"King Lambert," Emily spoke to the king in his office.
The woman and the rest had chosen to leave for office to allow the young girl and her uncle to speak privately. The four of the Empire had politely excused themselves and warped themselves back to their homes. Edward returned to Duke Reigan.
"Lady Kiana unfortunately would not be able to join you later tonight for dinner. Seems...that today's meeting put a huge stress on her." Emily said King Lambert looked up from his papers, concerned.
"Is she alright?" He asked.
"She is. I currently had a maid set up a room for her to stay in. She's asleep right now. Seems the journey to come here to the Kingdom and the stress has gotten to her. I swear," Emily chuckled, "she always over works herself. I'll have to keep an eye on her." She said and he nodded.
"I hope she'll be better tomorrow morning. But you arrived at a good time. I wanted to discuss with you about the contracts with Miss Kalsana." He said and she nodded as she sat in the chair in front of his desk.
"I'm surprised you offered the Zoltras name to her. There aren't many members left in your house. Do wish to bring in new people?" He asked and Emily sighed.
"Truthfully, I wish to start a family soon." She said and the man looked at her surprised, "But for now, I wish to adopt and bring in new members. My stepmother took me in after House Martritz fell. I had no mother and father, for they had given their lives to protect me. I wish to reach out my hand to someone. Just like Lady Zoltra did to me." She said and he smiled softly.
"Truthfully, you reminded me a lot of her. She was the one that helped raise me and my brother. I'm sure if she was here with us, she would be proud." He said and she smiled softly.
"Thank you." She chuckled, "Seems we got a bit off topic." She said.
"Ahh! Forgive me about that. Back to the contracts, this is the land I will be giving Miss Kalsana." He said and handed her a document.
"Hmm...not bad." Emily said, "The Lands of Mateus. The land rich in natural materials along the coast of the sea. Perfect for trade and its valuable flowers said to have originated from Duscur and Sreng." She said and he nodded.
"Also, home to many fae." He smirked and the woman snickered.
"So, you were tipped off too by Lord Holst offer! I knew it!" Emily laughed and the king chuckled.
"It's not every day one has such an opportunity. When I heard his offer, I must admit, I was impressed. The Alliance is well known for its large forest terrain as well as its large population of fae." King Lambert stated as he took out another document and handed it to her.
The girl read its contents and slightly raised an eyebrow.
"So, let me get this straight, you wish for her to be your children's professor but also, IF she agrees, to possibly make one of them her own apprentice? And, if fate decides it, marry one of them?! King Lambert, the girl clearly stated she isn't ready for marriage! You saw how uncomfortable she was when Duke Reigan said she could marry his grandson!" Emily said as she slammed the paper down.
"Marriage? I didn't put that in the document." He said and Emily took out her glasses and read again.
She face palms.
"Forgive me. I confused military training with marriage. I'm an idiot." She groans and he chuckled.
"It is alright. I wish for her to do a mock battle to demonstrate her talent as a tactician. Also, since the semester doesn't start in another 7 days, I recommend taking her to your land in Rhodos Coast. You two will be neighbors." He said and she nodded.
"All right then. Also, I think she'll like Lake Teautates." She said and he nodded.
"Your highness, be honest with me." She began, "What did you think of Cornelia's offer to the girl and my own?" She said the King let go of a sigh as he turned her.
"Truthfully, the offer you made her gave her freedom of many things. I think it was what Kiana desired most. Control of her research and to not be judge unless she breaks taboos. However, the deal Cornelia offered her was power. With her being her apprentice, she gained authority of many things. But then I heard you say the rest of your offer. You gave her BOTH power on control along with freedom. Something very few were willing to give her. The girl may be young but is just as smart as you. She cares, she watches, she listens and thinks before she makes her choices. The sword styles she demonstrated during the mock battle was a combination of her own, but I also felt I was once more watching Jeralt the Blade Breaker, from my childhood days. He did used to serve the Kingdom after all. Also, seems Cornelia thought she could win over the girl with money. That may be true for many but those that do not accept, and do not let both power and control corrupt them, show they are truly worth working with." He said and Emily nodded.
"I'm going to repeat this question I asked you 5 years ago, do you still trust Cornelia?" She asked and the King shook his head.
"I do not. For now, I shall allow her to finish this final half of the year and after that, she will be dismissed from the Royal Court and Magic Academy. My wife trusts her which honestly has caused some conflict but…..I just know the woman has changed far too much. Truthfully, you have worked wonders despite being so young. Now looking back to the old days when Alexander was alive and the tensions between those two and how much it affected their daughter; I should have known sooner or later something was going to happen. Look where that led us...the death of my second right hand man and childhood friend." King Lambert said softly, and she smiled sadly.
"I understand. But, what will you do when that woman is gone? Obviously, the Aubin name will be taken from her." Emily said, worried and the King spoke.
"I have decided to give my son Zander that land. Name him Duke of Aubin. Though he may not have a Crest, he is an excellent knight and leader. He is the same age as Glenn and my stepson. Those three get along just like Rodrigue, Gustave, Alexander and I did in our younger days. I wouldn't surprise me if Miss Kiana and Gina became the new members of their group! Haha! The two remind me of Ingrid." King Lambert laughed and Emily snorted.
"Very well then!" Emily chuckled and there was a knock on the door.
"Come in." The king said, the door opened, revealing a maid.
"Oh, umm...I apologize for suddenly coming in, but Lady Emily, its Miss Kiana. She said she will be attending dinner tonight. Seems she is feeling better after speaking with Doctor Florencio." The maid said and Emily nodded.
"Well, that's my que. I'll see how Kiana is doing. In the meantime, get those documents set up or I'll have Lady Patricia after you." She said and the King chuckled a bit nervously.
With that done, Emily headed towards Kiana's room along with the maid, unfortunately, they ran into Cornelia along the way. The poor maid became tense, the two women shared a single stare that you could literally feel the temperature drop. The silence turned to one full minute that the maid looked ready to cry, and unfortunately, a few butlers and knights were nearby, the air getting colder and colder. The stares at the two women, finally broke, when they passed each other, not a single snark thrown. Their stares said everything. Another 5-minute walk and they arrived at room which was surprising in the hallway of the children's room, right in between Lestia's and Dimitri's. The maid excused herself and Emily knocked on the door, hearing a soft "come in". Open the door and closing it, seeing the girl sitting on the bed with a cup of lavender tea and Florencio on a chair next to the bed.
