There was a clack. The sound of a door opening. I wanted to wake myself up but I was so comfortable. The bed was so soft, the blanket so warm, and I was so tired.

I felt the bed dip. Someone must have sat down. A cool hand touched my face. My eyes snapped open, and I jolted up.

Yuri was sitting on the bed, looking at me. He smiled. "Hello."

My shoulders relaxed. I was safe. "Yuri! I haven't seen you in almost a week," I said and pushed him.

"Sorry about that," he said.

It was all right. I rested my forehead against his shoulder. It was just nice to see him. To know that he was okay. When Yuri had first been adopted by Count Rowe, when he left the village to go live in a posh mansion, when he'd steal out once a month to come back and visit us… That had been rough. I'd seriously considered applying to work at Count Rowe's place, as a guard, or a maid, anything.

Yuri didn't say anything. That reminded me of my conversation with Aelfric.

"Oh yeah, I met Aelfric again," I said, sitting back up. "Apparently, he's funding part of my tuition?"

Yuri nodded. "Yes."

I drew my knees up towards my chest and wrapped my arms around my legs. "Why, Yuri? Do you really think this Academy will do any good for me? What am I going to do after I graduate?"

"You can do whatever you want." Yuri shrugged.

"What will you do?" I asked. The only thing I wanted to do was to stay with Yuri. Even as a bandit thief, a partner in crime. I didn't care. If anyone ever wanted to execute Yuri, they'd have to execute me first.

"I'm not sure yet, but I want to help the people here," Yuri said.

"Who are all the people you're talking to?" I was staring at my knees.

"People."

"Shocking," I said with a humorless grin. "I thought you were talking to ghosts."

Yuri smiled. "They're just common folk who live here in Abyss."

The door opened, and Balthus walked in. "Oh hey, you two!" he said. His shirt was bloodstained again. "You mind if I change?"

I shook my head. "That's fine."

Yuri stood up. "Give the man some privacy." He held his hand out towards me. "Come on, Byleth. Let's talk elsewhere."

I sighed and crawled out of bed, taking my book with me. "See you around, Balthus."

"See ya, pal!" Balthus replied.

We closed the door behind us.

"Maybe you guys should get a lock on the door," I said. Yuri laughed and agreed. We went to Rose's house. It was dark inside. She must have been asleep. Yuri struck a match and lit the lantern on the dining table. The small flame cast our shadows against the wall.

"Listen, Byleth," Yuri said, keeping his voice low. "You should stay clear of Abyss for some time."

"Why?" I folded my arms over my chest.

"Just…" Yuri's gaze darted around, but there was no one else in the room.

"Are you going to tell Rose to move out too?" I asked.

Yuri shook his head and sighed. "Just be careful, okay?"

"What's going on?" My eyes narrowed.

"I don't know everything yet, but I will soon. So, for now, promise me you'll be more careful?" Yuri said.

I huffed. "I'm always careful."

"I wouldn't call falling asleep in my bed as being careful." Yuri smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes.

"Well, I don't need to be careful around you," I said.

"You should. Starting now, anyway."

"You'll tell me, later, right?"

Yuri nodded. "Of course." He stepped closer, until he could rest his forehead against mine. Yuri's hand found mine, and our fingers intertwined. Even with the dim lighting, when we were standing this close, I could see Yuri's eyelashes. "I promise."

That wasn't fair. That was so not fair.

I sighed and pulled away. "Fine. I promise to be careful."

Fortunately, classwork kept me busy. I visited Abyss once a week to eat dinner with Rose and Yuri, but otherwise I stayed away. There was training to do, assignments to complete, and chores to attend to. I had shopping duty once with Dedue. Then I had kitchen duty the next week with Felix. Considering the tuition costs, the Academy sure knew how to use the students for labor.

Sometimes, Mercedes and Annette would invite Ingrid and I to an afternoon tea party, where we'd eat delicious sweets that Mercedes had baked herself. That was fun. We'd chat about classes and homework and life. They were surprised to hear that I was an orphan and that I hadn't known about Byleth and Jeralt's existences until coming to Garreg Mach. I was surprised to learn that Mercedes were originally from the Empire. And they all had experiences with unwanted arranged marriages.

