A/N: I live!
I really wanted to have this chapter done before Dimitri's birthday, then Christmas, and last by New Years but alas thanks to one professor extending one week of finals into two I developed a small bit of writer's block thanks to the stress. Don't major in political science kids!
Blue Sea Moon 1180:
Twenty-Seventh of the Blue Sea Moon:
It wasn't until well into the afternoon that Byleth finally woke up. She laid in bed staring up at the roof for the longest time before she finally sat up. She was all alone in a room that wasn't hers and in any other occasions it would have been a point of alarm, but she had been still too groggy to really be worried. Still half asleep she tried to recall how she got there but she was drawing a blank and was getting a headache.
She was awake in theory, but she didn't really feel like it as it took so much effort to just for her to dangle her feet off of her bed. Without really taking anything in she looked around the messy room. She was numb to everything but the stiffness of her body but made no effort to try and stretch. The thought to be concerned never registered until she saw her reflection in a mirror, on the other side of the room.
In a panic she swiftly jumped out of the bed and stumbled over to the mirror, nearly tripping several times in the process. The white nightgown that she wore wasn't hers, but that wasn't the cause for her concern that honor fell onto the massive red symbol that was barely covered by the low-cut gown. She stared at the reflected mark in the mirror, not really registering that if she simply looked down, she would see much more of it. Her fingers skimmed across the mark's reflection before she thought to look at her body.
Looking down at her chest the mark seemed so much brighter and larger. She pushed the straps of the nightgown off and the too large garment easily fell away, but she didn't care as she now had a better view of the offending mark. Horrified, her fingers skimmed over the massive crest that covered much of her chest.
She wasn't given a chance to spiral further into a panic because the door, to that room, opened and Seteth walked in. Briefly the two stared at each other before he slammed the door shut with a great ferocity and screamed out an apology. Not really understanding what had just happened she just stared at the door.
"I do apologize!" Seteth said from the other side. "But are you decent yet?" She didn't answer and instead just looked down at herself. When she discovered that the only thing, she was wearing was some panties a light blush colored her cheeks. Begging for a moment that Seteth seemed all the more pleased to give, she quickly put on the nightgown.
Once securely dressed, she made that fact known and Seteth slowly opened the door. His face was bright red, and he wouldn't look in her direction. Behind him was Professor Manuela, who was sporting a mischievous smirk. And when the final person, the archbishop, walked in Byleth felt her mood sour.
After saying something to Seteth that somehow caused him to turn even redder, Professor Manuela made her way over to Byleth. In a gentle tone, she was able to guide the younger woman back to the bed. Once Byleth was comfortably on the bed the healer immediately went about checking the patient's temperature.
"You still have a fever," Professor Manuela said with a frown, "but compared to yesterday or even this morning, it has gone down considerably." Byleth slightly titled her head as she couldn't understand what the older woman was talking about as she couldn't remember the last time, she was sick enough to have a fever or what she could have done to even earn one. "It will be best if you stayed the night just to be safe." The former mercenary frowned at that.
"Hey, don't give me that look," Professor Manuela said in a teasing tone as she rummaged through a nearby desk. "Your father will kill me if I don't make sure you are hundred percent, okay?" While the argument was completely valid the pout didn't go away immediately.
When Professor Manuela didn't find what she was looking for she grumbled under her breath and moved on to the next drawer. After the fifth drawer she still didn't find what she was looking for, and so she threw up her hands in frustrations. "Where is the damn thing?"
"Maybe if you cleaned up your office from time to time…," Seteth quietly mumbled.
Professor Manuela shot him a glare. "At least I'm not a pervert." Seteth's face instantly went back to being red and he looked away from everyone. He grumbled something under his breath that Byleth couldn't make out, but she didn't really care as her attention went back to Professor Manuela, who was now digging through a new drawer.
Finally finding what she was looking for, she proudly held it up high for all to see and the color drained from Byleth's face. It was a stethoscope. The patient's eyes were glued to the tool as the healer made her way over, with a triumphant smile on her face.
