The Commission Files

by WingedArcher1

A collection of short stories based off of art commissions I've gotten in the past. Parings include Rutger/Lilina, Lyn/Mark(Tactician), Joshua/FE8 girls, Matthew/Leila, and some with my OC Carrie. Will also have some guest characters. Some are spicy and some are sweet so read at your own discretion.

44. File 241- Transfer Students Part 1

A/n- So, this is a long one, the longest single chapter I've ever written for anything. Blame the framing device. So, how this story works is that after the first month each following month has a structure. That structure is 1. Set up for the month's mission 2. Rutger and Lilina supports with other characters 3. The month's mission and set up for next month. Pretty simple when you get to it. And also remember this is post game Rutger and Lilina so Rutger is in the process of finding his zen (and doing pretty well at it) and Lilina is more mature than she already is. Also I know I purposely put in some differences to the timeline because of Rutger and Lilina being in Fodlan, but if you find any more just pretend like I put it in there on purpose. Enjoy!

The Commission Files- File #241 Transfer Students Part 1

Characters: Rutger, Lilina, Female Byleth, Felix, Annette, The Golden Deer, Various Church of Seiros Staff Members

Based on: A commission by ebinkuu on Twitter

Lone Moon 1179

Rutger and Lilina were on Valor, the dread Isle, with their best friend Roy. They were there because they had heard rumors about something strange going on with the Dragon's Gate, and as the children of the people who dealt with it last time they felt they should be the ones to see what was going on.

"This place gives me the creeps, you three really want to be staying here for an extended amount of time?" Geese, the captain of the ship that took them there, asked when they got there.

"If more dragons are going to come out of the Gate we need to be there to greet them and tell them about what's happened in Elibe in the past thousand or so years." Roy explained. "It's better for someone like us to greet them than someone like the late King Zephiel."

"And, if for some reason they come out and are feral and start attacking, well we've got three of the best weapons for dealing with that on us." Rutger added.

"Though if something does happen to us and we aren't back in a week, you're free to leave if you want Captain Geese." Lilina assured him.

"Hey, just as long as you all know what you might be getting into." Geese noted. "But I'm staying here on the ship, I've heard stories about this place and I don't want to mess with it."

"Understandable, be safe." Roy told him and the trio were off. The ruins were a bit difficult to move through, but it wasn't anything that could stop them. Eventually they made it into the main area where their parents had fought Nergal more than two decades ago.

"This is so much more creepy than the stories my parents told me about this place." Rutger noted as they slowly made their way though the wide, castle like, area.

"Lucky, my parents would always change the subject when I tried to ask about this place." Lilina commented.

"Probably the bad memories they shared here." Roy explained. "This is where my grandfather died, along with Athos, and that fire dragon probably scared them more than any of them would tell us about."

"I think the most I ever got was my father saying he almost peed himself when he saw it." Rutger said as he thought back to it.

"Is is just me, or do you two hear voices in here?" Lilina wondered.

"Maybe it's the voices of some morphs that have survived all this time, be on your guard you two." Roy commented. Soon enough though the trio got to a large staircase and they started to slowly climb it. Eventually they got to the top and saw a large arcing gate straight ahead of them.

"That's a lot bigger than I was expecting." Rutger noted. "This thing looks big enough for Idunn to go through in her dragon form."

"Well, it did spit out three young dragons at the same time, it would need to be big to do that, even with magic." Lilina stated. "But come on, I need to get closer if I'm gonna use magic to inspect it."

"I'll stay here in the middle of the room in case something pops out, you two go to the Gate." Roy said taking out the Binding Blade, and preparing for a fight. So Rutger and Lilina moved up to the gate and started inspecting it to the best of their ability.

"These markings, I think I might have seen them in some of my father's notes before, but I can't quite make out what they say." Rutger noted.

"What can you make out?" Lilina wondered.

"Just a few words." Rutger admitted. "I can see 'Outside' 'Realms' and 'Nexus' but that's about it."

"Hm, I wonder what that could mean." Lilina muttered trying to connect the words together. "Let me see if any of the Anima spirits can give me any information." So Lilina started focusing her magic into herself, trying to contact the spirits that allowed her to channel her magic. She wasn't holding onto a tome at the time, which was usually fine, but something she didn't know was that the Dragon's Gate was a conduit for many types of magic, and when she tried to call on the Anima spirits they saw the Gate and started to focus their energy on it.

"Anything yet?" Rutger wondered after a minute or so.

"No, it's weird." Lilina noted. "I know I'm reaching them, but they aren't speaking to me. It seems like they are working with something else. Let me try a bit harder, pour some more energy into it." So she started focusing harder. At first nothing happened, but then suddenly the Dragon's Gate suddenly lit up and filled with what looked like a portal.

"Uh, Lilina, you might want to stop that!" Rutger exclaimed, raising his voice since there was now a loud breeze rushing in towards the Gate.

"I did." Lilina stated. "I think it's taking a life of it's own." After she said that the vortex of wind started to get stronger and started sucking the two of them in.

"Roy! Something is happening!" Rutger called out and Roy turned around to see what was happening.

"Lilina! Rutger!" Roy exclaimed, but he couldn't reach them in time. They were sucked into the portal and they had also dropped all there weapons and supplies as well. "Elimine damn it, what now?"

---

Rhea and Seteth were sitting out by the gazebo on the monastery grounds having some tea together, discussing just why she had allowed Byleth to teach one of the houses. They were really getting somewhere when the orb in the middle of the gazebo started to glow green and hover.

"Rhea, is that supposed to be happening now?" Seteth wondered.

"No, no it is not." Rhea answered as she stood up and got closer. But before she could inspect it closer two forms were flung out of the orb and onto the ground. After a few moment the two of them could see that it was two young adults and they had been knocked out cold from whatever had happened to them. "Seteth! Go get the infirmary ready! I'll get some students to help bring these two in!"

"Right away!" Seteth agreed before running off to get things ready.

"I just hope these two are okay." Rhea commented before picking the blue haired woman up and calling Dedue over to help with the brown haired man.

A few hours later the two unexplained visitors started to wake up in the infirmary beds that they were given to lay in and when they did the nurses ran to go tell Rhea about it. Eventually they sat up and looked at each other with confused expressions on their faces.

"Rutger, what happened?" Lilina asked, still in a daze over the events that had transpired.

"Ugh, the last thing I remember was that we were at the Dragon's Gate with Roy and then we started to get sucked in." Rutger noted. "After that nothing. We're lucky somebody found us and took us to wherever this is."

"Well, still, keep your guard up, we don't know if these people are to be trusted or not." Lilina commented, getting some sense back.

"Hey, that's my line." Rutger joked. But there wasn't time to laugh since moments later a tall, light green haired woman in a fancy looking white and blue dress came into the room and ordered everyone else out of the room for a few moments. She had and air of authority and dignity about her so Rutger and Lilina sat up and waited for her to speak respectfully.

"Greetings, my name is Lady Rhea, Archbishop of the Church of Seiros." The woman introduced herself. "Do you know where you are?"

"No, we do not ma'am." Lilina answered politely.

"Do you know how you got here?" Rhea asked next.

"The last thing we know is that we were sucked into a portal named the Dragon's Gate on the Dread Isle of Valor." Rutger answered her. "Though something tells me you might not know what or where that is."

"You would be correct, I've never heard of those places or things before. Though you sound like you might know what's going on young man, care to explain?" Rhea pondered.

"Yeah Rutger, you know something I don't?" Lilina wondered.

"I mean, it's just a theory, but I believe that the Dragon's Gate pulled us into an Outrealm. You know, like my father would always talk about." Rutger noted.

"Oh yeah, that would make sense." Lilina said thinking about it.

"An Outrealm?" Rhea wondered aloud. So Rutger explained to her about what Outrealms were and how they could be used to travel to other worlds that weren't your own and along with Lilina told her who they were and what they were in their homeworld of Elibe. "Well, normally I would say that's quite the story you two came up with on the fly, but you both seem so sincere and confident with what you're telling me I can't help but believe you."

"See, the problem is that, we don't know quite what triggered it, so we don't know how to get back home." Lilina noted. "I'm sure if we did some research we could find the answer, but we don't know much about this land of Fodlan as you called it."

"It probably has something to do with that orb in the gazebo you came out of." Rhea pointed out. "Well, there is only one thing for it. You two can stay here and do your research for trying to get back home on the condition that you report your findings to me in case something like this were to ever happen again. Does that sound fair to you both?"

"Makes sense to me, and that's very gracious of you Lady Rhea." Rutger noted. "We'd really appreciate that."

"Yeah, sounds good to me as well." Lilina noted.

"Now, we're going to have to come up with some kind of story about how you two got here so no one starts poking around things that may harm them and send them to other worlds." Rhea pointed out. "How old are you two?"

"19." Lilina answered.

"22." Rutger followed.

"Maybe a bit older than most, but we could say that you two are transfer students from your home world, would that be okay? Have you two ever had formal schooling before?"

"I have, but I'm always willing to learn more!" Lilina said with cheer.

"I haven't, though my father did teach me a number of things I would have learned with formal schooling, but if it'll help us get home sooner then I'd be up for it." Rutger added.

"Wonderful, then we'll get your measurements and sew you up some uniforms by tomorrow and get some rooms set up for you both." Rhea told them.

"Ah, one more thing." Lilina noted. "We come from a land that has just seen peace after a large war and Rutger and I are married, would it be okay if we just got one room? We promise we won't do anything inappropriate, but it would be nice to still be together."

"Very well, I think I can make that concession." Rhea noted. "Alright, how are you two feeling, can you stand and walk?"

"I feel much better having a plan in place." Rutger said standing up an stretching.

"Good, follow me and we'll get your measurements, then you can choose what class you want to be in." Rhea said. So they got fitted for uniforms and Rhea told them about the three houses they could choose to join, the Blue Lions, the Golden Deer, and the Black Eagles.

"I would suggest you both go and talk to the house leaders and their professors to see which one would suit the two of you best." Rhea stated when they were done being fitted. "When you are done come back to me and tell me your choice and then myself and my assistant Seteth will tell you more about the monastery and how things work around here."

"Alright, what do these house leaders look like?" Lilina wondered. So Rhea described them in detail and the pair got a good idea of who they would be looking for.

"Okay, that should be good enough information to go on." Rutger noted when she was done. "Do you need anything else from us at this time?"

"No, I think that's it. But I will compliment you on how respectful you are and how easy you're making this on me, you aren't causing much trouble and I appreciate that." Rhea told them.

"Well, when you've been through what we've been through, you learn to take things in stride." Lilina commented. "And well, it's nice when things go smoothly, it just makes everything that much easier."

"Agreed." Rutger noted. "Well, we'll be off. We'll be sure to see you soon Lady Rhea."

"Good luck to you both and may the Goddess be with you in your studies and research for your path home." Rhea stated before they left the fitting room and started to walk down the stairs to the main part of the monastery.

"She seems like a nice lady." Lilina noted.

"Well, she's the head of a large continent-wide church, kind of like Father Yoder, she kind of has to be right?" Rutger commented back and Lilina just shrugged.

"I guess, but she was quite nice to us."

"I don't disagree, and I'm not saying it's just a front. But this is going a bit too easy for my taste, something has to give eventually." Rutger noted.

"True, I agree." Lilina commented. "Maybe one of these house leaders will be suspect, let's go find them." And with that they started searching the monastery grounds for the three leaders Rhea had mentioned. Luckily for them it didn't take them too long to find one, a short, white haired girl with a tall shadow behind her.

"Excuse us, would you happen to be Edelgard, the leader of the Black Eagles house?" Rutger asked politely as they walked up to the pair.

"Yes, that would be me." Edelgard confirmed. "And who might you be?"

"I believe these are the two that suddenly appeared in the middle of the monastery this morning." Hubert cut in with his normal, but still sinister sounding voice. "Very suspicious if you ask me Lady Edelgard."

"Don't really appreciate that thought, but your information is correct." Lilina noted a bit coldly. "My name is Lilina and this is Rutger, we're transfer students from the land of Elibe and we're deciding what house we want to join for the time being."

"Transfer students you say?" Edelgard wondered.

"Probably another secret that Rhea has under her sleeves." Hubert commented.

"Could be, or it could just be a coincidence." Edelgard noted. "Either way, I guess it wouldn't hurt to make some connections with other lands. What do you want to know about the Black Eagles and Adrestia as a whole to help make your decision?"

"What do you stand for and what is important to fight for?" Rutger asked.

"The Empire of Adrestia is a place where ability shines through over nepotism, or at least that's the way I want it to be when I'm fully in charge." Edelgard answered. "We admire strength and fortitude, while getting things done in the quickest way possible. As for what we fight for? Adrestia fights for progress and leaving crusty old traditions behind."

"Very well said Lady Edelgard." Hubert complimented her after her speech. After that Rutger and Lilina asked them a few more questions about the other students and the professor to round out their thoughts.

"We'll keep all that in mind, if you'll excuse us." Lilina said when they were done, taking Rutger's arm and walking away from them.

"I don't think we should choose them. Edelgard sounds like she has some good ideas, but Hubert is very obviously evil." Rutger noted when they were out of earshot.

"Agreed. Plus did you hear that one thing she said about 'crusty traditions' sounds like something Erik of Laus would say, I don't trust them." Lilina added. "Let's see who we can find next." But it wasn't who they found next, but who found them next. A tall blonde with spaghetti hair and a darker skinned mountain of a man.

"This is the man I met Prince Dimitri, I'm sure of it." Dedue commented and when he mentioned Dimitri's name the new students perked up and looked more attentively at them.

"Hey, just one of the people we were looking for." Lilina told the duo. "Nice to meet you, I'm Lilina and this is Rutger, we're transfer students from the land of Elibe."

"Transfer students?" Dimitri wondered. "Well, that's certainly a surprise, but a good one! Welcome to Fodlan, I hope things are going well for you so far."

"Thank you, and they are for the most part." Rutger replied. Already Dimitri was giving him vibes similar to Lord Eliwood, which was a good thing. "We've actually been looking for you because we've been given the ability to choose which house we want to join. What can you tell us about the Blue Lions and Faerghus?"

"Very well, let me try to make a compelling speech." Dimitri noted. "The Kingdom of Faerghus is a land known for its chivalry and it's loyalty. You won't find any finer knights in any other part of Fodlan. We are also very close to the Church of Serios since long ago they supported our breakaway from the Empire of Adrestia, we owe them a lot for that. We do have a bit of an issue with people from other lands invading us and a lack of resources, but we make due with what we have."

"It may be important to note, Faergus is in a bit of turmoil after the events of the Tragedy of Duscur." Dedue added. "As you may not be aware of the situation you may not realize the full extent of the issues, but we would be willing to tell you if it would help in any way."

"Might as well." Lilina noted. So they got informed about what happened in Duscur a few years ago, and it kind of got to Rutger a little bit for obvious reasons. And then they asked them more questions like they did with Edelgard to help make their decision easier.

"Thank you, both of you, for answering our questions." Rutger said after they were done. "We'll get back with you if we decide to join your house."

"Very well, we hope to hear from you soon." Dimitri said with a bow before he and Dedue left.

"Well, that went better than the first one." Lilina commented. "I'm getting Ilia vibes with them, what do you think?"

"I think my mother would be going to Faerghus to fight everyone hounding Dedue and his people." Rutger joked. "But I liked them well enough. Though we'll have to see what the last house has to offer."

"Agreed, let's find this Claude fellow." Lilina said. So they started to search for him and soon enough they found him spinning an arrow in his hand while listening to a pink haired girl talk on and on about something or other.

"Well, if it isn't our new guests from Elibe." Claude greeted the both of them with a cheeky smile. "I was wondering when we'd meet up."

"How do you know about where we're from already?" Lilina wondered.

"It pays to be in the know sometimes, and I like to keep my ear close to the ground, makes it so I don't get caught by surprise too often." Claude noted.

"Sounds like something my father would say." Rutger commented. "Anyways, yes, we are new transfer students. I'm Rutger and this is Lilina."

"Nice to meet you, and this is my right hand woman Hilda." Claude introduced the pink haired girl.

"You two look so cute together, are you together, you should be together." She greeted them.

"We're married." Lilina noted with a bit of a blush. "But thank you."

"Married? That's impressive." Claude noted. "You two must be really close then, I think you'd make great Golden Deer material, we're all about having different types of people sharing an equal standing. And not just from Fodlan, but from all over the world."

"You mean there are other nations around Fodlan?" Lilina wondered.

"Yeah, you've got Almyra, Dagda, Brigid, Sreng, and a few smaller nations around. When I'm the leader of the Leicester Alliance I want to bring all those people together along with the people of Fodlan, make it so there aren't any barriers and anyone can be whatever they want to be." Claude answered.

"Claude's a bit of a dreamer if you hadn't noticed, but he's a smart guy and a hard worker, if not a bit sneaky and crafty as well." Hilda added with a smile. "But we love him all the more for it."

"Hey, if you can get out of a situation with words rather than fighting, I'd take that every day of the week." Claude noted. After that Rutger and Lilina asked him the same questions they did the other house leaders and got to know them a bit better.

"Your teacher just got here as well, and she's a mercenary?" Lilina asked rhetorically. "Wow, you really just a hodgepodge of every part of Fodlan."

"I wouldn't have it any other way." Claude confirmed. "Yeah it may mean we get into a few more squabbles than the other houses, but that just makes us stronger."

"Hm, I feel the same way about the alliance my country is in back home." Lilina noted. "Well, thank you for your time Claude and Hilda, we'll let you know if we choose your house."

"Alright, see ya soon!" Hilda said with a wave as they walked away.

"Golden Deer?" Rutger asked when they were out of earshot.

"Golden Deer." Lilina confirmed. So they walked back up to the second floor and waited a bit to get a meeting with Rhea. Once they were welcomed in they stood in front of her and waited for her to speak.

"Did you get to speak with all the house leaders?" She asked them.

"Yeah, they all seem like good enough people, though we did have a stand out choice." Lilina answered.

"Good, that makes things easier." Rhea commented. "So, which house would you like to join?"

"We'd like to join the Golden Deer." Rutger told her. "Their goals and attitude align with ours very well and we think we'd get along pretty well with them."

