Author's Note: Here it is, folks. The long awaited chapter three. I worked really hard on this one and I think I've really outdone myself this time. Over 5K words! Pretty good if you ask me.
So I finished the Blue Lions route (I married Dimitri, thank you for asking) recently and I can now confirm that pre-timeskip Dimitri is exactly as dense as I portray him in this fic. I must say the final boss was really disappointing. First, I was expecting some sort of dramatic cinematic transformation sequence (especially since Azure Moon seems to be all about dramatic cinematics) and second, she couldn't hit an attack to save her life. Random mooks were more dangerous than her (I mean this literally, the mooks defeated half my party, including Dimitri (my most powerful unit) while she didn't knock out a single unit. Thank the goddess for casual mode).
In sadder news, I will be unable to hang out on Zelda Universe and Bulbagarden as much as I used to anymore. I'll still post fanfic chapters but I won't really post much else. So to my ZU and Bulbagarden pals, sorry about that.
Speaking of ZU, thanks for helping me choose which house should win, even if you only voted for Golden Deer to spite my prediction.
Now, onward to the awesome chapter.
Part One
White Clouds
The Mock Battle
Finally the day of the mock battle was upon them. Today was the day that would determine if all of Byleth's instruction would pay off (plus any extra training the students did in their spare time). She really hoped the Black Eagles would win. It didn't really matter in the grand scheme of things but it would be nice.
Like she had with Dimitri in the original timeline, Byleth was having a pre-battle meeting with Edelgard. The future emperor seemed rather excited about the battle, in her own way.
"It's finally time for the mock battle." She said, composed but confident. "This is my chance to measure your worth as an instructor. Do you think you can rise to the challenge?"
"I wouldn't be too sure about that." Byleth replied. "I only come into play if one or both of the other houses breaks past you guys, and if all goes well that shouldn't happen." She stretched. "On a different subject, I've been meaning to ask you this for a while, out of all the students, you seemed the most surprised about me showing up. Why was that?"
"Well, to be honest, I didn't expect you to choose the Black Eagles." Edelgard answered. "Claude is very, how do I put this, charming (though personally I find it infuriating) and Dimitri practically exudes heroism. Comparatively, I have been told that I am oftentimes... unapproachable."
"Unapproachable?" Byleth echoed. "Are you sure they're not talking about Hubert?"
Edelgard smiled. "Hubert may be a part of it. I'll admit, sometimes I wish he didn't hover around me all the time."
Byleth was about to say something when Claude walked into the room, Dimitri in tow.
"Hey there! Did we miss our invite to this strategy meeting? Oh, no worries–we'll just join in now."
"Simply tell me your weaknesses, and you're welcome to stay. But is there enough time to cover them all?" Edelgard snarked.
"Ah, so you can't win unless you know my weakness?" Claude retorted. "Poor princess. You really should believe in yourself more."
"I'm sorry, who wanted to join in on the enemy's strategy meeting?" Edelgard countered.
"Claude, Edelgard, please. Save the fighting for the battlefield." Dimitri said.
"It's just a bit of friendly pre-battle trash talking." Claude said. "You should try it, Your Princeliness." Claude turned to Byleth, apparently deciding to change the subject. "So, Teach, you chose the Black Eagle House. A shame, we could have had so much fun together."
"You just don't like being stuck with Manuela." Byleth said.
Claude rubbed the back of his head. "Okay, that may be part of it. I feel like a knife on a grindstone when she teaches."
"At least you'll come out sharper." Byleth joked.
"Speaking of Professor Manuela, here she comes now." Dimitri said, pointing towards the doorway where Manuela and Hanneman were entering.
"Aw, how precious. Looks like you and the students have become fast friends." Manuela said.
Byleth glared at her. She didn't like being patronized.
"While I am pleased that you are taking the initiative to acquaint yourself with the students, I'm afraid it's about time for the faculty strategy meeting." Hanneman said.
"Ah, how time flies!" Claude said. "In that case, I'll see you later."
"Professor, Edelgard. Be careful out there." Dimitri said. "And good luck."
"Don't need it." Byleth said, walking away with Hanneman and Manuela. "We're going to crush you."
