(Upated: Revisioned: 2-25-2022)
[-]
She wanted to scream and wanted to avoid House Fraldarius like the plague. Now, there were a few reasons. One, was because she felt it was FAR too early to even come in contact with her future students.
"Kyu Kyu!" Ah, but at least the fluffy balls of flufftrats, she calls them Fluffs, that were brought by Florencio, calmed her nerves very much.
"I told you not to bring them." Jeralt glared over to Florencio as they were riding the wagons through the forest.
"Captain Jeralt, I don't think he heard you..." one of the men pointed to Sandy and Florencio, who were riding their horses and arguing with each other, again.
"We said not to bring them! And you purposely ignored the order!" Sandy said to him.
"Well, excuse me! I brought them because I knew we were gonna need them at some point! And look, they have been helping guide the group! Especially when it's snowing because everything is white!" He said back to her.
Their horses just looked at each other and shook their heads. Everyone else was used to their bickering at this point.
"Kyaaaa! That tickles!" Arisa and Sothis giggled as the tiny army of fluffs nuzzled around them.
"Captain, how long till we reach House Fraldarius? Since we need to stop at Conand Tower for our checkpoint." A man asked as was looking at his map.
He swears these damn forest roads are a pain in the ass to go through.
"At most, another week. Luckily, the road we are taking to reach it is one commonly used by merchants. We might get a few deals." Jeralt said.
A mercenary at heart he truly is.
"Oh!" One of the women said, "I heard in this road it is common to find herbs that grow in the winter. Like mint, thyme, sage, rosemary, and oregano. Didn't General Florencio need them?" She said.
"Is that so, ne?" One man said with his twin sister next to him.
"May we stop to look for some, ne?" She said.
The twins were Rin and Ra. Originally they were from Sreng, so their speech of theirs usually ends with a sound. They were Florencio's assistants in his medical shop.
"Very well then. We'll set up camp here in this area for tonight. Ares, Yofos, and Ili! You three will come with me to hunt. Rin, Ra, Jorah, will go with Florencio to collect herbs and any other edible plants. Make sure to also get water from the stream nearby. Zach and Fiona, collect firewood. The rest of you set up the camp and guard the place." Jeralt order.
"Yes, Capitan!" The team yelled out.
"Dad, what can I do?" Arisa asked.
"Jeralt," Florencio walked up to him, "Do you mind if she comes with my group? I think this is a good opportunity to teach her what plants are consumable when times are harsh during missions." He said.
"Alright. Just make sure she doesn't wander too far. Also, be careful. Wolves are out there, especially during this time." He said.
"WOLVES, NE?!" The twins screeched.
Jorah just sighed and wished he was on Jeralt's hunting team instead.
"Hmmm...good. I can get a new fur coat." Arisa said.
Jeralt just put his hand over his found to keep himself from laughing at the comment his daughter made while the others just looked at her horrified.
- Forest -
"We may have to dig a bit through the snow to find the mint, ne." Ra said from his horse as the 5 were making it through the forest.
The snow was a bit deep but not enough for them to completely fall into it. At most, to their knees. Arisa on the other hand, since she is a short child once more, up to her waist. Oh, the agony. This is where she wished she had an adult body. She was currently riding with Florencio.
"Cranberry tree spotted! It is high. See a few berries." Jorah yelled and pointed to a tree a few feet away.
"Good, they still have berries, ne!" Rin said happily.
Arisa looked over to each of the assistants. Through the week after she was discovered, she got to speak to every one of the members of the teams. She wanted to get to know them better.
Sandy's team consists of six women. Rin, Ili, Fiona, Deidra, Acia, Helena. They were her team of assassins.
Florencio's team was one of six men. Ra, Zach, Johra, Ares, Teme and Yofos. They were his team of magicians.
She learned their stories, how they came to be the people they are today. Why some chose to leave their homelands. Each person in her father's company had a story. Everything is much more difficult when you are no longer looking at it through a screen but living through it. She wanted to know them. To have a better understanding of them. Because in a way, everyone in the company was like family to her. They will help fill the hole in her heart. The hole that was created when she could no longer be with her brother and sisters. Mother and father, and friends.
Not even her former lover.
She had gotten in a relationship with a man a year older than her. The two met in the same hospital but passed away 4 days before their 6 month anniversary. She was devastated. But her loneliness and days in the hospital were nothing to what the men and women of her father's company have gone through. Through thick and thin they stood together. Some have passed on, others have left. Some have even betrayed. But all of them still pulled through. Truly, that was the life of a warrior.
"Pick some up! Turn to juice! Feast tonight, I miss!" Jorah laughed as he was picking the cranberries from the tree.
"Ne, Jorah! Stop stuffing your face, ne!" Rin yelled from a different tree because she used a small amount of fire magic to melt the snow to look for herbs.
"Found wild carrots, ne!" The woman said cheerfully.
"Don't eat them, ne." Ra said as he was picking berries from a Hawthorn Bush.
