It was a beautiful day in Garreg Mach. The sun shone down on the bright spring grasses. Birdsong echoed in the distance, and there was not a cloud in the sky. Sitting at her classroom desk, Edelgard resisted the urge to bury her face in her hands. "Ferdinand, please don't."

"Ah but I must, Edelgard. If we do not compete to see who is more skilled with the blade, how will we know who is more fit to lead our class in the upcoming mock battle?"

"Oh come on Ferdie. Edie just came back from being chased around the countryside by bandits, and you want to fight her?" Dorothea's cheer had begun to strain. Edelgard could relate. Linhardt was fast asleep at his seat, and Bernadetta had ran back to her room.

"Nonsense, Dorothea! A leader must be ready for a challenge at anytime. If Edelgard cannot properly defend herself after more then a day's rest, then there must be serious consideration about her place as our leader!"

"Why do you not be beating Ferdinand to make him shut high?" Petra asked.

Edelgard sighed. "Sometimes I wonder that too."

"See, even Petra agrees that we should duel!" If it was possible, Edelgard could have sworn she heard Ferdinand grow even more pompous.

"Would anyone really miss this idiot if he tripped over the bridge to the cathedral?" Hubert didn't bother to lower his voice.

Ferdinand scoffed. "Hubert, please. I know you are loyal to Edelgard, but this is important. I am to be our next prime minister, and as such, it is my duty to test-"

"Oh, lay off her Ferdinand. You're always going on and on about Edelgard." Casper interrupted. "I wanna know about that old knight in the orange armor and green haired girl that showed up yesterday. Those were the leaders of the mercenaries that saved you, Claude and Dimitri, right Edelgard?"

Edelgard blinked, thankful for the reprieve. "Yes, that is correct. The older knight is Jeralt, the Blade Breaker. The green haired girl is his daughter, Byleth."

Caspar let out a whistle. "Really? The Blade Breaker himself? I heard he used to be a Knight of Seiros. Is he gonna stay and train us?"

"I don't know. He seemed reluctant to come here in the first place. But from what I saw on the battlefield, either of them would make a formidable teacher." Their had barely been any bandits left to flee the scene after the two mercenaries had been done with them, both cutting through the disorganized rabble with ease. Edelgard barely had to lift her axe.

"I saw the Blade Breaker this morning. He looked pretty miserable. Was he like that when you met?" Dorothea asked.

Edelgard felt her eyebrows rise. "Miserable? He seemed uninterested in coming to Garreg Mach, but I'd hardly call his demeanor miserable."

"No, now that you mention it, I saw him last night on my way back from the stables. Miserable seemed like a good description." Ferdinand chimed in.

Edelgard turned to Hubert, who nodded. "It's true. I saw him leave the archbishop's chamber in a state. He was walking towards the graveyard."

Edelgard let out a hum. "I suppose we can guess why he left in the first place." Jeralt's demeanor before this revelation suggested that he had parted on bad terms with the church twenty years ago. Now it seemed even worse then just a bad argument that got heated- one way or another, Rhea was involved in the death of someone important to Jeralt. Perhaps it was Byleth's mother, given the woman's absence from the mercenary group. But this gave Edelgard an angle. Jeralt was a well-respected mercenary, renowned across Fódlan for his skill. Factoring in his backstory as a former knight that grew disillusioned of the church, the windfall from recruiting him could be much larger then just one former Knight of Seiros. Assuming, of course, that Edelgard could convince him to swear allegiance to her cause.

"I saw this Blade Breaker shoulder-push Sir Alois out of his walking path," Petra said. "He is having great sadness in his heart."

Edelgard revised her thoughts. It might be possible that Jeralt was going to leave soon. After all, he had done it once before. If she wanted to find her foothold, she would have to act fast.

"Aw, geez. That's too bad. Poor guy." Caspar sighed, before perking up. "At least his daughter seems much happier!"

Edelgard turned to Caspar. "Really? She seemed rather detached too me." If she was being honest with herself, Byleth was the more intriguing of the two. She had proven rather aloof on the march back to Garreg Mach, but Edelgard would never describe Byleth's attitude as hostile, or even anti-social. She simply answered when asked, and kept quiet. When she had asked the mercenary to join the Adrestian Empire, Byleth had simply said she 'was not interested in a long term contract at this time,' but Edelgard still found Byleth approachable in some strange, unexplainable way. But what Edelgard could explain was Byleth's talent in battle. The woman very nearly danced between bandits; with such practiced grace and ease Edelgard almost thought she was watching one of Middlefrank's grand opera's chronicling the empire's many past victories. The mercenary woman would undoubtedly be a valuable asset for Edelgard to realize her dream, and so she could not allow the mercenary's deflection to be the last word on the matter.

