A Fated Dawn
Edelgard Von Hresvelg wore a neutral expression as she walked down the palace hall, her uncle Volkhard right next to her.
It had been three years since she and her uncle had to flee the Adrestian Empire for the Kingdom. Back then, she was just a little girl, but now she isn't!
She was twelve now, old enough to help her father. She won't run again. She would do whatever it took to get the life she lost back.
Especially those days of playing with her siblings, of watching her mom and dad smile…
"Prepare yourself, Edelgard," Uncle Volkhard told her as they reached a set of large doors guarded by two elite knights.
Edelgard smiled briefly before hiding it.
Stop it, Edelgard! Royalty shouldn't show their emotions! Edelgard scolded herself as the knights opened the giant doors.
On the other side was the imperial throne room, the center of the greatest empire in the world.
Decisions that shape the continent are made here, and the room's grandeur reflected that. Its walls were made of the highest quality stone in the known world. On the far end of the room was a great throne illuminated by the red-stained glass window behind it.
But Edelgard didn't care about the throne, no she cared about who was upon it.
Sitting on the throne was her father, King Ionius IX.
Edelgard's neutral expression was broken by a rush of worry as she looked at her father.
It has been three years since she'd any of her immediate family, and that time clearly hadn't been kind to him.
When she last saw him, Ionius had brown hair like here, with a built body. He looked like a true ruler.
Now though, his hair had whitened and become unkempt. His body had withered, leaving him looking malnourished, like a peasant who hadn't eaten in weeks.
"Father!" Edelgard yelled as she ran towards her father and jumped on him.
"Ed- Edelgard?!" Ionius asked in shock as he looked down at his daughter. "What are you doing here?"
Edelgard suddenly stopped hugging her father and got off of him. "Sorry, father. I've just missed you. Are you alright?"
"Yes, of course. Now, what are you doing here?"
"Didn't you call us back? Saying you need my help?" Edelgard asked nervously.
If her father didn't call her here, then who did?
"It was my decision to return," Uncle Volkhard said as he walked towards the throne. "Her presence would greatly help the project your other children are working on."
"Yo- you!" Ionius growled, but any fight he had quickly faded into despair.
"Father?" Edelgard asked slowly as she noticed said despair.
She'd never seen her father make such an expression. He was always perfectly stoic when in the throne room, yet now he looked like he was on the edge of tears.
"Edelgard, my daughter, I'm sorry," the king apologized to his daughter after a moment.
"There's no need to grow so depressed, your majesty," Volkhard said while placing a hand on Edelgard's shoulder. "After all, you'll get to see your daughter more now."
"Father, where is everyone?" Edelgard asked as she finally realized the throne room was empty.
Not only that, but none of her siblings greeted her either. Did the political fighting force them to run to?
"The throne room doesn't see much use these days," Volkhard said as he tightened his grip on Edelgard's shoulder, causing Ionius to flinch. "But it has been a while since you've seen your siblings, hasn't it?"
"Yes," Edelgard answered as a sense of dread built up inside her.
"Lord Arundel," Ionius called to him with a pleading voice.
"Don't worry, my king," Volkgard bowed. "She's in good hands."
Edelgard felt chills run down her spine.
Edelgard followed her uncle to a part of the palace she'd never been to before.
She grew more and more worried the longer they walked.
The palace almost felt empty and lifeless. They had only passed soldiers so far, none of whom she recognized. It was almost as if all the soldiers had been replaced, which didn't make sense.
Palace guards weren't just random mercenaries; they're an elite force meant to protect the emperor and his bloodline. Replacing them all would be nearly impossible.
The imperial princess looked up at her uncle with suspicion.
Why had he brought her back home when her father hadn't called for them?
He had been acting strange lately, but Edelgard simply thought it was because of her mother's disappearance. Could it be something more?
"Isn't something the matter, my dear niece?" Volkhard asked without even bothering to look down at her.
"Nothing, Uncle," Edelgard lied through her teeth.
"Good, we won't want anything interrupting your reunion with your siblings. One of them should be in the room up ahead."
"What?" Edelgard asked while they turned into a hallway that led to a set of doors.
