A/N: So, one of my papers got pushed back and after I finished one I thought I would take a break from doing my homework to just write the beginning of this chapter and… two days later this chapter was completed. I am a terrible student. Do not be like me.
I hope you all enjoy.
Garland Moon 1180:
Thirtieth of the Garland Moon:
If the archbishop didn't already tell Catherine about Byleth was opposed to the mission, she certainly discovered it on the march to Castle Gaspard. Byleth had stayed protectively close to her students, like a lioness protecting her cubs; she was especially protective of Ashe. Catherine wasn't exactly thrilled to be working with a hostile person, especially a dangerously skilled one, but Byleth remained quiet and even helped with setting up camp for the knights each night. Still Catherine couldn't help but feel relieved to have Thunderbrand in her possession. She knew Byleth had been holding back during their duel after she discovered that the former mercenary liked to fight with a magic based sword style, Catherine couldn't help but feel like she was lacking in some regards, since she would have lost that duel.
"It seems we are in luck," Catherine said as she approached Byleth. At Lady Rhea's request, she was to stay close to the fierce woman. Lady Rhea had asked her to protect Byleth, but Catherine found herself sticking close to the younger woman just to keep an eye on Byleth, more for her own safety, instead. Catherine was sure that Byleth didn't need her for protection at all, that the once mercenary was more than capable of defending herself and others, but still it was an order from Lady Rhea and she was going to carrying it out.
Byleth turned her sharp gaze onto the knight, and Catherine struggled to not flinch under the intense look. Catherine might have been a knight for several years, but it was clear to her that Byleth had more battle experience. The older woman couldn't help but feel like she was the one in need of protection when she felt like Byleth could see right through her. After a few seconds of nothing happening, the former mercenary tore her eyes away to go back to surveying the area.
"Are we?" Byleth mumbled so quietly that Catherine almost missed it. Catherine wasn't sure what to make of that question. Suddenly, Byleth's gaze settled in the direction of where Castle Gaspard would be but when Catherine looked, she saw nothing but fog. "The knights should be on alert."
"Why? We are just the clean up crew. Your students probably won't have to do anything."
"Something doesn't feel right." Byleth said no more on the matter and left for her students.
Catherine looked back in the direction that Byleth had been looking in earlier, but nothing still seemed out of the ordinary. She glanced at the professor, who was preparing her students. Pressing her lips together, she walked over to her knights. She may have doubts, but it wouldn't hurt to have the knights on guard.
Just as she reached her squadron one of the scouts arrived. "Report!" the scout yelled nearly out of breath. He did not wait for her permission before speaking again, "the enemy is approaching! They can't be avoided."
"What?" Catherine muttered. She looked at Byleth, who was already making her way over.
"Their numbers are far greater than we predicted. They used the fog to slip past the knights' perimeter."
"Damnit!" Her gaze drifted over to Byleth, who seemed to be lost in thought. "What is it?"
"The fog…," the professor mumbled under her breath. Her eyes snapped forward to make eye contact with Catherine. From the gaze, Catherine could tell that Byleth was no stranger to being ambushed. It was the gaze of a fierce warrior and Catherine's body twitched with the desire to face the warrior at her best.
"The knights need to fall into a close formation, it will be easier to defend each other from hidden enemies that way. But still maintain some form of distance as we don't know what the enemy has planned. We can't afford to have a Bolganone spell or something of the likes taking out several people at once." After sharing her plan, Byleth walked back to her students, not sparing the knights another glance.
The knights turned the gazes on Catherine, but Catherine had been too busy watching Byleth walk away. The professor seemed like a different person, compared to how timid the woman had been before their duel. It was so clear that she was uncomfortable with being the center of attention and yet she could easily give orders as if it were nothing. The more Catherine saw Byleth, the more impress she became. Her gaze shifted over to her knights that were watching her. "You heard the lady!" With firm nods the knights quickly got in formation, while Catherine gave one final look at the professor.
The students were naturally terrified but whatever their professor said calmed them, and Catherine couldn't help but be impressed at how much respect and trust the professor garnered. Orders were given out and the students dispersed to their assign groups. Not once, from what Catherine could tell, did Byleth ever show a show a sign of concern; she remained steadfast and calm, almost like she knew the ambush would happen; and that almost seemed frightening but she realized that calmness had managed to keep her calm as well. Before turning to join her knights, Catherine couldn't help but think how terrifying an opponent Byleth would be to face in war.
Byleth watched her students get ready to fight in a war that they shouldn't be involved in. Dimitri, Felix, Ingrid, and Annette were the main unit, while Sylvain, Dedue, and Mercedes made up a smaller unit that would focus on protecting the left flank. Because of Ashe's demand to speak with Lord Lonato, he was paired up with Byleth and she couldn't shake the feeling that that was going to be a poor decision on her part.
If Lord Lonato was leading this ambush, then getting to him would be incredibly difficult. Under normal circumstances, she would be completely against doing something so foolish, but he had begged her the night before to let him try and talk to Lord Lonato, and she discovered that she was weak to tears. Agreeing to take him to Lord Lonato had become even more idiotic idea thanks to the fog that just didn't seem right to her.
