Chapter Three – Journey to Garreg Mach

"The boar gave his permission, did he?"

Felix crossed his arms as I approached him in armor that I hadn't worn since before Katrina was born. I was pleased to find that it still fit, even if it was a little bit snug here and there. The range of motion was good, obstruction not bad. It felt made to be worn by me.

"I thought you stopped calling him that," Sylvain said from Felix's side. The two were nearly inseparable, even if Sylvain's unceasing philandering drove Felix to his wit's end. Neither ever married, but I liked to think it was because they were holding out for each other.

The support party for the uprising consisted of just the three of us. As members from the front lines of the war—and since the situation was not dire—we could handle pretty much anything smaller than a battle with just us. Felix was one of the nation's best swordfighters, while Sylvain could spear an enemy on horseback without even slowing down.

"Sometimes he earns it," Felix responded. I wanted to ask what Dimitri had done now to be called a boar again, but I often found it better not to question Felix.

Sylvain rolled his eyes, and his gaze landed on me. "Ah, Professor. You get lovelier every time I see you. I hope you're looking forward to spending prolonged periods of time with me without His Majesty around. No husband, no kids. This is like a vacation for you, isn't it?"

"We're potentially going to have to kill people, Sylvain," I pointed out. "I wouldn't call that a vacation."

"You remind me of Ingrid sometimes, Professor."

"I'm going to take that as a compliment." I linked gazes with Felix, who shook his head, encouraging me to take it as a compliment even further. "If we want to make it to the monastery by nightfall, we need to get moving. You ready?"

The boys nodded. We each mounted our horses, whose bags were filled to capacity with rations and other necessities. I hadn't been one for horseback riding prior to marrying Dimitri, but now I found serenity in the activity. Even having a destination and not merely riding for enjoyment still brought some relaxation. Felix did not seem as enthused as the rest of us.

"What is the destination?" Sylvain asked as we trotted along. The roads out of the mountainous region of Oghma, where we built the new capital due to its plentiful resources and proximity to Garreg Mach, were not easily traversable. It made it difficult for the capital to be attacked, should someone conspire against us, but it also made the initial journey away from Oghma long.

I pulled a map out of the pocket near my left leg and unfolded it. "Hrym. That's where Jeritza was from, wasn't it?"

"Yeah, and they have a terrible reputation," Sylvain said. "They participated in the rebellion against Edelgard's old man and were completely shut down. They've pretty much been in disarray since, and with Jeritza's death during the war, they haven't had a Viscount. I'm not surprised there has been activity down there. The whole place is a mess."

I couldn't say I felt bad about Jeritza's death—by my hands, no less. It was kill or be killed, and the Death Knight had to be stopped. But I did feel bad about the unintended consequences. That was not to say I would have acted differently if I knew that Hrym would fall into chaos with his death, but I wouldn't have left the region go unchecked for so long.

We rode in relative silence after that. I didn't know what to say. Sylvain rarely had nothing to say, though, so he kept a conversation going mostly with himself. Occasionally we would see a beautiful villager on the more well-traveled roads, and he would slow his horse to a trot to flirt.

Night fell before we made it to Garreg Mach, but we only rode on for another fifteen minutes after the sunset in the twilight when it appeared in the distance. I recalled walking this path once with Dimitri, Claude, and Edelgard, oblivious to the plan formulating in Edelgard's head that almost ruined all our lives. Those were simpler times. My father walked ahead with Alois and the other Knights of Seiros laughing about old times. I didn't see him laugh a lot and wished I had paid more attention.

The monastery was now more secure than ever before, locking all gates and arming the guard towers as soon as the sun set. I hopped off my horse when I got close enough to the guard towers. Being the leader of the Church of Seiros, I should have had no problem entering. But my face was not as well-known as Rhea's had been to the members of the church, so sometimes I had difficulty being recognized.

Today, though, there were no issues. The gatekeeper recognized me immediately when he brought a torch forward to fight off the darkness, and my friends and I entered the monastery again as guests.

"Professor! I-I mean, Lady Byleth!"

