Chapter 6
Bloodlines
It was dark again, that kind that is pitch black and impossible to get a grip of one's self, you can't see, you can't sense, you can't talk. But you heard, you heard something crawling in the deepness of that horrible void.
She was there again and she knew what was to come, she heard screams, a nightmarish chorus that always repeated itself in her head.
Edelgard managed to get a sense of direction and tried to see anything in the dark, she turned feeling the cold floor wet beneath her naked feet. And then she saw a light, a little lamp in fact on top of a wooden table, next to it was a big couch with it's against her.
She felt cold in her back, but she walked towards the couch, a voice inside her screamed to not go. To ignore the silent calling of the person sitting there but she didn't listen, or rather, her legs wouldn't listen.
She finally reached the chair and walked around it, she then stopped feeling hearing herself gasp.
It was her older brother Lionel, he was skinny to the point of starvation. His once beautiful dark hair turned white and his face was making a strange smile showing all his teeth, his tongue was scarred with all the times he tried to bite his own tongue, his eyes bloodshot looking at Edelgard.
"It hurts," he said with a twisted voice "Sister, it hurts"
She kneeled beside him "I know, but you have to be strong, you can't give in into despair"
"Just like you," said a voice behind her. She saw her little sister Bellice, a small part of her hair was white, her white nightgown stained with the blood of the cuts in her arm and legs. "Just like the perfect sister, the strong one, the best option"
"Not like us, the expendable ones," said Seth the oldest one, his once tall frame was reduced to a pitiful crippled state, completely bald and he had more wrinkles than his father. "Not like the weak ones"
Then more lights appeared along with her other brothers, all in horrible physical state.
"We are not worthy," they said "Not like Edelgard, not like the Emperor"
"No," said Edelgard "Is not like that, please"
They slowly walked towards her and she could only kneel on the blood-soaked floor.
"The blood Emperor," they said "The Emperor of Death, standing in the corpses of her brothers. All hail Lady Edelgard, all hail the Emperor"
"Help me, please." She pleaded "Father, save me"
She stood straight up giving a small scream. She was back in her room and she almost jumped at the sound of the door knocking.
"Who's there?" She said standing up. She wrapped a red robe around her, she also took the dagger she always carried and kept her hidden in the robe.
She made sure to put on her gloves before opening the door, she saw Byleth standing outside. He was wearing his academy black uniform without his hat.
"Edelgard is everything alright?" He asked.
"Professor? Y-yes, everything is fine."
"I heard something"
Edelgard lowered her head trying to avoid his gaze."So you heard me. I guess I was talking in my sleep"
"It sounded more than that. You were having a bad dream?"
She let out a sigh and looked around the hallway, it appeared Hubert hadn't heard her. She stepped aside opening the door. "Come in, I don't want to make you stand in the hallway."
Byleth hesitated for a second, no doubt thinking of the implications of a teacher being along with a female student in her room. But he quickly entered sticking to his blunt but weirdly straightforward personality.
She closed the door and sat in her chair, once again not meeting his eyes.
"Yes, it was a nightmare, a bad one at that," she said.
"What was it about?"
"What would you want to know?"
Byleth walked forward to stand in front of her, he was looking at her like a father would look at his daughter, as a teacher to his students.
"Because I care, Edelgard. I want to help, I might not be all that helpful but I can try to do my best, and that's better than just walk away and do nothing"
He has changed, even is just a little.
She remembered how he was standing there inf don't of her by the work of practically a miracle. She tried to destroy him and he managed to get out of a duel against the Death Knight and using the Sword of the Creator no less. Edelgard felt something a small pinch of pain in her chest, it was guilt.
"I will tell you. But you must swear not to tell a soul about it" he nodded "I dreamed of my childhood. I dream of my brother, paralyzed, helpless."
She looked down closing her fist trying not to fall apart "My older sister crying for help that never came and the youngest babbling words beyond meaning. I see my family dying slowly, waiting in the darkest depths for a glimmer of light."
"I didn't know you have brothers and sisters"
"I once had ten siblings, eight older and two younger." She smiled with irony "Such a large family, and yet I became the heir to the throne. Do you know why?"
She looked on to his eyes for the first time, as if trying to herself to say the words "Every last one of them was crippled by disease or lost their minds or died. I was the only one left who could inherit the throne"
For the first time, she saw the emotion in the Professor's face, though she didn't know how to identify it. "How could such a thing happen"
"Things kept getting worse. The darkness kept getting darker." She hugged her arms "In the end, I was the only one who survived. The nightmares are a reminder, to never forget. To never allow such terrible things to happen again"
"Even now, I'm the only one who can carry the weight of the Adrestian Empire. The future of the Empire, of everything, depends on me"
She looked at Byleth again, but this time he seemed sad, truly. He had his eyes downcast and a strange pale color was crawling on his face. But Edelgard didn't want to talk anymore.