Byleth began to tremble once Professor Manuela was at the bedside and she was completely silent, as she stared helplessly at the older woman, who readied the stethoscope. She finally found her voice when the stethoscope invaded her space and she screamed out a "no". Everyone froze and stared at her.
Clutching her blanket in a death grip, Byleth resisted the urge to look away. "I'm fine," she said and was relieved her voice was steady. "There is no need to check my heart." With a shaky gaze, she glanced over at the archbishop and her breath got caught in her throat. The archbishop's smile was the same as ever, but it seemed different to Byleth and she couldn't help but focus on that.
Byleth couldn't breathe as she stared at the archbishop. Did the archbishop already know? That question was constantly echoing in the young woman's mind as she stared at the holy woman. The smile took on a more sinister, gleeful look the longer she stared. As the seconds ticked by, she became convinced that the archbishop already knew about her heart. Unable to look away her body became tense and she felt like a caged rabbit being stared at by a hungry fox, just waiting to devour her.
When she felt a hand grab her shoulder, Byleth snapped and violently smacked the hand away. It took a few seconds for her to realize that she had knocked Professor Manuela away and hard enough to knock her to the floor. Still trying to comprehend everything she was unable to think to apologize until Seteth was already helping Professor Manuela onto her feet, and even then, she was unable to voice it.
"Alright," I won't check your heart!" Professor Manuela grumbled as she dropped the stethoscope onto the table. "Between your father's death glare and your strike, I get it. I won't give a damn about your health anymore."
"I'm…sorry," Byleth mumbled. Her voice was so quiet that she was afraid that it went unheard and yet she couldn't bring herself to repeat it, even though she very much wanted too. Luckily for her, her voice was heard as Professor Manuela turned her sharp gaze towards her, but it had soften greatly when the healer laid eyes on her.
"Child are you alright?" asked the archbishop in a soft voice but Byleth still managed to flinch. The young woman's blood ran cold when she felt the archbishop place a hand upon hers. She very much wanted to pull her hand back, but she couldn't, it felt like she had no control over her body.
All eyes were on her, waiting for her answer but her voice was nowhere to be found. She was finding it difficult to breathe let alone talk. Desperately, she wanted to run far away, and only felt more trap when she was unable to move. Shutting her eyes, she searched her mind for Sothis and nearly cried out when she discovered that the girl was asleep.
The hand that had been gently placed onto of hers, now held hers and she swallowed the small cry that nearly escaped her. It wasn't until she felt another gentle touch on her shoulder that she opened her eyes, though she refused to look at anyone. "I…," she started but quickly stopped when she realized she had no idea what to say. Taking a deep breath, she finally found the courage to look up. Her gaze settled on Seteth as he looked at her with concern. It wasn't a look she normally liked to receive but it reminded her of the look her father would sometimes give her and that brought her a small comfort.
"I'm fine," she finally decided on what to say, "I think I'm just a little overwhelmed at the moment." It wasn't a lie, but she hoped that none of them would ask her more about it as she had no desire to say any more on that matter.
There was a nod from Seteth and she felt even more tension leave her body. She wasn't sure why the advisor was reminding her so much of her father, but it was a comfort she wasn't going to question. The archbishop released Byleth's hand and in return the younger woman released her death grip on the poor blanket.
"Understandable," Professor Manuela said in a gentle tone that had Byleth relaxing even more. "From what I was told your battle with that mysterious knight was incredibly difficult one."
Byleth once again held her blanket in a death grip and her fingers cried out because of it. The masked people had been trying to kill her for so long and she couldn't understand why they had never sent that knight before as she was sure he would have succeeded long ago. He was a terror she hoped to never face again but she knew better than to be so hopeful, especially when the knight seemed to be excited for a second round.
The memory of the Death Knight flashed before her and she nearly expelled the empty remains of her stomach when she remembered Felix's death. She needed to see him! She needed to know that he was safe! Even if she knew that in the back of her mind, he was okay, it wasn't enough to calm her nerves without Sothis' confirmation.
