A/N:
Just a quick reminder I had changed Byleth's birthday to the 6th of the Verdant Rain Moon. Now enjoy the chapter!
Blue Sea Moon 1180:
Thirtieth of the Blue Sea Moon:
Dimitri took a deep breath before knocking on the door to Byleth's room. He waited for a few seconds, but when he didn't hear anything he knocked again. When he still heard nothing, he stood there at a loss.
He glanced down at the doorknob. He shouldn't, he knew that very well, but despite his conscious screaming at him to stop, he still went ahead and twisted the door handle. There was no resistance and the door opened slightly. Even though his conscious was begging him to stop, it was only when he was staring at the crack, of the open door, did he realize what he just did, and he froze.
When nothing happened, he decided that his grave was already dug and that he might as well jump in by stepping into her room. Just as he figured, Byleth was out and yet the thought to leave didn't occur to him. Much of her room was neat and organized, but also empty almost like it was unlived in. But as a strike contrast to all that, at the end of the room was a different story. Books were scattered across the floor from the broken shelf that had the Sword of the Creator was impelled in.
As if drawn to the sword, he walked over to it. He stared down at it; no thoughts filled his mind as he looked at it. Hesitantly he reached out to grip the handle, unlike all other Hero Relics the Sword of the Creator did not react to him, as if the sword were letting him know that only one was worthy of wielding it.
His hand fell back to his side, but his gaze did not leave the relic. He remembered when he was a child that he and Byleth would pretend to be legendary heroes, he would wield Areadbhar and Byleth would wield the Sword of the Creator and defeat the evil gods that invaded Faerghus. It seemed so unreal to him that their little game of pretend came true, but it didn't bring either of them joy.
Even with her not saying anything, he knew that she despised the Sword of the Creator. Silently he gripped the sword's handle again and gave it a light tug. It was stuck in the wall good, and absently he wondered just how big of strength boost did the sword give Byleth, but no matter how snug it was in the wall it was nothing his crest provided strength couldn't handle; but he didn't make another attempt to pull it out. He could so easily get rid of the relic. Throw it down the nearby ravine and spare Byleth from ever having to look at the accursed thing again, but would that really help her? He couldn't save her from the Crest of Flames, nor would he be able to spare her from the scorn she would receive if she lost the sword. With a small growl, he released the weapon.
He continued to glare down at the offending item. That wretched sword and her crest was causing her so much misery and there was absolutely nothing he could do about it. His glare grew more intense as if that would be enough to erase the relic from existence.
Like a flame going out, his anger extinguished. He wanted to blame the Sword of the Creator and the Crest of Flames, for all of Byleth's suffering, but there was no one more responsible than him for it. He needed to apologize. He had a perfect opportunity yesterday and he wasted it by getting too caught up in joy that she didn't reject him.
"Aster?" Byleth asked and he jumped. "What are you doing in here?" As quickly as he could he spun on his heels to see her walking in. She was wearing the Blue Lion's training uniform and her cheeks were flushed. Using a towel to wipe away some sweat from her cheeks she gave him a sideways glance as she dropped something on her desk.
For a moment he was enchanted by the way her clothes clung to her and how she glowed in the morning sun. With some difficulty he swallowed and tried to ignore the tightness of his pants. She turned to give him more of her attention and it dawned on him that he had yet to answer her.
"I did not mean to intrude!" he blurted out. She arched an eyebrow and he wanted to slap himself. Even if what he said had some truths to it, it was still an obvious lie. "I wanted to see if you wanted to eat breakfast." He quickly added in hope of saving some of his dignity.
"I ate already." She turned away from him to start rummaging through her dresser. Silently he watched her. He didn't believe that she was lying but based on how she looked and how sweaty she was, he was sure that she had to have burn most of her breakfast off. A small frown formed on his lips. He didn't get the feeling she told him that to avoid him but something else instead. With a quiet grown he wanted to slap himself again when he remembered her reaction yesterday at the Dining Hall. Of course, she wouldn't want to eat breakfast there when it was so busy.
