I don't know why this chapter was so hard to write. It wasn't because I didn't know what to write about but just getting me to sit down and write it. I hope it's not terrible.
Ages:
Byleth: 20
Dimitri: 17
Claude: 17
Edgelgard: 17
Wyvern Moon 1179:
Dimitri stood in front of his uncle's desk, as Rufus looked over the documents that he presented. The silenced had settled over them for some time and Dimitri dared to look out the window that faced the castle's gates. Four years ago, he would have been running to the gates in excitement but now he could only look at them in disappointment.
"Garreg Mach really?" Rufus asked and brought Dimitri's attention back to him. The older man sat the documents down to look at his nephew as he sat back. "You never showed an interest in attending the school before and now you are suddenly telling me that you are going and have already completed all the necessary paperwork." Saying nothing Dimitri gave a small nod. Leaning forward Rufus rested his head on his clasped hands and narrowed his eyes. "Does this have something to do with meeting a certain someone?"
Dimitri stiffened a little. As much as he would love for that, he knew it would be impossible. "No," the prince finally spoke. He wanted to look back out the window but stopped himself. "Sir Jeralt, is quite distrustful of the church. There is no way that he would allow his daughter to go anywhere near there." His uncle continued to stare at him, but he didn't flinch.
Seemingly satisfied, Rufus dismissed the prince with a wave of his hand. "Fine, I will give you permission to attend but you must bring your retainer with you. The castle will do well to not have a Duscur man within it." Dimitri clenched his fists but said nothing.
Giving his uncle a grand bow, Dimitri excused himself. Just outside the office was Dedue, who was waiting patiently. Silently, Dedue followed his liege's steps as they swiftly walked away.
"I have been given permission," Dimitri said once they were a good distance away from the office. He glanced at Dedue from over his shoulder. "You will be joining me." Dedue halted and Dimitri gave him a small smile. "I think leaving Faerghus for some time will do you some good."
"I will gladly follow you anywhere," Dedue said with a firm nod.
Dimitri smiled before continuing on. "The path I walk will be a difficult one and if everything goes according to plan than my path will become even more treacherous. Will you still follow me then?"
"Without hesitation."
Dimitri stared at the outside world from a nearby window. He did not wish to put Dedue in danger, but it was nice to have an alley. "You are a good friend," the prince said, once he turned to face Dedue. "Come we will have much to prepare in the coming months."
Guardian Moon 1180:
First of the Guardian Moon:
Dimitri took a deep breath before entering the classroom. He put on a princely smile when a small commotion broke out from the few students that were already there. He and Dedue had tried to sit at the front of the class in peace but the other students wouldn't have it and were quick to swarm them.
Ever polite and the good little prince as he always tried to be Dimitri answered all questions with a smile, a smile that he knew that Byleth would hate. She was the only one to ever comment on his "princely smile" and he was always afraid if people could tell if it was fake but no one else ever said anything about it so he tired to not worry about it, but the fear was always rooted in the back of his mind. When question after question bombarded him, his smile never wavered.
Dedue was starting to give into all the people and Dimitri was ready to speak up, when a loud voice broke through the crowd. "Your Highness?!" Sylvain shouted as he rushed over to the prince, causing the group of students to part. "Why did you not say anything about attending?!" Dimitri just flashed his fake smile. "Now it all makes sense as to why my old man was pushing me so much to attend this year."
"Getting permission from my uncle was hard and I did not want to say anything less he changed his mind," the prince lied. His uncle didn't care what he did so long as it didn't damage his reputation. He just didn't want to get his friends involved with potentially dangerous things, but he now feared that might be possible.
"Felix and Ingrid are going to be excited to know that they will be attending class with you." At the mention of Felix, Dimitri's smile wavered for but a moment. He still didn't know what he did to damage his relationship with Felix. He only hoped that he would not ruin his friend's time here.
As if on cue both Felix and Ingrid walked in. Unaware of the prince's inner turmoil, Sylvain waved down the two friends, who walked over. When Felix's eyes landed on Dimitri, he tsked very loudly.
"Great, so the Boar decided to attend," Felix growled out as he glared at Dimitri. Dimitri struggled to maintain his smile.
"Felix!" Ingrid shouted. "That is no way to speak to his Highness!" Once again, the prince's smiled wavered. He wished for his friends to call him by his name but shortly after the Tragedy they began to speak to him formerly. He felt so distant and alone from them when they used his title, and in a strange way he was happy that Felix dropped such formalities, even if it was just venomous insults.
"Apologize right this minute!" Ingrid demanded and Felix scoffed as loudly as he could, ignoring both Sylvain and Ingrid shouting his name.
"It is alright," Dimitri was quick to say in hopes of dropping the topic.
"But still," Sylvain mumbled looking over at Felix, who sat as far away as he could. "Why is he acting like that?" Dimitri said nothing.
Despite the use of his title, Felix's distance, and his apprehension to possibly getting his friends involved, he still found it nice to be talking to his friends again as it had been quite some time for all of them to be together. Everything was mostly going smoothly but he could tell that Ingrid was still weary of Dedue. He didn't like such distrust, but he was at least appreciative that she was being civil, unlike so many.
Sylvain whistled loudly and everyone looked towards the entrance that he was looking at and saw two women walked in. Both Dimitri and Ingrid gave the older man a sideways glare and if he noticed, he didn't show it. Giving his friends a cheeky smile, Sylvain excused himself and his two friends sighed.
Silently, both Dimitri and Ingrid made an agreement and followed their ginger haired friend, who was now chatting with the two girls. Dedue remained in his seat as to avoid any more attention being drawn to him and Dimitri couldn't blame him for that. When Dimitri and Ingrid arrived at the entrance, they were able to see the two women more clearly. One was a taller, soft-spoken woman with light brown hair and light purple eyes. Dimitri instantly decided that she was too sweet to be dealing with Sylvain's nonsense, so he intervened.
"Prince Dimitri?!" the other girl suddenly shouted, and he jumped at the unexpectedness of it. With slightly red cheeks, she covered her mouth and gave a small bow. Her orange hair was tied up in little circles and she had grey-blue eyes. He couldn't remember from where he saw her, but Dimitri couldn't shake the air of familiarity that surrounded her.
Maintaining, his professional smile he bowed to both women. "Please do forgive my friend for his rudeness and any trouble he may have caused you."
"Hey, I was not being- Ow!" Sylvain was interrupted by Ingrid pulling on his ear.
The soft-spoken woman laughed softly. "Oh, it is quite alright. Sometimes it is nice to be called beautiful," she said with a gentle smile. Sylvain tried to comment on that, but Ingrid wasn't having it.
"He did not do anything wrong," the other girl commented. "Oh, I am Annette Fantine Dominic." She bowed a little too eagerly and Dimitri nodded as he now understood the familiarity.
"And I am Mercedes von Martritz," Mercedes said with a graceful curtsy. "It is a pleasure to meet you all."
Everyone quickly fell into a pleasant chat. Dimitri could tell that the girl, Annette, wanted to say something but after every time he tried to prompt her, she would just get flustered and switch subjects. After the third attempt he decided to just stop trying for the poor girl's sake.
"Ex-excuse me but you guys are blocking the entrance," came a meek voice from behind Dimitri.
"Oh, pardon me," Dimitri said as he stepped aside and gave a small bow. "Do please forgive me for my rudeness."
"Prince Dimitri?!" shouted the grey-haired boy, when he finally laid eyes on the prince. "Oh no! I am the one at fault! Please forgive me for being so rude!" He then started bowing deeply and seemed to have no intention of ending it.
"Please it is alright. I was the one at fault." The boy did not raise his head. "Please raise your head."