"I never told anyone about this, so please keep your promise"
"I will," he said almost snapping back into reality. He walked a little but stopped just after escaping her point of view "Edelgard, I wanted to apologize"
She snapped her eyes open and turned to look at him "Apologize? For what?"
He sighted "For jumping to conclusions before"
"What do you mean?"
"When started teaching here, I have the impression that all of the students were spoiled children of noblemen. All away from the harsh reality of war. But I was wrong, and it was stupid of me to think that way without knowing you."
She kept coming back to his image standing in the Mausoleum, bleeding, and facing the Death Knight with fury when he attacked the other students.
"No, it's alright," she said "You grew up away from society, no wonder you didn't have a full grasp of everything"
"That's no justification. I understand if you don't want to forgive me, but I couldn't keep going without telling you the truth"
Edelgard looked into his eyes for a moment, a cold determination in his face. She smiled, that faked smiles she learned to make. "There's nothing to forgive, my teacher. Please, do not worry with this"
They stood in silence for a moment, no one knowing what to say and Edelgard found herself growing unsettled with his mere presence. A strange sensation that made her skin a little hotter.
Luckily she didn't have to wait much longer since Byleth took the initiative and opened the door "Sleep well, Edelgard"
"Sleep well, my teacher"
He was indeed a strange man, he had few words to say just like a blunt warrior, his face always devoid of true emotions yet his eyes always talked with the truth. Was everyone able to see those expressions or was she a special case?
She went to bed a few minutes after and surprisingly, she slept soundly this time.
-O-
Felix yelled when the powerful recoil of the lightning spell made him fly against a tree.
A singing voice laughed at him and he stared at Annette's if trying to pierce her with his gaze. "If you're going to just stay there and fool and around then leave me to train in peace"
She approached with her hands behind her back, almost jumping through the grass in the forest just outside the Monastery.
"You know you're doing it wrong, right?" She said with a smile, she clearly had the patience of a true teacher because he had been trying that spell the whole morning and the better part of the evening "You're releasing the energy too fast. You must let it go at the right time just when you feel it reach your fingertips"
She demonstrated the stand by pointing her hands towards another tree, it took only a few seconds for the magic circle to appear and a wing spell flew towards the plant, her hand barely moving as the wave struck.
"You see? Is about control, not strength"
Felix stood up cleaning himself up. He sighted trying the Thoron spell again, he had already trained with the bow and had reached the assassin class. But he still couldn't keep up with Byleth in a fight, hell even Caspar was still trouble sometimes, he wasn't as fast as Felix but one single blow from his fist could put him in trouble.
The magic circle appeared in front of him, it was really hard to feel the energy go through his body.
Then Annette placed her hands on his arm "It's just like the blood Felix, like adrenaline, feel it go through your heart and travel in your veins" her voice was softer than usual, it was as if she tried to melt with her thoughts, that, plus the magic energy made a strange experience. He felt different, at peace. Is this what a mage felt when interacting with the magic arts? Or was it the girl's voice whispering to his ear?
He finally felt it, a pressure traveling quickly from the shoulder to his hand and right at the moment it reached the fingers...he let go.
A powerful ray of light escaped from his hands that didn't move an inch, the light struck the tree making a joke on the wood and breaking it in half.
Annette let out a cheerful yell mixing with the impact of the tree on the ground. "You did it!"
"Huh, well that was surprising." Felix flexed his arm a little "Still, it's way too slow to be reliable on the battle"
"But you did it for the first time!" She said "From here it will be much easier"
Felix looked at her, her eye was glowing in the sun. He at least could bring himself to say it now that she was here.
"Thanks," he said looking away "for helping me with my training"
"No worries, I just did what I set out to do"
"I guess you don't want me talking about your songs then"
"What?"
"Your songs. I guess this was another one of your blackmails"
She opened her eyes wide "Oh! I..I didn't actually think about it. I just want it to help you" her cheeks turned a little pink while kicking some dirt. Were those songs so embarrassing to her?
"Annette." He said looking at her "I want you to know that I never thought of telling anybody about your songs. Still, never thought you'll feel so bad about them"
"They are embarrassing, Felix. I made them up when I was a kid. I shouldn't even be singing them." Annette turned around and started picking up the books she had brought to help him "Those songs, they remind me of home. My mother and I spent days thinking on net lyrics and tunes while reading stories On winter she would make cookies and cake, is surprising that I never learned to bake to save my life"
Felix smiled a little but returned to his usual frown when she turned around.
