A/N: My favorite pencil died to give you this chapter.
Sorry for the delay. I had a Yurileth oneshot that wouldn't leave me until I wrote it and I have been kind of numb to everything lately, so that might affect my next chapter as well.
Blue Sea Moon 1180:
Fourteenth of the Blue Sea Moon:
After ensuring Professor Hanneman that her father would not kill him, he had agreed to look over Byleth's class for the next few days. With that hurdled taken care of Byleth had told Ashe, and for the first time in weeks he had truly smiled. Her heart soared at seeing his excitement again.
When she had shared the news with her students, most of them had been excited for it. Dimitri had seemed to be a mixed bag, but she had come to not expect anything from the boy as of late. With her students blessing, she couldn't wait to leave the next day.
Once school was done for the day, she went on the search for Marianne. Marianne had become a far greater support than Byleth could have ever imagined, and the professor knew that she had to tell Marianne that she would be stealing Ashe away for the next few days. It was also to show to the quiet woman that she had kept her promise and did it so quickly too. When Ashe would start feeling better, she hoped that would cheer up Marianne as well.
Byleth didn't like going to the cathedral. It was already hard enough going into after years of the "church is bad" being drilled into her but after the interaction with the archbishop, after her return from the last mission, she felt even more uncomfortable. Thanks to the archbishop hinting that the former mercenary might be the second coming of Saint Seiros, Byleth couldn't help but feel like all the priests had been looking at her differently. She had no idea how to show everyone that they were wrong, that she was nothing more than a simple warrior.
If there was anything that Byleth learned in her short life it was that she so rarely got what she wanted. She had to enter the cathedral for Marianne but that was okay after seeing a rare smile from the girl. What was not okay was running into the archbishop on her way out.
"How good it is to see you, my sweet child," the archbishop said in an overly sweet voice.
"Remember keep the glare off your face," Sothis chimed in, and Byleth struggled to keep her face impassive.
"I cannot tell you how much it pleases me to see you in the cathedral." Byleth remained impassive as ever and that didn't seem to bother the archbishop at all. "Since you are leaving does that mean that you are free?"
The former mercenary remained silent as she stared at the holy woman. Besides packing, she was free, but she didn't want the archbishop to know that. Despite her best efforts, she couldn't think up a good excuse, so at Sothis' insistence she nodded yes. "She had to maintain a positive relationship with the archbishop' or so Sothis claimed, but Byleth couldn't help but feel that maybe there was some bias to the statement, even if it was a sound one.
The archbishop flashed her a brilliant smile and Byleth felt weird at seeing it. There was her usual apprehension, but she also felt a small amount of joy, and she was sure that it wasn't her that was feeling that way, but Sothis never made a comment about it. Thanks to the perplexing emotions swelling within, Byleth found her distrust for the holy woman weak that day.
The complexity of her emotions had caused Byleth to be unable to turn down the archbishop's offer to have tea and eat dinner with her, which only pleased her more. Byleth always had tea out in the gardens and though she did not really want to spend her time with the archbishop, at least there they would never be truly alone. Unfortunately for the professor she wasn't so lucky to have tea in her place of choice or to eat dinner in the dinning hall.
While Byleth would have wanted tea in the gardens, she wasn't above having it in other places, but to have it and dinner in the archbishop's personal chambers was the one place she was against but she didn't really have much choice in that manner. She had no argument to the match the archbishop's explanation for why her room would be the only place they wouldn't be disturbed. Reluctantly, she followed the archbishop but made sure to keep her displeasure off of her face.
Silently, the former mercenary stared at Cyril, begging him to stay but after the tea was set, he left at the archbishop's request. She had to swallow her sigh when she heard the door shut behind her. The air felt heavy in that room, but she knew that she was the only one feeling that way.
She tried to hide her annoyance by sipping her tea. It was a Crescent-Moon blend, it wasn't a flavor that she was particularly fond of, but it did make her wish she was having tea with Mercedes instead. The potentially, relaxing warmth of the tea was lost on that hot, summer day.
"Thank you for joining me," the archbishop said as she gracefully returned her teacup to its saucer. "I had feared that you would be against spending some alone time with me."
That was it exactly but Byleth kept such thoughts to herself. She hid her response by taking another sip. If her lack of response bothered the archbishop, the older woman never showed it as she continued to smile.
The archbishop brought her chair closer to Byleth and the professor stiffened greatly. To either comfort the younger woman or just because she was so happy to be sitting next to Byleth, the archbishop's smile grew. To hide her discomfort Byleth finished the rest of the tea in her cup and quickly realized that there would not be enough tea to help her get through this.
