R:

After a week of training and trying to figure out my thoughts about Dorothea, it's now the day before we depart to the Red Canyon. Byleth told us to sleep in early because are depart time is early. I haven't talked to Dorothea since that day. Actually I haven't talked to anyone since that day. My mind has been blank this entire week. I've been distracting myself with training. I've asked Byleth to help me with my sword techniques. Since he was also a mercenary, I thought he would be the best teacher for me and I was right. No matter what I do, he dodges or counters me. It's like he can see my movements before I even perform them. During the mock battle, he lead us to victory because of his tactical expertise but now that he is my sparring partner, I hate it. I have never landed a single hit on him and I'm very confident in my ability to use a sword.

Currently I'm mindlessly hitting a tree with my sword. It's barely noon and I already want tomorrow to pass by. I'm still nervous that my house are not experts on combat. By house I mean three people. I have no fear with Edelgard, Hubert, Ferdinand, Caspar, or Petra. They are not on the level of the Blue Lions but this mission should be no problem for them. Linhardt, Bernadetta, and Dorothea are a different story. Bernadetta has barely showed up to our training sessions. Linhardt and Dorothea skills are fine but it's their mentality that worries me. I don't expect them to become killing experts but I'm scared that if they hold back they might get killed.

"Richard."

Maybe if we only make Linhardt heal us and Dorothea only hurt the bandits while I finish them off, we can come out of this fine.

"Richard?"

The only problem now is Bernadetta. I'm worried she won't even show up or worse she runs aways during the fight. Maybe if-

"Richard!"

I jump at my name being screamed in my ear. It takes all my willpower to not swing with my sword at the voice who just screamed at me. I turn to see Rosaline giving me an angry glare. I opened my mouth to speak but Rosaline starts to speak first.

"I've been calling your name for a while now you know. What are you thinking about that you can't even hear me from five feet?"

"Sorry about that. I've been thinking about my mission tomorrow. I'm just nervous about my house."

"Well I can tell you that even if you prepare yourself mentally for it, once your on the field, it's completely different."

"I know. That's why I'm worried for some of them. It's going to be their first time against a real opponent that will kill them."

"You've fought in real fights? Aren't you some noble from the empire?"

Whoops. I sometimes forget that I'm not a mercenary while I'm here.

"No No No. I'm just the son of a knight. That's it. Obviously she would train me with real battles. It was to prepare for this Academy."

"Oh yeah I remember now. I guess that makes sense."

I'm glad that she believed me but she still hasn't told me why she called me.

"Sooo, do you need something from me?"

"Yes. The Academy is holding a tournament right now. It's swords only and we all thought that you should participate."

"And who is we?"

"Basically everyone here."

A sword tournament. Sounds like a perfect time killer.

"Yeah fine with me. Lead the way."

She just turned around and she walked to the training grounds. Once we entered, I see everyone from each house there. I also see other knights and citizens. It seems like this tournament is quite popular. I turn to look at Rosaline.

"Isn't too late for me to join with all of these people here?"

"Actually somebody already signed you up."

I shake my head at her response. Somehow I thought that would happen. The only thing is to figure out who did it. In the center of the training grounds is Alois and 15 other people who are facing him. Alois waves at me to join the 15. I walk to the center where I see Felix, Ingrid, Dimitri, Richard, Lorenz, Claude, Petra, and Ferdinand. The rest of the 7 participants are knights. Alois starts to speak.

"Okay, now that everyone is here, we will begin the first tournament of the year. These 16 brave men and women will fight with only swords. I will give each participant a number. We will then show the bracket and start the matches. First off I will explain the rules. You can only hit your opponent with your sword. Once you sword is out of your hand and is either on the floor or in your opponents hand, that counts as a defeat. Being knocked out, surrendering, or being placed in a position which would lead to your death if it was a real sword, counts as a defeat. I will judge every match so do not worry. I will call this down the middle."

He then gave us each a number. I got number 5. He then filled the bracket with everyone's name. We all looked at the bracket to see who would face who.