"Even though they are childish, I don't want to forget them"
"I see," he said, "Well, you don't have to worry, I won't say anything about it."
"Really?"
Felix nodded.
"Thank you, Felix"
They stood there in silence for a few seconds not knowing what to say as if a strange atmosphere fell upon then, but then she talked.
"Felix I-" but she stopped, she looked at something over his shoulder and Felix turned to see none other than Lord Rodrigue, his father, coming from the Monastery and crossing the forest towards them.
"What are you doing here?" Felix asked, his father looked at him with disapproval.
"I see this past few months hasn't done anything about your manners, Felix," Rodrigue said.
Felix frowned as Rodrigue approached, his father looked at him, then he looked at Annette, then Felix again. The boy rolled his eyes.
"Annette, this is my father Rodrigue Fraldarius. Old man, his is Annette Fantine Dominic."
Rodrigue bowed a little "Lady Dominic, a pleasure to meet you."
Annette responded with another bow "The pleasure is all mine, Lord Fraldarius"
His father looked a little troubled "Dominic, isn't it? Aren't you related to the knight Gilbert Pronislav?"
Annette snapped her eyes opened "My Lord, did you say Gilbert Pronislav?"
"Yes, he is one of the Knight is Seiros that came with me to the monastery. I heard he was related to the Domicic family in some way."
Felix looked at Annette, she had a strange expression that was a mix of surprise and slight panic.
"Lord Rodrigue, please tell me where can I find this Gilbert"
"He is on the Cathedral last I checked"
"Thank you, my Lord." She said in a hurry sprinting through the grass "I'll see you later Felix"
Both men looked while Annette disappeared inside the Monastery taking with her any trace of the slight good mood Felix had.
"Lovely lady"
Felix turned to pick up the swords Annette and he was using to train. "She is a classmate, we joined the Black Eagles not too long ago"
"I heard. I was expecting you would stay with your friends in the Blue Lions."
"They know I wanted to get stronger, and Professor Byleth is one of the best warriors I had ever seen. It was a logical choice."
"Yes, I met him a few minutes ago. Quite young to have such reputation already"
Felix sheathed both swords and looked at his father "You haven't say why are you here"
"A father doesn't need a reason to visit his son at school"
Felix snorted "Don't try to make jokes, old man. It doesn't suit you at all"
Rodrigue sighed and turned to watch the trees "I came to deliver a message to Lady Rhea. It's about the oldest son of Margrave Gautier, he has turned rogue and gathered a small group of bandits."
"Does Sylvain know?"
"If he doesn't he will soon. But that's not all. He had stolen the hero's relic of his house, the Lance of Ruin"
Felix remembered Miklan, he was always a distant man even before Felix and his friends became a little bitter in their relationship after Glenn's death. When he disappeared years before they came to the academy Sylvain was a little down for a few months, although Felix suspected that it had to do more with there troublesome sibling relationship than actual concern for his brother's wellbeing.
"I suppose they will send a group to take care of him," Felix said.
"Yes, I'm sure Lady Rhea will make the right decision."
He looked into his father's eyes for a moment "Is that it? I need to go train"
"No, I actually have another thing to discuss with you," Rodrigue said handing him an envelope. He took it and opened it. It was a list of names with some dates to the side of each.
"What is this?"
"It's a list of possible brides, the dates written are days where you can ask for a leave from the Monastery to go see them, I already talked with your teacher about it"
Felix narrowed his eyes "I thought we already talked about this, I'm not gonna marry some unknown girl to make her life miserable just for your convenience"
"Felix, how long are you going to keep this rebel phase? I'm not going to be here forever and you need to secure the Fraldarius bloodline. You only have a few months before your school year ends and after that, you will start to take responsibilities as future Duke."
"I don't need a wife to do your damn job" he spat.
"I can see that," Rodrigue said finally showing a blink of anger, his eyes narrowed just like his son making him looked like an old and dangerous eagle. "Still, you must past down your crest and your title eventually, and I'll feel more confident if you have someone to do that after I give you the title. You can't be a child forever"
Felix snorted again and shoving the paper against his father's chest "I don't have to follow your lead, after all, I'm not the son you wanted. I'm just the one you have left, the spare."
"Is that really what you think, son?" This time Rodrigue really looked hurt but Felix wasn't buying it.
"Don't worry about your filthy title. Eventually, I'll marry an unfortunate woman and have a miserable kid. And I'll do the same thing that Glenn did to Ingrid, just like you want"
Rodrigue frowned but he turned to the woods without saying another word and Felix took it as a sign to take off.