Embarrassed he couldn't think of anything to say or do, so almost helplessly he watched as she pulled out the clothes, she would wear for the day. With seemingly no care or shame she pulled out some undergarments and instantly his eyes flew up to the roof and his face felt like it was on fire. His heart was pounding and the tightness in his pants that had nearly vanished grew more intense.
"What's wrong?"
At the sound of her voice, he glanced back down at her, but his gaze swiftly returned to the roof when he discovered that she hadn't bothered to hide her more personal pieces of clothing. "By….," he grumbled as he covered his face with one of his hands. He loved how much she hadn't changed but he wished somethings had.
"By! You are in there, right?" Claude shouted from the other side of the door. "I am coming in! We need to talk!"
Dimitri didn't have time to be annoyed because when he heard the doorknob being turned, he rushed to throw Byleth's towel over her pile of clothes. She might not have cared about hiding such things but for her sake he would. He barely had a moment to breathe before Claude slammed the door opened.
"By!" Claude shouted with relief and Dimitri couldn't think he had ever heard so many emotions from the Alliance's heir. Every other time Claude had intruded when Dimitri was with Byleth, the Golden Deer's leader always shot him a smug look, but that time Claude didn't even acknowledge the prince.
"I think I deserve the right to explain myself!" Claude had always looked at Byleth with a soft or gentle look, a look that he didn't give to anyone else, but that look was gone as he glared at her, instead. Dimitri glanced at her and discovered that she was rigid and had her fists balled. With an expression to match her tension, he stood behind her, in perfect view for Claude, but the other man still didn't acknowledge him.
"Your power-"
"I don't want to hear it!" Byleth shouted and both men flinched. Dimitri had seen Byleth angry before, but that glare, she was wearing then, made him wonder if what she had experienced before was actual anger. He knew her emotions were growing ever since coming to Garreg Mach but even that seemed to be too great for her. As if surprised by her own hostility she quickly looked away to stare at her towel that covered her clothes.
With a small nod to herself she picked up her clothes and began to leave. Claude tried to stop her, but she jerked her arm out of his grasp. He tried to say something, but she continued on her way, never sparing either of them a glance. From the open door, they could see her as she passed by, on her way to the bathrooms. She didn't look at them as she ordered the both of them to leave her room.
Silently, the men remained rooted in place. Not sure of what to say, Dimitri just simply watched Claude as he worked through his emotions. As if sensing the prince's stare Claude shot him a glare, but it quickly fell away. Mumbling something under his breath, the tanned skinned man ran his hands through his hair as he stared up at the roof. Another silence descended upon them, but it didn't last for long, as Claude was quick to break it by shouting, "dammit". He left shortly after his outburst.
Dimitri remained a little longer in Byleth's room. Seeing her getting angry at Claude should have brought him some joy but he only felt emptier. As much as he hated seeing her confide in another man, he could at least take in some comfort that she had someone to talk with, but if they were fighting then that meant she lost a support. He didn't want her to be alone.
He glanced at her desk and finally noticed what she had left on it, when she first entered, earplugs. He pressed his lips together as he looked at them. Eventually, he tore his eyes away from the earplugs to look at the Sword of the Creator. He wanted to help Byleth. He wanted her to be at least comfortable, but in ordered to do that he needed to apologize first. He knew that an apology would not be enough, but he had no idea what else he could do.
Dimitri had expected Byleth to be in a bad mood when class started but she seemed to be her usual self. No one seemed to be aware that she was angry earlier, and he couldn't help but wonder if she had better control over her emotions than he realized. She was acting like that morning hadn't happened and so he played along, in hopes that it would alleviate some of her stress.
Despite the heavy tension from yesterday, Annette was in a good mood. The young woman would forget herself from time to time and shout her answers or questions, and though Byleth would wince every time she never said anything. By the time of the last period started Annette was in a jolly mood and it had spread throughout the classroom; even Felix was sporting a small smile as he watched Annette bounce around.