"Feeling a bit better... after all that?" Emily said as grabbed a chair and sat next to Florencio.
Arisa did a bitter smile.
"Honestly...I feel relieved being able to finally tell someone why I am the person I am today...but I still can't say everything that I know. Uncle...you were right...this knowledge going to be my undoing in the end." She said softly and Florencio let go of a sigh.
"I always wonder why you suddenly started calling yourself Arisa one day. You wouldn't react when we would call you Byleth back when you were a child. It wasn't until a month later you finally fully reacted when we would call you your birth name. Dear, do you wish for us to call you your pass name, which I see you are more comfortable with, or Byleth?" He said, worried about her.
Arisa gave a soft smile and nodded.
"I prefer you call me either uncle. Because both hold feelings and a bond of my loving family. I would never give up one name for another." She said and Florencio hugged her.
"I won't tell a soul what I learned today. But promise me this," he said, "when the day comes you believe is the moment to speak the truth, do not lie to yourself. Accept who you are. Even if there will be some that will not believe a word you say, know that I will. Your aunt will. Your father, and those that truly love you will. You are not alone anymore. You never will be, ever." He said and he heard her giggle.
Emily smiled softly and nodded as Florencio stood up.
"I'll go bring Red Hare and Feh to the stables. I already told Jeralt that I'll be staying here in the Kingdom with you for a while to make sure you're okay, just to be safe. Also," he turned to Emily, "watch your back Emily. Cornelia is furious." He said and she nodded as he left out the door but not before saying goodbye.
"So," Emily turned to Arisa, "I told you that I was reincarnated but seeing a fellow being to also be reincarnated brings another sense of easy. So far, it had only been my husband and I that have the memories of our past lives. As much as I wish you could tell me everything, I know the laws of time won't allow it. To some extent you can but that is about it." She said and Arisa nodded.
"Emily...thank you. For respecting my choice and...to not force me to speak." Arisa said and the red head nodded.
"You're welcome. Now, all your belongings have already been brought here since you will be living in the palace for a bit, when the semester starts next Monday. By the way, will you be telling the king who you truly are at the dinner table?" She asked and Arisa shook her head.
"That is a no. With the way Cornelia has been active, right now that is a risk I do not wish to take. Lestia already figured me out and I have no clue how she did it...and Chris also...that threw me off big time." Arisa said and Emily was silent.
Emily knew how Lestia was able to know it was her. The answer was simple. Her Crest. The same case was with Claude even before Edward told him not to say a word about who she was.
Emily closed her eyes and let go of a soft smirk.
"So that's it. For someone of Blaiddyd bloodline to be born with a Crest of Reigan, is lower than 1%. Yet, you be surprised what nature brings. But Chris...I've heard stories of anti-magic users but...I thought that bloodline was wiped out by Serios because she feared them...hmm...so survivors did live. Because just like there is Beginning there is always an End." She thought then spoke.
"How about you tell me a few stories from your old home? Anything funny, legends, history, this Astronomy? You got two hours before dinner. Also, I wish I could join you but unfortunately, we Magus are going home for the night." She said Arisa smiled.
"Alright then. Hmmmm...where to start?" Arisa said as she lightly tapped her index finger on chin, while Emily smiled.
"Oh! How about I tell you the story of Aladdin? There are many different versions of this story but the one I love reading as a teenager back then was written by an author by the name Shinobu Ohtaka." Arisa said and Emily raised an eyebrow.
The two hours turned to Arisa telling the story of the magi and the forms of magic that existed in that story along with her telling legends and myths of her old home. The faces of excitement, shock, horror, joy, sadness that all appeared on Emily amusing. It had been years since the red-haired girl had heard stories like this and was fascinated by them. A small bite of the apple Arisa had given Emily and it was enough to satisfy the woman. For it had been a long time since Emily enjoyed hearing someone tell a story and to simply listen and enjoy. For it was her mother and Lady Zoltras that could do such a thing, and here she is now, listening and having fun. The woman may be too prideful, but her heart is always something else.
[-]
"There, I think this should suit you well." Emily chuckled as she finished brushing Arisa's hair.
"Still...must you force me to wear makeup up...? No offense, I do like it, but it feels a bit too much." Arisa said as she was seated in front of a mirror.
She wore a simple nice green knee length dress that slightly flowed out. Along with a green cloak, because she refused to take it off because it made her feel secure. Her short hair was tied up to a bun and Emily only applied a light blush on her lips. The girl also wore green heels. Emily smiled as she placed her hands on the girl's shoulders.
"I only applied a light blush on your lips." Emily said and then grinned evilly as she picked up a pallet with green colors, "Unless you want me to really make you pop out?" She giggled and Arisa shook her head rapidly.
"N-No! This is perfectly fine." Arisa quickly said as she stood up and Emily giggled.
"Still, was it really necessary for me to be dressed like this?" Arisa said as she motioned her hands over herself, "I could have just gone in my regular clothing." She said and Emily snorted.
"Oh please!" Sothis appeared and glared at the girl.
"Hey mom, give Arisa the scolding you used to give me." Emily said at Sothis's outline that just nodded in agreement
"First of all!" Sothis began as she turned back to Arisa, "It will most rude to be dressed in casual clothing. You are to be present in front of royalty! The royal family! Let us not forget, you will also be meeting the queen! And you know us females well, if we do not like someone, we give, the cold shoulder. The queen as already seen your excellent performance during the mock battle. Now, it is time for you to win her over with your personality!" Sothis said and both mother and daughter nodded in agreement.
Arisa just rolled her eyes and shook her head.
"So basically, make her my mother-in-law?" Arisa said and Emily burst out laughing while Sothis pretty much facepalms.
"That isn't what I meant woman!" Sothis yelled out before she disappeared in a shower of green dust and Arisa sighed as she and Emily walked out the door and down the hallway.
"Hey! Good to see you! And you look lovely!"
Oh look, Chris. He was dressed in a black button up long-sleeved shirt with gray pants and black shoes, but had his hair, tied up like usual.
"Hey Chris, take charge." Emily said and turned to leave, "Take care~" Emily sand as she waved goodbye and warped away.
Arisa let go of a sigh as she turned back to the prince, who smiled at her.
"Came to get you. Honestly, if it's your first time in the palace, finding the dining hall is a nightmare, so I'll be personally escorting you there. Besides, I want to talk to you more." He said and Sothis appeared with arms crossed.