He rather was just like any other nobleman, always worried about their title and the means to preserve the power of their crest. And the knights were the worst kind of nobleman, throwing their lives away and abandoning their families just to fulfill a twisted sense of honor. And Ashe and Ingrid were stupid enough to admire such foolish ideals.
What could be more honorable than to protect your family? To protect the person you love with all your heart. Felix wouldn't ever find out, he wasn't allowed to marry anyone he loved.
Besides, is not like he truly has those feelings for anyone.
Ingrid was like an older sister to him. Lysithea and Bernadetta were weird but they were good people so it wouldn't feel right to chained them to a horrible marriage. Dorothea might work, she was clearly interested in him and wouldn't probably care to bare a child in exchange for a life full of luxury.
He suddenly stopped, thinking for a moment when the image of Annette in a wedding dress passed through his brain.
What did he think about Annette?
She was a nice girl that's for sure, she was smiling all the time and her clumsiness felt almost charming. She was sharp on her dance steps yet so off in his usual footing. Her voice was-
What the fuck are you thinking you imbecile?He said to himself shaking his head and trying to erase the dangerously pleasant though of the Dominic girl. A training session with the dummy should do it.
-O-
She ran fast trying not to trip on her own feet while carrying her books.
He was here, he was actually here, after so many months waiting, after so many years searching. She finally reached the cathedral, it was already dawn so there weren't many people around, in fact, the cathedral was almost empty save for a few priests. She felt cold in her chest while looking around afraid that she was already late. But then her eyes stopped on a big solitary figure near the altar.
"Father!" She said feeling her eyes watering. He was older, his red hair showed some white lines across his ponytail. He turned to see her and then turned back again. "Father?"
Again he didn't turn.
"Father, why do you pretend not to recognize me?" She said finally stepping close to him.
He moved his head but she still didn't see her "Annette...I-"
"I've been looking everywhere for you" she interrupted "Please don't treat me like a stranger. I can't bear it!"
Silence again, Annette felt her heart broke, she couldn't believe that after all this year's apart this was 'warm' welcome she received.
Gilbert started walking away.
"Father, wait! Why are you avoiding me like this?!"
He stopped without turning "I have lost the right to face you or your mother"
"This has nothing to do with rights! We're family. I'm your daughter." She said feeling a lump in her throat.
"Indeed, you are my daughter. Yet I am no father. I am only a fool who abandoned his family"
"You really think it was foolish to abandon us?"
"I do"
She closed her first trying to hide her sadness with rage, it didn't help with the trembling in her voice "Then the least you can do is apologize. I'm fine, but Mother deserves as much. I've finished my studies at the school of sorcery and entered the Officers Academy. I have a busy and satisfying life now."
"But Mother...She's waited for you to return all this time, living under my uncle's roof."
A few minutes of silence.
"I...I am sorry, Annette"
He stomped on the marble floor with force "I already told you. Don't say that to me. Apologize to Mother! Let her see your face!"
"That I cannot do. I know you do not understand, but it is the way of things. As for you, Annette. Say the word, and I will disappear from your life forever." He started walking away "For now though, I mist to return to my duties."
She tried to reach out to him but her legs wouldn't respond, she felt like something as hit her hard, like a giant hammer. She couldn't hold back tears now and had to gather all her strength to not to sob. "Father...how could you be so cruel"
She never thought it would be so hard, she never thought it would hurt so much. She had done everything in her power to reach him, all her work was to reach this very moment.
And he didn't even turn to look at her.
Annette walked back to her dorm almost in a trance, like a living doll without a soul. There was a certain moment she let go on the books in her arms, her strength failing her.
She entered her room and let herself go to sorrow.
-O-
Mercedes approached him while he was leaving his food tray near the kitchen.
"Hello, Felix. I had been looking for Annie and Ingrid told me she was training with you."
"We did train but once we finished she went to the cathedral, she was looking from some Gilbert. Don't remember his last name though"
Mercedes opened her eyes wide "Gilbert? Are you sure?"
"Yeah" For a second his classmate looked a little pale "Mercedes, is something wrong?"
She smiled a little but Felix didn't need to be an expert to notice she was faking it. "Don't worry, she is probably in her room. I haven't checked there actually"
He shrugged "Should have been the first place to search"
"Yes, you're right, thank you, Felix."
She walked away leaving Felix with his thoughts. He couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong, the expression on Mercedes' face left him uneasy.
Who was this Gilbert? Maybe a distant relative of Annette? He didn't have the family name that's for sure, but Annette knew him.