The number one rule when picking Hawthorne berries is never to eat the seeds because they are poisonous!
"Hmm...I'm hoping we find some Oregon Grape bushes. There aren't any berries on it but the roots are perfect for medicine." Florencio said as he carried Arisa and was using his staff to radiate a warm heat from it to melt the sound.
He had mounted off his horse to have a better look.
"If I remember...orange grape roots are good for the immune system but it is also antibacterial and anti-inflammatory. Correct?" Arisa said.
She really must play dumb or else she is screwed. But she didn't mind. It felt good reading and studying subjects she already knew. A good way to refresh her memories.
"Nice job. Looks like these weeks of you studying have paid off -" he went silent all of a sudden.
"Florencio?" She said as he saw him turn his head towards the left slowly.
Then she heard it.
Growling.
"Gggggggrrrrrrrr..."
He wasn't the only one in the situation. Ra, Rin and Jorah were also in a tight grip. The three had slowly back up to their horses, who were beginning to panic. Ra took one look at his horse, who gave a slow nod as his hand slightly glowed green.
"(Rin, looks like we need to go into that mode don't we?)" He spoke in his native tongue to his sister as a feral grin was forming on their faces.
"Of course brother, ne. Time to hunt, ne..." her voice became lower as her eyes glowed green color.
"Time to kill." That was all Jorah said as he grabbed the katana on his waist. The three wolves growled and crouched down as they were getting ready to pounce on them.
3
Jorah arms crossed as his hands grabbed the hands of his swords. He slowly began to pull them out. All of his facial expressions disappeared as his face become stone, void of any emotion at all. His only thought right now was, to kill or be killed.
2
With her fingers cracking, her hands glowed a light green hue as steel-like gauntlets formed on her hands. The 3 blades on it emitted a blue-colored reflection instead of a clear one. These blades were specifically crafted for one thing. Should the poor soul survive and attack by these blades, they will die an agonizing death by the poison these blades are covered in. She bends her knees a bit and spreads her legs a bit.
1
"AHHHWWHOOOO!" The wolves howled as they charged at three.
"IKE!" Ra yelled and he stood on its two hind legs as it weighed loudly.
Wings sprouted from its sides the man grabbed the lance he had with him and slashed at the wolf before jumping on his pegasus. Only a few selected horses were pegasus under disguise. Their owners, Ra, Fiona, and Yofos used an illusion spell to hide their wings so they may look like normal horses. It is to keep attention away from them when they are traveling.
"Haaa! Let's go bloody mutt, ne!" He grinned as his pegasus snorted looking down at the first world that charged at him.
Rin jumped with precision and speed as she dodged the claws of the wolf she was going against.
"Hahaha! I'm gonna enjoy turning you to a rug, ne!" She laughed cheerfully she charged at it and slashed it's at its right side.
It yelped and growled even more fiercely at her.
"Chaaa!" She said as it charged at her once more and this time she sliced its right paw off.
"AAHHHWWWWHOOOOO!" It howled in pain and glared at her.
Rin then noticed the wolves had a bit of blood on their lips. Seems she wasn't the only one.
"The poison will take 2 minutes to take effect! Can you all stall enough?" She yelled put as she kept her eyes on her opponent's movements.
"Yeah! The stall must hurry. Not enough time! Worried of Captain and child!" Jorah yelled as he used his swords to deflect the attacks.
"Wolves, blood on lips! Must have come in the territory! Disturbed their meal! Worried if it is man or animal!" He yelled and used his dual swords to slash at the chest of the wolf.
"These are small fry...na..." Ra's eyes widened in realization, "THE ALPHA WENT AFTER THE CAPTAIN AND BYLETH!" He yelled and now they needed to finish them off.
"30 seconds!" Rin yelled out.
"FINISH IT!" All three yelled out as they concentrated their energy on the final strike.
"GRRRR!" The wolf lunged at him and his pegasus launched back from the air.
"DIE IN THE STRIKES OF WIND!" Ra yelled out as he spun his lance and it went right through the wolf through his mouth.
Ra smirked as he threw his lance down and the wolf fell dead onto the snow. He skewed that wolf-like piece of meat. The handle of his lance stuck out of its mouth as blood oozed out.
"Ggraaaaa...ack...AWWWHHOOO!" Rin grinned in glee as the poison finally took effect.
The wolf began to vibrate, drool began to come from its mouth nonstop, and turned to foam. Vessels of blood began to explode all over its body, its gray coat becoming bloody. Its eyes exploded as the foam in its mouth turned red, its heart exploding. Dropping dead onto the snow, she smiled as she walked up to it.
"Poison is in the blood of all. Die in a pool of death." She grinned down at it.
Then the woman screamed as she saw a wolf head fall a few feet away from her. The twins turned as they saw Jorah swing his swords at the snow as a body fell into the snow, its head served off clean. The man looked over to them for a bit and shook his head as he saw Ra pull out his lance from the wolf he killed.
"Let's go, ne! We'll come back for them once we find the captain and the lady, ne!" Ra yelled out and the three bolted to the direction of where they saw Florencio and Byleth go.