"Professor!" Annette shouted with her hands raised and Byleth winced. The student didn't wait for the professor to call on her before asking her question. "Your birthday is soon, is it not?"
Byleth stared at the bubbly girl for a moment before looking back at the chalkboard. Her gaze drifted upwards, but she didn't say anything. Dimitri believed that she was counting the days in her head. Her eyes widen and a smile grew on his face as he watched her nod to herself.
"I guess it is," she said so nonchalantly that both he and Sylvain couldn't help the small laugh that escaped them.
"What do you mean, 'I guess it is'?" Sylvain teased.
"I never really celebrated my birthday before so…"
"What do you mean you never celebrated your birthday before?!" Annette shouted, and once again Byleth winced but said nothing.
"Birthdays have never really been important to me before. If it weren't for Aster, I probably wouldn't remember my age." Annette gasped loudly. Another small laugh escaped Dimitri as he recalled how Byleth struggled to remember her age when they first met.
"And I have celebrated my birthday before. Twice in fact." Another loud gasp from Annette was quickly followed with the demand for more information. "I celebrated my eighteenth birthday," she paused, and he was sure it was because she was recalling the memory based on the small smile that formed. "That one is my favorite because of a chance encounter." She glanced at him and for a moment they made genuine eye contact, where there was no prebattle tension or fear to cloud it, and it felt like his heart leapt into his throat.
"The other one, I celebrated, was for my fourteenth birthday. Both Aster and King Lambert made such a big deal about it that I thought about hiding." Her smile grew and Dimitri's matched it. Even though she had suggested for him to remember good memories, he was struggling to, especially as of late; but that was a good memory of his father and he was grateful for her for reminding him of it. He felt a warmth grow in his chest as he thought more about the memory.
"Well, it is time to celebrate another one!" Sylvain shouted, breaking Dimitri out of his thoughts.
"Yeah, especially since this will be the first birthday, we can celebrate with you!" Ingrid added. Byleth's eyes sparkled as she nodded yes. A blush warmed the prince's cheeks as he stared at that look. He used a smile to hide the fact that his stomach was doing flips and that he wanted to see more of that look.
"Professor, what do you want for your birthday?" Annette asked, and the thought to have a softer volume was completely lost to her.
The smile left the professor's face as she stared at her student. Another chuckle escaped Dimitri as he watched as Byleth's face scrunched up in deep thought. He was sure he already knew the answer, but he was excited to hear what she had to say, regardless.
"A sword?" Byleth answered after a few seconds of silence, and Dimitri's hand immediately flew to his mouth to hide his snort, but Sylvain didn't bother trying to hide his. "To replace the one, I lost?" Her voice had a little edge to it as she shot Sylvain a tiny glare.
"Trust us, that is already being taken care of," Sylvain said. Both he and the class leader looked at Felix, who seemed to have found a great interest in the wall.
"Food?" Was asked after a few seconds of silence, and once again Dimitri struggled to hide his snort and Sylvain didn't bother.
"We have Dedue and Ashe in our class, so of course we already have a good meal planned for you." As if to back up his point Sylvain grabbed the back of Dedue's seat to bring attention to the quiet man. Dedue said nothing but he did give her a small nod.
"And Annie and I will be sure to bake a lot of tasty snacks!" Mercedes added, and Annette yelled her support.
"Tea!" Byleth shouted confidently but when Sylvain quickly shot it down, she pouted, which just earned her more laughter from the flirtatious man.
With great amusement Dimitri watched as she went back to thinking, with quite the adorable but determined look on her face. After a few seconds of nothing a pout formed, and it grew with each passing second. Eventually a groan escaped her, and Sylvain laughed.
"I don't know!" she finally shouted and threw her hands up in the air.
"Oh, come on Professor!" Annette shouted back. "There must be something you want!" The older woman shot her a small glare, but Annette didn't seem to mind.
"There isn't. I spent all my life on the road, desiring things was pointless as I couldn't afford to give up valuable space in my bags for such trivial things."