He left the dining hall and walked to the training grounds for one last training lesson for the day.
The corridors were dark already, the nice moonlight painted the stones of the monastery combining with the soothing silence.
He stopped in his tracks when he saw something on the floor near the dorms, it was difficult to see in the darkness since it was near the bushes. Felix walked towards it and picked up two books from the ground. He narrowed his eyes, he recognized those books.
There were the same he and Annette used that same evening to train his spells. Why were they here?
He looked up seeing Annette's dorm.
He didn't think twice and knocked on the door.
"Go away, Mercie" Annette's voice said. It sounded muffled and weird.
"It's Felix," he said. "Mercedes was looking for you."
"I don't want to talk to anyone" This time Felix heard a sob clearly. Was she crying?
"Annette, are you okay?"
"Yes!" She said annoyed and a little too fast. "Go away"
Felix tried to open the door but it was locked.
"Annette, if don't open the door I will kick it down, and I don't think you want half of the Monastery in here"
He waited for a few seconds and finally, she opened the door.
Annette always had a small specter of pink on her cheeks that looked quite nice with her red hair. But this time her face and neck were really red and the little make up she had on was all over her face and her hair was down. She was indeed crying.
"What do you want?"
"What happened to you?"
"Nothing," she said looking away from him.
"Am I supposed to believe that? Looked at you! Does this have to do with that Gilbert?" She closed her eyes as if he just slapped her in the face confirming Felix's suspicions. He could have walked away and let her work this out by herself. But she looked so miserable and sad, he couldn't do it.
"Can I go in?"
For a moment he feared she would say no, but in the end, she stepped aside opening the door for him.
Her room was almost the same as any other in the academy, a few books rested on her nightstand and desk, three small dolls sitting just over the desk, a sweet fragrance came from the flowers in the window.
Felix closed the door behind him while Annette sat on her bed turning away from him.
"Tell me what happened," he said crossing his arms.
"Felix, I really don't want to talk about it"
"Maybe, but you're just going to suffer more if you bottle up your feelings. It would not let you think straight or even concentrate."
"Is that why you always are so rude?" She said with a sharp tone, it was weird coming from sweet Annette. "Do I need to be a jerk like you to avoid feeling this pain?"
He didn't even react to the insult "If it makes you feel better. But I still think you should talk about what that Gilbert told you"
He finally turned to him surprised but then she seemed to remember the way she reacted when she heard Gilbert's name and lowered her head in surrender.
Felix sat in the chair.
"He is my father, Felix." She said "He changed his name, but he is actually called Gustave Eddie Dominic"
"What?"
She nodded "He is a knight of Seiros, but years ago he served the Royal Family. I actually learned his new name from Dimitri and seems I came to the academy I had been looking for him. To tell him to come back home"
"Back home? What do you mean?"
"After the Tragedy of Duscur, he went away from home and joined the Knights of Seiros. I think he feels guilty about what happened to the king. I remember the night he left, I was about eight years old and he didn't even say goodbye, he just opened the door and walked away."
She gripped her skirt lightly. "I spent almost half my life wishing for him to come back. My mother cried so much. And decided to do something about it"
"You came to the academy to look for him," he said.
"Yes, I worked hard at the school of sorcery and got the invitation to the officer's academy. And now I found him" she started crying again "But he didn't even look at me, he just said that he didn't have the right to look at me. Is like he wants to suffer, but what he doesn't know is that he is making me suffer too."
She used her sleeve to dry the tears off her face "I guess, I'm not enough for him, no enough to overcome his guilt."
"Don't say that" he said raising his gaze "Don't you ever say that" She turned to look at him and Felix leaned forward. "You must never think that you are less of a person just because somebody else is not capable of appreciating the hard work you do."
Felix handed her the magic books, she looked at him with puzzled eyes. "There's nobody in the Blue Lions or the Black Eagles who works as much as you do, Annette. But don't give Gilbert the credit for what you did. You didn't graduate from the school of sorcery because of him, you didn't reach this point thanks to him, he wasn't there. All you did was because you have the strength and intelligence to overcome those obstacles"
Annette opened her mouth in surprise while Felix stood up "Keep working hard, Annette. Is the best you can do, and you will find the strength to stand tall and proud without the help of anybody else. Not even your father."
Maybe Annette didn't notice, but she had already stopped crying. "Felix, I...thank you"
He shrugged "Don't think anything of it. I'm just telling you what works for me"
She finally let out a small laugh "Still, thank you, for everything you said."