"So, already making a move on my friend? My, you human males like to prey when the opportunity comes." Sothis glared.
"What?" Chris looked at her shocked, "I'm not Zander or Lord Rufus! Hell, I may like flirting with both men and women, but I know when someone puts a boundary." Chris defended himself and Arisa blinked.
"You like both men and women too?" Sothis could not believe the happy tone that came out of her friend's mouth.
"Oh?" Chris smirked, and got close to her, "Do my eyes spy a fellow friend? Question one!" He said dramatically, "What is more appealing to you?!" He said.
Arisa smirked proudly and spoke as a gleam appeared near her eyes.
"Thighs and Abs!" Sothis beginning to think that her friend was an idiot.
Chris smirked proudly and the two shook hands like long lost siblings.
"Legs and eyes!" He said and the two snickered.
"I'm surrounded by idiots!" Sothis groans as they began walking through the hallway.
After a 5-minute walk, they arrived to the dining room doors. A maid and butler greeted then and opened the doors. Inside was a long table set for 12 people, but the only seats taken were the one in the mid center at the end of the table where the King sat next to him on the right sat the Queen, Lady Patricia. Next to her sat Lestia and Zander. Across from those three, sat Dimitri and there were two empty seats.
"Lady Kiana, I'm glad you could join us. Are you feeling better? Emily informed me that you were feeling tired." The king said as he motioned her to have a seat.
"I'm feeling better. Thank you." She said politely as she bowed to them before she sat down.
Well, right when she was going to sit at the chair that was across from Zander...
"Ah!" Chris suddenly motioned her to sit on the one between him and Dimitri, "You sit right there Kiana. I think this is better so we can get to know you a bit better." He gave her a closed eye smile that made everyone but Lestia raise eyebrows at what he was doing.
"Hey Chris, trying to hook up my brother with her?" Lestia sent him a telepathic message and snickered while Dimitri was turning red as he watched the older girl sit down next to him.
Arisa turned to look over to him and blinked. It was only for a split second, but Dimitri saw her brown eyes turn half green before they reverted back to brown. Now that he thought about it, her brown eyes looked familiar. Well, when her first met her, there was this familiar feeling of warmth. She was kind and gentle with all of children and, he felt he has met her before. He couldn't put his finger on it but, just something about her felt familiar. Perhaps when he has the chance, he will ask her.
"It is an honor to finally meet you young Lady. I am Lady Patricia. Seems you already met my children." The queen, Lady Patricia, smiled kindly.
She looked like grown up Edelgard but a bit older except the white hair. Her hair was tied in a milkmaid braid and was dressed in a blue dress that was simple yet elegant. She spoke with grace and elegance, yet Arisa could see sadness in her eyes. It was loneliness and she knew why the queen had such look in her eyes.
"It's an honor Lady Patricia. Thank you all for having me." Arisa lightly dipped her head.
The maids and butlers came in with the dishes and placed them down at each person. Arisa felt...very out of place since she grew up in both lives as a middle class but she still took etiquette classes anyway, just in case. She saw Dimitri's eyes sparkled as a butler placed down tonight's dinner. It was Gautier Cheese Gratin, a gratin of bird meat topped with heaps of Gautier cheese, which is famous for its low-fat content. Everyone thanked the butlers and maids before they excused themselves and left them to eat. Arisa picked up her dinner fork and in she went. Honestly, Zander raised an eyebrow as he watched the girl eating and saw her eyes widened a bit as she took her first bite of the dish. Unconsciously, Arisa put her left-hand fingers just over her mouth, her usual reaction that meant the dish was delicious.
"It's delicious isn't it?!" Dimitri said excitedly as he took another bite of his food and he looked like her was in heaven.
"It is. This is..my first time trying this dish." Arisa admitted a bit embarrassed and chuckled a bit lightly.
"You think this is good? Try Enbarr's legendary caramels along with Fhirdiad's legendary Saghert and Cream. Those are divine!" Lestia said and the older ones chuckled.
"Well, I think it's time to introduce to everyone Miss Kiana." King Lambert said and turned to his daughter, "My wife and I have already introduced ourselves so I shall start with daughter. This is Lestia Flora Blaiddyd, the Princess of Faerghus." He said and Lestia grinned.
The young princess had grown quite a bit. She still wore her curly blonde hair in two drill pigtails and still had the same eyes, one brown and the other blue. Currently, she was wearing a cute blue dress with ruffles. Along with low blue heels and light peach colored tights. Earlier she was wearing a winter dress and no way anyone missed the dagger she had on her waist.
"Next, these two are my oldest sons. Zander Alphonses Blaiddyd the first prince of Faerghus and Chris von Blaiddyd, Third Prince of Faerghus." King Lambert said and Arisa looked over to Zander then Chris.
Zander had changed quite a bit. His blonde hair was still spiky, but it had grown a bit longer, in simple terms, his hair was a bit like time skip Dimitri (Arisa: Pray for me.). His brown eyes were sharp and her wore the Lord class uniform from that one Cipher artwork by Tomohide Takaya but color dark blue. Of course, without the armor parts because that would put her on edge.
"Lastly, we have my youngest son and second prince of Faerghus, Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd." He said and Arisa looked over to Dimitri who gave her a shy smile.
"Baby." Sothis said and Arisa had to keep herself from laughing at her saying that.
Seems Chris heard and had his hand over his mouth to keep himself from bursting out laughing from hearing that. But it was true! Dimitri reminded her of a sweet baby.
"It is a pleasure to meet you all. I look forward to working with you." Arisa politely dipped her head, and everyone nodded.
"Dimitri and Lestia," the king spoke, and the two kids turned to him, "Miss Kiana will be also your new instructor for the rest of this year. She will teach you along with her teaching at the magic academy as a new professor. She and I will be discussing her schedule tomorrow." He said and the twins blinked at each other confused.
"New instructor? But...I thought we didn't need a new one. What happened to our previous one?" Dimitri said.
"Dimi," Zander sighed, and pointed to Lestia, "that's your answer." He said and Dimitri instantly glared at Lestia.
"Did you scare them off again?!" The boy said and Lestia shrugged.
"More like I got rid of them for good. I don't exactly LIKE people who talk down on others! Especially to the maids and butlers! A noble's duty is to protect our people and keep them safe! Not strike fear into them!" Lestia said back as she had slammed her palm onto the table and the twins began arguing, again
The King let go of a sigh as Lady Patricia held his hand and gave Arisa an apologetic smile.
