Stories in the Dark

Xx

"Spending a night telling ghost stories with our former classmates? Hm, sounds like fun," Sylvain's mock sweet tone curdled, "To a seven-year-old, maybe." He threw his hands up, "I'm supposed to meet my date at a bar, what's she going to think of me when I show up at her place after midnight, instead?"

"That you confused your Saturday night plans with Wednesday?" Felix grumbled, then grabbed his arm when he started to head off, "Sylvain-come on,"

Felix let go immediately. Noting with horror that he'd just borne a startling resemblance to a child Felix, long dead with Dimitri and Glenn, begging Sylvain to play, or watch his sword technique, or listen to him whine about something.

Sylvain had stopped, not looking as surprised as he should have.

"Why do you want to go, again?" He asked.

"I don't want to go," Felix snapped, starting to thread his way through the dining hall, confident that Sylvain would follow now, "Obviously I have better things to do than listen to Mercedes tell ghost stories,"

"I agree," Sylvain nodded, trailing after him, "Like training endlessly, or perfecting your glare in the mirror-" Sylvain held up his palms in a mock-surrender, when Felix whipped around to fix Sylvain with said glare, "Hey-that's what it looked like you were doing when I walked in on you that time,"

"That wasn't what I was doing!" Felix shouted. The few that were left frequenting the dining hall looked at them, and then seeing who it was, went back to shoveling food in their mouths.

Before Sylvain could give an irritating response, Felix turned around and stormed towards the end of the dining hall. Forgetting, he supposed, that such behavior could result in Sylvain not following him.

It didn't, of course.

Sylvain ran after him instead with a familiar, irritating refrain.

"Felix, lighten up,"

Felix shook Sylvain off when he tried to grab his arm.

"Seriously-Fe, you know what I always say about people who can't laugh at themselves? That they're only fooling themselves,"

"That doesn't make any sense," Felix returned, even as he turned around.

"I guess not," Sylvain replied thoughtfully, linking his arms behind his head, "But they can't all be winners,"

"Can any of them?" Felix spat back, venom slapped on more thickly than normal to make up for the fact that he had laughed at that, a little. Despite everything.

"Could you please just tell me why we're going to Mercedes' ghost-story party?" Sylvain asked, resignation not exactly matching his slight, but triumphant, grin.

"I need to go to supervise. You saw how the Boar reacted to Annette wanting to clean this place up, and make tea," Felix sniffed at their surroundings, "Can you imagine what he'll do if he sees something like this?" Felix gestured outside.

It looked like they'd already set up most of the gazebo chairs around larger tables, and Mercedes was now casting a fireball at a pit they'd set up. It went wide-perhaps there was wind, and narrowly missed Annette, catching a nearby rosebush. Ashe grabbed the bucket of water that had been set to the firepit, dousing the bush-and the people that had been sitting next to it. To whom, he began apologizing profusely.

"Okay," Sylvain allowed, after a moment, "I can see why you'd think they need supervision,"

Before Felix could declare a victory, Sylvain added,

"Which is the professor's job. Where is she?"

"I saw her at the chapel," Felix answered, words feeling sharp enough to draw blood in his mouth, "With him,"

"Oh," Said Sylvain, voice sounding comparatively and suddenly dull, "Right,"

He sighed while Felix watched those on kitchen duty start to put the chairs on the tables that were empty.

"Well, maybe you should get her to go with you instead," Sylvain went on even as Felix opened his mouth to dismiss him, "Seriously-I mean it's been months of this… don't you think she's wasting her time?"

Felix couldn't answer him.

He couldn't speak through the sudden anger and betrayal coiling through him like a snake.

Part of the fury was at himself for reacting this way; Felix knew morale was low, he expected to hear this kind of thing from most of their soldiers. And he should know by now whatever childish notions he'd once had, not to count on anything better from Sylvain.

Judging by the sudden panic in his eyes, Sylvain seemed to have gotten the message regardless. Adding hastily,

"Forget I said that; I didn't mean it," Sylvain shook his head, "I'm still here too, right? Obviously she-we can't just give up on him," Sylvain re-applied his standard lackadaisical tone with some obvious effort, to say, "Let's just go. They're about to start,"

"Forget it," Felix found his voice, for a familiar phrase he'd been hoping to avoid. He felt childish, however hard and cold he sounded, "I should be training,"

"Don't-" They both said as Felix threw Sylvain's hand off his arm-more violently this time.

Some in the dining hall were staring now; surprised by the argument's sudden shift. Though he should have been used to it, Felix was somehow a little surprised too. As angry as he was, Felix was maybe even a little regretful already at how things had turned out. He had enough problems at the moment without adding another fight with Sylvain onto the list.

Sylvain looked as though he might be thinking along similar lines, Felix could feel his desperation, for however easily he laughed as he said,

"I will honestly do anything-including going to this ghost-story night, to keep you out of the training ground. I won't even ask what your real reason is for wanting to go-" Sylvain's eyes lit up, as though he'd just thought of something else irritating to say, while Felix crossed his arms around his chest and tried to focus on being annoyed instead of anything else, "Felix, is it just that you finally realized you actually needed a break? Well, if that's it, no problem! I can just ditch Whatshername and we can go to another bar-"

"You don't even know her name?" Felix returned, with distaste that was potent, but more controlled, and did have the impact of most around them seeming to lose interest, "Could you be anymore of an opportunistic, hedonistic-"

"I know her name," Sylvain insisted, and at Felix's expectant look, huffed, "It's Rose," Sylvain wrinkled his nose, "Or Daisy. …Some kind of flower name. Daffodil?"

"I don't think it's Daffodil," Felix returned gravely.

"Hm," Sylvain made a show of considering, "Probably not,"

"If you can't even remember her name, I'm not entertaining anymore of this conversation," Felix spoke in the manner he usually reserved for ordering around his battalion, "But…I suppose we'd better attend anyway-if only to stop Mercedes from immolating Annette,"

Felix wished he could bite the words back the second they had left his mouth, even before he saw the visible glow as a candle lit in Sylvain's normally empty and cobwebbed skull.

"Oh," He purred, face contorting to a leer so disgusting it took every inch of Felix's self-control not to throw his fist into it, "Annette,"

"Sylvain!" Felix packed enough threats and warning to burst his name at the seams, but Sylvain still pushed past him and flung open the door.

"Hello Mercedes! Not too late for the ghost-stories, are we?"

"Sylvain," Mercedes said, voice breathy with surprise, and also because her voice was that way perpetually, "I thought you had a date with Lily tonight?"

"Lily," Sylvain snapped his fingers, "That's right-uh, I mean, no need to travel into town to smell the flowers when there are so many fragrant lilies blooming here. Yikes-you know, I apologize. That was a lot, even for me,"

Annette clearly agreed by the look on her face, which became more disgruntled as she noticed Felix.

"What are you doing here?" However commonplace it was for Felix or Byleth to cross their arms over their chests, it was rare in Annette. Though she did it with far more aplomb than either of them employed. And Felix had often thought he and Byleth could teach classes.

"I dragged him," Sylvain responded immediately, throwing an arm around Felix's shoulders, much to Felix's chagrin, "Obviously. I mean, what other explanation could there reasonably-ow!"

Felix let go of Sylvain's twisted arm and shoved him away from him.

"I see," Mercedes remarked mildly, while at the same time Annette scowled,

"Well you're late. I don't even think there's any tables left-"

"Oh, we have an extra chair here!" Alois waved, looking ridiculous with his wide frame hunched over the tiny garden table.

"Yes, and I think there's some space over with Lysithea," Mercedes gestured to the back of the gathering.

"Lysithea?" Felix repeated, wondering if it was possible, that there was another woman of their company that he didn't know of with that name, even as he spotted her.

"What are you doing here?" Felix asked, clearly to the interest of those around Lysithea as he approached.

"Well, I-" Lysithea muttered, hunching her shoulders, before she suddenly took a hold of herself and straightened, throwing her hair back from underneath her headscarf, "I'm here for the ghost stories-of course,"

"Why?" Felix asked, flat, "You're terrified of ghosts,"

"Who told you that?! I could hardly be frightened of anything so childish," Lysithea insisted, color flaring in her usually pallid cheeks.

"Didn't you used to need the professor to walk you to your room after studying late in the library?" Sylvain asked, dragging Alois' spare chair over.

"Of course not!" It was a credit to the ire Lysithea was able to summon that Sylvain actually flinched, "I merely liked to discuss my learnings with her shortly after reading-"

"She's not coming tonight, you know," Felix interrupted, then he lowered his voice and added, "She'll probably go straight to her room after trying to talk to-" Felix stopped since Lysithea's eyes had darkened, clearly knowing exactly what Felix was talking about. Having hailed from the Alliance instead of the Kingdom, she was much less prone to hiding how she felt about Dimitri's behavior.

Felix sighed so heavily he may have felt his soul leave his body,

"There's maturity in knowing your limits, you know," He told Lysithea quietly, and when she didn't immediately flare up at him, but instead glanced at some of the tables around them, added, "You're the most powerful mage in our army, you don't have to prove anything to anyone. They'll just assume you were here for the sweets,"

All of the tables had white baskets of Mercedes' baked treats, shaped so that they vaguely resembled ghoulish specters. Except for their table. Presumably Lysithea had already devoured them all, probably along with the basket.

"What is that supposed to mean?!" Lysithea huffed, furiously, "My affinity for sweets is just as moderate as the next person. I don't appreciate any insinuations to the contrary,"

"Fine!" Felix snapped, "When you're too terrified to walk back to your room later, don't even think about crying to me,"

"I wouldn't dream of it," Lysithea hissed, "Now be quiet-Mercedes is about to start," So said Lysithea turned, furiously jerking her chair around. While she tried, anyway. The legs must have really sunk into the grass. She eventually gave up and just sat on it sideways with her back to them.

"Hello and welcome everyone," Mercedes began, voice wavering uncomfortably with the effort to maintain an eerie tone, "I'll begin with a true story, which happened to a friend-of-a-friend of mine…"

Felix and Sylvain exchanged bleak looks.

"I hope you're happy," Sylvain muttered, though Felix clearly wasn't, "I could be with Petunia right now,"

"Lily," Felix hissed back.

"Her too!"

"Shhhh!" Lysithea whipped around to admonish them.

Felix rested his elbows on the table, so he could put his head in his hands.

Xx

Felix was still using a fist under his chin to prop himself up hours later. He hadn't been sleeping well lately, and his head felt so heavy it was liable to fall off his neck any moment. Which would be the most terrifying thing that had happened all evening.

"The children of the orphanage had a game they used to play when the matron was out running errands," Mercedes was saying, voice starting to run a bit hoarse, "One of them would sneak into her room, shut the door, and stand with their back to a long looking glass that was in the corner. After a few moments, they'd turn to face the mirror suddenly-trying to be fast enough that they could beat their reflection."

"Of course," Mercedes shook her head genially as if one of those little scamps was in front of her now, "No child ever did. After they failed a number of times, they would open the door and join the other children in the hall. This 'game' went on for many years, until one day, when a little boy named Tommy was playing the game for the first time," Mercedes paused a moment, looking to the sky, at the growing clouds before continuing,

"Tommy was very mischievous, but any time he was caught in a prank his silly smile was so disarming neither the matron nor the oldest children could bring themselves to scold him,"

Felix rolled his eyes, hating Tommy already.

Hopefully, he'd die.

"But he could be so thoughtful too," Mercedes added after a pause, "Like he was carrying the weight of the world on his little shoulders-the matron would sometimes sneak him extra sweets when the others weren't looking," Mercedes stopped suddenly, and cleared her throat.

Sylvain and Felix exchanged glances; Mercedes was either really laying on the acting thick for this one, or thinking of someone she had actually known, as Felix had been suspecting for a few of the stories. Felix supposed the easy guess would be her brother, but since Felix supposedly bore a resemblance to him, that obviously wasn't the case. Even if Mercedes had never known Felix as a boy and could've somehow formed such an erroneous and horrifying impression. Perhaps it was someone else, or just a conglomerate of children she had cared for when she and her mother had been taken in by the church. Mercedes' heart was so big, there was probably no shortage of hurts and people that were stuck to it.

She smoothed her skirts and continued more briskly.