"That's right, I never did tell you, did I? All well, you'll see soon enough, after all, one of them should be helping with one of our experiments. We might miss it if we don't hurry," Volkhard said with a sadistic smile that almost made Edelgard's legs give out from under her.
Her instincts were telling her to run, but she clenched her fist.
One of her brothers or sisters could be on the other side, in pain. She couldn't run knowing that.
Edelgard wasn't someone who could run when her family was in danger. Such cowardice went against the very core of her being.
The Imperial Princess ran towards the door. With each step, she felt her legs growing stronger, her resolve strengthening.
She pushed open the door and ran into the other side.
Instead of seeing one of her siblings, Edelgard found herself in a room occupied by a man she recognized.
She would never forget that man's repugnant appearance. He had bright hair that was almost orange, or at least part of his balding head did. He had a small mustache of the same color that paled in comparison to her father's beard. The man was also completely unfit, having chosen not to train but a feast.
Edelgard especially hated the man's clothing. He looked so silly in him that Edelgard would've thought him a jester instead of the prime minister.
That's right, Prime Minister Ludwig. Also known as Duke Aegir, or as she liked to call him, Duke Bugwig. He was someone she had always been taught not to trust. He was supposed to be second only to her father in The Empire's power structure.
The man stopped looking through a giant wall window on the far side of the room.
Edelgard noticed his smile grow larger when he saw her.
She ignored him, though, and ran towards the window before losing all the strength in her legs yet again.
On the other side of the window was a room filled with instruments. Some of them looked like the ones Edelgard had seen used by court physicians, while others looked like tools a mage would use.
Inside the room were three more people she'd never seen before. Two of them were dressed in doctor's robes, while the other was dressed like a mage.
In the middle of the room were two chairs, one of which was empty.
The other had one of Edelgard's younger siblings, her smallest brother.
His complex was pale, only a few shades off from a corpse. His hair was starting to lose its brown hue in places. He looked so small for a nine-year-old.
But what struck Edelgard the most was his dead eyes. He looked like he didn't even know where he was or what was going on. It was as if his soul had left his body. He was wearing clothing one would wear during an operation.
"Hmm, it seems we got here just in time," Volkhard said as he slowly caught up to Edelgard.
"That's right, Lord Arundel," the prime minister said with a disgustingly cheerful voice. "I wasn't expecting you to get here so soon."
"It never hurts to be early," Volkhard replied as he walked towards the window.
A door in the other room opened, letting in another boy wearing similar clothing to Edelgard's brother. Behind him was a second-mage-looking person.
"What is this? Just what is going on!?" Edelgard demanded answers with a look of disgust on her face.
"It is just a routine experiment," Volkhard answered while gesturing towards the boy who'd just entered the room. "You see that boy?"
Edelgard slowly looked over the boy who was being forced into the second seat next to her brother.
He had bright red hair and strange auburn eyes. He looked like he was around Edelgard's age and was much healthier than her brother.
Edelgard's attention fell back upon the boy's strange eyes. Even as the doctors poked nettles into his skin, the boy barely reacted. His eyes looked tired and dead yet somehow unbroken. It was like he accepted whatever was about to happen to him but still clung to something.
"He's just a random crestless commoner we found for today's test. He will receive a special blood transfusion from your brother, with the intent to see how his body reacts to an attempted crest transfer," Volkhard told Edelgard in the same way one would report on the weather.
"That's impossible; you can't transfer crest! It's like you've always said, the goddess gives certain people crest, trying to transfer them to another would go against her will!" Edelgard shouted at Volkhard.
Her uncle also made sure she followed the teachings of the goddess. He was a firm believer in the church and would tolerate something that so clearly broke its tenets.
Volkhard snickered. "Crests aren't a gift from the goddess; they come from her blood and the blood of her ilk."
"What?" Edelgard asked, not understanding a word of what the man in front of her was saying.
"It doesn't matter right now; you'll understand in due time. You should be watching the experiment instead."
"Even if it doesn't yield any results?" Duke Ludwig asked despite, seeming to take pleasure in Edelgard's suffering. "Most of these useless peasants die rather quickly, don't they? But what could we expect from such inferior beings."
The daughter of the emperor felt like vomiting upon hearing the Duke's words.