"Well, you have your work cut out for you." Sothis appeared and hugged the poor girl from behind like usual.
Chris did a quick mental link with them and spoke to them.
"Trust me, when those two fights, it's a nightmare. Even Zander refuses to go near them. He doesn't want his hand crushed by Dimitri's strength nor get burned to a crisp by Lestia's fire magic." He said and Sothis snorted.
"Do you know who to ride pegasus!?" Lestia suddenly turned to her, scaring both Arisa and Sothis.
"Pardon?" Arisa said a bit confused and Lestia repeated her question.
"Do you know how to ride a pegasus?" She said and Arisa nodded.
"Yes actually. I have been riding one since I was 5. My father showed me how. My pegasus is in the stables along with my owl. If you like, I could introduce you to them tomorrow." Arisa said and Lestia smirked.
"Gladly! See!? If she's a doctor and knows how to ride pegasus, then I'm sure she's an amazing Professor! Maybe even help you learn to control that strength of yours!" Lestia jabbed at Dimitri who looked down to his hands.
"Lestia..." Zander said lowly because he was very aware how Dimitri was afraid of fragile things and was afraid, he may accidentally hurt someone if he is not careful.
The prince gritted his teeth and about to throw a jab back at his sister until he suddenly felt warm hands pick up his. He looked and saw Kiana smile softly as she held them and lightly touched his palms. She saw they were a bit red and the skin hard, meaning he has been training without gloves. Dimitri felt his face turning redder by the second and Arisa spoke.
"It's okay." Arisa began as she smiled to him warmly, "It is alright to be afraid. It is alright to fear yourself, but it depends on you if you let that fear control you. It takes time and patience to learn to control one's strength, but it is also alright not to be strong. I'll teach you how to control your strength but the results that will come will depend on you." She gave him a soft closed eye smile and Dimitri looked her shocked.
Silence had befallen the room till...
"Ooohhhhhh~" Lestia teased till she got a karate chop on the head from Zander.
Dimitri looked like a teapot as Arisa used some magic to heal his hands, and then patted his head, which turned him even more red.
"I used a bit of magic to heal your hands. Make sure to wear gloves from now on when using a lance or sword." She said and the boy could barely nod.
The king could not help but chuckle along with the queen.
"Looks like I made the right choice." King Lambert thought.
The rest of the dinner went well.
- The next day -
"Ooohhh! I'm loving these clothing you chose!" Sothis commented as saw what Arisa had bought at the Magic District the other day.
Arisa like usual, changed her appearance but she wore a dark green Chinese cheongsam top with the left sleeve short and the right sleeve was long that it hung over her hand. She wore a long black skirt with black boots and of course, her green cloak. On her neck, was the stone that Elder Bara had given her in a form of a necklace and she also wore her travel bag. On her waist, was strapped her sword.
"I'm going to introduce Red Hare and Feh to the kids. I'll make it look like "Arisa", left me in charge of taking care of them." She said and Sothis nodded as the two walked out the room and locked the door. Emily taught them her security system spell to keep Cornelia out since they had a pretty good idea the woman was pissed that she chose Emily over her. They walked down the hallway and Arisa headed down the stables which was at the back of the palace. It was a 5-minute walk and when she arrived, she saw the children from the other day along with...
"Oh. Ingrid and Annette are here along with Gina and... who is that?" Arisa thought as she saw a young man with dark brown hair and dark brown eyes.
He looked around 22 years old. As she walked closer, she heard the name Christophe, she knew she was looking at Lord Lonato's son, and, she spotted a 10-year-old Ashe near him. All of them were in a group looking into the stables and Arisa quickly ran towards them.
"Out of the way please!" She yelled and out of shock, the group move as she ran in.
Low and behold, Red Hare was neighing angrily because he was not pleased waking up in an unknown place. Everyone else was wondering what was going on and no one dared go near him till he heard a simple whistle. The pegasus stopped and instantly turned and neighed happily at the sight of his friend and walked to her quickly, and nuzzled her along with Feh, who landed on her shoulder.
"Ya...ya...estas bien...." Arisa said softly and the pegasus calmed down.
"That's your pegasus?! He's huge!" Lestia yelled out as everyone looked at him and then Arisa.
"Wait, I thought he was Arisa's!" Glenn yelled out and Arisa let go of a sigh.
"He's mine and hers. We both own him and Feh." She said as the snowy owl hissed at them, "She had to leave the Kingdom unfortunately. Her father has gotten ill and she had to return home." She said and felt a pang of guilt for lying as she saw Dimitri looked sadly at her.
"Look, I get you have to hide your identity, but can you at least tell him?" Chris mentally said to her and Arisa avoided eye contact with him.
"Oh! Are you the new Professor at the magic Academy? I signed up for your class! I'm Annette! Nice to meet you Professor!" Annette walked up to her and grinned.
The girl has orange bright hair and had her hair tied up in two knot pigtails like in part one of the games. She wore an orange dress with brown boots. Feh landed on her shoulder and nuzzled her cheer, making the girl giggle.
"Glad to meet my fellow future student. You'll like the classes. You be surprised how much the stars connect with history." Arisa smiled as Red Hare nuzzled her cheek.
"Hello there," she looked up and saw Christophe walk up to her with Ashe, "I'm Christophe, Lord Lonato is my father and this young one here is my little brother, Ashe." Christophe said and a mini Ashe poked his head out from behind him.
He had gray hair, green colored eyes, wore a gray shirt with black winter pants and on his waist was a wooden sword.
"Hello.." the boy said shyly and Arisa smiled softly to him, making the boy turn red.
"All of us were confused seeing the red pegasus here but at least that was solved quickly, seeing he belongs to you along with the snowy owl." The older man said.
"He's about...22 years old. Hmm...7 years older than you." Sothis said to her.
"It's alright. Red Hare was just confused why he woke up here." She said and turned back to Feh and Red Hare.
"(You two, we'll be living in the palace from now on for the rest of the year. Behave and don't cause a ruckus with the others please.)" She spoke in the language of fae and the two animals nodded to her.
"What was that?" Sylvian said and Arisa answered to him.
"The language of Fae. Took me 7 years to fully master it. I can't tell you how many times I bit my tongue." She said and the others chuckled.