She tossed her blanket aside and was about to get up when Seteth spoke up, "your students are perfectly fine." She relaxed considerably but didn't return to a comfortable position. "You did a marvelous job at protecting your students." With that said and at Professor Manuela's gentle coaxing, Byleth went back to sitting on the bed and had the blanket covering her again.
"Yes, you have once again proven to be a most excellent professor," the archbishop said and Byleth froze. She had forgotten about the holy woman and she was struggling to breathe. "I am delighted to see that it was not a mistake in choosing you to be a professor." With her gaze still locked on Seteth, Byleth could see him nod in agreement, it was the first time he had shown her any support for becoming a professor and yet it did nothing to appease her uneasiness.
Slowly she turned her gaze to the archbishop. The holy woman was still wearing the same smile, and that didn't help at all. Byleth felt sick as her stomach sank into a dark pit. She had no doubt that the archbishop already knew about her heart and was becoming even more afraid that it was more evidence that the church's leader needed. Was the sign of a defective heart some kind of proof that linked her to Saint Seiros? And if so, what was Saint Seiros or even Byleth for that matter? That was a thought that she was far too afraid to explore.
Professor Manuela was quick to give Byleth the distraction she desperately wanted but the healer wasn't enough to quell the fears that had settled in the back of Byleth's mind. Try as hard as she could, Byleth just couldn't focus on the warmth of Professor Manuela's magic and instead kept glancing at the archbishop. She wouldn't allow herself to forget about that holy woman again.
The warmth of magic came to an end and it felt like the dreaded cold returned to Byleth's bones. Professor Manuela looked pleased and the former mercenary wanted to smile but she found that she was unable too. All she could do was give the older woman a small nod.
"I can't find anything else wrong with you and with your fever considerable reduce it looks like your crest will be done healing you soon," the older professor said and Byleth stared at her for a long moment.
"My crest doesn't…heal," Byleth said and slowly horror dawned on her. Her fingers ghosted over her chest as the image of the new crest floated in her mind. The shadow touch of her fingers turned into a strong grip that threatened to tear her nightgown as she glared at nothing in particular.
"It most certainly does," the archbishop said with the largest smile that Byleth had ever seen from the woman. The glare vanished in an instant and Byleth's hand fell to her side as she stared at the other woman. "You possess a lost crest, the Crest of Flames."
Byleth forgot how to breathe as she stared at the holy woman. Her mouth went dry and she couldn't speak, not that she had any thoughts to convey. Her gaze remained on the archbishop, but she wasn't actually looking at the older woman and instead was lost to her thoughts.
It had been so long since she had learned about crest during her early lessons with Dimitri. She had honestly forgotten much of that lesson but there was one thing that she couldn't forget and that was the little information that surrounded the Crest of Flames. She never understood why that information had always remained with her. Now with all the answers she had, she had no idea why she never considered the possibility that she might have possessed that crest.
She wanted to yell at the archbishop. To deny everything and yet she couldn't. Fate must have been laughing at her all these years as she had the answer all along but turned a blind eye to it. To possess such a crest granted so many answers that she had desperately wanted but now that she had them, she wanted nothing to do with them.
Unable to find her voice she remained silent but that didn't seem to bother the archbishop as she gestured for Seteth to come over. It was only when he handed the leader of the church something did Byleth finally noticed the large, clothed covered item he had been holding onto this entire time. She didn't want to know what was covered but the archbishop wasted in no time removing the cloth and revealed the strange sword and Byleth's heart sank.
"This is the Sword of the Creator." Byleth gritted her teeth but said nothing. "You are the first person in a thousand years to be able to wield it." At those words she glared bitterly at the weapon. "The church had it hidden away in Garreg Mach all this time in order to keep it safe, but now is the time to reveal the sword." Clutching her blanket in a strong grip, she struggled to keep her expression neutral. "I believe this would be better in your hands, instead of hidden away."
