(Updated: Revision Chapter: 2-24-22)
[-]
"So, what exactly do we know about this...The Holy Kingdom of Faerghus? Any information from those books of yours?" Sothis said as she lay on the bed.
It was now early in the morning. The two had decided to go to sleep that night instead so they could have a better and refreshed mind for planning. Arisa smiled and fixed her imaginary glasses and pointed to the book she had opened. The page she went to was in the middle of the book, where it showed the map of Faerghus. "Mountain terrain, slopes, snow, rugged land that is barren very difficult to survive in. In a way, it's almost like Alaska (Sothis: Al-laaaka?). The people had to learn to adapt and survive in the harsh cold environment." She said.
Sothis hummed and then placed her finger on a star that was on the map.
"What does this star mean?" She asked.
"That is where the city capital and the palace is, Fhiriad. Incredible, isn't it? And if you look closely, that opening is where the river connects to the sea. It makes it an amazing area for importing goods from the sea. Similar to the Aquatic Capital of the Leicester Alliance." Arisa explained as Sothis's eyes traveled over the map.
The goddess smiled at this.
"Blaiddyd, Fraldarius, Gautier, and the names continue. These ways also to mark certain territories of The Kingdom?" She asked.
"In a way, yes. But the names are used to show what land belongs to what house. They are the ones that bare Crest." Arisa said.
"Crest...crest... it sounds familiar. Yet, I can not remember where such words I have heard. Hm...there is still much to learn should I ever recover my memories." Sothis said as she sat up and crossed her arms.
Arisa nodded and pointed to Fhiriad.
"This is where we are most likely heading to. There is a possibility that we may go to another house territory but since this letter was requested by the king himself. We'll also probably go through a town. They'll be making multiple stops on the way to restock on supplies." She said as walked over to the window and grabbed the stool.
She used it to climb up, open her window, and looked out. Sothis followed and looked.
"The six men and women we saw are part of the mercenary team that takes care of the jobs in Fodlan. Dad's ace team. Also specifically, the men are Florencio's team and the women are part of Sandy's. Those two especially…are the generals of this company and my father, their leader." She said seriously.
Sothis nodded.
"Morning Byleth!"
One of the women yelled out as she was carrying a few boxes towards one of the wagons.
"Morning Ili!" Arisa yelled out.
"One of the ladies in Sandy's team?" Sothis said.
"Yup," Arisa said as she looked back to the wagons.
"Let us map out all three wagons. What is in each of them, which one is the most secure for us to sneak in." She smirked as she got down and headed out, but not before grabbing a loaf of bread with honey on it.
It was Sandy's, so she took advantage and grabbed it while the woman had her back turned as she was cooking more food. The best part is that Arisa used her "silent run" technique so she wouldn't make any noise.
"WHO TOOK MY HONEY BREAD?!"
"Teheh!"Arisa and Sothis giggled mischievously as they ran out the door and towards the wagons.
"Hyaaa!" They heard a bit of yelling and grunting and spotted a couple of the men training.
"Focus!" Florencio yelled as he watched two of his men sparing.
One was using a wooden sword and the other was fighting using his bare fists.
"Morning Florencio," Arisa said as she walked up to him.
"Morning Lady Byleth." He smiled at her and turned back to the men.
He was wearing his usual dress again. Hmmm...
"Can I try?" She smiled as she pointed to a wooden sword.
"Well...you are at an age to learn the sword, I don't see why not?" Florencio said and went to the crate to grab a small wooden sword.
He rummaged through it and found it.
"Catch." He said and he threw it to her.
She easily caught it with one hand, which honestly surprised many. To her, she repeatedly grasped the pommel of the sword to get a feel of it. It was a bit too thick for her taste since she was used to fencing. Meaning one hand. So, a little bit of a story. At age 15, Arisa found a fencing club in her high school along with a kendo club. To add a bit more to this, also a kickboxing club. She joined all three. Lucky for her, the clubs were each an hour apart, allowing her to rest before she went to the next one. Now, another to this. She loved dancing. It was her very few passions along with art and music. So she had the GRAND idea of combining her dancing with the use of the sword. Pretty much sword dancing but at a much deadlier level because she loved to scare the hell out of people. It was no surprise that Theresa and her older sister encouraged it after watching a few dancer characters from the Fire Emblem series. Hell, they dressed her up as Azura for Halloween.
Now back to our present time.
"Do you have a thinner lighter version of this?" She asked.
May began to whisper among another and even Florencio was confused.
"Thinner?" He asked.
"Yes. I'm asking for a wooden version of a rapier." She said.
"Oooohhhh! Okay, that makes better sense. But why a rapier? This type of sword is common among those of Fodlan so hearing you want a rapier is surprising." He admitted.
Arisa hummed and spoke.
"I want something easy to move around with but also light enough that I can draw it when I am in danger." That was all she said.