Arisa took out Red Hare and mounted him, the pegasus spread his wings up proudly, showing them off. What the girl did not expect...
"Ingrid!" Glenn yelled out as red pegasus picked up the blonde-haired girl from the back of her dress and threw her up, making her land seated in front of Arisa.
"Red!" Arisa glared at him as the shell-shocked young girl was blinking multiple times at what just happened.
Sothis appeared and spoke.
"He's saying he sees potential in this girl to become a pegasus knight. So, he wants to test he if she can handle his speed." Sothis and Chris yelled out.
"Are you serious?! Come on! She's still a kid." Chris said and the others looked at him weirdly.
"Who are you talking to?" Sylvian said.
"Oh...shoot...I forgot. Well, you guys can't see her but there is a fae here." He said and everyone began to look around minus Chris and Arisa.
"Again, with your ability to see spirits?" Glenn said and Chris nodded.
"Anyway, Sothi (Chris: Nickname I gave her. I think it's cute.) said that Red Hare said that he sees potential in Ingrid to become a pegasus knight and wants to test her." He said and everyone looked at Red Hare shocked.
"Do you...mean it...?" Ingrid said and the pegasus nodded to her.
The girl could not help but let tears of joy fall as she hugged his neck.
"Thank you thank you!" She cried and he neighed again.
"He says there's actually one person he wishes to ride with us." Sothis said and Chris spoke.
"Sothi says he says there is one person he wants to bring along." He said and the kids began saying, "bring me!", "no me!".
Red Hare shook his head and his wings suddenly flapped because he spotted his target. Oh boy…..
"Oh! Lady Edelgard and Hubert!" Gina walked over to the princess and her brother, who were arriving at the stables.
"Good morning Gina. I saw the group from afar and decided to come and see what was going on." Edelgard said and saw Kiana, who waved from being seated on the pegasus.
Red Hare suddenly neighed loudly and before Hubert knew it, he was thrown and seated behind Arisa.
"Wait, Hubert is the second person?!" Chris yelled out and the pegasus nodded while Gina was suddenly very nervous.
"Ummm...Miss Kiana, what is going on?" Hubert asked as he gulped.
"Red Hare see-Aaahhh!" The girl didn't even have a chance to answer because the pegasus took off flying, and everyone was yelling up, worried.
Ingrid was giggling in utter joy while poor Hubert had wrapped his arms around Arisa's waist and was holding onto her for dear life. They were, getting higher and higher, way above the clouds. Arisa was used to it, Ingrid and Hubert, not so much.
"G-Get us down!" Hubert cried out and Ingrid looked a bit nervous.
Arisa let go of a sigh as she saw the poor boy had his eyes closed shut and Feh had flown up to them. Even if she knew the boy was terrified of such heights, she wanted him to at some point at least in his life to experience the feeling above the clouds and feel freedom. Something that he didn't have much growing up. She wasn't happy with the way Red Hare was doing it. But, maybe...just maybe...she could change the feeling of fear he has.
"Hubert, open your eyes." Arisa said and the boy shook his head.
"This is Faerghus...it's beautiful!" Ingrid yelled out as the two girls looked out to the view and Hubert opened one eye.
He gasped as he saw the view and couldn't believe its beauty. Trees and snow as far as the eye could see. The blue hues of rivers that glisten in the sun's rays. Birds of all colors flying through the sky, a beautiful blue and the sun itself was amazing. That's when he finally noticed he had his arms around Arisa. The girl was...soft.
"Oh...ummm...cough...I am...very sorry..." he said and she giggled.
"It's alright. But...both of you hang on tight! Red Hare is about to dive down!" She yelled out as she got a hold onto the reins quickly.
"What...?" Hubert said and Ingrid was excited, and Red Hare dove down and Feh went after them.
Except...both were completely caught off guard by his speed.
Meanwhile at the surface:
"We have to get Hubert down! He's terrified of heights!" Gina said worried and Edelgard face palms.
"Gina...no one was supposed to find out about that..." the princess thought which Christophe was about to get on his own pegasus to fly up but there was no need.
Everyone could hear screaming and horror befell everyone at how fast the pegasus was coming.
"He's going to crash!" Felix screamed and everyone quickly scattered rapidly.
You could hear both Ingrid's and Hubert's screams, one filled with pure joy while the second one of complete terror. Right when everyone thought he was going to crash onto the ground, Red Hare just stopped and gently landed, letting out a proud neigh and flapping his wings proudly.
"I am so sorry!" Arisa said as she saw Hubert looked like his soul left his body, "I did not think Red Hare would go this wild! The last time I saw him like this was 7 years ago when he was a foal!" Arisa said as she jumped down and got the two back on the ground.
"THAT WAS AMAZING! LET'S DO IT AGAIN!" Ingrid yelled out while Hubert was shaking as he fell to his knees.
Despite him and Arisa being the same age, Hubert was currently traumatized. Red Hare began neighing as he tapped his right hove on the ground and Sothis sighed.
"He says they both passed his test. Usually people pass out other than Amir, Alexandra and Claude but he is glad to see two more people worthy riding him. The fact that Hubert didn't pass out is enough." Sothis said and Arisa patted Hubert's back.
"Red Hare says you passed. You and Ingrid are both worthy of riding him." She said and Hubert gave her a weak glare.
"Are you alright!?"
Gina's screech made Arisa turn to the left as saw the woman running like possessed one and fell to her knees to check on her brother.
"I-I'm okay...just...need to breath..." Hubert as barely able to say but even if he was shaken, he slightly turned to Arisa, who looked at him worried, "I...still enjoyed...the view...C-Can... y-you t-teach me...h-how to...ride a p-pegasus?" He smiled a bit crooked and the rest of the group had returned.
"Ummm...I think I rather wait till you fully recovered after that shock..." Arisa said as she knelt down and placed her hand over his forehead, her hand glowed a bit red and the boy fell asleep in his sister's arms.
"What did you do?" Edelgard said.
"Well, considering the scare Red Hare gave him," she shot a glare at the smug pegasus that received a wing slap from Feh, "I put him to sleep so he could recover a bit. He'll wake up in an hour." She sighed and felt Ingrid tug her skirt, the girl had sparkles in her eyes.
"Please teach me how to ride pegasus! I have been wanting to become a knight for so long!" She said and Arisa was getting a bit scared.