[-]
The alpha wolf shook in fear as it was looked down on by Florencio, who was covered in its blood. Arisa was gently mounted on his horse, and he slapped its behind, ordering it to run so he could take care of the damn beast. The girl protested, yelled out to him as she held onto the reins. The horse ran like it was ordered to safety. Honestly, the man did not want the girl to see how brutally horrible he could be in battle.
"Expla-toack." That was all he muttered as the wolf exploded...
Its blood splattered on him as he watched it become nothing but blood where it once stood. Its organs, bones, blood, fur, all splattered on the field of snow. He sighed.
"I overdid it again..." he muttered.
"CAPTAIN!"
He turned as he heard 3 pairs of running footsteps towards him. Like him, the three were covered in blood also. Oh goodness, especially Jorah.
"I'm glad you are all alright. I'm assuming that poison worked since it was in the testing phase?" He said as he looked over to Rin, who nodded happily.
"It worked perfectly, ne!" She grinned.
"I have my pegasus watching the other two, ne. They are safe, ne." Ra said and slightly cringed at the stomach organs he spotted.
"Where Lady Byleth?" Jorah said.
"She's safe. For now, we need to find her and my horse. Split up. But do be careful." Florencio ordered and they all nodded.
[-]
"Dara, stop! We have gone far enough!" Arisa yelled as she forcefully pulled the reins of the horse.
"Okay, you stupid horse! ENOUGH!" Sothis roared as she appeared in front of it, scaring it and making it stop.
"Huff...huff...Thank you Sothis...honestly...what would I be without a friend like you...?" Arisa panted as she slumped forward.
She didn't see Sothis's ears turn red when she told her that. As a friend. She saw Sothis as a friend. Dara neighed and Arisa gently petted it.
"I'm sorry Dara. For now..." all three looked around and she shook her head, "We need to head back to the camp." That was all she said.
She is glad her father taught her how to ride a horse. As the three slowly went through the forest, Dara suddenly snorted and began to go a different direction in a bit of a hurry.
"Dara, w-!" The girl slapped her hand over her mouth as she saw a mutilated animal dead in the snow.
"Urghh!" She jumped off and ran behind a bush, vomiting.
Even Sothis had to turn away from the horrible sight. Luckily, the area they had wandered off to the snow was only as deep as her ankles.
"Cough! Cough! The white feathers...and I recognize some of the skin...it's a...Urgh! Pegasus! Uurrrgghhh!" She hurled once again.
The sight was horrific. Dara neighed again and Arisa lifted her head a bit, still recovering, and saw him walk to a tree a few feet away from the body.
"Nnnghhh..."
It was faint but it was a small whine. With shaky feet, Arisa walked over to the tree where she saw a small little cave underneath it. She looked in along with Sothis and the two gasped. Inside, shaking from both fear and the coldness, was a young foal. It had an almost orange-red hind small little red feather wings, shook with fear as its brown eyes looked up to her.
"(Neigh...)" Dara neighed and the little foal responded with a weak voice.
"Then that animal carcass..." Sothis said sadly as Arisa shook her head sadly.
"Was its mother..." she said spoke gently.
"It's okay...you can come out now." She spoke gently, hoping to coax out the little foal.
It only cowered more and she sighed.
"I'm not the best when it comes to animals but...I'll try," Arisa muttered to herself and looked over to Dara.
"(Neigh. Neigh.)" Dara neighed and still the little one refused to come out.
"Maybe just pull him out?" Sothis suggested and Arisa sent her a glare.
"Of course not! It's a baby! You don't treat babies like that!" She said to her.
She turned back to the little foal and reached in, gently placing her warm hand on its head. It froze but nuzzled to the warmth of it. With shaky feet, it got up and the girl moved out of its way so it can come out. Now that they had a better look at it, it was the same height as her. Perhaps maybe a week old at most.
"There, there, it's alright." She gently placed her forehead on it and it closed its eyes.
"Shhh...shh... in time flows...see the glow...of flames ever burning bright...on a swift...river's drift...broken memories alight.." she sang softly, hoping to calm the little one.
Sothis stared at the girl. That song...she...sung it...she knows it...yet where...where...?
"Byleth!"
The four turned to see Florencio, Rin, Ra, and Jorah look at them in shock and relief. Honestly, the sight of them covered in blood unsettled Arisa's stomach again.
"Urgh..." she put her hand over her mouth to stop herself from vomiting again.
She took deep breaths and her eyes widened when the little foal snuggled closer to her. The three adults ran up to them with their horses and one pegasus. Rin looked over to the dead mutilated body and sighed.
"I'm glad you're safe!" Florencio said as placed his hand on the girl's shoulder. He noticed the little pegasus foal looked over to the other two.
"You two go collect the wolves' bodies. We're heading back to camp." He said.
"Florencio, can we take him with us?" She said as the foal snuggled closer to her.
Dara neighed and nodded his head as the others did.