Gasps filled the room but Seteth was quick to recover and object, but Byleth's shout silenced him and everyone else in the room. "I don't want it!" All eyes were on her and she glared at the archbishop, not even bothering to hide her disdain. "Put the sword away. I refuse to wield it."
A silence settled over everyone, but her glare didn't vanish. The smile left the archbishop's face as she looked at the younger woman with a look of disappoint. Byleth would have smirked at that look if she had the thought to do so. With a sigh the archbishop carefully leaned the sword against the wall that was right in Byleth's line of sight, to which the former mercenary scowled even more.
"It has been an overwhelming time for you," the holy woman said in a tone that reflected perfectly her apathy as she got up. "Forgive me for not taking that into consideration before bombarding you with all this information." Byleth was silent as she watched the archbishop look at the sword with an expression that Byleth couldn't understand. The archbishop gently caressed the handle of the relic before turning away from it.
"I will leave the Sword of the Creator here to allow you some time to think about it." Not allowing Seteth the chance to object, the archbishop began to walk away. "Do rest well my child. I will be looking forward to a more favorable response from you."
"I don't want it!" Byleth shouted but the door still shut behind Seteth. She wanted to scream out, to run out and throw the accursed sword at the wretched woman, but she latched onto the small common sense that prevented her from doing so. Swallowing all the curses she wanted to shout she hung her head and glared at the floor as the back of her throat burned.
Byleth had no idea how long she had been glaring at the Sword of the Creator before something was finally able to pull her attention away from it. That distraction came in the form of her entire class visiting her. Professor Manuela had been the one to fetch them and it was only then that Byleth had realized that the older woman had left at some point.
When Annette first laid eyes on the Sword of the Creator, she gasped loudly and that seemed to break Byleth out of her little haze. Without warning she threw her covers aside to rush over to Felix. At first, she had been hesitant to touch him but when the memory of the Death Knight's scythe cutting through him flashed before her mind, she through her caution away and she carefully touched his torse and chest as to confirm that he truly was alright. She was completely oblivious to his bright red face, the gasps, and all the looks she was receiving.
"Thank goodness," she mumbled quietly to herself when she was finally satisfied and had even gone so far as to rest her forward against Felix's chest.
"By," Dimitri called as he walked towards her, and held out a hand to her. "You should not get out of bed so suddenly. Please allow me to guide you back." She glanced at his outstretched hand and then at his face. He was wearing his princely smile and she frowned at it. Not bothering to give him a response she turned on her heels and walked back to the bed all on her own.
Once she was comfortable, she looked at everyone and when her eyes lingered on Ingrid, it felt like something was constricting her heart. Felix's death had been so clear in her mind that she had forgotten that Ingrid had also died that night and she hated herself for not remembering that. She wasn't sure if it was because Felix's death had been so clear to her while Ingrid's was kind of a mystery, since she never actually saw the teen's death and only had a scream to go on. It still did matter, she concluded, as she knew that Ingrid had died and while she didn't see the moment of death, she could easily fill in the missing pieces.
She wanted to get up and silently apologize to Ingrid, but she didn't get the chance as Dimitri interrupted her thoughts. His gentle voice pulled her attention to him. The blue eyes that she had loved so much shined with the look she had been so familiar with and was longing to see again, but she refused to give into them, less he pull away again. To avoid looking into his eyes she tore her gaze away from him and it landed on the Sword of the Creator and for a moment she scowled at it before quickly smoothing her expression into her more neutral one.
"Are you okay?" Dimitri asked as he lightly placed a hand on her shoulder. She glanced at the hand for a moment and then looked at him. The gesture was nice and comforting, but it wasn't a comfort she was going to get attached to and so she kept her expression neutral and focused on everyone else instead of him.
"I'm fine," she answered from the corner of her eye she could see Dimitri press his lips together. She was about to reach out to him before Felix stopped her.