"After Tommy went inside the matron's room, the children tried to guess how long he would last, before he got scared and came back out. They waited and waited, but Tommy didn't emerge. Finally, when it was beginning to frighten some of the children, the oldest one went inside. He was gone a long time too, and just before the children started to cry, the oldest came out and slammed the door behind him," Mercedes mimed doing this, before continuing, like none of them could've pictured a slammed door without a practical demonstration.

"He told everyone to wait for the matron outside. When the matron came home and heard from the children what had happened, the oldest wouldn't say what he'd found. She went to her room and opened the door, expecting to find Tommy hiding in an attempt to scare the others," Mercedes paused, deliberately, "…But instead she found him lying dead in front of the mirror, his face frozen in a look of absolute terror,"

Mercedes went to take a sip of tea.

"Of course the matron summoned the knights as well as the doctor, but the knights couldn't find any evidence of anyone else having broken inside. And likewise the doctor couldn't find any sign of illness or injury on Tommy's body," Mercedes sighed, looking downward, "For months afterwards the matron took the children with her when she ran errands, and none of them even suggested playing the game again,"

"As time went on, everyone's memories faded, as they always do, of Tommy himself and what had happened that day. After a few years the newer children didn't even believe the story," Mercedes smiled, as gently as she did whenever she was trying to ply Felix with tea or foist unnecessary assistance on him, but the expression seemed out of place for how much compassion Felix knew her to possess, "Even the matron and her friends decided Tommy must have had an illness that had gone undiagnosed,"

"But one evening when the oldest child, now grown and with a family of his own, went to visit the matron for tea…" Mercedes, clasped her hands, portentously in front of her, "he finally told the matron what he had found when he'd gone inside her room to get Tommy,"

Mercedes paused again, for no discernible reason Felix could think of,

"Just as he had been when the matron went into the room, Tommy was lying by the mirror. Assuming he was playing a joke on everyone, the oldest child went over to Tommy and lifted him to shake him by the shoulders. Which…was when he noticed that while Tommy's face and eyes were open wide as though in shock-just as the matron would find later… in the mirror his reflection was smiling,"

"My goodness!" Alois' normal booming voice sounded twice the volume compared to Mercedes' softness, "So the boy was killed by his own grinning reflection!" Alois seemed genuinely unnerved, and also sorry for this stupid boy that had never existed, despite having bragged of listening to many of Mercedes' stories solo, in preparation for this night. Though Alois' brow furrowed slightly, "Was it because Tommy moved quickly enough to catch his mirror-self?"

"I…suppose that might be implied," Mercedes answered, as if she hadn't thought much about it.

"Hm, so it ends ambiguously," Alois mused, putting a chin on his hand, perhaps it was part of his coping mechanism to try and overanalyze these worthless stories, "I suppose," He added, and Felix regretted to his bones that he noticed the glint in Alois' eye too late, "That it gives the audience much to reflect on,"

Felix moved his hand to cover his eyes, as if that would somehow help his second-hand embarrassment. It did not.

While almost everyone continued to groan like they'd just been feathered with arrows, Felix eventually pulled his hand away, to look at Sylvain. He'd been expecting Sylvain to elbow him in the ribs and ask with an irritating leer, if Felix remembered this story-or a version of it, from when they were children. Since he hadn't, Felix wondered if just the idea of older brothers telling stories had been…unsettling for him.

Sylvain was leaning back in his chair; fast asleep.

By contrast, Lysithea's posture was still ramrod straight. She hadn't turned around since she'd shushed them earlier. Annette looked normal at first glance, but was hugging herself under her orange capelet. Ashe's shoulders were close to his ears while his arms were folded tightly against his chest-due to the cold, he'd insisted earlier.

It was cold enough that Felix wondered if this was going to end up being any good for their strained morale if they all caught ill. Not to mention the toll on their already pressed rations. And if Dimitri found out, he was going to rake them all, over the coals during their next War Council meeting. Possibly literally.

If all that wasn't bad enough; Felix suddenly remembered that he'd let Byleth talk him into signing up for a magic seminar the next morning where the instructor wanted everyone to write an essay on their first experience casting. Felix hadn't started it.

He suddenly felt exhausted.

Felix folded his arms and leaned back in his chair, looking at the sky. Though there wasn't much to see. There was cloud-cover and the stars were completely blanketed. It suited Mercedes' atmosphere. It was practically pitched black all around them, their tables only lit by flickering tapers.

This was, Felix decided, the worst idea he had ever had.

"This is another true story, a friend told me of it when my mother and I were living in a church in eastern Faerghus. It's much smaller than the monastery, but it was close to a cemetery, of course, so there were many ghost stories amongst those staying there,"

Felix had seen many such churches, maybe even the one in question, when he, Sylvain and Ingrid were tracking the boar. They were almost always tall, but narrow, white buildings, some with only funds to support one stained-glass image of the Goddess.

Mercedes went on to say her friend had newly become a nun with about fifteen other young women. Felix often wondered what it would be like to be one of the devout and have quiet regimented life, bound by rules that never altered or were questioned. He knew he wasn't suited to that type of world, but often thought-if only to himself-how much easier his life would have been if that was the case.

"The new nuns were all given rooms on the top floor of the Church and were told to lock their doors every night. They weren't given a reason why-what's more, some of the people who had been in the Church for much longer, always seemed to act strangely whenever they were up there," Mercedes was saying.

Felix could picture the rooms. They'd be all down a narrow hallway with a ceiling that swooped low, with fading white paint on the doors to the cloisters. As small and unadulterated as those rooms were, they still always seemed to have the sense of being a treasured sanctuary to their owner. More comfortable than Felix had ever felt in the cavernous rooms of a Duke-in-waiting he had been forcibly moved into, after Glenn.

Mercedes tilted her head to the side,

"Years and years later, when I lived there, the strangeness about the floor was much the same-but eventually one of the nuns-Iris, found out the story and told the others,"

"What did she say?" Alois asked, eyes as big as teacup saucers, receiving several glares in response. Felix was among them. He didn't care that Mercedes had been interrupted, he'd just felt like glaring.

"Iris said that long ago there'd been a daughter of a noble family who had come to study as a nun. She was said to be beautiful, with long dark hair and eyes the colour of evergreen-looking much like Iris herself, but she'd been disinherited for not holding a crest and her engagement was broken off with another noble,"

Felix couldn't help but look again at Sylvain. He'd expected to find him still asleep, but though Sylvain was still folded over the table, his chin was on his hands and his eyes were open. Likely because it was one of the rare times when he didn't have an audience, Sylvain's expression lacked its usual artifice. His eyes looked dark.

Felix supposed since ghost stories tended to be dismissed the way the ones about knights never were, that they were able to be slightly more subversive without attracting the ire of the church. Still, the authors never utilized that power, unlike the ones that peddled the propaganda about knighthood. Who wielded their pens more dangerously than any sword.

"Though she was heartbroken, the former noblewoman eventually found comfort in the arms of a merchant who would visit the Church," Mercedes went on, Sylvain shifted in his seat again. It figured that a description of a reckless affair would cheer him, Felix thought irritably, turning away.

"She would slip out to meet him late at night and back to the Church by morning, but as she was noble born and unaccustomed to taking much care with belongings, she'd often forget her key around the Church and only realize it when she got back," Mercedes shook her head, though more at herself, Felix suspected, "On those nights, she'd knock on the door of one of the other young women-who all kept her secret, and stay with them until morning,"

Mercedes walked over to Annette's table, raising a fist above it.

"So they would knew it was her, she would always use the same knock," Mercedes paused to demonstrate on Annette's table. It was actual several knocks; two slow, two quick and a final slow one, for good measure.

Felix stiffened at the sound, though he'd had a feeling it might be that knock. It seemed fairly universal. The cook's favourite supplier had used it on the door to the servant's quarters at Felix's family estate and…Glenn had used it when Felix had locked himself in his room over something. The remembrance chilled him more, than any of the stories had.

Felix forced himself to focus on Mercedes.

"One evening when the former noblewoman went to meet her lover, she was horrified to find him lying in a pool of blood on the floor, at the hands of her former fiancé," Mercedes brought a hand over her heart, "At first her fiancé believed that she had been forced, but seeing her heartbreak, he cursed her for her faithlessness and attacked her as well. She managed to get away and raced back to the Church and back up to the floor, with her fiancé just behind her. Terrified, she banged on the doors of her fellow nuns one, after another,"

Mercedes demonstrated by slamming her hand on Annette and Ashe's table, making them both jump.

"But because she had not used her special knock-the nuns didn't know who it was and were terrified into inaction," Mercedes shook her head, "Eventually, her screams summoned the knights in the lower floors, but they only found her dead, lying in the arms of her weeping, former fiancé. Her dark hair loose, and her beautiful eyes shut forever,"

Annette was visibly hugging herself outside her capelet now, Ashe was staring at the table as though he was deeply saddened.

Saddened by the fate of this fictional nun, whose inability to remain chaste meant she had failed at basically her only job, and obviously had to die so she could haunt the rest of the story. Felix couldn't imagine the inconvenience of being so sensitive.

"After Iris told my friend and the other nuns the story, they started noticing strange things at night in the church,"

"Like what?" Alois breathed, as though he shouldn't have been able to guess.

Mercedes brought a finger to her chin as though she was having difficulty recalling,

"Sometimes it seemed like someone was roaming the halls, or the wind would sound like wailing-oh!" Mercedes added, as though it had just come to her, "And sometimes the nuns would notice their key was missing, only to have it turn up in an odd place later,"

"And other nights they would hear knocking on their doors," Mercedes demonstrated again, though Ashe and Annette doubtless felt the knock sounded more sinister now.

"My friend asked the Mother Superior to have hooks installed on the nun's doors, so they could hang their keys on a chain from them-so they'd always remember to take them with them when they went out," At the mention of a 'Mother Superior', Mercedes unconsciously took on the tone she used when admonishing Felix and Byleth about staying too late in the training grounds, which immediately got Felix's back up.

"Iris told my friend the whole thing had gone too far-and that it was clearly just everyone playing pranks on each other. When my friend doubted this, Iris told her she had actually made up the story about the former noblewoman,"

"Made it up!" Alois interrupted, aghast, "The scallywag!"

"Hm," Mercedes pushed her lips together, before continuing, "Even with Iris admitting what she'd done, my friend was uncertain that all the hauntings were faked. Iris insisted the whole thing had gotten out of control and the next time someone knocked on her door, she'd open it and catch them in the act," Mercedes swung her arm as though she was Iris, throwing the door open.

"The two argued, and my friend was so angry with Iris for making up the story and frightening everyone in the first place, that she didn't speak to her all evening or the next day-when normally they shared everything," Mercedes' voice wavered a little, and Felix didn't think it was all that much for effect.

She glanced at Annette who smiled at her, a little sheepishly.

"The next morning Iris didn't show up for breakfast and-not realizing they were in an argument the Mother Superior sent my friend to go see what was the matter, thinking she'd likely fallen ill and slept in," Still smiling back at Annette, Mercedes seemed to be trying to make her voice sound more eerie to compensate, "My friend went to the hall and knocked-normally,"

Mercedes demonstrated again, though if Felix had been more fanciful he would have thought the knock sounded halting and apologetic, then it did 'normal'.

"She called to Iris, but there was no answer," Mercedes lowered her eyes, one hand knotting in the folds of her skirt, "Thinking Iris was still angry with her, she almost turned to go, before she realized the door was not actually shut. When she pushed the handle it opened-but, not all the way, like something was blocking it. She pushed harder until she made it into her room, and found what had been blocking the door; Iris' lifeless body, her dark hair spilling out over the floor,"

"Just like the former noblewoman!"

"Thank you, Alois," Felix replied dryly, "I was having trouble making that connection,"

"Not a problem at all!" Alois replied, cheerfully, oblivious to the eye-rolls of the other attendees. Mercedes cleared her throat,

"The doctor ruled Iris' death as an illness, and the Mother Superior didn't believe my friend when she tried to tell her Iris had said she would open the door the next time she heard knocking at night, but she did have the hook installed on my friend's door for her key. All grieved Iris deeply, but my friend felt she could not, for her own feelings were so tangled with guilt-for not stopping Iris, and for their argument, so that she was plagued by nightmares about her, even long after she became more established in the church and moved out of the room on the top floor,"

Mercedes trailed off, and shook her head. Felix looked at Sylvain, but he'd shut his eyes again.

