Edelgard found this rather hard to believe. She sat in the Dining Hall, Hubert at her side as always, looking over documents. They were written in the most immaculate handwriting she'd ever seen, and they claimed that, in order to build a friendship, that Count Varley had betrothed his daughter, Bernadetta, to the Crown Prince of Faerghus.
"What should we do with this information, Lady Edelgard?" Hubert asked, and she furrowed her brow. This couldn't be real, could it? The documents appeared immaculate, and everything from the spacing of the words to the signatures and Crests stamped on it seemed legit. "Figure out if this is fake. Send a messenger to Count Varley." she said, and he nodded.
"What about our other endeavor? It is clear that Bernadetta is withholding information pertaining to the Professor of the Blue Lions." he inquired, and she shook her head. "We'll have to lay off until we can discern the legitimacy of these documents. Just… make sure we can keep an eye on her." he said, and Hubert nodded, off to comply with his Master's bidding.
Edelgard found everything incredibly suspicious. First, Professor Cetanu returns and magickally cures not only a deathly illness, but mends a missing arm. Then, Bernadetta is sworn to silence after witnessing… something. And now, with the Sword of the Creator on his hip, Cetanu seemed to be unstoppable. She clenched her fists, remembering her humiliating defeat at the mock battle.
The other thing that disturbed her was that one of his own students, Ingrid of House Galatea, had joined the Black Eagles out of what appeared to be fear. She witnessed something in the Holy Tomb, and it was too much for her. Edelgard would have to find out exactly what that was.
With the sun beginning it's descent in the sky, and the day of training drills and a lesson into the history of varying small villages, as told by Cetanu from his time traveling to them, behind them, the Lions chose to relax. To go along with their ruse, Bernadetta strolled about aimlessly, following Dimitri without a word.
"You don't have to seem so uncomfortable around me, Bernadetta. I promise you that I'm not that bad." Dimitri said, and Bernadetta looked to his flawless skin and smiling face. She wondered if this was infact real. Even if it was a ruse, a lie, a falsehood, she was spending time with a Prince. She felt like she didn't really deserve this, and she wished that she could enjoy it more.
"S-s-sorry. I'm just… not used to attention." she said, and Dimitri nodded. "That's alright. I am here to listen you know. I'm sure that I can at least hold a conversation with you." he said, the two sitting down at the dining hall.
"It's just… I'm really scared that this won't work. Hubert and Edelgard aren't stupid! They'll find out and then..." she trailed off, quivering with her hands balled in her lap. Dimitri leaned over the table and placed a soft hand on the girl's small shoulder. She blinked, looking to Dimitri.
"I promise that I'll do whatever I can to keep you safe. Edelgard isn't going to be hurting anyone." he said, and his sincere tone, his determined eyes and slightly furrowed brow made her believe him. She whimpered, nodding slightly. "I just wish I wouldn't have gotten put into this mess." she said, and Dimitri chuckled.
"I'm sure neither Ashe or the Professor intended it as such." he said, and she looked to him. Wait a second… "You… you know?" she asked, and he nodded. Dimitri tilted his head, pulling the collar of his elaborate black and blue uniform down, showing Bernadetta a pair of healed bitemarks on his neck. Bernadetta gasped.
"Oh my god… Did… did it hurt?" she asked, and he shook his head. Dimitri was glad to get the girl engaged in some kind of conversation, as she was rather reserved. "Not at all. It was a blur for me, really. One second I was talking to Ashe and the next he… well, I'm sure you know the rest." he said, a light red dusting of color crossing his face.
Bernadetta nodded. "It's so weird to watch. It's like he's… seducing people. I'm sure he's not like that so how is he so good at it?" she asked, and Dimitri furrowed his brow. How was his fellow Kingdom warrior s good at it? Dimitri tried to push it out of his mind, but he could still remember Ashe sitting on his lap and biting his neck.
"M-maybe it's something that come's with the territory." Dimitri said, coughing awkwardly after jumbling his words. Bernadetta was surprised at this. Even Dimitri, the stalwart warrior Prince of Faerghus, could be reduced to a stuttering, blushing mess by something like this.
"Getting along I hope?" they heard, seeing Cetanu walk by, waving to him, the former mercenary engaged in a conversation with Samyaza. It was odd to see the demon with only Samyaza. Dimitri didn't like it, but Bernadetta found it incredibly frightening that he was able to walk about in broad daylight so causally.
"You know… you aren't the only one." Bernadetta said to catch Dimitri's attention. She pushed her fluffy hair away from her ears and neck, a pair of larger bite marks on her neck. "Those are… big." he said, and Bernadetta nodded.
"He scares me. I don't understand why he's trying to help me avoid Edelgard after he..." she trailed off. Dimitri wished he had an answer, but he found it incredibly hard to get a read on Cetanu anymore. No matter how much more expressive he grew, in the end, he was still the same poker faced monster that scared him that night so long ago.
"What's your endgame here, Cet?" Samyaza asked as the pair walked the halls with no clear destination. Cetanu looked to Samyaza. Amongst all of his brothers in arms, Samyaza was always the one that saw through him. Even Abaddon chose to keep his distance when it came to some things. Not the Wyvern Lord. His serpentine features didn't help his case either. Cetanu sighed.
"I want to see if simply feeding from someone has any adverse physical effects. You see, neither Dimitri or Bernadetta have shown any changes from us feeding. However, I have experienced a change from the feeding." he said, and Samyaza rose a brow.
