A/N: Wow would you look at that? Me posting twice in a week? Miracles do happen I guess :)

I'm so glad my inspiration has returned for this story, it's been super fun to explore all these new parts of a game I love so very much! This chapter is in Claude's POV (!) which I hope you all enjoy! It was really fun to write, I love Claude dearly.
I know I said last chapter was filler but this one actually is (lol) but I hope it's still enjoyable!
Also, I've made a Seteleth playlist, it makes me cry and is really helpful for writing these scenes :) Check it out if you're interested: playlist/5uGsPlSUwXAOPIYZbyi1lO?si=xF7XxrwVSjuKfoyuPsDx1g
I hope you all are having a good week!
Sending my love.
xo Ever

"You did what?"

Claude yells the words so loudly that nearly all the Golden Deer turn to face them, stopping midway through their march to battle.

"Lower your voice, Claude!" Byleth looks like she's about to start crying, an occurrence that seems to happen to her every time she has one of these little confrontations with Claude. He wonders which one of them is the problem. "Carry on, everyone!" She lowers her voice. "Please, I don't need the whole monastery knowing about this- tryst with the holiest man in Garreg Mach."

"You kissed him?" Claude is out of words. To think that his clueless professor actually kissed Seteth is nearly unbelievable.

She's been better since… well, since Jeralt, but there's still that shred of darkness in her eyes that wasn't there before. No one seems to notice it but him, and it's worrying. Claude knows what she's capable of, and with the wrong motivations… she could wreak havoc. They need to destroy Solon, and fast.

"Goddess above, Flayn really did it." He turns to Hilda who walks at his side, shaking his head in disbelief. "We taught her well, didn't we."

"What do you mean you taught her well? You can't possibly expect me to believe you set this all up." Byleth puts a hand to her temple. "And he kissed me."

"But you kissed him back, Professor! In his pajamas! Oh, this is so romantic!" Hilda looks like she's about to bust, and Claude puts a hand on her shoulder, giving her a look.

"We must remain serious, Hil. There are more questions to be asked." Claude gives Byleth a pointed look, re-assuming his favorite role of aggressive interrogator. "And what happened after that?"

"Is this really necessary-"

"Teach. Focus." Claude grins at her, and she rolls her eyes.

"Well, it started snowing, but I had to teach. So I left," she says, as if this explains everything, and Claude just stares at her. By the gods, she's impossible. "Don't look at me like that, Claude! I'd been away from teaching for a full week."

"You left. You made out with holy father Seteth and then you just left?" Claude turns to Hilda. "This calls for a meeting of the big three, don't you think?"

"I agree. After the battle, we should gather Flayn," Hilda says, nodding somberly, and Byleth looks between the two of them so quickly her head looks like a tennis ball, pinging from face to face in rapid succession.

"You'd better bring Marianne as well. We need a level-headed individual to balance us out," Claude adds with a wink, relishing how Hilda blushes at the name. He's certain Hilda has fallen for the shy and gentle Marianne, and it's only a matter of time before he gets her to admit it.

"Then we'd better invite Dimitri as well, wouldn't you say?" Hilda bats her eyelashes at him and he frowns. She's got him there.

"Why not? The more, the merrier!" Claude says in an attempt to play it off. Seeing Dimitri… Well, the two of them haven't exactly talked since the White Heron ball, and in all honesty, he's not sure he wants to. Loving that boy can only mean trouble for Claude, handsome as he is. "If we're going to aid the Professor in her quest for love, we're going to need all the help we can-"

Suddenly, the Golden Deer stop their marching, their battalions halting in their tracks with a clatter of their heavy armor. There it is, tall and foreboding in all of its misty glory: the Sealed Forest.

It's been a while since Claude has been here, but it's just as he remembers, and the sight of it sends little chills across his skin, curling tendrils of fear that crawl up his spine.

"Claude?" He feels Byleth's hand on his shoulder and he tethers himself to her touch, using it like a lifeline to pull himself from this fear. Goddess, how is it that someone so bad at emotions always seems to know exactly what he's feeling?

