Reset Four, Crimson Flower
It was exceptionally rare for Byleth to get hurt. After all the resets she'd trudged through, it would make sense for her to be over-leveled in a sense. That was part of why she made sure everyone else got the proper amount of experience. She only really stepped up when the situation turned dire.
She never thought a scuffle with bandits could necessarily turn dire.
Unfortunately, in spite of her experience, Byleth wasn't omnipotent. She couldn't see the future, only experience it and then reset. Such had been the case with the most recent battle. Byleth had expected to be chasing bandits out of Empire territory to prepare for an upcoming battle against church goons. She didn't expect those church goons to be paying said bandits, fighting alongside said bandits, and winning against her students like trained warriors. It had taken Byleth genuinely off guard.
Now here she sat, trapped in a bed while Manuela tutted at her and reminded her to be more careful. Manuela was enjoying it too, Byleth could see it in the faintest hint of a smile the teacher turned medic tried to hide. It was so very rare that Manuela got the chance to scold Byleth. Usually, it was the other way around. Byleth tried to make herself free of error, but humanity was a funny thing. No matter how far into Sothis' powers she developed, she continued to make mistakes and fumble. Being too harsh at times, making simple fumbles which occasionally cost her a Divine pulse or two, it was almost ironic in some ways. The closer she inched to divinity the more human she seemed to look. At least according to Sothis, who hadn't laid off her perpetual scolding for the last hour.
'You should know better', 'You're supposed to be a professional, aren't you?', and 'You're making a mockery of the little ones with a display like that', were just a few of the lines she'd heard on repeat until Sothis eventually pressed her face into Byleth's shoulder out of frustration and started snoring no more than five minutes later.
Sothis was just worried, and Byleth couldn't blame her. Most of the little ones had been worried too. Bernadetta, who'd grown up in the five years Byleth was absent, had legitimately started crying when Caspar started freaking out. Linhardt and Dorothea both jumped in with healing spells immediately. All because Byleth had taken an arrow intended for Edelgard's skull. Byleth was lucky the arrow had hit her in the chest, pressing right into her useless heart.
Unaware of how such an attack wasn't immediately lethal for a person without a heartbeat, her children had started panicking and freaking out. Ferdinand even clung to Hubert, visibly vibrating while Hubert stood there with his jaw slightly parted.
The attack had come at the end of the battle. A final bandit trying to play assassin had risked his life for the chance to kill the head of the snake. Not knowing that Edelgard had a literal God at her back, the attempt had been understandable.
Unfortunately, things didn't go to plan. The moment Edelgard realized what had happened, she went on the offensive in a way Byleth had never seen. She could almost describe it as feral, the way Edelgard's lips parted in a silent snarl as she lept upon the archer, striking flesh with her axe until there was nothing left but a crimson puddle and a bag of broken bones. Edelgard had then returned to the two mages who knew the most about healing. Byleth made sure to teach all her children very basic healing magic, just enough so they could patch each other up if necessary.
Dorothea was mostly an offensive mage and a sword wielder while Linhardt carried the majority of the healer's burden. That being said, both were wonderful and both started fretting over Byleth like her life was at risk.
They thought it was. Considering the way the blood pooled around her she might have been. It'd been a long fight and she'd already taken quite a few injuries.
The moment they pulled the arrow out, Caspar had started crying alongside Bernadetta, though he'd later rebuff the claim. Petra and Edelgard ended up carrying Byleth back to the monastery, their actions a flurry of panic. They'd almost thrown her at Manuela who finished the job, ensuring that Byleth would live. Manuela, because of her position, was one of the few people Byleth and her father told about Byleth's motionless heart. Because of that Manuela wasn't at all worried which set her little ones enough at ease to finally stop fretting and leave Byleth alone.
For all of ten minutes.
In and out, in and out. Her little ones had been popping in and out of the room in a constant stream. Sometimes they were allowed to stay for a moment just as reassurance that their beloved professor was alive and stable. Other times they clung to the door frame while Manuela chased them out with a broom.
