It was another sleepless night. Ashe had his full share of those like any other student did, although he would be lying if he didn't admit that the Blue Lion house was one traumatizing event too many. There were many occasions where he ran into his other classmates—even the House Leader, Dimitri, could be seen up and awake at odd hours.

Tonight, however, was different. Tonight, Ashe had the whole monastery to himself, because there was hardly anyone outside at this time. There was the occasional knight or merchant that wandered through, and a gang of cats that loved to sit at the top of the stairs, but otherwise, Ashe felt unbothered as he slipped through the shadows, and made his way over to the fishing pond.

Hood up, silver hair obscured, green eyes trained to the darkened sights before him, everything was familiarly laid out. He remembered the days before Lonato, the times he resorted to thievery in order to keep him and his sister alive. The times where he studied the movements of other people, and used narrow alleys and crowded walkways to his advantage. Even now, he figured if he tried hard enough, he could sneak some extra food out of the dining hall, or break into one of the merchant camps near the monastery entrance.

Of course, thinking like that was a bad thing, and he worked hard to change himself in that regard. Lonato saved him, above all things, and the tales of chivalry that guided him helped him to see that the world was more than just the price tags put on merchandise, or the food leftover on plates. There were so many things to discover, and so many people to meet.

Although tonight, Ashe wasn't focused on people. Instead, he was sitting by the waterside, crouched down, arms resting on his knees. He had a gold coin in his hand, and he flipped it over and over again, until the moonlight caught on the rim and sparkled for all the monastery to see.

There was no one around.

He sighed quietly. "They say that if you throw a coin into this pond, Saint Seiros will grant your wish and swallow the gold." His eyes fluttered downcast, and his lips thinned into a straight line. "I wonder if that's the truth."

If it was, he had a long list of things he would wish for. First, he'd wish that Sylvain and Felix didn't fight so often—their conflicts could be heard from the dormitories, and all the way out into town. Then he would wish for a good night's sleep for his dear House Leader, and Dimitri's stalwart friend and ally, Dedue. Then he would wish that Mercedes would stop telling ghost stories to scare him. Him and Caspar and Lysithea weren't so good with scary things, but Miss Martritz had no qualms about spooking them, anyway. Then he would wish that Professor Byleth would cook a meal with him; they made blessed jelly with him once, and it was the sweetest, most perfect jelly he'd eaten in his entire life.

But most importantly, Ashe would wish for safety and success for both him and his sister. He would wish for happiness in the coming days, and hope that the rumors of a Death Knight would stay rumors. With so many wishes, he realized he only had one gold coin to spare.

"Make any of them come true," he whispered to no one in particular. "I'm not picky."

The gold coin sunk into the water as Ashe disappeared into the dark.