Florencio thought for a moment. Rapiers were designed to be long, slender, but a little bit of weight. They were created for thrusting but there were records of them being used for slashing. Also, the use of a rapier was common among...nobles. Especially those of the Adrestian Empire. So for Lady Byleth to ask for such a sword...it was a surprise. It isn't a well-known sword among mercenaries and certainly not among the common folk. He had a guess she must have seen the sword in a book since she can only read a certain amount till she has properly learned the alphabet. But he didn't know the sword style of a rapier nor did his sister or anyone in the company.
"I'm sorry, Lady Byleth, but I don't think it's possible." He said.
"Wait, why?" She said as she looked over at him.
"Well, first of all, none of us know how to use a rapier. The sword style is very different to what we mercenaries learn and it is not a well-known sword among the common folk." He explained.
He saw her narrow her eyes at him. There was this glint in them that made him feel like was talking to an adult than a child.
Ever since the ambush from a week ago, everyone had noticed the drastic change she went through. She expressed her emotions normally, which was still a bit much to take in, her form of speech is formal like that of an adult. Her form of thinking is different. And her eyes, especially her eyes. There was a look that reminded him of a grown woman. Not..." that woman"...but more towards her mother, Rosa. They even noticed that she had a love for plants and especially flowers like her mother.
"I see then." She said and looked back to the sword.
There it was again, that look in her eyes.
"Would it be possible for there to be a book about rapiers?" She asked.
And then there was that side of Rosa that was clear Byleth had inherited. The girl was a damn bibliophile like her mother! The love of books is so great to the point that Rosa has gotten in trouble for not paying attention because she was so caught up in her book and it was the same case with Byleth.
"It could be possible. Maybe in the new book supplies, we get next month." One of them said as he grabbed an apple to eat.
There was an apple tree where they were training at. Arisa stared at her sword and gave it back to Florencio.
"What about metallic fans that Sandy uses?" She said.
"No no no no no!" He instantly said.
"Why not?" She asked, a pout on her face.
"First of all, that is a very traditional and highly difficult dance training that takes almost your entire life to perfect. And that's just the dancing part. The war fans are a completely different story." He said.
"War fans huh?" She smirked at him.
A lot of the men were slowly feeling a shiver down their spine.
"Then what about a chain scythe? Or the claws brawlers use? What about the knives assassins use? Or a staff since I have yet to learn magic? Or a bow? An axe? A lance? Medicine? Healing? The list can go on. I want to learn." She said.
"I want to learn!"
That sentence. That damn sentence. It was the exact one Rosa would use. Florencio took a deep breath and pointed to the small book store around three buildings away.
"Learn your alphabet first then we can talk about training." He said with a smile.
Truthfully, he was a bit angry for some reason. Everyone else seems to flinch at his smile because they all recognize it. Byleth was a different story. She too smiled at him.
"Okay then! Challenge accepted! I'll have the full alphabet memorized by tomorrow and read you one full page of one of your books. Then you can teach me to use magic and knives." She grinned.
It's funny how her canine teeth made her look almost like she had fangs. Florencio shivered. That smile...that damn smile...it was the same smile Rosa had when she was going to pull a prank that spelled his doom. It was the smile of a fox he called it. The girl took the wooden sword from him and threw it at the tree trunk like it was some dagger. The look of horror that befell everyone when they saw it stuck on.
"Oh, nice. Like a dart, it stuck!" Arisa said a bit too cheerfully.
None could see that Sothis was cackling evilly as she did her usual of wrapping her arms around the girl's neck and resting her chin on her head. Arisa turned to Florencio.
"Like I said. Challenge accepted!" She grinned and walked away humming a tune.
She was humming Isabella's lullaby from The Promised Neverland. An uncomfortable silence filled the area till it was cracked by Sandy's cheerful voice.
"Alright, sorry to be late! Whoever stole my honey bread is gonna pay. Anyhow, here is the brea-why is everyone so silent?" Sandy said she was carrying a tray of fruits, bread, and also bowls of oatmeal.
The woman looked to each one as they just looked away till she turned to her brother.
"What's going on?" She said and he pointed to the wooden sword stuck to the tree trunk.
Sandy placed the tray down on the table and walked it. A small smile formed her lips.
"Well well well..." everyone shivered at the excitement building in her voice, "Who was the one that did this? I am impressed by the accuracy where the wooden sword. Right at the vein of the tree that temporarily puts it to a death state, but when removed, the tree is back to life." She smiled as she removed the sword.
A bit of sap was coming out of the tree. She smiled as she turned to everyone.
"So, who did it? I think I just found my possible successor to my Dance of Death." She said.
"It was Lady Byleth." And instantly everyone turned to look at the one who said it.
The poor man shrunk away at the glare his captain gave him. Sandy looked at him shocked.
