3rd of Horsebow Moon

Power surged through Jeritza's hand. Magic crackled at his fingertips, energy sparking out of his palms. It was a good approximation of a thunder spell.

"Well…" Mercedes bit her lip. The magic swirling in her hands was gentle and smooth "It certainly is different from any Recovery spell I've ever seen."

Jeritza clenched his fingers. The energy coursing through his hands did not calm. He exhaled. More sparks flew out of his hand.

Mercedes frowned. "Maybe we should rest for a while It's been nearly an hour and you still haven't made much progress."

Jeritza's eye narrowed. His hand flicked away the magic, discarding the spell, before flaring back up. There was no change in the spell's disorderly crackle.

"Jeritza…" The symbols faded from Mercedes' hands as she spoke. "Magic isn't like swordplay. If something isn't working, it isn't a lack of strength or dexterity. You can't brute force your way to a solution."

Jeritza turned to stare down at Mercedes. The expression would have been enough to make the Fraldarius whelp pause. But she did not flinch.

Jeritza snorted. With a hiss and one final crackle, the spell faded.

Mercedes flashed a smile. "Let's sit down for a bit. We can relax before trying again."

The training room Jeritza had reserved had a few windows facing a sheer cliff, and even during the midday shadows loomed high. Still the humidity found its way into the small room, and the small benches offered a welcome respite from the late summer heat.

"I think you are getting better." Mercedes smiled. It was bright, encouraging. Full of tender feeling.

Jeritza looked down at his hands. He ran his fingers together.

"I'm surprised actually. You had no trouble mastering the Nosferatu spell." Something shifted in Mercedes' voice. Trepidation, perhaps. "In fact, I've only thought people with magical Crest could learn spells that quickly."

Jeritza closed his fist. "Are you asking me something?"

"It's just…" Mercedes bit her lip. "I wanted to ask again. Why did you come to me for training in faith magic? Surely Professor Manuela or Professor Hanneman would be better choices?"

Byleth's insistence still gnawed at him. "…They were busy with students. You were not."

"Was that all-"

"Yes." Jeritza stood up again. Magic flowed through his hand once more. The same unstable sparks jumped up from his fingertips.

"You can't force a healing spell, Professor Jeritza." Mercedes bit her lip. "You have to want to help someone. To heal them."

Jeritza rolled his eyes. Mercedes did not succeed in hiding her sigh. Jeritza sniffed as he turned back. "Have you grown tired of me yet?"

Mercedes' eyes shot up. "N-no. That's not it. When I'm around y…" Her lips pressed together.

"What? Out with it."

"…I've just been thinking, that's all."

Jeritza growled. "You obviously want me to ask what. I hate these word games. Out with it."

"I have the Crest of Lamine." Mercedes said slowly. "It means that I can bear the Rafail Gem. The same Gem the Death Knight wore in the fight at the mausoleum." She breathed in. "It means he and I are related."

Jeritza crushed the sparks flying out of his hand. They were beginning to pose a fire hazard. Mercedes looked straight into his eyes, expression unreadable. Jeritza could not look away. "Some distant relative. The descendant of a long-forgotten bastard born by some passing fancy of your forefathers."

Mercedes' frown was…unnerving. Piercing. "Maybe." A moment passed. Jeritza felt as if he should look away. he did not. "But…When my mother fled my father…she had to leave behind someone. My little brother."

Jeritza bit down a terrible dizzying feeling creeping up his throat. Mercedes' frown did not change, but something new in it was revealed: a sorrow, bittersweet, unbearable. "She didn't want to, but my father didn't give her a choice."

Jeritza leaned forward, looming over Mercedes. "Why are you telling me this."

Mercedes did not flinch. "I recognize your voice. From Zanado."

Jeritza took a step closer, and his other half took over. The Death Knight's fingers found themselves at Mercedes' neck. Still, she did not flinch. "I won't tell anyone."

The Death Knight raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"Because I have more than one memory of you." She could not hide a subtle swallow. "You saved my life once. When you didn't have to. And even when you could have killed so many of us in the mausoleum, you didn't." The ghost of a smile tugged at her cheeks. "I'd like to think that debt counts for something."

The Death Knight growled, and Jeritza's eyes widened. He stared down at his hand, still wrapped around Mercedes' neck. He turned, slowly at first, but then quickly. By the time he reached the door, he could still hear Mercedes call out.

"His name was Emile!"

The forests were haunted by a dark presence that evening.


The village just outside Garreg Mach bustled. Traders and villagers alike brought goods and trinkets for the sons and daughters of nobles to buy. Handmade wood carvings. Chess sets and cards to gamble at. Some ambitious young men even tried their hands at wooing the maidens amongst the crowd.

"Yeah…I have to be anywhere else." The village girl darted off into the crowd. Sylvain frowned after her.

"Even more pathetic then usual." Sylvain turned. Felix sneered from a perch against the wall of a nearby alleyway. "I wonder why she gave you that much time."

"There you are!" Sylvain flashed a grin as he walked into the deserted space. "No worries, old friend! I've just got to keep trying. Sooner or later, I'll get through- "

"Save it." Felix pushed off from where he sat. "You asked me to take time away from training or studying to speak with you. Out with it."

Sylvain sighed. "Look, Felix. I know you don't like- "

"Exactly. Now get to it or I'm leaving."

Sylvain pursed his lips. "Yeah, okay." Sylvain slid next to Felix. He shifted his weight and rubbed his eyes. "Look, I was trying to build up to this, because these sorts of things need some tact, but- "

Felix's eyes narrowed. "Out with it!"

Sylvain's expression flattened. "Fine. I wanted to ask you how you got through your brother's death."

Felix opened his mouth, then closed it. "I thought…" He huffed. "I figured you didn't have any happy feelings left for Miklan."

