A/N: I'm sorry for this chapter being especially late, but I think this chapter was cursed. At first, I was just super stressed, and it killed my desire to write, but when I was finally in the mood to right -Bam- I had a medical issue that prevented me from writing. After a week and I was better to start writing, I then developed a different medical issue. Recovered from that and then was hit with a 9-hour long power outage (which given some places at the moment, I should be blessed for having such a short one), along with terrible air quality so I can't even go out and walk to help clear my mind. I am better now so there will be no need to worry about my health.
Despite all that I was finally able to muster up this chapter. Sorry, it's a small one but at this point I kind of just wanted to be done with it. If you don't hear from me by the end of next month then blame this chapter, because I'm sure I pissed off fate or something for writing it.
Blue Sea Moon 1180:
Nineteenth of the Blue Sea Moon:
Just as he promised Dimitri had attempted to teach Mercedes how to wield a sword, but it had gone incredibly poorly. When the sword flew out of her hands and nearly struck him that should have been all the signs, he needed to see that maybe Mercedes wasn't cut out for martial weapons, but he didn't head that warning. It wasn't until she stumbled with a lance and nearly impaled another student that he decided to stop for the day before they could see what near horror she could commit with an axe. He had no intensions of giving up on her, especially when she was so determined but he did realize that he was going to need to plan out things before they could continue.
Mercedes was not daunted by her missteps and she only seemed to grow more confident by the end of their lesson. Looking at her smiling face only made Dimitri realize he did not give her enough credit. Mercedes was so much stronger than he realized, something he couldn't say about himself. Seeing her smilingly only reminded him of how much of a failure he was.
Dimitri sat at his desk starring at the few meager notes had managed to take. Everything would be so much easier if he had found anything by now and yet he had so little. It had been seven months since he came to Garreg Mach and he had so little to show of it. Byleth had been his excuse but the days without her had him realizing that he was the true problem.
With a growl, he slammed his fists down onto his desk, with barely enough sense to hold himself back enough to not break it. What little papers he had on it scattered about and he didn't care. The force of his slam had knocked over the little patch that Byleth had given him, from its little cubby, and it fell before him.
His eyes were glued to the patch. Even without touching it, he could feel the comforting warmth of Byleth's magic emitting from it. Ever since he found out that she was alive that patch had never left his side and at times it even became a lifeline but since he started to distance himself from her, he had hid the patch on his desk. He knew the constant feel of that warmth it emitted would weaken his resolve greatly, and that fear was still holding him back as he dared not reach for it.
He stared at the worn-down patch as if it would tell him all he needed to know. He had no idea how long he had been staring at it before he released a heavy sigh. With a weak resolve he reached out for it, but he froze before he could touch it.
Lifeless fingers skimmed over the patch and with wide eyes Dimitri watched those fingers retreat. His breath was caught in his throat as he felt a weight pressing down on him. His hand that still lingered in the air was now balled into a tight fist as he squeezed his eyes shut.
"Such a wonderful gift is wasted on you," his father sneered. "If only I had received that bracelet instead, how different would everything be?" A lump formed in Dimitri's throat. "Byleth would not be suffering right now because of my horrible son."
The prince gritted his teeth but all at once his strength left him and he felt the weight crushing him. The pressure increased and yet he didn't struggle against it. They continued to stay like that for a moment longer before his father scoffed and got off him.
"How much longer must you make us wait, my pitiful son?"
Dimitri couldn't answer even if he wanted too. As if he was even more dissatisfied with his son the ghost of his father left. Still holding his breath, he remained frozen, waiting for the ghost of another to come and mock him. When the need for air became to strong, he finally moved by once again slamming his hands on his desk, but incredibly weakly. A small gasp escaped him as he started at the little, leather patch.
Twentieth of the Blue Sea Moon:
Byleth wanted to feel bad about Ashe having to leave his siblings so soon but leaving Castle Rowe as quickly as possible was too pleasing of a thought. Seeing Ashe's disappointment had been hard but as soon as the castle was out of sight the boy was all smiles. He had almost returned to his old self, from before the battle with Lord Lonato, but now he had a slight hard edge from his experience. Regardless, Byleth was incredibly glad for his cheer to be back and to not see any darkness in his eyes.