He nodded and opened the door to go out, Felix looked to Annette one more time. She was finally smiling and waving her hand. "Goodnight"
Felix nodded and closed the door feeling somehow lighter as if he had let out some hidden thoughts that really needed to be said.
He tried to ignore the fluster in his cheeks that appeared right after Annette smiled.
-O-
In the end, the mission to recover the Lance of Ruin was assigned to the Black Eagles, although Sylvain asked Byleth to join the squad and the Professor didn't have the energy to argue with the young man. He was up all night two days straight thinking on how to approach the battle.
The tower was a death trap for Miklan and his bandits, either they were really desperate or they were setting up a trap. Byleth decided to believe the second one the most likely.
The place had only one entrance and one exit after the Byleth and his team enter they would be wide open for a sneak attack from behind. Thankfully, the knight Gilbert decided to accompany them and he made for fantastic support in the back.
The battle was slow but easy in general. With Edelgard, Caspar, and Ferdinand in the vanguard and Sylvain, Felix and Annette keeping an eye on the dark corners. Byleth stood in the middle protecting Linheart and Hubert.
And that was enough until they reached the center of the tower.
Miklan was very similar to Sylvain, but his body was a little bulkier and a horrible scar traveling down his face. He was wielding the Lance of Ruin that, much as the Sword of The Creator, it looked like it was made out of bones. The red crest stone in the tip shone as if it was alive.
"Edelgard, Felix, Annette, and Sylvain, come with me," Byleth said, "Hubert, take the lead, stay here and hold the rest of the bandits while we take care of the leader."
Hubert nodded, luckily the man finally was following Byleth's leadership and his objections had become fewer.
The five of them walked through the darkness and found Miklan when he saw them he made a weird smile that could make any boy cry. His mouth made a strange angle due to the scar.
"So you have come, you crest-bearing fool," Miklan said.
Sylvain prepared his spear "We are here for the Lance of Ruin, Miklan. Hand it over and this won't get worse than it already is"
"You think I would surrender to you? It's your fault that I'm here in the first place, you took everything from me"
Sylvain frowned transforming his usual carefree expression "You always do that, blaming me for all the bad things that happened to you as if I asked for this damn crest! If I have a choice I would give it to you just for us to be a normal family again"
Miklan snorted "I have no family. But if you wish, I will take your head off your neck and put it alongside your father's once I get to him"
"You are not going anywhere, Miklan. This ends here"
The bandit didn't say another word. He ran towards them like a boulder with his giant armor.
Byleth didn't lose any time and expanded the Sword of The Creator trying to slow the enemy down, but Miklan quickly stopped and let the sword tangle across his lance, Miklan smiled.
Oh shit.Byleth cursed to himself when the bandit used his strength to throw him against a wall.
"Shit!" He screamed while slamming to the wall forcing out all the air in his lungs out.
Byleth stood up as quickly as he could while Sylvain and Felix charged against Miklan, but the man just swung the lance hitting both the students' blades and pushed them back. Edelgard managed to squeeze between the two sneaking a blow with her ax. Miklan raised his shield, the metal clashing sounded like an explosion in echoing in the empty tower.
Miklan charged forward hitting Edelgard with his shield, Annette shot a wind spell, that made enough damage to blow away part of the man's armor.
Byleth charged again and clashed swords with Mikail. Even though they were evenly matched by the Hero's Relics, the red-headed man was stronger and Byleth didn't take long to notice his arms buckling against the pressure.
He saw Felix approached from behind and Byleth kicked Miklan in the chest, it was like hitting a wall but it was enough to make him back down. Felix sneaked a blow to his neck but Miklan blocked once again but Felix was quick enough to slide his sword across the lance and elbowed Miklan right in the face.
Miklan spun around trying to hit Felix with his shield, the boy retreat with a quick move he learned from his new assassin class.
Sylvain and Edelgard attacked together but Miklan was capable of blocking both attacks with one hand. The students walked back and regrouped with the others.
"I thought it would be an easy fight with a Hero's Relic on our side," Felix said.
"I still haven't mastered it yet," Byleth said
Miklan laughed "Not bad for your kind. A bunch of spoiled rotten children"
A thunder flashed through one of the tower's numerous holes in the ceiling replacing the light of the Hero's relics for a second.
But then something happened, the red stone in the Lance of Ruin started to glow differently, a strange black ooze started to cover the blade as Miklan saw with horror how it started to consume him next.
"What- with is his?!" He screamed followed by gutturals roars of pain.
For a second Sylvain tried to help his brother but Byleth stopped him by putting a hand on his shoulder. Miklan had become a strange black mass and they had to back away when a claw came out of it. It was horrifying to see and it didn't get better when three other claws came to be.