"I'm fine," he says, even though he isn't. And if he's feeling this awful, how badly must Byleth be doing? These are the people who tore her father from her. "Listen up, everyone."

The Deer flock towards him like moths drawn to a flame, waiting patiently for his command. Claude isn't sure why the sight of them, following him wherever he might lead, makes him feel more sad than happy.

"It's all connected. I'm sure of it. The sickness in Remire, the attack on the Mausoleum, the beasts at the chapel…" At this, he shoots a look at Byleth, but her brow is furrowed in concentration. "Whatever it is they're planning, we need to put an end to it."

"I will have my revenge," Leonie says suddenly, and every head turns to her. "Of that, I am certain."

"Revenge… does sound nice." Claude sighs, watching Byleth carefully as he speaks. "But we're mainly here for information. Still, I think we can accomplish both our goals simultaneously. Perhaps we should consider-"

Suddenly, Claude is interrupted by a booming growl that echoes through the misty trees, followed by thundering footsteps that seem to shake the very ground beneath their feet.

"What the-" he begins, turning quickly, and there it is: a massive, hulking creature, its sharp white fangs glowing in the evening light. "Damn it. How kind of them to welcome us with Demonic Beasts."

"Everyone!" There's a slashing noise, and suddenly, the forest is alight with a fiery orange glow. Byleth, Sword of the Creator unsheathed and at her side, holds out a hand for her students, commanding their attention with just one word. Even now, as they rest on the verge of battle, Claude is in awe of her. She emanates strength, her expression one of eerie calm even though he knows she must be shaking with rage.

He remembers that day: the rain, the blood, the silent tears running down her face. It had been him who'd walked her back to her room, after all. She'd been so… blank, her face masking itself of any emotion, and when she'd slammed the door in his face... Well, he never wanted to see her like that again. Ever.

"Stay in formation. Watch each other's backs." Byleth takes a deep breath, and her gaze flashes to Claude's in a sudden blaze of lightning-like intensity. "And leave Monica to me."

Claude nods solemnly, beckoning to his friends. "Let's go."

The battle rages like none other Claude's ever seen. The Deer fight with vigor, following Byleth's every command with the kind of loyalty that only comes from a bond forged by absolute trust. He's placed so much faith in her. They all have.

Monica- or rather, Kronya -turns out to be a lot stronger than Claude expected. As he shoots arrows left and right, he makes sure to keep an eye on Byleth, who's locked in bitter conflict with the girl, the crack of her blade against Kronya's reverberating in Claude's very bones.

"You think- you think you can defeat me?" Kronya's voice is high-pitched and cackling, and Claude watches as Byleth raises her blade once more, blocking a poorly-placed hit from the girl. It's clear Kronya is running out of time and options, and her desperation is clear in her stumbling stance. Suddenly, Byleth swings again- and this time she hits her mark, the blade digging into the skin of Kronya's arm. The girl cries out in pain, and Byleth takes advantage of her misstep, knocking the blade from her hands.

"Damn it!" Kronya shouts, and suddenly, she's turning, tearing off into the forest with a speed that's inhuman. Claude sees it all too late, and before he can call out, Byleth is running after her, a fire in his eyes that unnerves him to his core.

"Byleth!" His voice sounds feeble, pathetic, and he draws in a breath, turning just in time to bury an arrow in the last remaining enemy's skull.

"What's going on? Where's the Professor?" Hilda is standing above a dark soldier, bloodied axe in hand, and Claude shakes his head.

"She went after Kronya!" he calls back, taking a mental tally of his Golden Deer. All are present and accounted for, thank the Goddess. He's about to call them forward to go after Byleth, if only to stop her from absolutely decimating Kronya, when suddenly there's a sound that can only be described as an explosion, and he falls to his knees immediately, shutting his eyes as everything erupts.

The light is blinding, filling the forest with a burst of purples and whites and something like- fire? It hurts his head, sending throbbing bursts of pain through his body. What is going on?