"Over the years, my friend buried her guilt deeply, until it was nothing more then a sharp pinprick she sometimes felt without warning in her heart," Mercedes had brought her own hand to her heart, again, "So deeply that one evening when there was an overflow in the church and she had to sleep into her old room, she did so without any strong feeling, and only bothered to hang her key on the hook out of convenience,"

"Oh no," Alois was saying in what he likely thought was a whisper, while those at his table tried to shush him.

"There was a storm that night and my friend was woken several times, sometimes it even sounded like a knocking at her door-but by now these pranks were commonplace, and it was so noisy outside, so she just continued to go back to sleep," Mercedes shrugged.

When Felix had been a boy he'd often judged those in ghost stories critically, for their complete lack of common sense. He'd almost found himself falling into such ridiculous habits now. Though really, Mercedes' unnamed friend who definitely didn't really exist, couldn't be faulted in this instance for being tired. It wasn't as though she knew she was in a ghost-story,

"Her nightmares were of Iris-unsurprising, being in her old room again, but in the final dream, instead of arguing with my friend, or blaming her for her death, Iris merely stood next to the bed while my friend slept, pale and motionless with her dark hair covering her face," Mercedes paused a moment as though to allow them all time to picture this, only with themselves in the bed, before she continued.

"Suddenly, Iris lunged forward and gripped my friend's hand-dragging her from her bed. My friend fought and struggled against her, but Iris had always been stronger, and kept pulling her forward. Closer and closer to the door,"

Felix was tired and bored enough that he was imagining the scene with himself and a dead Sylvain. Only instead of hair in his face, someone had gouged out Sylvain's eyes. Probably, Felix.

"When there was a loud clap of thunder, my friend awoke, sitting straight up in bed. Still half asleep, she got out of bed and walked to her door, just to where Iris had dragged her in the dream, before she realized what she was doing and stopped. Just then….there was a familiar knock at the door," Mercedes demonstrated on Annette's table again, half her audience knocking along with her.

"My friend froze, terrified, and unsure of what happened next. Perhaps there was a clap of thunder so strong it shook the door-or maybe it was a fist banging against it. Either way; the key fell off its hook and onto the floor. Almost as soon as it had, a thin white hand darted from underneath the doorframe towards it," Mercedes shot her own hand forward to grab what remained of Annette's pastry, making her shriek.

There was quite the wait for what happened next, as Mercedes had to stop Annette's chair from toppling over. Then she was apologizing, "I'm sorry Annie, I couldn't resist!" while Annette groaned that she was awful, both giggling throughout.

"My friend sprang towards the key, managing to grab the chain and pull it off the floor before the hand could reach it," Mercedes finished anticlimactically, when she finally resumed, "The hand clawed at the floor, before slinking back under the doorframe,"

"My friend clutched the key to her chest, and kept it there, until the sun came up the next morning,"

Mercedes swung her arms out to the side as though shaking off the story,

"Even when I came to know my friend, years after it had happened, she always wore her room key on a chain around her neck," Mercedes brought a hand up to her collarbone, "Although," Mercedes tipped her head to one side, "Whenever I heard her tell the story, I always thought she didn't seem all that scared when she told it-sometimes, she'd even smile,"

"Because of Iris!" Alois proclaimed, bright, then glanced guiltily at those around him.

"I think so, Alois," Mercedes smiled herself, "I never slept in those rooms myself, but I had been in them, and though they are small, if my friend had been in her bed when the key fell to the floor-even if she'd been awake, she never would have been able to grab it in time before..whatever was on the other side did,"

"Did…your friend still have nightmares about Iris after that, Mercie?" Annette asked reluctantly, as though her concern had won out over her fear of the answer.

"Oh," Mercedes paused a moment before answering, still frowning, "I'm afraid she still did some nights,"

"Maybe…not as often?" Annette suggested, hopefully.

"Maybe, not," Mercedes repeated, not sounding all that convinced, though her voice was gentle as ever.

Annette opened her mouth but whatever story addition she'd been about to make was forever lost by a massive 'booming' all around them.

Annette, Ashe and Alois all shrieked with the force of a thousand tea-kettles, making Sylvain jump, and swear as he banged his knee on the underside of the table.

"It's just thunder," Felix debased himself to state the obvious.

As though to punctuate his point, the rain came next, though at a meandering pace for how dramatic the thunder had sounded.

"Oh my! Well, I suppose that will have to be where we leave things tonight," Mercedes clapped her hands together, adding a cheerful, "Thank you for coming, everyone!"

Felix stood immediately, while Sylvain fussed with his chair, which had also stuck in the grass. Impatient, Felix pushed past him without waiting. A little harder than he'd intended. Sylvain nearly toppled over.

"Gaah!" He exclaimed, grabbing the table fare more gormlessly than Annette had done, while Felix glowered at him, unapologetically.

"Sylvain, are you alright?" Mercedes asked hurrying over.

"I am now," Sylvain replied, taking her hand as though he needed it to steady himself, and hanging onto it longer than necessary, "Forgive me Mercedes, your brilliant oration nearly brought me off the edge of my seat,"

"Really?" Mercedes asked, taking back her hand to stifle a laugh, "It looked like you nodded off for a while there,"

"I was just shutting my eyes for complete immersion-okay, you got me," Sylvain admitted, as Mercedes kept on giggling. Felix ignored them both, and turned his attention elsewhere.

"That was terrifying!" Annette wrapped her arms around her, "I can't go back to my room in this dark! I'm-I'm probably just going to have to hide under this table until morning," She looked at it balefully, "When they write our war histories, they'll call me 'the girl who slept under tables',"

"I can't imagine walking all that way either," Ashe added faintly.

Felix meant to go over to them, but instead he inexplicably turned to look at Lysithea. Who was standing motionless, staring into the darkness.

"Lysithea?" Felix prompted. She did not turn. Only slowly lifted a hand to point.

"What…" She managed, "Is that?"

Felix looked.

"It's a bush,"

Lysithea whipped around to give Felix what he expected to be an indignant rejoinder when the sky was split into pieces through lightning and then an even louder rumbling of thunder.

Lysithea screamed and threw her arms around him.

She pushed Felix off just as quickly.

"Oh! Um, forgive my forwardness," Lysithea ducked her head, "I..uh, thought I saw a mouse,"

"Then you'd better go back to your vermin-free room," Felix informed her flatly, adding when he saw the fresh terror in her eyes, and realized his meaning hadn't been plain, "I'll walk with you,"

Annette (and Ashe) would either screw up the courage to go together, or have no shortage of others offering to accompany them. Lysithea was not likely to get any, given her sparkling personality.

Somewhat conversely, Lyisthea's face brightened. For a second, Felix almost thought the lightning had gotten to it.

"Thank you! I-well I suppose, if you were already headed that way,"

Felix didn't dignify her comment with a response, only took off his cape with one hand and shoved it at her. She'd felt chilled when she'd hugged him, and the rain was coming down hard.

What a night.

Xx

Felix had never thought of the walk from the courtyard to the greenhouse-where Lysithea's room was near, as being particularly long before. Now however, chasing after the Boar's trail for five years seemed like a minor jaunt in comparison.

With the rain coming down they couldn't use a taper, and Felix had never been able to grasp fire magic, so it was difficult to see anything more than a few feet in front of them. Shapes easily recognizable in the dark, loomed taller than they should. And Lysithea was still very small.

Sounds seemed to surround them too. Either the thunder or rustling, sometimes footsteps.

"You need to calm down," Felix told Lysithea after she'd cast Hades on a tree she'd heard an owl call from, rendering it to a diseased stump. The owl had miraculously escaped, but friends and family would likely say he was never the same.

"How can you be so calm?!" Lysithea threw her hands up in the air, "We're in a haunted monastery in the dead of night! After hearing all the stories we have tonight and all of the ones regarding the monastery in general, it's only logical to assume there is some truth-"

"Lysithea, they're just that-stories," Felix interrupted impatiently, "There's no such thing as ghosts,"

"How can you be so sure when so much of the folklore comes from your own country?" Lysithea ran in front of Felix to grab his forearms as though that could somehow imprint her meaning, Felix instinctively lowered himself to her eye-level, even while irritation flared in him that now they were wasting even more time.

"That's how I'm sure," Felix scoffed, "Ghosts only exist in the mind of the living-not anywhere they can hurt you," Not physically.

It was rare even now to hear Lysithea speak so haltingly,

"You're so sure, even with…Dimitri?" Lysithea swallowed, "I..I heard him in the chapel talking to-to no one I could see, saying the names of those I know to be passed on, even to-" Lysithea didn't finish, as though Felix didn't know. He'd heard Dimitri plenty in the chapel too.

"I'm especially sure with him," Felix rolled his eyes, remaining unflinching, "It's just his own guilt. Nothing more,"

Lysithea looked at him a moment, before finally nodding.

"Well," She said, "That was my initial hypothesis. ...The possibility just seemed worth exploring-" Lysithea stopped, and froze staring at something over Felix's shoulder. Felix turned to see a pair of glowing eyes boring at them from the darkness.

"It's just a cat!" Felix snapped, grabbing her wrist to point her hand at the ground before she could render it to ash.

Lysithea immediately wrenched her hand from Felix's and smacked him in the chest with it.

"Felix!" She shouted, "How could you say that?! Were you paying no attention to any of the stories tonight? Anyone who said 'it's just a cat' immediately met their end afterwards! Next you'll be suggesting we investigate an unusual noise coming from the graveyard!"

Felix would have made the point once again, that they had just been stories likely less diplomatically than previously, but his brain registered, that Lysithea's hand had felt quite cold again. Perhaps, moreso.

"Lysithea…are you feeling alright?" Felix asked instead. He almost put the back of his hand to her forehead under his blue-hood, as he had often seen Mercedes or Professor Manuela do to check for fever, but it seemed unnecessarily familiar. He wasn't sure what it would prove anyway, since his hand was also cold and clammy from the rain.

"I…may have caught a chill," Lysithea allowed, after a moment.

"It's nothing to be concerned over," Lysithea insisted, despite everything, Felix had always appreciated how it seemed nearly impossible to douse her inner fire. She sounded perfectly matter-of-fact, as she added, "You know I just remembered I have something I have to tell the Professor,"

"Now?" Felix ground out the word.

Lysithea nodded, unperturbed,

"Yes, it simply cannot wait until morning. I'll have to go to her room,"

Byleth's room; on the opposite end of the dorms, from where they were standing.

"Alright," Felix said, without sighing. He'd been beginning to doubt if it was wise to leave Lysithea on her own this evening. But there was no way he was walking back as slowly as they'd came, particularly since, from the sounds of things, the others were starting to head to their dorms, and he couldn't have Lysithea shooting at everything that moved. The mention of Glenn had at least, reminded him of something.

"Here," Felix said shortly, turning back around, "Climb on my back-sinceyou'renotfeelingwell," Felix spoke the last part of the sentence so rapidly so as to curtail Lysithea's protestations that she wasn't a child, he wasn't sure if she'd actually understood him.

"From there-" Felix added, as she still opened her mouth to protest, "You can keep watch and tell me-just tell me and not shoot, if you see anything. Okay?" He tipped his head to the side, "Just in case,"

Lysithea did not answer for a moment. Though Felix noticed her face was starting to flush, maybe she really did have a fever.

"Alright-that seems prudent," She replied. He turned and she gingerly climbed on his back and looped her arms around his neck, "Is that too tight?"

"No," Felix answered, standing. Her hold was so faint around his collarbone it seemed more like the kind of grip you'd expect from a ghost.

Xx

There were no signs of life at Byleth's room. Even at this hour some of the dorms they passed had light spilling out from underneath the frame, or sounds filtering through, but the oak double-doors may as well have been to a tomb.

It didn't change when they knocked and called for her, and Felix wondered if Byleth was still at the chapel trying to talk to Dimitri. Then he heard some rustling from behind the door-after a particularly loud exclamation of thunder, during which Lysithea beat the door with her open palm yelling Byleth's name.

The door finally opened with a loud creak. Unsurprising, since it hadn't been in use for the past-half decade, but Lysithea still flinched. At least, Felix assumed it was at the noise Lysithea found unsettling and not Byleth herself.

Byleth, wearing a dressing gown and holding a single candle in an ornate holder, along with her typical blank expression, did look even more like a haunted doll then she usually did.