"Wait, are you serious? The only way someone can land a blow like this is if they concentrate a small amount of magic into the sword. But...it could be possible she did it unconsciously. Hmm..." she thought for a minute and everyone quickly jumped back when they noticed what seemed like a crack appeared on the whole of the tree.
Sandy stared at it and smiled.
"Okay, okay. I see how it is."
- Book Store -
"Books about how to use rapiers?" The book store owner said and placed his hand under his chin.
"We have one book in the back I believe. As for the one that teaches our language and also basic magic spells for beginners. Let me get them for you. Uh, you are buying them right?" He asked.
Byleth nodded.
"Alright, let me get them. I'll be out in a few minutes." The owner said and went to the back of the store.
Arisa went to sit at one of the pillow chairs and noticed the poodle that the owner has. Its name was Spark, from what she remembered from Byleth's memories. The poodle spotted her and wagged its tail as she sat next to it.
"Woof!" It barked when Sothis sat across from her.
"Hmm...funny how only animals can see me and you also." Sothis smiled as she petted the dog.
"I find it strange that you can even touch it," Arisa said.
"At most, only you can physically touch me and the animals but that's it. To everyone else, I do not exist, nor can they see or feel me. It's a bit lonely but I'll take advantage. I can give them a good scare as a ghost!" She said that last part with glee.
"Agree with you on that," Arisa said.
"You know, " Sothis hummed as the poodle fell back to sleep, "You unconsciously used a bit of magic when you threw that sword," Sothis said and looked at her seriously.
Arisa became a bit nervous and looked at her own hands.
"I feel like some bug." She said.
"A bug?" Sothis asked confused.
"Well, how do I put it? I feel like...an enigma," she said.
Sothis hummed but shook her head.
"Arisa, we can only do so much. Though your soul and heart are wiser than your looks, one must still be careful. Do not push yourself too hard. That is all." Sothis said.
"FOUND THEM!"
The two girls giggled from the cheerful yell of the book store owner in the back. Looks like the rumors that it is a tornado in there are true. Seeing the man come out with three books, she got up and walked to the front desk, where he used string to tie them together like a present.
"Okay, so that will be 30 copper coins." He said and she took out her small pouch that was given to her by her father.
She was still figuring out the money system. Pulling out the 30 copper coins, she handed them to the man did a quick peek behind him.
"Say, why don't you have an assistant help you organize the back?" She asked.
"Usually my son helps me but he and his group are getting ready to head out to the Kingdom in two days. Bright and early before sunrise." He said.
What the man didn't know was that he should have not said that piece of information because that was one of the key missing pieces Arisa needed for her plan. The time that they will depart.
"Oh, that's nice." She said cheerfully.
"So, what are you planning?" Sothis said as she floated behind the man to get a good look at the back room.
The goddess screeched when she saw the horrid of a mess in the back. Books, papers, even scrolls littered everywhere or even hanging off bookshelves.
"THIS IS A CRIME IN ITSELF! HOW DARE THESE PRECIOUS WRITTEN FORMS OF KNOWLEDGE AND SOULS BE LEFT LIKE THIS?!" The girl screeched.
It took a lot of effort for Arisa not to hiss at how loud was her voice. The poor poodle yelped and ran to escape her screech.
"If it is alright, can I help organize the back? Papa and the others aren't letting me train yet till next month since I am still recovering. But they said I can help out around the village if I want to!" She hummed.
The book store owner raised an eyebrow but shrugged his shoulders.
"Eh, sure why not? Also, books and scrolls marked with a green leaf are ones I plan to throw away. You can keep them if you want. My way of paying you." He said.
"Thank you!" She said and allowed her to enter the back as he went to the window to fix a couple of books that fell off the stands.
"QUE CHINGADOS ES ESTO?! ESTO ES UN CRIME!!" The young girl screamed and cursed in her original native tongue.
The book store owner just raised an eyebrow because he swore that was a foreign language. He just shrugged. It was expected of the child of a mercenary. To know multiple languages is a sign that the child is bound to do great things. What the man did not know is that it was also a weapon in many ways. And to Arisa's advantage, she was glad no one, not even Sothis, could understand the number of profanities she was yelling as she was having a hard time trying to organize everything to the rightful place.
- 4 hours later: lunchtime-
"That's the last one..." the girl sighed as she finished separating the old and new books.
There was at least one small size crate filled with about 13 books and 5 scrolls she was going to keep because they had the green leaf marking. She had organized the back like a proper librarian.
"Byleth are you- what on earth?!" That was the voice of Sandy as she walked into the back. The book store owner followed behind her and both of their jaws dropped as they saw how clean and organized the place now was.
"I swear I thought I walked into the wrong room." The book owner said.
