

"W-Why...me?!" Dwyer hissed through his sobs. "Why are you doing this to me?! I thought it was Lord Corrin you were after!"

An armored fist crashed against his jaw, dazing him. "When the master suffers, so does the servant," Absalom growled. "To be bested by the likes of YOU?! I won't stand for it! Before I destroy that traitor's army, I want to watch the life drain from your eyes!" He leaned in close and whispered, "And I don't care who I have to kill to achieve that!"

Dwyer coughed and struggled to remove the levin sword to no avail. "W-What about Nina and Nyx?!" he barked at the dark knight. "They're your family! Don't you care about them?!"

"I have no family." Absalom replied, his voice as cool as ice. "If either of them come between you and me, I'll strike them down as if they were anyone else."

Absalom then looked up and sighed. "Time for you to wake up now, boy," he said, sounding disappointed. "A pity, I was looking forward to chatting with you some more." He yanked out the levin sword and watched Dwyer collapse onto the ground. "Believe me, boy, we will meet again here."

Dwyer's eyes shot open, and he immediately noticed that his chest felt like fire. Gasping for air, he tore his shirt open in a panic, only to see the skin completely untouched. He sighed and leaned back, trying to process everything that had just happened. Absalom had painted a target over the butler, and by extension all of his friends. Dwyer ran a hand through his blonde hair and noticed he was crying again. 'Dammit,' he thought. 'Dammit, dammit, dammit!'

He looked down at Midori, who stirred and scrunched her face up, before returning to her original position against his shoulder. Dwyer sighed and reached out to gently stroke the girl's hair. "I'll protect you," he whispered to her. "I won't let anything happen to any of you...I swear by the gods themselves."

...

Things are getting pretty serious, aren't they? Poor Dwyer...the guy really can't catch a break. Though, that's probably my fault lol

Anyway! I hope you guys enjoyed it! Be sure to reeeeally consider that fanart thing, I don't care if you're a shit artist or not, just let it all out! Don't forget to review (seriously guys pls review ;~;)! And remember, stay wykkyd!