"Very well, it shall be done. Thank you again for making this process easy, we've been inindated with issues this month and I appreciate it." Rhea restated. "Also, your room has been prepared with some basic necessities, but if you require any more I'm afraid you'll have to make them yourselves, share with other students, or buy them with whatever gold you may have come here with."

"We've got some supplies and gold with us, so we should be good, no need to worry about us." Rutger assured her.

"Very well, but if you do run into any issues, feel free to bring them up to me or Seteth." Rhea told the both of them. "Speaking of Seteth." She motioned him to come into the room. "We have some more information to tell you."

"Yes, now that you are a student of Garreg Mach, it's imperative that you know the basic rules and regulations." So they took the next few minutes to explain those to the pair. It wasn't anything too restrictive or out of the ordinary, so Rutger and Lilina were fine with it.

"Yeah, we can abide by those rules." Rutger noted. "Anything else?"

"Yes, each month every class is assigned a mission assisting the Church in some manner or another. Some of them do involve fighting sometimes, so you need to be able to defend yourselves."

"Oh, we've got that covered." Lilina said confidently. "Like we said before we just ended a war about a year or two ago in our home land and Rutger and I were very major players in it. We've fought dragons before and won."

"Dragons?" Rhea questioned with a bit of hesitancy in her voice.

"Oh, do you not have dragons here in Fodlan?" Lilina wondered. "Well imagine a wyvern but about ten times bigger and they can shoot fire out of their mouths. And some of them have human forms as well."

"Yeah, one of our good friends is a dragon, though she's very young for a dragon, a few hundred years old." Rutger added.

"No, I don't think I've ever heard of anything like that in Fodlan before, have you Seteth?" Rhea said, very much lying.

"Only in fictional tales some writers make up, but I've never seen or heard of one in real life." Seteth replied, lying as well.

"Oh well, I guess each land is different." Lilina said simply. "Is that all you need from us or is there more we need to speak of?"

"No, no, I think that's about it, let me show you where your room is on this map." Seteth said before doing so quickly and sending the pair off. He walked back to where Rhea was standing in a bit of shock and put his hand on her shoulder. "Rhea, it's not that bad, they don't know, and I doubt they suspect anything. The best we can do is help them get home before anything happens that let's them in on our secret."

"Start researching that orb." Rhea told him. "They are good people, I can sense it, but I can't have them risking our safety for too long. They need to go back home."

Great Tree Moon 1180

Rutger and Lilina were adjusting pretty well to life as students at Garreg Mach. Their decision to join the Golden Deer was also a fortuitous one as they felt very comfortable with most of them and respected Claude as a leader and Byleth as a no nonsense but caring professor. The first real month of classes began and after the first day of instruction Byleth gathered all the students together to speak to them as a group.

"Okay Golden Deer, Rhea has given us our mission for the month. We're to have a mock battle against the other two houses to test your combat skills and my tactical ability." Byleth explained to them all. A few people sounded excited like Raphael while some others were more concerned like Marianne. Rutger and Lilina may not have been as excited as Raphael, but they thought it was going to be fun.

"Just count on us, we've got all the experience we need!" Lilina told Byleth confidently.

"About that." Byleth started slowly. "Since we have some uneven numbers, Rhea said that you and Rutger will have a different role to play in the battle. You two will act as recruitable allies that any of the three houses can have join their side, if they can convince you."

"And I take it we're supposed to come up with some impartial way of doing that?" Rutger wondered.

"Yes, that's what she said." Byleth confirmed. "So while we come up with our strategy, you two will be coming up with your method of recruitment. And Claude, no cheating and listening in, Rhea noted that personally."

"Drat, and I thought I would be able to get one up on Edelgard and Dimitri." Claude said half disappointed since he already had a back up plan.

"I'm sure you'll come up with something to get us." Lilina commented with a smirk. "Or you're just going to have to face us down, your choice."

"Rutger, your wife is quite spunky and confident, I like her." Claude noted with a smile.

"I like her too, that's why I married her." Rutger told him with his own smirk. "Now, we'll be off so you don't snoop in on us." So they left to formulate a plan.

"So what are you thinking Rutger?" Lilina wondered.

"I'm thinking we pull a Klein and Thea." Rutger answered.

"What's a Klein and Thea?"

Rutger/Byleth C-Support

"Rutger, do you have some free time?" Byleth asked Rutger, finding it a bit strange he was by himself for once.

"Oh, professor. Yes, I'm free, do you need me for something?" Rutger wondered.

"Well, I'd like to invite you for tea so I can get to know you better, if that's okay with you." Byleth noted.

"Sounds good to me." Rutger said. So Byleth led him to a sunny tea spot and offered him some tea and snacks. "So, what do you want to know about me?"

"Let's start off with your combat abilities. What are your strengths and weaknesses?" Byleth asked.

"Seems pertinent to a mercenary such as yourself. Well, my main weapon is the sword, though I do have training in bows and horse riding as well, all skills that my mother taught me when I was younger." Rutger noted. "As for weaknesses, I can't do magic. I wish I could, but I can't."

"Are you sure about that?" Byleth wondered. "Pretty much everyone can learn magic if they try hard enough."

"Not in Elibe. In Elibe you have to have the innate ability to speak to the Anima spirits, risk your lifeforce to channel the elder Dark magic, or have great faith to use Light magic. I can't do any of those things." Rutger explained.

"But, think about it this way, you aren't in Elibe at the moment." Byleth commented. "What if you learned the Fodlan way of magic? Lilina took to it pretty fast once we got past her whole 'I need a tome to cast magic' thing."

"You really think that's a good idea?" Rutger wondered.

"You're already an excellent swordsman, probably even better than me, it's best to round out your weaknesses so you can fight in any situation." Byleth explained her thoughts.

"Heh, that sounds like something my father would say." Rutger noted.

"You seem to talk about your parents a lot, care to share what they were like?" Byleth asked. But before Rutger could even think about speaking up Caspar was flung into the tea table back first.

"Come on is that all you've got, you can hit me harder!" Caspar said getting up and rushing back in the way he was launched.

"Here, let me help you clean up." Rutger offered to Byleth.

"Thank you."

Lilina/Claude C-Support

"Got time to talk Lilina?" Claude asked casually as he walked up to the mage who was sitting in the classroom reading a history book.

"Sure thing Claude, let me put this book back first." Lilina said getting up and doing so. "You mind walking while we talk, I need some fresh air."

"Sounds good to me." Claude said putting his hands behind his head. Once they got outside Claude got right to the point. "So, you mentioned before that you're the leader of a land that's part of an alliance pact as well, would you mind telling me more about it?"

"That's what you wanted to talk about?" Lilina wondered. "But okay, sure. So, the Lycian League is a coalition of smaller nations that was founded by one of the Eight Legends Roland. Currently there are 12 member nations, though there used to be 14."

"Geez, that puts the 5 of the Alliance to shame." Claude commented.

"Well, it's a bit more similar than you think, mainly just a few of the larger nations make most of the decisions while the smaller ones put in their input for discussion." Lilina explained.

"Ah, that does sound similar. So which kind of nation do you lead?" Claude asked.

"I'm the leader of Ostia, the nation with the most territory and military might." Lilina answered, getting a shocked look from Claude. "What, weren't expecting that?"

"Can't say that I was. So you have a lot of power, how is it kept in check?" Claude wondered.

"Well, I may be the leader of Ostia, but I'm not the leader of the League. That would be the role of my good friend Roy of Pherae." Lilina noted.

"Sounds like that could be abused in the wrong hands." Claude noted.

"It could be, but during the war most of the unsavory leaders who sided with our enemies were done away with, so it's peaceful for now." Lilina commented. "I'm sure in another world Roy and I got married and we made Lycia one large nation, but it works the way it is now, no need to change it at the moment."

"You and this Roy were this close? Does Rutger know that?" Claude wondered.

"Oh yeah, me, him, and Roy all grew up together because our parents were close friends with each other." Lilina explained.

"Makes sense." Claude wondered. "So what nation does Rutger control?"

"He doesn't. He's only very technically royalty." Lilina answered. "And even if he did lead a nation, it's one of the ones that got dissolved recently."

"And your people were okay with you two getting married?" Claude asked.

"They were going to be either way, I can make my own decisions about my love life." Lilina said confidently.

"Good for you." Claude said with a smile. "Well, that's pretty much all I wanted to know for now. You think Rutger would tell me about his technical royalty if I asked him about it?"

"I think he would. Just be careful with how you bring it up, there are some touchy spots." Lilina warned him.

"Will do."

---

The day of the mock battle came and Rutger and Lilina were ready to play their part. Rutger had gotten himself some good swords and a bow, though he hadn't quite mastered any magic even if Byleth wanted him to try it. For Lilina it was a bit tougher since Fodlan's magic system was quite different from Elibe's, but she caught on pretty quickly. She wasn't at a point where she could cast something like Forblaze just yet, but with a month or two more of practice she would probably get there, to the slight jealousy of Lysithea. Either way they were both on opposite sides of the battlefield and their plan was that whoever wanted to recruit them had to get Lilina first before they could recruit Rutger who was playing a mercenary searching for his wife. But the twist was that they were going to use fake names so the more clever amongst the group couldn't cheese the scenario.

"Let the mock battle begin!" Seteth called out and things started to move. The Golden Deer began to move while the Black Eagles and Blue Lions held their ground to start out with.

"Lady Edelgard, we need to decide which of the allied units we need to recruit, my money would be on Rutger since his skills with a sword translated better to Fodlan's style." Hubert suggested.

"Very well. Caspar, go talk to Rutger and see if you can recruit him." Edelgard ordered.

"Your Majesty, the Black Eagles are moving to recruit an ally." Dedue told Dimitri. "We are closer to him than they are, if we send someone now we could intercept them."

"Good idea. Ashe, cut Caspar off and try to get to Rutger before him." Dimitri told him and Ashe ran off.

"Just as planned." Claude muttered to himself. "Hilda, I know you don't want to fight, why don't you go talk to that woman over there, she looks like she needs help." He said playing it up a bit.

"Yeah, of course." Hilda said before moving towards Lilina. About that time Ashe made it up to Rutger and started to talk to him.

"Hello sir, I don't know if you know this, but this place is a battlefield." Ashe told him. "If you don't want to get caught up in it then you might want to leave."

"I appreciate your concern young man, but I am skilled mercenary, I think I can handle myself." Rutger told him back.

"Well, then, do you think you might be able to help me and my friends out, we can pay you." Ashe offered.

"Normally I would accept, but I'm looking for my wife. If you can find her and bring her here then I'd be happy to help you out." Rutger replied.

"Very well, I will see if we can find her." Ashe said before retreating back to Dimitri and reporting the news.

"Well, you put in a good try Ashe." Dimitri told him. "And it looks like Hilda is already talking to Lilina, so our best bet is to move on the Black Eagles while they are a soldier down." Meanwhile Dimitri was right and Hilda was talking to Lilina.

"Hey, what's a woman like you doing out here on a battlefield, is not safe here." Hilda said. "How about me and my friends give you a bit of protection until things blow over yeah?"

"This is a battlefield? I was just checking some hunting traps I have out here." Lilina said as he cover story. "Yes, I would like some protection since I got separated from my husband who is a mercenary."

"Maybe he's close by and we can reunite you both." Hilda offered.

"That would be nice. My name is Thea by the way." Lilina said, giving Hilda the important information the Golden Deer needed.

"Hilda, nice to meet you." While that was going on Caspar made it to Rutger and started talking to him.

"Sorry, like I told the last kid, I can't fight for anyone until I find my wife." Rutger stated.

"Oh, I know where your wife is, she's just across the battlefield." Caspar said, trying to be smart since technically he did know.

"Really, then you should know her name as well." Rutger noted, trying not to smirk.

"Yeah, it's Lilina right?" Caspar asked, looking confused at Rutger's face.

"Wrong! And for that I now think you kidnapped her and will start attacking you." Rutger said as he whipped out his training sword and started swinging at Caspar. He was able to dodge a few times, but the surprise of the attack caught him too off guard and he was on his ass soon enough.

"Damn, you got me Rutger, nice trick." Caspar said as Rutger helped him up.

"Hey, you tried, but sometimes you have to have more information when it comes to people like me." Rutger noted. While that was going on the Blue Lions were attacking the rest of the Black Eagles and it gave Hilda all the time she needed to get Lilina over to Rutger.

"Klein, you are here!" Lilina said running up and hugging Rutger. "I'm so glad I found you."

"Same to you. Did you find her miss?" Rutger asked Hilda.

"I did." Hilda confirmed.

"Thank you so much. Do you need anything, I'm a mercenary and I could do something for you and your friends." Rutger offered.

"Well, there is one thing." Hilda said with a smile. And after that it was a bit of a steamroll. With the other two houses fighting each other and the Golden Deer having two overpowered recruits, there was no question who the winner was. When the battle was over the Deer all celebrated and the other house leaders came over to congratulate them.

"Good job Claude, professor Byleth." Dimitri said politely.

"And good acting to you two as well." Edelgard said to Rutger and Lilina.

"My father was a bit of a drama queen sometimes, that's where I get it." Rutger noted.

"Same." Lilina added.

"Well, don't think the same results will happen during the Battle of the Eagle and Lion. That battle we'll take more seriously." Edelgard warned.

"Battle of the Eagle and Lion?" Lilina wondered.

"You'll learn more later." Claude noted. "For now we have a celebratory feast to have!"

"Woo! Feast!" Raphael cheered and all the students started to make their way to the monastery.

"You did good Rutger, that was a nice plan." Lilina commented, giving him a kiss on the cheek.

"Hey, you did your part too, very convincing." Rutger replied with a smile. "Now come on before Raphael eats all the food."

Harpstring Moon 1180

The next month started much like the last one, more instruction from Byleth and more getting to know the students of the Golden Deer for Rutger and Lilina. It was nice getting into a routine and making new friends, though they were wondering what the next mission would be for them. Luckily they didn't have to wait too long because during the last day of instruction for the first week of the month, the discussion began.

"And that will be the end of classes for the week." Byleth said as she closed her notebook and placed it on her desk. "But before I release you I just got information about our next mission this morning and I want to tell you all about it."

"I hope it's nothing too exhausting, you know how I hate working." Hilda commented and everyone chuckled.

"It shouldn't be since we'll have the backup of the Knights of Seiros." Byleth commented. "It seems that they finally cornered those bandits that ambushed Claude and the other house leaders and they want us to clean it up as a form of getting real combat experience." There was a bit of murmuring after she finished saying that until Ignatz raised his hand. "Yes Ignatz?"

"Does-does that mean we're gonna have to- you know?" He stuttered.

"Kill people?" Claude guessed and Ignatz nodded.

"Most likely yes." Byleth confirmed. "I know some of you are going to be uncomfortable with it, but that's why we're doing this in as safe an environment as we can. Hopefully you'll never have to use these skills that much in the real world, but with how things can get with bandits and such in Fodlan it's a skill you need to have under your belt."

"Y-Yes, of course. Sorry to interrupt." Ignatz apologized.

"No, you had a valid concern, never feel bad for voicing it." Byleth assured him. "Any other questions about this months mission?" No one really had anything to add so they didn't raise their hands. "I'll be giving you more information as the month goes on, but other than that, class is dismissed." After that everyone started to file out of the classroom slowly, except for Ignatz. Lilina noticed and she motioned to Rutger and they sat down next to him at his table.

"Hey, is everything okay?" Lilina asked him softly.

"No, not really." Ignatz replied truthfully. "I mean I know if I want to become a knight I'm going to have to kill people, but I don't really know if I can stomach it and actually do it. You two were in a war already, how do you deal with it?"

"Well, there isn't one solid way to do it." Rutger commented. "It's kind of all about your mindset honestly. Back when I was in my dark period I though it was easy, I relished it, enjoyed it. But that's not a healthy way to live. Nowadays I tell myself that when I kill it's only to protect the ones I care about. If I don't have to kill someone, I won't, but some people can't be reasoned with."

"It also effects you depending on how far away you are from the person you are attacking." Lilina added. "I could kind of shield myself from things a bit since I could hit people from far away, but it still got to me every now and then. You're never going to stop feeling bad about it, but you do start to get used to it eventually. Like Rutger said, you have to find your mindset about it and you have to find a way to cope with it. But don't try and cope alone, we're all here to support you so you can do your best."

"All about my mindset huh?" Ignatz repeated, mainly to himself. He took a deep breath and then exhaled before standing up. "Okay, I'll try and work on that. Thank you, both of you, your words have helped slightly."

"You're welcome." Lilina told him with a warm smile. "And if you ever need support, you can come to us and we'll help the best we can." Rutger nodded his approval of that statement and Ignatz calmed down a bit more.

"Very well, I will." And with that Ignatz left the classroom to go to his room.

"You two are really starting to feel like a part of the class." Byleth commented, which surprised the two of them since they didn't know she was watching.

"Well, we've been through what he's been through before, it's just natural that we try to help." Rutger commented.

"Keep doing it then, you're both a real help sometimes."

Rutger/Claude C-Support

Claude was sitting at a table out in the middle of the monastery when he saw Rutger passing by, giving him an idea.

"Hey! Rutger! You interested in playing a game?" Claude asked. He wasn't quite sure if that would entice Rutger, but luckily it did.

"A game you say?" Rutger asked sitting down across from him. "What kind of game?"

"Well, have you ever played chess before?" Claude wondered.

"Oh, yeah, I used to play all the time with my father when I was younger." Rutger commented. "Are the rules different in Fodlan?"

"I'm not sure, let me tell you them and you can decide." Claude offered. He did so and they weren't much different than the rules in Elibe. After that the two of them started to play, but one game didn't seem to be enough. They kept trying to one up each other with each game, each move, and while Rutger was on the back foot more often than not he did come away with a decent amount of wins.

"Father Sky I've got a headache now, I don't think I can go another round." Rutger stated after about the 15th match.

"Me either, you really pushed me to my limits." Claude commented. "Though something catches me as strange."

"Yeah, what is it?" Rutger wondered.

"You kept to keep swinging between a very aggressive strategy and one where you tried to protect all of your pieces at all costs. It was part of what caught me off guard but I feel like if you leaned into one or the other you might have done a bit better." Claude noted.