It was already noon by the time they reached Castle Gaspard, so it was too late for fog this thick to be around, especially when it didn't rain during the night. There was also the issue that everyone claimed that the fog was too thick to see to far ahead and yet she had no problem seeing; it was almost like it wasn't there for her. And then there was the magic in the air that Sothis was sensing. She never heard of a magic spell creating fog but then again, besides healing spells, Byleth never learned or bothered looking into utility spells.
"Check your necklace," Sothis said. "Maybe the enhancement on it is preventing the fog from obscuring your sights?" Sure enough, the necklace was glowing. "Well that confirms that this fog is not natural." The confirmation didn't make her feel any better.
She looked at the knights and her students. The knights were calm and what she would hope from trained soldiers, but her students were clearly a different story. All of them were on edge that she hoped would not get the better of them; but she did like how Felix, in his own awkward way, tried to comfort Annette. She wished she knew how to calm them better, to put their fears to rest but she was not so foolish as to think that she could do such a thing. Only through constant battles can such anxiety at the start of battle be beaten out of someone and that thought didn't sit well with her.
"Byleth!" Sothis screamed and Byleth's head flew in the direction she was imagining Sothis to be pointing in. The blood drained from her face as she saw a row of archers lined up and she couldn't believe she let them go undetected when the magic was having such little effect on her.
Byleth was barely able to scream out a warning before arrows rain downed on them. She shoved Ashe behind her as she used her body to shield him and she was struck with a few arrows in the process. Screams filled the area as panicked raced through their little army. She looked back to see her students to see that both Ingrid and Annette had been pierced in their legs but Dimitri had taken the blunt of the attack in an attempt to protect them both, while Dedue had several arrows in his back as he shielded Mercedes. He was lying on top of her, unmoving, and it felt like the air had been knocked out of Byleth's lungs as she focused on Dedue.
Before she could even think to scream out for Sothis to rewind time, it was already in the process of being done for. She was back to watching her students before the chaos erupted. Her gaze had settled on Dedue for a moment, basking in the fact that he was alive, and yet the imagine of his death and the fear she felt didn't go away. She had almost forgotten about the enemy until Sothis reminded her. She turned to look at the field and she could now see the archers dashing from the covers of the trees. She pulled Ashe behind her without any explanation.
"Everyone fall back!" Her voice echoed loudly in the field before the battle could begin. "Those with shields and heavy armor to the front and raise your shields high." Her students did that without hesitation, but the knights remained in place, challenging her. "Do it now!" The edge in her voice was so strong that she didn't even believe that she was capable of producing it.
The knights scrambled together after Catherine ordered them too, they made it just in time for the volley of arrows to rain down on everyone. There had been a few casualties on the Knights' end and both Dimitri and Dedue was still hit, but no one died that time.
"Faster and more agile units to the front!" This time the knights didn't hesitate as they quickly changed their positions. From the thickets of the tree she could see the enemy begin to appear and head towards them with their weapons drawn. "The enemy is approaching. Everyone brace yourselves!"
Her eyes scanned the battlefield. There was a lot of people, but it was clear that most of them lacked proper training with their clumsy stances, but she didn't have time to dwell on that thought for too long. There had to be someone controlling the fog spell and she needed to get rid of that person as soon as possible.
With some help from Sothis she was finally able to locate the mage, who was hidden amongst a small grove of trees in the middle of the battlefield. She wasn't that far from the supposed target but there were several people that stood in her way, not to mention the archers. It was foolish but the mage had to be dealt with and she was the only one who would be able to do it quickly. With a quick order to join Dimitri's unit to Ashe, she rushed in with no warning to anyone else. Sothis screamed at Byleth for her idiocy but she didn't care; to her the sooner the battle was over, the sooner her students would be safe.
Ignoring all the shouts of her name she rushed in. Just as she had feared the people, they faced were not knights but simple peasants that possessed no real challenge to her as she easily slipped past them or disposed of them. The fact that they were facing possible, innocent townsfolks did not sit well with her, and she knew that it would definitely not sit well with her students. Was Lord Lonato forcing them to fight? Was the church actual the savior in all this madness? No, she wouldn't allow herself to entertain those thoughts in that moment. Scattered thoughts would only get her killed in the heat of battle, and yet she could not shake the fear of what possibly waited her and Ashe at the end of this battlefield.
Just before she reached the grove she ran into a real knight of Gaspard, one she recognized. He was a knight that she had often seen participating in the Faerghus' Founding Day tournament, she had often imagined facing him, but she never imagined it would be like this. Shoving her feelings aside, she rushed forward to face the knight.
She slammed her sword down on the knight's shield and he brushed her off by pushing her to the side. She knew she had lacked the power to overwhelm him like Glenn did in his last tournament. Her feet slide across the ground, and before she a chance to brace herself he was already swinging his sword at her neck. With a quick roll she managed to not only avoid the attack but also got behind the knight, but he didn't allow her to take advantage of his unguarded back as she swung his shield wide behind him and forced her to back up some more.
The knight stood proudly before her and in the tournament, he would have proven to be a worthy opponent, but this wasn't the tournament and he wasn't her priority. Between her roll and his distancing maneuver she was now closer to her destination. The knight slammed the blunt end of his sword against his shield in an attempt to goad her into battle, but she didn't care, as honor meant nothing to her.