"I don't know how your father is gonna react to this but...bring him." Florencio sighed.
- 20 minutes later: Back at camp -
"IN THE NAME OF THE GODDESS, WHAT HAPPENED?!" Sandy screamed as the four arrived back with three dead wolves and one pegasus foal.
Plus, the three adults were covered in blood.
"You can already see, we got attacked, ne." Ra said.
Jeralt also came at that same time and looked at the group in shock. Before anyone can say anything, he pointed to his daughter.
"Inside the wagon, now." That was all he said and she nodded.
The little foal followed her as she picked it up and put it inside the wagon with her. She needed to warm the little one up.
"Jeralt, we got attacked by wolves," Florencio said.
"I can see that," Jeralt said a bit coldly.
"We kept your daughter safe. She okay." Jorah said.
"I know...but...thank you. What about you four? You aren't injured, are you?" Jeralt said as he saw them put the wolves' bodies down on the ground.
"We're okay, ne. But the hunt was fun, ne! Haven't fought like that in so long, ne!" Rin clapped her hands happily.
The woman didn't notice the looks of fear a few others gave her. Jeralt, Sandy, and Florencio just gave them all the face of "you get used to it."
- With Arisa -
"Here. Eat." She said as she cut a carrot into bite-size pieces and tried to feed it to the little foal.
It sniffed it and shook its head. She sighed. She doesn't know how to take care of a baby pegasus, much less, doesn't know what they eat exactly. One thing for sure was milk because that was the most basic and key food for nutrition for all mammals in the world.
"Byleth, are you alright?" She heard her name called and saw her father enter.
He sat next to her and she shook her head.
"No, I'm not okay. I don't know what to give this little one. We found him near a tree. Its mother was killed by a pack of wolves. It was...urgh..." she put her hand over her mouth again.
The memory made her nauseous. Jeralt sighed and gently patted her back.
"It's alright. So, have you decided what to name him?" He said, hoping to get her mind off that horrific sight.
"Name him? Wait, we get to keep him?" She asked him, looking at him with sparkles in her eyes.
"Of course. We can't leave him behind. Seems he has become attached to you." He said and saw the foal lay its head on her lap.
Arisa quietly squealed.
"See? Since this is a foal, I'll teach you how to take care of it. He will be your responsibility. Got it?" He said and she nodded her head rapidly.
"Hmm..." she thought for a moment as she looked at the baby pegasus.
Its hide was almost a red-brown color, so…
"Red Hare."
"Red Hare?" He said.
"Yes. Red Hare. It was the name of a horse of a warrior by the name, Lu Bu, who rode through his battles. The legend says that Red Hare speed was quick as a rabbit and would run 500 meters in a single day and 800 in one night." She explained.
"So you're going to name him after a character from one of the books you read, huh? Not bad. I admit. It suits him. Look at him. His hide is red." Jeralt said as the little foal now known as Red Hare snorted a bit.
She giggled petted it.
"Red Hare. Glad you like the name."
- One Week Later: House Fraldarius-
"Good boy! No, don't eat the spinach!" Arisa panicked as she was training Red Hare simple commands such as "Whoa" and "go."
The little one was a bundle of energy. Honestly, she was tired from waking up at certain times at night to feed him. Her father taught her how much needed to be fed to him, what food, and the measurements.
"I think I understand what my mom went through when she had me and my siblings..." she thought as she grabbed the bag of vegetables.
Red Hare neighed to her and lightly tap its hooves, showing that he was hungry. It was an interesting way of communication.
"Look, we're here." She heard he father say and looked out.
Her heart began racing. Honestly, it was something she wanted to avoid. Like seriously, it's far too early, to meet her future students. Don't get her wrong, she's excited but this was a bit too fast for her. The wagon she arrived at a beautiful home that definitely belonged to a noble but was not as much on the fancy side of things. It was simple. The gates open, allowing the wagons to go in. She looked out and saw the courtyard. Though covered in snow, she spotted a few flowers blooming. Arriving at the entrance of the mansion, a group of knights dressed in blue-like armor with fur was waiting, along with their leader. The man was dressed in his black armor.
Rodrigue Achille Fraldarius, also known as, Shield of Faerghus.
Rodrigue was a pale-skinned man with medium wavy dark blue length hair, thin U shape facial hair (Nintendo just why?!), and dark blue colored eyes. As the wagons stopped, Jeralt along with the team (except Arisa), got off and followed behind him information. The two leaders looked at each other in silence for a few moments until both smirked at each other.
"Sir Jeralt, it's been so long! I'm glad you and I will be working together in guarding the King and his family." Lord Rodrigue smiled and extended his hand to shake.
"The honor is mine. I'm also glad to be working beside you. It's been ten years. You've grown. I see some familiar faces." Jeralt said as the two shook hands then turned to Sandy and Florencio, for them to come forward.
"I'm sure you remember, Sandy and Florencio. My best mercenaries and also my most trusted friends. They will also be working with us on this mission." Jeralt introduced them.