Even if that hadn't been the case, Dimitri had no doubt that Byleth wouldn't have wanted anything anyway. She was so selfless that he was sure she wouldn't want to trouble someone with them trying to get her a gift. He wished she would be more selfish as the thought of her demanding something of him, sparked something within him, and he quickly covered the lower half of his face with his hand, less his blush be seen by everyone.
Class ended in a jolly mood as the more outspoken students teased Byleth about her lack of desires. It was a common atmosphere in the Blue Lion's classroom before everything began to fall apart and it was only then that Dimitri realized how nice it was. It seemed like all of their issues had been a thing of the past, and as much as he would love to believe that he knew better. His ghosts were still going to haunt him until he gave them their revenge and Byleth's troubles were still very much real, even if she acted like they didn't exist; but above all else he owed her an apology before they could move on; it was the very least he could do.
Once class was over everyone slowly made their way out, except for Byleth and Dimitri. She sat at her desk, looking over some papers, seemingly unaware of his presence. With a frown he watched her, waiting for her to finally acknowledge him.
"By…," he finally called for her when the waiting became too much.
She set her papers down to look at him. The earlier cheer, she had been emitting, was gone and she had an air of indifference. He knew he deserved such a thing, but it still hurt.
"Do you need something?" she asked with no emotion in her voice. His gaze dropped and he started to pout. Yes, he needed something, but was that necessarily something she needed to ask right after class? He was the class leader and…and he had been neglecting his responsibilities…of course, she would ask that. He wished for the earth to open up beneath him and swallow him whole.
"I…," he paused to take a deep breath, "I am sorry for neglecting my class leader's duties." Was that really the apology he was going to start with?! He wanted to scream at himself but made sure to never reflect his inner turmoil.
"It's fine," she said with indifference as she shifted her attention back to her papers.
"It is not fine!" He said that louder than necessary. He offered a quiet apology when he noticed her messaging her temples. "I should not have been neglecting my duties." That was not what he wanted to focus on, but he had no idea how to shift away from it. He was a crown prince. He received countless hours of training and education on how to navigate a conversation. He needed to be a master of it, and yet he was complete failure when it came to involving her.
"It's fine," she repeated without ever looking at him. "The extra workload with nothing… Really." He bit his bottom lip and balled his fists tightly. This argument was not important. There was no way she would be able to see his sincerity when he was apologizing for a minor issue that he would surely make up for later.
"By," he called for her again after a moment of silence. She didn't glance at him, only hummed to acknowledge him. He kept quiet waiting for her to look at him, and her silence was torturous. Her gaze drifted away from the papers, but didn't settle on him, it looked like she was staring at nothing, but her gaze was so focused. After what felt like an eternity, she put down her papers to look at him, and it felt like a lump formed in his throat, making it nearly impossible for him to speak.
With more effort than he would have like to have expended, he managed to swallow, and while it didn't get rid of the lump it at least made it easier for him to talk. He opened his mouth to speak but not a sound left him when he noticed Byleth's attention had drifted towards the classroom's doors. Quickly, he shut his mouth as his jaw clenched. With fists tightly balled he swiftly spun on his heels, not sure of what he would do if Claude had dared to interrupt him again. Almost instantly his anger left him when he laid eyes on the intruder, Marianne.
"I am sorry!" Marianne cried out and was about to run away when Byleth's shout halted her.
"It's alright Marianne!" Byleth said as she got up. Unlike with him she was all smiles with the new student, and he hated how jealous that made him feel. "You weren't interrupting anything important."
He pressed his lips tightly together. Silently, he watched as Byleth made her way over to the Golden Deer student. When she asked him to confirm what she said to be true, he was unable to trust his voice and so, to be safe, he nodded instead.
He kept his mouth shut when Byleth asked him to talk to her later. Bitterly, he left with barely a word said, but he did leave with his princely smile on, in hopes of not scaring Marianne. As soon as the classroom's doors shut behind him the smile fell from his face, but it wasn't replaced with a scowl as something had grabbed his attention.
In front of the Golden Deer's classroom was Claude and the two made eye contact briefly. Claude shot him a scowl but quickly dropped it. Without ever uttering a sound the Alliance's heir walked away.