"Well, probably has to do with my life experiences." Rutger explained. "My father was a great tactician, never lost a soldier in battle, that he could remember, and that's where my cautious play probably comes from. The aggressiveness comes from my more recent past. My parents, tribe, and everybody in my hometown were killed as an act of aggression in that war Lilina and I keep bringing up. I'm sad to say that I almost lost myself to rage and revenge and I'm still trying to get back to the person I used to be."

"Wow, it's interesting that you know yourself so well Rutger." Claude commented. "And I'm sorry you had to go through all of that. I take it that attack is why your territory was dissolved?"

"What?" Rutger asked confused.

"Lilina told me that you're technically royalty since your land was dissolved, I was just wondering if that was the case." Claude noted.

"Oh, that." Rutger replied, now knowing what he was talking about. "No, that's not when it happened, it happened a few years before I was born actually. My grandmother was a noble who ran away with a Sacaen chieftain and they had my mother. She, with the help of my father and her friends, saved her grandfather from getting killed from poison from his brother. Eventually he did die though, leaving my mother as the leader. But she knew in her heart that she wouldn't be a good leader for the people of Caelin, so she gave the land to Lilina's father because they were good friends."

"Damn, sounds like your mother got into some adventures like you did." Claude commented.

"You don't know the half of it. You should ask Lilina about what our parents got up to back in the day, she tells it much better than I do."

"Maybe I will."

Lilina/Byleth C-Support

Byleth thought her tea time with Rutger went well so the next time she saw Lilina she offered the same to her and Lilina gladly accepted.

"So, are you getting used to how magic is used here in Fodlan?" Byleth asked her.

"I think I am. It is a bit different here than back home, but give me another month and I should be back to full strength." Lilina said confidently.

"No need to rush, you are obviously powerful, much more so than many of the students." Byleth noted.

"Yeah, but I like having my power, it's part of what gives me confidence and security, kind of like how my father was." Lilina told her.

"Was your father a powerful mage as well?" Byleth wondered.

"Pretty much the complete opposite." Lilina answered with a slight laugh. "He was a huge, hulking mass of muscle and armor who could swing a huge axe so quickly that it looked like lightning was coming out of it. And while he was a gruff man, he had a good heart and he was sneakily smart as well when he wanted to be."

"Hm, you keep saying 'was' like Rutger does about his parents. I take it he's not alive anymore?" Byleth commented.

"No, and neither is my mother." Lilina confirmed. "My father took on a cursed axe in support of his best friend's cause and he was fated to die in a bloody battle, which he did. My mother died a few years after I was born. She was a very strong woman even though many people didn't see it. She was a lot like Bernadetta when she was younger, but gained confidence as she got older. She was also Rutger's mother's best friend, so we were quite close as we were growing up."

"Well, it seems like you loved them and they loved you back, that's nice." Byleth noted. "I never knew my mother and my father really never spoke of her much. But while my father can be distant, I know he cares about me."

"Even so, you should tell him before you don't get the chance to any more." Lilina commented. "I never got the chance to say goodbye, I don't want you to go through that if you don't have to."

"Heh, I don't think my father is going to be dying anytime soon, have you seen him?" Byleth asked with some confidence. "I think I'm good for now.

"If you say so." Lilina noted.

"Now, you said your father was good with axes that looked like lightning. What if I told you I could teach you to use a magic axe with those same properties?" Byleth offered.

"Oooh, I would love that!"

---

"So why is this placed called the Red Canyon?" Lilina wondered as the Golden Deer made their base in a flat space leading into said canyon.

"Legend states that there was a huge battle between the Goddess and her followers and Nemesis the so called "King of Liberation" and it was a bloody one, hence the name." Claude explained.

"Makes sense." Rutger noted.

"Okay class, we're going to take this mission slowly." Byleth said getting the attention of her students. "Don't overextend yourselves and always try to stick with one other person. Fall back if you need healing and don't take fights you aren't confident in. Rutger, Lilina, I don't want you engaging the bandits unless they attack you first, this experience is supposed to be for the other students."

"Understood, I can hang back and be an extra healer." Lilina stated.

"And I can rescue anyone that gets into trouble." Rutger added.

"Rescue?" Byleth wondered.

"It's a technique we use back in Elibe, you carry a smaller soldier and protect them from being attacked, though it does hamper your ability to fight and dodge some." Rutger explained.

"Interesting, you'll have to explain more when we get back." Byleth noted. After that the final preparations were made and the Golden Deer headed out to battle. Everything was going about as well as it could, everyone was getting experience and learning what it felt to be in a live battle. Rutger even got to open a chest since he wasn't supposed to be fighting, something he rarely got to do back home. Eventually it was just down to the bandit boss leader and one of his minions. While most of the class was focusing on the boss Lilina and Rutger were helping Ignatz with the minion.

"Just take a deep breath and use your bow how you know how to use it." Lilina told him. She had trapped the bandit with columns of fire so Ignatz could get some free shots in.

"Let the wind guide you, swift and powerful. Let it soothe you." Rutger added, using his own experience to try and help.

"Let the wind soothe me." Ignatz muttered before lining up the shot and taking it. He hit the bandit right between the eyes and he felt down dead. "I did it. I a-actually did it! I think I'm gonna throw up!" And as he took a few steps away he did just that, but Rutger and Lilina were there to support him with some water to wash his mouth out.

"It's going to be alright." Lilina assured him.

"Look, the rest of the class is done with the boss, we can start to leave soon." Rutger noted, thinking that would help.

"G-Good." Ignatz said still breathing deeply. "Thank you again, I think I'll be able to get used to this soon enough, just give me some time."

"Take all the time you need." Lilina told him. "Now let's go celebrate with the rest of the Deer, I'm sure that will cheer you up!"

"Yeah, let's get some food in you, that will help your coloring out." Rutger added.

"You sound like Raphael." Ignatz joked, and that's when they knew things would be fine.

Garland Moon 1180

Before Byleth could tell them what their mission for the month was going to be Rutger and Lilina were called to Rhea's office and when they got there Seteth was there as well.

"Greetings, I'm happy to see you two are fitting in so well here at the Officer's Academy. How has the progress on your research gone?" Rhea asked the two.

"I'm making a bit of progress, but nothing too solid just yet." Lilina noted. "But now that I've got Fodlan's magic system well under my belt I feel my progress will speed up."

"That's good. I have some good news as well, I found the merchant Anna you mentioned and she's agreed to help you two out along with fighting with the Golden Deer for the time being. You can find her in the marketplace if you wish to speak with her." Rhea noted.

"That's great, Annas are a great resource if you paid them well." Rutger replied. "And she's an Anna that can fight? Even better."

"Speaking of fighting, we mainly asked you here today because the mission for the Golden Deer is a bit more politically involved than the last two month's." Seteth explained. "The Golden Deer are to be sent out with the Knights of Seiros to finish quelling a rebellion against the church. We know you two are pretty important figures back in your homeland, so Rhea and I figured we'd give you the chance to stay back if you don't want to get involved."

"Well, tell us a bit more about this rebellion and we can make a decision." Lilina requested. So Rhea and Seteth explained about Lord Lonato and his rebellion. They told them about the assassination rumors and all that entailed along with how Lonato was Ashe's adoptive family. Everything seemed all fine and good to the two of them, nothing seemed to seriously out of place.

"I don't see an issue in trying to help." Rutger noted. "But we appreciate your concern Lady Rhea, it's nice that you're still looking out for us."

"But of course, what kind of emissary of the Goddess would I be if I didn't try to help everyone the best I can?" Rhea asked rhetorically. "And thank you for your support once again, I'm sure Byleth and the students will have more confidence with you around."

"Yeah, I hope so." Lilina noted. "Well, if that's everything, we should go try and talk to Anna and get some progress done on getting home."

"Yes, you two may go. And may the Goddess bless your progress." Rhea said and then the two left.

"If I dare say, I think you're starting to become fond of them." Seteth commented.

"They are very honest people, something that's sorely needed around here, even on my part." Rhea admitted. "I guess they just make me feel at ease because things with them are simple."

Rutger/Byleth B-Support

Byleth had found some time to finally try and help Rutger start learning some Fodlan style magic, so they were at the training grounds trying to get something to spark.

"Here in Fodlan magic comes from the inner self and it manifests itself as an element that represents the person casting it." Byleth explained. "What element do you think is inside you?"

"If I were to take a guess I would say wind." Rutger noted.

"Why do you say that?" Byleth asked.

"Because all Sacaens have a innate connection to the winds of the plains." Rutger explained. "Even here in Fodlan I can hear them calling out to me, though I've never had as strong a connection as most Sacaens."

"Why is that?" Byleth wondered.

"Because of what happened to my parents." Rutger replied. "I cut myself off from the winds of Sacae when I travelled my path of revenge for their deaths. I only got the connection back recently because of some respected elders and my close friends."

"So that's what happened. Man, you and Lilina have already had tough lives." Byleth commented.

"She told you about her parents I take it?" Rutger asked.

"Yes, she did." Byleth confirmed. "But let's focus more on you for now. Are there any Sacaen methods of meditation you could try to strengthen your connection to the winds of the plains?"

"There are, my mother taught them to me, but I've never thought to use them in a way such as this." Rutger noted.

"Well, why don't you and we'll see how it turns out? When you meditate focus on your inner energy and letting it out." Byleth suggested. "Try it every day and then if something happens report it to me okay?"

"Sounds like a plan." Rutger said with a nod. "And thanks for listening, you're good at it."

"You're welcome, all part of trying to be a good teacher." Byleth stated.

"Well, I'd say we're getting along more like friends almost." Rutger joked.

"Perhaps."

Lilina/Claude B-Support

Claude was doing some personal shopping in the marketplace inside the monastery grounds when he spotted Lilina talking to a red haired merchant. So he walked up and waited until they were done speaking to cut in.

"Do you have some time to spare Lilina?" He asked.

"Uh, sure, I think I do Claude." Lilina replied before waving goodbye to Anna with a smile.

"You know that merchant?" Claude asked.

"Kind of, I know her sister who lives in Elibe." Lilina explained. "Her name is Anna, you can find one of her sisters in pretty much any land. I'm enlisting her help to help Rutger and I get home."

"Wait, you two don't know how to get home?!" Claude asked as he stopped walking.

"Oops, I wasn't supposed to tell you that." Lilina noted with a bit of a blush. "But you're good at keeping secrets right?"

"I am, but you'll have to do something for me in return." Claude replied with a smirk.

"And what would that be?" Lilina wondered.

"You have to tell me some exciting stories about what happened with your parents and Rutger's parents." Claude explained. "He told me that you are the better storyteller between the two of you and I was intrigued."

"Is that all?" Lilina asked with a chuckle. "Very well, but let's head to a place where we can have some snacks and drinks." So they headed to Claude's room and Lilina started telling him all the cool and funny stories about her father, Lady Lyndis, Mark, and Lord Eliwood. Claude was very enthralled about it all, he loved learning about new people and places, and he had some comments of his own along the way.

"So Ninian and Nils were dragons the whole time and no one found out until Eliwood accidentally killed her? Makes me wonder if there is anyone here in Fodlan like that." Claude noted.

"Well Rhea and Seteth said that they've never heard of anything like that before in Fodlan." Lilina commented.

"Yeah, but they could be lying, especially if people treat those people like they did dragons in your world." Claude theorized.

"That's true, but I'd rather them come out of their own accord than be forced to tell everyone." Lilina countered.

"Oh, me too." Claude agreed. "But I'd still want to know, you know?"

"Yeah, I get it." Lilina noted.

"And another thing, it seemed like your father and Rutger's mother were very close. Seems like you two could have been siblings if things went differently." Claude commented, which got Lilina to start laughing pretty hard. "What? What did I say?"

"Something I can't tell you about, but if you want to know just ask Rutger about his parent's 'reputation' and you'll find out why I think what you said was funny." Lilina told him.

"You two keep bouncing me back and forth eh? Well I guess it helps get to know you both better."

---

"Hm, it looks like some fog is going to be rolling in." Rutger commented as the Golden Deer were waiting for their orders.

"How can you tell that, are you like a fortune teller or something?" Raphael asked impressed.

"I seriously doubt that, that seems like something a mage would be able to do." Lorenz commented. "Though do color me impressed if you're right, what brings you to that conclusion?"

"The thickness in the air and the temperature around us, I've experienced it many times on the plains." Rutger explained. "Do we have any torches? Those will help us light the way if we have to fight in it."

"I brought some!" Lysithea noted.

"Good, give one to Lorenz and Claude since they are our most mobile fighters and will help us see more." So the torches were distributed and sure enough the fog started to roll in.

"Impressive, though we probably won't need to fight as much since the knights should be taking care of everything." Lorenz noted before Byleth ran up to the class.

"Golden Deer! Change of plans! Lonato's forces are trying to use this fog to slip away! Catherine will help us push them back, but we need to be careful with this fog!" She told them.

"Already on it! Rutger had us prepared!" Hilda commented.

"Really? Good job then! Let's head out!" Again everything went smoothly, they were even able to stop some of the fog since it was being strengthened by some magic. But Rutger and Lilina were more interested in Catherine's glowing sword. So when the battle was pretty much in hand they asked her about it.

"Oh this? This is Thunderbrand, a Hero's Relic passed down through my families blood line." She explained. "Only those with a Crest can wield it safely, so don't be getting any ideas."

"Kind of like one of my swords back home actually." Rutger commented.

"What happens if someone without a Crest uses it?" Lilina wondered.

"I'm not quite sure myself, but I've heard stories, none of them end in a happy ending." Catherine noted. "But tell me about your sword Rutger, what's it like?"

"It's called the Mani Katti, and it chooses it's user based on the contents of their will and soul." Rutger explained. "And every time it's passed on it gets stronger and stronger. My mother was the last one to use it and I inherited it from her."

"Nice, do you have it on you?" Catherine asked.

"No unfortunately, and even if I did bring it with me, it probably would have ended up like the sword I had before we got transported here." Rutger replied.

"Fair enough. Well, it seems like the rest of the Deer have dealt with Lonato, let's see what's up."

Blue Sea Moon 1180

"What could they be after?" Hilda wondered after Byleth had given the Golden Deer their mission for the month. "I mean it could be anything, there are so many old relics and treasures here at Garreg Mach."

"When I came here I never figured I'd be part of the security force." Claude joked. "What do you two think?" He asked Rutger and Lilina. "I know you two don't know much about Fodlan and the situation, but maybe that kind of perspective can help in a time like this."

"I think they might be after something that they can only do at this time for whatever reason." Lilina noted. "Otherwise they could have done it whenever they found the best opening for their plan instead of having to do it this month."

"I agree, whatever it is I doubt it has anything to do with killing Lady Rhea, I think that's just a ruse to get people moving around." Rutger added. "It's a tactic my father talked about all the time, make your enemy focus on something trivial so the thing you really want is easier to get."

"But what could they get that they could only get now?" Raphael wondered. "Maybe it's some time of seasonal food perhaps?"

"I think what Rutger is implying is that it has something to do with the Right of Rebirth at the end of the month, right?" Lysithea corrected him.

"Yes, those are my thoughts exactly." Rutger confirmed. "So anyone poking around that Holy Mausoleum is suspicious, but more than likely something will happen when it gets opened."

"Good thinking, that's what we can focus our energy on this month. Everyone keep your eyes peeled for anything suspicious." Byleth said since she had been listening in. After that everyone dispersed and Lilina wandered off by herself until she ran into Marianne.

"Good afternoon Marianne, how are you doing today?" She asked with a smile.

"Ah, um, good?" Marianne said softly. "I'm just feeding some little birdies and listening to them talk to each other."

"Wouldn't it be nice if they could actually talk to us?" Lilina wondered. "I bet they know what's going on this month but they just can't tell us."

"Y-Yes, that would be nice, wouldn't it?" Marianne commented, not wanting to let it slip that she could speak to the birds. "Do you have birds and other cute animals where you come from?"

"Oh, tons of them!" Lilina confirmed. "Back home I keep a small garden just for little critters to eat from and live in and it's always so wonderful to see them all happy and cheerful."

"It's nice to meet another animal lover." Marianne noted. "But maybe I shouldn't waste my time here when we have information to gather."

"Nonsense, you do what makes you happy Marianne." Lilina assured her. "A happy person is a more productive one, and we'd rather you be happy with less information than stressed with more."

"O-Okay, thank you, I appreciate that." Marianne said cracking a small smile of her own. "Maybe next time we talk I can introduce you to some horses I like."

"Sounds like fun!"

Rutger/Claude B-Support

Rutger and Claude were competing again, but not at a board game this time. Today they were having an archery competition in the training grounds and it was getting to the point where they both had to keep making trick shot after trick shot to keep up with each other.

"Damn, you are one competitive fellow." Claude commented after a while. "I didn't think you were this good at archery, but you may be a rival even to Shamir."

"I'm not, I'm just a bit competitive." Rutger noted humbly. "I get that from my mother honestly. She hated to lose at anything and even when she was outmatched she could use that energy to push her skill to extraordinary levels. If you think this is crazy you should have seen her."

"Your mother seems like she was an amazing woman, shame I won't be able to meet her." Claude noted. "So, staying on a similar subject, would your mother's competitiveness be something that gave her some sort of 'reputation' of any kind?" When Rutger heard Claude say that word in that tone it made him let go of his bowstring and have his arrow fly wildly out the top of the training grounds. And there was only one person that could have told Claude what that would mean to him.

"What did Lilina tell you?" Rutger asked after composing himself.

"Well, I commented after she told me some stories about both of your parents that it could have gone down that you two were siblings instead of lovers and she just laughed and told me to ask you about your parents reputation." Claude explained. "She told me that you should be the one to tell me this one, which I have to say, really digging how you two play off each other."

"Wonderful." Rutger said as he ran his hand over his face. "Well, we're the only ones here so I guess it's safe to say it here. So I guess the simplest way to put it is that my parents had an open relationship."

"Ah, I get it now." Claude said putting some pieces of the puzzle together. "And because of that they slept with Lilina's parents making it funny when I suggested you could be siblings. But the question begs to be asked now, do you have any siblings? Or had I guess I should say."

"Against all odds, no." Rutger replied. "And those odds were better than you would even think. Because even moreso than having an open relationship my parents had this theory about intimacy."

"A theory about intimacy, color me intrigued." Claude noted.