The entire team gave a small vow to show their respects. While this happened, Arisa took a tiny peak. She was still inside the wagon and looked out through a crack in the cloth covering the entrance. She didn't even notice the small footsteps that had climbed inside the wagon from the back. Red Hare was just still as a stone as he watched the figure walk up to his master and tap their shoulder.
Tap tap
She felt a tap on her shoulder. It was probably Sothis again, so she brushed it off.
"Not now, Sothis! I'm debating if I should head out or not." She said.
She was watching her father and Sir Rodrigue speak, straining her hearing, hoping to catch a bit of the conversation. She heard the words "grave", "guard", "king". But why did look like they knew each other?
Tap tap, tug.
Okay, this time she was getting pissed. Was this a game? Sothis by now would have at least pulled her hair a bit to get her attention. Once more, but with a bit of anger in her voice when she felt a tug on her cloak.
"Sothis I said wait, please!" She said again.
Nothing happened for a good minute.
Tap.
Okay, that's it.
"Sothis, I said wa-" when she finally turned, she wasn't looking at the goddess but a young little boy who looked about two years old, who looked at her with slightly tearful eyes.
Oh, Arisa felt guilt fill her because she had raised her voice to scold Sothis. The boy's hair was a dark black-blue, his eyes were a honey-colored brown, his skin peach and he was wearing what seemed winter coats and pants. The clothing is mostly worn by the children of the Kingdom as she has seen through the weeks.
"Oohhhh...uuummm...hiiiii! How did you get here? Are you lost?" Arisa quickly changed to a kind voice and hoping the boy doesn't start crying.
The boy nodded and smiled at her. She let go of a sigh of relief and lightly patted his head. The boy seemed to like it. He flinched a bit when he noticed Red Hare and tears formed in his eyes.
"Well...sigh..." she took out her handkerchief she had used it to wipe the few tears he had.
"It's alright. Don't cry." She gently saw him giggle a bit when Red Hare nuzzled him.
Now that she had a closer look at the boy, he looked...familiar. But where?
"Wh-!" Before she could speak, a yell from the outside interrupted her.
"Felix! Where are you!?"
Arisa felt like her heart stopped. With a speed so fast that they both thought her neck broke, she looked back outside from the crack again and saw a much older young boy, who looked around his early 8 years of age, dressed as a knight? and running around, with frantic but also frustrating expression. He spotted Rodrigue and ran up to him.
"Glenn, what's wrong?" Rodrigue asked as he finished his conversation with Jeralt.
"Felix disappeared again! He got in a small fight with Sylvain again and Ingrid tried to stop them. This time he ran off who knows where. And Mom is panicking trying to look for him." the boy now known as Glenn said and sighed.
Oh, how much Arisa wanted to scream as she looked back and forth to the boy and the child, and now it fully hit her that the child was Felix.
BLOODY HELL! MISSION DOWN! MISSION DOWN! SO MUCH FOR AVOIDING HER FUTURE STUDENTS!
"So umm...why don't we go to your big brother and Papa? Ahaha... " she laughed nervously.
The mini Felix pouted but nodded. Oh, he was adorable! So the conversation between Sylvain and Ingrid was true! Felix was sweet and a bit of a crybaby when he was younger! She sighed and just gave up. The two got off the wagon, along with Red Hare because she wanted him as emotional support at the moment. The three walked towards Jeralt, Rodrigue, and Glenn. Felix hid behind her the whole time and kept looking back and forth between her and Red Hare because the said pegasus stood close to her and walked like it was guarding her.
"Ummm...excuse me...?"
When everyone heard her voice, they all turned around towards her. Jeralt was hoping his daughter would not come out but alas, fate always has a different idea.
"Ummm...I found him...?" She smiled nervously and Felix popped his head out from under her cloak.
Honestly, it was a cute sight. Glenn's eyes widened as he saw his brother behind some girl who did not belong here.
"There you are! And, who are you?" Glenn glared at her.
Arisa just kept a calm face smiled at him. It irked him for some reason.
"My lady, why did you come out?!" Florencio screeched while Sandy went pale and Jerealt just shook his head.
Rodrigue was honestly amused and chuckled. Wait, did one of his generals just call the girl, "My lady?"
"Sir Jeralt, if I may ask, who is this? Seems my son has taken a liking to her." Rodrigue said as he saw Felix hide more in between her cloak.
Jeralt was honestly hesitant on saying anything. After all, the Knights of the Kingdom were devoted followers of the Church of Serios. Jeralt made sure no one in his company even mention the Knights of Serios nor the church. He sighed and decided to take a risk as he looked over to Rodrigue.
"Sigh...this is my daughter, Byleth. She wasn't supposed to have come with us but she managed to sneak herself into the wagon when no one was looking. She's also studying to become a mercenary." Jeralt said.
He made sure his eyes held the message if anything happened to her, he was going to show no mercy to anyone. Sir Rodrigue understood the message well, after all, he was also a father of two boys. Arisa bowed to him and slightly flinched at the glare Glenn was giving her. Seriously, it reminded her of one of the glares her brothers would give each other when they would fight over who gets to play the PS4.