For a moment Dimitri wondered if Claude had sent Marianne to interrupt him but that thought didn't last for very long. Marianne wasn't the type to do such a thing and Claude wasn't one to force such a shy woman to do something like that either. He looked at the Blue Lion's classroom's doors and wondered what the women were talking about. Marianne had always been someone he was concerned about, he had a feeling that she might be able to relate to him, but he never figured out how to approach her, or even if he should. A smile grew on his face as he realized he was a fool for not realizing it sooner. There was no way that Byleth wasn't going to try and help that girl.
While looking up at the sky, he realized that his frustration was gone. He looked back at the classroom's doors one final time before walking away. He wasn't pleased about losing another opportunity to apologize, but if the interaction between the two women helped either one of them, then he would be perfectly okay with the lost chance.
Dimitri was told that his gift, for Byleth, wouldn't be ready until at least the second of the Verdant Rain Moon, but despite knowing that he still couldn't help but check on it. The jeweler that worked in Garreg Mach, wasn't annoyed at his request and even showed him what was done so far. The piece of jewelry that he requested was a brooch with the Blue Lion's insignia. All that was left to be done was to inlay a few gems and place an enchantment upon it.
He may not be an expert when it came to jewelry, but he could tell that it was going to be an excellent piece. He should have been pleased with that but laying eyes on the Blue Lion's symbol gave birth to some doubt. Thanks to years of training not a hint of his uncertainty was revealed as he handed back the brooch with his practiced smile.
The reason for his doubt was because of his decision to go with the blue Lion's design. After seeing the Golden Deer bracelet in Byleth's room, one time, he had become too self-conscious of the fact that she owed a piece of jewelry that linked her to Claude and the Alliance. Unlike with the Alliance and the Empire and their class divisions in Garreg Mach, the Kingdom didn't have the same animal representing the Kingdom and class. Dimitri didn't know what animal to go with, all he knew was that he wanted her to own a piece of jewelry that obviously tied her to the Kingdom and by extension to him.
Now that he saw the Blue Lion's design he wondered if he had chosen right. If he had gone with a griffon design then there would be no doubt that it was related to the Kingdom, but would Byleth have liked that? Even though she had never once spoke out against the Kingdom's nobles, he knew she didn't like the majority of them; and he was sure that her opinion had only grown more negative after the nasty rumors that had spread about her after the Tragedy. They never really talked much about the Kingdom after reuniting and he was honestly too afraid to do so. He didn't know how he would react if Byleth told him that she didn't want to return to the Kingdom with him.
With a heavy sigh he stopped in his tracks. It would have been better if he hadn't let his jealousy get the better of him and left the Kingdom out of his decision. A flower brooch would most likely have been better. He could have chosen an aster design and that would have linked her to him, and that was what he really wanted. It was too late now. He wouldn't be able to commission a new piece of jewelry and have an enchantment placed on it in time for her birthday.
With a groan he looked up and discovered that he had stopped in front of the green house. He stared at it for a moment before glancing in the direction of the classrooms. Byleth surely had to be done by then, so she should be free to talk again but…. But now he lacked the confidence to do so.
With not much thought he walked into the green house hoping to find Dedue. When he did not see his friend, he hid his disappointment by pretending to take an interest in the flowers. Despite both Byleth's and Dedue's best attempts he still had little interest in flowers, but he could at least appreciate their beauty.
He hoped the flowers would prove to be a great distraction, but they weren't. It didn't take long for his mind to wonder back to his gift and the thought that it might have been a mistake. A quiet groan reverberated in his body as he tried and failed to not think about the gift.
With a sigh he turned away from the flowers but stopped when a small one caught his eye. He didn't know what kind of flower it was, but he did remember pressing that kind of flower into a book that he gave to Byleth. Kneeling he looked over the flower more carefully as he recalled the look she had when he gave it to her. It was small and insignificant thing that he was sure she would have forgotten about, but she didn't and instead treasured it, and even went as far as to show him that she still kept it. He couldn't help the smile that grew upon his lips when remember Byleth proudly showing him the gift.