Traveling had been relatively easy and even some what boring. With Ashe in a much better mood Byleth had decided that this would be a perfect opportunity for Ashe to learn how to ride a horse. He had some basic knowledge from the little training he got from Lord Lonato. At first, he was against it but after some coaxing he gave in, which helped to distract them a little from the long travel.
Night had descended on yet another, uneventful day and Byleth was okay with that. It had been so long since she actually got to sit and enjoy the silence and not have some negative thought blaring down on her. Thanks to the peace she was able to start working on Claude's gift, something she had fallen behind on. Laid out before her was a neatly cut peace of leather that she had began to etch some details along the top and the bottom. A smile warmed its way onto her face as she realized she was finally looking forward to Claude's birthday.
"Professor, what's that?" Ashe asked as he walked over to her, carrying two bowls of that night's supper.
She gave him a small smile as she accepted her bowl. "It's going to be my gift to Claude," she said as she went back to looking at the leather. When she thought about what Claude's reaction might be, her smile grew. "I'm going to make him a quiver, but I can't decide on what the main design on it should be." She rested her chin on her knuckles as she looked over the leather. She usually went for the default crest design but after making Sylvain's shield, she realized that her friends deserved more personal designs for their new gifts, but such creativity was still beyond her.
"Wow. You are quite skill Professor." She chuckled at Ashes' genuine surprise. Carefully, he sat down in a spot that would allow for him to be close and yet far enough so that he wouldn't be in her way. "I'm sure Claude will love it."
Silently, she stared at him for a bit, wondering why he address Claude so differently than he did Dimitri. She decided to not dwell on that curiosity as she returned her attention back to the leather. She ran her fingers over it, trying to imagine what image would fit Claude best.
"You know," she spoke after a moment of silence. She paused to look at him and had to suppress a giggle when she discovered his bug eyes and mouth full of food. "I can make you one for your birthday, if you want."
With amusement she watched as he struggled to swallow his food. After some great effort he managed to do so but it did look to be a bit painful to do so. With that little hassle taken care of, he started to wave his hands in front of him.
"There really is no need for you to go out of your way to do such a thing for me!" She arched an eyebrow. "You have already done so much for me that I know that I will never be able to pay you back for." As he finished that sentence his gaze drifted downwards.
Wordlessly, she got up to sit next to him and he gave her little acknowledgement with a tiny bob of his head. "It's alright." Those words got him to look at her. "I did everything because you are my precious student." A light shade of pink dusted his cheeks, but he was clearly going to object and so she silenced him by rubbing his head. "Now, I want to make you a gift because you are my friend." His eyes widen and his cheeks darkened. "So, would you like me to make you a quiver? After all a knight needs to have the best equipment and I can guarantee my quality." His eyes dropped as a small smile settled on his face. Silently, he gave her a nod to which she gave him a smile and a small pat on the head.
They ate their meal in relatively silence. It was comfortable and both seem to be enjoying it. The mood was so good that she didn't dare disturb it by getting up to get seconds, despite her still being hungry.
For as much as she was enjoying the peace, it didn't last long. Everything came to a halting end, when an arrow pierced Byleth in the chest knocking her over. When she quickly got onto her feet, she discovered that Ashe was riddled with arrows. She didn't even have the time to even think to scream out before she felt the uncomfortable pull of time stopping. Her eyes were glued to Ashe and it wasn't until Sothis pulled her into the familiar darkness that Byleth returned to her senses. Her mind was screaming, and it felt like her blood was boiling but she ignored all so that to she could focus on Sothis.
"All is not lost. The boy can still be saved," Sothis said and Byleth released a held breath. The two women shared a small nod before the flow of magic pulled back the hands of time.
Almost as if everything had been a horrible nightmare, the professor found herself back in her moment of peace. So blissfully unaware of the horror that awaited him, Ashe finished off the remains of his meal. Seeing him alive and well had calmed her greatly. With a visual confirmation that he was alright, had allowed her to realize another horror; in her panic she had forgot to check to see if her father was alright.
She wanted to check on him, to get a visual confirmation that her father was still there, but she wasn't given a chance when Sothis shouted her warning. Giving Ashe no warning, Byleth shoved the boy to the ground while shouting to her father about the ambush. She desperately tried to shove her worry about her father to the side and instead focus on the fact that she knew he would be okay; he was after all the most powerful person she knew.