"Thanks. Now, come on Felix. Ingrid and Sylvain are waiting for you." Glenn said bluntly and reached out his hand for Felix to take and go with him.
Instead, Felix shook his head and his hold became tighter on the girl. Arisa was internally gushing at how cute the boy was. Everyone else was watching in amusement and some tried not to laugh at the face Glenn was making. Red Hare just snorted and stood closer to the two. Arisa turned towards Felix and knelt on one knee, so the two were at the same height. She would do this often when she was talking to one of her younger siblings to calm them down or if they had a nightmare that woke them up.
"So that's your name. Alright, Felix, it's alright. Your big brother was just worried about you. I'm sure your friends are too. Please go with them. I'm sure we'll see each other again and we can even play together. You could even introduce me to your friends. Oh, I'll even let you play with Red Hare. I'm Arisa Byleth. Arisa is my nickname and Byleth is my first name. Alright?" She smiled kindly to him like a mother.
She wanted him to feel safe. Felix stared at her but smiled, and nodded. He ran over to his brother but quickly turned to her and grinned.
"Bye big sis!"
The look on Glenn and Arisa was hilarious. A couple of the knights laughed and quickly composed themselves. Even Rodrigue and Jeralt had a small laugh.
"I think our children will get along just fine." He said.
It was a bit of dismay to Jeralt. So much for keeping his daughter away from eyes.
- A couple of minutes later -
"MY DAMN HEART! I SWEAR I THOUGHT I WAS GONNA HAVE A HEART ATTACK!" Arisa screamed into a pillow since she was the first one to run into the room they were given.
She left behind everyone in the dust. Sothis appeared and giggled as she circled her friend.
"Look at you! Did the encounter with the child affect you so much? I wish Red Hare was with us but he has to stay with the rest at the stables. Oooh! I was looking forward to seeing him spread his little wings and try to fly!" The goddess squealed and swung her legs a bit fast like an excited child.
"Sothis, this isn't the time to be excited! My original plan was not to meet these children but now...I even screwed (Sothis: Language!) myself over that I said I would play with him." She said.
"Not bad, not bad!" The two girls turned as they saw Sandy come in with her belongings and Arisa's also.
They could hear Ili and the other girls protesting against the servants that they could carry their belongings on their own. The men had offered to help the servants but the servants protested back, saying they were guests and should not even be lifting a finger to carry their belongings. Honestly, it was a funny sight. Sir Rodrigue was trying not to laugh as Jeralt groaned into his hands. Sandy closed the door and burst out laughing as she held her stomach. God, it has been so long since she has laughed so much.
The rooms they were staying in weren't so fancy but it was comfortable. Arisa was sharing a room with Sandy.
"Goodness! That was hilarious! The look on Lord Glenn's face! Hahaha! " Sandy laughed as she went towards her bed to unpack her things. Seems she and Arisa will be sharing a room. The said girl couldn't help but smirk with a hint of pride. Sothis was just cackling.
"Seems I made Lord Glenn jealous." Arisa mused.
"Most likely. Anyhow, I just came to unpack a few things. Wish I could stay longer to enjoy the room but a job doesn't get itself done. I'll be going now. The whole team along with the Captain will be returning later in the day. We're going to be mapping the route we will be taking. Your father wants to make sure the place is secure since there has been a rise in bandits lately. Also, Lord Rodrigue has permitted you to move around if you want. Just don't wander too far. Take care, Byleth. Sandy said and before she left, she smirked at her.
"Try not to get the boys jealous of you or you might be declared a rival by one of them." She said and closed the door.
Arisa released a sigh of relief and took off her coat, showing she was wearing a nice simple button-up collar long sleeve shirt with black loose pants, easy to move around in. She also had a crossbody small purse. She calls it a black hole because she carries a lot of things in it. Once she finished unpacking her things, she left the room (Sothis: Wait for me!) and spotted two maids chatting and whispering to each other. And like a ninja, without a sound, she walked up to them and heard their conversation. She wondered if she would hear some juicy gossip.
"Oh my goodness, did you see?! That was Jeralt the Blade Breaker! He's a former Knight of Serios! To think he's gonna be working here for a few days!" One maid lightly squealed.
Shit...she wasn't supposed to hear that. Especially information on The Knights of Serios. Whenever she would hear small talk of it, making sure she would not make a sound. Whenever they were mentioned, her father held fear in his voice. It was as he was about to walk to the guillotine, especially when she heard Rhea's name mentioned.
"Yes, but I overheard that something funny happen." The other maid said.
"Oh? Spill the tea!" The other giggled.
"So apparently Lord Felix has grown attached to Sir Jeralt's daughter, who came with him." She said.
"Eehhh?! He's married!?" The other said.
"Well, no shit." Arisa thought as she rolled her eyes.
Even Sothis seemed bored at this gossip.
