Garreg Mach's ever-favoured Dining Hall; a place of joy and relief. Many folks visited in order to get their daily fix of meals. Breakfast, lunch, dinner as well as whatever snacks they decided to sneak in - all kinds of food were consumed. Some students were even allowed into the kitchens in order to make certain things on their own, using the monastery's equipment. Mercedes and Annette of the Blue Lions were frequent users of this. Cooking - along with its subsidiaries - was evidently quite the popular hobby amongst the people of Garreg Mach.
However, it wasn't quite everyone's thing. Several individuals were perfectly okay with getting their necessary dosages of pre-made food from the Dining Hall's hired chefs. One such person was Dorothea Arnault of the Black Eagle House. In all of the seven moons she'd spent at the monastery thus far, never had she attempted to make any food for herself. She was just fine with dealing with whatever the cooks had in store.
Today's breakfast for her was the Gautier Cheese Gratin. Grated cheese imported from Gautier territory, topped with a browned crust and carefully inserted inside a steel dish. It was one of Dorothea's favourites. Despite this, today was a different day for the girl. She wasn't diving into the dish with any standard fervor. Instead, she was repeatedly poking at the cheese-flavoured gratin using her wooden eating utensils. A face so full of concern and worriment consumed her as she refused to eat. A sigh escaped her lips.
Her despondency did not go unnoticed. One of her classmates tapped the table with their fingers, getting the girl's attention. She looked up. An unenthused smile came to her when she saw who it was.
"Oh, Lin. It's just you. I thought…" Dorothea shook her head. "Never mind. How are you feeling today?"
"I should ask you the same thing. You don't look so good. Nowhere near as good as you usually do, at the very least," Linhardt von Hevring remarked, holding a bowl of Daphnel Stew. "May I sit? There aren't very many places I can go. May as well sit with a friend."
"Sure. Go ahead," Dorothea accepted. The Priest sat right down, sitting on the opposite side of the bench as his fellow Black Eagle. "You never answered my question, Lin. How are you feeling?"
"I chose not to answer it for a reason. Let's just say that my night wasn't very fruitful in the endeavors of sleep. After I'm done here, I'll be heading right back to my room. And nobody will stop me," Linhardt avowed as he dug into his stew.
"But we have a lesson in an hour."
"Who says I can't use that hour for sleep? Before you suggest I do something akin to studying, note that rest has numerous positive effects on the body. Choosing to sleep for an hour is actually among the most productive actions I could be taking."
Dorothea lowered her eyelids.
"Alright, Lin. Good luck with that. I just hope Caspar remembers to get you when it's time."
"He's usually prompt. I have no doubts I will be present for Professor Lucas' lesson."
This time, Dorothea rolled her eyes. Linhardt paused. His gaze locked onto the commoner's visage for a short time. She was only mildly disturbed by his strange actions.
"Uh, Lin, what are you doing?" Dorothea wondered.
"Hmm. You most certainly aren't doing very well today," Linhardt noted. "Something is awry with you. That much is clear, but...what could be the matter? I do wonder."
"Oh," Dorothea nervously chuckled. "It's nothing important. I'm just not feeling completely like myself today, that's all."
"Evidently so. But what is the cause? Why is it that you're acting in such an unusual manner? You've been here for longer than I have and you haven't even begun to consume your breakfast. Could it be…"
Dorothea blinked as she anxiously awaited for Linhardt to finish whatever mental process he was going through.
"Might it have something to do with Professor Lucas himself?"
She gasped. For once, she was glad she wasn't eating, or else she may have just immediately spat out a chunk of cheese gratin at the sleepy boy.
"That's-that's quite the assumption, huh, Lin?" Dorothea rhetorically asked. "I won't lie to you. It does involve him. But no, not quite in the same manner as you might think. Well, considering it's you I'm talking to, you probably aren't thinking that. I hope not."
Linhardt chuckled. "You must think I'm referring to that rumor. I am not one to believe in such baseless accusations. I've always dealt in hard proof and factual evidence. Neither do I care about the matter, in all honesty."