Claude vs 16, Ferdinand vs Felix, Leonardo vs 14, Lorenz vs Ingrid, Richard vs 12, Petra vs 11, Dimitri vs 10, 8 vs 9.

No matter what number I got I would still have to eventually face somebody I didn't want to. I'm facing some knight in the first round. We all regrouped with our respected houses before the first match starts. Everyone in our house is here except Linhardt and Bernadetta. Edelgard is the first to speak.

"Ferdinand, Petra, and Richard. I'm expecting a Black Eagle victory here. Since we have a member in each side of the bracket, I want a Black Eagle only finals."

"Of course I will win this tournament Edelgard. Me being your rival, it would be ridiculous for me to lose today."

Edelgard just shakes her head at Ferdinand's statement.

"I will be trying my best."

I was surprised by Petra almost correct sentance. I just nod at Edelgard who does the same. I gave a quick glance to Dorothea and she is giving me a warm smile. My cheeks turn slightly red as we all watch the first match.


L:

Claude, Lorenz, and I return to our house. To my surprise, everyone is here cheering us on. Well not everyone.

"Why am I here Claude? I could be doing anything else but now I have to waste my day with this stupid tournament."

"Oh c'mon Hilda. You should show more house pride. I mean even Leo here is participating."

I wonder what that even means but Lorenz quickly interjects.

"I only joined this tournament so I could defeat you Claude in front of everyone. Then everyone will know that I should be the future leader of the Alliance."

Claude gave Lorenz a puzzled look.

"You know you have to get through Ingrid and then Leo?"

"Of course I do. I'm not blind. I can see the bracket. I mean no offense Leo but I will beat you as well."

"Well good luck with that."

I doubt Claude will even make it that far. Felix is on our side which doesn't make me feel confident. From what I heard about their mission, Felix is truly on a different level. I do hope that Richard and I make it to the finals. I have also heard that he is a great swordsman. The rest of the house is talking while I keep staring at the bracket. I can feel my hands slightly shake while I have a smile on face.


Rs:

"I can't believe Sylvain signed me up for this tournament."

Ingrid, Annette, Mercedes, and I are talking while the guys are in their own group. We are trying to give Ingrid motivation for her match. Luckily Mercedes is the first one to try.

"Well, this is a good chance to see how much you have improved since our mission. You have been training a lot this entire week."

"But that doesn't mean I can beat Felix now and that's if I even beat Lorenz and Leonardo. I mean Rosaline, you've faced him before and even you couldn't land a hit."

I felt a little down by her comment but Annette tried to quickly change the direction of the conversation.

"Well maybe Sylvain signed you up because he thinks you're good enough to compete. I bet he would be quite impressed with you if you would win today."

Mercedes nods to Annette's statement. Ingrid started to blush.

"Do you really think that?"

But her face quickly changes to anger.

"Of course I'm not going to believe that! He only signed me up so he didn't have to participate. Since a house can only use three members per tournament, he used me as a scapegoat."

Her face was turning red out of anger. I noticed that Claude and some knight stood across from each other.

"Hey I think it's starting."

The girls turned around as we watched the first match.


R:

My predictions seem to be all correct. Claude and Leo beat their opponents. Ferndinand lost fairly quickly to Felix which caused Edelgard and me to giggle a little. Currently Lorenz and Ingrid are about to start fighting. Before Alois could start the match, Lorenz started to speak.

"Before this match starts, I would like to say that I'm against attacking a fair beauty like yourself Ingrid but since this is a tournament and we are using wooden swords I will see this as an exception. I will hold back of course."

"…"

Alois gave him a concerned look but he continued with his job.

"You may begin."

I thought Felix and Ferdinand match was short but this one took the cake. Raphael took Lorenz to the infirmary while the rest of Ingrid's house tried to calm her down. Alois had a happy but still worried face on him about Lorenz.

"That was so fast that I couldn't even see what happened. Anyways will the next participants come forth."

