When Arundel limped back, alone, through the monastery gates, the Empire soldiers on guard flocked towards him. Dark blood stained his sleeves and his legs, with splotches across his chest.
"Lord Arundel, are you all right?" one of the Empire knights said.
Arundel's breath was ragged, and he leaned a hand on one of the knight's shoulders. "Yes, call the Emperor and get me a healer."
While one knight ran off to fetch Edelgard, the other led Arundel to a nearby bench. A servant returned with one of the Empire's mages, who began healing Arundel up. Edelgard appeared a minute later.
"Uncle, what happened?" Edelgard said.
"A Church knight killed Miss Byleth. I wasn't fast enough to stop him, but I killed him," Arundel said. His breathing steadied as he was healed.
"What?" Edelgard's eyebrows furrowed. Her mouth hung open, and she blinked for a few seconds. Then, frowning, she said, "Where are they?"
"The Church knight threw her off the cliff," Arundel said.
"And the knight?"
"Also fell off."
Edelgard gestured at one of the knights. "Bring Lady Rhea over."
"Yes, Your Majesty," the knight said, bowing, before rushing off. Edelgard sat down beside her uncle.
"Then these injuries are from the knight?" Edelgard asked. Arundel nodded. She buried her face in her hands and was silent.
"I'm sorry, Edelgard. If I'd been a bit faster, I might have saved her," Arundel said, softly. Edelgard shook her head.
When Lady Rhea, Seteth, and Catherine arrived, Rhea looked at Arundel then at Edelgard and said, "What's the matter?"
Edelgard raised her head. "My uncle has informed me that a Church knight killed Byleth. I'd like for you to call your knights together and tell me which one is missing."
"What?" Rhea's eyes narrowed. "Our knights would never do such a thing! We're being framed." Seteth pulled out a small notebook and flipped through the pages.
"If that's the case, then gather your knights. My uncle said one of them fell off the cliff. If he's lying, then all your knights should be available," Edelgard said.
Lady Rhea bristled, turned to Seteth, and said, "Go on." Seteth nodded and stepped away. "This is ridiculous. Are you telling me Byleth is dead?" Rhea crossed her arms. "Where's her body?"
Edelgard stood up. "At the bottom of the cliff, so my uncle says."
"And the Church knight whom you claim killed her?"
"Also at the bottom of the cliff."
"How convenient." Rhea's eyes narrowed. "So we can't check their bodies. How did that happen?"
"I saw the knight kill her with my own two eyes," Arundel said. "I was too far away to intervene in time."
"And you killed the knight? Why didn't you subdue and capture him?" Rhea asked.
"I tried," Arundel said. "But he wouldn't stop resisting. He tried to kill me. I had no choice, out of self-defense."
"That doesn't explain how his body would have fallen off the cliff," Rhea said.
"We were fighting too close to the edge." Arundel shook his head.
When Seteth returned with the Church knights in tow, Claude was part of the group. "What's with the commotion?" Claude asked. Rhea looked at Seteth, and she knew what he was going to say by his expression. There was a crease in his forehead, his eyes were dark, and he was frowning.
"We're missing one," Seteth said.
"Who?" Rhea asked.
"Branson Gaile."
Edelgard raised an eyebrow, while Rhea shook her head and said, "No, that's not enough proof. Who's to say that Lord Arundel didn't kill both Byleth and Branson and tossed them off the cliff? We don't have their bodies, so we can't confirm anything."
"Wait, Byleth's dead?" Claude said, raising an arm up, but no one responded.
"And why would he do that?" Edelgard asked.
"Because the Empire doesn't want these peace talks," Rhea said. "You just want power."
"I agreed to meet with Byleth to discuss peaceful alternatives," Edelgard said. "If anyone doesn't want peace, it's the Church. I heard that Byleth and Dimitri both had to do a lot of convincing for the Church to agree to come."
"We wouldn't kill Byleth! She's like a daughter to me," Rhea said. Her voice was rising in pitch and shrillness.
"You might not, but that's not saying another member of the Church might," Edelgard said.
"Hold up a minute!" Claude yelled, now raising both arms up. He stood in between the two women. "Byleth is dead?" He glanced between the two, and Rhea and Edelgard both nodded. "Then can we not fight right now?"
Edelgard looked at Claude. "If a Church member really is behind Byleth's death, then I don't know if we can continue to include them in these discussions."