"Well, good. I'm glad. Just because I'm good at sensing other people's emotions, it doesn't mean I automatically have a thing for everyone I see."
It was Linhardt's turn to narrow his eyelids.
"Aren't you the one that keeps flirting with all kinds of men?" He questioned.
"I…" Dorothea tried to come up with a counterargument, having to pause in order to do so. "I'm not the only person that does it! Well, maybe I do typically only flirt with men, but it's not like I limit myself to that!"
"Heh. I'm somewhat the same way. I knew we had much in common, Dorothea," Linhardt smiled. "That's enough of my scrutiny. It has certainly brought a sense of liveliness to the table. One that I'm not opposed to having every now and then."
"W-were you playing with me?"
"I suppose you could say that. It certainly worked, did it not?"
Dorothea couldn't help but burst out laughing.
"Haha! Oh, I never took you for a joker, Lin. Maybe you should quit being a Crest researcher and instead look into jestering. I know you'd be good at that."
"Maybe you should take your own advice. Me, a jester? How humorous. That would be far too much work on my part. Do you know how many hours I would have to spend to remember even a single joke? Honestly, it's a preposterous idea."
Dorothea giggled to herself. Taking one further look at her still-complete gratin, she smiled. "Thanks, Lin. I really needed that."
"You're very welcome. Always happy to help a friend in need. If it's not too much trouble."
A final smile. Dorothea flashed one at her housemate before directing her full attention towards her uneaten breakfast. As she finally started to consume it, her thoughts drifted away from the level of concern they were at earlier. Yet some of them still remained.
"Professor...I hope you're doing okay."
The day's lesson was merely an average one. In terms of content. All of the Black Eagles (including a late Linhardt) had learnt some more about combat strategies. Different ways armies and overall forces can move around battlefields of varying sizes, how terrain can impact the flow of a fight - that kind of thing. The Eagles were mostly receptive to the lesson. Although, there was something different this time.
Certainly, Lucas' teaching had generally not been the best. His explanations were usually vague, mired by his clear lack of overall experience. He'd stumbled over his own words many a time and his reliance on textbooks was a bit too strong. They would always be his call for reference when something didn't make sense to him. Even as he spoke, he'd quickly re-read a page or two in order to reaffirm his understanding. Most found him hard to follow as a result of all this.
Today was a little bit different. His speaking was much more energetic than normal. While it wasn't completely dry or monotone beforehand, he had still been somewhat dull to listen to. But now there was a lot more to him. Much more energy, more variance in the way he spoke. Lucas became quite the engaging speaker. His students found they were able to hold their attention much better than previously. This made the overall lesson quite a bit more enjoyable.
As if it had been creeping up behind them, the bell rang when they least expected it. Everyone cleared out, Edelgard in particular watching Hubert to secretly ensure he didn't try to murder the professor again. He didn't. Thankfully. Once Lucas cleared up his desk, he virtually bounced out of the room, a spring seemingly in his step. After putting away his belongings into his bedroom, he made his way over to the Archbishop's audience chamber for a usual monthly debriefing. His overjoyed face became more serious as he stepped inside and addressed the pair of Nabateans.
"Greetings, Professor Lucas. How has your day been thus far?" Rhea greeted.
"It's been good. Had a solid lesson with the Black Eagles about combat strategies. Uh, my breakfast was also great. I do like me an egg sandwich in the morning," Lucas recounted. "Shame there's no cereal here, though."
"I am glad to hear that," Rhea smiled. "Now, I trust you understand what we wish to speak with you about. Your mission for this moon."
"Right. Has it got something to do with Remire? You guys have been monitoring that village like I suggested, right?" Lucas asked, a hopeful look on his face.
"Indeed we have. No irregularities have been spotted. We have heard no reports of any villagers suddenly turning berserk. Much less have we recognised any Agarthan presence or influence there," Rhea reported.
"You said this 'Remire tragedy' was caused by the Agarthan named Solon, yes? The same one that dared to disguise themselves as our librarian Tomas? With his death, it makes sense that his plans would not come to fruition," Seteth added his opinion to the mix. "Though I am surprised none of his colleagues would have initiated it for him."