Caspar shrugged. "Well, yeah, I guess. I saw her last night when I was leaving the training grounds, and she seemed happy enough practicing." His eyes brightened. "She was doing some really complex techniques with her sword too! Jeritza was barely keeping up with her!"

Edelgard didn't feel as surprised as she thought she should be. "Really? Professor Jeritza had a hard time dealing with her?"

"Yeah, he was sweating up a storm, but she barely looked winded! It almost looked like she was teaching him!" Caspar laughed. "In fact, she almost looked like Lady Rhea did during the entrance ceremony, now that I think about it." Caspar chuckled. "It was probably low light more then anything. They don't have the exact same hair color, after all." Caspar's brow furrowed. "Lady Rhea's not Byleth's mom, is she?"

Ferdinand scoffed loudly. "Of course not! Such a scandal would be the talk of all Fódlan, even twenty years later!"

Caspar shook his head. "Hey, you know how tight lipped our own families can be about this sort of thing. Who says Lady Rhea's any different?"

For the first time, Linhardt's voice drifted up from his head's resting place on the desk. "Caspar, that's the stupidest thing I've ever heard. Just because they have green hair means they're related?"

Dorothea fired back. "Hey, it's not impossible!"

Edelgard tuned out the rest of the growing argument. It hadn't occurred to her to place Byleth as Rhea's daughter. Now that she thought about it, there was some possibility of a relationship between the two. Byleth, like all the other 'children of the godess' had green hair and eyes. She also hid her ears behind her hair. Perhaps it was a coincidence. Linhardt had similar coloring after all. Still, that could make it more difficult to try and secure Byleth's loyalty. Still, Edelgard wanted to try. There was something special about that mercenary; Edelgard could sense it in her bones.

Edelgard's further musing were cut short when Caspar shouted out "Oh, hey! There she is!" true to his word, Edelgard saw Byleth walking out of the Reception Hall. Caspar called out to her, and she began walking towards the Black Eagles classroom.

"Thanks for coming over! We heard from Edelgard that you saved her, along with Dimitri and Claude, is that right?"

Byleth gave a small nod in confirmation, a response Edelgard had grown used to in their short time together.

Caspar went on, unphased by Byleth's quiet demeanor. "That's great! But hey, listen. Me and my classmates were having this argument, Do you know if you're Lady Rh-MMPPPPHH!"

Linhardt had reached up and slammed his hand over Caspar's mouth. "Do you have any tact at all?"

"Gentlemen, please." Ferdinand said as he puffed out his chest. "Hello, miss Eisner. My name is Ferdinand von Aegir, son of the Prime Minister of the Adrestian Empire. No doubt you have heard of me."

Byleth nodded her head. "Second to the Imperial household. An important family to know." To Edelgard's annoyance, this seemed encourage Ferdinand.

"It is good to see my family's name carries the weight it deserves! If you are planning to stay here, I must let you know that Edelgard and I are currently competing against each other to prove who is better fit to lead our empire in the years to come. I do not mean to brag, but you would do well to learn my name for future reference. If what Edelgard says is true, I would be happy to hire you and your father in the future."

Byleth stared for a moment. "This rivalry…"

Ferdinand's eyes shone. "Yes?"

"It's because she is a girl, isn't it?"

Silence smothered the Black Eagles classroom. Edelgard nearly burst out laughing as she saw Ferdinand's face shift from pompous confidence, too confused squinting, before finally settling on dawning horror.

"N-no! No, of course not, I am merely testing her ability to lead, I would never-"

"I heard that excuse from conductors, directors, male leads…" Dorothea said, a subtle edge entering her voice.

"Dorothea, please, this is a bit more important then a play…"

"Financiers, composers, the help…"

"I had much talks the same as this from Empire nobles."

"Petra, please, not you too!"

