"Greetings, Catherine Thunderbrand! Nothing to report!" was not the way Catherine wanted to be greeted the night she found the Prince of Faerghus unconscious at the gates of the Monastery.
The first thing she had heard was the commotion. The first thing she had seen was the ring of guards. And the first time she laid eyes on that man of Duscur — that behemoth hulk, that bear — crouching over the body of the Prince, Catherine's hand went straight to her blade.
What was this man of Duscur doing to the Prince? Or rather — what had he already done?
The sound of the world fell around her as she pressed with her hand into the crowd. It took a gentle push at the shoulder and a sweep of the arm to move one guard this way, one guard that, as her sword the Thunderbrand came alive in its scabbard, crackling with red lightning in her right hand. Other guards looked over their shoulders at her, some surprise interrupting their merry faces as she parted through the lot of them.
She took a deep breath in, the sound of her breath magnified in her ears as she began summoning the Crest of Charon. The world sank into a slowing. She could hear the Thunderbrand whine.
Then, something tugged at her. It pulled from behind. Catherine broke out of her trance, the power of her Crest dissolving as she looked back.
Coming out of a Crest summons was like rising back out of water. It took a moment to focus upon the woman tugging Catherine's left hand. It came to her slowly. Parvati. Parvati was already in the middle of telling her something, though the knight couldn't hear her over the whine in her ears from the Crest summoning.
Catherine caught the tail end, though, as Parvati said, "That kid is such a silly! You should have seen it." The beaming professor leaned around Catherine to holler at someone behind her. "Hey! Dedue! Carry him. I'll explain along the way."
Catherine followed Parvati's gaze, saying, "What?"
"This is Dedue!" said Professor Parvati. "He is a vassal to the Prince. Dedue, say hi!"
The man of Duscur responded. He said, "Hi."
Catherine's eyes flew up to his face. Whoa, she thought. Her stomach dropped. Now she saw the OA uniform. Now she saw the pin of Faerghus. If she had struck this Duscuri man…what would she have said to the Prince?
Meanwhile, Dedue tossed the Prince over his shoulder with ease.
"Can you lead us to the student dorms?" Parvati said, talking to Catherine again.
Catherine looked at the professor bouncing on the balls of her feet. Why was this professor so happy all the time? When Catherine nodded, the professor gave an exaggerated bow with a hand stretched out to the Garreg Mach Monastery.
"Ladies first!" said Professor Parvati.
The guards started dispersing as Catherine led the way. The world was crisp again, and Catherine could feel the sharp, icy wind biting at the tips of her ears again. A light breeze swept over her neck and down her collar. The professor had taken out another one of her lights, hurrying after Catherine and clicking it on to light the way. They followed the stream of light, past the fishing pond, past the greenhouse. Through all of it, Catherine glanced back constantly to check on Dedue. The student of Duscur said nothing as the professor of Duscur chattered non-stop.
"So that's what happened," said Catherine when Parvati finished recounting the trek back up the mountain. "Yeah, don't bother with Aelfric. He says he'll be there, but he really won't."
As she was saying this, Catherine's thoughts raced in a loop like a snake eating itself. Was it a danger to let these Duscuri people know where the students lived? But then, one was a professor — and the other was a student.
Dedue finally said something as they were arriving at the dorms. He said, "The Prince is on the second floor."
So he already knows where Prince Dimitri lives, thought Catherine. Which meant she wasn't going to be able to hide the Prince from him. In any case, it didn't even make sense for Dedue to not know. Dedue was his vassal. She could not tamp down her unease.
I don't get it, she thought as Parvati beside her skipped forward to hold open the door for them. How did he choose a man of Duscur to be his vassal? She didn't have the chance to ask any questions, however, because the trio was met halfway down the hall by a pair of students.
"Ooooh! Who is that?" asked the kid with the yellow cape draped over his shoulder. He was pointing at the Prince.