Just as he had originally thought a homemade gift would please her best, but in that regard he was hopeless. He was sure he could present her with another book filled with pressed flowers and she would be happy, but he didn't want to do that. He wanted to gift her with new things, but thanks to his strength a lot of artistic talents eluded him.
"This is a pleasant surprise," he heard a familiar voice say. Looking over his shoulder, he discovered that the voice belonged to Mercedes. She smiled sweetly at him and he returned it with a more subdue one. "Were you checking out the flowers?"
He glanced back at the flower and shook his head. "No. Not really," he said but kept his focus on the flower. When his vision began to blur, he closed his eyes and didn't open them until he turned to Mercedes.
"I…," he started but quickly stopped. Thanks to the few sewing practices he had with Mercedes he felt comfortable around her, but he didn't know if he was close enough to share his problems with her. Her smile never wavered, and he found his need to confess to her growing, until he couldn't take it anymore. "I was thinking about what I should do about Byleth's gift." By the end of the sentence, he found himself to self-conscious to look at her.
"Oh." Her little gasp was nothing more than that but to Dimitri it sounded judgmental. Questioning why he, of all people, hadn't figured out his gift for Byleth yet. Or at least that was what he wanted it to sound like. With Sylvain being so accepting and Byleth just being indifferent, Dimitri wanted someone (besides his ghosts) to judge him. Claude was doing it that, but to the prince Claude's actions warranted a bit of suspicions as he wasn't sure if the Alliance's heir was actually judging him for his actions or for something else instead. Or did Dimitri just think that Claude's judgement wasn't worthy?
"I have a gift already," Dimitri said, only to get him out of his head space, "but I know By would appreciate a homemade gift more." He glanced down at the flowers with a small scowl.
"How about you try embroider a handkerchief for her?" His scowl remained as he glanced at Mercedes, who continued to smile happily. "I have some extra fabric you can use, and it should also prove to be great practice with controlling your strength and using a needle."
His scowl softened into a frown as he went back to looking at the flowers. A handkerchief was useful, and he knew Byleth would prefer a gift she could use, but she wasn't the type to use such an item. "Would she even use it?"
"Probably not," Mercedes answered with no hesitation, and he jumped slightly as he didn't realize he had asked that out loud. "But if you are the one, who made it, she will love it. I am sure of that." His cheeks warmed at the thought.
Dimitri sat in Mercedes' room, but he was not sure how she managed to convince him to follow her. He knew he should be more careful about being seen alone in a woman's room, but with his infatuation to Byleth known to all, but the most important person, he didn't think such rumors would spread, even with his recent avoidance. While he may not have worried about rumors, he still felt uncomfortable being alone with a woman in a room, even if it wasn't the first time for him to be alone with Mercedes.
Stiffly he sat in his chair and kept his hands nicely folded in his lap. He watched as Mercedes rummaged for the supplies, he needed. He couldn't help the pout that rested on his lips. Despite constantly sharing his doubts about being able to embroidery Mercedes wouldn't listen and now he was forced to commit to it. Once she had gathered everything, she set all the pieces nicely on her desk and flashed him a smile.
"Before we start, we should decide on a design," Mercedes said. Completely out of his element he kept his mouth shut. "How about a flowery design? That should be easy." He didn't mean too but he couldn't help but sigh at the thought of doing such a basic and unoriginal design. But Byleth very much liked flowers, so maybe doing some flowers was for the best; besides, it wasn't like he would be able to do any better.
"Hmm, what flower should we go with?" The two locked eyes for a moment before Dimitri looked away. He didn't know what to say and so he kept quiet. "What's Professor's favorite flower?"
He was silent as he stared at the materials. The memory of when Byleth first gave him his nickname played in his mind. "Asters," he said quietly. He didn't know if she still felt that way about that particular flower, but he had no other information to work with. Looking back at Mercedes he noticed the little knowing look that she was giving him.
