The Lady and the Thief
by Cyberchao X
Chapter 2: The New Teacher
CCX: And this is why I insisted on waiting until I got back to the start of a third playthrough to be part of the Blue Lions. I seem to have already messed up quite a number of things from not knowing enough about the Blue Lions, and Crimson Flower isn't exactly forthcoming with paralogues. Furthermore, the main pairing for this story is a pair that I failed to recruit on my first playthrough, of the Golden Deer, so I hadn't even seen a wide swath of support conversations…
Much to the surprise of the Blue Lions, the mercenary that had saved Prince Dimitri was to be their new teacher. He said that he was fine with them addressing him casually, but a number of them, Dimitri included, felt that they should be showing him more respect. Almost as soon as he'd joined the monastery, the new teacher, Byleth, led the Blue Lions to a victory in a mock battle, though it was far closer than they'd expected given his reputation.
On the subject of Byleth's reputation, almost immediately after the son of Jeralt the Blade Breaker became the professor for the Blue Lions house, they gained a new member from the ranks of the Golden Deer, a commoner named Leonie Pinelli. She seemed to fit right in among the boisterous crowd. (CCX: Yeah, apparently my starting strength was high enough that the extra lance levels were all I needed even without a C support. Go figure.)
The students' first mission under Byleth went off without a hitch, but then they received word of their next mission. Lord Lonato of Gaspard was said to be leading a rebellion against the Church. Ashe was stunned when the professor announced it. To try to help the young lad get his mind off of it, he invited Ashe to join him on a trip to the marketplace, and it was there that the professor first learned of Ashe's love of reading. A thief had grabbed a copy of one of Ashe's favorite books, "Loog and the Maiden of Wind", from a saleswoman in the market, and Ashe compensated the woman, then ran after the thief. Indeed, Ashe ended up spending much of the weeks leading up to the mission in the library. The day before the mission, he was rereading the Sword of Kyphon when Ingrid walked in, startling him. It proved a welcome distraction as she was familiar with the tale and was every bit the fan that he was and they spent much time talking about it.
The next day, they departed for their mission. One of the Knights of Seiros accompanied them, and she told Byleth that they presumed Lonato had a vendetta against the Church for executing his son, Christophe, on suspicion of being involved in the Tragedy of Duscur. The mission went flawlessly…too flawlessly. The civilian rebels were absolutely decimated by the Blue Lions, Byleth himself striking down Lonato. He felt it was his duty. As a mercenary, he was the best equipped to deal with the harsh reality of the situation.
Catherine, the knight that accompanied them, reported that Lonato was carrying a letter detailing a plan to assassinate the archbishop. Curious…this felt like a set-up. Byleth was certain of this. Everything about this seemed suspicious. He didn't know all the details about this world, but he'd heard that many of his students, including Dimitri himself, thought that the Tragedy of Duscur was not as simple as it seemed. That the people of Duscur were innocent. But if suspicion were to fall upon rebels within the Kingdom, wouldn't that make it more likely that Christophe was indeed a traitor? All he knew was that his father was suspicious of the Archbishop, and upon hearing her words, he understood why. Despite her serene, almost divine appearance, her words suggested a ruthless tyrant that would execute anyone suspected of opposing her, without even waiting to find out if said suspicions were warranted. He was relieved to learn that Ashe's younger siblings were being taken care of.
Ingrid was impressed with Professor Byleth. He had a natural charisma that seemed to attract students. She'd found that her impression of the Brigid princess was spot on; while the language barrier was still a challenge, she'd found a capable ally on the battlefield—and more importantly, a fellow would-be flier. He'd also recruited another of the commoners from the Golden Deer, a meek merchant's son, but the next month, he'd pulled off an absolute coup, recruiting two of the most skittish students in the monastery. Having non-Kingdom students was, perhaps, for the best, as once again, the Kingdom's ills were at the forefront of their missions. Sylvain's older brother, Miklan, had stolen the Lance of Ruin. Ingrid had known that Miklan resented Sylvain, but to go as far as to steal House Gautier's sacred relic…
Felix's father had come to the monastery to personally ask for help, which naturally had Felix on edge—and he took his anger out on Prince Dimitri. "The Boar Prince", he called him. Ingrid had every bit as much reason to be angry about the events of four years prior as Felix did—Glenn was her fiancé, after all, and she'd had no problems with that arranged marriage—but she couldn't reconcile the image that he painted of their prince with the man she knew. She'd spoken to Dedue, learned how Dimitri had saved him despite what the people of Duscur had allegedly done. She was amazed at how Dedue bore no ill will towards those who were suspicious of him because of his heritage, people like her. But if all was indeed not as it seemed, that was a matter for Dimitri to sort out—and Edelgard, and Claude, and perhaps the Church. Not a low-level noble who wished only to be a knight.