"Ooooh! Nice butt!" said the pink-haired girl beside him, pointing at the same.
Behind her, Dedue started. Catherine flushed too. Prince Dimitri was slung over Dedue's shoulder like a sack of potatoes. Neither had taken into account how inelegant the situation was for the Prince.
"Who are you?" Dedue said with a glower.
"I thought you would never ask!" said Kid Yellow-Cape. "I — am Claude von Riegan," he announced with flourish.
"And I — am Hilda Valentine Goneril!" said Miss Pink-Hair, mirroring his moves.
"And we are — " — they linked arms together — " — the Golden Deer!" They posed.
"Oh-ho-ho my Go-ho-hods!" Catherine heard Parvati titter behind her.
"We'll be the ones defeating you in the Mock Battle!" announced Hilda.
"And you'll get an ass-kicking at Gronder Fields!" declared Claude, pointing.
"It's decided already!" said Hilda. "Because the Golden Deer — "
" — are golden!" Claude finished.
"Feeeeear the Deeeeeer!" Hilda added, complete with hissing noises.
Catherine and Dedue, both Blue Lions, stared at the strange pair, then proceeded to walk wordlessly around them.
So this is the future of the Leceister Alliance, thought Catherine. Claude was the future Archduke, the leader of the whole Alliance. Hilda was of the noble House Goneril, which defended the Leceister Alliance's eastern border against Almyra.
"Hey!" they heard Hilda snap. "You didn't tell us your names!"
"We even did the whole show!" said Claude.
"It was a lot of work, you know!" said Hilda.
The two followed Catherine and Dedue to the end of the intimate, dimly lit hallway, Hilda saying, "Who are you, anyway? Are you even supposed to be in these halls? You look way too old."
Catherine was twenty-eight. She spun on her heels. "Okay, little girl — " she started. She stopped midway to squint at the professor. Parvati had not even made it halfway down the hallway. She was staring with her jaw dropped at the name placard beside one particular door.
Parvati, realizing the others were looking at her, pointed at the placard. "This room is Lady Edelgard's!" she said. Lady Edelgard was the future Empress of Adrestia, making her Parvati's sovereign. Parvati shook her hands at it reverently like she had just discovered the mother lode.
"Parvati, get over here," Catherine ordered. She sighed. This professor was such a tourist.
When they opened the Prince's door, Claude and Hilda were the first to file in.
"Hey! Why are you in there?" Catherine demanded.
"Huh. This looks exactly like my room," said Claude, taking in the bed, study table, carpet, windows, bookcase and the giant chandelier on the ceiling.
"So boring," said Hilda.
"It's even got the same books!" Claude reported from the bookcase.
"Soooooo boring," said Hilda.
Catherine looked around. Now where was Parvati?
The Knight of Seiros stepped back into the hallway. Parvati had barely made it two more doorways down the hallway. She pointed frantically at this one's placard as well. "This one says Bergliez!"
Catherine rolled her eyes. The name Bergliez on that placard meant that that student was related to Randolph, Parvati's lover. That room must have been for Caspar, the second son of the Adrestian War Minister. Caspar was Randolph's…step-nephew, did Randolph say?
"Parvati, get over here," Catherine commanded again.
By the time Catherine saw what Dedue was doing, the Prince was already being tucked into bed. His boots were placed at the bedposts. His blue House Leader cape was slung from the back of a chair. He was rolled to his side, his face sinking into pillows that had been plumped, and Dedue was pulling the blue quilt with the diamond pattern up to his chin.
"Whoa. This room is even bigger than the triple I shared with my college dorm mates!" the professor said as she finally wandered in. "Wow! Is this a party in here?'
"Who is this lady?" asked Hilda, coming up to Parvati with her hands on her hips.
"That's our math professor," Claude responded.
"Eww," Hilda responded instinctively. "I mean — "
Hah! thought Catherine. She felt much the same.