"Of course, it is." Her grin grew and he could feel his cheeks heating up. "Professor is really cute, huh? Naming her favorite person after her favorite flower." His cheeks were on fire and he quickly looked away, and that just earned him a light chuckle.
"I'm not her favorite person," he said to release some of his embarrassment, but it only left him feeling disheartened.
"Yes, you are." He glanced at Mercedes, and she had on a softer smile. "I know you two are going through a…difficult patch?" She glanced at him for confirmation, but he kept quiet. "Despite that you still command most of her attention. Her gaze will always linger on you longer than necessary. You are always the one she looks to first. The Professor may not know it yet, but I am sure you are the most important person to her."
He knew those words were meant to make him feel better, but he just felt numb instead. If what Mercedes said was true, then that could possibly explain why Byleth had yet to yell at him. There was that brief outburst a few nights ago, but that didn't really count. Sure, he recognized what she said at the end to be a reflection of her feelings for him, but the outburst was a result of a variety of things, not just about him. He wished she would lash out at him; he deserved it and so much more.
"Anyway, I'm sure that you and the Professor will make up real soon!" If he could ever get the chance to apologize without being interrupted.
They didn't say anything on that topic after that and he was fine with that. He wasn't free, though, as Mercedes went right into showing him how to start an embroidery project. He had his doubts about being able to do such a thing, let alone finish it in the short amount of time he had.
At Mercedes' mercy, Dimitri was helpless until a loud banging at the door disturbed them. The two shared a look before he went to the door. He was about to reach for the handle, when Dedue called out for him.
"Your Highness are you in there?" Dedue asked, with more emotion in his voice than Dimitri had heard from the man in a very long time. The prince almost didn't believe that it was Dedue, but Mercedes' concern had him opening the door. On the other side was indeed Dedue, a very flustered Dedue. Mercedes called out to him, but the normally somber man ignored her as his full attention was solely on Dimitri. "Your Highness, I must speak with you in private, please."
Giving Mercedes a brief apology, the two men rushed over to Dedue's room, the closest place they wouldn't be disturbed at. As they rushed to the room, the quiet man had visibly calmed down, to the point that Dimitri had almost believed that he had imagined the panic Dedue. Once they were securely in Dedue's room, the taller man wasted no time in explaining the situation.
"There is an uprising in Duscur…?" Dimitri repeated because it was the only thing he could think to do at the moment. The firm nod that Dedue gave him, rooted him in place. His gaze dropped along with his stomach. What was he to do? He would be nearly helpless to do anything about it if he had been staying at the castle, but being a student meant he had even less power despite being the crown prince.
"Byleth, overheard them requesting the church to send troops," Dedue furthered explained. Dimitri gritted his teeth. If the church were to get involved than suppressing the rebellion would be sanction by all parties in Fodlan, and any unnecessarily cruel actions would be forgiven or at least overlooked. There would be nothing he could do about that.
Biting his lips, he glared at the ground. He ran through all possible negotiation situations in his head, but he couldn't imagine any of them going in his favor. He needed power! What good was being the crown prince if he had so little influence?
A knock at the door disrupted his thoughts. Unable to process anything Dimitri silently watched as Dedue opened the door to reveal Byleth. At the sound of her voice, he felt much of the tension leave him as his heart settled a little.
"I managed to convince the church that this was a Faerghus' matter," she explained, once they were all settled in the room. "They church will not get involved and will just watch from the sidelines." With his mouth agape, he stared at her. "I…I thought it would be best if the church stayed out of this." Just a moment ago he saw no hope in this situation and was fearing the worse, and like a beacon of light she came to illuminate a path forward for him. Sheepishly, she glanced at him from the corner of her eye. "I hope I wasn't overstepping my boundaries."
"No!" Dimitri shouted and unknowingly invaded her personal space. "You did exactly what was needed to avoid a horrific situation!" He stared into her blue eyes and felt like everything was going to be okay. To lost in his cheer, he missed the little blush that colored her cheeks.