"Perhaps he kept his ideas to himself?" Lucas suggested. He shook his head. "No, that wouldn't make any sense. The Agarthans love to share their plans with one another. They're all the same race, the same people and they all have the same goal. There wouldn't be any reason for Solon to not share anything. When you guys were searching through his stuff, did you find anything incriminating? Was he keeping his notes here?"
"No. Unfortunately, we were not able to recover any manner of sensitive information regarding his personal operations or findings. It seems he kept his true self as hidden as he possibly could," Seteth answered, a frown coming to him.
"Yet he was not able to account for a seer being added to our side. I thank you again, Lucas," Rhea thanked the teacher.
"You're welcome, Lady Rhea." Lucas bowed respectfully. "So I guess he kept his notes and research in the Agarthan headquarters. Or maybe he put them in some kind of middle ground location, one that isn't too far away from here while still being close enough to the HQ that it could be readily accessible to his allies. Damn, maybe killing him right away wasn't the best idea."
"If we had not done so, he may have been able to escape. It was the correct decision," Rhea asserted.
Lucas, unsure of what to say in response, simply shrugged.
"Well, anyway, hopefully nobody picks up the pieces after him. If there's nothing happening in Remire, what IS the mission for the month? I genuinely have no clue," Lucas admitted.
"You truly do not know?" Rhea wondered.
"I don't. My abilities aren't all encompassing. I only know one, or several, sets of possible events. A timeline where Solon is not alive at this point is one I'm unfamiliar with," explained Lucas.
"I see," Rhea nodded. "In any case, your mission for this moon is a simple one. The Alliance has requested assistance from the monastery regarding the issue of some invaders from Almyra. We would normally send only the Knights of Seiros to deal with matters such as these, yet we are low on personnel. Which is why your house, Professor, will be the one to deal with this issue. Your destination is the Aquatic Capital, Derdriu."
Lucas nodded as he took all of this information in. "Alliance requesting assistance, Almyran invaders, Knights of Seiros, Derdriu...wasn't this in the game somewhere?"
"I remember this," Byleth spoke up. "This was a mission one of the other houses had during this month in my previous timelines. While my house would deal with the Remire tragedy, either of the other houses would be assisting Shamir and Alois in the defence of Derdriu. It appears things have changed so much that your house will be helping them this time."
"That is only a sample of the power Fate possesses," Sothis claimed. "It will bring its full might to bear the more you fight against it."
"Yeah, yeah, I get'cha." Lucas waved off the goddess' warnings and returned to reality. "So, Derdriu, is it? Good to know. Glad I'll be able to visit the capital of at least one territory in my lifetime."
"Have you never been before, Lucas? It is quite a lovely city. I do believe you will be able to enjoy your time there. Assuming you are able to attain any recreational reprieve," Seteth said, a slight smile coming to him. "I understand Lady Rhea has provided you with some extra funds recently. Perhaps you can use some of it at Derdriu."
"Hmm, maybe. If they have anything interesting there, that is." Lucas paused. An idea formed within his mind. "Oh, there's something I've been meaning to ask. How's the librarian recruitment process going? I know you've got one of the church's priests temporarily holding the position, but do you have any applicants yet?"
"Yes, we do. I will actually be staging some interviews today. Hopefully we can happen upon the right candidate for the job," Seteth informed him. "Is that all? Do you have any further questions about your mission for the month?"
"Nope, all's good on my end. I'll talk to you two later!" Lucas beamed, waving the two goodbye as he started to leave the chamber.
Rhea and Seteth watched with much confusion as the normally sad professor seemed to dash out of the room, apparently eager to get somewhere in particular. They both stared at one another, sharing their bewilderment.
"How unusual. He is acting with more positivity than I have ever seen within him," Seteth remarked. "Considering his actions in the Battle of the Eagle and Lion, I assumed he would be wrought with guilt. I was preparing a speech of sorts to address the matter. It seems that won't be necessary."
"Indeed. I do wonder what has changed with his soul. Perhaps the presence of the goddess is finally affecting him for the better," the Archbishop suggested.
She grinned.
