AN: Hey hey! It's May and it's Friday! Welcome back for Part II!

Now before we begin, I have a rather important announcement to make:

I plan on completely rewriting "Let's Die Together."

Now, before you all panic—no, this is not the final chapter! I'm not abandoning this story. It's just going to be a *pinch* shorter than I initially planned and also no, this certainly does not mean I will make a mad mediocre dash for the finish line. No, I will not go back and overhaul previously written chapters and thus force you to reread them to get a grasp as to what did or didn't change; the rewrite will be a separately published work and this one will remain as is. Finally, no, the rewrite will not take precedence over this story. While I want to work on the rewrite in tandem with this story and my others to have a backlog for when I'm ready to upload it, this current version will remain priority and I will strive for regular updates like in the earlier chapters.

As a comparison, I've rewritten a fanfic once before—a Gravity Falls fanfiction that I look back and read with fond laughter but GOD it was so FUCKING bad (although in my defence, I wrote it when I was 13-14 lol). It was so bad in fact that I just HAD to rewrite it because I had a gazillion plot threads that I didn't know how to tie up, OCs I didn't know what do with but thought they were cool at the time, and a "plot" that changed course faster than a goddamn rollercoaster. Me rewriting it not only made me happy, but the readers who cared enough to come back for an encore noticed and appreciated the vast improvement as well!

Now, unlike the horrendously written "Learning to Love'', I don't think "Let's Die Together" is objectively awful trash that I, by some deal with the devil, got people to enjoy. There are actually several chapters that I'm particularly proud of—in fact, I go back to said chapters like The Hresvelg Curse, The Rite of Rebirth and The Prince in Distress Saga, just to smile like a moron, pat myself on the back and say, "Damn girl, you snapped (hopefully)!" I'm bringing LtL up as an example as to what the rewrite will be like—same concept, similar scenes, but different structure, (hopefully) better pacing, prose, characters etc.

...but also I just felt like bashing my middle school writing. Lol

Anyway, this story means a lot to me, really, and so do you guys! So I'm rewriting it not because it's a concept I love trapped under a heaping pile of shitty OCs, undercooked plot threads, and nonexistent story arcs. It's a concept I love that I think needs a bit of makeup and posture correction, and I think most of you would agree.

So! Speak to me, what's something(s) you think could've been done better in this story, what could be added, what could be taken out etc. ANYTHING you guys say I will take into account! Just be polite about it, please :3

TL;DR, sometime down the line, this story will get a separately published rewrite and I'll be working on it ASAP, so if you think there's something I need to change, speak now or forever hold your peace!

NOW! Onto the chapter! Hope you enjoy it!

Chapter XXV: The Questions

Edelgard was no stranger to injustice, no stranger to loss. So one could be led to believe that after going through both over, and over, and over again that the pain would wane like training a muscle.

Dimitri was proof that it was not so.

"E...l…" the shuddering gasp of her pet name slipping past his lips would haunt her forever. To add insult to injury, it ushered in a fresh wave of tears. It would have pulled a sob too, had she not bit her lip shut and swallowed the aching lump in her throat.

Uselessly, foolishly and half-heartedly, Edelgard poured more healing magic from her fingertips. She rubbed her fingers up and down the wound, willing his dying heart to strengthen, willing the hole in his chest to close—but all she felt was more blood coating her gloves

She gasped as the sob once more attempted to tear through her aching chest and bite bleeding lips before she could clamp down on the grief again. "Please," she murmured against his sweaty forehead. "Please, Dimitri. Please. Fight. Fight for me."

"He's slipped too far for potions, healing spells and pleading to reach him, niece. But there are other solutions."

Edelgard jolted and whirled around at the sound of that voice, and it was as if the world had abruptly crashed back down on her. Rubble was raining down, spells were going off rapid fire and Rhea was a blur that left screaming bird masked mages and spurting blood in its wake—

And standing in front of that and before her was Thales, rid of his guise of Arundel and smiling down at her in a horrible imitation of benevolence.

She blinked at him, grief-addled brain taking a few moments to remember just who she was looking at and why she needed to wipe those childish tears right now. It took only a moment after to realize what he meant, and it had Edelgard immediately shaking her head.