Before we continue on with the story, it would be prudent to give a little exposition on how the Mock Battle works. It is rather similar to a very violent version of Capture the Flag. Each House picks three students. Those three students, plus the House Leader and the House Professor, form a team that is tasked with two simple goals: defeat the other two teams and protect their Professor. There are two ways to achieve the first goal, defeat every member of the team, either by knockout or surrender (stabbing and maiming are not allowed and it goes without saying that killing is right out), or metaphorically capture the metaphorical flag, i.e. defeat the opposing Professor.
A team without a Professor is immediately deemed to have lost even if all four other team members remain standing, hence the second goal of protecting them. While this is not entirely accurate to real battle as all but the most disorganized of groups are capable of functioning to some extent without their leader but it serves as a suitable challenge for the students at this point in their education and keeps the battle from dragging on too long.
This year's Mock Battle will be overseen by Jeralt to make sure that things go according to the rules. The Black Eagle team consists of Professor Byleth, Edelgard, Dorothea, Ferdinand, and Hubert. The Blue Lions team consists of Professor Hanneman, Dimitri, Dedue, Felix, and Mercedes. The Golden Deer team consists of Professor Manuela, Claude, Hilda, Lorenz, and Lysithea.
The three teams stood in three corners of the battlefield. The Golden Deer were standing in the top left corner, the Blue Lions were standing in the top right corner, and the Black Eagles were standing in the bottom right corner. Jeralt stood on a nearby hill to more easily oversee the battle.
"The Mock Battle will now begin!" Jeralt shouted.
After a declaration like that you might expect all three teams to charge at each other with weapons raised and ready to strike. Instead only one person rushed forward.
"We have no need for your ridiculous tactics, Claude!" Lorenz shouted. "The opponent shall be easily dismantled!"
"Lorenz wait-" Claude shouted, reaching his arm out as if to grab his teammate.
The stuck-up noble ignored him and charged forward through the forest, lance at the ready.
Claude put his hand on his head. "Ugh! Dammit!" Deciding that he might as well begin to put his plan into action, he shouted to the rest of his teammates. "Alright Golden Deer, remember what we planned! We'll hide in the forest and ambush them there!"
"Right." Lysithea said with a nod.
Hilda groaned. "Fine."
Meanwhile, on the other side of the forest, the Black Eagles were dealing with their own problems. Even after all the time they had to plan before the Mock Battle started, they still hadn't decided on a strategy.
"The other teams are probably putting their battle plans into motion now." Edelgard lamented. "And we still don't even have the beginning of one."
Ferdinand raised his hand. "I have a suggestion."
"Go ahead." Edelgard said.
Ferdinand pointed at the forest. "If one of the other teams is on the other side of that forest, then perhaps we could set it on fire to smoke them out."
Edelgard rubbed her chin. "That's… not a bad idea, actually." She turned to Dorithea. "Can you do that?"
"Of course I can." Dorothea said with a nod..
"Good." Edelgard said. "On my signal, start casting. In the meantime Ferdinand and Hubert will-"
Edelgard's order was cut off by a noble battlecry. At least, its person of origin thought it was noble. To others it sounded like the screams of a madman. Regardless, Lorenz, the cry's owner, charged out of the forest, lance pointed at his enemy.
"Aha! Our first opponent!" Ferdinand shouted. "Worry not, I shall dispatch this enemy with ease! I am Ferdinand Von Aegir!"
"Ferdinand, hold!" Edelgard shouted.
It was no use. Like Lorenz had with Claude, Ferdinand ignored his house leader and charged at Lorenz. The two nobles clashed in the center of the battlefield.
Edelgard sighed. "Well, I guess that's the signal. Hubert, you give Ferdinand cover. Dorothea, start firing. I'll protect the Professor."
"How long are we going to have to wait here." Hilda complained.
"As long as it takes." Claude whispered. "This is the clearest path through the forest, they'll have to come through here eventually. And when that happens, we'll jump them. Now keep quiet."
The next few minutes passed in silence. It was kind of weird. You'd think that one of the other teams would have shown up by now. But there was nothing. Not even a sound with the exception to the birds chirping and a faint crackling.
