If I was a good student, you all wouldn't be getting this chapter so quickly, but I am not. :P
I had expected this chapter to be a short transition chapter and nope, it's just a standard-length chapter for me and I don't even know how.
And since we have arrived at a consistent time point in the story, I will no longer be posting up ages.
Great Tree Moon 1180:
Twentieth of the Great Tree Moon:
When dawn finally arose both Byleth and Dimitri gave into their exhaustion. Jeralt wasn't surprised that Byleth collapsed after hearing her story (minus a certain green haired girl) but Dimitri had been a surprise to everyone. It was only when he carried the prince to his bed that did, he noticed the bags under the poor boy's eyes. Jeralt didn't want to even think about when it was the last time that the prince slept after he recalled some of Byleth's stories about him.
With the kids in their bed, Jeralt had no other distractions from the problem he did not want to deal with and that was about the brats. They were students and not just any students to any old school; if only he was that lucky, they just had to be students to Garreg Mach. The one place in all of Fodlan that he couldn't let his daughter go to and he was sure she would follow the brats despite his wishes.
He let out a large sigh when he saw the two remaining kids in their in their uniforms. He didn't realize he was glaring at them until the girl glared back. Another heavy sigh escaped him as he left to go check on his men that were handling the dead bandits.
It would only be a matter of time before the Knights of Serios came to get the kids. The fact that they were taking so long was a bit irksome as it just drew out the feeling of unease. He prayed that whoever came to get the brats wouldn't be people that knew him. Twenty years had passed since he fled and he has not aged a day since and he knew that wasn't going to help him.
"Students? Are you here? The Knights of Serios are here!" an incredibly loud voice filled the area as its owner burst through the trees' thickets. Jeralt groaned loudly as he suppressed the desire to run.
"Took you long enough!" The mercenary heard the boy say and he snorted. He may have some complicated feelings towards the boy but anyone who dared to show the church some sass was alright in his book; now if he would maintain proper distance from his daughter, he might even come to like the heir.
"We would have died if it was not for the Jeralt Mercenaries," the boy furthered explained with a huff.
"Oh um, I'm really sorry about that. There were just so many- Wait, did you say Jeralt?"
Shit, it sounded like the knight recognized Jeralt's name. With another groan he turned to face the knights, knowing he couldn't escape; at least not easily. When he saw the man, talking to the boy, a sickening feeling settled into him, and he really didn't want to approach.
"What's going on here?" he asked, hoping if he played ignorant the knight wouldn't recognize him.
"Captain Jeralt?!" shouted the knight in well-kept, white armor. Large green eyes stared at Jeralt and the mercenary struggled to keep a neutral expression. He was screwed and he hadn't realized just how much yet. "It is you!" He had to fight to suppress a groan.
The knight stepped closer as a massive smile spread across his face. "It's me!" Jeralt felt a lump form in the back of his throat as he looked into such expectant eyes. "I'm Alois! Your old right-hand man! Well that's how I always thought of myself anyway!"
"Alois," Jeralt drew out the other man's name. Of all the people to run into, Alois was the worse to run into…well maybe a certain woman would have been worse but that was going to be a later problem to worry about.
"Look at you!" Alois smacked Jeralt's arm. "You haven't aged a bit! I must admit that I'm a bit jealous." Jeralt could feel a migraine forming.
"You are here for the brats, aren'tcha?" He ignored the glare the two kids were giving him. "I'll go wake the prince so you lot can be on your merry way."
"Oh yes thank- Oh wait, Prince Dimitri is sleeping?!"
"You only just now noticed that he was not with us?" Edelgard asked and the knight began to squirm under her intense gaze.
"His Highness is such a strong warrior that I didn't…"
Jeralt didn't bother waiting to hear the end of it and just started to walk towards the house. If he had any luck, Byleth would still be asleep and he could get everyone to leave before she awoke; though he doubted that the boys would be willing to do so. Of course, he knew if the prince left without her having a chance to say goodbye it would be devastating. A groan escaped him as he pushed the front door open, as everything was just far to difficult for his liking.
Byleth slowly awoke and the desire to fall back asleep was strong, but she pushed through it. Her body still felt like a thousand needles were pricking her from beneath her skin. She was content to continue to lay in bed and let the pain pass, that was until she recalled last night's event.
Her body screamed at her as she bolted out of her bed, but she ignored it. As fast as her injured body would allow, she ran out of her room. She almost made it to her front door, when she noticed some yellow from the corner of her eyes, in her father's room. Her body was grateful for the much slower movements but was still angry for the movements, nonetheless.
