Another depressed chapter for you guys. This time with Annette.
There's no self-harm or suicide attempts in this one. I decided to get a bit more creative.
That being said, however this may come off as disturbing to some of you. Course that all depends on how well you think I managed to capture those disturbing aspects.
Regardless, Enjoy.
For the past five years Mercedes had watched the Kingdom of Faerghus slowly deteriorate. The Empire had already sunken its claws deep into the Kingdom before the war was even started. So it didn't take long for it all to fall apart in such a short amount of time.
That was why they had to get out.
Dimitri had been taken prisoner shortly after they returned to the Kingdom after the Monastery fell. The newly proclaimed Duke spared her and the others, so long as they promised to live under her rule. They didn't see an alternative. So they did as they were told.
Executions were almost weekly, soldiers would search people's homes on the even slightest ounce of suspicion of them being or hiding any "traitors".
It was only a matter of time before Dimitri was executed.
One day Felix had stopped by her house and in a hushed tone informed her that a plan was being put together by their classmates to rescue Dimitri and get out. Mercedes was ready for it.
And tonight was the big night.
She had gathered her things, and was told to go fetch Annette.
Annette...Out of everyone who had been affected by the Professor's death she was by far the worst. Her bright, sparkling eyes were no more and she did not say a word. The last memory she had of Annette making any type of noise was a horrifying "No!" as she watched the Professor plummet to his death. Just remembering the noise of it was enough to cause Mercedes to shiver.
When they reunited after the battle to return to the Kingdom, Annette did not make a noise, did not speak. She looked so empty.
Mercedes had not seen Annette in five years, and so she was happy, and worried to see her again. She entered Annette's house and made her way upstairs, past the many guards patrolling the area.
She lightly knocked on Annette's door, but did not receive a response. Light poured from underneath the door, so she was definitely in there. She tried the door knob, surprised to find it unlocked. She cracked open the door.
"Annette?" When she laid eyes on her friend she wasn't sure what to think.
Her hair was longer and unkempt. It likely hadn't been brushed in years. Her room was a mess, plates and cups stacked on top of each other. Used, wrinkled clothes were strewn about.
Annette herself didn't look any better. She was wearing her old monastery uniform, now tattered and a little too small for her. When she turned to Mercedes she gave a wide, crazed grin. The heavy bags under her eyes indicated a severe lack of sleep.
"Mercedes!" She turned to look at the opposite end of the table she was sitting at, setting down her empty tea cup. "Look Professor! Mercedes is here!"
"P-Professor?" Mercedes heart sank upon hearing his title. She opened the door a little more, revealing more of Annette's room and looked at the opposite end of the table. There was no one there but another empty tea cup.
"W-Who are you talking to Annette?" Mercedes looked back to Annette, who had begun standing up, brushing herself off and walked over to greet her friend.
"The Professor of course!"
"T-There's no one there..." Mercedes was terrified of Annette. She was much worse then anyone could have foreseen. If only Mercedes was there for her...
"Don't be silly! He's right there!" Annette pointed back to the table again. There was no one.
Mercedes heard the sound of someone coming up the stairs. She grabbed Annette's hand and pulled her out of her room.
"Come on Annette! We're leaving!"
"Really? Where are we going? Some place fun I hope!"
Mercedes didn't answer. With Annette in tow she snuck back out of the large mansion. Making her way towards the spot her and the others agreed to meet at.
Everyone was already there waiting for her, Dimitri not looking any better then he did during the battle five years ago; but at least he was alive.
She looked around. "Where's Dedue?" Ingrid gripped her fist. "He...Didn't make it..."
"We don't have time to dwell. Dedue made a necessary decision to help us escape. Eventually the whole city will be looking for us." Felix said.
"Look Professor! Everyone's here!"
Mercedes swallowed a lump in her throat upon hearing Annette's dreadfully cheerful voice. She had almost forgotten. Felix looked from Annette then to Mercedes, pulling the latter aside.
"What is she on about?"
Mercedes shook her head. "I-I don't know...I found her like that..."
Felix looked up and back to Annette, who was now walking around and chatting with her classmates happily. The fallen prince not responding to her at all.
"We can't take her."
"W-What!?"