"Our mission this month will be to take care of some thieves that have been pillaging towns," Professor Manuela said. A rather standard mission.

During our ten minute break, Annette leaned towards Mercedes and me and said, "I heard Professor Byleth's class is going with some knights to investigate a Western Church rebellion."

Ashe wasn't looking so great. He was pale, and he kept fidgeting with his hands.

Ingrid's forehead creased. "I heard the rebellion's led by Lord Lonato."

"I don't understand." Ashe just shook his head sadly. "Lord Lonato would never…"

"I'm so sorry, Ashe," Mercedes said.

"Our mission seems a lot easier in comparison," Sylvain said, stretching his arms behind his head. "Not that I'm complaining."

"Hmph," was all Felix said.

On the weekend leading to the mission, Byleth invited me to eat lunch with Edelgard at the cafeteria.

"Professor, what's the meaning of this?" Edelgard said, when she saw us sitting at the table.

Byleth nodded.

"I think he wants us to be friends," I said, and Byleth nodded again.

"I thought it might be nice," he said.

Edelgard looked at me and smiled. "Well, I suppose I haven't formally introduced myself to you yet. I'm Edelgard von Hresvelg, heir to the Adrestian Empire."

I knew that. "I'm Byleth," I said. "Eisner. I guess. I don't know yet."

Edelgard smiled like I'd said something funny. "You don't know yet? Aren't you the Professor's twin sister?"

I looked at Byleth, who sat across the table from us. "There's no proof."

"Looking like twins isn't enough?" Edelgard said. "You could do a blood test. I'm sure Professor Hanneman would do that for you."

Byleth nodded. A blood test didn't sound very fun. I rested my arms on the table and leaned forward. "I suppose we're twins," I said. "So, Edelgard, what plans do you have for the Empire?"

We started eating.

"I have lots of plans," Edelgard said.

"Such as?"

"Now's not the best time to discuss politics," Edelgard said. I thought I could sense someone staring at me. I glanced behind. There was indeed someone staring at me. Hubert, to be exact, almost glaring at me.

"Is that concerning?" I turned back around and pointed behind me.

Edelgard didn't turn around. "No, don't worry. I'll talk to Hubert after this."

"Does he think I'm a threat?" I asked.

Edelgard shook her head. "What kind of plans do you think I should have? If you could change the world, what would you do?" Edelgard was looking at Byleth, though. "Professor? I'd love to hear your thoughts too."

I thought about her question. What would I change? Hmm, well, there was a lot of fighting going on. Lots of crime, bandits, thieves, the like. But there were lots of bandits and thieves because they were forced into a position where the only way to make money was through crime.

"I think more government support for the poor would be nice," I said.

Byleth nodded.

"And what do you think of the Crest system?" Edelgard asked. "If I'm not wrong, you don't have a crest, right?"

I nodded. "I'm a commoner."

"And you, Professor?" Edelgard turned to Byleth.

Byleth shrugged. "I don't know."

"You don't know?" Edelgard's mouth dropped open. "Well, Professor Hanneman will find out for you soon."

"Any class system like Crests is pretty terrible if you ask me," I said.

Byleth nodded. "I agree. The world could be a better place without Crests, or the emphasis placed on it."

Edelgard's eyes lit up, and she leaned forward. "Right? I think so, too."

Edelgard proceeded to tell us about how the current Crest system was detrimental for everyone. How instead of weighing people by their skills and merits, society was weighing by Crests. How that gave a select few at the very top all the power.

"But you have a Crest," I said.

"I do," Edelgard said.

"So do you think the Crest system is bad for those with Crests too?" I asked.

"Of course." Edelgard listed stories of how nobles would pick their heirs based on Crests, how nobles would pick suitors based on crests, how that disadvantaged those without Crests and put unfair pressure on those with Crests.

It was a very solid argument. She'd clearly done her homework.

Byleth listened intently while looking Edelgard in the eye. It was like he was lapping up every word she said.

We finished our meal and took our plates back to the counter.

"I'm sorry. I've rambled the entire time," Edelgard said with a sheepish smile.

"I thought it was interesting," I said.