The only other time Manuela had to do such a thing was during one particularly nasty Church reset when Sylvain got mortally wounded and everyone was convinced he'd die. The broom wasn't enough to chase out Felix, so Manuela just resigned herself to letting the boy sleep with his head pressed to his best friend's chest. He'd whispered a promise they'd never told anyone, pressing a dagger of his own to his chest and getting ideas that Byleth didn't appreciate but wouldn't intervene in. If Felix was literally dead set on keeping the promise… Byleth wasn't going to stand in his way in a situation like this one, even though she hated the idea of what Felix was planning.
She knew how much the boys meant to each other. She vowed she'd never separate them the first time she realized resets were possible. Having the Blue Lions be the first class she ever taught, their bond left an immediate impact on her. She knew that in every sense, including physical, the day Sylvain died was the day Felix died as well and vice versa.
To this day she was convinced the only reason Sylvain pulled through was because Felix stayed there with him, only ever leaving his side to go to the bathroom. Byleth had to outright bring him meals and by the end of the week, he reeked worse than Dimitri after having forgotten what a bath even was. Her feral lion child had taken better care of himself during her five years of absence than Felix did in that one week.
Sylvain teased him, but Byleth saw the way the two would quietly hold hands under tables for the following week. She also noticed the knowing, gentle looks that both Dimitri and Ingrid wouldn't stop giving them.
A recruited Dorothea wouldn't stop laughing.
Byleth wasn't in the same kind of danger Sylvain had been, but her students thought she was. And so, they acted in a manner Byleth noted as being fairly similar.
Byleth nudged Sothis, who raised her head groggily and tilted it to the side. Byleth flicked her own head towards the door in a silent plea to go check on the children. Sothis yawned, but nodded without question. The smaller girl walked through the door before pausing in the entry with a look of surprise. Her eyes widened before her expression turned to a grin as she glanced at Byleth. Instead of leaving, she sat herself right down in Manuela's currently empty chair and lounged like she was about to watch some soap opera.
Oh, Goddess, who in the world did you see?
Byleth's question was answered as Edelgard strode through the door. Byleth barely choked down some awkward noise of shock, as the one person yet to visit her finally arrived. She hadn't been expecting Edelgard to visit. The Emperor was admittedly a little emotionally constipated, much like Byleth, which is why Sothis got so frustrated by the pair. She'd expected Edelgard to visit Byleth after she was done healing, say some awkward words, and move on quickly as soon as she was convinced of the fact her General could lead once more.
"Ah, you're awake still. Shouldn't you be resting?" Edelgard asked, her cheeks dusting a faint crimson. Byleth vaguely expected Edelgard to flee, but the Emperor drew closer. She even sat down in the empty seat next to Byleth. While her fidgeting was noticeable, she kept her attention fixed on Byleth.
"Truly, I'm fine," Byleth managed to force out the same excuse she'd given all of the little ones, her own cheeks quickly matching Edelgard's clothing. Edelgard didn't respond for a long time, simply gazing at Byleth in total silence. Byleth shifted under the intensity of such a gaze, swallowing hard. "Are you okay, Edel?"
Edelgard jumped, Byleth's favored nickname for her causing even more flush to grace her features. Edelgard smiled reassuringly. "Of course, my teacher. I should be the one asking you that really. I suppose I'm just a bit taken off guard. You always look so strong. You manage to look so powerful and intimidating regardless of stature or dress. I kind of envy that, considering the lengths I have to go to in order to achieve a similar result." She brushed her hand against the crown-like horns adorning her head.
"To see you right now... You look weak and vulnerable in a way I've never seen. Even after your father passed, you carried yourself with such an air of grace and power that, should I not have known you as well as I did, I would have thought you not to be affected at all. The air surrounding you now, it's so gentle and small. I'd almost call it adorable, but considering it's only evoked by injury I suppose that's terrible of me to say. In that regard, I suppose it's a bit unnerving instead."
The only reason Byleth was able to carry herself with that air of 'grace' was because she'd gotten used to the death of those she loved a long time ago. Even before coming to Fodlan, it was something she'd become well acquainted with. "I don't begrudge you the thought. I do tend to carry myself with as imposing an aura as possible. You said it best yourself, if an opponent carries themselves strongly then those with weak resolve might yield. I've been a mercenary and a leader for longer than you've known me, I've had practice. You have a strong personality, one day you'll figure out how to use that like a crown instead of... these," Byleth wrinkled up her nose, gaze directed at the golden horns.