How dare he insult the citizens of the empire! Doesn't he know that it's the job of nobility to protect the weak, not look down on them?!
Edelgard cliched her fist and instinctively activated the power of her crest. Even if her crest was a minor crest of Seiros, it was still the crest belonging to the Adrestian Empire's royal family. It would be more than strong enough to let her break the glass.
What she would do after, she truly didn't know. All she knew at that moment was that her brother and a citizen of the empire were suffering. It was her duty to protect them both.
Her small fist hit the glass window!
"Augh!" She yelled as her fist failed to break the glass.
Impossible! What could that glass be made of?! She thought before hearing an amused laugh come from Volkhard and Duke Aegir.
Edelgard looked up to see him look amused at her outburst. Like he was looking at an ant trying to break at of its farm.
"Who are you?" Edelgard asked with a snarl.
"What kind of question is that? I'm your uncle," 'Volkhard' answered with a cruel smile. "Now, let's get you ready; we wouldn't want to leave your other siblings waiting, now would we?"
Shirou Emiya grunted in pain as his entire body contracted against his will. He was drenched in sweat from his prolonged fever.
Just nine days ago, he peacefully said goodbye to his father, promising to fulfill his dream. Then he awoke the following day in a strange place unlike anything he'd ever seen, and he soon realized it was an entirely different world. But before he had time to let that sink in, he was kidnapped and taken by a strange group.
All he could remember was walking one minute, then being knocked out the next. When he awoke, he found himself locked in a medieval dungeon. They ran some minor test- experiments- on him; each one was more painful than the last.
Then, a couple of days ago, they took him into a room and transferred something into him through the blood of a boy a few years younger than him. All he knew was that it had to do with something called a crest.
-He looked like he was hurting; I wish I could have helped him.
It felt like burning sludge in his veins, threatening to incinerate him from the inside out. The more blood they transferred, the harder it was for him to breathe or move. It felt as if his entire body and soul were being invaded by something that didn't belong.
But over the last few days, the pain has slowly weakened as he felt the thing slowly dissipate. He could physically feel this happen when he slept.
It reminded him of the sensations he felt while he was unconscious after Kiritsugu Emiya saved him.
Shirou was sure he would survive if things kept up like this, but he didn't care about that. He was far more worried about the others. He'd seen other people in this dungeon; all of them were crying out for help, for someone to save them from their suffering.
Their pleas for help reminded him of-
Shirou shook his ending that train of thought in an instant.
Accompanied by just his pain and the screams coming from other cells, Shirou felt his mind wander to the girl he saw that day. The one that looked like a princess out of a storybook.
Why did she try to break the glass and help the other boy and Shirou? Was she ok?
Shirou wouldn't be able to live with himself if someone died protecting him. It would be another death on his hands.
Damn it! Why can't I do anything?! What do I need to do to help these people? Shirou mentally berated himself as someone walked up to his cell.
Shirou forced himself to sit up despite his body's protest.
He won't let these monsters see any weakness.
A nameless guard entered opened the cell door. He accidentally hit his steel armor on the doorway as he entered the cell, almost causing him to trip.
"Get up now," the guard ordered while trying to hide his embarrassment.
"Why?" Shirou asked while glaring at the guard.
"Because you've been summoned. Now get up, or I'll carry you myself."
"I'll walk," Shirou coldly said as he forced himself up. "I'd rather not get dropped on my head."
The guard led Shirou out of the basement and towards a different part of the building.
They entered a room that looked like a massive office. It had a stupidly ornate desk that looked like it was made out of gold and a large fireplace.
There were three people in the room. A balding fat man, there was also a second more fit man with long black hair, and finally-
Shirou's eyes widened in recognition as he looked at the last person in the room, the girl from before.
She was still wearing clothing far better than anything he'd ever seen, but she looked tired as if she hadn't been able to sleep in days. Shirou would've guessed she had been crying.
Seeing a girl his age suffering so much almost caused Shirou's heart to break.
"Here's the test subject you requested, sir!" the nameless guard said as he saluted the balding man.
"Very good, you are relieved," the black-haired man said before the bald man could.
The nameless guard accepted the black-haired man's order and left the room.