"No," she said, hating the way her voice croaked with the promise of more unshed tears and tinged with the slightest bit of pleading. "No."

Thales clicked his tongue and tilted his head to the side. "Dear, dear, Edelgard; I wasn't asking your permission."

Knock, knock.

Edelgard blinked rapidly, mind returning to present as she straightened in her seat and cleared her throat. "Hubert?"

At her side, Hubert nodded and strode around the long desk to open the large ornate doors with a flourish. As Hubert then stepped aside, Edelgard found the subdued form of Ferdinand von Aiger standing in his place.

"Edel—Your Majesty," Ferdinand dipped into a bow before standing once more. "I…wanted to see you. Of course if you're not busy—"

"No," Edelgard said, grateful for the distraction. She gestured towards the chair in front of her desk. "Sit."

Ferdinand complied with a brisk nod and folded his hands atop his lap, sunset hued eyes flickering nervously. This was a departure from what he usually was like—it wasn't exactly a good sign.

"How are you faring in your new position?" Edelgard began.

"That…this is what I wanted to talk to you about. Or rather—well, this letter," Ferdinand said, placing an unsealed envelope atop the desk.

Edelgard stared at it briefly before looking up at Ferdinand. "Do the contents bother you?"

Ferdinand bit his lip before blurting out, "Why? Why are you doing this? I-I don't understand—!"

"Am I to believe you will be against my war efforts?" Edelgard said cooly, gaze hardening.

"You aren't leaving me much choice to disagree," Ferdinand responded tightly.

"I didn't ask if you disagreed, Ferdinand. I asked if you would come against me. I was making no exaggerations in that letter; I cannot have weak links if I am to succeed, and if you prove to be one—"

"You will replace me," Ferdinand said, frowning and looking away. "I know. But I'm so bewildered! I—we've been dutifully serving the Empire for generations; you'd throw us out, disgrace our name just to antagonize The Church?"

"Yes," Edelgard said simply. "I know you don't care to hear this but you are as replaceable as your father was and anyone else for that matter."

Ferdinand narrowed his eyes. "I see. Everyone is replaceable, yes? How well do you think the people of Faerghus will take that reasoning when they inevitably come knocking at the gates of Enbarr?"

Edelgard inhaled sharply, hands clenching under the table as Hubert hissed and shot Ferdinand a poisonous glare. "Watch yourself, von Aiger," he warned. "Remember who you are speaking to. You are nothing more than Prime Minister, and if you don't watch yourself, you will be even less."

"Hubert," Edelgard chided mildly. She appreciated the defence but she absolutely did not want him perpetuating noble superiority nonsense.

Ferdinand's gaze flickered towards him. "You're fine with that Hubert? Her Majesty thinking you disposable?"

"She said replaceable. And yes, to both scenarios regardless."

Ferdinand frowned and shook his head. "Have you no pride at all? Or is your entire identity based around someone else?"

"Such lack of self-awareness," Hubert sneered, crossing his arms and scoffing. "Are you not here whining to Her Majesty about keeping your position?"

Ferdinand opened his mouth to shoot back a snarky comment of his own when Edelgard firmly stated, "Enough. Ferdinand," She gave the boy a stern look. "You are either against me or with me. I will accept no fence straddlers."

"...you didn't answer my question; why?" Ferdinand shook his head in frustration as he continued, "Garreg Mach Monastery, an ancient symbol of peace and refuge is completely obliterated, Faerghus is in shambles with their king mysteriously going missing, dead or alive—" His eyes narrowed slightly at that part, silently and either intentionally or unintentionally letting Edelgard knew he had heard and was putting some weight to The Archbishop's statement that The Empire had something to do with Dimitri's disappearance. "—and for what?"

For all that ramble, Edelgard simply replied with, "The good of Fodlan. Are you with me, or are you not?"

Ferdinand looked like he wanted to argue more, but instead he slumped his shoulders in defeat and sighed. "I-I am with you, Your Majesty."

Edelgard gave him a polite smile and nodded. "I am glad, Ferdinand."