"I couldn't do something so rude as to raise my head to the crown prince!"
Dimitri looked back at his friends for support, who merely shrugged their shoulders at him. He placed a hand on the boy's shoulders and the boy flinched, so he quickly pulled back his hand. Apologies were quickly shared between the two men before a sigh finally escaped the prince.
Before more apologies could be spilled, the sound of someone clearing their throat silenced the two. Both men, looked up to see an older man with square framed glasses glaring down at them. Dimitri and the boy stepped aside so that the man with dark brown hair may pass. The man spared them no other glances as he walked up to the front of the class.
Dimitri sighed as he realized that he did not make a good first impression with his professor; not that his professor made one with him. He turned to the boy, who was staring at the teacher with wide green eyes. Noticing the prince's stare, the boy turned back to look at him and Dimitri was finally able to see the boy's freckles that dotted his cheeks.
"I am Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd. We are going to be fellow classmates so I hope we can get along," Dimitri said with a small bow and watched in amusement as the boy began to fluster.
"I am Ashe Ubert," the boy said with another over the top bow. "I will do my best to not get in your way!"
Dimitri opened his mouth to say something, only for the professor to silence him by once again clearing his throat. Fighting back a sigh with his princely smile, he gave Ashe another small bow before returning to his seat. Once at his seat the professor gave him a quick glance before addressing the rest of the class.
"I am professor Alister Biseon and I shall be in charge of the Blue Lions," the professor said as he looked over his students. He paused as if he was waiting for something and when that thing didn't happen, he tsked, loudly. "My expertise lies in lances and horseback, fitting for a Kingdom Knight." He paused again and once again he tsked, loudly. "I am skilled in other areas so do not worry; I will be able to teach you all properly on many different subjects."
Frowning at his silent class he looked over his notes. Briefly his eyes flickered over to Dimitri before going back to his notes. He flipped through a few pages before looking back at the class.
"Our first order of business will be to decide on our class leader but since we have the crown prince in class it only makes sense to appoint His Highness."
"Wait a minute," Dimitri interjected and for that he received a small sideways glare from the professor. "I do not mind being the representative, but it is unfair to just automatically make me the representative when someone else might want to do it."
Purposely sighing loudly, the professor looked over the class. "Would anyone like to be the class leader over the crown prince?" Dimitri bit his lower lip to prevent himself from saying anything as he was quite annoyed at how his professor over enunciate the words "crown prince". When no one obviously spoke up the professor just gave Dimitri an annoyed gesture.
"I will gladly represent the Blue Lions." He didn't want to do it. As it would place unnecessary work on him that would only get in the way of why he came to Garreg Mach; and he was sure that his professor was going to give him a lot of work. His princely smile became strained under the cheers.
Just as Dimitri feared a lot pointless work would be dumped on him. He could tell that his professor was more than eager to give him as much work as possible; he assumed it was the professor's small attempt at revenge for the prince blaming his father's incompetency for the rebellion two years ago. With a heavy sigh he returned to his room, late into the evening thanks to the meetings that all the professors and representatives had to attend. It was going to be a long year, he quickly realized but he was okay with that as it was great to be away from the castle's oppressive walls.
Finally, alone, he sat at his desk. He stared into nothing as everything settled in. He was finally working towards his revenge that he had desired for so long. Taking a deep breath he opened a drawer to pull out some parchment to jot down his ideas but stopped when he spied Byleth's dagger.
His focus quickly shifted towards the weapon. It was expertly crafted blade, from a famous blacksmith that lived over a hundred years ago. The dagger was worth quite a fortune and he couldn't help but wonder how Jeralt got his hands on such a prized item.
Carefully he unsheathed the dagger and enjoyed the nice shine of it. Byleth had taken such great care of it and he tried to do the same, but he could never bring himself to polish it as well as she did. To see his reflection in it, sickened him.
He held up the dagger and the setting sun's light reflected nicely off of it. Now that he was free of Faerghus he could write her all the letters that he wanted but he had no idea where to send them. It was such a frustrating thought.
He returned the dagger to its scabbard and placed it on his desk. By the end of the year, he would be old enough to take the throne and then he would have the power that he needed to protect her. Tapping the end of the dagger, he absentmindedly lost himself to the sound it made. Before he could take the throne, he needed to get his revenge first. But once he did that, once everything was settled and he was crowned king, he would find her and if she would allow it, he would gladly have her at his side again.
He had one year to set everything into motion.
Third of the Guardian Moon:
Sleeping had been something that had long since eluded Dimitri, so he didn't see any other reason than to arrive early at his classroom. Positive that his professor was going to have more work to give him, he arrived even earlier than he had originally planned too. But he had arrived sooner than the professor, not that he was surprised. Not wanting for Dedue to waste his time waiting with him, the prince ushered his friend away so that he may check out the green house. He then decided to just wait in the classroom and enjoy the quiet before his fellow classmates came.
"Perfect," a voice broke through the stillness of the room. Dimitri quickly spun around to see a tanned skin, young man walking towards him. He quickly realized that the young man was Claude, the recent heir to the Alliance. "Just the person I was hoping to find."
Dimitri quickly got onto his feet and bowed, and it was laughed off by Claude. "There really is no need for such formalities, your Kingliness." Dimitri gave the other man a quizzical look.
"What can I do for you, Lord Claude?" Dimitri asked and Claude made a face of disgust.
"Please, just Claude is fine." The blond nodded as he was finding the casualness to be refreshing. "I was wondering if I could ask you a question." Dimitri nodded and gestured for Claude to continue. "Great, by any chance do you know of a woman named-"
"There you are!" a loud voice interrupted, and Claude couldn't hide his annoyance for a moment. "I have been looking everywhere for you. You will not be escaping me this time!"
"Lorenz! How good of you to join us." Claude stepped to the side so that Dimitri was clearly visible.
"Prince Dimitri?! Please forgive me for my rudeness!" Lorenz was quick to bow.
"Peace, it is quite alright. Lor-" he spotted the look of annoyance on Claude's face before catching himself. "Claude was just asking me a question."
"You know what, I change my mind," Claude said as he threw his hands behind his head. Dimitri arched an eyebrow while Lorenz glared at him.
"Do not be wasting Prince Dimitri's precious time!" Lorenz scolded and the Alliance heir very obviously rolled his eyes, much to the purple haired man's annoyance.
"Are you sure?" Dimitri asked as he tried very hard to ignore the hostility before him. "You seemed like you wanted to know if I knew someone."
"I do, but I realized that it would not be fair to her if I go behind her back to figure out her secrets." The prince tilted his head and Claude smiled at him. "Sorry, for taking up your time."
"No, it is alright. I will be happy to answer your question any time if you ever change your mind."
Great Tree Moon 1180:
First of the Great Tree Moon:
"You all must be wondering why we have requested your presence?" A tall man with mid-length green hair and piercing green eyes asked. In his short time there, Dimitri learned that that man, Seteth, could be quite intimidating but was a very reasonable man.
Dimitri along with the other two class representatives, Claude and Edelgard, and his professor stood in the audience chamber along with Seteth and the Archbishop. He had the pleasure of only meeting the Archbishop a few times, but he couldn't help but think that she was incredibly beautiful, and she was the only other woman that he ever thought that about.
"It has been some time since Garreg Mach had all heirs at the school at the same time. To celebrate such a momentous moment, we would like for you three to take part in a ceremony at Rhodes Coast."
"It would be an honor to take part in such an event," Dimitri said with a small bow.
"Leaving the monastery for some time?" Count me in," Claude said and rested his hands behind his head and ignored Seteth's glare.
"I believe such a ceremony is a wonderful idea," Edelgard said. "I will be happy to participate."