Sylvain's brother disappeared from existence and was replaced for a big and strange creature.
Byleth had the coldest sense of deja vu remembering how Aelfric almost destroyed the cathedral in his monstrous form.
He snapped back into reality barking orders at the students.
"Fall back, people!" He said and the vanguard had to run back from where they came as the monster charged through the corridor throwing the other bandits around like dolls.
"What the hell is that thing!?" Felix yelled.
"Who knows, just keep running!" Annette screamed.
"We can let it out of here," said Edelgard looking at Byleth "If it goes into the woods it would be harder to catch. Not only that, but it could attack any village on the vicinities."
They went around a corner and they stopped in front of Hubert, Gilbert, and the others.
"You are right," said Byleth panting "We have to stop it, right here right now. Gilbert, do you think you and Caspar could hold it up for a few seconds"
"Held what up?" Caspar asked right when the monster came to view from the same corner they came.
"That," said Byleth pointing at it.
Gilbert didn't wait for an order and slammed his shield against the beast. Surprisingly the creature flinched to the blow demonstrating the knight's great strength.
Caspar followed through with a punch.
"Hubert, Annette, fire tour spells!" Byleth order and the two mages shot two balls of dak and fire magic hitting the monster in the face.
Byleth activated the Sword of The Creator slashing the monster's chest, the monster roared and ran towards a wall in pain and the tower crumbled, stones falling around them.
Byleth heard a yell, he turned around and saw Ferdinand on the floor, he didn't move.
Linhart ran toward the fallen students a looked at Byleth "It appears a rock fell on his head. It doesn't look serious but he will be out for a while"
Caspar tried to attack the monster again but this time it was faster than before and with a quick motion it struck Caspar with his giant claw slamming him to a pillar.
Caspar was trying to get up when the monster raised its claw again. Gilbert jumped through and used his shield to hold the claw up.
"Quickly, go!" The knight said letting Caspar escape.
The monster raised the other claw and hit Gustav on the side.
"Father!" Annette screamed and before anyone could stop her, she ran towards.
"Annette no!" Felix yelled but she didn't listen to him. The girl stood just a few meters from the monster and raised her arms summoning five, ten, twenty magic circles. It was a true achievement even for a high-level mage, but the small girl.
She stumbled for a second but then Annette moved her arms as if she was a puppet master and a crowd of whirlwinds materialized and started to cut down the monster like invisible knives.
She roared with a voice not natural for a girl of his size as the magic storm raged on and died down a few moments later.
When the circles disappeared the monster was barely sat ding up, arms were missing and the mouth was sliced up in a weird angle in a bizarre resemblance to the late Miklan.
Annette stumbled again, fell on her knees, and finally, her face hit the ground. The monster roared weakly but tried to stomp on Annette.
"Edelgard!" Said Byleth and she nodded.
"Roger that!"
They both ran and jumped wielding both their weapons unleashing a cross slash attack on the monster.
The creature let out one final dying roar and fell on it's back. It quickly started to deteriorate like a dead body rotating at high speed, it became a black mass again and it dissolved. In the end, nothing was left of the monster or Miklan for that matter, just the Lance of Ruin.
Sylvain took the Hero's relic while Felix approached Annette. He cradled the girl in his arms brushing a few hairs from her face, she was awfully pale and unconscious.
Byleth sighted "Alright people, mission accomplished. Let's get back to the monastery, quickly, we need to take Annette and Ferdinand to the healers."
-O-
They arrived at the monastery after half a day of travel, it was already night but Byleth couldn't sleep. That was becoming more and more of a habit for him the more he submerged in this strange world he came to know when he came to the monastery.
He raised his arm a little summoning his unclear crest on top of it. The crests were becoming a haunting topic for him, to see Aelfric and Miklan turned in to that beast made his stomach hurt, supposedly that's what happens to anyone who used a Hero's relic without bearing the respective crest.
But it wasn't just that.
He reported to Rhea of course, and the bishop just had a cold look on her face while saying sweet words of acknowledgment. Byleth knew she was keeping secrets from him and that was probably what had made his father Jeralt leave the Knights of Seiros so long ago.
Byleth also discovered a few texts in the library of the Abyss, most of them were useless in practice but it clearly implied that the church had actively pursued groups and people who even threatened to undermine their rule.
Something was happening inside the church, something that Rhea wasn't telling anyone. And it smelled like blood and death.
He was sitting on the wall near the classrooms where a dark forest stood against the stone.
"Is this brooding going to become a hobby of yours?" a voice in his head said. "Because doesn't seem like is amusing at all."
"I'm not brooding, I'm just thinking," he said.