When he finally gets to his feet, both the light and his head clearing, Solon stands before him, a twisted kind of smirk on his face.

"Where is the Professor?" Hilda demands, her tentative question ringing out above the chaos.

"She was swallowed by the mystical darkness of the forbidden spell," Solon says with a laugh, as if this explains everything. Claude's hand tightens on his bow. "An eternity wandering in a void of darkness, never to return to this world…"

"I don't believe that!" This time, it's Lysithea who shouts, and Claude is shocked to see tears shining in her eyes. "Our professor is still alive!"

"That's right! She is no ordinary human!" Flayn's hands ball into little fists at her sides, anger looking horribly out of place on her normally smiling face.

"Yes, it is possible death has yet to find your friend. But there are worse things than death. Drifting through the darkness with no chance to escape, overwhelmed with hopelessness…" Solon's eyes light up and Claude feels his blood begin to boil beneath his skin. "Well, it must be torturous."

"All you're telling us is that Teach is still alive!" he shouts, notching an arrow in his bow and pulling his arm back, aiming directly for Solon's head. "So all that's left to do is defend ourselves until she makes her triumphant return!"

"If it's pain you wish for, I'll be happy to oblige," Solon says with a dark chuckle, and Claude narrows his eyes. One shot. Don't think about Teach, just focus on your target. Breathe. And…

Suddenly, he stops. There's a tearing, like a seam ripping in two, and every head turns to the sky. Claude nearly stops breathing once he does so.

A fissure has opened against the clouds, like a stitch in space and time itself, and the color drains itself from Solon's face.

"Impossible…" He grabs for his sword, panic clear on his face, and Claude feels his heart swell with hope. Could it- could it be?

There's another burst of light, and all of a sudden, a figure bursts from the void, landing neatly on the stone and standing with a blade clutched in their hand, the sun shining behind them and casting them in an orange glow. The figure… no, the woman has hair a shade of light seafoam, her eyes a piercing teal, and she's so different and yet so similar at the same time that Claude nearly falls down again, the sight of this goddess-like figure striking something that almost resembles fear into his very heart.

It's Byleth, and yet, it's not.

She looks like Byleth, but there's something different behind her eyes, besides the obvious physical differences she now has. This is his Teach, he's sure of it, but she's someone else now, too. Something has changed her, and he's not entirely sure he's ready to learn what.

"Teach…" he breathes, the words so thin he feels like they might snap. "It's you. I knew you could cut your way out of anything."

Byleth turns to him- slow, ethereal, with a calm that's more eerie than serene. She doesn't open her mouth, doesn't speak, and instead, she nods at him, a faint smile on her face.

"What- What did you see in the darkness of Zahras?" Solon demands, his eyes wholly consumed by fear. Goddess, Claude can't even imagine what he feels, being on the wrong side of the radiant figure that stands before him. "This should be impossible. This is impossible. The only being that can withstand that darkness is… You must be eliminated!"

He steps forward, blade in hand, and for a minute, Claude thinks he'll land a hit, but Byleth barely seems to move, her calm demeanor unshaken as she slashes the Sword of the Creator at Solon, the weapon moving so quickly he has to do a triple take to check if it even really moved at all.

Solon crumples to a heap at Byleth's feet, his blood mixing with the blood of his men as it pools on the ground beneath him. "This… this is not the end. Thales… Thales will carry out our mission, somehow…" He chokes out his last words and Byleth stares down at him, looking at him like he's an ant she's just crushed beneath her boot. Like he's nothing.

"Teach… You did it. Jeralt's killer is dead." Claude checks on the Deer again, all of whom are looking at Byleth warily, like she's something to be handled with caution. Claude is certain she is. "What- what happened to you?" he asks tentatively, and Byleth frowns, like she's trying to remember.

"It is… a long story," she says finally, twisting a strand of her now-green hair around her finger like she's seeing it for the first time, too. "I suppose I should start with-"

Suddenly, Byleth's eyes roll back into her head, and she sways slightly like she's dizzy before collapsing onto the ground with a soft thump.