Wait… Claude thought. Crackling?
"Does anyone else smell smoke?" Lysithea asked.
Claude looked around. The crackling was growing louder and now he could feel an intense heat. Red and orange flames had begun to spread throughout the forest. A burning tree branch fell in front of him.
"They've set the forest on fire!" Claude exclaimed.
"That's insane!" Hilda shouted, jumping back to avoid the flames.
"Short Stuff, do you know any spells that can put this out?" Claude asked Lysithea.
"Of course not." Lysithea said irritably. She hated Claude's nickname for her. "I'm a dark mage. That means I use dark magic. Elemental magic is a completely different thing. What about you? Don't you have any fancy arrows that can get us out of this?"
If this were a cartoon, a lightbulb would have appeared over Claude's head. Lysithea had been joking, but her joke gave him an idea.
"Actually, I just might have something." The archer said. He pulled an arrow out of his quiver. It was one of his many trick arrows. Claude liked to think that he had one for every occasion, and in this case that boast might actually have a ring of truth to it. "This is an experimental arrow. I call it a Foam Arrow because it's full of a special type of foam that hardens on contact with air. It's supposed to be used for capturing people, much harder to cut your way out of hardened foam than a net, you see, but it might be possible to use it to suppress the fire."
"Shut up and use it, then!" Lysithea shouted.
"Right." Claude said. He drew his bow and knocked the arrow. He was reasonably sure this would work. He aimed at a large patch of fallen, burning branche and released the arrow. The arrow hit its target (not hard considering how big and close it was) and released a spray of foam that covered the entire patch and hardened, cutting off the fuel's supply of oxygen.
Claude did a little internal fist pumps and then shot several more arrows. Within minutes the only flames left were small ones that could be easily stamped out. Of course, since they were in a forest there was plenty of fuel for them to use to grow bigger so the three Golden Deers decided to get out of there.
Meanwhile, horizontally across from the Golden Deer and diagonally across from the Black Eagles, the Blue Lion team prepared for battle.
"Dedue, Felix, Mercedes, are you ready?" Dimitri asked in his best commander voice.
"Yes, Your Highness." Dedue said.
"Of course I'm ready." Felix said. "Do you think I would be here if I wasn't."
"I'm ready." Mercedes said. "Let's all do our best."
Dimitri nodded. "Right. Our goal here is to defeat the opposing Professors. That means we need to get the enemy out of the way. Dedue, Mercedes, I want you to draw the enemy away and keep them occupied. Meanwhile, Felix and I will head for the nearest Professor. Is that understood?"
"Understood." Dedue said simply.
"Got it." Mercedes said.
Felix just hmph'd, which Dimitri took to mean yes.
Dimitri held up his hand and thrust it forward. "Blue Lions, move out!"
The Blue Lion Team did just that. Mercedes and Dedue headed off into the forest, making as much noise as possible to distract opponents from Dimitri and Felix, who were going in the opposite direction. The two headed through the forest, not encountering anyone. Dimitri took this as a good sign that either Dedue and Mercedes' distraction was working or that the other teams had mostly defeated each other.
As they stealthily approached the edge of the forest they heard blasts and smelled smoke. There must be a fight going on. Probably involving at least one mage. Dimitri started forward but Felix put his arm out.
"You couldn't be stealthy to save your life, Boar." He said. "I'll go after the nearest Professor, you watch my back."
Dimitri glowered at the swordmaster. "Felix, might I remind you that I am your commanding officer. I give the orders, not you." He took a deep breath to calm down. "Nevertheless you are right. I am no good at stealth. You go. Should I see any danger I shall call out to you."
Felix hmph'd and turned to search out the nearest professor to incapacitate. Before he could even take a step a fireball exploded right in front of his and Dimitri's feet. The two jumped backwards to avoid the explosion, nearly falling on top of eachother.
Dimitri did his best to stamp out the fires. It wouldn't be good for anyone if the forest was set ablaze. Of course, half the forest was already on fire but he didn't know that.
Alas, it seemed Dimitri's stomping was in vain as another fireball shot over his and Felix's heads. It was way over but they still ducked out of instinct.
"Who the hell is doing this!" Felix growled.
