Korrina and the Black Eagles
Chapter 10: Love and Tragedy
Rhea's response to the tragedy of Remire Village was quite predictable: she offered her hopes and prayers to the victims and expressed shock at Tomas being a spy. While Sothis continued to scold Rhea for her supposed naivete and incompetence, Korrina held off this voice and merely said, "I'm not as surprised. That old man always had something off about him. He always studied us thoroughly and had a rather dark aura about him. I just didn't expect that he would actually try something like what he did to Remire Village." Seteth then did some reflection, saying that Tomas was sent to the monastery from House Ordelia (Lysithea's house) 40 years ago. Tomas then went back to House Ordelia 8 years ago before returning a year before Korrina was discovered. Seteth wasn't able to make sense of all this since Tomas had worked at Garreg Mach for so long and never seemed at all displeased or disgruntled. Korrina, however, had an idea. She said, "I think you're viewing this from the wrong angle, Seteth. There is a strong possibility that House Ordelia or someone else had sent Tomas as a spy from the very beginning. The librarian you knew may not have even existed in the first place." Seteth, however, was not as certain. He believed that something had happened to Tomas in the 6 years he was away from Garreg Mach and that he had simply been killed and replaced by someone else. Korrina accepted the possibility, but nevertheless recommended a thorough investigation into House Ordelia. Unfortunately, Remire Village would certainly not be the last of the disturbing events going on. The next day, a report of a break in at a nearby chapel was sent to Rhea and investigating the matter would be the Black Eagles' mission for the month we call December. Due to the way Remire Village turned out, Sir Jeralt was sent to once again accompany the Black Eagles for this mission.
Either despite or because of how grim things had become as of late, many festivities were planned for the month we call December. Although Sothis denounced the events as yet more wastes of time that could easily be used tracking Solon and investigating that chapel, Korrina for one welcomed the festivities with open arms. After all, there wasn't a ton of time for celebrating ANYTHING as a mercenary and Korrina needed some time to mentally recover after the sheer catastrophe that occurred last month. The first event that Rhea had in mind was something called the White Heron Cup. This was an annual dancing competition where each house picked their most charismatic person to represent them in a dance off. The winner got an opportunity to pursue dancing as a professional career. Korrina instantly thought of Flayn as the representative for the Black Eagles. Although Flayn didn't have much in the way of charisma, she was always dancing to herself with a most contagious air of joy. With enough practice, she could potentially wow any judge with her purity and fluidity. Although Korrina didn't have much experience in dancing, Ferdinand most certainly did. This event had caused him to go on and on about his "performances" at the balls his father used to hold (even while Korrina was trying to instruct). This caused Korrina to challenge Ferdinand to "put his money where his mouth was" and help prepare Flayn for the competition.
After a week or two had passed, the White Heron cup began in full. Alois was the master of ceremonies and head judge (a fitting role given his bombastic nature and charisma). Manuela was the second judge to the surprise of no one, but Shamir's appointment as the final judge came as a surprise as she didn't strike anyone as the type of person who was really into dancing. After these introductions were over with, the contestants presented themselves. Flayn's appointment unnerved the judges (especially since Seteth was in the front row and paying very close attention), but the general audience seemed to enjoy it. The Blue Lions chose Dedue. This move shocked the general audience, but Korrina seemed to understand. Dedue's heart was almost as pure as Flayn, and once one saw that side of him, the thought of him wanting to dance stopped being such a surprise. Predictably, Claude chose himself to represent the Golden Deer. It was somewhat obvious that Claude was just here to have a good time, and he even laughed along with the audience and cracked a few jokes to rub in the absurdity of the situation. As the competition began, Claude went for an energetic, ragtime style number. Claude was very clumsy and inexperienced, but he wasn't taking the event seriously to begin with. Besides, Claude was effectively able to masquerade his mistakes as deliberate efforts to make the audience smile and laugh. Manuela and Shamir groaned in embarrassment, but the general audience seemed to enjoy his routine. It was Dedue's turn next, and he went for a more solemn and elegant style that almost seemed to tell his personal story. Some of the general audience couldn't look past Dedue's ethnicity, but those who didn't care about that found themselves swept away by Dedue's performance. Every move had purpose and meaning, and his sadness of the past and his treatment from others was put on full display. By the time Dedue finished, Manuela was bawling her eyes out from the inner beauty of it all. Finally, it was Flayn's turn. Flayn didn't try as hard as her competitors, but she didn't need to. Unlike her competitors, Flayn had been dancing her whole life (she just didn't do it professionally due to her status as a saint) and only needed a few pointers on how to clean up her movements and look professional. On the stage, Flayn's style and experience truly blossomed. Flayn's movements were lighthearted and giddy, but streamlined and natural. Never once did Flayn appear out of her element. She appeared to be having the time of her life up there, and the joy quickly spread to everyone in the room. Even Seteth was beaming the whole time his daughter was up there. By the contest's end, Flayn was the unanimous winner. A few people thought that Flayn was only chosen to appease Seteth, but she did at least earn the victory on her own merits. Flayn rushed toward Seteth and embraced him in sheer joy of her accomplishment. Seteth, too, was visibly proud of his daughter's well-earned victory. Dedue was upset but understanding, and Claude was a bit disappointed that the judges didn't like him at all. Flayn and Seteth celebrated their victory with a private fishing trip.