Professor Parvati leveled Hilda with a look. "I'm going to remember this."
"H-Hey! I'm — I'm sorry. I just — have no head for mathematics," said Hilda. "Like. Nothing. Zip. So…don't have any expectations for me."
"Okay, Helga."
"My name is Hilda."
"Okay, Hilda."
Claude had taken a spot next to Dedue at the Prince's bed. "Awwww. The Prince is sleeping. Isn't he cute?"
"Like a baby," said Hilda. She and Parvati joined alongside Claude.
"He's completely tuckered out," said Parvati, smiling. "Awwww, iz a Baby Blaiddyd."
Catherine and Dedue exchanged a glance. Parvati had sunk into baby-talk voice. She didn't see it, but her words lit Claude's eyes as he gave Hilda a nefarious grin.
Things were not going in a good direction.
Dedue said, "If the Prince ever hears, he will personally throw every one of us out the window."
Parvati dismissed his woes with a wave. "Oh, come on, Dedue. He wouldn't be so dramatic."
She was wrong. She would find out later, of course, along with Catherine, but she was wrong. For now, Dedue could do nothing more than give her a look. Unfortunately, the look on his face looked like almost every other look on his face: pretty blank.
"Speaking of windows, where are the curtains?" Parvati asked, pointing.
Catherine realized Parvati was looking at her. She said, "I'm not in charge of curtains."
"Well, somebody is," said Parvati. "Are you telling me the Prince of Faerghus slept without curtains yesterday?"
There was a moment of silence. Then Dedue said, "I have no curtains as well."
Parvati exploded. "Is this the Officer's Academy? Is this really how we treat our children?"
"I'm not a children," snapped Hilda, as Claude and Dedue gave Parvati a resounding "SSSSSHHHhhhhh!" Then she was immediately escorted out of the room. Catherine could hear her still going on and on, her voice fading as she wandered back down the hallway. After successfully kicking Claude and Hilda out, and then Dedue, Catherine checked the windows. Made sure they were locked. Damn. The professor was right. No privacy. This was way too vulnerable. She'd have to report to Seteth…
On her way out, Catherine stopped to take a look at the Prince. She had imagined a different circumstance in which she would reintroduce herself to him. He was, after all, the future King of Faerghus. In another life, she would have sworn loyalty to him. The last time they had spoken, she was still Cassandra Thunderstrike, of House Charon, of Faerghus. That was over a decade ago.
She gave a lopsided grin. What had she said the first time she had seen him? Look at that young maiden, wielding that giant lance! How adorable! She had been thrown off by his haircut, that was all. It was a bowl cut.
Now that she looked at him, however, she realized she hadn't actually yet seen his face. He was facedown when he'd collapsed, and then he was facedown when Dedue had hoisted him up. And now… Catherine stepped closer, her shadow coming over the blue quilt as she examined him. He had a jawline now…and he needed a shave.
Wow, thought Catherine. Looks like that pipsqueak is finally growing up, just a little bit.
She flipped the lock on his door and closed it for him.
In the hallway, Catherine let herself take a deep breath. The Prince was safe. She had met his Duscuri vassal. And… And thankfully she hadn't killed him. This last note was something she shoved immediately into the back of her head. She could still feel the tinge of a muted horror, as the thought came unbidden again. What would she have said to the Prince?
She was so deep in these thoughts, she didn't realize Parvati and Dedue were standing at the end of the hallway until she came upon them. She was surprised to see them still there.
"Time to tuck Baby Devdas into bed!" chirped Parvati as Catherine approached.
"Baby what?" asked Catherine.
"Forget it," said Dedue, shaking his head.
Catherine followed the two down the stairs, realizing, her response should have been: "What? Why?" Do I have to do this? she wondered. They had delivered the Prince. That was…pretty much where she had expected to part with them. Back out in the cold, she trailed behind them reluctantly, eavesdropping on their conversation. Dedue's voice was too low for Catherine to hear, but the professor's voice carried enough in the space between the dorms and the dining hall for Catherine to guess.