"Bullshit!" the swordsman yelled, and she flinched. Swiftly he made his way over to her and stood before her. Despite standing next to Dimitri, Felix didn't seem to care as he stared down at her. Dimitri was seemingly taken back as he let go of her to stand up straight and he was watching Felix.
"You are always like this!" Felix growled out, and she instinctively sat perfectly straight. "You always keep to yourself! You never tell us anything! Do you even consider us your friends?"
With wide eyes she stared at Felix, unsure of what to say. Vaguely she was aware of Professor Manuela ushering out her other students, until only the core childhood friends remained. For a moment she looked at all her friends, who seemed to be sporting similar expression as Felix. Her gaze returned to the Fraldarius heir and she still wasn't sure what to say or what to even make of his question.
The silence became to suffocating and his stare was too intense. Unable to continue matching his glare, her gaze slowly drifted to her lap. His stare continued to bore into her.
Gritting her teeth, she tightly gripped her blanket. She didn't understand why he was accusing her of such a thing, when they were all guilty of it. None of them told her of their problems without having to work for it. None of them helped her when she was obviously struggling. Why did she have to be the one to open up?
She glared at her bed with her jaw locked and her grip was ready to tear her blanket. She was ready to yell and yet her anger suddenly vanished. They had opened up to her first with little effort from her. Sylvain with his father and Felix about wanting to save Dimitri. Sylvain had attempted to comfort her, and Ingrid tried every time they had lunch but was clearly out of her element, and Byleth couldn't blame her for that when even she had no idea how to help Ingrid. As for Dimitri she understood that his issues were great and that he was probably drowning in them just as she was with hers.
Claude had once told her that her friends would like to know her troubles and now, she wished she had listened to him. She feared that she might have hurt them by keeping to herself. But despite her newfound desire to open up she didn't even know where to start or even what she should share. She didn't want them to become suspicious of the church, since the church was not going to forgive any misgivings. As for the masked people, she didn't even know what to talk about. They had become such a major part of her life that she could barely remember her life before them. And for Sothis, she wasn't sure if she should tell them about the mysterious girl. Would they even believe her? And if they did what would they think of her?
She felt her breath get caught in her throat at the thought of her friends fearing her. Gripping her blanket in a more desperate grip, she fiercely tried to shut out her thoughts, but she couldn't. Now trembling she admitted the truth that she had been trying to run away from for so long.
"I'm scared," her confession was a quiet whisper that she was even aware that she made until she felt arms wrapping around her. She stared at Sylvain and Ingrid for a moment before it dawned on her that Dimitri was embracing her. Stiff as a board, she was clueless as what to do next. She wanted to return the embrace but with how he had been as of late she wasn't sure if she should open herself up or if he would just quickly release her. The comfort the hug brought won over her fears and though she didn't return the embrace she did nuzzle her head into his shoulder and shut her eyes. Dimitri always brought her a sense of peace and security and she was going to cherish it for what little time she had of it.
She wasn't sure how much time had passed with her in Dimitri's arms and she was grateful that he seemed to have no intention of letting her go any time soon. During that moment both Sylvain and Ingrid offered words of comfort and someone had even patted her head. All her tension slowly melted away and she found herself giving up more and more of herself to the warmth that Dimitri shared.
Suddenly the infirmary's door was slammed open and, in an alarm, Dimitri quickly pulled away to see, who would dare ruin such a tender moment. Claude walked in carrying a large bouquet of flowers followed by a frazzled Professor Manuela, who mouthed an apology. As if seeming unaware of the mood Claude quickly made his way over to Byleth, while Professor Manuela remained at the door sighing.
Smiling the fakest smile, she had ever seen from him, Claude thrusted the flowers at her in a way that separated Dimitri from her. Acting like the complaints from Felix and Dimitri didn't exist, Claude spoke in an overly cheerful tone, "these are for you!" He pushed the flowers more towards her and she hesitantly took them. "I hope you get well soon! Garreg Mach is not the same without you!"
"Oh," was all Byleth could say. All of her friends were glaring at Claude, but he continued to ignore them. "T-thank you."
