Tales of Fodlan
Likes Repel
Summary: Dorothea and Ingrid find they have more in common than they thought... and neither can give the other what they want.
Setting: Pre-White Clouds
Pairing: Unrequited Dorothea/Ingrid
Shortly after the class of 1180 arrived at Garreg Mach's Officers Academy, the academy held a meet-and-greet for the students. While students were separated into houses based on their country of origin, those in charge of the monastery hoped that friendships that transcended social class or homeland would be born, especially when students could transfer from one house to another.
During the meet-and-greet, Ingrid walked up to Dorothea, who had eagerly helped herself to some of the appetizers being offered.
"Hello, there," Dorothea said. "I don't believe I've seen your face before. Are you also a member of the Black Eagles house?"
"Actually, the Blue Lions," Ingrid said. "My name is Ingrid Brandl Galatea, daughter of Count Galatea of the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus. And you?"
Even if Ingrid hadn't answered Dorothea's question, Dorothea could guess that Ingrid was a Kingdom noble from her name; middle names were common among Kingdom nobles, and the Galatea family was known even as far as Adrestia. Meanwhile, virtually no one in Enbarr knew about the Arnault family, and their name was completely unknown in the rest of the Empire, let alone the other nations of Fodlan.
"I'm Dorothea Arnault," Dorothea said, "a former songstress from the Empire's capital. Just so we're clear, are you expecting me to call you 'Lady Ingrid' or perhaps 'Lady Galatea'?"
"Just 'Ingrid' is fine, Dorothea," Ingrid said, "since my status as Kingdom nobility means nothing in the Empire, and I won't become Count Galatea until my father dies or relinquishes the title to me. More importantly, we try to treat each other as equals here, regardless of our homeland or social status; Ashe and Mercedes from my house are commoners, but they act normally around me."
"I'm glad to hear that, Ingrid," Dorothea said, "but I still feel out of place here. I'm one of the only commoners in my house- well, except Petra, who's a princess from Brigid even if she's a commoner here. The rest of the people I've met in my house are nobles who don't know what it's like to go hungry."
"I may not be able to speak for the other nobles," Ingrid said, "but House Galatea is not nearly as fortunate as the other noble houses of the Kingdom. Our resources are rather scarce compared to other noble families, so we must be more frugal than many of our peers. As such, my family does not have money to waste on frivolities like makeup or fancy dresses."
"But you've never gone to the market before and realized that the coins you've scrounged together from begging or... selling your body... won't buy you a decent meal?" Dorothea said. "Or had to sleep on the streets instead of a bed? It seems to me that a noble's definition of poverty is different from that of a commoner."
Ingrid paused to think over her response carefully. There was no point in pretending as though she had first-hand experience on what it was like to be poor and homeless, so claiming otherwise would only result in her making a fool of herself.
"You're not wrong about that," Ingrid said. "I realize that many of my people are starving, but must admit that I have yet to experience it myself. Nevertheless, my family is desperate, and unless I do something, House Galatea may very well fall into ruin."
Dorothea had to admit that she was a bit surprised to hear the conviction behind Ingrid's voice. She'd assumed that nobles were arrogant and carefree, so she'd never expected that Ingrid would come from a house with a less than comfortable position or have a healthy enough sense of duty to feel obligated to do something about it.
"I guess I don't understand the problems nobles have any more than you understand the problems commoners have," Dorothea said. "So what's your solution to your problems?"
"To marry into a wealthy house and obtain their financial support," Ingrid said. "It may sound crass, but..."
"...it's exactly what I had in mind," Dorothea said. "I'm an opera singer, but I know that I can't sing forever. I hope to marry into money in order to bring myself financial security once I lose my beauty and singing voice."
"It seems as though we share the same goal," Ingrid said. "Good luck, Dorothea; I'm rooting for you."
"Thank you, Ingrid," Dorothea said, "but why act as though this has nothing to do with you?"
"Why would it?" Ingrid said. "We're both women, after all."
"So?" Dorothea said.
Ingrid sighed. While homosexuality was not completely unheard of in Fodlan, the fact that noble families needed Crest-bearing children meant that they would, at minimum, strongly discourage their children from seeking love with the same gender.
"I'm sorry," Ingrid said, "but if we're both women looking for rich husbands- or perhaps I should say spouses- neither of us can give the other what she wants."
"Oh," I said. "Well, it was worth a shot."
"Indeed," Ingrid said. "You might have better luck with a friend of mine- Sylvain Jose Gautier, the son of Margrave Gautier- assuming you don't mind him being a skirt-chaser."
Ingrid pointed across the room at Sylvain, who was too far away and too busy hitting on female students to notice her.
"I'll give him a whirl," Dorothea said. "He can't be worse than the men I who came onto me while I was in the opera."
"That's hardly high praise," Ingrid said, "but for all his flaws, Sylvain is a good person at heart. I wouldn't introduce you to him if he wasn't."
"I'll take your word for it," Dorothea said, "and I appreciate this gesture, Ingrid."
"Certainly," Ingrid said. "I haven't had many female friends growing up- I mainly spent time with Sylvain, Felix of House Fraldarius and His Highness Prince Dimitri- but I'm happy to call you a friend and help you however I can."
As Ingrid led Dorothea to Sylvain, Dorothea inwardly felt pangs of disappointment, even though she didn't know why.
Author's Notes
This is a series of one-shots set in the world of Fire Emblem: Three Houses. Some will be comedic or otherwise lighthearted while others will be serious and even depressing. Some will convey scenes that likely happened in each of the canon routes, while others will portray "what-if" scenarios.
Each one will contain some information at the start. First, there will be a brief summary of the one-shot. Second, there will be information on when it is set- before the story, during White Clouds(as well as which path is being pursued) or one of the four Part 2 routes- and whatever pairings are involved(including platonic friendship and unrequited love).
Some chapters will be part of a brief series, or will follow up on others. The collection of one-shots will keep going for as long as I'm interested in writing it.
This oneshot explores the reason why Ingrid won't return Dorothea's feelings. I was unsure of how to begin this collection, and briefly considered doing a oneshot just before the start of the story, but I decided to use the first one that I finished, especially since it's also set before the story.