Both looked down as they saw Arisa walk up to them with a proud grin on her face and crossed her arms proudly, despite being partly covered in dust. Sothis got bored at some point and had chosen to disappear to fall asleep.
"All done!" The girl stated proudly.
Everything was spotless and she even pointed to another crate.
"I found a couple of kitchen tools here and also some wax seal kits. I placed them there. As for the books and scrolls with the green leaf marks, I put them in that crate that I will be taking home." She grinned.
"Uhh...okay..." Sandy said a bit confused and turned to the bookstore owner, who looked more than amazed by how spotless the place looked.
"So, Florencio told me he saw you head to the book store and never left out. He wanted me to check on you but guess there was nothing to worry about." Sandy chuckled and saw the girl with arms crossed, still in proud mode.
"I told him I accepted his challenge and I'll keep it!" She said.
"Challenge?" Both the adults said.
"Yup. If I can learn the Fodlan alphabet by tomorrow and read a full page from one of his medical books, he'll teach me how to use magic and a sword!" She said.
Sandy groaned into her hands. Well, at least that was one motivation to help the girl learn.
"Well, let's go. I'll carry the box for you. And, Isa, thanks for watching over her while we trained." Sandy said.
The book store owner now known as Isa snapped of it and nodded.
"No thank you! I'm just amazed by how much this place is clean!" He said enthusiastically and quickly ran to one shelf and took out a small-medium size box.
He handed it to her and she was confused.
"A thank you gift. Also, it's just been in the back collecting dust. Even I don't know what it is." He chuckled and Arisa just giggled a bit lowly.
She said thank you and the two females headed out to head back to the company.
"I'm surprised by how many books and scrolls you got. Too bad we don't have a book restoration team." Sandy said as they arrived and went to Byleth's room.
Arisa opened the door and the two went in. Sandy had placed the crate on the table as Arisa did the same with the other box.
"Well, I'm going to make lunch. After this, I want to speak with you. I saw the sword stuck to the tree." Sandy said.
Arisa giggled a bit nervously. Sandy patted her head with a warm smile.
"It's alright. I'll teach you to properly control that strength of yours. Also, I'll be teaching you how to dance when we come back from our job." Sandy said.
"Okay...umm...so what are we having for lunch?" Arisa asked.
"I and the cooks are going to make some stew for today along with a couple of sandwiches." She said and began to walk towards the door.
"Your father will be eating with us today since looks like the battalion run ended early today. Looks like there is a chance of a bit of a sprinkle." Sandy said and waved goodbye as she closed the door.
Hearing that meant that there may be a bit of rain. Arisa sighed as got on her chair and decided to open the box that was given to her. She blew on it to get rid of the dust and raised an eyebrow as she took a closer look at it. It was a wooden box with beautiful flower cravings on it. Carefully opening it, her eyes shot wide open once she saw what was in it. It was a beautiful jade tea set! With shaky hands, she carefully picks one up and saw the symbols used on it. They were that of the Teachings of Serios.
"I'm never using this tea set...it's too beautiful..." she whispered to herself as she put it back into the box and closed it.
She smiled at this but then thought again! Shoot! Her planning. Well...she could always just wing it right?
- Two days later: 30 minutes before Sunrise -
She was wide awake, along with Sothis by her side. Arisa had her bag packed with clothing, food, books, writing materials. Even her journal, and a few other things. Thank goodness Florencio doesn't keep track of the magic bags he has.
"Found it." She heard Sothis say as the goddess pointed to the main wagon.
"The only ones in that wagon are Sandy, your father, and Florencio. Time to sneak in. Ninja? Style like you say!" Sothis said.
Arisa just gawked at her but shook her head.
"Let's do this." Both girls said as a smirk formed on their faces.
If one were to see them both, they say they were almost looking at demons. With no sound to her steps, Arisa ran the wagon. None of the men and women even felt her presence nor heard a single sound as they were all now getting ready to set out.
"Quickly! Make haste!" Sothis said as the two arrived at the main wagon and Arisa quickly climbed up and went in through the cloth.
Luckily her father and the others were not there yet, which gave her enough time. She sighed as she looked at the different crates and barrels and spotted one that she could easily fit in. It also had enough space that she could breathe and move around. She walked up to it and opened it, revealing a few packages, most likely just an extra box. Still enough room to be in. She and Sothis nodded to each other and went in and closed the lid. And just in time too because Florencio had opened the back to climb in. Luckily, the crate was far in the back were very little paid attention to it. Through a hole in the crate, she saw Florencio walk towards the front and also heard neighing. She looked through another hole on the right and saw that Sandy was on a horse.
"Everyone ready!?" Jeralt yelled out and everyone gave out a "Haaaa!" Warcry to show they were ready.
"Oh, this is an experience! Looks like we made it." Sothis cheered as she did a small twirl.
"Not yet," Arisa said as they felt the wagon move forward and multiple sounds of wooden wheels moving.