Byleth didn't say anything, which was unsurprising, but Lysithea finally shutting up was, as well as ill-timed.

"It's raining," Felix announced, likely to the surprise of all three of them.

Felix shook off any embarrassment, because it was, in fact, raining. And seemingly worse than before, though he was less aware now that he and Lysithea had some protection under the dorm roof.

"Could we come in?" Felix added, refusing to regret his tone, even if he didn't think it was particularly fair how sardonic he'd sounded. As though the fault was Byleth's for not inviting them.

She stepped back quickly to let them inside. Though her lack of expression hadn't changed, Felix knew her movements enough on the battlefield to note that they didn't have the cadence they usually employed, instead they were abrupt and stiff, like she was recalibrating after discovering she was incorrect about something she had been certain. Obviously she'd assumed when she'd opened the door that it was an emergency, now cast in doubt.

Lysithea was no stranger to taking tea in Byleth's room, but she seemed oddly shy as they stepped inside. Maybe it was that old adage of the way familiar rooms could be transformed in the dark. And it was dark. They all just stood in it for a minute before Byleth locked the door, setting the candle and the key on her dresser.

Byleth was wearing the long pink dressing gown Dorothea had gotten her for her birthday, years ago. Felix thought Lysithea might have been a bit taken aback to see it, since Dorothea had insisted she'd only bought it as a gag gift at the time, when Dimitri had sort-of admonished her for being inappropriate. The first time Felix had seen Byleth actually wear it, he had assumed she either didn't know it had been meant to be something of a flirtatious joke, or did, but thought she may as well have make use of it.

Byleth looked at Felix, somewhat expectantly.

Felix looked at Lysithea. Byleth followed suit.

Lysithea was staring at the wall, then she turned to Felix.

Again, Byleth followed her lead, but Felix would be damned if he bailed Lysithea out again tonight. He didn't care if they all stood there, staring at each other for a hundred years.

Lysithea turned her attention to the floor.

Byleth looked too, as though she thought there might be something down there, then back at Felix again.

Felix fixed his gaze on the window.

From the reflection he could see Lysithea inhale and seem to draw in some of her usual confidence, as she announced, grandly,

"We've come for tea,"

They were all motionless for a moment, except for the water still dripping off Felix and Lysithea. Outside it sounded like the rain had picked up and was attacking the roof with full force.

Byleth nodded, and went over to her kettle.

Felix decided he was never leaving the training grounds on a weekend again.

Byleth lit the flame under her kettle with a fire spell-Felix was not surprised that it would always be full. Her hands skipped over the, likely unwashed, china she usually set out. Instead, she selected the plain white cups she'd used when they'd all been students. Before her birthday, anyway, when practically everyone had bought her teacups as a gift.

Byleth paused when she opened her tea chest and then turned to face them. Still impassive.

"It's two O'Clock in the morning," She said.

"Better make tea without caffeine then," Lysithea suggested, helpfully.

Byleth blinked twice, and then turned to pull out the table she usually used when hosting.

"Oh, let me help you," Lysithea insisted, hurriedly taking Felix's cloak off and throwing it on a chair, but as soon as she gripped the table, she gasped a little and fell backwards.

Felix went to steady her, but Byleth got there first, taking her elbow.

"It's alright, Professor," Lysithea insisted, hurriedly, though her voice was strained, "It's just-you know, what happened before,"

"Here," Byleth held up a hand, healing magic already beginning to glow, "Don't worry, let it do its work. You can rest now,"

After seeming to initially struggle to stand on her own, Lysithea nodded and took hold of Byleth's arm with her other hand, leaning on her as they walked towards the bed. They'd almost made it when Lysithea's eyes fell shut and she slumped forward in Byleth's arms.

Byleth put her left arm under Lysithea's legs, lifting her easily. Felix could tell she wasn't surprised by the light weight as he'd been earlier in the evening, not even slightly. She'd lifted Lysithea like this before.

"Should we take her to the infirmary?" Felix asked, as he, conversely pulled back the covers on Byleth's bed so she could set Lysithea down.

"No, there's nothing else they could do for her," Byleth replied, "What happened?"

"She was frightened by Mercedes' ghost stories," Felix drew the covers back over her, and brought a hand to his temple, "I never should have let her listen to them,"

"It wasn't your fault," Byleth shook her head slightly, "It happens every so often when she over-exerts herself,"

That didn't mean it couldn't have been avoided, this night, Felix thought, furious. It would have been so easy to get her to leave if he'd just suggested they go have cake somewhere, or asked for her to show him something in the library. If he had, all three of them would be in bed right now. And in peak training condition tomorrow morning.

Byleth had taken off Lysithea's headscarf and money pouch, resting both on her bedside table.

"She'll be fine," Byleth added. If that were true, Felix wanted to ask why Byleth looked so exceptionally grim. Lysithea's stamina had always been lacking, but that wasn't uncommon in mages, and Felix had never considered there could be some kind of greater concern behind it all, until tonight.

"She'll be fine," Byleth said again, with more steel.

Felix usually forced steel into his voice too, but he hadn't said much all night and it felt like the steel had settled inside his heart, with a pain that must have been as sharp as a thrust sword.

It would remove itself, eventually. Or perhaps it never really left and Felix just failed to notice it somedays.

She looked determined, and Felix suddenly felt the weight of the entire evening and evenings past, pressing down on him hard enough to hit bone, so he just nodded and said,

"Right, well I should go," Felix grabbed his cloak. It was still damp, and from the sound of the rain, about to be drenched. When he was busy with the fasteners, added, "Sorry for disturbing you,"

"I'm glad you brought her here," Byleth answered, predictably, but Felix barely heard her over what he'd decided to say next,

"I guess you were right about my needing to learn at least rudimentary healing spells,"

Felix had actually known Byleth was right at the time too, however fiercely he'd argued the contrary. If Byleth was thinking that, she gave no indication. She just nodded and went over to the kettle whose wailing sounded pathetic compared to the wind outside.

A little rain wasn't even mentionable on the list of difficulties Felix had faced, but he wasn't exactly relishing the walk, given that the staircase to his dorm was way back near Lysithea's room.

"You can stay until it dies down, if you want," Byleth said, taking the kettle off the flame, "I won't get back to sleep tonight, anyway," Her voice was as calm as ever, but the kettle made a clacking sound against her dresser.

Felix hesitated, looking back at her, trying to assess how true that was. He was pretty sure she was just being polite, but he also didn't doubt she hadn't been sleeping much lately. As attractive as the idea of his own room was to him at this moment, he wondered if he had missed his window for sleep as well. By the time he got to bed it would be closer to three in the morning, which was usually the time he laid awake listening to hear Dimitri go to his room, or if Dimitri stayed all night in the chapel, to hear nothing at all.

Either way, Felix could never keep his eyes closed after that.

"Well-alright," Felix muttered, ungraciously, "Just until it dies down,"

Byleth had pulled out a caddy of mint tea, but paused, before taking a different tin.

"I am going to have something with caffeine," She explained, "Would you..?"

"Why not?" Felix shrugged, holding out his hands even as a voice in his head berated him further for just giving up on sleep entirely, "It's mid-afternoon, somewhere,"

Byleth nodded, and pulled out a tin of Four-Spice blend, mouth edging downward, as Felix went to drag her tea table out.

"What is it?" Felix asked, wondering if she was one of those people who got offended when they invited you over and you tried to help with anything. Always hard to tell those from the people who were offended if you didn't help, until they were scowling at you.

"I don't have any Almyran Pine Needles," Byleth said, though Felix had suspected as much, since they'd already drank it when they had been discussing battle formations in the early afternoon-a lifetime ago.

"Normally I have everything ready for tea when I invite someone over," Byleth added.

It was impossible to read her expression, but Felix thought there was a tenseness in her movements that reminded him of the time after sparring when she'd accidentally broken his nose. Mercedes had been practicing sword training with Dimitri, and had healed it immediately, but Byleth's strikes had seemed sheepish for many rounds afterwards. Felix hadn't understood it. He'd been pleased that he'd caught her by surprise enough that she'd misjudged her force. Not to mention all the blood on his face had (hopefully) obscured his grin.

"And," Byleth added, frown deepening enough that it could have almost passed for an expression on a normal person, "I didn't refill my sweets, so I only have these," Byleth held out a familiar package of tea-biscuits Felix had seen in almost every inn that he, Ingrid and Sylvain had stayed in when traveling across Fodlan. Though Felix could tell from the colour of the package that they were the kind flavoured with Bergamot tea and not a layer of chocolate.

Felix didn't mind them, but the last time someone had tried to give them to Lysithea she had ranted to Felix about it afterwards, "Who was it that decided a flavor needed for biscuits to have during tea, was more tea, instead of something sweet?! The flavouring has nothing whatsoever to do with refinement-you understand, it is quite simply, a complete waste of time."

Good thing she was unconscious.

"Well," Felix folded his arms as he surveyed where he'd put the chairs to double-check it was where Byleth usually had them, "I'll let it go this time-but you're lucky I don't have a comment card to fill out,"

Byleth actually had used to hand out scorecards to grade her teas when she'd first started them. Felix wasn't sure if after having tea for the first time at a teahouse in town, if she thought that was what everyone did for social teas as well, or if she'd just thought it prudent to solicit feedback. It hadn't lasted long anyway-just until Dorothea and Sylvain had left her inappropriately flirtatious remarks. Ruining it, as they usually did, for everyone.

Byleth nodded solemnly and set the cups on the table.

Xx

"Byleth is impossible to tease," Felix remembered complaining once in the training grounds, to his own surprise, early in their days at the Officer's Academy.

"Not impossible," Dimitri and Sylvain immediately replied, more or less in unison though Dimitri finished his sentence with "dangerous, perhaps," and Sylvain with "just unsatisfying,"

"I was…speaking hypothetically," Dimitri added hastily when he'd noted everyone was staring at him, "It would be inappropriate to engage in that kind of conduct, regardless,"

Then Dimitri started lecturing Sylvain in that Perfect Prince way of his. It had made Felix actually feel physically sick to see how everyone thought Dimitri's act was genuine that day. So much so, Felix said the most vitriolic thing to Dimitri he could think of (he couldn't actually remember what, just the shocked faces around him), stormed out, and then locked himself in his room for the rest of the day. He'd barely deigned to open the door for Ingrid when she'd brought him dinner.

"I'm not hungry!" Felix snapped, unable to think of anything else but the crazed look in Dimitri's eye as he'd ripped untrained soldiers from their limbs, as though it had been a couple of hours ago and not two years.

"It's fried pheasant," Ingrid wheedled, banging the door with her knee, "With a side of hunting dagger,"

"What," Felix stated flatly, opening the door just to see what she was on about.

Ingrid was indeed holding a plate of fried pheasant, with a hunting dagger on the side.

"I eat with utensils!" Felix barked, even if Ingrid obviously knew that, he'd been wounded over even a joking insinuation that he was some kind of beast-like Dimitri's true self.

"I know that," Ingrid rolled her eyes, shoving the tray at him, which did contain utensils wrapped in a napkin, "It's a present from Byleth. She bought it at the marketplace when she heard you weren't feeling well," Ingrid looked at it dubiously, "I think she thought it might cheer you up,"

Felix had been so surprised, he'd had to really work at it to muster the vitriol to scoff at the idea and slam the door in Ingrid's face.

Silly gifts may have worked on the rest of his spoiled, naïve classmates, but obviously they would do nothing to quell the ache in his chest that was so deep he sometimes worried he'd drown in it.

Xx

"You still have it," Byleth remarked, of the hunting dagger, which Felix had taken off his belt-out of habit to spin on the table. He did it sometimes. Usually at a bar and not a tea-table.

"It's held up well," Felix replied, factually.

Though little in her expression changed, Felix could tell Byleth was pleased to see it from the smoothness of her movements as she lifted her teacup. Unsurprising, since he thought she had seemed content when he'd thanked her, and said it was nice, the next day after class. Back when she'd been at her most opaque.

"I see you took the bow off," Byleth observed, blowing on her tea. For effect, Felix assumed. She could've downed the whole thing like it was a shot if she wanted, with her stomach.