"Look at her, you think she's in any state to be traveling? She could herself killed. Or us."
"I can take care of her! I'll look after her!"
Felix went to go say something before a loud bell began ringing over the whole city. He grit his teeth.
"Fine, we don't have enough time to argue about it." He backed away and ushered everyone over to him, getting Mercedes and Annette onto a wagon he managed to secure. The Blue Lion's class quickly fled the scene, hopeful that no one had spotted them.
The first few days went smoothly. Mostly.
Felix and Dimitri would regularly get into shouting matches, but it could've been worse. They had plenty of rations stocked and no one had followed them.
Everyone tried not to talk Annette too much. Which she didn't seem to mind. She was far too convinced that the Professor was still alive. Only her and Mercedes and Ingrid talked to her.
While Mercedes was tending to the campfire Ingrid approached her. "I'd like to talk about Annette's condition." Mercedes looked at the blonde woman.
"You aren't planning on leaving her behind are you...?" Mercedes ask fearfully, Ingrid shook her head.
"I'd never plan on it. But, she can't stay like this. Felix is right in that she'll endanger not only us, but herself."
"Then...How can we save her?" Ingrid thought for a moment.
"I don't know, if we tell her or force her to accept the truth I'm afraid it may break her. For now just see that she doesn't slip further into her delusion."
Mercedes nodded and Ingrid smiled slightly. "We'll get through this, trust me." She said, before turning around and walking away to tend to the horses.
Mercedes glanced over at Annette who had walked over and sat down next to Dimitri, talking to him in a disturbingly cheerful way.
Annette was going to a handful, both physically and mentally. Mercedes wasn't sure if her heart could take it.
As they continued to evade the Kingdom and make their way towards the Monastery, Mercedes tried her best to keep Annette from falling too deep into the madness that enveloped her mind.
The others helped out to a degree, but if they were disturbed by her. Ashe seemed to be the only other one who helped look after Annette.
Then one night, it all went wrong.
She was woken up by someone calling her name, sitting up in her tent she rubbed her eyes.
"Mercedes, Mercedes! Wake up!"
Mercedes shook her head, turning to Annette; still half-asleep. "Mmm, what is it Annette?"
"The Professor wants to show me something, I wanted to bring you along!"
"Mmm, not now Annette...Still tired..."
Annette frowned. "Aww, well if you say so. Hang on Professor! I'm coming!"
She saw Annette leave the tent and Mercedes laid back down, before her eyes suddenly shot open and she bolted out of the tent, looking around the camp frantically. Catching a flash of Annette's orange hair disappearing behind the trees. Mercedes stumbled to chase after her, hearing her giggling.
"Professor! Wait up!"
Mercedes burst the tree line, seeing Annette walking towards a cliff.
"Annette! Wait!"
Her friend wasn't listening to her, Annette's eyes were staring straight ahead of her. "I'm coming Professor!"
Mercede's eyes widened at what was about to happen, running up and grabbing Annette and holding her back; who began squirming in her arms.
"Mercedes!? Let me go! The Professor's gonna leave me!"
"The Professor's dead Annette! Please stop!"
Annette squirmed harder in Mercede's hold upon hearing her. "He's not! He's right there!" Annettes gaze returned to the cliff and she reached out her hand. "Professor! Don't go!"
"He's dead Annette! You have to accept that!"
"He's not! He's...He's right there!"
Tears streamed down Mercede's cheeks as she listened to her friend's frantic cries, but she didn't waiver.
"He died five years ago! He's always been dead! Please Annette! Come back!"
"He's still alive! The Professor is still alive! He's...He is..."
Annette stopped squirming in Mercedes arms. Mercedes still held on tight.
"He's...Really dead...Isn't he?"
Mercedes loosened her hold on Annette, moving around to face her. Tears were dripping down her face and she looked up to face Annette. Her eyes no longer looked faraway or deranged. They instead looked sad.
Mercedes nodded. "He is..." Annette's lower lip trembled and she hugged Mercedes tight, bawling like a child into her chest. Mercedes could only assure her everything was going to be okay, as she patted Annette's back.
Mercedes returned with Annette to the camp, holding her hand along the way. When they came back, they saw Felix and Ingrid arguing with each other, they both turned to look at Mercedes and Annette when they came back.