"I can handle giving orders in my own office, Lord Arundel," the balding man angrily informed Arundel from behind his desk.
"Of course you can, Duke Aegir-"
Shirou ignored the two men and used this opportunity to walk beside the girl.
The red-haired boy could see how much she was suffering but didn't know how he could help her.
What would Kiritsugu do? Shirou thought to himself.
What did Kiritsugu do to help him?
Shirou racked his brain as he recalled painful memories. He remembered the fire that killed his original family and the nightmares that followed. He thought about how Kiritsugu calmed him down.
That's it!
The boy subtly reached out his left hand and softly grabbed her right hand.
One thing that always helped him awake from his nightmares was Kiritsugu being there for him. And this small act is all he could do to try and give this girl the same relief.
Unfortunately, the moment the girl felt Shirou's hand squeeze her's, she pulled her hand away. Almost like a startled cat. She looked surprised to see Shirou, almost as if she didn't see him enter.
"Enough," Arundel said as he turned back towards Shirou and the girl. The force behind his voice pulled everyone's attention to him. Aegir seemed to relent in whatever he was discussing with Arundel.
"I don't have much time to dawdle, so I'll deal with you both at once," Arundel said as he walked in front of both children. "Edelgard, it seems your body is now ready to start undergoing the procedures to implant a second crest. The next two years of your life will be painful, but you'll become the Empire's greatest weapon should you survive."
Edelgard glared at Arundel despite being scared of him.
Said man didn't pay any attention to her and instead turned towards Shirou.
"You, boy. What is your name?"
Shirou glared at him with a look no less intense than Edelgard's. "Shirou."
He didn't care if either of the adults in the room knew his name, but he did want Edelgard to hear it.
"Then Shirou, do you have any special lineage?" the black-haired man asked Shirou in an analytical tone. To Shirou, Arundel's gaze felt that of a scientist looking at a lab rat.
"No," Shirou answered blankly.
"I see; then do you how your body rejected the crest transfusion and is restoring itself?"
"No," Shirou answered while trying to get as good a grasp of his situation as possible.
He figured those times he was checked out after the first experiment were because his results were abnormal.
Shirou grimly figured death would've been the normal outcome.
But he truly didn't know why his body would reject this crest thing, nor how it restored itself. Healing magecraft is way beyond what he can do.
"Then we'll have to do things the hard way then," Arundel said with a sigh, not from regret but annoyance. "You will undergo test until the secret of this ability is understood. Please do try to survive; it would be a waste if you died before we get all we can get out of you."
Arundel then started to walk past the two children. "Lord Aegir, transfer Shirou out of the dungeon and to more livable quarters; we can't have him die of diseases after all."
Right after saying that, Arundel finished walking behind the two kids.
Shirou instinctively tensed his body as he saw Edelgard pull a small dagger that was hidden beneath her clothing.
The girl lounged at Arundel's exposed back!
The red-haired boy was shocked by the girl's speed at doing so.
That shook turned to worry as Arundel swiftly turned around and easily disarmed Edelgard with one hand.
He took his other hand and punched her. The punch had enough force to send her flying backwards.
The dagger ended up falling near Shirou's feet.
Arundel started to walk towards Edelgard, who was now on the ground coughing up blood.
That was enough to spur Shirou into action.
He quickly reached down to grab the dagger, formulating a plan as he did so.
That Arundel guy was too fast for him, Shirou knew that much how easily he blocked Edelgard's attack. Meaning it would be pointless to attack him.
Luckily, he wasn't the only man in the room.
As soon as Shirou grabbed the dagger, he ran towards Aegir, planning to stab him with it.
Shirou hoped that this would create enough of a distraction for Edelgard to escape.
The boy saw Aegir's face as he realized his intention. It was a mix of shock, fear, disgust, and disbelief. Almost as if he couldn't believe Shirou was going to try and kill him.
Luckily for Aegir, Shirou didn't even make it halfway there before Arundel easily took Shirou down the same way he took down Edelgard.
The combined pain from being hit by Arundel and from the experiment almost caused Shirou to blackout.
Arundel picked up the dagger and walked back towards Edelgard. "Was that honestly your best attempt to kill me?"