"Okay time to interrupt this conversation." Arisa inwardly groaned and Sothis nodded in agreement.
"Pardon me, my ladies." She spoke.
"Ghhaaa!" The two maids screeched and looked down at her.
"Oh, come on! She's not that terrifying!" Sothis said.
"You're not helping." Arisa resisted the urge to roll her eyes.
"Hello, I'm looking for the library. Could you please tell me where it is?" Arisa smiled at them sweetly.
"Ummm...down the hallway. Head straight then turn to the left, keep going, and another turn to the left." One said.
"Thank you, miss." Arisa smiled and Sothis followed after her as the girl was walking away.
The maids just looked at each other and then realized who she was, but Arisa was already gone.
[-]
"Skip, Skip, to the library I go! To the room of knowledge where everything is held!" Arisa sang like a little girl.
She was excited to go to the library here. Finally, she could get the information she wanted on the Church of Serios and The Knights! History. It was her main focus. Though she knew the true history of this land thanks to the game, there were still several details missing. One thing for sure she had her eyes set on, was information on Serios, A.K.A Rhea. Making the turn, her eyes spotted the wooden doors that lead to the room of knowledge. Carefully opening the door, she gasped as she saw the huge place. Grabbing one of the books, she opened it and slightly cringed.
"At least the language is similar to English in this book at least. Sigh..." she sighed as she turned a page.
"Want me to read it for you?" Sothis said above her and like usual, hugged her, resting her chin on top of her head.
"Maybe you can teach me to have a better understanding? Sandy is helping me learn to properly read but they are going to be busy these past few days." She said as the two looked back down to the page.
It had a picture of a saintly dressed woman that looked oddly familiar like the statue of Saint Cethleann.
"Hmmm...the language and pictures look familiar...where...have I seen it...?" Sothis asked herself.
Compared to the summary version Arisa saw in the video game, the books come in much more detail. She knows this isn't the real history but the one altered by the Church of Serios. For the next 40 minutes, she continued to read along with the help of Sothis, correcting her on some words and also paraphrasing. She sighed once again as she closed her 10th book. It was all information on the 10 Elites and the Saints but some things did throw her off. First, was the story of The Ice Maiden said to have betrayed one of the Ten Elites, Riegan, and transformed into an Ice Dragon to unleash her wrath upon the world, turning the land into an icy nightmare. That would be Faerghus today. Legend says when the snow falls on all four lands, they are her tears of regret. Another would be of The Dragon of Darkness, who have said to disappear to mountains beyond Fodlan, that would be Duscur today. As she picked them up, heading to one of the bookshelves to put them back, from the corner of her eye, she saw something move.
Shuffle shuffle
"Oh? Seems we aren't alone." Sothis said and Arisa looked towards the direction Sothis was looking at.
It was behind the stairs that led to the top floor. She saw three dark figures, one being taller than the other two. Putting the other nine back and keeping one with her, walked towards that direction.
"Hello, is someone there?" She asked politely.
Seemed the three flinched a bit and the much taller one hushed them. She internally giggled.
"Oh my! So looks like I'm alone! So sad. Well, I guess I'm going to go eat cake and enjoy tea by myself! Oh! I don't want to leave my prince charming waiting!" She chastised.
She saw the much taller freeze hearing the words "Prince Charming."
She bets 5 copper it's Sylvain.
"So, trying to lure the children out?" Sothis giggled as she flew over to the three and purposely slapped her hand on the wall, making them all feel a breeze.
"Ghhhaaaa!" Seems that was enough to scare them, and in a blur, one little shadow ran out and hugged her tightly
"Big sis don't leave us alone! There's a ghost!" And there, she successfully lured Felix out, unfortunately, the boy is now crying.
"Nice job. I'm impressed." Sothis smiled and Arisa shook her as she gently stroked Felix's head.
"Hi, Felix. I knew it was you." Arisa smiled as he looked up at her and smiled.
The other two slowly came out. One, Arisa recognize who they were, despite them being children, Ingrid and Sylvain. Ingrid was an adorable little girl with blonde hair tied in two braids. Her forest green eyes blinked at her curiously as she held tightly onto a stuffed bear in her arms. The girl wore a cute blue fluffy dress. Sylvain looked like a mini version of his older self. His hair was still that dark orange-ish red hair along with his eyes. He wore a red-colored leather coat with a shirt that is the same color and black pants. He indeed was much bigger than them but...heh. She is much taller than Sylvain! After all, the boy is only a year younger than her!
"Hello there. Nice to meet you all. You two must be Felix's friends. I'm Arisa. I'm here with my dad and his team." She smiled kindly as she introduced herself to him.
Sylvain was a bit shy so he didn't speak right away but Ingrid stood proudly and grinned as she ran up to her.
"I'm Ingrid! Nice to meet you! You're so pretty! Even more than what Felix said." She said proudly and dragged Sylvain forward.
"Come on! Introduce yourself!" She said.
"I-I'm Sylvain." The boy said quietly.
Arisa smiled nodded.
