Have you ever thought about dyeing your hair?

Byleth continued grading the stack of assignments on his table. The rest of the class did as he expected, but the new transfer was certainly peculiar. No matter the assignment Sylvain always had a knack for just barely passing and Byleth wasn't sure whether the student was lucky or simply much smarter than he let on. Probably the latter judging by the recent interactions he had with him.

I have not.

Clearly Sothis had gotten the idea from Lysithea, not that he minded so much.

What about green then? Like mine. We would match.

If it pleases you, then I might consider it if father is fine with it.

He didn't exactly have much attachment to his hair color, it was just what he was born with, but he would have to make sure that there was no sentimental value that Jeralt had of it.

I'm surprised you still go and ask permission from him for so many things.

He's my father.

And you're an adult.

Only family I had before I came here.

So, you do consider me as family.

I'd rather not answer.

Jeralt had been his only family. Him and the mercenaries were all he knew for the longest time. Then came Sothis to him in a dream. Then soon after Alois would bring him to the Monastery. So much had changed in about half a year and it was sometimes difficult for him to keep up, but in the end if given the chance he would choose to do it all again.

The door to his room suddenly slammed open. He quickly put his pen down, looked over, and saw Felix. Half his face was covered in dried blood and Flayn was behind him was in tears. Most notable of all though was the one person absent from their assigned group.

The owl is missing.

"What happened?" he asked quickly.

"We were attacked on the wall by the Death Knight and his men. Lysithea is still there," Felix replied quickly

She wouldn't have stayed behind without good reason. "How did you two escape?"

"She Warped me… then instructed me to Rescue Felix… I didn't have the ability to take her with us also," Flayn replied between sobs. "I'm so sorry… I should've done more"

"How many?"

"At least ten including the Death Knight."

Lysithea wouldn't have done something like that unless it was truly necessary. It meant that she saw no other way out. That was not good to hear.

Byleth for once in his life had to bite back a curse. Had that… thing actually come to kill his students as it had once said it would? If it did, then he wasn't going to let it get away.

The flow of time reversed and Byleth quickly gathered his gear and weapons. Time was of the essence, every second counted if he was going to get his student back alive.

He was already fully equipped with the Sword of the Creator on his waist when the door to his room opened once again. Felix looked surprised upon seeing that he was already fully geared.

"How did you-"

"Later. Where were you attacked?"

"On the wall, on top of the parapets," Felix replied. "Lysithea is still there."

"Understood," Byleth replied as he left the room and found Dimitri standing nearby.

"Professor is there something wrong?" Dimitri asked as Byleth walked toward him. "I heard a loud noise coming from you- Felix what happened to you!"

"We were attacked on the wall boar."

"We need to get you to infirmary."

"Flayn's already healed me."

"You should still go to-"

"We have no time," Felix bit back. "We had to leave someone behind, she's still there with them."

"Another student is in danger? I'll gather the Blue Lions quickly."

"Agreed. Have someone you trust take Flayn to Seteth. Inform him of what happened," Byleth told Dimitri. Not enough time to wait for them to gear up though. He needed to head there now. "Felix where was the last you saw her?"

"Past the stairs between the Sauna and the courtyard, heading down toward the North end of the Monastery. You'll be able to see everything once you're there."

Byleth ran toward the location Felix specified. Hopefully he wouldn't be too late.

Claude jogged towards the Golden Deer classroom in a hurry as the morning sun rose into the air. There was tension in the air as students went to their classes, a result of a kidnapping that had happened three days ago.

He had overslept, a result of his late-night escapades. He wasn't actually late to class though, no one was ever late to class after Lysithea's kidnapping. No, every morning for the past three days the Golden Deer would gather once in the early morning and then the afternoon to give out their respective reports of each of their investigations.

That was what he had been doing. Investigating for the whereabouts for one of their own

Claude had arrived at the classroom and all of the Golden Deer were already there. It didn't take much longer either for the rest to come. Even Lindhart was there and actually made an attempt to stay awake.

"You're late," Lindhart would say impatiently, very much like Lysithea would.