Sparing him no more of her attention, she dashed into the trees, ignoring the knight's yell. Hidden amongst the trees was a lone mage and she almost couldn't believe that one person had been capable of such a feat but Sothis confirmed that that one person was indeed the source of the fog. Screaming out the mage launched a fire spell at her, but the spell proved ineffective against her enchantment. Before she could run her blade through the defenseless mage, an arrow flew past her head, forcing her back.
One archer had joined the fray and she began to channel magic into her left hand to deal with the new enemy. Just as she was about to dash forward the knight rushed in and would have tackled her to the ground if she hadn't managed to dig her feet in right before the impact. In a position of being unable to strike with her sword she released her stored thunder spell on the knight's shield, shocking them both. The knight finally gave in allowing her to stumble back, only for an arrow to narrowly miss piercing her in the head. She couldn't tell if the archer was a knight or not, but the archer was skilled at the very least.
In the middle of the confusion the mage tried to slip away, only for an arrow to lodge itself into the mage's back and he fell to the floor. The source of the arrow came from Ashe, and she wanted to yell at him but there was no time for that as the knight tried to slash her across her chest and she barely managed to block the strike. An arrow clanged helpless off the knight's armor and the knight had enough battle sense to not pay it any attention. He put his weight into his blade and managed to pin her against the tree.
Ashe called out for her and she ignored him, only for his next scream to pierce her soul. Completely forgetting about the knight, she tore her eyes away from him to see Ashe with a blade protruding through his chest. Her voice was lost to the frozen time as Sothis appeared before her.
"We can save him," Sothis said and Byleth nearly collapsed in relief at that. "You need to get to the enemy before he gets to Ashe, there is no one nearby that you can rely on."
It took Byleth a few seconds to register what Sothis said, and then she gave the mysterious girl a nod just as she felt the strange magic that rewound time. An arrow clanged against the knight's armor and she instantly knew that she didn't have much time. Her body felt heavy despite not feeling that way before, but she ignored it as she used the tree for support. She placed her weight against it so that she could plant her feet against the knight's chest and kicked off of him. He fell with a loud groan, but she spared him no more attention as she rushed towards Ashe, already channeling magic into her left hand.
She barely managed to pull Ashe aside right when the new opponent thrusted his blade forward and only connected with empty air that time. While her student managed to be saved from harm, she wasn't so lucky as an arrow pierced her right shoulder. Three opponents were more than what Byleth felt comfortable fighting against in such a close enclosure under normal conditions but having to defend Ashe made it even less ideal.
She began to shove Ashe towards the only direction not blocked, only for Sothis to let her in on an annoying fact, the mage wasn't dead. With the help from the archer the mage was again on his feet and the knight stood protectively in front of the both of them. She swore loudly as she realized she wasn't going to have an easy time.
The mage needed to die; she had been taking too long. The longer the mage lived the greater the danger everyone would be in. She didn't nearly have enough energy channeled to release a proper Bolganone spell but she had enough for an Aura spell, even if she hadn't quite mastered it yet but she was sure that she wouldn't have to suffer that severe of a consequence.
Shoving Ashe behind her, she released the Aura spell, and something didn't feel right to her, but she ignored it as she didn't have the luxury of worrying about it. A blinding light filled the area, and along with it the two people that had been in the spell's proximity, the mage and the archer, no longer stood. Sothis confirmed that the mage was killed but her left arm became numb. She had been expecting consequences, but this was too much. She might not have mastered Aura yet but every time she had used it in the past had only resulted in tiring her out a bit or using more magic than was necessary. Numbing her entire left arm, made no sense, unless it had something to do with the strange heaviness of her body.
She had tried to close her left hand only for the strong prickliness she felt make it quite a challenge. A curse slipped from her lips as she realized that she would not be able to use her left arm. She hoped that she wouldn't come to regret casting Aura, but she already knew that she would.
Roaring out in anger the two remaining men charged at her. She pushed Ashe away, despite his cry of protest, as she raised her sword with her good arm. With her sword raised she came to the horrible realization that she wouldn't be able to use magic now, unless she dropped her sword to free up her right hand. Digging her feet in, she prepared for the worse as she knew she wouldn't have enough strength in one arm to properly handle the knight's heavy blows.
A loud battle cry rang out in the area as Catherine charged in with her Hero Relic in hand. With a terrifying ease and speed, she took out the weaker fighter, while the knight backed up to raise his shield. Byleth's eyes were locked on Thunderbrand, it seemed to reverberate a strange pulse that she felt in her core and she could tell that Sothis felt it too.
"You!" the knight yelled out in a rage that seemed to come out of nowhere as he didn't even bat an eye at the fall of his comrade. "I will bring your head to Lord Lonato! It is the least I can do for Lord Christophe!" Catherine and Ashe stiffened, but Catherine didn't falter for long.
Tucking in Thunderbrand Catherine rushed towards the man at an inhuman speed. Byleth knew that Hero Relics could amplify their users' abilities, but she didn't realize just by how much. She joked with Sylvain about defeating the Lance of Ruin but now that she had glimpsed at what a Hero Relic could really do, she now truly understood how terrifying weapons they were. The knight was killed in a matter of seconds as Thunderbrand sliced through his armor as if it was butter.