"Of course I took the bow off," Felix scowled, "Immediately,"

"They asked if I wanted it gift-wrapped, and it was a gift, so I said yes," Byleth shrugged, "I wasn't accustomed to giving presents back then. I didn't think much on it,"

"Hm," Felix looked at her archly, "So you say,"

Byleth still appeared placid when she met his gaze, but did drop it abruptly to stir her tea.

"What were you doing at Mercedes' Ghost Story night?" She asked, as she did.

"Ugh," Felix rolled his eyes, "Sylvain dragged me-he was hoping to get closer to some woman," Felix gestured expansively with his arm, "I shouldn't be surprised anymore-but I almost can't believe it. We're in a middle of a war,"

"I should have guessed," Byleth sighed-in sentiment anyway, if not exact practice, her shoulders lowered minutely with exasperation.

Xx

The last time Felix had been in Byleth's room in the early morning it had been Sylvain's fault as well.

Then it had been abundantly clear what the emergency was when Byleth had opened the door. With both Felix and Ingrid struggling to hold Sylvain upright, bloodied and intoxicated.

"I'm so sorry, Byleth," Ingrid exclaimed wretchedly while Byleth regarded her, impassive, "Neither of us knows any healing magic and we didn't know where else to go-if we take him to the infirmary, they'll tell his father-or expel him and maybe that's what he deserves but-" Her voice cracked and she didn't finish.

Felix had watched Byleth's face the entire time, looking for any sign of how she might respond. As Monastery Administration, it was her duty to report something like this, and she'd demonstrated a strict adherence to her job description thus far.

Felix hadn't known Byleth long at all then, and didn't know to watch something other than her face. Now, if he was remembering correctly, he thought from her stance that she'd actually been as unsure of what she was going to do as they were.

Knowing her now, it wasn't a surprise she'd stepped forward to help them carry Sylvain inside.

After Byleth had healed his wounds, Ingrid had walked with Sylvain back up to the dorms while Felix had stayed behind. Felix was so angry he was afraid he might break Sylvain's arm again if he got too close to him, just to make his point.

Byleth had made tea then, too. Though it had been her idea. Felix remembered worrying she was going to give him chamomile, which made him think of Dimitri and feel even worse. She hadn't, but she had given him something that had a moon on the box and tasted overwhelmingly of lavender.

Her conversation had been more palatable-she'd talked of nothing but past battles until Felix had suddenly said,

"He's going to get himself killed one day,"

Byleth continued to pour herself another cup, the tea swirling downwards, as did Felix's thoughts. He didn't know why he'd said anything. He felt like he'd been the one injured, or cut open, while he waited for Byleth to tell him that he was overreacting.

"Perhaps," Byleth replied, placing her spoon on the side of her cup, before adding, "It would be prudent to add healing magic to your training regimen,"

Felix nodded, not sure why he felt some relief, tangling awkwardly with the pit in his stomach.

Byleth had started discussing legendary weapons after that. In a little while, Felix began contributing to the conversation, the night gradually growing lighter, until it was time for breakfast to start in the dining hall.

An hour or so later they'd all been in class.

It had been so surreal, sitting surrounded by their chattering classmates. Sylvain and Ingrid among them, as though nothing was wrong, while Felix felt like there were bees rattling around in his skull. If he could have done so, without any misinterpretations of weakness, Felix's preference would have been to miss class entirely and lock himself in his room for the next two weeks. Like that Varly girl from the Black Eagles class, or Ingrid after Glenn.

Instead, he forced himself to snipe at Sylvain and Ingrid as was typical. Byleth had eventually admonished them all, threatening them with stable duty, and Felix remembered thinking that no-one else in the class would've guessed anything unusual had happened the previous evening.

It was what Felix wanted, of course. He would have been mortified if anyone had found out the truth, not to mention they all would have been in trouble. But it was all so wrong and twisted, a facade like the one Dimitri wore to hide the ugliness underneath, and after a while Felix felt all the twists and coils inside him. Particularly every time he tried a healing spell.

After two weeks, he couldn't stand it anymore. He picked a public fight with Sylvain about his sword technique in the training grounds, which was an acceptable reason to refuse to speak to him for the next three weeks, and he demanded Byleth take healing magic off his regimen. He'd been uncomfortable speaking to her alone in her office, though he'd had countless times before, which seemed bizarre given that he'd been up with her all night less than a month previously.

"It's a waste of time," He remembered telling her, wondering why she wasn't arguing when she usually did when he tried to get out of taking reason classes, "My abilities are better utilized elsewhere,"

"That seems to be true," She'd answered, seeming almost pensive.

He'd been bothered about her phrasing, but hadn't been brave enough to ask what she meant.

Xx

"I never attended one of Mercedes' Ghost Story nights when she held them previously," Byleth stated with her usual gravity, as though Felix would've forgotten that, or wouldn't have figured it out, if he had. Felix certainly remembered the hour-and-a-half Dimitri had spent while they were all in the dining hall, trying to explain to Byleth why Annette and Ashe had attended, given how terrified they were of the supernatural.

"I believe fear can sometimes produce similar feelings to those one might experience following a robust training session-or a long ride," Dimitri finally seized upon, "So…I suspect-however counter intuitive-some may find it…fun, to be frightened," He finished in such a gentle tone, a lesser man may have forgotten for a second what a monster he was underneath.

Byleth had just stared at him blankly.

Thinking of Dimitri now, just made everything seem heavier. Felix forced the thoughts out of his head.

"I never attended any of her Ghost Story Nights in the past, either," Felix stated quickly, and he hadn't, "Of course,"

Byleth nodded.

"I…was just wondering what it was like," She posited, finally.

"Oh," Said Felix, blinking in surprise. Then, as much as he wanted to improve upon his lack of eloquence, paused to consider his answer. It may have taken a lot for Byleth to ask the question, and he wanted to give a factual account.

"Naturally, I thought it was a waste of time," Felix stated firmly, Byleth nodded, and he added, "For those..suited to such frivolity, I can see why they would think Mercedes a decent orator. She…used some intimate details, or made up things to add a bit more…personality to the stories. That can make them easier to become involved-for those who want such things,"

Though still relatively blank, Felix supposed if Dorothea were here, this was the point where she would complain Byleth's gaze had become 'soul-revealing'.

"...My brother used to tell them," Felix explained, tone largely within the scope of the usual one he used when catching Byleth up on things she would have known if she'd had a more typical upbringing. Though he supposed this one she only would have known if she'd had a typical upbringing with all of them in Faerghus, "When he was younger," Felix added hastily, lest Byleth think Glenn given to hedonism like Sylvain. Though Felix supposed it was a strange way to put it. Felix was already many years older than Glenn had ever been.

Byleth nodded inscrutably; a standard of her conversation tactics. If she used any one move on the training ground as often, she wouldn't have been half the swordswoman. But if conversation was applicable to the training ground, Felix wouldn't be able to beat her either.

Felix didn't know why he'd made such an unexpected move anyway. He supposed now that he'd told Byleth what he had about Glenn after he'd finally won a sparring match, the odd reference wouldn't make much difference.

"Did they tell the same stories?" Byleth asked, resting her chin on her hand.

"Yes-generally speaking," Felix noted that he now sounded the same as when Byleth asked his opinion during war council meetings, though he felt somewhat unsettled. Most likely his unease was attributable to the weather. Or perhaps he was coming down with something.

"There's one about a child getting murdered by his reflection that Mercedes set in an orphanage-typically I believe it's in a school," Felix went on, since Byleth still seemed pensive.

Glenn had set it in the palace, naturally, since that's where they'd been when he'd told it. Felix did his best to not remember that evening, sitting in the dark of Dimitri's room next to the fire. Glenn had told the story differently before when they'd been with Sylvain and Ingrid, but that night, he'd personalized things; even inserting the three of them in the tale.

Felix and Dimitri had been so terrified and riveted, their hot chocolate had been stone cold by the time Glenn was finished. Felix had thought through his panic a few times that he could tell Glenn regretted using them all as characters, since Felix and Dimitri would end up murdered by their reflections, and Glenn's commitment to the telling meant he couldn't change the story entirely and give it a happy ending.

So in that version, the younger children had survived, and it had been the oldest one that had died. Felix remembered the face Glenn had made afterwards. Like Glenn was thinking that if he'd had an older brother, that would've been the point he would've teased Glenn about being such a sap that he'd killed himself off, instead.

"Mercedes moved another one from a boarding school to a nunnery," Felix heard himself suddenly announcing, more loudly than he'd been speaking, "The one where the ghost hides keys, and knocks. You know, like…"

Felix demonstrated the knock on the table. He did not know why. Since Byleth wouldn't know it, and he had now just knocked on her table. Like an idiot.

"I know," Byleth replied, nodding.

"You do?" Felix asked, surprised.

"Yes," Byleth nodded again, "Although when I heard these stories, they were set in inns or hostels,"

"My father used to tell them," She added after a moment, looking at her teacup.

"I'm..a little surprised to hear you say that," Felix admitted, she looked up at him, "That evening when we were having dinner with the Boar it…. didn't seem like you understood them,"

"I don't," She stated, flatly, bringing her hands together on the table she added, sounding a little less curt, "I suppose you could say I understand their form; if not their function,"

Felix watched as Byleth drew her arms closer until they were crossed against her chest,

"I still don't see the appeal," She stated finally, Felix recognized that she was feeling disappointed in herself, "I understood Dimitri's explanation,"

"Well," She pressed her lips together slightly, catching Felix's look, "Now I understand it, in theory," She frowned, "There are more direct ways of enjoying oneself, and I found it difficult to believe my father or the mercenaries in our company were ever frightened by them, considering our line of work. There must have been something else I'm not seeing," She was staring now into the dark depths of her teacup.

"You should drink it-it's getting cold," Felix asserted gruffly, and then followed his own advice too quickly so it went down the wrong way.

"I…could probably shed some light," He added, coughing into his fist, "Much of the folklore comes from Faerghus, after all," Felix shrugged, to demonstrate how little it meant to him.

"Did Jeralt ever tell any simpler stories?" Felix then asked, "Not like the 'happened to a friend of a friend of mine' kind?"

He could tell Byleth didn't know what he meant.

"More personal I mean," Felix tried again, "People in Faerghus tend to have them about people they've lost,"

"You mean…" Byleth began, clearly thinking of Dimitri in the chapel. If she ever thought of anything else.

"No," Felix retorted, a little more sharply than he'd meant to, "I mean," He sighed, looking at Byleth's blank gaze, and cleared his throat, "Well. Just as an example…"

Byleth nodded.

"Do you remember my old sword belt?" Felix asked, then supposing it was an odd question added, "You found it for me once in the training grou-" He stopped when Byleth bobbed her head again.

"I…lost it once before," Felix admitted with some unease, though much in his normal tone, "A few months after my brother died-he had given it to me,"

Byleth nodded, of course. Perhaps more encouragingly.

"I used to keep it on my night-stand, in the right-hand corner," Felix added, realizing he should have said that earlier, "But one day I was less careful where I was putting my things-I assume it was a particularly intense training session," Or an argument with his father.

"I must have thrown it somewhere-or it fell, but the next morning it wasn't where I usually kept it," Felix cleared his throat, "I was in a hurry and just grabbed another one without looking for it," Felix turned his head slightly so he wasn't facing Byleth directly anymore, "It wasn't on the night-stand and I didn't have time to check around for it. So I just used another one, for a month or so,"

Two actually.

"I was busy training," Felix insisted abruptly, "But..after a particularly …productive," Felix knitted his brows together, "Grueling training session, I was walking back to my room and realizing the unlikelihood I would find it, by that point. I was also quite…" Felix swallowed, "annoyed at the prospect of having to look for it,"

Byleth had stopped nodding, but she met his gaze calmly when he glanced back at her. He looked away again.

"I opened the door to my room," Felix realizing his breathing had become more shallow, paused a moment to inhale more deeply, "And the sword belt was in the right hand corner of my night-stand,"

Byleth didn't say anything. After a moment, Felix shifted his gaze to look at her. But with her stationary and looking at the wall, he found her inscrutable.

"Obviously there's nothing really supernatural at play," Felix insisted quickly, "I must have missed it somehow,"

Or he was remembering it wrong, however, indelibly the image of him coming into his room in tears and seeing it on the dresser was ingrained in his mind, after not seeing it there for two months.

