Fodlan was covered in the eternal shade of night. Moonlight twinkled down upon the restless residents of the three-pronged continent. Flying underneath the presence of the moon was a group of pegasus knights, all of whom were returning to their base of operations at Garreg Mach Monastery. Their mission was complete. The kidnapped professor had been recovered.
Despite that, not a single round of merriment was shared amongst any of the group. Not even Lucas - the professor in question - had anything to say. He was as silent as everyone else. His gaze was fixated upon the distance, his mind seemingly elsewhere, bearing a facial expression of quiet wrath.
None of the knights wished to unpack that mess.
As the night lingered, the group sped through the sky on top of their winged mounts. Lucas had to sit behind one of the knights on their pegasus - much to the rider's chagrin. Fortunately for them, the silence made the journey at least somewhat bearable. But that reassurance meant nothing against the tense atmosphere brought along by Lucas' presence.
The knights eventually arrived at Garreg Mach. They signalled their friends who were all stuck on the ground before deciding upon a good landing spot. Between the faculty's living quarters and the knights' barracks, the pegasi touched upon grass.
Lucas leapt off the back of the creature he'd been riding on and was just about to head away, but the same knight that approached him prior to his rescue prevented him from leaving.
"Hey, where do you think you're going?" The knight questioned, placing a hand on the teacher's shoulder. A sharp glare from said teacher forced the soldier to recoil his hand. "Uh, well, we've gotta report to Lady Rhea first. I'll go with you since none of the others seem to wanna do it."
Lucas grumbled. "Sure. If we have to."
"We do, sir."
"I didn't ask."
The knight made an O-shape with his mouth and profusely nodded. As he and the professor walked away from the area, the knight turned back to his friends. They all appeared to be sniggering and laughing at his expense. He sighed, then continued on with his job.
Proceeding towards the wide gate that divided the non-student oriented section of the monastery with the student-focused segments, Lucas and the knight whose name remained unknown appeared near the courtyard and stables. The knight took the lead. He, with the professor right behind him, walked over the stone path laid upon the ground and entered the central building. They went on inside.
Heading straight down through the Reception Hall, the two were getting close to where they needed to go. Yet something else wished to impede their progress.
"Professor!"
Flipping themselves right around, Lucas and the knight found that a quartet of Black Eagles students approached the two. Not all of them were there, but it didn't matter much. The teacher's frown did not dissipate upon their arrival.
"Professor," Edelgard repeated, halting herself in place. "It is fortunate to see that you have returned alive and well. Welcome back."
Lucas said nothing. Edelgard tilted her head slightly.
"Is there something wrong? Did anything horrific occur?" The princess asked.
Lucas looked away. The Black Eagles' house leader bore a sad smile while her classmates all wore their own looks of confusion.
"I see. In that case, I hope you start feeling better soon, my teacher. After all, there are still lessons to be held," Edelgard consoled him. "You'd best remember that."
"Edie-!" Dorothea protested, yet Lucas held up a hand.
"She's right," he interrupted her. "I'm a professor and the school year hasn't quite finished yet. While that's still the case, I have to teach. Nothing more and nothing less."
"Even still, you do not need to overwork yourself. Ensure you get the rest that you need, Professor," Ferdinand advised with a joyful grin.
"Indeed. Your lessons would not be very entertaining should you suddenly lack the energy to teach with your typical methods," Hubert agreed. "They are certainly most amusing."
Lucas glared at the Vestra, then switched his gaze over to the other students.
"Edelgard, Ferdinand, Dorothea…" he thought to himself as his eyes landed on each person. The ends of his mouth twitched. "Thank you. I'll be back."
The knight, who stood aside and refused to ruin the moment, perked up when Lucas' eyes fell upon him. He returned back to his leadership position, bringing himself and the faculty member over towards the stairs right by the Reception Hall. All four of the Black Eagles remained where they were in the hall, observing as their professor left.
"I wonder what happened out there," Ferdinand wondered, placing a hand on his head. "Did you see his eyes? They could tell a story all on their own."