"Teach? Teach, you okay?" The Deer flock to her side immediately, and Claude puts two fingers to her neck checking for a pulse. Thankfully, she appears to be merely asleep. "We'd better get her back. I don't suppose…" He shoots Hilda a look, and she rolls her eyes.

"You're so lazy, Claude. Why do I have to do all the work in this House?" Her complaints are achingly piercing, but she moves to Byleth's side anyway, gingerly picking up the Professor and slinging her over one shoulder.

"Careful, Hilda! Who knows what's happened to her!" Raphael warns, and Hilda frowns.

"If you'd like to carry her, be my guest."

And just like that, the Deer are back to their characteristic bickering, their loud arguments filling the battlefield and rising to the heavens above, but as Claude looks around the sea of dead bodies before them, he can't help but feel another chill run up his spine.

Something has changed, here and now. Something has changed… forever.

When the Golden Deer arrive back at Garreg Mach monastery, chaos erupts through the courtyard, clergymen and merchants and students alike running wildly in all directions around them in a swirl of words and activity.

None of that, however, compares to when Seteth steps out of the cathedral, looking like he hasn't slept in days.

The commotion silences the second he steps outside, every face watching as he makes his way wordlessly to the middle of the marketplace where the Golden Deer stand in their bedraggled group. His gaze is frantic as he searches the crowd, undoubtedly looking for his sister.

"Claude? Oh, Flayn, there you are!" Seteth clenches and unclenches his hands at his sides, like he wants to run to Flayn but something is stopping him, halting him in place. The girl moves to his side and takes one of his hands, her expression uncharacteristically sombre, and Seteth recognizes the concern in her eyes immediately. "Flayn? Claude, where is Miss Eisner?" Dropping Flayn's arm, Seteth puts his hands on Claude's shoulders, practically shaking him as he does so.

"She's…" Claude sighs, wondering how best to put this. He doesn't want to set the man off any more than he already is. "Hilda, bring her over here." Claude doesn't miss the way Seteth's eyes flash at the words, and he doesn't have a chance to elaborate before Seteth pushes past him, knocking him to the side. He's too worried to be offended by the gesture.

The Golden Deer watch in silence as Seteth reaches Hilda, the crowd forming a sort of circle around the three people in its center. The man blanches at the sight of Byleth lying there, her new coloring making her look an awful lot like Flayn.

"She's not… She isn't…" Seteth can barely speak, his gaze locked onto Byleth like she's some kind of port in a storm.

"She's only sleeping, Seteth," Hilda says quietly, her usual spark dimmed just a little. "My arms are getting a bit tired. Could you… could you take her to the infirmary for me?"

Claude shakes his head, his lips curling into a small smile for the first time since Byleth returned. Thinking about match-making even at a time like this.

"Yes. Yes, I will do that." Seteth gently takes Byleth from over Hilda's shoulder and Hilda lays her in his arms bridal-style, her arm hanging limply by her side.

As Seteth looks down at the professor, Claude realizes he's been wrong about him all these years. He's not uptight and unfeeling, not a cold shroud of a man who's only been hardened with time. Yeah, maybe those things are true, but when he looks at Byleth… It reminds Claude of something he's only really felt for one other, and it tugs at his heart just a little.

Although some selfish part of him wants to keep Byleth with the Golden Deer for as long as possible, to keep her all to themselves, there's another part that's acknowledged this new reality, that she doesn't only belong to them, not anymore.

Claude wasn't certain before, but he is now. They're in love, wholly and completely, whether they've let themselves believe it yet or not.

Two full days pass before Byleth finally awakes from her slumber, which means two full days of the Golden Deer house studying with Hanneman and the Blue Lions. Even in normal times, this would cause some problems, but with everything that's currently going on? It's utter chaos.

For starters, it took only a few seconds after the Golden Deer entered the classroom for Lorenz and Sylvain to enter a full-out brawl over their womanizing skills, amplified only by Felix's encouragement, who was apparently just waiting for a fight to break out.