"Why do you say that?" Sothis asked as she sat across from her.
"We still have a chance to get caught." This time the two were speaking telepathically to each other.
"We need to make sure we don't get discovered until we are at the border between Garreg Mach and the Kingdom. That way it will be impossible for them to take us back to the village." Arisa explained as she took out a small scroll and unrolled it.
It was one of the scrolls that were given to her. It was the full map of Fodlan. Arisa pointed to the center of the map, which was shown as mountains.
"We're here. We need to make it to the border. At most, 2 weeks we need to keep hiding." She said.
"What?! There's no way we can last that long!" Sothis said.
"We can, and we will," Arisa said clearly.
The two locked eyes.
"Sigh...fine. For now, study your book. You did beat Florencio at his challenge." Sothis said and saw the girl grin.
"I still beam with pride!" Arisa mentally giggled.
[-]
It was late at night, and she waited till she made sure she was clear to sneak out. She needed to answer nature's call and hid behind a bush where no one could hear her. After that, and cleaning herself, she saw there were about 3 men and women awake, keeping guard, each one taking turns for their shifts. Arisa sighed as she looked up at the sky and nearly gasped. The stars were a beautiful sight. She mentally began naming all the constellations she saw, and even a few new ones she had never seen.
"If only I had my telescope." She thought and took a deep breath of air.
She missed her old home...she missed California and its crazy traffic nights. She missed the sound of cars speeding by, hell, even the wifi because she loved watching drama channel videos, video games, music, a lot. It's only been a week but she's surprised by how much she has learned because she has been disconnected from the technology of the modern era of her old world. She walked back the wagon and climbed back in, and back into the crate. She closed the lid, making sure not to make a sound, and opened her bag, taking out the fur blanket she brought. Funny...it reminded her of Dimitri's cape during the five-year time skip.
Now, she needs to correct herself on a few things. First, she decided to start with the possible children she will meet in the Kingdom. First, Sylvain, who first she thought was the same age as the others but then remembered he was 19 years old at the start of the game. One year younger than her. So that means he is currently 3 years old. Next, Dimitri, Ingrid, and Felix.
Dimitri, the year 1162.
Ingrid, year 1163
Felix, 1163
Sylvain, 1160
Ashe, 1163
Mercedes, 1157
Numbers..numbers...she needed to remember numbers. She bit her lip and sighed. This was also the time that Glenn was alive. Byleth was born in 1159. She shook her head again. This was hurting her head. She laid down and hugged tightly the blanket. She needed sleep.
- Dream: ? -
"In time flows...see the glow!
Of flames ever burning bright!"
Singing. She heard singing. She opened her eyes as they revealed a beautiful grass field. She heard giggling and running. She could see a figure of a woman giggling as she ran around the beautiful field. There were also flowers of different shades of color. The woman smiled and took a deep breath.
"I'm pregnant!"
She happily yelled out to the field where no one could hear her. She was brimming with excitement. She placed her hands on her stomach and smiled. Arisa wish she could see what this woman looked like. All she could see was an outline of her.
"I can't wait to tell your papa! I'm sure he will be super excited! Well...I'm not sure how...mother will react but I'm more than happy you are with me."
The woman smiled warmly.
"Hmmm...I wonder what I'll call you. Oh, I know! This name can be used for both girls and boys! I'll name you -
- End of Dream -
Arisa's eyes slowly opened as she at up and rubbed her eyes. That dream she had...
It felt warm and full of kindness and love. She peeked out the hole of her crate and saw the others were all eating a meal. She quietly snuck out and stole one of the bowls of oatmeal while Sandy had her back turned and dashed back.
"What the? Okay, who got a second bowl?!" She heard Sandy and saw as she glared at everyone.
Everyone said none of them. Arisa quietly giggled as she happily ate the food. Two weeks...can she manage two weeks of hiding?
- 2 weeks later: Border -
She has done it. She has done it. She managed to stay hidden for exactly two weeks! Miracle! It was a miracle. Arisa patted herself on the back with a proud smile and sighed as she watched them cross the border. It would take at most another week to reach the nearest town. She sighed and curled herself into a ball to sleep. She needed this. Damn, Sothis's sleeping habits are now part of her.
[-]
"Hmm...not sure," Florencio said as he was busy looking through one of the maps he brought.
"Currently right now we're in here and we need to go through the territories of Charon, and continue straight to the town in Galatea where we will be staying and where the job is at." He said.
"Ugh...I heard the temperature is gonna drop more." Sandy said.
All the team members had changed to their warm winter clothing that was usually used for hunting. Sandy wore a nice winter dress that was created for dancers. Florencio felt his wool coat would be enough for now and Jeralt wore a fur-like coat that made him look like a gladiator.