As if on cue the smoke cleared and revealed the arsonist, Dorothea. Many people would say she looked captivatingly beautiful and stunning, especially with the magic aura surrounding her. Dimitri would not say this because he was very dense and didn't understand such concepts. Instead he said in the friendliest of tones:
"Hello Dorothea. It is nice to see you."
"Hello, Dimitri." Dorothea said. "It's nice to see you too."
Felix grunted and leveled his sword. "Enough pleasantries, let's get this over with."
"Oh hello Felix." Dorothea said. Her tone was bitter due to a little tiff they'd had earlier that month.
"Felix is right." Dimitri said, spinning his spear. "Though normally we may be allies, today we stand as opponents on the field of battle. I, for one, do not intend to lose." Dimitri may have been dense in the love and humor area but he sure knew how to be poetic about battle.
Dimitri threw himself at Dorothea with a mighty, heroic roar. Dorothea, being a mage and therefore not the most well armored of people, did the only thing she could do and dodged. In fact, that was the only thing either of them could do. Dimitri was trying to knock Dorothea out with his spear while Dorothea was trying to shock Dimitri into submission with controlled lightning magic. Neither of them could afford to get hit in this situation.
Of course, Dimitri didn't need to win. He just needed to buy Felix time. "Go, Felix!" He shouted as he dodged a lightning bolt. "Find the nearest Professor!"
Felix didn't need to be told twice. As Dorothea and Dimitri continued their dance of dodging he ran off to find a Professor to defeat.
Upon exiting the forest the Golden Deer team found Lorenz unconscious with a triumphant Ferdinand standing over him. There was no sign of the other three Black Eagles.
Ferdinand laughed. "I, Ferdinand Von Aegir, have defeated you! I shall lead the Black Eagles to victor-" He was cut off by a handaxe to the face. Apparently Lorenz, despite losing in the end, had managed to do quite a number on Ferdinand because as soon as he was hit he metaphorically clocked out for the day.
Hilda walked over to collect her axe. "Well that was easy."
And that was when a ball of pure black energy hit the ground, knocking the three Deer down.
"You had to say it." Claude muttered, getting up.
Hubert descended from the sky, laughing maniacally. Since when had he been able to fly?
"I must thank you for knocking out Ferdinand." Hubert said sinisterly. "I was this close to doing it myself if he didn't shut up."
"Happy to help." Claude said. "Any chance that means you won't kill us?"
"I'm not going to kill you." Hubert said. "That's against the rules, as you well know. Instead, I am simply going to incapacitate you in the most excruciatingly painful way possible."
"Oh well that's a relief." Claude snarked.
"Don't worry, I'll take care of this." Lysithea said, wreathing her hands in the same black energy Hubert's ball had been made of.
"Ooh! Wizard duel!" Hilda said.
"Mage duel." Lysithea and Hubert corrected simultaneously. They glared at each other.
Without warning Hubert shot another ball of dark energy. Lysithea countered it with her own dark energy ball and the two collided in midair, exploding. Thus began the wizard, sorry, mage duel between Lysithea and Hubert.
As they battled Hubert revealed another new trick he'd learned. He was able to teleport. Lysithea would fire off black energy balls and he'd just warp to a different location. Occasionally he would fire off a black energy ball of his own and Lysithea would have to dodge it or block it. It was terribly frustrating.
"Stay still!" Lysithea shouted.
"I believe this is where I'm supposed to taunt you." Hubert said. "Something along the lines of "you can't catch me," yes?"
Lysithea shot at him again and once again he teleported. "Argh! Why are you so infuriating!" She shouted.
"You have no idea how many times I've been asked that." Hubert said and fired off another blast.
Lysithea ducked. She was getting tired of this. There had to be a way to defeat this jerk. She was a powerful mage. Very few people could match her in strength. She had no doubt that if she could actually hit him she could knock Hubert out. But he wouldn't stop teleporting.
Wait a tick! That was it. She had the perfect spell for this. Just that morning she had been experimenting with a "Stop Teleport" spell. Why hadn't she thought of it before. Honestly it was really stupuid of her to forget about it when she was faced with a teleporting opponent.