"Excellent," the Archbishop chimed in with an enchanting smile. "The ceremony shall take place on the twenty first of this month. On the night of the full moon." The three heirs nodded.
"Professor Biseon since you are from the Kingdom, we have given you the honor of over seeing the ceremony," Seteth stepped in to further explain. "See to it that you do not disappoint us."
"I will see to it that the ceremony goes off without any problems," Biseon said with a bow.
"Good, you will depart from the monastery a week before, do make sure you are all prepared before you depart."
Seventeenth of the Great Tree Moon:
Byleth stared at her topless self in the mirror and frowned. Many scars had marked her body in the four years since she joined her father's mercenary company, but she didn't care about that; oh no, her issue lied with her crest as she could have sworn that it had grown larger. Her finger traced over the edges of her crest and it felt hot to the touch.
For the past few days, she felt like the area around her crest was on fire and despite the pain she at least learned to deal with it. On top of burning and the possible expansion she also dreamt about the little girl on the throne ever night for the past two weeks straight. She had only ever dreamt about the girl after her crest activated but it had been some time since its last activation. She had brought up the sudden changes to her father, but he was understandably perplexed.
Giving her crest's reflection one final glare before she threw on a top, she looked around her small room in her home. Her focus soon shifted to her desk, where a piece of parchment and ink waited for her. She was long overdue to send Claude a letter and she was sure that he probably sent her another letter complaining about that or was at least close to doing so. Walking over to her desk she wondered if she should even bother with writing one as she would be leaving for Dredriu very soon.
Nineteenth of the Great Tree Moon:
Dimitri had been traveling with his professor, fellow class leaders, and a squadron of knights for a few days now. Despite the travel being easy and peaceful, he couldn't shake a strange feeling that had been plaguing him that entire day. He feared that the feeling might have to do with something terrible happening to Dedue at the monastery as the people at the monastery hadn't been as welcoming as the prince would have liked. Sylvain had promised him to watch over Dedue but the prince knew that there would be little Sylvain would be able to do if a knight had taken an offense to Dedue, even if it was for a foolish reason.
When evening settled and camp had been made, the feeling still persisted and he decided to not see the feeling as a terrible one as it didn't necessarily leave him feeling uneased and he wanted to give himself some peace of mind before it would be time to go to bed as he wasn't too keen on have an exceptionally, terrible nightmare in a closed nit camp. In an attempt to ignore the feeling, he sat in front of the fire and let the warmth wash over him. He was enjoying his little peace until Claude sat down next to him and was soon followed by Edelgard.
Smiles were exchanged before Claude opened a map, rather loudly. Humming, he ignored both Dimitri's and Edelgard's questions. After some time, he began to hum even louder, still ignoring his classmates, but did react when professor Biseon finally asked in annoyance.
"According to this map we are so very close to Remire village," Claude said but never looked up from his map.
"So?" Edelgard asked and was subsequently ignored.
"What about that tiny village?" professor Biseon asked with a sigh.
"I am glad you asked Teach!" Claude ignored the glare from Edelgard. "I was hoping we could stop at it on our way back."
"We are on a tight schedule, remember?" Dimitri asked and it was his turn to be ignored; though by that point he wasn't really expecting anything.
"And why should we stop there?" professor Biseon asked and was completely annoyed.
"Because I possibly know someone that is staying there, and I would just love to pay her a surprise visit!" The professor glared at him and just like with everything else he ignored it.
"How do you know someone from the Empire?" Edelgard asked, despite her looking like she had no expectations.
"I know many people, Princess!" Edeglard's eyes widen slightly before settling into a small scowl. "But if you must know, she has no ties to any country. She is a mercenary."
Dimitri froze and the conversation slowly faded into silence as he focused on what Claude just said, a female mercenary. He clenched his fists tightly as a hope he was afraid to foster blossomed inside. The chances of it being her were incredibly slim and yet…The chance to possibly see her again…
"You okay there Your Kingliness?" Dimitri jumped back as he suddenly became away of Claude's closeness.
"Forgive me, I was lost in thought." Claude gave the prince an unreadable smile. "Claude, may I ask the name of your friend?"
He felt his hands go clammy, so he flexed and unflexed them several times to no avail. Claude kept up that unreadable smile. "Certainly, her name is-"
"Never mind!" Dimitri quickly shouted and looked away.
There was so many reasons that caused him to chicken out on hearing the name. If it wasn't Byleth than he didn't know if his heart would be ready for such disappointment but if it was her…Well there was so many issues to that. He knew he would become greedy and would want so much more. But the main problem was that at that moment wasn't the right time. He needed to get his revenge first and he couldn't drag her into it. He couldn't put her in any more danger than he already had.
He offered Claude an apologetic smile and desperately tired to ignore the look that the other man was giving him. Quickly he retired to his and Claude's tent and hoped that the Alliance heir wouldn't be so quick to join him. Once alone he pulled out his leather patch and ran his fingers over it.
To see Byleth again had been one of his greatest desires for the last two years and yet the possibility that she was so close, terrified him. Would she even want to see him? Her letters two years ago stated that she did, but did she still feel that way? He had so many fears like that, but his biggest fear was that if he saw her again it would weaken his resolve. To give up his desire for revenge because the allure of the happiness that she would surely bring would be to great.
But maybe just a peek of her would be enough…
A loud shout jolted Dimitri out of the light sleep he had drifted off into. In a daze he was only vaguely aware that he was clutching the leather patch and that there was more shouting happening. To so easily fall asleep, he didn't realize how bad the exhaustion he was ignoring had gotten but that wasn't an issue he could focus on at that moment. When several shadows dashed passed his tent, he grabbed his lance and left.
Claude and Edelgard were standing around the center of camp. Claude's eyes darted everywhere, and he was clearly on guard, while Edelgard had been suspiciously calm. When Dimitri joined them, Claude relaxed some.
"What is going on?" Dimitri asked as he surveyed the area. Many of the knights had their weapons drawn and were rushing forward, while a few stayed back.
"We are under attack by bandits," Edelgard said so nonchalantly that he almost didn't believe her. "There seems to be quite large amount of them too."
"Suspiciously so," Claude mumbled and eyed Edelgard.
"Where is Professor Biseon?" Dimitri asked when he finally noticed that the man was missing.
"He took off running as soon as the attack started," Edelgard answered, and he stared at her, unable to accept such a thing. When he finally accepted the truth, a sigh escaped him as he realized just how incompetent House Biseon was. They were certainly an embarrassment to Faerghus.
"The knights seem to be having trouble with these numbers," Claude said as his eyes started to dart around. With wide eyes, he pointed to behind Dimitri. "Look out!"
A lone bandit had managed to break into the camp and was charging at the trio. The bandit raised his axe to strike but his strength was nothing compared to Dimitri's that was used to easily smack the axe away with one powerful swing of his lance. The attacker cursed loudly before a lance pierced his chest and finished him off.
When the little fight was finished Claude had took off running towards the east. Both the royal children shouted a complaint, but he did not stop. Glances were shared before they gave chase.
No matter how much they shouted to him, Claude would not respond. He dipped and weaved with a grace that the royals could only wish to imitate as they struggled to keep up. When they feared that they would lose sight of him, he stopped.
Byleth awoke to a very familiar darkness. Slowly, she turned to face the strange illuminated throne. Collapsing onto her bottom, she waited for the dream to come to an end. She had long since given up on trying to wake the girl.
"Hey!" Byleth jumped at the sudden voice. She looked all around her, but nothing stood out from the darkness. "Up here!" She almost didn't believe her eyes; the young girl was awake and motioning for her to get up. "Get over here!" In partial disbelief, Byleth rushed up the stairs.
