Dimitri saw Byleth leaning outside on the post near Petra's room. "That was quick. I had only just sent Caspar to find you." She said.
"I was at your room when he found me. Gilbert finished with the preparations for tomorrow." He replied.
Byleth nodded. "Good." She stood up and went up to the door knocking.
"Petra is it safe to enter?" she called.
"Of course Professor." Petra replied.
Byleth opened the door wide so Dimitri would be able to enter behind her.
"That's not what she meant Petra! At least get off before she opens the door." Ferdinand stammered.
Byleth's face flamed before she ducked past behind the other door. "I did not need that image, thank you!"
What in the world? Dimitri thought before he saw what she had seen. Ferdinand was still tied up and Petra was sitting on top of him. Both of them were fully clothed, but he had to agree he did not need that image either. The ropes were an interesting idea, but he was not going to let his mind explore that train of thought any further.
"Professor, can I be releasing him now? He won't attack anyone." Petra asked.
"It was your idea Petra, I had nothing to do with any of this. If you'd like to untie him that's your decision." Byleth answered.
Petra rolled to his side and began cutting away at the ropes. Byleth peeked inside before coming back in. "Why…. No, nevermind, I don't want to know."
"Why do you seem…. nervous Professor?" Petra asked, trying to find the right words.
Byleth looked up at Dimitri before her face turned even redder. "I know that's probably not what was happening, but the way it looked Petra….was….. something you keep behind closed doors and only share with one person."
Ferdinand was rubbing his freed wrists and giving Byleth an odd look, a blush blooming on his face. "I assure you Professor, that was not what it looked like. I do find it odd though that you'd resort to kidnapping."
Byleth put her hands up. "Caspar and Petra worked together to get you. I didn't know about it until they already had you tied up and here at the monastery."
Petra wrapped her arms around his neck, her front pressed against his back.
"We rescued you. There was no kidnapping." Petra said.
"Rescued? Petra I think you misunderstand what that word means. I was never in any danger before this. Where is Bernadetta?" Ferdinand said.
"In her old room, enjoying her safe haven. I plan on keeping her here. She won't fight unless she wants to, but with you that means all of the black eagles, blue lions, and Claude has promised the Golden Deer will be on our side as well. The only one against us is Hubert, Edlegard, and the ones that pull her strings." Byleth said.
Ferdinand looked up at her. "You do not understand. I cannot betray my county professor, and I have a duty to Edelgard as well."
"The world in which I see won't matter if you have a crest, but the merit you hold as a person. You were always caring towards your other members and I'm sorry that I was never interested in heavy armor to earn enough of your respect, but it's just not how I fight. You were the one that taught me how to brew tea so I could share it with my students. You may never have accepted my hand for my class, but I do hope that you will take it now and help us create a peaceful Fodlan. You have much we can learn from. You and Lorenz are excellent examples of what the nobility should be and will give others something to aspire to be like." Byleth said.
"Lorenz is going against his father to fight at your side as well?" He asked, eyes wide.
Byleth nodded. "Yes, he has to follow the Empire's tune for the moment because of the threat that their occupation of the bridge is. His thoughts are for his home before anything else. Once we take the bridge, he will stand beside us once again."
"If I leave, it gives her no voice against her. Hubert only agrees with her. To him, her words are always right and absolute. He doesn't speak out when she's wrong." Ferdinand said, interlacing his fingers and placing them under his chin.
Petra had let go and sat beside him. "Becoming an enemy, we will have no choice but hunt you down. That's why we rescued you. Eldelgard is wrong. Her war is wrong, so I fight with the Professor."
Byleth reached for Dimitri's hand. "You don't have to choose right this instant Ferdinand. We are about to set out for a few days to take care of a problem within the territory. When we get back if you really can't see yourself here to fight at our side we will let you go, but know that in doing that we will have to kill you. Ask yourself if you wish that burden on any of your classmates and if the reasons you remain loyal to her are worth dying for. You have much more to live for, and a better future awaits you here."
"Are you really so confident that you will prevail Professor?" Ferdinand asked.
"We will, because there is no other choice but to stop this senseless bloodshed." Dimitri answered for her.
She pulled Dimitri towards the door. "You may walk freely, but I ask that Caspar or Petra be around you for escort. You will be released if you wish it, so please don't try any escape attempts. I do not want you attacked while you reside here. Bernadetta has those same rights. It is good to see you again, Ferdinand, and not facing each other on opposite sides of a battlefield."