"I hope you like them!" He flashed her a smile that showed off his teeth, but the smile still wasn't genuine in the slightest. While he made it seem like he was looking at her, she could tell that his focus divided between her and the Sword of the Creator as he would steal small peeks at it.
"I do. They smell lovely." She made a show of sniffing them to please Claude but that only seemed to upset Dimitri more. Claude gave her a small nod before he dared to give the sword more of his attention and she pressed her lips together. She always knew Claude to be a curious guy and she would expect him to be very interested in the Sword of the Creator but that was bothering her for some reason. She wasn't sure if it was because the sword was tied to her or because of his strange behavior.
"Claude," Dimitri called, and he clearly wasn't trying to hide his animosity. "I do beg your pardon, but we were in the middle of something so if you do not mind-"
"But I do mind." Claude dropped his smile to match Dimitri's glare. "I have just as much right to be here with By as you do."
"Look you are unwanted," Felix said with more hostility than he normally spoke with, and Claude was quick to turn his glare onto the swordsman.
"Did it occur to any of you that you might be the unwanted ones?" Felix growled out but Claude didn't back down as he shared a look with all the others. Lost, Byleth could only look between the boys unsure of what to say or do. She glanced at Professor Manuela, seeking guidance, she discovered that the older woman was no help as she was too busy shaking her head and sighing.
At her wits end, Byleth was ready to shout but her stomach beat her to it. Frowning she knew it would be pointless to try and pretend that the sound hadn't come from her. Thankfully, the strange sound had managed to break through the tension and pull everyone's attention on to her.
"You are hungry, right?" Dimitri asked with a gentle tone as he leaned towards her. "You have not eaten anything since yesterday, right? I will gladly bring you-"
"Soup will be good since it will be easy on the stomach," Claude said as he hastily interjected himself between Byleth and Dimitri, successfully blocking her view of the prince.
"Ah…yes…?" Was all she could think to say.
"Allow me to bring you some!"
"There is no need for you to trouble yourself on the behalf of OUR professor," Dimitri said. His tone was icy as he forced Claude to back up by shoving himself before the other man. "As the Blue Lions' class leader, I will help her!"
Another tense glare stare down started and Byleth sighed. This time Professor Manuela came to her rescue by clapping her hands and grabbed everyone's attention. "Okay, I think that is enough," she said in a tone that left little room for objections. When no one said anything, she smiled. "Professor Byleth is still recovering so I will ask you all to leave." Pouts and grumbled complaints broke out amongst the students but none of them protested when they were being ushered out of the room, that was until Dimitri got to the door.
"Would it be alright if I brought Professor Byleth her dinner?" he asked with an eagerness that reminded her of the one time she had gotten sick when they were children and he had asked a similar question. Professor Manuela didn't say anything and just looked back at Byleth, who nodded. His smile was so dazzling that Byleth couldn't help but blush a little as he vowed to quickly return with food.
Once all the students were gone Professor Manuela turned to Byleth with a similar mischievous smirk that she had showed Seteth earlier. With a sigh Byleth collapsed onto her bed, ready for a nap but that wasn't enough for the older woman. "You are certainly popular." Turning onto her side away from Professor Manuela, Byleth groaned into her pillow. "But still don't you think it's a little unfair to be hogging the two most eligible bachelors, in all of Fodlan, to yourself?" Byleth wasn't sure what the healer meant by that and she didn't really have the patience to dwell on it.
Once the door closed behind Dimitri the tension returned with full force as the childhood friends glared at Claude, who didn't seem all that bothered by them. Dimitri would admit that he didn't know Claude that very well, but he had gotten the clear impression that the Alliance's heir wasn't such a hostile person. But then again it could have been all an act and Dimitri knew he was in no position to complain as was putting on his own farce to everyone.
The silence didn't last for long as Sylvain was quick to break it. "What the hell is your problem?" Sylvain asked as he glared down at the smaller man, "we finally got By to open up and you ruined it!"