"When you speak with me in this room, you are not speaking with the archbishop, but with Rhea. It is just me," the archbishop said. "I hope that you will be able to relax while you are here."
Byleth looked at the other woman for a second before shifting her gaze towards the teapot. She knew pouring herself a new cup of tea wouldn't be enough to get her out of not speaking. With a newly filled cup, she bit back a sigh.
"Forgive me," Byleth said with such elegance and poise that she hoped that her old, etiquette teacher would finally be proud of her. "But I am still nervous."
The archbishop's smile softened. "What a sweet child you are." As she spoke, she placed a gentle touch on Byleth's cheek, who froze upon contact.
"Oh, my apologies." The older woman returned her hand to her lap and Byleth was able to relax a little. "I should not be treating you like a child. As Jeralt's kin, somehow you do not seem like a stranger to me." Byleth struggled to keep a frown off her face. What she would have killed to have her old impassive face from when she was a child. "Speaking of Jeralt, may I ask if he had ever spoke of me?"
The former mercenary glanced down at her cup. She wanted to hide her silence by taking a sip but didn't want to let the archbishop onto her trick, if the older woman wasn't already aware of it. Reluctantly, she tore her eyes away to look at the holy woman and gave a slight shake of her head.
"I'm afraid, he never spoke of you." After those words left her lips, she feared that she might have gotten her father in some trouble.
The smile finally left the archbishop's face for a moment to be replaced with a small frown. "Oh dear. How heartless of him." With a simple shake of her head the smile returned, and a twinkle of excitement sparkled in her eyes. Byleth hid her discomfort by taking another sip. "In any case, let us endeavor to become closer from here on out." Pressing her lips together, she gave the archbishop a small nod because she refused to say anything to that.
A small silenced settled over them. The archbishop's gaze never left Byleth, who was desperately trying to ignore it. The younger woman clung to her cup as if it were a lifeline, but she knew she couldn't rely on it forever. Taking a deep breath, she finally looked away from her cup to look at the archbishop, who seemed to be delighted over it.
"Since you are here, shall I tell you about the Jeralt I knew?" Byleth light up at that. "By the look of it, you haven't heard much about his time at the monastery, have you?" She shook her head as the archbishop commanded her full attention, and that seemed to please the holy woman as her smile grew.
"When I first met Jeralt, he was quite young. Why, he could not even grow a full beard at that point!" That was a difficult image for Byleth to imagine as her father always had a beard from what she could remember. "On a fateful occasion, the band of mercenaries, he belonged to, fought alongside the Knights of Seiros. I was traveling with the knights at that time and Jeralt jumped in front of an attack meant for me." A small chuckled escaped the archbishop as Byleth leaned forward in her seat. Her father was always criticizing her for doing such a thing and yet he did the same when he was younger; she was going to tease him later for it.
"He was gravely wounded and was on the verge of death." Despite that moment happening so long ago and she knew the outcome, the former mercenary couldn't help the little fear that blossomed in the pit of her stomach at that the thought that she almost lost her father. "I tended to his wounds in a desperate attempt to save his life. Thankfully, my efforts were not in vain." Even though she knew, she still released her held breath. "Jeralt managed to escape a seemingly certain death. I made arrangements for him to receive further care at Garreg Mach. The moment he was deemed fully recovered, I invited him to join the knights."
"Thank you for saving my father!" Byleth shouted as soon as the archbishop had finished speaking. The archbishop gave the younger woman a fond smile as she gripped one of Byleth's hands, who didn't care about the touch.
"He never told me such a story," Byleth said in a near whisper volume. A frown was plastered to her face as her gaze drifted downwards towards their connected hands and it still didn't bother her. She did scowl at the fact that her father never told her, but it was dropped just as quickly as it came. Her father saved the archbishop and in return the archbishop saved her father and yet her father didn't trust the holy woman, why? This seemed like such an important piece of information that she still knew nothing about.
"Well, it is not a story I have often repeated." The archbishop's voice broke through Byleth's thoughts. Once again, the professor brought her gaze up to look at the older woman. "Even at the monastery, there are not many who know that. I tell you this because…" The archbishop paused to give Byleth's hand a small squeeze, and momentarily the younger woman's gaze dropped to their hands. "To me, you are the child of the one, who saved my life all those years ago. And also…."
Byleth tilted her head and the archbishop's smile became strained. With a small shake of her head, the holy woman returned to her normal, neutral smile. For the archbishop's sake, Byleth choose to not comment on it.
"I simply want to say that I trust you." Byleth pressed her lips together and tired to keep her expression neutral. "By coming to visit with me today, you have…Well…Suffice to say that my day is brighter than it otherwise would have been. I thank you for that." Unsure of what to say to that, Byleth simply gave the archbishop a nod.
