A/N: So, when I decided to break up this year into two chapters, I was sure the first chapter was going to be relatively short. Nope! It's the longest chapter yet! I didn't even realize I knew this many words (okay sure a lot of them are repeating but still!).

In regard to my question last chapter about the rating. Many of you have stated that my rating was still a Teen so I'm going to keep it that way. But for the few of you that did express your concerns I will put up warnings. I will probably put those warning next to the month that the warning will pretrain to (Example: Wyvern Moon 1174 Warning for Violence or such). That being said, my rating may always change in the future.

And my final author note for the beginning part is that I have a female cat in heat and haven't been able to get any decent sleep for the last 6 days, so I apologize in advance if there are a lot more than usual spelling or grammar errors.

Ages:

Byleth: 15

Dimitri: 11

Felix: 11

Sylvain: 14

Ingrid: 11

Glenn: 17

Garland Moon 1175:

Sixteenth of the Garland Moon:

Sylvain had just turned fourteen and a lavish party was thrown in his honor without his desire. He would have much preferred a simple party with his friends, but he rarely got what he wanted from his family besides material stuff. His fourteenth birthday had been especially extravagant because Sylvain had finally activated his crest and was forced to show it off to all to solidify him as the heir and to promote that he was a desirable marriage candidate to all the single women.

That day couldn't have ended soon enough for him. He got to at least spend the next day with his friends. Felix and Ingrid would be staying for the rest of the month while Dimitri would have to leave by the end of the week. Their stay wasn't for as long as he would have liked but it was nice for the time being at least.

They had sat around a table in Sylvain's room, playing cards as night had settled in. Dimitri was clearly distracted and had been fidgeting for the past two days. Sylvain was just waiting for the prince to say or do whatever had been bothering him. Felix and Ingrid were both too absorbed into the game as each was determined to be the winner. Sylvain was more interested in waiting for Dimitri to explode than to be bothered to play the game.

"Ha! I win!" Ingrid shouted as she slapped down her hand on the large pile of cards before Felix could. Felix grumbled and tossed his remaining cards into the air. It was only then that both Sylvain and Dimitri realized that they had zoned out for the better part of the game.

Ingrid pushed the pile of cards towards Felix with a mocking grin. The blue haired boy looked away, refusing to acknowledge them in the slightest. "Admit it! Admit that I won!" He folded his arms across his chest and looked to the side. She poked him in the chest. "Admit it!" He exhaled loudly through his nose. "Such a stubborn boy, nothing like Sir Glenn."

"If we had been sword fighting then there is no way, I would have lost!" he proclaimed loudly. He got onto his feet and pointed at her. "I challenge you!"

"No," Sylvain nonchalantly said as he cleaned up the cards and Felix huffed loudly. "I told you I just want to relax."

"I am not challenging you!"

"I know but if my father sees it then he will make me join, so no." With a humph Felix dropped back onto the floor, pouting.

"Prince Dimitri, you have been awfully quiet. Is something wrong?" Ingrid finally asked since neither of the other two boys were willing too.

"I, uh…um…," Dimitri struggled to find the words he wanted to say, and his cheeks warmed as a result. "Would you all be willing to help me with something?" Everyone agreed quickly, which brought a smile to his face.

"I…uh…," he stumbled again, and his face was getting warmer by the second. He took a deep breath and looked at everyone before continuing. "I…I plan to confess to By on my birthday."

Both Ingrid and Sylvain shouted their surprise, while Felix was puzzled. "Confess what?" the youngest boy asked.

"His love!" Ingrid squealed, practically into Felix's face. She then pulled away to imagine the moment. "And you will do it on your birthday? Oh, it is going to be so romantic!"

"Are you sure about this?" Sylvain asked, ignoring Ingrid as she described the scene she was imagining.

"What do you mean?" Dimitri asked as he desperately tried to ignore Ingrid as well, less his face melt off from the embarrassment.

"Well…How do I put this nicely?" Sylvain mumbled. "Are you really sure you are in love? I mean, you are only eleven."

Dimitri placed a hand over his heart and smiled fondly. "She is all I ever think about anymore. I wonder if she is okay. If she ate yet and if so, did she like it? I wonder if she misses me, even a fraction of how much I miss her." He looked up and locked eyes with Sylvain. "There is always a strong warmth in my chest whenever I think about her. If this is not love, then I do not know what is."

"I think his love is more genuine than yours," Ingrid said and glared at the older boy, who threw his hands up in surrender.

"But By likes Gl-" Felix started to say before both Dimitri and Sylvain were quick to cover his mouth.

"Glendal!" Sylvain shouted a made-up name when Ingrid looked at them funny.

"Glendal is a knight in service to the Fraldarius' family," Dimitri was quick to add. "And I do not care. I still plan to confess and maybe that will help her notice me more."

Felix smacked both their hands away and gave them weak glares. "So, you think By will come back then?" Felix asked and all eyes flew to him. "Last year was terrible for her. And after everything she went through…" He didn't finish his thought with how heavy the mood had gotten.

"I…I believe she will come," Dimitri spoke after a few moments. "I have no proof, but I believe she will. By, will not let those events hold her back."

"So, what do you want us to do?" Sylvain asked to help lighten the mood. "Need some tips on wooing a girl? Oh, who am I kidding? Of course, you do!" Dimitri frowned and Ingrid rolled her eyes.

"I want to tell her on my birthday, so I will have to convince my father to allow her to attend, but after I do that, I will need help getting By read for the ball. That is where I will need your help." He paused to turn to Ingrid. "I will need your help getting By a dress." She frowned and he offered her a sympathetic smile. "I Know you do not care for such things, but you have more experience with those sorts of things than By." There was a collective agreement in the group before the prince turned to his two male friends. "I will need your help teaching By to dance." Felix groaned. "I fear if only I teach her, she might become suspicious." Both boys nodded and Dimitri expressed his heartfelt thanks.

"I just realized this means, I will not be able to flirt with By anymore," Sylvain pouted before Ingrid smacked him across the head.

"You should not have been flirting with her in the first place!"

Seventeenth of the Garland Moon:

The Jeralt mercenaries had settled in a small town on the border of the Alliance and Empire. They had been hired to exterminate some bandits but founding their hideout had been difficult, causing them to stay a lot longer than what Jeralt would have liked. It was a small, peaceful town, the kind Byleth liked, but because of its proximity to the Empire, she was having a hard time enjoying her stay. She didn't know where Lord Arundel's land was in the Empire, so all of the Empire bothered her so.