I was going to the center of the training grounds but a hand on my shoulder stops me. I turned around to see who the culprit is and it's Dorothea.

"I just wanted to say good luck."

I just nod at her and I attempt to leave. She stops me again.

"Ric-"

"They're waiting for me Dorothea."

I brush her hand off my shoulder and I walk to the center. I knew what she was going to say and now is not the time for that. Also my face is flushed after talking to her. I might not be in the best condition to fight right now. Another knight walked towards me and he stopped a few meters away from me. I had my hand on the hilt of my sword while he just has both his hands on his sides. Alois voice interrupted my analysis of the knight.

"You may begin."

Depending on the opponent, there are two ways to start a fight. Wait for my opponent to make the first move or-

"Aaaaaah."

I lunged at him as fast as I could. The knight was startled by this which causes him to react a second late. He quickly pulled out his sword and swung at my direction without aim. I side stepped the wooden blade and I swung my sword at his head. I didn't swing with full strength but once then my sword made contact with his head the knight fell to the ground. A loud thud was heard and silence followed suit. My eyes widen at the sight of the knight and fear flowed through me. I'm going to be in a lot of trouble for-

Clap Clap

I turned to the person who started to clap and I saw Edelgard. Hubert reluctantly followed after her. Dorothea was going to be the next one to clap but she was drowned out by the rest of the audience. I've always been in the crowd who clapped for some knight or royal doing anything great. I've never been the repipient of claps. I was at a loss for words. If my face wasn't still red from earlier it is now.


L:

I was happy for Richard. It always felt like people didn't see him in the same light as the rest of his house. Since he is one of the two non-nobles of his house, he had a bigger mountain to climb. The empire seem to focus a lot on notability. I've never felt different from the rest of the Golden Deer which I am grateful for. I think the reason for that is Claude. He truly is a great leader. Yet I can see him trying to figure a way to cheat during his match with Felix. I just ignored him as the last of the first round matches continued on.

Petra and Dimitri defeated their opponents easy enough and the second round was now under way. The first match was Claude against Felix. Felix was already waiting in the center for his match. The look in his eyes showed me an animal waiting for his prey. He looked like he was born to fight which worried me. If he won this match and I won mine, we would be opponents. To try to distract my mind I turn to look for Claude. He was crouching down on the floor with some drinks in his hands. He had a mischievous smile on his face.

"This could work."

I kicked his hand which made him drop one of his drinks. He gasped at my actions but then his usual smile returned to his face.

"That was the wrong dr-"

Hilda kicked the other drink out of his hand.

"C'mon guys. I had a full proof plan here. You know how long I took to make this drink?"

Hilda just rolled her eyes at him and spoke.

"We get it Claude. Your good at schemes and stuff. Just go fight Felix already."

Claude looked at me pleadingly but I just gave him a glare. His head dropped and we walked to the center to face his opponent. Hilda stood next to me while we watched the match. A question popped into my head right before the match could begin.

"Why did you kick the other drink out of his hand?"

"If his plan was to make Felix drink that, we would be here longer than if he actually faced Felix normally. The sooner this tournament is over the faster I can go back to my room and relax."

"You really don't like this?"

"Well yeah. Why do I care about people hitting each other with wooden swords? It's just pointless."

"Well if you look at it in that way then you have a point. But I disagree. It's been a week since we came back from our mission. Some of the Blue Lions are still shook up from their mission. The Black Eagles' mission is tomorrow. The church are so nervous about their mission that they are letting their professor join them. We didn't even get that. They originally thought that our mission was safe enough to do without Manuela with us but now they are changing that. A lot of people are on edge right now and this is a distraction for them. I mean have you seen how excited the Black Eagles or Blue Lions look right now? This is just to boost morale and house unity."

I wasn't even watching the match since I was staring at Hilda as she was looking at me as well. Her eyes widen when I finished my speech. Before she could open her mouth I felt a tug at my sleeve. I turned to see who it was and it was Lysithea.

"Leo, your not even watching the match."