Sleeping on her father's bed, was Dimitri and by the way his brows were furrowed she didn't believe that he was getting a good rest. She was her body's greatest enemy as she casted a small healing spell on Dimitri's forehead. Whatever nightmare that had been plaguing him quickly vanished and he slowly opened his eyes.
Half-lidden eyes glanced at her. "Good morning," she said softly, and a large smile adored her face. He blinked once, and then twice, before finally bolting upright in his bed. "Easy. You're going to give yourself a headache like that."
"Byleth?" he asked quietly. He reached out to touch her but stopped and his hand hovered in the air between them. "It wasn't a dream?"
With a shake of her head, she grabbed his outstretched hand. She brought it up to her cheek as she was sure that was his earlier objective. With wide eyes he stared at her before he relaxed to everything.
"I'm real."
Forgetting his strength, he pulled her into for a hug and as a laugh escaped them both as they flopped backwards, onto the bed. She brushed his bangs out of his face so she could look into his deep blue eyes. She missed those beautiful eyes so much, the sky was always a poor substitute. He returned the gesture though his hands lingered on her face.
"I have longed to see you so much after your letters and even though I awoke to you, it still does not feel real," he whispered.
"I feel the same. For four years I wanted to see you, to know that you are alright." She rested her head against his chest. His loud heartbeat was a sound she never expected to feel so at peace listening too. "Thank you for coming back to me." His laugh reverberated throughout his body and she liked how that felt.
"I was going to say that." Her head propped up to look at him. He squeezed her as he pulled her up a little. "My life without you was horrible." He brushed his lips over her forehead and her cheeks warmed. "Thank you for brightening up my life."
With her face still warmed, she could only stare at him as her voice was no where to be found. His clear blue eyes reflected nothing but pure feelings that the darkness she once thought she saw was no where to be seen. The memory of his confession surfaced to the forefront of her mind and she wondered if he still felt the same.
"Hey!" They both jumped at the harsh shout. Only getting up, enough to look over her shoulder, she saw her father glaring at them. She was about to address him, but he didn't give her a chance to as he pulled her off. "You both are taking your reunion way too far! I do not approve!"
Jeralt didn't allow for either of them to explain themselves as he dragged Byleth to the back of her room. He ignored her complaints, but he could tell that she was utterly clueless about the situation he found her in. He wanted to protect his daughter and he did a marvelous job at protecting her innocence; far too well as he feared as he might have made her an easy target for more unsavory types. Sighing he went about finding her a new pair of clothes for her to change into; if only to ignore his own frustration at himself and not for the prince or Alois.
It didn't take him long for him to find the piece of clothing that he was searching for. It was a large, dark grey, tunic that was heavy and matched her current outfit somewhat. It was what she would wear when she was planning to go into heavy battle. There might have been no plan for battle as of yet, but the outfit had another purpose that he was planning to utilize, it was completely unflattering on her. Silently, he thrusted the tunic onto her and she glared at it but made not complaint, so he left the room.
As soon as he was out of the room he was bombarded by the prince. "Jeralt Sir! I swear I had no intention of doing something so improper with By!" Hearing her old nickname warmed him but his anger quickly squashed it. "Please sir! I beg of you, do not forbid me from seeing By…I…I need her!"
Shit. As Jeralt looked at the desperate kid he felt his anger wash away. He didn't know what the prince had gone through in the last four years, but he was sure it wasn't easy. A groan escaped the father as he no longer saw a young man before him but that of the young boy that used to ask him nicely if he could play with Byleth. Jeralt grumbled as he realized just how soft he had gotten.
"I'm not gonna separate ya," he finally spoke and the bright eyed, hopeful look that the prince gave him, had the last of his anger vanishing. "But I refuse to let her follow you to the monastery."
The smile left the prince's face, but he gave the father a firm nod. "I had expected as much."
Jeralt clasped a hand onto the prince's shoulder and gave it a firm squeeze. "Now go get dressed. The Knights of Serios are here for you." A pained expression planted itself onto the kid's face and Jeralt sighed as he was sure Byelth's expression would be the same, but a bit more muted.
"May…May I please write to By?" The damned hopeful look that the prince was sporting was really pulling at Jeralt's heart.
"So long as the Archbishop doesn't find out, I don't care."
"I swear I won't let her!" With a renewed joy, the prince rushed into the room to get dressed and Jeralt groaned as he realized he would never be able to stay mad at the prince for very long.
He stood in the living room, as he was tempted to wait out the knights leaving from the safety of his living room, but he knew Alois would never accept such a thing. Taking a deep breath, he reluctantly left, and Alois was quick to resume their earlier conversation. From the corner of his eyes, he spied the Alliance boy, who was watching him. Another sigh escaped him as he realized that just a few hours earlier, his biggest concern was simply keeping that boy a safe distance away from his daughter, he wished he could go back to that simpler time.