Byleth nodded, a small smile appearing on his face. Edelgard's smile grew wider, relief causing her shoulders to drop.

Edelgard turned to me. "Well, Byleth, I'd be more than happy to get to know you more."

"Likewise," I said, because I wasn't sure what else to say. Well, what was wrong with being friends with the next Emperor? Maybe I could find a legitimate job.

"I must get going now. Have a good day, Professor and Byleth." Edelgard bowed farewell to us and walked off. Hubert fell into step beside her, and the two left the cafeteria.

"See you later then, Byleth," I said, waving at Byleth. He nodded and waved back, still smiling.

The next day, I ran into Byleth on my way to the stables.

"I'm going fishing," he told me. "Care to join me?"

"I can for a bit," I said. I had stable duty, had to brush some horses, and feed them some hay. Byleth and I both picked up a fishing rod. He showed me how to put the bait on the hook.

We sat at the edge of the dock for a few minutes in silence. It was another warm spring day, the sun beating down upon our heads. We stared into the water, waiting for a bite.

Then Byleth said, "I'm going to need your help."

"Doing what? Cooking the fish?" I asked. Something tugged on my line. There was a small fish nibbling at the bait. "Oh! There's a fish."

Byleth nodded. "Wait."

I waited. Then, the fish chomped down on the bait and hook.

"Now," Byleth said. I yanked hard at the pole. The line and fish flew out of the pond, splashing us with water. Byleth caught the fish with his left hand. I was quite impressed, considering how slippery it probably was.

"Sorry, fishy," I said, as he took the wriggling fish off the hook. Byleth picked up a nearby knife and showed me how to gut and clean the fish. Then we placed it in a bucket full of ice and covered the top.

"Not with cooking the fish," Byleth said. I was placing new bait on my hook.

"Oh?"

"I'm going to need your help with something else," he said. His voice was soft.

"With what?"

Byleth shook his head. "I don't know yet."

Interesting... "Okay," I said.

"A mission a few months from now," Byleth said. "I'll need your help then for sure."

"You mean, the monthly missions we get?"

Byleth nodded.

"Okay," I said. Rhea had given Byleth special rights to temporarily invite a student from another class to help him in battles. It was probably because he was a new professor. Of course, students could decline, but I think most students were eager to watch Byleth in battle.

"Thank you," Byleth said.

I chuckled. "You should wait until after I've helped you to say that."

Byleth flashed one of his small smiles at me. He was growing on me. I wasn't sure if I liked that.

A fish bit Byleth's line, and he pulled the fish out. I caught another one and tried to gut and clean the fish myself. I almost cut the fish clean in half. Byleth took over.

"Well, thanks for the fishing invite, but I have some horses to tend to," I said.

Byleth nodded. "See you," he said.

"See you, Professor," I said and headed off for the stables.

Our class's monthly mission went smoothly. There weren't too many bandits to take down to begin with. Then we returned to the monastery.

"Do you think Professor Byleth's class is back?" Ashe asked us, as we were walking to the classroom.

"Maybe," Sylvain said, arms crossed behind his head.

Dimitri peeked his head into the Black Eagles classroom for Ashe, then shook his head at us. "They're not back yet."

We filed into the classroom so Professor Manuela could give us a quick summary of our mission. "I think you all were splendid," Professor Manuela said with a smile. "That's all. Class is dismissed. Have a good weekend!"

That was short.

We left the classroom again. I said farewell to my classmates then went to my room to take a nice nap.

I woke up to someone knocking on my door. "Byleth? You in there?"

I sat up, still groggy from sleep. "Who is it?" I rubbed at my eyes and swung my legs off my bed. I opened the door to find Ingrid standing outside.

"I just thought you'd want to know," she said. "Professor Byleth's back, and Lord Lonato's dead."

Our class congregated in the cathedral around Ashe. He wasn't crying, but he sat in the pew, head down.

Poor guy. From what I'd heard, he'd really looked up to Lord Lonato.

Annette and Mercedes were sitting on either side of Ashe, doing their best to comfort him. Felix and Sylvain were here too, but they shuffled back and forth on their feet. I didn't know what to do. I just stood there, next to Ingrid and Dedue.

"I'm sorry, Ashe." The words came out in a whisper. I doubt he heard me.