"Sorry got caught up last night looking for a lead."

"Did you learn anything?"

Claude's silence was answer enough.

Once they all gathered the Professor would stand up and address them. "Anything else to report?"

For the last three days the entire class had been scouring the Monastery and what areas outside of it they could for any sign of Lysithea. They only ever might twice a day, a meeting in the morning and one in the afternoon, while the rest of the time was spent searching.

One of their own had been taken after all, they would be damned if they could actually just sit around and have class like usual.

Unfortunately, it didn't seem that their efforts bade much fruit judging by how silent the class was.

"I've been talking to the guards Professor," Hilda was the first to speak. "But they have nothing."

"Same here," Leonie replied.

"I've sent a letter to House Gloucester. My father will keep an eye in his area for anything pertaining to Lysithea's kidnapping, but it is likely that they wouldn't even be there."

"Fodlan's a big place. Even if we have the entire Alliance searching for her that's still a good 2/3rds of the continent left unaccounted for," Lindhart commented.

"That's assuming she actually left he Monastery though," Sylvain commented. "I've been asking around and a couple of the girls outside the Monastery saw a few dark robed people come in a few months ago."

Claude had a feeling that their newest transfer would eventually pay off, just not in this way. They finally had a lead though.

"So? That was months ago. And I think we already dealt with them in the Mausoleum," Leonie commented.

"We never got all of them though. It just means that they've been hiding under our noses this entire time," Claude commented.

"Couldn't they have just snuck out?"

"If they had a secret path to go unnoticed then they would've used it coming in."

"Which means," Hilda's eyes lit up, "That they and Lysithea would still be somewhere in the Monastery."

"But we've already searched the entire Monastery, where could they be hiding?" Ignatz asked.

"No. There are some places we haven't checked yet. The Student dorms. The faculty offices, places we technically aren't allowed to explore."

"You're not suggesting that a student or a teacher there is in league with them?" Lorenz asked.

"That's exactly what I'm suggesting. It's the only way that these people could've stayed hidden right under our noses for so long. They had an inside man."

It all made sense. The events of the past few months, how their unknown enemy could just pop in and out of the Monastery, they had been here the entire time and hiding right under their noses. They were a crafty bunch but now it was time for them to be cornered like rats.

"Unfortunately, this is all just speculation at best and if Teach were to report our actions to we could likely get expelled," Claude replied while keeping an eye on Teach.

"Do as you will, but avoid creating an uproar," the Professor replied quickly. Despite having the same stony expression on his face as usual, the bags under his eyes showed how much recent events had affected him. He had a nasty habit of taking up responsibility of too many things at once and Lysithea was one of them.

"Are you serious?" The entire class turned toward the doorway and found Felix standing against it.

"Felix what are you doing here?" Leonie asked.

"My class has already had their meeting. I came here to see if yours had anything useful to say." Felix looked Claude in the eye. "Is it true, what you're saying?"

"It's the most logical deduction that we came up with. Unless you've thought of something better."

"I haven't," Felix replied before turning around and walking away.

"Um… should we be worried about that?" Hilda asked.

"Considering that he's probably going to go around the Monastery threatening people with a sword?" Claude replied, "Probably yes."

"He won't go that far," Sylvan commented. "Probably. He just feels responsible for what happened."

And so, did Flayn judging by how morose she seemed the last time Claude had interacted with her. It was hard to get that meeting past Seteth's eye, but he had needed to see if there was any info he could pry from her that could be useful. Nothing came of it, but he had done his best to assure her that it wasn't her fault.

Lysithea wasn't the type to have someone make her choices for her and she wasn't one for needless sacrifice either. She did what she had because she knew that there was no other option, that there was no way out.

Claude still had every right to call her an idiot though once they got her back. And once she did get back, he would give her all the Almyran sweets she wanted. So many that she would become absolutely sick of them.

Felix stormed out of the barracks in anger. Talking to the Knights there had been pointless. Anything he could get from their mouths amounted to nothing. He decided to head to library next, it was the one place he hadn't been to yet.