"There's no proof," Rhea said.
"All right, but if you fight, that's the exact opposite of what Byleth would want," Claude said. "Did anyone tell Dimitri yet?"
"I heard," Dimitri said as he took the steps down towards the entranceway of the monastery, where everyone was crowded. Behind him was Dedue and Ingrid. "Is there any chance we could find Byleth and the knight's body?"
Edelgard glanced at Arundel. "Where did you say they fell?"
"To the bottom of the ravine," Arundel said and shook his head. "No, there's no way down there."
Dimitri took a deep breath. "I see. I agree with Claude. Let's not argue and just take some time."
"I'm afraid that will be difficult," Rhea said, staring at Edelgard. "Whatever trust we had is gone."
"Indeed," Edelgard said. "Unfortunate." She left first, sweeping past Dimitri and the group of Church knights. Arundel pushed himself to his feet and wobbled after.
Claude sighed. "Man, what are we going to do?"
Dimitri shook his head. "Regardless, someone must not want this peace treaty to happen," he said.
"All the more reason to make sure it does," Claude said. He tucked his hands behind his neck and turned away.
Dimitri looked at Lady Rhea, who was gazing at the floor, and asked, "Lady Rhea? Are their accusations true?"
"No, I don't think so," Rhea said, quietly.
"Then the Empire must have other plans," Dimitri said. "Ingrid, could you fetch the others? Meet us in my room. We might need to prepare to leave. Dedue, come with me."
"Yes, Your Majesty," Ingrid said and bowed.
Dimitri and Dedue walked out of the hall, through the gardens, towards the dorms. Once back in his room, Dimitri sat down at the familiar desk, took a sheet of paper, dipped the quill in a bottle of ink and wrote.
Yuri was sitting in the classroom, reading through new intel from his information network spread across the Kingdom, when he heard the news. One of the old crewmates ran in, breathless, and told Yuri what she'd heard from Empire servants gossiping in the kitchen.
The blood drained from Yuri's face, and he sat very still, as the crewmate recounted Arundel's story. Byleth had said Arundel was one of them, part of the group that Solon and Kronya and Myson belonged to. It couldn't be a coincidence that he "witnessed" a Church knight killing Byleth.
Yuri stood up, shuffled his papers together, and thanked the crewmate. He asked that she gather the rest of the crew. Then he hurried back to Rose's house, where he stashed the papers in a drawer. Constance was drinking tea while reading, and Hapi was napping.
"Where's Balthus?" Yuri asked them.
"Probably training somewhere," Constance said.
"Could you find him for me?" Yuri said.
Constance looked up from her book at Yuri. She took in his pale face and wide eyes and said, "Did something happen?"
He shook his head, resting his forehead in his hand for a brief second. "I need people to help me look for Byleth's body."
"What?" Constance shot to feet, causing the chair to rattle. "What do you mean by that? Hapi, wake up! There's an emergency." She shouted this in the direction of the bedroom.
"Could you find Balthus?" Yuri asked again.
Constance nodded. "Of course. Where shall we meet?"
Yuri rubbed his chin in thought. There was an Abyss tunnel that led to the bottom of the ravine. He was going to gather as many people as he could - the old crew was about ten, and the new crew another fifteen.
"At the bridge," Yuri said.
Constance nodded and disappeared into the room, saying, "Hapi, come on!"
Yuri found the crew waiting outside. He had three people stay to keep a lookout for any new individuals entering Abyss, sent five people to grab lanterns, another to prepare two messenger birds, and the rest ahead to the bridge. Constance returned with Balthus trailing behind her, while Hapi was yawning, and the Ashen Wolves headed over.
Yuri led the group through the passageways until they emerged out of the dark tunnels and into the ravine. It was late afternoon, the sky still a pure blue, clear of any clouds.
"Spread out! Look for a young woman with blue hair and a Church knight," Yuri said. Some of the newer crewmates hadn't met Byleth before. "If you find either of them, don't touch them and let me know immediately."
Everyone nodded. Those without magical abilities had a lantern with them, though Yuri was hoping they wouldn't need it, aside for the walk back. They split into two groups, spreading out wide to cover the width of the ravine. One group moved south, and the other moved north, along the narrow river that ran down the length of the ravine.
