Byleth returns home for the first time in months, to find everything as she left it. Quiet, pristine, and undisturbed; she is at least relieved to see that whoever has been terrorizing their town has not come to pick at the corpse. They know what it means that someone other than Edelgard has been attacking people, and that there have been so many attacks.
Either there is one vampire in town or there are many, but the group has a feeling that it is the former. It seems likely that one of them has been sent to either threaten or dispose of Edelgard, to retaliate at last after the loss of Kronya after a few months of silence. They are feeding so much to make a statement, to make Edelgard fear, but the four of them are doing what they can to remain levelheaded about the whole situation.
Even Ferdinand, who has only heard about these things and has not experienced the danger firsthand, is trying to keep calm, going through their daily lives without showing any sort of reaction to the obvious message. After all, they don't just have to worry about the vampires, but about the vampire hunters as well, and the last thing they want to do is attract attention from that group at the same time.
But Byleth wants to be prepared. She can hope that the group her father belonged to will handle the situation before it gets too out of control, but the fact remains that Edelgard has managed to avoid capture for some time, and Kronya was able to defeat her father. If this is one of Kronya's group, there is a good chance that they are stronger than her, but at the very least, they can assume that they won't be weaker.
Fortunately for her, there are a lot of tools in her father's bedroom, hidden away in his closet and dresser. He didn't have to worry too much about hiding them, because Byleth never went in his room anyway, and the fact that he didn't try very hard at least shows that he always trusted her not to snoop. She can feel herself getting choked up for the first time in a long time, and she moves more quickly, wanting to get out of here as soon as possible.
Her father never taught her how to fight, and now, she has his weapons and his mission, and she has to learn for herself. If she is attacked, if Edelgard or Hubert or Ferdinand is attacked, then she wants to be able to protect them. She will practice, even though there is not much good practice can do when she doesn't know her opponent, but perhaps Edelgard will spar with her, and the two of them can improve together…
~X~
Byleth feels strange, with stakes strapped to her legs under her prom dress, and her clutch serving as a disguise for a vampire hunting kit. It feels like something out of a movie, and she has never fancied herself much of a heroine. Honestly, if anyone is the hero here, she isn't sure who it would be. Oddly enough, only Ferdinand seems to fit the bill, but she doesn't spend much time thinking about it beyond that. These matters are serious, and even if tonight is for fun, she won't take them lightly.
Nothing has happened yet, and she's had no need to use the supplies that she's taken from her old home, but she never goes anywhere without them. She, Edelgard, and Hubert always sleep close together, and can only hope that Ferdinand will remain mistaken for a friend of theirs from school, nothing important, so that he will be safe in his own home. At school, she is always on guard, but now, the night of their prom is here, and she works her tools into her outfit, hoping, as she always does, that she will not actually have to use them.
Other than all of that, they could pass for normal tonight. Edelgard looks breathtaking in the floor-length red dress that she wears, her hair down up with a strand of white hanging down, framing either side of her face. She and Ferdinand make quite the attractive couple with his arm around her, he in his new suit and a matching tie, a boutonniere pinned to his lapel that matches the corsage he put on her wrist.
Hubert and Byleth go for black, both because the dress Byleth chooses looks good and because, as subtle as they are trying to be about the truth, it's fun to feed into the rumors at school, and they look just a little bit vampiric when they look into the mirror together, their pale skin offset by the darkness of her dress, his suit and tie.
The four of them have to suffer through pictures at Ferdinand's house, because his family insists on pictures of him with his date, and since they are going as a group, they have to get group photos as well. Although the whole thing sounds like too much trouble, they owe it to Ferdinand, for taking every twist and turn as well as he has, and because it is nice to have a family, no matter how fake it may be, fussing over them and taking a million pictures.
They all have their own circumstances, but no one else has someone that wants to take their picture on prom night, and no matter how annoying the whole process is, it is a part of things, and for just a little while, it's nice to feel normal. At least, that's how Byleth feels, but she thinks the other two agree with her. Even Hubert, who would never, ever admit it.
The dance itself is hardly any different from the last event they all went to, except this time Edelgard actually accepted Ferdinand's invitation. Byleth definitely notices some whispering surrounding her and Hubert, but she finds that she doesn't mind. In fact, whenever she feels the stakes rub against her leg as she walks past another whispering clump, she feels even more like some sort of movie heroine.
It's a fun feeling, which surprises her, and she keeps that part to herself. She doesn't want to make light of the serious situation, after all, and they are having plenty of fun on their own, without laughing at her odd thoughts. Going with dates means that the four of them can spend the whole night together and not feel nearly as suspicious as if they went solo, because everyone already has ideas in their heads about who is involved with whom.
There is a pause in the party for prom royalty announcements to be made, and no one is surprised as Claude and Hilda take their place as king and queen for the night. Edelgard and Ferdinand knew ahead of time they would be chosen for the junior class's place on the prom court, and have to linger long enough for their spotlight dance. After that, Edelgard is keen on making her escape, and Ferdinand insists that they go somewhere to eat, drawing out the night as long as they can. They find a twenty four hour diner to waste even more time in.
Afterwards, Ferdinand is going to spend the night with him, a rarity. He told his parents that he would be with Hubert, which Byleth is sure they didn't believe, but they wouldn't be able to guess the truth either. They would assume that he would be with Edelgard, not realizing that both are true, and that Byleth plans to be present as well. Whatever the case, they told him that was fine, deciding to let him have his fun for the night.
The night is so much fun, and things feel so perfect, that it is only to be expected that, when they do get home, there is someone waiting for them.