"They felt that one of the best ways to be closer to their friends was to sleep with them." Rutger continued. "My father would always say that there was nothing else to hide after you've seen someone naked and my mother was more into the physical side of it and said that feeling someone so close made her feel more complete. And they had many friends, too many to count off here. So yeah, it's probably about a million to one chance that I was an only sibling."

"You could take a couple of mine of my hands, make it even." Claude joked.

"You offering?" Rutger joked back.

"Nah, I don't want to have to put you through that." Claude noted, thinking to how his family was. "But you've talked about how your parents felt about intimacy, what about you?"

"I mean, I don't disagree with their theories since it did work out for them, but I don't know if I'm willing to put myself out there like that." Rutger replied honestly. "It's something Lilina and I would need to talk about, and I don't even know if she'd be okay with it."

"I respect your honesty Rutger, and your devotion and loyalty to your wife. Less and less men are like that these days." Claude commended him.

"Thank you Claude, that means a lot." Rutger noted. "But enough about me, what are your thoughts on intimacy?"

"Ah, ah, ah, you haven't unlocked that conversation from me yet." Claude teased.

"Fine then, how about this? Next missed shot has to answer any question the other has about them." Rutger offered.

"Heh, you're on!"

Lilina/Byleth B-Support

Byleth had asked Lilina to meet her at the training grounds and now she was here. She noticed a stray arrow outside the gate but paid it no mind as she entered. She saw Byleth standing in the middle of the area holding an axe that looked like it was forged in the shape of two lightning bolts.

"Glad you could make it Lilina, check this out." Byleth said moving the axe closer. "This is the Bolt Axe, the weapon I told you about earlier. This weapon uses its owner's magical ability to do damage instead of it's physical strength, after our little discussion before I figured that this would be the perfect secondary weapon for you."

"Wow, we don't have many weapons like this back in Elibe." Lilina said in wonder. "Can I hold it?"

"Of course." Byleth confirmed.

"I mean the closest thing I can think of is the Light-" Lilina was cut off in the middle of her sentence because when Byleth stopped holding the axe with her it was very heavy and she had to prop it up on the ground. "Elimine, it's heavy."

"Well, it's still an axe." Byleth noted. "You'll need to build up a bit more strength to use it properly, but once you get the hang of it your magic ability will kick in and help you swing it as well."

"Seems like I shouldn't have dismissed my father's training regiment for me so early." Lilina noted.

"Training regiment?" Byleth wondered and Lilina chuckled.

"Long story, but the short version is that he always figured he was going to have a son, but when I came around he had to change his tune a bit." Lilina replied. "But only a bit, as I was growing up he made sure that I was always in good physical shape along with magical shape. But I kind of stopped doing it once I started my real magical tutoring."

"Seems like something my father would do." Byleth noted. "But hey, at least you have a regiment you can get back into."

"Yeah, I'll be stronger than Roy by the time Rutger and I get back." Lilina joked.

"You know, you keep talking about this Roy fellow, I take it you're good friends with him as well?" Byleth asked. "How come he isn't with you and Rutger?"

"I'm kind of not supposed to tell you that." Lilina told Byleth honestly. "But if you can keep a secret I'll tell you."

"I think I can." Byleth replied. So Lilina told her about how Rutger and her got to Fodlan and how Roy was too far away from the portal to get sucked in.

"He's probably worried sick about us, that's another reason why I really want to get back home." Lilina finished.

"Well, I'll do all I can to help you out, promise." Byleth assured her.

"Thank you, that means a lot coming from you." Lilina noted.

"What does that mean?" Byleth wondered.

"Well, you're always so determined and driven in what you do, I know you'll be a really good asset to have." Lilina clarified. "And I kind of see you as a friend as well, so that helps."

"Makes sense, you have good senses when it comes to reading people."

---

"Well, turns out our theories were correct, they wanted something inside the Mausoleum." Byleth commented as the Golden Deer stood at the entrance and saw the whole room filled with enemies and strange looking mages with beak-like masks

"Then we'll just have to smash through and get to it before they do!" Claude said as a war cry.

"Keep your eyes about you Deer, there are some powerful enemies afoot." Byleth added, practically staring down the knight wearing black spiked armor and a skull mask. "Claude, you take a force left. Lorenz, you take a force right. Rutger, Lilina and I will charge the knight in the middle. Move out!" And like that the Golder Deer moved out like a well oiled machine. Rutger and Lilina flanked Byleth on each side as they ran up the middle of the mausoleum, picking off enemies as they went.

"Wait, it seems that the knight isn't moving to attack us." Lilina noted. "If we stay out of his range we can plan against his attacks.

"Yes, that's what I was thinking as well." Byleth confirmed. So the trio stopped to think. Though it didn't take long for Rutger to notice something.

"Those tiles on the floor next to the knight, they are colored differently." He pointed out. "That usually means that if you stand there you'll get a little bit of extra protection, at least where we come from that's what it means."

"That's true here as well." Byleth confirmed. "But how are we going to all get on them before he attacks us?"

"Well, he can only attack one of us at a time probably, if one of you distracts him then the rest of us can move forward." Lilina noted.

"I'll do it, I have more experience dodging lances and taking hits from them." Rutger volunteered.

"I still don't think you'll get there in time, even with your speed." Byleth noted. "He's just too close to those tiles."

"Then push me closer to them." Rutger stated.

"What?" Byleth asked confused.

"Push me closer to them." Rutger restated. "It's a technique my father picked up from another tactician friend of his. If someone strong enough gives someone else a strong enough push it can get them up to full speed faster. If you push me towards the tiles I should get there in time."

"I don't see any other better idea." Lilina noted.

"Fine, we'll do it then. Get into position." Byleth said so Rutger got into a running position and Byleth got behind him. "Get ready to block when you get there, he's going to be right on top of you."

"I'll be ready." Rutger said with confidence. So Byleth gave him a good shove and he started dashing towards the protective tiles. His plan worked and he got there just in time to unsheathe his sword and parry the lance attack of the Death Knight.

"You! You and that girl aren't supposed to be here! I'll finish you off here!" The Death Knight stated as he backed off and reared up for another attack.

"How do you even know who we are?" Rutger asked before preparing his own attack.

"Our ties run deep foreigner!" The Death Knight said as he swooped in for another attack. Rutger dodged this one and landed a blow on his armor, sending him back a bit.

"Well my sword cuts deeper. If you don't want to die here I suggest you flee while you can." Rutger taunted him. Before the Death Knight could respond he was blindsided by a huge fireball from one side and a gauntlet on the other.

"Ha! Take that!" Lilina cheered as the knight slumped down on his horse. But before more celebrating could commence the Death Knight swung his scythe-like lance and a line of magic came out of it targeting Byleth and Lilina. They both were lucky enough to dodge it but the mere thought of the Death Knight getting in a cheap blow like that brought out some anger in Rutger.

"Die!" Was all he dared say before he launched into his ultimate attack, the one that his mother had taught him where he moved so fast it looked like there were four of him attacking at the same time. But the split second before the attack hit and most likely killed the Death Knight he teleported away. "That's right, you better run!"

"That was some nice teamwork!" Lilina noted as she moved closer to Rutger to make sure he was okay. "You good?"

"Yeah, just a bit of normal anger, nothing to worry about." Rutger confirmed.

"Then let's keep moving, it looks like those mages are about to open the coffin up." Byleth noted.

"Well, let's give you a boost then." Rutger said before he pushed her forward with Lilina's help. Byleth quickly got to the end of the room and quickly disposed of all the mages around the coffin except for one. It was a bit hard to see from so far away but it looked like the mage pulled a sword out of the coffin, Byleth disarmed them and took the sword for herself, and then deflected some fireballs away before smashing through a magical barrier the mage made for himself as a last ditch effort to survive. Either way Byleth cut them down and the whole class ran up to see what was going on.

"That sword, it's glowing." Claude noted. "I wonder if it's a Hero's Relic."

"You know, this kind of reminds me of when Roy got the Binding Blade." Lilina noted to Rutger.

"Yeah, me too." Rutger agreed. "Maybe this means that this whole situation is about to come to a head soon like it did for us."

"Well, I think Byleth and the Deer can handle it, don't you?" Lilina wondered.

"I do, they are strong willed and have strong bonds that they can trust in, just like we did back then."

Verdant Rain Moon 1180

After the battle in the Holy Mausoleum Byleth was very busy with all the questions she had and all the questions other people had, so when the first day of instruction for the month came she was a bit tired and most of the day had already passed so she decided to give the students an easy day.

"Okay class, a short day today because I need some rest for once. So first off, let me introduce two new members of the Golden Deer, Felix and Annette." Byleth said letting the two of them stand in front of the class. "They both asked me if I could teach them instead of Professor Hanneman and I accepted since I know them pretty well and I think that they will get along with all of you pretty well. Please treat them as you would any other member of the class."

"I'm sure that we'll have lots of fun learning together!" Annette said with a smile to the class.

"Can I sit down now, this is embarrassing?" Felix asked afterwards, which Byleth granted.

"He reminds me of someone." Lilina whispered into Rutger's ear to tease him.

"Whomever could it be?" He whispered back before Byleth started speaking again.

"Next, explaining what happened in the mausoleum the other day. So the sword we found in the coffin is known as the Sword of the Creator and is indeed a Hero's Relic." Byleth confirmed. "And it's possibly the most powerful one out there, which makes it a bit strange that Lady Rhea is letting me keep it and do with it as I please, but a good weapon is a good weapon so I'm not complaining. As for why I can use it so well, Professor Hanneman finally figured out what type of Crest I have and apparently it's the Crest of Flames, a very rare Crest if his words are to be taken seriously, which I would since he usually knows what he's talking about."

"Any chance I could give it a few swings?" Claude joked, but his tone betrayed the thought that he did actually want to use it.

"Stick to your bows for now Claude, I barely even know anything about it yet." Byleth answered. "And lastly, our mission for the month. Felix already knows what's going on because of his connections but for the rest of you that don't know the situation that is happening is that Sylvain's brother stole his family's Hero's Relic with his group of bandits and now they are holed up in a tall tower. Our mission is to get the Relic back by any means necessary, so we'll be fighting again this month? Any questions?"

"Will Sylvain be joining us for this mission?" Hilda asked. "Just asking so us girls can be prepared for that."

"He will not, the Blue Lions have another matter to deal with." Byleth replied, getting a sigh of relief out of every girl except Lilina since she really didn't know Sylvain's reputation that well. "But we will be receiving help from Gilbert, one of the Knights of Seiros."

"Leave it to be this month to join this class." Annette muttered to herself, though she was sitting close enough to Lilina for her to hear it and be a bit concerned.

"If that is everything I'm just going to let you all study for yourselves the rest of the day, just don't tell Seteth I went to go take a nap." Byleth stated before getting comfortable at her desk and doing just that. The class was well behaved enough that they didn't start problems, but after a bit there was less studying and more talking going on.

"So, what's the deal with this Sylvain guy?" Lilina asked Hilda since she was still curious.

"He's like Lorenz but ten times worse." Hilda explained. "At least with Lorenz you get the sense he actually has a bit of respect for the women he hits on, but with Sylvain you can just tell he has some sort of resentment behind all his compliments."

"Really? The few times I talked to him he seemed pretty okay." Lilina noted.

"Well, that's probably because you're not from around here." Hilda suggested. "Word is that Sylvain has a problem with women because he thinks they only want him for his Crest, which you obviously wouldn't care about since you don't live in Fodlan."

"That makes sense in a bit of a twisted way I guess." Lilina pondered. "Well, I hope he can get over that issue, because other than that he seems like a smart guy."

"Honestly, it could be worse, he could be his brother."

Rutger-Lilina/Felix-Annette C-Support

A few days after they got their mission Byleth suggested that Rutger and Lilina train a bit with Felix and Annette since they were all trying to learn some of the same things and because she thought the four of them might get along pretty well. Well that and she couldn't spar with Felix every time he asked and she figured that Rutger would be a good enough match for him. And she was right, Felix jumped at the chance to learn from a swordmaster as skilled as Rutger. As for Rutger, it was his first chance at actually trying to mentor someone instead of pushing them away like he did with Fir in the past.

"Your form is almost perfect Felix." Rutger praised him after they had been sparring for a bit with the girls watching them. "Your arms and legs move very smoothly and fluidly with each other, but I sense something holding you back. Something that used to hold me back as well."

"Are you going to tell me what it is or are you going to make me guess what it is?" Felix asked slightly annoyed that he wasn't given the answer right away, though he did appreciate the complements Rutger gave him.

"I was hoping you'd guess since the first step to fixing a problem is realizing you have one." Rutger noted. "What do you think your issue is? What's stopping you from unlocking that last little bit inside you?"

"I'm, I'm not really sure actually." Felix admitted. "But sometimes when I'm fighting I feel an emptiness in my chest and my neck tenses up, even when I've just eaten and stretched. Do you know why my body does that?"

"Well if I'm right, and I may not be this is just my personal experience, you fight with too much pent up anger." Rutger explained. "It's like that anger is like a set of invisible training weights that slows you down ever so much."

"You've dealt with anger problems before?" Felix asked a bit surprised since he knew Rutger to be a pretty chill guy all things considered.

"More than you could even imagine." Rutger confirmed. "Now, don't take this personally or anything, but perhaps you've experienced some sort of loss recently, maybe a family member or something? Because that's what my anger was about, my parents and all my friends were killed with me being left as the only survivor."

"Kind of like the Boar then." Felix commented.

"Who?" Rutger asked confused.

"Dimitri." Felix confirmed. "The same thing happened to him during the Tragedy of Duscur, along with my brother dying as well. You really think my anger for my brother and his stupid ideals getting him killed is holding me back from becoming a better fighter?"

"It's a possibility, thought that's something you'll have to learn to deal with in your own way, neither I or anyone else can fully take care of it for you." Rutger told him truthfully.

"You know, I used to think Rutger was kind of scary when you two first got here, but seeing him talking to Felix like that and trying to help him out, he's just a bit softie. I can see why you like him so much Lilina." Annette commented while she and Lilina were listening in on the conversation.

"Oh, believe me, if you would have seen him a couple years ago you would have run for the hills." Lilina noted with a bit of a chuckle. "Because he's not kidding about those anger issues. He was pretty much a stone cold killing machine out for revenge back then, it took me and a few others just to pull him back from the edge, and he's still not even back to the way he was."

"What do you mean? Annette wondered.

"Well, you know Caspar from the Black Eagles right?" Lilina asked.

"Yeah."

"Rutger used to be like him before his parents died, though obviously a bit smarter than Caspar, but you get the idea. He was loud and friendly and always wanted to have a good time with his friends, but now he's more like your friend Dedue, calm and reserved most of the time." Lilina explained. "And it's not like he doesn't have his moments, I mean look at him and Felix going at it and the smile on his face, but I wish that he would have more of them you know?"

"Hmm, well I don't know a lot about that kind of stuff." Annette admitted. "But what I do know is that even if someone has changed a lot on the outside that they are still the same person on the inside and that you should support them the best you can. And from what I've seen you do that very well Lilina. Anyone would be lucky to have a partner like you."

"Thank you Annette, that means a lot from someone as supportive and studious as you." Lilina replied with a smile before remembering something. "Oh yeah, I heard you muttering about that Gilbert fellow Byleth mentioned before, something up with him?"

"Oh, you could say that." Annette said rolling her eyes a bit. "He's my father."

"Your father? Well I guess that makes sense with the hair and such." Lilina noted. "But you didn't seem happy about that, why is that?"

"Because he's never around!" Annette said a bit loudly, even getting the guys to look at her a bit. "Sorry. It's just that ever since things started to happen with Dimitri and Duscur and all this other stuff he's cut himself from our family for whatever reason and I don't like it!" A few tears started to roll down her face and Lilina let her rest her head on her shoulder while the guys sat down to do what they could to comfort her as well.

"Fathers and Faerghus, one wonderful combination in this world." Felix commented sarcastically. "Can't live with them, can't live without them."

"Maybe you're just being a bit too harsh on them, they probably have good reasons for doing what they've done." Lilina noted, making Felix shoot her a glare. But before he could say anything Rutger cut in.

"I think what she's trying to say is that at least your fathers still show that they care for you, even if you don't agree on how they go about doing it." He said, which did calm Felix down a bit. "But, if I'm being honest, distant fathers aren't our strong suit, dead ones are more our speed."

"Oh, I didn't even realize that, I'm so sorry." Annette said, starting to feel even worse.

"No, no, it's not your fault, I'm the one who asked about it." Lilina assured her. "We're not trying to make either of you feel bad, we just have some slightly different experiences when it comes to dealing with our fathers, that's all."

"I guess fathers are just better in Elibe." Felix commented.

"Yeah, about that." Rutger started. But he had an idea. So he told them about Zephiel and his father and what happened with that and the story seemed to at least calm the tension down a bit and eventually everything was calm again.

"Well, I can safely say my father has never tried to kill me multiple times." Annette commented feeling a bit better.

"Though I have to say, faking your death is kind of hardcore." Felix added, which made the other three laugh a bit. "What? It's a good plan, that's all!"

"If you say so Felix." Lilina said as she playfully shook her head at him. "Hey Annette, you know what always helps me blow off some steam, practicing my magic. You want to spar while the guys watch us?"

"You know what, that sounds great! A little competition always gets my spirits up!"

---

"You know, I'm kind of glad we're fighting in this tower and not that swampy looking land." Lilina commented as she and the rest of the Golden Deer along with Gilbert entered Connad Tower.

"Yeah, I think we'd all be slowed down out there." Rutger agreed. After that the class formed up to take in what the situation was and to form a strategy.

"Hm, it seems we'll have to wind around the outside before we can get to the center where Miklan is." Byleth noted. "Though our archers should be able to shoot up above those walls enough to pick off a few enemies."

"If I may make a suggestion professor," Rutger chimed in. "This place is rife with places for reinforcements to flood in and we did still see a number of bandits outside. I think we should have a small group watch our backs and flanks just in case. It was something we had to deal with a lot back home."

"Yes, I was thinking that as well." Byleth confirmed. "I was thinking you, Lilina, and Gilbert could do that so the rest of the students can get more experience. If that's alright with you three of course."

"I'm good with that." Lilina replied.

"Me as well." Rutger added.

"I am under your command professor, I will do as ordered." Gilbert stated.