Hanneman seems unconcerned, and instead of teaching, has chosen to flip through a book about Crests in a corner of the room while the room falls to shambles around him.

Mercedes, Annette, and Lysithea have somehow managed to smuggle a tray full of little cakes from the Kitchens, which attracts the attention of Hilda and Marianne. Claude is pleased to see that Hilda is taking full advantage of the situation, feeding a blushing Marianne a spoonful of frosting in the most seductive way she can manage.

Everywhere around him, Blue Lions and Golden Deer are breaking off into their little pockets of madness, sparring, laughing, and holding fish-eating contests (Raphael and Flayn). Claude is immensely confused (but not at all surprised) by this last activity.

Unfortunately, this leaves himself alone with only one unpaired individual, and much to his chagrin, this individual is none other than Crown Prince Dimitri Alexandre Bladdyd. Claude would honestly rather dunk his head in the lake than speak with him, but the classroom door is locked, so it appears there won't be any lake-dunking today.

"Oh! Er- Hello, Claude. How are you this morning?" Dimitri nearly drops the book he's holding when Claude approaches him, and Claude is pleased to see his fair skin blush a deep shade of beet-red at the sight of him.

"Just fine, your Princliness." Claude sits down on Dimitri's desk, dangling his legs off of the side, and sure enough, Dimitri's blush deepens as he scooches his chair back away from the table.

"I- That's excellent. Good. Good to hear." Dimitri puts a hand to his forehead and draws in a deep breath. "I heard the Professor awoke this afternoon. That's wonderful news."

"It's good news, certainly." Claude gives Dimitri a look. "But wonderful? Does this mean you're excited to have the Deer leave your class? To have me leave your class?"

"What- No! I assure you, Claude, having you here has certainly been… stimulating." Dimitri sighs, leaning back in his chair. It's clear he's given up trying to act with decorum around Claude. The room is so chaotic that he's pretty certain no one is even watching them anyway. "Although I'm not sure how much work was actually accomplished over these past few days."

"Ha." Claude leans back on his elbows so that he's practically lying across Dimitri's desk. He knows he's making a scene, but he can't bring himself to care. So Dimitri's unavailable? Well, Claude's going to make him see just what he's missing. "How's the girl back home? Still writing those letters?"

"Please don't." Dimitri gives Claude a warning look, who merely holds up his hands in mock surrender.

"I haven't done anything." Claude throws his head back so he's watching Hilda and Marianne and their little cake escapade upside-down. "You're the one who's doing things."

"What does that mean?" Dimitri asks tiredly.

"I don't know," Claude says, and he doesn't. This boy should not be able to play with his mind like this. He's supposed to be the master tactician, for the Goddess's sake. "I'm sorry. No, actually, I'm not. I think I have a right to be angry about this."

"You do. You certainly do," Dimitri says sadly, like something's weighing down even his words. "If I could end it, this pointless engagement, you know that I would."

"Well, you could at least try." Claude knows he's being childish, but he finds it hard to care. He feels like a child, a little kid who isn't getting what he wants. "I could whip up a few schemes to get her out of the picture." He means it as a joke but it comes across more like a threat. "Besides, I thought…" Claude drops his voice to a whisper, knowing he sounds pathetic. "I thought you liked me."

"It's not that simple, Claude. Nothing is that simple, not anymore." Dimitri shakes his head, putting his forehead in his hands. "Might we talk about this later?"

That's what finally does it for Claude, not Dimitri telling him he's engaged to someone else back at home, not Dimitri telling him they can't be whatever they are any more, not Dimitri acting like Claude's a wounded animal who needs to be kept at a distance. What finally breaks him is this, this brushing it aside like it's not the worst thing Claude's ever gone through, like Dimitri isn't putting him through a living hell every time he sees him.

"You know what? How about we don't talk about it at all, 'kay?" Claude stands up from the desk, his tone dripping with false sweetness, and retreats to the back of the classroom, not even bothering to listen to Dimitri's attempt at calling him back.

So much for being a match-maker. Seems like he could really use one of his own.