The second and much bigger event was the grand ball held on the day we call Christmas. It was an annual event that is oftentimes highly anticipated. During Korrina's chat with the gatekeeper, he revealed that if a man and woman go to the Goddess Tower on this day and make a wish, it would surely come true. The gatekeeper had a wish, but he had no one that wanted to make the climb with him. Hearing this, Korrina told the gatekeeper that she would go with him. The gatekeeper was quite shocked that someone would actually want to be with him, but he was in no mood to play humble and refuse the request. Most of the people at the Garreg Mach Women's association said it was a good choice, but Dorothea, Leonie and Hilda advised that Korrina go on a date with the gatekeeper first to see if this was truly the man she wanted. Korrina admittedly wasn't looking this far ahead, but she felt it would be a good idea anyway. Although it took a while to find a day off for the gatekeeper, the payoff was immense. Korrina and the gatekeeper hit it off immediately. The gatekeeper talked about how a lot of people enjoy his company, but never invite him to anything or include him in anything. They never even bothered to learn his name. Korrina could relate, as it was oftentimes just her and Jeralt before coming to Garreg Mach. Everything Korrina knew about other humans before her time as a professor was from observing Jeralt's interactions with others, and she couldn't afford to make friends because of how dangerous mercenary work was. Eventually, Korrina learned to shut off her feelings and become a killing machine whose humanity lie completely with Jeralt. All this changed for the better when Korrina worked at the monastery, and she never wanted to go back again. The gatekeeper admired Korrina's skill, as he wanted to become a full-fledged knight but was never able to climb higher than a simple gatekeeper. The two grew to deeply appreciate one's company, as they grew to fulfill roles that were never even considered before. When the day was over, Korrina asked what the gatekeeper's name was. Grateful that someone asked him, the gatekeeper responded with, "I'm Albein, but you can call me Alm. I was named after the former emperor of a far-off land called Valentia. He was before my time, but I would have loved to meet the guy." That night, Korrina began to feel the same reaction that she felt when she saw Catherine for the first time, but this time, she could handle it. Korrina finally knew love.
On the eve of the ball, the Garreg Mach Women's Association got together to go shopping for clothes for the ball. Korrina, Edelgard, and Petra also needed a bit of catching up to do as they never went to a real ball before. Bernadetta didn't have the most pleasant memories, but she felt slightly more comfortable since she now had Ferdinand backing her up. Annette and Mercedes were probably the most excited about the event, while Lysithea didn't see the big fuss behind it all and was only going because that's what everyone else was doing. On the day of the ball, they met up once again to go as a big group. Korrina took Albein the Gatekeeper, Edelgard took Hubert, Dorothea took Silvain, Bernadetta took Ferdinand, Petra took Caspar, Mercedes took Dimitri, Annette took Ashe, Ingrid took Felix, Hilda took Claude, Leonie took Raphael, and Lysithea and Flayn took nobody. Despite some concerns about the inappropriate timing, the ball was a massive success. Korrina and Albein got to have dances with Catherine. Dimitri reminisced about old times with Edelgard while Hubert watched him with spiteful suspicion. Lysithea and Lindhardt watched from the sidelines and had a decent conversation about the frivolities of mankind. Dorothea and Silvain competed to see how much of the opposite gender they could dance with before settling from one another. Flayn mostly sought out and danced with Seteth as she didn't like the perverted nature of most men (Silvain in particular). Caspar, Claude and Raphael tried to liven things up with some more upbeat and aggressive dancing styles that seemed to lure in the younger students. Everyone had a good time. Eventually, Korrina and Albein the Gatekeeper snuck out and headed for the Goddess Tower.