"And what exactly is wrong with my crown!" Edelgard instantly fluffed up, expression changing from gentle to insulted.
"I hate them. Violently. The day the war ends I'm going to melt them," Byleth told her, looking at the horns with contempt. "To be completely honest, I prefer you with your hair down." That totally wasn't because Byleth preferred girls with long hair though. Nope, not at all.
Edelgard pretended to look insulted for all of six seconds before her expression dropped and she sighed. "To be completely honest, they were Hubert's idea. I don't very well enjoy them either. I welcome you to steal them and melt them down, though if you do then you must teach me how to carry myself like you do, so I won't need them."
"Can I get rid of your heels as well then?"
"Most certainly not! I'll admit the crown is an annoyance but then almost everyone will tower over me! I'd be shorter than Lysithea. Lysithea!"
"You'd still be taller than Annette though."
The two glared at each other for a long moment before bubbling into childish giggles. It was still pretty funny for Byleth to think about. Lysithea, who'd been the smallest person in the monastery aside from the 12-year-old Cyril was now taller than the likes of Edelgard and Annette. She'd even gotten to be taller than Hilda. Byleth herself only being about five-five to five-six, depending on if she was measured with or without shoes, was often towered over by a majority of the students.
"If you want me to teach you how to properly assert your dominance, then the heels need to go. Trust me," she said.
"So says the woman with heeled boots," Edelgard cocked an eyebrow.
Byleth frowned deeply at that comment. "I only wear those because... you know what? I don't think I could actually explain. Let's just leave it at a friend of mine burning off about 2 feet of hair and this being my form of revenge. Perhaps I should go back to wearing my own clothes," she toyed with the ends of her hair as she contemplated the thought. "Perhaps in another couple inches. Or maybe even centimeters..."
"You used to wear something different? If you look intimidating in that eccentric and frankly ridiculous outfit, I can only imagine how terrifying you used to look," Edelgard muttered. Her gaze darted from Byleth's face for only a split second as she seemed to try and imagine Byleth in anything other than the frankly awful outfit she'd grown so used to. Byleth had toyed with the idea of going back to her regular outfit, but it was too much effort. She didn't think her favored clothes even fit her anymore, so she'd either need to find a tailor or the time to sew them herself. Neither of which seemed likely to happen in their given situation...
"Oh, I was quite beautiful. I'm aware of how bad my present outfit makes me look. I did, once upon a time, have a sense of style. I learned from my friend, which is why I chose the kind of revenge that I did." Byleth puffed up her chest and nodded. "And I assure you, the boots I wore had no heels to make me taller. They were just your everyday combat boots."
Edelgard laughed lightly, but her expression flashed for a second. "I'm not sure if you'd have an easier or harder time finding a husband if you went back to wearing that. I can quite easily imagine how beautiful you'd be, but certainly, you'd also be intimidating. Only the bravest would dare to approach you. And Dorothea. Dorothea would try." Edelgard's expression flashed even darker. "I suppose once this war is over, I'll have to seek out a man with a good deal of political power to marry."
The conversation stilled for a moment. Byleth felt the air get stolen from her lungs as she struggled to respond.
"Confess!" Sothis shouted in the background. Given the way she was sitting, Byleth would have sworn she thought herself sitting before a well-composed opera. Byleth felt her throat close up slightly. Her breathing got shallow. She thought about it, she genuinely thought about it as her motionless heart gave an uncomfortable clench. She felt dizzy and terrified in such a way that she'd only ever felt once before in her entire life.
She sobered up the moment the memory came back to her and she forced all desire to try and confess out of her mind. No, she wasn't going through that again. She forced herself to fake a smile. "I'm sure anyone would die to marry you, Edel, you should really pick someone that makes you happy. As for me... The world will be a better place if both my Crest and my Bloodline end here." She refused to look at Edelgard's reaction, the air suddenly became tense.