A beat was passed between everyone as Catherine stared down at the knight with an unreadable expression and Byleth finally found a moment to rest by leaning against the tree, only for her shoulder to remind her of the arrow in it. She almost dropped to her knees but when she felt Ashe at her side, she fought against her exhaustion to stand tall for his sake.
"I'm guessing you had something to do with the fog clearing?" Catherine asked, once she tore her eyes away from the knight and began walking towards Byleth.
"Yes, I could tell that the fog was unnatural," Byleth explained as she tried to maneuver her left arm out of Catherine's sights, even though the knight wouldn't be able to tell that there was anything wrong with it at just a glance. "I was able to discover where the mage was and-"
"And you should have told us!" Byleth certainly wasn't expecting to be receiving a lecture and from Catherine of all people and in the middle of a battle, no less. "That was incredibly foolish to rush in alone."
"I…did not believe anyone could keep up." She could feel Sothis' judgmental glare and see Catherine's very visible one.
"What utter nonsense! You should know better!" She had no right to argue against that. Her father had told her that she was reckless in battle, but this little stunt was far greater than anything she had ever done before. "What did you plan to do behind enemy's lines once you killed the mage? Just hope that you wouldn't get surrounded and that they would just let you go?"
"I knew it would cause chaos in our enemy's ranks and I was going to use that as an opportunity to escape." The lie spilled easily from her lips that she was a bit surprised at herself.
"Well, didn't look like that was going to happen." Catherine narrowed her gaze.
"Yes…" Byleth glanced at Ashe, who was trying to shrink into himself. "I had an unforeseen problem."
Catherine sighed and Byleth believed that was earned. "Please tell me you at least brought something to take care of that arrow in your shoulder or am I going to have to drag you to healer?"
"No, I brought stuff. I am always well equipped." Catherine didn't seem convince and Byleth couldn't blame her for that. The professor pulled out a vulnerary and some bandages and Catherine finally relaxed a little.
"Do you need help treating your wound?"
"I should be able to manage and if not, I taught my students how to dress wounds so Ashe should be able to help." The boy vigorously nodded his head.
"Fine. I'm going to head back out into battle. I assigned your students to take care of the rear and I want you and Ashe to join them when you are done with your wound alright." Byleth nodded yes and Catherine left the little enclosure but not before giving Byleth one final look.
A silence settled over the remaining two people. A sigh escaped her as she wasn't sure how to go about this. She was already finding lecturing hard but in the middle of battle seemed a bit idiotic but still necessary as her own lecture did help to knock some sense into her.
She turned to face Ashe, but he spoke before she could. "I'm sorry! I know what I did was incredibly foolish, but I got scared that you were going to see Lonato without me!" Ashe said that all in one breath and she was a bit impressed, but he kept his gaze on the floor. Sighing, she got down on her knees so that he would look at her without her having to force him. Looking into his pale green eyes, she felt the last bit of her annoyance leave her, she wondered if this was how her father often felt when having to dealing with her recklessness.
"Do you not trust me?" she asked, and he shook his head.
"I do! But I…" She could see the tears piling up at the corner of his eyes as he looked away from her. He had been so strong on their march over but now that they were in battle the cracks began to form and she couldn't blame him. She rubbed his head and his gaze returned to her.
"Ashe, I promise you I will take you to see Lord Lonato if he's in this battle." Sniffling a little he nodded yes. "But I still need you to understand what you did was incredibly dangerous, okay?" He nodded, and she wanted to laugh at herself for being a hypocritic.
Treating her shoulder had been a bit difficult. The prickliness of the vulnerary's effects was usually mild, but it felt more potent and she just had no idea what was wrong with her body. Her shoulder felt naturally stiff as one would expect from a bandaged shoulder and she feared that she wouldn't be able to rely on her right arm despite it being the only good arm left.
Seeing Lord Lonato should have been out of the question by that time. She wouldn't be able to properly defend herself, let alone also protect Ashe, but when she looked at the boy, she felt the strongest desire to try and help him. She didn't feel right, didn't feel like herself at all. So many conflicting desires and emotions were running through her and that was all she needed to know that she shouldn't be on the frontline and yet she will be forever the biggest fool she ever knew.
Reluctantly she began to lead him out of the small thicket. Just as she suspected, chaos had started to disrupt the enemy. The sounds of battle, sounds she should have been very familiar with, only added to an unease that was becoming harder and harder to ignoring. She scanned the battlefield only for Ashe to direct her attention to a specific location.
"There's Lonato!" At the back in some small ruins was an old man sitting on top of a horse and he had several banners, with what she assumed was House Gaspard's Coat of Arms, surrounding him. He certainly knew how to announce himself as the enemy commander, unlike bandits.
She quietly cursed under her breath. She had been hoping that they wouldn't have to face lord Lonato in battle. As hopeful as Ashe was, she didn't think talking to the man was going to change anything; this battle was proof of his conviction. All she could do no was pray that this wouldn't be too painful for her student.