She had not been attacked since that night during the Wyvern Moon the year prior, but it did leave her on a constant edge even with her father nearby. Falling asleep proved to be quite a challenge for her and even when she did finally manage to sleep it was never for long as she would always jolt awake soon after from a noise or something. Her fingers were constantly brushing over her dagger, making sure it was there as well as to be ready to strike whenever needed.

The bags under her eyes were becoming impossible to ignore. Jeralt was beside himself as he didn't know what more he could do for his daughter, besides beheading that Arundel bastard. He wanted to spend his entire time with her, but he couldn't. He refused to bring her on missions, despite her pleas that pierced his heart. Both her safety and innocence, he wanted to protect but after everything she went through, he feared she had little innocence left.

Until the bandits' lair would be uncovered, Jeralt was always at his daughter's side and they walked through the town, savoring the good day. The markets were full of people and were booming with life. He had feared that large amounts of people might bother Byleth but she had found comfort in the crowds so he would seek them out for her. Her reasoning for liking them didn't sit well with him though, "more eyes, meant more protection" was what she often told him. He was pleased to discover that despite everything she was still trusting but now maybe that trust was a problem.

Byleth drifted over to a leather shop. Her eyes glistened over the products, while he stood a bit back, watching. "Kid, we have plenty of leather," he said after a minute.

"Yeah, but it's old and cheap quality," She said as she inspected some high-quality leather.

"It's good enough for repairs. What do you need such high quality for?"

"Aster's gift." He pressed his lips together. He placed a hand on her shoulder and guided her away.

"After everything, you still want to go back?"

"I…" Memories of that night flooded her mind and she began to tremble. He squeezed her shoulder and the memories stopped. "Isn't the pay really good? It wouldn't be fair to the others if you don't accept the contract."

"I don't care about that. They others will understand."

She pressed her lips together and lowered her head. "I…I want to see Aster." And if she got to see her other friends too that would be great but after her exchange with Lord Rodrigue she was left with mixed feelings about him and she was afraid that those feelings would affect her relationship with Glenn and Felix. But despite everything Dimitri was a comfort she was desperately seeking. Or maybe that was what she was hoping because there was an emptiness she felt, and it was painful. She never shared that information with her father, she didn't want him to worry any more than he already was, nor did she want him to feel like a failure for being unable to help her.

He looked at her and she tried to maintain eye contact with him but eventually she gave in and looked away. Sighing deeply, he squeezed her shoulder. "I would prefer to never go back. I don't feel like you're safe there."

"Am I really safe with our current situation as well?" He flinched and she wished she could take back her words. She threw her arms around him and gave him a small squeeze. "I love you! I don't hate this life. I know you have done everything you could to keep me safe."

He said nothing as he smothered her in his own hug.

Twentieth of the Garland Moon:

The bandits' hideout still had yet to be discovered and Jeralt was starting to get antsy. He didn't want to stay in one place for so long; it was far too risky for his liking but there was little he could do. He couldn't just abandon the village and the pay was great, which they were in desperate need for at the moment. He was at the mercy of fate and prayed that no one would attack his daughter in the meantime.

Night had fallen on another uneventful day and his entire company of mercenaries were sitting around the fire. Byleth had finished her dinner and was cleaning up the dishes as he took a swig his ale. She showed no signs of their long stay being a bothered and he wondered if maybe he was worrying to much or if maybe his daughter was just stronger than he was giving her credit for.

"Father," she called as she walked over to him, drying her hands on her tunic in the process. "I want to learn Faith magic." He shook his head as he finished off his ale.

"We have been over this Kid," he sighed, "only the church offers free studies with no enrollment requirements. And I'm not letting you go to one."

"But it can be very cost efficient if I learn it! We won't have to spend so much money on bandages and concoctions!"

"I said no!"

She stomped her foot. "But dad!" Her eyes widened at the slip of her tongue.

"Dad?" Her cheeks turned red and she looked away.

"Aster calls his father 'dad' so I've been wanting to call you that for some time…I just didn't know if you would like it or not…"

"No, I love it!" He squeezed her in a big hug. "Always call me dad!" He rubbed his face against hers, and she groaned with weak protest. He shouted at everyone telling them what she called him, and her face turned slightly redder, when everyone cheered or laugh.

He laughed when she broke away from him pouting. She sat down next to him and he happily pulled her closer. The prince maybe looking at a daughter in a way he did not like but he could not deny that the boy was a positive influence; and even though he was still incredibly hesitant about returning to the Kingdom, he decided that it might be for the best for his daughter.

"So, can I learn Faith magic?" she asked again, and he sighed.

"No."

"But!"

"It's too dangerous." She stomped her foot and puffed out her cheeks. He loved how expressive she was becoming. She still couldn't emote as well as most people but now people wouldn't be able to call her lifeless, at least.

"You are just being ridiculous!"

"I'm being ridiculous? You're being ridiculous! We covered why you are not allowed to go to the church."

With a loud, over the top groan, Byleth stomped away. Sharing his own groan, Jeralt rubbed his face. He truly loved how expressive she had become but he would be lying if he said he didn't miss the easier days sometimes. He never took into account how difficult it would be to raise a teenage daughter.

"Why you deny our little princess something she want?" asked a gruff voice and another groan escaped the father. The voice belonged to a tall, dark man with jet black hair and a large, scruffy beard. He was a jolly man that both Jeralt and Byleth liked a lot, but that man was quite stubborn as well. Many of the men in the company had taken a liking to Byleth but that man had taken the greatest liking to her and even treated her like his own daughter.

"Muharib," the father groaned out the man's name.

"Our princess is good girl. How could you say no to her?"

"Did she tell you that she wants to go to church?"

Muharib turned to Byleth that had been standing behind him and folded his arms across his chest. He looked down at her and she tried to shrink into herself. Saying nothing, he shook his head at her, and she frowned in return.

She stomped her foot. "I just want to help!" she shouted. "You won't let me fight so at least let me heal!"

The two men looked at each other. Muharib arched an eyebrow at Jeralt, who sighed. The dark-skinned man stood behind her and placed his hands on her shoulder and now both of them were staring at the father.