"Well, I don't mind teaching you and the twins how to ride horses. You have to start of with horses first before you take the next big step of riding a wyvern, kinshi, pegasus or griffin." Arisa chuckled a bit nervously and felt that Gina was burning her gaze into her soul.
"What about magic?" Sylvian suddenly said.
"Or a bow?!" Ashe said and his older brother raised an eyebrow.
"Sword?" Felix said.
"Ummm...dance?" Edelgard said shyly.
"All of them. I can teach you all of them." Arisa sighed and that just turned into her biggest mistake because the kids all instantly had sparkles in her eyes as they grouped around her.
"Umm...Kiana...I think you just...got yourself more students..." Chris laughed a bit nervously as Arisa took a step back from the adorable yet now terrifyingly group of kids.
The older ones were trying not to laugh except Sylvian because he was part of the group.
"Oh, karma came back to you at the perfect time." Gina smirked.
Well, Arisa's got her hands full.
- 4 hour later: On the road to Zoltras Territory: Carriage-
"So let me get this straight..." Emily pinched the bridge of her nose," Red Hare went wide and had taken both Ingrid and Hubert up to the sky. Possibly traumatized the boy for life, and because the group saw your skills, they all asked you about certain subjects and you answered you could teach all of them because you weren't paying attention completely thus now..." The girl looked up to her friend who was trying to ignore a cackling Sothis sitting next to her, "you literally now have a bunch of new students that you fell victim to their puppy eyes and will be teaching them for the next 5 months till December along with you being a professor...ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!" Emily yelled and Arisa groaned loudly into her hands.
"I know! It was stupid mistake and now I literally regret it!" Arisa said and Sothis was wheezing, holding her stomach as she laughed hard.
"Well...at least the rest of the children from the Alliance and Empire had returned to their home because if they had stayed, you would be doomed. Literally you would be teaching all three nation's children." Emily sighed.
"Well that's not too far from the truth... Five more years and I WILL actually be teaching all of them..." Arisa thought and Sothis spoke.
"Well, now you have your hands full (Arisa: So, you finally stopped laughing.) But this as an opportunity to learn. How many years has it been since you have been a Professor?" Sothis said with a giggle and Arisa let go of another sigh.
"Anyhow, considering you now literally have your hands full," Emily said she propped her elbow over the window edge of the carriage and rested her cheek on her hand, " I'm looking forward to you teaching those children. I'll let the staff know that those kids will sometimes be coming to visit you." She said and Arisa nodded.
The girl looked out and noticed they were going through deep forest territory and it was faint, but she could smell the salt in the air.
"Usually it would take an entire two weeks to get to our destination if we went by normal carriage but I'm using some of warping magic and a little help from a few fae to get us to our destination, Rhodos Coast. So, hold on tight!" Emily smirked and was suddenly holding tightly to a pole.
"Wait what?" Both Sothis and Arisa said, suddenly, the carriage was moving at inhume speed.
While Emily was used to it, the other two, were not. Arisa and Sothis were screaming for their lives while the red-haired girl just let go of a yawn, and Sothis cursing the profanities that she had learned over the years. Is a goddess allowed to curse? Yes? No? Anyhow, 30 seconds later, they had landed in front of...
"I'm literally looking at the Château de Brissac from France..." Arisa groans as Emily opened the carriage door and walked out like nothing.
Emily snickered as she helped her friend walked towards the door and it was opened by a maid and butler inside who greeted them.
"Welcome home Lady Emily and we welcome you Lady Arisa." The two servants said and bowed to them.
"Lady Arisa's room has been prepared along with Lord Henry's room." The butler said as the two stood up straight.
"The owl and pegasus have also been taken to the stables and have been fed." The maid smiled kindly.
"Thank you, Ural and Opal. Has my husband arrived yet?" Emily said.
"Lord Erik said he will be arriving late. He said he's taking care of business with his father, Count Charon and his sister, Lady Cassandra." The butler, Ural said.
"So Catharine has a brother in this time?! I know Hubert has siblings because his FEH profile said "true heir", meaning he has bastard siblings but (forgive me Gina) Catharine? What's next? Lor-you know what? Just fuck it at this point." Arisa thought and Sothis rolled her eyes.
The four heard footsteps running and looked up at the stairs to see a young boy about 4 years old, who looked like the male version of Edelgard but much tinier. The boy looked excitedly at Emily who spread her arms wide, with a warm smile on her face.
"Aunty Noa! Welcome back!" The boy grinned and...jumped off the balcony.
Arisa and Sothis both screeched and ran to catch the boy, but low and hold, the boy could use magic and used a gust a wind to secure his landing on the wooden floor. The maids and butlers of the mansion along with the other members of House Zoltras were used to it, Arisa and Sothis, were not. The boy jumped into Emily's arms and she spun him around.
"You're back, you're back! Aunty Mary said I'm going to be living here with you for a while. Also, big brother Zemes and big sis Jenna are cooking today. Oh! And the wyvern riders were teaching me how to fly one!" The boy said excitedly, and Emily giggled.
"Now Henry, calm down. I want you to meet someone." She said and the boy turned towards Arisa with a raised eyebrow.
"This is Arisa Byleth. She'll be part of House Zoltras from." She said and the girl walked forward.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Arisa." She undid her disguise because Emily said she would be safe being herself in her territory.
The boy looked at her up and down before he smiled to her.
"Hello there! Names Henry von Hersvelg! 5th prince of the Adrestian Empire. Nice to meet you." He said to her and she smiled at him kindly.
"So Edelgard's youngest brother." Arisa thought then spoke.
"Nice to meet you." She said and patted his head.
"Henry, I'm going to be busy for a bit. We're going out again. I just came to get something from my room quickly." Emily and turned to Arisa, "I go get Red Hare if I were you. Opal will take you to the stables and set up my Kinshi. We're heading to Lake Teutates. I have business to take care of there." Emily said in slight bitter tone that last sentence and Sothis was a bit confused as the boy waved goodbye and left with the maid Opal.
"Sothis, let's go meet Red Hare and Feh. I'm sure they are both throwing a hissy fit." Arisa said and Sothis nodded as the two followed the butler.
Sothis felt...like a memory of hers was returning.
- Emily's room -
Her personal bedroom was lavished with red velvet silk sheets, the walls decorated with natural plants and flowers that she personally tends. Her cat slept peacefully on the bed as the woman dug through her closet and took out a dark purple stone and let go of a bitter sigh.
"Never in all my years...did I think I would resort to this to turn to my other form..." she muttered as she placed the stone in her purse.