"I can imagine why those with more delicate sensibilities, may find comfort in such events," Felix shrugged, "But if the dead really could influence the living, obviously my brother would have let me know Edelgard was planning to invade, over something like this," Felix rolled his eyes, but then met Byleth's again.

"But," Felix kept his gaze pinned even though it was tempting to drop it when her responding stare was so unreadable, "...for a split-second I wondered. I.." Felix cleared his throat abruptly, "I think that's all that most people are really after-that moment of thinking it could be possible,"

Surprisingly it was Byleth that dropped her gaze down.

"Thank you. I understand now," She stated, folding her hands slowly around her teacup.

Felix waited, listening to the sound of the rain on the roof for a minute before Byleth spoke again.

"I only came to realize this after I came to the monastery, but my mother was very fond of flowers," She looked up again with her typical (lack of) expression, but her knuckles were gripping the teacup a little more tightly.

"Some nights when my father's mood was…bleak, he'd wake in the morning to find flowers on his nightstand," Byleth was staring past Felix's shoulder to the vase of daisies on her dresser. Felix turned to look at them too.

Byleth's mouth shifted into a frown,

"I would always point out he'd just bought them when he was drunk,"

Sylvain and Dimitri-the old Dimitri, would've laughed then, Felix thought. Sylvain, because he wouldn't have noticed how heavy the admission was to her. Dimitri would have, and certainly would have felt compassion for her, but the warmth he would have felt over such an Byleth-like response would have won out. Though he would've apologized profusely afterwards.

Felix, by contrast straightened and made sure to make direct eye-contact again, to show how seriously he was taking her words.

"Sometimes," Byleth went on, not quite muttering, though her words growing more clipped, "he'd keep arguing with me even after I pointed out he had the receipts,"

Felix nodded as severely as she had been, making a fist with his right hand and resting it over his mouth.

"I wish-" Byleth stopped abruptly, as though surprised at herself and looked back at her staple of her hands resting on the table, "I wish, just once-I'd played along,"

Felix brought his fist down to rest on the table too; their knuckles were inches from each other.

The rain was picking up even moreso. Beating down on the roof with a ferocity that seemed unnecessary.

"The dangers of indulging that kind of thing are evident," Felix spoke finally, voice harder as he said, "Even if that pathetic creature in the chapel is a particularly hopeless case,"

"I'm sorry it's taken me so long to complete your request," Byleth spoke with her usual indomitable will back again so fully, Felix almost doubted himself that it had ever left, "But I'll sort things out with him soon,"

Felix tried to work up the stamina to say something like, "Good. It's gone beyond an inconvenience," but his jaw suddenly seemed locked.

It must have just been exhaustion. Or his curdled, leftover anger at Sylvain earlier that hadn't gotten a chance to be served. Felix knew that Byleth would get through to Dimitri sooner or later.

He'd loved her so much, once. No matter what he said or did, it was impossible to think that all that could just be gone.

They just had to hold out a little while longer. Though Felix didn't know why he couldn't even bring himself to nod-maybe between the two of them, he and Byleth had just exhausted the motion.

The wind had really picked up outside. It sounded like wolves had them surrounded.

"It's a shame this room isn't bigger," Felix remarked, finally. Byleth looked at him.

"Think of all the training we could be doing," He sighed, holding up his hands.

He wasn't going to dwell on the Dimitri issue, Felix decided. He'd made up his mind already.

"We could train your healing magic," Byleth replied.

Felix felt himself nod, even as he also felt a pit in his stomach.

Byleth took Felix's hunting dagger from his side of the table and dragged the blade against her palm, before he could protest.

"I assume you remember the spell mechanics?" She asked calmly, while a river of red ran down her hand and onto the table.

Felix nodded again, the pit in his stomach now a chasm-though he did remember. Failure had etched the process forever in his memory.

He shut his eyes to concentrate-humiliating, but at least it was only Byleth to see it and not the host of mages there had been the last time he'd tried this.

In addition to the incantation and process for building the healing magic; everyone's unsolicited advice came flooding back into his head as well.

Xx

"I merely think of my love for my fam-the goddess," Flayn remarked somewhat serenely, "And in some ways the wounds heal themselves,"

"I…I think of how much the other person is suffering," Dorothea said quietly. At the time, Felix had scoffed; thinking an honest answer would have been, "I picture the kind of wedding dress I could afford with their assets," It probably hadn't been fair of him, and it probably wasn't fair of him that he still couldn't quite believe her now.

"I think of doing my best to help-and how hap-relieved the person will be once their wounds are healed," Annette added quickly, "What about you, Mercie?"

"Me?" Mercedes asked, somehow seeming surprised as if she wasn't the most natural healer, "I just look at it as if it's a dress that I'm mending. Often I picture the stitches,"

"Interesting the amount of extra effort you all put in," Lindhart had remarked blearily, he hadn't been part of the lesson, he'd just been asleep in the library, "I just say the incantation in my head-twice if it doesn't take,"

Thus had almost begun a debate on healing techniques, before Lysithea had interrupted it.

"You all seem to be forgetting that unlike the rest of us-Felix's primary area of focus is physical combat," She'd said, speaking with her usual authority when discussing magic, "I can't think any advice we were to provide, would be pertinent,"

Felix had been surprised she hadn't been more critical, considering she was the most adept, though later he'd overheard a conversation between her and Byleth.

"He's certainly capable of managing something so simple," Lysithea mused, pacing slightly in front of Byleth's desk, "I can only think he's getting in his own way,"

"I agree," Byleth remarked, leaning back slightly in her desk-chair, quill-in hand, "He-"

She'd stopped then, noting Felix in the doorway-who had come to demand she remove healing from his regimen. Neither she nor Lysithea had acted particularly caught out.

They could've been talking about anyone, Felix supposed.

Xx

His trip down memory lane had not helped Byleth's bleeding palm any.

Felix shut his eyes again with a huff and forced himself to start repeating the incantation. But his mind wouldn't stay on track.

Felix kept thinking of the state of the army, of the boar in the chapel, of what Byleth would have tried to have told the boar earlier that evening while the rest of them were listening to Mercedes' ghost stories.

Felix wondered if Byleth had cried over Dimitri yet.

It was possible-she had over her father.

She had looked pretty grave over Lysithea too. Was it something that serious?

When he thought of Byleth sitting alone in a rented room while her father's mercenary company told ghost stories in the tavern below, Felix opened his eyes.

She was still bleeding. Obviously.

Felix started to tell her that she had to heal it herself. He was going to say that him attempting this kind of magic was pointless-just like he had back in his student days.

Then he met Byleth's gaze and knew she wasn't going to be so accommodating this time.

She looked exactly as determined and unmovable when their swords entered a bind in the training grounds.

If Byleth was thinking in terms of the training ground-and Felix knew she was, she likely wasn't thinking of it as a bind. More that she had Felix unarmed, and backed into a corner.

Felix clearly wasn't suited for the healing arts-the name alone should've been a tip off it was something he could never develop proficiency. And it wasn't something to do with his inner-workings whatever Lysithea may have said.

But if Byleth believed it was, then all she had to do was wait Felix out.

As though in confirmation, Byleth folded her arms over her chest, smug, the cut hand resting upright.

It was infuriating she would risk her own safety over something so trivial, not to mention; irresponsible given her position in the army. Even shallow cuts could lead to shock given enough time. Obviously if Felix was capable of this kind of healing magic, he would have done it already.

He tried to think of an argument she might listen to, while trying to calculate how long it had been (seconds, only) and what was the fastest he'd ever heard someone had bled-out from their palm when hitting a major artery (she hadn't, but still). Byleth was likely thinking of her arguments as well.

They sat, glaring at each other from across the table.

Someone knocked at the door.

A special knock; two slow, two quick and one final slow.

Felix and Byleth looked at each other.

They'd already been looking at each other-obviously, but in a distinctly different way. Felix could tell by her slightly arched brow that Byleth was wondering as he was, if they had merely just imagined the knock sounding like the one in the stories tonight.

Then it happened again. Each rap at the door sounding more distinct, like whoever was doing it was relishing the sound.

"Coming," Byleth called, standing up.

"Byleth, wait. Your hand," Felix stood too quickly himself, so his cloak slithered off his chair and to the floor.

Byleth knelt to pick it up with her intact hand while Felix repeated the incantation. He felt something slightly akin to moving his palm too close to a candle flame, without burning it, and then it was gone and Byleth's bleeding stopped.

Byleth hung his cloak back around the chair, though she was examining her hand, now completely unscathed.

"Perfect," She remarked, gesturing to the table as she walked by, "You even got the blood off the table,"

"Of course I got it," Felix huffed, rolling his eyes.

He waited by the door while Byleth unlocked it. The rain had died down and with little noise the key sounded unnaturally loud while turning in the lock. As did the 'creak' when Byleth pulled it open.

No-one was there.

Byleth stepped outside and looked one way, Felix followed suit and looked another.

The night air was chill without his cloak. He imagined it was much worse for Byleth, considering how she was dressed. Also hard not to imagine what anyone would think if they saw them. But Byleth was unarmed. While Felix had no illusions that Byleth couldn't easily kill someone with a candle just as well as she could with a sword, or her bare hands, it still seemed imprudent to let her go out alone.

It was difficult to see in the dark, but there was no sign of anyone whichever way they looked. Including upwards. Felix could only assumed both he and Byleth had looked up in case it had been one of their company that flew on Wyverns.

That done, they shrugged at each other and shut the door again. Well, Felix shrugged. Byleth's equivalent was to tilt her head slightly to oneside.

Byleth set her key on the dresser, after she'd locked the door, and turned to relight her candle with a fire-spell. It had blown out in the wind.

"We took a while to get to the door, whoever did it must have run off," Felix remarked, leaning against the dresser, with his arms folded.

Byleth nodded, frowning at the candle flame as though the spell had been stronger than she anticipated.

She moved to set it back on the dresser, pausing for a fraction of a second.

"What?" Felix asked.

"My key is gone," Byleth replied, voice as expressionless as her face.

"Byleth," Felix rolled his eyes, "I expected better than such childishness from you,"

"Felix," Byleth's voice was a little more curt, "Look behind you. My key isn't there,"

Felix looked, and it wasn't.

"I saw you put it there. I must have knocked it," Felix remarked, looking behind the dresser. Byleth followed suit. They even risked their dignity to kneel down and peer underneath it before they had to concede it missing.

"Do you still have yours?" Byleth frowned.

"Don't be ridiculous," Felix scoffed, standing, "It's in my cloak,"

"Is it?" Byleth asked.

Felix went over to his cloak and stuck his hand in the pocket hidden in the lining. He kept waiting for his hands to hit cold metal, but all they felt was fabric instead.

Felix turned the pocket inside out and shook his cloak, half expecting the key to fall out at every turn, but it didn't.

He looked at Byleth, finally. Who nodded and then walked over to her night-table.

"What are you doing?" Felix asked as she pulled open the knotted cord that kept Lysithea's pouch shut.

"Checking to see if Lysithea still has her key," Byleth replied, matter-of-fact.

She emptied Lysithea's purse onto her nightstand. Out fell some coins, a multitude of candies, and one brass room key, landing on the top of the candy mountain like a cherry on a sundae.

"Well, good," Felix leaned against the table, "She's not marked for death, like we are," Felix held up his hands, "I suppose she'll just wake up in the morning and find our bodies creepily arranged somewhere,"

"Like where?" Byleth wondered, looking around the room.

"I don't know, I'm not a ghost," Felix grumbled, even as he looked too, considering, "They could stuff us in the dresser, hang us from the rafters-oh! If we could be looming over the bed somehow-" Felix nodded decidedly, "That would be unnerving to wake up to,"

"Either way she's going to be very upset," Byleth remarked, brow furrowing slightly.

"We could eat her sweets, I suppose," Felix suggested, "That could mitigate it,"

"Then everyone will assume she killed us," Byleth pointed out, dry.

"True," Felix acquiesced, before adding, taking a sip of tea even though it was lukewarm, and gestured with the cup, "But when I'd considered all the ways I might go out; I've always known Lysithea might kill me over sweets, one day,"

Byleth nodded, casually covering her mouth with her hand,

"I had always imagined that a possible end for you as well,"

"I hadn't thought a knock-knock-key-hiding ghost," Felix muttered, "There are worse ways to die-but I'd rather have my reflection do it instead," Felix gestured at his image in the darkened window.