"It's too dangerous…" Jeralt said weakly. Both Byleth and Muharib folded their arms across their chests. Shaking his head, Jeralt refused again.

"Please…," her tone had softened greatly. He looked up and saw that she was on the verge of tears that would never fall. Seeing her like that was a stab to his heart but he remained steadfast. "If I learn magic, I can better protect myself from those people." He pressed his lip tightly together. "I…I don't want to live in fear…" That was the final straw, he rushed to his daughter and held her in a tight embrace.

Twenty-first of the Garland Moon:

Reluctantly, so very reluctantly, Jeralt had agreed to let Byleth learn magic at the churches in the towns that they visited. There were some strict rules, she was never allowed to tell any church officials, her real name, age, or who her father was. She was also not allowed to stay in a church for more than two hours. All of the rules were agreeable to her.

The father daughter pair, along with Muharib, stood just down the street from the local church. Even though it had been agreed upon Jeralt was still incredibly hesitant to let her go, somewhere where he couldn't follow. Because of the possibility that he could be recognized he never allowed himself to be even on the same street of a church, but he wanted to at least see to it that she got inside safely. Muharib had volunteered to take Byleth to the church but because of his background, he would only stay outside the church.

"Okay Kid, have you thought up a new name?" Jeralt asked.

She nodded. "Byleth Blaiddyd." He squeezed her shoulders.

"Over my dead body will you be using that name! I'll be damned if I let the king have his way!" She titled her head and he sighed.

"Princess point of new name is to not have attention on you," Muharib spoke up and she nodded with new understanding.

"Byleth Fraldarius," Byleth said confidently. Jeralt sighed and Muharib laughed.

"Name still too famous."

"Allaena," she mumbled under her breath.

"Now princess, what we say about using my words?"

"But I like the way they sound."

Smiling Muharib patted her head. "You words make me happy but my words be bad. So, no say, okay?" Pouting, she nodded.

"Kid, you need to think up a new name that isn't using one of your friends' last name. I don't think you realize how important they are in the Kingdom," Jeralt said.

After promising that she would come up with a new name, Jeralt begrudgingly left to join the search for the bandits. Muharib than took over on explaining on what she was to do once inside the church. She was to leave immediately if she felt uncomfortable with anything and if she were unable to leave, she was to scream, and he would rush in.

Byleth made it through her first two hours of teaching with no problems. Though, she did find the preaching boring. Jeralt was forced to relent to her continuing her lessons but the rules still stayed.

Wyvern Moon 1175:

Nervousness and excitement made for a terrible combination and Dimitri had more energy than he knew what to do with nor could he put it to practical use. He was unable to sit still for his etiquette class and so the teacher ended it early, to his delight. During his lance practice, he ended up breaking three different lances including an iron lance and it was decided that training would end early before he broke all the supplies. He had been contented to just sit around in his room and wait for Byleth but all his energy wouldn't allow it; so he spent the remainder of the day running around the castle.

It was during his third run of the castle that he had learned of her arrival. Without a care he raced through the castle, heading for the entrance. Rounding a corner to quickly, he nearly ran into Jeralt. The older man stared down at the prince and Dimitri was frozen, struggling to maintain eye contact. The mercenary's eyes narrowed, and Dimitri flinched.

"It is a pleasure to see you again, Sir Jeralt Sir!" Dimitri squeaked. He had waited for Jeralt to correct him on calling him just simply "Jeralt" like he did with everyone else but that never happened. Dimitri was struggling to maintain a picture of calm under the intense gaze. He now understood why his father was so afraid of upsetting that man. "Is By here, sir?" The father said nothing, and the prince started to squirm.

"Aye," Jeralt said after what felt like an eternity to the poor boy. "She headed over to her room." Dimitri bowed and said his thanks. When he was just passed the man, Jeralt spoke again but did not look at the prince, halting him. "Prince, I want to make something perfectly clear." Dimitri audibly gulped. "I did not want to return." Guilt and hurt washed over the boy. "Byleth asked to come back. She wanted to see you." Jeralt finally turned to face the prince. "You better take care of my daughter; do you hear me?"

Dimitri vigorously nodded his head to which the older man narrowed his eyes. "Yes sir!" The prince squeaked and his voice cracked. "I swear I will protect By! I will not let anything happen to her; I swear it!" His determination shown through his eyes and the older man snorted through his nose and left.

With Jeralt gone, Dimitri was able to breathe easy. Wasting no more time he rushed towards Byleth's room. His heart was beating wildly, and a massive smile was etched onto his face. She had wanted to see him! She had missed him! Thoughts like those made him light on his feet and he nearly forgot himself as he slammed the door, to her room open, breaking the hinges.

Jumping slightly, Byleth slowly turned to face him. The warmth that was supposed to flood him turned to dread when he saw her left arm in a sling and a bandage wrapped around her head. In mere seconds he was at her side, hovering over her.

"By, what happened?!" He asked with his panic clear in his voice.

She smiled at him and normally he would love to see it but at that moment he hated it. "Hello Aster," she simply greeted.

"By!"

She poked his forehead. "So impatient. First off, I am okay." He frowned but said nothing. "Second, we were attacked by a pack of Giant Wolves. I guess they had a grudge against my father's company or something."

"Let us get you to Cornelia. She can heal you." He took her free and guided her out of the room.

"There's no need to trouble her over these little wounds."

"Nonsense!" He squeezed her hand and locked eyes with her. "I do not want you to see you hurt."

She smiled at him and gave her consent with a little nod, so he led her to Cornelia's office. On the way over he worked up the courage to interlace their fingers together. He glanced at her from over his shoulder to gauge her reaction to which she smiled when she noticed his glance. His face was warm, and his smile was large as he slowed their pace a little so that he could continue to hold her hand for a little while longer.

Faster than he would have liked, which he felt guilty for feeling that way, they had arrived at Cornelia's office. She had been sitting at her desk, looking over some papers. When she spotted them, she greeted them, and her gaze lingered on Byleth for a long while. Before Dimitri could ask his request, he felt Byelth tightly grip his hand and when he looked back at her, he noticed that her eyes were wide, and she was staring at Cornelia.

Before he could ask what was wrong, Cornelia had walked over to them and placed a hand on Byleth's cheek. "Oh dear, you are hurt," the older woman said and smiled. The grip on Dimitri's hand grew tighter to the point that it started to hurt. "Come." Cornelia moved to where her bed was and motioned for them to follow, but the young girl did not budge.