I snapped my head back to the center as I saw Claude and Felix currently fighting. Either my mind was playing tricks with me or I saw Hilda pouting in the corner of my eye. I couldn't think about it a second longer as I heard wood and skin make contact. Felix hit Claude on his left hand with his sword but Claude quickly tossed it to his right hand. Claude quickly backstepped to regain his stance but Felix didn't give him a moment. In short distance travel Felix is quick but Claude is quicker with his reflexes. Claude knows how to move his body how he wants to which is perfect against Felix. Every swing made by Felix, Claude dodged but he didn't have time to counter because Felix was relentless with his sword. Who ever slips up could get the advantage but at the same time Claude is holding his sword with his non-dominant hand. Even if Claude landed a hit, it wouldn't be as effective. Sadly we would never know because Felix instead of attacking he quickly side stepped to Claude's right side. Claude took his bait as he tried to swing his sword at Felix but that was what Felix wanted. Since the distance between Felix and Claude's right arm was short, Claude didn't have much room to swing his sword. Felix was in the same situation but since Felix's dominant hand is his right, when their swords clashed, Claude's sword flew out of his hand. Felix put his sword on Claude's neck. Claude merely raised his hands in defeat while he had a small smile on his face.

The audience cheered and clapped for the match as this has been the most competitive match they have seen all day. I couldn't hear them but Claude and Felix exchanged some words. They then both nodded and they walk back to their own houses. We all cheered for Claude as he walked back to us. We all gave him words of encouragement.

"Alright I get it guys. Forget about me, and let's focus our attention on our last house member in the tournament. Leo's match is next."

Everyone turned to me as I heard Alois booming voice.

"Can the next participants please step forward."

Now everyone in my house were cheering me on as I walked towards the center. I see Ingrid walk towards the center as well and I can see how uncomfortable she is. I doubt she wants to be here which should make this match quick. I'm not as fast as Richard is but that is not going to stop me from ending this quicker than him.

"You two may begin."

I charged at her as she did the same. As soon as I was in her range I quickly jumped back. She swung to thinking she could reach me but that lead to her undoing. Once her sword ended it's swing, I swung my sword at her gut. She immediately dropped her sword to the ground and she quickly followed suit. I could hear my house as they cheered for me first then the rest of the audience followed. I extend a hand to Ingrid which she took.

"Sorry about that. I just wanted to end this quickly."

Ingrid's eyes closed and her face contorted into anger. Once she let go of my hand she slapped it away from her. I gave her a confused look but she turned around.

"Why? Just because I'm a girl? You think I can't handle a fight against you?"

Before I could answer she left. I guess I'm still not good with talking to others.


L:

Ingrid brushed off Sylvain who tried to talk to her as she marched her way towards us. Mercedes and Annette had a worried look. Before we could ask her anything Ingrid opened her mouth.

"I can't believe this. Just because I'm a girl, he felt sorry for me. I don't want his pity."

I have no idea what Leonardo said to her but I have a guess. She acts like this when Sylvain didn't want to fight her when they were kids. I doubt Leonardo meant to be offensive but Ingrid is pretty quick to get upset when it's about this subject. My solution to this was always to train with her but right now that is not possible. Luckily I have backup. Annette was the first one to try.

"It's okay Ingrid. Like you said, you didn't even want to participant in this tournament so it's fine. Leonardo is obviously great with a sword while that's not your strong suit."

Ingrid shot a look at Annette which made her flinch. Mercedes quickly tried to save this situation.

"What I think Annie meant to say is that, you had no time to prepare for this. Sylvain just threw this at you. Leonardo has been fighting with a sword even before he got here while you just started to train with one. It was unfair from the beginning but once we have a spear only tournament, you will definitely win."