"The prince is getting dressed," Jeralt said as he interrupted whatever Alois had said. "Once, he's done, you all will be ready to go?"
"Oh yes, we are all set," Alois said as he naturally fell into a new conversation. Jeralt gave him a firm nod and walked over to his men.
"Wait," the Alliance boy said as he jogged over to Jeralt. "Is By, awake yet?"
The older man stared at the boy as he tried to figure out what to say. While the boy needed to work on maintaining a proper distance from Byleth, he was still a good kid that deserved to say goodbye but Jeralt didn't want the knights to know about his daughter. Alois was a good man, Jeralt still felt that, but he was also a blabber mouth that would be sure to share information about Byleth's existence to the wrong people.
"Is her wound more serious than we thought?" The boy's panicked tone snapped Jeralt out of his thoughts.
The father patted the boy on the head, and the boy flinched. Eventually the kid relaxed and gave Jeralt a puzzled look. Jeralt briefly entertained the thought of working on fixing his imitating presence but quickly decided against it.
"Don't worry. She's awake and getting dressed." The relief the boy openly expressed had Jeralt warming up to the boy more.
"Captain Jeralt!" Alois shouted as he rushed over to the taller man, who groaned in return. "I insist that you return with us to the monastery!" Jeralt struggled to maintain a neutral expression.
"No," Jeralt said and tried to walk towards his men in indifference.
"But Captain!"
"Enough with the captain nonsense! I ain't your captain anymore!"
"You were a captain?" asked the last person the father wanted to know. The father mumbled several curses under his breath as he turned to see his daughter and the prince walking towards him. "What were you a captain of?"
"He was the captain to the Knights of Serios!" The bastard Alois answered before Jeralt could even think up a deflecting topic. With wide eyes Byleth stared at the knight. "Captain Jeralt was the greatest knight to have ever served!"
"And now I am a mercenary," the former captain said quickly in hopes of ending that topic. "A busy one at that."
He could feel Byleth's stare on him, but he ignored it as he turned his back on everyone. It is only in hindsight that he realized that he should have told her that but he was too afraid that such information would prevent her from properly fearing the knights; just like how she wasn't really afraid of the Crest of Serios symbol as a child. He clenched his fists tightly as he still wasn't ready to tell her everything but at the rate, he was going he was never going to tell her anything.
"Who might you be miss?" Alois asked and Jeralt swore.
"I'm-" Byleth started before her father swiftly cut her off.
"She's just a recent recruit," Jeralt said and avoided looking at her. "You don't need to concern yourself with her."
Try as hard as he might, he could not ignore the small scowl she wore. He hoped that she would understand what he was doing was to protect her, but he understood that his words were a bit too harsh. An extremely tiny part of him was regretting interrupting her and the prince as it at least would have made for the perfect distraction.
"That's a bit harsh," Alois commented and gave Jeralt a look.
"Look, I just don't want the Knights of Serios trying to pilfer my best fighter," the older man said, and hoped that the compliment would please his daughter, it didn't.
"We would do no such thing!" Jeralt huffed and once again tried to walk away. "Excuse me miss." He looked over his shoulder to see Alois staring hard at Byleth and his frowned deepen. "Have we meet before by any chance? You look awfully familiar, but I can't quite put where I have seen you before."
A slew of curse raced through the father's mind as he cursed the knight for his excellent memory. Before Byleth could say anything, he wrapped an arm around her eyes and pulled her back. She clawed at his arm, but he didn't acknowledge it as he was too focused on just trying to hide her.
"Dad, that hurts!" she cried out and he froze. If he had been in a clear state of mind, he would have remembered that she had informed him that she had botched a spell the night before and was still recovering, but he wasn't. All he could think about was how she had just outed herself to the wrong person.
"Jeralt Sir! She cannot breathe!" the prince shouted at him and was about ready to pry the father's arm away.
Jeralt glanced down at his daughter and noticed that in his panic his arm had slide down to cover the whole of her face. "Sorry!" he quickly shouted as he removed his arm. She gave him a small glare as she regained her breath. He reached out to brush some of her hair out of her face but stopped himself. Both the prince and the Alliance boy were quick to check on her.
"You have a daughter?" Alois asked with wide eyes. The mercenary pressed his lips tightly together.
A deep sigh slipped through, Jeralt's lips as he realized he wouldn't be able to salvage the situation. "Yes," he reluctantly admitted, "she is my daughter. She was born long after I left the monastery." He decided to add the last part as a safety measure.