"I don't bite. You know that." Dimitri frowned at the tone Cornelia was using. Ever since she had returned from her trip last month, she started talking with a flirty tone; it was so unlike the sweet woman she was before. He had heard the rumors that she had taken on a lover and that was why she changed but could getting a lover change someone so much?

Byleth took a step closer to him and he returned her strong grip with his own. "Come now. I can't heal you from over there." He glanced at Byleth to see what she would do, it was hesitant, but she made her way over still holding his hand tightly. She sat on the bed and eyed the older woman, who was smiling.

"Your Highness, please stand outside."

"No," Byleth was quick to say and they stared at her.

"I know you two are eager to spend as much time together as you can, but I need the prince to stand outside so that I can do my check up."

"That is not necessary. I can tell you my wounds are superficial at best. My arm is only in this sling because of my father's worry." To see Byleth so defiant was a strange sight and he decided he wasn't going to leave her side.

"Dear, I should check on other things," Cornelia said calmly but Dimitri could hear the annoyance in her voice. "It would be improper for his highness to stay."

"I don't care." The smile finally left Cornelia's face.

"If you will not treat her wounds, we will go find someone else," Dimitri finally spoke up. For his reward Cornelia pressed her lips together and Byleth gave his hand a gentle squeeze. In silence the mage finally healed the girl and did nothing more.

When the treatment was done the children practically ran out of there. Byleth had dragged him far from that room. She had remained quiet the entire but once they had stopped, in what he assumed with a good distance for her, she released a shaky breath.

"By," Dimitri started but stopped until she looked at him. "Are you okay?"

"I…Is Cornelia alright?" Byleth asked and he raised an eyebrow at her. "Does she seem different to you?"

"She became more…bold." That was the word he decided to go with after a second of thinking. "But she has been fine for the most part. Why? Is something wrong?"

Silently she looked off to the side for a bit before shaking her head. "No, maybe it was just my imagination." He frowned and was going to ask for more but when she turned and smiled at him, he forgot everything. "Thank you for helping me."

"Anytime!" he blurted out so fast that it caused her to chuckle.

"Aster, I have a favor."

"What is it? I will do anything in my power!"

She chuckled slightly again. "I don't need so much dramatics." He cheeks turned a light shade of pink. "I just…Don't ever leave me alone with Cornelia, please." He didn't really understand why she was asking such a thing, but he agreed to do so, nonetheless.

The two walked in silence, just basking in each other presence. Dimitri had no real destination in mind. He had been so focused on preparing for his birthday that he didn't really know what he was going to do for the next two months. Nervousness began to eat away at him as he finally realized that he was alone with the girl he liked.

He could feel his hands getting clammy and could only imagine at how much worse his hand that held hers was. He tried to steal a glance at her but chickened out and hated himself for it. How was he going to confess to her if he couldn't even bring himself to look at her?

Byleth took control of their walk and stared to guided him to a balcony. She looked out at the gardens below and smiled. His eyes, on the other hand, was glued to her visage because in the setting sun's light she looked breathtaking. Catching his stare, she looked at him and his cheeks redden as he looked away.

"Stop that," she said, and it took him a moment to guess what she was referring too.

In an overdramatic gesture, he threw her hand away and was waving his hands in front of him in a weird apologetic dance. Chuckling from her stopped him and once again he was staring at her. He was in love; he was sure of it.

"I meant stop growing." He frowned. "You are almost at my eye level and I don't like it."

"I am not going to stop growing," he declared. "In fact, I am going to get taller than you. That way it will make it easier for me to protect you!"

It was her turn to frown. "I don't want that. It will make it harder to pat your head." She reached out for his head, but he grabbed her hand, and they stared into each other eyes.

"I am not a little kid anymore By." At a loss for words all she could do was nod yes.

Red Wolf Moon 1175:

The twenty-first of the Red Wolf Moon came and with-it celebration for the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus founding, along with a massive combat tournament where fighters from all classes, age, and nations could come and compete. At the age of fifteen Byleth was finally old enough to compete but her father and King Lambert had refused to let her and nothing she said or did could persuade them otherwise. She had even refused to speak to them, King Lambert nearly gave in but Jeralt had remained strong.

Dimitri had agreed with the adults much to her annoyance, though he was at least spared the silent treatment. He just didn't want her getting hurt, he didn't like seeing it. But when she stated that she would seek Glenn's help on secretly adding herself to the tournament he relented, if only so she wouldn't seek out Glenn.

Getting Byleth added to the tournament turned out to be surprisingly easy much to his dismay. All it took was getting one of the Kingdom's knights to agree to sign as Byleth's guardian. Dimitri didn't like how the knight had looked at her but then again, he didn't like how any man looked at her. He had hoped to fine no one to sign for her but now that it was done, he had no other choice but to resign to watching and praying that she didn't get seriously hurt.

Another downside that the prince didn't take into account with Byleth being in the tournament was that he couldn't spend the day with her. Sure, he had Felix, but a day of celebration provided a lot of date opportunities or at least that was what Sylvain had told him. He wandered through the stalls half-heartedly much to Felix's annoyance.

One lone stall managed to peak his attention enough to break him out of his gloom, it was a jeweler. Normally he had no interest in jewelry, but a necklace had caught his eye, it was a simple thing with a large dark blue gem being the only focal point. The gem had reminded him of Byleth's eyes. As he inspected it, he could just hear Sylvain teasing him about how all he has on his brain was her.

"Has that necklace caught your fancy?" the merchant asked, startling the prince out of his thoughts. Dimitri was about to speak, when he remembered Byleth telling him to never let merchants know that he was interested in something. He smiled at the merchant before silently going back to looking at the necklace.

Dimtiri held it up and liked how the sun sparkled off of it, just like with Byleth's eyes. His cheeks warmed as he did realize that his head was truly full of her. Twirling the gem between his fingers he wondered what to do.

"I'll sell it to you for 10 gold."

Was that a lot? Dimitri really had no idea, while he had been given money, people had taken over the spending duties for it. Byleth had usually taken over during the festival, determining what was fair price or not. He never learned her criteria for any of it. Pulling out his little bag that kept his money, he wondered if he should buy it or not. He didn't want to be short on money when it came time to buying her dress because he knew that Byleth would be against spending money on such a "useless" item. After hearing a story about how she had to go without food one time because her mercenary company had been short on money, he had vowed to never let Byleth spend her money when he was around. He would make sure she had enough money for food when she left, or at least he had hoped she would have enough.

