An Unlikely Duo
By Cody Guli
Marianne and Bernadetta…one's a shy girl, one is an introvert. While they have no in-game supports sadly, I still think they could make a GREAT pair!
So I decided to take a break from my Journal of Renault series to write a short one-off fanfic about these two (speaking of which, Chapter 4 of that series is out now, so check it out). This came after I ran a Twitter poll that only got two votes (R.I.P. me) and decided "People voted for a Marianne/Bernadetta fanfic and a Lysithea/Hilda fanfic so SCREW IT I'LL DO BOTH!", and now I'm doing both. Here's the first, hope you enjoy!
A warm spring breeze, paired with the shimmering mid-morning sun, was just enough to get Bernadetta out of her room. Although she would shy away from every person that came near her, many people were surprised to see her finally outside. Some of her classmates began whispering amongst each other about what could have happened for her to do so. Some pointed to Byleth as the reason for this newfound behavior of hers; after all it was him who ushered her out for a day outside walking around Garreg Mach. Some people thought Edelgard, the heir to the Adrestian Empire's throne and leader of the Black Eagles house, had forced her into getting outside more as she claimed to Bernadetta that staying inside all day "is not a healthy pastime for a member of the Black Eagles, or anybody, to indulge in". Either way, Bernadetta kept ducking out of sight whenever she saw someone until she reached the stables. There she looked around for any signs of people and, when the coast was clear, quietly slipped inside. She walked over to one of the horses, a stocky horse named Dorte, and extended a hand cautiously to pet its mane. She began to feel much calmer than before. The soft hairs on Dorte began to rustle lightly with the wind, and Bernadetta's touch caused him to stir and grunt softly. For once the Black Eagles introvert, quite possibly the shyest student and easiest to scare at Garreg Mach, tuned out the outside world and focused on stroking the bulky steed. Their breaths became in tune, and she smiled contently at the fact that nothing in the world could ruin the tranquility that she was experiencing now. Well, nothing but…
"Oh, hello there," said a voice from behind Bernadetta softly.
Poor Bernie shrieked loudly, causing Dorte to cry out and raise his front legs. As she ran behind a stack of hay bales, the mare slammed its hooves into the earth with a mighty thud.
The source of the voice was none other than Marianne, who rushed to Dorte's side and soothed him gently. When the great stallion calmed down, she turned her attention over to the hay bales and over to a cowering Bernadetta, who was shaking in fright and attempting to hide. When Marianne saw her, she shrieked once more. "N-No! P-Please, don't kill me! I'm too young to die!"
"It's okay," Marianne said calmly. "I won't hurt you. I'm sorry if I scared you. I swear I didn't mean to." She extended a hand out to the young Eagle to help her up, but poor Bernie kept avoiding it. "My name is Marianne von Edmund, from the Golden Deer house. You must be Bernadetta," Marianne said with a smile.
"H-How would you know my name?" Bernadetta shuddered, not at all fazed by Marianne's act of generosity. "H-Have you been spying on me?"
"No, I-"
"W-What are you planning to do with me? Bring me back to the Golden Deer and have your leader kill me?"
"No! I wouldn't-"
"D-Don't touch me! I'll scream!"
"Bernadetta, please!" Marianne began losing her patience, something that was rare of her to do. In fact, it was rare of her to talk to anyone aside from people like Claude or Hilda or Ignatz. Because of this, many people (including those inside the Golden Deer house and out) don't really know much about her character. The only thing people knew about her was that she would rarely, if ever, get impatient, but this time was different. For the first time in her life, she felt like she was going to burst. Instead, Marianne sighed and regained her composure.
"I won't hurt you, and I'm sorry I scared you," Marianne repeated, eyes glistening with purity and honesty. "I noticed that Dorte has taken a liking to you. He's a very sweet horse, isn't he?" Bernadetta, still anxious and afraid, nodded slightly. "Would you like to pet him again to calm you down?"
"Y-You wouldn't mind that?" Bernadetta said with a whisper.
"Of course I wouldn't."
Slowly and carefully, Bernadetta stood up and shuffled over to Dorte, who was relaxed once more. The horse turned its head to face the two Officers' Academy students and exhaled loudly. Bernadetta stepped back in fright, but Marianne patted her on the back gently and assured her it was alright. With more confidence, Bernie walked up to Dorte and extended her hand slowly once more to pet his mane. Once again, he stirred softly, his grunts now turning to soft breaths and purrs of delight, and began to nod as Bernie carefully stroked his backside. She began to feel much better now, her breaths in tune with his, and rested her head on his body. She smiled once again as Dorte silently neighed.