"Finally, a worthy opponent?" Byleth turned to face their reflections as well, face looking a bit softer than usual. It was probably because the weather had fogged the glass. Or because her actual image was reversed.

"No. I…already have one," Felix couldn't help but notice that his reflected face was looking a bit soft also. The glass was definitely fogged.

"Who?" Byleth asked, face as white and impassive as the moon reflected above her.

"Y-," Felix started, agitated, before he started to second guess that the glint in her eye was the reflection of candlelight. Though looking at her reversed image did put him in mind of something else.

"It would be something to do battle with your reflection," His excit-interest in the idea had him bringing a hand under his chin-an affectation he'd used to share with Dimitri, and now tried to avoid, "I suppose she'd be left-handed,"

"What?" Felix then asked Byleth, whose stifled giggling was making a snuffling sound.

"Nothing," Byleth shook her head, "I suppose she would be,"

"Of course she would be," Felix sniffed, sounding a little less lofty than he'd intended. Byleth's reflection was grinning, but unlike in the story earlier, he suspected the real Byleth was as well.

Felix had never understood the fuss Dimitri always made-had used to make-about Byleth's expressions. Still, it was somewhat satisfying to find she could still smile. If only because it had taken her five moons to grasp the basics of it and it was disappointing to watch anyone so dedicated to change regress.

"Until that time, would you mind staying?" Byleth asked, serious again as she turned to face him, "I'd prefer not to have my door broken, and Ashe will likely come looking for me before breakfast tomorrow, so he can pick the lock for both of us,"

Byleth didn't bother to explain further, likely she was aware that everyone knew of her and Ashe's plans.

Those who engaged in such frivolous gossip had talked of almost nothing else but Byleth and Ashe having breakfast Sunday morning, and the "news" was difficult to avoid. An awful lot of fuss considering they were just eating in the dining hall-it was the same as taking any other meal there.

"But still," Sylvain had replied, waggling his eyebrows when Felix had said as much, "Breakfast,"

"Fine," Felix nodded, even if his room was better situated, Byleth's opened right to outside, and it would be a security risk to leave her and Lysithea without a door, "But what will we do in the meantime? The room is too small to spar,"

"Yes Felix, it's definitely too small," Byleth replied, more in her usual tone, but with eyes that looked…notably fond.

"Then, what do you propose we do for the next five hours?" Felix huffed, not blushing, "Even you can't have that many cups of tea,"

"I could help you with your essay for tomorrow's seminar," Byleth suggested, looking smug, presumably with certainty that he hadn't finished it already, like she clearly had her own.

"I'm not bothering to write an essay with a topic Dorothea specifically handpicked to irritate me, when we'll be dead before tomorrow morning anyway," Felix scoffed.

"Alright. Well," Byleth turned to walk over to her three dimensional tactics maps, stacked on her window sill along with several figurines, "You can help me with my battle strategies. Though it isn't within your area of normal study; you have naturally strong tactical mindset,"

"Fine. I'll help," Felix muttered, rolling his eyes, "No need to butter me up,"

Xx

Felix awoke to the sound of Lysithea bumping her shin on Byleth's night-stand.

"Owww," She hissed, lowly, face crumpling with guilt when she met Felix's eye. Literally just his eye-that was all he'd managed to open. He was working on the second one.

There was a knock at the door.

Not that knock, but almost. It sounded like whoever it was had started that way initially, then realized it and just started rapping randomly at the door to cover it up.

"Um…" Annette's voice called, "Byleth?"

Felix jerked upright so quickly he heard his spine squeak.

"Byleth?" Annette knocked again, normally bright voice sounded a little hesitant, "I'm sorry to bother you-it's totally fine if you just needed to sleep in. Everyone would understand! You do so much. Uh, but Ashe is here with me, because he said you had plans and we just wanted to make sure everything was alright. He thought it would be weird if he came to your room by himself-oh," Annette added, voice rising higher, presumably speaking to Ashe, "Sorry-didn't mean to say that last part,"

"Professor," Lysithea whispered urgently, shaking her arm. Byleth's head remained on the table, across from Felix.

"I'm worried about her," Ashe's voice filtered through the door, "I was thinking I should have asked her to come with us last night,"

"Should we break the door down?" Annette asked, sounding excited at the prospect, "I could get Ingrid-"

Felix jumped up to shake Byleth's other arm. She didn't stir. Felix supposed it really shouldn't have been a surprise-she'd slept for five years only recently.

"Byleth!" Lysithea tried, desperation growing in her voice, "It's…breakfast time,"

Byleth opened her eyes so suddenly Lysithea leapt backwards, barely muffling a shriek.

Felix did not jump backwards on Byleth's other side. Obviously. He may have stepped somewhat away, carried by the momentum from shaking her arm.

"Ashe, I misplaced my key last night, would you be able to pick the lock?" Byleth called, adding, "Lysithea and Felix are here too-Lysithea wasn't feeling well and they stepped in last night to wait out the storm,"

"Yes!" Felix and Lysithea both agreed, injecting some hoarseness into their voices, as though they'd just been woken as well. Lysithea even threw in a yawn.

"Oh!" Ashe exclaimed, "Of course. Not to worry-I'll have you all out in a jiffy,"

Jiffy, Felix thought in disgust with the threads that remained of his brain. The scraping at the door sounded so gallingly loud, Felix had to remind himself he wasn't actually hung over. Just operating on less than twenty-minutes of sleep, by the look of the clock.

He and Byleth had been so focused on prepping military strategies for every possible scenario, Felix didn't even remember being weary right up until when he must have dropped off. Unless Byleth had fallen asleep first-he did remember seeing her blink once or twice a bit heavily towards the end. Not that it mattered of course, it had been a military exercise and not a competition.

The longer Ashe took to open the door, the more reasonable it seemed to just jump out Byleth's window instead. In fact; Felix wasn't sure why the idea hadn't occurred to them last night. She was on the ground floor, and it would be the most expedient way to get out of this situation and into the training grounds where he belonged.

Before Felix could move, the door swung open.

The sun looked almost blinding behind Annette and Ashe, framed in the doorway.

"Are you alright, Lysithea?" Annette asked, brow furrowed with concern, as she stepped inside. Ashe followed suit, like they owned the place.

"Fine!" Lysithea insisted, gamely, and she did look fine, even when Felix turned to glower at her appraisingly, "I just caught a chill,"

"And you?" Ashe asked Byleth, uncertainly, "I um..was wondering about you last night,"

"I'm fine," Byleth replied without any irritation, but Felix could tell from the set of her eyes she wanted everyone out of her room five minutes ago.

She didn't need to tell him twice, Felix was already at the door, when he had to step aside for Dorothea.

"Oh," Dorothea said, looking as disappointed to see them all, as Felix was to see her, "I thought if I came this early, I'd at least have the chance of catching you alone, Professor. To talk-I mean," Dorothea added, hastily, as if perceiving Byleth's expression had become even stonier.

"I suppose I'll have to get in line," Dorothea mock-sighed in a passable imitation of her more carefree nature from their student days. She moved to the left to let Felix by, but Felix had gone that way to brush past, and then they both moved to the right instead.

"I'm sorry, Felix," Dorothea could mock-laugh as well, "But after this dance-I really must go,"

"Get out of my way!" Felix snapped at the same time.

"Felix, you don't have your key," Byleth reminded him, he could tell even with his back to her that her arms were crossed.

"Obviously!" Felix didn't turn around, annoyed at the insinuation that he'd forgotten. He had, but it didn't matter. His cloak was still hanging on the chair too, but she could just give it to him later. Or never. He didn't care, "I'm going to the training grounds,"

Felix waited for Lysithea to complain that he and Byleth had promised her they'd go to Dorothea's seminar in less than an hour, but she didn't say anything.

Felix also could've sworn even with the beating sun through the still open door, that the temperature had suddenly plummeted.

He turned, against his better judgment, to find Lysithea, Annette and Ashe all staring at him in abject terror.

"B-both your keys went missing last night?" Ashe finally managed, voice barely audible.

"Saint Seiros," Lysithea whispered, clutching a hand to her throat, Annette muttering a similar epithet.

"Ugh," Felix brought a hand to his splitting-head, "Shut up. It wasn't a ghost, we just misplaced them,"

"Then…they should be here, in that case?" Ashe asked, as if he didn't dare hope.

"So, where are they?" Annette demanded, momentarily casting her terror aside to put her hands on her hips and shoot daggers at Felix. The ability to so suddenly shift her mood, almost admirable.

Now everyone looked at Felix expectantly, even Dorothea and Byleth. Though the former looked more confused than the rest of the terrified ensemble, and the latter as though the proceedings had little to do with her.

"It's in my cloak," Felix said, so they would all stop staring. A short-sighted strategy as Lysithea's immediate action was to move towards his cloak to look, and his key was most definitely not there.

In her haste Lysithea knocked his cloak, though Byleth deigned to grab it before it fell to the floor, again, draping it back across the chair, as Lysithea searched.

Lysithea's face slackened with relief, before she pulled the key out from the folds,

"Here-" She said, exhaling deeply, "I think it got stuck in the lining,"

All eyes were on Byleth now.

"Then…do you know where yours could be?" Ashe asked, more gently.

The pause stretched and for a moment it looked like Byleth had gone back to giving them all the silent treatment before she said,

"I usually keep it on my dresser,"

Felix was closest this time, and turned to it before anyone else could.

He supposed it spoke to the terror of the room that none of them even yelled at him for opening the top drawer of a woman's dresser-though Felix only had his mind on one thing and wouldn't have noticed if she had an alligator in there.

"Here," His hand closed over the cold brass key, before turning and tossing it to Byleth. He didn't look directly at her, but his throw was still perfect, "It must've gotten knocked in last night-we didn't think to check the drawers,"

"No," Byleth agreed, catching it in one hand. She followed suit with his key, "We didn't,"

"Thank good-" Annette began, watching the arc of Felix's key sailing across the room before he caught it, eyes suddenly widening again, as she turned to Ashe, "Did I forget to turn the burner off before I left to come help you?"

"Um," Ashe replied, biting his lip, "I'm not sure,"

Annette barreled out the door, nearly running Felix down.

"Are you alright?" Ashe asked Felix, who glared at him in response. As if Annette's small frame could've somehow injured him. Felix wouldn't comment on Ashe, seeming more concerned for him than the dining hall, since Annette's kitchen disasters were hardly uncommon.

"Well, now that we've gotten that nonsense out of the way; I have a lot to get done," Lysithea informed them all officiously, as if this whole mess hadn't been her fault in the first place. She was apparently confident now that she had checked her money pouch and found her own key.

Noticing all her candies spread out over Byleth's tactics boards and the tea-table, Lysithea ducked her head immediately to gather them. She didn't ask why they were there, only saying,

"I'm looking forward to your seminar, Dorothea,"

"Oh," Said Dorothea.

"I've always been interested in your technique," Lysithea went on, oblivious to Dorothea's clear lack of enthusiasm, as she pushed the mound of candies back into her purse.

"You…don't need to say that, Lysithea," Dorothea remarked, uncomfortably, after a moment, before adding more airily, "I appreciate it, but you're twice the mage I am,"

"At least," Felix scoffed, and dropped another candy onto the table, which had been caught on the inside of his turtleneck. Felix hadn't realized it was there until now, assuming the pain in his neck had just been metaphorical.

He hadn't thought Lysithea would still want the candy as he was pretty sure it was half-melted in the wrapper from his body heat, but she snapped it up immediately like a squirrel foraging for winter. She also grabbed a second one, when Byleth fished it out of her hair-slightly tangled from where she had slept on it. Byleth met Felix's gaze impassively as she handed it over.

They had been using the candies to represent the miasma spell on the battlefield in the simulations they'd been running, since the wrapper and circumference was similar.

Also, sometimes as projectiles.

Both uses made practical sense.

"Skill has nothing to do with it," Lysithea finished and pulled the drawstring on her pouch, "Reason is as much an art as a science, and none are more skilled in the arts than you, Dorothea," Lysithea said the last, as though slightly embarrassed, then added around Dorothea's surprise, "I've already written my essay," Lysithea frowned, "Over two weeks ago, though. I should just have time to re-read before class begins,"

"Lysithea," Byleth interjected, sounding grave, even if her face wasn't demonstrating it, "What about not over-exerting yourself?"