Ashe raised his head. "It's okay, everyone." He tried to smile. "Don't worry about me. I'll be fine."

"I'll bake you some sweets," Mercedes said.

"Yes, and let's eat dinner together," Annette said.

"If he wants to be left alone, then let's leave him alone," Dimitri cut in. He looked Ashe in the eye and his voice softened. "But if you want anything, Ashe, just let us know."

Ashe smiled. This time it didn't look as forced. "Thank you, everyone."

I went to Abyss, after that. I went to look for Yuri. He was talking to a merchant when I arrived, and he glanced at me as I approached.

"Hey there, beautiful," he said with a smirk.

I smiled back. "Hello, handsome. Fancy running into you here."

Yuri held something out to me, something he'd just bought, a small knife. "Here."

I looked at the blade in his palm then back at him. "What?"

"It's for you. Didn't you lose your other dagger during your last mission?"

"Oh, I got that back from the Knights," I said.

"Well, take it anyway," he said. I relented, and he passed the knife over.

"Where am I going to put it?"

"Somewhere no one can find it," Yuri said. He turned to walk away, and I followed him. "So what are you doing here?"

"To see you, of course." I held the handle of the knife between my thumb and index finger, studying the blade. It was the size of one of my fingers.

Yuri chuckled. "I'm flattered."

What good would this small of a knife be? I could probably tuck it in my shoe. Or… I glanced down at my shirt. If I could make a safe enough hilt to store it in… No one would look there. They shouldn't, anyway.

We entered Rose's home. She was cooking dinner. It smelled like fish and butter and spices. "Hey, Byleth! How was your mission this month?"

"Oh, easy," I said. I went to give her a hug. It was reassuring to see Rose and Yuri. To know that they were still alive. I was lucky - so lucky. My heart felt warm and full, and I spun around to give Yuri a hug too.

His eyes widened, and he took a step back when I threw my arms around him. "Wah, Byleth!" Yuri said. Rose giggled.

"I'm just happy to see you," I said. I didn't want to think about how I'd feel if I was in Ashe's position, losing the closest thing to a parent figure he'd ever had. If I ever lost Rose…

Yuri patted my back. "Are you done?"

I released him and stepped back. Yuri had regained his composure, the calm resettling upon his face. I smirked. "Caught you off-guard, hm?"

Yuri laughed. "Not in a million years, friend."

I thought he was lying.

Next month's mission was to help guard the monastery. During the weekends, I saw Byleth running around the monastery. He was investigating potential places that someone might be interested in.

"So, what did you find?" I asked him while we were having tea together.

"The Holy Mausoleum," Byleth said.

"And that's where your class is going to be guarding?"

Byleth nodded.

My class was going to be patrolling the second and third floors of the monastery. There'd be a few other knights, but we weren't expecting anyone anyway.

"Do you want to join us?" Byleth asked.

I shook my head. "No, that's okay." If Byleth was right, and there was going to be a fight, I wasn't sure if I wanted to be there. What if I died? Byleth had already shown me that I wasn't as strong as I'd liked to think.

"But what would they want from the Holy Mausoleum?" I blew at the hot tea then took a sip.

"Serios's remains," Byleth said, in a low voice.

"What?" I set the cup down with a loud clatter.

Byleth leaned forward. "Don't tell anyone," he said.

I leaned forward too. "But how do you know that?"

Byleth didn't say anything for a second, just staring at me. Then he shrugged and sat back. "It's a hunch."

That wasn't a hunch. He'd sounded so sure, so confident. Serios's remains? What would anybody want with that? I shuddered at the thought of the century-old bones.

"Well, I hope you're careful," I said. "And I hope you're wrong, for your sake."

Byleth smiled at me. "Thank you."

We had more quizzes and more assignments. One weekend, Professor Manuela actually took our class out to battle. "Practice battles," she called them. We did a mock battle with some of the knights. Then we did a real battle taking out some thieves.

Our class studied together some more at the library. It was actually kind of fun. We'd quiz each other and share notes. It was a lot easier than studying by myself. Then, after an hour or two, we'd go and get dinner together in the cafeteria.