Ferdinand nodded mutely before standing and bowing, exiting the office with the same subduedness he had entered with.

"We must work on dispelling those rumors," Hubert said immediately after he'd gone. "Having both The Church and The Alliance against us is difficult as is. With Faerghus's rage as well…"

Edelgard sighed and pushed herself from her seat stretching backwards and feeling her back pop. Tiredly, she pulled the curtains of the windows behind her desk and stared at the streets below. "It'll be nothing more than a he-says-she-says scenario; and who will the people most likely believe? Not The Empire who had started a war, certainly. And not over The Church."

"We need King Dimitri himself."

"Yes," Edelgard agreed, fists clenching subconsciously at her side. "And Arundel has been doing goodness knows what to him for two weeks now. I don't even know if he's alive," her voice sank into a whisper at the last part, hand instinctively falling to the dagger at her hip.

She didn't add that she wasn't sure which she would prefer—a dead Dimitri meant she had no proof to sway Faerghus's rage against The Empire and towards The Church, that whatever Arundel and his freaks were doing with him wasn't hurting him, and also that both Dima and the prince she'd gotten to know was well and truly dead.

On the other hand, a living Dimitri meant she could ruin The Church's reputation in the eyes of their most devoted supporters, that Dima was okay and she could see him again—and also that he was going through the same agony Edelgard had.

If only she hadn't let her guard down around Rhea. If only—

Hubert sighed softly. "If only those foolish rumors at the Monastery about the two of you could have actually done a little bit of use."

She couldn't believe Hubert of all people was cheering her up, and she wasn't sure if it was the light joke or the anomaly that had Edelgard letting out an amused breath.

-o0o-

"I don't get it," Byleth said as she half-heartedly nibbled on a charred fish. She walked with Claude in a partially destroyed and mostly empty town as she did so. "Why would Edelgard kidnap Dimitri instead of killing him?"

"She didn't kidnap him," Claude said with a grin before spreading his fingers widley for added dramatics. "They shared their first kiss and rode off into the sunset to avoid their responsibilities and love freely!"

"I doubt it," Byleth dismissed.

Claude rolled his eyes. "It's a joke, Teach. Come on! Even people with the worst sense of humor ever should've gotten that!"

"It's not her humor, she lacks a brain," Sothis sniped from within Byleth's head. She rose the fish to her mouth for another bite before imagining an ocean of blood and innards. "Eek! Gross! Stop that stop that! Okay, okay I'm sorry!"

"In reality though? I think it's a power play," Claude said. "Use him as a bargaining chip to control Faerghus."

Byleth stared down at her fish and tilted her head to the side in thought. "I don't believe that either."

Claude raised his eyebrows. "So…you're going with the rode-romantically-off-into-the-sunset theory?"

"No."

"You think Rhea's lying?"

Byleth sighed and placed the fish away from her mouth again. "I don't know that either. It's all very confusing…they seemed very fond of each other, even if it wasn't as serious as the rumors claimed. But…" she suddenly remembered Edelgard trying desperately to warp her into an ambush. "...she was a brutal young woman."

Claude snorted. "You'd think. Starting a war and all that but…I find I agree with you. Something's missing here, I think."

"Nothing's certain," Byleth agreed, eyes falling after she'd tossed the fishbone away with. "Let's change the subject. What do the rest of you plan on doing now that I'm officially out of a job?"

Claude smiled and looked down at her. "Whatever you do, obviously."

Byleth frowned and blinked at him. "What?"

"This is war, Teach. We can't just go home and live our lives like it's normal. I mean we can but where's the fun in that, huh? And you, you're going to fight with your father, right?"

Byleth nodded. "Of course. But—"

"No buts," Claude cut her off. "If you fight, we fight. And if there's no 'we' there's going to be me." he gave her a hard pat on the shoulder and winked. "That is certain."

Byleth stared at him for one moment, two, then three. Finally, she smiled softly.

Claude's smile disappeared in contrast as he did a double take and tripped over his own feet into a partially destroyed house.