"Good. Then everyone prepare to attack." So the battle began. It was a bit slow going to start out with, Claude and Ignatz took some potshots at the higher levels and the rest of the Deer took care of the bandits around the first corner. Though after that there came a split in the tower with some treasure down the hall. "Lilina, take these chest keys as the rest of us move ahead, we're counting on you three to clean anything up we pass up okay?"

"Got it!" Lilina confirmed as she took the keys and moved down the hall.

"Enemies from the rear!" Gilbert called out soon after. "Not that many of them, I can take care of that group, you two move on." He told Rutger and Lilina. So they left him there and moved a fair distance behind the main group. Eventually they came to a set of stairs that looked suspicious.

"I'd bet good gold that people will be coming out of here any moment." Lilina noted.

"Yeah, let's hold up here for a bit." Rutger agreed. And that thinking paid off because a few waves of bandits did show up, but they dispatched them easily. After that they continued going around the tower, finding a few more chests to open, but right as they got to the second to last hall before the center they heard a large roar and then a huge black beast appear in the middle of the tower. "That, that looks a bit familiar doesn't it?" Rutger commented.

"Maybe dragons are a thing here." Lilina added. "Come on, if it's as dangerous as one we should get up there and help." So they picked their pace up and eventually they caught up to Byleth and the rest of the students.

"Lilina, Rutger, this wouldn't happen to be one of those dragons you have back home would it?" Claude asked as they showed up. "Because Miklan just transformed into this after trying to use the Hero's Relic."

"We were honestly thinking the same thing." Lilina noted. "Though it does look slightly different than our dragons."

"Well, whatever it is it looks like the others have it well in hand, so it's obviously not as strong as our dragons." Rutger noted seeing the others dispatch it without much struggle. Once the beast was defeated the black mass shrunk down just leaving Miklan's dead body and the Lance of Ruin.

"Either way, we got what we've come here for." Byleth said picking the lance up. "Though something tells me Rhea is going to want some words with us."

Horsebow Moon 1180

As expected Rhea had a lot to talk to Byleth about after their mission to Connad Tower and she even wanted an audience with Rutger and Lilina again, but on the day that was supposed to happen something more urgent came to light.

"Okay students, I don't know if you've heard any rumors about what's going on right now, so I'm here to set the record straight." Byleth said at the start of the next class. "Flayn has gone missing and we do not currently know where she is or who she might be with." There was an audible gasp from the room when she said that. "As you might expect our mission for this month is to find Flayn and her possible kidnapper before anything bad happens to her. I know all of you will want to find her as soon as possible, but make sure you listen to everything that's being said and told to you to try to find any possible clues to her whereabouts. And as unfortunate as it may be, we will still have some instruction days so we don't fall behind. Understood?" The whole class nodded in agreement. "Good, then let's canvass the monastery to begin with."

"This year of schooling seems way out of the ordinary." Lilina commented as she and Rutger stood up to go and try and help. But before they could leave Byleth stopped the two of them.

"Hey, I know the two of you want to help, but Rhea and Seteth would like to speak to you about something." She told them. "The sooner the better they said."

"Alright, we'll head up there now." Rutger noted. So they made their way up to Rhea's chamber, but she was nowhere to be seen.

"Come here, into my office." She guided them. So they stepped in and they could see that Seteth was there as well.

"There is something very important and sensitive we need to talk to you two about." Seteth stated, the worry very obvious in his voice. "So sensitive that it is for your ears and your ears only, so you'll forgive us if we lock the door while we talk."

"Understood." Rutger said before Rhea locked the door behind them.

"So, what is this all about?" Lilina wondered. "You don't think we did anything to Flayn do you?"

"No, you aren't suspects." Rhea assured them. "But it does involve Flayn."

"You see, Flayn has blood with special properties and-" Seteth started it just clicked for the both of them.

"She's a dragon isn't she?" Rutger ended the sentence.

"More or less, yes." Seteth confirmed. "We hoped it wouldn't come to this, and we did lie to you, but it was for her protection, you must understand."

"No, no, we totally get it." Lilina assured him. "If Fodlan isn't ready for that reality then Flayn is very much in danger all the time, as her guardians I would hope you'd do everything to protect her."

"But why are you telling us this?" Rutger wondered. "Doesn't telling us put her in more danger?"

"Not necessarily." Rhea commented. "We'd rather tell you now, then for you two to figure it out on your own and tell others around you about it. We need you to keep this a secret from everyone, even Claude and Byleth, and since you have experience in this type of situation we felt it best to clue you in."

"Yeah, okay, that makes sense, we do tend to talk to a lot of people." Lilina noted.

"And plus, once you get back home, we won't have to worry about it coming out." Seteth added. "So it's a win/win, you get more information on how to find Flayn and we keep the secret about her safe."

"Very well, we agree to these terms." Rutger said taking it all in. "We'll do our best to find Flayn and we won't tell anyone her secret and we'll try and dissuade people from finding it out as well if we can."

"We would be ever so grateful to you both if you could do that." Rhea said, glad that they accepted. "If anyone asks just tell them we were explaining to you what happened to Miklan at the tower."

"Alright, we can do that." Lilina confirmed.

"Good, now please, find Flayn as quickly as you can, we don't know what kind of devious plan someone might have for her!"

Rutger-Lilina/Felix-Annette B-Support

Rutger was taking a break for the search for Flayn, there wasn't much progress going on and he figured a change of pace might help jog his memory. So he was heading to the greenhouse because last month he had planted some Sacaen flower seeds he randomly found in his normal set of clothes and he wanted to see if they would actually grow here in Fodlan. As he opened the door he could see Annette watering some of the flowers and he was about to speak up and greet her when he was grabbed by the arm and pulled behind one of the larger plants.

"What-?" Was all he got out before he felt a hand on his mouth and heard Felix whispering in his ear.

"Shut up and stay quiet!" He said quickly. "Don't ruin the moment." Rutger didn't know what was going on, but he nodded so Felix would let his mouth go. Felix did so and the two of them stayed hidden behind the large plant. A few silent moments passed and Rutger was really wondering what was up and he was about to just leave before Annette started to sing as she watered the plants.

"Today's dinner is steak and then a cake that's yummy yum… Now it's time to fill my tummy tummy tum…Oh, this mountain of sweets, and treats that I long to eats… Oh, stacks of steaks and cakes and crumbs and yums…"

Rutger now understood why Felix was acting like he was, Annette was a wonderful singer and even if the lyrics of her song were a bit strange they had a catchy tone to them. So the two of them listened for a bit longer, but after a while another person came into the greenhouse and Felix couldn't stop them from talking to Annette.

"Oh Annette, is that you whose singing in here?" It was Lilina and she was searching for a singing voice she had been hearing.

"Eep!" Annette squeaked as she turned around and almost started watering Lilina. "Oh, sorry, sorry."

"No worries, I guess I kind of surprised you." Lilina noted calmly. "But your singing, it's really nice. It reminds me of when my mother used to sing silly little bed time songs to help me sleep."

"You really think so? Most people just think my songs are weird." Annette stated.

"I think they are just fine. In fact, would you like to hear some of the songs my mother sang? They are just about as silly." Lilina offered.

"Sure, why not? I could always use some more inspiration for some lyrics." Annette replied. So Lilina started singing cute little songs about pegasi and bumblebees and all sorts of other cute things. Eventually she got to one that even Rutger remembered her mother singing, so he stepped out from behind the plant and started singing with the girls for a bit. They were a bit surprised, but they were glad to have a deeper voice to balance them out. Soon enough the greenhouse was sounding more like a choir practice, but there was still one person missing.

"If only we had a fourth singer, we could sound so much better and bond with each other. Don't you think singing is a great way to wash any negative emotions like anger away Lilina?" Rutger asked in a tone that let her know someone else was here and was also trying to bait Felix to come out.

"Yeah, we're one mid tone range sounding person from being just perfect." Lilina stated. "Don't you think Annette?" She said that last part with a wink to Annette and she started to get the point.

"For sure, and if they were a handsome fellow with Blue hair it would really compliment our color scheming as well." Annette played along.

"Fine, fine, but I'm only going to do this to show you all I can't sing very well." Felix said coming out from behind the plant finally.

"Oh come on, I can't sing well and I fit in with them just fine." Rutger noted. So the four of them started to sing and even with Felix's protests they sounded even better than when it was just three of them. They were so good and so passionately singing that they kept getting louder until there was a decent sized audience at the entrance of the greenhouse who applauded the foursome when they finished.

"Ahh! Too many people! Out the back door!" Annette said dragging Felix away since she knew he didn't like the attention either.

"Well, I guess we can take the heat off them this time." Rutger said with a chuckle.

"Yeah, that was fun! I really liked singing with them, especially Felix. I feel a lot closer to them now." Lilina noted.

"Me too, we should do it again some time."

---

A few days after hearing about Flayn's disappearance Lilina was worrying about something. She passed the Black Eagles classroom and she didn't see Manuela anywhere. While it was true that she took some 'personal' days from time to time Lilina had seen her well and sober at dinnertime last night. About that time Rutger was trying to get into the training grounds to get some training in, but the gate was locked. A few moments later the pair ran into each other and started talking.

"Have you seen professor Manuela Rutger?" Lilina asked.

"Last time I saw her was last night at dinner, is she not around?" He wondered.

"No, I was told she didn't teach her class today either." Lilina replied.

"Weird, Jeritza isn't around either." Rutger noted. "I was just trying to get into the training grounds but the gate is locked.

"Well, maybe we should check in on them then." Lilina suggested. So the pair first went to Manuela's room. When they got there though the door was already open, like she had left in such a hurry that she didn't have time to close it. They were about to leave and see if the same had happened to Jeritza when they ran into Byleth.

"Hey, have either of you seen Manuela or Jeritza?" She asked them.

"No, we're actually on the hunt for them as well." Rutger stated. "We just checked Manuela's room and other than the usual mess the door was open."

"That's weird." Byleth commented. "Well, let's go see about Jeritza then." So the three of them got down to the main floor and as they got closer to Jeritza's quarters they heard a loud scream that sounded like an older woman.

"That's not good." Rutger stated before they ran into Jeritza's room. The scene before them was not a pretty one. Everything was disheveled, very unlike the man they had known. It looked like a fight had broken out and then the trio landed on the proof that it happened, Manuela laying on the floor bleeding.

"Oh Elimine!" Lilina said before rushing in and starting to treat her wounds. "She's still alive, but just barely. She's lucky we got here in time, I think I can heal her up well enough to survive."

"I think we might have bigger problems ahead of us." Byleth said before seeing the passageway carved into the wall with a long, dark staircase leading down it. "Rutger, go get the rest of the Deer, I think we've found our lead."

"On it!" Rutger said before running off as quickly as he could. Luckily he ran into Claude first and they split up to get everyone as fast as they could. About ten minutes later everyone was there and Manuela was in stable condition. "I even found Professor Hanneman." Rutger noted.

"That's a serious wound, we need to get her to the infirmary." Hanneman stated. "Miss Lilina, will you help me take her there since you treated her?"

"Of course I will." Lilina said. "You guys stay safe down there." She told the rest of the Deer before quickly moving over to Rutger and giving him a kiss on the cheek. "Good luck!"

"Lucky man." Claude commented before they all went down the stairs and made sure to keep their eyes out for anything suspicious. Eventually they got to the bottom and they saw two more bodies on the floor. One looked like Flayn but the other was a girl with deep red hair.

"They both seem to still be alive, just unconscious." Marianne noted as she checked on them. "But I don't know who this other girl is, do any of you?" None of the Deer knew, but their speculation stopped abruptly when a dark clad figured approached them, the Death Knight.

"That sword, you're the one I fought before." The Death Knight seethed at Byleth. "This time there will be no question, one of us will die and the other will live on, you can count on that." And with that he warped away.

"Well, isn't that convenient, he warped away with both of them." Claude commented with a bit of sarcasm in his voice.

"He won't do anything to them as long as we play his game." Byleth stated confidently. "So let's play his game and crush him at it."

"Nice choice of words, but how about we stack the deck a bit eh?" Claude suggested. He came up with a plan that he had been thinking up ever since Lysithea had learned a warping spell. Everyone agreed to it and as soon as they were ready they were off. Rutger and Lysithea stayed near the entrance of the cave, waiting for a signal.

"So, have you ever been warped before?" Lysithea asked him.

"A few times, yes." Rutger confirmed. "This one time I was fighting in this castle that could shoot beams of light magic down it's hallways as a defense mechanism. Lilina warped me right up to the boss of the castle and we didn't have to worry about them at all."

"It's not fair." Lysithea muttered to herself, but Rutger couldn't make it out.

"What was that?" He asked.

"I said that's really cool, I hope I can do that someday." Lysithea lied partly. They chatted some more before they heard the sound of fighting getting closer. "Okay, as soon as we hear that Death Knight attack someone I'll warp you into the room and you can ambush him."

"Just like old times." Rutger replied with a smirk. A few moments later they heard some gates open and the clopping of horse hooves.

"Now, you will die together, how joyous." The Death Knight stated. As soon as he finished his sentence Lysithea started her Warp spell and in the next instant Rutger was in a small room with Byleth and the Death Knight.

"You're the only one who is going to be dying here!" Byleth stated confidently as she charged the Death Knight with the Sword of the Creator, but she didn't attack him, she was just distracting him so Rutger could hit him from behind. He hit the Death Knight so hard that his helmet fell off and revealed that it was Jeritza.

"So it was you!" Rutger stated since he had a hunch it was the case. "Well, now I know how to finish you off!" For the second time Rutger tried to finish him with his special technique, but for the second time he was warped away before his blade cut through him. But this time another person took his place.

"Who are you?!" Byleth asked as she pointed the Sword at them.

"I am the Flame Emperor, the one who will reform this world. We will meet again." They stated before warping away as well.

"Yeah, you better run!" Claude yelled confidently, happy in the fact that he and the Deer had won the day again. "Marianne, come and make sure Flayn and this girl are still okay!"

"Yes, they are both alive, thank the Goddess." Marianne stated and that got Byleth to smile in relief.

"Hey, you look good with a smile." Claude commented. "Nice job everyone! Let's get these two to the infirmary and tell Seteth everything is alright." And with that the Deer started to move out back to the surface.

"Good job Rutger, you'll get him next time, I'm sure of it." Byleth told Rutger as they walked up the stairs.

"You're damn right I will." Rutger stated. "And Claude is right, a smile suits you."

"Thank you, that means a lot coming from you."

Wyvern Moon 1180

The next month things started to calm down compared to the events that had just transpired, so after the first day of instruction Byleth had the Golden Deer's next mission ready for explanation.

"Now I don't know much about the tradition between the three houses, but apparently this month is the anniversary of a famous battle in the past." Byleth stated. "So for this month we are tasked along with the other houses to have a larger scale mock battle to reenact it. It is going to be a competition and I plan on us winning it, so training will stay the same for this month, though since we're not going into something dangerous I will be a bit more lenient on all of you."

"What about Professor Manuela?" Hilda asked. "Wouldn't she still be too injured to participate?"

"That would be correct, so she won't be." Byleth confirmed. "And Professor Hanneman won't be participating either."

"Makes sense." Claude noted. "What about you Teach? Wouldn't it be unfair if you were on our side?"

"They said it should be fine, so I don't see a problem with it." Byleth said with a shrug. "And before both of you ask, because I know you will, Rhea said it was okay for you two to join in on our side, you don't have to act like recruitable allies this time." She added looking towards Rutger and Lilina.

"Fine by me, I've been wanting to cross blades with some of the other students so this should be a good chance to do so." Rutger noted.

"Yeah, I want to see what kind of strategy the other houses come up with." Lilina added.

"Good." Byleth said with a nod towards them. "Also, at the end of the week there is a fishing tournament if anyone is interested. I intend on competing and winning, so you better bring your A-game if you plan to beat me. Any questions about this month?" No one had any questions since the explanations were full and simple as always. "Alright, class is dismissed."

"Too bad I joined the Deer before this battle, I think I would have loved to face you during this battle." Felix commented to Rutger as they left the classroom.

"Well, you can challenge me to a real fight whenever you want." Rutger told him.

"I know, but facing someone in the heat of battle is a different feeling, you must know that." Felix noted.

"You are right on that point." Rutger agreed. "But knowing when a fight is coming allows you to plan for it, keep that in mind."

"I will." Felix said before Annette came up beside them.

"Hey you two! Are you going to join the fishing competition?" She asked them.

"Probably not, standing still for so long isn't my style." Felix replied.

"I'll give it a shot, my mother taught me the basics of fishing so I think I have a shot." Rutger added.

"Cool, I wonder if Lilina will join us. Does she even know how to fish?"

Lilina/Alois C-Support

It was the day of the fishing tournament and Lilina was just sitting with her legs over the lake watching everybody have their fun. She was a little sad that she couldn't join in since she didn't know how to fish, and that didn't escape the view of Alois, the jovial joker of the Knights of Seiros.

"Hey there, what's with the glum face?" He asked with a smile. "I hope you aren't having a fishy day. Is this seat taken perch-ance?" Lilina chuckled a bit at the puns and welcomed him to sit next to her.

"I guess I'm just a little jealous of the other students getting to compete in the tournament since I don't know how to fish at all." Lilina told him.

"Don't know how to fish? Did your father never teach you?" Alois asked in a bit of shock.

"No, he was always busy with other things, he never had the time." Lilina stated. "But he was a good father, he taught me a lot of other important things." She added to make sure Alois knew she didn't blame him.

"Pardon my words Miss Lilina, I meant no shame on your father, I was just surprised since you are a very intelligent young woman and thought you would know." Alois noted. "But, no time like the present to learn right? I could teach you if you're interested."

"You would do that for me?" Lilina asked with bright eyes.

"Of course, I taught my young daughter how to fish, this shouldn't be much of a bass-le!" Alois stated with a hearty laugh.

"Okay, let's do this!" Lilina said with confidence as she got to her feet. So her and Alois got a spare fishing rod and some bait and a few minutes later they were at the edge of the dock ready to go.

"So the key is to make your bait look appealing to the fish, so my secret technique is to pepper a bit of glitter onto it since fish like looking at shiny things." Alois stated taking out a bit of glitter and dusting the bait with it.

"Really, I would have never thought of that." Lilina noted.

"Neither would I, but one day my daughter accidentally spilled her art set on my bait and that day I caught a dozen fish, so I've kept doing it ever since." Alois explained.