Looking at the necklace one last time he decided to buy it. He was sure it would look nice on her. And a dress needed accessories, right? He hoped she would like it as he carefully pocketed the item.

Byleth stood before an amused Glenn and a disappointed Lord Rodrigue. After last year, she had developed complicated feelings for the lord and had been hoping to avoid him, but she knew that wasn't possible. She always knew she was going to have to meet him when Felix would visit during the Ethereal Moon, but at least then she would have been prepared.

Lord Rodrigue frowned at her. "If I recall you were not given permission to participate," he said, and she bit her lip. "Byleth," he stressed her name in order to get her to talk.

"Ease up father. It is not fair that she is not allowed to compete," Glenn said, and he winked at her. Warmth blossomed inside her chest and she smiled at him. She was glad to know her feelings on his father were not complicating her feelings towards him, whatever those strange feelings maybe.

"The both of you know exactly why she not allowed to compete." She hung her head and gritted her teeth.

"There is a magic barrier around the castle and those people would be mad to attack an area full of the Kingdom's best warriors." She vigorously nodded her head along as Glenn spoke.

The duke sighed and shook his head. "Let it be known that I am against this. Nor, will I stop any punishment King Lambert, or your father deem. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes. Thank you Lord Rodrigue," Byleth said as professionally as she could and bowed deeply. Long gone was the simple, friendly familiarity she had with the duke and she knew it was unfair to treat him in such away, but she couldn't help it. When she raised her head and saw that he was going to say something but quickly dropped it with a small shake of his head.

"I will wish you well at least," he said after a brief moment of silence and left.

The tension left her body once the lord was out of sight. Glenn clapped her on the back and smiled. She noticed that once his father was gone, he started to stand closer to her, which she was more than pleased with. The two stayed close together until the tournament started.

Seeing all the strong combats from the sidelines was something but seeing them up close and personal was another thing entirely. Her eyes were alight as she looked at all the warriors and noted the ones, she was familiar with. She felt a sense of pride swell within her as she could be counted among all them.

A young woman with long, blonde hair walked into view and Byleth's eyes followed her. The mercenary had seen the woman at the tournament before and she was incredibly powerful. Byleth had wanted to talk to her but there was a little problem, the woman was a Knight of Seiros. Priest, she could handle, for the most part as they were weak, but a knight was a different story and that woman was an even different story to that. The woman finally caught on to the young girl's staring and walked over.

Byleth stiffened once the knight was standing before her. "Who let the kid in?" the knight asked in a lighthearted tone.

"I'm not a kid!" Byleth said after she realized the light jab was directed at her.

The woman laughed and rubbed the mercenary's head, messing up the hair in the process. "Yes, you are." Byleth smacked the hand away and glared, causing the knight to laugh some more. "Looks like you got some fight in you, I'm looking forward to seeing how you do. Good luck, kid."

"Looks like Catherine likes you. You sure are quite the charmer," Glenn teased as he tried to smooth Byleth's hair. Once he was satisfied, he got closer to her and whispered into her ear, and a rush of heat flooded her cheeks, "Be careful around her. They say she might have been involved in a failed assassination attempt against the king."

With wide eyes she watched as Catherine walked away and noticed how people were avoiding her. She couldn't believe it, Catherine seemed so nice. Sure, she was a Knight of Seiros and that made her a little scary but Byleth didn't sense anything bad about her.

"Why is she here?" She looked at Glenn, who shrugged a little.

"After the accusations came to light, she fled to the church where she was granted asylum. I cannot figure out why she keeps coming to these tournaments, despite it being well known that she is distrusted."

She looked in the direction that Catherine and walked in, but she was no longer in sight. She was having an incredibly hard time believing such news. Frowning, she had decided to believe in the rumors, if only to so that she could better protect King Lambert if needed.

The announcer could be heard, signaling that the tournament was going to start soon, and everyone scrambled to their proper locations. Glenn waved goodbye as she rushed to her spot. From what she was informed she was going to be in the second match, and she needed to get ready soon, because from what she remembered battles are either long and drawn out, or over in a flash.

She stood before the tunnel she will enter from, in a matter of a few minutes as she could hear the sounds of battle dwindling down. Nervous energy flowed through her and she took a deep breath, but the energy didn't settle. Gripping her dull sword, she hoped it would help ground her, but it didn't.

Dimitri sat with his father and stepmother in the assigned royal seating. He was trying to act like nothing was wrong but was failing miserably at being able to sit still. Every few seconds he would have to shift his position, catching his father's attention.

"Dimitri are you alright?" his father asked after being unable to focus on the match before him. Flinching, Dimitri tried to sit still. The king's eyes drifted downward to the nobles' seating below and noticed the spot next to Felix, where Byleth normally sat in, was empty. "Is By, still mad?"

"Yes," the prince was able to say with ease and for that he was grateful. He didn't believe he would be able to lie to his father but that wasn't a lie at least.

Sighing dramatically, King Lambert shifted towards his wife, who showed slight amusement. "My daughter is still angry at me. Will my heart ever know peace again?" The queen consort laughed a little.

"You should have taken her feelings into account," the queen consort said.

"It is too dangerous to take the risk. I do not want to deny her anything but to keep her safe I must. I hope she will understand soon. I despise her not talking to me."

Dimitri flinched in his chair. All he had known was that Byleth wasn't allowed to compete, he didn't know it was to protect her. Guilt was pulling in his stomach and he was torn between betraying Byleth and telling his father or letting her compete. He didn't want her to hate him, but he didn't want her to be in danger either.

Before he could make the decision, the announcer shouted the next combatants and Byleth was one of them. His face was bright red when he realized that she had used his middle name as her fake last name. All he could think about in the next moment was if she liked his middle name more and if she could take on that name instead of Blaiddyd.

His father's shout broke him out of his train of thought. His father quickly turned to him and he tried to shrink into his chair. Taking a deep breath, the king sat back into his chair and smiled at the few nobles that had turned around to look at him, after his little outburst.

"Dimitri, what is the meaning of this?" the king asked with a practiced even tone.

"By, said she was going to compete no matter what," his son answered weakly.