Once Byleth got to the top the girl sat on her throne and yawned. Resting her head on the knuckles of one of her hand she glared at Byleth, who was taken aback. The girl glared at the young woman for a bit before yawning again.
"It is most rude to interrupt a moment of repose. Very rude indeed!"
"I am sorry," Byleth stammered out without thinking, and the girl narrowed her eyes.
"How did you get in here anyway?"
"I…" The mercenary paused to look around, "I do not know."
The girl gave her a look for a second and then shook her head. "No matter. Now come to me." She gestured for Byleth to come closer. "I wish to look at you."
Hesitantly, Byleth stepped forward and the girl was a bit annoyed as she motioned for Byleth to hurry up. Leaning forward on the throne the girl gave a quick look over to the woman, before her. "Hmm…I have not seen the likes of you before." Byleth wanted to comment that she had seen the girl several times already but decided against it as she wasn't sure how the girl would react. "Who are you?"
"A…mortal?" Byleth wasn't sure why she said that, but she did believe that it helped to differentiate her from the girl. The girl was obviously not human but that didn't mean she wasn't mortal either…but Byleth got the feeling that the girl wasn't.
"I see." The woman's strange response didn't seem to bother the girl at all. "Then you must have a name of some sorts. Go on." She gestured with a wave of her hand.
"I am Byleth Eisner," she said with a bow.
"Huh. I shall not ever grow accustomed to the sound of human names." Hearing such a line reminded Byleth of Indech and she wonder if the girl was related to him in some ways. Seemingly becoming more interested in the conversation, the girl started to sit on the edge of her throne. "You must possess a day of birth as well. Beneath what moon and on what day where you born to this world?"
"I was born on the sixth of the Verdant Rain Moon."
"Well, wonders never cease! It seems we share our day of birth. How strange!" Byleth didn't believe that it was a mere coincidence, but she said nothing.
"Hm. It all feels so…familiar." The girl returned to her position of resting against an arm rest of her throne. "I think it may be time for yet another nap…" She finished speaking with a yawn. "It is almost…time to…begin…" She fell asleep and Byleth was impressed with just how quickly she did.
When the girl fell back to sleep the darkness began to encroach. Panic started to well within the mercenary as she looked back to the girl and noticed that she was missing. She stood petrified as the darkness began to close in, but she calmed down greatly when she heard a familiar voice call out to her.
Slowly she began to stir and only fully awoke when she felt a slap on her leg. Still lying down she turned to look at her father, who was giving her an annoyed look. Giving him a small frown, she turned away from him and pulled the covers over herself.
"Oh no you don't!" Jeralt said and pulled the covers away from her. "It's time to get up!"
Mumbling something incoherent she sat up. Rubbing her eyes, she let out a loud yawn. Now reluctantly awake she gave her father a small glare and he simply shook his head.
"I dreamt about that girl again," she finally said as she got onto her feet. He gave her a quizzical look and said nothing; she knew he must have been running out on things to say about a subject that he knew nothing about. "She was awake this time."
"Oh, and what was she like?"
She paused in her stretching to recall the girl for a bit. "She's bossy."
He broke out into a laughing fit and smacked her across the back, forgetting about his strength for a moment. "Leave it to you Kid, to dream about a bossy girl." He pulled her in for a side hug and messed up her already tangled hair some more. It took more effort than she would have liked to push him off.
"Alright Kid, I woke you up because we are going to head out soon and I wanted to say goodbye." She pouted as she would have loved to join him, but he was going to the Kingdom.
"Hey," he called softly and pulled her in for a genuine hug. "It will only be for a few months." He knew their separation wasn't the main problem, but he hoped that on focusing on that would distract her, even for a little bit.
"You are off to Derdriu so you'll get to see that boy again." He didn't like that, but it was impossible to argue against his daughter's smile. "But remember you must maintain a three feet distance between you and that boy at all times!"
"Dad!" She stopped her foot.
"No buts! That's the rule you better follow, do you hear me?" She rolled her eyes. "I am being completely serious little lady!"
She opened her mouth to complain when one of their men barged in. He was their newest recruit, only joined their ranks last year. He stared at Byleth, until Jeralt loudly cleared his throat, causing the younger man to jump a little.
"Jeralt! Sir!" The father narrowed his eyes and the young man squirmed a little. "Sorry to barge in but there are three teens that are requesting your presence. And one of them claims to know Byleth."
She arched an eyebrow, while her father narrowed his eyes. A warm feeling started to bubble within her and though she didn't know why, she was happy to feel that way. When her father started to walk towards the door, she was hot on his heels.
"Darling!" a familiar voice shouted as its owner rushed towards the two that just left the small house.
"Who's your darling?" Jeralt growled out but Claude didn't' flinch as he continued forward.
"Why you of course Jeralt Sir!" Jeralt grumbled several complaints but they went ignored as his daughter pushed passed him.
"Meadow!" Byleth shouted as she ran into Claude's open arms. The boy was taken back for a second but with a laugh he wrapped his arms around her. "I've missed you!" A blush colored his cheeks, but his wide smile was a genuine one.
"I missed you too," he said softly and gave her a small squeeze.
Jeralt loudly cleared his throat and Claude immediately released her and stepped back. The teen gave the father an innocent look, who was glaring daggers back. Another second of silenced passed and Claude took yet another step way from Byleth and Jeralt gave him a firm nod in return.
"You better have a good reason for disturbing us at such an hour?" Jeralt asked in an icy tone.
"We do," a young woman with white hair said and she stepped forward, and it was only then that both Jeralt and Byelth took noticed of her.
The young woman began to explain their situation but Byleth was only half listening. She remembered being told that there were three teens, so she scanned the area for the final one. Standing a bit way back was the final teen and when her eyes landed on him, she forgot to breath.
With shaky steps, she slowly made her way over to the final one. The expression he wore was the same as hers, wide eyes and a mouth that hung open. He did not budge as she walked over to him, her arms slowly extended out as the closer she got to him.
Standing right in front of him, she was slow to do anything, and he just continued to stare at her with that same expression. She reached out to hold his face but stopped herself from touching him. Her shock began to wash away as her eyes began to become misty and her lower lip started to tremble.
"Is…Is it really you?" she asked so quietly that even she wasn't so sure if she had heard her voice. "Aster?"
When she finished speaking, he tossed his lance aside and threw his arms around her in a tight embrace. A small gasp escaped her at the suddenness, but she smiled when she noticed he was being careful to not crush her. After a few seconds of him burring his face into the crook of her neck, the tip of his cold nose came into contact with her neck and from that she knew it wasn't a dream.
"It is really is you!" Her voice began to tremble, but she didn't care. She wrapped her hands around his neck as it was the most comfortable way for her to hug him. She allowed him to press her further into him. His scent of cedar and earth solidified that everything was real, and she lightly squeezed him in return.
"I have missed you ever so much." She closed her eyes and focused on his warmth. Pressed against his shoulder, she couldn't help but noticed that he was now taller than her and that she liked it. Being wrapped in his arms not only felt comfortable but safe. Resting her head against his, she was pleased to feel him burying his face further into her neck. She felt like a piece of her had returned.
Byleth's comfort came to an annoying end, when her father loudly cleared his throat. Pouting she tired to pull away, only for Dimitri to pull her back to him. With a soft smile, she patted his head.
"Prince, I like ya. I really do but if you don't release my daughter soon, I have no problem with ending you!" Jeralt threaten as he stomped his way over to them.
"Dad!"
Her shout seemed to snap Dimitri out of it as he looked up. He was bright red as he released her and took a step back. Several apologies flew out of him, but he was unable to look at anyone. Giving her father a glare, she grabbed Dimitri's hand and tried to comfort him. After a few second, he was no longer red in the face, but he still wouldn't to look at her.