"Where is your jacket? Where are your gloves? You need a hat. …I don't care if you got accustomed to Faerghus. The hat is what's important. …So. You want to be a taku bell instead? You are going. To go. Bald! …Your hair is like my father's. If you don't wear a hat, it will go like my father's as well. Taku bell!"
Huh, thought Catherine, allowing herself a small smile. It was starting to look like Dedue's hair was more important to Parvati than to Dedue himself. Dedue's silver hair was the type that stood up straight, even when it was an inch-and-a-half off of his head. It shone white in the moonlight, like Parvati's, and was longer in the back. If it wasn't bound in the small ponytail, it would probably go down the back of his neck.
Catherine swallowed. If the Thunderbrand had come away into her hand…she would have aimed for that neck.
"No!" retorted Parvati. "Your hair is like my father's! You have to take care of it!"
Catherine's heart constricted as she listened to the carefree tone of Parvati's voice. She gritted her teeth and picked up her pace.
Dedue's room was on the first floor, second-to-last from the very end, which meant it was right beneath Dimitri's. Unlike the second floor dorm rooms, which were all connected to one central hallway, the first floor rooms opened directly outwards instead. Catherine and Parvati walked him to his room. Dedue seemed more surprised by this than anything.
"I don't know what to say," he said to the professor.
"It's been a long day," Parvati responded. "But all we have to do now is say good night."
Dedue regarded her for a moment. Then he bowed to both Parvati and Catherine, his golden earring glinting in the moonlight. He said, "Thank you, for this day."
Professor Parvati bowed back. "A mother's blessings, for this night."
Catherine looked back and forth between them. This seemed to be some kind of ritual. Then she realized the two of them were waiting for something, so Catherine bowed as well and said, "Uhhhh…yeah… Good night."
She could feel the blood rushing to her face. Whatever this was, she'd completely botched it.
Dedue entered his room. Parvati and Catherine strolled to the other side of the courtyard. At the end of the grass pathway, Catherine heard Parvati's footsteps stop. The professor was standing there, silently looking back the way they came. Catherine waited for Parvati to say something, to laugh or whine or crack some stupid joke, but her teal eyes glowed, unsmiling. In this way, the Prime Knight of Seiros and the Professor of Ancient Technology stood side-by-side, their watchful eyes fixed on the same thing. A gibbous moon crawled up the sky behind them.
The professor spoke at last. "Thank you, Catherine."
Catherine felt something cool drop into her stomach, like a tear drop of ice from her heart. She hesitated. "For…what?"
There was a moment of silence. "For keeping us safe."
Catherine felt the knot in her stomach tighten. If she'd had just had one more second, one more second today for her Crest to unite with her sword…then she could have made the second-worst mistake of her life. The only thing that stopped her today was — she looked up — Parvati. It was Parvati who had taken her hand. If there was one person who had kept someone safe today, it was Parvati, not her. Not Catherine.
Catherine was beginning to feel sick. "You… You really don't need to thank me for tonight."
But when Professor Parvati turned to her, she had that bumbling smile again. "But I do! Because, ah, heh heh…" She scratched her head. "It's pretty dark, isn't it? Uhhh…how do I get back to my apartment?'
Parvati knew how to get back to her apartment. Garreg Mach wasn't Enbarr, a sprawling collection of mini-cities that kept expanding until it became one monolithic metropolitan center. This was a baker's dozen of buildings. Certainly, the towers were taller than any found within Enbarr's skyline — no one in the Imperial Capitol was allowed to build higher than the Imperial Palace — but even then, the bulk of the Knights of Seiros was housed in Saleh Mach. Only elite officers were offered a place within the Monastery, and among them, more than three-fourths chose to be with their retinues anyway: ready to leave at a moment's notice, ready to intercept in time for Garreg Mach to receive notice, and within easy access of all of the amenities afforded to one in only the finest cities. This left the Garreg Mach Monastery housing less than two hundred people in the Monastery, to Enbarr's eye-popping half million.