Cetanu held up his hand, a familiar red glow that all of the mercenaries knew. It was one of the signs of their elite, a small spell that manifests the user's crest, like a magickal flying of a flag. Samyaza frowned when he looked to Cetanu's hand.
Because, in the center of the spell was the Crest of Flames. However, there was something else. There were two Crests orbiting Cetanu's natural born Crest. The Crest of Indech, and the Crest of Macuil. Samyaza knew one thing about both of those Crests.
"Those are the Crests of the people you've fed from." he said, and Cetanu nodded. "If Ashe has the same ability to manifest a Crest by feeding, than he'd have the Crest of Flames and the Crest of Bladdiyd. I'm just studying things Samyaza." he said, and the Wyvern Lord frowned.
"That girl is very vulnerable and weak. I just think you're exploiting her to have another source of Crest bearing blood now that Ingrid fled from you." he said, and Cetanu glanced to the floor. How much of what Samyaza said was true. "Samyaza, what are your goals? You seem rather invested in Bernadetta." he asked, and the serpentine man frowned, scoffing.
"I just want to protect her from that Hubert runt. House Vestra is a despicable cult of cuckolds that live and die at the whims of the Emperor." he said, and Cetanu narrowed his eyes. Samyaza didn't talk to him much, but he could tell that there was some unfinished business there. "Just do me a favor and play it cool for a while. If Hubert becomes too much of a problem to any of us, I'll let you know." he said, and the man sighed, shaking his head and scratching his hair.
"Whatever. I just don't want to see this blow up in your face, Cetanu. Be cool about it." he said, and the ebon merc nodded as his friend walked off. Samyaza was an odd one, like most of the 'Sins', but Cetanu understood him to a degree. No matter how evil he looked, he still had a good heart.
Later, with the sky painted with stars, Ashe remained at the training ground, practicing everything he'd been taught by Cetanu. He didn't feed today, and he could tell that he was getting ever so slightly agitated. He needed to control himself better, and whether it was his age, inexperience or something else, it was quite the struggle.
"You alright Ashe?" he heard, turning to see Sylvain, who looked rather bummed. He likely lost a girl because of something that was likely his own fault.
He's wide open, and healthy.
Ashe shook his head. He hated hearing that voice. It sounded like him, but he knew it was the Beast within him. The monster that fueled his very being. Ashe nodded to Sylvain, jabbing his sword into the ground, a habit he picked up training with Cetanu. "I am. Thanks. How are you faring?" he asked, and Sylvain sighed.
"Another girl got away. She was pretty mad cuz she saw me with another girl, but I never said that I was a one woman man." he said, something between a smirk and a frown on his face.
He is pretty good looking… look at how flawless his skin is.
Ashe shook his head slightly. The voice in his head was indiscriminate. He remembered what he did to Dimitri, and he wouldn't have it happen again. "Most people are accustomed to something like that Sylvain. Not every woman wants to just be a passing fancy. Perhaps that's why you have so many love problems." he said.
Sylvain frowned, shaking his head. "I knew you wouldn't get it. She was just being unreasonable. We coulda talked it out but she decided to just slap me and yell at me." he said, and Ashe tried to bite his tongue. Sylvain did cause his own problems, but at the same time, perhaps there was a deeper reason for his actions.
Don't you wonder what all of those girls are so enthralled with? I bet it's that sweet, sweet Crest bearing blood.
Ashe found it very hard to resist. Ever since he changed, Ashe was able to see things in a different light. And in the moonlight, the columns of the training grounds and the starlit sky as a backdrop, Ashe realized that Sylvain looked good. Very good. He glanced away from Ashe and scratched his head, and Ashe saw his neck. His mouth began to feel heavy, and the voice only laughed.
"Perhaps your problem comes from the fact that you're chasing random girls. Have you ever considered older women, or even other guys?" Ashe inquired, the words sounding unusual coming from his lips.
Sylvain looked to him, and it was a weird look. "Are you sure you're feeling okay?" he asked, and Ashe smiled. This was different however. It wasn't a reassuring smile that would set your fears to rest. This was a seductive smile. A foul look that belonged on a monster, not a man.
"I'm sure I'm okay. I don't think I can even come down with anything." he said, feeling his forehead and cracking his neck. Sylvain walked over to him and felt his forehead too, the Beast within in complete control.
Ashe grabbed Sylvain's wrist and pulled him closer, locking his arms around Sylvain's waist. "What about you? Did that girl hurt your feelings?" he asked, his tone light, playful. Sylvain nodded a little, usable to really move with Ashe's arms around his waist. "Come here… let me make it better." he said, and Sylvain simply allowed himself to be controlled. He leaned down and went to kiss Ashe, his mind clouded by whatever otherworldly pull Ashe had over him.
Ashe again grabbed a fistful of hair, his teeth latching onto Sylvain, who immediately snapped out of it and froze up. If he struggled, would his neck be torn open? He soon began to feel funny, like someone used a sleeping spell on him, his knees buckling as Ashe fed, one hand fisted in his hair and the other on the small of his back.
Ashe let Sylvain go, his classmate dropping to the ground dazed and confused. Ashe panted, his body feeling electric, his appetite sated. Sylvain passed out within seconds, and by time Ashe was back in full control of his body and mind, tears were already pouring down his face. He wasn't in control anymore. He needed help, and he needed it bad.