It had already been three days since it all happened. Three days past of fruitless searching.

They never found anything on that wall. In fact, it was like nothing had happened. The stone was still intact with little sign of combat and even the blood that he and that Knight had shed that day couldn't be found on the stone.

And yet there was no denying that Lysithea had gone missing. That he and Flayn both swore that they had been there when it happened. Most people probably wouldn't have believed him if it wasn't for her in all honesty. He was used to that after all.

The Knights had been sent out to the surrounding areas. They found nothing. No Lysithea, not even a body.

The students themselves had begun searching in the Monastery. They found nothing. Those that didn't search were on high alert and constantly traveled in groups to ensure that another kidnapping didn't happen. Nearly everyone carried a weapon, even to classes.

Too little too late.

Lysithea's disappearance had only confirmed the rumors that ran rampant. It didn't take long after the Golden Deer's meeting for word to get around that there were traitors in the Monastery. Tensions ran high as people began talking to themselves, wondering who could have let those people so deep in the Monastery or wondering if they would be the next victims. Many were confronted, interrogated on grounds of being suspicious, but nothing came from it.

Felix himself had tried to interrogate a few of the faculty himself, especially that old man Tomas in the library. He seemed too calm for all of this, but unfortunately there was nothing substantial to pin him on. Felix was impatient but even he wouldn't widely lash out at someone until he was certain of their guilt.

"I've been hearing reports that you've been frightening the students and faculty," Seteth walked up to him as he made his way out of the library.

"So is everyone else in this school," Felix replied plainly. He was in no mood to deal with the man at the moment. "In case you haven't noticed, everyone is in a panic since one of your students were taken."

With Flayn almost having been a victim Seteth had the entire Monastery on high alert and sent an escort of five knights along his sister at all times. Five knights that could've been helping with the search effort for a student that had been actually kidnapped. It was clear where his priorities lied.

"You have been particularly confrontational," Seteth replied.

"Don't patronize me Seteth. Go back to your sister while I actually try to do something."

"Watch your tongue," Seteth's voice became firm and laced with anger. Felix realized that he had hit a nerve. "I might've been patient in the past with you, but I will not stand such words in my presence."

"Have you actually been doing anything?"

"I've been searching as have been the Knights of Seiros. We won't stand the kidnapping of a student and we refuse to let it happen again."

"Yet you have five of them guarding your Sister at all times. Five of who could be out there searching too."

Seteth hesitated for a moment, as if to consider his next words, before speaking. "I have reason to believe that Flayn was their primary target. Lysithea was simply an afterthought until she had gotten away."

"What makes you think that?"

"Flayn possesses a rare bloodline."

"What sort of bloodline?"

"I can't divulge anymore but I can assure that it is reason enough for them to have gone after her. Are you aware that Lysithea has two Crests?"

"I am… Are you telling me that was the reason she was taken?"

"Perhaps. If my suspicions are correct, then the people who have taken her would be quite willing to make use of her body with nothing else available to them."

It should've been him then that was left behind. He only had one Crest. They would have had less of an interest in him, might've just killed him there in all honesty, but that was likely better than what was happening to her right now.

"What are they planning to do?"

"I cannot say and the situation she's in is certainly dire. However, that doesn't mean we can tear ourselves apart in searching for her. You have spent most of your time searching alone. Perhaps instead of pushing people away you can work together with them. There is much more that can be done in a group than by yourself."

"Are you seriously lecturing me now Seteth? I don't have time for this."

"Just some advice. We'll need everyone's help if we are to find her and it would hurt the search process if you frighten them to the point that they're afraid to contribute."

"Tch." Felix looked away.

"I can assure you that I'm doing everything in my power to ensure her safe return."

For how long though?

How long would they keep searching? Lysithea was hardly the first person to go missing in this place's history. The general sentiment was that three days was the limit before you started expecting the worst. After that you were likely looking for a corpse.

So, how long after that would they keep trying before they eventually gave up and wrote her off as dead? How long until she would leave them all because some perverted sense of duty compelled her to stay behind? How long before she would just be a name written on a grave somewhere?