"Look Kid, I'm sorry. This is a touchy reunion and if the situation was better, I would have allowed for it to continue, honest. Even if it did annoy me a little," he mumbled the last part so no one could hear it, but she did. "But we have a potential bandit problem and you need to get dress. Quickly." He stressed the last word.
The mentioning of bandits was enough to alert her to the importance of getting dressed but the stressing of it bothered her. Glancing down at her sleepwear, one of her father's shirts, with a very wide collar, and brown pants. It might not have been the ideal clothes for battle, but she would have no problem if push came to shove. She looked back at her father and frowned.
Sighing Jeralt, pushed his daughter towards their little house, and Dimitri jolted forward thanks to the hand holding. Jeralt frowned at her but she still didn't release her friend's hand. She did, however, glance back at Dimitri, who was once again red in the face, and then she looked at Claude and the young woman, who were both watching her.
"They need a change of clothes as well," Byleth said and Jeralt arched an eyebrow. "Their uniforms look difficult to move around in and if push comes to shove, they will need better clothes."
The father stared at his daughter for a moment before sighing. "Wil!" Jeralt shouted as he turned to face the young man that alerted them to the teens' arrival. Wil stood attentive at the sudden shout of his name. "Take the prince and the boy and get them a spare change of clothes."
"Why am I just boy?" Claude complained and Jeralt glared at him. "I am boy!"
"Please, I do not wish to be a bother," Dimitri said, and his sights were glued to Jeralt.
"To late for that," Jeralt sighed and Dimitri flinched. The older man walked over to the prince and lightly gripped his shoulder and gave him a small smile to which Dimitri relaxed. "Don't worry about it. I'm glad to be helping you again." A smile slowly spread across the prince's face as Jeralt lightly pushed him forward. "Now go get changed."
Reluctantly Dimitri released Byleth's hand. He gave her one final glance before joining Claude and Wil. She was about to leave as well, when her father stopped her.
"I, and the rest of the crew will head off to route the bandits before they can get any closer to the village. You, Wil, and the brats will be staying back just in case." She gave him a nod before she began to guide the young woman into her house.
Byleth led the young woman into her room and started to rummage for clothes that she could wear. Byleth wanted to make small talk or something as she knew people were more comfortable around her when there was noise of some sort, but she found it difficult to approach the girl. The mercenary was hesitant to say that she was hated but she didn't know how else to describe the distance the girl kept. Hatred was too strong of a word, she believed, as the girl showed no open hostilities and yet it some how seemed to be the most fitting.
Finding the smallest pants that she owned she walked over the girl but stopped short of standing close. Looking at the young woman, she could not shake the strong air of familiarity that she felt towards the girl, but she couldn't recall ever meeting any young person with white hair. Nor could she recall upsetting a stranger, but then again, she realized that she seemed to upset people by simply existing. She fought back a frown as she held out the clothes, a simple blue tunic and grey pants.
"I'm sorry that I do not have anything smaller, "Byleth said and was pleased to see that the girl was willing to take the clothes. "Hopefully these offer better mobility than your uniform."
"Thank you," the young woman said as she took the clothes. "I am sorry to be a bother."
"You are not." Byleth said, in hopes of helping to fix their strain relationship, but it didn't seem to do anything, so she fought back a sigh. Giving her guest some room, Byleth returned to her dresser to get her clothes ready.
"Excuse me." The older woman looked over her shoulder to see that the girl had yet to move. The girl clutched the clothes to her chest and was looking away. She looked so vulnerable, but it didn't seem right but Byleth decided to not comment on it. "I am sorry, but I am shy. Is it possible to change alone?"
"Oh yes. I'll leave in a moment. Just give me a minute to grab some of my things."
After grabbing a few clothes that she barely paid attention too, she slipped out of her room and went to her father's smaller room to change. In her father's room she looked down at the clothes she brought and frowned. It had been an old top that she used to like but after a near miss of a sword's slice the top of it, she had to modified it and now it revealed much of her crest. It wouldn't have been a problem, if not for the young woman, as Byelth didn't know how she would react to it. With a sigh, she decided to just ignore it and get dressed as she didn't want to go in and disturb the girl, nor did she really have time to be worrying about such things.
Finishing relatively quickly, she realized that she left her armor pieces in her room. She debated on whether she should worry about them or not but when she realized that her father would probably nag her for not wearing them, she decided to go get them. Knocking on her door, she waited for a response and when none came, she carefully peaked inside to make sure that the girl was dressed, and she was. Pushing the door open, she noticed that the white-haired woman was inspecting the pink hairband that was sitting on the desk.
"You may borrow it if you wish," Byleth said as she walked in. The girl jumped slightly before quickly turning to face her intruder. "You must return it though as it is a precious gift."
The girl looked back at the gift, softly. "If it is so precious. I would not want to risk damaging it," the girl said as she continued to look at it.
Walking over to the desk, Byleth picked up the gift and held it out towards the girl. She looked at it and then at Byleth. The older woman thought about putting it on the girl but decided against it as she didn't want to upset the girl.
"It is alright. Just in case the worst-case scenario was to happen I would like to make sure you are prepared. So, if you are worried about your hair getting in your face, please go ahead and wear it."
The woman shook her head. "No, I am fine. My hair does not bother me."
Byleth fought back her little frown as she returned her gift to its proper place. Her attempt to help break some of the tension between them had failed and she was at a loss as to what she should do next. She looked at the girl and discovered that she was staring, almost glaring, at Byleth's crest.
Feeling a bit self-conscious, Byleth was quick to put on a larger choker with heavy ornament attacked to it. A potential, male suitor had given it to her some time ago before her father chased him off and she thought it was too nice to throw away, even if she never thought she was going to wear it; and she was surprised that she was grateful to still have it. It didn't cover her crest like she would have liked but she hoped that it would at least distract someone away from it. Sighing, she looked back at the woman, who seemed to have had her fill of crest staring and was looking away.
"We haven't introduced ourselves yet, have we?" Byelth asked in order to help lighten the mood somewhat. "I am Byleth Eisner."
The woman gave her a funny look before returning the bow with one of her own. "I am the heir to the Adrestian Empire, Edelgard von Hresvelg."
"Lilac?!" Byleht shouted as she forgot herself and invaded Edelgard's personal space. "Is it really you?" Edelgard pressed her lips together and looked away but Byleth didn't seem to notice. "I didn't recognize you with your white hair. Did you dye it? I heard it was a trend amongst girls."
Edelgard frowned at the strands of hair, she rubbed between her fingers. "Yes," was all she said, and she still didn't look at Byleth.
The older woman instantly got the message that it was a subject that Edelgard did not want to speak on, so she didn't say anything else despite wanting too. She had liked the light brown hair as it would have reminded her of Lady Patricia, but she figured that, that might have been the reason for the change. She was glad that Dimitri kept his blond hair, at least.
"Do you have any spare weapons that I may borrow?" Edelgard asked after a few moments of silence.
"Oh yes. They are in that chest." Byleth said pointing to the chest at the end of her bed and Edelgard walked over to it. "Could you please grab the spare bow and arrows for Meadow, I mean Claude."
Edelgard went through the chest, while Byleth finally started to put on her few armor pieces. She frowned when the leather strap for her left leg armor had snapped and she tossed it onto her bed. When she had thought about reuniting with Edelgard, she had hoped it would be great but…she glanced at her old friend, who was inspecting an old sword, and she let out a small sigh as she could tell that the tension had only gotten worse after she discovered, who Edelgard was.