Before they would begin to navigate the battlefield, she looked towards her other students to see if they were alright. From what little she could see, they all looked relatively fine, none of them seemed to be sporting any major injuries. She just hoped that this battle would not be too mentally taxing on them.
With one final exchange of looks with Ashe the two rush forward. They were not the only ones advancing as she saw a few knights with Catherine leading the way. She and Ashe needed to get to Lord Lonato first and that task was starting to seem nearly impossible. She was able to take in some comfort with the fact that the chaos was causing some of the non-knight combats to panic and thus they had little interest in engaging with them and the few knights that where there, were more interested in facing Catherine.
With an ease that seemed to be too good to be true, Byelth was able to get Ashe to Lord Lonato. The lord was an intimidating old man, that thrusted his lance at Byleth when she got to close. But his strong bravado crumbed at the sight of Ashe. With a simple closing of his eyes and taking a deep breath, Lord Lonato managed to regain his earlier bravado; she found it impressive if not a bit sad as well.
"Stand down, Ashe," Lord Lonato said in such a commanding tone that had the boy flinching. She took a step towards Ashe, but a fierce glare from the lord kept her in her place. "I must destroy the evil-doers by any means necessary!"
"Please, surrender Lonato!" Ashe begged. Despite seeing him on the verge of tears early and him trembling before them, Ashe spoke loud and clear. She was proud of him but wished the circumstances had been under better conditions. "Whatever your reasons for doing this, we can still talk it out!"
"Rhea is an infidel who has deceived the people and desecrated the goddess! We have virtue and the goddess herself on our side!"
"Even if all that's all true, dragging the townsfolk into it like this, isn't right!"
"Enough!" Lord Lonato's tone was sharp but his eyes did not match. "If that is how you feel, prepare yourself! I am putting an end to this!" His voice began to waiver at the end, but the words gave Byleth more than enough alarm.
The lord raised his lance high and he shut his eyes when Ashe screamed out his name. Byleth was too slow to react she knew she wouldn't be able to properly block the attack, but she could at least shield Ashe. The lance never connected with either of them, and instead pierced the ground next to them. The lord opened his eyes and locked them on Byleth.
"You are his professor, are you not?" She nodded. "Is this not enough proof that Ashe is innocent in all this?" Ashe called for the lord again as he pushed pass Byleth but he was ignored. "This rebellion is all my doing. Ashe has had nothing to do with this!"
"Do you love Ashe?" she asked, and both of the men looked at her, one with a sharp glare and the other in confusion. "I am not loyal to the church. And when it comes to the archbishop, I do not believe she is all that virtuous…" The older man narrowed his eyes. "If you love him or not, will not make Ashe guilty. I swear to protect him!"
The lord turned his sights on Ashe, and his gaze had softened considerably. "Of course, I love him. He is my son but…" She nodded and hoped that that confession will help to alleviate some of Ashe's pain.
"Let's go Ashe," she said after giving Lord Lonato a final nod.
"Wait! But-" Ashe started, only to be interrupted.
"Go Ashe!" Lord Lonato ordered and Ashe's strong front began to crumble. "I am sorry Ashe, but I must do this. I owe it to Christophe."
The student was silent for a moment, before balling his fits so tightly. Standing tall he looked straight up at his father. A small but proud smile formed on the lord's face. The lord might have been proud but Byleth just felt sorrow. It was clear that they both loved each other dearly, but she couldn't understand why they had to be on opposite ends. Fate was cruel.
Bowing deeply Ashe spoke, "thank you for everything." He remained in his bow for a moment, neither of them saying anything else.
Slowly Ashe raised his head, just in time to see an arrow pierce Lord Lonato in the neck and for him to fall off his horse. Ashe ran to his father, while Byleth looked for the archer but in the chaos of everything she was unable to find the person. The scream that Ashe let out for Lord Lonato to stay with him was too painful to her.
"Sothis!" Byleth screamed out as she stood protectively behind her student.
"What? You want me to reverse time?" Sothis asked. "I do not think that will be a good idea. Your body is already under a great strain."
"Please! I just can't leave it at Ashe seeing his father killed before his eyes." Sothis was quiet for a moment. She could feel the mysterious girl drum her fingers against her throne.
"What do you plan to do?"
"What?"
"How do you plan to stop Ashe from witnessing that moment? Will you pull him away before he gets his closure? Because you cannot stop the archer when you do not know where they are at. And Lonato's fate is to die during this battle, and nothing you can do will change that."
She pressed her lips together as she watched the battle before her. Lord Lonato's men were soon taking notice that their commander had fallen, and she could see the despair grip them as they lost their will to fight. The battle was quickly coming to an end, just like what she wanted but when she looked back at Ashe and saw just how devastated he was; she wanted a different outcome. She realized it was probably foolish as well incredibly selfish of her to do that, but she wanted to protect Ashe.
"I…I will think of something." She could feel Sothis' judgmental stare. Byleth watched as Ashe, sobbed over Lord Lonato's body and it felt like something was gripping her heart. "Please Sothis. I'm already failing to protect him enough as it is. Please let me spare him from some more pain. I beg of you."