Her actions managed to protect Ashe, but she wasn't so lucky as an arrow still managed to pierce her shoulder. With little concern she pulled out the arrow and stood up, ready for battle. Her eyes scanned the area before her and yet she could not see her attackers that lurked in the shadows.
Ashe's struggle to understand what was going on was drowned out as malicious laughter filled the night's air. Byleth's blood ran cold when several masked men stepped out of the shadows. As best as she could she stood in front of him and tried to block their view of him.
Instinctively she reached for the sword that was usually at her side, only to disappointedly remember that it was next to her tools that were just a few feet away. She clenched her fists tightly as she bit back a curse. As discreetly as she could she tried to push Ashe back but stopped when the laughter grew louder.
Slowly the masked man approached. Even without a weapon she still got into a defensive stance. She began to channel magic into her left hand but stopped when her vision began to blur. Despite her best efforts to not show her alarm, a roar of laughter rang out when she stumbled a little.
"How's that poison treating ya?" asked one of the men and she glared at all of them.
Ashe screamed out his shock, but she ignored him as she went back to channeling her magic. The two archers, in the group, raised their bows and she instinctively took a step back. With a simple nod, from the leader, the archers' released their arrows.
Throwing her calm to the wind, she released her stored magic in a burst of fire. The spell managed to incinerate one of the arrows but the other still managed to cut into her arm. She wasted no time in forcing Ashe onto his feet and shoving him away. All his complaints fell on deaf ears and she returned her entire focus onto the threat.
Somewhat satisfied with Ashe's situation Byleth rushed forward, determined to end the battle as quickly as possible. She gave her enemies no other chances to prepare their arrows as she casted Bolanone. While the spell didn't manage to kill any of them it did succeed in separating them at the very least.
She didn't let up on her attack and rushed forward. From the confusion of her spell, two of the men, had broken away from the rest and they became her targets. The men were barely able to get their bearings before they were blasted with a Thunder spell.
Despite her sense of balance being thrown off she managed to reach her targets quickly. Her punch lacked the power, it would normally wield, but it still succeeded in knocking one of the men down and allowing her the chance to stab the other with her dagger in his windpipe, effectively removing him from the fight. The surge of confidence that normally came with a little victory never came as she struggled to not fall with the momentum she used to strike with her dagger.
It was never her intentions to hover over the two men, but she was struggling to find her sense of balance. Her vision blurred greatly as she desperately tried to face her next opponent and she found her movements to be wider than necessary. Right when she was ready to move onto her next offensive an arrow pierced her upper chest, causing her to stumble back. It took everything she had to keep herself from falling over.
Ashe's scream was cut short and forgetting everything she jerked her head towards his direction. A wave of dizziness accompanied her actions and she nearly toppled over because of it. It took much longer than she would have liked before she was able to look at him, or at least the silhouette version that she was sure was of him.
Even though it was incredibly difficult to make out she was sure she could tell that a knife was being pressed against his throat. Her cool gave away to a curse as she tried to focus on the man that held Ashe. Her head throbbed from the effort, but she was at least able to make out that a masked covered the man's entire face, but she could still feel the sick smirk that the man was giving her.
She wasn't able to spit out her threat before a punch, to her face, had knocked her to the ground, to which another cry from Ashe was cut short. She glared up at the man that hit her and struggled to see a clear image of him. "That's for the punch you gave me," said the man, she had struck earlier. His masked only covered the top half of his face so his sneer was on full display. "It's only fair that I return the favor, right?"
She shifted around to get up only for him to slam his foot down onto her stomach. Despite her wishes she cried out a little. "Nuh-uh," the man laughed as he wagged a finger in the air. Her glare was cut short when the man pointed his finger at Ashe. "Don't you think that you shouldn't be doing anything that we might proceed as a threat, hm?" All at once her fire left her as she stared at the blurred image of Ashe.
"Professor!" the young archer cried out before it was cut short with a threat. She didn't respond to the cry, as she wasn't given the chance as the man placed more of his weight onto his foot. The words of comfort she wanted to share were lost to the wind as she gasped for air.