"That's really sweet of you, you seem like a really good father Alois." Lilina told him, thinking about her own father and how he would take all her accidents and mistakes in stride like that.

"Well, I try my best, and I thank you for the compliment." Alois said humbly. "Okay, now for casting, you want to have a fluid back and forth swing, you don't want to have your rod swing left or right too much or you won't hit your target. In fact you might hook someone's skin and have them sing a different tuna!"

"Fluid back and forth." Lilina repeated. "Just like Byleth said with my axe swings, okay I can do this." She took a deep breath, closed her eyes for a bit to focus, and when she opened them she reeled her arm back and then forward in a pretty good form. Her line flew out into the lake and the hook barely made a splash as it hit the surface of the water.

"Ayyy! You did it! And on your first try and well, you might be a natural." Alois cheered. "Okay, the last part is a simple one, you want to tempt the fish into biting the hook by gently shaking your line back and forth so it looks like something it would eat."

"Sure, I can do that." Lilina said before starting to move her rod back and forth.

"And then you just have to have patience. I'd say if you don't catch something within the first minute or two you should reel your line back in and try again." Alois noted. But Lilina didn't need to wait too long before she got a bite on her line. But it wasn't an ordinary fish, it bit and pulled the line so much that it started dragging her towards the lake. Luckily for her Alois acted quickly and grabbed her before she fell in.

"Am I doing something wrong?" Lilina asked as the two of them started to slowly reel the fish in.

"Not at all, just keep your grip and eventually this huge mackerel will get tired." Alois stated as he continued to help her move back to get the fish. And he was right, eventually the line started to get easier and easier to pull on and she didn't need Alois' help to keep steady. About a minute later she could pull the entire line out and she had hooked herself a fish that was big enough to go from the top of her head to right under her chest. She was very proud of herself, though there was some part of her that wished it was actually Hector that was helping her with this and not Alois, even though he was being really nice to her.

"Oho! That might be the catch of the day there!" Alois cheered. "Way to go! We should show this to Flayn to see if it's the fish she wanted." He had been looking to see where Flayn was when he was saying that so he didn't notice that Lilina had run off and left the rod and fish right there on the dock. There was no way he could have known that saying 'Oho!' like that would have triggered something to make Lilina upset, but it did. Having a moment like this where she wished her father could be here really hit her hard and she went running back to the room she shared with Rutger so no one would see her crying and being upset.

"Hm, I feel I might have said something I shouldn't." Alois said to himself. "Maybe if I ask that man she's always around he'll know."

Rutger/Manuela C-Support

Rutger was staying up late in the library one night, he wanted to learn more about the Battle of the Eagle and Lion so he could get more into it since he wasn't from Fodlan and didn't know the backstory to the event that well. He was alone for most of the time, but eventually someone came in and started talking to him.

"Hey handsome, -hic- what are you doing up here so late?" It was Professor Manuela and she was very obviously drunk. Rutger would usually give people the benefit of the doubt, thinking she maybe drank too much to try and ease her pain from her stab wound from last month, but from all the stories he had been told he knew this was a regular occurrence at Garreg Mach.

"I'm studying up on Fodlan's history so I can understand the Battle of the Eagle and Lion more fully." Rutger answered truthfully. "I thought you were on a date tonight Professor Manuela?"

"I was, thank you very much, but it ended the way all my dates go. The dastard took one look into my room and booked it." Manuela replied, her anger rising a bit. "It's not fair, all you young ones are finding love and I'm gonna be stuck alone forever!"

"Eh, I seriously doubt that." Rutger commented.

"What do you mean by that?" Manuela answered him.

"Just call it a hunch. You're a wonderful woman, when you're not drunk off your ass." Rutger stated. "You have a caring heart, you're intelligent, have a wonderful singing voice, and you are attractive as well. Someone will come along who'll learn to deal with you."

"Oh, you're just saying that so I'll leave you alone." Manuela said blushing a bit, even though her drunken state had her blushing a bit anyways.

"Not really." Rutger replied honestly. "If I wasn't married I'd go out on a date with you, you're much less annoying than this one woman who used to want to be together with me."

"Too bad all the good men are already taken." Manuela said with a sigh. "But I appreciate your honesty Rutger, I really do like that about you."

"You can thank my parents for raising me right." Rutger stated. "Now, come on, let's get you to bed so you can feel better for class tomorrow."

"Alright, alright, you've convinced me." Manuela yielded. So Rutger walked her to her room and made sure she made it to her bed in one piece. He even made sure her wound was properly cared for before getting a good look at the room around him.

"Gods, this place is a mess." He commented to himself. "Well, it wouldn't hurt to do a bit of cleaning up." So he took some time to tidy up slightly so things didn't look absolutely terrible, but while he was working he had a thought, an idea that came to him to help Manuela out with her relationship problems. "I'll have to talk to Lilina about it, but I think she'd understand."

---

The day for the Battle of the Eagle and Lion came and Rutger and Lilina were in a bit of awe of just how big a deal everyone was making and just how large this battlefield was.

"This reminds me of that story our parents told us about the battle they had with Lloyd Reed." Lilina noted to Rutger. "A huge battlefield with enemies as far as the eye could see, and waves of reinforcements coming from all sides."

"Yeah, I was thinking the same thing." Rutger replied. "But to go all out like this for a reenactment? I mean I read up on the battle and it was really important and all, but something just doesn't feel right to me. It's almost like they are celebrating everyone who died here. But that could just be me and my feelings about my parents and tribe seeping in."

"No, I think this is a bit strange as well." Lilina agreed. "I would rather celebrate nations coming together, not fighting each other. But at least Fodlan is at peace with itself to do something like this. Let's consider it a 'learn from your history' thing so it never happens again."

"That's a good way to think about it." Rutger said before everything started up. The church leaders watching from above gave the signal and the three house leaders gave a war cry and the battle was on.

"Rutger, Leonie, I want you two to charge ahead up the middle, we're going to throw them off by having Rutger use the ballistae instead of Ignatz like they would expect." Byleth ordered. "Lilina, Felix, you go straight for Edelgard, don't stop to fight other students. Claude, you and Hilda do the same for Dimitri. Everyone else is with me, we're going to move as one and clear the way for whichever team hits a roadblock first."

"Care for a ride?" Leonie joked before scooting up on her horse and letting Rutger on. "You know this Rescue technique your father came up with is really handy, I'll have to teach it to my mercenaries when I become famous like Jeralt."

"Hey, go right ahead." Rutger said with a nod before he pulled out his bow and started picking off other students as Leonie rode him to the middle. When they got there he jumped off the horse, pulling out his sword as he did so, and landed right in front of Bernadetta.

"EEEEEAAAAHHH!" She screamed in fear. "Nope! Nope! Nope! Too scary! Edelgard said that it was going to be Ignatz that was coming up here."

"Well, she was wrong, we planned for that." Rutger said calmly before lightly tapping her head with the flat part of his sword. "There, you are defeated, you can leave."

"What?! You're not gonna beat me up and put a ton of bruises on my skin?" Bernadetta asked a bit skeptically. "But you're so scary looking, I thought you liked beating people up."

"I've been trying to mend my ways." Rutger told her. "Besides, you remind me of my mother's best friend a bit, I couldn't hurt someone like you if I tried." A bit of a lie, but he knew it would help her out.

"Oh, okay then, thank you." Bernadetta replied before running away as fast as she could.

"You handled that well." Leonie noted. "You have any younger siblings perchance?"

"I wish." Rutger told her. "Now watch my back while I pick some people off." Meanwhile, Lilina and Felix were breezing through the Black Eagle lines like they had been fighting with each other for years, at least on Lilina's part.

"Dodge left! Spin right! Overhead slash!" She called out to Felix and he executed the moves she called out to perfection. She chipped in as well with a few fire spells here and there and when they were finally at Edelgard's position she healed him a bit as well.

"You're quite skilled at this Lilina, I guess I must have underestimated you." Felix gave her a compliment as she healed him. "I just thought Byleth kept you busy because you hadn't learned our magic yet."

"Well, that was some of it, but she didn't want me and Rutger to hog all your experience. We probably could have soloed the last couple of month's missions without any help." Lilina told him with confidence. "And I'd say I'm more comfortable working with you since you fight very similarly to Rutger."

"Fair enough. So how do you think we should take Edelgard on?" Felix asked. "Should I run up there and engage her while you hit her with spells from a distance, or do you have another plan?"

"I do, we used to do this all the time back home." Lilina stared. "If we just stand right inside of her attack range she'll come to you off her platform and lose her defensive position, giving us more of an advantage."

"And if she doesn't?" Felix wondered.

"Then we'll just pelt her with spells until she does." Lilina replied.

"Good plan." Felix noted. So they put it into action. Edelgard knew if she just stood there that they would defeat her eventually, so she did come out to face Felix almost right away, but that just played right into their scheme. With a weapon and numbers advantage they quickly overwhelmed her.

"I yield." Edelgard said when she was done fighting. "How did you two reach me so quickly, you were the farthest away."

"A little help from your secret weapon." Felix noted seeing Hubert near by with some arrow holes in his uniform from the ballistae.

"I knew I should have put Petra up there." Edelgard commented. But the battle didn't last much longer. Now that the Deer could focus on the Lions Dimitri had no chance to win, even with his insane strength. Soon the whole battle was over and the Deer were named the winners.

Later that night there was a huge feast in celebration over the win and everyone was having a jolly old time, even the students from the other classes. Eventually though the Deer joined together and started singing the praises of their professor, even Rutger and Lilina.

"You are a pretty good tactician, maybe not as good as my father was just yet, but you're getting there." Rutger told her.

"Well, it helps to have you telling me all his best strategies." Byleth joked. "And it's nice to have someone who can execute them so well too, it's almost like having a second Claude out there."

"Goddess, please no!" Lorenz exclaimed and the Deer laughed pretty hard at that.

"And you are a great teacher as well, you get us on a level that most professors don't, probably because you're around our age." Lilina added. "I mean my old teacher Cecilia never thought to teach me how to use a magic axe or anything like that."

"Well, it helps that you are so studious and ready to learn Lilina. Any professor can teach a student who's ready to learn so much." Byleth noted.

"And so humble as well." Lilina joked.

"Maybe I'm just really proud of all of you, you've come so far in such a small time. I think I have that right." Byleth admitted.

"Aw Teach, we love you too." Claude joked before everyone mobbed together for a group hug, sans Felix.

"Okay, okay, can't breathe." Ignatz commented after a while, so the hug dissipated.

"But for real, you all did wonderfully today, I hope to see more growth from you in the future." Byleth told them all. "As for tonight, have your fun, but be ready for class tomorrow as well."

Red Wolf Moon 1180

There was a bit of murmuring going on when Byleth came into the classroom to begin the class. There had been some rumors that she had collapsed the other day and the students of the Golden Deer were concerned for their professor.

"Alright, before we get started I'm going to set the record straight about what you might have heard." She stated, getting the attention of the class. "Yes, I collapsed the other day. No, I don't know why. I went to go get checked out by Manuela and she said that for now I seem perfectly fine but if I start feeling strange to come see her. For now I'm going to take things a bit more easy to make sure it doesn't happen again, but for the most part I feel fine."

"Well, I can speak for the whole class in saying that is a huge relief for all of us." Hilda said speaking up. "We were so worried about you."

"Yeah Teach, we wouldn't want anything major to happen with you, especially since you're the only one that can use the Sword of the Creator." Claude added.

"I appreciate all your concern, but I'm fine, trust me." Byleth assured them. "And I have our mission for this month as well. It seems that there is some sort of disease breakout in Remire Village that's causing the residents to lose their minds and act out of control. We're being sent in to see if we can find the cause and stop it before things get worse."

"Any ideas on what it is?" Lilina wondered.

"Manuela is pretty confident it isn't infectious, so that leaves poison or magic, but that's about all we know." Byleth answered. "I'm sure they will have more information for us soon, and my father will be joining us as well."

"Ooh, a mission with Jeralt! Sounds like my kind of operation!" Leonie commented and the class just had to laugh. After that class went as usual and a bit afterwards Claude asked Rutger and Lilina to meet him in the library.

"Hey you two, look at what I found out during my research into the Sword of the Creator." Claude said showing the two of them a picture of a dragon-like creature. "Apparently this being is called the Immaculate One, and knowing about what you two told me, I'm really starting to think dragons exist in Fodlan. What do you two think?" Rutger and Lilina gave each other a glace, trying to think about what to say to keep Flayn's secret.

"Honestly Claude, I don't think you should be digging to deep into this." Lilina told him.

"I agree." Rutger nodded.

"What? Why? Don't you two want to meet more dragons that you can be friends with?" Claude asked.

"Well, think about it Claude," Lilina started, "if there are dragons in Fodlan and they've kept it a secret for this long, don't you think they'd have a reason to keep it a secret?"

"What do you mean?" Claude wondered.

"Take Elibe for example, the dragons that stayed haven't revealed themselves because most humans aren't ready to know about their existence." Rutger noted. "What if Fodlan isn't ready for dragons? What if there is some danger that you don't know about but the dragons do know about that will threaten them? Do you really want to be responsible for forcing them into the light if it means possibly getting them killed in the process?"

"Hmm, I guess you two do have a few points." Claude said mulling it over. "Well, let me get Byleth's thoughts on the matter and I'll go from there. Okay?"

"That's fair, just think before you make the decision." Lilina nodded.

"I always do."

Lilina/Alois B-Support

One day when she was getting back to the room she shared with Rutger, Lilina saw something different on their small table. It was a small stuffed bear in a cute set of armor and it was holding a small envelope. She took it out of it's hands and opened it so she could read it. It was short and sweet, just a 'I'm Bear-y sorry' with Alois' signature on it. Lilina knew she had to go explain why she acted like she did during the fishing tournament, so she went back outside to find Alois. Luckily for her he was now the one sitting on the dock with his legs hanging out over the water.

"Is this seat taken?" Lilina asked calmly.

"It isn't." Alois said a bit glumly. So Lilina sat down next to him and there was a bit of silence between them before she spoke up.

"So, I'm sorry too." Lilina told him genuinely. "I probably should have told you sooner why I did what I did that day, but I really didn't want to face it. The whole thing makes me feel like I'm still a child inside, not the grown woman I want to be."

"Well, is it anything I can help with?" Alois asked.

"I don't know." Lilina admitted. "But let me explain. So you probably didn't hear about it since we don't talk much, but my father passed away a few years ago during a war. That's one of the reasons why he never could teach me how to fish."

"I'm so sorry, I didn't know you went through that." Alois noted.

"It's understandable." Lilina assured him. "And usually I'm pretty good with not letting my emotions take me over like that. But that day felt like I was back home with my own father, having fun and just being a family. And it just made me sad. What really put me over the edge was when you went 'Oho!' when you got excited. That was practically my father's catchphrase and it pretty much just shot me through the heart with an arrow."

"Hmm, well, I'm glad you told me that Lilina, it brings me some closure knowing what was really going on." Alois told her. "Again, I'm truly sorry and I didn't mean to hurt you like that, I was just being myself I guess."

"And being yourself is wonderful Alois, you really didn't do anything wrong. In fact, I was having a lot of fun that day. I'd be willing to do it again someday if you were up for it." Lilina admitted.

"Really?" Alois asked perking up a bit.

"Yeah, of course. I'd really like to meet your family actually, since you talk about them all the time." Lilina confirmed.

"Well then, I guess I better tuna up my jokes for when that day comes." Alois joked and Lilina chuckled at it.

"By the way, how did you know I would like an armored stuffed bear as a present?" Lilina wondered.

"Oh, I asked your husband, he had a bunch of good ideas, but that was the only one I could turn into a silly joke." Alois admitted.

"Well, I enjoyed it, thank you very much."

Rutger/Manuela B-Support

Rutger was about to do something he hadn't done in a long time, ask a woman out on a date. The only time he had done so in the past was before the war since he and Lilina got together during it. But he had confidence in himself, he knew all of his father's tricks, or at least most of them. So he made his way to the infirmary and waited until Professor Manuela came out.

"Rutger? What are you doing standing out here?" Manuela wondered. "Are you not feeling good? Maybe a bit homesick?" Rutger liked knowing that Manuela cared for all the students as best she could, it made things easier.

"No, no, nothing like that." Rutger replied. "But I did come here to see you."

"To see me?" Manuela asked. "How did I get so lucky?" She added as a joke.

"Well, I was thinking about what you said the other day in the library, and I think I have a solution to your problems." Rutger explained. "And I was wondering if you're free tonight because I want to take you out on a date." Manuela didn't know whether to be touched or shocked at such a statement so she did what she usually did in these situations, started laughing to see if it was a joke of some sort. But when Rutger didn't start laughing with her she started to get concerned.

"Wait, you're serious?" She asked. "You want to go on a date with me? What about Lilina, your wife?"

"We talked it over and she thought my idea was a good one." Rutger noted. "See, the idea I came up with is that we could go on a date and I could see what kind of issues pop up during it so you can work on it when you go on real dates."

"You and her? Talked it over? Huh." Manuela muttered to herself, slightly confused. His logic was sound, and he was a very honest man, but would this really work out? "How did you come up with this little idea of yours?"

"Actually it was something my father did all the time to help his friends out." Rutger explained. "So I figured I'd give it a try since I consider you a friend and I want to see you happy, not drunk off your ass depressed."

"You're such a sweet guy, I can see why Lilina likes you so much." Manuela replied a bit touched. "Alright, I'm in. I even know a place we can go. But just to let you know, since this really isn't a true date, don't be expecting any action tonight."

"Last thing on my mind." Rutger said truthfully, though it was on his mind slightly. "What time should I come pick you up?"

"Let's say about six or a little after, I like having an early dinner." Manuela answered.

"Sounds good to me, I'll meet you then." Rutger replied. So he went to go tell Lilina the good news and then prepare for his date. He got there just on time, but Manuela was taking a bit longer to get ready. They really left about at six-thirty.

"You clean up pretty well." Manuela noted, seeing Rutger in his normal attire instead of his uniform.

"You don't look half bad yourself." Rutger replied back. It may have been a test date, but it looked like Manuela was going all out for it. She ended up taking him out to dinner, but instead of some fancy restaurant they went to something more akin to a tavern, which was a surprise to Rutger slightly.