"And his singular tone of speaking...that in of itself is evident enough of the nature of what may have occurred. I merely hope he is not unable to move forward from this," Edelgard hoped.
"Someone who remains stuck in the past, unable to see the future and blind to the present...they will not be able to achieve anything," remarked Hubert.
Dorothea frowned. She clasped her hands together.
"Professor, please. I hope you're okay. But clearly, you're not. I...I can't let you fall down that deep, dark hole of emotion. I won't let you."
Once she was done, Dorothea's frown changed to an expression of sheer determination. She surprised her classmates by immediately power-walking out of the Reception Hall, leaving the three in a heavily confused state.
"What was that?" Ferdinand asked, now scratching his head.
"I am unsure. Perhaps she's merely had enough of the situation and wishes to retreat to her quarters," Hubert suggested.
"No," Edelgard shook her head. "That's not the direction the student dormitories are in. Dorothea's got something in mind. As for what that might be - I do not know. We must simply leave her alone. I'm confident it is nothing nefarious."
"You are correct as always, Lady Edelgard," Hubert concurred, smiling.
"I do not disagree. But I cannot shake the feeling there is something else to it," Ferdinand shared. "I do have faith in Dorothea, however. I just wish she'd stop calling me a bee."
"Ha! I had forgotten all about that. It is still rather apt," Hubert smirked. Ferdinand glared at him. "She may refer to us by rather ridiculous names, but likening you to a bothersome creature is likely the most accurate comparison she has ever made."
"I could say the same for you," the Aegir heir countered.
Edelgard raised two hands, preventing the argument from escalating any further. "Enough, the both of you. It is time for rest."
Reluctantly, Ferdinand and Hubert quietened themselves down as per their house leader's instruction. They all then departed from the Reception Hall, heading to their respective dorms and calling it a night.
While they did that, Dorothea's mission went underway.
Lucas, as well as his accompanying knight, had gone straight over to the stairs by the Reception Hall. Stepping up onto the first floor, the audience chamber was soon within sight. They walked right inside. Lady Rhea broadened her smile upon their arrival.
"Ah, Professor Lucas. I am pleased to see that you have survived your ordeal," she greeted the uniformed man. "Good knight, you and your allies have performed very well. I thank you for your prompt rescue of our dearest friend here."
Lucas said nothing, merely nodding while the knight responded in a more positive manner. "Yep! Thank you very much, Lady Rhea! It took us some time to get to where they had gone, but at least we got there in the end!"
"Yes, you are indeed correct." Rhea's brows then furrowed, her expression briefly flickering over to one of disappointment. "I do not see the body of Lucas' captor. I assume there were complications in the matter…?"
"Uh, well," the knight rubbed his neck. He looked over to the professor. "I think you should handle this one, sir."
"Fine. If I must." Lucas sighed as he fixated his attention on the Archbishop. The knight stepped back, figuring himself to be unimportant in regards to the next step of the report. "Lady Rhea, there were complications in the matter."
"Oh? Do tell, then."
Lucas closed his eyes, taking a moment to steel himself before recounting his experience.
"I'll start from the beginning," he eventually said. "Some time ago, I met this stunning village woman named Sophia. She was apparently a merchant's assistant. I...I was in a rough patch. Dark thoughts were clouding my mind. Sophia helped me get over them. Her words felt genuine. That, combined with her beauty, made her like a sun that casted away the shadows of my heart."
Rhea nodded in understanding. Lucas' brows formed a glower.
"But then, as we were about to get a drink together, she took me round a corner and knocked me unconscious. Sophia wasn't who she said she was. As I later found out, her real name...was Pittacus."
Lucas shot the Archbishop a secret, implicative glance. She got the message right away, realising exactly what he was referring to.
"She didn't say where she was taking me, but I had a good idea it wasn't exactly going to be anywhere pleasant. Along the way there, as I was tied up in the back of the carriage, Pittacus kept tormenting me. Constantly belittling me as if I was a damn fool for falling for her. A-and her ruse."
A light chuckle came from him.