"Information about these two when they were younger, they were crying babies and Ingrid was the brave big girl. Cute. How can these two cute boys become a hooker and Sasuke Uchiha of Fire Emblem Three Houses...?" Arisa asked herself.
She heard Sothis snicker.
"Nice to meet you all. Would you all like cake and tea?" She said as she places her book down at one of the nearby tables.
"Yes, please! Can it be lavender tea please?" Ingrid said excitedly.
The boys nodded as Arisa grinned
"Felix, can you tell me where the kitchen is?" She asked the boy nodded.
- Different Part of the Mansion -
"Hmmm...the road here is heavily covered by snow. Lord Rodrigue, I suggest my team of magicians and I go head to use our magic to melt as much of it as possible. If we don't, it will be very difficult for the mounts to go through." Florencio spoke as he was pointing to a marked area of the map.
"I do agree with you there. However... its surrounding area also worries me. There has been a rise of bandits lately. Perhaps the area should be checked also." Rodrigue said as he looked over to one of his knights.
Glenn was with them, watching and listening. After all, he was going to be a knight one day.
"The terrain is also quite rugged...Sandy." Jeralt said and Sandy nodded.
"I'll have you and Florencio scout the area. Especially the forest where the road is." He said and the two nodded.
"I must say, I'm impressed," Rodrigue said as Jeralt looked over to him, a bit cautious.
"I remember hearing stories from you when you were Knight of Serios but also when you used to serve as a Knight of the Kingdom. If I may ask, have you ever thought of returning to the Kingdom knights, or those of Serios?" He asked.
Florencio and Sandy took one step and Jeralt just gave them one look.
"Tch." That was all the two said and took a step back.
"I have my reasons for leaving. The first one was because my life was saved by the Archbishop and I swore to protect her. However...my second reason I chose to detach from the Knights of Serios was for the sake of my family. All of my team and I chose to leave the knights. I won't go into details since that is none of anyone's business. Don't you dare drag my daughter into this." He said coldly while looking straight at Rodrigue.
Jeralt's entire team of mercenaries suddenly had a dangerous look in their eyes. What none a single knight in that room, along with Lord Rodrigue, was that each of those individuals was once well-feared people before they turned their lives around. Especially Florencio and Sandy.
Lord Rodrigue understood the message well and nodded.
"Seems I crossed the line." He said
"I apologize. I was merely curious. Seems I shouldn't have asked that." He said and Jeralt sighed.
"It's alright. I don't blame you. I have been asked those questions before. It is never easy." Jeralt sighed, "I did just leave after all. It's not the same as back then." The man rubbed his eyes, tired.
"My knights, could you leave us alone for a bit? Glenn, go with them." The boy did question it and left along with the knights and mercenaries.
Only Jeralt, Sandana, Florencio, and Rodruige remained.
"I hope you, Lambert, and the others are doing alright. Especially Lambert. I know how much that man loved Durandal." Florencio muttered and Rodrigue chuckled softly as a sad smile formed on his lips.
"It…was difficult for all of us during her passing. Lambert mourned for days, months, it took a full year for him to pull himself through. Following soon…I'm sure you heard the news of Alexander." Rodrigue said and Jeralt nodded.
"Of course. Why do you think Ares was with me? Still, I hope everything is alright with you all. And, I didn't expect you and Romea to tie the knot. I remember how much you two got into fights." Jeralt smirked as Rodrigue let out a laugh.
"So, how many times did she challenge you to a sword fight? Is the rumor that you two sword danced during your wedding, true?" Sandana asked and Rodrigue was a bit embarrassed by it but nodded.
"Yes. There was a sword dance."
"Pay up Florencio! I told you the rumor was true!"
"Bloody hell…"
Even if it had been ten years, just for a moment, Rodrigue felt like he was back in his younger days.
[-]
Glenn was silent and quietly left the meeting room. Yeah, he was scared of that mercenary team. He could tell they were ready to pounce the minute someone made one wrong move. He sighed and then remembered the girl from before. Byleth? Was her name. That girl seriously spelled trouble. At least she wasn't Miklan, Sylvain's older brother. Where is that dastard anyway? He better not be planning to harm Sylvain again. As he walked down the hallway, he heard a few of the maids gossiping again.
"Felicia is in full panic mode! One of the guests is being stubborn to use the kitchen!" One maid said.
"Lord Jeralt's daughter, correct? I took a peak earlier. Seems everything is alright. I'm more worried about Felicia...that girl...is too strange...At least her older sister is more helpful." One maid said.
Glenn frowned hearing that. He turned around and decided to head to the kitchen. He is damned if the poor woman passed out.
Chapter 4: Snowy Blue: Part 2: Blood Red Painted Snow
Okay, so I decided to create a mercenary team in Jeralt's company. Don't worry, they aren't the main characters so it won't cause so much effect. They are more like supporters and side characters. Our two other main characters will appear soon. You will have the first preview of one of them in the next chapter. I have also given a few clues. Anyhow, look forward to chapter 5 soon.