Edelgard didn't respond for some time and Byleth didn't have the bravery to look up at her. She didn't have the bravery to get her hopes up. She didn't want to let herself believe that Edelgard might be disappointed by Byleth's response. Byleth was just some emotionless lump. She couldn't love or be loved because she didn't know what the emotion was. She'd already been reminded of that once. Told it to her face followed by a malicious laugh that nearly had Soleil in a fistfight when Byleth went to cry on the shoulder of the only other person who'd get why it hurt so much.
She'd gotten over that because she didn't lose a friend. She'd sooner die than risk losing Edelgard.
So this was fine. Their friendship? It was fine. Byleth could live and be happy with that. She was starting to sound like Hubert, but she knew Hubert at least wouldn't be in pain when Edelgard eventually found someone to hand her heart to. Hubert loved their leader in such a different way. The thought of Edelgard finding someone... it made Byleth feel like she was going to drown on her own breath. Or maybe throw up. One of the two.
"Get some rest, my teacher," Edelgard said quietly before standing up and fleeing.
Byleth was allowed to sit there in silence for a couple of moments longer, wishing with all of her heart that it didn't hurt to be alive. Sothis carefully moved towards Byleth, her feet making a small pittering noise against the floor of the infirmary. "You should have told her," Sothis said. She rested a hand on Byleth's shoulder and Byleth felt her heart clench once more.
Maybe she should have. But she who called herself a brave mercenary wasn't brave enough to risk a friendship. Because she knew the moment she crossed that line, she wouldn't have the heart to Divine Pulse over it.
(-)(-)(-)(-)
No serious injuries. Just exhaustion. She might be out of it when she wakes up.
That's what Manuela kept telling Edelgard. All the students had taken their time to visit the unconscious professor, regardless of House. Claude, who was still stuck in the infirmary but finally awake, had cheerily told everyone he was keeping a close eye on the professor. That being said, Edelgard wouldn't trust Claude to care for a rock.
There was also the little detail that when Manuela said 'might be out of it' she kind of implied 'will be loopy from drugs' so Edelgard therefore really didn't trust Claude not to mess with their professor.
In response to that general distrust, Edelgard had decided that she was going to sit by the professor's bedside whenever she could get away with it. Until the professor woke up and was able to confirm that she was fine and wouldn't get harassed by Claude. Edelgard was doing this mostly out of what she felt was obligation. It was partially her fault that Byleth got worn out enough to pass out, not to mention the reason their positions weren't switched was mostly because of Byleth.
The job Byleth did healing Edelgard's wounds was, well, magic! It was more than that though. It felt like Byleth was leagues ahead of anyone at the school sometimes. Especially Edelgard herself. She carried herself with such airs of elegance and grace, a power she didn't feel the need to explain or justify, it made Edelgard sometimes feel like she was the one who should bow and serve. Edelgard was proud, but Byleth carried herself with more regality than Edelgard ever had.
And now that powerful woman was out cold in a bed because of something stupid Edelgard did.
Aside from just her general disappointing performance during the battle, at least part of the battle itself was her fault. She still hadn't gotten over that. Those Who Slither usually followed her orders and directives to an extent as long as she played nice and got along with them. This though... they weren't supposed to help those bandits!
Those were the bandits that Edelgard herself had more or less disowned after their failure to kill Dimitri and Claude. In the greatest embarrassment of all, they nearly killed her. If it wasn't for Byleth and her father swooping in at the last minute, they probably would have gotten her alongside Claude and Dimitri. That would have made the situation so much worse, Those Who Slither would have had a clear path to every throne in Fodlan, it would have been a succession mess. Yet, the professor had been entirely unperturbed as far as Edelgard could tell.
Those new and unfamiliar monsters terrified Edelgard, but they didn't seem to bother Byleth much. She didn't know the names for them but she heard Byleth calling them Rift Beasts.
It raised questions on Edelgard's part. Were they associated with Those Who Slither? Given what happened at the last battle and the battle the Golden Deer were part of, it seemed to be the case. But Edelgard had no clue what these Rift Beasts even were. That meant secrets were being kept from Edelgard.
First secrets and then Those Who Slither helping the bandits that she'd made it very clear were supposed to die at the hands of the students. And they'd come close to killing her. Why? Why would this be allowed? Had she not been a good ally to Thales?