Succeeding his meeting with the Church of Seiros' actual leader as well as her advisor, Lucas departed from the central building. He walked with a spring in his step. An upward-pointing curvature of his mouth brought frequent attention to him. Confused peers and beholdings from many folks were sent in his direction, as if they could not understand why or how this man was so joyous. A person they heard had rather violent tendencies.
Despite the vague mumblings of the people around him, Lucas carried on, undeterred by anyone or anything. He waltzed throughout monastery grounds, passing by the classrooms and ending up nearby the door to the students' training facility. Breaking him out of his single-minded concentration was a tap on his shoulder. It was Ferdinand.
"Greetings, Professor! How are you on this fine day?" He asked his teacher.
"I'm feeling pretty good. Thanks for asking!" Lucas gave his student a thumbs-up after turning around. "Was there anything you needed? Did something in the lesson not make sense?"
"No, the lesson was fine. I believe so, anyway. There may be a possibility that something will confuse me later on, but as of now, I do not have any issues. You are getting better with your teaching!" Ferdinand complimented. "I merely wished to see how you are faring. It is quite obvious you are feeling rather jovial, which is good to see! I'm glad that you are not upset."
"Uh, thanks?" Lucas thanked in an unsure manner. He looked away into the distance, seemingly trying to look at something not there. "Sorry Ferdinand, is that really all you wanted to talk about? I have someone I need to meet. It's important."
"Oh! I was going to ask if you wished to have a spar with me, but if you are in a hurry of sorts, then do not let me hold you back! I am unsure of the nature of this meeting, yet I wish nothing less than the best for you and this other person."
"Right. Thanks again."
Bearing nothing more than a beaming visage, Lucas left Ferdinand's side. The orange-haired student observed as his teacher nearly ran away entirely. His keenness to get to whomever this was had certainly been noted by the Aegir heir. For all of a single minute.
Ferdie shrugged. "Oh well. I suppose it's not my place to ask. Now who will answer my call for a spar…?"
While the noble young lad ventured off to go find someone - literally anybody - that would accept his offer, the inexperienced professor was making his way through the rest of the monastery. He rounded the corner by the fishing pond and arrived at the steps to the marketplace. Lucas gave the Gatekeeper a nod of acknowledgement before heading down the steps and then departing from the monastery as a whole. Stepping down the massive flight of stone stairs with absolutely no hesitation, his destination was soon in sight: the village beneath the monastery. Its name was unclear to him. If it even had one to begin with. But its moniker was of no importance to him.
He was focused on one person. That gorgeous, delightfully blond-haired figure came into view at the edge of the village, her prepossessing teeth brilliantly reflecting the rays of the sun. Her face was unbound by facial hair restrictions like his was. Hers was able to flourish amazingly out in the open. And it was her smile alone that caused his heart rate to spike. He could barely maintain such a gesture of his own.
"Hi there, Lucas," was all Sophia needed to say to force his knees to weaken. "How are you?"
"I-I...uh, I'm good! Yeah!" Lucas stuttered. "I'm doing well! H-how about you?"
"Much better now that you're here. Shall we get moving?" Sophia replied in a sultry tone, only resulting in Lucas' face reddening deeply. She offered her hand. This served to make things much worse for the professor.
"W-wow, that's...oh goddess, that's not a good thought," Lucas mumbled to himself as he dealt with his emotions while staring at the ground. He raised his head. "Yeah. L-let's go."
As he reached out his hand, he was taken by surprise as she forcibly grabbed his arm, giving him a strange leer. Lucas became merely a slave to his own emotions. Sophia dashed ahead, stringing along the Garreg Mach staff member as they both entered the village proper. He allowed the divine woman to take charge of matters, refusing to wrangle control out of her. All he did was figuratively lay back and watch.
"What the hell is going on with me?" Lucas wondered to himself. "She's leading me around the place and I'm just letting her. No hesitation, no nothing. It's as if my mind's been emptied and she's somehow psychically controlling me. What's this feeling? Is it…?"