"You see! I told you they'd come back!" Ingrid exclaimed. Felix turned to her and scowled.
"Whatever, we're moving on. Pack up the camp." He walked off, beginning to break down his tent. Everyone doing the same.
Ingrid walked up to the two, she glanced at Annette before looking back to Mercedes.
"Is she...?"
Mercedes nodded. Ingrid gave a slight smile and turned to Annette. "We're all here for you Annette."
The orange-haired mage offered a weak smile in return and nodded. Ingrid nodding back and standing up, walking over to her tent to break it down.
Annette became more docile after that, hardly ever speaking. Mercedes wasn't sure if this was any better, at the very least she had returned to being normal. Even if she wasn't entirely her old self.
Annette would cry herself to sleep and Mercede's couldn't do anything. Her words would not reach her. At very least Annette wasn't contemplating ending her life, for Annette doing so would put an even bigger burden on the others.
Eventually Annette began to help out, but even that proved to be detrimental to her health.
In the past, Annette would always work herself hard, too hard. Getting sick or hurting herself due to her neverending desire to constantly be working.
That desire increased tenfold now.
She would offer to take watch, promising she would swap out with someone else when it was time to wake them up. But she never did that, going whole nights without sleep. She would help lift heavy objects and would hurt herself in the process, once breaking her wrist from picking up a heavy crate the wrong way. She was becoming a nuisance to the others, and Mercede's didn't want to admit. But she was starting to agree with Felix.
When they finally made it to the Monastery Annette's situation only grew worse. She had completely shut down, its like she wasn't even there.
She would appear randomly too, no one ever saw her move or say or do anything. Sylvain called her a ghost, and Mercedes was starting to see why. The place Annette appeared the most was their old classroom. Now in ruins, she would simply sit at her old desk and stare blankly at the front of the classroom. Mercedes was worried she would relapse, and start hallucinating the Professor again. But she never did.
"We need to talk about our situation."
The Blue Lion class had huddled around one of the dining tables, save for Annette. Who, as usual, was nowhere to be found. Probably in the classroom.
"And what is our situation, Felix" Ingrid asked. Felix looked to her.
"While scouting around the Monastery I discovered some Bandit scouts, they retreated before I could get to them. From what I heard they were planning a large attack on the Monastery"
"Are bandits even organized enough to launch an attack like that?" Ashe asked.
Felix shook his head. "No, their not. Which is why I believe they were deserters. Probably weren't to happy we suddenly moved in here."
"An attack like that is sure to catch the Empire's attention, if they come back I'm sure they'll bring this place down." Sylvain said.
"You are right, but I'm not fleeing. I refuse to run anymore."
"So what are you saying we should do?"
"I'm not saying you all need to do anything, I'm telling you what I'm gonna do." Felix closed his eyes for a second then opened them. "When the deserters come, I'll act as bait while you all run."
Ingrid shot to her feet. "Like we'd let you do that! What makes you think we want to run." Felix glared at her, Ingrid staring daggers back.
"We're not leaving you Felix, we're in this together." Mercedes said, standing up. Felix shooting her a glare.
"And what about Annette?"
Mercedes's eyes widened. "S-She'll..."
"I'll help."
Everyone whipped around at the entrance to the Dining hall, seeing Annette staring at them. No, she was staring through them. Her eyes glazed over, her face devoid of an expression. It reminded them of the Professor when they first met him, only more ghastly.
"And I won't let you guys stop me."
Annette turned around and walked out, having said what she needed to say. Felix shook his head. "Fine, but if you feel the need to run, then know I will not blame you."
With that, their meeting was over. Mercedes tried to find Annette afterwards, looking in all the usual places; but she was no where to be found.
Only when a week later, when the deserters arrived at the Monastery, did Annette reappear. Standing besides Mercedes's, looking completely out of it.
"Annette...Are you okay?"
Her orange haired friend turned her head slowly to face Mercedes, her gaze looking right through her. As if she didn't exist. "I'm fine." Annette returned her head to face forward. Mercedes gulped. Listening to Felix give them orders, Dimitri stayed for a while, mumbling to himself before suddenly charging forward.