Dimitri closed the door behind him. "Is it wise to leave him here while we're gone?"
"What I've been more worried about is what are we going to do if we aren't attacked while we wait for reinforcements. What area does house Rowe control? Will that cause us trouble for getting to the kingdom afterwards?"
Dimitri stopped and cursed. "Your right. Arienrhod…. By meeting us there, he was taking troops away from that fortress. I had never considered that last time. If he isn't there, it means we would have to take the fortress with him and that army later. The Silver Maiden is a hard fortress to take as it is, but it would be even harder with a force that large guarding it. He could also send that force to help defend the kingdom if we don't deal with it. How do we bait them? We have already missed and changed the opportunity."
"I have an idea. Come with me." Byleth said.
Byleth led him down to Abyss and let go of his hand as she went inside a room to go in and talk to Yuri.
"Looks like I've got them all." Yuri said, closing his notebook.
Byleth tilted her head at it, recognizing it as the same one that they had recovered all that time ago. "Am I interrupting?"
"Nah, just wrapped up what I was doing. Need something, friend? I see you have your shadow again. What brings your radiance here to the Abyss?" Yuri said, nodding to Dimitri.
"And I see you still have that. What were you writing?" She asked.
"Oh, you mean this... I use it to write down the names of everyone I've lost over the years. We lost a lot of lives back in the war. Some of them were only with me a little while. Some of them were family to me." Yuri said, holding it in his hands.
Byleth leaned on the table next to him. "I had always wondered what you wrote in there that was so important to you. Why do you write the names?"
Yuri sighed. "Somewhere along the way, I figured I should record the names of those I've lost. The ones I failed to protect... There's nothing we can do for the dead—not in this world. Not really, anyway. And it's not like we know what happens after. So writing their names down here, that's all just for me...for the one who's still around. After all, they deserve to be remembered. Even if they're not here to see it. We all shared the same dream. They lost their lives to build that dream, and as their leader, it's on me to remember them, however I can."
Dimitri hadn't really thought that the rouge would carry that much sentiment, but his words had resonated with him a bit. Everyone had their own way of dealing with death and guilt, and what he did for those that were lost was simple and yet...
"That's a heartfelt gesture," Byleth said, interrupting his thoughts.
"Oh you think so, do you? And here I thought I was just a heartless villain in your eyes. Well, anyway. Make of my notebook what you will. It doesn't matter much to me. If you go before I do, I'll make sure to add you in here as well. I had been worried and thought that maybe I should have done it a long time ago when we couldn't find you after the battle. I was glad to see you again, friend."
Byleth tilted her head. "You intended to put my name in your notebook?"
Yuri looked away from her, a slight blush on his cheeks. "You heard me. I mean, you're not exactly one of my people, per se..." He turned back to catch her gaze. "At this point, I do have to admit that I...I can count on you. I kinda get the sense that if I hang around you, that dream I've been grasping for will become all the more real. So do me a favor and don't go dying on me, OK?"
Byleth smiled warmly. "There's no need to worry."
"Certainly aren't lacking in confidence, are you? Hmm, cat got your tongue? Looks like you want to say something but don't know how." He said, giving her a sly grin.
Byleth gave him a sly grin back, leaning towards him. "So much talk of names, and yet I still don't know yours..."
Yuri laughed, backed away from her, and put the notebook away. "That again? You don't give up easy, do you? All right, all right. I'll toss you a bone. My name's not actually my name. But it's the one I'm enrolled with here at the academy. The one I've hung on to as the adoptee of House Rowe. Come to think of it, the last I heard someone use my real name was...a very long time ago, from my mom. Who knows? Maybe someday I'll tell you. Perhaps if you decide to pursue that dream alongside me, you'll find out."
"Rowe…." Byleth smiled. "I had come down here for another reason, but perhaps if you can't help with that you can lend your aid elsewhere."
"Oh, and what could you need my help for?" He asked.
Byleth played the situation out to be an intentional lure to get the Grey Lion and his troops to bring their group to the valley of torment. A trap to cut the enemy forces protecting the kingdom down.
Yuri nodded. "It's a good plan. I do have some old friends that I can whistle to. Are you sure you can handle such a battle?"