With the conversation done, they finished off the rest of the tea and just in time for dinner to have arrived. After dinner, Byleth said her goodbyes right when the archbishop was called away. She stopped on the second floor and stared at the closed doors to the Audience Chamber, where the archbishop had been guided too.
She pressed her lips together as she continued to stare at the doors. She honestly didn't know what to make of the archbishop anymore. She still didn't trust the holy woman, not after what she put the Blue Lions through, but that time they just spent together complicated things. The look of expectations still shone bright in the archbishop's eyes, but her gaze was also incredibly soft, along with her voice and touch. During their tea time, the archbishop had reminded Byleth so much of Lady Patricia that she had even wanted to ask the older woman at one point, if she would have been willing to teach Byleth how to do her hair. She tore here eyes away from the door to stare at the hallway, her father's office was in, she wondered what her father would think of her mixed emotions.
Putting those complicated feelings aside, she made her way down to the first floor. The perfect distraction, she decided, would be packing or at least it was until Mercedes and Annette crossed her path. The students seemed so excited to see her.
"Professor!" Annette happily cheered as she ran over. Mercedes followed behind with a reasonable pace.
The healer was looking so much better. It was clear that she was going to need a bit more time before she completely returned to her old self but at least Byleth wouldn't have to worry anymore. As if sensing her professor's thoughts, Mercedes gave her a warm smile.
"You are the person we were hoping to see!" Annette's loud voice echoed in the Reception Hall and the girl blushed because of it.
Byleth tilted her head and Mercedes took over, "we wanted to bake but the dinning hall is closed so we need a professor's permission."
Byleth looked out the window and saw the setting sun. A small frown formed on her lips as she looked back at her students. "You want to bake at this hour?" she asked. "It's will be time for curfew in just a few hours." She was confused as to why they just didn't bake earlier but she never got the chance to voice her question.
"We wanted to bake something for you and Ashe on your travels," Annette said before getting close to whisper quietly to Byleth. "Mercie likes to bake so I am hoping this will help cheer her up a little." Annette stepped back to stand next to her friend. "Please professor!" Byleth gave her students a firm nod before agreeing to supervise.
The professor had no baking skills, she barely had cooking skills. She could make a decent meal to eat, while traveling, but nothing like the simple but amazing meals that Dedue could make. Even though she lacked skills or experience she was confident enough to say that Annette shouldn't be allowed in the kitchen. Byleth had heard of a great kitchen fiasco at the hands of Annette and she didn't believe it but now she had no other choice but to do so after witnessing a possible disaster firsthand.
With nothing to really contribute and her panic becoming more and more clear on her face, Byleth was forced to wait outside the kitchen, which went against her supervising duties. She tried to patiently sit and wait at one of the closest tables but every loud crash and yelp, had her fighting the desire to rush inside. Battle was less stressful than this. She whispered a silent prayer that Mercedes would be able to prevent any serious destruction.
Byleth was sure she aged by five years by the time Mercedes and Annette emerged from the kitchen. Any complaint that she had died upon her lips as she saw the genuine smile from Mercedes. She gave Annette a small smile, while the mage gave her a thumbs up, before nearly dropping what she was holding. It was only thanks to the fact that Annette had arrived at the table by the time of the thumbs up that prevented her from dropping her tray of cookies onto the floor, though the nice arrangement was gone.
Two different plates of cookies were placed in front of Byleth. The smell of the fresh baked goods had her mouthwatering. She had never been one for such snacks, only preferring to eat proper meals as they were far more filling, but the delicious smell had her thinking that maybe she should change her preference.
The decision on what batch to try first was made for her at Annette's insistence. Annette's cookies didn't look as nearly as appealing as Mercedes' but since she didn't know what would lead to such a difference, she didn't care. She happily took a bite and in an instance her cheer was gone. Her disgust must have been very clear on her face as concern quickly grew on her students' faces.
She tried, she really did try, to eat her bite but after another attempt to chew, she had to spit it out. Even with her mouth empty the dryness and taste remained and she tried to drown out the taste by taking a drink of the tea, that she had prepared earlier. Even after finishing her cup the strong taste remained but it was at least somewhat bearable. Though, she did have to drink two cups of tea, before the dryness of her mouth became bearable.
Looks were exchanged by the students, while the professor tried to find her bearings. Both students reached for a cookie, in Annette's batch. Byleth managed to stop Mercedes from taking a bite but Annette had stubbornly pushed through and her reaction had been even more over the top than Byleth's.
"I am so sorry Professor," Annette mumbled after a few seconds. She kept her hand covering her mouth and Byleth feared that the younger woman was going to be sick. "It seems that I have mixed up the salt with the sugar."