"Well, you must deal with it. It is your punishment for reviving your body and fusing it with your human one."
She turned to her cat, a brown white maine coon that let go of a yawn from where it was. The female cat gave her lazy look and Emily let go of a sigh.
"King of Cats...Tina...my friend...is this really my punishment for such?" Emily sighed as she walked up to her and sat on her bed, next to the cat.
Tina sighed as she stretched a bit and spoke.
"You committed a taboo simply by fusing what should have remained dead to you, who is alive. Still, at least you could still transform." Tina said and Emily let go of a sigh as she stood back up.
"Emily," Tina said, "you have done more than enough. But I am glad you are sharing the burden then letting it all be on your shoulders. Be careful out there. If worse comes, summon me." She said and Emily nodded.
"Thank you, my friend." Emily smiled softly and left.
[-]
The flight to Lake Teutates was around 2 hours since they had to fly over the mountains. Emily's kinshi was beautiful bird of red and blue feathers. It was respectful and kind, and thankfully it got along with Red Hare. The kinshi's name was Mulan, which sent Arisa to be blinking multiple times. Emily sighed as they arrived at the forest and Sothis felt unnerved by how foggy the place had become. Even the two flying animals let out cries of nervousness.
"Shh...shh...It's okay Mulan." Emily said softly and the kinshi calmed down a bit at the four continued to the very center of the lake. There, they landed at an ancient looking temple and Arisa knew exactly where they were and figured out what Emily meant by "taking care of business". The girls tied the reins of their friends to a tree as they looked towards the thick fog. Arisa lit a torch as they walked into the fog. She noticed that Emily's eyes were glowing a bit as they continued to walk for another 10 minutes then...
"Who dares enter my temple?!"
A voice boomed and Arisa flinched while both Emily and Sothis were silent as towering shadow appeared in the fog.
"I do." Emily took a step forward as the palm of her hand glowed and waved it fast, making to fog completely disappear, revealing a huge beast that sort of resemble a turtle minus the spikes.
"Foolish humans, you are frail and weak. Turn your tail and run." The Immovable, also known as Saint Indech, said as he looked down at them.
Emily did not break eye contact nor blink as she looked up to the Beast and spoke.
"It has been 990 years, hasn't it, Elder Brother?" She said and Arisa looked at her shocked while Indech was silent.
The beast sniffed the air and froze.
"This scent...it cannot be..." it said Emily completely undid her appearance spell, revealing a fully adult woman with curvy body, huge "assets", dark colored green hair that faded to red, curled in a similar fashion as Flayn's.
The women's eyes had become green that faded to red and put on her round glasses. She let go of a sigh as she took out a smoking pipe and lit it up. Taking in a deep breath before she puffed it out.
"It's been awhile." Even her voice had become deeper and mature, a womanly voice.
Emily smiled softly as Indech stared at the older woman.
"How is this possible...? You were killed protecting Serios. We buried your body. You blood was drained; your heart was taken. How are you alive?" He said and Emily chuckled.
"You be surprised Indech...what has transpired these past 990 years. Serios is falling to ruin and the Agarthans will be making a move soon, and the fact that you all betray Cirina when she gave her life to protect Cethleann!" Emily finally snapped and roared furiously Elder Brother who was silent.
"Do you have any idea how pissed I was learning everything that went down these past 990 years?! The actions that Serios has done?! The ruin that many have fallen to?! I WAS NOT SUDDENLY REINCARNATED BY THE RIVER OF TIME TO WATCH THE WORLD OUR MOTHER LOVED BE BROUGHT DOWN TO RUIN! WHAT'S MORE THE EXTREMELY LENGTHS YOU ALL WENT, MINUS MELODY AND CETHLEANN, TO RUIN CIRINA'S NAME?! HOW DARE YOU ALL TWIST OUR MOTHER'S WORDS AND TURN THIS WORLD BE RULED BY TYRANNY!?" The older woman roared furiously and panted as she made her pipe disappear.
Indech was silent as he had his head down, and Arisa looked back and forth between them. Sothis was silent as she listened and looked at the two worried as she Emily laughed dryly.
"I always thought of you as the voice of reason..." Emily said and Indech spoke.
"You're right. I should have spoken. But what is done, is done. The past cannot be changed, no matter how much you desire it Noa." Indech said and Emily smiled bitterly.
"I know...but I'm not here to reminiscence of the past..." she said and looked over to Arisa, "I want you to meet Arisa. Serios...created her. She is the incarnation of our mother." Emily said and Indech turned to Arisa, who stiffened.
"This scent...and power...so you truly are the incarnation of Sothis... Let us test your mettle!" He said and the girl was getting ready to make a run for it, till a flash of purple blinded her and she saw a beautiful purple feathered dragon with four wings but purple eyes.
"You will not harm this girl!" It roared as it placed it's wing to protect Arisa.
"I thought only Serios could transform but seems you also, but to a certain extent. To think that you must use a dragon stone to do so. Hmph...I thought Sothis hid those things away." He said and Emily turned back to normal but with a purple stone in her hands.
"That isn't what I am here to discuss with you." Emily sighed, "I need your help... Melody...has gone missing." She said and Indech let out a low growl.
"What does that woman have to do with anything?" He growled and Emily glared.
"Do not forget, you owe her and Macuil a favor! She saved your life all those years ago! Let us not forget, she is your friend! Don't tell me you're still pissed off that she and Macuil got together?!" She said and Arisa was waving her hands frantically, seeing that the aura around the beast darken.
"Emily, I can tell that's a taboo subject!" Arisa said and Sothis made the wind blow the trees.
Indech became still as the winds began to blow and only Arisa could hear Sothis speak.
"It is faint, but you are someone I knew. Yet, this is not the face I remember. This is your other form, us...Nabateans. Though I cannot speak to you directly, may my winds carry my voice to you. Emily is the other name she goes by, but please. She means well. I may not know what transpired in the past but now is time for a new beginning. So, will you stay in the past and let your grudge blind you?" Sothis said.
Indech was silent as he stared at Arisa, who smiled warmly to Sothis.
"Hmph." He said and his head back to Emily, "When was the last time she was seen?" He said.
"She was fighting off mages and there was an explosion. The fire aerials confirmed there was no body and there are traces of dark magic. Macuil won't admit but he's worried." And that instantly made Sothis and Arisa snap their heads to her and Indech was silent.