"Heh. The thing is? She wasn't wrong. I was incredibly moronic for not keeping my guard up. I would have avoided this whole situation if I just kept more to myself. But that's not what happened, unfortunately. I did all of that to myself."
Rhea seemed as if she wished to speak, but Lucas interrupted her (respectfully).
"Not to say that I blame only myself for this. Sophia-no, Pittacus rightfully deserves much more of my ire. Of anyone's ire. That foul, disgusting witch deserves no less than what I gave her."
"What did you do with her, Lucas?" Rhea wondered. "Whatever you did, is that the reason why she is not with us at this very moment?"
"Yes. I killed her. I riddled her with holes and forcibly created many new orifices for her body to excrete blood. I unleashed my rage upon that vile beast," Lucas monotoned, his voice taking on a low pitch and speed.
Rhea and the knight were speechless. They had no immediate response for the shocking statement Lucas just gave.
"Lucas, you...never mind. It is sad that you were wrought with such unpleasant circumstances. I can understand why you would act in such a manner. It is also unfortunate that we are no longer able to obtain information from this Pittacus...woman. Yet, I do not feel as if that information would be much of a help for us," Rhea soon responded. She turned to the guard. "Good knight, may you leave? I wish to discuss something privately with our professor here."
"Sure thing, Lady Rhea! I would love to hit the bed right about now! Have a good night, you two!" The knight chipperly accepted the Archbishop's request, promptly leaving the audience chamber.
At that point, the only two individuals within there were Rhea and Lucas. She gave him a look of pity.
"You truly are a troubled soul. I pray that the goddess' presence within you is providing the guidance you require." Rhea clasped her hands together.
"...She's been a big help," Lucas hesitatingly revealed. "I won't deny that. Sometimes, though, I just get carried away. Like with Pittacus. And Miklan. And, to a lesser extent, Lysithea."
"It is difficult to control such base urges. I understand your peril. Even I struggle with such issues," Rhea divulged.
"You do?" Lucas' mind flashed back to the game. "Oh. Yeah, you do."
Rhea frowned. "I do not appreciate how your foreknowledge invades my own privacy in the way that it does, but I am much too thankful for it to complain any further. Either way, I know how much of a pain it can be to discard such powerful urges. It can very well change you if you do not know how to control it. Fortunately, I do. But do you, Lucas?"
He turned away. This gave Rhea the response she was expecting - not the one she desired.
"I see." The Archbishop lightly nodded. "Are you aware of the events that transpired a thousand years ago, particularly the ones involving the battle with Nemesis, the King of Liberation?"
"Yeah. I know all about that." Lucas fell to a whisper. "I also know that you took part in it."
"Then you will be aware of what I did to Nemesis."
Lucas gasped. "That's...you stabbed him multiple times as he was already on the ground, defeated. I-"
"Yes," Rhea interrupted him. "Which is why I must not let you follow the same path. You cannot allow yourself to be overcome by hatred."
"But how? How do I go about not succumbing to those emotions? Every time somebody gives me advice on this kind of thing, I'm never able to follow it. Either because I forget, or it's just too hard for me to actually enact. I mean this out of complete respect, Lady Rhea. I don't know how you can help me."
"I will impart you with the same words I repeat to myself daily. The same words I use to guide my own conduct."
"Huh?"
Rhea grinned.
"Always have something positive at the back of your mind. A reminder of the good elements that surround the world. Something that can calm your soul should a situation become too intense," she recalled. "You must find whatever that is for yourself, Lucas. A person, an apparition of the goddess, a favourite poem - anything. This is the same line of thinking that many go through before becoming faithful, just so you know."
"Something that can calm my soul…?" Lucas thought about this for a moment, falling silent as he did so. "Nothing's coming to mind right now. But, uh, thank you, Lady Rhea. I won't forget this one."
"Of course. Now, you may leave, Lucas. You seem as if you desperately require rest. I believe you have earned it."
"Right. Thanks again, Rhea."
Leaving with the slightest implications of a smile upon his face, Lucas ventured out from the audience chamber, departing from the central building as a whole and darting towards his bedroom. The one place where he could truly get some rest.