"Curse you!" Edelgard shouted at Arundel as loudly as she could.
"The only one you should curse is your weak self," Arundel said as he towered over Edelgard. "In this world, the strong control the weak. The beliefs of the strong will be forced on the weak."
Arundel dropped the dagger in front of Edelgard. "The weak will never be able to cut a path to a future they desire."
Edelgard's eyes turned hollow as the dagger clattered on the ground in front of her.
"Shut up!" Shirou yelled at Arundel as he tried to stand up despite his dizziness. "I don't know what you mean about the strong control the weak! But I won't let you hurt her again."
To someone like Shirou, who wanted to be a hero, an ally to the weak, Arundel's words didn't just not make sense. They also filled him with anger.
He ignored Edelgard's surprised look as he finally reached his feet.
Even if he was malnourished, experimented on, and beaten, Shirou refused to falter.
"Behind you!" Edelgard suddenly yelled at Shirou, but it was too late.
"Ahhh!" Shirou involuntarily yelled in pain as he felt something hit his leg from behind. An auditable snapping sound was heard as he collapsed on the ground.
"That's what you get for trying to attack me, you crestless peasant," Aegir said as he stood behind Shirou with a metal fire poker. "Don't you know that your kind only exists for the sake of the nobility?"
"Wait, no!" Shirou heard Edelgard yell as Aegir took the fire poker and hit his arm with it as hard as he could.
There was another audible sound as the bones' in Shirou's arm broke into several pieces.
The combination of all of Shirou's injuries up to this point caused him to lose consciousness slowly, but he still felt pain as he was hit again and again.
"You want him to stop?" Shirou heard Arundel ask Edelgard as his hearing started to fail him. "Why should he? What reason would he have to obey someone as weak as you? There is no reason. But don't worry, soon enough, you'll either grow strong or die."
The last thing Shirou saw before the world turned to black was Edelgard crying. An image that he knew would be carved inside his mind forever.
Shirou quietly walked in front of a guard as he was being taken somewhere else.
It had been almost half a year since he'd found himself in another world, then captured and experimented on.
One or twice a week, he was experimented on to figure out why he survived the blood reconstruction and how his body restored itself to how it was before that day. Those days were the most painful for him, the most brutal.
Then he was tested after several days to see how that week's experiment went. All the other days of the week were him recovering from the experiments and testing. He needed that as much time to heal as possible because his tormenters refused to heal him. The only time they used their healing magic to help him was after that incident where he ended up beaten half to death or when that week's experiment included healing magic for some reason.
Shirou subtly flinched when he thought back to the day he failed to help Edelgard. Even if he didn't know her, she was still someone who needed help, help that Shirou failed to give her.
For some reason, they decided to change where he lived.
When he first got here, he was thrown in the dungeon with everyone else. Those days have become a regular part of his nightmares, right alongside the Fuyuki fire.
Then he was switched to a small room next to the places where experiments were done. This new cell was cleaner than the dungeon but was otherwise just as horrid. The screams of the other test subjects could be heard through the walls. They're pleas for help unending—a constant reminder of Shirou's inability to save them.
Now he was being moved to a third location, which was a fact that filled Shirou with dread. These people weren't doing anything for his own good. Everything they did was for their research, meaning there must be more to this room change than he releases.
They ended up walking to a part of the facility he had never been to before. It almost looked like a medieval castle—
That's right, this world's technology is hundreds of years old. Things like modern architecture or video games aren't a thing yet. So this building probably is a castle or something. IT would fit with how long it took for them to walk through it.
"Take a left here," the guard said as the corridor they were walking through split off.
Shirou did as he was told and found this hallway led to a dead end. On one side of the hallway were two different doors spread out by several yards.
Both of the doors had a red and black color scheme that seemed standard in this place.
Shirou was told to stop and enter the first door.
"This will be your new room," the guard said as Shirou entered it. "You will be called when you're needed."
The guard left, leaving Shirou to survey the room by himself.
It was at least twice as large as his last cell and had an actual bed instead of a stone slab to sleep on. There was a small desk on one end of the room. The red floor almost felt like it was made of a carpet-like material. There was one door on the left wall and another on the far sidewall. Shirou assumed they must've been closets.
