Fire Emblem Three Houses: Five Years War
I don't own Fire Emblem Three Houses, or any of its characters. This will be a series of one-shots concerning the five years timeskip that occurs right as the war starts. It will contain spoilers for the Azure Moon storyline, and the supports of some characters.
I will treat everyone from the Black Eagles as being recruited by either the Golden Deer or the Blue Lion house, except Hubert who's impossible to recruit. I will attempt to put the shipping to the side as much as possible, but here's what you can expect: Dimitri/F!Byleth, Claude/Hilda, Ferdinand/Dorothea, Petra/Linhardt, Caspar/Bernadetta, Felix/Annette, Dedue/Flayn, Lorenz/Leonie, Sylvain/Ingrid, Lysithea/Cyril, Catherine/Seteth. It will also contain the Ashen Wolves, who will get a dedicated chapter.
I might operate some minor design changes for some of the characters who don't have any post timeskip designs (Catherine, Shamir, Seteth and Flayn for example).
I wrote this chapter while listening to [Cavaliere] from the[Jojo's Bizarre Adventure Part 5:Golden Wind] soundtrack, so I might suggest you listen to it when Cornelia introduces her "special guest".
That said, I hope you enjoy your read.
Chapter 6: Gilbert "Knights" Around the Great Tree Moon (April) of year 1181
That was impossible. Dimitri, killing his uncle Rufus? Ridiculous and impossible. He was going back to his old territory when he had learn this, but refused to hear Annette's pleads for him to calm down. This was not happening. He would not let Dimitri get executed if he could do something about it. He had been too slow last time his liege had been in danger, but he wouldn't be this time.
Being slow had always been his weakness. Even in friendly spars with the other knights of Seiros, he duly noted that although he could block the blows coming from his comrades, they evaded every blows he sent, even Alois. But he had grown bonds with them nonetheless. However, the search for Rhea would have to wait, for his liege was waiting. He would cast aside that slowness, even if it meant death, rather than seeing his king die, one he had seen grow up.
He had told his daughter- no, he had no right to call her that way- Annette, and her friend Mercedes that they needed not to follow him, as the task he was heading towards seemed dangerous at best, and downright suicidal at worst. He didn't turn his back when Annette yelled for him to stay, once again.
He had felt torn between both duties of his, towards the kingdom, and towards his family. But the coward he knew he was preferred to take the easy way out of the problem. He cursed himself, but he could not afford himself to feel the pain he suffered in Duscur ever again. It had been the one that started this cycle of never ending pain he was now in. This hole that grew larger inside him with every day passing. Maybe this time, he could make things right.
His heart had been filled with dread at the simple idea that Annette had enlisted herself in Garreg Mach. It hadn't been so much the idea of meeting with her, although he had felt anxious seeing her after four years. It was the idea she might become a knight too. He didn't want Annette to feel the pain he felt.
But he realized it was a selfish wish, as she had already suffered from knighthood.
…
Ah. The sunlight. As the flowers bloomed over Fhirdiad, it was nice to feel the waves of heat the sunlight brought on the royal palace. Her dress left most of the sunlight touch the fake skin of Cornelia Arnim, which "Cornelia" appreciated quite a bit. She was happily one of the few agarthans that had been sent to the surface for along period, to deal with Fodlàn, and she was having fun up until now.
But the most amusing thing she had seen thus far was the fact that the prince was getting executed in two days for a terrible lie she had created, to see how far the faerghusian nobility could be pushed, and she surprisingly succeeded.
She had made use of Rufus' lust for women, and used her rather good looks to enter his room, and stabbed him. The guards were at her service, so she had them arrest the foolish Dimitri. He should never have come back to Fhirdiad. If only him and his step-sister could have killed each other, then she wouldn't have to worry about sunlight ever again.
A guard came on the balcony. "Lady Cornelia! Sir Gustave would like to have an audience with you." Cornelia sighed. One more crusty old man to deal with. "Let him in." She prepared herself and smiled as she saw Gustave, shield on his back, enter the balcony "Well, well, if it isn't Gustave. How can I help-"
Gustave cut her in the middle of her question. "This is madness! You truly claim that His Highness is the one who killed Rufus?!" Cornelia smirked "Oh, but it's true. The only one who could slip past the bodyguards and kill so efficiently is the young prince. You can't deny it."
Gustave glared at Cornelia "Rufus is Prince Dimitri's uncle! His Highness is incapable of such an atrocious crime as murdering his own blood!" Cornelia sighed "Ah, but they were never very close, were they? It's a well-known fact among retainers."
She wanted to see him pale in the shame of his absence. "There are even rumours that Rufus was originally involved in the Tragedy of Duscur..." She said in a sweet voice. "Perhaps His Highness believed those rumours and murdered Rufus in a fit of rage."
She scoffed "But I'm afraid none of that matters now." She smirked when she saw Gustave's face turn red in anger, a vein standing out on his forehead. She could see him calming his fury, as he spoke in a restrained manner "Cornelia. Do not tell me that you-"
To push even further, she cut him off in the middle of his phrase "The decision has been made. His Highness will pay for his crime with his head. His sentence will be carried out the day after tomorrow. On that day, the royal bloodline will come to an end."