I squinted ahead on the long path up to the monastery itself and saw someone on a wyvern heading towards us. I half-expected it to be Seteth, who I just saw at the manor as our note-taker, but who also kept operations running smoothly at Garreg Mach. But it was a pleasant surprise to find that it was Cyril who flew towards us, landing ahead of us to block our path.

"Cyril, what a pleasant surprise. I haven't seen you since you graduated," I remarked. That had been nearly two years ago, the first year after Garreg Mach reopened. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm teaching archery now." His face lit up, and I smiled. He still reminded me of a little kid after all these years, despite being well into his twenties by now. "I heard that there was a small group approaching the monastery and wondered if it was you. Just had a feeling, ya know?" He waved at the boys beside me, and they nodded back at him. "Hello there, Sylvain. Felix."

"Long time," Sylvain greeted with a single wave.

"Hey," Felix muttered.

"Seteth will want to know you're here. How come you didn't tell us ahead of time you were coming? He'd have liked that," Cyril said, hopping off his Wyvern and patting its back to alert it to fly ahead.

We began walking together, guiding our horses by their reins up the path to the monastery.

"It was kind of unexpected. We just needed an easy halfway point for our journey to Hrym. Apparently, there have been some issues down there, so we're just going to check on the situation," I explained. Cyril didn't do a good job of hiding his disappointment. He must've been expecting us to stay longer.

"Oh, okay. But we'll make sure you have a proper welcome tomorrow morning, Lady Byleth. The students will be so happy to see the archbishop." Cyril smiled and walked ahead of us, leaving me no opportunity to refuse. He had work on the brain—he usually did, anyway. He had been instrumental to the reconstruction and clean up of Garreg Mach, courtesy of his tendency to give all of himself and then some to everything he did. I could only imagine what he intended for tomorrow.

We made it to the main gates of the monastery, and I looked up at the walls that I once called home. There were good and bad memories housed here. This was where all the trouble began that led to the deaths of my friends… the death of my father. But this was also where I forged some of the strongest friendships of my life. Allies, friends. I learned the difference here when I never knew it before.

"Miss it, Professor?" Sylvain whispered in my ear as he strode past. My gaze followed him, and he, Felix, and Cyril disappeared around the corner.

I jogged to catch up, and we brought our horses to the stables before entering the entrance hall. It was mostly empty. Curfew had already been reached for the students, so around this hour, most of the Knights of Seiros would gather in the dining hall for a drink or two. Or five, if I recalled how my father put them down.

It was easy to forget how large this place was. It took us another five minutes just to cross the campus to make it to the staircase to the second floor. The small talk the boys made didn't make it go by much faster, considering Sylvain kept asking Cyril about girls and Felix about fighting.

Seteth was in his office, one hand pressed to his forehead and the other holding a quill that he tapped on a bare piece of parchment. When Cyril knocked on the doorframe, he looked up. He had softened since the war ended. It had been rare for me to earn a smile from him, but now he gave one freely when our gazes met.

"Lady Byleth. How unexpected," he greeted.

"I've told you that you can just call me Byleth," I said.

"Me, too, Byleth?" Sylvain asked, and I looked at him with narrowed eyes.

"No, you can continue to call me Professor."

Seteth stood up and set his quill down. He never changed, I noted, as he walked around his desk to stand in front of me. "To what do we owe the honor of the archbishop's presence?"

"I'm not here as the archbishop this time, Seteth. Nor as the queen," I added quickly as he opened his mouth to surely comment on that. "As I explained to Cyril, we are only just passing through and need a place to sleep for the night. We are on our way to Hrym to check on the situation there and provide backup in case it is needed."

"I'm afraid enrollment is at its peak this year. We have no beds open." Seteth closed his eyes for a moment as if deep in thought, and then he nodded. "Ah, but we do keep your old room open. But that is hardly befitting for a queen, and we still have nowhere for Sylvain and Felix."

"I don't mind sleeping on the Professor's floor," Sylvain said. I expected him to add something inappropriate, but nothing came. "Part of the reason I'm here is because Dimitri asked me to keep an eye on her. Protect her, you know?"

"Dimitri asked you to watch me?" I asked.

"Oh, I probably wasn't supposed to tell you that."

I crossed my arms and looked at Felix, who just shrugged at me.