Without the church's involvement the Kingdom's forces will not be allowed to get away with any unnecessary violence. He was still very much powerless in stopping the situation, but at the very least now the situation wasn't so wholly against them. With Byleth on his side he felt like they would be able to save the people involved in the uprising.
"Your Highness, what should we do about this situation?" Dedue asked, and Dimitri flinched a little at being suddenly reminded that Dedue was in the room with them. His friend tried to paint a picture of calm but thanks to all the years of experience Dimitri had with trying to read Byleth, he could tell that Dedue was hiding his terror.
"I would love to go to the Kingdom and demand that they do not use violence to stop the uprising, but I know none of them will listen to me." He scowled at the thought of everyone demising his claim. "I think our best bet would be to try and talk with the leaders of the revolt. Maybe we can convince them to stop the insurrection for now."
"That would be a very difficult thing to do," Byleth spoke up, and both Dimitri and Dedue looked at her. "I have run into many Duscurian feeling from the Kingdom's persecution." He knew that many Duscurians had fled the Kingdom, but it was a stab to his chest, nonetheless. He hated at how useless he was to protect the innocent people of Duscur. "They are understandably angry and unfortunately I don't think they are in the mood to talk with…" She stared straight at the prince. She didn't finish her thought and she didn't have too; her stare was more than enough to get the point across.
"…Even still I believe they are, are best chance…" He struggled to look at her when he said that, and it didn't become any easier when she looked to stare at Dedue.
"They might not listen to you, but maybe they will be willing to hear out Oak." The taller man said nothing, but he did give them a firm nod.
"We should not waste anymore time! I will gather the rest of our class-"
"No."
"No?!" He didn't mean to shout that with so much hostility, but he did and received shock stares from everyone for it.
"If we were to bring everyone we might be mistaken for a threat."
"But we are just a couple of students."
"Students, who fought in a war." Her gaze had been strong throughout their little conversation, but it wavered in that moment. She never said anything about it, choosing to suffer in silence, but he was sure she blamed herself for having them to take part in that battle. Balling his fists tightly, he wished he could say or do something to alleviate some of that guilt, but he knew, at that moment, it would be seen as an empty gesture and so he kept quiet.
"Regardless," her voice brought him back to the issue at hand, "it wouldn't matter they knew that fact or not." He arched an eyebrow, as her eyes took on a hollower look. "In highly volatile situations the presence of a lone, unknown child could be enough to set off everything." He wanted to ask her what she meant but looking into her eyes caused him to lose the nerve to do so.
"It will be best to move in a small group. Because this is a Faerghus' matter, both you and Oak have permission to leave. I will ask Seteth if I can be your escort. In the meantime, you guys are to get everything ready. We will leave as soon as I have the authorization to leave." As soon as both Dimitri and Dedue agreed, Byleth was already racing for the door, but stopped to look at the prince from over her shoulder.
"Make sure you don't wear or bring anything that could reveal that you are the crown prince of Faerghus." He opened his mouth to argue but she spoke over him. "We do not know how they will react if they learn, who you are." He quickly closed his mouth and nodded. She gave him her own nod and reached to open the door but stopped to look at him once again. "Oh, I will need a weapon. Make sure you grab me one as well."
"What about the Sword of the Creator?" he asked without really thinking about it.
Her expression instantly grew dark, and he wished he hadn't said anything. "I will not use that sword!" Having said that she shut the door behind her. He stared at the door for a moment. Earlier that morning he was thinking about throwing away that relic but now that a possible battle was upon them, he was starting to think differently of it. She might have hated it and by extension he hated it as well, but there was no denying that it was a powerful weapon. With that sword, Byleth would surely be safe, but he knew that she would deny that. He wasn't given much time to dwell on those thoughts as Dedue had begun to go over what they could possibly need, and he decided to give that his full attention.
A/N:
I have officially run out of days in the Blue Sea Moon to write about. I knew that month was going to be long and busy one but even I wasn't expecting to spend 12 chapters on it. Oh well, it's over with now. I can promise you that Verdant Rain Moon will have a lot more romance!