So, no; Parvati was not going to get lost here. But Catherine ate up the excuse, and walked her back to the Faculty Hall. Parvati gave a bright smile when the knight gestured to the staircase, saying, "Ladies first," and tugged her cloak in tightly about herself, trying to keep herself from sprinting up the four flights. It was a good move; her newly nauseous stomach probably couldn't handle it. She was so done she was so done she was so done.
Since the moment she saw Catherine, Parvati's every move was calculated — giving the knight a cheerful reception, telling Dedue to say hi, chattering the whole way to the student dorms. Why? Because she saw the look on Catherine's face, the moment the knight first saw Dedue. The way her hand reached subconsciously for the blade at her hip.
No. Parvati knew before then. Parvati had known from the very first moment she had laid eyes on Catherine.
Enemies at first sight. They were not friends.
The only thing for which she could truly thank Catherine — was for the fact that the knight had made it plain. It was on her face; the Prime Knight of Seiros couldn't keep anything off of it. That meant it would not be a latent surprise to Parvati. There was no guesswork, and she would not have to be shocked.
She would not be betrayed.
Which was why, from the moment she saw Catherine, Parvati immediately slid into a practiced series of movements. Giving the knight a cheerful reception, stepping in between her and Dedue while she was telling Dedue to say hi, chattering the whole way to the student dorms to keep the tension low, to keep the knight distracted. It was active work to keep herself between them as they walked. They were both taller than she was, with bigger strides. Somehow, the weight of Prince Dimitri over his shoulder did nothing to slow down Dedue, so Parvati found herself almost jogging. She hated jogging. And all throughout it, she could see Catherine checking Dedue right over Parvati's own head.
Stupid tall people.
That was when the nausea hit, without half a hint of warning, and in great force. Parvati was lucky to have just made it up the student dorm stairs. When those two chatterbox students appeared, she felt like they'd been a godsend. She decided it would be safe to let Catherine and Dedue go on to the Prince's room without her, while she leaned a hand against the hallway to try to steady herself and gauge how many seconds or minutes she had within her before she threw up whatever the hell she ate at the St. Cichol Inn.
What had done it? Was it the change in altitude that had her feeling this way? Perhaps her stomach decided it did not like to be rocked up the mountain? It would have been better to walk the whole way? Whatever was making her nauseous, she was certain the two girls whose dorm rooms were at this end of the hallway wouldn't appreciate it if she hurled right in front of their doorways. The placards said Ingrid and Marianne.
Yeah, this was not how she wanted to start those relationships.
"Hey! You didn't tell us your names!" she heard the Golden Deer girl say to Catherine.
"Yeah! We even did the whole show!" said the Golden Deer boy.
Parvati started feeling a little better — surprisingly better, actually — and saw the signs to the communal bathrooms at the other end of the hall. It would be extremely embarrassing to have to run past everybody if she had to…ugh…so she followed them.
For about ten steps. Then, like a wave, the nausea returned again. She couldn't remember much of what happened after that. She was mostly occupied with figuring out how to not throw up on Catherine, how to not throw up on — Hilda? Or was it Helga? — how to not throw up on the Prince as he was sleeping. The hallway was a mercy to her, to get her away from all the other activity.
By the time Dedue had come down the hallway, Parvati was feeling better again. He found her standing erect at the end of the hallway, with her arms crossed.
"Good night, Professor," he said as he passed her.
Parvati said, "Hold on, Dedue. Wait." She wasn't about to let him walk around at night without an escort. Not in this place, where the people didn't know him.
The hilarious thing, the amazing irony that Parvati was trying to stomach here, was the fact that the very person she had stepped in to protect him from — was also the best escort for Dedue in the Monastery. The Prime Knight of Seiros: Catherine Thunderbrand.