She fired off another energy ball at Hubert. Just before the black mage teleported she held out her hand and chains of black energy seemed to appear out of thin air, wrapping themselves around Hubert's arms and legs before disappearing.
Hubert looked down at himself, baffled. "Huh? What?" He said. Then he got hit in the face with the energy ball he'd been trying to dodge.
Byleth was bored. She had kind of been hoping that she'd get to fight someone. Maybe go toe-to-toe with a mage or face off against Claude or Dimitri. Sure, she knew that her boredom was a sign that her team was doing well (or that the other teams were more focused on each other than taking out Professors) but she still would rather do something rather than just standing around waiting.
She drew her sword and gave a few experimental swings. She missed the Sword of the Creator. It had felt like a part of her and no other sword felt right by comparison. But it was fine. She'd figure out a way to get it back eventually. Though, since she was in the past "get it back" might not be the right phrase.
Speaking of swords, it was at that point that a certain sword-loving warrior jumped out and attacked Byleth from behind. Byleth sidestepped his strike and watched as he skidded to a halt in a crouching position, one hand on the ground. He stood up and turned to face the Black Eagles' Professor.
"Felix, great to see you again." Byleth said, happy to have something to do. "Here for a rematch?"
"Of course." Felix said. "I had been hoping to fight you again, looks like I got my wish."
The two swordmasters began to circle each other.
"I'm glad." Byleth said. "I'll admit, I've been itching for a rematch too. I want to see how you've grown over the past month."
"I think you'll find I've grown quite a bit stronger." Felix said. "You may have bested me the first time we fought but rest assured that this time I will not lose."
"In that case," Byleth said. "Engarde!"
The two rushed at each other and their swords collided. Like last time, Felix tried to force Byleth on the defensive. Byleth wasn't going to let that happen. Their swords clashed together, bouncing off each other. It was an even match.
Now, were the two fighting quote, unquote "fair" and used only their swords, Byleth would have won easily, but the thing was, neither of them fought fair. Even after half a year as a general Byleth was still a mercenary and Felix was ruthless and would do anything to win and get stronger. Both of them used their hands and feet in tandem with their swords, punching and kicking their opponents in addition to slashing and stabbing at them.
"You've gotten better." Byleth said, impressed.
"And you've stayed the same." Felix said.
Byleth tried to sweep Felix's legs with her foot but the swordsman dodged.
"I suppose I should practice more." Byleth said. "But it's hard to fit in practice time when you're busy grading papers and coming up with exam questions."
"A good warrior always has time to train." Felix said, taking a swing at Byleth with both his sword and his fist. Byleth dodged.
"Fair." Byleth said. Were she not engaged in combat she would have shrugged.
Byleth dodged one of Felix's sword strikes by dropping to the ground and sliding between his legs, something that probably wouldn't be possible outside of a story. She popped up behind him and gave him a good kick in the back.
The swordsman stumbled forward but he didn't fall. He caught himself and whirled around. He went for another strike, which Byleth sidestepped. She grabbed the back of his shirt as he passed and pulled him towards her, using her foot to sweep his legs out from under him while simultaneously knocking his sword from his hands.
"Alright, I concede." Felix said on the ground, holding his hands up.
"Yeah, you do." Byleth said and hit him over the head with the hilt of her sword, knocking him out.
The fight between Dimitri and Dorothea was going about as well as a fight between a warrior and a mage can go. In other words, it was a stalemate. Neither of them was able to hit the other.
"This method of fighting is not getting us anywhere." Dimitri said, dodging a lightning bolt. "Perhaps we can take a break and discuss a more efficient way of doing battle?"
"I'm pretty sure it doesn't work like that." Dorothea said, firing off another lightning bolt.
"Well, yes, normally opponents do not stop to discuss the way they do battle but this is merely a practice fight, the normal rules do not apply here." Dimitri said. "Besides, if we don't figure out a way to end this stalemate soon we'll be fighting all day."
"Well, if you'd just let me hit you this could be over already." Dorothea replied.
"I'm afraid I cannot oblige that." Dimitri said. He lunged at Dorothea, effectively ending the discussion he'd started. Dorothea dodged out of the way before he hit her.