Alois turned his sights back on to Byleth. "She looks nothing like you."
Jeralt's expression finally softened as he looked at his daughter. "Yeah, she is blessed to have not inherited any of my ugly looks." She frowned at his comment and looked away with a little pout. He knew it always bothered her that she didn't look like him, but he didn't care. She was a spitting image of his late wife, not that she knew, he was barely able to muster up the strength to tell her that she had her mother's hair and eye color.
The little happy thought came to an end as he realized that he needed to get Byleth as far away from there as possible. He had been trying to avoid leaving Fodlan but he realized he probably no longer had any other choice. With a hearty smack to the back Jeralt successfully returned Alois' attention back on to him.
"It was nice seeing you again ol' friend." He added the last part to butter up Alois and get the other man more accepting of their parting. "But we really should be leaving. We have a job in the Kingdom that-"
"No!" the prince shouted as he interrupted Jeralt. He grabbed Byleth's arm and forced her to look her in the eye. "You cannot go to the Kingdom! It is not safe for you!" Jeralt had to prevent himself from facepalming.
"I wasn't going to go," Byleth said, and the prince relaxed. She then turned her sights onto the Alliance's heir. "I was gonna go to Derdriu but since Meadow is no longer there…" She trailed off without a new solution to fill the void.
"You can come to Garreg Mach," Alois said with a frustrating, large smile. "Everyone will welcome the captain's daughter!"
"No," Jeralt said through gritted teeth, and all eyes were on him. "We are mercenaries. We have no place at the monastery."
"That's not true. The church will easily accept your daughter as well as provide her some work."
Jeralt pressed his lips together. He needed to think of a way to get Byleth out of there. Even though she kept her expression blank, he was pleased to be able to tell that she was uncomfortable with the idea of going to Garreg Mach. He was glad he was able to instill that fear into her, even if the thought of forcing such a fear onto her wasn't a pleasant idea.
The silence settled all around everyone. Ignoring Alois, the father focused his attention onto the prince that held Byleth's hand and the Alliance boy that stood incredibly close to her. Getting her out of Fodlan was going to be the best way to protect her but he knew she wasn't going to leave, especially not after reuniting with her friends.
Suddenly a realization hit Jeralt like a ton of bricks. Byleth's friends, were not just any old friends, they were a crown prince and the heir to the Alliance. If anyone in Fodlan would be able to protect his daughter from the church it would be those two. They would be able to provide her with asylum and he was sure that either one of the boys would be willing to do such a thing.
"We will go to Garreg Mach," Jeralt finally spoke, and everyone looked at him. Living in hiding would be too difficult he had concluded as he was sure that woman would be sending out searching parties for them. He and his daughter will have to survive in the belly of the beast for at least a few months. They just needed to wait for the prince to be crowned king as Jeralt was sure that was the prince would be the easiest and quickest option. The mercenaries would be able to handle the church for a few months…he hoped.
With a loud cheer Alois smacked Jeralt on the back, who barely acknowledged it. "You should go pack," the father told his daughter after walking towards her. She didn't budge and was watching him carefully. He gripped her shoulder and gave it a light squeeze. "I know you have a lot of questions and I will be sure to answer them." He just prayed that she wouldn't ask the more difficult questions that he wasn't ready to answer.
With a light shove, he pushed her towards the house. She gave him one final look before she left, alone. The Alliance boy watched her leave, while the prince watched the father.
"Are you sure about this?" the prince asked quietly, and the boy quickly became interested in the conversation.
The older man sighed. He would have preferred leaving Fodlan altogether, but he knew that wasn't going to be an option that Byleth would entertain anymore. He gripped the shoulder from each of the boys and gave them a light squeeze, when he noticed the Alliance heir flinch under his touch.
"I will need the both of you there when I discuss things with Byleth." Both boys nodded.
The ceremony that the three future leaders were supposed to perform had been canceled, which was good because it gave Jeralt some hope that the church might have changed; as in the old days the priority of the missions were paramount. During the bandits assault the knights had suffered the most and because of that the group was unable to get very far before it was time to set up camp. Camp was the perfect time to discuss everything, though Jeralt had started to second guess his plan.
He stood before the prince and the Alliance boy. He wanted to include Byleth in the discussion, but she was in the middle of being treated for her backfired spell. After learning about how much pain she must have been in, he started to regret relying on Byleth to be his company's only healer; though finding a mage that was a mercenary was already difficult enough and a healer would have been even more difficult, almost impossible even.