"It is alright," Byleth weakly answered. She would never say it out loud, but she was grateful for the taste test, because she had no idea how she would have been able to handle that on the road. "It's an honest mistake."
"I promise to not make the same mistake while on kitchen duty!" Byleth's smile became strained because she had completely forgotten that Annette was on kitchen duty while she was away. She felt a gentle touch on her arm from Mercedes, but it brought little comfort when Byleth thought of the possible horrors Annette could release upon the unsuspecting student body.
Even though Mercedes and Annette had assured her that she didn't need to help clean, Byleth still helped. It was her way of thanking her students for preparing such snacks for her and Ashe, as well as not keeping them out too much later after their curfew. Seeing the state of the kitchen after Annette had her way with it, only insured Byleth that she needed to make some quick changes before she left.
With that little aversion done, she had started to walk back towards her dorm, taking the long route, but stopped in front of the green house to stare at the stairs that led to the second story. Thanks to the heavy mood that hung over her and her students for the past few weeks she had completely neglected to look into the issue that there might be more to the possible assassination threat to the archbishop, then what the church believed. Claude had mentioned his suspicions to her, but she had been too distracted to care. Time was running out and she didn't think that she would have the opportunity to look into it when she would return.
It was late but if he was still awake, she was going to seek out Claude. If anyone could find out the possible secrets of the assassination, she was positive it would be him. Also, she would like to see him before she went on her trip.
She stood outside of Claude's door and she could hear some feint talking coming from the other side. She didn't knock right away, not because she was worried about what would happen but because she was staring further down the hallway towards Dimitri's room. It wouldn't surprise her if he was still awake and she couldn't help but hope that maybe, just maybe, he would speak to her before she left. Swallowing that hope, she tore her eyes away from that direction and knocked on Claude's door.
"Who dares to disturb me at such an hour?" Claude asked in his most haughty voice from the other side of the door. He swung his door wide open in a grand gesture and when his eyes landed on her, he smiled. "Well, look who it is." He leaned against the door and she could see Hilda, waving from her spot next to the window. "What can I do for you?"
"Can we talk?" she asked. Smiling, he stepped aside to let her in. When she was in, he closed the door and her eyes landed on Hilda. "Sorry, if I am disturbing you guys."
"Do no worry about it. We were just talking." Claude walked over to Hilda and sat down on the windowsill with her.
Hilda took on a mischievous glint in her eyes. "My Professor!" Hilda said in a high voice, and Byleth arched an eyebrow. "Visiting a student's room at this hour? How scandalous!" Both Claude and Hilda began to giggle and Byleth just silently stared at them. "But this is not your first time visiting a student's room, is it?" Hilda gave the older woman a strange look. Byleth cocked her head to the side. "How many times have you visited Prince Dimitri's room?" Claude frowned a little.
Byleth wrinkled her nose a little, trying and failing, to understand what Hilda was trying to hint at. "Once," she finally decided to answer.
"Just once?" Hilda shouted as she jumped to her feet. "That is so disappointingly boring."
"Hil, it was most likely at the request of his kingliness," Claude started, "you know with it being improper and all."
Byleth silently watched as both Claude and Hilda giggled amongst themselves. They would silently whisper to each other, while every once in awhile glance in the professor's direction. Rolling her eyes, Byleth kept her thoughts to herself as she knew they were just talking nonsense to each other.
"I say they will be married by the end of the school year!" Hilda proclaimed loudly as she looked at Byleth with a sly, little look.
Claude had a frown for a moment before his fake smile took over. He leaned back and stared up at the roof. After a few seconds, he dropped his gaze onto Byleth, and his smile seemed a tiny bit more genuine.
"Naw, they will be engaged," he said as he locked eyes with her. Hilda gasped loudly, drawing Claude's attention towards her. "You know, his princeliness is going to want to do an overly grand wedding so he can show off his lovely bride." Hilda was a bit silent for a moment before nodding vigorously.
A blush spread across Byleth's face and Sothis was snickering in the back of her mind, which wasn't helping. She tried to maintain an indifference expression but when Sothis started to join in the teasing, her act fell apart. Unable to look at anyone, she stared at Claude's messy bed and coughed into her hand to not only calm herself but also draw attention to her and away from that conversation.
"You do realize, I am in the room with you, right?" she asked as she developed an interest in the strange layout of books on the bed.
"Yeah and so?" Hilda quickly responded, and Byleth could feel her blush extending to her ears.
"You guys are terrible," she mumbled quietly with a sigh.
"Do not try to deny it! And you better invite us to your wedding, do you hear? In fact, I want to be one of your bridesmaids!"