Byleth remained silent, choosing not to spoil Lucas' moment of self discovery. Just then, something shot through the time traveller's incorporeal being, like a sharp jolt of pain. Yet nothing was 'physically' wrong with him. Nor was something mentally wrong with his host. That was when he decided to speak up.
"Lucas! Be careful. I feel as if something dangerous is about to happen," he warned.
"Huh?"
Before he could attain any sort of clarification, Lucas' vision suddenly turned black. His consciousness fell in a matter of moments. Looming over his fallen body was none other than the blonde beauty herself, Sophia. Her smile had contorted into something much more malicious in nature. Her metaphorical fangs were showing themselves.
"It's time to go, Lucas."
She grabbed his unconscious self and teleported away from the village.
Back within Garreg Mach, Ferdinand von Aegir had been able to find himself a suitable training opponent. One that wasn't entirely pleased with the arrangement. Yet she couldn't help but note the value in needing to spar. Edelgard needed some more sword training, after all.
The pair of Adrestians were engaging one another in a close bout. Their respective training weapons clashed against each other time and time again. Neither side was able to obtain a clear victory. Until Edelgard decided to sweep at Ferdinand's feet, causing him to stumble and creating enough of a window of opportunity for the princess to follow up with a powerful slash. This sent her opponent flying off to the side. His back skidded against the ground, his entire body harmlessly coming to a stop before it could reach a pillar. Ferdinand grinned.
"Excellent work, Edelgard! You truly have strength befitting of your station," he complimented her.
"Are you finished, Ferdinand?" She sighed. "I grow tired of these games. Enough with your self-imposed competitions. I shouldn't need to continually prove myself to you in this manner. Especially not when they all end with you being hurt."
"It is nothing! I can persist with this all day if need be! Just...give me a moment's rest."
Edelgard rolled her eyes as her sparring partner remained seated on the floor, catching his breath for what felt like forever. Yet, she was patient. She allowed him to do as he needed. He picked himself back up after he was done. Instead of quitting as she hoped, he unfortunately went back to pointing his Training Lance towards her.
"You cannot be serious," Edelgard commented quietly, a silent breath escaping her mouth. "Ferdinand, have you not had enough?"
"No," he shook his head promptly. "I will never have enough. Not until I know for sure that I am superior to you."
"Ugh. You are...quite something, actually."
As the two prepared to take each other on for what might have been the millionth time that day, an unforeseen slamming of the training ground doors brought all of their attention out of the fight and towards the sound's source. Edelgard gasped upon discovering it.
"Hubert?"
Her retainer quickly approached her, sweat evident on his face. She could even see a hint of panic hiding underneath his composed visage. Her mouth remained agape.
"Lady Edelgard, I bring unfortunate news," Hubert spoke.
"What is the matter, Hubert? Has something happened? Does it have anything to do with the Empire?" Edelgard inquired.
"Nothing of the sort," the Vestra heir frowned. "Our professor has been acting rather strangely recently. I was curious about the cause, so I decided to investigate him. It appears he had plans to meet with someone in the village today. I followed him there. It seemed he was much too absorbed in his own thoughts to notice someone trailing him from the shadows."
"What happened to Professor Lucas?" Edelgard directly asked, cutting to the point.
"He has been abducted. Likely by the woman he was to meet," Hubert revealed.
Edelgard and Ferdinand's eyes widened.
Author Notes: Well, you called it, Rationalism.
So begins what I call the 'Lucas Abduction Arc'. I think you can see why. The reveal of Sophia not being who she was supposed to be wasn't meant to be a surprise for the reader. Was kinda goin' for a dramatic irony thing there. Lucas didn't know she had ill-intentions. He fell for it, hook, line and sinker. And all that. I hope it's all worked out well enough! Do let me know if you have any criticisms!
On an unrelated note, it appears I'm getting close to 100 followers on this fic! Already this is my most popular work, so I'm happy with where I am right now, but if this gets to 100, I will absolutely pop off. Maybe you can help get me there…?
Don't forget to join the Fanfiction Treehouse Discord server! I'm there along with a whole load of other cool writers! Here's the invite code: 9XG3U7a.
See y'all next time!
EDIT (26/09/2021): I do love this story arc.