Clenching her fists tightly she feared that she would have a similar situation with Dimitri. She didn't want that! To see him after so long she did not want such underling hostility. She hoped that the hug that they shared earlier was proof that such a thing wouldn't happen, and everything would be great between them.
Unable to shake away the negativity that had begun to take hold of her she got up to look at her reflection in the mirror that her father had insisted she have. Despite sleeping with her hair in a braid it still ended up as a mess that her father helped contribute too and so she spent some time combing it out. After her hair was presentable, she suddenly started to fix every little thing that might have been off and trying to make herself look as nice as possible. She never cared about her looks, unless her crest was involved, but at that moment she found herself to be very self-conscious and was hoping a certain someone would like what he would see.
"I am ready." Byleth flinched as Edelgard's voice broke her out of her thoughts.
Byleth quickly spun around to see that the princess had a bow strapped over her chest and was holding an axe with Almyrian writing near the handle. She hadn't seen the axe in a while, and she couldn't help but remember Muharib. She decided that seeing the axe again was Muharib's way of telling her to not give up and she decided that she would keep trying to be Edelgard's friend again.
Grabbing a ribbon, off of her desk, Byleth began to walk out. "I'm sure the men are done. We should hurry." She tied up her hair into a high ponytail as she stepped out of the room.
Dimitri and Claude stood around talking, while Wil had been missing. Byleth quickly assessed that Wil might have left to go survey the area and so she wasn't worried about it. Both men wore similar matching off white tunics and brown pants; though Claude's looked to be too big on him and Dimitri had a few armor pieces. The men looked up, when the women joined them, and Dimitri was quick to be at Byleth's side and Claude was hot on his heels. When she smiled at Dimitri, he blushed but returned the smile and Claude scowled at that.
She reached up to pat the prince's head but that felt wrong, so she decided to brush his bangs aside. "I'm not surprised to see that you have grown up to be quite handsome," she said, and she couldn't help but chuckle from how red he got. Done with his bangs her hand rested on his cheek and he gripped her hand.
"Well you have become more beautiful than I could have ever imagined," he said so quietly that only she could hear him, and she blushed. She looked up at him and wondered if he was even aware of what he said, and she figured that he wasn't based on how calm he was.
Enjoying the peace, she felt she looked into his eyes. The beautiful blue eyes that she had so longed to see. The once lifeless eyes that she last saw were gone, and she was delighted at that but something else lingered in them. A darkness that she didn't like.
"By, what is wrong?" He lightly squeezed the hand that he was still holding.
She snapped her out of her thoughts. "I fear that I will awaken at any moment and you will no longer be before me," she partially lied as it might have not been her concern right at that moment, but it was still a fear she had.
He released her hand so that he may place his hand on her cheek and looked at her fondly. The darkness was missing, and she was second guessing herself. "I fear that as well. But if we are both of afraid of that then surely this is all real." She rested her head into his hand and smiled.
Their lovely moment was broken by someone very loudly clearing their throat. They both turned to see an unamused Claude in their presence. Instinctively Byleth stepped away from Dimitri and Claude smiled at that, though it was not one of his genuine ones.
Seizing the moment Claude stepped in and separated the two. A mischievous smile danced on his lips as he tried to block her view of the blond. When her focus settled on him, he relaxed a little.
"If you are going to be handing out compliments so easily than I want one," he said as he got closer to her.
She flicked his little braid. "I think I gave you plenty when we were staying together." He pouted. "Fine, you've gotten quite handsome as well." His cheeks turned a light shade of pink, but his pout remained. "Though you would be even more handsome with a genuine smile." His cheeks turned a darker shade as a real smile started to fight its way onto his face.
"You are adorable when you blush." She would have kept up her teasing if Dimitri hadn't wrapped an arm around her as he pulled her slightly towards him and Claude scowled at him.
"Byleth!" Wil shouted as he rushed towards them. "I believe that I might have spotted some bandits heading our way."
"What?!" Claude shouted. "They managed to get pass both the Knights of Serios and the Jeralt Mercenaries? These bandits sure are tenacious."
"You three get inside," Byleth order and all of her earlier playfulness was gone. "Wil and I will handle the stranglers. If we are unable to handle them then you three are to run to the village, okay?"
"No!" Dimitri shouted, and grabbed her arm as she was about to walk away. "I am no longer a child!" She looked at him and he matched her stare. "I can now defend myself as well as protect you!" She pressed her lips together. "I swore to you that I would protect you and I am going to do just that!" Silently, she just stared at him.
"You can either accept our help," Claude said as he interrupted. "Or you will have to make do with us disobeying you because we are helping no matter what." She quietly groaned.
"We are helping and that is final," Edelgard said as she joined everyone.
With a heavy sigh she looked at everyone. "Fine, but all of you are to stay close to me. Do I make myself clear?" They all nodded. "No one will get ahead of me in battle as I will be the lead." She could see that Dimitri wanted to argue to that but when she narrowed her eyes, he let his complaint die.
"Meadow, you will support Lilac."
"Who?" Claude asked.
"Me," Edelgard answered and Claude pouted.
"You two just met and she already gave you a nickname?"
"I have met her before."
Ignoring Claude's loud gasps and demands for answers, Dimitri turned to Byleth. "And where will you have me?" he asked.
"You will be my support," she answered, and he smiled at that.
Slowly, several bandits emerged from the thickets. Far too many from what she was expecting. She kept her expression neutral as to not let the teens know that she was troubled as she could feel all eyes on her.
"If we strike together, we shall be fine," Byleth said as she stepped forward and drew her sword. "Don't be a fool. If you suffer a great wound, do not push yourself. Fall back and wait for me to heal you. No one will die on my watch!"
She was only partially aware of the small cheer everyone gave her. As more and more bandits emerged, they began to laugh but a few began to bunch together as they slowly made their way towards their prey. Thrusting her hand forward she channeled her energy to her palm so that she may cast Bolganone in the bunched-up group.
Screams rang out as the bandits began to scatter and Byleth motioned for everyone to rush forward. She was the first to come into contact as she met a bandit that was fleeing from her spell. The bandit had no chance to react to her before his throat was sliced open and she spared him no other glances as she rushed past him.
Orders from what could only have been from the leader that she couldn't see, rallied the bandits and they began to charge forward. Just as one was about to strike her a lance pushed forward and pierced the bandit's shoulder, forcing him to drop his weapon and stumble back. She then finished off the injured man with a quick stab into his chest. Byleth gave Dimitri a quick nod before rushing for the next one.
There might have been many, but their skills were nothing and she knew that there was no way her father's mercenaries wouldn't have any problem with eradicating them. She couldn't understand how they were able to avoid her father and his mercenaries. She assumed that it was their large numbers that must have been giving her father trouble and she wished she could just find the leader already. As much as she would have loved to rush towards the leader and end everything quickly, she could not ignore the minions, less they attack her friends.
Claude screaming out grabbed her attention and she tore her eyes away from her oncoming opponent to search for the injured teen. She spied him trying to slip away from a bandit while Edelgard pressed forward. She glared at Edelgard, who almost seemed to be ignoring her partner.
"Byleth!" Dimitri screamed and her head jerked to his direction just in time to see his lance pass by and pierce her almost attacker in the head.
Her eyes quickly flew back to Claude as she didn't even acknowledge that she could have almost died. The bandit raised his axe to finish off the defenseless teen and she dashed forward without a second thought. Without properly channeling her energy she released an unfinished Thunder spell. It was weak but its backlash was strong, and she felt the residue power flew back into her, but she ignored it as she had successfully halted the bandits strike and needed to finish him off.
