Hey everyone. This is a little late for a day 1 fic for Cyril week, but uni is kicking my butt and I didn't have much time to prepare. I won't be writing something for every day, but there are a couple more fics in the works, so be on the lookout for that! Until then, I hope you enjoy the fic.
As Cyril walked down the monastery courtyard, he had a feeling that something was off. The other servants were milling about, the priests were hunched over manuscripts, and the guards were patrolling as usual, but everything just seemed too calm.
Cyril went down the path that went by the Academy classrooms, and the off feeling in his gut only grew. Dorothea and Edelgard were happily chatting by the Black Eagles classroom, but that was it. There were no bouts happening in the yard in front of the classrooms, no Hilda convincing Ignatz to help her haul something around, no Lysithea practicing spells she'd memorized a thousand times by now, no Marianne singing to the nearby birds, and no Raphael doing laps around the buildings.
Cyril may not have been an official student of the Officer's Academy, but he did know his classmates. And really, there is no way that the Golden Deer would be this quiet and well behaved, especially on a day when they didn't have classes!
Pressing the reminder of his chores of the day to one side, Cyril began walking towards the classrooms, wondering if the professor had called a surprise meeting. Sure enough, Professor Byleth strode out of the Golden Deer classroom, her heeled boots clicking against the stone floor.
"Hey, Professor!" Cyril called out as he rushed over. "Is there another battle meeting I don't know about?"
The professor hesitated for just a second. It wasn't much, but Cyril and the Golden Deer had learned to read their teacher through her small expressions. "Not quite… " she said. "Come with me for a bit."
Skeptical but with no reason to question her, Cyril nodded. Professor Byleth began leading them toward the railing that overlooked the giant church, but loud 'whispers' stopped Cyril in his tracks.
"Come on, guys!" Raphael's booming version of a whisper rang out through the half-closed doorway. "We gotta make sure this is the best birthday party ever!"
"Shh! Keep it down!" Lysithea hissed, though her face wasn't that much softer.
"Oh! Right!" Raphael yelped. "Shhhhh!"
Cyril looked up at the professor, who had thinned her lips into a single tight line, and asked, "Is there something I'm not allowed to see in there?"
"Technically, there was something you weren't supposed to know about yet." At the sound of the new voice, Cyril spun around to see Claude walking down the classroom halfway with a satchel slung over his shoulder. He strode down with his usual calm and confident demeanor, swaying with a casual grace as he walked towards them. "Cyril, since I'm pretty certain you just heard Raphael scream that, we may as well tell you we're taking you to a one-of-a-kind birthday celebration. You're going, so you better not resist."
"W-w-what?" Cyril stammered. He looked up at the professor, who was still wearing the same expression as before. "What about the Battle of the Eagle and Lion? Shouldn't we be preparing ourselves for that?"
"Relax," Claude said, pulling the satchel off his shoulder. "We're gonna win anyway, so why not take the opportunity to celebrate our classmate's birthday? Teach has already approved it."
Cyril looked up at Professor Byleth, waiting for her to contradict Claude and scold him for not talking to her beforehand, but all she did was give Cyril a tiny smile.
Cyril blushed and looked away. "I—I still don't know if I can. Lady Rhea probably has chores for me, and I can't let her down."
"You're chore for today," said the voice of Lady Rhea. "Is to go to the party your classmates have set up for you. And for you to enjoy your birthday."
Cyril turned to see Lady Rhea standing behind them. Her hands were folded neatly in front of her, and though Seteth was nearby, he was busy talking to some nearby priests. It was rare enough to see Lady Rhea outside of the church and the main offices, much less in front of the classrooms!
"Lady Rhea. Are you sure?" Cyril asked.
"I am." Lady Rhea stepped forward and reached a hand beneath her dark blue cloak. From it, she pulled a small package, wrapped neatly in a green cloth and tied with fine twine. "Happy birthday, Cyril."
That was when it clicked for Cyril that the package was for him. With a startled breath, he reached out and took the package with both hands. "Thank you so much, Lady Rhea!"
Lady Rhea smiled, and with a low nod, said goodbye. She walked back towards Seteth, and she was soon lost to the crowd of priests.
Cyril pulled the present close to his chest and eyed the classroom door. "Is there really a party in there?"
"Only one way to find out." Claude winked at Cyril and walked into the classroom. "Hurry up, Cyril! No use in keeping us waiting!"
The professor walked forward. Just as she was about to enter, she stopped and turned towards Cyril.
With a deep breath, Cyril stepped forward. He stood next to the professor and looked inside—
"Happy birthday, Cyril!" A chorus of voices yelled all at once. Cyril blinked at the sudden sight in front of him. The entire room had been decorated in streams of various colors, from yellow to blue to green, the desks had been arranged to form a circle in the middle of the room. Even the professor's desk had been moved, and it was now sitting in the middle of the circle, a suspicious metal dome sitting in the middle of it. All around the room were the faces of Cyril's classmates, and they all held some form of decoration in their hands.