With a sigh, she could picture Sothis throwing her hands up in the air. "Fine, but I am not responsible for whatever happens next, do you hear me?" She gave the girl, in her head, a firm nod before she felt the strange twist of magic that rewound time.
"Thank you for everything." She heard Ashe speak for the second time.
She took a step forward, only for her vision to go white for a minute forcing her to drop to her knees. Her hand flew to her mouth to try and muffle the coughing that soon shook her body. When she pulled her hand away, she discovered blood upon it.
"Seems like three is your absolute limit," Sothis said.
"Professor, are you alright?" Ashe asked as he gently placed his hands on her shoulders. She looked up to see that she was his focus in his clear, pure eyes; she hoped that they would stay like that after all this was over. From behind them was Lord Lonato, who despite still being the enemy commander was still the caring man that Ashe had described him to be as he looked at her with concern.
She had no time to calm them as she looked for the archer. The archer was still elusive, but she knew the arrow would be connecting at any moment. It was an incredibly foolish thing to do, she would know that better than anyone, but she was completely desperate. She channeled as much of her magic as she could into her good hand and released a burst of fire. It didn't burn the arrow liked she would have hoped but she did at least manage to spook Lord Lonato's horse enough to have it move its rider out of the way, and the arrow clanged uselessly against the stone walls.
She managed to prevent herself from screaming out, but a groan did escape her. For her action she burnt her hand to the point where she wouldn't be able to use it until it was treated. She had effectively achieved taking herself out of commission, but she did at least managed to spare Ashe from witnessing his father's death; even though Sothis was screaming at her.
"Ashe, you need to get your professor out of here. She pushed herself a great deal for you," Lord Lonato said.
Ashe gave his father one final nod before helping Byleth wrap an arm around his shoulder. Against his skin, she realized just how heated hers was and that there was more of a consequence to her botched spell than the simple burned hand. He offered her comforting words as they retreated, but she felt so underserving for all of them.
Their retreat was slow, and it was all because of her. Her body felt so incredibly heavy that she was struggling to walk and would often have to drag one of her feet, which would place a small unexpected burden on Ashe. She was not happy with herself. She might have helped Ashe a little but was it worth it? Did she really help him? And what about her other students? She potentially put them all in danger because she could no longer help them. She was a horrible professor.
"Have more faith in your students," Sothis said. "You have been training them well and I don't sense anything off about them." That was a great relief off her shoulders.
She stole a peek at Ashe, during one of their little stumbles. It was clear to her that he was trying so hard to put up on a strong front, but the quivering lip and the constant blinking was betraying him. She hung her head as her own eyes burned with the tears, she would never be able to shed.
"I'm sorry," she said more quietly than she meant too, but she found it hard to speak with the lump in her throat. Momentarily Ashe halted their advancement and she glanced up at him to see him biting his lower lip to stop the quivering. "I'm just dead weight right now and I didn't do anything…"
"No," he shouted at first before his voice turned into a soft whisper, "no. You did everything…" He turned his head away from her so she couldn't see his face. "I was only able to see Lonato because of you." His voice trailed off as he choked back a sob. "I will always be grateful to you Professor. You did everything for me." The sobs started to become more frequent. "You are only in this state because of me and my selfishness…" A small quiet settled over them as she just didn't know what to say or do.
"You burned yourself to save Lonato for me, didn't you?" She didn't say anything. He looked at her again, and she could see his tears falling freely. "I'm sorry Professor…I…" She shook her head and he dropped that thought as he cried some more.
With her numb arm she reached out to pat his head but because of the numbness she couldn't really tell how much pressure she was placing upon him. He opened his eyes to look at her and she just stared into them for a moment. Praying that she would not see a darkness in them when this war was finally over. She didn't say anything. There was nothing she could say, because no words would make this horrible situation better.
A deranged yell broke them out of their little moment as a man wielding an axe charged at them. She shoved Ashe away as she stood in the path of the attacker. She grabbed her sword, despite the excruciating pain she felt by doing so and held it before her. Without any strength she knew there would be little she could do to block the attack, let alone finish off the man.
The man raised his axe high and then he dropped to the ground. Not really understanding what just happened, her gaze followed the man and she discovered a lot of blood spilling from his backside. She was transfixed on the man for a moment until someone shouted her name and she looked to see Catherine standing before her.
Ashe was instantly at her side and he tried to reach out for her but out of instinct she pulled her hand away. A scowl danced on Catherine's face as she looked at the two people before her. Byleth was only vaguely aware about the fact that she needed to put her sword away. Soon a few more knights and an archer caught up to them. A quick assessment was done of her and she maneuvered herself to stand in front of her student, to hide him as best as she could.
"You look like the Eternal Flame spit you out," Catherine said. Though she had been joking there was a slight edge to her voice. Byleth chuckled at the joke regardless, as it seemed to be an accurate description of how she felt.
The former mercenary noticed the glare that the archer was giving her. Given that the knights had reached them, she had pushed for Ashe to continue with the retreat alone as she was sure he would be fine. He was a bit reluctant too but eventually gave in as she nudged him some more. She was relieved to see that none of the knights had tried to stop him.
"How do you feel?"