This went on for a while. Dodging and weaving and stabbing and blasting. It all looked pretty impressive but nothing was coming from it. Until Dorothea got off a lucky shot. Dimitri would have been fried (not lethally, but it still would have hurt) were it not for his guardian angel. His really big, really buff guardian angel with a shield.
Dedue appeared out of nowhere and with speed faster than his broad frame would suggest, interposed himself between Dimitri and the lightning bolt. The bolt crashed into Dedue's shield, blowing it to pieces.
"Your Highness, we must move."
Dimitri didn't need to be told twice. He went back to dodging the lightning, this time with Dedue at his side.
"Dedue, what are you doing here?" Dimitri asked. "Not that I'm not grateful for your help but I thought I told you to cause a distraction."
"There were complications, Your Highness." Dedue said.
"The forest is on fire." Said a voice from the forest. Dimitri glanced that way and saw that the speaker was Mercedes. "We had to retreat or we would have been burned to a crisp."
"Understandable." Dimitri said. "I don't suppose you could help me, then. We've been at a stalemate for hours now. At least, it felt like hours."
"I could still cause a distraction." Dedue suggested.
"Please do." Dimitri replied.
Dimitri dived into the woods and Dedue turned to face Dorothea. Once again displaying unexpected speed he charged at the mage, dodging all the ligntning she could throw. He raised his axe to strike but Dorothea managed to dodge it.
Now, instead of Dorothea vs. Dimitri, it was Dorothea vs. Dedue. And it was going pretty much the way it had before. The two opponents were absolutely focused on eachother. They had to be, otherwise they'd be knocked out. This was what Dimitri was counting on.
He waited a while while Dorothea and Dedue fought, waiting for the right moment to strike. And when it came, strike he did. He leaped out of the forest, spear raised. He would have landed the hit had Dorothea's own reinforcements showed up.
Like Dedue had with Dimitri, Edelgard leaped out from nowhere to save Dorothea. She intercepted Dimitri by hitting him in the stomach with her axe, knocking him to the ground. It didn't do any major damage but it did cause a bit of a bruise. Dedue rushed in to defend his liege while he recovered.
"Ow." Dimitri groaned, holding his stomach.
"Oh my, that looked painful." Mercedes said.
"It's just a little bruising, I'm fine." Dimitri said, standing up.
Mercedes approached Dimitri. "Let me help." She placed her hands over his abdomen. Not close enough to be touching but close enough to use healing magic on the bruise which, obviously, healed it. Her entire body glowed as healing others also revitalized herself.
"Thank you." Dimitri said. "Now, I believe that Dedue is in need of my help."
The battle was now two against two. Dimitri against Edelgard and Dedue against Dorothea. Dimitri and Edelgard were wielding a spear and an axe respectively which couldn't clash together like swords so they had to dodge each other instead. Not much different from Dimitri's battle against Dorothea except this time close combat was a viable option.
Dedue, meanwhile, was having much more luck against Dorothea than Dimitri had. He was able to close the difference between the two of them easily so Dorothea had several more close calls than she had with Dimitri. Eventually, Dedue managed to get in a hit, knocking out Dorothea, before Dorothea fully lost consciousness, she blasted Dedue with lightning. It was a mutual knockout.
Edelgard and Dimitri ignored their compatriots, continuing their battle. Dimitri made several thrusts that Edelgard dodged. Likewise, Edelgard swung sideways at him and Dimitri ducked. Edelgard swung again, this time overhead. Dimitri held up his spear, using its shaft to block the blow. The axe blade hit the shaft and began to slide downward.
Edelgard continued to push downwards until the blade slid fully off the spear. She then pushed upwards and hooked the spear under the blade, pulling it from Dimitri's grasp. The spear flew off into the forest, striking a tree tip first. Were it a real spear it would have stuck there, instead it just clattered to the ground.
"Surrender!" Edelgard shouted, preparing her axe for another strike.
"I will not!" Dimitri shouted back.
Dimitri dove for his spear but Edelgard caught him before he could get there. She hit him with her axe and the momentum from Dimitri's leap combined with the strike sent the prince straight towards Mercedes. Mercedes tried to dodge but it was too late. Dimitri's body collided with her and both of them fell to the ground. Edelgard went over to check on them, keeping her axe at the ready in case they were still awake. They were out cold.