-o0o-

Dimitri wasn't entirely sure how long he'd been screaming incoherently at Arundel—that monster, that bastard, that "human" embodiment of all things disgusting and atrocious. He wasn't sure how long he'd been trying to pull free from his restraints or how long he'd been trapped in this odd appearing room.

It must have been long however, because Arundel stared at him with boredom lidded eyes as Dimitri rubbed his biceps raw against the thick litter and snarled another dark promise at his face.

"Are you done?" He drawled finally. "You clearly cannot break free, and without doing so I hardly think you'll be able to 'snap my bones like twigs and drink the marrow,' as you so eloquently put it."

Dimitri fell back hard against the metal table, panting and shaking with both exertion and rage as he glared murderously beneath his sweat clinging bangs at Arundel from where he sat across the room. "To the pits of hell with you, you revolting—"

"Are. You. Done?" Arundel repeated in a clipped tone. "I'm busy—terribly so—and I don't have all day to waste with an insolent little boy."

Dimitri looked away from him, jaw clenched as his gaze flickered around the room. Strange orbs of light trapped within glass lined the ceiling and colours swam through the obsidian coloured walls like paint doused blood through veins. Just what was this place? Who were these people?

"What do you want from me?" Was the answer he decided to verbalize, still glaring off to the side.

"Ah, decided to behave, have you? No, not quite…"

Dimitri jolted as an invisible force snapped his head to the side and forced his gaze back on that repulsive smirking creature. "Better. I'm sure your father taught you about eye-contact and how respectful it is to hold."

The young king inhaled slowly, fighting the urge to spit a million more threats at Arundel's face; the fact that he dared even reference his father—

But no, this wasn't getting him anywhere. He needed to think if he wanted out.

"Ah look," Arundel sighed in a laughable imitation of concern as his gaze flickered to his arms now rubbed red. "Margaret had specifically requested these for you because they were softer than the metal bars—but now, you've managed to harm yourself like a fool and spit her gift right back in her face."

Dimitri scoffed. "How kind of my captors to worry about my skin chafing."

"Indeed," Arundel agreed. "However, I didn't bring you here for small-talk, you asked what I wanted from you, and I believe you deserve an answer.

"How much exactly did Edelgard tell you about our little business?"

Dimitri's eyes widened.

El.

The night charged directly back into his consciousness; the battle at The Monastery, him saving Edelgard and stabbing Rhea, Rhea blasting him in the back with a spell in retaliation, Edelgard shielding them in a circle of flame, tears streaming down her face as she begged him not to leave—

"Where is she?" Dimitri demanded immediately. "Where is El?"

Arundel rolled his eyes. "She is fine," he said dully. "Taking advantage of your disappearance and The Church's involvement in it hopefully. But she truly has lost her edge," he scoffed and shook his head. "Sending her to that place was perhaps the most foolish idea I've ever had. But no matter, this is not about Edelgard this is about you, and I asked you a question; how much did she tell you?"

Oh, just remembering what Edelgard had told him—the horrors she faced, the pain, she'd endured, the loved ones she'd lost—

And what happened to her still when she did something her torementers didn't approve of.

Dimitri clenched his jaw and looked away once more. She'd suffered enough, he wasn't about to tell Arundel or Thales or whoever this horrible man was anything that would put her life in jeopardy.

Within moments, his head was telekinetically snapped back towards Arundel once more and Dimitri snarled at him. "Down, boy," Arundel said. "As I said this has nothing to do with Edelgard. We're not going to harm her."

"I don't believe you."

Arundel sighed before saying, "Well, in any case, you know of our alliance and its tepid nature. Edelgard and her messiah complex and title of Empress is a means to an end for us, and our use of the finest technology—"

"Tech…" Dimitri frowned in confusion. "Technol…ogy?"

"Technology," Arundel agreed, pointing towards the strange light fixture above him and patting the walls, then gesturing to the equally odd metal door as he said, "A branch of knowledge hidden by the likes—well that isn't the conversation for today. But this is all to say that our relationship is one of mutual benefit." Arundel leaned forwards in his chair and smiled cooly down at Dimitri. "We would like you to be a part of said relationship—you and your Faerghus. Putting someone else on the throne would only lead to rebellion as the people love you so…as does Edelgard it would seem. And letting you die would be such a waste—"

Dimitri barked out a mirthless laugh. "Join you? After what you've done?"