With a mad dash she rammed her blade into the man's side, piercing him all the way through. She spared the bandit no other thought as she pushed the body off of her sword. Her attention shifted to Claude, right when a cry from Dimitri broke through the chaos and she forgot all about Claude as she saw several bandits rush Dimitri and one of their swords had pierced his side.
"Aster!" she screamed as she rushed back to him. Her lungs burned, not from exertion but from the backlash of her spell. Breathing became incredibly difficult but she pushed through it. She reached him just in time for her to take the finishing blow that was meant for him.
"What were you thinking?!" a familiar voice shouted, and Byleth slowly opened her eyes. Immediately she was greeted with an almost recognizable darkness. Spinning on her heels she saw the girl glaring down at her from onto the stairs.
"Are you trying to get me killed?!" Byleth frowned as she wasn't sure how her dying was the same as getting the girl killed. The girl sighed as she started to walk back towards the throne and the mercenary saw that as a sign to climb the stairs. Once she was at the top the girl sighed again from her seat. "I guess if you do not know the value of your own life you are not going to protect it properly."
Byleth had nothing to say to that as that was something her father had constantly criticized her on. The girl gave her a quick glance over before sighing again. The sighs were started to get a bit annoying.
Rising to her feet the girl clapped her hands once before a smile worked its way on to her face. "I guess it will be up to me to guide you from now on!"
"What?" Byleth subconsciously asked but the girl didn't seem to notice as she was too pleased with herself.
"I am Sothis." Byleth's eyes widen. "But I am also known as The Beginning."
Sothis smiled a brilliant smile for but a moment before a look of confusion washed over her. Closing her eyes, she rested her tilted head on the knuckles of one of her hands. She tapped her foot on the ground, trying to grasp something just out of her mind's reach.
"Sothis…Yes, that is it. My name is Sothis." Byleth just stared at the girl. The mysterious girl had been the one that the unusual creatures were looking for so why did they mistake Byleth for her? She looked nothing like Sothis. The girl also didn't fit the image that Byleth had built up for Sothis. Byleth looked around at the nothingness but only the throne could be seen in the darkness and for the first time in her life she wondered where that mysterious space existed.
"And I am also called…The Beginning. But who once called me that?" Sothis' voice brought back Byleth's attention to her.
"Are you really Sothis?" Byleth asked, and the girl's eyes snapped open.
"I was not able to recall my name until this moment. Do you know who I am?"
Byleth shook her head. "I have met creatures that spoke of you but that is all I know about you."
Sothis closed her eyes and resumed her thinking stance. "How odd that I only now recalled my name…" Slowly, she opened her eyes to stare at the woman before her. "That does not matter right now. We must figure out what to do next."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean we must correct your foolishness that had you throwing yourself before a blade!" Byleth would disagree with it being a foolish action but she decided to not argue with Sothis. "Yet all is well, as I have stalled the flow of time for now. You would have died had I not intervened." Byleth knew she would have died but to hear it told to her, somehow made it more real.
"You stopped time?" Byleth asked only because she didn't believe it, and Sothis frowned.
"Hm. I do not hear your gratitude."
"Forgive me," Byleth quickly said with a bow. "I am grateful. It's just your powers surprised me."
"I am incredible, am I not?" Sothis stood proudly before her, puffing out her chest and held her head high. "It seems I was right to deem you worth saving after all." Her pride quickly washed away as her earlier confusion returned. "Though it is only momentarily, the flow of time has stopped. However, did I manage that…"
"What now?"
Sothis' focus returned to Byleth. "Time will flow once again, and the sword will pierce your heart and you will meet your end."
Byleth looked away and stared at the darkness. She did not feel a shred of regret for losing her life if it meant that she saved Dimitri. She only wished that her death would not trouble him so much.
"How rude of you to drag me into this!" Sothis' voice snapped Byleth out of her thoughts again.
"I am sorry." Sothis smiled at that.
"Now then, shall we begin?"
"Begin what?"
"Rewinding the hands of time." Byleth tilted her head. "I will send you back before you foolishly threw yourself before the boy."
"No."
"No?"
"I do not care that I die so long as Aster is safe." Sothis frowned. "If you were to rewind time than I will just do the same thing again!"
"Honestly, you are a fool!" Byleth's expression did not change. "Neither yours nor that boy's death are set in stone." Byleth's eyes widen. "A death does need to happen, but it does not need to be either yours or that boy's, as that bandit can pay the price."
A massive magic circle appeared before Sothis and soon three different visions played out before Byleth: one of her death, one of Dimitri's, and finally the bandits'. The death of Dimitri was incredibly painful to watch, and she hopped to never see it again. Her eyes snapped back to Sothis, who was smiling at her.
"It will be up to you to guide the present to the desired future." A new magic circle formed in front of Sothis and inside the center of it was a mysterious symbol. Byleth's hand brushed over her crest because she was sure that symbol was what her completed crest would look like.
"Now go…Yes, you who bears the flames within. Drift through the flow of time to find the answers that you seek."
Before Byleth could ask what Sothis meant by that she found herself being engulfed by a strange but comforting energy. After blinking she found herself back on the battlefield, right after she had casted the poor Thunder spell. With a clear mind, she was able to see Wil rushing towards Claude that her panic mind had missed the first time.
"I'm counting on you Wil!" she shouted more of a distraction for the bandit than for support. He gave her a nod and she rushed back to Dimitri.
She cursed loudly as she was unable to reach Dimitri in time before a sword pierced his side, but she at least made it before the killing blow could be readied. She managed to slice open the bandit's stomach just as he was raising his sword. Kicking the bandit away, she managed to prevent any of organs from spilling onto her and making her little area a hazard to walk in.
Swiftly, she dispatched the one that stabbed Dimitri, while he delivered a devastating blow to the final bandit in their area. A groan escaped him as he dropped to his knees and she was quickly at his side. Gently she placed her hand on his wound and her body screamed at her for using magic again, when she was still recovering from her botched spell.
"I'm sorry for leaving your side," she said as she tried to mask her unease for feeling Dimitri's blood on her hands. She wished to never see Dimitri bleed again.
"Do not worry about that. I wanted you to save Claude," Dimitri said, and she looked into his eyes. One of his hands cupped her face. "Besides I am alive thanks to you."
She whispered her internal gratitude to Sothis as she finished healing him. When she finished, they both rushed to Claude, who was still lying on the ground, and Wil stood protectively over him. They smiled when they saw the two approaching.
"Took you long enough," Claude teased, and winced when he tried to move. His abdomen as well as his left leg had nasty wound. Silently she went about healing and prayed to never see him injured as well. Healing three major injuries as well as still recovering from her failed spell was starting to take a toll on her.
"Edelgard!" she shouted as she rose to her feet. "Get over here!"
A scowl nearly supplanted itself onto her face as she realized that Edgelgard had yet to react to Claude not being by her side. As much as she didn't want to have suspicions against her friend, she couldn't help but be a bit wary of the girl. When the final person joined them, Byleth turned to face everyone.
"You four will guard this area."
"And what about you?" Edelgard asked as she narrowed her eyes.
"I am going to cut the head off of the serpent."
"Alone?" Claude asked and Wil tensed up next to him. She simply nodded.
"I will not allow you to go alone," Dimitri said and reached out to grab her arm, but she stepped out of reach.
"I will be fine." He frowned at that. "Honestly, it will be easier for me to go alone." He flinched at that and she struggled to remain indifferent. She just didn't want to see him, or Claude get hurt again. "I will be fine, I promise." That didn't seem to bring him any comfort and she realized that she didn't really have the luxury of comforting him then. "You will listen to Wil, while I am away." She and Wil exchanged nods before she left.
She rushed into the forest. She had to pass a few minions and wished that she could have taken them out before they could reach the others, but she knew she in doing so would only exhaust hers. Gripping her sword tighter she pressed forward, knowing that the death of the leader will end it.