He collapsed upon the mattress as soon as he got inside. In an instant, his eyelids became heavy. Sleep did not come to him. Instead, a headache rang through his mind. A sudden mental pain erupting through every course of his brain. It wasn't quite unbearable - Lucas still had enough room to think.
Yet it was still there, tormenting Lucas with its presence. All of his attempts to fall asleep had been thwarted by that irksome ache.
"Heavens above, Sothis," he complained within the void.
"What do I have to do with this?" The goddess in question wondered.
"I, uh, it was meant to be a...it's just an exclamation," Lucas eventually explained. He took off the hat from his professor's uniform and stared at it. "Never mind."
Sothis narrowed her eyes and murmured in discontentment. It all became relatively quiet once again in the teacher's mind as he struggled to combat the headache and get some well-needed rest. Unfortunately, it wouldn't quite come. No matter how hard he reached, he just couldn't grasp it. Lucas slammed his hat on the floor in a burst of irritation.
"It's one of those damn nights, I see," he grumbled. "Tis but an endless road that is littered with bumps."
"That's a rather poetic way to put it," Byleth remarked with a small grin.
"It's also perhaps an overly dramatic description of events. He cannot fall asleep. There is no need to dress up that fact with flowery words and the like." Sothis folded her arms in vexation.
"I'm a writer, what do you expect? Anyway, you two chattering in my mind isn't gonna help things. It's only gonna make my restlessness worse," Lucas griped. "Heh, I guess Hapi's nickname really was accurate. Speaking of which, I wonder how she and the rest of the Ashen Wolves are doing. Haven't seen 'em in a while."
"Unfortunately, I do not know precisely what they are doing around this time. I haven't seen them leave Garreg Mach before. They've always joined my class after we've dealt with Aelfric," Byleth recalled.
"Is that so? Huh," Lucas responded in vague interest.
Sothis very audibly sighed. "I thought chattering didn't help. Why do you two persist on it?"
Lucas shrugged. Byleth merely stared back at the goddess with a nondescript expression, only serving to irritate the deity.
"Fine. Just know that if you truly wish to attain sleep, then this is not the way to do that. Perhaps you require some external source to alleviate your woes. This world may not have any of your 'antibiotics' or whatever, but there are certainly ways to heal," Sothis stated. "You've taken walks before. Why not try that again?"
"I've had my fair share of walking for one day," Lucas instantly refused. "I don't feel up to doing any more."
"What else are you going to do? Simply waste around in here as you're beaten around by your head pains? That hardly seems like a useful or effective option," argued Sothis.
"I'm sure sleep will come to me eventually. Just gotta give it some time," Lucas said as he stretched his arms and yawned.
"If you say that, it never will," Sothis claimed. "That is how the temptress known as rest works."
"Says you. You can practically fall asleep at will. That's a power I wish I had. It'd be very useful right about now, but I guess unlike Byleth's mana, it's something that can't be shared with me," Lucas guessed.
Sothis slapped her ethereal forehead. "Enough with the chatter! Just get moving! Or else I'll shock you again. And you don't want that."
"Oh come on, you're bringing that old chestnut back? Fine. I'll get up," Lucas conceded.
The professor lifted his body from the mattress, scooping up his lightly damaged hat as his arm swung upward. He was about to step away from the bed when a knock came from his bedroom door.
"Who's that? And at this time of night, too…" Lucas mumbled as he put on his hat, pulled himself away from his bed and swung the door open. "Dorothea?"
One of Garreg Mach's resident flirts had shown up at his doorway. She carried a plate with some kind of sandwich-related construct messily strewn together upon it. A cup of black tea was in her free hand. Lucas eyed it for a brief moment before refocusing his gaze on the woman in his doorway.
"Hi, Professor," Dorothea greeted her teacher. "How are you feeling?"
"Not particularly well, I'll be honest. I'm having trouble getting to sleep," Lucas answered. He eyed the tea and sandwich again. "Is that…?"