A sigh escaped the professor as she still focused on the bed. She had to wonder if they were aware that Dimitri was avoiding her, it wasn't like he was trying to hide it at all. She was sure the school was alive with the rumors and speculations because of it. Her hangover had to help add fire to the rumors, in no small part thanks to a certain ginger haired noble. Did those rumors mean nothing to them?
"Can we please talk about something else?" she asked with another sigh.
She could hear Claude getting up, but she didn't look at him, and instead continued to take an interest in the bed. He stood in front of her and she still refused to look at him and see the dumb smirk, he would surely be sporting along with Hilda. After a few seconds of silence, she sighed and looked at him and was pleased to see he had his standard smile on. She gave him a tiny smile as thanks.
"What do you want to talk about?" he asked.
"Do you still have your suspicions of the assassination threat?" He arched an eyebrow. "I know you brought up your concerns to me earlier and I'm sorry-"
"Do not apologize. I know you were going through a tough time, so no hard feelings." He rested his hands behind his head, and she gave him a small smile. "I have not really thought about in a while, what about it?"
"I believe you." He arched an eyebrow again. "I had my suspicions about it as well, when I first learned of it, but unfortunately I haven't been able to look into it."
The two stared at each other for a moment. "So," he started out slowly, "you want me to help you look into it?" She nodded. A quiet moment settled over them. She fiddled with her hands before opening her mouth to speak, only for him to speak over her. "I will do it."
"Really?" She relaxed her shoulders without every noticing how tense they were. "Thank you!"
"No problem. That is what friends are for, right?" He gave her a small wink and she smiled widely. "Besides, I like uncovering a good secret. I will be sure to figure everything out before you come back."
With that out of the way, she gave her goodbyes as she did not want to disturb Claude and Hilda anymore. Outside of the room, she released a sigh. Claude's talk about friends helping friends didn't have as strong of a positive impact like she was sure he was hoping for. Ever since she came to Garreg Mach, she had been seeking out his help more than she had been giving back. She didn't want to become a burden for him. She didn't want him to push her away like Dimitri was doing.
At the thought of Dimitri her eyes drifted over to the direction of his room. It was late and she hoped he was getting a goodnights rest. She hoped that his nightmares had stopped plaguing him and that was one of the reasons why he had been avoiding her, because he no longer needed her comfort. She had stopped hoping that he would talk to her. No matter how painful it was, she was just going to wait for him to be ready to come to her.
"Just go talk to him!" Sothis shouted and followed it with a heavy sigh. "We already have been over this. It is not good to keep such feelings to yourself."
Byleth dropped her gaze to stare at the floor before her. She didn't say anything and that only seemed to annoy the mysterious girl as she groaned as loudly as she could. Byleth turned to walk away but it felt like she was frozen in place. She could not tell if it was because of her own reluctance or by Sothis' will. Sothis said nothing about it but that doubt continued to grow within Byleth.
"Byleth, his avoidance is clearly hurting you so speak to him about it." She continued to remain silent and she could feel Sothis pulling at her own hair. "Look it is also obvious that it is hurting the prince as well, so talk to him!"
Byleth shook her head no and Sothis screamed out. "I don't want to force him to do something he doesn't want to do." Whatever force that was prevent her from moving was gone and she began to walk away.
"Look," Sothis started in a calm tone, so Byleth stopped. "Given the prince's…condition, I do not think you should be passive with him."
"Well wouldn't a forceful approach have a worse effect on his… 'condition'?"
Sothis threw her hands up in the air. "You know, if I had a body of my own, I would kick you." Byleth chuckled slightly.
Sothis said no more as Byleth made her way back to her room. Once she started to get close to her room, she could feel her exhaustion taking over. Trying to pack before going to bed wasn't going to happen but that was okay as she would wake up incredibly early, regardless of how much sleep she had gotten beforehand, and so she would just do it then.
Unlocking her door had been a greater challenge than what she was expecting because she struggled with her keys. A sigh escaped her after she dropped her keys. She stared at them for the longest time, too tired to move.
Eventually, she made the effort to pick them up, right as Dedue opened his door. The two stared at each other for a moment, neither one of them saying anything. The silence was broken by Byleth offering up a greeting and Dedue returned it with a bob of his head.
"Do you need help with anything?" Dedue asked when she finally got the door open.
"No," she said quickly but paused when the door was fully opened. "Actually," she turned to face him, "do you mind taking over Canna's cooking duty while I am away?"
"You are worried about Annette, aren't you?" She felt like it would be mean if she said anything, but she also knew that her silence would say everything. "I do not mind."