As Ferdinand tried to defend himself from the rest of the class, Byleth did something unexpected. Catching Hubert's eye, she mouthed 'us three, talk alone. Now, here, good.' Hubert raised a brow, before turning to Edelgard, silently asking for her approval. Edelgard turned back to study Byleth for a moment, before nodding to Hubert. Edelgard wasn't sure what to make of the woman's sudden interest in talking, but she wouldn't turn the chance down.

Hubert leaned over and whispered something in Dorothea's ear. Her annoyed expression melted into a smirk as she whispered back. Hubert huffed, but gave a nod. Dorothea began to strut towards the classroom's doors.

"Come on Petra, let's go. Ferdi's is blowing out to much hot air for my taste."

"The wind isn't so hot, but I am not in disagreement. What about Edelgard?" Petra said as she followed after Dorothea. Ferdinand walked after them.

"Oh, Hubie said they have things to do. Empire business and all that."

"Dorothea, Petra, please, if you'd just let me explain-"

"You can try again after buying us dinner from across the hall, Ferdi." Dorothea stopped to hook Linhardt and Caspar's arms with her own. "And we'll be taking the real, noble gentlemen who know how to speak properly to ladies away from your braying."

"Well, the classroom has gotten rather noisy…"

"But we didn't say anything!"

"Exactly~"

"Everyone, wait! It's important to test Edelgard's leadership now so she isn't found wanting- please, let me explain!"

Byleth had been quietly inspecting the windows as the students hurried out of the class, doing nothing to stop Hubert from mimicking her. After inspecting each window, Byleth stood beside a window far from the room's entrance. Magic flared to life in her hand. "A silence spell, to keep your mind at ease."

"My mind at ease? What do you mean?"

Byleth's face remained as still as it had in Edelgard's memory. "You are planning to start a war against the church that will drag the entire continent into bloody conflict."

Edelgard would have gaped, but she was too shocked for even that. At Byleth's side, Hubert nearly tripped, before hissing out a denial.

"What nonsense are you blabbering? What madhouse did this delusion escape from?" Hubert spat. Edelgard forced herself to steady.

"I must agree with Hubert-What on earth could possess you to make such a baseless accusation?"

Byleth showed no reaction. "You do not have one Crest, but two. Hiring bandits to do your dirty work is unbecoming." Her eyes swept through the air like a scythe through wheat, landing on Hubert, who had been quietly moving behind Byleth. "You chased after Edelgard when she was taken to the kingdom. It took your father's men three days to pin you down." Byleth paused, before adding "If you kill me here, you will inevitably be discovered as the murderer. Your station as the heir of Vestra will not save you."

Edelgard could not remember Hubert ever looking totally confounded. She would have stopped to gape, but the years spent with her uncle had taught her to never let silence linger. "How, exactly, did you come up with any of this…nonsense? And assuming these…wild accusations are true, what do you plan to do?"

"I've been reliving my life, over and over again. This is not the first time we've had this conversation. I've seen the war to its conclusion, in one way or another, more times then I care to count." Byleth paused. Edelgard glanced at Hubert, who had regained his footing, but looked as lost as Edelgard felt. "At the moment, I plan to do nothing to stop the war."

Edelgard felt a small spark of hope in her heart. "You don't plan to oppose me? Does that mean…you are here to fight for me?"

"No."

"But you just said you weren't planning to stop the war."

"I don't plan to do anything to stop the war because I can't do anything to stop it. I'm just a mercenary." Edelgard noticed how emotionless Byleth had been over the past few days, and wondered why that hadn't bothered her. "You are heir apparent to the Imperial throne, and the one who will give the order to start the war. You are the only person who can stop this war from coming."

A vortex of emotions churned through Edelgard as she stared at Byleth. This woman somehow knew everything about her. Doing whatever she could to ensure her loyalty, or at very least her cooperation, had gone from something Edelgard had fancied to the highest priority.

The words left Edelgard's mouth with a slow deliberation. "You claim to know me, what I plan to do." Byleth nodded. "Then you must know what I'm fighting for. Everything I'm fighting against." Byleth nodded again. "Do you know what they have done?"

"I know."

"Then you know that a war must come. To see Fódlan change, they must be removed from power. I ask of you, join my cause, and fight for a better world, free of their lies."

"No."

Edelgard felt her eyes narrow, but not in anger. Instead, she felt almost like she did when Hubert very rarely called her wrong. Her retainer was looking at her oddly, as if he was confused by her reaction.

"Why do you refuse?"

