Chapter 7: Following A Dream
It had been five years since the Imperial Army stormed Garreg Mach. Richter and Annette resided within House Dominic's castle walls. During that time, Annette had been searching for her father, with Richter's help. One day, after dinner, Annette decided to go to bed early. Richter offered to walk her to her room, but she politely declined. With that, she returned to her room and tried to rest her head. She hoped and prayed to the Goddess that she could find her father soon.
Later that evening, Richter met with Gilbert, upon his request. "You wish to speak with me, young man?" He asked, getting off his horse. Richter sighed. Not sure where to start, he began explaining Annette's recent behavior. "Your daughter has been searching nonstop for you and it's getting serious." He told Gilbert, "The other day, I had to stop her from going into Imperial territory to look for you." Gilbert lowered his head and sighed; "I'll be heading back to Garreg Mach soon. There is word that the prince is still alive and is now there." Hearing him talk about nothing but his duty made Richter angry. "Look, I'm not keeping secrets anymore, I'm going to tell Annette the truth... about everything." Richter had been lying to her for five years and he started to grow tired of it. Gilbert went to his horse and retrieved a map from the saddle. "This map has the safest route to Garreg Mach. When you two arrive, we will talk then." Gilbert placed the map in Richter's hands and saddled up. Richter said nothing and watched as Gilbert rode off in the direction indicated on the map.
Richter decided that he would talk with Annette in the morning and headed to his room, which was right next to Annette's. Just as he laid in his bed, there was a crash followed by a thump from next door. Richter immediately jumped up and burst into the room. "Annette, you alright?!" He yelled. Seeing that there was no danger, Richter realized that Annette was partially dressed. His face reddened slightly but, Annette seemed to pay him no mind. Still half asleep and attempting to get dressed, she began to ramble on about a dream she had. "Richter, perfect timing! I had this weird dream and there was this girl with long green hair claiming to be the Goddess." As she spoke Richter became more confused each second. Despite his confusion, she continued, "Long story short, the Goddess told me that I'll find all of my answers at the monastery!"
She grabbed her bag and started shoving things into it. Richter sighed and took Annette's hands, setting her bag to the side. "Annette, listen, I've been meeting with Gibert." He confessed. She gave him a confused look, "Who's Gilbert, a friend of yours?" Her question confused Richter. "Your father, he told me not to mention anything about the conversations we had." He added. Annette laughed half-heartedly, "That sounds like something dad would do. Also, his name is Gustave." Richter didn't think that her father would work under a fake name. But that didn't matter now. Richter picked up Annette's bag and grabbed her hand. Pulling her down the halls of the quiet castle, each step they took echoed through the walls. Arriving at the castle stables, Richter unhitched two horses. Helping Annette onto one of them, he gave Annette her bag. "Wait here, I'll go and grab mine." He said, sprinting back into the castle.
When he came back, he told Annette that they were headed to the monastery. "We don't have a safe travel route." She spoke. Richter had already memorized the map that Gustave gave him, so he gave it to Annette. "Your dad gave me this before he set off earlier." Annette looked at the map and then at Richter, "But when did you-" "I saw him a few hours ago, while you were asleep." He admitted. Annette sighed, "Well, I think it's about time to confront him." Richter nodded. Going on nothing but rumors and a dream, the two set off for the monastery, in hopes of finding Gustave.