She let out a sigh of relief. She knew that Felix had more patience for Annette than he had for anyone else, but she was sure that his little patience would be pushed to the limit during kitchen duty. Just as she was about to wish him a goodnight, she had remembered something else. "Do you mind watching over everyone while I am away?" Sylvain would do it, whether she asked or not, given his compassionate nature but he was also vulnerable to emotions, so he needed someone to look after him as well as take over some of the pressure. Dedue nodded and she smiled.
"Thank you, Oak. Goodnight."
"My pleasure, and goodnight as well By."
She gasped loudly but he didn't give her a chance to react before closing the door behind him. Apart of her wanted to knock on his door and confirm that she had heard him right. That was the first time, he had ever called her by her nickname. Decided that it would be best to not disturb him, she went into her room. She went to bed that night with a smile on her face.
Fifteenth of the Blue Sea Moon:
It was clear to everyone that Byleth had not been expecting the Blue Lions and Claude to wake up early and see her off. Dimitri couldn't understand how she didn't expect such a thing, but given his behavior as of late, he slowly started to understand. He had hoped that she would know that he would always help her, no matter how strongly he was avoided her. Because no matter how hard he tried to focus on his revenge his desire to be by her side was so strong.
When he learned that she was leaving, that desire was at its strongest. It wasn't just because he wanted to be with her but because he needed to know that she was safe at all times. He couldn't help but think that it was far too foolish for her to go alone with Ashe, especially when she had been attacked not to long ago. Her indifference to such attacks bothered him greatly and so he had sought out Seteth yesterday for permission to leave with her. His revenge was the most important thing, but he knew he couldn't live with himself if something had happened to her when he could have done something about it. If fate would be kind to him (though he had little hope of it ever being so) and Byleth was still available after he had his revenge, then he would no longer hold himself back, she was his hopeful goal after he had his revenge, and so he needed to keep her safe.
He stepped forward and she arched an eyebrow. Her face was impassive as she quietly looked at him, and it stung him greatly. He silently berated himself for expecting a smile from her; he was so undeserving of one. Clearing his throat, he tried to put his feelings aside before speaking, but he never had a chance to even open his mouth before the sound of a horse filled the air.
Everyone turned to see the intruder, Jeralt. It was silent for a moment as everyone tried to figure out why he was here. Byleth was the first to come to her sense and pushed past Dimitri to go over to her father.
A large smile graced her beautiful face and it was a stab at his heart. Dimitri was a complete, utter fool, he was the one pushing her away and yet he wanted such a smile directed at him and only for him. He scoffed at himself. From what he heard from others he was the perfect, respectable prince and he wondered what all those people would think of him, if they realized what a greedy bastard he was.
When she learned that her father would be traveling with her, her smile grew, and a visible relief washed over her. Dimitri bit the inside of his cheek so hard that he could feel the warmth of blood on his tongue. There was a strong tightness in his chest that he desperately tried to ignore. It was only natural that she would feel the most comfortable around her father. Jeralt was the strongest man that Dimitri knew and the one most familiar with Byleth's situation, so of course, he was the best person to protect her and yet…the bitterness burned greatly in Dimitri's chest. He wanted her to rely on him as much as she did for her father but why should she? What has he done to earn her trust? The tightness now extended to his throat.
Byleth left with Jeralt and Ashe, with Dimitri never bringing up that he had permission to leave with her. He continued to watch her go, after everyone else had started to walk away. His thoughts were broken when someone jostled him when they wrapped their arm around his shoulders.
"Worry not, your princeliness," Claude started before Dimitri turned to look at him. "By will be back in no time."
Dimitri finally looked at Claude and from over the Alliance heir's shoulder he could see Sylvain. Sylvain had a strange look in his eyes, before it vanished into his normal, aloof smile. Sylvain gave the prince a little wave before leaving. Something was off about Sylvain, but he couldn't put his finger on what.
"Yo, princeliness?" At the sound of Claude's voice, Dimitri returned his attention to the more cheerful man. "You okay there?"
"Yes," was the only thing he said.
Dimitri sat alone in his room reviewing the assignment that Professor Hanneman had assigned that day. It was about basic Reason magic sigils and even on a good day, where he wasn't so distracted, it would have been a difficult thing for him to grasp, as he couldn't seem to wrap his head around Reason sigils; he could barely understand Faith sigils despite having an affinity for that type of magic. Byleth had wanted the Blue Lions to learn Reason magic from an expert while she was away, because she didn't think she was qualified to teach it, despite Annette stating otherwise. The only problem was he couldn't bring himself to care. When she taught, he paid attention no matter what, but for Professor Hanneman's his mind was elsewhere.
It was idiotic for him to be constantly thinking about her. She was perfectly fine; he could feel that deep within him. Jeralt was the best to protect Byleth and yet without having a visual proof that she was okay, he couldn't help the anxiety that was tormenting him. If it was going to eat away at him this much than he wished, he had worked up the nerve to speak up.