Admittedly she'd been fairly quiet as of late when it came to her activities as the Flame Emperor. Something about the presence of Byleth made her avoid acting as the Emperor. At first, it worried Edelgard, but nothing bad had come from her inactivity and she kept telling herself that she was just trying to gauge Byleth as an ally. Perhaps if her mercenary company was really as strong as some had been whispering about then they could prove useful replacement for Those Who Slither. If Edelgard could scrounge up enough money to... no.
As much as she wished it was an option, no. Siding against Those Who Slither would be siding against the Empire and the Kingdom, and to a lesser extent some parts of the Alliance. Their claws were just so violently deep into everything inside of Fodlan that Edelgard would need a true powerhouse to really go against them fully.
All due respect to Jeralt's company, but Edelgard was fairly certain she'd need at least a couple of kingdoms worth of trained fighters to go toe to toe with them.
She could side with the Church, but that would go against the basic core principle of why she sided with Those Who Slither in the first place. Dismantling the Crestocracy which did damage to innocent children in ways that made Edelgard sick. The experimentation done on her and her siblings. It was all the fault of the Church for putting so much emphasis on the Crests!
Which was part of why Edelgard was scared that she might be losing the one set of allies she actually had. The actions of Those Who Slither were... uncomfortable lately. She'd been rather docile, but they also hadn't made any attempt to alert her to their plans. Even Hubert had trouble keeping an eye on things.
Was it because she'd been quiet? Were they angry and taking it out on her and her classmates? Or had they discovered something she hadn't and decided she was disposable now? Given the existence of the Rift Beasts, which were nothing like the Crest Beasts she knew about, she was starting to think it might be the latter… and that terrified her. She was worried that the last card she had would get ripped from her hands before she had time to play it.
What was she going to do if Those Who Slither ended up turning on her? Before the war with the Church no less! Depending on what they found they could overturn all three greater powers and take Fodlan for themselves. And who would she turn to? Dimitri? Certainly not, their relationship soured a long time ago. Rhea? Edelgard was willing to do a lot of things for a better Fodlan, but siding with Rhea wasn't one of them. That would just make things worse.
Those Who Slither were a problem and she didn't condone their actions, but at least they were better than the Church of Seiros.
Edelgard was regretful to an extent. She knew a lot of people were going to get hurt on the path she was deciding to take. Including Byleth, who'd become so dear to her so very quickly. Okay, yeah, Edelgard was willing to admit it to herself, she had something of a puppy crush on the professor. But it wasn't even actual love so it didn't matter. As much as it stung, she'd tear that love to shreds to make Fodlan a better place.
That being said, she'd never stop feeling bad about what she was about to let happen.
Edelgard's musings were derailed by the sound of a groan. She noticed Claude perk up on the other side of the room as Byleth's lips parted in a pained kind of noise. Her eyes batted open for a moment, struggling to properly open. Her pupils were stupidly dilated. What kind of pain killers did Manuela give her exactly? She knew that the medicines Manuela had used were supposed to up her body's natural magic production, since that was why Byleth had passed out. But Edelgard didn't know much about the side effects, let alone whatever else Manuela had put her on.
Edelgard wasn't sure what to expect. Maybe slightly slurred speech but overall normal behavior? Would the professor perhaps be drowsy? Or maybe the professor was just the kind of person who'd brush it off and start trying to act like normal.
Byleth was none of these things.
A lopsided smile, more easily imagined on Claude, found its way to her features. "Are you an angel?" She asked in the most ridiculously slurred manner possible. Edelgard blinked once. Twice. Who in the hell was this woman? This couldn't possibly be the same professor who watched Claude jump off a roof not too long ago with only mild amounts of concern.
"I'm not an angel, my teacher. I'm Edelgard," she responded, carefully watching the expression on Byleth face shift to an even deeper confusion than what Edelgard was feeling. This was the most unguarded she'd ever seen the professor. It almost felt... special? She wasn't sure why though. It was almost how it felt to find a unicorn, as though you'd just discovered a rare and magical creature you'd only ever come across once so best make the most of it.