"Noble and virtuous". She'd blushed when Ashe called her that, on their most recent discussion of valorous legends. She'd said he reminded her of the knight he'd mentioned, too, due to his honesty, and he'd suggested that they work together to become knights as glorious as the ones in those legends. How ideal that would be, and yet…she couldn't do that. She explained as much to Ashe, about her obligations to carry on the legacy of House Galatea. So she asked him to see through his dream for the both of them. He told her not to smile when her eyes were so sad…but how could she not? She'd found that, for the first time since losing Glenn…she was in love. And yet, she couldn't pursue it, for he was a commoner.
The first step towards becoming a valiant knight was to put his past behind him. Ashe told the professor about his encounter with the book thief, and while he doubted the man's story, he didn't judge Ashe for his past or for believing the man and wanting to see the best in everyone.
Another knight arrived at the monastery. Gilbert. He was an older man who exuded strength, but there was something…familiar, about him, and not just in how he reminded Ashe of the knights in his favorite stories. He couldn't quite place it, though.
Had he asked Professor Byleth about it, he might have gotten an answer—though most likely, he would've just gotten one of those cryptic comments that the professor was so good at. Annette recognized her father right away, but she couldn't bring herself to confront him. She'd confided in the professor during one of their study sessions, and he'd told her that it was best to take things at her own pace. He wasn't going anywhere, after all. Though "her own pace" was, he'd concede, not always healthy. The girl had a nasty tendency to take on more than she could handle. Still, he was happy for her. After all, her main reason for trying to get a referral to the Academy was to search for her father, and now she'd found him.
Byleth grew ever more concerned in the wake of their latest mission. The Lance of Ruin transformed Miklan into a monster, and Rhea's main concern was trying to conceal that this had happened, as it would disrupt the people's faith in the nobility. He begrudgingly handed the lance back to the church. After his meeting, he met with Dimitri, who revealed that the undue value of a Crest had even affected the royal family—it was his uncle, not his father, who was the first-born son of the previous king, yet his uncle's lack of a Crest had caused him to be passed over. All of the Houses that bear the blood of the 10 Elites value the Crests thusly, but House Gautier has a stronger mandate on bearing an heir with a Crest. Byleth asked why that is, and learned that the strength granted by their Crest has helped them in defending the Kingdom's northern border. Byleth said that strength is strength, with or without a Crest, and Dimitri agreed with him. And yet, if no stock was put in Crests at all, the bloodlines would dwindle, and the metaphorical blade would rust. Both sides, at once both right and wrong… One thing caught Byleth's attention. "Everyone has something that is unacceptable within them. I certainly do, and I'd wager you do as well." Dimitri had just been talking about acceptance, and yet…it was a very negative view of humanity.
The next month's mission was to find Seteth's sister, Flayn, who had gone missing. All suspicions regarding the Church aside, Byleth found this to be a worthwhile mission. Flayn was a kind girl, if a bit sheltered. And yet…something still felt off, even here. Rhea paused before saying the word "sister", and while she told Seteth that she considered his sister to be family "as well", it seemed that Flayn resembled Rhea more than she resembled her brother Seteth.
Dimitri was quite perturbed. According to the monastery's records, Edelgard's uncle, Arundel, had given very generously up until 1174, when his donations just outright stopped. It was as though he'd just disappeared. And yet, he clearly hadn't. To hear El tell about it, he was the one truly pulling the strings in the Empire, even as her father remained the Emperor.
Byleth had learned of this when Dimitri left the records in question out. Another mystery. At least here, he felt he'd have an ally among the knights. Apparently Shamir was, like himself, a former mercenary, and she was none too trustful of nobility. She seemed like a kindred soul.
CCX: Yeah this is moving way too quickly with not nearly enough character development. Well, there's plenty still to consider. And, hm, perhaps I'll try to be a bit more careful with keeping a save file near the end, if it turns out that the accompanying playthrough gets too far ahead of the fic. Oh, and for the first time in maybe ever...review replies!
X the Reaper: As did I, of course. Usually I don't like repeating pair-ups, but for the purposes of this fic, I will indeed be pairing them again this time, or trying to at any rate.
Antex-The Legendary Zoroark: I know, right? That was pretty much my motivation for writing this story. Also, I love your username. Kind of reminds me of some of my OCs when I was younger. (Yes, from the same era as when I first ended up with my current username. Sonic Adventure 2 was one of my favorite games as a teenager. I recently went back to it and it aged horribly but I still don't regret tying myself to it forever.)