He looked down at the kids and he took a deep breath. As he looked at the prince, he couldn't help but wonder if his plan was right. He knew the prince had developed feelings for Byleth, when he was a child, and it seemed like their time apart only strengthened those feelings. Jeralt couldn't help but feel like he was taking advantage of such pure feelings, but he didn't doubt that the prince wouldn't be willing to grant asylum to Byleth and that was the problem. Faerghus was the Holy Kingdom, the Church's greatest ally, protecting Byleth could cause some serious problems between the too and with the Kingdom's current state of affairs, he wondered if the prince could even afford to do such a thing.
The second option was the Alliance's heir and Jeralt had even more doubts. Byleth had never told him what she and the boy did together while he was away, much to his frustration. All he knew was that Byleth trusted the boy with her life, he couldn't tell if the boy felt the same. He could tell that the boy had some trust issues (not that Jeralt was one to talk), even if he tried to act like everyone's friend. Jeralt couldn't tell if the heir would be willing to offer Byleth such a hand, if it possibly meant he would be gaining a powerful enemy in return.
"Jeralt sir, would you prefer to wait for By?" the prince asked and the boy frowned.
The mercenary's eyes drifted over to his daughter that was in the middle of a difficult healing treatment. He had been informed before hand that she would most likely be exhausted afterwards. With a small sigh, he shook his head before returning his sights onto the boys.
"How much do you know about Byleth's relationship with the church?" Jeralt asked. He knew the prince had some knowledge about it and was curious if King Lambert had ever shared any of the more secretive information. As for the Alliance boy was a frustrating mystery.
"I just know that the both of you have some distrust of it and that she was getting Faith lessons from it."
"All I know was that she was not a believer," the Alliance boy said with a slight scowl. "I did not even know that she had distrust of it or even that her father was the former knight's captain." His tone had become more bitter at the end and Jeralt could tell that the boy was surprised at that by how his eyes widen slightly.
"She didn't tell you about me being the captain because she didn't know," Jeralt said as he looked at his daughter. "I had fled the church shortly after she was born."
"Why?" the kids asked in unison. Jeralt pressed his lips together before bringing his attention back on to them.
"I…I have no proof…," the mercenary started but stopped. He didn't know if he should say anymore. His suspicions could possibly endanger the children and he didn't know if he should risk that. And he didn't know if it was fair to tell others before he even told his own daughter? The one that his suspicions and fears revolved around. He took a deep breath; he had already started so he decided that he might as well finish; after all, second guessing himself wasn't going to get anything done. "But I am certain that the church did something to Byleth when she was just a baby." His distrust wasn't with the whole of the church but with one powerful woman, but he couldn't share that information yet.
Both boys stared at him, with wide eyes. The prince's eyes flew to Byleth's, while the Alliance's heir's lips settled into a thin line and he looked at nothing. Silence settled over them as Jeralt watched the prince twitch and his eyes still glued on to his daughter.
"Why do you suspect that they did something?" the heir asked and looked at Jeralt from the corner of his eye. The prince finally tore his eyes away from her to look at his little group.
Jeralt took another deep breath. It was a valid question but one he didn't know if he wanted to answer. Should he tell them everything? Would they even believe him? Of course, all they needed to do was listen to Byleth's lack of heartbeat to believe it, but he didn't want to put his daughter into such an uncomfortable situation. He was starting to regret not speaking to her first.
"…As a child Byleth never cried, laughed, or even had any emotions until a year after meeting you," Jeralt decided on saying that as he looked at the prince.
"So?" The mercenary closed his eyes. "By, told me that you have been a mercenary since she was born, or it sounds like close to it at least. Now, I do not mean to offend but that most likely contributed to stumping her emotions in a lot of ways." That was a powerful point that Jeralt wished he could go back and change things. How different would everyone's lives be if he had accepted King Lambert's offer to become a knight?
"You are right but even as a baby she didn't cry. What baby doesn't cry?" The boy said nothing to that. Jeralt knew that he needed more proof and yet he still didn't want to bring up the heartbeat.
"I suppose her strange crest can back up your suspicions."
"You know about her crest?" the prince asked and was giving the heir a sideways look.
"She showed me," the heir said casually before frantically turning to Jeralt. "She only showed me her crest and nothing else! I swear I did not see anything other than her crest!" Jeralt believed the boy but he still gave him a glare for safe measures.
"I still have not seen her crest…," the prince grumbled with a pout and the heir had a little smirk dancing on his lips.
"Yes," Jeralt said in hopes of dragging the conversation back to the important topic and away from the boys possibly imaging his daughter's chest. "It is a never before seen crest that has yet to be completed. It is very unnatural." Back to focusing on the topic both boys nodded.