"This can't be right," Shirou said to himself. "Unless there's some hidden trick or trap. I need to search the room to find out."
Edelgard quietly walked back to her new room alone after finishing her latest rounds of tests.
At least the walk was shorter now that her room was closer to her testing site. The faster she can get to her room, the quicker she can lie down and rest. Even if sleep won't save her from her nightmare, lying in bed at least hurts less than moving.
Edelgard walked down the hallway that led to her room and entered it through the further of the hallway's two doors. Her arm burned as she did so, causing her to wince.
She quickly laid down on her bed.
A pain pulsed through her body as she did so, but she was more than used to it.
She knew that it was nothing compared to the pain her siblings were going through. Every time she sees them, they're constantly crying or screaming in pain, and it's growing worse day by day.
Edelgard knew she had to do something soon, or they may die. But what could she do?
That train of thought brought Edelgard's mind back to that day.
She tried to kill Volkhard but failed terribly. That bastard took her down before she even got close to stabbing him. She still had no idea how he reacted to her when she had her crest activated.
She had hoped that by killing him and that horrible Duke Bugwig, her father would be able to take back his power and put an end to their suffering. But she failed.
No, the results were worse than failure.
Because of her, that boy – Shirou – was beaten half to death.
The sounds of Shirou's bones breaking, of his flesh being battered, would never leave her mind. Nor would she ever forget that monster's sick smile and words as he beat Shirou.
Anger built up inside Edelgard as that scene replayed in her mind.
Duke Aegir was repulsive, but at least he helped open her eyes to some truths.
Edelgard hadn't ever really talked with commoners, meaning she only knew what she was told.
She believed they were weak and needed protection from nobility, but now she thinks that's a joke.
Even as Duke Aegir beat Shirou, a commoner, he never broke. What he needed wasn't protection but the chance to stand up for himself.
Edelgard closed her eyes as she remembered Shirou's face just before he lost consciousness. She then made a silent vow to change things so that he, and all others this world calls weak, would have the chance to claim their own strength.
But Edelgard knew she had to be careful. If she fails, then she'll end up hurting the very people she tried to reach out to.
Edelgard opened her eyes.
And one day, I will apologize to Shirou accidentally for dragging him into my botched plan… If only I had a chance to talk with him-
The imperial princess turned looked towards the door that leads to the room right next to hers as she heard it opening.
Duke Aegir sat back in his chair while eating a giant red apple.
Aegir has been living the easy life ever since he took power from that idiotic emperor. If only his son understood that.
He looked up from his apple when he heard the door to his office open.
That annoying bastard Volkhard von Arundel walked in as if he owned the place.
"Have you done as I asked?" He questioned with a smile.
"Yes," Aegir said with an annoyed expression. Why did Arundel think he could order him around? "But why did you have me move that disgusting peasant and Edelgard into rooms next to each other?"
"Isn't it obvious? We haven't figured out how his body restored itself from the blood reconfiguration, but we are making progress in increasing and extracting the power. Our hopes are to use the boy's restorative powers to heal whatever damages Edelgard suffers during the creation of her second crest," Arundel explained before raising a finger. "And what better way to secure the boy's cooperation than by creating a bond between him and Edelgard, while at the same time giving Edelgard something we can threaten to keep her in line."
"Hm, I guess that makes, but why Edelgard."
"Our scientists believe she has the highest chance of survival among her siblings, plus their similar ages make them better for breeding?"
"Breeding?" Aegir repeated before laughing. "Why would you want to mix the blood of the royal bloodline with that brat?"
"Because we need to see if that boy's regenerative powers can be inherited. It would be a great boon for our research. Assuming we fail with our current experiments."
Duke Aegir simply laughed again. "Well, do whatever you want. I don't care as long as nothing interferes with my power."
Edelgard quietly stared at Shirou, who, for some reason, was now in her room.
"Hello, I'm sorry! I was just brought to this room and told to stay here," Shirou said before he quickly tried to close the door linking their rooms.
"Wa- wait!" Edelgard yelled at Shirou, causing him to suddenly freeze.
Shirou then looked at her in shock. "I'm sorry, I'd mean to bother you."