The mercenary followed the shouts until she came upon a small clearing, where four men stood within. All eyes flew to her and all at once they struggled to get ready. She believed it would have been easy to end it all in one go as they were all nicely bunched up, perfect for a well place Bolganone spell but her body wouldn't allow it.
"Kill her!" the leader shouted, and his three subordinates charged her.
Masking her frustration, she met the men head on. Unlike with all the earlier fodder, she faced, she was having a difficult time facing those three men, which lead her to believe that they were proper bandits. Pushing the many questions that started to swarm her mind aside, she tried to figure out which of the men was the weakest link. The men attacked in a line formation that she thought was an idiotic attack formation, but she soon discovered that it made for an excellent defensive one.
Quickly, she discovered it was the man in the middle and though she had tried to coax him forward and exposing himself, he never did. She struggled to keep her frustration hidden as the middle man was carefully protected by each man on his side, making for an even more annoying battle. When she would try to finish him off with a calculated thrust, one of the two men, on his sides, were quick to block her strike.
Fighting back a sling of curses, she decided to change her tactics and finish off the outer men first. Just as with the man in the middle, the men on the sides were being protected and refused to break their formation but with the middle man's slower reactions, she soon found it easy to break through their defenses.
The man on the right was the first to meet his end as her sword was plunged into his neck after she had feinted on going for his stomach. That man didn't go down without a fight as he grabbed her arm and pulled her forward as he fell back. Thanks to his hold she wasn't able to completely dodge the left man's strike as his sword dug into her side, but she refused to show any pain.
Startled by her glare the middle man stumbled back. "You're the Ashen Demon, aren'tcha?!" he screamed as he took another step away from her.
"The Ashen Demon is here?!" the leader shouted as his eyes began to dart around. "Then that means that the Blade Breaker isn't far behind either!"
As if on command her father busted through the trees. He swung his lance around before he thrusted it at the leader, who narrowly avoided the strike. When Jeralt spied his daughter, he urged his horse towards her and pierced both of the men that were attacking her in the chest with an ease that she was jealous of.
"You guys are like cockroaches! How many of you are there?" Jeralt demanded as he stayed near his daughter.
"The Knights of Serios and the Jeralt Mercenaries?!" the leader yelled before laughing like a deranged man. The father and daughter exchanged looks. "To hell with this! No pay is worth this suicidal mission!"
The leader ran away, along with the few nearby men that heard him. Jeralt seemed to be eager to give chase but she couldn't have cared less as she only wished to return to her friends. Her father growled out when he saw her clutching her side and helped her onto his horse.
The mention of pay by the bandit leader bothered her but she decided to put it out of her mind for the time being. As soon as she laid eyes on everyone and noticed that they were okay, relief washed over and she almost allowed her exhaustion to get the better of her. She stumbled off the horse in her haste to get to Dimitri, who, along with Claude, were meeting her halfway.
"Are you okay?" she asked as she stumbled over to them and Dimitri caught her as she nearly fell. "Is anyone hurt?"
"Forget about us! What about you?" Claude asked, eyeing her blood-soaked side.
"It's nothing that a Vulnerary can't fix."
"Thank the goddess!" Dimitri whispered as he wrapped her in a hug. "Please do not leave me like that again. I beg of you."
She returned the hug and rested her head on his shoulder. "I promise."
Bonus Part!
I wanted to write the reunion in Dimitri's point of view, but the story flowed better with Byleth's so enjoy this little snippet.
"Who are you kid?" asked a gruff man to Claude right when Dimitri and Edgelgard caught up.
"I am a friend of Byleth," answered Claude and he did not spare a glance to his fellow class leaders.
Dimitri froze upon hearing her name. He didn't know what to do or what to make of it. He wasn't even sure if he truly heard Claude correctly or if he just heard what he wanted to hear. Paralyzed all he could do was stare at the Alliance heir.
The mercenary looked at Claude for a bit before he motioned for the younger man to leave. Claude stood there happily and Edelgard joined him, but Dimitri remained rooted in place. The prince's mind was swirling and not a thought could break through the haze of it all.
"Darling!" Claude shouted as he rushed forward and Dimitri's eyes followed him.
When his eyes landed on the oh so familiar old, gruff man, all his thoughts ceased, and his heart thumped loudly in his chest. He couldn't bring himself to move and all he could do was helplessly stare at Jeralt. His breath hitched as he finally saw her, the person he so desperately wanted to see.
He had no idea how long he was staring. He wasn't even really aware of what she was doing as the only thing his mind and heart cared was that she was there. Excitement welled within him, along with the horrific fear that it was all a nightmare and she would soon be ripped away from him.
Their eyes locked and he forgot to how to breath. She slowly made her way over to him and he wanted to rush to her, but he was frozen in place. No thoughts could penetrate his barren mind and he couldn't even find his voice to call out to her.
"Is…Is it really you?" she had asked, and her voice was just as melodious as he remembered. "Aster?"
At the sound of his childhood nickname, his trance was broken and threw his lance aside in order to engulf her in a tight embrace. He buried his face into the crook of her neck and the familiar scent of jasmine comforted him once more. He pulled her closer to him as he slowly closed his eyes.
"It really is you." Her trembling voice whispered into his ears and it was a sound, he knew he would never get tired of hearing. Her arms wrapped around his neck and soon her warmth was spreading throughout his body. He dared to not move in fear of breaking the beautiful illusion.
"I have missed you ever so much." Her warm breath brushed against his ear and he shuddered. He pressed her further into himself and was only a tiny bit aware to be careful to not to crush her. He wished he wasn't wearing his gauntlets, but he didn't dare move to remove them, less some cruel twist of fate would take her away from him again while he had loosened his grip.
He had been a complete utter fool. There was no way that a simple peek would ever be enough to satisfy him. How could he believe that he wouldn't want to hear her voice or to feel her warmth? She was in his arms and yet he wanted more, oh so much more. He was right the first time, he was greedy and just to see her once, to hear her once, and to feel her once, was never going to be enough.
Incoming a long Author note because I have a lot to say!
First, we have gotten to the point in the story that I have been least looking forward too, as to be honest, I'm not sure how I am going to write the Academy era.
Second, I will have to take a short break and I don't know when my next upload will be. I got a wedding to go to this coming weekend and right after that midterms! Ugh…And then after that I think will be the start of papers….
Next up is Head cannon notes and I apologize if they are a bit confusing.
First up, Backfired spells:
A spell needs to have its energy challenged properly before it can be casted. To cast it before hand is incredibly dangerous, especially at higher level spells. The residual energy that didn't get expended will travel through the caster body and will be incredibly painful. Byleth kept feeling like she was being electrified throughout the battle. The residual energy can even prevent spells from being cast as it disrupts the flow of energy.
The way to treat a backfired spell is to either wait for it to pass, which could take awhile as there is no set time, or for a high-level Faith caster to cancel out the negative energy with their own healing magic.
Second, Divine Pulse:
Having to break this down so it isn't so broken was difficult to figure out. So here how it goes, Divine Pulse can rewind time, but it cannot erase a set point that is to happen, like a death or an injury. Sothis and Byleth are not actually changing the future they are just guiding it down a desired timeline.
For instance, like what happened in this chapter a death was needed to happen. It could have been either Byleth's, Dimitri's, or the Bandit's. So Byleth had to make sure that the bandit died before either her or Dimitri were killed. This does mean that there is timeline where Dimitri died before Byleth's eyes and one where she died before Dimitri.
I hoped I managed to explain it in a way that makes sense as I didn't want Byleth to have access to such a broken ability.