"Jeralt Sir," the prince paused to wait for the older man's focus, "may I know what your intensions are? Returning to Garreg Mack does not sound safe for either of you."
"You're right. I wish for nothing more than to take my daughter and flee Fodlan." Both boys stiffened at that. "But I know that my daughter will not accept it. She has taken too much of a liking to you two to leave." He had to accept that he missed his chance to flee that he should have done that right after he fled the church; but after all the changes his daughter went through with the prince, he believes that staying was the right choice.
Gripping one of the shoulders for each boy, he looked them in the eye. "I will need your help to keep Byleth safe." They both gave him a firm nod. He gritted his teeth as he wasn't too comfortable with relying on other and that was his problem. He would always regret not accepting the help of the late king.
"Each of you are your country's future heirs." The prince gave him a nod, while the Alliance boy narrowed his eyes. "If anyone can protect Byleth from the church it is you. You can grant her asylum and protection so that the church will be unable to touch her."
"I will talk to my gramps," the heir started and it surprised Jeralt, "he likes By so I am sure we can work on something." Unable to find his voice the father could only nod and express his appreciation through a squeeze on the boy's shoulder.
"I…," the prince started softly before looking Jeralt in the eye. "I already had planned to seek out By and see if she would be willing to return to myside after I became king. I will gladly protect her!" The look in the blonde's eyes were fierce and Jeralt nodded. The father wasn't ready to let his daughter marry but he couldn't deny that she would do a lot worse than the prince.
"Thank you," Jeralt said and he allowed just a hint of his emotions to seep through.
It took a long while for the treatment to finish but Byleth was finally free of the pain as well as utterly exhausted. She vowed to never backfire a spell again. She wanted to join her father and friends in the discussion, but she could barely keep her eyes open. Unable to walk properly by herself she needed the help of the healer to guide her to her tent.
As soon as her head hit the pillow, she was asleep. She didn't sleep for very long as she jolted awake when someone entered her tent, Edelgard. The two women stared at each other for a bit in silence. After a few more seconds, Edelgard finally broke the stare so that she may start to set up her bedroll.
"We're sharing at tent?" Byleth asked as she watched Edelgard rolled out her bedroll.
"Yes. After the bandits' attack many of the tents were destroy so we have to share," Edelgard said and not once did she turn to look at Byleth. "I apologize for waking you."
"No, it is alright." Byleth continued to watch the younger woman, who continued to keep her back to the other woman.
Edelgard said nothing else after her apology and slipped into her bedroll wearing her uniform. Byleth had offered to leave so that the princess could change but she just ignored the offer. With her lips pressed tightly into a thin line, the mercenary continued to stare at the back of Edelgard.
"Lilac, are you okay?" Byleth finally asked after she worked up the courage to do so. Just as she expected, the younger woman did answer or even acknowledge the question in anyway.
Gripping her bedroll, the mercenary finally looked away to stare at the tent's entrance. She thought about accepting the silence and giving Edelgard what she wanted but she couldn't; not with the worry and guilt that had plagued her for the last six years. With a deep breath, she worked up the resolve to look at Edelgard again.
"Have you been okay for the past six years?" Silence was the response and she wasn't surprised. "Did…did your uncle…," she paused as she didn't know how she wanted to phrase the question. "Did he take care of you?" She hated phrasing it that way, but it was the only safe way she could think of asking it. Edelgard didn't say anything but she did flinch and that was enough for Byleth to understand. "I am sorry for failing to protect you. I always regretted not taking your hand that day and running away…"
The silence persisted as Edelgard pulled her covers over her head. Byleth got the message and spoke no more. She accepted the hatred as she believed that she deserved it. Reluctantly, her exhaustion was getting the better of her and she fell back asleep.
"You did nothing wrong; you know?" Sothis' familiar voice caused Byleth to snap her eyes open. She found herself back in the familiar darkness and when she turned around, she saw Sothis standing atop the stairs looking down at her. "You were but a child. There was nothing you could have done."
"But I could have taken her hand and ran away!" Byleth argued, and Sothis rolled her eyes.
"And where would you have gone? And how were you going to deal with the two countries that would have been searching for you?" The mercenary didn't have an answer for either of those questions.
Sothis looked at Byleth and sighed. "I do not think that girl blames you for whatever happened to her." Byleth wanted to believe that but the distance that Edelgard maintain had her second guessing. "I am sure if you give her some time, she will warm up to you again." Byleth hoped that would be true.
"Anyway, that is not the topic I wish to discuss." Byleth looked at Sothis. "I wish to know what your relationship with the blond boy is?" The mercenary tilted her head. "Are you two lovers?" Her face turned bright red.