Byleth nodded. "Yes, there's one other thing I just realized while I'm down here. I've already mastered the Enlightened One and when I was watching you during our bandit fight it reminded me of all those times you helped us out in Abyss. With the increased movement speed and Foul Play, would you be willing to teach me to be the trickster class? I already have all of the specifications for it."
Yuri laughed. "Aren't you adorable? What would the church think of their precious future archbishop in such a role?"
"As soon to be head of said church I won't care will I? All I know is that to win this war I need to utilize every potential that I can. You do still owe me Yuri. I convinced the church to let you keep those Fetters of Dromi."
"As I should expect from a former mercenary. You haven't lost your touch to know which cards to play. Very well come with me to the arena."
Dimitri watched them together as they sparred. Yuri would use what was similar to a warp spell to swap places with her. He initiated a couple of times before he allowed her to do the spell. She was already down on mana for the day, and he wasn't happy about her exerting herself again when they had to march…. When she had gotten hurt before, didn't she mention something about riding a horse so she didn't strain herself too much? There was a large stallion he had been taking care of when he visited the stables, perhaps that would be the best solution. Byleth's footwork had gotten faster as they both started to take the sparring seriously. She did one more foul play to swap them, then seamlessly bounced back to attack him.
"Yes, perfect. Now if you can do that with Dimitri he can help you handle enemies that you cannot and it keeps you safe and out of harms way. Speaking of we should get you back to your dark lion, however if you keep being so adorable with the things you say and do I might have no choice but to steal you from him." Yuri said.
Byleth rolled her eyes. "I would prefer it if you didn't try."
Yuri bowed to her. "Then Lady dragon, consider this sparrow a friend and try not to let your lion eat it. May your wings of protection far exceed my own."
She tilted her head. "Lady Dragon?"
"Your cape kind of looks like wings as you fight and if you are going to become the archbishop you adopt their symbols. The immaculate one resides on their banner and a dragon suits you well, fierce and protective of what you hold dear to you." Yuri said with a shrug.
"I'll get to work on that matter we discussed. For now, it's getting late. Get some rest." He said.
Byleth sheathed her sword. "Thank you Yuri. I don't suppose you would want to come along?"
"Let me get everything I can prepared. If I see you in the morning before your force departs, then yes, I think I will." He said.
Byleth turned to come to Dimitri, but her gaze went over to another entrance.
"I'm sorry I heard sparring and wanted to observe. I'll leave." Darren said.
"No need, Yuri and I just finished. I'm going to let the other wolves know to stay here and protect the monastery if need be. I'll be going back up to the surface afterwards." Byleth said before leaving the arena.
Dimitri thought a moment. "There is something you might be able to help with Darren."
Darren turned to him, then averted his gaze. "I am sorry. I understand your anger. She's yours to protect now. What can I help you with?"
Byleth had started to go for her room. Despite the exhaustion of the day she didn't want to sleep just yet. Her mind was whirling. She found herself at the stables. She remembered the academy days when Dimitri would be a mounted unit. He always talked so much about worried about breaking things. He loved the cats around the monastery but was always afraid to hurt them. He had once told her when she inquired about the horses that it was because they were strong animals and something he was familiar with he didn't feel the fear or breaking them as much. There was a large black stallion that they had taken from one of the groups of bandits recently that she had been working on getting to settle down. Some of the stable hands had even called it a demon horse and no one else had dared go near it.
Dimitri had thought to check on the horse again before he joined her for bed to see if the beast's temperament might be well enough for him to take it out for the march tomorrow. He hadn't expected to see Byleth there. He expected her to go back to bed after doing so much today. He leaned against the wall that surrounded the knight's quarters to watch and see what she was doing before he interrupted.
She noticed that the stallion's mane was combed. How odd. She had barely managed to get the comb near it last time. She held out her hand to it and it moved to bite her. She clamped her hands over its snout.
"Now none of that." She cooed as she moved her fingers to pet its nose and made eye contact. "I'm not a threat."
The stallion stomped its front leg a few times. Byleth sighed and let go. Another mare that was in the stall close to her poked its head out. Byleth smiled, it had been a long time since she had been out for a ride, but tonight would not be a good night to do it. She came over to pet the horse that had wanted her attention. The stallion began to knock against his stall and snorted at her.
She came back over, and he let her pet him this time. "Oh is that how this is going to be? You only want me now that you're jealous that she's getting the attention, huh?"