She could hear Ashe's struggle and yet she didn't know if she should move or not. Her student's words of assurance that he would be fine, were still not enough to motivate her. It wasn't' until she heard a particularly powerful strike and threat that she decided to act. Grabbing the man's leg, she channeled her magic into it, and he screamed out.
As soon as the man stepped away from her, she got onto her feet, only to drop to her knees soon after. Her legs felt incredibly weak and she realized that her vision was too far gone now to be relied upon. That didn't stop her as she once again got onto her feet and glared at the hazy figures before her.
She wanted to act, to strike the man that dared to hurt her student but moving was impossible and she bitterly accepted that. She just hoped that now with her standing, she would be seen as the greater threat. The curses that followed her actions had brought her some comfort, in knowing that she angered them enough to be their focus.
What she was sure was the outline of a man shifted before her and she closed her eyes in attempt to brace for an impact. The strike never came as a new shout rang out in their little area, followed by threats she recognized very well. She opened her eyes in hopes of seeing her father, but she was unable to make out anything, but that was okay because she knew that she and Ashe were safe now.
A gentle touch on her shoulder had her on edge before she heard Ashe's soft voice, "professor are you alright?" She wanted to ask the same to him but without a way to confirm it, she knew that she would just be fed a lie, so she didn't say anything.
Her silence wasn't welcomed as she felt his touch turn into a tight grip. "In my bag," she started, and he greatly relaxed because of it, "there is an antitoxin. Can you please bring it to me?" She could tell that he wasn't comfortable with the idea of leaving her alone by the hesitation from his touch. She gave the hand that was on her shoulder, a small pat as that was the only thing, she was sure she could do at that moment that wouldn't alarm him. "My father won't let anyone else come near me, so please get me the toxin."
He didn't say anything, but she was sure he gave her a small nod before he left her. The sounds of battle and her father's anger rang loud and it brought her some comfort. She wished she could help but she knew that not only would she just get in the way, but that he didn't need it.
It didn't take long for Ashe to return with her bag in hand, because in his panic he wasn't sure what was the antitoxin. The cool but disgusting liquid of the antitoxin slide down her throat and she had to swallow the urge to cough it back up. It would take some time for the healing tonic to completely rid her body of the poison, but she could already feel some of the affects happening.
With one loud curse, Byleth could tell that the battle had ended. Her vision was still greatly diminished but she could at least make out her father's image as he kneeled before her. Relief flood both of them when she confirmed that she would be fine.
With that little comfort, her father wasted no time, in packing up camp after ordering Ashe to stay by her side. She had no time to wallow in pity as Ashe had been constantly bombarding her with questions as his way to ensure that she was indeed going to be okay. When her vision cleared up enough that she could see his head, she gave it a good pat in order to get him to stop with his questions.
She thought her petting would help lighten the mood a little, but it only seemed to make everything worse as he hung his head. She removed her hand in hopes of getting him to speak but he was silent. Eventually, she moved to patting his back.
"I'm sorry," he finally spoke, "if it wasn't for me-" She didn't give him a chance to finish before smacking him hard on the back. He squeaked a little yelp but said no more.
"Ashe, I should be the one apologizing," she said. She couldn't tell if he was going to interject or not, but she spoke quickly again just in case. "Those people have always been attacking me. I am so terribly sorry for putting you in danger."
"You have nothing to apologize about!" Ashe's shout reverberated in her head, antagonizing the headache that was already forming. "It's because of me that you-"
Her vision had now cleared enough that she was able to make out his face and so she squeezed his cheeks in order to silence him. "They are after me and because of that you were attacked." There was little he could say or do with her still squeezing his face and for that she continued to do so. "I am terribly sorry. I should have known better. I should have had someone more dependable to escort you."
Ashe gently pulled her hands away and she didn't have the strength or will to fight him. "Professor, you have done nothing wrong!" Her eyes widen for a moment before she hung her head. The rest of his words were drowned out to her thoughts. If what he said was true, then why was she always being punished?
A/N: So, given how my last two chapters have been going, I don't know if I'll be able to keep up with the weekly uploads. I apologize but I'm just going to upload when I can instead. I liked doing the weakly uploads, but I will admit that they were also very stressful. I am sorry I'll try to have faster updates than this long gap but I'm not going to make any promises.