"N-No!" Her face felt hot, like it was on fire. She had blushed before, but that time was so much more intense, and she didn't know why. Being mistaken for Dimitri's lover wasn't technically a new thing, but the different wording was nicer.
"Oh? You two have certainly been acting like it." Byleth started to fear that her face was going to melt off soon. "But given how you two parted under such terrible conditions, I guess it is only natural to have such a strong reunion." Embarrassment left Byleth quickly as she stared at Sothis. They had little conversations since Sothis first woke up but Byleth had not told Sothis anything of her past.
"Strange," Sothis mumbled with furrowed brows. "How is it I can recall your memories so vividly and yet my own remain a complete mystery?" With eyes closed she rested her head on her knuckles.
Someone's cry pierced through the quietness. Sothis snapped her eyes open, while Byleth looked around but nothing was out of the ordinary. The cry grew a little louder and Byleth looked to Sothis for answers.
"It seems that girl is in need of some assistance. Off you go." With a wave of Sothis' hand, Byleth found herself back in her tent.
She quickly sat up in alarm, in fear of the bandits returning but the world was still, save for the sleeping girl, next to her. Edelgard clutched her bedroll in a death grip, her hair clung to her face from sweat, and her face was contorted in pain. Byleth reached out to her but stopped in fear of upsetting the girl even more.
"Uh…Agh…Fath…Save…," Edelgard cried out and Byleth threw her caution to the wind. Coping the actions, she once done for Dimitri, she gently stroked Edelgard's hair while casting a light heal spell. Slowly the younger woman relaxed and after a few more seconds she opened her eyes.
Lilac eyes stared into steel-blue eyes for a long moment. An almost forced frown formed on Edelgard's lips as she pushed away Byleth's hand. The silence continued as Edelgard returned to her position of facing away from the older woman.
"Are you okay?" Byleth asked as she ignored the tension. "It sounded like you were having a terrible nightmare."
Edelgard said nothing and the mercenary pressed her lips together as she wondered if she should bother pursuing her concern. "What did you do?" the princess asked after a few more seconds of silence. "The nightmare nearly came to an end after whatever you did."
"I learned that some light Faith magic can help to alleviate nightmares." Edelgard said no more and the older woman accepted that.
Realizing that nothing else was probably going to happen, Byleth settled in for the night. Right when she was about to drift off to sleep, she heard a faint "thank you," and a smile accompanied the older woman as she slept. The both slept in relative peace for the remainder of that night.
Twenty-first of the Great Tree Moon:
Now that Byleth's wounds had healed, traveling with the knights wasn't so bad; though she wasn't exactly excited about their destination. Getting to not only see Dimitri again as well as be with him, along with Claude, had helped to diminish some her fears of Garreg Mach.
She had yet to talk with her father as they had been traveling as soon as morning started because of the knights were eager to return to Garreg Mach before there could be another chance for a bandit attack. Talking while marching wasn't possible so she assumed that they would talk when camp was set but Alois was quick to snatch her father away. Unsure of what to do with herself and finding herself alone for the first time since they started, Byleth just sat in front of the campfire.
All day her attention had been shifting between Dimitri and Claude. She was excited to see them, but she was also getting exhausted. They had fought for her attention and she couldn't understand why they just wouldn't share it. She was sure if they were to calm down the two would become great friends.
Because of them she hadn't had a chance to breathe. Everything had been happening so fast that she was still trying to make sense of it all. She had reunited with just not Claude but Dimitri and Edelgard as well. The girl, from her dreams, had awoke as well as possessed mysterious powers that could rewind time and would just speak to her inside her head at random. And to top it off she was going to the one place her father had forbid her from ever going and it was by his decision. Even though a whole day had passed, she was still having a hard time believing everything.
With the warmth of the fire, Byleth started to run a whetstone over Muharib's axe as maintaining a weapon had always comforted her. Dimitri and Claude had been pulled away for responsibilities giving her a small moment of rest. She took comfort in the repeating motion and allowed her mind to empty. She enjoyed the little silence that accompanied her as she finally felt like she had some control.
"What are you doing?" asked Claude as he sat down next to her. She stopped what she was doing but didn't speak or look up. The silence persisted a bit more before Claude broke it again, "I wanted to apologize for earlier." She looked at him. "You are going through a lot right now and have been reunited with a long-lost friend and I am being a child, who is jealous of his friend playing with someone else." His cheeks redden slightly. "I know this is just an excuse but you are my only friend and I have been waiting so long to see you again…" he stopped to sigh. "But I guess Dimitri's been waiting longer…"
She gripped one of his hands and his eyes widen slightly before a smile settled on his face. "It's okay. But thank you for apologizing," she said before looking up at the slowly transitioning sky." "You're right. Everything is a bit chaotic for me at the moment, so I'm sorry that I haven't been giving you your proper attention."