Yuri walked and walked and stared at the dusty brown dirt and rocks below his feet. Sometimes, he stopped to roll a larger boulder aside, though if Byleth was under such a rock, there was little hope of her being alive. Sometimes, Yuri glanced at the people to his left and right, and he'd see someone peering into the river.
They walked for perhaps a mile before someone said that they'd found bones. Yuri doubted it could be Byleth's or the Church knight's, but he went to look anyway. There was a skeleton, leaning against the cliff wall, a large rock on its pelvic bone.
"No, that can't be," Yuri said. There was brown grass sticking out of the eye socket of the skull, what looked like remnants of a bird's nest. "It's been here for too long."
They kept combing, inspecting each speck of dirt and stone and clump of dry grass. Yuri hoped that someone from the other group might run over at any moment and say that they'd found her.
They walked for an hour and saw no signs of Byleth. Yuri knew there was a possibility that Arundel had lied about where Byleth's body was. There was a chance that he had hidden her somewhere, for what awful reason only the Goddess could know. After another hour, the sky was turning a dusky orange. Taking a glimpse at his crewmates' faces, Yuri could tell they were growing tired and hungry. He waved everyone to a halt and gestured them over.
"It's nearing suppertime," Yuri said. "Barold, send a letter to the other team and tell them that everyone's going back for dinner."
Barold nodded, retrieving a crumpled up piece of paper and a graphite pencil from his pocket. The messenger bird perched on his shoulder as Barold scribbled upon a flat rock.
"Are we returning after dinner?" one of the crewmates asked.
Yuri shook his head. It would get dark soon. "No, no need. I'll need someone to bring me food, though."
"Yuri boss, aren't you coming back for dinner with us?" Barold asked, pausing in his writing.
"No, everyone, go on ahead," Yuri said. Everyone exchanged glances.
"I'll stay and keep looking if someone brings me food, too," Hapi said.
"We want to find Byleth boss too," Barold said. He stood up and brushed dirt off his knees. "What if half of us go back and get dinner, then swap places with the other half? Like taking shifts."
Yuri shrugged. He wouldn't mind the extra help, but he didn't want to exhaust everyone with a fruitless search. "Do what you'd like." He turned and continued on, leaving the group to decide who would leave first and who would stay.
Hapi hurried to catch up with him. "Are you sure we'll find Byleth here?"
"No," Yuri said. "That's why there's no need for everyone to stay." He looked up towards the skyline. They'd passed below one of the bridges that led Garreg Mach towards the Kingdom. If they were going to find Byleth, it would probably be around here.
When the sky faded to a dark violet, then a deep navy, Yuri and the others sat down and ate dinner - a simple sandwich of cured meats and cheese. The other half of the team had regrouped with them, after reaching the northern end of the ravine, which was a pile of boulders.
"Let's go for one more hour," Yuri said, because it'd take at least an hour and a half to walk back. After dinner, the Ashen Wolves pressed on, holding fireballs in their palms to light up the darkness. Yuri checked the river. There were fish swimming, green algae and plants near the bottom, but no human body.
"Uh, Yuri bird?" Hapi said. Yuri whipped his head in her direction. "I found Byleth."
Yuri jogged over. He could hear Balthus and Constance's footsteps behind him. Hapi knelt beside Byleth's prone body on the ground. There was a small tree to their right, where a large branch had broken off. Yuri knelt down beside Hapi and took a quick cursory inventory of Byleth's injuries. Dried blood coated Byleth's stomach. There were light scratches on her arms and shards of glass embedded in her skin. Where would glass have come from? He started healing Byleth and felt the bones in her legs mend themselves, the gaping hole in her stomach close up. Yuri's hand trembled for a second as he reached two fingers out for Byleth's neck. He was scared that he wouldn't find a pulse, that he'd confirm that Byleth was dead. So long as he didn't see her corpse before him, he could still cling to some faint hope that she was alive, somewhere.
Yuri closed his eyes and pressed his fingers deeper into Byleth's neck. There had to be a heartbeat. Please, Goddess, let there be a heartbeat. He wasn't sure. He thought he could feel something, something weak, but what if that was just his own pulse?
Yuri scooted back, as Constance and Balthus joined them. "Could someone check?" Yuri said. His voice sounded strange in his throat. Oddly thick and unsteady. Constance leaned her ear towards Byleth's nose, while Balthus picked up one of Byleth's arms, placing two fingers on the inside of her wrist. Yuri waited for their verdict. For them to say she's dead, sorry.