"Like the Eternal Flame spit me out," Byleth answered with little feeling in her voice. Without Ashe's support it took a great deal of effort for her to stand and without his cool skin she felt like she was back in Sreng's desert.
"Did you have something to do with that burst of fire?" the archer asked and narrowed her eyes. "Because my arrow would have ended this fight."
Byleth wanted nothing more than to lay down and finally gave her body the break it needed but that wasn't going to happen any time soon. Adjusting her weight to one side, her body cried out, but she ignored it as she looked at the archer. She had no idea what she was going to do. She had been so focused on keeping Lord Lonato alive long enough for Ashe to leave that she didn't even consider what her actions would have looked like.
"Byleth," Sothis called, and Byleth gave the mysterious girl what little attention she could. "This may be a bit farfetched, but you might be able to use it as a lie." She gave a small bob of her head to instruct Sothis to continue. "To create the fog spell, there needs to be a lot of water in the air and you can claim that your blast of fire was to prevent another mage from casting the spell. I am sure that there had to be another mage involved some how because I doubt one person alone could have created as much as they did."
It seemed like a bit of nonsense to Byleth. Afterall, how did Sothis even know such a thing? She could feel Sothis shrug her shoulders at the professor's thoughts. Byleth decided to not really question it as she had no better lie to work with.
"Well?" the archer barked, and she just felt more tired at that.
With no better option, Byleth used Sothis' lie as her explanation. There were looks of doubt on the knights' faces but none of them were experts on magic, so no one voiced their doubts. Eventually their expressions began to change, when she further added about how the fog could be used to hide their escape. As if satisfied for the moment Catherine was going to let the topic drop but the archer didn't.
"Why didn't you finish off Lord Lonato?"
That had ignited the anger that had defused in Byleth right before they arrived at Castle Gaspard. She stepped towards the archer and looked her in the eye. The archer stepped back but Byleth didn't allow for much distant between the two.
The former mercenary held up left arm as if it would strengthen her argument but with no visible signs of anything wrong with it, it didn't. "Because my left arm is numb from casting Aura, a spell I haven't quite mastered yet, in order to kill the mage that was maintaining the first fog and allowing for all of you to not be at the mercy of the enemy's ambush any longer." She held up her right hand to show of the nasty burn and that got a reaction from everyone. "I burned my right hand to prevent another fog from descending." The archer said nothing and back down a little but still maintained a glare. "Don't forget that it was me that prevented many deaths at the beginning of this fight but having you all prepare for the volley of arrows."
"And how did you know about the arrows?" the archer asked back but there was a lot less bite to her voice now.
"Because I could see through the fog. That was how I was able to save you all and take down the mage."
Having her fill of the archer, Byleth turned to Catherine, who had been quiet throughout the whole exchange. "My students and I have done more than our fair share in this battle; the rest will be up to you knights."
Catherine nodded. "We have already ordered for your students to fall back." Byleth gave the knight a nod and began to walk away. "Do you need help?" Yes, but she didn't want to accept it. She still felt her blood boiling, even though the other knights weren't as accusatory as the archer, she didn't want their help. And though it might be a hypocritical, given the fact that she prolonged the fight, she wanted the battle to end as soon as possible and she didn't want to take away one knight away from the frontlines if it meant even prolonging the battle by a fraction of a second. The sooner the battle was over the sooner everyone could begin healing. Catherine gave her a look of doubt but in the end, she accepted Byleth's stubbornness and ordered her group to march forward.
Byleth stumbled back to camp. Each step was heavier than the last. She realized that she had just been making bad decision after bad decision. Eventually, everything got to be too much, and she collapsed against a tree. She was hard press to believe that anything would have been different if she had actually had taken a few moments to think before acting, well maybe the saving of Lord Lonato situation could have gone better; she didn't feel confident in that belief.
She looked up at the leaves, from the tree she sat against, swaying gently in the breeze. They looked so at peace, a striking contrast to what was happening on the ground. They reminded her of a peace she knew she and her students would never be able to return too, at least not in a way where they could remain ignorant to war.
Did she really do the right thing for Ashe? Did it really bring him comfort, even though his father still died in the end? Was it worth her practically abandoning her students to give Ashe that moment? Her chaotic thoughts continued to swirl in her mind as she continued to watch the leaves.
A shout of her name had her gaze drifting downwards to see Dimitri rushing towards her. She tried to stand up, but she found that she had no strength to do so. She gave him a strained, little smile as he dropped to his knees next to her. She at least found some comfort in seeing that he was relatively okay, though the look in his eyes told a different story.
There was a long pause between them as Dimitri looked at her or more accurately through her. She wanted to know what was going through his mind at that moment but was also afraid to know. With her numb arm she reached out and grabbed his hand, but he didn't acknowledge her.
A few seconds past and he seemed to finally return as his focus settled on her. "Are you hurt?" he asked. She tried to hide her burnt hand, but it did not escape his gaze. "Of course, you are," he uttered darkly but when he returned his gaze to her, his eyes were clear of darkness but not of sorrow. "Ashe explained to us that you were seriously injured."
"I wouldn't say 'seriously injured'. An experience healer can treat me, and I should have little to no side effects," she explained but he eyed her suspiciously.
"He said you were coughing up blood." With everything that happened she had completely forgotten about that.