With a loud groan, he gave up on the assignment for the moment. Leaning back, he stared up at the roof. He didn't know how much time had passed for him just sitting there staring, but when his neck started to hurt a little, he realized that sitting around wasn't going to help.
With a loud huff, he pushed himself away from his desk. He wasn't going to get anything done with his mind swirling so the best way to counter that was to train until he was too exhausted to worry. With little care to be delicate and proper, he swung his door open and discovered Sylvain on the other side getting ready to knock.
"Perfect timing, Your Highness," Sylvain said as he brought his arm down. Something about his typical, aloof smile didn't seem right, but Dimitri didn't know what was wrong about it. "Can I speak to you for a bit?"
Dimitri stared at the older man for a moment before narrowing his eyes. "Did you trouble another woman and need to be hidden?"
Sylvain burst out laughing and it seemed a like a more genuine laugh, but the smile afterwards still seemed off. "Nothing like that." Dimitri arched an eyebrow. "I do want to talk to you about a pretty lady, though."
He stared at Sylvain for a moment before silently pushing his door open and allowing Sylvain inside. He offered the taller man the chair at the desk, but Sylvain refused and continued to stand. If Sylvain wasn't going to sit than neither would he; it was such a minor thing he was sure no one really noticed but it was Dimitri's way of showing his friends that they were his equal.
Sylvain was quiet as he looked around the room and Dimitri couldn't help but frown. Not only was it strange for Sylvain to go so long without saying anything, it was also strange to see him deliberately avoiding a topic that didn't have to deal with his brother or about the burdens his crest placed upon him. After a few more seconds of silence, Sylvain turned his gaze towards the assignment left out on the desk and started giving suggestion to it, none of which Dimitri responded too.
"What is wrong?" Dimitri finally asked.
Sylvain froze for a brief second, before he turned to Dimitri with that weird smile. The ginger haired man said nothing as he walked over to the window and leaned against it. He then proceeded to look out of it and continued to say nothing.
Dimitri watched Sylvain for a bit more as he was unsure of what to do. This was a Sylvain he was completely unused too. Out of everyone in the Blue Lions, Sylvain had seemed to be the one handling the post Lonato battle best, but maybe it was just an act? But Dimitri had seen Sylvain put on acts in the past and it didn't seem like he was doing one this time.
He was about to walk over to his friend when Sylvain turned to look at him. The smile was gone as the older man stared at Dimitri. The prince was frozen in place as he had no idea what to do.
"So, what is going on between you and By?" Sylvain finally spoke up and Dimitri flinched. The blonde said nothing and pressed his lips together. Narrowing his eyes, Sylvain stood up straight and looked down at the smaller man. "You have been avoiding her. Why?"
Dimitri looked towards his bed, not a single sound escaping from his lips. "She was suffering, and you did nothing!" He gritted his teeth but refused to make a sound. He knew that! He saw the bags under her eyes grow. Heard the exhaustion in her voice and seen that vacant stare that would overtake her sometimes. He saw it all! And yet…if he ran to her…held her in his arms as he comforted her…he knew he wouldn't able to stay away from her. Her allure was too strong, and he was a pathetic dastard!
"Why!" Sylvain never really raised his voice but that time he did, and Dimitri thought it wasn't loud enough. More people needed to know what a wretched being he was.
Sylvain sighed loudly as he sat on the windowsill, but the prince remained standing, staring at his bed. "What is going on with you? She is back in our lives; you should be beyond ecstatic." The Gautier heir's voice had returned to its normal volume, but his tone was the sharpest yet. Dimitri could feel Sylvain's gaze on him, but he refused to match the other man's stare.
"You know, when you started to push us away." Dimitri's face wrinkled up as he desperately tried to keep his emotions off his face. "It hurt. A lot." He had to squeeze his eyes shut. "But we thought we understood why. You are a prince. You had a lot of responsibilities thrusted upon you after…" Sylvain never finished that thought and the prince was grateful for that. "But for By…You were so happy. What is wrong?"
Biting his lower lip, he continued to keep himself closed off. "Talk to us! We are your friends! I want to help!" Unable to trust his voice, Dimitri just shook his head. "What about By?! Do you really want to hurt her!"
A small puff of air escaped his gritted teeth. No, he didn't want to hurt her! He wanted her to be happy! He didn't want her to suffer! He wanted her to look at him and only him! To feel her gentle touch! To see her smile! He wanted so many things and that was the problem. He couldn't have any of that. He didn't deserve any of it.
A silence descended upon them and it was eating away at him. Not seeing her was already hard enough, he didn't need this confrontation on top of all that. Everything would have been so much easier if he had never been reunited with Byleth, and that thought hurt him so much.