Tonight, an unknown Duscuri man had been able to walk from the marketplace to the student dorms with the limp body of the Prince of Faerghus. They made it to the student dorms. They were not approached by anyone. There were no questions. This was only possible because of one person.
That person wasn't Parvati. It was Catherine.
Now, if Dedue and Parvati exited…this was not guaranteed.
Dedue stood looking at Parvati. She realized he was waiting for her to speak. In the ensuing silence, however, he realized what she had really meant: wait.
There was a good cold wind coming up the stairs, to keep her stomach calm. She stood there enjoying it, examining the ornate pattern on the carpet as she rehearsed her next line again and again, the line she would say when Catherine came back: Time to tuck Baby Devdas back into bed!
That was when Dedue said something that left her utterly gobsmacked. He asked, "Are we waiting for your friend?"
She was so thrown, Parvati stared up at him. Friend? she thought. Did she and Catherine look like…friends?
Which was why, when at last Parvati was fishing for her keys outside her apartment, and Catherine told her to take care of herself, Parvati turned to her and said, "What?"
The Knight of Seiros put a hand on her hip as she said, "Shamir and I are going to be out for a while. Church of Seiros business. We won't be back until Orientation. So in the meanwhile…" She had that kind of look like she was hoping Parvati wouldn't make her say it.
So, of course, Parvati made her say it. "What?"
Catherine cleared her throat and looked around. "Well, uhh… Well, I won't be around, so… So you'll have to keep an eye out for yourself. And…for Dedue." By the end, her eyes had returned to Parvati again.
Parvati stared at Catherine for a moment. And then her eyes widened.
It took Catherine by surprise as well. She cleared her throat. She itched her nose. Then, again, she cleared her throat.
This was the first time Parvati was getting a good look at Catherine. The Faerghus blue double-iris, the red seal of Seiros stamped on the chest plate, the leather necklace cord Parvati had only ever seen on men. Now she saw the long lashes, the dark angled brows, the bulging right arm — like Randolph's — because it was Catherine's weapon-wielding dominant arm.
Well, I won't be around, so you'll have to keep an eye out for yourself. And…for Dedue, Catherine had said. Parvati tried to gauge the knight. Was she serious? Was Catherine deciding to be her friend?
Parvati found her key, inserted it into the door, and gave a little groan, covering her mouth with her other hand and leaning into the door again as the nausea came back.
"Hey! Are you okay?" Catherine stepped forward.
Parvati shook her head. "I don't know why…I just…sudden nausea…"
Catherine's eyes lit up with recognition and she took a big step back. "You were walking on my right side this whole time, weren't you?"
Parvati blinked.
Catherine tapped the sword at her belt. "It's because of Thunderbrand. It releases a type of energy that…well, you will want to be compatible with. I've got the Crest of Charon, so I don't get affected, but everyone else…"
That's why Catherine was standing with her left shoulder to Parvati, putting the Thunderbrand as far as she could from her as she spoke over her shoulder. It was making sense now. Randolph had told her, Catherine had a Holy Relic, a special weapon that only people with the right Crest could wield. But Randolph hadn't mentioned that to everyone else, there would be such immediate side effects, even outside of combat.
Catherine said, "Long story short, just don't stand near my right side again. Or walk along it." She scratched her nose. "Sorry about that…"
"Oh," said Parvati. "That explains it. I'm glad to know what it is then. Thank you." She thought back again to what Dedue had said, then added, "Be safe, Catherine. I'll be waiting for you."
The Prime Knight's eyes went wide. "Oh. Yeah. Okay," said Catherine.
They stared at each other for another moment. Catherine was starting to turn red. The air between them filled with the sound of the intermittent crackle of Thunderbrand. At long last, Parvati opened her door and slipped into her apartment, then closed the door, listening. It took a couple moments, but she eventually heard footsteps retreating as Catherine departed.