"She's breathing," Constance said.
"I think there's a weak pulse," Balthus said.
Hapi checked Byleth's neck and nodded. "She's alive."
"Thank the Goddess," Yuri said. Relief and disbelief crashed through him like a giant bucket of icy water. His knees felt weak, but he kept himself standing.
Balthus picked up his lantern, while Yuri slid his arms under Byleth's body. "I see the Church knight, Yuri," Balthus said, looking further ahead. Constance and Hapi stood. "He looks pretty dead."
"Bring him along," Yuri said.
Balthus passed his lantern to Hapi and hoisted the Church knight up in his arms. They turned and headed back. It was quiet, save for the night wind whistling in their ears and the crunch of their boots on the dry earth.
They were approaching the tunnels when Yuri realized that he shouldn't have healed Byleth up right away. He should have inspected her wounds. Physical attacks from weapons could be seen through the tears in Byleth's clothing, but magical wounds would be harder to see.
"Did you see any weapons?" Yuri asked Balthus as they entered Abyss and trekked upwards.
"No, but I didn't look too much," Balthus said and shifted the weight of the body in his arms.
Yuri let another quiet moment pass, before saying, "Thank you."
"You're most very welcome," Constance said immediately with a grin on her face.
"Just buy me a cake, and we'll call it even," Hapi said. Yuri chuckled.
"I'll take payment," Balthus said, smiling. "But where are we going to keep this guy?"
"We'll store him in a bag," Yuri said. "The Church will want him, even if it's only for a proper burial. But before that, I want to take a look at his body."
"What about Byleth?" Constance asked.
Yuri tightened his hold around the limp body in his arms. "I'm not sure yet."
When they finally returned to Rose's house, Balthus left the Church knight on the floor, before leaving to find a bag. Yuri gently placed Byleth down on his bed. He inspected the knight's body first. There were very few wounds, by the looks of it all from a sword. The knight was missing his own weapon. When Yuri lifted the helmet off, he stared at the knight's face, eyes still open.
"Do you see anything interesting?" Hapi asked, stifling a yawn.
No magical attacks. If Yuri had Byleth's sword, he could better compare the stab wounds. He stood up, went to Byleth's body, and peered at the cuts in her clothes. Also sword wounds. There was one that went through her stomach. The clothes covering her chest were faintly singed, with traces of magical energy. A dark magic attack.
Yuri returned to the knight. Balthus came in with a large, black bag. By the armor, the Church knight was probably not a mage.
"You done, pal?" Balthus asked, and Yuri nodded, reaching his hand out to slide the knight's eyelids shut. Balthus bundled the knight up into the bag then took him away again. Constance entered, with a doctor behind her.
Yuri waited pensively as the doctor examined Byleth.
"She's lost a lot of blood," the doctor said. "It'd be best to give her a blood transfusion."
"I'll do it." Yuri stuck his arm out. The doctor touched Yuri's wrist, and he felt a flash of magic.
She shook her head. "Your blood's not compatible." Yuri hadn't known that, because Byleth had never needed a blood transfusion before. Their gazes both swivelled to Constance, who was standing to the side.
Constance held her arm out, and the doctor touched Constance's arm too, before shaking her head. "Also not compatible. Does she have any family? There's more likely to be compatibility there," the doctor said.
Jeralt was all the way in Fhirdiad. "Will she last a few days without a transfusion?" Yuri asked.
"How many? I'd say one at most," the doctor said. Yuri tried not to sigh and sat down at the edge of the bed. Balthus came back again, the door rattling shut behind him, and the doctor went to check Balthus's blood type. Then Hapi's. None of them were compatible.
"I have blood reserves," the doctor said. "But not many. It'll cost you."
"Please do," Yuri said. The doctor left, returning a minute later with a large needle filled with red blood.
"If she doesn't wake up within a week, I'd recommend another blood transfusion," the doctor said.
"Thank you," Yuri said and paid the doctor.
Balthus was back. "Should I sleep in the dorms?" he asked.
Yuri shook his head. "I don't mind either way."
"Do you need any more help?" Constance said, and Yuri also shook his head. There was one more thing he needed to do. "Then, good night." She disappeared into her and Hapi's bedroom.
Yuri sat down at the dining table and wrote a letter to the King of Fhaergus.
Thanks for reading! :) Any feedback is greatly appreciated.