"We hope you like it…" Marianne whispered. Her voice shook alongside her hand, which was holding a small stick with a streamer attached to it.
"Oh, Marianne, I'm sure he will. Look, he already looks happy!" Hilda said, flickering her own streamer stick all around. "Marianne and I took care of the decorations and kept everyone else on track. Consider that our gift for you today."
"And I moved all the tables!" Raphael yelled, accidentally showing off his muscles as he looked over his arrangement with pride. "Took a while, but they aren't that heavy!"
"Alright, alright. Quit stalling." Claude came up to Cyril and placed a hand on his shoulder. In his other hand, Claude held out a gift wrapped in brown parchment. "Happy birthday, Cyril. Enjoy the party."
Cyril smiled.
They were all so loud at the party that Cyril nearly thought they were celebrating their success in the Battle of the Eagle and Lion. Everyone laughed and chatted happily, raising their glasses high in the air as they sang songs that Cyril somehow recognized. Even Lorenz, who usually looked as stuffy as he was pompous, was breezily gossiping with Hilda and Leonie. Cyril had tried to listen in, but he found that he never got the chance.
Every now and then, a new person would come in and sweep Cyril away. They either wanted to talk to him, give him a present, or have him try one of the many dishes his class had procured from the kitchens for the party. Eventually, Cyril had to sit down and open all of the gifts. Hunting knives from Leonie, a new set of cloths from Lorenz, a small portrait of Lady Rhea from Ignatz, and even new leather straps for wyvern saddles from Claude! At the very end, Cyril opened up the present from Lady Rhea. It was fairly wide, and when Cyril pulled away the cloth, he found himself looking at a leather notebook. He opened the cover, and he saw a bunch of baby's breath flowers neatly pressed and preserved on the front page.
"Hey, Cyril!" Leonie called out to him from the classroom door. "Someone's here to see you."
Cyril gently closed the notebook and went over to the door. When he saw who it was, he burst out into a smile.
"Shamir!" He greeted her.
Shamir smiled and gave him a nod. She was wearing her usual fighting outfit, and Cyril was pretty sure he could hear Catherine discussing something with nearby guards. "I have a mission with the knights in a bit, but I figured I could make a quick stop." Shamir raised her hand and presented a gleaming bow to Cyril.
Cyril grasped the bow carefully. The steel metal shined brightly, and though it was heavier than his usual bow, Cyril could feel the sturdiness of the weapon, from its very tip to the string itself. "A steel bow? Are you sure, Shamir?"
"I figured you could use it in your House's upcoming battle." Shamir smirked. "Good luck with that. And happy birthday."
"Thank you!" He said, and Shamir went off with the knights.
Cyril went back into the classroom and placed his new bow alongside his other gifts. When he looked at his classmates, he saw that all of them had crowded around the center of the classroom and were looking over at him.
"Thanks, guy," he said to everyone. "This means a lot."
"Lysithea, what did you bring?" Hilda stepped forward and looked at their group's shorter member. "I haven't seen you give out any presents, and I know you didn't help with decorating."
Lysithea huffed and walked towards the center of the circle. "That's because I was getting something else!"
Cyril followed her and watched as Lysithea gripped the metallic dome that was sitting on the professor's desk. With a little huff of exertion, she pulled the dome off to reveal a cake. An actual cake! It was a large round cake covered in a kind of light-colored frosting, and bits of cut fruit had been used to decorate both the top and the sides of the cake.
"Happy birthday, Cyril!" Lysithea announced triumphantly, though not before sticking her tongue out at Hilda.
"Aw, thanks, Lysithea!" Cyril stepped up to the cake, but before he got too close, he turned to look at Lysithea. "Just to be clear, this is for me, right?"
"Of course!" Lysithea said, crossing her arms. "Who else would it be for?"
"Well," Cyril said. "I was just thinking that you might've used this opportunity to have a big cake all to yourself."
At Cyril's words, Lysithea's mouth dropped open. The Golden Deer laughed, and Cyril found himself laughing with them.
"Did you enjoy your celebration?" Professor Byleth asked as she poured Cyril a new cup of tea. They were at the monastery's little tea nook, and as was tradition with the professor, Cyril had been invited to a birthday tea session after his party with the Golden deer had finished.
"Yeah! I did!" He said as he accepted the tea from the professor. She had even remembered his favorite tea, Almyran Pine Needles! "I wasn't really expecting it. Usually, only Lady Rhea and the other Church members remember my birthday."
"You are part of the Golden Deer now, so we will remember it, too." The professor said, pouring another cup of tea for herself.
Cyril furrowed his eyebrows. "But I'm not officially a student. I'm still technically just a helper for the Church."
"Doesn't matter." The professor leaned down and pulled something out from under the table and held it out. "Happy birthday, Cyril," she said with a hint of a smile.
Cyril picked up the gift, a single owl feather. It was long and striking, as perfectly preserved as if the professor had plucked it from an owl herself.
Cyril twirled the feather between his hands, and as he did so, he happily concluded that this had been his best birthday yet.