"I…," Dimitri started when the silence became too much. "I came to Garreg Mach with a goal in mind." Sylvain said nothing but Dimitri knew that he had the man's attention. Dimitri wanted to say no more, but he had to stop the silence and he owed Sylvian some kind of explanation. "I cannot say what it is, but it is incredibly important."
"Is it more important than By's feelings and wellbeing?"
Another gasp of air escaped him. He had nothing to say to that, and the truth hurt more than the sharpest of blades. He knew it was hypocritical for him to be wallowing in the sorrow that he created. He knew the reason for all his actions, while Byleth knew nothing. She didn't deserve such treatment, but he knew if he told her she would try and help no matter what. She was far too great for him.
A sigh slipped from Sylvain's lips. "Fine. Keep your silence." That comment didn't make Dimitri feel any better. "Are you okay then if By ends up with someone else?" Dimitri flinched. "She is pretty popular, as I am sure you are aware. I am sure suitors will be flocking to her if they learned that the Crown Prince of Faerghus was backing down. She is also of marriageable age too." Dimitri clenched his fists so tightly that the metal on his gauntlets began to give.
"I…," the prince spoke through gritted teeth. "I have no right to ask her to wait for me. I do not know how long it will take me to complete my goal."
"So, you do not mind if she ends up with that Wil guy?" Again, Dimitri flinched. "They are the same age and are pretty close." He said nothing.
"How about Claude?" He had to bite back a snarl. "They are incredibly close, and we do not know what Claude's intentions are."
Dimitri didn't want her to be with anyone that had to be obvious. But he couldn't ask her to wait for him. To put her in a stressful and possibly dangerous situation that even he didn't know what to expect. So, as painful as it would be, he would accept her being with someone else, so long as she was safe and happy. He just didn't want it to be with someone he knew. He didn't want to see the person that would be lucky enough to be with her.
"How about me?"
Dimitri had snapped his head so fast to stare at Sylvain. There was no smirk, no mischievous glint in the older man's eyes. The prince tried to swallow but he found his throat to be incredibly dry.
"You…," Dimitri voice was incredibly fragile, "you love her?"
"No." Suddenly there was a raging firing burning within the prince's chest as he scowled at his friends. "But if your feelings for her turned to love. I cannot see why mine will not be able to do the same." And just like that the fire was extinguished.
Sylvain never once looked away as he spoke. "By is incredible. She is so kind. Strong, carrying, but you already know all that." Dimitri's throat was back to being dryer than a desert. "She is also incredibly beautiful so I will not have to worry about attraction as well as I am sure that I would need no one else but her." The tightness in Dimitri's chest was so tight, he felt like he was struggling to breathe but he made no outward appearance of it. "I never really given much thought to love but By is the type I would hope to truly fall for."
"But…but she is not a noble…" Dimitri had no idea why he said that, but he knew he was grasping for straws. It was stupid but he had no idea what else to do. Sylvain's look never faulted, and Dimitri felt the last bit of his confidence melting away.
"Maybe not but she is the daughter of the Captain of the Knights of Seiros so that will be good enough for my father." Unable to make eye contact, Dimitri's gaze slowly drifted towards the ground. "She also possess a major crest as well as her father, so she will have the greatest chance out of everyone in all of Fodlan to produce a child with a crest and that will be the only thing my father would really care about."
By the end of it, Dimitri was staring at Sylvain's feet because he didn't have the strength to look up. Sylvain had walked over to him, to stand before the prince, and yet Dimitri still didn't have the strength to look up. A sigh escaped the older man, while Dimitri's eyes burned with the need to blink but he wouldn't.
"I am going to be forced to get married one day, so I would like to take matters into my own hands and marry someone wonderful like By." Even if Dimitri could find his voice, he would have no thoughts to speak of. "I hope there will be no hard feelings between us, but I am going to go after By." And with that Sylvain left, leaving Dimitri to stew in his thoughts all alone.
A/N: Dimitri never told Dedue to look over Byleth but Dedue is doing so because he wants to, and he knows that Byleth will one day become his queen, even if Dimitri is being difficult about it.
So, I'm trying to get back in the mood of reading fanfics and I have seen a lot of mermaid AUs art floating around so I was wondering if anyone had any Three Houses mermaid AU fics to suggest. I am already reading "Tempest Waves" by Tacticiangirl so you should all check it out if you haven't already.
Head cannon notes:
If someone posses a major crest they are more likely to produce a child with the crest. More often than not it will be with the crest of the major crest, but a minor crest of the other blood isn't too unheard of, and the chances are still higher than parents with just minor crest.