April: Big Questions
Sophie gasped. "YAY! My prince!" She squeezed Siegbert into a giant bearhug. "You're back! You're back! You're back!"
Siegbert gingerly hugged her back. "Hmm? What have I missed?"
"Well, you were in a coma for a while. We had to travel to Hoshido to attack a Twilighter base. We found out that they're using the same chaos power Velezark had to manipulate Outrealm portals."
"That's such good news!"
Sophie wasn't too optimistic. "We still don't know where the other enemy bases are. We still don't know how they're able to use chaos power to achieve everything."
"Still, this is a monumental step forward!"
"I suppose you're right."
They chatted for a while more until dinnertime when Sophie had to leave to go to the dining room. Corrin sat next to her daughter. "So Sophie, I hear that Siegbert is awake."
Shiro leapt out of his chair. "Really?! I gotta go see my big cousin!" He rushed out of the room.
Caeldori entered dreamland. "This is a wonderful side of Shiro that made me fall in love with him. He's so concerned about Siegbert that he forgot to take his meal with him."
Corrin remarked, "For Shiro, that's a huge sign of dedication."
And so, while the group recovered from their draining journey, so too did Siegbert from his near-lethal scrape. The party were soon ready to depart to Garreg Mach and report what had happened when Siegbert's parents, Xander and Hinoka, arrived from Nohr.
Xander held his head in his hands. "I can't believe this. My poor son . . ."
Silas' stomach flipped at the sight of a crestfallen father worried for his child. "I'm so sorry. We did our best to protect him, but . . ."
Hinoka's lips curled into a forced smile. "Still, Siegbert's on the mend and will be up and at 'em in no time!"
Siegbert sighed. "I wish I didn't have stay here and leave the others to fight the Twilighters. If only my wounds would heal faster."
Hinoka gave her son a double-take. "What are 'Twilighters'?"
Siegbert caught his parents up to speed about what happened during the duration of their quest. Xander said, "That is certainly unexpected. I would offer my support, but as you know, as King of Nohr, I must stay with my people and kingdom, lest any tragedy befall them while I am not there to protect them."
That evening, Dorothea gathered everyone together. "Thank you all for coming. Due to Siegbert being conscious and has his parents around, I believe it is now time to head back to Garreg Mach. Lady Rhea and the others don't deserve to be left in the dark for a long period of time."
It pained Sophie to leave her fiancé behind, but it was for the best of the mission. She popped into his room in the infirmary and kissed his cheek. "Hey. I'm going with the rest of the group soon. I'm sorry I'm leaving you behind."
Siegbert brushed it off. "No need to worry. I'll be here waiting for you to get back. Just promise me that you'll come home alive."
Sophie nodded. "I promise I'll get through this. Besides, we need to get married once this mess is cleaned up!"
Hinoka threw her arm around Sophie. "I'm so happy he proposed! You're such a great couple. I always knew you'd make it."
If only the moment could last. Sophie flashed a small sad smile and turned, never to come back until the journey was complete. The group traveled through the portal to Garreg Mach, where Inigo filled in Rhea, Cichol, Catherine, and Cethleann about everything that happened.
Cethleann's eyes widened in concern. "I did not know him very long, but Siegbert always seemed like such a kind young man. I pray he is alright."
Caledori assured, "He is. Siegbert will make a full recovery. He just needs to rest now."
Cichol drummed his fingers on the desk. "Crests are activated through the bloodstream. From your report on how Dorothea attained the power of Askran royalty, she had a small blood transfusion with Princess Sharena. There appears to be a connection with draconic power and the bloodstream across all worlds."
Camilla chimed in, "That makes sense. It also explains why royalty in my world can use an ability called a Dragon Vein to tip the tide of battles in their favor; we have a dragon's blood in us."
Rhea added, "Then there's this file that mentions that chaos of Velezark being used. How could they use his power? Unless there are those with his blood residing in them."
Owain exclaimed, "Does this mean that Velezark swore an unholy oath with a powerful being who gained his nefarious destructive powers?!"
Silas paused. "That seems to be the most likely case as of now. Our next step will be to figure out who among the Twilighters, if any, have Velezark's blood in them."
Catherine nodded. "Right. I'll go inform the Knights. We'll look for anything useful." She sped off to go give the order to spread out.
With the word spreading, an air of levity and respite overcame the group. Byleth took a seat next to Rhea. "Hello Grandmother. How has everything been while I was gone?"
Rhea smiled and kissed her granddaughter on the cheek. "Not so bad, my dear. Cyril is leading the Green Stallions splendidly. I was worried that the fusion of Almyran students and Fódlan students would be rocky, but Cyril is bridging the gap beautifully."
While Byleth and Rhea were chatting, Dimitri took Mary aside. "I must speak with you, if you have a moment. Your observational skills in the wilderness were incredible! The Holy Kingdom of Faerghus is in dire need of exceptional individuals such as yourself. While you already are a noble of House Charon, please do consider coming with me back to Fhirdiad with me and instruct the soldiers on your talent to improve their scouting abilities?"
Mary beamed. "That sounds like a dream come true! I've always wanted to help people in a big way."
Dimitri returned the happy expression. "Perfect. Once this is over, we'll start right away."
Ferdinand noticed the sudden mood shift and went over to Dorothea. "I'm glad that everyone is enjoying themselves."
Dorothea agreed, "I think it's because they're all fired up at a possible answer to the long, drawn-out question that loomed over us throughout this whole thing. I just hope we can do something about it."