"I won't. I'm feeling much better!" Lysithea insisted, pausing on her way out the door to look at the space between Felix and Byleth, "Thank you for taking care of me last night-I'll bake you both a cake later,"

"Lysithea," Dorothea scoffed, seemingly still rattled by her earlier compliment, "Felix doesn't like sweet-"

"It's fine," Felix interjected hastily, adding as Lysithea nodded and ran out of Byleth's room, "She'll only go on and on, otherwise,"

He ignored the look Byleth was giving the side of his head. She probably just wanted both cakes to herself.

And her mind did seem to be on food,

"Ashe," Byleth began, gloom edging on her face now, since this may have been the first time she'd broken a commitment, "I'm sorry I'll have to miss our breakfast plans. Would you be free for lunch?"

"I promised to make something with Dedue," Ashe replied apologetically, "W-would dinner work?"

To his credit, he'd barely stammered, but Dorothea still raised her eyebrows at Felix.

Byleth nodded, after a moment's pause.

"Great!" Ashe beamed, before hastening to add, "You won't have time to get anything to eat before the seminar-I'll bring it to you with some tea from the stand Ingrid likes-"

"No, Ashe," Byleth began, "That won't be-"

"You said you would let me help you, remember?" Ashe interjected, in what Felix supposed was, for him, an admonishing tone.

Felix happened to glance at Dorothea again, the force of her eyebrows raising, now causing her head to tip to one side.

"Alright," Byleth, for once, gave in without much of a fight, "Thank you,"

"You're welcome," Ashe nodded, decidedly, then seemed to suddenly realize how Byleth was dressed, and his face flushed immediately, "Fe-Felix, you're going to that seminar too, right?" Ashe asked, turning with some apparent effort to face him, "Did you want me to-"

"It's fine. I have to stop at the dining hall," Felix waved him off before he spontaneously combusted, "Is Mercedes there?"

"Yes-I-I-think so," Ashe managed, nearly smacking into the doorframe on his way out.

"Ashe," Byleth called before he could escape, as though oblivious to his discomfort, "Please emphasize to Annette that Felix had walked Lysithea here when he saw she was unwell,"

"I will for sure," Ashe promised, before remembering his haste and heading out, barely managing the steps, "See you later!"

Pathetic, Felix thought, shaking his head. He had no idea what Byleth had meant about Annette, and decided not to dwell on it.

He awaited whatever dreadfully inappropriate and baseless comment Dorothea was about to make about Byleth's dress, or lack thereof, and the fact that Felix had been with her all night. And waited.

Dorothea had her chin resting on her knuckles as though she was capable of-and in-deep thought.

The silence from her was deafening. Byleth seemed unaffected, cleaning up her tactics boards off the tea-table.

"What?" Felix finally grumbled at Dorothea, when it became too much.

"Oh, nothing," Dorothea returned airily, with an unconvincing shrug, "I was just trying to decide what is the most believable explanation for last night," She raised her fingers as she counted them off, "That you two actually hid each other's keys for a joke, that a ghost hid them, or that you both just happened to misplace them and find them easily the next morning," Dorothea closed her other hand over her fingers as though weighing her options meticulously, "I guess it was the ghost,"

"Don't be ridiculous," Felix grumbled, as Byleth was no help, apparently absorbed in mopping up the moat off her tactics boards with a hand towel. At least, they'd used it as a moat after Felix had spilled his tea.

"They're easy to lose," Felix added at Dorothea's over-exaggerated show of disbelief, "It was dark, and we were tired,"

"Dorothea," Byleth interjected, before Dorothea's next irritating remark, folding the now sodden pink towel, "What time did you get back to your dorm this morning?"

"Wh-what?" Dorothea huffed, ire lighting her cheeks red enough to be visible through her makeup.

"Someone knocked on my door around two in the morning, but they were gone when I answered it," Byleth explained, matter-of-fact.

"You-you mean..?" Dorothea half-scoffed, looking back-and-forth between them, "You got the missing keys and the knock at the door too?"

Felix shrugged.

"We didn't get to the door right away," Byleth clarified, without inflection, "I thought it might have been Dimitri,"

"Oh, I see," Dorothea sighed, ire melting from her face as quickly as tenderness could replace it, "I..I suppose I was walking back from my date around that time, but I didn't see anyone else,"

Dorothea paused, glancing at Felix, as if debating about what she was going to say next. Then she did what she wanted anyway,

"I did see a light on in the Chapel, when I was walking back," She admitted, carefully, "So I don't think it was him,"

It wasn't surprising. Even if Dimitri had finally come around to making an overture, with the state he was in, he wouldn't have used that knock.

…Unless he'd just done it without thinking-no. It couldn't have been.

Byleth nodded, folding her towel and dropping it in her laundry hamper without further comment.

"That's…not to say it couldn't have been someone for you, though," Dorothea added, stepping forward as Byleth turned to her, "I've never been one for ghost stories myself, but, maybe it was Captain Jeralt?"

Byleth didn't say anything, unsurprisingly. Dorothea didn't seem put off and only took one of her hands in her own.

"I kinda like the idea myself," She paused, before she spoke more sincerely, "I'm sure he'd be very proud of what a capable commander-and woman his daughter has become,"

Felix couldn't quite tell if Byleth was trying to manage a smile, or trying not to, but the result was a wobbly looking thing on her face. Dimitri-the old Dimitri, probably still would've swooned into the tea-table.

"It could've been someone for Felix too," Byleth suggested, looking at him over Dorothea's shoulder.

"Someone he killed, you mean?" Dorothea asked, dry.

"What are you doing here, anyway?" Felix demanded, since she clearly no longer wanted to attend to whatever business it had been.

"Oh, that," Dorothea sighed, letting go of Byleth's hand, to brush her own through her thick brown hair, "Well, I'd come to see if Byleth thought it was too late to cancel my magic seminar-I didn't think anyone would be too broken up about it," Dorothea gave Felix a look, before sighing theatrically, "But clearly I missed my opportunity for an early exit,"

"It's not too late, Dorothea," Byleth shook her head, "I can take over instead, Lysithea will understand-"

"It's alright," Dorothea sighed, more artfully this time, heading for the door, "I suppose I was just feeling a bit sorry for myself-I'm more up for it now,"

She paused, turning dramatically, so her rose coloured dress flared around her,

"You'll walk me to the seminar room, Felix?" She tilted her head to one side, "Or did you exhaust all your gallantry last night?"

"It's exhausted," Felix answered, firm.

"I thought so," Dorothea frowned, "See that you keep some in reserve for my Opera next week," She turned to Byleth, "He promised he'd attend,"

"I said I might go," Felix reminded her, while Byleth said, mildly,

"Did he?"

Dorothea paused at the door, resting her manicured nails on the frame,

"For the evening of my opera, if I could put in a reservation for the Felix that seems to have been around last night-that I never seem to meet, I would appreciate it,"

"...I'll see if he's available," Felix muttered, finally, staring at the wall.

He hadn't known what else to say, but its effectiveness was paramount as Dorothea left without another word.

Just the two of them left.

Felix had been avoiding Byleth's eye and now found himself staring at the remains of their battle on the tea-table, it seemed to be a relic from over a lifetime ago, but it hadn't even been an hour yet.

"So, who won?" He asked.

"I did," Byleth answered, face and voice as wooden as the table, "You fell asleep,"

"I thought you were blinking to get me to drop off," Felix sighed, holding out a hand. Even if Byleth had obviously fallen asleep afterwards herself.

"It was my only recourse," Byleth's eyebrows knitted slightly as she looked at the battlefield, she'd beaten him every other match, but this time Felix had a handful of soldiers left and Byleth only one on the high-ground.

"...They're still standing," Felix pointed out, gesturing to his forces, which Byleth promptly knocked over with a swipe of her hand.

"Okay," Felix held out his hands, "I concede,"

The tilt of Byleth's shoulders could've suggested surprise, but in terms of the strategies they'd been using; it wasn't all that outlandish. And it was possible Byleth's last unit could've wiped all of his forces out. Assuming it had been Byleth herself.

Felix knew it was past time he left. He and Byleth both had to get a move on, but he felt oddly rooted to the floor. She wasn't moving either.

"I'm sorry we just..barged in on you last night," Felix said, finally.

Byleth lowered her gaze a moment, as if considering something.

"I'm not," She stated, finally, looking up at him, "It was fun,"

Felix raised his eyebrows at her with insincere surprise and Byleth looked away, nearly rolling her eyes.

"It was," He said, anyway.

Since no one had the grace to close the door yet, it was still open and the sun felt very warm on Felix's back.

He was the one to break the silence again,

"About what I said about my sword-belt. Obviously I don't really think my brother-"

"I know. I understand now," Byleth interrupted, eyes solemn, she asked, "Who do you think knocked at the door last night? Someone playing a prank?"

"That would make the most sense," Felix agreed, even as he thought, and knew Byleth was as well, that the explanation didn't make complete sense. Byleth hadn't attended the ghost story night, and no-one had been around to see him and Lysithea go in her room.

"What happened to my key," Byleth remarked, sounding like she'd used to when she'd admonished Felix for skipping tactics seminars, "is less of a mystery,"

"I don't think I'll be up nights wondering what happened to my key either," Felix shot back, not quite sure how to place the way Byleth's eyes looked, or how he was feeling either.

"It wasn't like you," He noted, eventually. He didn't know why he'd said it, or what he wanted her to say in response. Felix didn't give her the chance to say anything before he shrugged with some effort, adding, "I guess it wasn't like me either,"

"No," Byleth replied, sounding almost philosophical, "I'm not sure what possessed us,"

Her eyes widened slightly. It was the most horrified Felix had ever seen her look.

"Well," Felix managed, minutes later when the shock had worn off, "Alois will be so proud,"

"It was an accident," Byleth asserted, dismissive.

"I don't think it was," Felix drawled, though it clearly had been, as he turned and headed out the door, "It'll be the highlight of his life, when I tell him,"

"You wouldn't," Byleth stated with her usual confidence, though she followed him to the door.

He wouldn't, but Felix refused to concede so easily twice in less than five minutes.

"Well," He said, turning to face her again slowly, "I suppose I might forget about it if you join me for training after Dorothea's seminar. I want to try something,"

"You want us to pretend to be our reflections," Byleth stated, definitively.

"Of course not!" Felix huffed back, even as he recalled that not drawing attention to himself leaving Byleth's room in the morning with everyone milling about, was precisely what he'd been concerned about earlier.

Now that it had happened, nobody looked all that surprised, or interested anyway. Perhaps the gossip-mill was sluggish in the morning.

"I do think it's beneficial to train under less-optimal conditions in order to prepare for unpredictable combat scenarios," Felix added, more eloquently, "Lack of sleep and using a non-dominant hand, would be a beneficial exercise,"

"To prepare for what combat scenario?" Byleth wondered, crossing her arms and leaning against the doorframe.

"There could be countless situations where we wouldn't have slept," Felix huffed, "And…have our sword hand cut off, without a healer available,"

"We'd bleed to death," Byleth pointed out. Then she tipped her head to the side, "..Unless, there was a healer available, but not a practiced one,"

"Exactly," Felix gestured at Byleth's wrist, "So you just have a stump," He paused, "It could happen in a scenario where I was the healer, for example,"

"Fine," Byleth shook her head slightly, "You convinced me,"

A concession from her, even if not on the training ground, was always satisfying no matter what the circumstances.

Felix supposed savouring it was the reason he was once again, not leaving when he clearly should. Even as his mind screamed at him to get going, while also thinking he should wonder, if not feel guilty, how Byleth would find the time to see the boar in the chapel with all she had booked today.

Still, it might help to have Dimitri wonder where she was, for a change. If he was capable of wondering.

"Well," Felix said at last, gruffly, "See you in twenty minutes," He looked at the clock far behind her, "I'll obviously be late,"

"Lysithea and I will save you a seat," Byleth replied, looking back at the clock also. Time would be tight for her as well, even with her breakfast delivery, though she seemed unhurried.

"If you like," Felix shrugged, gruff.

Byleth nodded,

"I'm looking forward to hearing you read your essay," She remarked.

"So am I," Felix agreed, turning away from Byleth's slightly evident surprise as he headed towards the dining hall.

He was going to get Mercedes to write it.