"Lots of reasons." Byleth let out a sigh. "You are wrong about many things. About how much certain people want to hold onto power. About how unwilling other people would be to listen. About how trustworthy others are. Most of all, I have long since grown tired of war."

"Who are you planning on telling this? What is your goal?" Hubert demanded.

"I don't intend to tell anyone about your plans." Byleth said. For the first time, Edelgard heard a tiredness enter Byleth's voice. "I want to end my own cycle of death and rebirth. That's it."

"And convincing me to stop a war helps you do that?"

"It's worth trying."

Edelgard felt a stone sink in her gut. "I will not simply abandon my course because you ask me to."

"That is expected. Reasonable." Byleth said. "I will remain at Garreg Mach for a year. You will have more questions for me. I will answer some of them. For now, I will leave you two to your thoughts."

Byleth turned, silently opening the window, before climbing out of it. Edelgard would have questioned her exit, but that was the least concerning thing she had seen from the woman.

"Wait!" Edelgard called out, unsure why she did so.

Byleth paused her exit, turning her head back to listen. Edelgard forced herself to ask something.

"Do…do I win?"

Byleth looked at her for a moment, before responding. "Sometimes. Many times you fail. Other times everything you worked for is swept away by your successor, because giving absolute power to one person after wiping away all resistance sets a very poor precedent." Edelgard could swear she Byleth's eyes linger at something on her face. "Sometimes you take my advice, don't start a war, and get almost everything you wanted anyway." With that, Byleth exited the window, quietly shutting it behind her.

Hubert spun on his heels, hissing at her. "What in the world is wrong with you?"

Edelgard blinked, utterly confused. "What?"

"This…this charlatan soothsayer, who knows far to much for her own good, spills our secrets like they are so much mud on her boots, and instead of ordering me to take her head when she refuses to cooperate, you look like a lovesick child who just learned rejection!"

Edelgard's eyes widened as she remembered Hubert's reaction. "I…did. Why…" Edelgard recalled Byleth casting a silencing spell before speaking to them. How could she be certain it wasn't something else? She was intrigued by Byleth, but the more Edelgard thought about it, the more she thought how almost irrational her interest seemed. "It's not a crush, I will tell you that. Something else is at work, something sinister. Hubert, check for some magic she cast on me."

"At once, Lady Edelgard." Hubert's hands burst to life with magic, and before long, his eyes narrowed in frustration. "Nothing. Perhaps it is some kind of subtle enchantment."

"I'm not sure. If she could do it to me, why would she not also cast it on you?"

Hubert tisked. "We should just kill her and wash our hands of this nonsense."

Edelgard fought down a feeling of revulsion. "We shouldn't act so rashly. Lets cool our head, and try to figure out what we can. If what Byleth says is true, we will have many months to try and extract something out of her."

Edelgard could feel Hubert simmer, before finally nodding. "Yes, you are right. But just in case, I will be revising our emergency escape plan."

Edelgard sighed. She had thought her school year would be exceptionally difficult, but now she had to contend with a woman who knew her every move, quite possibly before Edelgard herself did. On top of that, she had to contend with strange, alien feelings telling her to trust this mysterious woman. Whatever the strangeness, she needed to clear her head.

"Hubert, did you really chase after me when I was taken to Faerghus?"

Her retainer shifted. "I did."

"…We will uncover what Byleth is doing to my mind. For now, lets focus on what is in our control." Edelgard paused, before her eyes widened. "When I see Byleth...It feels like I'm trying to remember something. The experiment made the memory of my childhood foggy at best. I can't remember meeting you for the first time..."

Hubert's eyes narrowed. "I will investigate. Quietly."


Adjacent to the window, hidden by the shade of well-trimmed bushes, Byleth opened her eyes, hearing the last of Hubert's steps echo across the floor. Her attention shifted to the man she had pinned to the ground.

Claude let out a nervous chuckle. "Hey friend," the heir or Riegan's usual easy going smile strained under the pressure, but held firm. "Heard any good gossip lately?"


You know that weird thing Edelgard does where she always wishes you were on her side and even gets week in the knees for Byleth at the end of Blue Lions despite holding maybe three conversations with the blank slate? What's say we use that for more then what we all know it's actually there for, yes?

Not sure if anyone's done the bit with Ferdinand. Surprised that shoe never dropped in game. Well, I'm dropping it here.

Next is Claude. Aiming for Sunday release. Until then.

As always, reviews are appreciated.