"Yep. They're both for you. I thought you might be hungry, what with you being out there for so long. I have a feeling that woman didn't feed you anything," Dorothea assumed. She handed him the plate. "I got you an egg sandwich. I know you like those. At least, that's what the chef said. Apparently, you only seem to order egg and fish related dishes. What's with that?"
"I like egg and fish," Lucas defended himself, his eyes narrowing and his arms folded.
"Oh. Well, okay then. I guess it'd be hypocritical for me to judge. Here, take the plate. My arm's getting kinda tired."
Lucas promptly took the plate away from Dorothea's grasp, placing it down on his desk. She then offered him the cup of tea.
"I also know you like your black tea, so I got you some Albinean Berry Blend. I would've gotten some Chamomile, but they didn't have any of that, unfortunately. I hope this is good enough," Dorothea hoped.
"Uh, yeah, this is good. I like Albinean Berry Blend. Not my favourite, but its relaxing scent is pretty nice." Lucas carefully grasped the teacup and slowly placed it onto his desk, beside the plate. "So, did you make all this?"
"I did. I'm not really all that good at cooking, especially not compared to someone like Bernie or Ashe from the Blue Lions. To me, food's all the same once it's in your mouth. But…" Dorothea paused, a smile forming upon her lips. "I wanted to make this. For you."
"For me? Why?" Lucas questioned, an eyebrow raised.
"I already said. Because I thought you were hungry," Dorothea repeated herself after a brief giggle. "Maybe that's why you can't get to sleep."
"Huh. That might actually be it. Well, in that case-!"
Lucas zipped over to the plate and forcefully grabbed the breaded delicacy. He carefully lifted the sloppy creation, ensuring not to allow the fried egg any chance of escape. As Lucas was about to chomp down onto his meal, Byleth reached out a metaphysical hand.
"No, don't!" He suddenly exclaimed.
But it was too late. Lucas had already taken a bite out of the sandwich.
"What's with all the ruckus?" Sothis asked, confused.
"H-he...Dorothea's cooking. He ate it. It's-" Byleth stammered, his metaphysical stomach somehow cramping.
"What is the matter with you? Just spit it out!" Sothis demanded as she bore a frown.
Byleth gulped. "Dorothea's cooking...it's infamous."
"Infamous how?"
"Look at Lucas' face. Then you will find your answer."
Sothis could only gasp at what she saw upon Lucas' face. It had contorted, crushed itself up into an unrecognisable shape. A wrinkled mess of its prior existence.
"Oh my. That cannot be good," she commented.
Lucas' facial expression had maintained itself in the real world. Fortunately, his face was pointed towards the wall, meaning Dorothea couldn't see it. She could only view the back of his head. Yet, her brows were furrowed - as if she could somehow see his face.
"It's not good, isn't it?" She queried. "You don't have to eat it if you don't like it. I-I'll take it back. I'll even eat it myself! There's no need to put yourself through that, Professor."
In response, Lucas fixed up his unflattering facial expression, returning it to normal. He slowly turned around, partly-eaten sandwich still in his grasp. An eye of his pointed directly at Dorothea's.
With no hesitation, Lucas chomped down on the sandwich again, much to the student's amazement and confusion.
"What? Why? It can't actually be good, can it?"
Lucas shook his head and swallowed his bite. "It doesn't matter to me if it's tasty or not. You made this sandwich purely for me, Dorothea. Despite your own distaste for cooking, you still put me before yourself. It would be absolutely abhorrent for me to simply throw away your efforts. I'll eat the sandwich, even though it's not that great, because...it's from you to me. And that can't be denied."
He smiled and then carried on eating. Dorothea watched him do so, surrounded and overtaken by the omnipresent feeling of bewilderment. She smiled in return.
"Thank you, Professor."
"No, thank you. This is exactly what I needed."
Things grew quiet between the two as Lucas munched on the remainder of the sandwich, powering through any surges of disgust. Eventually, he was able to consume the rest of it. A quick sip of the Albinean Berry Blend tea Dorothea also prepared was used to wash it all down once he was finished. He breathed a relaxed sigh once he drank the tea.
"There we go. Thanks again, Dorothea. That really hit the spot," Lucas thanked his student.