"I don't." Those two words came out of Sylvain quickly. "I told myself I wouldn't feel sorry for Miklan once his actions caught up with him." He looked down. "But seeing him lying there…seeing what the lance did to him…" Theirs eyes locked. "Things change, I guess."

Felix rubbed his forehead. "Just forget that bloody mess. Move on. Forget Miklan. He was scum before he left your house, and he only grew more loathsome afterwards. You already decided to send the Lance of Ruin back to your father next week, so-"

"Felix." Sylvain hissed. "That isn't what I asked. I knew what you thought I should do ever since Miklan died." He leaned forward. "I want to know what you did to get through Glenn's death." Sylvain's expression waivered. "If you don't want to tell, that's fine, I understand, but- " Sylvain's palm rubbed against his eye. "I just want something to hold onto right now. None of the bullshit you give your dad about honor or whatever, just…" He leaned back into the alley wall. "Please."

Felix looked down at his feet. "It was hard, in the beginning. It kept hurting. I kept trying to…" He exhaled. "Until one day, I just…took it. Let the truth pummel me. And then…" Felix looked up. Sylvain's eyes were locked on to his. "…It hurt a little less."

It was quiet for a moment. The bustle of the town drifted on. Two brothers, one much younger and the other much older ran past.

Sylvain smiled. It was grateful. Almost happy. And only slightly forced. "Thanks, Felix."

Felix rolled his eyes. "You get one. Don't get all mushy on me again."

"Ha! There's the prickly old cactus I know and love!"

Felix turned. "If that's all, I'm leaving."

"Are you going back to Garreg Mach to train? What am I saying, of course you are." Sylvain frowned. "Can you go check up on Prince Dimitri for me? He seemed…conflicted, last I saw."

Felix shrugged. "If the boar comes by the training halls, I suppose he and I will have to look at each other."

Sylvain "Careful, Felix. You sound almost concerned for his highness!"

Felix scoffed. "Concerned about the boar?" he sighed. "Always."


Byleth raised her eyebrow. "Cornelia was with you?"

Dimitri nodded, placing his hand on her desk. "Yes. Is that unusual?"

"In my experience she mostly keeps close to your uncle."

"Yes, well…" Dimitri coughed. "She mentioned that she wanted a break from…Rufus for at least a few days."

"And why did she come to you? Surely there are plenty of places much closer and more comfortable that she could have taken a vacation in."

Dimitri bit his lip. "She…wanted to talk about…old times. About my mother."

Byleth blinked. "Really."

"Yes. It was…" Cornelia called. Patricia's voice faded away in an instant. "…Pleasant."

Byleth hummed, looking off. Dimitri followed her eyes to find a blank wall. "Is there something wrong with that?"

"No." Byleth stood up. "Just unusual, as I said. Cornelia doesn't usually do this." She turned back to him. "In any case, it is good to have people to share pain with."

"This is where I bury my children." Dimitri's heart stopped as he heard Byleth's confession to Jeralt.

"Yes…" Dimitri rubbed his lips together. "It is…a relief, to know you do not have to bear something alone."

Byleth held his eyes with ease. In that moment, Dimitri realized it was a long-practiced gesture. "Thank you for telling this to me, Dimitri."

Dimitri hid a nervous swallow with a sigh. "Thank you…professor."

"Is there anything else you would like to ask?"

"This is where I bury- "

Dimitri shook his head. "No. No, thank you professor. I think I will retire for the day."

Byleth hummed. "Rest well, Dimitri."

Dimitri trudged towards his quarters, doing what he could to think of nothing. When he arrived, his bed sagged under the sudden weight.

"Disgraceful!" Glenn shouted. "You find even more ways for the woman to distract you. Can you truly not stop thinking about her graveside performance for even five minutes?"

Dimitri rubbed his eyes and stood up. There was a waterskin next to his bed. He took some of the liquid into his hands and rubbed into his eyes.

"Not to mention Cornelia. You think she is just there to be an ear for all your little troubles? To give you the attention Rufus doesn't?" Lambert scoffed. "No, she is using you to secure her pampered lifestyle. Nothing more. Do not be distracted by her endless prattle about your mother. Use her to avenge your mother. If she cannot aid you in your mission, she is useless."

Dimitri fell onto his bed again, staring up at a familiar ceiling. Patricia huffed. "You truly are a worthless child. Needing that witch Byleth to plan your every move as you croon after her. Cornelia is a shoulder to cry on, instead of a tool to avenge us. And all the while, you still follow whoever offers you anything without the slightest hesitation. Can you be bothered to make a single decision on your own? Or are you truly so helpless?"

There was a knock on Dimitri's door. Blinking, he rose to his feet, straightening out his uniform.

"Your highness?" Dedue's voice called. Dimitri stopped patting down his uniform and hurried to open the door.

Anyone else would say Dedue's face was a stoic, as usual. Dimitri was experienced enough to see a perturbed expression. "Is something the matter, my friend?"

Dedue looked Dimitri up and down. "I should ask you the same thing, your highness. You look…" Dedue frowned. "I cannot say restless, but I still cannot help but think your mind is wandering."

Dimitri forced a smile. "It's nothing Dedue. Just- " He made a gesture with his hand. "Just the same troubles I've always had."

"This is where- "

Dimitri shook his head. "I've grown accustomed to it. Please, tell me your troubles."

Dedue's mouth tightened as he kept his eyes on Dimitri.

"Dedue, I know. Please, tell me what troubles you."

"…Very well." Dedue sighed. "I have learned troubling news from the borders of Duscur…"

As Dedue explained his countrymen's plight, Dimitri breathed a sigh of relief. A simple problem, for once.


As always, thanks to Dox for beta reading!

I screwed up planning the chapter order? What could possibly make you say that?

In any case…3.