The king was about to rise from his seat but was stopped when his wife placed her hand on his. Her professional smile gave away into a genuine one as she watched Byleth fight. He placed his hand over hers and tried to gently move it, but she refused to budge.

"You will not stop this fight," she said after a moment, her eyes still glued to the match. "Everyone is already aware that she is here. The Kingdom's strongest knights are here as well. She will be safe. The least you could do for now is cheer for her."

The king sat back and groaned. He wanted to rub his face but had to resist the urge. He had tried to watch as she had suggested but another groan quickly escaped him.

"Her father is going to kill me."

"I see. When she is well behaved, she is your daughter but when she does something displeasing, she is suddenly not your daughter?"

"My queen, you have no idea how truly terrifying her father can be."

Dimitri silently watched the fight. He wanted to cheer for her but knew that the royal family wasn't allowed to show favoritism so all he could do was whisper his cheers. With the cat out of the bag, he felt a great weight off his shoulders, and he could finally enjoy the day properly.

Once outside of the ring and out of the sight of the crowed, Byleth released a shaky breath. Her opponent had been incredibly easy but because of all the eyes on her, she found it to be quite difficult to concentrate. Now out of the limelight she could relax or so she would have liked but she was half expecting for knights to show up and drag her away, after her disobedience had come to light.

When the next round passed and no knights came, she decided to be brave and go watch the other combats. Glenn was up next to face a seasoned knight from the Gaspard region. It was a knight she recognized but she had confidence that Glenn would have no trouble.

Bouncing on the balls of her feet she watched as Glenn rushed forward. His heavy swing was blocked with ease because of a shield and the knight thrusted forward with his own attack. The Fraldarius heir was able to dodge with a twist of his body and the knight was quick to pull back and hide behind his shield. Glenn didn't let up and continued his assault with a powerful swing after another, not allowing the knight to counterattack unless he made himself vulnerable.

Glenn kept up his assault, until his crest activated, and the especially powerful blow knocked back the knight a bit. Capitalizing on the opening, Glenn slipped in and slashed at the arm, holding the shield, knocking it away before using his hilt to bash it against the wrist supporting the sword. With the knight successfully disarmed, Glenn was crowned the winner.

Not long after the bout Glenn had joined her in watching the rest of the matches. Each praise she gave him only caused his smile to grow. A blush soon grew on his face as she described how incredible he looked out on the field; in a detail one normally didn't expect to hear. He effectively got her to stop, when he had started to complement her, and he had earned her blush.

Round one ended with no real surprises, but the crowd was still excited, nonetheless. She found herself now in the opening match with the winner, from the first match before hers, as her opponent. He was a tall, man that seemed to be in his late twenties and was wearing armor way to polished for battle. On the showy cape he wore, bore his family's crest that she didn't recognized but then again, she would be hard pressed to recognize anyone's crest outside of her friends'. He goaded the crowded and basked in their praise delaying the start of the match. His showboating at least allowed her to get comfortable with the crowd or at least she was too annoyed to really care about them anymore.

Finally, the announcer stepped in to start the fight. Byleth stood her ground waiting for him to strike and he did swiftly. He might have been far too flamboyant for her liking, but he did have skills at least. His strikes were swift and left no openings to exploit; she was pleasantly surprised. She was quickly able to assess that he favored thrust and that his weapon of choice was more than likely a rapier, instead of the plain, old, blunt, iron sword all combatants were forced to use.

Despite her earlier surprise, his tactics quickly became predictable and boring. He never really deviated from thrusting forward unless it was to block a strike from her. Biting back a sigh, she waited for him to lung forward and she slipped a little to the side to avoid it and then she slammed her hilt down near the base of his sword, causing his grip to loosen but he did manage to surprise her again by holding on to it.

Ready to end the fight, she slashed upward at him. Her eyes widen when she felt the telltale signs of her crest activating and she saw her expression reflected by him. Despite wearing multiple layers of clothing her crest still managed to glow brightly, like a beacon in the night, and she swore. She didn't need it to activate then, the match had already been won. So why did the damn thing have to go and activate? How was she supposed to keep her crest a secret when it liked revealing itself to the world?

She was quick to thank her opponent for the good fight and left. She tried to hide herself in the waiting area. Surely now King Lambert was going to send knights to drag herself away. Burying her face into her hands she groaned, it was only then did she realized how foolish she had been. She was so focused on her mysterious attackers and getting stronger to defeat them that she never took into account her crest or about the possibility of it activating.

"You, Byleth Alexandre," a male voice called. Biting back a groan she turned to face the person, who called her, and wasn't shocked to discover that it was her opponent. "You have a crest do you not?"

She bit her bottom lip. Lying would be pointless, not only did he see it, but he also felt the strange energy from it. Chewing on her lip she prevented a sigh from escaping her as she admitted to having one.

"Which crest do you poses?"

Blinking she desperately tried to recall what crest had been similar to her mysterious crest. "Cichol?" She eventually decided on and his eyes narrowed.

"The same crest as Saint Cichol?" She instantly regretted on choosing that one, but she had no other choice but to commit to it. "And judging by how brightly it glowed and how strong that power I felt, it must be a major crest, no?" She wasn't sure where he was going with all this, but she nodded yes anyway.

The air around him suddenly changed and she no longer felt comfortable under his gaze. With a little bow she tried to walk away but he grabbed her hand. Maintaining eye contact he brought her hand up to lips and kissed it; unlike all the times that Sylvain did it, she felt disgusted. She lightly pulled at her hand to free it, but he just increased his grip.

"What do you say to becoming my wife?" Unable to fathom the words to express her utter shock she could only stare at him. "As the wife of a noble, you will get to live a life of luxury. I will see to it that you will live a life without want." He increased his grip. "And all you will have to do is bare my children with that crest of yours."

A shiver ran down her spine and she tried to pull at her hand again but with much more effort. His smile turned much more sinister to her as he tried to pull her towards him. A strong grip on her shoulders stopped the man and she looked up to see Glenn, glaring at the man before her. With a sigh of relief, she leaned back into him.

"Can I help you with something?" Glenn asked in a calm tone.

The other man made his displeasure known and kept his grip on Byleth's hand. "This does not concern you Fraldarius boy."

"Oh, but it does. You see, Byleth here is my friend and she does not seem to be enjoying your company." Glenn squeezed her shoulders and the man flickered his eyes between her and Glenn.