"I will be fine, I promise."
There was a slight scowl on his face, but he dropped it, along with his gaze. His fists balled tightly as he glared at the ground before him. With a sudden yell he slammed his hands against the ground before he hunched forward to hide himself.
A silence stretched out between them before she finally reached out to touch him again. He flinched at her gentle touch. She rubbed circles on his back, and he didn't move. They stayed like that for a few minutes until he finally found the nerve to sit up and look at her. He looked so pained and she didn't know what to do.
"…These were people that I swore to protect and I…I killed them…," he finally spoke after a few more seconds of silence. She stared at him, completely unsure of what to say. Just like with Ashe she knew she was helpless to change anything and yet Dimitri was looking at her with such expectation that it hurt her so much.
Finally, she decided to try and hope that physical actions would help as she pulled him into a hug. His body was stiff at first but eventually he gave into the gesture and squeezed her. He was holding her too tightly, but she didn't dare to say anything. She ignored his trembling as she continued to rub circles onto his back.
"I'm sorry," she finally said. "I'm sorry that I couldn't protect you better." He squeezed her tighter as he buried his face into her shoulder more.
It was slow but he eventually pulled himself away from her, but he didn't meet her gaze. His arms still held hers and she did nothing, in fear of that she might accidently give him the wrong impression that it bothered her. He said something but it had been so quiet that she didn't hear it.
"Why?" he repeated on his own without her prompting him too. "Why?" he asked again and looked at her. "Why did this happen?" With no answers she remained quiet. Not once did he blink as he continued to stare into her eyes.
"I do not know…" she answered weakly.
"They didn't need to die!" His grip on her arms began to tighten. "They were not knights or soldiers! They were fathers and sons! We should not have killed them!" His grip began to tighten even more that it started to hurt but she still said nothing. "We should have found another way…" His gaze dropped.
"I'm sorry…I'm so sorry. If only I was stronger…if only I was…" Was what? She didn't know. She did not know what she of all people could have done. She couldn't protect her students from fighting in this horrible battle. She couldn't save Ashe's adoptive father. She couldn't do anything.
He hung his head and his grip loosened considerably. "I know that if we had not… had we not done what we did, even more civilian lives would have been lost but…such facts do not make me feel any better…nor should they."
He looked at her again and he just looked so lost. "Those in power, no matter the era, always claim they fight for a just cause. That they take life to protect it. But…Is it truly okay to take any life you please, all in service of some implacable 'just cause'?" It was her turn to look away. She had no answers to such a question.
"Lord Lonato did not take up arms out of a lust for power." He was once again gripping her arms tightly. "He simply believed his cause to be just. Who is to say it was not?" She pressed her lips together, unsure of what to say. Lord Lonato did not seem like a cruel man to her but that didn't change the fact that he got peasants involved, none of them trained for the war they fought in. She had no answers and she didn't know what to do.
He let go of her arms so that he could stand up, but he continued to look at her, though she continued to look away. "Maybe we do not have to cut him down like this." He paused to look out towards the field where the last bit of the battle was being fought. "Maybe we could have reached a mutual understanding…found a path of peace." As wonderful as that may have sounded, she had her doubts. Lord Lonato seemed to be determined to go to war. Not even Ashe could reach him, what hope did outsiders have? But maybe they could have done more. Maybe if the church had shown more sympathy and have had tried to negotiate more, they could have found a better outcome.
"I…I have to believe that." He dropped his gaze to the ground again, and the softness of his voice her gaze returned to him. "Perhaps the notion sounds laughable to you. Mere lips service to naïve ideals. But I cannot believe otherwise."
She struggled to get onto her feet until he helped her. He did not let go of her arms after helping her, but his touch was so light that it might not even have been there. Ignoring the pain of her burn, she cupped his cheek so that he would look at her, and he did not fight her when she did it.
"They are not laughable." His eyes widen slightly. "Those are ideals that I would love to follow." That was the truth. If she could avoid wars like this by trying to work with the other party, then she would gladly try. That was a future she could look forward too.
He leaned his head against her left palm and closed his eyes. "Thank you."
A/N: About my last question, the group's consensus was that they liked how I wrote Byleth's duel with Catherine, so I'll try to stick to that format unless there is a more challenge to the duel. Thank you all for your inputs!
Head cannon notes:
Faith magic requires a lot less magic to cast than the Reason spells and that is why they do a lot less damage. Aura might be a more powerful spell than the Bolanone spell, but it has a smaller radius and thus that requires less magic. So, Aura only hit the mage and archer but if Byleth had been able to cast Bolanone she would have been able to take the knight out as well.
The Hero Relics managed to boost an ability of their wielders. Weapons have a weaker boost than the support relics, but their boost are still incredibly deadly. Most weapon-based relics just provide a boost in power, while Thunderbrand is more unique in that regard by provide a boost to speed instead.
Since the game doesn't really explain how the fog didn't hinder the enemies as well, my theory is that there was another mage that had buffed up the army's resistance so that they could see through the fog better. So, even though neither Byleth or Sothis were aware of the other mage they were right that there had been another one in the mix and that Byleth's blast of fire did prevent another fog spell.