"Hrrrmmmmm...a new brethren are to be born soon..." he thought, and Emily took out a bracelet and showed him.
"This bracelet, you gave it to her. Can you use it to track her down?" Emily said and he nodded.
The beast raised his head and roared loudly, to the point the ground shook. Emily knew what he did, but Arisa did not. What neither could them see but only Indech could, were different colored strings, one, was a light pink, yet it looked tattered.
"She is somewhere in the territory of the Alliance. The problem is something is blocking her location. Seems she was forced to come here to Fodlan." He said and Emily nodded.
"I'll contact the Queen of Faeries to help us keep a look out. I'm having a bad feeling something happened." Emily said and Indech nodded.
"Emily, what can I do?" Arisa said and Emily let go of a sigh as she looked over to her friend.
"Unfortunately...nothing for right now. This is between my family and me. For now, we'll get you set up with your materials for your class. Also, to set up a security system in your office at the Academy to keep Cornelia out." Emily sighed as she pinched the bridge of her nose and looked up to her brother.
"Thank you Indech." She smiled sadly to her brother, who grunted.
"Let me ask you this Noa." Indech said, "You said said Serios created the incarnation of Sothis," he said and turned to Arisa then back to her, "what actions has our youngest sister has done?" He said and Emily frowned.
"Let's just say, human lives were experimented on. That is all." Emily said and Indech was silenced.
"Tch...how low...so she has fallen to Nemesis level." He said and Emily gritted her teeth but seems Arisa was done keeping silent.
"Rhea may have done countless questionable actions but at the same time if they weren't done not a single one of us would be standing here!" Arisa yelled and Emily snapped her head towards.
"Arisa, be quiet." Emily said and Arisa shook her head.
"Let the incarnation speak." Indech said and he turned her way, "Girl who bares the heart of Sothis, speak your words wisely. Why do you defend the actions of the one who saved your life for their own gain? You and others were created to be sacrificed to bring back the Progenitor Goddess. Speak or forever hold your tongue." He said and Arisa nodded.
"Rhea...no...Serios...is blinded by grief and anger. She believed that she could regain all that is lost if she could revive her mother." She said and looked over to Sothis, who was silent and listened, "I was born from a woman who bore the heart of Sothis and from the knight who Serios saved using her blood. I originally was born a still born child. My mother, Rosa, pleaded to Serios to save my life even if her own was in danger. The heart of Sothis was put in me, allowing me to breathe again. I...I am the 13th vessel who...is already becoming one with Sothis. Her will is my will, and my will is her will." She said and Sothis smiled sadly to her as she hugged the girl from behind like always.
Arisa unsheathe her sword and revealed the rapier version of The Sword of The Creator. The girl looked up to see the spikes on Indech's shell spike up.
"I know the truth. I know these weapons, Crest, and Crest stone were created from your brethren. I know Sothis never gifted these powers to humans." She said as she gently held the sword to her chest as if it were made of glass.
"What I have now...is only part of Sothis...her other half...is still with Serios." She said, "I wish to stop Fodlan's blood stained history of lies along with...to create a new path. One where...those I treasure can live. I don't want them to suffer the bloody path that is set. So...I will deny the flow of fate. I will deny the River of Time." She said and Indech growled.
"You have already broken far too many taboos. But your wish is foolish. Denying the flow of fate, the flow of density? Hmph. You have already done that the minute your ancient soul awaken girl!" He raised his claws to strike her down, and Emily tried to run towards her yet, Indech's Phantom soldiers held her back.
Arisa only stayed still while Sothis screamed for her to move but one look from her friend, made her eyes widen. Arisa's eyes held only one message.
Trust me.
His claws one stopped a millimeter from her neck, the girl never moved, yet she shook with fear, but she refused to break eye contact with the former Saint in front of her. Emily could only watch in shock as the girl and her brother did not break eye contact. What she did was a suicidal move. Indech can crush her like a bug easily since the girl was not physically ready to fight him, yet she did not move from her spot.
"If am a taboo by simply being alive," Arisa spoke as she narrowed her eyes, "then so be it." Was all she said.
Indech was silent as he stared at the girl. She knew he wasn't going to kill her, yet the way he attacked her had the aura of pure murder, yet there she stood. He could tell. She was terrified, she wanted to run. Yet, here she was, still standing before him despite shaking.
"Hmph." He said, "You did well. What do you desire? I shall grand it." He said and the girl began blinking like an owl.
"Eh?" Arisa said confused while Emily had taken out her brass knuckles to pound her brother dead.
"I shall not repeat myself." He said angrily and Arisa nodded.
"Then...if it be alright...may I... have your bow?" She said a bit shyly as she fidgeted with her fingers.
"Hahahaha!" Indech laughed as the girl was becoming redder, "You remind me of Serios when she was a child. Very well then. And you!" He turned to Emily who glared at him, "I know the other reason you are here. Take them." He said.
A glowing shower of golden dust appeared in Arisa's hands. The girl quickly sheaths back the sword, and in her hands, appeared the legendary bow of Saint Indech, The Inexhaustible, along with a Crest stone that had Saint Indech's crest. With Emily, three medium size potion bottles with blood in them appeared in her hands along with a small pouch filled with seeds.
"Noa and Incarnation of Sothis," he spoke as he raised his head, "may you succeed in your mission." He said and Emily knew, there was a ghost of a smile on him.
The fog came back thick and they could not see, but when it dispersed, the two women were out of the ruins.
"Sigh...you..." Emily said lowly and Arisa flinched at the older woman's glare, "got a lot of nerves and guts to not only defend what Rhea did to you but also...thank you..." Emily spoke softly," you...saw the sides of the two scales. Thank you..." Emily said with a sad smile.
"Let's go home. 7 days from now, your life as a Professor begins." Emily said and Arisa nodded as they returned to their rides.
On the way back, Arisa was feeling conflicted with receiving Saint Indech's bow. For one, she literally just destroyed (in a way?) Leonie's and Linhardt's chance of ever getting this bow much more, completely decimated their paralogue. She let go of a sigh.
"Am I really making things better...or am I making things worse?"
Chapter 23: Lion's Den: Part 2: Introductions: End
[-]
Bit of a surprise that I decided to add the meeting of Indech and the mentioned of Macuil and my OC Saint. Unfortunately, I can't say much about that Oc Saint of mine but let's just say, tragedy is coming in about 6 chapters.