"Let me get my pencil quickly. I need to mark these," Florencio said as he handed Jeralt the scroll and headed to the one box that a certain girl prayed no one ever went to.
The man opened the lip, expecting to see the small packages with writing supplies in them, which he didn't expect...
"Zzzzzzz..."
Silence.
The man had slowly closed the lid then reopened it to make sure he wasn't hallucinating.
"Hahahahah!" He laughed a bit too loudly that made Jeralt look inside the wagon.
"Is everything alright?" Jeralt asked as Florencio just kept laughing nervously.
"I'm just hallucinating, aren't I? There is no way she is here." He laughed as he stood up and jumped off the wagon, heading straight to the forest.
Thank goodness everyone was on a break. Sandy was just confused by who he meant by "She"? She got off her horse and climbed the back of the wagon to the inside to see what he meant.
Once she did that, she opened the crate and her eyebrows shot up almost as they flew off.
"Uuuuhhhh! Jeralt! You might wanna see this..." Sandy said as her soul was slowly leaving her body.
She needed to sit down before she passed out from shock. Jeralt walked in towards the crate, now seeing what the other two saw.
You see...this loud of a commotion would wake up anyone right about now. But since Sothis and Arisa are one, the goddess's sleeping habits have become part of the girl. Meaning, Arisa was asleep like a rock and did not hear anything of the full panic mode the entire team was going to and how her father turned to stone from shock. He was slowly recovering as he gently shook the sleeping girl.
"Hmm...no not now mom...zzzzz" she muttered and turned in the other direction.
"Byleth Arisa Reus Eisner, wake up." That was all he said that made the girl's eyes snap open and wide awake.
Now, as you the reader, and me, the author, we all know we have screwed up big time when our parents call us by our full names.
Arisa slowly turned and screamed.
"Don't hurt me! Don't hurt me! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Don't hurt me!" The girl screamed as she used her arms to shield herself.
"What? No, no, no! I would never do that!" Jeralt was completely caught off guard by this as many others.
The man gently picked up his daughter in his arms.
"Jeez, kid. You gave us all a heart attack when we found you. How long have you been hiding there?" He said softly, trying to calm down his daughter, who had a few tears.
"Two..weeks...since the day you all departed." Arisa sniffed.
Jeralt sighed.
"TWO WEEKS?!" Everyone else yelled.
They were all asking themselves how not a single one of them noticed her at all. Not even her presence.
"You still came even though I said not to...sigh..." Jeralt sighed.
To think she was hiding inside a crate...a damn crate!
"No way am I getting left behind! This is the first time I wanna see us outside the village! So please!" She begged as he gently put her down.
The man sighed, walked over to a different crate, pulled out a gray cloak, and gave it to her. The temperature is already starting to drop every day.
"Alright. Since there is no way to take you back to the village, you will be coming with us. The temperature is dropping more every day and you just recently made a full recovery." He scolded her and she pouted as she put on the coat.
She admits it was nice and warm.
"Alright, I'll be careful." She said.
Jeralt sighed again but couldn't help show a small smile as he ruffled her hair. The two walked back to the front seat of the wagon and sat next to each other while they saw Florencio climb back in from the back.
"GHHAAAA! I WASN'T HALLUCINATING!" The man screamed and Sandy just smacked him on the head before she got off and went back on her horse.
Sothis merely watched from the girl's eyes and spoke to her. Honestly, she was very surprised they managed to hide for so long.
"You only just healed and already going wild? So you're a wild child." She chuckled.
Indeed, for some reason, the feeling of seeing a child go wild like this felt familiar but also warm. Like a mother scolding her children.
"I'm not...that wild. I rather be in bed and read through a mountain of books but, I want to learn more about Fodlan. Dad has never told me anything and I want to learn." Arisa said.
If anything, she must learn. Everything is now much different.
This was now her reality and she still found it hard to believe. Even if now it has been 3 weeks since waking up in this new body of hers. It still...felt so foreign to her! Like this was all a dream. It felt like survivor's guilt. She should be dead, not Byleth. Byleth should be the one with this body, not her. So why?! Why was she the one here?! Even if she accepted that Byleth gave her a body, it still felt...felt...so wrong. Arisa hugged the cloak closer to her. This was going to take a long time to come to terms with.
"Umm, Papa, are there any more books I can read while we travel to the Kingdom?" She asked all of a sudden, hoping to change the subject in her mind.
Jerelt raised an eyebrow but nodded.
"Considering how you beat Florencio in his bet." He began and saw the said man send a playful glare to his daughter," you are at the age to start learning to become a mercenary, so I don't mind teaching you myself how to wield a sword. Now quick test from our previous lesson around two weeks ago." He said.
Her eyes sparkled and she nodded confidently. She finally understood the money system here.
"How much is one 100 bronze coins?" Jeralt began as his daughter nodded confidently.