"Dimitri! You idiot wait!" Felix called out to him, but the blonde haired prince did not listen. Cutting down foes relentlessly. The others charged ahead after him and Mercedes and Annette followed. But despite their efforts to stay together they got seperated due to the ever increasing chaos.
Mercedes and Annette were eventually surrounded, none of their allies anywhere in sight. "
"Annette, run. I'll try to hold them off." Mercedes said her brow furrowed, stepping in front of her friend to hide her from the deserters. Who licked their lips and taunted her.
But Annette did not budge, standing still and staring off into space, looking behind the deserters.
"Annette!"
"Pro...ffesor?"
Mercedes heart sank, not now. Why was she relapsing now? Mercedes knew Annette wouldn't be able handle this, yet she still kept her faith strong. What a fool she was.
She cast a fireball at a bandit who rushed her, incinerating him instantly.
"Professor!"
"Annette! Please stay with me! Don't do this to me now!"
Annette grabbed Mercedes hands. "He's alive! The Professor's alive!" There was a bit, happy grin on Annettes face, and for once her eyes didn't seem crazed. They had sparkles in them, just like they did back when she introduced herself to Mercedes for the first time in the school of sorcery.
The bandits rushed them, but they all stopped as soon as they heard the rattling of a chain. All collectively looking behind them, the two girls following their gazes.
A flash of golden light sliced through the bandits, and they all fell down in bloody heaps. The girls looked down at the ground, watching the tip of a sword slither backwards, following it as it reached a tall figure. The bits of the sword fitting together to form an all to familiar looking blade, bathed in a golden light. They looked at the figure as it approached them, the fire illuminating his expressionless face. He gave them a slight smile.
It was The Professor.
Mercedes was afraid she had gone insane, she reached out and touched him. But he was real.
"Professor!" Annette slammed into him, hugging him tightly. "Y-You're alive!" Tears began streaming down Annette's face. The Professor patted her head, then turned to Mercedes, opening his arm and offering her a hug. Mercedes slowly approached him. Before running into the Professor's arms as well. Breaking down into tears.
The battle ended shortly after, and everyone was reunited, even Dimitri. Who The Professor said he found alone in a tower. Mercedes was hoping The Professor's prescences would be enough to return Dimitri to his old self, but it was wishful thinking.
Even though Dimitri would take some time to heal, the fact that Annette was back to her usual self was more then enough for a morale boost.
Course, Annette was entirely back to normal. Something like what she went through was bound to leave scars, both mentally and physically. The Professor would often find her staring off into space, that same glazed look in her eye. She would began talking only to suddenly trail off and seem to "fade away" mentally. Randomly shutting herself down.
Mercedes never stopped worrying about a potential relapse, even when Annette and the others assured her everything was fine. And she would have to start taking their word for with. Now that the Professor was back, she was sure that everything would be fine.
"Annette?"
Annette jumped, looking around. "W-What? What's going on?"
The Professor smiled. "We're having tea."
Annette looked down at the cup in her hands. "Oh...Right, Sorry Professor...I lost myself for a second there."
She took a sip from her tea and set it back down on the plate.
"I'm sorry I wasn't there for you Annette. I can't imagine how it must've been..."
Annette shook her head. "Don't blame yourself Professor...What happened to me, happened because I was weak."
She sighed. "I didn't want to burden my mom and uncle, so I just sort of pretended everything was fine." She glanced down at her hands. "After that...I don't know what happened. I get a headache trying to remember what happened, I can only remember bits and pieces. But I know, that I pretended you were still alive." Annette shuddered.
"What was wrong with me..."
"Annette..." The Professor brought himself closer to her, sitting besides her. She leaned her head against his arm. "After Mercedes brought me back, I began to lose myself. I started blanking out, I just remember fog. Everything was hazy."
Annette turned to look up at the Professor, smiling. "But now, you're here...You're real...I can live freely now, knowing that you'll be my side..."
The Professor smiled, wrapping his arm around her and pulling Annette closer.
"I'll never leave you again, I promise."
Finally got that done. Sorry about the long silence. Work and school have been hammering me lately. Huge thanks to T.S. Atlas for helping me with this.
Look forward to an Ingrid chapter on the next go.
Until next time!