"Can you blame him?" Dimitri's voice came from behind her, placing his hand on the horse's neck and giving it a soft pat.
"Following me are you?" Byleth asked.
"Actually no, I had thought you were already in bed perhaps. I wanted to check on him. With as tired as you are I thought that perhaps we could ride him until we got close to Aeilil to give you a chance to recover. He's the only one here that should be able to bear our weight without tiring too badly." He replied.
Byleth smiled. "Always the considerate one, aren't you?"
He just shook his head as he grabbed a saddle. "Please, just stay back a moment. I need to see how his temperament is."
Byleth grabbed her own saddle and went to the mare. She was able to get it on pretty quickly and the reins were also easy to do. She mounted the saddle and had it do a slow walk back and forth in the area in front of the stables. The stallion was watching in interest, its ears twitching, and its eyes trained on them. Dimitri was glad that she hadn't seemed to lose her touch at riding. He had missed the races they would have along the fields near the monastery. The talks they had during the academy days had always been interesting, and it seemed to soothe her if something was bothering her.
The stallion wasn't giving him near the fuss it had yesterday. Just to let him near its head to brush it had been difficult. Sylvain had been there to take care of some of the other horses and they had got to talking. He had told him about Byleth's nickname for him and he had hoped, that he had encouraged his friend to stop pushing people so far away. He had used her wording when she had been wounded and sleeptalking after Gronder. The reins were a bit harder to get on, the stallion tried to rear up to stomp him. Byleth made a sound behind him, and extended her hand. The mare was calm and silent, staring at the stallion and it settled down, fidgeting, but no more violence.
"Do you think this is a good idea?" Byleth asked as Dimitri got the reins on and mounted up into the saddle. The stallion looked back at him and snorted.
"We are about to find out." Dimitri said.
Byleth nodded and opened the stall door. She was expecting it to kick out and try to buck Dimitri off, but his grip on the reins was relaxed and the stallion seemed more interested in her and the mare to cause a fuss. Byleth pet his neck and he placed his nose to her arm, which she petted instead. The stallion shook its head. Dimitri pulled the reins and did a small circle around the stable area.
"I want to go test and see how he does on open ground." He said.
"Dimitri it's dark out and that's dangerous to do. We can take him out in the morning, but for now let's stay within the monastery." She said.
He nodded. "I suppose you're right. That would be reckless of me, wouldn't it? It's just been a long time since I've ridden too."
"I think I guess why you didn't have one during the five years, but I haven't seen you on one since we got back, why is that?" she asked.
"There hasn't been a need. I learned to battle without. There was too much of a risk of my crest activating, and I would snap its neck while I was angry. At least when it's just me, I only have to worry that I'm not pointing my lance at someone who is on my side." He said as they took another slow lap around.
"Why now then?" she asked, keeping the mare in the same speed as his.
"It's something Mercedes said today. Despite what I know I could do to you, there hasn't been a moment that I've hurt you. Even back at the Holy Tomb when I was at the heat of my fury and I pushed you away from me, nothing had happened. It's as you said I need to start putting more trust in myself and leaving the fury for the battlefield." He said.
Byleth nodded. "I know it's not the enjoyment of a full ride, but I think we should do this more often, especially if something is bothering us. Even back in the academy days riding always did help soothe our nerves and we could talk for hours didn't it?"
Dimitri smiled, knowing that it had crossed his thoughts already. "The mare seems to be doing nicely for him. Do you think we should try putting them in the larger stall together? It might mellow out his temperament."
Byleth nodded before pulling the mare to a stop and leading her into the larger stall. The stallion followed behind them and Dimitri dismounted, holding his arms out for Byleth. She swung her leg over and slipped down into his hold before kissing him. Then they both worked on getting the saddles and reins off. Byleth backed out first, knowing that if the stallion caused any trouble, he could get between them. The stallion began circling the mare before settling down beside her.
"They should be fine, but for now we should get some sleep. Tomorrow will come all too soon." Dimitri said.
Byleth nodded. "I'm not looking forward to going back to that place."
"There seems to be no way around it. We just need to do our best and take victory like last time." He agreed.
When they got to her room he went behind her and held her like he had wanted to before. He pulled her flush against him as he kept an arm around her waist and an arm beneath her head. They wouldn't be able to do this on the road and he wanted to enjoy what stolen moments of luxury with her he could.