"One silver! 1 bronze coin can be used to buy food, glass, and basic small things!" She said excitedly.
"Not bad. How much is 100 silver?" He asked again.
The girl began muttering to herself as she counted her fingers and looked up to him.
"Ummm...1...2...40...1 gold coin!" She said.
"Nice job Byleth! Keep it up!" Sandy yelled from her horse.
The men and women of the team smiled and were enjoying watching this. It wasn't every day you see the Captain be so gentle and kind.
"Now, time for a bit more of the harder things," Jeralt said and the girl nodded.
"If we put in terms of American dollars...1 bronze is 1 dollar, 1 silver is 100 dollars and 1 gold is 10,000 dollars. Ouch..." Arisa thought to herself.
"Great, now I'm unconsciously turning it to Japanese money...sigh.." she sighed to herself thinking that.
"What about a orona coins? How much is each one worth?" Florencio said with a small smirk.
If she remembered correctly, orona is an extremely rare metal that has a gold yet silver color look.
"Hmmm...orona is an extremely rare metal used to amplify magic. It's no longer a currency at this time but it was at some point. So...on orona coin is worth...10 gold pieces each?!" The girl screeched.
"Okay, that much money would have helped me pay off my rent or buy a new house." And she realized the worth.
"Your has 3 of them that he has as a collection. He refuses to use them." Sandy said as she took out a carrot and fed it to her horse.
Arisa peeked out of the wagon and saw she was riding a beautiful black horse, and wearing a winter dress that was made for a dancer.
"Alright, now final question. What is gold "pieceling"?" Florencio said.
"Um, a special type of gold when shaped, part of it turns a light blue color while the other remains the same. 4 of them is equal to 1 gold. And in terms of silver, it's around 25. 1/4." She said.
"So...2,300 something dollars...that's worth a lot." Arisa thought and turned to her father.
"So, did I pass?" She grinned a bit proudly.
Jeralt ruffled her hair and nodded.
"Sandy will teach you how to read more advanced words. Florencio will teach you how to handle money and also the medical supplies. I'll teach you self-defense and also what it means to be a mercenary." Jeralt said and she nodded.
"Oh, this is exciting!" She saw Sothis appear and floated in a few circles excitedly.
"Look at you! Seems you're having fun!" Sothis grinned as she floated over and sat on one of the horses that were pulling the wagon.
It sent her a glare.
"Oh, don't be angry! I wanna talk to her!" Sothis stuck her tongue out to it.
Arisa couldn't help but giggle as she heard the other horses neigh. Their form of laughing. Sothis huffed and turned back for Arisa, ignoring the glare from the horse.
"So, what do you plan to do now?" She asked.
Arisa spoke to her telepathically to answer her question.
"From here, I think we're gonna relax a bit and finally enjoy the journey," Arisa responded as she saw Sothis grin.
"Thank goodness! I was getting tired of hiding. I thought we were going to go mad at this rate!" Sothis giggled.
As Arisa was about to answer her question, the girl noticed a white speck gently falling.
"Oh! Looks like it's starting to snow." Jeralt said as more snowflakes began to fall.
The horse that was glaring at Sothis no longer was and instead, stared up to the gray clouded sky. To Sothis, this was her first time seeing such specks of white fall from the sky. It was a beautiful sight. She couldn't help but awe as she flew up and a few fell into her hands and melted.
"Mother, mother look! Snow!"
An image of a young girl appeared in her vision. Even if she could not see the girl's face, the memory help so much affection and warmth. A lone tear fell from her right eye and she touched it. She was silent as she stared at the clear water droplet on her finger and looked back to the sky.
"Faint visions of familiar faces in the fog yet they are so far away I can not reach them..." she muttered softly as she cupped her hands together and a few snowflakes fell.
It melted away and she smiled sadly.
"In...time...flows...see the glow..." she sang softly.
She didn't know why but that song felt so familiar as she sang it. The words left her lips as if it was natural. She looked one more time to the sky before heading back down.
"Is everything alright?" She heard Arisa ask her as she flew back down and stopped a few feet away from the girl.
"Everything is alright. Just wanted a better view." Sothis smiled at her.
Arisa looked to her sadly and nodded in understanding. She knew that look very well.
- 1 week: Town in Galatea Territory -
It was beautiful. Throughout the 1 week of traveling, Arisa could finally understand why The Holy Kingdom of Faerghus was known for being cold as hell but also beautiful because of the white snow that covered a majority of the vast lands. It almost felt like a winter wonderland. Almost. The reason was that they have encountered bandits on the way and their group would cut them down easily. But, there was a time one managed to get past one of the women in their group and went after her. Her old instinct of coldness took over her when she used to do fencing and grabbed a dagger that was dropped and jumped back and stabbed the dagger into the man's stomach. It was the first time she felt warm blood splatter on her face. The attack wasn't enough to kill him but still enough to be a fatal blow. She jumped back and her father finished the bastard off.