Just like Glenn.

Catherine returned from her patrol along the perimeter of the Monastery to no avail and stood at the training grounds, taking yet another dummy. No sign of any missing students, including the one she had been teaching.

She couldn't search at all times of the day, she was a Knight of Seiros after all and had her duties toward Lady Rhea, but any free time she had was spent investigating. Not that she was particularly good at it, at least compared to Shamir, but she had to do something. It was either that or keep swinging Thunderbrand in the training grounds until she broke apart every dummy that they had. She had already gone through most of them already.

"It isn't like you to be so restless," a voice called from behind her.

Catherine turned around calmly. "Any news Shamir?"

"None, though I'm meeting with Manuela tomorrow over some suspicions she's had."

Shamir was one the Knight's best trackers. If she couldn't find a trace of Lysithea than it was likely that whatever Catherine did wouldn't lead to anything either.

"You still haven't answered my question," Shamir continued.

"Yea. I'm restless," Catherine admitted. "I was training them the day they were attacked you know. If I had just stuck around with them-"

"You would likely be dead. You might be strong but there was only so much that you could handle especially having to protect the three of them."

"Hardly comforting there Shamir."

"Not trying to be. But I will say that you didn't know and there was nothing you could've done. You have no blame in this so instead of placing guilt on yourself, you should spend that time on something more productive."

"Practical as always."

"Have to be. One of us has to be the sensible one after all."

Catherine couldn't help but let out a grin at that. "And what would that make me?"

"The loveable goof."

"Well can't say that's the word thing you called me. Heard a lot worse when we first met."

"I thought you were just another knight who loved the sound of her own voice. You know, the type who's all talk, but useless in battle."

"Well, that's a bit harsh. You still think that?"

"The first part yes but you're surprisingly strong. So is your student."

Catherine paused. "You really think Lysithea's still alive?"

"I'm not much of an optimist, but I don't assume someone's dead until I see the body. If she's anything like you though, she'll claw her way out somehow."

Catherine leaned against the nearest wall and crossed her arms. "Who do you think could be responsible then? You've heard the rumors and I'm inclined to agree them."

"That it was an inside job? Most likely. Though I've had a few people accuse me."

"Well you're not exactly the most forthcoming person. If I didn't know you, I'd have thought the same."

"It's mostly because I'm Dagdan. The Duscur man following around Dimitri is also being watched."

Catherine scoffed. "I'm more suspicious than that man. He's about as loyal to his liege as I am to Rhea and I don't think Dimitri would have any reason to order someone's kidnapping."

"Can't change people's preconceptions. We're outsiders, so of course they're going to accuse us first."

"So apart from you two, who else do you think could've done it. Hanneman?" Not the most likely suspect but he did have a fascination on Crests that bordered the fanatical. Maybe he did actually start kidnapping people for his experiments?

"Hardly. He's been kept under tight surveillance since a few months ago. If he had contact with the enemy, we would've known."

"What was he under surveillance for?"

"Keeping a secret for a student when he should've reported to the Church. He's obsessive but he's not the type to do something like this."

"Manuela?"

"Like I said, I'm meeting her tomorrow to talk about some suspicions she had over someone."

"Could just be her throwing you off her scent." Not that Catherine believed Manuela could've done it, but they needed to think about all this as objectively as possible.

"Better ways to do it. She's too emotional, cares too much, and says too much while drunk. Would've been caught the second I put a bottle of wine in her hands."

"Jeritza then?"

"I don't know much about him."

"Neither do I."

"… And I haven't seen him once since the kidnapping."

"We should probably find and talk to him then?" Catherine immediately started to move only for Shamir to cut her off.

"You're tired from your work and from destroying most of the dummies we have. If we confront him now and our suspicions are correct, then it could get us killed in your current state. We'll go find him tomorrow."

Time was of the essence for, but Catherine knew she couldn't help if she got herself killed because of exhaustion. "We'll go there tomorrow then. And Shamir… make sure you're well prepared."

"I always am."