"You've done nothing wrong, now please join me," Edelgard said while trying to project the image befitting a princess.
"Ok," Shirou said as he slowly walked into her room.
"Here, you can sit next to me," Edelgard offered while sitting up.
Shirou looked hesitant but finally relented and sat next to her.
Edelgard's bed was big enough to easily fit both of them.
"Are you ok?" Shirou asked Edelgard.
"I- yes, I am," Edelgard responded after a moment. She was caught off guard by his concern. "How are you? Did that fool cause any permanent damage?"
"Fool? You're going to have to narrow that down a bit. So, far you're the only person in whatever this place is that I've met who isn't a massive jerk," the strange boy answered with a frown.
"Wait? Do you not know where we are?" Edelgard asked in shock. Has he really gone months without knowing where he is?
"No, I was knocked out suddenly and woke up in a dungeon. Then I never got the chance to talk with anyone."
Edelgard sadly looked at the boy. If he was in the dungeon, then Shirou was probably forced to hear the screams of the others, day after day. At least she had her siblings to talk to.
"Shirou, I feel the need to apologize to you; it was because of me that Duke Ludwig beat you with that metal rod."
"I'm the one that should apologize to you for not protecting you. If I had made a different decision, you might've been able to escape."
"No, there wasn't anything you could've done for me. There were too many guards to escape, and it would be inappropriate for me to run when my siblings are here being tortured." Edelgard tried to comfort Shirou but accidentally made things worse as Shirou's expression became filled with guilt.
Edelgard wondered what could've caused him to feel such visible guilt, but she couldn't figure out why. Even if she couldn't figure it out, she knew she could still try and help him.
"Still, I must offer you my thanks. Thank you for trying to help me," Edelgard slightly smiled as she said that.
Shirou almost jumped when he heard that. He stared directly at me as if he was looking for any lie. Slowly, his expression turned into a small, sad smile. "I'm welcome, and I promise I'll do better next time, Edelgard."
Edelgard took in Shirou's smile. Even if his smile was filled with sadness, it was the first real smile she'd seen in months.
She found it hard to believe that someone was going through the same pain as her to smile so easily. No, even before the experiments, she wouldn't have smiled for something a meaningless as a stranger's thanks. Yet, seeing someone satisfied with but a simple thank you made her forget where she was for a moment.
Then, in that small fleeting moment, the future Emperor of Fodlan forgot her pain and truly smiled back at Shirou.
AN/
PSA! – For some reason, it looks like there might be a messaging bug, where messages either aren't being sent through or they're something like that. I discovered this when checking the mobile app for the first time in forever and saw someone messaging me about something I had already sent them. Then I realized I had messaged a response to a question someone asked several different times but who had never returned a response to them but still asked the question ago.
So, I then messaged several people who I think might not have gotten their message, or I wasn't notified of their message, asking them to respond if they got the message. I only got one response that was someone saying they got a notification that I had sent the message, but never received one and was asking about that not the message itself.
This seems to have been a thing for a while.
/PSA
Anyway, hello!
This is a fic I felt the need to right after finishing Fire emblem three houses for the first time. Did Crimson Flower route, which means I've only played one of the four routes. I've read some of the Wiki, so please tell me if there are any lore inconsistencies. There are probably a few in this chapter alone.
Is young Edelgard close to how she was in canon? I don't know if we ever see her before the experiments, so I decided to have her slowly morph into her canon counterpart but with Shirou.
Also, can't wait to right Dimitri and Shirou fighting. They're like foils with each other, while Edelgard is like saber (F/SN, idealistic king willing to do anything for their ideals) + Anders (DA2, radical willing to kill to 'free' everybody)
I think magic alien(?) dragon god(?) blood is enough of a justification for Avalon to do some stuff and restore the effects of TWSITD's blood reconfiguration thingy. Especially when you remember Shirou started seeing visions of Excalibur before the holy grail war due to Avalon reacting with the holy grail. (Or something along those lines.)
Update on other stuff-
I decided to completely rewrite code of justice from the start, taking critismsm in hand to improve it.
A Moon's reflection – Have corrected probably around a thousand grammatical errors.
Curls up into a ball and starts crying.
Anyway, have a great day! :)