"I see," the noble said after a while. "Your little brother possesses a major crest does he not? Must be shameful to be the older one and only posse a minor one." Glenn gritted his teeth and squeezed her shoulders harder. "You must be hoping that she will help you regain some honor by producing you a child with a major crest, but I am truly sorry to inform you that your shame will remain."

"You know," Glenn said calmly, "you sure do talk a lot for a minor noble with no crest in his family's name." Glenn pulled her hand free and guided her away from that noble as far away as he could. They were completely silent through their walk. His jaw remained locked as he stared ahead, never sparing her a glance until they came to a stop.

"Glenn," Byleth called softly as she reached out to him.

He took a deep breath before addressing her, "I truly am sorry that you had to experience that." She simply shook her head and rubbed his arm, in a hopeful attempt to calm him down some. Carefully, he took the hand that the noble, had held, and brushed his own lips against it. She felt her pulse quicken as heat rushed to her cheeks.

"Minor nobles are desperate for a crest and will try to wed anyone that possess a crest, regardless of what it is. They usually promise the word to those people, but I hear it is hell to them, especially to those that are unable to bear a child with a crest." A shiver ran down her spine. "They are treated as nothing more than breeders with little value outside of their crest."

Her free hand touched the area where her crest was. She just thought it was dangerous because it was such an unknown thing…To think she had something for more worrisome to worry about it. She didn't think she was capable hating the mark on her chest more than she already was.

"Do not worry, I will not let that man or any other man with such filthy intentions come near you." He stared into her eyes, when he made his claim and all she could do was silently nod.

The stood in silence until the current match ended and they both realized that Glenn was next. He cursed under his breath as his eyes darted around, searching for a solution to his problem. She placed her hand on his arm and gave him a smile and he was at the mercy of her gaze. With a light push she tried to get him to move but he refused.

Gripping the hand, that he still held, he pulled her towards him, until he could wrap his arms around her. Taking a deep breath, he whispered into her hair, "It will not take me long." With her free hand she rubbed his arm and pulled back some.

"I will be alright. Just focus on your match," she said with a smile. He frowned down at her. "Now that I know I will be able to better protect myself."

He pulled her in again but not for a hug but to leave a small kiss on her forehead. With cheeks ablaze she stared up at him and he stared down at her with wide eyes. She was about to ask him what that was about, but he swore loudly. He turned away from her and left without saying another word. Clutching her chest, she tried to figure out where the sharp, sudden pain came from as she watched him walk away.

Glenn's match went absolutely terribly. His mind was clearly elsewhere and his opponent, Catherine, did not let any of his mistakes go unpunished. Eventually the female knight was crowned the winner. Glenn avoided Byleth after the match but did at lease remain relatively close to keep an eye on her, though he would not meet her gaze.

Byleth's match did not go as well as she would have liked but she was at least better at focusing than Glenn. Her opponent played more defensively, which meant she wasn't nearly so punished for her mistakes. It took some effort, but she was finally able to overcome her opponent and advance to the next round. Though she was disheartened to see Glenn was still avoiding her.

To spice up the fifth round the contestants were shuffled up. Byleth no longer fought in the opening match and was now the final match for that round and her opponent was Catherine. She knew that the knight wasn't someone to underestimate, she needed to focus but she did find it hard too. Struggling to push Glenn out of her thoughts, she readied herself for the match to start.

Just like Glenn, Catherine was quick to rush at her opponent and overwhelm them but unlike Glenn she had the speed to be especially devastating. Byleth was able to block the first strike but the second one came before she was properly ready. She was still able to hold off each strike though she was doing a relatively poor job at it, or at least that was what she believed. Suddenly there was an absurdly powerful blow thrown in the mix, followed by a standard strike, which was then followed by another absurd powerful one again. She didn't see a glow of a crest but that could have been because it was on Catherine's back but even if it was a crest she never had to deal with a crest activating so much; usually it was a onetime deal in a fight.

Another powerful strike and she could feel her grip shaking; she needed space, so she swung wide to get it. Her hands trembled and she knew she wouldn't be able to handle another blow like that. She tried to grip her sword tighter, but her hands weren't having it.

"I think my crest likes you," Catherine laughed.

"How is it activating so much?" Byleth asked in return.

"Benefits of a major crest." Byleth pouted. She supposedly had a major crest, but the damn thing activated so rarely that if she didn't have a mark on her chest, she might have forgotten that she even possessed one. If she was going to have the damn thing it might as well, make itself useful.

Knowing that it would be impossible to use Catherine's strength against her, Byleth charged forward. If she could keep her offense going on her end, then hopefully that would prevent the knight's crest from activating. Unfortunately for her, her weak grip meant her strikes were weak as well.

Catherine was able to block each strike with ease though her opponent was keen on not letting her counter. To give herself the opening she needed, she slashed upwards right when the younger girl slashed downward, throwing her off balance. Catherine then struck at the girl's stomach with her sword's hilt, and much to both of their dismays her crest activated.

A hand quickly flew to Byleth's mouth, while the other snaked around her stomach as she dropped to her knees. She was able to swallow the bile that came up, saving herself some embarrassment, but it did leave a vile taste in her mouth. Groaning she rested her head on the ground as she didn't know what was worse the pain in her stomach or the taste in her mouth. She felt a soothing hand rub her back and she groaned.

"Oh geez, I'm really sorry about that kid," Catherine said as soothingly as she could.

The match ended in the most embarrassing defeat Byleth could have imagined.

That day had been one incredible day for Byleth in so many ways. She finally got to enter the tournament she had been desiring to do so for so many years, developed another fear of her crest, got a weird but wonderful moment with Glenn though she still wasn't sure want to make of it or his avoidance, and lost the tournament in the most embarrassing way. And now that day was going to end with a punishment.

She stood silently in the king's office before both the king and her father. Dimitri and the queen consort had stood in the back, watching. Both men stared down at her with their arms folded across their chest. King Lambert might have looked intimidating in his own regard but next to her father, he might as well have been a growling puppy with how much ferocity he could command compared to the other man.

"Byleth," her father stared in an eerily calm tone that King Lambert flinched from. "I denied you from entering that tournament and yet you went and disobeyed me." She said nothing as this was the first time, she ever disobeyed her father, but he had been so stubborn and refused to listen to her reasonings.