She walked past Gustave and smirked. "All you have left to do is sit back and watch, you senile old fool. Watch as the Kingdom you love falls to ashes."
Before she entered her room, she faced Gustave "But, if you can't bear watching your Kingdom crash and burn, which I understand, I can allow you a swift death." Gustave frowned even more, much more than a man naturally could, giving him a beast-like look. "What do you mean, you wrench?"
Gilbert could hear heavy steps coming from the room, as Cornelia smirked. "Lady Edelgard wanted to be assured that nothing would go wrong these few following days, so she lent me a special guest." A modified breath came to Gilbert's ears.
A black gauntlet held the door of the balcony, as a towering figure appeared. All clad in black, he could see the well-decorated armour of a foe he had just seen on the siege of Garreg Mach. Armed with a gigantic scythe, the Death Knight faced Gilbert, two red lights coming from his skull-like helm. He was holding an axe in his left hand, that he held out for Gilbert.
"What are you doing?" Cornelia glared at the Death Knight. He said in his modified voice "Gilbert Pronisrav- No, Gustave Eddie Dominic, if you wish for a painless death, I can grant you just that. However, such a death did not seem fit to the warrior you are. Although crestless, you have proven yourself as one of the mightiest knights in Faerghus. The blood we will shed in this fight will bless this palace."
Gilbert inspected the axe. It seemed to be a fine weapon, silver with delicately sizzled dragon wings on the blade. He was considering refusing the offer, as he had lost any right to call himself a knight. But he never was one to turn down combat. He accepted the weapon, and the Death Knight scoffed "Hmpf, I would have been disappointed if you chose anything else. Blood will flow today, from whichever body it will come from."
Gilbert took a defensive position, his shield up, as if his suspicions were correct, the one hiding under that mask was much faster than he could ever be. The Death Knight took an offensive stance, and dashed towards Gilbert.
He lifted his shield to block a downward strike coming from the scythe, destined to cut him in half. The old man countered with a horizontal strike with his axe, which the Death Knight evaded after pulling his scythe out of the way. He was right, the enemy was too fast, he would have to be careful with his strikes.
Gilbert sent an upward blow, which was blocked by the Death Knight's scythe, as he pushed the old knight further on the balcony. Cornelia seemed absorbed by the fight she was witnessing. Each blow was considerably calculated to end the other's life, yet, each time, they perfectly guarded the incoming blows.
Gilbert attempted to taunt the Death Knight into opening up his defences after another set of perfectly blocked blows. "I would never have thought someone as young as you would have that much experience." Nothing but a low breath came out of the Death Knight's helmet. Meanwhile, Gilbert was panting from the constant effort and concentration required from such a foe.
The Death Knight spoke though. "It seems your age is catching up to you. I will finish this quickly." With that said, he charged with his shoulder towards Gilbert, who couldn't evade, and got thrown off the balcony.
Gilbert used his shield as a cushion against his fall, but it broke his shoulder, and scratched his face as he fell flat on the ground in front of the palace. The Death Knight looked at him, then slowly walked inside to finish him off. He could see from this distance that Cornelia was smirking, probably revelling in her victory from the balcony.
He heard the heavy footsteps of the Death Knight coming closer, but his vision was now blurred with red. He touched his forehead, only to feel a cut and blood dripping down from it. His long hair was untied and he could feel it in his back. So this was how he would meet his end. Not protecting his king. Not surrounded by his family on his death bed. He was going to die executed by a traitor. Fitting for the pathetic man he had become.
The Death Knight was now in front of a kneeling Gilbert. "Any last words?" came from his mask. Gilbert grunted "No." The Death Knight made a sound that resembled a sigh. "So be it." He lifted his scythe up under the sun. Gilbert was going to die full of regrets, but the biggest of them was that he never sent those letters back in Garreg Mach. He closed his eyes and prepared himself for the final blow.
But the blow never came, as magical energy hit the Death Knight's armour, hard enough to send him flying back towards the palace. "Father!" he recognized Annette's voice calling from behind. He opened his eyes, and saw two mounted figures drawing near him. Annette and her friend Mercedes had come, even though he had told them not to.
Mercedes looked warily towards the Death Knight's direction, but got distracted as Annette spoke "Would you mind helping me lifting my father up? He's kinda really heavy." Gilbert was seeing stars in front of his eyes, letting him know he was about to lose conscience, as he climbed up a horse with the help of his daughter and her friend.
The Death Knight started to approach again, but stopped right in his track when his eyes fell on Mercedes. Mercedes stared into his cold eyes, before Annette pressed her on "Mercie, we need to get off, now!" Mercedes answered in a sweet voice. "Sure, let us get out of the capital." She climbed on her own horse, as Annette was holding her father still.
It was as they were leaving the kingdom's capital that Gilbert completely lost consciousness.