The girl snapped out of it and fell to her knees, looking at her bloody hands and the warm sticky substance on her cheek. Everyone ran over to her worried but the one most worried was Jeralt. That was his daughter's first-ever attempt to take a life. He saw the shock and fear take over her face as he bent down to hug her tightly. He will never forget how much she shook as he held her tightly. But that was the life of a mercenary.
Kill or be killed.
"The only ones who should be killed are those ready to be killed," Jeralt spoke those words to his daughter as they had stopped near a town before they entered it.
The man had made it his mission to train his daughter. The girl looked at him a bit surprised because the words were familiar to her. He handed her a wooden sword and she caught it.
"Those words were told to me growing up. That is the reality. As a mercenary, many will go after your life as you continue to battle through the years. They were a reminder that you could die at any moment in battle. Especially when you and your enemies are doing the same thing. Survive, fight. You are the one to live and your enemy must die." He said to her as his daughter looked at the wooden sword and held it tightly in her hands, even if they were shaking.
He could tell. She didn't want to kill. If she could, she would gladly find another way to not fight. After all, she originally used to live in a society that didn't have to be in constant survival mode. He saw his daughter look up to him and nodded as she let go of a shaky breath.
Arisa reminded herself. This was now her reality. She wasn't in her old world anymore. She wasn't in the United States anymore. She wasn't in California not traveling the world anymore. She wasn't bound to a hospital bed anymore.
[- ]
"It's a winter wonderland!"
The team couldn't help but chuckle as the young girl jumped off the wagon, giving many heart attacks and twirling around as the snow gently fell to the stone road. They have arrived at a nearby town in Galatea Territory. Both Sothis and Arisa's eyes were sparkling like rainbows when they arrived. Looking at the beauty of the town. Honestly, it looked a bit more like a capital. The Holy Kingdom of Faerghus, despite it being winter, was lively. The children of the town playing in the snow, stores, and stalls open with lanterns lighting, and with the snow falling gently, the place looks absolutely beautiful. To Arisa, it reminded her almost of Disneyland during the holidays. The scents of food filled the air and her side of gluten was awake again. Arisa's inner Saber was wide awake.
"My, humans know how to make their homes beautiful! Even in this cold time, they know how to make the best of it." Sothis said as she hugged Arisa around her neck as she floated.
"I'm for sure getting food! Oh, I wonder what sweets they have?!" Arisa said as she ran to one of the stalls and instantly bought one of the egg tarts they were selling.
The girl squealed in utter delight as she took her first bite after so long of not eating sweets. The sweetness was so much. The vendor couldn't help but chuckle as she happily ate. She bought 24 more. As the girl was busy buying food and eating happily, a general of the knights stationed at the village walked up to him and he explained to them why they were there. The guard understood and said they were waiting for their arrival.
"Byleth, come back! We're heading to where we're staying. Hurry or we'll leave you behind!" Jeralt yelled out to her as he finished speaking to a guard.
He and guard couldn't help but chuckle as they saw the girl turn their way with stuffed cheeks of food.
"Coming, Papa!" She yelled back as she gulped down the sweet hot chocolate she bought and swallowed the food.
"How come you're called Byleth? Isn't your name Arisa?" Sothis asked as Arisa ran back to her father and she floated behind her.
"Byleth is my birth name given to me in this world. Arisa is what I go by. It's...my former name. I want to have at least a small part of my old self." She responded and stood in front of her father.
"Where are we heading to Papa? I thought the inns were the other direction." She said as she pointed to the east different from the town, where she spotted the inns.
"Huh...? So two names you go by. How interesting." Sothis said.
"Yaawwnn…I'm going to take another nap...if you need me, I'll be there with you...zzzzzzzzz..." and with that, the goddess disappeared to go onto the daily naps.
Arisa giggled and Jeralt spoke.
"We're going to be staying at a different house territory. The main one is where the majority of the knights are. For a few days, we'll be staying under House Fraldarius." He said.
Honestly, Jeralt would have preferred they stayed at an inn. Again, it had been 10 years since he had seen Rodrigue and Romea.
The name of the house instantly made Arisa's eyes go wide. She was internally screaming and if she could, would bang her head on a wall but that would make her look like an idiot.
"I see! Okay, I wonder if I'll make friends!" She said a bit too cheerfully.
The chances of meeting Felix and his brother Glenn just skyrocketed, and so was the chance that she might meet Dimitri.
Chapter 3: Snowy Blue: Seeking Snow
[-]
And hell is about to break loose! Now, I money system I decided to use is from one of my favorite anime/mangas/light novels Ascendance of a Bookworm. I felt it would make more sense instead of always using gold. I wanted it to also show how a bit of the system works.