At the top, Albein thanked Korrina for bringing him with her. Korrina asked what Albein's wish was, to which he answered, "My wish? Very well. My wish is for all the violence in the world, all the evil like what happened to Remire Village, to stop. I want a world where everyone can be happy and never have strife again." This wish was mildly naive, but it touched Korrina. She responded by saying, "Your wish sounds similar to mine. I wish that the evil people like Solon would disappear as well. I also wish that I could stay with the Black Eagles and the Garreg Mach Women's Association and never have to feel loneliness again." The two stayed up there for what felt like an eternity.
After Korrina and Albein the Gatekeeper went their separate ways for the night, Korrina went for a stroll around the monastery before going to bed. While she was walking, she saw Rhea walking too. On a whim, Korrina followed her. After a while, Rhea stopped at a balcony and began to sing. Her voice was pitchy, but still pleasant and alluring. It helped that the song she sang had a nice flow to it. When Rhea hit a break in her song, Korrina said, "I didn't know you could sing, Archbishop." Rhea was surprised that she was being followed but was still happy to see Korrina. Korrina then said, "You have the potential to be a great singer. With the proper vocal training, you could become as good a songstress as Manuela." Rhea thanked Korrina for the offer, but insisted her place was at the monastery. Korrina then asked Rhea what the song was about, to which she replied, "It's something my mother wrote. She was always so protective towards others, and she always had the answer to any problem. I wanted to be like her so badly. Then some awful heathen came and killed her! I got my revenge, but that didn't bring her back. I've tried so many times to revive my mother, but each time ended in failure. This song is all I have left." Korrina then said, "There are things even my Divine Pulse cannot accomplish, but if I could bring her back, I would." Rhea then smiled and said, "You may not know it, but you have more power than you realize. I believe that you will go on to achieve great things with that power lying within you. May the Goddess Sothis continue to guide you on your path to greatness." With this, the two turned in for the night.
The following day, Korrina ran into Alois. The big man was frantically looking for Jeralt, and by sheer coincidence, Jeralt appeared. Alois then gave a report of demonic beasts coming out of the chapel. Both Korrina and Jeralt doubted the authenticity of the report, prompting Alois to elaborate. Apparently, a bunch of students headed towards the chapel in a trance, and only monsters came out. Korrina started to think of the Conand Tower incident but wasn't completely sure. It pained Korrina not to be able to tell her own father what might be going on, but Rhea insisted that Miklan's corruption and transformation be kept under wraps.
When Korrina, Jeralt, and the Black Eagles approached the chapel, they found that that report was 100% true. Black, elastic, and quadrupedal beasts mildly resembling Xenomorphs roamed the area outside the chapel and attacked anyone they saw. A few students had been able to escape before they were transformed, but they were cornered by their transformed comrades. With this, the Black Eagles split up. Bernadetta, Silvain, Petra and Jeralt went for the beasts in the back while everyone else fought the beast near the entrance. Thankfully, these monsters were not as resilient as one Miklan turned into and could be fought off with a group effort. When the first beast fell, no relic was revealed with the now dead student. Instead, a stone with a crest was found with the body. This caused Korrina to wonder if she was wrong and it was really these "crest stones" causing the transformations. When the beasts were all killed and the students rescued, Jeralt and Korrina then went inside the abandoned chapel to see if they could find anything. Unfortunately, whoever was behind all this was already gone. All that remained was a single student: Monica.
Monica thanked the two for saving her and the others, but when she went in to hug Jeralt, she "accidentally" stabbed him in the heart with some sort of knife instead. Korrina shouted "Father!" before turning to Monica and saying, "You…I knew you couldn't be trusted!" Korrina then used divine pulse to kill Monica before she could "hug" Jeralt and kept his memory of being stabbed so he wouldn't ask why. This was the plan, but when Korrina went in for the kill, a tall man that closely resembled Solon shielded the blow and Jeralt was killed a second time. Korrina went back further in time to make a beeline for the chapel and kill Monica while everyone else dealt with the monsters outside, but that old man from before appeared again and overpowered Korrina. Korrina tried over and over again, but it was pointless. Jeralt was simply not meant to survive the day. Eventually, Korrina had to stop trying because all the stress was starting to get to her heart. For the sixth time, Jeralt died in front of Korrina. Monica even mocked Korrina's tiredness before leaving. All Korrina could do was comfort Jeralt in the last seconds of his life. She said, "I'm sorry, dad…". Jeralt then said, "Don't be" before drawing his final breath for the sixth time. For the first time, Korrina was truly alone. The one person she had for most of her life (Jeralt) was gone forever. She thought she could trust Edelgard, but now all that was more in question than ever before. Korrina went back to Garreg Mach with her father's body in tow, no longer sure what to do or who to go to.