The professor acted emotionally stunted, but Edelgard always had the feeling there was more to it than that. The professor had built up walls that maybe even she wasn't fully aware she had. Watching an almost childlike level of openness on Byleth's face, Edelgard was certain of the existence of those walls now. And for a short time, they were all crumbled to dust.
Edelgard had better enjoy it.
"You can't be Edelgard," the professor said, emphasizing random pieces of words however she pleased. "You don't have a Hubert!" Byleth said it like an accusation. Like Edelgard was about to sigh, pull off a mask of some kind, and tell her the jig was up.
"I assure you, my teacher, it was a great deal of trouble trying to slip away from his grasp to come and visit you, but I am in fact the real Edelgard," she was trying not to smile at the way Byleth enthusiastically shook her head like she thought she was being conned.
"You aren't rawr enough to be Edelgard." Byleth nodded in a sage-like manner. What the hell was that supposed to mean? Apparently Edelgard's expression betrayed her confusion, as Byleth tried to elaborate. "Edelgard is probably the strongest student I have. She always acts all big and strong, trying to be as scary as possible so people will follow her. She wants to lead them somewhere better. But on the inside, you can tell how gentle and sad she is. That's why she's rawr. She's pretending to be fierce, but she isn't actually all that scary. Don't tell Hubert, he'd probably get all pissy if he heard me say that. All hail Edelgard!" Byleth weakly saluted and Edelgard was at a loss for words.
She'd never known the professor thought of her in such high regard, it threw her for a loop. It was such a level of honesty, Edelgard wanted to be able to return it. The moment would have been perfect, if Claude wasn't giggling like a mad man over his corner. "Oh, teach! I have some questions."
It was obvious that Byleth was having some difficulty concentrating or even so much as speaking. Her expression was vexed, as though the sudden entrance of Claude's voice had confused her. Edelgard just sighed as Claude started shouting various questions at the defenseless Byleth. Anything ranging from where she was born to who taught her how to use a sword. "Professor, please just ignore him," Edelgard said.
After Claude's borderline desperate attempts to grill their teacher, Hilda showed up for her daily visit to Claude. "Oh, she woke up!" Hilda's gaze traveled between the three occupants of the room. "Hey Claude, why don't you come have tea with me," she said.
"But I wanna watch!" The leader of the Golden Deer complained like a petulant child. Claude had actually sat up in his bed to try and get a good look at Byleth, but the moment Hilda made her demand, he laid back down and crossed his arms. From what Edelgard had heard from Manuela, he technically didn't need to spend much more time in the infirmary. For the most part, he was patched up and was just milking his injuries for extra time off from classes. He gave Hilda a determined look like he had no intention of leaving. His retainer wasn't having it.
"Tea. Now." Hilda said, outright grabbing him by the ear and dragging him with all the strength she possessed in her tiny little body. Which, from Edelgard's own experience, was a terrifying amount. Claude yelped, practically being dragged to his feet. The only reason he complied was so Hilda didn't outright rip his ear off.
Byleth looked between Edelgard and Hilda for a moment. "Why is it always the small, pretty ones which wield such terrifying strength? Not to mention axes," she said. "Thinking about it, despite her focus on magic, didn't Annette also wield axes?"
Edelgard sighed, watching the pair go with a silent contempt for the leader of the Golden Deer. She turned her full attention back to Byleth. Now that Claude was actually gone, she could focus on part of the reason why she'd wanted to speak with Byleth. The tone instantly switched to serious despite Byleth's... difficulties. "My teacher, I want to apologize to you quickly while I still have the moment. Truly, I'm sorry," she said. There were a lot of things Edelgard was sorry for. She couldn't get into them now, but her chest felt a bit lighter.
Byleth's eyes became shockingly clear for a moment as she rested a hand on Edelgard's cheek. "Mistakes and accidents happen, it's part of being a human being. Not to mention, for as big and strong as you act, you're still just a child. Regardless of what happens, you are my student. I will do everything in my power to help you fix your mistakes. Before I can do that though, you need to take a step back and recognize them all instead of giving hollow apologies for what you know is wrong without looking at why. When you understand, that's when I'll be able to work through them with you and help you."