"I can understand you feel unsettled by these past events. But we can't have you losing your sleep because of it"
Byleth snorted "You sound like my mother"
"May I remind you I'm part of you? This whatever happens to you it will affect me."
"And here I thought you were worried about me"
"Professor, who are you talking to?" A voice came from behind.
Byleth jumped a little when Edelgard leaned into the wall next to him.
"Oh, I was...uhm...just trying to bring some thoughts into perspective"
"I see and you talk to yourself to gather those thoughts, I do that sometimes"
"You do?"
"Yes, that is how us geniuses think after all"
Byleth narrowed his eyes seeing Edelgard's smiling face "I can't shake the feeling that you are pulling my leg"
"Professor Byleth, I'm shocked and appalled that that is your opinion of me," she said as her smile widen.
"Okay I get it, princess of jokesters," he said let it out a sight.
"I'm thought that title belonged to Claude"
"You are not far behind"
"Well may know what you were doing here?"
"I'm just thinking about some of the things we saw in the tower. By the way, how is everyone?"
She sat next to him on top of the wall "Sir Gilbert and Caspard received minor bruises, luckily they had quality armor equipped and they have enough muscular mass to protect them. Ferdinand just woke up but Manuela insisted for him to sleep some more, still, there should not be any permanent damage."
"What about Annette?"
Edelgard's face darkened a little "She will fine, but he used almost all her magic reserve including the one from her crest. She would probably not wake up for a day or two. Felix and Mercedes are with her right now."
"Well, at least she is safe." He sat there looking at the darkness of the forest letting his mind wander once again.
"Professor, what's wrong?" She asked with concern.
"Edelgard, your family had been a great ally of the church since the War of Heroes, right?"
"Yes, since my ancestor Wilhelm Paul Hresvelg helped Saint Seiros to defeat the King Nemesis in the imperial year 32."
"Do you think that maybe, ancestral ideals or even teachings passed down through centuries could be wanted and even twisted?"
"It's an interesting question," she said holding her hands together "But it as darl connotations am afraid. You see, the winners always make history as they see fit in other to benefit their rule over people. Even my family is guilty of that and I'm sure the church is not oblivious to this."
"We live in a world where everything is dictated by specific social rules established hundreds of years ago. A great part of them are unfair"
Byleth snorted "So is it bad for me to think that something is wrong with society just because it is how this system was established. Does that turned people like Miklan into bad people?"
Edelgard nodded "I get what you think. It's such a waste that a strong man like him had to be renounced to his birthright just for not bearing a crest. That doesn't excuse the things he did, but the fact that there are people like Miklan or Lonato goes to show that we don't live in a perfect society as the church wants us to believe"
Edelgard stood up on the wall, for some reason Byleth felt strange energy coming from her, the moon shined against her big violet eyes. She might not have been Emperor yet, but she clearly had the aura of authority.
"But that is what I want to change, in some way or another" Edelgard said. "Even if the road is hard or painful. A real society guided by true justice, yes, that is worth fighting for. So please, my teacher, keep up the good work, in the end, you will see that all of it was worth the effort."
Byleth smiled "You really talk like a real queen you know? It's like you were born for it."
She jumped off the wall keeping her straight posture "I'm just a woman with the conviction and the resources. I just want to use them in the best way possible. Good night professor"
And then she strolled towards the dorms, always elegant, always moving with purpose.
Still, Byleth knew that there was more to her than that. She was beautiful and had a strong sense of duty of a true noble lady, but she was also vulnerable in other ways, she felt sympathy for the others. She truly wanted to.make the most of the good things in her life.
That moment, Byleth felt something in his chest, it was quick and died down faster than he could fully register. Watching Edelgard walked away with her crimson red cape, was like seeing a beautiful cardinal bird bringing color to anyone who needed it.
He placed his hand on his chest right where his heart was, trying to catch that sensation again.
"What...what was that?" He asked but not even Sothis came up with an answer.
Author's note: Gee, this chapter was looooonngg. But that's what happens when I try to stuff up a lot of things into my writing.Even though I had been using a lot of dialogue from the support conversations I do want to give them a few tweaks here and there.Something important I wanted to say, I do t know if it will be on the next chapter or the one after, but I'll be adding two additional POVs into the story. Usually, it's easy for me to write when there is a lot of MCs involved.One more thing, my Final Fantasy XV is STILL alive, I know I said that I would post a new chapter a couple of months ago, but turned out that I didn't exactly like how it came up when I read it in the editor. But this time a promise my next post will be the nex chapter for that one.Once again, thank you very much for reading, and following this story, you guys are fantastic.