"What, you don't like places like this?" Manuela asked seeing his confusion.

"It's not that, I just figured you didn't." He replied back.

"Well, I'm a woman of many mysteries." Manuela teased him. As for the date, it started off pretty well but eventually it started turning sour. Rutger noticed that whenever he tried to ask Manuela a question about herself to learn more about her she would just dodge the question and get another drink. And after every drink she started acting, well drunk, and while it was interesting to start out with it went down hill quickly. But on the positive side it did let Rutger in on what the issue was with Manuela and her dates. Eventually they made it back to the monastery and to her room and Rutger put her to bed like he did the night in the library. But he decided to stay the night this time since he knew what he wanted to tell her about the date and didn't want to wait and possibly forget. So he slept on an empty chair and desk for the night until the sun rose.

"That was certainly an experience." Rutger muttered to himself as he woke up and shook the cobwebs out of his body and head. He looked over and saw that Manuela was still sleeping so he made some tea hoping the smell would wake her up. It did just the trick and she rose, groggy eyed and slightly hung over. "Here, this should help." Rutger said handing her some tea.

"Stop yelling." Manuela muttered before taking the tea and sipping it carefully. "Mm, this is quite good, thank you."

"So, are you sober enough to talk about last night, or should I wait a bit?" Rutger asked a bit more quietly.

"Might as well get it over with." Manuela sighed. "Lay it on me, what's wrong with me?"

"Not much actually." Rutger said in a positive tone. "Honestly, I think you have a severe lack of confidence in yourself and if you were to fix that most of the other issues would go with it."

"A lack of confidence?" Manuela wondered. "What do you mean?"

"Well, you kept dodging all my questions about you and your life." Rutger explained. "Every time I wanted to dig a bit deeper, and I honestly did want to know the answers to the questions I asked, you would just blow me off and drink some more. And eventually you were too drunk to talk to and any chance for a genuine connection were gone."

"Perhaps that is the case." Manuela admitted, appreciating his honesty and replying in kind. "But what if the man I'm after doesn't like what he hears when I talk about my real life and wants, I don't know if I can take that kind of real heartbreak."

"Then that man isn't the one for you." Rutger said simply. "Look Manuela, like I've said before, you are a wonderful person. You're kind, caring, smart, funny, skilled, and I have no doubt you have many fun and silly life experiences to share with someone, but you have to be willing to let someone in to really see if they like you for you. Trust me, I used to hold my true self back as well and project what I thought people wanted from me, but it was only when I revealed my true feelings that I found the strength and ability to find the person I love."

"I can't disagree with what you're saying Rutger, but I feel it's not going to be easy for me." Manuela told him.

"That just means you'll have to work on it." Rutger stated. "It's not going to happen overnight, it didn't with me and it doesn't with other people. But if you put your heart into it like you do with everything else you do I know that you'll make progress until you finally find that special someone."

"You really have that much faith in me, someone you only met a few months ago?" Manuela asked.

"I do. And if I do, then you should as well."

---

"This is horrible, who would do such a thing like this?" Lilina looked out into the destroyed Remire Village. The situation had worsened quickly and Jeralt along with the Golden Deer had to rush out and try and stop it from spreading.

"This is really getting my blood boiling." Rutger added as he tried to hold himself in. This was reminding him way too much of what happened in Bulgar and a bit of his bloodthirsty revenge side was trying to peek back out.

"What's important is that we try and save the villagers that we can." Jeralt noted. "Byleth, we should split up into groups to reach them faster."

"Good idea." Byleth agreed, so she made six groups to go save each villager she could see. They all started to move out and were in the middle of fighting some of the infected villagers when more trouble started to come.

"Isn't that the librarian, Tomas?" Ignatz asked. But before their eyes Tomas changed into a hideous ashen skinned form and started threatening the students, claiming that this whole tragedy was his and his accomplices' plan. And if that wasn't bad enough, the Death Knight came into play as well as back up of some sort.

"I'm gonna kill him this time!" Rutger yelled as he started running towards the Death Knight recklessly. No one was fast enough to stop him, so most of the Deer focused on helping what villagers were left and facing off with Tomas, or Solon as he was going by now.

"You again." The Death Knight said in a bit of a bored tone. "You are not the one I crave, leave me be or this time I will get the upper hand."

"Fuck off and die already!" Rutger yelled again, his emotions almost fully taking him over. This probably wasn't the best mission for him to go on to be honest, but no one could really have known it before they got here.

"A bit cranky today are we?" The Death Knight teased him. "Come say that to my face." And with that he ripped his mask off revealing his true face. "Not like I need that anymore. Now look me in the eye and slay me if you can." If Rutger wasn't all emotional he probably would have realized that Jeritza was baiting him into attacking, but he was and he took said bait very easily.

"Die!" Was all he said before immediately launching into his ultimate attack. But Jeritza wasn't the combat instructor for nothing. He had already seen this move attempted on him twice, this time he was ready for it.

"Predictable." He stated smugly before swinging his scythe in a manner that would use Rutger's natural momentum to lop his head off. For a split second Rutger could see what was about to happen and he closed his eyes bracing for it, but a moment later he heard the crack of lightning and the sound of metal clanking against metal before he fell to the ground and rolled to break his fall. He quickly turned around to see Lilina magically calling her Bolt Axe back to her hand.

"Ah, the little mage girl is here to save her man, how cute." Jeritza laughed. "Nice throw, bet you can't do it again."

"You aren't leaving here alive." Lilina replied with steel and fire in her eyes before looking at Rutger and giving him a signal. A moment later the two of them were attacking Jeritza from all sides, but he was able to keep up with them, at least that's what Lilina wanted him to think. Rutger was still in a bit of a rage so he really wasn't paying attention to anything other than trying to cut Jeritza down and making sure he didn't get close to Lilina, but when Lilina called out an order he followed it immediately. "Fall back, now!" He did so and as soon as they were out of range a flurry of dark magic spikes came from above and started pelting Jeritza and his horse.

"You brought backup?" Rutger wondered, his senses coming back a bit.

"Well, someone had to." Lilina said watching as Lysithea wore Jeritza down with her magic. "She's been specifically training that spell to take him down. You want to do the honors or should we let her have it?"

"Let her take it, she worked for it." Rutger noted, thinking that it was safe to do so. But once again, right before a spike of magic impaled his head, Jeritza was teleported away and out of danger.

"Elimine, he's more annoying than Narcian!" Lilina commented as he got away again. By the time they were done recovering from that fight Byleth and the rest of the Deer had defeated Solon, but sadly he had warped away as well. Everyone regrouped and told each other what happened and luckily most of the villagers that could be saved were. It was a bittersweet victory, but a victory nonetheless.

"Hey, Rutger, are you okay buddy?" Claude asked as they were waiting for Byleth and Jeralt to catch up with the rest of the group.

"Not really, but I'll get over it eventually." Rutger admitted. "This, this really reminded me of my trauma from back home. You got to see a side of me that I wish I could get rid of, but will always be there as long as I live."

"Have to admit, you looked like a stone cold killer out there, I now understand why you had such a reputation back in Elibe." Claude noted. "But remember, even if that is a part of you, you don't have to let it control you, you are the master of your own decisions."

"Thank you Claude, that really does help." Rutger replied with a small smile.

"Good, because I have a feeling someone else is about to rip into you, hard." Claude said in a slightly teasing tone before stepping aside and revealing a very pissed off Lilina. "I'd run if I was you." And that's what Rutger did. Eventually him and Lilina both tired out though and they got to talking about what happened.

"It's just like what happened with you and Alois." Rutger noted. "I just got overwhelmed that's all."

"Yeah, but I didn't almost get killed." Lilina said a bit harshly. "What am I going to tell Roy if I'm the only one who comes back?"

"I promise I'll be more careful from now on. Besides, I doubt something like this will happen again." Rutger assured her.

"I'm keeping you to that."

Ethereal Moon 1180

"You'll be glad to know that this month will be a bit more cheerful than last month." Byleth assured the Golden Deer at the beginning of the month. "Our mission is just to investigate an old chapel that some students have been disappearing in, probably just running away and going back home or some such, nothing too big. And we have two fun events this month as well. The first is the White Heron Cup, a competition to see which house has the best dancer, and the second is a grand ball to celebrate the establishment of Garreg Mach. Even so, I will still be instructing you as I always do, but we should be able to have some fun this month."

"Do you know who you are going to pick for the White Heron Cup yet?" Hilda asked.

"No, not quite, so I'm open to suggestions after class." Byleth admitted. After that class went as usual, though afterwards both Lilina and Rutger came up to speak with Byleth. "Hello you two, how is it going?"

"Pretty well." Lilina noted. "We just wanted to let you know that you probably shouldn't pick us for that dancing competition. I think in about another month or so we'll be able to get back home, so it would probably be a waste on us."

"I was wondering about that ever since Claude let it slip to me that you two can't actually get home yet, but that's good news to hear even though I will miss you. And not just because you're such good fighters, I've come to see you as friends." Byleth stated.

"We think the same way." Rutger noted. "And who knows, maybe we'll be able to come back eventually. Either way we do have a suggestion for who you should choose for the competition if you'd like to hear it."

"Of course." Byleth replied intrigued.

"We think you should choose Marianne." Lilina told her. "We think that it will really help her with her shyness because she reminds us of a friend our parents had back in the day who was very much the same but was very lively and confident when she danced."

"And it could take her mind off of her 'curse' as she calls it as well. I think that would be nice for her since she always seems like she has the weight of the world on her shoulders." Rutger added.

"I'll keep that in mind then, thank you for your input. And thank you for being such good students as well, you're both very studious and hard working, I really appreciate that." Byleth complimented them.

"If you think we're studious, you should see our friend Roy."

Rutger/Raphael C-Support

Rutger was eating lunch in the dining hall and he was packing it away more than usual, which caught the eye of Raphael who was sitting next to him.

"Wow Rutger, you're really chowing down today!" He commented. "Did you not get enough breakfast this morning?"

"Yeah actually, I ran out of pocket snacks this morning so I didn't have much to eat." Rutger replied.

"Pocket snacks?" Raphael wondered. "What are those?"

"Oh, yeah, you wouldn't know." Rutger noted more for himself than for Raphael. "It's a system my father came up with. He always wore a big green cloak that covered his body, but he secretly sewed a bunch of pockets on the inside where he could store snacks for whenever he got hungry. So now I do the same so that if I ever need a snack I can just dive into my pockets and take a bite without having to make my way to the kitchen or pantry to get it."

"That sounds awesome!" Raphael replied excitedly. "Your father must have been a genius to come up with something so useful."

"He really was, for a bunch of reasons." Rutger confirmed. "He was always concerned with all his friend's health and safety and he always came up with a bunch of cool ideas to help them out. I know you like to eat a lot Raphael, I could sew you some pockets for snacks in your uniforms if you want."

"Really, you'd do that for me buddy?" Raphael asked with a smile. "That would be great!"

"Yeah, just drop them off whenever you want and I'll get working on it as soon as I can."

Lilina/Lysithea C-Support

"Hey, I heard you and Rutger talking about me and my magic the other day." Lysithea said coming up to Lilina in the library and sitting down across from her. "I didn't hear much but it didn't sound good, do you two have something against me?" Lilina was quite shocked to hear this from Lysithea because she thought they were on good terms. But either way she was willing to talk about it since she did have some concerns.

"No, no, not at all, exactly the opposite actually." Lilina assured her. "We're actually a little concerned about you."

"You two? Concerned about me? Why would you be worried about me?" Lysithea wondered. "I'm not a child you know?"

"We know, and it has nothing to do with your age." Lilina replied calmly. "It's about the Dark magic you use. It may be unfounded on our side, but where we come from Dark magic is very dangerous, so much so that you can lose your soul to it if you use it too much or cast a powerful spell wrong. We were just discussing if it's different here and I was actually going to bring it up the next time we were alone together, but you got to me first."

"Well, it's true that the full nature of Dark magic here in Fodlan isn't known, I haven't known anyone to lose their soul by using it." Lysithea mentioned. "So you don't have anything to worry about."

"That's good to know I guess." Lilina replied a bit relieved. "Because we keep seeing you push yourself so long for so hard, we'd hate for you to make a mistake and lose all that progress and bright future you have."

"I appreciate your concern, but I'm fine, really." Lysithea said as she got up to try and end the conversation.

"I'm sure you are, I'm just trying to help since I've been in the same situation you have, trying to work hard to prove myself." Lilina told her, making Lysithea turn around.

"I know you think you're helping, but you know very little about my true situation." And with that Lysithea left.

"She's very prideful, just like Raigh. I guess that just runs in the blood of Dark magic users."

---

The ball was towards the end of the month, the day before the Golden Deer's mission actually. And Byleth was right, the whole month was pretty chill and everyone was able to rest and relax from the last couple of hectic months. And this ball would be the cherry on top. Rutger and Lilina were looking forward to it as well, especially since this would be the first ball in a while where they weren't the focus so they could enjoy themselves as much as possible.

"How do I look?" Rutger said turning around so Lilina could look him over.

"Very handsome, as always." Lilina told him. "What about me?"

"The most beautiful woman I've ever met." Rutger replied as he moved closer and wrapped his arms around her waist. "You know, with all this stuff going on, I feel like we haven't been having that many romantic moments lately. How about tonight after the ball we change that?"

"I would like that very much." Lilina said softly before resting her head into his chest. "But let's not get ahead of ourselves, we should get to the dance hall before we don't make it."

"Yeah, it would probably worry the others." Rutger admitted. So they made it to the dance hall and things went really well. Rutger and Lilina got to dance with each other and eat and chat with all their new friends and even some of the students from the other classes. Rutger even got to dance with Manuela and Annette while Lilina got dances with Felix and Claude. All in all it was a really fun time. They even made a promise to the rest of the Golden Deer to try and come back in five years to celebrate the millennium festival that was going to be held. Lilina was confident that by that time she could find a reliable way to get back. After the ball was over Rutger and Lilina were walking back to their room when they ran into Claude.

"Hey, have you two seen Byleth?" He asked.

"I think we saw her going to the Goddess Tower." Lilina noted.

"The Goddess Tower eh?" Claude wondered. "Well, that should be interesting. Have a good night you two."

"I wonder what that was about." Rutger asked when Claude was out of earshot.

"Something about some story about lovers meeting in the Tower a long time ago." Lilina replied, recalling some information she overheard earlier.

"Hmm, I guess I don't have my father's matchmaking sense yet, I couldn't tell that Claude and Byleth were interested in each other." Rutger noted.

"Don't worry, I couldn't either." Lilina told him. "But I do have one sense, that I'm ready to share the night with you."

"Heh, I have that sense too, and I love it." So the two of them shared a night of passion before the mission the next day.

"I can sense it's going to start to rain soon." Rutger pointed out when the Golden Deer got to the chapel site. "We should clean this up as quickly as possible so we don't get mucked up by mud or anything."

"Well, I don't see anything that needs to be cleaned up." Claude stated. But just then Byleth came over and started telling them the situation.

"Demonic Beasts like Miklan have invaded the chapel and possibly have kidnapped the students!" She stated.

"Then let's go save them!" Claude said and the Deer took the battlefield.

"There are so many of them, do we really stand a chance?" Marianne wondered.

"With all the training I've given you I'm confident that we can win the day!" Byleth stated. "There are only five of them, so split into groups as usual." Rutger got paired up with Ignatz while Lilina was paired up with Raphael.

"Okay, you strafe around and annoy it with arrows while I run around and hit it's weak points." Rutger told Ignatz, knowing he was better of staying farther away.

"Got it!" Ignatz said readying his bow. He had gotten quite good at shooting it, almost every shot he made hit it's mark and he could shoot from pretty far away as well. And while he wasn't doing much damage it did the trick to allow Rutger to get around the Demonic Beast and hit it's weak spots. Eventually it roared in pain and slumped down and when its flesh folded in on itself it revealed that it was a student.

"Why would a student become a Demonic Beast?" Rutger wondered. "I don't see any Hero's Relics around here, do you Ignatz?"

"I don't, it's very strange indeed." Meanwhile Raphael and Lilina had just taken care of their Beast and saw the same thing.

"Is, is he dead?" Raphael wondered.

"I don't know I don't hear any breathing or heartbeat or anything." Lilina noted as she bent down to take a look.

"Maybe if I give him one of my pocket snacks he'll wake up." Raphael suggested.

"I don't think so, I think he's actually dead. How could this happen, this is way different than what happened with Miklan." She noted. She also noted to herself that she might have to be asking Rhea what was going on. Eventually the Deer took care of all the Beasts and the same thing happened with each one when they were defeated, a dead student was found inside and everyone was really wondering what in Fodlan was going on here.

"You think this has something to do with Remire?" Claude asked Byleth.

"It's a distinct possibility." She noted. "There is only one more building to check and Rutger was right about the rain rolling in. Gather the Deer and get them to a dry place, my father and I will investigate the building together."

"Okay, but you be safe out there." Claude replied before following her orders. The Deer were all waiting to hear back from Byleth in a dry area out of the rain, but soon enough time passed so much that they were starting to get worried about her.

"Claude, I don't like this, we should go out there and see if she's okay." Hilda commented.

"I agree, this is taking too long." Claude noted. "Rutger, you keep everyone together, Hilda and I will go see what's going on."

"Got it." Rutger confirmed and the two of them ran out into the rain. Again it was taking a while for Claude and Hilda to get back and Rutger was about to go and look for them when through the rain they saw the two of them coming back with Byleth and another person being held by the three of them. It was Jeralt and he was dead.

"Oh no." Lilina gasped to herself, turning her head into Rutger's chest. She hadn't been there for her father's last moments and she really didn't feel like going through anything like that ever again, so she just clung to Rutger hoping that he'd know what to do.

"Hey, hey, it's going to be alright." He said softly as he stroked her hair as she started crying. He was starting to tear up as well, the thoughts of his parents coming back, and because he respected Jeralt as a good man as well. In fact most of the Golden Deer were crying, Felix even looked sad as he comforted Annette. No one really knew what to say, but since he had the most experience with this Rutger took the lead and stepped up with everyone.

"I know this is tough on all of us, but standing out here in the rain isn't going to do us any good." He said. "Marianne, Raphael, get a stretcher we can carry Jeralt with. Ignatz, you run and go get Manuela and any other staff you can find, everyone else just take it a step at a time and we'll make it back to the monastery eventually where we can sit and talk about what happened and how we feel about it." Everyone did what he asked and soon enough they were all making there way back, slowly but surely.