Smirking, Claude folded his arms across his chest and leaned his head back. "Took you guys this long?" he asked with a small laugh, and Dimitri noticed that Sylvain started to ball his fists. "You do not need to worry. I will take care of By for you." Dimitri had been keeping his expression relatively neutral since they left the infirmary but that was until that point and now, he was openly glaring at the intruder. Claude noticed his glare and sent his smirk in his direction and Dimitri had to grit his teeth less he says something highly inappropriate for such a public place.
"You sure talk big for an outsider," Felix barked and the smirk instantly left Claude's face as he turned his full focus onto the swordsman. "What do you know of our situation? So, what if you met Byleth when we were separated, we still know her for a much longer period of time than you will ever have."
"I know," Claude quickly responded in a completely dry tone as he got into Felix's space. "I know all of By's troubles because she told me!" Felix scoffed and backed up a little. Standing tall the smirk returned to Claude. "I also know she never told you anything because she saw you all as burdens. So much, for your 'longer period of time', huh?" He drew out the final words and his smirk grew as he did so.
Both Sylvain and Ingrid recoiled, while Felix muttered a curse and turned his back towards the Golden Deer Leader. Dimitri stepped forward and Claude turned his gaze onto him as well as dropped his smirk. A silence settled over them as the two leaders stared at each other.
"By, would never say that," Dimitri said calmly, despite the ragging fire burning within him.
Claude didn't say anything for the longest moment and just continued to stare at the prince. After a few seconds he finally cocked his head to the side but kept his gaze steady. "Are you sure about that your princeliness?" Dimitri flinched but continued to stare at Claude. "Because I would say the biggest burden of all, is you." After saying that the smaller man's grin returned.
Dimitri greatly faltered to the point that he had to look away. He had no words to argue against that. He didn't want to be told that he was a burden, he was already well aware of that, but that didn't mean it stung any less. It only burned more than it should have because Byleth wasn't so readily willing to accept him, and he knew that he had no right to want her to accept him with open arms. But despite that he knew Byleth wouldn't refer to anyone as burdens, but he couldn't bring himself to speak out about it.
The hostility was tight, and Dimitri didn't know if he would be able to prevent a fight from breaking out, or if he even wanted to stop it. He understood why Claude was being antagonistic towards him, but he couldn't see why Claude would blame the others for Byleth's situation. So, his attack was just even more of a frustrating mystery.
Dimitri wanted to believe that Claude was doing everything because he was just worried about Byleth, but the prince couldn't shake the feeling that that wasn't the case, given all the subtle looks the Alliance's heir sent towards the Sword of the Creator. When he remembered how Edelgard looked at the lost Hero Relic Dimitri only grew more worried. He could already tell that Byleth was not pleased with the weapon and he feared everything was only going to become more difficult for her because of that sword.
With a heavy sigh Dimitri wanted to say something to break the tension but he couldn't think of the right thing to say. He was sure if he didn't say something carefully Claude would have a sharp rebuttal and with both Sylvain and Felix on edge the prince needed to be extra careful. On top of that Dimitri just didn't want Claude to be the victor in this little match. He might not have been able to deny the Golden Leader's claims about him but that didn't mean that Claude's actions were acceptable.
Throwing caution to the wind, Dimitri was ready to just say something but never got the chance as the door to Professor Hanneman's office opened. For a brief moment everyone just silently stared at the interloper until the professor broke out into a large smile. Without saying anything he rushed back into his room and swiftly came out carrying a wide variety of things and Dimitri feared he was going to drop everything with how full his hands were.
"If you all are here that must mean that Professor Byleth is finally awake!" the man said in a tone that would rival a kid about to open a present. No one said anything but they all nodded (except for Felix). "Most excellent! I can now begin to properly study her crest! What mysterious does the Crest of Flames' possess? Oh, I cannot wait!'
"By- I mean Teach does not want her crest being studied," Claude said right when Professor Hanneman made it to the infirmary's door. "I do hope you understand."