30th day of the Pegasus Moon(February) of year 1182
Gilbert stared at his comrades chattering around Catherine's bed. She had bandages crossing her face over her left eye, where bits of her new scar showed. Seteth and Flayn were on the second floor of a Leicester inn, the first one scolding Catherine for her recklessness, while Flayn was keeping an eye on her wounds. Meanwhile, Shamir and Alois were looking for a bottle of wine to celebrate their victory. Indeed, the Leicester alliance won its first great victory against Adrestria and the dukedom of Faerghus today. The Knights of Seiros, even though their numbers were thin, had brought a decisive advantage, alongside those who called themselves the 'Ashen Wolves'.
Alois came back in the room with multiple bottles of wine in his arms. "Flayn! The kids are waiting for you downstairs! You should join them!" Flayn looked at Catherine worriedly, but she reassured her and grabbed Flayn's hand with her own bandaged one. "Don't worry, my skin won't fall off in one night."
Alois opened one bottle, grabbed some glasses for the other knights, and poured some wine in them. He gave one to everyone, including Catherine. He lifted his own "To victory!" which the knights repeated before drinking.
The rain still hammered against the small window showing outside, as the thunder traced through the clouds. The leading members of the knights of Seiros, except the bedridden Catherine, were still in armour, Alois was wearing his usual white armour, while Shamir was wearing a lighter one, fit for horse-riding. Seteth was wearing an ancient one, that seemed to be the precursor to those the wyvern riders wore, as for Gilbert, he was wearing his old familial armour.
After a long uncomfortable silence, Catherine raised her voice "Does anyone have any clue as to where Lady Rhea could be?" Shamir preferred to watch the rain rather than to answer, as pretty much everyone else said no one by one. Seteth sighed "She must be somewhere, I can't believe she disappeared just like that." Shamir sighed "Maybe she's been captured, and is in Enbarr for all we know."
Gilbert was lost in his thoughts, wondering where lady Rhea could be when he heard Catherine say. "There's something that might interest you, Gilbert. Do you see who Caspar is?" He brought his attention to the injured woman. "The second son of count Bergliez, isn't he? I used to spar with him on the training grounds."
Catherine nodded "The one himself. He gave me an information he told no-one else, as he knew I came from Faerghus, somehow." Seteth looked interested "If it can be any information to save lady Rhea, then it can't be bad." Catherine sighed "I don't think it directly affects our search for her, but it might get us closer. Long before the battle, Caspar told me he came across Dimitri after his execution, although he didn't know it at the time. I was looking for him up until the battle began."
Everyone in the room was left dumbfounded. Alois raised his voice "That would explain why there wasn't any body shown after the execution..." Seteth seemed to be thinking "If Dimitri manages to reunite Faerghus, then we could gather enough strength to look for the Archbishop in the Empire."
Gilbert picked up his shield "I am going to look for him." Alois grabbed his shoulder "Don't act recklessly on your search." Gilbert smiled "An old man such as myself won't throw himself in combat, do not worry."
Shamir sighed "You say that, but from what I have heard, you fought against the Death Knight." Gilbert looked at her, before closing the door. "Lost would be a more fitting word."
As he went downstairs, Gilbert saw the students who used to call themselves the Golden Deers, minus Claude and Lorenz, along with Caspar, Bernadetta, Linhardt and Petra. All of them were celebrating their victory, even though it was three o'clock in the morning. But as he was about to leave, a soft voice came to his ears. He turned around to see characteristic grey hair. "I gather you have found your answer, Ashe?"
The young archer denied "That is precisely why I come to you, Gilbert. I thought that following you would give me an answer for knighthood." Gilbert nodded "If you deem me worthy of it, then you can follow me."
The young man's face lit up "What are we doing first?" The old man smirked "We are going on a hunt." Ashe now just looked confused "Hunting for what?"
"Hunting for a prince."
Gilbert is a… complicated character, to say the least. Although he has some bright sides in his supports, like his friendships with Manuela and Hanneman, or his description of chivalry with Dedue and Ashe, he's nonetheless a sad figure, who falls into the main theme of the characters in Three Houses: he can't let go of the past. I understand why people might not like him, but I hope I was able to show Gilbert's self-hatred correctly.
Lord Trollbias: Indeed, for example, you can reduce Edelgard to "But crests...", Dimitri to "But Edelgard...", Claude to "But racism…" or Rhea to "But Sothis...", which completely undermines their characters.
Golden Zero16: I do plan to do some parts of the war such as the battle of Gronder, but I have yet to finish a lot of the characters. I can tell you though that this series will end with an epilogue after the assault on Enbarr (Azure Moon route).
Romeoraiden: I absolutely wanted to do an Ashen Wolves chapter, I would say it's my favourite house, as none of them miss the mark, but that's also the case of the Blue Lions, and they are eight (+Flayn).
Next chapter will be another controversial character, but even more than Gilbert, since Edelgard's fanboys and hers regularly start flame wars over who's the less insane of the two.
Next chapter: The Lone Lady