Suddenly, Edelgard's body tensed. There was someone behind her, she could feel it. She turned around to face her enemy and found Claude aiming his bow at her.
"Hey, Princess."
"Claude." Edelgard said.
"Don't look now, but there's a rat by your feet." Claude said.
"What! Where!" Edelgard shouted.
She panicked and jumped backwards, scanning her surroundings for the wretched rodent. The next thing she knew something enveloped her and she was pinned to a tree. It was one of Claude's damned net arrows. He'd got her while she was distracted.
"How dare you make a fool of me." She shouted. "You will not rile me with such childish tactics."
"I don't know, you seemed plenty riled to me." Claude said with a shrug. "Anyway, it was just a joke. I honestly didn't expect you to freak like you did but I'll take any advantage I can get."
Edelgard was about to make a retort when Jeralt's voice rang out over the battlefield. "The Mock Battle is over! The winner is… the Golden Deer House! Anyone left standing, help clean up! Knights will be dispatched to collect the fallen students and put out the fires!"
Claude went over and untied Edelgard from the tree. "So you're scared of rats, huh?"
Edelgard glared at him. "I am not scared of rats." She said once she was untied.
"Sure." Claude said sarcastically. "So that look of pure terror in your eyes was something else completely."
Edelgard didn't say anything. She just continued glaring.
Claude winked at her. "Don't worry, your secret's safe with me." He headed towards Dimitri's unconscious body and beckoned Edelgard over. "Now come on, help me drag His Princeliness to the medical station."
"What a thrilling battle." Ferdinand said.
It was the day after the Mock Battle. The Black Eagles had met up in the classroom to discuss what had happened and how they could improve. Considering that Linhardt was asleep and Bernadetta was hiding under a desk, that probably wasn't going to happen.
"For you maybe." Byleth said. "I was bored out of my mind until Felix showed up. Not that that's a bad thing, since it means you did a pretty good job."
"Not good enough." Edelgard said glumly.
"Oh cheer up, Edie." Dorothea said. "It wasn't that bad. We placed second."
"We should have placed first." Edelgard grumbled.
Byleth patted Edelgard on the back. "Dorothea's right, you all did great. And because of that I have a little surprise."
Byleth reached under her desk and brought out a large covered plate. She took the cover off to reveal…
"A cake!" Bernadetta blurted. She immediately slapped her hand over her mouth, realizing that she had "blown her cover"as if everybody didn't already know she was hiding under the desk.
"Not just any cake," Byleth said. "An Ice Cream Cake! We're gonna have a second place party. It's like a first place party but with less Golden Deer."
Byleth whipped out her sword and began cutting the cake. Overkill? Maybe. But why go and get a knife when you have a perfectly good cutting implement strapped to your side.
Byleth handed out cake slices to everyone. Everyone accepted the pieces gratefully. Even Linhardt, who was pretty grumpy about being woken up. They ate and talked until the lights out bell rang, signaling that it was time for everyone to retire to their rooms for the night.
Author's Note: "Hmm, how do I end the mock battle without having to write another fight scene? I know! I'll steal a joke from the Battle of the Eagle and Lion! Why not?"
So this chapter establishes Claude as a trick archer. I had been planning on having him use a more basic trick arrow like a net arrow or a knockout gas arrow before having him use the foam arrow but I didn't get a chance to. I actually originally intended to introduce his trick arrows much later in the story but that chapter was scrapped early on in the planning phase so now they're introduced here instead.
Also, magic. First, I know that elemental magic is called black magic in the game but that name is easy to get mixed up with dark magic (heck, I got it mixed up while writing this Author's Note and had to go back and check). I also know that the anti-teleportation spell isn't a thing in canon but I've decided to fudge the rules of magic for what would be best for the plot.
The whole setting the forest on fire thing was partly taken from a fanfic called Fire Emblem: Three Houses: White Horizons or just White Horizons. Go check it out if you haven't already. I didn't realize I had technically stolen it until I went back and reread it. Oh well.