"Thank you." Claude mouthed to Rutger as he and Byleth passed by. Rutger just nodded silently as he and Lilina covered the back of the group in case there was an ambush.

"Right after the ball too, this is really horrible." Lilina commented when everyone was out of earshot. "I hate that Byleth has to go through the same thing we did, I thought everything was going well."

"I did too, I figured that this year would play out and things would be great for everyone, but you know as well as I do that the world is full of chance and anarchy, not everyone gets their happy ending." Rutger noted.

"I just wish we could have done more." Lilina added.

"Me too, but we still can help." Rutger replied. "We've been through this before ourselves so we can help Byleth cope with her emotions and try to get back to whatever normal she can get to. I say we give it a couple days and then we can see if she's willing to talk about it."

"I'd like that, and I think she'd appreciate it as well."

Guardian Moon 1180

As expected Byleth took a few days off of teaching the Golden Deer to mourn the death of her father. Manuela and Hanneman took turns doing it for her, but there wasn't much teaching or instructing being done, it was more comforting the students. They hadn't even been given a mission for the month. Rutger and Lilina were obviously a big help since they had been through this before, so things went as smoothly as they could.

"How is Byleth holding up?" Lilina asked Manuela after a class.

"She's doing, well I wouldn't say good, but she's making progress." Manuela admitted. "Something tells me that she's going to try and push through and start teaching you all again, and while I can understand that, I think she needs a bit more support. I was wondering if you and Rutger could go speak to her and share your experiences to try and help her out."

"Yeah, we were going to do that today if she was feeling like it." Lilina noted. "So if you think she's ready for it we'll visit her."

"I think it would be good for her, so please do so as soon as you can." Manuela confirmed. So Rutger and Lilina got some supplies in case they were needed and headed to Byleth's room.

"Professor Byleth, it's me and Lilina, can we come in?" Rutger asked as he knocked on the door.

"You can come in." Byleth confirmed. So the two of them came into her room and it was still pretty bare as it used to be, but there were now a bunch of flowers and trinkets from all the students that gave them to her. As for Byleth she was sitting on her bed, and the pair could tell that she was still quite sad.

"How are you holding up?" Lilina asked as she sat next to Byleth. Rutger pulled up a chair and sat nearby.

"I'm still not doing the best, but I'm doing better." Byleth stated. "But there is still a huge hole in my heart. I used to think that I didn't have emotions like normal people for whatever reason, but ever since I came here and started teaching I realized I was wrong. Though sometimes, like now, I kind of wish I was right so I didn't have to feel what I'm feeling right now."

"I understand that, truly I do." Rutger commented. "When my parents died, my whole world fell apart. I changed as a person and I haven't gotten back to who I was and I doubt that I ever will. I'm not saying that you will be the same, but what I am saying is that even if it fades you will still feel that pain of loss. But that's not a weakness, it means that you truly loved your father and that you did everything you could to build your relationship with him. You can use that pain in a positive way, helping other people get through their trauma, because I've seen what happens when you use the pain in a negative way. I did it and I don't like the person I became, and I don't want you to have to go through that as well."

"Are you saying that I shouldn't be looking for revenge against those people?" Byleth asked.

"No, I'm not saying that." Rutger clarified. "I'm saying that you shouldn't let those feelings overtake you and your personality like it did with me. Yes, in the short term it helped me get through some issues, but the longer I held onto it the less it fueled me, the less it helped, and the more it continued to warp me into someone I didn't know anymore."

"How long has it been since it happened?" Byleth asked. "How long did it take you to understand these feelings?"

"It's been 4 years since they died." Rutger noted. "So, it's may take a while, but I'm confident that you can do it, you're a strong willed woman."

"Honestly I'm glad you got to at least say goodbye to your father, I never really got that chance." Lilina commented since she felt Rutger was done. "Every day I wonder what it would be like if he was still around, if he would be proud of the woman I've become, proud of the choices I've made. But one thing I do know is that he wouldn't have wanted me to mope around and do nothing just because he wasn't around anymore. And I can say that with confidence since he went through the same thing I did. His brother, who was pretty much his only family, died of a disease while he and Rutger's parents were fighting a mad druid who wanted to bring dragons back to Elibe to steal their power. He could have gone back home and taken his position, but he stuck with his friends and in the end saved everyone."

"I feel my father would say something similar." Byleth noted. "We'd lose a member of our mercenary group every now and then and he would always mourn their death, but he would never linger on it. He gave them respect, but he knew where to draw the line. I know this is a bit different because he's my father and not some random co-worker, but I have the feeling it's not as different either. He would want me to pay my respects and get on with my life because he knew it wasn't good to dwell on the past too much."

"That's a good way to think about it." Lilina assured her. "And we know that talking to you like this isn't going to solve everything, but because we care about you we wanted to talk and share our experiences in the hopes that it can give you some comfort as you try and grieve."

"I appreciate it, very much." Byleth told the both of them genuinely. "I know you two will be going home soon, but I just want you to know that I'll treasure the moments we've shared together for a long time and I won't be forgetting you any time soon."

"The same goes for us, you've made a mark on both of us and we can't wait to come back and have that big celebration with you and the Deer." Rutger assured her.

"Would you both be willing to give me a hug? Just because." Byleth asked of them.

"Of course we would." Lilina assured her. So they both got up and gave Byleth a warm and loving hug, one that she would remember for a long time.

"I know this may sound weird, but I love you guys, in a friendly way of course." Byleth said afterwards.

"We feel the same, and we'll be ready for you to come back to teaching us whenever you are ready." Rutger told her truthfully.

"I think tomorrow would be a good day, don't you?"

Rutger/Raphael B-Support

Rutger and Raphael were sparring with each other at the training grounds and when they were done Raphael had something to bring up about what they had been talking about earlier.

"So, I've really been enjoying have all these extra pockets for snacks, but I think I might have run into a problem with this." Raphael stated.

"And what would that be?" Rutger wondered.

"I can't sew pockets in my battle outfit." Raphael replied. "I mean you've seen it, it's made up of a bunch of metal, you can't put pockets in metal."

"You're right on that point." Rutger agreed. "And you don't ride a horse either so you can't just put snacks in your saddlebag like one of my friend's knight does either."

"I wish there was a way we could fix it." Raphael said with a sigh.

"Well, let me think about it some and I'll get back to you. I'm sure I can come up with something that'll work out for you." Rutger stated.

"Yeah, sure! I'm not really much one for thinking, but you're really smart and clever, kind of like Claude. With you on the case it shouldn't take that long!" Raphael said with a big grin on his face.

"You know there is something I've been meaning to say to you Raphael, and I think now is a good time." Rutger noted. "I really appreciate your optimism, it's very infectious and just being around you makes my day brighter, so thank you."

"I mean, that's just who I am!" Raphael said confidently. "No need to thank me or anything like that."

"You may think so, but I'm actually kind of envious of you." Rutger explained.

"Envious? Of me? Why?" Raphael wondered.

"Well, I heard about the story of what happened to your parents and it kind of spoke to me since something similar happened to me a while ago." Rutger answered. "You seemed to take it in stride while I kind of wallowed in my pain and suffering for a bit too long."

"I mean, I felt sad, and mad, and a whole bunch of bad feelings when it happened. It wasn't like I didn't." Raphael stated.

"I know, I'm not saying you didn't, I'm just saying I think you handled your problems way better than I handled mine." Rutger explained.

"Who cares if I handled them better?" Raphael stated. "What's important is that we did handle them and now we're here being friends and talking about how we love to train and snack all the time, right?"

"I guess you're right." Rutger said with a small laugh.

"What's so funny?" Raphael wondered.

"Nothing, you just sounded a bit like my father when you said that." Rutger admitted. "Alright, you think you can go another round of training?"

"Heck yeah! Loser has to go into town to get snacks!"

Lilina/Lysithea B-Support

Lilina was having some tea with Manuela when Hilda came in holding Lysithea who looked unconscious.

"Guys! Lysithea fell into group of porcupines and they all started shooting needles at her!" Hilda said as she gently laid Lysithea on one of the medical tables.

"Why is she knocked out? Did she pass out from the pain?" Lilina wondered.

"It seems so, it looks like her body went into shock." Manuela stated as she looked Lysithea over. "And her outfit is ruined as well. Hilda, go to her room and get a spare uniform, she's going to need it."

"Okay! You two take care of her!" Hilda told them and they nodded to her before she left.

"I take it we're going to have to take all these needles out?" Lilina wondered.

"Yes, and it's a good thing she's passed out, otherwise she'd probably be yelling in pain the whole time." Manuela confirmed. So the two of them started taking the needles out as quickly as they could without making Lysithea bleed. It was a long process, but eventually they got all the ones they could see. Though as they were searching her body Lilina saw something that was strange to her, but she kept quiet about it. Eventually Lysithea started to wake up, but only Lilina was there at the moment since Manuela had another student to take care off.

"Ugh, what happened?" Lysithea questioned as she sat up. But when she did she felt all the little pricks all over her body and her mind started to race. She quickly jumped off the bed and bolted for the door, but Lilina was just fast enough to grab her before she did. "LET GO OF ME YOU MONSTERS! I'D RATHER DIE BEFORE I HAVE ANY MORE TESTS DONE ON ME!" She yelled in what almost sounded like an animalistic voice as she tried to wriggle away from Lilina's grasp. Luckily she could hold on to people much longer because of her axe training.

"Lysithea! Calm down! It's just me, Lilina." Lilina told her as she pulled her away from the door. "You fell into a pit of porcupines and your body is in shock. Manuela and I just took the last few hours de-needling you."

"LIAR! YOU'RE WITH THOSE PEOPLE! THOSE PEOPLE WHO GAVE ME THAT SECOND CREST THAT I HATE!" Lysithea yelled some more. "LET ME GO! LET ME GO! LET ME GO!" She was quickly running out of steam because she hadn't eaten in a while and her body was more focused on healing itself than thinking, so eventually she calmed down and took a look around to see that she was in the infirmary at Garreg Mach.

"See, everything is fine." Lilina assured her as she finally let Lysithea go. "It's just me and you'll be right as rain in no time." Lysithea didn't say anything, she just crawled into a ball and started crying her eyes out. This was a shock to Lilina because she never knew her to cry like this for anything, but she knew what to do. She started to sing her mother's lullaby to her and eventually her crying stopped and turned into snoring. A little bit after that Manuela came in to check on what was going on and saw the scene before her.

"What happened here?" Manuela wondered.

"She woke up and started freaking out, saying we were doing experiments on her and that she had two Crests." Lilina replied. "I think, I think someone might have been doing that to her in the past."

"That's horrible, who would do such a thing?" Manuela said in shock. "We should find out who did it and tell Lady Rhea."

"We should, but for now, let's just focus on getting Lysithea to feel better." Lilina noted. "I think she needs something to eat, can you get something for her?"

"Of course, I'll be right back." Manuela said before leaving the two alone. Lysithea was still asleep, but Lilina went back to singing for her a little bit and she could see her mouth curl up into a small smile as she did.

"It's going to be alright Lysithea, it's going to be alright."

---

Byleth and the Golden Deer were standing at the entrance of the Sealed Forest preparing for battle. Claude had expertly persuaded Rhea to let them take care of this even with her concerns about Byleth wanting revenge. Everyone was with and behind her and they all wanted to make these villains pay.

"Today we end this scheme and bring peace back to the monastery!" Byleth said to amp the students up. "Everyone go out there and do your best, give them all they can handle and then some! Show no mercy and give them the swiftest end! Golden Deer, move out!" Everyone cheered, even if Byleth was sounding a bit more aggressive than usual. But everyone was on edge so it made sense.

"What do you want us to do?" Lilina asked Byleth about her and Rutger.

"Let them have everything in your arsenal, show them what you can really do." Byleth told them.

"Will do." Rutger said with a smirk. So with them unleashing their full, able to slay dragons by themselves, power the battle was very one sided. Way more one sided than any of the other ones, but unfortunately that played into the enemy's plan. Byleth was chasing Monica, or rather Kronya down and she had her trapped on what looked like an altar. She was about to deliver the final blow when Solon warped in to interfere. No one was close enough to stop what happened, they could only watch. Solon looked as if he ripped Kronya's heart out of her chest and then used to to cast a dark spell on Byleth. The altar was surrounded and enveloped in darkness and when it left Byleth was nowhere to be seen.

"Where did Byleth go? She was just standing there a moment ago." Lilina wondered, but Solon was kind enough to explain what he thought was going on.

"They were swallowed by the mystical darkness of the forbidden spell. An eternity wandering in a void of darkness, never to return to this world. You should have said your goodbyes while you could." He taunted them.

"No way! Byleth wouldn't go out like that, she's too powerful!" Lysithea shouted back.

"Yeah, Teach has survived stronger things than that!" Claude spat as well.

"They could be alive, you never know, but they won't be staying that way for long." Solon taunted even more.

"Well, even if she is gone, we can still waste you in her honor." Rutger stated.

"Kill me if you can interloper, every fight you take in this land we learn more and more about you." Solon stated.

"Information is only useful if you're alive." Claude stated. "Everyone! Charge him!" But before any of them could take a step a huge rip tore open in the air and out came Byleth, her hair glowing a seafoam green and the Sword of the Creator glowing even more than usual.

"You thought something like that could hold me?" She asked Solon confidently. "You shall pay for your miscalculation with your life." After that Solon called some more troops out from the forest, but with Byleth's new power-up they were nothing she couldn't handle.

"Kind of reminds me of when Roy got the Binding Blade." Lilina commented.

"Yeah, I think Byleth is going to be just fine with out us now." Rutger agreed. Soon enough Solon was defeated and killed and everyone was cheering and celebrating like they deserved to be. Everything was coming up great and Byleth seemed to have resolved her revenge in the most spectacular way possible. Though there was some explaining to do.

"So, what's up with the hair Teach?" Claude wondered.

"Long story short, I think I'm the goddess now." Byleth stated. "I mean she was in my head talking to me, helping me through the year, but we had to fuse together in that darkness to get out."

"Uh, that's a lot to take in honestly, but I've never known you to be a liar Byleth, so I guess we can accept that." Claude replied.

"Anything you two have ever heard of?" Byleth asked Rutger and Lilina.

"I've heard of gods and goddesses blessing heroes with their power, but not fusing with them." Lilina noted.

"Nothing my father ever told me shapes up quite like this." Rutger added. "But hey, anything is possible right?"

"I guess that's true." Byleth stated. "But boy, am I-" And with that she fainted like she had a few months ago.

"Seems like she's still adjusting to the new power." Lilina noted.

"Yeah, I'd say so." Claude agreed. "Can you and Hilda carry her back, I don't want it to be awkward."

"Sure thing."

Pegasus Moon 1180

A few days after Byleth had recovered and gotten used to her new form and powers, Lilina stated that she was ready to have her and Rutger travel back home. So they all met with Byleth, Rhea, Seteth, and Claude at the orb in the gazebo that was the source of everything that caused them to come here in the first place.

"I hope you two enjoyed your stay here in Fodlan." Rhea told them. "We enjoyed having you and I think we both learned much about each other and our cultures. If you ever find yourself in Fodlan again for any reason, you'll always have a place to stay here at Garreg Mach."

"You two have really made an impression on everyone here, even myself." Seteth admitted. "And you were wonderful students and examples for the younger ones among us. I wish you the best in the rest of your lives."

"Thank you, both of you, we feel the same." Lilina noted.

"We felt very welcome the entire time, and you two were a large part of it." Rutger added. "We do plan on trying to come back for the millennium festival, so be prepared for that."

"We'll try to have a softer landing for you then." Rhea joked.

"Well, I'd be lying if I said I didn't want you two to stay with us so I could learn more about Elibe and pick your minds about any number of things, but what I got from you was an experience and I appreciate it and how open you two were." Claude stated afterwards. "I'll be waiting for you to come back. Maybe by then I'll be leading the Alliance, who knows?"

"I'm sure you'll do fine." Lilina assured him.

"Just remember to listen to your friends and allies and don't try to do everything yourself." Rutger added.

"I won't, trust me. I have many people I can trust, even if you two won't be there." Claude noted. Then it was Byleth's turn to say goodbye.

"You two know I'm not the greatest when it comes to emotional moments, but you two have done a lot for me." Byleth told the pair. "You helped me keep everyone safe, you helped everyone learn and train to become stronger, and you helped me through some of the darkest moments of my life. I truly count you both as friends and I really hope we do get to meet each other again some day."

"You were a wonderful teacher, a wonderful sparring partner, and you're a wonderful friend as well." Rutger replied. "I'll keep what you taugt me in my heart and mind for a long time."

"Me as well." Lilina added. "You've taught me so many things that I would have never learned in Elibe, and I hope to spread your knowledge to other people so we can make Elibe an even better place. So thank you for everything." Byleth gave the both of them a hug after that and then Lilina cast a spell to open a portal back to Elibe.

"And you're sure that this will sent you to the right place?" Rhea wondered.

"About 90% sure." Lilina replied. "If not, then we'll find our way back from wherever we end up."

"We know how to fend for ourselves, as you well know." Rutger stated.

"Well, before you go, I have one more surprise for you." Claude said. "Come on out guys!" And with that all the students from all three houses stepped into the garden and gave the pair a wonderful and emotional send off. Rutger and Lilina were touched and gave them all a huge smile and wave before jumping into the portal hand in hand.

Elibe

Roy didn't have much time to worry about what happened to Rutger and Lilina because as soon as they disappeared a couple dozen Morphs started to circle around him. They weren't that much trouble for him, but he knew if they kept coming they would eventually get lucky and get some hits in. He fought them off for about ten minutes before the Dragon's Gate started to glow again, but this time the wind was blowing outward instead of sucking in towards it. A moment later he saw Rutger and Lilina emerge from it wearing completely different outfits than they were before.

"Do I have time to ask what happened?" Roy wondered as he started seeing Lilina cut Morphs in half with an axe that was spitting lighting and Rutger casting wind magic out of his hands without a tome or anything.

"Oh, do we have a story to tell you Roy." Lilina said in a teasing tone.

"Let's get rid of these Morphs and get back to the ship, we can tell you everything there."