Edelgard felt an icy chill go through her. She knew she'd made mistakes. What exactly were those mistakes though? She knew they were there, and she thought they were necessary evils. But, she'd never actually taken the time to assess her plan on that level. Her actions in the future were, again, a necessary evil for the betterment of Fodlan. Why, though?
She knew certain things were right or wrong, but she'd never looked past it much. Byleth's gaze... she felt like she was being begged to look a little deeper. Something in her chest stirred like she was forgetting something important, but she couldn't put her finger on what. She was overlooking something, and she didn't know what. She'd need to start looking at everything more carefully if that was the case.
Perhaps she should start looking at everything a little closer as a general practice.
"I... thank you, my teacher. Your wisdom is as helpful as always. Though, I believe you might want to get a little more rest before Claude comes back and starts trying to get you to answer his outlandish questions." Edelgard said, feeling a small deal of pity for her teacher.
Byleth just snorted, a noise that would have sounded awful should any other human being on the planet have made it. "If he keeps asking me where I lived as a child, I'm just going to ask him where he's from." She did thankfully turn over and it only took a couple of moments for the very drugged teacher to fall into an easy kind of sleep. Edelgard was relieved in more ways than one when she stood up and left the nurse's office.
That relief turned into dread when she came face to face with Dimitri.
He frowned, looking off to the side. The same guilt which had been on Edelgard's face earlier was mirrored on the man she thought of as a brother. "Ah, has the professor woken up yet?" He asked hopefully. The Blue Lions were also part of that mess, so despite causing fewer problems for the professor than the Black Eagles, it was very likely he was blaming himself just as much for the current state of the professor.
"She did. She seems fine. Though, I instructed her to go back to sleep since she's quite obviously out of it, thanks to the strong medicine I'm assuming Manuela gave her. Claude kept trying to figure out where she grew up, among other things." Edelgard shook her head, committing the sound of Claude's laughter. Dimitri gave a deep belly laugh in response, eyes lighting up. It wasn't a bad expression. "In spite of that, she still managed to give me some good advice."
"Oh? Well, I won't pester you for long. I just came to check up on the professor. If she's well I'll return to my classmates. I should probably be keeping a better eye on Felix and Sylvain." Dimitri went to leave but Edelgard moved on reflex, grabbing his shoulder. Dimitri seemed stunned into being completely still before turning to her with a baffled expression.
"Would you perhaps like to have tea sometime?" She didn't know what she was doing. What was she doing? Something stupid, that's what she was doing. But... perhaps it was time she put on a different set of eyes and tried to look at the world through a different set of lenses. She didn't know what the voice in the back of her head wanted, but it was telling her that something in her world was deeply wrong and she needed to fix it. And this was the only way she could figure out how. Completely realigning her descriptions of fact and fiction.
Was it foolish and stupid? Absolutely, and she didn't think she'd get anything valuable out of the experience. But, hadn't everything she'd done since Byleth magically appeared been stupid?
Dimitri looked confused and Edelgard was worried he might say no. A small smile appeared though. "I would enjoy that," he said in a voice so quiet she almost didn't catch it before he slipped from her grasp and disappeared like a ghost she didn't know had been haunting her till now.
Dizzy and confused, her world entirely unaligned, she returned to her class. She vaguely processed the drone of her classmates as she found a quiet spot to herself, listening to them talk about the plans they'd made with the Blue Lions.
Her world was shifting. And she didn't know if it was a good thing or a bad thing.
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Hello, everyone. Yes, I'm still alive! These last couple of months or so have been a little rough, so I'd like to give my thanks to everyone who was patient while they waited for the next update. As some of you might know, I'm a college student. Because of classwork or general fatigue, I can't always spend as much time as I'd like writing. At the end of the day though, fanfic is a recreational activity. Something I shouldn't be killing myself to finish. That being said, I don't abandon stories, so I'm still here working slowly through new chapters.
I'm not going to set a new update schedule since I'm definitely not going to be able to keep it, but I will be trying to update more frequently. While I'm doing this, I also plan to go back and clean up the earlier chapters to the best of my abilities, since, yeah. They're a hot mess.