Marianne, who was witnessing them cope together in perfect harmony, smiled and walked over to Dorte to stroke his long chin. "Whenever I feel stressed or anxious about something," she said softly, "I come to Dorte, and he makes all my worries go away."
"He sure is…nice," Bernie cooed, slowly nodding off before snapping herself awake a few seconds later and chuckling nervously.
"Would you like to go for a ride on him?"
Normally, Bernadetta would have started panicking and running away from the stables to go hide in her room, worrying that Marianne was planning to bring her somewhere secretive to kill her and dispose of her body. Surprisingly however, she nodded softly and lifted her head straight.
As Marianne fitted the saddle on Dorte, she told Bernadetta how she met him, how they became such close friends, how she would skip lectures and sneak off to the stables to be with him, what his favorite foods were, anything that came to mind. Bernadetta just sat and listen, content for the first time in a long time being in the company of someone. It just felt nice being with someone like Marianne, someone who was calm, kind, and gentle. When Marianne had finished preparing Dorte for riding, she mounted herself onto the saddle and heaved Bernadetta on behind her. She held on to Marianne tight as the three amigos exited the stable at a leisurely pace towards the gate to the outside world. As they rode through Garreg Mach, the other students began whispering and talking amongst each other. "Who is that girl with Marianne? Is that…Bernadetta?" "Wow! That's Bernadetta!" "But she never goes outside her room!" "That's strange. I wonder what Marianne could have said to get her outside…" "Someone should get Lady Edelgard to see this!" "We should tell Claude about this! So adorable!" These were just a few of the whispers filling the crisp spring air. Flustered, Bernadetta hid her face in Marianne's back, something that made the latter girl chuckle.
As they passed by the market square, they were stopped briefly by a tall green-haired man in monk's clothing: Seteth. The smile from Marianne's face faded as fast as it came, for she thought that she was in trouble. But to her surprise, Seteth's attention was instead on Bernadetta. He smiled warmly and said, "It is certainly a pleasure to see you out of your quarters, Miss von Varley, especially on a nice day like this. I see Lady Edelgard has told me that she worries about you often." Bernadetta could only reply with a warm grin. Seteth then turned to Marianne. "I'm afraid we cannot allow any rides outside Garreg Mach today though. We're still on the lookout for any attempts from bandit groups to raid the monastery. My humblest apologies."
The two girls nodded and Marianne steered Dorte back to the stables with curious students in tow. Little did they know that Edelgard watched as they departed with an ear to ear smile thinking "I'm glad to see you happy, Bernadetta" before making her way to the mess hall.
When they returned to the stables, both Marianne and Bernadetta continued to talk about whatever came to mind: lectures, their house leaders, even funny subjects like Flayn's obsession with fish and Manuela's recent failed attempt to seduce another student. Their giggles and voices filled the air all the way until the bells rang three.
"Oh. Time for another lecture it seems," Marianne sighed, rising to her feet. "Well, today has been very nice, Bernadetta."
"Yeah…" Bernie chuckled. "It really has." The two exchanged hugs and looked each other in the eyes, faces smiling bright. "Marianne…I'm sorry I freaked out earlier."
"It's okay, Bernie. I understand. You and I are both very shy people, but that's nothing to be ashamed about. At least that's what Claude says."
"Heh. Yeah…" A pause. "Well, see you tomorrow?"
"Yes. See you tomorrow."
The two parted from their embrace and went their separate ways towards their separate lectures. Although they would part ways for now, if you ever wondered why groups of students would gather around outside, most of the time it would be because Marianne and Bernadetta would be riding together on Dorte, enjoying each other's company and talking about whatever they could talk about. And when they weren't horseback riding, they would be having conversations over tea, or studying together, or just doing whatever they could do together.
To some, they were a fated pair. To others, they were an unlikely duo. Regardless, one thing was for certain: they went from two normal students who knew nothing about each other to inseparable friends.
Marianne and Bernadetta have reached C Support!
Yeah, yeah, I know it isn't perfect, but hey it's something goddang it. Again, I hoped you enjoyed it and don't forget to check out chapter 4 of my main series, Journal of Renault, Bishop of Valor!