"I'm glad you at least appreciated it," Dorothea chuckled. She checked around herself, coming to a realisation. "Uh, can I come in? I've been meaning to ask you something."
"Oh, I thought you did that already. Sure, come on in," Lucas accepted.
The Black Eagles commoner allowed herself in, closing the door as she walked in. Her professor motioned to the bed as he sat down on the chair next to his desk. She took the offer, slowly parking herself onto the mildly messy sleeping apparatus.
"So, what's on your mind?" Lucas wondered, mug in hand.
"I…" Dorothea hesitated. "I'd like to know how you're faring, Professor. Especially after what happened with that woman of yours."
"Oh." Lucas almost dropped his tea, but caught himself prior to the mistake taking place. He carefully put the mug back onto the desk. His tone of voice fell. "You wanted to talk about that."
"I remember what you said before the Battle of the Eagle and Lion. You really liked her, didn't you? I'm sorry to hear it didn't go so well."
Lucas turned away, hesitating to speak.
"Actually, it must've gone a lot worse than that. She kidnapped you, Professor. I've been on a lot of dates in my time and I've never been taken away like that. Did she hurt you in any way?"
His expression turned into an intense scowl.
"Oh, wow. By that look, I'm guessing it was pretty bad. She didn't torture you or anything, did she?"
Still, Lucas refused to say anything. Dorothea's brows furrowed.
"Professor, you can tell me. It's okay. I won't tell anyone else. I promise."
Lucas hesitated again. His scowl loosened for a moment as he struggled internally, but eventually, he refocused his gaze back upon the physical world. He turned to face Dorothea, his loosened scowl still present.
"She...Sophia was something special. I was in a rough spot last month. My mind was completely enthralled in darkness, you might say. Did I ever tell you where I come from?"
"No, but Ferdie told us. He said you come from a place called 'England'. That can't be right, can it? Surely you made that up."
"I didn't. I really am from England. It's a place so far, far away that it's impossible to reach via boat. I don't even know how I got here in the first place," Lucas partially lied. "I missed my home a lot last month. I still do, to be honest. But I'm less sad about it now than I was before."
"That's good, then. Wait, what does this have to do with your story?"
"I was getting to that. So I was in a bad way last month. Had some really terrible and negative thoughts that I probably shouldn't get into right now. Anyway, while I was wandering around the marketplace, trying to keep my mind off it all...I met Sophia. Her gorgeous blond hair seemed to cast away all the shadows that appeared around my soul. And then when I started talking to her, they all went away, pretty much."
"She was your one light in the darkness?"
"Yeah," Lucas nodded, a saddened smile on his face. "A really big help for my shattered mental state back then. Granted, I'm not much better at the moment, but I'm not as fragile as I was then. She was the one person I felt like I could really talk to about my problems."
"But, Professor, I'm here. We're all here. You could've talked to any of us. Except maybe Hubie, Lin or potentially Caspar. Don't you remember what I've been telling you this whole time?"
"I get that. Trust me. It's just…" Lucas faltered. "I didn't feel like I could. I dunno. It's one of those things."
"I think I understand. You didn't exactly agree with me."
"Something like that, yeah. But anyway, back to the story. Sophia really did help me with my problems. She made me feel better about myself. She reminded me that the world isn't all bad and that there's things to look forward to, that I shouldn't feel so bad about myself all the time. Then she revealed her true self. She turned out to be a despicable being who never deserved to exist."
"That's-"
Lucas glared at her, like he was already in doubt of what she was going to say. "It's the truth, Dorothea. Sophia lost her right to exist when she turned me inside out and tore me all the fuckin' way apart! She pissed all over the time we spent together! All for some diabolic, nefarious scheme! The worst part is that she never cared for me. Our time together was but a front so she could enact her plan. She had to be so fucking selfish so as to do that…!"
He'd been clenching his left hand immensely hard. Dorothea had taken on a facial expression of deep worriment.
"Professor!" She called out, rushing to cover one of his shoulders with her hand. At this touch, his clenching had relaxed. "Professor, it's okay. She's not here anymore. You're safe."