Mercedes ended her sentence with a heart warming smile. That made Ingrid calm down a bit. Before any other words could be said, we heard cheers from the crowd. We all turned to see what was happening. Richard had his sword pointed at Petra's throat while she was on the floor. I completely forgot about the match. Richard helped Petra up and they both walked back together. Ever since Sylvain forced me to talk to Richard, we have been talking every once in a while. At first I thought he was a creep trying to stalk me, then I thought he wanted to go out with me since Sylvain implied it so often. After talking to Richard about it, he cleared the air with me. He just wanted to be friends and Sylvain exaggerated the entire thing. Plus it's obvious that Richard likes someone else. The only problem is that it feels like he is hiding something from me. I don't know what it could possibly be and I can't confront him about it. Asking him to come to the tournament was the first time I talked to him since I came back from the mission. I just assumed that he was going to be too focused on preparing for their mission. I wonder what really has his mind occupied.


R:

I felt excited as I saw Felix and Leonardo stand against each other. I really want to fight both of them but at the same time I have to think about my match as well. It's not certain that I will fight one of them. I know that this match will be speed versus strength. The first hit is going to be crucial.

"Begin."

Felix charged right at Leonardo while he just readies himself. Once Felix was in range, Leonardo swung his sword downwards. I was going to question him but I noticed that he didn't swing all the way. Felix didn't notice it as he side stepped to Leonardo's left. Once Felix moved Leonardo changed the direction of his sword and he swung it with full force. Felix tried to block the hit but he was too slow. Leonardo landed a clean hit on Felix's shoulder. To my surprise Felix, instead of back stepping away, he swung his sword and hit Leo in the ribs. Both of them were hit hard and they both stepped back. The audience was loud. Leo was already breathing hard from his hit while Felix's left arm was a bit slower than before. Even though Leo hit Felix hard, Leo came out more hurt in their exchange. Neither one of them wanted to move their feet.

After a few seconds, Leo was the first to move towards Felix. He shuffled toward him while Felix prepared to block. Everyone was waiting with bated breath. Even I was holding my breath. Leo finally lunged at Felix. It looked like Leo was aiming for Felix's left side. Felix probably expected that as he placed his foot behind to jump back. At least that is what I thought. Instead he jumped towards Leo. Felix being the faster of the two, closed the distance between them while Leo couldn't reach in time. Leo tried to move his sword to block Felix's sword but he was too late. Since Felix kept his body low, he was not in harm's way. Felix stabbed Leo's body with full force which made Leo yell in pain. Felix didn't stop moving as he changed direction and ran to Leo's right side. Just like Felix did, Leo surprised not only me but Felix when he swung his sword at Felix. Since Felix was in the middle of his run he couldn't block completely. Their swords connected and to everyone's surprise we heard a crack.

Both Felix and Leo's swords snapped in half. Everyone gasped at this turn of events. Felix fell on his back from the sheer force of their swords collision while Leo was on one knee. Leo dropped his hilt and placed both his hands on his ribs. Felix looked at Leo with disbelief. I knew he was strong but this is unexpected. We all look at Alois since he is the official of the match and even he has a surprised look on his face.

"Ummm. I guess it's a draw."

The crowd was silent. Before anyone could voice their opinions, Leo spoke.

"I...think that Felix should advance. I don't...think that I could keep fighting, while...he can still go."

He had a little difficulty speaking but he got his point across. Everyone looked at Alois for his response,

"I guess you have a point. Well then, the winner is Felix."

Felix was already standing up at this point and he had a conflicted look on his face. Everyone cheered for their match. Felix, for the first time this entire tournament, helped his opponent up. Felix merely nodded at him while Leo just had a strained smile on his face. They both walked back to their own houses. I saw Hilda and Lysithea trying to take Leo to the infirmary but he just waved them off. He turned to look me in the eyes and mouthed 'sorry'. I just give him a shrug and a thumbs up. I walk to the center, while I see Dimitri and Felix talking.

"You better win this boar. I won't be happy until I beat you in front of everyone."

"I don't plan on losing to Richard or to you."

Dimitri then walked to the center to face me. I haven't really talked to him before so I get slightly nervous. I then voice my concerns.

"I won't get attacked or put on a wanted list if I hit you, right?"

Dimitri laughs at my question.