"What do you have to say for yourself, young lady?"

She folded her arms across her chest. "Nothing, you are not going to listen to me anyway," she said and matched her father's stare.

"Teenage rebellion from my daughter?! My heart is not ready!" King Lambert said and when he noticed Jeralt's glare, he started to fidget a little. "I-I mean, Sir captain Jeralt's daughter!"

"I will not tolerate such an attitude," Jeralt said shifting his attention back to his daughter.

"I've been wanting to compete in that tournament for years!"

"One more year wouldn't have made a difference."

She stomped her foot. "I need to see where I stand! To see how much stronger, I need to get! I don't want to rely on others forever!"

"And for that you are willing to put yourself in danger?!"

Unable to find the words to express her argument better she could only glare at her father. He continued to explain how idiotic her actions were and all she could do was bite her lip in frustration. Her father only stopped when the queen consort stood behind her. Ever so lightly the queen consort placed her hands on Byleth's shoulders.

"You men need to stop," Lady Patricia said. Her voice was gentle but commanding. Byleth had never heard such a tone from the woman before that she almost didn't believe that it came from her. "Byleth is moving pass her trauma and you are trying to hold her back. I will not stand by and watch anymore."

Both of the men's eyes widen and the stared at the queen. "Byleth is far stronger than any of you are giving her credit for. After what she has experienced, she went out and declared herself to the world, while most would have hidden themselves away. The both of you should be incredibly proud of her," she paused to smile down at Byleth, who was watching her in amazement, "I know that I am."

A warmth blossomed in the young girls' chest as she looked up Lady Patricia. The older woman than proceeded to run her fingers through Byelth's hair. It was such a comforting action that Byleth loved it and secretly wished that the queen would do more often.

After the queen consort's little speech, it was agreed that Byleth would not receive any punishment and that she would be given more freedom. She did however gain a knight that would shadow her. At first, she had complained but after a while the knight's presence did give her comfort.

Dimitri was being the ever gentleman by escorting Byleth to her room. Halfway through their little walk, he had worked up the courage to hold her hand and walk next to her. Slowly he closed the little distance between them until they were walking side by side. His cheeks were a nice shade of pink, but his smile was ever present, along with hers.

"I am glad that you did not receive a punishment," Dimitri said.

"Me too but I must admit that I am a little disappointed," Byleth said and he looked at her. "I never disobeyed my father before, so I was curious as to see what he would do. Though he probably would have had it where I would spend less time with you, and I wouldn't want that." His face quickly grew bright red and he had to look away from her.

"I am glad that Lady Patricia was able to realize my attentions." Unable to look at her, he could only hum. "I'm jealous that you get to see her every day."

"You know," Dimitri said after his face had cold down some, "you could too, if you become a knight." She simply shook her head and he pouted.

They walked in silence, she found his pout cute and she found it hard to work up the resolve to make it go away. When they got to her room, they had discovered that Glenn was waiting in front of it. His expression was somber, and eyes rested on their interlocked hands. He brows furrowed and he glared but his expression quickly fell into a neutral one after he sighed.

"Byleth, may I speak to you in private?" Glenn asked and his voice was strained. She had walked forward but Dimitri didn't release her hand. "Please, Your Highness." Pressing his lips together the prince finally let go. Glenn had only ever called him by his title as a tease, but that tone was something else and Dimitri didn't like it.

Glenn had led her to a small secluded section in the gardens. It was starting to snow, and she was freezing but he didn't seem to notice. He was silent the entire time and kept his back to her. She wanted to reach out to him, but she was too busy clutching herself to conserve heat.

Finally, after a deep sigh he turned to face her and noticed her shivering. "Forgive me. I did not think this through," he said and looked off to the side, "I promise to make this quick". He said that but he quickly fell back into silence.

Working up the strength to pull one arm free she reached out to him, but he stepped away from her shaky grasp. Several times he opened his mouth to speak and several times he closed it before he could make a sound. He was unable to bring himself to look at her.

"Glenn?" she finally called softly.

He closed his eyes and clenched his fists. Taking a deep breath, he turned to face her and finally looked at her. "About what happened today, in the waiting area, please forget it." She frowned and shook her head. With downcast eyes he turned away from her again.

"Byleth listen…These feelings…You and I…We…," He sighed as he struggled with what thought he wanted to work with. "It will not work out."

"What won't?"

"…Us…" She furrowed her brows and tilted her head. "I…," he paused to take a deep breath, "we should avoid each other. It will be for the best."

"I don't want too!" He clenched his fists tightly.

"I am sorry. But we have gotten too close. We cannot be together, so we should simply stop here. Save us the heartache."

He quickly walked away and never looked back even when she shouted his name. She clutched her chest as even more sharp and an intense pain than what she had felt earlier gripped her. Her eyes moisten and her upper lip trembled as she stared at the direction, he walked away in. These feelings were so overwhelming that she was unable to move until her knight found her and guided her back inside.

The walk back to her room was done in a haze as her mind was in a far to chaotic mess to focus. She had only realized that she arrived when Dimitri had called out to her. Without warning she collapsed onto him in an embrace. He yelped out in surprise and she ignored it as she buried her face into his shoulders and enjoyed his comforting scent of cedar and earth. Slowly his arms wrapped around her.

"Are you alright?" he asked with his face enflamed.

"My chest hurts," she said simply.

"Should I take you to the infirmary?" She chuckled at how fast panic filled his voice.

She shook her head and continued to hug him. Dimitri always made her feel better no matter what negative emotions she was feeling. Surely, he could make the strange pain go away. She believed that as she held him tighter.

A/N: Am I just not capable of not writing a chapter where something bad doesn't happens to Byleth now? Do I hate my poor child?! *Slams hands on the table* I promised you fluff last chapter and I gave you a small bit, but next chapter there will be fluff don't you worry!

Head cannon notes:

I always considered the Almyarains to be Arabic so that's what I was trying to go with when it came to Muharib. If the translation is a little funky. Blame Google as I don't claim to be expert in Arabic.

The Jeralt Mercenaries used to refer to Blyeth as kid, just like her father. But after learning who her little friend was, they have all started to affectionally call her princess, much to her father's frustration.

In smaller towns were schools of sorcery are not to be found, the church will offer lessons on how to use Faith magic, and Faith magic only. Their goal is to get more people to be healers as well as spread their teachings through their lessons.