After that, we'd continue studying but in the grand hall instead, since it was closer. Sometimes a few of us would go to the training grounds and train together. It kept me busy. That was the most important part.

The Rite of Rebirth rolled around, and our class took up our places in the second and third floors. It was quiet here, since most people were at the ceremony. Professor Manuela was sitting in the infirmary grading papers.

"I guess we're not getting any unwanted visitors," Sylvain said. Dedue nodded.

"That's good," Dimitri said. We wandered the halls back and forth. Even the library was empty. There were two other Knights on the second floor, the ones who typically stood guard outside of Rhea's visiting room.

Two hours later, the ceremony ended, and we left our stations. A Knight ran up to us.

"We didn't see anyone suspicious," Professor Manuela said, carrying a bundle of papers in one hand.

"That's good to hear," the Knight said. "Apparently, Professor Byleth's class found intruders in the Holy Mausoleum!"

So Byleth was spot on.

"Do they need assistance?" Manuela's mouth dropped open.

The knight shook her head. "The Black Eagles class took care of the intruders. And Catherine ran over to help them. The intruders were after Saint Serios's remains!"

What?

"What would they want with those?" Dimitri asked.

"But Saint Serios's remains weren't even there!" the Knight said.

Mercedes held a hand up to cover her opened mouth. "Oh my!"

"There was a sword instead," the Knight said. "A Hero's Relic. The Sword of the Creator. And Professor Byleth can wield it."

"What?" several of my classmates said at the same time.

"Then, Professor Byleth's Crest… is the same as Nemesis's?" Dimitri said.

The Knight nodded. "Must be. What's even crazier is that the Relic is missing its Crest stone, but somehow the Professor has no problem using it."

Crest stone… What was that?

Everyone was buzzing with excitement.

"Is that even possible?" I heard someone say.

"All right, all right," Professor Manuela clapped her hands together to get our attention. "Thanks for the information. Good work today, everyone. Class is dismissed."

Our class went to the dining hall to get dinner. The monastery was crawling with people, mostly common worshippers.

"So, what's a Crest Stone?" I asked Annette as we got our food and searched for an open table. There were none, so we went to the grand hall.

"You don't know?" Annette said, but then proceeded to explain. "Crest Stones are the main source of power for a relic. Without a Crest Stone, it's really difficult to use a Hero's relic, because they're so heavy. Of course, to be able to use a Crest Stone, you have to have the matching Crest too."

I nodded. That made sense. It explained why everyone was so shocked that Byleth was using the Relic without a Crest Stone. But then, how was he doing that? How had he known what the intruders were after? What was he hiding?

We finally found an empty table in the grand hall to sit down and eat. Everyone was wondering how in the world Professor Byleth could use the Sword of the Creator.

"Does that mean you could have a Crest too?" Dimitri asked me.

I shrugged. "As far as I can tell, I don't have one."

"Has Professor Hanneman asked you about your Crest?" Anette asked me. I shook my head. I haven't said much to Professor Hanneman.

"Guess you don't have one then," Sylvain said. "Otherwise Hanneman would probably be bugging you about it."

It didn't surprise me. Everyone could see that there was something special about Byleth. People weren't exaggerating when they said he was good at fighting. And though he'd never taught before, he was doing a good job. It was clear his students adored him and were learning fast.

After we finished eating, we returned our plates to the cafeteria, then bid goodnight to each other. I was approaching my room when I saw Byleth leaning against one of the support poles outside my room.

He straightened up when he saw me. There was a large, shiny new sword on his belt. New wasn't quite the word for it, though. It had to be the Hero's Relic, the Sword of the Creator.

"Nice new sword," I said with a smile.

Byleth just nodded, not a trace of a smile on his face. It was already getting dark. The sun had set, leaving only faint streaks of red-orange light in the sky.

"So you were right," I said. Byleth nodded again. He must have wanted to say something to me, but instead he turned away.

"Good night," he said.

I didn't really understand. "Good night," I said. He nodded again and then walked away. Strange… Hadn't he been waiting here for me? Otherwise, what was he doing just standing there? Maybe he was spacing out.

I shrugged and entered my room. Something was going on, and Byleth knew it. But for now, I had an essay to write.

Thanks for reading! :)