"R-right…" Lucas took a moment to properly relax. His expression fell into an abyss of sadness. "Damn it. Dorothea, why? Why did this have to happen to me? Why do I deserve every little bad thing that happens? Why?!"
"No. You're wrong, Professor. You don't deserve any of this." Dorothea's own expression fell, matching that of her teacher's. "You're smart, you're kind and you're strong. But sometimes, the world doesn't favor people like that. Or anyone, for that matter."
Lucas shot her a look of confusion. She elaborated.
"Yeah, even if it seems like everything is against us and it all feels unfair, we've always gotta push forward. That way, we'll be a little bit closer to the things we like and the things that make us happy. This kind of thinking is what's gotten me to where I am today."
"Really?" Lucas wondered.
It was Dorothea's turn to hesitate. She nodded before reluctantly proceeding. "I used to live on the streets of Enbarr, the Empire's capital. It wasn't a good experience, I'll tell you that much. I always used to worry that I might not live to see the next morning. And then I'd end up realising how much I wanted to see it. I always hoped the following day would bring me some good fortune. It never did."
A small pause. Dorothea soon continued.
"Until that one day someone found me singing. They enrolled me into the Mittelfrank Opera Company. That was my salvation from the streets. The light in my darkness. Now, several years later, I'm here at Garreg Mach Monastery, the most prestigious school in all of Fodlan. This is something the average person could only dream of. That's gotta count for something."
As Lucas stared at the swirling mass of brown in his cup, listening to Dorothea's story, something lit up in his head. Something from her story jumped out and resonated with a feeling deep inside of him.
"Something the average person could only dream of…" he repeated internally. "That's just like how I'm here in Fodlan. In the world of Fire Emblem Three Houses - a video game. Most people can only dream about this, but it's reality for me. And despite everything, I'm alive. Despite all the shit that's been thrown my way, I'm still here. Talking with Dorothea, drinking tea...this really isn't so bad."
An unburdened smile showed itself on his visage.
"You're actually right, Dorothea. I'm here at Garreg Mach as well. And I'm alive. That's gotta mean I'm doing something good, right?" Lucas asked out loud.
"Yeah! You're getting it, Professor. That's exactly the right mindset to have," Dorothea confirmed, a similar smile coming to her. "Did I help you at all?"
"I'd say so," Lucas answered happily. "Thanks. I needed that as well."
"You're welcome. I'm glad I was able to cast a light on those shadows of yours. Even if they aren't gone, I'll be willing to get rid of them for you. Do you think you'll be able to sleep now?"
"After I finish this tea, I think so. Again, I can't thank you enough. Let me know if there's anything I can do to help you in return. I feel like I owe you a big favour."
"Hmm…" Dorothea trailed off in thought. "There is something you can do, but I think I'll save that for later. I'm not sure I need it right now. I'll let you know when I do."
"Sure thing. Anything for you, Dorothea. You've really helped me out here."
"Anything, you say? I'll be sure to remember that, Professor. Goodnight," she said as she removed herself from the bed and headed over to the door.
"Goodnight. See you tomorrow."
Dorothea smiled once more before leaving the dorm room entirely. Lucas continued sitting at his desk, drinking the remainder of his incredibly scorching hot tea bit by bit. He leaned back in his chair while wearing a content countenance. His cup was sitting comfortably within his grasp.
"Yeah. I'll see you tomorrow. But then..." Lucas mentally spoke to himself. He took another sip, downing some more of the caffeinated drink. "Tomorrow, there'll be a new me. So you won't really be seeing 'me' as I am now."
He chuckled.
"I wonder. Will this next morning bring me any good fortune?"
As the night furthered, Lucas continued drinking his tea.
Author Notes: And so ends the Lucas Abduction Arc! Seems like Lucas is going through a few changes. But what will those changes entail? You'll have to find out in the coming chapters.
Also, you might like to know that Act 1 of this fic is nearly over. Just got the next two chapters before it ends. And those will certainly be some chapters indeed, oh just you wait.
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 really like this chapter.