"Of course not Richard. We are all equals here. You should have no concern about this match. Although, it's not easy to land a hit on me."

I just nodded at him. Even though I had concerns earlier, I feel confident against him. I know he is more of a spear user so I already have an advantage.

"You two may begin."

Dimitri charges at me first which is what I expected. He probably wanted to show Felix his strength by hitting me quickly. His confidence will be his undoing. Since he uses a spear, Dimitri uses both his hands with his sword. He tries to stab me with his full force. I position my sword lower than usual. Once he is in range, I step forward and swing upwards. Right before Dimitri could touch me with his sword, my sword hits both of his hands from under him. I hit him with enough force that he loses grip of his sword and it flies toward the sky. I quickly grab it while my original sword is still pointing at Dimitri. I point both of the swords at him while he has a defeated look on his face. The crowd cheer as I lower my sword against him. Usually when people have too much confidence or are trying to prove something they don't think straight. If Dimitri was cool headed, he would have lowered his sword before I hit him. I look at him and I try to say something encouraging. Somehow Dimitri beats me to it.

"That was completely my lost Richard. You were excellent. If only someone like you was born in Faerghus."

"Thanks Dimitri, but I'm happy with my house."

He once again laughed at my comment and he walked away. Before I left the center of the training grounds, Alois spoke up.

"The finals will begin in few minutes so rest up finalists."

I sighed in relief. I walked back to my house as they cheered for my arrival. Except for Huber obviously. Edelgard was the first to speak.

"Congratulations Richard. I'm proud of you for making it to the finals."

"I agree with Edelgard. If you want any advice on how to handle Felix, you can ask me."

"But you only lasted a few seconds with him Ferndiand."

Caspars words hit Ferdinand hard as he had a defeated look on his face. Petra then placed her hand on my shoulder.

"You were doing the good out their Richard. I was impressed. I am feeling glad that my defeat was in your hands."

I just smiled at her which caused her to smile as well. I saw Dorothea coming closer to me but then heard my name being called.

"Richard."

Petra let go of my shoulder and I turned around to see Leo.

"Leo are you alright?"

He just waved his hands in my face.

"Of course I am. I'm sorry for not being able to face you in the finals. I was hoping we could figure out who was the best."

"Well you were facing Felix so it's understandable. Still I'm getting excited just thinking about fighting him."

Leo had a smile on his face as I assumed he thought the same thing before they faced off.

"Well just know he is fast. He might be even faster than you."

"I don't doubt it. Unlike you, I can't counter that with power since I'm not super strong like you. I just have to think of a strategy against him."

"Even then, he is pretty unpredictable when he fights sometimes. You just have to have a clear head and never let him control the pace."

I just nod to him as I stretch my arms for the upcoming match. I know that Dorothea is close by waiting to talk to me but that would have the opposite effect on me. I want a clear mind right now and I if I talk to her, I'm only going to be thinking about her. I then hear Alois voice.

"Alright we will now begin the last match of the tournament. Can the two finalist step forward."

I nod at Leo and I walked towards the center. Felix joins me in the center and he faces me with a new wooden sword in his hand. I grab my sword and ready myself up as well. To my surprise, in the corner of my eye I can see Marianne giving me a thumbs up. I give her a big smile which makes her retract behind Hilda. I turned my attention back to Felix. We both are staring at each other with one thing on our mind.

Victory.

"Let the finals begin."

AN:

Yahello! Wooo boy what a two weeks I had. Right before I went to the library to start writing, I dropped my backpack and my laptop broke. When I came home the internet was out. Fast forward to now and I still have no internet. I'm at a friend's house just to post this story. I don't know when my internet will be back but hopefully it will be soon. Back to the story, sorry about the swerve. I forgot that the tournament was a sword one which involves most of the MC. I doubt I'll write the other tournaments since this was really hard to write for some reason. Next chapter will be the Red Canyon Mission. Promise. Hopefully. Please overlook if some of the names are misspelled. That's all I have to say for now. Have a wonderful day everyone. Peace.-Omas125