"It is not so unusual for a husband to want to make sure his wife is all right," Seteth offered. "And you are a mother now. Imagine if something happened to you while you were down here. His Majesty is the type who would never be able to forgive himself if he wasn't around. You know that. I am sure he meant no insult towards you in trusting your abilities."

"And you know that old Gilbert—Gustave, whoever—will report to you on every move Dimitri made when you return. It isn't so different," Sylvain argued.

"Fine. That's not important right now, anyway." I turned back to Seteth and threw a thumb over my shoulder. "May we go? Felix and Sylvain can bunk with me. If the room hasn't been touched, I have extra blankets in there they can use."

Seteth's nose crinkled. "That is… highly improper, Lady Byleth."

"Oh, come on, you know that this stiff won't try anything," Sylvain said, elbowing Felix.

"And if this idiot tries anything, I'll just break his arm off," Felix responded.

Seteth pinched the bridge of his nose. Maybe he hadn't lightened up after all, given the enormous sigh that erupted from him. "Very well. How long do you plan on staying with us? Should I expect you for breakfast?"

"We need to leave at sunrise. We'll just grab something from the pantry quickly before we leave." Cyril's face fell, and I smiled at him. "We'll stop here on the way back, and we can stay for a little longer. I'd like to speak with some of this year's students at some point, anyway."

"Excellent. Then I wish you a sound sleep, Lady Byleth." Seteth bowed and then turned his attention to the men at my side. "Sylvain, Felix, please ensure that Lady Byleth does not put herself in undue danger. She tends to be rather reckless."

"Not you, too," I muttered, which earned me another smile from the green-haired man.

"You have many people who worry about you, Lady Byleth. Do not forget it."

I shook my head and turned, leaving the room with Sylvain and Felix on my heels. I hated to feel like a burden on anyone. My father taught me to take care of myself, perhaps too well, so it wasn't as if I would go out of my way to die.

When we made it downstairs to my old room, Sylvain chuckled to himself. "I never thought I'd end up in the Professor's room. It's an old dream of mine finally coming true."

"Please don't say that," I said. I went into the bureau against the wall and pulled out a couple of thick woolen blankets. "I tend to wake up a lot in the night. I can sleep on the floor closest to the door so I don't disturb you."

"You do know that the boar king would have our heads if we let you sleep on the floor, right?" Felix snapped, snatching the blankets out of my hands and thrusting one at Sylvain. "Just take the damn bed. If you need to get up, just step on Sylvain's head."

"Yes," Sylvain agreed, a little too quickly for my liking. "Please. Please step on my head."

Felix smacked Sylvain across the back of his head, and Sylvain grinned at me. "He will control himself, Professor. Either that or I will kill him myself."

I didn't like it, but I also didn't want to argue. I climbed up on my bed and watched as the boys unfolded their blankets and set them across the floor. We all pulled our clunky armor off and set it around the room, left only in our underclothes that were damp with sweat. Sylvain pulled his shirt off and then lay down on one of the blankets, which he folded around him like a cocoon. Felix blew out the lamps and then followed suit.

"'Night, Professor."

"Good night."

They were both asleep well before me. Sylvain snored. Felix mumbled in his sleep. And I lay awake in the night, face pressed into my pillow as images of the past flew through my mind.

Eventually I must have fallen asleep because the next time I opened my eyes, it was because Felix was shaking me.

"Time to go."

"Is Sylvain still alive?" I asked groggily, rubbing my eyes as I sat up. Sylvain was nowhere to be found in these tight quarters.

Felix gave me a rare smile. "Unfortunately. That just means you must continue to deal with him today. He's just gone to get some food."

In less than seven hours, my visit to Garreg Mach was over. As soon as Sylvain reappeared, we retrieved our horses and set off. If Seteth and Cyril hadn't seen us, no one would have even known we were here.

To answer Sylvain's question… I missed it. Being a pawn in a political game was not the life I envisioned for myself. Then again, being a teacher never had either. But I wondered if I was living the life I was meant to live, or if I was just going through the motions as if forced by fate.

Fate… just how much power did it hold over us humans?


Author's Note: I am returning to work tomorrow, so chapters will not be published as quickly as they have been these three days. Thank you for your continued support. Please consider leaving comments to let me know how you are enjoying the story.