"By, you have nothing to be apologizing about." She returned her sights back onto him and gave him a little smile. "Besides we will now have plenty of time to catch up." She nodded.
She stared at him and he began to squirm a little. "You said I was your only friend but what about that Hilda girl? You have mentioned her a few times in your letters and it sounded like you two were getting along."
A nice shade of pink colored his cheeks and he looked at the fire. "I like her. I think it is possible that we could become friends, but she is a Goneril..." She frowned but it went unnoticed. "I know I should not be judging her on that but…I am afraid that she was realize, who I am, and everything will fall apart."
She gave his hand a gentle squeeze and he looked back at her. "I do not believe that will happen." He gave her a small smile. "Meadow, I want you to know that I will always support you so you can count on me. I will always gladly help you."
They sat in a comfortable silence. He watched the fire, while she went back to sharpening her axe. He finally spotted the Almyrian writing on the axe and pointed it out.
"Remember when I told you that I know an Almyrian?" He nodded. "Well this was his axe." She handed it to him so that he could inspect it. "It's my keep sake of him but he never told me what the writing meant."
He looked around the area a bit before leaning close to her. "It says Alqarf." She burst out laughing and he smiled.
"I should have known!"
"What is so funny?" Dimitri asked as he joined them. A small scowl was dancing on his lips.
Byleth opened her mouth to speak but never had a chance to as Claude had pulled her away. He pulled her a bit back and she frowned at him when he turned her around to face him, but he wasn't looking at her. Pinching his arms, she returned his attention back on to her.
"Forgive me, but will you please allow me to be a bit more selfish," he whispered into ear.
"If you try and make me dance, I will punch you," she whispered back with a tiny glare.
With a laugh, he twirled her away. She was about ready to punch him, when she realized that he had only done that to maneuver her away from Dimitri, who had approached them. A warning glare was all she gave him, and he released her with another small laugh.
"It seems our little problem still remains." She rolled his eyes. "But that is not what I want." She arched an eyebrow as he went to fetch something from behind a nearby tree. With a bit of dramatics, he pulled out a bow and quiver. A smile plastered itself on to her face as she shook her head at him.
"Fine, I will help instruct you."
It didn't take long for Dimitri to return with his own lance and seeking the same treatment. A first she was reluctant too as she didn't want to have her focus being pulled back and forth between two vastly different weapons, but there was just no way she could say no to Dimitri. Claude was no longer being aggressive with his attention seeking and Dimitri seemed to have relaxed as well from that, making teaching them an easy and pleasant task.
"What is going on?" Alois asked right when Byleth was demonstrating a quick spin attack with a lance.
"By, is just teaching us some weapon maneuvers," Claude said.
"I see. Do you mind if I watch?"
Twenty-ninth of the Great Tree Moon:
"There it is!" Alois shouted right as the main group emerged from the forest. "We will arrive at Garreg Mach by tomorrow afternoon."
High up a mountain trail were impressive stone walls. If Byleth didn't know any better, she would have believed that those walls belonged to a fortress instead of a monastery. She stared up at the imposing sight and she didn't know how to feel about it.
"It does feel like our fates are linked to that place," Sothis spoke for the first time that day, startling Byleth. "Again? Hurry up and get used to me. I cannot have you jumping every time at the sound of my voice. It is quite rude, you know." The mercenary wanted to ask how one was supposed to get used to suddenly hearing a voice in her head but decided against it.
She continued to stare at the monastery. Her father had been in a bad mood since yesterday evening and she now understood why. Nervous energy flowed through her and she didn't know what to do with it. Her father never had a chance to tell her why they were going there, and she couldn't help but feel like she was walking into a lion's den blindfolded.
A hand intertwined with one of hers and she looked up at Dimitri, who was giving her a gentle smile. "It is alright. I will protect you," he said and gave her hand a nice squeeze.
"That is right. You are not alone. You will have us," Claude said as he strode up next to her. She gave both of them a nice smile.
Their words were a great comfort. She may not have had the great powers that Sothis possessed or any special knowledge about fate or whatever, but she believed Sothis was right; their fates were locked with that place. Whether it be for good or bad, Byleth did not know.
Oh, Alois I love you, but I am terrible at puns because of this I don't believe I will do you justice, so I probably won't have you too much in the story. But know that I love you.
Byleth's default outfit for battle will actually be the male version's default. The female outfit did grow onto me to the point where I no longer outright hate it but it's still a terrible design so male design it is!