Arundel shrugged lightly. "I've done much to Edelgard—" the casual admission had Dimitri tensing sharply and baring his teeth and rage. "—yet she is mature enough to look past all of that out of convenience. Why aren't you?"

"Tell me," Dimitri ground out through clamped teeth. "What benefits would possibly make up for working with monsters that took EVERYTHING FROM ME!?" His rage had exploded once more, near the question's end, and he'd once more tried and failed to lunch for Arundel's throat. He longed to squeeze the air from his lungs, shatter every bone in his spine and rip his head from his shoulders with his bare hands.

The restraints groaned in protest but held taught even as his Crest flared throughout the eldritch room. He let out an ear ringing roar of rage and frustration as he fell back to the table shaking and panting once more, this time with furious tears lining his eyes.

"You are disgustingly overdramatic," Arundel mused blandly. "No, young Dimitri, I did not take everything from you. I took your father, your stepmother, many of your friends and...clearly a huge chunk of your sanity but that is hardly everything." He tilted his head to the side appraisingly as his words sent extra fire into Dimitri's heart.

As if Father hadn't been everything—his kind words, his warm hugs, his lively laughter—

Dimitri choked on a sob as Arundel continued undeterred. "Faerghus stands, you still have your crown, some of your friends, your life…but no you can't even think about the good, can you?" he roughly wiped a tear from Dimitri's eyes with his thumb. "You're still a little boy who can't get over papa's—"

Not being able to move his limbs, Dimitri did the next best thing with strangling, pummelling or simply covering his mouth to get him to stop talking off the table—he twisted his head to the side and clamped his teeth as hard as he could on Arundel's thumb.

The man let out a glorious scream of shock and pain as blood filled Dimitri's mouth. His Crest flashed again, and with another sharp twist of his head, he'd pulled Arundel's thumb clean off—bone and all.

"Beast!" Arundel roared, the hand still possessing a thumb exploding with electricity before firmly smacking Dimitri across the face. The pain was enormous, the electricity spreading through his nerves and sending his whole body convulsing and writhing while his head spun and cheek smarted from the force of the smack.

But he was laughing anyway, the blood of his father's killer delicious on his tongue even after he spat his finger out, and the sound of his screams and cursing a delightful symphony to his ears.

"Work with you!" Dimitri laughed. "You are either foolish or arrogant. Perhaps Edelgard can stand wallowing in filth to get help from rats like you but I will not stand for it! Faerghus will not stand for it!"

Arundel chuckled bitterly as he clutched his stump and lit it a flame, cauterizing the wound as he eyed Dimitri with chilling rage and a mirthless smile.

"A persistent fighter. Admirable, Dimitri. Truly admirable." He slowly lowered his still shaking thumb-less hand as he turned on his heel, back ramrod straight and head held high as he strode towards the strange doors. As he neared, he held up a flat, slender square to an elevated platform. Moments later, the grooves in the walls stopped shifting colours to flash green and send a tinkling sound echoing through the room.

As the metal doors slid open with a hiss, a group of bird masked men stood behind it. Dimitri felt old childhood fear rise in him, strangling his lungs and snatching away every bit of pleasure he'd had at maiming Arundel.

Duscur flickered before him and Dimitri squeezed his eyes shut, shaking his head. "No…"

"You've earned my respect, King Dimitri," Arundel drawled as the bird men marched in. "But in exchange, you've lost my mercy. I'll tame you yet, boy."

With a final cold smile, the doors hissed shut once more.

-o0o-

AN: Welp, here ya go! Hope you all enjoyed the little taste of what's to come! Part II is going to be a bit more cold-war-ish if that makes sense, so I will be in the process of getting monarchy politics tutoring from my lil bro lol. Hope what I've shown here wasn't bad, however!

I will hopefully see you next week, and remember, critiques are especially valuable now as I am writing the rewrite of this story as we speak! But again, no flames please!

Fantasy Fan OUT!