"But she does." Claude was clearly taken back, and everyone stared at the professor with new founded interest. "She came to me a few weeks back asking me to uncover what her crest was." Dimitri pressed his lips together. Byleth's crest had always been a point of contention for her and yet she had sought out answers without him knowing. Granted he understood why she did that, but he still hated being left out and only having himself to blame.
"She never told me." Dimitri heard Claude quietly mumbled and he couldn't help but smirk, even if it went unnoticed.
"Even though she finally knows what her crest is, I am sure she will still want to study it. Afterall we do not know what kind of impact the Crest of Flames could have on someone." They all gave Professor Hanneman a small nod and he turned to Dimitri. "I do beg your pardon, Your Highness, but do you possibly mind helping me with the door?" With another nod Dimitri silently opened the door and the professor rushed inside but not before giving his proper thanks.
Once the door was closed the tension returned but it wasn't anywhere near as intense as before. It was Felix turn to make the first move as he took a step towards Claude, smirking. The Alliance's Heir wasn't all that bothered as he matched the swordsman's stare.
"It looks like she does not tell you everything either," Felix said with a little laugh.
Claude sneered at Felix before pushing past him. Not even bothering to completely turn around, Claude simply looked at everyone from over his shoulder. "At least I do not have to wait until she trapped in the infirmary to get her to talk to me." And having said that he walked away, having the last word.
Sylvain swore before leaving after a few seconds passed and Ingrid chased after him. Felix scoffed loudly and left not long after, leaving Dimitri all alone. The prince remained rooted in place for a while, lost in his thoughts until he remembered that he was to bring Byleth her dinner and he quietly left.
By the time Dimitri finally arrived with a simple meal, of soup and a soft piece of bread, for Byleth, Professor Hanneman had already finished whatever he needed to do and left. Jeralt had arrived just when the prince did. Besides saying a few things to Jeralt Dimitri was quick to leave but it was clear to Byleth that he wanted to stay. She still had no idea of what to make of his actions of late and she wasn't sure if she wanted to reach out to him; she didn't want to be rejected again.
Byleth ate her meal in relative quiet. Her father had tried talking to her, but all her responses had been short. It wasn't that she didn't wat to talk to him but that she was just unable to focus on anything thanks to her chaotic mind.
The little confrontation with her friends had her finally coming face to face with the fear that she had buried deep inside. Thanks to all the constant attacks on her life she though she had become an expert on learning how to deal with her fear, but that day made her painfully realized that she was nothing more than an expert on running away from it. What made the fear so difficult was that she didn't even know what the source of it was. She had far too many problems in her life that only seemed to increase with each passing day.
Did she fear her mask assailants? The archbishop? The Crest of Flames and the Sword of the Creator? Or was it the burdensome future that those things would surely bring? And then there was Sothis. Byleth really liked Sothis. The mysterious girl was incredibly kind, and it was also thanks to her power that Byleth and her friends were alive and yet…? Why was Byleth the only one who could see her? And why did those mystical creatures call her Sothis? Thanks to Sothis, Byleth was starting to feel like she was no longer human.
Her spoon clang loudly against her bowl of soup making a little mess that she wasn't even aware of. As if she could hide herself away from everything, she buried her face into her hands. "Why can't I be normal?" she quietly whispered.
She never meant to say it out loud and it wasn't until she felt her father wrapping his arms around her and pulled her in for a tight embrace that she realized that she did. The rest of her dinner crashed onto the floor but none of them cared about that. As he whispered apology after apology to her, she wished she had never said anything. Wished that her friends never forced her to acknowledge her fears. But above all she wished that it wasn't her and that fate would quickly realize that it made a mistake and shift all that responsibility onto someone else.
A/N: I would like to say that I'll have the next chapter up soon, but I'm in the middle of moving (packing is such a hassle) and so I, unfortunately, probably won't have the next chapter up until the middle of February. My goal is to have it up before Persona 5 Strikers comes out as I know that will be a great distraction.